Backtime Dateline: Hockeytown

Detroit is a great sports town but one of its beloved sports teams is MIA. It hasn't been on my radar much, I haven't followed hockey with any regularity since I was in my early 20s. But I know the Red Wings are a big thing around here, and for the second time in less than ten years their fans may be deprived of even a single game this season.

I know that the absence of hockey hasn't made much of a dent in the national sports landscape (which is part of the owners' point in hard-lining player salary structures), but it does affect a lot of people. That includes the mostly-local TV crew I am working with here in Detroit, who count on the home NHL team to provide 40 events they can put on their calendar - not including playoffs.

But what else is lost, is the identity of a city, and a fan base that may not return even after the sport does.

As a baseball guy first, I remember the MLB labor dispute in 1994 and what it cost my team. The Yankees were 70-43 and dominating the AL East. Paul O'Neill was hitting .359 and Jimmy Key was 17-4 when the season was interrupted and then ultimately disbanded.

What if the season had been completed? How would life have been different for Buck Showalter? Don Mattingly? Joe Girardi?

Only the Montreal Expos had a better record in 1994. But what if they went on to win it all? Could they have kept Pedro Martinez or Larry Walker a little longer? Could the franchise have been saved?

But today in the NHL, in Hockeytown, there aren't even "what ifs," only ifs.

Negotiating Giant Obstacles

There was a sublime moment in San Francisco last night when the Giants who had rallied from the brink of elimination twice (or six times depending how you look at it) and were on the field with just three outs to go in a massive downpour. Credit Fox for providing cinematic pictures of a triumphant celebration in the rain.

It was the ultimate victory over adversity. The Giants had lost Second Baseman Freddy Sanchez and Closer Brian Wilson with season-ending injuries before their years had even started. They lost MVP candidate Melky Cabrera with two months to go, suspended for PEDs. Their Ace Starter of previous years, Tim Lincecum, wasn't even a shadow of His Freakishness. They watched their main rival in LA pick up a handful of household names from the Red Sox in a late-season trade.

With everything thrown at the Giants, it only seemed to make them stronger. And ultimately, for the last hurdle, they only had to outlast the elements.

Now the Giants battle Detroit in what should be a great World Series. It should also be cosmetically pleasing, with the second and third best uniform combos in baseball (they climbed up the ladder since the Expos moved to Washington).

Now the Giants find themselves in a disadvantageous position again. The Tigers come off a sweep of the Yankees and their pitching is set up. They also have the toughest out (Miguel Cabrera) and the best pitcher (Justin Verlander) in the game. But if the Giants show the type of spirit and team unity of 2010, and they have thus far, you'd be a fool to write them off.