No Repeat Of History at Marlins Park

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

The last time we came to the Orange Bowl Location, history was made.

Henderson Alverez threw the 282nd No-Hitter in MLB History and the fifth since the Marlins were formed in 1993.

This was the first no-hitter that I've ever seen in person.

Miami swept the Detroit Tigers in this three-game series from Sept 27-29 culminating with the season ending finale by Henderson Alverez, photographed celebrating.

Miami would finish the season with a 62-100 record and were 34 games behind first place Atlanta (96-66) in the National League East.

Miami's payroll for this dismal season was $36 Million which was 29th in MLB. This averaged to $1.1 Million per-player.

As I researched this statistic, it was interesting to note that the Detroit Tigers have connections to three of these no-hitters.

On June 10, 1997, the Jim Leyland piloted Florida Marlins, saw pitcher Kevin Brown throw a 9-0 gem defeating the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park.

To win on the road in windy San Francisco should count as two no-hitters.

Current Tiger Anibal Sanchez defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0 in the Marlins former home, Joe Robbie Stadium on September 6, 2006.

Leyland was once again a part of a no-hitter, but on the wrong end of it as Alverez defeated Detroit 1-0 on September 29, 2014 at Marlins Park in his last regular season game as Tigers skipper.

Here on May 24, 2014, another former Tiger was on the hill for Miami against the Milwaukee Brewers.

His name is Jacob Turner and he entered the game with an 0-2 mark with a 6.59 ERA.

His no hitter ended in the top of the second inning as Carlos Gomez, photographed twice, doubled to deep right field.

Turner pitched 6.1 innings, gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out two.

His ERA dropped to 5.35 with the outing, leaving the game with a 1-0 lead. Turner threw 89 pitches, 57 for strikes.

Turner would go on and get the win and improved his record to 1-2.

On Friday Night, the Marlins began their Memorial Day Weekend three-game series and with Miami deciding to leave the retractable roof open.

Giancarlo Stanton and Garrett Jones put on a power display by each hitting two homers, all were solo shots but that wasn't enough as Milwaukee pounded Miami 9-5. The paid attendance was 18,989.

Going into Saturday's game, Milwaukee battered the Marlins 20-6 in their last 26 meetings and had a five-game winning streak.

In 2013, Milwaukee was 5-1 against Miami and shutout the Marlins three straight games from July 19-21 in Wisconsin.

The Marlins game on Saturday would be a 4:10 p.m. start by no means a conflict with the Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers just a handful of miles downtown that would begin at 8:30 p.m. at the American Airlines Arena.

There would definitely be no parking issues for this inner city double-header.

There would be No Repeat of what would happen in September. With the temperature 87 degrees on the outside, the only air was the air conditioning.

The Marlins (26-24) defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1. The paid attendance was 25,819. The Brewers dropped to 29-21. Miami snapped it's five-game losing streak to Milwaukee.

Milwaukee still leads the all-time series with the Marlins 60-57, but is 29-34 in South Florida.

On Sunday, Milwaukee ripped Miami 7-1 to improve the all-time series against the Marlins 61-57, and 30-34 in South Florida.

Ryan Braun led the way in this contest by amassing four hits, scoring two runs with one RBI, in front of a paid attendance of 21,897.

The three game series drew a total paid attendance of 66,705 which Milwaukee took two of three.

The only difference between the last time these teams met in South Florida was both were struggling squads.

In 2013, Milwaukee finished 74-88 and dealt with the 65-game suspension of star player Ryan Braun which originated in Miami 7.13 miles and 15 minutes away at the Biogenesis Clinic of America.

He missed a total 86 games, 21 due to a right thumb contusion.

In 2014, Braun, photographed, has quietly put some respectable numbers on the board with a .315 average, seven homers and 23 RBI in 36 games.

In 2014, Milwaukee is currently in first place in the National League Central with a 32-22 record while Miami is close to halfway towards it's win total of 2013 with 28.

The Marlins are 28-25 and they've slightly raised their payroll to 47.5 Million which is still 29th in MLB.

