Arsenal wave goodbye to Cole, Reyes...

... but aren't you supposed to wave with all 5 fingers?

On the eve of the transfer window closing, the Arsenal get rid of two players who did not want to be in North London anyway. First, they send Reyes packing to Real Madrid in exchange for Baptista, which is a great deal, as Baptista brings us a little more muscle for Midfield/Striker support, and they were also able to finally send the little A.-Cole to Chelsea for Central Defender William Gallas and cash. That was unfortunate, because Cole is a class player, but it had to be done, with his mouth punching his ticket out of town (when you say lots of bad things about your employer, usually they don't stay "your employer" for much longer). Also, the Arsenal picked up young Defensive Midfielder Denilson, which will be a good signing, just a little further down the road.

Tigers lost another one today, 6-4 to the Yankees. When you can only muster 2 hits and 3 baserunners over 8 innings against a very solid Yankee ball club, that will usually end in tears. Ah, well, we're still in decent shape (AL best record only now, the Mets have a better record, percentage wise), we just need to pick it up to the finish line.

That's the news...

TONY KORNHEISER IS FUNNY!!

Eat that one, Mike!

Anyway, the Tigers have had a horrible August to date, and it didn't help out today, as the Tigers lost the 1st game of the doubleheader against the Yankees, 2-0. In another "Nate Robertson special" (so dubbed because this is a typical Tigers performance when LHP Nate Robertson is pitching for them) we allow 2 runs, which should be enough to win, and all we get offensively are two lousy hits (insert "Major League" quote here). I just hope we can take the night cap, and tomorrow's game against the Yanks, otherwise our MLB lead will be down to 2 games.

The Lions stink. Just plain stink. And tomorrow maybe the last time that Charles Rogers and Mike Williams get to stink in the infamous honalulu blue and silver. I just want to see improvement, that's all. I know it's still pre-season, but I really want to see improvement. Tackle. Gain yards, score points offensively. Don't do an impression of a sieve on special teams. Is that really too much to ask?? (Probably, but what can you do...)

And finally (in news that James doesn't care about) Arsenal may be set to send F/M Jose Antonio Reyes to Real Madrid afterall, in exchange for F/M Julio "the Beast" Baptista and 3M£. Well if he doesn't want to play in England anymore, I guess that's ok, but he was a terrific winger, and it's too bad he couldn't settle in away from home. Unlike Ass-shley Cole, who looks like he will stay a Gunner after all. Oh, well, he is a good left back and all, I GUESS we can find room for him on our squad, especially since we've taken 1 point from 6 (horrible).

Ok, enough from me. Thanks for reading!

***UPDATE***
The Tigers have just taken game 2 from the Yankees, thanks to the dramatic 3-run homerun in the top of the 9th by Craig Monroe!!!!! 5-3 Tigers. I'm pretty excited. "we're all behind our baseball team..."

Well, ya win 2, ya lose 2...

The Tigers played two 2-game series against the White Sox. What? That doesn't make sense? Well, that can be the only explanation, as they looked dominant in the first two games of the series, and looked pitiful in the last two. I mean, 10-0 shutout at home? Hello, offense, are you around here somewhere? The good news is that there was no real damage, as the White Sox came in 5 1/2 games out of first, and that's where they are leaving town. But we had a real chance to send a message to them, and we let them off the hook (ok, not "LET" them, but you get the idea).

Arsenal won the home leg of their Champions' League qualifier, 2-1 to move into the group stage of the tournament, where they will be matched up with CSKA Moscow, FC Porto, and Hamburg SV. This is a decent group, not the weakest, but certainly not the strongest, and I think that we are still in good shape to get into the knockout phase of the tournament. But there is a loooooong road ahead before we get to that bridge...

