#2 Michigan State Starts The Season Off Right-Stafford To See Dr.Andrews

The #2 Michigan State Spartans put the lumber to Eastern Michigan winning their first game of the regular season 96-66. The Big Three of Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers and Draymond Green all scored in double digits with 18, 17 and 12 respectively. Two freshman players for the Spartans had good games with freshman point guard Keith Appling scoring 14 in 23 minutes and freshman big man Adreian Payne scoring 10 in 14, including a couple rim rattling dunks. It was a solid 30 point win over what most would call an inferior opposition, but im sure coach Izzo, as he usually does, will find room for improvement with his team. Michigan States next game is Tuesday night when they host the South Carolina Game Cocks at 10 pm.

Hopefully this will not be our lasting image of Matthew Stafford as the Lions quarterback, injured once again being escorted to the locker room or the trainers table by the team doctor. A report from the Lions organization today revealed that Stafford will travel down to Alabama on Monday, where he will be evaluated by Dr. James Andrews. The reason why it has taken this long for Stafford to get seen by the well known orthopaedic surgeon is because the team and doctor both wanted to wait until the swelling went down on Staffords injured shoulder. Me personally, i thing that Dr. Andrews will find some kind of structural damage in Matt's shoulder that will require season ending surgery, however this could give him time to fully heal and rehab for the rest of this season and the entire off season to hopefully be 110% healthy and ready to go next season (haven't we heard that before?). 

Goodnight from the greatest city in the world and lets keep out fingers crossed that Staffords shoulder isnt completely destroyed.

Drew in the D

Franzen nets number 100 helping the Wings get a win over the Oilers

The Red Wings made it two in a row at the Joe tonight beating the Oilers 6-2. Both Cleary and Holmstrom scored twice on the night and Johan Franzen scored his 100th goal of his career helping the Wings to the win. The Red Wings special teams were very good again tonight going 1-2 on the powerplay and killing off 2-3 penalties. Jim Howard was solid in net once again saving 23-25 shots, debuting his new mask with a 67' Shelby Mustang and white racing strips down the center of the helmet.   Once again the 4th line was a great energy line for the Wings tonight skating hard after the puck, going hard for it in the corners and just outplaying the oilers bottom lines and sometimes their top lines out on the ice. The Red Wings will welcome in their old rivals the Colorado Avalanche to the JLA on Saturday night at 7pm.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and i hope that shoulder is starting to heal Matt.

Drew in the D

Z Caps Off A Gritty Comeback Win In OT

The Red Wings had to gut out a win tonight down at the Joe Louis Arena against the Phoenix Coyotes. Danny Cleary got the scoring started in the game putting in a rebound in the first period, but the Coyotes would tie it up with 18 seconds left in the period.  During the 2nd period the Wings looked a little jet lagged from their trip to western Canada which Phoenix took full advantage of scoring and going into the 3rd period up 2-1 in the game. The Wings started to get their legs back a few minutes into the 3rd and the Coyotes started to play more defensively which in turn opened the ice up for the wings to get back into the game. Lidstrom would get a pass from Stuart and bang a seeing-eye shot past Bryzgalov to tie the game up at 2 mid way through the 3rd, which is how regulation time would end sending the game to OT. It was all Wings in the overtime period, hemming the Coyotes in their own zone. Then as a penalty was being called Ruslan Salei took a pass from Bertuzzi and sent a slap-pass to Zetterberg who was camped out in front of the Phoenix net and tapped it past Bryzgalov for the game winner. The Red Wings will enjoy the next two days off at home then get back to work on Thursday when the Oilers come to town for a 7:30 start down at the Joe.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and 24 hours later the Lions loss still stings, just like Staffords shoulder does.

Drew in the D

Lions let One Slip Away Against The Jets-Pistons Make It Two In A Row

The Pistons recorded their 2nd win of the season beating the Golden State Warriors 102-97 at the Palace. Rodney Stuckey was ready to go tonight after being kept out of the teams last game because of what most people thought was a little disagreement between coach Kuester and him. Stuck' was an assist away from a double double putting in 21 pts with 9 assists and 6 rebounds, Rip added 27 pts to help in the win. The Pistons will start there trip out west with a game in Portland against the Blazers at 10 pm on  Tuesday.

