The Big Game

The Superbowl is this weekend. Arizona will play Pittsburgh, not that you didn't already know. However, I believe, that outside of Arizona and Pittsburgh, this has been the least hyped Superbowl in my lifetime. I can't seem to figure out what it is. Over years past, during the week leading up to the game, I seem to remember constant breakdowns of the match up on ESPN and constant in depth scouting reports on the Internet. Yes all this is still there, but I feel like there has been more hype surrounding the NFL draft than there has been the Superbowl.

Over the past week, during my time on ESPN.com and CBSsportsline.com, I keep seeing all the links to mock NFL Draft results. What? already? The Superbowl hasn't even taken place yet and we are already looking at the Draft? is all I can think when I see this. I don't know what it is like outside of Detroit, but everywhere I go here it seems that the big question on every ones mind is who are the Lions going to take with the first overall pick of the draft. So called expert analysts have already made their choices, but what qualifies them as an expert? Is it all the research they did during the college football regular season. What research can you do? Most of the information about a player entering the draft comes from the NFL combine, which doesn't take place until Feb. 18, so in that sense, Mel Kiper can take his "expert pick" and put it up his butt.

So, with all the attention placed on the draft, I would like to take sometime away from that, if you don't mind Kiper, to dissect the Superbowl. Star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals have made it to their first Superbowl ever. You see Detroit, it is possible. Unlike the Lions however, Arizona has made good decisions in the off season to sign decent free agents and pick good players in the draft. The likes of the next Terrell Owens, Aquan Boldin, and the man who has broken all of Jerry Rice's postseason records, Fitzgerald. Kurt Warner isn't that bad of a quarterback either. The offensive line is somewhat decent, and former Michigan Wolverine Steve Breston, although I prefer the Spartans to the Wolverines, is a pretty well rounded return man.

Then there is Pittsburgh, the team that won the Superbowl three years ago in Detroit. Led by Big Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers were 12-4 during the regular season and won the AFC North. Another set of Wolverines, Larry Foote and LaMarr Woodley lead the defence along with star safety Troy Polamalu. Wille Parker and Hines Ward are back healthy and are set to play and tight end Heath Miller has had a decent season himself.

So, who will win the big game. Well in my opinion, I'd like to see Arizona win as the fan of the Lions, a team that loses every week. I mean, if someone said that your team should play all their games on Comedy Central next season you probably would to. But who really cares who wins the Superbowl, isn't it all about the commercials anyways?

Remember the Past

I was recently reading the Sports Illustrated I received on Thursday with all the football and Superbowl coverage you could ever need. I got to the who's hot who's not page, and at the bottom it said that Claude Lemieux was hot. The most hated man in Detroit is back folks. He had a 23 game warm up in the AHL, and now, at the age of 43, he is back, playing for San Jose Sharks.

Although its been about 12 years since the brawl at Joe Louis Arena, I know Red Wings fans can still feel hatred for this guy, who, in the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs, boarded Kris Draper, causing severe injury to his face. Then, the following year, when Darren McCarty got his revenge by beating the crap out of the guy. Old time hockey, when fights were really fights, not just some shoving behind the net, and when all the seats were filled at every home game.

Even though Lemieux is not on the Colorado Avalanche, and the Red Wings are not the same team they used to be, there are still six guys on the team who played on March 26, 1997, including Draper and McCarty. Right now, McCarty is recovering form hernia surgery, and Ken Holland has said that McCarty should be back in around six weeks, so the next time the Sharks and Wings meet it should be a fun battle to watch, and right now, at the All Star break the Wings have plenty of time to prepare for it.

Right now, the Red Wings trail the season series 1-2, and the home team has won each time. The Wings next play the Sharks at home on Feb. 25. McCarty should be back by then, and hopefully Lemieux from will still be in the lineup.

Back To Basics

I haven't heard much about Baseball this offseason except for the fact that the Yankees made the big deal with Texiera and the Cubs are bankrupt. Except for that, there hasn't been much to talk about. However, yesterday, as I was looking through the transactions page on ESPN.com, I noticed that the Tigers made a deal. As I began to read it, I soon became very disappointed. It read, "The Detroit Tigers have agreed to terms with pitcher Juan Rincon on a minor league contract; agreed to terms with pitchers Edwin Jackson, Joel Zumaya and Bobby Seay and catcher Gerald Laird on one-year contracts."

