"I freakin' regret my decision at the end"

With Wings preseason kicking off last night and spooky season right around the corner, I thought this was appropriate.

If you haven't seen the new Dahmer series on Netflix, that probably went right over your head. But trust us, it's funny and relevant.

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Forward.

Questionable Coaching Decisions Lead To Lions (1-2) Blown Lead(s) & Loss

Watching the Lions Sunday was a lot like riding a rollercoaster. It started with positive energy and gleeful excitement and ended with dizzying confusion and unexpected vomit.

Yuck. A familiar yuck, though.

The Lions came out in this game firing on all cylinders, scoring touchdowns on two of their first three drives (Hockenson, Williams) to give Detroit a 14-0 lead. Seibert doinked one off the right upright on the first drive.

Detroit's offense was more aggressive than Titus Young in an impound lot, going for it on fourth down four times in the first half and converting three.

Minnesota would come roaring back however, scoring two tugs of their own (Thielen, Cook) before half.

Halftime - Lions: 14, Vikings: 14

Detroit came out flying again in the second half, forcing Minnesota into a quick three-and-out then subsequently scoring a field goal and touchdown (Williams again) to take a 10 point lead.

After a few punt exchanges, the Vikings would put together a six-play, 57-yard drive, resulting in a Mattison TD (Cook excited the game with a shoulder injury).

This is where the exciting ride turns into a nauseous nightmare. On the Lions second to last drive, they did this...

Ultimately getting stopped on a fourth and 1 at Minnesota's 30.

Lions would then turn Minnesota over on downs in under a minute at the Vikings 47. 2:32 left. Detroit ball, up three at Minnesota's 47.

Detroit would pick up 11 yards and drain the clock down to 1:14, where Detroit would face a fourth and four at Minnesota's 36. Decision time for Dan.

Detroit, who had gone for it on fourth down SIX times throughout the day (converting four), decided they would send out a shaky Austin Seibert to attempt a career long field goal (54 yards). He missed by a country mile.

And then, Detroit's defense folded like a lawn chair as the Vikings proceeded to score a touchdown in three plays taking 25 seconds.

A Goff interception would seal the Lions' week three fate.

Final - Vikings: 28 (2-1), Lions 24 (1-2)

Game Notes:

• Swift banged up: Swift was on a pitch-count due to a shoulder injury. Campbell said it's likely he misses some time.

• Safety and team captain Tracy Walker tore his achilles in the first quarter. His season is over.

• Jeff Okudah is starting to look like the third overall pick, locking up one of the league's top receivers, Justin Jefferson, for three catches and 14 yards on six targets.

• Goff: 25/41, 277 yards, 1 TD and 1 pick for a QB rating of 79

• Williams: With Swift banged up Williams had 20 carries for 87 yards and two TD's

Next Up: Seattle (1-2), Sunday Oct. 2nd at Ford Field

Michigan (4-0) Faces First Test vs Maryland, Passes

Michigan's high school bullying tour officially concluded last week with a beat down of UConn. This week they opened up Big Ten play at home vs Maryland, and their was a stark difference in competition.

Though right off the rip it didn't look like it, as Maryland muffed the opening kickoff at their own ten and U of M scored exactly one play later. It was 7-0 eight seconds into the game.

And while the start of the game felt like it was going to be another blowout for Blue, that was far from the case.

In a game that felt like Maryland could steal almost the entire time, it was Junior RB Blake Corum's 30 carries for 243 and two touchdowns that would end up being the difference in Michigan's 34-27 victory.

Most notably, Corum had two Terrapin shell-shattering touchdown runs. The first was a 33-yard scamper with under 30 seconds left in the first half on fourth and one. The other was with 3:31 remaining in the game, Corum went 47-yards to the crib, making it 34-19- all but icing the game.

The other big storyline from Saturday was newly anointed starting QB JJ McCarthy. Via The Athletic:

If McCarthy’s first two starts felt too good to be true, Saturday served as a reminder that he’s not a finished product. McCarthy went 18-for-26 for 220 yards, and if this is what an off day looks like, Michigan has a lot to look forward to. But unlike in the previous two games, when McCarthy rarely seemed challenged, Maryland got him out of rhythm at times and forced some ill-advised plays.

Michigan (4-0) takes on Iowa (3-1) in Iowa City this Saturday at noon.

Sparty Downright Embarrassed at Home vs PJ Fleck's Golden Gophers

After MSU's abysmal performance last week in Seattle vs Washington we knew Sparty wasn't a top ranked team, but we had no idea it was this bad.

