Still the best words in sports

June 11, 2019

Despite the sheer volume of them in this year’s NHL playoffs, there are still no two words better than these: Game Seven. Yes, thanks to a 5-1 victory Sunday by the visiting Boston Bruins, the Stanley Cup Finals are going to a Game Seven, in Boston. After two straight wins by the St. Louis Blues to even the series at 2-2 and then take the lead, 3-2, before heading home for Sunday’s contest, the Blues could not continue to feed off their emotions at home, and what seemed like an even contest at 1-0 going into the final frame turned into nothing less than an unmitigated ...

Independent sports are way down

June 5, 2019

Looking at the state of the so-called “independent” sports in our area, it’s hard to believe things have changed so much. By independent, I’m talking about baseball and softball for the most part. Those were the main sports played by people beyond high school age in the past. Baseball is still going …. but not even close to past seasons. The Twilight League, which once had as many as two divisions and 14 teams, is down to four teams. And that’s been the case for the past decade or so. The four-team format number is considered the minimum by most organizers. In our ...

1984 was a long time ago, Tigers

May 29, 2019

There’s a reason why the seats at Comerica Park are mostly empty this season. And it’s not all because this year’s edition of the Detroit Tigers is dreadfully bad. Tigers fans are beginning to realize that 1984 was a long time ago …. and that there has been no World Series flags hanging over the stadium since then. Sure, the team tries to remind fans of that glorious season all the time. They play clips from 1984, showing Jack Morris throwing his no-hitter; Kirk Gibson belting his long homer into the right field stands in the final game of the Series; or Larry Herndon ...

Sure bets for coming of apocalypse

May 22, 2019

It’s been said for some time that the signs of the apocalypse are with us right now. And without even considering — or even factoring in the situation in Washington D.C. — I can see enough in sports alone that should have everyone very worried. Take the recent selection of the Lephrachaun mascot at the University of Notre Dame. For the first time, the Irish mascot, known for his antics on the sidelines with a shillelagh, will have a female as one of three persons filling the role in 2019. Now, the Leprachaun is an iconic figure at Notre Dame, In the movie, “Rudy,” ...

Refs are not to blame

May 21, 2019

There is an epidemic in our culture. It has permeated into sports culture in waves and we need to stop it before it takes root permanently. That epidemic is blame. We are always looking for blame, someone to blame, something to blame. In sports, this manifests as blame of referees. That is why this has to stop. Referees, in general, are not to blame when it comes to sports. This year in the NHL playoffs, we have see missed calls and mistakes throughout. These things happen. However, we have also seen referees take the blame for a large chunk of it. It is not their fault. As I ...

Bucks, Brewers are both legit

May 15, 2019

I was recently listening to one of those late night sports shows when I heard something that really surprised me. Now, I don’t normally pay much attention to these so-called “shock jocks.” They almost always originate from the West or East Coast — where they assume the only real sports are in their backyard. On this night, the subject was the NBA playoffs and the rude (as always) host was certain the Kyrie Irving-led Celtics and Kawhi Leonard-led Raptors were going to the league’s Eastern Conference championship game. He dismissed the Milwaukee Bucks as a “one-season ...