You know sometimes I have to wonder to myself what other people think about the D’. I mean, if I was living in, say in L.A. or New York or Horsebreath, GA., I would have to think how does Detroit do it.? Here is a city that has an economy so depressed we are second only to New Orleans and yet Detroit is the greatest city on the planet when it comes to sports. In the last two years it’s been one right after the other.

The All Star game, SBXL and the World Series of MLB in 06′ and now, in 07′, the Pistons, the Wings and the Tigers are all on top of their game. We may be in a depression, (maybe?) but we love our sports! The Red Wings are in the Western Conference Finals for the first time in five years. (Wings is six!) The Pistons came back last night to defeat the Chicago Bulls after being down by 19 points and have the Bulls on the verge of illimination and, like the rabbit on TV, our boys from Comerica Park just keep on going. Keep in mind they don’t have Zumaya and Rogers and still have the best pitching in the league. Think Robertson, Jones, Verlander and Fernando Rodney!

It has occured to me that we should hire the staff of these incredibly gifted teams to run the city of Detroit. Think of it as a professional sports team instead of a corporation which is exactly what it is. After watching city council woman Joannne Watson trying to get by the Sheriff’s Deputy the other day because she didn’t have proper ID to enter the Coleman A. Young Building, Tom is correct, (see “Joanne Watson is Crazy Awesome” May 9th), let’s start with her.

Christine from Detroit sent us some interesting information a few weeks ago about an alleged incident her boyfriend Rob had last November involving the Detroit Police. It is a pretty long story — click here to read the full version — but here are the basics according to Rob’s blog:

Rob lives in a neighborhood just south of Boston-Edison. Rob’s next-door neighbor moved to Ypsi 2 years ago because of high crime levels in the neighborhood, but she hasn’t been able to sell her house in Detroit yet. Since she now lives 40 minutes away from the home in Detroit, Rob keeps an eye on the house (which he alleges has been ransacked several times) and has a key to it.

Last November, Rob noticed “a suspicious white van with a broken-out back window” and then saw 2 men and a woman exit the van with a cordless drill and a flashlight. A few minutes later, “we hear loud cracking noises from wood boards on the front of my neighbor’s home” says Rob, so he unsuccessfully attempts to get his old neighbor on the phone and then calls the Detroit Police. Rob alleges that when the police officers arrived on the scene, they didn’t do anything to catch the alleged intruders and instead scolded Rob for not minding his own business.
Read more

Well, here we are again. We’re into the first month of the NHL season and the Red Wings are sitting on top of the Western Conerence Central Division. (10-4-1) Like the Tigers before them, who would have guessed?
Read more

Call me a freak for useless trivia, but I love it. This fascination goes even further when it has to do with Detroit. I know there are other Detroit trivia hounds out there, so I’m introducing a new weekly post called Detroit Trivia; I’ll be bringing you a unique fact or piece of information about the D every week. Now, onto the fun…

First up, a little-known fact about the Detroit Tigers‘ Olde English D.
Read more

Team Name: Red Wings
City: Detroit
Established: 1926
Stanley Cups: 10
GM: Kenny Holland
Coach: Mike Babcock
Key players: Nick Lidstrom, Dominik Hasek, Henrik Zetterberg

Another very painful first-round loss haunted the Wings again this offseason, after bowing out to the eventual Western Conference Champion Edmonton Oilers. Fans in Detroit have grown quite impatient with this recurring theme, and with the Tigers currently dominating the local scene, the Wings Training Camp - normally front page news - is barely a blip on the Detroit sports fan’s radar. Combine this with the exodus of several key players, including Brendan Shanahan to the Blueshirts, and Hockeytown is off to a shaky start before even playing a game in this 2006-2007 season.

However, the Wings’ immediate future faces a bigger test than simple marketing issues. The retirement of Steve Yzerman, a living legend in Detroit and the face of the franchise for two decades, leaves a massive hole in the organization, and filling it is not as easy as sewing the captain’s “C” on Nick Lidstrom’s sweater. Yzerman was the glue that held this squad together, both on and off the ice, for the last 10+ years of heavy success (7 division titles, 4 Conference Championships, 3 Stanley Cups). There are also huge question marks in goal - with the return (again!) of the Dominator, the 41-year-old Hasek will test his much maligned groin for yet another season.

Prediction: Detroit makes the playoffs for the 17th straight season, but as a very low seed with little hope of contending.

I had a chance to get a pass this morning at the Livonia Recreation Center. It was built in the last few years, like the YMCA downtown. Wow! What a gym and what a facility! I purchased the business pass since I work in Livonia for $220/year. If any of you readers or bloggers live out on the west side of town or out in the western burbs I highly recommend checking this place out. It’s really a (post-modern?) architectural gem of the Metro Detroit area. It’s located on 5-mile road between Merriman and Farmington Road.

They have a mile long indoor track, a bunch of pools, a million exersize machines, and really nice locker rooms. I went at about 6:45am, it was only slightly busy, and I had no problem finding machines to use.

The Carolina Hurricanes are the 2005-06 Stanley Cup Champions. Congratulations to native Detroiter and Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos who avenged the Stanley Cup Finals loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 by beating the cinderalla of the NHL, the Edmonton Oilers. Congratulations should go out to the Oilers as well for shattering everyone’s expectations after finishing the eight seed in the Western Conference during the regular season.

So, as I got into my car last night 1270 was still on from the Tiger’s game earlier.  They were broadcasting game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals.  Edmonton was playing an amazing game and made it a seven game series.  Earlier this week Miami tied up the series from a 0-2 start.  I realized that both of these teams are in good standing for winning the championship (despite syndicated radio predictions) and both teams had to go through Detroit first.

Okay, the Heat wasn’t a big surprise considering they were a game away from the finals, but Edmonton is another story.  People were shocked that this team, last to make it in the playoffs, beat the number one team.  Now they’re a game a way from taking it all.

So what I wonder is, do people prefer Miami and Edmonton to win over their Western opponents?  Does it make you feel better to know your team lost to the champions rather than the runner-ups?

This past weekend I was at the annual Great Lakes History Conference representing Wayne State University Press. I was absolutely thrilled to discover the beautiful city of Grand Rapids and to find Grand Valley State University nestled amidst this gorgeous western Michigan backdrop. It was amazing to hear that many people from the west side of the state had never been to Detroit or that they even had no intention of visiting; of course, I felt silly never having known anything about Grand Rapids either. Those that had been to Detroit had wonderful things to say about the city, namely, praise of the Michigan Opera and the DIA. It was strange to feel animosity towards Detroit, not for rumors of exaggerated violence, but because people felt that Detroit has long eclipsed Michigan as a whole in terms of research conducted and attention garnered.

I am tired and sore. Petanque is a tiring game both mentally and physically. The cold, windy day made it even more challenging. In the end though, it was a good time. Congrats to Jeff and Joe for organizing a good,fun and challenging day and for bringing petanque back to Detroit. Thanks to Campus Martius for letting us play. The park is the perfect spot!

Urban Tiki, Jeff and I took photos throughout the day. We’ll post a link to those later.