Tag Archives: detroit

Bay of Cigs: The Departed

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Last baseball season, I kept a Detroit Tigers diary here called “The DET Offensive,” a nod to all of the offensive firepower Detroit added in the offseason, primarily in the form of Prince Fielder. This season, the return of Victor Martinez and the acquisition of Torii Hunter make the Tigers even more of a threat with the bat. Their biggest question headed into the year is at the closer position. Jose Valverde had a perfect season two years ago, but he dropped off significantly last year, and GM Dave Dombrowski sent him packing as a result. Phil Coke filled in at that position quite admirably during the playoffs, but for whatever reason, he isn’t being considered for it as we head into the 2013 season. Instead, management seems to be waffling between minor league sensation Bruce Rondon (intriguing) and Rick Porcello (GAHHHHH!).      Continue reading →

On the integration of the pulp paper and textile industries: Sports Illustrated as a case study

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After years of promotional textile tie-ins, one could be forgiven for thinking that Sports Illustrated had the whole horizontal integration thing down by now. You’d require that forgiveness, though, because your thought would be incorrect, as shown by the erstwhile magazine’s latest offer:

sports illustrated promotion - click to enlargeI’m not even upset that the jacket is the wrong shade of blue. In case your fingers are tired from turning the pages of actual books and newspapers and you can’t muster the energy to click on that photograph to see a larger version, it reads, in part, “T-Shirt available in one-size-fits-all XL.” It’s a t-shirt, not an adjustable baseball cap, though, which heretofore had been the only viable venue for application of the “one-size-fits-all” label, and even the hat folks have backpedaled that to “one-size-fits-most,” probably at the admonition of fitted-cap-wearing lawyers. The photo isn’t the greatest, but there’s no indication the shirt is equipped with some sort of built-in cinch or otherwise is subject to a controlled shrink with strategic usage of heated water and air. Either SI is putting a smile on a budget cut, or the sentence is a confident expression of knowledge of their customers.

But really, it’s Honolulu blue for which you’re looking.

Detroit Sports Report: “I’m having a conversation with my brain”

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As baseball returns, we remember with fondness Ernie Harwell’s opening of spring.  (HT: NPR; It’s Always Sunny in Detroit)

Having relocated outside the Tigers’ Radio Network, I’m not sure if I’ll be equipped to do another Tigers diary like I did last year. (Brendan is planning a Mariners’ diary for this season, which should be a fun lens for observing Felix Hernandez’s elbow explode.) For now, tune in for some irregular updates on the Motown sports scene.

  • Phil Coke meets his brain: MLive’s Chris Iott finally succeeded in arranging a corporeal meeting between Tiger reliever Phil Coke and the operator of @PhilCokesBrain to pleasing results.
  • The Lions probably will draft the Honey Badger: That’s the only conclusion I can draw from the appearance of this article on the front page of the Free Press’ sports section today. After they drafted the notedly weed-addled Charles Rogers at #2 overall and that guy from Boston College who was a “good character guy” except that a google search revealed he’d been in two bar fights his senior year also in the first round, I would be surprised if they didn’t draft Tyrann Matthieu to replace Louis “Bob Sanders” Delmas.

Zach Lowe on Tayshaun in Memphis

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Grantland’s Zach Lowe is a fairly technical NBA observer, and in his latest league rundown, he twice mentions the Grizzlies and their newest acquisition, Tayshaun Prince.

He first discusses the issue of spacing, a topic that’s come up here and elsewhere in the context of the Prince trade:

Prince is shooting 42 percent from 3-point range, and he’s been especially good from the corners, but the notion that he would help Memphis loosen its spacing just a tick hasn’t played out yet. Prince has been operating a lot in the elbow area, often in a two-man game with Marc Gasol, and when he does spot up, he’s often a step inside the 3-point arc. And while he has shot well from deep, Prince needs time to lock and load, which means he’ll often pump-fake and take a step inside the line against aggressive closeouts. There’s a reason he barely attempts one 3 per game. But let’s give this new Grizz team some time to jell.

He has more to say about Prince and his new team later in the article:

Rudy Gay wasn’t exactly a knock-down 3-point shooter in Memphis, either, and when you watch the new Grizz, you can see how the front office might have envisioned Prince being more polished at all the cuts and screens and quick-decision passes inside the arc through which Memphis has long tried to manufacture spacing. Prince and Gasol have shown potential in a two-man game around the left elbow, and Prince can run a side pick-and-roll in a pinch.

