I Haven't Posted In Awhile

Sorry about that.

Video Andrew Took

"I don't know whether it will be broadcasting or journalism. I don't know if the focus will be sports or music. I selfishly hope it's sports. I do know for sure whatever avenue he chooses to do you can expect BIG THINGS!! He has the passion the dedication and heart to make a BIG IMPACT in whatever he chooses to do!"

That is what my brother posted about a month ago after he visited me and came up to Saginaw for the Wayne State/SVSU game.

This makes me really excited for my family to come up this weekend.

His kind words mean the world to me.

The Bad(dest) Boy

The Bad(dest) Boy

“Rodman doesn’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame because people can’t separate him from the character he plays.”

- Bill Plaschke

Dennis Rodman was born on May 13th, 1961 in Trenton, New Jersey. Much like he did later on in his career, he bounced around from city to city and state to state in his younger years after his father had left his family. It was not until he found refuge in the dangerous outskirts of Dallas, Texas, when he finally felt at home. The unbashful, flamboyant and pop culture magazine headline grabbing “Rodzilla” was merely just a social wallflower uncomfortable in his own body at this time. He was the only male figure in his household and was often ridiculed by his sisters for not even being the best athlete. His sisters, Debra and Kim went on to be All-Americans at Louisiana Tech, all the while Dennis was battling depression after being cut from his high school football and basketball teams.
It was not until he had a growth spurt in high school that he was exposed to the game of basketball once more by future Texas A&M coach, Gary Blair. It was Blair who would play the role of a father figure for Rodman, a role that would also be played by two other coaches in his career: Chuck Daly and Phil Jackson. But Blair was the one that helped mold Dennis Rodman “the basketball player”. Rodman has said that molding him into to a basketball player was no easy task as many times he was unable to even make a lay-up.

But it would not be Rodman’s offensive prowess that garnered the attention of NBA scouts, it was his defensive skills. Being that he only played in The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as a member of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, he was relatively un-noticed his entire collegiate career even though he averaged 25.7 points and 15.7 rebounds in his three years there and led the conference in rebounding two of those years as well. It took being named the Most Valuable Player of a pre-draft camp to entice one franchise and coach to take a gamble on a relatively lanky and unknown talent. That franchise was the Detroit Pistons and that Coach was Chuck Daly.

In the 1986 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons selected Rodman with the 27^th pick. It was a draft that saw fellow Piston, John Salley get drafted as well. But the 1986 NBA Draft is not remembered for who the Detroit Pistons selected, even though Salley and Rodman would play major roles in back-to-back NBA Championships for Detroit, it is remembered for the career that could have been. As the Boston Celtics a team that locked horns with the Pistons all throughout the 1980’s selected Len Bias with the second overall pick. Len Bias would never play single game for the Celtics as he died less than 48 hours after being drafted. It was later revealed that Bias had a secret drug addiction to cocaine. In Rodman’s case, his alcohol and drug addictions later on in his life were far from secret.

But long before Rodman’s days of wearing wedding dresses and abusing drugs and alcohol, he was a defensive spark-plug for the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons. A team led by Chuck Daly and future Hall of Famer’s, Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. Rodman was not shy in being one of the “baddest boys.” The Pistons earned this moniker through their hard nosed style of play. They could beat you on the scoreboard on any given night and if they could not accomplish that, well, they could just beat you up. The Bad Boys were revered and loved in Detroit and loathed and hated everywhere else. What made the team so dynamic was the fact that Chuck Daly was often revered for being one of the nicest guys in basketball. Charles Barkley once said of the Bad Boys, "Here's what I always thought about Chuck. He was a really good dude. I can't believe he coached those pricks in Detroit."

Many players on that team received nicknames. Vinnie Johnson was called “the Microwave” because he ate up minutes off of the bench; Adrian Dantley was referred to as “the Teacher” as he took many young Pistons under his wing. John Salley was called “the Spider” for his defensive play. Dennis Rodman was no different, he received his nickname for his defensive style of play and how he always seemed to come down with the rebound in crowds of players, so he was appropriately referred to as “the Worm”.

Rodman often wormed his was into the headlines of sports papers, as he was vocal against one of the team’s biggest rivals, the Boston Celtics. Rodman often called out one person in particular, Larry Bird. He said of Bird, “Bird is overrated in a lot of areas. Why does he get so much publicity? Because he's white. You never hear about a black player being the greatest." Rodman consistently flew under the radar for the Pistons. He always showed up big when he had to. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in back-to-back years as the Pistons had just won back-to-back championships. During the 1990–1991 season, the NBA heralded him as a defender who "could shut down any opposing player, from point guard to center." In the 1991-1992 season he collected 1,530 rebounds, which helped him surpass Wilt Chamberlin as the single season rebound record holder. He also won his first of seven consecutive rebounding crowns that year.

