Luke Waltons Forehead presented by the Sports Dude.

So the Pistons are 35-5 and have matched the infamous start that the Tigers had in 1984 and a lot of people seem to be asking the question “which is more impressive, doing that in baseball or basketball?” Personally I really do not have an opinion on that subject, mostly because I was about 7 years old in 1984 and barely remember it. I do remember going one of the World Series games, my dad scored some tickets, and all I remember about it is my parents holding on to me for dear life as we walked to the stadium and constantly saying “don’t look at anyone!” So I guess in that aspect some things have not changed, there are still some dark and scary places downtown, revival or not, but besides that how different are these two things? I say it is like comparing apples to oranges, there are some similarities (they are both a fruit and good for you) but the bottom line is that, no matter how you slice it (no pun intended) they will never truly be the same.

I guess the bottom line is, for the Pistons, if this fast start turns into anything but a Championship it would be a major disappointment. All along the players have said the same things, all the while the machine keeps moving along, that the number of wins doesn’t have to be record breaking as long as it is enough to get all game #7’s (if any are needed) on their home court. Whether that ends up being somewhere in the 60’s or 70’s I truly think these guys could care less and that is the thing that continues to impress me the most with these guys. There truly is some weird drive in them and, even though it is extremely played out if you ask me, they just seem to have some internal switch that they simply can turn on when they need it. Like last night, after they went down by four in OT, I truly thought it was over but the next thing you know – BAM – they are up by four, just like that. A ‘Sheed three, a Rip steal, a Billups jumper and the game went from a loss to a win. I will say this much though, at least the game woke me up enough to finish my homework, can someone tell me how something 50 pages long can be considered a short story? Well, I had to read one last night and the game got the adrenaline flowing just enough to help me finish the damn thing! Thanks Pistons, you help me in more ways than one.

Back to the 35-5 comparisons for a moment, I wish I could give an honest opinion on the matter but I really can’t. The parallels are eerily similar though, as in both teams just came out of the gate and ran, neither team really had any true “star” power that got a lot of respect. Wasn’t it Trammell that should have won MVP in 1984? Isn’t it today that no member of that 1984 team is even close to the Hall of Fame? I mean, if Ryne Sandberg can get in, crap even Ozzie Smith, how can you deny Tram? Even Jack Morris is getting screwed, but I think a lot of that has to do with how he treated the media and maybe now they are getting just a little revenge on the poor dude. Now look at the Pistons, are any of them going to start in the All-Star game? Not even close my friends. Has Billups or Rip even been there when arguably they have been the best Eastern Conference back court for a couple years now? Nope, neither has ever been. In fact, Chauncey was a rare thing in the 2004 Finals – a Finals MVP that had never been in an All-Star game. The Pistons are 35-5; surely they must have had a couple players of the week awards by now right? Nope, only one, Rip got it last week, the first person to do so and the season is what, 12 or 13 weeks old? I know the players don’t care too much, at least not publicly, and they definitely use it to help fuel their fire but damn, when is enough going to be enough? Lastly I am also tired of all this “81” point crap, the Pistons are off to the second best 40 game start in NBA history (three teams had 37-3 starts) and all we keep hearing about is individual ball hogs who are only interested in personal glory and jersey sales. I tell you what, I truly hope the Pistons run away with the Title this June, not just win it but run away with it at an all out sprint, maybe then they will get the respect they are long overdue. I doubt it still, I am sure it will still be the same crap we heard with the Lakers, you know the whole “caught them at the right time” garbage, but hey, it is what it is right?

Well, there you go, that is what I think about the Pistons, the 35-5 and all other things that are truly amazing, a word that doesn’t even begin to touch what the Pistons have done so far. To me, Rasheed said it best at the beginning of the season when asked about being over looked, and the quote is right here on my page, he said "We'll see them bandwagon ass-cats come May & June". Peace out – the sports dude.

Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press had a nice story up today on Fox Sports Net, here is the link. You know, I hate to jinx the cat, but I really like his writing style... reminds me of a young Mitch Albom and that is where the jinx comes in. I used to love reading Mitch, I really did, until he became full of himself and totally detached from the people of Detroit. Anyway, back to the story and one Michael Rosenberg here, the piece was nice and is definitely worth the read. In it he talks about how great a sports city Detroit is, how much pride the people take in the city and how it does not deserve the bad rep it gets. I agree with what he said on all counts and, like I said, really enjoy reading this guy.

Here is another pretty interesting article from Fox Sports Net concerning ball hog Kobe and the damn “81” again. However it contains an interesting twist, you see, because it is about Vince Carter talking about how he feels crap like that is sending a poor message to the kids. Look, I may not go that far, but I do agree with Carter and how he says crap like that is destroying team ball. Like I said, call me a “hater” if you must but damn, that performance was nothing but sick (in a bad way!), all about personal glory and just plain ball hogging madness. End of story, I don’t want to hear about it anymore.

Another interesting story, yet again from FSN, was this little diddy here about NY Knicks President Isiah Thomas and the accusations for sexual harassment being brought against him. Look, the sports dude is not here to pass judgment, I am not saying this is true or this is false, all I am saying is “WOW!” Plus, I would like to say, if you are going to accuse Zeke of anything, how about going after him for being a lousy executive? I mean the proof is all there, no eye for free agent talent, signing aging veterans to huge contracts, have a bunch of over priced bloated money on your salary cap and running a storied franchise into the ground. Come on, now that is easy to prosecute.

Lastly I send you, yet again, to another FSN story about one Crazy-Ass Artest and his refusal to go to the Kings. Apparently the deal was all but done, crap Peja didn’t even show up to the Kings game last night, but Sacramento is not good enough for Ronnie and he said he isn’t going there. Look, this guy is an asshole; can we all agree on that now? He screwed up last year (to put it VERY mildly!) by causing the brawl, and yes it was 99.9% his fault. What did the Pacers do? Did they cut him? Banish him? No, they stood behind him and helped him in anyway they could. What does he do this season when he gets back? Pisses and moans like a baby and says he wants a trade. Please, how can anyone not tell me that is simply like stabbing someone in the back? I am surprised Larry Bird, a dirty player in his days, didn’t just take Artest outside and pound him into the ground. The Pacers now have had a black cloud hanging over them this season, again, because of Artest; last year it was the brawl, and this year it is “when are we going to get an extra body here for Ronnie?” Seriously, beside the fact I think Stern should have kicked him out of the league for good, when will the Pacers just say screw it and shut him down for good? I know they need the player but damn, when is enough simply enough? I still think he should be traded to a bigger bottom feeder than the Kings (please see the Raptors, Bobcats, Hawks or Trailblazers for more info) simply because that guy doesn’t deserve any of the treatment he is getting. The Pacers hands are tied, I understand that, they need a body and at least want something in return, but screw the guy like he has screwed you for two years now… send the wet bag of shit to a wet bag of shit team, plain and simple. Damn, why did Stern even let him back?

Well, that is my rant for today; I guess I will talk to you all later – peace! The sports dude.

Apparently the wait is over, according to the radio and barring failed physicals and league approval, the Pacers have shipped Ron (Mike Tyson Jr.) to the Kings for Peja Stojakovic. My opinion, well, the Pacers now have another outside shooter who is afraid to go to the basket (Stephen Jackson Jr.) and really we all know that Peja has always been Tayshaun's bitch. The trade does not scare me and really I am just glad that the deal is done so maybe we will all do what is best for Artest and forget about him. That is until he bites someone's ear off or something.

Another little tidbit I heard on the radio is that the Lions are ready to hire ex-Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson as their defensive coordinator. Don't know much about him but apparently some people thought he should have been hired as the Lions head coach in the first place so it sounds like a good fit.

Later - the sports dude.

Man, what a day for some good old fashioned random tidbits from yours truly, the sports dude. Want a taste?

