10 things you know I know I know, you know?

10. I'm not going to get overtly political here, but I have only one thing to say about John McCain's campaign pulling out of Michigan. If this now means we no longer have to suffer through an endless amount hateful, pushing the absolute borders of the truth, pound you over the head with the sledgehammer of spin, all out negative advertising from BOTH parties, then THANK FUCKING GOD! I've had more than my fill of political advertising, of any kind, thank you very much.

Michigan being considered a "battleground" state (till yesterday afternoon, anyway) meant both parties were pummeling we Michiganders about the head and face with with political ad after political ad during every local break on TV and radio. (you ex-pats should consider yourselves lucky!) Personally, I find these ads insulting. If you make your decision on which candidate to vote for based on TV ads, you're a moron. A fucking moron.

No matter if you are a Democrat, Republican or independent, please do a little research before you vote. I honestly think people invest more time into which new TV series they are going to watch, than whom is going to get their vote. It's shameful more people don't care about the political process, unpleasant as it may sometimes be.

That's as political as I'll allow myself to get... Let's talk sports.

9. You know the MSM is scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas when you read the "bad team in one sport should talk to the good team's GM in another sport" piece. The Freep has gone over the top with this tripe.

First, Jamie Samuelson wrote the Lions need to hire Red Wings' GM Ken Holland. (though I do agree with his assessment that Holland is the best GM working in sports) Then Michael Rosenberg (who should really know better, as he's the best columnist in town) penned a piece saying the Lions should hire Pistons' GM Joe Dumars as the porn 'stached goon's replacement as Lions' president.

What? No love for Dave Dombrowski? Nah, I'm sure the Pizza Man has him on double secret probation after this fiasco of a season.

With the DD shout out out of the way, I have one comment for the both of them...

Get. A. Fucking. Grip.

Personally, I don't want the poisonous Lions, who destroy careers, not make them, anywhere near two of the best run franchises, in not only Detroit, but in all of sports. And who's to say their managerial skills would transfer over to another sport, anyway? We've actually had an example here in the D. Bo Schembechler's tenure as Tigers' president could best be described as an EPIC FAIL. Sure, he was handicapped by the insane ownership of Tom Monaghan, but Bo didn't distinguish himself, either. His years are best remembered only for the firing of God Ernie Harwell.

Yes, I know it wasn't Bo's decision, and he took the heat for both WJR and the Tigers. But no matter who made the decision, it was MASSIVELY bungled by everyone involved.

I'm a little off track, but the point is made. Should the Lions ask the Red Wings and Pistons for advice? Sure, it couldn't hurt. But attempting to hire a non football guy to run the team makes as much sense as a TV broadcaster taking over...

8. Speaking of Rosenberg, during today's interview with The Big Lead, he nails what is so good about living in the metro Detroit area.

Yet many of the people who live in southeast Michigan absolutely love the area. There is a ton of stuff to do, especially in the summer, and the cost of living is reasonable. There are two things you need to understand about Detroit. One is that it’s not a great place to visit, but it’s a great place to live. Once you know the landscape – once you know which bars to hit, where to catch a concert, where to sit outside and have a good meal – you’ll have a great time. The other thing you need to understand is that it is not cool to live here, so anybody who is preoccupied with being cool stays the hell away, leaving a vibrant, exciting part of the country for the rest of us. There are very few phonies in Detroit.

Word.

I love it when Rosenberg, talking about the time involved in writing his book about Bo and Woody, takes a back handed slap at local writers who spend more time spewing hot air on the radio, than writing a decent column.

But the difference is that I didn’t have to be in a radio studio for four hours every day when I should have been in the Tigers’ clubhouse or at Pistons practice.

Fucking word. He doesn't name names, but I will. The Little Fella, Wojo, Sharp, Foster, Caputo and The Worst Columnist in America.

As usual when TBL talks to MSM'ers, the interview is an excellent read.

7. I have to mention another columnist. Good friend of TWFE, and someone I consider a friend, though we've never met face to face (he's an internet buddy!), Mack Avenue Tigers' Kurt Mensching, was named top sports columnist (for his newspaper class as determined by circulation) by the Michigan Press Association. Here's the scoop from his newspaper, The Mining Journal:

The Mining Journal won three awards in the 2008 Michigan Press Association Better Newspaper Contest, including a first place for sports columns.

Mining Journal sports writer Kurt Mensching won the top award in the category for three columns on topics as diverse as the beginning of baseball season, Northern Michigan University football and high school sportsmanship at the Superior Dome.

Judges said Mensching's writing was "funny" and "stood out as very clean."

Unlike my writing, which is highly snarky and stands out as fucking filthy.

Seriously, job well done, sir. The Detroit blogosphere is as proud as punch!

But now that you're done winning awards and honors and stuff, get back to work on MAT, stat!

6. There are few sure things in life. Death, taxes, every Wobb Parker column will be awful, and the Wisconsin Badgers football team being total and utter frauds.

Last Saturday, I was thisGoddamnclose to writing off the Wolverines' season during what was possibly the worst half of football ever played on this, or any, planet.

To paraphrase The Comic Book Guy: "That was, without a doubt, the worst. Half. EVER. Rest assured, I was on the internet within minutes, registering my disgust throughout the world."

But the Badgers, as is their wont, couldn't put an imploding Wolverine team away in the 1st half. Hell, Wisky should have been up 35-0, instead of only 19-0, at the half.

We all know what happened next. Michigan finds a rudimentary offense, the defense became scary good, and the Badgers ended up losing another heartbreaker to the not-so-mighty Wolverines.

Wisconsin was, is, and always will be, pretenders. Why should you think any different when they couldn't beat what still could be the worst Michigan team, in not only years, but in decades?

5. As for Sparty, they will go as far as Heisman candidate Javon Ringer takes them, maybe even the Rose Bowl. Really? Really! There's no juggernauts in the Big 10, so why not Sparty in Pasadena?

But if my math is correct, Ringer is on track for approximately 875 carries this season, so I expect body parts to be falling off of him by late October. That best not happen, as Ringer can win games. The only thing Spartans QB Brian Hoyer can do is lose them.

4. I have the White Sox-Devil Rays playoff game on at the moment. I sooooo thought it would be the Tigers representing the Central instead. Now that I've once again had the taste of October baseball, I need more. Christ, this season blew.

The Tigers won 88 games in 2007, which we all thought, well, sucked. But 88 wins would have won the division this year, so it's all relative. But there's no defending what happened this season. Which is why Jim Leyland better can his "I want an extension" bullshit, ASAP. He was as awful as his team in 2008. The Marlboro Man is on double secret probation, too.

3. What's the only thing worse than watching teams other than the Tigers in the MLB playoffs? Having to endure the ENDLESS promos for "FrankTV" during the MLB playoffs. For some stupid reason, TBS believes running a "FrankTV" promo every fucking half inning is going to make us want to watch.

Memo to TBS: At this point, after having Frank Caliendo shoved down my throat for two consecutive Octobers, I'd rather stab forks in my eyes than watch "FrankTV." Hey, it may be the funniest show on TV, but I don't care. Force feeding me more promos than McCain/Obama ads I see on a daily basis combined is only doing one thing. IT'S PISSING ME THE FUCK OFF! ENOUGH! STOP! NO MORE!

Please, no more...no more...I give up. I'll do anything. Just stop with the "FrankTV" ads.

2. There is one redeeming quality to TBS's broadcasts, though. Curtis Granderson. He's a natural broadcaster. Grandy's going to have the networks throwing big money contracts at him when his career is over. I hope that won't be for another 10-12 years or so...

As bad as it looks for the Tigers today, not many teams have as young and talented of a core to build around as Granderson, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander. Which is why Dombrowski is getting a mulligan for this past season. But he's getting only one.

1. At the top of the Freep's online sports page is the following headline:

"Lions' Ramirez will get his first offensive start Sunday"

YESYESYESYES! Why the excitement, you ask? I can finally use "It's just Manny being Manny" during my live blog this Sunday. I can see it now...

The ref flips on his mic, and says, "Holding, number 63!" Then I get to write "Holding? Hell, it's just Manny being Manny!" Good times, good times.

Hey, what of it? I need stuff like this to get through what's going to be another Lions loss.

10 things you know I know I know, you know?

I'm thinking this "10 things" bit may become an every Friday thing. We shall see...

10. I found it funny, and pretty damn telling, when Deadspin touched on Matt Millen's clueless vote of confidence of the current coaching regime in today's Blogdome, they linked to another "national" site (AOL's Fanhouse) rather than get the local view from the numerous Detroit blogs who also commented upon the ongoing lunacy in Allen Park.

It's just another reason why I find myself reading Deadspin less and less as of late. It's not because Will Leitch left, as my issues with Gawker's site go back for quite some time. I rarely visit the Deadspin proper anymore, preferring to check out posts in my RSS reader of choice. The site design leaves something to be desired. Don't even get me going on their commenters. For every smart, witty and funny comment, there's a dozen more that aren't worth the time it took to type them out. If I want forced, badly done, pop culture referenced humor, I'll read the Sports Guy instead. (Speaking of which, what has happened ESPN.com's Page 2? It used to be a daily must read. Now? I can't remember the last time I went there to read anything. What a damn shame.)

