By Zachary Gorchow
President of Michigan Operations
Posted: October 11, 2013 2:55 PM

Watching Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander take a perfect game into the 6th inning and a no-hitter into the 7th in last night’s series-clinching victory over the Oakland A’s, I was reminded of one of the most disappointing moments that has happened to me as a sports fan.

About 12 hours earlier, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in a federal prison. Mr. Kilpatrick, who once dazzled Lansing as an up-and-coming state representative from 1997-2001, could remain in prison into his 70s, his apparently innate need to use the people’s government to enrich himself having destroyed his life.

A little more than six years ago, I was covering Wayne County government for the Detroit Free Press. I don’t remember exactly how I got involved in the story, but an interesting document was filed on June 12, 2007, in the U.S. District Court in Detroit in the criminal case against Jon Rutherford, the owner of a homeless shelter in Highland Park, that dealt with allegations Mr. Rutherford had illegally used the homeless shelter as a piggy bank for political causes, especially Team Kilpatrick.

Years later, Mr. Rutherford would plead guilty and ultimately testify against Mr. Kilpatrick as part of the corruption case against the former mayor. The very first whiff of corruption surrounding Mr. Kilpatrick occurred in 2001 when the Free Press reported that Mr. Rutherford had given Mr. Kilpatrick’s nonprofit fund $50,000 and weeks later Mr. Kilpatrick recommended (while a mayoral candidate and state rep) that the local mental health agency receive a $22.7 million contract, which Mr. Rutherford received.

Mr. Rutherford eventually, long after that 2007 court filing, would testify that he showered Mr. Kilpatrick and his father, Bernard, with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Today, none of this sounds surprising. But when that document surfaced in the U.S. District Court in 2007 indicating that the Internal Revenue Service was clearly investigating and showing that it was looking closely at Bernard Kilpatrick, it was one of the (I can’t remember if it was the) first major clues the feds’ investigation was trending toward the mayor, who at that point was on top of the world.

So I and the Free Press’ then-federal courts reporter, the outstanding David Ashenfelter, began working the story. Meanwhile, I had a ticket to that night’s Tigers game against the Brewers with JV on the mound.

Time was moving quickly, but the editors wanted the story for the front page, and I realized I was going to miss at least the beginning of the game. I notified my friends I would be late.

No big deal, I’ll get there by the 3rd or 4th inning, I thought.

But Verlander was mowing down the Brewers, allowing no hits, the game was moving fast and we were still tinkering with the story. The 5th, 6th and 7th innings flew by and I realized I was not going to make it to Comerica Park. The only question now was would Verlander complete the first no-hitter by a Tiger since 1984 and the first one at home since 1952.

The game was on television in the newsroom, and everyone else was cheering, but I was silently freaking out at what I was on the verge of missing. Finally, Verlander got J.J. Hardy to fly out to right, he had his no-hitter and everyone went crazy. I don’t remember exactly what I said or did, but if I had spoken, it probably would have involved the same word A’s pitcher Grant Balfour and Tigers DH Victor Martinez lovingly shouted at each other during a minor skirmish in game 3 of this year’s series.

The coup de grace was that the editors, rightfully of course, took Verlander’s no-hitter to the front page. Our story was bumped to the B section.

As Verlander was turning the A’s into mincemeat last night, the only thing ultimately that mattered was the Tigers winning and moving on to the American League Championship Series. But I have to admit, I was hoping he would get the no-hitter.

What a bizarre piece of symmetry that would have been hours after authorities marched Mr. Kilpatrick off to prison.