Detroit Free Press

Let's start with the one you haven't heard of. His name is Valtteri Filppula, although most call him "Fil," some call him "Val," his nickname is listed as "Flip," and I've heard him referred to as "the Finn"- since he is the first true Finnish player to play for the Red Wings. Whatever you call him, he is a surprise. He just turned 23 and has one of those soft, young hockey faces that you see up close - dirty-blond hair, deep-set eyes, few whiskers - and you think, in another life, this kid is on Tiger Beat magazine and not scoring two goals in his first two NHL playoff games.

It's a busy week. We've got to fire a lot of people.We've got to fire any radio host who has offended gays, ...

Steve Yzerman wore a charcoal suit and a dark tie and he sat way up in the highest row in Joe Louis Arena. From here, you'll note, it is impossible to cast a shadow."It's their team now," he said.And down on the ice, indeed it was. The Red Wings began their real season Thursday night, the only one anyone around here cares about, the playoffs, the opener, and if you haven't watched them since Yzerman was wearing the "C," well, they looked different.

The Duke players made their statements and the cameras cut away. Too bad. That's when the real story started.I'd like the cameras to keep rolling. I'd like them to follow Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans after the crowds disappear, in the months and years ahead.I'd like to follow them when they apply for a job, and the company interviewing them has a staff meeting and someone in that staff meeting says, "Maybe we should stay away from this guy. After all, that whole rape thing …"

Class president?"No, never," Nicklas Lidstrom says.Student council leader?"We didn't have that."Yearbook editor? Head Boy scout?"I never went to the Boy Scouts."Did they even do Boy Scouts in Sweden?"Oh, yeah. But I was mostly playing hockey and soccer."I am trying to find the leadership positions on Nick Lidstrom's resume. After all, he is the captain of the Red Wings now - the first new captain after two decades of Steve Yzerman. Surely, he has been groomed from his past.Hall monitor, I ask?"Nope."

The word was "hoodlum" or, depending on when you grew up, "mobster" or "gangster" or "crook." It was uttered in ...

Most of us get into this business because of someone else. We interview at a newspaper with an older, wiser ...

It was lunchtime in Detroit when the fireworks ignited. They shot into the air and, in their explosive shower, ...