• Daunte Culpepper is going to start for the Lions on Sunday.  Dan Orlovsky attempted to throw in practice and things didn't go well.  He had pain in his ligaments, signaling that he is not ready to return just yet.
• Also not ready to return is Drew Stanton, who missed practice on Wednesday because he is still suffering from the symptoms of the concussion he got against Tampa Bay.  That means that Drew Henson will be Culpepper's backup for the second game in a row.
• Daunte Culpepper currently weighs 270 pounds.
• William Clay Ford needs to read Alex Marvez's recent column on why the Lions should hire Scott Pioli.  Marvez came up with a blueprint for the Lions to follow that basically is this: Hire Pioli, who would then bring Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels with him to be the head coach, and then sign Matt Cassel.  Pioli would be at the top of my wish list for potential general managers even if he didn't bring a coach and a QB with him.  The possibility that he would makes him all the more enticing.
• Martin Mayhew is preparing for the draft in the complete opposite way of how Matt Millen did so as the Lions' GM.  Mayhew has actually watched potential draft picks in person, and this line pretty much sums up the entire Millen era:
  

  According to two different Lions officials, Mayhew has done more in-season traveling this year than former president Matt Millen did in his seven years on the job combined.

  I've made it known on this blog before that I want everyone involved with Millen gone after this season.  I believe that a completely new staff is necessary to succeed.  That's no slight against Martin Mayhew, who has done a good job as GM so far; he is guilty by association in this case.
• Rookie defensive linemen Cliff Avril and Andre Fluellen may start for the Lions on Sunday.

Vikings defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams had their suspensions blocked on Wednesday by a Minnesota judge.  The judge issued a temporary restraining order against the NFL on behalf of the players in order to block their suspensions.  As of right now they are available for Sunday's game against the Lions, but that may change today.

Two separate actions regarding the playing status of the two Pro Bowl defensive tackles, who were suspended four games by the NFL on Tuesday for using a banned diuretic, are on the docket for a 10:30 a.m. hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson.

The NFL seeks to dissolve a temporary restraining order obtained Wednesday by the Williamses that allows them to play.

The NFL Players Association joined in the action and filed a lawsuit to block the suspension of the Williamses and three other players. The union is hoping the judge issues an order allowing the five to play. The NFLPA lawsuit argues the players' careers are "short and precarious so that being denied the opportunity to play in games is an irreparable harm which cannot be compensated with monetary damages."

I obviously hope that the suspensions will be upheld, and I'm glad a decision will be made before the game on Sunday.  If they do end up missing the game, the Vikings' defensive line depth will be very thin, which is good news for the Lions.  Like I said earlier this week, it doesn't mean that the Lions will not avoid being blown out; it's just that anything to help Detroit's chances is a good thing.

It's been a bad week for former Lions players named Rogers. 

Last week, one-time Lions defensive end Reggie Rogers was charged with drunken driving and hit-and-run.  This was the fifth time Rogers had been arrested for a DUI in the state of Washington, which is both stunning and sad at the same time.  What's even sadder is that Rogers actually killed three teenagers in Michigan in the late 80s when he played for the Lions.  That accident happened as a result of him being drunk as well.  This guy needs to be taken off the road for good.

Another former Lion (and former Michigan State Spartan), wide receiver Charles Rogers, was sent to jail on Wednesday for violating his parole.  He was arrested in September for assault and battery but only ended up with a trespassing charge.  His punishment was to live in a three-quarter house, where he would be partially confined and would receive "treatment and education in lieu of jail," according to The Oakland Press.

Rogers ended up in jail with a $100,000 bond for "taking an unauthorized leave from the three-quarter home and also testing positive for narcotics."  This obviously doesn't surprise me one bit, as we all know how much Rogers enjoys his narcotics.  After all, he did smoke himself out of the NFL and went from being fast as hell to running a 4.8 in the 40-yard dash.  Great pick, Matt Millen.

Rogers owes the Lions $8.5 million for getting suspended under the NFL's substance abuse policy, which violated his contract.  Like I said, the man smoked himself out of the NFL, and he owes the Lions millions of dollars because of his actions. 

