JayarJackson

The futility that has been virtually synonymous with the Detroit Lions for most of their existence has taken a new turn that fans have been begging for.  Their last 5 appearances in the playoffs, ranging from ’93-’99, had them being booted in the first round each time.  The insertion of Matt Millen as the President and GM for the team in 2001 was supposed to change their losing ways, maybe get some new juices flowing in a struggling franchise.  He instead went on to be a part of the reason the team has forgotten the playoffs exist with a 31-81 record since his tenure began. 

With angry fans calling for the dismissal of Millen for a few years now, owner William Clay Ford, Sr. finally pulled the string and yanked him out of the front office early Wednesday.  The buildup must have been too much for him to bear.  After being completely determined to ride out Millen’s uncanny ability to draft NFL busts by granting him a contract extension in 2005, his son, Vice Chairman Bill Jr. was asked his feelings on the job security of their guy that picks players based on how soon they’ll crumble.  His thoughts on Monday were recorded with him wearing a brown paper bag over his head reading “Fire Millen.”  

With Millen out of the way, it seems that everyone is ready for a return to glory for the Lions and their fans.  HockeyTown will become FootballTown.  Sure, there’s DeeeeTroit Basketbaaaal, but DeeeeTroit Football is now on the map!  Fans can be ready for some success like they last had, back in 1957.  Calm down, Old Timer. 

Sure, this was a move that had to be made.  Millen had no previous executive experience and proved to not have the skills necessary in his first and probably last stint.  He chose talent that many would have, but the entire equation in developing those players with the right staff just didn’t add up.  I even think Joey Harrington and Mike Williams were two of the beer-bellied fans holding anti-Millen banners.  Although he’s gone, we shouldn’t expect Rudi Johnson and Kevin Smith to turn into Barry Sanders.  With this 0-3 start to the season, fans should look forward to the start of the NBA season, pack this one in, and take the firing of Matt Millen as one of their 3 upcoming victories this year. 


--JJJ
 

The saga of The Oakland Raiders involving someone Al Davis is displeased with has taken a curious turn after Sunday’s beating handed to the Kansas City Chiefs.  It’s well-known that the 79 year-old managing general partner of the team (lets just call him the owner) has an insatiable desire to claim two more Lombardi trophies before his time is up.  This craving is so great; he seems to have no patience or thought process when it comes to the coaches he hires and immediately fires, or the rejected players he brings into a rehab facility set up for failure. 

His latest quick trigger decision of hiring the league’s youngest coach, Lane Kiffin last season has Davis ready to run the 33 year-old out of town after only one game into this young season.  The public disagreements between the coach, owner, and coaching staff’s decisions from player personnel to game plans had news conferences and headlines written waving goodbye to Kiffin’s first stint as an NFL head coach despite the result of Sunday’s match up with Kansas City. 

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Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young arguably made the most exciting play in a college football National Championship game when he nearly single-handedly knocked off the “unbeatable” USC Trojans.  Life was great; he was on the top of the world and was soon drafted as the Titans top pick in the ’06 Draft. 

Quickly after the tickertape parades and glowing compliments about his elusiveness, the harsh criticisms that come with being a starting quarterback in the NFL came down upon Young.  Before he even threw his first pass in the league, many questioned his unorthodox side-armed throwing motion, and many USC Trojans like me couldn’t wait to see the speed of pro linebackers and the complicated nature of professional defenses slow him down. 

With 2 NFL seasons now under his belt, Young has seemingly begun to crumble under the extreme pressure of the league.  After not making the playoffs his first season and a 1st round loss to the Chargers in last year’s playoffs, where the Titans only put up 6 points, the insane impatience of football fans with Young’s lack of magic has bogged the 25 year-old down.  Where’s the guy that ran all over and around USC? 

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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson…excuse me, Chad Ocho Cinco, has definitely kept himself in the spotlight during the offseason.  After being so upset about the moves, or lack thereof by his team in making sure they are a Super Bowl contender this season, he demanded a trade and eventually vowed to never play for them again.  After that got him nothing but grief from fans and the Sports Supreme Court we know as ESPN, he revisited a controversial issue from 2 seasons ago, just to spice things up. 

Although known for his innovative touchdown celebrations, Chad Johnson started warm-ups for a week 8 game against the Falcons in ’06 with “Ocho Cinco” attached to over his name with Velcro.  This harmless stunt which ended in Carson Palmer ripping the fake name off, revealing his normal, “C. Johnson” jersey cost Chad $5,000 in fines from the league. I guess those precious young NFL fans might get the wrong idea and start asking their parents about the devil language of Spanish in hopes of understand what their hero; Chad Johnson was trying to say with that devastating statement. 

Just before this fresh, new ’08 season began, Chad Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco.  On Sunday’s season-opening game when everyone expected to see the name legally and freely splattered on the back of the guy everyone loves to hate, we saw the boringly familiar C. Johnson instead.  What the hell, how did they put shackles on him now? 

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