In fact, what I just said about sports blogging's 800 pound gorilla, also goes for the Fanhouse, With Leather, Sports by Brooks, The Sporting Blog, The Big Lead, the usual suspects. (Though I find TBL the best read of the bunch) The problem with these blogs is that they all write about the same damn thing. If I've seen a specific story on one of of the big sites, you'll see it, much sooner than later, on ALL the big sites, with pretty much the same (snarky) opinion.

If one of them finds a "wacky" You Tube video (Often after a smaller site had dredged it up), you know the other big sites will soon post it as well. Whatever the sports blog meme of the day happens to be, all the "big" blogs write about it...endlessly. It's gotten beyond tiresome.

The big sites are much more alike than they'd ever care to admit. Which is why I find myself drawn to more sport specific blogs (Like those at Yahoo), along with city and team centric blogs. They don't feel as rote and by-the-numbers as the Deadspins of the world have become.

9. My thoughts on the Ryder Cup?  

USA! USA! USA! Beat the Euros! 

That's all I really have, as I know so little about most of the Americans playing. I mean, Boo Weekely? Boo? I'd like to make a "To Kill a Mockingbird" reference here, but it's already been done...

8. If there is a man who showed all the signs of being on the edge of batshit insane, it's Jim Leyland. He was all but mentally off the hook when dealing with the umpires in Texas. If Leyland had been given the opportunity, and gotten to within arm's length, I swear he would have cold cocked a couple of men in blue. His actions were enough to result in his getting suspended for the Cleveland series, starting tonight.

But come on, can you really blame the Marlboro Man? If you were stuck using gas cans like Kyle Farnsworth as your set up man, and Fernando Rodney as your closer, you'd be ready for a few days of forced rest too.

If anything, Leyland going postal might have been for the best. From all appearances, he was close to burning out. A 65 year old man losing his shit isn't a pretty thing...Much like this entire Tigers season.

7. Joe Dumars said he tried to make a deal this summer, but didn't get an offer he thought would make the team better. I can understand why he didn't make a deal. The Pistons, as currently constructed, are a playoff team. Blowing up the Pistons for the sake of just blowing them up might have felt good, but accomplished little. So I don't blame Joe D for standing pat. Unfortunately, naming Michael Curry head coach and adding Kwame Brown to the front line aren't moves that have me believing this coming season will be any different than last.

I do like the idea being floated by Curry of moving Antonio McDyess back to 6th man status, where he's more comfortable and won't be the 5th offensive option, thus opening up competition between Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson, and Brown for the vacated starting spot. This might light a bit of a spark with both units, which has been long needed.

But is shuffling the depth chart enough to get the Pistons over the Eastern Conference hump? No. I can't see this team, good as they are, going any further than the conference finals again.

6. Michigan State is going to KILL Notre Dame. Sparty will spank the gimpy kneed Charlie Weis silly. If I'm Mark Dantonio, I give Javon Ringer the ball 35 times, essentially telling ND "You and I both know you can't stop him." If Sam McGuffie can rip through ND for 170+ total yards, Ringer is going to run...well, rings, around the overrated Domers.

5. The man who tried his damnedest to kill my love for Red Wings hockey in the 70's, Ned Harkness, passed away earlier today. I'm sure Harkness was a nice man, and loved the game of hockey. But he never should have been let anywhere near an NHL franchise, God forbid run one. The "Darkness with Harkness" era scarred my young and developing hockey psyche almost irreparably.

May you rest in peace, Ned. But God dammit, did you have to completely fuck over the Red Wings for my 11 year old self?! I mean, really. You took what was a decent team, and screwed it over so badly in 3 years, the rest of the decade, and much of the following, was ruined. Your destruction of the Red Wings was Millen-esque.

But hey, I'll let bygones be bygones.

4. I like love the fact there is a football game almost every night of the week on ESPN. (Even if it does seem like it's always Louisville or Colorado State playing...) But please keep it exclusively college football, OK? There's something about the 4 Letter broadcasting a regular season high school football game nationwide that I find extremely disturbing. It just feels wrong to me.

ESPN getting their sticky, grubby fingers into the high school pie can only lead to bad things. High school football belongs on Friday nights, being covered by local media. Period. Exclamation point!

3. Think West Virginia is happy with Bill Stewart now? What in the HELL was he thinking last night? Stewart is so far in over his head as a coach, he makes Marty Moronwhig look capable.

All that kept running through my mind as I watched Stewart and WVU totally butcher the final seconds of a game they ended up losing was, "It couldn't happen to a more deserving fanbase bunch of lunatics." RichRod had to have a little extra skip in his step this morning.

2. I know it's been only one start, and it may be the giddiness of watching a Tiger pitcher who could do the unthinkable...throw strikes...talking. But you think Freddy Garcia would look good in the Detroit rotation in 2009? So do I. Make it happen, Double D.

1. A quick announcement. I plan on live blogging the Detroit Lions, as usual, this Sunday. But I'll probably only be able to do the 1st half, as I have an early evening family commitment. It figures the Lions would happen to be on the west coast the one and only Sunday night I have something going on.

It's killing me, as my Sunday afternoon meltdowns are getting more and more traffic by the week. People really seem to enjoy them. Not the Lions, mind you, but the live blogs.

Anyway, I'll live blog as long as possible on Sunday, and have the DVR record the 2nd half. I'll do my best to not hear the score while I'm out, and then do my blogging thing a little later in the evening. Or something like that...

Detroit fishwrap comment of the day - Sparty wins, and moves on

If there is one type of comment thread that gets real redundant, real quick, is one involving MSU or U of M. Within a couple of posts, you can expect to see old and busted put downs like scUM stinkbear, Moo U and Spartina used by the cretinous mouth breathers who tend to haunt fishwrap forums.

Call me jaded by my daily forays into the stink that is newspaper commenting threads, but to see insult after insult after insult, it becomes more tiresome than anything else. Which is why it was refreshing to see a MSU fan named msulaw quickly analyze Sparty's easy 72-61 1st round victory over Temple in the NCAA's. Nothing more, nothing less.

This was a good game by Neitzel. Sure, it would be nice if he scored more, but if teams are going to continue to double/hound him, that just frees up the rest of the team to score. Pitt will be a much tougher opponent than MSU, but I also believe that Pitt is a bit overrated. Sweet 16 is probably the best this team can expect (though Memphis is quite beatable), but maybe this team will surprise like it did 2 years ago.

Sparty did what they had to do, win and move on. I don't care if it got a little ugly at the end, or that Drew Neitzel had too quiet a game. Who cares about style points, or that Tom Izzo's team matched up well with Temple. Upsets happen in the NCAA's, especially in the 5-12 matchups, yet it didn't happen to the Spartans. The Spartans won, and winning is all that counts in the big tournament.

MSU always shows up prepared for the NCAA's, which is to Tom Izzo's credit, of which, in my mind, he doesn't get enough. With today's win, Izzo is a marvelous 24-9 in tournament games. How many coaches have a .700+ winning percentage in the tournament? I'm too damn lazy to look it up, but it can't be very many.

Which why I never understood the criticism Izzo sometimes gets from Spartans, and he got more than his fair share this year. 20 win seasons are now commonplace, along with NCAA berths. Some considered 07-08 an off season, but Sparty find themselves 26-8 overall, moving on to the round of 32, after beating Temple. That's one HELL of a season. Wolverines can only dream of such seasons.

If he Spartans continue to play solid ball like they did today, and get Neitzel going? I would not be surprised one iota to see MSU advance into the regional finals. In fact, I'd be loathe to bet against any Izzo coached team in the tournament...Unless they are playing Wisconsin.

Denver, Colorado is in the south? Who knew?

Congratulations go out to the Michigan State Spartans for their number 5 seeding in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament. I hope they have a long tourney run.

One question though.

Sparty takes on the Temple Owls in Denver? The South Regional has 1st round games in Denver and Anaheim? In what geography books are Colorado and California considered in be in the south? Much like kids were taught the "New math," is this the "New geography?"

I know the NCAA Tournament has evolved over the years, to the point where the regional sites are often directional in name only. But you have to go west to play in the south? Go figure...

Above the fold - Stupidity reigns in the fishwraps

Stupidity reigns in the Detroit newspapers. Today is no exception...

At Mlive, Steve Grinczel makes possibly the dumbest statement I've ever seen in print or on the web.

If Michigan State could guarantee it would win the Big Ten Tournament by agreeing to take a loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament would you take it?

I think if I'm the Spartans I would.

On second thought, I have to say that is the dumbest statement I've ever seen in print or on the web.

Winning a made for TV event, one that doesn't mean much of anything in the big scheme of things (Does anyone remember who won it last season? Or even care?), is more important that a long run in the only tournament anyone with 2 functioning brain cells cares about? If there is someone out there who ranks conference tournament titles over NCAA Sweet 16, Elite 8 or Final Four runs, I've yet to meet them. Well, until now.

Conference tournaments do little more than line the pockets of the big time colleges with cash. Lots and lots of TV network cash. Having a banner in the rafters saying you won a made for TV tournament means jack shit. It doesn't prove you are the best team, just one that is hot at the right time. If anything, winning the regular season title is the true measure of a team, not winning 3 meaningless games when you are already assured a NCAA seeding.

For all the talk of how "important" conference tournaments are, the only one that EVER carried that sort of import was the ACC's. (Grinczel does mention this) Even then, in my mind, giving the conference tournament winner the automatic bid to the NCAA's was, and still is, silly.

