Moby Dick on Sports

The Martin Mandate: Week 14

2009-12-11T18:24:00.003-06:00

Note: I was unable to post the Week 13 Mandate due to some technical issues. For reference, it was St. Louis +8.5 over the Bears.

The revenge factor was front and center as the Mandate bounced back last week with a win. Looking at this week's slate, I am tempted to go with a game that I actually like. I could probably rationalize a revenge pick against the Bears again and take that Packers -2.5, but that really isn't in the spirit of the Costanza Method. Instead, I will pick a team that can start Matt Moore at quarterback and not experience a big drop-off in talent across the board. Oh yes, this week's Martin Mandate is...

Carolina Panthers +13.5 over NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

The Patriots' struggles will continue as the Panthers come in and play them tough at home. Even with a playoff spot on the line, Brady and Belichick will come up short against the ferocious...

Wait, what the hell am I saying? This can't be right. I must look to my mentor for guidance. George, help me!

"Jerry, just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it."

Granderson Trade

2009-12-08T14:05:00.000-06:00

I am distraught. The more I think about this trade, the better I feel about the player-for-player end of things. Coming out of this deal, the Tigers will control Max Scherzer and Phil Coke for 5 years each, and Austin Jackson and Daniel Schlereth for 6 years each. Curtis Granderson is 29. He has peaked. He is not going to get appreciably better than he is right now. In Yankee Stadium, he will be a 35-homer guy who hits .275 and struggles against lefties. He is a gold-glove caliber centerfielder and has good, but not great, base-stealing ability. I liked Edwin Jackson, but I think I like Max Scherzer just as much. I need to think about this more, but right now, I am depressed that we are losing Curtis, but I feel good about the direction of the team moving forward.

The Martin Mandate: Week 12

2009-11-27T09:59:00.000-06:00

I'm making the pick from the road this week, as I am back in Detroit for Thanksgiving. But if you need to get in touch with El Mandator, just wait for the beep...

"Believe it or not, George isn't at home. Please leave a message at the beep. I must be out, or I'd pick up the phone. Where could I be? Believe it or not, I'm not home!"

The obvious choice this week seems to be Cincinnati over Cleveland. The Bengals are coming back home angry after a terrible loss to the Raiders, Cleveland is coming off of a heartbreaking loss to the Lions. But this all makes too much sense. Instead, let's go with a team whose quarterback has proven time and time again that he is anything but dependable. That's right, this week's Martin Mandate is...

Chicago +10.5 over MINNESOTA

The Vikings have been steamrolling over weak competition for the last couple of weeks, but the Bears will provide a much tougher challenge. Jay Cutler will outperform Brett Farve and the Bears will make this a close one in Minnesota.

More on Matty

2009-11-23T15:55:00.000-06:00

I just read Peter King's glowing review of Matthew Stafford's performance on Sunday and it has only deepened the admiration that I have for this kid. As reckless as it is for him to run back on to the field with a probably dislocated shoulder, it shows that he wants to be the leader of this team and will do anything and everything necessary to gain the trust and respect of his teammates. It is enormously disappointing to think that the whole country won't be able to see Matty lead the Lions on Thanksgiving Day, but for this team, it was worth it to get the win on Sunday.

Theeeeeeeeeeee Lions Win!

2009-11-22T17:10:00.005-06:00

I know I might encounter some disagreement on this, but let me just confirm one fact before I get going. The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team. Yes, I know, sometimes it doesn't seem possible, but the Cleveland Browns are indeed made up of men who are paid large sums of money to play and coach football. Knowing this, let's move on.

Detroit Lions, I am very proud of you. Any team that doesn't fold up the tent after going down by 3 touchdowns in the first quarter has my respect. Any team that can come back form that deficit, nearly blow the game, and then come back again? That team has earned my admiration, regardless of who they played against.

We knew going into this year that the Lions did not have the talent to make the playoffs. In seasons like this, it's all about making progress. For Jim Schwartz, tt's about finding out what you have, installing your system, creating a culture that breeds winning, and putting down the stepping stones that will eventually lead to future success. That's what wins like this are. As a team, this kind of win builds trust between the players and the coaching staff. On an individual level, the amount of confidence that a rookie quarterback like Matthew Stafford can draw from a comeback like this is immeasurable. Sure, Stafford made mistakes, throwing back-breaking interceptions in the first and fourth quarters and taking a sack in his own end zone, but his 5 touchdowns (thrown to 5 different receivers) demonstrated the full suite of throws in his arsenal. In no particular order, Matty tossed TDs on a screen pass, a play-action rollout, a 75-yard bomb, and a check-down before squeezing a bullet between two defenders for the game-winner.

Not to focus completely on Stafford, but this win further cements what I talked about in my last post about the Lions' quarterback. Aside for all the obvious physical gifts, it is becoming more and more apparent that Matty has the mental makeup to be a successful NFL quarterback. For the first time in my life (I'm 24), I have some measure of confidence in the quarterback of the Detroit Lions.

Now, let's keep this in perspective. Do the Browns suck? Of course they do. Is this a feather-in-the-cap win for Jim Schwartz anyway? Fuck yeah it is.

The Martin Mandate: Week 11

2009-11-20T10:21:00.003-06:00

Week 10 was again a success for the Martin Mandate, but I must remain humble. As Mr. Costanza says,

"I'm against all "it's me"s. So self-absorbed and egotistical. It's like these hip musicians with their complicated shoes!"

With that in mind, on to the Week 11 pick. The most obvious choice seems to be the red-hot Bengals -9.5 over the hapless Raiders. As much as I would like to go against a team that is starting Bruce Gradkowski at quarterback, I can't go with my gut. Instead, this week's Mandate will be a team going on the road, without its best player, against a division-leading rival facing a must-win game.

This week's Martin Mandate is...

Washington +10.5 over DALLAS

In the absence of Clinton Portis, backup running backs Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright will get the ground game going and the Redskins will keep it close against the Cowboys. Also, as noted in this blog before, Tony Romo is an average quarterback, and should make enough mistakes to keep the Cowboys from running away and hiding in this one.

"You're Just Jimmy's Type..."

2009-11-19T13:37:00.003-06:00

Chris Osgood's bout with the flu is the best thing that ever happened to Jimmy Howard. Along every step of his development, Howard has never been under real pressure to live up to expectations. Whenever he faltered, there was always a safety net of supporters telling him that he was still young, still developing, and that everything would eventually work itself out. Up to this point, Howard has been allowed to develop his game at the lower levels, far away from the toughest job in Detroit, the starting goaltender for the Red Wings.

We all knew Jimmy Howard. He was that guy that everybody said was supposed to be the next great Wings goalie. He was like Dick Clark, he never seemed to age. I swear the kid has been 23 years old since 2004. He was the perpetual light at the end of the tunnel for any Hasek-hater or Ozzie-basher. Howard was widely known as a can't-miss superprospect, but nobody ever seemed to raise the most obvious of questions: "If he's so great, why the hell is he still playing in Grand Rapids?"

In the salary cap era of the NHL, that question has been answered. Teams like the Red Wings don't have the luxury of paying a veteran backup $1-3 million a year to keep the seat warm for a developing youngster. More than ever, young NHL players are being thrown right into the fire because their teams can't find a financial reason to explain why the kid they just paid $15 million should be wasting his skills in Sault Ste. Marie.

Now, Jimmy Howard is no longer a prospect. He is 25 years old. He has plenty of minor league experience. Ozzie is out, it's Jimmy's job for now. It's time for Howard to show us something, and he has. Statistically, Howard has been more than solid in the last few games, but I wasn't 100% convinced until I watched him last night. He was terrific. The Wings allowed far too many odd man rushes (I won't even get started on that), but Howard bailed out his defense on multiple occasions. One of the goals was complete luck, and another was a seeing-eye shot from the point that Howard never saw. Aside from that, he could have stopped the 3rd period goal, but it was by no means soft. All in all, Howard has played well and, aside from last night, the Wings have been winning. Let's not go assigning nicknames or anything, but it's safe to say that the early returns on Jimmy Howard are looking good.

Quick note: How ironic is it that Howard's birthday is March 26, the same day of my greatest Red Wings memory, the 6-5 overtime beatdown (literally) of the Colorado Avalanche that spurred the Wings on to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships? Weird...

I Love NHL on the Fly

2009-11-18T13:06:00.004-06:00

Recently, I have begun a nightly habit of falling asleep to NHL on the Fly, the NHL Network's answer to SportsCenter. To be fair, the show has nowhere near the in-depth analysis, witty banter, production value, or "Scott Van Peltiness" of SportsCenter, but NHL on the Fly does have one thing that has drawn me to it over the Worldwide Leader. Rather than showing a condensed, 30-45 second highlight with studio announcers voicing over the action, NHL Network dedicates 2-3 minutes to each game and shows cuts of the most important plays (not just the goals), leaving in the original announcer voice-overs. After the all of the game action has played out, they kick it back to the studio for analysis from Canadian dudes with mullets (Brian Engblom, et. al.). Seeing highlights in this format, you really get a sense for the flow of the game as a whole. It's a whole new perspective. If I may combine two of my greatest loves, sports and bar food: When you have all become used to digesting your sports in the form of small plates at the SportsCenter tapas bar, the hearty meals at the NHL on the Fly gastropub are a welcome respite.

Red Wings v. Stars, 6:30PM Tonight on NHL Network!

Call your local cable/satellite operator and tell them "I want NHL Network!"

I Really Like Matthew Stafford

2009-11-17T09:42:00.001-06:00

Let's put all of the cards out on the table; the Lions are not a very talented football team and it was plainly on display during Monday's beatdown at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings. The front seven couldn't tackle, the secondary couldn't cover, the o-line couldn't block, and the receivers couldn't catch. It was a well-rounded, horrible team performance. Except for one bright spot.

Matthew Stafford is one tough dude.

He is a gutsy leader who shows command of his team. He has a cannon for an arm and knows it, but for the most part, does not force throws have no chance to succeed. He seems to have a good grasp of the offense and the full support of the team and coaching staff. In the face of all of the hits he's taken this year, he plays the position with tremendous confidence and not an ounce of fear. And even more than everything that he does, the thing I like most about Matthew Stafford is what he doesn't do. He has absolutely no sense of entitlement, something that has become all too common with top draft picks. Stafford knows that as the quarterback, he needs to be the leader of his offense, but at the same time, he recognizes his status as a rookie. Yesterday, when Calvin Johnson dropped a pass that would have resulted in a big gain at a key point in the game, Stafford didn't yell and scream at him, he patted Megatron on the back and they calmly discussed the play on their way back to the huddle.

After about half of a season, it has become patently clear that Matthew Stafford is everything that the Lions' last rookie quarterback, Joey "Blue Skies" Harrington, wasn't. Matty has all of the physical tools and seems to have his head on straight as well. The Lions still have serious concerns on the offensive and defensive lines, but for the first time in a long time, they seem to be headed in the right direction at quarterback.

A Fair Trial for Belichick

2009-11-16T15:04:00.004-06:00

I have absolutely no problem with Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on 4th and 2 from his own 28-yard line against the Colts last night. The Pats defense was clearly not going to stop Peyton Manning, and if New England had converted that first down, the game would have essentially been over. But this is not what I want to talk about in this post.

I am elated that Belichick went for it and failed. This has nothing to do with my team allegiances; I very much respect and admire Bill Belichick and I have no ill will toward either the Patriots or the Colts. I am elated because the situation allows for this call to be evaluated without bias.

The fact that this call was made by a coach with tremendous prestige, who has won enough to be given the benefit of the doubt in nearly every situation, allows each member of the media to fairly evaluate the decision, rather than just reacting to the outcome. The fact that he failed means that media members can logically fall on both sides of the argument. Had it succeed, I guarantee that everyone would be praising the call as another Belichickian stroke of genius. As it is, this is a rare situation where a neutral observer can fairly develop an opinion on the merits of the coach's decision, not the result.

Too often coaches are judged on the outcome of their decisions, which as Tom Brady reminded us, is out of their control, rather that the quality of the decision itself. Although it is unfortunate that such an unlikely confluence of circumstances was required for this to happen, it is refreshing to see a coach ripped/praised for something that was actually under his control.

Root, Root, Root, Against the Home Team?

2009-11-14T13:04:00.005-06:00

I am conflicted. After seeing the terrific display of ineptitude last Saturday in South Bend, I don't know what to think about my beloved Fighting Irish. On the one hand, I always want to see Notre Dame succeed, and I am always going to be disappointed if they don't, but on the other hand, it was become quite clear to me that this team is not going anywhere under Charlie Weis, and I don't want a couple of meaningless (in the grand scheme of things) wins to muddle the situation. This brings up a larger question: Is it ever acceptable to root against your favorite team?

On the positive side, you can never be sure about what the future holds, and a true fan would never hope for his team to fail. You continue to root on your boys every game and trust that everything will work itself out in the end. On the opposite end, there is The Old Yeller Theory. You are still hoping for the best for you team, but you realize that wins in the present might hinder the change necessary for long-term success, which generally comes in the form of a coaching/administration change. So you take Old Yeller out behind the woodshed and put him out of his misery, which in this case means hoping for you team to lose. Both sides certainly pose strong arguments. This is a toughy...

As angry and disappointed as I am with Charlie Weis right now, I cannot bring myself to root against Notre Dame. I wish that Weis could just be fired now, but that simply isn't an option. All of the coaches that Notre Dame would consider are under contract at another school (Yes, I am aware that this rules out Jon Gruden), and promoting an interim coach from within would only complicate the situation further. ND Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick is a smart guy, and I have to trust that he saw exactly what I saw against Navy, a team that got outcoached and a coach that knew it. The most frightening thing is that instead of admitting his own failures, Weis preached "accountability" while throwing his team under the bus. Irony anyone? Charlie Weis has become so blinded by ego that he is no longer fit to run this team. So tonight when the Irish take the field against Pittsburgh, I will play Iago to Charlie Weis' Othello, hoping for success while ultimately plotting his demise...

The Martin Mandate: Week 10

2009-11-13T14:04:00.007-06:00

As a counter to my buddy Jordan's "Levinson Lock o' the Week", I debuted the Martin Mandate, my NFL pick each week, earlier this year. So far, I have taken it on the chin, going a robust 2-5 over the last 7 weeks. But, in Week 9, I discovered the secret. The Constaza Method.

Based on the Seinfeld episode in which George gets a smoking hot girlfriend and a job with the Yankees by doing the opposite of every one of his instincts, the NFL version of The Constanza Method dictates that I eschew what seems to be an obvious choice for the game of the week and instead pick a team that, on the surface, has no chance to cover. This team need not be an underdog, just a pick that seems intuitively wrong.

Last week's debut of The Constanza Method was a success, with the Texans covering on the road against Peyton Manning and the undefeated Colts.

"I was free and clear. I was living the dream. I was stripped to the waist eating a block of cheese the size of a car battery."
- George Costanza

That was me on Sunday (except for the nakedness and giant piece of cheese) as I celebrated The Costanza Method's initial triumph. Needless to say, I have already purchased a hefty brick of asiago in anticipation of this week's matchups.

My initial thought was to take New Orleans on the road, giving 2 touchdowns at St.Louis. This one seems like a layup, but it can't be that easy. The Costanza Method dictates that I choose a team with a far more difficult road to victory. How about a team that won only 4 games last season going to for a sweep of the Super Bowl Champions on the road?

The Martin Mandate for Week 10 is...

Cincinnati +7 over PITTSBURGH

Chad Ochocinco, Cedric Benson and the rest of the Bengals will roll into Heinz field and stomp the Steelers (or at least lose in a close one) in a clash of 6-2 divisional rivals.

Please Keep Curtis

2009-11-12T22:01:00.004-06:00

I am very worried. Scratch that, I am downright depressed. If the Tigers trade Curtis Granderson, I don't know what I'm going to do. Just reading about the possibility today, it got a bit dusty in my cube at work...

I understand that financial implications, I really do, but I just can't fathom how you can trade a guy who has made a connection to a community that craves interaction with its sports stars. It has been such a long time since Detroit had an elite player (truthfully, that might be a slight overstatement for Grandy) that actually had the desire to be in the public spotlight. Nothing against Barry Sanders or Steve Yzerman, but the last two great athletes that played in Detroit tended to shy away from the public eye. Granderson provides the Tigers with a unique opportunity to build a relationship with the city on a whole new level. Anybody who saw a game at Comerica Park this summer can vouch, there was a special connection between the team and its fans, and much of that is built because of Granderson's role and the face and voice of the organization. There is not a better ambassador for baseball playing in MLB today, and it would be a terrible shame for the Tigers to lose that. For baseball reasons, I don't want to see the Tigers trade away any of their promising young players, Jackson, Verlander, et. al., but losing Granderson would be an even more crippling hit to the PR side of things, something that is of paramount importance for a team battling for its chunk of Detroit's waning disposable income.

Most importantly, it would spell the end for "The Rio Granderson", the only fantasy baseball team name that I have ever known.

AL Gold Gloves

2009-11-10T15:13:00.007-06:00

Mark it down, at 3:13 PM Central Standard Time on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009, I have officially given up on the Gold Glove. It has now joined the Grammys, Emmys, and every other non-Oscars entertainment award in the "Promise Ring Memorial Home for Irrelevant Awards". It's shiny and it's a nice gesture, but when that hot girl across the party winks at you, that ring doesn't mean shit. After hearing the AL winners today, that's how I feel about the Gold Glove. Derek Jeter won? Seriously? The guy plays three steps on to the outfield grass, and still has no chance on anything in the hole. He is bailed out by having a former shortstop with fantastic range at third, and a tremendous defensive first baseman across the diamond. Jeter's defense is the equivalent of Adrian Grenier's acting in Entourage; he sucks, but you don't notice how crappy he is because of the talent surrounding him.

Ok, I'm getting too riled up. I should lay off Jeter, he did have a very good all-around year and I really shouldn't be surprised that his defense continues to be overrated. That rant was probably a bit uncalled for, and I apologize to any Jeter-lovers out there (especially you, Lyla Garrity). The real reason that I am bringing this up is that multiple Tigers were wronged here.

First off, just to show that there is no homerism in this post, I will admit that Placido Polanco probably stole one. His defense was solid this year, but he was not the best second baseman in the league. Polanco is exceptionally steady, and makes all of the plays that he is supposed to make, but at this point in his career, he doesn't make enough spectacular defensive plays to warrant the Gold Glove. I'm glad that he was recognized, but this award is a bit questionable.

Homer time: Curtis Granderson and Gerald Laird got screwed! Granderson has more ground to cover than any centerfielder in the AL and in addition, is almost always flanked by at least one crappy corner outfielder that needs a bit of extra help. Watching other centerfielders struggle with the wide expanses of Comerica Park's outfield is a daily reminder of how important Granderson is to the Tigers' defense. There is no way that Torii Hunter is a better defensive outfielder at this point in his career. Laird's gripe is even more warranted. What more could he have done? He completely shut down the running game, throwing out well over 40% of opposing base-stealers, he was a rock behind the plate, routinely blocking errant balls in the dirt, and he brilliantly handled a very young pitching staff, coaxing double-digit wins out of both Edwin Jackson and Rick Porcello. The fact that his average didn't top .250 for the season has no bearing on his defense. The Gold Glove award is a DEFENSIVE award, although the fact that it went to AL batting champ Joe Mauer seems to indicate otherwise...

Ok, for real this time

2009-08-19T18:58:00.004-05:00

Shit, I need to write more often...

I realize that at this point I am making promises to a nonexistent audience, but I promise that I am going to pick this back up again and write shorter, more frequent posts. I really like writing this blog, I just feel the need to perfect everything that I write, it ends up taking forever, and I never have time to do it. It's a vicious cycle. Anyway, a few quick thoughts today on the Aubrey Huff acquisition:

1. Love it. Get a guy who can really help the team for just the cost of a low-level prospect and $1.5 million.
2. I read Drew Sharp's column today and I am horribly disappointed. I understand, and frankly agree with, the sentiment, but nobody has ever gotten ahead by pissing off the baseball player's union. What future free agent is going to want to sign with the Tigers if we screw Mags out of 18 million bucks this year? Of course it sucks that we have to overpay him in his twilight years, but I still maintain that it was a great contract. Had he gotten hurt, the Tigers would have been completely off the hook. He ended up not getting hurt and giving the Tigers 3 fantastic years, including a trip to the World Series. I would say that's worth overpaying a bit on the back end.
3. I think the Tigers will win the division this year, and with the pitching staff that we have, we can certainly make some noise in the playoffs, but for the future, the gaping hole in left field must be filled (preferably with a left-handed power bat). Marcus Thames has proven that he is not an everyday player and the Tigers need to accept it. Whether it's Clete Thomas or someone from outside the organization, the Tigers need somebody new to man left field.

Here's where we stop, for now...

I am going to punch Rick Sutcliffe in the mouth

2009-06-03T19:44:00.004-05:00

Usually, I look forward to watching Tiger games on ESPN. It's interesting to see the takes the likes of Johnny Miller and Steve Phillips have on what the Tigers are doing. Today, I have learned that unless he is drunk (if anybody hasn't seen it, here it is), Rick Sutcliffe's take is not very interesting. In fact, he is making me wish the the migraine I had this afternoon would come back. Early in the game, Sutcliffe began praising Jason Varitek's handling of a pitching staff. No issues here. Then he talked about how Varitek has caught 4 no-hitters, which would have been fine, until he insinuated that Varitek deserves a bit too much credit for those gems. At this point, I'm a bit miffed, but it hasn't ruined my game experience yet. Then, that bastard crossed the line. Talking over footage of Varitek holding ARod back from attacking Bronson Arroyo a few years back, Sutcliffe, and I am not exaggerating this at all, gave Varitek credit for keeping the Yankees from winning a World Series since 2000. If I may borrow a line from another Red Sox lover, Seth Meyers...REALLY? At this point, I'm pretty sure that if Josh Beckett finishes the no-hitter that he is currently working on, Sutcliffe will jump down from the booth a make out with Jason Varitek. I will now give myself credit for successfully jinxing Beckett's no-no. Go ahead CJ! Anyway, I am periously close to driving to Detroit, ripping off Rick Sutcliffe's stupid mullet, and choking him with it. Come on back migraine....

The Kronwall Call

2009-05-23T21:57:00.005-05:00

I have to agree with Gerard here. That call was pure bullshit. Just because a player gets hurt does not make the hit illegal or dirty. My pee-wee coaches always told me if you put your head down, you're going to get hurt, and they were right. Watch the tape - the puck was in his skates, Kronwall hit him with his shoulder, and he didn't leave his feet (his feet did come up, but that was a result of the collision). The hit was textbook. If I was coaching defensemen now, I would have them watch the tape of Kronwall's check.

