[Associated Press]
Prince, Defense Save Pistons' Season (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BKN_HEAT_PISTONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-05-31-23-14-21&reload=true)
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal was about to throw down another backboard-shaking dunk. Ben Wallace wasn't having it. The 6-foot-7 Wallace leaped and stuffed Shaq's slam - forcing a jump ball, putting the 7-1 O'Neal on his back and sparking Detroit's defense that refused to let the Pistons' season end.

"It was a big play - a momentum-changer," Wallace said of the third-quarter block.

Foul! Heat Free-Throw Shooting Dooms Them (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BKN_HEAT_FREE_THROWS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-05-31-23-11-51)
The Heat were 6-for-20 on free-throw attempts Wednesday, a debacle that played a huge role in the Detroit Pistons' season-saving 91-78 win. It trimmed Miami's series lead to 3-2 - and ensured Game 6 will be played in South Florida on Friday night.

"There's pressure on them now," said Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, who was 11-for-11 from the line.

[Detroit Pistons.com]
Pistons stay alive, force Game 6 vs. Heat (http://www.nba.com/games/20060531/MIADET/recap.html)
The Pistons again were rescued by Tayshaun Prince and their defense in a convincing 91-78 victory over the Miami Heat, who are still one win away from the NBA Finals.

Prince scored a playoff career-high 29 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who closed the series deficit to 3-2 with a performance that somewhat silenced the cynics who said their run was done.

[Fox Sports]
MIKE KAHN: Pistons live to play another day (http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5655864)
Chauncey Billups finally showed all the toughness and leadership he had previously shown the past two seasons when the Pistons won the East, scoring 17 points, doling out 10 assists and grabbing five rebounds. And the recipient of so many of those assists was the versatile Tayshaun Prince, who was scoring from all over the floor. And although Rip Hamilton had yet another rough shooting night (7-of-21), he did add 10 rebounds to go with those 16 points, and Antonio McDyess was huge coming off the bench with 12 points and six rebounds.

[ESPN]
Daily Dime: Pistons regaining lost identity (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-060601)
John Hollinger: Had Detroit made its regular-season rate of 72.7 percent, the Pistons would have made only 19 of those 26 free throws, and would have ended up with 87 points. Thus, once we account for the uncharacteristic free-throw performances by both sides, what was a comfortable Detroit win becomes an 87-86 Pistons squeaker.

Obviously, that bodes poorly for Detroit in Game 6. Yes, they're still alive, and that was the objective tonight. But it's hard to argue that the Pistons' recent offensive woes are solved when their three key players (Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace) shot 13-for-44. Plus, the team once again limped home with an 18-point fourth quarter -- six of which came on intentional fouls by the trailing Heat.

[SI.com]
IAN THOMSEN: Win or lose vs. Heat, Pistons must find themselves (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/ian_thomsen/05/31/pistons/index.html)
Win or lose Game 5 on Wednesday, the Pistons are a contender in transition. While trying to figure out who they are, they also are forced to try to fend off Miami for the Eastern crown, but the truth is they can't accomplish the latter without resolving the former. No matter how the series plays out, things in Detroit are going to change -- whether it takes place miraculously over the next week or during the sober offseason to follow.

PHIL TAYLOR: Pistons have gone from selfless to selfish in months (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/phil_taylor/05/31/hot.button/index.html)
Maybe the Pistons are out of sorts because they realize that they've lost their edge, that this time they won't be able to flip a switch and escape the jam they've created for themselves. Maybe it's just too much to expect a team to maintain indefinitely the kind of all-for-one esprit de corps that they once had. But it's sad to see them go out this way, exchanging looks of annoyance with each other when a pass goes astray, searching individually for someone to blame instead of searching collectively for a solution to their problems. They are the Pistons, after all, and we remember when they were so much bigger than that. If only they did.

[Detroit Bad Boys]
Pistons-Heat: Game 5 (http://www.detroitbadboys.com/archives/2006-05-31/pistons-heat-game-5/)
Hopefully Detroit employs the "no layups allowed" rule. Game 5 is about to tip off — leave your in-game comments here. After each quarter (or whenever something remarkable occurs), Matt and I will post our own observations below.

The national media weighs in (http://www.detroitbadboys.com/archives/2006-05-31/the-national-media-weighs-in/)
As you'd expect, the Pistons are big in the national media today, and it's not pretty. Here's a quick run-down of some of the more notable articles:

Antonio McDyess is not a butthole (http://www.detroitbadboys.com/archives/2006-05-31/antonio-mcdyess-is-not-a-butthole/)
I'm sure there are more than a few casual Pistons fans who don't recall what type of player McDyess was before he signed with the Pistons. We know him now as a sweet-shooting big man who can consistently score from 15-18 feet out. But that's not what made him the second overall draft pick in the 1995 draft ...

No, before he was known for his reliable jumper, McDyess was one of the most explosive players in the game.

[Check out this video of vintage Dice. Ouch.]

[Need4Sheed.com]
Pistons 91 Heat 78 (http://need4sheed.blogspot.com/)
I believe this is the play that turns this series around. Momentum shift, it's not over.......

[Miami Herald]
Miami hits roadblock (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14711685.htm)
Game 5 would have been an extra satisfying win for the Heat, which lost to the Pistons in Miami in Game 7 last season. But a Game 6 win now becomes nearly mandatory if the Heat is going to make its first trip to the NBA Finals.

''They came out like we knew they were going to come out, pressuring and playing with a lot of energy,'' said Dwyane Wade, who was 11 of 20 from the floor for 23 points in 45 minutes. "We took the first couple punches and we still were there. But tonight they beat us to a lot of loose balls, a lot of tip-out rebounds at key times. Give them credit. They played hard. They played like a desperate team.''

DAN LeBATARD: Shaq, Heat get stuffed; focus shifts to Friday (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14711874.htm)
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- There are certain natural phenomena that can't be stopped, slowed or detoured by one human body. An ocean tide. A rock slide. Shaq's backside. Shaquille O'Neal getting the ball under the rim is just about the surest thing ever in basketball. One bounce? That's thunder's warning before lightning.

So you knew something wasn't right in Wednesday's second half when O'Neal began to uncoil and Ben Wallace suddenly remembered, for the first time this series, that he's supposed to be the world's best defender. With the aid of a trampoline, a ladder and a jet pack during this 91-78 Detroit victory, Wallace climbed up into the atmosphere and came down cleanly with an angry palm upon the basketball.

No late heroics this time (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14711941.htm)
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The critical moments of the fourth quarter are typically prime time for Dwyane Wade. But on Wednesday night he sat on the bench, his half-drawn eyelids on the verge of closing. He looked weary, beat, mortal.

Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals belonged to the Pistons 91-78. There would be no heroics from Wade. No levitations. No circus shots. No jaw-dropping spectacle swishes from impossible angles.

Wade just sat there, wilted by his frustration.

GREG COTE: After Game 5 loss, the pressure has moved from Pistons to Heat (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14711868.htm)
The number of teams in this playoff series that should be desperate or at least play like it officially doubled here Wednesday.

That's all that Detroit's 91-78 Game 5 victory did.

But that was an awful lot.

For the most part, Shaq gives credit (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14711940.htm)
Shaquille O'Neal was sitting at his locker after the Heat lost 91-78 on Wednesday night to the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, and a reporter asked O'Neal about a play in which Pistons center Ben Wallace blocked O'Neal's shot.

''That was a foul, young lady. You know that was a foul. Don't ask dumb questions,'' O'Neal said.

That likely was the only time O'Neal refused to give the Pistons credit.

Detroit's forward delivers a sparkling effort (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14711871.htm)
''It was 79-76 and the biggest play of the night was when Shaquille blocks a shot and Tayshaun hits a three,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said.

It's a pattern Riley saw all night as Prince filled the box score, playing a team-high 43 minutes 7 seconds, grabbing seven rebounds and hitting the Pistons' only pair of three-pointers.

''He's unorthodox,'' Riley said. "He has a way about him that it doesn't look like he's doing something and before you know it, you look at the stat sheet and he's got 29. The shot, he puts it behind him and winds up, it's like snow falling off a bamboo leaf, he's so smooth. . . . He had a monster game and we have to find a better answer for him.''

[Right now there are 1.2 billion Chinese nodding with perfect understanding. The rest of us? We'll just have to wonder what the hell Riley's talking about.]

[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
IRA WINDERMAN: Wade, O'Neal bottled up as Pistons defense yields little room (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-heatspec01jun01,0,7078230.story?coll=sfla-sports-heat)
In a venue where the Heat needed the very best of guard Dwyane Wade and center Shaquille O'Neal, it received something just short of that.

After averaging 30.8 points on .695 shooting in the series' first four games, Wade closed with 23 on 11-of-20 shooting. After scoring in double figures in each of the previous fourth quarters, he finished with six points in Wednesday's final period.

After bulling past Detroit's front line the previous four games, O'Neal returned to the early foul trouble of previous series and closed with 19 points and six rebounds in 31 minutes.

DAVE HYDE: No reason to panic (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-hydespec01jun01,0,187756.column?coll=sfla-sports-heat)
And so not every night ends with O'Neal being completely unstoppable. Not every night ends with Dwayne Wade being Superman. Not every playoff night, on the road, against a tough team facing the season's guillotine can end with the Heat walking off the court happy.

This was the Pistons' night. That's all. The series is 3-2 now. That's it.

There's no reason for Heat fans to worry, panic, doubt, fear or even think of bringing up all those heartbreaking Heat endings to all those heartbroken Heat seasons. Well, OK, you can think about that last part.

[Palm Beach Post]
Blocked party (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2006/06/01/z1c_heat_0601.html)
The Heat, needing a victory Wednesday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills to clinch its first NBA Finals berth in franchise history, lost 91-78 to the rejuvenated Detroit Pistons, sending the series back to Miami for Friday's Game 6.

Now, with Game 7 scheduled for Sunday at Detroit, the Heat's 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals seems shaky. But don't mention the "P'' word in the Heat's locker room.

GREG STODA: Pistons find a way to slow Wade, creep back in (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2006/06/01/z1c_stoda_0601.html)
The Pistons were especially intent on occupying Wade's perimeter space on the court whenever Miami set up a half-court offense. It was as though Detroit finally realized it couldn't do anything with Wade once he had the basketball with his motor running, so it jumped a big defender at him on almost every catch he made on either wing near a sideline.

Inside the game (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/heat/content/sports/epaper/2006/06/01/z6c_heat_candy_0601.html)
Dead air: Before each game in the Eastern Conference finals the coaches appear before the media. It is a ritual that comes with formality peculiar to the post-season — printed transcripts of every question and answer, boom microphones dangled in front of reporters so everything can be heard live on the NBA Network, banks of TV cameras on a raised platform at the back of the room.

It is a sign of how this series has gone for Detroit coach Flip Saunders that he fielded no questions whatsoever before Wednesday's Game 5.

Saunders was on stage, right on time, and perfectly willing to cooperate.

"Nobody's got anything?" Saunders asked after a few awkward moments of silence. "Fine with me."

[Detroit News]
A pulse (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/SPORTS0102/606010339/1004)
"Hopefully, this win gives us some momentum going into Miami," said Tayshaun Prince, who had 29 points, a career high in the playoffs, on a night when the three top scorers were ice cold. "Miami plays well on the road. I think the pressure is on both us and them now."

It wasn't the resounding, confidence-eroding pounding the Pistons would have liked to inflict. But for three quarters, they looked more like their old selves and, when things tightened up in the fourth quarter, they didn't buckle.

