Michigan Ends the Streak

Photo Credit: annarbor.com

The Spartans and the Wolverines met at the Breslin Thursday night, and the heavily favored Spartans were handed a surprising 61-57 loss at the hands of their bitter rivals, the Michigan Wolverines.

This game was huge for both teams, as they both were struggling. One team started over-achieving, but was losing games by falling apart late, and the other was trying to salvage what little was left of a season that was supposed to end in a national championship. This was a must win for both teams.

Michigan came out ready to play, and the Spartans continued to start off sluggish, like they had pretty much all season. Michigan controlled the tempo for most of the game, until the end when the Spartans started to rally.

We had seen it twice already this season, where State plays sluggish and sloppy all game, until they make a huge rally and win. (Wisconsin and Northwestern.) But it was not to be when State missed a go ahead open three then let Stu Douglas get a look from downtown for the dagger.

Michigan wins for the first time in the Breslin in 14 trips.

Darius Morris and Zack Novak light up the three point line in the victory over State. Kalin Lucas dropped 27 in the loss.

What does this say for the two teams?

For Michigan, this could be a turning point. They had been close against good teams, but fell apart late. They hadn't been putting together full games. They had been showing up in stretches, but then disappearing. The classic sign of a young team (Michigan has no seniors, and two juniors.) This game could give the young Wolverine squad the confidence to make a run at a NCAA tournament bid. They already have more wins than many expected, but it's going to take a lot if they're going to dance. Unlikely, but this win is a nice one on any resume.

On the other side... This loss really puts the Spartans in a bad spot. On paper, MSU should have won by 15, at least. But the talented Spartans just continue to underachieve. Players and coaches are both to blame with the failure of this season. I understand State has the toughest schedule in the country, but losing to teams like Penn State and Michigan are unacceptable.

They followed this up by beating a bad Indiana team by one at home in overtime. There is something seriously wrong with this team. Obviously they aren't as good as everyone expected and losing Raymar Morgan clearly has had a bigger impact than anyone could have expected, but with all the talent still on this team, the performance thus far is unacceptable.

They'll get into the tournament on reputation alone if they are even close to the bubble, but for a team that's "national champion or bust," that's not good enough, and this season is disaster thus far. It will take a huge turnaround to salvage this season for the Spartans.

A Plethora of Bearded Thoughts...

Photo Credit: Bestsportsphotos.com

There have been a few stories that have caught my eye recently in the world of sports, and in a perfect world I would have been able to address them individually... but alas, we do not live in a perfect world. So let the fun begin...

I would like to start with a story last week from women's high school basketball when a school beat another school 108-3. The team with 108 used all nine of its players, never used a full court press, and never stopped running it's offense. It didn't slow the game and just pass the ball around, because let's face it, that's kind of insulting to a team.

But I don't know what's most absurd with this story. Is it the fact a high school women's team dropped 108? Is it the fact that they didn't press, nor tried to run the score? Or is it the fact the other team only managed to make one basket in four quarters of basketball? Take your pick, but this is just absurd no matter what your take on it.

Here's the story on it.

Now how about the story about a West Virginia player quitting in the middle of a game? I haven't found anything on his side of the story, but apparently he used to start, was benched, and was getting virtually no playing time. But he got up, went to the locker room, and wasn't seen again.

As absurd as that is, based on Bob Huggins's comments after the game... he and Danny Jennings didn't get along... Here's the link to the story where you can see Coach Huggins's comments.

Gil Meche is retiring. Big who cares right? Some of you probably don't even know who he is... He's a pitcher for the Royals that got a giant contract for having a kinda sorta good season, and has been bad ever since. But why is he retiring? Because he doesn't feel he deserves his guaranteed $12 million. He said when he signed his contract he wanted to earn it, but feels like he's not earning it.

