Wings Take Both Games Of Their Home And Home Against Columbus

I was lucky enough to be in attendance for tonight's Red Wings 4-2 victory over the Blue Jackets and here is a shot of the national anthem. The Blue Jackets got on the board first scoring in the late stages of the 1st period taking a 1-0 lead into the break. The Wings would tie it up on Nick Kronwalls powerplay goal mid-way through the 2nd, followed 14 second later by Darren Helms roof shot to give the wings a 2-1 lead heading into the 3rd. Just 50 seconds into the 3rd Val Filppula slotted home his 6th of the season off of a great play from Bertuzzi and Franzen making it 3-1 Wings. The Jackets showed just how improved they are this year by not giving up and giving a good push back after the 3rd goal, eventually drawing a 4 minute high-sticking penalty that would turn into a 5-3 chance for 2:00 when Kronwall was called for holding. Thats when Jim Howard and the Wings penalty killers took over and shut-down the Jackets offense with Howie making big saves including a high light reel flashy left pad save to stop a sure goal for the Jackets. The Wings killed off all 6 minutes of penalties during that time bringing the home crowd to their feet who roared their appreciation. Columbus would score late on a powerplay to make it a one goal game with 1:30 to play but Dan Cleary would seal it back-handing in an empty netter for his 10th of the season sending the fans and yours truly home happy. The Wings will hope on their team plane tonight and head out to the west coast for a few games next week starting with a meeting with the sharks on Tuesday.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and here is to another great night down at the Joe love the energy down there every time i go.

Drew in the D

2010 Big Ten Co-Champion Michigan State Spartans

What else is there to say then what an amazing year it has been for Mark Dantonio and his Michigan State football team. It started with the late night drama in East Lansing when on 4th down in OT on a play called little giants they faked a field goal and passed it for a game winning touchdown. This win spring boarded them to an 8 game win streak including big wins over Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and North Western, all back to back games mind you. The team hit a big time road block in Iowa city getting dropped by the Hawkeyes 37-6 and handing the Spartans their first loss of the season. Thats when the questions about this teams heart and character and are they the same old spartans started to come up. But coach Dantonio and his team answered all those questions emphatically by winning their final three games including a big-time road win at Penn State, a place that they have not won at since 1965. It was a year of first for the Spartans which saw the first time they had beaten their big sister Michigan three times in a row, the first time the team has won 7 home games in a season, the first time the team won 11 games in the regular season in its history, the first time they have beaten Penn State at Penn State since they joined the Big Ten and the first Big Ten Title in coach Dantonio's regime. The way that the Rose Bowl birth will be awarded will most likely see Wisconsin making the trip out to Pasadena this year but the Spartans still have a good chance of getting a spot in one of the New Years day bowls thanks in part to the loss by the Boise State Frauncos last night in Nevada.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and Congratulations to Coach Dantonio, his coaching staff and his great team for winning the Big Ten title this season and thank you for all of the memories through out the season

Drew in the D

Wings Take The First Of The Home And Home In Columbus

Jim Howard was stellar tonight, playing a big role in his teams win against the Blue Jackets down in Columbus. A lot of fans (myself included) were wondering how Howard would bounce back from the loss he took in Atlanta, where he let in 4 goals before getting lifted during the 2nd intermission. He did more then bounce back he was absolutely dominant in the win tonight saving 34-35 shots with a .971 save % and making more then a few highlight reel saves on the night. Johan Franzen got the scoring started for the Red Wings netting his 10th of the season early in the 2nd period, Filppula would get the first assist on his goal. The Wings would get their 2nd goal of the game on a powerplay in the 3rd period when Filppula made a great give and go pass coming around the back of the net to one-time a shot in past Steve Mason for his second point of the game. The Wings were brilliant on the penalty kill tonight killing off all 5 of the Jackets opportunities with more then a little help from their All-Star goalie (yea i said it) Jim Howard. Howies best save of the night came in the 2nd period, when during a Columbus powerplay he went from right post to left post flawlessly to absolutely rob Jackets forward Jakub Voracek who thought he had a wide open 4x6. It was a solid win against the team that the Wings had been tied with at the top of their division and a good all around team performance on the road in a hostile environment against a quality hockey club. The Red Wings will play the Blue Jackets in the return leg of this home and home on Sunday evening at 5 pm at the Joe.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and i hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Drew in the D

