McCarty Scores For Wings, Who Take 2-0 Series Lead

Good for Darren McCarty.

The Detroit Red Wings took a 2-0 series lead over the Nashville Predators on Saturday and if one just looked at the box score, it would be easy to confuse this Wings team with the title team in 2002. Dominik Hasek made 25 saves. Your goal scorers? Darren McCarty, Nick Lidstrom, Kris Draper, and Thomas Holmstrom. And why is it not a surprise that McCarty was the first Wing to get on the scoreboard?

McCarty, who put the Red Wings on the road to their long-awaited Stanley Cup victory in 1997 by famously pummeling Wings arch-nemesis Claude Lemieux, always seems to be in the right place at the right time during the playoffs (who could forget his goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals or his hat trick against Patrick Roy in the 2002 Western Conference Finals?) and Saturday was no difference, picking up a rebound and easily finding a practically empty-net. And what vindication for McCarty who may have been hurt by the 2004 NHL lockout more than any other player.

The lockout forced the Wings to buy-out McCarty's contract and despite singing with the Calgary Flames, McCarty never regained the magic he had in Detroit. He suffered both professionally and personally (due to a battle with alcoholism) and found himself out of the NHL at the start of this season. But McCarty never gave up, and worked his way back into shape and back on the ice, first with the Flint Generals of the International Hockey League (who are, not coincidentally, owned by former McCarty line-mate Kris Draper) and then, towards the end of the regular season, back with the Wings. And there he was Saturday, putting Detroit on the board early, exciting the Joe Louis Arena crowd just as he used to back in the late 1990s.

And this is not the first time the Wings have found success bringing back an old favorite. During their first cup runs a decade ago, the Wings were aided by another former bruiser who returned to Detroit, Joe Kocur. Kocur was rescued from the "beer leagues" by Steve Yzerman, and he was an important part of both the 1997 and 1998 Cup championship teams. The Wings hope that McCarty will play a similar role this season, and so far, the addition is paying quick dividends.

The Predators aren't out of this series, despite being down 2-0, but the Wings have played good, smart hockey (well, mostly...Anytime Hasek decides to leave the goal crease, it gets a little hairy as we saw yesterday) and if they continue to do so, they shouldn't have any problem wrapping up this series by this time next week (if not sooner). And given the way the Tigers are playing, and their high payroll, owner Mike Ilitch is going to need a long playoff run from the Wings this season.

If Willis Moves Onto DL: Tigers Should Call Up Porcello

The Detroit Tigers (who as of this writing are actually winning, 3-2, over the Chicago White Sox) need not panic or make any major moves because of their incredibly horrendous and embarrassing start to the season. Yes, the bullpen may need a tune-up or two, but the offense will come around (eventually).

One move the Tigers may be forced to make though, is to call up a pitcher from the minor leagues to replace Dontrelle Willis, who left to tonight's game with a hyper-extended knee. And even though they probably won't, the Detroit Tigers should call up phenom Rick Porcello to take his place.

With all of the moves the Tigers have made the past two years (trades for Gary Sheffield, Edgar Renteria, Miguel Cabrera, and Willis) no part of the Tigers farm system has suffered more than the starting pitching depth. Humberto Sanchez, Jair Jurrjens, Andrew Miller, Dallas Trahern, Burke Badenhop, others, are all gone. As

As for current Tigers who may be able to replace Willis, Jordan Tata himself is on the Disabled List after struggling this spring and taking his frustrations out on a steel door. The only real option in either AAA or AA is Virgil Vasquez, and while Vasquez is decent, and has started a few games for Detroit before, he's very bland. And if there's something the Tigers need right now to snap them out of think funk they have started the season in, it won't be found with Virgil Vasquez.

But it may be found in the phenom Rick Porcello, who many believe, despite not yet turning 20, could be a successful major league pitcher. In two starts in Class A Lakeland, Porcello has yet to surrender an earned run (he gave up four unearned runs in his last start) and has struck out 7 in 10 innings while walking only two. And this would be very much unlike the call up of Andrew Miller a few seasons back. Porcello would know, no matter how well he pitched, he was going back to Class A as soon as Willis was healthy. This would allow him to gain some invaluable experience without any real pressure.