Back in the day, some very good regular season champs were kept out of the NCAA's thanks to the ACC's asinine rules. But back then, only 1 team would get in, thus the importance of winning the ACC tournament. Today, the winning the ACC tournament still holds some cache', but not nearly as much as it did 30 years ago.

So to claim winning an overblown Big 10 tournament title should be the Spartans' priority, when Tom Izzo's program is actually measured by their performance in the big dance, is flabbergastingly stupid.

Later in the article, Grinczel tries to back away from his stupidity...somewhat.

winning the BTT gives them a better chance of making a decent run in the NCAAs because it would uncover the resolve they've heretofore demonstrated on precious few occasions.

He plays the overdone "it'll show they have heart" card. Please. I HATE the use of that cliche', as he's essentially saying the Spartans lack heart, they don't have the "grit" (Another overused cliche') to win. It's ridiculous to make such a claim about any person or team from afar, and even more so about 18-21 year old kids.

I have to say it again, as it cannot be reinforced enough. Grinczel's stand was dumbest I've ever seen a writer take in print or on the web.

Not that the Freep's Drew Sharp is far behind Grinzel in hackery, as the hit man takes another swipe at Michigan and the Big 10 today.

Where else but the Big Ten could a team go scoreless for 10 minutes -- and still maintain a double-digit lead?

I'm sure I've seen the Pistons do something similar during their lock down defense days under Larry Brown. Just sayin'.

"It's a sign of progress," Michigan coach John Beilein implored.

It's a sign that there was no discernible difference in the garbage stockpiled at the bottom of the conference standings this season.

I think it's more of a sign, at least when it comes to Michigan, that Tommy Amaker left Beilein with a roster absolutely barren of Big 10 caliber any talent, save for Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims. God forbid Amaker recruit a couple of players who could nail an open jumper.

More than anything, it shows just how badly the university administration allowed the basketball program to atrophy. John Beilein walked into a buzz saw of suck at Michigan, and it's going to take time and patience for him to lead Wolverines basketball to respectability.

But Sharp doesn't take any of that into account, just that Michigan didn't play up to his high standards. (I had to stifle a laugh there. Sharp and high standards? Is that an oxymoron? Or just moronic?)

As bad as they were, Iowa proved far worse.

And that's progress?

In Michigan's case, YES!

The dumbass seems to be forgetting one thing. The Wolverines WON THE GAME! I don't care if it was uglier than watching 40-somethings play a half court game at the Y. They won a game in the Big 10 tournament, something Amaker was rarely able to accomplish. For that matter, you could see the Wolverines improve as the season went on, something Amaker was NEVER able to accomplish.

Sharp also felt the need to give Beilein a timetable for extracting Michigan from the morass...

If Beilein cannot break U-M's more than decade-long NCAA tournament drought within his first three years, then he becomes as much a failure as Amaker.

No one will be as big a failure as Tommy Amaker. No one. But I will admit that Michigan claiming a NCAA berth by 2010 sounds reasonable. Going by Beilein's track record as a head coach, I don't think it's too much to ask.

But it's insulting to compare Beilein, who's done more with less than damn near every coach in America over his career, to Amaker. Amaker has coasted on his Duke and and Coach Kzerfgjerski ties for years. He has major conference programs (Seton Hall and Michigan) handed to him, and did zip with the opportunities.

On the other hand, Beilein had to work his way up from being a high school and community college coach, while making his won name and developing his own system along the way. He's 10x the coach Amaker can ever hope to be. But try telling that to hacks like Sharp and Rob Parker, who were Amaker apologists.

Sharp appears to favor style points in winning, and doesn't think much of the win.

When you've won as infrequently as U-M this season, you accept any victory regardless of its grotesque appearance. But quite frankly, there's little valor in the wretched getting the better of one of their fellow cellar-dwellers.

But isn't a win a win? Even if it's ugly as all Hell? It is in everyone's world but Sharp's. There will be a W in the record books, there won't be any qualifiers attached. You ever see "Ugly W" instead of "W" in the standings? Me neither.

Michigan ended up losing to Wisconsin today, scoring only 34 points, ending their season. Though Sharp may not agree (In my mind, that's a good thing), but despite some of the disappointing losses, for the first time in years, I actually feel better about the Wolverines' future in hoops.

Detroit fishwrap comment of the day - Drew Sharp hates everything

Drew Sharp continued his mindless Big 10 bashing by calling the Michigan and Michigan State basketball programs "a joke." The Freep editors, obviously trying to rile up the fans of both schools, gleefully gave Sharp's tripe a tabloid like headline:

"Both U-M and MSU basketball programs lack basketball fire."

Regardless of the over the top headline, this column Sharp's knee-jerk, contrarian flame baiting at his very best. "Best" being a relative term, of course.

Like moths to a flame, the column attracted your usual mouth-breathers. Namely Sparty haters, Wolverine bashers, and damn near everything in-between. Amazingly, I found a mild-mannered, reasoned post amid all the shit flinging. dtw456 came through with a comment both realistic and reasoned regarding the status of both programs...

I wouldn't say both programs lack fire. There still is a flame burning for MSU, though not as intense as years previous. At UM, the fire is definitely out. It's no surprise that the fire at UM has been out ever since the Ed Martin fiasco unfolded. The UM program is still trying to recover from this fiasco, even today.

I never expected to find reason in the middle of what became a bile filled U of M vs. MSU comment thread. It's too calm for a Sharp column comment thread.

At this point, Sharp's columns have become rote. He has a totally predictable formula. Find a subject sports fans are passionate about, then just piss all over it.

It doesn't matter if the subject is actually worth debating or tearing apart. He strives to be so reactionary, so controversial, so contrary to popular opinion, that readers become enraged. His constant hating on the Big 10 conference, and baiting Big 10 fans, with the huge alumni and fanbase in Southeast Michigan, makes his job angering readers quite easy.

Sharp's job isn't to generate discussion, or to report on a story. He's nothing more than a sports hit man whoring himself out to the Freep. His only job is to generate hits on the website, and sell a few papers. Period.

Unfortunately, controversy sells papers and generates page views. Even if the writer is undeserving of the immense readership. Sharp is nothing more than a hack who found a formula that has lead all the way to appearances on the worldwide leader, a part time sports talk radio gig, and, most importantly to him, the bank.

Shame on we sports fans for falling for his act.

Above the fold - Detroit sports weekend in review

Michigan and Michigan State basketball: Both teams are playing good ball, as Sparty and the Wolverines won this weekend.

On a day Jalen Rose was honored by the university, the Wolverines beat the Illini 49-43. As always, UMHoops has the breakdown.

A win is a win and Michigan has to learn how to win the tough ones like this because they aren’t all going to be easy. But man I hope we can start hitting some shots. There were ALOT of wide open shots today and very few of them went down. Good physical gutty effort. Another note, saw Jordan Morgan was there, not sure if any other recruits were in the house.

The Wolverines suddenly have the look of a team that could spoil someone's Big 10 tournament. They are a long ways from being a contender, but this is the first time since well before the Tommy Amaker era where Michigan has IMPROVED as the season progressed. Amaker's teams were never playing well going into March, while John Beilein has the Wolverines playing their best ball of the season. It's nice to see...

Michigan State is finally back on track, thumping the Hawkeyes 66-52. The game was over early, as Iowa didn't get their first field goal till nearly 10 minutes into the 1st half. Spartan Weblog has the scoop, while bringing up a big milestone for Tom Izzo.

Big picture stat: Tom Izzo now has 300 wins in 13 seasons. That’s 23 wins per season. Prior to Izzo’s tenure, Michigan State had a total of just 8 seasons in which they reached 20 wins, let alone averaged that number. So three cheers for Tom Izzo–the greatest single figure in the 100+ year history of Michigan State basketball.

23 wins a season? Wow! We tend to take Izzo, along with MSU making the NCAA's every season, for granted. He's an elite coach who has built a monster program in East Lansing.

Detroit Red Wings: Another game, another loss. The latest being 4-1 to Vancouver, though the Wings did not embarrass themselves. They are just running out of healthy bodies. When you add being extremely shorthanded to a road trip to places well west, it equals a struggling Red Wings team that is 2-7-1 in their last 10 games.

There's no panic from the fanbase, for a few reasons. The Red Wings had built a huge cushion in the standings before players started dropping like so many flies, and it's come in handy. Their division lead is still very safe. The Stars are only 6 points back of the Wings for the West's best overall record, but Detroit has 2 games in hand. To be honest, who really cares if the Red Wings are seeded 1st or 2nd? I just want them healthy.

As for other reasons not to worry? No injury has been of the "out for the season" sort, so the Wings should be at full strength going into the playoffs. And there is a HUGE amount of confidence in the GM skills of Ken Holland, in that he'll make the appropriate moves.

Not that Holland's genius has stopped bloggers from voicing their opinion as to what the Wings should do by tomorrow's trade deadline.

Yzerman is God has debuted his "Deadline manifesto," a post of epic length, and with several ideas as to trade options. Here's just one of MANY.

My Favorite
Hudler, and a 2nd for Antropov
-honestly, I have no idea what Hudler or Antropov's market value is. This is a guess, but I really think Antropov would be an awesome addition.

To Pete's credit, the deals he proposes aren't of the crackpot sort you see on message boards and hear on sports talk radio. There is actual thought and reasoning put into the various deals. An amazing post.

On the flip side, you have Hockeytown Todd, who thinks...Well, I'll let HT Todd say it in his own inimitable way...

