Lomas Brown Interview

Here's an interview I had with former Lion's offensive lineman Lomas Brown. He talked about the Lion's draft, the Titus Young incident, and Lion's expectations for the upcoming season.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3psd82mx5mvpcg3/browninterview.mp3

Justin Verlander's run at #3

My uncle offered my brother Matt and me tickets to the Tigers game. I convinced him to go since Justin Verlander was pitching. On the way down to Comerica Park Matt and I joked about how the last time he saw a Tigers game it was at Tiger stadium. 

The last time he saw a Tigers game Price Fielder's dad Cecil Fielder was the first baseman. Matt's not the biggest baseball fan, but we both agreed it was worth it for him to go to see the new stadium, and hey you never know, Verlander could throw a no hitter. We had no idea that this conversation was a prelude to the night.

Verlander gave up a walk in the first inning, which lead to Matt say, "There goes the perfect game." Other than that it was an easy inning for the reigning MVP. The Tigers would score two runs in the bottom of first, off doubles from Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Delmon Young hit a solo home run and Don Kelley had an RBI single in the fourth. 

Verlander cruised through the first five innings only allowing the one walk. He had not surrendered a hit yet. He got the first two outs in the 6th with no problem. Then Josh Harrison hit a deep fly ball to the gap in left center. The fans were nervous the ball would drop breaking up the no hitter. Kelley somehow tracked it down and made the catch. I looked at my brother and said, "Phew that was close!" It was at that point everyone in the stadium started to think no hitter. 

Nine outs away, Verlander strikes out Neil walker, Comerica erupts. Eight outs away now, Andrew McCutchen draws a walk, then Pedro Alvarez grounds out to first. No hitter still intact. Seven outs away, with the crowd on their feet, Garrett Jones strikes out. The Tigers scored two more in the bottom of the seventh on a Delmon Young double. It was 6-0 as the game headed to the eighth.

Six outs away, Casey McGehee strikes out looking. Five outs away, Nate McLouth strikes out swinging at 99 MPH fastball from Verlander. The crowd was getting louder and louder after every out. Four outs away, Clint Barmes strikes out swinging at an 86 MPH slider. The crowd went insane, louder than ever! My brother and I were giving high fives to random people. 

In to the ninth, Verlander stepped to the mound just three outs away from his third no hitter. Michael McKenry hit a grounder too short; Jhonny Peralta gunned him out at first. I shook Matt; we were only two outs away from history. 

Sadly, Josh Harrison would step to the plate and end the no hitter with a base hit up the middle off an 87 MPH slider; the 5th breaking ball JV threw in the at bat. One could question Peralta for not diving, but I think the only thing that might have made a difference was if Verlander threw a fastball instead of a slider. 

The crowd gave Verlander a standing ovation for his effort, but he still had a job to do; get two more outs. Verlander would get the next two batters to record outs ending one of the single greatest pitching performances I've ever seen in my life. 

Walking out of the stadium Matt turned to me, showed me his ticket, and said, “I almost had to frame this." We were bummed we didn't get to see a no hitter, but it was a thrilling game that had our hearts beating out of our chest's and one we will never forget.

HZ Sports Radio Show 1

Here's a link to the show. This show was recorded the monday after the NFL draft.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/72cadxy7eu8h1jz/Z4ZlhHbbxl/hz%20first%20show1.mp3

My visit to O.co Coliseum

I arrived at O.co Coliseum in Oakland on Friday night. It was, “Swinging A's Blanket Giveaway Day,” so there was already a line of athletic fans. I received a warm welcome(sarcasm) by the crowd wearing my road Detroit Magglio Ordóñez jersey (Ordóñez hit a 3 run homer in the ALCS in 2006 to sweep the A's and go to the world series) I was booed and one guy told me I was a long way from 8 mile, I had no idea(sarcasm). Although I got booed I did receive one, “Oo ee oo ee oo Magglio" cheer. Around 5:30 we enter the stadium where the Tigers were hitting BP. The big boys: Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Delmon Young were in the cage at the moment. After watching the boys go deep and the starting pitchers shag fly balls, it was time for the team to head back to the clubhouse and dress for the game.

In most ballparks players enter the clubhouse through a tunnel in the dugout, but since the field doubles as a football stadium they walked around and down a tunnel like most basketball arenas. We were 6 rows back from the dugout and I saw my opportunity to maybe get a high five from some players. When I got down there, I saw Justin Verlander and couldn't resist asking the reigning AL MVP and Cy Young winner for a high five and he delivered! I know I'm supposed to be media and not be excited by this, but as one Tiger fan said to me as we waited in line for the game,

"You walk into a baseball stadium and you're 8 years old again." That high five gave me a smile for a good twenty minutes. I really was like a kid again at a baseball game. 

I was very impressed with the size of the crowd, although it was a Friday night and there was a giveaway. One unique feature about O.co Coliseum is that the men's bathrooms have troths instead of urinals. If you were to talk to most sports fans in Detroit they're not big on troths (Joe Louis arena has troths). Like I said before the stadium also hosts football so it's a unique place to watch a game.

