Big Ten Standings today – November 8, 2008

1. Michigan State 6-1 (One game left)
2. Penn State 5-1 (Two games left)
3. Ohio Sate 5-1 (Two games left)

A big ten championship for the Spartans?

For Michigan State to win the Big Ten Championship (outright), they need:

• To Beat Penn State on November 22nd
• Ohio State to lose to Illinois (11/15) or Michigan (11/22)

For Michigan State to win a share of the Big Ten Championship, they need:

• To Beat Penn State on November 22nd

For Michigan State to play in the Rose Bowl, they need:

• To Beat Penn State on November 22nd
• Ohio State to lose to Illinois (11/15) or Michigan (11/22)

What an exciting football game! Michigan State pulls out the big win, with seconds left on the clock. If MSU can win the next two games, they’ll win the Big Ten Championship!

WDFN is reporting Matt Millen (31-84) has been fired as the general manger and president of the Detroit Lions!

The prayers of millions of Lion fans have been answered.

My first thought was Michael singing “Goodbye Toby!” “Goodbye Millen, it’s been nice. Hope you find your paradise!”

Michigan is a state Barack Obama must win. If he loses Michigan, the election is over. Since 1992, Michigan has always voted with the Democrats.

• 1992 – they won by 8%
• 1996 – they won by 13%
• 2000 – they won by 5%
• 2004 – they won by 3%

This will be the headline over the next few weeks. As Michigan meets Sarah Palin, Michigan will fall in love. And one of the many reasons will be our common affection for hockey. Detroit is called Hockeytown for a reason. We love the sport and everything it represents. The embrace of Sarah Palin is natural fit for voters of this Great Lake State! 

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are the best beach volleyball players in the world. They’ve won over a hundred games in a row before repeating as gold medal champions last night! After they won their match last night, they were being interviewed by NBC. Kerri and Misty made a special point to thank President George W. Bush for all of his inspiration!

You can watch the entire match and post game interview here.

If you have problems viewing the video, you can watch the clip here.

It has been a frustrating year for the Tigers, what do you think is at the end of their rainbow? The playoff’s or a sad third place finish? 

In 2002, the Detroit Tigers lost 102 games. In 2003, the Detroit Tigers lost 119 games. The outlook looked bleak for Tigers nation. We were the laughingstock of baseball, and it looked as if we would stay that way for a long time.

Then in late January of 2004, our new general manger, Dave Dombrowski made an unbelievable free agent signing. Coming to the Detroit Tigers was future hall of fame catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez!

Tigers fans were overjoyed! He gave Detroit instant credibility. The rest of the league was on notice, the Tigers meant business. We soon after signed Carlos Guillén, then Magglio Ordóñez the following year. The Tigers team was starting to come together. More free agent signings and major trades were all paved by the deal for Pudge.

In 2006, three years after losing 119 games, the Detroit Tigers went to the World Series. This would never have happened if Pudge had not agreed to come play baseball for the Detroit Tigers.

From one Catholic to another, thank you for the amazing memories and good luck in New York.

It was funny listening to the last inning of the TIgers and Indians game last night. The game was in Cleveland, but during the last couple innings you could clearly hear “Let’s Go Tigers” chants from the crowd. Listen as Dan Dickerson calls the final out and he actually comments on it.

It’s midnight and the Tigers and Indians are still playing baseball. The game has been tied for sometime now and both teams look solid. Entering the top of the ninth, the Tigers were down 10-11. Two Tiger pitchers busted out the good ol’ rally caps, which lead to us tying the game at 11!

We don’t know how or why it works, but it does. And since there are no rules or guidelines as to when it’s appropriate don the rally cap… I decided to make a few.

1. You may not wear a rally cap until the 8th inning. - If you are trailing in the second inning, you best not show your rally cap. All you’ll do is jinx your team. The game just started you putz, fix your hat.
2. Runs – The rally cap only really works when you are down by a couple runs. If you are down by ten, entering the 9th inning, you can but your rally cap on, but good luck – you may need more power then the rally cap can offer.
3. How to wear your rally cap? - The preferred method is simply turning your hat inside out (picture on the right). But many major leagues use push the hat in and wearing it on half your head (like the boys are on top).

History of the rally cap from Wikipedia

The first appearance of the Rally Cap was during the 1942 baseball season, when fans of the Detroit Tigers, while in attendance at Tiger Stadium, occasionally would wear their baseball caps inside-out as a makeshift talisman to generate a come-from-behind victory in the late innings of a baseball game.

The superstition spread from the fans to the Tigers players themselves, and rose to national awareness during the 1945 World Series when the Detroit Tigers were playing the Chicago Cubs. The Tigers were tied in Game 5 with the series tied at 2-2. In the 6th inning of that game, the radio announcer mentioned certain members of the Tigers in the dugoutwearing their caps inside out. Subsequently, in that inning of that game, the Tigers scored 4 runs after a ball rolled between the legs of Chicago first baseman Phil Cavarretta.

The Tigers then went on to win the game 8-4. The historic rally led to a Game 7 win, allegedly with the prominent assistance of their “Rally Caps” allowing them to become the 1945 World Series Champions.  The Rally Cap subsequently was adopted by baseball fans internationally, being used to give their team a little extra mojo and come from behind.  

The Rally Cap was later seen and made popular to this day in 1986 when the New York Mets wore them in their come from behind World Series victory over theBoston Red Sox.

It’s been a fun ride, but it’s time for the Tigers to use a new closer. Tonight’s loss to Chiacgo is unforgivable. I’ll write more later, I’m too upset and frustrated right now.

Update

Todd Jones is a great guy. He’s a Christian, and a man who demands respect. I’m on board with all that. Back in 2000, everyone loved him running in from the bullpen after he slammed its door. I emailed him before the start of the season and he actually took the time to email me back. I’ll never forget that, and he’ll always be one of my favorite Tigers.

But it’s time for him to retire and spend that awesome one on one time with the family everyone talks about. The Tigers entered a very important three game series this weekend with the White Sox. We were five and a half games out of first place. A sweep would allow us to cut that to just two and half games and we virtually have a new season.

We were in control of this game tonight.We had a three run lead until a boneheaded error allowed the Sox to cut the deficit to just one run. So we enter the 9th inning, ahead by just one run and Jonesy allows a two run homer with two outs.

Game over, White Sox win, and we are now six and a half games out instead of four and a half. -insert sad face here-

Update – July 27, 2008

Jim leyland announced today the Tigers have a new closer. Fernando Rodney will take the job over from Todd Jones. I want to thank Jim for reading my blog and taking my advice.