Mr. Duke Kyle Singler went to Detroit in the 2nd round. I’m not sure how I feel about this pick. Is he athletic enough to hang in the NBA? Will he even get minutes for our squad? Personally I thought Keith Benson from Oakland would have been a steal at this pick. But that said Singler will work hard and he has experience playing with winning teams. Let’s see if he still works hard playing with a group of guys that will be losing most of their games…
Meet the newest member of next year’s last place Detroit Pistons. Think I am being too pessimistic? Let’s take a deeper look at a flailing team that continues to move in the wrong direction.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/story.asp?story_id=9196
These are the contracts that our beloved franchise is currently committed to under the soft-cap structure that almost certainly will be eviscerated by the time the NBA ends what is expected to be an even worse lock-out than the NFL version.
Ben Gordon: Yeaah, gotta love that 3 year guaranteed money!!
Rodney Stuckey: Why is there a ‘Q’ next to my name?
Tayshaun Prince: Damn I don’t think this is a good time to be a free agent…
No Tayshaun, it isn’t a good time to be a free agent, especially because it means you could be jobless AND team-less for the foreseeable future and beyond. While this is bad for Tayshaun, his +$11mill salary coming off the books is good for the Pistons…though not good enough to make up for the money wasted on Ben Gordon’s 11 points a game. Since we are already STUCK paying disgruntled RIP Hamilton +$12 mil through 2013 and +$8 mil to Charlie V through 2014, we might as well let Rodney Stuckey become a free agent and rescue ourselves from the log jam at shooting guard. This happens if we do not offer him a qualifying offer of $3.8 mil that will keep him a restricted free agent.
“wait, you are really going to just cut your best player?”
No, we have no intentions of cutting Greg Monroe. But had we drafted the best player available at pick 8, then I would have had no problem letting you go and keeping RIP on the bench again while Mr. Kemba Walker emerged as this team’s savior.
Yeah, national champion Kemba Walker, 2nd behind Jimmer Fredette in Player of the Year Voting (also available to the Pistons at pick #8) was passed up by Joe Dumars so that we could sign…BRANDON KNIGHT?
“Brandon Knight is a good player…almost completely drives to his right…good shooter…not a true point guard…average passer”
And this is the guy I am supposed to assume will handle point guard duties for the Detroit Pistons for years to come? Though some of my peers disagree, I say this pick was a mistake, especially when you look at our commitment to Stuckey and realize WE DON’T HAVE TO KEEP HIM. Nor should we. He is undersized and lacks the jump-shooting ability to take over games like today’s NBA franchises need from their starting 2 guard. Kemba Walker however has the perfect size AND has proven he can take over games, and on the nation’s biggest stages.
“You know I was committed to getting one of those foreign big men. When they all disappeared I had no idea what to do!”
That was obvious Joe. While in your defense it was surprising to see Tristan Thompson, Jonas Valanciunas, Jan Vesely (my favorite) and Ben Wallace incarnate Bismack Biyombo all fall off the board before pick 8, the trade-off in that happening was that it meant Kemba Walker was available! But instead we went with a combo-guard that will maybe help us defend some bigger point guards, but will do nothing when it comes to getting someone on the floor who can lead and score right away!
With Brandon Knight in the mix, here is what our still undersized team looks like in 2011-‘12 assuming we can’t make any other trades or acquisitions during the locked-out off-season.
PG: Brandon Knight, Will Bynum
SG: Rodney Stuckey, RIP Hamilton, Ben Gordon
SF: Austin Daye, Charlie Villanueva (no more Tayshaun)
PF: Greg Monroe, Jason Maxiell, Jonas Jerebko (if re-signed)
C: Ben Wallace
Now obviously the Pistons will try to move to add size to this pathetic front court, but this isn’t a winning club no matter what you do with it. Nor would they be if we had drafted Kemba Walker…but if you build for 2013, we’d of looked much better taking Stuckey’s contract off the books and having a lineup like this:
PG: Kemba Walker, Will Bynum
SG: RIP Hamilton, Ben Gordon
SF: Austin Daye, Charlie Villanueva (no more Tayshaun)
PF: Greg Monroe, Jason Maxiell, Jonas Jerebko (if re-signed)
C: Ben Wallace
Yep, it looks exactly the same with one big exception: we have Kemba instead of Knight and we are divorcing ourselves from the failed marriage with Rodney Stuckey. Sure Kemba Walker isn’t a point guard by trade, but at least he has skills. That is undeniable and to me, it’s about getting the best five on the court. Kemba would help us do that. Knight is just a rounded square plug that we are trying to fit into a rigid square hole.