On the bright side, Rogers didn't shoot himself in the leg like another former MSU receiver, but he did provide us this photo from the Oakland County 52-1 District Court:

Maybe he wouldn't have been captured if he could run faster.  I know, I know, that was a distasteful joke.  I'm sorry; it was too easy.

I hope you all enjoyed being able to watch a Lions home game on TV last week, because this Sunday it's back to a blackout.  As expected, the Lions didn't even come close to selling out Sunday's game against the Vikings.  There were around 7,000 tickets left when the deadline to reach a sellout passed, which is the usual number for recent blackouts.

In total, there have now been four Lions home games blacked out this season.  That number will likely rise in two weeks when the Lions host the Saints in the final home game of the season.  Assuming thousands and thousands of tickets are available for that matchup as well, over half of the Lions' home games this season would have been blacked out locally.

Just as with every other Lions blackout, make sure to check out Pride of Detroit on Sunday for live updates of the game.  I'll try to find an online stream of the game, but I don't necessarily expect to find one that is actually live.  Blacked out games have been streamed before, but the streams are usually a few minutes behind the actual game.

The Minnesota Vikings' starting defensive tackles, Kevin and Pat Williams, were suspended for the final four games of the regular season by the NFL.  The Williamses were two of six total players suspended for using a diuretic, which apparently can be used as a masking agent. 

The punishment means all six will miss the end of the regular season, an especially harsh blow to Minnesota, which relies heavily on the Williamses in its run defense, which ranks second in the league.

Angelo Wright, the agent for Pat Williams, said he planned to file a motion in federal court in the next 24 hours, presumably to put off his client's suspension. Tom Condon, the agent for Kevin Williams, said he hadn't yet determined what course of action to take.

Both Williamses are lawyering up in hopes of getting their suspensions delayed or thrown out altogether.  If the Vikings' starting defensive tackles are unable to play against the Lions on Sunday, the chances of winning definitely go up for Detroit.

In the first meeting this season between Detroit and Minnesota, the Lions rushed for 100 yards.  Kevin Smith had 62, and Rudi Johnson had 38.  I would expect the Lions to keep it on the ground more on Sunday if the Williamses do not play, though that doesn't guarantee that the running game will be successful.  Regardless, the chances of getting win #1 of the season certainly would increase.

• Rod Marinelli brought up the possibility of going 0-16 earlier this week and plainly said that that won't happen.  Marinelli appears to have turned the Lions' winless record into a motivational ploy to get them to win a game.
• This Sunday is probably the Lions' last chance to win a game this season.  They should have beat Minnesota in the Metrodome earlier this season, but they were on the wrong end of a couple bad calls that led to the Vikings kicking a game-winning field goal.  Obviously Dan Orlovsky's embarrassing safety was all his fault, but the refs certainly didn't make things any easier for the Lions.
• Speaking of Orlovsky, he may return to practice this week, as his thumb injury appears to have healed enough for him to play football again.  If he is healthy enough to play, I believe the Lions should start him.  Before his injury, Orlovsky wasn't playing all that bad, and Daunte Culpepper hasn't exactly been playing all that well.
• Staying on the injury front, Dominic Raiola, Stephen Peterman, and Edwin Mulitalo were back in practice on Monday after missing the Titans game.  Kevin Smith and Gosder Cherilus missed practice but should play on Sunday.
• Dave Birkett pointed out an interesting fact regarding the draft.  Since the Chiefs won on Sunday, they now have two victories this season.  That leaves the Lions at 0-12 as the league's worst team.  The Bengals are the next worst team with a 1-10-1 record, meaning the Lions would have to win two more games to lose the #1 pick.  Since the chances of that happening are beyond slim, it appears that the Lions will be the first team on the clock next April.
• Lions rookies went through a charm school type of thing to learn everything from where to put your napkin when eating to how to write a thank you note.
  
• Pro Football Talk thinks that the Lions' Thanksgiving game won't be taken away by Roger Goodell, as it would probably take a consensus among the owners to make a change.
• The Buccaneers and Patriots are going to play in England next year.
  

