Lions Report: Nick Fairley meet Ndomukong Suh

Something is very different in Detroit this upcoming football season.  People are talking about the Lions in a positive light and not just diehard Lions fans.  I have even heard the words Lions and playoffs in the same sentence.  Much of the talk revolves around third year quarterback Matthew Stafford.  He has shown strong leadership when he has been on the field, but his first two seasons have been cut short by injuries.  Many people think that if Stafford remains healthy the Lions have a good chance of making the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Certainly Stafford’s health, leadership and play will be extremely important to this year’s Lions season.  However, Detroit’s success is more likely to be determined on the opposite side of the ball.  According to John Clayton of ESPN, Nick Fairley should be matched up with last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, Ndomukong Suh sometime in September.  Fairley has the potential to win the award this year if he is able to get and stay healthy for the regular season.  This pair can be a dominant force and are already bringing fear to opposing quarterbacks.

With a ferocious defensive center, the Lions can shut down the running game and make teams one dimensional.  Fairley and Suh have the athleticism to create pass pressure right up the middle, directly into the quarterback's face.  Dominant defensive line play can make the secondary better, force more turnovers and give the Lions’ offense a shorter field to work with.  A shorter field will help keep Stafford upright and healthy and the Lions playing with a lead.  Remember offense fills the stands, but defense wins championships.  Along with Stafford and Calvin Johnson on offense, Fairley and Suh are the foundation for the Detroit Lions.

Fairley and Suh bring a nastiness that can take over a game.  Of course this is the Lions and with the kinder, gentler NFL rules, what was once considered great defense may now result in 15 yard penalties and fines for the defensive duo.  Unwarranted penalties for great hits could limit their effectiveness.  Fairley and Suh will anchor a defensive line that could show the greatness of the Monsters of the Midway, the Steel Curtain, the Fearsome Foursome and the Purple People Eaters.  That would mean great times for Lions fans this year and in the future.  However if Fairley and Suh are penalized for hits that would make Dick Butkus, Mean Joe Green, Deacon Jones and Carl Eller proud, the Lions could see defeat snatched from the hands of victory. 

It’s my opinion that Nick Fairley and Ndomukong Suh will be able to keep the nastiness factor high within the Brady / Manning era of softhearted NFL rules.  Fairley’s presence will make Suh even more dominant than his rookie season.  So it’s time for preseason predictions.  I have high hopes for this Lions team, but they still have some more building to do.  Regardless, I have the Lions going 10 – 6 and winning their first playoff game in twenty years.  However that is as far as they will go this season.  After twenty years though, Detroit fans may give them a parade for a playoff victory.  OK, that may be going a little too far!  Still, Lions fans have a ton to be excited about this 2011 season.

At The Corner has a new page: Hall of Champions

Hall of Champions is an new page on At The Corner dedicated to every professional sports championship won in Detroit.  I hope you enjoy these images and memories.  Thanks for stopping by!

Things Remembered

"Michigan seems like a dream to me now!  It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw..." ~ Simon & Garfunkel:  America

There are some things that bring happy memories to every Michigander.  Summers were magical and adventure was only a few minutes away, no matter where you lived in Michigan.  Picnics were a main stay of summer with coolers filled with Faygo and Vernors while Koegel's hot dogs were on the grill.  "Everybody Ready?" 

This 1970's commercial was recorded on one of the Boblo Island Boats.  I've been to Boblo Island and I've been to Coney Island and one thing is for certain.  Boblo Island is the one that should still be open today.

Boblo Island was an amusement park, as the name suggests on an island south of Detroit at the mouth of the Detroit River, from 1898 until it closed in 1993.  Unlike Coney Island, where you get off the F train and walk across the street, the Boblo Island adventure began once you boarded one of the Boise Blanc Steamers.

Gracefully chugging down the Detroit River, you floated with anticipation to the amusement park with beautiful vistas of the Detroit skyline.  No matter the condition of Detroit and its economy, Detroit always looks amazing from the Detroit River.

