With apologies to Ernest Lawrence Thayer -- alas, there will be no joy in Mudville, or at least Fenway, mighty Boston has struck out. Yep, the Cleveland Indians dispatched the Red Sox in three straight games. A sweep.
Also, there will be no storybook ending to the illustrious career of David Ortiz. Big Papi be gone. Too bad indeed. He was truly a joy.
Next up, the Tribe faces the Toronto Blue Jays for the right to represent the American League in the World Series. While Cleveland was busy brooming the Beaners, the Jays had done the same thing to the Texas Rangers. If you count the wild card game Toronto played against the Baltimore Orioles, their post-season record is now 4-0. Perfect.
Being division winners, Cleveland didn't have to play a wild card game. Their mark stands at 3-0. So two unbeatens get to lock horns. It should be quite the series.
Thing is, somebody's gotta start losing. A pick? Not me. No idea. Got a coin?
Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs had dumped the San Francisco Giants in the first two games of their best 3 out of 5, and are currently leading in Game 3. Another sweep? Could be. San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner got dinged for a 3-run homer off the bat of his pitching counterpart Jake Arietta. Ouch. That's gotta hurt -- in more ways than one.
So assuming the Cubbies sweep, that leaves the LA Dodgers and Washington Nationals. Both excellent teams as well. They split the first two games. No clean sweep of sweeps.
But you just know LA will eventually prevail. Why? Because Washington will choke. They always choke. Everything in Washington chokes. Besides the Nats, the Capitals choke at playoff time. The Redskins could be renamed the Heimlichs for some of their maneuvers.
Speaking of names, the former Bullets of the NBA choked themselves out of one. They caved to politically correct pressure and became the Wizards instead. Like there's no bullets in DC. Right. Guess what, they're woefully short on wizards too. Seen Congress lately?
On that note, there is a total of 545 people in Washington that choke constantly. 435 Reps, 100 Sens, 9 Supremes (8 for now), and a Prez seem to be choking the very life out of the American people. But I digress.
What's that? San Fran has scored a couple runs to make it 3-2 in the seventh inning? It ain't over yet. Maybe it won't be a sweep after all.
But I dare say I speak for the majority by saying we would be hard pressed to imagine the Giants beating the mighty Cubbies three games in a row. Those guys have got everything. Hitting, pitching, defense, speed, you name it. That's probably why they won 8 more games than anybody else in the majors this year.
Though I don't live there and haven't even been to Chicago for several years, count me a Cubs fan.
As was mentioned in this space a few days ago, there are exactly 108 stitches on a Major League baseball and it's been 108 years since the Cubs last won a World Series.
Somehow, it just feels right this year.
Here's hoping they don't choke.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Lions and bookies
The Detroit Lions must drive the bookies absolutely crazy. It's nigh impossible to get a read on those guys. Just when one thinks the Lions will do one thing -- BAM -- they do just the opposite.
Though most pundits ranked them in the bottom ten -- even five -- of the NFL before the season started, the Detroit faithful had little doubt their team was much better than that.
It started well. A road win over Indianapolis. Then back home, but oops, they lost to the lowly Tennessee Titans. That wasn't supposed to happen.
On to Green Bay. They pretty much got blown out in the first half, but rallied (or the Packers got bored) to keep the score respectable. Still, a loss. Now 1-2.
Up next was Chicago. Surely the Lions would right the ship. Nope, Da God awful Bears handed them another L. 1-3. Rumors began to circulate that head coach Jim Caldwell was on the hot seat.
It didn't look good in Game 5. The undefeated Philadelphia Eagles were coming to town. They had recently blasted the always tough Pittsburgh Steelers by 30 points. Even at home, the Lions were rightfully underdogs.
So what did the Lions do? Up and defeat the Eagles. Who saw that coming?
At that, they caught a huge break to pull off the upset. The Eagles had the game all but in the bag. Possession of the ball, time winding down, Detroit out of time-outs, and a two point lead. What could go wrong?
Turned out, a bone-head play by one of their running backs. He fumbled and the Lions fell on it. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was likely beside himself. How in the hell could THAT happen?
Sure enough, Detroit managed to kick a game winning field goal. It wasn't supposed to.
But that's the Lions. Just when even their hard core fans are ready to give up on them and admit still another year is about to go down the drain, the team will pull off -- or stumble into -- a ray of hope. That's all the kool-aiders need to get them amped up again. Their heroes are now 2-3 and anything's possible. Sort of.
