Detroit sports recap
I was at the Detroit Tigers’ game, which they won 4-3, so I just wanted to quickly talk about some other Detroit teams aside from my beloved Red Wings.
Detroit Tigers
Today’s game was a continuation of the pretty inconsistent play by the team over the past month. The Tigers’ overall record is 13-11.
Brandon Inge had three hits in the game including the game winning solo homerun. When the game was tied, Joel Zumaya was called in to pitch.
Then there was Joel “Big Funk” Zumaya, whom manager Jim Leyland didn’t really want to use but decided to when Zumaya said he felt fine. To a question mark of confidence, in other words, Leyland turned over a tie in the seventh with a runner on third and two outs.
Not odd, but a bit risky if “Big Funk” still was in a big funk.
But he wasn’t.
After an earlier calming chat with Kenny Rogers — “I can’t help out any other way,” Rogers said — Zumaya not only looked like himself on the mound, but he pitched like himself.
“I needed a talk like that,” Zumaya said. “That was big. He told me to keep my head up, not to beat myself up so much, not to give the other team an edge, and I followed his advice.
“I didn’t have my good curve, but I was able to get by. Plus, I also kept my mouth shut on a couple of close calls.”
Zumaya worked out of the jam, which turned out to be the Twins’ last threat.
I also decided that as soon as I find a Magglio Ordonez t-shirt in my size, I’m going to buy it. He was my favorite Tiger in the playoffs last season and he certainly did well today.
The Tigers also won because Magglio Ordonez always hits Santana and remembered that. With two more hits off the Twins’ left-hander, including a two-run home run, Ordonez has a .417 (15-for-36) batting average and 14 RBIs against Santana.
For more postgame reactions, check out the great Tigers’ blogs (TigerBlog and Mack Avenue Tigers).
Detroit Pistons
Yesterday, the Pistons completed their sweep of the Orlando Magic. Former Piston and current Magic player, Grant Hill, is contemplating retirement after the series loss.
Today, the Chicago Bulls (and division “rivals”) defeated the defending NBA Champions, the Miami Heat.
What’s so interesting about this matchup? Ben Wallace was the heart and soul of the Pistons’ squad over the past few years including their NBA title in 2004. The day after Steve Yzerman retired this past summer, Wallace signed with the Bulls.
Be sure to read Matt and Ian at Detroit Bad Boys for coverage of the second round of the NBA playoffs.
The Pistons and Bulls are meeting in the playoffs for the first time since Chicago swept Detroit in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals en route to the first of six NBA titles under Michael Jordan. We’ll be covering this from all angles between now and Saturday’s Game 1, but feel free to get the conversation started now in the comments.
Natalie at Need4Sheed is known for her great graphics and game recaps. She actually even wrote a playoff preview for Pistons.com!
Detroit Lions
The 2007 NFL Draft finally concluded today. Oh, the Lions’ first overall pick (wide receiver Calvin Johnson) made the ceremonial pitch at today’s Tigers’ game and got a nice round of applause from the hometown crowd.
Photos from DetroitLions.com. The second photo is of Johnson with Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland.
Here are the Lions’ selections (by round and overall number):
Round 1/Selection #2: Calvin Johnson (WR/Georgia Tech)
Round 2/Selection #43: Drew Stanton (QB/MSU)
Round 2/Selection #58: Ikaika Alama-Francis (DE/Hawaii)
Round 2/Selection #61: Gerald Alexander (FS/Boise State)
Round 4/Selection #104: A.J. Davis (CB/North Carolina State)
Round 4/Selection #117: Manuel Ramirez (OG/Texas Tech)
Round 5/Selection #158: Johnny Baldwin (LB/Alabama A&M)
Round 7/Selection #255: Ramzee Robinson (CB/Alabama)
For scouting reports on all of the Lions’ selections, you should check out this link. For more stories about the draft picks and their reactions (including Stanton on being a hometown QB), you can visit the Lions’ website.
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One Response to “Detroit sports recap”
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April 29th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
I saw a post-draft interview of Calvin Johnson. I must say I was impressed. He definitely seems to understand the attitude problems many primadonna wide receivers have - and he doesn’t have it. He sounds like a guy with a solid work ethic who doesn’t believe “yes! I finally made it!” he believes “now the work begins.”