Game 5:Pistons 83 Pacers 65

The Pistons are one win away from the NBA Finals after destroying the Pacers yesterday 83-65 in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. They now lead the series 3-2.

This was a huge win for the Pistons. After losing game 4 at home they had to go on the road and win to avoid being down 3-2 going back home. These are the kindof games that championship teams have to win.

The Pistons got a huge game from Rip Hamilton. He scored a career playoff high 33 points including 12 points in a row at one point.


Rasheed Wallace also had a huge game. After scoring just 10 points in game 4 Rasheed came back with 22 points in game 5. He also held Jermaine O'Neal to just 12 points.

Tayshaun Prince who was having a terrible series scored 9 points in game 5. He also blocked 3 shots,grabbed 4 rebounds, and didn't turn the ball over once.

After a performance like this it looks like the Pistons are going to make it to the NBA Finals. They completely dominated the Pacers. They held the lead almost the entire night. Game 6 is at home tomorrow night and it is crucial that the Pistons close out Indiana,because game 7 would be at Indiana.

The only thing that worries me about Detroit is that they have been playing good one game and then bad the next. If they want to get past the Pacers and win the NBA title they have to play consistant every game. Playing inconsistant won't get it done against the Pacers,Timberwolves, or the Lakers.

Notes-The Pistons are now 6-3 at home in these playoffs and 5-3 on the road....The Lakers lead the T-Wolves 3-2 in the Western Conference Finals....Picture from Aol Sports

5/29 Notes

I will be gone over the weekend so I won't be able to write about the the Pistons important game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Pacers. I won't be able to write about the game till Monday when I get back. Check back Monday afternoon for a full game report.

I recently started my new Tigers blog-Motown Tigers but I probably won't post much on that site any more. The reason is because I am going to be writing most of the game reports for Tigerblog.net this summer. I will write on Motown Tigers a little but I won't have many more game reports.

Game 4:Pistons 68 Pacers 83

The Pistons lost game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Pacers 83-68. The Pacers have now tied the series at 2-2.

The Pistons were never in this game. Indiana got the lead early and teld it throughout the game. The Pistons might have had a chance to comeback at the end of the third quarter when they came within 11 points. During that time Indiana went over 9 minutes with only 1 field goal,but the Pistons couldn't capitalize and the Pacers held them off to take the win on the road.

Indiana got a huge game from Ron Artest. He scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Jermaine O'Neal sprained his knee in the second quarter and left the game briefly. He came back to score 12 points. Austin Croshere made his first start in 2 years for Indiana and scored 14 points. After shooting under 34 percent in the first 3 games of this series the Pacers shot 46 percent in game 4.

The Pistons played terrible. Detroit just simply didn't play their game. They again turned the ball over at critical times.

Tayshaun Prince continued his cold streak scoring 0 points while allowing Ron Artest to walk all over him. Ben Wallace also had a horrid night offensive night scoring just 1 point.

Hamilton scored 22 points to lead the Pistons and Chauncey Billups scored 21 points. The Pistons need to get some points from someplace other than their guards if they want to win this series. Rasheed,Prince,and Okur are the 3 main guys who need to step it up.

After scoring 20 points in game 3,Rasheed Wallace scored only 10 points on 5-17 shooting in game 4. With his 10 points he also grabbed 10 rebounds.

This series is now best of 3 games. Game 5 and game 7 will be at Indiana. That means the Pistons will have to win game 5 or 7 on the road and win game 6 at home.

Game 4 Preview

The Pistons play game 4 tonight of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers won game 1 and the Pistons won games 2 and 3.

This is a huge game. If the Pacers win they will tie the series at 2-2, and that means the Pistons will have to win one game on the road and one game at home to win this series. If the Pistons win they will be up 3-1 and be only one game away from the Finals.

The main difference throughout this series has been the Pistons defense. They have been holding to Pacers to just 74.3 points a game. If they continue to play great defense they should win this game. The Pacers will probably try something different to throw off the Pistons. This should be another low scoring game.

Tonight's game will be at the Palace.

Game 3:Pistons 85 Pacers 78

The Pistons won game 3 of Eastern Conference Finals last night against the Pacers. Detroit beat them 85-78. They now have a 2-1 series lead.

With 49 seconds left in the game the Pacers had closed the gap and were only down 80-78. The Pistons had the ball and Rasheed Wallace attemted a shot that clanked off the rim, but Ben Wallace was right there to put in the rebound. With the score 82-78 Al Harrington attemted a three pointer that was blocked by Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons got the ball and made some free throws to close out the game.

The Pistons got huge games from some of their best players. Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points to lead the Pistons. Ben Wallace added 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting,and also grabbed 16 rebounds. Billups had 14 points and 8 assists. Rip Hamilton scored 20 points again(he has now scored 20 points 25 times in 32 career playoff games).