Will they finish above .500? Maybe. They couldn't ask for a softer schedule. Make the playoffs? Highly doubtful but ya never know.
Super Bowl worthy? Please. Halley's comet could make a U-turn and come back next week. The Donald and the Hill could ditch Mel and Bill respectively, both drop their Presidential aspirations, and run off to Bangladesh to enjoy the pleasures of each other's flesh. How'd you like to see the video of THAT? Eww. In a stunning turn of events, it could even be that all the peoples of the Middle East will lay down their arms and get along as one big happy family forever after. All theoretically possible.
But the Lions getting to, much less winning the Super Bowl any year/decade soon? Get outta here. Nobody's crazy enough to buy into that. Are they?
Nonetheless, the wise guys in Vegas have to get back to work figuring out point spreads. They must shudder when having to face yet another Lions game. Up is down, left is right, and nothing ever makes sense with the Honolulu blue and silver bunch. Poor devils.
In that respect, it's just another year indeed in the magical kingdom of the Lions. Nobody ever knows what the hell is going on....
Though most pundits ranked them in the bottom ten -- even five -- of the NFL before the season started, the Detroit faithful had little doubt their team was much better than that.
It started well. A road win over Indianapolis. Then back home, but oops, they lost to the lowly Tennessee Titans. That wasn't supposed to happen.
On to Green Bay. They pretty much got blown out in the first half, but rallied (or the Packers got bored) to keep the score respectable. Still, a loss. Now 1-2.
Up next was Chicago. Surely the Lions would right the ship. Nope, Da God awful Bears handed them another L. 1-3. Rumors began to circulate that head coach Jim Caldwell was on the hot seat.
It didn't look good in Game 5. The undefeated Philadelphia Eagles were coming to town. They had recently blasted the always tough Pittsburgh Steelers by 30 points. Even at home, the Lions were rightfully underdogs.
So what did the Lions do? Up and defeat the Eagles. Who saw that coming?
At that, they caught a huge break to pull off the upset. The Eagles had the game all but in the bag. Possession of the ball, time winding down, Detroit out of time-outs, and a two point lead. What could go wrong?
Turned out, a bone-head play by one of their running backs. He fumbled and the Lions fell on it. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was likely beside himself. How in the hell could THAT happen?
Sure enough, Detroit managed to kick a game winning field goal. It wasn't supposed to.
But that's the Lions. Just when even their hard core fans are ready to give up on them and admit still another year is about to go down the drain, the team will pull off -- or stumble into -- a ray of hope. That's all the kool-aiders need to get them amped up again. Their heroes are now 2-3 and anything's possible. Sort of.
Will they finish above .500? Maybe. They couldn't ask for a softer schedule. Make the playoffs? Highly doubtful but ya never know.
Super Bowl worthy? Please. Halley's comet could make a U-turn and come back next week. The Donald and the Hill could ditch Mel and Bill respectively, both drop their Presidential aspirations, and run off to Bangladesh to enjoy the pleasures of each other's flesh. How'd you like to see the video of THAT? Eww. In a stunning turn of events, it could even be that all the peoples of the Middle East will lay down their arms and get along as one big happy family forever after. All theoretically possible.
But the Lions getting to, much less winning the Super Bowl any year/decade soon? Get outta here. Nobody's crazy enough to buy into that. Are they?
Nonetheless, the wise guys in Vegas have to get back to work figuring out point spreads. They must shudder when having to face yet another Lions game. Up is down, left is right, and nothing ever makes sense with the Honolulu blue and silver bunch. Poor devils.
In that respect, it's just another year indeed in the magical kingdom of the Lions. Nobody ever knows what the hell is going on....
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Mich/Mich St.
Oh my, how far the once mighty Spartans have fallen. After getting hammered at home by Wisconsin, they lost to lowly Indiana on the road. And now they were just trashed by unranked BYU -- again at home. Yet they somehow managed to beat Notre Dame earlier in the year. How bad are the Irish?
Meanwhile, the bar had been set for Michigan. Just last week Ohio State murdered Rutgers to the tune of 58-0. Now it was the Wolverines turn to see how they'd fare against them. It should be noted the Buckeyes were at home against Rutgers. Michigan was on the road.
In a beatdown of all beatdowns, the Wolverines rolled to a whopping 78-0 victory -- their largest margin of victory against anyone since before WWII. 78-0? Are you kidding me? Wow. It was so one-sided Michigan pulled their starters after the first half. It didn't seem to make any difference. Back at ya, Urban Meyer.
