Greatest Detroit Sports Moments #8: Hello Heisman! (1991)

Desmond Howard experienced a magical season in 1991. He capped it off with a 93-yard punt return for a
touchdown against Ohio State. After finishing the run, Howard struck a familiar pose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxpoqP9PkqM&p=C8C09D8737ECEB33&playnext=1&index=26

Greatest Detroit Sports Moment #9: Charles Woodson's INT vs. MSU (1997)

This is the sweeting interception you will ever see. Of course MSU would be the opponent!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z09R3uZinGs

All Time Michigan Wolverines Defense and Special Teams

DE- LaMarr Woodley (2003-06)

DE- Victor Hobson (1999-2002)

DT- Mark Messner (1985-88)

DT- Chris Hutchinson (1989-92)

DT- Mike Hammerstein (1982-85)

DT- Alvin Wistert (1947-49)

NG- Otto Pommerening (1927-28)

LB- Jarrett Irons (1993-96)

LB- Steve Morrison (1990-94)

LB- Erick Anderson (1989-91)

LB- Larry Foote (1998-2001)

LB- Ron Simpkins (1976-79)

CB- Marlin Jackson (2001-04)

CB- Charles Woodson (1995-97)

CB- Ty Law (1992-94)

S- Dave Brown (1972-74)

S- Tripp Melbourne (1987-90)

K- Mike Gillette (1985-88)

KR- Desmond Howard (1989-91)

P- Monte Robbins (1984-87)

Coach- Bo Schembechler (1969-89)

All Time Michigan Wolverines Offensive Unit

C- Gerald Ford (1932-34)

C- Germany Schulz (1904-05; 1907-08)

OG- Steve Hutchinson (1997-2001)

OG- Reggie McKenzie (1969-71)

OG- Albert Benbrook (1908-10)

OT- Dan Dierdorf (1968-70)

OT- Jumbo Elliott (1984-87)

OT- Greg Skrepenak (1988-91)

OT- Jake Long (2003-06)

QB- Bennie Friedman (1923-26)

QB- Jim Harbaugh (1982-86)

QB- Rick Leach (1975-78)

RB- Tom Harmon (1938-40)

RB- Tyrone Wheatley (1991-94)

FB- Willie Heston (1901-04)

WR- Bennie Oosterbaan (1924-28)

WR- Anthony Carter (1979-82)

WR- Braylon Edwards (2001-04)

WR- John Kolesar (1985-88)

TE- Ron Kramer (1953-56)

Michigan Games of the Decade for the Aughts #1-10

1. Red Wings: 2 Avalanche: 0 (May 29, 2002): The Statue of Liberty. The Avs led the Wings 3-2 in the Western Conference Finals. Brendan Shanahan shot the puck at Patrick Roy. The flighty Avs goalie tried to olay the puck and held it up as a trophy. Only problem was he did not have the puck and it slid into the net. Darren McCarty added a second goal and the Wings forced Game 7. Detroit won Game 7 by a touchdown and ended Colorado’s reign of terror. The Avs have not been the same since. Roy would play one more year before retiring.

2. Red Wings: 3 Penguins: 2 (June 4, 2008): Stanley Cup Finals Game 6. In Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Wings led the Pens 2-1 in the third period. Henrik Zetterberg scored at the 7:36 mark of the third to ice the game. Marian Hossa scored late to make it 3-2, but Pittsburgh ran out of time. The Wings won their 11th Stanley Cup and Sydney Crosby cried. Hahaha.

3. Tigers: 6 A’s: 3 (October 14, 2006): ALCS Game 4. The Tigers led the A’s 3-0 in the ALCS. The A’s jumped to a 3-0 lead on Jeremy Bonderman. Bondo battled and kept the Tigers in the game. After 6, the game was tied 3-3. In the 9th, Magglio Ordonez hit his second homer of the game. It was a 3-run pennant winning walk-off. The Tigers won their first pennant since 1984.

4. Red Wings: 3 Hurricanes: 2 (3OT) (June 8, 2002): Stanley Cup Finals Game 3. Detroit lost game 1 to Carolina in overtime. They won game 2 to even the series. Game 3 proved pivotal. It went three overtimes before Igor Larianov scored the game winner. It was his second of the game. Detroit dominated the next two games to win their 10th Stanley Cup.

