When Muhammad Ali would box, sometimes he would stick his left arm out and place it directly on the forehead of his opponent. The other boxer would be helpless in that situation because he just couldn’t reach Ali, who was toying with him. You know, kind of the way a cat plays with a mouse before he goes for the kill. It’s the same feeling the Pistons present as they mess with the Orlando Magic during the opening round of the NBA playoffs. The Pistons get a lead, but never one so big the Magic feel like they are being blown out. Sometimes, Orlando cuts the lead down to single digits. It was even down to three points late in Game 1 on Saturday. Yet, there is never any feeling the Pistons are truly threatened. The Pistons are the ones in control. The Magic are only as good as the Pistons let them be. It could change on the road. If it does, and the Pistons lose a game or two to the Magic, it would not bode well for their future. The shorter work they make of the Magic, the better. Several of the Pistons’ key players - Rasheed Wallace, Lindsey Hunter, Antonio McDyess and Chris Webber - are older than 30. Even with an improved bench, Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton play a lot of minutes. The more rest the Pistons get for the next round, the better because Miami and Chicago figure to beat on each other in a knockdown series. There is no reason the Pistons can’t win these next two games in Orlando and sweep the series. They would be wise to stop toying with the Magic and take care of business as soon as possible.

Ramdom Thoughts

- Thank you, Red Wings. Detroit needed that.
Now people can put the past behind them. This can become "Hockey
Town" again.
The Red Wings are still a long way from winning the Stanley Cup championship, but at least they won their creditably back Sunday by outlasting Calgary in six games. The early exits from the playoffs had become monotonous.
It was important, too, that the Red Wings won a close game on the road. There would not have been nearly the same degree of optimism about the next round if they advanced only because they could beat one of the worst road teams in the NHL at Joe Louis Arena. Calgary is a difficult place to play - and the Red Wings proved they were tough enough to win there.
What I still don’t understand about the series is why it was so difficult. The Red Wings outshot the Flames by 21 per game. The Flames Mikka Kiprusoff was beyond brilliant in goal. He was even better than in 2004. But it seems like every goalie that sees the Red Wings in the playoffs gets into an unbelievable trance. It got almost spooky Sunday. The good part is the Red Wings won despite this quirk. Also, I don’t think there is much question Dominik Hasek is an upgrade from Manny Legace and Curtis Joseph in Detroit’s goal. If Manny or CuJo were still playing goal for the Red Wings, I don’t believe they would be advancing. There is little question the Red Wings would be better off facing Dallas in the next round. San Jose is the big and physical type of team that is going to still give the Red Wings problems. Dallas is a conservative trapping team that is not particularly physical. San Jose has better scoring punch and is more playoff proven in goal.

- It probably wouldn’t mean that much ultimately if the Tigers were 8-10 instead of 10-8, but it is a good sign they are finding ways to win. It doesn’t get much more dramatic than Marcus Thames’ ninth-inning homer to tie it Sunday. They are doing it with Kenny Rogers out and Gary Sheffield slumping to an unimaginable degree. Fernando Rodney is a major concern, but his troubles have been off set by the work of Wilfredo Ledezma. Jim Leyland was right. He is a weapon out of the bullpen.

- Justin Verlander is an incredible talent. I just can’t see him getting lit up by any lineup this season.

- Johan Franzen for the Conn Smythe Trophy...Just kidding...But he has developed into quite a player.