Game 4:Redwings 4 Flames 2

In a must win game 4 against the Flames the Redwings came out on top with a 4-2 victory. The series is now tied 2-2 going back to the Joe. The Redwings finally looked like the game meant something. Almost everybody was laying out checks and skating hard. The Redwings got important goals from guys who normally don't score. Devereaux, Maltby, and Dandenault all lit the lamp. The Redwings had a scare in the second period when Martin Gelinas and Ville Nieminen scored for the Flames 18 seconds apart in the second period to tie the game at 2. But the Wings stormed back with a goal from Dandenault to take the lead once again. The Redwings closed out the game when they got a empty net goal from Henrik Zetterberg. Ray Whitney and Kris Draper had huge games adding two assists each. The Redwings now look to a critical game 5 back at the Joe. It is another must win game. If they lose they will be down 3-2 going back to Calgary.
Notes-Game 5 of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series is Saturday in Detroit....Besides getting 2 assists Draper also won 15/25 faceoffs....The Redwings outshot the Flames 29-27....Cujo had a strong outing stopping 25/27 shots....Both clubs won 38 faceoffs each....The series is now best of 3 games....

Game 5:Pistons 91 Bucks 77

The Pistons did what they had to do last night as they Beat the Bucks 91-77 to close out this opening round series. Tayshaun Prince had his best game ever with 24 points(career playoff high),9 rebounds, and 8 assists. Chauncey and Hamiliton scored 38 points combined. Redd had 22 points for the Bucks, but it wasn't enough as the Pistons just plain outplayed them. Detroit didn't want to lose this game and have to go back to Milwaukee for game 6. The Pistons now look ahead to the second round where they will face the Nets. The Nets are a very good team, but the Pistons are better this year than they were last year when they got swept by the Nets. They are more experienced than last year and they have Rasheed Wallace. It should be a great series. The Pistons had a better record that the Nets this year so they get home-court advantage. For now the Pistons are just glad they got past the upstart Bucks.
Notes-Game one against the Nets is Monday at 8:00.p.m....Prince had a great series averaging 17.4 points a game and shooting 59 percent (35-for-59) from the field....Ben Wallace grabbed another 12 rebounds....Rasheed Wallace added 11 points and 11 rebounds....Detroit outrebounded the Bucks 52-36....

Angels 12 Tigers 3

The Tigers got blown out of the water again today against the Angels. The past 2/3 games the Angels have destroyed them. Nate Robertson got the start for Detroit but lasted just 3 1/3 innings and gave up 9 runs. Knotts came in relief of Robertson and struck out six in 3 2/3 innings, but yielded two runs on five hits. Angels' starter Jarrod Washburn (4-1) pitched great all day. The Tigers were just plain outplayed today. They are now 12-9 on the season.
Notes-Robertson's ERA went from 2.78 to 5.19....Two of the Tigers' three runs that came off Washburn were from Craig Monroe....Pena added another RBI....Vladimir Guerrero had 4 hits in today's game....

Huge Changes

You must have noticed that I completely changed my site around. I think it looks better and it is easier to find stuff. I want to say thanks to Pearly Gates for showing me and allowing me to use some of his site design. I still have to work on a few things and add a few things. I have my old site design on a test site so if I want I can change it back whenever I want. Please leave a comment and tell me if you like my new site design or my old site design better.

Tigers 10 Angels 2

After getting smoked by the Angels 2 days ago the Tigers returned the favor and destroyed the Angels 10-2. The story of this game was Mike Maroth. He threw 7 innings,allowed only 2 runs, and had 4 stikeouts. The only 2 runs Maroth gave up were on a 2 run homer by Troy Glaus in the first inning. The Tigers probably would have given up some more runs but they turned a great double play to end the first inning. Those were the only runs Maroth and the Tigers would give up. The Tigers then exploded for 10 unanswered runs to hand Bartolo Colon his second loss of the season. Last year the Tigers would have folded after being down 2-0. They are obviously a different ballclub this year.
Notes-The Tigers are now 12-9 on the season....Rondell White had another 3 RBIs(he now has 22 on the season)....Brandon Inge continued his strong hitting by adding yet another RBI.....Bartolo Colon (3-2) lost for the third consecutive start against Detroit dating back to last year....Mike Maroth is now 3-1 on the season,great for a guy that lost 21 games last season....

Game 3: Redwings 2 Flames 3

The Redwings lost game 3 last night against the Flames on the road 3-2. The Flames outhit,outskated, and just plain outplayed the Wings to take a 2-1 series lead. The Redwings got goals from Lang(4th of the playoffs) and Jiri Fischer. Even though Cujo allowed 3 goals he still played good enough to give the Wings a chance to win the game. He stopped 24/27 shots. The Redwings need to bounce back and win game 4 on the road. If they don't win game 4 they will be down 3-1 going back to the Joe. Game 4 will show what the Wings are made of.
Notes-The Wings outshot the Flames 29-27....All five goals were in the second period....

Angels 10 Tigers 4

The Angels were to much for the Tigers yesterday as they blew them out 10-4. Three different pitchers were in yesterday(Cornejo,Yan, and Levine) for the Tigers and they all did bad. Despite the loss the Tigers still had one huge bright spot. Brandon Inge hit his 2 grand-slam of the season. Those were the only runs the Tigers would get. Nate Cornejo got the start,pitched bad, and earned his second loss of the seaon. Mike Maroth(2-1) gets the start today against Bartolo Colon.
Notes-the Tigers are 11-9 on the season....Inge is having a great season and now has the highest batting average on the entire Tigers roster....Inge's two grand slams in a four-game span matched the Tigers' total grand slams for all of last season. 11 of Inge's 14 RBIs have come with the bases loaded....To top of Inge's night he also added 3 outfield assists....

