Happy Hour 02/28: Non Sequitur Shots

♦ According to John Heuser of the Ann Arbor News, Steve Breaston's NFL Draft stock is rising, and Alan Branch's could be falling. David Harris and Leon Hall also impressed the scouts, while Prescott Burgess looked slow.

♦ As I've mentioned before, Dr. Lil' Sis' boyfriend is a huge University of Tennessee fan, so I got a reminder to watch last night's big game vs. Florida (which I might have watched anyway, since it was on right after Michigan-Michigan State) because Pat Summit was going to do something in response to Bruce Pearl's bizarro body paint bonanza.

I'm not saying I'd like to see it every night, but Summit leading the crowd in "Rocky Top" while dressed in a cheerleader outfit was pretty amusing. Again, it's just fun to see coaches who don't always take everything so damn seriously.

♦ Would Mark Cuban be the best or worst thing to happen to Major League Baseball if he bought the Chicago Cubs? I just watched a profile of him on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, and admire that he refuses to sit upright with his feet placed together in David Stern's classroom. I'd love to see what sort of innovations and energy he could bring to baseball. However, it seems like the dude could be spreading himself awfully thin if he does this.

♦ Did you see MELblog's list of the top five Michigan running backs of the 1990s? I don't think I have any argument. But after reading that list, I'm still baffled that Tyrone Wheatley and Tim Biakabutuka had such terribly disappointing NFL careers.

♦ Speaking of lists, shouldn't there be at least one athlete in the top 10 at Mancrush.com? Or is it just too soon after the whole John Amaechi-Tim Hardaway uproar? (via Pop Candy)

♦ Would you watch a sports version of Best Week Ever? According to The Big Lead, that might be what ESPN has cooking. I think it sounds like a terrible idea. Fox Sports Net kind of already tried that with The Sports List, which was rather awful (despite getting to check out Summer Sanders) and lasted only a month.

Here's what it would come down to for me: I don't care what some slapdick stand-up comedian I've never heard of thinks of that week's Yankees-Red Sox series. If I want sports humor or snark, there are at least 25 places to find that on the internet. Now if ESPN was going to have sports bloggers on that show, that'd be a different story...

Happy Hour 02/07: Detroit Pistons Shots!

[Hey, it's Happy Hour in Hawaii right now, okay? So I spent the day avoiding all this National Signing Day ruckus...]

♦ I know the Celtics have been historically terrible this season, but I finally got to witness the brutality myself last night against the Pistons. And throughout the entire game, all I could think about was how much I used to hate the Boston Celtics. My loathing of Bird, McHale, Parish, and most definitely Danny Ainge was a key formative influence for me as a sports fan.

I don't even know who these guys are right now. But I do know they pissed me off last night for not being the team worthy of my formerly white-hot hatred. Aingie, you're doing a heckuva job.

♦ Best post-game quote? "Yeah," said Richard Hamilton, when asked if he could relate to the Celtics' losing streak. "My rookie year in Washington we only won (19) games. That ain't cool." No, sir!

♦ Surely you have read this already (especially since I'm doing this so late), and perhaps multiple times, but if you haven't, Detroit Bad Boys posted a tremendous interview yesterday with Detroit Free Press Pistons beat writer Krista Jahnke. If you want to know what it's like to cover a team on a daily basis (plus, being the new kid on that particular block), she provides some insight for you.

In my limited amount of sportswriting experience, I've seen several beat reporters in action, and I'm confident I could not do that job. That is tough work on deadline, man. I can only imagine the stress they feel some nights.

♦ On a more personal note, I also root for Krista Jahnke because on the couple of occasions I've interacted with her, she's been pretty damn cool with me. Back when I wrote about sports on my personal blog, (and before we had blogs like Detroit Bad Boys and Need4Sheed to show us the way), she interviewed me for a Freep piece on Pistons bloggers before Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your view), I was cut from the final article.

And back in October, when I wrote a Pistons season preview for Motor City Sports Magazine, Krista was one of several writers and analysts who took the time to give me some good stuff for my article. I remember underlining her comment about the Pistons "being so arrogantly man-to-man" on defense several times. (She rightly predicted how the Flip Murray signing would work out, too.)

♦ Over at ESPN.com, Ben Wallace is among John Hollinger's 15 most disappointing NBA players (subscription required). Yeah, that's a shame. Somewhere in Auburn Hills, Joe Dumars might be kicking back with a "Man, I look smarter every day on that one!" cigar.

Happy Hour 01/30: Do a Non Sequitur Shot!

♦ Why does it feel so wrong to giggle incessantly at Deadspin's in-depth coverage of Super Bowl XLI, which they're calling "Negro Bowl I"? (In partnership with The Assimilated Negro, of course.) And the graphic is #@$%ing hilarious.

♦ According to Phil Rosenthal in today's Chicago Tribune, a local radio station ran a feature on a suburban man who apparently looks like Bears coach Lovie Smith. Man, why didn't I think of that last year when the Tigers were in the World Series? I totally look like Jim Leyland... on the radio, anyway. (Via Romenesko)

♦ Have you laughed at anything Bill Simmons has written from Miami so far? (Okay, maybe I'm a little bitter he didn't come to Detroit last year. Still - the funny man ain't making me chuckle.)

♦ Did you know about Jason Maxiell's snack of choice? Neither did I, until Detroit Bad Boys enlightened me. I'm wearing one of these t-shirts next time I visit either of many friends who have recently spawned children.

♦ Will I go to fewer Tigers games this summer if virtually all of them are televised? (Just like in other cities - whoo-hoo!) I'm saying no right now, because nothing beats a warm summer night at the ballpark. Yet I know the power that a television and recliner hold over me when the alternative is money for tickets and parking, and a 40-minute drive to Detroit? No! No, I will not be that kind of baseball fan. I will not be that kind of sports fan.

♦ So 161 Tigers games on local TV, eh?

♦ Mike McClary (on whose podcast I will soon be appearing, according to sources) wants Todd Helton to wear the Olde English D. Now that the Rockies' deal with Boston fell through, should the Tigers look at putting together such a package? Still keepin' it alive, Mike?

♦ I was afraid to write anything about Barbaro, in lieu of his euthanization yesterday. It's not that I was going to crack jokes; I just didn't give a $#!+. Michael Wilbon basically echoed my thoughts on "PTI," saying he didn't understand the mourning, but he recognized it. Deep down, however, I probably feel much like T.J. Simers does. (Via The Big Lead)