Wings should stand pat

Pass out some temporary "A's" until our top 4 defensemen return.
Last night proved no worries on D (I told you so).
Offense will always struggle against hot goaltending, that is just hockey.

DO NOT TINKER
(what you have is the envy of the entire NHL)

In other words, leave Brittany the Red Wings alone!

We'll know in a little more than 24 hours whose advice Holland took.

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons treated Shaq and the Phoenix Suns to a nationally televised spanking Sunday, 116-86. If the Suns are one of the teams to beat in the west, then the Pistons and Celtics are licking their chops anticipating the NBA Finals.

Oh yeah, on Friday night, they destroyed the Bucks, 127-100.

What more is there to say about the Pistons? After losing their first 2 games coming out of the All-Star break, they've found their stride again, and are 12-2 in their last 14 games. The young bench is coming around nicely, while getting plenty of PT, the starters aren't playing an excessive amount of minutes, and there are no injuries to speak of. //knock on wood// The Pistons are on cruise control, waiting for the playoffs to start.

They can't come soon enough.

Detroit Tigers: Spring training is officially under way, and there hasn't been much news to speak of, save for Fernando Rodney's balky shoulder.

There was one story of note. It was announced that Pudge Rodriguez gracefully went to Jim Leyland, and said he'd be fine with batting 8th in the order. Well, as gracefully as a once great, now aging, superstar could be, considering he should have been bating 8th or 9th in the lineup for the past 2 seasons, but thanks to a manager quite aware of his (former) superstar's massive ego couldn't have handled it, remained higher than he should have been in the batting order.

At The Detroit Tigers Weblog, Billfer took a look at various lineup possibilities with his jaundiced eye, hoping to determine where in the order Pudge should be batting, 8th or 9th. His conclusion? It doesn't make a damn bit of difference.

Essentially it makes very little difference how those remaining spots shake out. That’s not to say there aren’t some things Leyland is likely considering. With Pudge batting 8th, it means that he’ll have back to back left handers in either the 6-7 positions for 9-1 positions. My guess is that Jones bats 7th because Carlos Guillen’s ability to switch hit will prevent an opposing manager from doubling up with a left hand reliever. Plus Leyland frequently batted Guillen and Casey back to back last year. Conversely, Marcus Thames coming off the bench could provide such a deterrent in a 9-1 scenario as well.

As long as Pudge's under .300 OBP ass is lower than 7th in he order, I'm cool.

Detroit Lions: There's this other blog I know of where you can get a whole lot of Lions snark, and a little bit of analysis.

The only real Lions news from the scouting combine surrounds Shaun Rogers, and, not if, but when the fat ass will be traded. The ideal trade, as Pride of Detroit says, would be for the Jets' middle linebacker, Johnathan Vilma, who appears to be on the outs in New York.

If I had to predict where Rogers would end up, my bet would be in New York as a Jet for a couple reasons. The first and biggest reason is that a trade with the Jets just makes sense. NY is looking for a 3-4 defensive tackle, and Rogers would fit that role pretty well. At the same time, a trade with the Jets is a strong possibility because middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma is on the trading block, and he is a perfect fit for the Lions.

The trade makes so much sense for both sides, so if you go by Lions logic, it probably won't happen. Which means Matt Millen will end up getting a 4th round draft pick in trade for a Pro Bowl caliber player. That pick will then be cut during training camp.

That's "Above the Fold" for Monday, 2-25-08!

Above the fold - Detroit sports weekend in review

Michigan and Michigan State basketball: This past weekend we were witness to teams heading in opposite directions. Sparty is a good team that is playing horrifically (By Spartan and Izzo standards), and the Wolverines, who are going nowhere (Unlike the tournament bound MSU), but getting better by the game.

Sparty was outright spanked 80-61 by an Indiana team that was reeling from the latest NCAA infractions committed by the man who's never seen a phone he wouldn't make a call from, Kelvin Sampson. MSU has pissed away any chance at winning a Big 10 title, and are dropping from a high to a middling seed in the NCAA's. Spartans Weblog is trying to look on the bright side, and comes up with 10 reasons why...

1. There are only a handful of college basketball fan bases in the land that can feel despondent about a team with a record of 20-5 . . . and we’re one of them.

This is not to say we shouldn’t feel despondent. It’s only to say we should actually feel good about the fact we’re despondent.

I hope Tom Izzo has something up his sleeve, as this group of Spartans suddenly has the appearance of a one and done NCAA team. But we are talking about Izzo, so my money would be on his turning the Spartans around by March. He's earned the benefit of the doubt...

On the flip side is Michigan. Now on a 3 game winning streak, the Wolverines may have played their best game of the season in beating tOSU 80-70, in a nationally televised matchup. The Maize Rage bum rushing the court after the victory capped what was the definite high point of what has been a trying season overall for John Beilein.

Michigan is still a long way from being even a top tier Big 10 team, and a couple of seasons away from competing for a NCAA berth. But the 3 game winning streak has shown that Beilein's system is finally beginning to take root. At MGoBlog, Brian touches on the sudden hoops turnaround...

What happened to the clueless team from earlier in the year? Well, with Harvard spiraling its way towards last place in the Ivy League we can safely assert that it takes more than a couple months to organize a system at maximum entropy, and it takes more than a couple months to turn the smartest basketball team in the land into a confused gooey mess. The progress Michigan was decidedly not making from the Amaker era -- at points during the first Ohio State game the offense was indistinguishable from the random, purposeless ball movement of yore -- has all come in a rush.

So for now the future is bright. Check back in two weeks.

Considering Michigan basketball had hit rock bottom under Amaker, it doesn't take all that much for things to be looking up for the Wolverines. It also helps that a legitimate talent like Manny Harris is around to brighten Michigan's future. It's not bright enough yet to wear shades, but wearing a billed cap wouldn't hurt...

Detroit Pistons: It being All-Star Weekend, other than Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton (Uh, Rip...Look at the 3 point line next time, K?) making token appearances, and 'Sheed treating the game with all the respect it deserves (That being very little), there's little to report.

The NBA's All-Star Saturday Night, save for a few Dwight Howard and Gerald Green dunks, was a total snoozefest. The same can be said for Sunday's All-Star Game itself, which is a showboating, no defense, crapfest. (And I have to say "What the fuck?" when it comes to the All-Star unis. They were ugly to the eyes, and confusing as all Hell during the game) I'm glad the overrated weekend is over, and the Pistons can get back to much more important issues, such as preparing the playoffs. Moving on...

Detroit Red Wings: 6 straight losses. I didn't see that coming. The Red Wings have built themselves a big enough cushion in the Western Conference that the losing streak has barely put a dent in their lead. So I'm not worried...Yet. If the struggles continue for another couple of weeks? Well, let's not talk about what would currently be a hypothetical. I'm in a wait and see mode. Wait till the injuries heal, and then we'll see...

I do think that a trade or 2 will be made by the deadline. The Red Wings are too good (When 4 of their top players aren't sidelined by injury, anyway) , and too close, to not go all in for a run at the Stanley Cup. Could Darren McCarty be one of the pieces to help put the Wings over the top? Going by his first game with the Griffins, I wouldn't bet against it...

The Wings play the Nordalanche tonight. Now is the time to turn things around, as there's very little better in life than the Wings beating down on that team in Colorado.

Detroit Tigers: The following describes all Tigers fans going into this season...

Workouts have begun! Pitchers and catchers have reported! Full workouts are almost here! 6 weeks till the season starts! Pennant and World Series, here we come! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! //head explodes//

It's all happiness and good feelings in Lakeland, save for the Brandon Inge "situation." It's become the story of the spring. Everyone is saying the right things, but it's obvious Inge wants out, and the Tigers are doing their damnedest to oblige. Ian takes at look at possible suitors for Inge, few they may be, at Bless You Boys.

I'll toss out some more arbitrary speculation, playing off a post that ran on MLB Trade Rumors the other day. San Francisco has been circled as a possible landing spot for Inge ever since Miguel Cabrera took over his position. Meanwhile, the Giants are looking to deal pitcher Noah Lowry. That got me wondering if we could have a match. Lowry's under contract for two more seasons, along with a club option for 2010, that would total $13 million. (Without the option, Lowry's owed $6.75 million.)

I have a nagging feeling the "situation" is going to drag on for quite some time to come, and Inge is going north as a Tiger. Thus, the Tigers will occasionally showcase their disgruntled former 3rd baseman to teams in need, and will continue to troll the league for trade partners.

It's become clear it may be easier to finds takers of Inge, and his big contract, if he shows some pop in his bat over the first few months of the season. Inge is will be biding his time as a super sub till the July 31st trade deadline.

Detroit Lions: I hear there is new Lions blog in town, and is worth checking out...

Other than that HUGE news, there's not a peep coming out of Allen Park. At Mlive, the Killer thinks there's some sort of "Curse of Bobby Layne," which is utter bullshit. The truth? It's the "Curse of William Clay Ford," period.

That's "Above the Fold" for Monday, 2-18-08!

It's Valentine's Day...

...but I didn't get what I wanted. No, I'm not in a relationship right now, so I'm not talking about that sort of romantic Valentine's gift. Love is a battlefield, and all that... (Though a box of chocolates or a Vermont teddy bear would be nice)

I want a heart shaped box for Valentine's Day!

