JENNIFERHAMMOND's Blog

It's hard to find words to explain my feelings for the Tigers right about now.  What I will say is watching them lose 11-2 to a sub par Baltimore team really put me over the edge.  Plus they like me to blog more than once a month here at Fox 2.  Anyway ....One day Jim Leyland says there isn't a problem with his players urgency or lack thereof, then the next day, he's lamenting over how they react the same way win or lose.  Some call that even keeled, I call it detatched.  Then within the same homestand - one that saw his team lose 11 out of 15, Leyland again calls a rare pre game meeting with his players to "Tell them to keep their focus for the rest of the season", yet at the same time, he's telling reporters that he has never questioned his team's effort.  I call that back tracking. It's funny that Brandon Inge had this team pegged long before the all star break as a bunch of high priced stars who don't seem overly concerned with doing all the little things that it takes to win.  Most people want to point fingers at the pitching, and they should.  But when you're up by three with two outs, and you have to turn it over to a shaky bullpen, stealing third isn't the surest bet.  It starts at the top. Leyland has always said that and I hold him just as responsible.  But it's the players that play the game. Duh! Everyone knows that  - but what troubles me most is the 40-thousand fans that pay money to watch this garbage and  the players don't seem to care.  They score runs when they already have a 10-2 lead and they can't score when they trail 3-1.  They also seem to make their pitches and get outs when the game is already decided, instead of coming in to hold when they need just one out with a one run lead.  We've seen a bevy of injuries and that has hurt the Tigers. But when this season began I never in my wildest dreams thought that Detroit would be so small in the rearview mirror by mid August that all hope for the post season can be burried in the field turf at Ford Field.   It's not only difficult to watch this team anymore, but I'm to the point where I just won't do it.  That is unless I have to go to the game for work or when I'm home with my family. Oh it hurts! 

There are always two sides to every story, and many times those two sides aren't black and white.  Such is the case of Brett Favre's retirement and presumptive comeback.  The story began on March 3, 2008 when Favre bid a tearful farewell to the Packers and the NFL - and there's no telling where it will end.  Everything else in between is the gray area. When the future Hall of Famers broke his silence for the first time Monday night on "On the Record" with Gretta Van Susteren, Favre said the Packers wanted him to make a decision about his future before the draft and free agency so that they could plan accordingly. In early March, Favre said he didn't feel like he could committ 100 percent, so in order to accomodate the team he decided to step aside.  But in the following four months is when things really became murky - thus the gray area - with Favre telling Ted Thomspson and Mike McCarthy that he wanted to come back and play at the end of March, but inexplicably and suddenly cancelled a meeting between the two sides that had been arranged to take place down in Mississippi.  But if there is one thing that is cut and dry about this whole mellow drama it's this:  Favre knew when he retired that there was a real possibility that the Packers would move on without him, and the Packers knew there was a real possibility that the 38 year old Favre would reconsider. So what I don't understand is, if the Packers would have taken Favre at the end of March, why not take him now.  At the least they could open training camp with a QB competition that will get more national attention than the final days of Barbaro. If Favre really has something left in the tank, then line him up in the front row and let 'em race. The worst thing that could happen is Aaron Rodgers could rightfully win out and claim the position and the Packers could say "See we were right all along."  Or Favre could do what he does best and rise to the occasion and take the reins and continue his legacy, untarnished, for yet another season . And since I'm dealing in the gray areas, why not take Favre back and put him on the trade block and see what you can get for him? What's the worst thing that could happen, Favre goes to some team outside the division or in the AFC and gets a few more minutes of glory.  What the Packers fail to realize is that they are going up against history. And whether Favre's choice to make a comeback is right or wrong, there's no winning when you're trying to tell one of the most beloved sports figures in the NFL to pull up a rocking chair before he's really ready.  That my friends is black and white.

