Bye bye Mooch

With today's firing of Lions coach Steve Mariucci, every coach of one of Detroit's major sports teams has fired/relieved a coach of their duties within the calendar year or even more specifically within the last six months

Red Wings - After the lockout got rid of Dave Lewis / hired former Anaheim coach Mike Babcock
Pistons - Parted ways with Larry Brown after 2 straight NBA finals appearances / hired former Minnesota coach Flip Saunders

Tigers - Fired Alan Trammell after three lousy years and a crappy August / Hired former Pittsburgh manager Jim Leyland

Lions - Fired Mariucci after three dismal seasons / Defensive coordinator Dick Jauron (a former head coach of Chicago) is the interim

But with the Mooch firing I think something had to be done and hopefully the team plays better over the last five games. I don't think the West Coast offense was the right fit for this team with its current personnel and whoever has this team next should adapt to the talents of those on the roster. And hopefully Kevin Jones will be better utilized

I'm just wondering who the hell is a likely candidate for a long term replacement - this whole process should be interesting to see

Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving - mine wasn't too bad.

This marked the first time ever that I wasn't with my immediate family for Thanksgiving. Kind of interesting but at least I still was with some sort of family. I spent the holiday up in Ypsilanti with my moms side of the family. I was at my grandmas house with a few of my mom's siblings (my Aunt Brenda and her husband Terry, my Aunt Ramona, and Uncle Errol) As always with my mom's family there is nothing short of a humorous expierience.

Whether it was my uncle being lazy and wanting Brenda to pratically wait on him or everyone scoring on how my grandma's tv completely sucked at reception it was rather a hilarious day. As far as the TV was concerned my aunt joked it was so fuzzy that we couldnt tell how little clothes Mariah Carey had on during the halftime show of the Lions game.

Speaking of the Lions what a sloppy performance for the second consecutive year on Thanksgiving. At least it wasnt as bad as gettin whipped by the Colts big time last year but still. Mariucci should be fired and I was hoping that Friday would have been his day like all of the Detroit media was predicting. But instead Detroit is stuck with him longer. It seems like national spotlight doesnt bode well for the Lions - i remember them getting spanked in that preseason game on Monday Night Football by the Rams - granted it was preseason but still. And why couldnt the Lions wear the traditional throwback uniforms - instead they wore the black ones.

I also hit the mall briefly this weekend but didnt do much shopping - more of so to check out what the crowds were like. I purchased a few things from JCpenneys but that was the extent of my shopping on Black Friday.

Talked to my sister the other day and she agreed to get me a red pistons jersey for Christmas - thats pretty exciting. Hard to believe I haven't seen her since May. Pure craziness.

Thats all I've got for the time being

damn the popo

So is driving back from Homer on Friday after covering a playoff game and was heading back to the office to type up my column on deadline. I'm back in Adrian and less than three miles from the office when I get pulled over by the damn police. I'm like damn - its almost midnight and I still have a story to type and im like 3 minutes away from the office.

He asks if i knew why he pulled me over - i reply no - he tells me i didnt come to a proper or complete stop at a stop sign further back. And this guy didnt pull me over until i was about a mile from that spot. I'm like yeah whatever and just keep quiet b/c you shouldnt talk back to the police especialyl being a young black male - (i heard about what happened to rodney king) anyways a few minutes later the guy comes back and issues me a ticket. He couldnt tell me how much it would cost so I had to call a number on Monday.

I call the number only to find out that the ticket was 110 bucks! im like damn. I'd almost be better off being caught speeding. so now i have like five days left to pay it and im thinking about challenging it - but who knows.

anyways that is my exciting news. other than that it has been a busy time for me of late and i like it that way
Heres what ive been doing

Last Saturday - cover Adrian College football game at 1 p.m. - start working on layout for Mondays paper

Monday - did page design at 5 am, covered two playoff basketball games at Manchester High School that night

Tuesday- Went to work to finish up the All-County football capsules. Added some things to a feature story and took care of a few more little things. made a few phone calls

TODAY - cover two district playoff games at Adrian High

Tomorrow- Do an interview out at Sand Creek for a feature that is running on Saturday before their state semi-final playoff game

Friday - to be determined but either hoops or page design

Saturday - State semifinal game at White Lake between Sand Creek and Unionville Sebawaing (USA)

I've been doin a lot of features later which is pretty exciting because it is something different from writing game stories - they kind of get boring after a while.

Jill Pfund feature
DJ Howard feature

Other than that the Pistons are still perfect and thats been awesome - Flip Saunders looks like a genius right now . but there is still 75 more regular season games so you cant get too carried away yet.

And I have to say I'm looking forward to the big game this weekend even tho I'm going to miss it - but lets go Blue!!

compelling items

Two things have compelled me to make my latest post to this blog - cheerleaders and T.O.



Starting with the cheerleaders - This weekend two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders were arrested for having sex in a bathroom at some club/bar in Florida. People complained about a long line waiting to use the restroom only to find out that the cheerleaders were getting it on.

