Lions Made The Right Call On Stafford

Today the Detroit Lions made a good decision on what could determine the future of the franchise. They put quarterback Matthew Stafford on injured reserve. I know some might differ on my opinion of this but I explained a few weeks back why they should keep him out for the rest of the year.

Stafford's been hurt for most of the season. He separated his throwing shoulder in the first game of the season and aggravated it against the Jets in week 8. Well they said it was a different injury from the initial injury. I think he came back too soon or was rushed back. One of the two. I know Stafford probably wanted to come back for the last two games of the year and test himself. It's probably a good thing he didn't make the decision himself.

It's clear the team isn't going anywhere and it was wise to put him on IR and not risk another significant injury which would leave you drafting another quarterback. It also was clear that the Lions could've been at least three wins better this year. But we're not playing horseshoes and hand grenades here. It's the NFL. And one false move can set you back years. The Lions and their fans know all about being set back.

Tennessee Should Get Off It's Own Hype

There's still a lot of college basketball left to be played and there are a lot of upsets out there to be made. Yes, that would include you too Duke. Some teams made early impressions. One of those teams was the Tennessee Volunteers.

A couple of weeks ago the Volunteers went into Pittsburgh and dismantled the then No.3 Panthers 83-76. And the score really wasn't that close. They were blowing them out by 21 before Bruce Pearl called off the dogs. Prior to that they beat Villanova 78-68. The Volunteers looked good in beating two of the Big East's better teams and subsequently rose to No.7 in the national rankings. Well, we all know rankings don't mean jack until you get in conference. Unless your Duke or Kansas. And Tennessee found this out the hard way. After beating Pittsburgh, the Vols dropped three in a row. All to inferior opponents. Oakland, Charlotte, and USC. Two of them at home.

I'm not taking anything away from those teams. Oakland is a much more difficult opponent than what people think, don't look at the Ohio State game as an indicator. Charlotte had just lost it's best player (Shamari Spears) and USC just hasn't been the same since the O.J. Mayo controversy. Last night they narrowly escaped Belmont, 66-65. Definitely not the same Tennessee team I saw a few weeks ago.

In my opinion, as it seems with some teams, is they get on their own hype. They start thinking they can underprepare for opponents and just show up and win. Only a select few teams can get away with that and the Vols are not one of them. Don't get me wrong. They are plenty good and should be one of the SEC's best this year. But they shouldn't be overlooking other teams. That's what I think happened. It's good to believe in yourself, just don't get too overconfident.

With conference play starting in two weeks, we'll see if Tennessee can regain their focus, like they had against 'Nova and Pitt. They'll have to because Bruce Pearl will be sitting out the first eight conference games for lying to the NCAA. The Vols will have to be at their best with games against Memphis, Arkansas, and Florida looming in early January.   

Merry Christmas To All

Merry Christmas to all readers, family, friends, and the troops overseas. Have a safe and happy holiday 

An All Sports Wish List

In the spirit of Christmas, this is what I think what players, coaches, teams, and organizations will be wishing for under the Christmas tree.

Another year for Michigan's Rich Rodriguez so he can finally get some progress going in Ann Arbor. But they still won't call off the dogs.

For Greg Robinson, another job where he can run his own scheme and not have one forced upon him where he couldn't succeed.

For Jim Leyland, another bat in the lineup that can go for .280, 20 homers and 80 rbi's. Also another starter that can win 10-15 games and eat some innings. Brad Penny anyone?

For Joe Dumars, a new owner so he can take the handcuffs off and rebuild the Pistons and Jared Sullinger

For the Detroit Lions, a referee that can interpret the rules properly.

For North Carolina's Butch Davis, a wish for the NCAA to stop digging up more allegations against his program.

For Tom Izzo and Michigan State, a win against an elite, top level opponent.

For John Beilein and Michigan, a win over Michigan State and to truly close the gap on the Spartans.

For Houston Cougars basketball, a return to their glory years.

For John Pelphrey, another year so he can see his best recruiting class pay off.

For Virginia Tech basketball, an NCAA bid.

For the Detroit Red Wings, an injury free season.

