Yahoo! Sports Dan Wetzel breaks down the winners and losers of last nights NBA Draft. It’s easy to pick the biggest loser, Isiah Thomas, but lots of winners from the draft as well.

I just love this…

The NBA draft is Christmas in June for Detroit Lions president Matt Millen, the day that Isiah Thomas reaffirms to everyone that it is he, and not Millen, who is the worst executive in professional sports. Called a “bum” by one Knicks fan in the crowd, Train Wreck Thomas used the 20th pick on an undersized forward out of South Carolina who never averaged double-figure points or rebounds, exasperating even the mild-mannered Bilas and prompting him to rip Isiah to shreds.

Hilarious!

Read Winners and losers in the Yahoo! Sports

Pistons Draft Update
The Pistons drafted point guard Will Blalock out of Iowa State with the 60th and final pick in the draft, and traded small forward Maurice Evans to the Lakers for 7-foot-1 center Cheick Samb from Senegal. Samb was the 51st pick.

Read Pistons grab Iowa St. point guard Blalock in the Freep

My View: Blalock could be a very solid player for the Pistons off the bench. He’s a natural point guard and might allow Chauncey some minutes at shooting guard. Samb is very tall, and very skinny, but is worth a shot after Evans disappointing season.

Michigan State Draft Update
All three Spartans were drafted and two made it in the first round. Shannon Brown was the 25th overall pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Maurice Ager the 28th overall pick to the Dallas Mavericks. Paul Davis went in the second round with the 34th overall pick to the L.A. Clippers.

Read Waiting game in the Freep

My View: Brown joins Lebron in Cleveland and that will make for a very exciting lineup when both are on the floor. Ager goes to a title contender that needs more shooters. Davis was disappointed by going in the second round, but I think he should consider himself lucky to be drafted at all. The Clippers should be a good fit and he should be able to get some minutes there, provided he makes the final roster.

We had a great time as the Tigers finished off a sweep of the Cardinals with a 4-1 win. It was Kid’s Day so the nephews didn’t have much autograph luck, but they did get to run the bases afterwards. I didn’t though, the adults had to walk around the fence and meet the kid’s on the other side.

The game came down to one thing - pitching! Jeremy Bonderman was outstanding and Sidney Ponson was equally as good. It was a 1-1 duel until the eighth when the Tigers finally broke through on offense led by a Curtis Granderson double. Bonderman finished with 8 strikeouts and impressive back-to-back strikeouts of Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen in the 1st inning!

My favorite photo of the day!

The atmosphere was electric, the fans were pumped!

Brandon Inge made two great diving plays at third. On the first, he threw a guy out from his knees, and the second he robbed Pujols of extra bases and saved a run! He is fun to watch at third!

Joel Zumaya also had an impressive strikeout against Pujols, that was fun to watch. Todd Jones even managed to save the game.

All in all, it was a very fun day and it was fun to get back to the ballpark. I really think this Tigers team can contend and will be battling until the end. Never count them out!

Read Detroit 4, St. Louis 1 at Yahoo! Sports for a game recap.

Here’s some photos from the game, we sat behind the third base dugout (FREE tickets!) and the pictures are taken from my seat in section 122.

1st Place!

It was around 80° all game, luckily there was a nice little breeze.
The Sports Guy did get a little red!

Comerica was packed!

Bonderman pitched another great game!

Pudge played first and Polanco was at second.
It was Placido Bobblehead Day as well!

Pujols had a rough day, he was robbed of extra bases
by Inge and struck out against Bonderman and Zumaya.

Another crowd shot!

Curtis Granderson had another good day,
including the big hit in the eighth!

Pudge!

Maggs!

Zumaya “zooms” one in against Pujols!

GO TIGERS!

I didn’t see the video until this morning, and I was cracking up - ALOT!

Read Minor league manager loses cool, fined, suspended at ESPN.com [WITH VIDEO!]

Home field is becoming a big advantage to the Traverse City Beach Bums. The Beach Bums improved to 9-2 at home behind Shaun Parker’s 2-hit shutout as they defeated the Evansville Otters 6-0. Parker finished with 6 strikeouts and improved to 2-3 on the season.

Al Roach and Kevin White had two RBI’s each to lead the offense as the Beach Bums scored three first inning runs to help set the tone for the evening.

The Beach Bums improved to 16-9 overall and remain one game back in the East Division.

Read Bums Win behind Parker’s Two-Hitter at TCBeachBums.com

This was the first game we took the entire family and everyone had a blast. I hate to say it, but the kid’s play room might have been the biggest hit of the night!

Sorry it’s been slow around here, but haven’t had much of a chance to get to the blog. Here’s my thoughts on the latest from the world of sports…

Tigers continue winning streak
The bats are alive again, and combine that with the continued success of the starting pitching means another winning streak for our Tigers! I can’t even imagine how lame Detroit sports would be right now without the Tigers leading the majors. Getting anxious for my first trip to Comerica in a couple of years on Sunday to see the Tigers and Cardinals go at it. You know things are going well when rotation fill-ins (rookie Zach Miner) throw five-hitters.

Wings looking at Luongo?
Rumor has it that as early as this weekend Florida Panthers goalie Robert Luongo could be traded. The Wings, Vancouver and Los Angeles are the frontrunners. This would be a great deal for Detroit and would give them a star goalie they didn’t have last year.

NBA Champion Miami Heat, argh!
I will admit I was cheering for Dallas, which could explain why they lost, so it hurt when the Miami Heat finished them off with four consecutive wins last night to claim the NBA Title. Dwayne Wade, all I can say is “that guy is good!” I am laughing though at people comparing him to Jordan though. Jordan never had a 7′ 2″ center to help him drive to the basket and create space. I am guessing that without Shaq, the Heat wouldn’t have won the title. End of story.