This was a big win for the Pistons. If they win game 4 at home they will have the commanding 3-1 series lead going back to Indiana....Detroit once again played great defense holding Indiana to just 78 points. The only Pacer who scored big points was Jermaine O'Neal who scored 24 points....Rasheed Wallace finally had a great game. This is why we got him,to help us win these tough games in the playoffs....Game 4 is Friday night.

5/26 News

The Pistons play game 3 tonight vs. the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers won game 1 and the Pistons won game 2. This is a big game for both teams as they each try to take the 2-1 advantage. Tonight's game will be at the Palace.
The Tigers lost a tough game yesterday against the Royals 4-3. For a game recap go to these sites The Detroit Tigers Weblog and Motown Tigers.

Get out of My House!

This is the picture of Tayshaun Prince making the game saving block on Reggie Miller's layup attempt at the end of the game. That block changed the complexion of game 2 and it probably changed the complexion of the entire series. Game 3 is tomorrow night at the Palace.

Game 2:Pistons 72 Pacers 67

The Pistons got a huge game 2 victory over the Pacers beating them 72-67. Rasheed Wallace came through on his victory guarantee. He didn't play a good offensive game (scoring just 10 points) but he played a great defensive game grabbing 8 rebounds, blocking 5 shots, and holding Jermaine O'Neal to just 16 points. Here is a game recap.
First Half-At the end of the first quarter the Pistons were down 17-12. In the second quarter they got huge bench points from Okur and Corliss Williamson to help them stay in the game when most of their starters were benched.
Second Half-Midway through the third quarter Rasheed Wallace got hot and hit 3 straight shots to give the Pistons a 51-49 lead with 5:46 remaining. After Rasheed's baskets the Pistons didn't score another basket till 2.8 seconds left in the third when Rip Hamilton hit a jump shot to make it 55-54 Pistons. In the fourth quarter Rip Hamilton went on a 8 point tear to make it 69-63 Pistons with only 1:38 left in the game. The Pacers got back in the game when Reggie Miller made 4 straight free-throws to make it 69-67 Pistons. After Miller's free throws the Pistons attemted to close out the game with a basket. Rasheed Wallace tried to dunk it over Jermaine O'Neal but O'Neal blocked his shot. Chauncey got the loose ball but it was stolen by Jamaal Tinsley who passed it up to a wide open Reggie Miller. Miller ran down the court to try and score the easy layup that would have tied the game at 69-69. Tayshaun Prince made the play of the game, storming down the court to block Miller's shot. It was an incredible block. Miller was at least 5 steps ahead of Prince. Rip Hamilton picked up the ball off the block and was fouled. He made both free throws to close out the game.
Game Notes-The main story of this game was the Pistons' great defense. They blocked 19 of the Pacers' shots, one block shy of a NBA record. They also held them to just 27.5 percent shooting. Almost every Indiana shot was contested. The Pistons held the Pacers' 2 big stars,Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest, to just 11-39 shooting. The Piston who probably played the best defensive game was Tayshaun Prince. Along with his game saving block was the way he played defense all night. He held Ron Artest to 13 points and forced him to foul out with just a couple minutes left in the game. He also made some other key blocks. The best offensive player for the Pistons was Rip Hamilton. He scored 23 points and made some big shots at the end of the game to help fend of the Pacers. Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace had 13 blocks combined. This was a great game. Both teams played well enough to win. The Pistons now go back home with the series tied at 1-1. If they play the way they played defense tonight they should have no trouble winning the next 2 games at home.

5/23 News

Pistons News-Rasheed Wallace made a guarantee today. He said "We will win game 2" repeatedly all day long to news reporters. I hope he is right and the Pistons can pull off the victory.
Tigers Notes-The Tigers lost today against the Mariners. Seattle beat them 3-1. Bonderman(4-3) went 7 innings strong and gave up only 3 runs. It was to bad that he couldn't get the run support and he had to take the loss. The Tigers are now one game below 500 with a 21-22 record.

Tigers 8 Mariners 4

The Tigers are once again 500 after beating the Mariners late last night 8-4. Jason Johnson(3-5) got the start for Detroit and went 8 1/3 innings to pick up his third victory of the season. Detroit broke open the game in the 8th inning when Craiq Monroe hit a double that cleared the bases to make it 5-2 Tigers. The Tigers scored a few more runs after that to put the game out of reach. They are now 21-21 on the season.
Notes-Jason Johnson fell 2 outs short of the first complete game victory for any Tigers' pitcher since 2002....The Tigers were 0-16 this year when trailing after the 7th inning(before this game)....Jason Johnson allowed 7 hits....

