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The go-to excuse for the Detroit Lions’ failures is their ownership. While it’s an overly simplistic way to look at things, it’s hard not to give that theory at least some extra thought. Ever since William Clay Ford Sr. bought the team back in 1961, the Lions have seen fruitless decade after fruitless decade. One playoff win. No Super Bowl appearances. You’ve heard it all by now.
Every now and then, a rumor pops up that someone is interested in taking ownership away from the Ford family, and this week is no different. Cleveland Cavaliers owner—and Michigan native— Dan Gilbert is selling Greektown Casino for $1 billion and is planning on using that money to invest in some developmental projects in Detroit.
However, some have hypothesized that he may have his eye on a more local team than the Cavs, including the Detroit Lions.
Gilbert was involved in the brainstorming sessions involving Ford Field and a potential retractable roof to entice an MLS team—plans that have been since scrapped.
But the Lions have quickly shut down any rumors in a statement to the Detroit Free Press:
In a statement released to the Free Press, team president Rod Wood said on behalf of the Ford family, “The Lions are not for sale.”
Gilbert has also said that he doesn’t have any plans to purchase the Detroit Tigers. We’ll see.
- Glover Quin told a pretty entertaining story about when he came into the league and met former Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson. You can read the transcript below:
Glover Quin is tight with Andre Johnson now, but he was scared to even speak to the All-Pro WR as a rookie."I got drafted with this other DB named Brice McCain, and every single day during OTAs we used to be like, 'Hey, man, I’ma speak to Andre today.'" Story time with Glover: pic.twitter.com/WxkVIErpXh
— Will Burchfield (@burchie_kid) November 15, 2018
- The Detroit News already made their picks against the spread for Lions vs. Panthers, and they’re about as optimistic as you’d think.
- Former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky broke down what makes the Panthers’ offense so special and tried to formulate a gameplan on how to stop them:
Breaking down the #Lions Week 11 matchup against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 15, 2018
X’s and O’s powered by the fastest Internet in Detroit. @Xfinity | #CARvsDET pic.twitter.com/EneABsGDx1
- The Lions haven’t been getting many explosive plays on offense this year, despite being one of the better teams at it in 2017. Erik Schlitt of Lions Wire tries to figure out why.
- Live in Atlanta and want to tell Calvin Johnson that you miss him? He’s got a charity bowling event to support pancreatic cancer survivors:
- Actor/comedian Sam Richardson of “Veep” and “Detroiters” fame talked to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein about his life as a Lions fan and his pregame ritual every Sunday.