Then only a year removed from his greatest season, his world came crashing down. Chuck Daly, a man that Rodman loved and revered, and who once took Rodman into his office and said, “You know, Dennis, even though you play for me, I just love you like my son. I’m not taking any charity to you or stuff like that; you just have a special place for me.” resigned as head coach of the Pistons and this left Rodman reeling, it even led him to the brink of suicide. Rodman later revealed in his autobiography As Bad as I Wanna Be, why he chose not to kill himself. Rodman wrote, “I'm going to live my life the way I want to live it and be happy doing it.' At that moment I turned my whole life around. I killed the person I didn't want to be." This led to him to demanding a trade. He was then traded to the San Antonio Spurs where he played along side David Robinson, a player highly regarded as one of the best big men of his era. While in San Antonio, Rodman’s demeanor changed and so did his hairstyles.

From San Antonio he went to the Chicago Bulls. It was at this time that “the Worm” had died and “Rodzilla” was born. Rodman found himself playing alongside the greatest to ever play the game, Michael Jordan and with arguably the best supporting player ever, Scottie Pippen. He was also coached by the great Phil Jackson. The irony of Rodman playing for the Bulls was that he not even ten years removed from being in a bitter rivalry with them as a member of the Pistons. Rodman loathed at the Bulls whilst playing in Detroit, but he soon got acclimated to playing with Jordan and Pippen. Rodman stated that even though all three of them had drastically different personalities, they all managed to balance each other out on the court. He said of his relationship with Jordan and Pippen:

"On the court, me and Michael are pretty calm and we can handle conversation. But as far as our lives go, I think he is moving in one direction and I'm going in the other. I mean, he's goin' north, I'm goin' south. And then you've got Scottie Pippen right in the middle. He's sort of the equator."

It was also around this time that Rodman was grabbing tabloid headlines instead of sports headlines. He grabbed attention for wearing a wedding dress to a book signing, stomping on a camera man during a game, his romantic fling with Madonna, his flamboyant hairstyles and his venturing into professional wrestling with the aid of Hulk Hogan. Rodman was actually fined by the Chicago Bulls, because he took part in a wrestling event for World Championship Wrestling during the NBA Finals. In doing so, he was fined twenty-thousand dollars by the Bulls. Sources say his pay day for the wrestling event was over one hundred-thousand dollars.

Many argued that his off the court issues over shadowed his play on the court. Sportswriter Tom Ziller wrote that the main problem with Rodman was that he was in the public light too much, he said, “This is the central conflict in Rodman's career as a whole: he was the least glamorous star player on the court, and made up for it by being comically glamorous off the court.” But nevertheless, he still dominated the boards and grabbed rebounds. NBA coaching great, and then Seattle Supersonics coach, George Karl even said this of Rodman’s 1996 NBA Finals performance, "As you evaluate the series, Dennis Rodman won two basketball games. We controlled Dennis Rodman for four games. But Game 2 and tonight, he was the reason they were successful." Even amidst all his off of the court issues, Rodman was still a defensive juggernaut.

Michael Jordan retired after the 1998 season, and the Bulls began a rebuilding phase. Pippen and Rodman were the first to go after Jordan. Rodman found himself now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, a team he also had a history with all the way back to his times with the Pistons. By this time his erratic behavior finally caught up to him. He only played 23 games with the Lakers and he was waived and then picked up by his adopted home state’s Dallas Mavericks, he soon wore out his welcome and was released by them as well. Steve Nash said Rodman's time as a Maverick, “Rodman never wanted to be [a Maverick]" and therefore was unmotivated.”

Sadly, that is how the masses view Rodman, an unmotivated and erratic basketball player. But is the furthest thing from the truth possible. For seven straight years he led the league in rebounding, he set multiple regular season and post season rebounding records and he re-enforced the saying that “offense wins you games and defense wins you championships.” Many view Rodman as a the reason why a player like Ron Artest is allowed to be in the league, a kind  player who is volatile on and off of the court, and who is more of a goon than a ball player. But the fact of the matter is Rodman was a great ball player and never really a goon. To speak on the character of Dennis Rodman, you need not look any further than when he was asked to reflect on his colorful career. Rodman said, “People ask if I have any regrets as a basketball player, I have one regret: I wish I was a better father.”

Rodman was always an underdog and was always misunderstood. He never really hung around the big name players off of the court. He hung around with guys like Jack Haley, a virtually unknown journeyman and Bryne Rich, a player whom he bonded with in his teenage years and a person who brought Rodman into his family and helped give him of his the only stable families he has ever had. Rodman was a work horse on the court. He never got his just due and was always categorized as “one dimensional” and not deserving of the Hall of Fame. But in 2011, Rodman finally got his recognition and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In his speech he spoke of his relationships with his coaches and father figures, Phil Jackson and Chuck Daly. Rodman mentioned that Jackson was the only man to ever cry for him. And when he was asked about the late Chuck Daly not being at his induction speech, Rodman said, "I just wish Chuck was still here period. He was a great guy." Even with his induction into the Hall of Fame, the Detroit Pistons are the only teams to retire his number. At his number retirement ceremony during his speech, he broke down and said, "I don't deserve to have [the number] retired," because there "was so much else I should have done" in Detroit.” But as they say the “ball don’t lie” and neither do his stats. Sure, his falling out with Detroit was not the greatest, but that was his first NBA home and that is where “the Worm” was born. His number should hang high above the hardwood floor of the Palace of Auburn Hills, where is now immortalized with his fellow Bad Boys and the man he viewed as his father, Chuck Daly.

