How Spurs, Wings set standard
In the mix: A superstar player, great scouting and tradition
The Detroit Red Wings and the San Antonio Spurs play different sports in different leagues on different surfaces in different states, but make no mistake: They’re the same team.
Or, more to the point, they’re the same organization — gold standards of their respective leagues for a generation. The Red Wings are in the playoffs for a 22nd consecutive season, the Spurs for a 16th. Each has won four league championships over that span. And each is in contention for a fifth this postseason.
The Red Wings will play Game 7 at the Chicago Blackhawks today (8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network), with the winner advancing to the Western Conference finals. The Spurs will play in the NBA Finals against the winner of the Miami Heat-Indiana Pacers series starting June 6.
Bill Polian, who was general manager of the Indianapolis Colts when they made the NFL playoffs in 12 of 14 seasons, compares the Red Wings and Spurs to the O’Malley Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and Steinbrenner New York Yankees, baseball franchises that remained competitive year after year after year.
“That’s certainly not an accident,” Polian says. “They’re what I call team-centric. It’s about the team. Yes, professional sports are a business, and you have to have a good building that generates revenue. But ultimately those franchises are about the product on the field or on the ice or on the court. It’s about winning.
“I once heard Peter O’Malley say, and I’m paraphrasing here, it’s not realistic to believe that you’re going to win every year but you should approach every year that way. And that’s what I think these franchises have in common. They have ownership that is committed and lets the people who are hired to do the job do their jobs and then tremendously competent people at the helm who get that job done.”
The Red Wings’ playoff streak is the longest in major North American pro sports. The cheering hasn’t