The entire first paragraph is ridiculous. The Red Wings lost on the road to the Blackhawks and there are some who wonder if Joey MacDonald should start between the pipes at the Joe against Vancouver, as if preserving the streak is paramount. First of all, it isn’t. Second of all the Red Wings are completely accustomed to losing on the road. They certainly should be. They are 15-16-1 away from Detroit, and Joey Mac had some of those.

It wouldn’t be Detroit if there were not a goalie controversy but on this one shut up. Just because you only watched a couple of games during the streak this season doesn’t mean than Joey Mac was having a better season than Howard. The vast majority of the now fabled streak came with 35 in net and any fantasies of a deep playoff run hang on his ability.

The streak is meaningless and I would rather it go away now. It has become a distraction and needs to end. For some fans the streak has become the symbolic equivalent of the One Ring, and we are foolishly putting the season in danger only to protect the precious. Why would you want to start Joey Mac when your All Star goalie is back and healthy? Howard is used to playing almost every game and he thrived in the first half of the season. Why would we suddenly limit his playing time with Ty Conklin out of town?

Let’s not forget that athletes are fickle. Much of their ability comes from confidence and the great athletes always want to be in the game. Heck, even the lousy athletes would rather not ride the bench. Forcing Howard to ride the pine for Joey Mac would send the wrong message to him and the team. Two years ago we pushed the chips in on Howard. He is our boy. We winced when he gave up easy goals and internalized our screaming. We knew that if we were patient, Jimmy Howard could be an All Star.

This year, Howard became an All Star. Mazeltof! So now let’s sit him down? After the growing pains? After he would play spectacularly all game and let an easy one through? Now we want to sit him? Am I the only one who thinks this sounds crazy? I understand that you might want to go with the hot hand, but you don’t sit an All Star because the backup had a string of good games at home!

This is taking away nothing from Joey Mac. He has done a phenomenal job this season. Largely everyone thought that if Howard went down the Red Wings were toast. News his finger injury were met with reactions that ranged from despair to surrender. Joey Mac was the unexpected story and a thrill to watch. For that he is not the backup goalie for the Detroit Red Wings. This is a happy ending. He doesn’t have to live in Grand Rapids anymore and that is a prize worth a ream of lottery tickets.

So slow down, take a breath and let’s just calm everything down. If the streak ends with Vancouver let’s take it in stride. Let’s not start thrumming the bass drum and chanting for Joey Mac. We haven’t had an uncontested goal tender in a really long time and let’s not start tapping our feet now. Believe it or not fan enthusiasm really does affect these things and if we start openly questioning Howard’s abilities this season could be flushed out with quickness.

I can’t believe I am saying this because it will fall on deaf ears but Red Wings fans: be patient.

A new poll shows Michigan chooses the Tigers as their favorite professional sports team in the state.

Results from Public Policy Poling show: The Tigers get 29 percent of the vote; the Lions get 27 percent; the Wings get 20 percent; and the Pistons, 6 percent. 

The poll also shows there’s a significant racial divide in who voters pick as their favorite teams. Among white voters the Tigers win easily with 33 percent to 24 percent for the Lions, 22 percent for the Red Wings, and just 3 percent for the Pistons. But among black voters the Tigers take up the basement at 5 percent, trailing the Lions at 54 percent, Pistons at 23 percent, and even the Red Wings at 8 percent.

That’s just another sign that baseball has a lot of work to do to garner interest from African Americans.

It’s also notable in this highly political season that Republicans pick the Tigers over the Lions 36-27, while Democrats pick the Lions over the Tigers 32-24.

In other stats:

* 37 percent of voters in the state say they’re Michigan fans to 31 percent who side with Michigan State and 32 percent who don’t care either way. There is somewhat of an ideological divide on this question. ‘Very liberal’ Michiganders pick the Wolverines 55-26, while ‘very conservative’ ones pick the Spartans 37-30. White voters are pretty evenly split, going for Michigan 34-32, but 53-22 support from black voters pushes the Maize and Blue’s lead out to 6 points.