So Rutgers wanted to play in the Big 10 -- eh? Hope the money's worth it because this is getting embarrassing. Two games and coming out on the wrong side of a combined score of 166-0? Sure, OSU and UM are both great teams, but can anybody possibly be that bad?
Given the above it seems almost a given Michigan will finally be able to avenge some of their recent losses to Michigan State when they meet in East Lansing in a few weeks. But ya never know about that game. Strange things, even miracle plays, have been known to happen.
Assuming they both stay clean, the build up to the Michigan-Ohio State game at the end of November should be really something.
Meanwhile, the bar had been set for Michigan. Just last week Ohio State murdered Rutgers to the tune of 58-0. Now it was the Wolverines turn to see how they'd fare against them. It should be noted the Buckeyes were at home against Rutgers. Michigan was on the road.
In a beatdown of all beatdowns, the Wolverines rolled to a whopping 78-0 victory -- their largest margin of victory against anyone since before WWII. 78-0? Are you kidding me? Wow. It was so one-sided Michigan pulled their starters after the first half. It didn't seem to make any difference. Back at ya, Urban Meyer.
So Rutgers wanted to play in the Big 10 -- eh? Hope the money's worth it because this is getting embarrassing. Two games and coming out on the wrong side of a combined score of 166-0? Sure, OSU and UM are both great teams, but can anybody possibly be that bad?
Given the above it seems almost a given Michigan will finally be able to avenge some of their recent losses to Michigan State when they meet in East Lansing in a few weeks. But ya never know about that game. Strange things, even miracle plays, have been known to happen.
Assuming they both stay clean, the build up to the Michigan-Ohio State game at the end of November should be really something.
Friday, October 7, 2016
You know you're in trouble when....
You're the Boston Red Sox. You've thrown your two best pitchers (Rick Porcello and David Price) at the Cleveland Indians and are now down 0-2 in the ALDS.
Price was 17-9 in the regular season and Porcello an eye-popping 22-4.
Alas, neither of them could make it out of the fourth inning. Porcello's post-season ERA is now 10.38 and Price's a whopping 13.50.
Anything can happen and sometimes does, but that's a mighty deep hole to dig yourself out of in a best 3 out of 5 series. .
You're the San Francisco Giants. You had to use your ace (Madison Bumgarner) in the wild card game. He came through to dispatch the NY Mets.
Your starter for the first game of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs was Johnny Cueto and he turned in a masterful performance. No runs through over 7 innings.
Oops, a little known infielder named Javier Baez steps up to the plate and cracks one over the ivy to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
And when it's your turn to bat in the ninth inning, here comes Aroldis Chapman out of the bullpen throwing 100 MPH. Then 102. Then 103.
Good luck with THAT.
Cubs 1. Giants zip.
You're the Detroit Lions. (When aren't they in trouble?) You've bumbled your way to a 1-3 record against teams that were very beatable.
Now the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles are coming to town.
You've got an offensive coordinator named Jim Bob (AKA Hoozyodaddy) of all things, and he's counting on wide receiver Golden Tate to turn in a huge game and save the day.
Right.
Hope seems to spring eternal in Detroit. So does kool-aid driven insanity.
You're the LA Clippers and think you can give the Golden State Warriors some serious competition even after their acquirement of super star Kevin Durant into an already formidable mix.
In a preseason game the Warriors torch you by 45 points, and it likely would have been even worse if they hadn't shut it down in the fourth quarter.
Um, no. You can't beat those guys.
Besides, you finished a whopping 20 games behind the Warriors in the regular season last year -- before the arrival of Durant. What's it going to be this year? 30?
You're in Florida, or the eastern Carolinas, not sure whether to evacuate as hurricane Matthew is approaching, and find out your government (FEMA) is relying on a waffle house (it's true) to give them an accurate weather forecast.
Yikes.
You're a WNBA player and your team has made it all the way to the Finals.
And still nobody seems to notice........
Price was 17-9 in the regular season and Porcello an eye-popping 22-4.
Alas, neither of them could make it out of the fourth inning. Porcello's post-season ERA is now 10.38 and Price's a whopping 13.50.
Anything can happen and sometimes does, but that's a mighty deep hole to dig yourself out of in a best 3 out of 5 series. .