What would be the perfect Valentine for the Detroit sports blogger? More hits? That's cool, but not necessary. A giant flat screen TV? I'd die and go to Heaven, but let's be realistic, it's not happening. A keggerator? Nah, they are way cool, but I wouldn't drain a pony keg fast enough. A laptop? It's on the "get one someday" list, but I can survive just fine without it.

So, as a Detroit blogger and sports fan, other than the chocolates and teddy bear, just what do I want for Valentine's Day?

Matt Millen's moronic, unemployed head on a fucking platter.

For the senile old coot William Clay Ford to...to...Well, you know what I mean.

Miguel Cabrera to have a 1.000+ OPS.

Justin Verlander to win 20 games.

The Tigers bullpen to be decent. They don't have to be great, decent is just fine.

Rasheed Wallace named NBA Finals MVP. (Wouldn't that be FUN?)

Nick Lidstrom to win the Hart Trophy.

Dan Cleary to come back from his broken jaw without missing a beat.

Not a single wide receiver to be taken by the Lions in the NFL draft, or signed in free agency.

For Jim Leyland to never change.

Rod Marinelli to come up with a new platitude to replace "pound the rock."

Flip Saunders to not be out coached in the playoffs.

Mike Babcock to stop talking in circles.

Rich Rodriguez and WVU to both move the Hell on already.

Matt Millen's moronic, unemployed head on a fucking platter.

The Wings to kick some Ducks ass.

The Pistons to kick some Celtics ass.

The Tigers to kick everyone's ass.

The Lions not get their asses kicked.

Terrelle Pryor to sign a LOI. At this point, I really don't care where, even join forces with CheatyPants McSweaterVest, just fucking sign with someone already.

Tom Izzo to get Sparty's act together in time for the NCAA's.

Rob Parker to leave Detroit. I don't care about the destination, but the farther, the better.

Bernie Smilovitz to go with Parker.

Mitch Albom to give up writing about sports, and to join Parker and Smilovitz .

Matt Millen's moronic, unemployed head on a fucking platter.

I'd ask for more, but I'm no Valentines Day gift pig! But if I could have only one thing for my Valentine's Day gift? I'd want Matt Millen's moronic, unemployed head on a fucking platter.

You couples out there enjoy what's left of Valentine's Day, I'm going to drink my loneliness away. (I'm kidding, I'm going to watch Lost! Then I'll drink...)

Above the fold - Detroit sports weekend in review

It's time for my Monday ritual, a look back at the Detroit sports weekend that was...

The Pistons are cruising, the Red Wings are reeling, I'm told there was some college hoops played, the Tigers are another week closer to the season, and the Lions are still the Lions. Let's look back, and try not to get upset over phantom interference calls.

Michigan and Michigan State: They both supposedly won, but let me remind you that Big 10 basketball is just a rumor to me, as I can't see the damn games! The Big 10 Network is a farce, wrapped with buffoonery, inside a travesty. As always, I refer you to Spartans Weblog and UMHoops for the hoop scoop.

As for the Terrelle Pryor saga? I couldn't give a shit. You all know my feelings on recruiting news. As for Pryor, I'm sick and tired of the overblown, overwrought, overdone coverage of a 17 year old kid making his college decision. If the kid commits, great. If he doesn't? At least we won't have to hear about "OMG What will Pryor do?" EVERY FUCKING DAY. Anyway, for the curious, MGoBlog has the latest twists and turns regarding the kid.

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons are on cruise control, winning their 8th consecutive game Sunday, thumping the Bobcats 113-87. There really isn't much to say, as it wasn't much of a game. Charlotte was toast by halftime, which has become the Pistons recent MO, being they are kicking NBA ass. The young bench was hella fun to watch once again, and have been the only reason to hang around these blowouts to their merciful end.

In other weekend news, Rasheed Wallace was named to the eastern conference All-Star team to replace Kevin Garnett, joining Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups on the roster.

Here’s the funny thing: the Pistons will have three reps at the game, while the Celtics (sans Garnett) will only have one. For all the jersey popping and self-congratulating Boston does after each win, don’t think for a moment that they don’t feel slighted.

One side of me is happy that the Pistons are being recognized (and the Celtics are getting a slight dis), but the other would rather see them chilling out for a few days resting. A rested 'Sheed is a happy 'Sheed, right?

Detroit Red Wings: This was worst Wings weekend in recent memory. They lost close, intense heartbreaking games to the Leafs and Ducks. The Ducks loss was the hardest to take, as it took a blatantly bad call to keep the game from going into OT. As A2Y so eloquently put it, "SCREWED!"

Nice job Gary. Ass.

Bettman = Ass indeed...

To add insult to injury, Dan Cleary is out for basically the rest of the regular season after taking taking a puck to the jaw early in the Toronto OT loss. The loss of Cleary, who was having a career year, has the Red Wings bloggers much more upset than the current 3 game losing streak.

for example, here's what Yzerman is God has to say about what is quickly becoming a "situation."

In Dan Cleary, the Wings lost easily their most Babcockian player. Cleary has the skill to play with the Zetterbergs and Datsyuks, the defense Babcock demands and the grit he loves. Most of all, Cleary's game goes through the roof when the stakes do. Last year in the playoffs he was a monster, and if you require more recent proof, take a look at the fact that in the opening period of the Wings' game against the Ducks in January, that crazy motherfucker threw hands with Sasquatch. How do you replace him? I mean, you don't. But how do you try?

2 words. Mats Sundin.

Sundin to the Wings was a lark the day before yesterday, an interesting conversation to pass the time. But now, with Charlie Buckets in bed with Grampa Joe for six to eight, is it a necessity? Could be. And if Sundin’s guaranteed to return to Toronto (not a guarantee, in my opinion) than that may bring the price down a bit.

Gorilla Crouch isn't as concerned over the loss of Cleary, and would prefer the Wings obtain a top 4 defneseman. We all remember what happened last season 2 of the top 4 d-men (Kronwall and Schneider) went down.

Ken Holland, who has loads of cap space and some nice assets to trade, needs to make a deal sometime within the next two weeks to get a top 4 d-man who can play on the PP and the PK. It ain’t gonna be cheap but like Bill says, you don’t kick a Cup gifthorse in the mouth.

The next 2 weeks are going to be quite interesting for the Red Wings. They will make a move or 2. What those moves are (A scoring forward? A d-man? Both?) may determine the Wings playoff success, or lack thereof...

Detroit Tigers: The Tigers bloggers are on pins and needles, and will be soon ramping up their coverage. The most anticipated season ever is getting that much closer, as Tiger Blog reminds us pitchers and catchers report in a week. It can't come soon enough!

Billfer delves deep into Dontrelle Willis, and why his 2007 season was so disappointing. His conclusion? Just as in real estate, pitching is all about location, location, location.

The issues seem to be centered squarely on control. I don’t know that his pitches were any more hittable than in past years, just that he ended up in less desirable situations because he wasn’t able to locate like he had in the past.

Ian says goodbye to Roy Scheider. We'll all miss Chief "That’s some bad hat, Harry" Brodie. I couldn't believe he was 75! Damn. But I had totally forgotten Scheider played a not well disguised version of Al Kaline in the Disney film "Tiger Town."

Detroit Lions: The Lions thankfully continue to be well under the radar. They have been so quiet, you'd think there wasn't a NFL team in Detroit. Then again...

Pride of Detroit has begun looking at the Leo's needs position by position, and starts with the quarterbacks.

So, where do the Lions go from here? I see them staying with Kitna in 2008 and then deciding what to do a year from now. If Kitna works out then they will just bring him back, but if he has a rough season, then a decision will have to be made in regards to his future. Down the road, I would bet Stanton gets his shot at starting eventually. The realization likely will be that he isn't a franchise quarterback either, which means Detroit will probably look to the draft to make another mistake.

In other words, the Lions are up shit creek at QB. I agree. Kitna is not the solution, and no one knows if Stanton has what it takes. Their decision to IR Stanton for the 2007 season looks more and more idiotic by the day. You got to love Lions logic...

That's "Above the Fold" for Monday, 2-11-08!

Above the Fold: Detroit sports weekend in review

Michigan and Michigan State: As the winter goes along, Big 10 basketball remains a rumor to me. Though it turned out not having an opportunity to watch Michigan State somehow lose to bottom feeder Penn State was doing me a solid. By losing to both Iowa and Penn St., the Spartans are doing their damnedest to piss away a 1 or 2 seed, and a chance to play at Ford Field in the NCAA's.

Spartans Weblog has already kissed off any chances at their winning the Big 10 title...

I now consider our chances of winning the Big Ten title to be precisely zero. We’ve played four conference road games now–all against the bottom six teams in the conference–and come away just 2-2. We have five conference road games remaining–four of them against the four other top-tier teams in the conference plus a game against an Illinois team that easily could have beaten us Wednesday night. We’ll be lucky to win two of those five games.

There's always the Big 10 tournament, right? Let's hope Tom Izzo can pull Sparty out of their doldrums.

As for Michigan, all anyone cares about is this Wednesday, national signing day for football recruits. As soon as prep QB prospect Terrelle Pryor announces what school he's attending, you'll be able to hear the cheers of joy, or the groans of disappointment, coming out of A2 all over the state. From what I read, he's kind of a big deal...

Detroit Red Wings: What else is new? The Wings continue to dominate the NHL, beating the Boston Bruins 3-1 Saturday night.

What's that? I didn't know there was an NHL team in Boston either! I'd heard rumors, stories from my elders telling me about this team that wore black and yellow sweaters from out east, but I'd had to see this supposed team to believe it.

