You may have noticed I create a ton of internet content by my involvement with my own site, TWFE, along with Bless You Boys, The Bless You Boys Podcast and The Knee Jerks Podcast. Which is why the ongoing push by Congress to enact SOPA (Stop Internet Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) legislation scares the bejebus out of me.

Is piracy a problem? Yes, but a small one.

My writing has been used without my permission in the past, and will be in the future. It’s the price of doing business on the internet. But I don’t think I’ve lost much, if any, revenue from it. I think of it this way. The more my content gets in front of people, the more readers and listeners I ultimately get.

All of which is why I’m not convinced by the likes of the MPAA and RIAA and their ridiculous claims piracy has cost them untold billions upon billions in revenue. My guess is they pull these numbers out of their asses in order to protect what are obviously outmoded business models. You give people what they want, at a reasonable price, and make it easy to get…they’ll buy it.

SOPA and PIPA are what early 20th century buggy manufacturers would have wanted to stop the proliferation of the automobile. It’s simple. If you don’t move forward, refuse to innovate, it’s not the pirate’s fault if you die.

Using SOPA and PIPA to stop online piracy is the equivalent of using a chainsaw when a small scalpel would be appropriate. Chainsaw, Hell. It’s the nuclear option. It’s an Atomic bomb when it comes to the internet and world wide web. And the vast majority of career politicians who have no idea of how the web works (or even what it is) are more than happy to set the detonator…which will be pushed by big corporations, to their immense benefit.

There are already laws in effect to handle copyright infringement. The most well known being the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which also has major issues, but is actually the lesser of evils). At least the DMCA doesn’t dodge a little thing called due process, which SOPA and PIPA will completely ignore.

We need to stop big media from writing clueless legislation which will destroy the world wide web. Contact your Congress critters and tell them to make themselves useful by creating legislation to help with the deficit/jobs/economy/health care/foreign policy/name your cause, anything other than kowtowing to big corporations trying to protect their 1950′s business model.

For more information on the evils of SOPA and PIPA, check out the following links: Wikipedia, Google, Ars Technica, Reddit.

They will give all the information you need as to the evil of SOPA/PIPA and links on how to contact your reps in DC. You’ll be glad you did.

But, truth be known, from the Saints‘ inaugural season in 1967 to as recently as the end of the 2005 campaign, New Orleans actually owned the third-lowest winning percentage in the NFL. At .403, they trailed only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at .392 (established in 1976, 9 years after the Saints) and the Houston Texans at .281, who had been in existence for only four years, with the worst all-time winning percentages at that time.

The Detroit Lions originally began their existence in professional football as the Portsmouth Spartans based out of Portsmouth, Ohio in 1929 as an independent professional team. They were one of many such organizations in the Ohio and Scioto River valleys back in those early days of professional American sports. In 1930, however, the Spartans formally joined the NFL as other area independent teams folded because of the Great Depression. The Spartans were unable to survive in Portsmouth, then the NFL‘s smallest city, despite their initial successes within the framework of the NFL. The team was sold, moved to Detroit and was renamed the Lions for the 1934 season. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Lions of late represent the modern day mediocrity that the Saints used to lay almost sole claim to in the NFL, prior to New Orleans‘ first playoff win in 2000 that is. Since the Detroit Lions‘ initial induction into the league in 1934, although they won a total of 4 “NFL Championships”, the last of which was in 1957, they remain to this day one of 14 teams never to win a Super Bowl Championship and one of only 4 teams never to even play in one. For those who did not know, the first Super Bowl was held in January, 1967. Championships prior to that were not Super Bowls. Detroit also holds the NFL record for “Most Losses, Season / Longest Losing Streak in a Season” with 16 during the entire 2008 season.

In terms of this particular matchup between the 10-6 Detroit Lions and the 13-3 New Orleans Saints, to be played out on Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 7:00 PM Central Time in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, both teams are functioning at a particularly high level.

The Saints are winners of their last 8 games in a row, owners of the best current winning streak in the NFC and tied with the New England Patriots for the longest winning streak in the NFL this season, as well as 8-0 at home in 2011/12. Meanwhile, Detroit has won 4 of their last 5 games, dropping only their week 17 meeting with the Packers in Green Bay after securing their first playoff berth since 1999 in week 16 with a victory over the San Diego Chargers.

