The question is will they come back. When baseball had a strike .they fell off the radar. Then luckily Sosa ,McGwire ,and Bonds started pounding home runs and slowly drew the fans back. Then a few years later, baseball turns on them. But baseball was way down and in trouble. I do not know if football in Detroit will have an easy road back. We have tolerated generations of bad management. we have built them 2 stadiums which increased the value of the team for the owners. They of course soaked it up and raised prices enormously. About 40 years ago ,my season tickets for the Lions were 35 bucks. There were less games and they didn’t stick you for exhibition games. We all know how that changed. 35 bucks back then was easily affordable. I kept my tickets for about 30 years. I went with them to the Silverdome, a stadium that was under budget and beat the construction schedule. It held 80.000 fans. The new one holds 65,000. Interesting that they would go smaller. I suppose it is creating an artificial shortage. Then they can gouge to their greedy little hearts content. But will Detroiters come back.
I blame the Tampa 2 guys. The Bucs, Rams and Bears of the '00s have had so much success tackling the ball and trying to strip to force turnovers that it’s spread across the league. That stuff only works when you have tons of team speed are gang tackling, when mediocre defenses try to do it it just leads to poor technique, weak arm tackles and lots of big plays.
Quite so. Stripping the ball is never something that should be tried in the open field without another defender goalside of you.
And guys try it too often, too. It works better when there’s more of a surprise element to it, or if the ballcarrier is Chad Ochocinco.
Fun fact: the Silverdome just got sold to a Canadian buyer for a little over a half a million dollars.
What the fuck sort of economy is it that you can buy a STADIUM for pocket change to a big company? The land and whatever copper piping they can steal from the site has to be worth several times that, right? Is the stadium still up and functional?
Yep. The stadium, and all 175 acres of land that were there in the deal (I believe it’s 175) were included.
The upkeep for the city of Pontiac was a little over a million a year.
And come on. It’s Michigan. The economy is wretched.
Note that the Silverdome was already sold once this year - to an former NAACP civil rights attorney, who turned out not to actually have the $18 million or so he agreed to pay for it.
I can’t blame the City of Pontiac for taking a real half-million over an imaginary $18 million.
Damn, I thought LOUNE was kidding.
Well, kids, I have a confession to make. This weekend I’ll be making an excursion of sizable proportions. As of about 7PM Saturday I’ll be hieing my keister north into Cheeseland to visit enemy territory, into the mouth of the beast if you will, to make the pilgrimage to Lambeau Field to watch the loathed Packers play Bears’ legend Mike Singletary’s 49ers this Sunday at Noon. It’s an interesting matchup for several reasons but you can trust that I will be donning the Orange and Blue and representing the interests of all that is good and just amidst all the Moo and Oink’s. I will not be choking down any Miller Lite. It may inhale a Bratwurst or 4 and if cheese curd are present I won’t speak of the potential ramifications. If you are tuning in and watching as the Niners defense is planting Rodgers and you hear a lonely cheer followed but the sounds of a scuffle I hope you’ll give your thoughts and prayers to your good buddy Omni.
Gotta plow through these picks in short order since I need to get a couple hours sleep before work and I’ll be offline until partway through the Bears game Sunday night. Don’t expect brilliance. 
Sunday, Nov. 22
** DETROIT 3½ Cleveland 37½ **
It was just a few weeks ago that we were talking about a crap fest involving the Rams and Lions and I was wise to pick Steven Jackson in that game. The logic there was that Jackson was the best player on the field. This week the best players on the field are on the offensive side of the ball for the Lions. It’s strengthened by the short week for the Brownies. The Browns defense is playing solid but even the Lions can stop that offense.
The Pick: Lions 20 - Browns 14
** JACKSONVILLE 9 Buffalo 43 **
Ugh, the Jags are a frigging mystery to me. The Bills replaced their head coach and IIRC recent history actually favors new head coaches in their first couple games. Still, the Jag have MJD and the Bills run defense is terrible. That’s enough for me.
The Pick: Jaguars 26 - Bills 13
** Pittsburgh 10 KANSAS CITY 40 **
The Steelers are secretly inconsistent and sloppy. But their defense is still aggressive and disruptive and the Chiefs offense has all kinds of issues. There will be penetration and the Chiefs running game is going to flounder. The loss of Bowe really won’t help anyone by Chambers’ fantasy owners.
The Pick: Steelers 24 - Chiefs 10
** Indianapolis 1½ BALTIMORE 44 **
This line is a joke. The Ravens have looked terrible lately and that victory over the Browns read like a double digit loss. There’s no excuse for this to be nearly a pick 'em against a Colts team that just took down the Pats. Easy peasey.
The Pick: Colts 30 - Ravens 20
** NY GIANTS 6½ Atlanta 46 **
I’m a bit stumped on what to make of the Giants but I think I know what the Falcons are. Ryan is fully in a sophomore slump and he really plays shaky on the road against challenging defenses. They are without Turner and he’s the engine that makes them go. I like Snelling against the Giants defense for fantasy purposes but it won’t help the scoreboard and the Falcons run defense is secretly terrible.