The Lions are set to play their third pre-season game tomorrow against Oakland. I'm not looking for any miracles from this game, nor am I looking for a 60-3 beatdown of the Raiders. I'm only looking for a couple of things - namely crisp tackling (last week, we looked like we were trying to catch a greased pig or something, our tackling was horrible), better against the run defensively - and better running the ball offensively (both OL and DL looked terrible), and better special teams play (the only thing we've been good at in recent years, was absolutely horrible against the Browns last week). And we cannot take a step back in any other area. Oh, and if Charles Rogers doesn't play this week, I think he'll be cut at the end of training camp. Just my prediction.

Finally, the Red Wings are going to announce that D Nicklas Lidstrom will be the next Captain of the team (but make no mistake, he will never be "THE Captain"). Wow, I am shocked about that...umm...maybe not. They really didn't have anyone that they could name captain other than Lidstrom, but I think it's a good move anyway. A lot of the old guard of the Red Wings have departed, and it's up to Lidstrom to keep the ship righted in the next couple years of transition the Wings will probably endure (Ok, Mike Babcock may have a little to do about it as well).

Until next time...

Not the greatest weekend...

Well, if I was rooting for a sports team this weekend, chances are they did badly. The Tigers, after winning the opening series against the Rangers, dropped the final 3 games of the series by 1 run, 2 runs, and 1 run. Worse yet, they couldn't score more than 1 run Friday and Saturday, then take a 6-run lead today, and still end up losing. Blah.

Arsenal could do no better than a draw against Aston Villa on Saturday, 1-1 at full time. Worse yet, they were down for a good portion of the second half, with Olof Mellburg's header puting the visitors in front. It took a wonderful service from 18-year old Theo Walcott, to Gilberto, who knocked home the equalizer 8 minutes from time.

Tigers have acquired 2B Neifi Perez to help fill in for the injured Placido Polanco, and provide some defense for the home stretch (since his bat will not help at all). I guess at this point (3-7 in the last 10 games) we can use all the help we can get.

And finally, if you want to go to a horror movie that makes you laugh, you should go see 'Snakes on a Plane!' It's not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it was humerous at parts, and it wasn't a complete waste of 2hrs. More like an hour and change...

Peace...

Premiership Season Preview

Well, here we are on the eve of the 2006/07 season, and what better way to celebrate than to give my season preview for the Arsenal, and how I think the table (standings) will look at season's end, including who stays in the Premiership, and who gets relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship.

Lets start with....the Arsenal. Last season saw the Arsenal hit their stride in the Champion's League, going all the way to the finals, where G Jens Lehmann gets sent off early in the match, and 10-man Arsenal ends up losing 2-1 to FC Barcelona. The league did not go quite as well, as the Arsenal took their time getting into stride, before finally clicking on all cylinders late in the season, and snatching 4th place (and the final Champion's League position) from hated rivels T*****ham H***pur (their name is so evil I cannot even type it. For more info on "the scum", follow the sky sports link on the left hand column).

This season, the Arsenal seem to be in better shape. Captain Thierry Henry signed a new 4-year deal that will keep him in North London for the near future. And Cesc Fabregas, the talented 19-year old midfielder is already in fine form, after scoring twice in the Champions League qualifyer against Dinamo Zagreb. They do have some key losses, the retirement of Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires transferring to Spain, and Sol Campbell transferring to Portsmouth, and with only midfielder Tomas Rosicky transferring in, the Gunners have not bolstered their depth at all. But it was unnecessary, as we have plenty of talented youngsters waiting in the wings, meaning that more than likely Gael Clichy and Robin van Persie will have breakout years. I think that the Arsenal will challenge Chelsea for the top spot in the league, but we do not have the rubles to compete with Cheatski on a game in/game out basis. So here it is, my final table for the 2006/07 Premiership campaign:

