Necklace Gifts For Mom

Nothing makes more of a loving gift for mom than a necklace. Finding necklace gifts for mom for any occasion really makes it feel like you are getting her something special.

Usually the best are an engraved necklace, or with a photo makes the most sense. You can tell her how much you care with a special message and even put a memorable picture in a locket just to make her remember how special she is.

LIONS BEAT THE PACKERS!

WHOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

It has been so long since the Lions have won against the Pack that I can't even remember it. According to MLive the Lions had a 19 game NFC North losing streak alone. This doesn't give them their first road win in the last 25 years though.

It was a brutal game. Aaron Rodgers got hurt early on and the Lions had a chance! Matt Flynn was called upon to play in his place and he was terrible. Good news for us. The Lions defensive line dominated.

Our offense? Well besides rushing for 190 yards, they couldn't score. Only one TD, but it was enough to win in a 7-3 snorefest. Good enough and me thinking aobut something besides the cheap health insurance I was going to look for today.

The reality of the situation is this: Green Bay Packers receiver Greg Jennings had cornerback Nathan Vasher beat for a touchdown in the final minute of the game and, with a better throw, the Packers probably pull out a dramatic victory.

Crawford and AGone to Red Sox. Dunn to White Sox; Maggs Re-Sign Crucial

It's probably no surprise that I wanted them to re-sign Magglio Ordonez no matter what else happened. He's one of my favorite players and I think he gets way too much negative flack for being such an excellent hitter. He's not even a poor OFer by most standards, yet people ee what he made while he was here and like to cry.

Maggs is a huge reason this franchise came from being the worst in the league to competing every year. He has been one of our most productive hitters, and only Miguel Cabrera has been more of a force since he's been here.

So...we didn't get Dunn (who literally can't play OF and blows hard in the field), or Carl Crawford. Dunn we should ahve gotten 5 years ago. He's been available on and off forever and I've always wanted him, but I am not real upster we didn't get him. He doesn't really have a position on the team now except LF, and there is no way he would hold that spot.

Crawford is getting way more than a guy of his skill set deserves in my opinion. Guys with speed value almost always underperform their contracts. I'd love to have him, and I don't care about money since Illitch doesn't seem to, but I can also see him being an albatross about year 4, or 5 of that contract. Because he has a bit more power than most speed guys he definitely deserves more, but I am never comfortable with giving guys like him 5+ years. He's getting 7 at around $20 Million per years. You just don't give that to guys who rely on speed so much. Power guys you can still get production out of at 37-38 years old. Once a speed guy loses that he's way overpaid.

That being said, Illitch isn't a penny pincher so having all these guys doesn't exactly worry me.

You have to get Maggs back though. People seriously underestimate the impact that Victor Martinez is going to have here. With him, Maggs, and Miggy in the middle of the line up we are going to be a run producing force. Laird is no longer here, Paralta is an upgrade at SS, Scott Sizemore looks like he might be improved, and AJax you never know. We're out LF and RF right now so Maggs is someone you can't screw around with. We NEED him back. We really don't wnat to depend on Guillen having to play LF, or even 2B really. We may end up signing someone that is selling Polaris Sportsman ATV Parts if we don't act soon.

We're a long ways away obviously, but if we get Maggs I think our offense is plenty good enough to compete for the division. The pitching is all that matters. Coke needs to have a solid year, Porcello needs to take the next step, and so does Scherzer. All while Verlander has a Cy Young type season. Just like any other year, A LOT needs to go right.

Can My Fantasy Team Get Any Better?

This is my first brag post about my fantasy football team this year. I have waited long enough. This team is so outstanding it should be given an award.

It all started with the draft. This league is a 2 player keeper league, and everyone in it is so in love with WRs that they drop top 10 players just to keep one. Everyone in the league (8 teams) kept a RB and a WR. I had Drew Brees and decided to drop him so I could keep Gore and Roddy White.

We drafted the second week of pre-season, but I had my sights set on Arian Foster as my #2 RB the entire way. I planned to take him in the 5th or 6th round since I doubted anyone else would because his hype machine hadn't started yet. I ended up taking him in the 5th as I planned and he was my first RB taken after keeping Gore.

The rest of the league hasn't had to click here to lose weight yet since they have been chasing me all the way through.

Besides getting Foster in the draft I got Phillip Rivers the #1 QB so far in the 4th round. I have also been able to acquire Steve Johnson out of the FA pool, as well as just trading for Jacob Tamme the TE that replaced Dallas Clark. Like everyone else I was killed at TE with an injury since I had Jermichael Finley.

Feast your eyes on this (.5 points per reception):

QB-P. Rivers
RB-A. Foster
RB-F. Gore
WR-R. White
WR-S. Johnson
WR-W. Welker
W/RB-Miles Austin
TE-J. Tamme

Bench:

B. Roethlisberger
J. Addai
Vincent Jackson
D. Branch
B. Jackson
Ronnie Brown

I pretty much can only trade for a better WR. Miles Austin has dumped big time with Kitna at QB so I am pretty much relegated to benching him now when Addai comes back. Hopefully VJax becomes a nice boon this late in the year.

The Annual "Take the Thanksgiving Game Away From Detroit" Post

I didn't hear much of it this year. Not like it was last year anyways. The Lions have a little bit of confidence from the national guys so far this year at least so they laid off a little I think. While they are the most undisciplined team in the NFL, and they couldn't finish a game if their lives depended on it, they are at least considered "watchable" this season apparently.

I think that has ended for me this year. They are to circus-mode for me. All games are just a giant laugh out loud comedy extravaganza for me going forward. That started last Sunday when they lost to Dallas. That punt they tried to down inside the 5 that turned into a Dallas TD wasn't even where it started to sink in that it was circus-time for me either.

The very first drive of the game the switch flipped. When Dallas had the ball around the 1-2 yard line and one of our interior defensive linemen jumped offsides while looking directly at the ball for the 20th time this year I knew it was time to let go. I tried to pretend it wasn't that big a deal, but when they drove the entire length of the field on that drive for a TD with Jon Kitna at the helm I began to do something else and only check back in for a laugh. You can't even give me enough male enhancement products to make me feel like a man rooting for the Lions now.

Michigan Stinks, Michigan State Will Get Shaft As B10 Champs

Oh how things change in 5 years. Michigan under Lloyd Carr was still elite. They may not have ever been able to beat Ohio State, but they were perennial contenders for the B10 title, and everyone said he was too conservative. In comes Rich Rodriguez with his "new offense" and Michigan is a disaster for his entire time here. Sure they have a high scoring offense this year, but they have the WORST defense in the history of the school.

MSU was always the middle of the pack team that Michigan should guarantee a win from 3/4 time. Now I doubt Michigan will beat them again for 5 more years. MSU fans have found a fountain of anti aging products for their program.

MSU has had a great year. Only 1 loss on the road to Iowa. They even beat #5 ranked Wisconsin, but they will end up ranked lower than Wisconsin when all is said and done. Wisconsin beat Ohio State when they were #1, and they also have beaten Iowa, BUT they lost to MSU. Both OSU and Wisconsin are ranked above MSU right now.

It all comes down to the rankings and the rankings are wrong. When you lose to someone and have the same record it should not be possible to be ranked higher than they are. Wisconsin will be in the top 4 by the end of the say. Maybe higher. MSU may squeak into the top 8 or so, but that doesn't mean much for them and the B10 title.

Spoof: Michael Jordan's Response To Lebron James Commercial

I'm not sure if you could call this a spoof really as they are both real commercials, but this is an excellent editing job. After we were all "witness" the the Lebron James circus announcement press conference we all lost a little respect for him. HE looked like a giant douche, and while I don't fault him for moving on to Miami (who are 9-7 only so far this year) and taking up with the next Dream Team, I still think he looked like a tool with his whole act.

Shortly after he signed, Lebron had a Nike commercial in which he talked about how hard everything is and how people are mean to him. At least that is what I got out of it. If you haven't seen it decide for yourself here.

Now someone has taken an old Michael Jordan commercial and spliced it together with that LEbron commercial. Basically this guy gives Lebron a full colon cleanse without even kissing him first.




Here's a quote from a Youtube user I like:

"If Lebron James starred in Space Jam 2, he would leave the Toon Squad for the Monstars in the middle of the movie."

Another Addition To Lions Injury Pool

Running Back Kevin Smith was put on the IR earlier today after having surgery on his broken thumb. Smith seemed to be a bit more productive to me watching the games than Best has been. He actually got plays called for him that made any sort of sense and made the most of his time out there while Best got to run the same left outside run 15 times in a row for 1 yard per carry if he was lucky. Smith also looked pretty good as a pass catcher this year as well.

Smith has had an injury plagued career here in Detroit just like other toys we have that plays on offense and has any relevance. Most will blame the O-Line for this of course. Every RB we've had since Barry has been an injury waiting to happen. Before Kevin Smith it was Kevin Jones that we traded up to get and he spent half his time injured. Best I'm sure is headed down the same path.

The Lions decided that Stafford doesn't need surgery this year somehow and hope to get him back this year to maybe try and win one more game.

Just another lost season where we get nothing. Our QB isn't developing because he's a Joe Glass, we lose starters left and right. I knew coming in we didn't have much depth, but we always lose the guys we need. Stafford was all that matters and his season is a colossal FAILURE.

Tigers Close to Signing Joaquin Benoit According To Morossi

Nice to see us picking up a RP since Coke is going to the rotation most likely and you can't count on Zoom at all. Still not all that easy to depend on RPs year to year to decide if they will make the grade.

Benoit had a spectacular season last year with the Rays. He was fifth in the American League in holds (25), and he struck out 75 batters in 60 1/3 innings with a 1.34 ERA and a microscopic 0.69 WHIP.

