Lions & Tigers & Scares, Oh My

I'm reading somewhere in one of the scabby Detroit newspapers that the Lions actually look good. I don't finish the sentence before I click away from the story.
After two exhibition games some moron is deciding that the Lions -- the worst pro sports franchise in history (apologies to the St. Louis Browns, the NFL Cardinals and a few others) -- actually look competitive.
Before we get crazy, let's wait until the regular season, OK, chum?
I've tasted the Kool-Aid before. No more.
I'm not following this bunch of nitwits till the Lions are OFFICIALLY in the Super Bowl. That means the bastards have to be in the f'ing game.
Wake me up when that happens, OK?

As for the Tigers, I've been off the bandwagon for a while now. I see that the team is basically thinking about next year. They should have done that earlier in the season.
I would have loved for this group to dump Renteria and Sheffield. I was watching the Mets play the Pirates this week, and the Bucs' shortstop, Jack Wilson, can really pick it. He makes Renteria look as if he's using a walker.
Wilson's hitting .288 in 80-some games. He's been hurt, OK, but he still has more range than Edgar the Elephant. Renteria is hitting .268, and for most of the season he has failed in clutch spots.
You see, I'm afraid, scared actually, that anything positive accomplished by Renteria and Sheffield will make the Tigers keep them for next year. That's what happened with that pig, Pudge Rodriguez, and he was terrible for this team.
The Tigers need to retool. The Lions need to relocate, to another country, hopefully.
When does the hockey season start? I can't wait for the Wings to hit the ice.

Exhibition opener for the Lions

Now that the Tigers are out of it, for sure, that is, we can turn some of our attention to the WORST organization in professional sports, the Detroit Lions.
They open the exhibition season tonight, vs. the Super Bowl champion NY Giants. I'm curious to see the Lions, as I am every year. I'm curious because this coach, Rod Marinelli, has publicly come out to say he wants players of character. Good football players, yes, but players with intangibles. Players who show heart, effort, who have the unique ability to make plays.
I've always thought the Lions put far too much worth in some of these scouting combines and workouts, and they often failed to pick players who simply CAN play the game.
In the early 90s, during the Wayne Fontes' regime, I thought Bennie Blades was one of those bonehead type of players. He could hit people, and he was a great tackler. But in his position in the defensive backfield it was crucial for him to break up passes and make interceptions. He rarely did that. He did hit guys, after they had made a 20-yard reception for a first down.
I'll watch a little tonight. I'm curious about Dan Orlovsky, the QB from Connecticut who has never had a chance to really show his stuff. And I'll look a bit at the running back, Kevin Smith.
But, in reality, I'll probably watch a movie rerun or an episode of Law & Order.
I've seen the Lions' act over and over. The names change but the script is the same. It's about losing, about players who suddenly lose their talent under the curse of the Lions.

College football: Is the passion gone?

U of M has a new coach in Rich Rodriguez (Thank heaven that moron, Lloyd Carr, is gone; how did he EVER hold his job?). The Spartans, as always, seem to have more hope than talent.
Maybe it's me, but I can't seem to get worked up over the college football season. I am not a major fan of either the Wolverines or the Spartans, but I follow them casually. I root when they get to a certain point in the season, when they are in the running for a Big Ten title or bowl berth.
Frankly, too many games are on TV for me to get overly enthusiastic. I'd much rather watch the best NFL matchup of the weekend (even if it rarely/if ever includes the Lions) than watch U of M hammer West Ohio School of Charms in an early season game.
For college football, wake me up in November, when the big matchups, like USC-UCLA and U of M vs. Ohio State, are in the making. That I can go for. All else pales in comparison.

The Lions? Get serious

Here's why it's hard to get serious about the Lions. George Foster, the offensive tackle who so miserably flopped last season after being acquired from Denver in the trade for Dre Bly, says he looked at the team's drafting of Gosder Cherilus as a challenge.
Hey, meathead, if you need that to challenge you, then find another career. Opposing defensive linemen went around Foster last season as if he were a blocking dummy. He couldn't stop me on a pass rush. And he's "challenged" all of a sudden? Now, after a dismal 2007 season, Foster is back as the starter for Thursday's exhibition game vs. the NY Giants.
Where does this team get such players? I mean, thousands and thousands play college football each year, and the Lions seem to draft or trade for each and every player who CAN'T fucking play!!!!
You're looking at 5-11 here or maybe 3-13. In the games they won last year, players like Shaun Rogers and some of the others let go in the offseason actually played well. While I like that coach Rod Marinelli is getting rid of dead wood, the players he's traded away were of NFL caliber, in terms of talent.
The Lions are one of the least-talented teams in the NFL. And against the big boys, talent wins. The Lions lack it. Figure it out for yourself.
By the way, I say Cherilus starts at tackle ahead of Foster after the second game.

