Detroit Pistons Will Win the NBA Title

Well, not this year, but I'm sure they will get there if they do the right things this year and continue to draft well and make a few key free agent acquisitions. I didn't miss the NBA lookout at all. It is tuff to relate with millionaires complaining about multi millionaires. So I didn't jump through the roof when they decided to come back and play.

The best thing that the NBA did was start the season on Christmas day and showcase the better teams in the league. Unfortunately, the other 20 teams in the league now need to play and this is where the Pistons will fall this year.

The game between the Pistons and Pacers is unwatchable as the Pistons are being clowned by an average team. It is amazing that the Pistons front office decided to keep so many of the players that stunk the place up last year and didn't deserve another chance. The Pistons were 30 - 52 last year. I would have been much more happy with them going with a heavy dose of the young guys and let them play.

They Pistons lack size and athleticism on their front court. The still have three of the four guards that were on the team last year and several of the players are playing out of positions.

The player that I most disappointed with last year was Tayshaun Prince. The guy made over $11 million dollars last year and was poised to take over the team and be the leader... he didn't. This year he looks a step slower and still doesn't look like he hustles on the floor.

The coaching looks improved in that they don't seem to be yelling at each other or the refs. It drove me nuts last year as it seemed that every time they had a foul, they would raise the hands palms up towards the roof saying that they didn't foul. At least they aren't doing that anymore. The ball movement is average and they don't rebound the ball well. I hope that Joe Dumars is just showcasing some of the veterans so that they can be traded later in the year for draft picks... then again, he did resign Stuckey, Prince and Wallace this year... and two of the three are just stealing money this year.

Lions Suck... We Know

Green Bay fans are great… Into their stadium marched our beloved Lions… and they get this treatment. Ok, so the Lions suck… we know they suck, but did the Green Bay fans need to chant out 0 – 16? The act was classless if you ask me. By the way Green Bay your not that much better, getting rid of Farve was a great move for you. He’s in the playoffs…your team is not. I guess, if you only have the Packers to root for, there is little less to do once your team is out of the playoffs. While we still have the Pistons and Wings to follow the rest of the winter you guys are off making more cheese heads.

I’m kind of surprised that the Lions defense didn’t knock out the Packers quarterback after they heard the jeers and the game was decided. I would have expected it, but in the end, I’m glad they didn’t resort to that level. So, it’s time for change not only in the country but hopefully also with the Lions team.

Lions Trade Roy Williams to Cowboys

Today the Detroit Lions traded former first round draft choice Roy Williams to the to the Dallas Cowboys right before the trade deadline. Roy is in his last year of his contract and has pretty much stated that he would not resign with the Lions. Sure, the Lions could have franchised him, but that would mean that he would be paid the average of the top five wide receivers in the league. If the Lions were to do that, would Roy be worth the money spent on him. I don't think so.

Let's see what he does now that he is with a new team. Don't get me wrong, he is an exciting and still young player, but the Cowboys sure paid a lot for him. To get him, the Cowboys traded their first-round pick, third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick in the 2009 draft. The Cowboys also get the Lions seventh-round pick in addition to Williams.


There is a huge risk with obtaining Roy since he has a huge ego. He has the habit of flashing the first down sign even though the Lions are routinely getting killed. He also complains about not getting the ball enough and demands the ball even though he is the number two receiver on the Lions. On the Cowboys team, he is still is the number two receiver behind Terrell Owens. If things don't go well for the Cowboys they will not only have to contend with TO mouthing off but now also Roy.

If thing go well then, when TO is getting double teamed it will leave Roy with single coverage and a good quarterback getting him the ball. Only time will tell and at least for the next five years we will have plenty of time to see if it was a good or bad trade for the Cowboys.



For the Lions who are in total disarray again, this should attract a top flight General Manager to the franchise as they will have 5 of the top 100 draft picks in next years draft. This should be a quick way to infuse additional talent to a team lacking in so many areas.



Listen to what Roy said on a Dallas radio station after being traded to the Cowboys

The Lions Suck.. Again!