Game 4-Pistons 109 Bucks 82

The Pistons are one win away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs after dominating the Bucks 109-82. The Pistons had a great offensive game shooting 57 percent from the floor after shooting under 43 percent in the first three games of this series. The Pistons also played another good defensive game holding the Bucks to just 82 points. Rip Hamilton had a great game scoring a game high 27 points. Rasheed Wallace played great as well adding 20 and nine rebounds. Milwaukee came within seven points with two minutes remaining, but Detroit made all eight of its free throws in the final 69 seconds to close out the Bucks.This was a big win for Detroit to take the 3-1 series lead. The Pistons won both games in Milwaukee and they should now be able to close out the series in game 5 at the Palace.
Notes-Game 5 is on Thursday....Chauncey Billups scored 19 points and dished out 9 assists....The Bucks averaged 98 points a game during the regular season but are averaging just 86 points per-game against Detroit....Tayshaun Prince finished with 17 points(8-11 from the field)....Detroit held all-star Michael Redd to just 12 points.....

What a weekend!

This past weekend was one of the greatest in Detroit Sports for quite some time. The Lions probably had the best weekend. They had a great draft selecting Roy Williams,Kevin Jones, Teddy Lehman, and a few other good players. They added team speed, something they have been lacking for many years. Most sports media members ranked the Lions as having the best draft. Next year the Lions must be at least 8-8....The Redwings also had a great weekend destroying the Flames 5-2. This was a must win game after losing game one in overtime. If the Wings had lost they would have been down 2 games to none with the series moving back to Calgary. Instead the series is tied at one game a piece....Like every other team in Detroit the Pistons also had a great weekend. They beat the Bucks on the road to take a 2-1 lead in the series. They were down at halftime but they played good defence and offense to take the victory away from the Bucks. They need to win tonight and finish the Bucks off at home in game 5....To top off the great weekend in Detroit Sports the Tigers won 2/3 games. Their record is now 11-8 on the season.

Tigers 2 Indians 3

The Tigers lost a tough game today against the Indians 3-2. After throwing 7 perfect innings against the Tigers last game the Indians' Jake Westbrook picked up right where he left off. He pitched all 9 innings and gave up only 2 hits. One of those hits was a 2 run homer by Carlos Pena. The only other Tigers' run was scored on a sac-fly by Rondell White. This was a tough loss for the Tigers but at least their pitching was decent. They only gave up 3 runs. The Tigers are off tomorrow before facing the Angels in a 3 game series.
Notes-The Tigers are 11-8 on the season....Both the Twins and the White Sox won today so the Tigers are now in third place in their division....Pena's homer was his 4th this season....Rondell White has 19 rbis on the season....Cornejo gets the start tomorrow....Westbrook's ERA now stands at 1.27 for the season after today's great performance....

Redwings 5 Flames 2

After losing game 1 in overtime against the Flames the Redwings came back with a huge 5-2 win in game 2. They dominated them the entire game. Cujo played good but he only faced 16 shots. Yzerman had his best game of the playoffs scoring 2 goals(2:13 apart). There was a lot of fights in this game and there should be more in game 3. The series is now tied at one game a piece. Game 3 is at Calgary.
Notes-Hull scored his 103rd playoff goal and is three away from tying Jari Kurri for third on the NHL career list....Holmstrom started the Wings' furry of goals....Yzerman's 2 goals in today's playoff game was the first time since 1999 that he had 2 goals in a playoff game....The Avs lost today and are down 2-0 in their playoff series with the Sharks....

Pistons 95 Bucks 85

The Pistons made a big statement today when they beat the Bucks 95-85 on the road. They were down by seven points at halftime but they battled back to win the game. Billups scored 21 points and Hamilton added 17. Both of them hit key free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. Detroit opened the second half with a 23-4 spurt, taking a 65-53 lead with 6:08 left. They never looked back after that spurt taking a 2-1 lead in this best of seven series. Detroit stepped up big and quickly took back home-court advantage. Game 4 is Monday in Milwaukee.
Notes-The Pistons committed 12 first-half turnovers but had just six after the break....Tayshaun Prince scored 16 points....Ben Wallace chipped in 13 and 21 rebounds....Rasheed Wallace had 10 points and 11 rebounds....Billups closed the scoring by going 4-of-4 from the line in the final 31.2 seconds....

Draft Update

Since the Lions drafted Roy Williams with the 7th pick overall pick the Lions have drafted 2 more good players. After moving back a spot to pick up Roy Williams the Lions traded up with the Kansas City Chiefs to take their No. 30 pick in exchange for the Lions' 36th-overall pick, fouth-round (105th-overall) and a 2005 fifth-round pick. With that 30th pick they selected Running Back Kevin Jones from Va Tech. This a great pick for the Lions who were looking for a running back after releasing James Stewart. Jones needs to work on a few things but was ranked as one of the top three running backs in this year's draft along with Chris Perry and Stephen Jackson. The Lions also drafted Linebacker Teddy Lehman from Oklahoma. The Lions have had a great draft so far. They are finally starting to put some players around Joey Harrington. They should have no excuses next year to be at least 8-8.

Tigers 5 Indians 2

It took the Tigers until the ninth inning to win this game but it was well worth it. They beat the Indians today 5-2. After scoring 17 runs against the Indians yesterday the Tigers' offense came back to earth. Even though they didn't score many runs they still got the big hit at the right time. Rondell White hit a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning to finish off the Indians. Urbina survived a rocky 9th inning to pick up his first victory of the year. Jason Johnson(1-3) starts next game for Detroit.
Notes-The Tigers are now 11-7 on the season....White's homer was his 5th of the season....

Draft Update

The Lions traded their 6th pick to the Browns for their 7th pick. The Browns selected Kellen W. and the Lions selected Roy Williams WR from the University of Texas. He is great pick and should be a great reciever for Joey Harrington. The Lions also got the Browns' second round pick this year. Check back later on who the Lions pick in the second and third rounds.

Saturday

Tomorrow is one of the biggest days in Detroit Sports history in recent memory. The Tigers,Redwings,Pistons, and Lions all have big days tomorrow. The Lions probably have the biggest day and they aren't even playing. Tomorrow is the NFL draft and the Lions have the 6th pick. Nobody knows if they are going to trade their pick or keep it. They still have some holes to fill and hopefully they can fill most of them tomorrow. The Redwings play game 2 tomorrow against the Flames in their second round playoff series. The Flames stole game one in overtime and lead the series 1-0. They have to win tomorrow or they will go back to Calgary down 2-0 in the series. They must rise up or they will fall on their faces. The Pistons also play a playoff game tomorrow against the Bucks. The series is tied 1-1 after the Bucks won game 2 at the Palace by 4 points. This is a big statement game for the Pistons and they must win to get the upperhand in this series. I think they will win but it will be a tough task. In the least important game for Detroit Sports this Saturday, the Tigers play game 2 of their series with the Indians. Nate Robertson will get the start. They destroyed them tonight 17-3 but you can never tell what will happen the next day. The Tigers are 10-7 on this long season and they need to keep playing together as a team. If they keep winning they should earn some respect from the league.

