Michigan State basketball fans are understandably down today after last night's loss to Louisville. Michigan fans have had a week to get over their team's loss to Ohio, but the potential of losing PG Trey Burke to the NBA is much more frightening than an early NCAA exit.

The Lions re-signed middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch to a 5-year extension earlier this week. While terms of the contract haven't been released, I can't imagine that the Lions overpaid based on the other moves they have made so far this offseason. And in case you weren't a fan of the Jeff Backus deal, it's only about half as expensive as we first thought.

If that isn't enough Lions excitement for you, they hosted former Oregon RB LaMichael James for a pre-draft visit this week as well.

Pavel Datsyuk: the Russian Don Draper? OK, so maybe he didn't exactly say that, but Datsyuk says that being an ad man wouldn't be out of the question in this interview with Puck Daddy. [h/t Winging It In Motown]

After signing former Lion Drew Stanton and then trading for Tim Tebow, it appears that the Jets will try to move Stanton in order to appease the former Spartan. #FreeStanton indeed.

Longtime Atlanta Braves 3B Chipper Jones has announced that he will retire after next season. Jones, one of my favorite non-Tiger players ever, is the reason that I tried switch hitting for a season when I was 12. Never mind the fact that I was like a .200 hitter from the right side to start with.

Are you getting married soon? First off, it sucks to be you congratulations. Next, read this guide to the perfect bachelor party. Third, don't fuck up.

The University of Michigan campus went nuts yesterday over a cougar possibly roaming around (and knowing North Campus, I believe it), so naturally, someone made a Twitter for the hungry feline.

A few last-minute things: Jeremy Shockey ain't snitchin'. Yup, more Kate Upton. More proof that another American Pie movie is a bad idea. Only NPH looks better than he did in '99 and he's not even in the movie. Shaka Smart turns down Illinois and will stay at VCU.

As expected, the Michigan State Spartans are in the Sweet 16 after beating St. Louis yesterday. They will match up against Louisville in the next round, and will already be at a severe video bombing disadvantage. Michigan bowed out of the NCAA tournament early with a (slightly less now that they beat USF) embarassing loss to Ohio in the first round.

While signing Calvin Johnson to a contract extension was huge, the Lions restructured a few contracts to create more cap space. They then wasted used that cap space to re-sign OT Jeff Backus. Yay.

I think the word "panic" is overkill to describe the Red Wings' current situation, but I'm drawing a blank on something more appropriate. The four game losing streak isn't as worrisome as the ever expanding injury list or the division slipping away. At least Pavel Datsyuk played on Saturday.

One of my favorite things about March Madness is all of the other random tournaments that people think of, such as Rogo's Greatest Tiger of All-Time tournament. Spoiler: Hank Greenberg got hosed.

Michigan extended its NCAA Hockey Tournament streak to 22 years by earning a #1 seed in this year's bracket. In all, four teams from Michigan (including Michigan State) are in the tourney. If we're lucky, we'll see a Michigan-MSU Final Four matchup in the hockey hotbed of Tampa, Florida.

Things that are not surprising: Pau Gasol is a terrible singer.

With all of the other craziness in sports this week, the gazillion deals that took place before the NBA trade deadline flew under the radar. The Pistons didn't get in on the fun, but at least Lawrence Frank isn't bummed out.

The Portland Trail Blazers now have a 34-year old head coach and he looks like a total dweeb.

Finally, do the right thing and start your Monday off with a real donut, not a bagel.

If you haven't heard that both Michigan and Michigan State are in the NCAA tournament, then you've been living under a rock for the last two months. They have been locks all season. However, you might have missed that Detroit is the 15th seed in the Midwest region and will play Kansas in the first round. Also, I can't believe I forgot to post this video last night.

Going into this offseason, we knew that the Lions were going to have some salary cap issues. That being said, the Lions need to cut between $4.5 and 11.5 million in cap space by Tuesday afternoon. I'm cautiously optimistic as to whether they can do it without losing anyone of importance.

On a lighter note for the Lions, Jahvid Best has reportedly been cleared to start working out after a concussion ended his 2011 season.

There have been plenty of comparisons between this year's Tigers roster and the 2008 version, but like Rogo, I think that there is a world of difference between the two teams.

If pitching four shutout innings on Saturday is "horrible," then I'll take plenty of "horrible" from Justin Verlander this season. Maybe the bullpen could use a little more of his definition of "horrible" too, as they were actually horrible.

With the Pistons looking more like a playoff team than a lottery team recently, their upcoming 5-game road trip will tell us more about their chances of getting swept by Miami in April.

Today's edition of "random white dudes looking awkward while playing basketball" features Danilo Galinari of the Denver Nuggets.

