The old crumbling red brick row is chipping away as every moving car passes by Michigan and Trumbell. Weeds fill the sidewalks where vendors sold hot dogs for over 90 years, and the parking lot, usually accustomed to street vendors clad with min-bats and Tigers hats has long been emptied.

Nine years ago the white baseball mansion otherwise known as Tiger Stadium still carried the smell of hot dogs and the crack of wooden bats into the overhanging bleachers in right field.

A lot has changed since 1999 when the Detroit Tigers took to the hitter's park for the last time.

            Old friends named Alan Trammel, and Kirk Gibson came back, and left, again. A singing hot dog vendor emerged, as did new landmarks of three story high prowling tigers, baseball bats, and a dolphin swimming on a building side overlooking the center field wall.

            As Comerica Park became christened as the new baseball Mecca in Detroit, Old Tiger Stadium with it's long Wrigley like concrete ramps, MLB pennants, and throwback Tigers logos was forgotten.

            Last week, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick met with members of the Detroit City Council to discuss the future of one of baseball's most historic landmarks.

            After the meeting, ideas of demolition swirled and plans to turn the corner of Michigan and Trumbell into a shopping center, or another parking lot emerged.

            But is demolition for the future home of compact cars, or a Super K-Mart really the proper burial Tiger Stadium deserves?

            For nine decades Tiger Stadium was home to players like Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Jack Morris and Al Kaline, home to Ernie Harwell, the '84 World Series champions and the culture of Detroit sports.

            Many advocates and Detroit baseball die-hards have created websites and lobbied to restore the building that was once home to so many great baseball memories and records.

            But without the man power or will to restore and maintain Detroit's most coveted sports landmark it is merely a lost cause.

            Instead of half-heartedly leading an effort to restore the now peeling and crumbling sports stadium, Mike Illitch and the Detroit Tigers organization need to give Tiger Stadium a proper burial by bringing back one more series to where baseball previously thrived.

            For just one weekend series, either this season or next, the Tigers should give the place a face lift and one last hoorah. They could play a division series against an old-rival, and bring back the old players to raise the excitement level of what would be an already historic weekend.

            They could pull the weeds, paint the chairs, and remove the tree that is growing in the outfield. They could bring back the vendors, the hat stands, and the old crowd that used to watch baseball back when baseball was America's pastime.

            Money shouldn't be an object. Never mind the fact that Detroit Tigers owner Mike Illitch is rolling in wads of cash from his other business ventures: Olympia Entertainment which encompasses Comerica Park, Joe Louis Arena, The Fox Theater, Hockeytown Cafe, Hockeytown Authentics, the Tigers, the Red Wings and so much more.

            Besides, fans young an old would no doubt eat the cost of an inflated admission ticket, or a hot dog and a box of Cracker Jack's just for a shot of that old time baseball nostalgia.

            The idea is feasible from an economical standpoint because it is certain baseball fans would still care enough to see one last home stand at the corner. In terms of man power and restoration efforts, the lobbyists would help because they already pushed to refurbish the tiring eye sore that hovers over Interstate-94.

            To the casual fan it may be over the top, but to long time, old fashioned baseball enthusiasts it's the proper send off Tiger Stadium has earned. After weekend series, turned Tigers celebrity alumni weekend party, mayor Kilpatrick can bulldoze the old white walled structure as soon as he can.

            Sure it will be sad. Sure it will signal the dawning of a new era for the corner of Michigan and Trumbell - an era that will either involve 24-hour one stop shopping, or five dollar easy out parking, but that's okay, because old Tiger Stadium will have gotten the it's ride into the sunset.

I'm glad to be such a proponent for change. After last week's rant about Tedd Ginn being the only receiver in ESPN's Heisman watch, Chris Spielman added Calvin Johnson- who by the way still isn't the best receiver in the NCAA, and kept Ginn in the mix, probably because Kirk Herbstreet paid him.

But I digress.

Spielman is getting closer to getting his list right but here's how I would have my wide receivers ranked.

- Mario Manningham WR- Michigan -Twelfth in the NCAA in receiving yards with 527; first in the NCAA in touchdown receptions (9).

- Calvin Johnson WR- Georgia Tech - Just ahead of Manningham in yards (559) right behind him in touchdowns (8).

- DeSean Jackson - WR - California/ Robert Meacham WR Tennesee - Solid numbers all around.


