Category: Uncategorized

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Bad calls, missed calls did not cost Ohio State a loss vs Clemson

Embed from Getty Images Ryan Day whined, he whined about calls against his team. He whined because of missed calls. That is a first for an Ohio State head football coach, even the last head coach (Urban Meyer) did not bemoan officials after a loss. A loss that has become somewhat routine now. Ohio State vs Clemson in the College Football Playoffs.

The Clemson Tigers, the team that gave Woody Hayes his last loss, Urban Meyer his worst loss and now Ryan Day his first loss. The Ohio State Buckeyes looked strong to start the game. In fact the Buckeyes would stake claim to a 16-0 start.

Missed opportunities would ultimately cost Ohio State victory. Buckeye running back J.K. Dobbins ran for 141 yards on six carries, including a powerful 68-yard touchdown run, yet Dobbins dropped two go ahead touchdown passes on consecutive possessions inside the red zone leading to field goals.

Momentum shifted to Clemson when a controversial targeting call was made. Yet, that did not decide the outcome of this contest. Clemson had not scored and was struggling to move the ball. After the targeting call, Clemson scored 29 points.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, who wasn’t 100% with a brace on the left knee he injured against Michigan , threw two interceptions after throwing only one all year. The second pickoff was the back breaker. On a designed play, Fields was running a scramble play the wideout went in the opposite direction. The miscommunication resulted in a interception in the end zone to end the game.

Ohio State went 13–0 and made its first playoff run since 2016, Ohio State will be just fine. Sure players will leave for the NFL, that is nothing new. Still a loss on the national stage stings.

Perhaps, Ohio State should focus on avoiding Clemson. The Tigers are a very good team and football program. Or at least wait to play them for the National Championship.

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The current Tampa Bay Lightning gives hope to a bright future for the Detroit Red Wings

Embed from Getty Images While it has not shown up in wins this season, and it has been a while since Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has spoken to the media, he does have a vision for how he wants his hockey team to look. It is that vision that will lift  one out of the four Detroit floundering sports teams.

Sunday when the Tampa Bay Lightning invade Hockeytown, Red Wings fans will see the future. Yzerman carved a juggernaut hockey team in Tampa. In classic Yzerman fashion he will not be at Little Caesars Arena for the game. The Red Wings GM is in the Czech Republic for the World Junior Championships, scouting for next June’s NHL draft.

So what type of team does Yzerman want to put together? He wants a skilled, fast team with players who can play with pace, players who have a foundation of skill, skating and strong hockey sense.

Steve Yzerman does not care if it is a Russian, Swede, American or from anywhere else. Black, White, Yellow, Purple, skin color aside, can a player play the way Yzerman is both looking for and demands? That is THE key question. It is also what he looks for.

Let’s look at one of the NHL’s best players, Nikita Kucherov. Kutcherov was not viewed as anything special when he entered the 2011 NHL draft. Yzerman who had personally scouting the Russian forward begged to differ. When the third round rolled up, Yzerman selected Kutcherov ignoring the mainstream meida and scouts. Kutcherov is no stranger to hockey fans, he is an All-Star and a top 3 player in the league.

Perhaps the one thing that Steve Yzerman and his scouting department do as well or better than others is drafting. From 2010-19, no NHL team drafted better than Tampa Bay. That is key for any team, it is beyond important to the rebuilding Red Wings. It is also why Yzerman brought most of his scouts with him to Detroit when he left the Lightning organization.

Steve Yzerman has taken his experience and his ultra competitiveness as a player into his front office role. Make no mistake it will take some time but Yzerman and his scouting department will build the Detroit Red Wings into a strong, sustainable, winning hockey program.

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Detroit sports are sick! 2020 offers some much needed medicine

Embed from Getty Images To say 2019 has been rough for the Detroit Pistons, Tigers, Lions and Red Wings, is like saying the sun is hot. While the Tigers and Red Wings are deep in rebuilds, the Lions as it turns out are in one as well, there was never an official announcement which angered fans. The Pistons are an older NBA team up against the salary cap which kept them from upgrading the team in much needed areas. So what does 2020 hold for the four Detroit franchises?

For the Detroit Pistons and Red Wings and Tigers the first thing 2020 brings in salary cap relief. Not only cap relief but a lot of it. With expiring contracts in upwards of $190 million dollars, the Detroit Tigers will begin the 2020 off-season (yes it is a ways away) ready to enter free agent bidding wars. Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings will see nearly $19 million come off the books, I do not think Yzerman will chase big name free agents after this season. I believe he wants to see the organizations top prospects develop a bit more. The Pistons will have an estimated $65 million freed up to improve the team.