Problem is that he missed all of 2009 from rotator cuff surgery, but obviously he is doing alright with it since he had such a great year.

In other news the Marlins got bent over once again trading Dan Uggla for our very own Omar Infante and RP Mike Dunn. You heard that right. A low end starter and a RP for the only guy in MLB history to hit 30+ HRs 4 years in a row at 2B while still being at the age he needs acne treatments. Clearly we could not match it.

People claim it was his contract demands. Duh...Florida pays no one. Tigers would have sheeled out a new deal I'm quite sure and not even blinked, however.

It's the Discipline Idiots

Watching the Lions play football is like watching a bunch of juvenile delinquents sitting in detention. You know why they are there. Their parents are terrible and the teachers and parents don't bother to give them any discipline. Instead they just ignore the problem.

Well...this is exactly what the coaching staff for the Detroit Lions does on a weekly basis. Penalties? No problem. Missed tackles? Great game, kid. Keep on reading that hydroxatone review and don't worry 'bout it.

This franchise is the king of not giving a crap about accountability. From the coaching staff making excuses every week for themselves and the players, to the players acting like their boneheaded play was just a fluke.

This team will never be good because there is no accountability for poor, or stupid play. What normally happens to a guy when he gets flagged for a game changing penalty more than once? The Coach pulls his ass out of the game and makes him an example. No matter who it is. In Detroit we just pretend it didn't happen because we're trying to win and our depth sucks! Nobody is worried about any of the consequences of being a bonehead, nor for missing 10 tackles a week. They don't need to be. Nothing is going to happen to them.

GO LIONS!

Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, Jayson Werth, Dan Uggla, Victor Martinez, and even Ryan Braun

These are the names that have come up during the off season for the Detroit Tigers. Ryan Braun was mentioned as being on the block in Milwaukee, although him being traded is ridiculous so we'll squash that right away and forget about that amazing dream.

All the rest though? It seems that at leas tone of these will come true. It appears that Victor MArtinez is the one that most feel we will end up with. Rumors of Dan Uggla being traded also have perked up a few ears. They always sill considering that we absolutely raped Florida to get Miguel Cabrera a few years ago. This was even more evident this week when Florida traded away both Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin for a fraction of what they cost just to get rid of them.

Carl Crawford is the main prize here, but with NY, Boston, and the LAA Angels in the mix odds are very slim we get involved in this bidding war.

That means we likely get MV-Mart and MAYBE, one of the other guys sitting there.

Of course we still aren't being rumored for any pitchers, which we all know is what is the make, or break. Still...replacing Avila in the line up everyday, and maybe adding another guy like Werth makes us a hell of a lot better. Getting Uggla makes us a very HR friendly IF.

Hopefully the hype of the off season has a payoff this year. Illitch is getting way too old to be conservative and will likely open up his rfid blocking wallet and go for it all the next couple years once again.

Pistons Back to Losing Ways

Certainly, I wasn't expecting much out of our beloved Pistons this year. I have not been disappointed at all since I honestly had no expectations of finishing outside the lottery with the team currently assembled. T-Mac wasn't exactly a signing that made me think we were going anywhere.

So...they start 0-3 and after the opener I kind of missed the next 2. They blew a game they lead by 7 with under 2 minutes left and got an 11-0 run put up on them. A game easily won, and just as easily pissed away apparently.

Hey at least the Lions won today and I got my landscape lights put in.

Calvin Says: "Welcome Back Matthew Stafford!"

I'm sure you have spent many a Sunday afternoon asking yourself why the hell Calvin isn't getting the damn ball. Maybe Stafford was asking himself the same thing because he and Calvin hooked up for 3 TDs of Stafford's 4 on the day to pull out their second win of the year against the Redskins.

Looks like the 'Skins are the only team Detroit can beat consistently. One of their wins last year came against the hapless Redskins, and only their 2nd this year came against them as well.

So...Stafford is back. Rusty as hell int he first half, and still a bit so in the 2nd, but he pulled it together and made the plays they needed when the game was on the line. Oh yeah and Calvin did too. Put on your commercial pumps and celebrate.

Suh was a monster, and looking like the easy DROY choice in the NFL this year. 2 sacks and a fumble return for a TD. Of course he looked like an idiot returning the D trying to showboat and nearly losing the ball. Starting to wonder if he doesn't have too much dumbass in him.

Miami All-Stars Back in the Game, Lebron Says, Hi

When you can't seem to get anything done as a team just remind yourself that you are Lebron and you played with high school kids for 5 years already and you are decent at basketball. Now midway through the 4th quarter the mighty Heat Dynasty (it better be) has whittled it down to about 5 points and we have a bit of a real game here.

Miami still looks lost. Bosh not shooting 65% all year is a crime. Dude should never have any coverage on him. Every time Lebron, or Wade touch the ball he should be open for a 12 footer when slipping out of the lane. Any pick and roll the dude will never get followed. HE will be able to get cherry picker put backs every game. I wouldn't be shocked if he shot 70% this year.

The Celtics at home are probably the toughest game they have this year so if they can pull this out you know things are gonna get ugly for the rest of the league. Maybe Delonte and his acne pill will take it out on Lebron's mom.

Miami All-Stars Era Begins

After a half of basketball all of the haters have seen what they want. A giant cluster**** of one on one ball with Lebron, Wade, and Bosh looking clueless as to how to run an offense together. The Celtics dominating them on defense. The Heat with no shooters. The Heat deciding that double teams aren't even gonna stop them from trying to shoot. Passing? Get outta here.

At the half they were down double digits and midway through the 3rd are still down 15 and nothing is changing. They actually came out in the 2nd half and tried to post up Bosh. HE was double teamed and lost the ball on the first possession. Only way they can score is to get fouled at this point. It's really embarrassing.

There are 3 of these guys so at most 2 should be standing around gawking. This isn't MJ out there playing by himself. These guys need a dose of glucosamine chondroitin & msm to kill the pain.

Worst Week of NFL Ever?

Week 7, 2010 to me may go down as the most boring, and terrible week of NFL football ever. Not only did the Lions have the week off, but EVERY single game was a borefest. Looking at the schedule I couldn't find a single game I would rather watch than apply acne rosacea treatment on my unmentionables. Oddly enough the most exciting game I ended up watching was Baltimore vs the 0-5 BUFFALO BILLS.

The sad part about this was that I realized just how many awful teams there are out there and that the Lions being 1-5 is so laughable it isn't even laughable. Let's look at all hose teams that hovered around the Lions in the draft this year to see how they ahve fared so far. It is depressing.

St. Louis Rams: 3-4 (we beat them 44-6!)
Tampa Bay Bucs: 4-2
KC Chiefs: 4-2
Cleveland Browns: 2-5
Oakland Raiders: 4-3
Seattle Seahawks: 4-2

The only team we beat so far even has 3 wins and we are 1-5. Much improved folks.

Man, Detroit Sports Are Kind of "Meh" Right now

No hope for the Lions. No hope for the Pistons. I don't care about hockey. The Tigers are done, and the only news out of that clubhouse is that Brandon Inge has been re-signed to re-establish his Tiger For Life title.

If you don't like hockey what do you have? The Tigers are the only other team that even has a chance. We don't even have a superstar on the Pistons to watch every night. It's abysmal. We have T-Mac 5 years after he was good. We have 2 starting SGs that shouldn't be on the same team. We have no real center. Big Ben is about 40. Stuckey isn't a real PG.

The Lions have more penalties than points most likely. They have ONE win in Week 7.

What are we doing? Somebody get good please. I need it. It is my life's blood. I must have one of these teams win something worth a damn at all times. If I have to pretend I like hockey one more basketball season I will alli kick a hole in my TV.

Things to do on Bye Week

If you are a Lions fan "Bye Week" is usually a wake up call. You get to reflect on how dreadful the team is and watch other teams play. You quickly realize that your team is a bunch of clowns and the other NFL teams actually have a clue. It is usually the point where blind homers finally realize that the Lions are just a joke, and will remain one. acne treatment review

Here are the top 5 things to do on Bye Week:

1. Watch a real game.
2. Take the week off and pretend you have a family you WANT to spend time with.
3. Watch Replays of Stafford vs. Cleveland last season.
4. Watch Barry Sanders highlights.
5. Drink all day and forget about everything. Celebrate the Lions not losing.

Lions Finally Win! Beat Down Rams 44-6!

After that 0-4 start I was ready to fire everyone from Mayhew to the guy that vacuums Ford Field to the lady that probalby teaches parents how to produce more breast milk in the kid zone. I'm still not overly excited, but when you put a beat down on any NFL team 44-6 you have to be at least somewhat excited.

Everything went the Lions way Sunday,a nd they played great on top of it. They even got a long awaited Kick Return for a TD from Seth Logan. Something that in and of itself is a huge deal since it feels like it has been about 5 years since the Lions even took a return past mid-field. Logan even followed it up by making the tackle on the ensuing kickoff. Talk about ST clutch.

The Lions opened it the hell up this week and actually played like they were trying to win for the first time this year on the play calling front. It was very refreshing to see them go for it all day. Calvin has been superb the last couple weeks and has played exactly how we all hoped he would if given the chance. Throw him the ball 20+ times a game. No exceptions dammit.

Most surprisingly to me so far this year though has been the decent play of the corner backs of Houston, and the ballhawk Alphonso Smith (amazing video at end). While i'm not sure either of these guys are a long-term solution at starter, I feel they have both played much better than most give them credit for.

Fans tend to just lump them in with "the back 7" and say they all suck and need to be replaced. C.C. Brown has been a much bigger cause of this than anything, as well as the piss poor tackling of everyone involved giving up huge gains. Spivey looks to be the next SS to replace the horrid Brown, but he has a ways to go. He was drafted to play CB, but Gunther pegged him as a safety immediately, and they are going to try to make that happen.

