The NHL and players reaching an agreement is big news for Traverse City. The Wings training camp has been here the last few years and with the league starting up again, the city will be breaking out it’s red!

Also a press conference was announced for Friday at 10:00 AM to introduce the Wings new coach Mike Babcock. This was a good move by the Wings. Lewis was a good man and good coach, but didn’t seem to be able to get them over the playoff hump. Babcock will be coaching a new-look Wings team with alot more youth, something he is very good at.

Training camp is a go for TC - Record Eagle article by James Cook

Traverse City set for Wings camp - Freep article by Dave Scroppo

Red Wings name Babcock coach

The Detroit News has a blurb and a poll about the deal.

My View: With the lockout ended, fans up here in the Traverse City area are getting excited for training camp. Lots of local businesses will love this news!

However, the NHL does have some work to do. All in all, I think alot of fans will come back, provided they make a few of the proposed rules changes (smaller goalie pads, no red line, etc.) that might make the game faster and higher scoring.

Of course free tickets might help too, like that would ever happen with these owners…

I am sure I will watch as much hockey as I did before, but as the Sports Dude said, the Wings aren’t the only good team anymore. All of the other Detroit teams are vastly improving and putting a good product out there.

Just read this article from DraftSharks.com by Norm Behrens about the NFL coaching changes for the upcoming season.

Here’s what he wrote about the Lions…

Detroit
Offensive Coordinator, Ted Tollner reunites with HC Steve Mariucci to help lead the Lions in 2005. Tollner has spent the last 3 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers where he coached current Lions “backup” QB Jeff Garcia to 3 Pro Bowls. Along with many years coaching at the collegiate level (San Diego State 1994-01), Tollner has also had worked as wide receivers coach under Buffalo Bills HC Marv Levy in the late 1980’s.

Linebackers Coach, Johnny Holland has been promoted to coach the young linebacker corps of the Detroit Lions. Holland has experience with Green Bay (1999) and Seattle (2001-02) in the same role.

My View: Tollner is the big name here, but don’t underestimate Graves or Holland. Both have experience and can relate well to young players. Look for the linebackers and receivers to be vastly improved this upcoming season. If both units are healthy (a big “IF”) look for plenty of exciting “big” plays.

I give Norm five topics and he gives me a short response for each. Always entertaining…

1. Home Run Derby - Who cares. The winner will have 3 home runs because Comerica Park is big.

2. Lions Prediction - Don’t etch this in stone, but I think 9-7 is reasonable.

3. Jeremy Bonderman - Not sure why he isn’t an All-Star, but something tells me that he is going to replace Kenny Rogers because of his antics.

4. Chris Shelton - Looks like Carlos Pena won’t be back anytime soon, or ever.

5. Fantastic Four - Jessica Alba. That’s all you really need to know.

If you want to let the Detroit Insider know what you think, you can always send him an email at norm@sportspig.com or post a comment!

Here it is…

Posted July 7, 2005 at 11:03 AM
“USA Today reports that a official in the Mighty Ducks organization says that Mike Babcock informed the team last night that he will not accept the Mighty Ducks coaching position and that he expects to be named coach of the Red Wings. Babcock had a afternoon deadline today to inform Anaheim one way or the other if was going to be the Ducks coach.”

WOW! More to follow as I receive it from the Insider.

UPDATED!
Posted July 8, 20005 at 9:25 AM
“Red Wings have announced press conference at 11:00AM today. Just going to be Ken Holland I guess. I’m told Lewis has been offered a job to stay with the Wings as a scout.”

Stay tuned…

Here’s some articles and news you may have missed…

Lions Exhibition tickets on sale today
Lions preseason tickets go on sale today at 10 AM. The two home games are August 20th against Cleveland at 1 p.m. and August 29th against St. Louis at 8 p.m. Prices range from $40-$62, along with a few $70 tickets.

Tickets can be purchased a number of ways. You can get them at the Ford Field Ticket Office, over the phone at (248) 645-6666, and via TicketMaster or on the Internet at Detroitlions.com/tickets and ticketmaster.com.

A letter to Dave Holland of the Red Wings
Click here to read another interesting post from The Sports Dude. He brings up some good ideas. Is Holland listening?

Sports bars have all the bases covered
Detroit News article by Jane Rayburn
If you can’t make it into Comerica this article gives you some options for watching the game with other baseball fans. Detroit has lots of great sports bars and one is sure to fit your liking. Read the article.

Verizon beefs up downtown service for All-Star Game
Great Lakes IT Report article by Matt Roush
Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game and FanFest just days away, Verizon Wireless said Wednesday it had fine-tuned its network to handle the additional call volume expected during the five days of festivities. The company recently installed temporary equipment on several existing cell sites throughout downtown Detroit that boosts calling capacity by 30 percent. The improvements mean fewer dropped calls and clearer reception. Additionally, throughout the five-day period, Verizon Wireless will dispatch its real-life, local test man, Rick Thompson, who will drive around downtown Detroit testing the company’s network to ensure reliability. More at www.verizonwireless.com.

