Detroit Sports

3-0 Hole

2010-05-05T14:24:00.004-04:00

Since 1997, the Detroit Red Wings have been among the best teams in the NHL. Throughout that time period they have won four Stanley Cups and came a game shy last year of winning a fifth. The team has had multiple hall of fame players, great coaches, great scouting and a myriad of 100 point seasons along with making the playoffs for nearly two straight decades. The Red Wings have been the staple pro-sports team in Detroit. Wings' fans always can rely on the fact that the Wings will have a competitive team that has a chance to win it all. In fact, anything shy of a Stanley Cup in Detroit is simply not acceptable. Much is demanded of the Wings every season and perhaps rightly so due to the talent and ability the team possesses every season.

However, has simply too much been expected out of this team? So much is demanded out of this team, and this season they did not meet those demands or even come very close. The Wings are currently in a 3-0 in the second round against the Sharks, after blowing a two goal lead in the third period at home. Unless they pull off a miraculous comeback, their season will soon be over. I wonder if this seemingly collapse of a great team still goes back to last season, where they held a 3-2 series lead in the Finals.

Although the Wings did not meet expectations, a fan can still not be to utterly disappointed. Although professional sports are a "what have you done for me lately?" industry, the Wings have still created dynasty in the last two decades. They have won the most Cups in that time period, and have always been near the top of the league. Furthermore, in Detroit, one can look at the Wings and see greatness, but then look across town at the Lions, where the exact opposite is true (just seeing the Lions finish at 8-8 would be exciting!). Anyways, regardless of whether the Wings are washed up or just plain worn out, they have still been an incredible team that one has to be extremely proud of.

Finally, after the Wings won the Cup in 2002, it seemed like their dynasty run was over. The likes of Yzerman, Shannahan, Federov, Hasek, and Hull were no longer on the team. Also, they could not manage to get past the early rounds in the playoffs. However, the Wings found a way to reinvent themselves by drafting and grooming good players and by signing some key guys. Consequently, they came back and won the Cup two seasons ago with a young team and an old goalie. Is there any reason to believe the Wings will not do that again over the next few years?

Simply put, the Wings have been a phenomenal team to watch and rout for. Hopefully that should continue as they rest and regroup during what appears to be a longer off-season than first expected.

Double or Nothing

2010-04-28T22:10:00.005-04:00

The Detroit Tigers have had an interesting start to the 2010 season. They currently sit with a 12-10 record and are 2.5 games out of first place behind the Twins.

Double or Nothing:
Interstingly, the Tigers are leading both leagues in doubles this season with 61 total. Brandon Inge and Miguel Cabrera both have 10 doubles each and are near the top of the league in that category.

Rotation Implosion:
The Tigers starting pitching has been their weakest link this season thus far. In fact, Max Scherzer has the lowest ERA of any starter (4.23). Dontrelle Willis follows suit with an ERA of 5.00. Verlander, Bonderman, and Porcello all have very high ERAs well over 5.00. Each of their starters have had a couple good games, but none have been very consistent (except for maybe Scherzer). It appears that most of the other pieces to the puzzle are coming into place for the Tigers, and it remains frustrating to see the starting rotation, which has so much potential, struggle so much. However, the baseball season is long, and much time remains for the starting rotation to get back on track.

Bullpen Dominance:
Despite the starters failing so far, the Tigers' bullpen has been phenomenal. In fact, five of their relievers have an ERA of under 1.69. Additionally, Joel Zumaya looks like he is totally healthy to start the season. He has 14 strikeouts in just under 13 innings; he also has a WHIP under 1.00. He appears to be back where he was in 2006, where Tigers' fans remember him helping the Tigers reach the World Series in that magical 06 summer. Furthermore, the bullpen has really helped the Tigers come back and win a number of games. With the starting pitching imploding in several games, the Tigers have had to come back on multiple occasions while depending on their bullpen to hold the other team at bay.

New Additions on Offense:
This off season the Tigers made a variety of moves that landed them some new faces in the motor city. So far their new additions have been playing pretty well. First, Johnny Damon has hit well this season. His power numbers are way down, probably mostly due to playing in Comerica, but he is still hitting .321 and currently has a 15 game hitting streak. Second, Austin Jackson has shown flashes of brilliance and will most likely content for AL rookie of the year. However, he is on pace for 245 strikeouts and and only 77 walks. Finally, Scott Sizemore has done decently at second base while hitting .255 on the season.

MVP Season?
Miguel Cabrera has played a MVP caliber season so far. He has come up with huge hits for the Tigers to help them win some games. Also, he leads all of baseball with 25 RBIs and is hitting .341 on the season with a OBP of .426. Cabrera is one of the best power hitters in the league, and his reputation for that has continued this season.

Overall:
I suppose the Tigers are somewhat fortunate to be two games above 500. As mentioned, their starting pitching has been terrible, but the rest of the team has done rather well. It appears that they have the hitting and bullpen to have a great season, but pitching will ultimately make or break this team. Time will continue to tell the fate of the 2010 Tigers.

Update

2010-04-20T22:21:00.002-04:00

These past couple of weeks have been pretty busy for me due to to the end of another college semester. Thus, I have not posted much lately on the blog.

Putting that aside, the Tigers have started the season a bit rough. They went 5-1 at the start but have won only 2 of their last 7. Justin Verlander has pitched horrible to start the season, reminiscent of the last two season starts for the Tigers' ace. Additionally, Willis and Bonderman have both had some good and bad starts. The verdict is still not out on the two former stars, due to the season being so young. The Tiger's biggest addition this off-season, Johnny Damon, started the season horribly but has come back and is hitting near 300 presently.

Also, the Red Wings clawed their way back into the playoffs on a tear and ended up clinching the fifth seed in the playoffs. However, they are currently in the midst of a tough first round series with the Coyotes. The Wings have battled back to tie the series at 2-2 after a scrappy 4-0 win tonight.

Final Rotation

2010-04-01T22:09:00.010-04:00

Long time Tigers' starter Nate Robertson no longer occupies a spot on rotation and was traded to the Marlins for a minor league pitcher.

It seems as if many baseball analysts remain confused about this deal, wondering why the Tigers would trade Robertson but give Dontrelle Willis a starting position. All spring Robertson, Willis, and Jeremy Bonderman had battled for the final two starting spots on the Tigers' rotation. Robertson out pitched Willis this spring but was still the odd man out in the rotation battle. Here is what Rob Neyer of ESPN said about the deal:

"Bottom line? The Tigers were going to get bubkus in a trade for Dontrelle Willis so they moved the most marketable major-league pitcher they had. In that regard, this trade makes sense.

Of course, now the question is: Will the 2010 model of the D-Train be a local or an express?

I'm betting on local. What's a little odd is that Robertson's out-pitched Willis this spring, at least statistically. In 20 innings, Robertson's struck out 19 and walked seven. In 15 innings, Willis has struck out 10 and walked eight (both of them have plunked two hitters)."

The Tigers definitely took a gamble by releasing Robertson. Since acquiring Willis two years ago, he has won exactly one game with the Tigers. On the other hand, Robertson, although not phenomenal, has been a consistent pitcher for the Tigers over the past seven seasons. However, during the last two seasons Robertson only won 9 games and had an awful ERA. Both pitchers have struggled with injuries the last few years, but both appear to be completely healthy this spring.

I actually really liked this move for the Tigers. Although the risk appears high by trading Robertson, the Tigers potentially have a killer pitching lineup. Consider how good their starting rotation would be if each pitcher duplicated their best season statistically:

Justin Verlander: 19-9, 269 SO, 3.45 ERA
Rick Porcello: 14-9, 89 SO, 3.96 ERA
Max Scherzer: 11-14, 174 SO, 4.12 ERA
Dontrelle Willis: 22-10, 170 SO, 2.63 ERA
Jeremy Bonderman: 14-8, 202 SO, 4.08 ERA

If you number crunch that you get a combined record of 80-50 with 904 SO in 1030 innings pitched with an average ERA of 3.65 (can you say playoffs?). However, why even mention the numbers from their best seasons? Everyone knows Willis and Bonderman appear to have their best seasons behind them. Regardless, I believe this shows the potential of the Tigers' rotation. Consider that Willis and Bonderman are finally healthy and have been spectacular in the past. Additionally, I like Willis over Robertson, because Robertson has never really proven himself as a very good starting pitcher. He has been consistent (earlier in his career mostly), but is really about an average MLB pitcher, while Willis had Cy Young potential at one point. Robertson is also a couple years older than Bonderman or Willis. Finally, Verlander, Porcello, and Scherzer probably have their best years ahead of them and will further boost the rotation.

Furthermore, if Willis or Bonderman flop, the Tigers still will have
Eddie Bonine waiting in the wings to potentially start. Also, Armando Galarraga will be staying warm in the minor leagues as a backup plan.

Overall, this deal was definitely a little risky. However, Willis and Bonderman both have proven themselves in the past and both are finally completely healthy to start the season. It will be exciting to see the rotation develop throughout the season. Aside from Willis and Bonderman, the other three starters will most likely tear it up this season.

The closer the season gets, the more excited I get to see the Tigers play. They made some surprising moves this off season, but they still have a great chance to clinch their division.

Again, High Risk = High Reward, but will it pay the Tigers dividends in 2010? Time will only tell.

Lions still after Pacman

2010-03-26T22:12:00.005-04:00

The Detroit Lions have shown considerable interest in Adam "Pacman" Jones, the former Dallas Cowboy DB and kick returner. In fact, some sources think the Lions will sign him next week.

The question is not whether Pacman has the skills necessary to play in the NFL still; the question is whether he can perform off the field. From the reports, it sounds as if Pacman is physically ready and in great shape to come back and perform at a high level. However, the former star has had a very troubled past laden with problems off the field that could be risky for any team that wants to sign him.

He definitely has a lot of talent the Lions could desperately use. However, could he simply be a cancer to the team much like Terrell Owens has been to some of his teams? Is the talent worth the price of possible destruction to the team? It has been reported that he has changed his life off the field, but time will only tell.

Overall, I believe the Lions should sign him. After celebrating last year for winning the first time in 20 games, the Lions could use all the help they can get. Why not take a gamble on a proven talent? What do they honestly have to lose? This would be a great addition to an already productive off-season for the Lions. Perhaps they could sign him to a one year deal. Besides, Lions fans know that there is always next year anyways if this blows up in the Lions' face.

High Risk = High Reward

Crunch Time

2010-03-16T12:58:00.006-04:00

For the first time in a long time, the Detroit Red Wings are actually fighting for a playoff spot. In fact, the last time the Wings missed the playoffs was in 1990.

Red Wings' fans are not familiar with the Red Wings potentially missing the playoffs. Moreover, the Wings have arguably been the best NHL team in the last decade while winning four Stanley Cups since 1997. However, this season has been a struggle for the Wings. They are fighting for the eighth and final seed in their conference and have been floating near the bottom of the playoff standings all season.

The Red Wings had some injuries earlier this season that have hurt their playoff chances. Probably the biggest injury was losing Johan Franzen early in the season. Other injuries also plagued the team.

Interestingly, the Wings have been riding rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard throughout the season. He has played remarkably well for being thrown into the starting role. Howard has started mainly because former starter Chris Osgood has really had a brutal season statistically speaking.

Despite only holding unto the final playoff spot by three points over the Flames, the Wings are starting to play excellent at the right time in the season. The team has won seven of ten games, and just won a huge game over the Flames to keep them at a distance. Also, the Wings are completely healthy going down the final stretch of the season.

Is there any question that the Wings will not make the playoffs? I do not think so; the Wings simply know how to win and get the job done. They should not have a problem securing one of the final seeds. Although getting to the playoffs via the seventh or eighth would be unconvential for the Wings, they still have a great chance to make another deep run into the playoffs.

In fact, Wings' head coach Mike Babcock said it best a few days ago: "Wouldn't you love to draw us in the first round?"

New Linkage

2010-03-11T14:13:00.004-05:00

I am happy to announce that Detroit Sports has teamed up with TicketNetwork in order to give you best opportunity to buy Detroit Sports’ tickets and tickets to similar events. I have added TicketNetwork’s links to my sidebar, so please check the site out. TicketNetwork even has some special coupons to save you even more when you buy tickets to sporting events. It is a great website that needs to be explored for any fan seriously thinking about buying sports tickets.

Additionally, I have added some more Detroit Sports’ links to my sidebar as well. If anyone else is interested in linking a Detroit based sports blog to my site, please feel free to email me at any time.

Starts at the top

2010-03-04T18:54:00.013-05:00

The year was 2000 when the Detroit Lions hired Matt Millen to be the new president and CEO of the team. The owner of the team William Clay Ford Sr. essentially gave over the reins to Millen to run the franchise.

I think Lions fans everywhere were excited when the Lions hired Millen, because Ford was finally giving control of the team to somebody else. The Lions had won only one playoff game in the last half a century previous, and fans were hoping that this would finally be the turning point for the franchise.

Eight years later in 2008, the Lions finished one of the worst stretches in NFL history (31-84 record over that time) and fired Millen halfway through the 2008 season. During the Millen era the Lions became, and still are, one of the laughingstocks of the NFL.

With the supposed high level of parity within the NFL, a fan may wonder how the Lions are so terrible every season. When watching a game, a Lions fan typically has no confidence for the Lions to pull out a victory. As Lions fans, we just know they will find a way to blow an important game. They have simply been atrocious in the last decade, undoubtedly the first or second worst team in the NFL. The seventies and eighties were not much better, with zero playoff wins for the Lions. Even in the nineties, when they had Barry Sanders, arguably the best running back of all time; they still were not that good.

Eventually one must realize that part of the blame has to go back to the top. Since William Clay Ford Sr. bought the team in 1964, the Lions have won exactly one playoff game, that is right, one playoff game since then. They have been to the playoffs only nine times in his tenure owning the team, with all of them being on the road (except their playoff win against Dallas in 1991).

I think putting all the blame on Ford could be foolish. The bottom line is that players must play, and coaches must coach. However, the owner is the one who should be putting the right players and coaches in place. I do not think it is a coincidence that in the decade previous to Ford owning the team, the Lions won three Championships and lost a fourth.

Growing up my Dad would always say, "Ford is laughing all the way to bank." He meant that the Lions were terrible every year, but fans would still come out to the games and sellout the stadium: essentially keeping Ford happy because he was still making bank. Perhaps Ford is simply a businessman who wants to make a profit. He really has no background in football, from what I researched, other than with the Lions. The Lions are worth near $900 million dollars (according to Forbes in 2009). The team also has revenue in excess of $200 million every year. How much of that goes into Ford's pocket is hard to say, but he is definitely making enormous amounts of money from the most lucrative sports industry in America. In fact, in 2005 Forbes listed Ford as being worth an astounding $1.2 billion dollars and the 283rd richest person in America. I realize much of this probably came from his time with Ford Motor Company, but his profits from the Lions are undoubtedly substantial.

Is Ford sacrificing winning in order to keep making money? I remember watching a piece on the LA Clippers a few years back talking about how much money the franchise made in-spite of the team continually losing. Could Ford being doing the same thing? Apparently, the 49ers, the best team in the 80s, made the least amount of money among NFL teams. However, the worst team, the Buccaneers made the most money in the NFL during that same time period. I am sure the economics of the NFL are different now, but I believe the principle still remains the same: winning should be more important that making a huge profit in the NFL. I sometimes doubt if Ford really believes that. On the other hand though, the NFL is still a business and one cannot downsize the fact that owning a NFL team is very profitable.

I believe this man is in football for more than just the money (regardless if the importance of money comes first or not). I believe he wants to build a winner (if for nothing else the money that would come with it). But in nearly half a century, he has simply not been able to figure it out. He graduated from Yale and is probably extremely smart when it comes to business. However, being great at business does not make you great at building a winning NFL team. Even when he gave team control largely over to Millen, he kept him for far too long, and even gave him a huge contract extension in midst of their losing: another stupid ownership decision that continues to cost the Lions to this day. Regardless of any defense one wants to give him, people are ultimately judged mostly from their actions and what they do, not as much from what they say or think. The bottom line is that he has not produced a winner on the field, and seemingly has not even put together an environment where a winning team could be build. Even the people he has hired to try and build a winner with have miserably failed.

