Dallas Stars Ads Take shot at NBA-NFL

"If you've seen the billboard near American Airlines Center, you might think the Stars should be sent to the penalty box for slashing another sport when it's down.

Or you could soak in the message – "The only thing our refs shave is the ice" – and do what Mavericks owner Mark Cuban did.

Laugh.

"I think it's hysterical," Cuban said. "Good for them. It's a fun ad."" Read Full Article

Also Check Out The Complete Photo Archive of the Stars 2007-2008 Billboard Ad's in PDF File Here

Photo By: VERNON BRYANT / DMN

2nd Annual OU Hockey Alumni Dinner Dance

2nd Annual OU Hockey Alumni Dinner Dance

Rochester, MI Oakland University has announced the date of the Second Annual Alumni Dinner Dance. The date will be Friday November 30 at the San Marino Club in Troy.

"This is a great event for our program. We have an excellent tradition here and we want to keep our alumni and friends involved with the program," stated General Manager Shaun Zeldes.

"We are expecting an even bigger crowd that last year so we are advising our friends and alumni to get tickets early so they are not left out of this great night," added OU Hockey Booster Club President Terri Parrish.

Ticket prices include an open bar, dinner, dessert, dancing as well as presentations from the OU Hockey coaching staff. This year's alumni guest speaker will be former OU Hockey captain Karl Borgquist. Karl lead OU to their first ACHA DII National Championship in 2004 and recently completed his law degree.

2nd Annual OU Hockey Dinner Dance

San Marino Club
Troy, MI

Doors open at 6:30 pm

Ticket Prices: $50.00 OU Hockey Alumni: $25.00

To order tickets please contact Terri Parrish at tjparris@oakland.edu

-oaklandhockey.org

Grizzly Basketball Assistant Jon Borovich returns to Dayton

As we discussed last week, Dayton Bombers have made it official Grizzly assistant basketball coach Jon Borovich has returned to Dayton. Read More

College Basketball Recruiting Guru Steve Bell 5pm Today

Steve Bell will join us at 5pm today to discuss the latest Oakland University Basketball recruiting news on WXOU.org and 88.3FM.

The Show: With Greg Kampe

WXOU welcomes back "The Show: With Greg Kampe Tuesday's from 2-3pm Starting after Labor Day. Listen Live on 88.3FM WXOU or www.wxou.org

Just how bad have the Tigers actually been?

By Kyle Bauer



Here's some split stats from baseball-reference.com that show how and why the Tigers have been the worst team in baseball post all-star break.


First Half - Second Half (38 games)

Record-52 -34- 15 -23

Runs scored- Runs allowed- 512 407-180 230


BATTING

Batting Average- .290 - .276
On Base Percentage- .352 - .324
Walks- 281- 88
Slugging Percentage-.474 - .446
Strike Outs- 521 - 286
Extra Base Hits- 330 - 115



PITCHING

ERA- 4.31 - 5.74
WALKS ALLOWED- 304 - 138
HITS ALLOWED- 798 - 390
HOME RUNS ALLOWED- 92 - 42
STRIKE OUTS- 557- 264
Starter era.- 4.70
Bullpen era.- 4.71

AUGUST LINE

Record- 6-11

Team avg.- .267

Team obp.- .324

Team era.- 5.92

I would like to see second half split stats on production with with 2 outs and runners in scoring position, errors and fielding percentage, and several other key areas in which this team has faltered in since the second half.This shows that the Tigers have been in the bottom rung of teams in baseball since the second half, luckily for them Cleveland has been just as bad.
There's so many different excuses or reasons you could come up for such a poor second half performance. I was among the many who believed that injuries were simply depleting this team but they're pretty healthy now and you're still seeing the same results.
The bullpen could be blamed for slowing this team down in the first half, hell they did blow 20 games. Yes 20 games! You could easily argue that an adequate bullpen will blow 10 to 14 games at this point so you could say if the Tigers had a decent bullpen they would still have a comfortable lead over Cleveland.

