Mike Ilitch owns the Red Wings. Mike Ilitch owns the Tigers. The Red Wings are in the Stanley Cup finals. The Tigers are in last place in the American League Central.
        “I’d say, right now, coach (Mike) Babcock is doing a pretty good job of saving our butts over here,” Jim Leyland quipped when asked what he thought Ilitch’s current view might be of his two big league sports teams.
        Leyland has dropped the puck at a Wings’ game and spent time with Babcock, discussing their respective sports. Leyland lives in Pittsburgh and has attended a few Penguins’ games during the off-season with former Tiger  Sean Casey, a Penguins’ season-ticket holder.
        Because Leyland lives in Pittsburgh and loves that city, which he says is like Detroit in a lot of ways, he now finds himself torn:
        Whom does he root for in the battle over Lord Stanley’s Cup? The Red Wings or his hometown Penguins?
        “That’s obviously a no-win situation for me,” Leyland admitted with a grin.
        “The correct political answer is,  I’m rooting for the guy who signs the checks.”