Bye bye Mooch

With today's firing of Lions coach Steve Mariucci, every coach of one of Detroit's major sports teams has fired/relieved a coach of their duties within the calendar year or even more specifically within the last six months

Red Wings - After the lockout got rid of Dave Lewis / hired former Anaheim coach Mike Babcock
Pistons - Parted ways with Larry Brown after 2 straight NBA finals appearances / hired former Minnesota coach Flip Saunders

Tigers - Fired Alan Trammell after three lousy years and a crappy August / Hired former Pittsburgh manager Jim Leyland

Lions - Fired Mariucci after three dismal seasons / Defensive coordinator Dick Jauron (a former head coach of Chicago) is the interim

But with the Mooch firing I think something had to be done and hopefully the team plays better over the last five games. I don't think the West Coast offense was the right fit for this team with its current personnel and whoever has this team next should adapt to the talents of those on the roster. And hopefully Kevin Jones will be better utilized

I'm just wondering who the hell is a likely candidate for a long term replacement - this whole process should be interesting to see

Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving - mine wasn't too bad.

This marked the first time ever that I wasn't with my immediate family for Thanksgiving. Kind of interesting but at least I still was with some sort of family. I spent the holiday up in Ypsilanti with my moms side of the family. I was at my grandmas house with a few of my mom's siblings (my Aunt Brenda and her husband Terry, my Aunt Ramona, and Uncle Errol) As always with my mom's family there is nothing short of a humorous expierience.

Whether it was my uncle being lazy and wanting Brenda to pratically wait on him or everyone scoring on how my grandma's tv completely sucked at reception it was rather a hilarious day. As far as the TV was concerned my aunt joked it was so fuzzy that we couldnt tell how little clothes Mariah Carey had on during the halftime show of the Lions game.

Speaking of the Lions what a sloppy performance for the second consecutive year on Thanksgiving. At least it wasnt as bad as gettin whipped by the Colts big time last year but still. Mariucci should be fired and I was hoping that Friday would have been his day like all of the Detroit media was predicting. But instead Detroit is stuck with him longer. It seems like national spotlight doesnt bode well for the Lions - i remember them getting spanked in that preseason game on Monday Night Football by the Rams - granted it was preseason but still. And why couldnt the Lions wear the traditional throwback uniforms - instead they wore the black ones.

I also hit the mall briefly this weekend but didnt do much shopping - more of so to check out what the crowds were like. I purchased a few things from JCpenneys but that was the extent of my shopping on Black Friday.

Talked to my sister the other day and she agreed to get me a red pistons jersey for Christmas - thats pretty exciting. Hard to believe I haven't seen her since May. Pure craziness.

Thats all I've got for the time being

damn the popo

So is driving back from Homer on Friday after covering a playoff game and was heading back to the office to type up my column on deadline. I'm back in Adrian and less than three miles from the office when I get pulled over by the damn police. I'm like damn - its almost midnight and I still have a story to type and im like 3 minutes away from the office.

He asks if i knew why he pulled me over - i reply no - he tells me i didnt come to a proper or complete stop at a stop sign further back. And this guy didnt pull me over until i was about a mile from that spot. I'm like yeah whatever and just keep quiet b/c you shouldnt talk back to the police especialyl being a young black male - (i heard about what happened to rodney king) anyways a few minutes later the guy comes back and issues me a ticket. He couldnt tell me how much it would cost so I had to call a number on Monday.

I call the number only to find out that the ticket was 110 bucks! im like damn. I'd almost be better off being caught speeding. so now i have like five days left to pay it and im thinking about challenging it - but who knows.

anyways that is my exciting news. other than that it has been a busy time for me of late and i like it that way
Heres what ive been doing

Last Saturday - cover Adrian College football game at 1 p.m. - start working on layout for Mondays paper

Monday - did page design at 5 am, covered two playoff basketball games at Manchester High School that night

Tuesday- Went to work to finish up the All-County football capsules. Added some things to a feature story and took care of a few more little things. made a few phone calls

TODAY - cover two district playoff games at Adrian High

Tomorrow- Do an interview out at Sand Creek for a feature that is running on Saturday before their state semi-final playoff game

Friday - to be determined but either hoops or page design

Saturday - State semifinal game at White Lake between Sand Creek and Unionville Sebawaing (USA)

I've been doin a lot of features later which is pretty exciting because it is something different from writing game stories - they kind of get boring after a while.

Jill Pfund feature
DJ Howard feature

Other than that the Pistons are still perfect and thats been awesome - Flip Saunders looks like a genius right now . but there is still 75 more regular season games so you cant get too carried away yet.

And I have to say I'm looking forward to the big game this weekend even tho I'm going to miss it - but lets go Blue!!

compelling items

Two things have compelled me to make my latest post to this blog - cheerleaders and T.O.



Starting with the cheerleaders - This weekend two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders were arrested for having sex in a bathroom at some club/bar in Florida. People complained about a long line waiting to use the restroom only to find out that the cheerleaders were getting it on.

Here is the article

After talking with two of my buddies I've gathered these responses:

"If i was at that club and i saw that i'd probably just walk into traffic immediately, i dont see my life getting much better than that"

"i wouldnt have called the cops, the show must go on!"

I must say I'd have to agree.


Second item : T.O. is all but done in Philly as the Eagles have decided he will miss the rest of the season following his four game suspension. To which I say it sux for fantasy owners who have him on their team - I'm glad I don't have him

At the same time in reality I wouldnt mind if the Lions became in the running for him. So T.O. doesnt like Garcia - thats fine. If Harrington is throwing to him he definitely can take criticism from T.O. after all he has faced in his career and his teammates this season. Plus he is demanding of the ball and makes plays - more than the Lions can say for any of their wide receivers with the exception of Scottie Vines.

The only problem is his price tag but what do the Lions have to lose - they arent doing anything with the offense they have - why not add a REAL playmaker.
But having a legit threat like T.O. might not matter if the offensive line cant block.

interesting quotes

Lately I've been reading stories or other things and have come across a lot of interesting quotes. Here are a few of them:

“From what I’ve seen on tape the last couple of days, the guy can do it all.... Two things are going to happen. The bad thing is, you have to cover me. The good thing is you can switch your insurance to GEICO and save 10 percent.”

- Cincinnati Bengal's wide receiver Chad Johnson speaking of his matchup with Green Bay cornerback Al Harris

“We'll see those bandwagon ass cats come May and June, that's when they'll predict the Pistons will win it. For now, it's good. We like being swept under the carpet because the dirt comes out in the end.”

- Detroit Piston's forward Rasheed Wallace on the Pistons not gettin much love from those predicting how the NBA will shape up this season

"The black athlete has made a big difference. They've changed the whole tempo of the game. Black athletes have done a great job as athletes and as people in turning the game around. Say what anybody wants to say about it, it's a different game because of them."

- Legendary Penn State coachJoe Paterno on how blacks have helped revolutionize college football