New Orleans is favored by as high as 10.5 points over the Lions, but Detroit must not be overlooked due to their explosiveness in the passing game behind the leadership of 3rd year quarterback Matthew Stafford, the third of three quarterbacks to pass for over 5,000 yards this season, and their uncanny ability to come from behind and win games.

Detroit is also healthier as a team than they were when these two squads butted helmets in week 13 of the regular season. Star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was serving the first of a two game suspension for his indiscretions during the Lions‘ game against the Packers in Detroit a week earlier when these two teams first encountered each other in 2011, but he will be full go this time around in the Wild Card weekend of the playoffs. With a much more complete compliment of defensive linemen, the Lions should present a much stiffer challenge to New Orleans in the Superdome this Saturday night.

Rewind a full year to this same time in 2011 when the Saints were heavily favored to win in the Wild Card round of the 2011 NFL playoffs over the hosting 7-9 Seattle Seahawks, and this latest rendition of the team from the Big Easy is in much better shape in the running game for the 2012 playoffs. Lat year, both Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory went on IR prior to that meeting with the Seahawks in the playoffs and then both Reggie Bush and Julius Jones fell victim to injuries in the game that sat them on the bench early. New Orleans limped through the rest of that contest with only one healthy RB in FB Heath Evans. Despite the team’s movement of Mark Ingram to the Injured Reserve list just this week this year, the Saints still have 3 perfectly healthy and well-performing running backs with Darren Sproles, Thomas and Ivory moving ahead to this meeting with the Lions.

By this season’s end, the Saints were tied for 4th in rushing with 4.9 yards per carry and 6th in the league with a 132.9 yard per game average. As far as overall offense, New Orleans led the NFL this season.

To the contrary, though the Lions owned the 5th best ranked overall offense in the NFL during the regular season this year, their running game was ranked 4th from worst in the league.

Defensively, the two teams appear at first glance to be a lot more evenly matched with the Lions being ranked 23rd and New Orleans at 24th overall. While both teams do give up their share of yards to opposing offenses, if you break it down into points per game allowed by each defense, they begin to separate themselves quite a bit more. The Saints rank 13th in points allowed with 21.2 per game while Detroit ranks 23rd with 24.2 ppg.

All in all, the overall success of the passing games could be the final determinant in this matchup if it does come down to a shoot-out. In such a situation, I would have to give the edge to the current recipient of the Offensive Player of the Month award in Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints offense. Home field advantage will also be a huge factor that will allow the host team to prevail in the end.

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Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Opening Statement from HC Sean Payton:

There’s no injury report today so here’s just our roster transactions. We signed G Eric Olsen from the Redskins practice squad. He’ll be in number 70, so he goes to our active roster. We placed RB Mark Ingram (28) on Reserve/Injured with his toe. We signed LB Nate Bussey (59) to our active roster and placed LB Will Herring (54) on Reserve/Injured. From a practice squad standpoint, we signed WR Andy Tanner and LB Derry Beckwith, who replaces Nate Bussey‘s spot on the practice squad and then released QB Sean Canfield. Today was a little bit lighter just with the short week. We’ll kind of get back to a little bit more of a normal routine tomorrow.

Lions at Saints Wednesday Injury Report – January 5th, 2012:

Detroit Lions:

Did not participate: WR Calvin Johnson (Achilles)

Limited participation: CB Aaron Berry (shoulder), S Louis Delmas (knee), DT Nick Fairley (foot), S Chris Harris (back), CB Chris Houston (hand, knee), CB Alphonso Smith (foot), RB Kevin Smith (ankle, knee)

Full participation: DE Cliff Avril (back), DT Corey Williams (hip), DE Willie Young (ankle)

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New Orleans Saints:

Did not participate: LB Jonathan Casillas 52 (knee), TE John Gilmore 89 (toe), WR Lance Moore 16 (hamstring)

Limited participation: LB Jonathan Vilma 51 (knee)

Full participation: S Jonathan Amaya 40 (shoulder), S Malcolm Jenkins 27 (neck), WR Robert Meachem 17 (knee)

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My personal prediction for this meeting between the North and the South is that the Southern team will defend its Dome with the help of the local fanbase along with a ground/air attack combination resulting in a 41-24 New Orleans Saints victory over the Lions from Detroit.

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Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson was named to his second Pro Bowl (surprise!) this year, after having a spectacular season.  Many point to Johnson as the best wideout in the league and he should get MVP consideration.

