• The Pistons = DRAMA a Team in Turmoil, according to ESPN.
• Another Rodney Stucky breakout article – I hope this season’s peice come true.  Can’t really blame Rodney that much especially since the whole team underachieved last year. Here is to a StuckTacular Season.
• Q&A with Joe Dumars part One – interesting stuff on the acquisition of Ben Gordon.  You can also listen to it over at Posting up.
• Worried about the “D” in Defense for the Pistons….Keith Langlois over at Pistons.com says we shouldn’t.
• Need4Swede over at Slam Online.

• Need4Sheed is in the Busted Coverage Sports Blog of the Year Tournament -- I’m the 12th seed and right now pitted against the 700 level. If you wish go vote Need4Sheed.com and Detroit Bad Boys along with all your other favorite sports blogs. At least get me out of the first round people.
• The comments are buzzing about Allen Iverson’s $25,000 dollar fine from the NBA for comments he made to a fan in Charlotte at the end of the game. (Thanks to Pistonsfan101 for the quick link)
• If it’s possible, I heart Antonio McDyess just a little more after reading this.
• Mr. Wallace made a visit to Children’s Hospital and we get to see the Rasheed he doesn’t like to make public. Five Rooms with Rasheed. And from a mothers perspective……. those smiles alone are worth it.
• Coach Curry’s video Blog.
• I love The Pistons and think the Organization as a whole does things the right way, but that being said…. the sell out streak is a sham. Ask any season ticket holder, it’s been a farce for quite some time.
• Derrick Coleman isn’t broke, but I may go check out his furniture.
• If you are the coach of the Pistons, who will you sit when it counts?
• Keith Langlois “The Pistons have some alarming defensive stats on their resume through the first quarter of the season -- they rank 22nd in field-goal percentage defense -- but Curry has been encouraged by what he’s seen since the lineup change. And part of the motivation for the amped-up defensive intensity might be the impact players see it can have on their impact to get easy points the other way.” The Pistons lineup juggling is about defense.
• Mr. Blaha needs to own this -- Grade your teams announcers at DIME.
• Happy Holidays from The Pistons….Slash New Years

The Pistons will take the floor for the last time this pre-season tonight against The Atlanta Hawks at The Palace. The Pistons topped the Calavliers 97-79 last night with the help of Rodney Stuckey’s 20 points and a Cheikh Samb 3.

And then there was AMIR….

“Most definitely,” he nodded. “He was way bigger than me. I was about 215 and he was like 245 or 250. So I was a little intimidated by him. But now it’s no problem. I just treat him like a regular guy.” Amir on Ben Wallace

“The truth is, Amir got the better of Big Ben in Wednesday’s preseason game, though to be fair, a 34-year-old four-time Defensive Player of the Year nursing a tender back is going to approach a preseason game with a tad less fervor than a kid trying to prove his coach was right to thrust him into a starting lineup composed of four virtual All-Stars.” Via Keith Langlois at True Blue Pistons

Expect some rest tonight:

“Pistons Backup center Kwame Brown (right shoulder strain) missed the game and Curry said he expects Brown to miss tonight’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. … Curry said he expects to rest Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Prince, Hamilton and Antonio McDyess in the second half of tonight’s exhibition finale.” Via The Detroit Free Press

Tip off is at 7:30 PM and WILL be broadcast on FSN Detroit. You can also follow the NBA.com live stream or listen to 1130 AM WDFN The Fan.

I’m trying out a new Chat Room for those of you who like to talk live during the games. I put a link to it at the top of the page but here it is if you want to try it out tonight during the Hawks game, or any other time for that matter. I can even add it to the each game tread, so give me some feedback if you can.
Let the countdown to the regular season begin!

“No way on God’s green Earth can you lock me up,” Wallace baited Brown. “I go hard; you lollygag.” “One basket in 3½ hours!” Wallace blared. Brown scored again. “Two baskets in 3½ hours!” Sheed on Kwame Brown’s performance during practice.

Via Keith Langlois True Blue Pistons, I suggest you read the rest of Kwame’s ‘Welcome to the Pistons’ moment.