Leelanau Sports Guy’s World at sportspig.com

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.

by Steve St-Pierre

Pistons point guard Rodney Stuckey collapsed on the team’s bench at the 2:30 mark of the third quarter of Detroit’s loss last night in Cleveland to the Cavaliers. He was carried out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask and transported to Cleveland Clinic.

Tests came back negative, and the team says Stuckey should return to Detroit today. The 23-year-old guard experienced similar dizziness last season and wound up missing two games. He’s started every game for the Pistons this season, but should he have to miss time, veterans Will Bynum, Ben Gordon and Chucky Atkins would likely split the minutes at point guard.

It was an emotional scene following the game when both teams huddled and prayed for Stuckey and his family. Members of both teams admitted to be shaken by the incident and remained adamant that his health was more important than the game itself.

Just got a heads up about a new commercial that will air one-time only during the Final Four on Saturday. Here’s the details and a sneek peak at the commercial featuring former Detroit Pistons Rick Mahorn and Kelly Tripucka, and former tennis great John McEnroe.

The Final Four on CBS this Saturday will be interrupted by John McEnroe.  The three-time Wimbledon and four-time US Open Champion, who recently turned 50, will be serving up a bit of humor for the 50 year-olds watching the Final Four on CBS this Saturday. Mac, alongside 50 year-old hoopsters Kelly Tripucka and Rick Mahorn, will appear in a vignette that will ONLY air one-time encouraging men to visit www.50over50challenge.com and get serious about their prostate health (specifically enlarging prostate).

Check it out!

Surfing the web at lunch, I stumbled upon an article by josh q. public titled Grant Hill: Iron Man?. It was Grant Hill’s 75th game of the season last night and it means he has played in all of the Phoenix Suns games this season. But here’s what struck me the most…

He was NBA Rookie the Year.  He made All-Star team after All Star team.  All-NBA first team.  Led the NBA in triple-doubles.  Twice.  Get the papers, get the papers.  First player since Larry Legend to average 20 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in a season.  Nobody’s done it since.  Nobody.  Joined the Stilt and Elgin Baylor as the only players in NBA history to lead their teams in scoring, rebounding and assists more than once.

I had forgotten how dominant a player Grant Hill was in the beginning of his career with the Detroit Pistons, luckily this video helped me remember!

I remember some of those plays, wow!

WOW! That was the first word I thought of when I read this. People have always talked about the Pistons lack of a true “superstar” and this trade would instantly remove that label. Allen Iverson would bring some serious star power to a team and might even make them the favorites in the East. Plus, as an added bonus, it potentially frees up major cash for next summer’s free agent class!

Read Sources: Nuggets to acquire Billups in agreed-to Iverson trade at ESPN.com

Updated: Read Piston fans reactions here!

My View: A great trade. I didn’t like Chauncey’s contract to begin with as his skills are starting to decline and we were going to have to watch it for the next couple of seasons. Iverson will be playing for a new and probably last large contract, so you know he’ll behave and give his best effort. Plus it allows more minutes for the young core especially Stuckey and Maxiell. All in all, I’ll miss what the consistency that Chauncey and Dice gave us, but the possibility of Iverson lighting it up for 40 on any given night will be fun to watch. I think this trade makes the Pistons the best team in the East!

Here’s the details…

Coach Michael Curry will lead a Detroit Pistons contingent that will be in Traverse City today for a pep rally from 3-6 p.m.

The Traverse City stop is part of a six-city tip-off tour for the NBA team. The tour will also include Scott Perry, vice president of basketball operations; guards Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo; and broadcasters George Blaha and Greg Kelser.

The Pistons year-round hoops truck, featuring interactive games, will be on hand at the corner of Union and Front streets for the outside pep rally. The Pistons’ dance team “Automotion” will perform. Blaha and Kelser will host a short program previewing the upcoming season with Curry, Stuckey and Afflalo addressing the crowd. The traveling party will also be available for autographs.

The event is free and open to the pubic.

Read Pistons tour stops in Traverse City today in the Record Eagle

Mitch Albom sat down with Detroit Pistons and Detroit Shock owner Bill Davidson recently and Davidson shared his thoughts on former players, his Hall of Fame induction, and much more in this great interview with one of the best owners in the history of Michigan sports.

Read Hall-bound Bill Davidson on all the banners and all the bummers in the Freep

Just a quick post to videos of the best dunks, clutch plays and more from the 2007-2008 NBA regular season and playoffs. Some of those dunks are amazing!

View Top 10s of the Regular Season and Playoffs at NBA.com

Opinions on five current sports topics from yours truly…

1. Tigers are done – It’s all over but the cryin’ in 2008. Another blown lead last night puts the Tigers 8.5 games back in the divsion race. Sheffield was put on waivers and the moves looking to slash payroll and ready the team for a run in 2009 will start now!

2. Kwame Brown? – The signing of Brown has brought opinions saying it’s a waste of money and that it’s a good deal for the Pistons. It’s hard to argue either side, but I think Joe D may have found another diamond in the rough and if the solid veteran leadership of Chauncey, Rip and McDyess can bring Kwame along, he could be a pleasant surpise and really help shore up the depth on the frontline.

3. Lions over .500 – That’s my official prediction, I have this weird feeling that the Lions are going to finish 9-7 and contend for a wild card berth. While this isn’t a new prediction around these parts, I think this is really, finally, positively, the year they get over that hump. I know on paper they seem less talented, but I think that head coach Rod Marinelli has finally gotten the roster where he wants it and has gotten rid of the players he’s needed to. I still think they will struggle to run the ball, but they won’t be so quick to abandon it either. A healthy Calvin Johnson is going to be huge for quarterback Jon Kitna. Johnson and Roy Williams should provide some offensive sparks this season. I’m looking forward to it!

