Morning Head: The Lions really are cursed

Rihanna has been gallivanting across the globe wearing bikinis and things of that nature. This is upsetting nobody, except maybe photographers that don't have a passport.



It's August, so irrational Lions fans are talking about playoffs. The only difference is, the rational fans are also talking about it, and so are members of the national media. So, of course the Lions can't get out of the first full week of training camp without losing one of the reasons for that optimism for the year. Running back Mikel Leshoure, who was supposed to be the guy that not only gave Jahvid Best rest but also provided a the perfect complement, tore his Achilles tendon and is done for the year. I'm not sitting here telling you that Mikel Leshoure was the key to the Lions season, because he's not. They still have Best and Matthew Stafford and a good stable of receivers led bye one of -- if not the -- best in the NFL with Calvin Johnson. But Leshoure was going to make that offense a touch more dynamic, at least that was the plan. And with the injury history of Best, having a very tough backup is a pretty important thing for the Lions. (Freep)



The Tigers were off Monday, but that didn't stop them from making news. Dave Dombrowski had his contract extended four years, while Leyland was given another season. I have mixed feelings about Dombrowski as a GM. He's made some great moves -- getting Miguel Cabrera -- and some bad ones -- letting Placido Polanco get away -- but that's something that pretty much every good GM has on his record. Plus, the Tigers may be high payroll, but they're not willing to completely out-spend their mistakes like the Yankees and Red Sox. As for Leyland, I have my issues with him, but the team is playing better than .500 baseball right now and leading the division. Sure, the division is awful, but giving a guy another year after what Leyland has done isn't the end of the world. (DetNews)



Starting today, the Tigers get the Indians in a three-game series. The two teams play each other 12 more times this season, and the Tigers lead by four games, so the Indians won't be out of things even if the Tigers sweep them. Although, a sweep and a seven-game lead in mid-August would be awesome. (DetNews)



Could we be on our way to one day seeing a woman officiating an NFL game? ESPNW seems to think so. As long as an official can keep up with the pace of play and knows the game, I don't care if al Qaeda is officiating. But seriously, if it happens, you're going to hear a lot of debate about the safety of it, and if she makes a bad call because she's, god forbid, out of position (like male officials often have been), we'll all hear about it. (ESPNW)



Speaking of not being quick enough to get out of the way ... Joe Paterno was blindsided by a member of the Penn State football team during Monday's practice and forced to go to the hospital. Of course, the man refused to go right away and wanted to finish the practice, proving that Joe Paterno, while old and a danger behind the wheel, is still tougher than you. (Centre Daily Times)



Oh yeah, the stock market continues to tank, but the stuff going on behind the scenes is strange. We were downgraded by Standard & Poors to AA+, which has caused all sorts of concerns, even though S&P is the same company who said all those shit-ass mortgages that were part of crashing our economy the first time around, were A-OK. So how do they have the power to continue to fuck with our economy? (TPM)



Today's Amazingness comes from the current best band in the world. I will not entertain any arguments against this: