Thoughts from DB

[detroitbasketball]

Since nobody posts here much anymore anyway, I'm starting a thread that I'll use as a sports blog of sorts. Feel free to reply, comment, insult, mock, degrade, or whatever you wish amongst my drivel.

[detroitbasketball]

My first feature: counting down my personal top five biggest sports heartbreakers. I'll write about one each day, starting right now:

#5 - Game Six, 2006 Western Conference Quarterfinal



After winning the Stanley Cup with an absolutely loaded team in 2002, the Red Wings quickly fell into a habit of early disappointing playoff defeats, generally at the hands of a red-hot opposing goaltender.. As a #2 seed in 2003, they were shockingly swept in the first round by the eventual Western Conference champion Ducks after Curtis Joseph imploded and J.S. Giguere did not. In 2004 as the top seed, they made it to the second round against Calgary and, with the series tied 2-2, were promptly eliminated with back-to-back 1-0 shutout losses, the second of which in overtime - Mikka Kiprusoff still haunts me to this day.

2006 was the first post-lockout Stanley Cup playoff, and the Wings were as good as ever, once again posting the most points in the Western Conference during the regular season. They entered as the overwhelming favorites against the 8th-seeded Oilers, who had barely squeaked into the playoffs.

Indeed, the Red Wings won game one of the series in double overtime, and seemed to have momentum on their side - but the Oilers stole home ice in game two with a 4-2 victory. Game three was another double overtime thriller, but this time it was the Oilers who won - after a Red Wings goal was waved off in the first overtime period.

Facing a 3-1 series deficit, the Wings won game four 4-2, reclaiming home ice and setting up a pivotal fifth game in Detroit. Edmonton, unfazed, shot out to a 3-0 lead. The Red Wings narrowed it to 3-2, but could not get the tying goal, and the Oilers led the series 3-2 headed to Edmonton for game six.

The Red Wings jumped ahead early in the sixth game, and started the third period with a 2-0 lead, just 20 minutes away from a decisive seventh game at home. However, the Oilers struck quickly, tying the game at 2 within ten minutes on a pair of goals by Fernando Pisani. Johan Franzen would give the Red Wings a 3-2 lead again with 9:53 to go.

It would be the tying goal that caused the most consternation. First, it appeared as if Shawn Horcoff committed a high sticking penalty just before the goal was scored, which was not called and is unreviewable. It also appeared, however, that the scorer, Ales Hemsky, may have kicked the puck into the net, which would have wiped out the score. The play was reviewed for several minutes, and it did count - for years, I still contended that Hemsky kicked it in, although he really didn't as he was pushed by Nick Lindstrom - nonetheless, I'm bitter, and there was still a no-call on the high stick. The game was tied with 3:53 to play, and Hemsky would score again with 1:06 to go, sending the Red Wings to another first-round exit and prompting this legendary reaction:

May 1, 2006 21:53:27 GMT -5 detroitbasketball said:

THAT 3RD GOAL WAS NOT A GOAL! HE KICKED IT IN! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY! WATCH SPORTSCENTER! NOT TO MENTION THE HIGH STICK!

The series was, mercifully, the end of the Manny Legace era in Detroit. This doesn't rank higher because that guy was never backstopping us to a Stanley Cup anyway.

Also, fun fact: Since their cup win in 2002, every single Western Conference champion not named the Red Wings actually beat Detroit in the playoffs the year they won. Look it up.

In the end, the Red Wings would win another cup in 2008. Red Wings moments don't rank higher because it's easy to forget the lows with all the success they've had in the past fifteen years.

Highlights from the 3rd Period From Hell on Youtube:



Tomorrow, the #4 moment is unveiled. Stay tuned.

[Freak93]

So um, when do the chicks get here?

[Buzz Killington]

When DB figures out that no one (save a gifted few) wants to hear about his suffering, and makes a list of the top ten chicks he'd most like to bone.

[detroitbasketball]

Overdue, so here are moments #4 and #3 will come in the next post.

#4 - Game four, 2006 World Series



Nobody thought the Tigers would win the 2006 American League pennant, at the beginning of the season - in fact, they weren't expected to contend. But they rolled through the regular season, spending most of it in first place, until being swept by the last-place Royals on the last weekend of the regular season cost them the division and relegated them to the wild card spot.

