Finally over!!!

Where do you start when talking about an 0-16 football team? You can go into so many directions, like what went wrong, who is to blame, how do you fix it, and what is the outlook for next year. What I would like to do is give you my grades on the players. I'm going to leave the coaches out of it. None of them should be back after an 0-16 season. I will say this though, even though all the coaches deserve an F, I'd actually give Rod Marinelli a D. I don't know how he did it, but the players played hard all year, and never gave up. Marinelli is a leader, just not a good football coach.

So here are my grades on the players on the 2008 Detroit Lions. If I left anybody out, they must not have been here long enough to leave an impression, but lets just give them an F anyways. (Players in bold are on the 2009 roster)

OFFENSE

QB - Jon Kitna (D), Dan Orlovsky (B), Daunte Culpepper (D), Drew Stanton (INC)

RB - Kevin Smith (A), Rudi Johnson (C), Avion Cason (D)

FB - Jerome Felton (C), Moran Norris (C)

WR - Calvin Johnson (A), Shaun McDonald (C), Mike Furrey (C), John Standeford (B), Brandon Middleton (F), Keary Colbert (INC)

TE - Michael Gaines (D), Casey Fitzsimmons (D), Dan Campbell (INC), John Owens (D)

OT - Jeff Backus (F), Gosder Cherilus (C), George Foster (F)

OG - Edwin Mulitalo (D), Stephen Peterman (D), Damion Cook (F), Manny Ramirez (F)

C - Dominic Raiola (D), Andy McCollum (F)

K - Jason Hanson (A)

DEFENSE

DT - Cory Redding (D), Chuck Darby (D), Shaun Cody (C), Andre Fluellen (C), Langston Moore (D), Landon Cohen (INC)

DE - DeWayne White (B), Jared DeVries (B), Cliff Avril (A), Corey Smith (C), Ilaika Alama-Francis (D)

LB - Ernie Sims (C), Paris Lenon (C), Alex Lewis (F), Ryan Nece (D), Jordon Dizon (INC)

CB - Brian Kelly (F), Leigh Bodden (F), Travis Fisher (D), Keith Smith (F), Ramzie Robinson (D)

S - Daniel Bullucks (C), Dwight Smith (F), Gerald Alexander (INC), Kalvin Pearson (D)

P - Nick Harris (A)

LS - Don Mulbach (A)

So there are a lot of grades here, and some people might disagree with them, but my thoughts are that to have a successful team you need a lot more A and B grades. Those players are the playmakers. This team didn't have enough of them.

Coming up I'll start to discuss where this team has to go as far as management and coaching, and what they should do with their draft picks. 5 picks in the top 88 should give the Lions a good start. Obviously though, this roster needs an overhaul.

making a case for prince

In a year where the Detroit Pistons have made changes, and have had various twists in the road, Tayshaun Prince's play has been a constant. In fact his play has improved. Tayshaun is averaging 14 pts a game up from a career average of 12.5. Michael Curry has switched lineups around, even moving Prince to power forward, and Prince has responded. He is averaging 7.3 rebounds a game up from a career average of 4.7. These numbers, plus Prince's continuous defensive prowess, could lead Prince to an all star selection.

In the early voting process the starters for the East look like this, Allen Iverson and Dwayne Wade in the back court, and LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and Dwight Howard up front. Now that the starters are established by the fans, the coaches can select the rest of the team. 7 players to choose. Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, and Antwan Jamison are previous all stars who are having good years. The 4 remaining selections are where you have to start dissecting players seasons. Devin Harris has really stepped up for New Jersey. He's averaging 24 pts and 6 assists. Another guy who has emerged this year is Danny Granger from Indiana. Granger is one of the top scorers in the league averaging 24 pts and 5 rebounds. That leaves 2 guys to pick. A handful of guys are possibilities such as Joe Johnson, Caron Butler, Rajon Rondo, Jameer Nelson, and Tayshaun Prince. As I have stated above, Prince has stepped it up this year, and the east needs another front court player. Rondo would be my last choice, playing on the best team, and having a career year.

Tayshaun Prince has been an improving player every year, working hard on his game. He won a gold medal this summer for the United States, and an all star selection would add to an already great year individually.

