More Crazy Detroit Area Football

It will never cease to amaze me what goes on with the Lions. What really caught my eye this week is that someone wanted to put John Kitna out of his misery. Apparently Kitna went onto a radio show back a few months ago and blabbed about something or another, and it really struck a nerve with Terence Newman of the Dallas Cowboys. Warning in hand, Newman's plans to nail Kitna with such force, he may have to break into his savings and pay a fine. That's not all. He could end up sitting on the sidelines for the rest of the season.

The NFL has good discipline right? I thought so.

I was watching the move Dangerous Minds on Starz the other night. Story of a teacher trying to get kids to learn in a bad neighborhood. Turns out one of the kids lives were dangerous from a recently released convict. She talked him into going to the principle at school about it. The principal sent him away for not knocking. The kid was shot to death shortly after.

Perhaps the NFL thought this was the best way to handle the case against Newman?

Terence Newman has but a warning. He already acknowledged that he has money put aside for the fine. Now the NFL has said "Don't do that!" Wow. I hope Kitna's team can protect him. The way I see it, we have another soon to be dead guy. Personally, I would have benched the guy, suspended just one game, and fined $50,000 for the threat. If the NFL wants to get serious, they need to be serious.

So what's with all the shafting of our local football teams? Did you hear the latest on the Michigan football coach search? Rutgers' Head Coach Greg Schiano has taken himself out of the running. I don't know if the job was his for the taking, but it sure seemed like it since Les Miles pulled out. Have I mentioned Brian Kelly yet? No? He's not leaving Cincinnati. In fact, he wants to extend his contract and remain where he's at.

So what's wrong with Michigan? You would think this would be a premier coach job. A storied history with a thirst and hunger to win. Not to mention the only thing standing in their way of a BCS bowl every year is Ohio State. They can be knocked off easily with the right coaching.

But it appears that won't be so easy. Or perhaps Michigan AD Bill Martin has something cooking in the background. Still the questions are flying -- WHO IS GONNA COACH MICHIGAN???

I understand the problem with the Lions. They are the Lions. But hey, even Michigan State was able to find their man in a timely and uneventful fashion. They didn't have people turning the job down on after another.

I think what we're witnessing is a whole new breed of football teams. Hawaii cracked the top 10 this season, why can't a team from the Big East, Big 12, ACC, or SEC? They can easier than a team from the MAC or WAC.

The playing field is leveling off in college football quickly. Teams are beating teams that no one suspected. Others are running the table so impressively they're gaining high ranks in leu of a weak schedule. We've already seen this trend in college basketball, and it looks like its happening to college football.

It isn't clear to me yet what is truly happening. Is the coaching getting better, or is the field of players expanding? Is there more talent out now than there was even five years ago? Time can only tell, but so far I've seen a lot more good coaches, and talent developing younger at a more rapid rate.

Lions Pick!

Wow.. Dallas comes into town with a fired up team ready to snap a four game losing streak, and they fire them up even more with threats to their QB! The Lions always take one game every year and play like a real football. Is this the week? No, that day as come and gone.

Dallas 38, Lions 13.

Ben Regrets Leaving??

Another "duh" news story came out today. Ben Walllace, again, said he missed Detroit. Sure he does. He has a lot of friends on the team. He won a championship here. It was his team. He was offered $60 million. He left. I think its time to get over this. Ben Wallace is gone. Sure, he can come back later, but what's to say the Pistons want him? He didn't get along with Flip and his offensive scheme, so I don't see why Joe Dumars would pursue him again.

Pistons On Fire

After an injury scattered start, and still finding a way to hold it together, the Pistons seem to have put together a nice run and a nice team.

Last night the Pistons stretched their win streak to five with a 91-76 win over the New Orleans Hornets. In a game where Detroit found themselves down by 10 after the first, and down 15 in the second, they led by two at half time, and never looked back.

The Pistons have reinvented themselves as a force in the NBA East. Sure, all the hype lies with the Celtics and their new trio of weapons, or with the Stan Van Gundy charged Orlando Magic, but you have to admit, they are a threat in the East.

The best part is they're not even at full strength.

