One sublect that many, including myself, have done for so long is give top ten lists of pretty much everything under the sun. Sports fans really like to make these lists. But what many readers don’t realize, unfortunately, is that 99% of top ten lists are nothing more than an opinion.  Some of the writers don't realize it either though.

Some of the more popular lists I have done would include the top ten baseball players of all time, top ten hottest WNBA players, and the big one, the top ten most overrated sports moments which I wrote earlier this year.

A marketing firm compiled data and fan feedback from all 122 pro sports franchises. With this list it is based on many items. This list is not my list. This list was done by two companies as well.

The list is called the "Ultimate Standings" by Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon and Markitecture INC. The list was published in the May issue of ESPN the Magazine.

The data used to figure all this out was put together with these factors included. Most of these factors included: Ownership, Coaching, Players, Fan Relations, Affordability Stadium Experience, and BLEEP-for-the-Buck.

So who are the Top Ten Franchises and who are the Bottom Feeders? Here are the lists.

Top Ten Sports Franchises:

10. Arizona Diamondbacks

9. Jacksonville Jaguars

8. Detroit Pistons

7.Detroit Tigers

6.Los Angeles Angels

5. Anaheim Ducks

4. Green Bay Packers

3.New Orleans Hornets

2. San Antonio Spurs

1. Indianapolis Colts

 
The Bottom Feeders:

113. Memphis Grizzlies

114. Baltimore Orioles

115. Cincinnati Bengals

116. Seattle Supersonics

117. Oakland Raiders

118. Minnesota Timberwolves

119. Atlanta Falcons

120. Detroit Lions

121. Toronto Maple Leafs

122. New York Knicks

 Notables and other numbers:

The city of Detroit had three teams in the top 12 and one in the bottom. The Detroit Red Wings came in at 12th.

No New York team ranked higher than the Giants at number 48. New York has seven pro sports franchises which is more than any other city.

The New England Patriots were ranked as the 11th best franchise.

The Chicago Cubs were ranked 95th. I guess without any living fans from the last World Series it is hard to rank higher. The Cubs have only won two World Series’ and they were back-toback in 1907-08.

The number 100 team is the New Jersey Nets.

The Indiana Pacers just missed the Bottom Feeder list at number 112

In MLB the Boston Red Sox ranked 89th while the New York Yankees ranked 65th. The Tampa Bay Rays ranked 75th while the Toronto Blue Jays ranked 67th and the Baltimore Orioles were ranked 114th. The AL East is not a good franchise division apparently.

Surprises on the list were the Milwaukee Brewers who were 13th and the St. Louis Blues were 14th.

Comebacks can come in all shapes and forms and I am about to take you through some that have come to mind. Comebacks are what we love about sports, among other things, but what does it take to have a comeback? Well lets see.

With a player it takes a complete turn of events from recent history, such as injuries or appearing to be finished as an athlete. In a game, it takes all the players on a team to stay focused and battle through all adversities that may come there way until the end when they comeback. I will show you some examples of comebacks and would like you to comment on one of your best/favorite comebacks. It can be recent, past, or most memorable.

Baseball- comeback players/team of the year

1. Magglio Ordonez - Maggs has comeback from a knee injury that ended his days in Chicago the season before they won the World Series. Magglio only played 52 games in 2004 and 82 games last year for Detroit. Not only is Magglio Ordonez tearing it up this season, he returned to the All-Star game as well as leading his team to the best record in baseball to this point with a whopping 10 game lead on any team in baseball. This year Maggs is hitting .298 with 16 hr and 79 rbi.

2. Jim Thome - He is somewhat similar to Maggs in the fact he making his comeback from an injury in which he only played in 59 games last year in Philly. Although the Phillies didn’t just let their star walk, they were able to trade him and get Aaron Rowand. This year he has been crushing the ball. He currently is hitting .304 with 34 hr and 85 rbi. Last season was the first season since 1995 in which Thome did not hit at least thirty home runs, last season he only hit seven. This year he has comeback to form.