As soon as I read the name Joel Zumaya, my face went from a smile to a frown. Why do we keep resigning this guy? Sure he can throw the ball over 100 mph, but it is rarely accurate and the guy is injury prone. Over the past two years he has played in only 49 games, less than half of one season, and in that span only two wins and two saves. Did I forget to mention that he loves to play guitar hero?

On the better side of the infield, the Tigers did sign shortstop Adam Everett, who I think will be a great addition to the team. That leaves the infield at Catcher Brandon Inge, 1B Miguel Cabrera, 2B Placido Polanco, SS Adam Everett, and 3B Carlos Guillen. A pretty soild defence, but after last years performance in the batters box the whole team needs to step up to the plate and knock some out of the park. The outfield of Maggilo Ordonez, Curtis Granderson, and whoever will be named LF, probably Marcus Thames, looks solid as well, and it looks like, so far, hopefully, the Tigers can bounce back after a disapointing 2008 campagin. There were such high hopes, but nothing was fufilled.

The other part of the team that really needs to have a huge improvement this year is the guys on the mound and in the bullpen. Rookie Armando Galarraga was the best starter by far last season. Justin Verlander, Nate Robertson, and Jeremy Bonderman all have a lot of work to do, plus, lets hope that Dontrelle Willis can stay healthy this season.

With spring training about two months away, the teams has a few more months to get in some rest, but there will be no joking around this year. It's back to basics for the Tigers. The division will be tougher than ever before. Cleveland, Chicago, and Minnesota all made bold offseason moves this year, and the Royals were a tough win last season. The outlook for the Tigers this year is a good one, and hopefully they can make a good playoff run.

Detroit's Lions

Well, the Lions have hired a new head coach. Jim Schwartz is his name. Ever heard of him? I sure haven't, and I am one of those fans, ya know, the ones who follow every little aspect of the game. Well, Schwartz was hired on Jan. 16. He served as Tennessee Titan's defensive coordinatior from 2001-2008, and last year he had the best defence in the NFL.

All these are great accomplishments for him, however, did William Clay Ford and the 0-16 Lions make the right call? The answer is no.

Yes, Schwartz will probably make a great head coach for the Lions, however, there was a pool of much better bait out there for hire. Mike Shanahan, for example, was recently fired by the Denver Broncos. He would have been the best choice. He lead the Broncos to back to back Superbowl wins with a quarterback by the name of John Elway. Remember him? He was good wasn't he. If the Lions had hired Shanahan he could have turned Drew Stanton or who ever the Lions draft into a all pro quarterback. Also Bill Cower, who three years ago, led the Steelers to a Superbowl victory wants to come back and coach.

The Lions continue to surprise me. They make mistake after mistake. They drafted a quarterback and three wide receivers in the past 8 years, and not a single one of them is still on the team. They didn't fire Matt Millen until three years after he should have been.

Although the Lions suck and probably will forever, it is appalling that Shannon Sharpe would, on air, not just insult the Lions, but also the city of Detroit by wearing a paper bag over his head and saying that the Thanksgiving tradition should be taken away from us.

The city of Detroit is in shambles right now, but it will come back. Columnist Mitch Albom recently wrote in Sports Illustrated that its not a question of will Detroit comeback, but when.
I took what he said and applied it to the Lions. You see. in a lot of ways, Detroit and the Lions are the same. They each have or had a leader who, is terrible at what they do, Kwame Kilpatrick and William Clay Ford. They both are in shambles and need major reconstruction, Detroit, with the streets and buildings, and the Lions with coaches and players. And they also both are in danger of collapse. The Lions were blacked out over 12 times this season, and Detroit's economy and unemployment rate are a result of the collapsing of the auto industry.

So, the Lions did actually take a step in the right direction. They hired a coach who has done some good, and while there were better options out their, Schwartz will make a good head coach. Detroit, well, with the upcoming mayoral election, hopefullly the people of Detroit can learn something from the Lions, and take a step in the right direction themselves.

Pay To Play

In recent years, one of the worst things to come out of high school athletics is Pay to Play. It means exactly what it says. Athletes must pay a fee in order to play their sport.