As good as it looked on Sunday it just wasn't meant to be for the Lions in the end. The Lions gave the Jets all they could handle on Sunday afternoon taking a 20-10 lead into the 4th quarter but then thats when things started to fall apart. Busted coverage in the secondary set up a 1 yard touchdown run for Jets QB Mark Sanchez making it a 3 point lead. Then on the next Lions possession disaster struck, Matt Stafford scrambled for two yards but when he was tackled he fell directly on his right shoulder and immediately walked off the field visibly in pain and would not return for the remainder of the game. With their starting quarteback on the sidelines the Lions offense stalled out and they couldn't get a first down to keep the ball out of the Jets offenses hands. Right after the 2 minute warning the Lions had a crucial 3rd down play to try and gain the first down marker and run the rest of the clock out. Now i get that Schwartz and Linehan were going for the win but how do you call a pass play in such a crucial situation, even if you dont get the first down the Jets had no more timeouts left and you could have run another 35-40 seconds off the game clock giving them the ball with only 1:20-1:30 left in the game. Instead the pass from Drew Stanton to Jerome Felton fell incomplete stopping the clock with 1:55 left and essentially setting the Jets offense up with the opportunity to march down the field to either score a game winning touchdown or tie it with a field goal. And that is exactly what they did with about 4 seconds left in regulation Mark Sanchez was able to spike the ball which then allowed the Jets to kick a 36 yard field goal to tie the game. The Jets would win the coin toss in OT and Sanchez hooked up with Santonio Holmes setting up Keith Folk to kick the game winning field goal in OT. With all of the good things that the Lions did on Sunday they still had 100 yards in penalties called against them and their franchise quarterback was injured again and on the sideline during the key moments of the game. Hopefully there isnt anything structurally wrong with Staffords right shoulder and he can just rest this week and be ready to go next Sunday. The Lions will have to learn from this game about how to win a game in the 4th quarter by getting defensive stops and holding onto the football when they have to, they will get a chance to show they have learned next Sunday when they travel to Buffalo to play the winless Bills.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and...im not even gonna say it, just take it easy this week Matt.

Drew in the D

Wings Lose A Wild One In Vancouver

The Red Wings ran out of gas in the 3rd period tonight in Vancouver and wound up on the wrong end of a 6-4 final in the last game of their road trip. Nikolas Kronwall had a good night scoring twice during the game and giving the Wings a 4-3 lead early in the 3rd, but after that it was all Vancouver. The Canucks would tie the game up at 4 shortly after Kronwalls 2nd goal and with the help of 4 straight powerplays they were able to take a 6-4 lead and kill the remainder of the clock to win the game. You could see as the 3rd period went on the Wings were starting to get out skated and out hustled by the Canucks and it resulted in untimely penalties that allowed Vancouver to take control of the game. Jim Howard was very good again tonight making 28 saves on 34 shots but couldn't stop all of Vancouvers 20+ shots in the 3rd period losing his first game in regulation ending his streak at 22. The Red Wings get a travel day tomorrow flying back to Detroit where they will play host to the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday at the JLA.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and once again congrats to Penn State headcoach Joe Paterno for becoming the only coach to win 400 games in FBS history.

Drew in the D

Congratulations Joe Paterno

A big congratulations to Penn State football coach Joe Paterno on getting his 400th win today against Northwestern in Happy Valley. One of the classiest coaches in college sports today, he always put his kids ahead of football and he did it the right way. Cheers and Congrats Jo Pa, give that man a Guinness thats bold.