3. Nomar Garciaparra - Nomar was going to be considered but he yet again has been sidelined with injuries again in 2006. When he has been in this year he has been lights out hitting .327 with 12 hr and 57 rbi. But the problem with Nomar, he hasn’t played in more than 81 games for anyone since 2003 in Boston. Will Nomar ever comeback?

4. Detroit Tigers - this is an epic comeback! The tigers were 43-119 in 2003, this year they have the best record in baseball by a full 10 games at this point. This is also the best start to any season for Detroit in the entire history of the franchise. In 1984(way back when Uncle Rico could still throw a football over those mountains, and still reeling from his coach not putting him in and his team not winning the state championship) the Tigers had their highest win total of 104. Right now they are on pace to win around 110 games.

 

NFL players and teams -

Terrell Owens - can he comeback healthy enough in body and mind and put together an actual season this year. He has Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells but he can always find a way to blow that too. He may have been right every time he exploded on the sidelines or ran his mouth to the media and other players with the words he was saying. But hey, if you can dish it out you better be ready to eat some too. If those players and offensive coordinators were so bad at making mistakes, you don’t call them out in front of the world. Because that is being a bad teamate. Terrell, comeback to reality and show the world who is the best receiver in football, not the worst teammate.

Jon Kitna - Jon gets another chance to finish off his career on a good note. When he was in Cincinnati he was part of the building block for the foundation they don’t call the "Bunguls" anymore. He was to hold down the team until Heisman trophy winning first round pick Carson Palmer was ready. Now he gets to run a new offense in Detroit led by Mike Martz as the coordinator. He was the comeback player of the year in the NFL in 2004. And if you don’t think he can get the best out of Kitna you don’t know anything about Mike Martz.

Javon Walker - He gets his shot this year in Denver to be the man. After blowing out his knee in the season opener last year in Detroit, Javon was sidelined for the whole season. Now he is going to comeback and he is ready to go. We just don’t know where he is going to go with Jake Plummer at quarterback.

Brett Favre - If Brett is poised for this honor. If anyone can be a comeback player it is him. He is a legend for a reason. The legends and true champions always find a way to come back in the end so it wouldnt suprise me to see Brett have one last comeback.

Seattle and Philadelphia, will they both comeback to the NFC Championship game this year and contend for the Super Bowl. Philly was absent after the whole T.O. debacle and Seattle is poised to make another run for the title. Seattle may comeback, Philly, they need to learn how to run the ball before they comeback.

     Three quarterback making a comeback or sorts. Carson Palmer, Daunte Culpepper, and Ben Roethlisberger are all coming back from serious injuries. NFL fans around the leaguwill be anxious to have their star players on the field. Everyone knows how much of a factor injuries are in the NFL.

Cycling -

Floyd Landis’ comeback at the Tour De France this year was epic after the kind of crash he had. It was almost as if he were helped in some way. Not really, knowing what little I do about testosterone, it takes a long time for you to get any results from what ever it is you are using. Floyd, stay strong if you are innocent because this whole thing is fishy year after year and it has already gotten old accusing so many of doping and the testing system having so many bad tests.

Comeback lines of the day -

Yo mama is so fat, when I yelled into her belly button I heard an echo!

Yo mama so stupid that she sold her car for gas money!

How about some go aways!

  How about all the NFL players getting in trouble on the Bengals and Bears. Daven Holly of the Bears and Chris Henry of the Bengals got arrested on weapons charges, Henry didn’t stop there though. Henry managed to get picked up for drunk driving, posseision of marijuans, and giving alcohol to underage women. This between these two teams is so long and you have probably heard all about it. Not to mention Barrett Brooks (OL) for the Steelers tried to out run cops on a motorcycle and got caught, after trying to ditch his bike, and then get back on and run again. Sean Taylor of the Redskins who recently was sentenced on gun charges was fined by the NFL $71,000 and has community service until he is of retirement age.