Game 1:Pistons 74 Pacers 78

The Pistons played a bad game one even though the score was close. The Pacers outplayed them to pick up the 78-74 victory. Here is a end of the game recap.
End of the Game-With 1:23 left in the the game the score was tied at 74-74. Indiana had the ball and gave it to Reggie Miller who came off a screen and hit a three pointer to put the Pacers up 73-70. The Pistons came down and Chauncey Billups missed an open three that would have tied the game. Rasheed Wallace got the rebound off Billups' shot and stupidly forced a three pointer in the corner with a guy all over him. It was an airball. Reggie Miller made one free-throw after that to seal the game.
Game Thoughts-Detroit played stupid tonight. Indiana deserved to win this game. They had more energy than Detroit and they outplayed them tonight. Detroit will look at 3 things after watching the game tape. First they turned the ball over way to much. They had 19 turnovers tonight. That is way to many to win a playoff game. Second they didn't get big games from some of their best players. Rasheed Wallace had only 4 points on 1-7 shooting. Chauncey Billups had 18 points but only 1 point in the second half. Finally Detroit didn't get enough rebounds. The Pacers outrebounded them all night long. They were getting all the loose balls. Detroit needs to improve on these things if they want to win game 2. They must win game 2 or they will go back home down 2-0,something they don't want to happen.

Series Preview

The Pistons start the Eastern Conference Finals tonight against the Indiana Pacers. The Pistons got here by beating the Bucks in the first round and then they beat the Nets in 7 games in the second round. The Pacers are coming off beating the Heat in 6 games. The key matchup in this series will be Rasheed Wallace vs. Jermaine O'Neal. The Pistons only beat the Pacers once the entire regular season,that one time was when they had Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons will also have to watch Ron Artest,who was the League's Defensive Player of the Year. Along with his defense,Artest can score. Detroit will need a big series out of Tayshaun Prince who played terrible in games 3-7 of the New Jersey series. The Pistons are going up against their old coach Rick Carlisle. They fired him last year and replaced him with Larry Brown. This series will probably prove if the Pistons were right or wrong in firing him after winning 50 games in both years that he coached in
Detroit. It should be a great series between these 2 great teams.

Tigers 5 Mariners 0

The Tigers pulled off an impressive win yesterday against the struggling Mariners. They shut them out 5-0. Nate(3-3) pitched great going 7 innings,allowing 0 runs, and striking out 3. The Tigers got homeruns from Carlos Pena and Eric Munson. In the ninth inning the Mariners loaded the bases but Urbina shut them down. This was a nice victory for Detroit after losing a couple games in a row. They are now 20-21 on the season.
Notes-Pena's homer was his 6th of the season....Robertson gave up 6 hits....There were 3 errors in this game....Gil Meche(1-4) picked up the loss for the Mariners....

Here we come Indiana!

The Pistons are off to play the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals after finishing off the Nets in game 7 by beating them soundly 90-69. Here is a brief game recap.
First Half-The Nets took an early 10-4 lead in the first quarter. That was the only lead they would have as the Pistons went on a 17-4 run to end the first quarter. Detroit built on their lead in the second quarter and took a 43-31 lead going into halftime. Tayshaun Prince and Kidd didn't score at all during the first half.
Second Half-in the third quarter the Pistons continued to play great outscoring the Nets 30-19 to take a 73-50 lead going into the final quarter. Early in the 4th quarter the Nets got back within 15 points but Detroit answered with a 8-0 run to put away any thoughts of a comeback. They shut down the Nets the rest of the way to advance to the next round.
Game Notes-Detroit outplayed the Nets all night long. They took them out of their fast break offense. The biggest story of this game was how the Pistons held Jason Kidd to 0 points the entire night. It was just that kindof game for the Pistons. They got huge games from Ben and Rasheed(Wallace) who combined for 30 points and 15 rebounds. Rip Hamilton scored 21 points and Chauncey Billups scored 22 points. This was just a great series for Detroit who had to comeback and win game 6 on the road after losing game 5 in 3 overtimes. It was great to win this series against the team that swept them last year in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The upcoming series-the Pistons are feeling good about beating the Nets but they still have work to do. They now go up against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 1 is this Saturday. This will be a very tough series for the Pistons. They will have to shutdown Jermaine O'neal and Ron Artest. They are also going up against their former coach Rick Carlisle. The Pacers have home-court advantage which could play a major role in this series. Whichever team wins this series will probably have to do it in 6 or 7 games. It will be an incredible,hard fought series with these 2 very good teams going at eachother.

Game 7 Preview

The Pistons and Nets go head to head tonight in game 7 on the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Pistons won the first 2 games of this series at home. The Nets came back and won game 3 and 4 at home to tie the series at 2 games a piece. Then the Nets won game 5 in a classic that will be remembered with the Pistons losing in 3 overtimes. In game 6 the Pistons answered with a huge victory on the road to tie the series at 3-3. The Pistons play this game at home tonight but it will still be a very tough game to win against the Nets. New Jersey has more experience than Detroit and they will be prepared to play this game. The Pistons need a big game out of Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace. Both of them have been struggling a bit lately. If the Pistons play together and use the crowd to their advantage they should win the game. If they win they will face the Indiana Pacers and their old coach Rick C. in the Eastern Conference Finals. If they lose they will end their season a lot quicker than everyone expected.
Tigers Notes-The Tigers lost again today against Oakland 3-2. Tim Hudson pitched great for Oakland to land the victory. The Tigers are now 19-21 on the season.

