Might be good news for the Hansons-Brooks team from Rochester Hills, but it's not great news for the tens of thousands of fans organizers were expecting in Central Park Saturday morning for the U.S. Olympic men's marathon trials:

It's sunny and only slightly breezy here in Manhattan right now, but Hurricane Noel is headed this way. Rain showers and high winds (25-30 mph, with gusts up to 40-plus mph) are expected tomorrow morning.

The Hansons group, including top Olympic hopeful Brian Sell, are used to running in inclement weather, so this might be to their advantage. We'll just have to wait and see.

A very impressive win Sunday for the Tigers.

Just when it looked like this team was going to blow a 4-run lead, Todd Jones survived his outing and came through.

Nice strikeout of David Ortiz.

As a fill-in guy, it was a pleasure to cover the game, while my colleagues were headed to San Francisco.

I'm only 28, so I haven't been around all that many teams, but I have to day that there's something very special with these guys.

I talked to a lot of players after the 6-5 win and many said they believe this team could be getting tougher and grittier than last year's group.

I see why, given the dramatic turnaround of the franchise.

Remember, this group has had to deal with way more demands this season like public appearancs, media attention and criticism than most likely any Tiger team before them (given the way sports are covered and supported by fans these days)

So to go into the break in first place says a whole heck of a lot.

I'm from Lansing and never really got out to see the Tigers live that much as a kid, so to see this daily soap opera play itself out is still fairly new to me.

It's a wild time and something fans should truly enjoy.

Every twist and turn of the season puts this whole state on edge.

With so much depressing news about the local economy, I'm glad folks have something to be passionate about.

Sports do drive this state when it comes to enthusiasm and pride.

It's defintiely not politics, especially now.

Sunday marked the ninth straight sellout at Comerica Park and I'm guessing there's a good chance that the all-time attendance mark could be shattered during one of those upcoming games in the Yankees series.

One of the cool things I saw after the game was Jim Leyland's kid, in the skippers office, talking to someone enthusiastically on his cell phone.

He smiled and said: "That's what good teams do."

Yup, that's right kid, finding ways to win, whether it's a 4 1/2 hour, 13-inning marathon or a straight forward 1-run decision are exactly what good teams do.

Enjoy the All-Star Game.

Rest your voice, go on detox for a little while since you probably ate too many nacho hats and drank too many $8.50 beers at the ballpark and then get ready for even more pennant race craziness.

The college football mags are already out. If you don't have a calendar: It is June. The bad news for the Hawkeyes? They are picked to finish fourth or fifth in the Big Ten. I wonder what the shelf life on Kirk Ferentz is if he keeps taking Iowa to the Alamo Bowl. I mean I love the guy. When did Hayden Fry ever take us to a BCS bowl? But, the way big time college sports are these days, mediocrity does not last long.

Midland - The Class A Midwest League Great Lakes Loons are hot in this city and its stadium, Dow Diamond, is revitalizing the downtown area.

The manager is former Tiger Lance Parrish and he fits in perfectly.

This avid deer hunter has embraced the area, the new franchise and his team and hopes to bring plenty of excitement.

Fans are pumped as they feel fortunate to have a ballpark that rivals most minor league venues in the country.

The coolest feature of the ball park, in my opinion, are fire pits at each corner of the park to warm folks up.

There's also field level picnic areas along the third base line for private parties.

Oh yeah, beer is cheap, too.

If you ever want a break from the hustle, bustle, traffic and high prices at Metro Detroit sports venues than come here for some relief.

Another asset this park has is its friendly staff.

Several ushers are retirees from the area absolutely in love with the team or regular working folks at the park doing this as a second job.

You really get a sense of the small town, laid back atmosphere once you walk in.

In this economic climate, amidst rumors that companies like Dow Chemical could pull out of the state, people need something to hang on to and feel proud of.

The Loons organization - in its first year - sponsored by Dow, is definitely one thing that should keep people's spirits up.

I used to always say the only reason I became a sports writer was for the free food. I hardly ever get out in the field anymore, since I mostly do editing. But yesterday, I got covered the women's NCAA Tournament. I was pretty excited to see the basketball but I was also looking forward to a day of grazing on free food in the media room. I talked to one of my columnists earlier in the week who was at men's NCAA Tournament site. He said they had Snickers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Dove Ice Cream bars. We got chips and pop. Lame.

I played basketball all four years of high school, which most of you know coincides with the wrestling season. I always thought of wrestlers as the muscle-bound guys that constantly complained about being forced into the wrestling room because we (basketball players) needed the gym. I have to say I have ammased an unbelievable amount of respect for the athletism that these guys have displayed at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. They are quick, strong and some of the best pure athletes I've ever seen. If you haven't ever watched wrestling at this level, I'm afraid you don't know what your missing.

Yesterday I picked every game right in my NCAA Tournament office pool -- 16 for 16. Today I missed five. I went from superstar to loser in 24 hours. Basketball is so fickle.

Day one of the NCAA Championships is nearly finished and what a day it was! The Palace was the setting for a little bit of everything today. We witnessed upsets, great overtime matches and one devestating injury. Michigan State senior Andy Simmons was forced to withdraw from the tournament after injuring his left hamstring in a second-round match. Simmons had to be carried off the mat by coaches. Your heart has to go out to a kid who finishes his career that way. No. 1 seed Maxwell Askren was upset in his first match of the tournament. Brandon Halsey of Bakersfield beat Askren 5-4, handing the 197 pounder just his second loss of the season. The bigger question in all of this is where is Bakersfield? Anyway, that's a great win for that kid. Local kids Josh Churella (Michigan), Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan), Tyrel Todd (Michigan), Nick Roy (Michigan), Christian Sinnott (Central Michigan), Bubba Gritter (Central Michigan) and Nick Simmons (Michigan State) all advanced to the quarterfinals. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's action and hope The Palace puts on as great a show as they did today.

Greeting from The Palace, which for the next three days, is the epicenter of college wrestling. Like real wrestling. No suplexes, hidden folding chairs or Miss Elizabeth. These guys are the real wrestling, and it's pretty wild seeing eight mats going at one time of really incredible athletes. This is the feeder system for the Olympics, and some of these guys may well be in Beijing next year for the U.S. The Palace is packed, with fans, families, and just fans of wrestling. Hopefully these people, who are mostly from out of town, will get a good impression of Metro Detroit.

The NCAA Wrestling Championships just began at The Palace and the atmosphere is electric. The championships are in the Metro Detroit area for the first time and everyone I've talked to thus far has been impressed with the city. Nice job Detroit and Auburn Hills! The Iowa faithful have already made their presence felt. They are by far the loudest group here and have travelled very well. Iowa fans fill an entire corner of The Palace from top to bottom. A few top guys wrestled early and there haven't been any real upsets. Ben Askren from Missouri won his 82nd consecutive match with a 19-4 win over Daniel Burk of Northern Illinois. Both Nick and Andy Simmons from Michigan State won their first matches and looked very good.