Shaun Hill has played incredible backing up Stafford. He is turning out to be one of Mayhew's best offseason moves to this point. He makes great decisions, and anticipates well. HE really only gets in trouble because he has a noodle arm. He forgets his arm isn't that strong at times and makes some bad throws into traffic that he should never attempt.

We should all enjoy this one because we aren't going to see this type of win again for a long time I don't think. They may be turning a corner, but we must remember this is just the lowly Rams. Bradford looked all the rookie, and the loser I thought he was yesterday, and that team looks terrible still.

The only thing we can talk about negatively this week is the continued lack of discipline on the penalty front. They had 3 offsides penalties in the first half and are in no threat of falling out of their top 5 penalty yards a game standard for the year.

On aside not: For any Facebook users out there I created a group for us disgruntled Lions fans a couple weeks back and it is open to anyone. People joining is slow, but I am willing to keep at it to grow the group as big as possible. If you wnat to join you are more than welcome. Just go to Lions: Kool Aid and Cornbread to join the group.

And here's the Alphonso Smith as Carlton Banks:

Guess What Lions Fans...Lions Still SUCK

Last week I read a lot on MLive after the game because I was so disgusted by their performance against Minnesota. Just wanted to see Favre knocked out of the game so bad and that bastard just kept getting back up. We love to play just good enough now to make it look like we have a chance, but our coach can't get these guys disciplined enough to stop shooting themselves in the foot every time it actually matters.

Whiel on MLive I saw all the same signs that has plagued the fans this season. "If you can't see vast improvement in this team you are blind, or stupid.". Get some pills to lose weight you fat idiots. This was the underlying theme from most fans last week. I'm sure it is this week too, and probably even moreso since they actually had a prayer of knocking off Green Bay IN Green Bay on Sunday. Of course their defense decided to become the Lions defense in the final 5 minutes and give up.

Let me spell this out for you real clear. The Lions are 0-4! They have not won a game. Schwartz is 2-18 as the Lions head coach. Millen has been gone for 2 years. Mayhew has had 2 drafts. he has taken literally less than 5 players in those 2 drafts that are worth a dam.

Let me explain something else to you die hards. The NFL isn't the same as it was 0 years ago. You can't take 5 years to rebuild a franchise. You have a 3 year window. That's all you get gentlemen. If you can't make the playoffs in 3 years from any record you have the wrong people running things. We are getting pretty damn close to this 3 year window closing already. IF the Lions had improved they would be NO WORSE than 2-2 right now. This doesn't even include the screw job in Chicago. Philly should ahve been a win, and they absolutely DOMINATED Green Bay in everything. Sadly, that also included penalty yards.

This team will not win. This is not turning around. We are no going anywhere.

Of course we all need to keep on dreamin' so I made the Detroit Lions: Kool Aid and Cornbread Facebook group last week and you are all free to join.

Miguel Cabrera Says He Wants Maggs Back Next Year

Hard to argue with him if you are the owner considering he is basically one of the top 5-10 hitters int eh game right now. I expect Maggs to be back next year anyways. Illitch loves the guy, and an endorsement from Miggy is probably plenty to get the deal done.

Maggs is one of my favorite players and he can clearly still hit, so re0-signing him and Damon aren't really things I am against doing in the off season. Now getting rid of Guillen on the other hand...well we have another year of him being injured I guess. If his only problem was a need for home remedies for blackheads it wouldn't be so bad, but we all know he'll be out half the year no matter what his status.

NFL's Ridiculous Reception Rules On Display Once Again In Detroit

While the Lions lost this week on their own accord, we all saw around the nation the loss last week due to officials not knowing the rulebook. We have been treated to the new catchphrase "process" from everyone and their brother all week, while anyone that actually took the time to read the 3 LINE rule about the play would notice that "process" is never used once. Where did this mysterious "process" come from?

Like clockwork, the idiot sidekick in the announcer booth this week threw out the term within seconds of a catch that if you watched Calvin Johnson's catch enough you know is now an incomplete pass. Why? It is an incomplete pass because the NFL referees last week got a call wrong and the league is filled with cowards that won't admit a mistake.

Very early in the game Sunday of the Lions and Eagles a Philly WR made a catch, got two feet down, butt hit the ground with control, and then it popped out. Called a reception on the field, Schwartz of course challenged it because guess what...if it wasn't a catch last week it sure as hell better not be one this week. HE'd take off his slimming body wrap and show you my belly before he'd let that slide.

So up to the review box once again to review what a week ago would have been just a normal play. The announcers start throwing around the word "process" on cue as we watch it get reviewed. This guy clearly doesn't understand the rule at all. He's just throwing crap against the wall because it is ingrained in his head after hearing about it

Guess who else decides to grace us with their presence again this week? That's right...the same douchebag retired NFL official that told us all about the "process" of Calvin Johnson's catch and why what was clearly a catch was not. Was it an easy call for him when he viewed the catch? Surely it should have been. It was more clear cut than the one he so adamantly protested the week before. Of course not. His entire tune changed this week and he basically said it was a catch. What? Of course they are in Detroit and if this didn't get overturned there was going to be hell to pay. Officials came out and called it incomplete while clearly it was also a catch.

After all was said and done the idiot announcer that was so quick to say "process" and try to explain the rule and why it wasn't a catch began to say that he wasn't sure it was incomplete after all. The other announcer even chimed in heading to the commercial break by throwing a "controversial calls" jab in. Nobody has any idea what it takes to complete a pass in the NFL anymore.

Yes folks, there is a moral to this story. As you can see from the way the NFL has given us a rule that is ruining the game right before our eyes they did it for one reason, and one reason alone. They aren't willing to admit they made a mistake. They have stuck to their guns all week, and continue to insult us with this rule once again. Of course this rule will show up all year and by the time the playoffs come it will be standard. Who is willing to be that the Super Bowl is lost on this rule?

Michael Vick IS the Best QB Ever

At least you would seem to think so watching the Lions/Eagles game yesterday. It's bad enough being a Lions fan and watching them lose close, and not so close games every week, but it really grinds on you to listen to the announcers every single week talk about an opposing player like he is the second coming of Tim Tebow.

Every week it is the same. A giant slurp fest for someone. I'm not sure if these guys noticed, but when you play the Lions you are probably going to have at worst an above average game. Average players looks like stars week after week. They are no pro bowlers and HOF-type players gracing us with their presence, their herpes simplexes, and I don't want to hear about how great they are every week when I know for a fact they are not.

The context in which these morons discuss the game is mindless drivel. While everyone knows the media is ridiculous, just watch a Lions game once in a while and you will begin to see just how awful the announcers are during these games. Not only do we get the lowest rated announcers on any station that shows our games, they all have some sort of super hero friend on the other team. Oh BTW...these announcers talk to every single player during the week for at least 2 hours usually. Personally mind you because they tell us that they do. I wasn't aware that all the NFL teams gave 53 players 2 hours a week of free time t talk to the announcers of their next game. 106 hours a week. Clearly this is important stuff.

Tigers Sweep the White Sox

After holding onto first place all the way up until the day before the All-star break, the Tigers took to losing after losing Maggs for the season in the 2nd half. Never really getting back in it after the AS break, the Tigers have hovered around .500 most of the second half and have been out of contention for a couple months now.

Chicago went on a huge run leading up to the AS break and made a nice run at the division before literally falling a part over the last month to give way to none other than the Minnesota Twins. They went out and got a little help with Manny Ramirez to try and seal the deal last month, but couldn't ever get back to the top. Minnesota swept them last week to all but end their hopes, and Detroit finished them off this weekend with another 3 game sweep.

Tigers fans have little to cheer for at this point in the season, and probalby could better spend their time at coloncleanseresearch.com, but at least we have a few things to still keep an eye on. Two f the guys we got in the Granderson trade are still of note as the season winds down. Max Scherzer has shown after a rocky start that he indeed has a nice future in Detroit with some fantastic performances the last few months. Super rookie, Austin JAckson is still one of the front runners for the Rookie of the Year award, but should be the leader for it. His only real competition is a rookie closer from Texas, which if you asked me is a ridiculous position to give major awards to.

We still have Miggy Cabrera to enjoy every night as well. While the fall in the standings probably ended his MVP run for the season he still has had an MVP type year for the Tigers. It's nice to know that we have one of the best hitters in baseball to watch every time we want to catch a game and that he is going to be here for quite a long time to come.

Lions Lose Another One In the Final Minutes

We all remember last week when the Lions got robbed of a win by the officials on Calvin Johnson's clear TD reception. This week it was the Lions' own fault they didn't walk away with a win.

In the early going the Lions had good control of the game when they jumped out to a 17-7 lead. Then they decided that they didn't want to try and play defense, OR offense anymore for about 2.5 quarters.

Philly ended up taking the lead into halftime at 21-17 and continued the onslaught as they ended a 28-0 run to go up 35-17 in the 4th quarter.

One major play in the game was in the 3rd quarter where the Lions were down 28-17 and tried to run it up the guy on 3rd down and were stopped. In FG range they could have just kicked the FG to make it a 1 score game, but decided to try their luck and run it up the gut again. They failed and left 3 points on the field.

Philly came back to put up another TD and the Lions went down 18 with about 6 minutes to play. They bounced back with an 85 yard TD drive in just over 2 minutes to get within 11.

After a defensive stand they marched down again and scored, adding a 2 point conversion to put themselves within just 3 with under 2 minutes to play. Making Philly sweat a little and seeking acne treatment. They recovered an onside kick and were in a great position to try and send the game into OT, but failed on 4 straight plays to complete a pass.

Positve of the game was that Jahvid Best had a MONSTER game for the Lions. He picked up 78 yards on the ground to go with 9 catches for 154 yards. He also score 3 TDs to bring his season total up to 5 through 2 games.

