Spitfires Announce the Opening of the WFCU Centre Arena Bowl

Spitfires Announce the Opening of the WFCU Centre Arena Bowl
Windsor Spitfires, PCR and the City of Windsor Announce the Opening of the WFCU Centre Arena Bowl

(Windsor) In a press conference conducted earlier today at Windsor Arena, the Windsor Spitfires, PCR and the City of Windsor announced that the arena bowl of the Windsor Family Credit Union (WFCU) Centre will be ready earlier than expected. Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis, City of Windsor Councillor Dave Brister, Paulo Collavino of PCR, Marty Komsa, President of WFCU as well as Windsor Spitfires President and Head Coach Bob Boughner were on hand to provide details for the opening of the arena bowl. The 302,000 square foot facility will be the largest recreation complex in Windsor and Essex County and will serve as the host site of all future Windsor Spitfire home games and several other entertainment events.

Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis was presented with the key to the WFCU Centre from PCR and the Windsor Spitfires announced the first game at their new home will be played on Thursday, December 11 versus the Belleville Bulls at 7:05 p.m. Spitfire season ticket holders can also pickup their season ticket booklets for games at the WFCU Centre starting Tuesday, December 2 at 10 a.m. at Windsor Arena.

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THE LIONS...WOE IS DETROIT by Drew Lane

The Lions...Woe Is Detroit.
by Drew Lane
for In Play! Magazine

Is it possible the Lions have reached an all time low in 2008? Occasionally, it is possible to look deeply into a roster destined to win two or three games and see a future based on young talent. Rookies often need to make their mistakes and “learn how to win.” This is not the case with this year’s model.

Remember Jimmy Johnson’s 1-15 Cowboys? Within a year it was not difficult to see a bright future. While the Lion’s of the Matt Millen era have fooled some, the present offers no hope for years to come. The defense is uncommonly bad, even by the Lion’s recent standards. They cough up big points early and if they need a late stand to seal the win … well, I don’t have to tell you.

It’s easy to lay it on Joe Barry but I won’t bother. Where are the promising young players years of early draft picks would normally yield? Ernie Sims has his moments but little else generates hope for a better day. A couple players have stood out as disappointments. Cory Redding signed a blockbuster contract two years ago that has yielded next to nothing. Leigh Bodden, who picked off six passes in Cleveland last year, has one of two Lion’s interceptions after nine games.

Searching the offense for future hope is equally dismal. This is an offense that has received seven first round picks in seven years, including some pricey early picks (two second picks, a third and a sixth). Comically, four of these are, or were, wideouts.

Calvin Johnson is the only one still around and undoubtedly will be the best. The other first round pick of this bunch still playing in Detroit is rookie Gosder Cherilus, who should have a question mark instead of a number on the back of his jersey. Pardon me for belaboring the obsession with wide receiver … but …a recent survey of NFL General Managers (Sports Illustrated) rated wide receiver as the second lowest priority position in round one, just ahead of punter.

Kevin Smith will not reach the heights of probably at least 10 to 12 running backs picked in the last three years. 2008 makes the second consecutive season with virtually no running game. This is unlikely to change without wholesale changes in the offensive line.

Shall we pile on by examining the quarterback situation?....

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Shock Win Third WNBA Championship in Six Years

Shock Win Third WNBA Championship in Six Years
By Steve St. Pierre
for In Play! Magazine

Despite playing through a season that included major and constant injuries, suspensions, trades and counting on rookies to carry their reserve unit, the Detroit Shock have won their third WNBA Championship in six seasons.

The Playoffs began with the Shock facing the Indiana Fever in a three-game series in which the Shock won in three games. Detroit then went on to play the New York Liberty in the Eastern Conference Finals, also winning that series in three games. Finally, they met the San Antonio Silver Stars in the WNBA Finals, a best-of-five series in which the Shock swept the first three games.

“(Our players) deserve all the credit in the world,” says Bill Laimbeer, Shock Head Coach and General Manager. “The performance we put on is quality of a (championship) team.”

“This is something that we play for all season,” adds sixth man Plenette Pierson. “This is something that you want in your career. We showed that when we play together and just did everything right, there was nobody that could stand between us.”

