Walk It Out Wednesday.

Today's question it brought to you by my cohort, Ballin' B:

Which current non-Red Wing forward would you love to see wearing the Winged Wheel?

Purely hypothetical. No salary cap issues attached because that makes it less fun. The only stipulation is that your selection has never played in Detroit, but really, if you want to choose someone who's played here before, go ahead. Just like Hockeytown itself, TSO has no limits. Or morals. But that's another issue.

My choices:

First choice: Jarome Iginla. I've always loved him. He's a consistently strong player, capable of fantastic offensive tricks, but at the same time, he's not afraid to drop the gloves and scrap a little. He's a solid leader and an all-around class act. Last night, after scoring a hat trick against Team Norway, he spent most of his NBC interview praising his linemate Sid the Kid. Sure, I vomited a little bit in my mouth, but what else do you expect from this guy? Humility all the way. Also, he has the longest name ever known to mankind: Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla. I especially love that there's a "Junior" thrown in there, just for good measure.

Runners-up: Nicklas Backstrom, who's just scary talented (and Brian has a great big freakin' mancrush on him--I suspect the flowing golden locks), Zach Parise, who has amazing puck-handling skills and speed, and Rick Nash, who brings a lot of the same qualities to the table as Iginla. I feel it goes without saying that I would have no problem if the Great #8 rocked our red, too.

Runner-up/player who's been here before: Mike Knuble. He's had a stellar year with Washington, notching 42 points so far, and he's not afraid to scrap, either. Can we kidnap him? Also, if we could get Jiri Hudler back for $5/game and a chicken farm so he can cluck in a group setting, that would be fantastic.

Players I'd rather NOT see in the Winged Wheel: Marian Gaborik, only because I don't want Al Sobotka and his colleagues to have to clean up his limbs from the ice. Also applicable here are all the usual suspects.

And now, because it's Wednesday and we really have no (new) reasons to be pissed off at the world, let's dance:

Detroit Rock City in 30 +/- hours...

On the itinerary for today:

1. Pack.

2. Birthday present shopping for Brian's dad.

3. Pack.

4. Limit my coffee intake so I can try to go to sleep tonight at a decent time.

5. Pack.

6. Watch the Wings @ Rangers tonight. (Should be epic--Brian predicted a limb malfunction/loss for one Marian Gaborik, so if the game is half as exciting as that bold statement, we're going to have a blast.)

7. Pack.

Can you tell I fucking hate packing?

***

Just wanted to put something quick out there: Thank you, thank you to everyone who gave us suggestions of things and places to check out while we're in town. You guys are the best. Now we're even MORE excited about everything ever, and we didn't think that was even possible. From now on, I'm going to consult you all on every single one of my major life decisions and personal issues, so get ready to enjoy this bond we now have with one another. (For starters, let me ask you a question about this burning sensation I recently experienced...)

***

We'll be staying in touch via Twitter, and I'll have my laptop, although I can't promise we'll be coherent enough to write anything meaningful post-game. If our experience goes anything like we hoped for in our itinerary, one or more of the following may ensue:

1. Arrests. For stealing a kid's Zamboni toy. Whatever, you now know how I feel about children.

2. Something may get lit on fire. I'm just saying. If someone levels Corey Perry or Ryan Getzlaf or, really, anybody on that squad, I'm pretty sure I'll need to incorporate "Opa!" into the evening's festivities.

3a. Having the best experience of our lives, period, or...

3b. Being found face-down in a gutter in a pile of our own bile. It really is an all-or-nothing situation.

Wings shit the bed; lose 4-1

Well, tonights game was.....something. The same deal as usual; not enough effort, another injury, a goalie who played above his head; blah blah blah. Watching a Wings game should not make me want to drink heavily, but this did. A few points from the game:

1. You know how some games are really close, say 1-0, but the team that is ahead is completely dominating the flow, shots, and every single aspect of the game? We've all seen the Wings do that; close score, but the game never seems in doubt. Tonight was like that...

...except the exact opposite. Down 1-0, 2-0, it never really seemed like the Wings had a shot, did it?

2. Meech had two nice games in a row. Tonight, he remembered he was Derek Meech. It couldve been worse I guess. Good lord he got steamrolled several times.

3. -2, sure, but Kindl was pretty good, yes?

4. The second power play unit is still a huge shit show.

5. Its strange to say, with your goalie giving up four goals and all, but Jimmy played well tonight, yes? I like him approximately 200% more than I did a while ago when he could not grasp the concept of catching a puck/controlling a rebound. Sure, he could've stopped the second slow dribbler, but for the others, when Brett Lebda is slapping pucks at you and folks are shitting their pants, what else could he have done? Some nice saves tonight by Jimmy.

6. Actual quote by Babcock after the game, referencing Ericsson's injury: "I don't know what's going on, I don't have enough courage to go in and ask". Sort of sums up alot of things.

7. NOT good enough tonight.

8. Devils Saturday, Rangers Sunday. Pointess prediction - Sunday will be Marion Gaborik's annual "done for the year" injury. Just a hunch. Go Wings.