Tigers 5 Oakland 1

The Tigers got back to 500 last night with a nice victory over the A's beating them 5-1. Bonderman(4-2) got the start and pitched great going 7 innings,giving up only 1 run, and allowing only 4 hits. This was the second time in less than a week that Bonderman 4 hit the A's. The Tigers got the runs they needed on homers from Monroe and Rondell White. The only run Bonderman gave up was on an Erubiel Durazo home run. Detroit has been looking great lately. They have been pitching much better and are hitting like they were earlier in the season. Their record now sits at 19-19 on the season.
Notes-White's homer was his 8th of the season....Bonderman is 4-2 on the season after being 6-19 last season....Monroe's homer was his second of the season....Greg Norton went 2-4 on the day....Alex Sanchez walked twice last night,his first 2 walks of the season....
MLB Notes-Last night was an incredible night for 2 major league pitchers. Randy Johnson threw just the 17th perfect game of all time against the Atlanta Braves. He is the oldest player ever, at 40 years of age, to throw a perfect game. Mike S. of the Giants also had an incredible night throwing a complete game 1 hitter.

5/18 Thoughts

The Pistons don't play game 7 till Thursday against the Nets. They beat the Nets in game 6 on the road thanks to clutch jump shots from Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton at the end of the game. Game 7 will be at home but that doesn't guarantee a victory against the Nets who beat them at home in game 5. It should be a classic game between these 2 great competitors.
The Tigers are on tonight at 10:05 against Oakland. They faced them 2 series ago and lost 2/3 games to them. Since that series the Tigers' pitching staff has been doing a lot better allowing only 19 runs in the last 7 games. They are 1 game under 500 with a 18-19 record. Bonderman(3-2) goes up against Rich Harden(2-2) tonight.

Game 7 on Thursday

The Pistons were on the ropes tonight after losing game 5 against the Nets at home in 3 overtimes. The Pistons had to win tonight to force a game 7. They did beating the Nets 81-75 on the road. The Nets got off to a fast start taking an early 13-2 lead, but the Pistons battled back strong in the first half to take a 14 point lead going into halftime. In the second half the Nets came back and kept the game close till the end of the game. Richard Hamilton made the biggest shot of the game as he pump-faked Jason Kidd off his feet and drilled a clutch 18-footer with 15 seconds remaining to put the Pistons up by 4 points. The Nets came down the court and Linsey Hunter made a great steal to close out the game. The Pistons didn't let the Nets play their game. They didn't allow them to get many fast break points. They played great and now must win game 7 at home. This series isn't over but it will be much easier now that they have won game 6 on the road. Game 7 is Thursday night at the Palace.
Notes-Rip Hamilton had a great game scoring 24 points(16 in the first half)....Ben Wallace grabbed 20 rebounds....Mehmet Okur was 2-2 on the game and had 6 rebounds....The Piston's largest lead tonight was 17 points....

Tigers 1 Rangers 6

The Tigers lost today against the Rangers 6-1 and are now 2 games under 500. Nate Robertson(2-3) got the start for Detroit and pitched good going 5.2 innings,giving up 3 runs, and striking out 10 Rangers. He now has 50 strikouts on the season,tied for second in the A.L. Robertson pitched good but Kenny Rogers(5-2) of the Rangers pitched even better. He threw 6.1 solid innings and gave up only 1 run. Hank Blalock, Alfonso Soriano and Michael Young all homered for the Rangers to put away the Tigers. The lone Tigers' run came off a Rondell White single. Detroit is now 17-19 on the season.
Notes-It took the Tigers till late June to get to 17 victories last season....White's RBI was his 30th of the season....Alex Sanchez (groin) missed his second straight game....Robertson's 10k's were a career high....Greg Norton added 2 hits today....

Game 5:Pistons 120 Nets 127 3 ot.