"They took their defense up another level, they just did," Heat coach Pat Riley said, "and it was very intense."

Sheed steps up to Zo (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/SPORTS0102/606010447/1004)
Rasheed Wallace tweaked his ankle again in Game 5, and he still can't find the range on his jump shot (seven points, 3-for-11 shooting), but he was there for his teammates early in the game.

Tayshaun Prince was fouled as he dunked on Alonzo Mourning . Prince hung on the rim briefly until traffic cleared underneath. He inadvertently brushed Mourning with his feet. Mourning shoved Prince while he was still hanging.

"I ain't cool with him," said Wallace, who immediately got into Mourning's face. "I seen him try to push on Tay and I can't have that. "There's no pushing on my man, my teammates."

When asked what he said to Mourning -- besides "Calm down," which the television broadcast caught -- Wallace said, "Nothing worth repeating."

BOB WOJNOWSKI: It's not over! (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/SPORTS08/606010450/1004/SPORTS)
AUBURN HILLS -- Every time it seemed the end was nudging near, the Pistons repelled it. Every time it seemed Dwyane Wade would pull out more ridiculous magic, Tayshaun Prince responded.

So, yes, in answer to the question, in answer to many questions, there will be a fight after all. It was good to see, a spirited first response, as the Pistons regained their edge and took one giant step away from the ledge.

Stern's edict haunts Pistons (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/SPORTS08/606010436/1004/SPORTS)
AUBURN HILLS -- Before you realize why Joe Dumars did the right thing in hiring Flip Saunders last summer and installing a more offense-driven approach to the team, understand this isn't about conspiracy theories or plots to undermine Pistons basketball as you've come to know it.

The plain truth is NBA commissioner David Stern wanted the game changed after the Pistons won the title in 2004.

He tweaked the rule book to facilitate more offensive flow. He stopped all the bumping and grabbing on and off the ball. He opened the floor up for quick and powerful players such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and countless others who will carry the league's marketing banner into the future.

He did it because he felt the game had grown stagnant, and that oppressive defenses such as the Pistons' choked the life out of it. He hated the isolation plays that were bringing action to a standstill. More importantly, he noticed fans -- who filled the arenas and watched on television -- were starting to hate it, too.

Scoring sells, and Stern set out to loosen the shackles on offense. In so doing, he essentially legislated against lockdown, physical defensive teams such as the Pistons and Spurs.

To this day, he does not apologize for it, nor will he undo the changes.

[Detroit Free Press]
MITCH ALBOM: Two to go! (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/SPORTS03/606010485/1048/SPORTS)
Now, to be honest, if you're a Pistons fan, you're torn this morning between being glad and mad. You're happy the team is still alive in these Eastern Conference finals, but you believe if it had played like this in any of those losses, it wouldn't have been on the brink of elimination in the first place.

Here was the energy that had been missing in Games 1, 3 and 4. Here was the extra pass, the whipping of the ball to the other side for an open look. Here was the swarming defense.
And, yes, here was some balance to the foul calls. The Heat shot 47 free throws in Game 4 and just 20 in Game 5, and it missed 14 of those. You can't count on that happening again.

So, yes, it was a fine victory, a continuation of the Pistons' tradition of staving off the killer's blade, which now stands at 8-1 in games in which they faced elimination since 2004.

But it should not take the feel of a wall against your back to make you play your best. As Wallace said, "It was easy to come out with energy tonight."

DREW SHARP: Pistons run past Heat in Game 5 (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/SPORTS03/606010467/1048/SPORTS)
Desperation can spawn energy, producing a little extra fuel where fatigue had taken up residence. And there's nothing more desperate than the realization of a season almost over and a dream almost dashed.

The Pistons had been bogged down by their own self-loathing. They finally shut up and played their game Wednesday night, defeating the Miami Heat in Game 5, 91-78. They moved the ball offensively, moved their feet defensively, and in the process, they moved all the pressure in the Eastern Conference finals onto Miami.

McDyess' 10 points key in second half (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/SPORTS03/606010430/1048/SPORTS)
McDyess helped the Pistons hold on to their lead at the start of the fourth quarter, hitting Detroit's first three buckets from the field to keep the Heat from whittling away the eight-point advantage Detroit enjoyed at the beginning of the quarter.

His two 16-footers served as bookends to his most powerful statement -- a rebound dunk off a Lindsey Hunter miss.

Miami never got closer than three points for the rest of the quarter.

[Hoopsworld]



Motown Soundtrack: All or nothing at all (http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_17575.shtml)
by Adriano Albuquerque

While the Detroit Pistons finally looked like themselves on Wednesday’s win, 91-78, over the Miami Heat in Game 5 – series now 3-2 to Miami –, they still didn’t look like a team that could come back from a 1-3 disadvantage in the Conference Finals. Rest assured, if this game was played at the AmericanAirlines Arena, it’s doubtful that the P’s would’ve come out with a victory. Motown’s Finest will have to work a lot if they wish to keep their unbeaten Game 6 streak alive.



[The Oakland Press]



Pistons breathe new life into a season on brink
(http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/060106/spo_2006060108.shtml)by DANA GAURUDER

AUBURN HILLS - Whether it was their last stand or the building block toward a spectacular comeback, the Pistons breathed some life into their season Wednesday night.

Though their shooting still left plenty to be desired, they played with energy and determination rarely seen during this often-maddening postseason. Tayshaun Prince scored a playoff-career high 29 points as the Pistons staved off elimination with a 91-78 win over Miami in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference fi nals at The Palace.



Saunders: No mutiny or friction in locker room (http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/060106/spo_2006060111.shtml)
by DANA GAURUDER

AUBURN HILLS - Dissension? No. Frustation? Plenty. The Pistons never expected to be confronted with two win-or-go-home games against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals and three do-or-die games against Miami in the conference finals.

Flip Saunders says there's no mutiny in the locker room between the players and the coaches or friction amongst the players.

[Sports Inferno]

[Am I the only one who thinks this headline could have been re-worded a bit?]

TERRY FOSTER: Pistons Ride Big Ben's Muscle (http://www.sportsinferno.com/viewheadline.php?Headline=216)
If the Pistons are to pull off the improbable they must do it one play at a time, one basket at a time and piece together all of their mulligans in the span of 48 hours. And Wallace must bring his hustle on from the opening minute. He has been criticized for uninspired play and rightly so. He has not brought it every moment. He did Wednesday and that is exactly what the Pistons need from him on the road.

Lies, lies and viscous innuendo...
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/05/31/165456.php

Lies, lies and viscous innuendo...
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/05/31/165456.php

That dude has a major axe to grind.

Show me a championship team that hasn't had lucky bounces or good luck on the injury front.

The Pistons can't control the fact that they play in the East, which many consider inferior to the West (although with the likes of Shaq, Wade, Labron, Redd, Arenas, Carter, etc. the balance of power is shifting).

The Pistons were also 25-5 against the West this season, but I guess that was a fluke as well.

Please. That article has more holes in it than swiss cheese. There's so much BS in there that he should start a fertilizer business.

[mlive.com]

Pistons win game 5 to stay alive (http://www.mlive.com/sportsflash/basketball/index.ssf?/base/sports-6/114913046433600.xml&storylist=basketball)
By LARRY LAGE
The Associated Press
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Tayshaun Prince scored a career playoff-high 29 points to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 91-78 win Wednesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, keeping the Pistons alive. The Miami Heat now lead the best-of-seven series, 3 games to 2.

Wallace's defense, Prince's offense spark Pistons (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149156671177540.xml&coll=1)
By A. Sherrod Blakely
AUBURN HILLS -- Ben Wallace had heard the rumblings about his demise, about how his game wasn't what it once was.
Well, for one night at least, Wallace looked like his old self, setting the tone from the outset as the Detroit Pistons kept their season alive with a 91-78 win against the Miami Heat on Wednesday in the Eastern Conference finals. The Heat lead the series, 3-2.

Heat not surprised that Pistons bounced back (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149156627177540.xml&coll=1)

AUBURN HILLS -- The Miami Heat didn't expect it to be easy.

Not in a possible playoff series close-out game against a battle-hardened Detroit Pistons team that has been to the last two NBA Finals. And definitely not before a frenzied crowd at The Palace, where the Pistons had the best home record in the league this season.


McDyess won't allow sprained wrist to sideline him (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149156612177540.xml&coll=1)

By Bill Khan

AUBURN HILLS -- Antonio McDyess has been seeking an NBA championship ring for too long to let a sprained wrist keep him out of the lineup.
"If it ain't broke, I'll play," he said.
One game after injuring his left wrist, McDyess provided a huge lift off the bench for the Detroit Pistons as they stayed alive in the Eastern Conference finals with a 91-78 victory against the Miami Heat Wednesday night at The Palace

Prince carries Pistons again (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149156647177540.xml&coll=1)
By Ansar Khan
AUBURN HILLS -- Miami Heat coach Pat Riley called it the biggest play of the game.
It's doubtful anybody on either team would dispute that.
Detroit Pistons guard Richard Hamilton drove the lane and tried to put up a jump shot, only to have Miami center Shaquille O'Neal block it. The ball, however, landed in the hands of Tayshaun Price, who was standing just outside the 3-point line. Without hesitation, Prince drained a 3-pointer, giving the Pistons a six-point lead (82-76) with 4:28 to play in the fourth quarter.

[Detroit Bad Boys]




Insider look at the Palace pressure (http://feeds.feedburner.com/detroitbadboys?m=715)

[After last night's game, I emailed Dave Wieme, Palace Sports & Entertainment Director of Strategic Communications, to find out what the mood was like in the offices at the Palace — whether everyone was on edge or taking the series in stride.
Dave replied back with an email that he sent out to the entire [...]



[Need4Sheed]



he Opposite Can Be Exhausting (http://need4sheed.blogspot.com/2006/06/opposite-can-be-exhausting.html)

As most of you know I am using The Opposite Strategy also know as The Costanza Theory, to do my part to get the Pistons some must needed playoff wins. Here was yesterday's rundown.

roscoe36: this is really cute. Natalie is a super fan.



[ESPN]



Friday should decide Flip's fate
(http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=whitlock/060601) By Jason Whitlock
Special to Page 2

Friday's Game 6 should decide Flip Saunders' fate.

If the Pistons lose in Miami and are eliminated from the playoffs in six games, Saunders should lose his job. If the Pistons force a seventh game in the Eastern Conference finals, then Saunders should stay on as coach of the Pistons regardless of what happens the rest of the playoffs.

[DetroitPistons.com]
DAVE WIEME: Noisily into the night (http://www.nba.com/pistons/features/web_blog_060601.html)
We go all the way down to the floor level and Matt wheels the box out of the elevator. I know it is the Eastern Conference trophy in the box and the NBA has sent it along, just in case it should be awarded tonight. It was 85 degrees outside and about 80 degrees inside, but I suddenly had a chill and broke out into a cold sweat. There was a real possibility that we were going home tonight…that we were done for the season…that tomorrow morning, the summer starts.

[Detroit Free Press]
DREW SHARP: Pistons lore should deep-six the Heat (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14719322.htm)
MIAMI - They're just a little antsy down here and it has nothing to do with the official start of hurricane season. There's another storm brewing that has south Florida looking for a little reassurance.

It's rated a Category Six, as in Game Six.

The Pistons don't lose them.

Simply forcing Game 7 will mean redemption (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14719887.htm)
If the Pistons win tonight in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against a Miami team that has dominated them for most of this series, if they force a winner-take-all Game 7 at The Palace on Sunday, then a lot of perceptions from the past two weeks become obsolete.