However…one of my peers believes Brandon Knight was the perfect pick for the Pistons considering who was left on the board. He and I debate that point in the our newest segment:
DUSCH VERSUS DOOX
DooX: “I want Kemba”
Dusch: I do not. Jimmer or a big man.
David Stern: The Detroit Pistons select point guard Brandon Knight, from the University of Kentucky.
I am sure it sounds good…for now. But you will be eating your words in three years when our passing up on Kemba Walker compares with our passing up on Carmelo, Wade and Bosh.
Props to Chris Leidal however for agreeing with the DSS that passing up on Kemba Walker was incompetent, and also Zach Goldman’s comment that “Brandon Knight seemed not interested in us” is noteworthy if you look at our new point guard’s post draft interview.
Exciting times for the Pistons!!…
In other news the Detroit Tigers got their first day’s rest in about 3 years, and our boys avoided the sweep in LA on the strength of a Maglio Ordonez home run (who knew?)
Go NFL Owners!
Justin Verlander aka the best pitcher in baseball
Welcome back reader(s). I have to say I didn’t think I’d be here writing about Detroit Sports again. To be honest I didn’t think there would be any sports to write about, what with an NFL lockout that may ruin the first winning Detroit Lions season since #20 was in the backfield and a pending NBA lockout that for all intensive purposes only saves face for a Pistons team that may not even be an above .500 team playing in the WAC (BYU AND SDSU bowling through the 2010 NCAA tourney, really?)
Add an embarrassing Michigan State Capital One Bowl and an absurdly lackluster Tom Izzo basketball season and I was ready to call it quits. In fact I did call it quits…until Justin Verlander proved last night that Detroit has the best pitcher in baseball.
”You’re joking, right?”
No second best pitcher in the league Roy Halladay, I am not joking. Today, here and now, Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in baseball. Counting backwards, these are the top three reasons why Verlander is all-around better than Halladay, Lincecum, Sabathia or any other pitcher considered tops in a league that has to look up to Detroit’s Ace.
#3. Justin Verlander has the best WHIP
Though it sounds more like an Indiana Jones prop than a baseball statistic, WHIP, or Walks plus Hits per Innings Pitched, is one of the best statistical indicators of how well a pitcher is doing over the stretch of a game, month, season AND career. Unlike ERA, which is solely based on whether a pitcher gives up a run, WHIP accounts for all those times your ‘ace’ almost gives up a run but narrowly escapes the bases loaded jam thanks to a Jadier Molina inning-ending double play.
Ay, why you gotta call me out?”
Sorry Yadier, but you and the Cardinals are notorious for Grounding into Double Plays in 2011 and I’m still bitter about what you did to the Tigers in the 2006 World Series. But I digress.
WHIP, or walks plus hits divided by Innings pitched, calculates a number that, if below 1.0, means you hardly ever put runners on base. Ask any pitcher who makes the occasional bad home run pitch and he will tell you his WHIP is a much better indicator than ERA of how he performed through the course of the game as opposed to ERA, which could skyrocket on one bad pitch.
“What’s your point?”
My point, C.C., is that Justin Verlander’s .89 WHIP is the best in baseball, .03 ahead of comeback Phillies starter Cole Hamels (.92) and a whopping .34 ahead of you. Here are the top 5 pitchers in baseball as far as who has got the best WHIP, and their corresponding Win Loss records (at least 60 innings pitched).
Though Cole Hamels and Alexi Ogando have better record than Verlander, win/loss is a team stat that has as much to do with a team’s hitting and bullpen as it does with who is on the mound to start a game. That being said, no matter how bad your team is (see Humber’s White Sox), if your starter has a sub 1.0 WHIP, he is giving your team a great chance to win. And Verlander’s is the best of the bunch.
