Looks like Tigers G.M., Dave Dombrowski has been told to trim the payroll.  

The NY Post reports the Tigers are fielding offers for Curtis Granderson.  FOXSPORTS.COM is reporting they are shopping around pitcher, Edwin Jackson.

Those are two young and talented players who aren’t exactly breaking the bank.   But what else can Dombrowski do? 

Nobody in their right mind would take Magglio Ordonez off their hands.  Not at $18 million a year.   How often do you think Dombrowski’s phone is ringing for Jeremy Bonderman at $12.5 million?  Dontrelle Willis or Carlos Guillen at $10 million?  Nate Robertson at $7 million?

They’ve got some fat contracts they’ll have to suffer through.  They’ve also got some free agents at key positions they’ll likely lose.  Fernando Rodney may have raised the blood pressure of Tiger fans last season, but he only blew one save.  He’s going to cash in. 

Placido Polonco won another gold glove, but the Tigers have already implied it’s time to give former Whitecap, Scott Sizemore a chance to win that job.

Mike Ilitch had the fifth highest payroll in baseball in 2009.  He shelled out over $119 million dollars.  The team rewarded him by collapsing in the final month.  

Dave Dombrowski told FOXSPORTS.COM, “We’re listening to a lot of different things,” he said. “People are talking to us about different stuff. I think we’re open-minded, based on the fact that we didn’t win a championship.”

Translation, “We can’t go on spending like this for a team that has underachieved so we’re going to trim our payroll”  My words, not his.  Let’s just hope Dombrowski can work some magic with those trades if they are made.  His track record is pretty good on the trade market.

Round two of the MHSAA football playoffs has some intriguing matchups. 

Rockford hosts Grand Haven in Division 1.  The Rams beat the Bucs 14-0 in week five.  The loss was the Bucs only one of the season. 

The Muskegon Big Reds have knocked Lowell out of the playoffs twice in the last three seasons.   The Big Reds look like they’re hitting their stride at just the right time, but will they be able to move the ball against a solid Lowell defense? 

Also from Division 2, Caledonia travels to Portage.  The Scots went to overtime to beat Portage Northern last week. 

In Division 3, East Grand Rapids quest for a four-peat goes through Byron Center.  The Pioneers have hardly been tested this season.  One wildcard in this game, former Caledonia head coach, Tom Burrill is on the Bulldogs staff.  He is one of the few coaches in the state to have pinned multiple losses on Peter Stuursma.  The big questions for Byron Center, can they handle the speed of East GR, and can they stop Kirk Spencer from making the big play?  Nobody has been able to do that yet.

We’ve got two marquee games in Division 4.  Holland Christian travels to West Catholic.  Hamilton heads to Three Rivers.

Muskegon Heights at Morley-Stanwood and Berrien Springs vs. Kelloggsville headline Division 5. 

The game of the week in Division 8 could very well be the championship game in that division.  Muskegon CC at Climax-Scotts.  Don’t be surprised if the winner of this game goes on to win a championship.

Friday on the Frenzy we’ll have hi lites from at least 10 second round playoff games.

Last week when Rockford beat Muskegon, the Rams received a trophy for winning a game in the “Great American Rivalry Series” 

While that was a great game.. between two of West Michigan most storied programs.  I would hardly put it in the catagory of “great rivalries”  They’ve hardly ever played each other.  It’s like calling Texas vs. USC a great rivalry.  Rivalries take time to build. 

If the “Great American Rivalry Series” had somebody from West Michigan on its selection committee, the game they would pick is this Friday at East Grand Rapids. 

Over the past decade, this has been the best rivalry in West Michigan.  Don’t agree with me?  Then allow me to state my case.

Since 2001, East Grand Rapids has been virtually unbeatable.  105-7 with five state championships.

Since 2000, Lowell has posted a 104-13 record and won two state championships. 

Now take a look at this.  Since 2001, East Grand Rapids is 5-4 against Lowell.  100-3 against everybody else.  Other than Lowell, only Caledonia (2x) and Fruitport have managed to pin a loss on the Pioneers.

Since 2000, Lowell is 5-5 against East GR.  99-8 against the rest of the state. 

I rest my case. 

Lowell vs East GR will be one of 18 games we cover on Football Frenzy this Friday.  Other key matchups include West Catholic vs Coopersville; Allendale vs Kelloggsville; Pennfield vs Schoolcraft; Holland Christian vs Hamilton; East Kentwood vs Rockford. 

We’ll see you Friday.

The Football Frenzy crews are heading out to 22-games tonight.  Our spotlight games include Rockford at Muskegon.  The Big Reds are the last team to pin a loss on the Rams.  Muskegon needs a win to enhance their playoff hopes.  They take a 4-2 record into this one. 