Do you think you know more about sports than I do?  Lets see, go to http://www.faniq.com/index.php?id=24942  



The changes made to foxblogs have cramped my blogging style the way you post pictures and links.  If anyone will give me insight into this change it will be appreciated, thank you!

NFC North Preview

I will keep this brief due to the amount that could be written and speculated about but will be changed within sometimes just a few weeks and the fact there hasnt been one preseason game played yet.

This year there are three new coaches in the NFC North division. Minnesota hired Brad Childress, Green Bay hired Mike McCarthy and Detroit hired Rod Marinelli. Each team has made plenty of changes as well. Chicago is still considered by many as the favorite to win the division. The division may also only send one team to the playoffs though as far as I see it.

These predictions are null and void at anytime due to season ending injuries in the preseason to starters:

Green Bay - they drafted A.J. Hawk and signed Charles Woodson to solidify an already good 2005 Defense. In 2005 Green Bay finished with the 7th rated overall defense. The big problems they will have will more than likely be related to the offense and the kicking game. They signed former Cowboys kicker Billy Cundiff and he only had a 62.5% field goal percentage in 2005. Samkon Gado is slated to be the starting running back as well. He will be running behind possibly one of the worst offensive lines this year and have a Brett Favre back at quarterback. The biggest X factor for Green Bay this year is whether they get the Brett Favre of old or an old Brett Favre. My guess is that it is the ladder of the two.

Chicago - The Bears come into the 2006 with a good ole fashion quarterback controversy brewing with the signing of quarterback Brian Griese. He may be the better quarterback as well. Rex Grossman has been injured for the majority of his short career. The Bears will need the quarterback position to be serviceable and Cedric Benson to run the ball well with the defense being ranked near the top again this season. In 2005 the Bears finished with the 2nd overall defense despite the fact they had almost one hundred more plays ran on them with that terrible offense they had and led the league in points against with a mere 12.6 points per game. That is almost three points better than the 2nd best points against team Indianapolis (15.4) and they drafted almost all defense in the 2006 draft.

Minnesota - The Vikings are now Daunte free and will excel because of it. Daunte was exposed when Randy Moss was traded to Oakland and his maistakes and impatience caught up to him (5 td 12 int). They started winning when Brad Johnson took over and he is back this year. The most impressive feature the Vikings will have this year is the running game. They have a massive left side of their offensive line with Bryant McKinnie and newly signed LG Steve Hutchinson with newly acquired Chester Taylor to run behind them and the receiving core is basically them same (solid). The issues they had on Defense however may be better this year. Last season they finished right behind Detroit in total defense 21st overall. If they can get the running game going early and often the defensesive numbers will get better.

Detroit - The biggest changes in Detroit come at the quarterback position and coaching. They brought in two guys that were backups last year and hired Mike Martz to make them and the rest of that anemic offense better. Last year Steve Mariucci did not make many adjustments and played all his running backs regularly taking away a lot of snaps from their best back Kevin Jones. Mooch was in love with Shawn Bryson and anyone not named Mike Williams or Charles Rogers. One thing for sure is that Martz will utilized all the players on offense. This year they will have many different looks and adjustments made that weren’t in the past. The issue may be with the defense which was 20th overall last year and gave up just over 21 points per game. They brought in former Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson to improve their defense, and he probably will. The Lions biggest weakness may be the linebackers inability to play due to injuries. Boss Bailey has been injury prone and Teddy Lehman is still out from last season currently listed in the PUP list and they drafted Ernie Sims who is known for speed (4.5 40 time), hard hits, and concussions. Too bad the concussions have all been his. Rod Marinelli comes in as a rookie coach but he is a no nonsense type of coach which the Lions lacked with Mariucci. This year things will be better in the Motor City but it will be a challenge to contend for the division.

Breakout players in the North -

1. Kevin Jones will get most of the snaps and will get more catches out of the back field. He will be a key to the Lions offensive success. He is a hard runner and new coach Rod Marinelli and Mike Martz are very impressed by him thus far.