Kalin Lucas, MSU Flex Their Muscles In Second Half-Thrashers Start Thanksgiving Celebration A Day Early

The Wings looked like they were thinking about all the turkey and stuffing they were gonna be eating tomorrow already instead of the game that they had to play down in Atlanta today. It started with the Thrashers scoring just 3 minutes into the game followed shortly there after by a short handed goal to put them up 2-0, Bertuzzi would score on a powerplay to cut the lead in half. Thats as close as it would get as the Thrashers and their goalie Ondrej Pavelec turned it up winning the game 5-1. It wasn't the Wings best effort by far and im sure Babcock wont let this kind of game happen to many more times if at all this season. The team will enjoy the holiday tomorrow with their families and get ready for the home and home they have starting on Friday with the Blue Jackets down in Columbus then hosting them on Sunday in the return game. 

It wasn't looking good at half-time when the Spartans were down 44-34 to Washington. The second half was much different with the normal Spartan defense taking over holding the huskies to 27 pts to their 42. Kalin Lucas had another banner day showing why he was the pre-season Big Ten player of the year, scoring a new career high 29 points. While im sure the team was disappointed about losing to Connecticut last night and not playing in the championship their coach Tom Izze says they are leaving a better team then when they come here. The Spartans take third place in the EA Sports Maui Invitational and leave Hawai'i with a 4-1 record. Michigan State will welcome Tennessee Tech to the Bres' at 1 pm this Sunday.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and just enjoy the turkey tomorrow folks, gobble gobble.

Drew in the D

Kemba Walker, UCONN Hands MSU Its First Loss Of The Season

For the first time in a long time the Spartans guards got out played in a game. Kemba Walker, point guard and star of the Huskies absolutely went off tonight against the Spartans scoring 30 points giving him his 4th straight game of scoring 30+ points. Walker finished with 30 points and 4 assists and carrying his team to the upset of #2 Michigan State and tomorrows Maui Invitational final. Draymond Green recorded another double-double scoring 22 pts with 12 rebs but in the end it wasn't enough to help his team win the game. The game was close up until the final possessions when Draymond missed to free throws and Kalin Lucas threw away the ball on an errant pass sealing the win for UConn. It was another game that i'm sure coach Izzo will be disappointed with his teams effort in but they have another chance to put it together for two halves when they take on either Kentucky or Washington tomorrow in the third place game of the invitational.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and it wouldn't hurt to work on passing the ball, 14 turnovers just wont cut it if you want to win a championship this year.

Drew in the D

Michigan State Makes It A Bit To Close Against Chaminade In Maui

#2 Michigan State survives a scare put into them by division 2 and host school of the Maui Invitational Chaminade, winning 82-74. Not only did the Silverswords hang with the Spartans they took a lead as large as 8 points in the first half. There were 4 ties and 8 lead changes in the first half of play and the Spartans looked like they forgot they had to beat Chaminade before they got to play Connecticut tomorrow. Chaminade came out hitting threes all over the court, shooting 53% from the field at the half and scoring 39 points on a normally stout Spartan defense which had just held South Carolina to 25 points in the first half of their last game. Michigan State took notice and came out in the 2nd half the way they should have started the game going on a 16-3 run to open up a double digit lead and they never looked back. While Chaminade never gave up in the game they just couldn't find away to get back into it and the Spartans sure weren't giving them any. Kalin Lucas lead the way for his team in the win scoring a career high 28 points and Draymond Green recorded another double-double this season, scoring 10 pts and grabbing 10 rebs. Coach Izzo will rally his troops and get them ready to take on Connecticut tomorrow in their semi-final match-up at 7 pm est.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world (wipes sweat from brow) that was to close, hats off to Chaminade see you at the big dance this year i hope.

Drew in the D

Lions Get Horse Collared In Dallas-Lidstrom, Wings win a thriller in OT

WINGS WIN!!!!!!!! The Red Wings finish off a great comeback on the Flames winning in overtime 5-4, thanks to their captain Nick Lidstrom. The Wings looked like they had broken their coaches cardinal rule of starting on time, falling behind Calgary 3-1 i the second period. But as they have been able to do lately they found away to battle back with Henrick Zetterberg scoring with 3.2 seconds left to send the game into overtime. It was all Wings in the extra period culminating in Darren Helm making a great centering pass to Lidstrom who made an even better play deking out Flames goalie Mikka Kiprusoff and tucking it in on the back hand for the game winner. Despite the slow start the Red Wings made it a great game to watch turning it on in the third with Datsyuk and Zetterberg scoring to keep their team in the game eventually leading to Z's 2nd goal that tied it up at 4. Red hot Danny Cleary was not only held without a goal in the game but left the game with what looked to be a shoulder injury near the end of the 2nd, hopefully it is nothing to serious that will cause him to miss an extended amount of time. All in all it was a great way to end the 6 game home stand taking 11-12 available points. The Wings will take to the road, traveling to Hotlanta to battle a much improved Thrasher team on Wednesday night.

