Wanted: Tough, physical rebounder

The Pistons took another game on the chin, this time falling 100-99 to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City/Tulsa/Topeka Hornets of Louisiana. The problem the Pistons seem to be having this season is rebounding. It wouldn't seem like there would be that big of a drop off in rebounding, even with Ben Wallace in Chicago, but it seems that every loss is due to either a huge post game explosion of points, or a huge advantage in rebounding (especially offensive rebounding). Case in point: I watched about 10 minutes of this game, towards the latter stages, and I was watching Bobby Jackson grab MULTIPLE offensive rebounds (had 5 total in the game). Yup, all of 6'1" Bobby Jackson. And it wasn't 'long carom' offensive rebounds, it was 'in the land of the trees' offensive rebounds. And being 'vertically challenged' myself, that's what you try and do, go in there grab some boards, and frustrate the other team. But if you're the 'Stones, you cannot let point guards grab O-rebounds. It just kills the team, and it gives up too many 2nd chance points. By the way, the Hornets ended up with 19 offensive rebounds, compared to 8 for the Pistons. That, folks was the difference in the game. Next up for the 3-5 'Stones is a struggling Washington team that we need to come out aggresive, and get the 'W'

Speaking of 'W''s, there was a lot of that going on this week. First off, rookie RHP Justin Verlander won the AP Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, by gaining a staggering 28 of 30 first place votes. That was followed up by Manager Jim Leyland winning the AP manager of the year. Congratulations to both of them, as they definately were deserving (especially Leyland, who changed the entire thinking of the club, and made them contenders almost through mindset alone. Also, the Tigers resigned their MVP of the World Series, Sean Casey to a 1-year deal. This was a great move, in my opinion, because he's a Lefty, plays 1st base, and came at a reasonable price, as opposed to other 1st basemen on the market. The only negative going on as far as the Tigers are concerned is that we look to be losing LHP Jamie Walker, who is on the verge of signing a 3-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles. That kinda sucks, but the Tigers were not willing to give Walker a 3-year deal, so hopefully Dombrowski has a replacement lined up.

In other news, the Wings will not lose, defeating the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2 for their ninth win in a row. Zetterberg, Franzen, and rookie Valtteri Filppula all netted for the Wings, who tied a franchise record for consecutive victories. This is great news from a team that was looking for an identity early on, and hopefully they can keep this fantastic record going.

And finally, the U-M basketball team kept on its hot streak to begin the season, beating Wisconsin-Milwaukee 66-59 at Crisler Arena yesterday to complete the John Thompson challenge. Courtney Sims was the man of the night, as he poured in 26 points on 10-13 shooting (of course, UW-M's tallest guy was 6'7, and Sims is 6'11, but that's besides the point). G Dion Harris chipped in 17 points, and F Brent Petway added 13 for the 4-0 Wolverines, who welcome the Ivy League powerhouse Harvard to Ann Arbor tomorrow. Of course, it's nice to have your first 7 games at home against cupcake opponents. The first real test for Michigan (on Mon., 11/27), will be when they play at NC State as part of the Big 10/ACC challenge. Until then, I'm gonna take a nap through the rest of these games, which also include Youngstown St., U-Maryland-Baltimore County, and Wofford. *yawn*

No games today, Friday brings the above mentioned U-M v Harvard game, 'Stones v Wizards, and Wings v Flames; Saturday brings such games as 'Stones v Rockets, Wings v Oilers and Arsenal v Newcastle United. Oh, and there's some other game...something about greatest college football rivalry in all the land, national title hopes at stake, something something...oh, well, I'm sure it's not that important.

GO BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!