Belated Halloween Rant

It's time for my annual Halloween rant. My apologies for running behind this year. I realize most of you haven't slept in anticipation of this post. Anyway, while the age of our trick-or-treaters was a big issue with me last autumn, the dilemma arose again in '05. This time, however, the age problem went in the opposite direction.

In my corner of the planet, we tend to get an unhealthy number of semi-adults still out begging for chocolate. These "kids" are old enough to drive. Many are old enough to buy Jack Daniels and not get carded. These tikes need to be off doing whatever annoying things you do at that age not parading around the neighborhood Halloween night.

Now, this year, we had a slightly different phenomenon occur. The kids weren't even kids yet. Nope, they were babies. Some of them, actually, many of them, weren't quite up to walking effectively. A number of them were still stroller bound. Oh, a few were teamed up in the back of wagons, but either way, they weren't up to walking for long periods of time. (After the first couple of parents attempted to cram their stroller up my steps, I gave in and met them on my walk.)

Yet, there they were all cute and cuddly with their Halloween bag in hand. Well, that's not quite accurate, either. Just as they were too young to be walking very far, or at all, these ghosts and goblins weren't about to hold a plastic pumpkin street after street. They just weren't strong enough yet. So I tossed their Snickers into the container on their lap.

This is where my rant really begins. Who is kidding who here? These little ones are probably eating mushed peas for dinner, yet they are in desire of M&M's? They don't have teeth yet, but they are out mooching for bubble gum and Milky Way's? We all know what's going on here.

The babies are a front for a not-so-clever chocolate begging operation. Their parents, who no doubt use a similar method when dealing with grandparents, turn into extortionists. They toss a cute little one all dressed up on your porch and what are you going to do? Tell them to get lost? Don't think so. Nope, you are going to smile, say how gosh darn cute the baby is and cough up another Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, so their parents can get a free sugar high for the next couple of days.

It was bad enough when I was feeding young adults, but now I am feeding parents, too? These folks probably make more money than me and have far more popular blogs, too, yet I have to provide them with sugar based treats? Something seems wrong about the whole thing. Is it any wonder why I am not a fan of Halloween?

We need Congress to act. Set some age limits for crying out loud. Something like ages 3-10 seems pretty good to me. I'll even take five years to twelve year olds. After that, sorry, kids, you'll just have to wait for the Halloween bar scene. If our government won't act, I may have to.

I'm thinking about carding the older looking kids and asking for DNA tests from these parents. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they just borrowed or rented the baby for the evening in order to solicit candy. Someone has to stop the madness.

DIBS Awards

A couple of weeks ago, I received a request from Billfer at the Detroit Tigers Weblog to participate with a number of other Detroit sports blogs to vote on our Tigers Players of the Year. This group of united bloggers had been given the name DIBS, an acronym for Detroit Independent Baseball Scribes. That or we've been named by a Rob Dibble fan.

DIBS was formed by Brian at the TigerBlog.net, Ryan at Detroit Tigers Central and the aforementioned Billfer. All three deserve credit, praise and possibly ridicule for allowing me to vote. We voted for three categories in the first annual DIBS Awards: Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Breakout Player of the Year. Each site selected a first, second and third place nomination in each category.

The DIBS ballots have been tabulated by two very nice senior citizens from Florida, known for their acumen in such things, and here are your winners. The DIBS Tigers Player of the Year is
Placido Polanco. Our Tigers Pitcher of the Year is Jeremy Bonderman. Chris Shelton got a unanimous selection as Breakout Player of the Year.

For those of you dying to know how I voted, here is how my ballot looked. Player of the Year I gave to Chris Shelton, followed by Polanco, then Craig Monroe. I felt Shelton's body of work in a Detroit uniform merited him a tad more pull than Polanco, who was also stellar for a bad team, but wasn't here as long.

My pitcher of the Year nod went to Bonderman. His second half was a disappointment, but he's still rather young and led the squad in a number of categories. Mike Maroth got my second place vote, then Kyle Farnsworth.

My Breakout Player of the Year vote went to Shelton, then Polanco (mostly for his "breakout" here, not in MLB.) Curtis Granderson claimed my last vote in the Breakout category.

For those of you curious, here are all the blogs that currently make up DIBS. I believe I have links to all the members in my blogroll, but for handy reference here is a list.

Detroit Tigers Weblog
Detroit Tigers Central
TigerBlog.net
Roar of the Tigers
Motown Sports Revival
SportsPig
The Cheap Seats
Out of Bounds
Detroit Sports Squad
Bless You Boys
Beyond Boxscores

While DIBS is in its infancy, I would suspect that all parties are hoping that this affiliation will bring fame, fortune, media credentials, more hits (both for our sites and the Tigs' offense) and possibly quality time with Brandon Inge (Sam's not-so-secret desire). Seriously, I would hope this would be our first of many yearly awards and, perhaps, other joint ventures.

Same Old, Same Old

Twenty-three of thirty-five for 197 yards. No touchdowns. One huge interception. Those were Jeff Garcia's stats from today's 19-13 loss to Chicago. New quarterback, technically, new old quarterback, same old results--a loss that can be attributed to a poor decision by the Detroit Lions quarterback.

In overtime, Garcia threw a pass across his body only to have it picked off for a Bears touchdown. It was about as easy a TD as you will see, about as bad a decision as you will see and about as typical a Lions loss as you will see.

While the cries for Joey Harrington's return are not forthcoming, we should all realize that this is what you get from Garcia. When plays breakdown, Garcia goes to work. Sometimes that results in good things, sometimes bad things occur.

Critics or Garcia supporters (see Mariucci, Steve) might argue that Garcia is trying to "make plays" for a bad team with a poor offensive line and third string receivers. Yeah, and when Harrington tried to force action he was just stupid. Garcia gets nailed play after play because his line can't block and he's considered tough and gritty. His mistakes occur because he's a playmaker looking to make plays. Harrington gets beat up behind the same offensive line and he isn't tough and is trying too hard to make big plays.

Today's loss was just the latest disappointment for anyone that cares for this football team. It's wasn't, however, anything new. Just more of the same.

Friday Night Rambling

Before I head off to watch tonight's important British Columbia at Edmonton CFL tilt, and the less critical, but very entertaining The Kumars at No. 42, I've been piling up some notes around here and it's time to share my complaints and observations with you. I know. You are thrilled. Go Esks!

* Phil Garner's not exactly getting rave reviews for his World Series, is he?

* I know some say the World Series was boring, but the games were all very close and most of the casual sports fans I know enjoyed the Series.

* What is up with Bobby Valentine? This guy just can't shut up about a "true" World Series between the Japanese League winner and the MLB World Series champs. I'm not sure what his motives are, but Valentine just seems obsessed with this international world series concept of his. Note to Bobby: Shut up, already.

Three points, Bobby V. First, whining about it isn't going to help your cause. Second, there is a true lack of interest in the States for international baseball of any kind. Olympic baseball can't draw flies. The upcoming World Baseball Classic is illiciting mostly yawns at this point. Baseball fans I've talked to are indifferent at best to any international series under any format. Third, if the ratings are falling with teams from Chicago and Houston in the World Series, does anyone really think a Chicago versus Chiba Lotte match-up is going to be a ratings winner?

* The Detroit Lions are playing the Chicago Bears for first place Sunday. Really. The Lions could be alone in first place by Sunday evening. No, I'm not kidding.

* The other day I'm watching PTI. The boys are kind of chuckling at the lack of attendance at NHL games. Fair enough. Within a half an hour, I'm watching a Carolina/Boston contest where the fans have come dressed as empty seats. It's either poor attendance or the greatest Halloween promotion ever.

Later that same evening, I'm watching C-SPAN. Me? Watching C-SPAN? Scary, I know. However, I digress. I'm watching a representative from Florida pleading for an independent Hurricane Katrina commission. The rep. from Florida actually had displays made to support his statements. The one I saw look like his middle school kid did it for homework. (At least it got an A.)

Anyway, the Florida member is talking to about five people in the chamber. There are three members of the House present plus a couple of aides. That's it. Five people in the United States House of Representatives. Which seems more ridiculous? The small amount of people who refuse to pay to attend a professional hockey game in the South or the even smaller amount of people, whom we pay to govern, actually sitting in the House while business is being carried out?

* Maybe I'm just not well versed enough in football, but when the list of would-be Hall of Famers is announced each year I find that I think the majority of players named should be inducted. This year is no exception. No, I wouldn't vote for every guy, but I'd give the nod to a large percentage on the ballot.

* In this edition of Things You Don't Care About, I offer the Breeders Cup. If I'm home tomorrow, I'll be watching. You will not.

* Hoops season is about to begin. I think the Pistons will still be a force. If the bench can come through, they can still beat everyone in the East. Yes, even Miami and Indiana. Here is ESPN.com's power rankings for the NBA. Apparently, Marc Stein shares my sentiment on the Pistons.

* Can a Boston Celtics fan please, please explain to me what Danny Ainge is doing? Thank you.

* For you college basketball fans, here is there look at ESPN's college top 25. If you love college hoops, here are two blogs that are mandatory reading. Yoco: College Basketball and Big Ten Wonk. Neither needs an ounce of my support, but in the remote chance you haven't come across one or the other, let me encourage you to do so now. Why are you still here?

* Oil companies weren't gouging us at the pump. I mean Exxon barely increased revenues in the third quarter. You can't make money with a 75% increase in revenues each quarter.

Well, I've got more, but kick-off is nearing. Contrary to the rumors, I do have priorities. Skewed priorities, but priorities nonetheless.

Post-script: The Eskimos prevailed. I know you are as happy as I am.