Here is the article

After talking with two of my buddies I've gathered these responses:

"If i was at that club and i saw that i'd probably just walk into traffic immediately, i dont see my life getting much better than that"

"i wouldnt have called the cops, the show must go on!"

I must say I'd have to agree.


Second item : T.O. is all but done in Philly as the Eagles have decided he will miss the rest of the season following his four game suspension. To which I say it sux for fantasy owners who have him on their team - I'm glad I don't have him

At the same time in reality I wouldnt mind if the Lions became in the running for him. So T.O. doesnt like Garcia - thats fine. If Harrington is throwing to him he definitely can take criticism from T.O. after all he has faced in his career and his teammates this season. Plus he is demanding of the ball and makes plays - more than the Lions can say for any of their wide receivers with the exception of Scottie Vines.

The only problem is his price tag but what do the Lions have to lose - they arent doing anything with the offense they have - why not add a REAL playmaker.
But having a legit threat like T.O. might not matter if the offensive line cant block.

interesting quotes

Lately I've been reading stories or other things and have come across a lot of interesting quotes. Here are a few of them:

“From what I’ve seen on tape the last couple of days, the guy can do it all.... Two things are going to happen. The bad thing is, you have to cover me. The good thing is you can switch your insurance to GEICO and save 10 percent.”

- Cincinnati Bengal's wide receiver Chad Johnson speaking of his matchup with Green Bay cornerback Al Harris

“We'll see those bandwagon ass cats come May and June, that's when they'll predict the Pistons will win it. For now, it's good. We like being swept under the carpet because the dirt comes out in the end.”

- Detroit Piston's forward Rasheed Wallace on the Pistons not gettin much love from those predicting how the NBA will shape up this season

"The black athlete has made a big difference. They've changed the whole tempo of the game. Black athletes have done a great job as athletes and as people in turning the game around. Say what anybody wants to say about it, it's a different game because of them."

- Legendary Penn State coachJoe Paterno on how blacks have helped revolutionize college football

a weekend off

Definitely was a nice little weekend for me

Covered a football game on Friday between two longtime rivals that hadnt played in 18 years and then had the rest of the weekend off which I enjoyed.
Saturday I did a little shopping up in Ypsi-Ann Arbor and caught up with a few of my buddys. Cynthia went to the mall and ran all over Ann Arbor and Arborland with me and then i got to see my peeps Rach, Andrea and her boyfriend David and their roomie. On my way out of town I stopped at the football game for a few and hung out with Casey. Also got to holla at Eddie and saw Chuck, Lou, Bobby and the rest of them usual front row crowd at EMU sporting events. I even got a free t-shirt advertising the GMAC bowl - definitely can't beat getting free stuff even when your not in college.

As far as being back at Rynearson Stadium not too much has changed other than the turf and the product on the field. The Eagles look a lot more competitive and have a good defense but they still can't pick up a big win yet as they lost 24-23 because of a missed extra point in the final 30 seconds of the game. Tyler Jones looked solid at quarterback in his first start - have to like his speed.
One thing that definitely hasnt changed though is the attendance, as Saturday reminded me of a typical EMU crowd that I remember looking at from the press box in years past.

Today was a laid back day for the most part. Other than cooking i just watched tv. Jeff Garcia looked a lot better than Joey Harrington has looked at quarterback for the Lions and it was nice to see them beat the Browns to stay at the top of the NFC North with Chicago. Then the MHSAA state playoff selection show was on and five of the teams my paper covers qualified for the playoffs with four of them hosting games.

The matchups (teams my paper covers is in bold):
Southgate Anderson at Adrian
Onsted at Hillsdale
Napoleon at Addison
Madison Heights at Blissfield
Whitmore Lake at Sand Creek

Hopefully a few of the teams make long playoff runs

In the EMU news

wow i'm still finding my name mentioned in EMU related things even tho I've been graduated for about six monthe now.

Here is the latest:
(can be read online at http://www.emich.edu/focus_emu/101105/peoplecolumn.html)

* The Eastern Echo recently took first place in the "classified section" category and second place for "general excellence" among college Division I newspapers in the Michigan Collegiate Press Association competition.

"The big news is the second place for General Excellence in Division I," said Kevin Devine, manager of student media. "That speaks to the contributions of the entire team — writers, photographers, editors, designers, sales reps, classified staff, office assistants and even delivery staff."

The Echo also had a number of individual award winners. Nathan Bomey, managing editor, and Brian Calloway, who graduated in May 2005, won first place in the deadline story category with their article, "Frat Member Dead." Bomey also garnered a second in the non-deadline story category with his story, "We're the Ones That Wanted to Go" and in the investigative reporting category with his article, "Attendance Figure Scandal." Kurt Hunt took third in the non-deadline story category with his article, "No One Wanted to Be Near Me."

