Tigers' announcer, Ernie Harwell, is a Baseball institution, so it came with great sadness that the HOFer has incurable Bile Duct Cancer. Harwell doesn't know how long he is to this Earth, but he's not letting that stop him from enjoying his last few days. Ernie talked to the Tigers crowd before last night's game, and here's the tribute video that was shown and his speech....

It's amazing this day in age, when someone works/plays for the same team, for as long as Ernie did. I can't imagine what it feels like to be him right now, but it certainly has to help to know that you've touched so many lives over the years.

There were a ton of great quotes emailed to me over the weekend on the NFL side of things, but since I was out of town for most of the weekend, I'm just going to give you one. Besides, Gus Johnson almost dying in the booth, this could quite possibly be the funniest quotes of the year. From none other than Chris Myers, via none other than TMZ....

"Going from two Super Bowls in Pittsburgh to the winless Detroit team -- that's like going from dating Beyonce to Whoopi Goldberg."- Chris Myers

Please, PLEASE!....let Chris Myers get bashed on "The View"! That would just make my week!

With both the Red Wings and Pens on the verge of closing out their respective Conference Finals, the NHL is in a bit of a pickle. The current Finals schedule is set to start on Friday, June 5th, and if both teams finish off their respective series, the two wouldn't play for over a week. With that taken into account, the NHL is considering a move up. Via Associated Content....

As it looks now, the Red Wings and Penguins could both wrap up berths in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals within two days. The Penguins can finish a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes tonight, with the Red Wings set to close out the Chicago Blackhawks in five tomorrow.

The start date of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals schedule was set for Friday, June 5, since both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals would not end in a sweep. But if nothing changes in the Stanley Cup Finals schedule, and both the Red Wings and Penguins win their next game, they will not play each other for over a week.

For teams that have a long rest going into the championship series, they face constant, incessant questions about being off too long. The Phillies got this question before the World Series last year, but still handled the Tampa Bay Rays in five.

Both the Red Wings and Penguins could face those questions when they finally start the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals schedule. As usual, the needs of television would get the blame, as NBC and Versus need to set the Stanley Cup Finals dates on specific nights. TV needs are also the reason that the first two games of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals will take place on back-to-back nights.

But in this case, a week plus layoff for the Red Wings and Penguins may be pushing it. So the NHL and NBC are set to save face, assuming the Red Wings and Penguins do win their next games.

The rumored start day would be this Saturday if both teams win, with the Red Wings hosting Game One, and Game Two would follow on Sunday. It seems like a great idea, and when you consider sweeps week is coming up, and the launch of the new Tonight Show with Conan limits late night NBC placement of games.

2009 Stanley Cup Finals Schedule May Need to Move Up (Associated Content)

The last ten seconds or so of the Red Wings-Ducks game last night was some of the most exciting Hockey I've ever seen, but they saved the real fireworks for after the game. Let's just set the table for a Game Seven with a full five on five brawl!

Now that's an ending to a game! With that win, the Ducks have setup the third game seven airing in the next three days, and I personally can't wait.

Man, there are low things that people say all the time, but this one might actually take the prize. Radio Host, Mike Valenti of the “Valenti & Foster Show” on WXYT-FM in Detroit, made a joke about a capsized boat and apologized for the comments today. Via MLive....

Valenti read two comments from listeners about college basketball and one about baseball, then a joke about a capsized boat in Lake St. Clair. The hosts laughed, and crumpling paper could be heard.

Valenti declined to comment to the Free Press. But on the air, he said: “I just offer you my sincerest apologies. It was completely ridiculous to put it on the air, and again, it comes to me. The only thing I can promise you as my listeners, it won’t happen again. Otherwise, I’ll tell you right now, I don’t deserve to be around.” Debbie Kenyon, the station’s market manager, said: “We fully agree that the comment was absolutely inappropriate.”

Asked if Valenti would face further discipline, Kenyon said: “I think I’ve said enough. We’ve addressed the issue with Mike the way we feel is best. The on-air apology is pretty big. We don’t do that very often.”

Wow. Not only are you making a joke about people who are presumably dead at sea, but you're doing so in the market of one of the players. That's the height of idiocy and just downright despicable.

