Historical Michigan Sports Weekend

I do not remember a weekend in my lifetime when the top state colleges in Michigan all won on the same Saturday and the 3 professional sports teams won the same Sunday that followed.  In fact, one has to go down to Division II-A teams to find loses in Michigan state colleges from Saginaw Valley State and Northern Michigan and they lost to other Michigan teams (not upsetting the Michigan dominance this weekend). Here's how it went down, with some amazing road wins against the odds. Michigan sport fans should not soon forget the weekend of October 1-2, 2011.

Professional Sports on Sunday, October 2, 2011

Major League Baseball

Detroit Tigers Won.  The Detroit Tigers won Game 2 of their American League Divisional Series with the mighty New York Yankees to even the series 1-1.  The team was powered by 6 shut out innings by Max Scherzer in his first post season start. The visiting Tigers never trailed and had the game well in hand before giving up 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning. With shades of 2006, the win on the road at New York allows the underdog Detroit Tigers to steal home field advantage as the next two games of the series are in Detroit.  Final Score: Detroit Tigers 5, New York Yankees 3.

National Football League

Detroit Lions Won.  The Detroit Lions remained undefeated and are 4-0 for the first time since 1980 (that's 31 years ago) with a big win on the road against the Dallas Cowboys.  After trailing by 24 points in the 3rd quarter, the Lions proved it's never over until it's over by staging a comeback that ended with a go ahead touch down with less than two minutes to play.  Head coach Jim Schwartz said, "It wasn't pretty, but it was beautiful."  Final Score:  Detroit Lions 34, Dallas Cowboys 30.

National Hockey League

Detroit Red Wings Won.  The Detroit Red Wings won a pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Gustav Nyquist scored two goals and improved his chances to make the team.  Final Score: Detroit Red Wings 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2.

NCAA Football on Saturday, October 1, 2011

Division 1-A

Mid-American Conference

Central Michigan Chippewas Won.  After being blown away in their previous two games against in-state rivals Western Michigan and Michigan State, the Chippewas entered their home conference opener as heavy underdogs against Northern Illinois. With several big plays they won a high scoring affair over Northern Illinois at Kelly Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Final Score: Central Michigan 48, Northern Illinois 41.

Eastern Michigan Eagles Won.  The much improved Eagles won a close victory over the University of Akron at home in Ypsilanti, Michigan. With the dismal records they have had for several years each Eastern Michigan win on Saturday is cause for serious celebration. Final Score: Eastern Michigan 31, Akron 23.

Western Michigan Broncos Won.  Western Michigan continued their hot season with a non-conference win on the road in Hartford, Connecticut against the Big East Champion Connecticut Huskies. Final Score: Western Michigan 38, Connecticut 31.

Big Ten

University of Michigan Wolverines Won.  The University of Michigan's win over Minnesota in Ann Arbor was probably the most secure of all of these 8 games, but with the upsets that have come out of Ann Arbor the last few years, fans don't take any Big Ten opponent for granted.  A highlight of the game was the rare feat that Running Back Vincent Smith achieved by scoring a rushing, passing, and receiving touchdown. Final Score:  University of Michigan 58, Minnesota 0.

Michigan State Spartans Won.  Michigan State traveled to Columbus, Ohio and grinded out their first win over Ohio State in the Mark Dantonio era. The final score failed to reflect the total dominance of the Michigan State defense, as the one Ohio State touchdown came in the final seconds of the game.  Final Score: Michigan State 10, Ohio State 7.

Division II-A
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Ferris State Bulldogs Won.  Ferris State won their 3rd in a row in a home game in Big Rapids against a Lake Erie team.  Final Score: Ferris State 38, Lake Erie 14.

Grand Valley State University Lakers Won.  Grand Valley State cruised to a convincing home victory over Tiffin University from the state of Ohio. They scored 692 yards on offense and rebounded after a difficult previous 3 weeks on the gridiron. Final Score:  Grand Valley State 70, Tiffin 7.

Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals Lose to Private Michigan University.  Hillsdale University, a private college in Michigan, narrowly upended the Saginaw Valley State University team. Final Score: Hillsdale 38, Saginaw Valley State 35. 

Wayne State University Warriors Won.  Wayne State improved to 5-0 with a win at Marquette against Northern Michigan University.  Northern Michigan finds themselves in the lonely position along with Saginaw Valley State of being the two Michigan state colleges to lose this weekend, but we will cut them some slack since they lost to an in-state team.  Final Score:  Wayne State 30, Northern Michigan 28.  

