I like the Wings in 6.

For one thing, Detroit knows what it takes to win, and they have been in this position for couple of decades now. They have been through ups and downs. The Hawks have never experience postseason failure so far, and at some point, they are going to have to, and I feel Detroit could be that wall that Chicago has to go through, and Detroit has had good success against the Hawks this year. It's hard for me to believe that any sports team can make that easy jump to a championship after years of not making playoffs. This will be similar to Da Bulls going through some tough losses to the Pistons before they finally created a dynasty.

Second of all, I will take Osgood over Khabibulin. Osgood has won Cups, and he has gotten better as he has gotten older. He is a HOF goaltender. I know Hawks fans are salivating about Osgood being a good goaltender, but they better think again because the Wings don't go to the Cup or win the whole prize without Osgood's sterling performance last year.

Finally, Chicago's defense can be hot or cold. In Game 5, Chicago's defense was very good against Vancouver, but then in Game 6, they gave up that many goals in their win. They won't get away with it against Detroit.

I feel very good about the Wings' chances.

I forgot to mention one reason why I have supreme confidence on the Red Wings in this series, and it showed this afternoon. The Wings are a great offensive team, and I love their style of offense, and it showed in their victory over Da Hawks this afternoon at Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings forecheck very good, and they come at the opposition in waves when it comes to scoring. They know how to create four or five scoring chances in one shift, and the third period was a good example of that when they scored the two goals in that period, which gave them the win. They also know how to create turnovers, and the Hawks created many of them in this game today. They also do a great job of crashing into the net and score. It was a thing of beauty, and it's something all NHL teams should try to adapt like the Wild for example.

In the Hawks' series against the Flames and the Canucks, the Flames and the Canucks were too passive with the puck, and I thought they stood back too often. They played not to lose when they had the lead, and the Hawks took advantage of it. It's going to be a different scenario this time around with the Wings being the opposite against them.

The Wings did everything right in this victory, and it's something for Da Hawks and their fans to think about the rest of this series. I expect Detroit to be up by 2 after Tuesday's game.

The Red Wings are consensus favorites to win the Cup. The Blackhawks didn't play anywhere near their best yesterday. The final score reflects that.

Next.

Wait a minute, JB.

Just few days ago, you pick the Hawks to win the series, and now, I see you conceding. Heck even that dope, whitesox901, has yet to concede. Awesome! Priceless!

I will be happy to post this under my sig name on Motown Sports.

BTW, it would be nice if chisoxfanatic said something about the game. I tried talking to her, but I have yet to hear anything from her. Then, I tried to read her comments on the board, but knock on wood, she had nothing to say. I hope she is okay. *snicker*

I am sure though if Da Hawks win tomorrow, you and chisoxfanatic will be back with your own tricks. I guess where the wind turns, you two follow, eh.

Reading has never been a strong point for you, Timberwolf.

I made no prediction on the series, nor have I conceded anything.

So either you were drunk or you were putting on a show when you posted this insight.

"I like the Hawks" with the banana jumping"

That was written by you at WSI. Sure you did not post it here, but good thing I can read at WSI too, which is why I am calling you out.

http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=111847&page=2

Here is the link, and it's on post 17 in case you forgot.

Good thing I remember a lot, and yeah I could read. I don't become a sportswriter in a community paper without grasping my ability to read. For instance, I have to learn how to paint a good picture for a game story for a lede story, and for me to do that, I have to read sports stories for practice.

"The Red Wings are consensus favorites to win the Cup"

So what is it? You tell me you are not conceding, and then I read this statement. If you are not conceding, you don't write this period.

You continue to make yourself look foolish.

The title of the thread is "NHL Conference Finals -- Who ya like?" I like the Hawks. I do not like the Red Wings, Hurricanes or Penguins. I have liked the Hawks for my whole life. I offered no prediction on the series. That is quite clear.

The Red Wings are consensus favorites to win the Cup. That is not a concession. That is a true statement. Most all hockey experts are picking the Wings to win this series and go on to win the Stanley Cup.

You are really stepping out there by praising Detroit, Timberwolf. You're merely joining the chorus of people who think the Red Wings are great.

Of course, in your case, you spent the whole season calling the Hawks a fraud. You picked the Flames to sweep the Hawks "easily" in four games. You said the Hawks have "no goaltending," and were proven wrong as Khabibulin led the Hawks to two series wins. You called Vancouver "a legitimate Stanley Cup contender." You told Hawk fans that Vancouver's Game 3 victory "was a sign of things to come." The Canucks never won another game in that series.

In short, you have really nothing to add to any discussion. You picked the Wings only because they are playing against the Blackhawks, just as you picked the Flames and the Canucks before them.

If the Hawks are fortunate enough to upset Detroit, you will sing the praises of either Pittsburgh or Carolina and talk about how either is far superior to the Hawks. If the Hawks somehow shock the world and win the Cup, you will claim some league conspiracy to "help Chicago win" and place an asterisk next to the title.

That's your schtick. It's been your schtick for years. But that's all it is -- schtick.

I just came back from the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.

I did not see the game yet, but I recorded it. I will write my take on the game tomorrow, but right now, Detroit has to feel real good about their chances of winning this series. I expect Chicago to win Game 3 though, but anytime a home team can win the first two games or the two games at home after getting a split to start the series on the road, 98 percent of the time that team wins playoff games in baseball, football, and hockey.

The Wings did their job.

This should do it for the Blackhawks after yesterday's debacle.

I thought JB said it all in his take of yesterday's game at WSI.

I am surprised at the lack of effort by the Hawks at this juncture especially at home. At this time of the year, no playoff team can afford to not show up and go through the motions. If a team loses a series, you can definitely look back at a game which a team did not show up. That becomes the story. I thought the Bulls lost the series to Boston because they did not show up in Game 3 at home, and that played a role in losing the series not in Game 7. These little things add up.

You have to wonder if Huet has played his last game as a Blackhawk. He was so bad yesterday, and he rightfully was benched after that. How does he come out and just look flat? As a backup goaltender, you have to be mentally ready to play when situation arises.

Also, Quennville acted like a fool by blaming the refs. I am not sure where he was going. It's hard to blame the refs when the team did not show up for yesterday's game. Maybe Chicago got screwed in one of the calls, but really that was not the reason why they lost the game.

The Hawks have ways to go until they mature in being a championship team. One of the things they need to learn is they can't afford to take any game off in the playoffs, and that's why Detroit is so successful because they never ever take a game off.

Hawks just didn't show up yesterday. They have no one to blame but themselves.

I'll make some additional remarks after I get the newspaper done tonight.