Joe Dumars Statement: 2/28/2011
The text of Joe Dumars' statement about the current Pistons predicament:
“First of all, John Kuester has my full support as we try to make a push towards the postseason over these last 21 games. We’ve had a long and proud history of being a first class organization that handles its business the right way. We expect everyone that represents the Detroit Pistons to do so in a first class manner and that will continue as we move forward.”
Pistons v. Heat Live Blog – Shades of Gray
5pm: Time to go. I walk out of a warm house into a painting of Michigan February. Everything is different hues of the same color - gray. The plowed road is darker than the featureless flat-painted sky, and the week-old snow falls somewhere in between, thanks to age and accumulated dirt. The only flash of color is the bright blue of my Saturn. Sadly, I won't be driving that car tonight - it lost a battle to one of the potholes that turn Detroit freeways into something that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin should be springing across. Instead, I'll be driving a Buick - a gray Buick.
5:10pm: The "change oil soon" light comes on in my car, but I don't have time for oil right now - the kind in my engine or the type they dig out of the ground in the Middle East. I've been glued to the television for the last few days watching Egypt overthrow their dictator, but I think they might be suffering from premature euphoria. The country has been under military dictatorships since 1956, and they just turned power over to ... the army. To me, that's like cutting off Samson's locks and then signing him up for Hair Club For Men. Might be dramatic to watch, but I'm not sure it accomplishes anything.
5:30pm: My drive to the Palace is as simple as the instructions on a box of LEGO - drive a half-mile to 75, drive 19 miles, get off 75 at the arena. This being a Detroit rush hour, the speeds vary from 10 to 80 at random intervals. I've never understood this - maybe there is some mass psychosis that affects freeway drivers at this time of the day. Every eight minutes, they think "Oh, my dear heavens, this is rush hour!" and slam on the the brakes for now apparent reason. One backup today was so sudden that cars were scattering like the end of a short-track speedskating race.
6pm: If there were any question about this being a big day for the Pistons, it is answered by the Amazonian rain forest of satellite trucks in the parking lot. Channel 2 has a pair of them - I guess Jennifer Hammond has one for the ownership story and one for the Heat. That's the big time, but Hammer has earned as many trucks as she needs.
6:30pm: Interviewed Erik Spoelstra for the second time today - I was here at noon for Miami's shootaround - and he still hasn't said anything interesting. The Pistons are playing very well and gave them a tough time a couple weeks ago, it is always nice to be in first place, and he won't focus on the Celtics until after tonight's game. That's the basketball version of Crash Davis' lesson to Nook LaLoosh in Bull Durham.
7pm: Dinner time. Tonight's menu is salad, macaroni and cheese and "Cuban-rubbed chicken breast". I don't know what that means, exactly. Is it rubbed by Cubans? With Cubans? If this is real Cuban-rubbed chicken breast, can I be arrested for eating it? I'm just going to pretend it is actually Honduran rubbed, and plead ignorance if the poultry police show up.
7:15pm: Did I mention this was a big game? I just walked back through the media dining area, and Katrina Hancock is sitting next to Rob Parker. They both denied that they required the Sports Final Edition music to be played before they took their seats, but I'm not sure.
7:19pm: Just took my courtside seat. For anyone watching on TV, I'm sitting in the second row of the press seats, between Eli Zaret and Rob Parker. Say what you want about my job, I hang with the big dogs. Rob has 72 employers, not counting his bar, hot-dog restaurant and barber shops, while Eli has been a legend in Detroit journalism since Bill Bonds had his real hair.
(That's two bald jokes already - I probably shouldn't talk. I don't even get haircuts these days, I just hang upside down and let the longer ones fall out on their own.)
7:23pm: I'm sure it is a coincidence that the mobile spotlight in front of me looks exactly like a Dalek, but I can tell you one thing. There aren't a lot of sportswriters who watch Dr. Who, so if that thing starts yelling "Exterminate", I'm going to react a lot faster than anyone else.
7:25pm: The Pistons announced today that they are going to retire Dennis Rodman's #10 jersey on April 1. I can't think of a more fitting date to honor the NBA's court jester, but it is richly deserved. Like Ben Wallace after him, people never really understood the impact of someone who played defense like a rabid Rottweiler and hit the glass harder than a tanker full of Scrubbing Bubbles.
There is one problem, though. Greg Monroe currently wears #10, and has worn it for his whole life. He can keep wearing it - it will just never be issued to anyone else - but he feels like he probably should give it up. He said he'll discuss it with Dennis, and if the Worm gives his blessing he might keep the number. Greg's never met Dennis Rodman, and he certainly hasn't spoken to Dennis Rodman. That conversation might not be quite as sane as he expects.
7:30pm: Rick Mahorn just arrived at his broadcast position in front of me. In the process, he turned off our monitor, knocked our table askew and tried to unplug my laptop. Ricky is like a walking tsunami. Great guy, but leaves a trail of chaos everywhere he goes - usually intentionally.
7:36pm: I don't want to say that was a long anthem, but scientists just named the next paleontological age after the singer.
7:38pm: LeBron James got booed during the introductions. I knew Hosni Mubarak was in trouble when he started using LeBron's PR firm.
7:40pm: This tweet is why Dana was the best woman in my wedding - "She has a beautiful voice but no national anthem needs to be two minutes, 24 seconds. Anita Baker can do it in 1:10."
7:41pm: It is genuinely fun to be here with a packed house for a big game. This year, most of the crowds have looked out the turnout for the funeral of the guy in your office that creeps everyone out. Everyone figures that their co-workers will go, but no one does, and it ends up being his two sisters, the neighbor that took care of his dog and Chris Hansen.
7:44pm: Fact you would never realize from watching them play - LeBron James and Ben Wallace are the same height and have the same build.
7:48pm: Zydrunas Ilgauskas has a dunk and a tip-in. He's 7'3", so that isn't impressive, until you realize how immobile he is at this point. Most athletes have their vertical jump measured in inches, Z has his done in insects. "Z got up that time - that was three ants!"
7:50pm: LeBron throws an unbelievable alley-oop to Dwayne Wade, making the score 16-7. John Kuester calls timeout. Eli Zaret says "men against boys."
7:53pm: Did I mention this is a really big game? The Reverend Jesse Jackson is sitting at courtside, and is being ignored, because he's next to The Queen, Aretha Franklin.
7:56pm: Zydrunas just fed Rodney Stuckey his own jump shot. As I mentioned, when you are 7'3", vertical leap isn't all that important.
7:58pm: It's 22-11. Watching Wade and LBJ run the fast break is like watching Battle of the Supercars on Speed TV, but they have different styles. Wade is like a European supercar - a Ferrari Enzo, maybe. It's all speed and perfect handling. LeBron is an American muscle car - a Ford GT - doing the same amazing things with brute force.
8:07pm: Before the game, Vinnie Goodwill (Detroit News) and Heather Zara (Pistons.com) were debating which one should be considered the rookie beat writer and made to being donuts. Vinnie's case is that he's been on the beat full-time all season, while Heather just started in January. Heather, though, counters with the fact that she's been around longer, counting her work at Channel 4, and she's older.
Older, in this sense, means she was 6 when I started covering the Pistons, while Vinnie was only 5. I get more gray hairs every time I talk to those two.
8:10pm: The Heat only lead 25-21 after one quarter. That's a surprise, because at the beginning of the game, they were dominating the Pistons like Albert Pujols in a hitting contest against Neifi Perez. Of course, in the time it took me to come up with that analogy and type it, Miami has increased the lead to 33-21.
