A full confession: I'm a big Red Wings fan, but I'm a far larger Chicago Cubs fan. When the rumors started that the Winter Classic might end up at Wrigley Field, I didn't care who the Blackhawks were going to play. If it were the Blackhawks/Coyotes, I'd still be in a hotel in the Chicagoland area, simply because the idea of a hockey game at Wrigley would draw me here. Fortunately, every rumor added the link to the Red Wings, which made it doubly sweet.

And how we're just 24 hours away from the gates opening, and there's a sense of excitement I rarely get for a sporting event: one of anticipation and hope. The merger of two of my favorite teams: a Wings game at Wrigley. I remember going to the Cubs/Tigers series at Tiger Stadium in 1998 with my mom, brother, and sister sitting in the reserved seats down the left field line, and having a blast because it was the Cubs and the Tigers, and how freaking cool was that! I have a photo of that game, and we all look happy at a sporting event: a very rare moment if you know my sister and mom.

I'll be up in Lakeview at 8:00 for breakfast at my favorite restaurant, which means I need to be up at around 5:00 a.m. to shower and catch the Orange Line. I don't think I will be all that sleepy. The idea of seeing an old friend in a new dress is something that reminds me of being a child Christmas Eve night. You want to go to sleep right now to get to the next day, but you're so full of adrenalin that there's no way it'll happen.

Thankfully, I have Rozerem.

Talk to you tomorrow.