Forty Points

Last night, as hoped, I saw the Pistons crush the Milwaukee Bucks 122-93 in the Palace of Auburn Hills. It was SO fun to be there along with 22,075 other fans. Nothing quite like the spectacle of a major league sports event, especially with a strong and well-loved team like the Detroit Pistons.

The first-string took out the Bucks in the first three periods, then rested up as the B team held out against an attempted Bucks' comeback in the final quarter. The teamwork of the big guys is spectacular. Sheed Wallace ended with 22 points, Chauncey Billups with 17, Tayshaun Prince got 12 (most of them quite theatrical), and Antonio McDyess had 11. Flip Saunders coached wisely, rotating much of his bench out on the floor: only Rip Hamilton and Big Ben Wallace played for more than thirty minutes in the entire game. Ben was needed to stop the Bucks' occasional buildup in momentum, and ended with 14 rebounds. The big star of the night was Rip Hamilton, who scored 40 points.

Richard “Rip” Hamilton (2/14/78) was born and raised in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, a small steel city about an hour or so west of Philadelphia by car along old Route 30 (on the way to Lancaster and Amish country). In college, he played for the University of Connecticut and helped lead the UConn team all the way to the national championship in 1999. Then, after playing for three years with the Washington Wizards, he came to Detroit, where he subsequently had his nose broken a couple of times (hence the weird clear mask he always wears, as much now for good luck as for protection). At 28 years old, Hamilton stands at six feet, seven inches. He has a huge fan base in Metro Detroit and, of course, back in Coatesville. He started a non-profit organization, The Rip City Foundation, that assists public school kids and that has renovated at least one library/resource center (at Burns Elementary School, 14350 Terry Street, Detroit). The foundation’s motto is Made in Coatesville: Ripetual Motion. Pamela Long, Rip’s mother, is president and Rip is listed on the official website as vice president. Hamilton also sells clothes and accessories via his “Rip City” line. He currently appears in commercials as part of Boost Mobile’s “Pivotal Moments” ad campaign, acting as his own doppelganger in the role of funeral director, back in Coatesville. Here’s the website: http://www.boostmobile.com/

Next in the playoffs, the Pistons will take on either Washington or Cleveland. Hats off to Rip Hamilton and the rest of the team. Go, Detroit!