I gained a whole new respect for Gil Meche, and I wish more athletes had integrity like Mr. Meche here. When you walk away from your contract because you feel bad for not earning it, then you know you were playing the game for the right reasons.
Click Right Here

Lastly another baseball guy is retiring. Former Tiger starter Mike Maroth announced his retirement from baseball. Yes, the same Mike Maroth that lost 21 games when the Tigers lost 119. But Maroth was apart of the turn around here in Detroit, and he was a very solid starter, not good, but solid. He had an injury shortened season in 06, but he was big part of the Tigers' turnaround.

Maroth was traded from Detroit to St. Louis in 07, and that was the last time he was in the majors. He tried making it with the Royals and Blue Jays, but Maroth couldn't get back to the majors.

Mike was my boy, I thought he could have been a solid starter, nothing great, but solid and serviceable... Too bad... Official Story Link is Right Here.

Tate Forcier Leaves Michigan

Phot Credit: MLive.com

I wanted to address Tate Forcier. This happened awhile ago so I'm sure you all know, he's leaving Michigan. My cousin was a TA in one of the classes that he was in, and she told us back in December he was failing. Apparently Forcier decided that you didn't need to go to class to pass. And as teh Maize Rage told me last night, he apparently would still be in at State. I doubt that, but okay.

Anyways, here's Tate's tweet feed, which by the way is how he announced his departure. It started around midnight on January 20th...

-Immediate Press/Sports Release: January 20, 2011- Robert “Tate” Forcier University Of Michigan Sophomore Quarterback

Why do we all wait until we are at our lowest point to seek God’s help?

I’ve been kicked, pushed, knocked down, publicly berated, belittled, emasculated and more.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to give up or feel the victim.

The humility of it all is indescribable and that is exactly my point.

I had to reach rock bottom in order to see the light, and for that, I am thankful.

It was not until then, I realized that it was my lack of accountability and maturity and not to pass blame.

I do hope all my young fans forgive me and benefit from my lessons that I have learned.

Don’t wait to ask God into your life as he will help you see things clearer.

In summary, I believe, I will become a better student and a person of stronger character from these experiences at Michigan.

I can proudly state,“I worked hard on the practice field, in the film room and at meetings” after all, football is my passion.

I had fun celebrating with the fans.

I even competed hard while injured as a true freshman through the last (8) games in 2009, but I always played the game giving it my all

I am proud to have been part of Michigan Football history and will always cherish the memory.

The last few weeks I worked extremely hard to catch back up.

I really wanted to stay. I was not giving up on Michigan, but in the end, it was made clear they had given up on me.

With that being said, its time for me to go.

I promise the Michigan family and fans I will make you proud again.

Tate Forcier #5 - A Michigan Man Forever - Go Blue

Well wasn't that cute? A "Michigan Man" forever. If the words of his tweets are true, he's finally showing some maturity. But to announce your departure in a tweet feed, and talk about how you have been "kicked, pushed, knocked down, publicly berated, belittled, emasculated and more," that's a bit much Forcier, and not the way to handle a serious matter.

It's too bad he's leaving and couldn't stay on top of his school work, because frankly I felt that he was the best pure QB on the team, and definitely the best fit for Brady Hoke's offense. Denard is a tremendous athlete, but just looking at the skills of a quarterback I feel that Tate is better with his decisions and accuracy. He also has more composure in the pocket than Denard. But Tate wasn't all there mentally. He got lazy in the summer, and got lazy with school. He wasn't mature enough to be the quarterback at Michigan, and now he's gone.

Korie Lucious Kicked Off the Team

Photo Credit: mlive.com

Breaking news out of Spartyland, as it was announced last night that Korie Lucious has been suspended by Izzo for the rest of the season for "conduct detrimental to the team." It hasn't been released exactly what he did, and I honestly don't expect it to be released. Something may slip out, because that just seems to be the world we live in, but nothing official is out.

An East Lansing District Court clerk said today that there are no pending cases involving Lucious, according to a tweet by Larry Lage this morning. So as far as we the public know, it's not legal trouble.