For me all these stats show lack of focus, energy and urgency. This team is such a mental case. Sometimes it seems as though the apathy comes from carrying arrogance over from being defending AL champs, but when they go up and take at bats with little discipline and patience you see a team that's pressing in fear. I'm not sure exactly which ward of the nut house this team belongs in but I just know they belong there.
Either way when this team shows so much potential as to destroy the Indians 6-2 then a couple nights later own the mighty Yankees 8-5, you have to think the dominant first place team is still here. Wrapped around those wins were three double digit strikeout games though, something that has become the norm in the second half. When a team can dominate one night then come out completely flat the next, there's an attitude problem, plain and simple. The Tigers can no longer respond to a big win as a matter of opinion I think they reward themselves after a big win by mentally taking the day off and just hoping that Cleveland blows another game so they wont be held accountable in the standings. It sounds ridiculous that major leaguers need incentive and added motivation to go out and play hard but even Jim Leyland has said it, sometimes this team plays like it doesn't matter enough to them.


Don't Give up on Thames....again.

Some suggest that the Tigers need a spark and some believe that came when GM Dave Dumbrowski called up top prospect Cameron Maybin. I felt like calling up Maybin may had been a hasty move considering that the Tigers have a proven and capable left fielder in Marcus Thames but once I found out Thames reinjured his hamstring, the move was necessary. A hamstring injury can be nagging so Thames who looked great, hitting 3 homeruns in his short return, could be hampered for the rest of the season and having Maybin up will give him time to fully heal. Maybin will likely be here to stay for the rest of the season and possible postseason as he was brought in before September 1st, making him eligible for the playoff roster.


Right now Maybin could be playing for an everyday spot on this team and so far you could argue that hes already earned it. With a homerun and a somewhat respectable .182 average in hist first 3 games up along with his potential to lay down bunts and steal bases, he offers a dimension that Thames could not give this ball club.


Personally I believe when Thames is healthy, Thames should be the guy or at least alternate starts in left field with Maybin. Thames has faced hard luck his whole career, in his personal life and professional life, notably being cut from the Yankees, then fighting his way up in the Tigers organization taking a spot as a platoon player with serious power, only to be usurped by the mighty Alexis Gomez for playing time in the playoffs. Hes proved that if you give him at bats he'll give you homeruns and rbis and I do not think it would be wise to take at bats away from him down the stretch once hes healthy. Next year is likely a different story. I have no problem with dealing Thames in the offseason possibly for a decent pitcher, catcher or infielder and having Maybin be an every day left fielder, but next year. We've already dealt with the learning curve of another extremely talented and young player in Andrew Miller. Do you want two players 22 and under learning how to play the major league game in crucial roles during a playoff race?


I would still like to see Maybin get a few starts here and there after Thames returns, but mostly I would rather see him late in games as a pinch runner or laying down sacrifice bunts. The beautiful thing about Maybin is that he can be a trusted late inning replacement. Of course if Maybin catches fire and proves to be a phenom already, you play whoever is better for this team right now. I would still take Thames.




It's unfortunate but it was time.

It was'nt too long ago I was suggesting trading Thames in a package for a relief pitcher for the belief that Craig Monroe would regain his form from 2006. Well after a very up and extremely down 4 year tenure with the Tigers, Craig Monroes run has sadly ended with him being designated for assignment and likely traded or straight up released within the next couple days.


I was never a Monroe fan, well Monroe as a ball player. His swing was always a mechanical nightmare which lead to his eventually demise but in the meantime had lead to him being among league leaders in strikeouts and in the drudges of lowest obp. in the American League. Monroe got into his own head and couldn't focus as anyone could see he was pressing, causing himself to be more impatient and take more erratic swings. By the time it was all said and done, his power was completely gone and he was completely gone. Its sad and astonishing how fast he went from a playoff hero and absolute fan favorite to being booed and ran out of of town in shame.


This isn't the end of Monroes major league career. 28 homeruns and 80 rbis doesn't just disappear. With a change of scenery, maybe a team in the NL playoff chase, or a team out of contention where theres no pressure he can get his head and focus back. Expect C-Mo to hit 30 homeruns within the next couple years, couldn't say with what team but it will happen.




Good luck Craig.

Why Jack Wilson is not a good fit for the Tigers.

