Leelanau Sports Guy’s World at sportspig.com

Brendan Shanahan will remain a Red Wing for at least one more season. The Wings also announced that new coach Mike Babcock has hired Paul MacLean as an assistant. MacLean was an assistant the last two seasons at Anaheim with Babcock. Barry Smith and Joe Kocur will not return as assistants.

Read the article at NHL.com

My View: None of this is that surprising, as Shanahan would have had to take a bigger paycut to play elsewhere. I didn’t expect Smith or Kocur to return and won’t be surprised if they both end up elsewhere as assistants. It would have been nice to have had Smith stick around, but it would have been awkward for Babcock, given Smith’s tenure with the Wings.

Manager Alan Trammell had to make a difficult decision and sent Curtis Granderson back to Toledo. I can understand him wanting Granderson to play every day, so it’s an easy decision there. He did however give the team a spark, something Logan hasn’t been doing much of lately. You can argue both sides, and as long as the decision helps Granderson for next season, I am all for it.

I pulled this blurb about Curtis Granderson from a Yahoo! Sports article by Matt Ronig. You can find the entire article here.

Whether you call it a “Grand” entrance or a “Grand” opening, or whichever play on words you prefer, Curtis Granderson’s 2005 debut was something to remember. He singled Friday in his first at-bat of the season and hit a game-winning homer Saturday in the opener of a double-header – but both hits were merely a prelude to his breakout performance Sunday. After misplaying a fly ball into a three-base hit early in the game, Granderson hit a two-run triple off the wall in the fifth and blasted a 426-foot homer two innings later to lead the Tigers past Minnesota. The rookie is batting .429 in four games since being recalled from Triple-A Toledo.

So who is this guy? He was a stranger to most before the weekend, but Baseball America did name him the top prospect in the Detroit organization – ranking the outfielder higher than heralded pitcher Justin Verlander. Through 94 games at the Triple-A level this season, Granderson was batting .297 with 13 homers and 17 stolen bases. According to the Oakland Press, he was brought up to form a center-field platoon with the struggling Nook Logan. That, of course, was before he played an integral role in taking three of four from the Twins. Scouts say the left-handed hitter has the perfect hitting style for Comerica Park and its cavernous outfield gaps. He clearly has more power than Logan and should stick in the lineup if he can top Nook’s .319 on-base percentage. At the very least, AL-only managers should be getting to know this 24-year-old real soon.

My View: It’s nice to see Tiger prospects have impact and none has had a bigger impact lately than Granderson. The guy is a player and I for one am excited about his potential in centerfield at Comerica Park. He has enough offense to be a very capable major league hitter, is solid defensively and dangerous on the basepaths. Look for big things from in the second half as he carries it into a starting spot next season.

Injuries slowed him down in 2003-04, but Darren McCarty will always be remembered by Wings fans as a feisty, fearless, hustling player, and he will be missed.

Here’s some of my favorite memories of McCarty…

The Goal vs. Philly in the Stanley Cup Finals – I remember it because of where I was, at Nemo’s in downtown Detroit with what seemed like a million other Red Wing fans. Norm, the Detroit Insider, was with me and we had a blast. When that goal went in we partied like it was…well let’s just say we partied! We even drank beer out of a homemade Stanley Cup someone brought… Read more about the 1997 Cup Finals.

The 3rd Period Hat Trick vs. Colorado – It was an amazing performance. Not only did it come against the Wings biggest rival in the Western Conference Finals, it was against arguably the greatest goaltender of all time as well. It was McCarty’s first career hat trick. The best of the three was the 30-footer that beat Roy. Read a Game Recap.

Beating up Claude Lemieux – Everyone knew it was coming, but once it did, it was like the weight of the world was off of the Wings and their fans.

His 1995 season – This was McCarty’s breakout year, with 15 goals and 14 assists including 8 powerplay goals. This was the year he really came into his own and started a terrific four year stretch. He followed up his breakout ‘95 season with a career high 49 points in 1996.

The Grind Line – The way Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and McCarty would take over games at crucial points was fun to watch. What started out as a defensive line, turned into quite an offensive punch at times as well. I think I still have an old Grind Line T-shirt somewhere…

Listening to his band Grinder in Traverse City – They were alot better than I thought they were going to be. We saw the at Streeter’s and they were rockin’! As a bonus one of our friends dumped a beer on an ‘ex. It was an interesting night to say the least.

If this is the last of McCarty in a Wings uniform, I wish him the best of luck and many thanks for all the great memories!

Free Press News Service

The Lions will hold their “Black and Blue” practice at 1 p.m. Aug. 6 at Ford Field. Free tickets are available at local Big Boy restaurants and the 31 Metro Detroit Ford Dealers while supplies last.

And the annual Kickoff Luncheon will be at noon Aug. 26, hosted by the Detroit Economic Club at Cobo Center in Detroit. Tickets are $55 at www.econclub.org or by calling 313-963-8547.

My View: One of my favorite memories as a youngster was going to Lions training camp and watching the team workout and get autographs. I was just going through some of my memoriabilia and the last year I went was 1988. My autograph list included: Eddie Murray, Chuck Long, Bobby Watkins, Garry James, and a few others I can’t remember at the moment. I know the Lions weren’t very good, but I had a blast!

