Muse

What about Millen's philosophy? Do you trust that next year he'll bring a coach to the team that won't be similar to his last two choices?

I just got this email from WDFN (Detroit radio station):

/take the whole team and management staff

Ok, that is hilarious! (Seriously, I agree with Haroldsnepsts. People are fascinated by the sexuality of the rich & famous. For some reason, there is an entire industry of media covering who is dating whom -*** or straight. Personally, I don't care less who Jennifer Aniston, Tom Cruise or Sheryl Swoopes date. I do support their right to not have to publically hide when they're out on a date or in a serious relationship, as the entertainment media will pounce on it - especially if they can spin it into exciting "news".)

WWJ radio Detroit (950AM) said this morning that they've heard Mooch will be fired, but not sure if it will be during the season or at the end. They said they've heard that they'll promote their Defensive Coordinator to the head coaching position. They were not sure if Millen's made his mind up whether to keep the DC as head coach for just the remainder of this season, or for the long-term. That right there is proof that Millen needs to go. Why he would want to promote anyone within the org to lead it is baffling. Mr. Ford needs to clean house, starting with Millen and all the way through the coaching staff, then get rid of a lot of players. This season is lost. Work on building possibilities for next year, but start with a clean slate. I don't see that Millen has made one good decision yet.

So, the title of this thread, when viewed from the forum home, is "Let's Get It On!" I sure wondered what kind of "other sport" you were talking about, Happy Pancake!

Well put. Of course there are plenty of *** pro athletes - male and female. However, in some parts of American society, it is not "acceptable" to come out. I think this includes the world of team sports. Most macho male athletes are rather uncomfortable (and vocally so) to homosexuals. There is also the issue that for a man to admit he's *** causes a lot of people to think they are weak, weird, or "not masculine" (all of which is just silly IMO). They assume if someone is ***, they are going to be sexually attracted to every man, which is also incorrect. I think most pro athletes - particularly men on team sports - will stay in the closet for years to come. They want to protect not only their safety, but their "brand" - they have to appear strong, masculine, and powerful for respect in the team, and to land their lucrative marketing deals. It's really too bad that our society still generally holds male athletes to the standard that they have to be womanizing heterosexuals in order to be "acceptable". (You're right, BM, thank goodness that we aren't relying on athletes to lead social change! LOL)

I just watched the men's final yesterday (on tape). Wow. I was so impressed with how well Agassi played. I really thought he could have won, but I had to wonder if his back started giving him problems. He suddenly wasn't serving as well, he wasn't getting around the court great in the 3rd set tiebreak and 4th set... and at first I assumed he was just running out of legs. But then I noticed he was making a lot more verbal noise than usual, he really almost looked like he was favoring his left leg. Then, when they closed up on his face, his face looked very, very different than usual. His eyes were not wide open, they were kinda bloodshot, and he looked as if he was very uncomfortable. Both me and Mr. Muse came to this conclusion on our own before we discussed it. I was really surprised Andre gave Federer such a great match. I really thought Roger would take it in three sets, though I wanted Andre to win. I really hope we'll see more terrific tennis out of Andre next season.

Instead of bringing back Fontes, bring back Bobby Ross. At least he was incredibly entertaining to watch after a humiliating loss. "Do you think I coach that s**t? I don't coach that s**t! I don't teach that s**t!" Or, the favorite standby of Morhninweg. Week one: "The bar is high." Week two: "the bar is still high". Week 8: "We're still keeping the bar high". Week 12: "Ok, the bar is a little lower". Gosh, he added a lot of entertainment value. He tried so hard to be positive, it was absolutely breathtakingly funny. P.S. I didn't watch today's game. I figured after last week's surprise win and everyone patting Joey on the back, they were due to get whacked in the head with that darn bar.

FBF, you're seeing these matches from seats in the staduim? /surpress jealous rage I've wanted to go for so many years, I can't even tell ya. Have an awesome time if you go today & tomorrow.

Hey Aussie... I think a lot of Americans are pretty wrapped up in the Hurricane Katrina disaster. While the US Open is a nice distraction, I'm not sure it's getting as much discussion online because people are pretty stressed out. I couldn't watch the Agassi/Blake match live, so we taped it... but the matches before ran so long, and the match itself ran so long that when we sat down to watch it the next day (and we didn't know who won), we only got the first 20 minutes. AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! RMWG - from what you've said it sounds like even if I taped longer, I would've missed the end anyway. That happened with an earlier match, too... it seems they only allot so much time on CBS, and when it runs out, the coverage switches to USA network. Stupid. I wonder if the SuperBowl ran over time, if they'd cut off the ending? I don't think so. I have to tape the matches today... I've erased most of the DVR and I'm just setting it up to run all day. I'm pulling for Agassi and Pierce to take home the championships. Gotta root for the older players who have been crushing people almost half their age.

that, or the second coming of Sean Avery.

Wow, the Hewitt/Dent match was terrific! Almost 3.5 hours of great tennis. Lleyton made a lot of errors, and Dent played so well. It was very exciting - even that entire last set. I thought it might go to the Who is this woman asking the questions at the end of the match? "He shook your confidence, he exposed the weakness in your game, does that concern you as you head into the second week of the tournament?" How unbelievably rude! I have not yet seen the results of yesterday's Agassi match. I've watched much of it, and will finish watching it tonight after watching the Williams sisters play each other. Anybody wanna take a guess at which Williams sister will advance? I'm guessing this one might be Venus' victory, if she can stop wearing so much distracting jewelry (I can't believe she stomed on a $40,000 earring during one of the earlier matches!)