8:16pm: The bench is colder than Wyatt Earp's stare on the streets of Tombstone.
8:21pm: Doesn't look like there is going to be any movement on the sale tonight. Tom Gores has confirmed that he's got two more weeks of exclusive bargaining rights, but he's back in California for the weekend. No sign of Karen Davidson here tonight.
It is going to be good for everyone when this gets done. This franchise lost a lot of spirit when Bill Davidson died, and his widow doesn't have any particular enthusiasm for owning a sports franchise. She'll be happier when she's gone, and Gores is a local guy who will want to turn things around.
It will be strange to have someone else owning the team, though. The Davidsons are the only owners I remember, and Mr. D did a lot of great things in his life. It would be easy to say that the Palace will be his monument - an arena built without fleecing the public - but that would be a serious case of forgetting the real priorities of life. Bill Davidson should be remembered for all of the hospitals and schools that wouldn't exist without his massive donations, and all of the lives that were made better because he cared so much for so many causes.
This was supposed to be fun and silly, and that was a bit serious, wasn't it? We'll get back to the fun, now. It's 48-37 Heat with 4:27 left in the second quarter.
8:31pm: The fans aren't booing, they are Suuuuuuuhing. Ndamukong Suh was just recognized for winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award. He and his sister Ngum are fairly regular attendees at the Palace.
8:33pm: The only thing that surprises me about this story is that the heckler was male. I would have guessed female - a very specific female.
8:35pm: I was right after all. Stephanie just acknowledged on Twitter that she thought up the heckle, but someone else said it. Meanwhile, it is now 57-39.
8:38pm: Vinnie has just hurt his fight to receive veteran status. He used the word "scurred" in a tweet.
8:39pm: Heat 64, Pistons 41. Kuester just called a timeout. What is he going to tell them? That they need to get a lot better in the next 20 seconds?
8:41pm: Heat lead 64-43 at the half. On the bright side, the Pistons did win the final minute of the quarter.
8:50pm: Just returned from making sure Stephanie knew her work was all over Twitter. Voice of an angel, but she's a mean heckler.
8:51pm: Quick look at the halftime stats. Wade has 16 points, Bosh has 13 and LBJ is on pace for a triple-double with six points, seven assists and six rebounds. He's even got three steals. Prince and Stuckey have nine for Detroit, but the most troubling stat for the Pistons is that their bench is getting outscored. If you can't beat the Miami bench, you are in big trouble.
9:04pm: Remember that commercial where LeBron dreams about playing for the Browns? Can you imagine the damage he would do as a football player? You could make him a 6'8", 250-pound tight end with wide receiver speed, great hands and the strength to go over the middle. Imagine Antonio Gates, but better at everything.
9:08pm: Erin Nicole is doing her "season-ticket holder of the game" deal. Most of these people have seen the whole Palace cycle - the Bad Boys championships, the hell of the teal years, the 2004 title that should have been two or three, and now the disaster of the post-Billups era.
9:11pm: Miami's lead is still 18 points. If the Pistons make a run, I'll let you know. One additional thought about Karen Davidson's stint as owner, though. She doesn't want to be an owner, and that's fine. I don't think I would want to do it, either. If Tom Gores buys the team, that will be great for the Pistons, but a year too late for the Shock. I know that they didn't have the biggest fanbase in the world, but there were a lot of good people involved in that organization, my wife and daughter loved them, and it made me a lot of extra money.
9:15pm: Mario Chalmers just hit a 3-pointer to make it 81-59. I suppose that's not the biggest 3-pointer of his life.
9:20pm: Third-biggest cheer of the night - Aretha and Suh got the first two - comes when LeBron shoots an airball on a 3-point attempt.
9:21pm: On the next possession, LeBron got bailed out by one of the latest whistles in NBA history. It took so long for the ref to call the foul that even the anthem singer got bored.
9:24pm: LeBron with a step-back jumper at the buzzer. Miami leads 86-65 going into the fourth. So, read any good books lately? Angie and I both enjoyed The Hunger Games trilogy, but now I'm on a Western kick. I need to start working on my own novel again, though.
9:31pm: Did you ever seen the movie Godzilla vs. Bambi? If not, I suggest you try to find it on YouTube. I'll be here when you get back.
Everyone back? I'm not sure why at this point, but I appreciate it.
This game is not nearly as competitive as the climatic battle in that movie.
9:33pm: They are playing Sweet Caroline as tonight's sing-along song. Mahorn just pointed out in his quiet, understated way that an Aretha Franklin song might have been more appropriate.
9:41pm: I'm back - I had to write up a description of the Great Heckle so that AP can put out a story. This is turning into international news. I expect Anderson Cooper to arrive from Cairo at any minute.
9:47pm: It's 103-83 with 3:23 left, but the Heat still have LeBron, Wade and Bosh in the game. I'm not at all sure what they expect the Pistons are going to do here. Unless we start playing by Rock-and-Jock rules, Austin Daye isn't going to hit a 20-pointer.
9:49pm: OK, the Heat have taken out the Big Three. Juwan Howard is now in the game. Juwan Howard is 97 years old, and I'm so old that I covered him in college.
9:53pm: This game is like watching the Director's Cut of a Peter Jackson movie, but the orcs had a better chance than the Pistons.
9:55pm: The Cavaliers are winning in the final five minutes. Go watch that!
9:56pm: Pistons highlight of the night - Will Bynum's spectacular put-back dunk. Of course, it didn't count.
9:57pm: Final score: Heat 106, Pistons 92. It wasn't nearly that close.
10:00pm: Off to interview the Heat. Back in a while with some final thoughts.
10:48pm: Back from interviewing Erik Spoelstra, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. LeBron played down the heckling incident, saying that he didn't want to disrespect the fan, but that sometimes people get too passionate about a game and cross the line. He said there's been other times where he's said something to a fan when he thought they had gone too far.
Wade was more excited about meeting Aretha Franklin, calling it "awesome". He got his picture taken with her at halftime, as did some of the Pistons. Wade said he was glad to see that she was healthy enough to come to the game.
Everyone played down the big game against Boston on Sunday. Many cliches were used. If you guess, you'll probably be right.
And that's about it. I just hit 2700 words, and that seems more than enough. If you are still reading, thank you. I hope you enjoyed it. Maybe we'll do it again sometime.
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.08"]
[White "stareagle"]
[Black "terminuso"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1525"]
[BlackElo "1244"]
[TimeControl "1 in 7 days"]
[Termination "stareagle won by checkmate"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Re1 Qe7 7.Nbd2 f5 8.Bd5 Qc5 9.Bxe4 fxe4 10.Nxe4 Qf5
11.Nd6+ Kd8 12.Re8# 1-0
Night of the Tomato Cans
There was a time within the last 100 years where boxing was one of the biggest sports in America. Now, thanks to the UFC, it isn't even the country's favorite combat sport. If you want to know why, look no further than Saturday night's fight card at the Pontiac Silverdome.
The main event is, without question, a big deal. It matches two undefeated stars - Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander - with the winner becoming the legitimate champion of the junior welterweight division. This is a pay-per-view quality fight that will be shown nationally on HBO.
Unfortunately, no one seems to care. Ticket sales are reportedly very poor, and there is zero buzz about this fight in the Detroit area. In contrast, when UFC came to town a few weeks ago, the Palace was packed with one of the craziest crowds I've ever seen.
You could argue that ticket sales would be better if either fighter was from Detroit - Alexander is from St. Louis and Bradley is from Palm Springs - but there weren't any local guys on the UFC card. The problem isn't with the main event - it is with everything else.
