You're sure Northwestern didn't want to play in this game?

The Bowls have been scheduled, and the usual gripes about the BCS are once again falling on deaf ears, not that I care, because I like the Bowl set up as it is. But we've dealt with that over and over and over again, so I'm going to let it go this time. Instead I'm going to mention that Purdue is going to the Motor City Bowl this year, to play Central Michigan. What do Purdue writers everywhere have to say?

It's the only Bowl worse than no bowl at all - Boiled Sports

So it's come to this - Off the Tracks

Boilers breathe easy after 10th bowl bid in 11 years - Purdue Exponent.

Wow. West Lafayette is simply radiating excitement right now. The one thing I'm dissapointed about is how little Detroit bashing there's been. it's a problem when your team has to travel north to get to their bowl game. The reward for going to the game is that you get to go home. They have to play the game indoors because of the city wide curfew. Come on people, this is Detroit! It exists to be made fun of!

Baseball Brawls and Home Field Advantage

Originally posted on "Is It Sports?" I think the intro to the conversation says it all...

Ryan and I still do talk online a lot, but we've been very bad about posting the actual entertaining conversations we had, which was the original premise on our site to be begin with, and now we're almost too much like Page 2. But here's an entertaining one we had back on July 21 about brawls we've seen and ideas for extreme home field advantage. Enjoy! - Steve

Ryan: also, its like the Tigers vs. the world now... have they brawled with the Sox yet?
Steve: no which is weird
Steve: I need to go to a few more games
Steve: maybe they'll play like an interleague makeup against the Phillies and brawl with them after a "message" pitch
Ryan: didn't they couple years ago?
Steve: the Sox and Tigers did
Steve: 2000
Steve: Keith Foulke got a black eye
Ryan: I'm trying to think of when the Indians and Tigers would have went at it... I know this is the first the Twins and Tigers have had a problem
Steve: I'm sure they've fought before
Ryan: well yeah, but recently I mean
Ryan: and why fight the Royals? half the team wasn't in the majors at the beginning of the year
Steve: I think half the team wasn't born yet
Ryan: The Twins always have problems with the Indians
Ryan: but for as heated as the division has been b/w the Twins and Sox, there really have never been any major brawls
Steve: not really
Ryan: Just the Indians in my favorite on field incident ever
Steve: what was that?
Ryan: Hunter gets drilled, I think by Baez when he was still with them so he picks up the ball and fires his own 90 mph fastball right back at the pitcher
Steve: haha I remember that now
Ryan: "I was just giving him the ball back"
Steve: haha
Steve: those excuses are great
Steve: I saw an actual brawl once at a White Sox game
Ryan: against?
Steve: Blue Jays
Steve: Jack McDowell hit Mark Whitten with a pitch and he charged the mound
Ryan: you don't see as many charges of the mound anymore
Steve: he got one good shot in on Black Jack, but then got thrown to the ground and pummeled by Carlton Fisk
Ryan: nice
Steve: that was the first time I ever saw the Sox win
Ryan: my brother was at the game where Chad Moeller went into the stands at Wrigley... he had to leave early though (class trip)
Ryan: The Twins have a 5 game series against Detroit this week
Steve: oh that sucks
Ryan: nobody wants that much time in Detroit
Steve: at least they aren't staying in a hotel there
Ryan: where would they be staying?
Steve: suburbs
Ryan: oh.. ok
Steve: at least I'd think so
Steve: there really aren't' hotels downtown
Ryan: You could go to work, and their is Juan Rincon with a duffel bag sleeping in the elevator
Ryan: ok... so Jason Johnson was pissed because Nick Punto bunted in a run
Steve: that would be awesome
Steve: because our elevators are the big industrial ones that can carry a car or 2
Ryan: Shannon Stewart is in the break room, sleep in his eyes getting a cup of coffee
Steve: that would be an awesome home field advantage
Steve: make the visitors sleep in random places in the Pontiac Assembly Center
Ryan: Or at random office complexes
Steve: I'm surprised no one has tried to crash here
Ryan: Haha... Notre Dame is at Purdue... put the offense up at Alcoa and the Defense in the Caterpillar plant
Steve: that would be so cool
Steve: I'd love to see a season of that
Steve: see what the home win % would be
Ryan: they might have to do that in the NHL
Steve: like the Sox, housing projects across the street
Ryan: "Thank you for calling TCF... Yes! I think we can fit a couple Montreal Canadiens in the Foshay Tower"
Ryan: That's an old building in Minneapolis, by the way
Steve: haha yeah I can see it
Steve: saves money
Ryan: There are widespread rumors that the Foshay is haunted too... which would add another element of suspense
Steve: nice
Steve: It can be the MLB's, "Get a feel for the city" promotion
Ryan: Or, for the hockey, an outreach thing, get to know the players
Steve: reaching out to the kids in the projects
Ryan: "Daddy, who is the Russian guy sleeping on the couch?" "Oh, that's Slava Kozlov, honey"