The Lions had a lot of chances once again to win this one, but couldn't play a complete game once again. They fell a sleep for almost 2.5 quarters and by the time they woke up it was too late.

Michigan Has a Little Trouble With UMass

Michigan is all over the national media because of Denard "Shoelace" Robinson now this year. With good reason as he combined for nearly 900 total yard from scrimmage through his first 2 games against UConn and Notre Dame. Today he got to face another of the cupcakes on U of M's early schedule in UMass. He still put up some stats, but Michigan's Achilles heel continues to be their porous defense.

Game was close at halftime, but the Wolverines took a 35-17 lead into the 4th quarter and looked well on their way to a 3-0 start to the season and fans dancing in the streets in sexy adult costumes. they even added 7 more to go up 42-17 early in the 4th. Then they were fighting for their lives by the end of it. UMass took 2 turnovers into the end zone (one after getting the ball on Michigan's 25) and orchestrated another 70+ yard drive to put 20 4th quarter points on the board.

Thankfully, they were able to hold off the 30 point charge and finish off with a win, but everyone that has watched them so far this year knows that their defense is brutal. Robinson could go for 600 yards against the likes of Ohio State and they still wouldn't be able to win the game at this point.

NFL Starts This Week!

Finally after it feels like 5 years since the last NFL game we are going to get to see NFL football again this Sunday in Detroit. People are a bit optimistic for the season this year with improvements seen in Stafford and the drafting of guys like Best, but we all know our team is just not gonna be that good because the defense sucks.

That doesn't mean we can't be excited about what the season brings. Even though our team has been awful for a decade I NEVER miss a game. That is just how damn entertaining the NFL really is to me, and how hardcore of a Detroit homer I am for all our teams. OF course it helps that I have become quite apathetic towards it all since it has been so long since I've seen the glory days of Barry Sanders and the Wayne Fontes era.

I have my home theater all set up for the big opening game and will be quite happy to start watching once again.

Athletes and Fans Opiate Addicts?

There is no better example of opiate addiction than some of the popular athletes of today. Brett Favre tops the list as the most well known a celebrity to have an addiction to the pain medication vicodin. I can say with certainly how easy it is for many to get addicted to such medications simply because of how easy it is to get a quick buzz off of them.

If you have an addictive personality already, it would not shock me in the least if any of these prescription meds found their way into your daily routine. Athletes get them with ease due to the amount of nagging injuries they have. Especially football players who take a beating on a weekly basis and most likely have many long-term chronic pain afflictions.

The main benefit for professional athletes who have the money is that when they finally decide they are addicted they have many choices for rehab, while a many of us would have a long painful road to kicking the habit. Many people say it is harder to quit these drugs than many of the harder drugs that people get addicted to, and I can understand why. That is why finding a rapid opiate detox system would be incredibly helpful for anyone that really wants to quit.

Badonkadonk Suh Fined $7,500 For Preseason Hit on Delhomme

Hey, I'm not going to try and say that it is possible he deserved a fine, I still loved the play. Who care about Jake Delhomme? I know I don't. Neither should you because he doesn't play for the Lions.

Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been fined $7,500 for this roughing of Cleveland Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme in last week's preseason game.

Suh actually committed three personal fouls on one play – facemask, illegal blow to the head and driving the quarterback to the ground. Browns backup quarterback Seneca Wallace said afterward that Suh should be suspended for his actions. Be careful Seneca, or he'll tie you to his thule roof rack and display you like a prized buck.

For his part, Suh was hardly remorseful, explaining that he thought Delhomme still had the ball and was trying to cause a fumble: "It's not my job to really worry about whether I hit a guy too hard or not."

I agree. You win this round Suh.

Is Stafford Ready to Be the Franchise?

I don't know about you, but watching this preseason I have been incredibly impressed with how much better Stafford has looked. He seems to be much more accurate, makes quicker decisions, and makes smart decisions.

People will balk and say "grumble grumble it is only preseason", but you can't deny that his progress looks impressive. Week 3 of the preseason was the big game where most starters get a little over a half of PT. Stafford looked fantastic with a QB rating of 120. That's about equivalent to the QB rating opposing offenses had against our D last year, and probably similar this season. I'm sure our DBs will need a roadside assistance club after getting their wheels blown off every week.

Let's just say I'm a bit excited to watch what Stafford does this year and the addition of Best isn't too shabby either.

Pistons Sign Tracey McGrady to a 1-Yeat Deal at Vet Minimum

As if the Pistons haven't done enough to secure the future of the franchise, they pull another huge move and sign T-Mac to a 1-year $1.3 million deal. Yes. That was sarcasm.

In another worthless move that is sure to produce nothing, the Pistons sign the oft-injured, has been, choker, T-Mac to a one-year deal in which he says he will accept a role off the bench.

The Pistons significant moves this year so far are: oh wait they haven't made any. Actually signing anyone at this point feels like getting hit by a stun guns as weak as the team has been since trading away Chauncey Billups.

Clearly not on anyone's list of dream destinations of the 2010-2011 NBA season, Detroit signed a guy nobody else wanted and hope that he can play more than 30 games before he is injured again.

35-47 here we come!

Suh Signs After 4 Day oldout

The Lions have everyone signed and everyone is happy. I guess except some whiny fans that don't understand contracts at all, and people that think athletes owe them something. Put on your running shoes and go to the ball losers.

According to reports, Suh will sign a five-year deal with a guarantee of $40 million. According to sources, the maximum for the contract is $68 million.

That contract, based on average, would eclipse the six-year, $41.7 million deal (in guaranteed money) that quarterback Matthew Stafford signed last year as the first overall pick.

Lion's President Tom Lewand Suspended 30 Days and Fined $100K By NFL

So...he actually got something for blowing a 0.20(!) while driving a car. I'm really amazed they did anything to him. They don't typically do anything to front office types that break the law in sports.

In a letter sent to Lewand, Goodell wrote, "You occupy a special position of responsibility and trust and -- as you have publicly acknowledged -- your conduct must be consistent with someone in that position. As we have discussed, those who occupy leadership positions are held to a higher standard of conduct that exceeds what is ordinarily expected of players or member of the general public.

"I commend you for your candor, your willingness to accept responsibility and your publicly stated recognition that this incident affects the reputation of the Lions and the NFL."

Lewand's suspension will begin Aug. 25, and he will not be able to represent the Lions at league meetings. He also will be barred from being present at the Lions' facilities, attending games and representing the Lions publicly other than at specified community service activities focused on alcohol abuse and safe driving.

Any other organization they might care and would have reprimanded him before Goodell had to. He'd probably be doing purchase order financing in many organizations, but Ford didn't really even care.

Tigers Trade For Jhonny Peralta: He Hits 2HRs in Debut

Jhonny Peralta wasn't exactly a guy I was excited about acquiring. I mean the Tigers are probably beyond help at this point. As soon as Maggs went down the season took a bitter turn from some hope to hopeless in my opinion.

We traded some pitcher from the Whitecaps to the Indians for him and he got his first start at 3B tonight in place of the injured Brandon Inge. He went on to blast 2 HRs in his Tiger debut and led the team to a 6-5 win over Boston and the great Jon Lester of all people. He finished 3-4 with 3 RBIs. iphone 4 insurance

Yeah it was 6-1 until Valverde came in in the 9th and gave up 4ERs and almost blew the game. Surely that will be some great fuel for Boston to go on and take the rest of the series.

Ho hum...this season doesn't look like much the rest of the way now. Rumor is the White Sox are after Adam Dunn pretty hard, and that just pisses me off. We could have signed, or traded for him a dozen times over the years and they will get him. Drives me mad.

Armando Glarraga and Jim Joyce Present and Award Together At ESPYs

Armand o Galarraga pitched one of the best perfect games in history earlier this year. The problem was that it didn't count. He was forced to get 28 perfect outs because umpire Jim Joyce blew an obvious call for the final out of the game at 1st base.

The rage of many was substantial, and you couldn't help but feel sorry for Armando and his loss of a perfect game on such an awful call. If you have any heart at all you had to feel a little bit bad for Joyce as well. He was the umpire of the game the next night and came out to take the line up card with tears in his eyes. He has apologized hundreds of times, and Armando has been a class act about it all the way.

At least we got the win in this game right? Not nearly as bad as that screwjob against Atlanta a couple weeks ago where we had the bases loaded down 1 run when ball 4 was called a strike. It was almost a foot off the plate. grrrrr....makes me want to chug the most effective fat burners and rage.

Anyways, Joyce and Armando give out an award at the ESPY's together. It starts around the 4 minute mark.

Tigers Second Half Begins In Second Place

It isn't a shocker that the Tigers couldn't fend off the White Sox before the AS break. The Sux are the hottest team in baseball and erased an 8.5 game deficit to hop over both the Twins and the Tigers in the final game of the first half like weight loss products.

While the Tigers were playing well enough to put some space between the Twins, they were not even close to what the Sux had done. Winning at over a .900 WP% over the last 30 or so games going into the break.

Steve Kornacki of MLive talks about what they need to do going forward to win the division.

Chicago White Sox Will Never Lose Another Game

First place for the Tigers is about as safe as a baby in a Tiger cage. While they ARE in first place, it won't be for long. The Chicago White Sox have won 21 of 26 and refuse to lose again. With 38 losses so far this year their final record is going to be 124-38 and they will win the division by at least 35 games.

Today, the Tigers are trying to pull off a rare sweep of the Minnesota Twins. A series in which the Twins came in with a taxed bullpen, Justin Mourneu sitting out with a concussion, and today no Joe Mauer who probalby is chilling out reading apidexin reviews. You think they have a chance?

