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A Year Later, Here's What I Miss Most About Michigan

A year ago a moving van pulled our possessions off our driveway and moved them 550 miles southeast into Maryland. It's been a long, strange journey filled with some heartache, struggles and some incredible experiences, too.

So as I type this, it occurred to me I'm pining a bit nostalgic for my Michigan roots. Football season is ramping up here, but the fervor, anticipation and general excitement isn't the same. For those reasons and a few others, here's the Top 10 things I miss from Michigan.

10. Cool nights. Jesus, as if 80 inches of snow packaged in three storms of 20+ inches wasn't enough, we're already at 45 days above 90 degrees. I've worked two plate games where it was warmer that 105 when I took the lineups, over 95 when the game ended and still above 90 when I got home in the late evening. I had heard the Mid-Atlantic was hot; I didn't realize that was merely code for living in the doorway of a blast furnace.

9. Sports Town Tradition. Look, Baltimore and D.C. are great cities with their own distinct energy and passion, but like Chicago, New York and L.A., they pale in comparison to the passion that oozes from The D. That's just fact.

8. Nicknames. OK, the Baltimore Dunbar High Poets is cool, but the winningest Maryland basketball school this side of De Matha High is the overwhelming exception. We're overloaded by Cougars, Falcons, Lions, Tigers, Eagles and Patriots in Maryland. By comparison, Detroit's got Doughboys, Tars, Tractors, Thunderbirds, Maples and River Rats. We lost the Oaks and Chiefs but you can still find Shamrocks, Saddelites and Pilots, too.

7. Opinion. The local Baltimore sports media probably wouldn't look very dignified in cheerleader outfits, but if it sounds like a cheerleader and squeals like a cheerleader, why not just finish the look? I think this town is still scared to say anything that will make the owner pack up this toys and go elsewhere. The Tigers had 12 losings seasons in a row and there were songs and shirts chiding the team, and I think the Matt Millen era of Detroit Lions football -- if that's what you call that regular season scrimmage schedule-- speaks for itself. Try saying something negative about the Ravens here, and it's the media, not the fans, who shoot your argument down.

6. Driving Seven Over The Speed Limit. Note to everyone from Maryland: Driving 45 mph in the far left lane is pathetic. So is entering the freeway at 25 mph, scared to death of pushing your way into a moving lane of traffic. Slowing down to a crawl on the freeway for no absolute reason is also a swell Blue Crab state tradition. Jesus, people, we drive 45 mph in our Michigan neighborhoods, just not the nice ones, right? Get moving!

5. Football Fever. Before I chide the Navy gameday experience, I need to omit the games the Mids play Notre Dame, Air Force and Army. Those are exceptional spectacles, but your garden-variety Navy football game looks great from afar, but when you actually go to a game, you realize it's a lot of retired brass sitting on their hands awash in the three scotch n' sodas they put down in the parking lot. The 3,800 Midshipmen in the stands are into it for sure, but it's no Spartan Stadium or Big House, where each school's band thunders into the stadium and the rest of the day just gets crazier from there.

The University of Maryland? Yeah, fear the turtle...if you're trying to stay awake.

4. The Big Ten. If I had a dollar for every transposed Big 10 fan I've met from Michigan, Ohio or Penn State who is secretly rooting for Maryland to be the surprise addition to the Big 10 so they can see their favorite school once a year, I wouldn't have to look for work. If you ask the Maryland fans, they oppose joining the Big 10, but a lot of Big Ten'rs think this is fear. They know the Terrapins would struggle mightily in football and they know it; can you say Indiana East? 

Marylanders also point to the ACC and their rivalry with Duke or North Carolina on the hardwood. Well, it's only a big deal when they play Duke or UNC to Maryland, because the rest of the country doesn't care. Being a Big 10 school hasn't hurt Tom Izzo's Spartans from getting to six Final Fours in 12 years either.

3. Fight Songs. Anchors Aweigh is a stirring march to be sure, but fight songs like the Buckeye Battle Cry, On Wisconsin and The Victors, not to mention Falcone Fight (Michigan State), and Hail! Purdue are just amazing. A handful of the Big 10 fight songs are derived from Civil War hymns. How cool is that?

