The Pistons don't get many opportunities to play on national television, being bad and all, (they're currently slated to play on NBA TV in April against the Hawks and the next week on ESPN vs. Milwaukee), but fans of crappy basketball have a chance to put them on the grand stage next Tuesday, February 21, when Moose and company travel to the Q to play Ramon Sessions' Cleveland Cavaliers.

If you click over to NBA.com/nbatv/fannight and look to the left in the middle of the page, you'll see a voting module that will allow you to vote for the Pistons-Cavaliers game to be the Game of the Night. Right now, it has an overwhelming FOUR-percent of the overall vote.

As a displaced Pistons fan, I know I would love to watch a Pistons game in real-time on the tube (not four plays behind on NBA League Pass Broadband), while putting all of my attention on the computer toward taking in all the profound wisdom (and rhino poopz) a DBB game thread has to offer.

So go vote! And after you vote, I have video of Cavs players singing to you after the jump.

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If I read one. more. comparison to 2005, yah mo burn this place to the ground. Ben Wallace, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili (flopping), Hack-a-Ben, and the Pistons on the losing end of a good, frustrating battle with the Spurs -- yeah, I get it, but I'm still not over it and I don't want to talk about it, okay?

On this night in 2012, a year the Pistons are jockeying for ping pong balls, 37-year-old Ben Wallace broke the all-time games played mark for an undrafted player since the merger. So, with that, I'd rather make tonight about Ben Wallace.

With the Pistons trailing for the majority of the game and down double-digits -- and the sparse crowd, not the beneficiaries of any cool promotion, totally out of it -- it was BigMFBen Wallace that brought the Pistons back and had George Blaha ironically telling us not to look and, ultimately, the PA main man Mason yelling Deeeeeeetroit Basketball after a Spurs turnover like it was [sigh] what feels like a time long, long ago.

Wallace started the fourth quarter in place of the Pistons future. He immediately hit a jumper and then, with the team down 12 around the 10-minute mark, took an inbounds pass, chucked and sank one from three-point range for just the seventh time in his Hall of Fame career, like he's been doing it all along.

Those were five points in what was a 23-8 run that gave the Pistons their first lead since being up 16-14 in the first quarter. Wallace supplemented those buckets with his vintage staunch defense on Duncan, who was 0-for-3 with a turnover during that Pistons run, and rebounds. Gong.

To be fair, Rodney Stuckey scored nine during that span and finished with game-highs in points (23 on 8-for-12 shooting) and assists (8). But the Pistons have two more years of Stuckey. Ben Wallace is retiring at the end of the season and, like our friend Patrick Hayes said over at PistonPowered, we don't have much longer to cherish one of the more remarkable physical specimens in Pistons, nay, NBA history. For the love of God, cherish it.

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During the now-gone four-game winning streak (against teams that were a combined 30-67), the Pistons shot 49-percent and averaged 23 assists per game. Tonight, against the 6-22 WASHINGTON WIZARDS, they shot 33-percent and lost by 21, 98-77.

The Wizards weren't shooting any better for a minute, which is why the Pistons were, believe it or not, up two with four minutes left in the third quarter. Washington started the third quarter 6-for-18, but finished it making five of their last six shots while the Pistons missed their final four and turned the ball over three times. The Wizards turned that two-point deficit into a nine-point lead going into the fourth quarter and the game was never closer than that.

Detroit finished just 1-for-11 from three and dished out 17 assists opposite 19 turnovers. Greg Monroe led all scorers with 27 points, but only grabbed six rebounds and he also had six turnovers.

Jump around.

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Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila was on ESPN with Karl Ravech the other day talking about the upcoming season. Shortly before Avila's segment, Ravech teased it by tweeting that Avila would be joining the show and that he has been working out this offseason with Miguel Cabrera, who has lost 25 pounds!

Avila also talked to The Detroit News and didn't call it 25 pounds, but still said Cabrera has lost 20-plus pounds and that he intends on losing at least another 15!

"Since Prince Fielder signed," said Alex Avila, the Tigers' catcher who works out with Cabrera in Florida, "he's thrown himself into being a third baseman. It's all he's thinking about."

Avila spoke about Cabrera's conditioning program on Friday with ESPN, but also over the phone with The Detroit News. Avila said Cabrera has lost 20-plus pounds with the intention of losing "at least 15 more."

