I was watching the TV show, “60 Minutes” recently and one of the featured stories was on disgraced ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy.

 

His story is too long to explain here but he was wrapped up in the mob, and was busted by the FBI for betting on NBA games including ones he refereed.

 

Donaghy accuses the NBA of blatantly trying to right wrongs by giving star players free reign for past blown calls by the referees.

 

He claims the league would come right out and tell the refs ahead of time that “So and So” needs to be left along in the upcoming game. So by hearing this, he already knew before the game started that “So and So” was going to have a good game and thereby he would lay down a bet on “So and So” team to win. He claims to have had a 78% winning percentage.

 

With the arbitrary nature of refereeing in the NBA and NHL, it’s easy to see how this could easily be done.

 

This leads me to a recent blown call by a referee when the Detroit Red Wings played the Dallas Stars at home on November 18, 2009.

 

CONTINUES

http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=28081&pre=1&p=5

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings played a game they should have won and instead gave two easy points to the Oilers in a 4-1 loss.

Tonight’s first goal honors went to Lubomir Visnovsky and Edmonton’s Robert Nilsson netted their second goal 12 minutes later. Dan Cleary scored Detroit’s only goal off a great feed from Todd Bertuzzi with less than a second left in the first. In the second, Edmonton added a pair of goals, both from the stick of Patrick O’Sullivan.

Detroit did not play well tonight in a game that saw very little in the way of penalties. Detroit had 12 giveaways in the game, but had 11 after the first two periods. Other than the goal by Cleary and a couple good chances, including a wide open net missed by Tomas Holmstrom in the second, the Red Wings just didn’t look like they were together for tonight’s game. Even with only three penalties called in the whole game, there was still a referee controversy when Holmstrom was tripped on a breakaway and no penalty shot was given. That did, however, lead to the Wings only powerplay the night.

Good news from the dressing room was that Jonathan Ericsson, who left late in the third when his skate caught a rut in the ice, is only day to day with a knee injury and will still leave tonight for the team’s upcoming road trip.

Allen Park, Mich. - Quarterback Drew Stanton has been selected as the Detroit Lions' 2009 Robert Porcher Man of the Year, an award that recognizes off-the-field community service. Stanton is one of 32 finalists, one from each NFL team, who receives $1,000 for his foundation and is a finalist for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year honor.

In his third year season in the NFL, Stanton has established his own foundation and is a leader in charity work in his home state of Michigan.

The High 5ive Foundation is a 501c3 organization that Stanton established in 2008. The main focus of his foundation is to support programs at Special Olympics and Children's Miracle Network. He has been heavily involved with both organizations since his collegiate career at Michigan State University.

Special Olympics is an organization Stanton worked with during his playing days at MSU and he continues his relationship with them. He has assisted with the Michigan summer and winter games, speaking and handing out medals at the summer games in Mt. Pleasant and being the emcee for the past two winter games in Traverse City.

Stanton donates 30 tickets for every Lions' home game through the Lions' CATS (Caring Athletes Ticket Service) for Kids program. Children's Miracle Network receives 20 tickets to each game and the other 10 are given to several groups including Special Olympics and Old Village School, a school for disabled and special needs children in Northville, Michigan. The children receive tickets to the game, a meal during the game, and a welcome message on the video board.

Stanton is also very involved in assisting and supporting the Dearborn Animal Shelter. He has participated in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Detroit Lions' Pet Calendar for which all proceeds from the sale of the calendars benefit the Dearborn Animal Shelter. He also has helped the shelter with PSA's for various events, participated in their annual Mutt Strut and he and his wife Kristin were honorary chairs for their annual Black Tie Gala in 2008 and 2009.

Stanton, his wife and family served Thanksgiving dinner at the Detroit Rescue Mission on Thanksgiving Day following the Lions' annual Thanksgiving Day game. Stanton reads to students at schools, attends charity golf outings, makes hospital visits, speaks at athletic banquets and school assemblies, hosts football camps, serves meals at homeless shelters and participates in reading days and activities. Stanton participates in all of the Lions' team community activities. He has helped with Play 60 events, participated in Jump Rope for Heart with the American Heart Association and other fitness activities for youth.

The winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award will be announced live on CBS before Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010. The prestigious award was renamed in 1999 for the legendary Chicago Bears Pro Football Hall of Fame running back. The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award has been given annually since 1970.

Let me start off by first saying this. Folks, amateur or professional athletes don’t play games when they are "really hurt."

I personally know what it is like to play hurt. I took dozens of injections in my right arm for several years after suffering a torn rotator cuff and was told that the steroids, “Pain pills,” anti-inflammation drugs and injections that we were being fed to me were actually “healing drugs” and that they were perfectly safe.

We weren’t allowed to have real agents back then to protect us.

Guess what, while I was taking the steroids and the many pain injections I was doing irreparable damage to my right arm and after three or four years of injections, I was out of the game. In fact, as of this date, I can barely hold my arm straight out from my shoulder.

If you have a "Real separated shoulder" you don’t risk your career, and certainly the Lions would not risk Stafford’s career if his shoulder was really "separated". Let’s really be serious.

Leaving Stafford in this game if really hurt was risking $60 million dollars for the Lions, and risking the career of Stafford, so let’s quit the hero, "Win one for the Gipper" stuff. READ ARTICLE

Steve St-Pierre

In Play! Magazine

Pistons guard Ben Gordon sprained his ankle last night in Detroit's home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He becomes the third player to join the team's sidelines, next to fellow swingmen Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince.

The Pistons are on a six-game losing streak, and they've played inconsistent on both ends of the floor even with Gordon. Now they'll be without their top three scorers for at least the near future as Gordon's day-to-day, while Hamilton and Prince are still out indefinitely.

On the bright side, these injuries have allowed other players to step up and gain experience on the court, such as Detroit's three rookies Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers and Jonas Jerebko, who has been starting at small forward in place of Prince. Likewise, reserve guard Will Bynum has emerged as one of the best bench scorers in the NBA, something the Pistons had hoped Gordon could provide while backing up Hamilton at shooting guard.

Unfortunately, Detroit will have to search hard to find enough offense to replace all three scorers as long as they're out. The team has struggled to get consistency out of its big men, particularly the reserves. Charlie Villanueva has been solid at both ends of the floor as the starting power forward, and Ben Wallace - though offensively challenged - has reestablished himself as one of the best interior defenders in the league after nearly retiring this summer before deciding to sign with the Pistons for the minimum. However, bench players Kwame Brown, Chris Wilcox and Jason Maxiell have been shaky in the time they've been on the floor, and the team's going to need more scoring out of this group to compensate for the injuries.

If the Pistons have any chance of turning this season around, it might be in the best interest for Joe Dumars, Pistons President, to find a more-versatile pivot man to hold down the middle both offensively and defensively. Again, it can't be stressed enough how vital Wallace has been in leading this young team, setting an example in showing teammates how to win by playing hard and never quitting. However, what the Pistons need most right now is a better all-around center who can better complement Villanueva's versatility.

Just who that center may be and what it would take to bring him in remains to be seen. What's clear is that the Pistons are moving in a new direction. John Kuester, Pistons Head Coach, reminds the press after every game that the team is a work-in-progress, and it's obvious that the number-one goal right now is evaluating Detroit's youth. Therefore, trading Hamilton and/or Prince could be in the best interest of all parties, assuming that could help bring in an All-Star type big man. Then again, not many teams are likely lining up right now for two injured, aging veterans.

For the time being, the Pistons will continue to focus on growing, developing and continuing to play hard no matter what. Their intensity this season has shown the kind of fire Detroit fans haven't seen since the team's back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2004 and 2005. Here's to hoping they're able to put their best players on the floor as much as possible, as soon as possible.

The Lions practiced in shorts inside on Sandoval Field at the team's headquarters and practice facility in Allen Park.