What really upset me was how the none of the refs had their hands up, and the penalty was called waayy after the play took place (also, nothing happened to the guy who cross checked Kronwall on top of Havlat). That shows me that it was a he got hurt call. I could understand a late charging call just to calm the situation down, but an after the fact 5 minute major and game misconduct is ridiculous. If you're going to play in the NHL and skate with your head down, you're going to get your clock cleaned, its as simple as that. If you don't like it, watch tennis.

PS) I do hope Martin Havlat recovers from his injury. I never like to see a player get hurt.

Terrible Officiating

2009-05-23T15:13:00.004-05:00

I was at the game last night, I saw the hit in person. I saw it on SportsCenter when I got home. I saw it 15 times in the last 5 minutes on YouTube. I have seen Nicklas Kronwall knock Martin Havlat's head off many many times, but my opinion of it hasn't changed since I saw it in real time. It is one of the worst calls I have ever seen, in any sporting event, ever.

If the officials had called charging, that's fine. Kronwall did leave his feet a bit. Maybe his elbow came up? Fine, call elbowing. Shit, call roughing if you want, but don't insult the intelligence of everybody watching the game by calling interference when the puck was right between Havlat's skates. The ref might as well have gotten on the PA and said "Marty Havlat is out cold and we feel bad for him...5 minute major!" If that hit had occurred in Detroit, rather than in front of 22,000 whining Blackhawk fans, there is no way that Kronwall gets 5 minutes. The NHL should be embarrassed.

I never want to see anybody get hurt, and I hope that Havlat makes a full recovery, but you can't call penalties based on the aftermath. It was a clean hit, regardless of whether Havlat had gets up and skates away, or if he's carried off the ice on a backboard. A clean hit is a clean hit. You can't reward a team because one of their players doesn't have the sense to keep his head up. If you skate around looking down at the puck, somebody is going to knock you out, that's hockey. On the flip side, you shouldn't penalize a team beacuse one of their opponents got hurt. This isn't Little League, it's the National fucking Hockey League. Grow some balls refs, and call the game fairly.

NHL On TV

2009-05-18T12:52:00.007-05:00

One of the perks of working at the Anchor Bar is I get to watch the Wings games while I restock the beer coolers. A second perk is that I don't have to listen to the morons that call the game for NBC and Versus.

I know I've bashed them before, but I'm going to bash them again. Doc Emrick - his annoying growls drive me up the wall. Brian Engbloom - a poor man's Barry Melrose with a really stupid looking haircut. Keith Jones - always sits sideways and gives utterly useless commentary. One time I was watching the Wings on Versus and the announcer (not Doc Emrick, evidently there is a B crew underneath him) commented after one of Pavel's slick moves that "Pavel Datsyuk must have graduated valedictorian of Awesome School." He seriously said that, and I wanted to throw my Labatt Blue at the TV.

Of all the bad news you read about the Motor City these days, the silver lining is I get to watch hockey on CBC's broadcast. On CBC, I get the Racicot Chrysler and Windsor Lighting boutique commercials. On CBC the announcers don't try to get me fired up with their voice - they let the game do that. Lastly, on CBC I get to watch Ron McLean, who is my favorite (or should I say favourite) in studio sportscaster. Not only does he keep Don Cherry in check, he asks good questions and he provides good analysis himself. His interview of Gary Bettman a few years back just showed what kind of guy he is. He didn't back down from Bettman - he asked tough questions and tougher followups. But he also asked them in a colegial and measured manner, not raising his voice like a cable news anchor would. Also, if you're watching the CBC broadcast, notice how the in studio analysts talk to each other as opposed to the camera. I think the more conversational tone of Kelly Hrudy and Ron McLean talking two each other makes for better TV than Keith Jones reading off of a teleprompter.

Overall, I'm happy with the Wings play this series. Ozzie has played well, and the Wings D has looked sharp. I still want Datsyuk, Hank, and Marian to get it going, but I'm happy that players like Sammualson, Cleary, and Hudler have stepped up. Hopefully the big guys get it going sooner than later.

Wings and Kitties

2009-05-16T02:49:00.006-05:00

Wings won game 7, so I still have my job at the Anchor for another series. Also, gotta talk a bit about my Motor City Kitties. Without further adieu, here it goes.

First - glad to see the Wings win game 7, and more importantly glad to see the game winner goal was a garbage goal by Dan Cleary. It wasn't even a rebound, he more so just pushed Hiller's pad into the puck. Who cares though. As any coach says, good things happen if you throw the puck on net and crash the crease, and that's how the Wings got that goal. I would like to see more of this and I would like to see Pavel and Hank show up in the upcoming series.

Second - I really like Darren Helm. Every shift he makes a good play. Its not always a goal. Sometimes its a big check, a takeaway in the neutral zone, or a strong forecheck where he gets the puck back. Either way, the man is scoring a bit now and I couldn't be happier for anyone else on the team. His goal in game 7 showed on grand display his speed, which will be his greatest asset as his career blossoms as a Wing. Weird and depressing to know that he's two years younger than me.

Third - so we're playing the Hawks. Finally we have a good old fashioned Original 6 match up. And as much as I hate the Hawks, I'm glad to see their relevant again. Getting liqueured up at Marge's over the Preds and Blue Jackets just wasn't the same. Either way, I'm happy that I can hate the Hawks again without feeling guilty about how shitily run an organization (say it in Canadian: Org inn I zaa shun) they are. Fuck Chicago and fuck the Hawks. Fuck Eddie the Eagle, fuck Steve Larmer, fuck Chicago style dogs(not as good as Coneys), fuck Old Style (never as good as Stroh's), fuck Fall Out Boy (from Chicago), but don't fuck Chris Chelios. Never thought I'd ever say such nice things about Chelios.

Quick hits - in regards to the Tigers, it appears Dombrowski is back to his old tricks. He is getting undervalued players for nothing, and watching them blossom into stars. Edwin Jackson appears to be the heist of the century so far. I realize he loaded the Tigers up with some big contracts that weren't worth the paper they were signed on (Sheff, Dontrelle, Big League Nate), but he knows how to spot talent in the lower levels, and the Tigers have a good one in Edwin Jackson.

The Jumpshooting Hockey Team

2009-05-13T21:20:00.004-05:00

Here comes a game seven folks, and I must admit I am a little nervous. Afterall, my job as a bartender at Detroit's Anchor Bar kindof depends on the Wings. Here are my thoughts on the last game and the game 7 coming up.

First - A lot of complaints in regards to the officiating this series have been voiced on Valenti and Foster. Certainly there were some missed calls, and the officiating could be more consistent. I was not thrilled with a lot of calls and more importantly a lot of non calls. However, in regards to the game last night, I don't think the officiating really cost the Wings the game.

Second - Last night, one team clearly wanted it more than the other. Once team clearly had more jump in their step. Once team clearly beared (did I spell that right?) down and won the little battles. And that team was the Ducks. The Wings looked sluggish, tired, and listless. Their passes were not crisp, and their shots missed the net. I don't know if it was laziness, arrogance, or if it just was one of those nights, but they sure did not look good. Most troubling to me was how little they crashed the net. Once again, they peppered Hiller with shots, but they were easy shots to stop. Instead if creating traffic, blocking his vision, and getting garbage goals, they're shooting the hockey equivelant of jump shots. Just like how if you don't get to the line in basketball you're not going to get far, the same goes with hockey.

Third - the Wings two homegrown horses have got to pick it up. Hank and Pavel have been noticebly quiet this series, and that has to change. I know the Mule has played great, but theres a reason your big guns are your big guns. For Stanley to to come back to Detroit this year, our two best players must start playing like they're our best players. The Defense is handling its business. Two goals is not an insurmountable amount, but you can't win if you start scoring and getting pressure on with 5 minutes left in the third period. I think the first period of game 7 will be key to deciding which Red Wings team shows up, and who advances to the next round.

Quick Hits - Just watched Curtis Granderson hit a triple then induce Twins pitcher Jesse Crain into a BALK. Curtis Granderslam (I think that should be his nickname, its punchy and is a good play on words) is my Tiger, and has come through in the clutch twice the past couple weeks. While I was in a really good mood after seeing that, I had to watch one of those stupid Lady Janes commercials right afterwards. Not wicked awesome at all.

Great series for the Tigers

2009-05-10T14:57:00.003-05:00

I cannot imagine watching a more confidence-inspiring series than the one that the Tigers just played in Cleveland.

Think, in general terms, about what happened this weekend. The starters allowed 1 run in three games (20 innings). The ace of the staff pitched a 2-hit, 11-strikeout, complete game shutout. The bullpen was solid, except for a hiccup from the closer, who was pitching in a non-save situation on back-to-back days. The offense was far from spectacular, but provided timely hits and just enough run support. The prospective gold-glove centerfielder was outstanding, especially with an otherworldly, game-saving catch. Throw in that the series was on the road, against a division rival, and there really isn't much more that you can expect from a baseball team hoping to compete for a playoff spot.

I feel great about the Tigers. The pitching and defense are leaps and bounds ahead of last year and although the offense has struggled, the fact that the Tigers can win in spite of it just give me more confidence. The leaders (Verlander, Cabrera, Granderson) are out front, and this team is coming together.

I'm Back and the Wings are too

2009-05-08T09:39:00.007-05:00

Sorry it's been so long everybody (and by everybody I mean the four people that might actually read this). You can attribute my long break from writing to forgetfulness and laziness. From now on I'm going to try to keep my posts shorter, as opposed to writing the 6 page anti-Bettman manifestos that make up my previous work.

First - gotta talk about the no goal call. I was so mad I couldn't sleep for hours, but after some thought and watching the replay in the morning, I'm not as upset. The ref was in the right position, and made the right call to blow it dead. What really burns a hole in my pantyhose is that the call was not reviewable. The other on ice official should be able to overrule such a call if he had a better angle, and all those cameras should have been put to use in Toronto. I still think hockey is the most difficult game to officiate, so much respect to the refs. However they're human, they make mistakes, and they should be able to review goal calls like this (for the love of God though, do not use replay for penalties and other stuff, just goals.)

Second - glad to see the Wings finally show up and start playing hockey again for three periods. I saw glimmers of hope in that third period in game three, but for the first time the Winged Wheelers had their foot on the gas the whole game. They finished their checks, set the tone for the game, and more importantly they crashed the net. During the past couple games, the Wings turned into the hockey equivalent of a jumpshooting basketball team. Sure they got a bunch of shots on Hiller, but they were weak and easy for him to see.

Third - really happy to have Marian Hossa going now. You could see the "about time" look of relief on his face while he celebrated his first goal. In Rod Allen terms, he had been scuffeling all series, and maybe was starting to press a bit. It's good that he got the scoreless in this series monkey off his back, and I hope Datsyuk with his eyes by Dr. Rahmani gets it going soon too.

Quick Hits - So most of the actors from the Mighty Ducks have not gone on to win Oscars, but you still see them around. The Captain Charlie Conway, played by Joshua Jackson, has gone on to play Pacy in Dawsons Creek and now has a part on Fringe. Jesse Hall, played by Brandon Quintin Adams, also appeared in one of the greatest baseball movies ever, The Sandlot (he's the pitcher that throws the heater.) You even see Goldberg in that Castrol commercial where he orders fries and a shit ton of oil falls on his car. However, the imdb connection that stunned me was realizing that my beloved Connie Moreau, played by Marguerite Moreau, grew up to play the call girl Vicky in Mad Men (Season 2, ep. 4, Three Sundays.) Connie got hot.

Baxter signs Foote

2009-05-06T17:56:00.006-05:00

The Lions have officially signed linebacker Larry Foote to a 1-year contract. Not exactly an earth-shattering move, but this is the kind of signing that can the lift sloppy drunkard that is the Detroit Lions up off the barroom floor and drag them slowly toward the front door of respectability.

Signings like Larry Foote are what take teams from last place to the playoffs. Obviously, I'm not saying that the Lions are going to make the playoffs this season, but I am saying that veterans like Foote are invaluable to the development of players like Ernie Sims, Jordan Dizon, and Louis Delmas. Rebuilding teams can't be made up completely of "unready" young players, nor can they be made up of only "past-ready" players. In order to rebuild, you need to stock the pantries with young talent and then supplement that with guys who can keep the seats warm until the young guys are ready to take over. Foote isn't going to be a great middle linebacker for the Lions, but he will be good enough to force younger players to the bench, and ultimately aid in their development. Although this one kind of fell into his lap, I've got to give Martin Mayhew credit for yet another surprisingly smart move.

Once again, good boy Baxter.

Since when is Ed Hochuli reffing NHL playoff games?

2009-05-06T09:27:00.004-05:00

The NHL needs to do something about quick whistles. For the most part, they are harmless, but when they start costing teams playoff games, something has to be done. In last night's Red Wings/Ducks game, it should have been as simple as going to the replay, which clearly showed that the puck was still loose when the whistle was blown, and then giving Marian Hossa his goal and sending the game into overtime. Watching the replay, it wasn't a situation where play stopped right at the whistle and Hossa scored because everyone else had stopped playing. Everyone on the ice except the men in black and white saw that the puck was still alive and kept on playing.

This error is frighteningly Hochuli-esque. In fact, it's exactly the same issue. The referee made an incorrect call and blew the whistle too early, screwing one team out of a game-altering play. So why can't the NHL just fix this the same way the NFL has? Instruct referees to wait on the whistle until they are absolutely sure that they play is dead. If a goal is scored and there's a question that the puck may have been covered, go to the replay. Like I said before, when a bad rule starts costing teams playoff games, it needs to be fixed. As much as I hate to rely on Gary Bettman for anything (I wouldn't trust that moron to deliver a fucking pizza to my house), it's on him to fix this problem. We're screwed.

The Cure for Rabies

2009-05-03T14:33:00.003-05:00

In the past, I have always been a fan of Ryan Raburn, but unfortunately, my man-love for Rabies burns no longer. He needs to go back to Toledo. Now.

Raburn doesn't have much talent in terms of raw power, speed, or athleticism, but he was useful in the past because although he didn't bring a whole lot to the table, he never took anything off of it. Quick aside, Rod Allen just quoted MC Hammer, I feel that it is necessary to point this out. Anyway, Raburn is now removing items from the table faster than Wojo (I miss WDFN...) at an all-you-can-eat buffet. He isn't hitting, which would be acceptable if he was providing his usual steady defense in the infield and outfield, but he has been nothing short of atrocious this season on the defensive side of the ball. He has cost the Tigers at least one game so far by simply dropping routine fly balls and in a division that will almost certainly come down to a few games in October, you can't afford to give away games in April. Raburn used to be valuable because of his ability to play in the infield and the outfield, but with Gary Sheffield gone, the Tigers have room to keep both a strong defensive outfielder, Josh Anderson, and a strong defensive infielder, Ramon Santiago, on their bench, which significantly cuts down the value of Raburn's versatility. With his defensive usefullness accounted for by other players (who are both outhitting him by the way), Raburn must earn his keep with his bat. Excuse me for impugning somebody's job performance in this tough economy, but 1/11 with 4 strikeouts is just not going to get it done.

This whole discussion might seem like a moot point, because Marcus Thames will eventually take this spot back when he recovers from his injury, but with so many divisional games coming up in the next couple of weeks, it is absolutely paramount that the Tigers send their best 25 on to the field every night. Until Thames gets healthy, wouldn't Jeff Larish be a hell of a lot more useful for the Tigers? Assuming that he can at least equal the job that Raburn has done defensively, which at this point I think could be handled by a drunk chimpanzee, Larish provides left-handed power off the the Tigers' bench, something that the Tigers really lack with their current team. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Rabies succeed, but that this point, he looks like the definition of a 4A player and somebody who is not capable of helping a big league club.

Wait, that Vinny Del Negro?

2009-05-01T13:46:00.007-05:00

Wow. Yes, this blog is devoted mostly to opinions on the sports endeavors of Motown, but today, I feel compelled to make an exception, because that Bulls-Celtics game last night was fucking ridiculous.

Of course, we must first give credit to the players on both sides for this great series. Ben Gordon, Ray Allen, Derrick Rose, and Rajon Rondo have been nothing short of transcendent. But really, we need to give credit for last night's game to one man: Vincent Joseph Del Negro. Yes, that's right, the man who brought Uncle Jessie-style haircuts to the NBA. If anybody but Vinny Del Negro is coaching this Bulls team, this series probably never makes it to Game 6 and Game 6 damn sure never makes it to triple overtime. Derrick Rose could get to the hole whenever he wanted, and for some reason, throughout the series, especially during the overtimes last night, Del Negro refuses to realize that the Celtics cannot stop Rose from beating his man off the dribble and scoring or creating for a teammate. In the first half, the Bulls took the lead because Rose was slicing the Celtics defense to ribbons, scoring and distributing at will. This seemed to work for the Bulls, but for some reason, as the game wore on, Rose ceased to be the focal point of the offense. At first, this made sense, Ben Gordon is the best clutch scorer on the team, of course he should be getting the majority of the offensive touches in crunch time. But then Gordon fouled out. One would think that this would cue the arrival of Rose as the go-to offensive player, but alas, Mr. Del Negro thought that John Salmons (who actually had a really nice game), Brad Miller (ugliest man in the NBA?), and Kirk Hinrich were all better options. How can someone who sees Derrick Rose play ON A DAILY BASIS not realize that there is nobody on the Celtics that can guard him! Eventually, Rose just took it upon himself to ensure victory for Chicago, with his Stretch Armstrong-esque block of Rondo on the Celtics second-to-last possession.

All in all, as much as Vinny has driven me crazy, he has ensured that this series is going to a Game 7 and he was invaluable comedic tool in NBA Jam. You will always have a place in my heart...

Who the fuck is Jonas Hiller?

2009-04-29T20:29:00.006-05:00

The Wings and Ducks will begin their Western Conference Semifinal on Friday and as I look over the lineups for both teams, I am left wondering only one thing: Who the fuck is Jonas Hiller? What happened to the days of Mighty Ducks (yes, they were still mighty back then) goaltenders with goofy French-Canadian names? Where are Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Guy Hebert? Seriously though, outside of this Hiller fella, these Ducks look all too familiar. The Niedermayers and their magnificent playoff beards, Getzlaf, Perry, Pronger, and the ageless Teemu Selanne headline for the Ducks, just as the did a few years ago, when the Ducks knocked the Red Wings out of the playoffs. They are feeling great, coming off an upset of the Joe Thornton (hockey's answer to Arod) and playing a team that they have beaten in the past. One might think that these Ducks would be primed to make this upset...

That said, the Ducks are not going to be able to push the Red Wings around like they did the Sharks. The Wings have always been widely considered a finesse team, and they certainly don't drop the gloves as often as some other squads, but that doesn't mean that they aren't tough. Most of the time, the Wings choose not to throw their weight around, because they don't have to. The Wings are the most skilled team in the league and smartly, they play to their strength. But do not confuse skill and speed with a lack of toughness. There is no team with more playoff experience than this Red Wings team, and consequently, no team with more collective mental (and testicular, for that matter) fortitude. This makes me think that this series might be shorter than the experts think. The Red Wings are clearly the more talented team, they know it, and they will act accordingly. There are absolutely no distractions. The Wings are in the familiar role of Stanley Cup favorite, there is no other juggernaut left in the Western Conference, so there is nothing for the Wings to look ahead to, and although the Wings and Ducks have played in the playoffs before, there really isn't much of a rivalry factor in this series.

Although these two organizations (please use the Canadian pronunciation) have battled in the playoffs in the past, the animosity isn't exactly bubbling over. This isn't Wings/Avs in the late 90's. The Ducks have no Claude Lemieux or Patrick Roy to serve as a target for the ire and octopi of Red Wing fans. The Wings/Ducks conflict is simply familiarity, with a light dusting of dislike. Early on, the Ducks will try to escalate the rivalry and turn this series into cage fight, because they know it's the only way they can win. A lesser team might get sucked into a fist fight, but Mike Babcock will not allow his Red Wings to lose their focus. After a tough Game 1, the Wings will establish themselves as the superior team and take control. I see this series turning out just like the '97 Conference Semifinal between the Wings and the then-Mighty Ducks. The Ducks forced three of the four games into overtime, but were still swept. I don't see a sweep coming in this series, but I think Detroit takes out Anaheim in a hard-fought 5 games.

Bring on the Blackhawks.

On second thought...

2009-04-28T18:44:00.004-05:00

Think about this possible trade:

Team A gives up a 24-year old outfielder who has 20+ homer power, but hasn't yet proven he can hit consistently against big league pitching.

Team B gives up a 25-year old starting pitcher who has high-90's heat with a power breaking ball and won 14 games in the toughest division in the baseball the year before.

Wouldn't this trade be a no-brainer win for Team A?

If you haven't noticed by now, the above hypothetical is the Matt Joyce for Edwin Jackson trade that Dave Dombrowski and the Tigers pulled off this winter. My first reaction to this trade was to mourn the loss of Joyce (and the arrival of Carlos Guillen to leftfield), but I don't think I ever put the acquisition of Jackson into proper perspective. In terms of raw stuff, Jackson at this best is on the level of 'Stang, and the Tigers only gave up an unproven fourth outfielder to get him. Don't get me wrong, young left-handed hitters with Joyce's raw power aren't exactly a dime-a-dozen, but they are certainly easier to find than 25 year-old pitchers with high-90's heat (as I type this, Jackson just hit 97 on the radar gun) and a big league breaking ball who have been successful on the major league level. The real thing that changed my perspective on this trade was the move to acquire Josh Anderson, giving the Tigers another young lefty to play the outfield, albeit with a vastly different skill set, and bringing the E-Jax deal full circle.

The more I see of Jackson, the more I love his makeup almost as much as I love his stuff. He has been excellent so far in his first season as a Tiger, and it doesn't exactly hurt Double D's reputation when Joyce gets off to a 1-10 start in Tampa, although his one hit was a home run. What do you think it would take to get him back in a Tiger uniform....

Good boy, Baxter

2009-04-28T10:35:00.004-05:00

Although it's been three days, I still thought should submit my opinion on Baxter's (that's the Lions if you haven't read this before) haul in last weekend's 2009 NFL Draft...

