McShan8150's Blog

The venerable and always highly entraining and opinionated Stephen A. Smith is at it again reporting on the story in Detroit that just won’t seem to disappear.  The Tracy McGrady to Detroit band wagon won’t seem to get off the tracks.  So the question is does this story have merit, or is this simply the latest in a long line of bogus rumours that won’t go away?  Now Smith says that he’s spoken to McGrady recently and he has expressed an interest in dawning the red, white and blue for this upcoming season.  Is Tracy McGrady interested? Yes he is. I spoke to Tracy McGrady earlier. His basic thing is he's very happy in Houston but he wants to win. So whatever is a winning situation for him is something he is more than willing to entertain." Smith said McGrady "has all the faith in the world" in Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, but "if nothing happens he's not going to sneeze at remaining in Houston with Yao Ming either." While it is certainly refreshing to hear that comparable and established  NBA veterans  want to play in the city of Detroit before we all start daydreaming of the possible infusion of superstardom here in Detroit let all take a step back and examine the facts.  First and foremost McGrady can’t stay healthy he hasn’t finished a full season in five years, he has a conic history back injuries, he can’t perform consistently in the playoffs, he chokes at the first sign of controversy.  On McGrady end this deal makes immense sense for a couple of different reasons.  First and foremost McGrady won’t win in Houston with Ming who is in my opinion the biggest hyped player since sliced bread that has provided hallows results. Not to mention that with those two large contracts Houston is handcuffed finically and will be left with limited options in order to improve their chances of winning.  Also he would make the more favourable trek  back to the Eastern conference and he’ll have a better opportunity to advance in the postseason.  Also it would be less taxing physically which may reduce the opportunity for injury.  For all the reasons I’ve outlined this deal works out incredibly well on McGrady’s end.  However, if I was Detroit I wouldn’t touch McGrady with a ten foot poll.  Besides the injury history and the inconsistency in the playoffs McGrady  is north of thirty and I’m not so sure that mortgaging the core of team who is still very good but is no longer great for a player who can be classified as good but not great is really worth it.  The more and more this stalemate of no action occurs I’m tempted to believe that this team will have the same core next year.  For McGrady coming to Detroit makes all the sense in the world, but for the Pistons it makes no sense of at all.

As we all watched the Tigers waste yet another golden opportunity to draw closer to one of their divisional rivals I must pose a question to you.  Are the Tigers truly contenders or are they simply the latest in a long line of teams with a large payroll but providing substandard results?  Many of us were so desperately hoping that the Tigers would come out like gang busters after all the gigantic moves they made during the offseason.  Basically, gutting there farm system in hopes of winning now by mortgaging future by surrounding there top two prospects in both Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller to receive what was supposed to be two perennial All-Stars in return, in both Miguel Cabrera and  Edgar Renteria.  Well as we all know the high stakes investment haven’t exactly paid the huge dividends that everyone was so eagerly anticipating.  Now don’t get me wrong Cabrera does lead the team in RBI’S and he certainly pose a threat in the middle of the line-up when he’s on and he certainly provide fear to opposing pitchers and provide the Tigers with the punch it needs when the offense stagnant.  However, Cabrera’s production has been a rollercoaster, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.  When he’s on the Tigers are a force to be reckoned with but when he hits a cold spell the Tigers fall back into the middle of the pack, a place they’ve been all too often this season.  As for Renteria he was supposed to be the steady force at shortstop that would allow Carlos Guillen to play a more favourable position does to his frequent history of injury and the immense physical strain it’s imposed on his body.  Instead Renteria while he’s certainly been serviceable he hasn’t been the solid force that many have been expected.  Know while I’m certainly not fully passing the blame off onto those two men in particular because believe me there’s been plenty of blame to go around, but these two along with the colossal disaster known as Dontrelle Willis was supposed to be the pieces to put the Tigers over the top.  However, as we all know that has been the further thing from reality.  The veterans as a whole have all struggled to carry their end of the bargain on a more consistent basis.  When the hitting comes the pitching goes and vice versa. The Tigers as a team have failed to put it all together on a more consistent and steady basis and that’s problem has stunted there growth all season long.  Without the youngsters such as Matt Joyce, Jeff Larish  and Ryan Raburn  who knows where Detroit would be?  They probably wouldn’t be in the conversation and who thought we would’ve said that at the beginning of the season. Not to mention the fact that the Tigers are a merger 15-21 inside their own division.  If the Tigers are seriously planning on making a run towards the postseason they must start winning in their own division, string together some timely hitting, start to get good starting pitching on a more consistent basis, and at least split with the teams over the .500 mark they have no short of playing into October.  With the All-Star game break and the season at the halfway point and the Tigers sitting at the .500 mark and seven games behind the divisional leading White Sox it’s time for Detroit to put up or shut-up, pretender or contender we’ll have the answer to that question sooner or later and to be honest I’m not sure we’ll like the answer.   

