A bad day all around

Saturday was quite possibly the worst sporting day in the state of Michigan’s history. Sure, there have been bad sporting days in the state before, but no other day can equal the amount of losses combined with the circumstances surrounding the losses. Here is a break down of what occurred:

Michigan capped off an underachieving season with a loss to arch-rival Ohio St. The loss was particularly bitter since a win would’ve given Michigan a shot at the Big Ten title and possibly earn the Big Ten’s BCS bid. Instead, Michigan was outclassed in every way by Ohio St. giving Michigan the most losses in a single season since 1984. Did I mention this game was at home?

Michigan St. entered Saturday with as much to play for as any team in college football. They had a chance at beating a top five team in Penn St., not to mention a win would’ve given the Spartans a bowl birth. Instead, Michigan St. came out flat and eventually came up short against Penn St. Michigan St. will miss a bowl game and finish with a losing record. Did I mention this game was at home too?

The Detroit Pistons were the last remaining unbeaten team in the NBA entering Saturday’s games. They were 8-0 which sparked some NBA analysts like Scottie Pippen to predict the Pistons would win 70 games this season. The Pistons went into Dallas undefeated and came away from Dallas with their tails between their legs in the form of a 37 point thrashing at the hands of the Mavs. The Pistons amazing winning streak ended, and ended badly.

The Detroit Red Wings were the hottest team in the league. In fact, they were the hottest team in NHL history to start a season. They tied the single season record for most points to start a season after 14 games. The Wings reeled off 25 points in those 14 games and appeared to be the class of the NHL. The Red Wings promptly went on a three game losing streak which quickly moved them behind teams like Ottawa, Philadelphia, and Vancouver. The Wings went in to Saturday’s game with the Blues with a good shot at ending that three game losing streak. The Blues are one of the worst teams in the NHL having already been blasted by the Wings three times this season. Instead of ending their losing streak, the Wings embarrassingly lost to the outmatched Blues to bring the streak to four games. The Wings are alos 3-6 in their last nine games.

Michigan St. started off their basketball season ranked #5 with many experts picking them as their National Championship team. Michigan St. played its first game of the season against Hawaii. Michigan St. was dominated by the mighty Rainbow Warriors in every possible way.

The good news is that Saturday was just one day. The sports world will move on and Michigan/Detroit sports fans won’t have to think about this day for too long. My only regret is that the Lions couldn’t play their game against Dallas on Saturday to make this truly and unequivocally the worst day in, not only Michigan sports history but, national sports history. Since the Wings, Pistons, and Michigan St. basketball will no doubt contend for big things this year, Saturday was just an anomaly worth pointing out.