For the San Jose Sharks, to breakthrough and win a Stanley Cup

For the Miami Heat, a strong bench to complement Miami Thrice

For Carmelo Anthony, a home in New York City

For the New York Yankees, another top shelf pitcher

Sacramento Has To Remember Cousins Is Still A Kid

Whether the brass in the Sacramento Kings' organization like it or not, rookie center DeMarcus Cousins is still a kid. Now don't get my words twisted. He's still a kid in a sense that he still has to grow up mentally. He's going to give you headaches now and it's going to take a year or five for him to get his head straight. Maybe he's a lot like Zach Randolph, who now looks like a model citizen. Yes, insert joke there.

Last night Cousins' immaturity was on display when he made a choking motion to Golden State's Reggie Williams after he missed a late game free throw. Coach Paul Westphal wasn't too happy with Cousins and fined him and removed him from the starting lineup. Of course Cousins says the only reason why he's being punished is because they lost. No DeMarcus. It's because your a jackass.

Unlike Tyreke Evans, whose problems have come off the court, all Cousins' problems will come on the court. He'll be more of a headache to coaches and teammates during a game than being a royal pain off of it. I only say that because I personally haven't heard of any off court problems when he was in high school or at Kentucky. I'm not saying you treat him with kid gloves or coddle him. He has to become a man, since he's now in a grown man's world. Give him a few years to grow up and if he doesn't then trade him. If you don't want to wait that long trade him now and cut your losses. I do think he has the potential to be a coach killer if he can't demonstrate the ability to mature.  

Start Tanking For Sullinger

I don't like to advocate losing intentionally, or tanking for a lack of a better term. But hey, it worked for the Houston Rockets back in the day when they "won" the right to draft Ralph Sampson, so I'm not against trying to get a few more ping pong balls in the hopper.

If I'm Detroit Pistons general manager Joe Dumars, I facilitate trades for Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince and let the losing begin. I know Joe has a lot of pride so he'll never go for this idea. I don't think a lot of people that read this would like this idea. But like I said, it worked for Houston so why not give it a try. The player I've fallen in love with in this short college basketball season is Ohio State's Jared Sullinger.

Being from Michigan, I haven't liked many Buckeyes. That goes for football and basketball. Save for Jay Burson and Dennis Hopson I don't root for many. But Sullinger is different. I know the Pistons lack an elite level point guard and as much as I hate to say it Duke's Kyrie Irving could be used here in the Motor City. I could be wrong, but I feel Sullinger is a guaranteed can't miss. Put Sullinger next to Greg Monroe, and they might form a nice combo on the front line. Jared is a beast down low. He has a good back to the basket game and can actually hit a midrnge shot, even though you prefer he doesn't take that shot frequently. He's a strong rebounder and if he can stay out of foul trouble he could step right in and be a force. He knows his range so you don't have to worry about him straying out to the three point line. If you question what I'm saying, just check his stat line from the Florida game (26 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals). He is DeMarcus Cousins without the attitude. He averages a double double and shoots 59 percent. I'm still waiting to see what he does once the Big Ten season starts, but right now he would be number one on my draft board right now.

I know Joe Dumars doesn't have much room to operate and there may not be a season next year, but drafting Sullinger is a must. This would be the certified home run draft pick he needs to keep the bullets off his back regarding his shaky draft record. Just make the trades and let lottopalooza start and let the ping pong balls rack up. Just remeber, it got Houston into that epic coin flip that landed them Ralph Sampson. Like I said earlier, Dumars has too much pride to let that happen. Let's not kid ourselves. This team is going nowhere except lotteryland so why not try to maximize the potential to get the best draft position.  

Quote Of The Week: Deion Sanders

Deion Sanders didn't like the fact that Donovan McNabb was benched in favor of Rex Grossman. Here's his thoughts about it.

"Replacing McNabb with Grossman is like replacing Beyonce in Destiny's Child with Macy Gray. She can sang but it ain't Beyonce."

That's a creative way of putting it. But McNabb isn't the McNabb of old. I suspect he'll be out of Washington in the offseason.