2. High School Football Scores. I so miss ripping open the paper or going online and pouring over the scores. Of course, before they closed, my first glance pointed to Royal Oak. Did Kimball win? How did Dondero do? The upsets. Walled Lake Western got beat by who? Farmington Hills Harrison. Dearborn Fordson. The PSL. King, Southeastern, Pershing and Denby. The trio of schools in Livonia and Plymouth. The Catholic League. Who did CC play? Did the Cubs win? Where is Brother Rice today?

By comparison, here in Anne Arundel County, which is about the size and population of Oakland County, we have 12 public schools and six private schools, and the JV plays at 4:00 on Friday before the varsity game at 6:30. Hardly the stuff of Friday Night Lights, let alone Ampipe High in All The Right Moves. Tell Bosco I'll be seeing him around!

1. Coney Dogs, Apple Cider, Sweet Corn & Driving Down The Lodge Listening To "It's The Same Old Song". Don't get wrong, Maryland Blue Crabs and cold beer is a beautiful thing, but every time I'm back in The D, I hit a coney and grab two with everything. Greek salads, too. It's just part of Detroit that I've never seen replicated. Washington D.C. has Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street (a must-see when you're in The District, btw), but it's not a true Detroit coney. And good luck finding a cider mill or a sweet corn stand on the side of the road. That truly is Pure Michigan.

~ T.C. Cameron is the author of Metro Detroit's High School Football Rivalries, Metro Detroit's High School Basketball Rivalries and writes sports for The Capital-Gazette newspaper in Annapolis.

Lidstrom, OC & A Baltimore Trainwreck At Camden Yard

1. The incredibly reliable and durable Nick Lidstrom will play a 21st season with the Detroit Red Wings, the Detroit News reported today.

A sure bet for the National Hockey League's hall of fame upon retirement, Lidstrom is the gold standard for all blueliners in professional hockey, but the reality is he can't play forever.

The Wings must put a contingency plan in place for the day he retires.

2. Spent part of the holiday weekend on the beach in Ocean City, Maryland. Great spot, incredible beach and boardwalk. Haven't been in the surf since June, 1983.

One bad thing. The group on the beach in front of us seemed to be from the show "Jersey Whore". Tramp stamps, chain smoking and plenty of 24 oz. Lewdness. Stay up north and stink up your own beaches, eh?

3. E-penned back and forth with John Rosengren today, who's working on a book about the life of "Hammerin" Hank Greenberg. Looking forward to meeting up with him in The D.

4. How much worse can the Orioles get? I almost root for them to lose because the only way to force change is through shame. It's what happened with Tigers owner Mike Ilitch in Detroit and Orioles owner Peter Angelos seems to be cut from the same cloth.

5. Yeah, the NCAA lacrosse finals were awesome. Many fans remained a bit conflicted on the outcome, though. The dislike for all things Notre Dame (football) and Duke (basketball) was palpable, but I think the Irish had a lot of fans rooting for the upset, because few schools west of the of eastern seaboard states (how about that scary geography?) play for the LAX title, much less win it.

6. It was funny watching Roy Oswalt getting tossed from Monday's game. That has to be the weakest heave-ho mechanic I've ever seen.

Regards...

~ T.C. Cameron covers prep sports for The Capital newspaper in Annapolis and authored two prep sports rivalry books in metropolitan Detroit for Arcadia Publishing.

Too Late, Twit!

Literally moments after I put up my post about Twitter being worthless, I get this e-mail from Twitter:

"Hi there,

Twitter has it's own Facebook app that allows your Twitter updates to post to your Facebook profile. Note: we're currently experiencing some problems with the Facebook application. As of about 4:00pm on Thursday, April 9th 2009, Facebook hasn't been updated with new tweets. We're working on fixing, and it should be back to normal tomorrow"

Notice the date? Um, heads-up, Thursday is the seventh, not the ninth...of May! Your priceless app is only a month late.  Close, though, Twit! Also, I put a period in for you at the end of your 'note'. Punctuation can be tough, Don't sweat it, Twit.