An interesting thing I read involving this story was Larry Lage retweeting and quoting a tweet from Korie Lucious himself. The tweet from Korie said, "Man did I really mess up this time...off 2 the gym I go!" According to details in Larry's tweet, this tweet came before the announcement of Korie being kicked off the team... Intriguing, isn't it?

Lucious will be transferring, and Izzo will help him find a new school, according to Korie's mother, Latonia Guider, in an interview done with Spartan Nation's Hondo Carpenter.

This will be a tough loss for the already struggling Michigan State Spartans. I will admit, I am not the biggest Lucious fan. His play on offense has been poor lately, and his defense has always been lackluster, but he always has the potential to be an offensive spark, and now the Spartans are losing that.

But maybe this will give someone a chance to step up. Someone who hasn't been getting very many minutes will now get more time, and step up. Maybe an Austin Thornton, maybe a Mike Keibler? Who knows? But despite his poor play as of late, this loss hurts the squad.

I wish Korie Lucious the best of luck on his endeavors, and where ever life takes him, may he find success, on or off the court.

Nabokov to the Islanders

Photocredit: http://gcaggiano.wordpress.com/

For those of you that don't know, yesterday the Wings agreed to a one-year deal with former Shark goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. The move was made as an attempt to strengthen the injury struck goalie core of the Wings. Howard is banged up and Ozzie is out for awhile after having sports hernia surgery.

Because of the rules from the latest collective bargaining agreement... and I don't know the exact lettering of it... but basically a player signing from the KHL to the NHL must clear waivers. 27 NHL teams had a chance to claim Evgeni, and they had 24 hours to do so. The waiting game begins...

And at 12:07, it was discovered by this bearded blogger via tweet, that one of my favorite goalies, had been claimed... by the New York Islanders... Let me just say on behalf of Hockeytown and hockey fans... Ewww.

I wanted Detroit to go out and get Nabokov when the trade rumors were flying around him, a few years back when we released Legace and our goalie situation was a mystery. We had Ozzie back but no starter, (ended up signing former Wing Dominick Hasek that year.)

This would have been a great edition. A veteran backup to split time with Howard, who has experience in pressure situations... granted he never succeeded up to the WIngs standard under pressure, but he has more experience than Jimmy. He could have been a useful asset for Detroit.

Here's what I'm hoping... Evgeni can opt not to play for the Islanders, but can't be traded by the Isle. So it's Isle or no one for Evgeni, it will really test if he wants to play in the NHL or not. I hope he plays. But here's what I really want... I want him to decide to come back to the NHL last year, and sign with our beloved Red Wings. Ozzie will probably retire, he's got hi 400th win, and no offense ot him, probably doesn't have anything left in the tank. Give Nabby a one or two year deal, for maybe a million per, and it's the perfect situation for both sides. Nabby gets a chance at a cup and an NHL job, Howie and the Wings get a reliable veteran backup.

On a side note, do not rule out Ken Holland trying to make a trade for a goalie. One guy I have recently heard coem up is Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who said he would waive his no trade clause to play for the Red Wings. Another goalie that I love and have loved, this move would be a good one as well. Obviously Ken would have to make the money match (Giggy makes 6 mil, but for only one year) but if Howie's knee is still bothering him, it's something the Wings have to look at.

Don't be surprised if at the trade deadline or even soon, Giggy ends up a Red Wing....

My First Day on Spartran Nation

Yesterday I started my internship at MIEntertainment Radio in Lansing to work with a man that I knew two things about: His name was Hondo, and he was a huge Spartan fan. I had no idea what to expect, but I figured I would just be behind the scenes learning how to run the soundboard, take calls, you know, the boring stuff of radio.

My day started off with me meeting with Jim, my boss and the boss of everyone pretty much, but there was one problem... I couldn't get in. Usually I go in the front, that door was locked. Went to the backdoor because a sign said knock on the backdoor when not during business hours, or something like that. So I did... for about 15 minutes. Went to the front door, knocked there, and got in right away. So, I was in the building, took me awhile, but I got in. Persistence is key.