Before the game, I had a chance to speak with Hall of Famer Tony Perez, photographed with me to the left, while former Tigers Pitching Coach Chuck Hernandez holds the same title for Miami.

The former Cincinnati Red legend, Perez looks fantastic at the age of 72 and is a part of the Marlins front office.

This is a young staff that has an ERA of 3.78 and is in contention in the National League East .5 games behind division leading Atlanta 29-25 at the time of this post.

It will be interesting how this young squad progresses and whether the fans fill Marlins Park.

There is still a lot of backlash aimed at Miami Owner Jeffrey Loria who has a new expensive stadium, but has yet to field a competitive team.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

How Saturdays Used To Be Spent

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When Legendary Wrestler "Warrior" died on April 8, 2014, just three days after he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, I was having a conversation at work with a colleague named Keith Klatman joking around about The Sport Of Wrestling.

When I was growing up in Metro Detroit, My Saturday morning programming consisted of The Roller Derby and Big Time Wrestling.

Back in those days, these sports were fake, sideshows and nobody took them seriously.

But boy, they were fun to watch.

As I mentioned Roller Derby names such as Ralph Baladaris and Big Earlene Brown, Klatman's Eyes and Energy Level increased significantly!

He couldn't believe that anybody in his office knew anything about these pseudo sports.

This guy was doing a good job multitasking but couldn't hide his enthusiasm of his childhood. He welcomed these distractions.

Brown was a large African American Woman who used to jump and squash her competitors while Baladaris was a fast and strong little guy. The teams I remembered were the Detroit Bucks and LA Thunderbirds.

Even on the comedy show Sanford and Son, Fred Sanford would talk about watching The Roller Derby quite often.

When I roller skated while I was in my 30's as exercise, I respected these people even more. I was using roller skating as a way to rehabilitate my knees after having two operations on my right knee to rebuild strength.

I never cared about learning the rules of The Roller Derby. It was neat seeing the physicality of the sport and how the fans reacted.

Years ago, The Roller Derby and Big Time Wrestling were held at Cobo Arena and Olympia Stadium in Detroit, MI.

In South Florida, Klatman told me that those events were held at the Hollywood Sportatorium (15,532) in the unincorporated area of Hollywood, FL, which was a two lane road out in the middle of nowhere. He used to attend many of these events.

There were many times I asked my father to take me, but because of his heavy workload with two companies plus he didn't care for these sports, I just watched these events on TV.

I eventually saw a wrestling match about 20 years ago at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida, during The Broward County Fair and enjoyed it.

But long before there was Warrior, Hulk Hogan and many others, I remember the Good Old Days of Wrestling when Lord Layton, Pompero Firpo, the dynamic tag team tandem of Louis Martinez & Flying Fred Curry, The Shiek, Great Kabooki, a Japanese wrestler, Dandy Dan Miller, Andre The Giant, and Dick The Bruiser.

The Shiek was known for throwing fire into his opponents faces while Kabooki with his painted face would do a pre-match ritual, then sneak up on his opponents and attack them. Once the opponent overcame the attack, Kabooki would get pounded and put his hands up seeking mercy, but wouldn't get it. Kabooki would continuously get hammered. He like many wrestlers was the recipient of choke holds.

The Shiek had a manager named Eddie Kriechman, whose mouth was so loud when bragging about his wrestlers, especially the Shiek, that he would make famous boxing trainer Don King seem like he's shy. We all know that King is definitely not quiet.

Kriechman could wake up a dead person.

Miller was known for The Arm Claw Hold and believe it or not, if I get into a fight, I use this and let me tell you, it works.

When I was growing up, the road to a wrestling career was life after football.

This is another topic for another time.

But in the case of Dick The Bruiser, otherwise known as William Fritz Afflis, he played for Purdue University then for the Green Bay Packers as a lineman in the early 1950's.

Dick The Bruiser put wrestling on the map during the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's.

Dick The Bruiser died on November 10, 1991 at the age of 62 in Tampa, FL. Apparently he was weightlifting at home with his adopted son Jon Carney and ruptured a blood vessel in his esophagus.

