Fennis – well, maybe he was not a household name but a really original one.

Here I go with another blast from the past.

Life was simple….mullets, acid washed jeans and florescent clothing were acceptable and the Bad Boys ran the show.

The most fabulous Old School blast from the past Pistons video. Anytime you have Fennis Dembo, Scott Hastings and Chocolate Thunder in a single video clip it’s sure to be an instant classic. Enjoy your old school Friday.

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In an effort to get myself through the NBA offseason I always tend to revert back to old videos I have collected or watch the old games I have on DVR or DVD.  While scouring my computer today I found this clip and all the sudden I was taken back to the 1990 Pistons Bulls playoff series.  I remember both the 1989 and 90 battles like they were yesterday but watching this clipped sparked a little memory I had from game 7 at the Palace in 1990.

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Video Courtesy of The Detroit Pistons

I Remember the game vividly because I was at the Palace that night. I remember Johns Salley’s performance and I distinctly remember the celebration of being the eastern conference champs getting ready to head off to the NBA Championship for the second season in a row. (Back2Back I still have that t-shirt)

I also had a memory of two player that you may or may not remember. William Bedford and the Bulls B.J. Armstrong.

Bedford turned out to be of the biggest disappointments, a 7 footer with much potential and two NBA championship rings (thanks to Detroit) who sadly squandered his talents because of a drug problem.

B.J. Armstrong was Michigan bred and went the Birmingham Brother Rice high school.  I will always remember how small he seemed to me (6″2)  on court and always amazed in the fact that he was right across the way while I attended school.

Any special moments you remember distinctly?

Did you ever want to know a little bit more about one of your favorite players? Well I was lucky enough to get to know a little more about one of mine.

Will Bynum was nice enough to answer some questions for Pistons fans to give us a little insight on who he is when he’s not Thrilling us at The Palace.

N4S: Greatest Basketball Moment?
WB: I would have to say the buzzer beater shot against Oklahoma state in the final four to advance to the championship.

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N4S:Favorite NBA player past or present?
WB: Tim Hardaway/ Earl Monroe both had a flair and style that I loved in their game but I could go on and on with the list of players…..

N4S:Favorite NBA Team Growing up?
WB: Pistons because of Isaiah and Joe, they were tough minded small guards that dominated the game and that’s what I always dreamed of doing.

Photo/Getty Images

N4S: Thing you are proudest of?
WB: My daughter Laila and my family.

N4S: Something you wish you could do but can’t (for most of us it’s dunk but you have that covered)?
WB: I’ve never felt like there’s nothing I couldn’t do …that’s weird but it’s true. I feel like I can accomplish anything. I am driven by people telling what I can’t do

N4S: Coke or Pepsi?
WB: Water

Photo/Getty Images

N4S: Favorite Food?
WB: Baked Chicken and Macaroni

N4S: Favorite Color?
WB: Green…lol

N4S: Favorite article of Clothing?
WB: Polo collared shirts.

Photo/Ralph Lauren

N4S: Favorite TV Show or Shows?
WB: Martin, Dave Chappelle, The First 48 and The Wire.

N4S:Favorite Movie?
WB: I am an avid movie watcher so I have a lot but If I narrow it down 8 mile,Training Day and Harlem Nights.

Photo/Universal Studios

N4S: Something you do to unwind?
WB: Watch movies/ play with Laila.

N4S:Favorite Car?
WB: I don’t have a fave, but anything that can get me from point A to point B from my house to the gym.

N4S: One thing you wish you could change about yourself?
WB: Why would I want to do that. I am a firm believer in making the best out of your God given abilities

N4S: If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be?
WB: Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, I’d love to talk with them now in the aftermath of their sacrifices.I’d love to see what their next steps would be in today’s world. Also, Pistol Pete Maravich because I’ve watched his film and he is someone to whom I can really relate to. He had a great basketball mind.

N4S: Favorite place?
WB: Chicago

N4S: In Detroit, we think you can Dunk over YAO….can you?
WB: I would definitely try…lol

Photo/Getty Images

N4S: Thing that surprised you most about The Pistons?
WB: The organizations family atmosphere.

N4S: Thing that surprised you most about living in Michigan?
WB: Being from Chicago the weather shouldn’t have surprised me but after going to college for 4 years and living in Israel for 2 years I forgot about the winter hawk.

