QB Controversy, Fallen Spartans & The Real Slim Shady

Look, I understand the jury is still out on if Matthew Stafford content should count as Detroit sports content...

But when a longstanding Detroit-based pizza company who happens to own a couple of other sports teams in the city makes Matthew Stafford the official face of their company, I think it counts.

And if you hadn't heard, Little Squeeze is the official pizza of the NFL this year, replacing Pizza Hut.

They out pizza'd the hut.

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So far the rewards are a GordieBarry sticker, a GordieBarry smokin' a stogey hat and finally, Detroit sports tickets of your choice (limited availability). We're adding more (like way more), so get a head start now.

Back to the action!

Lions Close Out Hard Knocks, Look Ahead To Philly

Well folks, the moment is finally here. Ole' put up or shut up time. Week One. Detroit takes on Philadelphia, the favorites to win the NFC East (tied with Dallas, +150) this Sunday 1pm, at Ford Field.

Last year our boys took on Philly week 8 at home, on Halloween, and the result was a convincing 44-6 drubbing that moved Detroit to 0-8. Spooky stuff.

The line for Sunday currently sits at Lions +4.

Hard Knocks has certainly added to the excitement/hype/inevitable disappointment of this year's team. Episode five wrapped last night, and outside of a surprise appearance from Eminem...

...the storyline focused mainly on roster cuts.

• QB David Blough, cut, resigned to Minnesota's practice squad

• WR Kalil Pimpleton, cut, resigned to Giants' practice squad

• OL Obinna Eze, cut from 53-man roster, signed to Lions practice squad

• RB Craig Reynolds, made Lions 53-man roster

• Malcolm Rodriguez, made the Lions 53-man roster... and is currently #2 in jersey sales behind Hutchinson, according to Rod Wood.

Onto Philly.

Michigan Routes Colorado St. But There's QB Drama

Sure, Colo State ain't 'Bama, but if you're a Wolverines fan you have to be happy with what you saw - especially on the defensive side of the ball. In Jesse Minter's first game at D-coordinator, Blue was able to produce seven sacks, 11 tackles for loss and two turnovers en route to a 51-7 beatdown of the Rams.

That's all fine and dandy but the juicy headline is the draaammmmaaaa in the QB room. Let's recap:

• Incumbent Cade McNamara (senior) vs upstart JJ McCarthy (sophomore)

• August 27th: Michigan/Harbaugh announces the QB competition will continue into the season, with Cade starting game one and JJ starting game two, then a final decision will be made

• Cade reacts to this decision by calling it "unusual"

• JJ does this on Instagram:

• September 3rd: Cade had a not-bad-but-not-great performance, going 9 of 18 for 136 yards and one TD vs Colorado St.

• JJ got some time as well, going 4 for 4 for 30 yards passing and a 50-yard rushing touchdown which Harbaugh referred to as "electric".

Next Saturday JJ gets the start vs Hawaii, who quite honestly might be one of the worst teams in college football. We think this job is JJ's from here on out.

Rocky Start For State, Pull Away Late, Lose Two Defensive Starters

It wasn't pretty nor convincing but at the end of the night State walked away with a blowout victory over MAC in-state opponent Western Michigan. Historically, MSU seems to under perform versus lesser teams in their openers.

QB Payton Thorne went 12/24, 233 yards with four touchdowns. That was Thorne's fourth game throwing at least four touchdowns which ties Connor Cook's MSU record.

RB Jalen Berger, the Wisconsin transfer, rushed for 120 yards on 16 attempts and a touchdown. Much of that 120 coming off of a 50-yard scamper halfway through the fourth.

The biggest news of the night came from the Spartan injury report, potentially losing two starters on the defensive side of the ball. Via MLive:

Starting linebacker Darius Snow is out for the rest of the year and it’s unclear when starting safety Xavier Henderson will return, coach Mel Tucker announced on Monday afternoon.

Tucker didn’t specify what the injuries were to either and said they’re still waiting on information to know the full extent of Snow’s injury.

A Bronco-like kick to the teeth for Sparty fans.

MSU takes on Akron next Saturday (9/10), 4pm at home.

Miggy's On IL, Meadow's Opens Up About Mental Health

As much as I enjoy writing this newsletter I gotta say this section fills me with an existential dread I never knew could exist.

Tigers have lost six out of their last seven with three of those losses coming in at L's of seven runs or more.

Last night, after Baez had the go-ahead RBI in the 10th, then decided to do this...

...which led to the Angels tying the game at four, and eventually winning, with a walk-off bunt.

They are 34 games below the 500 mark and 39-year-old Miggy just hit the IL. He has a bicep strain and chronic pain in his right knee. Since July 8th the Tigers legend is batting a cool .131. He's got four dingers and 37 RBI on the season.

Tigers management has stated they hope to have him back later this season which has everyone in the Detroit-area and beyond asking.... why? why in god's name would we want to see anymore of him this season? No disrespect to the legend but I think we can call it a year at this point.

The nightmare continues!

Tigers have designated veteran pitcher Michael Pineda for assignment. 

And what was an exciting pre-season signing in Austin Meadows has turned into an injury filled campaign... inner ear infection, then vertigo, then COVID-19, then lingering soreness in both Achilles tendons. On Friday, Austin tweeted this:

Very tough year all around, especially for Meadows. Get well soon my friend!

Training Camp, Prospect Tournament Approaches

On September 22nd, our Wings will head north to scenic Traverse City to begin their training camp. There are plenty of changes in place, from the head coach all the way down to the last roster spot. But before the actual training camp takes place, Detroit will host their 23rd annual NHL Prospect Tournament.

From September 15th-26th, Detroit will host Columbus, Dallas, St. Louis and Toronto for five-straight days of round-robin action, with each team playing either three or four games.

While there are some very exciting names on this list, Soderblom, Edvinsson, Cossa... Wings twitter is most excited about, you guessed it...

Ivan Ivan. He's a forward who just wrapped up playing for Czechia at the World Juniors.

Should be a fun one to keep an eye on.

Training Camp Approaches, Kemba Walker Buy-Out Questions

PG Kemba Walker was acquired on draft day from the New York Knicks which allowed Detroit to secure the number 13 overall pick in Jalen Duren. The plan has always been to buy-out Walker's contract, making him a free agent, but that has not happened- why? James L. Edwards III of The Athletic explains...

The holdup isn’t on the Pistons’ end, though. For the Pistons to not pay the entire $9 million due to the veteran point guard this season, the two sides must agree on a buyout number that works for both parties — a number for Walker that still gives him a good chunk of the money owed while allowing him to find a better situation, and a number for the Pistons that allows them to get a little bit of a discount to let Walker run free.

Per sources, the Pistons and Walker had agreed on a number, which was a few million less than what he’s owed. However, and this is just an *educated hunch,* Walker has yet to officially agree to the terms of the buyout because, well, a player usually takes a buyout when he’s sure that he can sign with another team and make up some of the money he gave back. So, if you read the tea leaves, it sounds like Walker is unsure that another team out there is interested in his services at this exact point in time.

To sum it all up in one sentence: It feels like Walker doesn’t have another team lined up right now and there is no point in him taking less money until he does.

The Pistons begin training camp dates have not been officially announced, but look for it to be around September 26th and run will October 1st.

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See you next week.