The Lions lost their 26th road game in a row today, losing to the Cowboys 35-19. It was another typical Lions performance that ended just how it should have with them getting swept under the rug by the end of the game. Apparently though the NFL has instituted a new rule where it is only a foul if the Lions commit it. Numerous times today the officials called the Lions for illegal block in the back, but when the cowboys made similar plays later on in the game not only were they not called for the block in the back but the broadcast team showed on replay just what a great play it was. The worst penalty i have ever seen in my life was called today, when on a second down and goal play Ndamukong Suh made a big play in the back field clearly grabbing Marion Barber by his dreadlocks and pulling him down to the ground to set up what would have been a 3rd and goal from the 11. But remember kids its only a foul if the Lions do it, so predictably a yellow flag was thrown on the play and they ruled the Suh had used a horse collar tackle to bring down Barber. The call gave the Cowboys a new set of downs and an extra five yards which they took advantage of scoring a touchdown. The Lions get a few days to rest and regroup and then get to enjoy being the turkey on Thanksgiving when they will most likely get run out of their own building by the New England Patriots.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and go fuck yourself NFL officials

Drew in the D

Michigan State Keeps Big Ten Title, Rose Bowl Hopes Alive

It wasn't pretty today for Michigan State but they got the job done, beating a very game Purdue team 35-31 in Spartan Stadium. The Spartans looked good on their opening drive scoring to take a 7-0 lead, but the Boiler Makers would answer quickly with an 80 yard run by Keith Carlos. Purdue would score two more times to the Spartans one touchdown and a missed extra point to take a 21-13 lead at half-time. The 3rd quarter didn't go any better for the Spartans with them not being able to do much on offense and Purdue scoring making the score 28-13 heading into the 4th quarter. Thats when the game turned in the favor of Michigan State, when Purdue quarterback Rob Henry threw up a dead duck pass that was picked off by Chris L. Rucker which lead to a touchdown. Kirk Cousins would engineer three straight drives that resulted in a  touchdown including a two point conversion totaling 22 points in the 4th quarter alone. Cousins was very good today even while being injured for most of the game completing 28-37 with 276 yards and 3 touchdowns with only 1 interception. Mark Dell had a huge game receiving today catching 8 balls for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns. But once again it was the Spartan defense and special teams making big plays in crunch time that helped turn the game around for them today. Ruckers interception, then a blocked punt recovered on the 2 and Chris Normans late interception on a 4th down to seal the win for Michigan State. Now this team has a chance of a life time next Saturday when they travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State for at least a share of the Big Ten title which would be their first since they shared it with Michigan in 1990.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and Go Green

Drew in the D

Is There Anything Suh Can't Do?...I Mean Seriously This Dude Is A Freak

Wings Lose A Close One In OT To The Wild

The Wings drop one to Minnesota in overtime tonight, losing 4-3. The Red Wings looked a little slow in the first half of the game tonight, but give the Wild full credit for pressing them and gaining a 2-0 lead mid way through the 2nd period. Darren Helm scored his first of the year with 30 seconds left in the 2nd making it a one goal game and giving the Wings life again. The Wings were all over Minnesota in the 3rd pushing them back in their defensive zone and drawing a penalty that Franzen scored on to tie the game up at 2. Then Patrick Eaves and the 4th line provided their 2nd goal of the night and the Wings 3rd, scoring to put them ahead in the late stages of the 3rd period. The Wild turned it up after the goal and found a way to score to send the game into overtime and then eventually would score to win it in the extra period. Wild goalie Jose Theodore was outstanding tonight recording 41 saves on the night while, to be honest Howie looked a little tired letting in 2 on his first 13 shots of the game and 4 over all. Jim Howard still looked very good at points of the game making big saves for his team but a soft goal in the 2nd and some bad rebounds hurt his team tonight. While its good for the Wings to get a point out of this game when they could easily not have i'm sure they are anything but satisfied with the outcome. But with one more game in this 6 game home stand they have gotten 9 points out of the available 10 with a chance to take 11 out of 12 when they play the struggling Flames on Sunday at 5pm down at the Joe.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and can someone get me in touch with the people who hired Matt Millen, seriously i need some job security like that.