This team's legacy is not yet written. Tonight will go a long way in determining just what kind of tone its story deserves.

Pistons fans going full throttle (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14719884.htm)
Tonight in Miami, Detroit's home team won't hear the explosive joy of The Palace crowd, but it will receive showers of prayers.

Invocations both serious and silly have emerged as one of dozens of personal rituals by passionate Pistons fans are evoking in the desperate hopes their beloved basketball team will not be playing its last game of the season tonight. Pistons fans want a win, and they're doing, wearing and saying anything they can to will their team to Game 7.

[Chicago Tribune]
SAM SMITH: Pistons' Prince has this view - Pressure is on them and us (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14719308.htm)
The Detroit Pistons say the pressure is on the Miami Heat now, because if the Heat doesn't win Game 6 of the Western Conference finals at home Friday, it will face a deciding game Sunday in Detroit.

"Everyone knows any team in the league likes to play from in front," Ben Wallace said Wednesday after his dramatic block on Shaquille O'Neal helped ignite an unusually phlegmatic Pistons defense.

Pistons now shift heat to Miami (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14711551.htm)
Meanwhile, the Western Conference rivals seem to be rooting for the Heat. Mostly because whomever wins the West gets home-court advantage for the Finals over Miami.

Also, though no one on either the Phoenix Suns or the Dallas Mavericks would say it, both teams believe they can run on Miami and are too quick for the Heat, leaving O'Neal no one to guard.

[L.A. Times]
Prince Carries A Heavy Load for the Pistons (http://www.topix.net/content/trb/3036749528144615679417630819293922789118)
He was a star at Kentucky, but many NBA scouts couldn't see past his slight build, his 'long arms that seem to sway like a wooden puppet's from his thin, high shoulders,' as Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom once noted.

Nearly two dozen teams put him through pre-draft workouts.

Prince arrived in Detroit after a particularly grueling session in Chicago, where the Bulls had him dunk medicine balls one after another until he could do it no more, according to Kander, the Pistons' strength and conditioning coach.

'He came in and he could hardly move,' Kander said, recalling Prince's aching back and burning hamstrings. 'The very first play, a guy nailed him in the back and he fell to the floor. So your first thought is typical: You look at him and you think, 'Oh, God, this guy's not going to be able to get up.' He went and dominated the workout, with his back sore, dragging a leg, all that.

'Forget all the physical testing that we do. Here's a guy that pushed himself through. He got nailed into the basket on one play, got right up, went out there again, was attacking, was aggressive.'

[Miami Herald]
The danger zone (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14719269.htm)
''There is a danger here,'' Riley said. ``You're going against a team that has had a stronghold on this conference for the last three or four years. It's not going to be easy. When we went ahead 3-1, you get three bites of the apple, basically. Usually, on the first one, you try to gobble the whole thing, but we didn't. We get opportunity No. 2 at home.''

Nobody around the Heat wants Miami's fate to come down to opportunity No. 3.

Catchphrase now has urgency: It's the Heat's time (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14719554.htm)
Heat seasons have ended in home playoff losses in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2005. That's a lot of heartache bunched together, a lot of listening to opposing players fill the silence of your emptying arena with their echoing cheers. Miami franchise history is potholed with almosts and if-onlys. The bounces and cursed luck against the nemesis Knicks. The near-deals (Juwan Howard, Tracy McGrady) that fell through. Zo's illness. Wade's injury in this round a year ago.

Tonight can make everything better.

Mavericks' owner wants the Heat (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14702195.htm)
"Everyone in Dallas is rooting for the Heat for two reasons," Cuban, whose team is favored to beat Phoenix in the Western finals, relayed via e-mail. "We want to see Shaq in the Finals again, and it gives the Mavs home-court advantage."

Why does Cuban want to see Shaquille O'Neal in the Finals? "Great for TV ratings. We can play our Shaq Albert video and crack Shaq up during the games. Shaq and I can give hand signals and see if we get caught. Most importantly, if the Mavs make it past the Suns, it would be great basketball between two great teams."

_ Sightings: Kings forward Ron Artest wandering around crobar nightclub shirtless, women gravitating toward him .... Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups and Lindsey Hunter dining at separate tables at Prime 112. (Several Pistons rejected invitations to go clubbing on South Beach - unlike Vince Carter, who frolicked at B.E.D. past 3:30 a.m. the night before Miami eliminated the Nets.)

[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Heat's angry, ready (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-heat02jun02,0,6428612.story?coll=sfla-sports-heat)
Riley insisted during a Thursday teleconference, there also should be no emotional scars from Wednesday's competitive loss.

He said his players seemed to take home that message.

"I didn't sense in the locker room a real frustrated team," he said, having given his players Thursday off. "I sensed a team that was angry, because they know they did not play the game well."

DAVE HYDE: Gauging Heat's highs, lows (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-hyde02jun02,0,5440979.column?coll=sfla-sports-heat)
"You can be the first one," Riley told guard Dwyane Wade, meaning Wade would be the first player from the celebrated 2003 draft class to make the NBA Finals. [Wrong.]

"You're a long way from France," Riley told forward Udonis Haslem, who played in basketball's hinterlands three years ago.

"You've been there before," he told veteran Gary Payton, who advanced to the Finals twice.

He told Antoine Walker, "You can take the next step," and Alonzo Mourning, "You've fought for this."

All these words are just as relevant before tonight's Game 6, maybe more so, because the line to the entire team goes like so:

You can deliver the biggest win in Heat history -- or the worst loss.

White hot's not cool for all in Miami (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-snowhitejun02,0,4236213.story?coll=sfla-sports-heat)
There are a few fans who won't be "White Hot," despite the Heat's marketing campaign.

During the 30 minutes before each Heat playoff game, the arena camera operators zoom in on fans not dressed in white. Announcer Michael Baiamonte hollers out "Hey you! Put on that shirt!" to those who sit with their free white shirts draped over their shoulders.

"I call it coaxing," Baiamonte said.

The color campaign is the third in three years, following up on last year's "The Red Zone" and 2004's "Back in Black." The 20,000-plus arena seats are covered in white pillowcases to enhance the snowy look, and ushers give away white shirts at the first home game of each playoff series.

IRA WINDERMAN: Do ... or die? (http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_basketball_heat/2006/06/do_or_die.html)
The Heat can win in Detroit and has been competitive in every game at the Palace of Auburn Hills in this series.

That said, it would be foolish for the Heat to think just because it's home for Friday's Game 6 of these Eastern Conference finals that closing out this series will be easy.

[Palm Beach Post]
Pressure: Heat find the series turned around (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/heat/content/sports/epaper/2006/06/02/a1b_heat_0602.html)
Lose, and the Heat trudges back to Detroit tied at three games apiece to play a supremely confident Pistons team in Game 7 on Sunday. And according to the numbers, it would be an almost certain Miami loss. Home teams are 78-17 (.821 winning percentage) in NBA playoff Game 7s, and on top of that, Detroit had the league's best regular-season home record at 37-4.

So while Miami says tonight isn't a must-win game — after all, it can point to Detroit winning Game 7 of last year's conference finals on the Heat's home floor — percentages say otherwise.

GREG STODA: Riley pensive in role as Great Motivator (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/heat/content/sports/epaper/2006/06/02/a1b_stoda_0602.html)
Riley, who has his own great and proud reputation as a coach and motivator, now finds himself searching for just the right voice with which to entice his team. His predicament is that a good portion of the Heat core features not just veterans, but veterans who are or were NBA stars — O'Neal, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning — of considerable significance.

Mix in other veterans (Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, James Posey and a few others), and it can, with the exception of Mourning and his fierce allegiance to Riley, make for a bored audience.

Big-game success bolsters Detroit (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/heat/content/sports/epaper/2006/06/02/a6b_pistonside_0602.html)
KEY BISCAYNE — Flip Saunders isn't ready to burst just yet, and the Pistons coach hopes his team won't either.

Saunders described himself as "a standing piñata" on Thursday because of all the criticism he has taken as the Pistons trail the Heat 3-2 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.

The Pistons fought off one elimination game with Wednesday's 91-78 victory, and Saunders, in his first season coaching the reigning two-time Eastern Conference champions, hopes they can do it again with Game 6 tonight in Miami.

When asked if the piñata has broken, Saunders said, "They got a little bit of candy out of me, but I've got a lot left."

As for the team, Saunders said experience has eased any anxiety.

"I think if you didn't have a team that was in this situation as much as they've been, you'd maybe be somewhat concerned," Saunders said. "But this team has faced elimination many times and had success. They feel confident."

[Washington Times]
TOM KNOTT: Pistons headed for exit (http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20060602-122753-9227r.htm)
If the Pistons go down tonight, it will be well-deserved.

That would prompt a goodbye, along with a good riddance.

No team should find a reward after throwing its beleaguered coach under the bus, especially the coach who succeeded the one who abandoned it for the 23-win dream job in Manhattan.

[This is one bitter dude, and he pours the Hatorade all over everybody. But some of his points are actually the same ones we've been making in the forums.]

[Detroit News]

Pistons feel momentum is building; will it be enough? (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060602/SPORTS0102/606020340/1004)
"We know each other real well right now," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "It's going to come down to effort plays. It's going to come down to who's making free throws, who's rebounding the ball, who's not making turnovers. It comes down to those kinds of factors; at least that's been my experience."

Terry Foster's Game 6 preview (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060602/SPORTS0102/606020341/1004)
Alonzo Mourning wants to get the Heat crowd into the game as quickly as possible. So you can pretty much expect some sort of extra-curricular activity from him. It might be a hard foul on Richard Hamilton or a push or shove against someone else. Either way, Mourning wants to impose his will when he's in the game.

Daly: Clincher is hardest game to win (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060602/SPORTS08/606020329/1004)
Daly, watching from a section behind the basket at Miami's end of the court, was reminded of his words as the Pistons began to seize control late in Game 5. The Heat have never been to the Finals. Their first attempt to clinch was sliding through their fingers.

"It's brutal," Daly said of the pressure to clinch.

There was a new energy surge from the Pistons. What did Daly like?
"They're pushing it," Daly said, meaning all over the court, not just on offense.

ROB PARKER: Pistons will need Rasheed's 'A' game in Game 6 tonight (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060602/SPORTS08/606020336/1004)
Despite Wallace's 3-for-11 shooting Wednesday, he's closer to snapping out of his funk than most think. If you watched closely, several shots rimmed out, including a couple of three-pointers. He's just a tad off.

So, the Heat should fear Wallace for a couple of key reasons.

BOB WOJNOWSKI: It's now ... or next season (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060602/SPORTS08/606020342/1004/SPORTS)
"There's no pressure on us at all," Wade said, not completely convincing. "We've got a golden opportunity to win Game 6 at home. These are the conference champions. There's no pressure on us."

He actually used the "no pressure on us" line four times in a 20-second answer. Makes you wonder.

[Terre Haute Tribune Star]



Given To Fly: Look for Pistons to play music of champions (http://www.tribstar.com/sports_columns/local_story_153002333.html)
By Craig Pearson

TERRE HAUTE — I’ve been through Detroit before, but never had I entered the Palace of Auburn Hills until recently.

It’s not the Boston Garden, but there is some basketball tradition there.

When I was about eight years old, one of my first NBA memories was the Pistons taking down Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals.


