Chicken of the Sea

He was the #2 pick overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. A little more than three years later, he's a man without a team. The Detroit Lions cut wide receiver Charles Rogers today. As reported by the Associated Press, "His career in Detroit ended with just 36 receptions for 440 yards and four touchdowns along with two broken collarbones and a four-game suspension." So much potential unrealized.

Matt Millen, the team's president and CEO, must be reeling right now. He drafted Rogers and gave him a $14.2 million signing bonus. That works out to $394,444.44 per catch; or $32,272.73 per yard; or $3.55 million per touchdown. Of course, Rogers would probably break it down like this-- at approximately $150 per ounce, the signing bonus could buy nearly 95,000 ounces of marijuana.

Rogers was confident he'd make the cut. Coach Marinelli and his staff had something different in mind. Now, #80 is a man without a team; at least temporarily. To paraphrase a popular tuna commercial of old, "Sorry, Charlie. Only the hardest working receivers get to be Lions."

Oh, Good Evening!

They're Awake!

After napping through game one of the WNBA Finals, the Detroit Shock awakened and showed up for game two against the Sacramento Monarchs. While they trailed through the first three quarters, the current started flowing in the fourth and final stanza and boy were they electrifying to watch!

Detroit held Sacramento to just nine points in the fourth quarter while scoring 25 on their way to a much needed win. The final score: SAC 63 DET 73. Way to go, ladies! The series is even at 1-1. We just need to steal one in Sacramento and get home court advantage back!

Better yet-- let's win both games on the road and just come back to The Palace of Auburn Hills with the trophy!

Oh, Good Evening!

It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp!

A co-worker walked over to my desk the other day and asked if I had ever seen the movie "Hustle & Flow? " I told him that I had not and had never made viewing it a priority. I didn't think I would enjoy a movie about a pimp from the hood, taking advantage of women, selling drugs, and trying to bum rush his way onto the hip-hop rap scene. Then, my co-worker produces a copy of the DVD and says, "you should give it a look." So I did.

Much to my surprise, I thought it was pretty good. Despite the fact that I'm not much into the rap scene- particularly not the "I came from the hood, where I dealt drugs, pimped women, beat bitches down, and shot up bars, now I'm rappin' about my struggles and gettin' paid for it" rap scene- I couldn't stop watching and before I knew it, the movie was over. I even watched the behind-the-scenes features on the DVD.

Yes, I ended up enjoying "Hustle & Flow" but, I'm still shaking my head over the fact that the song, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," won an Academy Award. Is Oscar a pimp?

Oh, Good Evening!

Long Live the Rebel!

I just finished watching a replay of 36-year old Andre Agassi's second round U.S. Open match against 21-year old Marcos Baghdatis. Like his first round match, this was a late night, five-set, marathon that ended after midnight, but was well worth staying up for, obviously.

In Agassi's early career, he was very much the rebel- long hair, colorful court wear when tradition was white- but his stellar play earned him the right to do things differently. He's mellowed with age- no hair and he wears white well- and is now playing in his final U. S. Open. His final major tennis tournament ever. Agassi has announced he will retire after his Open run ends. From what we've seen in his first two matches, let hope that run goes all the way through the finals! It would be great to see Andre go out on top!

Oh, Good Evening!

Cautiously Optimistic

The 2006 NFL Pre-Season is over for the Detroit Lions. Four games; just one win. Final cuts come tomorrow, then the Lions have eight days to prepare for the regular season opener on September 10 against the defending NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks at Ford Field.

Fully understanding that the purpose of the pre-season is talent evaluation, I am cautiously optimistic that the season can turn out better than the 1-4 exhibition schedule record. There have been a few surprises offensively. Second year quarterback Dan Orlovsky has performed well enough to be in tight battle with veteran Josh McCown to backup starter Jon Kitna. Pro Bowl punt returner Eddie Drummond was given a chance to show what he can do as a receiver and he showed a lot. Veteran receiver and former Jackson State University standout Corey Bradford was impressive. On the defensive side of the ball, rookie Ernie Sims appears to be the real deal coming out of Florida State. And, it's somewhat impressive that the defense gave up no more than 20 points in any of the four games played.

My true disappointment is not in the 1-4 record- it is just pre-season, after all- it's in the fact that previous first round draft picks Charles Rodgers and Mike Williams showed me little to nothing. Rodgers came off an injury to play in last night's 13-20 loss to Buffalo and recorded just one catch for three yards. Mike Williams either didn't play or didn't catch a ball. (I have not seen the game yet, I've only read the stat sheet.) Why, over the course of the pre-season, did I not see Scottie Vines on a stat sheet with receptions? Vines, who started last season on the practice squad, ended the season as one of the most reliable pair of hands the Lions had.

The coaching staff really has a tough job to do by tomorrow. How do you decide to possibly cut a Corey Bradford or a Scottie Vines in favor of keeping a Charles Rodgers at this point? (And, how did we let David Kircus get away? He's another practice squader from last year who now plays for the Denver Broncos and he has had a huge pre-season.)

As for the point production, or lack of it so far, I'm hopeful that offensive coordinator Mike Martz wasn't showing everything and that he's saving all the good stuff for the real season, the one that counts. Detroit fans have been extremely patient with and loyal to the Lions over the years. If the team can't get to at least 8-8 this year and Matt Millen keeps his job, we'll have all the understanding we need about why the Ford Motor Company is in so much trouble-- Like father, like son.

Oh, Good Evening!