'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 54

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091023/S ... ant-replay

THE OTHER SIDE: Six different players scored in double figures for the Timberwolves. Corey Brewer scored a team-high 21 points and Oleksiy Pecherov added 20 points and 10 rebounds.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091023/S ... ant-replay

OVERHEARD: "Rodney Stuckey ran the team the way I wanted the team to be run," Kuester said. "He got people involved and I thought he did an outstanding job of taking care of the ball. ... "It's a game of spurts and our energy level at the beginning of the game, and the beginning of the third, we did a nice job," Kuester said. "But sustaining that for 48 minutes, we didn't give the energy we had early on.

"Very rarely are you going to shoot 58% from the field, 90 from the foul line.

"And a good sign for us also was getting 21 assists. ... I'm coming in here saying, 'We lost.' And that's disappointing."

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091022/S ... 1051/rss16

Bill Laimbeer disappointed over Shock move
Former Pistons player and Shock coach Bill Laimbeer returned to the Palace on Thursday as an assistant coach with Minnesota. Laimbeer chatted with Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince during warm-ups, but isn’t expecting much from Detroit this year. Laimbeer said he left tickets for some of his former Shock players, who learned earlier this week the team was moving to Tulsa, Okla. “I think it’s disappointing,” Laimbeer said of the Shock’s departure. “I’m disappointed for the players and the fans that would come to all the games. A lot of hard work by the employees has been put into it. But at the same time, you gotta understand this is a bad market to be in for a professional sports team right now.

The Pistons aren’t going to do very well this year, is my guess. “The Shock just aren’t able to make a dollar right now. As a matter of fact, they’re losing a lot. If somebody else wants them and can be more supportive, great.” Laimbeer said he was glad the team didn’t just fold completely. “I think they have great players and they’re nice people,” Laimbeer said. Laimbeer joked with the Timberwolves’ 6-foot-10, 280-pound Nathan Jawai during warm-ups. “That’s our new guy,” Laimbeer said. “Nathan … and the last name is a good question. Jawai, or something like that. ... He’s a big dude. I didn’t think he could shoot.

I saw him today around shootaround and saw him going through the motions and was like, ‘OK, I didn’t know he could jump.’” Laimbeer said Timberwolves first-year coach Kurt Rambis is “just like me.” “He’s demanding, sarcastic,” he said. “He’s exacting. He wants everything done perfectly.” Good person to work for.”

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091022/S ... 1051/rss16

WALLACE OUT: Pistons coach John Kuester said Ben Wallace wouldn’t play Thursday because he bumped knees and hadn’t practiced the past two days.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091022/S ... 1051/rss16

Pistons score easily, can't get stops
There was a lot of things Pistons coach John Kuester liked about Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The result wasn’t one of them. The Pistons shot 58.6% from the field and made 28 of 31 free throws (90.3%) but lost, 122-114, to the Timberwolves at the Palace. In the second half, the Pistons committed 11 turnovers and gave up 15 fast-break points. “It’s a game of spurts,” said Pistons coach John Kuester. “Our energy level in the beginning of the game and the beginning of the third, we did a nice job. But sustaining that for 48 minutes, we didn’t give the energy that we had early on.”

An alley oop dunk by Chris Wilcox with 6:16 left in the third gave the Pistons a nine-point lead, 77-68. But the Pistons were outscored, 25-8, the rest of the quarter and never got closer than eight in the fourth. “Even when they got on a run to start the third quarter our guys regrouped and started playing more together and we got ourselves back in the ballgame,” said Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis. Kuester was most pleased with the way Rodney Stuckey ran the team. Stuckey led the Pistons with 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting from the floor and added five assists and two turnovers in 31:33. “Rodney Stuckey ran the team the way I wanted the team to be run,” Kuester said. “He got people involved in the game and I thought he did an outstanding job taking care of the ball.”

Kuester was also happy with the play of forward Charlie Villanueva, who scored 17 points and had a team-high 10 rebounds in 31:01. “One thing that is encouraging is he did have a double-double in the amount of time he played,” Kuester said. “Charlie’s going to be very helpful for us.” Villanueva, who had been bothered by a hamstring, said his conditioning was fine. He wasn’t happy about the outcome. “This is unacceptable,” he said. “We just have to pick it up on the defense. Offesnively, you can see us, we don’t have a problem at all. We just have to play together as a team. It just seems like they picked it up more and we just kind of got away from what we were doing. They made some big shots. Not to discredit anything from Minnesota. We should have beaten this team.” Richard Hamilton scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Ben Gordon added 11 points and Jason Maxiell and Chris Wilcox each chipped in 10 points apiece for the Pistons. The Pistons were playing without two key defensive contributors – Ben Wallace (knee) and Kwame Brown (hand). “I’ve told you all along, we gotta defend to win, and we’re not doing that right now,” Kuester said. “We’ve done it in spurts. But you’ve gotta be a consistent defensive team that’s gotta be relentless.”

