My weekly review post of Sports and My Thoughts as they pertain to the "D" and Beyond for the week ending Thursday 6.28.18 . This was a week filled with all sorts of drama and ups and downs. In the "D":
Lions:
Detroit just finished its OTA's and now we wait until practice starts
officially with the kickoff of training camp which opens on July 27th.
The Lions have the second toughest strength of schedule for the 2018
season. Lots of changes have taken place after the 2017 season with the
biggest being the firing of Head Coach Jim Caldwell and replacing him
with ex Patriots DC Matt Patricia. Also gone is DC Teryl Austin and
taking his place is new DC Paul Pasqualoni. This off season the Lions
made a quiet splash in the free agency market but the biggest signing
was RB Legarrette Blount. Detroit also tried to shore up its OL with
adding backup Lineman as well as taking Arkansas Center Frank Ragnow
with their first round pick. The Lions need to be able to run the ball,
something they haven't done with much success the past decade. The
defense will be a work in progress and it looks like for the Lions to
win games this season, they will have to rely on QB Matt Stafford and
the offense lighting up the scoreboard and outscoring their opponents.
Many sport pundits have the Lions going 7-9.. If the Lions can
establish a running game, stop opponents on 3rd done and stay relatively healthy, I see them as a surprise team going 10-6.
Red Wings:
The Red Wings had a very good draft this past week and took 2 elite young players that have a chance to be stars in the NHL. Detroit took with their 6th pick, Filip Zadina and with the 30th pick, took Joe Veleno. Many are surprised both of these players were available when the Red Wings selected and they could be become cornerstones for years to come. I give the Red Wings an "A-" in this years draft. There is an air of optimism in the Detroit locker room now even as
Detroit missed the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive season, and yet chose to
keep GM Ken Holland and HC Jeff Blashill. It may be a few years before Detroit makes
it back
into the playoffs. The Red Wings have been saddled with aging over
priced and under
achieving players and Detroit could be in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for a 3rd
year. But the future is looking up for the first time in a couple of seasons.
Pistons:
The Pistons announced this past Monday, of the hiring of ex Toronto
Raptors HC Dwane Casey to replace Stan Van Gundy, who was let go after
another dismal and under performing season. The Pistons do not have a
1st round pick in the upcoming draft after trading it mid season to the
LA Clippers in exchange for Blake Griffin. Detroit is also saddled with
some terrible long term contracts. Staying healthy and playing a bit
of defense will be important if the Pistons have any chance of making
the playoffs this upcoming season. The Pistons had a hard time
attracting fans this past season and it looks like it will be the same
again. High ticket prices in the new LCA and an average team will make
it hard to fill the seats this season. In an average at best NBA
Eastern Conference, if the Pistons can win 45 to 48 games next season
they have a chance at making the playoffs.
Tigers:
The
Detroit Tigers are 36-44 and are currently in 3rd place in the AL
Central 8 games behind 1st place Cleveland. Detroit was only 2.5 games out a week ago but now lost 7 straight games and the team is now struggling offensively as well as pitching especially in the bullpen. The Tigers which are
in possibly the worst Division in all of baseball this year have a
chance of winning 75-78 games. Although the lineup is void of top MLB
talent, this Tigers team hustles and doesn't seem to give up. Not a
power hitting team, the Tigers rely on speed and trying to do the small
things to win games. The Tigers signed 1st overall pick, Casey Mize. The Tigers are
looking to restock their farm system and rebuild on the fly with players
selected the past couple of drafts as well as the players they received
in trading all their top MLB players for last season in a fire sale.
Suspect pitching and weak bats hurt the Tigers, but playing in the AL
Central boosts their chances to play decent baseball the rest of the
season. Don't be surprised if the Tigers trade a few more of their
players before this years trading deadline.
Spartans:
The Spartans coming off a 10-3 season look to continue with another 10+
win season. The football team looks to build on last seasons success
and the schedule is favorable this season for them to make a serious run
for the Big Ten Championship. After dealing with turmoil for the past
few seasons within the football program and the University in general,
HC Mark Dantonio sees a bright future for his program. The Spartans landed 5 star recruit OT DeVonte Dobbs for their 2019 class. Although as I
have said for a long time now, the football program needs to bring in
top Assistant Coaches to help
mentor and train and take MSU to the next level. The current coaches all
who HC Dantonio has been loyal too, need to be seriously looked at and
some need to go and the others need to be reassigned elsewhere. This
team looks strong and has added depth with experience, I see the
Spartans going 10-2. The
Spartan basketball team which made the Tournament for the 21st straight
year, saw an early exit once again. The Spartans will be loaded
again heading into the upcoming season and will make the NCAA Tourney
for the 22nd consecutive season under Head Coach Tom Izzo.
