I’m looking forward to today’s show to see if fans of the Wings are starting to sweat after last night’s OT thriller. I’m guessing only about a quarter of our callers are starting to show any real concern that the Wings may lose this series. I think it’s interesting how little faith our listeners have had in the Pistons for the past 3 years after a loss while the faith in the Red Wings has been unwavering and almost Michigan Football-like. Last night’s game, while it didn’t turn out as we had hoped, will be remembered as a classic in this town for decades to come. Hopefully we can look at last night’s loss as just a bump in the road on the way to an eventual victory parade.

While Gary Bettman continues to prove his ineptness through his unique vision of Stanley Cup Finals scheduling and player/media availability, some interesting numbers are coming out regarding ratings.

 The NHL’s ratings for Game 3 on NBC was up over 250% compared to last year’s Game 3 OTT/ANA Cup and the numbers look great for the VS network as well. It’s easy to write off the ratings success to Sidney Crosby and the enormous popularity of the Wings but if you look even deeper, Detroit may be at the forefront of a growing trend. The Pistons scored a 18.2 rating locally vs the Pistons’ 16.2 rating on Wednesday night. Personally, I would love to see an NBA Eastern Conf Finals game on ESPN go head to head with a Stanley Cup Finals game on ESPN2 to get a good look at where the national attention is. Of course the NBA ratings would win but my gut feeling is that the NHL would be pleasantly surprised at how much ground they have gained since the lockout. People want to watch again (or begin watching), I can only hope that Gary Bettman can take whatever momentum he can out of this post-season and parlay it into a TV deal that all sports fans deserve.

I know it sounds crazy but I think there are a lot of Red Wing fans who are happy that the Wings lost Game 3 to the Penguins. They’re happy because now they think the Wings will be able to close out the series in game five which will be played in Detroit. A lot of these fans have gone as far as thinking the Wings loss the game on purpose!

I’m not gonna lie I would love to see the Wings win it on their home ice but to be happy they loss or to even suggest that they threw the game is insane. If you have a chance to sweep a team you do it no matter where your playing. A championship is a championship. When people look back they don’t care how many games it took or where it was played. All that matters is that you won it. So what happens if they lose game 4 or 5, should they “throw” another game so they can win it in seven at home? I don’t think so. So for those of you who are glad the Wings loss and now have a chance to win the Stanley Cup on home ice shame on you…man I can’t wait for game 5!