I sat in on the recording of the last segment of Jim's show, and saw how the prerecorded shows are made, edited and labeled. He said if I remembered everything after one day I would win some kind of reward. Sadly, I will not be receiving this reward, because I forgot almost everything... keyword, almost...

But then I got to meet Hondo, who is 6'9, so he towers over me. But he was a very friendly, and energetic guy. Apparently it's a running joke that no one likes working with Hondo, so I was a little worried about being his intern...

We had about an hour and change to kill before the 6:00 show, and Hondo was preparing things for the Spartan Nation website. And I had the pleasure of meeting his son, Duffy, who said some of the funniest things I had heard in my entire life.

Six o'clock is approaching, I'm expecting to be called into the back, be behind the scenes and learn how to produce the show... Safe assumption for a day one intern right?

Wrong: Hondo hands me a pair of headphones, says have a seat, grab a mic. Day one, Dave the Intern is going on the air. I was caught by surprise, but super excited to be on the show on my first day. First segment I introduced myself, talked a little bit about Delvon Roe, then jumped behind the scenes for the next two segments to run the board for two interviews Hondo had lined up with a football recruit and basketball recruit. Pretty damn good stuff too.

Next segment I get on, we take emails. And much to my surprise, I was the subject of a fairly good amount of email...

First email, a girl asks for a picture of Dave the Intern on the website, which leads to Hondo admitting to seeing thousands of men naked in the locker-room and never finding anything attractive about a man ever... and Jim saying I am an attractive young man.

But that was the only piece of fanmail I received... All the rest of the email was calling out Dave the Intern... Apparently I'm not well liked. Hondo reassured me that's just how his audience is. My goal is to win over Spartan Nation...

Overal, it was a great first day, and I will do my best to let you guys know when Dave the intern is on the air, and be sure to check out Spartan Nation!

It's Not a Hoax, it's Brady Hoke

The Michigan football coaching search is finally over with the official, not reported, hiring of Brady Hoke yesterday, a week after Rich Rod was supposedly fired and six days after he was actually fired.

The search for a head coach seemed like it took longer than it did, probably because we had to sit and wait for Harbaugh to decide, then wait for LSU to play, then wait for Les Miles to decide... There was a lot of waiting, and even more speculation.

Names were thrown from left to right, to the obvious Jim Harbaugh, to the unlikely John Gruden, to the are you serious?? like Todd Graham and Ron English. But our man was finally found, and that was Brady Hoke... supposedly...

Brady Hoke, according to David Brandon, is the only guy that was offered the job, and the only guy that David Brandon wanted... supposedly. I don't buy it, but here we find ourselves, a new coach, not Harbaugh, not Miles, it's Brady Hoke.

Honestly, when I first heard it, I was upset. It's not the sexy hire, it's not the big name hire, it's Brady Hoke... Who? Well I'll tell ya who he is. He was an assistant under Carr, a defensive line coach, He coached at Ball State, and turned them around, had a 12-0 season with Ball State. He then took over a bad San Diego State team, and turned them around. Overal he has a losing record, but he's taken over terrible football teams, and made them solid. He'll have to do the same thing here at Michigan.

I was expecting to write a blog about how Michigan failed in finding a coach, again. But I like to give people a chance, so I tuned into his press conference... And you can now chalk me up as a Brady Hoke fan.

I was very much impressed with what he had to say today. He talked about the importance of recruiting in state and in the midwest, something Rich Rod neglected. He talked about how everyone needed to be tougher, and talked about the importance of the rivalry games, something that Rich Rod downplayed, saying that "Ohio State is just another game, they're all just as important. Hoke came out and said it, "(Ohio State) is the most important game in the schedule." He said it was personal. That's something Rich failed at, the rivalries are key for bragging rights and most importantly recruiting.

Brady Hoke seems to be a very popular higher, and he addressed the divide and factions of Michigan supporters created by Rich Rod, calling it "sad." He seems like the right guy to unify the factions... If he can win.