Minnesota walked into East Lansing unranked, took Michigan State behind their beloved "Woodshed", chopped them into sawdust, and walked out ranked in the top 25.

Last Saturday, absolutely nothing went right for Michigan State, surrendering 268 yards on the ground and another 240 through the air while also coughing up two interceptions and a fumble on the offensive side of the ball.

Minnesota scored on their first three drives, which were reminiscent of the MSU-OSU game last year, where the Buckeyes trounced the Spartans 56-7.

The one glimmer of hope came at the beginning of the second quarter. MSU was trailing 17-0 and driving at Minnesota's five-yard line, then Peyton Thorne fumbled and it was recovered by Minnesota, all but sealing MSU's fate.

Peyton Thorne finished the game 17/24 for 132 yards, two interceptions and a total QBR of 11.2.

State begins an absolutely nightmarish stretch vs @Maryland, Ohio State, Wisconsin and @Michigan beginning next week in College Park.

Gulp.

Tigers Sweep & Eliminate White Sox, Win 6 of 7

Ever since the new guy, Scott Harris - President of Baseball Operations, showed up the Tigs have been damn near unbeatable. Taking two of three from the Orioles, sweeping rival Sox in Chicago and then winning a tight one at home vs KC.

The highlight of the week came in Chicago. Having a lengthy history with the Chicago Cubs, White Sox fans seem to still perpetually hate Javy Baez. That was made overtly apparent this weekend at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Boo's showered Javy the entire series, but it was Baez who would have the last laugh.

He proceeded to shush the crowed as he trotted around the bases.

The next day the Tigers would complete the sweep with a 4-1 W, officially eliminating Chicago from the AL Central race.

Cleveland has won the Central Division for the first time since 2018.

Kubalik Buries Two as Wings Route 'Guins in Preseason Opener

PITTSBURGH, PA - The Wings officially kicked-off the preseason last night with a 6-2 win over the Penguins in PPG Paints Arena. Via Freep:

Free-agent signee Dominik Kubalik had two special teams goals, and prospect Elmer Soderblom and veteran Steven Kampfer both scored for the Wings, who host the Blackhawks on Wednesday in the second of eight preseason games.

Filip Zadina and Tyler Spezia also added goals as the Wings would score four straight after trailing 1-0.

Victor Brattstrom of the Grand Rapids Griffins and Sabastian Cossa, the Wings 15th overall pick in 2021, split time in net, each surrendering a goal.

We know it's only one preseason game, but we're going to overreact. The Wings lineup of mostly prospects took down a damn-near full Penguins roster in convincing fashion. The two goalies mentioned above have exactly zero games of NHL playing experience, and they held Crosby, Malkin & Co to only two goals.

As the Wings make their way opening night on Friday, Oct. 14th, here are the preseason positions battles:

For the third defensive pair: Jordan Oesterle, Gustav Lindstrom, Robert Hagg, Simon Edvinsson & Albert Johansson. Final lineup wing: Adam Erne, Givani Smith & Jonatan Berggren. Then, it will be interesting to see where the Wings decide to place Michael Rasmussen and Joe Veleno.

To view the entire preseason roster, click here.

Pistons Trade for Jazz F Bojan Bogdanovic Just Ahead of Training Camp

Last Thursday, Pistons GM Troy Weaver agreed to send C Kelly Olynyk and G Saban Lee to the Utah Jazz in exchange for three-point shooting big man Bojan Bogdanovic.

Bogdanovic is 33, 6-foot-7, and has spent the last three seasons with Utah, averaging 18.4 points and shooting 39.7% on 6.8 three-point attempts per game. (Via Freep)

He immediately becomes Detroit's number one three point option. Via The Athletic:

For Detroit, this deal, while on the surface isn’t particularly flashy, checks a few boxes. First, it clears a bit of a logjam at the center position. Before the deal, Detroit had five-ish centers on its roster. Removing Olynyk and bringing in Bogdanovic clears some of that logjam while still maintaining versatility in the frontcourt. There’s a more clear path for the likes of rookie Jalen Duren and veteran Nerlens Noel.

Secondly, the Pistons had a bit of a wing deficiency on the roster, and Bogdanovic, who is 6-foot-7, can float between both forward spots.

Lastly, Detroit has been one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA the last two seasons. Bogdanovic has been one of the league’s best 3-point shooters for the last five seasons. He balances the Pistons’ roster nicely and provides adequate spacing for young guards Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, assuming the latter is in the starting lineup on opening night.

That's all she wrote. If you could do us the absolute HONOR or forwarding this onto a friend, co-worker, enemy or your crush in accounting, we would greatly appreciate it.

See you next week.