In honor of the late, great Joe Falls, it's a Fish Fry Friday.
The Pistons should pull the trigger, not blink.
If the rumor is true - the Pistons can land Paul George from the Indiana Pacers - this organization should be all over it and make the deal a reality.
Best of all, according to some internet reports, the Pistons can get George and not give up their two best players - Andre Drummond (23) and Reggie Jackson (26). Both are young and part of the franchise's foundation.
If you had to part with either one of them, it would be a different story - a deal-breaker.
In order to land George, the 26-year-old small forward, and guard Monta Ellis, the Pistons would have to give up Tobias Harris, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Stanley Johnson plus their 2017 unprotected 1st, 2018 2nd and 2019 unprotected 1st draft picks.
Before you say that's too much, remember you have to give to get. George is a legit star and would elevate the Pistons to a contender, not just a possible playoff team.
The future is now.
Yes, there's a chance you could lose out on a very good player in the draft down the road. Still, this move would make other teams both respect and fear the Pistons once again.
Lions must club Bears
On paper, this should be a layup. The Lions (8-4) should beat the lowly Chicago Bears (3-9) at Ford Field on Sunday.
They can't afford another misstep against the lousy Bears, who beat the Lions early this season in Chicago.
It's a huge game for the Lions, who are now in position to fight the Seahawks for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
If the Lions win, they move a step closer to a potential bye week and extends their lead in the NFC North.
A slip up here and the Lions could wind up losing the division to either the Packers and Vikings, both lurking close behind.
Claire Smith Makes HOF
It got real for Claire Smith.
That's right. Go back to 1984.
The San Diego Padres simply weren't having it. They didn't want a woman in the clubhouse after the game - even if she had a journalism degree and a press pass.
Worse, they didn't just ask Smith to leave. Oh no, baby. Smith was physically removed from the clubhouse by Padres' personnel in the National League Championship Series in Chicago.
Hard to imagine that flying these days, but people were still closed-minded and dumb.
Still, it didn't stop Smith. She wasn't going to sit in the press box and try not to do her job - even though she knew a confrontation was very possible.
"They were enthusiastically violating a league edict," Smith recalled in an interview. "One of the clubhouse people physically put his hands on me, pushed me out of the locker room."
With time ticking on her deadline, Smith's goal was to get quotes, write her story and file it to her newspaper. At this point, Smith, frustrated and in tears, asked another writer to inform Padres' first baseman Steve Garvey what had happened.
Garvey came out and allowed Smith to interview him. Smith was able to get the job done.
The Padres' stand against women didn't go over well. In fact, just a week later, new MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth ruled that the leagues would now control clubhouse access and that any properly credentialed media representative would be honored - man or woman.
"He said this would no longer be an issue," Smith said of the commish. "He took the power away from the clubs. That's when it all changed."
Indeed. The same thing happened on Tuesday. The Baseball Hall of Fame changed, too.
This time, Smith, a longtime baseball writer, wasn't shown the door. Instead, Smith got the red carpet treatment, was allowed entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Smith will officially be inducted this summer in Cooperstown, New York.
Smith, the first African-American female newspaper reporter to cover Major League Baseball on a daily basis, was voted into the HOF by her peers, winning the Spink Award. She's the first female to win it.
It's the highest honor of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Truth be told, the most prestigious honor a sports writer can get.