The Pick: Giants 23 - Falcons 17
** GREEN BAY 6½ San Francisco 42 **
I’ll be at this game and I’ll be cheering for Alex frigging Smith. Screw it, no point is rationalizing it. Thems just the facts. Hopefully I see a lot of Aaron Rodgers cleats.
The Pick: Niners 17 - Packers 16
** MINNESOTA 10½ Seattle 46 **
Blow out central. I’d love it if the Seahawks could surprise us here but it’d be a twisted bit of lunacy to argue for it’s likelihood. Is this going to be one of those AD monster games? You can be sure that the Vikes D will rack up an assload of sacks though.
The Pick: Vikings 33 - Seahawks 9
** DALLAS 11 Washington 41½ **
The fashionable pick here is to take the Redskins to cover. I won’t be suckered in. The Skins D is playing solid and the Cowboys looked pathetic in Green Bay last week but I think the pendulum swings the other way this week. The Cowboys offense will crank this week.
The Pick: Cowboys 27 - Redskins 7
** New Orleans 11 TAMPA BAY 51 **
Can the Saints cover this number or are they going to play down to their competition once again? Will the Bucs and Freeman put together another surprisingly solid performance? Can the Saints stop the run and make Freeman throw the ball?
The Pick: Saints 24 - Buccaneers 20
** Arizona 9 ST LOUIS 46½ **
Hmm. I really want to take the Rams to cover here but it just doesn’t add up. Maybe Jackson has a good day but the Rams have no WRs and the Cards will throw the ball at will without any pass rush coming in their faces.
The Pick: Cardinals 30 - Rams 16
** NEW ENGLAND 10½ NY Jets 45 **
Painful loss last week for Belishit and they’ll be looking to exact revenge on the Jets for that and the loss earlier this season. The Jets are sloppy on offense and a little undermanned but the defense is still formidable. The loss of Jenkins will cost them a playoff spot but with the shaky Pats running game may not exploit that. Revis versus Moss will be an excellent thing to watch. On paper the Jets ought to cover this but the F-you factor is too much to wager against.
The Pick: Patriots 24 - Jets 10
** Cincinnati 9½ OAKLAND 36 **
Let down game for the Bengals? I think not.
The Pick: Bengals 20 - Raiders 0
** San Diego 3 DENVER 45 **
The Broncos officially suck ass. The Chris Simms experience will make Broncos fans want to puke, the only experience that will be worse is watching a one legged Orton 2 weeks from now.
The Pick: Chargers 40 - Broncos 16
** Philadelphia 3 CHICAGO 45 **
Ugh. Ugh! This could be a serious kick in the nuts. Understand this, I’m not nearly ready to completely turn on the Bears but I couldn’t have less faith in this coaching staff and gameplan. The Eagles will blitz like mad and thus far Cutler and the protection haven’t even been in the vicinity of competent against it. Cutler has been shockingly bad in Primetime games and I’m trying to talk myself into having 2 night games in a row being a good thing. Maybe, just maybe, Cutler will have acclimated to the extra attention without having time to fatten up on the likes of the Browns and Lions. The only consolation is that the Bears defense is playing well, especially at home and the Eagles can absolutely crap the bed at any time. Screw it, you know who I’m picking but it makes me puke a little bit.
The Pick: Bears 23 - Eagles 21
Monday, Nov. 23
** HOUSTON 4½ Tennessee 48 **
Great game, shockingly. Divisional matchup and I’m a couple more big wins from starting to do that math on a potential Titans playoff run. Normally I’d be on the Texans bandwagon but this whole Chris Johnson thing is clouding my judgment. I might come back and dissect this game in more detail Monday but for now I’ll get on record just for shits and giggles.
The Pick: Titans 25 - Texans 24
Thanks again Omni, I like the analysis.
Why is this the year I decided to stop with football betting? IIRC the bets I’ve strongly liked this year have come true. Indy -1.5 looks too good to pass up. Not as great a lock as Cinci +7 or +7.5 last week, but good.
Patriots are favored by 10 points agains the Jets, who have beat them this season.
Nope.
It’s like having a foreign country right here in America. People don’t realize how bad it’s been in Michigan.
Amazing. And sad. Damn. I hope GM rebounds like a motherfucker and gets Detroit and the surrounding areas back in the black again.
The Buccaneers are going to beat the Saints. And yes, I’m sober.
Sooooooo…what else are the voices in your head telling you?
Betty Crocker will be our first female president.
That the Chiefs are going to beat the Steelers?
Then we’re back to where we were. I’d much prefer to be on the forefront of new industries and new technology. We Michiganders put our eggs in one basket too many times.
But yeah, if you haven’t seen it, the Ruins of Detroit. Man, there are some beautiful buildings that are burned out, in disrepair, or just neglected. It’s heartbreaking.
The problem is that the unbroken eggs are still in that basket. If the auto industry continues to collapse under its own weight it will be even worse before it gets better.