betterREDthandead

Graves is a former Wing....you totally coulda played that one off. Anyway why worry....you see how easy it is for a good-lookin' gal such as yourself to get forgiveness from us guys....you were in the doghouse for a whopping couple minutes there

Martin and Gutierrez leaving surprise me not one bit. Martin has a lot of talent but got caught in a huge logjam. Martin can be a feature back, and I think he will shine at Alabama, but Hart and Grady emerged as the Wolverines' top guys. Gutierrez is going to Idaho State where he will no doubt be a starter and tear up the Big Sky. Again, a talented guy who got stuck in a numbers game - Chad Henne will not relinquish the starting job. I don't mind the late season non-conference game. It's out of whack, but it's better than the bye Michigan would have had. I'm disappointed to not see a quality opponent on the schedule outside of Notre Dame. I think with four non-conference games, you should play two patsies and two quality opponents. Vanderbilt had a good year, but 5-6 is a good year there - in way over their heads in the SEC.

Tigers sign Mantei to minor-league contract I can see him making the big club out of spring training. A very solid addition to the bullpen if he does. Good signing here

that hit was clearly clean. It's just one of those things. The bengals will be back. They got the core of a championship team. You cant truly say that can you? Their defense was the worst of all 12 teams in the playoffs. The Pittsburgh Steelers shredded them passing the ball with our two best receivers have a combined 25 yards receiving. They got gashed all year long on defense. Their only hope was to get into shootouts and hope like hell for turnovers. They did this well, but with the rewards of winning your division come the spoils of having a difficult schedule the following season. Won't really be that much harder. Only two games on the schedule are degree-of-difficulty games.

It would never happen, St. Louis would never be convinced to take on a veteran commanding a veteran salary for someone they consider one of their few building blocks. And it would be stupid of the Wings to do that too. That's a trade that would hurt both teams immensely.

hmm. feeling a wee bit guilty. got my rafting shirt on, which I wore to the grocery store. says "In Our Raft There Will Always Be A Prayer." with some nice praying hands on the front. very religious looking. a nice old man saw it and said "God bless you son." but he didn't see the back which says "HOLY s**t!" I'm not sure God approves.

Go Denver Go Chicago Go Seattle Go Indy yep, I'm pulling for the home teams this week. nothing against the Panthers, just would be fun to see da Bears advance. nothing against the Steelers either, but Indy is the team I want to see win it all. Hate the 'Skins. and the Pats....well....it's time for them to make an exit for once. by the way, RockyMountain....you think the Brady-bashing is making you barf....how bout that "we're disrespected" comment Brady made last week? that's first-class vomit material right there. he's four years too late with that.

the music coming from downstairs sucks.

Yep. I'm hitching my wagon to the Colts this year. It's their time. Besides shouldn't you be a Chargers fan or a Cardinals fan or something?

Figured I'd drag an old one back from the dead. I didn't know about this rule. Clearly, neither did the Sun Belt officials. It's from the TMQ column on NFL.com. Watching the play again, I realize what Tyler Ecker should have done: run straight into the advancing wall of red. Either he gets tackled and the play clearly ends on an illegal note (even more clearly than it actually did, anyway) or he gets through and winds up in the end zone. Hard to see a giant wall of red advancing on you, though, and not do the instinctual thing.

go anyone but the Patriots. except the 'Skins or Bucs....no, don't like them either. and I don't even hate the Pats, but I have a buddy who is obnoxious when they win, hope they lose just to teach him a lesson in humility.

you and about 5 million people in SE Michigan.

I can't wait to go back to work Monday after a whole week and a half off. wait. yes I can. dammit.

Guillen and Zumaya, no doubt. Forget it. Shortstop is not a weakness, it's a strength. The Tigers get more bang for the buck with Guillen. Tejada's unhappy losing with the Orioles, partly because they have to compete with the Red Sox and Yankees and the insane Blue Jays - you think he'd be happy competing with the World Series champs and everyone's darlings the Indians and Twins?

Changed my mind. I said that I would like to see the Lions draft Virginia Tech CB Jimmy Williams, but upon reading of his ejection from the Gator Bowl, and subsequently reading about his thuggish behavior on the field through his Tech career; and add to that the overall classlessness of the entire Tech program (as evidenced by the inordinate number of personal fouls, unsportsmanlike conducts, behind-the-refs-back dirty plays, and the infamous Vick stomp), I no longer want Williams or any Hokie on the Lions any more. It's too bad Kevin Jones comes from that run-to-ground program. Trade up to grab D'Brickashaw, take a defensive lineman (Hali or Kiwanuka) or trade the pick away. On the brighter side, the Lions are interviewing Jim Haslett today and Gary Kubiak (Broncos defensive coordinator) tomorrow. I still want Carthon, but it's nice to see the Lions do this right for once: a number of quality candidates interviewed in as quick a time as possible.