In the most incredible,heartbreaking,exciting, playoff game I have ever seen, the Pistons lost tonight 127-120 against the New Jersey Nets in 3 overtimes. The Nets now lead the series 3-2 going back home. Here is the game recap.
First Half-the Pistons were down by 12 at one point but battled back to take a one point lead going into halftime. Tayshaun Prince had a huge second quarter scoring 13 points to help the Pistons get back into the game.
Second Half-the game went back and forth all the way through the second half. Rip H,who had a great game,fouled out with 2 minutes to go.The Nets had a 2 point lead with less than 10 seconds left. They went to the free throw line needing to make both foul shots to ice the game, but they missed both shots and the Pistons raced down the court. Chauncey had the ball and went down the wide open lane. It seemed like he had a free layup but K-Mart came out of nowhere and blocked his shot with 3 seconds to go in the game. The Pistons fouled to put the Nets on the line again. They made 1/2 free throws to put them up by 3. Billups came down the court again with no one in his face and made a near half-court buzzer beater to put the game into overtime. It was the most incredible shot I have ever seen.
The 3 Overtimes-The overtimes where just amazing. The Nets got huge points from Brian Scalabrine, who scored 17 points and was 4/4 from behide the 3 point line. Both teams looked down and out a number of times but they each kept battling back. In the second overtime the Nets sank 3 straight 3 pointers but again the Pistons came back and forced a third overtime. At the end of the third overtime the Pistons were down by 3 points and the Nets were going to inbound the ball. Linsey Hunter made a great steal off the inbound and had a chance at a free layup to put the Pistons down by only one point. Instead he saw a wide open Billups who was behide the 3 point line,but Billups missed the 3-pointer that would have tied the game with 11 seconds left. After that the Nets made their free throws to close out the Pistons.
Game Notes-Both teams played incredible. It was so hard to see the Pistons lose after coming back so many times. They had to play in overtime without Ben Wallace,Rip H,and Rasheed Wallace, who all fouled out. Rasheed had a great game with 18 points and 11 rebounds while playing on a bad foot. Chauncey Billups gave a valient effort,playing 55 minutes, scoring 31 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out 8 assists. Rip H. played great in his 31 minutes scoring 11 points,dishing out 11 assists, and most importantly playing great defence and leading the team. Ben Wallace also added 16 points and 11 rebounds. This was such a tough loss but you have to give the Nets credit. They played great on the road and they didn't deserve to lose either. The Pistons now have to win on the road in game 6 to force a game 7. It will be extremely tough on the road especially after losing 3 straight games to the Nets. We shall see if the Pistons are up to the task.
Fact of the Night-this was only the 4th time in NBA history that a playoff game has went into triple overtime.

My Other New Site

I just started a new Tigers site. I will still be writing about the Tigers on this site but on my new Tigers site it will be more in depth coverage and will only have baseball on it. The address is www.motowntigers.blogspot.com .Please check it out and tell me what you think.

5/13 Notes

The Pistons play a very important playoff game tomorrow night against the New Jersey Nets. The series is tied 2-2 in this best of seven Eastern Conference Semifinals. Detroit won the first 2 games at home but lost game 3 and 4 on the road. Game 5 will be at the Palace. The Nets have the momentum after winning the last 2 games. Whoever wins tomorrow will have the commanding 3-2 series lead.
The Tigers won today against Oakland 3-1 after losing the first 2 games of the series. Maroth(4-1) pitched great going 8 innings and giving up only 1 run. Pudge hit the game winning homer in the first inning to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. That is all the Tigers needed as they shut Oakland down the rest of the way to pick up the victory. Detroit is now 16-18 on the season.

Tigers 1 Oakland 2

The Tigers lost another very tough game tonight against the A's. Oakland snuck past Detroit beating them 2-1. Tonight was a battle of pitching. Jeremy Bonderman(3-2) got the start for Detroit and pitched great going 7 innings, and giving up only 2 runs on 4 hits. Rich Harden(2-2) got the start for Oakland and pitched great as well going 7 inning,striking out 8, and giving up only one run. The Tigers' lone run come off a RBI single by Pudge in the 5th inning. Detroit had a golden opportunity in the third inning when they had runners on the corners with only 1 out, but Harden closed the door by stiking out Pudge and getting Rondell White to fly out. Just when the Tigers are finally starting to pitch good their hitting lets them down for the second straight game. If they can continue to pitch good and start hitting the ball again they will get back on the right track. Maroth(3-1)gets the start tomorrow against former Tiger Mark Redman(2-1).
Notes-Detroit is now 15-18 on the season....Pudge's RBI was his 28th of the season....Bonderman walked 5 batters tonight....This was Bonderman's first loss in 3 tries against his former team....

2-2 going back to the Palace

The best of seven playoff series between the Nets and the Pistons is tied 2-2 after the Pistons lost another embarrasing game on the road. The Nets beat them 94-79. The Pistons were down by 21 after the third quarter and they never could recover. The Nets again played great defence on the whole Pistons team. The only Piston who had a big night was Rip Hamiliton, who scored 30 points. Jason Kidd was the difference maker scoring 22 points, dishing out 11 assists, and getting 10 rebounds. I don't understand how the Pistons keep getting outplayed. These last 2 games have been terrible to watch. Detroit hasn't held the lead once these last 2 games. Rasheed Wallace,Tayshaun Prince,Chauncey Billups, and the rest of the Pistons team need to step it up as the series moves back to Detroit. The Nets now have all the momentum as the Pistons get an important game 5 win.
Notes-the Nets got 57 points from their big three(Kidd,Jefferson, and Martin)....Ben Wallace added 15 rebounds....Billups had a terrible night with just 6 points on 2-6 shooting....