In addition, Drew Dorian grabbed first place in the "reviews" category with "A Saab Story: One Sweet Swede" while Jason Idalski walked off with top honors in the "columns" category with his column, "Kerry Supporters Not Welcome at Bush Rally."

Bomey won an honorable mention Michigan Press Association award for a series of light-hearted debate articles that appeared in The Saline Reporter. The honorable mention was in the "lifestyle reporting" category in the weekly Class C division. The Saline Reporter while Craig Watson, the Echo's photo editor, took second place in the weekly Class C division with a sports photo in the Chelsea Standard.

ramblings

Different questions I have posed to myself of late


Can the Detroit Lions win a game without the benefit of flags?
In both their wins (home games against Green Bay and Baltimore) their opponent commited a lot of costly penalties, most recently the Ravens having 21 infractions and completely losing their cool this past Sunday in their 35-17 loss to the Lions. Are the Lions paying officials to call insane amount of penalties on the other team. Because certainly their offense isnt gettin the job done without some help. But hey at least they are sitting in first place.



Charles Rogers?
The guy seems to definitely be in need of an attitude adjustment and needs to grow up. His four game suspension for violating the leagues drug policy is ridiculous. Perhaps he should quit worrying about catching dime bags and focus on catching the pigskin when it is thrown to him and actually run his routes.
And with Charles Rogers out other receivers need to be steppin up, but we have Roy Williams injured and Mike Williams sore - it seems like the injury bug always strikes the Lions key players, hindering them that much more (like they needed anything else to hinder their abilities)

Defense
The defensive unit seems to be the key for every successful team that boasts underachieving offense. The defense for the Lions came up huge with Dre Bly having two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery last week against the Ravens. And the Lions usually get their points off turnovers. Even at the high school level I've seen the same parallel with the Adrian High School football team when their offense doesnt meet up to expectations and commits costly turnovers. Their defense bailed them out with a goal line stand at the end of last weeks contest against Saline, helping them clinch a spot in the state playoffs.



the craziness of fantasy football
Roy Williams going out of the game early killed me in my yahoo league this past week as I lost a game by 1.5 points, putting me at 2-3. Damnit! With him being the main receiver i'm sure he would have pushed me over the hump - but oh well.
In my ESPN leagues I have a team that is 4-1 and my two other teams are 3-2. Definitely not bad starts through the first five games of the season.
Another thing that made me mad this week was Tatum Bell's huge day - I have him on three of my four teams but havent started him b/c Mike Shanahan is so damn shady on which running back he is going to start from week to week - might be some prime trade material.

Recent stories/work stuff
While at work today, I saw a fax come in about the Adrian College women's soccer teams latest game. The fax was its box score from its contest with Calvin College. When looking at the box I saw that Adrian lost 10-0 --- definitely not a surprise. They recently lost a game 12-1 and the one goal they scored - they actually didnt score because it was an own goal by the other team. That is pretty much the kind of team they are and earlier this season they broke a 20 some game losing streak. Anyways when I examined the box I saw that the team got outshot 55-0 for the game. They must have counted everything under the sun as a shot but I doubt that it was a stretch because when I saw them play, they didnt look to good.

These are just various things I've gotten to write about lately - all were pretty good contests with the exception of the tecumseh-lincoln football game.

One of the things I've written about in the past 2 and a half weeks was a basketball game in which I saw a whole bunch of girls sobbing after a regular season loss. Definitely crazy but the Sand Creek-Clinton girls hoops game lived up to its billing. Sand Creek led most the way but Clinton hit some foul shots within the final 30 seconds to take the lead. Sand Creek had a few chances to tie them but their player who had been on all night missed shots when they mattered most. As a journalist, close games like that are definitely what I love to see

Clinton-Lenawee Christian hoops

Tecumseh-Ypsilanti Lincoln football

Hudson-Blissfield hoops

Hudson-Clinton football

time to panic? i say no

I havent written in this thing for about two weeks now so a brief update on whats been going on - --- A whole lot of nothing. Been covering games, doing page design and watching the baseball playoffs (I'm glad the Yankees are out!) and football.

And speaking of football that is what a majority of this entry will be about it - so with that being said is it time to panic for UM fans like myself. I say definitely not. Michigan has three early losses this year, for the first time that I can even remember. People in Ann Arbor definitely aren't used to a .500 team at the midpoint of the season, and appropriately so. Expectations are high at UM year in and year out because of the great tradition of the program and the talented players that don the maize and blue each year.



Unfortunately that is just not enough to get over the hump and win football games. In years past Michigan tends to eke out victories in close football games like their latest loss to Minnesota (23-20) this weekend and their loss to Wisconsin on Sept. 24, but it just hasn't been so this year. They aren't catching breaks and opponents arent bowing down and rolling over for them.

There has definitely been a lot of firsts this season - like the first time in a long time that Michigan has fallen out of the Associated Press poll in addition to the .500 mark midway into the season and Minnesota has possession of the little Brown Jug for the first time since the 1980's (I thought the oldest trophy in college football had a permanent Ann Arbor address). But can Michigan overcome this? Most definitely.



