Leelanau Sports Guy at sportspig.com

TIGERS ACQUIRE JAY VOSS FROM FLORIDA MARLINS FOR NATE ROBERTSON AND CASH CONSIDERATIONS

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers today announced the club has acquired lefthanded pitcher Jay Voss from the Florida Marlins in exchange for lefthanded pitcher Nate Robertson and cash considerations.

Voss, 22, split the 2009 season between Single A Jupiter and Double A Jacksonville for the Marlins. In 10 games with Jupiter, he compiled a 2.03 ERA (13.1IP/3ER) and 10 strikeouts. Voss posted a 3-0 record, 2.97 ERA (36.1IP/12ER) and 36 strikeouts in 30 appearances with Jacksonville.

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Grandson, Bill McIntire says his Nana still square dances!

Keep your eyes peeled on the Joe Louis Jumbotron and be sure to give Nana a big hand at the game!

Happy birthday and cheers Nana Kaiser!!!

Photos from past bday games.

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings scored the first goal tonight against the Minnesota Wild and never gave the Wild a chance to get back into the game.

Johan Franzen broke open the sheet tonight and was then followed by Tomas Holmstrom, Jonathan Ericsson, and Pavel Datsyuk before Andrew Brunette stopped the goal run by scoring for the Wild on the powerplay. Detroit had killed off the previous 29 penalties before allowing the goal. A weird bounce put the Wild within two early in the third, but then Franzen and Drew Miller drove the game home.

Detroit had a slow start but took control of the game halfway through the first. Detroit’s special teams have been rolling which was big tonight with the game’s 30 penalty minutes. Minnesota amassed 20 of those minutes. The top line for the Wings (Franzen, Datsyuk, Holmstrom) had four of the six goals with the number two line (Todd Bertuzzi, Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula) seeing their point steak of 20 points in three games come to an end as no one on that line recorded a point tonight.

In Play! Man of the Game: Johan Franzen. Franzen was on fire tonight, recording a career high four points (2-2).

ADDED BONUS: Post game audio from tonight’s game with Lidstrom, Howard, Franzen, Babcock

Suttons Bay topped Bridgman 52-38 for the right to face Melvindale ABT for the Class C State Championship. Dwuan Anderson led the way with 16 points.

Here’s the best recap I found from 9&10 Sports – Suttons Bay Advances to State Championship Game

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Despite giving up a quick goal to St. Louis, the Detroit Red Wings came back and took control of the game, beating the St. Louis Blues 4-2.

Paul Kariya scored first tonight with a breakaway. Then in the second, Henrik Zetterberg scored just 26 seconds into the period, followed four minutes later by Todd Bertuzzi. Jay McClement tied the game early in the third, but Valtteri Filppula came back with a pair of goals to give the Wings the win.

Detroit easily could have been down by five goals after the first period because the Blues kept feeding breakaway after breakaway. Jimmy Howard has huge tonight in net, making 30 saves to record win number 30 of the season. Howard is still making his case for the Calder Trophy. Last year Steve Mason, another goalie, won the trophy and recorded 33 wins and 10 shutouts. While Howard only has one shutout, he is one of the players in the running. Detroit hasn’t seen a Calder Trophy since the 1950’s.

In Play! Men of the Game: Zetterberg, Filppula, and Bertuzzi. This line has combined for 20 points in the last three games including several multi-goal nights from Zetterberg and Filppula.

ADDED BONUS:
AJ Petronzi talks with RED HOT Henrik Zetterberg and Mike Babcock in post game inteview.

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings scored first in this game and never looked back, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1.

Valtteri Filppula was the first one to score a goal tonight with a minute left in the first period. Henrik Zetterberg then netted a goal to give Detroit the two goal lead. Pascal Dupuis closed Detroit’s lead back to one until Zetterberg scored early in the third to put Detroit up by two.

The Red Wings played a better game than Pittsburgh. It was obvious in the way the two teams played that the Penguins are battling for a top three seed in the playoffs and didn’t come out with the same desperation that Detroit, who is simply battling for the playoffs, came with. Zetterberg continued to play at a level that befits a player of his caliber, and Jimmy Howard, with 26 saves and a tangle with Sydney Crosby after the game, showed he wishes to remain the starter in net for Detroit. Crosby called Howard out to the media after the game, “I don’t know what he was doing…if he thought he could get a free shot in. He didn’t belong there.”

Photo by Jack Rosenberg/In Play! Magazine

In Play! Man of the Game: Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg hasn’t played great this season, but the last five or six games have been different. Zetterberg scored twice tonight and had an assist on Filppula’s goal.

Sidney Crosby - Post game audio from the dressing room after last nights game.

1939 In his second exhibition game, Dodger Pete Reiser homers in his first at-bat against the Cardinals to begin a streak of 10 consecutive hits.

1962 Roger Maris declines to pose with Mets coach Rogers Hornsby because the Hall of Famer had criticized him in the Rajah’s’ book, My Wars with Baseball.