Game 3-Pistons 64 Nets 82

In an important game 3 on the road the Pistons came up on the short end of the stick losing to the Nets 82-64. New Jersey played great defence all night long on the Pistons. New Jersey held Detroit to 29 percent (22-of-76) shooting and a franchise-playoff low 64 points. Rip and Chauncey had bad games scoring just 17 points combined on 5-25 shooting. The Nets also held Tayshaun Prince to just 4 points on 1-12 shooting. The Nets played great defense but they also got scoring for the first time this series. Jefferson had a great game pouring in a playoff career-high 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting. About the only Piston who had a good game was Ben Wallace. He scored 15 points and added a playoff career high 24 rebounds. Without him the Pistons would have lost by a lot more. The Pistons need to regroup and get ready for the next game. I think they will play much better in game 4. The series now moves to that pivotal game 4 in New Jersey. If the Pistons win they will have the commanding 3-1 lead going back home, but if the Nets win the series will be tied 2-2 with them having all the momentum.
Notes-The Pistons still lead the series 2-1....New Jersey has won 8 straight home playoff games against Eastern Conference opponents....Rasheed W. scored 10 points but played just 22 minutes....Jason Kidd shot just 2-14 but dished out 12 assists....

Tigers 5 Rangers 3

After losing the most embarrasing game of the season the Tigers came back with a nice 5-3 victory over the Rangers to win the series. Nate Robertson(2-2) pitched great going 7 2/3,allowing only 1 run, and striking out 7 batters. Urbina picked up his 4th save of the season. It is funny how the Tigers will lose bad and then win the next game. They are now 15-16 on the season and open a series with the A's this Tuesday.

Mother's Day Notes

Last night the Tigers lost the worst game I have ever seen. They were leading the Rangers 14-4 in the fifth inning. The Rangers came up to bat in the bottom of the 5th and scored 10 runs. It was a major league record for runs in the fifth inning-18. The Tigers and Rangers went into the 10th tied at 15-15, when Urbina gave up a single to send home the winning run for Texas. This was the most embarrasing loss I have ever seen. How could they give up a 10 run lead? I don't even want to talk about it. Now I move onto the Pistons' game. They play the Nets in game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals today. They lead the series 2-0. If the Pistons win they will have a commanding 3-0 lead. They should be able to win 2 of 3 games and close out the Nets. It should be a great game.
Blogger Notes- blogger.com will be down today for about 2-3 hours. They are adding some additional features and a whole new look for Blogger. Hopefully there will be some great new features. Also if anyone is thinking about making a sports blog I highly recommend it. They are a lot of fun and are totally free.

Game 2-Pistons 95 Nets 80

After dominating the Nets in game one(78-56) of the Eastern Conference semifinals the Pistons came right back and played a great game 2 beating the Nets 95-80 to take the 2-0 series lead. The Pistons didn't look good in the first half. They were down 46-34 going into the third quarter. In that third quarter the Pistons' finally turned on their defense forcing the Nets to miss 10 straight shots and commit seven turnovers during a stretch of nearly 10 minutes. The Pistons had a 61-57 lead going into the final quarter. The Nets got within 2 points twice early in the 4th, but the Pistons answered again with a 17-4 run. Detroit held them off and made 8 of their final 9 shots to secure the victory. The big story of this game was the Pistons' guards. Billups had 28 points and a playoff career high 13 assists. Rip Hamiliton also had 28 points. The Pistons' guards outscored the Nets' guards 56-14. The Pistons are just a better team then the Nets. Detroit has dominated them in both games. They showed their toughness when they were down by 12 going into halftime. They had to battle back and they did. Their defense got them back into the game. They held the Nets to 11-32 shooting in the second half and forced 15 turnovers. The series now moves back to New Jersey with the Pistons up 2-0. Hopefully they can close out the series at Jersey but if they don't they should be able to win 1 of 2 games on the road and close out the series at home. It will be a tough task against the Nets who aren't going to just give up.
Notes-Game 3 is Sunday night....Corliss W. added 11 points off the bench....Both teams shot 43 percent from the field....Rasheed Wallace added 15 points and 3 blocks....Ben Wallace scored all of his 8 points in the third quarter including three important jumpers to help get the Pistons back in the game....Chauncey and Rip had 34 points combined in the second half....The Pistons scored 34 points in the first half and 61 in the second half....The Pistons scored 30 points off New Jersey's 20 turnovers....

The losing streak is done

The Tigers finally ended their losing streak last by beating the Rangers 8-7. Their pitching wasn't that good but their hitting was great. Guillen had a homerun and 4 RBIs,but more importanly was his RBI triple in the 8th inning to put the Tigers up 8-7. Pudge also hit a homer against his former team in the 7th inning to put the Tigers up 7-5. The Tigers gave up 2 more runs but they held them off. Aaron Levine(3-2) picked up the victory and Urbina picked up the save.
Notes-The Tigers are now 14-15 on the season....Pudge's homer was his 5th of the season and his 4th in his last 5 games....Guillen's homer was his 3rd....Urbina has 3 saves on the season....

4/7 Notes

The Pistons play game 2 tonight against the Nets in their best of seven playoff series. The Pistons won game one 78-56. They held the Nets to the second lowest score in NBA playoff history(56). Tonight New Jersey should score more,but I still think the Pistons will take the 2-0 series lead. The Pistons are a better team then the Nets and they match up better against them. It should be a good game whether the Pistons win or lose.
Tigers Notes-The Tigers lost again 2 days ago to the Angels 6-3. This was the first time they were swept all season. They are now 13-15 on the season and just 2-8 in their last 10 games. At least they didn't give up 10 runs again but they still didn't pitch good. Jason Johnson(1-5) picked up the loss and has now lost 5 straight games. Detroit starts a series with the Rangers tonight. Bonderman(3-1) gets the start.

