Results tagged “Detroit” from Robert Littal Presents The Infamous BlackSportsOnline

THIS IS A REPLY TO ROBERT LITTAL'S ARTICLE WHY NOT TO PICK STAFFORD. CLICK HERE.

With all due respect to our glorious founder , the Lions would be idiots NOT to draft Matthew Stafford #1. While there is no way to know for sure if a Quarterback will be a superstar or a bust, there is plenty of evidence that the Lions will be a bust until they get a quarterback. When your quarterback roster includes Drew (why didn't Parcells love me?) Henson, Daunte (everything is different without Randy) Culpepper and Drew (I don't deserve a clever aside) Stanton as your QB rotation you have definite need of improvement.

I am no Mel Kiper Jr, but I did stay at a Motel 6 last night (all this talk about escorts had me curious, so yeah Asian/Filipino mix for the full story follow me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/BlkSportsOnline) and if there is one thing that I know is there is no sure fire way to know if a Quarterback is going to be a Superstar or a bust in the NFL.

Pistons 105, Celtics 95. That right there should put the "Iverson experiment" to rest, with the Pistons starting a two game win streak against two of the NBA's best in his absence.

It wasn't Iverson's fault, because he's not coaching the team. I don't know what Michael Curry's reasoning was for benching Richard Hamilton because Larry Brown was the last Pistons coach worth listening to. It could have been because he looked into Iverson's soul and saw angels flying in it. It could have been because he was afraid Iverson would have thrown a chair at him for the demotion. Either way, it didn't do anything to improve chemistry on the floor.

Read any label on over-the-counter medicine or listen to commercials for drugs for depression or cholesterol and you will hear the so-called side effects (you know, loss of appetite, hair loss, loss of libido, kleptomania, penile disfigurement, etc.).

If you watch someone on TV, the station you are watching can also issue a public warning to prohibit you from watching too long.

Does this sound ludicrous? Not if you ask anyone watching the Super Bowl in the Detroit metropolitan area. Seriously.

More after the jump...

A few weeks ago when Detroit Pistons shooting guard Richard Hamilton came back from an injury, both Hamilton and Allen Iverson made it clear that they do not want to come off the bench. In an article written at the same time, I stressed that it might be better to have AI come off the bench because of his scoring prowess, and start Hamilton. Still, the answer, no pun intended, remains to be seen. Curry's decision ended up being to start Iverson, and bring Hamilton off the bench.

Losing 8 games of their last 11, the Pistons are still finding their way. Not a thought many Pistons fans as well as people around the league expected with Detroit being such a successful team in the Eastern Conference for the past five years.

But in the home game tonight against the Houston Rockets, I noticed something I don't think I have ever seen before.

Detroit Pistons starting shooting guard, Richard Hamilton returned from a nagging injury this week their game on Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers. He had a sub-par game, going 4/13 in thirty minutes, ending up with 9 points. It's a good thing starting shooting guard for the Detroit Pistons; Allen Iverson started and scored 23 on 19 shots.

See anything wrong with that?

The Pistons started Rasheed Wallace at center, putting Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton at forwards and Rodney Stuckey and AI in the backcourt. The Pacers are no powerhouse, but a front court of Danny Granger, Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster outrebounded and outscored the Detroit Pistons trio.

With such a small line up, coach Michael Curry will be writing his own ending as the Detroit Pistons head coach, as it will prove to be the decline of the Detroit Pistons. He has a choice to make... he has to decide whether to bring Rip or AI off the bench.

*I'd love to hear your comments on this*

Every year Forbes puts out a list of highest paid franchises. Some of the rankees come as no surprise given the Cleveland Cavaliers have the next face of the league and the Lakers are poised to return to NBA Championship glory, but other rankees in the top five slots would blow even the seasoned sports fanatics' mind. With a #20 ranking toting only $114 million in revenue, it's no wonder the Trailblazers are baller blockin' Darius Miles from signing with other teams,. See where you favorite NBA squad falls on Forbes coveted NBA MVP Teams.

#1 New York Knicks

Team Value $613 mil
The New York Knicks are owned by Cablevision Systems, who bought them in 1997 for $300 mil.

The Knicks won only 34% of their games under Thomas and spent a league high $424 million on players over four years. The out-of-control spending also meant the Knicks had to pony up $126 million in luxury tax payments. Despite the on-court problems, the Knicks continue to regularly sell out the Garden at outrageous prices. Thanks to the addition of VIP boxes boasting a private wait staff and flat-screen TVs in upwards of $800,000 per season, the New York Knicks enjoyed a lucrative $208 million dollars in revenue in 2008. Something to look forward to granted the team is only worth a lowly $35 million currently.