The NFL announced today that Lions' QB Matthew Stafford was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his 422-yard, five touchdown performance in Detroit's 38-37 dramatic come-from-behind victory over Cleveland. This is Matthew Stafford's first career NFC Offensive Player of the Week Honor and he is the first Lions player to receive NFC Player of the Week since DT Shaun Rogers in Week 9 of the 2007 season. Stafford is the first rookie this season to receive Offensive Player of the Week in either the NFC or AFC. He is the first Lions quarterback since Joey Harrington (Week 1 in 2003) to receive NFC Offensive Player of the Week and he is the first Lions' rookie to receive NFC Player of the Week since QB Charlie Batch in Week 11 of 1998.

The following players have been listed on the Detroit Lions' Injury Report: WR Calvin Johnson (hand/knee), S Kalvin Pearson (hamstring), S Ko Simpson (knee), LB Ernie Sims (hamstring), QB Matthew Stafford (knee/left shoulder) and DE Dewayne White (toe) did not practice. DT Joe Cohen (ankle), S Louis Delmas (ankle), LB Jordon Dizon (neck), LB Zack Follett (neck), DT Grady Jackson (knee), T Daniel Loper (back) and RB Kevin Smith (hip) were limited in practice.

The following players were listed on the Green Bay Packers' Injury Report today: CB Al Harris (knee) and LB Aaron Kampman (knee) are out. T/G Allen Barbre (ankle), RB Ahman Green (groin) and C Scott Wells (knee) and did not practice. T Chad Clifton (knee) and CB Charles Woodson (hip) were limited in practice. RB Ryan Grant (knee), DE Cullen Jenkins (ankle), DE Johnny Jolly (back) and G Josh Sitton (back) participated fully in practice.

The Detroit Lions will host the Green Bay Packers Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 26) at Ford Field with kickoff set for 12:35 p.m. Detroit will be looking to build on a dramatic last-second 38-37 victory over Cleveland while Green Bay is coming off a 30-24 win over San Francisco. The game will be televised nationally

Coming off several good performances, the Red Wings just couldn’t muster the same effort against Nashville and lost 3-1 on Monday.

Jason Arnott and Martin Erat scored goals for Nashville, both on the powerplay to open the first two periods. Drew Miller would net his first goal for the season, and as a Red Wing, to get the Wings on the board. In the closing minutes of the game, Erat would score his second goal of the game.

The Wings were shut down by Nashville for the first two periods while the Predators were averaging 10 shots a period. While they did manage to put on a clinic in the third, it was too little too late and Pekka Rinne played a great third period.

The Red Wings have struggled lately as it seems that every goalie they face has an outstanding game. Detroit did seem to struggle without Niklas Kronwall, who has been the best player on the Wings' defense for the last two weeks. Detroit will need to win both its remaining games this week or they will be burying themselves deeper in the standings than they might be able to get out of.

In an update on the Kronwall situation, Montreal enforcer Georges Laraque, who kneed Kronwall and injured Kronwall's knee for the next four to eight weeks, was suspended today for five games.

Game will air live in the local television markets; Tickets are still available to purchase


Allen Park, Mich. – The Detroit Lions have reached a sellout for Thursday’s 70th Thanksgiving Day game against the Green Bay Packers. By reaching a sellout by today’s 12:30 p.m. deadline, Thursday’s game will air live in the local television markets (Metro Detroit, Lansing, Saginaw/Flint and Toledo markets), including WJBK-TV FOX 2.

This year’s Lions-Packers game on Thanksgiving Day renews a holiday rivalry that dates back to 1951. This year’s game marks the 19th time the Lions have battled the Packers on Thanksgiving, with Detroit holding an 11-6-1 (.647) advantage. The Lions have played Green Bay more than any other opponent in the Thanksgiving Day series.


For 13 consecutive years from 1951-63, the Lions and Packers met on Thanksgiving, with the Lions claiming a 9-3-1 record during that span. The Lions-Packers Turkey Day tilt marks the fourth time since 2001 that the two teams will play in Detroit on Thanksgiving and the third at Ford Field.

The Lions Thanksgiving Day game has sold out in each of the last 15 seasons (since 1994), and it has reached a sellout for every Thanksgiving Day game played at Ford Field (seven since 2002).

