...how absurd human beings are and how magnificent.

With the talent we have here, that's a real, real good possibility that we're going to end that drought in '97 when the Red Wings won their last championship. I'm the man to do it and I think I can back it up.

If you construct a room in paint, you haunt it. Your life rests in every stroke. So paint only the rooms that you can bear to occupy forever. Or paint the stars instead.

He is a big talent, and we want to use his creativity across all platforms. He is one of those rare total packages. Our audiences will really, really like him.

[Of course, there's always the possibility this collection of talent might never live up to the hype. Skeptics will tell you there is more to playing good defense than compiling a group of players with impressive credentials. It's a fair argument, but it won't apply in this case.] We're trying to change the culture here, ... They got into a passive defense that believed that offense would win it all and the defense got soft. We want to be a hard-hitting defense. What I want is for people to know this defense is tough. If we can come out of this camp with that attitude, I believe we'll be all right.

How often do we stand convinced of the truth of our early memories, forgetting that they are assessments made by a child? We can replace the narratives that hold us back by inventing wiser stories, free from childish fears, and, in doing so, disperse long-held psychological stumbling blocks.