He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
With the Red Wings positioning themselves for the playoffs, their are some other teams playing for the chance to be the best in their division. The 2010 Frozen Four hit town yesterday with four teams vying for top billing. They were RIT, Wisconsin, Miami (OH) and Boston College. I'm originally from Rochester, NY so it was exciting to see my old hometown team in the Frozen Four for the first time in their third year of elligibility. They upset number 2 seeded Denver and New Hampshire to reach this spot and while their home town fans dressed in bright orange were the loudest at the tournament, Wiosconsin's strong play and a series of 2nd period penalties brought RIT down. Things started off fast for Wisconsin as John Mitchell scored the first goal of the game at the 1:27 mark before most people even started paying attention. Eight minutes later, Derek Stepan deflected in a shot and put Wisconsin up 2-0. It was the second period when RIT really got into trouble with a series of penalties which kept Wisconsin on the power play for almost 10 minutes including 2 goals on 5-on-3 situations. By the 15:00 mark of the 2nd period, RIT was down 6-0 and being outshot 24-9. RIT's lone goal came on a power play with 28 seconds left in the 2nd and that was the only time they got a shot past the Wisconsin goalie. Wisconsin ended the 3rd period with two goals within 30 secs for a final of 8-1 and the first to clinch a spot in Saturday's finals game. It was nice seeing my team and hopefully they will be able to make it back in the near future.
Going into the next game, CCHA's own Miami (OH) which was beat up by Michigan during the CCHA Finals got revenge by beating them on their way to the Frozen Four against Boston College. I was rooting for Miami because 1) they have never won the Frozen Four and 2) they are a MAC school (I went to Bowling Green). The game strated slowly with the only goal in the first period being a power play goal by Ben Smith of Boston College giving BC a 1-0 lead. Things went south quickly for Miami in the second with Boston College scoring twice in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the game on goals by Jimmy Hayes and Joe Whitney. The third started with Joe Hartman of Miami making a backhanded shot at the 5:19 mark and the idea that they could get back in this game. However, at the 10:10 mark, Cam Atkinson got his own backhanded goal followed by 2 more Boston College scores in the next 2 minutes with a final clincher as Ben Smith scored his second goal of the game at the 16:21 mark advancing Boston College to the finals with Wiscionsin with a 7-1 win over Miami (OH). Ben is the only player for both games to score 2 goals in what became two lopsided games. The game did set a World Indoor Hockey attendence record with 34, 954 fans attending the games.
There are still tickets available for the Finals which begins at 7PM on Staurday April 10th. I recommend sitting up away from the ice since lower seats do have trouble seeing the ice but sight lines higher up are pretty good for what amounts to hockey in a football stadium. There are free team practices at 9:30AM and 10:45AM and College Hockey Fan Fest events going on at the Detroit Wintergarden which are fun for the kids. That goes on from 10AM-5PM. I hope to see some of you out there as they try to go for another attendence record. I'll also point out that the electricity for the event is 100 renewable energy courtesy of the DTE Energy's GreenCurrents program. So all the electricty used to keep the weather chilly inside so the ice won't melt is made right here in Michigan through wind, biomass and other environment friendly sources which is esp important since Earth Day is right around the corner.
The weather is a bit chilly outside so if you are looking for something to do indoors like a movie, I've got a couple of films for you. Let's start with "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" based on the novel by the late Swedish author and journalist Steig Larsson. The novel itself features a
middle-aged investigative journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), who has recently lost a libel case against the corrupt Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström (Stefan Sauk) and is sentenced to three months in prison. Prior to his serving his sentence, Blomkvist is hired by Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), a wealthy former CEO who wants Blomkvist to solve the thrity-seven year old disappearance of his great-niece when she was only sixteen. Vanger is convinced that the girl was killed by someone in his family but keeps running into dead ends until he is ultimately helped in his search by Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), a young punk computer genius who is currently in the system for a past bit of juvenile behavior. The two form a nice odd couple of styles who find they compliment each other on the way to uncovering the past and also the uncobering of a serial killer who might still be on the loose after all these years. What is supposed to be the first movie based on Larsson's millennium series, we have a nice thriller. It might lose it's pace every once in awhile but it is still captivating. I was esp drawn to the character of Lisbeth who is at one time vulnerable and yet can still be brutal when standing up aganist injustice. She is a character that knows her strengths and weeknesses and can use them accordingly to get where she needs to be. The black make-up, spiked dog collar and piercings also look sexy IMHO. I definately recommend taking a chance on the Swedish thriller when it plays the Main Art Theatre this week. My grade is a B+.
Cherie Currie was in town this past week with the showing of her new movie at the Magic Bag and book release at Borders. If you missed her, tune into my show Wild At Heart on Saturday morning between 8-10AM (WXOU 88.3FM or www.wxou.org) for your chance to catch up with Cherie and hear about a possible of a few tour dates, movie info and learn about her chainsaw art. The movie "Runaways" about the hard rocking girls band which spawned the careers of Joan Jett, Lita Ford and Micki Steele (Bangles). The movie itself follows the friendship between Cherie (Dakota Fanning) and Joan (Kristen Stewart), as they rise from rebellious LA street kids to rock stars of the now legendary group that paved the way for future generations of girl bands such as the Go-Go's. We see how the influence of rock impresario Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) turns turns the group into an outrageous success and a family of misfits aty the same time which eventually leads to the break-up of the band. During my interview, Cherie admits that if they had finished one more album they might have broke it big but the constant touring and recording without a break paired with drugs and other female issues put too much of a strain on the band. The big disappointment for me is the fact that drummer Sandy West and Lita Ford are left on the sidelines as the movie turns into the Cherie-Joan movie more than just the Runaways. The film misses it's chances to really delve into the heart of what makes a band like this tick and explode but for me, it is nice to see them get their due on the big screen and hopefully inspire another generation of girl rockers. All the girls really look and sound like their counterparts. Dakota Fanning surprised me as a sexpot actress here and Kristen really brings out the rocker in Joan. See this movie just because of the music it represents. Expect too much from the plot and disappointment will follow. My grade is a B-.
On Monday, I will review "Date Night" starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey and a few other things. Getting ready to head out for Johnny Winter so rock on everybody!