The question remains, where do the Lions go from here? Even if it was completely Ford's fault for losing, there is not a whole lot anyone can do. He owns the team; he is the boss. He decides who stays and who goes. Even after he retires, the team ownership will probably be inherited by his son, who has seemed to play a similar role within the organization.

I guess we will never know exactly know to what extent Ford's ownership has affected the Lions. It unquestionably has had a negative impact for years, but the extent of that is unknown. As Lions fans, I suppose we can have a "wait for next year" mentality and hope that we will land some great players in the draft. Other than that, can fans do anything?

The only way Lions fans can hope for a change would seem to come in the form simply boycotting the games. If few fans show up to games, profits would go down quickly. Could this be the way to get Ford to pay wake up and "smell the roses?" Perhaps.

Lions fans are tired of excuses and half baked attempts to produce a winning team. We are craving a winning team; Lions fans simply want to watch good football in Detroit. Period.

Put away the bottle

2010-03-01T15:37:00.006-05:00

Miguel Cabrera apparently has stopping drinking and intends to keep it that way. Apparently the Tigers' slugger has underwent counseling to help him with his drinking problems.

One wonders how legitimate this change will be. We live in a sports world where athletics are paid millions for being able to walk around the base path a few times, but only get slapped on the the wrist essentially for committing adultery, drunkenness, and other sins; while at the same time being looked at on our national stage as supposed heroes for our youth to look up too. I hope Cabrera realizes his statue in society, and I pray that it will be a real change in his life.

Athletes must start realizing that they are living in the lime light whether they like it or not, and their actions (despite how much money they make) have consequences they must pay.

Lions going for LT?

2010-02-27T10:33:00.004-05:00

Apparently the Lions are considering going after recently released running back LaDainian Tomlinson and are also considering trading their first round draft pick (second overall).

LT has arguably been the best running back in the NFL for the past decade or so. He has over 12,000 yards rushing and 128 rushing touchdowns. However, the last two seasons have started to show his age as his numbers have significantly dropped. Running backs in the NFL typically do not perform well in their 30s.

This is a story that definitely could develop as the draft gets closer. The Lions need all the help they can get, so picking him up could provide some benefit to their inept running game.

New Site, Banner, etc....

2010-02-26T13:45:00.004-05:00

Since I have been starting to update this blog again, I have put the site under some major cosmetic changes as compared to years previous. As one can tell, I have an entirely new banner that I hope readers will enjoy. One of my friends from college helped me design it (thanks Jon!), and I really think it looks sharp.

I also changed the entire design of the website into one of the default templates that blogger has. I will continue to modify it to my liking.

As for posting, I want to post maybe once a week or so on different topics relating to Detroit Sports and the Michigan Wolverines (primarily football and maybe some basketball). I do not watch the teams enough to post on games, and one could find much better game coverage elsewhere. This blog is mostly done for enjoyment, and a way for me to get my rants out about Detroit Sports. If anyone has any ideas or comments please feel free to email me.

Finally, I would like to start adding links of advertisers and fellow bloggers in the next couple of weeks. This will help complete the overhaul of my blog.

Rich Rod back at it

2010-02-23T19:57:00.010-05:00

The University of Michigan's flamboyant head football coach Rich Rodriguez could apparently be in trouble again with NCAA regulations.

This has been one of multiple allegations against the former West Virginia coach. One wonders if he really causes that many problems or if people are just complaining because of Michigan's horrific record in his first two seasons with Michigan. Either way, it is rather disturbing to always hear bad news stories about this guy and how he does not play by the rules.

Rodriguez started to turn Michigan around last year, winning four games to start the season but then sputtering out as the season went on (5-7 finish). However, it was Rodriguez's first season with his own recruiting class. This upcoming season he will have had a whole extra year to build on the team. Also, their starting quarterback Tate Forcier appears to have some great potential, although there has been questions about his durability and arm strength.

Overall, it is frustrating to hear about Michigan potentially breaking rules. These accusations will definitely further hurt Rodriguez's already bad reputation as a coach. Nonetheless, I would give him at least one more year. Michigan turned it around last year to some extent and can build on last year's successes. It definitely matters if Michigan does things right off the field, but I think people will forget about this if he can put a championship caliber team back on the field. Hopefully next year they will not continue to be one the laughing stocks of the Big Ten.

Tigers Ink Damon

2010-02-21T14:28:00.004-05:00

The Tigers have signed outfielder Johnny Damon to a one year deal worth around $8 million. There had been rumors for several weeks that the Tigers were highly interested. Several other teams were interested, with Detroit being the team that signed the outfielder.

This appears to be a good deal for the Tigers who were looking to add some extra juice to their lineup for 2010 season. Damon will most likely play left field and/or DH and will bat first or second in the lineup.

Statistically, Damon is coming off one of his better season in 09. He hit 24 homers last year, along with batting .282 and driving in 82 runs.

Growing up, I always seemed to remember Damon as the long haired caveman looking outfielder who was always brought up on Sports Center whenever the Yankees or Sox were being talked about. (He has not had this look for several years that I am aware of).

I also seem to remember his atrocious arm in the outfield. However, Damon does bring some needed offense to a Tigers team who will be offensively iffy with several young players expected to start.

Overall, this seems like a good deal for the Tigers. I think he seems like a fun guy that will be a fan favorite. I look forward to going to some of the games and watching him play in Detroit this summer.

Re-Start?

2010-02-17T13:27:00.002-05:00

This blog has remained dormant for several years. However, I am thinking about restarting it sometime soon. I am currently a junior at a college in Wisconsin, and I am not able to watch many Detroit Sports games. Nonetheless, I still enjoy watching the teams when I can and reading about their past failures or achievements. If I do start posting again, it will be mostly my own rants and opinions on Detroit Sports, not specific analysis on games or seasons. Additionally, I suppose I should get rid of the nasty old banner which bears all athletics who are no longer with Detroit teams (Ok, I lied, Ben Wallace is back, but he is not the same player he was six years ago or so when the Pistons took home the title).

-Dan

Good or Bad Deal?

2007-12-05T19:23:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Tigers just completed one of the biggest deals in team history, acquiring Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins for six prospects: Mike Rabelo and right-handers Burke Badenhop, Eulogio De La Cruz, left-hander Andrew Miller and outfielder Cameron Maybin.

Looking at this deal it appears to be a great trade for the Tigers. Cabrera is one of the best hitters in the game and Willis has pitched stellar in previous seasons. Both players are young, 24 and 25 respectively, and in the prime of their careers. This trade has made the Tigers' starting lineup by far the best in baseball and has strengthened their rotation immensely. Although the Tigers gave up some of their best prospects, Willis and Cabrera have already proven themselves as great players. This deal should definitely put the already good Tigers near the top of the American League. Here is a look at the possible lineup for the 2008 Detroit Tigers.

Ivan Rodriguez-Catcher
Justin Verlander-Starting Pitcher
Carlos Guillen-First Base
Placido Polanco-Second Base
Edgar Renteria-Short Stop
Miguel Cabrera-Third Base
Jacque Jones/Marcus Thames-Left Field
Curtis Granderson-Center Field
Magglio Ordonez-Right Field
Gary Sheffield-Designated Hitter

On the surface this deal looks like a great deal for the Tigers. However, a few aspects of the deal need to be considered. Probably the most questionable part of this deal is trading for Dontrelle Willis. In the last two seasons he has pitched poorly for the Marlins. In 2005 he was incredible, winning 22 games and was considered one of the best pitchers in baseball. A change of teams could be just what Willis needs to reform to his old self, or maybe not. The next two years should be a good indication on whether Willis was a one year wonder or the real deal.

Another problem with this deal was Detroit giving up its best prospects. Maybin and Miller are both considered as some of the best prospects in all of baseball. De La Cruz has also showed signs of being a solid pitcher. The Tigers gave up four of their top eleven prospects in this deal, and they significantly weakened their farm system.

Overall, this has been a productive off season for the Tigers. Along with Willis and Cabrera, the Tigers have also signed Edgar Renteria and Jacque Jones. Both players have proven themselves to be good players in the American League.

The Tigers have vaulted themselves to the top of the American League with this trade. They should be favorites to win their division and should contend for the World Series. This deal was definitely a great trade for the next couple of seasons but time will only tell on how good the prospects they gave will turn out.

Midseason Report

2007-11-09T13:21:00.001-05:00

The Detroit Lions are halfway through the 2007 NFL season, and they have been the surprise team of the league. Their record sits at 6-2 and are just a game back of the division leading Green Bay Packers.

The Lions have played extremely well this season. They are undefeated in division play and are 4-2 in conference play. They are also riding a three game winning streak; their last win was a 44-7 route of the Denver Broncos. The Lions have put up the second most points in the NFC but have also allowed the fourth most points in the NFC.

The stable leader of the Lions has clearly been Jon Kitna. His numbers do not blow you away: 2000 yards passing, ten touchdowns, and six interceptions. However, he has made few mistakes and has lead this team back to respectability. His passer rating is at a career high of 94.3, and he has not thrown an interception in the past three games. His completion percentage is also at a career high of 67.2. His leadership and numbers have boded well for the potentially playoff bound Lions.

Another key reason why the Lions are playing so well this season is the return of running back Kevin Jones. Jones was hurt for parts of the past two seasons and part of this season, but he has come back strong in the first six games he has been back. Jones has four touchdowns and a 4.3 yards per carry average, his highest since his rookie season. The main affect he has had on the Lions has been the fact that he provides the offense with different options. The Lions have been a pass happy team this year, and his return has given the offense the ability to disguise the pass better by having the option of running the ball. Since Jones has been back, the Lions offense has been much more balanced and complete.

The Lions key concern would have to be their defense. When the Lions win, they are only allowing an average of 15.8 points a game. In their two losses, they have allowed forty-five points per game. However, in their past three games, since getting blowing out by the Redskins, the Lions have only allowed ten points per game. The defense has started to set up and force more turnovers but the losses against the Eagles and Redskins still linger in people's minds. Hopefully their defense will play strong for the rest of the season and continue their recent success.

The Lions have a long ways to go before fans can start thinking playoffs for this team. The Lions have yet to beat a really good team this year. They have played well but the Lions are known to fade in the second half. Their remaining schedule has the Lions playing Green Bay twice, the Cowboys, and Giants. All three teams have at least six wins and are playoff contenders. The Lions will see good they really are in the next three weeks with games against the Cardinals, Packers, and Giants.

Buy or Sell

2007-10-23T23:19:00.001-04:00

The Detroit Lions are six games into the season, and they have won four games and lost just two. They stand just a game out of the division lead and are the only team in their division to not lose in division play.

The Lions have been a hard team to judge this season. The games they have won have been close against mostly bad teams and their losses have been blowouts. However, in past years they have lost the games they were supposed to win and finished every season with around 4-6 wins. This season could be different. The Lions' schedule for the rest of the season is favorable, with most of their games against teams with records below 500. Their defense has been sketchy at best but has held up in a few games. Their offense has been strong; they have scored the sixth most points in the NFC (despite already having their buy week). Jon Kitna has led the team well and has a career high 93.9 passer rating. Running back Kevin Jones has come back from an early injury and produced well in his last game. With Jones back on the roster their offense should be even stronger.

Lions' fans are desperate for a playoff team, even a winning team would be great to see. This team has the potential to perhaps be a wild card or at least a 8-10 win team. We pray they can keep it up and win the games they are supposed to win. With the Pistons, Red Wings, and Tigers all having success in the last five years; the Lions are the last team in Detroit to not make the playoffs within the past decade. Hopefully that will change after this year, but as Lions' fans we know that hoping usually ends in failure.

Coming Back Strong

2007-10-16T16:41:00.001-04:00

After Michigan started their season with two embarrassing losses to Appalachian State and Oregon, most people wrote them off as they fell out of the rankings. Since those first two weeks the Wolverines have won five straight games and are now ranked 24th in the nation. Michigan still has a very good shot of winning the Big Ten title as they are the only team, besides Ohio State, that has not lost yet in Big Ten play. The Big Ten title could very well come down to another classic Michigan vs number one ranked Ohio State match up.

Michigan has stayed in contention largely due to efforts of running back Mike Hart. Hart has carried this team through the mud and has brought them back to respectability this season. He has ran for 1078 yards and twelve touchdowns. Hart has also ran for over 100 yards in every single game and has scored at least one touchdown in every game but one. He is in contention for the Heisman Trophy and rightfully so. He leads the nation in rushing and is third in rushing touchdowns. This Michigan would not have anything to play for right now without their number one back, and his recognition is clearly deserved.

A Season In Review : The 2007 Detroit Tigers

2007-10-03T22:36:00.001-04:00

The Detroit Tigers ended their season this week with a 13-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. They finished the season with an 88-74 record after making it to the World Series last year. They competed for the wild card and division title for the majority of the season but faded out as the year came to a conclusion.

The Tigers came into the 07 season with high hopes. In 2006, they were just three wins shy of winning a championship for the first time since 1984. Last season was a magical year for the Tigers as they came out of nowhere to make the playoffs for the first time in over a decade and win the pennant. Coming into this season, most fans were expecting similar results from the Tigers. They were able to sign Gary Sheffield over the off season to add that power hitter that they really needed. Almost all their key players were also back for another season of play with that added playoff experience they did not have the season before. The Tigers started the season slow but got hot through the middle stretch and at one point had the best record in all of baseball. It looked as if this season's Tigers were better then last maybe and had a good shot at the World Series again. However, they crumbled down the stretch because of injuries and also due to the fact that the Indians and Yankees starting playing better and the Tigers simply did not.

It is hard to figure out whether to criticize these 07 Tigers for not making the playoffs or to praise them for their competitiveness. First, one can look at what they accomplished this season and then what they failed at this season.

Although the Tigers had a somewhat disappointing finish to their season, there were a number of great individual performances along with some things to look forward to next season. First, the player from the 07 Tigers who deserves the most recognition is Magglio Ordonez. He won the batting crown this year with a .363 batting average. He also hit 28 home runs and knocked in 139 runs. He had perhaps his best season ever and might get some votes for the MVP award. Another Tiger who had an exceptional season was Curtis Granderson. He finished with a .302 batting average, 38 doubles, 23 triples, 26 steals, 23 home runs, and 74 RBIs. Granderson was one of the only players ever to finish a season with at least 20 homers, 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 steals. Although he had 141 strikeouts, he lowered that number from 174 the previous season. He has developed into one of the best outfielders in the league and he should continue to improve and limit his strikeout count. Carlos Guillen and Placido Polanco both had great seasons yet again and have solidified the Tigers infield. Another promising player to watch over the next few years is outfielder Cameron Maybin. Even though Maybin did not do that well statistically wise, his upside is huge and has the skills to become very successful in this league. He was one of the highest rated players in the minor leagues and getting him some experience this season will help him out significantly. Another young player that acquired some experience this season was pitcher Andre Miller. Like Maybin, Miller was one of the highest scouted players in the minor leagues. He looked great at times but also showed his inexperience at other points in the season. He will most likely be on the pitching staff for years to come in Detroit. As for the rest of the pitching staff, Justin Verlander again had a tremendous season after winning Rookie of the Year award last season. He finished with an 18-6 record and 183 strikeouts. Throughout his two year career he has a 35-17 record and will be one of the best pitchers in baseball for a long time.

Now shifting over the opposite side of the spectrum, a Tigers fan can see the negatives from the 07 Tigers. First of all, as mentioned before, they did not make the playoffs and defend their American League Championship. Someone can make any excuse or say anything good about the Tigers, but they did not reach their goal of at least making the playoffs again and beyond. They fell apart when it mattered the most and could not step up to the competition. They led their division for a number of weeks, but could not hold unto the lead.

The main reason they could not make the playoffs this season was because of their pitching staff. Last season the Tigers' team ERA was 3.84, this season it jumped up to 4.57. Their staff was riddled with injuries and they had few stable arms. They blew a number of saves this season, especially the first half of the season. Verlander led the staff but no one else really stepped up. Jeremy Bonderman was probably the biggest disappointment to the pitching staff. He started out very strong again but like usual, fell apart in the second half. The two biggest injuries that hindered them were injuries to Kenny Rogers and Joel Zumaya. Both were pillars of the staff last season but they barely played this season. Hopefully both will come back next season healthy to lead the pitching staff once again. One thing that was not talked about enough after last season, was the loss of reliever Jamie Walker. Walker signed a deal with Baltimore, because the Tigers did not offer him enough money. Walker was a great reliever for the Tigers for a number of years and not resigning him was a stupid mistake. Perhaps if they had kept Walker, their bullpen would have been more solid and would have blown less saves.