-This was the first game the Lions came from behind and won with no time left on the clock since their 13-12 win against New Orleans (at San Antonio) December 24, 2005.

-Stafford is the youngest quarterback in NFL history to throw at least five touchdowns in a single game. Stafford at 21 years, 288 days improved upon the previous two highs by Dan Marino in 1984 (22 yrs, 353 days) and Joe Namath (23 yrs, 110 days).

-The last Lions quarterback with four touchdown passes was Jon Kitna at Dallas December 31, 2006.

-Hanson became the seventh player in NFL history with 1,800 career points.

-The fourth quarter comeback is the first of Stafford's career.

More interesting tidbits...

WTF happened tonight? Brad May's no goal is absolutely terrible. First the ref says he intended to blow the whistle on a straight in shot and then the head office in Toronto follows his lead.

The puck was clearly in the net for a full 2-3 seconds before the whistle went, and besides how can the ref say he intended to blow. He would have had to intend the blow the whistle as May was shooting the puck!

This is a total disgrace to the NHL.

There should be some sort of electronic device in the puck to signal  a goal and eliminate this stupidity.

Wings got screwed in finals with Pittsburgh having 6 guys on the ice for about 30 seconds and now this! WTF! http://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Play-Magazine/66828874928?ref=s

The Detroit Red Wings will play the Boston Bruins tonight in an original six match-up. It is the only time the two teams meet this season.

The Red Wings returned home Sunday from a five game road trip having improved their record to 5-4-3. Unfortunately the Wings did not return with Valtteri Filppula and Brad May. Despite the best efforts of the team, Jonathan Ericsson also caught the flu, but will likely play tonight.

Bruin’s goalie Tim Thomas, who is a Davison, Mich. native, will look to make a strong hometown appearance. Thomas, winner of last season’s Vezina and Jennings Trophies, won 6-3 last time he played in Detroit.

The Bruins have failed to win two games in a row this season; they also haven’t lost two games in a row either. They lost their last game. The Wings are looking to win a second straight game to start a two game home stretch before going to Toronto on Saturday for the Hall of Fame Weekend. Detroit’s trick to success will be to pommel Thomas with pucks all night.

Calgary held the Detroit Red Wings to only 30 shots, but the Wings were able to walk away with a 3-1 win to finish their longest road trip of the year 2-1-2.

Daymond Langkow opened the scoring in the second period for the Flames, but the Wings quickly answered with goals from Brad Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom within a minute and a half. Other than an empty net goal by Kirk Maltby, all the game’s offensive action came in that minute and a half of play.

Halloween was a scary day in the NHL with several players going headfirst into the boards in multiple games. At the Saddledome in Calgary, Todd Bertuzzi was kicked in the face early in the third period and Brad May was hit by Jason Williams’ stick in the eye while on the bench. While Bertuzzi returned to the ice, Brad May was taken to the hospital, where he will stay overnight for observation and will not fly back to Detroit with the Wings tonight.

There were not a lot of things Calgary could have done to change tonight’s outcome. After two periods, they had blocked 15 shots and had not spent a lot of time in their own zone. In fact, for much of the game the puck was stuck in the neutral zone. The Wings played a good game but could not get anything done on the powerplay.

In Play! Man of the Game: Chris Osgood. While not a highlight outing, Osgood finished with 20 saves and many of them came off multiple shot chances. The only goal he let in was batted out of the air and just missed Osgood’s shoulder.

By AJ Petronzi

The Detroit Red Wings lost another game to move to 0-4-1 on the road.

Detroit opened scoring in the 2nd period when Kris Draper stuffed the puck through Anderson on a backhand; it was Draper’s 150 career goal. Colorado’s Galiardi tied the game with 5 minutes left in the 2nd.

Todd Bertuzzi scored a goal, but the goal was called back by virtue of referee Brad Watson claming he intended to blow the whistle before the puck was in the net. This would have been impossible since Bertuzzi stuffed the puck straight into Anderson who was sitting inside the goal by his own free will. Watson was also involved in the bad goal called against Detroit that cost them the game in Phoenix on Thursday.

