Wednesday Notes: Dominic Raiola Sprains His Ankle

by Sean Yuille on Jul 30, 2008 1:33 AM EDT in Notes Comment 0 comments

On their sixth day of training camp (yesterday), the Lions practiced in full pads in the morning and were in shells for a special teams session in the afternoon.
Yesterday's two practices were open to the public, and there was a good showing of fans at the Lions' practice facility (around 500 for the morning practice). Players and coaches stuck around after each practice to sign autographs and chat with fans, so it had to be a fun experience for those that went. The next pair of open practices will be on Friday. The morning session begins at 8:35 a.m., and the afternoon special teams practice starts at 3:30 p.m.
Center Dominic Raiola sprained his ankle and missed Tuesday's morning practice. Raiola has started 96 consecutive games, so it was a rarity that we saw the Lions' backup centers on the field for an entire practice. Raiola's absence was evident, by the way, as the backup centers combined for six fumbled snaps during the practice.
Ernie Sims is not likely going to play in the Lions' first preseason game against the Super Bowl-champion New York Giants.
Defensive tackle Langston Moore, who has looked good in practice as of late, sprained his shoulder and had an MRI yesterday.
Rookie fullback Jerome Felton put a huge hit on linebacker Buster Davis.
No changes have been made to the PUP list.
Lions cornerback Leigh Bodden will make more money in 2008 than Browns defensive tackle Shaun Rogers.
Defensive tackle Chuck Darby is glad to be on a team that Rod Marinelli coaches.
Kicker/punter Paul Ernster was waived by the Lions. He signed with Detroit back in April to only be a training camp body. Every year there are kickers and punters that are on the Lions' roster during camp, but only Jason Hanson and Nick Harris are left by the time the season starts.
Rookies Jordon Dizon and Kevin Smith are writing training camp diaries on the Lions' official website.
Below is some info on the players being honored during the Lions' 12th annual kickoff luncheon that will take place on August 27.
The entire team annually attends the luncheon and awards from the 2007 season will be presented. Players receiving awards will include: Most Valuable Players Dominic Raiola (offense), Ernie Sims (defense) and Alex Lewis (special teams). Other awards will go to Gerald Alexander, Jared DeVries, Mike Furrey, Stephen Peterman, Cory Redding and Keith Smith.
MLive, the Free Press, and the News all have photo galleries up from Tuesday.
Emmitt Smith has been replaced on ESPN's NFL Countdown by Cris Carter. The move is long overdue as Smith was terrible on the show, but it will be sad to see him go as he unintentionally provided so many laughs on Sunday mornings. The former Cowboys running back will still be on Monday Night Countdown.
Brett Favre has officially filed for reinstatement, meaning he is now un-retired. As Terrell Owens would say, get ya popcorn ready, because things are about to get very interesting in Packers country.