"You know, you can make up your mind that you're going to be able to do something," Avila said, "but in this situation, Miguel has thrown himself into doing everything he can to do the best job he can."

Cabrera showed up to camp last year at about 270 pounds and was recently pegged at around 265 (presumably after he started losing weight). The expectation was that he'd be around 250 for Spring Training, as Leyland has been on record as saying that he would not want Cabrera any lighter than that because of fear he'd lose pop in his bat. It sounds like Cabrera may be getting down to his playing weight with the Marlins, though, which was around 240.

Here's a picture of a clearly slimmer Cabrera with Magglio Ordonez at their training facility in Florida:

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The Columbus Blue Jackets may be the NHL's worst team, but they swept the Minnesota Wild in this week's home-and-home, both by a score of 3-1. In mid-December, the Minnesota Wild were the NHL's best team at 20-7-3. Since then, they are 5-15-5 and sit two points entirely out of the playoff picture.

R.J. Umberger scored twice for the Columbus Blue Jackets, including one on the power play with 21 seconds left in the second period to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead going into the final frame.

Columbus put the game away with an empty netter at the 19:11 mark by James Wisniewski. Minnesota outshot Columbus 35-19, but Steve Mason was stellar in his first game since January 31.

Columbus plays again on Sunday vs. Anaheim.

For more on this game, visit Blue Jackets blog The Cannon and Wild blog Hockey Wilderness. Head over to SB Nation NHL for more news and notes around the league.

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In mid-December, the Minnesota Wild were the NHL's best team at 20-7-3. Since then, they are 5-15-5 and sit two points entirely out of the playoff picture after losing to the NHL's worst team, 3-1, for the second time this week.

R.J. Umberger scored twice for the Columbus Blue Jackets, including one on the power play with 21 seconds left in the second period to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead going into the final frame.

Columbus put the game away with an empty netter at the 19:11 mark by James Wisniewski. Minnesota outshot Columbus 35-19, but Steve Mason was stellar in his first game since January 31.

The Wild have to feel like they are in full desperation mode, but they play the Anaheim Ducks, who only have 51 points, on Tuesday.

For more on the Minnesota Wild, check out Hockey Wilderness. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NHL hub at SBNation.com/NHL.

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The Jeremy Lin short-lived legend continues to grow, as the Chinese American, undrafted point guard from Harvard has now led the New York Knicks to five straight wins. The Knicks defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night, 100-98, without the help of Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudamire.

In front of the largest crowd for a home Timberwolves game since 2004, Lin scored 20 points (on 8-for-24 shooting), eight assists (six turnovers), and six rebounds, and hit the game-winning free throw with four seconds left.

Steve Novak hit a game-tying three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining to stun Minnesota, who had been leading the Knicks for most of the game.

Kevin Love's 32 points and 21 rebounds were wasted, as was Nikola Pekovic's 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Minnesota plays next on Monday at Orlando.

For more on the Minnesota Timberwolves, check out Canis Hoopus. For all your news and analysis needs on the NBA, SB Nation's main NBA hub has you covered at SBNation.com/NBA.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were already going to be without rookie Kyrie Irving due to a concussion, but they were also without Anderson Varejao on Saturday night after the forward suffered a wrist injury during Friday night's loss. As a result, the Cavs were no match for the Philadelphia 76ers, losing 99-84.

Cleveland shot just 37-percent for the game and never recovered from a 58-41 halftime deficit, although they outscored the Sixers 43-41 in the second half.

Antawn Jamison scored 20 points and Ramon Sessions had 19 points and eight assists for the Cavs. Jrue Holliday led the way for the Sixers with 20 points. Philadelphia only turned the ball over six times and shot 43-percent from beyond the arc.

Cleveland does not play until Wednesday, when they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers.

For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, check out SB Nation's Cleveland Cavs blog Fear The Sword. For all your NBA news and analysis, take a peek at SB Nation's NBA hub SBNation.com/NBA.

The Indiana Pacers returned home Saturday night hoping to end their first two-game losing streak of the season against the Denver Nuggets (as three-point favorites), but were sloppy in the middle two quarters and ultimately fell 113-109.

Minus George Hill again, the Pacers jumped out to a 34-26 lead after a quarter and led by as many as 13 points, but Denver outscored Indiana 61-49 in the second and third quarters. The Pacers played better in the fourth and pulled within two points and had the ball with less than a minute remaining, but David West turned it over and the Pacers were forced to send the Nuggets to the free throw line.

