It's a surprisingly news filled sports week for the middle of July.
Justin Verlander announced his retirement this week. The University of Michigan still hasn't released a much-anticipated report, and now they're getting sued for dragging their feet. And Tom Izzo got his wish.
Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined Morning Edition host Christopher Johnson for a look at those stories and other sports news.
Christopher G. Johnson: Justin Verlander, the 43 year old starting pitcher, returned to the Tigers this season after being traded away in 2017. He's been on the injured list virtually all season, though, so perhaps his announcement, while bittersweet, is less than shocking. What will you remember most about Verlander's storied career?
John U. Bacon: The list is very long. Two time World Series champion, ten time All Star, three time Cy Young Award winner, which goes to the league's best pitcher. And he won the Pitching Triple Crown in 2011 and was the American League MVP, which is all players not just pitchers. So this guy's done it all. And when he's eligible for the Hall of Fame in five years, that man, trust me, is walking straight in.
But here, I think is the takeaway. You might not ever see his like again. And not just because of his immense talent, but because in the modern game the starting pitcher almost never finishes the game. So the number of wins, strikeouts and certainly no hitters - and he has three - is going to go way down. He might be the last of his generation, so enjoy the rest of this season. And I bet before it's done Verlander might contribute to a playoff run. We'll see.
CGJ: The Tigers announced this week that third base coach Joey Cora will be replaced by quality control coach Billy Boyer. Cora was best known for having established a daring base running strategy. What do you make of his sudden departure, and what do you think Boyer will bring to the job?
JUB: Fewer outs, Christopher! A.J. Hinch, the manager of the Tigers, fired Cora because he was too aggressive. The Tigers have had more runners get tagged out running to home than any team in the major leagues. That's a problem. And this is how you fix it.
CGJ: In other sports news this week, the University of Michigan has still not released the findings of the independent investigation into the athletic department after the firing of head coach Sherrone Moore. The legal team representing the former staffer who had a relationship with Moore announced on Wednesday they are suing the university. The lawsuit claims the university is violating the Freedom of Information Act by intentionally withholding the report's findings...
JUB: Yeah, it's messy and getting messier, I suppose. Whatever you may think of Sherrone Moore or Paige Shiver his assistant, her attorney has got a point. This public university paid Jenner & Block $12 million to investigate the Sherrone Moore scandal and the Title IX and Title VII violations, yet now refuses to release the investigation's findings. That's what the attorney says. You look all through and the University of Michigan is notoriously bad at responding to FOIA requests. So it's not a good reputation.
And this is a noted contrast to how they handled the Dr. Anderson scandal. Tim Lynch, the general counsel chief for the university, made sure that when they released that report from the law firm that it went directly to the Michigan Regents as well as the Michigan Daily, the student newspaper, at the same time, which guarantees it gets out unfiltered. And this seems to be the opposite approach, which I think is not going to end well for Michigan.
CGJ: And Michigan State is no longer out of a president. Earlier this year, University President Kevin Guskiewicz accepted a job to lead Clemson University. This week, he hit the undo button. Why, John?
JUB: One reason. A guy named Tom Izzo, who, while the men's basketball coach is not normally running things in the president's office, he is the one who felt they could not lose Guskiewicz. He's called him the best president in his time, 30 years as the head coach of the Spartans. And he rallied his donors, his friends, the power brokers at Michigan State, and got Guskiewicz to change his mind, which is no small thing. So that's one area where sports and academia clearly overlapped.
CGJ: And in the NBA, the Pistons made a six team deal this week that will send Dallas native Marcus Sasser home to play for the Mavericks under former Michigan coach Dusty May. The trade also sent Isaiah Stewart to Memphis. In return, the Pistons acquired John Collins from Los Angeles Clippers and exchanged Gary Harris and Taurean Prince from the Milwaukee Bucks for Caris LeVert. How have these trades set Detroit up for the next season?
JUB: Well, that's a whole lot of musical chairs, isn't it, Christopher? But it boils down simply to payroll and salary cap. The Pistons made these moves not to get more talent but to have less money on the payroll. Basically, it's to save money and they'll use that money elsewhere. Of course, now I've got personal feelings here Christopher, as Caris LeVert is a former student of mine, by the way, and a very serious one. But he's still making $14 million a year. So I guess he's doing better than his old professor.
Editor's note: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can play the full audio of this interview near the top of this page.
The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.
