Zetterberg Paired Up With Brunner In Swiss Hockey League

 

Since the NHL is more than likely not going to have a season, Detroit Red Wing Henrik Zetterberg has been playing overseas for a team called Zug in Switzerland. Over the summer, the Red Wings signed a player named Damien Brunner, with the intention of playing him alongside good old Hank. Recently, Zetterberg called Brunner from Switzerland and asked him to come play for Zug during the lockout, and Brunner went. "Detroit said they were going to put (Brunner) on a line with Zetterberg, so I got to do it first," Zug coach Doug Shedden said Wednesday in an interview. "I texted (Red Wings GM) Kenny Holland and said: 'It works."'

Clearly it has been working for the Swiss team because Zetterberg is putting up crazy numbers. He has seven goals and eleven points in just five games, and is currently sitting three points back from first place in points. Ahead of him are second place Evgeni Malkin with 12 points and first place Alex Radulov with 14 points.

 "A number of NHL teams showed interest in the 26-year-old Brunner over the summer after he was named Swiss league MVP last season. Highly skilled and lightning fast — "He ends up getting a lot of breakaways," said Shedden — he signed with the Red Wings on July 1 and stayed at Zetterberg's house when he visited Detroit"(Johnston, 2012)

Hopefully we will get the chance to see them play together here in Detroit soon enough. The lockout needs to end and we need to see some Datsyukian deaks and people being Kronwalled. The re-runs on FSN are getting old now. Until then, best of luck to Z and Brunner while playing overseas.

(Sources and photos: Chris Johnston, Montreal Gazette)

Tigers Lose World Series In 4 Straight

Your Detroit Tigers were out and about on Sunday for what was game 4 of the World Series. This was probably the best game that they had out of the 4 they played against the Giants. Now listen up. I am not one for bashing any hometown heroes, but I am going to bring it up because you probably were thinking it last night and throughout the entire World Series. Where was Prince Fielder? Last time I checked, he doesn't get paid by the strikeout. The guy is one of the highest paid players in the MLB and you, me, and the rest of the Tigers players and staff, had to be thinking the same thing. He just didn't show up at all in the games. As a matter of fact, check out his stats as provided by ESPN.com below. STATS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB AVG Game 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Last seven days 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .071 October 52 2 9 0 0 1 3 3 .173   As always you are going to have someone who points the finger at another player and goes to blame the loss on them instead. As this may be the case, Fielder seemed to stand out the most as the one to put the majority of the blame on. If you are still undecided at this point, you can form your own opinions on who is to blame by clicking on that link.   On a more positive note, I would like to thank the Detroit Tigers for a great season overall. They made a hell of a run to even make the playoffs, let alone make it to the World Series. Sweeping the Yankees is no easy task, regardless of how A-Rod and Granderson were playing and the injury that Jeter suffered as well was just icing on the cake. So raise your glass and tip your hats to your Detroit Tigers on a well-played season! Bless you boys.

Buh Bye Burleson

What are your Detroit Lions going to do without Nate Burleson out there on offense? That's right, as you may already know, he was injured in the previous game against the Chicago Bears, in which he suffered a broken leg. Burleson will be out for the remainder of the season and as of now,  Titus Young and Ryan Broyles will step up as temporary replacements. However, the Lions are looking to sign a replacement for Burleson as soon as today. According to freep.com, they are looking at three possible options which include "Legedu Naanee, who was released by the Miami Dolphins earlier this month, former Ohio State standout Brian Robiskie, and Deon Butler, who spent the last three years with Sunday's opponent, the Seattle Seahawks..."Fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter who they sign, they still need to step up their game a bit. Yes, the injuries they are facing could be troublesome, but if they play like we know they can, playoffs should still be within reach.

Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson suffered a broken leg while making this catch  Monday night in Chicago. / Dennis Wierzbicki/U.S. PRESSWIRE (taken from freep.com)

Will the NHL Make A Comeback?

 If you're a true hockey fan you are probably just as upset about not having an NHL season as I am. After everything that has happened between Bettman and Don Fehr and the negotiating process for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), you would think that the 50/50 offer would have been accepted with the season beginning on November 2. Sorry to disappoint you all, but it's not happening.

In case you don't follow the NHL very closely, Gary Bettman is the NHL commissioner and on Tuesday, he made an offer to the NHLPA (National Hockey League Players Association) which Don Fehr is currently representing in the lockout. The offer was to split hockey related revenue 50/50 between the players and the owners which was one of the changes to be made along with a few other contractual clauses. For more in-depth information on what happened Tuesday be sure to check out this article.

The video shown above was found on NHLPA.com, and is a meeting that Don Fehr had with the media following the CBA negotiations on October 18th.

Simply put, hockey fans are losing interest slowly but surely. The longer it takes to get a deal done, the less people are interested in the sport. Those who were becoming interested in the game of hockey, have suddenly lost interest. I recently read an article (forgive me for not remembering where I saw it) that mentioned that because of the lockout, hockey has decreased in popularity to the point where basketball is just as popular now. I don't know about you, but that makes me sick. Bettman and the NHLPA need to get the show on the road and come to an agreement on the terms and conditions of the new CBA, otherwise the time and money spent negotiating will be useless. Players will not return from overseas, fans will be gone, and their won't be much hockey related revenue to split anyways.

Calling All Sports Fans!

Thanks for visiting my blog! If you are any type of Detroit sports fan like I am, be sure to subscribe to my blog and check back weekly for the latest in sports updates and other news around the leagues. I do my best to stay on top of the latest developments for the Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, not so much for the Pistons but hey, who does?  Be sure to add me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter for the most up to date sports talk there is @SportsTalkDet

So let's dive into some sports talk right now. How about them Tigers? Three games up on the Yankees after last night. Do you think they are going to close it out tonight for the sweep to move on to the World Series? Speaking of the World Series, if you are looking to score some tickets, they are ranging anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand. Let's just hope Valverde doesn't close tonight and we should be okay. Eat em' up Tigers, eat em' up!