Not that I think it matters much to most of us around here at the Gab, but now the NBA is without 3 marquee players for the entire season. Bet David Stern never seen that coming when he forced this season upon them after the lockout ended. Duncan, Howard and now last years MVP Derrick Rose are all out due to injuries probably or least most likely to have been caused by the wear and tear of this season. I do not fault the Bull's coach for playing him despite the lead, because he has done it all season. I fault the commissioner for probably costing the Bulls their best chance at winning an NBA championship since Michael Jordan was there. Way to hand it to the Heat, they should waltz through the Eastern Conference now the Bulls were there only true competition that would have kept them from winning that conference again......

WTF Rondo, you must really want out of Boston after the season is over. I could see if you were 20 points down, and you pulled that crap. But you were only down 4 and your team never scored  another basket after you were tossed. Come on man get your head out of your ass, and think!!!!

So this is what happens during the 7th inning stretch at Oriole games, a head-first slide after a drunken run around the bases being chased by the cops. Hope it was worth his evening in the drunk tank......

I know that this is dated material, but it supports my argument that they should allow fighting back in the sport. Plus this was kind of fun to watch. Makes you wonder after the Flyers-Pens series if the new millennium version of the Broad Street Bullies have returned to Philadelphia?

And this is what a good fight does for me when I attend hockey games, gets me all pumped up and is one of the reasons I love the sport......

And not to rain on anyone's parade, but this might be the only highlight during their series. It is going to be a rough road for the Rangers if they want to win the Cup, all the series including the finals are going to be very physical. I wish them well now that the Wings are eliminated.

Thanks for reading  my post.....

Well it wouldn't be an appropriate blog, without me mentioning the release of a long time favorite player of mine yesterday by the Tigers. He was the last player from that 43-119 team, that did not have much of a chance to win because they were loaded with AA and AAA players and did not stand a chance against anyone that year. The question remaining in my head, is how the hell did Ryan Raburn survive not being sent to Toledo? But as all things go, they must end sometime and it was time for Brandon to go, hope someone picks him up that needs a great defensive player, who may not hit for average but pick everything hit his way.....

It leads me to this, back in the 70's it was acceptable for a position player who could play his position but not hit for average the Tigers had Aurelio Rodriquez and Eddie Brinkman as examples. Couldn't hit there way out of a wet paper bag with a hole and a road map to get their asses out of that bag, but when you hit a ball their way you may as well headed from the batter's box back to the dugout, because you were out nearly every time. Every team has their Brandon Inge's, and they deal with it because they know what he lacks at the plate he makes up for by saving them runs out on the field with their glove. Brandon will be sorely missed by the Tigers and my daughter Taylor, she was his Tiger when she was 3 and learning about baseball.

Thank you Ben if this was truly your last game as a Piston, I really enjoyed coming down to the Palace and watch you play.  You understood your role as a Piston, and were a major reason they brought a title back to Detroit in 04' Your fans wish you would stay another year, but understand that its time to watch your children grow up. The Pistons will be fine, because from the looks of the kids coming out of college this year, they will find your replacement for many years to come.

Dear Metta World Peace:

No offense, but I remember when you were a member of the Indiana Pacers and went into the stands one evening at the Palace and assaulted some fans. Sorry my friend I do not believe the sincerity in this apology, because I have seen your ignorance before first hand.

When and who will you snap on again, and then claim it was an accident and make it all better? Did David Stern forget about the incident at the Palace a few years back, if he had remembered you may have been suspended a whole lot longer than 7 games, or the first round of the playoffs if the Laker's get lucky enough to get by without you on their bench. I guess that is the benefit of playing for the Laker's and not the Pacer's, because you were suspended a whole lot longer than this for what you did that night.......

I just did not come here today to slam and rip World Peace, I wanted to show you a soft side that came from his site about his daughter's battle with cancer. It shows there is a human side to this man, and may explain his anger but still is no excuse for his actions.........