In the case of running backs Northern Illinois finesse back Garrett Wolfe has still been overlooked by Spielman even though he has 496 more rushing yards than any other back in the nation. He may play in the MAC, but 353 yards against anyone, even Ball State, is worth a tip of the cap.

Besides, Ball State heads to Ann Arbor in a month, and I'd bet my life Mike Hart doesn't crack 253 yards against the Cardinals. Spielman still has him on his list though, along with Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma who has 400 less rushing yards and five less touchdowns.

I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone Wolfe put up 285 total yards on Ohio State plus a touchdown. To find someone with a performance that good you must go back to last September when Vince Young had 340 total yards. I wonder if he was on Spielman's list?

And I've heard so much about this "it" factor- I thought I knew what "it" was, but I apparently I don't know what "it" is when Steve Slaton is listed as a contender, but Garrett Wolfe is left in the cold. If this kid did any more work they'd call him Larry Johnson. 

I can't help but notice that ESPN is behind the times when it comes to throwing out names of Heisman candidates. It shouldn't bother me, except for the fact that ESPN has a stranglehold on the whole Heisman award show, stat tracking, and fan polling to the point where it majorly influences who is in the running from the beginning of September to the end of December.

Tedd Ginn is currently on their list of Heisman hopefuls along with some other clowns who don't deserve to be there. Don't believe me? Take a look for yourselves- the stats don't lie- and Ginn isn't even the best receiver on his team. Here is how Ginn stacks up with three other receivers in the NCAA- all of whom are not on ESPN's prestigious list of Heisman knockouts.

Tedd Ginn - WR OHIO STATE 331 yards from scrimmage; 5 touchdowns

Mario Manningham - WR MICHIGAN- 463 yards from scrimmage; 7 touchdowns

Calvin Johnson - WR GEORGIA TECH -447 yards from scrimmage; 7 touchdowns

Robert Meacham - WR- TENNESSEE- 585 yards from scrimmage; 5 touchdowns

want some non BCS affirmations that Ginn is either overrated by ESPN or isn't playing as well as he can?

Johnnie Lee Higgins- WR- UTEP - 493 yards from scrimmage; 6 touchdowns.

How about from non- BCS schools consistently getting pummeled by BCS schools?

Jared Dillard WR- Rice- 516 yards from scrimmage with 7 touchdowns; including scores against UCLA, Texas, Houston, and Florida State. Not bad competition. So what if they lost to Army? He picked up his game by reaching pay dirt three times!!!!

And what about Sidney Rice from South Carolina?

161 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns.

In one game!

But ESPN.com is right Ted Ginn is the best receiver in the nation. Which is why he is currently the only receiver among this list mentioned in their weekly Heisman hopefuls list compiled by Chris Spielman. Sorry Chris, maybe you shouldn't have quit your day job with the Detroit Lions- although I don't blame you.

Jon Gunnells is a journalism senior at Michigan State University who is about to watch the first Tigers playoff game of his life in 56 minutes. He would also whomp on Chris Spielman in all things college football. He can be reached at gunnell2@msu.edu or by hitting the pound key on your Verizon Wireless phone.

Thoughts on Michigan Football:

Michigan defeated Minnesota  28-14 this weekend, but before I even had time to watch the replays my State fan friends were already talking smack. 

"If Michigan was so good why did they only win by 14."

 I must have heard this at least three times since Saturday. People downplaying a fourteen point win, yet when we talk about USC's 28-14 win over Michigan in the 2004 Rose Bowl- USC thumped them. Isn't this a double standard? And didn't Michigan State just lose Illinois? How comments are like that even remotely justified.

Thoughts on High School errrr Michigan State Football Reading the newspaper today I realized that Michigan State cared more about who was planting what on the 50-yard line after Saturday's game- than what was on the scoreboard.

And it's not like a team that just lost to bottom feeding Illinois even has the right to oppose a flag plant in the first place- but the ironic thing is they were the ones who started the flag planting in the first place.

Forget about Notre Dame and the Golden Megaphone trophy- nobody brings the Megaphone trophy to the games anyway. What is important is that the players are more motivated to fight after games they lose, and taunt the Irish after wins, than they are to beat a team with as much prestige as my flag football team.

Say what you want about who was right or who was wrong but ask yourself a question: Would Ohio State ever flag plant, or get in a fight after a game? What about Auburn, USC, Michigan or Texas? Definately not. So if John L. Smith wants his team to become elite like the powerhouses I've mentioned maybe he needs to
have his team act like one. Otherwise they will never play like one.

