FanNation - The Republic of Sport

and he's got 2 more days to heal up. Expect to see this guy in the lineup Saturday night...I will be very surprised if he's not

Franzen is on a tear... come back soon, but not too soon!

We can sure use him against the Pens

i believe according to doctors a player must be symptom free for a full week before they can clear him for practice. there's a slight possiblity he'd be ready for game 1 but i think its really gonna end up being game 2..possibly game 3. either way we could sure use him on the ice for the finals.

No panic yet so why rush him? Not that there is going to be a panic..

DET in 6...tough to call though.

Be very careful! It would be nice to have Franzen back, but not at the expense of his career and the future of the Wings.

I expect Detroit, with their experience to win, but, a very young Pens team could skate rings around a much older defense. But I think Detroit has way too much offense for Pittsburg, Wings in six. Get better Johan.

Pens in 5.

Big Wings fan...but I would rather see them fail in the finals than hurt the career of Franzen. He's just come into his own this year and I'd like to have him around for quite a while.

Wings in 6. I hope they let him back only when he is ready! Pens will win just not this year.

PS Why even in a hockey crazy town like Detroit do we have to watch VS? Bad move by the NHL -Bettman. Your most marketable team (Wings) with the hottest team (Pens) and no one can see the first two games!

Who doesn't have VS.? Are you saying that VS. is not offered on cable in Detroit? Are you saying that the people in Detroit are too poor to have cable?

I think that VS. has done a yeoman's job in televising the playoffs so far. It is even better in Hi-def. Their announcing crew for games is not very good, but the coverage has been decent.

If Bettman truly wanted to save this sport, he would ensure that all games are televised in Hi-def. It is almost like being there.

It's not just the fact that VS is a horrible channel. There has been little commentary about the Cup finals on ESPN or SI this past week. With one of the most intriguing finals in recent memory barely anyone is talking about it. All anyone is interested in is the NBA playoffs and MLB umps blowing calls.

ESPN showed the final between Man U and Chelsea yesterday. What a yawn fest, followed by a Chelsea guy choking away a victory. ESPN continues to promote soccer, when hockey is a much faster, better game.

It just goes to show that Bettman is a moron and should be removed. The guy who should be in charge of marketing the NHL is Mark Cuban. He would do it right.

Appleseed...agree with you on that one. I'm a Pens fan but why rush an injury that could lead to a career ender.

IRISH99....makes you wonder WHO the NHL is trying to pull in for viewership! Yeah, let's remove half the viewing audience and make a deal with Versus. WHO is benefitting from this? Not the TRUE FAN BASE! Where's the money going? They want to increase viewership and pull in new viewers then they pull a stunt like this! Versus also had "Subject to blackout". THAT made sense especially when play-offs are ALL SOLD OUT.

Can someone enlighten me here.......

cjewart....your mouth to God's ear.......

Pens in 6......Wings choke again.....Osgood returns to old self.

These are the 16...count em...16 reasons why the Pens WILL NOTwin the Stanley Cup!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlw6PvaR6KM

Versus paid the league to show the games. NBC doesn't. It splits the money it and the NHL generates from going out and trying to sell advertising. That's why the games are on Versus in the U.S. No one else wants to pay for them. But for my money, it's the Center Ice package and the NHL network on cable, and internet radio for the rest. ESPN? Don't need it and don't want it.