Nobody expected them to advance past the first round, but they reeled off seven consecutive wins over the Yankees and Athletics to win their first pennant in 22 years. They faced off against the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2006 World Series, where the Tigers were heavily favored to beat the 83-win Cardinals.

Things did not go as planned as St. Louis stole home field in game one, as AL Rookie of the Year Justin Verlander was outpitched by fellow rookie Anthony Reyes - whose regular season record to date is 13-26, including a sterling 2-14 mark the following year. After the Tigers won game two, Chris Carpenter shut them down in game three, setting up a pivotal fourth game in St. Louis.

Game four was pushed back a day after a rainout, and the matchup was Jeremy Bonderman against Jeff Suppan. The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning, but the Cardinals crawled back into it with runs in the 3rd and 4th innings to make it 3-2. The score held that way until the bottom of the seventh inning, which proved to be a turning point in the series.

Keep in mind that game four had originally been a washout, and the field conditions were still very wet. Leading off the seventh, David Eckstein hit what looked to be a routine fly ball to center field - but Curtis Granderson lost his footing on the wet grass and the ball sailed over his head for a leadoff double. The next batter, So Taguchi, tried to sacrifice Eckstein to third - he dropped down a bunt back to pitcher Fernando Rodney, who threw it over the head of Placido Polanco covering first. Eckstein scored and Taguchi took second on the error - one of eight made by the Tigers in the series, and one of five made by Tigers pitchers. Albert Pujols was intentionally walked, and Rodney struck out Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen, leaving him one out away from escaping the inning with a 3-3 tie - but Preston Wilson hit a single just past a diving Carlos Guillen to give St. Louis a 4-3 lead.

The Tigers would tie the game in the top of the eighth with a Brandon Inge double, but the tie would not last long. With two out and a runner at second, Joel Zumaya gave up a fly ball to - guess who? - Eckstein. Left fielder Craig Monroe dove for the ball, but it hit the edge of his glove. Eckstein had a double and the Cardinals had a 5-4 lead that they would not relinquish. They won game four and took a 3-1 series lead.

Sometimes, you're hopeful that your team can rebound from a 3-1 deficit, but the deflating loss in game four left little hope of a comeback. The Tigers would lose game five and the series, and have not been back to the postseason since. Detroit actually led 4 of the 5 games in the 2006 World Series, but only won once. Had the Tigers held on in game four, it would have at least ensured a sixth game in Detroit.

Click here for a comparison of Curt Flood's slip in game seven of the 1968 World Series to Granderson's fall. (I only link to this because it's the only available shot of Granderson's slip.)

#3 coming next.

[detroitbasketball]

#3 - Game Seven, 2009 Stanley Cup Finals



The Red Wings matched up with the Penguins for the second straight time in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Red Wings having won in 6 games in 2008.

The result looked like it was going to be similar after the Red Wings won the first two games by identical 3-1 scores. The Penguins, however, would win games 3 and 4 at home by identical scores of 4-2. Game five in Detroit was a Red Wings blowout, 5-0, putting Detroit on the brink.

Game six in Pittsburgh went to the home team, 2-1. I admittedly was unconcerned. I thought there was no way Pittsburgh could win a game seven in Detroit.

The Penguins went ahead 2-0 as Max Talbot scored two second period goals. Jonathan Ericsson finally scored at 13:53 of the third period, cutting it to 2-1. The last four minutes of play featured a flurry of Red Wings chances to tie the game, but after several tremendously close calls, the Penguins survived and won game seven on the road to clinch the Stanley Cup.

For much of the game, the Red Wings looked tired, even uninspired. It was more shocking than disappointing, as I thought there was no way Detroit was losing game seven at home.

And admittedly, I have not seen any photo or video of Sidney Crosby raising the cup, or the traditional team photo. And I intend to keep it that way.

Below is the final 3:23 of game seven. Feel free to watch, because I can't.



Tomorrow: #2.

[Jewel27]

Go Pens baby!!! haha

[detroitbasketball]

I owe you two today. Hang tight.

[Freak93]

Nov 24, 2009 15:19:22 GMT -5 Jewel27 said:

Go Pens baby!!! haha

Because you appreciate Ron Francis...

[detroitbasketball]

#2 - Robert Horry



June 19, 2005, game five of the 2005 NBA Finals. The first four games of the series had been blowouts - the first two in San Antonio to the Spurs, the latter two in Detroit to the Pistons. Game five was the classic many had anticipated between two defensive juggernauts that clashed in an all-out battle for the title (which of course translates to horrible ratings. God forbid nobody scores 100 points.)