The Shock truly had everything going against them this season. Beginning with the starters, shooting guard Deanna Nolan played hurt the entire summer; point guard Elaine Powell missed 20 games with a foot injury; small forward Katie Smith played in the Summer Olympics in the middle of the season, having to make several adjustments both personally and professionally; and center Kara Braxton went from starting at the beginning of the season to being benched to rejoining the starters after power forward Cheryl Ford went down for a season-ending knee injury.

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The UFC Are The Kings Of Mixed Martial Arts Right Now.

The UFC Are The Kings Of Mixed Martial Arts Right Now.
By John Pollock
for In Play! Magazine

Whether you are a fan of the sport or not, when you hear the initials UFC, the images of fights, cages and the foul mouthed president Dana White instantly enter one's mind.

Today, the private company is believed to be worth well in excess of $1 billion under the ownership of Zuffa L.L.C., with interests in the company divided amongst White and casino magnates Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta. The company's worth is more astounding when one realizes that Zuffa purchased the company for a mere $2 million in 2001.

The UFC saw great success in the early 90s on pay-per-view as a spectacle sport with its mixture of fighting disciplines marketed as “Two men enter, one man leaves." Needless to say, there was no shame in its presentation.

Pay-per-view numbers aside, the UFC (then under the ownership of the Semaphore Entertainment Group or SEG) was thrown off pay-per-view through the lobbying of Arizona Senator and now Republican presidential hopeful John McCain. The company fell to such lows that when Zuffa came along with their $2 million offer, SEG was more than happy to cash out.

It was not a straight road to prosperity. Zuffa nearly sold the company after losses of $44 million over their first four years of operation from 2001 to 2004.

The saving grace for the company came in the form of a TV deal with Spike TV, the ballsy American cable network looking to compliment their prime property, World Wrestling Entertainment. With the blessing of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, Spike debuted “The Ultimate Fighter” on January 18, 2005.

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Hocktoberfest...A Spooktacular Success!!!

Hocktoberfest...A Spooktacular Success!!!
By Bob Bellacicco
for In Play! Magazine

Two years of hard work paid off for the organizers of Hocktoberfest, the largest female hockey tournament ever hosted in Essex-County.

“We’re still in shock. The feedback we’re getting is positive. People are writing in thanking us for providing them with competitive games, great officiating and a great tournament overall. We’re beaming with pride and thanking everyone” says Cathy Murphy, one of the tournament organizers.

Murphy praised the co-operative effort put forth by the City of Windsor, Town of Tecumseh and the Town of LaSalle in providing arenas to accommodate the tournament. She also cited the help of a large group of volunteers.

“We sent out posters last year. 170 people signed up.” Murphy continues, “A lot of the people that came out to help weren’t even involved in hockey.”

“It was a huge step for women’s hockey and the area” says Murphy. “I think we’re going to see more teams on board. More Europeans that’s for sure. I’m looking forward to next year.”

Murphy says that plans for next year’s event began the day this year’s festival started. She estimates that the local economy received a 3.5 million dollar boost from the tournament.

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OHL’s Best Coming to Windsor

OHL’s Best Coming to Windsor
by Matt Dumouchelle
for In Play! Magazine

The Ontario Hockey League’s youngest stars are coming to the League’s youngest arena in February.

The Windsor Spitfires will play host to the 2009 OHL All Star Classic from February 2nd to 4th at the brand new WFCU Centre, but the game is only part of what will be an exciting weekend at the new rink.

The Spitfires will be hosting several events around the All Star Classic, including a skills competition between the representatives of the Eastern and Western Conference, a half-time concert and an OHL Alumni game featuring former NHL stars and Spitfires alumni on February 3rd.

The event will also feature a party zone at the WFCU Centre for two days, a special All Star Luncheon on February 4th at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts, followed by a Skate with the Spits later that evening.

It’s been a long time since Windsor hosted the OHL’s mid-season classic, 30 years in fact, and there’s no denying the WFCU Centre was a huge draw for the OHL Board of Governors to select the site for 2009.