Sadly, Johnson is the only Lion who will represent the team in Honolulu.  Leading the snubs is quarterback Matthew Stafford.  Instead of Stafford, Giants quarterback Eli Manning will make the trip to Hawaii.

I’ll let the numbers talk for me here, although it should be noted that Stafford’s team has a better record and has clinched a playoff spot already.

Stafford (10-5)

385/604 (63.7%) 4,518 yards  36tds  14int  96.6 rating

Manning (8-7)

335/556 (60.3%) 4,587 yards  26tds  16int  90.3 rating

So Manning has thrown for 70 more yards than Stafford and that’s it.  Stafford has him by ten touchdowns, has completed a higher percentage of his passes, AND has a non-existent running game, yet Eli gets the bid.  Typical New-Yorkers-first if you ask me because Stafford clearly is the more deserving quarterback.

The real story here is that Manning can’t seem to win without starting running back Ahmad Bradshaw.  With Bradshaw, the G-men are 7-3 this year.  Without him, 1-3.  Stafford has proven he can win games with or without a running game (5-5 without Jahvid Best this season).

But the questions don’t end there.  What about the Lions defense that has been so dynamic this year?  They must have a Pro Bowler or two right?  Wrong.  The Lions defense that has forced 36 turnovers and scored seven touchdowns got snuffed from Honolulu altogether.

The biggest problem that I have is that the Cowboys’ Jay Ratliff made the squad instead of Ndamukong Suh.  Suh is clearly the better player, but undoubtedly will miss out due to his suspension.

Cliff Avril has also had a Pro Bowl season, recording 11.0 sacks, forcing six fumbles, and scoring two touchdowns.  Avril has turned into a dynamic force this year and is the Lions best

What do I have to do to get some Pro Bowl love?

pass rusher.  I would have more of a problem with this if the three guys selected weren’t so good.  Jason Babin of the Eagles has 18.0 sacks this year, Minnesota’s Jared Allen has 18.5 sacks as well as four forced fumbles, and the Giants’ Jason Pierre-Paul may be the Defensive Player of the Year with 81 tackles and 15.5 sacks.  Nonetheless, Avril has had a whopper of a year, and I am certain he was in the Pro Bowl conversation.

Chris Houston was also left off the NFC’s roster in 2011, which didn’t surprise me in the least.  Houston seems to be overlooked this year, and the Pro Bowl roster proves that.  Charles Woodson and Carlos Rodgers are the starting corners for the NFC team, and deservedly so.  Woodson makes it somewhat on reputation, but has been good again this year.  Rodgers has emerged as one of the league’s best corners and deserves a spot on the roster.  However, the third corner is Chicago’s Charles Tillman, and that one I have beef with.  Tillman has had a good career, but has slowed down this year and Houston is a more deserving player.  Tillman has just two interceptions this year to Houston’s five.

Pro Bowl?  Who cares.  The Lions will be playing in the Superbowl anyway.

Detroit Lions shorted for Pro Bowl
isportsweb

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(PhatzRadio / USA Today) — There has been do doubt among baseball followers for some time that Justin Verlander would win this year’s AL Cy Young Award. The question remains whether his magnificent season will earn him MVP honors as well.

That won’t be answered until Monday, but for now Verlander will happily settle for claiming the first Cy Young of his career – and in unanimous fashion to boot.

The Detroit Tigers ace received all 28 first-place votes in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers Association of America for the maximum 196 points.

The Los Angeles Angels’ Jered Weaver finished second with 97 points and the Tampa Bay Rays’ James Shields was third with 66.

“It means a lot,” Verlander said. “There haven’t been too many people who have gotten unanimous decisions, the last one being Johan.”

Johan Santana, then with the Minnesota Twins, won the last of his two unanimous Cy Youngs in 2006. Verlander’s unanimous victory is the ninth in AL history.

Verlander blew away the competition by winning pitching’s Triple Crown, leading the league in victories with a 24-5 record, ERA at 2.40 and strikeouts with 250. Verlander also pitched the most innings (251) and finished with the best WHIP – walks plus hits per innings pitched – at 0.92.

On top of becoming baseball’s 12th Triple Crown winner in the last 50 years, Verlander threw his second career no-hitter on May 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays – only a walk kept him from a perfect game – and took two other no-hit bids into the eighth inning.

The no-hitter set him on course for the best season of his life.

“I had a different feeling in that game. I just felt very calm and relaxed,” Verlander said. “And I remember thinking, ‘Let’s try to carry this over for the rest of the season, because it’s working pretty good for me right now.”’