Ladies and gentlemen, hell has officially frozen over, pigs undoubtedly are flying and I think the sky may fall at any moment; Dick Jauron has been hired as the next coach of the Buffalo Bills. That is right folks, a former Lions coach actually got rehired, at the pro level, can you believe someone actually wants a Lions retread?

Detroit rolls into Minnesota tonight for yet another reunion game, of sorts, in this horrible season of basketball that they are putting together. I mean not a single one of the Pistons players has come close to 81 points, they should be ashamed. Forget about “team” ball, forget about 33-5, forget about the Title, the home court advantage, throw all that out the window folks and get me a ball hog that can score 81 points in a game. Wait a minute, I got off on a tangent (or rant, whatever!?!?) what was I talking about again? Oh yeah, the reunion game, Flip back in his own stomping grounds for the first time since he was fired last Feb. 2nd by his “good old buddy” Kevin McHale. Good thing you got rid of that lousy coach there Mr. McHale, look at what he has done to the Pistons! He took a team that won a title in 2004, was minutes from one in 2005 and has turned them into a 33-5 wreck of a team. Damn you Flip, what a horrible coach!

Another Piston moment here, if you will, and it is all this “matching the Tigers and going 35-5” crap that I keep hearing about. People please, shut up and let it go, why would you want to jinx the Pistons and start throwing Tigers crap at them? Seriously folks, let it go, before it is too late!

MGOBLUE Blog first hinted at this the other day and then at lunch I read it at the bottom of “The Ticker” in the Detroit Free Press, supposedly the Dallas Cowboys have some interest in one Jim Herrmann and are looking at him for a linebacker coach. Man, could you see that, Herrmann crossing paths with Bill Parcells? Seriously, don’t you think Parcels is going to make him cry? Besides, what the hell is he going to teach those LB’s anyway? How not to tackle? How not to be aggressive? How not to cover the middle of the field? Or, to just put it plainly, how to play defense as to not lose? Man, can you tell I really am going to miss that guy, that is, if my prayers are answered and he is gone? Now when is another team going to start looking at Terry Malone, the offensive coordinator?

Hey, did anyone figure out yet that I think Kobe is overrated and I am, as some of those other sites state, a “hater”? What the hell is a "hater", man that word just really never sat well with me, something about that whole improper English thing or something, but hey, what do I know, I am just a “hater”.

The Super Bowl is set and yes the sports dude is happy that the Steelers are in it. Hey, I don’t know if you guys heard this yet or not, but Jerome Bettis is from here? Can you believe it? Man, what a story, I can not wait to hear about it, read about it, listen about it (hey, I am a "hater", I can use improper English too!), have it forced fed to me for breakfast, lunch and dinner... you get the point! Yes, I am happy for the Bus but damn, are you all going to start following him into restrooms next to see if he wads up his toilet paper or folds it? Come on, give me a break. Oh, I would also like to point out that Larry Foote and Jermane Tuman of the Steelers and Steve Hutchinson of the Seahawks are all from U of M and playing in the Super Bowl. In turn I checked and I would like to let the sports pig know that I could not find any Spartans anywhere on the rosters, but I will keep looking. Hey, maybe the towel boy is from MSU on one of those teams. I kid sports pig, you for sure will get your revenge this week when the Spartans beat the Wolverines 1,000 to 7.5 in basketball, and then we will be good.

Well, that is really all the weird crap that I can think of right now that I felt was necessary to get out. I would like to mention I have added a couple new friends to the linkage on yer right, one being “http://thewaynefontesexperience.blogspot.com/” and the other I updated my U of M “M-Live” link and it is now a new site called “The Diag”. I would like to welcome them to my humble “bloggy-blog” and apologize to the goofy white guy because I meant to add him a whole lot sooner then I did but, you know, I get lazy and stuff sometimes. All right, I quit, that is enough tidbits for one day… peace! The sports dude.