Going back into history- well last year - I recall another team being 3-3 through six games. That being a bitter rival of the Wolverines - the Ohio State Buckeyes. Here is comparing their first six games with Michigan's first six.

2004 Ohio State
- Sept. 4 Ohio St. 27, Cincinnati 6
- Sept. 11 Ohio St. 21, Marshall 21
- Sept. 18 Ohio St. 22, NC State 14
- Oct. 2 Northwestern 33, Ohio St. 27
- Oct. 9 (No. 16) Wisconsin 24, Ohio St. 13
- Oct. 16 Iowa 33, Ohio St. 7

2005 Michigan
- Sept. 3 Michigan 33, Northern Illinois 17
- Sept. 10 (No. 20) Notre Dame 17, Michigan 10
- Sept. 17 Michigan 55, Eastern Michigan 0
- Sept. 24 Wisconsin 23, Michigan 20
- Oct. 1 Michigan 34, (No. 11) Michigan State 31
- Oct. 8 Minnesota 23, Michigan 20

The lone difference is that Michigan had a chance to win each of their contest in the final quarter while obviously Ohio State was blown out against Iowa. Also Michigan didn't get off to an 0-3 start in Big Ten play but1-2 isn't much better off. The Buckeyes overcame their problems and salvaged their season to finish 7-4, their lone setback coming to Purdue 24-17 a week before their matchup with Michigan. They ended their season with a victory over the Wolverines and then a 33-7 victory over Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl.

While Michigan is definitely not having a Wolverine type year and another share of the Big Ten title appears out of reach (although the Nittany Lions are the lone unbeaten team in league play), they too can still make a solid season and it starts with topping a surprising Penn State team that is ranked eighth in the nation and has a talented freshman class of receivers and a very mobile quarterback in Michael Robinson. And they definitely are coming to Ann Arbor with a steam of confidence after upsetting Ohio State in Happy Valley last weekend.

But to my surprise Michigan is favored in this game - I woulda never known had a I not read Rosenberg's column in the Free Press today. So I guess this will be a good tell tale sign of how the rest of the season will go for the Wolverines.

home sweet home, UM football and EMU

For the first time since like May I went home this past weekend - usually it takes a pretty special occasion for me to go home which was exactly the case on this latest visit. My friend Renae from EMU was getting married.

The wedding ceremony and reception were cool, but after sitting through it it made me think how weddings are overrated in a sense. Then Crystal quickly reminded me that weddings are for the women anyways not the men. But seriously, you do all this planning for a ceremony that last like 20 minutes (if your not at a ghetto wedding) and then a reception that seems to fly be quickly.



One good thing about this particular wedding was I got a chance to catch up with a couple of people I had known from hanging out with Renae during the summers and a few of our mutual friends from the good ol days at EMU. It was very good to see both Rachel and Kristi and it had been some time since I had last seen them.

And its interesting to see how people have moved on from their college heartbreaks. Kristi was dating my boy Zack, who i lived with for two of my four years at EMU. They had dated for the longest of time but she has since moved on and seems really happy. Same case with Rachel, who had a new man and finally seemed to had been real happy after a good relationship turned wrong in college.

Anyways enough of this kind of talk

Moving on, I'm still saddened by how bleak Michigan's football season looks. After losing to Wisconsin on Saturday, it looks like their can be a long road ahead. This is the first time since 1998 that they aren't ranked in the AP top-25 poll and if they were lose to MSU this weekend it would be the first time since I can remember that they were under .500 during the season. I hope to not see that day.

On the other hand, the inner state rival, Michigan State is having a Michigan-like season. I don't know what has gotten into them but I know three of their wins have been easy. While they are playing like a team that should be ranked in the top-15, they also have beat up on Hawaii, perennial Big Ten doormat Illinois, and a Mid-American Conference team in Kent State. And let us not forget that you blew a 21-point lead to Notre Dame and then were lucky enough to win the game in overtime. And if i recall last year, you blew a lead to Michigan as well. So Spartan fans hold up before you get too excited.

Facing Michigan and Ohio State back-to-back will show us what you are really made of. But until then don't jump ahead of yourself. I've heard too many MSU fans out bragging of late, but I guess this is the first time in awhile they've had something good to talk about when it concerns football and having the upperhand on Michigan.

Even with all that, I'm still saying Go Blue this weekend and I think they will win. Besides its not too often that Michigan loses back-to-back games and MSU could be in BIG trouble playing the Wolverines after a heart breaking loss.

Also gotta root for EMU in their homecoming game against Kent State on Saturday. Its weird not being up there for Homecoming. Here is hopes that they dont lose on Homecoming which they have done the past two years to Western Michigan in '03 and Idaho in '04.

Funny comics from the CM-Life

Came across these funny comics from the CM-Life, Central Michigans school newspaper. I work with a couple of former writers for the paper and they told me about these comics they have done in light of the football players going to jail in connection with the death of a man at a bar in Mount Pleasant.