And who knows, maybe he can provide the Tigers a spark. And besides all of that, he may, honestly, be the Tigers best minor league pitcher right now. The most capable of being successful in the major leagues. And while that may not be a great sign for the Tigers farm system at the moment, it should not be ignored by Jim Leyland when he considers whether Porcello or Vasquez should get the call should Willis be placed on the Disabled List.

Thinking About Condoleezza Rice John McCain's Vice President

The big headline on the Drudge Report tonight is "Vice President Rice" in reference to the growing chatter that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has an interest in joining John McCain on the Republican ticket this fall. While Rice has continually said she has no interest in becoming an elected politician, her recent moves (such as speaking in front of fiscally conservative groups, like Americans for Tax Reform, which have little to do with her role as chief foreign policy adviser to President Bush) have raised the suspicions of political reporters.

“Condi Rice has been actively, actually in recent weeks, campaigning for this,” Senor said this morning on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

According to Senor, Rice has been cozying up to the Republican elite.

“There's this ritual in Washington: The Americans for Tax Reform, which is headed by Grover Norquist, he holds a weekly meeting of conservative leaders -- about 100, 150 people, sort of inside, chattering, class types,” Senor said. “They all typically get briefings from political conservative leaders. Ten days ago, they had an interesting visit -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice -- the first time a secretary of state has visited the Wednesday meeting.”

Rice is a very intriguing choice as Vice President for a number of reasons. First, there's the obvious. One of two politically powerful and critical groups of voters will be very disaffected by the result of the Democratic primary. If Barack Obama wins the nomination, women may recoil, and may reconsider voting for the Democratic nominee. If Hillary Clinton wins the nomination, especially if she wins by use of Super Delegates, African Americans could bolt the party as well. Rice's addition to the ticket would make McCain much more palatable to either of those groups than he would be otherwise.

But her gender and ethnicity are just a bonus, made more relevant because of the strife within the Democratic Party. She's a strong candidate regardless of whom the Democrats nominate because she's very bright, well-regarded (despite her connection to President Bush and the Iraq War), and in a "change" election, certainly would be a nice complement to the Washington-insider McCain. And if McCain didn't have a big enough advantage among neo-conservatives and war hawks, Rice doubles down that bet.

But, that's also her biggest weakness. Rice, more than almost any other Vice Presidential nominee, would make this election even more about the Iraq War than we previously thought possible, and that's not a smart battle, especially against Barack Obama, who so eloquently and almost eerily predicted the chaos the Iraq would would bring in a 2002 speech where he proclaimed that he was "not against all wars" simply against "dumb wars." Rice's closeness with President Bush and the Iraq War, with both so unpopular heading into the 2008 election, may sink McCain's candiancy.

Rice has other negatives as well. While she has incredible national security and foreign policy bonafides, that's not exactly an area John McCain needs help with. Rice also brings nothing to the table as it regards the electoral college, as she is not a big enough star to bring her home state of California into the Republican ranks, and she no pull in other states. And in an election focusing more and more on the economy, and away from foreign policy, she doesn't help McCain in that regard either.

Now, compare her to Mitt Romney. Romney has gotten a lot of attention lately, as despite his ice-cold relationship with McCain during the Republican nomination fight, Romney has raised money for McCain and has done everything possible since dropping out of the race to make himself an attractive VP candidate. And he brings a lot to the table. While many have said his Mormonism may be a negative, in crucial swing states in the fall, like Nevada and Colorado, Romney's popularity and religion may push McCain over the finish line, especially against Barack Obama, whose electoral strategy relies much more heavily on non-traditional Democratic states like Colorado and Nevada than on the traditional swing-states of Florida and Ohio. He also puts Michigan in play, because of his family history in the state, and may aide McCain in New Hampshire, neighbor to Romney's home state of Massachusetts. Plus, who better to balance McCain's foreign policy knowledge with a mastery of the economy than a former financial guru who made hundreds of millions of dollars on Wall Street. For the same reason Michael Bloomberg makes a lot of sense for Barack Obama, Romney makes a lot of sense for McCain.