Rodney Stuckey, the highly touted guard out of Eastern Washintgon, is still injured. They're not letting him play again until they're 100% sure he's 100%. Stuckey talked about among the Pistons brass as if he was Kevin Durant. Expectations were high in pre-season play, and he appeared to handle it just fine. In fact, he played well enough that we were all disappointed when he went down.

That brings me to another young guy. Jarvis Hayes, the forward out of Georgia. Hayes is average nine points, three rebounds, and an assist in 20 minutes per game. Sure, he's had his ups and downs going game to game, but you can't deny the kid is good. Take a look at his 17 points in 17 minutes performance against the Hawks earlier this week.

The Pistons are good enough to win the Central. They're also good enough to win the East. Yes, I believe the Orlando Magic will be a tough match up, and yes I believe Orlando could take the east. Stan Van Gundy has waved his winning hands over the team, and they're buying it.

What about the Celtics?

Three really good guys make up a good team. They're in a weak division and beating teams they should beat. Am I discreditting them as a winning team? Absolutely not. I just don't think they have all the pieces to contend for a conference title. Yet.

Bottom line? I feel the Pistons will improve throughout the year. Veterans Lindsey Hunter, and, almost veteran, Jason Maxiell are having a positive influence on each game. Their energy and defense are helping to orchestrate wins, and even sometimes bail out a struggling starting five. I think the bench times will even increase and the number of players will deepen one more. A rotation of 10 guys and some team chemistry could hurl them into the NBA Finals against a salivating Phoenix Suns team.

Miles Breaking Story?

I have no idea why, but when listening to Chuck Daley on 97.1's Valenti and Foster show, they suddenly ended the conversation to talk about some "breaking news" that Les Miles had signed his contract extension. This means he's off the table for Michigan. Well duh. Didn't ESPN and Miles both mention this weekend that he's extending his contract and sticking around LSU? Sorry, Chuck, I can't believe you were interrupted for breaking olds.

Shelton Traded

Tigers' Minor League 1B Chris Shelton was traded to the Texas Rangers today for CF .... umm .... well, he only hit .167 last year, so I don't think it matters who he really was. The point is, Shelton should have been a hotter prospect, and the Tigers should have been able to get more for him. Do I blame the Tigers? No. Shelton clearly had deteriorated, and that leaves some questions to his ability to play at the MLB level. Perhaps a change of scenery will revive this once promising infielder.

Marked Man

Dallas Cowboy's CB Terence Newman has marked Kitna for a big hit. He has apparently set aside fine money so he can take out Jon Kitna this Sunday at Ford Field. NFL authorities were less than amused. The League has taken attention this with a statement. "Be advised that your comments will now compel us to carefully monitor your activities in this weekend's Cowboys-Lions game," read part of the letter signed by Ray Anderson, NFL executive vice president for football operations. "As you know, flagrant fouls may subject a player not only to fines, but to suspension as well. So conduct yourself accordingly."

WOW

I didn't wake up today thinking "I wonder if this is the day Cabrera and Willis will be coming to Detroit?" Instead I'll be going to bed thinking "This was the day Cabrera and Willis came to Detroit!"

The Tigers made some noise today at the winter meetings. They gave up Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, Mike Rabello, and three other minor leaguers for the Marlin's Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

The deal is sure to attract critics on both sides of the fence. One one hand, the Tigers gave up one of the better backup catchers, and two of the hottest prospects they had. One the other hand, they acquired two young, proven players. Both with all-star potential. Is this a good deal? No.

ITS A GREAT DEAL.

My hats off to GM Dave Dombrowski. I never in my wildest dreams imagined they could pull off a deal for Cabrera, let alone get Willis also. And honestly, they didn't give up that much.

Andrew Miller was their number one pitching prospect. He's touted as a future "best pitcher" in the game. He also lacks command, has an awkward motion, and may take another couple years to develop into a decent player.

Cameron Maybin was touted as the center fielder of the future. Why? Curtis Granderson, who should have won a gold glove, should not be moved out of that position. He has the speed and instinct to command the outfield. He's been acrobatic and awesome. I can think of at least two games last season that he saved with his stellar fielding. I also remember Maybin playing sub par. He won't be ready for another couple years also.