Despite shooting 53-percent, the Pacers turned it over 20 times and were outrebounded by the Nuggets, who shot 49-percent and got 11 more attempts at the charity stripe.

Danny Granger led all scorers with 26 points. Ty Lawson and Aaron Afflalo combined for 50 points for the Nuggets.

If Indiana is going to end their current three-game skid, they will have to beat the Heat on Tuesday.

For more on the Indiana Pacers, check out SB Nation's Indiana Pacers blog Indy Cornrows. For all your news and analysis on the NBA, SB Nation's main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA will have you covered.

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Jimmy Howard has been out with a broken right index finger since the Red Wings beat the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout on February 2. Howard is inching closer to a return, though, as he faced shots in practice on Saturday for the first time since injuring the finger.

According to MLIVE, Howard is aiming for a Friday return vs. Nashville:

"The finger felt good, the rest of me felt awful,'' Howard said. "I guess that comes with the territory after taking 10 days off with no shots. (The finger) felt good out there. Now let's see how it feels tomorrow and hopefully it keeps getting better.'' [...]

"There's no reason to rush back,'' Howard said. "Give it a couple more days to heal and allow me to get a couple of more practices under my belt, so I can get my game back to where it was.''

He said the pain is gone.

"After taking shots today, see how it feels tomorrow and getting back to where I was before, playing-wise,'' Howard said.

When Howard returns, he will play with the notch cut out of his stick to make it easier to handle.

Joey MacDonald will start on Sunday when the Red Wings go for an NHL record 20 straight home wins.

For more on Howard and the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. For more on the NHL, go to the SB Nation NHL hub at sbnation.com/NHL.

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No. 3 Ohio State's six-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday evening, 58-48, at the hands of the No. 12 Michigan State Spartans, who now move into first place in the Big Ten.

Ohio State led early in the game, but Michigan State then went on an 18-5 run in the middle 10 minutes of the first half. After 20 minutes, Michigan State held a 10-point lead, which happened to be Ohio State's largest deficit at the half of the season.

In the second, Michigan State clamped down on defense after Ohio State made a charge early in the half to get back within five. Ultimately, the Spartans' defense was just too much as Ohio State finished the game shooting a putrid 26-percent.

Adreian Payne led MSU with 15 points on a perfect shooting night. Jared Sullinger had a triple-double 17 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 turnovers for Ohio State.

For more on the Ohio State Buckeyes, head over to Along The Olentangy. For more on the Michigan State Spartans,The Only Colors is the blog to check out. All your news and analysis on college basketball can be found at SB Nation's main NCAA Basketball hub, SBNation.com/NCAA-Basketball.

The No. 12 Michigan State Spartans moved into a first place in the Big Ten by snapping No. 3 Ohio State's six-game winning streak on Saturday evening, 58-48, in front of a sold out Value City Arena in Columbus.

Ohio State led early in the game, but Michigan State then went on an 18-5 run in the middle 10 minutes of the first half, paced by Draymond Green's seven points. At the half, Michigan State held a 10-point lead, Ohio State's largest deficit at the half of the season.

In the second, Michigan State clamped down on defense after Ohio State made a charge early in the half to get back within five. Ultimately, the Spartans' defense was just too much as Ohio State finished the game shooting a putrid 26-percent.

Adreian Payne led MSU with 15 points on a perfect shooting night. Jared Sullinger had a triple-double 17 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 turnovers for Ohio State.

For more on the Michigan State Spartans, go to SB Nation's Spartans blog The Only Colors. If you're looking for the other side, go to Along The Olentangy. All your news and analysis on college basketball can be found at SB Nation's main NCAA Basketball hub, SBNation.com/NCAA-Basketball.

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Am I doing it right? No? Okay, I'll just start talking about Jeremy Lin.

This Chinese American point guard who sleeps on his brother's couch is all the talk of the airwaves and L-internet. Have people no regard for this streaking team in Detroit that has churned out FOUR straight wins against powerhouse teams, like, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New Jersey, and, uh, New Jersey? (Even the Pistons are caught up in the #Linsanity -- after the win, they watched Jeremy Lin go off for 38 against Kobe in their state of the art locker room.)