His mind-set changed from there on, to where he relied less on overpowering hitters, especially early in games, and more on offsetting their timing.

Verlander, 28, has been a dominant pitcher since his Rookie of the Year season in 2006, winning at least 17 games every season except 2008 and leading the league in wins, innings and strikeouts in 2009.

But he mastered the art of pitching this season while retaining the ability to throw the ball past hitters, who managed a league-low .192 batting average against him. Verlander’s 174 hits allowed and 57 walks given up were both career bests, and his ERA was more than a run lower than his career standard (3.54).

It wasn’t rare for Verlander to throw his fastball in the low 90s early in the game, then crank it up to 100 mph when he needed it later. He reached triple digits against his final batter in completing the May no-hitter.

“I felt like I evolved into a much better pitcher this year,” he said. “That comes from slowing down and pitching to contact.”

Verlander became the third Tigers pitcher to win the Cy Young – Denny McLain did it twice, unanimously in 1968 and sharing it with Mike Cuellar in ’69 – and there might be a bit of good karma for him in that fact.

Both McLain in ’68 and closer Willie Hernandez in 1984 earned the Cy Young and the MVP on the same year. However, no starter in either league has been named MVP since Rogers Clemens in 1986, reflecting an increasing belief among voters that only in the most exceptional of circumstances are pitchers legitimate candidates for the MVP.

Even Tigers manager Jim Leyland supported that notion, although his conviction wavered as Verlander’s exploits mounted over the season and he led Detroit to the AL Central championship.

Verlander said part of his case for the MVP is based on the huge impact he can have on the games he starts, but regardless of the outcome of that vote, he appreciated the award he had earned.

“If you had told at the beginning of the year that I was going to be a shoo-in for the Cy Young, I would have been absolutely ecstatic and amazed,” he said. “I never even could have thought about the MVP until it came into the picture.”

Tigers’ Justin Verlander wins AL Cy Young unanimously is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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1. Detroit Tigers Playoff Run – I had a blast following the Tigers bid for the World Series. Although they fell a bit short, it was a great season and the Tigers have a promising future. The rotation remains a strength and if they can get consistency from Rick Porcello and find a reliable fifth starter (Jacob Turner?) then I think they’ll compete again. As far as second base, not much to pick from out there, but maybe a platoon involving Ramon Santiago will make due! I’ll miss Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez, but both will be remembered for having great Tiger careers.

2. Tony La Russa – As much as I love Sparky Anderson, I have to say Tony La Russa is the best baseball manager of my lifetime. All he’s done is win, in the era of free agency no less, and then changed the way the bullpen is managed to create favorable matchups. Congratulations to Tony La Russa and the Cardinals!

3. NBA Lockout – I know I’m not the only NBA fan who just doesn’t seem to care they aren’t playing right now? or actually, if they ever do again? I don’t know how to explain it, but the NBA just doesn’t really excite me much anymore.

4. Michigan/Michigan State Football – Two strong seasons so far on the gridiron and it’s looking like two warm weather bowl games for both the Wolverines and Spartans. I think both teams still have alot to work on, but I like where both programs are. MSU is maintaining a high level and Michigan is almost back!

5. Diet Time – Started the old diet again (Weight Watchers, yeah!) and now just need to come up with a good workout program!

If you want to let the me know what you think, you can always send me an email at leelanausportsguy@sportspig.com or post a comment!

There is no love lost between Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz after the Detroit Lions battled the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday at Ford Field.  The game was extremely physical and featured a lot of bad blood between both teams until the 49ers won it on a fourth-and-goal touchdown catch by Delanie Walker.

But the bigger skirmish actually happened after the game, between the teams’ respective head coaches.  Overwhelmed with excitement, a jumping Harbaugh gave Schwartz a firm handshake followed by an aggressive pat on the back and continued celebrating.  This enraged Schwartz, who chased Harbaugh 40 yards down the field, ensuing a scuffle between both teams.

Harbaugh is extremely emotional and leads with a boyhood enthusiasm that commands the respect of his players.  He is a former quarterback who coaches as if he is still on the field playing.  But sometimes his emotions have gotten the best of him.  Just ask Seattle Seahawks coach, Pete Carroll, who once had a heated face- to-face confrontation with Harbaugh when Carroll was coaching USC and Harbaugh was coaching Stanford.  In the 49ers post-game press conference, Harbaugh admitted he was too fired up and shook Schwartz’s hand harder than necessary.