A Different Pair Of Sox

While I openly admit to rooting for the Houston Astros, I congratulate the Chicago White Sox on winning the World Series. In particular, I congratulate the Sox' fans. They are the overlooked baseball fans in Chicago, but they get their much deserved, and long awaited, moment alone in the spotlight. The White Sox are unquestionably the best team in baseball in 2005. Congratulations to all.

In the inevitable comparison to last year's champions, the Boston Red Sox, some have wondered why the White Sox triumph after 88 years of failure isn't getting the same attention as Boston's much anticipated crown after an 86 year long drought? That's easy. Here are the reasons.

1. Babe Ruth- You've heard of him, right? See, the Red Sox had Ruth and a mini-dynasty going when he was sold to New York. In moving the lefthanded hurler, the Red Sox unloaded a man who went from great pitcher to unrivaled hitter to baseball legend to American icon. Ruth is as synonymous with baseball as any player in the game's history. Ruth completely altered the game. "He changed the game from one of hit and run to a game of hit and watch" (Can't recall where I got that quote from, but it stuck in my head.)

Not only did the selling of Ruth end the Red Sox pre-1920 dominance and send the Red Sox spiraling down until some kid named Ted Williams arrive, it gave birth to the......

2. New York Yankees Dynasty- In selling Ruth, Harry Frazee did more than end the Sox early 20th Century success. He gave birth to the most successful franchise in baseball history and left the Fenway Faithful wondering if their former legend had placed a curse on their team. That's one stinking bad deal.

Conversely, can you even name the White Sox biggest rival? It's probably the Cubs, a team they didn't play regularly until inter-league play was born. The ChiSox don't have to live with selling their best player to their rival, watching him become the biggest thing in the sport and triggering an unprecedented era of success.

The 88 year wait was awful by any stretch of the imagination, but if the Cubs had won twenty-six world championships since 1919, the ChiSox win would even be a greater release of frustration. (Honestly, after watching both Sox win titles, aren't the Cubs fans alone in their misery now?)

3. The Painful Near Misses- The White Sox went to one World Series, post 1919, in 1959. The Red Sox didn't appear in many more (four-1946, 1967, 1975 and 1986), but they managed to lose each in agonizing fashion. All were seven games series.

Those post-season losses don't include all of those second place finishes, mostly to the hated Yankees, and playing in the first two one game playoffs in baseball history. Losing both, first to Cleveland in 1948 and the second to, of course, the Yankees in 1978.

The White Sox don't have a history of historically painful close calls in the post-season. Those kind of meltdowns make for great literature, but only lead to more frustration and suffering for fans. The White Sox may be lucky not to have had that added on to their near century long wait for a crown.

4. A House Divided- The White Sox don't even own all of their city's fanbase. The Cubs own, at minimum, half of the hardball fans in the Windy City. It's hard to get all the attention when you aren't even the only attraction in town.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Red Sox own most if not all of the New England states. In having so many universities, Boston also has a developed a legion of fans who end up scattered throughout the country. The White Sox struggle to sell their merchandise in their home town. That's a big difference.

4. The Black Sox Scandal- Say what you will, but post 1919, the White Sox just didn't give too many folks the warm fuzzies. White Sox Nation wasn't going to be born in that shadow. (Although, it could have been born last night.) The White Sox have a small, but devout following, not a fanbase with a nickname.

5. East Coast Media Bias- Come on. You knew I had to toss that one in there. I think it's difficult to argue that with all the media hubs so close to Boston, the Red Sox title simply seemed more important in places like Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York, etc... Thus, the Red Sox win got more ink nationwide.

While the White Sox championship isn't getting the press the Red Sox did a year ago, it isn't any less significant. Eighty-eight years is a terribly long time to wait for anything. The odds of Chicago's baseball entry going that long without their next championship have to be near as bad as me winning the lottery tomorrow.

For now, that just doesn't matter. All that matters is that the protracted frustration of White Sox fans has finally ended. I hope they spend a good year embracing and rejoicing in this moment. They have suffered through the downtime, they've earned the right to cherish this. Congrats, again, White Sox fans.

Harrington Era Ends

It's finally over. The moment so many in Detroit have openly pleaded for has arrived. Joey Harrington's reign as the Detroit Lions signal caller ended today. The story of Harrington's future in Motown closed with two huge punctuation marks.

First, was Harrington's benching. Coach Steve Mariucci, who was not at all enamored with the former Oregon All-American, opted to start the wobbly Jeff Garcia instead of Harrington. Mariucci's hand-picked back-up QB got the nod because 1) the defense had grown weary of Harrington's inability to move the offense, 2) Mariucci had grown tired of Harrington's inability to move the offense, 3) the offense had grown tired of Harrington's inability to move them downfield, 4) Lions are somehow in the playoff hunt and, thus, desperately needed a road win and 5) Garcia is Mariucci's boy.

Let's not kid ourselves about number five, either. Did you hear Mariucci's post-game press conference. If Harrington had done exactly the same thing, lead his team to an underwhelming road win, do you think Mooch would have been so glowing about his QB's effort? Please. Mooch just plain disliked Harrington. I don't think it was personal, but Harrington just isn't Mariucci's type of quarterback.

The Lions' coach was so completely unimpressed with Harrington he had difficulty saying anything nice about Joey. And I do mean anything. I think if he was told Harrington saved five people from a burning building, Mariucci would suggest that if Harrington's timing was better Joey could have saved the building, too.

Mooch could never openly commit to Harrington in any fashion and everyone knew how much he loved number five. So, having Garcia start over a slumping Harrington surprises no one. However, that move alone didn't cement Harrington's fate.

No, what has done Harrington in is punctuation mark number two-Garcia led the Lions to a 13-10 win over Cleveland. Any hope Harrington had of returning as a starter here is now gone, shy of Garcia getting re-injured. Wins have been few and far between with Harrington at the controls. To see Garcia, basically, get his cast removed one day and lead the team to a road win the next makes Harrington look even worse. For all intents and purposes, Harrington's career in Detroit ended with the Garcia-led victory.

As with any move, there are short-term and long-term implications. The short-term is simple. Garcia is the starter. Period. A road win without Roy Williams, Charles Rogers, Kevin Johnson, Shaun Rogers and Dre Bly (the last three falling to injury during the course of the game) merits Garcia the position. He showed a nice aptitude for improvisation. Garcia also seems to have a degree of respect from his teammates. Note Garcia's post-TD celebration. It wasn't a solo act, as Harrington's so often were. Nope, Garcia was warmly greeted by others wearing the same uniform. That implies to me that Mariucci made the right decision for the entire team.

However, let's not confuse Garcia's triumph with something grander. The Lions did only score one touchdown. Forgive me, but they ain't exactly Air Coryell, yet. We are all hoping that as some of the wideouts get healthy and Garcia works with them in practice that some of the offensive potential the Lions seem to have on paper will appear on the field. Today's win is just that-today's win. Let's see how Garcia and this team progress before we anointed Garcia the next Bobby Layne.

Garcia may well lead the Lions to the post-season this year (it's a bad, bad division) and may get the same opportunity in 2006, but that's where our little quarterback shuffle makes things less clear. Garcia isn't a puppy anymore. In fact, he's AARP eligible. In the long run, the Lions are going to have to, please sit immediately, the Lions are going to have to draft a quarterback. There I said it. The Lions will need to draft a QB in 2006.

Garcia simply isn't the long-term answer for the Lions. The Lions should draft a quarterback next year and have him sit behind Garcia for '06. Give the kid the a chance to learn from a veteran quarterback for a year, then hand him the reigns in 2007. (Although, having watched this offensive line, it's hard to imagine the Lions taking something other than a OL with their first pick in the draft.)

Garica is, however, the Lions' best short-term solution. Harrington's poor play over a protracted amount of time just couldn't be tolerated any longer. It had divided the team. Garcia came in and showed what a decent NFL quarterback can do. It was only one game, but it signaled two things. The end of the line for Joey Harrington in Detroit and the push for the 2005 Lions to make the playoffs.

The quarterback changes means the team will worry about the future in the future. (A concept, by the way, that will scare many of us in the future. Remember, I warned you.) Right now, Garcia gives them their best chance to win each week. That's all that matters.

Adu Acts His Age

Soccer phenom Freddy Adu has been speaking out about his lack of playing time. It's easy and probably correct to shrug off Adu's comments as typical. Typical as soccer star and petulant are nearly synonymous. Typical as high paid athletes are always lamenting something. Typical because, well, because Mr. Adu is a teenager.

How many sixteen year olds that you know would be upset over not getting to stay out later than normal? Or not getting to take the car? Or not being allowed to go somewhere they wanted to go? Darn near all of them I suspect. Adu may well be a teenager, but the difference is the thing he covets is playing time.

Like every other teenager, Adu lacks an important quality that only time and experience provide-perspective. Adu seems to believe that because he was MLS Player of the Week, he should be starting and logging more minutes. Perhaps, he is right. However, what Adu needs to do is consider everything.

First, he is on a championship team. D.C. United has a number of quality players. It's more than a bit derogatory to his teammates to assume he should be handed a starting role.

Second, does Adu think D.C. United's management or the MLS, in general, want to see Adu sit? Nothing would garner the team or the league more SportsCenter highlights (which would then bring the total to one) or revenue than Adu in action. If he was clearly better than his compatriots, I have to think coach Peter Nowak would play Adu.

Third, just because you are MLS Player of the Week doesn't mean you are ready to start for Chelsea or AC Milan. If you cannot beat out D.C. United's midfield or forwards, you aren't going to see much playing time in Europe anyway. Just ask Landon Donovan how that works.