#2. Justin Verlander has the best stuff
Most aces in the major leagues can at least throw a 95 mph fastball. Though for normal people it would be impossible to throw anything faster than 70mph, in the major leagues you at least have to throw +90 to keep hitters on their toes. Justin Verlander throws 92 to 95 mph…when he’s holding back. at a top speed of 102 mph, Verlander is one of, if not THE hardest throwing pitcher in baseball. That said, you don’t win games by just throwing hard. You win games by changing speeds and throwing with precision without tipping off to the batters what pitch you are throwing. Simply put, you win games by complementing a +95 fastball with a sub 87mph change up. Verlander does this better than any other pitcher.
“Hey what about me?”
Most years I would say Tim Lincecum possesses the best changeup in baseball. But this year Timmy is just 5-5 with a 1.19 WHIP and 3.41 ERA. If he was throwing his changeup like JV, those #’s would be much more Lincecum-like.
“Hey! What about my other pitches?”
I’m getting there JV. A 100+ fast ball and a stellar change already puts JV up there with Roy Halladay, Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, Danny Haren and some of the others people would argue possess the best stuff in the league. But Verlander also strikes batters out, consistently, with a 12-6 curve ball that usually leaves batters with a K even if they don’t swing. While most pitchers are taught to leave their curve balls down and let batters swing through, Verlander has gotten so accurate with his curve that he can throw it so it looks like a high fastball and then he lets it drop in the center of the strike zone, leaving hitters stunned.
Add a tight slider and a half curveball half slider slurve and it’s tough to find anyone in the league with anything close to the depth of top rate pitches that Verlander has in his bag.
#1. Justin Verlander is the best at pitching big in big situations
In his first complete season he led the Tigers to the World Series, going 17-9 with a 3.63 ERA. The next year the Tigers struggled but Verlander still managed to come up big when the moment presented itself, pitching a no hitter against Prince Fielder and the Brewers in 2007. Verlander and the Tigers struggled from 2008-2010, though the Tigers ace still managed to stay near the top in every relevant pitching category. Then the 2011 Verlander was born.
Last night marked the first time the Tigers saw a share of 1st place in their division since the 2010 season. Leading up to that game, Verlander had gone at least 7.2 innings deep in his previous 3 starts and had given up 3 runs combined in those 3 games. Add the May no-hit effort and the no hitter through 5 in his very next start and you can tell the Verlander in 2011 was a different guy.
But none of that would have mattered if JV didn’t shut down the team his Tigers have been chasing all year long. In a game that would set the tone for who would be the front runner in the AL central heading into inter-league play, Verlander went nuts. Nine innings pitched. Zero runs. Twelve strikeouts. One walk. Two hits (the first happening only after 7.1 no-hit innings). Most pitchers go an entire career without pitching that sort of game. Verlander threatens to do it every time he takes the mound, and he did it this year when the Tigers needed it most.
Though as Brad Penny showed tonight, the Tigers are still a long way from being a title contender, rest assured with JV on their side they will be in the hunt all the way through August. Sorry Roy, Clayton, C.C., Timmy etc. etc., you are all good but you can’t touch Justin Verlander Version 2011.
Now someone tell Leyland to move Maglio down to 8th in the lineup and someone tell Dombrowski to start looking for ways to trade for another lefty starter and/or a power-hitting third basemen/corner OF.
In other news, the NFL labor talks nearly broke down…again. I’m almost hoping for a shortened season at this point. Ah well.
Go TIGERS!
PSS: If you think you can give #3 reasons why another pitcher is the best 2011 pitcher in baseball, give it a shot. A fake prize to whoever makes the best case!)
Hats off to an impressive win and an amazing season for the Michigan State Spartans!
Magical. That is the word to describe a season that surpassed expectations by about 7 wins and 40 spots in the rankings. In a year where we saw comebacks galore, special teams miracles, and wins for a coach whose life hung in the balance, well no matter what the polls say, these Spartans are indeed champions!