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Special night puts bow on exceptional '07-'08 season

Special night puts bow on exceptional '07-'08 season
By: Michael Niziolek

Cover photo by Jack Rosenberg
for In Play! Magazine

"It was exciting for us, of all the celebrations we've had since we won it's kind of the climax of it all," Red Wings' Goalie Chris Osgood says. "For us it was just awesome seeing the banner go up and you know you should never take things like that for granted. It's very very hard to win in this league."

That was the sentiment throughout the Red Wings' locker room on opening night and even their 3-2 loss to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs following their championship celebration couldn't dampen Detroit's sprits.

Opening night festivities included a new NHL promotion called NHL Rocks which included a Def Leppard concert at the Fox Theatre, raising the championship banner to rafters at the Joe and celebrating the franchise's 11th championship with a sell-out crowd of Red Wings' fans and alumni including Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsey, Alex Delvecchio and Dennis Hextall.

Mickey Redmond and Ken Daniels narrated the ceremony, with music accompaniment from the Wayne State Symphony Orchestra, taking players and fans through highlights of last season's Stanley Cup run, along with video packages of Detroit's award winners from last season.

All seven trophies Red Wings' players received last year were on the ice, with the Stanley Cup taking center stage, creating an impressive display of hardware.

The real highlights of the night were the banner raising and presentation. The Red Wings' alumni on hand and a group of fans dubbed the "Citizens of Hockeytown" brought the banner out and presented it to the current Wings for them to raise into history.

"When the banner was coming out and going up I got goose bumps," left winger Tomas Holmstrom says.

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#16 Dave (Jack) Hanson...Old Time Hockey At Its Best!

#16 Dave (Jack) Hanson...Old Time Hockey At Its Best!
By: Michael Niziolek
for In Play! Magazine

“Slap Shot” was just a job during the offseason for Dave Hanson who played #16 Jack Hanson of the Hanson Brothers in the cult classic Slapshot, before that he was a hockey player and well traveled one at that. After his role in the sports comedy he continued his ten-year playing career racking up 300 points and nearly 3,000 penalty minutes.

Hanson jokes that even though the movie stared three good looking, intelligent guys he and his friends Steve and Jeff Carlson had no idea the film would become arguably the greatest sports movie ever made.

Now, thirty years later, Hanson is telling tales about his career, the film and its sequels in his book “Slap Shot Original: The Man, The Foil, The Legend.” In-Play! Magazine got a chance to catch up with Dave before his tour to talk to him about the book, movie and hockey.

IP: Let’s start out with the book “Slap Shot Original: The Man, The Foil, The Legend” - why did you decide to write it?

DH: I got a call a few years ago from a writer out in Minneapolis who was writing a book about the code of hockey. It had to do with fighting in the game, how players approach it and what they think about it. After we got done speaking, through the interview process with him, he was like geez you got some stories you ought to put in writing.

I laughed it off, but as time went on I started thinking about it and I thought it might be a fun thing to do. I had no idea how to approach it, but I figured I would just start at the seed and continue through till now. That’s kind of how I wrote and Triumph Books outside of Chicago liked the idea and decided to publish it for me. I had no idea where it was going to go, but I just tried to go chronologically through when I was born, through my childhood, my hockey playing career, the movie was part of that, and to now.

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Behind the Scenes Spotlight: Al Sobotka

Behind the Scenes Spotlight: Al Sobotka
By: Michael Niziolek
for In Play! Magazine

Not many building managers have developed into cult heroes, but with his Zamboni driving and Octopus twirling Al Sobotka, Building Operations Manager for Olympia Entertainment, has become a hugely popular figure for Red Wings' fans.

For 38 seasons Sobotka has been part of Olympia Entertainment and after graduating high school in 1971 worked his way over the years from the midnight cleaning shift to building manager overseeing…well everything.

"I'm in charge of the ice - putting that in, maintenance of it. All the people that are hired to clean the building, painting, things like that," Sobotka explains. "Hundreds of little things every day."

For Sobotka, and his crew, the day starts at around nine in the morning getting the ice ready for the morning skate by both the Red Wings and visiting team than repeating the process after practice. Sometimes they will even have a show or event in-between that they'll have to clean up after.

