Weather Or Not

Wednesday night I attended a prolonged rain delay courtesy of the remnants of Hurricane Frances. I had hoped to watch a baseball game, but instead I got to see a glimpse of a tropical depression. This would not have bothered me quite as much if even one local or national weather agency suggested a steady three hours or so of rainfall before the game.

Having tickets to this contest, I had some additional interest in the weather that evening. I checked all the national and local forecasts. 99% of them suggested nothing more than a partly cloudy evening. This was as late as an hour before the game. Now, having learned from previous experience, I kept looking at the national radar only to see this massive rain system heading right for Detroit. However, I was re-assured all day, rain was not coming.

The closest thing I got to an admission of an oncoming tropical depression, was a forecaster that hinted indeed some rain might pop up, here and there, but nothing too bad. In his defense, the rain wasn't horrible. It was just wonderfully consistent. It started about six thirty and ended, well, I don't know when it ended. I left the would-be seven o'clock game after two and a half hours.

What gets me is that didn't everyone see this rather significant storm heading our way since, oh, I don't know, a week ago? It's not like I live in Florida and you just can't tell where the sucker is going to land. I'm in Michigan. It's five days later. It's been inland for almost a week.

It's not like this is some rain pattern that quickly developed out of nowhere. It's a stinking hurricane. They've been tracking it since it was in the Atlantic Ocean. Yet, these morons can't even tell me where it's going to rain a week later? Remember, these are weather experts. (If you want to be really scared, think of these "experts" as cousins to scientists.)

If they can't accurately predict an oncoming tropical storm, maybe it's time to stop guessing. Just leave a continuous radar screen on the television. Let us reach our own conclusions.

Lionstown

Detroit is the home to the defending NBA Champion Pistons. It also is home to a charter member of the American League, the Tigers. The success of its hockey team, combined with a brilliant marketing idea, has many referring to the Motor City as Hockeytown. Truth be told, however, Detroit's love is the Lions.

If the Wings or Pistons won one playoff game, or even one playoff series, in the last forty years, they would not sell 50,000 tickets to a regular season game. The Tigers have had trouble getting 10,000 a game in recent years amidst a decade long decline. The Lions? They win one post-season contest in four decades and still could sell out the old 70,000 seat Pontiac Silverdome with some regularity.

Unlike the Pistons, Wings and Tigers who have all won World Championships in the last twenty years, the Lions last title came in 1957. Yet, they are the team most Detroiters love the most. Yeah, pro football is king nationwide (Los Angeles notwithstanding), but there is some special about Detroit's relationship to it's NFL franchise.

I'm beginning to think the Lions have become Detroit's version of the Chicago Cubs. Lovable losers. Often mediocre, at best. A team that rarely makes the playoffs and usually exits quickly once they arrive. Fans go because their fathers and grandfathers have. It's tradition as much as anything.

The team's failure will certainly spring criticism, even unimaginable frustration, but it won't turn the fans away. They return with new found hope come that first kickoff. I'm as guilty as anyone else. I adore baseball. Everyone who knows me acknowledges this. However, the Lions are probably my favorite local team. I don't know why, either. Maybe those ten years of sharing season tickets won me over.

It wasn't the drunken fights at the Silverdome. It wasn't walking over that stinking bridge between parking lots over M-59 in December. It wasn't the consistent ticket price increases. It sure wasn't the team's success, either. Just like the other mindless followers of this franchise, I love draft day (the Lions version of the Super Bowl) and hope they improve each season.

This year's opener comes Sunday in Chicago. The town is abuzz about the potential of newcomers Kevin Jones and Roy Williams. Added to previous first round choices Joey Harrington and Charles Rogers and the Lions faithful believe their might even be an offensive attack in Honolulu Blue and Silver this year.

Hockeytown may sell t-shirts, but Detroit is far and away Lionstown. I'm just one tiny example of that.

Motor City Soccer?

Much to my surprise, an organization called MLS Detroit is trying to lure an expansion franchise to the Metro area. I read about it over at ESPN's Soccernet and then checked out their website. They are looking for $10 deposits from potential season ticket holders. They hope to get some response from MLS by the end of September. Good luck, MLS Detroit.

B.B. Baker's Dozen

Combining my love of baked goods and college football, here is the Beyond Boxscores Baker's Dozen (that's thirteen for you low carb zealots) after the first week of gridiron action. Enjoy this over the doughnut of your choice.