Detroit Sports 101

Originally posted on "Is It Sports?" by Steve. I'm am so glad that I don't live in Detroit any more.

There are many reasons why this site had no new posts for almost a month. First, Ryan and I both graduated college, and we followed that up by spending the next few weeks at our homes in Minnesota and Chicago respectively. It’s not easy to update the site when we’re away from school because apparently Ryan uses a computer stolen from a Ukrainian submarine built in 1958 in his house, and I use my crappy old laptop that used to have FrontPage until the hard drive completely died on it….several times. I actually finally found the FrontPage installation disk for it while I was packing my stuff to move…which flows nicely into this post. The good old job market lured me east so now Is It Sports? is back up and running again from my new command center here just outside Detroit. Sadly, the biggest impact of this move for me is getting to know Detroit’s 4 major sports teams. So I figured I’d break it down here.

Baseball: Detroit Tigers
Founded: 1901
Home Field: Comerica Park
Division: AL Central
Division Titles: 3 (1972, 1984, 1987) (All of these were when they were in the AL East)
AL Pennants: 9 (1907, 1908, 1909, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1984)
Championships: 4 (1935, 1945, 1968, 1984)

As you can see above, when it comes to recent success, the Tigers don't have much, ok none. They have not had a winning season since 1993, had the 2nd worst season in MLB history in 2003 by finishing 43-119, and have the 4th longest playoff drought (1987) in baseball, only behind the juggernaut Expos/Nationals (1981), Brewers (1982), and Royals (1985). However this team still has the same amount of World Series titles as the White Sox and Cubs combined. Hey, they even won a World Series in my lifetime, in 1984, but at the same time, my friend that's a Royals fan likes to brag that his team won a World Series in his lifetime too....in 1985...when he was 2....I'm sure he has fond memories.

When baseball split into divisions in 1969, the White Sox went West and the Tigers went East, and the 1994 realignment also kept the Tigers in the East while placing the White Sox in the Central. However, the addition of the Devil Rays in 1998 landed Tampa in the East and moved Detroit to the Central while bumping Milwaukee to the National League. Fueled by Bears-Lions, Bulls-Pistons, and Blackhawks-Red Wings rivalries, the White Sox and Tigers (and their fans) soon hated each other just as much, eventually erupting in one of the biggest brawls baseball has seen in April of 2000. That fight meant a lot for the teams; Everyone in Detroit hated the Sox, and everyone in Chicago hated the Tigers, but that fight was also seen as the moment that the White Sox became a team, launching their run to the AL Central title.

So where are they now? Well the Tigers' expectations were a little too high coming into this year mostly because of the talking heads on TV expecting too much from the allegedly-roid-free Ivan Rodriguez, oft-injured Troy Percival, and still-injured Magglio Ordonez. Dmitri Young made a bold prediction early in the season that it was going to be a real tough fight between the Tigers and Indians this season, and he was definitely right. They are only separated by 1 game right now, 11 and 12 games behind the White Sox.