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SPARTANS BASKING IN THE GLOW OF PROPER DECISIONS

SPARTANS BASKING IN THE GLOW OF PROPER DECISIONS
By Fred Heumann
for In Play! Magazine

(EAST LANSING) - Tom Izzo has been an icon at Michigan State for some time now, but even his remarkable presence in East Lansing was not enough to shed the image of a University in athletic disarray.

Enter the two Marks.

First it was Mark Dantonio, and then it was Mark Hollis.

Dantonio was happily molding a program at the University of Cincinnati when he was wooed and eventually hired by Hollis, then the MSU Athletic Director in waiting(with Izzo’s help & blessing).

“I remember contacting Mark (Dantonio) when we first had interest in him,” Hollis recently recalled. “He told us he wasn’t interested in even talking to us until his season was over.”

Perhaps it was then that the powers that be at MSU realized they had their man. While George Perles, Nick Saban, John L. Smith & company may have all been fine coaches in their own right, had a similar call been made to any of them during any stage of their coaching careers, they would have hired a human slingshot to get to town and check out the new opportunity.

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Pistons Begin Curry Era With A Changing Of The Guard

Pistons Begin Curry Era With A Changing Of The Guard
by Steve St. Pierre


The Pistons are on a mission to prove to their fans that they still have what it takes to compete for an NBA Championship.

They came into this season with only one significant change in the hiring of Michael Curry, Pistons Head Coach. Fans voiced their displeasure after the team produced only minor changes to the roster. That was until Nov. 3, when the franchise announced its acquisition of superstar guard Allen Iverson.

Coming over from the Denver Nuggets, Iverson was traded in exchange for guard Chauncey Billups, forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheikh Samb. McDyess is expected to be released by Denver and could re-sign with Detroit following a 30-day wait.

“We are pleased to welcome Allen Iverson to the Pistons organization,” says Joe Dumars, Pistons President. “Allen has proven he is one of the elite players in the league and we like what he adds to our roster at the guard position.”

With Billups vacating the starting point guard spot, Iverson is expected to step right into the role and should have little trouble establishing himself as the new face of the franchise. The Pistons are also excited about the debut of Curry, who appears to have already won over his players with his philosophies and approach to the game.

“I have gotten nothing but positive feedback from each and every (player) about playing for our new coach,” Dumars says.

“Michael Curry is more of an in-your-face type of coach…” adds forward Amir Johnson. “…If you don’t play hard, you come down and sit on the bench.”

Prior to the Iverson deal, the team had made only minor changes. Since drafting rookie Walter Sharpe in June, the Pistons signed only reserve free agents, inking guard Will Bynum, center Kwame Brown and re-signing forward Walter Herrmann and guard Alex Acker. Detroit also announced contract extensions for veterans Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo, Jason Maxiell and Rip Hamilton.

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9 Weeks, 9 Losses, Four Quarterbacks, Two Blackouts and Zero Wins…

9 Weeks, 9 Losses, Four Quarterbacks, Two Blackouts and Zero Wins…
By: Michael Niziolek

Despite some progress towards the end of October, the Lions took a huge step backward against the Jacksonville Jaguars in November losing their third game at home this season by more than 20 points.

The Lions got manhandled on both the offensive line (giving up seven sacks) and defensive line (giving up 150 yards) by the sub .500 Jaguars. The Lions used two quarterbacks, Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton, but neither was able to show anything approaching consistency.

In just his first week with the Lions, Culpepper was thrown into the fire after QB Dan Orlovsky was ruled out during the week because a hand injury he suffered against the Chicago Bears in Week 9. Culpepper rebounded after an early interception, but only managed five completions for 104 yards.

His one highlight came on a 51-yard strike to Calvin Johnson, but a 31 point deficit led to Stanton replacing him in the fourth quarter. Stanton's big moment came earlier in the game when he replaced Culpepper on a goal line situation and threw his first NFL touchdown. In the fourth quarter he led the Lions on one drive down the field, but struggled with avoiding pressure and was sacked five times.

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Plymouth Whalers Head Coach Steps Down

Breaking News in Plymouth!