Colorado forward Chris Stewart scored a goal on Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard to give Colorado the lead. The goal would prove to be the game winner.

Detroit took the game to Colorado recording 49 shots on goal and only getting two by Anderson; one again was called back. Any other goalie in the NHL, other than Ryan Miller and Roberto Luongo, would have let far more goals in on 48 shots. Detroit failed to score a goal on eight powerplay attempts, the first time the Wings have failed to score a powerplay goal this season.

In Play! Man of the Game: Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi rightfully scored a goal, but had it taken away. He also played a strong offensive and defensive game, recording 3 shots on goal, two of which were quality scoring chances resulting in a goal called back and a post hit, which actually doesn’t count as a shot on goal.

I feel obliged to acknowledge the play of Craig Anderson, who will walk away with 48 saves and a .979 save percentage.

Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk stormed into Phoenix and played like he hadn’t missed the last couple games. Datsyuk dazzled the crowd with several Datsyukian moves including one on Ed Jovanovski that (to borrow a great line from Mickey Redmond) still has Jovanovski fishing his jock-strap out of the rafters.

The Red Wings continued to produce on the power play, giving them at least one in every game played this season. The Datsyuk goal was an answer to a powerplay goal scored by the Phoenix Coyotes, the first that Detroit had allowed in nine chances. A highlight real pass by Datsyuk to the tape of Brett Lebda gave him a wide open cage to hit and the Wings a 2-1 lead.

Phoenix tied the game with two and a half minutes left on a questionable goal that was reviewed. In fact both of Phoenix’s goals were reviewed, but there was no question that the first goal counted. On the second goal, Chris Osgood was pushed into the net along with the puck, but the goal stood anyway.

In overtime, Wings forward Valtteri Filppula was robbed of a breakaway when the linesman failed to get out of the way and interrupted a pass. Almost immediately afterwards, Adrian Aucoin sent a weak wrist shot at Osgood that bounced off Osgood’s right pad and stick and wound up in the net.

In Play! Man of the Game: Pavel Datsyuk! Datsyuk came back from a two missed games from injury to net two assists and a couple takeaways; though in an effort of sportsmanship, Datsyuk should help someone find Jovanovski’s jock.

Detroit, who are 3-3-0 going into tonight, have struggled on the road. With 5 away games in the next two weeks, Detroit will be looking to go into the trip above .500.

Look for Henrik Zetterberg to continue to produce offensively; he currently leads Wings with 6 points but only one goal. Also look for Kirk Maltby to be banging away for another goal; he’s off to a hot start and Kris Draper has been calling Malts “hot hands” since his goal Thursday night.

On local note...
Look for Windsor Minor Hockey Association (WMHA) graduate Ryan Wilson (#44) to suit up for the Colorado Avalanche. Wilson made his NHL debut Tuesday against the Boston Bruins.

Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva will make his preseason debut with the team tomorrow in Memphis. He'll likely come off the bench in favor of Ben Wallace, who has been starting at power forward during exhibition season but was given the night off during last night's loss in Dallas. Detroit also hopes to have starting small forward Tayshaun Prince back in the lineup as he recovers from a foot injury.

They know they can score points, but the Pistons need to prove they can play consistent team defense. It will be vital for Villanueva to prove he can defend at both forward spots if he plans on eventually starting for this team.

The Detroit Red Wings decided to take a couple days off and dress a little league team to take their place for tonight’s game. Unfortunately, that’s only what it looked like.

Buffalo, who had a season total of 4 goals going into the game tonight, scored 6 against Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard to more than double their season totals.

Osgood, who was chased from net after giving up 5 goals, was not responsible for Detroit’s troubles. The only consistency that the Wings displayed during the game was a total breakdown defensively.

The Wings need to prove themselves on the road; if they can’t, the extended road trip that begins next week is going to be a difficult one.

Detroit’s road game has been three horrifying showings; that is going to have to change if the Wings want to be around come post-season.

By Mike Niziolek 

The Detroit Lions sold out Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Ford Field, but it was evident from all the terrible towels that many of those tickets were purchased by Steeler fans.
With three minutes and 30-yards to go the Lions looked like they had a golden opportunity to get a touchdown and send the game into overtime – a situation that should have the home crowd’s fans on their feet.

