I told you they did! This is from the Daily Quickie (they even got the main photo, click the link to check it out!)…

The Tigers are for real: Yes, we are believers. Rookie Justin Verlander outdueled Johan Santana 2-0. If you haven’t seen this kid pitch, make a point to do so. He’s tall (6-foot-5), skinny (200 pounds) and slings the ball at 99 mph. He had a strange line: 8 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 0 K’s, but gave up no runs. Vance Wilson’s 2-run HR in the 8th won it. Oh, and the Tigers remain tied with the White Sox for MLB’s top record.

The Tigers will be the talk of the summer if they can continue on their ways and, trust me, we have alot of room on the bandwagon!

Former Laker and Spartan star Liz Shimek is now on her third WNBA team, the expansion Chicago Sky. After being drafted by Phoenix, she was traded to Houston and now dealt to Chicago. Tomorrow is the roster deadline for WNBA teams and the Sky are expected to have a roster of 11 or 12. They currently have 14 players on their roster.

Read Shimek hopes to land with Chicago in the Record Eagle

Seriously, after the season the Wings had and the one Pistons are still having (barely) who thought we might have to rely on the Tigers in mid-May?

First the Red Wings get knocked out in the first round. Now the Pistons can’t seem to stop Lebron and the Cavs. At least the Tigers continue to lead the AL Central (tied with the White Sox) and have now won their 6th straight.

As I was listening to the game last night, I could sense that they just weren’t going to be able to do it. They were never able to get even a 1 point lead late and Cleveland was able to hang on. The worst part was that the Cavs were giving the Pistons plenty of chances to grab the lead. Turnovers, missed free throws, bad decisions (yeah I’m talking about Detroit) proved too much for the Pistons to overcome. For every good play Chauncey made down the stretch, he made a bad one to cancel it. Big Ben had a couple of free throw attempts that could have given the Pistons the lead, but missed both.

The two bright spots in my opinion were Tayshaun and McDyess. Dice finally gave the Pistons something off the bench in this series which now shifts back to Cleveland for game 6. I still have confidence in the Pistons because of how good they looked in the first two games, but they need to find that level of play again.

Can ESPN be in anymore love with Lebron? It just makes me sick. Although they seem to be showing some love for the Tigers as well.

Here’s a neat little clip of the Top 10 Dunks of the 2005-06 NBA season!

No players were able to crack the Beach Bums roster, but manager Jeff Isom, still considered the tryout a success.

“Our guys got to play in a game situation and the prospects got a chance to show us what they’ve got,” Isom said. “They’ve been to other tryouts, so they know they haven’t been given the extensive look that we gave them today. Some of them got five or six at-bats. We gave them a fair opportunity, and that’s all you can ask for at a tryout.”

You can read more about the Beach Bums and the tryout out in the Record Eagle article below.

Read None signed, but dreams live on in the Record Eagle

Less than 100 tickets remain for Opening Day on May 24th! Click here for ticket info.

I am not going to opening day, but secured my tickets for Game 2 on the 25th. The nephews are excited as after the game they are going to let the kids on the field to play catch. Should be lots of fun, and of course check back for photos!

Just got this from the Insider…

“Marcus Bell and James Hall were the two Lions who blew the whistle on Marinelli and filed the greivance.”

Ooops! Glad I am not in their shoes…

Updated at 11:44 AM: From the Insider -

“James Hall is the Lions player rep and the report was filed on behalf of Marcus Bell and possibly Shaun Rogers.”

- Here’s a link from Killer on the subject! and another.

Is there an award she hasn’t won? Leland senior Alisha Glass has been named the Female Athlete of the Year by the Detroit Athletic Club.

Read Glass is female Athlete of the Year in the Record Eagle

Don Miller was selected to be inducted into the MHSAA Hall of Fame this September. Miller led the Glen Lake Boy’s Basketball program for 31 years and to over 500 wins.

Read Miller selected to Hall of Fame in the Record Eagle

I know I had to re-read it myself. The Tigers are now 16-7 on the road and own the second best record in the majors (unfortunately the White Sox have the best) at 24-13. Mike Maroth pitched another solid game and the Tigers are getting key hits when they need them, this time from Craig Monroe.

Just found out I get to make my first trip to Comerica this year on June 25th to see Albert Pujols and the Cardinals come to town! Will be sitting behind the visitors dugout, I can’t wait!