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

DetNews: Isiah Thomas 'hurt' over Magic's book: Isiah and Magic Johnson famously kissed moments before tip-off of ... http://twurl.nl/vxu1n1

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

DetNews: Terry Foster: Bill Laimbeer padding resume for dream gig: Laimbeer didn't want to become an NBA assistant... http://twurl.nl/go34f5

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091022/S ... s-comments

Isiah 'hurt' by Magic's comments
Hall of Fame players Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson famously kissed moments before tip-off of Game 1 of the 1988 NBA finals. Today, the relationship clearly isn’t anywhere near as close. Thomas told SI.com earlier this week that he is “really hurt” over criticisms levied by Johnson in a new book chronicling the careers of Johnson and Larry Bird. According to Thursday’s SI.com report, Johnson said Thomas questioned his sexuality after the Los Angeles Lakers star retired in 1991 after being diagnosed with HIV. Johnson also tells the Web site that he helped play a role in keeping Thomas off the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. “Isiah killed his own chances when it came to the Olympics,” Johnson said in the book. “Nobody on that team wanted to play with him. ... Michael didn’t want to play with him. Scottie (Pippen) wanted no part of him. Bird wasn’t pushing for him. Karl Malone didn’t want him. Who was saying, ’We need this guy?’ Nobody.’ ”

Thomas, now coaching at FIU in Miami, said he declined a chance to be interviewed for the book. According to its index, he appears on at least 26 pages of the book, which Johnson and Bird wrote with author Jackie MacMullan. “I’m really hurt, and I really feel taken advantage of for all these years,” Thomas told SI.com. “I’m totally blindsided by this. Every time that I’ve seen Magic, he has been friendly with me.” FIU had no immediate comment. Thomas’ spokesman said the remarks were accurate. In the book, an advance copy of which was also obtained by The Associated Press, Johnson said the failed relationship with Thomas is “the biggest personal disappointment of my life ... nothing else is even close.”

The book comments by Johnson are the latest salvo in a strained relationship, once made famous by the pre-finals kiss and a pair of crowdpleasing 1-on-1 battles in the final moments of the 1992 NBA All-Star game. But even during those 1988 finals, Johnson and Thomas let their competitive sides boil over, jostling with each other after physical play later in the series. In Johnson’s words, he and Thomas are now “cordial. That’s about it.”Last fall, Johnson said he would not recommend Thomas for any other NBA jobs, after Thomas’ stints with both the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks were rocky at times — particularly so in New York. Johnson said he “separated the personal from the professional” when telling Knicks officials that they should consider Thomas to coach their team. “I wish he would have had the courage to say this stuff to me face to face, as opposed to writing it in some damn book to sell and he can make money off it,” Thomas said.

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http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=14110

Bobby Jackson to Retire: In a move many suspected to be coming for a while now, point guard Bobby Jackson will retire as a member of the Sacramento Kings tomorrow at a press conference according to Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee. Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA after being drafted 23rd overall by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1997 NBA Draft. Jackson never played for Seattle (here's a fun note – he was traded draft night for James Cotton and a 1998 second-round pick that became…Rashard Lewis), but started his career in Denver and then in Minnesota before really making his mark as a member of the Sacramento Kings. Jackson was the team's third guard during the Kings' heyday as a Western Conference contender and was always a fan favorite.

He also played for the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets, and Houston Rockets before returning to Sacramento last season. Injuries were always a part of Jackson's career though; he played in 71 or more games just six times (and did play all 50 in the strike-shortened season of 1999). Jackson will finish with career averages of 9.7 points and 2.6 assists to go with 0.9 steals and 35.4% shooting from three-point range. His best season statistically was 2002-03, when he started 26 games for the Kings and averaged 15.2 points and 3.1 assists, plus 3.7 rebounds.