He may play a steady shortstop which is more than what you could say about Carlos "23 errors" Guillen but would you sacrifice a .290 hitting veteran left handed bat in Sean Casey? If the Tigers were to pick up Wilson, which seems likely at this point, Wilson is believed to become the everyday short stop and Carlos Guillen will be moved to first, leaving Casey on the bench. Basically you would be swapping a .260 hitting right hander for Casey in the lineup. A move to first would be good for Carlos, he wont have to think as much, wont get as many balls hit to him or would have to be as mobile but I would rather have both his and Caseys bats in the line up, especially with the inconsistency of the offense lately. Defensively hes a great fit but it will hurt this teams offense immensely. Errors can kill a ball club, that's what killed the Tigers in the World Series, but if I have to choose I would rather take the rbi potential and obp of Casey and risk Guillen making error, just hoping its not a costly one. Also is Jack Wilson really worth 14 million dollars? Bottom line, I don't think Wilson is worth it. Maybe if Leyland would get off of Infantes case we can have a slightly better hitting, almost as reliable short stop, giving Guillen some rest.

If the Tigers want to turn it around, they need to do one thing; focus. This is still the same team that had the best record in baseball at the all-star break. Why they cannot get back the consistency and energy that goes into playing a 9 inning game, I don't know but that's what they need to do. The Tigers can still take the central and earn it but they need to remember who they are, what they're capable of and go out, work counts, go right after batters and play hard for 9 innings. It's starting to look less likely that they will be able to do that though. The next week will define the 2007 Detroit Tigers.

You can hear more of my opinions every Tuesday 2 to 3 pm with Corey and Brad. Also occasionally on Wednesdays 5 to 6 pm with Corey , Brad and Kyle Horner.

Jammin At Hamlin

OU Hockey Show Returns September 5th

The OU Hockey Show Returns to WXOU September 5th at 5-6pm on 88.3FM WXOU and www.wxou.org

Sept 5th and 12th Shows will Focus on Oakland University Hockey Tryout Camp. With our Predictions and Team Breakdown and schedule breakdown- taking place on the 12th

Call The Show at 248-370-4274 or message us on aim at wxoudj. Send Questions about the 2007-2008 Oakland University team that we will address on the show to coreyh@wxousports.com

OU Athletics Announces Basketball Season Ticket Packages for 07-08

"Season ticket packages for Oakland’s upcoming 2007-08 men’s and women’s basketball seasons are now on sale through OU’s athletic department. A few changes have been made from last year’s offers, including the lowering of some package prices."

More Information Read Here

Golden Grizzlies are Favorites in Summit League Preseason Poll

- www.ougizzlies.com:"Elmhurst, Ill. (Aug. 16, 2007) – For the second straight year Oakland’s women’s soccer team garnered the top spot in the Summit League preseason poll, as voted by the head coaches throughout the league. The Golden Grizzlies were the clear cut favorite, taking seven of nine first-place votes and totaling 63 points, well ahead of Western Illinois’ 46.

The Westerwinds edged newcomer North Dakota State by a slim two-point margin as the Bison garnered 44 points and one first-place vote. Just two points separated NDSU from fourth-place Southern Utah (42), while IUPUI (36), Oral Roberts (35), South Dakota State (30 points, one first-place vote), Centenary (17) and newcomer IPFW (11) rounded out the field.

Oakland is coming off another successful season which saw the Golden Grizzlies claim the Mid-Con Tournament championship on their home field. OU and Western Illinois played to a 1-1 draw in the title game and after two scoreless overtime sessions the Golden Grizzlies won the championship on penalty kicks to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the program’s nine-year Division I history.

Several all-conference players will be returning to the lineup to help Oakland make another run at the conference title, including 2006 Offensive Player of the Year Kristi Tomczyk. Joining Tomczyk up front will be all-conference honorees Kristi Evans and Jessica Boyle, the MVP of last year’s Mid-Con Tournament. The backfield will be patrolled by all-conference defender Kristi Mitchell and Marlie Lieberman, a member of last season’s All-Newcomer team. Another member of the All-Newcomer team, Lindsey Blair, also returns to the lineup, as does starting goalkeeper Kim Herbst.

The Golden Grizzlies open the season Friday, August 31, hosting Syracuse at 2:30 p.m. at OU Soccer Field."

Zamboni fire Exclusive WXOU Details

WXOU EXCLUSIVE DETAILS:

From a Source:

Employees at Arena did a great job getting everyone out safely.

200 People Max were in the Evacuated not 500 like is being reported.

No Injuries is correct. Driver jumped off safely with no injures as well.

