Let me repeat that: I was not allowed to go into the City of Detroit.

My, how things have changed.

Those days were not Detroit’s best. Growing up in Grosse Pointe, there was a very strong, unspoken prevailing attitude: blacks were not our friends. In fact, I don’t think I knew ANYONE that didn’t look like me until I went off to Michigan State. There was a tree-lined not-so-mythical border at Jefferson and Alter Roads, and the concept was that you stayed on your side, and ‘they’ stayed on theirs. I don’t remember direct, outward racism (although I fully experienced it years later, and will post about it sometime soon).

I always felt differently about it all. I wanted to go; I wanted to see what was in the City - good and bad. Terrified as I was, I wanted to understand things that were not made available to me. Remember, this was long before we had such mass media available to us. You had three sources: print, radio and TV. And as a 15-year-old more into hockey and girls, I was not up on the socioeconomic and sociopolitical situations, as they were. Not to mention that GP was not exactly a melting pot of diversity, and especially on the ideological front. Differences were mocked, and rarely tolerated. A caste-like system existed, and I would argue, still exists in some ways there, although the the Pointes are not what they used to be, thank goodness.

Today, I live in Detroit. Right downtown, as a matter of fact. I still get old friends that are somewhat stunned by this fact, but there’s no doubt that the wide-eyed expressions have thinned out over the 6 years we’ve lived here. Downtown is making a slow and deliberate turnaround, and it’s evident that people are starting to get it — thankfully, the suburbanites are starting to get it, too. The people I’ve known that stated ‘I’ll never go below 8 Mile’ (I’m not kidding) are not starting to come to the city for dinner and drinks.

And so, this curious 15-year-old that watched in both amazement and sadness when the city last celebrated a World Series is now, 22 years later, firmly implanted within the framework of the city he has always loved. Living just 2 blocks from Comerica Park, right on Woodward, has been simply wonderful this entire summer, with cars lined up as far as the eyes can see to watch our Boys play baseball- every night!

And so, I leave you with this moment, burned indelibly in my mind: as I walked home, up Woodward to my home after Game 4 of the ALCS, with 43,000 of my best friends in tow, there was my 5-year-old daughter - head out the window, waving her Tiger Towel and screaming ‘Go Tigers!’

The circle was broken, and what I had wanted to accomplish by moving to the city and raising a family here had - in one magical night - been fully realized. Those stereotypes, attitudes and concepts have been wiped off the family map, to the extent they were there in the first place. But by immersing her in the world as it IS - the good, the bad, the ugly - she sees the good in everything, even when it’s hidden beneath the surface.

Enjoy the Series, folks. Enjoy every minute of these events, these moments when we’re all One. Be here - be in the City. Take part. Shake hands, meet strangers. Share a kind word, a smile. Events like these help bond us all. To throw away an opportunity to expand your world is criminal. To not help expand the world of those around you is worse.

GO TIGERS!

(btw, Tigers in 6)

(story below the fold)

The Detroit Tigers won their third consecutive game in this postseason, and their first ALCS win in 19 years, as they dispatched the A’s tonight with a 5-1 victory at Oakland. Brandon Inge went 3-3 with a home run, a double and a single, driving in 2 and scoring 2 runs. Inge, batting 9th in Detroit’s lineup, became only the sixth #9 hitter to have a perfect game at bat in playoff history.

Nate Robertson, coming off a poor performance in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Yankees last week, was efficient enough to hold the A’s to 6 hits over 6 innings, although he was forced to pitch his way out of major trouble in several innings. Robertson was bailed out by his defense, turning 4 double plays (tying an single-game American League record for the postseason).

Robertson was relieved successfully (surprisingly, in my opinion) by Fernando Rodney in the 6th and 7th. The A’s scored one run off flame-throwing Joel Zumaya in the 8th, but was shut down by Tigers’ closer Todd Jones in the 9th to preserve the vistory.

The A’s starting pitcher, ace Barry Zito, was rather ineffective against Detroit’s patient approach at the plate. The Tigers hitters worked Zito deep in the count in several at-bats, and took advantage of Zito’s control issues, eventually knocking him out of the game in the 4th inning, after scoring all 5 runs against him.