It's officially that time of year: our friends at Thunder Treats are back at it with the 4th edition of their Cougar Madness tournament. The top seeds have been announced and, as usual, I don't see upsets coming too easily. And if the over-40 crowd isn't quite your type, you could always check out Candice Swanepoel in a bikini.

If the rest of these links haven't started your Monday off right, then this will: The Triple Deke is back! Well, sort of. They post stuff every once in a while, but when it's stuff as good as this, no one is complaining.

It's officially official now: the Tigers' lineup announcement for today's scrimmage against Florida Southern mean baseball is truly back. The only question that this game will answer? Whether Prince Fielder can hit another 600 foot home run.

Chaos, commence: Michigan beat Illinois 72-61 last night, putting them in position to claim a share of the Big Ten title if (a) they beat Penn State, and (b) Ohio State can beat Michigan State on Sunday. Michigan State's loss at Indiana on Tuesday kept both Michigan and Ohio State alive in the Big Ten race.

Panic, commence: Nick Lidstrom is going to miss at least the next two games with a bone bruise after taking a shot to the foot during practice last weekend. Despite missing both him and Pavel Datsyuk (who is still recovering from knee surgery), the Red Wings beat Columbus 5-2 on Tuesday.

Friend of the blog Doc Worn at Walkoff Woodward has been hard at work (along with the geniuses at Alternative Hero) putting together "Si or No?" t-shirts after reading Buster Olney's blog (sadly, you gotta pay for that one) last week.

Other friends of D4L: Our man Grey at Fire Gerald Laird tells you why your favorite baseball team sucks... along with the other 29. Meanwhile, Rogo takes another national writer behind the proverbial woodshed. Finally, Rob Discher posted a picture of Kate Upton at The Production Line. (possibly along with some words afterward. We're not sure.)

Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried proves that it's not a good idea to get a judy choppin' and a kung fu kickin' at the same time. [h/t The Basketball Jones]

Remember the movie Little Giants? Of course you do, it was an integral part of your childhood. While nobody knows what happened to Rick Moranis since then, we can safely say that The Icebox has become a total smokeshow. [h/t @ThunderTreats]

I have zero interest in college baseball or the University of Mississippi, but this sounds like possibly the greatest sporting event I've never been to.

The sad, sad answer to this question is... yes. Yes he did.

While this is no doubt the happiest day of Rovell's life since Twitter pushed out its latest interface (not to mention breaking one of his 100 Twitter rules), I... yeah.

Mazel tov and all, Mr. Rovell. Now put the iPhone down.

The Red Wings' 23-game home winning streak was snapped in a 4-3 shootout loss to Vancouver last night. Like any Wings defeat, The Production Line hooks us up with some loss candy to ease the pain.

This was so embarassing it deserves its own paragraph. After last night's loss, Red Wings fans were in tears because, you know, we're all about the regular season here in Detroit (/rant).

Just because you're as bad as Austin Daye has been this season doesn't mean you can't win an award or two. It starts to make sense when you consider how bad the Pistons' trade assets are.

Jacob Turner, the only real uber prospect currently in the Tigers' farm system, is hoping to add a slider to his repertoire this spring. Lots of fans are also hoping to see him add a pickoff move sometime soon.

If you like basketball shoes, then check out Complex Magazine's rankings of the 25 best shoes in Michigan basketball history. If you don't like basketball shoes, then click it anyway and keep reading.

National League MVP Ryan Braun's 50-game suspension was overturned yesterday, raising some serious questions about the MLB's drug testing policies. However, you're probably more upset that the guy picking right before you in your fantasy draft just took Braun in the 3rd round. Is that just me? OK then...

Speaking of urine in places that it shouldn't be, next year's Super Bowl will be in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. This can only end badly. [h/t Sports Grid]

This NSYNC throwback sung by the Minnesota Timberwolves isn't exactly the legendary Pistons' Jingle Bells video, but it'll do for now.

What I learned today: they make brunettes in Finland.

IMPENDING DOOM: Pavel Datsyuk is out for 2 weeks after having knee surgery. Knowing this, it comes as no surprise that the Wings lost 2-1 to the Blackhawks last night.

Apparently Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder aren't the only ones knocking down tree branches during Spring Training batting practice. Jhonny Peralta went deep a few times himself, hopefully showing a preview of things to come this season.

I was really excited to post a link about the Pistons winning in Cleveland last night... but instead they blew a 17-point fourth quarter lead and lost by one.

Bloguin's baseball offseason report cards apparently take future years into account (logjam at 1B my ass), but a B+ for the Tigers still isn't too bad.

I was going to make a joke about former Red Wing Kyle Quincey being traded twice today... but then I realized that the second trade was to Detroit. Thanks for keeping him warm for us, Colorado.