From the tears he cried in March to the text messages he sent in July, it's hard to imagine the Brett Favre retirement and unretirement saga could go so wrong.  He put together a career worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and ended it with one of his best seasons ever.  When Favre announced he was leaving four months ago, it was perceived as the classy way to go out - on his own terms at his own discretion with his head held high.  But with his intentions to come back now coming to the forefront - and claims that the Packers gave him every chance to do so in late March - Favre's sterling reputation is slowly starting tarnish.  Cleary as a professional athlete he has an ego, probably a very large one, so I get that he thinks there is still fuel in the tank and the ability to get the job done.  Life's short and he won't sit on his death bed thinking about staying in the NFL too long - but he will be singed by regrets that he left too soon.  All of that  is understandable. It's one thing to change your mind because you miss the game, it's another thing to tell the team to move on without you because you are certain about your choice.  The Packers had no choice but to move forward without Favre in late March and draft two quarterbacks.  Now the plan has changed without Favre and his ego can't seem to handle that.  So instead of saying "I'll come back and do whatever I can in whatever role you need me to help this team win" Favre has said "cut me loose so I can go somewhere else and start".  This is the biggest fumble of Favre's illustrious career.  And it will only get worse before it gets better - as the flames on both side are fanned by public opinion and fan rallies that will grow bigger, angrier and louder in Green Bay and around the country.  Neither side can win in this win, but time will only tell whether Favre or the Packers will be the biggest loser.

This one has been burning my back side for the better part of a week now and I can't take it anymore.  Sorry if my past few blogs have been composed out of anger but there are some really strange things going on in the (usually uplifting) world of sports that require some explanation.  The latest is the hypocracy of the journalists, fans, players and GMs around the NHL that actually have the gall to complain about Marian Hossa's new deal with the Wings. The fact that people even consider that a contract for $7.4 Million dollars is short changing an athlete of what he rightfully deserves.  Let me repeat that nice and loud so you understand - 

SEVEN POINT FOUR MILLION DOLLARS!!!!! Ok. To me this is one of the best stories I've ever heard and I for one can't wait to see him at Joe Louis Arena so I can personally shake his hand.  In the day and age when most players are jumping ship from team to team, in order to get the most money or the best financial package, the decision that Hossa made is a breath of fresh air.  Finally someone has the guts to be totally up front and honest about what he's really looking for.  And I don't mean just someone, I mean a world class professional athlete, who could have made the decision to just make a money grab and run - boy wouldn't that be taking the moral high road.  In the day and age when so many fans, owners and journalists are ripping any players who takes the next big deal that comes along, we should be rushing to praise Hossa.  Instead I've ready story after story from columnists around North America that actually believe what Hossa is doing constitutes band wagon jumping! Forget that.  Here's a guy that not only pulled his weight throughout the post season with the Pens, but did so quietly and professionally while all of the spotlight and praise was directed at Crosby and Malkin - two guys who couldn't do what Hossa did in the finals - and that was put the biscuit in the basket.  If Marian Hossa decides that he wants to play for more money, in exchange for his best chance to win - I say "God bless him."  Decisions like that don't come around very often .... just ask Chris Chelios, who knows what matters and is content to stay, and everyone celebrates his choices.  As they should and we should as well with the newest Wing!!!!!

Am I the only one who sees a resemblance between the Tigers, winners of 18 of 22, and the 2008 Red Wings, who are still basking in the glow of their most recent Stanley Cup Win?  Granted one team skates on ice, plays in doors and using much longer bats. But I'm talking more about the character of the team.  For starters, they've turned their noses up on the history of their awful start and have become just the second team in Major Leaguel history to get one game above .500 at the exact midway point of the season.  Not that the Wings ever had to overcome those kind of odds during the season, but they did start the season at a record pace, only to falter to one of the rockiest February records in recent history. During that stretch, the Wings battled endless injuries, of the Groin variety. Enter the Tigers, who are now facing their third (oblique/hip flexor) injury in as many weeks.  But what makes these teams so similar is the way each of them has been able to plug in a new piece and see immediate results.  Johan Franzen picked up the slack while Tomas Holmstrom was out, and now with the Tigers we are seeing Dane Sardinha, Matt Joyce and Armando Galarraga step in under pressure and deliver. This is the mark of not only great management, but also tremendous depth, as we learned only too well is what it takes to win a championship in this day and age.  The Tigers climb from 12 below .500 to games over must continue, however, for us to continue to even breathe the word playoffs in the same sentence as the 2006 A-L champs.  To his credit, Jim Leyland has kept his demeanor steadier than ever during his rockiest season at the helm in Detroit. Now the key will be whether or not his team can continue to handle its recent success and keep the pedal to the metal for the entire second half.  Just like the Wings ..... but minus the skates, the ice and the 6-time Norris Trohpy winning goalie!  Okay, maybe they aren't quite the same, but they do have the same owner????  