First Pick: Matthew Stafford QB Georgia
As SEC quarterbacks go, he reminds me more of Rex Grossman than Peyton Manning...which is unfortunate. There's no debating that all of the physical tools are there, but Stafford definitely has a little Favre in him, and not the good kind. He knows that he has a cannon and consequently tries to fit the ball into places that he shouldn't. Either way, I can't really argue with the pick, it seems like the Lions coaches really like this kid. I would have rather taken Aaron Curry or Jason Smith this year and then looked to draft Colt McCoy or Dan LeFevour next year, but like it or not, we are stuck with Stafford.

Second Pick: Brandon Pettigrew TE Oklahoma State
I did not see this pick coming at all, but I love it. Pettigrew strikes me as a guy with tremendous talent, but who is drafted later than he should be because of the position that he plays. If Pettigrew turns out to be the blocker and receiver that Mel Kiper says he is, he is going will help out all of the Lions top offensive players. He can help Stafford in pass protection and as an safety blanket on third down (also giving me an excuse to make a Stafford/Linus from The Peanuts joke), he can help Kevin Smith turn 5-yard runs into 15-yard runs by sealing off the edge and opening up the outside, and he can help Calvin Johnson get more one-on-one coverages by occupying the middle of the field and drawing the attention of the opposing teams' safeties. Honestly, I was hoping for Michael Oher with this pick, but from what I have seen and read so far, I am really excited about Pettigrew.

Third Pick: Louis Delmas S Western Michigan
On looks alone, he seems to have some Bob Sanders in him. Jim Schwartz needs a ballhawk on his defense and I think Delmas can be just that. The Lions' secondary was putrid last year, and it needed to be addressed. I have absolutely no problem with the Lions passing on Rey Maualuga. I understand they have a huge need a middle linebacker, but that can be partially covered up by Julian Peterson and Ernie Sims and at the strong-side and weak-side linebacker positions, respectively. The more important thing to consider here Schwartz needs a smart leader (ala Keith Bulluck) to call the signals on his defense, and Maualuga is not that. He is a very instinctive player who plays with fantastic intensity, but he isn't the brightest bulb in the lamp. He scored in the low teens on the Wonderlic, which I understand is only a small part of the evaluation process, but even so is really alarming for a guy who has to run the show for your defense. Maualuga might be the better player, but Delmas is a great fit for Baxter's back four.

Of the Lions' other picks, people tell me that Sammie Lee Hill is going to be a force in the middle of the line, but the one that jumped out at me was Derrick Williams. I think he can contribute as a slot receiver, but even more so in the return game. After Rod and his Shovel completely ignored the return game (I am not exaggerating this, he told his returners to fair catch every punt for fear of penalties or turnovers), it's great to see a defensive who actually recognizes the effect that a great returner can have on field position. What a novel concept! A defensive-minded coach who understands that field position is his most important commodity...Who knew?

Anyway, I'm pleased overall with Baxter's picks. They added some potential stars on offense and some nice depth on defense. The one glaring omission is a top-flite left tackle, but come on, we have Jeff Backus!

I totally called it

2009-04-27T20:26:00.003-05:00

How about the 'Stang? 7 strong with 9K's? Not too shabby. Mustang had it all working tonight. Fastball in the upper 90's (he touched 99 at least 5 times) and a knee-buckling curveball. This is hopefully what the Tigers are going to get from him for the rest of the year. Yea, I don't really have a whole lot to say, just that I TOTALLY CALLED IT!

Jimmy is pleased

2009-04-26T14:25:00.006-05:00

I love the way that Jim Leyland is managing the Tigers so far this season. With last year's team, there was really nothing to do but set the lineup and the beginning of the day and hope for a couple of big innings. With a nice mix of power, speed, and average sprinkled throughout this year's everyday lineup, Jim Leyland is managing like a stoner in a 711; there are so many options, why not take advantage of all of them? Hit-and-runs, squeeze bunts, pinch runners; Leyland is happily emptying his bag of tricks on a daily basis. And it's working. The bottom of the Tigers' order is manufacturing runs and providing a perfect complement to the thump at the top of the order. I am certainly a subscriber to sabermetrics and preserving as many outs as possible, but I can still appreciate the stuble excellence of a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt. The Tigers are playing the game the way Leyland wants it to be played and it's led to the best run differential in the division.

Why I'm not worried about Justin Verlander

2009-04-23T19:25:00.004-05:00

Quick Note: I'm pretty sure I'm wasting my time because nobody reads this fella anyway, but I am going to write more often. I promise. Pete will write more too. Right Pete? Also, we might rename the blog, but that probably won't happen anytime soon. Ok, on to the delicious content...

First of all, Justin Verlander needs a nickname. Power pitchers are not great until they are referred to as "The Rocket" or "The Express", and at this point, all Verlander has is JV, which is a pitiful intersection of unoriginality and general teribbleness (which Firefox kindly just told me isn't a word, but I'm going to keep it in here anyway). The point is, we Tiger fans can no longer go on referring to our ace by the same initials that we use to categorize 5'2" unathletic 15 year-olds. My idea: "Mustang". I know it's not great and I welcome any suggestions, but the basic idea is that a power pitcher in the city that created the American muscle car had better have an nickname that can burn up a set of steel-belted radials. Mustang captures this and also has the added bonus of being easliy shortened to 'Stang, and it's always nice to have a one-syllable nickname option. For the record, the rest of my top 5 was "The Vette", "Camaro", "Model V", and "GT". From now on I will refer to Mr. Verlander as Mustang in this space.

The Mustang hasn't exactly sprinted out of the starting gate this year, as evidenced by his not-so-stellar 9.00 ERA and 1.71 WHIP through three starts. These numbers paint a pretty terrible picture, but there are certainly some mitigating circumstances. Last night, Kendry Morales' 3-run homer never would have happened, but Ryan Raburn horribly misplayed a routine line drive a couple of batters earlier. Even then, Raburn's misplay was scored as a hit, and Verlander was charged with 3 earned runs in the inning. Overall, the Tigers have played poor defense behind Verlander, leading to his bloated ERA. Look at his periferals, 10.71 K/9, 2.73 K/BB. This guy is missing bats and pounding the strike zone at the best rates of his career. His opposing BABIP is an absurd .387, which is nearly 100 points higher than his career average. Over the course of the season, it's going to even out.

But for the most convincing argument in favor of a Verlander comeback, just watch the dude pitch. Last night, Rod Allen was mistifyed by how well opposing hitters were doing against the "stuff that Verlander was featuring" and rightly so. Mustang's fastball was consistently in the 93-95 mph range, and he touched 96-97 mph when he needed it. Uncle Charlie was definitely in the house, especially for one knee-buckling strikeout that made Torii Hunter look like a young Carlos Pena. I know it sounds crazy to say that the starter in a 12-10 game pitched well, but Mustang really did.

Anyway, I'm not worried. This is not a Chien-Ming Wang situation in which a pitcher just loses his stuff, Verlander has simply been unlucky. 'Stang is ready to be an ace, believe it.

Ken Holland is the Greatest GM Ever

2009-02-02T15:59:00.004-06:00

By Pete McGrath

Back in college, the only people who seemed to care about hockey were the guys on the JCU Bluestreak's club hockey team. They were pretty good buddies of mine and they were the only guys in my whole dorm that I could talk hockey with. Whenever an argument would come up about the Red Wings, they usually lumped my beloved Red Wings into the same catagory as the eeeevil New York Yankees. The simalarities did exist, with the limitless payroll (78 million bucks for a hockey team!) and the ability to always land one more all-star at the trade deadline.

However, the comparason at the time was not completely accurate. While the Yankees by far and away had the highest payroll in baseball, the Wings payroll was pretty close to the Rangers, who never went anywhere. I also pointed out that as much as the wings spend on free agent players, the core of those Wings teams were homegrown guys. Yzerman, Fedorov, and Lidstrom were all drafted and developed by the Wings. After the lockout, it seemed the Wing's party was going to be over. Kenny Holland was good at putting a team together, but it seemed like anybody could with Illitch's wide open checkbook. Now that the salary cap would be in place, the Wings would have to draft and develop their team from within, and would have a tougher time keeping guys around. Man did I underestimate Ken Holland.

Datsyuk, Lidstrom, and Hank Zetterberg are all locked up for the forseable future. There is a possibility of enough room for Franzen and Hossa to stick around. While certain players might have to retire or get traded, I have the full confidence that Ken Holland has the players in his farm system to replace them. The next generation of Val Filpula, Jiri Hudler, Datsyuk and Zetterberg type players are probably already working on their game in Grand Rapids.

What this man has accomplished is astounding. With a payroll that was practically cut in half, he has rebuilt the Wings into the dominant team in the league. Plus this was accomplished without a Florida Marlins style fire sale. There is no other GM in sports with this strong a resume.

Playing for Pride

2009-01-30T10:39:00.004-06:00

Drew Sharp wrote an interesting piece today in the Detroit News about what this weekend (Celtics on Friday, Cavs on Sunday) means for the Pistons. Basically, Sharp wrote that this weekend means nothing, since the Pistons have no shot at a title this year (which I agree with) and are already ramping up for a revival in 2010. On the surface, this isn't a terribly earth-shattering statement, but take it a step further, and Drew Sharp seems to be advocating giving up on the rest of the season. He is saying that, if success is measured by championships, then this season is already a failure (again, I can't argue) and as a result, the results of the rest of the season don't matter. If the Pistons are going to make the playoffs and lose in the first couple of rounds, who cares if they are a 4-seed or an 8-seed? My answer: The players...I hope. One of the most important, yet oft overlooked factors in team success is pride, and the rest of the Pistons' season is all about pride.

Take a look at the 2008 Boston Celtics. They didn't win the title last year because of the play of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. They won the title because of the play of Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, James Posey, and the rest of their supporting cast. They won because Perkins went from bust to beast in the span of one season, Rondo tapped his potential to be Tony Parker on offense and Tim Hardaway on defense, and Posey latched on to the opposition's best offensive player every night like a rabid bulldog. Why did these players suddenly take their games to the next level? Pride. Garnett instilled an attitude that anything less than your best on every play was unacceptable. The whole team embraced this attitude for the entire season, bringing the same effort against the T'Wolves as they brought against the Lakers. Perkins and Garnett defended the rim relentlessly, swatting away opponent's shots even after the whistle blew.

Why am I bringing this up? The Celtics' example is the reason why the Pistons cannot tank the rest of this season. Bad habits die hard and there is no worse habit in sports than giving less than 100% effort. More than anything, I am worried about Rodney Stuckey. No matter who the Pistons acquire in the summer of 2010, Stuckey is going to be the foundation of this team for the next 10 years. If he learns that it's ok to stop showing up for every game this year when the Pistons aren't so good, why would he magically start playing his balls off every night in 2010 when the Pistons become contenders again?

Editor's Note: Just to clarify, I have no reason to think that Stuckey will stop showing up for every game, I'm just painting a picture of the worst-case scenario.

Need another example? Look at the 2003/2004 Pistons, that team was fueled by pride and a commitment to leave everything on the floor, every night. After they won the title, the Pistons collectively throttled back and lost some of that pride; that's why they have turned into the NBA version of the Philadelphia Eagles, looking great in the regular season and flaming out in the conference finals. They thought they could "flip the switch" and only bring their best effort on nights when they really needed it. The hard truth is, the "switch" only works in one direction. Once you turn it off, no matter how many times you flick it back on, that light is never going to burn as brightly as it once did. Maybe they need to lose a pick-up game to some kids in South-Central LA, ala Team USA in D2: The Mighty Ducks, but whatever it takes, if this Pistons team has any hope for being successful in the future, they need find a way to restore the pride they had in 2004.

Still Misfiring

2009-01-27T21:00:00.002-06:00

The results of last few games have made it patently clear that the Pistons are far from finished with the much-needed overhaul of their franchise. Another thing that seems to be patently clear is that nobody not named LeBron is going lead a team to the Eastern conference title in the next couple of years. The Pistons’ window is closed for now, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t reopen in a couple of years if some necessary changes are made. This offseason, Joe Dumars needs to let Rasheed Wallace, Allen Iverson, Walter Hermann, and Kwame Brown go, freeing up just under $41 million in salary cap room (which I will discuss in a later post) as well as giving the coach the opportunity to retake control of the team’s psyche. Will Michael Curry be that coach? That all depends on his relationship with one player: Rodney Stuckey. As the point guard and the team’s best player (if he isn’t already, he definitely will be next year), Stuckey will be the de facto floor leader of the 2009-2010 Detroit Pistons. Successful NBA coaches from Phil Jackson to Doc Rivers have shown that the most important quality in a head coach is the ability to earn the respect of his stars and keep them happy. Stuckey is a star in the making and if Curry can build a healthy relationship with him while showing any kind of a talent for X’s and O’s, he would earn my full endorsement. Let’s see what he can do.

The Pistons are Misfiring

2009-01-26T22:11:00.002-06:00

In his weekly NBA Power Rankings on espn.com, Mark Stein absolutely nailed the problems that are plaguing this year’s Pistons. Stein writes, “Blame it all on Iverson's arrival if you wish. Our theory is that the Pistons know management has its eye on the future and have caved as a result. Either way, they're just not firing. Too often, Detroit no longer brings it.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. In my immediate praise of the forward-thinking Iverson trade, I neglected to consider the fragile psyche of this team. I don’t blame guys like Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace for easing off of the throttle; honestly, that’s exactly what I would expect them to do. There’ nothing wrong with them, they just aren’t exactly self-motivated guys. This is the forgotten factor that Chauncey Billups brought to the table, his ability to keep the combined craziness of Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace in check. Though he was often criticized for being too calm and cool in trying times, Billups always kept the team focused and prevented Wallace and Hamilton’s insanity from infecting the rest of the squad. Now that he’s gone, the Pistons are ruled by headcases. Nothing against Allen Iverson, he is a great leader, but he isn’t the type of leader that Billups was. Iverson leads by example, by pouring his soul out on to the floor every night, but he isn’t the type of leader that will pull his teammates aside and rip them a new one when they act like a 6 year-olds with stubbed toes. The Pistons need at least one vocal leader who commands the respect of his teammates, most notably Rasheed Wallace. Ideally, there would be both a player and coach who can gain Wallace’s respect. This was the case with Billups and Larry Brown when the Pistons won the 2004 title. Even during the last few seasons, when Flip Saunders was Rasheed’s personal doormat, Billups still kept his mates on task. Michael Curry was supposed to be the respected father figure for this year’s team. Unfortunately, he has turned out to be more like a fun uncle, afraid to deal with his nephews’ tantrums, and content to let them run the show. He has completely failed as a leader.

Lately, Curry has been undeservedly credited for taking Rip Hamilton out of the starting lineup. Michael Curry didn’t force Rip to come off the bench, the Pistons’ 5-game losing streak did. Curry was afraid to piss Hamilton off, and refused to send him to the bench, even in the face of tremendous statistical and physical evidence. Curry was only able to alter his starting five after Rip himself realized that the 3-guard lineup wasn’t going to work. If not for those losses, the Pistons would still be starting three players out of position.

In addition to his inability to handle egos and his paralyzing fear of alienating players, Curry has struggled as a tactician. Almost halfway through the season, Curry seems light years away from settling on a concrete rotation. All 12 Pistons average more than 8 minutes per game, but Amir Johnson, Kwame Brown, Walter Hermann and Will Bynum have all piled up at least 5 DNPCD’s. There is some talent on the Piston bench, but there is no team in the NBA that can successfully go 12 men deep. In Curry’s defense, he is in a tough situation with 3 guards who demand 30-plus minutes per game, but that does not excuse the debacle over which he currently presides. He hasn’t found a rotation that works, but even if he did stumble onto something successful, he doesn’t seem willing to stick to anything. With the acquisition of Iverson and a rotation that is constantly in flux, the Pistons have absolutely no semblance on continuity on either end of the floor. Without a consistent rotation, Curry cannot maintain any kind of a strategic direction. He sends out three guard lineups, but then plays a man-to-man defense rife with mismatches and refuses to use his quickness advantage to run a fast-breaking offense. He insists on playing Rodney Stuckey and Allen Iverson at the same time, when it would make more sense to separate his slashers and surround each with catch-and-shoot players like Hamilton and Arron Afflalo.

This is only one example of the Pistons’ coach dropping the ball, but at this point, there’s really no reason to chronicle each of Curry numerous tactical blunders. After all, he is a rookie coach and I understand that he might be struggling to develop a system that best suits his fairly eclectic roster. But that does not excuse the complete lack of effort put forth by the Pistons in their last two nationally televised embarrassments. Curry has lost this team and I don’t think he is going to get it back. Since this season is already a lost cause, I do not advocate firing Curry at this point and actually, I am not 100% sure that I would advocate firing Curry even after the season. More on this tomorrow…

Sign Ben Sheets

2009-01-26T08:21:00.002-06:00

Last week, Jim Leyland announced the Tigers’ starting rotation: Justin Verlander, Armando Galarraga, Edwin Jackson, Jeremy Bonderman, and either Nate Robertson, Zach Miner, or Dontrelle Willis. In simple terms, the Tigers’ current 2009 rotation consists of a solid young pitcher, a ground bal machine, a Rick Vaughn-esque talent with crappy control, a first inning nightmare/injury risk, and one hell of a question mark. Do you know what’s missing from that list? An ace. I, along with every other diehard Tigers fan hope and pray that Justin Verlander will turn into the anchor that stabilizes the Detroit rotation for the next 10 years, but based on what happened last season, that is far from guaranteed. At this point, it is certainly not a stretch to say that Detroit has the worst rotation in the Central division. The offense will be strong again and the bullpen will be improved, but the Tigers are not winning the Central if their starters don’t carry their weight.

I read a great piece today on espn.com in which Buster Olney talks about how the economy has hurt the value of pitchers like Ben Sheets. Three years ago, Sheets would probably have already signed a 4-year $60 million contract with somebody, but this year, he is left teamless going into February. The only team that is taking a hard looks at signing Sheets is the chronically pitching-starved Texas Rangers, who have made a 2-year $16 million offer. Pardon my crass language, but are you fucking kidding me? I understand that Sheets is an injury risk, but when A.J. Burnett, who has the pain threshold of a teething infant, gets $84 million, Sheets is certainly worth more than $16 million. That said, his worth is whatever that market says it is and the Tigers need to take advantage. Sheets’ agent is probably too smart to allow his client to be locked in at a discount for any more than 2 years, but even so, this is a move that Dave Dombrowski needs to make. I don’t think he will make it, and I completely understand his rationale for doing so, but I must disagree with it.

Sheets will not be a Tiger because he is a type-A free agent, which means that the team who signs him must hand over a first or second round draft pick to his former team, in the case, the Milwaukee Brewers. An argument can be made that a first round pick is more valuable for the Tigers than an injury-prone ace, as the Detroit farm system is in dire need to replenishing and Dave Dombrowski has a long and distinguished draft record. For the future, the better move is pass on Mr. Sheets, but looking at how the America League Central division lays out for 2009, it’s anybody’s game. The White Sox, Twins, Indians, and Tigers are all bunched at the top and adding a proven ace like Sheets could be the additional push that catapults Detroit to a division title. Generally, I am always in favor of what’s best for the future, but with a team with key players that only have a few years left (Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen), you can’t walk away from a move that could win you the division and get your team into the playoffs where as the Phillies and Rays showed last season, anything can happen.

Lyon and Tigers

2009-01-25T14:38:00.001-06:00

I have decided that this year’s Tiger offseason is the absolute antithesis of last year’s. Last year, the Tigers failed to address needs and tossed cash around like Pacman Jones at a strip club. This year, they have shied away from huge contracts and are addressing the biggest problems from last year’s embarrassing failure of a squad (I’m a little bitter…). The Brandon Lyon acquisition is a perfect example. It’s true, Lyon certainly had his flaws last season for Arizona, but even so, he is a great fit for the 2009 Tigers. Lyon has experience as both a closer and a setup man, something that can’t be said for the Tigers’ former closer, Todd Jones. I will always defend Jonesy, he was a solid pitcher who got a bad rap from the Detroit fans, but he was far from versatile last season. With pitchers like Fernando Rodney, Joel Zumaya, and Freddy Dolsi showing flashes of closer potential, Jones was a roadblock on the position. Moving another pitcher into the closer’s role would have rendered Jones useless. Brandon Lyon demonstrated last season that he can still be a useful cog in a bullpen, even if he is replaced as the closer. Picking up Lyon eases the pressure on Zumaya and Rodney, while adding to the overall depth of the bullpen. Needless to say, I love this move. The one-year contract gives Lyon incentive to perform, while adding minimal financial risk for a team whose payroll already far exceeds the market value of its roster. Along with Lyon, the Tigers seem to be pursuing a few similar moves, signing Scott Williamson to a minor league contract and talking with Juan Rincon about a minor league deal. There types of low-risk moves are exactly what this franchise needs right now. There is a very good chance that Williamson and Rincon will be contribute absolutely nothing for this team, but a one-year minor league contract is certainly worth the risk. Overall, it looks like Dave Dombrowski has learned his lesson, namely that the bullpen problems need to be his top priority. Jim Leyland has said that he does not think that the Tigers are finished making moves this offseason, and given how the Tigers have executed their offseason plans so far, I hope he’s right.

Farewell to WDFN

2009-01-21T18:49:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, I turn on WDFN at work over the internet and was slightly surprised to hear some crappy Fox Sports radio show, but then I just figured that Stoney and Woj had just taken the day off to observe Barack Obama's historic inauguration ceremony. This morning, when I attempted to flip on Sean Baligian, I found an under construction message on wdfn.com. After checking the Free Press website, my worst suspicions were confirmed. WDFN is dead. This is a tragedy. Sean Baligian, Mike Stone, and Bob Wojonowski were the voices of reason in Detroit sports. The cheered with us, the cried with us, they screamed incredulously with us. They gave us Prick 3 and the top 64 condiments tourney. They gave us an outlet to vent frustrations and sing praises. They carried me through drives home from U of D, to drives home from Notre Dame, to drives home from summer jobs, until finally carrying me through my work days here in Chicago. WDFN was the pulse of Detroit sports talk.

All is not lost, we still have the ticket (Boombayeh), but WDFN was the first and the best sports radio station in the Motor City. I'm sure that Stoney, Wojo, and Sean will all land on their feet; my only hope is that those feet are still in Detroit. Congratulations on 14 fantastic years, you will be sorely missed. Fuck this economy.

Winter Classic

2009-01-11T17:28:00.002-06:00

The NHL has done well two years in a row now in regards to the Winter Classic. Wrigley Field may not have had the best sight lines, but I don't think anybody in the crowd cared.

