Somewhere within the drama of the 0-16 Lions, the Pistons great debacle of trading Chauncey and the Tigers squad who is on the verge of something great fly those Wings, who just never seem to come down.

As I sat watching Sportscenter the other night I caught my local sports anchor so casually say "Detroit wins again" it came out so easy, rolled off his tongue and seemed like something that was expected from the time the puck hit the ice at the beginning of the game.

You see, ever since Scotty Bowman took control of the reins and groomed a young Steve Yzerman into one of the greatest players to lace 'em up. Detroit really hasn't faltered, in fact, they may just have gotten better and suffered for it. 

With a team that wins so frequently and is so often in the final four once the playoffs begin to wrap up, you'd think that picking so late in the first round would eventually catch up with them because of the lack of "star players" picked around there.

Funny thing is, they don't pick their "star players" in the first round, in fact, they usually wait until the 210th pick to take a guy like Henrik Zetterberg who just so happens to be considered one of the best two way players in the game.

In '94, waiting until 257 got them a guy named Tomas Holmstrom. No. 171 in '98 got them Pavel Datsyuk. And arguably the second best defenceman ever was surprisingly taken in '89 at 53rd overall. And to think Detroit was bashed for taking him that early.

Now I am not trying to sound like a genius for bringing this widely known knowledge to the table. It is well known that Detroit has the best management, scouts and ownership in hockey. 

However, what isn't so commonly known around hockey circles is that Detroit has some of the best NHL-ready AHL players out there. Ville Leino was told that he was an NHL ready player and would play on any teams top 2 lines.

Problem was, Detroit was too good to keep him there. Jan Mursak and Darren Helm would make 29 NHL teams this year, but, once again, sorry kids. Detroit's too good. But once again, if this is the case, where is the attention? The fanfare? The media attention?

Just to clarify, when I say they get no attention, I am referring to the fact that San Jose should begin to plan their Stanley Cup parade. Boston should just buy plane tickets to San Jose to play them in the finals and Calgary, Chicago and Washington follow those two listed teams as top 5 in the NHL. 

But once again I post the question, What about Detroit?

My philosophy is this: They are too good for their own well being. 

Seeing Detroit win is like watching the sun come up in the morning. It's great to see but if you sleep through it, it is just common knowledge that it happened. 

Detroit simply wins way too often and makes it look way to easy. Watching the Detroit powerplay is magical, their penalty kill is perfect, 5 on 5 play makes some wonder why the other team skates out onto the ice. They have everything you'd ever want and then a whole lot more. 

So to sum up the question I asked earlier, a whole lot easily...The answer is: they are simply too boring.

One of the greatest things about the NHL is that each and every night you walk into NHL arenas not having a clue who is going to win.

In the NBA I can tell you who is winning every night. A reason why Proline (Canadian gambling tool) doesn't allow you to bet on their games.

The NFL, although filled with parity, still has become far too easy to guess who is going to win. And the PGA has a guy named Tiger who wins, and if he doesn't people are wondering when he is coming out of his drought.

The point is, although the Red Wings end up with the same amount of wins as the rest of the top teams and don't always win Presidents trophy. They just have this sense of expectation that they are going to win. 

Also, 85 percent of the time they do win, they make it look so simple that people are not intrigued and to the average hockey fan, it isn't exciting.

A few weeks ago, the Nashville Predators who at the time had the longest streak in the NHL without allowing a power play goal and who also boast the fifth best penalty kill, welcomed Detroit into town.

Detroit finished the game 5-of-6 on the PP. And don't let that fool you, because Nashville took a penalty at the end of the game giving Detroit a three-second PP which not even they can score on.

And this is not even the end of the story. I mentioned management earlier on, but what I didn't mention was the fact that they have four people working for them who could, for the most part, call any team and ask for the job as GM and have it before they sat down for dinner.

Jim Nill, Steve Yzerman, Jim Develanno, and their actual GM, Ken Holland, are amongst the best in the business. 

Also, up until this summer, a guy by the name of Scotty Bowman was in there as well. 

Point is, top to bottom excellence is inscribed in the organization. 

This excellence also carries a respect level and a certain degree of honour playing for this team.

Their best player is Nik Lidstrom, who not only is the captain and best defenceman is the teams highest-paid player. No player, regardless of name, ever surpasses that salary. 

You see, the Red Wings have a policy and that is, if you want to play for us or stay, you are making less then Mr. Lidstrom. Never was this policy more obvious than when a guy named Marian Hossa called. Did the policy go out the window? Nope!

He had been offered $9 million a year for nine years by Edmonton. Sure deal right? Uhh...

After having just been beat out by Detroit will a member of Pittsburgh for the Stanley cup. Marian Hossa told his agent to give them a call and see what they could do.

Detroit came back with a 1 year, $7.45 million contract, eight years and $73.55 million  less then what he could have had. 

Point is, Detroit is a class act top to bottom. They are respected and demand respect. If a player doesn't like it, well they will be just fine without him. Whether they draft someone 211th or call that lucky free agent who would pay to play for them, they aren't leaving the top anytime soon.

So before you turn away from the next Red Wings game five minutes into the second period of a 4-0 Detroit game, stop and continue watching the beauty and grace of the game. 

The powerplay that cannot be stopped. 

The 5 on 5 play that seems like keep away.

Or the defensive game plan that gives a guy like Ty Conklin the chance to look like a Hall of Famer.

Remember that this is the same team that re-signed Darren McCarty for awhile for the main purpose of putting some money in his pocket after bankruptcy and to get his life and marriage back on track. 

They are the same team that pushed an aging Steve Yzerman to keep playing even when he had no business being on their team from a skill aspect. 

Detroit hockey may be meaningless anytime after December as they usually don't play a meaningful game after that. And furthermore, it may be meaningless after the second period. But it is hockey, it is class, and it is done with respect and grace. 

To me, that sounds like hockey.

Neely. Out.