What about the Detroit Lions, you ask? The NFL just announced next years salary cap and the Lions will have at the very least $50 million to improve a defense that woefully under-performed in 2019.

The Lions, Tigers and Red Wings all will have a top three draft pick in next years NFL, MLB and NHL amateur drafts. The Detroit Tigers do in fact have the number one overall draft pick and because they finished dead last in 2019 the Tigers have been awarded a compensation draft pick, the team will have two second round draft picks. The Red Wings are currently dead last in the NHL in points and have a real shot at the first overall pick in 2020.

The Pistons, with all of the issues they have are a fringe playoff team. If they do not improve they will be a lottery team and looking at a top ten draft pick. The Detroit Lions currently have the third pick in the NFL draft and depending on what happens could move up to number two.

For rebuilding teams draft picks are the most important life-line. Next summer’s MLB and NHL drafts offer the most talent baseball and hockey has seen in on a draft in nearly two full decades. Setting the Tigers and Red Wings up nicely in terms of getting the absolute best players.

2020, offers three of Detroit’s four professional sports organizations real hope for a brighter tomorrow. Of the Detroit teams, I have the most trust in the Red Wings. Because of Steve Yzerman. One of the best general managers in all of sports is set to have a top three overall draft pick and over $18 million in cap space. I believe the Red Wings rebuild gets done first.

 

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker review

Embed from Getty Images Being a person who has been blessed to see now all nine Star Wars films in their original releases (Han shot first!) the final film in the epic Skywalker arc of Star Wars is in theaters now, The Rise of Skywalker. This review will have spoilers.

To begin, The Rise of Skywalker starts unlike many of the films previously, No space ship chase or fast paced action intro, the movie opens with Supreme Leader Kylo Ren engaged in a ground attack on Mustafar.

Ren there finds a Sith wayfinder and is off to search for Emperor Palpatine whom we find somehow survived being tossed over the second Death Star reactor core. Palpatine has been bidding his time on the ancient Sith planet Exogol. It is a dead planet which sets a dark tone. Ren finds the Emperor who tries to bait him into doing something for him, in exchange Ren is told he can run the Empire. The Emperor tells Ren he is every voice inside his head he has ever hear (insert cool part here.) He tells him he created Snoke as we see clone chambers with multiple Snoke’s in them.

Emperor Palpatine, is attached to a sort of life-support arm that moves with him. It adds to his already creepy nature. For this viewer Palpatine steals the movie. He is at his all-time evil prime.

Poe, Finn, Rose, Chewbacca all are at their collective best in the sequel trilogies final film. A film that is clunky after the opening scene, until it finds it’s footing about halfway through.

Rey, is at her best. After Kylo Ren tells her she is the grand daughter of Emperor Palpatine, Rey goes on a mission. Her showdown with the Emperor is very well done.

Kylo Ren, sees a vision of his father Han Solo, and is changed. He goes back to being Ben Solo. Though he has Skywalker in his bloodline thanks to his mother Leia Organa (Skywalker.) Ren then joins his grand father Anankin Skywalker and uncle Luke Skywalker and makes a sacrifice that costs him his life. A nice tie-together for sure.

The last scene is perhaps the best. Rey goes to Tatoonie, to bury Luke and Leia’s lightsabers at the old farm house. A lady asks who she is, Rey pauses and says “I’m Rey……… Rey Skywalker.” Effectively doing what Kylo Ren said back in The Force Awakens “Let the past die, kill it if you have to.” She no longer wanted to be associated with Palpatine and started over while honoring both Luke and Leia.

All in all, this is the best film of the sequels. It is a thrill ride and it is an emotional journey. A very fitting end to the Skywalker saga.

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The Detroit Lions are sticking with Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia

Embed from Getty Images No one person has been more disappointed with the season the Detroit Lions have had than owner Martha Ford. Tuesday Ford and her daughter, who happens to be the  vice chair of the Detroit Lions Sheila Ford Hamp, announced they are bringing general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia back.

Surely, Martha Ford, Lions team president Rod Wood and Sheila Ford Hamp knew this would be an announcement that would rub an already frustrated fan base the wrong way.

At 3-10-1, the Lions who some believed could compete for a playoff spot are one of the most underachieving teams in the NFL this year. Whether you agree with them or not they believe the team is headed in the right direction.

It could be the Fords saw growth in Matt Patricia as a coach this year, the way he carries himself publicly and in front of his team, and they saw growth as a team in the first eight games of the season.

The Lions did look like a different team offensively in the first half of the season, before the rash of injuries began to test roster depth. Quarterback Matthew Stafford fractured bones in his back in a Nov. 3 loss to the Oakland Raiders, it is safe to say that sunk any hope the Lions had of having a successful season.