Radio host apologizes for 'reprehensible' comments about Lions' Corey Smith (M Live)

If you remember, the network put up a scroll during the Super Bowl pregame show asking, among other things, that there was possibly a "credibility issue" with the former Lions GM. Well, for the past few days, I've been looking for a follow-up to the Matt Millen incident on Channel 4 in Detroit, and I haven't been able to find anything at all until this morning. Via the Miami Herald....

When Matt Millen appeared Sunday on NBC's Super Bowl pregame show, the NBC affiliate in Detroit superimposed this: ''Matt Millen was president of the Lions for the worst eight-year run in the history of the NFL. Knowing his history with the team, is there a credibility issue as he now serves as an analyst for NBC Sports?'' (Viewers were referred to the station's website.)

NBC wasn't happy.

''We had a conversation with them and made our feelings very clear,'' NBC spokesman Brian Walker said.

Oooooh a conversation!? Take that NBC Detroit! You have been warned, and if you do that again, we might actually make the trip to Detroit, and slap your hand in person!!! In all seriousness, this whole thing is still making me laugh, and the fact they got away with it, makes it even more hilarious.

I may never ever come to your lovely city Detroit, Michigan, but that doesn't mean I don't respect you!

Ranking local sportscasts (Miami Herald)
Detroit Station Has Fun With Matt Millen (Awful Announcing)

I thought Matt Millen did a fine job during NBC's broadcast, but that's not to say that some people are happy that he's employed anywhere. Take for example NBC affiliate, WDIV in Detroit, which decided that every time Millen appeared on the screen, a disclaimer was needed. From the Detroit Free-Press via Shutdown Corner....

Every time a certain familiar face showed up on camera Sunday during NBC's Super Bowl pregame show, Channel 4 ran a scroll at the bottom of the screen:

"Matt Millen was president of the Lions for the worst eight-year run in the history of the NFL. Knowing his history with the team, is there a credibility issue as he now serves as an analyst for NBC Sports? ..."

Hilarious. But good for Channel 4, not toeing the company line as it sought online comments from viewers on Millen's gig. Or maybe it was just trying to distance itself from NBC's brilliant move.

No surprise, the response was completely, utterly anti-Matt matter.

Personally, speaking to the credibility of the pregame personalities, I have Millen ranked, oh, a couple spots after Hayden Panettiere.

Hilarious! They don't seem to be holding a grudge much, do they? I'm sure NBC isn't going to be thrilled to hear about it, but you can't blame the city for not being big fans of the guy, and at least the disclaimer wasn't profane in any way. Here's your video evidence as well....



Matt Millen's NBC commentary comes with a warning label (Shutdown Corner)
Warning! Matt Millen's on (Detroit Free-Press)

Last month, Rob Parker inappropriately brought up Detroit Lions' Coach Rod Marinelli's daughter during a postgame interview. Today, he's out of the job. Parker, who claimed the comments were in jest, has left the Detroit News, and his former editor doesn't even want to discuss him anymore....

Detroit News sports columnist Rob Parker has resigned from the newspaper, the paper's managing editor told Journal-isms on Tuesday. Parker had been demoted to general assignment sports reporter, the Newspaper Guild disclosed, in the fallout from a news conference question to the coach of the Detroit Lions NFL team that drew criticism from management, readers and other sports journalists.

"He doesn't work here any more," Managing Editor Donald Nauss said. He said Parker resigned on Friday. Asked whether this followed a suspension of his column, Nauss said, "I can't talk about personnel matters."

Parker, who had been at the paper for eight years, could not be reached for comment and has not responded to previous requests.

Again, there's a level of decorum that every person needs to have in a business setting, and at times we all cross the line, but occasionally some people leap across said line. It's good that something was done about it for once.

Columnist Rob Parker Out at Detroit News (Journal-isms)

I missed this earlier, but Rob Parker went on ESPN2 to talk with Michael Kim, and the network gave Parker the opportunity to publicly apologize on National Television. Here's the clip in case you haven't seen it yet....

The more I think about it, the more I do think it was an attempt at humor, but also an extremely bad one. The odd part is that while Parker maintains that he and Marinelli are on good terms, the Coach is actually not currently forgiving the beat reporter. Via MLive....

"Anytime you attack my daughter, I've got a problem with that. In a room of stink ... and as a man and it was premeditated. I think there was something wrong with that, yeah.''