4. College Football – It’s finally almost here! I can’t wait. I like Michigan and Michigan State to both have solid years and for the first time in a while MSU will have the better record. I just love Mark Dantonio and think he’s got the Spartans heading up, up, up and will be a mainstay in the Big Ten title race for years to come. Rich Rodriguez is still looking for quarterbacks but will have his team competitive and tough to play against defensively.

5. Shock visit TC – A neat experience on Monday for some Traverse City area youth girls basketball players as the Detroit Shock (minus Katie Smith who is playing in the Olympics) visited during the Olympic break for a camp and clinic at Traverse City West. I love to see stories like this and I am sure it’s something those girls won’t forget anytime soon.

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

My Detroit Insider has informed me that Flip has been fired and that…

Michael Curry seems to be the front runner.

Stay tuned for more info as the Pistons have announced a press conference for 2 p.m. today!

Read Pistons say Flip Saunders won’t return as coach at ESPN.com

to be a sports fan. Here’s a list of the highlights:

Pistons even series with Celtics
Chauncey Billups looked like himself and the rest of the Pistons fell into their normal roles and it all added up to a 103-97 win over Boston to even the Eastern Conference Finals at 1 game each. The best part for me was that Boston’s “Big 3″ had great games, but no one else stepped up. The Pistons balance and depth showed it’s strengths and it was too much for the Celtics role players to handle.

Tigers sweep Mariners
It’s not exactly sweeping Boston or the Chisox, but it’s a start. Good pitching and clutch hitting with runners in scoring position has been a rare sight this year, so I’ll take it!

Marinelli likes his team
Killer Kowalski has this story about Lions head coach Rod Marinelli and his improvements to the roster. One word he uses alot is “speed”.

Beach Bums improve to 2-0
Yours truly was in attendance and we saw a great pitching performance by Ryan Gehring as the Traverse City Beach Bums defeated the Midwest Sliders 4-2. It was cold, but alot of fun. I highly recommend a “Bum Burger” – delicious!

Yahoo! Sports Dan Wetzel writes about the Pistons impressive run and the man responsible for it.

Read Pistons’ brightest star might be their GM at Yahoo! Sports

No Chauncey Billups. No problem. Rip Hamilton (31 points) and Rodney Stuckey (15 points, 6 assists) helped the Pistons earn another trip to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 91-86 victory over Orlando. The Pistons won the series 4-1 and now await the winner of Boston and Cleveland, who are currently tied at 2-2 in their semifinal. it’s Detroit’s 6th straight trip to the Eastern Conference Final.

The Pistons couldn’t be sitting much prettier right now, besides the Billups injury that is. Rip has found his rhythm and Stuckey has shown how much he’s learned this year and played perhaps his best game as a pro in the series clincher. I like the Pistons chances against either team for the Eastern Title add to that a healthy and rested Billups and the Pistons backcourt will be a tough matchup.

Read Hamilton-led Pistons eliminate Magic in Game 5 at Yahoo! Sports

The family and the day job has taken up all of my time as of late, but I plan on posting regularly (or at least as regular as I ever post) soon. That doesn’t mean I haven’t paid any attention to the ups and downs of our trusty Detroit teams…

Detroit Pistons
That was a big win in Game 4 without Chauncey Billups, and I thought it had basically clinched the series, then Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson went and guaranteed a victory. I believe that will wrap it up as all of us know only one person does guarantees around here! Now about the MVP of Game 4, Antonio McDyess, I’ll let Greg Eno tell you about that!

Detroit Red Wings
Chris Osgood and Johan Franzen have been the two great stories of this year’s playoffs, and it’s been fun so far for the Wings. It looks like Pavel Datsyuk is trying to join the party with a hat trick to lead the Wings to a 5-2 win in Game 3 and a 3-0 series lead. I’ve been listening to the Wings when I can (remember no TV here!) and I have to say I am more and more impressed with Mike Babcock every game. The guy is a terrific coach and gets everything he can out of everyone on the roster.

Detroit Tigers
Ugly. That’s the word we’ve used to describe the Tigers play after most of their games this season. It hasn’t been pretty, but it is showing signs of turning around. Luckily for the Tigers everyone else in the A.L. Central has been almost as inconsistent as them, so they are right in the thick of things. If Justin Verlander and the rest of the starters can figure out how to make it through 6 innings anytime soon, then the Tigers will be in great shape. The offense is picking up and some players (like Gary Sheffield) are finally swinging the bats better. It’s still going to be a fun summer at Comerica!

Detroit Lions
Nothing too exciting about the draft and that’s probably one of the best things for the Lions. They drafted Rod Marinelli-type guys and should be faster and hopefully tougher next season. A more dangerous than it looks schedule doesn’t do them any favors, but I do an improvement on the 7-9 record of a year ago. Will it be enough to make the playoffs? In the NFC you just never know.

Well that’s it for now, I’ll be bringing you Traverse City Beach Bums updates as they begin their 3rd summer in TC. I was just told my Aunt will have her company tickets in hand this week, so I’m looking forward to picking out my games. I hope to make the All-Star Game and skills challenge, I think that will be fun!

I missed it until reading about it in the Detroit News today. Check out this block by Detroit Pistons 3rd-year forward Jason Maxiell on the New Orleans Hornets Tyson Chandler…