I've covered the business of sports (among other beats) for the past several years at Crain's Detroit Business. In my spare time in 2006 and 2007, I was the George Plimpton-like last-string quarterback for the now-defunct Port Huron Pirates, a professional indoor football team that won a championship on the field and lost everything off of it. Since then, I've been writing a "Paper Lion" meets "Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas" book about that experience, tentatively called "Last String." While I live now in downtown Detroit, and enjoy it immensely, I remain monogamous in my cheering loyalties to my hometown Cleveland Browns, Indians and Cavaliers. And yes, the Ohio State Buckeyes, too. Don't hate.
05/09/12 The latest fad statistic pushed by the college football-industrial complex is utterly meaningless spring game attendance statistics (link).
Ohio State is trumpeting that 81,112 fans saw the Buckeyes spring game on April 21, tops among BCS teams.
Michigan was 17th with 25,000, and Michigan State was 20th with 21,000, according to a new list ...more »
05/02/12 The Detroit Tigers are playing "Dead Moneyball" again.
This time, it's third baseman Brandon Inge that's collecting a paycheck from the Tigers to play for another team.
The Tigers released Inge on April 26 after 12 seasons, the past few being an atrocious nightmare at the plate for him, the team and the fans. He was made expendable by Miguel Cabrera not being a complete disaster when he moved to third base -- Inge's old job -- when Prince ...more »
04/26/12 In March, the Detroit Lions gave wide receiver Calvin Johnson an eight-year, $132 million deal that made him the highest-paid player in the National Football League.
Yesterday, Johnson was voted by fans to appear on the cover of wildly popular EA Sports video game Madden '13.
That's ...more »
04/18/12 The NFL's schedule makers are enamored with the Detroit Lions.
Winning does that.
The league, as it's prone to do, created an overwrought multimedia spectacle on Tuesday to announce each team's 2012 schedule. The Lions get five nationally televised games this season, four of which are in prime time.
Detroit plays the Thanksgiving game every year, so it's really four national games bestowed upon the Lions. But four is more than most ...more »
04/17/12 In case you missed it, I did a piece (link) in this week's edition about how the trend of massive new local television broadcast rights deals -- especially the looming billions the L.A. Dodgers are expected to cash in on -- could affect the Detroit Tigers.
Such money has been fueling spending sprees on players across all sizes of baseball markets. That has some analysts and ...more »
04/09/12 After the first three home games of 2012, the Detroit Tigers have seen 120,525 fans come through the gates at 41,255-seat Comerica Park, for an average of 40,175 per game.
That translates into about $1 million in additional revenue compared to this point last season. It's the biggest opening three-game series crowd since the ballpark opened in 2000.
The first trio of home games in 2011 saw a combined 107,593 fans, for an average of 35,864 per game.
A ...more »
04/05/12 If he stuck to his routine, some time last night, Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander sat down to a Taco Bell meal of three Crunchy Taco Supremes (no tomato), a Cheesy Gordita Crunch, and a Mexican Pizza (again, no tomato).
Verlander unveiled his pre-start menu during a January appearance on Conan O'Brien's late-night talk ...more »
04/04/12 Handicapping the baseball season before it's begun is little more than an exercise in meaningless frivolity. And that's the only type of exercise I'm interested in.
Unless you're a gambler, forecasting where a team will finish the year is simply fun and a sure-fire argument/conversation starter. Like bringing up Brandon Inge, which can be hours of profane fun for the whole family.
So, the 2012 Detroit Tigers. Added Prince Fielder and his Mega Millions ...more »
04/03/12 If the Detroit Tigers wanted Brandon Inge off the roster by Opening Day, they needed to have released him by 2 p.m. Monday so that he would clear waivers. That didn't happen.
Today, the team put him on the 15-day disabled list because of a groin pull, which frees a roster spot until he returns. If he returns.
More important, it gives the team a couple of weeks to see how Miguel Cabrera performs at third base in games that mean something. ...more »
03/14/12 The news today that the Detroit Lions had given wide receiver Calvin Johnson the most lucrative contract in NFL history -- a seven-year, $132 million extension of his six-year, $55 million rookie deal -- was the latest evidence that this city's pro sports owners are willing to spend serious cash.
The city now has three of the top-paid stars in ...more »
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