Once you reached the dock at Boblo Island, you were transported in time and space to the magic that only an amusement park can provide. There was the Ferris Wheel, the Dance Hall, Falling Star, Wild Mouse, the Midway and of course roller coasters.  There was Nightmare, Screamer and Sky Streak if you dared. Your adventure could last until the night time.  Just make sure that you caught the last boat back to Detroit.

The best part of the Boblo Island experience was the boat ride there and back.  Filled with excitement, you would meet new friends and plan your riding adventure once you arrived at the park.  On the way back you would reminisce with those same friends about one of the best days of your young lives.  No matter when you went, it was a joy for all. 

The laughter, the lights and the thrills are gone now.  If you had the chance to be there at Boblo Island, you know how lucky you are.  Detroit needs to reinvent itself in the 21st Century.  With the same spirit that made Detroit the manufacturing capitol of the world, Detroit can rebuild itself.  Hopefully when Detroit is a thriving metropolitan once again, the laughter, the lights and the thrills will return to Boblo Island.

A Coming of Age Story of a Detroit Pistons Fan. Part I

The year was 1989 and the Bad Boys of the Detroit Pistons were well on their way to their first NBA Championship.  The day was April 19^th and for only $5, Piston’s fans could go to the Palace of Auburn Hills to watch Zeke and the gang clinch the Central Division and the NBA’s best record against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Palace Vision.  All the proceeds went to a local charity.  We had to go…

Todd Berner, Clarence Pearson, Chris Sharon, Joe Spegel and I loaded ourselves into my brother’s cream colored 1980 Plymouth Horizon.  For me this was the first time I went to Detroit without my mother or one of my older brothers.  For all of us, it was a chance to see history and express our independence.  I was the oldest, if only by a few days, just 50 days away from my 18^th birthday and graduating from Bay City Central High School.  I’m sure you remember when every day was a potential adventure.  We were all ready for ours.

The Palace was amazing and for all of us, it was our first time there.  The temple was in place to crown the Palace Guards and the Bad Boys of the NBA as World Champions.  The night belonged to the Pistons.  In their dominate style of 1989, they beat the Cavs handedly 118 – 102.  The Palace was one big party among close friends who had never met before that night.  Ken Calvert was our gracious host and he kept us all entertained, calling the game as if it were a home game.  His deep voice called out, “Isaaaaaaiaaaaaah Thomas, Joe Duuuuuuuuuuumars, Bill Laaaaaaaaaaaaaimbeer!!”

Being a fan himself, he also got caught up in the action.  At one point during the game after one of the NBA’s fabled bad calls by the refs Ken exclaimed, “TERRIBLE CALL!”  After a brief pause and realizing what he had just done he said, “I can finally say what I want to.”  WE LOVED IT!!  Later he led a chant of “Nuts and bolts, nuts and bolts, WE GOT SCREWED!”  But in the end all was perfect when he announced that “Our Deeeeeeetroit Piiiiiistons were Central Division Champs!”

The night was ours!  There was no doubt that our team; our town was the absolute best there was.  Nothing could take that away, especially not from our heroes who wore the red, white and blue Pistons logo on their uniforms.  Todd, Clarence, Chris, Joe and I were not ready for the night to end.  Of course no trip would be complete without going into Detroit, through the Windsor Tunnel to Canada and coming back over the Ambassador Bridge.  All that we missed was a delicious Detroit Coney Dog.  If you haven’t tried one, you are really missing something.

We had our fun and it was time to get home.  After all it was Wednesday night and we all had school the next day.  Five joyous kids in a 1980 Horizon, going 60 mph north on I-75 to Bay City, then it happened.  The power in the car cut, 55 mph, 50, 40, “can I make it to the exit?” 30 mph…  That exit off of I-75 was 8 Mile Road.  Surely you heard of it.  Eminem made a movie about it.  There we were five teenagers, about 120 miles away from home, stranded in one of the worst neighborhoods in the country.

To Be Continued…