These are the days that remind us why we root, cheer, support and even shed tears for our favorite teams.  As the Wings clinched their 11th Stanley Cup in franchise history last Wednesday night, there weren't just 30 men and an organization (pronounced Or-gan-eyes-a-shun) celebrating the achievement.  Instead it was the entire tri-county area and state, sharing in the elation and culmination, as if we skated every shift, absorbed every hit and turned away every puck with the players ourselves. I will never forget the emotion that filled the Joe in 1997 when Steve Yzerman lifted 42 years of failure off the shoulders of millions of fans - that moment can never be erased in our conscience no matter how many cups follow.  But this year's version of the Wings Cup winners has proven to be both memorable and unique, not to mention special in its own way.  From Chris Osgood, who so many remembered as the teary eyed young goalie, who let in the series eliminating goal against the Sharks in '94, to Chris Chelios, the grizzled veteran who has endeared himself to this city by playing for less, planting roots and making a difference as a local business owner in Detroit.  This Cup belongs to all of those players and to head coach Mike Babcock. But this cup also belongs to the fans (or as the Wings marketing trust would say "Citizens of Hockeytown) and the players are keenly aware of that.  After this year's parade you heard numerous accounts from players about the emotion and sense of pride they felt when their motorcade turned the corner onto Woodward Avenue, where they were greeted by hundreds of thousands of fans.  All wearing Red and White and the Winged Wheel,  there not only to show their support, but to take part in what they feel they helped accomplish.  Now the city of Detroit has become Cup Central with accounts night after night of the team making the rounds about town with Lord Stanley in tow, not just to celebrate for themselves, but to share their achievement with the fans that they love and appreciate.  On the Friday following the parade, it was Osgood who suggested during their private gathering with his teammates in an upstairs room at Cheli's downtown, to take the cup out to share with the people.  They did ... and everyone who was there now has a memory to last a lifetime.  This is the true fulfillment of the Stanley cup. Players shed blood, sweat and tears for the chance to carry it over their heads, and that's how it should be.  But there is no better sight than to see the shiny, silver, chalis being passed through a crowd ..... arms outstretched, reaching and hoping for just a touch, and eyes filled with tears.  The tears of joy for a memory that can never be erased!  Enjoy this Summer Detroit - it doesn't get much better than this, and we've all earned it.

Surely you've heard the saying 'That which does not kill you, makes you stronger' . I like that one, but at this point in time it seems a bit extreme for the Wings current playoff scenario.  But it seems that when times get tough, as they most certainly have for our mighty Redwings in just a few short days, the tough get going - right?  I mean if it's always darkest before the dawn, then shouldn't we toss out our alarm clocks and wait for the fat lady to sing?  Okay, I admit I'm a little overboard with all this cliche stuff.... but the Wings current predicament has me saying deja vu all over again and I'm not quite sure way.  I certainly didn't follow hockey the last time a team came back from down three games to none to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs 33 years ago, but somehow I'm hooked on a feeling!  It can't happen to us, not hear, not now.  These wings are far too experienced to get rattled ..... that according to Chris Osgood, who should know since he's the back up to the first guy that got pulled after losing back to back games in the post season.  I know it's apples and oranges, but for a team that prides itself on getting going when the going gets touch, I'm feeling strangely nervous. So let's get the Cliche's rolling in the right direction to keep our boys encouraged and make sure that they learn from their mistakes of game four and five and take care of business in game six. Afterall, it's adversity like this that can prepare a team for the tougher battles that lie ahead, but let's face it without a win pretty soon, they may not get to those tougher battles.  So look before you leap and play to the final whistle, cuz there's no quit in this team and there's no W in Dallas. Okay so I made that one up, but it's only because I can ... just like the Wings. But they better show us in a hurry before we have to turn our focus to all those cliche's about lessons learned and Shoulda, coulda, woulda!