Here are some of the highlights that encapsulate a season that shall be enshrined in the hearts and minds of Spartans for as long as our school shall stand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNdCbC36Qyk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGQIobz0k70
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha28dVYVn6c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muUMGE7oLqg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82I3QuYWo70&feature=related (:56 in)
http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303240127
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303310213
These were just some of the moments that highlighted a season to remember. Before I bash the BCS, I’d like to make special note of some of the individual players who deserve honorable mentions for their efforts this year. In no particular order, this team should applaud:
Charlie Gantt & Brian Linthicum (TE), Eric Gordon (LB), Jerel Worthy (DT), Le’Veon Bell & Larry Caper (RB), the entire offensive line, Johnny Adams (DB), Trenton Robinson (S), Keith Nichol & Bennie Fowler (WR), Darqueze Dannard (DB-who played gigantically filling in for suspended C.L. Rucker in the win against Illinois), Tyler Hoover (DE), Marcus Hyde (S), Todd Anderson (DE), Aaron Bates (P) & Dan Conroy (K)
These are some of the guys who do not receive much attention, but whose efforts were instrumental in bringing about this magical 2010 Spartans season. When the Spartans needed an interception, Johnny Adams or Trenton Robinson was there. When they needed a sack, Jerel Worthy was causing havoc up the middle, with help from Anderson and Hoover on the ends. When Keshawn Martin went down, Bennie Fowler stepped up and filled the role of slot receiver/returner/WR on the reverse. And Eric Gordon was always making big tackles, helping out the All-American in the middle. Speaking of all-americans, here are the MVP awards for a team with many stars…and some superstar performers.
Defensive MVP’s: Greg Jones, Johnny Adams, Jerel Worthy
played inspired football throughout the entire 2010 season. Though for many games their line was undersized and the speed of the opponents made match-ups on the corners tough, these guys continued to make plays to put our team in a position to win. Everyone knew going into the season about Greg Jones, and the hype was well-deserved. Greg shut down mobile quarterbacks, he stuffed runs, he came up with big-time sacks…basically he did it all, much of it thanks to stout tackle in the middle Jerel Worthy. Worthy was a monster for the entire season. He came up with sacks, forced fumbles, he stuffed the run…Worthy was just incredible. Then there was Johnny Adams. On a team that was criticized for having incapable db’s, Adams proved time and time again that he was a true cover corner who could make big plays when the team needed him most. And there you have the Defensive MVP’s.
Offensive MVPs: All three starting receivers (Keshawn Martin, Mark Dell, & B.J. Cunningham); Star running back Edwin Baker; coordinating genius Don Treadwell, & star quarterback Kirk Cousins
It was impossible for me to pick one receiver that stood out over the others, since all three were irreplaceable in the offense. Keshawn Martin was crucial for bubble screens, reverses and returns; Mark Dell stretched the field and made big catch after big catch; B.J. Cunningham did it all. These guys were exceptional and made Cousin’s job much easier. Edwin Baker also emerged amongst a talented 3-headed running attack as the leader and the man who refused to go down. Powerful, fast and with a nose for the end-zone, Edwin Baker stood out in 2010 and will be a tremendous force in the bowl game and for the next two years.
Then there is Cousins. Kirk’s ability as an accurate passer can’t be overshadowed. He dares to make the tough throws, and most of the time he connected on those throws. He threw across his body, he threw touchdowns off his back foot, he threaded needles to the tight ends, he sparked comeback after comeback…Kirk was and is simply the best quarterback Michigan State has ever seen since…well maybe ever. And he is only a Junior! Rest assured, the few mistakes Cousins made, he will correct next year en route to perhaps an outright MSU championship. Add to that an incredible offensive system diagrammed by a coordinator that an NFL team would be lucky to name head coach (Lions, are you listening), and there you have your 2010 Michigan State Offensive MVP’s.
Yet despite the phenomenal season chalked full of MVP performances, these are the bowl projections for our Spartans and the rest of the NCAAF:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions
Sad. But not too sad. Michigan State can still hang their heads high for doing their job on the field, and they can say they beat the team that earned the Rose Bowl bid AND that they had the same record. With a quality opponent like Alabama waiting for us in Orlando, MSU will have their opportunity to prove they deserved a better bid in the BCS, and they will have to win to earn that attention next year.