And McCain has to think about the Republican Party too. If McCain, 71, plans on only serving one term because of his age, his choice of Vice President has to be somebody who can win in 2012. Can Rice? Can Romney? Or would somebody like Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty make more sense as a natural successor?

In the end, while Rice is a very attractive VP candidate because of both her tangibles and intangibles, I don't think she makes a lot of sense for McCain. Doubling down on the Iraq War, when the county wants out, and when the economy and the financial crisis is ever deepening doesn't make a lot of sense to me. But, her selection certainly would shake-up the 2008 election, and may help ensure Hillary Clinton is on the Democratic ticket, in one position or another.

The Lighting Round: 21, Detroit Tigers, and More

So you start a new job, in the real world, after four years of undergrad followed immediately by three years of law school, and suddenly you lose track of your blog. Well, let's not make that a habit. So let's catch up on what I've missed.

* 21: The Movie - Good but not great * Last weekend I went and checked out the new movie, 21 based on the great and best selling book Bringing Down The House. For those unfamiliar, the movie, based largely on the book, follows a group of MIT whizkids who, with some help from one of their professors, put together a very successful card-counting operation which make them hundreds of thousands of dollars before the Vegas establishment catches on. The movie, staring Kevin Spacey as the morally suspect ringleader/professor, was good, and exciting, but could not hold up to the greatness of the book. And maybe I have been spoiled by NBC's great Las Vegas so casino-themed movies have a hard time measuring up. Las Vegas did such a great job of capturing the casino and Vegas atmosphere, I almost walked out of 21 thinking that had the TV show done a mini-movie with the same storyline, it would have been much better. That said, it was still a good movie, maybe a bit long, and yet with some storylines not fully fleshed out as they could have been (which probably tells you there's a bit of dead time in the movie which could have been better spent elsewhere) but in the end, worth seeing.

* Detroit Tigers start 2008 season 0-4 * Well, at least Jason Grilli is in mid-season form, giving up three straight hits in the seventh inning of yesterday's game against the Chicago White Sox including the game winning three-run home-run dropping the Tigers to 0-4. Obviously, this is not how the Tigers, who have the second highest payroll in baseball, and who have expectations through the roof, wanted to start the year. I refuse to panic though. Even though Nate Robertson struggled yesterday, for the most part, the problem has been the offense, and the slow start Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez, Gary Shef...Well, everyone has gotten off to except for Clete Thomas, the kid who never played above AA before Curtis Granderson got hurt. The offense is too good to not turn around. So, let's not panic and get concerned. We'll turn it around. A month from now, if we are 5, 6, 7 games under .500, then we can talk, otherwise...

* NFL Draft Coming Up * I had a dream the other night (I wish I weren't kidding) that I missed the NFL Draft (which would never happen in real life) and as I was struggling with my cell phone to find out who the Lions drafted, I found out they traded up to the #2 pick in the draft to take some running back I had never heard of. I remember being so furious. Then I woke up, thankfully. The Draft is less than a month away, and I keep hoping the Lions don't waste their first round pick on another offensive skill player. Yes, we need a running back. But we need linebackers and defensive lineman and offensive lineman much more. I'm getting very nervous though it's going to be offense, offense, offense again.

* NHL and NBA Playoffs on the horizon * I haven't written much (if anything) about the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons in a long time, but now that the meaningless regular seasons are nearing their end-point, and the playoffs get ready to start, I'm excited to start really paying attention again and blogging again. Both teams have had great regular seasons, and the Pistons have really seen growth in their young stars, which has allowed them to rebuild without anybody noticing. It's amazing. But no matter how great the regular seasons were, if they don't win the playoffs, it won't matter at all.

And with that, time to see if the Tigers can win a game. Eventually we do, right?