Saturday, May 31, 2008

Piston fans need to stop blaming coaches!!!

After the Detroit Pistons fell in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third straight year, the cries for Flip Saunders head have already begun.
I agree that changes need to be made, except the coach (at this point) is not one of them. This core of Piston players have choked for 3 straight seasons, losing after boasting that they are the most battle tested team and the most experienced and prepared to battle in the playoffs. Alot of good that has done.
Here are the changes that NEED to be made.......

1. GET RASHEED OUT OF TOWN!!!!
Wallace has been nothing more than a 17 million dollar flop when it comes to preforming in crunch time. The problem does not lie with his talent, it comes from his lack of effort and ever changing mood swings. I understand fans love his colorful personality, but for 17 million dollars production needs to be higher than 13 points and 6 rebounds.

2. TRADE TAYSHAUN PRINCE
Tay Tay is Mr. Houdini when it comes to consistancy. He will have a big breakout preformance in one game when teams aren't focused on him, and then the next handful of games it's like he is not even on the court.

3. PLAY STUCKEY, MAXIELL, AND AMIR JOHNSON EXTENDED MINUTES
Stuckey proved he is ready to play large minutes with his nice rookie preformance in the playoffs. Maxiell is an energy guy who needs to be allowed to bring his enthusiasm for the game to the court. Johnson is a rotting talent who needs to be allowed to grow through playing time. His length and quickness is going to give problems to NBA power forwards once he finds his groove (think Tyson Chandler with a better scoring touch).

Adrian College 4th In the Nation



The Adrian College Bulldogs finished 4th in the country this year, making it all the way to the College World Series. The Bulldogs were eliminated by Johns Hopkins, who eventually lost to the National Champions from Trinity College. Adrian finished with a record of 36-13.

Time for a Change


"I will not settle for complacency" .... a direct quote from Detroit Pistons' GM Joe Dumars at the end of last year's Eastern Conference Finals after being defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a lackluster series by the Pistons.

Well here we are again. The Pistons choked in the Eastern Conference Finals again this year. After being up ten points in the fourth quarter of game 6, they proceeded to blow it in a Celtics 17 point swing and eliminate the Pistons in the series.

Well Joe, it looks like it's time to make some changes. Tayshaun Prince disappeared in the playoffs this year and Rasheed Wallace seemed disinterested at times all year long, not to mention playing aweful in Game 6. Rasheed Wallace would be a tough player to move in the size of his contract and age. However Tayshaun would be a a very moveable player on a team that is in need of change.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Eastern Conference Finals: Game 5

My thoughts on the Eastern Conference Finals: Game 5.....

1. Rasheed needs to get his @$$ in the post. It's great he nailed 6 three-pointers, but he had 4 rebounds and no points in the paint.

2. Will somebody get on Kendrick "Mini Beard" Perkins? The guy is single handedly dominating the Pistons in the paint on rebounds.

3. Can we start televising these games earlier? Why do these games need to start 8:30? Both teams are in the same time zone and the games aren't ending until close to midnight.

4. Somebody tell James Posey his multi-colored mouth guard doesn't make him look tougher....what a douche bag accessory!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Eastern Conference Finals: Game 4

Here are my thoughts on Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals:

1. Isn't it kind of dangerous to have an alien (Sam Cassell) running around on the court like that? He might have some sort of intergalactic disease that makes your head big and oddly shaped.

2. Antonio (Miggity Mack) McDyess is on fire.

3. Jason Maxiell is a beast, awesome swat of Garnett's breakaway dunk!

4. Why can't Kendrick Perkins grow a full beard?

5. I hope the Pistons come out with the same tenacity and physical play on Wednesday.

This Just In: The Red Wings Are About to Win the Stanley Cup, Again!


Fact check: The Wings hold a commanding and dominant 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. Chris Osgood is yet to allow a goal in these finals. Oh, and his Finals record has improved to 6-0.

In the past four trips to the Finals (97, 98, 02, 08) the Wings have lost only one game. They swept the Flyers in 97. Then another sweep of the Caps in 98. They let the Hurricanes steal a game in 02. How many games will the talented Pens get? If this keeps up, it will be another sweep.

If it happens, it will be the fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years. That's as close to a dynasty as you can get in a salary cap, parity-laden league.

Monday, May 26, 2008

ESPN NBA Mock Draft

ESPN's Chad Ford has released his first version of the NBA Draft for '08, below are some highlights:

#1 Pick - Chicago Bulls - Michael Beasley (Kansas State)

#2 Pick - Miami Heat - Derrick Rose (Memphis)

#3 Pick - Minnesota Timberwolves - Brook Lopez (Stanford)

#4 Pick - Seattle Supersonics - Jerryd Bayless (Arizona)

#5 Pick - Memphis Grizzlies - O.J. Mayo (USC)

#9 Pick - Charlotte Bobcats - Kevin Love (UCLA)

#13 Pick - Portland Trailblazers - Joe Alexander (WVU)

#19 Pick - Utah Jazz - Roy Hibbert (Georgetown)

#23 Pick - Detroit Pistons - Chris Douglas Roberts (Memphis)

I very highly doubt Chris Douglas Roberts falls that far to the Pistons and I will be surprised if Roy Hibbert falls to 23.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Eastern Conference Finals: Game 3

Here are my thoughts on game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals:

1. Chauncey Billups, where the Hell are you? You only shot six times (1-6), and you might as well have just sat on the bench the whole game. Rodney Stuckey was 10x more valuable then you were tonight.