A big thing for me was when he said this was his dream job. Unlike a Harbaugh, who wanted to go pro, Hoke is here to stay for as long as we let him coach. We don't have to worry about him jumping ship to the NFL. He's going to be a Michigan Man for life. And that is the most important thing about this hire.

It will be interesting to see how Brady Hoke turns the program around, but I think David Brandon absolutely found the right guy, and I will be the first to apologize for doubting and questioning him for failing to get Harbaugh.

And so begins... The Brady Hoke Era of Michigan Football.

And So Ends the Richard Rodriguez Era

Photo Credit: latimesblogs.com

Yesterday we all thought it was official, but today it was finally official, Rich Rodriguez was fired as the head coach of the University of Michigan after three years at the helm.

And what a three years it's been. It started with a messy divorce from West Virginia, a nasty divide amongst people at the university and players on the team, and a shift from Lloyd's pro-style offense to the spread. He brought NCAA infractions to Michigan Football for the first time ever, and he had the worst three year span in Michigan history. Clearly, he needed to go.

But why did he fail? He succeeded everywhere else? Why couldn't he succeed at Michigan? Well, I'm going to tell you why Richard Rodriguez failed as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines

Well first of all, he was walking into a bad situation. Not everyone within the university supported him, and Lloyd had gotten a tad lazy with his recruiting, especially on defense. The cupboard was a tad bare, not as bare as everyone claims, but there were thirteen unused scholarships when he took over, meaning Michigan could have gotten 13 more recruits or guys to give scholarships to, that's on Carr.

But Rich didn't make the transition easy himself. Instead of tailoring the team to what he had, he refused and insisted on running the full-fledged spread. He isolated quarterback Ryan Mallett and pretty much forced him out. He refused to tailor his coaching to the talent he had, a sign of a stubborn man and a bad coach.

Another reason why he failed is because he didn't adapt his 3-3-5 or abandon it, because it failed against the power run game of the big ten. The 3-3-5 is a fast, athletic defense good at forcing pressure on the QB and good against the pass... with good talent in it. But when you play against Big Ten opponents, what are they going to do? Run the ball. OSU, Wisconsin, MSU, they all ran heavily against Michigan in Rich Rod's three years here... Having said that, Rich Rod's defense was even worse against the pass. Michigan put up school-record-setting numbers on defense in every category you don't want to set records in.

But the even bigger failure of him regarding defense was he didn't delegate full defensive responsibilities to a competent defensive guy. he should have hired his D coordinator and siad "You run this, do what you seem fit." Instead, he hired Schafer and Robinson and made them try to work with the 3-3-5 and lack of talent he brought in with his recruiting classes. He should have focused on the one thing he's good at: Offense.

But the biggest thing Rich Rod failed to do was to work on becoming a Michigan Man. He didn't fully realize how big of a deal the tradition surrounding this program was to the people of the University of Michigan, staff, students, alum, and fans alike. He should have tried harder to please the people that were against him and tried harder to be a Michigan Man.

But he didn't, he came in here with the attitude of "this is my team now, and I don't care how it used to be done, I'm here to do it my way, and if you don't like it, too bad." He had such a bad attitude during his tenure here that he isolated himself from a lot of Michigan supporters. He didn't help his own cause with the attitude he came with, and he needed to learn what it meant to be the coach of Michigan football. He needed to learn what this program was all about.

In his defense, I do feel bad for poor Rich now that he's gone. I despised him as a coach, did not agree with the spread, did not like the way he talked in his press conferences, sounded like a jackass, but I feel bad for him because he never stood a chance. The divide was so great when he as hired here, and many weren't willing to even give him a chance.

David Brandon said this in his press conference, and I bet it's true, "I don't think Rich had an easy night's sleep since coming to Ann Arbor." He had so much pressure and people were constantly criticizing him. It's hard for a head coach to legitimately succeed when not everyone within his program is supporting him.