At the UFC card, there were two main events. One lasted 21 seconds and the other one wasn't particularly interesting, but no one left the Palace thinking they had been cheated out of their ticket price. The reason was the undercard - all nine fights were competitive matchups, and several of them turned out to be quite entertaining.
At the Silverdome, that isn't going to happen.
According to BoxRec.com - a very reliable source for boxing records and schedules - there are currently nine fights planned for the undercard of Alexander-Bradley. Of the nine, there is one that might be competitive. The other eight are all designed to pad one fighter's record with an easy victory.
You may think I'm exaggerating this, so I'm going to go through this, fight by fight:
1) James De La Rosa vs. Germaine Sanders. De La Rosa is 20-0 and being built up as a credible fighter. Sanders has lost his last five fights, and hasn't won since 2007.
2) Julian Williams vs. Torrence King. Williams is at the start of his career, and has won all four of his fights. King is 1-7. He won the first fight of his career, back in 2008, and hasn't come close since.
3) Darryl Cunningham vs. Alberto Mercedes. Cunningham, a Detroiter, is a fixture at the cards that run at the Royal Oak Music Theatre every few months. He's 36, and he's generally given an easy fight against someone with a terrible record. Because of that, he's cruised to a 21-2 record. Saturday, although the venue is bigger, the matchup is the same. Mercedes is 1-5 in his last six fights, and the one win was over Ivan Ledon. Ledon came into that fight having lost nine in a row, including a knockout by, you guessed it, Darryl Cunningham at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.
Cunningham's last fight tells this whole story pretty well, actually. On Nov. 12, he beat Rubin Williams in a lopsided 10-round decision. Ten years ago, Williams was on the other side of this scam - he was being built up as the next great Detroit fighter. He won his first 14 fights, never beating anyone with any particular ability, and then got knocked out in the first round in a fight in 2003. Thanks to some careful matchmaking, he rebounded to win his next seven fights, giving him a record of 21-1.
That was enough to get him a title shot against Jeff Lacy - the first legitimately good fighter Williams had ever faced. He never had a chance. Lacy dominated the fight and knocked Williams out in the seventh round.
With that loss, Williams lost all the credibility he had earned by his misleading record, and he moved to the losing side of the game. Since the start of 2008, he's 0-12 and now serves as Music Theatre fodder for the likes of Cunningham.
OK, digression is over. Back to the Silverdome card:
4) Andre Gorges vs. Angel Hernandez. Gorges, who has the distinction of being one of the few pro fighters from Baghdad, is 10-1. Hernandez - not the much-maligned umpire of the same name - has lost his last five fights and been knocked out in three of them.
5) Kendall Holt vs. Lenin Arroyo. In this case, the fight isn't about padding Holt's career as much as it is about saving it. He's a pretty good fighter who lost the WBO championship to Bradley in April of 2009. He didn't fight again for almost a year, and then got pounded by little-known Kaizer Mabuza. Now, 10 months later, he's trying a comeback. He shouldn't have much trouble with Arroyo, who has lost seven straight, including one to James De La Rosa (see fight #1).
6) Marcus Olivera vs. Demetrius Jenkins. Olivera is 20-0. Jenkins has lost 10 straight, including one to Darryl Cunningham (see fight #3). You're probably getting the hang of this by now.
7) Vernon Paris vs. Emmanuel Augustus. Paris is 23-0. Augustus was once described by Floyd Mayweather as the toughest opponent he had ever faced. Unfortunately, that fight was in 2000. He's now 36 and has lost his last four fights.
Kertson Manswell vs. Bermane Stiverne. You have no idea how many tries it took me to spell those names correctly. This, I'm sure, will be the fight that the promoters try to sell as the top of the undercard. Manswell is 20-0 and Stiverne is 19-1-1. It is also, I'm sure, the biggest fight ever between fighters from Trinidad & Tobago (Manswell) and Haiti (Stiverne). On paper, I suppose this looks like a fight between two up-and-coming fighters, but they are both in their 30s. I don't think the Klitchsko brothers are worried about either of them.
9) Julio Diaz vs. Pavel Miranda. Diaz is a former champion, losing his title to Juan Diaz in a 2007 fight best known for driving the announcers crazy. He has only gone 3-2 since then, but he at least gives the undercard a little more name recognition. You are probably expecting me to tell you that Miranda has lost his last five fights, but he hasn't. He's lost four of them, and fought a draw in the fifth. He hasn't won since 2008.
And that's the problem with boxing. Like the UFC card, the main event is important whether or not it is any good. Unlike the UFC card, there isn't anything else. You aren't going to get the pagentry that you got at the Palace and you certainly aren't going to get the competitive fights. There might be an upset somewhere on the card, but the only fight that isn't a literal mismatch - Manswell vs. Stiverne - features two thirtysomethings that weigh a combined 500 pounds. Don't hold your breath for a Fight Of The Year candidate.
Bradley-Alexander might well be a great fight - I'm going to be there and I'm very much looking forward to covering it. I just wish the rest of the card didn't showcase the ugly side of boxing quite so well.
Rich Rodriguez’s Statement – 1/6/2011
Statement from Rich Rodriguez
“I am proud of the dedication and commitment exhibited by the coaching staff and student-athletes who have represented the University of Michigan football program over the last three seasons. While I am disappointed to depart Ann Arbor before we were able to reach the level of success we had in our sights, I am confident that the players who remain have the potential to do great things and to return the Wolverines to greatness. I would like to thank our fans and our student body for their tremendous support. There is great passion for Michigan football and I have made lifelong friends through this experience.”
What is Rich Rod saying to Dave Brandon?
Day 2 of the Brandon-Rodriguez summit is about to start. Maybe they are just negotiating a buyout, or maybe Brandon is giving RichRod a serious chance to save his job. If so, I imagine it is going something like this:
"Yes, our first season was a disaster, but we knew that was a possibility when I was hired. Lloyd left me with a bunch of big, slow guys that couldn't play my system. I've had to spend three recruiting classes trying to fix that. We got better in our second season, and then look what happened this year. You saw Denard play last year - did you think I could turn him in a Heisman Trophy candidate in one offseason? Imagine what he's going to be like after another summer with me."
"I'm an offensive genius - just ask the teams I clobbered with little West Virginia - but I admit that I've done a poor job of picking defensive coordinators. I understand that our staff on that side of the ball needs to be rebuilt, and that I need some help making those choices. You give me a list of people to talk to, and I'll listen to their advice, and I'll come to you to approve my decision."
"College football is all about the system. We've got the system in place on offense, and we've got the athletes in place on defense. You and I will find the right defensive coordinator with the right system, and we'll beat Michigan State next year, and we'll beat Ohio State, and we'll finish the season in Indianapolis."
"I know the media wants me out, but, Dave, I know you want what is best for this program. The media is the reason we're on probation, and now they are trying to do even more damage to this great university. You saw the games this year. When Denard was healthy, our offense was as good as anyone's, and we know we can fix the defense."
"If you fire me, you are going to end up with some throwback coach who plays a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of dust offense from the 1960s. That's not how you win in the 21st Century. Do you see Auburn playing that way? Oregon certainly doesn't."
"You know Jim Harbaugh's not coming here. He's going to be coaching the 49ers or the Raiders, and good for him. He's done a great job and he deserves a shot at the NFL."
"But that leaves you in a bind, doesn't it? You could hire Brady Hoke - he's a 'Michigan Man'. He had a good season at San Diego State this year, but you know what happened when he played TCU and Utah? His team gave up a combined 78 points. I wouldn't say he's got defensive football figured out, either. Plus we're talking about a guy whose career highlight is taking a team to the Poinsettia Bowl and beating Navy. I took West Virginia to the brink of the BCS championship game."
