MISCELLANEOUS; Sports tale of two cities

The most depressing city for any pro sports fan to live in is Detroit. The miserable Pistons, Red Wings, and Lions combined for a 44-123-11 record during the past nine months.About the only reprieve residents get from this litany of woe comes during the baseball season, when the promising, young Tigers at least offer something to cheer about (they had a .528 winning percentage last year). But wouldn't you know, they were in perhaps baseball's toughest division last year and finished fourth.

Philadelphia, by contrast, has produced a quartet of excellent teams, yet has little to show for it. The 76ers just lost to Los Angeles in the NBA championship series, and the Flyers followed suit by falling to the New York Islanders in hockey's Stanley Cup finals. The Eagles made the football playoffs for the second straight year, then were upset by Tampa Bay. And the Phillies? Well, not even the acquisition of Pete Rose could prevent them from missing the playoffs last season, this after owning the best record in the National League during the past four years.