Pist Off

For once, someone other than Eminem is furious in Detroit. On Friday, four Pistons players skipped the team's shootaround and two more arrived late, supposedly in protest of coach John Kuester. Detroit made no moves before Thursday's trade deadline, even though two of the players who were absent -- Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince -- were expected to be dealt. As a result, Kuester dressed only six players for Friday's game, leaving him with less viable subs than a Jimmy John's. The squad became even further short-handed when Kuester was ejected from the game. A few of the punished players, such as Tracy McGrady and Ben Wallace were seen laughing so hard on the bench after Kuester was tossed, you'd think they were watch an episode of Chappelle's Show on T-Mac's ipad. Hamilton has barely seen action in 2011 and seems so frustrated that we wouldn't be surprised if he's the next Detroit athlete we see swigging scotch straight from the bottle.

Following this mutiny in the Motor City, the time has come for Kuester's ouster. When half of the team has tuned you out, including all of the members of the 2004 championship squad, who also happen to be well-respected veterans, you're being ignored like a Katherine Heigel movie and rightfully so. In his first year as coach, the Pistons failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons and they're on pace to miss the postseason again. The Pistons allege they are rebuilding, which is a theme for the city as a whole, but they really haven't started the process. A step in the right direction would've been to complete some transactions during the season, parting ways with the vets for prospects or draft picks, but they instead stood pat. That's not the coach's fault, but he's alienating people at a pace only Charlie Sheen can top at the moment.

Here's our nod to one of the lamer Super Bowl commercials: Dissatisfaction: Imported from Detroit. Even when the Pistons were contending for championships, they were never a luxury car, but now they're clearly a clunker. Kuester, a newbie as a head coach, is one reason. At least the city's residents can look forward to that RoboCop statue.