So no matter where these Spartans play for their bowl game, it cannot be stressed enough that making it is not enough, we HAVE to WIN!
A loss will not take the magic away from the season, but it will certainly dampen it. Meanwhile, the Lions just lost their 2000th road game in a row and the Pistons just lost to the Knicks at home.
GO STATE!
The Detroit Sports Savior was put into a coma after the inexcusable Lions choke against the New York Jets three weeks ago. FIRE SHWARTZ has been my motto ever since. I will explain later. For now, I am devoting my time to something I can actually control: www.therealhollywoodfilm.com.
BUT…
The Detroit Tigers have given themselves a tremendous boost by signing Victor Martinez. Now the Tigers have a viable, switch-hitting DH and fill-in stud at Catcher who will protect Miguel Cabrera at the 4 spot in the line-up. If Will Rhymes can continue to get on base in the 2 spot (big IF), and if Brennan Boesch’s bat returns to his 1st half season form, this team might actually compete in 2011.
One can at least hope…
In other news, the Rose Bowl party in my Pasadena back yard took a big hit after Iowa’s choke against the Buckeyes. I now will be rooting for UofM for the first time since 2002 when I decided to disappoint my parents and enroll in a school that had both a great academic program and women that looked like this:
instead of like…well I’m too nice to actually insert a picture here but if you have been to Ann Arbor once in your lifetime you know what I mean.
GOT ‘EM.
Let’s just hope for Sparty’s sake that Nittany Lions don’t decide to make my rooting for the maize and blue a moot point!
GO STATE!
The Lions are 2-5. They are last place and winless in their division, they have to play a 5-2 New York Jets team tomorrow, and they have been perennial losers for about as long all their fans have been alive. Yet these Detroit Lions are not the same Lions…and they can be winners, and even playoff bound, THIS SEASON!
“Whoooo, we might not blow this one!”
After last week’s comeback win over the Redskins, the Lions proved to themselves that for once they could win a close game where it looked like they were all but said and done. Let’s recap.
Washington 19, Detroit 14 with 11 minutes to go. Detroit marches down the field and finishes a 6 play drive with a Stafford to CJ go-ahead touchdown. After a missed 2 point try, the score was still Detroit 20, Washington 19. We recaptured the lead…in the 4th quarter!
“I’d have two of these if they didn’t call the last one back!”
And the very next kickoff, our lead evaporates thanks to a 99 yard return by some guy named “banks”. Washington 25, Detroit 20.
This is how the rest of the game goes for the old Lions.
This is how the rest of the game went for the new Lions.
“I held on to this one!!!!”
And that marks the point our season turned around… for the better. Alphonso Smith had just dropped an INT that cost the Lions 10 points (would be pick-six for 7 Detroit points instead was dropped…immediately deflating momentum and leading to a Washington Field Goal that put the Skins up 10-7 and later 13-7 to close the first half).
But for this one game, our mid-season acquisition with enormous potential redeemed himself! When Alphonso stepped in front of Anthony Armstrong and snatched away McNaab’s ill-advised pass, the Lions had new life. And from that point on, this team looked like the contender their talent suggests we can be!
And that solidified the change. A must-convert play, and we not only converted, we SCORED!!!!!!!!
Though old lions would have blown it on the ensuing drive, somehow we knew THIS defense would hold tough…and they did! Philly’s drive started with a holding play, ended with a punt and another DET score, renewed with a bunch of sacks, then a a House of Spears Touchdown, and alas a final score: Washington 25, Detroit 37.
LIONS WIN!
True, this is only one win, but it was an important win. It was a win where defeat seemed so predictable, so typical, so obvious! Yet it was a win. A win despite these infamous previous losses:
1. CHI 19, DET 14: Chicago beats Detroit thanks to a terrible rule on CJ’s go-ahead TD catch
2. PHI 25, DET 22: Philly escapes Detroit comeback effort in Michael Vick’s first start since his sentencing
“Ah well, I’ll be back just in time to steal a win against Detroit”
3. MIN 24, DET 10: Lions lose to Minnesota and Favre in the Ed Hochuli masterpiece
“Holding on the entire Detroit offensive Line…sorry, if the Vikings aren’t going to win on merit I have to step in and help!”
