Williams wins Rookie of the Month

Detroit Lions rookie wideout Roy Williams was named rookie of the month for September. He did awesome in his first 3 games of his NFL career. He has over 250 yards receiving and he has scored 4 touchdowns. He has made some great catches and people soon won't forget the incredible one handed catch he made against Chicago in his first game. He is off to an incredible season and what looks to be a long prosperous career in the NFL.

Red Wings News

There has been almost no Detroit Red Wings news lately because of the NHL lockout. If it were a normal season, the Red Wings would already have started training. The players want the same amount of money and owners want to give them less money because of how much money the NHL loses to the players big contracts. They have been locked out for 12 days and it looks like they aren't even close to coming to a new deal. The NHL might be lost for the 2004-2005 season and for who knows how long after that. Head over to On The Wings for all the news pertaining to the lockout.

Injury Update

Detroit Lions rookie running back Kevin Jones will miss a couple of games due to an ankle sprain. Steve Mariucci had a press conference on Monday to announce this and other Lions news. Jones has produced 140 total yards in the first 2 games he has played in the NFL.

Lions 13 Eagles 30

Detroit Lions rookie wideout Roy Williams outplayed Terrell Owens in Sunday's game, but it was the rest of the Lions that prevented them from beating the Eagles on Sunday.

After starting the season 2-0 most of us Lions fans(including me) were expecting the Lions to come out and play a great game against the Eagles. The Lions are much improved this season but they aren't even close yet to a championship caliber team like the Eagles. The Eagles got off to a quick lead and never looked back. The Lions
looked decent in this game, but you could tell the Eagles were the much better team.

Joey Harrington(21-38 for 199 yards and 2 scores) looked good but he was under constant pressure from the strong Eagles defense. The main reason he was under pressure is because the Lions couldn't run the ball. Kevin Jones was injured early and only rushed 4 times for 8 yards. The entire Lions team amassed just 77 total yards rushing. They must establish a running game if they want to have a high powered West Coast Offense.

Roy Williams was the player of the game for both teams. He caught 9 passes for 135 yards and O by the way, he scored 2 touchdowns! On one of those touchdowns he broke 3 tackles. Williams has looked incredible throughout the first 3 games of the season. He has caught 4 touchdown passes(second in the NFL if my numbers are correct) and has over 250 yards receiving. Remember, he is just a rookie. He already looks like he is one of the league's best receivers. If he keeps this up, no doubt will he win rookie of the year and maybe even make it to the Pro Bowl. I am so excited about how good Williams is going to be.

Now we look unto the rest of this season. The Lions are 3 games into it and they are 2-1. They have looked great at times and not so great at others. They are a very young team with some talent. They should be able to come near 8-8 when the season is finished. All Lions fans should be happy how the Lions are playing 3 games into the season.

Defense Wins Games

Michigan's defense won them today's game against the 24th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. The 18th ranked Wolverines forced 5 turnovers that lead to 27 points on route to their 30-17 victory at the Big House.

Braylon Edwards lead the Wolverine's offense. He caught 6 catches for 150 yards. One of those catches went for a touchdown and on another went all the way to the one yard line. Edwards is now second on Michigan's all time receiving list. He is just 365 yards shy of being Michigan's all time leading receiver(Anthony Carter is number one).

Chad Henne had another good game. He threw for 236 yards(16-26 passing) and 2 touchdowns(one rushing and one passing). Another good stat he put up was zero interceptions. He looks to be the quarterback for the next 4 years at Michigan. So far, he hasn't disapointed.

Mike Hart had another good game rushing as well. He ran for 99 yards on 26 carries and one touchdown.

Grant Mason and Leon Hall both picked off passes for Michigan. Hall also recovered a fumble.

It looks like this young Michigan team is starting to gel. Head Coach Lloyd said they played with great intensity. Coming into this game, Michigan was ranked first in the nation with 14 takeaways and they should stay on top after getting another 5 today. This was a great way to start off their defense of the Big Ten title.

