A great perk of blogging is if you don’t have alot of time, you can always find someone else who does, and in this case just head on over to Absolute Michigan for video, links and more from Justin Verlander’s 1st career no-hitter, the 6th in Detroit Tiger history!

Read Justin Verlander pitches 1st Tiger no-hitter since 1984! at Absolute Michigan

Scott Warheit at Quo Vadimus has started an internet campaign to vote Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco as an All-Star starter and apparently IT IS WORKING!

Read Go to the Polls for Placido! All Star Campaign at Quo Vadimus
Go VOTE at MLB.com

Opinions on five current sports topics from yours truly…

1. Marissa Treece - The Glen Lake senior captured 3 more state titles on Saturday, giving her 10 in her track/cross-country career. She heads to Notre Dame this fall and we will follow along as she looks to star at the NCAA level.

Read Ten titles for Treece in the Record Eagle

2. What’s next for Pistons? - Lots of ideas are being talked about by fans including: Firing Flip, Trading Sheed, trying to trade for Kevin Garnett or Zack Randolph, and on and on. Not sure what Joe D is going to do, but I would definitely call Minnesota and see what they want for Garnett.

3. Beach Bums - A slow start to the season has the Bums in last place in the Central Division, 5.5 games back. It’s not going to get easier with 4 games against Kalamazoo looming, but the Bums are playing better and have lost a couple of close games.

4. Lions Scouting Reports - I don’t know if you have been following Killer Kowalski’s scouting reports as he is scouting a different Lion player every day, but I have and it’s been some great info. Kevin Jones is today, go check it out!

5a. Tigers finally beat Indians - Now everyone can relax a bit as the Tigers took the final two games in Cleveland to get within 2 1/2 games of Cleveland in the A.L. Central. The Tigers are showing what they are made of as they battle with injuries and keep getting big performances from Maggs and Sheffield.

5b. Two Near The Dugout, Please - Great article by Gren Eno looking back at some run-ins with Eric the ticket taker on his trips to Tiger Stadium.

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!

I’m not entirely shocked the Detroit Tigers are clinging to first place in the A.L. Central over the Cleveland Indians with the Chicago White Sox not far behind, but I am shocked at how they have done it. With injuries to some of the starters, a struggling bullpen, cold bats, and Jose Mesa pitching, they have been able to put together a strong case to make it back to the World Series. Sure they just lost 3 out of 4 to the A.L. East leading Boston Red Sox, but the bats just weren’t clicking in Beantown. They did manage to take 2 out of 3 from the A.L. West leader, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

I don’t look for the standings to change much before the All-Star Game.

I still think the Tigers will claim another American League Pennant, but who their opponent is going to be is anyone’s guess. My top 3 picks for the National League rep in the World Series are: New York Mets - the most balanced team in the NL; Atlanta Braves - looking to return to the postseason; and Milwaukee Brewers - are they this year’s Tigers?

The 2007 season isn’t even a third of the way done, but some of the teams above are flexing their muscles. It should be a great summer! Don’t forget if you are looking to catch a game at the ballpark this year, visit Ticket Solutions to secure top-quality tickets for your favorite team!

Do yourself a favor Tiger Fans and head on over to Brian’s site TigerBlog for some great Tiger coverage. He’s going to be running a contest starting Monday, May 21st, so be sure to get your trivia skills ready!

Read Ten Days, Ten Questions and a Way To Help Out Your Favorite Tiger Website at TigerBlog

The NFL Draft - I am in a NFL Draft contest again this year (last year I got 1 right) and I have absolutely no idea who is going where. The Lions have many options and they have to wait to see what the Raiders are going to do before they can get really serious about the draft. I like the Lions to trade down to #4 and then get Gaines Adams. It’s the position they need the most and Adams appears to be an impact player. Read Dan Wetzel’s column The misadventures of Millen if you want to laugh and be scared at the same time!

Maggs - Is it me, or is Magglio Ordonez quietly having a great start to 2007. He’s first on the Tigers in RBI’s, 2B’s, Runs, OBP, SLG & OPS, and he’s second in HR’s and BA, but no one’s talking about him. This is the Maggs that people weren’t sure we would ever see again, but he appears to be healthy and back to normal. I now it’s early, but Maggs playing like this is huge as Sheffield and the bottom of the order struggle.

