Flint Township View

All-Star games need to go out with the trash

Fat Guy Corner



 

 

The NBA All-Star game was once again a total waste of time. I tuned in only to see what Kobe Bryant had to say in his farewell speech. I liked his little speech and decided to watch at least the first quarter. I will admit, though, that I didn’t make it through the whole quarter. All it became was a dunk contest and wide open three-balls being shot every five seconds. I thought the dunk contest and three-ball contest was the night before?

I mean, a little resistance on the defensive end would make the game more like basketball. The crowd booed Andre Drummond for attempting to play defense on a three-ball being shot. The final score was 196-173 and the Western Conference won; like anyone cares! The NBA, NHL and NFL all need to kick the All-Star games to the curb where the trash is picked up.

The Detroit Pistons have traded Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova for Orlando’s Tobias Harris. I figured Jennings would be dealt but was a little surprised Ilyasova was dealt. Tobias Harris was averaging 13.7 points and seven rebounds per game for the Magic. I can be honest here, too. I know virtually nothing about Harris as a basketball player. I will watch with anticipation and evaluate the trade a month from now to see if the trade upgraded the Pistons in their push to make the playoffs.

Waiting for the Madness

Am I the only one waiting for March Madness to begin? I do not recall a year where the NCAA Tournament has ever been this wide open. The case can be made for 15 teams who can bring home the championship. It will make filling out brackets a tough chore come March.

The Michigan State Spartans have kicked things into high gear on the hardwood. I feel as Michigan State is one of the top five teams in the country. Bryn Forbes is shooting the basketball really well right now. It seems when he is playing well, the Spartans play well. Denzel Valentine has elevated his game of late, too. The Spartys and coach Izzo absolutely love March, make no mistake about that!

The Michigan Wolverines welcomed back Caris Levert to the basketball floor from a foot injury. He did not contribute much in the Purdue game, however. Levert makes the Wolverines a better basketball team. If Michigan is to do any damage Zak Irvin needs to elevate his play on the court. He is way too inconsistent night in and night out. The quality of the Big Ten in basketball has been tremendous with teams like Maryland, Indiana, Purdue, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, and Wisconsin competing night in and night out against one another. The winner of the conference will have to earn it!

Winged wheels on a roll

The Detroit Red Wings closed out a sweet home stand of five games. Detroit took nine of a possible 10 points at the Joe. Pavel Datsyuk, the magic man, has been lighting the lamp lately giving the opposing goalies sun burn on the neck. The move by coach Jeff Blashill of putting Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel on the same line has clicked. I think those two players mesh real well on the ice and would like to see them stay on the same line for the rest of the season. I believe the playoff streak for the Red Wings will continue for another year. It will not be an easy task, though, due to parity and the congestion in the Eastern Conference. If a team suffers a three-game losing streak, they will fall out of the playoffs. Yes, it is that tight in the standings! Let’s go Hockeytown!

What in the world?!

So USA today predicted a fourth-place finish for the Detroit Tigers? Fourth place? What the heck was that writer thinking? There is no way the Cleveland Indians or Chicago White Sox finish ahead of the Tigers. Sorry, dude, I have to totally disagree with you on this one!

The Tigers’ pitchers and catchers report this week to spring training. Baseball is back, Tigers fans! Say it again…Baseball is BACK! thefatguy@mihomepaper.com


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