#*&% the Detroit Lions!

I'm sick and tired of the Detroit Lions ruining an otherwise fantastic part of Thanksgiving.

For the 187th year in a row, the Lions have rolled over like good little lambs being led to the slaughter. It was less noticeable yesterday since all three games were abominations and the Lions faced one of the best teams in the National Football League. A Tennessee Titans team coming off its first loss of the year. However, Detroit (as usual) set the tone for the day with such an astoundingly bad performance, it bordered on surreal.

It was like watching a scene from a sports movie that sets up the ultimate redemption. Think the montage scene in "Major League" before the Tribe started to turn it around. The one where all three outfielders collide going after a ball that drops, then see another ball drop after all three stand around expecting the other one to grab it.

It defies reason and logic that the Detroit Lions can convince anyone to come watch their games.

Every person associated with that organization should be mortified to show his/her face in public. The ownership should be forced to sell the team for pennies on the dollar as penance for what it has done to Motor City. The management isn't fit to run a lemonade stand in the suburbs of Detroit. The coaches should be run out of football and find themselves trying to make sense out of some Pop Warner team next year. Most of the players should be turned loose to find greener pastures or take up golf.

And I'm not even a Lions' fan.

I couldn't care less about the team. Well, that's not true. I'm actually rooting for them to go winless. But I'm not that vested in it; if they win, it'll barely register on my radar. Still, my blood boils for the fans and players (the ones still trying that is). It's one thing to go winless because you're not very good and your schedule is tough.

It is another thing altogether to go winless because you are embarrassingly putrid in every facet of the game, every facet of the organization. And have a tough schedule.

One half was all I could take; I had to find something more pleasant with which to occupy myself once halftime rolled around. I chose scrubbing and shucking oysters.

But one half was enough. One quarter was enough. I won't even bother with second stanza.

There's absolutely no need. It would be like challenging a borderline reception made by the losing team during the fourth quarter of a thorough destruction - unnecessary, malicious, classless, petty, and flat wrong.

In the first half alone, we had a fumble on the second play from scrimmage. We had an almost 30-yard end around on the next play. We had Chris Johnson scoring on a six-yard jaunt through a defense so absent, one of his blockers had no one to hit. We had Johnson running almost 70 yards to pay dirt through the middle of the line without ever being touched. We had Johnson racking up, what, 1000 yards on six carries?

We had Duante Culpepper throwing an interception directly to a defensive lineman inside his own 20. An interception that was returned for six points.

We had BOTH Titans' running backs scoring two touchdowns.

We had a delay of game penalty following a time-out on a series that culminated in a 13-yard punt.

We had a score of 38-10. It was 38-3 until a last minute touchdown courtesy of a Tennessee gift.

But don't worry Detroit, Rod Marinelli has great confidence in his abilities despite the record. And why wouldn't he?

Apparently, Detroit's ownership and management share Dr. Marinelli's diagnosis. And why wouldn't they?

The guy's only had 44 games and three season to get acclimated, find an approach/philosophy that works, and start to improve. Making a knee-jerk reaction based on such a small sample size would be foolishly rash. I mean, it's not like on-field performance is an accurate barometer of a talented coach, anyway.

Ownership, management, and the coaching staff have proven themselves utterly incompetent. For damn near a decade, the Detroit Lions have been awful. Their judgment has been awful. Their decisions have been awful. Their performance has been awful. Why would anyone employed by the franchise see any need to change now?

I say again, it absolutely defies reason and logic that a single person sits in those stands.

I wouldn't go if the tickets were free. And neither should a Lions' fans.

They deserve much better.