Woetown 16-0

"A consortium of zoos intends to file suit to enjoin the team from calling itself the Lions. The zoos will argue that associating real lions with this franchise is a form of cruelty." Paul Ruschmann on a Detroit News blog. "

Under Coach Marinelli the Detroit Lions were 24-0! They still have #1 Draft pick though.

Lions and Tigers and Bears. Oh-my!

What's a guy got to do to get FIRED around here?

In 1934, George Richards as the new owner of the NFL's Detroit Lions1 got the bright idea of playing a game on Thanksgiving Day and another great American tradition was born. But, after their 5th straight whipping the Lions are probably just wishing that the tradition could go the way of the Dodo bird.

Lions Coach Rod MARINELLI, now 1-19 in the last 20 games, is likely thinking of the immortal words of Lions predecessor Darryl ROGERS, who also coached the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers for a forgettable season in 1991.

In a related topic, Danny MACIOCIA, Coach of the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos announced he is stepping down as Coach but will remain as the team's full-time GM. As a Coach he was considered a success and under his leadership the Eskimo's only once did not make it to Western Championships. A list of replacements will be consulted before Xmas.

And finally, I really enjoyed this reprint in yesterdays National Post by Frank FITZPATRICK of the Philadelphia Inquirer about the appointment of Rick TOCCHET to Head Coach of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lighting "It's been a rocky road for Tocchet" Tocchet was charged with illegal gambling while Assistant Coach to Wayne GRETZKY in Phoenix in 2006. The incident was well covered because of his close relationship to the legendary hockey player - and I'm not lion. ;)


Footnotes:
1) Acquired in the depth of the Depression, the new owner acquired the Portsmouth Spartans and moved them from Ohio to Detroit.

Stretching: The Truth

As an aging fitness enthusiast, how could this not catch my attention.

Somewhat shocking to find that all those old exercises were based on old-wives tales (at least that is what the article makes one think of). But for me it does have a ring of truth based on personal experience. As I runner for much of life I have always stretched before and after my runs. This rarely helped alleviate the tightness that developed in my legs as I prepared for a race. However that changed when I took up Taekwondo which involved alot of ancient calisthenic routine (well maybe not that ancient as Taekwondo is a modern amalgam of many oriental martial arts disciplines.) This form of cross-training was a wonderful attidote.

This article illustrates many of the exercises that I found useful in taekwondo.

For those who are most prone for ACL injury a major study published earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control, found that knee injuries were cut nearly in half among female collegiate soccer players who followed a warm-up program that included both dynamic warm-up exercises and static stretching (http://www.aclprevent.com/pepprogram.htm).