N4S: What (CD) is currently playing in your Car?
WB: Tupac (Old Skool)

N4S: Will the Thrill or Bynumite (I think I know the answer to this one)?
WB: Will The Thrill

I just want to thank Will again for taking the time to answer some questions that he normally wouldn’t get asked in the locker room. He was not only a good sport, he wanted to make sure that Pistons fans know how much he appreciates the love he gets from all of you and that your cheers and comments serve as motivation.

If it’s possible to root for “The Thrill” more than I already do, I will after getting to know him a bit more this Summer. In addition to doing this for Need4Sheed he sent me one of the nicest email’s I have gotten in my years of doing Need4Sheed. Will is truly one of the good guys on and off the court.

Next step….I’m trying to convince him to come join all of us on Twitter so we can get to know him even more. Come on Will, you know you want to. If you need some help, I’m sure your new teammate @CV31 will give you a hand.

Not much new on the Pistons front these days, so what does a starved Piston fan do? Well I have been watching the playoff games from the 89 Championship season.

I have also been going through old footage I have saved on the hard drive.  I found possibly my favorite little clip ever.

Add some cowboy hats and a classic soundtrack and you would swear you were in the old west. Bad to the Bone…that’s what they were.

Looking back…Dumars wears the white hat, Isiah, Laimbeer and Mahorn would be donning black.

As a Pistons fan in what seems like unfamiliar territory watching this seasons’ NBA Playoffs, it took me back to a time when things changed for the Pistons. You can say as fans that we are spoiled, six consecutive ECF appearance with a two Championship showings and one NBA title.  I don’t call it spoiled, in fact I call it a bit of domination.

That team of journeymen who soared to great heights over accomplished according to NBA standards. Chauncey, Rip, Wallace X2, Prince, Memo, Elden, Corliss etc… started something that didn’t suddenly come to an end.  A little bit of that special something died when the Pistons lost to the Spurs, when it looked like they were going back to back.  A little more so when Ben Wallace bolted for Chicago and the final straw was the Chauncey Billups trade.

We should have seen right then that it was over, but that’s what we do as fans.  We root and hope and we stand by our team even though we know the ship is sinking.

I remember another sinking ship called The Bad Boys.  It first started taking on water when the Pistons lost to the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs after winning back to back championships.  The release of Vinnie Johnson started the take down, and the rest is what it was, the end on an era in Detroit Basketball history. This video will bring it all back….

As we hope NOT to repeat history of years of mediocrity, we have a common thread that may keep us afloat.  Joe Dumars was there through it all, let’s hope he will do whatever he can to right wrongs and start a new trend instead of following an old one.

We don’t have much longer to wait to see just what we as Pistons fans have to look forward to.

You may know by now that I received a trivia request for a Rap song that made mention of Isiah, Dumars, Laimbeer…ect.  Well I am not sure if this is it, but it’s a gem. Thanks to good friend and Need4Sheed reader Kevin Antcliff (a fellow Detroit blogger) who did all the dirty work for us.  He remembered the song, dug up his VHS (yes he still has it) of Pure Pistons: 1990 NBA Championship and took care of the rest.

A Motor City Classic

Pump it up Pistons

The Pistons and their fans had a difficult year so many respects. We as fans watched a special team of our favorite players fall short for the past few season and when things got shook up, it turned out far worse than we could have ever imagined.

As we watch the Playoffs from a different angle this post season we can only hope that our old friend Mr. Big Shot keeps doing what he’s doing.

We said goodbye to two great men in Pistons owner Bill Davidson and Bad Boy legend Coach Chuck Daly. Which is not just sad for everyone who knew and loved these great men, but it reminds us of their legacy.

I started on the Pistons bandwagon at a very young age (pre Bad Boys). Now I didn’t follow the team the way I do know in the early stages, come the time Trader Jack drafted Joe Dumars I was completely hooked. Isiah and Tripuka may have sparked my basketball love, but The Bad Boys birthed my addiction.

So when I was thinking of the loss of Davidson and Daly instead of mourning, I looked back at the good times they gave us. Two true innovators that cemented what we know now as Detroit Basketball. I was looking though old Pistons specials I had taped (since it’s May and I not used to not seeing the Pistons play) and I came across some good times.

Good Times, and more to come.

