Detroit

Larry Brown will return to Detroit to coach at least one more game. His defending champion Pistons made sure of it. Detroit ensured that the Eastern Conference finals will last at least six games by defeating the Miami Heat, 106-96, last night in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series. The series is knotted at 2-2 heading into Game 5 tomorrow night in Miami. Game 6 will be Saturday on Detroit's court in what could be Brown's final home game as coach of the Pistons. Brown has met with the Cleveland Cavaliers about becoming their president of basketball operations, though he insisted yesterday he would like to continue coaching the Pistons if his health allows it. Earlier yesterday, Indiana Pacers vice president David Morway announced he is no longer a candidate to become Cleveland's general manager, furthering speculation that Brown could join the Cavaliers.

The Detroit Shock claimed their third WNBA title in six seasons yesterday, beating the San Antonio Silver Stars, 76-60, in Game 3. Detroit swept the league's best regular-season team, winning the clincher at Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, a venue forced upon them because of a scheduling conflict at their regular home, The Palace. For Katie Smith, the finals MVP, the win meant a league championship less than 2 months after she and her U.S. teammates took gold in Beijing.

Coach Dave Evans didn't want to use excuses for the Wings' 17-11 Major Indoor Lacrosse League loss at Detroit Saturday night. But the fact remains that approximately two-thirds of his team didn't arrive at the Joe Louis Arena until 20 minutes before the game's scheduled 8 p.m. start (the opening faceoff eventually was moved back until 8:20). "I flew with seven players out of Philly, and the other guys left from Baltimore, since they live closer to that airport," Evans said. "We got in fine, around noon, but their flight was delayed due to mechanical problems.

A Detroit Red Wings employee named Jessie deserves a bonus. Free agent Mark Howe probably would have signed with the Red Wings anyway. But when Howe walked into Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday and spotted Jessie, he knew he was making the right decision. "Jessie used to feed (Howe) at the old arena when he used to skate there when he was 9 or 10 years old," Ed Ferren, Howe's agent, said yesterday after Howe agreed to a two-year contract with the Red Wings. "It came down to (Howe)

Manny Legace doesn't play often, but when he does he wins. Detroit's backup goaltender stopped 36 shots for his seventh win without a loss this season as the Red Wings defeated visiting New Jersey last night, 4-2. Legace owns a 19-game unbeaten streak (17-0-2) over the last two years. "I can't explain it," said Legace, who is Dominik Hasek's backup and served that role behind Chris Osgood last season. "I'm just going out there and trying to compete and play. The stars have pointed down on me. " Detroit, 8-0-1 in its last nine, improved its NHL-best record to 22-3-1-1.

Charles Barkley hates to stick a pin in the Cleveland Cavaliers' balloon. But the Sixers' outspoken all-star forward believes Detroit is the team to beat in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Pop. The Cavs, who have cruised to a 55-21 record and trail the Pistons by only 2 1/2 games in the rugged Central Division, have captured the imagination of long- suffering fans in Ohio. But they failed to leave a lasting impression on Barkley last night after struggling past the Sixers, 92-90, in front of a crowd of 19,309 at Richfield Coliseum.

Sergei Fedorov's goal in the third extra round of the shootout last night gave the Columbus Blue Jackets a 2-1 win over host Detroit, Federov's former team. David Vyborny and Rick Nash also scored in the shootout for Columbus. Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary netted Detroit's shootout goals. Datsyuk scored in regulation and Chris Osgood made 29 saves for Detroit, which had Todd Bertuzzi in the lineup for the first time since he was acquired from Florida at last month's trade deadline.

The Persian Gulf is 8,000 miles away, but Mayor Coleman Young is taking no chances. Young yesterday asked Michigan Gov. John Engler to activate the state's National Guard to protect bridges and tunnels between Detroit and nearby Canada from terrorist attack. The mayor also said he had ordered a special police task force set up to watch for terrorist attacks on Detroit's water treatment plant and city bus system. Detroit and its suburbs are home to almost a quarter-million Arab- Americans, but the mayor did not say that was why he feared terrorist attacks.

His team is on the verge of either the greatest debacle or the greatest triumph in its history, but New York Rangers coach Mike Keenan didn't get a lot of questions about that when he met with reporters on the eve of tonight's Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final series. Instead, Keenan was asked about his travel plans. Reports that Keenan was poised to leave the Rangers at their moment of triumph (or despair) to become general manager and coach in Detroit have been gathering steam for a week or so. Yesterday, Keenan gave the hockey equivalent of the "Checkers" speech, portraying himself as a victim of malicious rumors, perhaps even sabotage by another organization.

Call this one the Fickle Finals. Two games into the Stanley Cup championship series, all signs pointed to a Red Wings redux. They might be older and more worn down than the youthful and energized Pittsburgh Penguins, but experience, guile and winning history seemed more than enough to carry Detroit to a repeat. At least that's how it played out last year. The Red Wings won the first two games in Detroit, split the next two in Pittsburgh, then wrapped up their 11th championship in six games.