Kenowa Hills travels to Holland in a key OK Black matchup.  The Knights can also clinch a playoff birth with a victory.

In the OK Gold we’ll spotlight Ottawa Hills at Caledonia.  Ottawa has been one of the great surprises in West Michigan.  The Bengals stand alone atop the OK Gold standings and can clinch a playoff birth with a victory.  Caledonia is 4-2 and in dire need of a win to keep their conference and playoff hopes alive.

Other teams looking to lock up playoff births include North Pointe Christian, Forest Hills Eastern, Holland Christian, Byron Center and Grand Haven to name a few.

The Lions failed to sellout out for Sundays game against the Washington Redskins.  Unless they start winning again, we’ll be saying this a lot.  Yes, they showed signs of life against Minnesota; but haven’t we been saying that after every close loss over the last seven or eight years. 

Here’s what 1st year head coach, Jim Schwartz had to say after practice today.

With Lowell moving up to #1 in Divison 2, the rankings are dominated by West Michigan schools.  Rockford #1 in Division 1.  Lowell #1 in Divison 2. East Grand Rapids #1 in Division 3. Marshall #2 in Division 4.  Muskegon Heights #1 in Division 5.  Montague #1 in Division 6.  Traverse City St. Francis #1 in Division 7.  Climax-Scotts #1 in Division 8.

This week on the Football Frenzy we are efforting hilites from 21 games.  We will shine the spotlight on three games pitting undefeated teams.

In the OK Green: Byron Center 4-0 hosts the 7th ranked Hamilton Hawkeyes (4-0). 

From the OK Red we’ll spotlight #6 Grand Haven (4-0) at #1 Rockford (4-0)

We’ll also spotlight the showdown in the Wolverine conference between Three Rivers (4-0) at Otsego (4-0).

The MHSAA released playoff rankings.  Here’s a look.

