I’m changing the nickname of Detroit. It’s no longer the Motor City. Detroit shall henceforth be called the City of Awesomely Inspiring Videos.

Seriously, they make me weep.

• I don’t think I need to remind any of you of the Detroit/Eminem/Chrysler commercial that debuted during the Super Bowl. *Chills*
• And then, like a week later, someone redid that video and added a Detroit Lions montage to it. *Chills*
• Oh, and then there’s the Ndamukong Suh/Chrysler commercial. *Chills*
• And let’s not forget the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences choir students who performed their own version of “Empire State of Mind” — more appropriately titled “Detroit State of Mind.” *Chills*

Are you recognizing a trend here?

So then a couple days ago I happened upon this little gem.

Seriously, Detroit people — whoever you are — stop trying to make me cry. When you mix dramatic music and old game footage of a team that’s never been very good with the hope that this season will be better, you end up with Melissa in tears. And it’s not pretty. So stop.

OK, don’t stop. I kind of love these. But I’m going to expect a new one every month or so. I hope — whoever you are — that you’re up for the challenge. Me — and my tear ducts — are counting on you.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

That may be the wrong sport, but it most definitely feels like we’re off to the races. Tuesday was crazy. And unfortunately — or fortunately depending on how much time you have on your hands — it’s only going to get worse.

So, I suggest you buckle your safety belts and hold on for the ride. Cause. Here. We. Go.

According to Pride Of Detroit’s website, the Lions signed, or plan to sign, the following undrafted free agents:

• WR Marcus Harris (Murray State)
• WR Keith Smith (Purdue)
• WR Jared Jenkins (Wisconsin-Stevens Point)
• TE Preston Dial (Alabama)
• OG Jeff Maddux (Central Michigan)
• LB Quentin Davie (Northwestern)
• LB Cobrani Mixon (Kent State)
• LB DeJuan Fulghum (Texas Southern)
• S Ricardo Silva (Hampton)
• P Ryan Donahue (Iowa)

Plenty of other news was happening around Detroit yesterday as well. Many of the Lions players showed up early to Allen Park including Matthew Stafford, Jahvid Best, Kyle Vanden Bosch, and Cliff Avril. And apparently the “vacation” was just a bit too long for some people.

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford sat in his parked Mercedes-Benz, unsure of when he could enter the players’ gated parking lot at team headquarters in Allen Park this morning. Running back Jahvid Best could not remember the code for the gated lot, so he gave up and parked in the visitors’ area.

That makes me giggle. » Continue reading “NFL, Start Your Engines!”

My head is already officially spinning from the madness that is free agency. Spinning so much in fact, that I will need to wait until it’s firmly back in place before I can update you on the happenings at Lions camp.

Free agency is — in a word — nuts.

In the meantime, here’s what’s happening in the NFL through Thursday — including the opening of Lions training camp.

July 26

• At 10:00 a.m., New York time, Club facilities open. Players may report for physicals and voluntary strength and conditioning.

• At 10:00 a.m., New York time, Trading begins for 2011 League Year.

• Rosters expanded to 90-man limit.

• At 10:00 a.m., New York time, Clubs may negotiate with and SIGN their own Drafted Rookies and any Undrafted Rookie. Clubs may have such players report to the Club’s facilities for physical examinations prior to signing. All 2011 Contracts signed on or after July 26 shall be binding upon the player and the Club when signed, but shall not become effective unless a CBA is ratified by the NFLPA (August 4)

•  At 10:00 a.m., New York time, Clubs may NEGOTIATE with, but not sign, or extend Offer Sheets to, their own UFAs, RFAs, Exclusive Rights Players and Franchise Players and other Clubs’ UFAs, RFAs, non-exclusive Franchise Players and free agents. » Continue reading “And So it Begins …”

With the end of the lockout yesterday, you can imagine the media frenzy that has followed. Press conferences, owner’s statements, players’ tweets. You name it, it happened.

So, in case you missed any of it, here’s a wrap-up of lockout reactions in Detroit Lions’ world.

Lions president Tom Lewand released the following statement via DetroitLions.com.

“First and foremost, we are happy for our fans because all they ever wanted was for us to play football and, thankfully, that’s what we are getting ready to do. This agreement is a big win for NFL football and for all NFL fans because it helps secure the long-term health of our game.

“It is a fair deal for players and teams. We will be able to grow the game and appropriately share that growth with our players as partners. It is a deal that places a high priority on player safety and on the integrity of our game.

“Both sides worked extremely hard throughout this process. All involved are to be commended on getting a deal done in time to avoid any disruption to the 2011 regular season. » Continue reading “Lions React to End of Lockout”

Where to begin, where to begin? As someone so aptly put it on Twitter, after 189,528 minutes, the NFL lockout is over. Thank you, sir, for reminding me just how much of my life I’ve wasted worrying about this.