Even then people still had their doubts about Rodman’s legitimacy as being considered a “legend”. Jack McCallum said, “Rodman himself was surprised that the Pistons retired his jersey last Friday, since he played a supporting role… The Hall of Fame is not for supporting players.” The fact of matter is though; Rodman was not only just a supporting player. He was a key player on the teams he was on, especially when it came to the back-to-back championships of the Detroit Pistons or adding to the litany of championships won by the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.

Rodman came to popularity in the 1990s. A time where grunge music had taken over and bands like Pearl Jam changed the way how others viewed music. At the same time, Rodman was changing the way how people should view basketball. Coincidentally, Rodman was great friends with Pearl Jam lead singer, Eddie Vedder. All the members of Pearl Jam were even known to wear Rodman’s various jerseys on stage. But most importantly, they bonded through each other’s unique way of living. Pearl Jam scoffed at mainstream notoriety and so did Rodman. He once said this of his earnings playing basketball: “I didn’t play the game for the money. I didn’t play the game to be famous. What you see here is an illusion: that I love to be an individual that is very colorful.”

Rodman is a man who even though is in the Hall of Fame still has detractors. Sports columnist Bill Plaschke wrote after Rodman’s induction, “Rodman doesn’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame because people can’t separate him from the character he plays.” But there really never was a Dennis Rodman “character.” Under the piercings, rainbow colored hair, wedding veils and tattooed exterior, Dennis Rodman was always Dennis Rodman.

In my opinion Tom Ziller put Rodman’s legitimacy as a Hall of Famer and a legend in the perfect context. He said:

“If Steve Nash can win two MVPs playing on one side of the ball, Rodman belongs in the Hall. To argue otherwise is to unfairly diminish the importance of defense and rebounding. It's time to stop paying lip service to those parts of the game, and inducting Rodman is a great way to do it.”

That is a perfect point. If we live a day and age where Steve Nash is heralded as one of the best basketball players in the NBA even though statistically, he only plays one side of the ball (offense) and he won two MVP’s in doing so, why can’t Rodman be recognized and heralded equally for his work on defense.

Even with the thousands upon thousands of opinions that people have on him, Rodman never was one to care about what people thought of him. He just played the game how he wanted to play it: Fast and Hard. He was as bad as he wanted to be and when push came to shove, he never backed down and shied away from what made him happy, even if that meant ridicule and judgment. He played in era with Bird, Magic, Malone, Jordan, Barkley and Robinson. On some nights he even played better than them and embarrassed them. And if you did not like it, well, then as Eddie Vedder wrote in one of his songs, “This is not for you. Oh, this is not for you...yeah, you...”

Just some videos and music that helped me with the essay and I felt fit Rodman's personality:

Why Sports Broadcasting...

Every single time I have been asked, "What did you want to be when you were a kid?" I answered:

"I wanted to be the Beatles, be on GUTS and play outfield for the Detroit Tigers."

But when my girlfriend Lexxa recently asked me why I wanted to get into sports broadcasting, I had a much more in depth answer than I thought.

You see, when I grew up, I had quite the imagination. As did any kid, really. But with me I always took it a step further. Especially with sports.... and my Tim Allen from Home Improvement phase.

While other kids were figuring out who their favorite player or team was, I was reading the box scores of the paper. Asking my dad what all the abbreviations meant and how to write a baseball game on a score card.

I was six.

I remember specifically one time when I was at my grandma's, my friend Danny who lived a few doors down from my grandma, would only let me in his house if I could recite the batting order of the previous day's Tiger game.

Whenever I played video games, I would always mute the sound of the announcers and do the play-by-play myself.

I had a Tigers uniform, Lions uniform, Pistons uniform and Red Wings uniform, so depending on which sport was in season, I would dress up and go out on my front yard or drive way and re-enact games.

I had a whole system when it came to baseball games. If I played on the lawn, those were the home games. If I played at my grandma's, those were away games. I loved every minute of it.

And one time when I played at my Aunt's in Sau Sault Marie, I even had my Aunt Peggy sing the Canadian National Anthem. Before I played a Red Wings game.

I just got so into it.

My neighbors, Elenore and Pete would always cheer me on when I had home games on my lawn. Pete lived across the street from me. So if I even hit a ball across the street, he would get it for me, on account of me being too young to cross the street without my parents.

Elenore was a die-hard Tigers fan and she would tell me that I did better than some of the Tigers on any given day. She would get a kick knowing that I am getting into this field. Especially if I worked with the Tigers.

I just guess sports broadcasting is just one of those random things that has always been in my life really.