Even though the Tigers failed to reach their goals this season, it has been great to see the turn around for the Tigers. They were the laughing stock of major league baseball during the 90s and the early part of this decade and have not been good since the late 90s. They are finally competitive and fun to watch. Fans are no longer embarrassed to be Tigers' fans or to go watch their games. Team president Dave Dombrowski and team manager Jim Leyland have been a huge part of bringing the roar back to Detroit and not giving them some credit would not be right. Dombrowski has brought in a great mix of talented players to a once talent starved team. Leyland has managed that talent beautifully and was the perfect choice for being the manager of this present Tigers' team. The Tigers continued success would not have been possible without the leadership both men have provided.

Now that the 07 season is over, the Tigers can start looking ahead to 2008. The Tigers should still be a very good team and should have fewer injuries. They have a number of young developing players that will continue to only get better. They also have solid players at nearly every position. However, a few concerns would be: the age of some of their key players, a solid rotation in the pitching staff, and the need for more good pitching in the bullpen. If they deal with some of those issues over the off season, they will continue to improve towards their goal of a world championship. It will be interesting to see how this potentially great team does in 2008.

The Kitna Factor

2007-09-27T15:23:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Lions are three weeks into the season and their record is a respectable 2-1. Both of their wins were against sub par teams but they got the job done at the end, which is more than what we could say about this team in previous years. A big reason why the Lions have enjoyed mild success this year is because of their quarterback Jon Kitna. He has been the leader of this football team thus far. Many remember when he had a concussion in week two against the Vikings, only to come back late in the game to help lead them to victory. He also lead them from behind in week one against the Raiders.

Kitna's stats have been awesome so far for a 35 year old quarterback. He has thrown for 980 yards and seven (six passing, one rushing) touchdowns in three games. His quarterback rating is 97.8, compared to just 79.9 all of last season. If he keeps up his 68.5 completion percentage, it will be the highest complete percentage of his career.

Although Kitna's numbers are high, he and the team need to greatly improve in some areas. First, let us start off with Kitna. He has had good numbers as previously stated but has thrown four interceptions already. This has been a problem throughout his entire career, with his career interceptions and touchdowns almost equaling one another. He must keep getting the ball to his receivers, but he desperately needs to cut back on the turnovers if they want to have continued passing success on offense.

Another thing the Lions must improve upon is their defense. They looked alright in the first two weeks, especially against Minnesota, but they were smacked around by the Eagles during week three. They gave up 56 points, 42 of which came in the first half. The Eagles were able to rack up 536 total yards against the Lions. The Lions pass defense seem to be the major weak point of this defense, giving up 886 yards passing in three games. If they can shutdown the passing lanes and continue to stop the run decently, they will dramatically help out their offense.

A final thing they must improve upon is their rushing attack. Their numbers are very low in this area. The main reason they do not have a strong rushing attack is because they do not have a true number one back. Tatum Bell looked good in week one but has failed to produce in the last two weeks. He rushed for over 1000 yards with the Broncos but that was mostly because he was part of that great Denver rushing system. He must prove himself in Detroit where the offensive line is much weaker.

Roller Coaster

2007-09-25T16:18:00.003-04:00

The Michigan Wolverines have played four football games already and it has been a roller coaster of a season. They were humiliated in their home opener against Appalachian State and dropped from number five in the rankings, to being unranked. That was the biggest drop in the history of the polls. It did not get any better the next week, when they were destroyed again at home by Oregon. Michigan rarely starts a season out 0-2, and it looked as if we were going to lose over half our games. However, the last two games have started to turn their season around, with wins over rivals Notre Dame and Penn State. Notre Dame is awful this year, no doubt about it, but it is a huge rivalry game and Michigan embarrassed them 38-0 for their first win of the season. This past weekend they beat number ten ranked Penn State 16-9. With this recent victory, it appears as if all is not lost for the Wolverines...

Despite their last two wins, Michigan is still a shaky team. It is hard to gauge how good they actually are because the first and last two games are complete opposites of one another. As stated before, Notre Dame is horrible this season and have yet to win a game. Penn State was ranked tenth, but we always beat them and they had not played a good team yet. Also, who could forget the Appalachian State loss? Ohio State and MSU fans will be talking about that for years to come. However, the Big Ten is weak this year and overrated as usual. Michigan still has a very plausible shot of winning the Big Ten title, which is about the only thing they are still playing for. Over the next couple of weeks of Big Ten play, we will see how good or bad this team actually is.

Detroit Sports is back

2007-09-25T16:11:00.001-04:00

It has been over a year since I have posted on this site and I am thinking of coming back to start posting again on Detroit Sports. I always loved writing on this site and getting responses from readers. I have no idea if I am linked to any sites still but I would like to start posting again and getting back into the swing of things. However, I will now just give thoughts on things going on in the Detroit Sports world, because you could get far better game recaps on espn.com or multitudes of other websites. I will probably post once or twice a week and I am excited to get involved again with this site. If you are interested in posting for me, shoot me an email and I will probably post your articles. I need to clear out the link box and try to make a new banner, because Yzerman, Harrington, and Ben Wallace are not even playing in Detroit anymore.

Now unto my personal life for a little bit. I just graduated from Walled Lake Western high school and am now a freshman at Maranatha Baptist Bible College. I am majoring in business management and possibly am going to minor in marketing. I am a born again Christian and I live my life according to God's word, the Bible. If you want to know more about my personal life, you can find me on Facebook. Search Daniel Pulis, please just tell me you read my site and I will be sure to add you.

This says it all

2006-05-03T22:48:00.000-04:00

This picture of Legacy after the Oilers scored the fourth and game winning goal in game six really says it all for the Red Wings.

Also, here is a great article by Mitch Album, "End of An Era".

A tale of two different teams

2006-05-03T18:09:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons both entered the first round of the playoffs as the number one seed. Both teams had the best record in their respective leagues during the regular season.....

Six games into the NHL playoffs and five games into the NBA playoffs, both teams have gone in opposite directions. The Pistons have advanced against the Bucks in five games. The Wings however, have already been eliminated from the playoffs by losing to the Oilers in the first round 4 games to 2.

First lets examine the Wings. The Wings entered the playoffs as the favorites to win the cup and the Oilers looked like easy first round prey. This was clearly not the case as the Oilers simply destroyed the Red Wings. They outplayed the Wings the entire series. The Oilers' goalie was brilliant while Manny Legace was just so-so. The Wings had way too many stupid penalties that cost them a lot of goals. Another problem the Wings faced was the lack of goals by their stars. Brendan Shannahan only ended up with one goal the entire series. Pavel Datsyuk continued his miserable playoff streak by not scoring at all, even though he was injured for some of the series.

Despite all of the Wings' bad play and lack of desire to win, I think they lost because the Oilers were better, bottom line. They are younger, stronger, and they just outplayed the Wings night in and night out. The Wings are just too old for the new NHL. Watching this season compared to last season (2 years ago), the game is a lot faster. Younger teams will thrive because they have more speed and endurance. Over the offseason the Wings will need to find a way to keep from getting bumped in the first round and second rounds. They need to evaluate Legace, their older players, and even their younger players in order to see who needs to go and who needs to stay. GM Ken Holland will have a long summer to ponder things over...

Now the Pistons on the other hand are a different story. They closed out the eight seeded Bucks in five games. They dominated in games one and two before the Bucks won game three. The Pistons came back and won a tough game four on the road. They then closed out the series in dominated fashion at home during game five.

The Bucks really had no chance against the Pistons. The Pistons have the best starting five in basketball while the Bucks really only have Micheal Redd.

The Pistons now move unto the second round. They will face the winner of the Cleveland/Washington series. I don't think either team will be a match for the Pistons. In-fact, I think the Pistons won't reach much difficulty until the championship round where they will most likely face the Spurs once again. It should be a fun ride as we watch the Pistons try to win back the championship for Detroit.

4/19 Notes

2006-04-19T16:56:00.000-04:00

There has been a lot of Detroit Sports news lately and I have not posted much about any of it.

First, I will start off with Chauncey Billups. Billups great season is being recognized with a MVP nomination. Billups is averaging around 19 points a game and 8 assists per game, both career highs. He has lead the Pistons to the best record in the NBA as they head into the playoffs. He has a good shot of winning the award and that would be great to add that into his long list of accomplishments.

The Tigers started the season 5-0 but have been doing poorly ever since. They lost their first tough series against the White Sox along with a number of other games. They have lost 5 of 7 and are now just 7-7 on this young season. Despite the bad play of late, one Tiger is getting huge attention for his individual play on the field. Chris Shelton has hit 9 homeruns in the first 14 games for the Tigers. It is amazing that he is doing this well considering the Tigers picked him up in the rule 5 draft. His hot streak will probably cool off but he should have a great season the rest of the way.

One team I have not talked about at all lately is the Detroit Red Wings. They recently clinched the Presidents's Trophy for having the best record in the NHL. They are seeded at the number one spot and they will face the Oilers in the first round. The most amazing thing about the Red Wings record is the number of road wins they have. They set the NHL record for road wins this season at 31 games. Anything less then a Stanley Cup for this team is not good enough.

Tigers Start Season Strong

2006-04-04T14:37:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Tigers are on top of their division......but it is only one game into the season. However, they are still 1-0 and have looked good early. New Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers looked strong in his first start as a Tiger giving up only one run and three hits. Chris Shelton also looked strong hitting two solo homers on opening day.

We say this every year and it never comes true, but is this the Tigers year? Will they finally do something? Maybe even finish with a 500 record or better? The last two seasons there was hype surrounding the Tigers. They had signed some good players and some thought they might be able to contend for the division. But the Tigers again let us down, by finsishing the last two seasons below 500 and no where near the playoffs. Before this season it was different, the Tigers did not sign any big players (unless you count Rogers as one) and there has not been any high expectations for them to succeed. Maybe just maybe, with the pressure off them, they will be able to finally have a productive year. I am probably wrong and the Tigers will probably be miserable again but you never know.....

Kitna and McCown In, Harrington Out?

2006-03-17T14:07:00.000-05:00

It appears that the Joey Harrington era in Detroit is about to be over. The Lions signed quarterbacks Jon Kitna and Josh McCown in a probable effort to replace Harrington and Jeff Garcia. In fact, Garcia has already signed with the Eagles, ending his one year stint in Detroit.

Kitna signed a four year $11.5 million dollar contract with Detroit which included a $3.5 million dollar extension. Kitna has been the backup to Carson Palmer over the last two seasons. However, the last season that Kitna started the whole season, in 2003, he did very good. He threw for over 3500 yards and 26 touchdown passes. Some even considered him to be a MVP candidate. The Lions will be hoping he can produce a similar season as he did in 2003. In his nine year career, he has thrown 108 touchdown passes and 104 interceptions. His career passer rating is 75.3.

Josh McCown signed a two year deal with the Lions worth $6 million. McCown is only 26 years old and he has played even fewer games than Harrington (McCown has started in 33 games). In his career he has thrown for 25 touchdown passes along with 29 interceptions.

Kitna and McCown will be battling for the starting position at quarterback. Kitna should be starter. He has more experience and better numbers. As mentioned before, Kitna's last full season as starter was brilliant. Hopefully, the eventual starter will be a serviceable quarterback.

Again, with these signings, Harrington is most likely done in Detroit. The Lions drafted him with the number three pick with high expectations, but Harrington has not measured up to the hype surrounding him. His numbers got a little better in his first three seasons but last year they got worse. He did not even start the whole season and his numbers were horrible. He had a few decent games but not enough to make the Lions keep him as starter. It was not entirely his fault that they did not succeed, but he shoulders most of the blame.

Another Disappointing Season

2006-03-16T20:26:00.000-05:00

The Michigan Wolverines seemed destined to play in the NCAA Tournament this season. They beat Michigan State and then Wisconsin early in the season, making it the first time since 1994 that they had beaten two ranked teams in consecutive games. They were also ranked for the first time since 1998. However, they were unable to continue their strong play. They fell apart and lost a number of games. It seemed that they had gotten back into the tournament by beating highly ranked Illinois but they lost their final two games. The Wolverines were not selected to go to the big dance and they will have to play in the NIT tournament again.

Michigan really let themselves down. They had a lot of talent this year and they were fully capable of making it into the tournament. This team can never seem to put an entire season together. I think their biggest problem was not being able to win on the road. All three of their wins against ranked opponents were home games. Michigan lost most of their road games by a large margin which contributed to their mediocre 8-8 Big Ten record. As the old saying goes, "There is always next year", to bad this was probably was "Michigan's year".

Pistons Trade Darko

2006-02-22T23:51:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Pistons have announced that they have traded Darko Milicic and Carlos Arroyo to the Orlando Magic for center Kelvin Cato. This trade does not come at a total shock, but it was somewhat suprising that the Pistons gave up their former number two draft pick. By trading away Darko, it will free up some cap space for the Pistons as they try to keep their core nucleus of players together.

Three years ago when the Detroit Pistons drafted Darko Milicic with the number 2 draft pick overall, most thought that Joe Dumars had made a mistake. Dumars passed up Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Carmello Anthony and selected Milicic. Darko barely played his rookie season and his development, or lack thereof, was over-shadowed by the Pistons winning the championship. In his sophomore season he still did not play much and his numbers were barely any higher. He was over-shadowed again by the Pistons almost winning the championship. This season has just been a microcosm of his entire professional career with the same lack of minutes in his first two seasons.

I think a big reason Darko never played for the Pistons was because of how good the Pistons actually are. They have the best starting five in the league and they never had the time to let him get minutes. They never needed him to develop into a starter, so they did not rush his development. He never played, so he was never able to show what he could or could not do. He will probably be a decent NBA player elsewhere but clearly he could not do it with the Pistons.

All-Star Game Review

2006-02-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

Normally I would not post about the NBA All-Star game but last night's game was a perfect example of how good the Detroit Pistons are. The East was down by 21 points at half time and it looked as if the West was going to win big. However, late in the third quarter, all four Pistons reserve All-Stars checked into the game for the East. The Pistons brought back the East into the game on the way to a 122-120 win. Yes, it was the All-Star game where neither team plays much defense; but it was still impressive to watch the Pistons bring back the East against the best players in the league. This game proved that they can play against anybody. Again, it was just the All-Star game, but it was still fun to watch.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

2006-02-19T00:24:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Pistons finally got some much deserved respect for their amazing start to this season. Four of their five starters were selected to the NBA All-Star game (which will be on later today). The only starting Piston who did not make the team was Tayshaun Prince. The Pistons have been shafted in previous years for All-Star selections and it was nice to finally see them get some attention. The Pistons' goal this season was to have homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs and they should be able to achieve that goal. They have the best record in the league and they show no signs of slowing down.

Lions Sign Martz

2006-02-09T14:16:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Lions have signed former St. Louis Rams head coach Mike Martz to be their new offensive coordinator. Martz and the Lions had been trying to work a deal for a while, and on Wednesday they were finally able to get a deal done. Terms of the deal are not official yet but it should be around $3 million for 3 years.

This was a wonderful signing for the Lions. Martz has been known to be an offensive mastermind. He was part of the "greatest show on turf" when he coached the Rams. He even lead them to a Super Bowl in a losing effort to the Patriots. The Lions' offense has been horrible since the Millen era(and even before then really). Martz should be able to make their offense a lot better with his coaching ability. The one big question for Martz and new coach Rod Marinelli will be whether they should keep quarterback Joey Harrington. As we all know, Harrington has not lived anywhere near his high first round expectations. Some believe that Harrington is not suited well for a west coast offense. Maybe Martz will tailor the offense to Harrington's skills so he can succeed for once. All I know is that Martz will make the Lions' offense better, but how much better will he make them is the key point. The Lions need vast improvement and Martz should hopefully be up to this difficult task.

I leave you with this brief overview of Martz's coaching career taken from Len Pasquarelli of http://espn.com.

"In each of his full seasons in St. Louis, the Martz-designed offense ranked among the top 10 in the NFL and twice rated No. 1 overall."

"Not counting the 11 games he missed last season, during which Joe Vitt served as interim head coach, Martz compiled a 56-36 record with the Rams. He led St. Louis to four playoff appearances, two division titles and a Super Bowl XXXVI berth. In his five full seasons in St. Louis, the Martz-designed offense statistically ranked in the top 10 every year, and was No. 1 in 2000 and 2001."