I know that this isn't news for some of you, but I've lived in Michigan since the early part of 1970's. Since then the Detroit Lions have had twelve head coaches. I've attached their coaching record... need I say more?

Don McCafferty 6 - 7
Rick Forzano 15 - 17
Tommy Hudspeth 11 - 13
Monte Clark 43 - 61
Darryl Rogers 18 - 40
Wayne Fontes 66 - 67
Bobby Ross 27 - 30
Gary Moeller 4 - 3
Marty Mornhinweg 5 - 27
Steve Mariucci 15 - 28
Dick Jauron 1 - 4
Rod Marinelli 10 – 24

I remember when the Lions used to be mediocre, but at least they were mediocre. I used to scream at the TV set when the lions used to loose. For the last few years the Lions have brought indifference for the team.

I think that if the Ford family will not sell the team, then they need to start over from scratch. Millen, Marinelli and the rest of the coaching staff as well as the scouting department… all gone. That is the only way to change the mindset of this team.

Championship Caliber Teams

That is what I call both the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons.

You might be thinking....Wow... that's a big boast. The answer is simple. Let's look at the wings first. Over the past ten or so years if you were to ask a casual fan which is the best team in the NHL your answer was probably the Red Wings and you wouldn't be wrong. These guys have been good for so long that they are now expected to win every time they step on the ice. The Wings are once again on top of the NHL. They have reformed themselves from the New York Yankees of the NHL to a young, energetic and explosive team to watch. So who are these guys? They have two excellent goalies in Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek. On the blue line they still have the reigning Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, and newcomer Brian Rafalski. Up front they have a great mixture of youth and experience. They have arguably the most valuable line in hockey where center Pavel Datsyuk is flanked by Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom. Check the statistics… Zetterberg has been the best two way player for over a year and Holmstrom is the best at what he does and that is owning the area just in front of the goalie.

Meanwhile just north of the Motor City resides the Palace of Auburn Hills where the Pistons call their home court. Since the 2002 season, the Pistons have been the best team in the Eastern Conference over that stretch of time. They have assembled the best starting five players and the bench is much improved. They seem to be bored at times, but never count these guys out. Ask the Boston Celtics who has the best team in the East.

The metamorphous took place the year Grant Hill wanted to leave the Pistons in favor of a warmer climate and better team. As a Piston fan, I was disappointed with his decision to leave as I thought it was going to be the end of the Pistons. I was rudely awaken at just how shrewd Joe Dumars was when he acquired some little known short pivot man named Ben Wallace and some throw in Chucky Atkins to make the trade possible. Both eventually started for the Pistons while Hill played only half of the games due to another injury. Dumars is just as quick at change the coaching staff for the team. George Irvine was replaced with Rick Carlisle who brought credibility back to the team.

Carlisle had very little talent on the team but the team played hard nosed defense and made the playoffs and quickly lost. The following year Joe Dumars knew that he had to upgrade the talent on the team. He acquired Chauncey Billups via free agency and Richard “Rip” Hamilton in a trade for Jerry Stackhouse. They also drafted Tayshun Prince that year. The next year they traded for Rasheed Wallace and won the NBA championship.

So what makes these guys what they are? It’s got to be the General Managers. Ken Holland of the Red Wings and Joe Dumars of the Pistons have brought their teams to greatness is completely different manners. Ken Holland has transformed the Red Wings from a powerful star studded team to a salary cap savvy team. He and longtime front office guru Jim Nill along with their scouting staff has come up with tremendous late round draft picks and every once in a while bring in a veteran that to improve their team. Joe Dumars has done a completely different way. His drafts have not been anywhere near as profitable as Holland’s but he is an excellent evaluator of talent as it becomes a part of the Pistons. He has shipped guys out of here and still gotten valuable assets in return. Since the NBA has a soft cap, Joe Dumars has the advantage to improve the Pistons via trades for expensive players or jumping into the free agency market. This is what makes Joe great. He doesn’t waste time pulling the trigger on a trade.

So we are living a dream in Detroit where we have tremendous teams helmed by great leaders… oh wait… there is that one team that shall be nameless.

Do the Lions stink???

