Luke Waltons Forehead presented by the Sports Dude.

Dear Mr. Holland,

Good afternoon sir, my name is the sports dude and I am an avid Detroit sports fan and a card carrying member of the Detroit Sports Blogger community. What is a sports blogger you may ask? Well, a blog is an online journal if you will that allows people, like me, to share their personal views and thoughts with anyone out there who may want to read and listen. It also allows people to add comments and make an almost interactive world, if you will, between the blogger themselves and any readers they may entertain. Some blogs are humor based, others center on politics to cooking to just plain nonsense. In my case, and a select few others out there, we choose to blog about the world of sports and that is what I am writing to you about today. Your sport Mr. Holland, that of hockey, is what I would like to discuss and I have an interesting suggestion for you as you prepare to return to the NHL for the following season.

As you are well aware, Mr. Holland, there was this little nasty “L” word that cost the NHL an entire season, that word being lockout. I am not a fan of the sport of hockey, I was not before the lockout and am quite sure once you return that my opinion of the sport will not change – I just don’t like it! However, many of my friends and relatives dearly love hockey and are eagerly awaiting its triumphant return. However, some of them, even though they are so called “die hard” fans are a little leery of the game and have lost some respect for it as a whole. So, standing around the coffee pot this morning, we don’t have a water cooler here at work, I was talking to a fellow employee who is yearning for hockey, and came up with a novel idea to help fill the stands once again at the Joe. It is a gimmick, if you will, but I believe it will work and I would like you to simply hear me out.

In order to help fill the stands, you need a familiar face, a link to the past of the glory days when your Wings were winning Cups left and right and were the talk of the town here in Detroit. Yes, I am aware that the people here view this as “Hockeytown”, but many of them are expecting the 90 million dollar roster to be intact once this gets started again. We all know the league got its salary cap therefore that will not be possible, so you need another familiar face to link this new era of hockey to the last. He currently just came back to your organization as a consultant, so why not put him on the bench for one more year? That’s right; it is none other than the great Scotty Bowman, the last coach to win you a Stanley Cup.

Think about it Mr. Holland, it makes perfect sense. Beg with him, plead with him, and give him as much money as humanly possible. Put him on the bench for one year and instantly you have that link between old and new again. Explain to him it’s just for one season, just to help ease the pain of the fans and to help them forget. In fact you could even hire your future coach, rumor has it you are interested in some Babcock guy, to be Bowman’s lead associate coach. That way your next coach is already on the bench for an entire year, learning the system and familiarizing him with your players. Bowman comes back for one token, gimmick like season to help bring the fans back, goes back into retirement and the future coach is already there set to take the reigns. Brilliant you say? I thought so, that is why I decided to write you this letter.

Look, you are going to need something and I think that is a great way to help bring the people back. Everyone around here is used to the star power, the pricey roster filled with future hall of famers. But those days are now gone, the salary cap will keep Mr. Illitch in check, and the free spending ways of the past are history. But bringing back Bowman, even for one season, will be that hall of fame coach, the link to Stanley Cup glory that may make it all easier in the end.

Well, that is all I got really Mr. Holland at this time. I appreciate you actually reading this letter and taking the time to humor a silly little blogger like myself. I hope the upcoming season is successful for you and the organization, many people in the town (myself NOT included!) have missed hockey and anticipate its return. I do have one last favor to ask of you and then I will let you get on your way. Now that hockey is back, could you please ask Mr. Illitch not to forget the Tigers? He always seems to treat them like the ugly step child and I’ll take baseball over hockey any day. Remember, before this was “Hockeytown” it was “Tigertown”, remind Mr. Illitch of that.

Sincerely,
The Sports Dude.