• Pistons swag alert: The Palace Lockerroom store has a tiiiight Double J tee.  I’m loving that color scheme.  Where have I seen that before?
  
• The 76ers are giving serious consideration cutting tie permanently with the seldom seen Allen Iverson.  Not sure why they signed him in the first place…
• As you’ll read Tom Wilson joining Mike Illitch would make sense, and is one of the better theories out there as we wait to find out where exactly TW will turn up. UPDATE: Pretty good Tweet source confirming this theory.
• Happy Bday to former Pistons Charles O’Bannon (1998-99) & Tom Van Arsdale (1966-68)
• Isiah Thomas‘ FIU Panthers are currently 7-22.  Hang in there Zeke.
• It’s been said a time or 2,000; Dennis Rodman is HOF worthy
• Rodney Stuckey is finally starting to get that whole point guard thing.
• Just in case you didn’t catch it Rip Hamilton has connected on his last 46 freethrows.
• Darko’s T-Wolves debut: 8pts, 8 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 T/O, in 19 minutes.  Has Darko finally found…nah, forget it.
• Rasheed Wallace declines the offer to cameo in a “Birdman” poster

** Something we’re missing? Send along the link or hit up PNb on Twitter.

• The numbers say the Pistons cannot score the basketball, and numbers don’t lie.  Yesterday the Pistons went 0-12 from beyond the arc against the Knicks.  At .290 the Pistons rank 29th in 3pt shooting.  They’re also next to last in free-throw shooting (.721) and scoring (92.17).  Detroit ranks dead last in assists at 17.32 a game.
• Jonas Jerebko won a national sports federation rookie of the year award back in Stockholm, Sweden Monday. Jerebko’s mother accepted the award on his behalf.
• I don’t want this Pistons’ sports coat…I NEED IT!  I would wear it inside out Fresh Prince of Bel-Air style too.  In other Pistons’ swag news check out Need4Sheed’s cool new Pistons’ themed Flip camera
• Trade rumors are circulating around the Hornets sending the Cavs David West in return for Big Z (expiring $11.5 contract).  The Pistons’ fan in me HATES this trade.
• A lot of uncertainty not only in the Pistons’ ownership future, but also what stadium they’ll call home
• Flip Saunders wants Nick Young to be his new Rip Hamilton
• Former Piston Jerry Stackhouse has signed on for the remainder of the season with the Milwaukee Bucks
• The participants for the 2010 Slam Dunk are in, and surprise-surprise…no LeBron
• Brush up on your obscure Pistons with TLNP’s Victor Alexander post
• Tomorrow night’s game against the Celtics marks the halfway point of the Pistons season.  Click on over to Mlive and give you Pistons’ mid-season grades.
• Tomorrow’s game against Boston at the Palace begins a 6-game Pistons’ homestand, their longest since 2004
• Stephon Marbury has signed on to play in China.  That’s an international incident just waiting to happen.
• Get to know a blogger: Brian Packey discusses the new DBB with Patrick Hayes

** Something we’re missing? Send along the link or hit up PNb on Twitter.

© mikoness

Two thoughts on these:

• They need some type of Detroit Pistons branding, even if it’s just a sticker.
• I wouldn’t be happy sitting behind or next to someone wearing this

Thanks to mikoness for the heads up via Twitter

(click to enlarge)

During Heritage Week (Feb 21-28) the Pistons will wear the above warm-up gear  in celebration of the team’s three NBA Championships.

Also, the Mr. D memorial patch that’s one the team’s jersey rear neck line is a permanent addition to the Pistons jerseys, in much the same way the Chicago Bears have “GSH” on their sleeves in honor of team founder George S. Halas.  This is the first permanent uniform memorial in league history. (The Chuck Daly “CD” patch is just for the 2009-10 season)

[Source]

This provides me the perfect opportunity to extend an open invitation to PNb readers to become contributors.  If you have something to say about the Pistons I’m welcoming guest bloggers to strengthen the Nation.  If you want to be a member of the “Skeleton Crew” just shoot me your contribution via e-mail and we’ll add you to the roster.

…Now to a Pistons related antic dote.  My brother called me yesterday asking who was #35 for the Pistons, because one of his neighbors was throwing away an autographed piece on Pistons memorabilia.  He couldn’t make out the signature, just the #35.  I said DaJuan Summers, but he said it didn’t look to be that.  So I told him to bring it over after I got off of work.  To myself I’m thinking, “ok, it’s probably Cheikh Samb then”.

I get home and about a half an hour later he shows up.  I nearly lost it.  His “memorabilia” turned out to be an autographed stadium give away seat cushion.  The signature was neither DaJuan Summers nor Cheikh Samb, but ISAIAH MORRIS!

It was kind of a stroke of luck that  he has a brother who’s a Pistons’ junkie.  Who the hell else would have known who Isaiah Morris even was?  The dude spent his only NBA season (1992-93) with the Pistons.

The most notable thing about Morris is not that he had as many career turnovers (8) as career assists, steal, and blocks combined. It’s the fact that he was involved in the trades of two Bad Boy Pistons luminaries.

In 1992 after being drafted 37th overall by the Miami Heat Morris was packaged with a 1st round pick — that turned out to be Lindsey Hunter — for John “Spider” Salley.  Then in October of 1993 he was a part of the desperate trade to San Antonio that got Dennis Rodman out of town before he went completely nuts.