I always impersonated announcers and would recite their lingo. I remember freaking out one time listening to a Tigers game in my dad's truck. Ernie Harwell had said that Tony Clark was retired. My dad was getting gas and I bursted  out of the truck and yelled, "Dad, dad! Mr. Harwell said Tony Clark just retired!" My dad gave me this weird look, listened to the game on the radio and told me that getting "retired" meant that the batter was out.

Naturally I added that line to my front yard baseball games.

Even to this day, I still mute the television and do my own play-by-play when playing video games. Sometimes I am Ken Daniels, Mickey Redmond, Marv Albert, definitely not Joe Buck, Al Michaels or just plain ol' me. And I act like a giant kid.

I get transported to playing video games with Joe Strayer at my grandmas, or my brother's room on the rare occasion that he actually let me play a game with him.

I guess when you really boil it down though, I have really been broadcasting my own little sports game my whole entire life.

Now other people can actually listen.

But if you asked my family this same question, they would probably just smile and say,

"It's because he never shuts up."

Talk About Football Weather..

What a cold game.

SVSU came out on top with the win. Lark and Hogue had huge games running the ball. Together they almost eclipsed 200 yards. The defense was dominant the whole entire game.

24-7

Cardinals WIN!

The booth was chaotic and packed. Television people from CBS were running around left and right. I even got to talk to a producer from CBS and asked him how he was doing and he said, "Just two more hours, man. Two hours."

When it came to the halftime show, that was even more chaotic. The guy at the station ran the wrong feature. So he played an old feature and then the one that was supposed to be played. Needless to say, my segment got pushed to the first time-out of the second half.

Andrew was on the phone with my mom and girlfriend to keep them up to date with everything and he kept me up to date on the Tigers. I love them all and appreciate them for their support.

I had to rush through the updates and kind of felt bad about it afterwards.

CBS also interviewed Coach Collins and stole my thunder. They said that I couldn't interview Collins, because they were. Contrary to what Craig Ferguson says, apparently CBS does NOT care.

J.J. apologized and I told him it wasn't his fault.

It was a pretty damn good broadcast overall between J.J. and Dave. They did a really great job calling the game and the people who made it out to the cold and damp game were loud and rocking.

But because of the beauty of sports, all of that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things though.

Apparently last night was Joe's first ever college football game. Andrew said he saw him during warm-ups and it looked like he was going to play.

And he did.

He had one pass thrown to him and he did not come down with it. He took a hell of a hit and he got right back up.

They pronounced his name wrong and I opened the door from the announcing room and yelled into the press box, "That's not how you pronounce his name, man!" They just stared at me in silence. To break the tension I just then said, "Well, alright. Good talk. Carry on."

During the last minute or so of the game, Wayne State's quarterback kept on throwing to the tight end. Every time he got tackled, I saw the number 8.. and I knew Joe's number was 84. And every time the number 85 came up from the hit. This led me to yell, "Oh, come on! Throw it to Biernat!" Which led J.J. and Dave to turn around and confusingly look at me.

After the game as Andrew and I were driving back, I noticed a lady that appeared to look like Mrs. Biernat. So I jumped out of the car (while it was still moving) so I could give her a giant hug. Then as I approached, I saw Joe standing with her.

I called an audible and hugged and congratulated Joe then went to hug Babs. I swear, her hugs are just heaven.

She is an amazing, amazing woman.

Soon after that, his girlfriend Steph came over and so did Mr. Biernat. We all talked for a good twenty minutes about the game and just caught up. Mrs. Biernat tried sneaking money into my pocket, I noticed and just snuck it back into hers.

Those twenty minutes made the cold, the rain, the wind and the chaos and the CBS malarkey well worth it.

Joe was down about the game, but I told him, "You have to start somewhere, man."

And trust me, he is going places.

What I Am Excited For On Thursday Night

Prime-time, under the lights, Nationally televised, rivalry game, October.

Those are all many things that make this weeks game special, but personally, there is one thing that makes Thursday game even more special.

Saginaw Valley State is facing Wayne State in a Nationally televised game. That's cool.

And during the game, I'll be in the press box for SVSU and my friend that I have known since I was a baby, Joe Biernat, will be playing for Wayne State on the field. That's cooler.

I have always been immensely proud and impressed by Joe's work ethic and passion for football, but most importantly, I have always been even prouder of his personality and kindness. He is by far one of the better human beings I know.

For this game I am going to be representing Cardinal Red... actually for this game, I might have to polish off an SIJ t-shirt and represent the Charger Red. Because even though I hope SVSU comes out with the victory, I will secretly be cheering on Joe. Even if that involves me jumping up and down in the press box if he catches a pass. And if things get a little dicey, I may have to toss in a little "Big Poppa."

If anything, I can at least make sure the public address announcer pronounces his name right. Because I've got that kind of pull now.

I am truly excited to crack open the program for the game as we are preparing for the pregame show and seeing Joe's name, so I can go, "Hey, I know that guy!"

But in all honesty, if you told me in grade school that Joe would be playing college football and I would be in the press box for the game as apart of the broadcast team, I wouldn't have been surprised.

Funny how those things work out.

Career Fair

So. I got an email today about a career fair that is coming up. But not just any ol' career fair, one with "sports & entertainment" businesses.