"That leaves you with Les Miles. Great record, and a national championship under his belt. I don't have one of those. Of course, I never got to take over a program that Nick Saban had built into a powerhouse. I'm not sure if you have noticed, but in the seasons since Miles had to use his own recruits? Hasn't had a top-10 finish. Besides, if he wanted to be here, he had his chance. Why go after him now when he hasn't done as well? Makes you look weak, Dave."
"Oh, and if you fire me for one of those guys, do you think Denard or Devin will set foot on this campus again? Tate's already done. Do you want to be in the position where your unspectacular new coach has to win over the fan base with Jack Kennedy behind center?"
"I know things haven't gone perfectly. The probation looks bad, but you and I both know that every school in the country does those things. They just didn't have a newspaper with a vendetta forcing the NCAA to take action."
"We're on the right track here. We've made a lot of mistakes, but they can be fixed. You've seen how fast a good coordinator can turn around his part of the team, and you and I can find the coach who can do that for us."
"Give me 2011, Dave. I'm going to finish polishing Denard, and I'm going to have Devin on the same path. Michigan's never had a Heisman-winning quarterback, and that's a shame. I'm going to give you two guys with a chance to win that trophy, and win a lot of other things along the way. We've worked together for a season now, and I know we can be a powerful team. I've got my players now, and I've got you to watch my back."
"Let's keep this together. You saw how the Big Ten looked in the bowls, and you know Ohio State is losing all of their cheaters. Michigan State's a one-trick pony. Nebraska hasn't played in a real conference in decades. Penn State - well, bless JoePa, but a 102-year-old coach isn't going to win the Big Ten."
"What do you say, Dave? Let's shock the world."
If not Harbaugh, who?
Reports are coming out by people I trust - namely, Mike Rosenberg - that Jim Harbaugh probably isn't coming to Michigan. To me, that makes a lot of sense. Harbaugh's got a great run going at Stanford, especially if Andrew Luck comes back, and he's got unlimited support. After taking a non-powerhouse school from 1-11 to 12-1, no one in Palo Alto is going to blame him for a hiccup or two.
Harbaugh's also going to have several NFL options, and they also make more sense than Michigan. Harbaugh is an NFL guy at heart, he coaches a pro-style system and his brother has already proven that the family can handle that level of coaching.
So, Mr. Brandon, what's Plan B?
The first possibility is one that many people seem to have forgotten - Rich Rodriguez is technically still the coach at Michigan, and they could actually keep him. Say what you want about the man, but you have to give him some credit for the unbelievable improvement in Denard Robinson. Before the season, I wasn't the only person that thought starting Robinson over Tate Forcier was a huge mistake. I had seen Robinson struggle to throw simple passes in 2009, and never imagined he'd be able to take this kind of step forward in one year. That doesn't happen without RichRod and his offensive staff.
Unfortunately, that's about the end of the list for his positives. His defense is a disaster, he can't find a competent kicker and, no matter what you think of the severity of the violations, he's the first Michigan football coach to get hit with the major-violations tag. He's also struggled to keep players - I'm sure Wolverines fans will love watching Ryan Mallett and Justin Boren in the Sugar Bowl.
And, most importantly, Rodriguez has lost the support of the fanbase. In college sports, especially football, that's a huge factor. In the NFL, teams with angry fans still make money, thanks to the TV deals. In college, the boosters provide a lot of income for the athletics program and the rest of the school.
So I don't think you can keep him. By the time I post this, he might be gone.
So no Harbaugh and no Rodriguez. Who is left?
There's one important factor to keep in mind here - Denard Robinson. You don't have to bring in a coach that runs the spread - with Denard's health, you probably shouldn't - but you do need someone who can work with his unique abilities. Otherwise, Wolverines fans might end up watching Robinson against Devin Gardner in a BCS matchup in a couple years.
The obvious solution would be to bring in a defensive-minded coach, but I don't think that's important. You want someone who is going to focus their efforts on one side of the ball, and put the other side in the hands of an outstanding coordinator. Remember the Greatest NFL Game Ever? No, not the Chargers-Dolphins overtime game that was the greatest game in NFL history, but the Colts-Giants game that the NFL has deemed to be the best? If you know the name of the Giants coach - Jim Lee Howell - you are a true NFL fanatic. Howell didn't coach either side - he let his two coordinators handle it. You can do that when you've got Vince Lombardi as your offensive coordinator and Tom Landry as your defensive coordinator.
Because of Denard Robinson's situation, I think Michigan needs to hire an offensive-minded coach that can work with him, and bring in a strong defensive coordinator. A kicker would also be nice.
Of course, I have a candidate in mind. For the coaching job, that is. Someone else has to find the kicker.
There's a highly regarded NFL coordinator that would be the perfect head coach for Denard Robinson. He's proven that this season by taking another quarterback known for his running over his passing and turning him into a serious MVP candidate. He's also got some head-coaching experience, and while it didn't go well, first shots often don't. People forget that Bill Belichick got run out of Cleveland, and the Patriots were thought to be crazy when they hired him. Like Belichick, my guy has gone back to assistant coaching, and has had several years to learn from his mistakes, all while working for one of the more successful franchises in the NFL
My candidate also has ties to the area, although not directly to Michigan, and is good enough to be seriously considered for NFL head-coaching jobs. ESPN: The Magazine even did a statistical survey that says this man is the best bet to succeed of any current NFL assistant.
There's only one slight problem.
It's Marty Mornhinweg.
Yes, I know. He's not exactly popular in Michigan, and I agree that his tenure with the Lions was a debacle of the first order. I've said repeatedly that, in my 21 years working for AP, he's the third-worst pro coach I've covered, behind Luis Pujols and Rod Marinelli. I still believe that. He was awful. He wasn't nearly ready to be a head coach, but Matt Millen couldn't see that.
I don't think he would be awful now. He's gotten the experience that he didn't have when the Lions hired him, and he's been very successful in Philadelphia. Andy Reid has his detractors, but he's got a pretty good coaching record, and Mornhinweg has been watching him operate for the last eight years.
He also instantly solves any problem with the franchise player. You don't think Denard Robinson would love to play for the guy that turned Michael Vick from a joke into one of the most dangerous players in the NFL? A guy who also happened to be Brett Favre's quarterback coach the only year he ever won a Super Bowl?
Given the resources that Michigan can provide, I think Mornhinweg could put together a devastating college offense. Team him up with a top-quality defensive coordinator, and the Wolverines could quickly return to the top of a pretty weak Big Tenwelve Conference.
This post isn't a joke. There's no "just kidding" at the end. I really think this would work.
Do I think it will happen? No. I think the backlash from Mornhinweg's disaster with the Lions would make it impossible - the fanbase would go nuts. Instead, he'll end up coaching an NFL team and doing a lot better than anyone expects.
It's too bad. It would be a fun story, seeing Marty Mornhinweg redeeming himself by taking Michigan back to the Rose Bowl.
What Should Bud Do?
Last night was one of the most emotional events I've ever covered. A perfect game would have been incredible, but what happened instead is something that will go down in baseball history.
Originally, the mood was anger toward Jim Joyce for blowing the call and costing Armando Galarraga the first perfect game in Tigers history. After Joyce's emotional meeting with reporters - probably the most gut-wrenching interview I've ever done - and his apology to Galarraga and the Tigers, things changed in the park. By the time I left last night, the feeling was more deep sympathy for both of them.