Edwin Baker, Spartans Bounce Back Against The Gophers

After the beat down the Spartans were handed last Saturday by Iowa everyone was wondering how they would respond this weekend. Well how does 31-8 sound, i'd say pretty good and especially good since the running game played a large role in the win over Minnesota. Edwin Baker ran all over the Gopher defense on Saturday afternoon carrying the ball 27 times for 179 yards and 4 touchdowns, which is a career high for touchdowns in a game for him. The Spartan defense was very good today holding the Minnesota run game to 76 yards and pitching a shut out until the 4th quarter. I can't say enough about how good Edwin Baker was today, the Spartans needed their run game to get going again like it had been earlier this year and he stepped up when they needed it carrying his team to the win today. Michigan State gets what i think is a much needed bye week giving them a chance to rest and recover before they start preparing for another big game in East Lansing against Purdue on the 20th.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and congrats to Joe Pa on number 400

Drew in the D

Pistons Get Their First Of The Year-Cleary,Wings Make It Two In A Row On The Road

Daniel Cleary recorded three big points, 2 assists and an empty netter to help the Wings make it two in a row on their road trip in western Canada. The Red Wings special teams were on display again tonight  with Valtteri Filppula scoring on a 2nd period power play and the Wings killing off all 6 Oiler power plays. Abdelkader got the game going scoring early in the 1st putting in a rebound off of a Modano shot and the Wings would keep the pressure on the Oilers all night putting a puck past goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin in every period. Jim Howard is quietly becoming one of the most consistent goalies in the NHL winning his 22st consecutive game in regulation and stopping 29 of 30 shots by the Oilers and making key game saving saves on the penalty kill and in the 3rd period. One player that i have been really impressed with through the first 11 games this year (besides the "Magic Man") is Darren Helm, this kid can play some hockey he has blazing speed, soft hands and makes up in effort and heart what he might be lacking in size, there are at least 3-4 plays a game that he makes where i just find myself saying wow. The Red Wings will go back-to-back tomorrow night when they head to Rogers Center in Vancouver to play last years Hart Trophy winner, Henrik Sedin and the Canucks before returning home to play Phoneix on Monday at the Joe.

Strike up the band and get the parade ready the Pistons have won their first game of the season. Seriously though it was nice to see the Pistons close out a game that they held the lead in into the 4th quarter, beating the Bobcats 97-90. Ben Gordon led the way scoring 20 pts followed by Hamilton with 16 and Prince scoring 14. The Pistons first round pick Greg Monroe played some good minutes tonight in the win contributing 9 pts with 6 rebounds and looking pretty good under the basket on both ends of the floor. Although it took them a few tries to get it im sure this win will springboard the 'Stones season and get them back on track. Their next game is on Sunday at the Palace when they jump it up against Monte Ellis and the Golden State Warriors.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and once again congrats on breaking the seal Pistons now lets try for two in a row eh.

Drew in the D

For All Of You Who Don't Know, Chad Ochocinco Has A Pet Pigeon

Max Seibald, Cornell Laxbro+Nike Boom Commercial=SICK!!!

Abdelkader Nets His First Of The Year In Calgary Giving The Wings The Win

It was a gutsy win tonight for the Wings in Calgary that featured goal number 2 for Modano and number 1 for Abdelkader. I am guessing that Mike Modano wasn't the only one who was relieved that he was able to get his 2nd goal of the season with a wicked wrista that beat Kiprusoff high over his shoulder in the 2nd period to tie the game at 1. Modano had been in what most would call a scoring slump since he dramatically scored his first as a Red Wing in the first period of his first game in Joe Louis Arena, but anyone who sees what he does on a nightly basis out on the ice knows it wasnt for lack of effort. Justin Abdelkader played in his 2nd game of the season tonight and took advantage of a great play by Pavel "Smoov" Datsyuk (wow Pavel making a great play thats weird) beating Kiper low glove side for what would end up being the game winner. Jim Howard was flashing the pads left and right denying the flames on some great scoring chances and standing on his head late in the 3rd helping his team kill off a big 4:00 powerplay to essentially salt the game away. I'm sure the Wings have enjoyed the spare time that they have had over the past 2 and a half weeks but i am pretty certain they will be more then happy to get on a regular game schedule playing every other night these next few days on the road.