Wings vs. Sharks - The Wings are in for a tough series, that should go seven games, and I like there chances with home-ice. They struggled against the Sharks during the regular season, losing 3 of 4, but they played two very solid games to finish off Calgary and will hopefully carry that momentum into tonight’s game. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost tonight either. It’s just going to be that kind of series.

Pistons vs. Magic - If Detroit is going to lose one, tonight’s the night. I just don’t see it happening. I think they will sweep the Magic and get some rest for the Bulls. Chicago is going to be the toughest team (and series) in the Eastern Conference.

High School Baseball - If you aren’t busy on Saturday, head over to Wuerfel Park to watch Lake Leelanau St. Mary take part in the inaugural Beach Bums Division 3 & 4 Invitational Tournament. The Eagles face Traverse City St. Francis at 10 AM, followed by Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart and Gaylord St. Mary’s at noon. A consolation and championship game will follow. Tickets are $5 for the entire day, and let me tell you Wuerfel Park is not a bad place to watch a game!

Random Stuff - Could less people be excited that Barry Bonds is now at 741 home runs? Seriously, no one cares outside of San Francisco. There’s not much better than Fantasy Baseball. Winning or losing, it’s just fun! I can’t wait for the Beach Bums season to start, it was exciting (and well played) baseball to watch last summer, and I look for more of the same as the Bums have added some good talent along with their “new” coach! Lots of people have Drew Stanton going very high in the draft, and I think be a good pick and could be a legitimate starter in the NFL!

On Sunday, countless Major League Baseball Players will be honoring Jackie Robinson by wearing his #42 on the field. The Detroit Tigers taking part are Gary Sheffield, Curtis Granderson, Marcus Thames, Craig Monroe and hitting coach Lloyd McClendon.

Read Many to take part in honoring Robinson in at MLB.com

Also, many players are doing their best to acknowledge what Larry Doby went through as he followed in Robinson’s footsteps…

Read Doby No. 2 behind the famous No. 42 at MLB.com

ESPN: The Magazine’s latest sports city power rankings are out in the latest issue and the Pistons, Red Wings and Tigers all make Detroit proud, while the “you-know-whos”, well, they don’t. Check it out!

Read Detroit is top-rated sports city … mostly at Absolute Michigan

On a unrelated note, I found this great quote about the cancellation of the Tigers game on Thursday due to snow and wind.

“I think if we were playing, Al Gore should have been there to throw out the first pitch,” first-base coach Andy Van Slyke quipped.

Van Slyke has always been a favorite of mine due to his all-out play, but when you factor in his antics and quotes he might be #1!

Seriously, I do. Greg’s post at Out of Bounds called 95 Reasons will show you why!

Opinions on five current Detroit & national sports topics from yours truly…

1. Opening Day - What a day, Ian calls it The Best Sports Day of the Year!, and that’s hard to argue, especially this year. The Tigers were raising a 2006 AL Pennant and Mitch Albom says fans are expecting more this season. The crowd was pumped and ready to roll, but then the first inning happened. Jeremy Bonderman struggled giving up 3 early runs and it proved to be too much for the Tigers to overcome as they fell 5-3 in 10 innings to the Toronto Blue Jays. It should be a fun season for Tiger fans, but there will be games like this, especially when you play 162 of them. I was just thinking how nice it’s going to be June or July when Kenny Rogers comes back for the 2nd half of the season. That could be just as nice as making a trade, provided the Tigers can stay in it with the steady veteran.

2. Wolverines hire Beilein - It hasn’t been officially confirmed by U of M yet, just by everyone else. It’s a move that makes sense, but I think the Wolverines settled a bit and could have tried to go after a bigger name. John Beilein is coming off an NIT Championship with West Virginia and the Wolverines do frequent the NIT so that could be good combo.

3. Girls High School Season Change - My opinion is right on with Mick McCabe’s so you might as well just read this to see how I feel as well. It’s going to be a tough adjustment, ultimately it will work out, but short-term there just won’t be enough good officials and coaches.

