Here's an interview Upper Deck held with Matthew Stafford at the 2009 NFL Rookie photo shoot.  You might be interested in hearing Stafford's most unusual autograph request.  I'm willing to bet Stafford wouldn't stop there, though.  He'd sign your baby's forehead, if you asked politely.

Go Lions!

The Detroit Lions No. 1 overall pick, Matthew Stafford joined the Fox Sports Detroit and the ESPN booths for half an inning each on Wednesday during the Detroit Tigers/Boston Red Sox game.  As you can see from the photos, he was donning the Detroit Tigers orange Old English D road cap, a Detroit Tigers windbreaker, and holding an official NFL football that he probably carries around with him at all times.  Matt did not deny that he carries a football around with him all the time, answering Mario's question with another question,  "I guess you could say that, right?"

During his time in the booth, Mario and Rod took care of all the tough cliche questions.  What are you doing right now?  What's the transition from college to the NFL like?  Do you have a girlfriend?  Mario and Stafford joked about Georgia beating up on Mario's boys, the Michigan State Spartans, in this past year's Bowl game while Rod Allen managed to somehow work in "bra" and "little itty bitty boy" into his questions. (Above, Stafford looks amused while Mario is embarrassed, or giving his le tigre look to the camera). 

The Detroit News says that Stafford has been a quick learner of the Lions offense and has impressed his teammates with his "unassuming demeanor."   He talked about how things were going with the OTAs and other workouts.  He seems eager and excited to start playing quarterback for our Detroit Lions.

At the end of the short, but sweet stay with the esteemed FSN Detroit broadcasters, Stafford was obviously thanked for his precious time and shook both Mario and Rod's hands.  In case you were wondering ladies (and men), Rod Allen made it a point in the next half inning to mention "that boy has some mitts on him."  You know what that means, right?

About an inning later, Stafford met up with the ESPN broadcasters.  They had a much more interesting talk as they asked about Stafford's baseball background and how many keg stands he does on the weekends.  It's of no surprise that Stafford revealed he could probably pitch over Zach Miner and Brandon Lyon in the Detroit Tigers bullpen while drunk.  In all seriousness, apparently Stafford rocked three pitches and threw 90-91 MPH in high school.  Forget the Detroit Lions, let's get Stafford working with Rick Knapp in that Tigers bullpen.

Despite the Tigers frustrating loss, it was exciting to see Stafford supporting them last night.  He also mentioned how he has quickly become a Red Wing fan and that he plans on helping out in and around the Detroit community.  Obviously, I have no problem with any of that as long as he throws a lot of touchdown passes and stops fraternizing with Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia during batting practice.

Let the Matthew Stafford era begin.

Linebacker Larry Foote signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions on Wednesday, turning down several other teams offering multiple years.  Foote was a starting linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers the last five years, and was a critical player on defenses of teams that won Super Bowl XL in Detroit and Super Bowl XLIII this past season.  Foote had yet another strong season in 2008, recording 35 solo tackles, 28 assisted tackles, and 3 passes defended.  He had 431 tackles, 14.5 sacks and 7 forced fumbles in 6 seasons with the Steelers.  The 28 year old  joins 24 year old Ernie Sims and newcomer Julian Peterson to form a potentially formidable linebacking unit in 2009.  Peterson, 30, made the Pro Bowl the last 3 years with Seattle, and has made 5 Pro Bowls in his career (2 with the 49ers.)

Regardless of the year Foote ends up having in 2009 or whether or not the Lions are willing to re-sign him, this was a tremendous move.  Foote is a winner.  Period.  When he  played at the University of Michigan, the Wolverines were 4-0 in bowl games, winning an Orange Bowl and 3 Citrus Bowls.  He won 2 Super Bowls in 5 years as a starter with the Steelers.  The guy recently admitted that his home has holes in the walls where he punches them after losing video games.  I love that tenacity and that aversion to losing.  I have a similar, strong hatred for losing, but unfortunately approximately 0.0005% of Foote's athleticism.  However, I have refused to allow this lack of natural ability to prevent me from being the most hated guy on the playground as a youth, in Sega NHL hockey circles as a teenager, in "friendly" card games as an adult, and in nursing home bingo tournaments when I visit elderly relatives.  But I digress, my point here is not that Foote is a sore loser like I am, but that he wants to win just as much as he dreads losing.

There is an intangible here as well.  Foote is originally from Detroit.  He went to Pershing High in the Detroit Public School League.  He recently bought a home in the city.  "This is my home", Foote said after signing.  "When I am done playing, I'm going to be back here."  Foote has given back to the city and its people in the past.  In March 2008, Larry paid for the funeral for Mark Brown-Williams, a 10 year old boy from Detroit who had drowned in a tributary of the Rouge River while playing on ice.  Foote didn't know the boy or his family, but had played on the same ice as a child himself, and was moved when he heard the story.