The Tigers go for a commanding 2-0 lead in the series tomorrow night at Oakland, with super-rookie Justin Verlander starting on the mound. As it is, the Tigers can potentially take the pennant by winning all 3 games at home this weekend, but winning tomorrow night will put the World Series very much within reach with a strong homestand.

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 kept thinking last night that I wouldn’t even care if this meant the end - if this was all we got to see and hear and share, I’d be alright. It already feels like we’re cheating the system a bit, you know? I guess anyone who was a season ticket holder in 2003 is still looking over their shoulder, waiting for someone to tap them on the shoulder to wake them up from this dream.

The great part is that it’s not the end, but rather the beginning of a new era.

One thing I can tell you with certainty: the debate is over. The perennial debate wondering if Detroit was a certain sport town has simply come to an obvious conclusion… Detroit is - and always has been - a Baseball Town.

.abandoned hotel eddystone.

Originally uploaded by tEdGuY49.

Midtown Detroit.

Guardian Building

Originally uploaded by Allan M.

…and you are not it.

Originally uploaded by UrbanTiki.

The building, at Woodward and 75, is coming down as we speak. It’s sad and thrilling at the same time.

Let’s all hope a new, bright chapter will be told on that spot, and not become a parking lot for the Fox.

You may have heard by now about the local company helping people to rent out their home for the Superbowl. Well, that company is me. We have about 40 homes listed at this point, and we’re getting MANY MANY calls a day. If you are interested in doing so, feel free to go to the website:
Big Game Houses For Rent

Mind you, we haven’t rented that many out yet, but the interest is growing every day. We’re now getting calls and emails from most of the playoff-team cities about vacancies, so I’m encouraged about it.

Anyway, hope I didn’t ruffle feathers around here, but it’s kind of a unique, one-time opportunity for people. I have no idea how successful it’ll be, but we’re hoping for the best.

As I write from Pittsburgh, I want to give a prime example of why MDOT and the MVC sometime exacerbate the situation.

Regardless of our 12-month orange barrel season (which I firmly believe is a conspiracy between the Big Three, MDOT and contractors - more on that later), there are some rules of the road that make NO sense. One is regarding lane closures…

I was driving here in Pittsburgh last night, and came upon a lane closure on I-79. These never seem to bother me in Pennsylvania (while they drive me BATTY in Michigan) because of the way they’re handled. Here, the law says that all lanes should be used as far as possible before a car-by-car merge. In other words, if the right lane on a 2-lane highway is closed, cars drive all the way up the merge point, then cars take turns merging. AMAZINGLY, the jams aren’t as long, and people let each other in regularly as the law requires.

IN CONTRAST, the Michigan law states that, using the same example, as soon as a driver in the right lane sees the ‘blinking arrow’ indicator sign, the car must merge ASAP. So, why does it matter? Let’s see:

a) half the drivers ignore the rule and speed quickly to the end of the lane, then force their merge between angry drivers that are POd at the ‘cheating’ driver (if you’ve ever driven to a Wings game, and driven on Jefferson under Cobo, you know EXACTLY what I mean);
b) Bernoulli’s principle, baby: why put all the cars in one lane before you have to? It creates more pressure in that lane, and wastes an open lane, sometimes for as long as a mile before the lane closure.

Nothing surprises me about the stupidity of the Michigan Vehicle Code, nor about Detroit/Michigan drivers. But there are definitely some obvious changes that could be made, just by looking at other states and seeing the success of their laws.

Not today.

U.S. House Representative John Conyers Jr. has recently released a report regarding lies, deception, leaks and cover-ups performed by the White House in the lead-up to the Iraq War.

You can read the report here, and I highly suggest you do.

Rep. Conyers’ tireless efforts in researching the truth - whether it be election irregularities or deceiving the American people into going to war - makes me so proud to say I’m from Detroit (even though he’s not actually my congressperson)

BTW… Barron’s (one of the nation’s great conservative rags) is now using the “i” word (impeachment) over this NSA spying deal - imagine that! I think this Administration’s darkest days are still ahead.