Better yet, ask another former teen phenom, Bobby Convey, about playing time overseas. Convey left Adu's D.C. United squad to play for Reading. (Think AAA baseball, non-soccer friends.) Convey sat for the better part of his first season. He became discouraged, but didn't quit. This year, Convey is significant part of Reading's fine start. Adu may be better than Convey, but Bobby isn't in the Premiership, either.

I realize Adu wants to be on the U.S. side during the 2006 World Cup and feels Nowak's lack of playing time has eliminated his chance. I'm not sure that U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who doesn't appear to be one ounce less a disciplinarian than Nowak, would take Adu even if he was playing and scoring for a different MLS side.

Unfortunately, Adu is living up to the stereotype of overpaid soccer star and teenager simultaneously. He is carrying the weight of all that hype the way almost anyone his age would. At sixteen, it may be going as well as can be expected.

Stern Dresses Up NBA

The NBA has adopted a dress code for its players. More specific details of the plan came out today. We know a number of players have already voiced displeasure over the plan and some have even gone so far as to imply they would need a stipend to cover the cost of all those tailor made suits. What the opposition to the dress code doesn't understand is that their rhetoric is precisely why David Stern tossed this idea into the collective bargaining agreement in the first place.

Having multi-millionaires complain about a dress code when everyone from CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to the fry guy at McDonald's have to adhere to some form of dress code only makes the players look bad.

When guys who make an average of four million dollars a year hint that they might need some extra cash to pay for the upgraded threads, it makes them all look like Latrell Sprewell complaining about not being able to feed his kids. It makes them look shallow, spoiled and out of touch.

I understand the players not liking someone, especially Stern, telling them what to wear. It does seem kind of un-American, at best. Unconstitutional, at worst. However, as we all know, it's neither. (Well, maybe it is sort of un-American.) The opposition to the NBA dress code would argue that they are being told what to wear after work, as opposed to the majority of us who are only confined by such guidelines during the work day. This notion is off-base.

The players are on company time, in some fashion or another, far more often than they probably care to consider. Going to work tonight? That's company time, at least once you are on the team's premises. Going to the airport to take a team paid for plane ride to your next game? Sounds to me like you are representing your company on a trip. How is that not company time? Were you going to go to Sacramento if the league didn't have a game there? Nope? Then that's company time.

Are you staying in a team booked and paid for hotel? That sounds like something your employer might have something to do with. Again, that's company time. Practice? Well we are all well aware of many of the players' distaste for such repetition, but, again, that's a team mandated appearance like any charity event they force you to attend. If they can make you show up, they can probably decide a minimum attire standard, too.

In light of last year's fight at The Palace and Kobe Bryant's continuing soap opera, is it surprising that Stern decided to take some action to clean up the league's appearance? The fact the NBAPA went along for the ride on this issue leads me to believe that some in the players association might agree with Stern's perspective, as well.

In the end, it's hard for the average fan, especially those making less than four million a season and finding themselves subjected to a company mandated dress code, to feel much sympathy for the players on this one. Welcome to a small portion of the real world, fellas.

Ed. Note: For a very good analysis of the dress code check out C.Y. Ellis of HoopsVibe.com.

Lions Diary

It's October and, let's be honest, the future looks pretty bleak for the Lions. They are a pitiful football team. To make matters even more deflating, the boys in the Honolulu Blue and Silver can't stop talking trash about each other and their coach to the media. Beautiful.

Last November, I gave up on Joey Harrington. This October, I have officially given up on Steve Mariucci. This team is in no way, shape or fashion progressing. In addition, it appears there is lockeroom dissension and a lack of discipline. (The latter being standard fare for the Lions.) I don't think Mariucci can turn this around. I don't think his players think so, either.

I'm not going to dwell on this much now, but suffice to say, it appears the Lions are headed for a "worst case scenario" in 2005. Harrington is done here. Mariucci ought to be. Charles Rogers seems compelled to crash and burn. Roy Williams is revealing why Texas lost every big game they were in while he was in school. The players appear to neither like or trust each other. They give the impression that they think even less of Mariucci.

A team with five first round draft picks at the skill positions can't score points? How is that anything but a worst case scenario?

If Matt Millen is forced to let Harrington and Mooch go, as it appears he will be, how is this team not in a complete rebuilding mode come January? How are any of us supposed to be happy about this?

For the first time ever, I am apathetic. I'll watch a few minutes of action here and there, but invest time and emotion in a franchise that struggles to finish above .500 in the league that invented parity? Sorry, I just can't do it right now.

Just let me know when the draft is. By the way, how many losses do the Lions need to draft Matt Leinart?

Update: Here is more good news on the Lions front courtesy of Michael Smith at ESPN.com.

Soccer's Hall Of Fame

Part of my vacation was spent at the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, New York. Which I am sure makes Eric at Ramblings of a Soccer Junky impressed and, perhaps, envious. (I tried to post a picture, but Blogger keeps rejecting it. Must be because I am actually in said photo. When I get a different picture uploaded, I'll try posting again.) The Hall was better than I expected. Which either means I had incredibly low expectations or my lack of knowledge about U.S. soccer history made the place seem more interesting. Of course, both are possible, as well.

The Soccer Hall of Fame is in Oneonta for one primary reason. They are trying to lure the baseball junkies from Cooperstown about twenty miles down the road. It basically says so at the very first exhibit you come across. Honestly, it may seem kind of pathetic at first, but why not take advantage of a natural drawing card?

I would call myself a casual soccer fan, so I doubt I would have traveled too far out of my way to visit the Soccer Hall of Fame. However, since it was just down the road from the hotel I stayed at, it was an easy decision. See, it is always about location, location, location.

As for the displays, I enjoyed the NASL exhibit probably most of all. It having been the pro league I was most familiar with (Beckenbauer fan here). I was a bit underwhelmed at the quantity of NASL material on display in a fairly large room, but I believe all the former teams had some representation.

The history of the sport is fairly well documented and I enjoyed learning about the game's past here in the States. Obviously, there is a heavy emphasis on the U.S. National squads, both men's and women's. There is also a display of all the current MLS teams kits.

The top floor of the two storied structure is basically all interactive. Translated that means you could kick the old football around. Having limited soccer skills, I took a pass on that.

The gift shop was fair. I was surprised at the lack of MLS items available. There were a number of Chicago Fire jerseys, but maybe only two other teams apparel present. (Any place that isn't selling D.C. United items must be called into question.) However, Bruce Arena can rest easy as I did cough up the cash for a Soccer Hall of Fame sweatshirt.

Overall, I'd probably give the place a C+. I might even be convinced to up that to a B-, but in a building as large as they have, they really need to fill the place more efficiently. The history stuff was great, again being ignorant might have helped, and the National Team materials were also very good.

Both the NASL and MLS displays need to be more filled. It's a National Soccer Hall of Fame, let's try and make our leagues (NASL and MLS) seem important. Maybe have a running tab on all-time scoring leaders. The jerseys of all-time scoring leaders, perhaps? It's just a thought.

The Hall has spurred my desire to learn more about the game's history and given me greater respect for those who donned the red, white and blue long, long ago. I would definitely go again, if I was in the area.

Midnight Madness At O.U.

Oakland University will be hosting it's version of Midnight Madness Friday. Unless I've read the press release incorrectly, there will not be a practice session for either the men's or women's teams. Have I lost my bearings again or wasn't the point of Midnight Madness to begin practicing the moment it was legally possible to do so?

Fresh off their first NCAA tournament berth, I would have thought the men's squad would take to the floor for something more than just introductions. No offense to the band, dancers and imported entertainment scheduled to perform, but I can't even see a practice session (which I am willing to admit would be lame anyway), I'm not venturing out towards O.U. Friday night.

Link Love

Ian Casselberry of Fried Rice Thoughts fame now brings you the somewhat distrubingly titled Sweaty Men Endeavors blog. Ian's providing us with his views on sports at this new venue. I encourage both of my loyal readers......oops. Wait a second. Ian is one of my loyal readers. Let me start over. I encourage my loyal reader to check out Ian's new endeavor.

Ian, I'm sure your hit total will jump to unforeseen heights with my recommendation. Good luck, anyway.

Baseball's Hall

If you read my last post, you know I warned you about photos from my vacation. If you didn't read my previous post, shame on you.

Here is the primary entrance to one of my favorite places on Earth, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Much has changed at the Hall since my first visit almost thirty years ago. However, it remains a special place for many of the same reasons it captured my imagination in the Seventies.

It is, perhaps, the only place on Earth where the game's stature hasn't been diminished by time. The labor discord, the big money deals and all of the game's ills are on display, but they are pushed aside under the weight of over one hundred years of history. The game is, as it once was, the center of the sports world.

At the Hall, Babe Ruth is still larger than life. Jackie Robinson is still stealing home. Willie, Mickey and The Duke still roam centerfield in NYC. The Dead Ball Era lives on.

Ty Cobb is as surly and proficient as ever. Roberto Clemente is making basket catches. Bud is still trying to explain to Lou that "Who is on first".

In the Cooperstown shrine the echoes of Bobby Thompson's homer and Lou Gehrig's farewell speech can still be heard. Ebbets Field is alive and well.

Fans huddle around radios and televisions following every play of every game. Ernie Harwell, Curt Gowdy and Harry Caray are still behind the mike. Boxscores remain mandatory reading.

Kids in the country are playing the game in an open field, while kids in the city are playing stickball in a crowded street.

The Hall of Fame is a living, breathing timeline of the game. It provides both a history of baseball and of our nation. It exposes it's own shortcomings, but overwhelmes them in a celebration of the game.

