Naughty & Nice

Santa's not the only one who makes a list, checks it twice to see who's been naughty or nice in sports this year.

Here's who should have coal or get something extra nice in their stocking.

Naughty: Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh.

The man can't coach the Wolverines out of a paper bag. 

How many more dismal seasons do Wolverine fans have to put up with. 

Nobody will ever replace Bo Schembechler, but the Wolverines can't keep losing the way they do.

Nice: MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo.

He's one of the decent coaches in college basketball and is automatically on the nice list.

Naughty: Fla. Govenor Ron DeSantis. 

Governor DeSantis wanted to restart the WWE and ignore his own stay at home orders during the pandemic.

He put millions of Floridans at risk by reducing restrictions and opening his state up too early.

Nice: Sheila Ford Hamp. 

Sheila did right by Lions fans by firing head coach Matt Patricia & general manager Bob Quinn after a disastrous Lions Thanksgiving game and 2 dismal seasons under their watch.

Let's hope she hires somebody who knows what they're doing.

Naughty: the LA. Dogers for allowing 3rd. baseman Justin Turner to participate in the World Series when he was infected with Covid.

They put many of his teammates at risk by allowing him to participate if he was infected.

Nice: the MLB for acknowledging the accomplishments of African Americans who participated in the Negro leagues.

Naughty: team owners of leagues who wanted to restart their seasons during the pandemic. 

Yes, many wanted to watch sports again, but are they doing enough to keep athletes safe.

Nice: the IOC (International Olympic  Committee) who decided to postpone the Summer Olympics because of the pandemic. 

So many countries are afftected by this pandemic. 

Naughty: the NFL.

The NFL still haven't given quarterback Colin Kaepernick a chance after taking a knee to protest for civil rights.

Nice: Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick took a knee to protest against police brutality & was instrumental in starting a national dialogue about the issue. 

Naughty: the Detroit Lions

How many more losses do Detroiters have to put up with.

Even though Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia have been fired last month, the team just can't get their act together and win games.

Hope they find someone who knows what they're doing to move the team forward.

Here Go We Again: Lions Fire Another Coach

Good news, Lions didn't play this week. 

Bad news, the Lions lost their game on Thanksgiving.

They also fired their head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn last week.

Here we go again, the Lions can't get their act together and win games.

 While some see the firings as a step in the right direction, some are wondering what took so long for thr move to be made.

Was firing them a good move or are there deeper problems in the Lions organization.

Players, coaches, team presidents, and their assistants have come and gone from the Lions.

The Lions have never made it beyond the NFC Conference Championship. 

After the 2008 historic season where the team went 0 - 16, a new head coach, team president and general manager were named.

Some improvements were made and the Lions reached the playoffs a couple of times. 

Since then the Lions haven't won a playoff game. 

Even with changes at the helm made, will the Lions be a sucessful team or are we cursed by the football gods?

If I had the answers, I'd be running the Lions and winning championships.

I can only give observations, opinions.

First: hire an experienced team president, who knows how to build a team and has a winning record to prove it.

Second, hire coaches who have had coaching experiences.

Third, get good players. 

Detroit needs good offensive and defensive players.

Fourth: The team needs better group dynamics.

Group cohesiveness plays a large part in the way a team operates. 

Great teams look after each other.

 We can never go back to being a losing team again.

We fans are tired of having our playoff hopes dashed and disappointed.

Let's hope the Lions can finally start get their act together and start winning games again.

  

Dogers Strike Out On Covid Crisis

The Dogers ought to be ashamed of themselves.

 

For those who weren't aware, the Dogers this week won the 2020 World Series.

The baseball season was abbreviated because of the Covid virus.

The virus claimed over 230,000+ lives of our fellow Americans.

The Dogers allowed their 3rd baseman Justin Turner to play after after being tested for Covid.

What the Dogers did is not only selfish, but irresponsible too.

What if there's a second wave & it's much worse than the one were are in now.

 Is it worth putting others at risk, nope it's not.

They pulled him out of the game earlier that day Why couldn't they have kept him out the game.  

Why did they allow to take a group photo with the team?

Yes, it was a wonderful moment for him to win a World Series.

But the Dogers should have done a better job of being prepared for this.

What if his fellow teamates or his family got infected. 

The Covid crisis is not going to go away anytime soon.

Baseball needs to do a better job of keeping their players safe.

MLB, NBA Foul Out During Covid Crisis

The MLB, NBA leagues ought to be ashamed of themselves.

The leauges want their season to resume, despite Covid 19 cases increasing.

Baseball is getting ready to open the season in a couple of weeks, the NBA is gearing up too.

Several sports teams, leagues, schools cancelled their seasons after many governors issued stay at home orders.

The stay-at-home orders were put in place to combat the spread of the covid-19 virus.

What the leagues are doing is not only selfish, but irresponsible too.

There’s a reason why there’s stay home orders, many practicing social distancing. 

This virus is affecting 3,000,000 prople and claimed over 100,000+ of our fellow Americans lives.

We all want to get back to work, see our economy strong again.

 We all want to venture out to be with loved ones and watch sports together again.

We all want to get back to being somewhat normal, but not right now.

 What if one of the players, one of their family members or team staff has the virus, what then?

What if athletes are screened but wind up being asymptomatic?