[MSNBC]



Despite 3-2 lead, pressure is on Heat (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13090435/)
Miami doesn't want to face prospect of returning to Detroit for Game 7
By Mike Celizic

Miami lost Game 5, coach but Pat Riley’s warriors are still up 3-2 on the Detroit Pistons with Game 6 on their home floor, where they are expected to win. And because of that, the heat’s now on the Heat.

Pressure is a funny thing, often weighing more heavily on those on whom it should weigh the least. Logic says that when the Heat took a 3-1 lead over the favored Pistons, all of the pressure moved to Detroit’s side of the ledger. After all, when teams led by a future Hall of Famer and a rising superstar get such a lead, they almost never lose a series.



[Boston Globe]



Billups has turned into a big shot (http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2006/06/02/billups_has_turned_into_a_big_shot/)
by Jackie MacMullan

Pitino's brief reign as king of the Celtics was a disaster, in part, because he was too impatient to allow his young players to develop, but really, now, how many of us thought Chauncey Billups would be a legitimate league MVP candidate someday?

Not me. As much as I loved the kid's energy and confidence during his brief tenure in Boston, I understood Pitino's concerns that he was a ``tweener" who might not ever develop the necessary skills to become a successful point guard, and wondered aloud if he would ever hone the kind of perimeter game that would be crucial to his success.



[New York Daily News]



After block, Ben rejects Shaq notion (http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/423061p-357064c.html)
by MITCH LAWRENCE

MIAMI - On your typical NBA day, Shaquille O'Neal has almost no use for Ben Wallace. In O'Neal's mind, Wallace is among the legion of annoying defenders who resort to flopping to get calls and whining to the refs when they can't contend with the Diesel's physical play.

So it came as no surprise that after Miami had its lead cut to 3-2 in the Eastern Conference finals, Shaq gave Wallace no credit for coming up with one of the great all-time blocks against O'Neal, a play that the Pistons hope will continue to resonate here tonight in Game 6.

[the Oakland Press]

Feeling it? (http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/060206/spo_2006060206.shtml)
By DANA GAURUDER
Of The Oakland Press

For the first time in the Eastern Conference finals, the Miami Heat are feeling the heat. Not just the sweltering humidity of their home base, but the burning sensation of being under the most stressful of situations.

Pistons have fallen off behind the 3-point line (http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/060206/spo_2006060209.shtml)
By DAVID BIRKETTOf The Oakland Press

One of the top 3-point shooting teams in the regular season, the Pistons have struggled with their stroke from beyond the arc in the Eastern Conference finals. Detroit made just 2 of 15 3-pointers in Wednesday's 91-78 Game 5 victory, and is shooting 28.9 percent this round. In the regular season, the Pistons had the third-best 3-point percentage in the league (38.4 percent), behind only Phoenix (39.9) and San Antonio (38.5).

A.Sherod Blakely's blog at MLIVE.COM (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/weblog/index.ssf?/mtlogs/mlive_pistons/archives/2006_06.html#147036)

Looking beyond the playoffs, tough decisions looming
With the Pistons having workouts this morning with a bunch of players few have ever heard of, with Michigan’s Daniel Horton being the exception, it’s time to start at least peeking around the corner at next season.

[Associated Press]
Heat eliminate Pistons in Game 6 rout (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BKN_PISTONS_HEAT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-06-03-03-17-14)
O'Neal had 28 points and 16 rebounds and Dwyane Wade - who spent part of his day in a hospital battling dehydration and flu-like symptoms - added 14 points as the Heat ended the Detroit Pistons' two-year reign as Eastern Conference champions with an 95-78 win Friday.

Jason Williams, one of Riley's prized and numerous offseason additions, came up huge with Wade lagging in Game 6, scoring 21 points on 10-for-12 shooting.

[NBA.com]
Heat overcome Wade's illness to eliminate Pistons (http://www.nba.com/games/20060602/DETMIA/recap.html)
Amid all the analysis, what this series came down to was making shots. In the clincher, Miami shot 56 percent (39-of-70) while Detroit managed just 33 percent (27-of-81).

"Every time we crawled back, we got open shots but just didn't hit them," Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince said. "I can't remember the last time we played defense like this. When you play defense like this and you give the other team a chance to set up their defense, that is when we became cold."

[Fox Sports]
CHARLEY ROSEN: How the Heat cooked the Pistons (http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5662958)
What was the difference? The absence of the surprise element was the biggest. It's remarkable what a veteran coach and veteran players can accomplish during an off-day practice session. Once Shaq could identify who was where, and what were the available spaces in which he could maneuver, the Pistons would have needed a third Wallace to contain him.

Moreover, when a defense takes something away from an offense, they must necessarily create alternative scoring opportunities for their opponents. So, with Shaq circumscribed, Udonis Haslem was ceded open jumpers in Game 5 — and couldn't shoot himself in the foot. Come Game 6, however, Haslem shot well enough (4-9 for 8 points, with several of his misses coming late in the game) to take advantage of Detroit's anti-Shaq schemes.

For most teams, developing an all-inclusive offensive rhythm can take several minutes. That's why coaches like to have a starter who can unilaterally ring up points right out of the gate while everybody else is getting comfortable and coordinated. That's exactly what Jason Williams did — and more. Popping jumpers, blowing by Chauncey Billups to either score layups or toss dunk-me passes to Shaq. Williams' astounding 10-12 shooting and 21 points easily compensated for Wade's being hampered by a flu bug.

Saunders might feel the heat after first season (http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5663150)
With Friday's setback in Miami, Saunders fell to 7-25 on the road in the playoffs. Only Mike Fratello (5-26) has been worse away from home among NBA coaches with at least 20 postseason games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Pistons were 0-3 on the Heat's court, 1-2 at Cleveland in the second round and 1-1 against Milwaukee on the road in the first round.

[ESPN]
DAILY DIME: Finally, the Heat (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-060603)
Chris Sheridan: For now, the Heat have knocked off their nemesis and make it somewhere they've never been before. They'll return to work Sunday while the Pistons are back home revisiting how and where it all went wrong, wondering if their three-year run as the class of the conference has already come to an end.

"They did what we used to do as a team, forcing their will on a team and playing the way they wanted to play. When they had an opportunity to go out and take control, that's exactly what they did," Pistons center Ben Wallace said. "They were the better team."

Chad Ford: For most of the regular season, Saunders lived up to advance billing, and then some. The team performed at a very high level, making a run at 70 wins and showing more freedom and confidence than ever, and Saunders finished a strong third in the Coach of the Year voting.

However, he made some critical mistakes that might have cost the Pistons the title.

First, he refused to develop his bench. Not only did he ride his top six -- Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess -- into the ground, but he never developed the depth necessary to provide them relief.

Talented players like Darko Milicic, Carlos Arroyo and Carlos Delfino sat around doing little or nothing. Eventually Arroyo and Milicic were shipped out, with the rationale being that the Pistons might as well get rid of them if the coach wasn't going to play them. Delfino will ask for a trade when the season ends.

Chris Sheridan: All Wallace needed to say Friday night was that he wanted and expected to return, but he wouldn't go even that far while initially ducking questions about his future and then giving a few vague answers before exiting the locker room and getting on the team bus that would take the Pistons to the airport for the long flight back to Detroit.

After firing his old agent and saying he planned to have an attorney (billing on an hourly basis rather than taking a percentage) negotiate his new deal, Wallace went out last month and hired one of the most powerful deal brokers in the business, Arn Tellem.

"I needed an agent, that's all that is," Wallace said. "You know, everyone needs somebody to talk for them every now and then. They get tired of hearing your voice."

[Detroit Bad Boys]
Heat in Six (http://www.detroitbadboys.com/)
Wow. This is going to have to sink in for a little bit. But I tip my hat to Miami. They played like they wanted it for six games straight, while Detroit kind of meandered around for a few games, panicked and then it was just too late. If Miami plays in the Finals like they did in this series, they may even win a game or two.

But is there anything more annoying than Miami fans? If the Pistons are going to lose, I'd at least like to see them lose to a team like the Cavs whose home fans aren't too cool to cheer the whole game. Miami had to settle for passing out those cicadas-sounding noisemakers which made the television broadcast nearly unbearable. And what's up with these guys below? You think the guy wearing the "E" said, "Wait, put powder on my face? No, that would be weird."

[Need4Sheed.com]
It's Over (http://need4sheed.blogspot.com/)
[Nothing except a mushroom cloud ... and utter silence about a certain player who we did indeed need.]

[Detroit News]
Meltdown (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060603/SPORTS0102/606030395/1004/SPORTS)
"They just beat us, man," Antonio McDyess said. "They totally just beat us. Give them all the credit. They came out, jumped on us and we didn't have a chance. We tried to fight back, but we didn't have nothing to fight them with."

The Pistons at the end looked worn, ragged and beaten -- humiliated -- and now face a suddenly uncertain future. The accumulated fatigue of 83 playoff games over the last four years appeared to catch up with them. They were several steps slower than the Heat throughout the series, unable to match their intensity or aggression.

"It's just so disappointing to get to the end of the season and not be playing our best basketball, not even close," Chauncey Billups said. "It is really disappointing. But only one team is ever happy at the end and that's the champion."

Wallace laments 'wasted season' (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060603/SPORTS0102/606030402/1004/SPORTS)
MIAMI -- The Pistons' locker room, normally a boisterous place, was as quiet as a state funeral.

Players shuffled around in silence. Reporters lingered around lockers in silence. And Pistons center Ben Wallace, not one to usually make a lot of noise, was also very quiet.

Will there be changes? (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060603/SPORTS0102/606030400/1004/SPORTS)
Pistons president Joe Dumars said after Game 6 there would be roster changes next season, but it's highly unlikely he'll call for a major overhaul.

"I don't feel like this is the end of the run," Chauncey Billups said. "I just feel like it was one of those years where we just fell short. We have a lot of pieces here that hopefully can be here for a long time.

"What I hope is, we take the team we've got and get it better."

BOB WOJNOWSKI: Done (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060603/SPORTS08/606030421/1004/SPORTS)
This was about recapturing something, that chip the Pistons once wore. They've always have been poor fat cats and great hungry ones. Maybe that astonishing 39-6 regular-season start and those four All Stars and all that praise came at a cost, at a loss of griminess -- that willingness to do whatever it took in the toughest times.

The Heat displayed more of a chip, more anger, as if grabbing something they thought they deserved. A year ago, the Pistons came into this same arena, beat the Heat in Game 7, then moved on to the NBA Finals. They left behind a Miami team to stew and scheme, to rebuild its roster, to rejuvenate coach Pat Riley and inspire O'Neal and anger Wade.

ROB PARKER: Cold shooting chills Pistons' title dreams (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060603/SPORTS08/606030398/1004/SPORTS)
The Pistons lost because they couldn't score consistently. Period.

How do you fix that? It wasn't all jump shots. They missed layups, too. Really, it's almost unexplainable.

[Detroit Free Press]
Miami 95, Detroit 78: Heatstroke (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060603/SPORTS03/606030395/1048/SPORTS)
"It's the way we came out and played," said Antonio McDyess, the only regular without a championship ring. "We didn't play the basketball we normally play. We didn't move the ball, didn't stop anybody on defense. Flip can only put so much in front of you, and you can only do so much in going on there and leaving it all on the court, and we just let them totally take our heart."

McDyess, a catalyst in the Game 5 win, was scoreless Friday. He wasn't alone in his offensive troubles. Billups went 3-for-14 for nine points and had eight assists. Rasheed Wallace was a ghost, scoring 10 points on 12 shots. Tayshaun Prince, always a quiet scorer, was simply quiet. He scored 10 points.

