Lions and Stafford and Andrews, OH My

The hard luck Detroit Lions lost yet another game on a blown call. Calvin Johnson’s apparent game winning reception was ruled incomplete for no reason and even by the letter of the rule I still don’t believe that the correct call was "interpreted" by the referees. He clearly had the ball palmed the ball across the plane of the end zone both feet in bounds, arm down, sitting on his butt. At that point he got up using the ball for leverage and then willingly and on purpose let go of the ball...sounds like a catch in my books. The Lions needed this win and for that call to go their way for many reasons; a) they are the Lions and they never get a break, b) It is a bad rule and an even worse interpretation c) I have Calvin Johnson on my fantasy team and I REALLY could have used those points d) Not only did they loose the game but they lost their starting QB Matt Stafford after he was injured and will now be missing likely 1-6 weeks due to an injured shoulder. He doesn’t seem to need surgery but this could prove to be a big red flag for the lions as Stafford ended last season on IR.

Stafford went down to Alabama and met with a man that needs no introduction in the sports community and is probably one of the most famous doctors in the world. All you have to do is hear his name and you can almost diagnose the problem yourself and what is going to be done with many of your favorite players. I speak of course to the doctor with the Rock Star status...Dr. James Andrews. Dr. Andrews is an orthopedic surgeon and is regarded in the sports world as the leading expert on shoulders, elbows and forearms...just about the entire arm and sometimes he will even branch out and have a look see at the occasional knee; ACL, MCL, PCL...he does not discriminate.

Dr. Andrews who is currently approaching 70 and is getting older. What happens when he retires? Where will everyone go, what will players do? How will the fans know what is going on with their stars and who will become the new go to guy in the world of orthopedic surgery. Who will do all the Tommy John Surgeries?

It is almost funny that Dr. Andrews name is nearly as famous as the procedures that he preforms when doing Tommy John reconstruction.

* Bob Sanders has undergone surgery to repair the torn right biceps muscle that he suffered in the season-opener against Houston. Famed orthopedist Dr. James Andrews performed the operation on Sanders

Thanksgiving Or Football Day?

It may not be as good as a day off but I suppose it is the next best thing. It is that time of the year where the traditional Thursday football games are on the radio during the day. Sure it would be better to be watching the game but there is something to be said for the good ol’ days when the theatre of the mind was where it was at. At least in the NFL there are not two teams in the league with the same name like there was in the CFL for so many years...just imagine listening to a game on the radio and what you hear is " Rough Riders have the ball, here is the snap, there is a fumble Roughriders and the Rough Riders are in a scrum...Roughriders recover". How does your head not explode?

It seems that the majority of the games over the last few years have been stinkers but almost any NFL football is good...even if it is the Lions. The their credit they did try to give the game some hype this year after a good comeback win versus the hapless Browns in a shoot out but even with that it cost them the health of Matt Stafford and there is questions on if he will be able to play. Likely it will end up being Dante Caulpepper and that does not scream exciting game even with the Packers on the other side of the field. Gotta figure that the Pack will be back and on track and take this game with ease.

Then you look at the next game on the sched and after just a horra-awful game last week managing a 1 point victory versus a team they should have pummeled. Playing the Raiders who are coming off an upset themselves should make this game closer then it should be. Only problem with that is that a close game is a far fetch from a good game...especially on the radio so that should prove to be interesting.

In a welcome addition the game on the NFL Network for the more recent 8pm game addition should be the game of the day with the Giants taking on the rapidly falling Denver team. After such a strong and surprising start Kyle Orton and Co. have fallen back to earth and look like the team we thought they were before the season started....a very bad one. Hopefully Eli and the G-Men can light it up, they may be the best bet to see a team move the ball into the opponents end of the field.

So get your Swanson TV Turkey dinner with all the trimmings ready and take thanks for a triple header of football. Happy US Thanksgiving.

Home Sweet Dome

Are you a Detroit Lions football fan? Or Want a piece of history? Got $583,000? If so then maybe the Pontiac Silverdome could be for you. Not unlike what Rogers did when they bought the Jays and the SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) at a huge discount a Canadian Real Estate company won an auction and are now the proud owners of an old arena with no tenant right now for the price of a decent home, depending on your location.

The Silverdome was the home of the Lions from when it was built in 1975 at a cost of $55.7 million. To put that into perspective, if that were to be built today it would cost in the neighbourhood of $220,000,000. The stadium obtained the name "Silverdome" due to a silver-like reflection caused by the sun, mainly noticed from the sky. The roof was constructed with Teflon-coated fiberglass panels, and supported by air pressure inside the stadium. It remained the teams home until they moved into Ford Field in 2001. The stadium could hold 80,311 for football games..the largest stadium until 1997 when FedEx Field opened. It was also the home of the Detroit Pistons of the NBA from 1978–1988. They then moved to. The Palace of Auburn Hills.

There were many events that were hosted there over the lifespan of the dome, most notably the home of some USFL Teams and various NCAA Bowl games. It did also host four first-round games during the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where they used real grass over the Astroturf that they grew on pallets and in between games they would take the grass outside into the sun and would be watered and cared for until the games then brought back in for the matches.
The Silverdome’s largest crowd was on March 29, 1987 for WrestleMania III, with a reported attendance of 93,173. This was followed by an April 30, 1977 concert involving Led Zeppelin with 76,229 in attendance, which at the time narrowly outdid The Who who had 75,962 people.