But whether or not he got the support of the university, he did a bad job and got what he deserved. He did not deserve another chance, there was no justification for keeping him, even with that offense. Rich will succeed where he goes next, because there will be less pressure on him, and he probably will be in a conference with less recruiting restrictions. I wish him well, but I will be honest, I did not like the hire, and did not like him from day one. I saw the thought process, just wasn't a fan.

So long Richard, it's been... a living hell quite frankly.

Season in Review: Michigan State Spartans

Photo Credit: parantar.com

Going from looking at the disaster in Ann Arbor, it's time to take a look at the surprise in East Lansing. Coming off a 6-7 season, expectations weren't extremely high for the Spartans, but talks of Dantonio not being the guy everyone thought he was did stat. They weren't loud or frequent talks, but the word was if they had another mediocre season, that his job could have been in jeopardy.

Those talks were quickly silenced as the Spartans roared out of the gates to start the season, starting the season to an 8-0 start. Amongst those wins were the overtime thriller against Notre Dame under the lights. The famous "Little Giants" fake field goal in overtime when down three to win. Also a comeback win against Northwestern on the road which was sparked by a fake punt play which led to a touchdown.

You could tell that this was going to be one magical season. It seemed like this was a team of destiny. State had gotten as high as number 5 in the rankings. They beat Big Ten contender Wisconsin (eventual Rose Bowl representative) by double digits. The Spartans were shocking the country and were on a magical run.

The Spartans had one last road block standing between them and a trip to the Rose Bowl and an undefeated season. A trip to Iowa City to play the Hawkeyes. A lot of controversy surrounding this game involving Chris L Rucker, the law, and Dantonio's "Zero Tolerance Policy." Rucker was going to be dressed for Iowa.

And MSU, with everyone watching, and with the biggest game in the programs history in i have no idea how long, I haven't been a Spartan long enough. Bottom line, this game had National Championship and Big Ten title hopes riding on it.

But MSU did not show up. They were clearly unprepared for this game. They got embarrassed, losing 37-6. The loss cost MSU a chance at the Rose Bowl and a BCS bowl. BIggest game in a long time, and the Spartans didn't even show up.

As expected, MSU won out the rest of the year, finishing 11-1 and tying for the Big Ten title with Ohio State and Wisconsin. ANd of the three, MSU did not go to a BCS bowl. They were sent to the Capital One Bowl to play a vastly superior Alabama team. And they got destroyed, losing 49-7. And all the Michigan fans came out in mass to call them frauds.

But was MSU a bunch of frauds? CLearly yes. They were a good team having an amazing season, but they're not on the level of the elite yet. But this season was far better than anyone could have anticipated, and it shows that the Spartans have the right coach with Mark Dantonio.

The Final Bearded Grade for Michigan State: A
Nothing wrong with a share of the Big Ten and an 11-2 season, much better than most expected, but those two losses are by a combined score of 86-13, proving that they just aren't at the level of the better teams in the country, and that they were just on a magical run of improbability, a team of destiny. A stellar season for the boys in East Lansing.

Season in Review: Michigan Wolverines

Photo Credit: Mlive.com

Another year of Rich Rodriguez, and another disappointing season for the Wolverines. Good thing that's over, more on that later tonight. But that's not what this post is about, I'm here to review the Wolverines season, and give it a final grade. The Bearded Take on the 2010 Michigan Wolverine Football season is coming at you riiiiiiight NOW

Much like 2009, the Wolverines got off to a hot start and had everyone excited for a possible run at the Big Ten title. Denard Robinson was putting up Heisman Trophy numbers and there was a ton of hype coming out of Ann Arbor...

But also like 09, the season went bad as soon as the Wolverines played the Spartans. Michigan put up a ton of yards against State, but only 17 points. This sparked a three-game losing streak as they lost to Iowa and Penn State. Penn State was led by walk-on sophomore Matt Mcgloin, who eventual became the starter, but at the time was young and dumb. But Michigans stellar defense made him look like Joe Montana.