DREW SHARP: Pistons' two-year Eastern reign ends with empty feeling (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060603/SPORTS03/606030389/1048/SPORTS)
The legacy of this disaster will be that the Pistons forgot who they were and what they stood for. They were strongest when they understood that they weren't the pick of the litter. They're mutts. They came to Detroit as cast-offs and attained a high level of success because the five starters fused their respective strengths together for a common goal.

They forgot that in the flurry of accolades and acknowledgements over the course of a 64-win regular season and 80% of the starting lineup earning All-Star consideration. They got bloated from an inflated sense of self-importance.

Hopefully, the humility from their precipitous drop from lord of the manor to basement dweller will serve as a valuable lesson in the critical weeks ahead.

MITCH ALBOM: Burned out (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060603/SPORTS03/606030392/1048/SPORTS)
Perhaps the saddest part for Pistons fans is that their players in this series, uncharacteristically, talked a better game than they played. They talked about moving. But they didn't move. They talked about having confidence. But they didn't play with confidence. They talked about putting pressure on Miami. But Detroit was the team with a piano on its back.

Here was Prince, Friday night, missing an open lay-up on a fast break. Here was Rip Hamilton throwing a ball over Ben Wallace's head. Here was Antonio McDyess with butterfingers on what could have been two easy baskets. Here was Billups hitting more iron that a blacksmith, and Rasheed Wallace, a rhythm shooter, showing all the rhythm of a kid banging his alphabet blocks together.

Chauncey had three baskets all night. Tayshaun had three. Rasheed had four. McDyess and Lindsey Hunter had none. It was embarrassing. Beneath them. No way for former champions to go down. But when you choose to live on a ledge, you are not allowed a single misstep.

Pistons Corner: Big Ben's heart says stay in Detroit, but ... (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060603/SPORTS03/606030360/1048/SPORTS)
Wallace, who won his fourth defensive player of the year award, will be 32 in September, meaning a max contract of six years would lock him up until he's 38. That's not something Detroit wants to do.

Teams such as Chicago and Atlanta might push the price and amount of years on the deal into an area the Pistons don't want to go.

If so, it will be up to Wallace and his new powerful agent, Arn Tellem, to decide what is really more important -- inking his final deal of his career for as much as possible or staying in Detroit for another crack at a championship, even if it nets him only a three- or four-year contract.
One thing is certain -- the players think they need Wallace back if they want to stay at the elite level for at least another season.

"We'll be fine," point guard Chauncey Billups said. "The whole thing is, we have to get Ben back. He is the Pistons. ... Our whole thing this summer is we have to get Ben back."

...

After the loss, the locker room was understandably solemn. No one seemed to take it harder than Antonio McDyess, the only regular contributor who hasn't won a championship ring.

In his emotional state, he said he now didn't believe he ever would.

"This feels like the end," he said. "It doesn't feel like I'm ever going to come close to that ring again. They always say that a lot ... once you get to the Finals, it's hard to get back. My chance, it seems like I had the best chance of winning it last year. And now, it seems like it faded away, and I don't think it'll ever come back."

[And on that blue note, we draw the season to a close with hopes for next year. This has been LanierFan, signing off.]

[the Oakland Press]

Season stalled (http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/060306/spo_2006060308.shtml)
blah blah blah blah blah we lost blah blah...

[mlive.com]

Pistons' run ends as Heat advance to NBA Finals (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149329459277740.xml&coll=1)

different words same story.

A stunner -- Wallace hits 3 free throws in a row (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149329428277740.xml&coll=1)
This column is about Shane Wallace age 10 from Grand Rapids. Poor tyke's been working on his range for weeks.

Ill Wade takes on different role to aid Heat (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149329419277740.xml&coll=1)
Espn beat this to death but mlive knows how to channel the afterlife apparently.

[And on that blue note, we draw the season to a close with hopes for next year. This has been LanierFan, signing off.]
Thank you for all the hard work.

[mlive.com]

Pistons' run ends as Heat advance to NBA Finals (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149329459277740.xml&coll=1)

different words same story.

A stunner -- Wallace hits 3 free throws in a row (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149329428277740.xml&coll=1)
This column is about Shane Wallace age 10 from Grand Rapids. Poor tyke's been working on his range for weeks.

Ill Wade takes on different role to aid Heat (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149329419277740.xml&coll=1)
Espn beat this to death but mlive knows how to channel the afterlife apparently.

What does it say that I find the grumpy summaries far more informative than the straightforward factual ones?

[Detroit Free Press]

MITCH ALBOM: Walk of shame? (http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060604/SPORTS03/606040602/1051)
MIAMI -- Late Friday night, inside the American Airlines Arena, streams of happy people were celebrating an Eastern Conference finals crown. One group of Heat dancers was joined by a cluster of older fans, and together they came down the hall squealing and shrieking.
Some people think Mitch is an idiot but he tells good anecdotes

WHAT'S NEXT? Hopefully more defense, more swagger (http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060604/SPORTS03/606040719/1051)

On Saturday afternoon, under a sky sporadically spitting fat drops of rain, the Detroit Pistons sporadically emerged from the team's practice facility, carrying boxes of possessions to their awaiting Range Rovers and Escalades.

[Detroit News]

McCosky: Things aren't as bad as they seem (http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060604/SPORTS08/606040327/1004/SPORTS)
AUBURN HILLS - The suddenness of the collapse will keep the Pistons' organization spinning for a bit. It’s going to take a while to fully comprehend and understand all that went into it.

Link to discussion on this article: Mouthpiece? (http://www.pistonsforum.com/detroit-pistons-general-discussion/3010-pistons-insider-pistons-mouthpiece.html)

[the Oakland Press]

B. Wallace indicates he wants to return (http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/060406/spo_2006060410.shtml)
By DAVID BIRKETT
Of The Oakland Press

AUBURN HILLS - Ben Wallace found some room for humor after the Pistons' premature exit from the NBA playoffs Friday. On the three-hour flight back to Detroit from Miami, with his
teammates prodding him about his pending free agency and encouraging him to re-sign with the Pistons, Wallace shared a couple of laughs that, for a minute, dulled the pain off the 95-78 Game 6 loss.

Dream season falls flat (http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/060406/spo_2006060407.shtml)
By DANA GAURUDER
Of The Oakland Press

Call it the 'Curse of the Darko.'

What more do you need. Click on the link!!!

[MLIVE.COM]

Pistons look forward to next season as they pack up and go home (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/114941580963030.xml&coll=1)
By A. Sherrod Blakely

AUBURN HILLS -- One by one, the Detroit Pistons left the team's practice facility on Saturday with bags and boxes filled with shoes, sweat bands and other basketball paraphernalia, all collected over the course of a long season. One by one, they jumped in their luxury automobiles and Sports Utility Vehicles and headed to parts unknown, a common destination for players on teams eliminated from the playoffs.

McDyess downcast over wasted opportunity (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149374410240720.xml&coll=1)
By Bill Khan
MIAMI -- For Antonio McDyess, the 2005-06 NBA season was another wasted opportunity.
A 31-year-old veteran who has been plagued by injuries during his 10-year career, McDyess felt the pain of losing to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals perhaps more than any other member of the Detroit Pistons.

[New York Daily News]



It was time for Pistons to move aside for the surging Heat (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/14738421.htm)
by MITCH LAWRENCE

MIAMI - Flip Saunders might want to do what his friends and family suggested during the Eastern Conference finals, now that the Detroit Pistons' reign in the East is over and their 64-win season has officially been committed to the junk pile.

"Take cover," they told the Pistons' first-year coach.


[Toronto Star]



Days of outdated Pistons' dynasty are over (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1149371435601&call_pageid=968867503640&col=970081593064&t=TS_Home)
Change could be on the way in Detroit after the Pistons bow out to Heat
by DOUG SMITH

They don't make dynasties like they used to.

The Detroit Pistons played in each of the last four NBA Eastern Conference finals, winning two of them along with one league championship. They head into this summer with the invincibility vanquished, their defensive-first philosophy an abject failure at the moment and facing serious, franchise-altering decisions.

A day after their dismissal from the NBA's Eastern Conference championship by the Miami Heat in a six-game series that sounded an awful lot closer than it actually was, the Pistons are a dynasty if not in ruin, at least teetering on the brink.

[Doug Smith is one of my favorite Canadian sports writers.]

Excerpt from ESPN.com, Page 2, Bill Simmons, sports columnist

In case you're scoring at home, we're still running down a dream. Here are 12 burning questions as we head into one of the more fascinating weekends in recent NBA history ...

Question No. 12: Are the Pistons done?

Let's rephrase the question: How are the Pistons still alive? The Cavs should have finished them off in Game 6 and lost because Detroit banked home two lucky shots and tipped in a couple of rebounds. Truth be told, the Pistons haven't played a quality, all-around game since Game 1 of the Cleveland series, when they annihilated the Cavs and apparently decided that "we can turn it on and off whenever we want."

You can do that if you have a great team. But as we're learning, this isn't a great team anymore. First, Joe Dumars did nothing to help his bench other than sign Antonio McDyess two years ago -- none of the draft picks or trades helped, and the Darko debacle, from beginning to end, ranks among the most mishandled personnel sagas in the history of the league. Second, you can't grind out those 72-70 wins anymore, not when the various rule changes reward teams that can shoot 3s and attack the basket, and it's just too much of a chore for these guys to score against good defensive teams (especially when they're playing four-on-five with Ben Wallace). Third, they have the wrong coach -- it's obvious now -- and it seems like he's getting more overwhelmed with each game.

But here's the biggest thing: These guys played with a collective chip on their shoulder for two solid years. Nobody thought they could beat the Lakers -- they crushed them. People wondered if they could defend their title -- they made it to the last game of the Finals. Nobody respected them as much without Larry Brown -- they rolled off a 38-6 streak to start the season and crushed the Spurs twice. And everything was going great, and they looked unstoppable ... and then the All-Star picks came out. Billups, Hamilton and the Wallaces all made it. They spent a weekend in Houston getting their butts kissed. And then the wheels came off. It was like the scene in "Rocky III" when Mickey tells Rocky that he needs to retire, that the worst thing happened to him that could ever happen to a boxer -- namely, he'd been civilized. And I think the All-Star Game civilized the Pistons.

In their heyday, they resembled one of those boxers who overpowered opponents simply by outpunching them, by knocking the crap out of them, by coming forward again and again and breaking their will. Since the All-Star Game, they morphed into something different, more of a finesse team, definitely more inconsistent, the kind of team they would have gobbled up two years ago. The wakeup call happened in Game 4 of the Cavs series, after Rasheed guaranteed a victory, when they squandered a winnable game against an inferior team. Great teams show up for those. Even during Game 5 of the Miami series, a deceiving double-digit win for the Pistons at home, the Heat were in striking distance despite shooting an abysmal 6-for-20 from the charity stripe. Six-for-20! And they still had a chance to win?

Sure, the Pistons still can salvage the Miami series. But Young Flanagan taught us that everything ends badly, otherwise it wouldn't end, and this Pistons team reminds me of some other fading powerhouses that were symbolically blown out in a series to end their reign (the '88 Celtics, '91 Pistons and '04 Lakers, to name three). I don't think they have a chance tonight.

More importantly, I hope they get knocked out -- not because I'm tired of watching them, but because I'm bored by the whole we're-trying-harder-tonight-because-our-backs-are-against-the-wall mind-set. Is that an acceptable excuse anymore? Just look at the Western Conference, where the undermanned Suns have been killing themselves for 19 straight playoff games (and counting). No excuses, no empty promises, no tough talk ... just a gritty team that loves playing together, keeps showing up and seems determined to keep winning or go down fighting. And you thought Detroit was the tough one.