Drew in the D

Green Big In MSU's 2nd Win-Wings Give St. Louis the Blues

The Red Wings explode offensively in the 3rd period to beat St. Louis 7-3, pushing their win streak to 4 in a row. The first goal of the game should have served warning to the Blues when goalie Jaroslav Halak in trying to clear a puck from in front of his net slapped it in his own net to put the Wings up 1-0. But the Blues had some fight tonight answering before the end of the first to tie the game at 1 going into the 2nd. Then St. Louis would take the lead on a Brad Winchester power play goal in the 2nd period, that would be their last lead of the game. The teams would go back and forth until with about 7 minutes left in the 3rd and the game tied at 3 the Wings decided it would be a good idea to score 4 goals in about 3 and a half minutes. The Blues were reduced to taking cheap shots and dirty play in frustration from the smack-down that the Wings had just put on them, taking runs at some of the Red Wings. Dan Cleary and Jim Howard were the top players out on the ice once again tonight with Cleary scoring 2 goals putting his season total at 9 which leads the team. Jim Howard...i mean what else can i say, Howie just gets the job done night in and night out when he starts for his team and let me stress that again HIS team. Howie is now 10-1-1 with a .921 save percentage, more importantly he comes up with the big saves when his team needs him to which is exactly what a team like the Red Wings needs out of their goal tender. It was great to see Jim get fired up at the end of the game, after making two flashy glove saves David Backes took offense and gave Jim's left arm a little slash so Howie calmly gave him an elbow to the teeth...classic. Wings get back to it on Friday night when the Minnesota Wild come to town.

Michigan State looked solid in their 2nd win of the season, beating South Carolina 82-73. The Spartans looked solid on both sides of the floor in the first half scoring 42 pts and only allowing 25. The 2nd half was a little different, the Game Cocks came out running a tough full court press that gave Michigan State problems in bounding the ball which caused some costly turn overs that resulted in points. The Spartans adjusted to the pressure by moving the ball out of their end quicker and getting it in the hands of their ball handlers. Draymond Green had a monster game recording a double-double , scoring 18 pts with 12 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 blocks. A bit of a scary moment took place in the last 5 minutes of the game when starting point guard Kalin Lucas went down grabbing his left ankle, the same foot that he sustained the season ending achilles injury last year on. There hasn't been an update on his condition yet but he looked to be ok on the sideline, most likely Izzo kept him out for precautionary reasons. On a lighter note Michigan State Big Man and Shakespearean actor Delvon Roe was performing in "As You Like It" before the game, playing Charles the wrestler in the production. He continued his performance on the court scoring 15 and grabbing 5 rebounds and a career-high 6 assists. The Spartans will rest up and pack their bags for their trip to sunny Hawaii for the Maui Invitational over Thanksgiving.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and ice that ankle Kalin

Drew in the D

Wings Beat A Hurt But Not So Tired Avalanche Team

The Red Wings move to 11-3-1 on the season downing the Av's 3-1 tonight down at the Joe. Todd Bertuzzi opened the scoring in the game sending a laser over Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj's shoulder making it 1-0 Wings on a power play. About 30 second into the 2nd period Lidstrom sprung Jiri Hudler coming out of the penalty box who skated in on Budaj and banked the rebound off the back of his leg for his 1st goal of the season giving his team a 2-0 lead. 5 minutes later Bertuzzi would back his way into the Av's zone and find a streaking Cleary who beat Budaj with a backhand that may or may not have taken a deflection off a defender on its way in, the 2nd would end with the Wings up 3-0. The Avalanche were playing the back end of a back-to-back tonight and they seemed to finally find their legs in the 3rd skating hard and forcing the Wings to take a few penalties including a to many men which lead to a 5-3 powerplay opportunity for them that they took full advantage of scoring to bring themselves to within 2 goals of the Wings. Thats when Jim Howard put his foot down and seemed to say "not tonight", Howie turned away 21 of 22 shots on the night including 8 big shots in the 3rd clinching the win for the Red Wings tonight and moving his record to 9-1-1 on the young season. The Wings have three more games at home in this current home stand including their next game on Wednesday with the red-hot St.Louis Blues.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and i hope all you Michigan State footballers enjoyed your week off its back to work on Monday.

