Detroit: Economic and social devastation as a travel hot spot

An interesting take from the Chicago Reader: ain't no ruins like Dee-troit ruins, 'cause Dee-troit ruins don't stop.

The piece actually namechecks "Beyond Thunderdome."

Yikes.

Dear NPR: Thanks for coming to Detroit, but you still can't spell "Grosse Pointe Blank" right on your website

NPR did a nicely even-handed job this week on covering the problems and potential of The D and its environs, called "Remaking Michigan, Retooling Detroit."

I have thoughts on many of the pieces, but for now wanted to highlight a couple that strike closely to my pop-culture-driven heart:

=> Why can't Detroit cash in on its music scene?

=> Detroit as seen through the filter of the movies.

Discuss.

If Batista had thought of this, Castro would've never had a chance

The U.S. has undertaken a loosening of restrictions on Americans' interactions with Cuba.

First, perhaps the Democrats being able to win Florida in a presidential election gives them comfort they can pull the new policy off without alienating the vibrant and passionate aging and shrinking due to death anti-Castro Cuban emigre population.

Two, Canada's had a rational Cuban policy for a long time and they seem to be doing fine with it.

Three, the way to just finish the job of getting the mob back to its rightful place running Habana casinos? Airdrop the equivalent of hundreds of malls' contents on the island, and sell the exclusive marketing rights in each product category to whichever company wants to get the initial foothold in the market.

Pop, computers, clothes, whatever. Get some retail sales going.

Think of it as a Caribbean stimulus package.

NHL Realignment: Scouts v. Blues Would Be Just As Good as Royals v. the Cards (An OT Post)

One of my favorite blogs, Uni Watch, shared a neat link about the past (and future) of the NHL in Kansas City, where I have a bunch of hockey-lovin' and playin' relatives. (This Saturday, go Chip!)

The Kansas City Scouts joined the league with the Capitals, but then ended up moving to become the Colorado Rockies (bringing the mountain west Don Cherry and "Rock and Roll, Part 2"), and then turning into the New Jersey Devils. It has a nice new arena waiting for a major league tenant, and it continues to be used as leverage for any NHL or NBA team angling for new digs, just like Tampa Bay's domed stadium was for more almost two decades prior to getting the Rays via expansion.

Which is all a roundabout way to saying that the NHL needs to get smart to better compete for the shrinking North American entertainment dollar. To that end, number one is re-alignment, which I've goofed around with for a long time before this article took it on.

I don't do fantasy sports, so, y'know, give me a break.

Travel expenses must be reduced, rivalries intensified, and league-wide exposure increased. So, I propose: go to four divisions (which I have optimized for regional rivalries, though Buffalo tortures me), play each team not in your division home and home, and play the rest of your games against your division.

In the playoffs, you have to play out of your division and, just to throw in a few extra playoff gates, have seeds 4 and 5 do a home-and-home total goal playoff, like soccer. And, just for fun, forget the conferences and rotate the divisions in the last two rounds, like the NCAA basketball tournament. Ever since the league had the Stanley Cup Playoff logo with "west" on the right and "east" on the left, I've sensed that NHL's conferences were, perhaps, false distinctions.

My proposed divisions:

> New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Columbus, Boston

> Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto

> Washington, Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina, Dallas, Atlanta, Nashville

> Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, Colorado and Phoenix

The odds of this happening? Slim to none.

The ability to post this because I have this little soapbox? Total and absolute.

Enjoy and discuss.

Not all Racin' is as Racin'-y and Other Racin'

My boss from a lifetime ago runs Roush Racing, so that's who I root for in NASCAR. So, you go Carl Edwards. Hope you win the championship, though the "Sprint for the Cup" playoff is ridiculous. You take the top racers, start all over with 10 races to go, but keep them on the track with all the other drivers? Those "un-worthy" drivers can directly impact who wins or loses -- which, admittedly, they can do in year-long series championships. But if you really want to create tension and interest and, as they've recently decided, save money, go back to the old school IROC format. Park the non-qualifiers, and leave a certain number of the top racers alone on the track for, let's say three races. With ten cars, first place would be ten points, last would be one. No bonus points, just wins and losses. You would have insanely intense and safe driving, but with all the pylons taken out of the way.

If you don't think a season-long championship can be suspenseful, check out Lewis Hamilton winning the F1 series a few weeks ago on the last turn of the last race of the season. Pretty sweet.

Non Sequitur of the Day

"Legacy."

BTW, I'd cut this article out of its paper, but pretty soon, you won't be able to.

