MICHIGAN SPORTS

Detroit Lions, Pistons, Red Wings, Tigers, U-M Wolverines, MSU Spartans & More

AP PhotoDenny McLain winning his 30th game in 1968 is just one of many memories Steve Kornacki has from Tiger Stadium.

DETROIT -- I always loved going to Tiger Stadium on my birthday, and so I did it one more time Thursday.

Two-thirds of it was gone, having met the wrecking ball and been carted away. Excavators were smashing its concrete walls to bits, and a vaporizing machine supplied a steady spray on it to keep down the dust.

Cars pulled over across the street from where the right field corner used to be, and fans popped out with their 35-millimeter and single-use cameras to take one last snapshot. All that remained were the foul-territory stands between the bullpens and three light towers.

EAST LANSING -- As Mark Dantonio gets set to launch his second season as Michigan State's football coach, he is buoyed by the hopefulness represented in Spartans history.

No, Dantonio isn't reflecting on the recent past that has produced one BCS bowl appearance -- which actually occurred five years before there was a BCS -- in the last 42 years as MSU heads into Saturday night's season opener at California.

He's not even looking at back at last season, when Michigan State ended a skid of three straight losing seasons and played in the Champs Sports Bowl.

AP PhotoDetroit's Langston Moore, left, celebrates a safety with teammate Dovonte Edwards during the Lions' preseason win over Buffalo on Thursday.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Sip the Kool-Aid.

A little taste from that pitcher full of the sugar-saturated, euphoric liquid is fine, even for Detroit Lions fans in the preseason, but, please, don't gulp it.

Yep, the Lions completed the NFL's preseason schedule as the league's lone undefeated team Thursday night with a 14-6 victory against the Buffalo Bills.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The telltale signs of trouble aren't hard to find. When a player is returning from a serious knee injury and hasn't played for a full year, there's always the concern of the player being hesitant or dropping his hands to protect his legs.

Detroit Lions safety Daniel Bullocks showed none of those signs during his significant playing time in Detroit's 14-6 preseason victory over the Buffalo Bills on Thursday.

Bullocks was tied for second in the team lead for tackles with five.

AP PhotoDetroit Lions' Shaun Cody celebrates a safety against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., Thursday.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Detroit Lions became the only NFL team this year to finish the preseason undefeated, but that wasn't the biggest news about Thursday night's 14-6 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

The Lions got through the entire training camp and preseason schedule without suffering a significant injury to any player who was expected to make the 53-man roster.

As the Lions head into their regular-season opener Sept. 7 against the Atlanta Falcons, that was the most important thing.

A few pregame notes ...

• The Lions are likely to keep five receivers on the roster. The belief here was that the Lions might keep just four receivers and stash another one or two on the practice squad. However, the only receiver who is eligible for the practice squad is rookie Kenny Moore.

That means that No. 5 spot is still in the air -- and could be determined tonight. The prime candidates to win the job include Brandon Middleton, Devale Ellis and John Standeford.

The early word is that that following players will not play for the Detroit Lions tonight: Jon Kitna, Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Jeff Backus, Dominic Raiola, Kevin Smith, Tatum Bell, Dwayne White, Chuck Darby, Jared DeVries, Ernie Sims, Paris Lenon, Brian Kelly, Travis Fisher, Dwight Smith and Leigh Bodden. Oh, and there's a chance that Edwin Mulitalo might not play either.

The Bills are taking a similar approach -- almost all of their starters will be sidelined, too.

The rain in Buffalo has stopped for the time being, but it could still be a slippery field.

Being a first-year head coach is tough. Installing a brand-new offense is tough. Graduating virtually all of your star veteran players is tough. Put them all together, and that's just part of what Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez is facing.

He's not complaining. But Rodriguez certainly wouldn't mind having more time to prepare for the season.

As opposed to last year's opener against University of Alabama-Birmingham – a 55-18 Michigan State victory – the Spartans begin this season with a tough road game against California.

While it won't be easy, the advantage, says coach Mark Dantonio, is the players and coaches can find out right away if they can rise to the challenge.

"Last year, we tiered-up as we went into our non-conference games," Dantonio said during his weekly Big Ten teleconference, "and sort of got a more difficult game every week, and built confidence there, and ended up 4-0. I think this is a different situation.

AP PhotoDetroit quarterback Jon Kitna has played well all preseason. Lions coach Rod Marinelli wants to keep him healthy heading into the regular season.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Detroit Lions coach Rod Marinelli was only kidding. Well, maybe half-kidding.

"They're coming down with a little cough,'' Marinelli said a few days ago, referring to starting quarterback Jon Kitna and wide receivers Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson.

Marinelli is well aware of how former Lions coach Wayne Fontes dealt with star running back Barry Sanders in these situations. It was the darnedest thing, but every year -- right about the time Sanders was scheduled to play in the final preseason game -- Fontes would say Sanders was coming down with "flu-like symptoms.''

AP PhotoAfter missing the last two preseason games, Lions kicker Jason Hanson should be back in action.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Here are five things to watch when the Detroit Lions meet the Buffalo Bills in their NFL preseason finale at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

1. Final cuts
It's the last chance for several players to claim roster spots. Two of the more interesting battles are for the No. 4 running back spot and the No. 5 receiver slot. Kevin Smith has earned the starting job at running back, while it appears Tatum Bell and Aveion Cason also will make it as backups. Cason has added value as a return man. Bell, however, could use a strong showing against the Bills to cement his position.

Boubacar Cissoko was the first player in his recruiting class to commit to the University of Michigan, back in February, 2007.

When the cornerback finally arrived on campus this summer, a new coaching staff was in place. But Rich Rodriguez and Co. recognized the same traits that attracted former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and his assistants to Cissoko.

AP File PhotoMichigan State is making sure all eyes are on senior running back Javon Ringer, who rushed for 1,447 yards and six touchdowns in 2007.

EAST LANSNG -- If you received a solicitation to buy season tickets for Michigan State football, it likely was accompanied by a schedule superimposed on a vivid photograph of running back Javon Ringer.

A glossy advertising insert promoting DirecTV and the Big Ten Network practically jumped out of the newspaper earlier this week because of the oversized shot of Ringer running right at you.

Ringer is featured prominently on the MSU media guide cover, on various preseason magazines and mobile billboards roving the Lansing area.

DETROIT -- Chris Lambert didn't even get a full cup of coffee with the Detroit Tigers, but he'll be back for more.

Lambert was sent back to Toledo on Wednesday after just one day with the Tigers, but it wasn't because the right-hander was roughed up in his major league debut Tuesday.

Lambert was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Jeff Larish, who was brought up to play third base in Wednesday night's game against Cleveland.

AP PhotoCleveland second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera loses the ball while trying to tag Detroit's Jeff Larish (19) on a stolen base in the eighth inning Wednesday.

DETROIT -- Look out, here comes Kansas City.

The Detroit Tigers, who just gave up third place to the Cleveland Indians, could soon find themselves in a battle to avoid the AL Central cellar, with the last-place Royals coming to town this weekend.