Jackson was also named the 2002-03 Sixth Man of the Year. Personally, I've always found Jackson to be a great interview. There was a time a few years back when HOOPSWORLD also did some work on some player websites (no longer online, apparently), Jackson being one of them, and he was always courteous and honest, even while dealing with some aggravating recurring injuries. Also according to Amick Jackson will continue to work with the Kings in community efforts and ticket sales, though his new title has yet to be decided. Good luck in the next phase Bobby.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/index_main.html

Pistons at Bucks Tonight
The Pistons close out their preseason schedule tonight against the Bucks at the Bradley Center. Detroit defeated Milwaukee 113-104 earlier in the preseason. Tune in to FS Detroit and 97.1 FM The Ticket for the 8:30 p.m. tipoff.

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http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... queez.html

About Last Night: Is the squeeze on Will Bynum already starting?
Alright, so looking at the 122 points allowed and 53 percent shooting, it's quite obvious not much defense was played in last night's preseason loss to Minnesota, but come on Detroit News ... Pistons Defense Disappoints in Loss?

Did you see the injury report? The team's two best defenders, Ben Wallace and Kwame Brown were both out, and Tayshaun Prince, their third best defender (I know, I know ... he's regressed, but that doesn't mean I was saying he's a bad defender), was seeing his first action in a couple games after an injury. The Pistons are not a good defensive team, we knew this going in. They have a few guys who can defend, they have a few more with the athletic ability to develop into defensive players, but let's be real ... there are going to be quite a few games like this during the season.

And you know what? That's not necessarily a bad thing ... the Pistons can score with any team in the league, as evidenced by their 58 percent (!) shooting in this game. Teams that are all offense don't win championships, but as teams like Sacramento, Phoenix, the Ray Allen/Rashard Lewis Sonics teams and a few others sprinkled in have shown, offensive-minded teams can make the playoffs and are certainly fun to watch. We've grown accustomed to defense around here, so it's natural to be shocked to see the team give up points like this, but I feel like it's something we're going to have to get used to. Some random notes from the game.

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http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... queez.html

The guard rotation looked like the real rotation:
Rip Hamilton (8-for-11, 21 points) and Rodney Stuckey (10-for-15, 25 points) had their best games of the preseason, but what jumps out is their minutes. Rip played 37 and Stuckey played 31, with Ben Gordon getting 30 off the bench.

When the season starts, I wouldn't mind seeing Rip down a few and Gordon up a few, but that's how I'd guess the minutes will be distributed. The odd-man-out, of course, is Will Bynum. The team's leading scorer this preseason played only 17 minutes, scoring six points. Bynum's been fun to watch, it's fun to debate whether he should be starting over Stuckey (I would have to side with J-Rog and take Stuckey in that debate), but ultimately, even the most strident Bynum supporters had to know this was coming.

He's been a great find, he'll play hard and good whenever he's called on, but he's just not going to play much more than 15-20 minutes the way this team is currently constructed.

[nasty daddy]

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... queez.html

The frontcourt is suddenly a question mark again:
It's always been a question mark in the sense that no one knows how much any of the frontcourt members can be relied on, but a few games ago, it looked more settled. Ben Wallace and Kwame Brown looked like a nice, short-minutes tandem to start the game with some defensive intensity. Charlie V was totally fine with coming off the bench. Jason Maxiell and Chris Wilcox were allegedly getting pushed hard by Jonas Jerebko.

Now, Brown and Wallace are injured, with Brown's sounding a bit serious. Wilcox (4-of-4, 10 points, 7 rebounds) had a decent game offensively, getting the start against Minnesota, but Oleksiy Pecherov scored 20 with 10 boards as Minnesota's starting center, so yeah ... the defense slips just a tad with Wilcox in the lineup (imagine if Minnesota was not playing without starting PF/C Kevin Love and Al Jefferson ... could've been even uglier). Jason Maxiell had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench and Jerebko fouled out in just 18 minutes of play, so who really knows, between those three, whose leading the competition. At least Villanueva, playing in his second preseason game, looked OK, scoring 18 points with 10 rebounds. Still, the frontcourt is obviously still no more settled than it was heading into the preseason.

Here's what Brian at Motown String Music had this to say: What's mind numbing is the fact that the Pistons probably could not have played any better on offense. They shot a scorching 59% from the field (40% from beyond the arc) and 90% (28-31) from the charity stripe. Despite their best offensive efforts, Minnesota countered with a 54% field goal percentage, which included an astonishing 58% from three point land. They also knocked down 37 of 46 free throw attempts. The good news? Only one more preseason game to go, tomorrow against Milwaukee, and hey, it's even televised. Then five days to get some things worked out before the opener against Memphis.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091023/S ... as--(other)-enemies

Isiah Thomas' (other) enemies
Besides Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, here are other people Isiah Thomas has had run-ins or fallings-out with:

• Adrian Dantley's mother, who blamed Zeke for the Mark Aguirre trade, calling him "that little con artist."
• Virg Jacques, the former Ch. 2 reporter he scuffled with in a parking lot.
• Bill Laimbeer, whom Isiah punched in the back of the head during one practice.
• Late owner Bill Davidson, who once envisioned him in Joe Dumars' role.

