Sports that Drive the Motor City

 The rivalry really starts to heat up after Devin Bush decided it was a good idea to rip his cleats into the Spartan logo at midfield. After warm ups Michigan wins the coin toss and Jim Harbaugh elects to receive in the first half knowing bad weather is on the way. Both teams punt once before the game gets delayed by lightening while Michigan was driving. After a delay of an hour and 15 minutes Michigan completes the drive for a touch down. MSU kept it close for most of the game but the defense couldn't keep it up falling to Michigan 21-7. Number six Michigan moves up a spot to five after Ohio State is upset by Purdue. Across the state in Mount Pleasant, Western Michigan rolls over Central Michigan in the lesser of the two cross state rivalries.

 Is this the start of Dead Wings 2.0? The Red Wings won for the first time this year in their eighth game but the season is looking bleak. After a two nothing lead by the Florida Panthers the game was looking like it was already lost. Early in the second period Detroit drew two penalties and efficiently converted on both of them tying the game 2-2. Less than two minutes after the second goal by Detroit, Dylan Larkin scored on a back and forth pass by Darren Helm. With less than two minutes to play and the Panthers goalie pulled, Mike Hoffman scores off a deflection to tie the game with one minute and 16 seconds to play in the third period. Again with one minute and 16 seconds left in overtime Gustav Nyquist wins it with a stolen puck by Larkin. The season is going to be long and the wins will be sparse but I think the main thing to be watching this season will be the young core. As long as the young guys do well hopefully we won't be in the basement too long.

 As Little Caesars Arena starts to replace all the red seats with black ones to hide the empty arena, the Pistons are undefeated. Will the Pistons be able to keep this up and fill the arena after last season? The team is confidant that they can make the playoffs but the fans aren't on board. This will be Blake Griffins first full year with the Pistons after last years blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. So as long as the team stays healthy they might have a shot. But with Blake's big cap hit, the Pistons are locked in for the time being. Lets go Pistons for now but what does the future hold?

 The Lions ran all over the Miami Dolphins, no pun intended. Kerryon Johnson lead the team in rushing with 158 yards and resulted in the highest total yards (248 yd.) on the ground in 21 years. Matt Stafford and the Lions offense was on fire Sunday, only punting once and not a single turn over in the game. Stafford was 18 for 22 for 217 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Lions to a 32-21 win. Can we buy into the Lions again only to be let down? The division isn't looking super strong so the path to the playoffs might only be possible by winning the division. We need to see how the team performs in the division and against winning teams. But it's still too early to count them out. Lets try not to get our hopes up.

 Quicken Loans Inc. Chairman Dan Gilbert, Detroit Pistons Owner Tom Gores, and Detroit Lions Martha Firestone Ford are leading Detroit's bid for an MLS club. Gilbert and Gores originally were planning on using the old fail jail site for a mix use development that included a soccer specific stadium. As that plan didn't come to fruition they switched the stadium to Ford Field and as a result lost the bid for teams number 25 and 26. MLS prefers that their clubs play in a soccer stadium and if not that it at least has the ability to open the roof. This is a problem for Detroit's bid even with one of the best markets left in the country that is untapped. The group conducted a feasibility study to see if Ford Field could to retrofitted with a retractable roof and came up empty handed. Now a few days ago they proposed another $95 million to the bid. Out of the $95 million, $50 million would be put into thesoccer academy at Palmer Park, $20 million would be invested into 100 youth soccer fields throughout the Detroit area, and the last $25 million would be to renovate Ford Field even further. Most of that $25 million from my understanding would be put into screens covering the upper bowl. There's two more cities that will be awarded with expansion teams by 2022 and hopefully we're one of them.

 I hope you enjoyed my sport summaries from the weekend and if you have any questions or comments I would be happy to read them.