2. Chester Taylor is going to have a big year rushing with the type of offense and the offensive line they have built. He already had a 4.3 yards per carry average over the last three years in Baltimore.

3. Ryan Longwell has moved indoors in Minnesota and that will work in his favor. He had success in Green Bay but the offense was getting worse by the day there. In Minnesota they will have a solid running game and that will translate into more kicks for Longwell.

Strongest links to each team -

Green Bay - defense will be the only chance they have to win any games,

Minnesota - running game will have its best back since Robert Smith retired

Chicago - the defense may be better than last year if it is even possible

Detroit - the offensive will be so improved that the NFL will forget about their defense even if it is mediocre.

Weakest link to each team -

Green Bay - the entire offense from having the best wide receiver being Donald Driver and still having Brett Favre the kicking game may be non existent especially with Billy Cundiff trying to split the uprights

Minnesota - new head coach will be the biggest obstacle with this team. He will be learning on the fly and does not have the best supporting staff in the division which is important for a rookie head coach

Chicago - Offense will and has been the downfall to the Bears for some time now. That won’t change with the way they drafted all those defensive players this year

Detroit - too many questions on defense and more in particular linebackers. They have some injured linebackers and a rookie slated to start but they need to practice together and that may not happen for a while.

Prediction on final standings before pre season games -

team                                       W-L

Vikings                                  10-6*

Bears                                       9-7

Lions                                       
8-8

Packers                                   5-11



Post pre season prediction on final standings -

Chicago                  13-3
Minnesotta             7-9
Green Bay             6-10
Detroit                    3-13
how is that for waffling?

 

*only playoff team from the North with three teams from the NFC East making it and the rise of Arizona this year

Do you think you know more about sports than me?  lets see you prove it or take a shot.  Go to FanIQ.com and lets see what you got!

New York, Jacksonville, Detroit, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Kansas City, Washington, New England, and Denver


For some players in the NFL the next few months will determine if they make or break their career.  There are several veteran players who may be cut or benched this season early on.  The most important thing some players don't understand is how important the off season really is.  If you are a player on the apex of making a roster you better be at every off season meeting, mini-camp, and any injury treatments you need.  Some players just won't ever get it no matter how many chances they are given either.

  At least Lawrence Taylor had the thought to at least wait until his career was over to really get into his drug problem.  In his book he talked about the last six years of his career in which he said he could not wait to retire so he could smoke crack. 

A couple guys around the league will be cut, benched, or have their play reduced this season.  I will touch on a few around the league.


Jacksonville - Mike Williams OT The weight problems that prompted Buffalo to cut offensive lineman Mike Williams have followed him to Jacksonville, even threatening his chances to make the team.  Buffalo drafted him 5th overall in 2002 and cut him after last season.  If he doesn't make the team he will be picked up elsewhere.   Top five picks usually get a few more chances than most other players.


Green Bay - Ahman Green RB  He is only 29 years old but he was already slowing down before his quadriceps burst in Minnesota last season.  It remains to be seen when Green will return during training camp. And it's a greater mystery if he can fully recover from such a brutal injury.  Samkon Gado is a lock to make the team and this year it may be up to Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport to get that final roster spot.  For fantasy owners, stay away from all of these guys because they still don't have a line to block for them.


Denver - Ashley Lelie WR  It has been rumored that he was part of a three way trade with New England for TE Daniel Graham and New Orleans RB Michael Bennett.  Lelie would go to New England, Graham would go to New Orleans, and Bennett to Denver.  With the addition of Javon Walker the Broncos have found Lelie to be expendable.  If they are really look to trade him, why not call Philadelphia?  I think they needs some WRs.  Besides why does Denver need more RBs?  Didn't they draft Maurice Clarrett?...........oh wait

Detroit - Mike Williams WR  He was dismissed from practice last week and may not be in the immediate plans for the Lions offense.  The Lions will have a three wide look that, at this point, is lined up as #1WR Roy Williams, #2 Corey Bradford, #3 Mike Furrey.  The Lions may be married to Mike Williams but he is not going to be a player you want to draft in a fantasy league as he may not even be activated some weeks.