You're the San Francisco Giants. You had to use your ace (Madison Bumgarner) in the wild card game. He came through to dispatch the NY Mets.
Your starter for the first game of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs was Johnny Cueto and he turned in a masterful performance. No runs through over 7 innings.
Oops, a little known infielder named Javier Baez steps up to the plate and cracks one over the ivy to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
And when it's your turn to bat in the ninth inning, here comes Aroldis Chapman out of the bullpen throwing 100 MPH. Then 102. Then 103.
Good luck with THAT.
Cubs 1. Giants zip.
You're the Detroit Lions. (When aren't they in trouble?) You've bumbled your way to a 1-3 record against teams that were very beatable.
Now the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles are coming to town.
You've got an offensive coordinator named Jim Bob (AKA Hoozyodaddy) of all things, and he's counting on wide receiver Golden Tate to turn in a huge game and save the day.
Right.
Hope seems to spring eternal in Detroit. So does kool-aid driven insanity.
You're the LA Clippers and think you can give the Golden State Warriors some serious competition even after their acquirement of super star Kevin Durant into an already formidable mix.
In a preseason game the Warriors torch you by 45 points, and it likely would have been even worse if they hadn't shut it down in the fourth quarter.
Um, no. You can't beat those guys.
Besides, you finished a whopping 20 games behind the Warriors in the regular season last year -- before the arrival of Durant. What's it going to be this year? 30?
You're in Florida, or the eastern Carolinas, not sure whether to evacuate as hurricane Matthew is approaching, and find out your government (FEMA) is relying on a waffle house (it's true) to give them an accurate weather forecast.
Yikes.
You're a WNBA player and your team has made it all the way to the Finals.
And still nobody seems to notice........
Thursday, October 6, 2016
It's always something
So Hurricane Matthew is bearing down on Florida, eh? Of course, the watchwords, as always, are be afraid. Be very afraid. It's always something. Well, yours truly says -- forget that. Consider----
If you live in Oklahoma or Texas, you know you're at risk of tornadoes.
If you live in the Keweenaw peninsula in upper Michigan, you know you're going to get bombed with snow blowing off Lake Superior in the wintertime.
If you live in International Falls, Minnesota, you know you're going to get damned cold.
If you live in southern California, something is probably on fire close to you somewhere, and you could get swallowed up by an earthquake any minute.
It all goes with the territory.
So Floridians know, or should, that hurricanes come in the fall. Live there at your own peril. But stop with the whining already. We hear words like shocking, massive, terrifying, the biggest one to come along in ages. Are they talking about a storm or a Kardashian butt? HORRORS!!!
What's really nuts is they're stocking up on bottled water at scalper prices. Hey, if the storm is going to drop a foot of rain, the LAST thing they need to worry about is running out of water. Whatsamattuh with these people?
On that note, what's the matter with ANYBODY that's dumb enough to pay several dollars for a bottle of water? It's got to be the greatest scam of all time.
Between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox, it's difficult to pick a team to root for. On the one hand, the Indians haven't won a World Series in like forever. True, the Lake Erie-ites recently celebrated an NBA championship, but the World Series is bigger than that.
Yet how does one not get behind the Bosox when David "Big Papi" Ortiz is on his farewell tour? But hey, the Bosox finally ended their curse of the Bambino several years ago. In fact, they've won three World Series' since the turn of the century, including the last just a few years ago.
Boston has the nearby New England Patriots. They're in the hunt for the Super Bowl every year.
Cleveland has long been stuck with the woeful Browns. They're terrible yet again.
Boston has the Bruins of the NHL.
Cleveland has nada.
Speaking of forever, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated pointed out an interesting factoid. The Chicago Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908. The math is pretty simple. That's 108 years, or roughly the same amount of time William Shatner has been on TV. Seems like.
At any rate, Verducci notes there are exactly 108 stitches on a Major League baseball. One for every year the Cubs have gone without.
There's no place left to put another one.
It must be their time.....
If you live in Oklahoma or Texas, you know you're at risk of tornadoes.
If you live in the Keweenaw peninsula in upper Michigan, you know you're going to get bombed with snow blowing off Lake Superior in the wintertime.
If you live in International Falls, Minnesota, you know you're going to get damned cold.
If you live in southern California, something is probably on fire close to you somewhere, and you could get swallowed up by an earthquake any minute.
It all goes with the territory.