Translation: I am about to put on my Sunday's best and network the f-off.

I am really excited about this. What's even cooler is JJ forwarded the email to me too.

The Pistons, Saginaw Spirit (hockey), Saginaw Sting (indoor football), Grand Rapids Griffins (hockey) and Great Lake Loons (baseball) will all be there.

I am interested to see the inner working of this business.

The big bonus would be if I could get a job or internship with the Pistons.

Because my grandpa used to have season tickets for them and I could go full circle with a job there.

And also, if someones asks who I work for I can just say....

DEEETROOOOITTTTTT BASSSSSKETTTTBALLLLLLL

"Is this Heaven?... No, it's Iowa."

God, the view from the press box is beautiful.

Seeing all 100 yards strecthed out like a beach towel. And feeling like both end zones are within reach, is just an amazing feeling.

Seeing 9,000 fans in Cardinal Red cheering for a team that to them is the Packers, Cowboys, Lions and Bears all rolled into one, because that team on the field is theirs, is just mind blowing.

Seeing a Buffalo Bills scout in the press box writing in his little notebook and wondering how long he has had that dirty old jacket, is just mesmerising.

Hearing my name as a member of the broadcasting team, is just unimaginable.

Hearing my name as a member of the broadcasting being pronounced right, is just surprising.

Feeling the turf on my feet for the post game interview, made me feel like Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, when he first stepped onto the baseball field etched in a cornfield. It just did not feel real.

I knew one thing was for certain though, I definitely was not in Iowa.

But, I may very well have been in heaven.

"My Opening Pitch"

 My Opening Pitch

Asking me what my favorite thing about sports, is a lot like asking an alcoholic what their favorite drink is. I will say however, much like that alcoholic all the things that I love about sports come at me in one giant blur. And in being a Detroit sports fan, alcohol can sometimes seem like a helpful means. I am kidding about that last part, as it is actually quite cool to have successful sports teams in Detroit to root for. It is nice to have the Lions too.

Since I live in Metro-Detroit, I am a die-hard Piston, Red Wing, Spartan and Tiger fan. It also helps that I was born and raised on sports, baseball specifically. That is why above all others, the Tigers are my team. The team that I would follow come hell or high water. I have played basketball, football, soccer, I even wrestled. But baseball was the one true sport that I loved and was actually better than average at. My fondest memories of sports all revolve around that game as well, whether those memories happened on or off of the diamond. When I think of baseball, I think of my first game at Tiger Stadium, my first hit in Tee-Ball, my first championship and my many, many strikeouts.

My favorite time playing this game had to of been either in 2002 when the team that I was on and that my dad coached, the Pirates, won the St. Gertrude “Mustang” Division Championship. Or in 2006 with my 8th grade team, the St. Isaac Jogues Chargers, when we went undefeated on a team that almost did not exist.

I vividly remember the semi-finals game against the Devil Rays in 2002. We were up by one run in the bottom of the seventh inning. There were two outs and runners on second and third, I was playing shortstop. The batter ripped a line shot into left field, where my friend Pat was playing. I turned around and yelled at him to get the ball. He just stood there. So, I kept on yelling. Pat did not budge, so I ran into left field to retrieve the ball, it was at this time I noticed nobody else on my team was moving and as I turned to look at home, I noticed nobody on the opposing team was moving either. It was at that time that Pat with his eyes wide and mouth wide open, pointed at my glove. I slowly glanced down at my glove and noticed the ball that I was yelling at Pat to get was nestled precariously in my glove, just barely hanging on the top of it. I did a double take and then looked at Pat and said, “You could have told me I caught it!” 

For many more years, Pat and I would be on the same teams. One of those was our middle school’s team, the St. Isaac Jogues Chargers. In 5th-7th grade we had pretty okay teams, but we were nothing special. We did have a couple really good players who decided to bail on our team in hopes of better competition in Federation ball two weeks before practices were to start for our last season in 2006. The team was in dismay and my teammates and I scrambled to fill the roster. We were looking for people with two arms and legs. If you could hit and throw, then that was a bonus.

Eventually, we found enough people to resemble a team. I remember before our first game our coach came up to us after practice and said, “Boys, you better pray your Rosaries tonight, because what is going to happen tomorrow ain’t gonna be good.” 

My friend Joe was our best pitcher and I was the team’s catcher. Every time he got chaotic, I would start to sing “Big Poppa” like in the movie Hardball. I did this as I was on deck and Joe was batting when there was one out and the bases were loaded and were down 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh. Joe called time and I “waved my hands in the air like a true playa” and he smiled. On the next pitch he ended up winning that game on a walk-off triple. We also ended up winning the last nine games as well, going undefeated for the first time in my school’s history. 