Here are the comics done by Evan T. Shaner. Pretty creative.

football rambling

Well this weekend ended on a sour note as it looks like I'll more than likely lose all my fantasy football games this week but also having to see the Lions get whipped in Chicago yesterday was just ridiculous. I saw myself flashing back to the ugly preseason game that was at Ford Field against the Rams.

Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong for the Lions. And based on my discussions with Nate and Mr. Scott Mcneish, it is very feasible that the NFC North winner could very well be 8-8 or 7-9. It would almost equate to baseball's pitiful National League West Division. Even Minnesota, who was supposed to be the front runner in the division, is 0-2 after getting whipped by Cincinnati (WHODEY). Then Green Bay is 0-2 and Detroit and Chicago are tied for the division lead with 1-1 records.

Speaking of whippings, Eastern absolutely got demolished by UM - just as I expected. But I thought at least the Eagles would be able to move the ball or score some points. I was very disapointed that they weren't able to get on the board, even against Michigan's scrubs. I hope they come ready to play in their MAC opener against CMU this weekend.



I guess at least EMU got paid $400,000 to travel seven miles for an ass beating. And hey maybe they can say they are the team that got Michigan back on track. I'm hoping for a better showing from Eastern when it plays Michigan again in 2007.

And to bring it to high school football for a minute, I got a chance to see Adrian play again and I think they are pretty legit. Minus a few stupid special teams penalties they dominated Chelsea. They are two wins away from reachin the playoffs but have a tough game on the road at Pioneer this week. But the thing they have going for them is a great defense, which is a big part why they are the No. 2 ranked team in Division 3.

As far as fantasy football is concerned I was surprised by a lot of performances this week like Daunte Culpepper throwing five interceptions. It seems like him and Joey Harrington are on the same level.



Also i'm surprised Kevin Jones hasnt been able to run the ball that well in the first two games. Just as dismal as his performance has been, on the other hand Pittsburgh's Willie Parker has had a couple of good games. And former UM receiver Braylon Edwards had more than 100 yards receiving in his second game in the NFL. Hopefully he wont be a bust like the most recent UM receiver that was a top-10 draft pick - David Terrell.

A good start

With this past weekend being kickoff to the NFL football season, it also meant the first week of fantasy football and my teams got off to a perfect spots as I won my opening games in each of my three leagues that competition has started in.

Peyton Manning helped kick ass for me with two of my teams - man I love that guy.

And it was also nice that the Lions opened up with a victory over the Green Bay Packers.
Here is a funny photo from that game



The only mellow point to my weekend football wise was seeing Michigan choke against Notre Dame. In all though, it was just a bad week for the Big Ten with Iowa falling to Iowa State and Ohio State losing to Texas. At least EMU and Toledo won though. I'm lookin more and more forward to this weekend with my two favorite teams playing - EMU (my alma mater) and Michigan (my favorite team since I can remember)

Now that the NFL has began playing, I get three straight days of football which is very appeasing to me. Friday is high school football and I've covered three solid games this season. Most recently a good game between Blissfield and Hudson last Friday. And this Friday I hope to see much of the same when I get to see Adrian place Chelsea, which is a football power house.

Outside of that I've covered some other very interesting things in the past week. Last Thursday I covered the Adrian-Tecumseh swim meet --- not to be mean or anything but there were some pretty big girls on one of the swim teams and it surprised me that those girls were even on the varsity team because they were the slowest in the pool. I remember when I arrived to the meet, the photographer immediately pointed them out to me.

Tuesday I covered a basketball game at Adrian High School between them and St. Mary Catholic Central. I saw Adrian's star Kelly Kohn set the school record for points in a game with 38 and she also grabbed 19 boards. And the basketball game was a pretty close contest too which is surprising for a matchup of a Class A school and a Class C or D school.

Also during the JV game between the schools an argument broke out between the SMCC coaches, an SMCC fan and the scorekeeper because the game was stopped a minute into the fourth quarter because a few players from SMCC had not checked in to the scorekeeper at the change of the quarter, like your supposed to. The scorekeeper didn't notice it until then and brought it up to the officials and they gave SMCC a technical. The SMCC coach got mad and thought they shouldnt bring it up a minute after the fact. The scorekeeper was telling the SMCC coach she was just doin her job when a snotty SMCC fan yelled at the scorekeeper and told her to not talk to their coaches. I thought the scorekeeper and this lady were gonna duke it out for awhile because they kept arguing with each other when finally the scorekeeper was like I dont have to talk to you, your a spectator.

So that was crazy. Lastly today I was at a women's college soccer match and I think Adrian has to be the worst college soccer team I've ever seen. I didn't realize before I went to the match that they were coming off back-to-back one win seasons, but I realized today why. They ended up gettin defeated by Calvin College 7-0 and looked pretty awful the whole game. The team has lost 22 straight games dating back to last season and has been shutout in four of their five contests this year.