4. Pistons/Wings Ready for Playoffs - Both teams are getting healthy and readying for the stretch run as they battle for the top seeds in the playoffs. I like the chances of both as they are playing at a high level and winning playoff style games.

5. Florida Repeats! - I lost $5 on the championship game, as I took Ohio State for some crazy reason. Well, it’s not that crazy, I cheer for the Big Ten, if MSU or Michigan is out, but still Florida is just awesome! Now we just wait and see how big of a check Billy Donovan is going to cash.

With April Fool’s Day falling on the weekend, I just completely forgot about it. Luckily some others didn’t.

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!

A quick look on the internet showed me a couple of things maybe of interest to Tigers fans. First, Kenny Rogers has “arm fatique” and will be on the DL to start the season, missing at least one start. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come for the Tigers this season.

Second, former Tiger coach and player Kirk Gibson has joined the Arizona Diamondbacks coaching staff.

Also I was checking out the Free Press and if you are looking to score Tiger autographs, you had better be ready to fork out some cash!

Read Tiger autographs get big bucks at Freep.com

A look at the Detroit Tigers pitching staff from the eyes of Big Al at The Wayne Fontes Experience. He likes the Tigers pitchers alot, and breaks them down as only Big Al can. Enjoy!

Read The Detroit Tigers, contenders or pretenders? Part 1 - Pitching staff at The Wayne Fontes Experience

Here’s an article I stumbled upon talking about the AL Central compared to the rest of the league…

Read How the AL Central became baseball’s best at Fox Sports

One of my favorite days of the year is opening day, and on Monday, April 2nd, the Detroit Tigers will open their 2007 season at home versus the Toronto Blue Jays. Jeremy Bonderman gets the starting nod, as the Tigers look to defend their AL Pennant.

My prediction for 2007 is another strong season like last year. The AL Central might just be the best division in baseball and unfortunately one or two great teams might miss out on the playoffs (like the White Sox last season). The Tigers added the big bat they needed by trading for Gary Sheffield and other than that, the roster is pretty much the same. Pitching will be the key for the Tigers run to the playoffs, but with another year under their belts, the Tigers young arms should be ready for the challenge.

Read Detroit Tigers Opening Day 2007 at Absolute Michigan

This has nothing to do with the Tigers or Opening Day, but Rasheed Wallace hit a 60-footer last night to send the game into overtime versus Nuggets. The Pistons went on to win, check out the highlights!

Opinions on five current Detroit & national sports topics from yours truly…

1. March Madness - My brackets are decorated with lots of red X’s but I still have my champions left (Kansas in my “A” bracket and Georgetown in the “B”). I admit I haven’t watched any games yet, and for some reason gave up listening to sports radio for Lent (I clearly wasn’t thinking), but I just haven’t been that excited about it. Not many upsets and some blowouts don’t keep people on the edge of their seats.

2. Justin Verlander - He has struggled this spring, but I think everyone can relax as he didn’t throw much over the winter. He will be back to normal by April 1st. I like him to win 17 or 18 games again this year as he continues to learn how to pitch…

3. Todd Bertuzzi - His debut is now here, but Babcock isn’t expecting much right now. All eyes will be on Bertuzzi in the playoffs though as by then he should have some games under his belt and be moving close to full speed. He was a great addition and should help the Wings stay physical in the playoffs.

4. Chauncey Billups - This injury could be a blessing in disguise as Billups get some rest before the playoffs. A fresh, healthy Billups will guarantee the Pistons a trip to the Finals. Now about Rip’s struggles…

5. Michigan Basketball - I am a huge Spartans fan, but I would just love to see Tom Crean get the job just to go head-to-head with Tom Izzo. You would have two terrific and competitive programs. That would be something to see. If I was hiring right now, I would be looking towards West Virginia for my next coach…

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!

Absolute Michigan has put together a great page that will help you get a jump-start on 2007 Detroit Tigers Spring Training. The Tigers will be out to prove that 2006 wasn’t a fluke and with the addition of Gary Sheffield in the middle of the lineup, I think they will. Pitchers and catchers report on Friday, which means spring can’t be far behind. Right?

Read Spring Training with the Detroit Tigers at Absolute Michigan