Everyone has been focusing on Kevin Youkilis, Rick Porcello, and even Jim Leyland regarding the brawl.  I admit, I've spent more than enough time on Kevin Youkilis and exactly how I feel about the guy and his mound charge.  However, when I was re-watching the brawl on the NESN's network to hear their announcers' opinions, I noticed something that gave me a pretty good laugh: Brandon Inge during the whole ordeal. 

His dirt 'stache and "I'm so serious right now" attitude while Leyland was talking to the umpires had me thinking of Deputy Dangle in Reno 911.  Feast your eyes on some photos of Inge and then compare him to Deputy Dangle:

Here Inge is chomping his gum observing the situation while holding onto his belt... very police officer-y.  "What seems to be the problem here?" 

via i970.photobucket.com

Inge hears the news and makes the call to the bullpen himself.  Book him, Sarge; he's out.

via i970.photobucket.com

As he adjusts his belt because his gun and other police officer amenities are probably pulling his pants down, Inge let's out a sheepish grin.  "Meh, my work here is done." 

via i970.photobucket.com

All Inge needs are the aviators and short shorts, and I think he would look dead on to Deputy Dangle.  

via i43.photobucket.com

What do you think? 

The NBA Draft is just around the corner of "get a map" and "eff off." With it approaching so rapidly, it's time to start speculating who the Detroit Pistons could possibly snag with their No. 15 overall pick. For your information, the last time Detroit had a No. 15 pick it was 2007 and they chose a guy named Rodney Stuckey.

This year, the draft is not particularly loaded, but there is a long list of guys that should be available come Detroit's turn; almost all of whom I'd be totally cool with the Pistons drafting.

Except for one.

To read who (well you know who), but why head over to Detroit4lyfe

John Mapplethorpe of Detroit4lyfe writes:

So the Stanley Cup Finals got very interesting with the Pens evening the series up in Steel Town.  The series shifts back to Detroit tomorrow night for game 5, tied up at 2-2.  With the Wings losing their vice grip on the series and Marian Hossa struggling, a lot of attention is being focused on Hossa and his decision to sign a one-year contract with the Red Wings for this season after playing with Pittsburgh against the Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals last year.  People in Pittsburgh were expectedly upset about this, and saw the move as a slap in the face.  Now people are jumping on Hossa and chomping at the bit to throw it in his face if the Red Wings lose to the Pens in the Cup Finals in the ultimate of ironies, and in the really ironic way, not in the stupid Alanis Morissette way.

Now, I realize that Marian holds onto the stick with one hand a lot; he is definitely the Rickey Henderson of the NHL.  This gives some folks the perception that he is a hot dog.  He also takes a lot of shots from horrendous angles, which is really annoying.  And I recognize that he doesn't have Gretzky-type career playoff numbers by any means.  But when he is surrounded by a bit of talent, he has posted pretty good numbers, numbers certainly not deserving of earning him a reputation of disappearing in the playoffs.  First of all, his teams have made the playoffs in 9 of his 11 seasons, despite playing for the non-powerhouse Ottawa Senators and Atlanta Thrashers in his first 9.5 seasons.  He has 75 points in 95 career playoff games, including 31 goals, 6 of which were game-winners.  His teams are 9-8 in playoff series, which is definitely respectable.  He's a +4 in the playoffs despite being on a handful of Senator and Thrasher teams which were completely overmatched, being swept out of the first round on three separate occasions.

Consider that Hossa had his talented centerman, Pavel Datsyuk, taken away from him in the middle of the playoff run, as Datsyuk has missed the last seven games due to a foot injury.  Yet, Hossa has still managed to tally 14 points in 20 playoff games this postseason, and is a +5.  Datsyuk is a Hart AND Selke Trophy candidate, and is debatably the best two-way player in the NHL.  Red Wings coach Mike Babcock announced a few hours ago that Datsyuk WILL play in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals tomorrow night.  This will be a huge boost to the Wings and to Hossa.  Oh, and by the way, I haven't heard anything about the beloved Datsyuk being a "playoff choker".  And how many playoff points does the talented Datsyuk have in his career, you ask?  How about  61 points in 95 career playoff games, (does that number of career playoff games sound familiar?), with 4 game winners.  Things that make you go, "Hmmmmmmm."