5. Twins: 6 Tigers: 5 (12 innings) (October 6, 2009): Game 163. This could have been the best game of the decade had the Tigers won. This game had everything. Rick Porcello pitched his heart out. The game turned when Brandon Inge was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, but it was not called. The Twins went on to lose the LDS while the Tigers retooled.

6. Spartans: 67 Jayhawks: 62 (March 27, 2009): NCAA Tournament. Kalin Lucas scored seven points in the final 49 seconds as Michigan State defeated the defending champion Kansas Jayhawks. Goran Suton scored 20. MSU rallied from a 13 point deficit to win. MSU made the finals after beating #15 Robert Morris, #10 USC, defending champion Kansas, #1 Louisville, and #1 Connecticut. They ran the gauntlet and then fell to North Carolina in the final.

7. Penguins: 4 Red Wings: 3 (June 2, 2008): Stanley Cup Finals Game 5. Wings were seconds away from Stanley Cup #11 and gave up the game tying goal. The Pens scored in the third overtime to send the series to a 6th game. I hate Pittsburgh.

8. Pistons: 100 Lakers: 87 (June 15, 2004): NBA Finals Game 5. The Pistons won their third NBA Championship by defeating the Lakers in 5 games. This series was not that close as the Lakers imploded and the NBA could not do anything to throw the games to Shaq and Kobe. Larry Brown became the first coach to win a NCAA title and a NBA title. Chauncey Billups won the Finals MVP Award.

9. Chippewas: 29 Spartans: 27 (September 12, 2009): Once again, CMU defeats the Spartans in East Lansing. MSU pulled a MSU with stupid penalties sealing the Chip victory!

10. Wolverines: 41 Gators: 35 (January 1, 2008): The Citrus Bowl. The Wolverines beat the defending national champion Gators and Tim Tebow in Lloyd Carr’s last game. It was the end of an era. The Schembechler coaching tree seemingly came to an end and Chad Henne and Michael Hart graduated.

Michigan Games of the Decade for the Aughts #11-20

11. Spartans: 89 Gators: 76 (April 3, 2000): Michigan State won their first NCAA title since 1979 behind the Flintstones and Tom Izzo. Mateen Cleaves was the tournament’s outstanding player. Mo Peterson led the Spartans with 21.

12. Tigers: 8 Yankees: 3 (October 7, 2006): Game 4 ALDS. Jeremy Bonderman was perfect through 5 and the Tigers dominated the Yankees in the game and the series. He went 8 1/3 and Jamie Walker finished up. Magglio Ordonez and Craig Monroe homered for Detroit. The Tigers won their first playoff series since 1984.

13. Tigers: 4 Brewers: 0 (June 12, 2007): Justin Verlander no-hit the Brewers and struck out 12. He was simply dominating. It was the Tigers first no-no since 1984.

14. Buckeyes: 42 Wolverines: 39 (November 18, 2006): Both teams entered the game undefeated and in the national title hunt. Bo Schembechler died the night before the game and the Michigan program has never been the same. Ohio State held on for a 3 point win in Columbus and went onto get creamed by Florida in the National Championship game.

15. Wolverines: 35 Crimson Tide: 34 (OT) (January 1, 2000): The Orange Bowl. Alabama had a two touchdown lead twice in the game. Tom Brady rallied Michigan to tie the score at 28. In overtime, Michigan scored a touchdown. Alabama followed suit, but missed the extra point. Michigan wins.

16. Spartans: 26 Wolverines: 24 (November 3, 2001): The Clock Game. T.J. Duckett ran for 211 yards and Charles “Pass the Dutchie” Rodgers scored a TD in the Spartan win. Michigan led 24-20 with 2 minutes to go. Michigan State ran out the clock, but that did not stop Michigan State. The clock operator took his sweet time and MSU somehow had 1 second to go after time expired. The Spartans scored on a Smoker to Duckett TD pass.

17. Wildcats: 54 Wolverines: 51 (November 4, 2000): This was NOT an overtime game. U of M and Northwestern combined for 1189 yards of offense in the wildest Big Ten game I can remember.