1. Southern Cal-A solid, if unspectacular, win away from home.
2. Oklahoma-If they run like this all year they will be #1 in January.
3. LSU-A scare at home.
4. Georgia-Another less than impressive start for a top 5 team.
5. Florida State-Can Rix lead the Seminoles to a win Friday?
6. Miami-Can Berlin lead the 'Canes to a win Friday?
7. Michigan-Could be a QB controversy forthcoming.
8. Texas-Benson looked Heisman-like.
9. Ohio State-If Zwick plays this well all season OSU will move up.
10. Utah-Smith would get my Week One Heisman vote.
11. Florida-I like Chris Leak.
12. West Virginia-Good team, terrible conference.
13. Iowa-Probably a Big Ten bias vote on my part. Hey, I'm honest.

Vols Turn To Freshmen QBs

ESPN.com reports that Tennessee will start one of their two freshmen quarterbacks this Sunday. It will be the first time in SEC history a true freshman will start the first game of the year. That's kind of amazing considering the history of the SEC. However, I know how much football people frown on first-year starters.

I have always found it interesting how coaches, fans and the media cry aloud how a freshman just can't play QB. This is especially true at the "big programs". You can't expect a true freshman to play at places like Ohio State, USC or Tennessee. The way people go on about it, you'd think we are talking about aerospace technology, not football.

I guess what I find so interesting/funny/ridiculous, is that all of these freshman QBs that cannot possibly be good enough to play immediately were all unstoppable phenoms destined for greatness when they were recruited just six months ago. Now, they are incapable of ousting a mediocre junior who has taken all of sixteen snaps in two years.

Whomever Phil Fulmer picks, I hope the Vols new, young QB has a fine year. It will help make all this talk of quarterback play as rocket science die down a bit.

Overlooked In Oklahoma

I have never seen a Heisman Trophy winner take as much criticism as Jason White. Nor have I ever seen a defending Heisman winner so overlooked the next year. How many players coming off a Heisman Trophy aren't even considered first team All-America the following campaign? None, I would suspect. Yet, that's the position the Oklahoma quarterback finds himself in.

There is no denying White played horribly in the Sooners last two games, but his lackluster performances versus Kansas State and LSU have stirred an almost irrational response from the media. They almost seem vindictive. Somehow I get the impression they feel liked they got duped into voting for White, so now they are mad.

What these guys don't understand is why they voted for White in the first place. He was the best college football player in the country in the regular season. He threw for 40 touchdowns and 4,708 yards while playing for the number one team in the nation most of the season.

White is also a great comeback story. The kind of story people used to embrace. He battled back from consecutive lost seasons due to knee injuries. He walked right into the starting QB job on the team picked number one in the pre-season at a university steeped in football tradition. All White did was have the best statistical season any OU quarterback ever had.

Jason White was not Heisman-like in his last two games. Nor was he healthy. However, that doesn't seem to matter to some. They seem so bent out of shape over his two game post-season decline that they can barely put him on their Heisman radar in '04. I'm hoping White forces them to vote for him one more time.

Small Market Sympathy

For all those baseball fans who deplore the small market vs. big market era the sport is now in, here is a story that you should sympathize with. Everton, one of the Premiership's small market clubs, lost it's wonder boy today. Wayne Rooney, an 18 year old striker, has left his hometown team for the bigger checks written by European powerhouse Manchester United. It's your basic small market vs. big market scenario, English soccer style.

Everton not only loses a hometown hero, but due to the fact the deal happened so close to the transfer deadline, they will get no immediate help to fill Rooney's void. To make matters worse for Everton's fans, to maximize the fianancial deal, Manchester United will need to reach certain goals. Most of which appear to be related to the club's performance in the Premiership and Champions League.

To get the most money out of Man. U., Everton fans are going to have to hope the Reds have a great deal of success over the next several seasons. Basically, they will have to root for the enemy to see their club gain financial strength.

I've never been much of a small market supporter (no, I'm not a Yankees fan), but deals like this one do leave me wondering how long sports, or more importantly, sports fans, can take this sort of thing?

Yellow?

I just flipped on the tv to watch the World Cup of Hockey game between the United States and Canada only to find the Canadians wearing yellow sweaters. Not Tour de France leader jersey yellow. I guess that would be even worse. No, the Canadian National Team is wearing a jersey that is mustard yellow. Think Pittsburgh Pirates of the early 1970's.

It's still got a big old red Maple leaf right in the middle, but the remainder of the top is mustard yellow and black. It also has a patch indicating something with Winnipeg on it. I assume it's a salute to an old franchise, but it was quite a shock to see the Canadians in yellow.