So Floridians know, or should, that hurricanes come in the fall. Live there at your own peril. But stop with the whining already. We hear words like shocking, massive, terrifying, the biggest one to come along in ages. Are they talking about a storm or a Kardashian butt? HORRORS!!!
What's really nuts is they're stocking up on bottled water at scalper prices. Hey, if the storm is going to drop a foot of rain, the LAST thing they need to worry about is running out of water. Whatsamattuh with these people?
On that note, what's the matter with ANYBODY that's dumb enough to pay several dollars for a bottle of water? It's got to be the greatest scam of all time.
Between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox, it's difficult to pick a team to root for. On the one hand, the Indians haven't won a World Series in like forever. True, the Lake Erie-ites recently celebrated an NBA championship, but the World Series is bigger than that.
Yet how does one not get behind the Bosox when David "Big Papi" Ortiz is on his farewell tour? But hey, the Bosox finally ended their curse of the Bambino several years ago. In fact, they've won three World Series' since the turn of the century, including the last just a few years ago.
Boston has the nearby New England Patriots. They're in the hunt for the Super Bowl every year.
Cleveland has long been stuck with the woeful Browns. They're terrible yet again.
Boston has the Bruins of the NHL.
Cleveland has nada.
Speaking of forever, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated pointed out an interesting factoid. The Chicago Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908. The math is pretty simple. That's 108 years, or roughly the same amount of time William Shatner has been on TV. Seems like.
At any rate, Verducci notes there are exactly 108 stitches on a Major League baseball. One for every year the Cubs have gone without.
There's no place left to put another one.
It must be their time.....
Sunday, October 2, 2016
The Detroit Lions foibles
It turned out Andrew Luck and the Indy Colts aren't very good this year. So the Lions' Week One victory over them on the road should be taken with a grain of salt. True, a win beats the heck out of a loss, but it was nothing to get excited about in Motown. Nonetheless, the ever-present Detroit sappies were back on the bandwagon. Here we go, they crowed. This is the year.
Um, no, it's not.
The following week the Lions were back home and bumbled their way to a loss at the hands of the lowly Tennessee Titans. Thud.
To absolutely no one's surprise, the Lions were beaten again in Green Bay the following week.
Well OK, 1-2 is manageable and with the Chicago Bears on deck, maybe the puddytats could get back on track. After all, the Lions have owned Da Bears of late.
Then, not so incredibly, the Honolulu blue and silver bunch went into Soldier Field -- and lost. To the Bears!! Don't look now, but the Lions are taking on water -- again. Even their normally amiable head coach Jim Caldwell was a bit testy at the post-game presser. Old Jimmy might be seeing the beginning of the end of his tenure in Detroit.
And it doesn't get any easier next week. In fact, it could be downright brutal. The Philadelphia Eagles are coming to town. Whatever new coach Doug Pederson is doing in Philly, it's a whole lotta right. For whatever it matters -- it doesn't -- the Eagles went 4 -0 in the preseason.
Then the games started counting and, somewhat surprisingly, the Eagles have rolled through their first 3 games. Granted, beating the Cleveland Browns 29-10 was no big deal, nor was zapping the same Chicago Bears at the same Soldier Field the following week 29-14 particularly notable.
But trashing the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-3 in Week Three was an eye-opener. Maybe these guys, with rookie QB Carson Wentz, really are pretty good.
To boot, while the Lions head back home after another loss, the Eagles had a bye week. Extra time for their players to rest three weeks worth of bumps and bruises and study/prepare for the upcoming game in Detroit.
If the Lions slip to 1-4, entirely possible, if not probable -- they can just about pack it in for another season. That would surprise few outside the Detroit area. Most pundits, including the gurus at Sports Illustrated, predicted the Lions would go 5-11, maybe 6-10.
Yet talking with hard-core Lions fans (are there any other kind?) one came away with an entirely different impression. Their heros would surely soar to 11-5, maybe 12-4 with a break here or there. It's somewhere between sad and laughable how gullible these people are. They keep falling for the same hype year after year. Chugging the koolaid the Lions and their media boosters foist upon them.
They're going to win. They're going to win. They're going to win. But they never do. Season after season go by, but the results are always the same. Delusional pre-season expectations. Then there's hope throughout the campaign. Right up until another year officially goes poof. Up in smoke.
It's almost mind-boggling how the Detroit faithful could think the team would be somehow better without the services of the recently retired Calvin Johnson. Hey, they were 7-9 last year and lost their best player. The Lions didn't sign any major impact free agents during the off season -- mostly cast-offs other teams didn't want to overpay for. Nor did they make a big splash in the draft.