Prince can also post up, with Gasol taking on Greg Monroe’s old role as Prince’s entry passer on the right side of the floor. And here’s a new wrinkle for Memphis: After delivering that entry pass, Gasol will amble across the foul line and to the left side of the floor, as if he’s clearing the right side for Prince to work. Zach Randolph will already be stationed on the left block, Gasol’s apparent destination, but as Gasol gets into the paint, Randolph will suddenly cut right around him, so that the two crisscross in the paint. It works as a kind of (legal) moving screen for Z-Bo, whom Prince can hit in the post for a close-range shot.

Memphis’s assist rate is up since the trade, but they started the season with three weeks of high-assist play that proved a blip.

As a native Michigander, I always will love the 2004-era Pistons, and if one of the members of that team was going to come and join the Grizzlies, I think Prince is the best option in 2013. Any team would love to add a Chauncey Billups or Rasheed Wallace (yes really), of course, but neither of those guys would fill a need for Memphis at this time. On the other side of the coin, Antonio McDyess is retired, Ben Wallace has washed out, and the once-tireless Rip Hamilton seemingly has become tired of being a great teammate.

Prince really is a perfect fit for this Grizz squad. He remains a very viable player in his eleventh year in the league, and he carries a very complimentary set of assets that would benefit any team on both ends of the court. As far as his personality, let’s just say most people are shocked when they remember he went to Kentucky. (Of course, some were somewhat belatedly shocked to learn of his recent transfer to Memphis.)

Barring any off-court distractions, Prince’s presence is going to fit right in and make these Grizzlies fun to watch down the stretch this season.

[Cross-posted from Grizzly Bear Blues. -Ed.]

ALDLAND Podcast

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ALDLAND is disappointed that we couldn’t bring in our promised special guest for a podcast this week, but rest assured he or she will be on soon for all sorts of fun discussion.  What we do have for our loyal listener(s) is discussion of last week’s Super Bowl, as well as some choice stories from around the sports world.  There’s even some soccer thrown in, for our listeners across the pond.  So just listen already.  And tell your friends.  If you aren’t telling your friends then you are failing in your social obligations.

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Download the ALDLAND podcast at our Podcasts Page or stream it right here:

Detroit Sports Report: West-Side Edition, feat. hockey, superdrunkenness, and teletubbies

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I didn’t think Detroit sports could leave me speechless twice in one week, but then I saw this story. From MLive.com:

Detroit Red Wings prospect Riley Sheahan had a blood-alcohol content of .30 – nearly four times the legal limit and nearly double the threshold for the “super-drunk’ charge he faces following his arrest in late October by Grand Rapids Police.

Sheahan, 20, who plays for the Grand Rapids Griffins, was wearing the costume of a purple Teletubby, also known as Tinky Winky, when he was pulled over by police on Oct. 29.

He also was charged with providing false information. He was carrying the Michigan driver’s license of Brendan Smith when he was pulled over by police on Ottawa Avenue NW in downtown Grand Rapids.

Sheahan, who is from St. Catharines, Ontario, is teammates on the Griffins with Smith, also a touted Red Wings prospect.

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Full story here: http://mobile.mlive.com/advannarbor/pm_115751/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=Vv3ROLss

Based on the information I’ve seen online, police arrested Sheahan right outside an office building in which I used to work.

(HT: Laura)

Silent Film Series: Halloween Edition

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Over the weekend, I decided it was time to start transitioning my music listening into the autumnal mode, and rather than go straight to Harvest on the vinyl, I decided to ease into things with Jerry Garcia’s second solo album, a 1974 release known as Garcia (Compliments). The version I have comes from a Garcia boxed set, which means it has a number of bonus tracks appended to those songs that comprised the original release. Like a lot of Garcia’s solo work, there are plenty of cover tunes on this album, and while I generally like the release more than the two-star rating it received from AllMusic, there’s one song in particular that’s stuck out to me since my first listen.

