Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said Thursday he was not sure he would be able to play in Friday night’s home opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of a sore right ankle.

Hamilton stepped on O.J. Mayo’s foot and came up limping during Wednesday night’s 96-74 victory at Memphis. He left the game briefly but returned to play.

Hamilton was still wearing the same tape he wore during the game to reduce swelling.

“It hurts more today than it did last night,” Hamilton said.

Click here to read the full article – By Terry Foster of The Detroit News

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Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford practiced for the second straight day today — a good sign, considering he couldn’t practice after he last tested his injured right knee two weeks ago. He was listed officially as limited.

The Lions will continue to monitor Stafford’s progress day to day before deciding whether he will play Sunday against St. Louis. Stafford, who has missed the last two games, declined to comment.

“We’ll wait and see,” coach Jim Schwartz said. “There’s still a long way to go until Sunday, and there’s a lot of hurdles we need to cross before then.”

Wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who has missed one game with an injured right knee, did not practice for the second straight day. But he worked out on his own and said he was still optimistic he could play. He does not need a full week of practice.


Click here to read the full article – By NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA of Detroit Free Press

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The wrapping on Kwame Brown’s left hand has seemingly gotten bigger and bigger as the exhibition season has progressed.

But the padding hasn’t helped the hand heal to Brown’s liking, so he said Wednesday that he’s going to have it checked to make sure the injury isn’t serious.
Brown said his left hand is getting progressively worse and he will undergo X-rays today to determine the severity of the injury.

Brown, who did practice Wednesday, suffered the injury early in training and has worn the wrap since.

“It’s not frustrating, it’s just a part of the game,” he said. “I’ve been trying to focus on other things I can do as far as getting teammates open, rebounding and running and playing defense. But it’s definitely hindering a little bit of my game. I’m not as aggressive as I want to be.”

Click here to read the full article – By VINCE ELLIS of Free Prees

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Don’t be surprised if center Kwame Brown and forward Ben Wallace begin the year as starters for Pistons coach John Kuester.

“We still have a lot more preseason to go — we’ve got two weeks,” Kuester said Sunday. “There are a number of challenges ahead of us to see how this all plays out. There are so many guys deserving of time, so it’s been challenging that way.”

Kuester acknowledged that Brown and Wallace “set a tone defensively for you.”

The coach wants people who understand “what it’s going to take for us to be successful defensively.”


Click here to read the full article – By GEORGE SIPPLE of FREE PRESS

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Matthew Stafford didn’t practice for the second straight day Thursday because of the partially dislocated right kneecap he suffered in last week’s loss at Chicago.

The Lions rookie quarterback also missed Wednesday’s practice, making it unlikely he’ll start against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

“I don’t know, we’ll see,” Stafford said when asked if he’d play. “Whatever coach’s policy is as far as guys missing practice and still being able to play.

“Obviously, anytime you tweak something it’s scary. I mean an ankle, knee, shoulder, whatever it is. I just wanted to make sure everything was structurally all right, and it was, so that was a good thing.”

Stafford confirmed the injured knee was the same he hurt in high school.


Click here to read the full article – By Tim Twentyman of The Detroit News

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Detroit coach Mike Babcock appeared irked Saturday afternoon when asked about a comment made by Blues center Jay McClement following Friday’s 4-3 win over the Red Wings.

“We haven’t had a lot of success against (Detroit) the last few years,” McClement said. “We started to at the end of last year … a couple of big games at a big time of the year for us. I think guys are starting to learn how to play against them.”

Babcock said that he hears that kind of talk “every year” and then added, “Let’s just watch.”

Babcock was singing a different tune after the Blues won 5-3 Saturday, taking both games in Sweden. The Red Wings coughed up a two-goal lead in each.

“I thought St. Louis played really well in both games,” Babcock said. “I thought they played hard for 60 minutes in both games and I thought they were the better team in both games.

Click here to read the full article – By Jeremy Rutherford of St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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From practices to a preseason game to a pep rally, the Red Wings have been going nonstop since arriving in Stockholm on Monday morning.

They finally start the 2009-10 season tonight at the Globe Arena against St. Louis, part of the NHL Premiere event in Stockholm. Regardless of the outcome, the Wings will be the winners with Swedish fans — they have eight countrymen on their roster compared with one Swede for the Blues.

On Thursday, the Wings took part in a rally at Stockholm’s Central Station, where several hundred fans gathered to see the Wings and the Blues officially welcomed to the city by Madeleine Sjöstedt, Stockholm’s Minister of Culture and Sports.

Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg have been the fan favorites, drawing the loudest applause when they stepped on the ice Wednesday for the exhibition game at Karlstad.

For the games at the Globe, Zetterberg has had to secure 80 tickets per night to satisfy friends and family.

Click here to read the full article – By Helene St. James of Detroit Free Fress

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Henrik Zetterberg scored in his first game of the exhibition season, contributing one of four power-play goals as the Red Wings won their last tune-up before weekend games against the St. Louis Blues.

The Red Wings beat Farjestad BK, 6-2, Wednesday at Lofbergs Lila Arena in Karlstad, also getting goals from Jason Williams, Valtteri Filppula, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall and Todd Bertuzzi. Jimmy Howard made 22 saves filling in for Chris Osgood, whose flu-like symptoms made him a late scratch but aren’t expected to keep him from playing in Friday’s opener.

With Zetterberg returning from a groin injury, the match provided the first opportunity to watch his line with Bertuzzi and Dan Cleary, both of whom also have had groin problems. The line racked up four points.

“I could tell Cleary and Z missed training camp.” Mike Babcock said via phone following the game. “Z has no pace, so it was good he got to play. I thought Bert was good.”

Bertuzzi standing out among the three was a positive — it’s only a matter of time before Zetterberg and Cleary regain form. Bertuzzi is intriguing, because while he’s a handful of years removed from being arguably the NHL’s premier power forward, he’s still a 6-foot-3, 220-pound body with great hands.

Click here to read the full article – By Helene St. James of Detroit Free Fress

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Lions rookie linebacker DeAndre Levy drew high praise from defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham on Wednesday after making his first NFL start against Washington.

Levy, who subbed for injured veteran Ernie Sims on Sunday, helped stuff the Redskins during a goal-line stand in the first quarter. The Lions won, 19-14.

“He played as good as anybody I’ve seen in their first game to start,” Cunningham said. “I had a guy in Kansas City named Donnie Edwards, the irony is he played against the Lions on Thanksgiving and was AFC player of the week in 1996, and Levy had that kind of game.”

The Chiefs selected Edwards in the fourth round of the 1996 draft. The Chiefs beat the Lions, 28-24, that year. Edwards went on to have a long, successful career with the Chiefs and Chargers. He made 1,000 tackles, 23 1/2 sacks and 28 interceptions in his career, which ended with the Chiefs last season.


Click here to read the full article – By GEORGE SIPPLE of freep.com

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