I just wanted to make sure folks could find it without going through 50-some comments. And thanks for all the action by the way. I may not always agree with you but it's always very interesting. I say that in the best interest of not getting my porchlight shot out.
Jungle Monkey, obviously you haven't been reading me for very long. I was the first one, even before training camp, to comment that this team needed more size and more scoring and that they probably brought back too many people. There have been plenty of times I've gotten on them, but I don't just come out and say what a bunch blah, blah, blah. Read Monday's column. Did you think that was ripping in the players too much? I was jumping on them but I did it in an informative way so maybe the message gets across more. I get my message across without calling people names (most of the time. LOL) and ranting and raving. You start doing that and people just tune you out. I try desperately to be fair and honest with everyone, owners, officials, league presidents, players, etc. Kent Hormann always tells me I use velvet gloves, but the uppercut still lands with the same force.
As for the Frankes, you guys have no idea what they go through because they have been very successful in keeping their personal lives private. I tell you what, I'd have sold this team 10 years ago and walked about with the money because the grief they get is unreal. Scoop, didn't you talk a week or so ago about sitting next to them at a Kalamazoo game? They literally die with this team because they want to win so badly. Believe it or not, they are just as passionate if not more than you guys are, though you'll probably never believe it. The only person I've ever met who cares about it more is Chaser.
Maybe I just see the whole picture, and like I've said before, I'm not a fan. Looking what got moved over the past two days, I wouldn't have made any deals either. Sometimes you can't always react to what other teams do, either. Seriously study what Littlejohn's numbers are in the playoffs. I happen to think he was the Komets' best player last year in that first-round series -- playing for Missouri! Stewart ate his lunch, so what would Galbraith do? Remember the two games he cost the River Otters with dumb penalties? Didn't anybody ever wonder why DAB didn't play the last few games of the Muskegon series two years ago? Or why the Komets let a potential 50-goal scorer go? Do you really think they are that stupid?
Consider that maybe the reasons they said they didn't make a trade might be what they truly believe. Is it just possible they might be right?
You know, last year getting beat up was a serious problem, and I'm the one who wrote about it constantly. Don't you think Galbraith and then Jorde are an attempt to counter that? Do you believe Guy is going to be intimidated or affected by any of that stuff? How about Hukalo or Luciuk, who is by the way a fantastic playoff player? Those are four guys they didn't have last year who are better than what they had. Remember, they didn't have Vene, either. Doesn't anyone remember how great Neumie and Guinn are in the playoffs? This team is quite a bit bigger than last year's playoff squad.
What it really comes down to is how badly the veterans want to win, which is what it always comes down to. I think they want to win, and because this team has gone through so much adversity, it might be better prepared for the playoffs than most people think. There is much better chemistry on this team than last year's team. And for those who say chemistry doesn't amount to much, doesn't anybody remember 1991 or 1993 or even 1994 or 2000? Did those teams even come close to matching up individually in terms of talent? The 2000 team went through 50-some players that year and still won three rounds in the playoffs, losing only because they lost three overtime games to eventual cup winner Quad City. That was all heart.
OK, I'm done ranting. See I did it without calling names or cursing or raving too much. That's what I rely on you guys for. Now it's time for my medicine.