18. Wolverines: 45 Spartans: 37 (3 OT) (October 30, 2004): Michigan trailed 27-10 in the fourth quarter and rallied to send the game to overtime. They had scoring drives of 15 seconds and 14 seconds. Michigan won in the third overtime on a Braylon Edwards touchdown and then got the two point conversion.

19. Spartans: 41 Wildcats: 38 (October 21, 2006): Northwestern led 38-3 in the third quarter. MSU scored 38 straight to win. It was the greatest comeback in Big Ten history.

20. Lions: 38 Browns: 37 (November 22, 2009): Matt Stafford threw for 422 yards and 5 TDs and Calvin Johnson had 161 yards receiving and a TD. The Browns took a pass interference penalty and then called timeout. The TO gave an injured Stafford a chance to return to the game. With no time on the clock, he threw the game-tying touchdown. Jason Hanson won the game with the point after.

Michigan Games of the Decade for the Aughts #21-25

21. Red Wings: 2 Flames: 1 (2OT) (April 22, 2007): The Red Wings knock off the Flames in double overtime and win the first round playoff series. Johan Frazen scored the winner. In Game 5, Flames goalie Jamie McLennan slashed Frazen in the stomach. He was suspended, but Frazen got revenge by eliminating Calgary. Silly Canadians!

22. Indiana: 97 Pistons: 82 (November 19, 2004): The Malice at the Palace. The game itself was not memorable. However, Ron Artest started a brawl. Pacers players attacked fans and fans tried fighting Pacers players. One of the crazier incidents we will ever see. Somehow Detroit got the blame for that idiot Artest's actions.

23. AL: 7 NL: 5 (July 12, 2005): Detroit hosted the MLB All Star Game. AL won in a ho-hum game.

24. Spurs: 96 Pistons: 95 (OT) (June 19, 2005): Game 5 NBA Finals. The first four games were blowouts. Detroit had this and then Sheed missed his assignment. Horry scores. Pistons lose in 7. That was a turning point in Piston history.

25. Appalachian State: 34 Michigan: 32 (September 1, 2007): This might be the most embarrassing loss in Division 1 history. Wait...Richrod engineered a loss to a worse team (Toledo) the following year...

Quotes of the Month: February 2010

Quote of the Month: "That girl, for me, is a drug. And drugs aren't good for you if you do lots of them. Yeah, that girl is like crack cocaine to me. Sexually it was crazy. That's all I'll say. It was like napalm, sexual napalm."


-John Mayer on Jessica Simpson

Stupid Quote of the Month: "These 'Snowpocalypses' that have been going through D.C. and other weather events are precisely what climate scientists have been predicting, fearing, and anticipating because of global warming ... In fact you could argue these storms are not evidence of a lack of global warming, but evidence of global warming."

-Dylan Ratigan on how colder weather is evidence of global warming.

And the rest:

“Fucking retarded.”

-Rahm Emmanuel after hearing that liberal special interests would target Democrats that opposed health care reform.

“I’m all for full disclosure, but not the full monty.”

-Evan Bayh on posing nude

“Remember the old song, ‘Mickey’s Monkey’? Well, this is Jimmy’s Johnson.”

-Tony Kornheiser on Jimmy Johnson becoming a pitch man for Extenze.

“She looks like a Holden Caulfield fantasy " when she wore a skirt he described as "way too short for somebody in her 40s or maybe early 50s by now. She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body. I know she's very good, and I'm not supposed to be critical of ESPN... But Hannah Storm today? Come on now. Stop. What are you doing?"

-Tony Kornheiser (again) on Hannah Storm (who looks better at 47 than she did at 27)

“The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it.”

From The Catcher in the Rye (Holden Caulfield is the main character in the book)

“I am in control here.”

-Alexander Haig (1924-2010)

"I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems. On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving."

-Elton John

“We like Rich Rodriguez. Stay as long as you like.”

-MSU fan

"I was really disappointed that these guys came with their Eurotrash game."

-Olympic Hockey Analyst Mike Milbury on the Russian team’s 7-3 loss to Canada.

