Disgusting

That is the first word that came to my mind after I watched the Lions play the Rams last night on Monday Night Football. Sure it was only preseason, but the Lions got rocked 37-13.

The Rams scored on their first three drives as they took the early lead. This game was never close as the Rams held on to the lead for the entire game.

The Lions again could not get into the endzone with their starting offense. The Lions drove down the field a few times with their starting unit but they could only muster 2 field goals. The only touchdown the Lions scored was late in the game by their third string quarterback.

Joey Harrington went 9-18 for 106 yards. Although Harrington did not play that great, I don't think it was all his fault. The Lions' offensive line did not give him any time to throw the ball. Harrington was constantly under pressure and he was forced to get rid of the ball early and often. When the line did give him some time, Harrington played alright.

Jeff Garcia continued his bad preseason by going just 2-9 passing along with a fumble. He was supposed to be pushing Harrington for the number one spot but Garcia has failed to accomplish that.

So far this preseason the Lions have looked bad. They have lost every game and their starting offense together has failed to score a single touchdown. The Lions have just one more preseason game to get ready for the regular season. They probably won't play many of their starters to prevent injuries. The only thing good that has come of this preseason is that they have not had any major injuries.

Are the Tigers having a good season?

The Detroit Tigers sit at 61-64, three games below 500. They have played decent of late but they are pretty much out of the wild card race.

When the season started for the Tigers, expectations were high. The Tigers had signed a big name player in the offseason, Magglio Ordonez, to a huge contract. The Tigers also had made their bullpen much stronger by adding Troy Percival and Kyle Farnsworth. The Tigers also had two all-stars returning to the team, Ivan Rodriguez and Carlos Guillen to help lead the team. Their pitching staff was also a year older.

Once the season started things started to go down hill quickly for the Tigers. Very early in the season they lost Ordonez to an injury. Ordonez did not come back till almost mid-way through the season. Later in the season the Tigers lost Troy Percival to a season ending injury. The Tigers then traded away Ugueth Urbina for Placido Palonco. A few weeks ago the Tigers traded Kyle Farnsworth for a few minor leaguers. With the injuries and trades the Tigers have a very thin bullpen. Their bullpen has lost a lot of close games and that has hurt the Tigers greatly.

Along with the Tigers bullpen being weak, some of their better players are not having a good season. Pudge, who was so good last year, is having a rough season. Carlos Pena, who lead the team with 27 homers last year, was sent down to the minors for almost the entire season due to his horrible play. Even all-star Carlos Guillen's numbers are way down from last season.

All in all I think the Tigers are doing about as good as we can expect out of them. Sure they could be a lot better but they are still around 500. They are on pace to win more games then they did last season. Their pitching staff has done well overall and their hitting has been decent. Who knows what might have happened this year if they had not been plagued with injuries to some of their best players.

This season is pretty much over for the Tigers. They are not going to make the playoffs but they can still try to finish above 500. A Tigers team has not finished about 500 for the regular season in over a decade. I think a season above 500 will greatly help the Tigers build for next season.

Preseason Report

The Lions played their first preseason game on Friday night. They lost to the Jets 10-3.

I think the most important stat to this game was 9 for 9. That is what Joey Harrington went on the night. He was 9-9 for 100 yards passing. It was nice to see Harrington get off to a nice start.

The worst thing during last night's game for the Lions was the loss of fullback Cory Schlesinger. Schlesinger suffered a leg injury and will be out 6-8 weeks. At least his injury came early in the preseason so he has time to recover before the majority of the regular season is over.

Although the Lions lost, it was still nice to see them play a good first preseason game. They will have 3 more preseason games before the real season starts.

Osgood back in Detroit?

The Detroit Red Wings have signed Chris Osgood to a one year deal worth $900,000. Osgood helped the Wings win the Stanley Cup back in 1998 as their starting goaltender.

Osgood left the team in 2001 when the Wings signed Dominik Hasek. Osgood then signed with the Islanders before being traded to the Blues in 2003. Last season Osgood put up good numbers with a 31-25-8 record as the Blues top netminder.

Throughout his career, Osgood has put up good numbers. He has a 305-177-66 career record with a 2.40 goals-against-average. Osgood also has 41 career shutouts. With the Wings he went 221-110-46 in the regular season and 38-25 in the playoffs.

With this signing the Wings now have a solid goaltending core. Osgood will battle against Manny Legace for the top spot at goaltender. Legace went 23-10-5 in 41 games last season with the Wings. Legace has a 77-35-18 career record. Legace's career G.A.A. is a slim 2.22.

This was a good signing for the Wings. They strengthened their defense as they added this veteran goalie to the lineup. Osgood should fit right in with the rest of the team as they welcome him back to Detroit.

8/2 Notes

I am finally back from vacation. While I was gone a lot happened in the Detroit Sports scene.

I will first start out with the Red Wings. With the NHL finally ending the lockout, the Red Wings now have to get their team together with a salary cap. They will be losing a number of players. Long time Red Wing Darren McCarty has already left the team. Mathieu Dandenault is also expected to leave. Derian Hatcher left as well, signing with the Flyers.

Although the Wings are losing a number of players, they did not lose their long time captain Steve Yzerman. Yzerman signed a one year deal to stay with the Wings for another season.

I have been out of hockey for so long that I barely know what is going on anymore. For awesome Wings' coverage, head over to On the Wings.

The Detroit Tigers have pretty much given up on trying to make the playoffs. They proved that by trading one of their best relievers, Kyle Farnsworth, for two prospects. The Tigers now have a very weak bullpen after trading Farnsworth. The Tigers sit about 5 games under 500, and about 8 games out of the wild card spot.

Even though the Tigers have given up on their season, I think they made a smart move by signing Placido Polanco to a four year deal. They traded for Polanco earlier in the season, and he has done a good job for the Tigers since they picked him up.

The Detroit Lions signed their first round draft pick Mike Williams to a five year deal. Williams should fit in nicely with Roy Williams and Charles Rogers.