Would have been trouble if someone had of been on it with the driver, Propane tank is right under where other people would be on it such as those intermission ride with the Zamboni stuff.

This makes future rides a concern, discussion going on about this now.

Damage reaches basically everywhere. Can get into more later.

Black Soot on the Glass in the other Ice Surfaces in the Arena not just the one where the Fire was.

Was concern with the other gas and propane that is contained in a hockey rink that it could have been worse, all this stuff is very flammable and it all over a hockey rink could have been worse much worse.

Everyone seems to be blaming everyone else right now.


Stay Tuned to WXOU Sports for more Exclusive Details, we will have discussion on this Tuesday at 3pm and Wednesday at 5pm on 88.3FM and wxou.org with more details.

Zamboni fire shuts down Novi Ice Arena

Press Release From Novi Ice Arena

"NOVI, Michigan, August 9, 2007 - At approximately 7:55 pm on August 8, 2007, the Novi Fire Department responded to report of a fire at the Novi Ice Arena, located at 42400 Arena Drive. An ice resurfacing machine was clearing the ice, when a hydraulic leak ignited. All Novi Ice Arena operations have been suspended.

The incident occurred while the ice was being resurfaced. Players on break and the machine driver witnessed the fire and the arena was smoothly evacuated. A crowd of approximately 150 people, including players, coaches, parents and staff, were in the ice arena at the time of the incident. While the Novi Fire Department was on scene, one of the ice resurfacing machine’s two propane tanks burst. No injuries were reported. The Novi Fire Department extinguished the blaze and began damage assessment immediately.

The City of Novi is working with insurance adjustors and restoration efforts are underway. It is anticipated that the facility will reopen with limited operations (one ice surface) within a week. Updates regarding ice arena operations will be posted regularly on the City of Novi’s website at cityofnovi.org. All inquiries regarding league play and practice times can be directed to the Suburban Sports Group at (248) 478-1600. The City of Novi contracts with the Suburban Sports Group to manage and operate the Novi Ice Arena.

The ice resurfacing machine was purchased in August 2004 for $31,266 (after trade-in). It was most recently inspected and serviced in late July 2007.

The Novi Ice Arena opened in September 1998. This multi-surface facility offers two NHL-regulation sized ice sheets, seating capacities of 750 and 200, heated viewing areas, a pro shop, concessions, skate rental and meeting space. The facility is host to a variety of programs, including the Novi Youth Hockey Association, Skating Club of Novi, Novi High School and Northville High School hockey teams, and adult hockey leagues, as well as open skating and learn to skate programs. The City of Novi also operates a dance studio out of this facility."

Photo From Detroit News

Photo From Detroit News

The Defender of The Ice May Have Arrived

The Defender of The Ice May Have Arrived
By Corey Hagood

Remember the famous line from Rocky IV “Whatever he hits, he destroys?” Well you may be hearing that phrase around Oakland University Hockey next season. At 6’6 and 235 pounds defenseman Todd Orlando is truly a beast on the ice.

Just look at the last prospect camp, which took place August 4^th and 5^th at the Onxy in Rochester as the perfect example of why Orlando should make D1. Other players would move in to make a hit and as they got closer and realized it would not be a good idea to hit a beast like Orlando so they hit brakes and danced around him.

Unfortunately for one prospect at this weekend’s camp who went to hit Orlando, he ended up on the ground in pain not Orlando and one Oakland Coach put it best when he said “Not a smart decision.” Many players and coaches around the ACHA will be saying those same words should Orlando make the team.

Orlando had two goals and nine assists for the Sarnia Blast last season while spending 105 minutes in the Penalty Box. The key for Orlando will be to stay out of the box while bringing that physical presence that Oakland has been lacking on the ice.

We always have wondered who would protect and defend the Grizzlies best scorers on the ice, Orlando is a type of player that is coveted in every league and every level of hockey and if all goes right he will be the answer for D1.

Orlando and the rest of the prospects will have one more chance to prove they belong on D1 at the tryout camp in early September where we all will learn who will defend the 2007 ACHA D1 National Championship that the Grizzlies rightfully earned.

Questions and comments contact Corey at coreyh@wxousports.com

Orlando Photo From Sarnia Blast

Injuries+Fatigue= 4-9 in last 13 games.