A couple of articles from my local paper, that might have statewide interest…

Surprises unearthed by North Stars – Record Eagle article by Jeff Peek

Kingsley’s Kaleita ready to roar with Lions – Record Eagle article by Mark Urban

Pistons coach Flip Saunders
In one of the worst kept secrets in sports, Flip Saunders will be announced at noon today as coach of the Detroit Pistons. I still think we are going to miss Larry Brown, but Flip will do a good job. Lots of articles on Joe Dumars and Bill Davidson’s response to the last week, and so let’s get to the links…

Flip side: Saunders hired – Freep article by Krista Latham and Perry A. Farrell

Dumars stands by Brown decision – Detroit News article by Terry Foster

Pistons will name Saunders coach today – MLive.com article by A. Sherrod Blakely

Tigers take 2 of 3 from White Sox
Lost in all of the Pistons coaching news was the Tigers taking two of three from the White Sox in Chicago. They have stayed 5 games out in the Wild Card and moved within one game of Cleveland. They now have a crucial four game series with Minnesota at Comerica starting tonight.

Nate Robertson pitched another solid game yesterday and the offense continues to provide big hits. Omar Infante, Chris Shelton, and Carlos Guillen have been leading the way on offense.

The Tigers are still in it and it should be a fun second half in Detroit.

Tigers win game, series against White Sox in Chicago – MLive.com article by Danny Knobler

Article by James Cook

Final tryout camp this weekend at Centre ICE

Traverse City – Things are coming together.

“Hopefully, we’ll be riding the coattails of some positive hockey news, finally,” said North Stars coach and general manager Scott Gardiner.

Read the entire article

For more info on the North Stars check out www.traversecitynorthstars.com

I was browsing all the articles last night and this morning on this and still feel a bit sad. Larry Brown was a good coach, brought the NBA Title back to Detroit, and brought the team within one game of repeating. He taught the Pistons how to play the right way and brought the franchise back to respectability in the eyes of the NBA and it’s fans.

I can’t help but think this is exactly the way Brown wanted it to go down. The Pistons were the ones who had to make the tough decisions and Brown still can coach next season, if he wishes. He already has an interview with the Knicks scheduled as early as tomorrow.

Good Luck Larry, you will be missed, but all the distractions that come with you won’t be.

Here’s a great article by Drew Sharp of the Freep.

Here’s some nice sites I have stumbled across recently.

Shutterbabe.org
A cool site that of photograpy by Emily Smith. Lots of great photos of minor league baseball in Michigan, images of Detroit, and much more!

The Enlightened Spartan
A very detailed look at Michigan State Football. Lots of news, photos and a great Podcast!

Traverse City Beach Bums
The official site for the new minor league baseball team in Traverse City. They will begin play in 2006 in the Frontier League. They just updated their site and it has lots more info and a cleaner design.

Best of the Best: Suttons Bay is school of the year
Record Eagle article by Dennis Chase

Traverse City – Cody Inglis is a firm believer that success breeds success.

“Fantastic,” Inglis said.

Read the entire article.

My View: Wow. Suttons Bay has come a long way. Inglis does a good job of finding coaches that fit perfectly into the given situation. All have been good at rebuilding or starting over their particular sports teams. One example is boy’s basketball. Coach Hursey has brought the Norsemen to a level of respectibility that was hoped for by fans for a long time. Norsemen teams have always had alot of talent and potential, but the right mix of athletic leadership and good coaching have helped put them over the top.

Contract had three years, $18 million left

ESPN.com article by Mark Stein

The Detroit Pistons and Larry Brown are parting ways, sources close to the situation told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein.

Ex-Minnesota coach Flip Saunders is the leading candidate to replace Brown in Detroit after the Pistons came within one victory of winning back-to-back titles under the 64-year-old Brown.

My View: The writing seemed to be on the wall for this to happen. Looks like Flip will be the Pistons next coach, which is good news for Darko, Maxiel and all of the other young guys. Brown is a great coach, but definitely wanted to move on. Terry Foster wrote a good article on the subject this morning in response to Jason Whitlock’s article from last week.

First the bad news. The Tigers lost to the Royals 12-9 in the first game of baseball’s second half. Not exactly the way you want to start, but these are our beloved Tigers. Nothing ever comes easy. And now Troy Percival is back on the DL with the same injury (forearm tear) that put him on the shelf earlier. About the only good thing that can come from this is that we get to see if Farnsworth can close.

Some good news is that Placido Polanco would like to stay in Detroit. I was just talking last night about how team’s that host the All-Star game can get a jump on free agents for the upcoming season. Polanco stayed in Detroit during the All-Star break and took in the atmosphere. He is a good player who can play multiple positions and hit for average. I say if he wants to stay to “get it done Dave D”.

I don’t know what the second half will have in store for our Tigers, but I think they can stay in contention. They can’t give away games like last night though, especially when you have your ace on the mound. Health is a major issue for this ballclub and with Percival on the DL, Logan sleeping on his arm wrong, and Polanco’s hamstring, let’s hope that is not a sign of things to come.

If you haven’t read Disloyalty runs deep in Detroit – ESPN Page 2 article by Jason Whitlock, do it.

The article might might make you mad, but it will probably make you think.

Which side should we believe? The Pistons or Brown? Does it really matter at this point?

Larry Brown is a great coach. I really hope he is back next season. But after reading an article like this and thinking about it, I think the best thing might be for him to move on.

What kind of media circus will follow the Pistons all of next season? Every rumor will be magnified one hundred times over. I for one would get sick of it, and I can only imagine how the players would feel.

The only problem is anyone you bring in (no offense to Flip Saunders) is going to pale in comparison. You can’t replace a coach like Larry Brown, it just doesn’t happen. It would be unfair to whoever comes in next if Brown is fired. If Brown quits then the pressure would be less, but will still be there.

It’s like Dave Lewis following Scotty Bowman, everyone knew that wasn’t going to be easy.

I think the Pistons are a class organization no matter what anyone says. Joe Dumars is one of the good guys in the business, and I don’t think he would work for anyone who wasn’t the same way or whom he didn’t admire.

I just got this via email and checked it out. It’s a nice article on new Lions tight end Marcus Pollard. It’s worth the read…

Lions’ Pollard A True Role Model – article by Patrick Sands