Not sure if anyone noticed, but I dropped the WordPress from the URL and upgraded it to just thedailytraub.com; hopefully now it looks a little bit more professional.

It was announced by the Nashville Predator’s GM yesterday that Ryan Suter will test the free agent market.  This is obviously huge news for the Wings, but it is still not a guarantee that they will sign him.  I personally cannot stop reading into every little thing that comes out about Suter, because it is imperative that the Wings sign him.  In other news, the Wings apparently looked into acquiring Rick Nash and it was going to require at least, Valtteri Filppula, Brendan Smith and their 2013 1st round pick.  I personally would have looked into making this trade, if Lidstrom or Stuart had stayed.  But at the same time, it is extremely tough to trade your best defensive prospect with an aging blue line.  Maybe if they somehow sign Justin Schultz, a coveted young free agent defenseman, then they could look to make this trade.  That being said, I do not see the Wings acquiring Nash under any circumstances.  The Columbus Blue Jackets GM is trying to trade rape anyone that will offer something for Nash, because he knows his job is in jeopardy if he keeps putting a garbage team on the ice.

A few days ago it was announced that Mikel LeShoure will be suspended for two games, but will go unpaid for four games, due to his drug arrests this Summer.  This will further hamper the Lions running game for the first two games of the season and will certainly require Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson to pick up where they left off.  The only bright side is that they play the St. Louis Rams the first game of the season; but even still, they are anticipated to be a far better team than last year.  Playing the San Francisco 49ers the second game of the year spells all kinds of trouble and Jahvid Best will have to stay healthy and productive for the Lions to get off to a fast start again.  If LeShoure was arrested twice and got two games, I think it’s safe to say that Nick Fairley will receive similar punishment for his  drug and DUI arrests.

This is something that has been bothering me personally but has nothing to do with the sports world really.  Madden 13 is starting to release their new features for this years game, and they have started a new “Connected Careers Mode.”  Basically this mode is combining the Franchise Mode and Be A Pro modes under one name.  This is not only stupid, but a waste of time and a solid way to ruin the entire game.  What features have they eliminated from franchise mode to help make this change you ask?

No full customization of rosters
No editing of players in Connected Careers Mode
No Import Draft Classes
No 32 team control
No Fantasy Draft
No offline co-op play
No custom playbooks
No playing games except those of the ONE team you select for Connected Careers Mode

Leave it to EA sports that the year they decide to jinx the Lions by putting Calvin Johnson on the cover, that they make the worst Madden game in the history of the franchise.  They say that this is for development of the game for the future, but all they have to really say is that they turned it into a big pile of crap and that nobody should buy it.  Kudos fellas.

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