Wezzul.com - It's the Dinglez

Well, since the last time I posted, things have most certainly taken a turn for the worse as far as Detroit sports are concerned. Most recently, the Tigers lost three of four to the Yankees, and four in a row overall, being shutout twice in a span of two days. However, after last nights bottom of the ninth, come from behind win against the Bronx Bombers, things are looking a bit better. The Tigers begin a weekend series with the Boston Red Sox today, continuing their three series streak of playing some of the best teams in the AL (the next series is against division rival Chicago White Sox). To be considered one of the elite teams in the league, they need to have a good showing over the next six games, especially since they lost three of four to New York. Sure, the Tigers are still in first place, sure, they still have the best record in the major league, but when you play the Kansas City Royals as much as the Tigers do, that definitely helps.

The Detroit Pistons now stand behind in their Eastern Conference Finals series with the Miami Heat, three games to two. Games three and four both showed why Dwayne Wade is considered one of the premiere players in the league right now. Not only can he drive the basket and make circus shots, but since last year, his jump shot has greatly improved. He's also clutch. Like Michael Jordan kind of clutch. He wants the ball with the game on the line, and he hits when it is. The Pistons did win game five though, facing elimination for the third time in these playoffs (two elimination games against Cleveland), and looked good doing it. The defense was smothering, the offense was potent, and they kept Wade and Shaq in check enough to win the game. That leaves two more games, that are both must win for the Pistons. The first of those is tonight, we'll see what comes of it.

Briefs:

*Mike Maroth, who is probably having his best season as a Tiger (due in part to Kenny Rogers' arrival) is having arthroscopic surgery on his elbow today to remove bone chips and could be out up to three months. This is a huge setback for the Tigers, as they don't have a readily available starter to come in and take over. Roman Colon started for Maroth on Tuesday. He gave up five runs in two inning of work. On Sunday, Zach Miner is starting. Let's hope he can do a better job.

*Dmitri Young is still a jackass. He is currently attending to "personal issues", and is probably still hurt. The Tigers aren't saying shit about it, and neither is he. Marcus Thames is filling in nicely at DH.

*Wings signed three former drafts picks, goalie Stefan Liv, forward Evan McGrath, and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson. The only one I've heard of is Liv. Not sure about the skill level of these guys, but all three are expected to play in Grand Rapids next season, so don't look for too much.

*The Lions left Shaun King go. Huge surprise. I was hoping they'd start the season with something like two dozen quarterbacks and forty-five receivers. Oh well. They also signed guard Ross Verba. Who?

*The Lions did re-sign Jeff Backus which is a big deal since he's pretty much the only guy on the o-line worth a damn in Detroit. Not to say he's worth THAT much of a damn, but the offensive line has been bad enough that even a slight step backwards would destroy the entire team. Not that that's a bad thing

As an aside, over the next month, I have no less than four Detroit Tigers games scheduled, starting tonight with the game against Boston (Schilling vs. Rogers!). I also have tickets to all three games at Wrigley field on the 16th, 17th, and 18th. With the way the Chicago Cubs have been playing, winning 5 of their last 25, those should be fun games to watch.

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