The Detroit Free Press has organized some of their best photos of our favorite Detroit Sports Legends and Moments. Very cool! You can check out many photos including Justin Verlander’s No-Hitter, the Fab Five, the Best of Pistons-Bulls Rivalry, and even Joey Harrington (for lots of great sack photos!).

Visit freep.com/sportsphotos to check them out!

Above photo by the Detroit Free Press

Found this link over at Deadspin. It’s a look at the relationship between Detroit Shock coach Bill Laimbeer and his players as they try to defend their 2006 WNBA Championship. The Shock are off to a 4-0 start this season.

Read Aggressive, Infuriating and Successful at the New York Times

The Detroit News has compiled a list of the Top Michigan athletes by jersey number. Check it out and let them know of any they missed…

Read Top 99 Athletes in the Detroit News

My View: Here’s some of my favorite jersey numbers from the list above…

#20 - Billy Sims is the main reason, but Barry Sanders has something to do with it too.

#19 - My all-time favorite Red Wing.

#52 - Hey, she’s from Leelanau County, plus she’s a great player!

#11 & #4 - They will always be together in my book as the duo led the Pistons to their first two titles.

#3 - My all-time favorite Tiger.

Sorry for the lack of posts, alot of the Detroit Sports Blogs I visit seem to have hit the same wall, namely postseason baseball! The Tigers have taken up lots of my spare time and along with the regular everyday busy life the blog has suffered. Nevertheless, here’s my thoughts on the current state of Detroit Sports!

Detroit Tigers - WOW! and WOW! Everyone in northern Michigan seems to be buzzing with World Series fever as the Tigers get set to face the Cardinals/Mets winner. I am pulling for the Cards because their offense doesn’t seem as scary. I know, I know, what about Pujols? He is scary, but I think top to bottom the Mets lineup is stronger. Plus I would love to see a Leyland vs. LaRussa World Series. I know, they don’t actually play, but seeing them match wits head to head would be alot of fun.

I will be travelling down to the Motor City this weekend, no tickets unfortunately, but will probably try to cruise down and check out the craziness that will be at Comerica Park. I can’t wait to see it!

Check out lots of Detroit Tigers Info at Absolute Michigan

Detroit Lions - Lost in World Series fever is the fact that our beloved Lions won their first game of the season. Coach Rod Marinelli was awarded the game ball and he deserves it. I know it doesn’t show up in the overall record, but I am seeing some good things out of our Detroit Lions. They have been competitive in every game but one, and could easily be .500 with a break here or there. I think Marinelli will get this turned around, despite Millen’s goofs and I expect a playoff team possibly next season, but for sure in Marinelli Season 3.

Detroit Pistons - I have seen lots of positive press about Jason Maxiell and I have to say I am excited about the upcoming Pistons season. They will miss Big Ben, but this team will score more and be much better offensively, which might be necessary as the “D” might be down from what Pistons fans have seen the last few seasons. Either way, the Pistons will contend for the Eastern crown.

Detroit Red Wings - I will admit, haven’t really given much attention to the Wings yet, but once the World Series is over, they will be back on my radar.

Detroit Shock - Their second WNBA Title came without much of a word from me, so for that I must apologize. Congrats! I keep wondering why no NBA team has made Bill Laimbeer an NBA coach!

Michigan Wolverines - #3 in the BCS and could be setting things up for a #1 vs. #2 matchup when they travel to Ohio State. That’s something I have been predicting all along and now it’s beginning to look like I may have finally been right about something.

Michigan State Spartans - After the Illinois loss, I have been down on my Spartans. Now 3-4 and clinging to a possible bowl bid, they are through the worst of the schedule. I don’t know if there’s enough left in the tank, but John L. will give it his best shot.

That’s a quick look into the mind, not much going on as you can tell, but I will try to post more frequently and will try to snag some photos from my Detroit trip.

Go Tigers!*

*From what I can tell this is the new way to say Good-bye in northern Michigan!

Cheryl Ford grabbed a postseason-record 23 boards to help lead the Detroit Shock to a 70-59 win over the Connecticut Sun. Games 2 and 3 of the best-of-three series are in Connecticut. Deanna Nolan was the high scorer with 21 points as the Shock look to advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time since their 2003 Championship.

Read Ford puts Detroit in the driver’s seat at Yahoo! Sports

The Detroit Shock open the WNBA Playoffs on the road against the Indiana Fever tonight. The Shock finished 2nd in the East and the Fever 3rd to setup this very good first round best-of-3 matchup. The teams split four games this season each winning both on their home court, so the home court advantage could be big in this series.

Here’s some quotes heading into the game…

“It’s going to be nice to have home court again,” said Shock guard Deanna Nolan, whose team has been eliminated in the first round in each of the last two seasons. “It’s been a long time.”

“I think we’re fairly evenly matched,” Fever coach Brian Winters said. “The teams that rebounds and goes to the free-throw line the most is probably going to win the series.”

Read Shock/Fever Preview at Yahoo! Sports
Read Shock Game Notes at the Shock Official Site [Adobe PDF]

Chicago Sky rookie Liz Shimek has been getting more minutes as of late and producing. The Sky fell to the Phoenix Mercury 90-70, but Shimek played 16 mintues grabbed 4 rebounds, scored 3 points, dished out 4 assists and blocked 2 shots. Not a bad night. The Sky currently own the league’s worst record with only 4 wins and 24 losses, but that should give Shimek plenty of opportunities to show what she can do.

See Liz’s Line in the Box Score
View Liz Shimek Photos at Yahoo! Sports

Liz Shimek earned one of thirteen roster spots on the Chicago Sky for the 2006 WNBA season. Shimek didn’t play in game 1, a 83-82 win over the Charlotte Sting.

Read Liz Shimek’s Bio at WBNA.com

Former Laker and Spartan star Liz Shimek is now on her third WNBA team, the expansion Chicago Sky. After being drafted by Phoenix, she was traded to Houston and now dealt to Chicago. Tomorrow is the roster deadline for WNBA teams and the Sky are expected to have a roster of 11 or 12. They currently have 14 players on their roster.

Read Shimek hopes to land with Chicago in the Record Eagle

The Record Eagle’s Jeff Peek caught up with Liz Shimek to talk about her thoughts on the WNBA draft and how she is looking towards the upcoming season.

Read Shimek ready to learn in the Record Eagle

It was a crazy day for Liz Shimek but in the end it all worked out as she is in the WNBA and a member of the Houston Comets.

Here’s what the official site of the Houston Comets says about their draft…

Entering Wednesday’s draft, the Houston Comets had three picks among the top-30 selections. They finished Wednesday with four players selected in the top-30 headlined by Michigan State’s Liz Shimek.

Read Houston Comets Add Four in 2006 Draft at WNBA.com
Official Site of the Houston Comets
Read Drafted, then dealt in the Record Eagle

In what is becoming a crazy day for Liz Shimek, the Phoenix Mercury have traded Shimek (18th pick) and Mistie Williams (21st pick) to Houston for the (15th pick) Ann Strother.

Welcome to the wacky world of the WNBA Draft!

The Phoenix Mercury drafted Glen Lake grad Liz Shimek with the 18th pick overall (2nd round) of the 2006 WNBA draft. Congrats to Liz as she joins a young team that includes former UConn star Diana Taurasi and center Kamila Vodichkova.

See the entire draft board.

Liz Shimek has had amazing high school and college careers and now looks to add a pro basketball career to her resume. The 2006 WNBA Draft is set for 1 PM today and Shimek is expected to go in the late first round. Shimek scored 9 points and grabbed 6 boards in 20 minutes of action at the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp on Monday.

Follow the 2006 WNBA Draft at WNBA.com
Read Liz Shimek’s Draft Profile at WNBA.com
Read Shimek awaits draft call in the Record Eagle

Shimek also was named an honorable mention All-American for the second straight year.

Read Liz Shimek Earns Honorable Mention All-America Honors at MSUSpartans.com