By Sean Baligian

Nov-10 - 5:37pm

The Plymouth Whalers, off to a 6-11-2 start, have announced that Greg Stefan has stepped down as the Coach of the club, and G.M Mike Vellucci will step back into the Coaching role for the club. Vellucci, who resigned after 29 games last year to concentrate solely on the GM aspect of the job, had much success as the Whalers Head man from 2001-2007 compiling a 246-132-37-22 record and a .630 winning percentage. Vellucci was also Coach of the 2007 OHL Champs, and was the first American-Born Coach to win the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHL Coach of the year in 2007 as well.

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Daunte Culpepper, Optimistic After Jags Game...Maybe Too.

Daunte Culpepper, Optimistic After Jags Game...Maybe Too.

Daunte Culpepper offered up his thoughts on his first game with the Detroit Lions and here is what he had to say, "It was definitely not the outcome I wanted. We didn't win. That's the main goal-is winning. I think we have some things we can build on, and I think as far as personally, I feel I made some mistakes, but I had some good things happen. It's a working process.

Culpepper continues “Like I said before, I knew-I understand and understood how tough it is to come and play the game of football when you're working in the same system for the whole off-season-so to come in quickly was tough but I was up to the challenge. As far as the team goes, I think there are some good things that we definitely can build on so with that I have to keep myself to be positive-positive attitude and keep moving forward."

If you were wondering why Culpepper was pulled when the Lions neared the goal line Culpepper explains, "No, no it was a plan-we had a plan. We have some different plays and different tricks against the certain defensive fronts. They wanted to put (Drew) Stanton in because he has been here the whole time. We knew inside the 5-yard line that he was going to come in, so that was the point-so that's why I came out the first time."

When prompted as to what he feels needs to change around the Lions locker room Culpepper says, "I think winning is an attitude, and I think when every single person has that attitude that no matter what-don't look at the scoreboard, scoreboard doesn't matter. When you're down or up, you play until the game is over. When you have that attitude, that's when you win a lot of games, and that is when you are successful. I think that's what I am going to continue to harp-don't look at the scoreboard, scoreboard doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. If we're up or down, it doesn't matter. We have to keep playing through, and keep wanting to be successful every play in and play out."

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Lions Game Nine, Isn’t So Fine

Lions Game Nine, Isn’t So Fine

Well it’s another game in the books and still nothing has changed, well there’s a new quarterback but still, nothing has changed. The Detroit Lions are 0-9.

After the game Head Coach Rod Marinelli gave the media his post game report.

"Just a couple injury updates; Dewayne White had a calf early in the game and pulled it, so obviously he didn't play the rest of the game. Jared DeVries; hand; as of right now, it may require surgery. I'm not quite sure yet. Keith Smith; groin, and Mike Furrey had a mild concussion early in the game.

Marinelli goes on to give us his synopsis of the game as he saw it.

"I take my hat off to Jacksonville. They're a very, very physical team and they ran the ball very well on us with about three or four runs and did a nice job with their play action and we couldn't get enough snaps for our offense and that's where we're at."

When asked further about DeVries’ injury and if it was possibly fractured Marinelli says, "Right now they've got to go get it x-rayed. They feel it was."

Marinelli talked a little bit about the Jags defense and this is what he had to say, "They ran three or four plays; power with a ream inside against under and then we kicked our end from a six to a five and they pushed it and were able to get the backside guard up and through. They did a good job standing on our feet and pushing and then they run what we call a smart-belly, where it starts to the weak side and they bring the fullback on the way back and try to force on the backside end. And we got a forced; we've got to make sure our fallback players are falling back inside and we struggled doing that and their backs ran extremely hard and we had some chances to man-up on them and hit them and we fell off some tackles."

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2009 NHL ALL-STAR GAME VOTING HERE

2009 NHL ALL-STAR GAME VOTING HERE

NEW YORK (Nov. 4, 2008)

Six players from the All-Star host Montreal Canadiens -- goaltender Carey Price, defensemen Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek plus forwards Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev and Alex Tanguay -- have been named to the ballot in XM/NHL All-Star Fan Balloting presented by 2K Sports. The Canadiens' ballot representation is tied with the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings for the most among NHL clubs.

The Canadiens, who captured the Eastern Conference regular-season championship in 2007-08 and have compiled a searing 8-1-1 start to this season, will host the 2009 NHL All-Star festivities in January as part of their year-long Centennial celebration.

