Tag: NHL

Goodbye Joe

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Last night I attended one last Detroit Red Wings game at Joe Louis Arena with some friends. Next year the team will be moving to the brand new Little Caesars Arena. They lost 5-4 to Toronto, but the team is rebuilding and it’s been a down year, so it wasn’t that surprising. It’s just a little bittersweet that the final year at “The Joe” is the first year since the 1989-90 season that the Wings will miss the playoffs. I don’t really know a spring without them playing after the regular season; I was 10 years old the last time this happened!

I’ve been to several games over the years and have posted about some of them on this blog:

My Mom is a big Wings fan, so I took her to a playoff game in 2015…

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The NHL game has changed a lot throughout this Red Wings playoff streak. A former player, Kris Draper, recently published an excellent article titled There Will be Blood to The Players’ Tribune, which tells stories that contributed to many of the changes.

There have also been some strikes and lockouts during the playoff streak. Due to the lockout during the 2004-05 season I was able to experience one of my favorite professional sports related memory. On New Year’s Eve that year, my Dad and I found ourselves playing poker with Darren McCarty in a St. Ignace casino. If it hadn’t been for the lockout he never would have been there.

So there have been a lot of great Red Wings memories and visits to Joe Louis Arena. It was fun to get in one last trip. Detroit hockey is long overdue for a new home as the building is quite old and outdated. Every guy who has been there can tell you how weird it is to piss in the community trough urinals. Compared to any arena these days, it really is a shit hole.

A Sporting Thanksgiving

Nick Momrik2 Comments

As posted previously, I attended a few professional sports events over the Thanksgiving holiday. Last Wednesday (Nov. 23) my parents left Rogers City bright and early. I’m not sure why they came down so early, but I wasn’t too happy that they interrupted my Xbox 360 time since I had just hooked it up the night before. Luckily they went off to do a little shopping and I had a little more time by myself. We met up with my brother and ate lunch at the mall.

Warning! This post might be a novel since it’s been weeks since my last “real” update.

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Wings, Lions, and Pistons

Nick Momrik7 Comments

My Dad, brother, and I were planning on getting some tickets for the Lions Thanksgiving game this year, so I’ve been keeping an eye on eBay. It looked like it was going to be at least $300 for 3 tickets to the game, and those aren’t even for the good seats.

Yesterday I found a dream come true. There was an auction selling 3 tickets to the Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche game on the 23rd, Detroit Lions vs. Atlanta Falcons game on the 24th, and Detroit Pistons vs. Washington Wizards game on the 25th. The auction had a But It Now price of only $550 with free shipping! After getting the seller to confirm that the tickets were all seated together I bought them quicker than Joey Harrington can make a dump off pass. None of the tickets are in great locations, but each of the venues have pretty good seats no matter where you sit.

Is that going to be one hell of a Thanksgiving or what? Talk about a sports dream! Seeing the Red Wings live at Joe Louis Arena is awesome, Ford Field is a great place to watch a football game, and the Pistons are always exciting. I’ll miss out on my favorite meal of the year, but it’ll be worth it.

Red Wings Can't Be Beat

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I haven’t watched any Red Wings hockey games yet this year, but I’ve been following the scores. They’re 12-1-0 which puts them 6 points ahead of the 2nd best team in the NHL!! They have 24 points which is 33% more than 2nd best Vancouver with 18.

Everyone thought it would be a down year for the Wings. Quite the opposite. Before last year’s lockout the Red Wings were the highest paid team in the league, so the new salary cap was supposed to cripple the team from Motown. The team had to get rid of some quality players, but they seem to be doing just fine. Manny Legace has finally got his chance as a starting goalie and he’s having a hell of a year.

The Game

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Last night was a great time! The beer started flowing at about 1:30p.m. and didn’t stop until sometimes around 11…I think. We got to Joe Louis Arena at about 2:15 and headed downstairs to the Olympia Club. Did you know that there is a private club underneath the ice? I didn’t either, but we had passes to get in. It was a sweet little bar and restaurant. In the bathroom there was a guy handing out towels to to dry your hands with. The towels were pretty expensive ones too. I tipped him a $1. Jeff and I had our picture taken outside the front door of the Club for proof that it exists. 😉

We reserved a few tables for the first intermission and went up to watch the game. Our seats were pretty good. 5th row in the upper deck, just in front of the goal. The Wings played well for the first two periods, but allowed a goal late in the 2nd to tie it up. After that they came out flat and sucked it up in the 3rd, losing 5-2. There is nothing like being at a live hockey game. It’s so much better than watching on TV.

After the game we headed over to the new Hard Rock Cafe in Detroit, but the wait was going to be almost 2 hours for a table, so we had a drink and left. We ended up at a bar called the Gathering Place, for dinner and drinks. They had some awesome burgers and fries! My friend Lindsay came to eat with us and hang out for the rest of the night. We played a few games of bar shuffle board (I have no idea what the actual name is) and Ace and I were undefeated. We then headed over to a “uppity” bar called Dick O’ Dows. It was alright, but too high-class for me. Everyone was wearing nicer clothes and here we were in jerseys and hats from the game.

I fell asleep passed out on the ride back to Saginaw and went to bed as soon as I walked in the door. In fact, when I woke up this morning I was still drunk!

The Best Wake Up Call Ever

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I hate when people call at the ass-crack of dawn and wake me up on a weekend. But every once in awhile it’s for a good reason. Today is one of those days. My phone rang once as I lay in bed thinking, “I’m gonna kill whoever that is” or “They better be calling for something good.” They left a voicemail and then my phone rang again. At this point I’m really getting angry. I didn’t get to bed until close to 4a.m. last night so I’m running on less than 6 hours of sleep. I better get up and answer it though.

My friend Jeff asks, “What are you doing today?” All I can think is, “Sleeping and then kicking your ass for waking me up!” Then he asks me if I want to go to the Red Wings game against the Avalanche. HELL YES I DO! I couldn’t think of a better way for a single guy to spend Valentine’s Day than drinking some beer with his buddies and watching the best rivalry in the NHL.

I was supposed to attend my first Red Wings game earlier this year, but then my Grandpa died, so we had to sell our tickets. I guess things really do happen for a reason. Now I get to see the best game available. It’s a good thing I didn’t go up north this weekend like a few friends wanted me to!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!