Cashews aren't good. Cashews are GREAT.

Norsemen: there are always plenty of crossovers to South but never any to North....wonder why that is

And that's how you know Young was the greatest player by far on that field. No such guarantee or feeling of inevitability when USC had the ball. Except for two plays, Texas bottled up Reggie Bush, and on one of those, Bush made a colossal mistake. I know how USC fans must have felt when Texas took the ball over, because it's the same way I felt last year when Michigan missed that field goal. You just knew Vince was going to pull it out for Texas. Except last year, I mistook it for the usual Running QB Blues that Michigan always seems to have. Even though Michigan couldn't stop Troy Smith either, I feel a little better about that Rose Bowl loss last year, seeing that USC was equally powerless.

Congratulations to the Grosse Pointe South Blue Devils boys' swim team, winners tonight over Fraser by a score of 124-62. The team is 2-0 in dual meets, having opened the season with a victory over Ann Arbor Huron, and a 3rd place finish out of 12 at the Warrior Relays, losing only to swimming dynasties Brother Rice and Ann Arbor Pioneer.

i hate taking down Christmas lights. not only is it depressing, it's damn hard.

I ought to have clarified. Brady learned to deal with adversity and showed early on at Michigan that he could. Always confident even when fans were calling for his head. What adversity has Leinart had to deal with? As I said, people have worshipped at his altar for three years now, and he has lost just twice, and I don't think he handled the losing very well. He's nowhere near the maturity level of a Tom Brady, in my opinion. He's got all the physical tools but he's going to be shell-shocked, I think, if he goes to an awful team like the Jets and is asked to be the savior, step in and start right away. He's been surrounded by premier talent - Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Mike Williams, Steve Smith, Dwayne Jarrett - and hasn't had to bear the weight of the whole team. Maybe Joey Harrington is the most apt comparison. Cool and confident West Coast boy. I see Leinart having similar success. Bet you Leinart doesn't shine in the pros right away like he has in school. Tom Brady of course didn't either, but I would argue that as a sixth-round pick, he was never given the chance - and when he did it was instant stardom. Down the road of course, Leinart will have every opportunity to prove himself, but I don't see the Tom Brady "IT" in Leinart. I see a highly skilled quarterback who has been spoiled a bit. Brady was never spoiled.

Vick is not the comparison I'd use. Vick doesn't know how to be a quarterback. He tucks and runs if the first guy isn't open. He doesn't have any idea how to go through a progression. Young uses his feet to keep the play alive - how many times in that game did he have a wide open lane to run, and chose to let his receivers get open instead? And he still racked up 200 yards rushing. 200! The only knock on Young is his hot-potato throwing motion, and that can be fixed. Vick has been in the league for years now and still doesn't know how to play quarterback. Young has it figured out. Oh, and speaking of Vick - Leinart might have made a tasteless comment, but the classless play of the whole bowl season was made by Marcus Vick, Michael's stupid and immature younger brother. That stomp on the leg of a Louisville defender was reminiscent of the Ohio State-Wisconsin game last year. Disgusting play. So glad Marcus said no thanks to UVA and went to Blacksburg instead.

This could be fun to keep track of. How many different mock draft selections the Lions make before they actually select, or trade the pick. Here's the first one: Jay Cutler, Vanderbilt QB. ESPN Insider Mock Draft Might not work if you're not an ESPN Insider.

Well, I did think Ryan Leaf was a better pro prospect than Peyton Manning when they both came out....so it's a good thing I'm not a scout. And granted, his NFL wide receivers won't be as wide open as his guys were last night....good Lord, every time Vince threw a pass there wasn't a Trojan within 10 yards. You're not the only one who watches him throw and think "hot potato". But it comes down to this for me. USC has the ball, up by 5 and needing to run out the clock, and I'm thinking, "well, Texas could get a stop here, they absolutely have to." When they do get the stop, who hadn't watched Vince Young all night and didn't think he was going to take them right down the field and score? Leinart and Bush didn't have that air of invincibility and inevitability, despite the Heismans and despite the whole defending-champion thing. Young did. Leinart doesn't remind me of Tom Brady at all. Brady was maligned his whole career at Michigan - fans wanted Drew Henson. People have been worshiping at Leinart's altar for years now (and it showed in those post-game comments.) There's more Leaf than Brady in Matt Leinart. I'm not suggesting he'll be a bust at all, he'll no doubt have a successful NFL career. But then again, that Heisman is no guarantee of pro success. Bottom line: I'd rather have Young than Leinart. And I think Young will do great, great things - it's not as though passing mechanics can't be fixed.

Vince Young is greatness in action.