Schwartz is every bit as intense and competitive as Harbaugh.  His aggressive behavior toward Harbaugh only confirms why his players love battling for him – his relentless passion to win.  Like Harbaugh, he has also shown an inability to keep his emotions in check.  During a game against the Dallas Cowboys, he taunted Cowboys wide receiver, Dez Bryant after his catch was overturned by instant replay.  While Schwartz initially accused Harbaugh of breaking a coaching protocol, he later acknowledged that the competitiveness should be left to the players on the field. 

Both coaches deserve blame for Sunday’s ugly incident.  Harbaugh failed to separate the distinction between acting like a coach instead of a player.  Beating an undefeated team on the road is certainly a reason to celebrate.  But regardless of the magnitude of victory, he broke an unwritten rule by failing to properly greet Schwartz and shake his hand.   At that point Schwartz could have taken the high road toward the rookie NFL coach.  Instead, he only magnified the situation by running after Harbaugh like a raging animal, thereby putting both teams in harm’s way.

Although Sunday’s events left both coaches regretting their actions, don’t expect them to change their emotional styles.  They may have had their differences, but Harbaugh and Schwartz are linked by one common goal: to change the culture of their beaten down franchises.

Motor City Showdown: Who’s At Fault Between Harbaugh and Schwartz? from Sports Agent Blog – Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Okay, so after that, I found this on Hulu…

…and I had forgotten just how impressive this was! 98 yards to tie the game. On the road. No wonder we call it “The Drive”.

Oddly enough, Valverde never won any of the six monthly Delivery Man of the Month awards during the regular season. It seemed there was always somebody a step ahead of him on a monthly basis. But when you look at the numbers for the whole season, Valverde’s pitching performance stands out as is one of the best in MLB history.

Along with the 49 saves, Valverde actually had a losing record of 2-4. But his ERA was an excellent 2.24 ERA and in 72 1/3 inning he only allowed 52. He struck out 69 batters and walked 34. Opposing batters just managed to hit .198 against Valverde. The numbers were even more astounding when he was pitching in save situations. He only allowed three runs on 26 hits in 49 innings and struck out 50 while walking just 20. Two of the three runs he gave up were scored on home runs.

There has been only one other pitcher who saved more games without blowing one and that was Eric Gagne of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gagne saved 50 games out of 50 back in 2003 and saved 84 in a row when the season before and after were taken into account.

Valverde’s 49 straight saves easily bettered the Tigers’ former record of 32 which was set by Guillermo Hernandez back in 1984. Valverde also beat the franchise record for saves in a season, which was set back in 2000 when Todd Jones saved 42 games.

Jones paid tribute to Valverde by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch during game four of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees at Comerica Park. Jones said the only similarity between the two is that they’re both right handed. He said Valverde is a fierce competitor and had an amazing season. He added that his Tigers teammates were happy for him since he well liked in the clubhouse.

Valverde isn’t exactly loved by everybody though as his style and unique save celebrations often get on the nerve of opposing teams. He’ll often dance around the pitchers’ mound or cross his arms in celebration. He’s also known to be quite superstitious. However, Valverde said he doesn’t really know what he’s doing after he earns another save on the mound. He said he’s just focused on doing his job and not really paying attention to anything else.

He also said baseball’s a team game and he’s glad his performance helped the Tigers win a division title for the first time since 1987. He feels it’s nice to be honored for individual performances, but said the ultimate goal is to win the World Series as a team.

The Lions have claimed RB Keiland Williams off waivers from Washington. HC Jim Schwartz told Mlive.com: “We like his skill set. I think we were very lucky to get him.” Williams’ arrival casts Jerome Harrison’s fantasy-handcuff status into doubt. Williams emerged as a quality receiver out of the backfield in Washington last year, pulling in 39 catches to just 65 rushing attempts. His skill set doesn’t seem all that different from Harrison’s, but the team’s move puts them at least on the same level. Schwartz also mentioned Williams as a possible candidate for goal line carries. “(He’s) a little bigger runner,” Schwartz said, “very productive in a role last year for the Redskins. He scored some touchdowns.” That could put a dent in RB Jahvid Best’s upside. We’ll be keeping a close eye on Detroit’s RB situation early this year.

My View: Williams looks like he could quickly turn into part of the rotation at running back. He’s a bigger back and could help make the loss of Leshoure less painful.