Super Bowl XL

2006-02-05T00:03:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe that the 40th Super Bowl will be hosted in Detroit today. The Lions will be at the Super Bowl this year but just not in the Super Bowl. It is exciting that the biggest sporting event in history will be within one hour of my house. It will be fun seeing "The Bus" coming back to his hometown to play in his most likely last game. I think the Steelers will win in a close game, but we will see what happens. With the Lions obviously being out of the Super Bowl again; it will be just another Super Bowl to sit and watch two great teams play while wishing we were cheering for out lovable Lions.

Is this our year?

2006-01-29T12:40:00.000-05:00

Michigan won their second straight game over a ranked opponent by beating 21st ranked Wisconsin 85-76 at home. The win gave Michigan their first back to back wins against a ranked opponent since 1994. The win puts Michigan in a tie with Illinois and Iowa for the Big Ten lead. All three teams sit at 5-2 in Big Ten play but Illinois holds the tie-breaker because they beat Michigan earlier in the season. Michigan's overall record is 15-3 which is their best start since the 1992-1993 season.

Michigan is a having an amazing season. Michigan basketball fans are not used to seeing them do this well. Through self imposed sanctions and injuries to key players, Michigan has not had a good season in a long time. This season, Michigan fans are asking themselves-is this our year? Is this the year we finally make the tournament and make it to at least the sweet 16 or beyond? I think this season is Michigan's year. I don't think they will win the Big Ten title because the Big Ten is very strong this season. However, I do think they will make it to the big dance and win a few games. They have a strong starting five and a good bench players. They play a good zone defense and they have guys who can score big baskets like Daniel Horton and Dion Harris. They will be even better when starting forward Lester Abram comes back from his ankle injury.

Michigan has nine games left in conference play. I think they need to win a big road game in order to fully establish themselves as a true Big Ten title contender. Both their wins against ranked opponents were at home and they need to win a big road game to legitamize themselves. When the new rankings come out, Michigan should be ranked for the first time since 1998.

The Biggest Win

2006-01-27T23:31:00.000-05:00

I have decided to start posting again. I wanted to come back when something big happened in the Detroit Sports realm. I think Michigan beating 12th ranked Michigan State in college basketball is a good way to start....

This past Wednesday, the Michigan Wolverines beat the 12th ranked Michigan State Spartans 72-67. The win put Michigan near the top of the Big Ten standings. Michigan was one of the highest team receiving votes outside of the top 25. With the win against State, Michigan should be ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 1998.

Michigan has showed that this season is different from previous seasons. They are 14-3 with a 4-2 record in Big Ten play. They just fell shy of beating 6th ranked Illinois on the road earlier in the season. They also played UCLA tough but lost again against a ranked opponent. Although Michigan played good against UCLA and Illinois, the bottom line was that they still lost. That is why the win against State was so huge. They were down in the first half by 13 but they came back strong and took the lead. They not only took the lead, they held the lead. Michigan played a great zone defense to shut down State in the second half. State fans may say Michigan won because of the calls, but Michigan deserved to win.

Senior point guard Daniel Horton continued his great season leading the Wolverines with 23 points. He brought Michigan back in the first half by scoring 13 points, then in the second half he scored 10 points to help pad the lead.

Daniel Horton won Big Ten freshman of the year in 2002, but his game seemed to decline during his sophomore and junior season. Many people were wondering if he was the real deal or not. This season he has proved that he is the real deal with career highs in points, assists, steals, and all field goal percentages.

Michigan plays 23rd ranked Wisconsin this Saturday. The winner will sit on top of the strong Big Ten conference.

I'm coming back

2006-01-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

I have decided to start posting again on my website in the near future. I am still going to cover primarily Detroit Sports but I am going to change the way I cover them. Instead of covering game recaps, where you could get anywhere, I am going to analyze what happens in the Detroit Sports world. I also might eliminate some of the teams that I cover but I do not know yet. I should be up and running again this weekend.

An Explanation

2005-10-23T00:34:00.000-04:00

Sorry for not updating in the last few months. I have decided to shut down this site. I might come back in a few months but probably not. I am just too busy with high school and work to post a few times a week. Thanks for anyone who has ever read my horrible posts! Please email me to tell me what you thought of my site, good or bad.....

9/13 Notes

2005-09-13T21:59:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. In the last two weeks or so a lot has happened in Detroit Sports. Most of the news has been bad so I will start with pretty much the only good news in Detroit.

The Detroit Lions opened the season on a good note beating the Packers 17-3. The Lions have won the opening game in the last three straight seasons.

Joey Harrington looked good throwing for 167 yards and 2 touchdowns. He again did not throw an interception. New Lion Marcus Pollard had 5 catches including a touchdown pass from Harrington.

The Lions looked good in this game. Their defense was especially good holding Green Bay to just three points, the lowest ever scored by Brett Farve. The main thing the Lions have to work on is their offensive sceme. They have been calling some awful plays for Harrington to run. Another thing they need to do is block better for Harrington. Harrington does not play half bad when he has some time in the pocket.

The Detroit Red Wings lost Pavel Datsyuk to a Russian team. The Wings apparently could not give him enough money for him to want to come back. It is very hard to see Datsyuk go. I thought he was the most exciting player in the NHL to watch. He was just hitting his prime, and I just don't think the Wings will be the same without him. I will most remember Pavel for that awesome goal he scored on Marty Turco a few years ago.

Although the Wings lost Datsyuk, they were able to resign Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg is a young superstar in the making. He has been with the Wings for a number of years now and it was nice to see one of their young stars come back.

The formly third rank team in the nation were beaten by their rival Notre Dame on Saturday. Of course I am talking about Michigan's 17-10 loss to the Irish. Michigan's defense played decent but their offense was horrible. Mike Hart was out of the game early due to an injury but that is no excuse. Michigan was on the one yard line twice but they turned the ball over both times. Michigan should have won this game but again they choked. They always seem to lose a game before starting the Big Ten schedule, which almost always knocks them out of the championship picture from the start.

9/1 Notes

2005-09-01T16:53:00.000-04:00

I will be gone this weekend for Labor Day. Once I get back I will post on what happened over the weekend in Detroit Sports.

Over the weekend the 4th ranked Michigan Wolverines will play unranked Northern Illinois to start the season. Michigan is heavily favored and they should be able to win.

The Lions will have one more chance to get ready for the regular season by playing in their final preseason game. They have lost every game thus far in the preseason and it would be nice if they could get a victory.

I recently re-did the sidebar. I now have a lot less links in my sidebar. I went to almost every link I had on my site and I found out that a lot of the sports blogs have stopped posting. Maybe I am wrong but it seems like running sports blogs is getting less popular.

Disgusting

2005-08-30T13:25:00.000-04:00

That is the first word that came to my mind after I watched the Lions play the Rams last night on Monday Night Football. Sure it was only preseason, but the Lions got rocked 37-13.

The Rams scored on their first three drives as they took the early lead. This game was never close as the Rams held on to the lead for the entire game.

The Lions again could not get into the endzone with their starting offense. The Lions drove down the field a few times with their starting unit but they could only muster 2 field goals. The only touchdown the Lions scored was late in the game by their third string quarterback.

Joey Harrington went 9-18 for 106 yards. Although Harrington did not play that great, I don't think it was all his fault. The Lions' offensive line did not give him any time to throw the ball. Harrington was constantly under pressure and he was forced to get rid of the ball early and often. When the line did give him some time, Harrington played alright.

Jeff Garcia continued his bad preseason by going just 2-9 passing along with a fumble. He was supposed to be pushing Harrington for the number one spot but Garcia has failed to accomplish that.

So far this preseason the Lions have looked bad. They have lost every game and their starting offense together has failed to score a single touchdown. The Lions have just one more preseason game to get ready for the regular season. They probably won't play many of their starters to prevent injuries. The only thing good that has come of this preseason is that they have not had any major injuries.

Are the Tigers having a good season?

2005-08-25T14:30:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Tigers sit at 61-64, three games below 500. They have played decent of late but they are pretty much out of the wild card race.

When the season started for the Tigers, expectations were high. The Tigers had signed a big name player in the offseason, Magglio Ordonez, to a huge contract. The Tigers also had made their bullpen much stronger by adding Troy Percival and Kyle Farnsworth. The Tigers also had two all-stars returning to the team, Ivan Rodriguez and Carlos Guillen to help lead the team. Their pitching staff was also a year older.

Once the season started things started to go down hill quickly for the Tigers. Very early in the season they lost Ordonez to an injury. Ordonez did not come back till almost mid-way through the season. Later in the season the Tigers lost Troy Percival to a season ending injury. The Tigers then traded away Ugueth Urbina for Placido Palonco. A few weeks ago the Tigers traded Kyle Farnsworth for a few minor leaguers. With the injuries and trades the Tigers have a very thin bullpen. Their bullpen has lost a lot of close games and that has hurt the Tigers greatly.

Along with the Tigers bullpen being weak, some of their better players are not having a good season. Pudge, who was so good last year, is having a rough season. Carlos Pena, who lead the team with 27 homers last year, was sent down to the minors for almost the entire season due to his horrible play. Even all-star Carlos Guillen's numbers are way down from last season.

All in all I think the Tigers are doing about as good as we can expect out of them. Sure they could be a lot better but they are still around 500. They are on pace to win more games then they did last season. Their pitching staff has done well overall and their hitting has been decent. Who knows what might have happened this year if they had not been plagued with injuries to some of their best players.

This season is pretty much over for the Tigers. They are not going to make the playoffs but they can still try to finish above 500. A Tigers team has not finished about 500 for the regular season in over a decade. I think a season above 500 will greatly help the Tigers build for next season.

Preseason Report

2005-08-13T17:47:00.000-04:00

The Lions played their first preseason game on Friday night. They lost to the Jets 10-3.

I think the most important stat to this game was 9 for 9. That is what Joey Harrington went on the night. He was 9-9 for 100 yards passing. It was nice to see Harrington get off to a nice start.

The worst thing during last night's game for the Lions was the loss of fullback Cory Schlesinger. Schlesinger suffered a leg injury and will be out 6-8 weeks. At least his injury came early in the preseason so he has time to recover before the majority of the regular season is over.

Although the Lions lost, it was still nice to see them play a good first preseason game. They will have 3 more preseason games before the real season starts.

Osgood back in Detroit?

2005-08-09T12:29:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Red Wings have signed Chris Osgood to a one year deal worth $900,000. Osgood helped the Wings win the Stanley Cup back in 1998 as their starting goaltender.

Osgood left the team in 2001 when the Wings signed Dominik Hasek. Osgood then signed with the Islanders before being traded to the Blues in 2003. Last season Osgood put up good numbers with a 31-25-8 record as the Blues top netminder.

Throughout his career, Osgood has put up good numbers. He has a 305-177-66 career record with a 2.40 goals-against-average. Osgood also has 41 career shutouts. With the Wings he went 221-110-46 in the regular season and 38-25 in the playoffs.

With this signing the Wings now have a solid goaltending core. Osgood will battle against Manny Legace for the top spot at goaltender. Legace went 23-10-5 in 41 games last season with the Wings. Legace has a 77-35-18 career record. Legace's career G.A.A. is a slim 2.22.

This was a good signing for the Wings. They strengthened their defense as they added this veteran goalie to the lineup. Osgood should fit right in with the rest of the team as they welcome him back to Detroit.

8/2 Notes

2005-08-02T18:13:00.000-04:00

I am finally back from vacation. While I was gone a lot happened in the Detroit Sports scene.

I will first start out with the Red Wings. With the NHL finally ending the lockout, the Red Wings now have to get their team together with a salary cap. They will be losing a number of players. Long time Red Wing Darren McCarty has already left the team. Mathieu Dandenault is also expected to leave. Derian Hatcher left as well, signing with the Flyers.

Although the Wings are losing a number of players, they did not lose their long time captain Steve Yzerman. Yzerman signed a one year deal to stay with the Wings for another season.

I have been out of hockey for so long that I barely know what is going on anymore. For awesome Wings' coverage, head over to On the Wings.

The Detroit Tigers have pretty much given up on trying to make the playoffs. They proved that by trading one of their best relievers, Kyle Farnsworth, for two prospects. The Tigers now have a very weak bullpen after trading Farnsworth. The Tigers sit about 5 games under 500, and about 8 games out of the wild card spot.

Even though the Tigers have given up on their season, I think they made a smart move by signing Placido Polanco to a four year deal. They traded for Polanco earlier in the season, and he has done a good job for the Tigers since they picked him up.

The Detroit Lions signed their first round draft pick Mike Williams to a five year deal. Williams should fit in nicely with Roy Williams and Charles Rogers.

Gone Again

2005-07-24T23:49:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the serious lack of updates recently. I have been busy, and there has not been a lot of news in Detroit other than Brown leaving the Pistons. I will be gone again for the next week. Expect a lot more updates in August.

7/19 Notes

2005-07-19T13:07:00.000-04:00

I was gone again most of the past week so I was unable to post anything new.

The biggest story in Detroit during this past week was the departure of Larry Brown. Although it is not official yet, the Pistons and Brown are working on a buyout that will allow Brown to leave Detroit after just two seasons of being the Pistons head coach.

Larry Brown had said all along that he wanted to coach in Detroit if he was healthy enough too. He apparently could not guarantee the Pistons a full season because of his health issues.

All of this seems so strange, how can Larry Brown be leaving? He came within one win of winning two straight NBA Championships. The Pistons and he seemed so close to one another at the end of this past season. The Pistons played so good under Brown, they consistently came back in playoff series when they were down. I still can not believe Brown would want to leave Detroit for something else (if his health has nothing to do with him wanting to leave).

Even though it is a huge disappointment that Brown is leaving, it was a great two years with him in Detroit. They Pistons won the NBA Title the very first season he coached them. They were huge under-dogs against the Lakers in the Finals, but the Pistons destroyed the Lakers in just five games. This season, in the playoffs, the Pistons came within one quarter of beating the eventually NBA Champions Spurs.

In other news in Detroit, the Red Wings signed Mike Babcock, as expected, to be their new head coach. Babcock comes from the Ducks, where he came within one game of winning the Stanley Cup two seasons ago. I still am not sure about this signing, but we will just have to see what happens.

All-Star Week

2005-07-11T18:21:00.000-04:00

The MLB All-Star game is in Detroit this year. The Tigers are represented by their catcher Ivan Rodriguez. Tonight is the Home Run Derby and the actual game is on Tuesday.

It is exciting to have an All-Star game in Detroit. The Tigers have been doing decent this year, and it will be interesting to see how they respond after the All-Star break. The Tigers record sits at 42-44, 15 games back of the division leading White Sox. They sit 6 games back of the Wild Card spot.

The Tigers strength throughout the year has been their pitching. Their team ERA is an amazing 3.88 on the season. Four of their starting pitchers have an ERA below 4.19. Last season the Tigers team ERA was 4.93, over one more earned run per-game than this season. With the Tigers pitching much better this season over last season, one has to wonder if the Tigers hitting has to do with their below 500 record. Here are the Tigers offensive numbers from this season compared to last season.

This Season
Batting Average: .268
On Base Percentage: .322
Slugging Percentage: .418
Walks: 218
Hits: 798
Home Runs: 77
Runs Batted In: 362

Last Season
Batting Average: .272
On Base Percentage: .337
Slugging Percentage: .449
Walks: 518
Hits: 1531
Home Runs: 201
Runs Batted In: 800

As you can see, the Tigers offensive numbers are down from last season. However, now that Magglio Ordonez is healthy, the Tigers offensive should get better. They need to start hitting better to keep their record around 500. I do not expect them to finish much higher than 500 even though I think they are capable of finishing above 500.

The Tigers have won five of their last six games after they lost 10 of 12. Their bats have been lighting it up and their pitching has been very solid. They have outscored their opponents 36-21 in the last 6 games. Who knows, maybe they will be able to play this well for the rest of the season.

With the season now halfway over, the Tigers can start to think about finishing the season on a strong note. They probably won't make the playoffs but they can finish the season on a solid note. If the Tigers finish this season around 500, it will be the second straight season they have finished around 500, something good to build on for next season.

