As expected, Sunday's game between the Lions and Browns has officially been blacked out.  The Lions didn't announce how many tickets are still available, meaning the number probably isn't much different from what we heard yesterday.  With around 7,000 unsold tickets and based on the fact that the attendance for the Rams game was just more than 40,000, I wouldn't expect a very big crowd at Ford Field on Sunday.

Like usual, Pride of Detroit will have play-by-play updates in the game threads.  If you are in the blackout zone, your most reliable option to track the game outside of checking out POD is by listening to it on the radio, because whether or not there will be streams is always a guessing game.  POD will do its best to keep track of ways to watch the game, but there are no promises since it is usually hit or miss.

It looks like Sunday's game between the Lions and Browns is headed for a blackout.  7,000 tickets are still available for Sunday's game, and the deadline to reach a sellout is 1 p.m. tomorrow.  Of course, if the Lions somehow sell a few thousand tickets and show that they can reach a sellout, then a 24-hour extension will be granted on the deadline.  If that doesn't happen, though, the game will almost certainly be blacked out.

So far this season there have only been two blackouts -- when the Redskins and Rams came to Detroit.  Before the Rams game was officially ruled a blackout, there were around 10,000 tickets, so having only 7,000 available is at least an improvement.

The Lions have another home game a week from tomorrow, but considering that is the Thanksgiving game and the Packers are Detroit's opponent, there is no chance that will be blacked out.  Even last year the Lions sold out the Thanksgiving game against the Titans, so with Green Bay coming to town, I'd bet on it being sold out.  I'd also bet on seeing a lot of cheese heads at Ford Field.  It's less than ideal to have opposing fans take over your team's stadium, but if that means I can actually watch the game, I'm fine with it.

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

19 days ago: Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson watches warmups before a game against the St. Louis Rams in an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. Johnson was inactive for the game. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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Much was made of how few times Matthew Stafford threw the ball in the direction of Calvin Johnson during Sunday's game, especially once cameras caught the two having a conversation on the bench.  Actually, it wasn't really a conversation.  Stafford was talking, and Calvin walked away after seemingly not wanting to listen to what the rookie had to say.  The announcers commented on the exchange, and many people assumed that there was a beef between the two.  I personally thought it was just a heat of the moment type of thing, which is why I hadn't even brought it up until now.

Calvin Johnson spoke to reporters yesterday, and when asked about the exchange, he basically said that it was no big deal and that there is no problem between him and his quarterback.

"I haven't seen the TV replays, because there's no reason for me to watch them -- we're fine," he said. "People are blowing this way out of proportion. Trust me, no one is going to be happy during a game like that. If you win, all this goes out the window."

Jim Schwartz talked to Calvin and Stafford to make sure there was no problem, and he came away from the meeting echoing what Calvin said.

"There's no issue there," Schwartz said. "You always want to be winning games and happy and cheerful, but goodness gracious, if you had a camera on every person on every play, you could try to read between the lines on a million things. There are times you need to talk things out, but there's no issue here with the players, and I don't understand why people are trying to create one."

To me, I interpret what happened on Sunday as a frustrated player on a losing team boiling over and reacting poorly to the situation.  Let's not forget that this was Calvin Johnson's first game back from injury, and there's no question something was up.  I don't know if the injury was still bothering him or what, but it's not like Stafford went out there and purposely ignored the best player on the team.  My guess is that it was a combination of many factors that led to Calvin's statistically bad game, and I'm betting once he is fully recovered from his knee injury, things will be back to normal in no time.

Press release from the Detroit Lions:

The Detroit Lions will unveil the team’s Pride of the Lions, a permanent stadium display honoring the greatest players in team history, during a celebration at halftime of the Lions’ November 22 home game at Ford Field against the Cleveland Browns. The Pride of the Lions includes a 12-member charter class.

"The players who will be honored represent the very best of the best to ever play for the Lions," said Lions President Tom Lewand. "It is an honor to induct them as our Pride of the Lions charter class. The names of other Lions’ greats will be added to the Pride in the future but we could select no better representatives for our first class than these 12 standouts."

The Pride of the Lions will be a very visible feature on the old Hudson’s warehouse of Ford Field (south suite levels) that will include the players’ jersey number, name and years played with the Lions.

The charter class is a collection of the most outstanding Lions’ of all-time. All 12 players are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and they represent virtually every generation of Detroit Lions Football.

During the halftime ceremony, members of the Pride of the Lions charter class will be announced accompanied by photos and highlights of their careers. Upon the conclusion of the introduction, the names of the charter class will be simultaneously unveiled.

The Lions have 13 Hall of Famers to choose from for the 12 spots, so I wonder who will be part of the first "Pride of the Lions" class.  The 13 Hall of Famers are Charlie Sanders, Barry Sanders, Lou Creekmur, Lem Barney, Doak Walker, Yale Larry, Dick Lane, Joe Schmidt, Jack Christiansen, Alex Wojciechowicz, Bobby Layne, Bill Dudley, and Earl Clark.