Guess what? The rumors are true! There is a hockey team in Boston, though we'd never know it from the NHL suck ass scheduling rules.

In other news, the Red Wings have decided to push a player for the Hart Trophy, otherwise known as the league's MVP award. It's not Hank Zetterberg, though he's having a monster season. According to the Macomb Daily's blog loving Bruce McLeod, it's Nick Lidstrom!

It became noticeable this weekend that the Red Wings as an organization are pushing for Nicklas Lidstrom to win the MVP. Bravo.

Coach Mike Babcock mentioned to as many Boston reporters as would listen that he considers Lidstrom to be the best player in the league. Henrik Zetterberg has said that he considers Lidstrom to be the best of the best. Ken Holland, Jim Nill and others are on record that Lidstrom should definitely be in the MVP mix.

It's a nice move by the Wings, as you can't deny that Lidstrom is one of the game's best players. Will it work? I doubt it, as the award will undoubtedly go to someone who's more flashy, not necessarily better. Lidstrom will just get another Norris for the mantle as a consolation prize...

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons are slowly putting together a marvelous season, and much like the Red Wings, it's happening underneath the national radar. After destroying the Dallas Mavericks 90-67 (The Mavs only scored 67 points?) Sunday afternoon, the Pistons have the 2nd best record in the NBA at 34-13. Yes, the Pistons have the 2nd best record in the league!

The bench was as strong as it's been all season, with Rodney Stuckey looking better and better, as DBB's Matt says in his Hoopsworld recap...

That said, Stuckey certainly didn't seem thrown off his game – he finished with 11 points on 5-11 shooting with four boards and a couple of assists. His improvement over the last few games seems to be snowballing, which is great to see.

The young Pistons bench, with Stuckey, Affalo, Johnson and the baby eater, Maxiell, are coming into their own, amd fun as Hell to watch. In fact, they may be the most entertaining young group of players since the X-Factor days of John Salley and Dennis Rodman.

Detroit Tigers: All was quiet till this afternoon, when the Tigers announced the Curtis Granderson signing. My thoughts are here, and you might guess, they are nothing but gushing praise for the Tigers, Granderson and Dave Dombrowski.

It seems the only news we get from the Tigers is good! Not that I'm complaining....

Detroit Lions: All is quiet on the Alen Park front. As the goons on Mlive would put it, screw them losers!

One note from the weekend... Drew Sharp was out of ideas, so he wrote one of those lame "what if" columns. You know the drill. When a columnist comes up with some sort of far-fetched scenario that has no chance in Hell of happening, but makes a case for it anyway. In this case, the far-fetched scenario is if the Lions acquired Mr. Make it Rain, the one man crime wave who's on a first name basis with police all over the country, Pacman Jones.

The Detroit Lions Weblog says why not try for Pacman? The Lions are in desperate straits anyway, so they have nothing to lose by asking...

At this point, as much as it pains me, I am sick enough of the Lions floundering that I would warmly greet a “Pacman” Jones into the organization, especially if the Lions defense doesn’t allow teams to complete 70% of their passes because of it. Sad, I know but……

Hey, what's one more patient in the asylum?

That's a very late "Above the Fold" for Monday, 2-4-08!

Above the fold: Detroit weekend in review

Has there been a more boring Detroit sports weekend in recent memory? The Tigers and Lions are in a state of off season limbo, the Pistons have been off since Thursday, and the Red Wings are idle thanks to the NHL being on their All-Star break.

The only sports event of interest was Michigan taking on Michigan State, as the rivalry moved from the football field to the basketball court. But that game, as we all expected, was a Sparty beatdown...

The only game going on in Michigan, other than the blow out in East Lansing, was the media playing "Where's Kwame?" When the silhouette of Detroit's slick, philandering, embattled, currently in hiding mayor being visible inside the Manoogian Mansion is big news, you know there's not much going on.

Let's break down the weekend that was in Detroit sports...

College basketball: Sparty continued their dominance over the Wolverines on the hard wood, with a 77-62 win that wasn't as close as 15 point difference.

Spartans Weblog has the game recap, and thoughts on Sparty's Big 10 chances...

All things considered, I’m feeling more upbeat about MSU’s place in the world than I was a week or two ago. We’re now one loss back of a single team ahead of us in the conference standings. IU and Wisconsin play each other this Thursday night in Madison, so one of them will pick up a loss in that game.

We need to take care of business at home against the Illini Wednesday night.

This just in, Michigan State is DAMN good, even more so with Drew Neitzel seemingly recovered from his slump. Sparty is deep, well coached, and going to do well in March. The Wolverines are a couple of seasons away from being competitive in the Big 10, and a few recruiting classes away from even thinking about being a threat to MSU. (As long as Tom Izzo is around, I doubt that's possible)

Tommy Amaker left John Beilein with 2 Big 10 caliber players, DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris (Both whom struggled against the Spartans), and not much else. It's going to be a long, hard struggle for Beilein to recruit players that actually know how to shoot, replacing Amaker's good athletes who aren't very good basketball players.

The Wolverines will improve, as Beilein's too good a coach for them not to, but I doubt the maize and blue can get the cream of the Michigan high school crop to attend school in Ann Arbor, when there's an elite program, led by a dynamo hall of fame caliber coach, up the road in East Lansing.

Detroit Pistons: With the Pistons having the weekend off, there's not a much to report. The only news tangentially involving the Pistons was word that Chris Webber, once thought to be interested in rejoining Detroit, is now close to signing with the Golden State Warriors. So much for Rob Parker's misguided claim that C-Webb and the Pistons should and would join forces.

Natalie voices exactly what I'm thinking at Need 4 Sheed.

I know many of you want C-Web back, but I'm not heartbroken. Sure he did great things for us last season, but look how our Championship run turned out. Most of you called for a change at the end of last season, so what would bringing Webber back do? That's more of a backwards step if you ask me. I'm willing to roll the dice with our youth movement as long as Saunders will actually decide to trust them.

No matter what the worst columnist in America believes, with the emergence of Amir Johnson as the 4th big man in the Pistons' rotation, and playing quite well in his 8-10 minutes, there's absolutely no need for Webber on the roster.

Detroit Red Wings: While Mike Babcock, Chris Osgood, and Nick Lidstrom were taking part in the NHL All-Star game, the local fishwraps took at look at Red Wings past, and possibly future.

The Freep ran a long feature story on former fan favorite Darren McCarty, recounting his struggles with substance abuse and bankruptcy, and his ongoing comeback attempt with the the IHL Flint Generals. You can't help but wish for the best for McCarty, who'll always be loved in Detroit for being a great blue collar role player on 3 Stanley Cup winning teams, and unforgettably pounding Claude Lemiux into a bloody pulp.

Though it's very early on in the comeback, it's looking good for McCarty, as the News' Ted Kulifan reports it's likely he will soon be taking the next step, and joining the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins. Kulifan says it'll be a better test as to where McCarty stands...

He's playing a lot of hockey, which is helping him get in shape. We'll get a little truer indication of where exactly he's at physically in the AHL. Certainly, it seems, a lot of fans are pulling for him.

I know I am...

As for future Red Wings? In their (mostly successful) attempt to slowly drain Sweden of all their best hockey talent, the Wings may be the favorites to sign Swedish Elite League star, and NHL free agent, Fabian Brunnstrom.

The Wings are one of five teams that have made contract offers to Brunnstrom, a 22-year-old forward, an undrafted late-bloomer who has become a star playing for Farjestad in the Swedish Elite League this season. Detroit, Toronto and Vancouver are believed to be the frontrunners to land his services.

Reports are mixed as to where the wooing of Brunnstrom stands, as the Freep implied that he will be a Wing, while the News is saying, "Not so fast!" As the Wings have 35 guys whose names end in "strom" on their roster, and the 2nd biggest population of Swedes in the western world, I think the odds are damn good that we'll be learning to correctly pronounce "Brunnstrom" sooner, than later. Let's hope he has as hot a girlfriend as Henrik Zetterberg...

Detroit Tigers: The only news over the weekend was broken, once again, by the Freep's Jon Paul Morosi. (The "Winter of Morosi" continues) The Tigers have begun preliminary negotiations with Curtis Granderson's agent, hoping to sign him to a long-term contract extension. The Tigers blogosphere is already speculating over possible contract terms...

Bless You Boys: Where would the two sides start? Maybe with the six-year, $31 million deal Troy Tulowitzki signed with the Colorado Rockies last week.

D-Town Baseball: It will probably be closer to Grady Sizemore’s 6-year $23.45M deal signed before the 2006 season when his situation was pretty much the same as Granderson’s is currently.

Mack Avenue Tigers believes this is just another sign of the Tigers commitment to compete at a high level.

A heady player who decided he had to cut his strikeouts down and did, I expect we’ll see Granderson make adjustments as need be and continue to be an upper tier player.

This is just continued confirmation the Tigers aren’t going to have a dropoff anytime soon with this management team in place.

Personally, I'm all for this, as Granderson could be the next Yzerman, Sanders or Trammell, Detroit's "It" player. If I was going to pick the face of the Tigers for the next several years, it's unquestionably Curtis Granderson. Yes, even over Miguel Cabrera...

Breaking news: Brandon Inge will report to Tigers training camp with the pitchers and catchers. From all accounts, Inge is back in the Tigers plans for 2008. A very interesting development in the Inge saga, to say the very least. I'll have more thoughts on this later...

