I've been reporting that the Pistons are about to be dismantled (realistically, not in the metaphoric way the Cavaliers dismantled them). More and more evidence is popping up that the bitches from the north are finished as a power in the East.
- Detroit management is standing by Head Coach Flip Saunders at this time, but nobody really expects that to last. After The Finals are over, I'd expect an announcement regarding the search for a new head coach.
- With Saunders staying, official reports are in that Rasheed Wallace is as good as traded. Last week, I said I wanted to see him suffer with a pack of scrubs for teammates. I may get my wish. The New York Knicks want him.
- Chauncey Billups is playing the pronoun game, doing his best to avoid answering the "will you stay" question that keeps popping up. He's a free agent now, and he responds with phrases like "I want to finish my career in Detroit, but we'll see what happens". Folks, I used to be a politician, so I understand mincing your words...I know EXACTLY what Billups means. He's gone.
- Chris Webber didn't even show up for the final team meeting. He's retired, count on it.
- Here's another to add to the list. Antonio McDyess is placing one foot out the door. He was quoted as saying "my career is at the end" on the Detroit news yesterday.
These are all huge signs, and the biggest Pistons fan I've ever seen knows it. Natalie, who runs Need4Sheed, summarized it best;
This version of the Detroit Pistons is over. When the roof keeps caving in year after year, knock the damn thing down and start with a new foundation. You can only patch up the holes so many times before the waters rush in...the Pistons had too many holes and Saturday night and the world watched them sink.
Natalie runs a great site (and she got me good when I improperly posted a picture from her site), but her followers are as big of whiners as Rasheed is. However, Natalie never makes excuses and she knows her basketball.
Ever since '04 we have all been living on fantasy island. Anytime the Pistons lost a game, we blamed it on the refs, we said they weren't playing hard enough, we convinced ourselves, despite seeing them choke year after year, that they were unbeatable and guaranteed the Championship to anyone who would listen....but they lost...again and again. Let's take off our Blue and Red colored glasses and examine what's really going on. The edge is gone.
Honestly, if Natalie says it's over, it's over. She bleeds for that team, and she can tell you that unless management retools the whole place, it's only going to get worse. Much as I want to giggle at her pain, she's right.
ne more comment regarding schadenfreude (definition - taking pleasure at someone else's pain), Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman has been accused of assault. I think that's 9 or 10 Bengals who are facing felonies in recent months. The Bengals have announced that they will no longer do player introductions before the game. Instead, they'll just have their parole officers step forward and vouch for their whereabouts.
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