Enough is enough!  In the past week I've heard people rip our Hockey team because of its "European influence", rip our baseball team because of its "failure to live up to expectations" and our basketball team, or at least the fans, because they are "spoiled by all the recent success", (I'll just leave the Lions out of this arguement). And I'm not even considering the way Detroit gets blasted for it's Mayoral mayhem and urban blight. Well I've had enough, and instead of drawing a sword and trying to defend the city "I choose to live in" , I'm just saying nothing!  The only reason people really blast Detroit is because they don't get it. Outsiders complain about everything from the crime to the weather, because it's a convenient excuse that they've heard before - call it the (cheap shot) easy way out.  Well just sit awhile and watch our teams and talk to the fans. Never before has there been such an amazing run by not one, but two different teams in a single city. Not only are the Pistons headed to the Eastern Conference Finals for a franchise record sixth straight season, but the Redwings are headed back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the fifth time in 14 years - something no other team has done in that time span. Oh by the way, don't forget they're doing it with their back up goalie, but that's a blog for another day!  There is a palpable electricty in the air in our city right now, and finally some of the world is seeing it. Like last week when ESPN led with the Pistons and Redwings as their top two stories, not once but twice in the same week! That has never happened before, but it may be a growing trend. Frankly, I prefer to live in the annonymity and second class status that we here in the D have grown so accustomed to over the past four decades.  For those of you who don't get it, that's just fine, because we know what it's like to be a fan and how to handle success - and still sell out arenas after all these years. This may be the best possible way to put a band aid on all of the economic woes that have befallen our Great Lakes State. Don Cherry can say all he wants about our teams and our city, but he better check his facts before he jumps to any critical conclusions. Detroit is on a championship destiny that doesn't come around very often and that's only the beginning of why I'm proud to say I choose to live in the D and LOVE IT!   That didn't sound too defensive did it?

Just when it seemed I had been lulled to sleep by the Wings 4 game dismantling of the beaten up and beleaguered Colorado Avalanche, I woke up just in time, or in this case stayed awake, long enough to watch one of the most entertaining and exhilarating hockey games I've ever witnessed.  when I returned home from Denver on Friday night, I waited with anticipation to watch what would unfold in game five between the Sharks and Stars to see who Detroit would play next.  What I got was much more than I could have ever bargained for.  And then there was game Six!  Like many die hard sports and hockey fans in the Motor City I was alone in the dark way into the wee hours of Monday morning watching a 1-1 tie turn not just into overtime, but four overtimes.  I even managed a quick nap between the first and second OT's to keep me fresh for what would come next.  Can anyone argue against Playoff hockey as the most entertaining viewing in all of sports???? If you can you obviously weren't watching Sunday night or Monday morning.  Dallas showed grittiness and defensive finesse that will be a challenge for the Wings to unlock, but I have no doubt they will.  But I must say I was slightly disappointed to watch the Sharks lose, even though I got more than two games out of game six, only because the only thing that would have been more exciting than four overtimes to decide that game, would have been a game seven.  So as we settle in to begin watching the Wings and Stars rekindle their Western Conference Series from 1998, the same year Detroit won its second of back to back cups, which is perhaps a good omen, I have only one wish: Let it go SEVEN, or at least give me a few overtime dramas to keep the best part of the NHL season alive just a little longer.  Because watching hockey well past midnight, knowing that the next goal wins it, but having no idea who will score it, how it will come and how long the game will last, is one of the best things I would ever want to do.  Better than Six in fact, that game nearly went eight. 