1. 2789 Sterling Heights Stevenson (4-0) 96.000 2. 2698 Ann Arbor Pioneer (4-0) 88.670 3. 2634 Clarkston (4-0) 98.000 4. 2630 Rockford (4-0) 96.000 5. 2526 Grand Blanc (4-0) 98.000 6. 2461 Howell (3-1) 74.750 7. 2438 Macomb Dakota (4-0) 98.000 8. 2407 Lake Orion (3-1) 74.250 9. 2380 Dearborn Fordson (4-0) 86.000 10. 2328 Detroit Southeastern (4-0) 88.000 11. 2325 Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (3-1) 68.750 12. 2239 Holland West Ottawa (3-1) 68.750 13. 2217 Northville (3-1) 56.750 14. 2212 Plymouth (3-1) 68.750 15. 2127 Westland John Glenn (3-1) 64.750 16. 2094 Detroit Catholic Central (4-0) 94.000 17. 2048 Roseville (3-1) 64.500 18. 2008 Pontiac (3-1) 62.000 19. 1935 Holt (3-1) 66.750 20. 1883 Canton (4-0) 98.000 21. 1873 Grand Haven (4-0) 96.000 22. 1850 Romeo (3-1) 68.750 23. 1849 Livonia Franklin (3-1) 70.000 24. 1791 Flint Carman-Ainsworth (3-1) 68.500 25. 1788 Warren Mott (3-1) 62.500 26. 1745 Grand Ledge (3-1) 64.250 27. 1717 Southfield-Lathrup (3-1) 68.500 28. 1708 Milford (3-1) 64.500 29. 1700 Temperance Bedford (3-1) 70.750 30. 1665 Walled Lake Central (4-0) 88.000 31. 1663 Southgate Anderson (3-1) 64.750 32. 1658 Port Huron (3-1) 66.750 33. 1650 Warren DeLaSalle (3-1) 66.000 34. 1641 Detroit Western International (3-1) 60.250 35. 1639 Grosse Pointe South (3-1) 72.750 36. 1622 Midland (4-0) 84.000 37. 1536 Southfield (3-1) 66.750 38. 1514 Dearborn Edsel Ford (4-0) 94.000 39. 1501 Muskegon (3-1) 76.750 40. 1483 Rochester Adams (3-1) 66.750 41. 1455 Grosse Pointe North (3-1) 66.250 42. 1390 Birmingham Brother Rice (3-1) 68.750 43. 1380 Portage Central (4-0) 90.000 44. 1329 Detroit Martin Luther King (3-1) 66.500 45. 1312 Wyandotte Roosevelt (4-0) 82.000 46. 1303 Oxford (3-1) 64.750 47. 1297 Lowell (4-0) 86.000 48. 1287 Portage Northern (3-1) 64.750 49. 1252 Farmington Hills Harrison (4-0) 88.000 50. 1252 Detroit Denby (3-1) 60.250 51. 1214 Detroit Northwestern (3-1) 58.330 52. 1174 Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills (3-1) 68.750 53. 1174 Greenville (3-1) 58.500 54. 1171 Allen Park (3-1) 60.250 55. 1164 Redford Thurston (3-1) 70.750 56. 1143 Lapeer East (3-1) 62.750 57. 1127 Auburn Hills Avondale (3-1) 58.250 58. 1120 St Clair Shores Lakeview (3-1) 64.750 59. 1111 Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (3-1) 60.500 60. 1103 Lapeer West (4-0) 94.000 61. 1101 St Johns (3-1) 58.750 62. 1083 Mt Pleasant (4-0) 94.000 63. 1080 St Clair Shores Lake Shore (3-1) 62.750 64. 1061 Mason (4-0) 90.000 65. 1055 Hazel Park (3-1) 58.250 66. 1053 Adrian (3-1) 66.250 67. 1000 Carleton Airport (4-0) 88.000 68. 994 Grand Rapids Christian (3-1) 64.250 69. 986 St Joseph (3-1) 66.750 70. 977 Fruitport (3-1) 54.500 71. 971 Byron Center (4-0) 84.000 72. 968 Petoskey (4-0) 84.000 73. 953 Fowlerville (4-0) 80.000 74. 943 Hastings (3-1) 54.750 75. 939 Cadillac (3-1) 62.000 76. 931 Escanaba (4-0) 82.000 77. 930 East Grand Rapids (4-0) 84.670 78. 928 Chelsea (3-1) 64.500 79. 925 Highland Park (3-1) 61.170 80. 923 Milan (3-1) 58.750 81. 917 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern (4-0) 88.000 82. 917 Stevensville Lakeshore (4-0) 80.000 83. 911 DeWitt (4-0) 84.000 84. 892 Haslett (3-1) 62.750 85. 885 Linden (4-0) 92.000 86. 876 Dearborn Divine Child (4-0) 82.000 87. 875 Battle Creek Harper Creek (3-1) 60.500 88. 859 Detroit Crockett (4-0) 86.000 89. 851 Melvindale (4-0) 94.000 90. 833 North Branch (3-1) 52.500 91. 831 Ogemaw Heights (3-1) 56.750 92. 826 Hamtramck (3-1) 50.500 93. 825 Holland Christian (4-0) 82.000 94. 821 Spring Lake (3-1) 60.250 95. 818 Parma Western (3-1) 44.000 96. 801 Marine City (4-0) 88.000 97. 784 Dearborn Heights Annapolis (3-1) 46.500 98. 778 Madison Heights Lamphere (3-1) 56.250 99. 777 Marshall (4-0) 90.000 100. 771 Three Rivers (4-0) 76.000 101. 763 Hudsonville Unity Christian (3-1) 54.750 102. 761 Muskegon Orchard View (3-1) 52.750 103. 757 Hamilton (4-0) 82.000 104. 754 Croswell-Lexington (3-1) 50.750 105. 749 Fremont (3-1) 54.500 106. 744 Goodrich (3-1) 56.750 107. 721 Lansing Catholic (3-1) 54.750 108. 720 Cheboygan (3-1) 64.250 109. 718 Yale (3-1) 54.500 110. 708 Richmond (3-1) 60.500 111. 703 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (3-1) 44.750 112. 695 Big Rapids (4-0) 66.000 113. 678 Battle Creek Pennfield (4-0) 58.000 114. 675 Otsego (4-0) 76.000 115. 661 Detroit Country Day (3-1) 56.500 116. 661 Kingsford (3-1) 59.170 117. 654 Williamston (3-1) 54.250 118. 637 Flint Powers Catholic (3-1) 56.500 119. 