Jeff Riger: What A Weekend!
By: Jeff Riger
It's been a while since a weekend this good has come along. When the Tigers were in the playoffs and Michigan, Michigan State and the Lions were all playing in a 3 day span back in October; that could have been the last time I have been this geeked about a sports weekend. This weekend is huge and it's finally here…
So below I have decided to list all of the reasons why this weekend should be epic!
Tonight the Wings take on the Blues at the Joe, hear it on AM 1270. Now usually I would not get crazy about a late January hockey game against a Central division opponent that we see for like 800 times a year, however this game is different. Tonight marks the first time since the start of the season when the Blues and Wings will meet after Detroit got blown out in St. Louis 6-0. Remember that was the game where every Wings fan made the determination that this year's team was awful. There was blogs, upset callers and panic attacks until the Wings went on to beat a good Wild team, get a point in Chicago against the hottest team in the game and then routed the Stars last Tuesday. All of a sudden Detroit looks like a good team that can hang with anybody in their conference. Tonight's game is a perfect chance for the Wings to prove to everybody that they are contenders not pretenders.
It's the perfect start to a fantastic sports weekend.
At the same time the Wings are playing so will the Pistons as they welcome the Cavs to the Palace. I know Detroit-Cleveland doesn't breed anticipation in 2013 but there is one reason to watch…Jose Calderon. Calderon is the Pistons new guard that they received in a 3 way deal where Tayshaun Prince was shipped to Memphis. Calderon may not be here after the season as he is merely an expiring contract that will allow Detroit to have near 30 million dollars in the offseason to make the team better. However it still is interesting to see Prince gone and Calderon take some of the pressure off of Brandon Knight in his second season. I'm more excited to watch the Wings personally this evening but the choice of the Pistons is always nice too. Plus seeing Kyrie Irving play is never a bad thing!
Saturday is the day I'm really looking forward to as the Wings play again, they make the trip to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets. But who cares? The real reason that Saturday is special is because Michigan, the top ranked team in the land plays Indiana in Bloomington with first place in the Big Ten on the line. The Hoosiers are 3rd ranked and Assembly hall is one of the toughest places to play in all of college hoops. Michigan rarely ever wins there which makes the game even more interesting considering it's their first truly tough test since they have been number one. The game is on ESPN, in fact Game Day will be in Bloomington starting early in the morning and will continue to hype the game all day long. For all the people who say regular season college basketball games don't matter, well they probably won't be watching tomorrow, but I will, along with a lot of metro Detroit I would assume. It's seems as if Michigan has put the last couple decades behind them and one game doesn't prove that but if the Wolverines were to win tomorrow, a lot more people will instantly jump on the Maize and Blue bandwagon.
The big games continue on Sunday as the Pistons bring in the Lakers to the Palace for the only time this season. Yes, the Lakers might miss out on the playoffs but they still have all the mystique and pageantry that they have always had. Also it's fun to see Kobe Bryant annually. Sure the place will be full with L.A. fans which is annoying but shutting those people up with a win makes up for that and playing the Lakers these days is a very winnable contest.
Of course after the Pistons game is the Super Bowl, you know the game that we have been waiting for, for the last couple weeks. Even if you don't like football, you like the Super Bowl and this one; between two brothers, a retiring legend and too many story lines to count could very well be one for the ages. Also don't forget about the commercials.
What a weekend it will be. What are you looking forward to the most?