I do consider myself a uniform buff, and both teams looked really sharp this year in the throwback sweaters. The Olde-English D was a nice toss up to the Wings history before they were the Red Wings- they were actually the Detroit Cougars at the time. The Wings unis were completed by some pretty kickass bumble bee socks. Hopefully in the future, the Wings don these and the old Detroit Falcons jerseys for a couple games a year. The Hawks jerseys looked sharp as well, with the big chest stripe and the old school logo crest. Even the coaches on both clubs got into the act, wearing old fasioned looking varsity jackets. However, the best dressed not has to go to the Red Wing's bench. As much as I love Coach Babcock's gloriously blowdried coif, it was a really nice touch to wear the fedoras. Hopefully they bought them at Henry the Hatter.

I initially was upset at the league for putting the game on New Years Day, but I now think it was great idea. New Years is a day where nobody is at work, and everyone is at home hungover and looking for something to do. If you're a hockey fan, you're going to watch anyway. If you're normally a football fan, you might stumble upon the game for the first time and see how cool it is. My only question is if maybe the league should make it an all day thing, such as the NFL's Thanksgiving lineup. This way you have all day to capture the channel surfers, and more cities are involved.

In conclusion, it seems the NHL has a hit on its hands. It's a cool idea, and for once under Gary Bettman's reign of terror an event has been marketed well. I raise an ice cold Labatt to the NHL for this one.

Odds and Ends from this Weekend

2008-12-30T16:32:00.001-06:00

I’m not generally one to say, “I told you so”, but to the dude who called me an idiot when I wrote that Tony Romo is average and the most important stat in quarterbacking is Game-Altering Mistakes…HAH! Romo proved again this weekend that he is the most overrated player in the NFL because he routinely makes more mistakes than his team can afford. In a year when two rookie quarterbacks have led teams coming off of losing seasons to the playoffs, it’s fitting that Romo’s previously anointed Cowboys will spend the postseason at home. The impromptu trick play to Witten was fantastic, but that moment of quarterbacking brilliance cannot overcome two backbreaking fumbles and a game full of questionable decision-making. Yes, Tony Romo is still a very talented young player, and maybe he will eventually grow out of this turnover-prone phase, but in the meantime, Romo had better home that Jim Johnson and Steve Spangnuolo get head coaching jobs somewhere, because with the way he struggles against their pressure defenses, the Cowboys will never succeed consistently against in the NFC East.

Moving on…

From now on, I am just going to start referring to the Detroit Lions as “Baxter”. Every time that I think they have hit the pinnacle of embarrassment and ridiculousness, they eat a whole wheel of cheese and poop in the refrigerator. Today, the Lions promoted Tom Lewand and Martin Mayhew to President and General Manager, respectively, and in the immortal words of Ron Burgundy, “I’m not even mad, that’s amazing.” It really is nothing short of amazing that this team continues to operate as if it is being run by a blind three-legged dog. I am awestruck at the complete lack of vision, intelligence, common sense, and any other attribute that you might expect to find among the brain trust of a competent professional football organization.

I'm Worried...

2008-12-17T09:34:00.001-06:00

It's official, I am legitimately worried about the Pistons, and myself. It's a bit too early to call this Iverson experiment a complete failure, but this season smells like 1-4 series loss to the Cavs in the second round. Strangely though, this is not what really worries me about this Pistons. As soon as the Iverson trade went through, I decided that this season was going to be a total crapshoot. The 'Stons had a coin flip's chance of being buried amongst that dregs of the Eastern Conference and a coin flip's chance of jumping up and joining the Celtics and the Cavs.

Quick aside: The 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers are unquestionably the most frightening team I have seen since Jordan's Bulls. LeBron has enough talent around him now that he thinks he can win every game, so he actually tries to win every game. I had always thought that the "If LeBron ever gets good teammates..." argument would turn out like the "If Barry ever had an offensive line..." argument" where Lion fans would pontificate about how unstoppable the '91 Lions would have been if they could have switched O-lines with the Cowboys, but Lions management would somehow not realize this and continually not address the offensive line. Well, Danny Ferry has learned from our mistakes. Barry has an offensive line now and we are all screwed. Snap back to reality...

So far, the Pistons seem to have more Chicago Bulls than Boston Celtics in them and I am dangerously close to thinking about giving up on the 2008-09 season. That explains my worries about the Pistons, but my real concern here is my worries about my own well-being.

It is currently 2008, almost 2009, yet for NBA purposes I am already concerned with the summer of 2010. But it gets worse...I am already worried about the summer of 2010. I don't like how everyone has made the assumption that just because the Pistons will have money during that epic summer they will end up with a top shelf free agent. Sorry, but LeBron is not coming here. If he wants to be a "global icon", he will go to New York. If he wants to win 10 titles, he will go to Portland. If he wants to throw the biggest possible middle finger to the people of Cleveland, he will go to Detroit. So yea, I guess we do have a chance, provided that some yahoo in the Mistake by the Lake decides to chuck a beer a Bron Bron and incite a Palace-style riot. But on the off-chance that doesn't happen, here's the top 3 guys that I would like to see the Pistons go after, as well as reasons why they would not come to Detroit:

- Dwyane Wade: Leaving South Beach for Metro Beach? I don't think so
- Chris Bosh: Joe passed on him in the 2003 draft. This time, he passes on Joe.
- Joe Johnson: The catalyst of the resurrection of basketball in Atlanta, a market that will continue to embrace that team...Why would he leave?

Either the Pistons are screwed, or I'm crazy....

NHL vs. Versus

2008-12-16T18:40:00.001-06:00

By Pete McGrath

Just watched the Wings lose to the Avalanche on Versus. While losing is never fun, I really hated having to watching them lose on Versus. The fact that the NHL isn’t on ESPN is one of the most inexplicable blunders of the Bettman reign of terror. While my biggest gripe is of course the fact that ESPN is so widely available, the Versus broadcast itself pisses me off for so many other reasons.

Leading off, the main camera on Versus is always too close to the ice. I realize the rationale in getting closer to the play- easier to see the players and easier to see the puck. However, this makes it hard to see the play develop. It’s hard to catch the precision of the tape to tape cross ice pass with this zoom in effect. In this day and age, most people have pretty nice TVs, so seeing the puck is not the problem people make it out to be. This is not to say I don’t mind the occasional on ice angle shot. With those shots, you get to see up close the speed and violence of the game. In fact I wish all sports showed more of these. It gives you a front row seat in your living room or local bar.

Doc Emrick, the announcer who growls his Rs, drives me up the wall. He’s always like “Lidstrom with a drrrrrrrive from the blue line that sails wide.” So many announcers out there think by growling the Rs it gets people excited. Not me. I suggest the league lets the local guys call the game. I would much rather hear Mickey and Ken call the game than those two clowns, or anyone in the World Series besides Tim McCarver. Also, it would be cool to hear out of town broadcasters call the occasional Wings game. I had MLB TV a few years back to watch the Tigers games while I was away at college, and I always enjoyed hearing the Boston guys or Vin Scully’s take on the game. Could’ve done without Hawk and DJ though.

Lastly, the ‘in studio’ portion of the broadcast leaves much to be desired, although it is much improved from their first year. The set Versus used the first year looked like it was constructed for a public access channel, and made the whole league look second rate. Luckily the NHL was able to side step that land mine by having their games on Versus, so nobody saw it. The set now looks alright, although not as good as TNT’s, CBC’s, or ESPN’s.

Now let’s get to the guys behind the set. Keith Jones always sits somewhat sideways, which is a annoying, and provides serviceable analysis at best. Brian Engblom fails miserably in his attempts to be a poor man’s Barry Melrose, both in his skill as a broadcaster and his pitiful excuse for a mullet. There are so many talented hockey guys over on ESPN, and they need to be the centerpiece of the NHL’s broadcast team. Steve Levy, Linda Cohn, John Buccigross (who writes a kickass column by the way), and Barry Melrose all know the game and are much better personalities on camera.

Lastly, for the love of God, get Don Cherry on TV in America.

GAM is the new OPS

2008-12-15T18:34:00.001-06:00

At the same time that I decided that Tony Romo is average, I came to the realization that there is one thing and one thing only that separates average NFL quarterbacks from great NFL quarterbacks (it has been a big night for me). It is the ability to not make critical mistakes at crucial times. More than arm strength, accuracy, mobility, or toughness; the ability not to fuck up is what separates the men from the boys. This is what keeps Tony Romo out of the ranks of the elite. The reasoning is very simple. It’s based on the sabermetric philosophy famously described in Moneyball: You only have 27 outs in a baseball game, so it follows that the best players are the ones that make outs at the lowest rate. This doesn’t translate perfectly to football, as football statistics do not explain the game nearly was well as baseball statistics, but the same principle applies. Each offense will get about 60 plays from scrimmage in an average NFL game. You would figure that a quarterback is probably doing pretty well if he can make less than 5 serious mistakes in those 60 plays. These mistakes can be anything from throwing an interception, to taking a sack, to making the wrong audible, to fumbling, to making the wrong read, to missing an open receiver, the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, because the list of game-changing errors is so extensive, it is impossible to measure it without breaking down the tape of every NFL game. Ron Jaworski was not available for comment, so we are going to have to estimate these numbers for now. Let’s just call this estimated statistic “GAM” (Game-Altering Mistakes). Look at the quarterbacks that have won the last 10 Superbowls: John Elway, Kurt Warner, Trent Dilfer, Tom Brady, Brad Johnson, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, and Eli Manning. Not all of those passers were tops in QB rating or passing yardage in their championship seasons, but I guarantee that all of them would have been top 5 in the category of fewest GAM. Romo has all of the tools to excel as an NFL quarterback, but his penchant for giving games away has him glued firmly to the middle rungs of the quarterback hierarchal ladder. Until he improves in this category, Romo isn’t going anywhere and neither are the Dallas Cowboys. Last night’s win against the Cowboys was a step in the right direction, but this win was due more to the efforts of DeMarcus Ware and Tashard Choice than to the endeavors of Tony Romo. I am not saying that Romo is terrible; all I’m saying is that when measuring by the most important stat in quarterbacking, Tony Romo is probably closer to Kyle Orton than he is to Peyton Manning.

Tony Romo is Average

2008-12-14T22:39:00.001-06:00

Tony Romo is an average NFL quarterback. I have decided that this fact is unequivocally true. This is a bit of a weird moment for me to realize this, as I watch him lead his Cowboys to a victory over the New York Football Giants on Sunday night. But watching Romo play and considering the talent that he has around him, I have decided that he is what is commonly referred to as a “system quarterback”. He is an average quarterback who is made better by having a terrific offensive line in front of him and all-pro talent flanking him at every skill position. I would argue that Tony Romo currently huddles up with more offensive talent that any other quarterback has in the last 10 years. Terrell Owens, Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, Jason Witten, and Marion Barber are collectively better than any 3-WR, TE, RB combination in the recent past. Let’s compare Romo to a couple of quarterbacks who have recently had great sets of skill players around them.

In 2004, Peyton Manning came close to matching Romo’s supporting cast. He had Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, Brandon Stokley, and Dallas Clark, but a rookie running back in Joseph Addai. All Manning did that year was toss a record-setting 49 touchdowns and win 13 games before falling in the playoffs to the eventual Superbowl champions. Tom Brady also came close last season, with Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth, but Laurence Maroney and Benjamin Watson were far from the consistent threats that Barber and Witten are. All Brady did that that bunch was break Manning’s record with 50 scores and lead his team to a 16-0 season and the Superbowl. Where’s Romo’s 50-touchdown season? If two elite quarterbacks can put together record setting seasons with less talent around them, why isn’t Romo doing the same?

The answer is simple: Romo is not an elite quarterback; he is an average quarterback. Just because he makes John Madden soil his pants every time the Cowboys play on Sunday night, it does not mean that he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with Brady, Manning, or any other elite NFL QB. Sure, he can freelance and make Top 10-worthy plays, but so can Tyler Thigpen. Other than having sex with Jessica Simpson on a regular basis, what does Tony Romo do that the average NFL quarterback isn’t capable of? One-to-one, would you really switch him out with many other quarterbacks in the league? For example, here are five quarterbacks that are generally considered to be at or below the level of Tony Romo that I would rather have running my team this season: Drew Brees, Jay Cutler, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Kurt Warner. If you put Romo on the Saints, Broncos, Giants, Steelers, or Cardinals, do those teams win any more games than they already have? I’m not saying that Romo is terrible; I’m just saying he’s average. In order to be considered above average, I believe that a quarterback needs directly influence more wins than he does losses. So answer this question for me, on just his own merits, has Romo caused the Cowboys to win more often than he has caused them to lose? No. What is holding Mr. Romo back? He is middle of the pack at best in the most important (yet unmeasured) statistic for NFL quarterbacks. More on this tomorrow…

The E-Jax Era

2008-12-11T09:44:00.001-06:00

I have spent the last 20 or so minutes trying to talk myself into the Edwin Jackson era in Detroit and honestly, I'm not there yet. I'm sorry, but I really liked Matt Joyce. I understand that the Tigers need to trade offense for pitching, but why did it have to be Matt Joyce for Edwin Jackson? And I know, "You can't teach 97 mph". That's fine, as long as you can teach him to keep his BB/9 in single digits. There is no debate that Jackson has great stuff, but so did Ricky Vaughn before he got glasses. Who knows, maybe E-Jax is just one visit to Dr. Yaldo (anyone who listens to the radio in Detroit should know who this is) away from a 20-win season. Honestly, this really isn't the part of the trade that I am struggling with. Jackson has great stuff and he's only 25 years old, I understand the potential for greatness here. The thing that really gives me problems is this: Who is going to play left field next year? Carlos Guillen? Please Mr. Dombrowski, do not make me endure a season of the Guillentine putzing around in left. I am a huge Carlos Guillen fan and I think he would be perfect as a DH, but that arm and those knees would be an unmitigated disaster in the outfield.

Let me take a step back here, I like this trade... relatively. At least the Tigers got something useful in return for Joyce. You have no idea how happy I was when I heard that JJ Putz is the newest member of the New York Metropolitans. Matt Joyce AND Jeff Larish for a "closer" who spent the entire second half of last season proving how unreliable his health is? No thank you. I guess this trade is just the lesser of two evils for me. My hope is that it leads to one more move, trading Gary Sheffield. I literally leapt with joy when I read that the Rangers had interest in acquiring Sheff. Unloading him would pave the way for Carlos Guillen to move to where he belongs: in the dugout whenever the Tigers are in the field. Maybe give Jeff Larish a shot in leftfield, or platoon Ryan Raburn and Marcus Thames; either of those options would be preferable to no-cartilage Carlos roaming the expanses of the Copa's outfield.

Tigers Off to a Solid Start

2008-12-08T21:12:00.001-06:00

Today, Dave Dombrowski traded for Gerald Laird, signed Adam Everett and restored my faith in his team construction skills. After spending last offseason building the world’s greatest slow-pitch softball team, Dombrowski’s budget was cut, forcing him to go back to basics and build his team the right way. He addressed two needs with players who are perfect fits and committed only $4 million to next year’s payroll. He has plugged two of the holes in the Tigers’ ship, surprisingly without making any major long-term commitments. The Laird trade is a perfect example. Dombrowski gave up 2 pitching prospects for a catching sure thing. Laird may not be an all-star, but going into the season, the Tigers know exactly what they are going to get from him. There’s always risk in a trade, I would be lying if I wrote that I wasn’t afraid that trading Guillermo Moscoso might come back to bite the Tigers, but there is a damn good chance that neither Moscoso, nor 17-year-old Carlos Melo will amount to anything useful in the Majors. Laird is exactly the kind of player that the Tigers lacked last season. He plays solid defense, hits the ball to the gaps, and doesn’t make stupid mistakes. I’m not going to say that he is a better player than Pudge Rodriguez, but he is definitely a better fit for this Detroit team. He knows his role and he will perform admirably in it. Ditto for Adam Everett. He will be a perfect stopgap for the next year until Cale Iorg is ready to take over. Everett has a bit of a checkered injury history, but when healthy, he is an elite defensive shortstop. Sure, he can’t hit is way out of a paper bag, but neither could Edgar Renteria. Personally, I would like to see when Ramon Santiago could do with 500 at-bats worth of playing time at shortstop, but I understand his value as a speed/defense guy coming off of the Tigers’ bench. Overall, these moves are a nice start to the offseason for Detroit. Dombrowski has already said that he would like to add some bullpen depth and I would like to see him go after another starting pitcher as well. The 2009 season is a marathon, not a sprint, and although I can’t say that the Tigers are ahead of the pack, at least they haven’t stumbled coming out of the gate.

Be Careful what you Wish for Windsor...

2008-12-04T10:45:00.002-06:00

By Pete McGrath

The other night, three of my buddies and I took a field trip to Windsor to see the Spitfires take on the Saginaw Spirit. It easily made it into my top five sporting experiences. OHL hockey is fast, and since the players are hungry to get to the next level, they play very hard. We saw some good goals, some good checks, some good saves, and most importantly a solid face-to-face fight. However, the real star of the game to me was the arena.

The Spits play in Windsor Arena, an old school arena that looks like a barn, and is nicknamed (you guessed it) - "the barn." The Windsor Arena has everything that fans today supposedly do not like. The concourses are small and crowded. The only place to buy a t-shirt or a jersey is a small, cramped stall right next to the door that opened up directly to the cold Windsor night. The bathrooms are pretty small, and they didn't have the little privacy dividers between the urinals. The concessions stand only offered the standards- popcorn, pop, fries, no beer (bummer), nachos and hot dogs. There are no ice daiquiris here, and there is no build in Buffalo Wild Wings or Little Caesars or Big Boy or Ferris Wheel. There is no jumbotron playing the "Over?" speech from Animal House. The aisles to the seats are narrow, the steps are steep, and the seats themselves are not the movie theatre style you see in most stadiums today. In fact, my buddies and I sat on a wooden bench with no seat backs. I'm sure the locker rooms are small, and the players have to walk past the fans to get there. And the arena smells. The locker rooms and players benches come right up to the concourse, so as a fan the smells of the game are in full effect. Anyone whose ever been around hockey knows that nothing stinks up a room like one hockey bag, so imagine how ripe it is around forty players.

After almost 80 years of faithful service, the Windsor Arena is being replaced by the new Windsor Family Credit Union Center (why every arena is a center now I don't know- I think Colosseum, Arena, and Forum are a lot cooler.) The arena will feature more seats, over 1,300 upholstered club seats, over 30 private boxes, and a restaurant that lets fans eat while watching the game. The arena features four ice sheets and a fitness center, which is a good contribution to the local youth hockey leagues. The rationale behind the 62 million dollar arena is a chance for Windsor to get more Rush concerts (Canadians love their Alex, Geddy, and Neil) and more hockey tournaments. Perhaps the CHL's championship, the Memorial Cup, will come to town once every ten years. Plus, fans should be wowed by all these new modern amenities and club seats. But are those amenities really worth it?

There was something about the old barn that made all those shortcomings into strengths. It was a little crowded in the concourse, but I was only there entering the game, leaving the game, and buying popcorn during the 2nd intermission. Judging from the what I saw of the outside of the arena, I thought the concourse could have been expanded a bit if that was such a problem. I really liked how I wasn't bombarded by merchandise and concession stands all trying to take my money when I made my way to the rest room- or excuse me, wash room in Canadian lingo.

The bathroom itself was a little crowded, but all bathrooms are at all sporting events. This might be the biggest lie that all new stadiums use to get taxpayer money. Comerica Park was constructed with this promise, and it was pure bullshit. No matter how big the bathrooms are, whenever a bunch of guys all get up at the same time, the bathroom is going to be crowded. It's not as if these bathrooms with the stalls and the new urinals are any cleaner either. Guys are guys, and we tend to miss, so despite the new bathrooms, there is still urine all over the floor in any guys room at any sporting event. This will not change with the new arena.

Moving back to the concessions, I have seen a lot of reviews of stadiums online, complaining about the lack of concession options. I have never understood this. I enjoy good food as much anybody. I am a good cook(I can make other things besides pasta and red sauce), and I appreciate all types of food. However, a sporting event is not the place for me or anyone to try to expand the palate. Hot dogs, pop, popcorn, nachos, and candy are all an arena really needs. This is all the Windsor Arena offers, and it offers them at a fair price. My large popcorn was only 2 loonies, instead of an arm and a leg.

The Windsor arena lacks some other modern amenities as well. There is no jumbotron here, but I think this is a good thing. The jumbotron has dummed down American crowds. American crowds cheer when their told, like when the "noise" meter comes on the screen at Joe Louis. It also takes people's focus off the game. It was refreshing for me to be able to just cheer on the players all by myself. Also, I loved how the DJ played the "Law and Order" thunk thunk after the other team got penalties. The seats themselves were not the movie theatre style you see in many stadiums today. Our "seats" were just a wooden bench, but they actually provided a lot of leg room. The aisles were narrow, and the steps were steep. While new arenas don't like this set up, they're a plus in my eyes. Narrow aisles mean more seats for fans, and steep steps means you get right on top of the action and a much better sightline over the fans in front of you. From our seats about ten rows up we could see the whole ice surface.

I'm sure getting dressed in a small locker room gets old, and I'm sure it seems a little odd to be tripping over fans while getting to the locker room. But in today's sports world where the players are so separated from the fans that pay ungodly amounts of money to see them, it was cool to see the players walk right by. And after attending so many games in generic antispetic buildings, I was caught off guard by that hockey smell walking by.

However, that smell was the best part of the night. After a number of Wings, Pistons, Tigers, and Lions games I've been to over the years, I have begun to feel like I am at a movie theatre where the main show happens to be the game. To be honest, it really isn't that much fun to go to a professional sports game these days. I'm usually really far away from the playing surface, I cheer when I'm told, and I think nothing of paying 8 bucks for a beer. That Friday night in Windsor was different. For the first time in a while, not despite, but because of crowded seats, old fashioned bathrooms, packed concourses, limited (and cheap!) concession stands, cheap merchandise, alack of jumbotrons making me into a lemming, and that brutal whiff of the players walking by, I didn't feel like such a stooge for shelling out a ton of money for a dead atmosphere. I spent 20 bucks total and I actually felt like I was at a hockey game for once.