Detroit Lions: Not God damn thing. The Lions are quieter than Matt Millen would be on Jeopardy.

That's "Above the Fold" for Monday, 1-28-08!

Detroit fishwrap comment of the day

If there is one thing worse than commenters in internet forums, it's commenters in internet forums after a college rivalry game. Trolling is everywhere, and the subway alumni come out in force.

The Freep commenters are no different. In the comments to Michael Rosenberg's column about the Michigan State beatdown of Michigan, MSU fans bait the U of M fans with the usual taunts. Little sister, Michigan Mountaineers, and the old standby, you suck!

One Michigan fan stood out for his reasoned response. DTownFanInChicago realized, rivalry game or not, these are 2 programs on the opposite sides of the spectrum.

What's the big deal? Everyone knows that MSU is better than Michigan in basketball. They were expected to win. Now, if Michigan had beaten MSU, then that's a story. No shock here.

Exactly! What's the big deal? This game was over before Michigan even took the Breslin Center court. Sparty is to Michigan football, as the Wolverines are to MSU football. The Spartans are a national power, the Wolverines would have trouble competing in the Horizon Conference. MSU has a legitimate shot at the Final Four, while Michigan has a legitimate shot of making the NIT...Next season.

I don't blame the often ridiculed Sparty's for celebrating a big win in a rivalry game. But to make more of the win that is actually was, that being a glorified exhibition against an undermanned team, is silly.

The only thing that should matter to the Spartans is winning the Big 10 tournament, and getting themselves a high seed in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament. If Tom Izzo can get the Spartans to the Sweet Sixteen at Ford Field, they will make the Final Four.

Sad to say, the Wolverines are just a bump in the road on the Spartans' trip to the NCAA's...

Stupidity is contagious

Being bored out of my mind due to the lack of football (Thanks to the God damn NFL and their God damn bye week before the God damn Super Bowl), I was surfing around the web. I hit the Oakland Press website, for the lack of anything better to read. After Drew Sharp's flip-flopping today, I wasn't sure if a columnist could match him in stupidity. Turns out I was wrong...

Pat Caputo regals us with the following deep, deep insight... (To save you 5 minutes of your life, I'll give you the cliff notes version of his column)

Michigan State basketball is really, really good.
Tom Izzo is really, really good.
Michigan basketball is really, really bad.
The Fab 5 were loved, then disgraced.
The Ed Martin scandal was really, really bad for Michigan basketball.
Michigan fans think football is king.
Southeast Michigan is Wolverines country.
Southeast Michigan is not Spartans country.
Thus, few in Southeast Michigan care about college basketball.
Caputo thinks that is really, really bad.

In other breaking news, the sky is blue, Shaun Rogers is fat, Rob Parker blows as a columnist, Matt Millen is a moron, the Oakland Press is a second class paper, and Pat Caputo is a hack.

Above the Fold - Detroit weekend in review

Michigan and Michigan State basketball - I heard a rumor that Michigan State and Michigan both played over the weekend. But it's an unconfirmed rumor, as their games were nowhere to be found on my TV. Head to Spartans Weblog and UMHoops for their views on the rumored games I don't even know were being played.

Thanks a shitload, Big 10 Network...

Terrelle Pryor - Did you hear the the nation's number 1 QB recruit was in A2 this weekend?! That the future of Wolverines football hangs in the balance?! If you believe the hype, Pryor's committing to Michigan will allow Rich Rodriguez's offense to hit the ground running. (Pun intended)

MGoBlog has the latest on the Pryor visit, and opines what most fans are thinking...

Pryor obviously wants maximum drama and is going to get it on Signing Day.

The kid definitely knows what he's doing, and is milking his recruiting for all that it's worth. Miking it to the point of annoyance, actually...

Helping with the mega hype, Angelique Chengelis at the News says Pryor was "impressed."

"I went to a basketball game, and they chanted my name and all that," Pryor said. "The fans were real nice, and the players I met seemed cool. And coach Rodriguez has brought his entire staff with him from West Virginia, so nothing is going to change. That's the offense he wants to run and he'd like me to run it."

He said he was impressed by Mike Barwis, the new strength and conditioning coach.

"I liked how they do their lifting and conditioning," Pryor said. "That impressed me."

//sarcasm on// HE'S IMPRESSED!? WELL, HOT FUCKING DAMN! 4 NATIONAL TITLES, HERE WE COME! //sarcasm off//

Christ, recruiting has to be a soul-sucking endeavor. How hard must it be for a 40 something year old man to cozy up to a snot-nosed, no-nothing 18 year old kid, in order to do their job? No wonder big time college coaches are paid insane amounts of money. You can stand quite a bit of humiliation caused by the whims of a teenager for $2.5 million a year.

Detroit Pistons - The Pistons are in the dog days of the season, and playing like it. With their playoff spot practically assured (Book it now, 1st in the Central, 2nd in the East), the games don't mean much of anything.

So I'm not going to get all up in arms over the Pistons losing to the awful Bulls on Saturday night, and their 5-5 record for January. Neither is the the News' beat writer, the blog hating Chris McCosky.

Despite a 5-5 lull this month, the Pistons' 29-12 record at the mid-point indeed is second only to Boston in the NBA and it's the third-best 41-game mark in team history. They had an 11-game winning streak, are 14-4 at The Palace and posted impressive road victories at Boston and San Antonio.

As for the Chris Webber saga? Conventional wisdom says the Pistons are still thinking seriously about adding the older physically than his actual years Webber. Matt at Detroit Bad Boys say not so fast, the Pistons would need to clear a roster spot. That's not as easy as it sounds...

I’ve kind of held a simplistic view that as soon as a team offered a pair of second-round picks, Murray would be out the door. But who’d make that deal? Not a team looking for cap relief (duh, you only get cap relief by dumping a bad contract, not trading picks that don’t actually cost anything), and probably not an actual contender (since Dumars most likely wouldn’t trade with an Eastern team and nobody in the West seems to be interested). I suppose Brezec has a touch more value simply because of his size/position, but it’s basically the same conundrum.

At this point, why even bother with Webber? He's got less tread left on his legs than the rear tires on the car I drove in high school. (Big V8 power is a wonderful thing, but rough as Hell on the rubber...) I'd hate to see Joe Dumars break up the bench, just for the sake of adding a bad kneed big man who's going to bitch about playing time.

Detroit Red Wings - Much like the NBA, the NHL is in their dog days. For the Red Wings, who are, just like the Pistons, assured of their playoff spot (Book it now, 1st in the Central, 1st in the West), it's the same old same old. They continue winning.

The Wings shook off their own mid season malaise, and last week's 3 game losing streak, by beating Vancouver Friday, and San Jose on Saturday. Inspired by the Sharks putting up little resistance, the snarky A2Y is already looking at playoff matchups...

Four months ago, if you’d told me our first round opponent could be any of the following six, I’d have been mass producing stress train tickets at a discount price: San Jose, Vancouver, Minnesota, Dallas, Denver, Calgary.

Now? Only one team presents an opportunity for pain, in my opinion. And if the Wings can somehow beat Luongo, they’ll fall too. I’m thinking the first round brings with it a team that wouldn’t be there if the playoffs started today: Phoenix.

And they’d be easily dispatched just like Denver or Dallas would be. Calgary? Not so easily. Minnesota? Mildly more difficult than the Dive or Stars.

San Jose? You thought the Wings were dancing in Marty Turco’s head? Yeah, but he’s only one guy. The Sharks entire organization is now officially...affected.

Baroque at Hockeytown Todd says it's not just the NHL dog days, but dog days for hockey bloggers as well. Thus, a rant on bickering hockey fans!

Because your team is worse doesn’t make you a better fan – it just makes you a fan of a worse team (for this season, anyway).

Associated pet peeve: Arguments about whether a fan who boycotts a team with poor management is a “truer” fan than a fan who keeps attending games and supporting the team because he wants to support the players and doesn’t really care about the front office machinations. If you care about the team, you are both fans – stop bitching about who is purer of devotion. It’s a waste of energy when you can both be making up trade rumors to bring the missing piece to your team for a bag of pucks, four broken sticks, and a gimpy minor-league winger.

God damn straight! Couldn't have said it better myself. There isn't a more inane argument than "Who is a better fan?" A better discussion to have is "How do we save the NHL from itself, and from total irrelevancy?"

Detroit Tigers - The closest thing to a story regarding the spendy Tigers was Brandon Inge's personal appearance to sign autographs, and do a meet and greet, at a Grand Rapids Griffins hockey game Friday night. The media showed up, hoping to get Inge's thoughts on his current status, and why he wants to be traded, but he smartly refused to talk. I'll let Bless You Boys fill in the details...

If there was a bitter note to last night's appearance, it's that Inge didn't speak with the media last night. David Mayo criticizes him for that in today's Grand Rapids Press, and was far too harsh about it, if you ask me. I'm not really sure what he was expecting.

What could Inge really have said? We already know what his preferences are. He wants to be a starting third baseman in the major leagues. Would it have been nice if he talked about possibly playing a super-sub role or maybe even moving back to catcher? Sure. But what if he hasn't even worked that out in his own mind yet?

I don't blame Inge for not talking. Truthfully, no good could come of it. The Tigers are trying their best to unload Inge, as per his request, but they aren't going to give him away for pennies on the dollar, either. Inge could play a very valuable role off the Tigers' bench. In fact, he has more value to the Tigers as a super-sub, than he would as a below average hitting 3rd baseman for any other team.

