Travels And Aviation NEWS: As Red Wing Todd Bertuzzi reaches 1,000 games, his career is in revival

1.

There was a time not long ago that Todd Bertuzzi didn't think he'd get to where he is today. His career was in disarray. His body was battered. Then he landed in Detroit and found out how much fun hockey still is. That has led him to this afternoon, when he's poised to play in his 1,000th career game when the Red Wings face the Wild in St. Paul, Minn.

Recognizing the significance, the Wings invited his wife, Julie, their daughter, Jaden, and son, Tag, along for the trip.

"I think that's pretty special, having them there," Bertuzzi said. "I'm pretty fortunate to be playing that many games. I've played on some good teams and with some good players, but I'm pretty proud and excited to be playing in a Detroit uniform."

Bertuzzi has found his old scoring touch, too, with six goals over the past four games to help the Wings get on a roll.

Bertuzzi has become especially close to Chris Osgood: Call him a goal scorer with dreams of being a goaltender.

"When I'm done playing, he wants my equipment," Osgood said. "He looks like a goalie when he's in the net. That's the scary part. He looks like he knows what he's doing."

Bertuzzi was a bona fide star a decade ago. Now as his career reaches 1,000 games, he has found renewed vigor as a Red Wing.

Timing was right for second stint with Red Wings

Bertuzzi once returned home from a Red Wings trip to find his bags littered with Osgood cards. There were seven stuffed into one suit.

That's the risk Bertuzzi lives with after admitting his innermost desire.

"I'm an in-the-closet goaltender at heart," Bertuzzi said. "That's why Ozzie does things like that, hides his cards everywhere. He's a beautiful, beautiful man."

So far, Bertuzzi has been limited to living his dream during summer beer leagues and when going on the ice with his son, Tag. Bertuzzi's main role has been as a forward, a gig that has taken him around the NHL and twice to Detroit. A myriad of health problems, including back surgery, derailed his career last decade, but he hasn't missed a game since rejoining the Wings in the summer of 2009.

This afternoon, he'll become the 263rd NHL player to reach 1,000 games. Bertuzzi, 36, has 287 goals among 704 points during his NHL career, which began when the New York Islanders made him the 23rd overall pick in the 1993 draft.

"I remember I watched him in his draft year," Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "He played for Guelph. That was the early '90s. It's taken 17 years to get to 1,000 games. A thousand games in the National Hockey League is a significant milestone."

Players tend to downplay individual accomplishments if things aren't going well for the team, but things are going well for the Wings, in no small part because of Bertuzzi. He has three two-goal games the past 10 days, spurring the Wings on a four-game winning streak and earning praise from his demanding coach.

"I think if Bert is skating and being physical and hanging on to the puck, he really helps us," Mike Babcock said. "He's an important player on our team. He's big. He can hang on to the puck. He skates good. That's what it's all about."

Bertuzzi's page in history looked unlikely to be written half a dozen years ago, when he was dealing with a bad back, an aching neck and a concussion. He went from the NHL's premier power forward to nearly fading from hockey.

"Thirty to 34 kind of sucked, but I was lucky to get a second shot at coming back to Detroit and playing some fun hockey and being around some quality, quality guys," Bertuzzi said. "That makes coming to the rink very enjoyable. I'm looking forward to going into Minny (Minnesota) and playing that game."
2. Rose’s career-best 42 helps Bulls beat Spurs

Mindful of their trip to San Antonio last November, when they let the Spurs put together a memorable comeback attack, the Bulls were determined not to let the defense rest Thursday night.

With Rose scoring a career-high 42 points amid chants of ‘‘MVP,’’ they achieved their goal. In what some wide-eyed Chicago fans were viewing as an NBA Finals preview, the Bulls headed to the All-Star break on a high note, beating San Antonio 109-99.

‘‘I was just trying to do whatever it takes to win,’’ said Rose, who scored the Bulls’ last 10 points. ‘‘If it led to me shooting the ball, thank God the shots were falling tonight.’’

‘‘Wow!’’ Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ‘‘What do you want me to say? Good-looking kid, great demeanor, doesn’t beat his chest. Class act on top of his phenomenal play. All those qualities are going to serve him well.’’

After reminding everyone that this game only counts as one win, even the circumspect Tom Thibodeau joined the chorus casting their MVP votes for Rose.

‘‘I can’t imagine anyone doing more, not only individually but for our team,’’ the Bulls coach said. ‘‘And the team winning is more important to him than any individual stuff. But he certainly, in my eyes, has earned it.’’

It was only the 10th loss for the Spurs (46-10). The Bulls, who improved to 25-4 at home, will have a few days off after adding another bit of evidence that Boston and Miami, the teams they’re chasing for the best record in the Eastern Conference, had better watch out.

The statement in this statement game?

‘‘That we’re playing ball,’’ Rose said. ‘‘We’re playing defense, we’re making it tough on people and we’re playing together. We get up when we play [elite] teams.’’