I think I still have a strong possibility of getting behind the Tigers, but they will NEVER become my favorite team. I've been to 5 games at Comerica and its a great place to see a game, and 12 years of solid losing makes for plenty of close seats. I'm looking forward to being here to see the Tigers finally turn things around, just as long as they are still always worse than the White Sox.

Football: Detroit Lions
Founded: 1930 (as Portsmouth Spartans, became Detroit Lions in 1934)
Home Field: Ford Field
Division: NFC North
Division Titles: 8 (1935, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1983, 1991, 1993)
Conference Titles: 5 (1935, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957)
Championships: 4 (1935, 1952, 1953, 1957)

The Lions resume above looks a lot more impressive than it actually is. They won their last championship 9 years before the beginning of the Super Bowl era, and the closest they've gotten since then is a loss in the 1991 NFC Championship game. I think their other 3 championships were won when leather helmets and sweaters were popular football gear, and their last playoff appearance came in 1999. Things are starting to look up for the Lions now though, especially in their own division. They have a decent coach in Steve Mariucci, a serviceable backup in Jeff Garcia for when Joey Harrington proves himself ineffective yet again, and 3 top WR prospects with Charles Rogers, Roy Williams, and Mike Williams. They have a chance of finally making the playoffs this year with a Moss-less and Tice lead Vikings team, an aging and decimated Packers team, and a usually crappy Bears team in their division.

So how do I feel about this team? Well I'm not sure if I mentioned before, but I grew up a 49ers fan and respecting my dad's Raiders, and I never enjoyed being surrounded by Bears fans every day living in Chicago. I also still dislike the Packers because first, they're from Wisconsin, and second, they ended too many 49ers playoff runs in recent years. So I used to love watching Barry Sanders cutting through the Bears or Packers defenses while I was cutting through my turkey each Thanksgiving. I can see myself definitely getting behind this team, especially in NFC Central games, but they'll always be a distant 3rd behind the Niners and Raiders to me.

Basketball: Detroit Pistons
Founded: 1949 (as Fort Wayne Pistons, moved to Detroit in 1958)
Home Court: Palace of Auburn Hills
Division: Eastern Central
Division Titles: 8 (1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005)
Conference Titles: 7 (1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2004, 2005)
Championships: 3 (1989, 1990, 2004)

DEEE-TROIT BASKET-BALL! is synonymous with both of my moves to Detroit, last year as an intern, and this year for my full time job. Easily the talk of the town the past couple of years, especially considering the dismal decades of the two teams I listed above and the NHL lockout still keeping the Red Wings home. The excitement in the town about this team is fun to see and it reminds me of the excitement in Chicago about the Bulls in their heyday. I went for a haircut today and I saw 2 kids, maybe 8 and 10, wearing their Ben Wallace jerseys proudly, and I thought to myself....that was me about 13 years ago, but with my Jordan jersey. Last night they ousted the tough Miami Heat (who I was pulling for because of my fellow H.L. Richards High alum, Dwyane Wade) to advance to their 2nd consecutive NBA Finals, 5th in the past 17 years, and 7th overall. In just 2 weeks, I might have to update the fact list above and change that Championship number to 4, but they're going to have a very tough San Antonio Spurs team to contend with. So who do I root for in this one?

Well in my impressionable days as a sports fan in the late 80s and early 90s, the Pistons were by far the most hated team in Chicago. The "Bad Boys" beat the Bulls in the playoffs 3 years in a row and went on to advance to the finals each year, winning 2. The Bulls finally broke through in 1991 by sweeping them in the Eastern Finals and going on to win their first of 6 titles. These guys nowadays are different though. They are a hard-working team with no superstars that go out every night and get the job done, and I have a lot of respect for them for that. Throughout my life in basketball and hockey, I haven't been a diehard fan of either the Bulls or the Blackhawks, which is much different than my support for the White Sox and 49ers, but I've always considered them to be my favorite teams. This is mostly because I'm not as big of a fan of either sport as I am with baseball and football, so I tend to pull for the Chicago teams, but I'm not that intense of a fan so I can actually appreciate other teams. I pulled for the Celtics when they had Bird, the Magic with Shaq and Penny, the Hawks with Mutombo, the Spurs with Robinson and Duncan, and the Heat with Shaq and Wade all while still backing the Bulls, so there's no reason why I can't get behind the Pistons, because like the teams I mentioned before, they have a lot of talent that's fun to watch play together. So as long as any rioting stays away from my doorstep, I'll be pulling for the Pistons to take another title home.