Tigers 17 Indians 3

The Tigers started their 9 game homestand off great with a 17-3 whooping on the Indians. Bonderman(2-1) got the start . He pitched 5 strong innings and picked up the victory. The Tigers had a 4-3 lead when they exploded for their best inning of the year. In that incredible sixth inning the Tigers scored 11 runs, had 4 hits, 7 walks, and went through 15 batters. Brandon Inge had one his best games ever with 3 hits, 4 rbis, and his first career grand slam. Eric Munson also had a great game going 2-for-3, hit a HR,scored 4 runs, and had 4 RBIS. This was the best game the Tigers have played all year. They had their best hitting game all season and had one of their better defensive games as well. They need to keep swinging the bats but also pitch good like they did tonight. After Bonderman went out Yan came in and pitching 4 shutout innings to pick up the save. The Tigers are now 10-7 on season. Nate Robertson(1-0) gets the start tomorrow.
Notes-It took the Tigers 10 games to get 15 runs last season....The Tigers out hit the Indians 15-6....The Tigers had 10 walks tonight....The Tigers have scored the most runs in the American League this year....The Tigers' 17 runs were the most runs scored by a team in Comerica Park history for one game....Pudge added 3 rbis, in that incredible 6th inning, when he hit a double with the bases loaded....Inge was a double short of the cycle....

Redwings 1 Calgary 2 ot.

Well the Flames stole home-ice advantage from the Wings by beating them 2-1 in overtime. The Redwings outshot the Flames but they still couldn't pull out the win. The Wings took a 1-0 lead when Robert Lang scored a highlight goal on Miikka Kiprusoff. The Flames battled back and got a goal from Robyn Regehr late in the second period. Neither team scored in the third period and the game went into overtime. Just 2 min 39 seconds into the overtime period the Flames got a goal from Marcus Nilson. This was the Flames' gameplan all along. Keep the game close and try and win it at the end, that's exactly what they did. Game 2 is Saturday at the Joe.
Notes-The Flames lead the series 1-0....Regehr's and Nilson's playoff goals were the first of their careers....Lang's goal was his third of this year's playoffs....Jarome Iginla was held to just 2 shots....Kiprusoff made 28 saves...Brendan Shanahan and Derian Hatcher assisted on Lang's goal....The Wings hadn't played the Flames in the playoffs since 1978....

New Site

I just found out about a new Detroit Sports site. It is kindof like my site except instead of scores and news it is about all the sports rumors in Detroit(mainly the Lions,Tigers, and Redwings). The address is www.detroitsportsreporter.blogspot.com. It is a very good site and I highly recommend everybody to go check it out.

Tigers 3 Twins 4

The Tigers lost today against the Twins 4-3. At least their pitching wasn't as bad as the last couple of games,giving up only 4 runs. Mike Maroth (2-1) got the start and pitched good but not good enough. The Twins' Lew Ford had a great game going 2-for-4, with a HR, and 3 RBI. He hit the three run homer that put the Tigers away today. Brandon Inge had his best game of the season with 2 hits, 2 rbis, 2 walks, and his first homer of the season. Detroit needs to do what they did tonight but hit the ball better. They have to give their pitching staff more support in close games like this.
Notes-The Tigers are now 9-7 on the season....Brandon Inge batting average is up to .375 after this game....Mike Maroth threw 7 innings....

Tigers 11 Twins 8

It was a shaky game for the Tigers pitching staff last night but they still won 11-8. The Tigers' bats got hot fast as they drove in 9 runs in the first 3 innings. The hitting was good but the pitching was bad again last night. Nate Cornejo got the start and took an 11-3 lead into the fifth, needing just three outs to qualify for a victory, but after getting the first out, he gave up two doubles, a walk and a base hit, and Trammell gave pulled him. Knotts came in a started good, pitching a perfect sixth inning but then he gave up a triple that scored another 2 runs to cut the Tigers lead to 11-7. Al Levine came in a only gave up only one run going into the ninth inning. Urbina came in and slammed the door shut for his first save of the season. The Tigers hit the ball great last night collecting 15 hits and 11 runs. Pudge had one of his finest games as a Tiger as he went 4-5 with 2 rbis. The Tigers needed this victory but they still need to start pitching a lot better after giving up so many runs the last couple games. The last game of the series is today at 1:05 with Mike Maroth(2-0)getting the start.
Notes-The Tigers are now 9-6 on the season....Tiger-killer Brad Radke was pulled after two innings....Minnesota holds a 46-15 record vs. Detroit since 2001....Tigers have scored 92 runs this season through 15 games....It took the Tigers till May 14th to get 9 victories last season....Brandon Inge is batted .333 this year....

Pistons 88 Bucks 92

After smoking the Bucks 3 days ago 108-82 in game 1 the Pistons lost game 2 92-88. The Bucks started the game hot and held the lead for almost the entire game. Even though the Pistons lost they still made a great comeback at the end of the game. Milwaukee held an 87-72 lead after a basket by Brevin Knight with 3:13 remaining before the Pistons converted three turnovers into baskets and got 3-pointers from Lindsey Hunter and Rasheed Wallace in a 16-3 run that cut the deficit to 90-88 with 34 seconds to go. With 9 seconds to go the Pistons fouled Damon Jones with the score still 90-88. He missed both free throws. The Pistons called timeout to draw up a gameplan. They got the ball to Rasheed Wallace(both Chauncey and Hamilton had fouled out)but Wallace lost the ball out of bounds with 4.1 seconds to go. Redd sank two free throws to seal the victory for the Bucks. It was a tough watching when Rasheed lost the ball out of bounds, it just slipped out of his hands. Even though it was a tough loss the Pistons never really deserved to win this game. The Bucks outplayed the Pistons and deserved to win this game. The series now moves to Milwaukee for game 3 and 4.
Notes-Michael Redd lead the Bucks with 26 points....Chauncey Billups had 20 points....Rip Hamilton had 18 points....Road teams had been 0-13 in the 2004 playoffs until Milwaukee's win....In Game 1, Milwaukee was outrebounded, 52-38, and committed 25 turnovers. In Game 2, the Bucks outrebounded the Pistons 48-37 and cut their turnovers from 25 to 20....This was Milwaukee's 100th playoff win in franchise history....