When asked about Parker's apology column, Marinelli said: "I didn't read it, but I was told a little bit about it. I don't accept anything. There are so many times people will say ... I had an assistant coach (Jim Colletto) one time make a remark with you guys that he didn't want to embarrass a player (Drew Stanton), did he take that remark back? Would you guys let him? No, you went from our practice field and ran to the locker room and put a microphone in front of the player -- and (the coach) didn't mean it that way. Do you remember that? To me, this is worse. Because his intent was to stir me up which is never going to happen. I can shoulder anything you bring. Easy. I can shoulder anything you bring.''

There are obviously worse things that Parker could have said when referring to Marinelli's daughter, but I think the general rule of thumb is that you just leave people's family members out of any discussion.

Lions' Marinelli won't accept Parker's apology (M Live)

This story will be everywhere by Noon today, and rightfully so. Rob Parker of the Detroit News decided to grill Detroit Lions' Coach, Rod Marinelli on his son-in-law, who is also the team's defensive coordinator. Parker tries to get a ton of questions in, and bait Marinelli into saying something controversial, before dropping this bombshell. Stay tuned for the NFL on FOX's response....

"Do you wish your daughter married a better defensive coordinator."- Rob Parker

That's just uncalled for. I mean the guy already answered your previous question, and is dealing with a possible 0-16 season. Good lord....give the man a break. Hopefully Parker is reprimanded, but even if he's fired, he'll still have a regular spot on First Take.

You stay classy, Rob Parker.

Update: Here's Parker's apology from this morning....

I attempted to lighten the moment in a tense situation and asked Marinelli if he wished his daughter had married a better defensive coordinator...What might have seemed like a personal attack wasn't...I have asked Marinelli on numerous occasions if he's going to fire his son-in-law.

Every week, Marinelli says the same thing.

"No."

It's almost a running joke. A news conference isn't complete unless I ask it.
Sunday, with my attempt at humor, I was trying to get Marinelli to lighten up, have some fun after a rough day...Apparently, those watching replays of the news conference on TV didn't see it as humor. There's no way they could have known the relationship Marinelli and I have built, especially this trying season.

I don't know about that. The way the question was asked, it seemed very combative to me.

Fire Rob Parker (Pride of Detroit)
There's more to Marinelli (Detroit News)

In the pantheon of famous Sports' speeches, the Allen Iverson "Practice?" one ranks up near the top for me. I'd include it on a short list with Jimmy V's at the ESPYs, Lou Gehrig's "Luckiest Man", Jack Buck's Poem after 9/11 and Jim Mora's "Playoffs?" rant (sarcasm people). I don't know why but every time I hear the clip, I just start cracking up.

Well fast forward to AI's press conference today announcing him as the newest addition to the Pistons. Iverson was sitting with Joe Dumars, and discussing how much he's willing to sacrifice for a Championship, when he walked right into it....

Hilarious! I can't stand how good the East is now. Not that the Pistons weren't good with Billups, but every single team got better except the one I root for. Good times in Detroit, but I still don't entirely understand the trade.

One of the great benefits of working from home is being able to watch daytime events, like Playoff Baseball and the NCAA Tournament, without having to come up with new lies every year to tell to your boss. I always love to help those out who are stuck at work, or don't have access to the game, so this spot will serve as your goto for updates, quotes and videos of the game.

Dave O'Brien, Orel Hershiser and Steve Phillips are on the call for the game airing on ESPN2 and your pitching matchup is Freddy Garcia against Gavin Floyd. Leave your predictions and thoughts in the comment section and I'll update this spot throughout the game.

Update: The tarp is on the field and we're looking at a bit of a rain delay. Dave O'Brien promises Baseball in a few, so I'll update you when I know what the start time is.

Update #2: It's 5pm and we're underway! Orel Hershiser is talking about energy bars and eight track players for some reason. They must have gone stir-crazy during this three hour delay. If anything exciting goes down I'll be sure to grab the video and put it up in this spot. If not, I'll see you for Monday Night Football.

Update #3: Alexei Ramirez broke a 2-2 with a grand slam in the sixth and the White Sox are currently batting in the bottom of the 8th. I'll have video of that and the final few outs up shortly following the game.

Update #4: The Sox win it 8-2 and there will be a one-game Playoff tomorrow with the Twins coming to Chicago. The game will air on on TBS at 7:30pm.

I thought Cris Carter was a good hire for ESPN when they brought him on to replace Sean Salisbury, and while he hasn't really disappointed, he's certainly not doing much to improve his reputation. He verbally threatened Will Leitch a few months back and now he's taken to flat out lying on-air.