1. Cheatski
2. Arsenal
3. Liverpool
4. Manchester United
(Note: the top four places are automatically placed in the Champion's league; the first two teams bypass the qualifiers and are placed in the group stages, the last 2 have to qualify for the group stage).
5. T*****ham H***pur
6. West Ham United
7. Bolton Wanderers
(Note: places 5-6 are automatically placed in the UEFA cup competition. A third spot is given to the FA cup winner unless the winner is one of the top 6 teams. Then it goes to the 7th place team).
8. Blackburn Rovers
9. Wigan Athletic
10. Everton
11. Reading (pronounced "redding")
12. Manchester City
13. Charlton Athletic
14. Middlesbrough
15. Newcastle United
16. Portsmouth
17. Aston Villa
18. Sheffield United
19. Fulham
20. Watford
(Note: 18-20 automatically get relegated into the Coca-cola Championship, aka 'Triple-A' of English football).

Night and Day

2 games against Boston, 2 victories. It's like we were never in a slump at all. The only bad news is that 2B Placido Polanco will be heading to the DL after making a spectacular catch to preserve the 3-2 win last night. But we've survived injuries to Dmitri Young and (so far) Mike Maroth, so hopefully he'll be back before the p-word that I'm not allowed to say until we get closer to October (rhymes with 'layoffs'). And special thanks to the White Sox, for giving us a game back, and taking one on the chin against the Royals. It's very nice of them to lose to the WORST TEAM IN BASEBALL. Anywho, nothing else really going on, just the Tigers. And nothing is cooler to see than Comerica Park packed to the rafters, in mid August. Freakin' Awesome!!

Later...

Ughhhh.....

Now is not a good time to be slumping. Unfortunately, the Tigers find themselves saddled with a 5 game losing streak, with a 3 game series with the Red Sox coming up. The good news is that they still have a 5 1/2 game lead in the central division, and they still have the best record in all of baseball. The bad news is that they just got swept by the Chicago White Sox, who are now 9-3 this year against them, and it's beginning to be a mental road block. Hopefully Nate Robertson can get us back on track, and the AWOL offense turns up in someone's duffel bag. I think how we respond to this losing streak (longest of the season) will tell how we will finish the year.

Red Wings have signed C Greg Johnson, formerly of Nashville, and among other places...Detroit. He's more of a grinder than a scorer, and while our 4th line was not outperforming the other teams' 4th lines, like they have in the past, I think we really could use another scorer instead. But, what can you do, eh?

The Lions had their first pre-season game on Friday night, and took a 20-13 victory from the Denver Broncos. Detroit's offense looked as good as I have seen it in a long time (not since Barry, Johnnie Morton, Herman Moore, and Germaine Crowell were in our skill positions have we looked this good). The defense was stout against the run, and full of holes against the pass. I know we were missing 3 of our top 6 CB's, but it didn't look good. The good news is that we get to try again next week against Cleveland. I can't wait until the regular season starts, as this pre-season crap sucks.

And Ashley Cole is still a wanker (and being paid by Arsenal still). Till the next update...

And by tomorrow, I meant Thursday

Ahh, who can keep track of time these days...

The Tigers lost their first series in a month to the Twins. After taking the opener (and sending P Francisco Liriano to the disabled list in the process), Detroit dropped the next two games, including a heartbreaker last night, 4-3. They have today off, to prepare for the White Sox, who come to town tomorrow (after finishing their series with the Yankees tonight). They still have a sizable lead in the AL central, and in MLB, so no worries.

Arsenal took care of business on Tuesday in the away leg of their Champions League qualifier, taking a 3-0 lead back to North London. Cesc Fabregas had 2 goals, and Robin Van Persie added 1 as well for the visitors, who now look to be a lock for the Group Stages. And all this damage done without starting goal keeper Jens Lehmann, and dynamic striker Thierry Henry. It doesn't appear that they would have to take part in the home leg for the Gunners to go through, but they probably will feature in the Aug. 23 return.

And that's about it...

The Life and Times of Fausto Carmona

Aww, poor Fausto Carmona. The Cleveland Indians closer has not had a good string of games the past two weeks, as his last 4 appearances have all ended in losses, including tonights game with the Tigers.