Free Twit Tip: Enroll for Copy Editing Essentials offered by MediaBistro.com, as taught by Cheryl Della Pietra.

Here's my passive-aggressive, bullet-to-the-head edit of the Twitter e-mail:

"Here's our new app to try to make you want to 'tweet' and make our investors think we're really viable, but, um, it doesn't work, because it hasn't in a month. Sorry about that.

Sincerely, Twitter"

Twitter. Worthless.

Twitter: Much Ado About Nothing

OK, that's it. The line in the proverbial sand has been drawn.

Twitter is waaaay overrated.

I tried Twitter a few months ago. I found that it did little to drive anything meaningful my way. I got 'followed' by a bunch of freaks and wannabes. Further, the amount of posts from legitimate people trying to drive their message into my head literally tore my head off. Hell, my agent put so many posts up in a day -- every day -- I had to ditch his mountain of updates altogether. Enough!

I understand the general rush to social media taking place of late, but Twitter doesn't make sense for a lot of different reasons when it comes to giant conglomerates, athletic conferences, grocery stores and the like. What, the new shipment of red grapes is in? Drop everything! Head to the FoodKing! FoodKing!

I mean, seriously, am supposed to receive a 'tweet' from a grocery store and become the Delta house pledge representative to the social committee? Is this Animal House, 2009 edition? Trust me -- I'm not that guy.

Facebook and LinkedIn are two viable, worthy social networking tools. Twitter? MySpace? I need to know that Ashton Kutcher's popcorn is done popping in the microwave as much as he needs to know I'm getting ready to umpire a Division III baseball game. I need to know that the Mid-American Conference office is reviewing the procedures manual for the upcoming 2009 men's and women's cross country season?

Twitter seems to be nothing but too much of a good thing.

~ T.C. Cameron's Metro Detroit's High School Basketball Rivalries will be released in the fall from Arcadia Publishing.

Racial Remarks Continue To Set Detroit Back

Yesterday the Detroit Red Wings were toasted by the City of Detroit with a championship parade to celebrate the team's 11th National Hockey League championship. As expected, several hundred thousand fans came down, filled the streets, saluted their champions and, by the end of the day, were, shall we say, a well-oiled throng.

It's what an entire region, besieged by bad news daily, needed in the worst way. The city's public schools are the worst of any big city in the country. Drugs run Detroit's streets. Blight and unemployment are running neck-and-neck to see which can tear the city down to it's last pillar first. The Red Wings are the likely point-to item of pride in the region. Anyone from the region recognizes the Wings' championship, even those who haven't watched a single second of the slashing, skating and scoring it took to take back Lord Stanley's Cup.

Red Wing Owner Mike Ilitch did the classy thing in inviting Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to the on-stage ceremony, and Kilpatrick accepted. Then he opened his mouth, which is usually his downfall of late. He took the stage to a never-ending chorus of boos, made a sarcastic remark toward the booing as "everyone's having a good time" as he was cat-called mercilessly and told the assembled mass, "the beer's on me!"

He would have obviously been better served to be seen and not heard -- but that's not what grinds my coffee beans today. It's his adversarial press secretary, James Canning, who had this to say about the Mayor's appearance via an e-mailed statement.

"Mayor Kilpatrick has been elected twice by the residents of the City of Detroit, and based on the crowd's reaction, my guess is if he were running for Mayor of Joe Louis Arena, he wouldn't win."

Translation? These white folk mean nothing to real Detroiters. Canning, in his role as the Mayor's mouthpiece, is referencing Detroit residents who are black. Sickening as the stab at metro Detroit's suburban, white voice was, it reveals a deeper question, simply stated in words but as complex as the human reaction it almost always elicits.

Are we ever going to get past resorting to race-driven behavior? We have to stop this behavior for good if we're ever going to move forward and stop being a national laughingstock. Blacks populate Detroit by a 9-1 ratio over whites. OK, no biggie to me. I referee and umpire three sports with all kinds of people. I referee and umpire athletes and coaches of all make and model, too. I don't make decisions about people based on their zip code.