The topic of Matt Millen's firing came up on Sunday Countdown and when drilling the former Lions GM's drafting downfalls, he had this to say....

“Matt Millen – do a little undercover work. (Mike) Williams and Charlie Rogers both worked out with me before the draft. I could have told him, don’t draft neither one of them. (He) never asked me.”- Cris Carter

Okay then. That's kind of an egotistical way to go about discussing a topic, and I guess Carter's opinion is well thought of in the Football community, but there's one small problem. According to Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson, he actually WAS asked back in 2003 and 2005 by two separate newspapers, and he had a completely different view of the two receivers before they were drafted....

That’s interesting because here is what you said about both players just before they were drafted. Carter’s comments about Rogers, to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel just before the 2003 draft: “He’s very similar – and I don’t like to make a lot of comparisons – to Randy (Moss) in a sense, a big basketball player playing wide receiver. He’s the only receiver that’s come out since Randy that you can make an honest comparison to. He has a yearning to learn.”

And Carter’s comments about Williams, to the St. Paul Pioneer Press just before the 2005 draft: “I think he’s going to be a great player. I think people will be surprised at the kind of person he is. He’s really a hard worker. He takes his training very seriously and wants to be very good.”

So much for consistency.

It's one thing to forget a prediction or two as you go through the season, but something like this is pretty egregious mistake. I still find it funny that media members rarely go back and look up what they said when they spout off at the mouth like this. I'm no pro at the Internet, but it should be pretty easy to just Google "Cris Carter Mike Williams Draft", if you can't remember what you said 3 to 5 years ago.

Winners and losers (Yahoo Sports)

Great news Eagles fans! Gus hasn't left Philly for Detroit as previously reported. He's actually doing preseason games for both teams! Johnson will be with Desmond Howard when covering Lions games and will continue to do Eagles games with the (dynamic!) Charlie Casserly....

Via The Eagles (PDF): "Veteran play-by-play man Gus Johnson will call the action for the Eagles for the third-straight preseason. Known most notably for his coverage of the NFL and college basketball for CBS Sports, Johnson has also called play-by-play for college football, track and field, boxing, and the 1998 Winter Olympics.

A 16-year veteran NFL general manager and a 24-year NFL executive, Charley Casserly worked for the Washington Redskins (1977-1999) and Houston Texans (2000-06). He has also done work with many television and radio stations, including the NFL Network and most recently, CBS. Casserly currently serves as the "General Manager" for the CBS Television Network's NFL pregame show, The NFL Today."

Via The Detroit News: The Lions did not sell out Thursday's game, but it will be shown on tape delay (9 p.m.) on WWJ-TV (Ch. 62). Gus Johnson and Desmond Howard will do the broadcast.

Well how about that? There's only one day, August 28th, when both teams are playing on the same date, so prepare yourselves in Motown and Philly for a preseason of Gus! I'm hoping for some video and audio from you people at some point as well. Good times.

(Thanks to the commenters who passed on both articles)

I mentioned at the beginning of the month that the Lions were interested in having hometown boy Gus Johnson call their preseason games. Well it's official. Gus and his jorts are leaving the Eagles and calling games in Detroit before the start of the 2008 season. Oh and he's bringing another friend of the State of Michiagn along, Desmond Howard....

Lions exhibition games will have some new voices as they move to Channel 62: Detroit native Gus Johnson will do the play-by-play with Desmond Howard as the analyst, and Matt Shepard and Lions Hall of Famer Charlie Sanders will do the pregame show.

Johnson, a U-D Jesuit grad, replaces Frank Beckmann, who called the games for Channel 50.

I can't think of a worse person to have as a color analyst in Howard and that's coming from a Michigan fan. The guy is just not quick enough for television. I'm also going to need some video from you Detroitans(?) when get the first, "Calvin Johnson, WITH THE CAAAAAAAATCH!" Good times and sorry Philly for your loss.

On the air: Gus Johnson, Desmond Howard will call Lions preseason (Detroit Free Press)
The Lions Are Looking To Gus For Some Preseason Hype (Awful Announcing)

I always dread posting about Keith Olbermann because of the Politics debate that ensues, but hopefully we can all just laugh at him for this one. You'd think that someone who was once an ESPN Sports Center anchor and a current Sports analyst on NBC (even though it's Football) might know where a Basketball playerlike Chauncey Billups plays, but alas he does not.

