Leelanau Sports Guy at sportspig.com

DraftSharks.com reports…

** Lions RB Mikel Leshoure will miss the entire 2011 season after tearing his Achilles tendon in Monday’s practice. He’s expected to undergo surgery, possibly as early as tomorrow. Achilles injuries are often a kiss of death for RBs, and there’s no guarantee that Leshoure regains pre-injury form. It’s an extremely tough break for a talented guy who appeared to have a bright NFL future. Meanwhile, Jahvid Best is now locked-in as Detroit’s feature back. If he can stay healthy, he could approach 300 total touches. That gives him huge upside on this explosive Lions offense. Maurice Morris is expected to step in as the team’s #2 back. Draft Sharks members can head over to the site right now to check out our updated projections for the Lions backfield.

WOW! Talk about bad news. Morris is a capable backup, but the one-two punch of Best and Leshoure was going to be fun to watch. Here’s hoping he recovers and has a football career after this injury!

From DraftSharks (love this site!)…

Rookie DT Nick Fairley will reportedly miss 3-4 weeks after undergoing surgery Wednesday on a stress fracture in his left foot. The upside is that timetable wouldn’t cost him any regular-season games. It certainly should keep DT Corey Williams in the starting lineup, though. Williams registered just 37 tackles and 2 sacks in his 1st year with the Lions but had a pair of 7-sack seasons in Green Bay. Fairley remains a high-ceiling, low-risk option late in IDP drafts that carry a DT requirement.

Not the start to his NFL career Fairley wanted I’m sure. It’s probably a little more never-wracking for the Lions organization as well. The strongest unit on the team takes a bit of a hit, but Fairley should still be ready for the regular season. Let’s hope he stays in shape and can pick up the schemes from the sidelines!

From Draft Sharks…

Lions beat writer Chris McCosky speculates that rookie RB Mikel Leshoure could see 40-45% of the reps this season. We currently have the Lions backfield projected at a 55-45 split in favor of RB Jahvid Best, although we’re thinking Best will see closer to 60% of the carries as long as he’s healthy. This will be a situation to monitor closely this summer.

My View: Something to definitely keep your eye as the possiblity of Fantasy Football is looking up again. The biggest thing is keeping Best healthy and a split in the backfield will definitely do that.

Here’s a take on the NFL Lockout from Funny or Die…

A quick note from J. Michael DeAgostino of the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa…

At the PGA Professional National Championship in Hershey, PA, today Grand Traverse Resort & Spa’s Head Golf Professional Scott Hebert scored an eagle, a hole-in-one on the 215-yard, par-3, 16th hole.

Hebert finished the day with a score of one-under-par 70. Currently on the third day of play, he is at 4-under-par and tied for 15th place. There is one more round to be played at Hershey tomorrow.

The top 20 finishers in the PGA PNC receive exemptions to the PGA Championship, to be held this year August 18-14 in Atlanta, GA.

It was in 2008 that Hebert won the PGA PNC.

Click here to see his scorecard at this year’s PGA PNC.

Was reading Hawks assess trade interest in Smith at Yahoo! Sports and found this buried near the end…

Houston continues to offer the 14th and 23rd picks in the draft to move into the top 10, and could have a willing partner with the Detroit Pistons at No. 8. The Pistons have told teams they won’t trade down until they see who drops to them on draft night, sources said. In what could be an interesting window into the Pistons’ preferences, San Diego State forward Kawhi Leonard worked out for Detroit on Monday, and shortly thereafter cancelled his Wednesday workout with the Milwaukee Bucks, who have the 10th pick. Several executives believe Leonard may have left Auburn Hills with a guarantee.

My View: Just who is Kawhi Leonard? Well, he’s a 6’7″ forward who averaged over 15.5 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game and left San Diego State after his sophomore season. Leonard’s numbers show him as being consistent throughout the season, but no real big games (a high of 23 points), with only two games failing to score double figures. He looks like a solid player, but not sure if he has that superstar game.

If you ask any bingo player today what is the one thing they look for at an online bingo site before they sign up, they will tell you with no hesitation that it is the no deposit bingo bonus offer. The simplicity of the answer lies behind the fact that a player will get to enjoy free online bingo games before they make their first deposit at the site, thus experiencing firsthand what the site has to offer.

Bingo Find, by far one of the oldest online bingo directories in the industry, that reports on anything from bingo news stories, stunning bonus offers and other competitions, has amalgamated a special page to list all the bingo sites, primarily UK bingo rooms, that offer such great bonuses. In addition, they have a bingo promotions page that lists some of the best ongoing promos players can find at reputable bingo rooms.

But before everyone goes ahead and registers an account to simply play free bingo, they should have a look at the bingo reviews page and take five minutes or so to read what Bingo Find has to say about the site they plan to open an account with. They will get to see what bingo variants they can play, what sort of side games and casino games are available, and most importantly what bonus offers they can expect. Some sites offer a first deposit bonus and one reload bonus, while other tend to offer a special bonus on every subsequent deposit made after the initial deposit. Make sure you make an educated decision before you start to play bingo.

A couple of more updates from Draft Sharks…

Lions TE Brandon Pettigrew has dropped about 10 pounds this offseason. He’s back down to the 255 he played at in college. “I like the 255, being able to move,” Pettigrew said. “Strength thrills, but speed kills, and I still think I can get it done in the blocking game as well.” After his yards-per-catch average dropped to 10.2 this past year, look for that to jump back up towards the 11.4 mark he posted in his rookie season.