The suburban opinion isn't meaningless. Suburban residents working in Detroit pay 1.5% in city income tax. If you buy an entertainment ticket of any kind for an event in Detroit, you're paying city tax. If you're a water customer, you're paying tax and service fees to the City of Detroit. I've listed the top three, but there are at least a dozen more taxes we all pay to Detroit.

The white suburbs have earned the right to opine about what goes on in Detroit. Kilpatrick is playing the card of "I'll tell 'em what I think they want to hear" and it might be his best chance at survival. Maybe it is what the residents of Detroit wants to hear. I don't live in Detroit so I can't speak with certainty about what is and isn't the tenor of the city's residents. Regardless of where I or anyone else lives, that doesn't justify racially-motivated comments from Canning or Kilpatrick when one looks at the damage it causes to long-term stability in our region, one already polarized by racial division, economic instability, crumbling schools and outdated infrastructure.

We all have a valid say in what happens in Detroit. It's true that what's good for Detroit usually is good for the suburbs. Unfortunately, the things that are bad for Detroit are also bad for the suburbs. Detroit and it's residents have a bigger responsibility to the region than it wants to collectively admit.

Two things are obvious. Kilpatrick wants to be recognized for doing great things for his city and he won't leave office without being dragged from it, kicking and screaming as he's thrown out the door. Being recognized as a great leader requires one to make great decisions when no clear answer is apparent.

Does anyone really believe Kilpatrick fits that mold, and how much more will the region suffer long-term as he continues to fight by any means necessary?

Lawsuit Threatens To Squash Downriver League

Those of us well-versed in Detroit's socio-economic landscape of the past 50 years know the epilogue of the 'Big Four', a squad car carrying four well-armed Detroit police officers that rode through the poorer neighborhoods in the 1960's, their suggestive might and blunt directives not unnoticed.

Last Friday it seems a different kind of 'big four' showed their might against what many thought to be the first bricks to fall from the foundation of the MEGA League. According to a highly-credible source who requested to remain anonymous, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, Romulus and Dearborn Heights Robichaud all threatened a lawsuit against a newly-proposed Downriver League if they were excluded from the proposed new conference. The league's conception seemed dead in the water on Friday although attempts to revive the yet-to-be christened conference remained through the weekend and in discussions as late as yesterday. The schools trying to form the Downriver League are Allen Park, Gibraltar Carlson, Southgate, Taylor Kennedy, Taylor Truman, Trenton, Woodhaven and Wyandotte.

Lawsuits to stop eight high schools from forming a league. The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) appealing a $7.4 million dollar legal fees judgment, levied against them because, ironically, their many appeals of legal decisions stemming from a gender-equity lawsuit over sports seasons. We're still only talking about high school sports, right? When did high school sports become big business and bruised egos?

Leagues used to form when athletic directors would recommend a friend, a fellow A.D. from another school, and enough of them would form a league. This is how it was done in the defunct conferences like the Great Lakes Eight, the Border Cities League (BCL), the Southeastern Michigan Association (SMA) and the Eastern Michigan League (EML). Then came the Macomb Area Conference (MAC) expansion, the first public school league to rival the alpha and omega of the area's power conferences, the Catholic High School League (CHSL) and the Detroit Public School League (PSL).

The MEGA conference was formed in the early 1990's, albeit with lawsuits to soon follow it's rocky inception, as was the Oakland Activities Association (OAA).  This year's merger of the Western Lakes Athletic Association and the Kensington Valley Conference might signal the end of the last of the great rivalry conferences with the passing of the KVC.

The proposed Downriver League doesn't include Monroe High School, already committed to leaving the MEGA for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Monroe leaving puts one of metro Detroit's longest-running football rivalries in jeopardy, the fabled Monroe-Dearborn Fordson game. The two schools will play their last scheduled game this year on October 3rd, Monroe's last season in the MEGA. Dr. John Ray, Monroe's Athletic Director, says the schools have played every year since 1933 and admits the game will be hard to schedule in future years.