I could go on for quite a while in this Bart Giamatti-esque rambling about the Hall. I won't as a courtesy to you, but I could.

While I don't approach the place with quite the same awe as a young boy, I do cherish the Hall because it not only maintains the essence of what baseball should be, but still, on occasion, gives me the same feeling about the game as I had so long ago. I consider that to be worthy of a sappy paragraph or two.

Note: I promise future posts concerning my Hall of Fame vacation will not be as sentimental.

Back Home

Hi, boys and girls. You may have been wondering where I have been. (Honestly, I suspect you are thinking "What a terrible blog", but that's not as self-serving. Nor does it make for as good a segue.) Well, I went on a little road trip. Where did I go? In order, I visited the Hockey Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame and Soccer Hall of Fame. Six days. Two countries. Three Halls. 1,400 miles (approximately).

I will discuss the road trip at greater length in my next post, unless something bigger happens between now and then. For now, though, I want to review some topics I may have addressed had I been sitting where I am now and not in Ontario or New York.

* First, Jim Leyland's hiring. It's hard not to like Leyland. He's seems like an honest guy. Although, I remain fearful of him bolting a sinking ship as he did Colorado. It's even harder to argue with his credentials. He is precisely what Alan Trammell was not-experienced. Success in two cities, Miami and Pittsburgh, should give him far more respect in the clubhouse. In theory, anyway.

What's not difficult to argue is the short-sighted way Dave Dombrowski approached the matter. I don't care if Bruce Fields and Juan Samuel were willing participants in the minority interview charade that took place, it's still wrong. It's also wrong not to interview, in no particular order, Jim Tracy, Ken Macha, Don Baylor, Cito Gaston (whose inability to land another job gives me great pause) and any number of other credible candidates.

At the press conference where Leyland was announced as manager, Dombrowski first said that many of those men became available "after" Leyland was hired. Well, if you would have waited say, oh-I-don't-know, maybe an hour after the season ended, perhaps, a larger base of candidates would have emerged. Wasn't every media source speculating that both Tracy and Macha were about to get the boot?

When pressed on the issue, Dombrowski claimed to "like" all the names brought to his attention, but liked Leyland better. Fair enough, but I have to think Dombrowski has put all his eggs in Leyland's basket. If Leyland fails for any reason, he will probably be the last Tigers manager Dombrowski names.

* For those fans who were always uncomfortable with a coaching staff that resembled a 1984 Tigers reunion tour, how do you feel about a Pittsburgh Pirates reunion tour at Comerica Park in 2006? Leyland, Gene Lamont (he's an ex-Tiger, too), Lloyd McClendon, Andy Van Slyke, Rafael Belliard and Don Slaught are on the Tigers coaching staff and are all ex-Bucs. Three ex-managers on staff does give this group tons of experience, but we will see if the results improve with all the ex-Pirates in charge of the ship.

* The Lions won. I didn't see or hear a minute of it. Nor have I read a thing about it, either. Anyone care to enlighten me on this one?

* I also know that Michigan lost to Minnesota. That's 3-3 on the year for Michigan. The Motor City Bowl gets closer and closer.

* Hockey is back. I was in Toronto for the Maple Leafs opener (no, I didn't go) and was impressed with the zeal the town had for their team. Why? Because I wonder if any other city, with any other sport would have been as keyed up as TO was after losing an entire season due to a labor/management dispute?

There are a number of people who still hate other sports, most notably baseball, for their lockouts/strikes. The majority of hockey fans in Toronto, at least from the impression I got, weren't anything other than happy to have their sport back. That's a limited perspective, I admit, but it was interesting to note the difference in tenor.

Finally, I'm happy to be back home. I'll bore you with a vacation slide show later. Bring lots of coffee.

Observations On Trammell's Departure

To the surprise of no one and the disappointment of many, Alan Trammell was fired as Tigers manager. Here are some random observations I have about Tram's dismissal and what Dave Dombrowski and some of the fans have said since.

Should Tram Have Gotten The Boot?
I have no idea if Trammell should have been let go or not. Was he learning on the job? Without question. Did he make some bad decisions? Yes, but even Joe Torre and Bobby Cox make decisions that could be second guessed. Can they find a better manager? Yes, but that doesn't guarantee the team will perform any better. Did he lose control of the clubhouse? Sure sounds like it. Was Trammell even 25% of the Tigers problems? No way.

You can make a case to keep Tram and one to fire him. In the end, I think Dombrowski felt like Trammell was runover by his players and was just too nice to enforce the law. Thirty or forty years ago a guy with Trammell's history might have been given five years to work things out. Today, with the size of payrolls and the increased pressure fueled by more media coverage than ever, patience with a new manager is in short supply.

Low Key Press Conference
I'm sure some will wail about the Tigers' non-press conference press conference in regards to Trammell's firing. Some will state that the Tigers should have made it a traditional press conference, not an informal meeting with Dombrowski. Honestly, I was surprised, but maybe we shouldn't be.

I doubt a single Tigers employee wants to over-promote Trammell's departure. I'm sure management, out of respect for Trammell, tried to make a low key announcement. It did seem odd, but I think it may have best represented the uncomfortable feeling we all have about the situation.

Of course, I could just be a Tigers slappy. (We all know how much I praise the organization.)

Leyland's Arrival
Is there much question that Jim Leyland will be the next Tigers' skipper? The guy is interviewing, perhaps, right at this moment. Did Tram have time to clean out his stuff before the interviewing began?

Dombrowski had already interviewed Juan Samuel this morning and was going to interview Bruce Fields this afternoon. Both appear to be little more than token minority interviews. I have to admit I find it more than a tad shameful at the apparent speed at which this process is moving. Both because it looks like Tram's successor was picked long ago and because the Tigers don't appear to be interested in really interviewing a broad field.

The Tigers owe it to the players and to those of us who pay to sit in Comerica Park to find the right guy. They should wait to see who else becomes available. I know they want a guy with experience, however, what's wrong with interviewing more than three guys?

The way the Tigers are going about this makes it look like they are thinking "Let's hurry up and interview an African-American and an Hispanic so we can hire Leyland and keep Bud Selig from fining us". That may be totally unfair, but that's the way it's going to look if Leyland is named manager. Especially if it occurs before noon tomorrow, as some have suggested it might.

Not only is it going to look like the Tigers are just providing token interviews to minorities, which in light of the last twelve years of failure is even more pathetic, but it's going make the Tigers look like a second rate organization. Pretend like you are searching for the best guy, even if you really want Leyland to start tomorrow. It's good P.R. and you might just find a better candidate.

If we have a Jim Leyland presser before the playoffs start, with the Tigers interviewing only two other candidates, the hiring will be a poor decision on Dombrowski's part. One worse than firing a Tiger legend.

Help? What Help?
A number of those in Tigertown, including some in the media, are discussing what the Tigers should do this off-season. One of my favorite suggestions is "They need to get a frontline starting pitcher". No, really? I have a question for those who want the Tigers to acquire said "frontline" pitcher: Where the @#$% are they going to get this mythical pitcher from?

Seriously, where is this mystery hurler coming from? There aren't any quality starters available via free agency this winter. Unless, you have a crush on A.J. Burnett. Burnett can barely stay above .500 or healthy or out of trouble with a good team in Florida. Why on Earth would the Tigers sign Burnett to a small fortune with that background?

If you are thinking trade market, then maybe you can get someone, but who would the Tigers surrender to get top flight pitching? Craig Monroe ain't going to bring you Johan Santana in return. Pitching is a limited, pricey commodity. Not many teams are willing to part with good pitching.

The Tigers might acquire a decent starter, either via free agency or trade, but they would probably have to settle for a number two or three-type guy. Sure, that player could pull a Willie Hernandez and have a miraculous season in Motown and capture a Cy Young Award, but that would be more by luck than design.

Saying the Tigers should get quality starters and actually getting them are nearly like planning a trip to Mars. It's fun to think about, but getting there is far more complicated.

The Most Important Tigers
We can talk all we want about the next Tigers manager. We can debate how much time Dombrowski has left in Tigertown, too. However, we fans probably need to concentrate on the most important Tigers. Those would be Jeremy Bonderman, Chris Shelton, Joel Zumaya, Justin Verlander, Curtis Granderson and Cameron Maybin.

They are both the present and core of the future of our local baseball team. All are at different points in their careers, but all need to continue to make progress. All need to be here after Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez are gone. All need to be with the Tigers as a unit by Opening Day 2008.

Some might think that's rushing Maybin. It is. The Tigers, however, desperately need to develop their own superstar and Maybin looks like their best bet right now. Trammell always said "The good ones come fast". The Tigers need Maybin to develop fast.

Are They Contenders In '06?
Dombrowski is implying that, perhaps, they are. However, D.D. is also saying that he doesn't think major roster changes are necessary. I disagree. They need a lefthanded power hitter. I think they need an everyday thirdbaseman. They may need a shortstop if Guillen cannot play full time. I wouldn't mind a new outfielder, but that's just me. Of course, they need pitching-both starters and relievers.

Maybe in Dombrowski's mind, that's tinkering, not a major overall. It sure seems like a minor overall, at best.

For a change, the Tigers do have some tradeable players. Whether or not Dombrowski can acquire what he needs with the cards he has dealt himself is another question.

I think the Tigers can make 2006 interesting, but many things have to fall their way. When was the last time that happened?

McGwire Opts For Silent Treatment

Mark McGwire, you remember him, showed up in St. Louis and refused to answer any steroid questions. In fact, McGwire now states he will never speak on the subject. Period. I'm sorry, but did we miss when he first spoke about the matter?