That hasn't changed, but now people want to know what Bud Selig is going to do to fix this travesty.
I think the answer is simple.
He shouldn't do a thing.
As I see it, he has two options. The first is to overrule the official scorer, Chuck Klonke, and change the call from a hit to an error. That would be a joke. Calling it an error would say that either Miguel Cabrera or Galarraga made the mistake that allowed Jason Donald to reach first base. They didn't - the mistake was made entirely by Joyce.
The other option, proposed by Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi, is to overrule Joyce. Declare that Donald was out, erase Trevor Crowe's subsequent at-bat from the record books, and rule that it was, indeed, a perfect game.
I actually have more sympathy for that than I do for the first option, but I still don't think it works. Jon Paul's argument is that it is a one-time exception, and since the game ended with the next batter, you have the chance to fix history. He's right, but what if Crowe had singled, the next batter had homered and the game had gone to extra innings? You couldn't wipe all of that away, could you?
My wish is that baseball would use this as a reason to expand instant replay. Let each manager have a challenge, just like they do in the NFL. It wouldn't slow the game down that much, and you'd get big calls right.
But you know what? Everyone I've talked to today, including Galarraga, both managers and players from both teams, hates the idea. No one in baseball wants more instant replay. They are willing to deal with events like Wednesday night as "just part of the game."
I disagree, but I'm not going to win an argument against an entire sport.
So, Commissioner Selig, please do what you do best.
Nothing.
Olympics: Luge Tragedy
The Winter Olympics don't even start for another six hours, and things are already going wrong. The weather is causing major problems for the alpine skiing events - both downhill training runs had to be canceled today - and even though that's good news for Lindsey Vonn's healing shin, they do eventually need to run the races.
The bigger issue, though, appears to be the sliding course. One day after a female member of the Romanian team was knocked unconscious in a wreck, Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed today when he crashed, came off his sled, flew off the track and hit a pole. Even before Kumaritashvili's death was announced, there were meetings underway to discuss the safety of the track. Lugers have exceeded 95 mph on the course - the fastest ever built - and there have been several high-speed wrecks in training.
I'm not sure what they can do at this point. They could start the men's race from the lower starting point being used for the women and doubles, but that's only going to help a bit - the women have been crashing, too. It would be terribly unfair for the competitors to cancel the events, but it also isn't fair to ask them to put their lives at more risk than usual.
Also, this story doesn't end with the luge events. The skeleton and bobsleigh competitions use the same track.
Matt Stafford Wins The Team
During the second half of the Lions-Browns game, the press-box PA announcer informed us that "Joey Stafford" had just set a Lions rookie passing record.
I think it is fair to say that will be the last time that anyone connected with the Lions confuses Matt Stafford with Joey Harrington.
Joey had physical skills, but he struggled to earn the faith of his teammates. Stafford, though, won't ever have that problem. If any of the Lions still doubted his courage and his leadership, he took care of it at the end of a crazy 38-37 victory.
The Lions were losing 37-31 and only had time for a Hail Mary from the Cleveland 32. Stafford took the snap and started scrambling. As time expired, he was was running for his life, heading toward the sideline with linebacker Marcus Bernard in pursuit. He ducked Bernard's tackle attempt, and reversed direction. Now he was going toward the center of the field, with Bernard still close on his heels.
Kevin Smith got a piece of Bernard, giving Daniel Loper a chance to knock him down with a solid block. That allowed Stafford to keep scrambling for another second or two while his receivers frantically tried to get open in the end zone. Stafford finally ran out of time, but hung in long enough to get a pass off before getting crushed by defensive end C.J. Mosley.
In the next couple moments, several things happened. Mosley drove into Stafford's left armpit and ripped his left shoulder out of place. Cleveland cornerback Hank Poteat shoved Lions receiver Bryant Johnson out of the back of the end zone. Two more Browns defensive backs committed assault and battery on Calvin Johnson, while Brodney Pool intercepted Stafford's pass.
Pool sank to the ground in the end zone, the Browns began to celebrate and the Lions realized their rookie quarterback was lying in an agonized fetal position. At that point, the Detroit players are thinking that they've just lost to the horrific Browns at home to fall to 1-9 and they've lost Stafford to an injury. The Browns are excited about their second win of the season, especially one coming on the road after they blew a 24-3 lead.
That stage lasted about two seconds and abruptly ended when people realized that the officials had thrown a pair of flags. Only one penalty was announced - pass interference on Poteat - but there appeared to have also been a call made against the pair of defenders that mugged Calvin Johnson.
So, even though the clock had expired, the Lions would get an untimed play from the Cleveland 1. Score a touchdown, and they win. Anything else, and they lose. They also have to do it with Daunte Culpepper, since Stafford had been helped off the field, left arm dangling uselessly at his side, and was now lying on the sidelines, surrounded by trainers and doctors.
The teams line up, but the Browns are still confused by the rapidly changing events and call timeout. That decision by Eric Mangini might turn out to be the best favor an opposing coach has ever done the Lions.
During the short break, Stafford gets to his feet and puts himself back into the game. It wasn't clear if the doctors actually approved that - I suspect they did not - but he wasn't going to stay on the sidelines. So, even though his left arm still wasn't working very well, he managed to take the snap and throw a game-winning touchdown pass to Brandon Pettigrew.
(That was his fifth touchdown pass of the game - the first time a rookie had done that in the NFL since the immortal Ray Buivin threw five for the Bears against the Chicago Cardinals on Dec. 5, 1937. Those all-Chicago games were crazy.)
Stafford's coaches and teammates were lining up to sing his praises after the game. Kevin Smith said that he almost cried seeing Stafford coming back on the field for the final play. Jeff Backus raved about the courage shown by a 21-year-old kid. Jim Schwartz said that Detroit's comeback from 24-3 down was because they had a quarterback that was getting them touchdowns instead of field goals.
Don't get me wrong - this is still a terrible football team. The Browns hadn't scored more than 20 points in a game all season, and had only scored five offensive touchdowns, but they were up 24-3 after 13 minutes. Detroit's pass defense allowed previously hapless Brady Quinn to throw for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Keep in mind that Brady had only thrown three touchdown passes in his career before Sunday. Jamal Lewis rushed for 75 yards about 10 minutes before his retirement. Players named Mohamed and Chansi scored touchdowns. Former Lions Legend (FLL) Michael Gaines scored a touchdown.
The offense looked fantastic, but great googly moogly, the Browns pass defense stinks. Smith and Aaron Brown averaged over 25 yards on five screen passes, Calvin Johnson had 161 yards receiving and Dennis Northcutt - about to be declared legally dead - caught three passes. Even on the last play of the game, when they just needed to defend a Hail Mary, the Browns managed to commit multiple pass interference penalties.
Stafford threw two interceptions - one that gave the Browns a first-quarter touchdown and one that should have cost the Lions the game. The second one was a throw into triple coverage that was a guaranteed interception from the moment it left his hand.
And if the Lions know how badly he's hurt, they aren't saying. There's a very good chance that Daunte Culpepper will be starting Thursday against Green Bay, and he might have to go without Calvin Johnson, who also got hurt on the Hail Mary attempt.
In the long run, though, that's not important. Matt Stafford earned the unquestioned respect of his teammates Sunday, and that's something that will be crucial in 2010 and 2011, when the Lions might actually be playing important games.
Wow – 11/19/2004
This is a blog post I wrote five years ago tonight, shortly after getting home from the Palace after watching Ron Artest turn the NBA upside down.
I don't know what to say.