By Kyle Bauer


The Tigers are in the midst of their worst slump of the season where they look as though they’re a last place team and not currently a head in their division by a half game. Thank goodness Cleveland has been slumping just as hard over the past 12 games as it seems both teams are waiting for the Twins to go on some rampage and snatch the AL Central from both of them ala last season.

Is there cause for panic? Yes there is. The reasons why are some of the things that I laid out in my previous blog; lack of clutch hitting, depressing bullpen but there’s been more alarming problems such as injuries and our rotation coming into every game looking fatigued. It hasn’t helped that the Tigers offense, the one crutch this team seemed to have has sunk and its not due to lack of skill but lack of effort.

The Oakland A's and Anaheim or LA or wherever they’re from Angels both have good pitching staffs but the Tigers caught Jared Weaver, who they’ve always touched up and then being shut down by Dallas Braden. These are pitchers you would expect the Tigers could take batting practice off of and really I believe other than Haren there’s no reason why they should had been shut down such as they were. I’m seeing apathy, I’m seeing this team not take the bat off of their shoulders, chasing balls in the dirt, check swings, not being able to hit any breaking balls. Magglio, Polanco and Granderson are the only 3 batters that have remained to get good swings and quality at bats on a consistent basis.

Of course injuries have hampered this offense almost as much as the pitching staff. Sheffield doesn’t have any feeling in his right arm and I’m guessing its some kind of nerve damage. Arguably Shef is the mvp of this ball club. Not only has it been his power but his speed to get extra base hits and lead this team in runs and stolen bases. When he’s not on the bags it takes away run and small ball potential that you need when you’re struggling at the plate and on the mound to inch out ball games.
I’m positive that Carlos Guillen is playing around 50% right now. There is a reason why the only deadline deal the Tigers even came close to making was for Pirates SS Jack Wilson. He’s has both knee and hamstring problems through out the year that hasn’t had time to heal because this team hasn’t has an adequate infielder to replace him. This has effected him at the plate causing his power to drop off and for him to take more cautious swings. If he does make contact it may end up being a matter of inches of him beating out a deep infield ground ball or stretching a single into scoring position. A more unconventional thought is that his injuries maybe causing him to play a more conservative, thoughtful SS, possibly leading to his 20 errors this season.
Marcus Thames is probably the most missed Tiger next to Zumaya. With Craig Monroe continuing to struggle, so in his head that he may never have a good at bat in his career again, I think even Thames .250 average is prayed for. Left field has became a hole hard to fill and so has Thames spot in the order. Marcus could be coming back in another week or 2 but this is a power hitter with a hamstring problem that may nag him for the rest of the year. Hamstring injuries are murder to power hitters, we seen it last year with Magglio and this year with Guillen. Thames wont be able to drive off of that back leg and transfer his power properly. When he comes back he may not be the same power menace and instead similar to Monroe, hitting weak pop ups to shallow left field. We can only hope he comes back and come back strong because his overall impact on the line up is huge with Monroe’s struggles.
Monroe really bothers me. He has the potential to be a .260 to .280 hitter with 30 to 40 homeruns and 100+ rbis. Mechanically, Monroe has always had a garbage swing. He pulls way off the ball taking over half the plate away from him. Any right handers can easily shut him down, which isn’t good because you face mostly right handers and a .191 average doesn’t cut it. He swings under many pitchers causing him to weakly pop up too. Right now he has a 5 game hitting streak but the quality of hits have a been questionably and untimely. Hopefully stringing together some bloop hits will give him confidence, which is another important trait he’s lacking, and he'll start driving or at least in his case turning on the ball. He has the potential and I’m sure he knows what he’s doing wrong. I thought a couple weeks ago that the Tigers could risk dealing Thames in a blockbuster figuring that Monroe was worth gambling on and he hasn’t been since, doesn’t look like he will be anytime soon, can only hope though because I’m rooting for him personally and I think many Tigers fans are.