It wasn’t.

Thousands of Pittsburgh fans rallied and made Ford Field anything but enemy territory for the visiting Steelers helping them hold on to their lead and win 28-20.

“They traveled awesome today,” Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said. “It's spectacular to stand on the visiting sideline and see the fan support we had in this building today."

Hines Ward said the crowd definitely made a difference for the team, but wasn’t surprised at how many fans made the trip.

"We're Steeler nation,” Ward explained. “Wherever we travel, we travel well. Playing in the Super Bowl here brought back a lot of memories. We had just as many fans as we did back then, so that's what we love about playing for this organization.”

Daunte Culpepper started in place of the injured Matthew Stafford at quarterback and had problems with the Steelers defensive pressure. Culpepper was sacked seven times, four of those coming during the Lions critical final possession.

After the game Jim Schwartz talked about the offense not picking up the blitz in the final series…
“We didn't recognize it and ended up taking those sacks,” he explained. “In that situation where you got it right there, we've got to be able to throw that ball away, protect that, whatever we've got to do to avoid a sack right there. We can't give up a sack like that because that took us out of the chance that we had at the end of the game."

Losing Calvin Johnson in the first quarter to a leg injury hampered the Lions offense as well. It was the second consecutive game that the big play receiver was taken out with a leg problem, against Chicago Johnson injured his hamstring and left the game in the third quarter.

Derrick Williams and Dennis Northcutt stepped in and made some nice plays, but the 6’5’’ playmaker could have made a difference for Culpepper as he dealt with the heavy pressure from the Steelers defense.
The Lions will travel to Green Bay next week as they look to get a win before the bye week.

By Steve St-Pierre

It's been an entertaining first two preseason games for the Pistons. Kwame Brown looks to have solidified the starting center spot, the team's guards are developing a great amount of chemistry and Detroit's rookies have displayed an impressive amount of toughness.

Brown has started both games in the middle alongside Ben Wallace, who has been starting at power forward for the injured Charlie Villanueva. It's possible Wallace could move to center with Villanueva taking Brown's starting spot, but that's highly unlikely given that Detroit wants to see more of their other, younger bigs before Wallace at this point in his career.

Rip Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey have played well together as Detroit's starting guards, and Ben Gordon looks like he'll be one of the best reserves in the league this year. It comes as a shock to say that despite these facts, reserve guard Will Bynum has been the team's best player in training camp. He looks extremely confident not only in his slashing ability but also his perimeter shooting, and it's possible he could take some minutes away from the starters once the regular season begins.

It seems the toughness of veterans Wallace, Brown and reserve big man Chris Wilcox is rubbing off onto the Pistons' rookies. First-round pick Austin Daye had an amazing block on Miami Heat superstar Dwayne Wade, while second-round selection Jonas Jerebko was suspended after an altercation with Miami's backup center Jamaal Magloire. Magloire came into the game and immediately attempted to bully Jerebko in the post, and eventually the two exchanged punches. In the second game, 2008 second-rounder Deron Washington provided plenty of highlight plays on both ends of the court.

All in all, the Pistons aren't looking too shabby. Of course it's only exhibition, but Detroit is winning and playing with the passion that hasn't been seen around here since the team's back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2004 and 2005, respectively.

The wheels continue to wobble out of control for Tigers pitching, particularly the closers.

With the game tied 1-1 in the top of the 10th Tiger closer Brandon Lyon blew the game with back to back wild pitches moving the man on first to third and then loading the bases.

The Twins would score two runs to make it 3-2 going into the bottom of the 10th.

Granderson tried his best to help out with a solo shot to right field to make it 3-2, but it wasn't enough as the Tigers drop the first game of the double header 3-2.

Minnesota is now one game back in the A.L. Central with first place up for grabs in game two of today's double header later on tonight.

Hey! Ho! The wicked witch is dead. The Detroit Lions win 19-14.
How does that saying go about the sun shining on a dog?

The Lions are now 1-2, not 0-20!