Pay to play is ruining high school sports. It's unbelievable. Even with the bad economy, pay to play is still taking place. We need to be able to conserve our money right now, not spend it. This year alone, its costs $100 per high school athlete, and $50 per middle school athlete. That means that if your a sixth grader right now, and you play football through your senior year of high school you will spend $550 dollars on football. And what if you also play basketball and baseball? Thats like two mortgage payments on your parents house. And also, for some sports, like hockey, lacrosse, downhill skiing, and bowling, there are previously established fees, which cost more than the normal rate.

"I wish we didn't have it," Principal Rick Jones said.

"It's an unnecessary aspect of the game," Varsity Football Head Coach Todd Schultz said. "The money doesn't even go toward sports, it goes to the academics first, so it's very difficult to fund some of the after school sports."

Even members of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) are against Pay to Play. In fact, they are trying to ban it in public schools.

"Participation fees drive students away from playing their sport," MHSAA Director Jack Roberts said.

Yes equipment costs a lot, but its unfair to make the parents pay for everything. To have their child play, watch their child play, and attend the team banquet at the end of the season. For god sake, it even costs money to be in the Musical and Marching Band.

Pay to play needs to stop. Its ridiculous to make parents pay over $500 in four years just to have their kid play sports.

Comeback Kid

There are many injuries in sports. Professionals get them and pee wee football players get them. Its quite a common occurrence. But, the idea of returning to the pool after back surgery, that's a completely different story. This is what swimmer, Garrick Givens, had to go through last season.
At the beginning of the 2007-2008 season, a tall kid came into school on crutches. Givens had scoliosis, a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side, and may also be rotated. His spine was curved at a 65 degree angle. To fix this, it required major and intensive surgery.

"I was out for four months," said Givens. "And I was on bed rest for one."

Givens went through some very tough times in order to get back in the pool this season.

"It's hard to believe that he is back in the pool and swimming so well," said head coach Michael Harfoot. "It's impressive to see since he is coming off such major surgery."

This year, Givens is back and has swam in every meet. Even though he is not yet back at 100%, he is still swimming his heart out.

"All my muscles were weakened, so it has slowed me down a little bit," said Givens. "However, at the West Bloomfield Invitational, I dropped four seconds of my 200 freestyle time, and even though it was 10 seconds slower than my personal best, it was my best time since the surgery."

The team has a meet tomorrow night against West Bloomfield High School.

Adrenaline Rush

When I walked into the Farmington Hills Ice Arena, it was pitch black. I couldn't see anything. There were fans roaring with excitement and the players were gearing up for a battle. After all, this was the rivalry game; the Farmington Flyers vs. the Farmington Falcons.

I recently attended a high school hockey game for the first time in my four years at North Farmington. The team, made up of players from North Farmington and Harrison, call themselves the Flyers. They played the Farmington Falcons.

The fans were jumping up and down as the Flyers skated out on to the ice. At the time, I didn't think much of this because, even though I love sports, I had never seen a high school sporting event where the students hadn't gone just to socialize with their friends.

Once the puck was dropped, and NF senior James Long gave the first open ice hit, I could see the fans were into it. The stands were full, everyone was on their feet, and, as the first goal was scored, the fans jumped and rejoiced with one another, something I don't often see at football or basketball games.

As the game went on, the fans got more excited, and I got more excited. I was sitting on the edge of my seat the whole game. Senior Austin Murtland lead the team with two goals, and the way the team skated showed the effort they give in practice everyday. Going into the third period, I began to think that this was the most exciting high school game I had ever attended. At the end of the second period the score was 4-1 Flyers.

In the third period, the game got even more exciting when the Falcons came back to tie the game. Senior Goalie Adam Whitehead let in three unanswered goals. As the third period came to an end, two fans, seniors Jordan Mifsud and Jovan Bryant got the entire crowd on their feet. Senior Trevor Lamson was playing the cowbell, and the fans were doing the "Lets go Flyers" chant.
As the game went into overtime, the crowd was still filled with energy. The game ended with a Flyers goal, and the fans rejoiced along with the players. Because the game went into overtime, it won't count as a win for the Flyers because other arenas can't support overtime and therefore it cannot be upheld as an OAA stat or standard.

When I walked out of the arena that night, I couldn't help but think, "I have to come to more of these." The game kept me on the edge of my seat, bitting my fingernails from beginning to end.
Th hard core sports fan dreams for moments like these. The sound of an open ice hit or a check against the boards. It is what we live for, that adrenaline rush that keeps diehard sports fans coming back for more.