Like Tiger Stadium, the Boston Garden, the Chicago Stadium, the original Comiskey Park, and many other historic venues throughout the country, Windsor Arena is being replaced by a supposedly better building. Unlike those buildings however, the Windsor Arena will remain open for youth hockey leagues, which is great news for a preservation buff like me. However, Windsor wanted all the modern amenities and new stadium, and paid for it with taxpayer money. They got their wish of expensive club seats, expensive suites, an overpriced restaurant, newer bathrooms, and nicer seats. But to me, and by many people who feel that those old buildings were a lot better than the new generic ones that replaced them, those amenities are not amenities at all. It seems to me that Windsor just traded in its Cadillac for a Chevy. I guess this proves that old adage true. As the cliche goes- "be careful what you wish for, you may regret it/ be careful what you wish for, you just might get it." You got your wish Windsor, but when you fall victim to the movie theatre effect that happens to me all to often, you will regret it.

I have to write something about The Wire...

2008-12-02T19:28:00.001-06:00

Disclaimer: This post has nothing to do with sports…read it anyway.

Tonight, I finished The Wire, the single greatest, most transcendent television show that has ever been created (that is not an opinion, it is a fact). I will try to write this post without the need for a spoiler alert, but be if you haven’t finished the show yet, read on at your own risk. Anyway, I have spent a while trying to find something to which to compare this show, but honestly, I’ve drawn a blank. After all of my pondering, the only thing that came to my mind was a prayer that I was taught as a child:

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Anyone who has seen The Wire knows that there is nothing religious about it, but I think this quote from St. Francis of Assisi sums up everything that the show stood for. The Wire taught us that there are some things that we can change and try as we might, some that we can’t. Not everyone has the serenity to accept these things, ahem, Jimmy McNulty, but in the end, we all have to accept them, whether we like it or not. The show isn’t about cops chasing drug dealers, it’s about how a city devolved into an inescapable and self-destructive cycle. It’s about how cheating is the only way to win, but in the end, everybody loses. It’s about unflinching hope, fueled by impossible promises. It chronicles the failures of idealists, yet fosters idealism in all of us. It’s about how most of those with the courage to make change, lack the wisdom to know which changes to make. It’s about how the whole would be greater than the sum of its parts; that is, if the parts gave a shit about the whole. It’s a painfullly depressing take on the state of urban life in America. The saga of The Wire itself aligns perfectly with the plot of the show. Those who do things the way they should be done, those who refuse to play ball, can make their mark for a short time, but their path to the top is inexorably blocked. The Wire never won awards. It was never at the top of the ratings heap. Praise for The Wire has been relegated to the inner circles of critics and those who happened to stumble upon this hidden masterpiece. The Wire has about as much of a shot at an Emmy as Lester Freamon has of being named Police Commissioner. My only hope is that the The Wire wasn’t right about everything, that righteousness and irrelevance do not always go hand-in-hand. Rare is the book, movie, or television series that has the potential to change minds and lives. The Wire has that potential. With the explosion of TV on DVD, it is suddenly possible for the life of this show to extend infinitely beyond its time on HBO. The Wire has presented one of the most poignant and jarring social commentaries of my generation, my only hope is that society has the prescience to drop it in its collective Netflix queue.

My First AI Experience: A Running Diary

2008-11-14T00:23:00.001-06:00

I have purposely not commented on the Allen Iverson trade because I didn’t want to pass judgment until I saw how the Pistons played with AI. I thought it would be fun the do a running diary of my first AI experience. Ernie Johnson is signing off from Atlanta, and here we go…

9:44PM: Kevin Harlan tells me that this game is brought to me by the United States Marines. Where is the US Military getting all of this money to sponsor sporting events? Is this where my tax dollars are going?

9:46PM: Kwame Brown is starting? This is going to be a long night…

9:49PM: Corey Maggette is guarding Rasheed Wallace? Maybe this night won’t be so long…

9:50PM: Hamilton hits a signature jumper from the baseline. Good to see Rip hit his first shot. Nice dish from Tayshaun Prince. I like Tay Tay at the point forward position. He played it a lot in college and was very effective. Just in general, Prince is a much better offensive player than he gets credit for.

9:52PM: First bucket from Iverson, he owns that mid-range pull-up. He’s had that shot for his whole career, but he has never been considered as one of the better mid-range players. Why is that?

9:57PM: The Google phone is awesome.

9:58PM: How ironic is it that the NBA Store commercial features Chauncey Billups in Piston shorts and Allen Iverson in a Nuggets headband. You can’t script this stuff.

10:01PM: Marcus Williams enters the game for Golden State. This guy couldn’t start over DeMarcus Nelson and CJ Watson? Did he swipe Don Nelson’s laptop or something?

10:05PM: Monta Ellis has to be really embarrassed about that injury. I mean, at least Ben Roethlisberger was riding a Harley. Come on Monta, you’re not 14 anymore, lose the moped.

10:08PM: Jason Maxiell misses an alley-oop, but gets it right back with a thunderous dunk on the next possession. Maxiell has incredibly long arms, but they look too big for his body. It’s like someone put him in one of those medieval torture chambers or something.

10:10PM: 23-21 Warriors at the end of the 1st. AI has 7 points in the quarter. No question, this Pistons team is different, I haven’t quite decided yet if I think they are any better. There are definite gains on the offensive side, but Iverson and Kwame are weaknesses on the defensive end. AI struggles on the ball, and Kwame just looks generally confused.

10:14PM: Craig Sager is off his game tonight; his suit is not distorting the color on my TV, I am unimpressed.

10:17PM: I love me some Will Bynum. I don’t know if they will ever be able to find any minutes for him in the long term, but he reminds me of a young Lindsey Hunter. He’s quick, a decent shooter, and tough as nails. Not a coincidence that he played in a Final Four in college.

10:19PM: Iverson steals and streaks the other way to draw a foul. He is terrible on the ball, but his anticipation for steals is like Ben Wallace’s anticipation for blocks. He does a great job of clogging up the passing lanes and turning steals into easy buckets. Along with Rip Hamilton, the Piston guards are very opportunistic defenders. AI splits two at the line, DET 26 – GS 28.

10:22PM: Bynum attacks the rack for an easy hoop. This guy can learn a lot from Iverson. I don’t know if it will be on the Pistons, but he definitely has a place in the league.

10:23PM: Any commercial that features LeBron dancing to Kid N Play is all right by me. Excuse me for a minute while I call my State Farm agent.

10:25PM: The Pistons are missing way too many free throws. You can’t give back free points against a team like the Warriors. I have a bad feeling that this might come back to bite them.

10:28PM: Will Bynum just did his best Spud Webb impression. He missed the dunk, but holy shit that kid has some hops. Once again, I love me some Will Bynum.

10:30PM: It is fascinating to watch Amir Johnson going up against Brandan Wright. Somewhere, Jay Bilas is drooling over the “long length” and “upside potential” of this matchup.

10:33PM: Iverson and Bynum seem to have this weird want to drive inside, elevate, and just when you think they are going up for a shot, kick it outside to a not-quite-open-enough shooter. I really don’t see how this helps the offense. Why not just keep attacking the basket early in the game, and then kick the ball out later once the defense starts to collapse on you? It’s really not that difficult.

10:37PM: Doug Collins makes a good point about the Pistons lack of bulk. They have length and quickness, but a strong team (like the Celtics) can push them around. Hopefully, they can figure out how to use their athleticism to compensate, but lack of girth could definitely hurt down the road.

10:42PM: The Piston big guys are not adjusted to Iverson yet. There have been at least three times already that Iverson as dished off to a big inside who either fumbled the pass or missed the layup because he wasn’t ready for it.

10:45PM: CJ Watson just withstood three AI crossovers and took a charge. Maybe I should be worried about Iverson losing a step, but mostly, I am impressed with Watson’s defense.

10:46PM: Crazy Stephen Jackson hits a nice jumper to end the half. The Pistons shot the ball terribly and played absolutely awful on defense, but it’s only 53-46. I am cautiously optimistic.

HALF TIME

11:09PM: The Pistons are off to a terrible start. Everyone is standing around watching Iverson on offense and Golden State is hitting all of their open jumpers. Detroit needs to get some energy into the game before it slips away.

11:11PM: Sheed scores over Maggette and screams “AND 1” all the way back down the court. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I would pay to listen Sheed mic’ed up for a whole game. If everything else he says is half as good as what the floor mics pick up, it would be comedy gold.

11:15PM: AI has already hit 2 threes in the second half. This is a great sign. One of my biggest worries about losing Billups is that the Pistons really don’t have any true three-point shooters. If Iverson can just shoot in the high 30% range from downtown, it will really help to open up cutting lanes for his teammates, specifically Rip.

11:17PM: Walter Herrmann is doing his best Mark Madsen impression, 3 fouls in under one minute. If the Pistons can’t get a hold of Corey Maggette, this game is going to be over fast.

11:21PM: Andris Biedrins blows an easy dunk. There was nobody within 6 feet of him and he bricks it off the heel. Layup for AI, three-ball for Afflalo, and the Pistons are back in the game. DET 63 – GS 69.

11:25PM: The Piston bigs are getting killed in the pick-and-roll. There is no weak side help, but Sheed and Kwame Brown just look lost trying to play guards coming off ball screens.

11:28PM: The Pistons look very reactionary on defense. They are not anticipating cuts and stepping in front, they are chasing and giving up too many open looks.

11:30PM: One of the first times that Iverson controls the offense in the half court leads to a bad shot from Prince. Afflalo makes a great play to finish off of a steal, but it is painfully obvious that the Pistons are not ready to run their team offense through Iverson yet.

11:33PM: Apparently the Pistons heard my critiques of their defense. The guards are flying to the ball and creating turnovers. This is how they can make up for their lack of size. A nice run puts Detroit ahead 75-71.

11:35PM: Iverson with a fantastic finish, but he stands under the rim celebrating by himself after the bucket. I think that the team and the city of Detroit are going to love Iverson, but it seems like it hasn’t really happened yet.

11:37PM: It seems that the Piston bigs are adjusting to AI on the fly. Wallace makes a great catch and finish after a sweet dime from Iverson. That was a turnover in the first half. Great adjustment from Sheed.

11:41PM: I know that this is not my original idea, but can we please make some kind of a law against aerial shots of basketball areas. How does seeing a bird shit on the top of Oracle Arena enhance my viewing experience?

11:44PM: Sheed gets a technical out of nowhere! Another reason why he needs a microphone at all times.

11:45PM: Ball don’t lie.

11:46PM: Doug Collins makes a great point about the Pistons being impatient against Golden State’s zone. At this point, their half-court offense is predicated on dribble penetration, let’s see what happens when the zone takes that away.

11:49PM: I really don’t get the whole phenomenon of the free credit report. If you know that you have crappy credit, how does that help? It doesn’t make your crappy credit any better. It’s just another reminder of how screwed you are. I don’t get it, but maybe that’s because I have impeccable credit.

11:51PM: I think that the best-case scenario for the Iverson Pistons might be something like Villanova’s team a few years ago. A bunch of quick perimeter guys that can shoot and/or get to the rack and a few athletic big guys who can provide a presence on defense and finish around the rim. If this is going to happen, they really need Maxiell and Amir Johnson to step up.

11:53PM: Curry takes a good timeout as Detroit is getting slaughtered on the glass. Golden State is not shooting the ball particularly well, but they are scoring on offensive rebounds. The Pistons need to block out the Warriors’ wings.

11:57PM: Wallace chokes after a Piston offensive rebound, then taps one into his own hoop to give Golden State the lead. Yikes.

11:58PM: Sheed follows it up by missing two free throws. Oh boy.

12:00AM: It’s midnight in Chicago and I am officially worried.

12:01AM: Rip splits a pair at the line. I said it at the beginning of the game, you can’t miss free throws against a team like Golden State, they are coming back to bite the Pistons now. 2-point game.

12:03AM: Wow, I had never seen Andris Biedrins shoot free throws before and I am amazed. He has one of the most awkward strokes I have ever seen. I would love to see Biedrins face off against Shaq in an “Awkward Motion Championship of Darts”, just make sure to pass out safety goggles to everyone in the bar.

12:05AM: Sheed drains 2 HUGE threes. Congratulations Mr. Wallace, welcome back to my good graces.

12:07AM: Amy Adams is hot.

12:09AM: Nice hard foul by Wallace on Biedrins. Send that guy back to the line…

12:10AM: Prince makes a nice defensive play to finally stop Maggette. Rip hits a jumper and I am starting to get comfortable.

12:11AM: Fantastic dish from Afflalo to Sheed for a dunk. Afflalo has been really impressive offensively in this game. He runs the floor well and is not settling for jumpers.

12:14AM: The Pistons are beginning to put this one away with old-school Piston rebounding and defense. The offense is coming along, but if they can keep playing defense like this in crunch time, they will be in every game.

12:17AM: It’s coming down to free throws, but it looks like the Pistons are going to escape with a nice win in Oakland. They played a pretty good game overall, but showed flashes of greatness with the attacking defense in the third quarter and the end of the fourth.

12:22AM: My overall view of the Iversonian Pistons is this: They will be fine offensively after the adjustment period passes, but their season is going to be defined by whether or not the young guys in the front court can step up. I think they can, but we’ll see what happens.

12:23AM: Thanks for sticking with me…Now it’s bedtime.

Coaching with Balls

2008-11-10T23:32:00.002-06:00

Herm Edwards is not a good football coach. He was a good football player and he seems to be a pretty nice guy, but the man was not put on this earth to be a head football coach in the NFL. That said, Mr. Edwards does have something that most other coaches in the league seem to lack. Balls. Down by 7 on the road against the Chargers, Edwards had the stones to go for a two-point conversion (and a win) instead to putting his talk between his legs and heading to overtime. Herm knew that his team was gassed and overmatched and that his only chance to win the game was to roll the dice on the goal line, rather than waiting for the coin toss in overtime. He had confidence in his team, but it was a realistic confidence. He was confident that they can win the game, but also knew that he could maximize their chance to win by managing the situations that he put his team in. Unfortunately for coach Edwards and the Chiefs, it didn’t pan out, but although I can criticize the play call, I can’t criticize the decision to go for it. He made the right call for his team in that situation. Don’t get it twisted, having balls isn’t just about taking risks, it’s about taking the right risks, and that is exactly what Herm Edwards did. There are times when coaches know that their team can make the play, but fear of the negative overcomes faith in the positive. I can guarantee that every coach in the NFL has faced 4th down situations in which they knew that their guys could succeed, but they kicked anyway, because they thought more about failure than success. Now, my point here is not that more coaches need to go for it on 4th down, it’s that coaches need to rethink the rules for when it’s okay to take a risk. I could certainly present my own list of rules here, but that’s exactly what I’m arguing against. No two situations in a football game are alike and no two teams are alike, so there are no hard and fast rules for when coaches should take a risk. Head coaches know their teams better than anybody else, and as such, they shouldn’t let rules enforced by commentators govern their decisions. All I ask is that they have the balls to make the decisions that they know are right. My feeble plea for aggression can be summed up in just three words: Sack up, coach. At least one coach seems to have listened.

Cool and Unique Mascots

2008-11-05T12:29:00.001-06:00

By Pete McGrath

As you may have read in my previous post, I am against mascots that are weather related, sound focused grouped, or generic. I am greatly for mascots that embrace the local city's culture and history. Examples of this are the Detroit Pistons, the Milwaukee Brewers, the St. Louis Blues, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don't mind if a team takes on an animal mascot. Nicknames like Lions and Tigers and Bears (oh my!) are always solid, but are at the end of the day are a little uncreative. However, I hate team names like the Minnesota Wild, Washington Nationals, and Oklahoma City Thunder. They sound like arena football/MLS teams. They just sound boring and don't really stand for anything. But there are also some oddball mascots out there that belong to high schools and minor league baseball teams that I love, and that deserve a look next time a league is naming one of their clubs. Here are a few of my favorites-

Edwin Denby High School, Detroit MI
Famous Alumni: Sonny Bono, Bill Bonds (the real Ron Burgundy)
Mascot: Tars

Denby High School is named after Edwin Denby, a prominent Detroit area politician and Secretary of the U.S. Navy during the Harding Administration. There are many nautical motifs on the school building itself, and the nickname of Tars is nautical as well. Back in the day, rigging on sailboats was made of rope that could rot, so they would be covered in tar to avoid this problem. The tar would get all over the sailor's hands, and sailors themselves became known as "tars" or "Jack tars" as a nickname. This nautical theme is reflected in UNC's Tarheels nickname as well. To this day, tar has an impact on U.S. Navy protocol. While the army salutes with the palm facing the floor, the Navy and Marine Corps salute with the hand at a 90 degree angle (all you see is the back of the hand) in an effort to conceal the once tar covered palms.

Cass Technical High School, Detroit MI
Famous Alumni: Diana Ross, Lilly Tomlin, Jack White, David Allen Grier
Mascot: Technicians

Cass Tech's nickname really doesn't have much of a story. I just like how direct it is. It was started as a technical school, so the teams are called the Technicians. Simple and cool.

Midland High School: Midland, MI
Famous Alumni: No one you've ever heard of.
Mascot: Chemics

Midland is a company town, and Dow Chemical is that company. The company even helped build the school with a donation back in 1911. Once again this is a cool and unique nod to a town's bread and butter industry.

John J. Pershing High School, Detroit MI
Famous Alumni: Tim Meadows
Mascot: Doughboys

Named after one of America's all time bad assess, General John "Black Jack" Pershing, the leader of American forces in World War I. The American troops sent over to fight in WWI were nicknamed "doughboys." The Mexican-American War is believed to be the origin of the term doughboy, where commonplace slang for a U.S. Army infantryman. It became really popular during WWI, but by WWII had fallen out of favor, with the term G.I. taking over. Pillsbury cookies aside, I think this team name is very unique, and has a really cool link to the School's namesake. This is defiantly one of my favorite oddball mascots. I'm sure Leon Phelps agrees.

Fordson High School, Dearborn, MI
Famous Alumni: Walter Reuther
Mascot: Tractors

Fordson was named after Henry Ford and his son Edsel, and it was also the nameplate that Henry Ford used to market his Fordson Tractor, which was a very popular model at the time. Since the school shared the same name, they picked the mascot Tractors. Ironically enough, the school building itself is lavishly decorated, and was one of the most expensive schools in the country when it was built. Even today, the building looks like a college or a boarding school on the outside, contrasting with its unglamourous mascot.

Southeastern High School: Detroit, MI
Mascot: Jungaleers
Famous Alum: Rosalind Ashford of the Motown group Martha and the Vandellas, Bart Scott of the Baltimore Ravens

I've heard conflicting stories on this one, but the one that makes the most sense is that a Jungleer is a military unit/soldier that fights in the jungle. Certainly don't see this one anywhere else.

Moving on from nearby high schools, Minor League Baseball routinely shows that a generic team name is not necessary. Here are some of my personal favorites.

Lansing Lugnuts: Lansing, MI

Lansing is the capitol of Michigan, and nearby in East Lansing is Michigan State University. But the town itself has a long auto manufacturing history, with GM's once proud Oldsmobile division calling this area home base. General Motors still operates a couple plants here, so a nice nod to the automotive history. Lansing Lugnuts also features consonance, so it rolls of the tongue nicely.

Chattanooga Lookouts: Chattanooga, TN

Chattanooga is located right by Lookout Mountain, so that's how the team gets his name. I love when teams find something unique to their hometown, and it's safe to say there isn't another club out there called the Lookouts. Also, gotta love the logo on the hat.

Albequerque Isotopes: Albequerque, NM

Any team name that stems from The Simpsons is alright by me. Also, the name somewhat fits because Los Alamos where the first nuclear bomb was built is nearby. It's a shame that Springfield had to lose its team though.

Toledo Mudheds: Toledo, OH

Despite all these years of being the Tigers AAA affiliate, I never knew the story of this goofy name. Turns out, back in 1896 the team practiced next to a marsh inhabited by American Coots, which are also called Mud Hens. This one holds significance in the family as well, because my Dad came home and cried when he was little leaguer after he found out he was on a team called the Mud Hens.

Alright, that's all I got for now. I'll be here all night if I kept going, especially if I moved into the college ranks.

If you notice in regards to the high school teams I mentioned, I didn't even leave the state of Michigan. Despite my mitten-centric selection of high schools, I got a bunch of really unique and interesting mascots. Oklahoma City, with all its oil and cowboy heritage should've done so much better than the Thunder. Washington D.C. should've paid tribute to the Negro League team that played there(The Grays), or picked something far less focus group sounding than Nationals. The fans in both cities deserved better.

If I ran the NHL Part Tetris

2008-11-03T17:26:00.002-06:00

By Pete McGrath

Moving from French to Russian this week on the name, I figured I should give some other countries besides French Canada some love. While I've covered cities, sweaters, and TV deals, I have not covered the actual on ice product. That's what I'll cover this time.

I have to tie up some loose ends though from my last post however. As I said last time, it is pivotal that the NHL expands the TV footprint of the game. One of the best ways to do this is to PUT THE GAMES ON TV!!!!! Currently, due to the leagues broadcast agreement with VS., local broadcasts cannot be shown, even if your club isn't on the Versus schedule. That twelve year old in D.C. with the Ovechkin poster on the wall needs to be able to see his favorite player on TV. Also, the league needs to be more proactive in cases like Chicago, when Bill Wirtz refused to broadcast home games when the United Center wasn't sold out. Which leads to my next point.

Last time I suggested a pay to play system for the Stanley Cup to ramp up the intensity on the ice. Also I suggested a promotional stunt of having the money on the ice for the presentation. That idea was pretty unpopular, but I think people missed the point. I also wanted owners to pay up at the beginning, with the thought process that the financial incentive to win will eliminate the league's shitty absentee owners. While maybe the ante up/pay to play idea isn't a winner, I think all leagues should adopt what I'll call the Wirtz-Sterling rule (named for Donald Sterling of LA Clippers fame.) The rule should be that if an owner has shown a pattern of poorly operating a franchise, then they should have to sell the team. I think ten-fifteen years is a fair judgement call in this case. The Blackhawks play in the second biggest market after Toronto, but they are an afterthought in that city because of the Wirtz family's poor ownership. A strong Chicago franchise is important for any league, and the NHL needs to be more proactive in the future.

Shitty owners aside, the league needs to fix the shcedule. Every club should play each other at least twice. After the Stanley Cup last year, the Wings-Penguins match up should be a hot ticket in Pittsburgh. However, there is not Wings-Pens game in Pittsburgh, which is stupid. The league shouldn't try to create division rivalries where there are none- (I have a tough time getting amped up for Wings-Blue Jackets six times a year) A schedule set up like the NBA's would be fine. As it stands now, the Wings only play the Leafs, Habs, Bruins and Rangers once a year. Those original six match ups deserve at least two games. Also, to pick up the intensity of some games, add more home and home series. Home and homes allows the hatred from the night before to still be fresh in a player's mind, boiling over to the next game creating a more intense match up. How cool would it be to see Wings-Habs home and home, for the fans and the players?

