As I woke up this morning to go to my job I saw a story on Rick Ankiel, the man many have called the Natural due to the fact that he went from pitcher to big time hitter.  I see he has 7 RBI last night and I am in awe once again of what this guy has accomplished.  Then, I see a story about how he got a years worth of HGH in 2004 from the Florida company that has taken the likes of Rodney Harrison and many others.  HGH was banned from MLB in 2005, yet we are talking about a man who got a supply of it in 2004, when he was recovering from elbow surgery.  To me, it looks legit, but even if it doesnt to you, why, WHY, do we keep talking about this stuff that happened so long ago?  My biggest problem with this story that the national media is blowing out of proportion is that it happened 1 year before HGH was banned from MLB.  Let me explain my train of thought here.  Lets say I find out that there is this special type of corn I can eat that will make me stronger and make me hit homeruns, and its not illegal in MLB therefore I wont get suspended for taking it.  I dont know about you, but I would take it.  I would eat stalk after stalk of that stuff.  But a year later after I hit 72 homeruns while on this corn, MLB decides that this corn is illegal.  Ok, I think to myself, its illegal, now, I will stop taking it and find another way to bulk up.  The difference is when I took it when it wasnt illegal, and now that it is illegal I wont take it.  Its about competitive advantage, and players of any sport will continue to look for that advantage to make millions of dollars.  Now some will still try to cheat, but who knows if Ankiel was cheating?  Was he taking it for his elbow with a prescription while it wasnt illegal in MLB?  I would say the answer is probably yes, but in the court of public opinion, or at least in the media driven part of public opinion, he will be considered a cheater.  Thats a shame because he has gone through a lot and he got HGH when it wasnt illegal in MLB.  I say lay off the guy and then if its found that he did use when it was illegal then he should be in trouble. 

Once again the fans of the NBA missed the boat.  They picked players that are very good, but they did not take into consideration the fact that a lot of the teams that these players play on are horrible.  The Detroit Pistons are 38-6, and there is not one starter on the All-Star team.  Now a couple might be voted in as reserves, but the best starting five should have at least 2 on the starting 5.  Rasheed Wallace will probably start, but only because Jermaine Oneal got hurt.  Chauncey Billups is the main snub here.  Eastern Conference player of the month for January, and the floor general of the team with the best record.  Averaging 9 assists a game, and with range that Larry Bird would be proud of.  This guy should be starting.  Its sad that the fans do not recognize how good this player is or how good he is going to be.  Richard Hamilton, who is shooting over 50 percent from the field, is also a guy that should have gotten more consideration.  Its just sad.  That is all.

Will he or wont he?  Is anyone sick and tired of wondering whether or not Brett Favre will retire.  Make a decision for goodness sakes.  "Well, if I had to make a decision today I wouldn't come back."  OK, THEN MAKE A DECISION AND DONT COME BACK!  Many were tired of this story last year, and now it looks like everyone will have to hear the same story for the whole NFL off-season this year.  Many would argue that he has something left, but do the Packers?  They have shown that they are dedicated to youth and the unknown.  Refer to their new coach for an example of the unknown.  But why would he want to come back to a team that is the way it is?  It just baffles the mind, and it looks like it baffles his mind because he cannot make a decision.  Brett, do everyone a favor and make a decision so the fans of Green Bay can honor you, or get ready to cheer for you again.   That is all. 

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, a franchise named after Disney's "The Mighty Ducks," will take the Mighty out of their name next season and just be the good old Anaheim Ducks.  No longer will there be flying V's, or knuckle pucks, or Coach Bombey.  Instead, they will sink into normal name land and just be "The Ducks."  Its sad really.  By being Mighty they had an identity.  Now they are just normal, and all season ticket holders should pull out in protest.  They are going to change logos though.  Maybe they will change the logo to the logo on the team jerseys in the movie as a sort of rememberence.  That would be nice.  Many wonder what the franchise is thinking.  Just think, as a new free agent player pulling into Anaheim, you think, this team is going to be Mighty, and now, were just a duck.  Good luck Anaheim because you are losing everything that made you great.  That is all. 

Ladies and Gentleman, the new offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles is, drum roll please, its MARTY MORNHINWEG!  (That silence you hear is all the Eagle fans everywhere.)  There is no way that good old Marty should be the coordinator of anything.  Lions fans know where this is coming from.  Marty took the wind in an overtime once.  Does anyone remember that?  Did Andy Reid see that game?  I know that you take care of your friends, but Marty is not a smart football mind.  There is a theory brewing in Philly that they are now becoming like the Detroit Lions.  Mike Mchmahon and now good old Marty.  If anyone thinks this is an upgrade from Brad Childress, well, your crazy.  Lions fans lived through the nightmare as Mornhinweg as head coach, and now Philly will live this nightmare as Marty will screw up 5 to 7 games next year.  Many will say that Andy Reid calls the plays, but the more power you give Marty, the less chance you have to win.  That is all.