Drew in the D

#2 Michigan State Starts The Season Off Right-Stafford To See Dr.Andrews

The #2 Michigan State Spartans put the lumber to Eastern Michigan winning their first game of the regular season 96-66. The Big Three of Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers and Draymond Green all scored in double digits with 18, 17 and 12 respectively. Two freshman players for the Spartans had good games with freshman point guard Keith Appling scoring 14 in 23 minutes and freshman big man Adreian Payne scoring 10 in 14, including a couple rim rattling dunks. It was a solid 30 point win over what most would call an inferior opposition, but im sure coach Izzo, as he usually does, will find room for improvement with his team. Michigan States next game is Tuesday night when they host the South Carolina Game Cocks at 10 pm.

Hopefully this will not be our lasting image of Matthew Stafford as the Lions quarterback, injured once again being escorted to the locker room or the trainers table by the team doctor. A report from the Lions organization today revealed that Stafford will travel down to Alabama on Monday, where he will be evaluated by Dr. James Andrews. The reason why it has taken this long for Stafford to get seen by the well known orthopaedic surgeon is because the team and doctor both wanted to wait until the swelling went down on Staffords injured shoulder. Me personally, i thing that Dr. Andrews will find some kind of structural damage in Matt's shoulder that will require season ending surgery, however this could give him time to fully heal and rehab for the rest of this season and the entire off season to hopefully be 110% healthy and ready to go next season (haven't we heard that before?). 

Goodnight from the greatest city in the world and lets keep out fingers crossed that Staffords shoulder isnt completely destroyed.

Drew in the D

Franzen nets number 100 helping the Wings get a win over the Oilers

The Red Wings made it two in a row at the Joe tonight beating the Oilers 6-2. Both Cleary and Holmstrom scored twice on the night and Johan Franzen scored his 100th goal of his career helping the Wings to the win. The Red Wings special teams were very good again tonight going 1-2 on the powerplay and killing off 2-3 penalties. Jim Howard was solid in net once again saving 23-25 shots, debuting his new mask with a 67' Shelby Mustang and white racing strips down the center of the helmet.   Once again the 4th line was a great energy line for the Wings tonight skating hard after the puck, going hard for it in the corners and just outplaying the oilers bottom lines and sometimes their top lines out on the ice. The Red Wings will welcome in their old rivals the Colorado Avalanche to the JLA on Saturday night at 7pm.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and i hope that shoulder is starting to heal Matt.

Drew in the D

Z Caps Off A Gritty Comeback Win In OT

The Red Wings had to gut out a win tonight down at the Joe Louis Arena against the Phoenix Coyotes. Danny Cleary got the scoring started in the game putting in a rebound in the first period, but the Coyotes would tie it up with 18 seconds left in the period.  During the 2nd period the Wings looked a little jet lagged from their trip to western Canada which Phoenix took full advantage of scoring and going into the 3rd period up 2-1 in the game. The Wings started to get their legs back a few minutes into the 3rd and the Coyotes started to play more defensively which in turn opened the ice up for the wings to get back into the game. Lidstrom would get a pass from Stuart and bang a seeing-eye shot past Bryzgalov to tie the game up at 2 mid way through the 3rd, which is how regulation time would end sending the game to OT. It was all Wings in the overtime period, hemming the Coyotes in their own zone. Then as a penalty was being called Ruslan Salei took a pass from Bertuzzi and sent a slap-pass to Zetterberg who was camped out in front of the Phoenix net and tapped it past Bryzgalov for the game winner. The Red Wings will enjoy the next two days off at home then get back to work on Thursday when the Oilers come to town for a 7:30 start down at the Joe.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and 24 hours later the Lions loss still stings, just like Staffords shoulder does.

Drew in the D

Lions let One Slip Away Against The Jets-Pistons Make It Two In A Row

The Pistons recorded their 2nd win of the season beating the Golden State Warriors 102-97 at the Palace. Rodney Stuckey was ready to go tonight after being kept out of the teams last game because of what most people thought was a little disagreement between coach Kuester and him. Stuck' was an assist away from a double double putting in 21 pts with 9 assists and 6 rebounds, Rip added 27 pts to help in the win. The Pistons will start there trip out west with a game in Portland against the Blazers at 10 pm on  Tuesday.

