Blood Feud: Detroit Red Wings v. Colorado Avalanche: The Inside Story of Pro Sports' Nastiest and Best Rivalry of Its Era (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In Blood Feud, Colorado Avalanche beat writer Dater not only submits that there was no more heated rivalry in North American pro sports in the final years of the 20th century and the first few years of the next than Red Wings-Avalanche, but that there was none better played. No fewer than 20 players have or will eventually make it to the Hall of Fame; the best scorers were matched up against the best goalies; brilliant coaches could be found on both benches; and two of the league's smartest general managers ruthlessly tried to one-up each other at every NHL trade deadline. A rollicking story of a fierce, and often violent, rivalry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing; 1st Taylor Trade Publishing Ed edition (November 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589793196
• ISBN-13: 978-1589793194
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #355,119 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oh man, the glory days of the best rivarly ever!, February 11, 2007

By	Deke - See all my reviews

I can't believe there is only one review here! Oh well, now we have two.

I really enjoyed this book. If you are Wings or Avs fan you will eat this book up. I read it in a single evening. It was just too much fun. The author tells the complete story of the rivarly, but takes the reader away quite regularly to learn more about the personalities of the key people. Of course you want to get "back to the game," but it makes it that much more of a delayed gratification experience while exploring the quirks and anecdotes of some pretty unique characters (Bowman, Lemieux, McCarty, Ray, Vernon, Yzerman and many more).

If you are reading this and are not a hockey fan, you have to understand that the Avs - Wings rivarly was not only intense, it resulted in some of the best hockey ever played by two of the best teams in any sport over the past 10-15 years. The world may not see the likes of the two teams ever again (well, at least until Bettman retires).

The author is himself a Denver sports writer, but he is certainly no Homer! So Detroit fans, don't shy away. Everything is treated fair and square. Why he even states quite clearly that the rivalry ended with the Avs going out with a whimper in the 7-0 Motown Meltdown where Detroit chased demi God Patrick Roy out of goal with 6 unanswered goals in 1 1/2 periods. If a Denver based reporter calls it that way, then who am I, a life long Wings fan, to argue with that! :-)

The league and both teams have changed, and it is too bad. As a fan I never felt more tense before a Wings - Avs game. It was simply the best darn hockey you could ask for and you never knew what was going to happen. The epic battles between "villians" and "heros" just put the whole thing over the top. It was as good as it gets.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wingnut Residing in Denver, May 22, 2007

By	David E. Ford "Wingnut" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a 27 year Detroit native living the last 13 years in Denver, I was in the emotional vortex of this great rivalry. This book was a great read and brought back all the polar feelings from these incredible games and bloody fights. Mr. Dater retells this story in a bioptic fashion, delving into the important characters and the stories behind the story. He points out the strange ironic twists that festered into this Hockey hatred. His fact finding was thorough and impressive on both teams. His writing style is casual, easy to read and similar to Jon Krakauer's "Into thin Air." Anyone who suggests Avalanche bias is way off base. This Denver newspaper writer is arguably tougher on the Av's than the Wings with most negative ink heaped on Lemieux and Crawford and some not too flattering episodes by Patrick Roy. Luckily this was an easy read because I had a hard time putting it down after page 1. Sent a copy to my brother in Detroit and he was late to work the morning he cracked it open. He showed the book to his boss and his tardiness was quickly forgotten and his book quickly borrowed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun read, surprisingly unbiased, April 22, 2008

By	Benjamin Drenth "Wings Fan" (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a big Red Wings fan, and while this book looked interesting at first glance, I worried that it would be slanted in the Avs favor/perspective given that the author has followed and written about the Avs since they moved to Denver. Happily, this was not the case, as both sides were evenly covered.

The strength of the book is its coverage of the history of several of the major players on each side as well as a revealing look behind the scenes. I watched most of these hockey games, but I didn't know much of what was going on in the front offices and lockerooms.

My only complaint is that more of the on-ice action could have been added in, and I think that this would have fleshed out the entire book more completely. All in all, though, this is a fun read and is strongly recommended for all Wings and Avs fans.