Major corporate sponsors are T-Mobile, Foot Locker (nyse: FL), Coca-Cola (nyse: KO), Continental Airlines (nyse: CAL), Anheuser-Busch, American Express (nyse: AXP).

#2 L.A. Lakers

Team Value $584 mil
The Los Angeles Lakers are owned by Jerry Buss and Philip Anschutz (Net Worth: $8 billion), who bought them in 1979/1998 for $20 mil/$268 mil.

It's no wonder why the Lakers are #2 in the land of most paid NBA Franchises. The Lakers sold out all their games last season and attending a home game at the Staples Center amounted to taking a stroll down Hollywood's Walk of Fame with the increase in celebrity sightings. Thanks to astronomically priced courtside tickets at $2,500 a pop, loyal fanfare, Kobe's MVP award, and a renewed rivalry between long time rivals the Boston Celtics, The Lakers franchise enjoyed revenue to the tune of $191 million last year and a $91 million dollar boost in value from $79 million in 2007 to $170 million in 2008

Major corporate sponsors are Toyota Motor (nyse: TM), American Express (nyse: AXP), PepsiCo (nyse: PEP), Anheuser-Busch, Adidas. Naming rights sponsor is Staples (nasdaq: SPLS).

Imagine being a fan of what, by record, is the worst football team ever to take the field for a season in the NFL. Most people would run and hide, bury their heads in the sand in shame.

Meet "Dan." He decided to pay homage to the team by tattooing the Lion logo, along with an "0-16, 2008" below it on his right pectoral.

While most of you will laugh and make fun of him for what he did, I applaud him for sticking with his team, even though they went down in flames.

From WJBK in Detroit...

Two weeks ago, you may remember Detroit News reporter Rob Parker asking the then-Lions head coach Rod Marinelli whether he wished his daughter had married a better defensive coordinator (The 2008 Lion defensive coordinator is Joe Barry, Marinelli's son-in-law). This wasn't the first stunt Parker pulled, but it may just be his last...at least, as a reporter for the Detroit News.

More after the jump...

It's easy to recognize and commend the good but what about the bad and just plain ugly. From brawls to scantily clad nannies and sex scandals to tearful confessions and cons, there were some oh so forgettable 2008 sports moments that made your skin crawl and scream out random things that border idiotic, like Sarah Palin

WORST 8 SPORTS MOMENTS OF 2008

8.) WNBA Shock Sparks Brawl

Not to be outdone by their male counterparts,the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Spark ensued the first ever cat fight in WNBA during a game at the Palace on July 23rd that left WNBA fans enraged, male viewers cheering and two players suspended. Already a heated rivalry between the two squads, the ongoing tension that night from an earlier play involving LA Sparks franchise player and media darling, Candice Parker and veteran forward, Cheryl Ford, fueled the fight between Parker and Detroit Shock forward, Pienette Pierson who got tangled up tussling for the ball after a missed shot by Pierson. Of course, with teammates coming to each others aid, things got even more ugly after an "accidental" push of Lisa Leslie by Detroit assistant coach, Rick Mahorn resulted in a retaliation from Sparks forward, Delisha Milton-Jones. Detroit's Pierson and Mahorn were suspended for four and two games respectively while Kara Braxton, Tasha Humphrey, Elaine Powell and Sheri Sam (also from Detroit), along with Los Angeles' Leslie, Candace Parker and DeLisha Milton-Jones all got a one game suspension. Although this incident is prime example unsportman-like conduct and is very unladylike, I must admit this "catfight" certainly breathed life into a genre that has very selective few fans.

7.)U.S. Relay Teams Drop The Baton

The Olympics held so many shining moments for the stars and stripes but the embarrassing mishaps of the gold contending (perhaps second to the Jamaican relay team) U.S. men's relay team certainly wasn't one of them. Failing to qualify for the FINALS for the first time since 1988 after a misconnect between Darvis Patton and Tyson Gay on a final pass, left the Americans watching from the sidelines as the Jamaican relay team smoked its competition by a world record setting time of 37.10 seconds. To make matters even worse, the U.S. Women's relay team suffered the same fate and failed to qualify for the finals as for the first time since 1948!