Of course, I only have myself to blame (and Roger Goodell — you’re not getting off that easy mister). As if I didn’t know an agreement would be reached miraculously at the eleventh hour.

Silly me.

Do you detect a slight tinge of bitterness? Good, that’s what I’m going for.

But, regardless, the lockout is over, football is back, and I’m seemingly happy. Seemingly. I mean, us fans didn’t lose anything in the current CBA agreement — not like 2011 rookies and undrafted players did — but we certainly didn’t gain anything either. They might have talked a good game, but do you actually think that at anytime during those 180,000-plus minutes, Roger Goodell or DeMaurice Smith considered the fans? Doubtful.

And maybe they didn’t need to. But, in the end, our (the fans) pockets are going to get thinner while veteran players’ and owners’ pockets get bigger. Larger salaries for them means more money we dish out in ticket prices and vendor sales.

But, hey, at least there will be football, right?

Look, I’m as happy as the next person that this nonsense is over and that we will have football again come September. But, that doesn’t mean I’m going to turn a blind eye to the fact that loyal NFL fans are the real losers in this whole debacle.

All we want is to watch our favorite team play football every year. And unfortunately, the players and owners know that. So they can marionette us around as much as they want and there is little they’ll pay by way of repercussions.

Because in the end, like I said, there will be football. And that’s all — despite the huge lists of demands for the NFL and NFLPA — we as the fans were asking for.

But, hey, there’s good news. We won’t have to deal with this again for at least another 10 years.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

If you’re coming here for lockout news, you’re not going to find it. You might want to check here, here, or here. It’s not that I lack interest, it’s just that I find the whole thing so frustrating that I’d rather just focus on other things … like Lions’ players injuring themselves. *sigh*

It’s been reported that Lions’ left tackle Jeff Backus will likely miss the start of training camp due to an injured pectoral. Training camp is scheduled to start July 28th, though this weighs heavily on whether or not a new CBA is signed in the coming days. The NFL owners approved the new CBA earlier today, however, the players have yet to make a move.

We don’t have all year, folks. Let’s make something happen.

Oh yeah … not talking about the lockout. Sorry. Moving on.

Neither Backus nor his agent, Pat Dye, returned phone calls nor text messages seeking comment, but the Lions are aware of Backus’ injury. A team source described the injury as “not serious.”

I obviously know nothing about the injury, but my guess is that he’ll be fine. And if he’s not, second-year backup Jason Fox will be able to get some good reps in, which is never a terrible thing.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

No? Me either. Not even a little bit actually. Which is good, since he’s kind of turned into a media whore. But don’t worry. He keeps it classy. In other words, if there’s a good kind of media whore, Suh is it.

For the second time in just over a week, Ndamukong Suh appeared on ESPN. This time he made a visit to the SportsCenter studio for an interview with Mike Hill. He then appeared on Pardon the Interruption this evening.

Suh talked about everything from Matthew Stafford’s health to his time during the Gumball 3000. Check out the video of his interview on SportsCenter below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZisebCDZl2Q&feature=player_embedded

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

With their already undeniable talent, a few surprising draft acquisitions and an excellent end to the 2010 season, the Detroit Lions are definitely giving people something to talk about this offseason. Could the playoffs actually be a possibility? Vegas thinks so.

According to MGM, the Lions odds of winning the Super Bowl are 18/1 — that’s compared to 40/1 odds just a few short months ago.

The Lions’ odds to win the NFC are even more impressive. They were once 30-1, but now they are all the way down to 6-1. At the MGM, those odds are the same as the Falcons, Saints, Cowboys, Giants and Bears. That, to say the least, is pretty shocking. » Continue reading “Lions’ Super Bowl Odds Improve”

Lions headlines:

• Matthew Stafford says he will “play all 16.” — Pride of Detroit, Sean Yuille
• Lions ranked 36th on most valuable sports teams list. — Motown Lowdown, Sean Yuille
• Detroit Lions defensive ends: Of philosophies, schemes and Kyle Vanden Bosch. — Bleacher Report, Michael Sudds
• The greatest Detroit Lions I knew. — SideLion Report, Christopher Czar

NFL headlines:

• NFL players may be more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease. — TIME, Alice Park
• Question of unpaid benefits is one of NFL’s last details. — New York Times, Judy Battista
• Vrabel doesn’t think NFL should punish Harrison. — CBSSports.com, Ryan Wilson

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

During an interview last week, Lions great Barry Sanders was asked if he was better than Dallas Cowboys’ running back Emmitt Smith. Being the gentlemen that he is, Sanders took the high road and gave a very dignified and humble answer.

“I would never say that. He was too great of a player, and I loved competing against him.”

Sanders then took to Twitter to continue his point:

» Continue reading “Debating the Best of the Best”