4/21 Notes

Here are some notes from all the Detroit Sports teams.
Redwings-The Redwings now know who they are playing in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They are going to play the Calgary Flames. They are a good team with great defence but they don't have much depth. I think the Wings will win this series in about 5-6 games. Here is the schedule for Round 2:
Thu. Apr. 22 vs. Calgary Flames @ 7:30 PM
Sat. Apr. 24 vs. Calgary Flames @ 3:00 PM
Tue. Apr. 27 at Calgary Flames @ 9:00 PM
Thu. Apr. 29 at Calgary Flames @ 10:00 PM
Sat. May. 1 vs. Calgary Flames @ 3:00 PM
Mon. May. 3 at Calgary Flames @ 10:00 PM
Wed. May. 5 vs. Calgary Flames @ 7:00 PM
Pistons-The Pistons play game 2 tonight in their opening round series with the Bucks. The Pistons destroyed them in game one 108-82. They need to keep playing good defence and they should win tonight. Tonight's game is on at 7:00 at the Palace.
Tigers-The Tigers face the Twins tonight at 8:10. This is their 15th game of the season. The Tigers are currently 8-6 on the season. They haven't been playing that good of late, losing 6/10 games. Cornejo(1-1) will get the start. They need a victory tonight to help them get back on track.
Lions-The Lions are getting ready for this weekend's NFL Draft. There hasn't been many rumors on who they are going to select with their 6th pick. A lot of people are saying they will trade their 6th pick and get a few lower draft picks in return. They have filled a lot of holes this offseason(with the signings of Marion,Woody,Bryant, and Streets) but they still need a few more positions to be filled. Hopefully they can fill the rest of their holes in the Draft this weekend.

Tigers 10 Indians 4

After losing the last 3/4 games the Tigers won last night 10-4. They started the game off good with 4 runs in the first inning. Then Indians battled back to make 4-4 tie in the seventh inning. In the eighth inning the Tigers exploded for 6 runs. Three of those runs can on a homerun from Rondell White. The other runs came when Brandon Inge hit a double that scored 3 runs to give the the Tigers a 10-4 lead. The Tigers didn't give up any more runs and won the game to split the series(2 games a team)against Cleveland. Nate Robertson started this game and even though he didn't get the win he still pitched great allowing only 5 hits over 6 2/3 innings while striking out 8. Al Levine (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 hitless relief innings for the win. The Tigers needed this victory to help them get back on track after giving up 31 runs in the last 4 few games.
Notes-The Tigers are 8-5 on the season....White's homer was his third of the season....There was about a hour rain delay in this game....Indians' reliever Jake Westbrook pitched seven perfect innings.

Pistons 108 Bucks 82

The Pistons started great today in their opening round playoff series. They smoked the Bucks 108-82. Rip Hamilton lead the way with 21 points, 8 Assists,4 steals, and 35 minutes. The Pistons forced a lot of turnovers that lead to easy buckets. The Bucks trailed most of the game and were never really in the game. I think Detroit will win this series in 4-6 games. They are a lot better than the Bucks and have a lot more guys that can score. Every player on the Pistons team did something that helped to win this game. They totally outplayed the Bucks in every aspect of the game. The Pistons now have a 1-0 lead in this series. Game 2 will be Wednesday at the Palace.

Tigers 7 Indians 9

After winning yesterday against the Indians 6-1 the Tigers lost to the Indians today 9-7. Even though they lost the Tigers still made a good comeback. They were down 5-0 but they battled back to make it a ballgame. The score was 8-6 in the eighth inning when Carlos Pena hit his third homerun of the season to make it 8-7 Tigers. That is as close as the Tigers would get(in the ninth the Indians got another run). The Tigers pitching was bad today just like the last 3/4 games,giving up another 9 runs today(31 the last 4 games). Even though the Tigers' pitching was bad their hitting was good ,scoring another 7 runs. Guillen was one of those good hitters as he went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBIs. The Tigers just need to settle down and start pitching good and they should be fine. The Tigers are now 7-5 on the season.

Redwings 2 Predators 0

The Redwings won today 2-0 over Nashville and closed out the opening round series. Detroit got 2 early goals from Yzerman and Whitney. Those were Yzerman's and Whitney's first goals of this year's playoffs. They were also the only 2 goals the Wings would need. Cujo played good, and got the shutout, but just like in game 5 he didn't have to play extremely well with the Wings' great defence. Detroit had some dumb penalties but everytime Nashville went on the powerplay Detroit shut them down. They moved the puck well and kept Nashville on their heels all night long. Dave Lewis was a big reason for these last 2 victories, he coached today's game great. He was always changing up the lines at the right time with the right people. Detroit was clearly outplayed the first four games, but they luckly turned it around these last 2 games to win the series. Their defence and Cujo were incredible the last 2 games of this series giving up only one goal. They also held the Preds to one powerplay goal all series. Nashville gave Detroit a great series and we have to tip are hats to them. The Redwings will either face Calgary,Vancouver, or maybe the Avs in the next round.

Tigers 6 Indians 1

After being outscored 21-3 the last 2 games the Tigers needed a victory today against the Indians. They got the victory with a big 6-1 win. Mike Maroth pitched great to get his second victory of the season. He pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings,and tied his career high with 7 strikeouts. Maroth also gave the bullpen some much needed rest. The Indians had a lot of hits but they stranded 11 on base. The Tigers got 3 runs in the sixth and 2 runs in the eighth to close out any comeback chances for Cleveland. Bonderman (1-0) gets the start for the Tigers tomorrow.
Notes-The Tigers are now 7-4 on the season and have sole possession of their division.