New Link
Added a link to a new site at www.sportsfan.com. Lots of cool articles there, go check it out!

Jeremy Bonderman picked up his 11th win of the season, becoming the first Tiger since 1991 to reach that number before the All-Star break. Magglio Ordonez once again got the big hit and the Tigers won their second consecutive over Cleveland. After the pounding they took to begin the series they have rebounded nicely.

The next two weeks are big for the Tigers. They start off with a 4 game series at Tampa Bay that takes them to the All-Star break. After the break, they host Kansas City for a 4 game series and then travel to Chicago to face the Central leading White Sox. A nice winning streak would be huge and send a message to Tiger fans that this team is going to do something special in the 2nd half. The Royals and Devil Rays are two of the worst teams in baseball and the Tigers need to dominate them both.

The Tigers are still in it and as they get healthier they do have a shot at the Wild Card. The next 11 games will show what kind of summer it will be and how far the Tigers have come.

Here’s some articles from last night’s game…

Yahoo! Sports Game Recap

Bonderman paces Tigers to split - MLB.com article by Jason Beck

Bonderman (11th victory), Ordonez, Rodriguez shine - Freep article by John Lowe

The Insider just emailed me…

“The Toronto Globe and Mail is reporting that Dave Lewis may NOT be back as Red Wings coach and the new coach may be………………….Mike Babcock. Signs that the lockout is about over?”

Stay tuned…

Added July 7th, 20005 at 8:27 AM
Free Press article on Wings coaching rumors…

That’s more like it. Magglio Ordonez hit his 2nd homerun and Mike Maroth kept Cleveland off balance in a 3-2 win. The Tigers needed this win badly. After getting pounded on the 4th of July by the Indians and shutout on Sunday by the Yankees they needed something positive. Here’s a Game Recap.

Here’s my thoughts on some hot Tiger topics…

Magglio’s Return - It’s big. Maggs needs to be healthy for the Tigers to have any kind of chance at a Wild Card or even at finishing .500. He makes the entire lineup better and gives them a guy other teams don’t want to see at the plate in close games. No other Tiger does that right now.

Pudge is lone All-Star - After watching the Tigers this past week, we can be thankful that every team gets one, or the Tigers might not have had any. I thought Pudge would make it for sure, but was holding out on Inge or Bonderman joining him. Inge has quietly been the Tigers best player so far this season and Bonderman picked up his 10th win recently. Look for big 2nd halves from both of them as the Tigers make their run at the Wild Card!

Verlander’s Debut - After a rocky start, he retired 12 out of 13. He hit 99 repeatedly on the gun and showed he could be a good big league pitcher. I was just reading where Pudge thought he would be very good coming out of the pen, but he will get his shot at starting first.

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

The Insider just emailed me…

“Magglio Ordonez has been called up from Toledo and will play tonight against the Yankees. Also, Larry Brown is out of the Mayo Clinic and will contact Joe Dumars early next week.”

Awesome on both counts…

Traverse City Beach Bums Press Release (7/1/2005)
The Traverse City Beach Bums are pleased to announce the purchase of the Richmond Roosters (Richmond IN) membership in the Frontier League. The sale will be finalized in mid-September, at the close of the 2005 season.

Look for the Beach Bums to begin play in May 2006.

The team website is www.traversecitybeachbums.com and you can read more about the Frontier League at www.frontierleague.com.

Traverse City Beach Bums Press Release (7/1/2005)
The Traverse City Beach Bums are pleased to announce the purchase of the Richmond Roosters (Richmond IN) membership in the Frontier League. The sale will be finalized in mid-September, at the close of the 2005 season.

Look for the Beach Bums to begin play in May 2006.

The team website is www.traversecitybeachbums.com and you can read more about the Frontier League at www.frontierleague.com.

Ouch. When the best team in baseball comes to your house and sweeps a three game series, it really hurts. When that team is in your own division it’s even worse. The White Sox dominated the Tigers on Thursday 6-1 to finish off the sweep and drop the Tigers to 16 games back (5.5 games out of the wild card).

The Tigers offense needs a lift and Magglio Ordonez could provide it. He is finishing his rehab assignment today and is joining the Tigers on Saturday. He needs to get hot and and hope everyone follows suit. With the reeling Yankees coming into town, the Tigers need to step it up right now to have any kind of chance at the Wild Card. They can’t afford to fall any farther behind.

Another exciting moment for Tigers fans will be the MLB debut of Justin Verlander on July 4th in the second game of a doubleheader vs. Cleveland. That will be something you won’t want to miss. His status is unknown as far as if he will stay up or be sent back down, but if he performs well, he might just stick around.

Here’s a Game Recap from Thursday.