Artest Rumors Are Bogus
It is funny how time changes things. A few years ago Ron Artest was mud in this town. Everybody hated him and said his actions at The Palace were unforgiveable. Artest broke one of the cardinal rules of sports. An athlete is never, ever supposed to go into the stands. Well he did in November of 2004 and started a brawl that gave the Pistons, the NBA, the Indiana Pacers and all of sports a black eye. People rightly wanted him banned from Detroit. The funny thing is a number of fans were willing to welcome Artest back when ridiculous rumors surfaced from Sacramento that the Pistons are one of four teams interested in Artest. These fans were willing to forgive and forget. One man who is not willing to forgive is Pistons owner Bill Davidson. I cannot imagine him giving team president Joe Dumars the thumbs-up to bring this man to town. Artest attacked Davidson's customers and fan base. He brought shame to his organization and will probably do it again if he played here. Davidson cannot be that desperate to jump start this franchise because he risks losing credibility if he OKs such a move. Artest is intriguing. His game is tempting. But you are getting a lot more headaches than the Pistons can handle. Let me steal a line from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. It won't happen. It won't happen. It won't happen. I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.
War and Peace
It is funny how a household can turn so quickly.
Saturday should have been 24 hours of bliss for the Foster family. My daughter Celine's soccer team won a 3v3 tournament in Livonia and my son Brandon not only cheered her every move, but he refused to leave the bench area because he wanted to be close to his sister and support her.
He didn't mind the heat or the rain showers that blew through. It was a day of bliss for our family.
After the tournament we went for ice cream and the girls chatted away about the tournament. Brandon was happy too and he was proud of his sister and the medal she won.
The car ride home was great also. Then chaos replaced calm.
Less than five minutes at home Celine came running naked up the stars crying and Brandon went into his room and slammed the door. The ghosts of our home caused Brandon to punch Celine and she in turn spit on him.
The dispute came out of no where and no one can explain how or why it happened. It just happened.
It is one of the mysteries of having children. They love and then they loathe. It happens quite often. However, this turn of events was so quick and unexpected it even had dad scratching his head.
And guess what? Less than 10 minutes later Brandon lay on Celine's bed as she showed off her medal.
Go figure.
I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494. Also listen to the Valenti and Foster Show from 2-6 p.m. on 97.1 FM The Ticket.Tiger Stadium Fundraiser
The rubble is beginning to pile up around Tiger Stadium. If you drive by you can see the outfield as the stands are being torn down.
Some people have not given up the idea of keeping part of Tiger Stadium upright. The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy is holding a fundraiser tonight (6:30-10 p.m.) at the Anchor Bar on Fort Street downtown. The cover is $10 and there will be a live band and fans are encouraged to speak with members of the group.
You can also visit SaveTigerStadium.org.
Magazine cover unfortunate
Certainly you've heard about The New Yorker magazine cover: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are pictured in the White House giving one another a fist bump with the American flag burning in the fireplace underneath a photo of Osama bin Laden.
We all know it is satire but it has fueled fears that many harbor about Obama.
These fears are real. A few weeks ago I spoke at length with a woman who told me that Obama is Muslim and that he is going to invite every terrorist in the Middle East to take over the White House and our country.
I told her that these fears were ridiculous but she said she had proof from some Web site. There was no way to convince her otherwise.
Ever since the 2001 terrorist attacks on our country, our fears have grown so out of control that we associate Muslims with terrorism. We have folks going out of their way to say they are not Muslim or from the Middle East. The Obama campaign became so paranoid that it moved women from a key spot wearing Muslim clothing at his Joe Louis Arena rally, and people who don't like him keep labeling him Muslim.
I've eaten and spent time in Dearborn while covering the Lions and spent a night there covering a football game. I ventured up and down Warren Avenue and went into restaurants and markets and found the people there to be no different than you and me.
They are trying to make it in a tough economy. Their children are trying to get an education and they are scuffling day to day.
I wonder how it makes them feel to be outcasts. I wonder how it makes them feel when they see and hear others proudly say they are not Muslim.
It is probably no different than my upbringing. When there was a big bank robbery or shooting on the evening news, my grandmother and aunt prayed out loud that the culprit was not black. Their reasoning was that if one black person did a crime, whites in our town would blame all blacks.