The league has made some positive rule changes to combat the boring New Jersey style trap of the 90s. To me, hockey is the ultimate players game. Not to say good coaching isn't necessary, but hockey coaches cannot call in the pitches, nor can they signal in or draw up set plays. The league was heading in a dangerous direction for a while, but I think they righted the ship with some key rule changes. Most importantly, they brought back the tag-up rule for offsides. I like the no line change rule after icing, and I never liked the two line pass rule. Clutching and grabbing had to go as well. I'm glad the league let the players who can skate play. But they also need to make sure the league doesn't lose it's toughness. Also, I must say the shootout is pretty cool. I thought it was stupid before they had it, but now I am converted. I would rather five shooters go than three, but it's a cool way to end a regular season game.

That being said, the league better not think about touching the sudden death/golden goal OT in the playoffs. There is nothing more intense that playoff hockey, and nothing puts me on the edge more than overtime in the playoffs. The best way to improve the regular season is to try get the intensity to that playoff level. Obviously unlimited sudden death OT is a stupid idea during the regular season, but why not get rid of the OT loss and make every shootout either 2 points or zero. That way clubs wouldn't sit back and play for the 1 point at the end of regulation, but would play hard for the win.

The league has to ease up on their fighting rules. I remember when it would be Wings-Leafs in the early 90s, and as much as I wanted to see Yzerman and Gilmour match up, I really wanted to see Domi and Probert drop the gloves. First of all, nobody gets up for popcorn during a fight. Fights are cool to watch (as the popularity of MMA and Ultimate Fighting shows). Hockey fights have always been much more honorable than other sport's fights- no one spiking anybody (Marcus Vick) and no sucker punches then running away (Carmelo Anthony). Hockey players fight face to face. Hockey fights also ratchet up the intensity of a game, and can give a club something to rally around. The Wings kicked off that Stanley cup run in 97 by beating the crap out of the Avs at Joe Louis in a late regular season game. I think fights are a necessary evil in a way as well. I do not want there to be bench clearing brawls every night, but a good fight to get the bad blood out is ok. I also believe that there would be less cheap shots if fights were legal, because players would eventually have to answer to an enforcer. Let the players police their own game- because while a millionaire isn't going to care about a fine, a punch in the face still hurts no matter how much money you're making. Long story short, Gordie Howe hat tricks are good for hockey.

The league should also go back to the three official system. With players being as big and fast as they are now, it gets crowded out there with four other skaters. Also, you have one official with a close view of the play not making the call, and the guy far away from the play calling a penalty. That really burns a hole in my panty hose. Perhaps give linesman a little more power, but please go back to three officials. Also, at certain times the league takes safety too far. It is a crime against all of my fashion principles that something as glorious as Kerry Fraser's hair is now underneath a helmet. In the NHL's Mount Rushmore of beautiful flowing manes of hair, Kerry Fraser's immovable bouffant helmet doo is a definite shoo in. For the record, I nominate Barry Melrose, Marc Crawford, and Mike Babcock to also be blow-dried, combed, and sprayed into stone. If they let him go helmetless however, the league should probably buy carbon credits to offset all the CO2 and make Kerry Fraser officiated games more environmentally friendly.

The league should also empower officials to call the diving penalty more often. While hockey will never be like soccer, where players fake injuries for calls all the time, I wouldn't mind seeing the occasional player get thrown into the box for a dive.

When it comes to goalies, I have some gripes with the rules. Let the goalies play the puck- that stupid trapezoid thing doesn't really do anything. Also, if goalies play the puck more, they often time create chances/goals by sending an awkward pass up the boards (think Osgood against the Sharks). Passing with goalie equipment is hard, so let goalies screw up and create scoring chances that way. I also hate the delay of game penalty for sending a puck over the glass. I find that rule arbitrary and stupid, and it's not like that was a problem in the league prior to the rule change.

As much as Sean Avery drives me up the wall, I thought his screen against Brodeur was hilarious and should remain legal. What was illegal about it? While annoying, he also can't see the puck behind him so he can't make a deflection, nor can he get out of the way of a shot, meaning it's not a perfect play. Also, that's when a defenceman on the Devils needs to get the sand out of his vagina and knock him on his ass. Once again, let the players police their own game. Brodeur should have cussed out his defencemen after that play because they should've taken care of the matter in front themselves.

One last thing, I firmly believe in the touch up icing rule. I realize it takes longer, and I realize that every other league the play is blown dead after the puck crosses the goal line. But that rule separates the men from the boys to me. Much like getting both feet down in the NHL, the longer three point line in the NBA, and wood bats in MLB, I think this is a rule that separates the amateurs from the pros. Plus when a game is close, seeing two players hustle down the ice going after the puck is fun to watch, and shows who wants it more.

That's it for now. Next time I'll cover some other stuff that I forgot.

Solving the Problems with Overtime Football

2008-11-01T18:55:00.002-05:00

My beloved Fighting Irish lost today in overtime to Pittsburgh. I’m not making excuses, but the way Pitt won reminded me of one of the biggest problems with the college overtime format. Notre Dame missed a field goal on its possession in the fourth overtime, leaving Pitt needing only a field goal to win the game. Good thing for the Panthers; they get to start with the football inside realistic field goal range. Now, this turned out to not be a factor, as Shady McCoy reduced the field goal to a mere chip shot, but this does not excuse the problems with the college overtime system. How to handle overtime has always been one of the most debated issues in football. The college and professional ranks have taken diverging paths, with professional choosing a more traditional format and college going with a more out-of-the-box alignment. From my point-of-view, the college overtime is much closer to the way things should be, but at this point, nobody has gotten it right. The tough thing is that with so many facets factoring into the outcome of a football game; it is damn near impossible to integrate all of them into a condensed overtime period that is fair for both teams. The ideal overtime format is pretty obvious. Do it like every other sport, just play another 15-minute period. Whichever team leads at the end of those 15 minutes wins the game. Why does this seem too easy? Because it is. The issue with this format is that it puts too much strain on the players. Unlike other sports, every single play in a football game takes a tremendous toll on the players, and it’s really not fair to put both teams through an additional quarter of punishment, if it can be avoided. Players would never agree to this format, nor should they, so for all intents and purposes, it is not a viable option. Of the current techniques, the NFL format is the truest to the game, but it doesn’t give both teams an equal shot. Unless Marty Mornhinweg is involved, the outcome of the game generally rides on a coin flip. An argument can be made that the loser of the coin flip should be able to get a stop on defense, which is true, but in a regulation game, there would never be a scenario where one team would be on defense the entire time, with no opportunity to answer on offense. If the team on defense makes a stop, then the NFL’s overtime becomes perfect. Each team is forced to play offense, defense, and special teams; first team to score wins. Obviously, there is no way to guarantee a stop, and alas, the NFL overtime format is fatally flawed. The college overtime format is certainly more innovative, but it is far from perfect. As I alluded to earlier, the big problem with college overtime is that the offense gets the ball too close to the end zone. A team should not be rewarded with a field goal opportunity if they can’t move the ball. The idea of giving both teams an equal shot is well founded, but poorly executed. Starting at the 25-yard line cripples the defense and gives the offense a better parachute than an AIG executive. Without a huge negative play, it is nearly impossible for the defense to force a 3-and-out and the offense almost always has an opportunity for a makeable field goal. In the current system, offenses are encouraged to play conservatively and mediocrity is rewarded. The solution is simple, back the offense up 15 yards. It puts the offense out of field goal range and forces aggression on both sides of the ball. If the offense can’t make a first down, they are forced to either go for it on fourth down, or try an extremely difficult field goal. If the defense can stop the offense from converting a first down, they can get off the field and give possession back to their offense without allowing any points. Starting from the forty keeps the offense close enough to ensure sufficient scoring to end the game quickly, but gives the defense an opportunity to get off the field without forcing a turnover. This is the only format that ensures that offense, defense, and special teams all remain as integral cogs in deciding the football game. It does omit the punting/field position aspect of the game, but hey, nobody’s perfect. Honestly, I don’t think that the NFL will ever waver from its current format, but I do think that there is a chance for college to change. So write a letter to your local conference commissioner: Starting Overtime from the 40…Change We Can Believe In!

Wait, where have I heard that before….

For the Love of God....Play Drew Stanton!

2008-10-30T22:35:00.002-05:00

Duante Culpepper? Are the Lions serious? Does this make absolutely no sense to anybody else? It’s nice that the Lions have realized that Dan Orlovsky (once considered potentially their quarterback of the future) sucks. It is not so nice that now they have decided that the best course of action for a franchise that is completely in rebuilding mode is to go after a washed-up 300-pound statue who left his last NFL gig after he couldn’t beat out Andrew Walter. Looking at this situation from a distance, one would think that the Lions must be desperate; they must have no other option at quarterback. Well, one would be wrong. In actuality, there is a second round pick who has spent the first 8 weeks of the season carving out a 4-inch deep ass groove on the Lions’ bench. I’m not saying that Drew Stanton is going to save the Lions’ season, but why not see what the guy can do? In my humble opinion, Stanton should have been in the lineup as soon as Dan-O started scoring points for the opposing team. I understand that playing Stanton is the equivalent of waving the white flag to the rest of the NFL (mercifully) and this is a hard pill for a fighter like Rod Marinelli to swallow, but this season is a lost cause. I appreciate that they guy works hard and wants to win, but he has entered coaching senility at this point. His press conferences are like presidential debates, no matter what questions the reporters ask, Marinelli just spews the same crap about “pounding the rock” and how great the team looks in practice. Of course they look good in practice, everybody looks good when they play the Lions! He is about one more loss away from pulling a Mike Singletary and dropping trow in a team meeting. By the way, can somebody please make sure that the 49ers hire Singletary full time? What he gives up in intelligence, he makes up for in sheer comedic genius. This dude makes Dennis Green look like Bill Belichick. His sound byte after the Niners loss last Sunday is already in the pantheon of ridiculously great coach speeches, and Singletary has only coached in one game! Can you imagine the hilarity that will ensure after a week of having Shaun Hill as his starting quarterback? Anyway, back to the Lions. Marinelli has stressed time and again that Stanton is not ready to be a starter in the NFL. Is anyone surprised? How many other Lions are ready to be starters in the NFL? By my calculations, Stanton fits right in! All jokes aside, the Lions need to figure out what they have in Drew Stanton. Based on Matt Millen’s past draft record, Stanton is probably not very good, but the Lions might as well confirm that suspicion. Who knows, maybe Stanton is the second coming of Randall Cunningham, rather than the second coming of Mike McMahon. Mr. Ford has to be curious, right?

If I ran the NHL Part Trois

2008-10-24T21:23:00.002-05:00

By Pete McGrath

This edition will cover some of the league's marketing and its TV Deals. Through the years I've always heard people say about hockey on TV "But I can't see the puck." Nothing made me cringe as much as those words (until I saw the stupid light up puck the league tried out). I don't follow that logic. I have never had that problem my entire hockey watching life. So if you can't see the puck, I am not writing this for you.

The NHL has always been a distant fourth in the four major professional team sports in the United States. What the NFL shows every league out there is that dragging your season out all year is not the key to success. The NFL thrives on TV money because every game is a big deal, and seeing as how their TV contract is bigger than all of hockey's revenue put together, it safe to say they were right. So what the NHL needs to do is get more people to watch the game, both in person and more importantly on TV (that's where the money really is). Here are my ideas.

First thing the NHL needs to do is grow the game at a grassroots level. I went to college in Cleveland, and I was shocked at how little people knew about hockey there. Steve Yzerman who is basically canonized here in Detroit is unheard of in Cleveland. People who are rabid Browns, Indians, and Cavs fans (it's not that they don't like sports) literally do not know who he is. Aside from the occasional Sabres fan, the only people that cared about hockey that were not from Detroit were people that had actually played the game through high school.

For this reason, I believe the best thing the league can do for its long term success is get kids to play hockey. Kids in America usually play Little League as a right of passage, high school football is a big deal all over the country, and often people play at least intramural basketball through their college years. The NHL needs to sponsor and facilitate the construction of as many rinks and the formation of as many youth leagues as possible. In Canada, the game of choice is always hockey, weather its watching or playing. The United States will never be as hockey crazy as Canada, but part of the reason people appreciate their NHL clubs so much in Canada, Minnesota, Detroit, and other Northern American cities is that a large part of the populous played the game "back in the day," or still plays in a weekend beer league. Long story short, the nicest arena in America occasionally full of fans won't be worth much in the long run if there aren't a bunch of little rinks in the area full of kids playing the game.

Getting back to putting the game on TV, the NHL made a terrible mistake by signing the TV contract with Versus. Versus is rookieball compared to ESPN. The camera is too close to the ice,
the set looks like a high school doing the video announcements, and Brian Engbloom's mullet sucks compared to Barry Melrose's. Mullets notwithstanding, the global reach of ESPN is simply incredible. ESPN's brand name is worth more than any other channel out there. ESPN is in every basic cable package, is on in every sports bar, and every college guy's dorm room is tuned to ESPN. Versus simply isn't always available.

I realize that Versus offered 60 Million year instead of revenue sharing- but that comes out to 2 million a team, which is for all practical purposes pocket change. This is like turning down the unpaid internship at the best company in your field to work for McDonald's and make some money. Yeah you get a little money upfront, but you are killing your future. Get back on ESPN because that way fans who have never seen you before might. People watching something else on ESPN like Sports Center might forget to change the channel and give hockey a shot. Versus generally has hunting shows on all day, so the NHL isn't getting a whole lot of lead in viewers. Also, Versus simply isn't as widespread channel as ESPN. Any basic cable package has ESPN and ESPN 2. The same cannot be said for Versus, which has left a lot of people who actually want to watch hockey shit out of luck because their cable package does not carry the channel. In conclusion, the NHL needs to pad its resume and take its unpaid internship. The exposure gained from being on ESPN can only help the league.

The league needs to realize that it shouldn't try to out NBA the NBA. Instead the league should embrace and market those quirky things that make the NHL and its players so great. One of my favorite traditions in hockey is the playoff beard. However, come playoff time you hardly ever hear about it. They should market the hell out of this. My product placement gears were turning on this one- why don't they have Gillette sponsor a contest for the best beard in the playoffs? That seems like a no brainer for me.

I was also upset when Bettman changed the Wales and Campbell conference to East and West, along with directional names for the divisions as well. I thought it was cool that the divisions were named after people, and it was unique to hockey. While they can keep the current alignment of teams, think of two people to name two divisions after and bring the old way back. If anything it'll put the league in the news for a bit and will generate publicity just like David Stern did with the NBA dress code a few years back.

These days, when I watch a baseball team celebrate in the locker room I can't tell if they won their division or the World Series. However, hockey players know whats up. They don't touch the Campbell Bowl or the Wales Trophy, because the Stanley Cup is the only true championship. The league needs to let the folks out there know about this great superstition. Market the conference championships as the "Don't Touch the Trophy/Bowl" series.

The NBA is expanding aggressively throughout the world, and the NHL needs to do the same. I don't think the league needs to put teams in different countries, because due to travel that wouldn't be prudent. Players will go to play in the league with the best competition, and that will be the NHL for some time. For example, while Brazil and Argentina produce the world's best soccer players, and their national teams compete for the World Cup (and win it often), nearly all of the players play professionally in Europe. So I do not foresee the need for European teams in hockey (or basketball for that matter).

What the NHL could do though is have each NHL team partner up with a European or Asian city and play a series of games there before the season begins. It would be like having a sister city or a pen-pal for fans from both towns. Have each club play two or three games in one city, that way people can connect to one team, and this way the league can really expand its international footprint. The league already has international players, why not make more money off the international fans.

Back here in America, the league should do something similar by playing more neutral site games, or have some teams have a secondary city. The example that always comes to mind is Green Bay playing one game in Milwaukee every year. Obviously clubs like Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, etc, do not need to do this. However, it would be good for Columbus (if they don't move the team) to maybe play a couple games a season in Cleveland or Cincinnati. Maybe have the Blues play a couple games a year in Kansas City, the Kings in San Diego, the Sharks in Portland etc. If you're having trouble filling up your arena, you might as well take your act on the road where the novelty of a pro hockey game might give you a sellout at the gate. Also, you can get people in those cities to become fans of your club as well, selling more merchandise and getting more people to watch the games on TV.

The league needs to also think a little outside the box in terms of marketing. I got this idea from the World Series of Poker. Relatively speaking the winner's share of any modern trophy really isn't that much (compared to their contracts). For instance, the winner's share of the World Series Trophy was $308,235.75. Now three hundred grand ain't bad, but for guys with the contracts they have now that's chump change. Here's the idea, the league should have every team, and perhaps the NHLPA, ante up for the right to play for the cup in the beginning of the season. Have a couple sponsors (I'm talking about you Labatt) match the money, so this way the winner's share is around 3-4 million bucks per player. And no losers share either- just like the superstition says, conference championship does not count, only by winning the Stanley Cup are you a true champion. I realize that the Cup itself should be a worthy enough goal for any player, but this is really meant to motivate the owners just as much as the players. There are many owners that are doing a terrible job running their teams and are happy to just sit back and collect the revenue sharing. They won't be anymore. Lastly, World Series of Poker style, try to bring all the cash out on the ice as a photo op. I really feel this would be a great publicity stunt for the league, and will help the league out on the operational level by getting more teams to compete as well.

The league needs to do a better job of promoting its video games. While NHL 94 on Sega is widely considered to be a masterpiece, the games since have failed to have that sort of crossover success. Video games are big business these days, and hockey is a sport that translates very well to video games. The league needs to use its flagship game as one of its chief marketing tools the way the NFL does with Madden. If you're not going to play the sport, you should at least play the video game. Also, for an old school guy like me, package the most modern game with an emulator for the 94 version with today's players and rosters. Show the pizza boy/Sega scene from Swingers in the commercial then cut to a similar scene of guys hanging out and giving each other shit playing the modern game, and give a tag about how hanging with the guys never changes no matter what game you're playing.

Also, put Don Cherry on TV. People in Detroit and Buffalo love watching Ron McLean try to keep Don in check. Weather people love Don Cherry or think he's a moron, people still watch Coach's Corner. Also, I love his Fu Manchu playoff beards and crazy suits. Some of what he says I don't agree with, but there is no question that he cares deeply about hockey. Also, in a world of vanilla sportscasters, Don Cherry is refreshing as someone who speaks his mind. Perhaps the NHL should name it's aforementioned video game franchise after Don Cherry. Perhaps EA Sports should call the game Rock 'em Sock 'em Hockey. Just a thought.

Anywho, that's all I got for now. I'll cover game rules, rivalries and schedules next time.

Vince Young to the Lions?

2008-10-23T18:33:00.001-05:00

I was listening to radio today and the discussion was about who might start next season under center for my beloved Honolulu Blue and Silver. Normally, I would make a joke here about how sad it is that we are already considering next season and it’s only Week 8, but at this point, it’s not funny anymore. Anyway, the possibility of trading the Dallas Cowboys’ first round pick to the Titans for Vince Young was brought up and it very much intrigues me. The trade could definitely help both sides. By benching Young, the Titans have all but killed VY’s career in Tennessee. Young has lost the trust of that coaching staff and I think both sides know that, barring an injury to Kerry Collins this season, Young will not be back under center for the Titans again in his career. The best solution for both parties is for Young to be traded and the Titans will not get a better offer than a mid-first round pick that’s getting higher and higher with every snap that Brad Johnson takes. From the Lions’ point of view, it is obvious that they need a quarterback. Hell, for the sake of comedy, let’s run down the Lions current QB situation. They have Jon Kitna, who apparently tweaked his back because he has been sleeping with Mike Martz’s playbook under his mattress, Dan Orlovsky, who obviously struggled to color within the lines as a child, Drew Stanton, who seems to have proved to the coaches that he is unequivocally worse than Orlovsky, and Drew Henson, who was once beaten out for a QB job by Quincy Carter. The Lions have nothing close to an NFL starting quarterback and will probably use one of their two first rounders next year to get one. No matter who they hire as the new GM, I do not trust the Lions to draft a quarterback in the first round (see Andre Ware and Joey Harrington for reasons why) and trading for Young would eliminate the possibility of using their inevitable top-5 pick on risky quarterback (read: Tim Tebow). I would rather see the Lions use their higher picks to build from the trenches and trading for Young would go a long way toward ensuring this. Young would also help the Lions to be more successful right away, as his mobility would take pressure off of Detroit’s terrible offensive line. On the surface, it looks like a win-win, no-brainer move, but I think that this whole situation rides on how Young is reacting to his benching and the Titans’ subsequent success. My feeling on Young is that he puts too much pressure on himself. He knew how good this Titans team was and when we felt that he was dragging them down, he flipped out. I don’t think hearing the fans booing would have bothered him if he didn’t know in his heart of hearts that he deserved those boos. Now has been benched and his team is rolling without him. Does he feel sorry for himself? Or is he determined to validate his status as a top-5 draft pick? Based on Mr. Young’s work at Texas, I would lean toward the latter. Much like his first couple of years with the Titans, Young struggled early in his career at Texas, but with time and hard work, he turned himself into one of the greatest college football players of his generation. Now, I’m not saying that Vince Young is going to become a transcendent NFL quarterback, but I think that he has the tools to be a damn good one. I know that he has struggled in the NFL, but I just find I hard to believe that somebody who was so dominant against elite competition in college (he beat Michigan and USC by himself in consecutive Rose Bowls) could turn out to be a dud as an NFL player. Who knows, maybe I’m wrong and Young just peaked too early, but I have a feeling that the talent, poise and leadership and VY showed in Austin is going to translate to success in the NFL eventually. Long story short, the Lions need to take risks if they’re going to dig themselves out of Matt Millen’s grave, and this is certainly a risk that is worth taking.

If I Ran the NHL Part Deux

2008-10-22T01:35:00.002-05:00

By Pete McGrath

NHL Sweaters and Mascots Edition

As the NHL has expanded a lot recently, I think choosing cool team names and designing effective logos is key to getting a town to rally around its team, and the NHL’s poor choices has hampered their progress in certain cities. I’m going to go team by team in this column and provide my two cents on their mascot/team colors/jerseys/logo/ and feel free to comment.