First, the important thing. I'm basically OK. I got knocked over a table, which set off a minor bout of back spasms. My laptop got knocked onto the concrete floor at the same time, but seems to have survived intact. We'll have to see about that.
Here's what happened. The Pacers were wiping out the Pistons. With less than a minute left, Ron Artest shoved Ben Wallace in the back as Ben was going for a shot. Wallace turned around and shoved Artest in the face, and Artest staggered back. He eventually ended up on the scorer's table, lying on his back like he was relaxing.
Both benches emptied, there was a lot of pushing and shoving and general mayhem. The refs, incredibly, didn't have Wallace and Artest removed from the court, and eventually Artest, being a hot dog, grabbed a radio headset and started giving an interview while still lying on the scorers table.
That set Wallace off again, and he threw a towel at Artest, hitting him in the head. Things got tenser again, and Ben threw his headband toward the stands. I remember watching the headband fly through the air. At that point, this was probably the nastiest basketball fight I had ever seen in person, but that was it. It happened on the other end of the court and I was just trying to keep track of things for Larry.
Oh, yeah. Since it was a big game, both Larry and I were there. So he was in our front-row seat next to Mahorn, and I was sitting behind him in the second row of media seats. That got very important.
As I watched the headband fly, I saw motion out of the corner of my eye. I turned that way, and to my horror, Artest had charged into the stands and was trying to kill some guy. Seconds later, he was joined by Stephen Jackson, who laid out a guy with one punch. Instead of being at the other end of the floor, this was now happening a few feet away from me.
The second row of the media is back against the old hockey boards, so we were basically trapped. We couldn't go forward and we couldn't go back. It is a hard process even getting in from the sides, and that's not with massive NBA players going over you and around you and things flying through the air.
I was trying to duck and help protect Dana, who was right next to me. At some point, I got pushed into the table, which tipped over, sending laptops, phones and TV monitors crashing to the ground. Dana was begging Chauncey Billups not to go into the crowd, telling him it would only make things worse.
By this point, the arena was in utter chaos. We didn't see a lot of the stuff live, being worried with the insanity in our immediate area, but Jermaine O'Neal sucker-punched one fan, and could have easily killed him. Morons dumped beer and threw ice at the Pacers players and coaches, and one fucktard threw a chair.
Eventually, the floor was cleared and the game was officially ended. Dana and I went to the back, and then I headed for the Pacers lockerroom, where I listened to one of their assistant coaches try to talk the police out of arresting O'Neal. Within a few minutes, the media was removed from the area, except for Jim Gray of ESPN, which pissed me off no end.
Eventually, a decision was made to get the Pacers out of there. No players were arrested, but there is a good chance that warrants may be issued in the next few days after the TV tapes are reviewed by the police and by the Oakland County Prosecutor's office. I also expect that there will be charges filed against some of the fans that were involved, if they can be identified on tape.
There was also an incident in the tunnel, off-camera, where O'Neal allegedly injured a fan with a punch. That happened right in front of at least one police officer, and was what they were going to arrest him for, not for the incident caught on camera.
Obviously, we were never allowed to talk to the Pacers players, and the Pistons were told not to talk to us. They all left the arena staring straight ahead, not even acknowledging our questions. The only person that we talked to was Larry Brown, who called it the worst thing he has seen in his 40+ years in basketball.
I finally left the arena about 1:20, but Dana and I spent another 15-20 minutes talking in the parking lot. We were basically in shock. The last time I can remember something like this, other than a couple minor-league hockey games, is the time in the 1970s that several of the Boston Bruins went into the stands at Madison Square Garden in New York.
There's a lot of blame to go around. Artest started the incident with a chickenshit flagrant foul at the end of a blowout. The refs should have gotten him and Wallace off the floor immediately. Wallace should have not thrown the towel. Obviously, the fan shouldn't thrown the glass of beer at Artest, which is what sent him into the crowd in the first place. And after the Pacers went into the crowd, the behavior of many fans were utterly inexcusable. People talk about the "mob mentality", and how people do things they would normally never do, but it's terrifying to be in the middle of it.
Still, given all that, there's just no excuse for Artest and Jackson going into the crowd and attacking fans. They had no way of knowing if the fans they were engaged with had anything to do with the stuff that was being thrown.
I have no idea what happens next. There are going to be long suspensions - the Pacers' three best players are looking at possibly missing 15-20 games or more. They could also be facing criminal charges, as well as probable (definite?) lawsuits.
For the Pistons, I suspect that Ben Wallace will get 3-5 games, and Rasheed Wallace might get suspended for going into the crowd, even as a peacemaker. Six Pistons - Chauncey Billups, Darvin Ham, Darko Milicic, Derrick Coleman, Antonio McDyess and Elden Campbell - are also facing automatic one-game suspensions for leaving the bench during the original altercation. Tayshaun Prince was the only Piston smart enough to stay on the bench, so he should avoid any punishment at all. Smush Parker, Rip Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter were in the game, and shouldn't get suspended, unless Rip gets a game for shoving various Pacers during the first fracas.
(and no, they won't suspend everyone at once - they will stagger things so that the team can put a reasonable squad on the floor for every game. Usually, it is 2-3 people per game, done in alphabetical order.)
It's 3:24. I've been home for a little more than 90 minutes, and the adrenalin is just starting to wear off. I was supposed to go to the Science Center tomorrow with Angie and Britt, but that's off now. I'll be at Pistons practice at 11 am, and quite possibly at AHPD HQ at some point for a press conference. I'm hoping that I'll be able to go see a movie with them tomorrow night.
I'm just glad I got through it healthy - it could have easily been a lot worse. And, for all my doubts about myself at times, I did my job very well tonight.
What an unbelievable night.
First, the important thing. I'm basically OK. I got knocked over a table, which set off a minor bout of back spasms. My laptop got knocked onto the concrete floor at the same time, but seems to have survived intact. We'll have to see about that.
Here's what happened. The Pacers were wiping out the Pistons. With less than a minute left, Ron Artest shoved Ben Wallace in the back as Ben was going for a shot. Wallace turned around and shoved Artest in the face, and Artest staggered back. He eventually ended up on the scorer's table, lying on his back like he was relaxing.
Both benches emptied, there was a lot of pushing and shoving and general mayhem. The refs, incredibly, didn't have Wallace and Artest removed from the court, and eventually Artest, being a hot dog, grabbed a radio headset and started giving an interview while still lying on the scorers table.
That set Wallace off again, and he threw a towel at Artest, hitting him in the head. Things got tenser again, and Ben threw his headband toward the stands. I remember watching the headband fly through the air. At that point, this was probably the nastiest basketball fight I had ever seen in person, but that was it. It happened on the other end of the court and I was just trying to keep track of things for Larry.
Oh, yeah. Since it was a big game, both Larry and I were there. So he was in our front-row seat next to Mahorn, and I was sitting behind him in the second row of media seats. That got very important.
As I watched the headband fly, I saw motion out of the corner of my eye. I turned that way, and to my horror, Artest had charged into the stands and was trying to kill some guy. Seconds later, he was joined by Stephen Jackson, who laid out a guy with one punch. Instead of being at the other end of the floor, this was now happening a few feet away from me.
The second row of the media is back against the old hockey boards, so we were basically trapped. We couldn't go forward and we couldn't go back. It is a hard process even getting in from the sides, and that's not with massive NBA players going over you and around you and things flying through the air.
I was trying to duck and help protect Dana, who was right next to me. At some point, I got pushed into the table, which tipped over, sending laptops, phones and TV monitors crashing to the ground. Dana was begging Chauncey Billups not to go into the crowd, telling him it would only make things worse.
