Warning: Long Impassioned Furious Post Follows

OH MY GOD. I'm still in mourning from our demise in the 4th quarter of the last game, thereby ending our season. I'm taking down red, white and blue streamers. I'm blowing out red and blue candles. I'm taking down the SLAM posters of Rip and Cbill, the Pistons team roster and the playoff schedules. I'm stacking the basketball cards of every single Piston on the roster, including the cards I MADE because I couldn't find them in the local card shop (Dice, Spellcheck, Rattler...hey I did find Amir. Nice card.)

I'm unstringing the single strand red and double strand white and blue Christmas lights from across the ceiling of the living room of Piston worship. I'm taking down the proud display for four years in a row of going to see the Pistons live in Seattle. The couch covers and easy chair covers have all reverted to their monochromatic white status. I'm willing the Pistons hued flowers to wilt. The red/white/blue basketball is rolled under the bed.

All in all I'm handling this loss with about as much grace and class as I can manage to dredge up from my disappointed heart. And then...

I see this thread. And I know in the bottom of my heart it is true. Will no one rid us of this horribly ordinary coach? (Beckett)

Etu, Joe? Once again Joe, you betray your team, organization and fans?The first time was when you hired the guy. The second was when you kept him after two years of lame lame lame flawed coaching.

And of course they won't even give us a few months to salivate at the idea of him leaving. No, they have to pour salt in the wound of our loss and let us know right now that NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE. Except a player or two leaves instead of him. Hey, I like those guys. It's Flip I feel sick every time the camera pans to him on the playoff sideline.

Seriously, I might have to make the jump this summer from my vows of steady fan love and devotion to the Pistons to the hot steamy rollercoaster of the Nuggets.

Because I just can't stand one more minute of Flip Saunders. If he stays, we will have an exact repeat of this year. We won't even have to bother to watch the games or the playoffs. We can mark it down. ECF loss, or maybe sooner.

Some people are just blessed with the gifts that come along with mediocrity.Flip is one of those guys. His tombstone will read "I was an above average basketball coach, which is more than anyone ever expected of me."

Shame on Joe. He knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the team does not respect Flip. How dare he saddle them with another year of pretending to be listening to him at timeouts and in the locker room? That's hard work, standing in the huddle acting like you have confidence in the coach who has failed you for years. Sheed, Rip and Tay stare into space while Chauncey earnestly pays attention for all of them. God help us.

Joe sucks. I wonder if he has ever asked himself whether he would be willing to have played under such a coach. But then again, he's just a company man now. He's not an athlete anymore or he would never make such a decision.He knows what pro basketball players need. Don't let him let you think otherwise.

I wish I could say I was surprised. But I'm not. It's exactly how I thought Joe would play it and I think it's time we put some blame on his teflon worshipfulness.After all, he is the only person beside Bill D. I guess with the power to right this wrong. And he still won't do it. I guess he likes boring predictability now that he is an executive.

Oh well I'm burned up. I'm furious. It's 3 am and I won't be able to sleep because some friggin' millionaires can't make a decent basketball decision.

&^$%#%&@$(*)@!#$*&!@#_$(*!_@)*#@)#*$&_!(@&#)_(*@*$&^!(@#&*^

GO NUGGETS! AI! NENE! NAJERA! KLEIZA! KMART! AC! JR! CAMBY! MELO!