TSDMike | April 30, 2009

Yesterday a reader, ‘Dick Butkiss’, wrote in a comment:

“One thing that not many people discuss is exactly what the Lions measurement of success is. To the fans, it’s winning, and failing that, at least provide an exciting product (as in the Barry Sander’s days). To the ownership, it’s got to be the bottom line. They are making money, so maybe to them, they are a successful franchise.”

I think the Detroit Lions are one of only a very select few NFL franchises whose on field performance and win-loss record has very little effect on the bottom line. Other than the Cleveland Browns, The Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets, I don’t think there are many teams whose fans are content to support a perpetual loser. This is a byproduct of the NFL business model.

Category: NFL | Comments Off
Tags: barry sanders, detroit lions, detroit pistons, detroit tigers, football, matt millen, nfl franchise, william clay ford

TSDMike | April 29, 2009

The last line of Rob Deer’s Wikipedia Entry really struck me funny:

Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Source: si.cnn.com

Robert George Deer (born September 29, 1960 in Orange, California) is a former U.S. baseball player. He attended Canyon High School in Anaheim and Fresno City College, and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 4th round of the 1978 amateur draft.

Deer is famous for hitting the game-tying home run on Easter Sunday in 1987,[1] to give the Milwaukee Brewers their 12th straight win to start the season.[2] The home run was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.[3][4] He also carries the dubious honor of having the lowest official batting average while still qualifying for the batting title when he batted .179 in 1991. He is the only player since 1910 to have a batting average less than .220 in at least 400 at-bats in at least four seasons.

A notorious free swinger, Deer held the American League record for strikeouts in a season (186 strikeouts in 1987) until being passed by Jack Cust in 2008, and had at least 140 strikeouts on seven occasions.[5]

Deer currently serves as a roving hitting instructor for the San Diego Padres minor league system.

Category: MLB | 5 Comments »
Tags: Baseball, milwaukee brewers, MLB, rob deer, strikeouts, wikipedia

Bob Smash | April 28, 2009

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a man caught between worlds. He is adored by millions of fans, not only because of his father but because of his own accomplishments. He is not Jimmy Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, or his dad, [...]

Category: NASCAR | 9 Comments »
Tags: 88, Dale, Earnhardt, Eury, Junior

TSDMike | April 27, 2009

I’ve been a pretty loyal fan of the Detroit Lions for about the past 18 years or so. I grew up watching them achieve mediocrity year after year, with the exception of 1991 – when they were clearly the second best team in the NFL behind the Washington Redskins. I’ve seen them squander the amazing opportunities that having Barry Sanders in the backfield afforded them until he got fed up and retired. I don’t know that any team in professional sports has failed to capitalize on such a commodity as the Lions did by their inability to build a team around the greatest running back to ever play the game.

Since Sanders’ retirement, we’ve watched the Lions go from an average performing franchise to the absolute worst decade of futility in the history of the league, or any other league for that matter.

And yet I’ve had faith. I’ve had faith that the organization would be able to build a winner through the draft and through free agency over the years. But now I am done.

Category: NFL | 9 Comments »
Tags: barry sanders, detroit lions, draft picks, head coach, Martin Mayhew, matt millen, matthew stafford, mike martz, nfl draft, nfl franchise, scott lineham, tennessee titans

TSDMike | April 23, 2009

It appears that the Lions are more concerned with the money it will cost them rather than WHO WILL ACTUALLY HELP THE TEAM MORE.

Category: NFL | Comments Off
Tags: aaron curry, detroit lions, Martin Mayhew, matthew stafford, nfl draft

TSDMike | April 22, 2009

Gary Sheffield’s 500th home run of his career also happened to be the first one with his new team, the New York Mets. This is apparently the first time this coincidence has occurred. What’s so noteworthy about this?

Category: MLB, Other/General Commentary | Comments Off
Tags: 500 home run club, 500th home run, Baseball, commentary, gary sheffield, major league baseball, mark mcgwire, new york mets, obscure data, sammy sosa, sportscenter, stats

TSDMike | April 22, 2009

As Lions fans, we’ve become conditioned to anticipate major disappointment within 60 minutes of the start of the NFL draft, as the Honolulu Blue and Silver will have certainly have long since made their dreadful choice.

Category: NFL | 8 Comments »
Tags: aaron curry, detroit lions, draft picks, matthew stafford, michael vick, michael vick jersey, nfl draft