I really think this Marinelli guy is going to be good
The attitude and the attention to detail he is demanding is exactly what the Lions franchise needed. I am still a little nervous about the quarterback position, but it can’t get any worse, so I guess that’s a positive.

My busy week continues as tonight is a trip to Wuerfel Park to see the Beach Bums tangle with the Evansville Otters!

It’s too early for my predictions (which are usually wrong anyway), but some of the top preview magazines are out and have their preseason Big Ten and national title picks. Check out the article below for a quick summary from the Detroit News and check back in August for my picks!

According to the experts, Michigan will most likely finish 2nd in the Big Ten (to Ohio State) and Michigan State anywhere from 4th to 8th.

Read Outlook is not rosy for U-M or MSU at the Detroit News

Suttons Bay didn’t have an answer for Laura Heyboer. The star sophomore scored 4 goals in leading Hudsonville Unity Christian to a 5-1 win to advance to the Division 3 final. Erin Sneed scored the lone goal for the Lady Norsemen. Unity Christian also won the 2005 state title and has won 54 consecutive games.

Read Norse fall to champions in the Record Eagle

The signing of Kenny Rogers is looking like a steal so far for the Detroit Tigers. Rogers picked up his 9th win of the year with 8 solid innings of work as the Tigers cruised to a 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Lots of people balked at the contract given to Rogers, but he has earned every penny as he has led the Tigers staff both on and off the field. Rogers first chance at career win #200 will be in historic Wrigley Field vs. the Chicago Cubs.

Read Rogers and out in the Freep

The Record Eagle has the lowdown on the upcoming area softball/baseball regionals, plus an article about Lake Leelanau St. Mary capturing the Cherryland Softball Crown.

Area Softball Regional Preview
Lake Leelanau St. Mary squares off against Frankfort in the opening game of the Division 4 regional at Frankfort…

Area Baseball Regional Preview
Glen Lake goes up against Frankfort in the second game of the Division 4 regional at Frankfort…

Suttons Bay captured a Division 3 regional title by defeating Ludington 2-0 to advance to the state semifinals next Wednesday at Sparta. The Lady Norse (15-3-5) got goals from sophomore Alyssa Korson and freshman Michelle Ness.

Read Suttons Bay cages Orioles, regional in the Record Eagle

Finally they did it! They beat the Chicago White Sox and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Tigers finally got the big hits with runners in scoring position they needed and it proved to be enough as the Tigers defeated the White Sox 6-2 to take a 1 1/2 game lead in the AL Central.

Read That’s a first in the Freep

Seriously, that was the first and only word I said when I saw this…

Read Brown staying in draft, leaving Michigan State at Yahoo! Sports

I honestly thought Shannon Brown was coming back.

At least the Spartans have the #18 recruiting class according to Rivals.com and will probably need all three to have an immediate impact after the losses of Brown, Maurice Ager and Paul Davis.

#18 Michigan State Spartans
Raymar Morgan SF 6-7, 210
Tom Herzog C 6-11, 215
Isaiah Dahlman SF 6-6, 175
Think quality and not quantity when it comes to the Spartans’ incoming freshmen. The three-man group is led by Raymar Morgan, the nation’s No. 11-ranked small forward and center Tom Herzog, one of the nation’s top shot blockers. Three-star small forward Isaiah Dahlman is a polished prospect who has the ability to earn minutes right away as well.

You can read the entire article here.

Two days in a row of Alex Cintron heroics have enabled the Chicago White Sox to move within 1/2 game of the Tigers in the AL Central after the Sox 4-3 win last night. The series finale is tonight and the Tigers desperately need it to gain some confidence and try to improve on the 2-10 record versus the big 3 in the AL (Yankees, Red Sox and White Sox).

The Tigers basically have one problem right now, hitting with runners in scoring position. They simply just aren’t doing it and opponents are. That’s the difference in the current funk the Tigers are in.

Read Chicago White Sox 4, Detroit Tigers 3 at Yahoo! Sports

The Detroit Tigers had him #1 on their list of prospects and they were lucky enough to have Andrew Miller fall to them at #6. Some teams passed because of the difficulty it could be in signing him, but his talent speaks for itself, and he has a great potential nickname. The 6′ 6″ left-hander can be seen on Friday as he leads North Carolina vs. Alabama in NCAA Super Regional at 7 pm on ESPN.

Here’s a quick overview from the Freep:

Tigers’ pick at No. 6. … Rated No. 1 prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America. … Third-round draft pick of Tampa Bay out of Buchholz High in Gainesville, Fla.; he didn’t sign. … Atlantic Coast Conference pitcher of the year. … From MLB.com Draft Tracker: “When his slider is on, it’s good enough to get big league hitters out now.” … Modeled his game after Tony Stewart … Favorite movie is “Days of Thunder.”

Read Miller Time on draft for Tigers in the Freep
Read MLB draft’s power pitcher at Yahoo! Sports

Freshman Michelle Ness scored two goals and sophomore Alyssa Korson one goal in a span of a little over 7 minutes in the first half to give Suttons Bay an early lead as they defeated Tawas 3-0 in a Division 3 semifinal at Elk Rapids. The Lady Norse will now face Ludington in the regional final on Thursday at 7 PM. Ludington has knocked Suttons Bay out of the playoffs each of the last two seasons.

Read 7-minute surge powers Norse in the Record Eagle