Of all the years the Lions had to go screw things up and finish with a (some say improved) record of 7-9 they had to pick this year.  There are so many more of the defensive stallwarts that Rod Marinelli would love to "coach up" than he has had a chance to ogle over in past years. Not that he's been here that long, or that he's had that much say. But you can bet that going into his third season as Head Coach of the Lions - the so called "Year of the Hot Seat", Coach Rod will make sure that he gets to call the shots more than he ever has before. We started to see it a little with the selection of Linebacker Ernie Sims and Safety Daniel Bullocks in 2006, but this year make no mistake about it, the Lions will go defense first! Because afterall, that is not only what wins championships, but it's what sets the tone in regular season victories. And as long as you have Jon Kitna, effiient, but never the flashy passer, calling the signals, your defense has to establish the tone of your team. Afterall true toughness comes from hitting someone in the mouth every Sunday and that begins on the defensive side of the ball. As we all know too well coach Rod lives and breathes in the trenches .... and that's of the defensive variety. So without further ado, I will tell you that long before the Lions are on the clock this Saturday, there will be more than several hundred fans, analysts and media pundits saying the Lions need offense, and they will all be wrong. Detroit is known as the "D" and Marinelli will not go down without a fight without a great big life preserver shaped like a giant "D". Obviously it's what they do in rounds two through seven that will ultimately affect this team in the long run, but what happens at that 15th pick will get the most attention and define the direction that "Marinelli's Lions" are headed in. Matt Millen may be the President, the Ford family the owners, but make no mistake .... Rod Marinelli is the Commander. So forget about RB Rashard Mendenhall out of Illinois, sure they need a top tier runner, but he isn't enough to put them over the top.  Forget a trade (for Roy Williams) to move up in the draft and take QB Matt Ryan from Boston College.  If Detroit had just tanked from the start of the '07 season, instead of teasing and taunting fans with a glass ceiling 6-2 start, they could have been in a better position to take an impact defensive stud like Chris Long, Vernon Gholston or Sedrick Ellis. But by the time the 15th pick rolls around they will be long gone and already making tackles. Detroit won't be left out in the cold however, they could land a solid mid first rounder such as LB Jerod Mayo out of Tennessee or CB Leodis McKelvin out of Troy State, who Scouts Inc list as the 15th overall player available and is tall as the day is long (a novel idea for a Lions corner). With any luck they may see some draft day shake ups that allow Florida DE Derrick Harvey to slip down to their pick, although don't count on it.  One thing is for sure, as the clock continues to tick down to draft day, there is an ample amount of posturing, deception and deal making going on behind the scenes ..... and that mean's my arguement regarding what I think the Lions should do and will do is full of as many holes as Swiss Cheese ..... much like these Lions.

Whether your the defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks, the Detroit Pistons, The "new fat cat" Tigers or the Red Wings, the key is to always stay hungry.  As Mike Babcock takes his team and a two game lead, south to the Music City for a pair of games the biggest challenge is to stay focused. A two nothing lead in an opening round playoff series is about as misleading as a 20 point first half lead in the NBA or a 14 point half time lead in the NFL.  The best possible scenario for Detroit, is that it's been here before .... just a year ago.  With a two game lead, the Wings loaded up Red Bird One and headed to Calgary with a whole lot of confidence ..... what happened next, was easily predicted and completely avoidable.  They got beat by one goal in two straight games and had to come back to the Joe for a pivotol game five.   They won that won easily by a  score of  5-1, but the sixth game at Calgary came down to a double over-time thriller that Detroit won bya final of 2-1 thanks fo Johan Franzen. My point is. It's never as easy as it seems.  Confidence comes naturally for this team, but it's manufacturing pressure and desperation that is the most difficult.  Babcock can also pull out the ole' "the last time we went to Nashville" speech, reminding this club that back in 2004 (granted a lot of things have changed since then) Detroit came back with that series tied at 2-2.  Just look at the Ducks, who heard all month long leading into the playoffs that they were the team to beat, headed toward a reapeat.  Now those analysts don't look so smart with the scrappy Dallas Stars taking a two games to none lead back to their building for games three and four!  The moral of the story is you can never believe that you're as good as people say you are, nor can you believe that you're as bad as they want to think you may be.  The latter applies to this year's Tigers and the former to the Wings .... two teams with strong convictions and vulnerable psyches this time of year.

Let's just set aside all the talk about Sex, Texts and Mayoral scandal, for just one weekend - can't we? At a time when our city is set to shine under the national spotlight of the Midwest Regionals of the NCAA Tournament, we all need to put on our Convention and Visitors Bureau badges and "Say Nice things about Detroit!"  There are plenty of reasons to do so and the first became very apparent to me on Thursday when I took my family down to the open practices at Ford Field.  Not very many cities earn the opportunity to host major sporting events right in their back yard, let alone the Regionals one year, with the Final Four set for the following year. Fans from Kansas, Philadelphia, Wisconsin and North Carolina here to see their teams play and more importantly soak up the experience and return to their homes, hopefully saying nice things about Detroit.  There is a buzz in the air when you walk down the street and see people wearing their teams colors proudly, and those of us who live locally we need to wear our civic pride with equal devotion.