Hockey: Detroit Red Wings
Founded: 1926
Home Ice: Joe Louis Arena
Division: Western Central
Division Titles: 24 (1934, 1936, 1937, 1943, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1965, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Conference Titles: 21 (1934, 1937, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002)
Stanley Cup Titles: 10 (1936, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1997, 1998, 2002)

Clearly Detroit's most successful franchise, and it shows. Just look at that list of titles above! I had to stretch the logo to make it fit next to all of them. Hopefully it shows up ok on your computer. This town is completely crazy for hockey, and they have a good reason to be. There are almost too many reasons to count, but I'll name as many as I can:
1. An Original 6 team
2. 10 Stanley Cup titles
3. 3 Stanley Cup titles in the past 8 years
4. The richest team in the league, so they can get any player (a result of being the most obsessed over team in America)
5. It's cold here
6. Detroit people like high speed violence
7. Joe Louis Arena is located right next to a river....what's on the other side? Let's see....oh I think it might be CANADA!

I don't really know what Red Wings excitement is like here, because last summer they were already eliminated when I moved here, and this year...well you know why...but I imagine it might even be more intense than the Pistons because this has got to be the furthest south city where hockey is still discussed on a daily basis. I swear that I heard 19 year old girls talking about the Wings' 3rd line while I was at the store the other day. I wonder what it would be like here if both teams were in the finals at the same time, since the 2 teams successful times don't seem to intersect often. I remember back in 1992 when both the Bulls and Blackhawks made the finals. I was 9 at the time, but I don't even know if I was aware of what the Blackhawks were doing with all of the Bulls repeat talk. The Bulls went on to beat the Blazers while the Hawks were swept by the Penguins so I guess all the attention for the Bulls was for the better.

Can I get behind the Wings? I think not. Even though I've been angry with the Blackhawks since they traded away my all-time favorite player, Jeremy Roenick, about 8 years ago, they still brainwashed me into hating the Detroit Red Wings. I remember going to a Red Wings-Blackhawks game at the United Center a few years ago that was loaded with fans that drove all the way from Detroit for the game (because good teams have tickets that are hard to get). I think the only time more electricity has been in the air at a game I attended was White Sox-Cubs in 2001 and Pistons-Pacers in game 3 of the Eastern Finals last year. Throughout the entire game, the scoreboard kept attacking the Detroit fans, showing pictures of decay and buildings collapsing in Detroit, while showing beautiful pictures of downtown Chicago. Between periods, they decided to honor the visiting fans by playing Motown, all the while showing brutal hits delivered by Blackhawk players to unsuspecting Red Wings. To top things off, for 3 periods straight, chants continued throughout the stadium. A "Lets-Go-Red-Wings!" coming from the upper deck, followed by a "De-troit-Sucks!" chant from the lower. Those kind of memories last a while. Plus, it's not like I'll ever get tickets to see the Wings anyways.

