My Sports Recap and Thoughts from the "D" and Beyond....

My weekly review post of Sports and My Thoughts as they pertain to the "D" and Beyond for the week ending Saturday 1.28.17 .  This was a week filled with all sorts of drama and ups and downs. In the "D":    
Lions:  The Detroit Lions still fresh off their crushing defeat in the first round of the NFL playoffs have many glaring questions to ponder and ask of this team. Most notably are the following; Will they lock up QB Matt Stafford with a long term deal costing them around $25M+ a season? Will they go after Free Agents to fill holes in the secondary, LB, DL, OL and WR? Will they trade for some immediate help? Will they take a stud RB to ease the pressure off of Stafford? This is a huge off season for GM Bob Quinn who already made his first big decision in retaining HC Caldwell before the playoff game in Seattle and watching the team end the season on a 4 game losing skid. The 2017 football schedule is out and the Lions have a very tough schedule.
Red Wings:  The Red Wings are heading into the All Star weekend in last place in the NHL East Conference Atlantic Division. The Red Wings who were shutout a league leading 7th time last night, lack scoring and have many players injured which they hope to get a few players back after the All Star Game.  Scoring is and will be an issue all season long but just as it was all of last year, the Red Wings are giving up goals late in games and costing themselves points in the standings. Detroit is looking to once again make the playoffs for a 26th straight year, but the streak is in serious jeopardy and is the longest currently in all Professional sports. 
Pistons:   The Pistons are currently in 10th place in the NBA Eastern Conference with a 21-25 record. Detroit is 1.5 GB for the last playoff spot in the East.  Detroit which has all their starters and backup guys healthy and have decided that they want to run and gun their way to wins and not play any defense. This has become problematic for HC Stan Van Gundy since he came to Detroit a few years ago, his teams seem to never want to play defense at all.  Opposing teams are met with little to no resistance as they go to the basket. This team is too soft especially in the middle and would be wise to bring in some of the Bad Boys from previous Piston teams to learn how to let opposing players and teams know if they go to the basket they should expect a hard foul to follow. HC Van Gundy needs to be held accountable for He has assembled a team of players that do not like to play hard on defense. Until this team learns to play any semblance of defense, expect the Pistons to hover around the .500 mark the rest of the season. Playing in a league of parity they just might sneak into the playoffs again but will get beat soundly as they did last year if they continue to play as they have all season. The Detroit Pistons announced they will move back to the City of Detroit next year and play in the new Little Caesars Arena with the Detroit Red Wings starting next season.
Tigers:  The Tigers who just finished their annual Winter caravan taking players around the State of Michigan to get get fans excited about the upcoming baseball season. Detroit which many have finishing no higher then 3rd in the MLB American League Central Division have so many unanswered questions heading into the season.   First off, GM Avila after last season mentioned trimming payroll and rebuilding the team. Lucky for most of the veterans on the team this never happened and most of the team remained the same except a few moves that transpired during the off season. The most surprising and one that most likely will come back to haunt them, is the trading away of CF Cameron Maybin to the Angles for pretty much nothing in return. On a team which is over paying many underachieving players, the Tigers chose not to exercise the option on Maybins $9M+ year contract. Maybin was the catalyst and spark plug on this team most of last year when He wasn't injured. Maybin hit .315 for the Tigers last year and I do not see the same type of stats this year for whomever the Tigers chose to replace him in CF.  Detroit which had many of its star players injured last season are another year older and the window is closing fast for this this team to get back to the Playoffs and World Series.  The Tigers starting rotation could be on of the best in baseball if Zimmermann can return to the 2015 pitcher he was and if Norris and Boyd continue to progress as starters. It is the bullpen, the Achilles heel of the Tigers for the past 10 years that is the huge question mark. The Tigers seem to be set on the closing end with Rondon and Rodriguez but it is the others that cause great anxiety in the Tigers faithful. Lowe and both Wilson's need to have much better years and Pelfrey and Sanchez need to forget about 2016 completely and see if they can regain their old ways. The Wild Card for the Tigers bullpen will be rookie Jiminez who could be the key to making this a potential contender this season. Offensively, the Tigers still are very imposing but one would be foolish to expect the older veterans such as Miggy and V Martinez to stay healthy all year and Detroit also needs JD Martinez and Upton to have great years as well.  Starting catcher McCann needs to rebound after a terrible hitting season in 2016 and Castallenos needs to continue to improve on the break out year he had last season.  Defensively and baseball fundamentals haunted the Tigers last season and needs to be addressed such as hitting cutoff men, base running, bunting, advancing the runner and doing the little things that the Tigers failed miserably to do in 2016. This is a huge gamble for the Tigers going into the 2017 baseball season.  How the Tigers won 86 games last season is beyond me but they will have to win 90+ this year which will be tough as both the Indians and the Royals got better and the Twins with all their young draft choices are getting much better, that leaves both the White Sox and the Tigers as teams that need everything to go right to have a shot in the Central Division this year. Only 30 days to the Spring Cactus League opener and only 66 days until Opening day in Chicago against the White Sox. 