 For those of us who get to attend these games it's a privalige and also it's our responsibility to leave a favorable impression on our visitors from somewhere else.  If we only let the national media and the exhausting headlines about a Mayor gone bad do the talking, then people will use only that to form their opinions of Detroit. And afterall, it takes a lot more people than just one to make an impression, especially when the sporting world is watching!

Like many of you, my weekend (which began Thurs.) has been spent watching enough college basketball to make my eyeballs fall out!  Luckily, I've been spared and still have my eyesight, but apparently have lost my vision.  I lost just about every upset I predicted with the exception of Western Kentucky and instead of counting up my teams that are headed to the sweet sixteen, I'm counting the minutes until I put my bracket through my shredder. I am adult enough (another year older as my birthday always falls on the first weekend of the tourny) to admit that I stink at making these picks.  But every year I get sucked in again.  This year was supposed to be different; make the picks for the web page and move on happily, knowing I had nothing to lose.  But somewhere along the way I failed to admit to myself that my pride is worth a lot more than any $$ I could ante up for an office pool!  I can't stand to watch and I can't stand not to watch.  So what's a girl to do?  First thing when I woke up Saturday morning, I stumbled down to the computer to get on line and see the late scores that I missed, scratch off Vandy, and forget about a win for Kent State.  I couldn't even get to Sunday before realizing my bracket was a complete and utter mess.  This tournament that is called "Madness" by most is just plain torture for me, not to mention my husband, children, sisters, friends and co-workers.  I can't seem to get it out of my head.  But then again, that is the  beauty of this weekend ..... I can pull up to the Starbucks drive-thru, order my Chai Latte and when the guy asks me "How ya doin'?" I can simply reply, great, but Duke screwed me - and he gets it.  When else can you shout "V for Villanova" at your neighbors and they know what you're talking about?  It's the one weekend of the year when "how's your bracket?" is a more acceptable greeting than how ya doin?  Insanity is blowing in the prevailing wind and we're all glad to be caught up in the Spring Breeze, even if it is disguised as a snow maker!!!! So the next time you close in on the shredder and think, my bracket is totally screwed! Just remember ..... mine is too, and so are a lot of peoples. Hey it might not be that bad after all, Notre Dame is trying to make a comeback against Washington State! 

This is the time of year I love and dread .... all at the same time. Let me go on the record by saying I am an optimist, and its with that bright enthusiasm that I approach any challenge or prognostication. But there is something about an NCAA tournament bracket that leaves me shivering at the mere thought of picking winners. About the biggest upset I've ever nailed was back in 1998 when I picked Western Michigan to upset Clemson in the first round ... and it wasn't because I knew any better, it was because I myself am a Bronco and on occasion suffer from the temporary dillusion of false hope. With that said, I have begrudgingly submitted my predictions for this year's Big Dance, with a few upsets, several obvious selections and a few surprises along the way. First and foremost you should know I did not pick the Spartans to get out of the first round, not because I am anti-MSU, but because quite frankly I don't know who these guys are. After watching them give away a 10 point lead in the final six minutes against Wisconsin in a "statement game" I can't say I have much faith in the green and white. In the midwest region, my upset special is number 12 Villanova to beat fifth seeded Clemson....if for no other reason, because I saw the Tigers go down before. Since I've started the 12-5 phenomenom, why not carry it over to the West Region, where I have Western Kentucky upending Drake. Mostly because the Bulldogs haven't been in the tourny since 1971, and that might just be enough for them. And in the east I've gone way out on a limb and picked the Sooners to make it to the elite 8 (ultimately losing to UNC) based on their strong play down the stretch, the improving health of leading scorer and rebounder Blake Griffin and the grittiness they have shown, which is exactly what you need to pull off a few upsets this time of year. And speaking of upsets, I'm about the only person I know so far that has Texas winning it all. But like I said at the begining I quiver every year at this time, and the reason I use a pencil ..... is because it has an eraser. And oh, by the way, did I mention that I picked the Giants (not just to cover) against the Pats in Super Bowl XLII!

Click here to see my completed bracket.