Game five was a back-and-forth affair - the Pistons led 23-21 after 1, it was 42-42 at halftime, San Antonio led 64-63 after 3, and it was 89-89 at the end of regulation. It was a classic see-saw battle.

In overtime, it was Detroit who gained the upper hand. They jumped ahead early and had chances to put the game away, but the Spurs had possession of the ball, down two, with 9 seconds to go.

Robert Horry, famous for hitting huge shots with both the Lakers and the Spurs, inbounded to Manu Ginobili. Rasheed Wallace was supposed to guard the inbounder. He did not. Ginobili found a wide-open Horry beyond the arc, who drilled the three to give the Spurs a one point lead with 5.8 seconds to go. The Pistons could not score on the ensuing possession, and the pivotal fifth game went to San Antonio in stunning fashion.

The Pistons would win game six in San Antonio, but game seven was an 81-74 hard-fought victory for the Spurs, who foiled Detroit's bid for their second consecutive NBA title. Had Horry missed, the series probably would have gone to the Pistons. The blame lies with Rasheed Wallace.

The Pistons have not been back to the NBA Finals since, and many of the core players on the powerhouses of 2003-2005 have since departed. It would also prove to be the final series of Larry Brown's Detroit career because he was an idiot who wanted his "dream job" coaching the Knicks. That worked out real well and now he's stuck in Charlotte, aka NBA purgatory. Sucks to be you, Larry.

The Shot, via Youtube:



Number one coming when I get to it. It may be obvious by now.

[Just Blaze]

I was wondering when you were gonna post the Robert Horry heroics......that was some classic stuff

[JacktheRipper]

Nov 25, 2009 0:14:14 GMT -5 Freak93 said:

Nov 24, 2009 15:19:22 GMT -5 Jewel27 said:

Go Pens baby!!! haha

Because you appreciate Ron Francis...

Man, that bugs you huh?

[detroitbasketball]

#1 - Game 163



I don't like to write about this one. I'd rather not remember it.

Let's make one thing clear - the 2009 Tigers weren't a playoff team. Neither were the Twins, as evidenced by their rolling over against the Yankees in the ALDS. Therefore, when the two met on October 6, 2009, in a one-game playoff for the AL Central title, it was the equivalent of game seven of the World Series, because neither one of them were beating New York.

The preceding weekend for the Tigers was essentially a series of Murphy's Law events. They had led the division by 7 games at the beginning of September, but that lead had been whittled to one by a streaking Minnesota team. The two clubs met in Detroit for a four-game set the final Monday-Thursday of the week. If the Tigers won 3 of 4, they were the division champs. 2 of 4 would put them in great shape, but 1 of 4 would leave them in second place. Game one, as it turned out, would be rained out, forcing a frenetic 4-games-in-3-days set that many expected would decide the Central.

The Tigers lost game one of that series 3-2 in 10 innings, failing several times to score runners from 2nd or 3rd base. In the nightcap on Tuesday, they jumped out to a 6-1 lead behind ace Justin Verlander - but the Twins fought back, leaving the tying run at second as the Tigers survived for a 6-5 win. On Wednesday, the Tigers fell behind early, and it looked like it was going to be a long night - but they quickly roared ahead 7-2 and never looked back. With a win on Thursday, the Tigers could clinch their first division title since 1987.

But the team came out flat, and the Twins won handily - however, if they won two of three from Chicago, the division was theirs. They may not even need that, it was reasoned, because Royals ace Zack Greinke was on the mound for the Royals in game two of their series at Minnesota. One Tigers win and one Twins loss would ice the division for Detroit.

But that's where it all went wrong. Miguel Cabrera showed up to Friday's game with numerous facial bruises. It was later revealed that he had gone out drinking with unnamed White Sox players, returned home with a BAC of .26, and got into a fight with his wife, forcing Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski to pick him up at the police station at 6:30 Friday morning. That night, the Tigers lost 8-0. Cabrera went hitless. On the same night, the Twins beat Kansas City. Detroit's AL Central lead - which they had held since May 10th - was reduced to 1 game.

