The Afternoon Shift – Sept. 24

Griff hits ArtPrize/Photo by Randy Cleves

Talk about your slow news days. Apparently the return of summer-like weather the last few days has turned the media’s attention away from hockey. Or perhaps everyone’s at ArtPrize. That (shameless plug time) is where Griff will be this Sunday from 1-3 p.m., hanging with the renowned Ice Gurus for an interactive, hockey-themed ice sculpture demonstration on the Van Andel Arena plaza. They finished in the top 25 last year and are currently in the top 25 in this year’s voting, so it’s certainly worth checking out. Now, back to regularly scheduled programming…

• Fox Sports Detroit to webcast Friday’s Red Wings-Blackhawks game (Kukla’s Corner)
• Defenseman Brendan Smith to make Red Wings preseason debut Friday vs. Chicago (MLive)

Alumni news and notes:

• Meech deals with concussion (Macomb Daily)
• Red Wings’ Johan Franzen, Jiri Hudler back on ice; Derek Meech (concussion) still has headache (MLive)
• Red Wings’ Jiri Hudler expects to return in day or two (MLive)
• Aaron Gagnon making good impression (ESPN)