So how in the hell do they expect to improve on last season? It defies logic.
Sure, strange things can happen in the NFL and sometimes do. The Lions could go on an improbable run. Given a few breaks, questionable calls going their way, and a rash of injuries to key players on other teams -- and anything's possible.
But left to their usual selves, the Lions are about a C-minus team in the whole scheme of things. Only in Detroit are they perceived as contenders. The koolaid never seems to wear off. Going into the season, people that supposedly know about such things had the Lions ranked around 27th or 28th out of the 32 NFL teams. They got a little bump, maybe up to 24 or so with the win at Indy. But back to back losses to teams like the Titans and Bears will see them tumble right back down, perhaps as low as 30th. Surely, they're better than the Browns and 49ers -- right?
Yep, it could be another long year for the puddytats. Given the level of play they've shown so far, and Jim Caldwell's past track record as a head coach -- not good -- it is difficult to imagine otherwise.
Yet there are still those poor lost souls wandering about Detroit and the suburbs that dare to not only dream of the Super Bowl, but their team actually getting to it and -- gasp!! -- being victorious. Obviously, they are in need of some kind of intensive psychotherapy. They're nuttier than the Planters factory.
It really is a shame. Calvin Megatron Johnson played his heart out for a decade but never tasted a single playoff win. It could well be QB Matthew Stafford will hang around for a few more years to suffer the same fate. How long was loose cannon center Dominic Raiola there? Fifteen years? Though I'm not sure stats are kept on such things, Raiola was likely the losingest player in the history of the NFL.
It's hard to believe, given the parity the league strives for, that the Lions haven't won a playoff game since Bill Clinton was about to start his FIRST term as President. And only one since Super Bowls started over 50 -- count-em -- FIFTY years ago.
Looked at that way, 1-3, likely to soon be 1-4 seems just about right.
They may be a lot of things, but after all, they're still the Lions.
And it's just another year.....
Um, no, it's not.
The following week the Lions were back home and bumbled their way to a loss at the hands of the lowly Tennessee Titans. Thud.
To absolutely no one's surprise, the Lions were beaten again in Green Bay the following week.
Well OK, 1-2 is manageable and with the Chicago Bears on deck, maybe the puddytats could get back on track. After all, the Lions have owned Da Bears of late.
Then, not so incredibly, the Honolulu blue and silver bunch went into Soldier Field -- and lost. To the Bears!! Don't look now, but the Lions are taking on water -- again. Even their normally amiable head coach Jim Caldwell was a bit testy at the post-game presser. Old Jimmy might be seeing the beginning of the end of his tenure in Detroit.
And it doesn't get any easier next week. In fact, it could be downright brutal. The Philadelphia Eagles are coming to town. Whatever new coach Doug Pederson is doing in Philly, it's a whole lotta right. For whatever it matters -- it doesn't -- the Eagles went 4 -0 in the preseason.
Then the games started counting and, somewhat surprisingly, the Eagles have rolled through their first 3 games. Granted, beating the Cleveland Browns 29-10 was no big deal, nor was zapping the same Chicago Bears at the same Soldier Field the following week 29-14 particularly notable.
But trashing the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-3 in Week Three was an eye-opener. Maybe these guys, with rookie QB Carson Wentz, really are pretty good.
To boot, while the Lions head back home after another loss, the Eagles had a bye week. Extra time for their players to rest three weeks worth of bumps and bruises and study/prepare for the upcoming game in Detroit.
If the Lions slip to 1-4, entirely possible, if not probable -- they can just about pack it in for another season. That would surprise few outside the Detroit area. Most pundits, including the gurus at Sports Illustrated, predicted the Lions would go 5-11, maybe 6-10.
Yet talking with hard-core Lions fans (are there any other kind?) one came away with an entirely different impression. Their heros would surely soar to 11-5, maybe 12-4 with a break here or there. It's somewhere between sad and laughable how gullible these people are. They keep falling for the same hype year after year. Chugging the koolaid the Lions and their media boosters foist upon them.
They're going to win. They're going to win. They're going to win. But they never do. Season after season go by, but the results are always the same. Delusional pre-season expectations. Then there's hope throughout the campaign. Right up until another year officially goes poof. Up in smoke.