On Saturday, eventual AL Cy Young Award winner Greinke took the mound against Minnesota in a nationally-televised game. To this point, he had given up just 4+ ERs in a start four times all year. As it turned out, he was outpitched by Nick Blackburn. Minnesota jumped ahead 4-0 before Kansas City tied the game with 1 in the 7th and 3 in the 8th. But in the bottom of the 8th, Mike Cuddyer hit a solo home run, and the Twins had beaten Greinke and the Royals 5-4.

The Tigers had to respond. They did not. They fell behind 4-0. In the bottom of the 8th, their first three batters reached, and an RBI single made it 4-1 with 0 out and the heart of the order coming up. Magglio Ordonez lined out to short, and Cabrera - under a storm of controversy and scrutiny for his pennant race debauchery - hit into an inning-ending double play. The threat was over, and so was the ballgame. The White Sox won 5-1. For the first time since June 29, the Tigers were not alone in first place.

The Tigers had to win Sunday to guarantee that they would get at least one more shot. Justin Verlander ensured they would with a 5-3 victory. The Twins also won again, setting up a one-game playoff at the Metrodome, which had been a house of horrors for the Tigers for over two decades.

The game started off promisingly enough, as Cabrera, still under fire from media and fans alike, blasted a 2-run home run in the 3rd to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. However, the Twins would fight back. They made it 3-1 in the 3rd and 3-2 in the 6th, where Tigers managed Jim Leyland controversially pulled starter Rick Porcello - who had been cruising - and brought in Zach Miner. In the 7th, Miner would give up a 2-run go-ahead homer to Orlando Cabrera to put the Twins ahead 4-3.

Magglio Ordonez, maligned all season for his underproducing ways, tied the game with a leadoff homer in the 8th. In the 10th inning, Detroit went ahead with a 2-out double by Brandon Inge, putting them ahead 5-4 and leaving them three outs away from the pennant.

But in the bottom of the 10th, leadoff man Michael Cuddyer hit a sinking liner to left. Left fielder Ryan Raburn attempted to make a shoestring catch instead of fielding a one-hop single. The ball got by Raburn, and Cuddyer had a leadoff triple. He later scored, and the Tigers narrowly got out of the inning when Raburn threw the would-be winning run out at the plate on a sac fly.

But in the bottom of the 12th, the Twins put the leadoff man on. A groundout moved him to second, and an intentional walk to set up the double play followed. But Alexi Casilla singled in Carlos Gomez, and the Twins won the pennant.

An analysis of the game shows that the Tigers had more than their fair share of chances to tack on extra runs:

Top 2nd - 0-0: Tigers have 1st and 3rd with 1 out. Brandon Inge lines softly to shortstop and Gerald Laird pops out to short left field. Nobody scores.

Top 4th - 3-1 Tigers: Ryan Raburn singles to lead off the inning. Brandon Inge pops out. Gerald Laird grounds into a double play. Nobody scores.

Top 7th - 3-2 Tigers: Brandon Inge draws a leadoff walk. Gerald Laird pops out on a sac bunt attempt, forcing Inge to stay at first. After a Ramon Santiago flyout and a Curtis Granderson single, Placido Polanco grounds weakly to short with runners on the corners. Nobody scores.

Top 8th - 4-4: After Magglio Ordonez’s leadoff home run tied the game, Miguel Cabrera grounds out. Then, Matt Guerrier walks both Carlos Guillen and Ryan Raburn, putting 2 on with 1 out. Brandon Inge pops out to second on a 2-0 pitch. Gerald Laird strikes out. Nobody scores.

Top 9th - 4-4: Back to back singles to lead off the inning put runners at the corners with nobody out. A fly ball would give the Tigers a 5-4 lead with 3 outs to go. Placido Polanco strikes out looking on a controversial third strike call by Randy Marsh. Magglio Ordonez hits a screaming liner right at Orlando Cabrera at shortstop, who turns and doubles off Curtis Granderson at first. Nobody scores.

Top 12th - 5-5: The Tigers have 2nd and 3rd with one out. Bobby Keppel intentionally walks Ryan Raburn to load the bases. Brandon Inge appears to have a pitch graze his jersey - this would have forced in the go-ahead run. Randy Marsh does not call the HBP. Inge chops one up the middle to second, and Nick Punto forces Miguel Cabrera at the plate. Gerald Laird strikes out swinging at ball four. Nobody scores.

The game was probably the most epic of the baseball season, but the Tigers left countless men on base and ended up losing as a result. The Twins went to the playoffs and were swept by eventual champion New York. The Tigers were left only to ponder what could have been.