The man who originally eclipsed Roger Maris' single season homerun mark, now says he has nothing to add to his testimony before Congress. Did he actually say anything during his remarks? Sure, we all implied he was using the juice, but he didn't actually say that, did he?

Apparently, McGwire is taking a page out of the book of Pete Rose. McGwire, like Rose, never denies anything. Nor does he admit to anything. It's a state of limbo where these beloved athletes wait in a self-imposed purgatory counting on their adoring public to sway opinion in their favor. This technique also buys them their most valuable commodity-time.

In this form of spin, McGwire is figuring time will heal all wounds. He suspects that the general sports fan will simply grow weary of watching him get pounded with steroid questions year after year. He figures even the most ardent critic will eventually fade while his supporters will gain momentum from the lack of resistance they encounter. In the long run, McGwire is hoping, or his legal counsel is, that he will become a sympathetic figure in the eyes of many.

The campaign is well underway. In addition to refusing to speak on steroids ever again, McGwire has already deftly deflected questions by making the media the problem, painting them as too negative and living in the past. That's quality public relations advice in action.

What McGwire doesn't understand is that this tactic won't help his cause. Unless, of course, McGwire chooses a Bill Buckner-esque method. If McGwire moves to some remote area and avoids baseball, especially all MLB games, and refuses all interview requests, he can stay in a denial mode and it may work. Maybe.

However, if McGwire hopes his no comment stance will give him a free pass so he can attend MLB functions without scrutiny, he's kidding himself. In fact, quite will contrary occur. Instead of facing the heat for a single prolonged period, which would occur if McGwire would come clean, he is going to drag his reputation and the game through the mud on a regular basis, perhaps for years.

A generation of players took steroids with no concern for their personal well being or any respect to those who played before them. They have created a situtation where all the statistics from their playing days will be called into question. McGwire and his baseball brethren may hope that silence will make the matter disappear, but unfortunately, it won't. Their collective silence will only be seen as a tacit admission of guilt. The repercussions of their actions will last forever. Even if they never utter another word.

I'm Really Annoyed

Pick a word. Angry. Disappointed. Disgusted. Hostile. The list could go on for days. Any and all of them describe my feelings about the Detroit Tigers right this moment. It seems like there is a new rumor every day, each making me more frustrated than the last.

For those of you who visit here (thanks to both of you, by the way) and don't follow the Detroit Tigers, let me try and catch you up on the gossip.

Pudge Rodriguez seems to be leading an open revolt in the Tigers clubhouse. This group, which apparently contains Dmitri Young and Magglio Ordonez, wants Alan Trammell fired. They also intensely dislike Tram's coaching staff. This group doesn't think much of Dave Dombrowski, either.

This group is such a cancer that they have apparently already had talks about rumored manager-to-be Jim Leyland. Seems this group of happy campers wearing the Olde English D doesn't like Leyland, either. They think Dombrowski bought the Marlins title he and Leyland won and that neither deserves credit for the championship. This rebellious lot also thinks Leyland is too old.

In the meantime, some believe Young is faking an injury. Both D.Y. and Pudge have refused to pinch hit recently. Pudge has called out his teammates while being the underperfomer of the year.

If you believe the rumors, the front office refuses to discipline Pudge because he is the face of the team and sells tickets, jerseys and other product used to offset his salary. They would rather have him continue his undercutting of management and teammates than ship him out. Pathetic. (See, the negative words get easier and easier to come by.)

The rumor mill also has Magglio trying to convince anyone and everyone he can play, so he can get traded, while Carlos Guillen is hurt worse than is being let on. Seems he may never be an everyday shortstop again. The rumors also have some in the organization already planning on a losing season in 2006. Uplifting stuff, isn't it?

Increasingly the fanbase wants Trammell removed. Did I mention the Tigers are coming off a 6-24 skid? It's about 60-40 against retaining Trammell, but only his status as a Tiger legend keeps that number from being much larger. The heat on Dombrowski has been much less, but it does seem to be growing.

I am so aggravated with this baseball team right now, I don't know what I want them to do. Firing Trammell alone won't make the Tigers winners. It just won't. I think they can hire a guy who would be a better manager right now, but how much is that going to help this situation?

Firing Dombrowski, as some would have Mike Ilitch do, seems even more problematic to me. Sure, they can give him the boot, but how does that appear in baseball circles? If the remove him, who is next in line to get the job? Who would want it?

Between the baseball management careers of Trammell, Dombrowski and Ilitch, who can say he has won in his current role? Only Dombrowski. He is the only one of the group with a proven track record, wasn't he behind Montreal's success and rebuilt the Marlins, too? Dombrowski could land a job pretty quickly if not retained. That shoud say something about his perceived value beyond Comerica Park no matter what the team thinks.

Then there is the team. I am so stinking ticked off that if the Tigers announced that Pudge, DY and Maggs were on the next bus out of town and they were turning to the kids, yes, again, I might approve of the plan even if another 119 loss season ensued.

What the heck right does Pudge or any of these guys have to complain? Yeah, yeah, yeah. They can cry all they want about future Cy Young winner Kyle Farnsworth, but they failed to compete, so the Tigers made a pro-active decision. Did they get quality in return for Farns? Did they trade quality away may be the better question.

Complaining on this level when you are the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox might be tolerated. Winning championships and competing for post-season berths is different than trailing the division leaders by twenty plus games and finishing below .500.

Pudge may not like losing, but he signed with a team that had just lost 119 games. Pudgy, buddy, wake up and smell the coffee. This team was years away. You opted for the payday. Now, you get to cash enormous checks that no one else in the game was willing to give you. That alone should merit the Tigers front office some good will.

Now, common sense tells me that things are never quite as good or bad as they may seem. Winning more games probably quiets this clubhouse dissension down. Yet, that doesn't change the way I feel this moment.

Right now, I feel this franchise is doomed. What on Earth can be done? It's unlikely Pudge or Magglio could be dealt because of their contracts. Even if they could be moved, something that I would love in my current mood, would it yield more wins? If it didn't, wouldn't an increasingly casual fanbase turn their backs on the team again? Can the Tigers afford lower attendance in '06?

The Tigers cannot turn to their farm system, either, as there aren't any everyday players ready to fill in. They can jump into free agency again this winter, but by all accounts it's not a good group to chose from much like last year. Bringing in another would-be cancer like A.J. Burnett seems crazy at this time.

That brings me full circle. The Tigers can't maintain the status quo. Nor can they opt to turn to the farm system. Nor does free agency seem likely to help much. Firing the manager won't make unhappy players happy and firing the general manager would only be telling the fans that the Tigers are rebuilding. Again. It's a horribly frustrating picture. A picture I just don't see improving anytime soon.

My Fantasy Hockey League Team

Yes, I know you don't care, as indicated by your lack of response to my plea for assistance, but I'm sharing anyway. Consider it punishment for not helping out a blogger in need.

My Yahoo! fantasy hockey league draft was held earlier this week. It was the autopick variety, but I did pre-rank my selections. For the fantasy geeks in the audience, here is more specific info. It's an eight team, head-to-head league. We have a starting lineup consisting of two centers, two leftwingers, two rightwingers, four defensemen, two goalies and two utility players. (Yes, in this supposed new era of offensive hockey, we are using two "designated hitters".) We have three bench players.

The stats for the league are goals, assists, power play points and plus/minus for the non-netminders. For the 'keepers, it's wins, save percentage, shutouts and goals against average.

Here is how many squad turned out. Oh, they are called the Scooby Doos, by the way.

C- Joe Thornton, Boston
C- Jason Spezza, Ottawa
C- Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
C- Daymond Langkow, Calgary
LW- Rick Nash, Columbus
LW- Alex Tanguay, Colorado
LW- Sergei Samsonov, Boston
LW- Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit
RW- Nikolai Zherdev, Columbus
RW- Danny Heatley, Ottawa
D- Ed Jovanoski, Vancouver
D- Sergei Zubov, Dallas
D- Jordan Leopold, Calgary
D- Wade Redden, Ottawa
C- Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
C- Daymond Langkow, Calgary
G-Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary
G- Andrew Raycroft, Boston
G- Jose Theodore, Montreal

Now, I can see problems, especially in the area of plus/minus. Zherdev and Nash could really bite me in this category. I'm hoping they will offset this by piling up points, particularly on the powerplay.

I'm a bit leery of my defensemen. Not that they aren't a nice foursome, but I'm not sure if they will score quite enough. Oleg Tverdosky is a free agent and I might pursue him. Both of Florida's potential scoring blueliners, Mike Van Ryn and Jay Bouwmeester, are available, too. As is Niklas Kronwall of the Wings, who I liked as a sleeper. Although, I just read where he is out for six weeks.

Overall, I like the team. They are a bit young and I'm taking some chances on guys like Zherdev, Heatley and Crosby (someone always grabs the hyped rookie too early, but I didn't think it would be me). However, I don't think you win too often without taking some chances on draft day.

Again, none of you give a rat's you-know-what about this, but I could say that about the entire blog. Obviously, it has yet to discourage me.

Friday Night Moanin'

I've been taking an intentional break from the blogsphere for a few days, but that doesn't mean I've completely ignored what's been going on. Unfortunately for you, I have returned to my PC (although my stinkin' monitor went belly-up this afternoon) and have a number of items to address.

* A long time ago, like when I was a kid, you would sneak a radio into school to listen to a ballgame. Sometimes you would sneak a radio into bed so you could listen to a game past your bedtime. When you became an adult, you might sneak out of work to attend a game. You might even call in sick and go to a game instead. Well, some nice folks from Gambia have taken the concept one giant step forward.