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

Detroit Tigers - Gov. Granholm Era

Unlike college sports where Wolverines and Spartans divide the state, and unlike neighboring states of Illinois and Ohio, a Michigan Governor has only one Major League Baseball team to cheer for–the Detroit Tigers.

The 2010 Major League Baseball season marks the last Detroit Tiger baseball season where Governor Jennifer Granholm will serve as Chief Executive of the team’s home state of Michigan. In honor of this transition I wanted to recap some of my most vivid memories of the Detroit Tigers during the Jennifer Granholm administration.

Governor Granholm took office in 2003. Her first Summer as Governor was the infamous year that the Detroit Tigers’ 119 loses set an American League record for most loses. Manager Alan Trammel’s team won 5 of their last 6 games the last week of the season to keep them from matching the New York Mets worse record in baseball history.

Jim Leyland became the manager in 2006 and the Detroit Tigers made it to the World Series after making the playoffs as a wild card team and beating the New York Yankees and Oakland A’s to capture the American League Pennant.

Governor Granholm proclaimed the week of October 21, 2006 as Detroit Tigers Week. However, the World Series did not go so well for the Tigers as St. Louis beat them in 5 games and Granholm lost her bet with Missouri’s Governor. Fortunately for the Governor a week after the tough World Series loss, Michigan voters gave her a second term and four more years to cheer on the Detroit Tigers from the Governor’s Mansion.

On June 12, 2007, Justin Verlander pitched the first no-hitter in Comerica Park history. In fact, one has to go back to 1952 when G. Mennen Williams was Governor to find the last time a Detroit Tiger pitched a no- hitter on the homefield in Michigan.

On April 13, 2009, the 1976 A.L. Rookie of the Year, Mark Fidrych died in a farm accident at 54. The untimely death of “The Bird” reminded fans of a player who made the game fun with winning antics, even if only for a short time on the field.

In June, 2009, the old Tiger Stadium was demolished, ending a decade of preservation controversy in which the building sat vacant. After finishing in last place in their division in 2008, the “Most Improved” 2009 Tigers rebounded to make a strong bid for the playoffs. However, in the one game playoff with their Divisional rivals, they lose to Minnesota 6-5 in a thriller 12 inning game on October 6, 2009.

“I guess it’s fitting to say there was a loser in this game because we lost the game, but it’s hard for me to believe there was a loser in this game,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “Both teams played their hearts out. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”

The loss means they were the first team in history to not make the playoffs after having a 3 game lead with 4 games remaining in the season .

The 8th Tiger season with Jennifer Granholm as Governor had promise until after the All-Star break when a losing streak all but put the Tigers out of contention for the 2010 Division Title and playoffs. But the season will be remembered for two events that were significant enough to warrant official words from the Governor.

Long time Tiger announcer Ermie Harwell passed away on May 4, 2010, losing his battle with cancer at 92. Harwell had announced more than 8,500 Tiger games in his career, entertaining a generation of baseball fans. Governor Granholm issued a statement after Harwell’s death, where she said, “As great as Ernie was as a baseball announcer, he was an even greater human being. Everybody loved Ernie.”

On the field the season’s highlight was Armando Galarraga’s bid for Detroit’s first ever perfect game on June 2, 2010. A controversial call on what would have been the last out, cost the perfect game. The umpire who made the call would admit he made a mistake on the call saying, “I just cost that kid a perfect game.” The call seemed such an injustice to the pitcher, team, and State of Michigan that it prompted Governor Granholm to issue a Proclamation that Armando Galarraga pitched the Perfect Game. However, Major League Baseball refused to correct the call and make it official.

These 8 years while Jennifer Granholm has served as Governor of Michigan have brought both excitement and disappointment for the Detroit Tigers. The team has endured some questionable calls and deaths of legends, but through it all refused to give up. And the Perfect Game and lives taken will remain forever in the fans’ hearts. The Tigers perseverance is an example to all Michiganders. Because regardless what you think of their performance, they didn’t quit. They woke up every day, packed their lunch, and did their job like true Michiganders. They helped all of us “children at heart” forget about the problems of the present, enjoy the moment, and look to a future that will most certainly get better. And the Winter will pass and it will be Spring again in Michigan, where the songs of birds echo from all corners of our great state. And if you listen closely you can hear coming in the Summer from downtown Detroit, the words, “Play Ball!”

This post was originally published on another blog and moved over on February 18, 2013 to remain with other Michigan related posts.