The dome was recently sold to Canadian investors for the previously mentioned $583,000 which goes to show a) How expensive the upkeep on a venue that size but also the state of not only the economy but the Real Estate Market in Detroit. The new developer intends to use the Silverdome to host Major League Soccer games. A few years back there were proposals of upwards of $19 million to sell a few years ago but those were rejected. In hindsight maybe thy should have taken that offer.

Around The Horn

Capitals' Donald Brashear was suspended for a total of six games by the NHL for two separate incidents Brashear got one game for contact during the pre-game warm up with Colton Orr and five games for his late predatory hit to the head on Blair Betts in the first period.
Where is Marty McSorley when you need him? I thought this when it happened and this just emphasizes it, Marty could have done the game of hockey a favor had he managed to take Brashear out of the league. He can’t keep up and doesn’t have a place in the league anymore.

In another sad story, former NBA star Jayson Williams was taken down with a stun gun by police at his residence Monday after the reportedly suicidal athlete resisted attempts by officers to take him to a hospital. He was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter, after a 2002 shooting of his driver and allegedly trying to cover it up but the jury deadlocked on a reckless-manslaughter count. A retrial is pending, and he has been free on bail since the shooting.
This athlete had a $68M contract with the NBA’s Nets. It is crazy to think that someone with that wealth would still conduct themselves is such a matter. Clearly he must be more then a little unbalanced and that is just something that fame and money just can’t buy your way out of.

Former Philadelphia Flyers prospect Ladislav Scurko faces 15 to 20 years in prison after admitting to police that he murdered a referee and buried him in the woods near Kosice, Slovakia in January 2008.What is with all these messed up stories, full moon or something???
How bad is a tripping call that you would kill a man over it? Apparently there are rumours of gambling that may have played a role in this. It will be interesting to see what more comes our about this.

Tigers placed backup catcher Matt Treanor on the 15-day disabled list for an injured hip.
Why would this end up on this list? It came to my inbox via an SI alert about AVP star and Olympic Gold Medalist Misty May, his wife. He must know how Mr. Mia Hamm - Ramon (Nomar) Garciapara feels on a daily basis. I just find it funny.

2 months of speculation is over and thankfully so is the NFL Draft. Matt Stafford was selected by the 0-16 Detroit Lions. He got a lot of money and even more pressure and expectations not only for himself to be great but to turn around a team that is barely treading water after years of poor upper management.
Maybe now sports talk radio can focus on something other then the useless information about 4.4 40 yard dashes and bench press reps and Wonderlic Test scores... ok maybe the Wonderlic is important, it did expose Vince Young as a big risk with questionable mental makeup to be an NFL QB.

USC Got another QB drafted in the first round in Mark Sanchez.
Funny that the are a pretty boys (Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Sanchez..and lets throw in Matt Cassel even if he never really played at USC). What is Pete Carroll doing down there during recruiting? Building football teams or having castings for High School Musical?

The Blue Devil Made Me Do It

Greg Paulus has a very big and a very rare decision to make after playing point guard for the Duke Blue Devils. Duke is one of the most prominent basketball programs in all of the NCAA, and the point is a very important position. Paulus wrapped up is basketball career in the NCAA Tournament and one would figure that he would either enter the NBA Draft and hope to be selected or perhaps go over and play professionally overseas for a few years.

Nope not Paulus. He was the Gatorade National Player of the Year as a standout quarterback in high school at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, N.Y., and now after 4 years on the hardwood has 1 year of eligibility left to play football if he wishes.

Paulus spent Tuesday on the campus at the University of Michigan and talked with Coach Rich Rodriguez and has also been contacted by several NFL teams and also college programs about playing. One wonders if this might be like a Charlie Ward in reverse where he won the Heisman at Florida State and went to the NBA to play basketball with the Knicks and was not drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft. Difference here is Ward played both sports in college not just high school.
Now here is the obligatory Charlie Ward quote just because... After what was perceived as a anti Jewish statement Ward responded "I didn’t mean to offend any one group because that’s not what I’m about. I have friends that are Jewish. Actually, my friend is a Jewish guy, and his name is Jesus Christ."

Clearly this kid is a very gifted athlete and has all sorts of options at his fingertips. One would think that even only one year of a Michigan QB Pedigree is better then 4 in most other programs, then if he chooses to move on to the NFL he will have a little more solid ground to stand on.

If only he was a Wide Receiver he could be drafted right now first overall by the Detroit Lions.

The way it should be

The Sports scene once again makes sense again and all of the stars have aligned.

Until the Red Sox’s final out last night I couldn’t completely believe that the Yankees would be eliminated. How many times over the last 4 years have people early and mid and even late season say the Yankees are done only to see them reel off a ton of games and once again make it in. I was worried that it would come down to the last 3 games at Fenway with a 1 game playoff at the end...the 13 year run is officially over and my braves record of 14 still stands (double bonus that all were division titles in the case of the Braves)

The Detroit Lions finally removed Matt Millen from his roll as President and GM. This once great franchise...hahaha, even I have to laugh at that. Lets just call them Barry Sanders old team has been even worse then a disappointment for many years. Maybe they can get someone with some better vision and knowledge of drafts and pro scouting. You can’t complete a chapter let alone the book without turning the page.

Only thing that cold have made this better would be if the Cubs or Braves managed to win the World Series.