See, they chartered a jet and lied to Peruvian officials about having to make an emergency landing because the plane was low on fuel. Guess what? They had plenty of petrol. However, they wanted to watch their nation compete in FIFA's U-17 soccer tournament in Peru.

Calling in sick to work just doesn't look so bad now, does it?

* Pavel Datsyuk returns. Talk about the long and winding road. How many teams in Russia was Pavel committed to?

* I would like to think the new rules would help a player of Datsyuk's ability more than most. His progress may well determine the Red Wings fate. Of course, getting some good goaltending wouldn't hurt, either.

* Michigan State coach John L. Smith thinks his team planting the MSU flag on Notre Dame's field was just a "kids having fun" sort of thing. John Lansing seems to think the politically correct police are making too big a deal about this matter.

I feel about this the way I feel about endzone celebrations. As long as you are comfortable with whatever counteractions result from your step into sportsmanship's gray area, then do what you will.

Rub your backside on a goal post, but don't start whining if an opponent clocks you. Plant your flag at mid-field this year, but if they do the same in your building next season, or take it a step further, be sure to keep quiet.

* Last Sunday, I was in a store and Christmas Trees were out. I kid you not. Up and decorated in late September.

* Speaking of signs of the holidays, I got my card in the mail to pick-up the JCPenney Christmas catalog last week. When I was given a copy, I had to do a double-take. The thing is slightly larger than a comic book. Okay, they aren't quite that thin, but they pale in comparison to the Christmas catalogs when I was young.

I'm guessing Christmas catalogs are soon to be obsolete. I'm sure internet shopping and the cost of production are making them into dinosaurs.

* Is anyone else as tired of Steve Mariucci's press conferences as I am?

* I cannot see this happening.

* In two games, Kansas City's Derrick Johnson has fifteen solo tackles, two assists, one sack and a forced fumble. Conversely, the Lions' Mike Williams has one catch for a touchdown. It covered three yards.

* Did you hear Brandon Inge on the radio say the Tigers had "no leaders"? Inge went on to blast teammates who put on public displays of "leadership". He basically implied such actions were just for public consumption and meant nothing inside the clubhouse. Sounds like a happy group to me.

* I think it's safe to say that the '05 Tigers stopped caring about a month ago. What I find so darn troubling is that all the things we are hearing and seeing from Comerica Park are the same things we've witnessed in years past.

There almost seems to be a perpetual lack of leadership and respect amongst the players and coaching staff in Detroit. Remember how Juan Gonzalez turned off a number of his teammates with his pouting and requests for special treatment? Sounds like the same thing Pudge Rodriguez is going through right now.

Previous teams in the Old English D turned their backs on Larry Parrish and Luis Pujols. Now, Alan Trammell is getting the same treatment, but from an entirely different cast of characters than those that got Parrish and Pujols canned. Although, I suspect the results will be identical.

It's easy to blame Trammell and Dave Dombrowski for the current problems, but who do we blame when these things appear to have been a problem before either arrived on the scene?

* I can sleep easy now. Oprah's chosen a book for us to read.

* After all the hoopla over the Palace Brawl, what do we get? A bunch of players put on probation. Shocking.

* Does Ms. Burk have nothing else to do? Seems Ms. Burk is all in a furor over the sexual nature of the new NHL campaign. She has seen every single ad for beer and shaving products, hasn't she? Forget that, has she seen the television ads for tires? I can't recall if it's Bridgestone or Firestone, but I do remember getting carded before being able to watch.

That's all for tonight, kids. I've got email to read after several days away from cyberspace. That and I've got to cram for my NHL fantasy league draft. Enjoy the weekend.

Amazing Loss

I'm amazed. No, not at the fact the Detroit Lions lost to the Chicago Bears. What amazes me is that I remain amazed at the pathetic depths our local NFL franchise can fall to.

When I flipped on the radio in my truck this afternoon, I had no idea what the score was. I had been at a function without access to scoring updates. One person did see the Lions cap atop my noggin and said "Harrington threw another interception". I wrote it off as just another anti-Harrington comment. Even if the thing went back for a touchdown, how bad could the Lions really be down? It still had to be very early in the contest. It was only around 1:30 p.m.

I headed for home around 3:00 p.m. Once my radio was on, I could immediately tell the Lions were on the short end of the stick. Dan Miller and Jim Brandstatter made it clear by their tone alone that the Lions were down. Nothing unusual about that, right? What I didn't know was by how much. I drove on waiting for the score.

When Miller revealed the Lions were losing 31-6, he endangered everyone on the road near me. I was totally amazed at the clobbering the Bears were inflicting upon Detroit. Now, I can't say a Bears win surprises me. Losing to a team everyone in town thinks they should beat is oh-so-typical. What caught me off-guard was the point spread. 31-6? 31-6?

Something else caught me off-guard, too. I was amazed at being amazed at a twenty-five point deficit. I was stupefied over the degree of the beating. Six hours and one more Bears touchdown later and I'm still just, well, amazed at the score and my reaction to it.

No one should be amazed at anything the Lions do. Less than a week ago, I wrote as much. We have seen the Lions routinely render a big win insignificant by losing to a team that has no right beating them. This pattern often happens in back-to-back weeks. Yet, in spite of this history, I was stunned when I heard the score for the first time today.

How on Earth can I be shocked? A Lions season, any Lions season, is much like the movie Groundhog Day. We just keep living the same thing over and over and over again.

Knowing this, why am I caught off guard by the latest pathetic performance? Thirty plus years of living down to our expectations and every once the Lions can still utterly amaze me with their incompetence. That may be more amazing than the loss itself.

Maggs And Pudge Want Out?

Terry Foster is saying that both Magglio Ordonez and Pudge Rodriguez want out of Detroit pronto. Foster appears to have been accurately portraying Rodriguez' role with the team for weeks, long before anyone else, so let's assume he's right on this. What does it say if Maggs and Pudge both ask to be traded this off-season?

I'm not sure I even want to ponder that question. The mere thought that the Tigers two highest paid players, both nailing down ten million or more a year, neither having spent more than two seasons here, are no longer able to stomach the baseball in Motown makes me a bit queasy, too.

Trammell On Hot Seat?

Ken Rosenthal of The Sporting News and Fox Sports.com suggests Alan Trammell may be on his way out as Detroit's manager. Rosenthal thinks that Jim Leyland might be Tram's replacement.

I've been saying this for days, but I think Jim Leyland would be a good choice to manage the Tigers. I'm not so much in favor of canning Trammell, no one in Tigertown really is, but I am very much in favor of the Tigers adding Leyland.

Leyland wouldn't solve all the Tigers problems, but he would bring far more managerial experience including a championship under Dave Dombrowski in Florida. Between his run of success in Pittsburgh and the title with the Marlins, Leyland's credentials would put him amongst the elite skippers in the game.

The Tigers need to continue to upgrade the team and Leyland might be a part of that make-over.

Looking For Inside Information

Hey, you.

Yeah, you. Come here. Anybody follow you here?

No? Good. Do you know anything about hockey?

Ssshh. Type more quietly. See, I need a little inside information about the NHL.

No, I'm not trying to win a Pulitzer Prize. I'm trying to win my fantasy league.

Can you win a Pulitzer with a blog entry? Really, can you?

Ooops. Sorry, I strayed there for a minute. Look, I've never done real well in my fantasy hockey leagues. I want that to change. So, I need you to give me some advice on who to draft.

Now, I know Joe Thornton and Martin St. Louis. The big guns are not an issue. What I am looking for is someone who can tell me what second and third year guys are about to explode onto the scene. Or even the rookie that's going to go crazy in his inaugural campaign.

As none of you are in my league, I can trust you. So, if you have any insight on which players may become household names, even if it's only in my house, I'd appreciate the help. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section. Or email me.

Thanks for the assistance. Let's keep this conversation between us, o.k.? Oh, one more thing before you go. You know anything about international soccer? See, I can sign up for this UEFA fantasy league.

More Lions

Yesterday's win was just a win. No more. No less. Even if it becomes a turning point, an indicator of future success, a harbinger of things to come, we won't know that for weeks or months. However, based on Lions' history we can only take one thing from the victory-the Lions won the game.

Yes, it was a semi-big game because it was Green Bay, a division rival, the season opener, the home opener and the rest of the division lost. To assume it means more is premature. It may even qualify as laughable if you've followed this franchise for more than a decade. If there is one constant about Lions football it's that they always find a way to bungle things.

Start red-hot? Finish ice cold. Start 0 for September? Finish with a tremendous run at a wild card berth. Win this week, lose the next. The opposition really never matters. The Lions have always found a way to tempt us into belief only to end up in their usual state of mediocrity.

The Bears are next. Regardless of the result, I'll hold true to the same mantra. The win is only a win. Two in a row. Three in a row. Four in a row. Yeah, I'll be getting more excited, but to sound like every football coach at every level in America, they only count for one win each.

It's a sixteen game schedule. The Lions could go 8-0, I would be thrilled, but waiting for the inevitable collapse. Sorry, I've been there. Done that. I'll believe the Lions are a ten win team when they win ten games. I'll believe they are a playoff team when they secure a playoff spot. I'll believe they are Super Bowl contenders when they win a playoff game. (Yeah, it may only take one of those.)

Hey, I'm still watching and still rooting. I can't imagine giving that up. I've just learned to follow the coach-speak. I'm taking them one game at a time.

A Little Separation

Jake over at Motown Sports Revival has decided it's time to separate his happiness from his addiction to Michigan football. Amongst other points he makes, Jake has come to the conclusion that Michigan's football objectives are not the same as the other elite programs in the nation. I tend to concur.