As good as it looked on Sunday it just wasn't meant to be for the Lions in the end. The Lions gave the Jets all they could handle on Sunday afternoon taking a 20-10 lead into the 4th quarter but then thats when things started to fall apart. Busted coverage in the secondary set up a 1 yard touchdown run for Jets QB Mark Sanchez making it a 3 point lead. Then on the next Lions possession disaster struck, Matt Stafford scrambled for two yards but when he was tackled he fell directly on his right shoulder and immediately walked off the field visibly in pain and would not return for the remainder of the game. With their starting quarteback on the sidelines the Lions offense stalled out and they couldn't get a first down to keep the ball out of the Jets offenses hands. Right after the 2 minute warning the Lions had a crucial 3rd down play to try and gain the first down marker and run the rest of the clock out. Now i get that Schwartz and Linehan were going for the win but how do you call a pass play in such a crucial situation, even if you dont get the first down the Jets had no more timeouts left and you could have run another 35-40 seconds off the game clock giving them the ball with only 1:20-1:30 left in the game. Instead the pass from Drew Stanton to Jerome Felton fell incomplete stopping the clock with 1:55 left and essentially setting the Jets offense up with the opportunity to march down the field to either score a game winning touchdown or tie it with a field goal. And that is exactly what they did with about 4 seconds left in regulation Mark Sanchez was able to spike the ball which then allowed the Jets to kick a 36 yard field goal to tie the game. The Jets would win the coin toss in OT and Sanchez hooked up with Santonio Holmes setting up Keith Folk to kick the game winning field goal in OT. With all of the good things that the Lions did on Sunday they still had 100 yards in penalties called against them and their franchise quarterback was injured again and on the sideline during the key moments of the game. Hopefully there isnt anything structurally wrong with Staffords right shoulder and he can just rest this week and be ready to go next Sunday. The Lions will have to learn from this game about how to win a game in the 4th quarter by getting defensive stops and holding onto the football when they have to, they will get a chance to show they have learned next Sunday when they travel to Buffalo to play the winless Bills.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and...im not even gonna say it, just take it easy this week Matt.

Drew in the D

Wings Lose A Wild One In Vancouver

The Red Wings ran out of gas in the 3rd period tonight in Vancouver and wound up on the wrong end of a 6-4 final in the last game of their road trip. Nikolas Kronwall had a good night scoring twice during the game and giving the Wings a 4-3 lead early in the 3rd, but after that it was all Vancouver. The Canucks would tie the game up at 4 shortly after Kronwalls 2nd goal and with the help of 4 straight powerplays they were able to take a 6-4 lead and kill the remainder of the clock to win the game. You could see as the 3rd period went on the Wings were starting to get out skated and out hustled by the Canucks and it resulted in untimely penalties that allowed Vancouver to take control of the game. Jim Howard was very good again tonight making 28 saves on 34 shots but couldn't stop all of Vancouvers 20+ shots in the 3rd period losing his first game in regulation ending his streak at 22. The Red Wings get a travel day tomorrow flying back to Detroit where they will play host to the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday at the JLA.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and once again congrats to Penn State headcoach Joe Paterno for becoming the only coach to win 400 games in FBS history.

Drew in the D

Congratulations Joe Paterno

A big congratulations to Penn State football coach Joe Paterno on getting his 400th win today against Northwestern in Happy Valley. One of the classiest coaches in college sports today, he always put his kids ahead of football and he did it the right way. Cheers and Congrats Jo Pa, give that man a Guinness thats bold.

Edwin Baker, Spartans Bounce Back Against The Gophers

After the beat down the Spartans were handed last Saturday by Iowa everyone was wondering how they would respond this weekend. Well how does 31-8 sound, i'd say pretty good and especially good since the running game played a large role in the win over Minnesota. Edwin Baker ran all over the Gopher defense on Saturday afternoon carrying the ball 27 times for 179 yards and 4 touchdowns, which is a career high for touchdowns in a game for him. The Spartan defense was very good today holding the Minnesota run game to 76 yards and pitching a shut out until the 4th quarter. I can't say enough about how good Edwin Baker was today, the Spartans needed their run game to get going again like it had been earlier this year and he stepped up when they needed it carrying his team to the win today. Michigan State gets what i think is a much needed bye week giving them a chance to rest and recover before they start preparing for another big game in East Lansing against Purdue on the 20th.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and congrats to Joe Pa on number 400