An Era Ending

The Redwings are out of the playoffs after losing to the Flames in game 6. More important than ending a season is the fact that the Wings are ending a era. They have won 3 cups in the last 8 years but have been bounced from the playoffs 2 straight years. These 2 pictures basically sum it up.


A lot of Redwings won't be back for next season. Brett Hull is already being marked off the Wings' roster after having a bad season and playoffs. The Captain-Steve Yzerman is most likely done after getting injured,and he will be done for sure if there is a lockout next season. Cujo might be back but it is an unsure thing. Chris C. wants to play for the Wings but he is old(42) and not as good as he used to be. It doesn't look like Shanny will be back next season either because the Wings would have to pick up his 6.5 million dollor contract. Draper is coming off a career season but the Wings might not be able to give him enough money. Even Ray Whitney might be traded after having a bad year. The only thing that we know about the Wings going into next season (if there is a season barring a NHL lockout) is that they will be a totally different team. Hopefully they will be a younger,faster,and stronger team. Ken H. and Mike I. will have a very tough task,this offseason, figuring out what to do. Here are some great articles on this and a lot more at The Detroit News,The Detroit Free Press,and OntheWings.
Notes-pictures from www.detroitredwings.com and www.detroitfreepress.com.

Angels 11 Tigers 4

The Tigers are now below 500 for the first time this season as they got destroyed again by the Angels 11-4. Their pitching staff has now given up 10 or more runs in 7 games this season. The Tigers need to make some kindof trade or they could continue this losing streak. There have been a few rumors about the Tigers getting a pitcher but none have come to pass yet. The Tigers' hitting has been great but they need some pitchers. They have the highest ERA in the A.L. The only upside to this loss was the Tigers' 3 homeruns. Pudge hit one of those homers and now has one in 3 straight games. The Tigers also got homers from Rondell White and Carlos Pena.
Notes-the Tigers are now 13-14 on the season....Pena's homer was his 5th this season....White's homer was his 6th this season....Nate Robertson picked up the loss....The Tigers have allowed 11 runs in each of the last 3 games....There is a great article about how the Tigers are lucky to be near 500 at Tigers Central....

Flames 1 Redwings 0,Season Over

The Redwings are done playing hockey for this season after losing to the Flames late last night 1-0. The Redwings were again outplayed. I said if they could score on Miikka K. they would win. They couldn't and they got shutout for the second staight game. Even they lost, Cujo played incredible all night long. He made 43 saves. The only goal he allowed was the game winner with 47 seconds left in the first overtime. Martin Gelinas scored the game winner in front of the net. The puck kindof drifted over to him on a bad shot and he put it in the wide open net. Cujo didn't have a prayer to stop it. The Redwings lost, but I'm almost happy they are gone from the playoffs. They were outplayed this whole series and they didn't deserve to win. They were even outplayed in the Nashville series but they luckily escaped in 6 games. Detroit obviously needs to get younger if they want to get farther than the second round. Guys like Hull,Shanny,and other just didn't have that great of playoffs. They were slow and weak. Even some of the younger players had bad series. Datsyuk didn't score once this whole playoffs,and Zetterberg didn't have a great playoff either. The Wings will have to reload next year. Hopefully they can get some young talented players. They need to stop going after these old, used to be good stars. If there is a strike or not it's going to be yet another long offseason for the Redwings. They have now been bounced from the playoffs 2 straight years.
3 Stars of the Playoffs
1. Curtis Joseph-he played great all playoffs and gave them a chance to win every night,any Redwings fan who says it was his fault they lost doesn't know hockey.
2.Robert Lang-he was picked up before the playoffs to help the Wings win a cup. He did his part scoring 4 goals and picking up 9 points(he lead the Wings in both catagories) in this year's playoffs. He scored some incredible goals and it should be fun to watch him play a whole season next year.
3.Redwings Defense-I can't really think of anyone else who played good this playoffs,but the Wings' defense did ok. The Wings couldn't score if their lives depended on it but they didn't give up many goals. Their defense was probably good enough to get them into the next round.
Notes-The Flames haven't been in the conference finals since 1989....Kiprusoff allowed just seven goals in Calgary's first eight wins during the playoffs....
Tigers Notes-The Tigers played yesterday as well(like anyone really noticed). They lost a bad game against the Angels. They were winning 6-2 but they blew the lead to lose again. Maroth pitched good but the bullpen pitched terrible in relief. Pudge hit another homer(his second in 2 games) The Tigers are now 13-13 on the season.

