In this week’s edition of my sports watch we will be talking about Fraser basketball’s run in Districts, the Lions free agent losses and additions, as well as the Pistons’ playoff hopes, and more.

1. Free Agent Frenzy

The NFL free agent signing period started Tuesday afternoon at 4pm eastern time. While players were able to negotiate beforehand, contracts couldn’t be official until then. The Lions had many players whose contracts were up and also some holes to fill. As of Thursday night at 10pm, these are some of the key moves the Lions have made as well as some of their big losses.

Key Additions:

Haloti Ngata: Just after free agency started, the Lions acquired defensive tackle Haloti Ngata from the Baltimore Ravens for their 4th and 5th round picks. Ngata has been a key piece on Baltimore’s defensive line since they drafted him in 2006. While he only has 25.5 sacks in 9 years, he’s one of the best at stopping the run even as enters his 10th NFL season (he’s 31 years old). He won’t be able to replace Suh’s production, but he’s definitely a solid replacement, who didn’t cost the Lions too much. He’s also open to signing an extension Lions’ fans.

Tyrunn Walker: Tyrunn is a defensive tackle from the New Orleans Saints and should add some depth to this Lions’ D-Line. He isn’t a huge signing, but the 24 year old, Louisiana native, could be helpful in bringing pressure to the quarterback as Pro Football Focus rated his Pass Rushing Productivity at a 7.3. That was the 17th best out of 72 qualifying nose tackles last year. He’s on a 1 year, 1.75 million dollar deal so if it doesn’t work out after this season, the Lions have no commitment to Walker.

Key Losses:

Ndamukong Suh: Suh signed a 6 year, 114 million dollar deal (60 million guaranteed) with the Miami Dolphins Tuesday afternoon. It’s by far the largest contract given out by any team this off-season. With Suh gone, the Lions will lose some production on the defensive line especially when it comes to pressuring the quarterback. In 5 seasons for the Lions, Suh had a total of 36 sacks. He had 36 sacks in just 78 games, that translates to nearly half a sack a game as a member of the Lions. While his production will be missed, Ngata should be able to replace most of the production as well being a cheaper replacement.

Nick Fairley: Detroit’s defensive line will be looking mighty different next year as the Lions’ are losing both defensive tackles. Fairly has yet to sign a contract with any team, but Detroit Free Press writer Dave Birkett has reported that the Lions are out of the running for their 2011 first round draft pick. Fairley will be missed in Detroit, but he is easy replaceable. He’s missed 18 games in his 4 seasons in Detroit and has had a rough time staying in shape.

2. Playoff Hopes?

The Detroit Pistons have now dropped 8 straight games and are watching their playoff spot slip through their hands. Detroit is now 23-41 on the season and is siting 6 games back of the 8th seed Miami Heat. Just a month ago it seemed that the Pistons were in good shape to make the playoffs, but after losing point guard Brandon Jennings and Reggie Jackson off to a rough start in Detroit, it seems that the Pistons are on their way to another top 10 pick. The Pistons would need to win at least three fourths of their games if they want a chance at the final seed in the Eastern Conference. Look for the Pistons to finish just on the outside looking in with about 30-35 wins and a top 10 pick. They need to find a true starting small forward this off-season along with deciding if they wanna resign power forward Greg Monroe and newly acquired point guard Reggie Jackson.

3. Red Wings In Good Position

The Red Wings are 37-18-11 on the season through 66 games. They are third overall in the Atlantic division being only the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have a total of 85 points, which is good for the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference as of Thursday night. While the team hasn’t played the best as of late, they are still in good contention to finish in the top 3 in the Eastern Conference. Captain Pavel Datsyuk leads the team in points, 56, while left wing Henrik Zetterberg has 41 assists through 61 games played. With the help of rising stars Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist, the Wings look to be in great shape to make a run at Lord Stanley’s cup this year and are set up for success in the future. The Wings will look to get back on the winning track as they travel to Philadelphia to face the Flyers Saturday afternoon at 1pm.

4. Iowa QB Looking to Transfer to Michigan?

The quarterback battle continues in Ann Arbor as the Wolverines try to find their starting quarterback for the 2015 season. Michigan already has 4 quarterbacks competing for the starting job, but their could be a fifth quarterback soon enough. Shane Morris seems to be the favorite as of right now with Wilton Speight and Alex Malzone trailing close behind the former De La Salle quarterback. Zach Gentry, a true freshmen, is from this year’s recruiting class, but he seems like a long shot to win the job. Former Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock announced early this week that he would be transferring from Iowa to use his fifth year of eligibility at another school. Michigan will be the first visit early next week for the former 3 star quarterback. In the games Rudock did start at Iowa over the last two years, he compiled a 15-9 record while throwing for 4,819 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. He definitely has more experience than any other Michigan quarterback and would be an upgrade over any of the Wolverine’s quarterbacks for the upcoming season. Jim Harbaugh usually gets what he wants so if Rudock steps foot in Ann Arbor and Jim truly wants him to be next year’s starter then it will probably happen.