Big Ten Opener

The 18th ranked Michigan Wolverines(3-1) will face the 24th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes at 3:30 today at the Big House. This is the Big Ten opener for both teams. Michigan is fresh off a close victory over San Diego State. Last week Iowa got crushed by Iowa State 44-7. Michigan won 7 straight games over the Hawkeyes(1991-2001), but Iowa has beaten Michigan the last 2 seasons. This should be a great game, with a lot riding on the line for both teams.

Carlos Guillen

Carlos Guillen is out for the remainder of the season with an injury. I think he was the MVP for the Tigers this season, not Ivan Rodriguez as some might think. I want to review what an incredible season he had.

During the offseason the Tigers were looking for a good shortstop to anchor the middle of the field. At first they went after shortstop Rich Aurilia,but he wanted to play for who he thought would be a contender. He went to Seattle, Guillen's former team. After signing Aurilia, Seattle traded Guillen to the Tigers for some minor leaguers. Aurilia has since been released by Seattle, and Guillen made the All Star team for the Tigers. All Tigers fans are glad that Guillen and not Aurilia came to Detroit. During the middle of the season, the Tigers gave Guillen a 3 year contract extension to ensure that he will be in Detroit for a number of years.

Last season Guillen batted .276, hit just 7 homers, and batted in 52 runs in 109 games played. This season he batted .318, hit 20 homers, and batted in 97 runs in 136 games played and as I mentioned, he made the All Star team. He hit almost as many homers(20) in the last 3 seasons combined(21). He also almost had as many RBIs(97) as he did in the last 2 seasons combined(108). This season was by far his best ever. He had career highs in homers,hits,RBIs,doubles,triples,batting average,runs,stolen bases,at bats,on base percentage, and slugging percentage. Even though Detroit didn't make the playoffs or finish above 500, we still need to appreciate such a great season. In the last 15 or 20 years of Tigers baseball we haven't seen many great seasons like Guillen had in 2004. It soon won't be forgotten.

Now we look unto the future for this young superstar. Hopefully this season wasn't just a one year fluke. This season should be a sign of great things to come. He will be one of the key guys in leading the Tigers back into the playoffs.

Some New Sites

Here are some more new Detroit Sports websites I came across.

Lions Blog

Lions Den

Lion Backer

Blue Notes

Sports Pig

Go and check out these sites. Most of them are good. Now there are individual blogs for the Lions,Tigers,Red Wings, and Wolverines. The only blog I haven't found yet is a blog covering the NBA champion Detroit Pistons. If anyone wants to start one and you need help, then email me and I will help you get started.

A Bold Prediction

Here is my bold prediction for the week, maybe for the year. If the Lions beat the Eagles at home this week, they will make it into the playoffs.

2-0!

That's right, the Detroit Lions are 2-0 after beating the Houston Texans 28-16.

The Detroit Lions of the last 3 seasons would not have won this game. Right after the Texans scored to make it a 14-10 it seemed like they had stolen all the momentum. You would think the Lions would have folded but right after the Texans scored, Eddie Drummond returned the kickoff 99 yards for a score to put Detroit back up 21-10. The Texans again responded with a score early in the 4th quarter to make it 21-16 Lions(Houston tried for a 2 point conversion but they missed it). After that, the Lions responded with a 80 yard drive that took nearly 8 minutes. During that drive they converted a number of third downs to keep the drive alive. The drive ended with Harrington hitting Roy Williams for an incredible 14 yard touchdown catch along the side of the endzone. That scored sealed the victory for the Lions.

Roy Williams had the best game of his young career. He caught 4 passes for 73 yards. He also caught 2 incredible touchdown passes. This game was a sign of great things to come for this young receiver.

Joey Harrington had a great game as well. He went 18/25 for 176 yards and 3 touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns were to Roy Williams and the other was to Cory Schlesinger.

Rookie running back Kevin Jones ran for 57 yards on just 12 carries.

Rookie cornerback Keith Smith picked off the only pass for the Lions on Sunday.

This was the first time since 2000 that the Lions have won 2 straight games.