635 Grand Rapids West Catholic (4-0) 76.000 120. 620 Almont (3-1) 58.500 121. 619 Essexville Garber (3-1) 56.500 122. 618 Saginaw Swan Valley (4-0) 68.000 123. 618 Caro (3-1) 54.000 124. 611 Dowagiac (3-1) 54.750 125. 588 Ovid-Elsie (4-0) 70.000 126. 579 Pinconning (3-1) 60.500 127. 572 Onsted (3-1) 60.750 128. 570 Durand (3-1) 54.250 129. 565 Grayling (3-1) 46.500 130. 561 Menominee (3-1) 52.500 131. 560 Madison Heights Madison (4-0) 88.000 132. 560 Stockbridge (4-0) 62.000 133. 558 Muskegon Heights (4-0) 70.000 134. 546 Millington (4-0) 72.000 135. 546 Wyoming Kelloggsville (4-0) 60.000 136. 538 Hopkins (3-1) 52.250 137. 537 Brooklyn Columbia Central (3-1) 42.500 138. 532 Jackson Lumen Christi (3-1) 64.500 139. 528 Houghton Lake (3-1) 52.750 140. 524 Lakeview (3-1) 52.250 141. 520 Berrien Springs (3-1) 50.500 142. 512 Lake Fenton (3-1) 46.500 143. 506 Gladstone (3-1) 56.500 144. 504 Delton Kellogg (4-0) 50.000 145. 502 Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard (4-0) 56.000 146. 495 Carrollton (3-1) 48.750 147. 488 Shepherd (3-1) 58.000 148. 478 Flint Beecher (4-0) 78.000 149. 475 North Muskegon (3-1) 48.750 150. 473 Harper Woods Chandler (3-1) 54.500 151. 468 Clare (4-0) 68.000 152. 466 Negaunee (3-1) 42.500 153. 463 Elk Rapids (3-1) 52.250 154. 461 Morley-Stanwood (4-0) 72.000 155. 457 Laingsburg (3-1) 42.750 156. 455 Farwell (3-1) 40.500 157. 452 Grandville Calvin Christian (3-1) 40.250 158. 450 Sanford Meridian (3-1) 56.750 159. 444 Harper Woods (3-1) 50.000 160. 438 Montague (4-0) 74.000 161. 431 Bronson (4-0) 62.000 162. 426 East Jackson (3-1) 36.500 163. 424 Ithaca (4-0) 68.000 164. 423 Monroe St Mary Catholic Central (3-1) 54.750 165. 421 Calumet (3-1) 45.170 166. 419 Blissfield (3-1) 48.750 167. 407 Schoolcraft (4-0) 56.000 168. 405 Manchester (4-0) 60.000 169. 401 Suttons Bay (3-1) 42.750 170. 399 Boyne City (3-1) 48.250 171. 392 St Charles (4-0) 62.000 172. 392 Sandusky (3-1) 40.750 173. 391 Clinton (3-1) 50.750 174. 387 Hartford (4-0) 46.000 175. 386 Ecorse (4-0) 72.000 176. 384 Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker (3-1) 48.500 177. 384 Whitmore Lake (3-1) 46.750 178. 380 Reese (4-0) 64.000 179. 359 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian (3-1) 42.250 180. 356 Burton Bendle (4-0) 60.000 181. 354 Addison (3-1) 46.500 182. 352 Lake City (3-1) 46.250 183. 347 Kalamazoo Christian (3-1) 40.750 184. 346 Lawton (3-1) 34.500 185. 343 Ishpeming Westwood (3-1) 38.500 186. 341 Hudson (4-0) 74.000 187. 337 Cassopolis (4-0) 62.000 188. 323 Reading (4-0) 50.000 189. 319 Roseville Michigan Collegiate (3-1) 46.750 190. 315 Brown City (4-0) 46.000 191. 314 Ravenna (4-0) 66.000 192. 314 Whittemore-Prescott (4-0) 52.000 193. 309 Traverse City St Francis (4-0) 60.000 194. 308 Royal Oak Shrine Catholic (3-1) 36.250 195. 305 Concord (4-0) 46.000 196. 305 Pewamo-Westphalia (3-1) 38.500 197. 305 Southfield Christian (3-1) 36.500 198. 304 Ishpeming (3-1) 48.500 199. 303 Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (3-1) 24.500 200. 296 Potterville (4-0) 58.000 201. 296 Iron River West Iron County (3-1) 44.250 202. 287 Decatur (3-1) 40.500 203. 274 Norway (4-0) 52.670 204. 270 Genesee (4-0) 46.000 205. 269 Ottawa Lake Whiteford (3-1) 46.500 206. 268 Merrill (3-1) 46.750 207. 266 Petersburg-Summerfield (4-0) 66.000 208. 262 Rudyard (4-0) 56.000 209. 260 Saugatuck (3-1) 42.750 210. 258 Ubly (4-0) 58.000 211. 252 White Pigeon (3-1) 48.750 212. 244 Rogers City (3-1) 36.250 213. 241 Mendon (4-0) 60.000 214. 237 Dryden (3-1) 30.500 215. 231 Waterford Our Lady (4-0) 54.000 216. 229 New Lothrop (3-1) 38.750 217. 223 Climax-Scotts (4-0) 48.000 218. 222 Fulton (3-1) 38.500 219. 216 Eau Claire (3-1) 40.100 220. 212 Beal City (3-1) 46.750 221. 209 Johannesburg-Lewiston (3-1) 42.250 222. 205 Mio (3-1) 30.750 223. 201 Colon (3-1) 34.750 224. 195 Crystal Falls Forest Park (3-1) 40.500 225. 183 Bark River-Harris (4-0) 46.000 226. 176 Cedarville (4-0) 44.670 227. 173 Frankfort (3-1) 40.250 228. 173 Ontonagon (3-1) 36.500 229. 172 Sterling Heights Parkway Christian (3-1) 42.250 230. 171 Battle Creek St Philip (3-1) 34.750 231. 165 Kinde-North Huron (3-1) 36.250 232. 154 Lake Linden-Hubbell (4-0) 60.000 233. 151 Mt Pleasant Sacred Heart (3-1) 44.500 234. 139 Iron Mountain North Dickinson (4-0) 48.670 235. 125 St Joseph Michigan Lutheran (3-1) 38.000 236. 123 Ashley (3-1) 34.500 237. 89 Gaylord St Mary (4-0) 58.000 238. 58 Manistee Catholic Central (4-0)* 44.000