"I have missed the Kentucky-South Carolina game that started at 9:00, and it's the only redeeming chance we had to beat South Carolina since they're the only team that has beat Kentucky this year,"

-Jim Bunning on why he refused unanimous consent to renew emergency unemployment

Greatest Games of the 1990s: #1-10

1. Red Wings: 6 Avalanche: 5 (OT) (March 26, 1997): During Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals, one of the universe’s greatest Assholes, Claude Lemieux, crosschecked Kris Draper into the boards. He broke Draper’s jaw. Almost a year later, the brawl. They played three times since the incident without any problems. On March 26, the Wings went on a vendetta ride. Darren McCartey beat the hell out of Lemieux, who turtled. Av goalie Patrick Roy skated down to help his teammate when he received a check from Brendan Shanahan. Adam Foote and Shanny fought it out while Roy was beaten to a pulp by Wings’ goalie Mike Vernon. Igor Larianov and Peter Forsberg paired up and Forsberg suffered an injury and did not return to the game. The game went into overtime and the Wings won on a goal from Darren McCarty. The two teams brawled again in April, 1998. In that contest, Patrick Roy was once again pummeled by a Red Wing Goalie. This time, it was Chris Osgood. Both were tossed from the game. The Wings won 2-0. However, the first brawl marked a turning point. It fueled the Wings and propelled them to two straight Stanley Cups.

2. Red Wings: 2 Flyers: 1 (June 7, 1997): The Red Wings swept Philadelphia’s Legion of Doom (renamed Legion of Broom) out of the finals. In Game 4, Darren McCarty scored the game winner in the second period. It was the first Stanley Cup for the Wings in 42 years. Unlike the 1984 Tiger celebration which turned into a riot, the Red Wing celebration was akin to the celebrations following the end of World War II. People poured into the streets and celebrated peacefully.

3. Red Wings: 1 Blues: 0 (2OT) (May 17, 1996): The Wings and Blues had gone to Game 7. Game 7 went to overtime. Yzerman vs. Gretzky. The Wings won 62 regular season games, but fell behind 3-2 in the series to Gretzky. They forced Game 7 and then neither team could score for 81 minutes. Yzerman scores and the Wings win. Nationally, this is probably the game of the decade for the NHL.

4. Pistons: 92 Trail Blazers: 90 (June 14, 1990): 007. The Pistons had not won in Portland in an eon and then swept three straight during the Finals. Vinnie Johnson capped off Game 5 with a 15 foot jumper that won the game and the World Title for the Pistons with 0.007 left on the clock.

5. Red Wings: 4 Capitals: 1 (June 16, 1998): The Red Wings won their second consecutive Stanley Cup, and 10th overall, over the Washington Capitals. The Wings celebrated with Vlad Kostantinov and Sergei Mnatsakanov who had been severely injured in a limo crash the year before.

6. Michigan: 21 Washington State: 16 (January 1, 1998): Michigan wins the Rose Bowl and their first National Title since 1948. WSU coach’s response after his team lost, “Michigan is #1. They’re getting my vote.”

7. Tigers: 8 Royals: 2 (September 27, 1999): Final Game at Tiger Stadium. Although they did not need a new park when Illitch acquired the Tigers, his neglect of the stadium made one a necessity. The Tigers beat the Royals 8-2 in the final game in which players donned the numbers of former Tiger greats. Following the game, former Tigers players, led by Mark Fidrych, marched to their former positions.

8. Lions: 21 Rams: 10 (November 17, 1991): The Lions were 6-4 going into the Rams game. During the game, right guard Mike Utley was paralyzed. As he was wheeled off the field, he gave the crowd a thumbs-up. The team did not lose another game until the NFC Championship Game against Dallas.

9. Michigan: 31 Ohio State: 3 (November 23, 1991): Michigan dominated Ohio State. The Des had 223 all-purpose yards and scored a TD on a 93 yard punt return. Howard clinched the Heisman and struck the pose. This is probably the most iconic moment in Detroit sports since Kirk Gibson rounded the bases in the 1984 World Series.