During the game i was sitting nearby a girl and her mom and heard them talking about the game and what Adrian was doing wrong. Little did I know the girl was a recruit and the coach told me it was his prized recruit that he was hoping to reel in. After seeing them get beat that bad I doubt that recruit will want to attend Adrian College.

So enough about those ramblings. On a side note its been good to catch up with all the EMU people and a few others who I havent talked to in awhile.

whats goin on with the Tigers

The Tigers can't even buy a victory is what it seems like of late. They either get decent pitching and don't hit, or hit and get crappy pitching. Or they can do both and get routed. Of late their has been nothing to cheer about and a team that I thought would fare better than last year's team looks to be heading toward the same kind of finish.



Not to long ago there was a stretch where the Tigers had played good ball and had gotten back in to the wild card chase with a string of winning baseball. But since that stretch things have gone south. Its usually at the end of the year that you want to be playing your best ball, but the Tigers are at a season worst 12 games below .500. Now it could be worse and Detroit could be like the lowly Kansas City Royals. But the Tigers had a season similar to K.C.'s not to long a go when they almost set the American League record for losses in a season.

Its too often in Detroit that you have to look towards next season for hope of breaking the stretch of under achieving baseball. The Tigers haven't finished above .500 since I was in freakin fifth grade - its been a good 12 years.

Magglio Ordonez, the Tigers big free agent acquisition this past offseason, even came out and stated that the team stinks in an article in today's Detroit Free Press.

The Tigers, and for quite some time now, cant seem to have players who stay healthy for an entire season to aid their cause. You have Carlos Guillen, who seemed to have never fully recovered from the injury that cut his 2004 season short. Then their is Ordonez who missed half the entire first half of the season because of injury.

The pitching seems to have run out of gas, in particular Sean Douglass and Jason Johnson. Jeremy Bonderman looks like he hasn't recovered since gettin hit a few starts back and is having elbow problems which are forcing him to miss his next start.

Usually when a team falters like the Tigers have of late, blame is turned to the manager. Obviously something isn't right - it might not necessarily be Trammell but something needs to be done differently because what the Tigers have right now isn't working. Which makes it interesting that the Detroit News had an article about Jim Leyland, who had a lot of success as a manager in professional baseball and is looking to get a job as a coach again.

Should Trammell be let go at the end of the season he might be the perfect candidate, especially since he actually has a track record of having success as a manager.



So I'm done with my venting about how the Detroit has yet again under performed, but here is hopes that next year the Tigers and fans won't have to look toward September as being a month to gauge what kind of team/talent you will have next year. Lets hope next year we can be in the thick of a wild card race, which shouldn't be too much to ask - accept it is when your in Detroit.

---------------------------------

Here is a Michael Rosenberg column about the Tigs. A funny line from his column:

"Pudge Rodriguez can fly to Columbia but can't drive anybody home"

- in reference to Pudge's low RBI total

thoughts

First to address a few things from my college football post

Nate - Considering I almost went to UM but changed my mind at the last second, I'm a diehard Michigan fan at best. I would love nothing more but to see EMU put on a good showing against them but realistically I want Michigan to win. Although when I play that game in my video game (NCAA Football 2006) I will play as EMU. Weird but I'll hope for a good game.

Corey - Heck yea I got to see some of the Ohio State game. Luckily down here I get the ABC Toledo channel so I get to catch those games. I just saw your post about not minding Michigan which is pretty respectable. We need more Ohio State fans like you.

Anyways as to what else is up. All my peeps from EMU are back at schoool. Man i miss being up there right about now, but I also feel that I have moved on to better things. Its been good to see some of my pals though, like Cynthia when she stopped here last Friday on her way back to campus from Cincy. I also got to see Laina and Miss Casey Copeman as well so thats been great.

I definitely dont miss the homework or the walks across campus, especially how hot it was today. I do miss the student paper - its the only place where you can get the best experience and afford to make silly mistakes and not pay too severe consequences for it - most of the time.

Tonight i filled in for as a sub in a bowling league and bowled like shit - haha. A 111, 120 and 128. Pretty shitty but at least as a consolation I didn't lose any of the games to Crystal. Even the last game, which we tied, I hit 9 pins in the last frame to ensure that she wouldn't beat me. I also never realized how much it bothered me when people bowl SLOW. i find it so rude when they take their time and dont pay attention which prolongs the game. I wanted to fall asleep while waiting for our opponents to quit gossiping.

Last night I had to work and covered a soccer game between Adrian College and Siena Heights and do desk work. I also got a chance to hit the Cafe for a few games of volleyball after that. Was pretty cool thats for sho and I thought I played pretty well.

Anyways thats all I got for now. I'm hungry now so I'll write more later

Kanye West

Kanye West is a grown ass man, that is for sure.