Michigan managed to beat Illinois 67-65 in triple overtime. Yet again, the defense was terrible. They got bowl eligible with this win then beat Purdue on the road. Rich Rod's job looked like it could be saved if they at least showed up against OSU and Wisconsin to close out the season.

But it didn't, Michigan got stomped in both games, losing to Wisconsin 48-28 and Ohio State 37-7. Embarrassing performances for the Wolverines.

But despite all this, they were bowling. They had a chance to redeem the season, and get a bowl win for the first time under Rich Rod. But once again, Michigan got stomped, losing 52-14.

Overal, Rich Rod progressed, increasing his win total by two, just like the year before (3 wins, 5 wins, 7 wins.) And the offense has gotten better every year, so there were signs of progress made by the Wolverines. A dynamic offense with a quarterback that's faster than every other player on the field, which is something to build around.

But the defense got worse every year. And there were no signs of any future improvements coming with the lack of recruits Rich Rod got for the defense. The defense set records for suck last year, breaking Michigan records for pretty much every category that's bad, (points allowed, yards per game) and everyone said no way could it be worse... and yet it managed to break all those records. It was worse than the year before.

Well obviously it would be easy to throw up an F for a final grade, especially since I refuse to lose my old Michigan standard of winning (Rose Bowl or bust.) unlike pretty much everyone of my Michigan friends, that just wanted to go bowling... C'mon what happened to the Michigan standard??

But I digress, I could easily say they failed, but they did improve from a year ago, they did get seven wins, and they did go bowling... But come on, this season should have been so much better and that defense is so painful that I actually have to turn off Michigan games for the first time in my life.

The Bearded Season Grade for the Michigan Wolverines: D-
They improved offensively, and they went bowling... But this season was a disaster filled with turmoil and no defense. An absolute embarrassment for the winningest program in the history of college football.

Detroit Lions 2010 Season in Review

Photo Credit: sports.gather.com

Another Lions season is done, and another losing record for the boys in Honolulu Blue, which makes it 10 straight seasons with a sub .500 record. But unlike other years, this Lions team ends the season on a positive note, winning it's last four games, and giving Lion fans everywhere, something to look forward to.

The Lions won four in row to end the season, making everyone think that they're a good team. But they did go 6-10, which is another losing season. I'm here to sift through both the highs and the lows of the Lions season, and give a final grade to the 2010 Detroit Lion football season.

The Lions had a bad year for injuries, losing Stafford twice, and for the year again, and Best and Calvin were banged up most of the year. But they fought, and they fought hard, something we're not used to seeing in Detroit. The injuries at the quarterback position were frequent, forcing Drew Stanton to start two games, and even he got hurt in one of those starts. Fortunately Zach Robinson did not have to play.

But they continued fighting, even when they were 2-10 and the season was over, they fought and finished 6-10. They surprised the NFL at the end of the year. The Motor City Kitties are on the rise in the NFL, and the league knows it now. Had they stayed healthy, they could have contened this year.

But this is why the Lions aren't good, yet. Good teams find ways to overcome these things. When the Patriots lost Brady, they finished 11-5. Granted they missed the playoffs, but they still won 11 games. If they lost Brady now they'll be in trouble, but Hoyer does have more experience than Matt Cassel did... So who knows? The Colts went from a struggling, injured giant, to back in the playoffs and at top form. Good teams find a way.

Also good teams don't lose the close games. A good team doesn't blow that Jet game. A good team doesn't let a Green Bay off the hook. A good team doesn't lose to a Buffalo. The Lions aren't there yet. They're solid and on the rise, but I won't call them a good team yet.

So overal, the 2010 season went just as I expected, 6-10. They're showing promise, but they're not there yet. They need to address the linebacking core and the secondary in free agency and the draft. Once they solidify that, and possibly the right tackle and right guard spot, then they will be a good team.

The Lions 2010 Season Grade: C+
They showed promise and fight, but overal, how good can a 6-10 season be when many of those defeats were right there for the taking? Good teams win those ones. So I say the Lions had a slightly above average season, but they're improving.