Lions WR Nate Burleson recently underwent elbow surgery to have fluid drained and a bursa sac removed. He injured the elbow last November and was hoping it’d heal on its own. It’s continued to swell though, so Burleson will undergo what the Detroit Free Press calls a “minor” procedure. It sounds like Burleson will be fine for the start of training camp, but we’ll continue to monitor his progress.

My View: I’d love to see Pettigrew pick up that yard-per-catch and in particular that yard-after-catch. He’s a big target for Stafford and can continue to develop into a Pro Bowl caliber tight end in my option. Burleson’s surgery sounds minor, so that’s a good thing. The Lions finely found a receiver who could take some pressure off of Calvin Johnson. Big things could be coming from the Lions receiving corps with the addition of rookie Titus Young in the slot.

Draft Sharks (one of my favorite fantasy football sites) reports that Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz has settled on a role for rookie running back Mikel Leshoure…

Lions HC Jim Schwartz confirmed that rookie RB Mikel Leshoure will handle the team’s short-yardage duties. “Jahvid Best, when healthy, proved that he can be an explosive playmaker,” Schwartz explained. “But he isn’t built to be a short-yardage back when there’s three minutes left in the game and you’re protecting a seven-point lead, but Leshoure is.” We figured the bull-dozing Leshoure would fill this role for Detroit. The real question is how much action he’ll see between the 20s. We should get a better idea throughout this summer.

My View: You don’t draft a guy that high and sit him on the bench. This makes perfect sense and if it can help keep Best healthy as well, then you might have a nice backfield duo to provide the “Thunder and Lightning” that gives defenses fits.

The New York Times has a nice breakdown of the Crossover Dribble. It features among others Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson and Tim Hardaway.

Interview with 2011 College Football Hall of Fame Inductee and former Michigan Wolverines Football Coach Lloyd Carr. Carr had a great career leading Michigan to a National Championship and 5 Big Ten Titles in his 13 seasons.

This is a great interview. What a classy guy.

Not the kind of highlight you want to see if you are Ryan Raburn or a Tigers fan today…

Opening Day. Those two words are enough to excite baseball fans around the world and particularly the state of Michigan. It’s another day the Detroit Tigers are tied for first place and the talk of division titles and World Series Championships rings in the air. Trying to predict where the Tigers will finish is anyone’s guess, and you can see some of the experts predictions here. I’ll post mine as number five.

1. Starting Pitching – The Tigers will only go as far as the starting pitching takes them. Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Ryan Porcello are the big guns, but Brad Penny and Phil Coke will need to pitch well for the Tigers to have a chance. In my opinion, Porcello is the key. If he can rebound from last season and pitch better on the road, the Tigers will have a chance.

2. Miguel Cabrera – How much is the offseason troubles Cabrera got in going to linger into the season. If he gets off to a good start, all will be well in the Motor City. The one position player the Tigers need more than any other to stay healthy and produce.

3. The Bullpen – I was very excited when the Tigers signed Joaquin Benoit as a set-up man to closer Jose Valverde. Benoit was very good last year for the Tampa Bay Rays posting a 1.34 ERA in 63 innings of work. He’s basically been perfect in 9 innings of work this spring for the Tigers. Benoit and Valverde finishing games could give the Tigers a big edge in tight games.

4. Victor Martinez – Lost in the shuffle of spring training talk (at least to me) was the addition of catcher and DH, Victor Martinez. A big bat in the lineup to help protect Cabrera will also make all the Tigers hitters better. Martinez can be that bat, plus add some offense to the catching position, something the Tigers haven’t had in a while, no offense Gerald Laird.

5. My Prediction – Although the Tigers will be improved over last year in my opinion. It’s hard to predict a division title for them with the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox both to contend with. I can see the Tigers finishing over .500, but will it be enough to win the division or clinch a wild card. Probably not. I think the Wild Card will come out of the East, so that leaves only one spot for the playoffs between the Tigers, White Sox, and Twins. I’m guessing 88 wins tops for the Tigers, which would be 7 more than last year, but still 6 less than the Twins 94 which won the division last year. I will add this, if the Tigers pitching holds up and Porcello bounces back, and Coke and Penny can be solid, they’ll have a shot at 90+ wins and the division crown. My prediction is 88-74, and second place to the Twins. I’m hoping for more, hey, it is opening day after all!

The Traverse City Wolves announced their 2011 schedule today as they for their first season in the Great Midwest Football League. You can view the schedule below…

6/4 – Home – Lakeshore Cougars

6/11 – Away – Southwest Michigan Punishers

6/18 – Home – Grand Rapids Thunder

6/25 – Away – West Michigan Tigers

7/9 – Away – London Silverbacks

7/16 – Home – Southwest Michigan Punishers

7/23 – Away – Lakeshore Cougars

7/30 – Home – Metro Detroit Wolverines

8/6 – Away – Grand Rapids Thunder

8/13 – Home – West Michigan Tigers

All TC Wolves Home Games will start at 7:00 PM, with gates opening at 5:00PM.

Tickets will go on Sale Monday March 28th. Ticket prices will remain the same for the 2011 season. Adult tickets are $8, and students are $5. Tickets can be purchased online at www.tcwolves.com or by calling the TC Wolves offices at 231-947-1937.

Don’t forget if you can’t make a game, all Wolves games will be broadcast on 1310 ESPN Radio and also available live online! Go Wolves!

Watch this entertaining video from PGA Head Professionals Casey Powers and Mike Fay from Boyne Mountain.