Here is a look at the official Pride of Detroit fantasy football league's playoff picture:

#1 Just go away Favre (ahtrap) [10-3] will play the winner of this game:

#4 The Gosder Cherilus Posse (The Prodigy) [9-4] vs. #5 Detroit's Few Good Men (ReichardZ) [7-6]

#2 Calvin and the Chipmunks (mgersz) [9-4] will play the winner of this game:

#3 Motown Madmen (Jettero2112) [6-7] vs. #6 Better Than Millen (me) [7-6]

I would say having the 6th seed is a great thing considering my opponent has a worse record than me.  The only reason he is the #3 seed is because he won the awful Bobby Layne Division.  The other first-round match up will be between two teams in the same division that each won a game against one another this season.  The #1 seed, Just go away Favre, awaits the winner of that game.

Here is a look at the consolation playoffs in the official POD fantasy football league:

#7 Underdogs (Sig Sauer) [7-6] will play the winner of this game:

#10 West Coast Lions (LVLionfan) [5-8] vs. #11 LA Leos (sgdbw90) [4-9]

#8 SnotKnocker's (Ace BangerTheGuru) [6-7] will play the winner of this game:

#9 Maize 'n' Blue Jays (THE_J) [5-8] vs. #12 Rudys Warhawks (isjim) [3-10]

The POD overflow fantasy football league's playoffs are also set, and I ended up with the 3rd seed.  I actually tied for the league's second best record with two other teams but didn't win the tiebreaker to get a first-round bye.  For the SBN/AOL league, the playoffs don't start for another week, but I have already clinched a first-round bye.

Heading into the final week of the season on a three-game losing streak is never a good thing for a team's playoff hopes.  Because of the three consecutive losses I suffered, I needed a couple things to happen in order to make the postseason.  First things first, I had to come away with a victory, which I did, as you can see below.

Now that I took care of my business, I had to root against Underdogs, who had a 7-5 record going into Week 13.  My record was 6-6, so in order to achieve a tie, Underdogs had to lose.  Thanks to Just go away Favre, who beat Underdogs 104.12-99.5 despite having Brian Westbrook on the bench, that's exactly what happened.  I now have the same record as Underdogs, and I believe I have the edge in the tiebreaker.  I would like to flat out say that I am in the playoffs, but it's not as simple as that.

The other 7-5 team going into Week 13, Detroit's Few Good Men, actually got beat by 2-10 Rudys Warhawks by a surprising score of 111.8-64.78.  That means that Detroit's Few Good Men has the same record as me, but since he beat me earlier this season, I believe he holds the tiebreaker.  Even so, that may not matter since he lost to Underdogs in Week 4.  I'm not exactly sure how a three-way tie would be broken, but I believe I have a playoff spot no matter what.  I guess we'll find out for sure in the morning when everything is updated.  Once that happens, I will put up a new post about the playoffs.

Moving on to the POD overflow league, I won 110.88-73.66 to move into a tie with two other teams for the second best record in the league.  I don't believe I will win the tiebreaker to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs, but again, we'll have to see how everything shakes out.  In the SBN/AOL league, I won 82.05-52.65 to clinch a division title.  As it stands right now, I have the best record in the league, and with only one week left in the regular season, I will probably end up with a first-round bye. 

It seems like there is a pattern with the three leagues I am in based on when the leagues drafted.  The official POD league drafted before the other two, and I am on the edge of not making the playoffs.  In the POD overflow league, which drafted second, I won my division.  Finally, in the SBN/AOL league, which drafted third, I have the best record.  Just as I thought before the season even started, I drafted better each time through.  I guess I'll have to keep that in mind next year to ensure that I don't pick Terrell Owens over a good quarterback ever again.  That's what happened in the official POD league draft, and it really set me back as I haven't had a solid QB all season long.  I guess the phrase "practice makes perfect" even applies to fantasy football.

Anyways, a look at how the rest of Week 13 went in the official POD league can be found after the jump.

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