10. Michigan: 20 Ohio State: 14 (November 22, 1997): Michigan denied OSU undefeated seasons in 1993, 1995, and 1996. Ohio State looked for revenge. Instead, they got Charles Woodson.

Greatest Games of the 1990s: #11-20

11. Lions: 38 Cowboys: 6 (January 5, 1992): At this point, people asked whether the Lions or Cowboys would be the next great team in the NFL. This was the high point for the Detroit Lions since 1957. Behind Eric Kramer, they won their first playoff game since Bobby Layne.

12. Wolverines: 31 Buckeyes: 23 (November 25, 1995): #2 Ohio State was undefeated, then came Tim Biakabutuka and his 313 yards. Michigan also wrecked OSU’s season in 1993 and 1996. hehe

13. North Carolina: 77 Michigan: 71 (April 5 1993): TIME OUT!

14. Lions: 13 Jets: 10 (December 21, 1997): The Lions make the playoffs and Barry hits 2000 yards. For the game, Sanders had 184 yards rushing and a TD.

15. Tigers: 10 Yankees: 3 (October 3, 1991): No one had hit 50 homers in a season since George Foster in 1978. Cecil Fielder belted #50 and 51 in this blowout. He should have been AL MVP, but lost to Rickey. His accomplishment is largely forgotten because of the numbers the roid heads put up in the steroid era

16. Colorado: 28 Michigan: 27 (September 24, 1994): The Miracle at Michigan. I missed this game and caught the highlights on TV after returning from the library.

17. Packers: 28 Lions: 24 (January 8, 1994): NFC Wild Card Game. Favre to Sharpe. Lions led 24-21 with 55 seconds to go. The worst Lions loss of my lifetime. The Wild Card Packers beat the Central Champions Lions and moved onto lose to Dallas the next week.

18. Lions: 44 Vikings: 38 (Thanksgiving, 1995): The Lions had 534 yards of total offense and Scott Mitchell threw for 410 yards and 4 Touchdowns. Three players, Johnny Morton, Brett Perriman, and Herman Moore all had over 100 receiving yards.

19. Lions: 19 Steelers: 16 (Thanksgiving, 1998): The Steelers and Lions went into overtime. The officials muffed the coin toss. The Lions got the ball after losing the toss and won the game.

20. CMU: 20 MSU: 3 (September 14, 1991): If you put the two MSU scores from 1991 and 1992 together, they still lose in 1992.

Predictions 2010

Here are my fearless predictions for the coming year....

Afghan War: Afghan surge is successful.


The Economy: China collapses the world economy. Hello 1932!!!

Iran: The Iranian Mullahs are overthrown. Goodbye Islamic Republic of Iran!

Europe: Tensions over immigration leads to race riots. Meanwhile, the economic downturn and government cutbacks lead to leftist rioting.

American Elections: GOP gains 30 House Seats and 6 in the Senate; California governorship, Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, and Chris Dodd lose

Technology: Blu Ray collapses as a result of the economy, computer downloads, and old school DVDs.

Entertainment: Someone dies trying to get on a reality TV show. The genre will collapse this decade.

University of Michigan: Rich Rodriguez will be fired.

Sports: The NY Yankees will have one of the great seasons in sports history.

Greatest Games in Michigan History: 1970s #1-10

1. Michigan State: 75 Indiana State: 64 (March 26, 1979): The game that changed basketball. It began the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Their popularity and skills changed the NBA as they joined the two most important franchises. Before Magic and Larry, the NBA Finals were played on tape delay at midnight. A decade later, it was in prime time and the NBA and NCAA experienced amazing growth.

2. American League: 6 National League: 4 (July 13, 1971): The 1971 All Star Game. At Tiger Stadium, six Hall of Famers homered in the game, Mickey Lolich, Bill Freehan, Norm Cash, and Al Kaline all played for the AL. Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson, and Harmon Killebrew homered. Reggie Jackson’s homer hit the power transformer.

3. Tigers: 5 Yankees: 1 (June 28, 1976): The Bird Game. On Monday Night Baseball, Mark Fidrych dominated the Yankees. Rusty Staub homered in the victory. The Bird would win the Rookie of the Year, 19 games, start the All-Star Game, finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting, led the majors in ERA, pitched into extra innings five times, and then blew his arm out in 1977 while playing in the outfield.