So that's my recap on Detroit sports. Don't be surprised if these teams get mentioned more often in my posts. I've already starting watching the Tigers on TV almost every night, mostly because I can only stand so many episodes of Battle of the Gridiron Stars or the most useless sport to televise on the planet, women's college softball that ESPN forces on us all. Or I always guess I can turn the TV off and actually post something on this site more often than once a month. - Steve

Back to the Basics

Originally posted on "Is It Sports?" by Steve. I kind of forgot how much Kevin was involved in the early days of the site. He's a fellow 49ers fan that grew up in Hawaii, and somehow decided to go to Purdue with us. He was right about Indy getting the Super Bowl, and I ended up going to the bars in Royal Oak a few times around the Super Bowl and it definitely was a pretty good time (too bad the game wasn't all that good). This might be one of the only WNBA discussions ever. My Microsoft Paint doctored WNBA picture is surprisingly good. I wrote all the comments (in black

Much like our very first post after the Orange Bowl, Kevin and I had a long winded conversation about "Super" Bowl XXXIX and other things. Here are some excerpts with my comments. - Steve

Steve: yeah I guess it was close
Steve: it wasn't all that exciting though
Kevin: no but it wasnt a blowout, it felt like one with how the eagles acted like they didnt care
Steve: well they at least covered the spread
Kevin: ya
Steve: that was just a weird game
Steve: and I don't think it was because I was drinking during it
Kevin: no i wasnt drinking and i was confused
Kevin: we need a post about the wierdness of that game
Steve: how late in the game was it tied for?
Kevin: Ive been more excited watching a JV football game
Kevin: begining of the 4th quarter
Kevin: it was the first super bowl tied after the 3rd
Steve: ever?
Kevin: yup
Steve: wow
Steve: sure didn't seem that way
Steve: no one will be talking about this one as a classic
Kevin: yeah I know

Now, only 1 week later, I can honestly tell you that I remember basically nothing about this game, except for the stories about McNabb almost puking from eating all the chunky soup before the game. Even though it was so close after all, the outcome never seemed to be a question. Last time we talked about how Brady is no Joe Montana, but McNabb in those last 2 possessions proved that he's no Scott Zolak.

Kevin: I need to buy the super bowl dvds and we need to watch all 5 49ers super bowls in a row
Steve: yeah
Steve: it can be a little depressing though
Steve: "they almost lost to the Bengals twice?!?!"
Kevin: haha but they won good sir
Kevin: hey the Bengals were good
Kevin: they had the icky shuffle
Kevin: and we get to see them beat up on the broncos, dolphins and chargers
Steve: yeah
Steve: they were killing the Bengals in Super Bowl 16 too but then let them come back to make it close
Kevin: thank god for the goal line stand
Steve: I think it was 20-3 at one point
Kevin: it was 20-0
Steve: yeah that would have been a choke
Kevin: I like how bad the footage looks since they are inside the dome
Kevin: it was so dark
Steve: yeah
Steve: Pontiac Silverdome baby!
Kevin: haha
Kevin: back to detroit
Kevin: i love the indy news with all their commercials during the super bowl: what indianapolis needs to do to get the super bowl
Kevin: its gonna start goin to all these fricken cold weather domes
Steve: I was almost on the floor with laughter
Kevin: i already hate it in the superdome and georgia dome
Kevin: they will do it when they get their new stadium and if they can get enough hotel rooms
Steve: Detroit is 5 times the size of Indy
Steve: ...that's why they're getting it
Kevin: yeah but i still think Indys gonan get it
Steve: I don't think they will
Kevin: they get the final 4 all the time
Steve: this one in Jacksonville was clearly a disaster
Steve: like if Indy's going to get it, why not have it at the AlamoDome in San Antonio?

I think sometime in the future, people will look back and be like....where is Jacksonville and why was there a Super Bowl there? (after the Jaguars most likely move away one day). I've been to Jacksonville 4 times, and there's really nothing to do there besides go to the beach or golf. The city is extremely spread out, and the population mostly consists of retirees that like golf a lot. A lot of restaurants close ridiculously early for this reason. With tons of visitors coming from usually northern cities to cheer on their team that they are diehard fans of, the city that hosts the Super Bowl needs 2 things, with one being much important than the other: 1. Have lots of places to drink/party and 2. Be Warm. More on this below...