Wolverines:
Michigan will be a Top 25 team in the upcoming collegiate football
season but the real question will be, can the Wolverines and Head Coach
Jim Harbaugh win the big game(s)? The Wolverines are stacked with 4 and
5 star recruits who cruise thru the season and then lose a close game
they should not loose. Transferring QB Shea Patterson should help an
offense that at times had trouble scoring last season. The real question
is can a Harbaugh led team beat in State rival, MSU and also Penn State
and Ohio State who all 3, have had their way with the Wolverines the
past 5+ seasons. 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 include Head
Coach Jim Harbaugh's $9M a year paycheck. Also, Harbaugh decided to
take the whole football team to Paris 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 which had another great season and made it to the NCAA Championship
Game need to lock up head coach John Beilein for years. The Wolverines
will have a
good returning class for next season and Coach John Beilein should make
another deep run into the NCAA Tournament.
Sports beyond the "D":
NFL: NFL season is 69 days away.
Mandatory mini camps are now over as teams have went thru rookie and
team OTA's. Some players have been MIA such as Rams DT McDonald, Falcons
WR Jones, and Steelers RB Bell just to name a few. Teams and fans and
sport pundits alike are filled with excitement about
how their teams will fare this upcoming season. the NFL Owners also
finalized what they will permit players to do during the singing of the
National Anthem. The NFL has an
off season coming
up
to work on
the many issues that it is dealing with; once again what is a Catch, its
declining
viewership, players pushing for marijuana to be legalized, shortening
games, revised OT, and dealing with player incidents and black eyes on
the NFL. 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. 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 already 3 months in and already there is talk abut
who will be buyers and sellers within the next 6 weeks before the July
31st deadline Also, MLB is trying to
find a way to speed up the games so they don't last over 3+ hours for a
9 inning game but they are just kidding themselves, baseball games are
becoming increasingly long and boring and many games way over 3 hours
for a 9 inning game. The
games are not being monitored by the umps as players continue to go in
and out of the batters box before each pitch like it is a wait until I
want to swing the bat. The only thing being kept up is the times a team
came go to the mound in a game. Replays are the norm now and why it
takes so long to review a call is beyond me. No doubt as to why
viewership is going down as
today's fans do not want to sit and watch games go on and on and on for
no reason.
NCAA: CFB season starts in 61 days. The NCAA took a black eye on the
scathing report on college basketball. The findings were fully expected
and the changes implemented may or may not work. Addressing the one and
done rule with the NBA was a step in the right direction. On the
football front, it took years for the NCAA to finally do the right thing
and allow its athletes to transfer schools without the athlete having
to sit out a year. It also now allows schools to go after other schools
players with no recourse. It will be interesting to see the sharks of
the Big Time Schools and how long it takes them to go after Mid Level
schools and it talent. Also, it was a joke that UCF's self proclaimed
National Title after going undefeated. No doubt they had a great year
but their record was inflated by a cream puff Conference schedule whose
other Conference teams would get crushed week in and week out in the
Power 5 conferences. For UCF to be taken seriously, they need to move
to a tougher elite Conference.
NBA and NHL:
The NBA draft is over and trades were made and D. Ayton was chosen first by the Phoenix Suns. The
biggest news in this off season is where LeBron James will end up and it looks like in the next few days he will put himself out on the open market. My thought, He will move elsewhere but
not where most think He will end up for next season. Free Agency begins on July 1st and rumors are swirling where LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Paul George, and Chris Paul just to name a few. Max contracts will be the norm as these top players get paid big $$$$. In the
NHL, the Washington Capitals won their 1st ever Stanley Cup over the
surprising 1st season Las Vegas Golden Knights. If I was the President
or GM of most NHL teams, I would be looking over my shoulder as the
Owners of the NHL teams have to be asking how could the Golden Knights,
take players that all NHL teams chose to leave off their rosters get
chose by Las Vegas and they in their inaugural season make it to the
Stanley Cup! The officiating
was brutally bad at best and the NHL needs to take a serious look at how
to make changes to have better officiating all season long.
Miscellaneous:
The Nation is in an uproar with the continued influx of Immigrants trying to enter the United States. President Trump and Congress are looking to revise the way the Country processes adults and children in hopes of keeping them together as they get processed. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the President in regards to a ban on refugees and Muslims from 6 Middle East Countries as well as North Korea and Venezuela. The questions becomes how do We protect our boarders and allow immigrants and refugees to enter the USA? Also the Tariff War has escalated between the USA and the rest of the World with President Trump refusing to back down on his plan to even out the trade imbalance with many countries.
Other Sporting Events:
The World Cup is thru the second week and the World Cup is now down to the Top 16 teams. It is now a one and done scenario as the World watches with excitement.
PGA: Bubba Watson wins the Travelers Championship. NASCAR: Martin Truex jr. wins at Sonoma.
twitter; @thecupofjoeinthed email; cupofjoeinthed@gmail.com www.cupofjoeinthed.blogspot.com
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