I was going to talk about the NFL Draft today, but I am still puzzled by the Lion's first pick Riley Rieff. Can he run the ball up the middle, cover a wide receiver going deep and going over the middle? I think not, he may plug a hole on the offensive line but he will not help cover up the Lion's real weakness, their defensive secondary. I will leave it at that for the moment......

Not to rub it in, but the Stanley Cup finalists are now both sitting at home watching the playoffs on television. I give the Capitals and Kings credit, they played two great series and the Caps got a great goal in what turned out to be a great series to watch on television. The Wings sucked badly during their series against Nashville, but Rinne was the real reason they are also at home, he outplayed Jimmy Howard the whole entire series. I guess I am not much of a fan of the Flyers and Pens, but I am glad that Sid the Kid and his team of crybabies are gone, and I do not care much for the Flyers so I hope someone takes care of them in the next round. 

My buddy told me once that its not a hockey game unless there are fights, and he was pissed off when the NHL tried to eliminate them from the sport entirely. The sad part is I actually agree, I believe half the stick and elbowing to the heads causing the concussion issues are caused by the NHL not letting the players take out their frustrations on a player that pissed them off. I believe they should let them get it out of their systems, because most of the time they do not fight a second time anyway. It does not really slow the pace of the game down, it adds to the entertainment value especially if the fight is a good one. He also hates the 4 on 4 and shootout at the end of overtime, he believed in 5 on 5 and sudden death overtime 20 minutes or until a goal is scored. No points for losing in overtime or shootout, because why should a team be rewarded for losing? Bring back Center Ice and the two line pass, so that teams like the Penguins can cherry pick and score easy goals. Make the goalies fair game if they come out of the crease, and eliminate that blue patch that protects them. If you notice, they use their sticks as well as the position players on opposing players in front of the net and should not be protected like they are the superstar players most goalies aren't in the first place. Finally, stop protecting the superstar players like they are Gods, and make them fair game also. They seem to get penalties called by the refs if the opposing team touches them, if you make them accountable for their actions then maybe players like Daniel Sedin will not swing his stick or take liberties on others. He clearly got what he deserved, and a few years back he would have got the crap kicked out of him and the other player involved would not have been suspended for getting his revenge.....

As I close out my blog, I will say one more thing get rid of the Designated Hitter. The reason the pitchers are getting away with intentionally hitting opposing batters in the American League is there is no course of retribution other than the opposing pitcher hitting a member of their team which normally results in a ESPN highlight the next day. When I was growing up, if you threw at a player you had better put catcher's equipment on because Tom Seaver or Nolan Ryan was going to bust your ribs the next time you batted.....

Thank you for reading my post, hope you enjoyed my rants and raves...

Well guys since we last spoke a couple of weeks ago,  a lot of things have happened in my life including forgetting to schedule my Sunday blog on Saturday night. My friend passed away on the 11th, and we had his funeral Monday. Not a great week, but at least I can say I made it. I was wondering something though, what the hell has happened to the Boston Red Sox this year? As in Detroit, a big lead disappeared right before Bobby Valentine's eyes and with that pitching staff he has in place right now he had better get used to it........

I know most of you are Sox fans, and to tell you the truth I would be worried also. I have noticed that most of the starters have been pitching pretty good, but still a little on the inconsistent side. But your bullpen has been absolutely awful. There really is no excuse for blowing a 9 run lead by any team in baseball. But especially a team that is supposed to be challenging for their division crown.....

Hats off to the Texas Ranger's hitters in the first inning yesterday, they made him look like a high school pitcher. First 7 batters reaching base, and I believe it was 11 of the 14 batters he faced before Leyland mercifully took him out. I honestly have never seen anything like this, the Tigers were lucky they did not score more  than 8 runs in that inning, it was like they knew what was coming and hit everything in site......

Thank God for the reigning MVP and Cy Young award winner from last season, at least he could slow the Ranger's bats down enough to earn a split. 

Congrats to Philip Humber for pitching the 21st perfect game in MLB history, wasn't the prettiest or most effective 96th pitch but it got the job done. 