Another Note: Here are some good articles about the All-Star Game.
There's no place like Detroit
Meet the real Detroit

Wings Drop Lewis

2005-07-10T22:37:00.000-04:00

With the NHL Lockout coming to an end, the Detroit Red Wings have decided not to
renew Dave Lewis' contract after just two seasons of being the Red Wings head coach. With Lewis out, the Red Wings are seriously going after Mike Babcock. Babcock has been the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' head coach for the past two seasons.

I fully understand why the Red Wings are not going to resign Lewis. In his first year as the Wings coach the Wings could not even get past the first round of the playoffs (they lost to Babcock's Ducks). In his second year with the Wings they lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Calgary Flames. The Red Wings are like the Yankees of hockey, anything less than a championship every year is unacceptable. When Lewis was handed the reigns, he inherited a team that was ready to compete for the Stanley Cup. He did not have to build up the team because the pieces were already in place. His failure to get the Wings deep into the playoffs is what cost him his job. He has been coaching, as a head or assistant coach, in Detroit since 1987.

Although I agree with Lewis not being resigned, I am not sure if I exactly agree with the Wings going after Babcock. I know he came within one game of the Stanley Cup a few years back, but what else has he really done? Last season the Ducks did not even make the playoffs and they have a below 500 record (in the regular season) with Babcock as their head coach. He coming to Detroit might be a big risk, but we just have to wait and see. I am not the biggest hockey fan in the world so maybe I am completely wrong. Hopefully it will work out if they sign him (which appears as if they will sign him).

The only way we can tell if his signing was a good one, is how well the Wings perform under his coaching.

Around the Horn

2005-07-07T12:46:00.000-04:00

There has been a lot of news in the Detroit Sports scene lately. I have been on vacation and since I have not been able to see any of the stories unfold, I am just going to put up links to articles about the news going on.

Brown insists nothing's changed with Pistons

The Pressure on Harrington

Lewis out, Babcock in?

Box Scores, Old News and Birthday Presents

Detroit's Bonderman matches career high in wins

Tigers Get Swept

2005-07-01T14:49:00.000-04:00

Right after I posted about the Tigers potentially being able to make a run at the wild card, they got swept by the White Sox in three games. The Tigers record now sits at 36-39. Detroit opens a home series tonight against the struggling Yankees.

The Tigers lost game one of the White Sox series 2-1. Nate Robertson pitched a gem, but the Tigers could not give him enough run support. The Tigers left runners stranded a few times and that really hurt them in this loss.

In game two the Tigers lost again by one run, this time losing 4-3 in 13 innings. Frank Thomas of the White Sox hit the game winning homerun in the 13th inning. Jason Johnson pitched a great game for the Tigers, but yet again, another good pitching game went down the tube for Detroit.

In game three of this series the Tigers got destroyed 6-1. Freddy Garcia of the White Sox pitched a complete game five hitter to get his 8th win of the season. Mike Maroth picked up the loss for Detroit. Maroth has lost 7 out of his last 8 and his record now sits at 5-9.

The Tigers problem throughout this series was their hitting. They managed just 5 runs in three games against the White Sox. They must start to support their pitchers and get some runs. The Tigers played weak against an obviously better team. If the Tigers can't compete against baseball's best, then they have no right to have a shot at the playoffs.

Brief Draft Recap

2005-06-30T00:04:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons had the 26th pick in the NBA Draft and they selected Jason Maxiell from the University of Cincinnati. Maxiell is a 6'7, 250 pound power foward. In his senior year he averaged 15.7 points a game, 2.7 blocks a game, and 7.7 rebounds a game. He works hard and some people have even compared him to a mini Ben Wallace. Maxiell should hopefully be able to help out the Pistons thin bench this upcoming season.

Although I think Maxiell potentially could be a good player in the NBA, I think the Pistons should have went after a shooter. They have a lot of good big men already and they need a three point shooter. Maybe the Pistons should have went after a big time three point shooter like Salim Stoudamire. Remember, the Pistons could not hit any three pointers during the Finals and that might have cost them the championship.

The Pistons also selected power foward Amir Johnson with their second pick. The Pistons final pick was Alex Acker.

Click here to get thoughts from the Pistons on these draft picks.

Tigers preparing to make a run?

2005-06-27T16:27:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Tigers record sits at 36-36, exactly 500. They have not been 500 this late in the season for a long time. The Tigers are seventh in the AL Wild Card Standings but they are just 4.5 games behind the Wild Card leading Baltimore Orioles.

The Tigers could be preparing to make a run at that Wild Card spot. The Tigers open series against the division leading White Sox and Yankees this week. If the Tigers could both of those series, it would give Detroit even more confidence as the All-Star break comes closer. The Tigers have kept in the Wild Card race this long with a lot of injuries to some of their best players. However, the injury bug appears to be leaving them as they might get Carlos Guillen back into the lineup soon. The Tigers also should be getting Magglio Ordonez back into the lineup sometime soon. Ordonez has been injured for almost the entire season with a hernia. The Tigers paid big money for Ordonez and it will nice to finally see his bat in the lineup.

Besides the Tigers injuries leaving them, I think they have a shot at the Wild Card spot because of their pitching staff. Their pitching staff has been solid this year. Jason Johnson, Mike Maroth, Jeremy Bonderman, and Nate Robertson, four of their starters, all have an ERA below 4.30. Their bull-pen is now stronger as well because Troy Percival finally appears to be healthy. He has a 3.98 ERA along with 16 stikeouts in just 20 innings of work. He only has seven saves on the season but he will get more saves as the season progresses. The Tigers staff really needs to keep up their solid play if the Tigers want a shot at the Wild Card.

The Tigers recently made a trade that has made them better. The Tigers traded reliever Ugueth Urbina for infielder Placido Polanco. Since coming to Detroit, Polanco has been hitting .383 with 9 RBIs in just 15 games with Detroit. His awesome play has really helped out the Tigers.

Now that the Pistons season is over, the Tigers are the central focus in Detroit Sports. The All-Star game is in Detroit this year and that should put even more attention on the Tigers play. It would very exciting if the Tigers could make a run for the Wild Card. They have not even been close to the playoffs in such a long time, and the city of Detroit is just crazing for their baseball team to be good once again. The Tigers should be fun to watch for the rest of the season as they try to make a run at the playoffs.

Another note: My site was in the Detroit Free Press. Click here to read the short article.

That's It and That's All

2005-06-24T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons are no longer the Champions of the NBA as the San Antonio Spurs beat Detroit in game seven 81-74. Tim Duncan finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds and was named the MVP of the series.

You could analyze this game over and over but it really came down to the fourth quarter. The game was tied 57-57 going into the fourth quarter when the Pistons fell apart. Rasheed Wallace was pretty much the Pistons only source of offense down the stretch. The Pistons just simply did not show up in the fourth quarter like they should have. Throughout these playoffs they have played their best when their backs were against the wall but they could just not get it done tonight.

Although it was very disappointing to watch the Pistons lose; we still have to give a lot of credit to the Spurs. The Spurs played great when it ultimately mattered the most. San Antonio turned up their defense and shutdown Detroit. The Spurs played together as a team and did not play like individuals like the Pistons did tonight.

The Pistons now have to look to next season. The biggest question this off-season will be if whether Larry Brown will return to coach the Pistons. He has not yet said yet if he will return to Detroit or not. Something else to the Pistons have to address is their bench. They have an awesome starting five but their bench is too thin. Antonio McDyess was the one bench player on the Pistons who played good in almost every game during the playoffs and that is just not good enough.

Even though it ended on a very disappointing note, the Pistons still had a great 2004-2005 season. They won 54 games in the regular season to finish with the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They played the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers in the first round of the playoffs and beat them in 5 games. They then played their rivals the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs. The Pistons beat the Pacers in 6 games after being down 2-1 in the series. After beating the Pacers the Pistons went on to play the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons had to battle Shaq and a very good Dwyane Wade. After being down 3-2 the Pistons won game six at home to tie the series at 3-3. The Pistons went on the road in game seven and beat the Heat to clinch the conference title. After beating the Heat they played the series that they just lost in. They played the Spurs in the NBA Finals but fell short of a second straight championship losing in game seven.

I think the Pistons season will be remembered for a long time. It will be remembered for the good and the bad. It will be remembered for the horrible brawl earlier in the regular season but this season will also be remembered for a team that played great most of the time and came just one good quarter shy of a second straight NBA Championship.

Game seven is on!

2005-06-22T00:52:00.000-04:00

For the first time since 1994 the NBA Finals will have a game seven. The Detroit Pistons forced a game seven by beating the Spurs 95-86 in game six of the NBA Finals.

After Rasheed Wallace made that bone-headed defensive play on Horry in game six it looked like the Pistons were down and out. Rasheed came back in game seven and was one of the main reasons why the Pistons won game six. Rasheed had 5 fouls on him in the fourth quarter. He came back later in the fourth quarter and scored 7 huge points for the Pistons. Without his huge game, the Pistons would probably have lost game six.

Chauncey Billups had another huge game for the Pistons. He scored 21 points and had 6 assists. He hit 5 three pointers and hit two big free throws at the end of the game to help seal the victory for the Pistons. He has played good all series, and if the Pistons win the championship he will no doubt win Finals MVP again.

Before this game, Rip Hamilton had only played one good game all series. In game six he showed up with a game high 23 points on 9-19 shooting. Rip also had 3 assists and 5 rebounds.

This victory was just another example of how good the Pistons are. No one was giving them much of a chance to win this game after blowing game five, but they play their best when it matters the most. They now need to win just one more game, on the road, to become back to back champs.

We now look to game seven. I don't think there is any way the Pistons are going to lose. They have come too far this season to fall short on the final game of the season. The Pistons have clearly been the better team in the last 4 games of this series and that trend should continue in game seven. You could analyze the game for hours but it comes down to the teams playing the game on Thursday night. Game seven should be another great game.

One Play

2005-06-21T13:34:00.000-04:00

In one of the best playoff games I have ever seen the Detroit Pistons lost to the San Antonio Spurs 96-95 in overtime in game five of the NBA Finals. The Pistons are now down 3-2 going back to San Antonio for game six and seven.

In my mind this game came down to just one play. At the end of overtime the Pistons were up by two with just seconds left, but the Spurs had the ball. Ginobili dribbled to the corner with a man on him. Rasheed Wallace left his man, Robert Horry, and went to double team Ginobili. Horry was left wide open behind the three point line. Ginobili then passed the ball to Horry and he hit the game winning three pointer. The Pistons had five seconds to score but they could not get it done. It was one of the dumbest things Rasheed could have possibley done. Rasheed left open one of the best clutch three point shooters of all time. That play cost them the game, plain and simple. It was not a game where the Pistons played bad and were just lucky to have a chance to win the game at the end. The Pistons played a good game. They kept the game close and they kept answering the Spurs scoring. If the Pistons lose this series, this stupid defensive play by Rasheed will be talked about for a long time.

Although it was a tough to watch the Pistons lose so close, there were still a few Pistons who played good games. Chauncey Billups was amazing again as he scored 34 points along with 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Ben Wallace scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. I think Tayshaun Prince had one of his best games of the playoffs. He did awesome in the fourth quarter. He scored a number of key baskets and he grabbed a few important rebounds in the fourth quarter.

Robert Horry was amazing for the Spurs. Along with the game winning shot, he scored 21 points. Of those 21 points, 18 of them were in the fourth quarter or overtime.

Despite what you may have heard on ESPN, Tim Duncan had a horrible game. Sure he scored 26 points and 19 rebounds but when it mattered the most he folded. He missed 7 straight free throws in the fourth quarter and overtime. I don't think he even scored at all during the overtime period. He also missed an easy tip-in as time expired in regulation that would have given the win to the Spurs.

The Pistons are now in a deep deep hole. They must go to San Antonio and win two games. We all remember how awful the Pistons looked in San Antonio during the first two games of this series. The Pistons have been through a lot this season and this is just another hurdle they will have to cross. No one is really expecting them to win two games in San Antonio, but the Pistons are the defending champs. They are still the best team in the league until they are beaten. I am not sure if the Pistons will win both games, but I know they are capable. The Pistons play their best when their backs are fully against the wall. Game six is tonight and it should be another great game.

Manu's Injury

2005-06-18T11:34:00.000-04:00

In the first two games of the NBA Finals Manu Ginobili was unstoppable for the Spurs. Ginobili scored 26 points in game one and 27 points in game two as the Spurs went up 2-0 on the Pistons. In game three Ginobili was injured early in the game. He banged up his knee and was a non-factor scoring only 7 points on just 2-6 shooting. The Pistons went on to win 96-79 allowing them to get back in the series. In game four Ginobili was again a non-factor scoring only 12 points as the Pistons destroyed the Spurs 102-71 to tie the series at 2-2.

The Spurs have said that Ginobili is not injured instead saying that his lack of scoring has been attributed to the Pistons great defense. Although the Spurs are saying he is not injured, we all know that his knee is bothering him. He could not go from 26.5 points per-game, in the first two games, to just 9.5 points per-game in the last two games. Ginobili's near absence on offense has greatly affected the Spurs as we have seen them getting blown out the last two games.

Although Ginobili is most likely injured, I do think that his injury has affected the Pistons getting back into this series. If the Pistons win the championship again people will say it was only because Ginobili was injured. If the Pistons win the championship it will not be because of Ginobili's injury. The Pistons have completely dominated the last two games on offense and defense. They have shut down the lanes that the Spurs were getting through during the first two games of this series. The Pistons have also been a lot more effective passing the ball and not turning it over so much. The bottom line is that whether Ginobili is injured or not, the Pistons have outplayed the Spurs in the last two games and have been the far superior team.

Pistons tie the Series

2005-06-17T17:54:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons are now tied with the San Antonio Spurs at two games apiece in the NBA Finals after beating the Spurs in game four. The Pistons played probably their best game of the season destroying the Spurs 102-71. Game five will be in Detroit and after that the series moves to San Antonio for game six and seven.

The Pistons played an awesome game on the defensive end. The Pistons took the Spurs away from their offensive game the entire night. The Spurs could not drive into the lane or score inside. The Pistons lead for almost the entire game, and the Spurs never made a run and could not catch up to the Pistons. Detroit held the Spurs to just 71 points on 26-70 shooting. The Pistons had 13 steals and 6 blocks. Detroit also had 47 rebounds. The Pistons held Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to just 28 points combined.

The Pistons were equally amazing on the offensive end of the court. Seven Pistons scored 11 or more points. The Pistons put up 90 shots and made 41 of them. They also had 23 assists. They scored 102 points, the most the Spurs have ever allowed in a finals game. Another amazing number the Pistons had was only 4 turnovers. That was the fewest amount of turnovers a team has ever had in a NBA Finals game.

The Pistons bench played great. Lindsey Hunter had one of the best games of his playoff career scoring 17 points in just 22 minutes. He also had 2 steals and 5 assists. Antonio McDyess also had a huge game scoring 13 points in just 19 minutes of work. McDyess also had seven rebounds. Even Darko Milicic pitched in with 2 rebounds and 2 points off the bench at the end of the game.

After dominating game four, the Pistons now have all the momentum in this series. Even with the dominating win they still need to win game five. I think they will be able to take one out of two in San Antonio (if they win game five). If they don't win game five, it will be very tough to win both games in San Antonio.

Pistons back in the series?

2005-06-15T22:19:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons finally played a good game in the NBA Finals and are now down 2-1 in this best of seven series. The Pistons played by far their best game of the Finals beating the Spurs 96-79 in game three. The game was close until late in third quarter when the Pistons went on a 21-6 run and did not look back.

The Pistons dominated this game statistically. Detroit lead in fast break points 20-4. The Pistons also recorded 6 more assists and had 7 fewer turnovers. The Pistons started the second, third, and fourth quarter with large runs. The Spurs did not have an answer for Detroit in fourth quarter and they looked much like the Pistons did in game one and two.

I think the main reason the Pistons won this game was because of Ben Wallace's performance. He had played dismal in the first two games of the Finals but he played awesome in game three. He scored 15 points, collected 11 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists. He also had five blocks, all in the first quarter. Wallace set the tone early for the Pistons by getting a steal and then dunking the ball on the first play of the game.

The guard play for Detroit was very good. Chauncey Billups had a big game scoring 20 points and dishing out 7 assists. He also only had one turnover. Rip Hamilton had his first good game of the Finals. He scored 24 points on 11-23 shooting. This was the first game in which Hamilton was able to get score effectively on Bruce Bowen.