Are leagues going to do testing for everybody?

How are they going to keep everybody safe?

How is that going to affect teams in the future? 

What if there’s a second wave & it’s much worse than the one were are in now.

 Is it worth putting others at risk, nope it’s not.

They canceled: Wimbledon, the Belle Grand Prix, Stanley Cup finals, the Kentucky Derby until September, the Olympics until 2021.

Why can’t they cancel the baseball season.

 Keep everybody safe, cancel the damn season!

Someday everything will be open again, many will gather together and root for their team.

Until then, wash your hands, wear a mask, stay home when you can, and be safe all.

 

Join The Team to Tackle Hunger

When most of us are hungry, we can go to our refrigerators or order takeout.

Some Americans can't do that.

1 in 6 Americans are facing hunger or can't afford even basic needs.

Today's World Hunger Day.

On the side of the page under Pay It Forward, there are links to food banks and organizations that want to strike out hunger, poverty.

Be an all star, donate if you can.

Nobody should ever go hungry!

Note To Ron DeSantis: Stay At Home Saves Lives

Ron DeSantis ought to be ashamed of himself.

The Republican Florida governor wanted the WWE to resume despite his state being under his month long state home order.

 The stay-at-home order was put in place to combat the covid-19 virus.

The governor wanted the WWE to resume taping without an audience. He claimed they're an essential business.

He also opened the beaches back up too on Friday.

What he's doing is not only selfish, but irresponsible too.

There's a reason why there's stay home orders and many practicing social distance. 

This virus is affecting millions of people including his fellow Floridians.

We all have cabin fever and want to venture out.

We all want our country to get back to work, our economy strong again.

 We all want to be with loved ones and watch sports again.

We all want to get back to being somewhat normal, but not right now.

 What if one of the wrestlers, one of their family members or the camera crew has the virus, what then. 

How is that going to affect the WWE organization?

 Is it worth putting others at risk, no it's not.

Soon everything will be open again and many will gather together and root for their favorite athletes.

Until then, wash your hands, stay home and be safe all.

Farewell Mr. Tiger

Prayers, thoughts, peace sent to the family, friends, former teammates, fans of Tiger great Al Kaline.

Al nicknamed Mr. Tiger, left us on April 6th, 2020 from undisclosed causes.

Al played for the Tigers as a right fielder from 1953 - 1974 and was part of the World Series winning team in 1968.

He remained with the organization until his passing.

Al will be dearly missed.

Stadium Staff Are Heroes Too

Didn't Thomas Paine once say "these are the times that try men's souls". 

240 + years later, it very much holds true.

It's been a wing dinger of a March 2020 in the United States.

Not only is our country dealing with a presidential primary, now we have to deal with a devastating crisis called the Corona 19 virus. 

Across the 50 states, in several countries around the world, events are cancelled. 

Thousands have been infected, some have lost lives.

Across the country, schools, offices, restaurants, bars, stores, businesses, arenas, stadiums are closed or have reduced hours of operations.

 Millions of workers are without a paycheck during the next few weeks.

That includes sports arena staff.

March is usually a very busy time for sports.

Whether it's the NCAA March Madness, the playoffs, spring training, the Masters Tournament, Opening day of the MLB, or the NFL draft, there's always something for the fan to be excited about.

This year instead of fans gathered around watching the games, stadiums are silent. 

Social distancing, empty arenas, bars that once were filled with fans have become the new normal.

It takes a village to run a stadium. 

Whether it's somebody who's working security, concessions, custodians, office workers, management, team personnel, etc.., they're all fellow human beings who are doing their jobs. 

They have families to feed and need to be paid. 

Some team owners such as the Ilitch family and Mark Cuban are generously paying the arena staff even though the games have been cancelled. 

Some NBA players have helped arena workers too.

It would be so wonderful to see more team owners or the commissioners of the NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL, NCAA step up to the plate and follow their examples.

Even if they don't pay arena staff for lost wages, they should have something in place to compensate for them.

What about starting a fund or having assistance to help the families? 

Hopefully the virus will run its course and end.

But the economic repercussions of what the country is going through will take time to recover from.

Then once again, we fans will root for our teams and fill stadiums.

Prayers For Kobe Bryant

Prayers, thoughts, peace sent to the family, friends, former teammates, fans of basketball great Kobe Bryant.

Bryant, who played for the Lakers left us too soon when he along with his daughter perished during a helicopter crash in California on Sunday.

The five-time NBA champ played for the Lakers for his entire 20 year career.

He also earned gold medals playing for the USA Olympic men's basketball team and recently won an Oscar. 

Kobe will be dearly missed.

Sports Heaven Just Got Busier

Sports Heaven just got more crowded this week. 

Prayers, thoughts, peace for the families of George Perles, David Stern, Don Larsen, Sam Wyche.

David Stern, a former NBA Commissioner passed away on New Year's Day. He was 77.

Wyche, who was once head coach of the Bengals left us on Jan. 2nd. He was 74.

Larsen, the only man who throw a no hitter during a world Series also left us on Jan 1st. Larsen was 90.

George Perles is the latest person to have left us on Jan 7th. 

George was a once head coach of the Spartans, athletic director and a MSU trustee. Perles was 85.

Each man left their mark in sports and will be dearly missed.