5.Big Ten Tournament

Wednesday afternoon kicked off the first of a 5 day tournament between the members of the BIG Ten conference. #13 Penn St and #11 Minnesota won their respective games Wednesday afternoon and moved on to play Thursday. Thursday started out with #9 Michigan beating #8 Illinois by a score of 73-55 in the first game of the day. Michigan freshmen Aubrey Dawkins led all scorers with 18 points and had a few electrifying plays including a first half alley oop thrown by Zak Irvin. The next game featured an upset by #13 Penn St. over #5 Iowa, who was favorited by more than 5 points to beat the Nittany Lions. Penn St. senior D.J. Newbill played 36 minutes and scored 18 points for the Nittany Lions, who still have a hope at making the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). #7 Indiana played next and beat #10 Northwestern by 15 points to lock in their spot at an NCAA Tournament. Freshmen sensation Justin Blackmon Jr. of Indiana filled his stat sheet tonight as he scored 25 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. #6 Ohio State was the final team to win Thursday night as they barely beat the #11 Gophers. The Buckeyes hung on to win 79-73 and advanced to Friday night’s quarterfinals. Ohio State’s Shannon Scott scored a career high 21 points Thursday night to go along with 6 assists and 5 rebounds.

Friday’s Games

#9 Michigan plays #1 Wisconsin at 12:00 pm on ESPN.

#13 Penn St. plays #4 Purdue at 2:00 pm on ESPN.

#7 Indiana plays #2 Maryland at 6:30 pm on BTN.

#6 Ohio State plays #3 Michigan State at 9:00 pm on BTN.

6. LeVert To Jump to NBA

Thursday afternoon injured Michigan guard Caris LeVert said that he”ll be weighing his decision right up until the underclassmen entry deadline of April 26 to decide whether to stay for his senior year at Michigan or to make the jump to the NBA. While LeVert has missed the last 13 games for the Wolverines, nearly every mock draft has him labeled as a mid to late 1st round pick even after his freak foot injury. For any player it’s hard to say no to a shot at the NBA especially when you’ve had multiple foot injuries and could possibly be looking at your last chance. In the end I don’t see LeVert leaving for the draft in part because I know how much he and his mother have spoke publicly about he wants to get his degree. Caris will stay if momma LeVert has anything to say about it, she’s a lot more focused on his education than she is his basketball career.

7. Fraser loses in District Semi Finals to Chippewa

After winning Monday night’s first round of Districts, the Ramblers looked like they could be a team to be reckoned with as they were able to come back from a decently sized deficit and beat the L’anse Creuse Lancers, 57-52. That was not the case Wednesday night as the Big Reds were able to dismantle this Fraser team using good ball rotation and a full court press. Fraser went on to lose by a score of 78-67 and ended their season at 9-13. The team was lacking energy and it showed as Chippewa ran them up and down the court. The Ramblers’ season is over and won’t pick back up until they do their annual summer league later this year. Fraser will be losing 9 seniors including 3 starters. They will be returning Dylan Babjack, starting center Ken Pham, and starting point guard Sebastian Tavalieri.

8. Baseball Season Is Right Around The Corner

The Fraser Ramblers have had try outs all week to figure out who ill be playing on Varsity, JV, and the freshmen team. This team returns some of the players from last year including pitcher Dylan Walker, reliever Scott Latessa, and Macomb Community College baseball commits, Jason and Michael Querro. The Ramblers are ranked in the top 50 in the state by Max Prep and are looking to capture a division title as well as the District title for the first time in years. The Ramblers start off their season at ClintonDale on March 27th at 4:00pm.

9. High School Recruit Visits Michigan

Thursday afternoon Khalid Kareem, a 6’4″ defensive end from Farmington, Michigan, visited the Wolverines. While he already has a scholarship offer from Michigan, Kareem said he wants to take his time n finding his college home. He has offers from Ohio State, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and NorthWestern. He hasn’t said who is at the top of his leaderboard right now, but 247 Sports’ crystal ball has him favoriting Michigan State by a decent margin. Kareem is a junior so he has another year before he will have to make his decision, which shouldn’t come anytime in the near future. Expect Michigan State and Michigan to fight for this home state product and watch out for Notre Dame as they are the dark horse in all of this.

10. De La Salle Running Back Receives Offer

Sophomore running back Allen Stritzinger had a phenomenal year last fall for the Pilots and received a few offers because of it. Within the the last 6 weeks, Allen has received offers from Western Michigan, Toledo, and Cincinnati. He has two more years before he has to figure out where he will play at the next level and he should get about 10-20 more scholarship offers when it’s all said and done. Allen went to a few camps including ones at Michigan and Michigan State and both seem to be high on his list of schools to play at. Personally I think if Allen receives a scholarship from MSU that he will sign with them, but Michigan could definitely be a big factor depending how well they do in Harbaugh’s first two years. He should get a bunch more MAC offers, along with some BIG Ten teams, and maybe a few other out of state colleges. His recruiting is only beginning, but a good showing at summer camps this year and a strong fall will only help to solidify Allen as one of thee most underrated running backs in the state.

Devon Schwarze writes the sports section for The Flash. If you have questions, you can reach Devon anytime at [email protected]