A quick note to returners who play the Lions in the future: keep your head on a swivel and make sure you keep an eye on where Zack Follett is at all times.  If you don't, this could happen:

Follett's hit was one of this week's Sprint Can't-Miss Plays, and it has led to the discovery of this hilarious picture from 97.1 The Ticket:

There's actually an entire page dedicated to Follett on Karsch and Anderson's section of the website, and it is definitely worth checking out.  As we quickly found out after he was drafted by the Lions, Follett is something else.

As expected, Sunday's game against the Rams will be blacked out locally because the Lions were unable to reach a sellout.  There were 10,000 tickets left on Wednesday, meaning it would have taken a miracle simply for the NFL to grant a 24-hour extension on the deadline to sell out the game.  Extensions are only granted when teams are close to reaching a sellout, and the Lions obviously were nowhere near that happening.

This is the second time the Lions have been blacked out this season.  Two home games have been sellouts so far, and the blacked out game that has already been played was the win against Washington.  I won't have a problem with blackouts if it means the Lions win, but hopefully by the end of the season people in the blackout zone will get to watch a victory live on television.

Looking ahead at the rest of the schedule, I think there will only be a maximum of two more blackouts this season.  The Packers game on Thanksgiving will be a sellout based on the fact that it's on Thanksgiving and there will be quite a few Packers fans in attendance.  I also think the season finale against the Bears will be a sellout because it's the last game of the season and there will again be quite a few opposing fans at Ford Field.  The other home games against the Browns and Cardinals aren't likely to be sellouts, but they're not likely to be blacked out, either.  Yes, the Browns suck, but with it being a short drive from Cleveland to Detroit, I could see this game being a sellout.  As for the Cardinals game, whether or not that sells out really will depend on how the Lions are playing.  If things are going well, it could be a sellout based on the fact that it is after two away games.  If fans are anxious for the Lions' return to Ford Field, a sellout is certainly possible.

More photos » by Kiichiro Sato - AP

about 1 month ago: Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) goes up over Chicago Bears cornerback Zackary Bowman (35) to make a catch during the first quarter of an NFL football game in Chicago, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

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For the second day in a row, Matthew Stafford fully practiced, meaning the chances of him starting on Sunday are looking better and better.  The big concern was how his knee would respond after going through a full practice, and considering he has now done that two days in a row, it must have responded well.  There's always the chance of a setback as the week goes on, but for now, at least, it seems like his chances of playing are probable.

I'm not so sure what Calvin Johnson's chances of playing are, but I have to think they are questionable at best after he missed practice again on Wednesday.  The same goes for Jason Hunter, who also missed practice.  Jerome Felton did return, but apparently on a limited basis.

Whether or not we see some of these injured players on Sunday remains to be seen, but it appears that people in the blackout zone won't get to see them even if they do play.  There are 10,000 tickets left for Sunday's game, meaning a blackout is basically all but official at this point.  The team has until 1 p.m. on Thursday to reach a sellout or at least get close enough to one for the NFL will grant a 24-hour extension.  Neither of those things seems likely, so it looks like those of us in the blackout zone will have to go stream hunting on Sunday.  Pride of Detroit will still provide live updates, so make sure to check out the site during the game.

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

about 1 month ago: Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford smiles at a teammate late in the fourth quarter of their 19-14 win over the Washington Redskins in an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009 in Detroit. Stafford passed for 241 yards and a touchdown to help end the Lions 19-game losing streak. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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The Lions returned to practice on Tuesday after having the weekend off, and a few injured players who sat out on Friday were back on the field, joining their teammates for what probably was the practice with the most participation in at least the last few weeks.

The most notable player to return to practice was Matthew Stafford, who took approximately half of the reps on Tuesday.  He seemed to be happy with how his knee held up, though he didn't feel comfortable giving a percentage on how healthy he is.  Even if he had shared one, it wouldn't really mean anything until Wednesday's practice.  I say that because no one will really know how healthy Stafford is until his knee has a day to recover from Tuesday's practice.  If it swells up again, then chances are we will have to wait at least another week for Stafford's return to game action.  If it is fine and looks/feels like nothing happened on Tuesday, then the odds of him playing on Sunday greatly increase.  I don't want to get my hopes up just yet, but Tuesday brought more positive news on Stafford than I expected.

One of the other notable injured players, Calvin Johnson, did not return to practice on Tuesday.  He did do some running on the sideline, but that was about it for Megatron.  Calvin did say that he is "optimistic," but he also admitted that he's "not positive about what's going to happen."  The best thing to do with Calvin is take a wait and see approach.  If he suddenly feels well enough to practice sometime this week, he could also return to game action on Sunday against the Rams.

Staying on the topic of injuries, Dewayne White, Sammie Hill, and Ko Simpson all returned to practice on Tuesday as well.  Jerome Felton and Jason Hunter didn't get back on the field, but even so, it's nice to see so many of the injured players start to participate in practice again.  Hopefully that means that the Lions will be almost at full strength on Sunday, and as the season continues, hopefully it means that I will have to spend less time typing up the injury report each week.

One other thing I want to mention is unrelated to injuries, but it does involve a change to the starting lineup.  According to John Niyo, Jon Jansen "appears to be the new starting left guard," and Daniel Loper has shifted to right tackle to be Gosder Cherilus' backup.  It's obvious that the Lions want to find an offensive line combination that will work, so here's to hoping that Jansen is the answer at left guard, even though he has never started at a position other than right tackle in his career.