-Michigan State and Michigan fans are both pretty happy with their football coaches. Brady Hoke gets a 64/6 approval rating from Michigan fans, and Mark Dantonio does even better with Spartan partisans at a 68/4 approval. The Wolverine fan base has softened its opinions on Rich Rodriguez a little bit since his departure last year. He’s still unpopular, with only 26% of fans seeing him favorably to 32% with a negative opinion. But it’s an improvement from December of 2010 when his favorability breakdown was 20/38. Rodriguez’s Michigan poll numbers are certainly a lot better than in West Virginia where we found him at 15/56 last year.

-Tom Izzo has a 78/3 approval rating with the MSU fan base. Suffice it to say we don’t find many people from any walk of life hitting 78% in our polling. John Beilein’s at only 39/8 with Michigan fans, 53% of whom have no opinion about him. Getting Michigan back to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 18 years might be what he needs to get the fan base to take notice.

The full analysis is also available here.

Rick Nash wears the “C” on his jersey as captain of Columbus. These days, the letter stands more for, coveted.

The NHL trade deadline is Monday and no player has been dangled as bait like Nash, the Blue Jackets’ 27-year-old star forward, and the greatest player in franchise history. He’s done it all in Columbus — except turn the team into a winner. With the Blue Jackets floundering as the worst team in the league, the Nash era could be over in Ohio by this time next week, and the list of potential suitors seems to run as long as the list of playoff contenders.

Columbus’ visit to the Eastern Conference last week saw the trade rumors fly at light speed. Columbus general manager Scott Howson had a chat with Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren. And Nash faced a media crush in New York, with everyone curious to learn if he’d be willing to trade the leisurely life in Columbus for the bright lights and Stanley Cup expectations in the Big Apple.

Could Nash be the franchise-shifter that turns a contender into a champion?

“Right now I’m a Blue Jacket,” Nash said in New York. “And that’s what matters.”

Columbus is ready to rebuild and could restock the roster with prospects and future draft choices for Nash, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 draft.

Nash is signed through the 2014-15 season, and carries an annual salary cap hit of $7.8 million.

Howson refused to comment when asked if anyone on his team is untouchable.

With 18 wins and 43 points entering Wednesday night, it seems every veteran on Columbus could be available.

“Everybody’s got a good handle now. There’s only six days left on where they are, what they need,” Howson said. “There’s still some uncertainty about whether some teams are selling or buying or staying pat.”

Nash enjoys Columbus and would like to stay, but he also recognizes that the NHL is a business, and even star players get traded, or at least shopped. Potential landing spots include the improved Los Angeles Kings (needs offense; could offer goalie Jonathan Bernier), Toronto (which covets a native son who could be the face of the organization), the Flyers and Rangers.

Unlike previous seasons, when the Blue Jackets were always near the bottom of the salary cap, they are near the top this season in spending. And for that, they easily have the worst record in the NHL.

Nash is far from the only big name Blue Jacket on the block. Jeff Carter, acquired in a ballyhooed deal from the Flyers last summer, has been a bust in Columbus. He was unhappy the Flyers traded him and has missed chunks of this season with a separated shoulder and a broken foot. He could find his bliss if he’s reunited with former Philadelphia running buddy, Mike Richards, in Los Angeles.

Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter, Maple Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn, and Anaheim forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan could find new homes by the time deadline day is over, as well.

While the trade deadline is fun for fans who mix and match salary cap numbers and wish a superstar will push their team into the Stanley Cup finals, the reality is, trade rumors are just that.

Rumors.

“History tells you there’s going to be moves, but most of them will probably be depth moves,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “Everybody focuses on the sexy, higher-profile names, but most of the time, nothing happens with those guys. It ends up being the veteran players who can give an organization depth that everyone is looking for because of the parity in the league.”