By this point, the arena was in utter chaos. We didn't see a lot of the stuff live, being worried with the insanity in our immediate area, but Jermaine O'Neal sucker-punched one fan, and could have easily killed him. Morons dumped beer and threw ice at the Pacers players and coaches, and one fucktard threw a chair.
Eventually, the floor was cleared and the game was officially ended. Dana and I went to the back, and then I headed for the Pacers lockerroom, where I listened to one of their assistant coaches try to talk the police out of arresting O'Neal. Within a few minutes, the media was removed from the area, except for Jim Gray of ESPN, which pissed me off no end.
Eventually, a decision was made to get the Pacers out of there. No players were arrested, but there is a good chance that warrants may be issued in the next few days after the TV tapes are reviewed by the police and by the Oakland County Prosecutor's office. I also expect that there will be charges filed against some of the fans that were involved, if they can be identified on tape.
There was also an incident in the tunnel, off-camera, where O'Neal allegedly injured a fan with a punch. That happened right in front of at least one police officer, and was what they were going to arrest him for, not for the incident caught on camera.
Obviously, we were never allowed to talk to the Pacers players, and the Pistons were told not to talk to us. They all left the arena staring straight ahead, not even acknowledging our questions. The only person that we talked to was Larry Brown, who called it the worst thing he has seen in his 40+ years in basketball.
I finally left the arena about 1:20, but Dana and I spent another 15-20 minutes talking in the parking lot. We were basically in shock. The last time I can remember something like this, other than a couple minor-league hockey games, is the time in the 1970s that several of the Boston Bruins went into the stands at Madison Square Garden in New York.
There's a lot of blame to go around. Artest started the incident with a chickenshit flagrant foul at the end of a blowout. The refs should have gotten him and Wallace off the floor immediately. Wallace should have not thrown the towel. Obviously, the fan shouldn't thrown the glass of pop at Artest, which is what sent him into the crowd in the first place. And after the Pacers went into the crowd, the behavior of many fans were utterly inexcusable. People talk about the "mob mentality", and how people do things they would normally never do, but it's terrifying to be in the middle of it.
Still, given all that, there's just no excuse for Artest and Jackson going into the crowd and attacking fans. They had no way of knowing if the fans they were engaged with had anything to do with the stuff that was being thrown.
I have no idea what happens next. There are going to be long suspensions - the Pacers' three best players are looking at possibly missing 15-20 games or more. They could also be facing criminal charges, as well as probable (definite?) lawsuits.
For the Pistons, I suspect that Ben Wallace will get 3-5 games, and Rasheed Wallace might get suspended for going into the crowd, even as a peacemaker. Six Pistons - Chauncey Billups, Darvin Ham, Darko Milicic, Derrick Coleman, Antonio McDyess and Elden Campbell - are also facing automatic one-game suspensions for leaving the bench during the original altercation. Tayshaun Prince was the only Piston smart enough to stay on the bench, so he should avoid any punishment at all. Smush Parker, Rip Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter were in the game, and shouldn't get suspended, unless Rip gets a game for shoving various Pacers during the first fracas.
(and no, they won't suspend everyone at once - they will stagger things so that the team can put a reasonable squad on the floor for every game. Usually, it is 2-3 people per game, done in alphabetical order.)
It's 3:24. I've been home for a little more than 90 minutes, and the adrenalin is just starting to wear off. I was supposed to go to the Science Center tomorrow with Angie and Britt, but that's off now. I'll be at Pistons practice at 11 am, and quite possibly at AHPD HQ at some point for a press conference. I'm hoping that I'll be able to go see a movie with them tomorrow night.
I'm just glad I got through it healthy - it could have easily been a lot worse. And, for all my doubts about myself at times, I did my job very well tonight.
What an unbelievable night.I don't know what to say.
First, the important thing. I'm basically OK. I got knocked over a table, which set off a minor bout of back spasms. My laptop got knocked onto the concrete floor at the same time, but seems to have survived intact. We'll have to see about that.
Here's what happened. The Pacers were wiping out the Pistons. With less than a minute left, Ron Artest shoved Ben Wallace in the back as Ben was going for a shot. Wallace turned around and shoved Artest in the face, and Artest staggered back. He eventually ended up on the scorer's table, lying on his back like he was relaxing.
Both benches emptied, there was a lot of pushing and shoving and general mayhem. The refs, incredibly, didn't have Wallace and Artest removed from the court, and eventually Artest, being a hot dog, grabbed a radio headset and started giving an interview while still lying on the scorers table.
That set Wallace off again, and he threw a towel at Artest, hitting him in the head. Things got tenser again, and Ben threw his headband toward the stands. I remember watching the headband fly through the air. At that point, this was probably the nastiest basketball fight I had ever seen in person, but that was it. It happened on the other end of the court and I was just trying to keep track of things for Larry.
Oh, yeah. Since it was a big game, both Larry and I were there. So he was in our front-row seat next to Mahorn, and I was sitting behind him in the second row of media seats. That got very important.
As I watched the headband fly, I saw motion out of the corner of my eye. I turned that way, and to my horror, Artest had charged into the stands and was trying to kill some guy. Seconds later, he was joined by Stephen Jackson, who laid out a guy with one punch. Instead of being at the other end of the floor, this was now happening a few feet away from me.
The second row of the media is back against the old hockey boards, so we were basically trapped. We couldn't go forward and we couldn't go back. It is a hard process even getting in from the sides, and that's not with massive NBA players going over you and around you and things flying through the air.
I was trying to duck and help protect Dana, who was right next to me. At some point, I got pushed into the table, which tipped over, sending laptops, phones and TV monitors crashing to the ground. Dana was begging Chauncey Billups not to go into the crowd, telling him it would only make things worse.
By this point, the arena was in utter chaos. We didn't see a lot of the stuff live, being worried with the insanity in our immediate area, but Jermaine O'Neal sucker-punched one fan, and could have easily killed him. Morons dumped beer and threw ice at the Pacers players and coaches, and one fucktard threw a chair.
Eventually, the floor was cleared and the game was officially ended. Dana and I went to the back, and then I headed for the Pacers lockerroom, where I listened to one of their assistant coaches try to talk the police out of arresting O'Neal. Within a few minutes, the media was removed from the area, except for Jim Gray of ESPN, which pissed me off no end.
Eventually, a decision was made to get the Pacers out of there. No players were arrested, but there is a good chance that warrants may be issued in the next few days after the TV tapes are reviewed by the police and by the Oakland County Prosecutor's office. I also expect that there will be charges filed against some of the fans that were involved, if they can be identified on tape.
There was also an incident in the tunnel, off-camera, where O'Neal allegedly injured a fan with a punch. That happened right in front of at least one police officer, and was what they were going to arrest him for, not for the incident caught on camera.
Obviously, we were never allowed to talk to the Pacers players, and the Pistons were told not to talk to us. They all left the arena staring straight ahead, not even acknowledging our questions. The only person that we talked to was Larry Brown, who called it the worst thing he has seen in his 40+ years in basketball.
I finally left the arena about 1:20, but Dana and I spent another 15-20 minutes talking in the parking lot. We were basically in shock. The last time I can remember something like this, other than a couple minor-league hockey games, is the time in the 1970s that several of the Boston Bruins went into the stands at Madison Square Garden in New York.
There's a lot of blame to go around. Artest started the incident with a chickenshit flagrant foul at the end of a blowout. The refs should have gotten him and Wallace off the floor immediately. Wallace should have not thrown the towel. Obviously, the fan shouldn't thrown the glass of pop at Artest, which is what sent him into the crowd in the first place. And after the Pacers went into the crowd, the behavior of many fans were utterly inexcusable. People talk about the "mob mentality", and how people do things they would normally never do, but it's terrifying to be in the middle of it.