"We would need another school to join us in the SEC, which would make our first date of the season available to Fordson," Ray told me yesterday. "We certainly want to keep (Fordson) on the schedule, because there's so much history between our schools. As it sets up right now, we don't have a football date to give to a school outside of the conference."

Only a handful of games in the metro Detroit footprint come close to matching the long-standing tradition that is Fordson-Monroe. Detroit Pershing's history with Detroit Denby quickly comes to mind. The Brown Jug games between Utica and Romeo and Center Line's game with Warren Lincoln match the Trojans and Tractors for longevity. Royal Oak and Birmingham have pitted their public schools together as rivals for nearly 100 years, albeit as a handful of different-named schools from both cities.

Parochial, Private Schools Add To Oakland's Aura

Last week I umpired a Catholic League doubleheader between visiting Orchard Lake St. Mary's and Birmingham Brother Rice, played behind the Birmingham YMCA Center. Rice took a pair of victories from the Eaglets, who are rich with young talent but not yet blessed with the depth and experience that befitted Bob Riker's Warriors. Orchard Lake St. Mary's will be ready when it counts, because they usually always are and are led by good coaches.

In researching my book, Metro Detroit's High School Football Rivalries, due August 25th of this year, I interviewed hundreds involved on a daily basis within Oakland County's high school sports infrastructure. Naturally, a few good-hearted souls took up the cause to lament the Catholic League's advantage of plucking students from public school boundaries for the betterment of wins and losses in after-school athletics.

I listened -- my job as the dutiful reporter -- but a couple of points stuck out to me. First, does anyone else notice that it's never the 0-9 football team that is complained about, just the playoff qualifier from a private school like Rice or Detroit Country Day? Naturally, this is a bit hypocritical, and no public school ever complains about their fate when their team's results are average or worse. Many public districts are openly courting students in today's open-district, open-enrollment, school-of-choice fight for survival. Michigan's economic woes have created a virtual free-for-all within competing districts and private institutions.

But the other point makes me proud to be from Oakland County. Just how lucky are we in this county to have so many outstanding public and private schools in one square swath of land? Think about it -- most counties would love to have just one private school the caliber of Novi's Catholic Central, Royal Oak's Shrine High, Madison Heights Bishop Foley or Waterford's Our Lady Of The Lakes, in addition to the aforementioned private schools above. Certainly space prevents me listing all of the worthy candidates on either side.

Then you have tony districts like Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield, Farmington Hills and Troy. Clarkston, Lake Orion and Oxford are all immaculately maintained with highest standards for achievement and opportunity. The same can be said in Walled Lake, Novi, Northville (they share resources with Novi), Rochester, South Lyon and many other Oakland County public school districts. How many Oakland County schools have played for and won the MHSAA's"s football tournament? Last season Farmington and Lake Orion staged perhaps one of the greatest baseball finals in the state's biggest division and it was just the latest example of an Oakland County school shining brightly on the state's biggest stage.

I could write an entire column on the academic achievements of Oakland County schools in our state and national scope. And yes, those representing Wayne and Macomb counties would argue they have some strong entries into this debate as well, and they would be correct.

We get caught up in winning and losing in our hyperactive, American culture -- it's in our blood, I suppose. And yes, I'm doing a bit of cheerleading, but maybe that's what we need in Michigan right now. There hasn't been a lot of good news in the past few years as it relates to the issues that matter most in our region. So it's nice to drive home from a hotly-contested game and realize that competition we stage and officiate produces the opportunity to excel against the best the county has to offer.

As a parent, that's what any parent wants for their children, to offer them the opportunity of the highest level of competition and achievement. Oakland County certainly affords a parent or student that much. This alone should make everyone worry less about balls & strikes and safes & outs.

~ T.C. Cameron is the author of Metro Detroit's High School Football Rivalries, due August 25th, 2008 from Arcadia Publishing.

