Piling On In Detroit
February 9, 2010 – For a town that most have shoved into the forsaken zone, Detroit keeps showing signs of vitality in the world of sports. Just last week the Tigers signed a pitcher for five years and $80 million to go along with a guy they are paying $18 million, another they are paying $16 mil and at least three others over the $10 million mark. Their total salary figure will take a little drop, but it will float again somewhere between $110-$120 million in 2010.
The Lions watched the Saints Super Bowl win with eager eyes. They saw a team, that was once planted in a hole, rebuild itself to a world title. The Saints drafted well, found a quarterback, developed some stars, and made some strategic signings, while building a very potent offense with it’s head coach and a defense with a master schemer. And so the the Lions hold several advantageous draft choices, and the prospect of an uncapped season which has enabled William Clay Ford to tease about signing or trading for talent to add to a youthful core and a master schemer defensive head coach.
The Red Wings are up against it, but not because they lack money. They are on the edge of the salary cap, which has required them to trade players to make room for returning vets from the IR like Johan Franzen. Because the league has intentionally discriminated against older players, The Wings can no longer stand as the NHL’s elite franchise. The system has wore them down. They now have to join the ranks of less profitable teams and compete against those who were woeful for so long that they mined the benefits of the draft, which is now paying off. Everybody has the same salary cap, and Gary Bettman has created a socialist bent to the NHL, where “the most good, for the most people” prevails. So, the Red Wings have to go back to the drawing board to figure out how again to be best. Earnings, profitability and system won’t be the factors, they’ll need to become young and cheap. You have to wonder if there’s any fun for owner Mike Ilitch in that.
And now that William Davidson has left the building, how long before the Piston estate follows his model of selling his Tampa Bay NHL franchise or his WNBA franchise? The starless Pistons are playing to half houses, Chauncey Billups is erasing Joe Dumars’ goodwill from when he discovered Billups who led them to a title, and Joe D can’t seem to get it right ever since getting Ben Wallace for the deserting Grant Hill, Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse, skinny Tayshaun Prince with a draft choice and eventually, Rasheed Wallace for next to nothing. Seems everything has gone down hill for Joe since Darko. Now Ben Gordon and Charlie Villaneueva are failing, there’s no cap space and the Pistons are looking at a makeover that will put them back in the cellar, from where they historically have come, for years. The fire sale will come first, but this isn’t because of the economy. It’s because Joe Dumars has been as bad lately as he once was good.