Tigers 3 Indians 10

After losing a horrible game against the Bluejays 2 days ago (11-0) they followed it up with another horrid loss to the Indians. They were destroyed again 10-3. Cornejo and the bullpen pitched terrible. At least they weren't shutout but it was almost as bad. Pudge was the lone bright spot yesterday for the Tigers. He went 2-3 on the day. Hopefully the Tigers can get a win today. Mike Maroth will get the start.
Notes-The Tigers are 6-4 on the season and move into a 3 way tie for the lead in the AL Central.

Redwings 4 Nashville 1

I thought the Redwings would lose tonight after losing the last 2 games against Nashville. They had been totally outplayed in the first 4 games. I was wrong and they won tonight 4-1. This was by far the best game the Redwings have played. Here is the game recap.
First Period-The Redwings started the game off great on a goal from Zetterberg(the first shot of the game). Datsyuk's pretty assist made the goal possible. He was behind the net and he passed the puck between his legs,on a backhand, to Zetterberg. Henrik got the pass and waited for Thomas V. to dive across the goal line,then he backhanded it in for a goal to make it 1-0 Wings. A few minutes later the Wings got another goal. Datsyuk was by the boards and he passed the puck(between his legs again) to Brett Hull who was in front of the net when stuffed it into the goal to make it 2-0 Wings. The Redwings weren't done scoring in the first period after that goal. Later in the period Shanny got a shorthanded goal. He was behind the net as he shot it in front and the puck went right off a defenceman's skate into the net to make it 3-0 Wings.
Second Period-The second period was not as aggressive as the first period. The Wings made it 4-0 on a powerplay goal from Nick Lidstrom. It was Lidstrom's first goal of this year's playoffs. The Redwings continued to play good defence on the Predators. They didn't allow many good scoring chances. With 37 second left in the period Nashville finally got a goal to make it 4-1 Wings.
Third Period-After giving up a late goal in the second period the Wings didn't collapse. They shut down Nashville and didn't allow them to get many shots on Cujo. The Wings didn't get any goals in the third period but they didn't need any with the three goal padding. The final score in the game was 4-1 Wings. The series moves to Nashville with the Wings on top 3-2.
Notes-The Redwings totally dominated this game. Nashville barely got any quality scoring chances. Cujo played well but he didn't have to play that well with the Wings's great defence. The series isn't over but the Wings are now one step closer. They need to be focused and close out this series. Game 6 will be tough for the Wings because they have to play in a hostile Nashville crowd. The Predator's will be ready for the Wings. I think the Wings will close out the series,in Nashville,but you can never be sure. If Nashville wins game 6, game 7 will be in Detroit.

Game 5 Preview

The Redwings play game 5 against the Predators tonight at 7:30. The series is tied 2-2, and whoever wins this game will probably win the series. Nashville has played much better all series, but maybe more importantly is that they have all the momentum riding into tonight's game after winning the last 2 games. Cujo will get the start over Mannny Legace who had played the previous 4 games. The Redwings switched goalies because they were looking for a win. Cujo has more experience than Legace and deserves the start. Cujo and the Wings have to win tonight's game at home. The Predator's players have never experienced a playoffs series win and they are hungry for a victory. This game will show what the Wings are made of. They need to suck it up and play the best game they have played in a long time. They will either have a triumphant victory or they will lose and be booed right out of Joe Louis Arena.

Tigers 0 Bluejays 11

After a nice victory over the Jays yesterday the Tigers got blown out of the water today by Roy Halladay and just about everybody else on the Jays roster. They were completely destroyed 11-0. Halladay threw a complete game shutout(he had 5 strikeouts and is 1-2 on the year). The Tigers collected 8 hits but they couldn't cash in on any of them. Hopefully this horrid lose isn't a sign of things yet to come for the Tigers. They need to refocus and remember it is a long season. They will have many bad loses and many good victories. Unfortunately this was one of those bad loses. The Tigers are now 6-3 on the season.

Tigers 5 Bluejays 3

After playing their worst game of this young season the Tigers came back with a big 5-3 victory over the Bluejays. They made a few mistakes but they held on for the victory. Nate Robertson pitched 5 innings, allowed 2 runs, and struck out 7. This was his first victory of the season. Pena had another great game as he went 2-4 with a double,a triple,2 runs, and 2 rbis. Bobby Higginson continued his good hitting picking up 2 more rbis(he now has 10 on the season). Even with the great start the Tigers have had we still need to remember that the season is a long ways from being over. There is still 154 games left to be played. The Tigers are now 6-2 on the season.

Predators 3 Redwings 0

The Redwings lost game four against the Predators last night 3-0. Legace started the game but got pulled after allowing 3 goals on 10 shots. The Wings looked bad again yesterday. They couldn't score against Thomas V. and they played bad defence. The Redwings need to get their act together and start playing much better. If they don't they will lose the next 2 games just like they did in 2001 against the Kings. I don't have much faith in the Wings after watching the first 4 games of this series. They have been totally outplayed. Nashville is dominating this series and they deserve to win it. If Detroit loses this series they have to fire head coach Dave Lewis and get a lot younger. I am so sick of watching them be outskated and outplayed. Here is the Box Score
Notes-Game five is Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

Tigers 5 Bluejays 7

After a 5-1 start the Tigers played their worst game of the season. They lost to the Bluejays 7-5. They started the game off good with a 5-1 lead. They couldn't hold the lead because they made some costly errors and they couldn't get any more runs. Vina had 2 of those errors, one was when he dropped a easy popup. With the score 5-5 in the eighth inning the Tigers gave up 2 runs to seal the loss. Pudge had a good game as he went 3-4 with 2 ribs. Even with the loss the Tigers scored another 5 runs. This is the first time in their history that they scored 5 runs in their first 7 games. They need to keep hitting the ball but they also need to stop giving up easy runs. The Tigers are now 5-2 on the season.

Pistons 78 Raptors 87

The Pistons lost their final regular season game tonight against the Raptors 87-78. They had won their previous 8 games. Tayshaun Prince scored 21 points and Ben Wallace 15 for the Pistons. The Pistons will be the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Detroit placed guard Chauncey Billups on the injured list before the game with a sprained left ankle they also rested banged-up forward Rasheed Wallace. They finished the season 54-28. The Pistons now need to get healthy and ready for the playoffs. They don't know who they are facing yet but the possibilities are Miami, New Orleans, or the Bucks. I think they can and will beat either of those three teams that they face.