Through 4 innings Carl Pavano, who owns the AL Central, and the Tigers in particular has a perfect game. The Tigers haven't even made tit look like he is going to be challenged. First place was nice, but it is over now.

Cliff Lee Traded to Texas Rangers

GREAT news for us Tigers fans. I don't consider the Rangers a threat to anyone so him going there was the best possible scenario for us. Not to the Twins.

Now...are we in the mix for anyone ourselves? Rumors have been around the last month, or so, and seem to be getting louder this week that we may be into something with Arizona. We've heard quite a bit about picking up shortstop Stephen Drew from the D-Backs, but also a little about Danny Haren as well. This week our youngster Rick Porcello had his start pushed back and speculation is that it was so scouts could take a look. Prompting many to think that maybe he could head to Arizona in a deal with others that could bring back Haren and Drew.

I am not against this scenario at all. Depends on what else we give up, but it isn't going to be significant I'm sure. Porcello is gonna be the prize of that deal for them. Young, and cheap. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon and m,ay as well take some slimming pills to their payroll.

Haren has had an off year so far, but hasn't been awful. He has given up 4 ERs only once in his last 7 starts and is still striking out almost a batter per inning this year. What he brings besides possible Ace stuff is the ability to pitch deep into games almost every time out. Something that is essential for keeping the bullpen fresh the rest of the way.

Drew on the other hand is nothing special really. He is a lefty SS that hits very well against righties. The thought by me is that he can platoon with Ramon Santiago there. Santiago hits significantly better against LHP than Drew does and Santiago can pick up some starts at 2B when Guillen is in the DH slot. Just more MI depth if Worth decides to start hitting like he is supposed to, which is not at all.

I don't even care if we get Drew, but Haren is good for this year and maybe further. He is very established as an Ace.

See ya, Lebron. Thanks for the Central

While the Pistons aren't even close to being a legit team right now, the departure of Lebron from the Central division can't do anything, but help us. It turns a Cleveland Cavs team from a 50+ win team into a 20-30 win team at best overnight. This opens up a path for prime playoff seeding in the next 5 or so years for anyone left behind.

Division winners in each NBA conference get the top 3 seeds on their side of the bracket. This means that even if you were the 8th best team in the playoffs, even though you won your division you are at worst a 3 seed. More home games is your reward for playing in a terrible division.

While the Bulls are probably in the best shape of us all in this horrid division, things change fast in the NBA and the lack of Lebron can only help us reach the top much sooner. Of course the need for a hair loss cure worrying about actually trying to knock off a team that has Lebron, DWade, and Chris Bosh to actually win anything is still a long ways off.

Hey, we knocked off the 2004 Lakers so it isn't unheard of for a dream team to go down to someone nobody expects. I'm sure luck will come into play at some point with injuries from this big 3 eventually and give someone else a shot. Maybe they implode like the Lakers did too and can't play together?

Anyways, SEE YA LEBRON!

Joe D Courted By the NJ Nets

The 12-70 New Jersey Nets courted the Pistons GM Joe Dumars this week trying to fill the role of their vacant team president position. Dumars declined and said he will stay with the Pistons.

That begs the question. Did you really want Joe D to stay? As a Pistons fan you can't really get on Joe D. HE won 2 titles as a player, and brought in a title as a GM along with several ECF appearances in a row with his acquisitions of guys like Billups, Rip, Big Ben, Tayshaun, and Rasheed.

People will bring up all the BAD moves though and we have to see if those outweigh the good. We got a title. That trumps all of it for me. He is well respected by everyone in the league and he is OURS. A true Piston.

So...he drafted Darko instead of Melo, Bosh, and DWade. HUGE mistake that probably cost us a couple more titles. Other GMs probably would have been fired for that alone. Of course we weren't going 12-70 every year either, but competing for NBA titles.

AI, Gordon, etc. AI turned out to be a pretty awful move as well considering what the money was spent on that trading Billups freed up. Ben Gordon mostly, who plays the same position as our top scorer Rip Hamilton. A head scratcher from the beginning, and something I was not looking forward to. I still don't like it.

Joe D needs to get up off the mattress and bring some more hope to the fans that's for sure. Some of these moves add up to a lot of ugliness recently. Hopefully the sale of the team brings new life and more money available to us.

And Down Goes Zumaya Part 42

Ugh...poor guy. Dude worked his ass off to come back AGAIN, and now he breaks his elbow doing some pitching. Just broke his elbow throwing the ball. Dude is brittle man.

Well...he's done for the year, but not his career it sounds like. They guess it will take him at least 4 months to recover. He should be back next year for another 30 games before he blows out his shoulder. They may as well just schedule his Tommy John surgery now because it is coming VERY soon.

He better make one more big rehab because his contract i sup and he never go that big one. He'll be selling swimming pool supplies supplies if he doesn't make a comeback.

Sad to see him go down. He was really rolling this year and didn't deserve it. He was a nice firestarter for the club.. Now we can only hope DD found a real RP out of the 600 he has drafted the last 4 years.

Tigers Rolling With a 7 Game Win Streak

When I looked at the schedule at the beginning of the season I thought the interleague play might be huge for the Tigers. Seeing who was on the schedule I was quite happy with Pittsburgh, Washington, and Arizona there. All teams I thought would be awful. Washington is a bit better than I thought, but they still got them in their second straight sweep. The first against Pittsburgh.

Now they have started against Arizona on the right foot with a hard fought 7-5 win to make it 7 in a row. Dontrelle Willis with a little stomach fat loss I'm sure in this horrid 90 degree heat and humidity, made his way back to Comerica for the start and had a rocky beginning when Maggs jacked one hard to give them a 2-0 in the 1st. They got it up to 4-0 before Armando fell apart in the 5th when Arizona tied it back up at 4.

Willis pitched 5 innings before he got yanked and the Tigers traded runs with the D-backs to make it 5-5. Then Inge tripled int he bottom of the 8th to give them the lead for good. Avila added an insurance run by knocking in Inge, and then Valverde mowed them down for his 15th save.

The better news is that the Minnesota Twins got shelled by the Phillies which puts the Tigers just half a game out of 1st place in the division.

Tigers get another ex-Tiger tomorrow in Edwin Jackson who was traded in the deal that brought Max Scherzer to Detroit. Unfortunately, Scherzer won't pitch until Sunday so they don't go head to head.

And Down Goes Zumaya....

Well..we all knew it couldn't last all year didn't we? It looks like Joel Zumaya has injured himself. He entered the game int he 8th inning with the Royals putting up a bit of a fight. He walked the first batter on 4 straight pitches and couldn't keep the ball down. 2 pitches into the next batter out came the trainer and Jim Leyland.

From the appearances it looked like it might b e a pesky blister. Nobody has said anything conclusive yet, but some have wondered if it might be that old tendon injury again that kept him out for a long time before. This happens because he grips the ball so hard that he actually injures himself with the pressure.

Zoom has been a BEAST this season and losing him would be an incredible loss. So take your baby prenatal vitamin Zoom and get your ass back out there.

Leyland to Stick With Perry For Now

With such a short leash on Scherzer when they sent him down, one could conclude that Ryan Perry is on the verge of his own trip to the minors, or one could hope. After blowing basically 3 games in the past couple weeks Leyland plans to stick with him for now and jsut give him advice on the best place to buy apidexin among pitching tips I guess.

Ryan Perry allowed one inherited runner to score and two more of his own runs Friday night. That continued a two-week slide which has seen his earned-run average go from 2.41 to 5.91. Leyland said his slider is flat and that he likely needs to use more two-seam fastballs, while also avoiding leaving too many balls out over the plate.

“I’m going to stay with him for awhile,” Leyland said. “If things at some point don’t get worked out, you go down and work ‘em out. We’re going to see if we can work it out here.”

Armando Galarraga Throws Perfect Game; Gets Robbed

I've never been more sick after watching a sporting event. June 2, 2010 Cleveland Indians @ Detroit Tigers will go down as the most upsetting game I have ever seen. Armando Galarraga threw a perfect game. HE threw such a perfect game that he got 28 outs in a row.

If you watched this game you know how shocking it was. I am literally sick to my stomach still and this game finished 45 minutes ago. I don't even know what to say really, but I have to say something. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning an umpire blew an obvious call. A ground out that was clearly the final out of the game. Not just any game. A perfect game. Armando Galarraga threw a perfect game that will never show up as one.

I am not even angry. I am just shocked. I feel like I should be breaking my modern furniture into tiny pieces right now. I will say I'm proud our fans didn't relive the Malice at the Palace tonight. I don't think I would have been able to do anything either I would have been so shocked.

Turn the Tigers on NOW

NOW!

Pistons seek Help In Selling Team

I think it is safe to say that most fans, and current management would welcome new ownership as soon as possible. While Old Man Davidson was a huge basketball fan, and a respected owner, his widow isn't exactly into the whole thing. She has stated she wants to sell the team and it looks like it will happen at some point. Thank God.

While she is too late in life to hook up with a term life insurance quote most likely, she doesn't really need one when she has a half a billion dollar team ready to unload.

The Detroit Pistons officially are for sale.

The Pistons and Palace Sports & Entertainment announced Wednesday that they have hired Citi Private Bank Sports Advisory -- a subsidiary of Citigroup -- as a financial advisor to assist in the sale of the team.

The Pistons stated that Citi is in contact with "a number of interested parties" and that the Pistons would have no further comment on the process "until there is substantive news to report."

Tigers in Suck Mode

About a week and a half ago the Tigers were in first place. Since then they have fallen all the way down to 4.5 games back while going 2-8 in their last 10. Losing to chump squads such as the Oakland A's and the Cleveland Indians. That's right, they are in Suck Mode.

