Blue-collar beauties

No matter how far the Detroit Red Wings go in the NHL Playoffs, their 2006-07 season will undoubtedly go down as one of my favorite seasons from a fans point of view. For once, it wasn't the Wings walking away the division, league and numerous individual honors. For once, it wasn't the Wings who were favored heading into the playoffs. And for once, it was the Wings who battled through adversity all season long.

With how horrible the economy is in Michigan right now, it's great to see more of a blue collar hockey team on the ice every night. Not to say the Wings don't have their stars. Nicklas Lidstrom is the best defenseman in the world, Pavel Datsyuk is extremely talented and I believe that Henrik Zetterberg is the best two-way player in the NHL. But with guys like Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Johan Franzen, Chris Chelios, and who can forget about Dan Cleary. Here's Cleary, a guy who was about to give up on his NHL dreams two seasons ago, who has arguably been the best player for the Wings in the playoffs. It's great to see. Detroit is a city that has been defined by its hockey team for years and years. Now the hockey team can somewhat be defined by its city.


If you're anything like me and just can't get enough of a great sports call, then feast your eyes below.

Here's the link to Red Wings radio broadcast great Ken Kal calling Robert Lang's game-tying goal against the Sharks in Game 4 of the second-round series: http://1270sports.com/pages/115968.php?contentType=34&contentId=1477

This next one is of Dan Cleary drilling Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf (who is considered by many as the hardest hitting player in the NHL) in Game 3 of the Wings' first-round series: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bgeDlYSxLmQ