Leyland blowup ... no magic there

Jim Leyland is a good manager. Let's be frank: the Tigers' problems are not in the handling of players. Leyland knows his stuff, and his players respect him. So all those out there who say, "Fire Leyland," well, you folks are all out of whack.
The problem with this team is in the personnel, and for that Leyland and Dombrowski deserve some blame. The Renteria trade was awful, because the Tigers sent the Braves a star in the making in right-handed pitcher Jair Jurrjens (10-6, 3.06 ERA) and prospect Gorkys Hernandez. At the time, Dombrowski acknowledged the Tigers gave up a lot, but he called Renteria an "all-around" player. Renteria is washed up, and Dombrowski did not do his homework. If both Boston and Atlanta moved him in successive seasons, that should have told the Tigers GM a thing or two.
Second, the Tigers have five every-day players of magnitude: Ordonez, Guillen, Granderson, Polanco and Cabrera. All others can and should be considered for trade. In the pitching department, only Verlander, Galarraga and Zumaya are untouchable, in my opinion.
So, what you have is a team of eight players, really, and that is not a big enough talent pool. The other 17 are players you would not miss -- at all -- and that's not a good enough roster, frankly.
The Tigers are NOT good defensively and have a SPOTTY bullpen and ERRATIC starting pitching.
Too many negatives in the last sentence, don't you think?
They should have moved Sheffield, but, of course, who wanted him? And even though the Farnsworth blowup over the weekend looks bad, moving Pudge was a great, great move.
The Tigers have a lot of patching up to do, and Leyland should move on this NOW. This is where the team is making its mistake. Put Zumaya in the closer role, let Rodney be the setup guy, along with Seay from the left side. Consider moving Robertson NOW for something, perhaps a shortstop with range and some speed.
This team has shown us what it has over 110 games or so, and it is NOT very good.
Let's make moves now.

What about the Lions???

I've gotten a couple of emails about not paying attention to the Lions as they open training camp. This is their 75th year, you know, and it's time for some reflecting. At the Lions Web site, there is a link for voting for the all-time Lions team. Can anyone come up with 22 players? That might be difficult.
My response: Wake me up when they get to the Super Bowl.
I'm so sick, tired and pissed off over this organization that, in some ways, they simply fail to exist for me. I mean, no organization in sports history has ever been so incapably managed. From the coaching staff to the front office to ownership, the Lions are a JOKE.
Matt Millen? C'mon, Adam Sandler has as much experience and knowledge in running a pro football team as Millen. In fact, I dare say that the remake of "The Longest Yard" might have Lions officials thinking Sandler is a candidate to replace Millen. How do these folks make their decisions?
I've been watching the team since the early 1960s, and I can't figure out where they are going, what they are doing. The QB rollercoaster has been intriguing, from the Milt Plum-Karl Sweetan years to now, the Kitna years. They're really never had a big-time QB. I thought Greg Landry and Chuck Long were the closest they ever got to the elite QB, but Landry bounced through bad coaching, as did long. And Long hurt his arm, which basically killed his NFL career.
Andre Ware, Scott Campbell ... give me a break.
And that's just one position.
So I'll wait on the sidelines for the Lions. Consider me a casual observer. Again, wake me up when they get to the Super Bowl.

Angels make neat deal

For a team that stands by its young players and doesn't make too many moves at the trade deadline, the Angels pulled off a nice feat today. Getting Mark Teixeira from the Braves was a sweet move. I like the Angels, in that they develop their young players and play very good defense. They pitch and pick it, plus they pressure other teams with their running.
They are so different from the Tigers, who only score when they hit. Last night's shutout loss to the Tribe was the Tigers' 11th, the most shutout losses in the majors.
Now, with Teixeira, the Angels have some traditional offensive pop to go with Vlad Guerrero, a strong running game, solid pitching and stingy defense. Right now, I like the Angels to make a strong run for the Series.
This brings us to the Tigers, and I just hope they try to move Sh*tfield and Renteria. Who needs the rotund shortstop, I can't tell you. And who wants a DH who would have trouble hitting in a slow-pitch softball league? Perhaps someone, anyone will take Pudge, who is a total waste.
Moving two of these guys or even one would be such a great deadline roster adjustment. I'd rather leave the spot in the lineup vacant than play ShI*tfield. And the last time Pudge got a big hit he was helping the Marlins win a title. Maybe the Fish will want him again. And Renteria ... did you read the Detroit papers? They're trying to tell us that he's getting back on track after about a week of pop-fly hits. When's the last time he hit the ball hard?
I think a team like the Tigers can help itself by subtracting unproductive players. But it's hard to believe that NO team in the majors would want Sh*tfield, Pudge or Renteria. At one time, these guys were all-star performers. At one time. That's the key.