At 7:05 the first pitch was thrown. The Tigers took an early lead, in the first inning Miguel Cabrera grounded into a double play that scored Austin Jackson. Sadly, that would be the only time the Tigers had the lead in the game. The A's scored 2 in the bottom first. The Tigers would tie the game in the 3rd, but Oakland scored 2 more in the bottom of the inning and would never look back. Home Runs from Josh Reddick and Former Tiger Brandon Inge put the game out of reach. When Inge came to the plate I would have thought Babe Ruth was stepping in the box. The crowd in Oakland loves him. A teenager even got on the jumbotron and said, "Brandon Inge, is a beast!" So I shouted “No one ever said that in Detroit.” The Tigers lost the game 11-4, but it was still fun to explore another stadium. 

My visit to AT&T Park

My journey to AT&T Park was a very ordinary one. My mother and I decided to bike across the golden gate bridge starting around 2 o'clock. After taking in breathtaking views on the golden gate bridge we arrived in Sausalito and had lunch. We then checked to see when the ferry left. At this point it was 4:00 and the next ferry from Sausalito left at 5:35, and nearby Tiburon had a ferry leaving at 5:10. Tiburon was about 10 miles away from where we were, but my mom wanted to try to bike there to make that ferry thinking we'd get back faster. In reality the 5:10 from Tiburon and the 5:35 from Sausalito were the same ferry. If we missed the 5:10 in Tiburon the next ferry wasn’t until 5:55 and would have dropped us off a mile farther away from the bike shop. I didn't think it was worth the risk of missing the ferry and some of the ball game, but my mom convinced me we could make it so we took off heading for Tiburon. 

I was on a rental bike where as my mom was on her own racing bike. She flew past me a mile down the road after I got a little head start as she finished lunch. Four miles down the road the trail turned right. My mom being in the zone and not looking missed the turn, luckily I called her and told her to turn around but at that point she was so far away she wasn't going to catch up with me anytime soon. It was a difficult trail to follow and she would end up going the wrong way again. I raced up and down hills and along the shore, it was 5 o'clock and I was still not in the city. Finally, five minutes later I enter Tiburon still confused as to where the ferry is. Racing through the beautiful town I find the ferry 5:07; I made it on time. I talked to my mom who was lost in the hills, and decide to take the ferry alone and make it to the game. 

At this point I didn’t have the tickets (or the keys to my mom’s car to get them) so I decided to call my cousin Brett's fiancé Lisa.  We were planning on meeting with her before the game so I simply asked her to print out the tickets and bring them to the stadium. Now that the tickets were taken care of I had to find my way to the stadium. 

After figuring out which rail car I had to take on San Francisco’s subway system I got off the boat at 6:05 took the bike back to the rental place and raced to a rail car. This car took me one block to another rail car which was stopped. I had no clue when it would take off so I sprinted a mile to the next stop where I was picked up by the next rail car. It turned out to be the one I ran from. Finally getting to the end of the road on the rail car, I raced to the subway and got on. The car was crammed in like sardines. Three stops later at 6:55 I arrive to AT&T Park exhausted after 18 miles on bike, a ferry, two rail cars, and one subway. I meet the lovely and amazing Lisa who was waiting in front of the main entrance with my tickets. We had a nice 15 minute conversation, hugged and then I was on my way to the outfield entrance. 

I enter the stadium at 7:15 after being wowed by the beauty of the ball park and the view of the bay bridge. I took my seat on the wall in right field where Barry Bonds would hit home runs and occasionally hit over and into McCovey Cove. Half an hour later my mom showed up and we walked around to find food. I was shocked by the variety of food they sell which includes Chinese food and sushi. They also sold wine at the game! We grabbed a couple of San Francisco dogs (Swiss cheese, a pickle slice, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing) oh my goodness was it good! 

We walked around the ball park and discovered a mini ball field where kids can play wiffle ball, which I think might be the coolest thing ever to have at a stadium. Back at our seats the game heated up as the Rockies took the lead 1-0 on a home run from Wilin Rosario. The giants tied it up in the 6th when outfielder Gregor Blanco came to the plate and hit a bomb that looked like I'd have a chance to catch. Not thinking about how bad it would hurt, I got my hands ready. Sadly, the ball carried three rows over my head. Watching that home run and preparing to try to catch it was one of the most thrilling moments I've ever had at a baseball game. You can see me on the replay wearing a grey hoodie with yellow and blue stripes on the elbows! In the 8th Posey and Pill both drove in runs to give the giants the 3-1 lead. Giants closer Santiago Casilla got the save, but it wasn't pretty. He gave up one run and loaded the bases before recording the final out. When the game was over the huge crowd of over 41 thousand people, went nuts. In our section mist was sprayed on us. 

At the end of the day AT&T Park was an amazing place to see a game. Sitting in the outfield I got to hear the Giants’ fans heckle the opposing team’s outfielder with the chant “What’s wrong with (outfielders name)? He’s! A!! Bum!!!”

AT&T Park: Great food, great fans, great views and a great place to watch baseball.