Pistons 101 Wizards 79

The Pistons won another meaningless game last night against the Wizards. The final score was Pistons 101-Wizards 79. This was their eighth straight victory. Rip Hamiliton lead the way with 24 points and 12 assists(a career high). Mike James added 21 points and Ben Wallace grabbed 12 rebounds for the Pistons (54-27). They have now won 11 games in a row at home and finished 31-10 at the Palace at Auburn Hills. They need to end the season on a strong note and keep everybody healthy going into the playoffs. Their final game of the regular season is tonight against the Raptors.
Notes-Ben Wallace needs just one rebound in tonight's season finale at Toronto to reach 1,000 for the fourth straight season.

More Changes

You might have noticed that my site went under some big changes today. I now have stuff on each side of my site. I didn't do it. Matt from On the Wings did it for me. His site is very good and if there are any Redwings fans reading this they should go to his site at www.OntheWings.blogspot.com.

Redwings 1 Predators 3

The Redwings lost last night against the Predators 3-1. Thomas V. was the main reason the Wings lost last night as came up with 22 of his 41 saves in the third period as the Predators beat the Wings for their first playoff victory, pulling within 2-1 in the first-round series. David Legwand scored a short-handed goal for Nashville. Adam Hall and Scott Hartnell padded the lead when they scored goals as the Predators finally made some postseason history they can enjoy. Brett Hull scored the only goal for the Wings(his 101 playoff goal). The Wings need to keep shooting the puck at Thomas V. and stop giving up stupid goals. They also need to improve on their powerplay. They have went 1-15 with the man advantage. They must score more goals and play better defence or they will lose in the first round just like last year. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Nashville.

Tigers 6 Twins 5

The Tigers won their 5th game of the season today against the Twins. It took ten innings but they won 6-5. Steve Colyer picked up the win. Pena had a great game as he went 4-for-4, hit a HR, and smacked in 3 ribs. Craig Monroe won the by hitting a single in the tenth inning. It was the first time in Monroe's career that he had a game winning hit. The Tigers' balanced attack has scored at least five runs in each of the first six games, the first Tiger team to do that since 1961. The Tigers are now 5-1 on the season. Their next game is Tuesday against the Bluejays.

Redwings 2 Predators 1

The Redwings took a 2-0 lead in the series vs. Nashville as they won game two 2-1. Nashville probably outplayed the Wings again but they still won. The Wings got a key powerplay goal from Mathieu Schneider late in the game. Robert Lang scored the Wings' other goal. Manny Legace got his second career playoff start and as expected he played great stopping 27/28 shots. Even though the Wings have a 2-0 lead in this series they can not give the Predators a chance. They must win at least one of the next two games on the road and close out the series at home. The Predators are to good of a team to be allowed back into a series. Game three is tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.

Twins 10 Tigers 5

The Tigers finally lost their first game of the season today against the Twins 10-5. Jason Johnson picked up his first loss of the season. With Manager Allan Trammel suspended Kirk Gibson served as acting manager. Even with the loss the Tigers still hit the ball well today scoring 5 runs. Monroe hit the Tigers' only home run. The Tigers' pitching staff looked bad allowing 6 homeruns. This year the Tigers' hitting will be much improved but the big question will be their pitching. Their pitching staff will make or brake the Tigers this year. If the pitching staff does well chances are the Tigers will be close to playing .500 ball. The Tigers are now 4-1 on the season.

Pistons 72 Raptors 66

The Pistons already have the third seed in the East. They can't move up in the seedings and they can't move down. So tonight the Pistons played a practically meaningless game against the Raptors. They won 72-66. Hamilton lead the way as he scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Pistons capped a perfect six-game homestand with this victory over the Toronto Raptors. Vince Carter ended up with only 18 points for Toronto. The Pistons have home court advantage throughout the first two rounds of the playoffs. This was the Pistons' 52 victory of the season.

Tigers 10 Twins 6

The Tigers won AGAIN today against the Twins in their first home game of the season. After being down 3-0 early in the game the Tigers again made a great comeback. The scored stayed 3-0 until the sixth inning when the Tigers exploded for 4 runs. Alex S. scored the first comeback run as he hit his first homerun of the season(a solo shot). After another Tiger's run Bobby Higginson hit a double that scored 2 runners to make it 4-3 Tigers. In the top of the seventh the Twins scored one run to make it 4-4. The bottom of the seventh was almost like the sixth as the Tigers scored another 5 runs. Pena hit 3 runners in,with a single, when the bases were loaded. Then Higgy hit a triple with 2 runners on base to put the Tigers up 9-4(Higgy ended up with 4 rbis). Later in the inning Munson hit a solo shot to put the Tigers up 10-4. Neither team scored in the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth the Twins got 2 more runs but that was it. The final score was Tigers 10-Twins 6. This was the first time in 19 years that the Tigers started a season 4-0. I have watched more games this year already that I did all of last year. They need to keep it rolling and not lose focus for the rest of this series with the Twins.

Tigers 6 Bluejays 3

The Tigers won again last night against the Jays 6-3 to complete the season opening sweep. It looked like the Tigers were going to have a bad game after the first inning. Tigers' starter Jeremy Bonderman looked bad early as he gave up a three run homerun to Carlos Delgado in the first inning. Those were the only runs the Jays would get for the rest of the game. The Tigers came back in the bottom of the first with 4 runs to put them in the lead. They never looked back. Bonderman settled down as he retired 11 straight batters after the first inning. Bonderman tied his career high in strikeouts by the first out of the sixth inning and was on his way to a career outing when the Tigers received their second injury scare in as many nights. Vernon Wells slapped a hard bouncer up the middle that hit Bonderman's ankle, knocking him to the ground in pain. He appears he will be ok and should be ready for his next start. He finished the game with 8 strikouts and got the victory. After Bonderman went out, 4 Tiger relievers came in and retiring 11 of Toronto's final 12 hitters. They didn't allow one Bluejay past second base. Last year the Tigers would have lost this game. The Tigers' season opener is at 2:00 p.m., this afternoon, against the Twins.
Notes-The Tigers, who swept just two series all of last season, earned their first three-game sweep in Toronto since the 1984 season. That's also the last year they came home to Detroit for their home opener with a winning record