The same is happening to Muslims. That is why that New Yorker cover is damaging and divisive, even though it was not meant to be.
I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.
In or Out
A few years ago my son Little B loved to walk in and out of a screen door during one of our visits to the Thumb. He'd walk in and let the door close behind him, then he'd walk out the house and let the door close behind him.
He loved the sound of the slamming door and he didn't know whether he wanted to be in or out. Retired quarterback Brett Favre is the same way. He wants to retire. He does not want to retire. He wants to retire. He does not want to retire.
Is he in or is he out?
The Packers made a tough decision by saying Favre can come in the house but only on their terms. Favre finally told the Packers he wants to return another season after retiring a few weeks ago. But here is the added bonus.
He wants them to release him so he can become a free agent and play for another team.
The Pack said no. Favre can return to the Packers as a back up to Aaron Rodgers or he can sit.
Normally I would say that is a cruel way to great a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback, but Favre had this coming to him. General Manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy visited with him in Mississippi and asked if he wanted to return. They said they got no indication.
They asked most of the summer and got no positive response. Now they have changed game plans and are backing Rodgers.
If it were me I would release Favre and allow him to play. However, I don't blame the Packers who probably fear he'd end up with division rival Chicago who desperately needs a quarterback.
They are playing hard ball with their old franchise player mostly because Favre could not decide whether to stay in or out of the house and the Packers grew tired of the noise.
I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.Outdoor Game Belongs in Detroit
Many people are happy that the Red Wings might play the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL's next outdoor hockey game at Wrigley Field.
Chicago is a great town and Wrigley is a great field with wonderful tradition. I am sure a number of Red Wing fans will make the trip and enjoy a wonderful holiday in the Windy City for this New Year's Day game.
Forgive me for not celebrating. The game belongs in Detroit, not Chicago.
Let me steal a line from Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch, who said during the victory parade, "We are the Hockeytown. Grrrooowwwwllll!"
This game should be played at Comerica Park. Or it should be the grand finale of old Tiger Stadium. The Red Wings mean so much to hockey and the NHL that the game should be in Detroit.
And what happens to Detroit's traditional New Year's Eve game? Is the NHL going to have the Wings play in the evening on Dec. 31 and during the day on Jan. 1? I doubt it. So does this mean Wings fans must do without one of their annual traditions? It sure sounds that way.
This is another example of the Wings and their fans being asked to surrender again. Yet the NHL does little to help this team and this city -- a team that should be in the Eastern Conference, or at least playing every Original Six opponent each season.
I brought this up during a conversation with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and he had the nerve to talk about the great rivalry between the Red Wings and St. Louis Blues.
Come again? What rivalry?
Detroit needs the economic impact of this game more than Chicago. The game is being played in Chicago because the NHL is trying to revive the game in a city the Blackhawks ignored for many years. I understand why this is happening and it makes sense.
Do You Believe in Now?
The Detroit Lions finally got the memo and they realize they must begin marketing to fans. You are not buying season ticket packages like you used to. You are not talking about them on our sports stations like you used to.
More people are fed up and they've thrown their hands up.
So now the Lions are trying to market themselves as a bunch of hard working team oriented players and coaches. They've come up with a new theme called "Do You Believe in Now?"
The easy answer is to say no. I do not believe in now. I do not believe in the Lions just yet.
Maybe a better theme should be "When is the losing going to end?
However, it seems as if Colorado Rockies Manager Clint Hurdle believes in now. He's spoken to Lions coach Rod Marinelli and made comparisons to his 2007 team that made the World Series to the Lions. No one believed in now in Denver until the Rockies made a remarkable run to the series. The season before they were in good shape at the All Star break and fell apart.
Last season the Lions began their season 6-2 and lost seven of their final eight. Could lightening strike in football now?
"I felt the same way about the Rockies as I feel about the Lions, that they'd have their day, and then they'd be off and running," Hurdle said. "Rod and I talked about the common fabric of their '07 season and our '06 season. Because in '06, we were on top of the division after the All-Star break, and within a three-week period we had fallen to the bottom
Do you believe in now?
I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.Is there hope for Detroit?
I always worry about the city of Detroit.It seems as if things are getting worse and worse. It is one thing to see the Mayor facing criminal charges and having his private life made public. It is another to see FBI probes surrounding the city council and its staff, the school board trying to dig out from a massive deficit and the prospects of hundreds of teachers and support staff being laid off.
