By George Eichorn (First published Feb. 19, 2009 in The Detroit Monitor) 

            Don’t look now but the Detroit Pistons are in danger of missing the NBA playoffs. Should they continue to play as bad as they have of late coach Michael Curry and his club could slip from among the eight Eastern Conference teams that enter post-season play in April. Do I think this will happen? No. It’s high time for the veterans on this team – Rip Hamilton, Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, etc., — to kick up their game a notch and deliver more victories.

            The Red Wings it appears are letting goaltenders Chris Osgood and Ty Conklin duel it out to see which one is better prepared to start in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Every time I think Ozzie is ready to reclaim the No. 1 spot in the nets, he seems to fail. Now, I’d put my money on Conklin to get the call come post-season. He seems more poised and with six shutouts already this season, has a way to slam the door on the opposition when he wants to. You need that type of goalie in the playoffs.

            Baseball is back!  Glad to hear the glowing weather and workout reports from sunny Lakeland, Florida, as the Tigers prepare for the grueling 162-game season by warming up down south. The team, under manager Jim Leyland, is getting positive reports thus far on injured players from 2008 such as pitchers Jeremy Bonderman and Joel Zumaya. It’s very early and the Grapefruit League exhibition season has yet to begin so let’s be cautious about getting too hyped about the Tigers’ chances.

            The Lions continue to be coy about their draft plans in April – that’s okay by me. You really do not need the NFL world to find out what you’re going to do with the overall No. 1 selection. Keep everyone guessing is my mantra. The upcoming combines in Indianapolis could go a long way to helping general manager Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz decide whether to take a quarterback, defensive lineman or to trade the top pick for more value. Play it safe, Lions brass, and listen to all offers you get. Then weigh all your options please.

            Glad to see that the Michigan State Spartans are “rewarding” their fans by raising their ticket prices. Okay, I will be kinder. It is unreasonable to raise ticket prices during an economy as depressed as the one in Michigan. Yet MSU officials hiked football ducats by three dollars the other day to counter rising athletic department operating costs. With sellout crowds week after week at Spartan Stadium expect little or no drop-off in ticket sales to students and alumni. Credit back-to-back bowl appearances by coach Mark Dantonio and a run in 2008 for the Big Ten title for MSU football enthusiasm.

            The Pistons announced their sell-out streak at the Palace was ended. Big news?  Hardly, in my book. Every time I went out to Auburn Hills lately, members of the media would chat about the banks of empty seats even though public address announcer Mason would tell the audience that it was another Palace sell-out crowd. It appeared to us reporters that there were unsold tickets long before the official word that the streak was over. We’ll never be able to prove it.

            It’s sad to see the cancellation of the Detroit Grand Prix on Labor Day weekend on Belle Isle. Again, the area’s sour economy played a huge role in Roger Penske’s decision to call off the big event for 2009. He hopes to get “back on track” in 2010 should things turn around. With no Indy Car race on Belle Isle or at Michigan International Speedway, you need to travel to Ohio or Toronto, Ontario, to get a glimpse of Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick in ’09.

            The Daytona 500 is history and hardly one for the record books. Weather forced NASCAR officials at the speedway to halt the race with Matt Kenseth declared the winner. I noticed that neither the Detroit Free Press nor Detroit News bothered to send a reporter to one of the greatest races in the world. One guess why — money. Yet they have plenty of dough to send three or four reporters and photographers to nearby Lakeland to see the Tigers run sprints. Come on, racing is very big in Michigan and to readers of the two major dailies here.

            Was I surprised that A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez, admitted to using steroids when he was a member of the Texas Rangers? No. His credibility is obviously now shot and perhaps too his chance to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. What a sad commentary when many of the greats of the game in this era may now be shut out of entering the Hall – A-Rod, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa.

            Paul Woods of the Red Wings Radio Network (WXYT-FM) did a solid job in filling in recently for the ailing Ken Kal on the team’s recent broadcasts. Kal is stricken almost every season in seems by a case of laryngitis, as was the case last season during the deciding Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Wings and Penguins in Pittsburgh. On that occasion it was television announcer Ken Daniels who filled in for Kal. Recall that Daniels than gave the microphone back to Kal to call the deciding last few seconds of the Red Wings’ 11^th Stanley Cup championship. Classy act by Daniels.

            Sorry to hear the news from Englewood, Florida that legendary horse racing announcer Jack Riggs had passed away. Jack was an honorary lifetime member of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association and called races masterfully throughout the United States and Canada, notably at Northville Downs and Hazel Park Raceway. His wife Shirley is suggesting donations in Jack’s memory to the DSBA scholarship (grant) fund at DSBA, P.O. Box 1222, Warren, MI 48090-1222.

            On a personal note, longtime City of Detroit employee and this reporter’s father-in-law, Richard Seguin, has passed away at 78. I will miss talking sports and watching games with my “Dad”…he loved his Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, Pistons, Wolverines and all the weekend golf tournaments too. Oh yes, he allowed me to marry a very special daughter of his also. We’ll miss you, Dad. Hit them long and straight on that manicured course in heaven!

Reach George Eichorn at geichorn@yahoo.com or write to him at 33490 Groesbeck, Fraser, MI 48026. Buy his book, “Detroit Sports Broadcasters On the Air” for $19.99 at www.barnesandnoble.com.

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