October 30th, 2013 at 1:42 PM ^
And his dependency actually makes him greater. It's not easy to be great on your own, but it is even harder when you have to rely on someone else.
October 30th, 2013 at 4:52 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 5:46 PM ^
Al Kaline? Doesn't feel right without a Tiger.
October 31st, 2013 at 4:12 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 1:10 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 1:27 PM ^
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MANY NFL guys are on a lot of different PED's and all the "adderall" suspensions are just an agent's way of downplaying his client's transgressions.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:38 PM ^
Totally Agree. MLB gets skewered on PEDs, when they have by far the best testing in major sports. The NFL doesn't even test for HGH.......
October 30th, 2013 at 1:46 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 5:48 PM ^
That is an extraordinarily small part of their testing program. But valid point.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:30 PM ^
Though a much more minor sport in the USA than either, cycling probably gets the biggest skewering for this kind of cheating. Despite having a very high rate of testing in addition to considerably harsher penalties, typcially a year or more of being banned from the sport for first offense. I haven't heard of any MLB or NFL player who got more than 1/2 of a season let alone an entire year...not that it seems to be any deterant in cycling.
October 30th, 2013 at 4:41 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 1:10 PM ^
Miggy can't speak english very well and it hurts his marketability. Calvin on the other hand is a superstar with a humble attitude at a position where you don't see that very often. Calvin has a Nike campaign designed specifically for him.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:14 PM ^
Pavel, Z, Calvin, and Miggy.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:15 PM ^
/s but not really
Sidenote: weird to be excited for the Pistons again tonight.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^
I watched the Detroit game on Sunday. And holy hell, Calvin Johnson looks like he just stepped out of a video game. My humble suggestion is to enjoy him all that you can, because most teams never have a guy like that.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:21 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 2:51 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 4:50 PM ^
I spit out water on myself.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 1:38 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 1:42 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 2:06 PM ^
Fact is more people like football than baseball just check out the ratings for game 2 of the World Series compared to Thursday night football between the Panthers and the Bucs.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:25 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 2:54 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 3:21 PM ^
They were 6th in 2011
October 30th, 2013 at 8:51 PM ^
The D is the more popular logo, not necessarily the more popular team. I'm saying this as a far bigger baseball fan than pro football fan too.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:25 PM ^
I'm surprised there isn't more talk of Yzerman for all his years, Stanley Cups, 10 all-star years, 2 decades of being captain, Conn Smythe, Selke and Masterton trophies. And I think he almost won the Calder once. He's my #1 and he's running away with it.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:28 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 1:31 PM ^
Eh. In most of the country maybe, but not Detroit. Hockey and the Red Wings are huge here. Maybe not as big as the Lions or Tigers, but not very far off.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:36 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 1:50 PM ^
Over here in Chicago everyone seems to care about hockey all of a sudden... But I can't complain as long as hockey is growing somewhere. Unless ice time gets more expensive, of course.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:26 PM ^
On the other hand Calvin is an overall freak of nature physically, statistically, and is helping carrying the Lions from the basement of the NFL to a competitive (hopefully) playoff team.
It's really not a fair comparison to be honest.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:29 PM ^
Get to the NFC Championship game, then we can talk.
October 30th, 2013 at 1:47 PM ^
Yes. While we're at it why isn't Calvin getting enough of a push off the line? His coverage skills are poor also. And don't get me started on his tackling.
This isn't a good criticism of Calvin.
Football is a team sport and so is baseball.
October 31st, 2013 at 12:29 PM ^
That's a horrible argument. There are 21 other guys starting on O and D. This isn't basketball where one guy can carry a team.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:02 PM ^
I think it depends on the sport you watch. It seems like almost all Detroit fans love both Cabrera and CJ. I mean they both work their asses off and dominate at their position.
Personally for me Cabrera is slightly ahead of Megatron as Detroit icon because maybe it's just the people I hang out with but I see Detroit as more of a baseball city than football. They both work through injuries but from what I've heard that groin injury had him in big pain and he gutted it out.
Personally though its Cabrera > CJ.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:05 PM ^
Yes, but I don't watch baseball anymore and I haven't been local in 24 years. But I watch the Lions every week expecting to see something great from Johnson. I go see the Tigers when they're in town, but I can't remember the last time I watched a baseball game on TV.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:18 PM ^
Background - Royal Oak resident, sports fan, but not necessarily a huge Detroit sports fan. I'm not originally from Detroit so don't have the affinity to the home team, but have lived in the region for 10+ years so I've followed very closely.
Both Cabrera and Megatron are obviously once in a lifetime talents at their sports - we may never see that type of caliber of player again in our time. Having said that, I give the nod to CJ as a stronger "Detroit Sports Icon" IF the Lions continue to make noise and Win.
As good as Cabrera is, I dont get the feeling around town that he is as endeared and as appreciated as his skill set and accomplishments should warrant.....Mainly because of the language barrier. There really isn't a whole lot of marketing and star power there. As a City with a rather nominal hispanic population (as far as large cities are concerned) he doesn't really relate to the local populace on a personal level. Additionally, I feel that previous legal problems hurt his marketability and likability in this town.
Just my two cents, mostly based on just being around Detroit and the general sports scene. He's a great player and certainly appreciated and cheered, but as far as a "Detroit Icon," I'm not so sure. He's definitely not the type of personality that most Detroiters can relate to.
I would personally give Verlander the nod over Cabrera as the Tigers most beloved player here locally.
Having said that, I feel that both Megatron and Stafford can overtake them if they can continue to put the Lions in the spotlight and in the W column.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:19 PM ^
Who the hell is Miggy?
October 30th, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 4:41 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 6:24 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 2:28 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 3:42 PM ^
I heard "Miggy" and I was like, "...eh?" Haven't heard that one before.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:58 PM ^
Mr. Miggles, highly respected member of this sports blog and local sports icon.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:43 PM ^
For this being downvoted so many times, it sure has sparked a lot of conversation.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:45 PM ^
Same thing.
I'll take Miggy. He's gotten us to the playoffs and the World Series.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:51 PM ^
Talk radio callers have the attention span of a fruit fly. The tigers were eliminated a week and a half ago, and won't play again until the spring... and it's fair to mention that Cabrera was a lot less than his normal superstar self with his injuries at the end there. Calvin Johnson and the Lions set an NFL record three days ago and will play again in a week and a half. So of course they're higher on Calvin Johnson right now.
October 30th, 2013 at 3:43 PM ^