A Case of "The Block"?

You know, the writing thing just wasn't coming to me today. Sure, the Pistons' 111-93 loss to Golden State last night raised my eyebrows. But, um... I sort of didn't watch it ("Yatta!"), so I couldn't work up much indignation. The sure-to-be brutal month of March isn't off to a good start for Detroit basketball, though.

You've had one of those days, right? Sometimes you just can't manage to do what it is you like to do. If you're a blogger, you're surely familiar with sitting at the computer, wanting to post something but nothing's getting the fingertips pumping. Even if you want to take another swing at Tommy Amaker for saying his job status isn't an issue when it's the only issue surrounding Michigan basketball right now.

On such occasions, it's probably best to just step away and let those writing cells recharge. But then I thought about my good buddy, The Daily Fungo's Mike McClary, and how he's starting up a new blog dedicated to the ballclub with the flashy new threads, your Arizona Diamondbacks.

Wait until Mike finds out the fun stuff that comes with running multiple blogs, like darker bags under your eyes, sore finger joints, chronic coffee mouth, frequent flat-butt, lingering lower back pain, and a DVR that reminds you every single night with its bloated hard drive that you're not watching TV anymore. But that might just be me.

Oh, and I'm hoping Mike devotes plenty of letters to the tangled bale of hair belonging to Mr. Eric Byrnes (who's loved in the Casselberry household for carrying one of my fantasy baseball teams to a league title last season).

By the end of the workday, I'd decided there would be no posts today. I could just copy some information from someone else and pass it off as my own stuff, like Ron Borges did, but that would just look old and musty. How many newspapers even do those "Sunday notes" columns anymore?

No, I was going to sit back with Baseball Prospectus 2007, attempt to expand my understanding of the game, and think about spending summer evenings at the CoPa (even though I never use that term).

But what if the ballpark's name changes, now that Comerica is moving its corporate headquarters from Detroit to Dallas? Will the Detroit Tigers' home have a new name/corporate sponsor? I'm guessing not, since they'll still have 7,000 employees in Michigan and approximately 23 years to go on their naming rights agreement.

I don't think anyone's a fan of corporate names on stadiums, but in Detroit, at least there was a local flavor to the ballpark's sponsor, which made it somewhat digestible. And now the name seems to reflect yet another body blow to the Michigan economy. If I wasn't fighting "The Block," I might actually write about that. But that wouldn't fill a whole post, would it? Neither would the other stuff.

My Daily Fungo seal is broken

If you're interested, my first official post at The Daily Fungo is now up for all to read.

My nine concerns for the Detroit Tigers heading into Spring Training are the subject du jour.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

All apologies

(Or "In the sun, I feel as one" - whatever Kurt Cobain meant by that.)

I meant to post a message early last week before leaving, but ran right into a deadline crunch, and found myself trying to finish a magazine article just before I had to leave for the airport.

If you've been stopping by for the past week, wondering where the hell I was, or if I joined the many who finally crapped out on blogging after giving it a good try, I apologize for not saying anything. (And I'm not even going to look at my hit counter, for fear the numbers will make me cry.) This was quite possibly the worst week in the recent sports calendar to leave the continental United States, with the Tigers in the playoffs (and beating the Yankees!), along with Michigan playing Michigan State. This is what happens when the females of the family make the arrangements. (Just kidding, ladies.)

So where'd I go? Well, I've been in Hawaii for most of the past week, spending time on the beach in Waikiki with my family, after bouncing around northern California for a bit. And only now that I'm trying to kill some time before we're set to head back did I finally find the internet station here at the Marriott.


Thanks to my tricked-out test Sprint batphone, I was able to keep up on the Tigers' fantastic (and surprisingly dominant) first-round victory over the Yankees. But most of the games were during the day out here. The rescheduled Game 2, for example, started at 7 a.m. I tried to get up and watch, but didn't have much success. It's pretty cool to wake up that early and turn on some baseball, though. (If anyone's able to keep up with sports around here - other than, say, University of Hawaii football - they must be pretty damn dedicated. Hell, I thought I was.)

Back in Michigan on Tuesday, and I'll get back on the blogging horse - or try to, after readjusting to Eastern Standard Time.

Mahalo, as the people with grass skirts and coconut breast cups say here.

(Meanwhile, did you catch me on The Daily Fungo Podcast last week? It's interesting to hear our roundtable's thoughts, compared to what's actually happened with the Tigers recently.)

Talkin' Tigers with the fellas

Thanks to Mike McClary, who graciously asked me to take part in a roundtable discussion on The Daily Fungo Podcast last week. The results are now available online for all to hear.

If you're not familiar with Mike's work, his (sometimes twice) weekly podcast (along with his daily blog) deals with all things Detroit Tigers. He does a great job, and I'm flattered he asked me to participate.

The four of us - Mike, Doug Hill, Josh Wallen, and myself - discussed the current state of the team - Can these guys take a pitch, where did Magglio's bat go, how much you payin' for playoff tickets, etc. - as they make their (blissfully) unexpected run toward postseason glory.

Twice in the past three weeks, someone has told me I sound like filmmaker Kevin Smith), so you can also chime in on that, if you'd like. (Just don't leave any "Jay"-like diatribes, okay?)

You can download or listen to the show here. It is excellent accompaniment for jogging, commuting, yard work, or generally ignoring your fellow citizens. (Anybody else love their iPod at the coffee shop?)

By the way, I swear I don't always sound as sleepy as I seem to on Mike's podcast. I was just laid-back and relaxed. And maybe with a beer in hand.

Hit by the Fungo

Thanks to The Daily Fungo for mentioning me and this sweaty blog in last week's podcast. (You can also find it here.) Definitely an unexpected surprise to hear my e-mail about his post last Wednesday (Would you trade Craig Monroe and Wil Ledezma for Shawn Green?) read "on the air."

And it's still really weird to hear my name and "Sweaty Men Endeavors" voiced out loud. Still elicits chuckles. It's like hearing my voice on an answering machine. I'll probably never get used to it.

Mike, I'm glad the blog name didn't freak you out too much. And hello to anyone else who's stopped by after hearing the podcast. I often write about the Detroit Tigers and how much I hate Kobe Bryant.

If you're a Tigers fan, you'll enjoy The Daily Fungo. Check it - and the podcast - out, if you haven't already. (And hat tips to Billfer for mentioning it at The Detroit Tigers Weblog. That's how I found it.)