Faygo remembers
I had occasion to purchase a Faygo Redpop yesterday. For some odd reason, it just jumped out at me from the convenience store beverage racks.
And it reminded me both of my Grandpa Piper, and of the video clip above.
Faygo is a Detroit brand, right up there with Vernors & Towne Club. Y’all who grew up in the Metro Detroit area know what I mean…
I spent a lot of time with my Grandpa Piper when I was a wee lad. I saw him every day during the school year during my K-2 years. He drove me & big sis to school (me to grade school, big sis to high school), and picked us up afterward. I spent lots of time with that wonderful man. In a great many ways, he was the perfect grandfather for a little dude like me (with absolutely no disrespect meant to my Papa (Grandpa Jones), who brought a different set of equally wonderful qualities to the table. It’s just that I’ve grown to more fully appreciate him in adulthood…).
One of the things I remember about Grandpa is directly related to Faygo and the video clip embedded above. Shortly after the ad campaign started, Grandpa wrote a letter to Faygo commending them on the song & the campaign. In response, Faygo sent him a 45-rpm record of the song in the ad/clip. I remember listening to that 45 and being awed that he actually got a response from Faygo. And I also recall just how tickled he was to have received it.
And, thanks to the wonders of Wikipedia & the Internets, I can enjoy it again today.
Cool…
-ghp
Honoring Yzerman
[Edited 070103, after the ceremony & game]
Steve Yzerman’s number 19 was retired by the Red Wings Tuesday night. It joined the 5 legendary numbers previously retired by the Red Wings (shown above — to be followed, I would wager by Nick Lidstrom’s number 5 within the decade…).
The coverage at the two Detroit newspapers (the News & Free Press) will be more than thorough, but an article over at ESPN.com really does a great job of illustrating why Steve Yzerman is held in such high esteem by the folks of Metro Detroit & Wings fans everywhere. The Captain wasn’t just a great hockey player - that alone wouldn’t generate the affection that he receives.
Nope, he’s just a great guy. Decent & honest. A good man.
That’s why he’s beloved.
Additional coverage can also be found at DetroitHockey.net and Detroit Red Wings.com
-ghp
Realignment expectations
Just last night I was thinking about the NHL, and more specifically about how it’s a travesty that the Red Wings are in the Western Conference even though Detroit is obviously in the Eastern time zone. I was also thinking about how so many hockey pundits wail & moan about how to "fix" the NHL, when one of the most obvious problems is that there are too many teams. So, as I drifted off to sleep, I thought about how I’d fix things via contraction & realignment.
Then, just a little bit ago, I visited ESPN.com and saw the article on how the NHL is considering another realignment, shifting from the current 6 division (3 in each conference) structure to a more sensible (IMO) 4 division (2 in each conf.) structure. You can read more about the proposal here. Among the stated goals of any realignment are to develop more consistent rivalries, minimize time-zone disruptions (thus benefiting television ratings), & decrease travel costs (fiscal and physical). I agree with these goals, and I would even take a few additional steps. More specifically:
- Eastern Conference - North Division: Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto
- Eastern Conference - South Division: Carolina, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Washington
- Western Conference - North Division: Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis
- Western Conference - South Division: Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Portland, San Jose, Vancouver (Note: Portland is relocated from Pittsburgh, as Pittsburgh seems bound & determined to drive the Penguins out of town…)
- 12 games - Rotating Home & Home vs. one division from the "other" conference (sort of like baseball rotates non-rival interleague play).
- 24 games - 2 Home & Home vs. the "other" division’s teams.
- 40 games - 4 Home & Home vs. the 5 divisional rivals.
- The top 4 teams from each division make the playoffs (i.e., 16 out of the 24 teams).
- Round 1 is divisional, with teams ranked 1 through 4 - this is where bitterness can be bred!
- Round 2 would see the 4 winners re-seeded based on regular season conference finish, thus minimizing divisional inequities & the chance for anti-climactic conference finals.
- Round 3 would be the normal conference finals.
- Round 4 would be the normal Stanley Cup Finals.
The combination of a regular season focus on playing the same teams (while maintaining a reasonable sense of geography, time-zone, and history), a hearkening back to the divisional playoffs structure that made rivalries in the 80’s so special, and contraction (which will strengthen the talent pool & retrench the league in more sustainable, hockey-friendly areas) would go a long way towards getting the NHL back to it’s rightful place as a major North American sport.
-ghp
2006 = 1968
1968 World Series
vs. 
2006 World Series
vs. 
Detroit Tigers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
It’s 1968 all over again. And while the Tigers don’t have a 30 game winner (Denny McLain) this go around, neither do the Cards have anyone of Bob Gibson’s stature. Tiger Stadium and the 1968-vintage Busch Stadium won’t house the games. I didn’t know how to walk during the ‘68 Series (I’m told I took my first steps right after the Tigers clinched Game 7), and now I’m an accomplished biped. 
So much is different…
Not the least of which is this: The Tigers won the ‘68 Series in 7 games — it won’t take them nearly that long to win it this time around!
The schedule:
Game 1 - Saturday 10/21 @ 6:30pm CDT - Comerica Park, Detroit
Game 2 - Sunday 10/22 @ 6:30pm CDT - Comerica Park, Detroit
Game 3 - Tuesday, 10/24 @ 7:00pm CDT - Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Game 4 - Wednesday, 10/25 @ 7:00pm CDT - Busch Stadium, St. Louis
* Game 5 - Thursday, 10/26 @ 7:00pm CDT - Busch Stadium, St. Louis
* Game 6 - Saturday 10/28 @ 6:30pm CDT - Comerica Park, Detroit
* Game 7 - Sunday 10/29 @ 6:30pm CST - Comerica Park, Detroit
* = if necessary
Here’s two more logos, just for fun…
1968 (I remember this logo from growing up watching the Tigers):
2006:
Go Tigers!
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