A New Direction

Hire Millen started off as a jumble of ideas revolving around fantasy sports and the sports world; there was also supposedly an emphasis on Detroit.  The result was a bunch of brilliant posts about everything and anything. Our lack of purpose and focus was similar to that of the Detroit Lions, and just like the Lions, Hire Millen sucked. So in the true spirit of Matt Millen, we’re completely overhauling Hire Millen midseason.

No Longer will Hire Millen be a subpar gumbo of Michigan sports. We’re switching to a straightforward approach: ALL LIONS. Yes. It sucks.

What does this mean? Basically no more posts about Cowboys or Spartans. Everything is being put on the back-burner while we watch the tragedy of the Lions season unfold. Sure it took nine losses to decide that Hire Millen should be all about the Lions instead of everything else, but that simply means you got to skip 9 weeks of sketchy adjectives describing the pisspoor efforts of the Lions.

Some new features: (Yes, finally something that you can count on weekly!)

Game-time Live Blogs: Subject to blackout

Matchup Previews: Looking ahead to the next Lions loss the day after they lost.

Game Reviews: Breaking out a magnifying glass and looking very closely at how terrible the Lions are.

And of course, Lions news will be updated throughout the week.

So let’s enjoy the triumphant failure that is the Lions season, and remember to tell all your friends about Hire Millen.

Lions' Dreadful Play Has Breeded True Apathy in Fans

It's a moot point to say that the Lions have reached rock bottom as a team. Every year they redefine just what "rock bottom" is, anyway. Last year it was blowing a 6-2 start to the season by not even breaking even with a .500 season. This year, it's been a thoroughly abysmal season, from start to now. At 0-9, you have a Lions team in which the players come in each Sunday, with a feeling that some how, some way, they're going to lose the game. Some might say they have looked good for full quarters on certain occasions but that is likely a product of teams dropping their intensity once they've put up 21 points to the Lions' zero.

What's a shame is that two factors that should be working in favor of the Detroit Lions, are rendered irrelevant by their ghastly on-field performance:

1. This country is addicted to football - Whether it be high school, college, or the pros, we never seem to get enough of football in this country, much like the way Europeans are to soccer. With it only being one day a week for fans of NFL teams, there is not that sense of boredom that the casual fan might get with baseball or hockey.

2. Detroit is a addicted to sports - Metro Detroit is an area that takes its sports teams very seriously (even if they aren't the most educated of fans). You get that same sort of blue-collar mentality approach towards the teams, too. In Pittsburgh, it results in a ravenous, blood-thirsty fan base who lives for their Steelers. In Detroit, well, not so much.

For years I have been hearing out of Detroiters, "I'll watch the Lions this Sunday, but I don't really invest myself emotionally." I've never really believed that until this year. For one, they haven't even had the chance to watch them on television two home games (Redskins and Jaguars) since the Lions can't sell out the games. But I think even if every home game is televised, the average sports fan in Detroit will simply find something better to do on Sunday because its no longer entertaining. There is no star power, save Calvin Johnson, on this team to speakof that would compel a fan to watch. We've gone through the "Will they go 0-16?" watch before in 2002 and ironically enough, the 12th game of the season that they actually won was blacked out.

It's one thing to be passionate about a football team and its another to simply hope they win. At this point, Lions' fans could truly care less. Winning at this point in the season does them no good, rather hurting their chances at a #1 pick. Hopes for the future dwindle each year as we assume progress but get regress. For some fans, tuning into the Lions would be simply for the sake of laughing at their foibles. But that no longer seems to be the case: The Detroit Lions have become a joke that no one is laughing at any more.

Oh and don't bother pointing out the irony of me writing about the apathy fans now have towards the Lions. I'm well aware of it.

Joe Dumars is a Crazy A**hole

Yes, I said it.

Joe Dumars shocks the world with another surprising move in his 8th year as the Pistons President of Basketball Operations. This time, he calmly traded away the 2004 Finals MVP, Mr. Billups, along with beloved Antonio McDyss and the rather dark Cheick Samb for Allen Iverson. Look, I really understand what the man is trying to do. In 2010, there will be a ton of superstars in this league that will become free agents, and Joe is trying to free up some salry space so he can try to get at least two of them. Here are the nominees: Lebron James, Nash, Ray Allen, Ginobli, Amare Stoudamire, Dirk Nowitzki, Bosh, T-Mac, Yao, Michael Redd. You can see why GM's are licking their chops for a slice of this group of studs, and hopefully, Dumars is preparing to sign a couple of these guys. Personally, I would love to have Dirk or Bosh on Detroits squad, a big man to play the perimeter with the young backcourt in place of the aging Rasheed Wallace.

Heres the bad news. This deal will probably affect Deatroit's postseason negatively. I used to the fact that there has not been a point guard in the East able to match up defensively with Chauncey Billups ever. He has been able to either post up or drive on these Eastern point guards since joining the Pistons. Now theres Iverson, the relentless scorer and scrappy point guard that adds speed to the starting lineup. There lies the problem. Offensively, Detroit has been using off-the-ball screens and cuts to free up mainly Rip and Rasheed so they can make their 15 ft. jump shots. Will Iverson be able to run the offense, distributing to the open man and take over when necessary. This is the test that he must pass if he wants to become the next Mr. Big Shot in Detroit.

Alright, I'll give Iverson some credit. He used to be my favorite player in the league after Micheal Jordan retired if that means anything to you. The man is an incredible athlete an has had to carry his team offesively on his tattooed shoulders ever since he was drafted #1 in 1996. Nine All-Star appearences, a couple of scoring titles, All-Star MVP, regular season MVP. He has averaged 27 ppg, 6.5 apg, and 3.8 rpg. If he can have these numbers in Detroit, then by all means, Dumars is a god. I just dont think that AI can thrive under this style of basketball, a defensive mindset and slow but efficient offense. Iverson has always been a pleasure to watch, and if he is reading this, in the words of Eminem and Trick-Trick.....Welcome to Detroit City.