The Warrior's death appears to be an all too familiar one. He died of a heart attack caused by heart disease.

Let's face the facts, during this era, there is no doubt that wrestling is dominated by steroids.

I'm not implying that Warrior used them, but passing away at the age of 54 with his obvious size and stature speaks for itself. He died a millionaire but his life ended way too soon in Scottsdale, Arizona.

But now it's time to let the mind wander.

Could you imagine what a Dick The Bruiser vs Hulk Hogan (6-7, 302) or Warrior match would be worth on Pay Per-View these days?

How would Dick The Bruiser do against Ric Flair or Dusty Rhodes?

I never thought that to see a wrestling card on pay-per-view prices would range from $50-100. This
was and is unheard of.

Today, Professional Wrestling is a Billion Dollar Industry.

But welcome to 2014.

This is an era where Mixed Martial Arts has surpassed Boxing and Wrestling's popularity continues to reach new heights with interest and massive pay days for it's participants.

Hulk Hogan's appearance in Rocky III was a big boom for wrestling.

Yet, by the same token, there is a price to pay from a health standpoint.

It's amazing how the death of an incredible wrestler would bring up memories of a sport that nobody cared about years ago.

But I have to admit, just talking to Klatman did remind me of How Saturdays Used To Be Spent as I watched these matches growing up in Southfield, MI.

If My father had sold weightlifting equipment at his former sporting goods store, All Pro Sporting Goods in Oak Park, Michigan, I might have been able to entice him to go to Olympia Stadium or Cobo Arena.

Back in Detroit, it's impossible to compete for the entertainment dollar when living in a major sports town with the Red Wings, Tigers, Lions and Pistons, then add the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans.

Although in this day and age, I'd be curious to see if these matches would be popular again at home.

In the meantime, it's still great thinking about How Saturdays Used To Be Spent.

It's only fitting that I'm writing this story on a Saturday, when years ago from 9-Noon, I would be watching these programs either on a Black And White or Color Television.

Yes, i said a Black And White Television, something this generation would never relate to.

Long before cable, when there were only 5-6 television stations to watch. Now there are hundreds, plus streaming on the internet.

In Detroit, we had 7 stations since Windsor, Canada, was across the border. We had the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Guess I'm getting a bit older.

But not too old to remember the great memories of the past and How Saturday s Used To Be Spent.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

On Monday February 24, 2014, I decided to put Detroit Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland into My Detroit Mt. Rushmore for Detroit Front Office Executives.

On Wednesday, Holland proved why he deserved to be on this list by acquiring Center David Legwand from the Nashville Predators in the final minutes of the NHL's trade deadline. It was a move designed to bolster a position which has been decimated by injuries. It showed the city and his team that he wants to maintain the winning tradition. No fire sales and selling, just buying.

Before the Olympic Break, I had the opportunity to speak with Holland in this Q & A Interview about some of the latest developments with the Red Wings when Detroit played the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center.

Q: Are you relieved that the Red Wings will be taking future face offs in a new stadium?

A: Yes. It's a big step. It's really important because it allows our organization, franchise and city to remain competitive in the NHL.

Q: What do you think the new facility should look like?

A: One of the benefits of being one of the last buildings built is the opportunity to tour a lot of the buildings. I know the people from the Ilitch family and the people they have hired have taken the opportunity to go tour, plus the hockey people like Myself and Coach Mike Babcock, have suggested some of the good things we like in certain buildings.

Hopefully, we can take the best of all the buildings. I know they've asked other buildings if you could do things differently, what would you do? A state-of-the-art stadium would be fantastic not only again for our team and city, but it will really help in the re-vitalization of Downtown Detroit.

Q: Ken, I'm an old school guy, have you heard anything about Olympia being used in the name of the new arena? Olympia Stadium would sound great!

A: I haven't gotten involved in the conversations. I will say this. The history of the Red Wings is very important to our ownership. We're one of the few franchises that we don't have a third jersey. We've done very little tinkering with our jersey.

When the Ilitches bought the team in the early 1980's, they wanted to have the history and respect it. So I'm sure those things will be discussed and talked about. The history of our team will be up front first and foremost.