Both of those seasons were like my very own sports movies. But as for ones that I watch to this day, Field Of Dreams, Sandlot, Rookie of the Year, Mighty Ducks, the Natural, Slapshot, Remember the Titans, Radio, Little Big League and Bull Durham are the first films that come to my mind. By now, I could say every line from those movies, but every time I watch them I get reminded why I love sports. How could you not get goose bumps when Terence Mann goes into his “People will come, Ray” monologue, when the lights explode and the iconic music plays as Roy Hobbs is rounding the bases, when Porter shouts “Pickle!”, or even when Gordon Bombay gathers his Mighty Ducks and leads them in their chant, “Quack, Quack, Quack!”

I also enjoy sports documentaries. ESPN and HBO always seem to produce the best of the bunch, especially ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentaries. Of those I would say that my favorites are the documentaries on the USFL, the origins of Rotisserie League Baseball, the story of Marcus Dupree and the documentary about the Wayne Gretzky trade to the Los Angeles Kings. In all honest though, all of them are amazing. As for HBO’s documentaries there are the docs they did on the Brooklyn Dodgers and the “Broad Street Bully” Philadelphia Flyers as well as their series When It Was a Game. I have also spent many a night sitting in my living room watching Baseball’s Golden Age with my dad.

I love researching old teams, logos and players and have way too much useless sports knowledge, you could ask me the starting line-up for the 2004 Detroit Pistons or 2003 Tigers and I would probably know them by heart, I blame my brother for this.

But one thing I do not blame my brother or even any person in my family for is the sports education they gave me. It is weird because whenever my dad gets into debates about sports players from when he grew up with his brothers or friends, I can go toe to toe with them. I remember one time specifically, when my father’s friend Kurt asked me who were the three greatest hockey players off all-time, I replied, “Howe, Gretzky, Orr”. He grinned in approval. Then he asked me for the greatest baseball players off all-time, I said, “Cobb, Williams, Mays”. Kurt then grabbed my dad’s shoulder and said, “You raised your son right”.

The great thing I love about being a Detroit fan is that with every team or sport, that Detroit team has had a handful of great or iconic players that are synonymous with their sport. People like Gordie Howe, Barry Sanders, Ty Cobb, Bob Lainer. I personally, never really had athletes that I looked up too. Sure, growing up in the 1990’s I was Ken Griffey Jr. fan and would wear my hat backwards like he did. I was also a huge Dan Marino fan. But when I lost my teeth, I would pronounce his name, “Dan Burrito”. And there are of course those Detroit athletes that will never get their just due, like Alan Trammel, Chris Osgood, Willy Horton, Ben Wallace or even Jack Morris.

But, if I were to pick one sports figure that I idolize, it would be without a shadow of a doubt, Jimmy Valvano. To some that name might ring a bell, but others have no clue of his story and to me that is a shame. Jimmy Valvano was a college basketball coach most known for his time at North Carolina State, and defeating the Houston in the NCAA Basketball finals on a last second tip-in in 1983. But he is not my favorite sports figure for how he coached, but he is my favorite sports figure for how he lived. He gave an iconic speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards. He was dying of cancer in front of the thousands of people there and the millions watching at home. But amidst that, he gave one of the most poignant speeches I have ever heard. It is known for his line, “Don’t give up… Don’t ever give up.” But for me personally, there is one part of his speech that I use as a kind of mantra for my life. He said while speaking in regards to living a full life, “…But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week; you're going to have something special…" That is transcending the margins and sports to me just in that quote. 

When I am looking for good sports journalists or commentators to quote, I immediately think Bill Simmons. He runs a sports website called Grantland and it is the best run sports journalism website you will ever find. They did a retrospective article on the Pacers/Pistons Palace Brawl last year, and it was the most riveting journalism I have ever read. Bill Simmons to me is the one person I try to emulate the most in my writing. He has a way of making his 2,000 word articles just flow and feel effortless for the reader. There is also Rick Reilly, who is writer for ESPN. He writes very feature-like editorials on popular sport subjects and no matter what, he also has the right tone in every article. He did absolutely extraordinary articles on the Penn State scandal. But I like his tongue in cheek articles the best. 

Of course I would be remiss if I did not mention local journalists like Mitch Albom or Lynn Henning who both write for the Detroit newspapers. Though I disagree with just about everything Lynn Henning has to say about the Tigers. As his solution to any Tiger problem is to bat Ryan Raburn more. And as for actual commentators, as in the people who announce the games. No one will ever be as good as Ernie Harwell. 

Even though that might have even seemed like an incoherent ramble for five pages or so, let me just consolidate those random thoughts into one summarizing point: I love sports. I always have and always will. I will continue to root for the underdog and cheer for my Tigers until I lose my voice. I will support Detroit sports until the day I die. And who knows, maybe after I die, I might support the Lions too. God knows they need all the help they can get.

Riots, and Tigers, and the World Series, Oh! My

Riots, and Tigers, and the World Series, Oh! My

On the corner of Michigan and Trumbull, 40, 000 fans were rooting for their Tigers, in the baseball Mecca known as Tiger Stadium, during a day that would forever change how the Nation viewed the Motor City. As the Detroit Tigers were entrenched in a race for the American League Pennant, the National Guard was entrenched behind tanks and over turned cars as they patrolled the streets of Motown. And while the Tigers were battling the Yankees at the Corner, Detroiters were battling police officers on the corner of 12^th street a few miles away.