The first poll is out for the high school football season and it should come as absolutely no surprise, that West Michigan schools dominate the number one spot.

Division 1: #1- Rockford, #7 Grand Haven

Division 2: #1 Warren De La Salle, #2 Lowell

Division 3: #1 East GR

Division 4: #1 Marine City, #2 Marshall, #4 West Catholic, #5 Holland Christian, #7  Three Rivers, #8 Hamilton, #9 BC Pennfield, #10 Unity Christian

Division 5: #1 Oakridge, #3 Muskegon Heights

Division 6: #1 Montague, #3 Schoolcraft, #4 Hartford

Division 7: #1 TC St Francis, #3 Mendon, # 5 Ravenna

Division 8: #1 Climax-Scotts, #6 Muskegon CC

If we’ve learned anything from the early season matchups between the east and west side of the state, it’s that we should be in for another fun Thanksgiving day weekend at Ford Field. 

The OK Red looks scarey good.  The OK White could very well crown two state champions with East GR and Lowell.  The OK Gold could provide one of the craziest races with Hastings and Forest Hills Eastern off to surprising 3-0 starts.  Catholic Central, Ottawa Hills and Caledonia all figure to have a say before we’re through.  And how about the OK Green?  Four teams in the Green are off to 3-0 starts.

I’m really sad to see it go.

The Arena Football League is about to shut its doors for good, and while I’m not surprised, I am disappointed.

For over 20-years Arena players entertained fans with an up-tempo game.  Fans gasped as receivers were slammed into the sideline boards after a catch.  They took home souvineer footballs when errent throws went sailing into the crowd.   And were able to get up close and personal with the players on the field after games. 

Dan DeVos brought the Rampage to Grand Rapids in 1998.   They won the ArenaBowl in 2001.   They paraded through downtown Grand Rapids with the championship trophy and Rampage fans celebrated.

Even though there wasn’t much to celebrate after that, Rampage games were still fun.  They were still high energy, and no crowd in West Michigan was louder than a Rampage crowd. 

But the crowds are silenced now.   AFL owners couldn’t come up with a business model to save the league, so they’re shutting it down.

There is talk from the D.P. Fox camp it will come back in some form in Grand Rapids.  AF2 the most likely scenerio.  They made a similar move in Iowa a few years ago, and my friends in Des Moines say you can hardly tell the difference.  With nowhere else to play for many of the guys on AFL teams, you’ll likely see some of the same names making the jump to AF2. 

Let’s hope so.

Big honor for Hudsonville boxer Jordan Shimmell.  He was elected captain of the U.S. boxing team that is fighting in Italy this week.   He’s never fought outside of the U.S., so the selection was a pleasant surprise.

Shimmell will fight Clemente Russo on Sunday night.  Russo won a silver medal at the summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008. 

Shimmell became just the 6th heavyweight in the U.S. to win both the Golden Gloves and US National championship in the same year.  He hopes to fight for the U.S. at the 2010 games in London.

There will be some changes to the Red Wings lineup in game #4 on Thursday.  Kris Draper will play.  Red Wings coach, Mike Babcock said he wasn’t sure which player he would sit, but Draper is definately back from an upper body injury.  He’s been healthy enough to play, but as Babcock said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Pavel Datsyuk skated with the team today, and stayed on the ice afterward.  He labored with the foot injury at times, but he did look much better than he has the previous two days in Pittsburgh.  Ken Holland told me Datsyuk would be a game time decision.  He also said, “Datsyuk will play at some point in this series.”  So he’s getting close.