Q: But do you have a gut feeling, and I'm just asking you for a gut feeling, whether Olympia would be a part of the name?

A: I don't really know. At the end of the day, you can name some rooms and other parts of the building different things. In this day and age there is naming rights. I don't know if they're looking at naming rights.

My thing is to keep the Red Wings competitive on the ice. We do go to regular meetings. They've asked our input in the designing of the locker room. We want a state-of-the-art locker room as we go on the road and see other locker rooms.

They ask us what I like about different rinks in the NHL. It's not my job on a day to day basis.

Will Olympia be in the name? I really have no idea.

Q: Since I live in South Florida, the Miami Marlins recently built a new stadium on the site of the historical Orange Bowl. Did you ever hear if the old Tiger Stadium site was ever considered?

A: I don't know. I'm sure the planning started 4,5,6,7 years ago. I'm not sure what was ever considered. Someone did there work that made the current location the best sense. I'm sure there were a lot of great areas and opportunities. You have to buy land, the city made a major move by doing some re-zoning, had to put parcels of land that they owned with the development package. I'm not sure what was ever considered.

One good thing about this location is it's close to Comerica Park, Ford Field and more of these big venues brings people downtown. You can start by having bars and restaurants then younger people start moving downtown. Build out from there. One of the advantages of this location is it's closer to other locations.

I moved to Detroit in 1994, and what's good about this is we can start by bringing energy and different businesses. The city can go from there.

It's important to have a Downtown District in every city in the USA and Canada for that matter.

Detroit is on the way back. It takes time to kind of lose your sex appeal and it takes awhile to build back your sex appeal. The people of Michigan and Detroit are going through the process to get Detroit back to what it is. It's one of the great cities in America.

Q: Now we can move on to some easier hockey questions and we'll start with the Red Wings move to the Eastern Conference. Some thoughts?

A: It's going to be fantastic for us. It's going to take time. Other than Toronto, Montreal, and the other "Original Six" teams, (Boston and NY Rangers) to go along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, whom we played in the finals twice in 2008 and 2009; the other teams we played once a year and in some years we didn't play them.

Even though Anaheim is on the West Coast, we had a good relationship/rivalry with them because of the playoff match-ups through the years. I think it's going to be awesome with us being in the Eastern Conference. It's going to take 2-4 years to build up relationships and rivalries with some of these cities beyond the "Original Six."

Q: Now that you're not switching time zones as much, would you say that the team will benefit with more practices with less travel wear and tear?

A: I don't know that the 82-game regular season in the Western Conference was that bad. We have our own private airplane. The schedule makers did work with us.

The wear and tear was in the playoffs. In a seven game series in California, you're flying back and forth. If you're fortunate enough to win the series, there could be another seven game series to Western Canada going back and forth.

As we go forward, and we're able to make the playoffs, there will be less wear and tear in the Eastern Conference. We'll build up more rivalries, plus there will be more road games in prime-time on TV for our fans in Detroit. Fans love rivalries. We have Toronto and Montreal that go back in the beginning of time.

Hopefully, over the next 10-15 years, we'll have playoff series with Tampa Bay, Florida, Washington, and another with Pittsburgh. The more playoff series you're in with both cities, there is a build-up of emotional energy for that team which is good going forward.

Q: Would you say that the early returns to the Eastern Conference are good?

A: I love it!

Q: Let's talk about your Coach Mike Babcock. With a 22-year playoff streak on the line trying to reach 23, is this one of his best coaching jobs?

A: He did a tremendous job last year with a lot of people out. He kept us afloat structure.

This year, he's played a lot of kids. This has been a great year for our team because we're set-up going forward. If we didn't have the injuries, we wouldn't know about Riley Sheahan, Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, and Tomas Jurco.

They've had opportunities. We count on these guys night after night after night. Hopefully, our organization will be much deeper in March than we were in November. When we head into the off-season, we have to make a decision about our team. We've watched these kids play.

