People in Detroit are out celebrating. All three of Detroit’s professional sports teams that played today have won their games. The Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees 6-4 in the first of a three game series held at Yankee Stadium. The Detroit Pistons took on the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA playoffs at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 98-81 and they lead the series 3-2. Turning to the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings also won a playoff game today in Colorado. They lead the series 3-0 against the Colorado Avalanche after winning 4-3. Yes, it was a good evening in Detroit.
There was some brutal playing in Colorado. The Red Wings had the advantage with the Avalanche’s leading scorer, Paul Stasny, out with a knee injury within the very first period of the game. The Red Wings gave em hell and the Avalanche were violent, as Mikael Samuelsson got sticked in the face by Peter Forsberg and ended up losing a tooth in the process. Forsberg got a four minute penalty.
Forsberg at first said he didn’t hit him, and then he said he didn’t know he hit him that hard, in a statement he made after the game.
“I didn’t realize I hit him. But I guess he was bleeding so I guess I did hit him, so I have nothing to say. If he’s bleeding, it’s four minutes. I didn’t think I hit him that hard.”
Then he went on to point out how Samuelsson exaggerated his injury.
“Definitely. He’s laying there on the ice and I barely touched him.”
The first goal actually went to Colorado, in the 1st when Cody McLeod scored. However, that was soon followed up by a goal from Pavel Datsyuk for Detroit. Johan Franzen scored a second goal for Detroit before the teams headed to the 2nd period with Detroit in the lead. Pavel Datsyuk scored a second goal (for himself) in the 2nd followed by a Colorado goal by Andrew Brunette and finally a Detroit goal at the end of the 2nd by Henrik Zetterberg.
This was the last goal the Red Wings scored, but it was enough to give the Red Wings a 4-2 lead going into the third. In the third, the Avalanche scored on a goal by Andrew Brunette, but were unable to tie things up. The Red Wings can clench the Western Division win if they beat the Avalanche in a fourth game on May 1, 2008, when the two meet up again, at 10:00 PM EST. There is a good chance of this happening since the Avalanche have lost all seven of their games they’ve played against Detroit this year.
The Pistons are the comeback kids of the NBA. They were down 2 games to 1 when they won in a major comeback against the 76ers on Sunday. The Pistons headed back to the Palace to play today’s game, where they led throughout most of the game and ended up clenching their third win, which puts them one game ahead of the 76ers in the playoffs. Rasheed Wallace was the MVP for the Pistons. He went 8 out of 12 scoring 19 points. He also had six rebounds and three assists.
Chauncey Billups was 7 for 12. He scored 21 points, had two rebounds and 12 assists. Pistons guard, Richard Hamilton scored 20 points. He went 10 for 17, had five rebounds and two assists. Other top scorers for the Pistons include forward, Tayshaun Prince, who was 8 for 14 scoring 17, had four rebounds and two assists, and forward-center Jason Maxwell, who went 3 for 4, scoring 6 points and had 11 rebounds with two assists.
The 76ers were not without their star performers. MVP honors went to Andre Iguodala, who scored 21 points. He was 8 for 14 and he had five rebounds and six assists. 76ers guards, Andre Miller and Louis Williams had a good game. Williams went 6 for 9 scoring 16 points and he had one rebound with two assists. Miller went 5 for 17 scoring 13 points. He had four rebounds and three assists. Ultimately, the Pistons just outplayed the 76ers. The two meet up, at the Palace of Auburn Hills where they will play their sixth game, on May 1, 2008. If the Pistons win it, they’ll advance in the playoffs.
The Tigers went into Yankee Stadium to play the first in a three game series. This is the last series the Tigers will play at the current Yankee Stadium before moving to the new location next year. The Tigers got things started quickly as they faced pitcher, Phil Hughes. Magglio Ordonez hit an RBI single that scored Placido Polanco and Curtis Granderson. The Tigers went into the bottom of the first inning with a 2-0 lead. Kenny Rogers struggled throughout the first inning for the Tigers, but managed to retire three without letting the Yankees score. Without A-Rod and Posada, the Yanks didn’t play so well.
The second was uneventful for the Tigers, save for a few walks, but with Kenny in the bottom of the second inning, the Yanks were able to even things up with a two run homer by Robinson Cano. Both Cano and Shelley Duncan scored. Not to be outdone, in the top of the third, Curtis Granderson hit a homer as the first man up to bat. Gary Sheffield followed this up with a two run homer as he and Placido Polanco scored. The score moved to 5-2 with the Tigers leading again. Rogers struggled in the third, as he walked three and loaded the bases, but all men were left stranded.
The fourth meant another Tigers run. Placido Polanco hit an RBI single, which scored Curtis Granderson making the score 6-2. Ross Ohlendorf stepped in to relieve Hughes after he gave up his sixth run. He was able to retire the Tigers with relative ease. The Yanks went down easily in the bottom of the fourth for Kenny. In the fifth, Ohlendorf had a 1-2-3 inning and Rogers only allowed one hit, a double by Shelley Duncan.
In the sixth, the Tigers only got a walk, with Granderson stranded on first. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 for Kenny. The seventh was uneventful for the Tigers and before Kenny showed signs of struggling, Bobby Seay was brought in to relieve him in the bottom of the seventh. He only gave up a single to Hideki Matsui as the teams headed to the eighth. Edwar Ramirez relieved Ohlendorf. He gave up one double to Pudge Rodriguez, but Pudge was stranded. Denny Bautista came in to relieve Seay. He struggled and loaded the bases, allowing one run (via walk), when he hit Derek Jeter with a pitch. Clay Rapada came in to relieve Bautista and he retired the Yanks without allowing anymore runs.
LaTroy Hawkins closed in the ninth for the Yankees. He had a 1-2-3 inning. Tigers closer, Todd Jones, struggled to end the game and get the save as he allowed Jason Giambi an RBI single thhat scored Matsui. However, he managed to pitch out of a jam as the Tigers won 6-4.
Yes, there is much celebrating in Detroit. Let’s just hope it continues tomorrow when the Tigers face New York again at 7:05 PM. Jason Bonderman takes on Andy Pettitte.
Technorati Tags: Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons, Detroit Red Wings, playoff, win, NHL, NBA, MLB, sports
Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
No comments yet.