I'm sure Cleveland was not overly confident of their victory, but they probably thought that it was more than likely. However, 'Pudge' Rodriguez had other plans, as he sent Carmona's first offering into the Detroit sky. His 2-out home run scored Placido Polanco from first base, and probably had Cleveland's manager Eric Wedge reaching for his bottle of Maalox. So Detroit wraps up another series (with Sunday's game remaining) and awaits a visit from the Twins on Monday. Should be another good series.

Meanwhile...

Floyd Landis' 'B' sample also had traces of synthetic Testosterone in it, and he has been fired from his cycling team, and stripped of his Tour de France victory. Ouch town: population you, bro...

Arsenal have drawn Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) for their first Champions' League opponent, with the away leg to be played on Aug. 8th, and the return leg is slated for Aug. 23rd. Because Arsenal finished 4th in the table last year, this is the qualifying leg of the tournament, and they need to win this home and home to get into the group stages of the Champions' league. It should be a good tie, but Arsenal should come out of this unscathed (of course!). I see the away leg as a 0-1 to the Arsenal, and then a 2-0 return will see us through with 3-0 aggregate score line (combined score, away goals are the tiebreaker. If score is still tied after 90 minutes of the 2nd leg, 2-15 minute overtimes will be played, and a shootout will result if still tied after 120 minutes). And that's all I got...till tomorrow!

Aww, Split!

Well, the Tigers dropped a heartbreaker yesterday, 2-1 to Tampa Bay, as Nate Robertson continues to have trouble getting run support from his teammates. We gave it a good effort, but 2 runs in the 8th were enough to see the Devil Rays through, and get a split in the 4 game series.

However, the Tigers were the ones erasing a deficit this evening, as we stole one from Cleveland, 7-6. Craig Monroe hit a game winning 2 run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning, and Todd Jones (I hate to say it, but he is actually becoming consistant....scary) picked up his 30th save of the season. I've always loved my Tigers, but everything is so much more fun when we're winning... (Best in baseball, best in baseball, best in baseball...)

In other news that I care about, the Wolverines have inked their first OL for the 2007 class, David Molk from Illinois. Well, I always thought we would get about 5 OL's for each recruiting class, so 1 down, 4 to go.

The Red Wings made another signing yesterday, signing former Griffin/Ottawa prospect Josh Langfeld to a contract. Langfeld is a physical forward, and could be a good candidate for a Grind Line-type position (4th line, high energy), although from what I'm hearing, he may be back in GR when the season starts.

Well, that's all I have...
(Best in baseball, best in baseball, best in baseball...)

Clevlen Rocks!

I've been a bit busy in the last two days, so here's what I missed...

Brent Clevlen (Pronounced "Cleveland" - the d) hit his first two major league home runs of his career (amazing, since he was a .224 hitter in Double-A Erie), yet was overshadowed by Carlos Guillen (who hit for the cycle) in the Tiger's 10-4 win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Sean Casey, playing in his first game as a Tiger, hit his first home run for the club as well. Justin Verlander pitched a good game, and picked up his AL leading 13th Victory.

Wednesday night, it took a come from behind effort, but Magglio Ordonez' 2-run double, and the following 2 run home run from Craig Monroe saw the Tigers take care of the Devil Rays again, this time by the score of 8-3. Zach Miner pitched well again (after dueling sucessfully with Francisco Liriano of the Twins almost a week ago), and clutch hitting saw the Tigers inprove to 72-35, which is the best record in baseball. It seems that no matter what the situation is, the Tigers don't seem to have any doubt that they can still win the ball game. It doesn't always work out, but they always seem to make the game interesting, and I think that's what I like most about this season (ok, the "best record in baseball" is awesome as well).

In other news, Charles Rogers didn't get any reps in training camp today for the Lions. Boo Hoo. Obviously, this is what the new regime thinks of Rogers' attitude and hustling. He better stop crying and get with the playing hard, or he'll be out on his butt, and the world will keep spinning.

Till Tomorrow...