The always eloquent brain of Phil Coke gives his opinion of all of the Tigers' name puns used on the now-obsolete scoreboard last season. Meanwhile, there are no puns needed when Alex Rodriguez is involved.

A word of advice: if you're going to try to rush the court/field/ice (would that be awesome or what?), talk to the security guards first.

Want to make a car go even faster without changing the engine? Paint Kenny Powers on the hood.

Arianny Celeste's entire job is to look like this at all times, and she's very good at it. Speaking of attractive people, Tampa Bay Rays 3B Evan Longoria confirms that he is dating a Playboy Playmate.

It's no Ferrari 458 Italia, but Justin Verlander's new Mercedes SLG will do the job quite nicely as well. I doubt that he'll let his teammates eat in the passenger seat though.

Max Scherzer is looking to add a two-seam fastball to his arsenal, presumably to go along with his two-toned eyes. Or his new Twitter account. Take your pick.

Not that we're jealous or anything (we are), but TMZ caught an interview with Matthew Stafford at an airport last week.

Apparently Michigan's John Beilein is a fan of the movie Tin Cup.

Despite what we really want (hint: it rhymes with Schmanthony Schmavis), Lawrence Frank reiterates that the Pistons aren't going to tank this season.

The Red Wings placed goalie Ty Conklin on waivers yesterday, meaning that Joey MacDonald is in Detroit to stay after playing very well in relief for Jimmy Howard while he was injured. Also not staying in Detroit: prospect Max Nicastro, who was arrested on sexual assault charges.

Tampa Bay's Sam Fuld resists the urge to compare his faceplant running out of the dugout after the Rays clinched their playoff berth last season to the Red Sox epic collapse in this very entertaining piece for Grantland, but I won't.

I'd love to see a 3-year old kid interviewed about Jeremy Lin in New York, but nobody wants to hear a 3-year old dropping f-bombs left and right. [via The Basketball Jones]

If you like golf and have an extra $8,000 lying around, you might be interested in caddying for Natalie Gulbis for a round. Hell, you don't even have to like golf, just blondes.

They're baaaaack. The Tigers' pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training yesterday. Workouts begin this morning. Actually, they're probably already happening unless you still had to work today, sucka.

Joe Lunardi seems to like both Michigan and MSU after this weekend. He has MSU as a 2 seed after their win against Purdue. Michigan is listed as a 3 seed after beating Ohio State at home on Saturday.

Michigan had a great weekend on the football field as well... sort of. The Wolverines pulled in EIGHT 4-star recruits (including a Butt and a Taco) in a 48-hour period. Instead of giving you eight links for dudes that you've probably never heard of, check out MGoBlog for recruiting info that you don't have to pay for.

Meanwhile, Branden Dawson went BOOM.

Don't look now (OK fine, look), but the Pistons are 7-2 in their last 9 games. Yeah, seriously. Even more impressive/surprising is that the Palace was actually sold out for last night's game.

A lot of people are up in arms about how linsensitive ESPN is being over the whole Jeremy Lin headline fiasco. Linside sources say that one dude has already been fired while another was suspended. We'll keep you linformed of any updates.

Speaking of linside linformation, this woman wants some.

Also, Lin's teammate J.R. Smith needs a new barber.

Oh hey, the Red Wings won their 23rd straight game at home. No big deal.

I think the title of this story by Nick Collison should be "How to Survive in the NBA When You're White." It's the same idea.

Sounds like the weather in England is going to be pretty nice this week. Maybe that reporter could use some tips from Derek Holland.

Sorry for not posting any links yesterday, we were too busy snowboarding with light up suits on to put a post together.

Brandon Inge's move to 2nd base might not be promising, but it's not like we have anyone else to play the position (/sarcasm). Somehow, Topps knew before the rest of us did.

Jeremy Lin might be awesome (at getting date requests from Florida hotties), but he pales in comparison to what Ben Wallace has done as an undrafted player in the NBA.

The Red Wings' re-ascension to the top of the NHL has brought about questions as to whether they're good enough to win it all. So far, all signs point to yes.

LeBron James didn't exactly say that he wanted to go back to Cleveland, but he was less than subtle with his quip about wanting to be welcomed back with open arms if he ever did re-sign with the Cavaliers. Good luck with that one, chief.

Apparently Jeremy Roenick would give up Patrick Kane for a good goalie, you know, in order to totally cripple their future. Regardless, I think Ken Holland should offer up Joey MacDonald. You know, just in case.

Believe it or not, the Pistons have won 5 of their last 7 games, screwing up the well-oiled plan of tanking to get Anthony Davis and his Facebook page in this year's draft.

Kate Upton dancing? Kate Upton dancing. SCHWING. Have a good weekend.