Green Bay - Robert Ferguson WR  Ferguson had the chance of his life last season and proceeded to drop the ball. After Javon Walker went down in the season-opener, Ferguson had every opportunity to prove he was the No. 1 wide receiver he'd claimed to be for years.  But Ferguson was arguably the Packers' most disappointing player and might be out of chances in Green Bay.


Kansas City - Priest Holmes RB  his days may be numbered in Kansas city with the emergance of Larry Johnson.  Holmes has already said he still wants to play.  He may just have to do it elswhere.  He has said in years past that he may retire but has played on.  If the Chiefs do decide to trade or release him there will be plenty of teams looking to acquire his services.


Green Bay - Rod Gardener WR The Packers are in a transition stage right now that may take longer than the fans will like.  Coming off a 4-12 year they have Brett Favre returning for one more year.  They add Gardener to the list of players who may be out sooner than later.  A washout in both Washington and Carolina, Gardner looked like a former first-round draft choice during his brief stay in Green Bay last winter. Gardner, picked up on waivers with two weeks left in the regular season.  But Gardner irritated the coaching staff when he missed a large portion of the current organized team activities.  He has good size but does not run well.  The Packers drafted two recievers in 2006 so Gardener and Ferguson will be fighting for spots.


Washington - David Patten WR Patten may be cut by the Redskins this month.  With the additions of Atwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd also having Santanna Moss, Patten's days are numbered.  However New England is in need of a WR so he may go back to play in Foxboro with another possible former player Ty Law.


New York Jets - Chad Pennington QB  Coming off his second rotator cuff surgery in as many years the Jets have competition for him.  Patrick Ramsey was traded for from Washington for a sixth round pick.  This QB controversy will only heat up if Pennington is healthy.  If he is healthy then rookie head coach Eric Mangini has his work cut out for him.  He has already announced, and rightfully so, that the job is wide open.  Pennington told the Star Ledger newspaper in May,  that he's "full go" and "throwing every route in the playbook." But he recently toned down his comments -- saying simply that he's making progress.  Seriously, why can't they just find a decent quarterback named Benny?


Cincinnati - Chris Henry WR Henry pleaded not guilty this morning to providing alcohol to three underage women at a hotel on Covington’s riverfront.  This marked the fourth time in six months Henry had been arrested.  He finally made it into the third recieving spot last season and it may have been his last of his career.  He faces up to a year in jail on these charges.  He still has the other cases pending against him that he will later this month be in court for.  He will spend more time in court than the Miami Heat will play on this summer.

Chicago -   Vasher joins the list of angery Bears. According to the Chicago Tribune: "Cornerback Nathan Vasher is the latest Bear to leave organized team activities over dissatisfaction with his contract, which has two years remaining and is scheduled to pay him $425,000 in 2006."  The list is growing and growing and may force a few other players to be cut or back loaded contracts.

Green Bay - Veterans still continue to skip practices.  "No, maybe and yes. That's apparently what Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy has heard from Al Harris, Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett or their representatives in recent conversations regarding the veterans' availability for the team's five remaining voluntary practices."  The team is still in need of Offensive line help and the group needs to be together to form some kind of continuity.  New head coach Mike McCarthy needs to nip this in the bud quickly.  Hey at least they have Favre there right?

Miaimi - On Tuesday, they had a visit and are working on a contract with Bennie Anderson, who was cut by Buffalo last week after starting 15 games last season.  Free agent defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson's agent said Tuesday his client likes Miami, and negotiations continue.  Wilkinson was recently cut from Detroit and could likely end up with former QB Joey Harrington.