So the Super Bowl is set and yes my friends I still have plenty of reason to watch. It is also a somewhat historical game for both teams, the Steelers being the first #6 seed to make it (they seed teams in the NFL Playoffs?) and the Seahawks making it for the first time in franchise history. Also on that note, it now puts the Lions in some very prestigious company… the Saints, the Cardinals and yes, our laughable Lions, are now the last remaining teams to not make the Super Bowl. Boy, aren’t we all a bunch of proud parents today? It could have been worse though, if you believe it, one of the last expansion teams (Carolina) could have made it for the second time before we even got to our first! But hey, let us just be thankful we are in the same class as the Saints and Cardinals for a second and reflect on what that truly means. Now excuse me, I have to go shoot myself!

Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a game last night, the second highest point total since Wilt Chamberlain dropped a century mark on a team back in the day. What does this mean to all of us? That Kobe is great, that Kobe is ready to take the Lakers to the next level? That Kobe is all that and a bag of chips? No, it just means that he is a freaking ball hog and is only interested in personal glory. I heard it on the radio this morning on my drive in and I simply said “Wow, I wish I was Kobe’s teammate so that I could just stand there and watch him shoot 46 times in one game!” It is this exact type of performance that brings down the NBA game, if you ask me, and is why I am rooting for the Pistons to win the title this year more than ever. Not only because they are my home team, my favorite team, but because they are just that… a freaking team! Seriously folks, look at what has happened to them already this year, by National Networks, not once but twice! The first time, on Christmas Day, they were the opening game of a national double header on NBC, the JV to the Varsity, in a Finals rematch against the Spurs. Who was the second game might you ask? No, it wasn’t the Lakers and Heat, that answer is incorrect, it was Kobe against Shaq, along with some other dudes in uniforms as well. The second time it happened it was brought to you by none other than TNT, again they played the Spurs in a warm-up game to “Lebron .vs. Kobe”, no it was not the Cavs against the Lakers, it was poster boy against poster boy, star against star. You want to know why fans sometimes get turned off by this crap that the NBA is pushing, or should I say pimping? Because they themselves forget that it is suppose to be a team game, they don’t pimp the Pistons, they don’t pimp the Spurs, they pimp the jerseys and the names they put on the backs of them. Shit, at least the Spurs have Tim Duncan; the Pistons just have a bunch of teammates, how flashy is that? Man I hope the Pistons just walk away with the Title, I can already see David Stern squirming with the fear of another Pistons-Spurs Finals match-up. In fact, even though it would mean nothing if they don’t win the Title, I would love to see the Pistons get to 70 somehow, I mean could you imagine, an actual “team” winning 70 and not just a player (as in Jordan) doing it? What would Stern do, would he be forced to pimp an actual team? Man, I would love to see that.

The Tigers are somewhere on a bus right now, touring the state and trying to get us excited about baseball in these parts again. Are you excited? Are you feeling it? I am, but not because I think they are going to make the playoffs, rather only because at heart this is a baseball town and we are all just sick and twisted at heart. Shit, give me a .500 team and I will be down in the “D” flipping and burning cars simply because that is about as close of a reason as we get. Look, if they stay healthy and if the cards fall this is a .500 team, bare minimum, but that is about it folks right? I will say this; at least they got the seating chart right on the buses, because I read that Kenny Rogers is supposed to be on the same bus as fellow lefty starters Maroth and Robertson. Let’s just hope he is teaching them about pitching style and not improper cameraman etiquette shall we? Come on, give me a break, I had to take one shot at the cat for goodness sakes!

Beyond that I got nothing else today folks, I really don’t. My classes are already driving me crazy, if you want to know the truth, I have twelve weeks to read five novels and I am not looking forward to that at all! I mean when the hell is the sports dude supposed to read his sports section and blog? Don’t these professors know who I am? Well, I am sure they don’t and even if they did something tells me they would care less. I also finally watched “Batman Begins” this weekend and it was awesome, and that is putting it mildly! Beyond that, I say again, I am at a loss for words and will sign of now. Peace the fork out and have a nice day – the sports dude.