I am old school when it comes to uniforms in sports. I believe in simple uniforms, simple color combinations, and simple logos that stand the test of time.
Here are some pitfalls that many uniforms fall into:

Too Many Colors- Pick two colors for your team color and stick with them. Notre Dame, the Yankees, the Lakers, and the Celtics have simple color schemes, and that’s why their unis work.

The house team effect- If you’ve ever played house hockey, one year your sweater might be green, while the next year it might be blue, so it was always prudent to buy black pants and gloves. However at the NHL level, you should be able to afford gear that matches your jersey.

Black proliferation- If black was not originally one of your two colors, do not all the sudden make it one. Do not make it part of your jerseys piping or trim. Also, the black alternate jersey thing has become a bit tiresome. This is kind of similar to the house team effect.

The Rbk system effect. Reebok re-designed a lot of jerseys recently, adding stupid piping at the top of the sweaters and taking the trim off the bottom. Trim on the bottom is important though, because hockey sweaters are meant to be un-tucked. With no trim on the bottom it looks like an un-tucked button down dress shirt- A.K.A. bad.

The Clip art effect- When a logo is obviously computer generated, and looks cheaply done; like a school kid doing a project for class. Clip art logos generally have too many colors as well, corresponding to an earlier pitfall.

Generic/stupid mascots- A cool mascot to me is one that embraces the town’s heritage or is unique in general. Not one that sounds focused grouped or like an arena football team.

Teal- Teal sucks.

Without further adieu, here are the teams:

Anaheim Ducks – I remember when I first saw the jerseys in D2, back when the team was the Mighty Ducks. While I’m glad the team is just the Ducks now and have gotten rid of that terrible early nineties color combo of purple and teal, the current uni’s could use some work. The logo is still a bit cartoony and cheesy. However, at least Charlie Conway doesn’t have to take on the Hawks and Iceland wearing this anymore.

Atlanta Thrashers – I for a while was of the belief that the team name Thrashers was stupid. However, upon doing research I’ve learned that the Thrasher is the state bird of Georgia and was selected by the fans, so I guess that can stay. But the logo and the current jerseys got to go. The logo has too many colors for it to be effective, and it too falls into that clip arty category. The jerseys, with the word Atlanta going down one shoulder are terrible, and the person who designed them should be shot.

Boston Bruins – Any original six team automatically has a cool mascot to me. This team is a case study of why you only need two colors besides white. The simple color scheme and simple logo is all you need. Also, give the club kudos for the new alternate jerseys with the throwback logo.

Buffalo Sabres - I was glad to see they got rid of the black and red jerseys from the 90s. But the Sabres really need to go back to their old logo of the crossed swords with a buffalo in the middle. Simple, effective, with a unique color combination of blue and yellow made their old jersey a beauty. The current slug/Donald Trump’s hair logo is stupid. Also, get rid of the dumb pit stripes, and give me the jersey that Pat Lafontaine wore.

Calgary Flames – Flames is a solid name for a team, and the flaming C logo is effective as well. However, this is a classic example of black getting in the way of a perfectly fine uniform. The black pants and gloves make the club look like a house team, and the black trim is obnoxious. Go back to the red and yellow uni’s of Mike Vernon’s day (or at least give me an update). Also, maybe have some fun with the trim. Maybe have flame trim at the bottom of the jersey or on the socks.

Carolina Hurricanes – I really wish there weren’t so many weather related mascot’s in this league, but of the three I like the Hurricanes the best. The logo is really simple, and has only two colors. I could do without their current alternate jerseys. The triangle behind the logo is stupid, and the hockey stick flagpole looks dumb as well. I like where their heads at though with the hurricane flag idea for an alternate logo, but that is actually a gale flag. Tweak this a bit, put it on a red jersey, and it could work. The black jersey thing is a little played out at this point.

Chicago Blackhawks – Great mascot, great logo, great alternate logo, great jerseys, even cooler throwback jerseys, and as a Wings fan, it pains me to say this, but I think they have the best unis in the league.

Colorado Avalanche – To go from the Quebec Nordiques’s kickass unis to this ugly ass uniform was a disaster. They have maroon and blue with jerseys, maroon and blue and grey socks, but black gloves, pants, and helmets making them a victim of the house team effect and the too many colors effect. The logo is kind of clip arty as well, but at the same time I don’t have any better ideas for an avalanche logo. The trim on the jerseys really needs to be fixed up though. Maybe they could just start all over and name the team the Colorado Turtles.

Columbus Blue Jackets – I always assumed a blue jacket was a type of bumblebee, and never understood why their logo has all the stars on it. Evidently the Blue Jacket name comes from the Civil War soldiers from Ohio, which actually makes it a decent mascot if the logo reflected this. They need to make this part of the logo and embrace the civil war heritage (it would be nice to see a northern based Civil War mascot to combat the Rebels and Vols of the world). If that doesn’t work, just change the team name to the Buckeyes to fool Columbusians into showing up to the games.

Dallas Stars – Not a bad mascot, not bad colors, but it just could’ve been so much cooler. Remember, this team is descendant from one of the all time great team names in sports, the Minnesota North Stars. While I really think it was the height of stupidity for the NHL to move a team out of Minnesota, I will give Dallas its props for embracing its team and hockey as a sport. But how cool would it have been if they were the Dallas Lone Stars, not just the Stars?

Detroit Red Wings – Number two in the league for my money- a great simple logo with just two colors and a simple jersey design. This jersey just shows how less is more sometimes. All logo designers and jersey color picker outers need to pay attention to this jersey.

Edmonton Oilers – A good mascot that makes sense in the oil rich area of Edmonton. The logo has always been simple and effective to me, but I could do without the piping on their current jerseys. They changed from blue and orange to navy and burnt orange a few years back, but word on the street is that they’re wearing their old throwback unis for a few games. I think they should go back to these all the time because after all, if you won five cups in them, why change the unis?

Florida Panthers – A middle of the road mascot, and not a bad logo. The red, navy and gold color scheme is a bit busy however. Just black and white would look pretty badass if you ask me.

Los Angeles Kings – The LA Kings have a solid mascot with a solid color scheme. Purple is the color of royalty after all. The current crown logo isn’t bad, but I have to say I liked the coat of arms logo they just changed from a little bit better.

Minnesota Wild – This team name sort of prompted this column. What the fuck is a Wild? Evidently it’s some saber tooth tiger shaped thing with trees on it, which looks eerily similar to the Nashville logo. They should’ve gone with the Minnesota Fighting Saints as a tribute to the WHA team, or furthermore stuck it to Dallas for moving by calling the team the North Stars. Anything but the Wild- it sounds like an Arena Football League team. Once again, there are two many colors and too much crap going on in the logo. Get rid of the gold, change the logo, and change the team name. However, the Wild’s success (every single game sold out) despite their atrocious logo and sometimes lackluster play on the ice illustrates the need for the league to put teams in hockey cities, and further proves my theory from my last post.

Montreal Canadiens – Great team name, great logo, great sweater, no further discussion or links needed.

Nashville Predators – Predators isn’t a bad mascot, but it’s very generic. Once again I wish the league did a better job of embracing a city’s culture and was more creative with the team mascot. Nashville is known for its music, so the Nashville Musicians or something along those lines would’ve been pretty cool. The uniform is a bit busy for my tastes, and I won’t even bother providing a link to the deplorable alternate jersey.

New Jersey Devils – This club made a wise decision changing its colors from green and red to black and red. The Christmas decorations ensemble did not look very tough, and was kind of contradictory to naming the club the Devils. The logo is actually deceptively cool. The NJ with the stylized horns and tail is simple but nicely done.

NY Islanders – This is one of the cooler team names in the league. Jets, Mets, and Islanders fans are generally Long Island folks, so the team name and the logo really embraces the community. There was a brief period where the club fell victim to the teal craze of the nineties, but now their unis are for the most part back on track. Once again, the uniform is a little busy with the lines on the shoulders, but I can live with that. The Chevron patch on the shoulder representing the club's four Stanley Cups is really cool. In any event, I guess a solid uniform still does not prevent you from signing Alexei Yashin to a terrible contract.

NY Rangers – Once again it’s an Original Six team, so of course the unis and the team name are cool. The classic Rangers script across the front of the sweater hasn’t been changed in years, and it doesn’t need to be. The alternate sweater has to go though. A marquis franchise with classic uniforms should not have to resort to selling alternate jerseys. Also, extra kudos for pulling off the collar laces so well.

Ottawa Senators – The league had the right idea for this club by reviving the Senators mascot from back in the day. The color scheme of red and black works well, and I liked the original logo as well. While technically speaking the logo is of a Centurion, not a Senator, it still fits and was a good logo. The new logo is a bit cartoony to me. Also, once again the pit stripes have got to go. A team with an old school crest and an old school history deserves a simple straightforward jersey. This old bumblebee sweater isn’t have bad either.

Philadelphia Flyers – The logo and the mascot are classics. They’re original and name rolls off the tongue because it features alliteration. I have one request- go back to the orange jerseys. The black jersey is very played out, and the orange was sharp and unique– very few clubs in any sport have orange jerseys. Plus you can’t see the black logo on the black background.

Phoenix Coyotes – While I do mind hockey in Phoenix, I do not mind the mascot or the team colors. The Coyotes wisely changed their color scheme from black, green, red, tan, and a bunch of other colors on the crest to a simple dark red and white. The logo is also much simpler and better. This may come as a surprise thought but I actually liked their old Native American style trim on the old sweater (just the trim though). I thought it was unique to the team and a cool tribute to the Native population in the area. This sweater also fell victim to the RBK edge uniform though by losing its bottom of the jersey trim. Fix that, and you got a really cool jersey, but I would rather this team move back to Winnipeg.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Pittsburgh has a cool thing going with all their clubs being black and gold in color scheme, in tribute to the City of Pittsburgh’s flag. This club did a terrible thing when they got rid of the skating penguin logo for the more streamlined flying penguin logo with the stripes. Just like how Pat the Patriot is cooler than the Flying Elvis logo that the Patriots use on their helmets now, the skating penguin was better and needed to come back. It’s back, but the Penguin’s gold isn’t the yellow gold it used to be. They should go back to those colors to match the Steelers and Pirates, and add some trim at the bottom of the jersey.

San Jose Sharks – You can thank this team for kicking off the teal craze of the nineties. I loved seeing my beloved Pistons where teal. Thanks.

St. Louis Blues – One of the coolest and most unique mascots in all of sports. This team and the former New Orleans Jazz are the only two big league clubs named after a type of music. With their current sweater, they have shades of navy and royal blue. Pick a shade of blue, and stick with it. Also, maybe use those alternate jerseys with the Gateway Arch on the crest full time.

Tampa Bay Lightning – The last of the weather related mascot clubs in the league. Not a terrible name, but not that good of one. It would have been really cool to me if they did some sort of cigar related theme with Tampa being nicknamed Cigar City, but I guess that wouldn’t fly in this day and age. The logo itself is a little clip arty again, and I could do without the lightning bolts on the pants, but I can live with it. What I’m really pumped for is the new alternate sweater, which is blue instead of black, and features a script bolts across the chest like the Rangers jerseys. Nicknames and abbreviations on jerseys are always cool to me, and I like this jersey a lot.

Toronto Maple Leafs – A great mascot that is unique to hockey, a simple two color scheme (or should I say colour scheme), and a simple jersey. Simply timeless and classic, and no links required.

Vancouver Canucks – Every league has one I guess, Oregon in NCAA football, the Houston Astros in MLB, and of course the Vancouver Canucks in hockey. They have gone through more ugly uniforms than any other team in the league, and still haven’t gotten it right. The notorious V stripes, the Star Wars/spaghetti bowl/flying skate logo, the atrocious orca logo, and now back to the hockey rink logo with the atrocious orca logo with a script Vancouver over the top. This club just doesn’t get it, but they should go back to the ugly V stripe sweaters. At least those were so bad they were good. You Google the Canucks unis on your own- I’m getting lazy and I don’t want to find twenty links to all of their god-awful jerseys. By far and away the worst unis in the league.

Washington – I always liked the pick of Capitals as the team mascot- a solid nod to the team’s hometown. For the new Rbk unis, they did a really nice update of their old sweaters. The pit stripes for whatever reason look good on this sweater, and the team was wise enough to add some trim at the bottom of the jersey, which really makes them look like game jerseys, not practice jerseys. I think on this particular entry I proved that I am not a complete curmudgeon when it comes to jerseys.

While it was fun for me to come up with all the links and bullshit about all the unis/team names in the league, at the end of the day this series of entries is about the business end of the NHL. Strong mascot choices and merchandise sales are good business, and the league has done a poor job of making these choices over the years. Some choices have been missed opportunities, and some have been flat out awful. However, this is also one of the easiest things the league can fix. My next article will cover the league’s exposure on TV and marketing, which will be critical to the league’s future success.

Detroit Tigers 2009 Wish List: Part 5

2008-10-20T20:09:00.002-05:00

To finish up the Detroit Tigers’ shopping list, we consider the situation in the bullpen:

Bullpen
Personally, I would give the lack of starting pitching the most blame for the 2008 debacle, but the bullpen certainly deserves its fair share. Coming off of last year’s seemingly successful off-season, the one area that the fans and pundits were still critical of was the Tigers’ bullpen. Dave Dombrowski chose to stick with what he had and count on Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya to regain their 2006 form, rather than chase after free agent relievers. In retrospect, it looks like Dombrowski was crazy, but I really do see why he did what he did. More than any other position in sports, relief pitcher is an absolute crapshoot. It is incredibly hard to determine what a reliever will do from year to year. I mean, if these guys were consistently good pitchers, they would be starting or closing (which I will address later). So I understand why Dombrowski chose not to waste prospects and money chasing after guys who might not pan out. But it has become plainly obvious that the game has changed and a great bullpen is an absolute necessity for a team that wants to make a World Series run. Needless to say, standing pat will not be acceptable in this off-season.

In House:
The usual suspects here are obviously Zumaya and Rodney. Both have electric stuff, but both have trouble staying on the field. Both can dominate, but both also struggle to throw strikes consistently. Both were brilliant and 2006, but both were awful in 2007. All that said, Zumaya and Rodney still have terrific arms and certainly deserve a shot to earn their place in the Tiger’s pen. Beyond that, it’s wide open. The Tigers have a few lefties (Casey Fossum, Macay McBride, Bobby Seay) and a few righties (Aquilino Lopez, Gary Glover, Virgil Vasquez) that are really nothing special. Out of these, only Seay is a guy that I would really like to see back on the team next year. Kyle Farnsworth is a free agent, but I really don’t foresee him wanting to come back to Detroit, so I think it would be best for the Tigers to let him walk. Beyond Rodney and Zumaya, there is really only one pitcher from the 2007 version of the Tigers’ bullpen that I would like to see come back. Freddy Dolsi. Dude has the potential to be lights out. This might not be the best comparison, because I will advise against going after this player in the next paragraph, but Dolsi reminds me of Frankie Rodriguez. He wants the ball in big situations and he usually delivers in those situations. Dolsi handed out too many free passes last season, but once he starts to harness his electric stuff, those walks will start to turn into strikeouts. One important stat to consider with Dolsi, right-hander batters hit only .215 against him last season. If Dolsi can cut down on the walks, and I believe that he can, he will be a lights-out setup man for the Tigers next season.

On the Market:
First of all, let me say that I was elated to hear Dave Dombrowski say that the Tigers would not pursue Frankie Rodriguez in free agency. Closer is by far the most overrated position in baseball and saves are by far the most overhyped stat. Anybody who plays fantasy baseball knows, closers are a dime a dozen, so there is no need to shell out millions of dollars for a guy because he racked up a few saves. Do you need somebody with good stuff to shut the door in the 9th? Definitely. But that doesn’t make it necessary to break the bank. Rodriguez, Jason Isringhausen, and Brian Fuentes lead the list of free agent closers, but I would not recommend that the Tigers pursue any of these players. As much as Tiger fans hated Todd Jones, The Rollercoaster was a perfect closer. He had the mental stability to get the final three outs, and opened the door for Joel Zumaya to play the most important role in the bullpen: Fireman. One of the reasons that Tigers’ bullpen was so great in 2006 was that their best pitcher, Zumaya, was not stuck in the 9th inning. Jim Leyland was free to use him the situations where he needed his best reliever. I will save my rant on the stupidity of bullpen management for another time, but suffice it to say that I don’t think the best pitcher in the bullpen should not be the closer. Given that, I have a list of non-closers that I think would fit well in the Tigers’ pen next season: Juan Cruz is a flamethrower who has posted a K/9’s above 12 in the past two seasons. A great reliever has to be able to get a strikeout in a tight situation and Cruz can most certainly do that. Cruz should be the Tigers’ #1 target. After Cruz, Guillermo Mota, Dennys Reyes, and Bobby Howry are solid options, but I would rather that that Tigers didn’t overpay for any relievers other than Cruz.

Let's Make a Deal:
I really don’t advocate trading for relievers, given that their skills tend to fluctuate so much from year to year. There might be some low-level deals available, but the Tigers shouldn’t pursue anything major.

Pie in the Sky:
Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney return to form, Freddy Dolsi makes the leap to stardom, and the Tigers sign Juan Cruz.

Down to Earth:
Zumaya and Rodney are occasionally effective, Dolsi is better, but still erratic, and the Tigers overpay for a few veteran relievers to fill out the ranks.

Final Word:
Here’s what the Tigers need to do. Build a bullpen full of as many good arms as possible, let the pitchers earn their roles. Make no promises, give everybody a shot in Spring Training, and let the chips fall where they may. Not everybody is going to pan out, but all Dombrowski can do is line up the best collection of talent that he can and hope that he guesses right enough for his bullpen to be successful. There is no established closer on my list, so at this point, I am going to consider the Tigers a closer-by-committee team, which I think would serve them best. Here’s where I hope the bullpen ends up:

MR: Aquilino Lopez
MR: Clay Rapada
MR: Bobby Seay
SU: Freddy Dolsi
SU/CL: Fernando Rodney
SU/CL: Joel Zumaya
SU/CL: Juan Cruz

Detroit Tigers 2009 Wish List: Part 4

2008-10-20T18:17:00.002-05:00

Another edition of the Tigers' wish list for 2009:

The Rotation
Thought by many to be a strength coming off of the 2006 World Series run, the starting rotation proved to be the Tigers’ undoing in 2008. It cost the Tigers the division and cost pitching coach Chuck Hernandez his job. Justin Verlander, thought to be the ace of the staff and guaranteed at least 15 wins, struggled throughout the season. JV was hurting, but the rest of the rotation was crippled. Jeremy Bonderman went down with a mysterious injury, Dontrelle Willis lost his command (and possibly his mind along with it), Kenny Rogers continued to show his age, and Nate Robertson was well…Nate Robertson. Armando Galarraga was the lone bright spot. Coming out of nowhere to become the best pitcher on the staff. For next year, I am penciling in Verlander, Bonderman, and Galarraga as locks to make the rotation. The rest of this post will deal with the other two spots.

In House:
The Tigers have plenty of options in house, but many of them are just not every good. One quick note on Bonderman, I have him in the rotation on the assumption that he is healthy for the start of Spring Training. If this is not the case, I have no problem with the Tigers looking at other options for that spot. Anyway, on to the other options. Nate Robertson is a fan favorite and is personally a guy that I would really like to see succeed…but I just don’t see it happening. Robertson does not have the kind of consistent stuff to get Major League hitters out every fifth day. I’m sure that Dave Dombrowski has considered shopping Robertson, but he just doesn’t have a whole lot of value on the trade market. I think it would be best for both parties if Robertson was traded, but unless Robertson can be a throw-in in a larger deal, there is a very good chance that he will be back with the Tigers next season. Either way, I don’t think that Robertson will be able to stick in the rotation. Kenny Rogers is another holdover from 2006 who had a very disappointing 2008. Rogers is a free agent this season and the Tigers could probably re-sign him on the cheap, but I am hoping that Dombrowski just lets him walk. All in all, The Gambler has been solid for the Tigers, but he has reached a point in his career where he is just not capable of doing his job well enough to warrant a spot in a Major League rotation. Dontrelle Willis would have been a great story, but at this point, he barely deserves a mention in the post. Yes, he had Cy Young stuff in the past, but when you are walking upwards of 5 batters per 9 innings, it doesn’t matter how good your stuff is, you’re just not going to succeed. If Dontrelle can straighten his control out, he is definitely in the mix for a rotation spot, but I am not going to count on that happening. For now, I have him penciled in as the ace of the Toledo Mudhens. To me, the most interesting pitcher from the Tigers rotation last year is Zach Miner. Early in the season, he worked out of the bullpen and showed a fastball in the mid-to-high 90’s, something that he hadn’t shown before. He was fairly successful in a setup role, but was even more successful when he transitioned to starting. Part of me thinks that Miner would be more valuable to the Tigers coming out of the pen, but part of me would really like to see what he can do if given the opportunity to start the season as a starter. I could go either way on Miner, but no matter where he is, I think he will be very effective for the Tigers in 2009. Freddy Garcia showed some promise as a late season addition, but when you have been out of the league for over a year, it’s not surprising that hitters were having some trouble figuring him out. Garcia is a free agent and has the potential to be solid for the Tigers if they choose to re-sign him, but like Willis, I am not counting on him to do anything. There are a few pitching prospects in the Tigers’ system with some promise, most notably Rick Porcello, but I don’t see any of them being an immediate factor in the 2009 rotation.

On the Market:
There are a myriad of starters on the free agent market, but a few in particular that I would like to see the Tigers investigate. Obviously, if the Tigers can get in the running for CC Sabathia, he would be a fantastic addition to the rotation, but I think his lawyers might already be negotiating his $200 million contract with the Yankees. Oliver Perez is a longshot, but it would be phenomenal if Dombrowski could lure him to Detroit. Perez is only 27 and seems to have overcome his control issues for good. If he chooses to opt out of his contract, and he almost certainly will, AJ Burnett would also be a target for the Tigers. Burnett has proved time and again that he has the stuff of an ace, but has also proved that he has the durability of an 85 year-old. If Mike Illitch is willing to put up the cash, I think that Burnett is a risk worth taking, but if not, I would completely understand. Along the same lines, Ben Sheets would be a great fit for the Tigers, but there is substantial injury risk. Sheets has Cy Young stuff when healthy and if I were running the show, he would be my top target this offseason. The Tigers have a realistic shot at getting him and he could really help to take pressure off of Justin Verlander at the top of the rotation. There are some solid veterans that could interest the Tigers (Paul Byrd, Derek Lowe, Ryan Dempster, etc.) but I don’t think that Dombrowski will make the mistake of overpaying for any of these guys. The one player that seems to be flying under the radar is Sergio Mitre. He was highly regarded coming up through the Marlins system, but has been cast off after undergoing Tommy John surgery. There is certainly a high risk of failure with Mitre, but considering that he will come on the cheap, there’s no harm in signing him to a one-year deal and seeing what he can do in the Spring.