Hudler making it a tough decision

Ken Holland the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings is currently working on getting the roster settled for next year. He wants to have an idea of what it will look like, and if he needs help, where that might be. He'll have around 15.5 million to sign 6 forwards, 1 defenseman, and 1 goalie. Top priority is Henrik Zetterberg. Let's say that Zetterberg takes 7 million. That leaves 8.5 for the rest of the guys. Seeing that a few young guys will make the team, such as Darren Helm 600,000, Jimmy Howard 700,000, and Jonathan Ericsson 900,000, that leaves 6.3 million. Now that you have filled your need for a goalie, defenseman, and 1 forward, the Wings just need 4 forwards to sign.

Before you go any further the next major decision is do you try and move some guys and give a nice size contract to Marian Hossa, who's fit in great this year, or do you keep Johan Franzen, and watch him continue to grow into an elite player in the league. The Wings can't keep both. What makes the decision even more difficult is the play of Jiri Hudler. He's a restricted free agent next year, meaning the Wings will have to match any offer another team gives him, if they want to keep him. If the offer is above 2.5 million the Wings would receive a 1st round draft pick. That could prove to be too steep of a price for Hudler. Hudler has made great strides this year though. He's playing a more all around game. He'll never be known as a defensive forward, but he's keeping his position better this year. Through 33 games this year he has 13 goals and 15 assists, very productive.

I'd like to think they could resign Franzen to a longer deal at around 3 million per year. Franzen would have to agree to a hometown discount to take that amount, but staying with the Swedes might make his decision easier. The Wings are then left with 3.3 million. Resigning free agent Tomas Kopecky, who has yet to live up to his full potential could be an idea. He makes 500,000 this year, and surely would sign for that again. That's 2.8 million and 2 forwards to go. Ville Leino has had his ups and downs in Grand Rapids this year, but he has offensive potential. He could end up on the top 2 lines eventually. Resigning him to his current amount would leave around 2 million to give Jiri Hudler. Again being a restricted free agent will allow the Wings to control the negotiations to a point. I think though, that these scenarios could happen. That would make the Wings look like this next year.

LW C RW

Filppula Datsyuk Holmstrom

Franzen Zetterberg Hudler

Leino Helm Cleary

Kopecky Draper Maltby

D D

Lidstrom Rafalski

Kronwall Stuart

Ericsson Lilia

G

Osgood

Howard

This roster will give the Wings another great team, with probably the youngest team they've had in years. 9 players will be under 30 years of age. Holland will have to convince a couple of guys that playing on the best team, and going for the cup, is better than an extra couple of hundred thousand dollars. It's a tough assignment, but he is the best GM in all sports.

coming all together

Today the Michigan State Spartans upset the 5th ranked Texas Longhorns. The game was close all the way through with Durrell Summers hitting a late 3 pointer to seal the deal. What was key to today's victory was the stability that Goran Suton brought to the floor. When Suton is in the game, that allows Coach Izzo to play Delvon Roe at power forward, and have Raymar Morgan at small forward. Earlier in the season Morgan was having to play power forward where he was at times over matched and got into foul trouble early. When Morgan gets to play against some smaller opponents he makes the most of his mismatch.

Suton has grown into a reliable scoring option. He has a post game and can hit the occasional outside jumper. Even though today he didn't hit the boards to hard, usually he is always the team leader in rebounds. Having Suton back also allows Marquise Gray to play off the bench and bring his energy to the game in spurts.

We all know that the Spartans are a deep team, but having the right pieces in place is what the Spartans need to have a successful run in the tournament. Izzo has recruited certain players to fill certain roles, and having everyone healthy will allow him to take advantage of each player's strength.

a right fit

While the Detroit Pistons are definitely in a transition year, the emergence of Rodney Stuckey has been a bright spot. The Pistons are 6-1 with Stuckey in the starting lineup, and he is proving that he can handle the point guard duties. He's averaging 10 points and 5 assists per game, and the assists are really starting to pile up. Stuckey is leading the team on the floor, knowing when to set up his teammate and when to take the ball to the hole.

With Stuckey, Richard Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince locked in as starters for the future, Joe Dumars now has the financial flexibility to add the remaining pieces in the off season. Chris Bosh or Carlos Boozer would both look really good next to those guys. Also having Aaron Affalo and Jason Maxiell on the bench in upcoming years will give the Pistons the role players that every team needs.