Spartans:  The Spartans football team is working on fixing all of the mistakes and problems from last years disappointing 3-9 record. In in a year where MSU  started and played more freshmen and sophomores then any other time under Head Coach Mark Dantonio. This team was short on talent this season has also had very questionable play calling on both sides of the ball and if the Spartans look to rebound next season and remain an Elite team, they need to put a top OC and DC in place.  I admire HC Mark Dantonio's loyalty, but it has come with a high price that has cost the team at least 2 games last season. Players love playing for him so He needs to do the right thing and bring in top Coaches to round out his Coaching staff.  His decision to bring in top Coaches could haunt the program for years to come.  The Spartan basketball team is in jeopardy of not making the NCAA tournament for the first time in the last 19 years. MSU has challenged itself to perform with the hardest non conference schedule in the Country. Injuries have been a big part of the lack of wins so far but the Spartans also lack the mental and physical toughness of previous Izzo teams. Also the lack of a Big Man in the middle hurts them as well. 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 18-20 games and another possible invitation to March Madness. 
Wolverines:  The Wolverines once again have made waves across the NCAA. First off, Michigan is the first Public Institution in the Country to pay 3 football coaches over $1M a year and that doesn't even imclude Head Coach Jim Harbaugh's $9M a year paycheck. Also, a smack in the face to the NCAA, Harbaugh decided to take the whole football team to Rome for football practice and very debatable studying abroad. I think if the football team is able to go at whatever price it is costing them, then every other student athlete at Michigan should be afforded the same opportunity at no cost to them as well. Since there seems to be no limits to the Wolverines football teams athletic budget, this makes all the more case as to why student athletes should share in all the revenue the school makes from them. The Wolverines basketball team is having a slightly disappointing season so far and although they have won 3 of their last 4 in the Big Ten Conference they are still a middle of the pack team this year.  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: Super Bowl 51 is 7 days away.  The 2 teams have been decided and the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots will face off.  The NFL has an off season coming up to work on the many issues that it is dealing with; especially its declining viewership, players pushing for marijuana to be legal, the moving of the Raiders to Las Vegas and the Chargers to Los Angeles. Severe injuries, especially concussions are rampant nowadays as almost all the replays show that either a players head is being driven into the turf and also so many head to head deliberate hits as well as hitting defenseless players in the head. And it seems the NFL with all their new Concussion Protocol Procedures, they still cannot get it right in regards to protecting a Player safely.  The NFL Pro Bowl game is just a shell of what it once was, where now players do not want to play for fear of getting hurt and also for no real incentive to play in the game. It is time for the NFL to revamp the game to give it new meaning among players and fans alike. Entitlement is the new word for both the Owners and the Players nowadays and that leaves the fans to pay the price for this so called "Entitlement.  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:  The MLB Season is approaching quickly and teams will be heading to Spring Training within weeks. Excitement is building for fans and players and teams alike as another Season is just around the corner.  Some teams have spent a lot to acquire players they think will lead them to the World Series, other teams stood still and others shed payroll while trying to rebuild for a few years down the road.  This last week, MLB and fans lost 2 players to separate tragic accidents in the Dominican Republic that took the lives of former major league player Andy Marte and current major league player Yordano Ventura.                NCAA:  The NCAA passed a law prohibiting Spring football practices such as the one the Michigan Wolverines had in Florida last season. The ordinance takes place in August, so as an insult and a slap in the face, the Wolverines are taking the whole football team to Rome, Italy under the premise of studying and learning, yet also practicing as well. Also, Michigan is the first Public Institution to pay 3 assistant coaches more than a $1M a year. With Universities paying Coaches more than some NFL teams do, it is time to pay the student athletes a stipend and a big one at that as they are the ones making the Universities the money. Also, the Poinsettia Bowl is no more and I for one am happy to see the elimination of this Bowl game as we need to still reduce the number of Bowl games which currently now stands at 40. Also, it is time for Louisville to pay the piper and accept the punishment that the NCAA will hand down in regards to the Basketball team and lack of compliance.
NBA and NHL: 
     NBA season is into the dog days of meaningless games just before the All Star game and star players are grumbling about  their teams and not enough good players or teams not playing hard enough or caring about the game. The trade deadline is less than a month away, lets see who is traded where and who is a seller and a buyer.  Also, I agree with Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr, that the players have made a mockery of the All Star game.  The Players do not take the game seriously and only vote for their friends and not the true best players in the league this season.  The game doesn't truly showcase the best of the best anymore where once it meant something to be an All Star, now it is all about those going to get paid and nothing else.               
     In the NHL, the All Star weekend is here and although this game is always high scoring, it is made up mainly of players that are the best in the league this year. The NHL had to modify its All Star game a few years back and did so to make it a lot more exciting for its fans.   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; In tennis, the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus square off against each other for the Championship in the Australian Open. Tiger Woods also opens his first full season back on the PGA tourney this weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open.Also, it will be a sad day when long time sports announcer Brent Musburger retires next Tuesday, January 31, 2017. I have grown up watching him throughout his career and He will be sorely missed. I do have to question the timing of his announcement and how quickly He is leaving giving just a weeks notice. One has to wonder if this was truly his choice or that of His employer ABC and ESPN for his controversial remarks at the CFB Sugar Bowl game favoring Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon who had assaulted a woman and wasn't punished correctly for his actions. 
PGA:   John Rahn wins Farmers Insurance Open     Nascar:  Daytona 500 on 2/26/2017

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