This concludes the depressing series. Now I can write about something else.

[detroitbasketball]

Presentation in Sports Video Games: The Gauntlet Hath Been Laid Down



With the release of NCAA Basketball 10, EA Sports has officially laid down the gauntlet when it comes to presentation in sports video games. With the full integration of ESPN and CBS licenses - complete with a separate announcing crew for each network - they have, by most accounts, put together one of the finest presentations in the industry, with completely accurate graphics packages for each network.

And presentation should not be underestimated. For at least a short time, even a mediocre game can draw in a player if the presentation is top-notch. ESPN NFL 2K5 was a good game all-around, but the full use of the ESPN license undoubtedly helped its cause - heck, there are some out there who would rather play this on the original Xbox than upgrade to a next-gen system and opt for a current iteration of the Madden series.

Now that EA has upped the ante with their college basketball release, how can other sports integrate TV-style presentation?

Let's start with the NCAA counterpart, college football. The NCAA Football series once upon a time did have the ESPN license, which they made some use out of - but they did not fully integrate graphics packages and the like into the gameplay. As far as I know, that licensing deal expired. EA has used Brad Nessler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit as the announcing crew for years now, so a full ESPN integration would make sense - especially since ESPN televises most every college football game, with the exception of CBS's coverage of the SEC and FOX's inexplicable deal to broadcast all non-Rose Bowl BCS games, a deal which expires after 2010, when ESPN will take over.

Moving to the pro sports, the NBA seems ripe for some sort of licensing deal. ESPN broadcasts a number of NBA games, but the league has mostly been linked to TNT, thanks in large part to Charles Barkley and friends in studio. Both NBA Live and NBA 2K use TNT broadcasters (Marv Albert and Kevin Harlan, respectively) and NBA Live used to use Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith in their game. (Ironically, for the last few years, 2K had used Smith alongside Harlan for color commentary.) TNT integration would make a lot of sense for one of these two franchises.

The NHL is obviously a complicated affair, because you don't see much of it on TV unless you get Versus - or are close enough to the border to get CBC (like me! woo!). That said, NBC does do playoff telecasts, and they own Versus anyway.

NHL 2K currently uses the San Jose Sharks announcing team in their game, while EA's NHL series boasts Gary Thorne and Bill Clement (who are, sadly, nowhere near as engaging in the game as they used to be on ESPN when the Worldwide Leader had NHL television rights). Mike Emrick and Ed Olczyk call the games for NBC.

An NBC licensing deal would make a lot of sense for NBC, as the network continues to struggle. It doesn't much matter to me, though. I watch almost all my hockey on the CBC, because they actually give a flip.

Madden comes about as close to using an NBC presentation without actually using the NBC presentation. Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth are both with NBC Sports - granted, only Collinsworth calls Sunday Night Football for the network - and the score bug even bears a slight resemblance to NBC's. Once again, a deal makes all kinds of sense. If not, FOX televises many NFL games - but does anyone really want to hear Joe Buck in a video game? - and CBS covers the AFC. And there's always ESPN with Monday Night Football.

MLB might be the license that would actually detract from the game. FOX has the World Series, and nobody wants to listen to Buck and McCarver while they're playing a game. 2K used to employ the ESPN license with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, and that didn't do much for anyone. And nobody in their right mind wants Chip Caray and TBS invading their gaming experience. Perhaps we should stick with what we've got here.

I doubt any of this actually happens. I'm mostly thinking aloud here, because I'm sure EA and 2K don't have this kind of money to throw around. But hey. I can dream. And it's not like anyone is going to read this anyway.

[Freak93]

I read it your rapist.

Anyway, Tim McCarver would be funny for about twenty minutes, then you would want to kill yourself.

[Just Blaze]

nothing about the Lions >_>

[detroitbasketball]

Dec 2, 2009 14:17:56 GMT -5 Just Blaze said:

nothing about the Lions >_>

To cause heartbreak, there must first be expectations.

[detroitbasketball]

FYI, I will be doing my (in)famous 32-team NCAA football tournament again this year. The bracket comes today, and then I start simming it whenever whatifsports makes this year's teams available for SimMatchup.

[JacktheRipper]

I'm actually excited for that.

[detroitbasketball]

I'll post the bracket after the official BCS pairings are announced. I have the bracket done and all, I just want to make sure everyone is sufficiently pissed over the BCS before I post it.