6.)Kimbo Slice Exposed As Farce

Like Mulder from the X-Files we want to believe in the greatest American hero, that wayward underdog, that rises against all odds to realize the American dream. This is especially true in sports, so when word spread like wildfire about back alley brawler putting men down with one punch on Youtube, MMA fans had someone to believe in and the networks had a new poster child to exploit. Kimbo Slice's journey as a street fighter to ESPN cover story was truly nothing but a testament to how the wheels of the capitalist cash machine turn. After losing washed up fighter Ken Shamrock to an eye injury and CBS color commentator, Frank Shamrock (Ken's brother) to disqualification due to a broken arm, the Elite XC finally found a "suitable" replacement in Fort Myers native, Petruzelli, an average mixed martial artist all of 205 lbs and a 2-2 win-loss record since 2004 Kimbo was "sure" to beat. Only the surefire win backfired in a 14 second KO Ryu style! Haduken!
Click Here For Related Story

5.)From America's Sweetheart to Jailbird

Only a short four years ago, track star Marion Jones was America's sweetheart and three time Olympic gold medalist. She was the epitome of the female athlete: charming, strong yet humble gracing the covers of Vogue and Sports Illustrated within in the course of a year. What a difference a year can make, now the biggest athlete to fall victim to Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative scandal, Jones is flat broke and faces jail time after admitting to steroid use before her 2000 Sydney Olympic run up until after the 2004 Athens Olympics. Jones vehemently denied use of any performance drugs for years after she initially fell under suspicion but finally came clean in a well put together confession of lying and cheating that later broke down into a tearful apology worthy of an Oscar.

Ok so this pains me as a native Detroiter and Michigander more than anyone could possibly know. Regardless of my nonchalant behavior toward the subject and my many quips about the Lions being on time out with me, I still feel sorry for the winless bums. If having one of the highest unemployment rates, a rapidly sinking automotive industry, a scandalous jailbird ex-mayor, and young people fleeing the city faster than the Israelites exodus from Egypt wasn't enough, we have a sorry excuse of football team totally inept from winning against even the Houston Texans!!! How much can a girl take?

The situation is beyond bleak and unlike the Big Three pleading "Please sir, can I have some more" to the federal government, no amount of goodwill from NFL commissioner Robert Goodell will sway Detroit from the path of 0-16 except a good old fashioned WIN!!! Already 0-10, the Lions are poised to join the ranks of the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only team in NFL history to NOT WIN a regular season game. That's almost as impossible as staying undefeated the whole season, if not more so.

"We're almost paralyzed here," says Tom Wilson, president of the Detroit Pistons before Sunday's loss to the Carolina Panthers added insult to injury. "Everybody is scared in this city. They're 0-9 and, if after Sunday's game they're 0-10, they'll have the entire front page of the newspaper, in a town with the Stanley Cup champions ..."

In 2004 when the Pistons shocked the world (except me who picked them to win the NBA Title) and beat the Lakers for the NBA Title, they were the epitome of a team. Not one superstar, but five very good players playing as one. The saying goes that a great team will always beat a great player.

The Pistons at its core were a team of overachievers who never took anything for granted, maximized their talents and in many ways played above them. But something happened to change all of that. When Wrong Way Larry Brown openly flirted with the New York Knicks job while coaching the Pistons to the 2005 Finals you could see that change happening. The Pistons went from a team of selfless overachievers to a team who thought they could turn it on and turn it off on demand.

The Pistons failed to realize that if you don't have a Kobe Bryant, a Lebron James or a Chris Paul to bail you out, it is more likely you are going to fail with that attitude. Flip Saunders was never the right coach for this team because he lets them do whatever they want. He treats them like superstars when in reality they are a bunch of good players who need to be coached up to their potential. In the end, it is hard to say that the six-year run is a failure because they made six conference finals, two NBA finals appearances and one championship. But, it could have been so much more.

Ummmmmmm! I am trying to care about the Eastern Conference, but it is very difficult when the best two teams are having trouble in the 1st round putting away teams whose regular season record was under .500.

The Celtics should not have lost a game in the first two rounds of the playoffs. It is as simple as that. I would have understood if they had lost one game in the 2nd round, but it is inexcusable that the Celtics should lose any game to the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks should not even be within 10 points of the Celtics at any point in the series. So, it was a bit disturbing to watch KG look like he was going to murder the entire Boston roster because they were playing like garbage. Hopefully this will be a wake up call to the Celtics since they are the only team in the East that has a chance in the NBA Finals.

I have made this point many times about the Pistons. When "Wrong Way" Larry Brown walked out of the building so did the Pistons chances of ever winning another NBA Title. When the playoffs started, I thought it was possible the Pistons could come out of the East. After watching them go through the motions against the Philadelphia 76ers, I am wondering if they can even get out of the 1st round. To watch the 76ers hustling, scratching, crawling and doing whatever needs to be done to win, while the Pistons are laughing, joking and being very uninspired as they are being run off the floor was a bit surprising. Flip Saunders is looking like Isiah Thomas on the bench. It makes you wonder if their window has closed.

Hopefully, both of these teams will correct themselves going forward because, if not, when either one of them gets to the Finals, they will get destroyed.