So John Mapplethorpe is pumped up about tomorrow's game 5.  He will be wearing his patented Wings Chelios shirt, that Bob and Dupree got him for Christmas, at the Detroit sports bar the Tin Lizzie in Lincoln Park after watching the White Sox hopefully drop one at U.S. Cellular.  And he's expecting Hossa and the Red Wings to shine.

Go Wings!

After a long layoff, I'm finally back and boy does it feel good. A lot has happened since I last talked to you loyal readers at Detroit4lyfe.com. This may surprise you, but today I want to discuss a team that disappointed many this past year. The Detroit Pistons backed into the NBA playoffs as the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference and were promptly sent fishing in four blowouts by Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. This series had a vintage 1991 feel to it. The 1990-1991 Detroit Pistons had a roster of guys who had battled together through the 1980's, proudly wearing the red, white and blue. Their team was the 8th straight Pistons team to make the playoffs, and they made the Eastern Conference Finals for the 5th straight year. They were the two-time defending NBA champs, and had made the NBA Finals three straight seasons. However, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls caught up with and passed the Bad Boys in one fell swoop in the spring of 1991, leaving the Pistons behind in their rear view mirror as "Trader" Jack McCloskey's dynasty crumbled. After being swept by Jordan and a surrounding Bulls cast that was coming of age, SG Vinnie "the Microwave" Johnson moved onto San Antonio to finish his wonderful career with an anti-climactic season with the Spurs, and PF James "Buddha" Edwards headed out west to play for the Clippers. In the next two years, C Bill Laimbeer, PG Isiah Thomas, SF Dennis "the Worm" Rodman and PF John "Spider" Salley followed suit and played their final games as Pistons. The Pistons were 0-4 in playoff series the rest of the 1990's.

Similarly, the 2008-2009 edition of the Pistons was on the tail end of a successful run. 6 straight Eastern Conference Finals, 7 straight playoff appearances, 2 NBA Finals and an NBA title in 2004, all with the core of SG Richard "Rip" Hamilton, PG Chauncey "Mr. Big Shot" Billups, SF Tayshaun "I'm not anorexic I just have a REALLY good metabolism" Prince and PF Rasheed "I'm trying not to complain about every call, but I just can't help myself and what is the deal with this weird bald spot anyway" Wallace. Yet, Wallace has not been the same since his first magical year with the Pistons when he helped them to a title after being traded from Portland (with a brief stop in Atlanta) at the trading deadline. Tayshaun has routinely disappeared in the playoffs. Rip has slowed a couple steps. And, of course, General Manager Joe Dumars backed up his promise to make "major changes" after the Pistons failed to show up for the 4th quarter and blew a lead in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston in 2008, trading Chauncey Billups in the first week of the '08-'09 season to Denver for Allen Iverson. Iverson quit on the Pistons, deciding to spend the last couple months of the season harrassing dealers, refusing to tip waitresses and being banned by local Detroit casinos instead of hogging the ball and jacking up 25 horrendous shots every night on the court. Chauncey has taken the Nuggets to another level and is poised to lead them to a Western Conference Final showdown with the preseason favorite in the West, the L.A. Lakers. Meanwhile, the 2008-2009 Cavs, who are eerily reminiscent of the '91 Bulls team with Lebron playing Michael and Mo Williams playing Scottie, smelled blood in the first round against the overmatched Pistons, and dismissed them unceremoniously in four games.