TheWriteReferee Goes To NYC

The 37th annual conference of writers hosted by the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) is taking place in New York City's Grand Hyatt Hotel. The Grand Hyatt is connected at historic Grand Central Station, which just happens to be TheWriteReferee's favorite New York building.

Actually, TheWriteReferee moderated a panel today called Successful (Money-Making!) Blogging. OK, enough of the third person -- it went extremely well and despite my nervousness, it came off without a hitch. I want to thank my panelists for their time and effort, specifically ESPN.com's Patrick Stiegman, ASJA Board Member Terry Whalin, author and marketing guru Bruce Mowday and tech-wizard Jerame Rief.

If you're an ASJA member or you're interested in blogging, here's a pair of Power Point presentations that were used today. I think both offer good insight into what are the good and bad aspects any potential blogger must consider before putting your good name into the blogosphere.

Download asja_ppt.ppt

Download blog-big8.ppt

Writing is more than words on paper. It isn't a powerful media broker pounding a political or social agenda into submission. It's both a passion and a gift for those of us that love it the most. The modern blogger is a highly-qualified writer who writes well within different mediums and embraces writing within different genres and disciplines. Those who dismiss blogging as something for those who don't write for a daily will be left waiting their turn to be the final few and proud to embrace today's self-publishing media world.

Metro Detroit's Future With Kilpatrick Is Scary

The enormity of the Mayor's scandal in Detroit is alarming on a lot of different levels, so much so that many metro Detroiters don't even where to start. If nothing else, it's a strong indictment of our community and its' well-earned national reputation. Here's some fact and opinion on this scandal from my chair.

Fact: Today in Detroit's 36th District Court, Kilpatrick's lawyers fought to stop the release of text messages that they will later argue didn't come from Kilpartick or his mistress, Christine Beatty. Opinion: If they didn't come from Kilpatrick or his mistress, why is Kilpatrick worried about their release? In 2003 Kwame Kilpatrick stood in front of a crowded media throng at the mayor's city-owned mansion and declared, "Kwame Kilpatrick has nothing to hide." Today he's singing a different tune.

Opinion: This is a problem for Detroit that doesn't concern anyone else. Fact: Nothing could be further from the truth. Detroit is not just for Detroit. Boston isn't just Boston and neither is any other major U.S. city that thrives and progresses while Detroit spins it's wheels year after year. If the suburban spigot of cash was turned off, Detroit would have a hard time keeping the lights on, literally and figuratively. It's a proven fact that the city and suburbs need one another more than either wants to admit. Detroit affects the entire region and the region affects Detroit. It's everyone's business and truthfully, it's bad for the business we all desperately need to improve.

Fact: Kilpatrick complains that Wayne County doesn't have a jury pool to his liking. Opinion: It's sickening to me that Kilpatrick plays the race card as much as he does, but what's more sickening is how many people are gobbling it up. Are we ever going to get past this issue of race in metro Detroit? Seriously, it's pathetic how metro Detroit is stuck in a racially-divisive time warp. It's scary to see race, and sometimes only race, dictate important opinion among the masses. Terry Foster, a native son and writer for The Detroit News, weeks ago offered that it isn't about what Kilpatrick did but who accuses Kilpatrick that matters most to Detroiters. Specifically, Foster offered that Detroiters who are black are sometimes inclined to listen only to those who are black and from the city because our region's documented racial struggles. Is Detroit so enclosed to the rest of the region and world that some of it's residents are resolved to trading truth for loyalty based on race? This is supposed to be positive for southeastern Michigan?

Fact: Kwame Kilpatrick dared, mocked and clowned the local media. Opinion: From a domestic standpoint our local papers don't compare with bigger markets like Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles or New York, in both a good and bad way. Detroit's media isn't as zealous as New York's zoo of journalists, but that saved Kilpatrick for a long time. New York would have chewed Kilpatrick to the bone and nub. Our papers lack the pure girth of copy that other national papers offer but the Detroit Free Press has been right about nearly every issue it has raised about Kilpatrick in this scandal. Kilpatrick scolded the media, dared them to chase him and then chastised them for trying. Now he's caught and can't accept his predicament. Sounds like his text message: Never busted! That text does fit.