Chauncey is introducing Barack Obama during a rally in Detroit for Gore's endorsement of the Senator last night and Keith doesn't seem to know which team the Point Guard plays for. He tries to go to the well (his notes) to find Billups' squad, but that doesn't exactly work for him....

Currently, was, recently, is...ummm yeah. Come on Keith. I know you still watch Sports and the guy has been with the Pistons for the last six years. The last time he played for the Nuggets was in 2000. Hell he played more games for Minnesota than he did for Denver!

I bet whoever typed up his notes doesn't know how to read an NBA stat sheet. Too funny.

(Thanks to the incomparable Shoals for the tip)

This is a couple of days old, but hilarious none the less. Hockeytown Channel 4's sports reporter Katrina Hancock made waves after Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals when she decided to say that the Penguins have better fans than the Red Wings....

If you want some real fun click over to the YouTube comments and read a few. Whether she's right or not (she kinda is...come on Detroit you didn't sell out games until the Western Conference Finals), this is definitely not a good idea at all. You can add Ms. Hancock to the list of famous traitors which includes: Benedict Arnold, Judas, Brutus, and my personal favorite....Christian Slater....(1:30 mark)


Detroit Fans Rage In Hatred For Sports Reporter (Busted Coverage)

Every year, whether I've watched much of the Hockey Season or not, I watch a clinching game of the Stanley Cup Finals. I watch it not for the action itself (which is always awesome) but for the celebration. There's nothing else like it in Sports.

You celebrate at the buzzer, you shake hands with the other team, you celebrate the Conn Smythe winner, and then you pass the Cup around. Every single league should adopt this policy and credit the NHL. It's the best trophy and the best celebration.

Detroit got to celebrate tonight, and for the 11th team as a team, but it wasn't without a scare....

It goes without saying that Detroit was just too fast and too strong for the Pens, but it was a great Series none-the-less. Let's hope the NBA Finals follows suit.

Detroit News is breaking the news that the Detroit Lions might be looking towards one Gus Johnson to call their preseason games this August. It's not rare for teams to bring on familiar broadcasters to ramp up the season but Channel 62 in Detroit is looking to replace the team from last year....

The Lions will at least sound different in the exhibition season, with a new broadcast crew scheduled to do play-by-play and analysis on local telecasts of the team's four exhibition games on WWJ-TV (Channel 62).

Gus Johnson, a Detroit native who has done NFL games for the CBS network since 1998, is the top candidate for the play-by-play man. An announcement on the full crew is expected soon by Channel 62.

Trey Fabacher, vice-president and general manager of Channel 62, would not confirm the hiring of Johnson, but Lions sources confirmed Johnson has been the No. 1 choice for play-by-play. The Lions and Channel 62 recently signed a three-year contract for the CBS-owned station to televise the exhibition games. Channel 62 is not retaining the previous broadcast team, which had Frank Beckmann doing play-by-play and former Lions quarterback Erik Kramer doing color.

I would never disapprove of Gus on any broadcast (although the MMA heads may disagree), but for a team that needs a spark, this maybe the guy to push them over the edge. Wait this is the push for the Playoffs right? Oh it's the Preseason??? Okay, well let's get drunk, watch some Kitna, and then listen to Gus get excited about some fourth stringers! Ain't nothing wrong with that.

Ch. 62's Lions telecasts change (Detroit News)

I'm a huge fan of Richard Deitsch's Media Power Rankings column, but the latest one had an added bonus. Deitsch actually tracked down the cameraman who received the brunt of Rasheed Wallace's frustration during Game Six the other night.

You don't often read about cameramen in media columns, but at arenas and stadiums across the country, the men and women who perform the job bring memorable shots to the public. Bovee, 36, has worked as a freelance cameraman for a decade and lives with his wife, Alissa, and daughter, Emma, 2, in Allen Park, a suburb outside of Detroit. He shoots the Pistons, Tigers, and Red Wings (he's working Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals for NBC) among other assignments.

"I've had some players be rude to me in the huddle before, but I've never had one throw anything at me," said [Kevin] Bovee, laughing. "That was memorable. He threw the towel at the camera and it covered the lens. It was actually a pretty nice shot. He did me a favor."

Good stuff and he's right. That was an amazing shot and I'm surprised more athletes don't get pissed when those portable cameras get all up in their face.

Media Power Rankings for May (SI)