The key difference between the Pistons' current situation and their situation in 1991 is simple: they have a GM at the helm who is both extremely sharp and unbelievably driven, and they are in financial position to rebuild immediately instead of being saddled with a nursing home lineup of decaying talent. You see, there was one guy who didn't jump ship after the Pistons were swept by a clearly superior Chicago team in 1991. Joe Dumars played throughout the entire 1990's with the Pistons, proudly leading by example despite some lean years, and never compromising his class. So it is not surprising to me that it has been the same Joe Dumars that has led the Pistons through an amazing stretch over the last decade as their GM. And he will take them to the top again, and very soon. The Billups trade was unpopular, as Chauncey was a beloved leader in Detroit. He has thrived in his hometown of Denver, while AI was an embarrassment here both at the Palace and at the craps tables at the Motor City Casino. Yet, the Billups trade was a move for the future, as this offseason AI and 'Sheed's contracts come off of the books, and the Pistons could clear more cap space by letting go of McDyess and Rip, and possibly even Tayshaun, whose games are all on a steep decline. The Pistons are in position to sign two or even three big time free agents. Ben Gordon and Chris Bosh are just a couple players who would look really nice with the block Detroit across their chests. The future is bright for the ballers in Detroit blue, because in Joe we trust.

This article can also be seen on Detroit4lyfe

I drank about three 2-liters of Mountain Dew, got all hopped up for this game, I can't sleep, I have no motivation to brush my teeth, I almost decided to unceremoniously burn my Mighty Ducks trilogy, and I'm expected to go to bed and live a normal life tomorrow after the crap that just transpired in Anaheim? Not L.A., Sue. Anaheim.   As they should say in Toronto, we was "hosed, eh." As a result of this "hose job" I will elaborate on, the Wings lost a pivotal game 2-1, and trail the series by the same score with Game 4 on Thursday night.

At the 1:04 mark of the 3rd period the Wings, battling their asses off to tie a game they probably didn't deserve to win anyway, were robbed by a brain-farting referee named Brad Watson who decided to blow his whistle when the puck was clearly loose around the net. So, despite Marian Hossa tapping the loose puck into the net at about the same time (if not before) the ref blew the whistle, it was tabbed a no-goal.

The explanation behind the already head-scratching decision by the ref is even more baffling. Apparently, it was unreviewable and the no-goal call would stand because the referee had an intent to blow the whistle.

Under Rule 78.5 per the Official NHL Rules, an instance of a disallowed goal is:

(xii) When the Referee deems the play has been stopped, even if he had not physically had the opportunity to stop play by blowing his whistle.

Therefore, everything after he "intended" to blow the whistle would not count. In other words, no-goal because it happened after he decided in his small brain that he would eventually blow the whistle.

Can you believe that? I agree. That's un-fugging-believable. Who comes up with that damn rule anyway?

If you want to play with a rule based on intent, take a Torts class in law school. It shouldn't exist in this situation. Isn't it the referee's intent to make the right call? You could argue that the ref intends before the game even starts, while he's putting on his size extra-small jockstrap in the locker room that he intends to make all the right calls. Thus, all wrong calls would be null and void, presumably after a simple review, right?

In this case, upon review, any half brained person would see the puck was loose, the whistle was arguably not even blown until after Hossa had already tapped the already deemed loose puck into the net. Tie game and at 2:15 in the morning we're probably all still up watching another triple OT game. I'd be much happier losing more sleep from a loss in OT(s) than by this.

I'm sorry, but that's the biggest cop out rule I've ever seen.

Why the Usher picture? Well, because the NHL has "got it bad", I'm all "caught up" in it, and it's the best picture that came up on page one of google images when searching "crotch grab."

Seriously, NHL "intend" yourselves on THIS. (insert Koy Detmer suck it signal here).

I'm going to bed, but not before I punch my sleeping fiance while I pretend she's Chris Pronger and Brad Watson and the Gary Bettman for allowing such a terrible rule. Just kidding... I'll punch these paid programming chicks on Versus instead. That's right; I haven't changed my channel since this game ended. I guess all along I was hoping that the game would miraculously come back on with the NHL having corrected the mistake. Like Wayne and Garth would say in Wayne's World, "play on!"

See you Thursday.

This post can also be seen on Detroit4lyfe