Let's Make a Deal:
Again, the Tigers just don’t have enough in their farm system to make a big deal, especially for starting pitching. Established starting pitchers tend to command inflated prices on the trade market and I would rather see the Tigers stand pat then deplete their farm system further to trade for a starter. Unless a great, unforeseen deal comes along at the Winter Meetings, I think that the Tigers will have to address the starting rotation mostly through free agency.

Pie in the Sky:
The Tigers sign Oliver Perez and Ben Sheets to fill out the starting rotation. Jeremy Bonderman comes back healthy, Verlander regains his form from ’06-07, and Armando Galarraga continues his improbably rise to dominance.

Down to Earth:
The Tigers sign Sheets and Zach Miner steps in the fill the 5th spot in the rotation. Bonderman struggles to come back from inury, Galarraga comes back down to earth, and Verlander wins 14 games…but loses 13.

Final Word:
I think that it is an absolute necessity for the Tigers to sign Sheets, Perez or Burnett. Assuming that they are able to get one of those three, Zach Miner is ready to step in to the fifth spot, but also ready to step into the bullpen if Willis is able to turn it around. Bonderman will get healthy, Galarraga will be solid and Verlander will show that he really is an ace in the making. Here is what I think the rotation will ultimately look like for 2009:

1. Ben Sheets
2. Justin Verlander
3. Jeremy Bonderman
4. Armando Galarraga
5. Zach Miner

On Deck: The Bullpen

Detroit Tigers 2009 Wish List: Part 3

2008-10-20T18:15:00.002-05:00

Another edition of the Tigers' wish list for 2009:

Left Field
Gary Sheffield, Jacque Jones, Marcus Thames, Clete Thomas, Matt Joyce...The Tigs tried quite a few options in left field in 2008, but no player really took ownership of the position. The one trait that was overlooked in most of these players was defense. Curtis Granderson is a great centerfielder; he is fantastic at covering up the mistakes of his corner outfielders, but he can't cover up for both sides. Magglio Ordonez is serviceable as a rightfielder, but having Granderson to his right certainly cuts down on Ordonez's defensive responsibilities. Since Ordonez probably isn't going anywhere soon (quick note: I do not advocate trading him this winter), the Tigers need a leftfielder who is not a liability in the cavernous confines of Comerica Park. A gold glove is certainly not a prerequisite, but Manny Ramirez-like defense isn't going to cut it. Much like shortstop, the Tigers should eschew the glamour stats in their search for a leftfielder and instead look for a solid all-around player.

In House:
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, the Tigers already have quite a few options available in left field. First off, Gary Sheffield is not one of those options. At this point in his career, Sheff is simply not capable of playing anywhere in the outfield. Quite frankly, I don't believe he is capable of doing anything at the major league level. This is not likely to happen, but I would like to see Dave Dombrowski bite the financial bullet and just cut Sheffield loose. At this point, his presence is going to hurt the team more than it will help it, both in the clubhouse and on the field. As for the more likely in-house options, Marcus Thames is a name that tends to come up pretty often, but as much as people want to give Thames the opportunity to prove himself, I believe he has already proven exactly what kind of player he is. Thames has great power, but is not consistent enough at the plate or in the field to be an everyday player. I would love to see the Tigers ship Thames to the National League, where he would be perfect as a source of power off the bench. The Padres come to mind as a perfect partner, with their deep bullpen and lack of power hitting. I think the ideal result for both parties would be for the Tigers to send Thames to the Padres for a reliever, maybe Cla Meredith or Clay Hensley, but regardless of whether Thames can be traded, I do not see him as a viable option in left. Perhaps the most intriguing in-house option is Carlos Guillen. There has been talk of Guillen moving out to left field, with Sheffield staying at DH. I have already stated by views about Mr. Sheffield, so no need to rehash that. Needless to say, I think that Guillen would be a much better option at DH. Truth be told, I think that Guillen would be a devastating force as a designated hitter. DHing would preserve Guillen's knees and maybe even allow him to flash a bit of speed on the basepaths. As a hitter, Carlos is perfectly suited for Comerica Park, but as a defender, Guillen has become a liability and a move to leftfield would only amplify Guillen's struggles. Beyond those veteran options, there are a few youngsters that have shown some real promise for Detroit. The oldest of the young guns is Ryan Raburn. He has proven himself to be a solid major leaguer, but he has been so effective as a utilityman that I would be hesitant to move him out of that role. Matt Joyce showed prodigious power after a mid-summer call-up, doing his best Magglio Ordonez impression while patrolling right field. With Ordonez cemented into the lineup, Joyce moved over to left on many nights, showing decent skills in the outfield and continuing to showcase his pop at the plate. Clete Thomas, another youngster, came out of nowhere to make the team out of Spring Training and filled in admirably for Granderson in centerfield, so admirably in fact, that he gained some additional playing time in left as the season went on. Thomas plays great defense and is a scrappy hitter with a little bit of speed. All told, there are plenty of in-house options to fill the void in left field, but no player has really separated himself from the pack at this point.

On the Market:
Obviously, Manny Ramirez is the star of the 2009 free agent class, but he is not a fit for the Tigers, nor are the Tigers a fit for him. Adam Dunn, the next biggest name in left, is an even worse fit for the Tigers. Moving on down the list, there are even more slugging leftfielders that aren't exactly famous for flashing the leather. Pat Burrell, Luis Gonzalez and Wily Mo Pena are not viable options here. The only available player that really entices me is Juan Rivera. The odd man out in a crowded Angels outfield, Rivera will almost certainly be testing the waters in free agency. Like Thames, Rivera has never proved himself over an entire season, but in the two seasons in which he played more than 125 games, he posted OPS's of .829 and .887, respectively, the highest of his career. Rivera has some power, but is more of a gap-to-gap hitter, perfect for the capacious outfield of Comerica Park. A solid defender and a good contact hitter, Rivera would be a perfect fit for the Tigers.

Let's Make a Deal:
Similar to the situation at shortstop, there aren't a whole lot of options on the trade market, given the Tigers' depleted farm system. But one player that I would like to see the Tigers make a run at is Endy Chavez. The Mets might be willing to move him, with the late-season emergence of Daniel Murphy, and Chavez would bring some much needed speed to the Tigers lineup, as well as terrific defense in left field. Although I am not in a hurry to see this particular player traded, Zach Miner could be enough to pry Chavez away from the Mets. Along the same lines, Juan Pierre could be on his way out of Los Angeles if the Dodgers are able to re-sign Manny, but he would likely command a higher price than the Tiger would be willing to pay (rightfully so). Overall, a trade here is not likely, but if it does happen, Chavez would be a great fit.

Pie in the Sky:
Clete Thomas turns in a Dustin Pedroia-like season and becomes the glue guy that the Tigers need in left. The Tigers trade Marcus Thames to the Padres for a reliever named Cla(y).

Down to Earth:
The Tigers refuse to part with Gary Sheffield and move Carlos Guillen out to left field, platooning him with Thames and Sheffield between the leftifeld and DH roles.

Final Word:
I would love to see either Thomas or Joyce take this job and run with it, but I think the safer bet would be to go after Rivera in free agency. There is a strong possibility that Rivera will be a forgotten man this winter, lost in a good crop of big name free agent outfielders. This should help the Tigers to get him a a fair price and lock him in long-term. Given their depth with the youngsters in the outfield, I think trading Thames would be a great complement to signing Rivera.

On Deck: The Rotation

Detroit Tigers 2009 Wish List: Part 2

2008-10-18T20:57:00.002-05:00

Continuing on with the Tigers rebuilding plan (Yes We Can!), we run down the shopping list at shortstop:

Shortstop
The Tigers thought they had shored up this position with last year's acquisition of Edgar Renteria, but that obviously has not been the case. Renteria had an even worse year than his numbers would indicate, given that he played his best baseball after the Tigers were well out of the divisional race. But every cloud has a silver lining, and the silver lining here is that the Renteria debacle has reminded Dave Dombrowski of the paramount importance of having a good defensive shortstop. Renteria's lack of range dragged down the entire defense and crippled the Tigers' pitching staff. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Renteria was the sole reason for the embarrassing 2008 season, but he was certainly a key contributor. Renteria was an antiquated player with declining skills who could not perform the duties of a Major League shortstop in this era of baseball. As the power hitting phase of the late 90's has subsided, shortstop has returned to a position where speed and defense are most important. Hopefully, the Tigers brass will remember this as the begin the search for their 2009 shortstop.

In House:
Ramon Santiago is a very interesting player for this team. He showed a much improved stroke this season, posting a .282 batting average and, even more impressively, a career-high .460 slugging percentage in limited duty. Santagio has terrific range short and a solid throwing arm. He has become much more consistent offensively over the past couple of years. Santiago is not going to win any individual awards, but he is just the kind of grinder that the Tigers were missing this season. He plays good defense, holds his own at the plate, and can occasionally provide a bit of speed of the basepaths. If given that chance to play every day, I think Santiago could post a line somewhere in the neighborhood of .275 BA, 85 R, 8 HR, 45 RBI, 8 SB at the plate, but most importantly, he would shore up the Tigers' defense up the middle. Santiago has been a backup for most of his career, but is definitely a viable option for the Tigers, and just might be exactly what they need.
The Tigers do have prospects at shortstop, Cale Iorg, Michael Hollimon, and Danny Worth to name a few. It would be fantastic if any of these guys could step up and grab the position, but I just don't see it happening.

On the Market:
There is one name available that stands out above all others: Rafael Furcal. Great range, cannon arm, blazing speed....creaky back. If not for the Renteria disaster last year, I might recommend taking a shot at Furcal, but at this point I really don't think that it is worth the risk. I wouldn't be completely opposed to this move, I just think that Mike Illitch's money could be better spent elsewhere. Beyond Furcal, there aren't really any exciting options on the free agent market. Cesar Izturis or Adam Everett could stabilize the defense, but neither player provides any upside at the plate.

Let's Make a Deal:
I'm going to be honest here, there is not a deal out there for the Tigers. There just aren't enough prospects in the system for the Tigers to pry a starting shortstop away from any other team. The Tigers can't reach here, they need to let their system reload.

Pie in the Sky:
Cale Iorg earns the job in spring training and turns into the second coming of Troy Tulowtizki.

Down to Earth:
Tigers stand pat and start Ramon Santiago at shortstop.

Final Word:
I think sticking with Santiago is the right choice in this situation.

On Deck: Left Field

Detroit Tigers 2009 Wish List: Part 1

2008-10-16T09:39:00.001-05:00

The Tigers were embarrassing this season, but I have faith. Dave Dombrowski will realize now that in order to win in the Majors, you have to build a baseball team...not a softball team. Unfortunately, due to his spending spree last off-season, Dombrowski doesn't have a whole lot in the way of trade bait. This is my attempt to make a shopping list for Mr. Dombrowski. This list will tackle only the positions that are up for grabs, so First Base (Miguel Cabrera), Second Base (Placido Polanco), Center Field (Curtis Granderson), Right Field (Magglio Ordonez), and 3 Starting Pitchers (Justin Verlander, Armando Galarraga, and Jeremy Bonderman) will not be covered in this space. I will propose a trade or two in this shopping list, but the Tigers will mostly have to look to their farm system and the free agent market. As Kurt Russell said, on behalf of Herb Brooks, in Miracle, "I'm not looking for the best players, I'm looking for the right ones." In my humble opinion, these are the right ones:

Catcher
We start out with a curveball, perhaps the most overlooked position on the field. Catcher is the one position, more than any other, where intangibles can outweigh the stat sheet and the one position that will be the toughest to fill in the off-season.

In House:
Brandon Inge has made it quite clear that he is not the answer behind the plate. He doesn't want to be there, and at this point, the Tigers don't want him there either. Dane Sardinha does not belong on a Major League roster. Dusty Ryan could be a nice player down the road, but he is not ready for a starting job at this point.

On the Market:
The pickings here are pretty slim. If Randy Smith was the GM, I would assume that Brad Ausmus would be on his way to Detroit, but since someone with an IQ over 40 is now running the team, I don't have to worry about that. Pudge Rodriguez is available...maybe we can throw back Kyle Farnsworth. Realistically, the most intriguing free agent option is Michael Barrett. He has proven that he can be a starting catcher in the past, but his career has taken a 180 ever since he socked Carlos Zambrano in the Cubs dugout. Barrett is by no means an ideal option for the Tigers, but he could give them a little bit of offense, not to mention the chance of him punching out AJ Pierzynski again. Other than Barrett, Johnny Estrada is also mildly interesting, but there really isn't much here.

Let's Make a Deal:
This would be the ideal solution for the catcher dilemma. The Texas Rangers, who are absolutely stacked at catcher, would be the ideal trade partner. Gerald Laird, Max Ramirez, Taylor Teagarden, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia can't all fit behind the plate at the same time. Ramirez and Teagarden have the best futures of the bunch, so those two are probably off-limits. Token offers will be made, but I don't think the Rangers will be listening. Laird will almost certainly be traded this off-season, so he is a likely target, but if I were Dombrowski, I would first set my sights on the man they call Salty. It had been rumored the Saltalamacchia, who is 6'4", would eventually move to first base, but with the way Chris Davis and Hank Blalock performed in the second half of the season, combined with Saltalamacchia's struggles in the first half of the season, it seems that the Rangers might be set at the corner infield spots for the forseeable future. This make Saltalamacchia expendable. The problem here is that the Rangers will almost certainly want pitching in return for a catcher, whether it is Laird or Saltalamacchia, so Marcus Thames, the most likely trade target for Detroit, isn't really an option here. For Laird, somebody like Zach Miner might be enough, but if Saltalamacchia is the target, it's going to take somebody with a bit more pizazz. How about Joel Zumaya? At this point, there are very few untouchables on the Tigers big league roster and Zumaya is not one of them. (For the record, the untouchables are Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, Justin Verlander, and Placido Polanco, in that order) Zumaya for Saltalamacchia would give the Rangers a great arm and give the Tigers a catcher to build around for the next 10 years. This trade would be by no means a slam dunk, but a swap of disappointing, yet promising prospects would make sense for both teams. I realize that the bullpen is a huge area of need for the Tigers and that trading from a weakness is not normally a good idea, but until I see differently, I don't think that Zumaya can stay healthy enough to help the Tigers bullpen. I hate to give up on a guy with a supersonic heater, but I think this trade would be a risk worth taking.

Pie in the Sky:
Tigers trade Joel Zumaya to Texas Rangers for Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Down to Earth:
Tigers trade some combination of Zach Miner, Marcus Thames, Nate Robertson, or pitching prospects not named Rick Porcello to Texas Rangers for Gerald Laird.

Final Word:
I don't think that the Tigers 2009 starting catcher is on the roster right now. Dusty Ryan as the starter wouldn't be a disaster, but it would certainly be a disappointment. Laird could be a nice fit, and would solidify the position, but I would love to see Dombrowski take a shot with Saltamacchia.

On Deck: Shortstop

If I Ran the NHL

2008-10-16T01:39:00.001-05:00

By Pete McGrath

As a hockey fan, I will always watch my beloved Detroit Red Wings. However, the NHL still has its problems. This will be an ongoing series of my proposals for building a stronger NHL.

League Alignment/Team Locations

The NHL has made some questionable team location calls over the years. Cities that have a large hockey friendly populations (Minnesota’s twin cities, Quebec, Hartford, and Winnipeg) lost their teams. The league moved or added expansion franchises in many places with no snow and no history of ice hockey, and small cities at that. Here is my team-by-team analysis of which clubs need to move, and where they should go.

Columbus-

Ohio is not really a hockey state. Despite being up north, despite being close to Hockey loving cities like Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Detroit, folks in Ohio pretty much think about football and the Buckeyes all the time. However, what really makes no sense about the Blue Jackets is putting it in a city with so much sports competition already there. Columbus is the home of The Ohio State University. OSU has a huge football program, and pretty high profile Hockey and Basketball programs all competing during the NHL’s season. Only the Bruins have more in city competition for Hockey fans dollars, and Boston has a much larger hockey fan base, and the Bruins have a much longer tradition. Columbus as a location was always a stumper for me.

Atlanta-

Atlanta is a terrible sports city. I think it has something to do with a lot of people recently moving there. People didn’t grow up Atlanta fans, so they really haven’t embraced any of their teams. The Braves have empty seats during the playoffs for crying out loud. The Thrashers need to be in a city that will truly embrace them, and Atlanta is not that city.

Florida-

Miami is a city that only cares about the Dolphins, and football in general. Sure people showed up for the Heat when Shaq was in town, but you could tell that the American Airlines center was packed with fair-weather fans. People in Miami can go to the beach, go to the club, go to fashion show, and if they do want to see sports, it’s football they want to see. In any event, the state of Florida does not need two hockey teams.

Nashville-

Nashville has fielded some decent teams over the past couple years. However, filling up their arena has been an uphill battle for the Predators. Nashville is a relatively small metro area with very little hockey history, and it shows. To be honest, I don’t see why the team was put here in the first place. There are lots of bigger metro areas with more hockey interest, and with better arenas that would have made more sense.

Anaheim/Los Angeles-

The Los Angeles metro area does not need two hockey teams. Los Angeles is not a good sports town. Dodger fans are known for showing up late and leaving early. If So Cal really cared about sports, wouldn’t they have an NFL team by now? Here’s the tough part- which team to move? Anaheim has had some success, but I highly doubt that anyone in Anaheim really cares. The Kings are the team that needs to stay in town. They play downtown at the Staples Center, and if they were halfway decent they could be somewhat of a glamour franchise of the league, much like the Lakers are for the NBA. While the NHL needs to have a presence in this market, they do not need two.

Phoenix-

The Coyotes have not really caught on in Phoenix, as with the rest of the clubs in town. Phoenix is seemingly western version of Atlanta- a growing city where no one is actually from there. Maybe people care about the Suns, but I doubt anyone gives a shit about the other teams. Hockey in the desert is just a stupid idea, and the club’s abysmal attendance record over the years makes the evidence very clear.

Carolina-

I never really understood this move. Hartford to Carolina seemed like a lateral if not a downgrade of a move by owner Peter Karmanos. To go from one small city in the North where it snows and people actually care about hockey to another small city in the South where people do not care about hockey (or know what it is) was a bit of a stumper to me. Carolina has hovered in the bottom half, usually the bottom third of league attendance even though the team brought home a cup. This points to a team that should relocate.

Where to?

Winnipeg-

A new arena downtown, a rabid and starved hockey fan base, and it’s in Canada where people actually care about hockey. If you ever saw the white outs the Jets fans pulled off in the playoffs, you knew this town loved its team. It has the arena now, so give them a shot. Phoenix had their chance and they blew it. Give Winnipeg their Jets back.

Hamilton-

Another city in Canada that would be a great fit for a big league club is Hamilton. While it’s close to Buffalo and Toronto, Hamiltonians used to have an NHL club way back in the day, and would assuredly embrace another if it moved to town. Once again while it’s a smaller area, it is in Canada where hockey is king and faces competition from no other sports. The arena would need renovation, but that wouldn’t be a problem here.

Cleveland-

If keeping a team in Ohio, Cleveland would be a better location because it is a bigger metropolitan area and would be more receptive to a professional club. Natural rivalries could be created with Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Buffalo. Also, this old Cleveland Barons logo is pretty cool. Perhaps an arrangement could be worked out where they play a few home games in Columbus and Cincinnati, much like the Packers playing a few home games in Milwaukee, which was successful in making the Packers not just Green Bay’s team but Wisconsin’s team. The Cleveland Barons need to become Ohio’s team, but they will always be second fiddle in Columbus to the Buckeyes. A nice arena in downtown Cleveland doesn’t hurt either.

Houston-

This may seem like a stupid idea to some, but hear me out. While Houston Texas is not exactly a hockey hotbed, Houston is actually a big city. If trying to expand the footprint of the league to cities that are not traditional hockey markets, they should at least be big markets. Houston is a large metro area full of cash and sponsorship opportunities from oil companies, and a nice arena is already in place. An interstate rivalry with Dallas could and should spring up. Name suggestions: Houston Aeros, the name of the current AHL team and former WHA team.

Portland-

Portland is an affluent, growing metro area with only one other professional team in town. Portland is not located in the middle of a desert. While town residents were weary of building a new stadium for a potential Florida Marlins move, it has an arena currently in place. This arena also has a cool name- the Rose Garden. Not a lot of people know this, but the Portland Rosebuds were the first American hockey team to compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup in 1915. Portland Rosebuds would be a cool name for the current team as well, as I think it would be nice to see a new team without some sort of stupid animal logo or natural disaster motif.

Seattle-

Seattle as a city gets a bad wrap. Many a columnist, including S.I.’s Rick Reilly, mailed in a “Seattle is a town of wine and latte drinking, Volvo driving, smug elitists especially up against blue collar archetype Pittsburgh” type column. But look at the music this town has given us – Jimi Hendrix (the best to ever pick a guitar up), Alice in Chains, Heart, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Duff McKagan of Guns’n’Roses, among many others. A town that rocks this hard would enjoy a hockey team, especially after the Sonics took off for Oklahoma City. Maybe Key Arena isn’t perfect, but within a few years, Seattle would probably be willing to renovate or build a new one. Another brief history lesson- while the Portland Rosebuds were the first American club to compete for the Stanley Cup, the Seattle Metropolitans a year later in the 1916 were the first American team to win it. One last bit of advice- try to get Bill Gates to own the team.

Kansas City-

Hockey tried and failed once in K.C. in the form of the Kansas City Scouts. While it didn’t work out in the seventies, Kansas City deserves another chance. Kansas City is a good sports town, with Arrowhead Stadium known for being one of the NFL’s loudest. I’m sure when the Royals were halfway decent, people showed up at Kauffman Stadium too. Anyway, the Sprint Center has been built downtown and the city does not have a tenant. This means any team that wishes to become the new Kansas City Scouts (please stick with that name) can hammer out a sweetheart lease, which is pivotal to any franchise’s success. Also, since there are no hoops teams in K.C., the hockey team will have winter sports options all to itself.
Thanks for reading. My next entry will be on team names/logos/jerseys and come with a ranking of NHL uniforms.