Yes yes i know i havent posted anything about the Pistons yet this season, but can you really blame me? I kid i kid, seriously though they have played so poorly especially in the 4th quarter the rest of what they have done in the games doesn't seem to matter as much. So until this team decides to get some DETermination and grind out a win this is all your getting...Loss number 5.







The Spartan hoops squad got their exhibition season started Tuesday night blowing out the SVSU Cardinals at the Breslin Center. The starters played some decent minutes with Kalin Lucas leading the way scoring 13 with 3 helpers; Draymond Green, Durrell Summers, and freshman Keith Appling finished with 12 points each on the night. It was good to see the Spartans build up a lead where coach Izzo could empty the bench and give a lot of the bench players and underclassmen some minutes on the floor to get their games going as well. The game finished 88-44 with every MSU player in uniform recording at least a point, the Spartans next opponent, Nebraska-Omaha, will come to the Bres Monday night at 7.


Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and take it easy on Charlie Villanueva KG, seriously that was just mean.

Drew in the D

For Realz Player? I'm Late For Soccer Rehearsal

Suh Is For Real And The Stafford Johnson Connection Was In Full Effect

The Lions defense, specifically the D-line played a huge role in picking up their 2nd win of the year over a winning team in the Washington Redskins. The D-line was able to sack the Washington quarterback 7 times including a huge sack fumble in the last 2 minutes which led to Ndamukong Suhs' first TD of his career when he scooped up the ball and ran it in making it 37-25 and thats how the game would end. "House of Spears" Suh had 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and the big fumble recovery for a score, and he was causing havoc along the 'Skins offensive line all day pushing linemen around and freeing up players like Cliff Avril who had a big 4th down sack late in the 4th quarter.

It was a breathe of fresh air for the Lions to have their leader back out on the field today. Not only did he look calm under fire but he was making plays left and right when he was called upon to do so. Stafford finished the day going 26/45 212 yards and 4 tds to 1 int, throwing 3 of those 4 touchdowns to his favorite target Megatron. Calvin also had a stellar day catching 9 passes for 101 yards and 3 touchdowns and giving De'angelo Hall a major headache all day beating him all over the field.

The run game was a bit of a concern again today with the "Beast" going for 44 yards and Kevin Smith gaining 51 on the ground, but the real problem was the kick coverage. Washington return man Brandon Banks returned a kick off 96 yards for a score and would have had another had it not been called back on an illegal block. Boneheaded penalties reared their ugly head for the Lions again but today they were able to over come all of the miscues and mistakes and come out of the game with a big win at Ford Field in front of the hometown fans. Now the Lions get to enjoy the win and start to prepare for the "Hard Knock" Jets who come into the D next Sunday coming off a shutout loss to the Packers at the Meadowlands.

Goodnight from the greatest sport city in the world and how 'bout them Lions!?!

Drew in the D

No National Championship In Football For MSU This Year - Ossie Pulls To Two Wins From 400

The Red Wings took care of their divisional rival Nashville 5-2 down at the Joe tonight. Pavel Datsyuk went all "En Fuego" on the Preds tonight scoring twice and working his magic all night out on the ice; Eaves, Holmstrom, and Stuart added to the scoring each scoring goals. It was nice to see Ossie come back strong tonight after being a little shaky to start off the last game only letting in two on 23 shots and looking solid on the penalty kill. With the win tonight Osgood not only got his record back to 500 at 2-2 but he draws oh so close to his 400th win at 398 wins. The Wings still had some turn over troubles but they continue to look dangerous in the offensive zone and they are killing off penalties better then any team in the league right now. The Red Wings get right back to it on Monday when they host Phoenix and Datsyuks' good friend Ilya Bryzgalov at the JLA.