After last night’s horrendous lost to the Baltimore Ravens, the Green Bay Packers are floundering.  Brett Favre now has a career high 24 INT’s.  One of the best in the game seems to be at the twilight of his career.  So lets omit this season, throw it out the window, and lets discuss who is the greatest QB of all time.  These discussions can take different forms and many different variables can be thrown in, but who is truly the best QB ever?  Many might argue Dan Marino is the greatest ever, but he never won a Super Bowl.  His passing numbers are out of this world, but without ever winning the big one, can anybody put him as the number one QB of all time?  Same goes for Peyton Manning, who is too young to be considered in this conversation anyways.  Green Bay Packer fans can argue Brett Favre is the best.  He has the consecutive games played going for him, two Super Bowls, and has been a great QB for so long.  How about Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Fran Tarkenton, Terry Bradshaw, the list goes on and on.  So at the end of the day, there is no best of all time, but the best of their era, and even that can be a tough argument.  Everyone will continue to believe their guy is the best, and people will argue until they are blue in the face, but they will be right, and they will be wrong at the same time.  Thanks for reading.

The officials in the Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers screwed up. In a game that actually delivered entertainment, the Lions failed to beat Brett Favre again as they lost 16-13 in overtime. However, it should have never come down to this final score. But in a bad break for the Lions, like they never get any of those, the officials decided that, actually nobody really knows what they decided, but they took a safety away from the Lions that would have gave them a 15-13 lead in the 4th. They ruled that Samkon Gado, the ever growing legend in Green Bay Packers lore, threw a forward pass which nullified the safety. Forget there was a holding penalty in the Green Bay endzone. They did clarify that the holding was not in the endzone, but every replay showed that was not the case. With that the game remained tied, the game went into overtime, and the Packers beat the Lions again. Realize the Lions were at fault for their wasted opportunities in the red zone, but when a call is wrong and it factors into the game, well that is a shame. The announcers didn’t even know how to handle the play. Dan Miller and Jim Brandstatter, the Detroit Lions announcers, both called it a terrible call, and the Sunday Night crew for ESPN tried to clarify, but they seemed pretty confused as well. Brett Favre even called the play confusing, and he is a smart guy. Once again the Lions find another way to lose, and the pressure continues to mount on the shoulders of Matt Millen. It will be interesting to see what happens at the Lions home finale this upcoming Sunday against the Bengals.  Thanks for reading.

What?!  Todd Jones and Kenny Rogers to the Detroit Tigers does not make much sense.  The Tigers need a closer, but they had Todd Jones earlier in his career, and even though he had a solid year for the Florida Marlins, this writer is not ready for the Rocking Roller Coaster to come back.  He pitched for four years for the Tigers, and now they want him back!  Why don’t they go after Jeff Weaver, or maybe Matt Nokes will come out of retirement and catch so Ivan Rodriguez can play where his new physique tells him to play, centerfield.  Does anybody remember that video Jones had when he came in from the bullpen in his previous tenure with the Tigers?  That video had pure cinematic value, and maybe they will bring it back.  The problem with Jones is that in his career he has been very sporadic.  The joke in Detroit was there is a normal save, and a Todd Jones save.  What was a Todd Jones save?  It’s a walk, a hit, and then, with a minor miracle, a save. Its kind of like a person being really hungry, they are going to eat but its taking way too long to get there, and then you hit a cow and it turns into a steak.  Some fans in Detroit might be excited to bring him back, but most people probably will not be that excited.  Maybe last year wasn’t a fluke, but it’s a risky move.

 

Todd Jones is risky, but there is an argument there, however, now it is time to talk about Kenny Rogers.  Are you kidding me?  He is 41 years old and you are going to give this guy a two year deal.  His age isn’t even the biggest problem.  He hit a cameraman, he gave an apology that did not seem that sincere, and when he came to Detroit for the All-Star game, he got booed!  Now the Tigers sign him and everything is ok?  He pitched horrible when he came back from his suspension, and now he is the number one starter for the Tigers.  More then likely Jeremy Bonderman will be the number one starter, and Rogers will be number two, but still.  The thought of over paying for A.J. Burnett seems even better when you think of Rogers in a Tiger uniform.  Burnett never had a great record, but in Comerica Park, with his electric stuff, would have been great.  But the Tigers got Rogers. John Franco is still trying to play, or maybe they can bring Ricky Henderson out of retirement so Ricky can be Ricky again.  That way the Tigers can continue to increase the average age of their squad.  Makes a person wonder if there is any thought whatsoever behind some of these deals.  At least the Tigers aren’t as bad as the Florida Marlins are going to end up by the time this off-season is all said and done.  That is all.  Thanks for reading.     