I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason for this change, but when the Canadians have so many truly sharp looking jersey combinations already, why go with mustard yellow?

(Update: During the post-game show on CBC, Ron McLean said that the yellow jerseys were in honor of the Winnipeg team that represented Canada at the 1928 Olympics in Antwerp. That team captured the gold medal.)

Here's Your Chance Baseball Geeks

Jim Hawkins, of The Daily Oakland Press (Michigan), is a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He is also serving on a special committee reviewing players not enshrined, but who merit a review. His column seems to imply that we should contact him with our ideas.

Here's your chance, fellow baseball geeks. Email Mr. Hawkins and let him know what you think. How often does anyone on the BBWAA even take suggestions? Give him some credit for that, too, when you contact him.

Transfer Deadline

Tuesday is the transfer deadline in the Premier League. I remain curious to see how Everton handles Wayne Rooney's request for a transfer. Manchester United and Newcastle United remain his primary suitors, although most everyone thinks it will be Man. U. who gains the young English striker.

As the hours tick away, I can only hope that if Everton does grab the cash for Rooney that they still have enough time to claim a couple of players that can help them this year.

Lions Diary

The march towards the regular season drags on. There is probably nothing worse in sports than the NFL's pre-season. Yeah, the football geeks amongst us love any and all football, but this pre-season vareity barely qualifies as football. Regardless, the Lions did play Saturday. Baltimore was the opposition.

The Ravens are very good defensively and looked like it in the first half. The Lions offense sputtered even with the first teamers in action. It really didn't get much better afterwards, either. The special teams still look horrible. The defense is tolerable. This week.

Individually, I liked the way Kevin Jones looked. Roy Williams caught his first passes of the pre-season, but he appears to be headed towards a typical rookie wideout season-inconsistent. Let's hope I am very wrong about that.

Thursday is the last exhibition tilt. Their is talk that none of the starters will play and that the Ford Field ushers and vendors will suit up for the second half. Even less than normal will be learned from the last glorified scrimmage of the year.

Sorry For The Delay

I realize I haven't posted much in recent days. It hasn't entirely been due to a lack of effort. I've been having some problems with Blogger loading (which has been terribly frustrating) and my PC has had issues in recent days. I apologize to the both of you who read this. I hope to post more consistently.

Olympic Recap

The Summer Games have concluded and I'm left with a few random thoughts and memories. I'm happy to see the U.S. Women's soccer team regain form and capture a gold medal. I'm one of those guys who still feels the women's World Cup victory, where Brandi Chastain made herself instantly famous, is one of the most overrated moments in sports history. That said, the core of this team, led by Mia Hamm, has elevated women's soccer to unimaginable levels in this country. They are pioneers in women's team athletics.

The women's hoops and softball squads were both terrific. The women's softball team was so good that their dominance threatens softball's future as an Olympic event.

What more can be said about the men's basketball squad? I'm sure I'll come up with something for a later post, but for now a bronze medal is about right considering the quality of play the U.S. side exhibited.

The U.S. swimmers were excellent, as they so often are. I suppose Michael Phelps is the big star of these Games.

Overall, this edition of the games will be noteworthy for the number of failed drug tests, indecisive decisions (see Paul Hamm) and the fact the event went off without a hitch (the tackling of a Brazilian marathon runner aside). Nice work, Athens.

More USA Basketball Perspective

Jason Whitlock, a writer I really like, offers a perspective on the U.S. Olympic Basketball team I tend to disagree with at ESPN.com. His Page Two feature implies that those rooting against the U.S. squad are borderline racists. He suggests that this team of NBA stars, contrary to public opinion, does care and is working very hard. He's wrong, in part, on all three counts.

First, let me clarify one thing. As upset as I am about the U.S. team's sloppy play, I have never rooted against them. Sorry, I can't. When Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, LeBron James and their teammates agreed to play for the U.S., something that many other NBA stars passed on, they were my team. If that isn't the cool, politically correct, new world order thing to do, so be it.

However, just because I complain about them hardly qualifies me as a racist. Even a borderline one. Nor do I think rooting against them makes anyone a racist. While a certain percentage of those rooting against Team USA are certainly racists, that's not enough to suspect everyone of the same agenda. Some of us just don't like crappy basketball, especially when representing the United States on such a high profile stage.