Fact: Kwame Kilpatrick squandered more than nine million dollars. Opinion: I don't believe Kwame Kilpatrick is at fault for squandering just nine millions dollars. Kilpatrick is an engaging, superstar personality. His presence is larger than life when he enters a room, so his supporters say. A true-life deal closer. Sound like anyone? Pete Rose? Denny McLain? Kilpatrick appears to have run roughshod over city taxpayers and policy alike. What is Detroit's real Lost Opportunity Cost under Kilpatrick? Does anyone think Kilpatrick alone brought a Super Bowl to Detroit? He didn't. He takes credit for it, but the Ford Motor Company signing an unprecedented advertising contract with the National Football League was the impetus for Super Bowl XL, not Kilpatrick. The new baseball stadium was pioneered by Mike Ilitch and previous mayor Dennis Archer. It brought an All-Star baseball game to Detroit, not Kwame Kilpatrick. To be fair, Kilpatrick's pioneered some deals that others couldn't, like the Book-Cadillac hotel and renovation and relocation for Detroit's casinos.

Fact: Kilpatrick's actions, and the actions of those acting on his behalf or within his administration, have ruined lives, wasted money and precious opportunity and will now engage the city, county, region and state an a long, exhaustive and embarrassing legal process. Opinion: If Gary Brown had simply accepted his embarrassing firing and said nothing, how much more would have happened? How much has happened that we don't know of? Until Detroit accepts the actions of it's mayor at face value and accepts the findings of it's city and county leaders accordingly, Detroit will continue to be a city and region of divided values and divided resources.

The fact is, this scandal benefits nobody.

Kilpatrick's Wife & Children Become Mayor's Collateral Damage

If you live in Michigan, you might know that 82 years ago today, in 1917, the Colts of Detroit's Northwestern High, still located on West Grand Boulevard due east of Grand River, won the first Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) basketball title.

But that's not what anyone and everyone in 'The Mitten' is talking about today. No, an entire state is talking about this historic day, this March 24th of 2008. For the first time in Detroit's long history, a sitting mayor has been charged with a felony. The sitting mayor is Kwame Kilpatrick and he got the book thrown at him, with eight counts in a 12-count indictment, announced today  and viewed with the same rapt attention as the orange crop report in the popular 80's movie Trading Places, starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.

But that's not the tragedy of today. During my segment on Parker & The Man, heard daily on Detroit's News-Talk station, WCHB 1200 AM, it's not that Kwame Kilpatrick will contest the charges, though I honestly don't see what there is to contest. No, what floors me is how little regard he actually has for his wife and his children. Kilpatrick has thrown his immediates into the path of the tornado with reckless abandon. If you do business with the Kilpatrick's City of Detroit from this point forward, this is who you've gotten into bed with.

Kilpatrick has balked at nearly every opportunity to walk away with some grace or dignity. The gloves came off today, and Kilpatrick's painted himself into a corner. He'll fight this battle -- one he could win or lose -- with something else at stake. His future. As he fights these charges, he'll sorely lack the political clout needed to garner support, especially that of the financial nature, to win a re-election. Therefore, should he lose a court battle on these charges, he could have no job while facing jail time, leaving his wife and children to fend for themselves.

I could care less if Kilpatrick ends up innocent or guilty, because I didn't elect the man and I don't have to replace the man. But Kwame Kilpatrick is no man. A real man would not -- under any circumstances -- endanger the safety or well-being of his wife or children, and especially not like this.

Kilpatrick could have exited stage right with some dignity in tact. There was room for saving face before today. He would have still had enough clout to earn a handsome job in the private sector, avoided a lot the problems he currently faces and had a chance to salvage a still-promising career.

Now? He's hoping Christine Beatty doesn't hire a new, uncompromised lawyer. He's hoping she is loyal and doesn't flip, although she has the most to gain and the least to lose from doing just that.

And he's wishing we'd talk about Northwestern High state title of 1917, too.