I'm excited about this victory but Lions fans can't get too excited about this victory. The Lions have only won 2 games over subpar teams. Next week a very good Eagles team comes into town. That game will show us how good the Lions really are. After next week we should see if these Lions are for real.

A Close Call

After losing to their rivals Notre Dame last week 28-21, Michigan came back with a very close victory over unranked San Diego State. The final score was 24-21 Michigan.

San Diego State played much better than expected and gave Michigan a great game. Their defense played well and they held the lead going into halftime.

Michigan's freshman quarterback Chad Henne threw a 7-yard TD toss to Edwards less than five minutes into the third quarter to put Michigan up 24-21. That score proved to be the winning touchdown and was the lone score of the half.

The running game was the Wolverines strength in this game. Mike Hart replaced the injured Underwood and ran for 109 yards on 25 carries, including a 11 yard run on 3rd and 9 with less than 2 minutes in the game. That important first down allowed Michigan to run out the clock. The other 3 running backs for Michigan ran for 53 yards combined.

Braylon Edwards again had a huge game. He grabbed 8 catches for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Shazor picked off another pass for Michigan to help them win this game.

This game was hopefully a wakeup call for Michigan. After losing to Notre Dame you would think that they would be more ready for this game. Don't get me wrong, San Diego State played great but Michigan is supposed to be one of the best teams in the nation. Hopefully they will realize that they can't take any team lightly. They start Big Ten play next week against a very good Iowa team. They will need to play a great game if they want to start out the Big Ten schedule on the right foot.

Red Wings sign Yzerman

The Red Wings signed free agent Steve Yzerman to a one year deal. The captain has been in Detroit for 21 seasons. Even though there probably won't be a NHL season next year, I still like the fact the Wings kept him.

Injury Updates

This past Sunday the Lions won their first road in 4 years but they also lost wide receiver Charles Rogers and cornerback Dre Bly to injuries. I found out today that Rogers will be out for the season to recover from his collarbone injury. This is a very tough loss for the Lions. They were counting on the number 2 pick to have a huge season. He was injured last season for the same injury. Hakim,Williams, and Streets will have to make up for what they lost in Rogers.

Dre Bly's injury is not as bad. He will be out 2-4 weeks with a knee injury. Bly went to the pro bowl last season and even though his injury isn't as bad, he will still be hard to replace during these couple of weeks.

The Streak is Over!

The Lions finally won a road game against the Bears today. They narrowly beat them 24-20. They had previously lost 24 straight road games, an NFL record.

Bracy Walker was the hero for the Lions. When teammate Shaun Rogers blocked a third-quarter field goal attempt, Walker picked up the ball and ran it back for a 92 yard touchdown return. He then saved the game for them when Chicago was driving at the end of the game. With 18 seconds left he picked off Rex Grossman in the endzone to end the Bears' bid for a comeback. Along with Walker, Andre Goodman picked off a pass.

Joey Harrington looked decent going 14/26 for 187 yards. He threw one touchdown pass(to Hakim) and was also picked off once.

Rookie wideout Roy Williams caught 4 catches for 69 yards including a great one handed catch.

Jason Hanson kicked 2 field goals.

Now I come to the worst news of this game. Charles Rogers injured his collar bone again and could miss most of the season. Hopefully it isn't as serious as they think. Pro Bowl cornerback Dre Bly was also injured but his injury doesn't appear to be serious.

This was a great way to start the season, despite the injuries. The Lions' next game will be against the Houston Texans. It would be great if they could start the season at 2-0.

Michigan Michigan Michigan!

Michigan 20 Notre Dame 28. I don't even want to write about this terrible loss. Michigan(1-1) has now lost 5 straight opening season road games. Michigan was ranked 7th but they will now drop far back in the standings. They have one more game before opening the Big Ten schedule.

Football Games

This weekend there are 2 huge football games on in the Detroit area. The Detroit Lions play their first game of the 2004 regular season on the road against the Chicago Bears this Sunday. The Lions are still in the longest road losing streak in NFL history(24 games). The Lions should be able to win this game against a weak Bears team. It would be a great way to start the season if they could beat the Bears and end this terrible losing streak.