It’s been quite the entrance for new Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez since he arrived to take over the Wolverines last December. A hiring that was both praised and criticized by many pendants, one that was supposed to bring nothing but enthusiasm and jubilation to a fan-base who have been striving for the their program to reach the 21st century. Instead at the outset it has resulted in nothing agitation and aggravation. There has been no shortage of controversy and or debate over Rodriguez’s hiring it shows no sign of halting anytime soon. Everything from prominent players leaving the program because they felt as if the principles Michigan once proudly stood on and embraced have been averted by the new Rodriguez administration. To former Michigan staples questioning where or not Rodriguez knew what it meant to be a “Michigan-Man” and the storied history that goes along with that distinct honour. To current players becoming entangled in the legal system and other Big Ten Coaches questioning the shady recruiting practices after going toe great lengths to gain and loose prized recruits, needless to say there hasn’t been any dual movements for the West Virginia native. However, perhaps the biggest Rodriguez scandal since coming to the Maze and Blue lies in the messy and awfully bitter divorce and legal saga involving Rodriguez ‘s former employer and alumatter West Virginia. As we all know by now Rodriguez and the university were myriad in an intense, ugly and often bitter legal battle involving Rodriguez’s $4 million dollar buyout clause which was traditionally inserted into his contract when he continued to extend his relationship with his hometown team. After flirting with Alabama job a year ago Rodriguez decided to forgo the opportunity to get the Tide rolling again and forever live in the shadow of Bear Bryant. Instead Rodriguez opted to remain loyal to the only school he’s ever known, pledging to remain a Mountaineer for life. Rodriguez signed a multiyear contract and we thought the Rodriguez story was over.