So, it's not the greatest four-game winning streak in Pistons history and it may very well be shaving the unibrow, but Pistons fans have to admit that this has been kind of exciting, seeing the Pistons players gel and clearly having fun for the first time in a long time. It may continue, too, as the Pistons take on the five-win Washington Wizards on Sunday.

It's the longest winning streak for the Pistons since December 2009 and Friday night's 17-point win was their largest margin of victory this season. It also marked the first time the Pistons surpassed the elusive 100 points during regulation.

Greg Monroe picked up his 15th double-double of the season with 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting and 11 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey and Brandon Knight combined to shoot 11-for-17, good for 32 points, and each had five assists. Knight also had seven rebounds.

Nothing to see here anymore. A little more after the jump:

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The Indiana Pacers (17-9) had not lost consecutive games all season until Friday night when they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 98-92.

The score was tied after each of the first three quarters before a back-and-forth fourth quarter evoked the feeling of an exciting finish destined for overtime. However, after Indiana answered a Memphis run with a 9-0 run of their own to tie the game at 86 with four and a half minutes remaining, the Grizzlies responded with a 7-1 run that the Pacers could not recover from.

Rudy Gay led the Griz with 21 points. David West was the game's high-scorer with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Indiana returns home to play the Denver Nuggets tomorrow night.

For more on the Indiana Pacers, check out SB Nation's Indiana Pacers blog Indy Cornrows. For all your news and analysis needs on the NBA, check out SB Nation's main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.

The Minnesota Timberwolves dipped back below .500 on the season, falling to the Mavericks 104-97 on Friday night.

Kevin Love returned from a two-game suspension and put up 32 points and 12 rebounds, but he was bested by Dirk Nowitzki who poured in a personal season-high 34 points.

The Timberwolves had their own season-high in turnovers -- 28 -- and shot just 6-for-23 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Dallas shot 43-percent from three-point range and had 10 fewer turnovers.

Ricky Rubio finished with 10 points on a poor shooting night and had eight assists. Michael Beasley had 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting in his new reserve role.

Minnesota looks to get back to .500 when they play tomorrow vs. Linsanity.

For more on the Minnesota Timberwolves, check out Canis Hoopus. You can check out the opposing viewpoint at the SB Nation Mavericks blog Mavs Moneyball. For all your news and analysis needs on the NBA, SB Nation's main NBA hub has you covered at SBNation.com/NBA.

Detroit can match the NHL record of 20 consecutive home wins by beating the team that shares the record, the Philadelphia Flyers, on Sunday night at the Joe. The Red Wings extended their home win streak to 19 by beating the Ducks on Friday night, 2-1, via shootout. Their home win streak dates back to November 3 when they lost to the Calgary Flames 4-1.

Both goals in regulation came in the first period, the Ducks scoring first at the 16:17 mark and the Red Wings matching on a goal by Justin Abdelkader two minutes later.

After scoreless hockey for the next 50 minutes, the Red Wings got the best of the Ducks in a shootout, as they've done to teams all season. Pavel Datsyuk started the scoring in the skills frame, but was matched by Teemu Selanne. After Jiri Hudler and Corey Perry missed, Todd Bertuzzi lulled Jonas Hiller to sleep and beat him on a backhander for what would be the game-winner after Joey McDonald got a piece of Bobby Ryan's wrister on the Ducks' final attempt.

Detroit has won five of their last six shootouts, those coming in their last 11 games.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out SB Nation's Detroit Red Wings blog Winging It In Motown. For more on the not-so-Mighty Ducks, head on over to Anaheim Calling. All your news and analysis on the NHL can be discovered at SB Nation's NHL hub at SBNation.com/NHL.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers, playing without their star rookie Kyrie Irving, had no problem building leads on Friday night, but they had troubles keeping them. Ultimately, Milwaukee got the best of the Cavs in an extra frame, winning 113-112.

Cleveland started the game up 17-2 and had an eight point lead going into the fourth quarter, but Milwaukee started the fourth quarter on a 12-5 run to pull within one. In the final three minutes, the Bucks came back from four to tie it at 102 apiece.

The Cavs had a chance to take the lead with three seconds left, but Antawn Jamison missed not one but two freebies. In overtime, the Bucks scored first and outscored the Cavs 11-10 for the one-point win after the Cavs hit a meaningless three at the buzzer.

Ramon Sessions, filling in for Irving at the starting point guard position, scored 12 points and had 16 assists. Antawn Jamison, even though he missed the two free throws at the end, led all scorers with 34 points and had 11 rebounds.