Game 1:Pistons 78 Nets 56

The Pistons played great tonight in game one of their best of seven series with the Nets. They destroyed them 78-56. They held the Nets to the second lowest score in NBA playoff history. The Pistons lead at halftime 37-25. In the third quarter they went on a 22-3 run to basically close out the Nets. The Nets' big three (Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson) combined for just 28 points on 9-of-36 shooting. Tayshaun Prince played great once again finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Wallace also had a superb game collected 13 rebounds and scoring 11 points for the Pistons. The Pistons had an overwhelming 48-29 edge on the glass tonight. The Pistons showed how they are different from last year. They dominated the Nets in every aspect of the game. Even though its just one game, I think the entire series will be like this. The Nets just aren't as good as the Pistons. Game 2 is Friday at the Palace.
Notes-The Pistons have a 1-0 series lead....the Nets shot just 27% in this game....Tashaun Prince also added 5 assists....The Pistons snapped the Nets 14-game postseason winning streak against Eastern Conference opponents....The combined score for both teams in the first half (62) was the lowest in NBA postseason history....

Playoff Time!

Both the Pistons and Redwings have very important playoff games tonight. The Redwings have the much bigger game as they face the Flames in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They are down 3-2 in this best of seven series,and the game is in Calgary. They also don't have their captain Steve Yzerman who got hit in the face with a puck in game 5. If the Wings can somehow win they will most likely win game 7 at home,but it will be very tough to score against Vevina Trophy Finalist Miikka Kiprusoff. He hasn't given up many goals this playoffs series, and I suspect that won't change much tonight. This game will show how good and how tough the Wings really are.
The Pistons also have a big playoff game tonight. They square off against the New Jersey Nets in game one in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Last year the Nets swept the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons are much better this year. They are more experienced and they have Rasheed Wallace. He is going to be the key to their success or downfall. If he has a great series they will beat the Nets. It will be a tough series for both teams and it will likely take 6-7 games for either team to finish one another off. Detroit has home-court advantage through out the series. They must win game one or game two or they could get swept by the Nets just like last year. It should be a great series.

Mariners 12 Tigers 2

The Tigers got smoked today by the Mariners 12-2. Nate Cornejo got the start and pitched horrible. He now has a 8.42 ERA on the season. Even though Cornejo didn't pitch good,he didn't get much support either. Detroit had only 4 hits, scored 2 runs, and had 3 errors. It was another long day for the Tigers' pitching staff who need to step it up. They have given up 10 or more runs in 6 games this season. Evertime the Tigers win a game it seems like they get blownout the next day. If they can get their pitching together they should finish May with a winning record just like they did in April.
Notes-The Tigers are now 13-12 on the season....Detroit scored both of their runs in the seventh inning....The Tigers start a new series tomorrow with the Angels....Mike Maroth(3-1) gets the start tomorrow against Bartolo Colon(3-2)....

Game:5 Redwings 0 Flames 1

The Redwings played a horrible must win game 5 against the Flames tonight. They got shutout 1-0. They looked flat all night. They are now down 3-2 in the series going back to Calgary. Cujo played good enough to keep them in the game stopping 20/21 shots,but they just couldn't score any goals. The Redwings now have to show what they are made of. I don't really expect them to win but that's what I though in 2002 when they came back from a 3-2 deficit against the Avs and later won the Cup. They are very capable to win but it will be tough against the Flames, who have all the momentum. If they can score on Miika K. they should be able to comeback and win this series. If the Wings lose we can't say much. They have won 3 cups in the last 8 years. Game 6 will show how good the Wings really are.

Tigers 4 Mariners 2

After losing to the Mariners yesterday in the 10th inning the Tigers came back with a nice victory against them today. They beat Seattle 4-2. Jeremy Bonderman looked great throwing 7 2/3 innings,gave up only one run,and walked none. He is now 3-0 on the season. The Tigers got runs on a 2 run homer from Pudge to put the Tigers up 2-0. The Tigers got another 2 runs from Greg Norton when he hit a homer in the fifth inning to make it 4-0 Tigers. The Mariners got another 2 runs but the Tigers held them off to get the win. Urbina helped close them out by pitching a perfect 9th inning to earn the save.
Notes-The Tigers are now 13-11 on the season....Norton's homer was his first of the season....Pudge's homer was his second of the season and first at Comerica Park....At one point Bonderman set down 16 consecutive Mariners....Bonderman and Maroth are a combined 6-1 on the season....Urbina has 2 saves on the season....

Mariners 3 Tigers 1

The Tigers lost last night against the Mariners 3-1 in the 10th inning. Jason J. got the start and pitched great going 6 1/3 innings,giving up only 4 hits, and stiking out 4. Even though Johnson pitched great the bullpen collapsed. Al Levine gave up 2 runs in the 10th inning to pick up his first loss of the season. The Tigers' lone run came off a sac-fly from Bobby Higginson. This was a tough loss for the Tigers but at least their pitching was good. They need to hit and pitch to win games. The Tigers finished April with a 12-11 record. It was a great month to start the season but they still need to work on a few things. The season is young and you can never tell what is going to happen.