However, that notion was so distant from the truth. Rodriguez suddenly caught the Nick Saban bug that says you can’t stay in one place forever. After being publicly shined by a former alum and Michigan Man Less Milles and being tossed around and toyed with by Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano, Michigan needed to make a big splash to appease both the fans and boosters after such a public embarrassment. In a weird twist of faith Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin was driving through the exact very location he found current Michigan Basketball head basketball coach John Belin and he decided to go right back to the scene of the crime to snag the next man to steer the winged helmets. Four days and one hotel interview later Rich Rodriguez was the new head coach of the Wolverine’s. Rodriguez posses everything the University was seeking in its next football coach. Flare, innovation, and imagination. For Rodriguez it was a chance to lead a tradition laden program into the future, advance his own status as a head coach and to wear that “blocked M” every Saturday. It seemed like a match made in college football haven. Michigan was to get a big name that possessed a unique and uncanny ability to get the most out of what he is given and still win at a very high level. As for Rodriguez it was a chance to cash in both finically and professionally it was a chance for him to perform on the biggest of stages. It was a chance for him to flourish and show what he could do with real talent. It seems perfect for both sides. So under much fanfare and anticipation Rodriguez accepted the Michigan job and West Virginia was left in the dust. Left feeling betrayed and jilted while Michigan was elated and jubilant West Virginia decided to sue Rodriguez calming that there former native son broke him end of the deal. Some nasty bickering ensued and a back and forth legal sparing took place between Rodriguez and his burned employer. However, thanks to a most unlikely of sources the legal battle between Rodriguez and the Mountaineers appears to finally be over. It took the threat of the possibility of providing a nasty and embarrassing disposition on the part of school president Marry Sue Colman to avert what was promising to be an extended and incriminating trial, for both Rodriguez and the university. To avoid such a display of humiliation Rodriguez and the university agreed to pay the $4-million buyout, for leaving West Virginia to take the U-M job. He will pay $1.5 million, spread over three years, beginning in 2010. U-M said it will pay the balance of the sum, $2.5 million, immediately and cover Rodriguez's legal fees later. One thing to say here thank god it’s finally over and done with. Rodriguez had no legal leg to stand on and he was doing nothing more than causing him and his new employer further embarrassment. This would have certainly gotten extremely hostile and tenuous for both sides with nothing but cheap shot mudslinging going back and forth between the two parties. Rodriguez has enough on his plate like I don’t finding a starting QB then to worry about such travail thing such as a meaningless trial. Marry Sue Colman did us all a favour here by insisting this nonsense come to end now we can all move on. Michigan has bent over backwards to appease Rodriguez and his demands and now it’s time for Rodriguez to earn his money and to do his talking on the field and not through the media and through the courts. Win some games, restore dominance and most important annihilate Ohio State that’s the biggest statement Rodriguez could ever make.

As we inch closer and closer to Lions training camp now just a little over two weeks away I can’t help but wonder are we in for  yet another demoralizing, disappointing, and downright disgraceful   season by our beloved Honolua Blue and Silver, but then again can you and would you expect anything less.  Matt Millen hasn’t won more than seven games in eight years, he’s hired and or fired a total of 58 coaches both head and assistant, and I  will do the pleasure of sparing you all the countless blunders he has made  since taking over in 2001 draft or otherwise.  Now in Millen’s latest attempt to resurrect this train wreck of a franchise the new eureka I’ve got it spasm of wisdom moment  in Millen’ warped mind has come by way of changing the philosophy on offense from the pas-happy system to a run first grind it out more balanced  type of approach.  Bringing balance to this offense is something I think that we’ve all been clamouring for the last two seasons there’s no denying that. There’s just one small problem.  The Lions have no one of substance to run the ball.  Tatum Bell was retained even after a pretentious relationship with former Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz refused to defuse.  Well Martz is long gone and new Offensive Coordinator Jim Colletto wants to thoroughly commit to enhancing the quality of the running game and Bell has the chance to seize the job.  Only one problem he’s in the last year of his contract and is untested as a full-time back.  Yes I know people are going to suggest that he got 1,000 years during his time in Denver, put then I’d bring up two other arguments.  One he spilt time in Denver and was used as more as change of pace back.  Furthermore the+ “system” they run in Denver is notorious for producing 1,000 yard rushers year in and year out, therefore I wouldn’t put much stock into that.  Plus Bell has a tendency to fumble on a regular basis he recorded one last year in five with Detroit and five during his last season with Denver in thirteen games.  As for the others  buying for the job Kevin Smith is unproven but should have a chance to compete and or win the starting job, Artose Pinner returns to Detroit as most likely a third down back and Aveion Cason will only be used primarily in Special Teams situations.  So the question becomes who runs the ball in 2008?  Does Bell seize control of the job or will the rookie Smith beat him out? We’ll have to wait and see but I do know one thing.  The Lions have more questions than answers at the running back position and for a team that released there only proven commodity at the position in Kevin Jones it’s safe to say the Lions are in a world of uncertainty, as they make the transition on offense.  There is old adage in life the proclaims “be careful what you wish for and in this case the Lions may be eating the egg plastered all over there face by making the decision to release  Jones prematurely especially since they don’t have a clear-cut replacement.  But then again is anyone really surprised?  It is the Lions were talking about.