As Ian says, the time for Inge to speak will be in Lakeland. There will be no avoiding the media in spring training.

Detroit Lions - There's not much to report with the Leo's. When it comes to the Lions, no news is the best news of all.

After the strangely scheduled presser last week, called nearly 3 weeks after kicking Mike Martz to the curb, introducing Jim Colletto as offensive coordinator and KIPPY! as the passing game coordinator, the Lions have gone quiet. Especially Matt Millen, who's in stealth mode, becoming as reclusive as Howard Hughes. His not appearing at the presser says volumes, that he's scared to death of facing the media. His public crucifixion will have to wait for the NFL combine at the earliest, as Millen has to show up in order to scout wide receivers...

That's "Above the Fold" for Monday, 1-21-08!

Above the Fold - Weekend in review

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons finished off a rough, 4 games in 5 days, swing through Texas, then to parts east, ending in an ugly loss in New York Sunday night.

Detroit Bad Boys puts into words what certain sports talk radio hosts couldn't, that it was just "one of those games."

Maybe the team was caught looking past the Knicks, or maybe the dreaded “complacency” bug reared it’s ugly head. Or maybe, and this is the most likely scenario, the team simply entered the game on fumes and ran out of gas early. It was their fourth game in five nights, and for whatever it’s worthy their arrival to NYC on Saturday night/Sunday morning was pushed back when the Bobcats game went into overtime.

If the rest of us mortals had to keep the insane travel schedules of NBA teams, we'd be running on fumes after 1 game, let alone 4. All in all, I'll take a 2-2 Pistons road trip that includes games against the Mavericks and Spurs.

The Pistons beat the Bobcats in OT Saturday night, and the silliest thing I heard all weekend was Charlotte wanting a "do-over." In more official terms, they thought about protesting the game, as they mistakenly believe a late in OT offensive goaltending call was incorrect, thus a win was "taken away by a whistle." Um...yeah...sure.

And just to make sure the point was made, Vincent advocated protesting, to force a last-minute do-over similar to one the NBA will stage between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks.

"I'm sure we'd like to contact the league," Vincent said. "I'd like it to be like Miami (when center Shaquille O'Neal was incorrectly charged with a sixth foul). Play the last minute; that would be justified."

Now that we are back on planet Earth... I've never heard of any league overturning a judgment call after the fact. I'd hope that was just emotion talking, and Sam Vincent wasn't serious. If he went through with the protest, Vincent would get laughed right out of the NBA offices.

Detroit Red Wings: In a battle of teams contending for the President's Cup, the Wings lost a close game to Ottawa Senators Saturday night, 3-2. Yzerman is God says the loss exposed a Red Wings weakness, and also suggests how to fix it...

The Wings defense was nonexistent against Minnesota, and they got shoved around against Ottawa. The folks at the HNIC Hotstove brought it up, and I agree wholeheartedly that Rob Blake should be the Wings' target. He would bring physicality and defense and would make for a stellar Top 4 D. Imagine what he would do for the second PP unit, which at times looks completely inept.

That's a move I'd have to seriously think about. Blake is going to be available, and would probably come cheap, if KAHN! is to be believed.

Blake, 38, would be a strict rental and would come much cheaper. The Leafs' asking price for Sundin is sure to be a hefty package of young players and/or prospects and draft picks. I don't see the Wings, who believe they have all the pieces in place to win the Stanley Cup, mortgaging their future for him. I think the Wings are more concerned about improving their defense than adding a top-six forward, and Blake would be a big upgrade over Andreas Lilja on the second pairing.

It should be another fascinating trade deadline for the Red Wings. I'm sure we'll hear daily rumors about Blake and Mats Sundin as the deadline approaches. Same goes for "The Red Wings are just like the Yankees" cry from the rest of the NHL.

On the Wings noticed that the Wings were shoved around quite a bit by Ottawa, and the solution is already on their roster...

The Wings have become much more physical than they used to be, but the fact that they were knocked around by Ottawa, of all teams, is pretty embarrassing. I found myself thinking more than once that it would have been nice to have had Aaron Downey in the lineup. Perhaps he could have awakened his teammates. Perhaps not. I don’t know. But when Chris Kelly gets away with knocking Dallas Drake in the back of the head, you know something is wrong.

I really like what I've seen of Downey. But as the Wings get healthy (Zetterberg and Holmstrom are back from their health issues), will Downey remain on the roster? Sad to say, I doubt it...

Detroit Lions: No news from the Lions proper, but a couple of the Lions bloggers had something to say...

Lionbacker writes an open letter to the old man, with 2 scenarios as to how to improve his moribund franchise...

Scenario One is to simply fire Matt Millen; now and without hesitation. There are several knowledgeable football people available who have real experience, credibility and a passion for excellence. You've just missed an opportunity to hire Bill Parcells, please don't allow the next terrific football mind to pass us by. Matt Millen has made Jessica Simpson look like Steven Hawking, so almost anyone will be an improvement provided they have a vision for a successful football team. Bill Cower, for example, would be my first choice and he'd undoubtedly rejuvenate this franchise and the entire city but he's not the only person who knows how to win. If you don't like him there are others who could turn this beleaguered franchise around, I'd be happy to help you locate such a champion.

The second scenario given is the nuclear option, wiping the Lions from the face of Detroit by moving them to LA. It (sorta) worked for Cleveland, why not the D? Not that either scenario will ever happen, but I'm sure it feels good to get their Lions beefs off of their chests.

Pride of Detroit touches on Mike Martz's statement, his comparing the 49ers situation to the Lions, saying "They're not even close in Detroit."

All I can say to Mike Martz about his comments is that you, sir, are correct. This team isn't close now and probably never will be as long as Millen is here. Rather than work hard to fix this team by signing players in free agency, making smart draft picks, and finding hidden gems on day 2 of the draft, we have to continue to watch Millen screw this mess up. It's not like his profession is rocket science or something like that. I know that being an NFL GM isn't easy, but come on, man, I'm pretty sure my dog could make better decisions than you.

I can't add anything, as I totally agree. Moving on...

Detroit Tigers: The story of the weekend was Saturday's Tigerfest. The big news coming out of the fan festival was Dave Dombrowski's advice to Brandon Inge's best friend. As always, Billfer was all over it at The Detroit Tigers Weblog.

Dave Dombrowski has some advice for Brandon Inge’s best friend:

“If I was Brandon Inge’s best friend,” said Dombrowski, “I’d tell him ‘you should catch.’ I say that, not thinking he can’t play third, but because to me, this guy can be an All-Star catcher."

Pointed words to be sure and you can dispute his All Star candidacy as a catcher, the message is clear. If Brandon Inge wants to play, be it for the Tigers or anyone else, his willingness leverage his athleticism is what will get him that playing time. Dombrowski also reiterated that he felt that they “owed it to him” to try and make a trade, but short of a trade they are a better club with Inge moving around.

Would it upset anyone, other than Inge, if he was on the Tigers roster to start the season as their uber-utility man? Inge is more valuable to the Tigers than to any other team, and we've found out his long-term contract makes him virtually untradable anyway. I have the sneaking suspicion we'll still have Brandon Inge around to use as our favorite punching bag in 2008.

I'll let The Daily Fungo have the last word on what become known as the "Brandon Inge situation."

I realize his world’s been rocked since the trade for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera, but I’m still a little surprised that he’s been so quiet this offseason. He could have pulled an Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh and talked with reporters using nothing but clichés. Instead, he’s said nothing and now must face the questions over and over again in Spring Training. Think that won’t be a bit distracting to him and the team?

Mike makes a good point. Inge could have nipped all the media speculation in the bud if he had made some kind, any kind, of statement. As things stand now, Inge will be the story of spring training.

College basketball: The Spartans lost their first Big 10 game of the season to Iowa, in their worst performance of the season, 43-36. I'm hoping it was just a bump in the road for Sparty on their way to a deep run in the NCAA's. Spartans Weblog gives us the bottom line on what was an embarrassing loss...

Bottom line: We’ve now given up a game to the Badgers and Hoosiers in the race for the Big Ten crown. It’s unlikely either of those two teams will return the favor and lose a game as bad as this one. Here’s hoping Izzo can right the ship quickly. We’ve got 15 games to make up for this loss.

"UGH" was the term Spartan Weblog used to describe the loss. The only redeeming thing you can take from the loss, other than it gives Tom Izzo the opportunity to bust ass on his team in practice, is that no one watched the game, as it was on the Big 10 Network.

Things are looking up, if only slightly, for the Wolverines, as they finally won their first Big 10 game of the season, a 78-68 win over Northwestern. UMHoops has the scoop...

Good win for Michigan (any win at this point is a good one). Manny is really coming into his own and playing within himself. He is going to be a force and every Michigan fan needs to be thankful that he stayed with the Maize&Blue. The last 5 minutes were troubling (letting a huge lead fall apart with the huge run) but that’s a good learning tool for this team. It’s funny because I heard the ESPN crew talking about the same thing happening with the UNC/NC State game. Ekpe also had a monster effort with the double double which is encouraging.

In your face, Jay Bilas!

One more thing before I close. I see that The Bleacher Guy is back, and posting regularly. Glad to see you back in the blogging saddle, Rob!

That's a tardy "Above the Fold" for Monday, 1-14-08