Whitlock actually does a fine job dismissing his own assertions about caring and hard work. When he says that the U.S. men's basketball team cares about winning the Olympics, just not as much as swimmers and the track and field participants, that tells me they care, but only to a point. If you care, but only so much, are you really putting out your very best effort? If you aren't thrilled about practicing for the NBA season, the event you supposedly care most about, why would you really bust your behind to win a lesser title?

This is the reason such super patriots, as Whitlock calls people like me, are upset. I still place a high priority on winning the Olympic basketball tournament. Why? For the same reason Brazilians care about soccer and Canadians care about hockey. This is arguably the sport this country is known most for internationally. Our success is unmatched. To see the U.S. team struggle is not something I am going to accept happily.

I yell at this team, not because they are black or millionaires or NBA players. I yell because I want them to win the stinking gold medal. This usually gets me painted as jingoistic, not racist. Perhaps, this version of the U.S. Olympic basketball squad and I do have more in common than I thought. It seems no matter what we do, we are going to offend somebody.

Lions Diary

Due to all the OLB injuires, Teddy Lehman is moving from the middle linebacker to outside linebacker this weekend. The Oklahoma rookie, and Butkus Award Winner, was learning the inside spot behind Earl Holmes. Lehman will play the strong side spot, which this week means a close-up look at Ravens' tight end Todd Heap. That should be a very good initial test.

I'm sure the Lions' were counting on Lehman to contribute this year, but he may be more vital than ever with Boss Bailey's return from injury still undetermined.

Alien versus Predator

(Editor's Note: This is a non-sports related post. As always, I apologize in advance.)

It's time to close up Hollywood. Hot on the heels of Freddy versus Jason, a movie we were all impatiently awaiting, comes Alien versus Predator. Like the slasher movies that featured Freddy and Jason, both the Alien and Predator films had sequels all to themselves. Now, these two film legends meet in what we can only hope is a one-time deal.

Talk about originality. Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, S.W.A.T., Scooby Doo, Spiderman. Good thing for television, cartoons and video games or we might run out of feature film ideas altogether. Will the last one out of Hollywood please turn off the lights?

Rooney to Reds?

Pardon me as I take a quick aside. I see where Wayne Rooney may be sold to Manchester United. This is not good news. Yes, Everton needs the cash. Yes, even with Rooney the Toffees will be hardpressed to get near the top of the Premiership. Still, I don't like it. Everton fans just continue to suffer.

Stop The Dream Team Talk

Can we please stop referring to every Olympic Basketball team as The Dream Team? Now, with the men stumbling their way through Athens, the term is being given to the women's squad or even the softball team. Both are tremendously talented, but neither are dream teams by comparison.

That's the problem, of course, comparisons. The Dream Team, a.k.a. the 1992 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team, was a once-in-a-lifetime assemblage. Led by Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, arguably the three greatest players ever, that team rolled over everyone and dazzled the world. Not only was the team comprised of star players, but they were international celebrities playing a sport just reaching the pinnacle of it's worldwide appeal.

No other team will ever reach the status of the '92 squad and we should retire the term Dream Team, especially in basketball terms, in their honor.

Still Waiting For A Winner

For all those who follow Olympic athletics and wonder why their favorite sport never catches on, we need only look at the mess that is gymnastics. Paul Hamm may be, or may not be or may be one of two gold medal winners in the men's all-around. Of course, the event was completed days ago, but the "decision" is still up for debate.

It's bad enough so many sports are at the complete whim of judges, but to have the winner still not be official this many days later is plain ridiculous. It's time to place the sport's whose outcome is determined by judges into a separate class of exhibition events. Give out medals, perhaps lots of them, but de-emphasize their importance. If it's truly sport, the winners should be somewhat self-evident. Otherwise, it's an art contest and that comes down to personal preference not ability.

Abby's Road

Mia Hamm is the greatest women's soccer player ever. Even knowing as little as I do about soccer in general and the women's game specifically, I realize that. Something else I realize is that if the U.S. team is going to win a gold medal in Athens, much of that responsibility falls on the shoulders of Abby Wambach.

Wambach is the dominant goal scorer on the women's squad. She is probably the most dominant scorer in the world right now. That's doesn't make her the most complete player, Hamm still owns that moniker. However, Wambach has the unique ability to finish. Being a natural goal scorer is a trait few have. This quality has Wambach positioned to become the U.S. Women Team's most recognizable player once Hamm departs from the international scene after the Olympics.

Monday morning the U.S. women face Germany in a semi-final match. Don't be surprised if Abby Wambach scores. She usually does.