A Little Weekend Recap

I've got to move on to other things, I need more than two day weekends, but I did want to review some of this weekend's action. To begin with, our beloved Detroit Lions beat Green Bay, 17-3. It was not a game that will ever appear on ESPN Classic, but a win is a win. Hey, the first team offense even scored two touchdowns. How can you not be excited about that?

The Pack looked bad. Real bad. They screwed up a field goal. They turned over the ball. The committed penalties in bunches. Basically, they played like the Lions usually do. If I'm a Green Bay fan, I'm nervous about '05.

As for the penalties, did anyone else noticed how often Packer DBs went to the face of Lions' WRs? It got called a couple of times, but it happened quite a bit more than that. I wonder if that's the tactic teams will employ to slow down the Lions WR corps?

I was very happy to see linebackers making plays this afternoon. I saw Earl Holmes post-game interview on FSN-Detroit. I know he's about fifty years old, but I like Holmes. Just seems like a good guy. He's got a bit of game left, too.

Joey Harrington looked like a decent quarterback today. He did a solid job. Not that Steve Mariucci will acknowledge that. Harrington isn't Canton-bound, but the guy did his job.

The Lions are your division leaders, as Minnesota and Chicago ended up on the losing end as the Packers did today. Another division games awaits as the Lions are off to Chicago for Week Two. I'll just enjoy today's win for another 24 hours before debating the Bears, thank you.

Around the NFL, Pittsburgh looked very good. I know he hasn't won the Super Bowl, but Bill Cowher still has to be one of the top five coaches in the league. If your third team runningback goes off for over 100 yards rushing, it could be the system.

Tampa Bay played a nice road game vs. the Vikes. I never thought Cadillac Williams would be that productive this early.

Miami won?!?!?! San Francisco, too?!?!?!

Over to the college kids. I didn't get to see much of Michigan's loss at the hands of Notre Dame. I was in a restaurant during ND's opening march down the field, though. It was plain ugly if you root for the maize and blue. I didn't see enough to make too many blanket statements, but I do wonder if this is a one or two loss squad or something worse.

If Charlie Weis keeps winning, will he stay at ND or look at the NFL the way Nick Saban did?

Michigan State rolled Hawaii as they should. Nice solid win. Drew Stanton looks like the All-Big Ten first team quarterback right now with Chad Henne's off day vs. the Irish and Drew Tate getting knocked out of Iowa's loss to Iowa State.

I loved the Texas at Ohio State game. I'm not crazy about either program, but I loved the match-up. The first meeting between traditional college football superpowers. Tons of future NFL players on the field. #2 vs. #4 in the land. It had a playoff-type atmosphere. College football is about these type of games.

Yes, Vince Young is your Heisman leader at this second. Of course, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush did have the week off. A.J. Hawk is your defensive player of year after two weeks.

The Tigers took two of three from Kansas City. Were any of them televised? Neither today's afternoon tilt or Saturday night's affair were. That's nearly as shameful as the Tigers record. I guess it doesn't matter as with pigskins in the air, no one cares.

Oh, by the way, Chris Shelton can still hit.

As for other things no one cares about, Roger Federer won the U.S. Open. He's going to be one of the great tennis players of all-time and no one in the U.S. will notice. I'm as guilty as anyone. I really had planned on watching more of the Open, but it just didn't fit into my schedule very well. Even when it did, I didn't find the match-ups compelling. Maybe it was just me.

The United States won the Solheim Cup. If you have to ask what the Solheim Cup is, you probably don't care. I was happy to see our ladies re-capture the Cup, though. Paula Creamer continues to play the part of phenom.

Dan Wheldon won the IRL race in Chicagoland. Wheldon all but won the season's championship with the victory. It was a pretty close finish with Wheldon holding off Helio Castroneves. Truth be told, I was rooting for Castroneves. Although, I have no problem with Wheldon.

As for my other "football" boys, Everton lost to Portsmouth, 1-0. I'm totally offended. The Toffees do have ten players, including most of their newly acquired transfers, out with injuries. I suspect Everton will continue to have problems until the Holidays. That's just a guess from a newbie soccer guy, though.

Reading tied, 1-1. Reading? What now? Brian's following yet another Euro team? Yes, I am as Bobby Convey, one of my favorite U.S. players, is at Reading now. Convey was their player of the month. You don't care, but this isn't your blog, now is it? Remember a few paragraphs ago, when I pointed out this would be about things you didn't care about. I did warn you.

Until my next post that you don't care about, I bid you a good evening.

I Am Not Alone

Apparently, I wasn't the only one upset after Thursday afternoon's horrible loss to Cleveland. A couple of players were quoted in today's newspapers as not really pleased with the Tigers current state of affairs. The guys wearing the Old English D are basically calling for change as I did about twenty-four hours ago.

Looking at Crystal Evola's article in today's Oakland Press we find back-up catcher Vance Wilson sharing his concern. Wilson said that "we should be a little embarrassed about the overall season". The veteran backstop suggested everyone in the organization can take a share of the blame for the dismal campaign.

Wilson's most painful statement came when asked about the team's repeated mistakes.

"To me, that's the players' lack of preparation", Wilson said. "We can continue to roll in it or get positive and fix it. Hopefully, that's what we're doing and working toward."

Wilson wasn't alone in his less than complimentary analysis. Magglio Ordonez had some interesting things to say to the Detroit Free Press' John Lowe. Ordonez flatly announced "I think we stink". Things didn't get better from there. These two sentences from Lowe's piece speak volumes.

"You have to get used to winning," Ordonez said. "Winning is a habit. Losing is a habit."

"We need to change our attitude," Ordonez said. "We should be over .500."

It sounds to me like their is an attitude problem in the Tigers' clubhouse. Maggs (Mags?) and Wilson were appear to say what I did yesterday-change does appear to be in order at Comerica Park.

If you are Alan Trammell neither player did much to help your cause here. A lack of preparation? That sounds like a manager's job to me. So, too, does changing the attitude of the ballclub.

If there is indeed a losing mentality around the Tigers dugout, I would expect Dave Dombrowski to find it and flush it out as he did with the ballclub when he first arrived. A number of players who were more concerned about things other than winning found themselves in another city as soon as it was possible, no matter what us in Tigertown felt about the guys being sent away.

I would hope Dombrowski would do the same, again. If Pudge Rodriguez is part of the problem and not part of the solution, he must go. As much as it pains me to say it, if Trammell must go, then he, too, must be shown the door.

I'd prefer a promotion for a Tiger legend, but if Tram can't muster enough respect to get the players to prepare and there is a losing attitude around the team, Trammell has to be held accountable. That goes with the job.

It's becoming more and more clear that there may need to be some substantial changes in this team before Opening Day 2006. I may not be the only one who thinks so.

Time To Think About Changes

The Detroit Tigers need to make some changes this off-season. As the Tigers have made a large financial commitment to veterans in recent years-Pudge Rodriguez, Magglio Ordonez, Placido Polanco, Troy Percival-I don't think they can go the youth route. Changing directions now and going to a youth movement would only alienate their core group. Besides, I don't think they have enough quality prospects to make that happen anyway.

So, the Tigers will probably need to continue to make moves with an eye towards contending-either for the wild card or A.L. Central crown. (Can Chicago play this well two years in a row?)It's too early to get into specifics, but I have a general idea of what I would like to see the Tigers accomplish after the season concludes.

• Sign a free agent pitcher.
• Trade Pudge Rodriguez, as that seems to be his current desire.
• Acquire a new catcher.
• Decide if Carlos Guillen should play short or third.
• If he stays at short, acquire a new 3B. If he moves to third, get a new SS.
• Make Brandon Inge a super-utility player like Tony Phillips was.
• Let Carlos Pena go.
• Call Jim Leyland.

I don't want to overreact, but this continuing cycle of waiting for player development and inability to play above .500 baseball is wearing on me. We are hearing all the same excuses about the Tigers today as we did about Detroit's baseball team when Tony Clark, Bobby Higginson and Justin Thompson were the supposed future.

Today's pathetic loss to Cleveland, losing 4-2 after Nate Robertson goes five innings without yielding a hit while his teammates strand eight runners on base in the first four innings, really has me steamed. This is the sort of incomplete baseball the Tigers have played, well, forever it seems.

I don't know if anyone in the Tigers front office has noticed, but Cleveland is better than Detroit. Again. Not all that long ago, the Indians dominated the Tigers. Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel (who killed the Tigers), Roberto Alomar, Albert Belle and company just ran over the Tigers for about a decade. Then they were the model the Tigers of Randy Smith were trying to become.

Well, Smith's vision failed, the Indians eventually faded, were pretty lousy for a while, but have suddenly shot right past Detroit again. This time with a new corps of young players led by Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore. No honking big contracts in Cleveland, just another group of kids that appear headed to beat the stuffing out of our bengals once again.

If Cleveland isn't enough, and it is, let's peek in at Oakland. Resident genius Billy Beane has lost Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder in the last several years only to see his A's continue to contend with a team that I suspect over half of Motown cannot name. They obviously had players of value to trade this off-season, but they have also filled in holes from within their own organization.

It was bad enough that the budget strapped Athletics developed Tejada, Giambi, Hudson and Mulder (who went to MSU, for crying out loud) in the first place, but to lose them and toss in Nick Swisher, Dan Johnson and Bobby Crosby in the lineup and still be playoff contenders speaks to the quality of their front office's draft day decisions. Sabermetrics or not, the A's are doing something right on a budget smaller than the Tigers.