Rodney Stuckey's improvement this year will be key to the Pistons quickly getting back to the Eastern Conference finals, and hopefully the NBA finals.

Bring him back

After watching the Detroit Lions lose their 14th game of the season today, I finally came to the conclusion that the Lions need to bring back Dan Orlovsky next year so he can fight for the starting quarterback job. Watching Orlovsky will not bring up ideas that he could be Peyton Manning, but he is good enough to lead a team to the playoffs. He doesn't make mistakes, he doesn't turn the ball over, and he has enough arm strength to get the ball down the field. Remember what I said though, let him fight for the job, not hand it to him. What I don't want the Lions to do is draft a quarterback in the 1st round.

If this team is going to start picking up the pieces, and have a chance to compete next year, it doesn't matter who the starter is at quarterback, the defense needs an overhaul. New linebackers, new defensive lineman, and new defensive backs. Sounds easy right? The draft needs to be directed at this problem. Go ahead and help the offensive line out also. What has become clear is that Orlovsky has the weapons in Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith. Those two guys have been the only highlights on offense this year. With more experience they will get better, and the offensive will be able to put more points on the board. Draft a couple of playmakers on defense, and with better coaching this ship will turn around!

MLB Winter Meetings

So we all knew Dave Dombrowski had some work to do at the Winter Meetings. On his list was a closer, shortstop, and help at catcher. Because of trades made in the past few years, the farm system's talent has dwindled down. There are still some really good young players down there like Rick Porcello, Ryan Perry, Wilkin Ramirez, Jeff Larish, Cale Iorg, and Casper Wells, but the quantity may not be there anymore.

Dombrowski's first move was acquiring Gerald Laird from Texas for a couple of pitching prospects. He gave up a couple of good arms, but needed a veteran catcher to pair up with Dusty Ryan. Laird is good defensively, and works well with the pitching staff. Next Dombrowski added shortstop Adam Everett by way of free agency. Ramon Santiago and Everett will battle for the starting job, with the backup getting considerable playing time. Finally Dombrowski last night traded reserve outfielder Matt Joyce for 14 game winner Edwin Jackson. Jackson has a golden arm, but last year was his only good one so far in the big leagues. Joyce has potential, and a ton of power, but when was he going to play on this team? Jackson is immediately put into the 4th spot of the rotation, and while Dombrowski has yet to find a closer, this move could lead to the Tigers being less dependable on their bullpen.

So where do the Tigers go from here? Right now Fernando Rodney is slated to be the closer. I'm scared just thinking about that. They could make a trade for George Sherrill of Baltimore, or Matt Capps of Pittsburgh, but they can't deplete their farm system. That leaves free agents like Trevor Hoffman, Brandon Lyon, Chad Cordero, and Brian Fuentes as possible targets. Fuentes would be the obvious choice, but he might creep out of the Tigers price range.

Dombrowski has made minor moves this year, unlike last year, but last year proved that too many all star type players might be a bad thing, and every team needs role players. Let Laird, Everett, Santiago, and Inge be those types of players, and get back to winning baseball.

MSU on shaky ground

I don't know how the rest of the college basketball season will play out, but after watching MSU get crushed by North Carolina, and Michigan upset Duke in the past week, one thing is becoming clear, the Spartans are on shaky ground.

Tom Izzo has a good squad this year, and looking into his roster, some of his top players are from Michigan. Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, Goran Suton, and Marquise Gray are just some of the talented players that Izzo has landed with ease. John Beilein's first year made me think that he was going to have scrape for recruits in this state, but watch out now, if Beilein lands his team in the tournament, Izzo will have to start fighting for the state's best.

This year's matchup between the two teams will be very exciting. MSU is deeper, but right now Michigan is playing better basketball, and has a better system. What this year's game will come down to is can Manny Harris and the emerging DeShawn Sims outplay MSU top two players, Raymar Morgan and Kalin Lucas?

I've always admired the rivalry between Duke and North Carolina in basketball. In state schools, not far apart, that every year play classic games. That's what I want. I really don't care who wins. The state of Michigan, rich in basketball needs this rivalry to be just as good.