They can't hit. Unless they are Miguel Cabrera. Brandon Boesch has more or less slid back into obscurity the last couple weeks as well from his Chris Shelton-esque debut last month. Didn't take too long. Get that man some hgh and get me a friggin' shortstop that can hit over .150. Get Roy Oswalt to while you are at it.

Dontrelle Willis Traded For Some Guy

Looks like Dontrelle is finally gone after having such an amazing career in a Tigers uniform. Truly on of the Tiger greats. While he may be gone from the team he will still be remembered as Illitch writes him his checks for the rest of the season because Arizona only has to pay him about $260K this year while we are stuck with the other $34234234 Million.

Oh we got some guy in return. Billy Buckner to be exact. Not that one. Not even close. Much worse. Not even worth looking into. Just don't bother. He got a glowing review from Dombrowski after the trade had been finalized. A true great addition to the squad that makes us fans sleep well at night even without the best night cream. Here was what DD had to say:

"He's been an up-and-down guy between Triple-A and the big leagues," Dombrowski said. "He's had three starts at the big league level this year. They have not been good. But he did very well for them at Triple-A. He's a guy that gives us some protection. He can start or relieve."

Scherzer Back With a Vengance

Max Scherzer got sent down to the minors a couple weeks ago to either take a step back, or work on his mechanics. This week he landed back in the Tigers starting rotation and came back enraged it seems that he could of ended up doing catalog printing if he wasn't going to come around.

Scherzer didn't pitch very long. Just 5 2/3 innings, but what he did do was dominate. Dominate to the tune of 14 strikeouts, which means he struck out 14 of the 17 out he got in the game.

While he was dominant, with so many strikeouts comes a lot of pitches. He was taken out just short of a quality start at 113 pitches already due to the strikeouts as well as 4 BBs. While he looked great, we still need to see it again. Oakland isn't exactly the MLB's best hitting team.

Let Interleague Play Begin!

While I know there are those on both sides of the fence when it comes to their taste for inter-league play, I always find it to be a fun time. Too bad I'm not usually all that happy with who we play. This year the Tigers start out with just a little taste of it when they play the LA Dodgers this weekend (Sadly, we are gonna miss young Clayton Kershaw, who I love to watch pitch, but good for the team anyways). This is going to be our last stretch on the west coast all year. Can you remember the last time we were done with west coast trips in May?

We don't go back to playing the National League until next month when we hook up with the Pirates on the 11th. Then we get the Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks, NY Mets, and Atlanta Braves.

This is a pretty cush schedule for the NL. Most of those teams are very beatable, and we can finally get a real #9 hitter in our lineup. DONTRELLE WILLIS! Bets on him getting more hits than Everett? Don't think you even need a business credit reports to get cash to take that bet.

Way to Go Pistons! Winning Meaningless Game Gets #7 Pick

I'm sure most of you didn't even think about the NBA Draft Lottery. I know I don't talk about the Pistons much anymore, but I still follow them religiously. The NBA is just so infuriating to me now since the Miami Heat won the title and my team sucks donkely balls.

Anyways...it was exciting to watch us have a shot at the top of the draft. I got more and more excited as it went from 15 to 10, 9, 8...then thud at 7. The Washington Wizards ended up at #1 and they lost ONE more game than the the Pistons did. So close...yet so far away from the top. At least this draft has about 10 guys you would be happy with. Maybe we can get a true stud for once. Maybe we get another foreigner stiff. Maybe we suck for 10 more years. Maybe I buy some wii accessories and play with my wii.

Armando Galarraga Back in the Big Leagues

The visit to the MLB roster by Casper Wells is going to be quite short-lived. 1 day. That is because ex-Tiger rotation mainstay, Galarraga is going to get a start Sunday. It has been a while.

Galarraga was a huge surprise back in 2008 when he broke into the Tigers rotation. he ended up Detroit's rookie pitcher of the year when going 13-7 with a 3.73 ERA in 2008. He then struggled mightily last year with zero control. after looking like a legit control pitcher in his first major stint after a
stretch mark cure. He has gone 4-2 with a 3.92 ERA for Triple-A Toledo this year, and appears to have pretty good control.

"He's done a pretty good job of that," Leyland said. "He's not been wild and seems to be pounding the strike zone pretty well."

Tigers might be good. That is if they had MLB players.

So far thsi year our top 4 guys ahve been awesome. Austin Jackson, Damon, MAggs, and Miggy. Guillen was OK before he got hurt, and no Boesch is killing it.

So...what of the rest of the scrubs? Look no further than 2 minutes ago in this Tigers/Red Sox game.

Maggs leads off with a HR to put them within 1. Cabrera draws a walk. Boesh hits a single, and than Inge who is hitting under .130 in May finally gets a hit to score Miggy and put Boesch on third.

There are no outs and they fail to score that run from third to take the lead. In fact they didn't even make it look like trying. Laird, Santiago, and Everett just came up and hit the ball about as hard as my sister after she has overdosed on diet pills for 6 months and weighs 9 pounds. Santiago actually pinch hit for SIZEMORE. The only one of these 3 hitting over .200 this year.

Brennan Boesch Plays 2010 Chris Shelton

If you are a Tigers fan at all, you remember the splash that Chris Shelton made back in 2006 with his monster start. While Boesch has started insanely hot in his chance in LF with Guillen being injured (again) do we expect the same kind of crash? Shelton was just ridiculous when he came up. Hitting for a ton of power and basically being the MVP of the league the first month+ of the season. Boesch probably has MORE power potential than Shelton ever did. Did I mention that he is a left hander? You know the mantra that Leyland has cried about needing one for 5 years when they didn't bother to go sign Adam Dunn.

Boesch has played 17 games since he was called up to play for Guillen, and not jsut in the field, but he has taken over the 5th spot in the batting order as well. He has stolen the job from Raburn who was just sent back down to the minors this week because he can't even compete with Boesch right now. Through just 17 games he has a .361 BA, 11 extra base hits, and 17 RBIs, which leads all AL rookies.

It isn't just the stats that have stuck out for most of us so far this year. It is how big some of his hits have been. Many of his hits have been game changers. Big doubles, or even triples that drove in runs to take a lead. Started rallies, and even helped ice games by tacking on some extra runs. IT almost feels like every time he drives in a run right now it is huge.

While Boesch may not have been a real big name on the list of upcoming Tigers prospects I know I have heard Dave Dombrowski mention him this off season as someone he thought was overlooked by most prospect gurus. There is no debate among scouts whether or not he has a lot of power. That is after all his calling card for most of them. True MLB power potential. Not just slight power. What they all have said though is that he has huge holes in his swing, and he just doesn't do well at recognizing pitches yet. I guess he's a quick learner, or he is just in a zone.

So far we have seen a guy that is locked in. What about why people say he would struggle? If you look just at his 2009 season in the minors you can probably see it just by looking at a few numbers. He had 33 BBs to go along with 127 strikeouts in just 131 games. His OBP was only .318 with a batting average of .275. This suggests to some degree that he is an all or nothing hitter in most cases. He had 28 HRs last year with a .510 SLG to go along with this. Power of Adam Dunn, with the K potential of Adam Dunn, but not the eye of Adam Dunn in his ability to take a walk.

What's going on so far this year in these areas at the MLB level? Well...it looks like these trends still continue in some fashion, but the high batting average skews some other numbers that you would expect to drop eventually. He has 9Ks in 17 games and only 2 BBs. This is definitely the same trend he had going in the minors. Of course he is so hot right now that these numbers don't really look that bad.

Now...we never know if a guy will just "click" and become an everyday player at some point. Boesch is certainly trying to make a claim to stay in the line up even when Guillen comes back. Sadly, there isn't much room for him to get into that line up with Guillen and Damon also having to rotate in LF and DH. This is the big concern I have in how he will be able to keep anything close to this level going. What happens when he has to only play 3 games a week? Will he cool off and never get back to this high level? Will he be able to adjust once again and keep hitting?

All conventional wisdom suggests that Boesch is going to fall off, and fall off significantly at some point. He should always have the power, but this level, by all accounts is probably playing way over his head. I guess all we can do is hope that he is closer to this than he is to Brandon Inge since he is still a pup that has to worry about acne treatments as much as he has to worry about playing ball ;).

Boesch was a Tigers third-round selection from California in the 2006 draft.

Austin Jackson and the Oddest Stats Ever

It was tough to see Curtis Granderson leave for most Tigers fans, but so far Austin Jackson has filled in admirably both at the plate and in the field. He has quite a few timely hits, and has made some Grandy-like plays out in CF so far. While Granderson is mired in a bit of a slump, AJax seems to keep chugging along, but he has some of the oddest stats you could imagine.

Everyone knows about the regular stats like batting average (.325) and the league leading strikeouts (32). A couple stats that contradict each other right off, but what about the geek stats that are out there?

Batting Average Balls in Play (BABIP) is one that should raise a few eyebrows at least. It is the amount of time when a hitter puts a ball in play that it goes for a hit minus home runs. AJax has only 1 HR so far so this is pretty easy to see. Currently according to Fan Graphs he leads the league in BABIP at an astounding .520. This means that at least every other time he puts the ball in play he is getting a hit. The league average is usually closer to .300 so this implies that he is getting a tad bit lucky so far this year.

Of course the strikeouts play a little role in this as well. Since a lot of his outs come from the KO his in play balls tend to be better hit. Although this has some effect, it still doesn't take away the fact that he is still "hitting them where they ain't" so far this season. Something that can't possibly continue and will look like you took some irvingia to his BABIP at some point most likely.

On top of the BABIP being really high, AJax is 3rd in the league with a 34.7% Lind Drive % (LD%). This stat is considered to be one of the better indicators for hitters to keep their BABIP at a higher level. Basically, the more line drives you tend to hit, the more often you do get a hit.