It's almost mind-boggling how the Detroit faithful could think the team would be somehow better without the services of the recently retired Calvin Johnson. Hey, they were 7-9 last year and lost their best player. The Lions didn't sign any major impact free agents during the off season -- mostly cast-offs other teams didn't want to overpay for. Nor did they make a big splash in the draft.
So how in the hell do they expect to improve on last season? It defies logic.
Sure, strange things can happen in the NFL and sometimes do. The Lions could go on an improbable run. Given a few breaks, questionable calls going their way, and a rash of injuries to key players on other teams -- and anything's possible.
But left to their usual selves, the Lions are about a C-minus team in the whole scheme of things. Only in Detroit are they perceived as contenders. The koolaid never seems to wear off. Going into the season, people that supposedly know about such things had the Lions ranked around 27th or 28th out of the 32 NFL teams. They got a little bump, maybe up to 24 or so with the win at Indy. But back to back losses to teams like the Titans and Bears will see them tumble right back down, perhaps as low as 30th. Surely, they're better than the Browns and 49ers -- right?
Yep, it could be another long year for the puddytats. Given the level of play they've shown so far, and Jim Caldwell's past track record as a head coach -- not good -- it is difficult to imagine otherwise.
Yet there are still those poor lost souls wandering about Detroit and the suburbs that dare to not only dream of the Super Bowl, but their team actually getting to it and -- gasp!! -- being victorious. Obviously, they are in need of some kind of intensive psychotherapy. They're nuttier than the Planters factory.
It really is a shame. Calvin Megatron Johnson played his heart out for a decade but never tasted a single playoff win. It could well be QB Matthew Stafford will hang around for a few more years to suffer the same fate. How long was loose cannon center Dominic Raiola there? Fifteen years? Though I'm not sure stats are kept on such things, Raiola was likely the losingest player in the history of the NFL.
It's hard to believe, given the parity the league strives for, that the Lions haven't won a playoff game since Bill Clinton was about to start his FIRST term as President. And only one since Super Bowls started over 50 -- count-em -- FIFTY years ago.
Looked at that way, 1-3, likely to soon be 1-4 seems just about right.
They may be a lot of things, but after all, they're still the Lions.
And it's just another year.....
The Tigers. Outta here
The stage was set. Ninth inning, man on first, Detroit trailing the bottom-feeding Atlanta Braves 1-0, Justin Upton at the plate with two strikes. One swing of the bat could make the difference between winning and losing, and the Tigers season could depend on it.
Then came the pitch. A fastball right down the middle. And Justin Upton -- in the words of the late Ernie Harwell -- stood there like the house by the side of the road.
THWAP went the catcher's mitt. STRIKE THREE, roared the umpire.
Yer out.
Game over.
Tigers lose.
And just like that, their season was done. They went out with a whimper, the sometimes mighty bats having fallen silent when they needed them the most.
So what did Justin Upton do?
This clown had the audacity to go back into his dugout and start trading high fives with teammates. At that point, Upton didn't deserve any "up top" action. What he needed was a "down low" scenario. Like a swift kick in the pants -- preferably from the front.
After all the hoopla, there will be no playoffs for the Detroit Tigers. This is likely not what owner Mike Ilitch had in mind when he shelled out over $200 million in player salaries for this year.
Whether or not this spells a death knell for manager Brad Ausmus remains to be seen. But even if the brain trust, and I use that phrase loosely when it comes to the Tigers, decides to fire Ausmus, who can they get to replace him that would be any better? After all, he doesn't bat, pitch, field, or run the bases. The players do. And they weren't good enough this year.
But never fear, the usual gang of suspects were quick to point out the future looks rosy for the team.
Oh yeah? What team are THEY looking at?
Consider the Tigers.
They have two catchers, but neither would likely start for any other team.
Justin Verlander, their ace, is approaching the twilight of his career. The rest of the starting rotation is hit and miss.
The bullpen can be good at times, but pitch batting practice at others.
Nick Castellanos at third is no bargain. even when he can stay healthy, which appears to be not very often.
Shortstop Jose Iglesias is an injury waiting to happen.
Second sacker Ian Kinsler is aging.
Right fielder J.D. Martinez is either very hot or stone cold.
Victor (Methuselah) Martinez is so slow he can turn a triple into a long single. Plus he can't play a position.
Not counting Miguel Cabrera, most of the other Tigers are a mixed bag at best. Their farm system has been decimated by trading away potential future talent in the "win now" mode. And they haven't won. Not even close. Last year, the Tigers finished in the basement of their own division, and they failed to make the playoffs this year.