Wings 3 Predators 1

The Redwings won the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight against Nashville. They beat them 3-1. The Redwings didn't start this game very well. The Red Wings trailed 1-0 only 16 seconds into the contest after Preds forward Adam Hall poked a loose puck past Wings goaltender Manny Legace. After 2 periods the score was still 1-0 Nashville. Going into the third period I thought the Wings were going to lose. The Redwings proved me wrong as they stormed back in the third period with 3 goals. Kris Draper scored the first goal to spark the comeback. A few minutes later in the game Thomas Holmstrom scored the game winning goal. Holmstrom's game-winner came off a redirection past Preds goaltender Tomas Vokoun at 4:55 of the third that put Detroit up 2-1. Near the end of the game Robert Lang scored an amazing goal, as he burned Thomas V, to secure the victory for the Redwings. I said Legace would step up to the task and he did stopping 23/24 shots. This was the first time in three years that the Redwings won the first game in the first series of the playoffs. This was a big win but they are still 3 wins away from winning this series and 15 wins away from winning the Stanley Cup.

Pistons 102 Magic 86

The Pistons won their 5th straight victory last night against the Orlando Magic 102-86. The Pistons were led by Rasheed Wallace, who had 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince each added 12 points. Davin Ham also had a good game with 11 points off the bench. Orlando was never really in this game. Detroit made run after run when Orlando came close to getting back into the game. Chauncey Billups suffered a sprained ankle but it appears he won't be out long. This was Detroit's 51th victory of the season.

Tigers 7 Blue Jays 3

The Tigers won again tonight against the Bluejays 7-3. They have started the season great and are now 2-0. The victory came with a big price. Dimitri Young sprained a leg bone while sliding into second base. He will be out 6 weeks. Now other Tigers will have to step up in his absence. Even with Young's injury it was still a great game for the Tigers. Tigers' starter Mike Maroth had a good game as he picked up the victory. He pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 earned runs. It took him 9 starts last year to win his first game. Nate R. pitched great in Maroth's relief. He pitched 4 relief innings, had 7 strikeouts(4 straight to end the game), and only allowed one hit. Pudge continued his hot streak going 2-5 with 2 doubles and 2 rbi's. Carlos Guillen had 2 hits that included a solo homerun. Vina also played well again getting 2 more hits. For the second straight game the Tigers didn't have any errors. They have played great these first 2 games of the season. I hope these 2 early victories are signs of what is to come for the rest of the season.

Legace starting the Playoffs

The Redwings announced today that Manny Legace is going to start the playoffs against Nashville on Wednesday night. They didn't say if he would play the whole series but he is at least going to play in the first game. I think Legace is ready. He will step up to the task. The Wings can count on him to play good.

Changes

As you might have noticed I changed my banner to the ugly old one I used to have. I changed it because the cool new one I had won't show up. I put the new banner on a test site. As soon as it shows up on the test site I will put it back on this site. Sorry about the ugly changes.

NCAA Championship

Last night Uconn won the NCAA National Championship in college basketball. They beat Georgia Tech 82-73. I wanted Duke to win the championship so I didn't watch much of the game. Okafor had 24 points. Uconn was favored all year to win the title and they did. This was Uconn's second National Championship in 5 years.

Tigers 7 Bluejays 0

The Tigers started the season great today. They destroyed the Bluejays 7-0. The Tigers hit great against last year's CY Young winner Roy Halladay. They scored all seven runs of their runs against him. The Tigers' starting pitcher Jason Johnson played very well pitching 6 innings,striking out 3, and only allowing 4 hits as he picked up his first victory of the season. Pudge,Vina,Levine, and White also had great first games with the Tigers. Pudge went 2-5 with a single and a solo homerun against Halladay in the 6th inning. Rondell White went 2-4,scored 2 runs, and hit a monster 3 run homer in the 7th inning. Fernando Vina went 2-5 with 2 singles. Al Levine played good in relief of Johnson. He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings with a strikeout. Carlos Pena started the scoring with a solo homerun in the 4th inning. He also added a single. Last year's Tiger MVP, Dimiti Young, went 2/4 with 2 runs scored. Bobby Higginson also added 2 rbi's with the bases loaded. The Tigers didn't have any errors in the game. They played well all around today. It was a great way for them to start the season. All the players the Tigers got this offseason played well today. Even though it is just one win out of 162 games it was still important. They haven't started a season 1-0 in 3 years. They now need to take this momentum and play good the rest of this series with the Bluejays.
Notes-This was the first time since 1970 that the Tigers shutout a team on opening day.

Season Opener

The Detroit Tigers start their season today against the Toronto Bluejays at 1:15 p.m. It will be a tough game for the Tigers. The Jays starting pitcher is Roy Halladay(22-7 with a 3.25 era). If the Tigers can hit well against Halladay they will probably win the game. The Tigers MUST not start the season slow. They have to win quickly. The past 2 seasons they started 0-11 and 0-9. If they start off slow like the last 2 years they will be done by mid-June. They haven't had a winning season in over a decade. New Tiger Jason Johnson will get the start. Here is the rest of the Projected Tigers lineup:
1. Alex Sanchez, CF
2. Fernando Vina, 2B
3. Ivan Rodriguez, C
4. Dmitri Young, DH
5. Rondell White, LF
6. Carlos Pena, 1B
7. Carlos Guillen, SS
8. Bobby Higginson, RF
9. Eric Munson, 3B
--------------------------
The Tigers almost have to do better than they did last year. They almost set the record for losses in a season. They picked up some very good free agents in the offseason. They signed Fernando Vina, Rondell White, Al Levine, Jason J, Ugueth Urbina, and of course Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez. They also traded for shortstop Carlos G. I don't think they will contend for the playoffs but I think they will be vastly improved and win about 60-75 games. They are about one or two years away from competing for a playoff spot. This season should be much more bearable to watch. They hopefully won't get blown out as much as last year. I'm excited about the season and I can't wait to see how good or bad the Tigers will really be.

