Cue The Violins, Here Come The Experts!

A rookie baseball player had started his career for the New York Giants 0-25, he was flailing beyond a doubt. The baseball experts were convinced that this poor fellow was toast and recommended he be released. That poor fellow turned out to be Willie Mays.

     History's dustbin is full of the fluff produced by experts; economics, physics, markets, politics, you name it. Practically every field has it's experts and they all share one thing in common: They are almost always wrong. So what provokes a sportswriter to wax poetically about experts? Naturally it's got to be the Detroit Lions. It was the Lions that taught me my first lesson about experts. Did you know that it would be nearly impossible for a guy with half a foot to kick a 63 yard field goal? Wrong! The history of the Detroit Lions has taught me this: If you have accounted for the 5 things that will cause your team to play poorly, a 6th thing will emerge to crush your spirit. All of this is well known to Lion fans so why bring it up now?

Wolf Blitzer picks the Vikings to easily defeat the Detroit Lions. That's right, Wolf Blitzer from CNN.

I can deal with a lot, I'm a Lions fan, I've heard it before, ESPN across the board, 10 writers, pick the Vikings, The Detroit News, The Detroit Free Press, they pick the Vikings, The Journal of Thoracic Surgeons pick the Vikings, for crying out loud, I bet, if I asked, The Mother Earth News would pick the Vikings to win, but Wolf Blitzer was the last straw. Despite the fact that Brett Farve has been in the saddle for perhaps one rodeo too many, the offensive line has question marks at center and tackle, that the wide receivers have at home nursing care. The thought that the Lions are desperate for a win is of little concern, that their running game has improved, bah, that we have three tight ends with speed and talent, humbug, humbug I say! Did I fail to mention that we have a defensive lineman whose name includes the word Kong, as in King? 

    Who am I to argue with a guy who reads a teleprompter for a living? I'm just a guy who has watched and loved football since 1972, but I am willing to admit, my teleprompter skills could use some polish. For the last two weeks we have seen the Detroit Lions featured prominently on the national sports broadcasts. The Calvin Johnson catch that is only a catch if it's Tuesday and your social security number ends in 6, unless of course, you're left handed and born on a weekend. The next week we got to see, over and over again, the glorious return of Michael Vick. Not one sports related network showed Vick being tattooed by three lion defenders so hard that he was called for spiking the ball in bounds.

     So what are the chances that Brett Farve can receive the same treatment, what are the odds that the Lions can make the national sports reports for the third straight week? If the Lions won, what shows would be interrupted for this special news-break? Will CNN do the; This just in...Lions beat Vikings, middle east negotiators are stunned. Who would we turn to if football expert Wolf Blitzer can no longer be counted on for his expert analysis?

     If we absolutely, positively, have to settle for 4-6 wins this year, then this is the one one I want. I'm not going to bargain with God for this, frankly, he owes me one anyway, and make it a blow out please, whatever it takes to get Wolf Blitzer back to the sleep therapy he provides to the nation by way of reading the news.