1962 In the first meeting between the two clubs, the Mets defeat the World Champion Yankees in a spring training game. Casey Stengel, the former skipper of the Bronx Bombers, now the manager of the new National League expansion team in New York, clearly wanting to beat his old club, calls upon veteran outfielder Richie Ashburn, who delivers a ninth-inning pinch-hit single giving the Amazins’ the dramatic walk-off 4-3 victory at Al Lang Field.

1972 The Yankees trade first baseman Danny Cater to the Red Sox for lefty reliever Albert Walter Lyle. Over the next seven years, Sparky will pitch in 420 games in relief with 57-40 record and a 2.41 ERA notching 141 saves as he helps the Bronx Bombers to appear in three World Series.

1986 Yankee pitcher Britt Burns, an 18-game winner with the White Sox last season, will miss the entire season due to a degenerative hip condition.

More interesting baseball facts

Cover story features interviews with Olympic Gold Medalist Roberto Luongo and Silver Medalist Brian Rafalski. Plus article on the infamous Tail of the Tiger Golf Balls, The Hanson Brothers and a whole lot more! Detroit’s ONLY sports magazine is In Play!

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I was fortunate enough to be at those games in 1982 (as a 10-year old and future basketball star) and it’s hard to believe that Suttons Bay never got that far again before last night’s 80-60 win over Mason County Central in the Class C Regional at Traverse City West.

“I can’t even describe it,” Norsemen senior David Wheelock said of winning the regional. “It’s priceless. At the beginning of the year there were all these expectations. I’m just happy. These are the best group of guys I’ve ever played with. It just so happens we all love basketball. Going to practice every day is like hanging out with friends.”

Dwaun Anderson led the Norse with 27 points, 12 rebounds and two assists. Wheelock had 17 points, Chase Palmer scored 11 to go with nine rebounds and Jared Orban added 10 points.

“As always, Dwaun is our best player, but we’ve had other guys step up all season long,” Hursey said.

You can see some video of the first half from 9&10 Sports.

Suttons Bay now advances to the Quarterfinals against Rudyard at Lake Superior State University on Tuesday.

Read Norsemen win first regional since ’82 in the Record Eagle

Suttons Bay started fast and never looked back in cruising to a 81-58 Class C regional semifinal win over Boyne City. The Norsemen will now battle Mason County Central on Wednesday for the regional title. Suttons Bay was led by Dwaun Anderson’s 18 points, while Jared Orban and Noah Rehyl each had 10 points for the 22-1 Norsemen.

“I was proud of the way we started,” Suttons Bay coach Todd Hursey said. “Our focus has been strong defense, and we got off on that note tonight. This time of year, it’s all about how you play on defense.”

Read Norsemen put on a show, beat Boyne City in the Record Eagle

Leland, now 16-8, used big games from Sam Scott (22 points); Galen Whittaker with 16 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks; Calvin Gibson’s 16 points and Nate Sneed’s 11 points to hold off Manistee Catholic Central 69-64 in overtime. They now get a third game against Northwest Conference Rival Buckley for the Class D Regional Title.

Leland won the more exciting game, as Scott’s bucket with 35 seconds left knotted it up and Whittaker’s block with two ticks left sent the game into an extra session.

“I was really proud of our team,” Whittaker said. “We were down and we just didn’t quit. All of us. On that block at the end of regulation, I saw my career flash before my eyes.”

Read Leland, Buckley to collide for title in the Record Eagle

1960 The Southern Association announces the New Orleans Pelicans, for the first time since 1901, will not be part of the Double-A circuit. The franchise, a major league affiliate of the Yankees in 1958, will be replaced by the Little Rock Travelers.

1971 Bernie Gera, a thirty-nine year old New York housewife, files a civil right suit against MLB after her contract to umpire in the New York-Penn League is voided after six days without an explanation.

1974 In Yuma, Arizona, Ron Bryant, a twenty-four game winner for the Giants last year, is hurt in a pool accident during spring training. The promising southpaw’s record will drop to 3-15 this season, and the Redlands, California native’s career will end in 1975 after a brief 0-1 stint with St. Louis.

1975 The Dodgers sign their once arch-nemesis Juan Marichal as a free agent. After two-regular season outings, that includes a loss to Cincinnati, the former San Francisco superstar and future Hall of Famer will retire in mid-April.

1977 In a nine-player spring training trade with Pittsburgh, the A’s send Phil Garner, Chris Batton and Tommy Helms to the Pirates for Tony Armas, Mitchell Page and four pitchers, including Doc Medich and Dave Giusti.

1999 The Yankees name Don Zimmer as the interim skipper of the club. The team’s bench coach will fill for Joe Torre, while the manager receives treatments for prostate cancer.

2000 In spring training action, Red Sox star Pedro Martinez and five relievers combined on a perfect exhibition game beating the Blue Jays, 5-0.

2008 In front of 12,224 fans, a near sellout at the new Olympic venue in Beijing, the Dodgers and the Padres played to a 3-3 tie in the first major league game ever to take place in mainland China. In the seventh inning, the crowd hears “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, but not knowing the lyrics just listen without singing.