Still, given all that, there's just no excuse for Artest and Jackson going into the crowd and attacking fans. They had no way of knowing if the fans they were engaged with had anything to do with the stuff that was being thrown.
I have no idea what happens next. There are going to be long suspensions - the Pacers' three best players are looking at possibly missing 15-20 games or more. They could also be facing criminal charges, as well as probable (definite?) lawsuits.
For the Pistons, I suspect that Ben Wallace will get 3-5 games, and Rasheed Wallace might get suspended for going into the crowd, even as a peacemaker. Six Pistons - Chauncey Billups, Darvin Ham, Darko Milicic, Derrick Coleman, Antonio McDyess and Elden Campbell - are also facing automatic one-game suspensions for leaving the bench during the original altercation. Tayshaun Prince was the only Piston smart enough to stay on the bench, so he should avoid any punishment at all. Smush Parker, Rip Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter were in the game, and shouldn't get suspended, unless Rip gets a game for shoving various Pacers during the first fracas.
(and no, they won't suspend everyone at once - they will stagger things so that the team can put a reasonable squad on the floor for every game. Usually, it is 2-3 people per game, done in alphabetical order.)
It's 3:24. I've been home for a little more than 90 minutes, and the adrenalin is just starting to wear off. I was supposed to go to the Science Center tomorrow with Angie and Britt, but that's off now. I'll be at Pistons practice at 11 am, and quite possibly at AHPD HQ at some point for a press conference. I'm hoping that I'll be able to go see a movie with them tomorrow night.
I'm just glad I got through it healthy - it could have easily been a lot worse. And, for all my doubts about myself at times, I did my job very well tonight.
What an unbelievable night.I don't know what to say.
First, the important thing. I'm basically OK. I got knocked over a table, which set off a minor bout of back spasms. My laptop got knocked onto the concrete floor at the same time, but seems to have survived intact. We'll have to see about that.
Here's what happened. The Pacers were wiping out the Pistons. With less than a minute left, Ron Artest shoved Ben Wallace in the back as Ben was going for a shot. Wallace turned around and shoved Artest in the face, and Artest staggered back. He eventually ended up on the scorer's table, lying on his back like he was relaxing.
Both benches emptied, there was a lot of pushing and shoving and general mayhem. The refs, incredibly, didn't have Wallace and Artest removed from the court, and eventually Artest, being a hot dog, grabbed a radio headset and started giving an interview while still lying on the scorers table.
That set Wallace off again, and he threw a towel at Artest, hitting him in the head. Things got tenser again, and Ben threw his headband toward the stands. I remember watching the headband fly through the air. At that point, this was probably the nastiest basketball fight I had ever seen in person, but that was it. It happened on the other end of the court and I was just trying to keep track of things for Larry.
Oh, yeah. Since it was a big game, both Larry and I were there. So he was in our front-row seat next to Mahorn, and I was sitting behind him in the second row of media seats. That got very important.
As I watched the headband fly, I saw motion out of the corner of my eye. I turned that way, and to my horror, Artest had charged into the stands and was trying to kill some guy. Seconds later, he was joined by Stephen Jackson, who laid out a guy with one punch. Instead of being at the other end of the floor, this was now happening a few feet away from me.
The second row of the media is back against the old hockey boards, so we were basically trapped. We couldn't go forward and we couldn't go back. It is a hard process even getting in from the sides, and that's not with massive NBA players going over you and around you and things flying through the air.
I was trying to duck and help protect Dana, who was right next to me. At some point, I got pushed into the table, which tipped over, sending laptops, phones and TV monitors crashing to the ground. Dana was begging Chauncey Billups not to go into the crowd, telling him it would only make things worse.
By this point, the arena was in utter chaos. We didn't see a lot of the stuff live, being worried with the insanity in our immediate area, but Jermaine O'Neal sucker-punched one fan, and could have easily killed him. Morons dumped beer and threw ice at the Pacers players and coaches, and one fucktard threw a chair.
Eventually, the floor was cleared and the game was officially ended. Dana and I went to the back, and then I headed for the Pacers lockerroom, where I listened to one of their assistant coaches try to talk the police out of arresting O'Neal. Within a few minutes, the media was removed from the area, except for Jim Gray of ESPN, which pissed me off no end.
Eventually, a decision was made to get the Pacers out of there. No players were arrested, but there is a good chance that warrants may be issued in the next few days after the TV tapes are reviewed by the police and by the Oakland County Prosecutor's office. I also expect that there will be charges filed against some of the fans that were involved, if they can be identified on tape.
There was also an incident in the tunnel, off-camera, where O'Neal allegedly injured a fan with a punch. That happened right in front of at least one police officer, and was what they were going to arrest him for, not for the incident caught on camera.
Obviously, we were never allowed to talk to the Pacers players, and the Pistons were told not to talk to us. They all left the arena staring straight ahead, not even acknowledging our questions. The only person that we talked to was Larry Brown, who called it the worst thing he has seen in his 40+ years in basketball.
I finally left the arena about 1:20, but Dana and I spent another 15-20 minutes talking in the parking lot. We were basically in shock. The last time I can remember something like this, other than a couple minor-league hockey games, is the time in the 1970s that several of the Boston Bruins went into the stands at Madison Square Garden in New York.
There's a lot of blame to go around. Artest started the incident with a chickenshit flagrant foul at the end of a blowout. The refs should have gotten him and Wallace off the floor immediately. Wallace should have not thrown the towel. Obviously, the fan shouldn't thrown the glass of pop at Artest, which is what sent him into the crowd in the first place. And after the Pacers went into the crowd, the behavior of many fans were utterly inexcusable. People talk about the "mob mentality", and how people do things they would normally never do, but it's terrifying to be in the middle of it.
Still, given all that, there's just no excuse for Artest and Jackson going into the crowd and attacking fans. They had no way of knowing if the fans they were engaged with had anything to do with the stuff that was being thrown.
I have no idea what happens next. There are going to be long suspensions - the Pacers' three best players are looking at possibly missing 15-20 games or more. They could also be facing criminal charges, as well as probable (definite?) lawsuits.
For the Pistons, I suspect that Ben Wallace will get 3-5 games, and Rasheed Wallace might get suspended for going into the crowd, even as a peacemaker. Six Pistons - Chauncey Billups, Darvin Ham, Darko Milicic, Derrick Coleman, Antonio McDyess and Elden Campbell - are also facing automatic one-game suspensions for leaving the bench during the original altercation. Tayshaun Prince was the only Piston smart enough to stay on the bench, so he should avoid any punishment at all. Smush Parker, Rip Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter were in the game, and shouldn't get suspended, unless Rip gets a game for shoving various Pacers during the first fracas.
(and no, they won't suspend everyone at once - they will stagger things so that the team can put a reasonable squad on the floor for every game. Usually, it is 2-3 people per game, done in alphabetical order.)
It's 3:24. I've been home for a little more than 90 minutes, and the adrenalin is just starting to wear off. I was supposed to go to the Science Center tomorrow with Angie and Britt, but that's off now. I'll be at Pistons practice at 11 am, and quite possibly at AHPD HQ at some point for a press conference. I'm hoping that I'll be able to go see a movie with them tomorrow night.
I'm just glad I got through it healthy - it could have easily been a lot worse. And, for all my doubts about myself at times, I did my job very well tonight.
What an unbelievable night.