For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, check out SB Nation's Cleveland Cavs blog Fear The Sword. If you're looking for SB Nation's take on the Milwaukee Bucks, head to Brew Hoop. For all your NBA news and analysis, take a peek at SB Nation's NBA hub,SBNation.com/NBA.

For the first time this season, the NBA's lowest scoring team topped 100 points during regulation. The Pistons scored 109 in all to beat the Nets for their fourth straight victory, 109-92. It was the Pistons' second straight win against the Nets.

Detroit shot 54-percent and had 25 assists on their 43 baskets while holding New Jersey to 42-percent shooting. Jonas Jerebko led all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Greg Monroe picked up his 15th double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey added 19 points and the masked Brandon Knight had 13 points (all in the second half), seven assists, and six rebounds.

Deron Williams struggled for the Nets, only scoring 14 points and not picking up a single assist in the second half.

The Pistons will go for their fifth straight on Sunday vs. Washington.

For more on the Detroit Pistons, check out SB Nation's Detroit Pistons blog Detroit Bad Boys. For more on the New Jersey Nets, head over to NetsDaily. All your news and analysis on the NBA can be found at SB Nation's NBA hub, SBNation.com/NBA.

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The Detroit Pistons, winners of three straight, are halfway to their fourth straight victory and second straight over the New Jersey Nets after beating them on Wednesday. They lead 52-33 at the half.

Rodney Stuckey scored 15 for Detroit on 5-for-7 shooting. Greg Monroe added 10 points and six rebounds.

The Pistons continue to pass the ball well, picking up 13 first half assists after a season-high 29 on Wednesday. Walker Russell leads the team with four dishes.

The Pistons are shooting better than 50-percent and holding the Nets to just 33-percent. Jason Maxiell has four blocks. Deron Williams, who usually goes off against the Pistons, has seven points on 2-for-7 shooting and four assists.

For more on the Detroit Pistons, check out SB Nation's Detroit Pistons blog Detroit Bad Boys. For more on the New Jersey Nets, head over to NetsDaily. All your news and analysis on the NBA can be found at SB Nation's NBA hub, SBNation.com/NBA.

Despite having no Kyrie Irving due to a concussion, the Cleveland Cavaliers got off to a great start against the 11-14 Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night and lead 57-53 at the half.

With Ramon Sessions taking over at starting point guard, the Cavs jumped out to a 17-2 lead on the Bucks behind Sessions' three assists in the first five and a half minutes.

The Bucks came storming back, though, to outscore the Cavs 26-8 in the final six and half minutes of the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Cavs got back to the basketball that put them up 17-2 early, outscoring the Bucks 32-25. Sessions had 10 assists in Irving's stead.

Ersan Ilyasova of the Bucks led all scorers with 12 points.

For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, check out SB Nation's Cleveland Cavs blog Fear The Sword. If you're looking for SB Nation's take on the Milwaukee Bucks, head to Brew Hoop. For all your NBA news and analysis, take a peek at SB Nation's NBA hub, SBNation.com/NBA.

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The Pistons won a game on Wednesday night -- their third in a row. That's called a winning streak; it has happened before. Just not this season. If Detroit does the unthinkable and wins a fourth in a row on Friday, it'll equal their win total through the first 24 games. Now, let's jack it up.

I know, I know; the Pistons won a game, but potentially hurt their lottery odds. That said, when the Pistons win, especially in this fashion, I'm never going to be one to complain. I mean, a Jonas Jerebko "foreign facial"? A clutch three from Brandon Knight? A Greg Monroe driving tomahawk slam dunk shot? It was the future doing some exciting things to make sure a one-time 18-point lead didn't slip away, albeit against an equally bad team playing without any energy. The Pistons went around the world twice for its fans tonight, and guess what? They're still the fourth worst team in the NBA with plenty of lotto balls in their back pockets.

***

Monroe led the way with his 14th double-double of the season (and eighth in the last nine games) -- 20 points on 10-for-16 shooting and 12 rebounds. Jerebko added 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Ben Gordon returned to the lineup with 14 points (on 6-for-7 shooting) and five rebounds.

The Pistons won despite Deron Williams' best effort to remain perfect against the Pistons; he dropped 34 points and assisted on seven baskets. Speaking of assists, the Pistons had a season-high 29.

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