Antonio McDyess practically saved the Pistons' season in game three. The game was very close late in the third until McDyess started hitting shots. He lead the Pistons on a 21-6 run to secure the victory for the Pistons. He finished the game with 12 points and 9 rebounds in just 19 minutes.

Game three was obviously a huge win for the Pistons but they are still in a deep hole. They must win game four or the Spurs will take a 3-1 series lead with the final two games back in San Antonio. I expect the winner of game four to take the series. Hopefully the Pistons will be celebrating another victory on Thursday night.

Pistons Down 1-0

2005-06-12T17:00:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons are down 1-0 in the NBA Finals after losing game one to the San Antonio Spurs. The Pistons lost 84-69. Game two is on tonight.

The Pistons are basically playing with four guys on offense because Ben Wallace is playing horrible. He is not doing anything on the offensive end to help out the Pistons. Even his defense is much weaker than usual. Even his rebounds and blocks have been down from the regular season. Maybe Larry Brown should think of benching Wallace and starting Antonio McDyess. McDyess is a fairly good defensive player and he is a much better offensive player than Wallace. Before McDyess was injured for these last few season he averaged over 20 points a game with the Nuggets.

The guard play for Detroit was not very good in game one. Chauncey Billups had a good offensive game for Detroit scoring 25 points but he needs to distribute the ball more. Billups needs to get other players involved in the scoring. The Pistons' other guard, Richard Hamilton, had a very bad game. He scored only 14 points on 7-21 shooting. He also only had one assist. Hamilton is the Pistons' best offensive player and he must shoot much better if Detroit expects to win this series.

Another player who needs to step up his offensive game is Rasheed Wallace. Wallace scored only 6 points in game one. The Pistons need Rasheed to score a lot more than just 6 points. Whenever Rasheed has scored 20 or more points in a game in these playoffs the Pistons are nearly unbeaten. Although he was horrible on the offensive end, Wallace had a good defensive game. He had 6 blocks and 8 rebounds.

Overall the Pistons simply played a bad game, and the Spurs played a good game. The Pistons could not hit any shots in the fourth quarter, while the Spurs did hit their shots in the fourth quarter. San Antonio got big offensive games from Ginobili and Duncan while the Pistons only got a big offensive game from Billups.

The Pistons' inconsistent play again cost them a important victory. Detroit faded in the fourth quarter and that is simply not good enough against a great team like the Spurs.

Game two is on tonight, and I expect the Pistons too win. They played horrible in game one but they were just coming off a long series with the Heat. The Pistons should be well rested and more prepared in game two. Throughout these entire playoffs the Pistons have played their best when their backs have been against the wall. This game should be no different.

6/8 Notes

2005-06-09T00:42:00.000-04:00

Here is some other Detroit Sports news to look over before the NBA Finals start on Thursday.

The Detroit Tigers traded closer Ugueth Urbina for infielder Placido Polanco. There had been a lot of speculation lately on if the Tigers would trade Urbina or not. Urbina was the Tigers' closer last season. During the offseason the Tigers signed Troy Percival to become the Tigers' closer. Percival has been injured this season and Urbina has been the Tigers' closer.

Urbina recorded 21 saves last season for the Tigers. This season he has 9 saves. His career high for saves was 41 back in 1999.

Polanco is hitting .316 this season along with twenty RBIs. Polanco's best season was last year when he hit .298 with a career-high 17 homers and 55 RBIs in 126 games.

Brian over at Tiger Blog has some great coverage on why this was a bad deal for the Tigers.

The NHL is closer to a deal for a salary cap than expected. Click here to get a full report on this news. The NHL needs to get a deal done for the upcoming season or the future of the NHL will be destroyed even more than it already has been destroyed.

Eastern Conference Champs!

2005-06-08T13:17:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons are headed to play in the NBA Finals for the second straight season after beating the Miami Heat in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pistons were awesome in game seven. They were down by as much as seven in the fourth quarter but they kept coming back for more. Rasheed Wallace scored a huge basket late in the game to give the Pistons a three point lead. Chauncey Billups hit four free throws late in the game to secure the win for the Pistons.

The Pistons showed why they are they are the defending champs. They had to come back in the fourth quarter, on the road, in a game seven against a very good Miami team. They showed a lot of poise and they played together as a team.

We have to all give the Heat credit for giving the Pistons such a great battle in this series. The Heat played great against the Pistons despite all their injuries. If Wade was healthy along with the rest of Miami, this series might have been a different story.

The Pistons now move unto to play the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. The Spurs are the only team that is ranked ahead of the Pistons in defense. These were the two best teams in the NBA and this should be a great series to watch. The Pistons can not play inconsistant like they did in the Miami series. Detroit played good when they had too but I do not think that will be enough against the Spurs. If Detroit plays good in every game, I think they will win this series. If Detroit plays inconsistant, then I think the Spurs will walk away with the title.

It all comes down to this

2005-06-06T13:46:00.000-04:00

Game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals is tonight between the Detroit Pistons and the Miami Heat.

The Pistons were down 3-2 in this series before winning game six at home to tie the series. The Pistons dominated in game six and won 91-66. Dwyane Wade did not even play for the Heat and they struggled in his absence. The Pistons were in control of the game the entire way. They played a great defensive game and they were very consistent on offense. Even though Wade was on the bench for the Heat, I still think game six was Detroit's best game of the series.

However, game six is far in the past as we look forward to game seven tonight. The game is in Miami. I saw a stat that 82% of the time the home team wins game seven. The Pistons have whined all playoffs about the calls and they have played very inconsistent but they still have a chance to win the title. They need to shutup about the calls and start playing Pistons' basketball. Their defense won the championship last year and they need to start playing the tough defense like they did last year. Despite the inconsistent play by the Pistons, I still think they will win this game. They played their best games in these playoffs when their backs have been against the wall and this game should be no exception.

There is a lot of speculation on if Wade will play in tonight's game due to his rib injury. I hope Wade plays tonight for the Heat. If the Pistons beat Miami without Wade, everyone will say that the Pistons could only beat Miami without Wade. He is their best player and the Pistons will need to beat the Heat with him playing to prove that they are the better team.

The winner of this series moves unto the NBA Finals to play the San Antonio Spurs. Game seven tonight should a great game.

One loss away....

2005-06-04T10:58:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons are just one loss away from being eliminated from the playoffs. The Pistons played a horrible game five on the road in Miami and lost. They were never really in the game and they were down by a large number for most of the game. Rip Hamilton scored twenty-one points but he was the only player who had a good offensive game.

I barely even watched this game. That is how bad it was. Game six is tonight in Detroit. Even if the Pistons win, they will have to go back and win game seven in Miami. We will see if the Pistons can rise to the occasion.

Quick Notes

2005-06-02T18:19:00.000-04:00

We are just a little bit away from the start of game five of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Detroit Pistons and the Miami Heat. The series is tied at 2-2 and this game is huge. I think the Pistons will play strong on the road and get the victory.

The Detroit Tigers won again today. They beat the Rangers 6-5 in ten innings. The Tigers are now just one game below 500 two monthes after opening day.

Twenty-seven Assists

2005-06-01T22:23:00.000-04:00

That stat was the main reason why the Detroit Pistons beat the Miami Heat in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Detroit turned the ball over just six times for the entire game. They also had twenty-seven assists on thirty-seven baskets made. The final score was 106-96. With the win they tied this best of seven series at two games apiece.

The Pistons played one of their best games of the playoffs. They played a complete game. They lead for almost the entire game and they held the lead whenever Miami got close. They held Miami to seventeen fewer points than in game three. The Pistons shot forty-eight percent from the field. They also shot seventy-one percent from the free throw line. They did not turn the ball over once in the first half and they had seventeen assists in the first half.

Every player on the Pistons played a good game. Rip Hamilton was their top scorer with twenty-eight points and eight assists. Rasheed Wallace scored twenty points for Detroit. Ben Wallace, although he had a horrible offensive game, grabbed a game high fifteen rebounds. Chauncey Billups scored seventeen points as he hit three of four from the three point line.

I think the unsung hero for this game was Lindsey Hunter. Hunter played seventeen quality minutes and scored six points. However, the biggest thing he brought to this game was his defense on Dwyane Wade. He frustrated Wade whenever he guarded him and helped keep Wade in check. Wade's frustration showed when he picked up a few stupid fouls. Wade still scored twenty-eight points but he was not nearly as effective as he was in the previous two games.

Detroit also played good defense on Shaq. Shaq got into early foul trouble and scored just twelve points for the entire game. I think his injury is more serious than it appears because he has not been nearly as strong as he once was.

After this great win for Detroit we now need to look on to game five. This will be a huge game for both teams. If Detroit wins they will go back to Detroit for the potential series ending game. If Miami wins they will go back to Detroit with the momentum. The Pistons need to play like they did in game four. If they don't make any stupid turnovers and they play good defense they will win the game. It should be another great game in this already great series.

Pistons Down 2-1

2005-05-31T12:19:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons are in a deep hole after losing game three of the Eastern Conference Finals. Detroit lost game three in miserable fashion and need to win game four or they will be down 3-1 to the Miami Heat going back to Miami for game five.

Game three was a horrible display by the Pistons. The Pistons played half-way decent in the first half and the third quarter to keep themselves in the game. In the middle of the fourth the Pistons took a five point lead due to the great defensive play of their bench players. Once they put back in their starters the trouble began. They played "hack a Shaq" and Shaq made the Pistons pay by hitting six straight free throws to give Miami back the lead. The Pistons could not recover and the Heat finished the game with a 113-104 victory.

The Pistons' defense again struggled in this game. They allowed 113 points, a number you almost never see an opposing team score against the Pistons. Detroit only had one block and that was by Lindsey Hunter. The highest rebound total for a single player was Rasheed Wallace (eight rebounds). I think one of the main reasons the Pistons' defense is struggling is because of Ben Wallace. He has not played well on the defense end. All of his defensive numbers are done from the previous series. He must provide a much higher defensive output if Detroit expects to come back and win this series.

Rip Hamilton finally had a good game scoring 33 points but it was not enough. Tayshaun Prince and Chauncey Billups each scored 18 points a piece to give a boost to the Pistons' offense.

Game four is on tonight at 8:00 p.m. I still believe the Pistons are the best team in the league. They will have to prove that they are the best team by winning this game. However, even if they win they will still have a long way to go to winning this series. The next two out of three games will be in Miami where the Heat are even better. They need to put aside the Larry Brown issue and just play the game. Tonight's game should be a great one as we watch the desperate Pistons trying not to fall into a 3-1 hole.

Series Tied 1-1

2005-05-28T12:45:00.000-04:00

After a dismal performance by the Detroit Pistons, the Eastern Conference Finals is now tied 1-1. The Pistons played a horrible game two but they were still in the game until the end. The Pistons took the lead in the second half but the Heat came back strong in the end to win 92-86.

Rip Hamilton had another horrible game. He looked slow and he could not hit his mid-range jumper. I know he has a leg injury but he needs to step up his game.

Incredibly, Ben Wallace also had a bad game. He could not score like he did in game one. His shot was blocked three times. Even his defense looked a lot worse than normal. The Pistons rely on Wallace heavily for his defense and he must step up his game as well.

Although the Pistons played bad, they still probably would have won if it was not for Dwyane Wade's amazing performance. He scored 40 points for the Heat. He was unstoppable the entire game. He finished the game with a dunk to end any chance of a comeback bid for Detroit.

The series now shifts back to Detroit for game three and four. The Pistons won one of two in Miami and now the Pistons need to take care of business at home. I think the Pistons will be much more focused in game three and win to take the 2-1 series lead.

Pistons Update

2005-05-25T16:15:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons are just seven wins away from becoming back to back Champions. After losing game two and three in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Pacers; the Pistons came back to win game four, five, and six. Game six was the last game of Reggie Miller's career. Reggie had a great game scoring 27 points; allowing Indiana to have the lead for most of the game. Reggie Miller's last game was great, but it was not enough as Rip Hamilton took over the fourth quarter for the Pistons. At the end of the game Larry Brown made a classy move by taking a timeout so the fans and the Pistons could cheer the ending of Miller's great career as he was benched for the last time.

After Detroit closed out the Pacers, the Pistons went to Miami to play the Heat in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons won game one 90-81.

Shaq starting the game (there was some speculation that he was not going to start) and was dominate in the first half. He scored 20 points, for the entire game, on 9-14 shooting in just 33 minutes of work. Dwyane Wade had a horrible game for Miami shooting just 7-25 for 16 points.

Rip Hamilton had a bad game for Detroit but he scored a big basket at the end of the game to seal the win for the Pistons.

Rasheed Wallace had another big game for the Pistons. He scored 20 points and made four three pointers. He also included a huge block at the end of the game and even snagged ten rebounds.

Game two is on tonight. If the Pistons can win it would be huge because they then would have a 2-0 series lead going back to Detroit. This should be a harder game for Detroit because the Heat should play much better than they did in game one.

Pistons Tied 2-2

2005-05-16T20:58:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, I have been very busy. I am hoping to get the site back up and running soon........

Quick Playoff Update: The Detroit Pistons are tied with the Indiana Pacers 2-2 after the first four games of the second round of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. The Pistons lost game 2 and 3 after winning game one. Rasheed Wallace guaranteed a victory in game 4 and the Pistons came through with a huge victory on the road. The series now moves back to Detroit for a critical game 5.

Pistons Advance

2005-05-05T22:24:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons advanced to the second round of the playoffs after they beat the Sixers in 5 games.

In game 5 the Pistons did not look awesome but they got the job done. Rip Hamilton had a great fourth quarter to lead the Pistons. Ben Wallace, who won the defensive player of the year award again, again played a solid game.

The Pistons now move unto play the Celtics or Pacers in the second round.

Pistons up 3-1

2005-05-01T20:57:00.000-04:00

After losing game 3 in Philadelphia, the Detroit Pistons came back in game 4 to beat the Sixers to take a 3-1 first round series lead.

The Pistons were down by 9 points with just 6 minutes left in the game 4. Chauncey Billups scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to help send the game into overtime. In overtime Rasheed Wallace hit two 3 pointers to help seal the 97-92 victory.

The Pistons played a sloppy game but they will take the victory. They turned the ball over 20 times and shot just 43 percent from the field.

The series now goes back to Detroit for game 5. I fully expect the Pistons to beat the Sixers and move unto the next series.

Pistons Up 2-0

2005-04-27T22:19:00.000-04:00

After the first two games of the opening round of the NBA playoffs, the Pistons lead the Sixers 2-0 after blowing them out in the first two games at the Palace. The series now moves to Philadelphia for game three and four.

In game two five Pistons were in double digit scoring. Rip Hamilton scored a game high 23 points on the way to the victory. In game one the Pistons were down by 16 but came back to beat the Sixers by 21 points.

I fully expected the Pistons to blow out Philly and that is exactly what is happening.

Draft Wrapup

2005-04-24T12:53:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Lions selected Mike Williams and Shaun Cody in the NFL Draft on Saturday. Both players are from USC.

Mike Williams, the Lions first round pick, was a big game wideout in college. He scored 14 touchdowns in 2002 and in 2003 he scored 16 touchdowns. He finished his career with 30 touchdowns and 2,579 yards. Some people had this guy number one on their draft boards.

Defensive tackle Shaun Cody, the Lions second round pick, was an all-american candidate at USC. In 2003 he had 6 sacks, 26 tackles, and three blocked fieldgoals.

Both of these draft picks were good choices for Detroit. Mike Williams is another young receiver for Joey Harrington to throw too. Next season the Lions will have the receiver core of Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, and Roy Williams. This upcoming season again rests on Joey Harrington. He must perform well if they want to have a good team. We just have to wait and see how he performs.

Quick Notes

2005-04-22T22:39:00.000-04:00

The Pistons start the playoffs tomorrow against the Sixers. The Pistons won the final 11/12 games of the season to finish with 54 wins and the second seed in the East. I think the Pistons will easily beat the Sixers. The Pistons are just too good for the Sixers. This series should be over in about 5 games.

The Lions have the 10th pick in the NFL Draft tomorrow. They might trade their pick but I am not sure. The Lions had one of their best drafts ever last year and that trend should hopefully continue tomorrow.