4. GB 28, DET 26: Missed Pass Interference call halts Lions’ first chance at a win in Green Bay since the AFC was it’s own league.
. “YEEEESSS! No matter what I do to receivers they never flag me!”
5. NYG 28, DET 20: An untimely Nate Burleson fumble prevents the Lions from securing a miracle win on the backs of 3rd string QB Drew Stanton
“Well, at least the loss wasn’t my fault!”
Five losses, each with a backup QB finishing the game (and starting all but the first), and you can easily conceive of outcomes for each that would have given the Lions a 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, 6-1, or even a 7-0 record (ridiculous I know, but look at those games. When in history have the Lions lost so many winnable games?)
But the close losses should, SHOULD, be over now!! But it won’t happen automatically. This team found a way to win a tough one; here’s how they continue to win so that by season’s end, we can tune in to the Playoffs TO WATCH OUR OWN TEAM PLAY!
Wrong kind of Lion I know, but you get it!
No other way to put it; the Lions’ run defense was great for the first time all year, all thanks to Deandre Levy…who has been injured excepting last week. And go figure, our first game with Stafford playing from start to finish and, though he started awfully, he finished strong.
True, it’s impossible for every player to stay healthy here-on out, but these are the guys the Lions absolutely can’t lose if they want to keep winning (in order of devastation the injury will cause the team from most to least devastating):
-Calvin Johnson, Deandre Levy, Matthew Stafford, Julian Peterson, Louis Delmas, Jahvid Best, all of our offensive line minus Jeff Backus, Alphonso Smith, Ndamukong Suh, Kyle Vanden Bosch, and C.C. Brown (who is already injured…Spievey isn’t ready, get back ASAP C.C.)
2. Clever play-calling from start to finish
Linehan: “So Calvin will go out, and the play is for you to throw to Calvin after he goes out.”
Stafford: “Is that it?”
Linehan: “That’s it. What, should I be thinking of something else?”
The play-calling makes such a huge difference in games, especially in the second half of the season when teams have a host of game-film to study…you simply have to reach back for plays that keep defenses on their toes. Linehan did an okay job passing on running downs last week, but I still saw play-action passes on third & long.
Let me explain what a play-action on third down means: it means even though everyone in the stadium knows we are passing, we decide to waste some time and take the QB’s eyes off the receivers to fake a hand-off to a running back who should be blocking instead of pretending to run a ball EVERYONE KNOWS HE WON’T RUN! It almost cost us last week and it will cost us if we continue to do it. Here are three plays the Lions should run that will guarantee, and I repeat, GUARANTEE positive yards, and maybe even a score (someone please forward this to Linehan before start of game time)
Play One. Stefan Logan reverse to the strong side
This is a simple play but with Logan, very effective. EVERY GAME, every team should run at least one reverse, and it should be when the down and distance is 2nd & 3 through 2nd & 6. Don’t ask me why, just trust me. This is the best time to do it. DO IT SCOTTY!
Play Two. Play-action lead to the weak side, pass to strong side TE (Scheffler)
A few teams have run this play in 2010 and it has resulted in 30+ yards every time. How it works: you pretend to give a lead hand-off to the weak side. The whole O-line blocks as if we are running to the right, but the Tight End on the opposite side of the line creeps out to open space. When Stafford fakes the hand-off, at worst he will have Scheffler in one on one coverage, though he will probably be wide open. This play is best on obvious running downs (1st & 10, 3rd & 1, etc.)
Play Three. Fake Punt direct snap to Felton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6zTJFbuzRw
The Cleveland Browns proved teams can win games with a well-timed fake punt…theirs being the best in NFL history and second best fake-punt in all of football.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muUMGE7oLqg (Okay, I’m biased).
Now I don’t suggest the Lions run Nick Harris down the field (Nick’s a great punter, but not the best sprinter I’m guessing), but we can direct snap to one of the up-men. I recommend Jerome Felton who looks like a typical up-man but runs like Jerome Bettis. Cleveland risked too much however doing it near their end zone. I say you do it on 4th & 4 or shorter on the DET 35 to 45 yard line (so it’s still not expected, but won’t kill you field-position wise if the play fails).