Well it was fun while it lasted wasn't it? Today Michigan States dream season came to a screeching halt in Iowa City losing to the Hawkeyes 37-6. Kirk Cousins was anything but good throwing 3 big Ints and no touchdowns until the 4th quarter. The run game was no where to be found once again only gaining 31 yards on the ground and averaging 1.8 yards per carry. The defense completely reverted to their form from earlier this season, not being able to stop Iowa on any possessions when they needed to during the game and giving up big pass plays in the secondary and struggling so much so that Pat Narduzzi came down from the coachs box to the sideline. I think that SpartanSports on twitter put it the best "only thing to do now is to take a sledgehammer to the game tape and get ready for Minnesota next week". The Spartans return home next Saturday to take on the Golden Gophers and try to get back on track in the win column.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and shake it off Sparty there is always another Saturday.

Drew in the D

Coyotes Hand Wings 2nd Loss in Regulation

The Red Wings lost in regulation for only the second time this season to the Phoenix Coyotes. Osgood made an emergency start for Jim Howard, who is suffering from back spasms and Ossie was anything but his old self in the 1st. Despite letting in 3 goals in the 1st period Osgood regained his composure and the team started to play harder in front of him and he didn't allow another goal. Again the powerplay was a bit of a concern with the Wings only striking on 1 out of 6 tries. Franzen and Homer scored the goals for the Wings but the Wings just couldn't find a way to beat Bryzgalov to tie it up. Even though they lost, the Wings and their fans had reason to celebrate tonight, with Pavel Datsyuk aka the best player ive ever seen play EVER!!!! registered his 600th point assisting on Holmstroms goal. Datsyuk becomes the 9th player to score 600 points as a Red Wing. On a night when the Detroit D-men looked slow and the forwards couldn't find the back of the net Datsyuk was his normal self making the opposition look like they were wearing shoes with butter on their soles out on the ice instead of skates, turning them inside and out then back again. The Red Wings will shake the loss off and take to the JLA ice again Saturday night against the Preds.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world go see a chiropractor Jim and get that back straightened out

Drew in the D

D.Wade Just Killed LBJs New Commercial

The Magic Man Strikes Again!!-Spartans Comeback, Run Record to 8-0

Pavel "Magic Man" Datsyuk did it again, giving the Wings a 5-4 win over the Ducks down at the Joe tonight. The entire game was very entertaining with a lot of up and down action from both of the teams and (thankfully) only a few penalties to speak of. The Wings scored early in the 1st on a Zetterberg powerplay goal but the Ducks answered with Bobby Ryan scoring with only a handful of seconds left on the clock. The 2nd period was a pretty wild one with both teams scoring 2 goals each to go into the 3rd tied at 3. Teemu Selanne gave the Ducks the lead mid way through the 3rd beating Howie five-hole on a shot im sure Jim would want another try at. With a few minutes left in the game the Wings turned up the heat and Zetterberg tied the game on a redirection for the wings 3rd tip-in goal of the game and his 2nd marker of the night. Then it was "El Diablo" time, Datsyuk picked up a rebound in front of the net made a Datsyukian deke around the defender and put the puck in the net over the shoulder of the Ducks goalie to win the game.  The Red Wings can enjoy the win and the rest they will get this week and be ready to do it again on Thursday against the Coyotes back at the JLA.

Well it definitely wasn't pretty but the Spartans gutted out a win in Evanston today getting their record to 8-0 4-0 in the BigTen and setting up a showdown in Iowa City next Saturday. The game didn't start off the way the Spartans wanted it to with them being down 17-0 at half-time. But once again coach D rallied the troops and had them ready to go for the third quarter. The offense came out and moved the ball down the field and scored once in the quarter to bring it to 14-17 and set up what would be another second half comeback. Then once again the Spartans put up a big number in the 4th quarter to take their first lead of the game 28-27 and scoring 21 points in the quarter. Then it was the defenses turn to turn it on, and turn it on they did stopping North Western on 4 plays. Then Edwin Baker smashed through the Wildcats D to put Sparty up by 8, 35-27 with 1 minute left in the game. Eric Gordon would pick off a Dan Persa pass and Michigan State ran out the clock to win a thriller. Two top ten plays in the game today were B.J. Cunninghams one handed tip-to-himself catch and another fake this time a fake punt to get a key 1st down in the 4th quarter. While im sure it feels great to be undefeated this far into the season i also know that coach Dantonio has one goal this year and thats to win a share of the BigTen title if not win it out right and that starts next Saturday in Kinnick Stadium. A few side notes from the game were Kirk Cousins going 29-43 for 331 yards and 3TD and 0INT and for the second week in a row the running game was held to just over 100 yards. This game is what championship seasons are made from.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and wish me luck on my mid-term test on monday

