Blow Up The Bullpen

THE FINE FIVE:

(1) This is - or, was - the Park Avenue Hotel in Detroit. It was imploded this morning to help make way for construction of the new Detroit Red Wings home. Rumor has it the explosives used were left over from last night's horrific Detroit Tigers game, where the Good Guys blew a 6-1 lead in the 9th inning and lost 8-6.

(2) Where does last night's debacle rank in terms of "Worst Tigers Games In Recent History"? Here's my short (but not short enough) list:

WORST: October 13, 2013: American League Championship Series, Game 2 vs Boston. The "David Ortiz tied the game in the bottom of the 8th on a grand slam over the glove of Torii Hunter, who fell over the fence while a fat Boston cop danced in joy" game.

SECOND-WORST: October 6, 2009: Game 163, American League Central tie-breaker vs Minnesota. The Tigers had a two-game lead with three to play, but the Twins caught them and then won the one-game playoff. Detroit missed the post-season.

THIRD-WORST: July 10, 2015: Twins beat Tigers late. The Tigers blew a 6-run lead late, and lost in the bottom of the 9th. Seems like just yesterday. Oh, wait ... it was.

FOURTH-WORST: June 13, 1988: Orioles beat Tigers late. Mickey Tettleton goes deep off Guillermo "Don't Call Me Willie" Hernandez, turning a 4-3 deficit to a 6-4 Baltimore win.

HONORABLE MENTION: June 2, 2010: Armando Galarraga's 28-out perfect game vs. Cleveland. Yes, the Tigers won, 3-0, but umpire Jim Joyce totally botched the call at first base on what would have been the 27th out of the game, giving Galarraga a no-hitter/perfect game. There was no "instant replay" review option in MLB at the time.

(3) Of course, it works the other way sometimes. Last June 30, Detroit's Rajai Davis hit a walk-off grand slam off Oakland closer Sean Doolittle to help the Tigers win 5-4 ...

(4) And on June 21, 1988, the Tigers beat Cecilio Guante and the New York Yankees, 7-6, on a walk-off Alan Trammell grand slam; the home run came with two outs and a 3-2 count on Trammell. (The Tigers trailed 6-1 heading into the bottom of the 9th inning.) I was in the upper center field bleachers for that game with my brother and our friend Kevin Loucks; there is a fleeting glimpse of us as the camera watches the ball fly into the left field deck.

(5) Went to a free concert at the Wellington Amphitheater tonight, "The Rock Show" - a seven-piece band that performed covers of 60s, 70s and 80s stars. Overall, pretty impressive. The band covered The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Queen, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Van Halen, Pat Benatar, Journey, AC/DC, Guns 'n Roses, Heart, and a few other groups.

FOODERCIZE:

Weight: 246

Steps Taken: 17,046

Miles Walked: 8.89

CAMPAIGN 2016 NEWS OF THE DAY:

From CNN: "Trump proposes massive one-time tax on the rich" - By Trump's calculations, his proposed 14.25 percent levy on such net worth (including his own!) would raise $5.7 trillion and wipe out the debt in one full swoop. What a savvy businessman!

STUPID NEWS OF THE DAY:

From Arkansas Online: "California man arrested at XNA for smoking on a plane, drugs" - It was so bad, even $20 bribe attempts couldn't save him.

FLORIDA NEWS OF THE DAY:

From WPTV: "Loxahatchee rally drums up support for the confederate flag" - Because nothing says "patriotism" like remembering that war you lost 150 years ago.

WEIRD NEWS OF THE DAY:

From The Mirror: "Too GINGER to fly: Teenager's dream holiday turns into a 'disaster' as stopped from getting on plane" - First, racial profiling targeted blacks. Then anyone of Middle Eastern background. Now, redheads. I'm concerned I'm next.

VIDEO OF THE DAY:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Comic-Con 2015 Reel.

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY:

"Rhythm Nation," Janet Jackson