The Lions have gone 0-5 since, and have barely been competitive the last two weeks, as injuries on both offense and defense have crippled the team. Ford, Wood and Ford Hamp, seem to feel a change would be too disruptive to the deeper than expected roster and cultural overhaul they  undertook bringing Patricia in these past two years, and they believe, with some good injury luck and an offseason of impact additions, they can close the gulf between them and the playoffs.

Ford Hamp who seems to be making decisions for all parties to keep Patricia and Quinn have given them what essentially amounts to a playoffs or bust mandate in 2020. Martha Ford, insisted Patricia make changes to the coaching staff, with the focus on bringing in a new defensive coordinator. Current defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni has seen his unit fail this season. It is a unit that was thought to be a strength before the season kicked off.

This is the right move for the Ford’s to make. Otherwise, like the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings, the Lions would have been force into a total rebuild.

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Building blocks for the Detroit Lions

Embed from Getty Images The 2019 Detroit Lions season is close to being over. Mercifully.  It has been a total disaster in the Motor City for the Lions players, coaches, front office and fan base. That is the bad. For a little pick-me-up, there are some building blocks that have shown themselves in spite of a bad season.

Defensive end: Trey Flowers, limited offseason reps lead to a slow start to the season for Flowers. As the season has moved along, Flowers  has been the player the Lions expected they were getting when they signed him in free agency.

Wide Receiver: Kenny Golladay,  a true big play threat. Golladay’s rookie contract is set to expire after the 2020 NFL season when he’ll be 27 years old. If Golladay he stays healthy, he’ll be in line for a massive extension. He is worth it.

Center: Frank Ragnow, a season after an up and down rookie year, Ragnow’s performance has taken a HUGE step forward in his second season. A powerful run blocker as well as above average pass protector, it could be  argued Ragnow is Detroit’s only building block up front, unless the team resigns guard Graham Glasgow.

Safety: Tracy Walker, hindered by a knee injury off and on this season, Walker still leads the Lions in solo and total tackles, and is also top five in tackles for loss and pass breakups.

Tight End: T.J. Hockenson, Hockenson’s rookie season  is over  because of an ankle injury. While on the field T.J. averaged a paltry 21.5 receiving yards. His blocking, a selling point when is a work in progress. NFL rookie tight ends historically take a little time developing. Expect Hockenson to take a step forward next season.

Defensive tackle: Da’ Shawn Hand, while Hand does have some durability concerns,  Hand has shown positional flexibility and athleticism provide optimism if the second year defensive lineman can shake injuries going forward.

Linebacker: Jahlani Tavai, Tavai, is a second round draft pick has been an ideal scheme fit for Detroit. Tavai, has shown enough flashes he can be a very solid linebacker for the Lions unless they change coach’s. Then it depends who comes in if he still fits a would be new defensive scheme.

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Detroit Lions Kenny Golladay leads all NFL receivers in receptions of 20 yards or more

Embed from Getty Images To say this season has been rough for the Detroit Lions, is like saying water is wet. It is plain to see and a fact. Yet the Lions have found some building blocks (more on that in my next entry.) One such block is wide receiver Kenny Golladay.

Be it Freddie Scott, Jeff Chadwick, Herman Moore or Calvin Johnson, the Detroit Lions seem to usually have a very good receiver on the roster. That is the case with Kenny Golladay.

The third year wideout has emerged as one if not the best deep threat in the NFL. This season because of injuries, Golladay has played with three different quarterbacks. Has it slowed him down? NO! Golladay continues to make defenses pay downfield.

This season no wide receiver has more receptions of 20+ yards than Golladay. With 13 games played he has 19 catches of 20+ yards. One other important note, Golladay has the highest percentage of receptions at 35.8%. Kenny is ahead of the Chargers Mike Williams.

Perhaps the most interesting fact in this, is Golladay ranks near the bottom of all receivers in average separation per route run. Defenders blanket him because they know Golladay is the man who is being targeted downfield.

Golladay is a former third round draft pick who is about to post a second straight 1,000 yard season. Golladay, said he wants to sign an extension and remain in Detroit. His current contract runs through next season.

“I definitely feel like I’ve done my part,” Golladay told the Detroit media. The question is will Lions general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia be back? Or will a possible new regime come in and need to look at players and contracts?

No matter what happens, any general manager or would-be general manager can see beyond the shadow of a doubt, Kenny Golladay is the real deal. He is worthy of a new contract. I suspect he will get one.