You are welcome Linehan…though if you do any of these plays, I publish this before game-time so I get credit (unless they don’t work…then it’s all on you!)
3. Ignore bad calls and overcome them!
“I’m going to punch that motherf***”
I am picking on Cliff Avril because he, like most Lions, was frustrated with the officiating during the New York Giants game. However, his frustration cost the team 4 points (Giants were stopped on third down, but Avril took a swing at the G-men’s Offensive Tackle so the Giants were awarded 3 more tries to score from the one yard line).
Cliff was justified in being angry. He is a great pass-rusher and often linemen hold him like they are first-time mothers and he’s the newborn (sorry, I’m terrible with analogies I know!) But good teams overcome bad calls, they don’t react. That is what these Lions started to learn last week and have to continue to learn from here on out. Let the bloggers complain. You guys just stay focused!
That’s it. The Lions are talented enough to beat the teams on this schedule (Jets and Patriots being the only particularly tough games left) so long as they do what they’ve been doing and stay healthy, clever, and focused. Simple right?
GO LIONS!
(oh and I’m skipping the long blog about the REAL fantasy league, but let’s just say my streak is over thanks to a moronic Eddie Royal start over Miles Austin and a 4th quarter injury to Mike Hart that would have solidified the most miracle last-second start in fantasy football history when I found out Addai was hurt…now I know never to trust a Wolverine).
GO STATE!
“Tay, you guard Garnett. Come on, play some Defense!”
Kuester is not only incompetent, but he also is blaming the team for his inability to field the right lineups. Kuester is destroying the team before they even start to form. He has to go, and Joe D. would be foolish not to do NOW. The fact that we are even considering benching Stuckey because of an argument with this ignoramus proves that he does more harm than good. To be honest, I’d rather go the season without a coach and let Charlie V. be player/coach for the year!
“Coach, sure. I’m willing to accept any role the team gives me!”
Okay maybe not. But you get my point. Kuester needs to go, NOW!
Go Shock!
Kelz asks:
“At what point is it okay to root for your team to go winless? is it not as impressive as going undefeated? At least they’ll live in infamy and not mediocrity, right?”
Lions fans should have plenty to say in this regard. I will let all Lions fans provide their answers, but here’s your two cents from DSS.
I felt eerily similar watching my team lose EVERY SINGLE GAME as I did during the 16 minutes this little girl dragged me around by my neck at a wedding (okay it was actually more like 5 minutes, but this metaphor needs 16 minutes to work!). At first, you are angry because something is happening and you don’t want it to be happening. That takes you through the first 6 games/minutes. Then after you realize there is no way out of it, you start to enjoy the attention you are getting from your awful situation. Sure it isn’t POSITIVE attention, but things could be worse. People are starting to pay attention to you now. Who knows, you may even get some sympathy votes from the girl at the bar watching you sulk as your team blows it despite heroically making it to overtime against a quality opponent. That gets you through another 6 games/minutes. But eventually, as the losses mount, you realize the attention isn’t worth it. You are in pain after being put in such an awkward position game after game, the sympathy is no longer there and people are just looking at you derisively, wondering why you can’t get it together after so long…basically you will want it to stop, even if it starts up again…even if the damage done is irreparable, you still want that moment of relief, that one win so that it won’t be remembered FOREVER (okay I give up on the picture metaphor…it admittedly was a stretch from the get-go).
“Do you really want to be like me?”
Buffalo Bills fans have had it rough. I am almost glad the Lions haven’t made it to the Super Bowl yet, because at least nowadays they aren’t getting my hopes up. The Bills lost 4, 4 consecutive Super Bowls. It is impossible to fathom just how good a team has to be to make it to four consecutive super bowls, yet how bad they have to be in the clutch to LOSE THEM ALL.
“Don’t Remind Me”
Sorry Jim.
But back to the subject. Kelz, you do not want to go 0-16. The memory will haunt you forever, all the attention you will receive will be negative, your team’s morale will be so damaged they may never fully recover…AND it’s not even a story any more. My Lions already did it. The spotlight on putridity has already been shown. So do yourselves a favor and beat the Bengals or some other overrated team on your remaining schedule…just don’t beat the Lions. Do Not, I repeat, DO NOT beat the Lions. That is all.
