Sports: Stafford Benched. