The Lions would be wise to take a safety within the first three rounds of the draft. The best safeties available as far as I’m concerned are Louis Delmas from Western Michigan and Patrick Chung from Oregon. Delmas didn’t help his cause by reportedly scoring just a 12 out of 50 on the NFL’s Wonderlic test, which gauges aptitude. Also reportedly scoring a 12 was another potential Lions draft choice - linebacker Rey Maualuga from USC.
To me, that could be a good thing for the Lions - if either drops down in the draft as a result. Football smarts matter. Not sure you can rate that aspect of the game based on an intelligence test.

Random Thoughts

- If you look at the struggles of the Pistons, they aren’t just rooted in the Allen Iverson trade. I thought they had some young players - Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell, Arron Afflalo - who would have more of an impact this season. What I don’t know is whether they aren’t that good or if Pistons coach Michael Curry just hasn’t done a good job of developing them.

- Don’t kid yourself. The Red Wings goaltending situation remains tenuous. Chris Osgood’s soaring confidence level hinges on not having any more stinker games before the playoffs begin.

- What a day to televise the Tigers game back to Detroit, eh? I don’t care if it was just an exhibition game, getting no-hit like that was embarrassing. Good thing is most of their hitters will be back in the lineup soon from the World Baseball Classic. The Tigers need another good outing from Nate Robertson to justify his apparent spot in the starting rotation. The way Justin Verlander threw Sunday was encouraging. Still don’t see how Jeremy Bonderman is going to be ready for the start of the season, though.