By George B. Eichorn

Of The Detroit Monitor

To Everything A Season;

Turn, Turn, Turn

            The Detroit Lions are mired in a slump. At 0-3 the club is spiraling fast and in need of a win desperately. It won’t happen this weekend as you know because the bye week has saved the Lions from yet another loss. The natives are restless and no one can blame them with what they’ve witnessed in losses to Atlanta, Green Bay and San Francisco. Getting behind 21-0 is no way to start a game – in the NFL or any level of football.

            Michigan Wolverine fans find themselves in the inevitable position of also needing a win. Sitting at 1-2 is not sitting well with the millions of Michigan legions across the state. Coach Rich Rodriguez is facing a daunting task this young season and he knows it. This Saturday’s game is huge. Going 1-3 is not an option for the Wolverines. A win would make it to .500 which is about the best you could hope for with a new coach, new offensive scheme and new quarterback.

            The Michigan State Spartans are just the opposite, sitting pretty at 3-1 following their big win over Notre Dame last Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Coach Mark Dantonio will not gloat over the start, however, as he maintains a workmanlike attitude on the banks of the Red Cedar River in East Lansing. The game this Saturday at Indiana could propel the Spartans towards a run for the Big Ten title, or perhaps make reality set in, should MSU lose.

            Detroit Tigers fans are struggling with the knowledge that they were sold a bill of goods this season. As the final weekend of the 2008 mercifully comes to a close, the Tigers are closer to last place than first in the American League Central Division. What shame. This team had so much promise and hype and again proves that you cannot buy a pennant. The Yankees learned that as did the Rangers, Angels, Mets and others through the years. Now, the Tigers are members of the infamous “can’t miss yet did” club!

            The Red Wings are back at work at Joe Louis Arena this week, following training camp in Traverse City. Once again, the club is picked to make it to the Stanley Cup finals by most national pundits yet we’ll save our prediction until the Monitor’s hockey season preview issue of October 9. Coach Mike Babcock is making room for powerful scorer Marian Hossa and that seems like any easy task. Putting him next to Pavel Datsyuk on a line sounds like a great move to me.

            Ready to start training camp next week are the beloved Detroit Pistons. Even without a major trade or signing, the Pistons return a strong contending team with the likes of Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. The battle for the other starting position will be new coach Michael Curry’s most crucial decision heading into the regular season. The Pistons did make one roster change this off-season, signing 6-foot-11 center Kwame Brown.  I should have stated that he is one of those in contention for that fifth starter role.

The Shock are battling the New York Liberty at presstime in the second round of the WNBA playoffs. Anything short of a return trip to the Finals and a win this time around by coach Bill Laimbeer’s team would be characterized by a disappointment by the fans. It won’t be easy for the Shock without one of their top players – Cheryl Ford – who was injured in BasketBrawl II at the Palace just before the Summer Olympics break.

            Congratulations to Prince of the Pistons and Katie Smith of the Shock for already achieving something that few NBA and WNBA players will ever do – winning an Olympic gold medal.

I was pleased to hear that Matt Shepard has finally landed his own radio show on WDFN. He’s a hard worker, toiling through the years at WDFN, WWJ, Fox Sports Net, calling U-M basketball, Detroit Shock and Eastern Michigan University football. “Shep”  will keep of these assignments while hosting his 6-9 a.m. call-in show on The Fan.

            The one man I would not want to be this fall and winter is Tigers chief executive Dave Dombrowski. He and his staff have a lot of decisions to make as they shape the 2009 team roster. There are question marks surrounding any number of players – Jeremy Bonderman, Kenny Rogers, Gary Sheffield, Edgar Renteria, Todd Jones, Joel Zumaya, Dontrelle Willis, Fernando Rodney.  You get he picture!

            Look for the Javon Ringer for Heisman Trophy campaign to ratchet up this fall as the Spartans’ leading ground gainer continues his assault. He keeps winning the Big Ten offensive player of the week honors and that alone gains him a lot of press. Back-to-back 200 yards rushing games are impressive yet let’s see what he does against Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State this season.

The Tigers are finally packing a powerful 1-2 punch in their lineup with the seasons that Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez are putting together. Cabrera was hitting .295 with 36 home runs and 125 RBI at press time and a lock to be Tiger of the Year. With Maggs on track for 100 RBI, it appears that these two sluggers will be one of the best hitting combinations in recent club history. Too bad that the rest of the lineup was not able to produce at a similar clip. By the way, I still believe the Tigers may be tempted to trade Maggs in order to get a No. 1 or No. 2 starting pitcher.

Look for the Detroit community to continue its pursuit of major sporting events. The Metro Detroit Sports Commission — headed by David Beachnau — goes after showcase events such as the NCAA Final Four, NCAA Frozen Four, Super Bowl and others. Everyone here is glad to see the Final Four in 2009 and Frozen Four in 2010. Now, can we please convince the Pistons to bid on the NBA All-Star Game?

Does swimmer Michael Phelps deserve a spot in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame?  That is the question which begs to be answered. Much like Tara Lipinski, Phelps spent a period of time training for his Olympic glory while residing in our state. Yet he was not born in Michigan, did not attend school here (maybe a couple classes at U-M?) or officially reside here. His connection, as we know, was as a member of the Club Wolverine swim club. His post-Olympic training was shifted to Baltimore where he always had permanent residence. Michigan Hall of Fame guidelines allow for athletes to be considered who make a contribution to Michigan sports lore – even for a short period of time. This is a going to be a tough call yet Lipinski and boxer Muhammad Ali never got the Hall call and they trained in Michigan also.

     Purchase George Eichorn’s book, “Detroit Sports Broadcasters On the Air,” for $19.99 or less at www.amazon.com. Reach him at geichorn@yahoo.com.

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