2. Rasheed Wallace needs to get his @$$ in the post. We don't need you hoisting up three pointers all night, we need you dominating the paint.

3. This was embarrassing to watch as a Detroit Pistons fan. I am glad the Palace booed the Pistons in the third quarter.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Indy 500... does any one care?

The Indianapolis 500 will take place on Sunday... ugh that's all I got.... no one cares about this event. I don't think anyone can even name who won the event last year, much less who will win this year.

Friday, May 23, 2008

German Wolverine

The Ann Arbor News reports today that John Beilein may have a new player on campus at the University of Michigan.

Robin Benzing, a 6-foot-10-inch, 210-pound forward from Germany signed a National Letter of Intent with Michigan, the school announced Thursday.

The NCAA will have to determine when the prospect, who has drawn comparisons from European basketball experts of Dallas Mavericks' star Dirk Nowitzki, will be eligible. Before signing with Michigan, Benzing had been playing for a German club team, which may affect his standing under NCAA rules.

If eligible, Benzing will be the fourth addition to Michigan's program next season. He joins 7-0 center Ben Cronin and guards Stu Douglass, Zack Novak and Laval Lucas-Perry, who transferred from Arizona last winter.


Eastern Conference Finals: Game 2

Here are my thoughts on Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals:

1. It was a game of catch me if you can! The Pistons came back from a first half deficit to take the lead and fend off Boston down the stretch. Despite great Celtic shooting in the 4th quarter, the Pistons' shooting was even better.

2. Rodney Stuckey proved himself on national television during a huge game. The rookie stepped up and put a dagger in the heart of the Celtics.

3. PJ Brown is a douche bag. Why? He wears the number 93... enough said.

4. Ray Allen is back. The guy hacked the Pistons all game long, but was able to put down 25 points.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Leyland inserts foot in Grilli & Inge's a$$

If you haven't heard Tigers' Skipper Jim Leyland's tuesday afternoon press conference rant by now, do yourself a favor and check it out on www.971theticket.com

The topic of the meltdown is Leyland reacting to comments given by former Tigers pitcher Jason Grilli and current Tiger Brandon Inge on why the Tigers are so bad this season.

Leyland first comments on Grilli's remarks by basically saying... Hey Grilli! You were garbage on the mound in Detroit, that's why we traded you to Colorado for next to nothing. So shut your yap.

He then indirectly calls out team mouthpiece Brandon Inge, who seems to always be ready with a sound byte for the press. Leyland reacts to Inge's comments with... if you are batting .200, .220, .215, then maybe you should be spending your time working on your swing instead of running that babbling brook you call a mouth to the press.

Post rant the Tigers have now promptly won two games in a row against the Seattle Mariners.

Who are These Guys in the Green and Black?



I am an extremely casual NBA fan, as in, I barely ever watch it. Mainly because the product has gotten so bad over the past 15 years. But I tuned in to the Eastern Conference semi finals for about five minutes. Just long enough to see the Celtics finish off the Cavs in 7 games, much to the chagrin of some Piston fans. I didn't care either way. But something did catch my attention however. The Celtics were playing their road games in some strange colored uniform. The lettering on the front read "BOSTON" and it wasn't in the traditional white lettering. Instead it was a black lettering which just looks ridiculous on the green jerseys. What are the Celtics franchise and the NBA doing? Is black supposed to make Garnett, Pierce, and the other guy appear tougher? Are you kidding me? There may not be, in fact there isn't, a more traditional or recognized uniform in the entire league than the Celtics. (See above pictures for the current atrocity and the old classic).

Way to go NBA and Boston brass. Way to crap on tradition. I certainly see first hand where Gary Bettman gets it from.

Game 1 - Eastern Conference Finals

My thoughts on Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals:

1. Billups doesn't look fully healed

2. The Pistons need to start driving to the basket and posting up, settling for far too many perimeter jump shots

3. Paul Pierce travels like a Greyhound bus

4. Kendrick Perkins has a mini-Rip beard

5. Garnett is dominate

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

You Can Do Magic

The Detroit Pistons eliminated the Orlando Magic tonight from the playoffs and have advanced to the Eastern Conference finals once again. As a farewell to the Magic, here is a song dedication I'd like to send out to them...

Friday, May 9, 2008

Charles Rogers to CFL?


Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Charles Rogers might be headed to a football training camp soon... the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

According to Montreal general manager Jim Popp "there's about an 80-20 chance of him being at training camp, coming in and competing for a job,"... "It's not completed yet, but he can come in as a CFL rookie and we'll make an assessment of him, where he's at in his career and his life."

Rogers, after being released by the Lions in 2006, worked out for a few NFL teams, but was never signed.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Robbed? Orlando isn't sure...

Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Orlando Magic and the Detroit Pistons left some feeling that the officiating gave more breaks to the Pistons then the Magic, resulting in a Pistons victory.

The following day the Orlando Sentinel put up a poll on their website asking its viewers: Were the Magic Robbed in Game 2?

The results from that poll have come in and it seems Orlando fans aren't sure if they were robbed or not. Over 64% of fans gave "I don't know" as their response to the question. That may come as a surprise to some, but after watching the Magic commit 19 turnovers in Game 2, it's fairly evident that Orlando has questionable decision making skills.

Thursday, May 1, 2008