4. USC: 17 Michigan: 10 (January 1, 1979): Charles White scored a touchdown while on the 1 yard line on a fumble recovered by the Wolverines and Michigan lost another Rose Bowl in bizarre fashion.

5. UM: 10 Ohio State:10 (November 24, 1973): Both teams entered the game unbeaten. The winner went to the Rose Bowl. They tied 10-10. Big Ten Athletic Directors gave the Rose Bowl to Ohio State. Bo howled. UM quarterback Denny Franklin was injured and the Big Ten wanted to send the team most likely to win, so OSU went. Michigan blamed MSU for this, but the balloting was secret.

6. A’s: 2 Tigers:1 (October 12, 1972): ALCS Game 5. Billy Martin benched Willie Horton and a bad call led to an Oakland run. It was a farewell for this generation of Tigers. All that remained was to play out their careers, reach milestones, and wait for Morris, Parrish, Gibson, Whitaker, and Trammell.

7. Orioles: 5 Tigers: 4 (September 24, 1974): Al Kaline got his 3000th hit. Too bad the team couldn't win for him.

8. Cowboys: 5 Lions: 0 (December 26, 1970): Detroit went 10-4 and won the Wild Card. The Lions had a great defense, but their offense could not score against the Cowboys. Dallas went to the Superbowl and the Lions went home for over a decade.

9. Red Sox: 8 Tigers: 6 (September 9, 1977): The Tigers rapped out 16 hits in a 8-6 loss. Oh yeah, Lou and Tram made their debuts.

10. Lions: 17 Broncos: 14 (Thanksgiving 1978): The Doug English Game. English sacked Craig Morton 4 times and the Lions defense dominated the defending AFC champs.

Greatest Games in Michigan History: 1970s #11-20

11. Michigan: 10 Ohio State: 7 (November 21, 1971): Michigan capped off an undefeated regular season with a 10-7 win against Ohio State. Then came the Rose Bowl…

12. Tigers win by forfeit (July 12, 1979): Disco Demolition Night. Chicago DJ Steve Dahl sensed an anti-disco backlash and hooked up with crazy White Sox owner Bill Veeck and his son Mike for a special promotion between games of a doubleheader with the Tigers. They blew up disco records, chanted disco sucks, and a riot broke out. The Tigers won the second game because the Sox could not restore order.

13. Buffalo: 27 Lions: 14 (Thanksgiving, 1976): OJ Simpson of White Bronco fame ran for 273 yards on Turkey Day. Lions lose.

14. Denver: 31 Lions: 27 (Thanksgiving, 1974): The Lions final game at Tiger Stadium was a loss to Denver.

15. Indiana: 86 Michigan: 68 (March 29, 1976): Michigan made an amazing tournament run in 1976 and made it all the way to the finals. In the finals, they met one of the greatest teams of all time. Indiana finished 32-0. It was the first time two teams from the same conference met in the NCAA Finals.

16. Pistons: 139 Nuggets: 137 (April 9, 1978): David Thompson scores 73 vs. Pistons. Thompson and George Gervin were in a tight race for the scoring title. Gervin needed 58 to win and scored 63. Thompson lost the NBA scoring title to Gervin 27.22- 27.15.

17. Red Wings: 8 Maple Leafs: 1 (March 27, 1973): Mickey Redmond scores 50 goals. At the time, he was the seventh player in league history and the first Wing to do so. Mickey also broke Gordie Howe’s team record of 49 goals in a season. Mickey had come over from Montreal, “The year before I was traded, I had 27 goals,” he said. “Scoring 27 in Montreal, on what amounted to my first (full) year -- that to me was very important with that team. A 30-goal season in those days was considered a very good season.”

18. MSU: 43 Purdue: 10 (October 30, 1971): Eric Allen rushes for a ridiculous 350 yards in the Spartan victory.

19. CMU: 54 Delaware: 14 (December 14, 1974): Central Michigan wins the National Championship. Yes, it was Division II, but a title is a title.

20. Detroit: 116 Buffalo Braves: 109 (March 17, 1974): Pistons win 50 for first time in history.