We played in Vancouver and Sheahan went head-to-head against Ryan Kesler a world class player. You normally don't get that opportunity to watch these players play in those situations.

But this year, we have.

The Red Wings (29-21-13) get to showcase their young talent on Sunday as Detroit faces the New York Rangers (34-26-4) in Madison Square Garden on NBC at 12:30 pm.

Another "Original Six" match-up with both teams driving to make the playoffs in The Big Apple.

Despite the fact that Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk will be out for an extended period of time, this team will only get scarier in the playoffs upon their return.

The only curiosities that I have at the moment are the progression of these kids and how much Legwand contributes. But being a hometown player despite Legwand's pending free agency, I couldn't imagine Holland making a trade for a rental especially for a guy that waived his no-trade clause to come home.

As much as I used to enjoy watching Lions Hall of Fame Running Back Barry Sanders march to the top of the all-time rushing chart, I am looking forward to seeing how many teams the Red Wings pass if they're able to get a a red hot streak.

We've all heard the phrase being "Thrown into the Fire," these kids are definitely getting "On the Job Training" at the highest level in the NHL and the rest of the teams know it.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

Mt Rushmore---National Version

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I can thank ESPN especially Mike & Mike In the Morning for this idea.

They originally just used the NBA Mt. Rushmore, however, I've decided to take this much farther by covering a lot more sports on and off the field.

So lets get started.

NBA:

1. Magic Johnson
2. Larry Bird
3. Bill Russell
4. Michael Jordan

MLB:

1. Ty Cobb
2. Babe Ruth
3. Lou Gehrig
4. Cy Young

NHL:

1. Gordie Howe
2. Wayne Gretzky
3. Bobby Orr
4. Bobby Hull

NFL:

1. Jim Brown
2. Jerry Rice
3. Dick Butkus
4. Joe Montana

NFL QB's:

1. Joe Montana
2. Terry Bradshaw
3. John Elway
4. Brett Favre

NASCAR:

1. Richard Petty
2. Dale Earnhardt Sr.
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Jeff Gordon

NHL GOALTENDERS:

1. Martin Brodeur
2. Patrick Roy
3. Terry Sawchuk
4. Jacques Plante

MLB PITCHERS:

1. Cy Young
2. Walter Johnson
3. Tom Seaver
4. Nolan Ryan

GREATEST COACHES:

1. John Wooden
2. Vince Lombardi
3. Scotty Bowman
4. Don Shula

MEN'S TENNIS:

1. Jimmy Connors
2. Bjorn Borg
3. Pete Sampras
4. Roger Federer

WOMEN'S TENNIS:

1. Chris Evert
2. Martina Navratilova
3. Billie Jean King
4. Steffi Graf

BOXING:

1. Joe Louis
2. Rocky Marciano
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Sugar Ray Leonard

BROADCASTERS PLAY BY PLAY:

1. Vin Scully
2. Al Michaels
3. Dick Enberg
4. Curt Gowdy

COLOR ANALYSTS:

1. Tim McCarver
2. Hubie Brown
3. Joe Garagiola
4. John Madden

WOMEN BROADCASTING PIONEERS:

1. Lesley Visser
2. Hannah Storm
3. Robin Roberts
4. Andrea Kramer

STUDIO HOSTS:

1. Brent Musberger
2. Chris Berman
3. Bob Costas
4. Chris Fowler

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAY BY PLAY:

1. Keith Jackson
2. Brent Musberger
3. Lindsey Nelson
4. Verne Lundquist

COLLEGE FOOTBALL COLOR ANALYSTS:

1. Frank Broyles
2. Bob Griese
3. Gary Danielson
4. Ara Parseghian

MLB PLAY BY PLAY:

1. Vin Scully
2. Jack Buck
3. Curt Gowdy
4. Ernie Harwell

MULTIPLE SPORTS PLAY BY PLAY:

1. Don Criqui
2. Dick Stockton
3. Gary Bender
4. Charlie Jones

NFL PLAY BY PLAY:

1. Pat Summerall
2. Al Michaels
3. Dick Enberg
4. Curt Gowdy

NFL COLOR ANALYSTS:

1. John Madden
2. John Brodie
3. Merlin Olsen
4. Dan Dierdorf

COLLEGE BASKETBALL PLAY BY PLAY:

1. Brent Musberger
2. Jim Nantz
3. Dick Enberg
4. Verne Lunquist

COLLEGE BASKETBALL COLOR ANALYSTS:
1. Dick Vitale
2. Billy Packer
3. Al McGuire
4. Bill Raftery

NHL PLAY BY PLAY:

1. Dan Kelly
2. Gary Thorne
3. Mike "Doc Emrick
4. Dave Strader

NHL COLOR ANALYSTS:

1. John Davidson
2. Ed Olczyk
3. Bill Clement
4. Darren Pang

ESPN:

1. Chris Berman
2. Bob Ley
3. Tom Mees
4. Dan Patrick

I'm sure I could add even more lists than this, but this is plenty to keep the thinking caps on.

All the four Major Sports were indeed a challenge to come up with the Big Four.

But since ESPN started with the NBA List, I figured I'd do the same and use ESPN to end it.

All I'll say about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird is the NBA's games were on Tape Delay and the NBA was practically broke. Now look where the league is at. I doubt very few people would doubt what they've meant to the league.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

Detroit's Mt. Rushmore

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

During the past 10 days, I've heard numerous debates in the NBA about what players would be on a Mt. Rushmore.

Have to admit these debates have been interesting and stimulating.

So I've decided to have two blogs.

The first will focus on Detroit Sports then the second will be a National Version. To have four great individuals in a category will definitely make one think especially since we were all brought up in different eras.

It's so easy to get in a debate and I welcome this because it certainly keeps the Wheels Turning. There are no wrong answers.

Sometimes opinions are made just not through history but who we've seen perform.

So lets get started.

DETROIT TEAMS:

1. Gordie Howe
2. Al Kaline
3. Barry Sanders
4. Isiah Thomas

DETROIT TIGERS:

1. Al Kaline
2. Ty Cobb
3. Hank Greenberg
4. Mickey Lolich

DETROIT RED WINGS

1. Gordie Howe
2. Steve Yzerman
3. Terry Sawchuk
4. Nicklas Lidstrom

DETROIT LIONS:

1. Bobby Layne
2. Barry Sanders
3. Lem Barney
4. Dick "Night Train" Lane

DETROIT PISTONS:

1. Dave Bing
2. Bob Lanier
3. Isiah Thomas
4. Joe Dumars

DETROIT COACHES/MANAGERS

1. Scotty Bowman
2. Sparky Anderson
3. Chuck Daly
4. Jim Leyland

DETROIT FRONT OFFICE EXECUTIVES:

1. Bill Lajoie
2. Ken Holland
3. Dave Dombrowski
4. Jack McCloskey

DETROIT BROADCASTERS:

1. Ernie Harwell
2. George Kell

3. Bruce Martyn
4. Bob Ufer

DETROIT TV COLOR ANALYSTS:

1. Mickey Redmond
2. Greg Kelser
3. Syd Abel
4. Al Kaline

DETROIT RADIO COLOR ANALYSTS

1. Jim Brandstatter
2. Charlie Sanders
3. Paul Carey
4. Paul Woods

PRINT MEDIA:

1. Joe Falls
2. Charlie Vincent
3. Mitch Albom
4. Tom Gage

As I said earlier, this is an easy group to omit people, but when the time comes that Mt. Rushmore has five presidents instead of four, then it will make it a tad easier to add another name.

Some names that could have been added to these lists include the likes of Jim Campbell (Tigers) George Blaha (Pistons/MSU), Jim Devellano (Red Wings), Ken Kal (Red Wings) and Bo Schembechler from the Michigan Wolverines.

But oh well, it is what it is.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

Meadowlands Mauling, Seattle VS Denver

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

A week ago, I went out on the limb and predicted that the Denver Broncos would defeat the Seattle Seahawks 31-19 in Super Bowl XLVIII.