• CBA investors.
• Larry Bird, who fired him as coach as soon as he took over the Pacers.
• The Knicks, who, at the end of his contract, banned him from having contact with the team.

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http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... _pist.html

Caron Butler calls former Pistons coach Flip Saunders an "offensive genius"
By the time Joe Dumars fired Flip Saunders as coach of the Pistons, after leading three straight flame-outs in the Eastern Conference Finals, few fans were clamoring for him to get another chance.Had we known what was coming with Michael Curry, however, we may have thought differently.

Saunders' best attribute has always been the efficient offenses he's coached, both in Detroit and Minnesota, something that is not lost on Washington's players. Caron Butler said as much to Matt Watson at FanHouse: "He's great. He's an offensive genius. He's a great coach to play for and I love him for numerous reasons but the one that really stuck out was him coming in the summer and reaching out to me. I've never had a coach do that. You know, you get the phone calls saying, "welcome to our team, great having you, look forward to coaching you," but he actually was a guy that came out with me on numerous occasions and told me expectations that he placed upon me and what he expected and I look forward to the challenge."

Saunders had his flaws, but Butler's right. Under Saunders, the Pistons maintained their defense (they ranked third in the league in defensive rating under Larry Brown and were 5th, 7th and 4th in three years under Saunders) while drastically improving in offensive rating (17th under Brown, 4th, 6th and 6th under Saunders). And just for fun, they were 21st in offensive rating and 16th in defensive rating under Curry. Unfortunately, those efficient offenses always seemed to break down by about game two or so of the Eastern Conference Finals each year.

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http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapid ... kelse.html

Fox Sports Detroit's Greg Kelser happy to be along for Pistons' rebuilding ride
Greg Kelser, left, will partner with George Blaha for the Detroit Pistons' telecasts on Fox Sports Detroit.The Detroit Pistons have given Greg Kelser a wild ride since he first delved into the team’s television coverage in 1988. He watched as the “Bad Boys” turned in a pair of championships. Then, he rode out a rebuilding period in the 1990s, and eventually witnessed the Pistons’ third title in 2004. And now he’ll be there as the Pistons try to return to the top of the NBA. Kelser is beginning his 13th season as color commentator for Fox Sports Detroit’s broadcasts. He again will be joined by play-by-play announcer George Blaha, who is entering his 34th consecutive year as the team’s primary TV and radio voice. FSD has 78 games scheduled this season, an all-time high, including 55 in high-definition. “I still feel fortunate and blessed to be broadcasting my hometown team,” the former Michigan State and Pistons standout said. “The longevity is quite amazing. It’s been a thrill.”

Expectations generally are low for the Pistons this season, but Kelser sees signs of optimism. For example, the additions of free agents Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva will give Detroit an up-tempo attack that should create an exciting brand of basketball. “They have a lot of offensive potential looking at it right now as the exhibition season ends,” Kelser said. “I’ve maintained all along that if the rebounding and defense is adequate, they will make the playoffs. It really comes down to that.” He also isn’t worried about Gordon co-existing with fellow shooting guard Richard Hamilton. “Both have to learn how best to play off the other, and that doesn’t mean passing up shots just to be unselfish,” Kelser said. “It has to flow, and that will take time as they find ways to be effective.”

While Kelser thinks Pistons can exceed last season’s win total of 39, they aren’t expected to challenge the likes of Cleveland, Boston and Orlando for Eastern Conference supremacy.That kind of tempered forecast may benefit first-year coach John Kuester, who won’t have the same type of pressure that plagued previous coaches Michael Curry and Flip Saunders.“I think he’s in a great spot,” Kelser said. “He gets to come in with the flexibility to take the time to instill his approach, and do it free of the burden of having to get the team to the NBA Finals.”

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4588357

Iverson still plagued by hamstring
That means the 10-time All-Star could miss Memphis' season opener Wednesday against his former team, Detroit, as he recovers from a partly torn left hamstring.

While upbeat and pain-free after a workout before sitting out the Grizzlies' exhibition finale Friday against Charlotte, Iverson indicated there's a good chance the Grizzlies' medical staff won't clear him for the opener because of fears he's not completely healed. "They're saying it's a possibility, but it's also a long shot," Iverson said on playing against the Pistons. "You know that's one of the ones I definitely want to play."