Bill Simmons is a columnist for Page 2 and ESPN The Magazine.

Note: I read this guy alot. Entertainment. He never has liked the Pistons, but I thought he made some interesting points so I added it to the article list. He dates our demise this season to the All-Star Game and how it impacted our players. Not sure I agree, but I do notice that Tay had the best post-season of the starters. As we say in the 12-step world "Take what you want and leave the rest."

[Detroit News]

Humbled Pistons must find selves (http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060605/SPORTS08/606050311/1127/SPORTS0102)
The Pistons thought they had it all figured out, that shared responsibility reduced individual accountability. Then they got in trouble against Cleveland, lost their way against Miami and players scrambled for someone to blame.

Parker: Saunders will be back, despite the blame he's gotten (http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060605/SPORTS08/606050307/1127)
Flip Saunders isn't going anywhere. Despite the Pistons' ugly, unexpected playoff collapse, suggestions by NBA writers and analysts that he was outcoached by Miami's Pat Riley, and Pistons players openly criticizing him, Saunders will return for a second season in Detroit.

[Detroit Free Press]

DREW SHARP: Pistons need to flip script (http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060605/SPORTS03/606050330/1051)

Perspective is mandatory when assessing where the Pistons go next, after visions of grandeur crash-landed in the moist heat of south Florida. Before bowing to anger for how the season ended, there first must be appreciation for the arduous road traveled for four years.

KRISTA JAHNKE: Bad ending didn't ruin ride (http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060605/SPORTS03/606050374/1051)
As a rookie NBA beat writer this season, I often found myself watching Pistons games while silently reminding myself how lucky I was.


[MLIVE.com]
Wallace wants to return to Pistons, but who knows? (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149502227264360.xml&coll=1)

AUBURN HILLS -- Moments before departing the Detroit Pistons practice facility this weekend for the official start of his offseason, Ben Wallace was asked about possible changes the Pistons may make in order to get back to the NBA Finals.
"I'm a free agent," Wallace said with a chuckle. "I might be one of those changes."

[NBA.com]

Joe Dumars Press Conference Quotes (http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/dumarsquotes_060605.html)

Where do you go from here Joe?
“You keep adding, really. You look at your team and what you don't do is just evaluate your team over the last 2 weeks or the last few weeks. You can't build a team like that. You can't build a special sports franchise by judging a team just over a 2 or 3 week period. I have to judge the team from October 1st until this past Friday night. And I'm looking at our team, even when we're winning 64 games, I see holes. During the regular season I see holes. So when we get to this point at the end of the season, it's summertime now, it's not like all of a sudden I'm looking and saying, 'Okay, what do we have to do now?' I've been looking all year, and the holes that were there during the regular season are still there. So that doesn't change for me. The changes or whatever we need to add, didn't just come to me over the weekend because we lost Friday nlight. I saw them in February, in March.”

[farlane]



NBA Comix: The Mystical Powers of Dewayne Wade’s Shiny Ball (http://farlane.wordpress.com/2006/06/03/nba-comix-the-mystical-powers-of-dewayne-wades-shiny-ball/)

I don't normally post farlane, but he's an ok cat.


[The Oakland Press]



Dumars could have helped more this year (http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/060506/spo_2006060508.shtml)
by PAT CAPUTO

The common thought, at least around these parts, is that Steve Yzerman skates on ice and Joe Dumars walks on water.

Dumars did take the Pistons from the bottom of the barrel to four seasons of bliss, during which they at least made it to the Eastern Conference finals. He did restore the glory of the Bad Boys era by making several astute moves that led to the 2004 NBA championship.

But getting the Pistons to the mountaintop and staying there have been two different matters. Dumars hasn't made the right moves to keep the Pistons in first.



[FoxSports]



There's plenty of blame to go around Detroit (http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5667432)
by Charley Rosen

Throughout the regular season the Pistons gleefully championed their new coach, Flip Saunders. Contrasting his regime with that of Larry Brown, the players talked about "freedom," and "having fun." However, once Detroit began stumbling in the playoffs — having the mediocre Bucks extend them to six games, needing seven to overcome the Cavs, and finally losing to Miami — several Pistons began to sharply criticize Saunders.

So, then, what did happen to the brief Pistons' dynasty? And how much of their unexpected downfall was Saunders' fault?

In truth, Saunders was guilty of committing several unfortunate turnovers.



[Sports Network]



What's next for the Pistons? (http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=nba/misc/beyond.htm)
by Warren Blatt

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Detroit hit a bump in the road when it was eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals by the Miami Heat. The Pistons had represented the East in the 2004 and 2005 NBA Finals and have appeared in the conference finals four straight years.

The Pistons, who captured the Central Division and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs because of their franchise-best 64 victories during the regular season, seemed to lose something in the conference semis. They were pushed to seven games by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and even though Detroit won it took a lot out of the Pistons.



[Battle Creek Enquirer]

oooooh yeah baby, Battle Creek in the hizouse!



Confidence cost Pistons (http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060605/SPORTS/606050318/1006)
by Larry Lage

DETROIT — What made the Detroit Pistons a championship team also led to their downfall this season.

Confidence.

The Pistons believed they could overcome any obstacle because history showed them they usually did.

Detroit overcame a 3-2 deficit four times the past four postseasons, including last month against Cleveland, but couldn't do it a fifth time against the Heat.

"We got a little too comfortable with all of the comebacks we had in the past," point guard Chauncey Billups acknowledged Friday night in Miami after being eliminated in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. "It blew up in our face."


[New York Newsday]



Pistons showing mileage (http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/ny-spbarker044769095jun04,0,7313755.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists)
Barbara Barker

Here's the good news for the Pistons: Joe Dumars is one of the best general managers in the game. Here's the caveat: He'd better be, because he has his work cut out for him this summer if he doesn't want this to be the end of Detroit's great run.

The first order of consideration is what to do about coach Flip Saunders. After establishing what seemed like a lovey-dovey relationship with his team in the regular season, Saunders lost his players in the playoffs. Everyone knew the Pistons were toast when Ben Wallace started pointing fingers so early in the Miami series.

[AP via Booth Newspapers]



Dumars hopes to keep Pistons' nucleus together (http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/base/sports-18/1149538154181360.xml&storylist=mibusiness)
by LARRY LAGE

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Joe Dumars hopes to take his chances at competing for a title next year with the top six players the Detroit Pistons have had the past two seasons.

If Detroit is able to re-sign Ben Wallace, an unrestricted free agent, the Pistons president of basketball operations said he expects to keep the team's nucleus intact to make another run after falling short of the NBA finals for the first time since 2003.

[Detroit News]

Ben Wallace key to Dumars' plans (http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060606/SPORTS0102/606060319/1127)
AUBURN HILLS -- In his annual postseason state-of-the-team address Monday, Pistons president Joe Dumars said there was only one way he would overhaul his roster this summer -- if free-agent center Ben Wallace chose to sign elsewhere.

Dumars: Saunders' status is 'nonissue' (http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060606/SPORTS0102/606060352/1127)
AUBURN HILLS -- Flip Saunders isn't and never was in danger of losing his job, Pistons president Joe Dumars said Monday.
"He did a good job," Dumars said. "It's a nonissue as far as his job here. He's as safe as anybody here. That's a nonissue and now we can get past it."

[Detroit Free Press]

Dumars plans no overhaul (http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060606/SPORTS03/606060386/1051)
If team president Joe Dumars has his way this summer, the Pistons won't look drastically different in the fall.
At his season wrap-up news conference Monday, Dumars laid out a plan that called for only minor adjustments, not a major overhaul.

DREW SHARP: Joe D knows Pistons must regain hunger (http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060606/SPORTS03/606060369/1051)
When assessing the reasons for the Pistons' stunning playoff collapse, team president Joe Dumars repeatedly came back to three primary points: focus, commitment and hunger.
He wasn't interested in rationalizations. One of his former Pistons head coaches, Ron Rothstein, tried consoling him last weekend. He assured Dumars that if Rasheed Wallace hadn't severely twisted his ankle in Game 4 against Cleveland, the Pistons might have seriously challenged Miami for the Eastern Conference throne.

[The Oakland Press]

Dumars says Flip will return (http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/060606/spo_2006060612.shtml)
AUBURN HILLS - Just like every Pistons fan, Joe Dumars has a feeling of emptiness. He anticipated that this week his team would be preparing for the Western Conference champion in the NBA Finals, not scattered about the country wondering what went wrong with the season.

[Mlive.com]

Dumars doesn't see need for major changes (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1149588619169080.xml&coll=1)
AUBURN HILLS -- Although it may appear as though the Detroit Pistons are regressing -- NBA championship in 2004, NBA Finals in 2005 and Eastern Conference finals this year -- Joe Dumars doesn't foresee the need to make a major change to the team's nucleus.

[Toronto Star]



Smith: Nothin' But (Inter)Net (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1149587528703&call_pageid=968867503640)
by DOUG SMITH

After Detroit's ouster from the conference finals, and amid reports there's growing dissatisfaction over the coaching of Flip Saunders, Wallace may in fact be in play when the free-agent signing period opens in mid-July.

Should the Raptors, one of a few teams with money to spend, be interested?

Again, this is why I like Doug Smith. Carlos Rogers sighting in Detroit with a Bob throwback on.

[Sacramento Bee]



Pistons' Saunders sees how a season turns bad (http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/v-print/story/14264442p-15077106c.html)
by Martin McNeal

The buzz is that Saunders lost a great deal of respect in the locker room when he talked about Wallace's decision and then told the team it was not going to win the championship because of incidents such as that one.

That did not go over well with the Pistons, and Saunders was told in direct terms by one veteran not to say anything like that again to the team.

If telling the truth offends them, they need to hear a lot more of it.

We are officially in the "nothing left to write about the Pistons" portion of the year, aka A. Sherrod Blakely and Chris McCoskey's vacation time.


[Detroit News]



Re-signing Wallace is a must if Pistons want another title (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060607/SPORTS08/606070382/1127/SPORTS0102)
by Rob Parker

Ben Wallace is worth it.

If the Pistons offer Wallace, their unrestricted free-agent center, what he deserves, there should be no reason a deal can't be reached.

Wallace, who will be 32 next season, should command a contract between $10 million and $12 million a year for four years.

If another team decides to be fiscally irresponsible -- by offering Wallace a max contract in excess of $15 million a season -- all bets are off. The Pistons, one of the best-run franchises in the NBA, have never simply thrown money around, so you can't expect a major bidding war.


[Toledo Blade]



It's not rocket science, Joe: Sign Wallace (http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060607/COLUMNIST09/606070360/-1/NEWS06)
by John Harris

Ben Wallace is worth the money.

The most important goal for the Detroit Pistons in the offseason is to re-sign Wallace, the face of the franchise.

That's the only recourse for president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, who told reporters he wants to bring back Detroit's top six players.

Wallace's value exceeds the basketball court. The Pistons need Wallace's winning credibility, blue-collar work ethic, and no-nonsense approach.