I know I should be typing this right now, but I’m sick of it… after 50+ years of ineptitude I just can’t stand it anymore.

The Lions had a chance to win a big game today. After the Lions started the season 6 – 2, they have managed to loose 5 straight games. So what seems to be the matter with these guys? The answer is simple… not enough heart. Shawn Rodgers, arguably their best player they have on defense, seems to only be able to play half the plays since he is so out of shape that he gets winded every few plays. As the Cowboys were driving down the field for their come from behind 28 – 27 game winning touchdown, Rodgers was so tired that he couldn’t button his chin strap. He basically was saying that I’m tired and please get time out of here.

Don’t get me wrong… they all didn’t stink, just enough of them did that Ford Field had the aroma of a cattle farm. The offensive line played their best game of the year, and the offence as a whole played good enough to win.

I know some of you are going to say that they got shafted with some of the referee calls or a bounce here or there they would have won easily. Let me just tell you that a team makes their own breaks. A good team earns a call here or there and it seems that they get a lucky bounce go their way as well. So after another one of those games, the Lions look at the scoreboard and see that the visitor score is higher then theirs.

William Clay Ford Sr., will you please look at what the other Detroit pro sports teams are doing? The Wings are in first place… again. The Pistons are in first place… again. The Tigers are on their way to putting together another great team. When can we expect to see the Lions climb out of the cellar in the city? I’m a football fan first and want to cheer my team on to victory…

Tigers Heat Up Detroit

The Winter Baseball meetings are over and the team that made the biggest splash is none other then the local team from Detroit. The Tigers made a HUGE deal during the meetings, acquiring LHP Dontrelle Willis and 3B Miguel Cabrera from the Florida Marlins in exchange for RHP Burke Badenhop, RHP Eulogio De La Cruz, RHP Dallas Trahern, LHP Andrew Miller, C Mike Rabelo and OF Cameron Maybin.

So what makes this deal so huge? The Tigers gave up the two promising players and an untouchable players on their 40-man roster.

The Mariners got Andrew Miller, who is a left hander that is not in the traditional left hander mold. He throws in the high 90’s and has explosive movement at the plate. He was named the second-best prospect and rated as possessing the best slider in the Tigers organization following the season by Baseball America.

Eulogio De La Cruz is a relief pitcher that has major league ability. In 2006, he was named the sixth-best prospect and rated as possessing the best fastball and curve ball in the Tigers organization following the season by Baseball America. Remember that Joel Zumaya is still part of the Tiger organization and he hits 100+ mph on a regular basis.

The jewel of the trade was Mr. Untouchable… Cameron Maybin. He was named the top prospect in the Tigers organization and second-best prospect in the Midwest League following the season by Baseball America. Maybin has all the tools and is borrowing a few tools from Neifi Perez. In the encyclopedia under can’t miss there's a picture of him. In 2006 the Tigers, just off a run at the World Series, had a chance to add Alfonso Soriano to their team for Maybin straight up and the Tigers didn’t pull the trigger on the deal. He has been compared to Ken Griffy Jr. and Vlad Gerrero for his combination of speed and power. The Marlins got a gem with him.

So what did the Tigers get in return for all this talent? They got arguably the two best players in their prime from the Florida Marlins… period.

What the Tigers gave up is three young potential all stars for two young current all starts. Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera are only 25 and 24 years old. It’s not as if they are going to be filling for Social Security anytime soon. Miguel has comparable numbers to A-Rod in his first five years of being in the big league. Just think how potent he is going to be when he gets the protection in front of him and behind him in the batting order. In Florida, he was the man and most teams pitched around him. You’re just not going to be able to do that with the slew of bats that are swung by guys like Gary Sheffield, Edgar Renteria, Magglio Ordóñez, and Carlos Guillén.

The D-Train brings with a lot of heat. Dontrelle will blend right into the Tigers rotation as he gobbles up 200+ innings. Even with his sub par year last year he still has a 68-54 win loss record with a 3.78 ERA. Remember this guy is only 25 and he will get a lot of help with his former catcher Iván Rodríguez.

Welcome to the D D-Train and Miguel you should fit in nicely.