I wasn't alone. Sixty eight percent of the action chose Denver over Seattle. I figured the score would be a double figures outcome, just the wrong team. Going into the game, the Broncos led by future Hall of Fame signal caller Peyton Manning, scored 606 points.

But in any major championship game, there is one thing that decides the outcome.

Mistakes.

Denver committed four turnovers while Seattle had zero. Seattle led in time of possession 31:53-28:07. It doesn't help when your team ends up in the record books for all the wrong reasons.

Seattle took a 2-0 lead by causing a safety 12 seconds into the game which was the fastest score in Super Bowl History.

It was the start of a long night which led to a 43-8 Seattle thrashing over Denver to capture the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

For whatever it's worth, this is the second time Seattle whipped Denver. During the preseason. Seattle ripped the Broncos on August 17, 2013 at home 40-10.

As for Manning, he's 11-12 all-time in the postseason. The Broncos suffered their fifth loss in the Super Bowl, the most in NFL History.

Manning was seeking to become the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl for two different teams.

Instead, Seattle Coach Pete Carroll joins Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer as the only coaches in NFL History to win a College National Championship and Super Bowl title. Carroll used to coach the New York Jets. Have to wonder what the Jets fans were thinking when Carroll was celebrating in their stadium.

During this match-up featuring the top defense versus the top offense, Seattle's masterful defensive effort proved that a great defense does win championships as it has throughout Super Bowl History. Offensive football does win regular season games, but during a two-week period to prepare, coaches adjust for the Super Bowl.

It was fitting to see a defensive player Seattle linebacker Malcolm Smith win the MVP Award. He returned a Manning interception for a touchdown, plus added 10 tackles, six were solo.

In 2008, former Detroit Lions defensive end Cliff Avril endured a 0-16 season. He played a big part in the Seahawks win over the Broncos and has a championship ring to show for his efforts.

I couldn't be happier for Seattle for a couple of reasons.

First, several years ago, I covered a game around Christmas time in the now demolished Seattle Kingdome and under that concrete dome, the fans were loud. That's when I learned about the 12th Man.

Second, during Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005 on a 59 degree night in Jacksonville, FL., a Seattle Seahawks Public Relations lady was able to get me out of the Press Tent and into the contest, 15 minutes prior to game time when a New York Times reporter didn't show up. She told me to stay near her by the table then signaled me over when word came down from the league. She told me with a smile I'm good to go.

The New England Patriots won the contest 24-21.

There is a much bigger connection between these two cities than most people realize.

The Seahawks and Broncos were division rivals in the AFC West from 1977-2001. Seattle moved to the NFC West in 2002.

In 1993-94, a No.1 seeded Seattle Supersonics (63-19) squad lost to the No.8 Denver Nuggets (42-40) in a five game series during the Opening Round 3-2 of the playoffs. This was the first time in NBA history that a top seed lost to the lowest one.

Speaking of the Supersonics, they were the last Seattle franchise to win a title in 1979 when they defeated the Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals.

As I summarize the Super Bowl, despite the 49 degree temperatures being the third lowest in Super Bowl History, New York/New Jersey caught a major break with no snow. Actually, the snow came on Monday.

It seems like they put on a good show.

But the NFL awards cities that build new stadiums and did so in this case. The NFL did the right thing by holding a Big Event since the unfortunate events of September 11, 2001.

Call it a sentimental pay back.

I think the NFL dodged a bullet with the weather and don't foresee anymore Cold Weather Super Bowls in the near future.

But now the question is, will Seattle's defense repeat and how much better will their second year quarterback Russell Wilson get?  These will be great story lines to follow during the off-season.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

Detroit's Coaching/Manager Changes

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTO BY CANDICE EBLING

A year ago, the Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49'ers at the New Orleans Superdome.

Since that time, there has been some shifting for the Detroit Coaching/Managerial Scene.

I'll take this team by team.

The Detroit Pistons hired Lawrence Frank on August 3, 2011. In two seasons he compiled a 54-94 mark and Detroit missed the playoffs both campaigns.

Termination Day came on April 18, 2013 as the Pistons Management became fed up with his inability to communicate with players.