Bummer.

Toronto Needs Another NHL Team and Gary Bettman Sucks, Still

I love the city of Toronto and many people who live there. Also, any reason to read Eric Duhatschek on hockey is a good thing. So it was interesting to read that one of his long-time pet topics has quietly bubbled to life in the NHL: a second team for the Toronto area.

There's a couple of things going on here:

• Toronto's is North America's fifth largest market and could support three NHL teams, let alone two;

• The six Canadian teams (v. 24 in the U.S.) comprise 31% of the league's ticket revenues, the league's primary income source;

• The NHL owes an enormous make-good to Blackberry inventor Jim Balsillie for tortiously interfering with discouraging his attempt to buy the Predators last year, perhaps to move them to Hamilton.

So, with three markets lined up for teams -- Toronto, Kansas City (with a building ready and waiting) and Las Vegas -- and probably not wanting to add more than two teams (to total 32), do you move one or three franchises, or extort suckers sell two new franchises for upwards of $700M U.S.?

BTW, Torontonians: instead of cramming another team in the Air Canada Centre, why not put them in the Skydome Rogers Centre? You could sell out that huge building every game.

It's all very Gary Bettman-like: I shall hold you in contempt, Canada, until I require your new check cheque with many zeroes:

60 Second Prediction: U-M will not hire Les Miles

This morning's Free Press did the historical primer to the supposedly obvious conclusion: that Bill Martin will hire Les Miles as the new football coach. First, remember, all coaches have their downs and ups and downs and downs. So, to quote Mr. Spock, be careful what you wish for. Secondly, I doubt Bill Martin will hire someone from a school that is an approximate peer to U-M, which would rule out a current head coach from the SEC, Big 12, Pac 10 or Big 10; the philosophy is that U-M can find its own guy, we don't need to take someone from someplace else. And really, instead of just wanting a "Michigan man," they more importantly want someone who will become a Michigan man (like Bo and Fritz and Bennie), with no comparable past to measure it against, whether for better or for worse (which would be, ewwww, very Saban-like). Finally, Coach Miles this past week pronounced yesterday's opponent "Ar-kan-zes," instead of "Ar-ken-saw." That has kind of a John L. Smith vibe, which is definitely not the vibe anyone at U-M, in A2 or among the largest living alumni body in the world would ever buy. Remember: style is just as much a part of this job description as wins, if not more. I'm digging on Brian Kelly, myself. Go Blue.

A Modest Proposal: Detroit's Convention Hall

This past week's article in Crain's gives an update on the provincial brinkmanship preventing anyone from resolving the region's (alleged) need to expand its convention facility, most notably for the Auto Show. Cobo's footprint is too small -- remember when Coleman wanted to building out over the river? So, may I suggest starting from scratch? There's a whole bunch of assembled land over in Rivertown for the casinos that were never clustered there. It's a blank slate, so why not build a brand new one-level facility which everyone agrees is optimal, like Chicago's McCormick Place (top) and NYC's Javits Center (bottom), both of which are off the beaten path, away from the heart of their respective downtown. Building a new Cobo in Rivertown would justify adding spurs off of both 375 and the People Mover, and could even rejuvenate the railroad tracks which pass under Jefferson by allowing people to take a train downtown from Oakland County (which might help sell Brooks). Development would fill in to the east of the RenCen and, as a bonus, you could re-develop the current Cobo site. As for who owns what, why not create a commission like the Port Authority, with voting reps from each investing/stakeholder: each county, the City and the State. If they don't trust each other enough, they could create a 425 zone, where all the stakeholders actually own the district. And with the authorizing legislation, why not toss in a provision for another casino/hotel to help pay for the thing?

Discuss.

A Modest Proposal: Re-purpose Tiger Stadium

So, it appears that Tiger Stadium is finally, maybe, circling the drain, with the bid proposals out for demolition. Not having heard much lately from the Ernie Harwell group, I ask: Why can't Tiger Stadium be the new home of the Red Wings? Gut the interior, build whatever you want on the inside, create a bunch of parking decks around the outside (all the better to capture revenue with), and you might have yourself a west anchor for development between there and Comerica Park. You could even move the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in to create some year-round revenue. There has to be a bunch of redevelopment tax incentives laying around that would make it work. A crazy idea, you say? Perhaps, but what a statement it would make. For some reassurance, check out how they built an oustanding spaceship of a football stadium inside the teeny footprint that is Chicago's Solder Field here and here and here. Discuss... or is it too late?