Starting Five: Lions, Tigers and Bears…Oh yeah, and a little Tuna

What’s making buzz on a lazy Friday afternoon.

1) If it wasn’t apparent during the regular season, last night proved why Brian Cashman pushed so hard for Cliff Lee. The day after, the  popular narrative seems to be that another underwhelming posteason performance from A-Rod cost the Yanks. But it goes deeper than that. The Evil Empire, for all of its resources, lacked depth, especially in its starting rotation. Because of a few mid-season deals, Detroit had more weapons and it showed.

2) Speaking of “Tigers,” Dan Patrick posed a good question this morning: Who will bounce back sooner Tiger or A-Rod? With all things equal—mainly injuries—you have to go with Tiger, even with his two-season long slump. The mid-30’s are far kinder to a golfer, unless you’re juicing, of course. Can’t put it past A-Rod, can you?

3) Get your act together, David Stern! Tonight’s “all-star” exhibition at FIU is not enough for NBA fans waiting for an NBA season that won’t start on time.

4) It hasn’t been a particularly good week for Bill Parcells, as if he actually cares. The Tuna, now insulated in Bristol with ESPN—again, has been ripped for, basically, sucking at his old job, most notably in a column written by FOX Sports’ Jason Whitlock. Here’s the blunt truth about Parcells’ football blueprint: it’s outdated. Before he was convinced to join the Dolphins, he had laid out a contingency plan that would protect his legacy and massage his ego. If there was any short-term success, which was the case in 2008, he’d look like a genius.

When things went wrong, he’d be on the first golf cart out of Miami, leaving Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano to run things into the ground. And they did. Mercifully, though, people have been on top of this from the beginning. It’s not that he never could “pick the groceries;” it’s that he was too egotistical to adapt to the NFL’s changing landscape.

And for that, only Dolphins fans should have beef.

5) Week 5 Best Bet:  Detroit (-6) over Chicago

Maybe the Lions aren’t that good (a few 20-point comebacks in a row aren’t necessarily a good sign); maybe they are really good. I don’t really know, nor do I care. The Lions are 4-0, baby! Why can’t they keep it going?