He Finishes What He Starts Wings’ Scotty Bowman Is Driven To Succeed, Devoted To His Family
Scotty Bowman loses it. Not his temper, his ring. He had been playing with it, rolling it around, and it flew out of his hand and rolled under an orange seat in the Tiger Stadium mezzanine. Next thing you know, the 61-year-old coach of the Red Wings — the man some call a genius, others call a dictator, but none, absolutely none, calls warm and fuzzy — is poking under the seats like a kid, amidst the peanut shells and hot dog wrappers, trying to get his ring back.
“It went over here,” he tells some fans, who quickly join the search. “You see it? . . .”
Hating New Jersey Isn’T That Much Fun
Philadelphia, we could hate. Philadelphia, we could make fun of. We could start with its soggy soft pretzels, move quickly to the “Rocky” movies, Legionnaires’ disease — then hit ’em with Mitch (Wild Thing) Williams, who served up the mushball that ended the World Series.
Pow! Philly would have been easy. Had the Flyers made the Stanley Cup finals, the war between Detroit and Philadelphia would have been a beautiful thing, two great blue-collar sports towns hurling insults up and down the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
A Few Good Men Wearied Of Wait
It’s a long walk to the Red Wings locker room at the farthest end of the arena tunnel, past the storage areas and the electrical wires, and past the benches where the players’ wives sit and wait for their husbands.
To The Finals! Kozlov’S Goal In Second Overtime Puts Red Wings In Stanley Cup Finals For First Tim
So this is how you make history. You wait until after the midnight hour, double overtime, when the voices are gone and even the sweat glands are exhausted, then send a young Russian — whose last name is easier to pronounce than his first — charging down the ice, have him wind up and fire and . . . bingo! With a game so exhausting it took two days to play, the Detroit Red Wings finally jumped the moat and are outside the castle, banging on the door with an octopus.
Knock, knock, Stanley.
Guess who’s coming for dinner?
TO THE FINALS!KOZLOV’S GOAL IN SECOND OVERTIME PUTS RED WINGS INSTANLEY CUP FINALS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1966
So this is how you make history. You wait until after the midnight hour, double overtime, when the voices are gone and even the sweat glands are exhausted, then send a young Russian — whose last name is easier to pronounce than his first — charging down...
Off Night By Wings Won’T Be Fatal, Right?
CHICAGO — As someone once said, if you’re going to lose a game by forgetting your style, getting slammed on the boards, misplacing your scoring touch, half-hearting your defense, and generally lacking the speed, strength and desire that brought you your success, you might as well do it when you’re up three games to none.
WILL CAPTAIN BE THERE WHEN SHIP COMES IN?
CHICAGO — When the moment comes, he should be out there. Whenever the Red Wings jump into that glorious pile at center ice, hugging and pounding each other’s helmets and yelling, “Finals, baby! We’re going to the finals!” — he...
It’S Standing Room Only For Spare Wings
CHICAGO — Here’s one good reason the Blackhawks do not deserve to win this playoff series. They build this gorgeous new arena, and they don’t have any seats for the Red Wings.
I’m not kidding. It was a few minutes before Game 3, and I happened to pass Mark Howe, Martin Lapointe and several other scratched Detroit players wandering up in the press box, dressed in suits and ties, their hands in their pockets, like kids waiting for their moms in church.
“What’s doing?” I said.
“No place for us,” Lapointe said, glumly.
COFFEY LOVES WHAT HE CAN’T CONTROL
His wife was giving birth. The miracle of life, unfolding before his eyes. He watched the doctors move quickly and the baby start to emerge. This was his first child, it was all so moving, the whole thing, really emotional. . . . Except that, well, Paul Coffey...Stay Connected
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