So there you have it.  Possibly the only post in the entire blogosphere about one Isaiah Morris.

Sling for sympathy, everything else FTW!

• It’s Automotion audition time.  A new arm-sling fetish is born.
• The Pistons have signed all three of their draft pick, as well as 2008 second-round pick DERON WASHINGTON. Joe & Co. plans to sign at least one more player using the veteran’s minimum.  A lot of the Pistons Nation hopes that guy is BEN WALLACE.
• The job as JOHN KUESTER’S lead assistant is BRIAN  HILL’S for the taking, he just needs to, well, take it.
• Fran Blinebury of NBA.com ranks the Pistons acquisition of  BEN GORDON as the 5th best free agent move of the summer (RASHEED to Boston is ranked #1, McDYESS is #2)
• He’s officially a Piston now and after playing for some of the league’s cellar dwellers over his 7 year career CHRIS WILCOX is excited about playing for a franchise that is committed to winning.
• DaJUAN SUMMERS makes HoopsWorld’s Steve Klyer’s All-Summer League 1st Team.  AUSTIN DAYE gets an honorable mention.
• MARQUISE GRAY of MichSt and the Pistons Summer League team is likely headed to Europe to ball.
• Former 2-time Piston THEO RATLIFF has signed with the San Antonio Spurs.  In other ‘old’ former Piston press clippings LINDSEY HUNTER re-signed with Chicago.
• They’re celebrating the best of the worst Pistons over at It’s Just Sports.  In at #8 is BILL CURLEY.  CURLEY can best be described as that guy who looked kinda like Nick Carter. #7 is KENNY “The Jet” SMITH whom I’ve still yet to see photographic proof of him in a Pistons uni
• JASON MAXIELL (+ a 1st rounder) for Glen Davis, Gabe Pruitt and J.R. Giddens was rejected for two main reasons says Dan Feldman of PistonPowered.  1) Baby Eater > Big Baby 2) It’d give the Pistons too many players.
• Understanding the significance of your semi-ironic GRANT HILL jersey
• WILL BYNUM gives an interview to Need4Sheed. “The Thrill” has been good to us bloggers.
• CARLOS DELFINO will most likely stay in Russia because the Raptors are only offering him $4 mill a year
• It’s summer, so who wants to comb their hair?  Here’s the Pistons’ solution; check out Lids.com



• After you start following PN on Twitter you have to support your Tweetroit© Pistons DaJUAN SUMMERS, CHARLIE VILLANUEVA, & AUSTIN DAYE
• Something we’re missing? Send along the link

click to enlarge

1. Bad Boys era full zip hoodie by Mitchell & Ness – This actually should be in the team store.  Anything M&N is quality.  I know it’s a little warm for this but your trendy hoodie with the multi colored skull pattern al over it could use an upgrade to a classic that will NEVER go out of style.  While we’re on the subject let’s talk about bringing back the Bad Boys uni’s for Hardwood Classic Nights.  Get on it Pistons marketing dept.!

2. Auburn Hills Pistons by Alternative Hero – It’s real easy to rep the city of Detroit from afar ( about 30 miles actually).  But isn’t it time we were honest with ourselves and the rest of the country?  This is actually the 2nd shirt we’ve featured from Alternative Hero.  I’ll be expecting a royalty check.

3. Pistoff by 4th and Forever – This one is a goof on the Pistons logo.  It reads “If I lived in Detroit I’d be Pistoff”.  Yeah, so would we.  That’s why the Pistons play in Aubrun Hills.  Actually this shirt is probably better suited for a rival fan.

Right there on the index page was the Bad Boys/Chuck Daly mock up.  I wanted the shirt upon seeing the cleverness of the design and after reading that 50% of the profits on the sale of this shirt will go to Pancreatic Cancer Research at the University of Michigan (Note the purple tie and ribbon?), it was pretty much a no-brainer.  I ordered one and can’t wait to get it.

(They also have some other really rad Motor City sport-centic shirt designs.)

I also wanted to plug it here on PN for any one of the readers of the site looking to pick up some seriously phenomenal swag and support a good cause. It’s a total win-win.

Like Chuck, cancer took my father after a swift two month battle last February.  Wouldn’t be great if one day we wouldn’t have to see our loved ones succumb to such a devastating disease?  God bless.

The shirt is by the basketball apparel company UNDRCRWN and is available through their website.  It’s all hype for Em’s upcoming book (which he’s spinning on the T), titled “The Way I Am”.  Also notice the trophy?  The MI rapper was recently named “The Best Rapper Alive” by VIBE’s fan driven poll.

In addition to the shirt Em has also hooked up with the Jordan brand and created a shoe themed around the book.  My reservation is that if Em is as big a Pistons fan as he claims than those loyalties should keep him from gett’n all hugged up with anything Jordan.  But, maybe that’s just me?

Who else remembers these? I loved these shirts. They were pretty big when I was in grade school, but I don’t see ‘em that much these days. I liked these better than any other types of sports shirts. The best were the group shots like when team’s won championships. Whom ever they commissioned to do the drawings of the athletes was pretty good at it because the likenesses were pretty spot on in most instances.