With the Winter Meetings taking place down in Dallas, Texas, the one question that is on the minds of fans in the state of Michigan is this:  Are the Detroit Tigers going to go after anybody?  The free agent pool is not that great this year, but the Tigers have yet to make any substantial movement.  Analysts will talk about a certain player, will name off a bunch of teams that usually include the Tigers close to the end of the list, and then they will go elsewhere.  A.J. Burnett could be the next example of a player that the Tigers need, but are going to let go by the way side.  The Toronto Blue Jays are close to signing him, which shows that players would rather go to Canada then play for Detroit.  The Tigers are going to have to overpay for players, plain and simple.  The Blue Jays did with B.J. Ryan, so why can’t the Tigers?  Detroit took a chance on Magglio Ordonez last season, and it didn’t work out perfectly.  Hopefully this season he will stay healthy, but the Tigers need a number one starter more then anything.  Jeremy Bonderman is almost there, but put a guy like Burnett in front of him, bring up some of those very talented pitchers from the minor leagues, and the Tigers don’t look half bad.  Plus, if the Tigers sign a guy like Burnett, it shows the current players that they are dedicated to winning.  Last season they traded Kyle Farnsworth to the Braves for basically nothing, which showed the current roster that the organization was giving up.  They really struggled after that, Alan Trammel lost his job, and now here we are.  Who knows, maybe the Tigers will make a move for Barry Zito, or maybe even add a guy like Juan Pierre.  The fans will be the judge of whether or not the Tigers have made any substantial movement this offseason.  Signing Jim Leyland was a start, but its time to shake up the roster a little.

Speaking of shaking up the roster, here is a prediction.  The 2006 version of the Florida Marlins will break the record set by the 1962 New York Mets for most losses in a single season (excluding the 1899 Cleveland Spiders) with a 120 losses.  They have gotten rid of everybody, and there is still more to come.  Look at this list:  Josh Beckett, Carlos Delgado, Mike Lowell, Luis Castillo, A.J. Burnett, Juan Pierre, and Todd Jones.  The last two aren’t gone yet, but they more then likely will be meaning that the Marlins will be horrible.  They will lose more then a 120 games.  We will see what happens during the Winter Meetings, but the Marlins might move down to Triple AAA.  Thanks for reading.

In what seems like a version of the Twilight Zone, the Detroit Lions lost again.  Week in and week out, the Lions, a team that was once tied for the NFC North, have now lost 5 of 6 games, and could not even get fired up when Steve Mariucci gets fired at the beginning of the week.  Some players liked Mooch, and it might not have been a good thing to fire him now because what good does it do in the short term, but it had to put the players on notice.  The message that was sent by the firing of Mooch was, hey, nobody is safe, we better play.  Well, Kevin Jones was too hurt to play and Charles Rogers, healthy physically, was inactive for the game.  Jeff Garcia played, or at least he resembled a guy playing, but he looked horrible.  The fans were actually chanting for Joey Harrington, which tells this writer that Garcia was playing the worst game of all time.  The bad part about all of this, if there really is a part worse than the other, is that the Lions still had a chance to win the game.  For all the Lions fans watching the feeling had to be the same, what are the Lions going to do to blow it this time?  Garcia drops back, he has Roy Williams, he throws, ROY IS OPEN, wait, GARCIA UNDER THREW IT, and Corey Chavous picks it off.  Lions lose, the fans still want Matt Millen fired, and now they are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. 

The most humorous part of this game had to be the, "Fire Matt Millen," sign that made its way around the stadium.  Fans just kept passing it back and forth, and finally, one fan took it and tried to out run security.  Other things that can only happen in Detroit included Garcia throwing an interception and the fans actually cheering.  Unfortunately for those fans, the INT was called back, and Roy Williams calling the game a road game because it seemed that the fans were against them.  Roy had a great post game interview as he went on to comment on how the WRs do not know how to practice.  Roy, here is some advice, after you say call a home game a road game, don’t go into how the WR's don’t know how to practice.  How the heck do you not know how to practice?  Players that have played football their whole life should know how to practice.  If you don’t know how to get ready then do what Cincinnati's Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson did on their bye week.  Go watch a Colts game because they know what they are doing.  Why not learn from the best?  It sure looks like it has helped Palmer and Johnson in their development this year. 

With four more games left will the Lions win another game?  Will Roy and the WR's learn how to practice?  Finally, will #### Jauron look even older after its all said and done?  These questions will hopefully be answered by the end, but the Lions will probably screw up the answers just like they screw up during the game.  Thanks for reading.