On June 28, 2013, Brooklyn Nets rookie Head Coach Jason Kidd hired Frank to be his lead assistant and his right-hand man. It didn't take long for Kidd to get fed-up with Frank as he banned him from games and practices on December 3, 2013. Now Frank has been demoted to filing team evaluation reports.

The Pistons hired Maurice Cheeks as his replacement and there is no doubt he's an upgrade over Frank.

The Detroit Tigers managerial change wasn't of their own choosing. Jim Leyland decided to retire with a 700-597 record on October 21, 2013.He led Detroit to a pair of World Series appearances. Leyland guided Detroit to four playoff appearances which is the most in team history.

Leyland, who piloted the Tigers from 2006-2013 is the Tigers second manager to have a winning record since 1979 joining the late Sparky Anderson. Leyland's winning percentage is .540 while from 1979-1995, Anderson was 1,331-1248 for a .516 percentage.

On January 8, 2014, Leyland was named as a Special Assistant to Tigers President, CEO and GM Dave Dombrowski. I had a feeling that he couldn't totally stay away.

Meanwhile, Brad Ausmus has been hired to replace Leyland. He appears to have assembled a good coaching staff. I'm pleased that Ausmus retained Pitching Coach Jeff Jones and Bench Coach Gene Lamont. These were the two areas which needed to maintain continuity.

The Detroit Lions coaching change was inevitable after two straight late season collapses which cost Jim Schwartz his job.

Schwartz finished with a 29-52 mark in his tenure with the Lions from 2009-2013.

He was a highly coveted hire when he joined Detroit as the Tennessee Titans former defensive coordinator. His Lions record is somewhat deceiving because he inherited an 0-16 team without a franchise quarterback.

But the 2012 and 2013 seasons sealed Schwartz's fate. In 2012, Detroit started 4-4 but went 0-8 and finished 4-12. After a 6-3 start in 2013, The Lions wound up 7-9. You do the math. It was ugly at 1-6 and that's why Schwartz became unemployed on Dec 30, 2013. A 1-14 mark in November and December doesn't get it done.

As much as people like to criticize the Ford Family because of the Lions woeful record over the years, the only thing I'll say is they don't meddle with their coaches and don't lack patience. That's why many NFL People thought it was one of the best jobs available.

The only major coaching move which bothered me over the years was when Detroit had a chance to hire Assistant Coach Chuck Knox but elected to go with Monte Clark. Knox went on to coach the Los Angeles Rams and had good success while the Lions struggled with Clark. The only exciting players worth watching in the Clark era were Running Back Billy Sims and QB Gary Danielson.

I know a lot of people seem to be criticizing the Jim Caldwell hire. But hold on because while this might not be the most sexy big name guy, he comes with great credentials and recommendations from future Hall of Fame Coach Tony Dungy, former Indianapolis Colts GM Bill Polian, Future Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning along with many others. Caldwell is known for his calm demeanor.

Caldwell led the Colts to a Super Bowl appearance as a head coach, and has won others as an assistant coach. He has an excellent reputation developing signal callers and as long as he hires assistant coaches that can only enhance the development of Matt Stafford, I have a feeling that many critics will be eating their words.

Caldwell may not be the quote machine that My Fellow Media Members want, but I'm sure My Detroit Colleagues will trade the quotes for an opportunity to see the Lions reach the Super Bowl.

The Only Team which hasn't made a change and I wouldn't foresee it in the future are the Detroit Red Wings. They are the Model Franchise in this city. They have won four championships with two coaches in Scotty Bowman and Mike Babcock.

Babcock is doing one of the best coaching jobs I've ever seen because he's had only two players that have participated in all the team's games. The Red Wings made the playoffs on the last game of the Regular Season and reached the Western Conference Finals only to lose to eventual eventual champs, the Chicago Blackhawks,.

I have a feeling the Wings consecutive playoff streak will increase to 23-years with a hot streak and getting some players back from injuries. If Detroit can keep winning, who knows, they could take this playoff streak into the New Olympia Stadium in a few years.

In the meantime, I'll be curious to see how these three new coaches perform a year from now.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.