Ordonez out 4-6 Weeks

2005-04-16T00:09:00.000-04:00

Magglio Ordonez is going to be out for the next 4-6 weeks due to a hernia. This will really hurt the already struggling Tigers. Ordonez has barely played this year as the Tigers are just 3-7 on the young season. The Tigers signed Ordonez counting on the fact that he would be healthy for most of the season. This is just another frustrating thing that the Tigers have to deal with. We will see how they respond to this injury over the next few weeks.

Quick Tigers Update

2005-04-10T21:25:00.000-04:00

After the first 6 games of the season, the Detroit Tigers stand at 3-3. The Tigers' pitching has been either their strength or their weakness in almost every game so far. Their pitching has to be solid if they want to have a strong season. The Tigers' hitting has been strong so far as expected. Detroit has already scored 40 runs so far this season. Their bats should be lighting it up all season.

Dmitri Young is having a strong season so far. He has scored 9 runs and has 7 RBIs. He is batting .375 on the season. After a season of being injured he looks to be back into his allstar form.

New Tiger Magglio Ordonez has started the season a bit rough. Due to sickness he has missed 4 games already.

The Magic Number is Four Games

2005-04-07T15:23:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Pistons have to win only 4 more games (there are only 8 games left) to clinch their division. The Pistons' record stands at 47-27; the next closest team is the Chicago Bulls(42-32).

If the Pistons clinch their division, which it appears that they will, they will be the number 2 seed in the East. The Miami Heat will be the first seed in the East. The Pistons will probably play the Cavaliers, Sixers, or Pacers.

The Pistons have been playing strong lately, winning their last 4 games. They need to keep playing good as they head into the playoffs. I am fully expecting them to have another long playoff run.

An Opening Day Win

2005-04-05T07:23:00.000-04:00

The Tigers started the season on Monday with a huge 11-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Dmitri Young had one of the biggest opening day games of all time. He hit 3 homeruns; becoming the first Tiger to ever hit 3 homeruns on opening day and just the third player in major league history to hit 3 homeruns on opening day.

Jeremy Bonderman struck out seven and allowed six hits and one earned run in seven innings to get the opening day victory.

This game had the largest crowd in Comerica Park history (44,105).

This was a great start to the season. The MLB season is very long but this game should be a sign of great things to come for the Tigers.

Season Preview

2005-04-01T11:49:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Tigers start the 2005 MLB season on Monday. The Tigers come into this season with great anticipation of having a chance to compete for the weak American League Central title.

Two seasons ago the Tigers finished with a 43-119 record, one of the worst records of all time. They had such a bad season that they could not really get any worse. Over the offseason they signed allstar catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez along with other good players such as Rondell White and closer Ugueth Urbina. The Tigers also traded for shortstop Carlos Guillen. The Tigers went into the season much improved. They won 72 games, 29 more wins than the previous season. The Tigers' record not only improved but some of their younger players improved also. Pitcher Mike Maroth went from a 9-21 season to a 11-13 season. Pitcher Jeremy Bonderman went from a 6-19 season to a 11-13 season. The biggest surprise of last season was how Carlos Guillen made the allstar game. Last season he hit 20 homers, had 97 RBIs, and batted .318. Another surprise we saw was how Brandon Inge stayed on the team, after the Tigers signed Pudge, and had a good season. Last season was fun to watch because the Tigers were actually competitive. They were above the 500 winning percentage for parts of the season. They were not the laughing stock of baseball. They could have maybe finished above 500 but they were not able to accomplish that goal.

Over this past offseason the Tigers went after almost every big name free agent on the free agent market but every single one of them turned down the Tigers. The Tigers finally signed outfielder Magglio Ordonez to a 5 year deal worth 75 million. Ordonez was the last big name free agent on the market. Many people thought this was a dumb signing because Ordonez is getting older and because he was injured for most of last season. The Tigers also signed closer Troy Percival. Percival had 33 saves last season with the Angels. He has always been a good closer throughout his career. The Tigers lost a lot of one run games last season and signing Percival was a very smart signing. The Tigers also traded for relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth is known for his 100 MPH fast ball. He is a solid relief pitcher and he should help out the Tigers' bullpen.

The Tigers should be awesome on offense this season. They have a lot of players who can hit. Carlos Pena, Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Guillen, Craiq Monroe, Dimtri Young, Rondell White, and Magglio Ordonez are all capable of hitting 20 homeruns or more. Brandon Inge and Omar Infante both improved greatly last season at the plate. Inge and Infante should be able to do even better this season. The Tigers no longer have Alex Sanchez to be their first bat in the lineup because they released him a few weeks ago. They will have to figure out who to put at the top of the lineup for the season. I think the Tigers will be able to produce a lot of runs this season and have one of the best offense's in baseball.

The Tigers should be able to score a lot of runs this season but they will also need to have a good defense if they want to win a lot of games this season. The Tigers' first four starting pitchers will be Jeremy Bonderman, Jason Johnson, Nate Robertson, and Mike Maroth. On how well those four pitch will most likely determine whether the Tigers compete or not for the division title. Bonderman is coming off a solid season and many believe he is a future allstar. Johnson is coming off a bad season and he needs to pick it up this season. Robertson had a very good season last year going 12-10. Robertson hopefully should be even better this season. Maroth is another young pitcher the Tigers have that shows some potential. The bullpen should be much better this year with the signings of Percival and Farnsworth. The bullpen needs to pitch good to help support the starting pitchers.

This is the most excited many Tigers' fans have been about the start of a season in a long time. Some fans are even expecting them to win their division. I think the Tigers will win about 85 games and finish in second place behind the Twins. I do not think the Tigers will make the playoffs. They will be fun to watch but I think they are a year away from winning the Central division or making the playoffs as the wild card. However, I hope I am wrong and I hope the Tigers do make the playoffs. They have a good team and they definitely have a shot to make the playoffs in the weak Central division. Opening day is on Monday and that is when we can start to see how good the Tigers of 05 actually are.

Quick Notes

2005-03-29T16:14:00.000-05:00

Jason Johnson was supposed to be the Tigers' starter on opening day but since he has struggled in spring training; Jeremy Bonderman will get the start on opening day.

It appears that the Tigers are going to release Dean Palmer. They invited him to camp but he has not done very well in spring training.

Around the Horn

2005-03-27T22:53:00.000-05:00

The Tigers are most likely going to release veteran outfielder Bobby Higginson before the season starts. Higginson has played 10 long losing seasons with the Tigers. The Tigers foolishly gave him a huge contract a few years back. If the Tigers release him they would still owe him the rest of the $8.85 million he's due on his contract's final year. He has not had a good season in a long time and releasing him seems to be the right choice.

Jason Johnson was supposed to be the Tigers' starter on opening day but because he has struggled in spring training, that looks to not be not as likely. Mike Maroth would probably take the opening day start if Johnson does not. Johnson has one more game left, before the season starts, to get back on track.

I am not a fan of Michigan State but I would like to mention how they are headed to the Final Four to play North Carolina. I was shocked when they beat Duke and Kentucky and I give them a lot of credit for getting this far.

The Pistons finally got out of their three game losing streak by beating the Celtics in overtime on Saturday night. Their record for the season is now 43-26.

Pistons on Cold Streak

2005-03-26T19:33:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Pistons are currently going through a bad stretch. They have lost three straight games. They lost to Cleveland by 15 points, then they lost to the Sixers by 23 points, and in their last game they lost to Indiana by 13 points. The Pistons need to get out of this little slump as they head into the playoffs soon. The Pistons have 14 games left and they hold a 5 1/2 game lead on the next closest team(Cleveland) in their division. They would be the second seed in the East if the playoffs started today. I think the Pistons will blow through the first two rounds of the playoffs and then play Miami(the number one seed) in the Eastern Conference Finals. If both teams make it that far it should be a great series. I expect the Pistons to beat the Heat in about 6 games and move unto the Finals to face the Spurs or the Suns.

The Pistons will have to prove to everybody whether their championship last year was a fluke championship or a legit championship. As Pistons fans we know that it was a legit championship but not many other people in the basketball world think so. Most people remember the Lakers losing the championship rather than the Pistons winning the championship. If the Pistons win the title again, making them back to back champs, everybody will know that this team is for real.

A boring stretch

2005-03-20T22:23:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. There has not been a lot going on in the Detroit Sports world. The Lions recently signed an offensive lineman; the Pistons keep on winning; the Tigers start the season in a few weeks; and the Red Wings won't be doing anything for a long time. That is about all that is going on in the Detroit Sports scene. In national sports news the NCAA College Basketball tournament is going on(AKA March Madness). Michigan is not in it so I do not have a ton of desire to watch it. Michigan State is still in it but they play Duke in the Sweet Sixteen and I don't think State will beat them.

I hope to start posting more as soon as some more interesting things happen. The only article I could find that was good is one about Dean Palmer.
Click Here to read it.

Tigers Dump Sanchez

2005-03-15T21:45:00.000-05:00

The Tigers have released outfielder Alex Sanchez. Sanchez hit .322 last season but his inability to get on base from walks and his poor fielding skills led the Tigers to release him. Sanchez was a great base stealer, and I think the Tigers will miss this guy more than they think. He was never a good leadoff hitter but he could did have a good batting average, like I mentioned, and he had some good speed. Some speculation is that the Tigers released him to go after Mike Cameron. Whether they get Cameron or not, the Tigers should be able to fill the void Sanchez left through a trade or a free agent signing.

Blogger Interview

2005-03-12T09:36:00.000-05:00

I recently had a chance to interview Evan Brunell of Firebrand of the AL. Evan is the owner of Most Valuable Network. I am sure you have heard of it but if you haven't then you should check it out. You won't be disappointed. MVN is doing great and it keeps getting better and better. My questions are in bold and his responses are in normal font.

When and why did you decide to get into blogging?

Around December 30, 2003, I decided it was time to put my thoughts about
the Red Sox on paper. I had started seeing an explosion in blogs and I
thought that I should get into it because I knew I had a lot to offer.
Then my friend wanted to start up a Pirates blog, and we were going to
link each other. Then he was like "Hey ... why don't we get people to
write for every team?" I loved the idea because it would be a nice
network and I could learn more about each team because every year I find
myself sliding towards being more of a baseball fan than the Red Sox.
While I still swear 100% by the Red Sox, I wanted to become a baseball
connoisseur.

Did you ever think MVN and "Fireband of the AL" would get so popular?

I sure wanted it to, but I didn't think it would, nor even this fast.
And add in MVN just merged with All-Baseball, which should more than
double our hits, and we are well on our way towards our goal of
bankrupting ESPN! Here's a little secret I'll let out to you - we are
going to move Fire Brand of the American League and some other MVN
bloggers to All-Baseball and find replacements on MVN. Someone likened
it to Sports Illustrated - for example, All-Baseball is the star powered
lineup, while other writers work writing the body of the magazine, which
is MVN. That is not to say that MVN has lousy writers, we have all very
capable writers but for reasons unknown to anyone, people gravitate
towards a few and we want to maximize their exposure, therefore they
will move to all-baseball.com.

What do you enjoy most about blogging?

I'll answer first what I enjoy least - when nothing comes to mind! And
I'm the guy who makes myself blog at least every other day, so when I
can't figure something out, I go nuts until I figure out what to write.
As for my favorite part, it's when I write something and get good
reviews and comments and thoughts on it, it is very rewarding to see
that people read me and take me seriously.

What are your future plans for MVN?

As I said before, bankrupt ESPN.

Do you hope to eventually have every sport(out of the NBA,NHL, MLB and
NHL) covered at MVN?

Yes, and more. NASCAR, Poker, Boxing, Wrestling, even high school
sports! Everything!

Now let's move unto baseball. As a Red Sox fan, how was it to see the
Sox finally win the World Series?

I can't really describe it but what I can say is that I'll never feel
that same feeling again until I get married and then until I have kids.
It's one of those once-in-a-lifetime feelings. If you rooted for the Red
Sox to beat the Yankees and win it all although you weren't a Sox fan
(many people became Sox fans in the playoffs) then multiply it by 100
and that's how I felt. I didn't cry, but I will admit tears come to my
eyes ... and they still do!

Do you think the Sox will repeat this year?

I can't 100% know that but I will say this: they're better than last
year and last year they won the World Series.

Do you think the Sox/Yankees rivalry is stronger than ever now?

Yes, but not on the Red Sox side. Our feelings and anger have now been
tempered, but now it's the Yankees who have a chip on their shoulder.
Before I rarely heard offensive names for the Red Sox but they're all
over the place now - Red Sux, Blosox ... never heard it before. I love
it, it shows the Yankee fans are ticked off and now I love they're
getting a taste of what they looked down at all these years.

Now to the Tigers, with their new improvements, do you think they have
a shot at the Central this year?

Yes, I don't think they will win it, as a matter of fact I picked them
to finish fourth, but that's not reflective of their record, but of how
strong the AL Central is becoming. I think they, if everything goes
right and Minnesota falls which I think they are very liable to do, the
AL Central is wide open. Cleveland will eventually be the 1990s Braves
of the Central, winning the division for years to come, but they're not
there yet. Minnesota is slipping, and Chicago is so unpredictable. The
Tigers have the next three years to win it before Cleveland becomes the
big powerhouse. If they can win it in the next three years, or two in
the next three years, they'll have the fan interest and money to compete
with Cleveland.

(A note I would like to point out is that right after I did this interview, I found out that MVN is going to join forces with All Baseball. All Baseball, a huge site, is somewhat like MVN but it just covers baseball. Wow, those two combined will do some damage.)

Lions Sign Two

2005-03-07T23:29:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Lions have made their first move of the offseason by signing safety Kenoy Kennedy and tight end Marcus Pollard. Kennedy's deal was for 14 million over 5 years along with a 4.4 million dollar signing bonus. Pollard's deal was for 6 million over 3 years along with a 2.3 million dollar signing bonus.

Kenoy Kennedy was highly regarded as the best safety on the free agent market. He has played for Denver the last 5 seasons. This was a good signing for the Lions. They were looking for someone to play the strong safety position and Kennedy will nicely fill that role. He should be able to help out the Lions' weak defense.

Marcus Pollard is a 10 year veteran who has played his entire career with the Colts. Pollard caught 6 touchdown passes last season along with 29 catches for 309 yards. He will probably replace Stephen Alexander, the Lions' starting tight end from last season. Pollard's best season was in 2001 when he scored 8 touchdowns along with 739 receiving yards. It will be nice to have a good veteran on the offense helping out Harrington and the offense. He is a very solid player. This signing was as well a good one.

These signings were hopefully a sign of good things to come for the rest of the offseason for the Lions. The Lions are showing that they are willing to spend the money to get the right player for the job.

Other Offseaon Notes: The Lions are looking for a backup quarterback. They targeted Kurt Warner but he went to the Cardinals. The Lions will probably now go after Jeff Garcia or perhaps Brad Johnson.

Elden Campbell back in Detroit

2005-03-04T15:28:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Pistons recently signed Elden Campbell. Campbell was on the Pistons earlier this year before he was traded to Utah. The main reason the Pistons signed him was so he could battle Shaq in the upcoming playoffs. Detroit and Miami will both be high seeds in the East and they will probably play eachother in the Eastern Conference Finals.

2/28 Notes

2005-02-28T07:31:00.000-05:00

The Lions signed center Dominic Raiola to a 5 year deal worth about 17.5 million with a 4.6 million dollar signing bonus. The Lions are now assured of having three of their five starting offensive linemen back for the 2005 season-Jeff Backus, Damien Woody, and Raiola.

The Pistons continued their hot streak with another win on the road. They beat the Warriors 94-88. Tayshaun Prince led the way with 23 points. This was the Pistons 12th win in their last 13 games.

New Site

2005-02-23T22:56:00.000-05:00

I just got my new site running. The address is http://detroitsportscentral.com. It will cover Detroit Sports and also national sports. I will continue to run this site but probably not as much. Please check out the new site. I am still working out a few problems but it is pretty much good to go. I am running it with two other Detroit Sports bloggers and I am looking for more writers, mainly for the national sports. Please email me if you are interested. We hope to post a lot on the new site so you will get a lot of sports news. I hope you enjoy it.

No Deal!

2005-02-19T19:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday it looked like the NHL was going to uncancel the season and agree to a 45 million dollar salary cap. The owners and players talked for 6 1/2 hours on Saturday but no deal got signed. That is all that I can think of saying. Click here to get a full report on this whole mess.