This is probably the first game in the last two years that the Lions have played where they looked like a complete team. Offence, Defense and Special teams all played like a cohesive profession football team. It’s a real treat to watch a good football game for a change.

I only have one criticism and that would be Matthew Stafford’s accuracy.

He really threw some zingers today making it hard for his receivers. This may be due to an over correction as he tries to minimize the interceptions he has been throwing. It looks like he was trying too hard, but this is something that CAN be fixed. Other than that I would say the Lions really looked pretty good today.

Ford Field had many empty seats today but the fans that were actually there witnessed a 19 game losing streak come to an end. Only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a longer skid with 26 games back in the late 70’s.

I wonder if the team including many of the players, coaches and floor sweepers who were not here last year, have the monkey off their back? Can they start wining now? They have had the taste of victory; now will they continue to sip the magic potion?

Let’s hope so. GO LIONS!

Clark coached the Lions 1978-84 and was Dolphins' assistant in 17-0 season

Allen Park, Mich.- Monte Clark, a long-time player and coach in the National Football League including seven seasons as head coach of the Detroit Lions (1978-84), died last night (September 16) at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit after an extended illness with a bone marrow malignancy associated with lung and liver disease. He was 72.

Clark is survived by his wife of 52 years, Charlotte, sons Randy (and wife Michele), Bryan and Eric (and wife Beth) and eight grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Don of Kingsburg, Calif., and sisters Dolene Nelson of Kingsburg and Kathy Lowe of Clovis, Calif.

(Ed. note by Sean: More can be found at the Lions' official site.)

By: Michael Niziolek/In Play! Magazine

The Detroit Lions return game hasn’t had a lot of great playmakers the last few seasons, but Jim Schwartz hopes this year can be a little different. Detroit drafted Derrick Williams out of Penn State hoping that he could make an impact returning kicks….

"One of the reasons we drafted him was his return resume at Penn State; not only consistency, which is what he brought, but the ability to make a play," Schwartz said. "Our philosophy is going to be aggressive on defense. We want to push the edge and try to score, and you need playmakers at the return position."

But Williams is hoping he can also find some playing time at wide receiver. He’s had the chance for some extra reps because of injuries (Calvin Johnson and Bryant Johnson) and Schwartz said he’s doing a pretty good job.

Wiliams wasn’t as sharp in the second preseason game, but against the Atlanta Falcons in Detroit's first preseason game he caught a touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford.

In-Play! talked to the rookie about returning kicks, getting playing time and the quarterback battle…

IP: There have been quite a few injuries to receivers in camp, did you feel you had an opportunity to make an impression on the coaching staff and win more playing time?

DW: I’ve had that impression ever since I came in here. I didn’t come thinking that I wasn’t going to try to contribute to the team. I came here saying anyway possible, I’m going to do my best and go out there and make on an impact on this team year.

IP: You left Penn State with your name at the top of a lot of different returner categories, in your mind what makes a good kick returner?

DW: I think what makes a good returner is the people up front because if there’s not the blocking there then you’re going to have to fair catch. So many things can go wrong, I’ve always heard on punt returns there’s so many things that can go wrong and there’s just a slim chance that there’s going to be a big play. You just have to count on the other ten people on the field.

IP: Do you think it might be easier for you to make an impact on special teams this year, than on offense?

DW: I think I can shine there, but I think I can shine on the offense as well.

IP: You’ve played with both Daunte Culpepper and Matthew Stafford, have you noticed any differences between the two so far?

DW: (Laughs) Right now I’m just focusing on making sure I’m in the right spot. With me just learning everything and switching between different positions I just have to worry about my responsibilities.

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By Steve St-Pierre/In Play! Magazine

The Pistons are inviting undrafted Baylor point guard Curtis Jerrells to
training camp. He'll contend for the Pistons' final roster spot, which is
currently open.

The chances of Jerrells making the regular season roster are very slim,
being as though Joe Dumars, Pistons President, says he prefers to keep
only 14 of a maximum 15 players under contract. Dumars also hopes to
invite an extra big man to camp, which is expected to open Sept. 28.