Read Tigers complete rare sweep at Cleveland at Yahoo! Sports

Detroit Pistons blog Need4Sheed got a real nice writeup in the Detroit Free Press. If you are a Pistons fan check it out and congrats Natalie!

Read Her need is for ‘Sheed in the Freep

I am sure she loves the fact that Sheed guaranteed on Sunday that the Pistons will win game 4!

Plus another blog I frequent Detroit Bad Boys got a mention as well!

The Onion is very hilarious. I used to read it daily, but every once in a while I will get sent back there and The Daily Fungo has done it this time…

Read Jim Leyland Accused Of Jumping On Tigers Bandwagon at The Onion

The Detroit Insider sent me an email…

Read Harrington will be traded to Dolphins today at MLive

My View: It will be nice to have this distraction out of the Lions way. They even managed to get a draft pick, after it looked like they might have screwed that up. Maybe things are looking up for the Lions!

Another article…

Read Deal is reached for Dolphins QB in the Miami Herald

Thanks to FootballGuys.com for the link to the article.

Justin Verlander improved his record to 4-3 as he scattered seven hits and three walks in 6 1-3 to help the Tigers get back on the winning track with a 6-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Magglio Ordonez continued his hot streak collecting two hits, Brandon Inge and Curtis Granderson belted back-to-back homeruns as the Tigers improved to 21-13.

Here’s what the Orioles were saying about Verlander…

“He was throwing 98 mph with good movement, a solid breaking ball and a changeup,” former Tiger Chris Gomez said. “He’s got a pretty good future ahead of him.”

“He changed his pitches every at-bat,” Brandon Fahey said. “And then, after you get two strikes, he’s got such a hard fastball that it’s hard to sit on an offspeed pitch.”

One of the most impressive things about Verlander is that he has gone at least 6 innings in 6 of his 7 starts and now owns a 3.77 ERA.

Read Tigers 6, Orioles 3 at Yahoo! Sports

Jeff Peek and Dennis Chase report from the Traverse City Beach Bums Media Day. The concensus is that Wuerfel Park is one of the best minor league stadiums around and that the players are excited about playing in Traverse City. Opening Day is creeping closer as the Beach Bums get set to tangle with the Kalamazoo Kings on May 24th.

Read Wuerfel Park a hit with Beach Bums in the Record Eagle

Here’s another recent article about the Beach Bums in the Freep…

Read Pro baseball gets a team up north in the Freep

Ben Wallace has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for the fourth time in five seasons. It should have been five straight years. Seriously.

This season Wallace helped anchor the defense as the Pistons cruised to the best record in the NBA. Wallace finished fourth in rebounding, ninth in blocked shots and 10th in steals.

Read Secretary of defense in the Freep
Read Dumars: Re-signing Ben is top priority in the Detroit News

It must be rough being an NBA Superstar…

“In the next 15-to-20 years, I hope I’ll be the richest man in the world,” Lebron James said. “That’s one of my goals. I want to be a billionaire. I want to get to a position where generation on generation don’t have to worry about nothing. I don’t want family members from my kids to my son’s kids to ever have to worry. And I can’t do that now just playing basketball.”

Umm Lebron, yes you can!

Girls Soccer: Lady Norsemen blank opponents to capture own tourney
3-0 over Ludington. 2-0 over Lansing Christian. 4-0 over Elk Rapids. Suttons Bay played great defense and got timely offense to capture the Suttons Bay Invitational on Saturday. Holly Orban scored four goals on the day and Kelsey Wick earned the wins in goal. It was the first start for Wick in goal.

Read Suttons Bay shuts down, shuts out foes in the Record Eagle

Boys Baseball: Buchan’s bat helps Lakers to tourney title
Glen Lake improved to 16-9 on the season as they captured their own tourney with a 7-1 win over Central Lake. That win followed a 4-3 win over T.C. St. Francis.

Read Glen Lake wins own tourney with 2-0 mark in the Record Eagle [you have to scroll down]

Girls Softball: Lakers go 1-1 at own tourney
Allen Park Cabrini was too much for the Lakers in the opening game of the tourney as they defeated Glen Lake 10-0, but the Lady Lakers came back to defeat T.C. West 2-0 in the consolation game.

Read Allen Park Cabrini wins Glen Lake Invitational in the Record Eagle [you have to scroll down]