Mike Rabello is one I will miss. I think he did an above average job backing up Pudge. Sure, he had a shaky start hitting, but after that he got rolling just fine. I hope he gets the chance to compete for the starting position in Florida.

What about Inge? I assume he could be traded. With Jacque Jones now in the picture, I can't see him moving to LF. Perhaps it could be a possibility though. If this is the end of Brandon Inge at 3B, I will miss him. His daily highlight real will be missed. Inge is the last remaining Tiger from the losing era. He's a piece of the past, not one we care to remember, but one that reminds us just how far they've come. From 119 losses to a World Series appearance in 2006, this is just the beginning.

So what's next? The bullpen perhaps? Earlier in the day the Tigers acquired Denny Bautista from the Colorda Rockies for Jose Capellan. I think this is a good move. I believe Bautista can be an effective reliever. He's pitching well in the Dominican League.

Even with Bautista, Jones, and Francisco Cruceta, the Tigers may need to grab another bullpen guy. The jury is also still out on Fernando Rodney being able to setup and fill in for closing. Todd Jones also isn't getting any younger. Will he continue to decline, or hold steady?

Whatever happens the rest of the off season, and this may be it for a while, I think the Tigers are in a better position than they were last season. I think they more than solidified their line up. I think they made their starting five legit. I also believe their bullpen is better than it was last year.

Perhaps this year we can say Detroit Tigers, 2008 World Series Champions.

Big Football Weekend

This past weekend put football in the center spotlight. Bowl games at stake. Playoffs at stake. At all levels, there was lots of action, even where idle.

It all started out the Lions making the trip to Minnesota. I gotta say, I underestimated the score a bit. My original prediction of 38-17 was a little off the 42-10 mark. Still, it regardless of the score, the game had significant implications.

The Lions announced today that top WR Roy Williams will miss the remainder of the season with a sprained knee. Williams had been trying to become more involved in the offense. Perhaps now Furry or Johnson can pick up the slack. The Lions slipped to 6-6 with the loss, and are now tied for 2nd place with Chicago and Minnesota. It is likely they will miss the playoffs.

Speakinig of playoffs, or something close to it, the BCS took an ugly turn Saturday night when both (2) West Virigina and (1) Missouri lost. That immediately bumped Ohio State to 1 and LSU made a jump to 2 with their SEC title victory. My initial thoughts were "Great, the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl then."

Wrong.

Michigan's lack of rank couldn't protect them. They were #2 in the Big Ten, but still the ranked Illinios got the Rose Bowl invitation. Is it right? No. None of this is right. Ohio State's only win to a ranked team was Michigan. Arguments could be made that since they are no longer ranked, they did not beat a single ranked team.

The BCS needs to go. The original design was to have the Top 10 get BCS bids. But then you factor in automatic bids for certain conference winners, and you get a mess. (9) Florida will now play Michigan in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando on January 1. I don't personally care about Florida getting a BCS bowl, but come on. Ranked #9 and you have to play an unranked team? Regardless, it has the potential to be a great bowl game.

Speaking of another great bowl game, how does Central Michigan vs Michigan State sound? That's the kind of Michigan match up that would make the Motor City Bowl matter this year. It could sell tickets, spark some holiday passion, and make for some very good football.

Too bad it isn't happening.

Michigan State accepted a bid into Champs Sports Bowl against Boston College. This will be quite a game for the Spartans. My first thoughts are to say they cannot win. Then I remember that maybe Boston College can't either.

So what of Central Michigan?

CMU won their second straight MAC Championship this past weekend over Miami Ohio. CMU will play in the Motor City Bowl against Purdue. I'm predicting a CMU upset over Purdue. Or is it an upset?

The 2007 College footbal season was a mystery. The BCS imploded, and no one could truly figure out who was #1. Every week a small stack of top 10 teams lost. Perhaps the BCS will go away now. I doubt it.

Miles Extended

Les Miles will remain at LSU. I haven't seen any numbers released, but I am positive his contract extension is quite lucrative. Even if it isn't, he has a good situation in a fun conference. Why leave. I was crushed, but have decided to move on. Perhaps now I'll lobby for Brian Kelly. Something I think would be great for the job, but probably not on the candidate list.