His Ground Ball % (GB%) is at 36.7% as well, which means that with his speed it helps even more. I'm sure you have seen him get a bunt single at least once so far this year. This leaves his Fly Ball % (FB%) all the way down at 28.6%, which means he isn't swinging for the fences much.

So...where does this leave us? To be honest I have no idea. It's really quite an interesting set of stats to me as it contradicts itself in some ways, and supports itself in others. At the very least we can probably assume that hitting .325 is quite a bit high for him, and won't continue forever. Odds are he moves down to at least the .270s-.280s eventually and standardizes there, but you never can tell.

Lions Still Looking For Linebackers. Everyone Assumes Bulluck

It's no surprise that ever since Jim Schwartz came to the Lions from the Tennessee Titans, that rumors have popped up about several former Titan players coming here. We all know that the only way to get players to come here is if they have a connection to one of the coaches, or we pay them way more than anyone else would, or both.

Look no further than the first 2 major signings this off season. Kyle Vandenboche, and Nate Burleson. VanDeboche came from Schwartz' system in Tennessee, while Burleson was drafted by Off. Coordinator Linehan when he was in Minnesota. Rumors have surfaced about signing Pacman "Make it Rain" Jones, and now Bullock continues to be brought up still with the huge need for more LBs to help prevent you from needing a sleeping aid while watching the Lions games..

Funnily enough, only Killer Kowalski still makes this sound like a real possibility even though he has reported that: In the half-dozen times I've asked Schwartz about it, he never has said, "No, we're not interested'' or "That's unlikely'' or "He doesn't really fit our plans.''

All he ever has talked about is the knee injury and never in any concrete terms. He just says, "He's got a knee'' or "He's got an ACL.''

So...he's a guaranteed IR guy for us at some point obviously.

Miguel Cabrera is Killing People

If you hadn't realized that Dave Dombrowski robbed the Florida Marlins blind the day he traded for Miguel Cabrera, it is hard to deny it now. With Cameron Maybin, and Andrew Miller showing little in the way of becoming bonafide MLB stars they were once hyped to be, and Miguel Cabrera dominating the same way he did in Florida, you have to accept it don't you? Miggy is still well below the age of needing the best wrinkle cream too at just 27 and in his prime.

After all the negative news about Click Clack and his drunken exploits in the final weeks of the 2009 season, many were very down on Miggy. His words that he had decided to get help and turn his act around fell on deaf ears for most. The way he has started this season seems to imply that he has really made this change, and is the newer, and even more focused slugger.

Game after game he is coming through in the clutch, and piling up the RBIs. Last night he hit the go ahead HR in the 9th inning in route to the Tiger win of 8-6. He leads the league in RBIs at 24 already, and it looks like he is commanding the yes of the MVP voters so far.

Lions Get Relatively High Draft Grades for 2010

It is no surprise that many gave the Detroit Lions better than average draft grades with the big time players they took. Ndamukong Suh was considered the best player in the draft by most "experts" and the Lions taking him at #2 overall was a no-brainer. The trade up into the first round to pick up the explosive RB from Cal, Jahvid Best also drew a lot of praise as he was considered to be a steal by some where they got him.

The Lions even made the trade up with a division rival in the Minnesota Vikings that cost them only a move down in the 4th round with pick swaps to move up from the 2nd round. Best is the more intriguing pick I think because he has some question marks. Many worry about a serious concussion he had last year, with a minor one earlier, as well as some other small injuries he has had. Of course he is getting praise for being a legit game breaker from many other sources as well, including head coach Jim Schwartz.

He is certainly more fun to watch on Youtube than staring at a personalized soccer balls:



The rest of the guys I don't even really care about at this point. They took CB Amari Spievy in the 3rd round, which was a huge need, but he projects more as a #2, or nickel CB. They took a gamble on an OT of Jason Fox in the 4th, and got a couple 7th rounders that we can worry little about and any impact they make is just a bonus.

Someone actually signed Big Mike Williams

Probably don't even need to tell you who it was. Think real hard. Shouldn't take long. Obviously, it was Pete Carrol the former USC "genius" that has taken over for the Seattle Seahawks.

While it is hard to argue that BMW wasn't the biggest bust in the Millen era, at least he wasn't here very long. He wound up in Oakland like everyone else that is a bust, and pretty much never even made any impact in the NFL. Considered a freak coming out of college, he was also considered one of the dumbest players as well. He was one of the two morons that quit school early, signed and agent, and actually thought that he and Maurice Clarett were going to be allowed to enter the draft. Neither were, so they got themselves a year out of football for their optimism. Both have washed away into oblivion, and working some jobs like healthcare jobs, or whatever it is they have been doing. Oh yeah...causing trouble mostly.

BMW spent that time working out with the great Chris Carter, and ended up being drafted as the 12341234 WR in a row by Matt Millen in the first round. He might have actually been worse than Charles Rogers, but it is hard to say.

Pete Carrol brings him in with the rest of the players he ever coached at USC in hopes to rebuild the USC program in the NFL. It won't work, and he will fail miserably like most college coaches do. He'll be back at USC within 2 years and a lot richer.

NAte Robertson Traded?

Never thought I'd see this day. Nate Robertson, another of the ridiculous contracts that the Tigers have invested in over the past 5 years has been traded to the Florida Marlins for left handed relief pitcher Jay Voss. From the sounds of it the Tigers are paying the majority of his contract to send him off.

Jay Voss is not just some bum relief pitcher I suppose. He does have a tad bit of potential after being removed from the starting pitcher track. It appears he has a slider, change, and fastball, and has decent command of them all. HE started as a SP his first couple years in the minors, but didn't fare so well with an unimpressive ERA. Last year he spent the season pitching as a RP in AA, and AAA. He kept his ERA around 2.50 and looked like he might have a bit in the tank as a lefty RP. His K rate was right around 9 per inning, and he had good peripherals.

So...Mr. Gum Time is gone. While we had some good memories here with Nate, we had far more bad ones. The Bulldog, as he was called put together maybe 1 full season, but ultimately was a guy that once he got through the line up once he was toast.

One down, and at least a couple more to go in Inge, Guillen, Dontrelle, and Maggs before the Tigers have some real money to play with. Hopefully they all do something this year and can be lured away rather than spend the season on an elliptical on the DL like Guillen usually does.

Jon Horford Commits to Michigan

I guess one of Horford's closest friends/relatives is a sellout. He told his mother and 3 other people that he decided to commit to Michigan and within an hour it was all over the place faster than a motorcycle accident lawyer when he sees a man flying through the air on the street.

Among those who found out from someone else was his brother, Al, currently a forward for the Atlanta Hawks.

Jon wanted to call Al later in the day to tell him.

“It’s crazy,” Jon Horford said by phone Friday afternoon. “Twenty minutes after I did it, I told my coach, a teacher at my school and, of course, Coach (John) Beilein, those are the only three people I told. And Al texted me 20 minutes after I did and was like, ‘Is this true?'

“I don’t know how he found out. Maybe my AAU coach called him, but I’m not sure.”

Willis Has Rocky Start, but Only Gives Up 1 ER in 4 Innings

Dontrelle Willis still fighting for the #5 spot in the Tigers rotation walked the first two batters he faced today en route to 1ER in the first inning. He went 4 innings, and stayed at 1 ER, but didn't look sharp at all. He was very hittable, and this is coming against a very weak Toronto Blue Jays line up.

He did hit 94 MPH on the radar gun, and hit 92 MPH several times, and had 3 strikeouts to go with 3 BBs. Two Ks in the 4th inning. While the numbers aren't bad, he hit the backstop a couple times, and his delivery was very slow. He even gave up a double steal at one point.

He had trouble finding the zone all day, and he didn't appear to really challenge hitters, or look as if he could challenge a legit line up. The only swings and misses he got were bad pitches against inexperienced hitters.

HE still has a shot to make the team as the #5 starter, but at this point you probably don't want to take a Dontrelle Willis jersey through a barcode scanner anytime soon as he may not make it either.

Singing Valverde Looking Good For Tigers?

Last week I heard and interview with Alex Avila where he was asked about the pitchers in spring that have impressed him the most so far. He mentioned most of the new guys like Scherzer, but it seemed like he was most impressed, and quite surprised at just how good Jose Valverde, the Tigers' new closer actually is.

MLive has a story posted in the last couple hours that seems to continue Avila's surprise.

While not entirely based on his pitching, although they do mention that he hasn't allowed a run in his 6 IP so far this spring, it has more to do with the standard annual problem. Guys like Zumaya aren't ready, and continue to be a burden.

According to the article some of these guys are probably better off learning how to use the best seo software than to try pitching:

Joel Zumaya has been too sick to pitch. And, when he was in there, opposing batters were teeing off on his straight-as-a-ruler fastball. Perry has allowed eight runs -- six earned -- and four home runs in eight innings. Fien was released, had sips of coffee with the Red Sox and Blue Jays, but is now back with Detroit. Zach Miner is fighting an elbow injury. And, Bobby Seay is visiting Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. to have his shoulder examined. That's rarely a good sign for a pitcher.

What a surprise. Zoom is sick/injured again, and pitching like crap. Welcome to year 4 of this circus.

Lions Going to Sign Pacman Jones?

It looks like they are doing a lot of looking, and kicking the tires on Pacman the last week, or so. The Lions were among a handful of teams that observed a workout of Pacman last week in New Orleans, and have been rumored to be interested ever since. GM Martin Mayhew even came out and discussed Pacman publicly this week and said that they could use his "skill set" on the team. Duh, our CBs suck hard.

Before you can figure out what glucosamine sulphate is, the Lions will probably pay Pacman more than twice as much as any other team is willing to do. Nobody wants to touch the troubled CB, but he is on his last chance. There are many reasons to think that you are going to get the best he has to offer next season. If you don't, you better have a contract that makes it so it doesn't hurt to kick him off the team.

