The Word Is Bird

Watching Fox Sports Detroit knowing that I could quite possibly see: “FSD welcomes Matt Shepard and Jack Morris back to the booth for the 2021 season” scroll across the bottom of the screen any day now.

Wasn’t aware of this. In my lifetime, second only to George & Al, sit Josh & Gibby. Would love having Josh back!

So, the brainiacs/suits at FSD — please don’t quell some of this organizational excitement and momentum by announcing that you’re re-signing Shep + Jack to be back in the booth for 2021. 😬 Personally, I think AJ Hinch deserves to assemble the booth talent for next season. 😁. This brings to mind a thought — we have AJ Hinch here rehabbing his image — would bringing Thom Brenneman into the FSD booth next season be taking things a step too far? I’m torn on how I feel about it. I sense that Thom might need a full year (or two) out of the game to continue let things air out a little more, while slowly beginning to repair his image.

Shep sure likes to talk about baseball players “wearing” something (a crown **cringe face**, a smile, a pitch off the wrist from an opposing pitcher, etc). 🤪 Unfortunately, Shep himself still wears a microphone and a seat in the FSD booth.

Thank you for trying, Grayskies Greiner.

I believe DVH has now officially died and come back to life (Thanks again, Al!) more than Stefano did in all his years on Days of Our Lives.

Detroit (pro sports) gonna Detroit. Just anemic ownership. I figured an extension would happen, but was holding out hope that Chris “Silver Spoon” Illness would somehow do the right thing.

You were AT THE GAME?! ?

A client of mine was a close friend and high school classmate of Chuck Hughes at Abilene (TX) High. I first met him in the late 2000s, and we quickly realized just what a sports fanatic each other was. From there, the conversation flowed, and eventually came pro sports talk — specifically the NFL (he and his Cowboys, and me and my Lions). The moment I mentioned being a Lions (and Detroit pro sports fan), he asked me if I’d ever heard of a player well before my time (I was born in ‘79) by the name of Chuck Hughes. The name rang an immediate bell, but I couldn’t immediately place him, I told my client. He then told me of Chuck’s unfortunate demise, and I then remembered pieces of the story as he went on. I recall his eyes welling up with tears after describing some of his fonder memories with his fallen friend. He said that Chuck Hughes was just a wonderful guy. R.I.P. Tyler Skaggs

Tony Paul checks in to bring some positive light to this possibly dire situation.

Shep and Jack sticking with the “Ava-sale” Garcia pronunciation. Give them credit for consistency, I guess. As if they guy didn’t spend several prior years in the Tigers organization.

Fair enough, and maybe so. I’m forgetting the Carmona dust-up. Did he throw Sheff some high inside cheese more than once? EDIT: it all just came back to me. I enjoyed that roster. Full of big leaguers (many who had illustrious careers, but had grown a bit long in the tooth). Funny to see young(er) V-Mart being held back by Miggy.

Speaking of Sheffield (who I go long periods of time without thinking of) — are we looking back at his tenure in a Tigers uniform as a disappointment? I seem to have some faint memory of him hitting a historic homer at Comerica (then again, I could be off base with that). For the record, I look back at Sheff’s era in the D as a disappointment — despite technically “winning” the trade.

Quite possible, Mrs. Shepard.

**Tigers upcoming schedule flashes on the FSD screen** Shep (trying to keep his excitement to a minimum): “And here’s a look at the shape of things to come.” This, of course, means we all have to take a shot. I’ve not been able to see more than a few minutes of the game today, but between Shep’s upcoming schedule saying and “Hall of Famer”, I’m sure I’d be wasted if I was playing the Shep drinking game today. Shep, you don’t have to use your stock standard go-tos EVERY SINGLE TIME THE MOMENT ARISES. **jumps off soapbox** EDIT: Gibby, not Jack, is in the booth (duh, me) — so “Hall of Famer” has probably been shelved this weekend.