Dave Bing Mayor of Detroit / Photo AP

Now that Dave Bing is The Mayor of Detroit, it’s only fitting that I work on a Cartoon Bing.  I got quite a few suggestion via Twitter as well as Facebook on weather to go Old School Bing or Present Day Bing.

It looks like what I was leaning toward won out, you should see a Present Day Cartoon Bing shortly.

All that got me to thinking, I have to start Tooning “The Bad Boys”.  I did Dumars and Isiah so I think the logical one that comes next it Laimbeer but I’m open to suggestions.  I will get to them all sooner or later but does Laimbeer come first?

Sunday night’s game at the Palace was important for both teams trying to make the playoffs. It may have meant more to the Bobcats, who are trying to knock Detroit out of the eight spot, but thanks to a record-breaking career high from Will Bynum the Pistons are a step closer to locking in on a playoff spot. The 104-97 victory snapped a three game Pistons losing streak and put their playoff magic number at 2 games.

Key Points:

• Pistons again blew a big (17 point) first half lead to make this a close one.
• Bynum was 6-for-6 from the field and 14-for-16 from the line in the fourth quarter.
• Bynum’s 26 in the fourth quarter is a new franchise record, topping the old mark of 24 held by Isiah Thomas and Jerry Stackhouse.
• Bynum scored 12 in the first 6 minutes of the fourth.
• Bynum carried Detroit with his 32 points on 9-for-15 shooting with 7 assists, 4 boards, a steal and just one turnover in 26 minutes on the floor.

Photo/Getty Images

• Bynum Highlights

• From Will Bynum’s locker room interview when asked about his performance. “It’s really not me, it’s my teammates and the coaching staff. I don’t deserve all the credit, it was pretty much them, those guys out there setting the screens and the coaching staff believing in me. That’s who gets the credit for it.”
• No points for Kwame Brown who has been playing great ball in Sheed’s absence, but he did grab 9 boards and blocked a shot in 18 minutes Sunday night.  We don’t need him to score, but we do need him to do what he has been doing.  Nice to see Kwame making the most of the role he’s been put in.
• Pleased and surprised that Curry didn’t substitute the starter Stuckey for the hot Bynum in the closing minutes. “I like to get Stuckey back at about the six-minute mark,” he said. “The way things were going tonight … it was a unique night. Twenty-six points, the most ever by a Piston player in a quarter.” Via Pistons.com
• The win puts the Pistons into a tie with the Bulls for seventh in the East.
• Rip Hamilton ejected after being assessed a second technical foul in the third quarter after scoring 13 points with 3 assists.  With the importance of the game and Detroit’s playoff predicament, I’m disappointed that Rip couldn’t control his temper. It’s bad enough we lost Sheed for the Philly game, but I come to expect a little more from Rip.
• An absolutely SHEEDtastic turn and shoot long range three pointer from Sheed in the second quarter with the shot clock running down. Sheed finished with 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting, with 3 steals, 6 boards and a blocked shot in his first game back in his starting role since his injury.

• Four minutes for Walter Herrmann who made the only shot he took, a second quarter three pointer.
• Looks like we will see Will next season at the Palace, the Pistons can keep him for next season by picking up his $825,000 option.
• Charlotte trailed by just 3 with 13.3 seconds left before Bynum knocked down free throws to seal the victory.
• Nine boards for Antonio McDyess, who finished with eight points in 25 minutes.
• 14 points for Tayshaun Prince who played solid down the stretch with Will Bynum.
• NBA.com Highlights of the Game.

Photo/Getty Images

• Great to see Will put up a game like this especially after his recent fourth quarter struggles.
• Great play from Afflalo with 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting in 24 minutes. Forget about the big baskets, it’s his defense that always shines when the Pistons need a stop. “It’s been a two-year thing, playing when available,” said Afflalo, who made each of his four shot attempts and three 3-pointers. “Mentally, trying to stay tough and smart with the whole situation to where I’m in a situation where the minutes are more stable.” Via Mlive
• You can thank Maxiell for his lock down defense in the fourth quarter, leaving the Bobcats scoreless on six straight possessions in the fourth quarter.
• Detroit won the board war 41-38 and shot 49.4% on the night to Charlotte’s 40.7%.
• The Pistons’ next one, a road game against the Knicks Wednesday night.