[Need4Sheed]


Pistons NBA Cares Commercial (http://need4sheed.blogspot.com/2006/06/pistons-nba-cares-commercial.html)

[Sports Memo]



Recent History of the NBA Finals - Part 1 (http://www.sportsmemo.com/handicappers/ted/articles/617/)

The Detroit Pistons championship teams of 1989 and 1990 under Chuck Daly were, in my opinion, the first teams to win the title using physical defensive that has become more and more common ever since. Even with the high-flying offenses of both Dallas and Miami this year, the only reason that those two teams are playing for the title is because they are playing defense at an elite level. Miami, in fact, has the lowest field-goal shooting percentage allowed of any playoff team, quite the turnaround from their defensive intensity during the regular season.


[Detroit Free Press]



NBA greats investing in riverfront's future (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060607/NEWS11/60607018)
by JOHN GALLAGHER

If nothing else, investors in one of the planned east riverfront condominium projects would make a pretty good pick-up basketball team.

Dave Bing, a Detroit industrialist and former Detroit Pistons great, said Wednesday he has confirmed investment commitments for his riverfront residential project from several former Detroit Pistons and University of Michigan greats: Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and Derrick Coleman.

[USA Today]



Mavs' Stackhouse has plenty in reserve (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/playoffs/2006-06-07-finals-bonus-stack_x.htm)
by Greg Boeck

DALLAS — The irony isn't lost on Jerry Stackhouse. In the NBA, it's not about starts as an individual. It's about finishes as a team.

"I still feel the same," the two-time all-star-turned-prime-time role player said.

Only now he's playing on a stage he has pursued for 11 seasons — the NBA Finals.



CBA's Dakota Wizards now affiliated with NBA's Bulls, Wizards (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/2006-06-08-dakota-wizards_x.htm)

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Dakota Wizards will be affiliated with the NBA's Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards for the 2006-2007 season, the NBA Development League announced Thursday.

The Wizards were one of four Continental Basketball Association teams awarded positions in the NBA Development League in April. The other CBA teams that jumped to the NBA farm-team system were the Idaho Stampede, Colorado 14ers and Sioux Falls Skyforce.

The Skyforce will be a feeder team to the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the D-League said.


D-League Skyforce (http://www.nba.com/dleague/siouxfalls/) - Who names these teams?

http://www.pistonsforum.com/images/picdump/skyforce_060806.jpg

[NBA.com]



NBA Announces D-League Affiliates For 2006-07 Season (http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/affiliates_060608.html)

NEW YORK, June 8 – The National Basketball Association announced today its affiliation system for the 2006-07 NBA Development League season. Each of the 12 D-League teams will be affiliated with one-to-three NBA teams, and the NBA teams may assign players in their first two seasons to play in the D-League.

"We're thrilled to announce our 2006-07 affiliation lineup in advance of this year's NBA Draft," D-League President Phil Evans said. "Now fans can tune in and actually see some of the NBA players who could be spending time playing for their D-League team this season."


[Blue Collar Blueprint]



2006 “A Wasted Season?” Hardly! (http://bluecollarblueprint.typepad.com/blue_collar_blueprint/2006/06/2006_a_wasted_s.html)
by Eli Zaret

One of the first great athletes I befriended in Detroit was Hall of Fame Lion cornerback Lem Barney. On his first series as a rookie in the NFL, Lem intercepted a Bart Starr pass on the Green Bay 20 and raced into the end zone for a touchdown, something many players don’t do in an entire career.

As Barney flipped the ball to the referee he thought to himself, “Man, this is gonna be easy!” It didn’t take him much longer to realize the truth about life in pro sports: It’s never easy for long, and as soon as it seems easy and you let your guard down, you’re done. It’s exactly that absence of certainty in pro sports that makes them so immensely popular.

[Need4Sheed]


The Future Of The Pistons (http://need4sheed.blogspot.com/2006/06/future-of-pistons.html)



[Detroit Bad Boys]



Flip Saunders speaks (http://feeds.feedburner.com/detroitbadboys?m=739)

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune tracked down Flip Saunders for his NBA Finals prediction, in what I believe are his first public comments since the Pistons lost Game 6 last Friday:

"In games that Miami has lost, Shaq has gotten in foul trouble," the former Timberwolves coach said. "If Shaq can stay out of foul trouble and [...]


[David Glenn's ACC Journal]



Lowe: Diploma Coming, NCAA Test Next (http://html.wral.com/sh/blogger/2006/06/lowe-diploma-coming-ncaa-test-next.html)

N.C. State basketball coach Sidney Lowe expects confirmation of his college graduation next week and will take the NCAA-mandated rules test as soon as he's ready for it, NCSU athletic director Lee Fowler said Thursday.

"We're waiting for the (graduation) documentation now," Fowler said. "We expect to have it in our hands next week."

Lowe, 46, played for the Wolfpack from 1979-80 to 1982-83, but he was far short of earning a degree when he exhausted his college eligibility. That remained the case through 2002, when Lowe resigned from his job as the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies after an 0-8 start. Lowe previously played four seasons, worked as an assistant coach and as a head coach (Minnesota Timberwolves) in the NBA.


[The Grand Rapids Press]



Who needs the Pistons? (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/grpress/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1149774922245500.xml&coll=6)
by David Mayo

We come bearing truth, so spare the e-mails: The National Basketball Association is better off with the Pistons and the Spurs watching this championship series on their huge plasmas, an infusion that has nothing to do with the most-common rants against Detroit and San Antonio.

We've heard it all about both teams: Tim Duncan is too boring, Tony Parker too French, Flip Saunders too unknown, Rasheed Wallace too grating, both teams too ... teamish.

God I hope both the Spurs and Piston make the Finals next season.

[Detroit Bad Boys]


Terry Porter: potential NBA owner or assistant coach? (http://feeds.feedburner.com/detroitbadboys?m=741)

Rob Parker indicates in his column today that former Bucks head coach Terry Porter is not only being considered for an assistant coaching job with the Pistons, but that an official announcement is expected soon. As a former player who spent 17 years in the league, including the first 10 with the Portland Trailblazers, Porter [...]


[Need4Sheed]



New Palace Prince T-Shirts In The Need4Sheed.com Store (http://need4sheed.blogspot.com/2006/06/new-palace-prince-t-shirts-in.html)

Go on out and support N4S. Most importantly, because these shirts might disappear at any time.


[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]



Sunny forecast: Phoenix will be team to beat with Stoudemire back (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/14789756.htm)
by IRA WINDERMAN

NO EXCUSES

Heat assistant Ron Rothstein, a former Detroit coach, attempted to commiserate with Pistons President Joe Dumars after the Eastern Conference finals.

Dumars would have none of it when Rothstein noted the ankle injury that limited Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace in the six-game series.


Pistons' assistant from Serbia-Montenegro could make history (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/14783448.htm)
by PATRICK DORSEY

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Igor Kokoskov has a knack for making history.

At age 24, he became Yugoslavian basketball's youngest-ever head coach. Four years later, in 1999, he became college basketball's first foreign-born assistant. In 2000, he made NBA history, joining the Clippers' staff to become the league's first non-American assistant coach.

Now, in his third year with the Detroit Pistons, the Serbia-Montenegro native is trying to prove himself worthy of becoming the NBA's first foreign-born head coach.

But that wasn't the plan.


[Detroit News]



Rob Parker: Clubhouse Confidential (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060610/SPORTS08/606100331/1343/OPINION03)

Look for Porter to join Pistons

My moles are telling me Terry Porter will replace Sidney Lowe on the Pistons' bench next season.

Lowe, Flip Saunders' top assistant, has taken his dream job as coach of North Carolina State, where he played in college.

Porter was coach of the Bucks for two seasons before being fired in June 2005. Players, moles say, loved Porter because he knows what it takes to be an NBA player.

[The Oakland Press]



Foresight is key in drafting NBA contracts (http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/061006/spo_2006061008.shtml)
by KEITH LANGLOIS

The highest-paid Piston for the season that continues without them was Rasheed Wallace at $10.26 million. Go ahead and guess who was second. I'll cure cancer while you tick off the possibilities.

Ben Wallace? Nope.

Rip Hamilton? Nuh-uh.

Chauncey Billups? Nice try.

Tayshaun Prince isn't just wrong. It's wrong times five.

[Betus.com]



NBA: Post-mortem on Pistons isn’t pretty (http://www.betus.com/sports-betting/NBA_Post_mortem_on_Pistons_is_not_pretty-2513.asp)
by Mark Rothstein

There is no joy in Motown.


[Midland Daily News]



Here's what went wrong with the Pistons (http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16772184&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472541&rfi=6)
by Chris Stevens

It's been over a week since the Detroit Pistons got bounced from the NBA playoffs, but I'm still hearing people talk about what happened to the Motor City boys.

Here's my take:


[Detroit Free Press]



THE OFF-SEASON | THE PISTONS: Mining for hidden gold with the final pick (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/SPORTS03/606110652/1051)
by Krista Jahnke

The Pistons hold only the final pick in the June 28 draft -- that would be No. 60 overall -- but don't think they aren't picking up frequent flier miles trying to find a gem.

Pistons vice president John Hammond and the entire scouting staff spent much of last week in Orlando, checking out the predraft camp at Disney's Wide World of Sports.

[Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly]



Minor leagues expanding, Fort Wayne a potential site (http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/2006/06/12/greater_fort_wayne/news/business14.txt)
by DERRICK GINGERY

Local officials have taken calls recently about bringing professional basketball back to Fort Wayne, as several minor leagues undergo expansions.

But while nothing serious has emerged, scheduling conflicts may present problems for a team looking to play at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

The tie in? The Pistons franchise was born in Fort Wayne. That is where Fred Zollner's auto parts business was based.

[The South End]



Dumars responsible for preventing repeat of Pistons' past (http://www.southend.wayne.edu/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2647)
by A.J. Hakim

With great power comes great responsibility.

After a disappointing, lackluster end to an otherwise incredible season, Detroit Pistons president Joe Dumars has a responsibility to fans to improve the team and to prevent history from repeating itself.

It is now as it was during the Bad Boys' reign and championship years of 1989 and 1990. Coach Chuck Daly relied heavily on his core players—Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, John Salley, Bill Laimbeer and Vinnie Johnson—and allowed little time for developing young talent to experience on-court, game atmosphere.

This article is crap. If you're going to publish an opinion, it's obligatory to do some background research, not regurgitate everything other's have written. If you're wondering, the don't re-sign Ben part is what set me off.


[South Florida : The Business Journal]



Economic slam-dunk (http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2006/06/12/story1.html?i=46743)
Media exposure during NBA Finals is worth millions
by Jim Freer

The NBA Finals and surrounding hoopla could generate about $15 million in economic activity and more than $60 million in free national and international publicity for South Florida.

Those estimates are from sports marketing consultants who expect Miami and Miami Beach to receive Shaq-size shares of those dollars.


Looks like Detroit *cough* Auburn Hills *cough* loses out on some serious moola. Boo hoo hoo.

Some nice finds Roscoe...
It can be a challange trying to find quality pieces in the summer.
Sometimes it would be nice to comment on these articles... but I'm sure you don't want to clutter the media threads with commentary...
What's the recommended procedure for comments?

Some nice finds Roscoe...
It can be a challange trying to find quality pieces in the summer.
Sometimes it would be nice to comment on these articles... but I'm sure you don't want to clutter the media threads with commentary...
What's the recommended procedure for comments?
That is #9 on my offseason list.

Comment here or copy to a new thread in the meantime. Your best judgement is good enough for me.