Finally before I go, hats off to Pekka Rinne, he played one hell of a series against the Wings in the first round. I could not believe some of the saves he was making when the Wings actually got a shot on goal. He was the reason they won, and if he can keep this up Nashville will go a long ways in the playoffs this season.......

Thanks for reading my post, sorry it was a little late.......

The day before I put my friend to rest, I wanted to speak out say say a few things and get them off my chest. So if I come off a little harsh, it is okay it is because I am irritated right now.

First things first, I would like to nominate my friend Jerry's brother Louie for Tool of the Week for having the balls to tell me I could speak and not to make it long. Not that he has or had any say in what I am going to say tomorrow, but he can kiss my ass I will stand before my friends as long as I want too and say whatever I want.

Now that is off my chest, well Tim the GAYHEAD INDIANS won this week and what did they put in the Ranger's and Senator's pregame meal last night? They were two ugly, dirty teams last night. Knocking out Alfredsson, and they still could not win. Can't wait until tomorrow night to watch tomorrow's game, just to see what happens next......

The awesome platoon due of Inge and Raburn took shape over the weekend in Chicago, still do not understand what they were thinking Santiago is more deserved to start at 2nd base.

That is all I have to say for now, have a great day and thanks for reading my post.....

Since I spoke to last week, things are not getting much better concerning my friend Jerry. I found out the C-Word is now in stage 4, and that he has pneumonia. I will be visiting with him tomorrow, as I know the end is nearing for my friend of 26 years. But on that note, I am also sitting here watching DVT's team the San Diego Padres, or is it the Angels and Dodgers one is never sure. I am being bless right now with the only other voice I could listen call a game 365 days a year other than Ernie Harwell, Vin Scully. The only announcer in professional sports who does not require a color commentator, because he has seen and told it all over the past 40-50 years. It brought back a memory, and I thought I would share it with you.......

And since Youtube did not have the actual video I wanted I thought I would share one of many highlights of Vin Scully's career, Hank Aaron's 715th home run. How many remember or in this case were alive to see this historic moment? I know I was sitting on the floor in the living room with my grandfather that evening, baseball was not televised much that day (before cable television) so they only covered historic events such as this one. The once thought unreachable record set by Babe Ruth.

What the hell is wrong with the Boston pitching staff, along with their entire team? With the ass kicking they took today by Cabby and Prince who bombed Josh Beckett, and a freak inning by Pappa Grande on Thursday spoiling Justin Verlander's 8-inning gem, they would not have scored a run in the first two games of this series. Unless they get their act together soon, all you gabbers who are Red Sox fans are in for a long summer. The series is turning into exactly the opposite of what people and reporters thought, a total mismatch.....

One of things I always knew about my friend, was that he liked all types of music (except for rap). I also know that he keeps a promise, as I inherited about 500 or so records LP's and 45's that cover about 5 decades of music along with the history of rock and roll. A full picture of every Beatles cover that they recorded, and a few things that would make a beer drinker happy.......

This is the only version of this song I like, and every other evening or so at the end of a shift one of our local DJ's would play it so we could listen and enjoy. 

As I stated earlier, this ain't your normal blog, but I thought I would congratulate Steven Stamkos for being the only player to accomplish this during the season.........

This is what I think about all of the dope smokers in the NBA, who are overpaided criebabies, who should be thankful for what they have now. Because it can all go away in snap of a finger. So kiss my ass Dwight Howard for trying to get your coach fired. Get the hell out of Orlando if you do not like him, you are only destroying the chemistry or the lack of your team, along with creating a lack of trust from them concerning you. You backstabbing bitch.

As I found out from the past, people grieve in different ways, Ernie is waiting for you in heaven Jerry. I know he was your favorite announcer, you will have the best seat in the house right next to him calling Tigers games to this day from his favorite spot in Tiger Stadium bro. It has been a great ride my friend, but it is time to say goodbye. I know the end is near for you my friend, so enjoy your seat next to him.........

Until we meet again, thanks for reading my post.........