Pistons 79 Pacers 61

The Pistons beat the Pacers today on national television(79-61). After losing the first three games against the Pacers this season they finally beat them by playing good defence. They held Pacer allstar Jermaine O'Neal to 4-15 shooting and only 9 points. The Pistons held the entire Pacers team to 23-71 shooting. Richard Hamilton had a game high 24 points. Rasheed Wallace added 7 points and 8 rebounds. Even though the Pacers already won the the division it was still a big victory for the Pistons. They needed to prove to everybody that they could beat the Pacers and their old coach, Rick C. This victory also gives the Pistons some confidence going into the playoffs.
Notes-The win gave the Pistons 50 wins on the season. This was their third straight season with 50 wins.

Redwings 1 Columbus 4

In the final game of the regular season the Redwings lost 4-1. They didn't look like they were into the game. They are looking to the playoffs after locking up the President's Cup. Steve Thomas scored the Wings' only goal. It was a boring meaningless game(as it should have been). They play Nashville in the first round of the playoffs. It will be a tough first round series for the Wings even though Nashville will clearly be the underdog. The Wings usually have a tough time in the first round of any playoff series. It should be a very good series between these two exciting teams.

Pistons 92 Heat 84

The Pistons won their third straight game last night beating the Miami Heat 92-84. In the first half the Pistons didn't look good. Miami shot 48 percent (19-of-40) in the first half and took a 45-37 lead at halftime. They played bad defence in the first half but luckly their defence kicked in after halftime. The Pistons limited the Miami Heat to 39 points on 13-of-42 shooting in the second half. Ben Wallace was a big reason for their solid defence in the second half. He grabbed 8 rebounds and 7 blocks in the game. Chauncey Billups had one of his best games of the season. He scored 31 points, added 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. He needed to have a big game because the other point guard-Rip Hamilton-had only 3 points as he battled with foul trouble. The Pistons need to start playing better as the playoffs roll around. They are letting bad teams stay in games with them when they should be closing them out. If they play that way in the playoffs they will be out quickly. Detroit is now 49-27 and is locked into third place in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons would face Miami in the first round if the season ended today.

NIT Champs!

Michigan won the NIT Championship last night with a win over Rutgers. In a very close game they won 62-55. It isn't the NCAA tournament but it is still a championship. Michigan played well all tournament and deserved to win this championship. Michigan opened the game with a lead of 41-29 before Quincy Douby's only basket of the game started a 15-2 Rutgers' run that nudged the Scarlet Knights in front briefly. Rutgers got back into the game by full-court pressing Michigan. Michigan looked like they were going to fall behind because Rutgers' full-court press kept making them turn the ball over. Tommy Amaker kept them calm and patient and Michigan stayed in the game. Michigan stopped turning the ball over and pulled off a 9-0 run to seal the victory. Dion Harris had 13 points in this game. Daniel Horton added 14 points and was the tournament MVP. Michigan's last NIT Championship was in 1997 but that was stripped because of self-imposed sanctions. This was the first time Michigan was in a tournament since 2000. Michigan used their return to add another championship. Even though it was just a NIT Championship it is a huge one for the Michigan program. They weren't even supposed to be allowed to play in the post season this year,but a rare decision by the NCAA last September to grant the school's appeal of sanctions and made Michigan eligible for postseason play. A huge reason for Michigan's success has been Tommy Amaker. He has been doing a incredible job at Michigan. Since he has been here Michigan's victory total has gone up each year(11,18,23). This victory helps Michigan's program move into the right direction. Now Michigan has some momentum going into next season. They also should be even better next year,because 4/5 of their starters will be back next year. Michigan finished the season 23-11. I can't wait till next season after this incredible one.

Redwings 3 Blues 2

The Detroit Red Wings clinched the Presidents' Trophy with a 3-2 victory tonight over the Blues. They now have home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. It is nice that the Wings got home ice advantage, but it only matters if the Wings play in a 7 game playoff series. The Wings played well in this game. Marc L. made just his third career start. He stopped 25/27 shots. Chris C. added 2 assists. Boyd D. and Steve Thomas scored the Wings' first 2 goals. With the scored tied 2-2 Ray Whitney scored his 14th goal to give the Wings a 3-2 lead late in the second period. For the rest of the game Detroit shutdown St. Louis and prevented them from scoring any more goals. Detroit was limited to a season-low 12 shots,but scored on 3 of the first 8 shots against former Redwing goalie Chris Osgood. The Wings ended the Blues' 4 game winning streak. The Blues missed a chance to clinch their 25th straight playoff berth, which would extend the longest current streak in professional sports. Instead, the loss put them in a three-way tie with the Oilers and Predators for seventh in the Western Conference with only 2 games to go.

Redwings 3 Columbus 2

The Redwings won an important game last night against the Blue Jackets. They beat them 3-2. The win gave them 107 points as they clinched their 6th Western Conference title in 12 years. More importantly was the return of Kris Draper and Robert Lang(both were injured earlier this month). Lang's return was great as he scored his first goal as a Redwing(30th of the year). He also won 14/16 faceoffs. Kirk M. and Thomas H. added the other Wings' goals. Datsyuk ending his 5 game goal streak but he added an assist to extend his point streak to 6 games. Legace played good again stopping 30/32 shots.With Cujo's injury, Legace will probably start the first few games of the playoffs.
Notes- The Wings have 107 points to Tampa Bay's 104. Both teams have two games left and the Wings just need one more win to lock up the President's Trophy

Pistons 108 Clippers 99

The Pistons won their second straight game last night beating the Clippers 108-99. Even though they allowed 99 points they stilled played a good defensive game. The Pistons collected a season-high 18 steals against the mistake-prone Clippers. Lindsey Hunter also had five steals as the Pistons forced 22 turnovers, converting them into 31 points. Richard H. scored 28 points and another 5 steals. Even with the good defensive game,Larry Brown wasn't happy with the win. I'm just happy it's over. It was a long game," said Brown. They let the Clippers play better than they really are. Without their good bench play they would have probably lost. Billups scored 21 points and Okur added 19 for the Pistons. Even with the win they were eliminated from the Central Division race when Indiana beat Milwaukee. Detroit is now (48-27) on the season and has already clinched a playoff berth.