The tune is one of the bonus tracks, an R&B-type cover entitled “(I’m a) Road Runner,” written by the hit-making Holland-Dozier-Holland Motown songwriting team, and first recorded by Junior Walker and the All-Stars in 1965. Of the versions I’ve heard, I like Garcia’s the best– it’s the most complete, to my ear– but Bo Diddley got ahold of it too, and it’s his version that prompted this post.

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Two things you might think would happen in this space are not going to happen. First, this being the continuation of our Silent Film Series, you might expect discussion of a video clip best viewed without sound, since that’s the premise of the Series. Second, this being a post about Halloween, videos, and music, you might expect me to go with this, which, if this was a Friday, is what I would’ve done.

Instead and in light of the above, I’m appealing to the common notion that, on Halloween, things that were dead take on an impressively lifelike quality (e.g., ghosts, mummies, zombies, vampires, etc.), and applying that concept to the notion of “silent” films as I’ve conceived it here. In other words, when a “silent” film takes on lifelike qualities on Halloween, you can hear it as well as see it. In other words, I was watching the selection, below, with the sound on, quickly reached the definite conclusion were the visuals of the sort that would make the clip a good feature in this spot, and then reached the probable conclusion that everyone would like watching it better with the music playing too. In still other words, turn up your volume, and enjoy a minor spectacle of live-action sight and sound:

Dateline: Mudville (via The Classical)

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Detroit does not appreciate being patronized any more than any other city. It’s thoughtful of you to have cheered for the Tigers because ‘it would be good for the city’ or whatever but a World Series victory was never going to renovate abandoned buildings or convince consumers to buy Volts. It would have been cool, though.

If Detroit has an abundance of anything at this point in its history, it’s a defiant civic pride. Shirts, buttons and sticker proclaiming love for the city are their own thriving cottage industry. And the Tigers’ old English D has become the de facto emblem of all things sturdy about the city. Arrive as a passenger at the Detroit Metro Airport and you are greeted by a sign welcoming you to “The D.” All cities have bonds to their sports franchises, but Detroit is uniquely and thoroughly synthesized, by choice, with the Tigers’ logo. … Keep Reading

(via The Classical)

FrankenMonday Update

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http://twitter.com/celebrityhottub/status/261813533640118274

Nothing is weather until it’s New York City weather, which means that, as of sometime today, we have ourselves some weather. Somehow unsurprisingly, the indomitable Clay Travis has himself a man on the scene, reporting live from the south shore of Long Island. Somewhat surprisingly, there has been a dearth of Point Break references being made, so that’s something we collectively need to work on. And while the Frankenstorm/Hurricane Sandy caused the main presidential candidates to take a break from the campaign trail, it didn’t stop sports this weekend.

Saturday was a tumultuous day in college football’s top 25, with undefeateds Ohio and Mississippi State taking their first losses of the season, Wisconsin losing to Michigan State in overtime, Oregon State losing to Washington, Florida losing to Georgia, USC losing to Arizona, Rutgers losing to Kent State, and Michigan losing to Nebraska. Although not technically an upset, Notre Dame surprised most people outside of South Bend by beating Oklahoma in convincing fashion. The Georgia win is significant because it dashes the order that was starting to distill in the highly competitive SEC East. The Arizona win is significant because 1) aren’t they really bad??, and 2) it weakens Oregon’s strength of schedule, because the Ducks were relying on a win against USC to buoy their BCS ranking that continues to fall despite an unbroken series of mathematically mind-boggling wins.

In the NFL, the Lions beat the Seahawks by scoring touchdowns in both halves of the game, and even daring to take a lead in the first half. The Falcons preserved their position as the NFL’s only undefeated team by beating the Eagles, a team where the only constant now seems to be the walrusness of Andy Reid’s mustache. (Reid fired his good friend and defensive coordinator Juan Castillo during Philadelphia’s bye week last week, and after yesterday’s game, Michael Vick said that Reid was contemplating a change at quarterback.) In a real accordion-style game, the Giants went up 23-0 on the Cowboys, then went down 24-23, before coming from behind in some technical sense to beat Dallas, 29-24. Andrew Luck led the Colts to an overtime victory against the Titans, the Broncos beat the listless Saints by twenty, and the Bears survived a scare from the visiting Panthers, beating Carolina by one.

Finally, the sad World Series came to an end last night when the Giants beat the Tigers 4-3 in the tenth inning of game four. It’s San Francisco’s second championship in three years. More on that later in the week.