2008 Five days after unilaterally renewing his contract for the upcoming season, the Pirates sign Ian Snell (9-12, 3.76) to three-year deal reported to be worth $8 million. The 26-year old right-hander, eligible for salary arbitration after 2009 season, has compiled a 24-26 record with the struggling ball club over the past three seasons.

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings gave up a two goal lead, but still managed a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabers in overtime.

Pavel Datsyuk scored only two minutes into the game tonight and Patrick Eaves followed suit less than two minutes later. Before the halfway point of the first period, Buffalo’s Jochen Hecht scored to make it a one goal game. In the second, Hecht tied the game. Nothing changed until 31 seconds into overtime when Brian Rafalski scored the game winner on the powerplay.

Detroit’s powerplay has goals in nine consecutive games, which ties them for the season best with Washington, and Detroit’s penalty kill hasn’t allowed a goal in five games, allowing only five goals in the last 46 times the Wings have been shorthanded. Detroit seems to be getting everything back in line after a season long struggle with injuries. Tonight’s win leaves Detroit in eighth in the conference behind Calgary, who has a tough game against Vancouver tomorrow before meeting the Wings on Monday.

In Play! Man of the Game: Brian Rafalski. Rafalski lead all players in minutes played, with just short of 26, and netted the game winning goal. He also had 6 attempted shots, four of which were on net.

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings spent their entire first shift tonight in the Minnesota Wild’s zone, something that never really changed in this crushing 5-1 victory in Detroit.

It didn’t take long for Johan Franzen to crack tonight’s score sheet open, scoring a goal less than two and a half minutes into the game. Later in the first period, Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg scored goals, both less than a minute apart. Minnesota then scored with only seconds left. In the second, Drew Miller netted his first career short-handed goal, followed in the third by Franzen’s second goal of the night.

Detroit had a lot of questions to answer after Tuesday, no one facing more than Zetterberg who played possibly the worst game of his career. The Wings came back and answered those questions tonight. Other than the top line, the bottom three lines got shuffled and that seemed to have solved quite a few problems.

Photo by Jack Rosenberg / In Play! Magazine

In Play! Man of the Game: Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg played an excellent game, seeing time tonight on all four lines and scoring a goal and two assists.

1941 The Dodgers announce their players will begin to wear helmets when batting. The use of the safety headgear will not become mandatory in the National League until 1954 and the AL will follow suit four years later.

1951 J.Edgar Hoover , longtime director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, declines the post of baseball commissioner. President Calvin Coolidge appointed him to 1924 and the nation’s top cop remained in the FBI until his death in 1972.

1963 In an exhibition game against the White Sox, rookie Pete Rose goes 2-for-2 in his first appearance as a Red .

1992 The Pirates trade pitcher Neal Heaton (3-3, 4.33) to the Royals for outfielder Kirk Gibson (.236, 16 HR, 18 SB).

1993 Sherry Davis becomes the first woman major league public address announcer when she is hired by the Giants to work at Candlestick Park.

1995 Citing the labor unrest as the reason, former Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan announces he is leaving baseball to return the NBA.

2004 When asked by Senator John McCain to renegotiate the major league baseball’s contract in regard to the use of controlled substances, Donald Fehr refuses to comply. Although the union boss condemns the use of steroids, he believes the players oppose random drug testing as a violation of privacy, an argument countered by the Arizona republican as unacceptable and promised congressional action if the status quo.

2005 Singling off Brad Thompson in a Cardinal intersquad game, former pitching prospect Rick Ankiel goes 1-for-2 in his debut as a position player. Historic wildness and injuries ended the 25-year old once very promising career on the mound.

2006 Jhonny Peralta (.292, 24 ,78) agrees to a $13 million, five-year deal which includes a club option for 2011. In his first full season, the Indians shortstop established himself as one of the top offensive players for his position.

2006 Shairon Martis throws the first-ever no-hitter in WBC history as the Netherlands rout Panama, 10-0. The 19-year-old Dutch hurler threw exactly 65 pitches, which is the Classic’s pitch limit, to accomplish the historic deed in a game which was called after seven innings because of the mercy rule; a 10 run lead after seven innings.

2009 At Puerto Rico’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium, the Netherlands WBC team, made up of mostly unknown players, upsets a heavily-favored the Dominican Republic club for the second time in four days to advanced to the next round of the World Baseball Classic. The Dominicans, considered to be an odds-on favorite, with a roster filled with major league All-Stars including David Ortiz (Red Sox), Hanley Ramirez (Marlins), and Miguel Tejada (Astros), are eliminated in the first round of the 16-team tournament.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Rodney Stuckey underwent a completely negative cardiac evaluation under the direction of University of Michigan’s (Fred Morady, M.D.), Cleveland Clinic’s (Thomas Dresing, M.D.) and the Detroit Medical Center’s (Luis Alfonso, M.D.).

The combined opinion is that Rodney may return to a progressive exercise program.