We need people like Larry back in our city.  He hopes to be a part of its resurgence:  "Detroit is on the up-and-up," Foote assured.  "We're starting fresh with the football team.  We've got a new mayor (recently elected Dave Bing, a Detroit Piston legend)... but people have got to be willing to roll up their sleeves and get to the root of it and turn things around... I'm excited." So am I, Larry.

A lot of people think the Detroit Lions are the worst franchise in sports.  I mean a lot. Any why not?  They certainly haven't given anyone reason in the past 10 years to feel otherwise.

Well, Mike Wilbon on PTI the other week said that his hometown Washington Nationals were the worst franchise in all of sports.  This inspired The Nats Blog, a fellow Bloguiner, to come up with a collaborative piece on all the potential worst sports franchises.  He gathered six bloggers from some of the worst sports organizations and allowed them to defend their teams, once and for all.  If you're interested in reading the entire piece you can find it on The Nats Blog here.

We had the distinct honor of going last to defend our team (4 out of the 6 said the Lions were the worst), so here is what I had to say in response...  (Disclaimer: I was rushing out the door to see the new X-Men movie when I was finishing this up, so the ending is not as solid as I would have hoped it to be.  I think the point is clear, though):

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Worst franchise ever?  The Detroit Lions?  C'mon..... So what if we're fresh off perfect futility?  A lot of teams have gone 0-16, right?  Alright, it goes way beyond being the first franchise ever to go 0-16.  The Lions are 31-128 in the past 8 years, just a little over three wins per season.  I think saying they've hit a rough patch the last decade would be a gross understatement.   The Lions have won no Super Bowls--hell, they don't even have one Super Bowl appearance. They've hosted it twice, though.  That goes for something, huh?

All of that is exactly what you would undoubtedly bring up if you wanted to argue that the Detroit Lions are the worst franchise in all of sports.  You might also bring up that it's where every quarterback has basically gone to die since the late 1950s.  Why the late 1950s?  Well, because after Bobby Layne led the Lions to their last championship (1957, before it was called the Super Bowl), he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.  As legend has it, he was so upset about being traded after leading the Lions to three championships in nearly a decade that he cursed the Lions and said they would not win for 50 years.

It's now been 52 years to be exact since the Lions last championship.  It hasn't been all paper bags, Fire Millen chants, and fan suicide threats, though.  The Lions went to the playoffs six times in the 1990s, had one of the best RB in NFL history, and host the annual Thanksgiving Day game--a tradition that dates back to 1934.

Okay, so there's not a very long list of accomplishments for this lowly Lions franchise.  I know you want me to start defending my case that they're not the worst franchise by giving a detailed look at another franchise that could possibly be worse.  I don't think that would be entirely fair.  I hate that the Lions are even in this category of potential teams as much as I hate that the Lions are the butt of every Jay Leno NFL joke, so why should I hurt someone else as much as this hurts me?

I will say, the Lions time will come.  Look at the Boston Red Sox.  They went 86 years before winning another title.  The Detroit Red Wings went 42 years before winning another Cup in 1997.  Look where those teams are now.  I realize comparing those two to the Lions is like comparing day and night, but I'm just trying to say that the Lions aren't in the biggest drought ever.  In fact, I believe that accomplishment goes to the Chicago Cubs, who have made the playoffs just one more time than the Lions in their franchise history and the Cubbies have been in existence nearly 55-years longer.  And they've now gone over 100 years since their last championship....

So... I think there's other places to look before stumbling across the Lions as the worst franchise in all of sports.

Let's raise our glasses and hope we never have to sing the Matthew Stafford song.

Thanks to Pride of Detroit for allowing me to stumble across this pretty quality song.  Hell, it beats "April in the D."

Here's the full lyrics:

I hope this works out better than Drew Stanton.
I hope they haven't wasted number one.
Now he don't need to end up in Canton,
But he better not be Joey Harrington.

Chorus
Matthew Stafford better be, worth the money guaranteed, that he's gettin' loaned before he throws a ball.
Or the Lions might come to 0-32 saying, "Hey it wasn't Millen after all."
Yeah the pressure is really on now that Marinelli's gone.
It's a bailout plan that better not be wrong
Or the Ford Field stands will hold just a couple fans singing this, the Matthew Stafford song.

I hope he works out more like Peyton Manning
Than Tim Couch, Alex Smith or Ryan Leaf.
Cause a first round disaster is pretty damning
and the prelude to a lot of years of grief.

Chorus