Detroit needs its sports more than ever

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Terry Foster:

Detroit needs its sports more than ever

AUBURN HILLS -- Happy New Year!

Or better yet Happy to a great 2008.

The NBA focused on the Palace of Auburn Hills Saturday night, where the out-of-control Celtics took on the out-of-control Pistons, a matchup between the two best teams in the Eastern Conference.

The only shame of this delicious matchup is that it was overshadowed by the NFL's wild card weekend. But that's OK. There is plenty more where this came from.

The Red Wings are challenging for the Stanley Cup Finals. The Tigers' everyday lineup is as good as anybody's in Major League Baseball and the Pistons are title contenders again.

Michigan State is Final Four material in men's basketball, Michigan's football program is in a rebirth and Michigan State's football program appears to be headed in the right direction.

There will be plenty to cheer and little to jeer as we enter a new sports calendar.

This is a community that gets dumped on a lot and is ignored even more. But my guess is the media kings in New York are going to get off their duffs and find their way to Metro Airport in Romulus.

Detroit and Boston are the places to be.

It will be a year we sorely need. When you step outside our sports arenas and stadiums things are not going very well. The foreclosure rate is hitting the roof; we read of layoffs every other week and I cannot tell you how many parties I've been to in the past two years where somebody under the age of 25 is saying so long to Michigan and hello to better opportunity elsewhere.

Sports needed escape

It gets depressing when we emerge from our sports fantasies and face the real world. The other day I ducked into a sports bar on Southfield Road in Allen Park and a guy followed me out to talk.

He said the place used to boom when the factories were roaring. He took a buyout, and now his buddies stop by now and then for lunch to talk about the good old days and the Detroit sports scene.

"Sports are what keeps us sane," he said.

I felt for the guy and I was thinking of him while writing this column.

Rivalry returns

I hope he enjoys the unfolding story between the Celtics and Pistons. There is friction between UConn alumni Rip Hamilton and Ray Allen, and Antonio McDyess is no fan of Kevin Garnett. This isn't to say we are going to see the second coming of the Celtics and Pistons of the 1980s, when sharp elbows and big punches between Robert Parish, Bill Laimbeer, Isiah Thomas and Larry Bird were commonplace.

If you were a Pistons fan you hated the Celtics. And I am sure the feeling was mutual. The dastardly Celtics used to turn the heat up in their cramped dressing room just to make things more uncomfortable.

Former Pistons coach Chuck Daly still gets hives when he thinks about the rocky path the Pistons took to finally unseat the Celtics as kings of the East.

"They were so good that when things started to get close it turned into hate," Daly said. "It made me sick to see what Bird was allowed to do as a basketball player. It got more tense and tense and tense. It led to some fights because of the rivalry."

Magic at Comerica

This summer two more rivalries will heat up. It will be fashionable to hate the Red Sox and Indians. Both stand in the way of the Tigers becoming the class of baseball. The great thing about the Indian series is that fans from both cities make the 2 1/2 hour drive because they could be witnessing history.

Trips to Comerica Park should be a joy. The infield includes the newly acquired Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria along with Carlos Guillen and Placido Polanco. If Gary Sheffield is healthy and bullpen can hold up there are going to be plenty of meaningful games for the third straight season.

We got a sneak preview of what Michigan football can be. The Wolverines were bold and daring during a 41-35 victory over Florida in the Capital One Bowl. New coach Rich Rodriguez is one who likes to press the envelope and it will be interesting to see how old Blue takes to his new way.

There is also hope in East Lansing where coach Mark Dantonio seems have the Spartans on the upswing.

The great thing about this winter is you rarely see the Wings and Pistons lose. Of course there will be bad days and bad slumps. However, our local teams will overcome them.

And for the guys I met who are out of work, none of this will make your lives perfect. But at least you have something to enjoy until you are back on your feet again.

Enjoy.

Terry Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.

GO DETROIT SPORTS!