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“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and Darth Sidious

Embed from Getty Images Emperor Palpatine AKA Darth Sidious, was last seen in Return of the Jedi being tossed into the second Death Star’s reactor core. We were lead to believe that was it. Now with next weeks release of the final Skywalker film. It turns out Darth Sidious not only survived, but has been calling the shots the whole time!

Star Wars fans have been wondering if there is a connection between Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine) and Supreme Leader Snoke. There is!

******This is a spoiler******

Kylo Ren discovers, Palpatine’s secret head quarters on the dead planet Exegol. He walks up to an old man with white eyes. The old man claims to be none other than Darth Sidious. Ren does not believe him at first and holds his lightsaber to the old man’s throat.  But here’s where things get a little creepy: Palpatine tells Kylo that he’s been every voice he’s ever heard inside his head, but Palpatine’s voice is only heard saying the first part of that sentence.

When he refuses to believe what the Sith Lord is saying to him, Palpatine allegedly gets angry and cries out “I am Snoke!” One can only assume it is metaphorically, though. Darth Sidious is behind Snoke, as Snoke was his puppet creation. A clone!

This movie promises to be a fantastic ending to the saga!!!

 

 

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The Detroit Lions are rebuilding, even if no one will acknowledge it

Embed from Getty Images Do not call it a rebuild. Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn will not. Head coach Matt Patricia will not say the word either. Yet, that is exactly what is taking place within the Lions organization. The Detroit Lions have slid into last place in the NFC North standings with six straight losses and nine in their past 10 games, Patricia has referenced the “process” his team is going through.

Patricia was asked Wednesday if that (“process”) is code for “rebuild,” he simply would not associate that word with where the Lions are 29 games into his tenure as head coach.

“I don’t know. You can divide the English language however you want,” Patricia said. “I think for us, you know me, we’re just trying to get better this week. We got a lot of young players out there that are trying to get better and certainly for us, I think every season is a process.”

The 2019 Detroit The Lions are 3-9-1 and have won just nine games under Patricia, who inherited a team coming off back to back nine win seasons. Before he was brought in to coach the Lions, general manager Bob Quinn famously said he thought the Lions were better than their record under Jim Caldwell, and he was looking for a coach who could lead the team to Super Bowls.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford, Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay, left tackle Taylor Decker and wide receivers Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay, hid the fact the Lions were about to enter a rebuild. Last season’s 6-10 result was considered a minor step back to take two steps forward.

Back to this past Wednesday, Patricia would not utter the word rebuild, rather he stated the Lions are”just building.” This season was always going to be bumpy and tough, and that has been the case.

Current Fox NFL television analyst and former Detroit Lions legend, Chris Spielman, who still does a weekly spot on the teams official website said, “I think the Lions as an organization made a decision to rebuild. It’s like renovating the house. Sometimes you’ve got to tear it down to the studs. They’re changing what type of team they are and it’s my opinion that you have to be a little bit patient with that. I have numbers to back that up.”

I do not think Quinn or Patricia should be fired. There is enough evidence the suggests the Lions are on the right path.

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The Detroit Tigers are entering the next phase of the rebuild stage

Embed from Getty Images Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila Monday night gave his his mission for the offseason, essentially saying the teardown is complete. It was a roster deconstruction that lasted three years. Speaking at the MLB winter meetings Avila revealed what fans have been asking for and Detroit media wondered about.

“The mindset here is to move forward and build back up,”  Avila said in front of the media, after he had finished the first day of activity at the Winter Meetings. “We’ve made a lot of trades. We’ve traded everyone we needed to trade and we’re at the point where this team is very young and we need to build it back up.”

Al Avila said he and his staff are looking to add a veteran catcher, first baseman, corner outfielder, starting pitcher and possibly a middle infielder before spring training begins in February. One difference, they will be looking for middle tier players and not bottom feeders to fill out the roster.

Avila continued, “The biggest concern when you bring in veteran free agents is taking away time from your prospects,”But the situation here now is we can add free agents as needed and maybe create competition for young guys.”

The Detroit Tigers are looking to make the team better for 2020. The Tigers have top prospects knocking at the major league door. There is a decent chance Tigers top pitching prospects Casey Mize, Matt Manning and 3B/SS Isaac Paredes could all end up in Motown next summer at some point, as the trio’s development is ahead of others in the Detroit minor league system.

While it will be another long summer at Comerica Park, the light at the end of the rebuild tunnel is in sight. After the 2020 MLB season the Tigers will have over $150 million come off the books, from years of making championship runs.

In my opinion that is when Detroit will begin in earnest to go after big name free agents. Coupled with the fact the Tigers other prized prospects will be ready for The Show.

Assuming Detroit’s prospects and free agent signings are not complete busts, 2022 is the year that Detroit will likely start looking somewhat competitive again.