Drew in the D

Howie Sensational Tonight in Wings Win

The Red Wings gain a solid win over the struggling Calgary Flames 4-2 tonight down at the JLA. Zetterberg and Lidstrom both netted their first goals of the season in the game on great plays from Pavel Datsyuk, who was going all "Magic Man" on the Flames tonight. Franzen kept his game winning ways going with a 3rd period goal that he banked off Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoffs' face and over his shoulder into the back of the net. Bertuzzi salted the game away roofing a wicked wrista over Kiprs' shoulder and is still leading the team in points. But the real story tonight was the outstanding play by Jim Howard who stopped 34-36 shots and basically kept his team in it for the first 20 minutes when the Flames were all over the Wings. Howie had about 5 highlight reel saves and looked especially solid in rebound control not giving Calgary any second chances that they could take advantage of. Howard looks like he is more comfortable with being this teams number 1 this year and looks like he has settled down in his crease and is seeing the puck and the rest of the ice very well now, which can only be a good thing. He is now 3-0-1 on the season with a .942 save% and a 1.69 goals against, good for top 10 in the NHL. Again the Wings came out a little flat tonight, now whether this was due to the time off between the Phoenix game and tonight or if it is a growing trend i guess we will have to wait and see. But i think we all know that Mike Babcock won't let that trend continue as long as he has something to say about it.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and welcome back Brandon Inge and congrats on your new 2 year deal with a club option for a 3rd

Drew in the D

Trade Rumors

I heard today that the Oakland Raiders may be looking to move some of their players before the trade deadline. If there is anyway that the Lions can go after cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha or outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley i think they need to throw everything they can at them. Picking up a shut down corner or a solid backer in a trade to fill some obvious holes in their defense would be critical in helping the lions to keep progressing as far as depth of talent goes. It would also allow them to focus on getting better on the O line through the draft next year which is in need of some serious help and leadership.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world

Drew in the D

Lions Drop 24th Consecutive Road Loss To The Giants

Today the Lions just couldn't get out of their own way against the New York Giants. Stupid penalties, including two critical 3rd down personal foul calls that gave the Giants a fresh set of downs and resulted in two touchdowns on those drives. I hate to complain about the refs in any sport but today it seemed like the men in stripes forgot that we need a quarterback too, not calling any roughing the passer on two plays that injured the two remaining QB's we have. Taking Shaun Hill out of the game before the half and injuring 3rd stringer Drew Stanton in the 4th quarter, which had still injured Matt Stafford running half way on the field with his helmet on until he was called back to the sidelines. Even though the Lions had a chance to tie the game up in the end they just kept shooting themselves in the foot (as usual) with bone headed penalties and turn overs at the exact time that they could not afford to give the ball up. Lions lose another on the road 28-20 to what looked like a very beatable Giants team, now they have a bye week to rest and recover and from all accounts Matt Stafford will be back at the helm of the offense against the Redskins. On a very serious note Zack Follet went down on a hit he took covering a kick off and for a little while it didnt look too good, he was put on a back board and carted off and taken to a local hospital. But reports have now come out that he has full use of his extremities and that there was no damage to his spinal cord. This is great news because Zack is not only a fan favorite but a player that showed that he can be someone that can possibly develop into one of those linebacker spots if given the chance.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and glad to hear everything is as good as it can be with you Zack we all look forward to having you back out there stacking up running backs on the goal line

Drew in the D