The Pistons and Wings both blew chunks last night. After praising the Wings effort a few days ago, they go out and turn the puck over countless times, allowing easy goals for a struggling Duck team. Shows what I know. To make matter worse, the Pistons' Chris Wilcox exploded in the first half last night, with something like 4 straight dunks. The Pistons still lost, of course, but Wilcox was impressive. It's the reverse of the NoFrownMotown curse. Pistons face San Antonio tonight. Losing streak will surely hit 11.
Now, on to more pressing matters... reliving the worst sports moments of 2009!!!
Top 7 Worst Moments of 2009
7. Losing Hossa/Kopecky/Hudler/Samuelsson/Conklin
Nobody expected the Wings to keep everybody. The major contracts due Zetterberg and Franzen prevented it. Yet, who foresaw this massive exodus? In one short week, the Wings' reputation took a major hit. The rest of the NHL was hoping the Wings would fall from their pedestal, but, as a fan, with players like Z and Pavel still in their prime, we thought they'd have a few more stellar years. Without those solid role players and the star talent of Hossa, the Wings came crashing down to Earth.
6. Cabrera's Night Out
Man, this one sucked. On the eve of the biggest game of the year, Cabrera parties with the opponent, gets completely trashed, goes home at 6am, hits his wife, and ends up in jail. Helluva way to prepare. The Tigers, of course, lose. Cabrera is a young player who was on his way to becoming a massive star in Detroit. This one event likely sullied his reputation beyond repair. Detroit fans can forgive losing, but they don't forgive wasted talent (and I do mean "wasted").
5. Granderson/Jackson Trade
There's no better way to kill optimism than to trade away the team's most popular player. Despite just falling short of the playoffs, Dombrowski completely pulled the plug on the immediate future by shipping off Granderson and the #2 pitcher, Edwin Jackson. If the prospects fulfill their potential, they'll likely be no better than Granderson and Jackson, so, at best, this trade is a net-zero. So why do it? Cuz it saves the team millions of dollars. Fans won't care. They want wins, or at least a plan for the future. The Tigers will be a hard sell on both accounts next season.
4. The Tigers Final Month
Impending sense of dread. We all felt it. Despite leading the division all season, we all knew the Tigers would find a way to blow it. And blow it they did... in record fashion. The Twins caught fire and finished the year 17-4. The Tigers received absolutely no help from the Twins' opposition (specifically the Royals) who offered zero resistance. In fact, the only team to challenge the Twins in that stretch was the Tigers, accounting for 3 of the Twins' 4 losses. The Tigers played roughly .500 ball in the final month, but it was just enough to force a playoff. The Tigers had an early lead (teasing) before the Twins tied it late. Then the Tigers took a lead in extra innings (teasing) before the Twins tied it again. Then the Tigers put a runner on third with 1 out (teasing) but they couldn't sacrifice him home and the Twins won it easily the next time at bat. In hindsight, it was the least enjoyable winning season I've ever experienced, capped off by a truly historic choke. Ah, memories. What could possibly be worse than this one?
3. Iverson
It's truly difficult not to blame Iverson for the complete dismantling of a dynasty. Prior to his arrival, the Pistons went to five straight Eastern Conference Finals. After his arrival, team chemistry plummeted, and they slid below .500. Dumars blew up the roster in the offseason, and the Pistons now find themselves as the worst team in the NBA. In hindsight, the Iverson trade ruined both the Pistons franchise and AI's career. He was doing well in Denver, scoring 20+/game. Now, his confidence is shot, and he's lucky to be collecting a paycheck. With all that said, it's not AI who destroyed the Pistons. It's poor planning by Dumars and sheer bad luck. But AI - and to some extent Darko - serve as the face of the downfall.
2. Game 7
Everybody knows that the home team wins Game 7. Everybody also knows that teams never come back from 2 games down in a Best-of-Seven series. Well, apparently the Penguins didn't know it. They flew into Detroit and completely shut down the high-flying and confident Wings, depriving Detroit fans of their one remaining source of pride. Overhyped Sidney Crosby fared poorly in the series and fared even worse by not shaking Lidstrom's hand afterward. It was just more salt in the wound. It's difficult to know the long-term effect of the Game 7 loss, but the Wings have struggled ever since. They were just one game from being Stanley Cup Champions, and yet now - a mere 6 months later - they find themselves OUT of the playoffs. It was a brutal blow to come so close only to lose, but at least it was better than...
1. 0-16
Embarrassment on a national scale. Most Lion fans spent the '08-'09 in a daze. Some actually cheered for the 16th loss just to prove the Lions could accomplish something. And probably the worst thing to happen to Detroit sports since Bird stealing the ball. The Lions' infamy will last a lifetime and beyond. They'll forever be the team that went 0-16. It will follow them around like a fart that never fades. It was such a bad season, that it was beyond laughable. It became surreal. It was perfection... perfection in reverse.
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