Kevin: vegas needs to build a stadium and start hositng the super bowl
Steve: oh yeah without a doubt
Steve: I loved the Sports Guy's idea on ESPN.com
Steve: he said Vegas builds a stadium and hosts it every other year, and on the alternate years it would be a rotation between San Diego, New Orleans, and Miami
Kevin: haha nice
Kevin: i like it being in different places though
Kevin: one place every other year is too boring
Steve: Vegas would kick ass though
Steve: if they send him again next year, i was trying to imagine how he might complain
Steve: Detroit is cold and run down for starters
Kevin: haha yup
Steve: but....they have 5 good bar districts and casinos
Kevin: yea
Kevin: you know about the bar districts?
Steve: oh yeah
Steve: I made sure I visited them all
Steve: I'm counting Ann Arbor, which is kind of a stretch
Kevin: oh yeah
Steve: Ann Arbor (rich, sitting around)
Steve: Birmingham (ridiculously rich)
Steve: Pontiac (borderline ghetto)
Steve: Royal Oak (most like Purdue, but kind of rich)
Steve: Windsor (insane)
Kevin: if chicago just put a roof over soilder field
Kevin: they could get the super bowl
Steve: it already looks like crap
Steve: might as well
Kevin: haha complete the spaseship
Steve: then it will be ready for lauch
Kevin: they are crazy for renovating it that way
Kevin: fits right in with millenium park

I'm really interested to see how Detroit will handle Super Bowl XL (yes, America will learn that L is 50 in Roman Numerals in just a few months), especially since I'll be living there when it all takes place. When they hosted it last time, it was in the Pontiac Silverdome which is in the suburbs of Detroit. It was bitterly cold that week but, as I learned this summer, a pretty nice bar district is right down the street from it. This happened before I was born, so I have no idea what the general opinion of the host city was, but I guess the fact that Detroit last had the Super Bowl before I was born is a good indication. This time, it is going to be held in Ford Field in the heart of a revitalized Detroit. The weird thing is that downtown is still loaded with abandoned buildings that couldn't serve as hotels. Lucky people could stay at the Casino and probably have a great time, but most of the other visitors will have to stay in the suburbs. So that leaves the question of where all the partying is going to be taking place. Royal Oak seems like a likely location, because it is the safest bar district to go to that is closest to the stadium yet still in America, and most of the fans will probably like to stay in the plentiful number of hotels in that upscale northern suburb area. If that's the case, then I'll be looking forward to waking up Eagles fans passed out in the snow on my front lawn each morning. Windsor is the ultimate wild card. It has more bars per square foot than any city in the world, and pretty much everything there is legal, from gambling to prostitution to marijuana to murder (well maybe not murder, but Ray Lewis might want to look into it). Also, since the legal age for everything in Canada is 19, its infested with American 19 and 20 year olds every weekend. Completely wild place that's a blast for all ages. Things may be spread out a little and I'm sure it will be cold, but I think Detroit (and Windsor) has what it takes give the fans a good time.

Kevin: Chicago will have a WNBA team in 2006
Steve: for real?
Steve: no one wants one
Kevin: they are gonna play at the UIC Pavillion
Kevin: thats low
Steve: yeah it is
Steve: what are they going to be called?
Kevin: I have no idea
Kevin: we should vote on names
Kevin: the billy goats?
Steve: haha
Steve: the Cows
Kevin: haha that would be good
Kevin: The Lovabulls
Steve: thats the cheerleaders
Kevin: i know
Kevin: they gotta look somethin like the bulls
Kevin: like red and stuff
Steve: they probably will

The NBA has been trying to force women's basketball on Chicago ever since the WNBA started (and I have no idea when that was), and its just not going to work. You need to have WNBA teams in cities where people are interested in women's college basketball, like in Connecticut or Tennessee. Chicago doesn't have any colleges with good women's teams, so therefore there is little interest in women's basketball. And if you just love basketball in general, you might as well go watch some high school basketball in the South Suburbs. They've produced many top college and NBA stars over the years and are more fun to watch then professional women. I give the Cows 2 years before they move or fold. - Steve