My weekly review post of Sports and My Thoughts as they pertain to the "D" and Beyond for the week ending Friday 07.21.16 . This was a week filled with all sorts of drama and ups and downs. In the "D":
Lions:
The Lions are just a couple weeks away from training camp and although there is allot of optimism in the air this year it is guarded optimism at best. Most publications and sport pundits have the Lions winning 7 games this year. While the Lions have many question marks on both sides of the ball, it seems they still will be an explosive team offensively. If the last 6 games last
season under new OC Jim Bob Gun Slingin' Cooter are any indication of
what is to come this season, the Lions should be in the Top 10 of all
offenses this season. Ex Lions WR, Calvin Johnson who is normally well reserved and quiet,
exploded in an interview saying it would of been a tougher decision had
the Lions been a Playoff Team and also about how he can't walk in the
morning was always banged up and had numerous concussions. He also went
on to say how easy it is to get pain killers in the NFL to help mask
injuries and concussions. Why he choose to come out and say what he did
now is a big question to Myself and many others. The Lions have a tough schedule this season
opening with 3 of their first 4 games on the road. The Lions also made
headlines this off season when they announced they would finally have
real cheerleaders at their games.
Red Wings: As the dust settles on the NHL Free Agency that happened less then 2 weeks ago, the Red Wings were busy conducting their Developmental Training camp over the weekend. Fans and others got to see first hand many of the potential players that possibly will be in a Red Wing uniform in the near future. The Detroit Red
Wings and GM Ken Holland were busy in Free Agency but lost out on the
top free agents. The Red Wings also didn't land a much needed defense
men or two and as of right now haven't done much to bolster their team
roster. Right now they are no better than a number 6 seed in the NHL
East. GM Holland will have to make a blockbuster trade to get the help
he needs as well as finding a way to trade G Jimmy Howard and get a bit
more cap relief. GM Ken Holland has promised to retool and overhaul the
team during this off season but his resigning of aging veteran Drew
Miller has many questioning his motives and getting fresh blood and
attitudes in a very stagnant Locker room. Saddled with big contracts to
underachieving aging players could cause salary cap issues once again..
The new name of the Red Wings arena which is scheduled
to open for the 2017/2018 season is The Little Caesar's Arena, maybe
they will rename the new arena in his name?
Pistons:
The Detroit Pistons were also busy in the NBA Free Agency landing
another point guard and a couple of Forwards to help their defense. The Pistons
also resigned C Andre Drummond to a 5 yr $130M deal. The Pistons took
Henry Ellenson with their 1st pick in this years NBA Draft as they try
to get faster meaner bigger at the same time. Detroit needs to add
another big man as well as a good mid range shooter who can play
defense. Bad defense, poor Free Throw shooting, and trying to win games
by taking way too many 3 pointers are huge areas the Pistons need to
address this off season. Detroit made the playoffs for the first time
since 2009 were swept in the 1st round.Detroit should continue their climb this season up the NBA East Standings and be a #3 or #4 seed in the playoffs.
Tigers:
The Tigers are currently in 2nd place in the AL Central with a 46-43
record. Detroit has lost 5 of 7 their last 7 games to the Blue Jays and Indians on the road as their lack of starting and bullpen pitching and sparse hitting shows that the Tigers who are 6.5 GB of the Indians at the All Star Break are definitely a pretender and not a contender as once
again the lack of timely hitting but even more so the pitching staff has
imploded. Detroit which is saddled with some terrible contracts on aging underachieving players will have a hard time unloading there players as it is clearly evident the time to start developing and going with a top prospect roster and rebuilding is now. It was actually last year but the Tigers made a few roster moves but should of made more especially in the off season.
Detroit who will only have one player in the ASG, Miguel Cabrera and the
fans have no one to blame but themselves for the lack of voting caused
2B Ian Kinsler a chance to play in this game and also Tigers rookie
pitcher Fullmer who is 9-2 was bypassed for the game. The Tigers who
win 3 or 4 games and then turn around and lose 4 or 5 games in a row
currently are no better then a .500 team with the 3rd highest payroll in
all of baseball. Mental mistakes, base running
blunders and sometimes looking very lackadaisical and playing uninspired
at times has this team looking to win maybe 80-85 games this season. The
AL Central which many thought would be the toughest Division is all of
baseball is now seen as whichever Team wins 88-90 games will win the
division.
Spartans:
The Spartans are less than a month away from training camp and only 7 weeks away from the home opener of the 2016 football season. Although MSU is ranked by many in the Top 20 this year, this year will be somewhat of a transition period due to the graduation of many Top Offensive and Defensive Players. The Spartans should still win 9 games this year but will have to rely on a great defensive while the offense gets settled with a new QB and running game. MSU Spartan football team coming off another great season and now an
elite College team The
Spartan basketball team which lost out on the Josh Jackson sweepstakes
still had a Top 5 recruiting year and will look to be another March
Madness favorite next season. Congrats to Coach Tom
Izzo for being inducted into the
Naismith
Hall of Fame for College Basketball. The Spartans will be a work in
progress this upcoming season but Tom Izzo knows what it takes to win
and I see them winning 22-25 games and another invitation to March
Madness.
