Pistons' Joe Dumars knows his job is on the line

The guy that desperately needs good fortune now is Dumars. In the coming weeks, he'll take another shot in the draft, then another shot at the free-agent and trade markets. And if there isn't a significant boost, Dumars likely will be gone.

Reggie Bush's star power can push the Lions

Bush, 28, was the No. 1 free-agent target for the Lions, and it's important to recognize why. It's not that Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford required more help than the defense. It's that in Motown terms, if you spend big money on a fast car, you don't run it with a clogged fuel pump.

Tigers enjoying embarrassment of starting pitching riches

At this rate, with this pitching, the Tigers might clinch the division by the Fourth of July and spend the rest of the summer fishing (for a closer).

• Photos: Tigers 4, Indians 1

Tigers need their bats to be more than just hit and miss

The relevant question is, can the Tigers win this way? If they pitch like this, of course they can. The rotation has delivered quality starts in 12 of the past 13 games, yet the Tigers are 6-7. For all their hitting prowess, they have the 12th-best record in baseball.

• Photos: Tigers 5, Rays 2
• Photos: Tigers 5, Rays 2
• Baseball: 2013 MLB Draft results, player profiles

Lions' Bill Ford Jr. knows now is time for Lions to win

The Lions sit at a familiar crossroad, where the direction matters more than the destination. And on a brilliantly sunny day, Bill Ford Jr. was looking up. Not many clouds in June, with the season three months away.

Encouraging season shows Red Wings aren't far from being a force, again

The Red Wings made the playoffs, beat the second-seeded Ducks in a Game 7 on the road and lost to the top-seeded Blackhawks in an overtime Game 7 on the road. In a sense, they skipped over a rebuilding year, and a dangerous transition has become a doable transition.

• Photos: Red Wings final grades

Wings never fold, but come up just short in the end

Seabrook’s shot tipped Niklas Kronwall’s skate before flipping past Howard, and that’s how these crazy Game 7s often end. On the ice after the game, Kronwall dropped to one knee, his head down, while Howard put his arm around him.

• Photos: Blackhawks 2, Red Wings 1 (OT) -- Game 7

As kids grow, it's up to the veterans to make Wings go

It’s hard to tell if the Red Wings are rattled or riled, but it’s easy to see the enormity of the task. They have to go into the United Center Wednesday and try to win a Game 7 against the league’s top team, a deep, skilled Blackhawks group.

After Red Wings’ third-period meltdown, tide has turned in series

The Wings lost their lead, their edge and possibly much more, falling 4-3 Monday night to send the series back to Chicago for Game 7.

• Photos: Red Wings vs. Blackhawks -- Game 6

Wings’ mission now is to match Hawks’ desperation

Expected response from the Blackhawks? Yep. Acceptable response from the Red Wings? Nope, not at all. If they plan to close this series out, they have to push back much, much harder back home.

• Photos: Blackhawks 4, Red Wings 1 -- Game 5

Wings one win away from once-implausible feat

This is being decided in the toughest areas of the ice, in front of the net, in their relentlessly grinding effort. And make no mistake about this — it’s also being decided in the head.

• Photos: Red Wings 2, Blackhawks 0 -- Game 4

The time is now for Red Wings; goalie Jimmy Howard could hold key

Now we find out how tight and real it is, how frustrated the Blackhawks truly are, how much higher Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Jimmy Howard can raise their games. The Red Wings are gathering confidence and the Blackhawks are gathering themselves.

• Photos: Red Wings practice ahead of Game 4

Red Wings hitting Blackhawks like they mean it, grab series lead

If it moved, the Red Wings hit it. If it bounced, they chased it. The Blackhawks kept passing and pressuring, and the Red Wings kept pressing and pressing, slamming bodies and pursuing pucks.

Once-grizzled Wings proving youth is served in postseason

In between the hyperbolic extremes, the Wings are finding rejuvenation and balance, and a whole lot of energy. They come churning into Joe Louis Arena tonight ...

After a little rest, don’t count Red Wings out yet

Oh, the Red Wings are outmanned, and it was evident in Wednesday night’s 4-1 loss. But after practicing at Joe Louis Arena on Friday before hopping on the ...

Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard is up for the challenge against Blackhawks

Normally, one playoff series doesn’t define a team or validate a plan. But this isn’t a normal season, and the Red Wings just won their most important series ...

Red Wings' steely resolve belies their youth; Blackhawks up next

The Wings rolled into Anaheim and knocked off the second-seeded Ducks 3-2 Sunday night in Game 7 to advance to the second round, where the Blackhawks await. ...

Wings-Ducks series has been good to the last gasp

Did the Wings and Ducks play seven games of aesthetically scintillating hockey? No. But they played one of the tightest series imaginable, more tightly ...

Wings duo of Zetterberg, Datsyuk steadies teammates through emotional win

From the brink and back, the Red Wings made another crazy trip and pulled out another crazy game Saturday night in Detroit. They blew a late lead but ...

Exasperating gets best of exhilarating in Red Wings' Game 5 setback

They’ve been skating on the edge all series, and skated deep into the night again. But this time, the Red Wings could conjure no overtime magic.