The Detroit News' Red Wings Rap today is all about how the Wings and Devils compare. They have a column from their own staff (Terry Green) and one from a guy in New Jersey (Mike Kerwick). Terry Green says the Devils have the edge in Cups and Finals appearances because they beat the Wings the one time they faced in the Finals. He says New Jersey has the edge in goalies because they used Martin Brodeur for all three of their Cups and the Wings used Vernon, Osgood and Hasek. Also, the only goalie of those three that was better than Brodeur was Hasek. Green gives the edge to the Wings in coaching since Bowman coached them for all three Cups and the Devils were coached by Lemaire, Robinson and Burns. Bowman also coached Lemaire and Robinson on the Habs in the 70s. Mr. Green also gives the edge to the Wings in history, saying they have more of a past and more glory because of it. He gives the final edge to the Wings when he brings up the fans and the celebrations both teams have when they win. He says if they hadn't faltered in the 1st round, they would have won the Cup and I totally agree with him. Mike Kerwick is a little less reasonable. He takes a couple cheap shots at the Wings and the city of Detroit, saying the team is over-hyped. Of course he brings up '95 and glorifies the hit Stevens laid on Kozlov. His biggest point is the Wings didn't have to face anyone tough in the Finals, according to him. The Flyers, Caps and 'Canes are not the Stars, Avs and Ducks obviously but they were still in the Finals those years. You can't hold that against the Wings. Kerwick says the Devils never hired a "ringer" as a coach like the Wings did with Bowman. So that makes the Devils better? Come on. His last comment is by far the funniest (and most ridiculous): "As I've said, I've got nothing against Detroit. But if I want hype, I'll spin by Joe Louis Arena. If I want hockey, I'll put up with the smell on the New Jersey Turnpike." Ted Kulfan's article does a great job comparing both teams in a more realistic and straight forward way -- the numbers. The DetNews also says today that the talks with MacCarty are not progressing. One of the major obstacles is, besides the money (even though the Wings have raised their offer from $2 million to a higher amount), Mac's asking for a no-trade clause in his contract. Some of the Wings' top players, such as Brendan Shanahan, Chris Chelios, Brett Hull and Nicklas Lidstrom, have no-trade clauses.