Most recently he made the news because of his comments during a national televised airing to benefit those hurt by hurricane Katrina

Here is the associated press story

It began, fittingly enough, with jazz from New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis. But "A Concert for Hurricane Relief," a heartfelt and dignified benefit aired on NBC and other networks last night (Sept. 2), took an unexpected turn thanks to the outspoken rapper Kanye West.

Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed "George Bush doesn't care about black people" and said America is set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible."
The show, simulcast from New York on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and Pax, was aired live to the East Coast, enabling the Grammy-winning rapper's outburst to go out uncensored. There was a several-second tape delay, but the person in charge "was instructed to listen for a curse word, and didn't realize [West] had gone off-script," said an NBC spokesperson.

West's comment about the president was cut from NBC's West Coast airing, which showed three hours later on tape.

Comedian Mike Myers was paired with West for a 90-second segment that began with Myers speaking of Katrina's devastation. Then, to Myers' evident surprise, West began a rant by saying, "I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food."

While allowing that "the Red Cross is doing everything they can," West declared that government authorities are intentionally dragging their feet on aid to the Gulf Coast. Without getting specific, he added, "They've given them permission to go down and shoot us." After he stated, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," the camera cut away to comedian Chris Tucker.

Concluding the hour a few minutes later, host Matt Lauer noted, "emotions in this country right now are running very high. Sometimes that emotion is translated into inspiration, sometimes into criticism. We've heard some of that tonight. But it's still part of the American way of life." Then the entire ensemble performed "When the Saints Go Marching In."

In a statement, NBC said, "Kanye West departed from the scripted comments that were prepared for him, and his opinions in no way represent the views of the networks.

"It would be most unfortunate," the statement continued, "if the efforts of the artists who participated tonight and the generosity of millions of Americans who are helping those in need are overshadowed by one person's opinion."

During the show, viewers were encouraged to contribute to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by phone or on the Web. Some 18 presenters performed musical numbers or gave information on the tragedy's huge scope.

Louisiana native Tim McGraw teared up as he told Lauer, "I know the citizens that weren't affected by this directly are gonna stand up and do good things for people." He sang two songs, then became the first of the evening's stars to sign a Gibson Les Paul Special guitar to be auctioned online.

Faith Hill, a Mississippi native, sang "There Will Come a Time," with the inspiring lyrics, "The darkness will be gone, the weak shall be strong. Hold on to your faith." New Orleans son Aaron Neville performed Randy Newman's soulful "Louisiana 1927" with the memorable chorus, "they're trying to wash us away, they're trying to wash us away."

New York governor George Pataki presented the Red Cross with a check for $2.5 million and promised, "This great state will do far more."

Welcome back college football

Oh college football how I missed you. Many schools had their season openers today and it was great flipping through the channels to see college football on. This has to be the thing I love most about fall - weekends of football.

Waking up this morning and being able to flip through a couple of channels and catch Bowling Green playin Wisconsin, Ohio State vs. Miami-OH and a few other games is simply the best. I don't know what it is about the game - whether its fight songs, the school spirit or whatever - college football is just appealing and marks one of my favorite times of the year.



Nothing gets me more than seeing the maize and blue and hearing Hail to the Victors or Lets Go Blue - Going to a UM game is an experience that simply tops it all.

With the return of college football, it also means there were upsets - like Oklahoma getting beat by TCU 17-10. Even my alma mater, Eastern Michigan, almost pulled off an upset on Thursday but fell to Cincinnati 28-26.



Speaking of that, whats goin on with Sherrell not even traveling with the team to Cincy. That is pretty crazy.

Other random stuff:
- I covered a college football Division III game today - well if I can call it a game. It was a romping - Adrian College beat Heidelberg College 61-14.
- The Tecumseh-Adrian football game last night was so one-sided but there was a few plays on the highlight reel for Adrian High senior Oscar Johnson who has a block that laid a Tecumseh player out on a 70-yard punt return for a TD by Ronald Walker. After the play the Tecumseh player was still laying on the field down. Adrian ended up winning 33-0.
- I never knew this but Lloyd Carr was an assistant at EMU back in the day, like in the 1970's. Came as a very surprising thing to me - but a lot of those big time coaches get their start in the MAC, especially at a school like Miami-OH which is like a coaching factory
- Any controversy about the Lions starting quarterback situation should be over now that Jeff Garcia is out 6-8 weeks after getting injured (broke his leg) in the preseason finale last night. The Lions did win though - its about time

How embarassing

New uniforms did the Lions no justice last night.

It was quite embarassing to see them get blown out on national television. To get a gauge of how bad they looked, fans started filing for the exits before the half way point on the third quarter.

Thigns were so bad that when the Lions did get into the end zone the touchdown was called back because of two holding penalties on the same play. Granted the Rams are a good team, but are the Lions that bad??

Michael Rosenberg's column in today's Detroit Free Press simply displays how terrible the team looked and echoes my thoughts on the situation perfectly.

My hopes are now that the first unit will please please score a touchdown sometime in the next preseason game - cuz right now im not even sure if they are capable of reaching the end zone. The only touchdown that the Lions scored last night came in the final minute with all the third stringers in and like no one in the crowd.

