The Pistons ran a great halftime special on The Thrill.   Will shares with us what he had to go though to achieve  his dream of being in the NBA.

On another note, Mr. Blaha has now adopted Bynumite…..my work is done. (Sorry Will)

• The Ben Wallace to the Pistons speculation is gaining ground.
• New assistant coach Brian Hill on board in Detroit.
• Don’t miss the Pistons summer league wrap up on Sunday Night July 26, at 8 & 10 pm followed by a must see Special on the one and only Chuck Daly at 8:30 & 10:30 pm on Fox Sports Detroit.
• Eli Zaret caught up with Chris Wilcox when the Pistons inked his contract.  Get to know him in if you already don’t.
• For all of you who keep inquiring…Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko and the voice of the Pistons John Mason have all been Tooned. Wilcox is on his way and the sidebar with the faces will be changed once the full roster is set.
• And by the way…you may not have been the only one who missed the Charlie Villanueva Toon….he asked me himself when he was getting one.  Little did he know he missed it…and FYI he liked it.
• I was pretty sure Will Bynum was going to come after me with all the photoshop fun I had with his interview, but he actually loved it.  Thank goodness, I thought I was going to have to go into basketball hiding, which I would assume would involve me going to Memphis and covering the Grizzlies.
• Summer League Video Highlights Austin Daye.
• Summer League Video Highlights of DaJuan Summers.
• Summer League Video Highlights of Jonus Jerebko.
• Deron Washington is doing his best to make the Pistons.  Plus another YouTube classic from my friend Elie Seckbach with Deron.
• Austin Daye let us know via Twitter that he signed his contract with the Pistons.  “@Adaye5: Just signed my contract haha great day about to head to Spokane fir a lil and see some friends…” If you were following Austin or myself you would already know.
• Um…why didn’t I play in George Blaha’s High Hopes Golf Invitational? Pairing up with the Microwave would have been awesome. (Photos)
• Chris Weber gives us his Fab Five Pistons.

• Michael Curry and Rip Hamilton beef.
• Resigning Antonio McDyess may be difficult. Personally I would like Dyess to go to a contender and get his Ice. If he’s not a stand up guy who gave his all to do what he had to do to win, I don’t know who is.
• George Blaha on the Pistons retooling.
• Free Press Draft Grades.
• The Magic among the many that want Sheed.
• Daye care.
• Former Pistons playground up for auction.
• Need4Sheed Mock GM league at PASPN ready for players…and as always I’m giving away a T-Shirt to the winner.
• Daye may help but more depth is needed.
• 18 to 20 million in cap room could help Dumars land a quality FA.
• Austin Daye YoTube Videos and some from the Pistons second round pick Jonas Jerebko.
• If you still aren’t following me via Twitter, you should be…I’m pretty quick on the Tweet.

“Dining With the Stars will close out the 2009 spring season with George Blaha, a familiar voice in the broadcast and sports world in metro Detroit.
Advertisement

Tell us in 100 words or less why you want to have lunch with Blaha at Buddy’s Pizza in Farmington Hills. E-mail your entry to BuddysDiningStars@gmail.com by 5 p.m. Thursday, June 4.

Dining With the Stars is sponsored by Buddy’s Pizza and the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers.

The contest winner will be treated to a limo ride from Class Plus Limo, a makeover courtesy of Christine from Beauty Salon in Birmingham, a $100 gift certificate from Reaver Diamond Co. in Southfield and a dance exhibition by the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Bloomfield Hills.” Via Hometownlife.com

Count that baby and a foul….I mean, count me in!

Final Score -- Pistons 99-95 OT

Key Points:

• Turnovers! A miserable 18 for Detroit on the night.
• When Sheed is out, plenty of paint points are given up. Toronto scored 48 down low.
• How about Arron Afflalo who twice hit HUGE (3 point) shots to help the Pistons in this one. After a Pistons timeout, Hamilton found Arron Afflalo for a three pointer from the corner, giving Detroit an 88-84 lead.  From virtually no playing time, to solid go-to guy.
• I just like saying Pops Mensah-Bonsu.  In fact I think I may just start using it as a part of my everyday vocabulary.  Now I just have to think of the meaning to give to it.
• Detroit shot 49% on the night to Toronto’s 40%.
• Detroit caught a break when recently hot Raptors center Andrea Bargnani left in the first quarter with flu-like symptoms and did not return.
• Did Rip and Rodney just switch positions? Another career night for Rip Hamilton with 16 assists.

