Hoping the Lions can get it right

I hate to admit it to others, but i am a diehard Detroit Lions fan.I know, i know, they're the butt of jokes all the and are constantly ridiculed.From ownership down they've been a farce of an NFL franchise.Also, it's pretty bad when the glory days are before my time and the early to mid 90's when they made the playoffs only to make a quick exit.Those days, the Wayne Fontes days, were exciting and also frustrating as they teased us and gave us Lions fans false hope.Look up the 58-37 beatdown in the 95 playoffs and you'll know what i'm talking about.Don't even get me started with the Millen error.He sold us a bad bill of goods.Remember him coming in saying "I want to win and win now", pounding his fist on the podium.Hiring Marty Mornhinweg, who they should've let Cleveland hire started it all.Fast forward to now and I think they might have actually got it right this time around.The jury is still out on Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand in the front office.They seem competent though and might be the people to get this franchise turned around.I think they had a decent draft, although i really didn't care for the Matthew Stafford selection.Mayhew made so decent free agent signings and trades.Also, the big one to many in this area was the hiring of the coach,Jim Schwartz.Many here in the Detroit area are hungry for a winner,and feel Schwartz may be the guy to bring one to town.Even though they currently stand at 1-5, i feel he doesn't try to sell us on false hope and tells it like it is.Check out what he said about the second half of the Chicago game.He knows it'll take time to build a winner here, but he also has to convince the players they are a good football team.Changing the culture will be difficult, be he seems committed to getting the job done.Let's hope ownership will have patience and give him the time to get the job done.He actually seems like a real coach, something that hasn't been around here for awhile.Give him time and he will get it done, i have confidence and patience.Like I mentioned before, let's hope ownership and fans for that matter give him the time to do the job.
detroitlions.com

The USFL:A good idea that went wayward

I remember when the USFL first started in 1983.i was only 11 years old then and thought it would never work.Some of the names i knew of,some i never heard of.Even the players i heard of,i thought to myself,"they couldn't make it in the NFL".As the season went on i was pleasantly surprised and quickly embraced the michigan panthers as my team,pretty obvious since i lived here in the detroit area.I remember it like yesterday.Bobby Hebert at quarterback,local hero Anthony Carter at receiver,and two unknowns that became big stars in the league,running back Ken Lacy,and the "sackman" John Corker.they started slowly but went on a roll that culminated in a championship,defeating the Philadelphia Stars 24-22.I couldn't wait until the next season started and figured the NFL might be in some serious trouble.Alas,the USFL was in trouble.From my point of view, I feel the owners,flush with quick success,got too greedy.They started giving out big money contracts to players not yet drafted and to NFL stars that used the USFL as leveraage in negotiations.The locals around Detroit can remember Billy Sims nearly jumping ship to the Houston Gamblers.The contract i remember most is the ridiculous contract given to Steve Young by the Los Angeles Express.I believe it was 40 years for $43 million dollars.I could be wrong on this.If i am let me know.I know there is more to the story,but eventually,while the league was expanding,sank itself and folded.The USFL ended up suing the NFL and actually won.The amount:$1 dollar.It was exciting while it lasted and if managed correctly I feel some teams could have merged with the NFL. I still remember the players and uniforms and the teams. I just wish it lasted longer, but all good things must come to an end.          

Detroit Pistons. How will they do this year?

As the name of my blog states, I have an opinion for almost anything. This goes out to the local Piston fans. How do you think they will do this year. On paper it looks like a 40-45 win team,but as we all know games aren't played on paper.I think Joe Dumars did well in free agency bringing in Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon. I wasn't too thrilled with the draft but who else could we take at that position in the draft.They're trying to rebuild on the fly which is not a bad thing,but we'll have to see what moves come by the trade deadline if any.I feel they won't be among the elite,but still competitive enough to put a scare into some of the  better teams. Personally i see a 43-39 finish in the regular season and somewhere between a 6 to 8 seed in the playoffs.
http://www.nba.com/pistons/index_main.html

Bowl games and Bobby Bowden

I love college football as much as any fan out there. Admit it, I know there are plenty of guys out there that love their college football from noon to night every Saturday. I'm one of them.but I just can't take anymore bowl games. There's too many as it is and now the powers that be in the NCAA are going to give us more. I remember looking forward to the New Year's Day bowl games knowing you were going to watch 8 to 10 of the top teams in the nation. Now the games don't mean as much as they used to thanks to the creation of the BCS. Even the games prior to New Years had some excitement and a decent matchup to watch. Now it seems that mediocrity is being rewarded and we as fans get stuck watching crappy matchups and teams that we hardly follow. How about that Florida Atlantic/Stanford matchup. They really need to cut down on the games and reward teams that win at least 7 games instead of the current 6. I think it would make for better matchups therefore better games.not saying that some teams aren't deserving,but you can finish damn near dead last in your conference and still get to go bowling.
  Another subject is good ol' Bobby Bowden. Currently under fire at Florida State and rightfully so. His teams have seen a dramatic decline in recent years. I don't think the game has passed him by, but I think there were some factors in that decline. Of course there's recruiting,but I think a big one was losing Mark Richt to Georgia. That one seems to get overlooked. Another one which is well publicized is hiring his son Jeff as offensive coordinator. I personally think he has hung on to Mickey Andrews as his defensive coordinator for too long as i think many have caught on to his schemes. I do think Bobby needs to retire,but should be able to go out on his own terms. He built it up to elite status,won big,and has a couple of national championships. If it weren't for him they might be scuffling with the Memphis' and SMU's of the world. I know times are tough for the Seminoles right now but don't run the man that brought you to the pearly gates of college football out of town. He deserves to go out on his own and who knows this thing might turn around like it did for Joe Paterno at Penn State when they were calling for his head. At least give him a chance to see if it can get turned around.