In 1967 the Tigers were in the midst of a season in which they were burning up the box-scores for the first time in over twenty years as their fans and citizens of Detroit were burning the city down.

During the afternoon of July 23^rd, 1967, the Detroit Tigers played the New York Yankees at 2:30pm. On the morning of July 23^rd, the city of Detroit began rioting at 8:00am; a mere four miles away from Tiger Stadium, after a white police force raided a blind pig- a place that illegally made and distributed alcohol after 2am. The police arrested 82 men that morning. As they brought them outside, curious on lookers got more and more volatile. Someone then hurled a brick as if they were trying to hit their cut-off man, and it connected with the rear windshield of a police cruiser. And as the band Sam Roberts would say in a song “Detroit ’67” many, many years later, “Somebody call the riot police… There's trouble down on 12th Street.”

The Tigers were scheduled to play a doubleheader against the Yankees that day. The second game never happened. As the Tigers were the last to find out that the city was under a revolution. The second game was cancelled soon after the Tigers clubhouse found out of the riots that had now progressed from 12^th to 14^th street, Linwood, Dexter and Grand River and were approaching the East Side of Van Dyke.

The Tigers made no mention of what was happening beyond the bleachers where banners hung telling tales of baseball and Tiger greats. The only thing that people where yelling about within the confines of Tiger Stadium were the inequality of the umpires’ calls towards the Tigers, a far cry from the inequalities between blacks and whites that pushed Detroit to the brink. The only person to speak about the riots during the game was the iconic voice of the Tigers, Ernie Harwell.

The voice who provided men, women, and children with news of Tigers baseball through the radio waves, and told every one in Tiger Nation that is was spring time by quoting a bible passage from Solomon, was now providing listeners who had their transistor radio dials turned to 760 AM and tuned into to Tigers Baseball news of something that listeners and spectators would soon find akin to the bible chapter “Revelations”.  

Harwell acknowledged during the game that there was something in the distance. He said, “It appears a thick black smoke is rising over the light towers in the outfield.” It was as if the rioters on 12^th street were sending an S.O.S. distress call to their Tigers, a call that two Tigers in particular would soon answer.

The starting pitcher of the day game between the Yankees, was fan favorite Mickey Lolich. He was the battery during the game along with Bill Freehan. When Lolich got home, he got a call from the National Guard. As soon as he took the Old English D off, he was called upon his nation to put another uniform on. He found he was trying to control and hold back the thousands of Detroiters fed up with the city, a far cry from trying to control runners and hold them in scoring position as he towed the rubber in a ball game. By now, many of the fans that were cheering for him as he took the mound earlier in the day were now amongst the rioters he was trying to suppress.

But compared to Lolich, one Tiger did not even get a chance to take his uniform off before going into the riots. Outfielder, and Detroit native, Willie Horton grew up a few blocks away from the epicenter of the riots on 12th street. After he found out that the second game of the double header was cancelled, he went to the rioters. The sea of disenchanted citizens parted like the Red Sea as they saw Willie in his uniform climb on top of a tank to speak to the masses. But unlike Moses, he had no staff, he had no bat, he had no object to keep rioters away. He just had the hope that maybe they would listen to their hometown favorite. Years later, while giving a speech on the riots, Horton said, "I didn't know what I was doing. I just hoped that by me talking to them, they would at least just listen and maybe stop.”

And four days later, they did. During the riots, the Tigers were forced to move a series of games intended to be played in Detroit to Baltimore, a team that they were apart of a rivalry with all throughout the 1960’s. And when they returned home, the city they knew and remembered a week before was depleted.

Former Detroit police chief Isaiah McKinnon said of the riots, “I saw thing were getting ugly… to remedy things, it had to be taken to another level.” And things were taken to another level. A level no one could have ever imagined. 43 Detroiters were dead, (33 blacks and 10 whites). 467 people were injured, everyone from citizens to even three soldiers from the United States Army were maimed in the Malay. 7,231 citizens were arrested enough to fill one-third of Navin Field- the former home of the Tigers. And 2,509 stores were either looted or burned in the fracas. After almost a week of National Guard and United States Army occupancy, the riots of 1967 had finally halted.

Soon after the riots halted, so did the Tigers’ playoff hopes. They went from a three game lead for the pennant the day of the riots, to missing out by one game to the Boston Red Sox a little over two months later. The city and the team desperately needed something to smile about as there was now a seismic shift in the attitude of Detroit.

The nation and world now viewed Detroit differently. A bustling blue collar city was now viewed as a place full of bullies. The mouthpiece of Detroit, Motown even shifted as innocent songs such as “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”, “I Was Made To Love Her” and “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You” would soon find a much different tone as songs like “Love Child”, “What’s Going On” and “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” echoed how Detroit now felt after the riots.

Even Martha & The Vandella’s feel good summertime hit of 1964, “Dancing in the Street” was used by the rioters as an anthem of sorts for those infamous days in the summer of 1967. A song intended for happiness and celebration was used for despair and destruction. But a little over a year later in the summer of 1968, the citizens of Detroit would find themselves blaring this song again throughout the city, this time not for rioting but for rejoicing.

