Hoops, Hockey, and a dash of Soccer

Pistons
More of the same for our beloved Pistons last night against Portland. For most of the game, they looked overmatched. Falling behind by a significant margin (20), the Pistons surged back to make it interesting, but it was not enough. This is the same formula for non-success they followed in away games against Toronto, Orlando, LA, and now Portland. They actually fell behind late in Washington but pulled it out thanks to Will Bynum.

The effort that was so evident against Dallas was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the consecutive losses is taking its toll. Perhaps they're just not good enough. During the first half, it seemed that Portland was toying with the Pistons. They scored at will. The Pistons had no answer for the inside strength of Pryzbilla nor the inside/outside games of Rudy Fernandez, Brandon Roy, and Piston-killer Lamarcus Aldridge. On the offensive end, Charlie V picked up three early fouls and was a non-factor in the 1st. His absence was apparent, as the Pistons had no offensive options down low. The brunt of the scoring fell on the guards. Stuckey tried to force the issue by repeatedly driving the lane, but his 6-21 shooting illustrates the lack of effectiveness. Stuckey, no doubt feeling the heat of Will Bynum breathing down his neck, is not working as a point guard. He and his teammates totaled 13 assists on the night, compared to 25 for the Trailblazers.

Bynum apparently turned his ankle against the Lakers the night before and was not able to provide much offense off the bench. In fact, he did little more than turn the ball over (4) - in a crucial stretch in the 2nd quarter when Portland seized control of the game. Compounding matters was the uneven play of Jonas Jerebko. The dude just looked completely overwhelmed much of the first half. Like Bynum, Jerebko turned it over 4 times, which is a tad shocking considering how rarely he touches the ball on the offensive end. Yet, right when I'm about to write him off as a pretty crappy player, he scores on a nice back-door cut and makes a steal on the other end. If I wasn't emotionally invested in this team, I'd say Jerebko has potential. As it stands, I still want Tayshaun back.

These games against the elite Western conference squads illustrate how far behind the Pistons truly are. They can barely compete. I mentioned a few days ago that it's difficult to figure out where Rip and Tay fit in this squad, but they clearly need all the help they can get. Neither Stuckey nor Ben Gordon had it going last night (10-33 combined). Perhaps Rip's calming influence would've helped. Tough to say... but they clearly need something. Rip and Tay aren't nearly as expendable as they looked a few days ago. And Coach Q-ster is in a bind with regard to Big Ben Wallace. When he leaves the game, the other teams invariably catch fire. His defensive presence makes that much of a difference. Even during a night when the Pistons were completely dominated, Ben's +/- was a meager -3. Maxiell, often Ben's replacement, was -14. But Big Ben is 35. He can't play 40 minutes/game. It's on the bench to be more effective. To date, only Kwame has shown any defensive aptitude among the big men.

Next up is Phoenix. Doesn't get any easier. With such a brutal stretch ahead, these guys could fall five or six games under .500 by December. I hate to be a pessimist, but they're playing a string of elite teams. They'll have to overachieve just to keep it competitive.

Wings
Just a real bad night for Jonathan Ericsson. And the refs. Much of the night, the Stars and the Wings played to a stalemate. While Dallas carried the play throughout much of the 1st and 2nd, the Wings still had their share of opportunities. In the first period, the Wings were about to kill off a Dallas power-play, when Dallas made one final push in to the zone. Brad Richards made a nifty move around Ericksson to get slightly behind the defense. He skated toward the end line and passed the puck toward the net. A sprawling Ericksson, desperate to recover, tried to block the pass. Ericksson succeeded in blocking the pass, but his deflection ended up in the back of the net.

Dallas scored a 2nd goal in the next period, but the Wings pulled one back on an awesome shot by red-hot Zetterberg. Down a goal in the third period, the Wings pressed hard. On a bizarre play with about seven minutes left, Brad May sent a backhanded shot toward the net. The Dallas goalie appeared to struggle with the puck and then the ref blew the play dead.

May shouted, "That's a goal! That's a goal!" but the flashing light never went off. On the replay, it was clear that May's shot actually did cross the line. Somehow the puck snuck inside the near post, and the Dallas goalie, Alex Auld, did his best to inconspicuously slide the puck back in play. Yet, the replay was obvious. The puck ended up in the goal. The refs were about to restart play when the replay official halted play. The refs conferred for a few minutes, as FSD's color analyst Mickey Redmond was about to have a heart attack. He did not understand what was taking so long. Clearly the video confirmed it was a goal. Then the refs made their announcement - no goal.

Why? Apparently, one of the refs "intended" to blow his whistle, stopping play, before the goal. Yet, May's shot came in the heat of the action. There was no actual reason to stop the play. This wasn't a goal mouth scramble with ten guys flailing at the puck. This was a simple shot by Brad May during the run of play. Watch the absurdity:



Folks, this makes no sense. The ref said "The whistle was blown to kill the play." Huh? When? Why? Why have replay when they choose to ignore it? Another blow to the NHL's credibility.

So, the Wings were still down 2-1. Ericksson then took a penalty, and the friggin' Stars scored of course. Lifeless, the Wings challenged little after that. Argh.

A pretty tough sports night for Detroit fans.

Soccer
Which brings me to soccer. Without going into much detail, the US played a friendly against Denmark yesterday. It was the final day of World Cup qualifying, with actual heated matches around the world. The US game was a mere blip on the radar. But, for folks like me, it held some interest. Both teams were missing key players (Donovan, Dempsey, Howard, Onyewu, Davies), but Denmark had the clear advantage early. They dominated possession and muffed a beautiful chance to score in the first few minutes. Seldom-used Jeff Cunningham of the US actually put the US on top in the 26th minute. Capitalizing on a poor Denmark clearance, Cunningham whipped a shot in from about 20 yards out. It beat the keeper near post for an improbably 1-0 US lead.

In the 2nd half, Denmark took control. Beating up on poor defending by Frankie Hejduk, Jon Spector, and Mike Bradley, Denmark finished with a commanding 3-1 win. It was downright ugly.

After the game, Alexi Lalas said that, with a full squad, the US is a truly dangerous team. Yet, without some key components, they have major problems. No depth. And this really isn't the fault of Bob Bradley. The guy has trotted out tons of players throughout his tenure. The problem is that the talent isn't there. Who can step in for Donovan? Onyewu? Cherundolo even? This team has glaring holes.

Barring a miracle recovery, Charlie Davies will not play in the World Cup, and Onyewu is also a question mark. Those two players are key cogs to the US team. Just taking those two out poses a massive problem. There's no other way to put it... injuries may have already killed the US's chances. Bradley has to find either some replacements or implement a new style of play. This late in the game, I don't see that happening. True, in sports, the unexpected happens all the time. I just wish they didn't have to always rely on lady luck.