I am all for the signing. I honestly don't care about his troubles. I don't know him. Neither do you. If he plays well, great. If not...we still suck anyways so what's the big deal?

Rams Trading For McNabb?

A lot of rumors today that the St. Louis Rams, who hold the #1 overall pick int he draft may be seeking a trade with Philadelphia to acquire Donavon McNabb. The rumor is that they will give him a new contract, and send the Eagles their 2nd round pick (#33 overall).

Most have theorized that the Rams were gong to take Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford #1 overall. This would leave the Lions free to take virtually anyone they wanted in the draft, and not have to worry at all about what the Rams do. If they make this trade things change dramatically.

Of course we have to wonder WHY the Rams would even make this trade. They aren't going to be any good anytime soon. McNabb probably doesn't have more than 2-3 years left in him so he isn't a future QB. They have taken linemen for about the last decade and probably aren't all that high on taking another one in this draft either. So...are they considering taking Bradford STILL even if they get McNabb and let him mentor the kid, or let his injury heal more? Who knows, if the kid is ready, or not. He certainly seems to be injury prone, and could use some help how to build muscle fast. I just know that this trade makes little sense for a team that is so far away from a winning team.

It may help the Lions in the trade down aspect, but highly unlikely. The Tampa Bay Bucs don't need a QB either so no reason for anyone seeking one to trade up to #2. Only reason to trade up is to get Suh, or McCoy.

Contradictory News On Dontrelle Willis

I suppose I made the mistake of actually taking what Lynn Henning said as plausible the other day since he is like Killer Kowalski in being wrong constantly. Recent news has shown that he is probably way off on the matter:

Tigers | Willis gains velocity
Tue, 23 Mar 2010 06:09:18 -0700
The Detroit News' Tom Gage reports Detroit Tigers SP Dontrelle Willis threw every pitch at least 90 mph in his one-inning relief stint Monday, March 22. After the bridge outing, his ERA sits at 0.82. He'll start Thursday, March 25.

After reading that Willis had back spasms in his last start I gave Henning some credit, but it appears he may not be on the mark at all. Considering that Willis has improved velocity (this is common as ST progresses so not a huge deal), and that he is going to pitch tomorrow as a starter it appears he was a little premature.

I guess he is still fighting for his job as they are still trying to lock down the last 2 spots in the rotation. Bonderman seems to be a lock, but it appears that Willis has just as good a chance at it as Robertson does. Basically, the chance I have at teaching you how to treat acne.

We shall see. With what Willis is getting paid, and his ERA still being below 1.00 it is hard to imagine that they don't at least start the season with him getting some starts. Then go from there.

Henning: Willis Appears Headed For Release

After a few weeks of praise from writers, fans of box scores, and coaches, it appeared that Dontrelle Willis was a shoe in for the #5 starter spot in the Tigers rotation. Of course if you have watched the games, or listened to local sports radio you may come away with a bit of a different impression. Henning of the Detroit News makes the claim this weekend that Willis is probably going to be released.

A lot of us have been reluctant to put much stock in Willis' numbers so far this spring. We all know it is still spring, but a few things stick out when reading/hearing about how Willis has actually pitched. First and foremost, even with only giving up 1 ER in 10 IP, we are immediately drawn to the 5 BBs in the line. This was on of the biggest reasons that he has been knocked around of late. Another that has been brought up a lot based on stat guys scanning software, is that his fastball seems to top out at around 88-89 MPH. While not terrible, for someone that lacks control, and really doesn't have much of an arsenal anymore, the loss of velocity is worrisome.

His last outing he hit a batter. Many also noted that he had at least 3 line shots straight back at him during that game, which tells you right there that he isn't fooling anyone, and they are dead on his pitches.

It seems the dream is fading for us having Willis earn a penny of his money in Detroit. The consensus if he is cut, is that Bonderman and Nate Robinson will take the 4/5 slots in the rotation after Armando Galaraga was sent to Toledo earlier in the week. Nate hasn't looked bad either, but we can't be all that optimistic about him either. Bonderman hasn't pitched for over a year either so the back end of the rotation is still a huge question mark.

Maggs hit 2nd Spring HR this week

Note: Yes everyone knows it is spring training, and that this means little to nothing. Maggs has had his share of people saying he has absolutely no power left, so at least it is a good sign he is seeing the ball well early.

Anyways, what we want to see from Maggs this year is the traditional high average in the middle of the line up, but we also want to see him driving the ball a bit more this year. It is said that he has a clear head after the health of his wife has improved, and that he had a hard time with it last year. This seems to be an ongoing thing with him, and we have heard about his personal life having an impact on his performance at the plate. You can agree.disagree with it, but it probably does at least have SOME impact.

We are paying him a ton of money so we need to get a good year from the man. It appears there is a chance that he could reach his bonuses for next year too so hopefully he is on fire this year because we may have him for 2 more years. Hopefully we get a full year out of him, and he isn't collecting disability insurance with Guillen like he will be half the year.

In other news, Austin Jackson continues to hit well in the spring. He also hit a HR the same day as Maggs, and continues to keep his average around .500 and see the ball well by getting a few walks.

Now...only if we can get our 3-4-5 starting pitchers set and give us a real chance. We need a miracle comeback from Bondo, and one of the other guys this year to have any chance.

Mayhew Tries To Convnce Us Millen Was Responsible For it All

In an article (that I can't find now because it gave me a 401 error)at NBC sports earlier today, Martin Mayhew talks candidly about the roster he inherited, and what he basically gave Millen backhanded credit for when he took over the Detroit Lions GM job this past year. I'll throw a few quotes from it here, but obviously this link is useless.

Here is most f the story:

Lions General Manager Martin Mayhew says the problem in Detroit last year was a simple matter of not having enough talent.

Specifically, Mayhew says, when he took over control of a teams that had been built by previous team President Matt Millen, he inherited a roster on which backup-quality players were forced into starting roles.

"We had a number of spots where a player would have been perfect as, say, a third defensive end or a nickel, or as a backup special teams player," Mayhew told the Detroit News. "But they were forced onto the field and were a little overmatched, overwhelmed at times."

Mayhew said he hopes players like recent acquisitions Kyle Vanden Bosch, Corey Williams, and Nate Burleson will move into starting roles, allowing some players who were starters last year to move down the depth chart where they belong.

"That's definitely something that we took a long look at after the season," Mayhew said. "We feel like a lot of guys on our team are quality players and they belong in the league, but they need somebody ahead of them and they need to be in a rotation or in the right role."

While everyone can agree that the roster is lousy, and was when he took over, I find it funny how he has actually convinced some fans that Millen was 100% responsible for it all. Mayhew was his right hand man, and we know for sure that Millen spent an awful lot of time away from Ford Field while he was GM. This tells you right there, that Mayhew probably had a lot bigger hand in things than he is willing to admit, and I don't really blame him.

Of course I'm not going to give him credit for doing a good job just because he has been around one year and nobody considers any of his moves to be extreme busts yet. Well...there are probably a few. Taking a TE in the first round for an 0-16 team in Pettigrew was as bad a decision as I think you can make regardless of how high you rated him. He's a TE.

Stafford was literally a no-brainer, and any moron could take a QB at #1 overall. Delmas was rated, and taken about where he was selected in the 2nd so at best here you can jsut say they didn't screw this up. In the 3rd round they took Derrick Williams from Penn State to be a kick returner, and likely a #3 WR. He proved he could do neither last year, and that was a 3rd round pick on a team that should be starting almost every draft pick they make. The 4th rounder Sammie LEe Hill wouldn't start for 30/32 teams in the league, and the book is still out on him being anything worth not, yet because we got maybe a couple legit starters int hedraft he is praised by everyone. Why?

He hasn't signed any playmakers to the team yet. He overpaid Burleson mightily this year, and got Vandenboch at age 32 at DE. Both of these players have ties to coaches currently with the team so it isn't like he convince high level guys to come here. Schwartz got Vandenboch himself, which I guess is nice, but Millen let Marinelli sign the entire Tampa Bay roster one year.

Let's just tone it down on the praise of this guy, and the group assembled for now. He has done nothing any idiot couldn't do unless you want to give him credit for hiring Schwartz already even though we aren't going to see what he is truly capable of for another 2 years most likely. I guess if you want to be told how to think just go here because I told you to.

Step back, and realize this is still the Lions, and stop giving people extra praise for not being completely ignorant. Also, don't let him get away with trying to pretend he had nothing to do with anything that happened before he became GM.

Lions Still Making Moves in Atlanta Trade

The Lions have been one of the more active teams out there since free agent signing started on the 5th last week. They signed DE Kyle Vandenboche immediately after the clock struck midnight, then added Corey Williams at DT, and then overpaid WR NAte Burleson by a substantial amount.

This week they also made another trade that sent their 6th rounder to Atlanta. They also swapped 5th rounders in the same deal that brings CB Chris Houston to Detroit. Just another basic move that has little downside. Well...little as in cost for getting him with the Best Buy, but probably little upside either as he isn't exactly a stud. Still he has started 37 games, and getting him for pretty much nothing is more than acceptable.

Well...Suh and McCoy Had Nice Combines

I think we can assume for the most part that the Lions are going to draft one of these 2 guys at this point. Even though drafting a defensive Tackle 2nd overall is insanely moronic.

Suh is bigger, and lifts more weights. McCoy is supposed to be a better DT for a 4-3 defense which we have, although Suh played 4-3 in most videos I have seen.

I guess I don't even care. If we don't trade out of the #2 pick we lose either way. Suh needs to be a pro bowler 8 years in a row for me to be on board. I have spent more time looking at auto insurance quotes than watching the combine this year though so hopefully when I get a chance I will see someone else I like and know that the Lions won't draft them. I don't want to be happy with the pick at all do I?