As Ernie Harwell did every spring he told Tiger faithful:

“Lo, the winter is past… The rain is over and gone… The flowers appear on the earth… The time of the singing of the birds is come… And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land…”

And during the 1968 season no voice was stronger than the fans that flocked to Michigan and Trumbull to root on their Tigers. After a 1967 campaign that was marred with inconsistencies and overshadowed by the riots, the 1968 Tigers led by the two men who flocked to 12^th street, Mickey Lolich and Willie Horton along with help from veterans like Norm Cash and future Hall Of Famer, Al Kaline, surged to an American League Pennant. A Pennant clinched a mere month into the season.

 On May 10^th, they were a half game up in the American League and the Tigers did not relinquish that position for the rest of the season. During that season, Tigers pitcher, Denny McLain pitched his way to a 31-6 record en route to the American League Cy Young and MVP.

But in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, McLain was not even the Tigers’ best pitcher, that honor went to Mickey Lolich. In a seven game series against the Cardinals, Lolich made three starts, all of which were complete games. He posted a 1.67 ERA and all three of his starts resulted in Tiger wins, including the pivotal and clinching game seven in St. Louis during a showdown with St. Louis’ ace, Bob Gibson.

Tigers catcher Bill Freehan recorded the final out on a pop up behind home plate. Lolich gleefully jumped into Freehan’s arms right after. And you know that many Tiger fans were jumping into each other’s arms as well. Nuns, students, parents, co-workers, blacks and whites together were celebrating their team’s and city’s World Series win.

A year before, fire engines were rushing down Woodward to suppress the flames bellowing downtown. Now, people were riding atop those same fire engines holding up newspapers with their Tigers being christened champions on the front page. The same people who were tearing down the city piece by piece that previous summer and tore out the heart of Detroit, now had a reason to give the city new life.

The Detroit Tigers during the 1967 and 1968 seasons provided a haven to the citizens of Detroit. Though the city may have been rioting, when you sat on the bleachers of Tiger Stadium you were able to escape that. For nine innings the Tigers provided hope and optimism for a ravaged city. Running away from rioters or cops was the farthest thing from their minds as they watched on as Gates Brown was caught in a run-down between first and second base.

They did not have to worry about the city that lay in disarray beyond the stadium walls. They only had to worry if the Tigers could come back and rally for a win. And the Tigers rallied and provided a victory that can never be shown through a box score. They put a reeling Detroit on their backs and took them to the World Series.

The Detroit Tigers provided the citizens of Detroit a reason to unify as one again. They provided them with a reason to believe, after all if the Tigers could comeback, so could they. They showed that the Motor City wasn’t quite dead yet. And though the city is still recovering to this day, the Tigers helped show that a city is capable of going from rioting to rebuilding in only a year. They gave the city of Detroit their identity back. But above all, they gave them a reason to celebrate, rejoice and go “Dancing in the Street” once more.

(Larry) Bird and the Worm

For my next essay in my sports writing class, we are to find an athlete who does not get their just due or recognition. I originally was looking to write something on Ben Wallace or Chris Osgood. Then my professor finally explained the full details of the essay.

He wants us to focus on the person we picked and then focus on the network of players, coaches, legends, etc. that they too played with. He said he wants us to do, essentially, a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

So I realized that doing the essay on Ben Wallace would be a challenge, so would Osgood, albeit, Osgood would be a little easier.

I called an audible and called my brother to see how he felt about my new choice:

The Worm, Dennis Rodman.

He was leery at first, then I explained it to him, when you look at Rodman, all though in his later years, he was quite excentric, he still played with the greats.

On the Pistons, he was a member of the Bad Boys and was coached by Chuck Daly, coach of the Dream Team. On the Spurs he played with David Robinson and Sean Elliot. On the Bulls he obviously played with Jordan and Pippen and was coached by Phil Jackson. He forayed into pro wrestling and wrestled with Hulk Hogan against Karl Malone. He was a member of the Lakers with Shaq and Kobe.

And then there are the players he played against. Magic, Kareem, MJ, Bird. Immortals in the game of basketball. He had a pretty intense rivalry/war of words too with Larry, hence the title.

Like the others before, I am pretty excited for this one.

I might have to ask Andrew to bring up the autographed Dennis Rodman, Piston jersey that my grandpa gave me when he comes to visit.

I need to channel my inner Worm.

A Cool Picture Lexxa Took...

It is a panoramic shot of SVSU's home field during their homecoming game.

And it is really, really cool.

Thanks, babe.

The Typical First Post

This is a blog that I created to chronical my time with the SVSU football broadcast team. If you know me, then you know I am the kind of person that wants to share my experiences with everyone possible. This is also a way for my family and friends to see and hear what I am doing.

I am also in a sports writing class this semester, so I am going to be posting essays and what not on here as well.

I think this could be something fun.

So here it goes, I hope you enjoy.