New England - No "sign" of Law.  Ty Law has had talks with both Arizona and New England.  No doubt the former Patroit would like to return home after a one year stint with the rival Jets in which he had 10 interceptions for last year.  Arizona is also very interested in Law and still have $10 million under the salary cap.  New England has another issue with hold out wide reciever Deion Branch.  The Patriots could always try to put the squeeze on by trading for underachieving Denver receiver Ashley Lelie or disgruntled Saints wideout Donte' Stallworth, but with David Givens gone to the Titans, what they have right now as far as receivers. They aren't Deion Branch. And Branch knows it.  I'm Deion Branch bit%^!

Detroit - Mike Williams was sent home early from Lions mini camp last week because he missed a treatment for his sore hamstring and then was late to a meeting.  This also stems back to last season when he reportedly missed treatments and was late for meetings as a rookie.  The Lions however won't give up on him now.  Besides they can't.  All his bonus money would prorate this year and next year which would bump $12 million on to the cap.  They are financially committed right now and must find a way to untap the potential and cap off the foolishness.  Also with the signing of free agent offensive lineman Ross Verba the Lions hope to have shored up a dismal offensive line that had breakdowns all season long.  They are currently trying to work out a long term deal with left tackle Jeff Backus.  Backus was hesitant to sign the one year tender offer by the Lions but that had given him their word they will work out a long term deal before training camp.  Charles Rogers was pictured working out with the first team during mini-camp and this may not sound like much but that is the closest he has been to starting in a long time.  It has been rumored several times that he may not even make the team.

Pittsburgh - With the motorcycle accident of Ben Roethlisburger the Steelers have to look at another option for this season at least early on.  It has been rumored that Tommy Maddox may come back.  They do still have Charle Batch but we all know what he can do.  They may have to look into a slim market of free agents that are free agents for a reason.  Unless they think they can win with QBs like Tony Banks or Ty Detmer.  They do still have Kerry Collins and Jeff Blake they can talk to at least.

As it stands right now the Detroit Lions have five quarterbacks on their roster.  Jon Kitna, Josh McCown, Dan Orlovsky, Shaun King, and Joey Harrington.  Some say that there is power in numbers, but not in this case.  They may just have five back up quarterbacks.

Joey Harrington is still a Lion after deals have fallen through on trades for him with several teams.  Most recently the Browns (on draft day) and the Miami Dolphins.  The Browns were willing to give up a 4th or 5th round pick this year and Miami was only willing to trade a 6th rounder in next year's draft.  Matt Millen thinks his quarterback is much more valuable than just a 6th round pick.  I actually will have to agree with him to a certain extent.  Joey did have his issues with Detroit but has starting experience and also has had times without almost every starting skill position players in place.  On the other hand they do need to cut ties with him and try to get something for him. They really don't need him around with the attitude change he has had since wanting to be traded.  He sure has high demands for a player who has not accomplished anything in his career.  Joey and Terrell Owens have something in common and it isn't being a great player.  They both had division in the locker room causing rifts between players (right or wrong). Terrell had to go and so does Joey,  Philadelphia didn't get anything for Owens though.  Besides, the Lions weren't winning with him so now they will most likely be winning without him.

Jon Kitna may be the starter when the season rolls around.  He will have the strongest competition from Josh McCown who they recently signed from the Arizona Cardinals.  Jon Kitna is not the answer this team needs to turn the corner, is he?  Kitna joins the Lions after spending the last four years with the Cincinnati Bengals. He signed a four year deal with Detroit.  While in Cincinnati he played a crucial role in the Bengals current success. After going 12 seasons with 11 seasons below .500 and one 8-8 season, Kitna engineered a run to compete for a playoff spot in 2003. That season, he posted career highs in completions (324), completion percentage (62.3), passing yards (3,591), touchdown passes (26) and passing rating (87.4) as he led the team to an 8-8 record while starting all 16 games. The year prior, the Bengals finished the season with a 2-14 record.  For his performance in 2003, Kitna was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year by the associated Press and Pro football Weekly. He was the only quarterback in the NFL in ’03 to take every snap. He led the team to an NFL-best improvement from 2-14 in 2002 to 8-8 in 2003. Kitna also had a plus-11 differential in touchdown passes (26) to interceptions (15) that was the best by a Bengals passer with at least 20 passes since 1989.

