Position in the Spotlight: Detroit

If nothing else, we can certainly say that Detroit IS the PitS. It's a depressing city, from the faltering economy to some pretty atrocious teams, like the Lions of the early 2000s Tigers. Don't make any mistake about it, though, this isn't a depressing town like, say, Cleveland. Detroit has a history of success. A RECENT history of success by some standards. Sure the Lions are bad, but the Pistons were the dominant force between Bird's Celtics and Jordan's Bulls, and just won the title again in 2004. They have the Tigers who were in the World Series this decade and won a couple in the 80s. No team, however, has been as successful as the Detroit Red Wings.
The best part about the Red Wings is that they do things the way most fans want a team to do it: good coaching, and players that have come through Grand Rapids and stayed in the Red Wings system. If you think back to all the best players the Red Wings have had, it seems like they have all begun their career in Detroit. They aren't often of the same position, but they all came up with the team. And this is why the Detroit Position in the Spotlight is the Red Wings' Homegrown Talent.
It goes back as long 1946 when a young winger Gordie Howe took to the ice for the Red Wings. He was 19 years old at the time, and didn't leave the team until he was the leader in goals, points and assists, titles he still holds. It only took 25 years. He took a year off, and then went to play in the newly formed WHA, and ended up playing until he was 51. The Wings should have known he still had good years left in him. He scored 100 points at age 40. He played all but one of his years with the Wings. Definitely a quality home grown talent.
On his same line in 1968 when he was the 40 year old dynamo, he was often assisted by Alex Delvecchio. Delvecchio was 7 years younger than Howe and certainly took advantage of all the time that he played with him. He ended up with over 800 career assists, all with the Wings, and has his number in the rafters at Joe Louis arena.
One of the most beloved hockey players by a fan base in my lifetime is Steve Yzerman. Stevie Y joined the Wings in 1986 at age 21 and spent the entirety of his career in Detroit. Like Delvecchio and Howe, he had a long career with the Red Wings and is among the team's all time point leaders, coming in at #2 on the list (between Howe and Delvecchio). Not only that, he brought the team back to prominence, winning three Cups, the first in decades for Detroit.
Even today, the best players the Red Wings have have been their for their entire career. The triumvirate of the ageless defensive stalwart Niklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg have all come up with the Wings and are already on the all time lists for scoring, be it points (Lidstrom and Datsyuk) or  goals (Zetterberg and Datsyuk). They make the Wings a threat to win the title every season.
Now if only they could get a permanent goalie.

Honorable mention
Tigers outfielders: The outfield has a long, long history of talent, from the turn of the century on. How does Ty Cobb sound? Or Sam Crawford, Harry Heilman, Al Kaline or Heinie Manush, all outfielders wearing Tigers caps in the Hall of Fame. Of course, they haven't had a truly transcendental outfielder since Kaline who retired in 74. Bobby Higginson doesn't count.
Pistons bad boy: For whatever reason, the Pistons best players always have to be surly and/or arrogant. Bill Laimbeer, Isaiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman jsut to name a few. Even in their renaissance in the 2000s, they couldn't have done it without the ever charming Rasheed Wallace

It should be noted that the University of Michigan is near to Detroit, but it's very difficult to pick just one position there that can be spotlit. It's a very prestigious university with a prolific history.

What Should We Take Away from the White Sox Interleague Dominance?

The White Sox finally had their 11 game winning streak broken today at the hands of the hated cross-town rival Cubs, but they also finished up their interleague schedule for 2010. They finished the season an impressive 15-3, only 1 game shy of the all-time interleague record. Also, their interleague dominance this year helped move them from a disappointing season and definite trade deadline seller to right in the heart of the AL Central title race.

So what should we take away from this? I think this season can finish 1 of 2 ways for the White Sox, and there is an interesting precedent that was set for one of the scenarios just a few years ago...

First, let's look at the negative side of this. Before Interleague play started on May 21, the White Sox were in sorry shape, stuck in 4th place with a 16-24 record, 7.5 games back, and seen as a dysfunctional team that had a collection of random disappointing players and a manger and GM that didn't get along. Winning helps solve a lot of these problems, and as mentioned above, they got a lot of wins thanks to interleague play over the past month. The big question is can the winning continue? Thanks to the NL being absolutely awful, the White Sox benefited from a very easy schedule over the past month. They took 2/3 from Florida at home (35-40), 4/6 vs the Cubs (33-42), and swept Pittsburgh (25-49), Washington (33-43), and Atlanta (44-32). They also only went 8-8 against AL teams between the Florida and first Cubs series. You can make the argument that Atlanta was the only really good NL team they faced this year, and they were actually pretty hot themselves when they ran into the Sox buzzsaw. The Sox are now 39-35 and only 1.5 games out of first, but we have to keep in mind that they are 24-32 against the AL, who they will now have to face for their remaining 88 games this year. If they continue their vs.-AL pace for the rest of the season, they'll only finish 77-85 this year.

But....remember how I mentioned above that they were 1 game short of the best interleague record ever? Well, one team that holds that record is none other than the 2006 Twins. In 2006, before interleague play started, the Twins were a very similar 17-24, sitting in 4th place and 10.5 games behind the Tigers, who, along with the White Sox, had an incredible start to the season. The Twins went 16-2 in interleague play and (with some AL games mixed in between as well) were 45-35 by the time interleague play ended on July 2nd. Unlike the White Sox this year, the Twins incredible turn around didn't put them in division contention. They only picked up a half game on Detroit during that stretch. The rules were a little different though. On July 2nd, 2006, Detroit and Chicago had the 2 best records in the majors and both teams had a much better winning percentage than anyone currently in the majors has in 2010. The Twins didn't cool off when AL play resumed though. The momentum that they gained in interleague play carried them through July, August, and September, and they were eventually able to steal away the AL Central title from a fading Detroit on the last day of the season.

So, will the White Sox come back to reality when they face the AL or will they keep their momentum going like the 2006 Twins? One thing in the White Sox favor is that the 2010 Twins and Tigers aren't nearly as good as the 2006 Tigers and White Sox, so they don't need to have the kind of final 3 months that the Twins had to win the division. One piece of relief for Twins fans if the 2nd analogy holds up is that the 2006 Twins were swept in the ALDS while the Tigers, who blew the division, went all the way to the World Series as the Wild Card. But, it's also highly unlikely that the wild card will come from the AL Central this year. And the 2010 Tigers? If they take on the 2006 White Sox role, they should prepare to be disappointed....and they don't even have the fact that they are the defending World Series champs to fall back on...

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