Iverson said he won't be out long, however, as his rehab progresses well from the injury suffered in a scrimmage Oct. 4. While he sat out all eight exhibition games, he started more involved workouts this week. After not traveling with the team to Miami, he joined the club in Charlotte Thursday night.

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http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop

Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: "Arron Afflalo is a role player, a guy who could walk the 16th Street Mall and get more requests for change than requests for autographs. He has a paltry career scoring average (4.3 points). And the summertime acquisition from Detroit has yet to play a regular-season game for Denver. But just listen to what they're saying about him in the Nuggets' locker room, and one can quickly conclude he may have a bigger impact for this team than most fans realize. Teammate Carmelo Anthony: 'He doesn't take possessions off. He wants to get better in the gym -- every day.' Coach George Karl: 'He's the most organized, regimented young player I've ever coached.' Vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien: 'He is everything a coach wants in a player. ... We knew he had ridiculously high character.' Now, Afflalo ain't Air Jordan. The guy isn't going to win scoring titles and sell you sneakers. But for a Nuggets team that was yearning for role players -- the right role players -- Denver feels it got a steal in Afflalo."

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http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop

George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press: "Former Pistons player and Shock coach Bill Laimbeer returned to the Palace on Thursday as an assistant coach with Minnesota. ... Laimbeer said he left tickets for some of his former Shock players, who learned earlier this week the team was moving to Tulsa, Okla. 'I think it's disappointing,' Laimbeer said of the Shock's departure. 'I'm disappointed for the players and the fans that would come to all the games. A lot of hard work by the employees has been put into it. But at the same time, you gotta understand this is a bad market to be in for a professional sports team right now. The Pistons aren't going to do very well this year, is my guess. The Shock just aren't able to make a dollar right now. As a matter of fact, they're losing a lot. If somebody else wants them and can be more supportive, great.' Laimbeer said he was glad the team didn't just fold completely."

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/tv.html

Pistons Premiere Week: Oct. 25-31
FOX Sports Detroit goes on a fast break to start the 2009-10 NBA season with Detroit Pistons Premiere Week totaling more than 40 hours of Pistons programming from Oct. 25-31, including: a season preview special, blocks of Motor City Memories episodes, the season premiere of The Pistons Weekly the team's first three regular-season games, as well as pre and post-game programming on Pistons Live from FOX Sports Detroit's new high-definition studio. Fox Sports Detroit became the exclusive broadcast partner of the Detroit Pistons at the start of the 2008-09 season. The 10-year agreement continues a strong relationship with FS Detroit, which has carried Pistons games the past 12 seasons.

FS Detroit is also the exclusive broadcast partner of the NHL Detroit Red Wings, which inevitably leads to scheduling conflicts: two teams, one channel. In those instances, the Pistons or Red Wings will have their game telecast moved to FS PLUS, an auxiliary channel made available by most cable and satellite providers of FS Detroit. “We are thrilled to have FOX Sports Detroit serving as the exclusive local provider of Detroit Pistons Basketball,” said Pete Skorich, Executive Vice President of Broadcasting and Multimedia for the Pistons. “In addition to award winning game coverage, programming such as PISTONS LIVE, Pistons In Focus and The Pistons Weekly will give our fans the most complete coverage both on and off the court. Our partnership with FSD also delivers team coverage throughout the entire State of Michigan and Northwest Ohio which we are very excited about.” Twelve Pistons games in 2009-10 will be broadcasted live on FS PLUS.

To see what channel number FS PLUS is in your viewing area, refer to the table below.
Channel Listings for FS Plus:
Satellite Listings
Directv (664) Dish Network (444-453 or 473-478)
Cable Listings
ACR Auburn Hills (64) Allendale Communications (56) AT&T U-Verse (738)
Bloomingdale (56) Bright House Networks (3) Broadstripe (18, 19 or 97)
Buckeye Cablevision (8 or 13) Cable America (48, 49, 65 or 96) Carr (212)
Cebridge (channel varies by location) Charter (88) City of Negaunee (51)
Coldwater CATV (95) CTS (46) Comcast (901 in most areas; 899 in some areas north and east of metro-Detroit)
D&P Cable (21) Edward Rose Properties (61) Parish Communications (24, 26, 97 or 98)
Southwest MI Communications (56) Springcom (50) T2TV (144)
TVC (97) Vogtmann Engineering (97) Westphalia (56)
WOW! (195) Wyandotte Municipal (134)
* All Listings Subject to Change or Availability