For the last week, news about the 2013 Winter Classic has gone back and forth from it being a done deal that it will be played at Michigan Stadium to there not being a deal in place just yet. The cycle continued on Wednesday with both the University of Michigan and the Detroit Red Wings denying several local reports that an agreement had been reached. Here's Michigan's denial (via the Detroit News):
"There's no change in status," Ablauf wrote in an email to The Detroit News. "We are still discussing the prospect of the NHL using our facility for the 2013 Winter Classic. We don't have an agreement in place. There are a lot of moving pieces that make this a very complicated process."
And here's the Red Wings' denial:
"There are still a lot of moving parts," one Wings source told The Detroit News.
The general consensus at this point is that the Red Wings will in fact take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium in the 2013 Winter Classic. For now, though, the official comment from those involved in making the deal is that nothing has been agreed to, likely in part because the NHL wants to be the one to make an official announcement.
For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NHL hub at SBNation.com/NHL.