Tiger Stadium's final days

As promised, here's another image I nabbed when the cranes were taking the final rips at the old Tiger Stadium. This shot shows the roof over the third base line as it crumbles when the cranes swiped away the supporting girders. I took the picture from the pedestrian walkway that takes people over the freeway, which was lined with people holding cameras and video recorders, and holding little kids high up in the air to get a better look at a stadium they likely never set foot in. It was a strange, sad event to watch.

Ride like the wind! Tour downtown Detroit in a Breezecab

That guy in the picture is Frank. That thing he’s sitting in is called a Breezecab. I saw one earlier today for the first time and had to get a closer look, and when Frank noticed me taking a picture, he waved me over.

“We’ll get you all over downtown – Comerica Park, the Riverfront, Greektown, you name it,” Frank gushed. “Check it out sometime.” He said there are currently five Breezecab’s servicing downtown Detroit, and by next year they hope to have 10.

From the pictures I looked at, not all of the Breezecab’s look like this one. Some are bigger and seat three people. Another has no top and looks similar to a horse drawn carriage.

The company calls itself “Detroit’s largest rickshaw pedal company” – not sure how much competition there is for that title – and really, it looked pretty cool. If I get around to taking one of their 30-minutes tours, I’ll let you know how it goes.

WANNA KNOW MORE?: Visit www.michiganbreezecab.com, or call 248-894-8870.

King Books is one of Detroit’s hidden treasures

It isn’t shiny and new like Border’s. And it doesn’t serve up latte frappe mochachino, or whatever it’s called. Actually it’s a pretty dirty old place.

But if you’re just looking for a particular book, and don’t mind that somebody else has already laid eyes on its pages, start your search at John K. King Used & Rare Books in Detroit. It’s the kind of place where you can get lost for a few hours.

You’ve probably seen it, the old brick building next to the Lodge at the end of the Howard Street exit. If you didn’t know better, you might think it’s just another of Detroit’s vacant, dying buildings. Inside, though, are five-stories worth of books, unending shelves that hold every author, title and genre imaginable. In all, they’ve got more than 750,000 titles! In stock!

I don’t know what the building used to be (signs hanging from the ceiling say “No Smoking in the Plant”, so make of that what you will), but King Books has been there since the early ‘80s. Before that, the store was located somewhere across town since 1965.

Hey, not many businesses in Detroit can say they survived the ‘80s. That alone is a reason is to check it out next time you’re heading downtown.

FOR MORE INFO: John K. King Used & Rare Books is located at 901 W. Lafayette Blvd. If you’re looking for a particular title, you can call them at 313-961-0622 or e-mail kingbooks@aol.com and they’ll check the shelves for you.

Sunny D in ‘The D’: Drew tosses a strike!

It wasn’t the 60-feet, 6-inch toss he was hoping for, but from about 45 feet Tuesday evening, Sunny D brought the heat. Drew threw out the first pitch at Comerica Park before the Tigers-Mariners game, and a whole crew of Trenton folks were on hand to see him in action.

Throwing to firstbase coach Andy VanSlyke, Drew eyed his target, went into his windup, and delivered a tasty, two-seamer. Instantly, text messages from family and friends scattered throughout the stadium (and more from family and friends watching on TV at home, hoping it would be televised) poured in. Uncle Marko, seated somewhere at Comerica with a great vantage point of home plate, declared “good velocity…painted the corner.”

Afterwards, Drew exchanged niceties with VanSlyke (who autographed the ball for him) and was approached by the Tigers’ marketing guy, who told him, “Nice pitch. Call us in about eight years.”

All in all, it was an unforgettable night downtown. Mayor Bing even showed up. And for the record, the Tigers rallied for four runs in the bottom of the eighth and won, 5-3.