MSU will beat Michigan this year.

MSU will beat Michigan this year...or maybe we have that backwards?

Welcome back.

Remember as a kid how exciting it was to attend a professional sporting event and find yourself on the Jumbotron or even better, TV?

That feeling doesn't go away, even if you're playing on one of the teams being televised.

Alex Nedeljkovic. What a gem.

We'd absolutely love it if you could send this newsletter to one person in your contact list. Honestly, just hit the forward button, start typing a name in the 'to' section, and the first email that auto-populates, select it and fire away.

Dracarys!

Lions (1-5) Turn the Ball Over, Lose Big, 2023 Mock Draft Season Is Officially Here

Sunday's rematch of the 2014 NFC Wild Card game featured two main storylines:

• The once-again-woeful Lions, coming off a bye week, had the chance to set their season on the right track with an upset win on the road versus the Dallas Cowboys.

• Dak Prescott returned to QB for the Cowboys after missing five straight weeks with a broken thumb.

Guess which one got more buzz?

The Lions entered this game as 7-point underdogs, have the worst defense in the NFL statistically, and were facing a Pro-Bowl quarterback who apparently hand selected Detroit as the team to make his return against.

It all looked like it was going to be a nightmare from start to finish.

But alas, this is the NFL, where nothing from week-to-week makes any sense at all. So naturally the score at half was Lions: 6, Cowboys: 3.

It wasn't the defense that would be the demise of the Lions this Sunday, who held Dak to a manageable 207 yards passing and Zeke to a measly 57 yards on the ground. No, it was turnovers.

Goff threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles but the biggest turnover came from Jamaal Williams on the goal line.

Trailing 10-6 with a chance to take the lead, Williams put the ball on the turf from the 1-yard line to lose the first ever fumble of his career. The play prior, TE Brock Wright, was stopped inches short of a touchdown on a screen play.

Some super-Lions-like shit.

The Lions D would force a Cowboy punt, but Goff would turn the ball over on each of the Lions final three drives to secure a blowout road loss in Dak's return.

With the Lions now 1-5 and not a kneecap in sight to nibble on - it's officially 2023 mock draft season, and we didn't even make it through October.

The Lions currently hold the #1 overall pick if the season were to end today.

And after Goff's 37 turnovers Sunday and not scoring a touchdown since week four, a lot of Detroiters are wondering what the future holds at QB.

Lions next gutting will come from the Miami Dolphins, Sunday 1pm at Ford Field.

An Up & Down Week For The City's Most Promising Team

Our Wings, after starting 2-0-1, came back down to earth a little bit. After hearing the news of Tyler Bertuzzi's injury, Wings fans were promptly hit with more bad news.

Budding star and fan favorite, Jakub Vrana, has entered the player assistance program.

The player assistance program helps with any potential drug, alcohol or mental health issues players might be having. So we are unsure of the exact nature of the reason Jakub entered the program, all we will say is we hope he has a speedy recovery.

The Wings just completed a three game stretch that was pretty inconsistent- blowing a lead and eventually losing in overtime to arch-rival Chicago (on their opening night no less), beating the breaks off the Ducks at home, then conversely getting smoked by New Jersey.

For a very, and I mean very, hot second there, the Wings were the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss...before getting drubbed by the Devils on the only day it was an active statistic.

The highlights of the season so far:

• Dominik Kubalik, the free agent signing and former 30-goal scorer with Chicago, is on FIRE. He leads the team in points with ten (4 G, 6 A) and with this beauty finish on a feed from Hagg last night he locked in a multi-point night for the FOURTH straight game.

• Captain Larkin has also been hot, notching 4 goals and 4 assists to start the season

• Points-wise, Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider and Filip Zadina are off to an extremely sluggish start, combining for a whopping 0 goals and 3 assists (Zadina doesn't have a point).

Lastly, Adidas released their second batch of 'Reverse Retro' jerseys for the 2022-23 season. Here is the Wings.

These designs were met with some pretty extreme hostility. Mostly because they look just like Chicago's.

Yikes. But fans started to come around when they got to see the full uniform.

Check out all the Reverse Retros, complete with rankings, here.

Next up!

Tigers Hire Tampa's Rob Metzler as VP, Assistant GM

While Justin Verlander prepares for yet another World Series appearance not with the Tigers, Detroit is making moves as well, hiring an assistant GM.

What a depressing sentence that was.

