Leelanau Sports Guy’s World

Palmer to attempt comeback with Tigers
Dean Palmer whose tenure with the Tigers started out strong with back-to-back 100 RBI seasons is going to try a comeback. He says he feels fine and wants to try to make the Tigers roster in spring training. [Free Press article by Mark Francescutti]. I hope he does. It would be a great story and if he somehow could stay healthy and return to play third base that would fill one of the Tigers holes at least short-term.

Darko continues to make headlines
Here’s todays Darko article. For a guy not playing he sure can get headlines.

Darko: Hit or myth? Free Press article by Michael Rosenberg

My View: I am still of the opinion he is going to be a solid player. Maybe never an All-Star caliber, but good enough to help a team win. He wants to play which is good, but does he want to improve, that’s the real question. Give it a couple of more years before you judge the Pistons for drafting him.

Detroit/Michigan connections in the NFL Playoffs
A neat article in the Free Press about players still alive in the NFL playoffs with ties to Detroit and Michigan. Lots of great stories and guys to still cheer for!

Local Ties that Bind - Free Press article by Free Press staff

MSU got back on track with a win at home over Purdue, while Michigan gets set to tangle with Indiana on the road.

MSU plays rude host - Spartans ruin Keady farewell - Free Press article by Jemele Hill

History against Wolverines in Bloomington visit - Free Press article by John Eligon

Grow up, Joe: Kentucky sends right message - Free Press article by Drew Sharp

Last dance ending clumsily - Keady might have worst team - Free Press article by Jemele Hill

My view: Gene Keady should have stepped down last season. He had an offer to coach from University of San Francisco and could have turned this young team over to the new coach. Instead he is trudging through an 0-5 Big Ten start and has one of the worst (and youngest) to try and improve. It’s not the way someone like Keady should go out.

As far as Crawford, Drew Sharp sums it up best.

Here’s some links of current news regarding the Wings and the NHL Lockout.

Expect Wings to look different - Free Press article by Nicholas J. Cotsonika

Lost in the NHL lockout - Free Press article

Going Without - Free Press article

Boys, it’s time to give up and play hockey - Free Press article by Michael Rosenberg

Wings Withdrawal - Free Press article

That’s all I have time for now, we are doing our Every Hundred Days Project to develop a website for a non-profit in one day. It cuts back up on my internet fun time. It’s a cool project and next time we are going to open it up to anyone in Michigan.

As I watched the 2nd half, I could just feel how the game was going to turn out. The Spartans played a terrible final 2 minute stretch and allowed Wisconsin to keep their home winning streak alive (now at 38 straight).

Bad possessions, missed free-throws and sloppy defense were the main culprits as the Spartans lost their 6th straight to Wisconsin.

Here’s some thoughts from the Free Press on the game:

Spartans unravel vs. Badgers again - MSU blows 8-point lead in closing 2:49 by Jemele Hill

MSU’s three seniors lack heart, toughness by Drew Sharp

My view: MSU will still be okay, but you can probably kiss the Big Ten title goodbye. Illinois isn’t going to lose many, and most likely not more than one. Can’t say I think the same of the Spartans after that performance.

I saw an article about this in the Detroit Free Press [read it here]. It’s three Canadian men’s efforts to have the Stanley Cup given to the best hockey team in Canada.

Here’s their mission:

Free Stanley’s mission is to make sure there are Stanley Cup playoffs this hockey season. We love the Stanley Cup playoffs and we love the Cup. We believe it is the best trophy in all of sport, and it should not be denied to the best hockey team is playing this season. If there is no NHL season the Stanley Cup should then be awarded to the best hockey team in Canada, which was Lord Stanley’s original intent for the Cup.

Check them out on the web at FreeStanley.com.

My view: Those crazy Canadians sure do love their hockey. Lucky for us Americans we have lots of other sports to focus on as the hockey season dwindles away.

Liz Shimek’s 22 points and nine rebounds helped Michigan State (14-2, 3-1 Big Ten) build a 26-point cushion before letting the Wisconsin Badgers back in the game in the final 8:01 on their way to a 74-66 win.

“Liz Shimek was our one player who came ready to play,” McCallie said. “Everyone else attacked, then ate pizza, attacked, then went on vacation. We were on-again, off-again. I was impressed with how feisty Wisconsin played.”

Shimek was 9-for-15 with five offensive rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“We all need to realize what can happen when we go all out,” Shimek said. “Instead, we stopped for some coffee, and we can’t be that kind of team. We let them back in it a couple of times, then said, ‘Oh, I guess we can pour it on now,’ instead of playing Michigan State basketball.”

Click here for the complete game summary.

My View: The former Miss Basketball is showing why she earned that honor. She has been the most consistent player for the Spartans this season and has helped them to their best start ever. As good as they are this year, they could be even better next season. They should do well in the NCAA tournament after learning from last season.

Liz Shimek’s 22 points and nine rebounds helped Michigan State (14-2, 3-1 Big Ten) build a 26-point cushion before letting the Wisconsin Badgers back in the game in the final 8:01 on their way to a 74-66 win.

“Liz Shimek was our one player who came ready to play,” McCallie said. “Everyone else attacked, then ate pizza, attacked, then went on vacation. We were on-again, off-again. I was impressed with how feisty Wisconsin played.”

Shimek was 9-for-15 with five offensive rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“We all need to realize what can happen when we go all out,” Shimek said. “Instead, we stopped for some coffee, and we can’t be that kind of team. We let them back in it a couple of times, then said, ‘Oh, I guess we can pour it on now,’ instead of playing Michigan State basketball.”

Click here for the complete game summary.