What really scares me now is Milwaukee. Yes, Milwaukee. The Brewers, who haven't been terribly good since Robin Yount and Paul Molitor moved on, are staring to look like a baseball team. They traded for Carlos Lee last year. They have put prospects Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy and Prince Fielder into the fray. Lyle Overbay is a decent looking hitter and Brady Clark is amongst the National League leaders in batting average last I looked.

The Brew Crew also have Ben Sheets and Chris Capuano to lead their starting pitching. The Brewers are young, talented and could be good for years. If pressed, and I was forced to pick between the Tigers roster and the Brewers roster, which would I take? Well, neither of us even wants to think about that.

Therein lies my frustration tonight. The Tigers (63 wins) are getting lapped by small markets Oakland (77) and Milwaukee (69), while Cleveland's (79) about to pass Detroit by for the second time around. It's unbelievable.

I'm not sure I'm going to be all that pleased if the Tigers trot out the same group, or something very close to it, in April '06. How much improvement can we really expect from this group? Yes, Mags has shown me that he can still be productive, but the Tigers still go into long droughts even with Ordonez healthy. Yes, Guillen's return to health would be significant, but wasn't he healthy all last year?

Pudge, whose whining is leading me to believe he should be dealt even if the Tigers have to eat half his salary, is going to be another year older. Will he be better than he was in '04? Doubtful.

I keep waiting for Jeremy Bonderman. I still think he can become a star, but his lack of progress does worry me. Outside of him, does anyone else in the rotation look like a guy you want in Game Two of a playoff series? Not to me.

Maybe Joel Zumaya or Justin Verlander can hold down that role, but what is their learning curve going to be? We are still waiting on Bonderman who is now in year three in The Show. In three years, the veteran nucleus of this team will be very old. Most will be gone. Then a new youth movement will be underway.

I'm not that patient tonight. Right now, I want a free agent arm to occupy the number two spot. A number one would be even better, but that's more wishful thinking than solid thought. I want Pudge dealt, so the Tigers can fill spots elsewhere. I'm a big Carlos Pena fan, but I don't want Tony Clark, Part II.

I want Brandon Inge on the bench or rotating positions daily. He's a tough minded player, but his bat just doesn't warrant a starter's role. I want a new thirdbaseman. Whether that means Guillen slides over or the Tigers acquire a new one. I'd be willing to trade Rodriguez, Maroth and/or Craig Monroe, to name just three, to accomplish my September 8th goals.

I want someone to call Jim Leyland, not because I desire to have Alan Trammell canned, but I don't desire to keep the same patterns of mediocrity alive. I'm on the Leyland bandwagon, but I understand if you don't want to join me.

Tonight it appears to me that this current group of players in the Olde English D are headed in the same direction as all the Detroit baseball teams of the last fifteen years. A team just good enough to tempt you into believing next year will be better. I'm not believing that theory tonight.

No, tonight I want changes. My changes sound huge, and to a degree, I guess some are. But I just want some tinkering to get this team above .500 for a full season. Is that asking too much?

Guillen's Return?

There has been some talk that the Detroit Tigers may try to get Carlos Guillen back in the lineup before the season ends. My question is "Why?". It's seems to me like Guillen's biggest problem is that he hasn't rested enough this year. (I know that's hard to believe with as much as Alan Trammell gets criticized for resting his players.)

Every time he returns, he's forced out of the lineup, again. Most everyone thought his injury was serious enough that it would be over a year to heal. It's probably just this side of amazing that Guillen gave the Tigers anything at all in '05.

I think the team should let him rest, continue a light workout schedule, and come back strong for next year. Maybe I'm wrong. We all know it wouldn't be the first time.

College Hoops Previews

Attention, college basketball fans. Collegehoopsnet.com is previewing the 2005-06 season with a look at 144 Teams in 144 Days. It will give you something to ponder between now and Midnight Madness.

U.S. Grabs World Cup Berth

Tonight, the U.S. Men's National Team qualified for Germany 2006 with a 2-0 triumph over Mexico. I know what you are thinking. "Brian, only you would post something about soccer on the first Saturday of the college football season. What is worse, is that only you care." Both sentiments may, indeed, be accurate. Regardless of how nutty you presume me to be, let me assure you of two things: 1) Qualifying for Germany 2006 is a big deal. 2) Lots of people care.

Every other nation on the globe wants in the World Cup. You've heard this before, but it's is true. The World Cup is the championship sporting event on the Earth. Every nation wants in and failure to succeed in that endeavor leaves lots people unemployed. It tarnishes the careers of many great players.

In addition, every other nation doesn't want the United States in the W.C. They love to see our team get kicked to the curb. That includes tonight's rival, Mexico. Yet, despite the rest of the world looking down on U.S. Soccer and the vast majority of our own sports fans not caring, the U.S. has become, to use a college basketball term, a mid-major.

The U.S. soccer program is clearly behind Germany, Brazil, Italy, Argentina and other traditional powers. However, inside their region, or conference to keep the college hoops analogy going, the U.S. has become a power. They now are qualifying for soccer's big international dance somewhat routinely. (I hesitate to say "routinely", but it is becoming pattern.) The boys wearing the red, white and blue might not be amongst the favorites to win, but they are becoming a thorn in lots of people's sides.

This is actually rather impressive considering the state of soccer in this nation. Most of you have stopped reading this, or never started, simply because you found out I was talking soccer (again). Some people aren't just indifferent to soccer like they are towards the Outdoor Games or water polo, no they despise the world's version of football. They refuse to even consider embracing the sport.

It is with this as a backdrop that U.S. Soccer has elevated itself. Again, the U.S. may only be a mid-major, but imagine if even one quarter of our sports fans chose to care? How many more kids would aspire to become professionals if their parents loved the game? Or if enough Americans cared about the sport that the MLS became a viable option? Or the games overseas were more popular in non-World Cup seasons?

Tonight's game is one that I feel more sports fans would like if they could get past whatever negative stereotypes they hold about the game. First, I think most could find a rooting interest. It wasn't a Real Salt Lake versus F.C. Dallas match-up. It was the good old U.S. of A. in action. Second, the boys representing us did have something to play for. A World Cup bid was at stake. Again, think making the Big Dance.

Third, and finally, U.S. Soccer took on Mexico, their biggest rival. The match-up between the U.S. and Mexico is like many border rivalries. The teams are in the same region. They are vying not only for the same goal, World Cup qualification, but they are also looking to be the big dog in their corner of the planet.

They face each other often enough that they aren't real friendly. The games tend to get chippy. The fans of both teams are very passionate. Translated that means road games are tough. Very tough.

In the end, the U.S. won on goals by Steve Rolston and Demarcus Beasley, avenging a loss in Mexico City earlier in the qualifying round and advancing to Germany 2006. That seems like the recipe for compelling sport, but I know lots of you, or both of you still reading this, still don't care. It's too bad because I think you are missing out.

On the very first Saturday of the college football season, not only did I take time to write an extended post about soccer, but a sellout crowd in college football crazed Columbus, Ohio filled the stadium to watch the match. Maybe you can love college football and soccer, too.

Garcia Breaks Leg

So much for that veteran back-up quarterback to push Joey Harrington. Jeff Garcia broke his fibula in the first quarter of tonight's game against Buffalo. I'm sure we will be hearing plenty about this over the next day or two.

Link-O-Rama

I've read some things I think you might be interested in, so let me share.

Michael Rosenberg, of the Detroit Free Press, reviews Lloyd Carr's tenure at the helm of Michigan football program. Rosenberg also gives us his take on the Tigers negotiation with first round choice Cameron Maybin.

Those of us living in the Great Lakes State guessed this to be true. The Freep confirms it.

Neon Deion makes an interesting plea.

Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com gives a different look at the Jeff Kent/Milton Bradley flare-up in L.A. I think I might agree with Scoop.

Here is OLN TV's broadcast schedule for the NHL.

The AP, courtesy of Fox Sports.com, previews the Mexico-United States World Cup qualifier.

That's all for this edition of Link-O-Rama. I hope you can find something in the mix you enjoy.

Comerica Park Gets Low Grade

In a poll at SI.com, Comerica Park ranked 28th in Major League Baseball for overall experience. In something Sports Illustrated dubbed the Fan Value Index, MLB parks were rated in a number of categories ranging from the ticket prices to the neighborhood. Only the Florida Marlins (Dolphins Stadium) and the New York Mets (Shea Stadium) got worse grades than the Tigers' home.

Comerica Park really got nailed in three categories. The yard received only a three out of ten mark in accessibility and neighborhood, while getting only four points for the average cost of concessions/souvenirs. Ouch. I'll let you review the rankings in their entirety.

Now, if you are looking for a reason to discredit the survey, not that I am, one could point to the marks given Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. Probably the two most loved baseball parks on the planet came in eleventh and thirteenth, respectively. There is simply no way, under any circumstance, either is not in the top ten.

The winners? Miller Park in Milwaukee came in first. Second went to Pittsburgh's PNC Park. I have heard nothing but good things about both, so I wouldn't quibble. However, from a Detroit perspective, it sure appears all that love from the All-Star Game is long gone.

Katrina Relief

Today is the day the blogging community set aside for pleas for donations to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. I encourage everyone to make some level of financial support to whatever organization they feel is best. I'm starting with a contribution to the Humane Society.

I've linked some organizations in the right sidebar and Google, Yahoo and Amazon, amongst others, all have links to various charitiable organizations working in region. You can also check out my previous post to find more links to charities.

My thoughts and prayers are with those Katrina has affected and with those who now try to help the recovery efforts.

Special thanks to John Fontana of Boltsmag and Eric McErlain of Off Wing Opinion for making the special New Orleans Donate jpeg image available.