The Washington Capitals expected scoring punch on the blue line and needed depth for the stretch run last season when they acquired Dennis Wideman, Jason Arnott and Marco Sturm. They gave the team a lift — the Caps had a nine-game winning streak into mid-March — just not the Cup.

Capitals general manager George McPhee then went out and made other additions last summer — goaltender Tomas Vokoun among them — in the hope that Washington can snare that elusive title. But the Capitals wouldn’t have even made the playoffs, if the season ended Tuesday night.

So, clearly, McPhee’s decisions down the stretch could determine whether he keeps his job.

Owner Ted Leonsis posted on his blog recently: “hope we can add some jump via the trade markets during the next few weeks. Go Caps!”

No pressure, George.

It’s not as easy as just trading a few pieces for a star. Aside from salary cap considerations, a team like the Rangers has to decide if it’s worth surrendering a piece like Brandon Dubinsky, key in their run to the top of the East, for Nash. The Bruins are playing again like a Stanley Cup champion. Does general manager Peter Chiarelli want to mess around with a wildly successful team’s chemistry going into the trade deadline?

“I think that’s probably my priority when I look to add something. I do want to add something, and I’d like to help the team,” he said. “I’d like to add to our depth. But that’s a priority. It’s a fine balance, chemistry, and you have to be careful.”

The risk can be worth it.

The Penguins scored big last season when they acquired forward James Neal, and he’s turned into their most reliable scorer behind Evgeni Malkin. Any deal this season would be limited to providing depth. The Penguins figure no trade could be better than the return of injured captain Sidney Crosby, who hasn’t played since Dec. 5 due to a recurrence of concussion-like symptoms. Crosby is skating, but has not been cleared for contact. He remains optimistic he can play again this season and his return would far outweigh anything Pittsburgh could get in a trade.

But for teams like New York, Philadelphia and others, the chance to land Nash could make all the difference between finishing in April or June.

____

AP Sports Writers Rusty Miller in Columbus, Ohio, Larry Lage in Detroit, Joseph White in Washington, Jimmy Golen in Boston, and Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

With five players agreeing to terms today, the Tigers now have 29 players on the club’s 40-man roster under contract for the 2012 season.

–RW Dan Cleary returned after missing five games with a sore knee, which needed to be drained twice and required two cortisone shots. Cleary struggled, with one shot on goal and no points in 14:48. It will take him a few games to get comfortable.

Click HERE for the full story from CBSSports.com

The Michigan primary is coming up, and it is a tight race between Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney. The last time Romney ran, he had some unexpected support from Arnold Schwarzenegger…or so Rom thought.

Back in 2008 Romney’s son Matt (who was 36 at the time) felt that his dad needed a little pick-me-up the day before the Michigan primary. What better way to reduce stress than to mess with your father using soundboard clips from Ahhhhhnold. Romney thought it was the real governator for almost a minute…until he heard a line from “Kindergarten Cop”. Completely unfazed, the Mittster hung up and went right back to eating his lunch.

–Crossing the border normally results in a fruitful trip for the Pistons. They have a 21-9 all-time record in Toronto, where they wrap up their pre-All-Star break schedule on Wednesday.

Click HERE for the full story from CBSSports.com

Click HERE for the full story from CBSSports.com

–LT Jeff Backus’ recovery from biceps surgery is going “incredibly well,” Lewand said. “We feel like he is a guy that can be healthy in time for training camp and he is certainly a guy we want back.”

Click HERE for the full story from CBSSports.com

Instead of signing a ball, Morris insisted on visiting the boy in his home. The friend drove Morris to the house, and when Morris walked in, the boy was understandably stunned. He sat up, smiled and showed strength he hadn’t displayed in weeks. They talked for more than an hour.

There were no TV cameras. No one knew of the meeting except the family, Morris and the friend, who passed along the story to me.

Click HERE for the full story from Terry Foster