The 104-player ballot features 23 players under the age of 25. Ten of those players are making their first career appearance on the ballot: Dustin Brown, Los Angeles (24); Brent Burns, Minnesota, (23); Mike Green (23) and Alexander Semin (24), Washington; Patrick Kane (19) and Jonathan Toews (20), Chicago; Zach Parise, New Jersey, (24); Price, Montreal, (21); Mike Richards, Philadelphia, (23) and Shea Weber, Nashville, (23).
Voting opens Nov. 12.

Link to article and voting link

MIGUEL CABRERA NAMED TIGER OF THE YEAR

Photo by Jack Rosenberg

MIGUEL CABRERA NAMED TIGER OF THE YEAR BY THE DETROIT
CHAPTER OF THE BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

DETROIT – First baseman Miguel Cabrera has been selected as the Tiger of the Year for 2008 in voting by the Detroit
Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Cabrera batted .292 (180x616) with 36 doubles, two triples, 37 home runs and 127 RBI in his first season with the Tigers.

He led the American League with the 37 home runs, becoming the first Tigers player to lead the league in home runs since
Cecil Fielder tied for the lead with 44 home runs in 1991.

He tied for the league lead with 331 total bases, while he finished third with 127 RBI, fifth with 75 extra-base hits and seventh with a .537 slugging percentage. According to STATS, Inc., his 127 RBI marked the third-highest total by a Tigers player in his first season with the club, trailing Dale Alexander’s 137 RBI in 1929 and Cecil Fielder’s 132 RBI in
1990.

Cabrera was twice tabbed American League Player of the Week during the 2008 season. He shared the honor with Manny Ramirez during the week of April 14-20, while earning the honor outright during the week of July 21-27. He was also named American League Player of the Month during July after batting .330 (35x106) with 15 runs scored, six doubles, eight home runs and 31 RBI in 25 games during the month.

List of winners from 1965

LIONS SIGN QB DAUNTE CULPEPPER

LIONS SIGN QB DAUNTE CULPEPPER

Allen Park, Mich.—The Detroit Lions announced today that they have signed QB Daunte Culpepper to a two-year deal. No other terms of his contact were disclosed.

Culpepper (6-4, 260), a three-time Pro Bowler (2001, 2004 and 2005), brings his veteran experience of nine previous NFL seasons and his productivity to the Lions quarterback position. He arrives in Detroit after spending the 2007 season with Oakland, 2006 with Miami and the first seven seasons of his career with Minnesota. Overall, he has completed 1,867-of-2,927 passes for 22,422 yards and 142 touchdowns, and he has registered a career passer rating of 89.9. Among passers with 1,500 career attempts, he ranks sixth all-time in completion percentage (63.8) and seventh all-time in passer rating (89.9). Culpepper has 20 career 300-yard passing games, and he has thrown for two-or-more touchdowns 41 times and three-or-more touchdowns 20 times.

From 2000, Culpepper’s first season as the starting quarterback for the Vikings, through 2004, Culpepper was among the elite passers in the NFL. During those five seasons, Culpepper was third in touchdown passes (129), third in passing yards (18,598) and third in passing rating (93.2). Culpepper threw 53 touchdown passes to WR Randy Moss from 2000-04, which was second-most for any quarterback-receiver combination in the league behind QB Peyton Manning and WR Marvin Harrison (63).

Culpepper made an immediate impact in his first year as a starter in 2001. He led the team to an 11-5 regular season and a berth in the NFC Championship game. That season, Culpepper completed 297-of-474 passes (62.7) for 3,937 yards and 33 touchdowns as he earned his first Pro Bowl selection.

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GALARRAGA NAMED TIGERS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

GALARRAGA NAMED TIGERS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Photo by Jack Rosenberg

Detroit Sports Broadcasters’ Association Tabs Righthander as Tigers Top Rookie

DETROIT – Detroit Tigers righthanded pitcher Armando Galarraga was named the Tigers Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters’ Association today.

Galarraga led all American League rookie pitchers with 13 wins and 126 strikeouts, while he was third with a 3.73 ERA (178.2IP/74ER) during his first season with the Tigers. He ranked second among all league pitcherswith a .226 batting average against and 7.66 hits per nine innings.
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