Josh McCown the biggest competition to this point for Kitna was a starter and back up in Arizona.  He was drafted by Arizona in the third round (81st overall) of the 2002 draft and has played in 33 games with 22 starts, completing 498-of-862 passes for 5,431 yards and 25 touchdowns.  To me I always wonder why teams (especially teams like Arizona) give up on young players.  Sometimes players look good from a far but are far from good.  If Arizona was comfortable letting him go to hold on to Kurt Warner doesn't that raise a red flag?  At the time they didn't know that they would be drafting Matt Leinart.  Maybe Arizona just thought it would be smarter to pay a rookie than McCown to back up Warner.

Dan Orlovsky may be the teams no. three quarterback when the season rolls around but as far as this staff sees it they all have a shot at starting.  Shaun King is in the mix to possibly make the team but he didn't even play in 2005.  King and Orlovsky may just be battling just to make the team as the third qb. 

To a Lions fan like myself, I really don't see any of the quarterbacks making a big splash this season.  Really Detroit's best hope is that McCown or Orlovsky take over because of their ages.  It would be better off for them to have a young guy be good enough to take the job from Kitna as far as the future of the team is concerned.  As long as they are the best player it bodes well for Detroit.  That is what they need.  If someone is on the field it is because they are the best player, not the highest paid or been here the longest.  Personally though I am not sold on any of these guys and have a great deal of concern for this position.  The good news is that the Lions have put in place a offense coordinator and offensive line coach in place that should get the most out of what the team has.

 

coming soon: 

 Ty Law and Az Hakim Lions?

"Hurtin" Ernie Sims, Brian Calhoun, and Daniel Bullocks.  What impact are they going to have?

wdfnclick to listen

 

Michael huff was intervied on WDFN sports radio in Detroit  yesterday(4/26).  He has drawn the most attention to Detroit Lions fans and is the player of choice by many as well.  A.J. Hawk is the other player many in Detroit want the Lions to draft as well.  Michael Huff would be a great fit for the Lions due to the losses of Andre Goodman and R.W. McQuarters.  He says he has family in the state and would love to play for the Lions.  This is what any team would want from players they draft.  Players who want to actually  play for them.  It would be a nice fit for him as well with all the other Longhorns on the team.  The Lions will need to find defensive backs, linebackers, and offensive lineman.  This Saturday there may be a lot of action on the trade front in the top 15.  If A.J. Hawk is who they want, the Lions might just have him available too.  It will come down to the Green Bay Packers.  The Packers have serious offensive line needs.  If both Huff and Hawk are both there the Lions will trade down a few picks with a team looking to jump in front of Arizona for Jay Cutler.  If that is the case The Lions may have several offers for the number nine pick.

 


     According to Jay Glazier at Foxsports.com, Charles Woodson have agreed to terms on a seven-year deal in the $45 million range for Pro Bowl and Heisman Trophy-winning defensive back Charles Woodson.  The Packers have been very quiet in the off-season as far as big name free-agent signings.  Charles Woodson was a Franchise player for the Raiders last year and earned over $10 million.  Woodson was the type of corner that took away almost half the field.  He was known for that at Michigan when he won the Heisman trophy.  This contract is also not yet signed.  It is an incentive laiden contract which in my opinion is not how he should be paid.  He does take away almost half the field (when he does actually play).  Which means, he doesn't get the ball thrown his way as much.  With the contract paying him  $10.5 Million the first year that leave $34.5 million left for the last 6 years.  That averages out to 5.75 per.  Quite a bargain if he works out.  If he doesn't, they can cut him.  There are no guaranteed contracts, only guaranteed bonus money.  But at 5.75 million per year he will work out. The Packers have more room this year and spread out works great for the teams well. If it works it works, at least they tried.  Besides, how will you ever get the fruit if you are afraid to go out on a limb.