There's absolutely no reason to think they'll be any better in 2017. So just where is this "bright future" the "homers" are talking about?
Being already eliminated, the Tigers don't even have to play the 162nd game of the regular season -- a make-up game against the Cleveland Indians. And they have nobody to blame but themselves.
All they had to do was handle the lowly Atlanta Braves. Instead, they dropped two out of three. Outta here.
And that's the thing. Had they taken care of business against Atlanta, potentially making Game 162 a "play-in" game for the post-season -- they would have been in good shape against the Indians.
Wait, you say? The Tribe has pretty much clobbered them all year? True enough. But if that game had to be played, Cleveland wasn't going to go all-out to win it. They had clinched their own playoff spot long ago. Chances are, Cleveland would have fielded a squad of B-teamers just to get the game over with. With a patchwork pitching staff trying to get by. At that point, Cleveland would have been far more concerned with setting up their pitching rotation for the playoffs and giving their better players -- and bullpen -- an extra day's rest. It was a game the Tigers had a terrific chance of winning.
But we'll never know.
Because Upton is still out, and the Tigers season is still over.
It wasn't supposed to be like this....
Then came the pitch. A fastball right down the middle. And Justin Upton -- in the words of the late Ernie Harwell -- stood there like the house by the side of the road.
THWAP went the catcher's mitt. STRIKE THREE, roared the umpire.
Yer out.
Game over.
Tigers lose.
And just like that, their season was done. They went out with a whimper, the sometimes mighty bats having fallen silent when they needed them the most.
So what did Justin Upton do?
This clown had the audacity to go back into his dugout and start trading high fives with teammates. At that point, Upton didn't deserve any "up top" action. What he needed was a "down low" scenario. Like a swift kick in the pants -- preferably from the front.
After all the hoopla, there will be no playoffs for the Detroit Tigers. This is likely not what owner Mike Ilitch had in mind when he shelled out over $200 million in player salaries for this year.
Whether or not this spells a death knell for manager Brad Ausmus remains to be seen. But even if the brain trust, and I use that phrase loosely when it comes to the Tigers, decides to fire Ausmus, who can they get to replace him that would be any better? After all, he doesn't bat, pitch, field, or run the bases. The players do. And they weren't good enough this year.
But never fear, the usual gang of suspects were quick to point out the future looks rosy for the team.
Oh yeah? What team are THEY looking at?
Consider the Tigers.
They have two catchers, but neither would likely start for any other team.
Justin Verlander, their ace, is approaching the twilight of his career. The rest of the starting rotation is hit and miss.
The bullpen can be good at times, but pitch batting practice at others.
Nick Castellanos at third is no bargain. even when he can stay healthy, which appears to be not very often.
Shortstop Jose Iglesias is an injury waiting to happen.
Second sacker Ian Kinsler is aging.
Right fielder J.D. Martinez is either very hot or stone cold.
Victor (Methuselah) Martinez is so slow he can turn a triple into a long single. Plus he can't play a position.
Not counting Miguel Cabrera, most of the other Tigers are a mixed bag at best. Their farm system has been decimated by trading away potential future talent in the "win now" mode. And they haven't won. Not even close. Last year, the Tigers finished in the basement of their own division, and they failed to make the playoffs this year.
There's absolutely no reason to think they'll be any better in 2017. So just where is this "bright future" the "homers" are talking about?
Being already eliminated, the Tigers don't even have to play the 162nd game of the regular season -- a make-up game against the Cleveland Indians. And they have nobody to blame but themselves.
All they had to do was handle the lowly Atlanta Braves. Instead, they dropped two out of three. Outta here.
And that's the thing. Had they taken care of business against Atlanta, potentially making Game 162 a "play-in" game for the post-season -- they would have been in good shape against the Indians.
Wait, you say? The Tribe has pretty much clobbered them all year? True enough. But if that game had to be played, Cleveland wasn't going to go all-out to win it. They had clinched their own playoff spot long ago. Chances are, Cleveland would have fielded a squad of B-teamers just to get the game over with. With a patchwork pitching staff trying to get by. At that point, Cleveland would have been far more concerned with setting up their pitching rotation for the playoffs and giving their better players -- and bullpen -- an extra day's rest. It was a game the Tigers had a terrific chance of winning.
But we'll never know.
Because Upton is still out, and the Tigers season is still over.
It wasn't supposed to be like this....
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