The Michigan Wolverines play their second game of the season on Saturday. They are on the road facing their rivals, Notre Dame. Notre Dame lost their first game of the season against BYU. Michigan won their first game of the season against Miami of Ohio. Even though Michigan is clearly better this season, it will still be a tough game for them to win. Whenever these teams match up, you should expect a great game. Michigan destroyed Notre Dame last season 38-0 and the Irish will be looking for some much needed revenge. Michigan will start freshman quarterback Chad Henne. Henne started the first game and looked good throwing for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. He will need to have another good game if the 7th ranked Wolverines expect to walk out of South Bend with a 2-0 record.

9/4 Notes

I will be busy for the next week so I won't be able to do any new postings. I am still looking for a writer to cover either the Lions,Tigers,Pistons,Redwings, or Michigan Football. Please email me if you are interested.

Blue Notes-the Michigan Wolverines won their first game of the season on Saturday over Miami of Ohio. They soundly beat them 43-10.

The big story of this game was Michigan's starting quarterback. They were going to start Matt Gutierrez but because he had a sore arm, Michigan started freshman Chad Henne. Henne did good going 14-24 for 142 yards. He threw 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Stud reciever Braylon Edwards caught 6 passes for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also nearly got his third at the end of the game but he missed the endzone by one yard. Running back David Underwood also looking good gaining 61 yards on 22 carries. He also scored 2 touchdowns.

Michigan's defense won the game for them. They picked off Josh Betts 4 times and recovered one fumble. At one point in this game, Miami was down only 24-10 and was in the red zone,but Ernest Shazor ended any thoughts of a comeback when he picked off a pass and went 88 yards the other way for a score. It was the third longest interception return in Michigan's history.

This was a good way to start the season and Michigan now looks on too next Saturday when they play their rivals, Notre Dame. Whenever these teams play, you can always expect a great game.

Predictions for the Lions

The Detroit Lions start the regular season next week against the Bears. I think the Lions will finish the season at 8-8 after finishing last season at 5-11. Anything less then 7-9 would be an underachievement and anything better than 9-7 would be a great season.

During the offseason the Lions finally signed some good players. Their biggest signings were offensive lineman Damien Woody, cornerback Fernando Bryant, wide reciever Tai Streets, and safety Brock Marion. These 4 players will have to be huge if they want to help dig the Lions out from the bottom of the NFL.

During the draft, the Lions finally gave Joey Harrington was guys to work with. With the 7th overall pick they selected wide reciever Roy Williams from Texas. Later in the first round the Lions selected running back Kevin Jones from Virginia Tech. Both these guys will most likely be starters on opening day. Both of them will have huge tasks on their hands even though they are just rookies.

The player with the most pressure on him this season will be Joey Harrington. He is entering his third season in the NFL. The Lions picked him third overall in the 2002 draft. In his first 2 seasons, he has looked decent but this year he will really have to step it up. He finally has some talent around him(Rogers,Williams,Jones, and Streets) to help him out. This year will be the make or break season for this young quarterback.

If the Lions want to have a successful season, they must win a road game. Their first game is against the Bears. I think they will win that game and end their road woes. Here is their entire schedule.
Sun. Sept. 12 at Chicago Bears Soldier Field 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Sept. 19 HOUSTON TEXANS Ford Field 1 p.m. CBS
Sun. Sept. 26 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES Ford Field 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Oct. 3 Bye Week
Sun. Oct. 10 at Atlanta Falcons Georgia Dome 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Oct. 17 GREEN BAY PACKERS Ford Field 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Oct. 24 at New York Giants Giants Stadium 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Oct. 31 at Dallas Cowboys Texas Stadium 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Nov. 7 WASHINGTON REDSKINS Ford Field 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Nov. 14 at Jacksonville Jaguars Alltel Stadium 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Nov. 21 at Minnesota Vikings Metrodome 1 p.m. FOX
Thur. Nov. 25 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Ford Field 12:30 p.m. CBS
Sun. Dec. 5 ARIZONA CARDINALS Ford Field 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Dec. 12 at Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Dec. 19 MINNESOTA VIKINGS Ford Field 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Dec. 26 CHICAGO BEARS Ford Field 1 p.m. FOX
Sun. Jan. 2 at Tennessee Titans The Coliseum 1 p.m. FOX

This season should be much more bareable to watch then the previous 3 and I can't wait till it gets started.