I guess we'll find out if Dave Dombrowski’s strategy to stand pat at the trade deadline was a good one or not, in a month or so. We can speculate and criticize now though. Seeing that this bullpen has now lost 20 games I don’t like the idea of the Tigers pinning their hopes on an injured Joel Zumaya whose velocity may not be back up to the same level this year. With his injury it hurts his grip on the ball, which not only will hurt control on his pitches, especially his change up but cause him to take some off of his fast ball because he cannot have that snap, that’s how he strained the finger in the first place.
Fernando Rodney has looked decent in his rehab outings down in Toledo but I wouldn’t trust a guy who I still believe has a mental block fallowing his game 4 World Series melt down and had confidence problems before hand. His control has struggled which has caused him to press, go away from his change up and serve many fastballs that turn into either doubles or 400 foot homeruns.

I’ve exhausted the options and how I thought the Tigers could had bargained for a midlevel set up man like Jon Rauch from Washington or Ryan Franklin from St.Louis. These were guys that weren’t better than Zumaya or Rodney but better than Grilli, Seay, Byrdak, McBride and Cappelan and that’s all I believe we needed. Apparently, every team asked for the deal breaker Cameron Maybin which I didn’t figure because other GMs should know that he’s a dead end. With the rest of the Tigers farm system available including Dallas Trehen, Virgil Vaquez, Jar Jurjjins and guys who have been up with the Tigers frequently like Ryan Raburn and Mike Hessman, teams only wanted one man and it was Maybin.
Hopefully Rodney comes back to his 2006 form, so does Zumaya, if so this team will likely be fine. Maybin will turn out to be the 5 tool stud we keep hearing about and he'll carry this franchise a long with Verlander, Miller and Granderson for several years to come. Same could be said with Trehan and Vasquez. If that’s the case, then I guess I wont be mad that the Tigers didn’t make a move at the deadline. Hopefully it all comes into place.

To resolve the bullpen and injury problem the Tigers do have a couple more options to take a shot at. Virgil Vasquez and Jordan Tata have shown somewhat promising stuff. While Rogers is injured, Vasquez will probably get another start or 2 and maybe Tata should stay up with the club and come out of the bullpen, such as he did in 8 appearances last year. He’s young, inexperienced but if the problems continue and Rodney and Zumaya continue to hit road bumps in their rehab, I think the Tigers should go to him. How much worse could it get, so I don’t think giving Tata a shot in the 7th or 8th inning would hurt and who knows he might fill that gap the Tigers so desperately need filled. The downside to this option is that I’m not sure how what type of roster options Tata and Vasquez have, remember Miner is on bereavement due to family issues. There’s a good chance one of these guys, if not both will have to be sent down. If they do have minor league options and can stay up, I would like to see this experiment.

The last option is waivers but right now the only player that I know of likely to go on waivers that the Tigers are interested in is the afore mentioned Jack Wilson and he’s a SS, maybe he can pitch but I don’t know, probably don’t want to. With waivers, look for older guys on teams that need to dump salary. The Pirates are looking to dump Wilson because of his large contract and they may release set up man Shawn Chacon for the same reason. He's an older righty with a 1.38 WHIP but a 3.84 ERA and 3 blown saves in 4 blown save opportunities. He has a good strikeout to walk ratio at 47 to 27 but he would be a desperate grab, only if Rodney were continue to struggle. I’m not even sure if either of these guys will be dumped, waivers are anyone’s guess but you know the criteria, just keep aware because I see the Tigers picking up a back up infielder, left handed bat or another reliever.

Hopefully the Tigers will pull out of this but if they’re going to, they need to get healthy. Rodney, Zumaya, Guillen, Thames, Rogers, Robertson (who I believe has a sore elbow and will be back on the dl soon) and Sheffiled all need to be healthy for this team to make it deep but we'll see that’s just fate. The day off will be good but they have a crucial stretch against the White Sox, Devil Rays, which will be tricky and then the 2 biggest series of the season with Cleveland and the damn Yankees. I don’t think the Tigers will be healthy enough to be the real Tigers against these teams and it will hurt them.

The Tigers did go into a slump similar to this last season, spurred to a horrible, error filled raod trip in Minnesota, Boston and Chicago. They lost a 10 game division lead but hey the still got the wildcard and the rest is history. The difference this year? Last year only Polanco was injured, this year half the team is. We only have a 1 game lead to blow and much higher expectations.




You can hear more of my opinions every Tuesday 2 to 3 pm with Corey and Brad. Also occasionally on Wednesdays 5 to 6 pm with Corey , Brad and Kyle Horner