Wolverines:
Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh has been making plenty of
headlines since he came to Michigan 17 months ago,. He has recruited
strongly and has started a new trend of being part of Satellite Football
Camps all over the World. With a budget in the Top 3 of all Colleges,
it seems He has an open checkbook to do as He pleases. There is no doubt
that He has restored the football program to one of National prominence
once again but at what expense? The Wolverines are a preseason favorite
to win the B1G and also ranked in the Top 5 heading into the season.but
it seems at times that Harbaughs ego gets the best of him and it is His
ego that is put before the University of Michigan and its football
program. No doubt social media plays a very important role in our lives
nowadays but it seems that Coach Harbaugh uses social media for the
wrong reasons allot of the time. Hopefully He will concentrate on his
job of coaching and winning games at Michigan. Good luck to the
Wolverine football team this year and I see them winning 10 games in
2016. The Wolverine basketball team is retooling and hoping for another
NCAA run
next season. Coach Beilein has done a good job at Michigan and I see
another 18-20 win season and a possible March Madness berth for the
Wolverines this up coming season.
Sports beyond the "D":
NFL:
The NFL Season is less than 60 days away and teams are getting ready to open training camps in less then 3 weeks. Andrew Luck QB for the Indianapolis Colts became the
highest paid player in NFL History today with a 5 year deal for over
$25M a year. Even crazier is some Owners have come out and said they
do not believe there is any evidence to support this. For the NFL and
the Owners it is all about the $$$$$ and the Owners are all greedy and
do not want to part with their money. As if the Owners and the NFL do
not have enough money, the NFL is now going to play games in China as
well as the UK and Mexico. The NFL should concentrate on making the game
better and dealing with its current issues instead of trying to dilute
the game and water it down with thoughts of global expansion on the
horizon just to make more money
MLB Baseball: With the All Star Game tomorrow and the home Run Derby tonight, Teams have a few days to really look at themselves and see if they are going to be sellers or buyers in the next 3 weeks. A few teams stand out as the Top Teams in AL and NL with all the others still fighting it out. The off season started
off with a bang as the
biggest contracts ever in free agency being given out. The Owners seem
to think they are playing with Monopoly money in signing these free
agents but once again it will be the fans who will pay the price for
this outlandish and foolish spending in increased ticket prices, parking
prices, concession and team apparel. When will it ever stop? Also teams
seem to only care about what a player can do on the field to help them
win and not what kind of person the player is off the field.
NCAA: Larry Brown ex Coach at SMU Basketball resigned after He couldn't get a long term deal from the University. Brown who is now 76, was given a 4 yr deal from SMU but He sought a much longer deal. This is the same Coach who get SMU in trouble and put on probation with the NCAA. Words of advice to Larry Brown, it is time for you to retire and fade out in the dusk.. Enjoy the rest of your life and let some one else be the Coach. The NCAA which has become powerless to deal with the bigger schools needs to start addressing violations and issues on a much more timely manner and stop letting the bigger schools tell them what they are going to do. It is the old adage, when their is smoke their is usually fire and in most cases the universities usually only report a minor part of what is truly going on. Time for the NCAA to be the Governing Body and stop letting the Bigger schools bully them around.
NBA and NHL:
NBA lost a fine ambassador of the League when the San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan announced his immediate retirement after 19 seasons in the League. The NBA Free Agency was nothing short of the NBA Owners once again
throwing around crazy foolish stupid money on players who are average to
a bit above average at best. But the biggest surprise was OKC PF Kevin
Durant deciding to screw over the OKC team and its fans and bolt to the
Golden State Warriors. In the end it will be the fans who will absorb
the foolishness of the Owners in higher ticket prices and concession
prices as well.Draymond Green a top player of the Golden State Warriors was arrested at his alma mater this past weekend for assault. more to follow.
In the
NHL, Free Agency also tool place and just as it was in the NBA, Owners
threw around lots of money and lengthy contracts to average or above
average players in which most were either aging or older veterans. The
NHL also announced expansion into Las Vegas in a few years and Seattle
is the next potential city to host an expansion team. I cannot
understand the rationale of expansion when their are quite a few team
struggling financially right now in the NHL.
Miscellaneous;
The Olympics are weeks away and yet allot of turmoil around Rio
and the City not ready for the Olympic venue as well as the huge
controversy surrounding the Zika virus. Also huge issues with drug
doping with the Russia Olympic team.
Nascar: Brad Keslowski wins at Kentucky . PGA: Dustin Johnson wins at Firestone Memorial ..
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