Drew in the D

Pistons Get Their First Of The Year-Cleary,Wings Make It Two In A Row On The Road

Daniel Cleary recorded three big points, 2 assists and an empty netter to help the Wings make it two in a row on their road trip in western Canada. The Red Wings special teams were on display again tonight  with Valtteri Filppula scoring on a 2nd period power play and the Wings killing off all 6 Oiler power plays. Abdelkader got the game going scoring early in the 1st putting in a rebound off of a Modano shot and the Wings would keep the pressure on the Oilers all night putting a puck past goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin in every period. Jim Howard is quietly becoming one of the most consistent goalies in the NHL winning his 22st consecutive game in regulation and stopping 29 of 30 shots by the Oilers and making key game saving saves on the penalty kill and in the 3rd period. One player that i have been really impressed with through the first 11 games this year (besides the "Magic Man") is Darren Helm, this kid can play some hockey he has blazing speed, soft hands and makes up in effort and heart what he might be lacking in size, there are at least 3-4 plays a game that he makes where i just find myself saying wow. The Red Wings will go back-to-back tomorrow night when they head to Rogers Center in Vancouver to play last years Hart Trophy winner, Henrik Sedin and the Canucks before returning home to play Phoneix on Monday at the Joe.

Strike up the band and get the parade ready the Pistons have won their first game of the season. Seriously though it was nice to see the Pistons close out a game that they held the lead in into the 4th quarter, beating the Bobcats 97-90. Ben Gordon led the way scoring 20 pts followed by Hamilton with 16 and Prince scoring 14. The Pistons first round pick Greg Monroe played some good minutes tonight in the win contributing 9 pts with 6 rebounds and looking pretty good under the basket on both ends of the floor. Although it took them a few tries to get it im sure this win will springboard the 'Stones season and get them back on track. Their next game is on Sunday at the Palace when they jump it up against Monte Ellis and the Golden State Warriors.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and once again congrats on breaking the seal Pistons now lets try for two in a row eh.

Drew in the D

For All Of You Who Don't Know, Chad Ochocinco Has A Pet Pigeon

Max Seibald, Cornell Laxbro+Nike Boom Commercial=SICK!!!

Abdelkader Nets His First Of The Year In Calgary Giving The Wings The Win

It was a gutsy win tonight for the Wings in Calgary that featured goal number 2 for Modano and number 1 for Abdelkader. I am guessing that Mike Modano wasn't the only one who was relieved that he was able to get his 2nd goal of the season with a wicked wrista that beat Kiprusoff high over his shoulder in the 2nd period to tie the game at 1. Modano had been in what most would call a scoring slump since he dramatically scored his first as a Red Wing in the first period of his first game in Joe Louis Arena, but anyone who sees what he does on a nightly basis out on the ice knows it wasnt for lack of effort. Justin Abdelkader played in his 2nd game of the season tonight and took advantage of a great play by Pavel "Smoov" Datsyuk (wow Pavel making a great play thats weird) beating Kiper low glove side for what would end up being the game winner. Jim Howard was flashing the pads left and right denying the flames on some great scoring chances and standing on his head late in the 3rd helping his team kill off a big 4:00 powerplay to essentially salt the game away. I'm sure the Wings have enjoyed the spare time that they have had over the past 2 and a half weeks but i am pretty certain they will be more then happy to get on a regular game schedule playing every other night these next few days on the road.

Yes yes i know i havent posted anything about the Pistons yet this season, but can you really blame me? I kid i kid, seriously though they have played so poorly especially in the 4th quarter the rest of what they have done in the games doesn't seem to matter as much. So until this team decides to get some DETermination and grind out a win this is all your getting...Loss number 5.







The Spartan hoops squad got their exhibition season started Tuesday night blowing out the SVSU Cardinals at the Breslin Center. The starters played some decent minutes with Kalin Lucas leading the way scoring 13 with 3 helpers; Draymond Green, Durrell Summers, and freshman Keith Appling finished with 12 points each on the night. It was good to see the Spartans build up a lead where coach Izzo could empty the bench and give a lot of the bench players and underclassmen some minutes on the floor to get their games going as well. The game finished 88-44 with every MSU player in uniform recording at least a point, the Spartans next opponent, Nebraska-Omaha, will come to the Bres Monday night at 7.


Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and take it easy on Charlie Villanueva KG, seriously that was just mean.

Drew in the D