Photo/Getty Images

• “I just told myself to keep trying to make plays, not just for yourself but for your teammates, and I thought guys did an excellent job of knocking down shots,” Hamilton said. Via The Detroit Free Press
• Rip did lead the Pistons with 24 but he had an awful shooting night going just 8-for-26. He did have another career assist night, but 6 turnovers and 8 against the Knicks, that has to stop.
• Hoops Addict was in the locker room post game with Detroit. Though Ryan touched on something we have been talking about for what seems forever, he did mention to me that he caught Mr. Blaha in the bathroom making sure his locks look perfect on the air.
• Rip did start to get hot in OT and jump started the team to a 9-0 run.
• Another DD for Antionio McDyess who quite frankly is the MVP of the season for Detroit.  Dyess put up 16 with 13 boards and was probably robbed on the Tayshaun putback that may have won the game for Detroit.  Looked close but off the cylinder it was if you ask me.

Photo/Getty Images

• NBA TV Highlights of the Game.
• Do you realize Rip has been putting up career numbers since he was put back in the starting lineup? 30 assists in two games….move over Isiah.
• Jason Maxiell 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting, while saving the game with the block and the jam in OT.  I questioned him starting, but he did more than fine. He added 6 boards, a steal and 2 blocks on the night. A +14 for the game for the Baby Eater!
• “I thought Max’s energy was off the charts,” Curry said. “I thought our guys didn’t have their legs tonight (second straight overtime game), but Max and Arron Afflalo really gave us a lift.” Via The Detroit News
• Stuckey scored 17 in 40 minutes with 4 assists, 5 boards and 3 turnovers.  I know he’s learning, but is it just me or do the turnovers he does pick up come at the worst times?
• Tayshaun Prince, 11 points on 5-14 shooting with 8 boards, 4 assists, a blocked shot and a takeaway.
• Antonio McDyess has played 89 minutes the last two games.
• We are mourning the passing of a great man so I did my best to show that we miss him here at N4S with the ribbon at the top of the page. He was a class act and a Champion of a man that left one heck of a mark on the World.   Mr. Davidson will be missed.
• A very fitting and touching comment that holds true for me from Benjo in the comments “One of my only wishes in my lifetime is to be able to make the world a better place than it would have been without me. I know you don’t like accolades but YOU ARE MY HERO, Mr. D. Rest in Peace and God bless you and your family.” Indeed, he did leave the world a better place.

UPDATE “All details are not known, but it’s safe to say that Bill Davidson’s wife, Karen, will succeed him as owner of the Pistons, according to Palace Sports and Entertainment president Tom Wilson” Via The Detroit Free Press

This is the surely a time when Detroit has to buckle down for a more desirable spot come April.

Rasheed is doubtful for tonight’s game and the Pistons will know more about the status of Allen Iverson in a week or so.

“I’m in no rush,” Wallace said a few minutes ago prior to Detroit’s morning shootaround. “I’m taking it day to day.” Via MLive

With the game Dyess played on Wednesday….he deserves more than this tribute mix, but that’s all I have for you right now.

The Good/Bad and More

• Toronto has lost six straight, a slide during which Chris Bosh has averaged 25.5.
• Toronto has the East’s second-worst record.
• The Pistons close the season with a favorable schedule.
• Maxiell with start again for Rasheed.
• The Bench brings the energy.
• Juiced Sports Blog talks to Bill Laimbeer.
• Doug Collins on his deep admiration for Daddy Rich.
• You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone -- Blaha on Sheed

Tip off is at 7:00 PM and will be locally broadcast on FSN. If you can’t watch it you can listen in locally on 1130 AM WDFN, or follow the game with a live feed on NBA.com.

Keep and eye and ear out for the abundance of Pistons fans in the crowd in Toronto. The comments are yours…

And make sure you read Vladan and Martin’s daily journals of their trip over at Dunk on U.

Thanks again to David Wieme and The Detroit Pistons for making such special trip turn out magical. And from Vladan and Martin themselves, here is part of an email I received this morning.

Natalie,

If you see David, George or Greg Kelser, please tell them how much we appreciate everything they have done for us and that we will always remember this day for the rest of our lives.

We can’t even describe how much everything you have done for us means to us.

Special thanks to George Blaha and Gregg Kelser who were kind enough to take time out of their busy pre- game schedule ….

And then to Shout out Vladan and Martin on the broadcast.

What you don’t hear or see on that clip is what David Wieme of The Pistons did to make the boys’ 5000 mile trek something they couldn’t possibly imagine or forget. Thank You Dave, you’re kind of a big deal.

And thanks to all of you who emailed, and commented on the site so we knew it happened minutes after it happened.  Team N4S is quick!

Sheed with the dagger to beat the Timberwolves 98-89.

Video Courtesy of The NBA, The Detroit Pistons and FSN Detroit

The Sheedtastic Highlights , this was truly a Sheed statement!

Video Courtesy of The NBA, The Detroit Pistons and FSN Detroit

FSN’s Highlights of the game.

Vladan Katanic
Austria (yes, he’s traveling over 4500 miles to see  some Pistons Games!)
More on that later!

Sarah Day
Bowling Green, Ohio

Darlene Meyers
Shippensburg, PA

Ryan Walters
Carleton, MI

Steve Kearney
Washington, MI

Michael McElhenney
Troy, MI