WOW. I missed the Blake/Nadal match - just tuned in for the last point. Wow. That is an absolutely stunning upset - especially because how Blake took the last set. RMWG - you've gotta watch Blake play. He's incredible, and he is definitely a huge rising American star. Hopefully he won't succumb to the pressure like the guy who knocked out Roddick and stole his mojo. EDIT: woo hoo, Andre's playing. I loved the look back on his career they showed before this match. I'd forgotten about his blonde mullet ROFL!

Wow, I couldn't believe Roddick's defeat. Though his opponent did live up to the hype - he played a terrific match. I'm curious to see how far he'll go. I hope Andre makes it far into this tourney, but alas, I'm not sure I see it happening. I'm not certain he can win the US Open again. I actually wonder if he has another major in him. I'd love to see him get to the finals. You get the sense that this might be his last year (20 freaking consecutive years at the US Open!) So, if Andre can't make it to the finals, I'm hoping we can see a Hewett/Federer final. They are fun to watch against each other. Admittedly, Ihaven't looked at the brackets to see if they are placed so they could matchup in the finals, or if they did another weird ranking to make them meet in a semi. Davenport did look pretty good last night in her match. I'm very curious to see how far she'll go. I'd like to see her really go out there and beat one of the Williamses, mainly because you can see how much Lindsay has transformed her body and her style of play to try and catch up with those powerful ladies.

Howdy: Does anybody in the Detroit metro area ever go to Whalers games? I've heard that you can rent a suite for a very reasonable price. Regular seats are just $10 or $12, and groups of 20 or more get a further discount. I'm curious if any LGWers would be into heading to a game. Here is a link to their schedule: http://www.plymouthwhalers.com/schedule.html If you're interested in going, post to this thread with the top four games you're interested in, and I can organize it.

That's probably why he said today that he never "intentionally" took them in today's speech. If a prosecutor can't prove he was lying (that he knew he had taken them prior to testifying), they probably can't get him on perjury. Also, consider that he may have received immunity in order to provide his testimony. I don't buy for a minute that any pro athlete could accidentally take steroids. They know what's going into their bodies. I am just amazed that he was only given a ten-day suspension. I think any athlete who has tested positive for performance-enhancing steroids should be permanently banned from the sport. It is cheating. It cheapens any sport to condone such activity (and anything short of a permanent ban is cheapening the sport, weakening the accomplishments of those great players that came before the era of steroids.)

Yeah, it's amazing how many people diss Detroit that have never been here, or haven't been here in 10 or 20 years. Some of the worst offenders are people who live in the metro Detroit area, too.

Pretty cool article - thanks for sharing! Too bad he doesn't mention that the crime rate in Detroit is way, way lower than perceived by most people. In fact, downtown Detroit has a lower violent crime rate than the downtown area of most major cities. (yeah, there is more crime in outlying areas of the city than in downtown, but this is still a far safer city than most people think. Detroit is a big city with some areas of crime, just like every other major city in the country). Still, a big thumbs up to the writer for talking about what a great sports scene we have here.

Isn't the whole Pistons shtick the team concept? Plus Rasheed is a whiny c**t. The Pistons will get a lot of screen time when the series shifts over to Detroit. I thought it was established that Tim Duncan is one of the least marketable superstars in the game. Don't understand this finger pointing at all. There are a number of reasons that Ginobili is getting so much attention. He's a charismatic fellow with unique talent, taking on a bigger role than any foreign player before him (I'll change my answer if Dirk ever leads the Mavs to the Finals). He's setting up to become the Finals MVP with his play. I suppose you could say the NBA is trying to manufacture a new superstar, but honestly, Ginobili seems to be doing that well enough on his own. Just because something "makes sense" doesn't mean it's true (see: Scott Lucidi). And I don't see how a 21-point drubbing is the responsibility of the refs. Television ratings are routinely higher for close games and for a close series. At this rate, a close series does not appear imminent. Unless you're playing the Lakers, I fail to see how blaming the officiating is anything but grasping at straws. Well said. The simple fact is that the Spurs far outplayed the Pistons in both games. Two blowouts. Its not an officiating problem. It is instead a matter of discipline, taking good shots, and confidence. The Pistons do not look as poised or as focused as they did in either of their two previous series of this playoff run. San Antonio showed them a lesson in game one, and the Pistons did not respond with playing a smart game - they instead look haphazard. They started to look a bit haggard in the last couple games of the Heat series. Unfortunately, they haven't regained their composure. And it seemed like practically no one could hit a simple shot in most of the second half of last game. That was certainly some bad luck... but also just bad positioning. Players were losing their cool and not focusing on doing what they do best. They let their defense break down, and SA was running circles around them. And not one Piston three pointer in this entire game. I mean, come on. Not one. They need to calm down and get it together so they don't get blown out in a sweep. I said before this series, and I'll say it again: Pistons will lose in 6, possibly 5. And I don't see them winning any games with a 20 point margin, that's for sure.

Are you suggesting a "Kill 'em all" defense????

Wow. I mean, this is just plain BAD basketball. A seriously embarrassing series. Not just one blow out game, but two blowout games in a row? The Pistons haven't even been close in this game. They're 17 points down now. Vladdy16, I bet you're really missing your Wings now, bud. Your little diversion is fading really, really fast.

OWF, I assume you went to a game in London? I'd like to see London play.