Michigan teams. Not pretty

The sports landscape involving professional and major college teams in Michigan is not a pretty sight right now.

The Detroit Tigers are in full-blown rebuild mode, having traded away most of their good players for the dreaded "prospects". At least the ones that were tradeable. Aging slugger Miguel Cabrera and ancient one tool (he can hit a little) player Victor Martinez have ridiculous contracts no other team is going to touch. The Tigers are stuck with them. Prognosis -- poor -- in the near future, if not longer.

Somewhat similarly, the Detroit Red Wings (and long overdue) have shed good players and big salaries. They're tumbling towards the bottom of the NHL. The once proud franchise is no more. Prognosis -- same as the Tigers.

After a semi-hot start this season, the Detroit Pistons are wilting fast. Adding Blake Griffin to an otherwise anemic roster doesn't appear to have helped much. Even if they somehow sneak into the playoffs, which isn't likely, there is little doubt they'll get blown out in the first round by an upper echelon team in the Eastern Conference. Prognosis -- likely even worse before it gets better.

Speaking of the Wings and Pistons, they both just moved into a sparkling brand new home, one Little Caesar's Arena. Gee, that's great. Problem is they can't seem to put people in the seats. Which is little wonder given how bad the teams are. Prognosis -- good -- for the Arena. Not so good for the teams.

The Detroit Lions are, well, the Detroit Lions. General Manager Bob Quinn, a former scout for the New England Patriots, appears to be way over his head as a GM. He's botched his first two drafts. And now after finally, FINALLY shedding themselves of Jim Caldwell, they've brought in another former Pat in Matt Patricia as head coach. Will he be the answer to what ails them? Maybe, anything's possible. But wait a minute. Isn't this the same guy that was in charge of the Patriots' defense? The same one that got absolutely torched by an otherwise mediocre Philadelphia Eagles' offense in the Super Bowl? To the tune of 43 points and about 600 yards? And HE'S going to be one that makes wine out of water with the pitiful defense he's inheriting with the Lions? Prognosis -- hope springs eternal when it comes to Lions' fans. Sigh. They just don't know any better.

The once ballyhooed arrival of Jim Harbaugh as the Michigan football coach seems to have worn off. Besides the patsies they typically schedule early in any season, the Wolverines appear to be no more than so-so in the Big Ten conference. They can't seem to beat rival Michigan State any more. Ohio State? Fuhgetaboutit. After the huge Jerry Sandusky sex scandal at Penn State, the Nittany Lions are back. In the last few years Wisconsin has been much better than Michigan as well. For supposedly being a quarterback guru, Harbaugh seems to be having a heckuva time finding even a halfway decent one. Prognosis -- sure they'll get to a bowl game every year. You have to be pretty bad not to given how many of them there are these days. But compete for a national championship? Uh-uh. Not any time soon.

Michigan State is right up there (at last look #2) in the basketball rankings. They've got a legitimate shot at winning it all when the NCAA tournament rolls around in a few weeks. There's no "super" teams out there. Just a bunch of really good ones.

In football, though better than Michigan, the Spartans are second-tier at best.

But here's the thing. That avalanche of allegations regarding hanky-panky by both the football and basketball teams hasn't exactly gone away. It's still there, just quieted down for now, as the investigations continue. Maybe they'll come out of it relatively unscathed. On the other hand, depending on what the authorities (both law-enforcement and NCAA) find in the end, both programs could come crashing down, including taking the head coaches with them. Time will tell. Prognosis -- tick, tick, tick.

All in all, major sports fans in the state of Michigan don't have a whole lot to look forward to right now. And might not in the foreseeable future either.