1. Police won't look further in the Ndamukong Suh accident in Portland, Oregon, because alcohol was not involved.

OK, that's fair...except two people who were hurt were allowed to leave the scene. Later, they call police and say they were hurt. Sounds like it might be a problem for Suh later if they Sue, or perhaps it's a problem for them because Suh could deny they were there. Either way, it seems like it's a crime when the police are deceived and something more happened.

Now as for Suh, it's not a problem, this accident, except he's out at 1 a.m. riding around with ladies near a club while he's on suspension. Plus, it sounds like he's a terrible driver.

Should the Lions be concerned? Perhaps not, except off-the-field problems can lead to on-the-field absences. And Suh doesn't get the Lions to the Super Bowl if he's suspended or injured.

Yes, we Lions have finally made it.... to the second-tier level of popularity?

Everyone is excited about the Detroit Lions playing a real Monday Night Football game, in October and against the Bears. I'm afraid, though, the people who should be most happy are from Chicago, as they can travel a short distance to see their team. I don't know if the Bears will crush the Lions, but based on recent years, early bets are the Bears. As for the night of the week, it's not that big a deal anymore.

But hey, it's still a night game, so a little bit of primetime celebration is in order.

I was at the last Monday Night Football hosted by the Lions, back in 2001 when a young Marty Mornhinweg was 0-2 and ready for his first win. New team president Matt Millen was ready to reinvent team leadership. I didn't watch the game; didn't need to, it turned out. However, I covered the fans excitement over being on the real MNF on ABC. It was the team's last season at the Pontiac Silverdome, so I ended up covering a few finals .... final Thanksgiving tailgate, final night game, final game.

The Lions ended up getting smoked by Mike Martz and Kurt Warner, 35-0, I believe. They would lose 10 more games before Marnhinweg got to celebrate a victory as a head football coach in a professional league. He didn't ride his Harley to practice to celebrate after that eventual win.

Of course, Mornhinweg's inaugural season ended 2-14. He improved with a 50 percent increase in wins in 2002, the first season in Ford Field in downtown Detroit, ending his career with a 5-27 record for a .154 winning percentage - lower even than Rod Marinelli's .200 career record with Detroit (which included the infamous 0-16 record).

Mornhinweg went on back to Philadelphia, where he leads the Eagles' offense. The Lions went downtown, where they have wowed the world with losing.

And MNF, well, it went to cable, where it is now the second-tier NFL showcase. Not to knock ESPN, but, they aren't like ABC or NBC. Instead of all the rowdy friends coming over on Monday, they come over on Sunday's now, where NBC has led a successful reinvention of how America watches football. It's not important on Monday; it's Sunday that is "football night in America."

But like every Lions fan believes, this is a new season. This could be the year. However, MNF isn't any kind of 'making it' or show of respect. That comes if we're still playing in January.

A great summary of the Detroit Lions/Free Press Lionsgate, as a couple of tweeters have declared, can be found at our The Back Page blog, written by sports copy editor-reporter Paul Kampe.

I saw several references to the fake quote attributed to Coach Jim Swartz, but I hadn't seen the Saturday story. I couldn't find a copy of the false quote because it had been pulled off line, and because of the lack of home delivery, it was like it never happened - almost.

Thank you, Paul, for getting the full story so we can all make our judgments.

And all I can say is that it's a shame when a little gag can bring anyone down to the level of student paper. I wonder if Luther Ellis was laughing.

Exciting time here at The Oakland Press. Not only do we now have a newly improved video player, we're also finding time to work with live video streaming.

Today, we partnered with Bruce Fealk and his online publication, The Rochester Citizen, which he started after having initially worked in an exclusively political blog. Mr. Fealk wanted to see the Oakland County Board of Commissioners meeting and they do not broadcast those. So he went to do it and we used his link to share with our readers.

Tomorrow, Friday, we will try our own, with Lions Lowdown writer Paula Pasche discussing the Detroit Lions, their draft, their schedule and the likelihood that they could actually improve. Check us out Friday at noon. And thanks Bruce for your willingness to partner with us.