Via ESPN:

The Detroit Tigers have hired Tampa Bay scouting director Rob Metzler as vice president and assistant general manager, the team announced Tuesday.

Metzler spent 15 seasons with the Rays, working the past seven years as the team's senior director of amateur scouting.

He will lead the Tigers' amateur and international scouting departments, working under president of baseball operations Scott Harris.

The Tigers have made a series of off-season personnel changes, firing hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh and quality control coach Josh Paul.

If the Tigers fail to make the playoffs next year, it will be the ninth year in a row not doing so.

No pressure everybody.

Pistons Open With Win, Proceed To Get Pummeled

After opening the season with a strong effort and win versus the Orlando Magic at home, Detroit took to the road and has now suffered three straight L's in lackluster performances, losing by an average of 18.

Former #1 overall pick and biggest hope for the Pistons to ever be relevant again, Cade Cunningham, has struggled through the first four games of the season. The OK State product is shooting 38.6% from the field and 31.8% from three.

Bojan, on the other hand, has been hot as a Yugoslavian tea kettle. He's been exactly what the Pistons need him to be, shooting 51% from three and averaging 20.8 points a game, with a high of 25 on Tuesday.

While the Pistons were not expected to be any type of world-beaters this year (most pundits predicted them around the 27-win mark) the start is somewhat concerning.

What's even spookier is their upcoming stretch of games, via Freep:

The Pistons’ next 12 games include two contests against the Atlanta Hawks (Wednesday and Friday), two games against the Milwaukee Bucks, two games against the Boston Celtics and a game each against the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers. Things could get rough, fast.

With all that being said, rookies Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren have had very promising starts to their NBA careers.

Duren has been a running highlight reel. Whether it's dunking on someone or swatting balls off the backboard, Duren, who is only 18, is solidifying himself has this year's energy guy.

Ivey, the Pistons 5th overall pick this year, has impressed as well. Via Freep:

It’s already obvious Ivey will be one of the Pistons' best open-floor playmakers this season. He accelerates like a Porsche. By the time the defense fully registers a possession as a transition opportunity, Ivey is usually already past half-court and positioned to make a play. He has created several scoring opportunities by catching defenses off guard.

Up next! (Gulp):

RIVALRY WEEK IS UPON US

Well, we've arrived. #4 Michigan hosts unranked and pretty much irrelevant Michigan State in Ann Arbor Saturday for a 7:30 kickoff that is sure to have the entire state of Michigan buzzing.

Now, this matchup comes no where near the hype of last years' top ten matchup in East Lansing, which featured the likes of Aiden Hutchinson and Kenneth Walker III.

Nonetheless, it's late October, Michigan is playing Michigan State and Paul Bunyan is up for grabs.

Last year Sparty took Paul Bunyan home, winning 37-34 at home.

But this year is a much different story as Michigan comes into the game as the clear top dog, sitting at a 22.5 point favorite and currently -2500 odds to win the game.

U of M has been outright dominant this year en route to a perfect 7-0 record. Behind the legs of Heisman candidate Blake Corum, who has rushed 146 times for 901 yards and 13 touchdowns through the first seven games.

Michigan's perfect start includes a 4-0 Big Ten Conference record, beating the likes of Maryland, Iowa, Indiana and most recently #10 Penn State with an average margin of victory coming in at 16.25

MSU's latest run has not been so successful. After whomping on two MAC East & West schools, Sparty got downright embarrassed on national TV by Washington, then proceeded to lose three straight conference games by an average score of 23.3.

But their latest game, a 34-28 double overtime thriller over Wisconsin, gives Spartan hopefuls some faith that the team might not be completely incapable of hanging with Michigan on Saturday.

MSU is currently on a 2-game win streak within the rivalry, taking last years nuclear showdown in dramatic fashion and winning in 2020, when they were also 20+ point underdogs.

This year undoubtedly feels like a U of M blowout is on the horizon. But as any smart fan, coach or player will tell you, in a rivalry game, you have to throw out all the records, all the stats, and all the history books.

Michigan has everything to play for, and everything to lose. MSU's season, on the other hand, has been a massive disappointment. They really have nothing to lose in this one. An MSU victory would be the saving grace of the season for Mel Tucker and Co.

This is the first time in the rivalry's history the two teams are coming off of a bye week entering the matchup.

Hold onto your butts.

That's all for this week folks, again, if you could forward this along to someone, anyone, we would greatly appreciate it.