Last night just must have not been the night to be a Detroit sports fan. Because while the Lions were being taken to school, the Indians were beating up on the Tigers. The Tigers had a 5-0 entering the bottom half of the first and let Cleveland score 6 runs in that inning to take the lead. When your ace is on the mound (which was the case with Jeremy Bonderman pitching) I'd expect that five runs would be enough. But apparently I was wrong.

Now I'm trying to figure out which is worst right now - the Lions offense or the Tigers pitching

IN OTHER NEWS:
* Right around this time is when I was always gettin prepared for the long days of OTEAM/NSOA training leading up to the four day orienation at EMU which starts on Saturday. I'm glad to not have to go through such long days this year. Sure I might miss it slightly but mainly for the people aspect
* The hurricane's domino effects are hurting my pocket. I wish gas would go down and stay down for awhile.
* The Pistons added former Chicago Bull Ron Harper to their coaching staff
* My feature turned out well - Check it out here Kelly Kohn

i choked

the weekend turned out to be a solid one with the things I covered. Friday night I saw a solid football game between Addison and Onsted, which Addison won 25-14. Pretty competitive the whole night. At least it wasn't like this other game in our county that featured Morenci beating Mt. Zion Academy 85-0 (I'm still trying to figure out how that happened)

Yesterday I was at a soccer tournament at Lenawee Christian that was in memory of Bronson Mansfield, an All-State soccer player at the school who died in a car accident. Pretty solid tournament but Tecumseh ended up whipping Adrian 5-0 to win the title.

Then this weekend I managed to finish my story on Adrian High's star basketball player Kelly Kohn. Funny thing when I was at Adrian High on Friday, I ran into Ronald Walker, one of the players I had to interview for our football preview. The funny thing was that he was there considering twice when I went to the school at interviews he was ALWAYS at the doctor and no where to be found. He came up to me and asked if I was goin to their game and told me that they would beat AA Huron - he was right. Him and his boys made our sports staff look good after we put them on the cover touting their high powered offense. He had like 130 yards receiving and three TD's, the running back Marqone Russell ran for 182 yards and the star quarterback Steve Threet threw for 180.

Other than that I got a chance to hit the bowling alley this weekend to avenge my shitty performance a couple weeks ago against crystal. It turned out to get into a pretty heated battle. She manhandled me the first game b/c i bowled like shit - She had a 113 and I had 95. I came back in the second game and finally started to compete beating her 137-126. We decided to go for the winner takes all match and thats where it got heated. She marked in every frame but the final two but we pretty much had matched each other through the first six. I didnt mark in four frames (the first, fifth, ninth and tenth) but bowled several strikes including a turkey.

I even had a chance to catch her at the end but choked and did shitty. Man I should concentrate more. anyways i lost 179-161. oh well ill get he next time

Busy work schedule begins

Its been some very busy times with me of late. With school starting means the return of high school sports and the laid back schedule of working in the summer is changing to fast pace. The last week I've been kept pretty busy with NASCAR (all last weekend) and working on our high school football section all this week. It comes out today so I'll finally get to see how our finished product turned out.

The busy times continue today with the kickoff of HS football. I'll be covering Addison vs. Onsted, one of the better games going on between Lenawee County teams tonight. Before that I have to interview Adrian High school's standout basketball player for our preview on the girl's basketball season which starts on Tuesday.

College football picks up for most teams next week. I'm definitely pumped about that and looking forward to seeing how EMU will stack up.

Other than work, not too much has been going on recently. I really don't remember what I've been up to in the past week other than my Dad visiting me last Thursday and Crystal and I have hung out every day whenever I haven't been busy with work and shes not had class or homework to do.

Oh and the other thing was they finally put my picture up on this website from a few weeks back after I rode in a two seat IndyCar. Check it out

It's pretty cool. My mom like sent it to all her friends for some crazy reason, but whatever.

Anyways here is the NASCAR stories from last weekend. I'm glad to be done with doing that kind of stuff for awhile. It wouldn't be so bad but race traffic kills me because theres so many damn people at MIS for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races that it takes forever to get home from it, no matter where your going. Oh well though, I guess that is part of being at a big event that is in the middle of nowhere.

And one more funny thing bout my time at MIS. During the middle of the race I went down to the media center just to sit down and watch the race from a TV and I heard this guy from some TV station talkin on the phone and naming football players - then I finally came to realize that he was doing his fantasy football draft over a phone and having somebody draft players for him. Thought it was rather hilarious when he kept shouting I said Janikowski in reference to kicker Sebastian Janikowski.

Steve Wallace wins ARCA
Nemechek wins GFS pole
Newman wins Busch race
Mayfield wins GFS 400


Oh and it was nice to see the Tigers show some life in August and pop off five straight wins and ride Carlos Pena's bat. They got back up there within the wild card contenders but then proceeded to drop the next 2 games with Oakland- argh