With Joakim Noah expected to be back from thumb surgery in their next game, at Toronto on Wednesday, the Bulls figure to be even better equipped for a strong finish.

In the end, the game’s marquee matchup was no contest. Tony Parker (26 points and four assists) was solid. But Rose added another bullet point to his MVP resumé, delivering eight assists and five timely rebounds along with 18-for-28 shooting.

Luol Deng (19 points, seven rebounds) and Carlos Boozer (15 and six) also had big nights for the Bulls. San Antonio got 14 points from Tim Duncan and 16 from Manu Ginobili, who shot a meager 6-for-18.

‘‘They couldn’t really stop [Rose],’’ Boozer said. ‘‘I told him, ‘Keep attacking till they stop you.’ He’s been playing phenomenal all season. All we had to do was jump on his back and ride the D-Rose train.’’

In the shadows of the Alamo last Nov. 17, the Bulls opened a 17-point lead three minutes before halftime but wilted defensively when the Spurs put their multifaceted attack to work.

The goal was not to allow a repeat of that in this rematch.

Nursing an 83-78 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Bulls gave themselves some breathing room with a combination of good defensive stops and an energetic 9-0 run.

‘‘Obviously, the scoring was key,’’ Boozer said. ‘‘But our defense was key, too — getting stops on the other side so they couldn’t come back.’’

When San Antonio closed to 99-90, Rose answered with a buzzer-beating jumper and a ball-on-the-hip hang-time drive. Three more Rose baskets, and the NBA’s winningest team went home a loser.

3. Danica earns best NASCAR finish
Danica Patrick enjoyed a career weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

The JR Motorsports driver started from a career-best NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying position of fourth, raced to the front of the pack to lead a lap and finished a career-best 14th on Saturday.

She was legitimately among the lead groups for most of the race and even worked with some drafting partners in the two-car tandems that Daytona requires these days.

In only her second year of part-time competition, and her 14th career NASCAR Nationwide start, Patrick enjoyed a stellar outing.

After the race, the 28-year-old, who is also running full time in the IZOD IndyCar Series once more this season, was pleased with her run.

She said that she achieved her goal of learning a lot — and was pleased to have had the opportunity to work with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran Clint Bowyer in the race.

“I pushed a little bit at the end, a little too late, but it was really cool when Clint was pushing me and they told me that I did lead a lap, at least, so that was really cool,” she said.

She said that her JR Motorsports car was fast, which is something that will pay off now that the series turns to its more standard run of races on short and intermediate tracks.

WILD RIDE

Daytona 500 is tough race with elite history.

CLOSE CALL

Great American race has produced plenty of great moments.

AMERICAN EPIC

High speeds, big wrecks, classic finishes — Daytona 500 has it all.

STILL THE MAN

Spencer: 10 years after his death, The Intimidator IS Daytona.

HOLD YOUR BREATH

Daytona 500 action heats up well before the race.

MORE NASCAR NEWS »
Daytona is a different animal in terms of how drivers race anyway, especially this season after the track has been repaved and the cars have undergone a series of rule changes. The Nationwide teams started the week with a larger tapered spacer, saw that shrunk then saw a restrictor plate added as well.

Still, Patrick said that she felt calm in the car and that she was pleased with the outing.

She added that she would have liked to have worked with Bowyer a little more, but she wasn’t sure how to make pushing others work all that well yet. Yet, the day certainly felt like more of a success and fell within her goal of finishing in the top 15.

“It was fun,” she said. “I felt like I really ran up front most of the day … Gosh, it is frustrating in a long train because you’re lifting so much of the lap and you think, ‘I can go faster.’ It’s the next best option to pushing. I’m probably not to the point where if I pull out, people are going to go, ‘All right, she’s going, I’m going,’ so that takes awhile to earn the trust and respect from all the other drivers.

“I’m not mad at that, that’s just going to take time and it’ll only get better from here on out, hopefully, with that stuff.”

Mark your calendars now. Coverage of the 2011 Daytona 500 begins Feb. 20 at noon ET on FOX.

Need more NASCAR action? Check out SPEED's daily schedule.

In fact, the race could have been both a step in gaining that trust and respect — and in building her confidence in racing stock cars.

“It was a good experience, there was a lot to learn and I did learn a lot,” she said. “It was cool to finish all the laps. There were definitely some accidents that … I was more in the top 12 or so at that point, if I was where I was last year I’d have been collected. So I’m further up and I’m missing the accidents and that’s what you want.”

While there’s not much that can transfer from this race into her next segment of them, Patrick says that Saturday’s performance could still pay dividends at upcoming tracks. And that could help her continue to compete at this level.

“All you can do at a race like this going into … anywhere else after this, is make some friends and try to get people to believe in you and trust in you and see that you’re a fast car because people want to follow fast cars.

NEHA JAIN

International Airlines Training Expo