[Mlive.com]


Full Court Press Weblog:Ben Wallace FA update: Headed west? (http://www.mlive.com/weblogs/fullcourtpress/index.ssf?/mtlogs/mlive_fcpress/archives/2006_06.html#150791)June 12, Fox Sports: (http://msn.foxsports.com/fantasy/story/5687756) 1. Ben Wallace, DET - Big Ben has been a landmark in London, England the 148 years. The NBA's version has been a monument at center in Detroit the past six seasons. He's free to go this summer. and by the sound of it he's going to test the market. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year has said it's not definite he'll be back in Detroit. He's helped the Pistons make it to at least the Eastern Conference finals each of the past four seasons, but is not a lock to return.

[Detroit Bad Boys]



Kelvin Cato shows off (http://feeds.feedburner.com/detroitbadboys?m=744)

For many Pistons fans, Kelvin Cato was little more than a curiosity stuck on the end of the bench halfway through the season. He played in just eight games for Detroit in the regular season and playoffs combined, totaling all of 49 minutes. With his contract set to expire in just a few weeks, he'll [...]

It is officially the offseason when we're watching YouTube video of a Cato fluke dunk.


[Fort Wayne: The News-Sentinel]


What might have been (http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/14807171.htm)
The Fort Wayne Pistons played for the NBA title in 1956
by Blake Sebring

Perhaps the greatest comeback in Fort Wayne sports history celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, but it also led to perhaps the city’s greatest sports disappointment.

In their last great run in Fort Wayne before moving to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons advanced to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year in 1956, only to fall short once again.

FW papers coming on strong!


[Dallas Fort-Worth: Star Telegram]



5 Michiganians own out-of-state teams (http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/14809570.htm)
by LARRY LAGE

DETROIT - The Carolina Hurricanes are a win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup and making Peter Karmanos Jr. the third Detroit-area owner in four NHL seasons to win a title.

Karmanos is part of an exclusive club of Michigan businessmen who own professional sports teams in and out of the state.

Like Karmanos, Ralph Wilson (Buffalo Bills), Rich DeVos (Orlando Magic), Bill Davidson (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Dan Gilbert (Cleveland Cavaliers) didn't allow not-for-sale franchises in their home state to stop them from experiencing the joy and pain of owning a team.

This was an AP piece that I was too lazy to find a local publisher for. Interesting read on the number of sports franchise owners from Michigan including Bill Davidson but also covering DeVos, Karmanos and Illitch.

[DraftExpress]



Word on the Street (http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1341)

The Pistons were reportedly initially hoping to draft Ukrainian big man Kyrylo Fesenko late in the 2nd round, and asked his agent to “hide” him overseas with a 2nd round promise so no one else catches wind of him. Fesenko smartened up, though, and decided to make his way over to the States to work out for NBA teams, which likely nullifies his promise by Detroit.


JERRY STACKHOUSE LOVEFEST!


[Dallas Morning News via Charlotte Observer]



Stackhouse defined by perceptions (http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/14812818.htm)
Dallas star says what people think about him has changed
by RACHEL COHEN

DALLAS - People see Jerry Stackhouse testifying before Congress to promote diabetes research.

They hear about him punching a teammate over a card game.

They listen to him sing the national anthem at American Airlines Center.

They read how he couldn't share the spotlight with a teammate.

And they don't know what to think.



[Rocky Mountain News]



Going to great depths (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nba/article/0,2777,DRMN_23922_4773364,00.html)
Stackhouse thrives in newfound role as reserve with Dallas
by Chris Tomasson

MIAMI - Antoine Walker bristled recently when it was suggested he is a member of the Miami Heat's supporting cast.

Say that about Jerry Stackhouse's role with the Dallas Mavericks and he considers it a compliment.

"I don't think it's looked at as a negative thing," Stackhouse said. "It's looked at as a positive."



[Detroit Free Press]



Finals worth wait for Stack (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060614/SPORTS03/606140377/1051)
Former Piston relishes role with Mavericks
by KRISTA JAHNKE

MIAMI -- A week ago, as the Dallas Mavericks embarked on their first NBA Finals, the man who spent 11 seasons getting there -- with layovers in Philadelphia, Detroit and Washington -- got a message that socked him in the heart.


[Associated Press via Detroit News]



Substitute role suits Stackhouse (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060613/SPORTS0102/606130376/1127)
Former Piston brings a spark to Mavericks as the sixth man and is two victories from first title.
by Eric Gay

MIAMI -- Jerry Stackhouse admits he's still a slasher at heart and a streaky shooter by nature.

Some habits are tough to break.

Yet Stackhouse, a former Piston, is far from the player he was early in his career.

No longer his team's top scorer and not even a starter, Stackhouse also is happier than ever. He's embraced his role as a sixth man and is doing it so well he could soon become an NBA champion for the first time.

[CollegeHoopsNet]



Kentucky Basketball: Top 10 All-Time NBA Players (http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/sec/kentucky/060614.htm)

TWO Pistons!



[Cincinnati Enquirer]



Hicks tries to match Max (http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060523/SPT0101/605230337/-1/CINCI)
Washington tutoring forward
by BILL KOCH

Eric Hicks has made no secret of his desire to follow in the footsteps of Jason Maxiell, his friend and former University of Cincinnati teammate.

After a solid senior season and a strong showing in the NBA prospects camps, Maxiell was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round last summer.

Another tweener power forward from UC. With the move away from post up big men to athletic 7 foot jump shooters, I'm not so sure these guys are overmatched anymore.


[CBC]



Former Raptors coach O'Neill returns to McGill to host basketball clinic (http://www.cbc.ca/cp/nba/060614/v061444.html)

MONTREAL (CP) - Former Toronto Raptors head coach Kevin O'Neill is returning to his alma mater to host a basketball clinic at McGill University on Saturday

His college nickname was "Mad Dog". Priceless if you know about O'Neill throwing drunken demolition fests in his hotel room while coaching the Raptors.


[Detroit Free Press]



Pistons will meet Heat in Puerto Rico (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060615/SPORTS03/606150399/1051)

If only Carlos Arroyo were still a member of the Pistons.

The NBA announced Wednesday the Pistons will play an exhibition against the Miami Heat in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 10. The Pistons traded Arroyo, a native of Puerto Rico, to Orlando in February.

The event, NBA Puerto Rico 2006, will be the 23rd NBA game played in Latin America since 1992. It's the sixth exhibition season contest held there.

ja, ja, ja...

[Detroit Bad Boys]



Why are we still talking about Larry Brown? (http://feeds.feedburner.com/detroitbadboys?m=746)

I've noticed a couple of articles from random media types calling for the Pistons to bring back Larry Brown — MLive's Full-Court Press points out a columnist from the Orlando Sentinel as well as ESPN's Scoop Jackson. I'm not surprised people are suggesting as much (I know a few DBB readers have done so in [...]

We are still talking about Larry Brown because people outside of the Detroit market, who do not have a co-dependent relationship with Pistons management/ownership realize that despite his massively flawed character and personality issues, Brown is one of the great all-time coaches.


Are the Pistons thinking about trading up? (http://feeds.feedburner.com/detroitbadboys?m=747)

On June 28, the NBA will hold their annual draft. For many NBA fans, that means scouring the internet for mock drafts and reading up on all the top prospects. But for Pistons fans, it means very little.
The Pistons traded the rights to their first-round pick to the Jazz last season in exchange for [...]

Nice YouTube video of one of the PGs mentioned in the Draft Express article from yesterday.


[Need4Sheed]



NBA Comix (http://need4sheed.blogspot.com/2006/06/nba-comix.html)

More Farlane goodness...


New Detroit Pistons Screensaver (http://need4sheed.blogspot.com/2006/06/new-detroit-pistons-screensaver.html)

(http://feeds.feedburner.com/detroitbadboys?m=747)

[The Charlotte Observer]



Lowe finally can focus solely on the Wolfpack (http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/14827634.htm)
by AARON BEARD

RALEIGH, N.C. - Sidney Lowe spent recent weeks juggling duties as an assistant coach for an NBA playoff team and preparing to take over at North Carolina State.

That likely means he's well-prepared for the busy months ahead at his alma mater.

Lowe officially starts at North Carolina State on Monday, about two weeks earlier than expected after completing coursework for his undergraduate degree. His to-do list includes everything from hitting the road for weeks of recruiting, getting ready to take a required test on NCAA regulations and putting his mark on a program that went without a head coach for nearly a month.

[Hoopsworld]



Offseason Primer: Detroit Pistons (http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_17732.shtml)
By Basketball News Services Team

Various members of the Basketball News Services team give their opinions on just what the Detroit Pistons need to do in the NBA Draft and in the rest of the offseason to become a better team in 2006-07. Check it out!

Great read. Recommended. Lots of opinions from outside the Pistons community.

[Detroit Free Press]



Pistons' Davis will be part-owner of Cup team (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060616/SPORTS16/606160492/1064)

ATLANTA -- Nextel Cup team owner John Carter of Toccoa, Ga., said Thursday that he plans to take on Pistons backup center Dale Davis and ex-Atlanta Falcons receiver Terance Mathis as partners in his race team.

I love that diversity in ownership is creeping into Nascar.

Nice Hoopsworld article. Seems they don't know about that Ukranian center we're trying to hide.

[Sports-Central]



NBA on ABC Can't Live Up to Predecessors (http://www.sports-central.org/sports/2006/06/09/nba_on_abc_cant_live_up_to_predecessors.php)
by Bill Hazell

As we enter early June, surely this would be the perfect time for an NBA Finals preview between two Finals newbies, the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks. But I have had something to get off my chest about the way the NBA playoffs have been covered for the past four years.

Quite frankly (Stephen A. Smith notwithstanding), the game just doesn't look as good on TV anymore. There are a number of reasons for this — some noticeable, others are subtle things that most fans would overlook and roll their eyes if someone mentions this. However, when it comes to analyzing television coverage of a sporting event, I believe there are some subconscious elements at work.

This article is a little old, but a really good read for the old school. Blaming the way ABC covers the Finals for the resulting ratings drops.


[Cincinnati Enquirer]



City Slam puts Levett back in hoops spotlight (http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060617/SPT/606170415/1078)
Ex-Bearcat hopes to catch attention of NBA in ESPN event
by MIKE DYER

Melvin Levett said it's his chance to get back on the basketball map.

The former University of Cincinnati standout will compete with 15 other dunkers in the second annual City Slam this weekend in Chicago.

It's Levett's first significant dunk contest since he finished second in one at the 1999 Final Four in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he dunked over three ball racks.

Anyone remember Levett?


[Ledger Dispatch]



Boost Mobile, NBA standouts empower youth (http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/sports/sportsview.asp?c=187998)

AOTG hosted Alonzo Mourning's basketball clinics at Overtown Youth Center where more than 250 boys and girls brushed up on their basketball skills. The 'Ahead of the Game' winner was a young lady named Jasmine Johnson. Johnson not only participated in the basketball clinics but also comes to the Overtown Youth Center on a weekly basis to play sports and do homework. She is truly ahead of the game for not just her basketball skills, but her scholastic ability and overall positive attitude.

Basically a press release made an article. Rip / Boost MObile / Kids Summer Camp bla blabla.

so, do we have any news about workouts?? how about big PG only workout on Thursday?

Generally, if it is out there, LanierFan, Slippy or myself will post it.

Not to much Pistons news these days... :( :ohwell:

I know, roscoe, you guys do great job here. I just complain there is no news about workouts, and how about the 40th pick, does Seattle really sale that?

There is no certainty that Seattle will sell the pick. For now, that is only a rumor.

This is a time when there is not much news, but plenty of lies -- teams want to hide who they are drafting, agents want everyone to think their players will be drafted. Very little happens until the Finals end. After that there will be more news.