Pistons Pictures

A lot of people are still searching "Pistons Championship Pictures" or "Pistons Pictures" when they are finding my site. I made a site that has some pictures from the Pistons' championship run. Here is the address, http://detroitpistonspictures.blogspot.com. Please check it out and enjoy the photos.

A Tough Victory

The Lions beat the Bills 20-17 in their 4th preseason game. They finished the preseason at 2-2. Even though the Lions won, they suffered some injuries. Brock Marion suffered a bruised right knee, Fernando Bryant had a neck stinger, and Rod Babers suffered a shoulder injury. It is not known yet if any of these injuries are serious.

Other Game Notes-the Lions sat Joey Harrington to prevent him from getting injured....McMahon went 8-of-16 for 84 yards and a TD....The Bills totaled 400 yards to Detroit's 176....

The Lions Kicking Game

I already have previewed the Lions' Defense and their Offense. Now I am going to preview kicking game.

Kicker-the Lions have been relying on Jason Hanson as their kicker for the last 12 years. He is the Lions' all time scoring leader. He is one of the most reliable kickers in the game. When a game is on the line, Detroit can almost always count on his steady foot.

Punter-the Lions had been relying on John Jett for the last few years to be their kicker. Now they have Nick Harris. Harris is decent but I am not sure if he will be able to get the job done. Hopefully he will be able to pin the ball deep into enemy territory.

The Lions Defense

A few days ago I wrote an article previewing the Lions' offense going into this season. Here is my preview for the Detroit Lions' defense going into the 2004 NFL Season. I broke it down by each position.

Cornerbacks-the Lions are strongest at defense at this position. Dre Bly had an awesome season last year and went to the pro bowl. He was probably Detroit's best player last season. During the offseason the Lions signed cornerback Fernando Bryant to help out Dre Bly on the other side of the field. He is a very solid cornerback who should put up good numbers. Chris Cash should be their third option. He had a great rookie year in 2002 but missed all of last season due to an injury. Andre Goodman and Keith Smith finish out the rest of the notable cornerbacks.

Linebackers-the Lions have some good players at this position as well. They drafted Teddy Lehman in the second round of this year's draft and he looks to be a very nice pick. The Lions also have veteran Earl Holmes. He is a solid linebacker who you can expect good numbers from. Boss Bailey had a very good rookie campaign but was injured a few weeks ago. He will be out for about the first 6 weeks of the regular season. Jody Littleton,Wali Rainer,Donte' Curry ,James Davis,Scott Genord,Alex Lewis,Andrew Battle, and Michael Young round out the rest of the linebackers.

Safeties-during the offseason the Lions signed veteran safety Brock Marion. He should have a good year. Terrence Holt was a rookie last year and like Bailey had a good first season. He should battle for the position with Bracy Walker and Brian Walker.

Defensive Ends-Robert Porcher is the Lions' all time sack leader. He is older now but he can still give you decent numbers. Kalimba Edwards is another good,young, and hungry player on the Lions' defense. He is entering his third season of play. James Hall,Jared DeVries,Cory Redding, and Andrew Skull are the rest of the defensive ends.

Defensive Tackles-Detroit's Shaun Rogers is entering his 4th season with the Lions and he has looked good since he has been with the Lions. Expect him to have a good season. Dan Wilkinson is a crafty veteran who still has some game left in him. He should be a good mentor to some of the younger guys on defense. Kelvin Pritchett and Cole Colin are the other 2 defensive tackles.

Well there is my preview for the Lions' defense going into this season. If you have a question or an opinion on the Lions going into the season, then leave me a comment or send me an email.