It is so bad at city hall that a lightning bolt struck the Coleman Young building, shutting it down and sending employees to unplanned, unpaid vacations.
Where is our city headed and is it possible for it to prosper again?
I sometimes wonder. It seems Detroit cannot do the most simple things for its citizens. I will take the family to my cousins for the Fourth of July weekend, and I know we will be greeted with the usual weed-choked alleys, burned out street lights and boarded homes.
And we then we will go to Tastefest in the New Center area and see many of the good things in the city. The kids love going to Detroit because they see people of different nationalities, but more important to them is the food and music.
They also know going downtown is different. After taking my son Little B, 6, to the Tigers game Sunday we walked past about a dozen men begging for money on the way to our car. He had a puzzled look on his face, and he asked why people were asking for money with white paper cups.
I told him some people are not as fortunate, and they need help.
The other day we had a debate on my radio show about suburbanites taking more control of the city. People from the suburbs called in saying that if they work in the city and pay taxes to the city then they should have a vote and a say on what goes on in the city. People from Detroit disagreed, and it turned into a brief but nasty exchange.
The answer is not for people outside of Detroit to come riding in to save the day. And it appears as if people from Detroit cannot handle their business. It would be great if we could see people from inside and outside of Detroit working together to make it a better city. Of course, I've been waiting since the 1967 riots for that to happen. So forgive me for not holding my breath waiting for the impossible to happen.
I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.
Tiger Fan for Life
Now I fully understand how someone becomes a baseball fan for life.
It is happening in my own household. In the span of 48 hours my son Little B turned from casual Tiger fan into a fan for life. All it took was one dramatic comeback, a visit to the ball park and a baseball from Sunday's 4-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Comerica Park.
Now I need to figure out ways to get more tickets. But it is a good problem to have.
It began Saturday night when we watched the Tigers 7-6 come from behind victory from the couch. Brandon, 6, was so excited after the game that I wanted to take him to Sunday's game.
But how? Games are sold out. People are excited about the team and I do not believe in paying double to scalpers. Well, the Tigers and Stubhub.com have a neat plan for people who want to dump tickets and for folks like me who want them.
I found a nice ticket exchange on Tigers.com just hours before the first pitch. I paid a little bit more for the tickets but for the enjoyment with my son it was well worth it.
We sat in section 116 about 14 rows from the field. We got rained on twice, but the hot dogs were great and the people who sat around us were friendly. And the Tigers won. What more could you ask for?
Sometimes as adults we forget the little things in life. For Brandon standing for "God Bless America" and learning the words to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." were big for him. Finally his day was made when one of the Tiger employees slipped him a baseball from the game.
He's been showing that scuffed up ball to everybody around the neighborhood. I can already tell he is a Tiger fan for life. That means the old man has got to find more tickets to more games this season. This should be fun.
Now if you will excuse me I have to cook and then get ready for the Chicago Cubs-Chicago White Sox game. Little B wants to root for the Cubbies because he knows it will help the Tigers.
I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.Father and Son Victory
The Tigers won their 16th game in the last 20 when they rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies, 7-6, Saturday night at Comerica Park. They finally climbed to .500 and are in the race to win the American League Central Division.
It was an exciting game, but the best part was being able to watch the game with my son Little B, who hung on every pitch and every run. He jumped as high in the air as the Tigers did when Miguel Cabrera hit a game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth to erase a one-run deficit. And he loved watching Ryan Raburn's grand-slam home run that gave the Tigers a 5-0 lead.
I've always heard stories of fathers watching games with their sons and now it is coming to light for me. Brandon is six now and he is getting more into the game every day. Many of the games end after his bed time but the first thing he wants to know in the morning is the Tigers score.
Saturday's game motivated me to take him to his first game this season. He is really into it and that is great to see. He never talks about going to Pistons games or to see the Red Wings or Lions. But he really wants to go to more Tigers games. Maybe the time is right to get a mini-season ticket plan to go to games with him.
It seems as if it is worth it now. When I took him to games before, he was more interested in the food, rides and people-watching. Now it seems as if he is more interested in the game. So if you see me at Comerica Park holding the hand of a little guy, you will know who it is.
He'll be the guy smiling and reciting baseball scores.
I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.
