by Rob Wood
The national title race is heating up in college football. The Wolverine basketball team is getting rolling. The hockey team is putting up respectable numbers. Michigan seems to have its affairs in order, and while reading (and writing) about their electrifying performances can be a profound experience, there are performances just as moving on a daily basis, just a few miles down 94-East, in Detroit.
As your local, friendly neighborhood in-state student will tell you, the Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons rule this area of the country. Their collegiate brethren certainly get there proper respect, admiration, and devoted fans, but make no mistake: Detroit is the sports capital of Michigan.
Granted, there are really only two teams to speak of out of the Motor-City right now. It's been awhile since the Lions and Tigers have had inspiring seasons. Both teams are on the right track to recovery, however.
Take the Tigers: they went from a 53-109 record in the 1996 season, the year after their long-time manager, Sparky Anderson, retired, to a 79-83 record in the 1997 season under their new commander-in-chief, Buddy Bell. That's a 49% improvement! With stars like Brian Hunter, Tony Clark, and Travis Fryman, their play can only improve. Look for the Tigers to be a legitimate contender for the division title, and to make the playoffs as a wild card team in the 1998 season. They have the drive and talent to make the summers around these parts as exciting as the winters, even with all their gridiron glory.
And what about football in Motown? Do the Lions have the talent to make the playoffs this year? Their play has been extremely inconsistent. They can beat a team like Tampa Bay or Green Bay one week and lose to teams like the Saints or Bears the next.
To be fair, they were until recently being coached by the utterly inept Wayne Fontes. Silver-and-Blue blooded fans everywhere breathed a sigh of exasperation when he was brought back for the 1996-97 season, while a titanically talented linebacker, by the name of Chris Spielman was allowed to slip away to the greener pastures of Buffalo. They breathed another sigh though -- this one of relief -- when William Clay Ford finally let Fontes go after the Lions finished out of playoff contention for the season, last January.
Ford then brought in Bob "Happy Little Trees" Ross to take over the reigns. Ross came to a team whose only remaining offensive weapons were Barry Sanders and Herman Moore. Scott Mitchell's ability at quarterback is, at best, questionable. He has a rifle of an arm, but no field sense or leadership ability. He is also quite deficient in the accuracy department, throwing more interceptions in one day than Evander Holyfield throws punches in twelve rounds. On defense, the Lions' only asset is Robert Porcher, who can barely pull his own weight.
In short, Coach Ross is going to need at least two or three more years to get any kind of good, stable play out of this Detroit Lion football team. His best bet at this point in time would be to completely gut both the offensive and defensive lines, and replace them with younger players and college stars. He should then draft Michigan's entire secondary, first- and second-teams, and tell his current players to try their luck in Green Bay. At least then, the Lions could make a run at the Black-and-Blue Division crown. Wayne Fontes really left a mess to clean up, here in Detroit. All the Detroit area can do is just hope that Bobby Ross can do what the man of the same name, from TV's "The Joy of Painting" always did: take what looks like a mess and miraculously transform it into a masterpiece.
Back in 1989 and 1990, the Detroit Pistons owned the National Basketball Association. With players like Vinnie Johnson, John Sally, Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer, and of course, Isaiah Thomas, there was no team in the league that could touch Chuck Daly's team. Then, a few years went by, and Mr. Daly left. So did just about every other star on the team, either by being traded, being picked up by expansion teams, or retiring. The only starter left from those championship teams was Joe Dumars. The Pistons were in sore shape. Then, they brought in a new coach, Doug Collins. He had the dynamic personality and coaching style to inject some fuel back into the Pistons' cylinders. He also drafted Grant Hill, from Duke, and brought in Terry Mills (for a little while, anyway). This new turbo-charged Detroit team has made the playoffs the past two years and has a chance to go to the third round or so, this year. That is, of course, if Bill Laimbeer keeps teaching Grant Hill how to be a little more nasty.
Just as in the NBA, Bill Laimbeer owned the patent on nastiness, so did Vladimir Konstantinov in the NHL. The Detroit area's euphoria over winning the Stanley Cup, this past June, was shattered when Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov received critical head injuries in a limousine accident. Since that night, the Wings have tried to cope and move on. They returned much of last season's championship team, with the notable exceptions of Konstantinov, and Sergei Federov, who has been a contract hold-out for the past month. While the Wings are still struggling to find a skilled enforcer to solidify their defense, they have been sporting the NHL's best record all season. Federov had better sign soon, unless he just wants to be released. All in all, the Wings look like a good bet to repeat in their Stanley Cup-winning performance, but the season is still young and the real season doesn't even start until April, with the playoffs. Stay tuned.
Detroit has had championship teams an average of once about every three years, over the past 13 years. The Lions are the only major, professional Detroit team not to win one over that time period. That total rivals just about every other U.S. city, save perhaps New York. It is called "Hockeytown" and the home of the "Bad Boys". It has also been called the "City that Drives the World". Add "...of Sports" to that last one. That should be just about right.