And its not like he's going to have a long time to do it. Surely the search for John L.'s replacement began moments after the loss to Illinois but is there anyone really out there. Gary Barnett and Rick Nueheisel and Steve Mariucci come to mind as great replacements for the Spartans. They would surely help continue the trend of Spartan coaches who couldn't control their teams actions on and off the field.

Mid-Major coaches are a tough breed to choose from too- Smith has proven that since he came up from Lousville as did Dan Hawkins with this terrible thing he calls a football team over in Colorado. Then you have the coordinators and assistants from around college football in the NFL, but would anyone really leave a job in the NFL to coach for MSU and risk career suicide? And would anyone leave a cushy job as a play caller to take the reigns of a program struggling to breathe right now?

Probably not.

 Thoughts on Howie Long's thoughts on the Lions:

 During Sunday's NFL pre game show on FOX Howie Long stood up for Matt Millen crediting Millen with a tough job in managing the Lions. As if his Radio Shack commercials aren't bad enough, he has the nerve to support Matt Millen the worst general manager in the history of sports. Yes he is way worse than Isaiah Thomas.

When the Lions hired Millen in 2001 he was in charge of rebuilding a mediocre team who had limited success in four previous decades. A few sporadic playoff appearances, a couple wins, and a whole slew of 8-8, 9-7 and 10-6 records. The Lions needed a little help to become a little more consistent, take some shape, and become a contender now and then. But with Millen, the best they have done is 5-11. Basically, Howie Long supports a guy who has managed to rebuild so poorly that it needs to be rebuilt again. He supports a general manager who drafts terrible players, chooses poor coaches, makes bad media decisions (calling Johnny Morton gay) and offends fan more than anything else. He also supports a team president who has presided over the worst stretch of Lions football ever. You look it up. In the pantheon of terrible Lions stretches has there ever been a worse five years for them? No.

 I could go on for hours but the point is clear, the Lions have always been terrible, Millen has made them intolerable, he is just as bad, if not worse than any one else in the organization. Every one is to blame, and if Howie Long doesn't think so, maybe he should ask himself how he would evaluate the situation if this was his favorite team.

If someone told me back in May that on this day in September the Tigers would own a one game lead in the AL Central I probably would have had them institutionalized. But now here it is-September 18, and all my excitement has shifted elsewhere.

It's no that I'm not a Tigers fan- really I am - and I've been one before 2006. I can't even count how many classes I skipped or lectures I diregarded in the spring to focus on Tigers baseball-but since football season came around baseball doesn't seem as important.

I've always thought football was the greatest sport to follow-especially college, but now- even with the first Tigers pennant race of my era- I can't get excited over baseball.

If I someone could have harnessed the excitement I had back in April, maybe I'd actually care that  I have tickets for next Friday's game agains the Royals, one's I had hoped would enable me to see the Tig's capture their first playoff birth in 18 years. I should be excited that Tigers tickets go on sale tomorrow for the playoffs. We're talking ALDS, ALCS and World Series. But instead of dropping down $90 for a skybox seat in a potentail October matchup versus some pushover from the NL, I'm thinking I'd rather spend that money on a Michigan-Ohio State ticket- which is running anywhere from $500-$2,000 on Ebay right now. And it's only three games into the season!

This coming from a guy who has already spent $500 on two sets of season tickets. One for Michigan, one for Michigan State and a couple scattered games for Central Michigan, Boston College, Western and hopefully the Tennessee-LSU game later this season.

After all that, I don't know why I don't feel inclined to at least try for a World Series ticket. Especically since I paid for 16 seperate tickets to 16 games in 2004 at Comerica Park where the Tigers went 0-16, including two more losses against the White Sox during a July road trip.

Then again- I don't know anyone in their right mind who would go see the Tigers play to an 0-18 record if football season was going on which makes me think that even though the Tigers are sweet, and I'll be excited over them in April, Michigan football is where it's at in the fall.

Of course I haven't been able to say that in a while considering Michigan dropped it's previous six road openers leaving them out of the national title race befrore the thick of the Big Ten race. But now things are different. The win against Notre Dame proves that new defensive coordinator Ron English is on to something. His "Old English D" has me seeing shades of a 1997 team that led the nation in defense and subsequently defeated Washington State for a Rose Bowl win and share of the national title.

Michigan still has a few key matchups to go undefeated  into their rivalry match with Ohio State-Wisconsin being one of them. I will preview that later on this week-but now its time to watch the Tigers