Breaking News

2005-02-18T22:57:00.000-05:00

This is breaking news as of a few minutes ago. The NHL is going uncancel the season tomorrow according to the Hockey News. The players and owners have already agreed in principle to a 45 million dollar salary cap. They are probably going to get the deal down tomorrow. Click here to read a full report on it.

Wow, that is all I can say about this. I hope this report is legitimate. We will have to wait till tomorrow to see what goes down.

Quick Notes

2005-02-16T07:37:00.000-05:00

We will find out today if there is going to be a NHL season this year or if it is going to be canceled. The players and owners have agreed on a salary cap but they are about 7 million dollars apart on how much it should be. The deadline for a deal to go down is 11 a.m. today. Click Here for a full report. A deal probably won't get done but there is still a slight chance it could happen.

Update: The NHL season has officially been canceled. The players and owners could not agree on the amount of money a salary cap would be. I am not all that suprised that this happened. This season is over but hopefully they can at least get a deal done for next season.....R.I.P. 2004-2005 NHL season.

Also, there is a very good article at the freep about the Tigers upcoming season. Click Here to read it.

Weekend Notes

2005-02-13T12:35:00.000-05:00

This story is a few days old but I would still like to mention how the Tigers traded a few minor leaguers to the Cubs for relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth is a fairly good pitcher who has a fast ball that can reach 100 MPH. His era has bounced up and down over the years so you never know what you will get out this guy. His best year was in 2001 when he had a 2.74 era along with 107 strikeouts in 82 innings pitched. This was a good trade for the Tigers. They did not have to give up much for him. He is solid and he should help out the bullpen. This was probably the Tigers last move before spring training starts.

I have not mentioned anything about the NHL in a long time. The NHL is in a lockout this season. The owners want a salary cap and the players don't want a salary cap. The season is pretty much done. Even if a miracle happened and the players and owners reached an agreement, the season would have less than 30 games(per team) before the playoffs started. The future of the NHL is unknown right now. This season is shot and next season might not happen either. What might happen is that the NHL will put in replacement players to play a season. That is a dumb idea and even less people will watch it. If they want to save the NHL they need to have the best players in the world playing, not replacement players who nobody gives a care about. It is sad to see a great league going down the tube but hopefully it can come back better than ever over the next few years.

One Year in the Making

2005-02-10T21:15:00.000-05:00

Today is this site's one year anniversary. Today exactly a year ago I started this site with this post.

This is my brand new detroit sports website. I will be bringing all the detroit news right to you.

I started very slow with some very very bad posts. My first half way decent post was perhaps this one.

This season the detroit tigers have made some incredible acquisitions. I have been so amazed how Mike I. has finally used some of his money to get some good players. They acquired Fernando Vina a very good defensive shortstop ,Carlos G. A good hitter and fielder, Jason J. probably going to be their number one starter, and Al Levine a good middle relief man. But the player who has been the biggest signing, of course, is Ivan"Pudge"Rodriguez. He is their biggest free agent signing in the club's history. He brings leadership and puts people in the seats. Now many people don't realize that their second biggest signing was Rondell White. He had incredible stats for how little money the tigers signed him for. He had 22 home runs and 85 rbi. last year. For the tigers that would have been their second best hitter behide Dimitri Young last season. This is going to be a fun year for the tigers,but I don't expect them to contend for the division title just yet. They are 1 year away I think. They will be much improved from last year and I'm expecting them to win around 68-75 games. Hopefully I'm wrong and they can contend for the title in the weak division they are in. All I can say is that I can't wait for opening day.

My site slowly got more visits and it now averages about 30-60 unique visitors a day and about 275 unique visitors a week. My highest day was right around the time of the big brawl at the Palace a few monthes ago. That day I got 456 visits and that week I got 1434 visits. I have gotten 10,000 visits or more since starting this site(probably around 13,000). I am linked to almost every Detroit Sports related site and I am linked to over 70 sites total.

I do not consider my site an excellent one and I know it could be a lot better. I know I could post a lot more and I am sorry for not doing that. However, I do think my site has gotten better over the past year. I have learned more and more about how to write at a quality level. I am still learning and I am still trying to improve.

I have enjoyed running this site very much. I have even made some money from advertisers, something I thought would never happen. I hope at least a few of you read my site on a regular basis. My site is small and it will probably never contend with the much bigger sites but I am still happy at how far it has come(in my mind). I am probably going to end this site and start fresh with some other Detroit Sports bloggers so you the reader can have much more coverage of the Detroit Sports scene. I am also probably going to incorporate some national sports as well. It should fun but I will be sad to see this site end. It was a good year long run here and I hope at least a few of you have enjoyed it.

I want to say thanks to a few people who have majorly helped this site. I mostly would like to thank Matt from On the Wings for helping me out with my site a ton when it first started. Also I would like to thank Evan at Firebrand of the AL and Randy from Red Sox Haven for making the cool banners I have used.

Finally I would also like to say thanks to the people who have read, praised, and yes, even criticized my site.

Here are some of my best posts(in my mind).
Detroit Sports:A year in review
Williams and Jones
A Dark Day in Detroit
Carlos Guillen
An Era Ending
Darko Who?

The 05 Lineup

2005-02-08T21:25:00.000-05:00

With the recent signing of Magglio Ordonez, the Tigers can now start to think of their starting lineup for the 2005 season that is coming up soon. Here is the projected lineup as well as the best stats for each player from last season.

1) Alex Sanchez CF (.322 batting average, 19 stolen bases)
2) Carlos Guillen SS (.318 batting average, 97 RBIs, 20 homeruns, 97 runs)
3) Ivan Rodriguez C (.334 batting average, 86 RBIs, 19 homeruns)
4) Magglio Ordonez RF (.317 batting average, 99 RBIs, 29 homeruns)
5) Dmitri Young DH (18 homeruns, 60 RBIs)
6) Rondell White LF (19 homeruns, 67 RBIs)
7) Carlos Pena 1b (27 homeruns, 87 RBIs, 70 walks)
8) Brandon Inge 3b (.287 batting average, 64 RBIs)
9) Omar Infante 2b (55 RBIs, 13 stolen bases)
Note-I used Ordonez's stats from 2003 because he was injured for most of last season.

Unless there is an injury, that will be probably be the starting lineup on opening day. Here is the bottom line, the Tigers lineup will be very good this year. Everybody up there can hit. The Tigers hit pretty good last year and this year they will be even better. The addition of Ordonez will be a big help. This is their best lineup in years and it will be exciting to watch.

Tigers Land Ordonez

2005-02-06T11:40:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Tigers went after almost every big name free agent this offseason but they all turned down the chance to play in Detroit. The Tigers finally got a big name player to sign in Detroit. The Tigers signed Magglio Ordonez to a 5 year deal worth 75 million dollars. The Tigers can void Ordonez's contract if he is on the disabled list for 25 or more days due to his left knee injury reoccurring. Ordonez was injured for most of last season(he missed 110 games) but he still managed to hit .292 with 9 homers and 37 RBIs. Before last season, Ordonez's stats have been awesome. For every 162 games he plays in(on average) he hits .307 with 30 homers and 114 RBIs. His best year was in 2002 when he hit .320 with 38 homers and 135 RBIs.

This signing is huge for the Tigers. They needed another big bat in their lineup. Ordonez is a 4 time allstar who will help them out greatly. He is getting older(31) but he still should have some gas left in the tank. A lot of Tigers' fans might be thinking this was a waste of money for the Tigers to sign a slightly older player who just came off an injured plagued season. I do not think it was a waste of money to sign Ordonez. I trust that this was the right decision by Dave Dombrowski to sign Ordonez. They did not rush to sign him and they got a contract where they are protected against his knee injury. The Tigers may have overspent on Ordonez but who else are they going to spend their money on? There are no other free agents left out there that are nearly as good as Ordonez. Maybe the Tigers will regret this signing in the future but we will have to just wait and see. This signing has already made them better and it will help them improve on their 72-90 record from last season.

Pistons Top Wizards

2005-02-01T22:48:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Pistons, behind heavy scoring from four starters, topped the Washington Wizards 105-96.

Chauncey Billups led all scoring wtih 28 points. Backing him up was Tayshaun Prince with 25, Rip Hamilton wtih 23, and Rasheed Wallace with 18.

The Pistons shot well throughout the first half. They were ahead 52-47. They struggled a bit in the third, but surged into the fourth and never looked back.

Washington played a fine game as well. They got 26 points out of Antawn Jamison and 21 points out of Gilbert Arenas. They lacked rebounding and had trouble with fouls.

Detroit improves to a 27-18 record that puts them 1/2 game up over the Cavaliers for first place in the Central division.

ESPN.com: Recap - Pistons at Wizards

Around the Horn

2005-01-30T22:53:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, I have been thinking of what direction to take this site. What will probably happen is that Dan Joseph, Sports Pig, and I will be teaming up to run a Detroit Sports Central website. This site itself will not have anything new on it but you will be able to find all my postings on the future new site. The new site will be based on Detroit Sports but it will also cover some of the national sports. I hope to have it ready in about a week. Now to some Detroit Sports news........

The Tigers appear to be in a one team race to sign Magglio Ordonez. This has been buzzing through the news the last few days and I have not written about it because of all the other free agents the Tigers have lost out on. The Tigers offered Ordonez a deal and Ordonez sent back a counter offer. It sounds like he wants a 7 year deal for about 11 million a season. Even though the price is steep, I still say the Tigers should sign this guy. He is an awesome player and he is the last big name free agent out there. Come on Tigers, don't let this one slip away too.

Pistons Mid-Season Report

2005-01-27T10:16:00.000-05:00

The mid-season is here, and the Detroit Pistons are the center of criticism from their coaches and the media. They’ve been accused of not playing hard, but have shown at times that they can rattle off lengthy win streaks.

So let’s take a look at how they are doing individually with a mid-season report. Also, instead of a letter grading system, let me introduce a rating system.

1 - Excelling
2 - Above Average
3 - Average
4 - Below Average
5 - Disappointing

Guards

Richard Hamilton is the leading scorer of the Pistons with 20.5 points per game with 4.2 assists per game and a .440 shooting percentage. He’s been logging nearly 40 minutes per game all season and handling the task well. His shot from the sides is as good as it’s ever been. One area of concern is his streaky shooting consistency. Although I wouldn’t expect him to shoot .500 each night, there have been nights where he’s shot in the .350-.400 range. Hamilton needs look for better shots and overcome mid-game slumps. Mark: Average.

Chauncey Billups is certainly playing well in the clutch situation again this season. His assists are up and he seems to be moving the ball a little more. Unfortunately, he’s moving the ball too much. I’ve seen Chauncey with open lanes to the basket. He starts to take the steps towards it, and then he feeds the ball to someone else that isn’t expecting it. I know he’s just trying to be a good point guard and create situations, but he needs to watch the film and learn when and when not to pass the basketball. Mark: Average

Lindsey Hunter is the long time veteran of the bench. His job has been to backup Chauncey Billups. With the loss of Mike James, Hunter has been taxed with long minutes that seem to be taking a toll on him. His shots are off and he seems warm out by the middle of the game. His 4.9 points per game are a career low. Hunter must work on taking better shots. He’s shooting .355 percent this season. He’s lost focus of what a point guard is supposed to do. When he’s in coverage, he’s no longer passing, he’s battling. Better ball movement, and the help of their new point guard, will be key for Hunter in the second half of the season. Mark: Disappointing

Carlos Delfino is the newest member of the Pistons. He’s a shooting guard that stayed an extra year overseas to get his game ready for the NBA level. Expectations were high, but so was his energy when the season started. Delfino needs work on his free throws. He’s shooting .667, and bumping that up into the .750 range would add some fuel to the lax scoring of the bench. He also needs to add some assists and move the ball a little better. Carlos has been hurt all but 13 games this season. He’s off to a good start otherwise. Mark: Below Average

Horace Jenkins is a guy that is doing well in the role he’s been given. He’s appeared in six games and scored 3.7 points per game in the 7.8 minutes he was given. His shooting percentage is low at .350. Better shooting would be the ideal way for Jenkins to get noticed. He won the spot on the roster over Smush with his salary being lower. That won’t keep him here longer than this season. Mark: Below Average

Ronald Dupree has done a good job getting noticed with the time he’s been given. In 21 games he’s played 10 minutes per game with 2.6 points per game. His role has been limited, but he’s been improving each time he steps onto the court. He plays hard, moves the ball well, and has been able to make shots when needed. Although a lot of people expected more from Dupree, he’s young and his role is limited with this team. Considering all the factors, I’d say he’s been a great situational player for the Pistons. Mark: Above Average

Carlos Arroyo is hard to figure out. He’s only been a Piston for three games, and in Utah he was pushed to the end of the bench because he and Jerry Sloan didn’t get along. I will say that he’s adding a lot of energy to the Pistons bench. He’s also creating plays and scoring some points. Considering there is not enough data to give him a mark, I’ll just leave it with this: Carlos will make a difference for the Pistons in the second half.

Forwards

Tayshuan Prince has been quietly shooting .471 percent from the field. He’s also been taking care of business on the defense end with his long reach and 3.9 rebounds per game. Prince has been criticized for his 12.3 points per game. Some feel he should be at 15 or better. With a starting lineup that includes two well shooting guards, that just isn’t going to happen. His points per game average is up from last season and his shooting is better than ever. The only thing Tayshaun needs to work on is keeping that ankle in shape. Mark: Excelling

Rasheed Wallace has some of the same problems that Chauncey has. He’s so unselfish that he misses opportunities at the basket in favor of passing the ball. When he doesn’t take pass the ball, he often finds himself in bad situations and has been struggling with battles under the boards. His defense has been pretty good with 7.7 rebounds per game and a couple blocks. Sheed needs to look for better shots and regain some toughness on the offensive boards. Mark: Below Average

Antonio McDyess was one of the heavily anticipated additions to the bench. With health concerns out of the way, Dice had the hype to come in here and score 50 points per game. Although that didn’t happen, and a bad leg kept him out of a couple games, he’s been a great backup for the Wallace brothers. He’s tough under the boards, shoots a high .535 shooting percentage, but is weak with his free throws. He can make a difference in a game when called on. He’s athletic and has a good vision of where the ball is going. Mark: Above Average

Darvin Ham has been one of the most disappointing guys on this team this season. He showed so much promise last year with his athleticism and ability to score. Ham has been in 30 games for seven minutes with less than a point per game. He can hit three pointers and make free throws, but has made no impact on the game, even in situational roles. Mark: Disappointing

Centers

Ben Wallace is still the lifeline of this team. Putting aside the fact that he’s the strongest defensive player in the league, Big Ben’s free throw percentage his dipped a little bit. His blocks are down, but his field goal percentage is rising. Overall Ben is continuing to make a difference on this team. Without him, they give up 100 points per game. With him, they gave up less than 90. Ben continues to work hard each game and press teams under the basketball. Mark: Above Average

Elden Campbell is in Utah now, but he was a part of this team in situations. He was the force against Shaq that helped slow him down. Campbell has seen better days, and only appeared in 21 games this season. He logged 10.8 minutes per game and shot poorly. He didn’t rebound well, didn’t block shots, and wasn’t one you could count on. Mark: Disappointing

Darko Milicic got in the game a few times this season. With suspensions and injuries, Darko has managed to get into 17 games and play 6.6 minutes per game. It is hard to get a handle on this guy. At times he looks to be making progress. Other times, he’s the same old Darko. He comes into games and fouls out in five minutes. Darko needs to continue to develop himself into an NBA player. He must work hard in practice and value each minute he gets during games. Mark: Average

The team is coming together just fine. They have been mostly average, but that isn’t going to win another Championship. They need to play more like a team, work on their ball movement, and get that hunger for winning back in them.

The Best Team in Football

2005-01-24T15:32:00.000-05:00

The New England Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 41-27 in the AFC Championship game to advance to the Super Bowl for the third time in the last 4 years.

The Patriots again proved that they are the best team in all of football. They went into Pittsburgh and beat the Steelers, ending the Steelers' 15 game winning streak. The Patriots fully dominated and made play after play even when the Steelers were getting back into the game. Games like these have become the norm for New England.

The Patriots now move on to face the Eagles in the Super Bowl. I fully expect the Patriots to beat the Eagles to claim their third Super Bowl in 4 years.

Tom Brady is now 8-0 in his playoff career.