GO…PISTONS!
I have about 20 minutes until Halloween mayhem starts…should be just enough time to embarrass my last week opponent.
1. The Cleaner 5-2-0
2. TakinMyTalnt2Jen;) 5-2-0
3. DetroitSports Savior 4-3-0 (Me)
4. ForYourHealth 4-3-0
5. finest’s finest 4-3-0
6. myFOOTinyourBALLs 3-4-0
7. call da ambalance 3-4-0
8. Yo Soy Bueno Brah 3-4-0
9. Quag’s Gumbo Stand 2-5-0 (Jonesy-Poo)
10. Bygones 2-5-0
Yep, these are the standings as is. Notice how yours truly has lived true to his word and has won 4 straight weeks despite this comment from Jones after the Sunday afternoon games had finished (but before Harvin, Rodgers, and Austin had taken the field):
Let this be a lesson to EVERY fantasy football owner out there, do not, and I repeat, DO NOT brag, taunt, and especially do not photoshop trash talk on your opponent’s Facebook Wall UNTIL THE WEEK IS OVER.
My opponent last week, Mr. Jonesy-Poo…
(ya, this guy)
…let’s say he broke that rule in the worst way possible. Not only was his taunting premature, but it also left karma’s gate wide-open.
“What do you mean?”
To put things into perspective, Mr. Jones was only down 6 points heading into Monday Night’s game with starts from Tony Romo and Roy Williams remaining. Maintaining my Nastradamus-type year, I predicted a Romo injury in the first half (more so was preying for it rather than predicting it, but tomato tomotto) and voila! Down goes Romo, down goes Jones, and then this followed:
Yep, Mr. Jones was “Owned” by his own photo-crop…with my whole active roster there to rub it in.
Yep, that sort of incompetence does not go unnoticed.
“I told you I wasn’t hurt that bad!”
If that wasn’t bad enough, Mr. Jones tried to save his pride by taking things out on Fantasy Football rookie C.Lue Guy…who beat our b-day boy of last week despite missing out on McFadden’s 40+ points because of the frightening “Q” on the injury report before the game.
From now on, if you or anyone else in your league does something this stupid…just say he Jonesy-Poo’d It. You’re welcome Gumbo Stand, you’re welcome.
In other news, MSU has sadly choked. Ah well, the Rose Bowl is still in sights.
GO LIONS!
Detroit Pistons: 0-1. Here is why.
“why wasn’t I put in earlier?”
Throughout most, excuse me, MOST of the second half, the Pistons stayed comfortably in front of a lowly, but young Nets team. The five on the court doing the job? Jason Maxiell (C), Tracy McGrady (PF), Charlie Villanueva (SF), Ben Gordon (SG), Will Bynum (PG). The lineup was great. Everyone had a role, we weren’t drastically undersized, and we were scoring and playing defense. Heck Charlie V was getting steals!
“Yeah, I can play PF”
The biggest surprise of the night was T-Mac playing the post…well! He was smart, he played big, helped set-up the offense…he was a T-Mac no team has ever had before…and he was excellent in that role.
But where was he when the game was on the line? Riding the bench along with EVERY OTHER PLAYER that got us to that point (with the exception of an exhausted Ben Gordon). EVERY OTHER PLAYER!!
Instead, we lost the lead by putting in Ben Wallace (C) (missed several free throws in the clutch), Tayshaun Prince (PF) (Tay is not a PF), Ben Gordon (SF) (he is not an SF), Rip Hamilton (SG) (who hadn’t played for almost the entire half) and Rodney Stuckey (Who felt like he had to it all…which he did since the team was so cold). Kuester’s incompetence is staggering. He is an absolute moron.
“Poopy, meany head”
Yep, that’s what I’d expect from you John. Joe Dumars has taken more heat than deserved for a roster that is only one trade away from being extremely potent. Sadly however, he hasn’t fired the coach that is making the team look 20X worse than they already are.
GO PISTONS