My view: The former Miss Basketball is showing why she earned that honor. She has been the most consistent player for the Spartans this season and has helped them to their best start ever. As good as they are this year, they could be even better next season. They should do well in the NCAA tournament after learning from last season.

A couple of Record Eagle articles on St. Louis Blues forward Dallas Drake staying in shape and helping the Traverse City West hockey team at the same time. Plus his throughs on the lockout.

Lockout blessing - West benefits from Drake’s idle time - Record Eagle article by James Cook

Drake unsure of lockout resolution - Record Eagle article by James Cook

The day after Tom Kowalski’s story, the Lions are of course denying it. Here’s some articles from the day after.

Lions deny discussing releasing Harrington - Free Press article by Nicholas J. Cotsonika and Curt Sylvester

Cut Joey now? It makes no sense - Free Press article by Drew Sharp

Mariucci must alter the offense if Harrington is to succeed as Lion - Detroit News article by Bob Wojnowski

Lions strongly back Harrington - Detroit News article by Mike O’Hara

Lions deny that they’ve considered releasing Harrington - MLive.com article by Tom Kowalski

Lions quarterback options - MLive.com article by Tom Kowalski

My view: There are only a handful of legetimate options available to the Lions, who would be an upgrade over Joey. In my opinion they are Matt Hasselback, Jeff Garcia and Drew Brees. The possibility of getting any of those three would be slim. Hasselback is going to command big money, Garcia is signed another 3 years by Cleveland and Brees is probably going to get the franchise tag by San Diego.

What I think the Lions should do is:

1. Stick with Joey.
2. Sign a veteran backup to push Joey.
3. Draft a potential future starting quarterback to take the job from Joey after next season.

Sounds simple enough to me.

I know it’s not entirely sports related, but saw this great article on the Parker Brothers game Monopoly celebrating 70 years. Since I was a kid this has been one of my favorite games. Whether I am playing the traditional version or my “Star Wars” board, it’s a blast.

Monopoly Monopolizes the World - Parker Bros. Game Celebrates 70 Years of Unrestrained Capitalism - ABCNews.com article by Buck Wolf

Photo from ABCNews.com

I saw the link to this on the The Sports Dude’s site it’s a nice breakdown of the Tigers season by Dan Joseph - Detroit Sports Junkie. Look for the final three parts soon.

Breaking down the Tigers Part 1 of 5 by Dan Joseph

Breaking down the Tigers Part 2 of 5 by Dan Joseph

Breaking down the Tigers Part 3 of 5 by Dan Joseph

Breaking down the Tigers Part 4 of 5 by Dan Joseph

My view: Great stuff. There are some great Detroit Bloggers out there right now and it makes for great reading. If you get a chance definitely check them out.

Luke Waltons Forehead - The Sports Dude
Dan Joseph - Detroit Sports Junkie
Detroit Sports Blog - Dan

You won’t be disappointed.

WOW!

Read the article at MLive.com by Tom Kowalski

My view: The scary part to me is who would be our starting quarterback? To have no one lined up could be very bad. This should be interesting…

Here’s some interesting articles I found today…

Lions should Chow down with Norm - Free Press article by Drew Sharp

My View: I don’t agree with Drew Sharp that often, but I do 100% on this. It would be a great move by the Lions to add this offensive genius. They have lots of young talent and Chow is famous for using the skills and abilities of his personnel.

Manning repeats as MVP - The vote would have been unanimous…except for the one cast by News’ O’Hara - Article from Detroit News Wire Service

My View: The Detroit News Mike O’Hara was the lone sports writer to not vote for Peyton Manning as NFL MVP. It wasn’t a big deal to me, until I heard he voted for Michael Vick. If you are going to vote for anyone second to Manning it better be Daunte Culpepper. Michael Vick? Sure you take him off the Falcons and they probably don’t make the playoffs, but as MVP of the league? No way. His rushing stats are sick (120 carries for 902 yards, 7.5 average and 3 TD’s) but that doesn’t make up for his 78.1 QB rating and 14 TD passes and 12 INTS. He also had 16 fumbles and lost 7. I agree Vick is a huge part of the Falcons and is definitely team MVP, but league MVP, not this year.

McDyess plan comes together Free Press article by Helene St. James

My View: Alot of people weren’t sure what to expect from McDyess following three injury plagued seasons, but he has shown he can still play. He has easily been the best Pistons player off the bench and brings scoring, rebounding and tough, low-post defense. I would hate to see where they would be without him. All in all, another A+ move by Joe Dumars, at least at this point in the season.

Moss’ act was obnoxious, but overreaction to it is even worse - Detroit News article by Bob Wojnowski

My View: When I first heard about it, the way the story was being told I had thought Moss had really mooned the crowd. Then I saw the replay and couldn’t believe all of the reactions towards it. It’s not as bad as Jake Plummer giving the bird to his own fans a couple of weeks ago, which alot of people didn’t even hear about. Because it’s Moss everyone blows it out of proportion. Wojo gets it right once again.

Saw this in the Detroit News…

FSN Detroit is providing a winter warm-up for baseball fans with encore presentations of six memorable games from the 2004 Tigers season.

March 8: Tigers vs. White Sox — played Aug. 23, 2004. The promise of Jeremy Bonderman comes shining through when he strikes out a career-high 14 in a 7-0 victory over the White Sox.

Have added some new links to Coast to Coast Tickets. Check them out for those hard to find tickets to your favorite Detroit game or event.

Here’s a couple of interesting articles I did have a chance to read.

Lions need to work on attitude - Marquette Mining Journal article by Craig Remsburg

Tigers: Talks begin with Ordonez - Fanball.com article by Fanball Staff

Love Letters: Football’s greats go by Joe, not Joey Free Press article by George Puscas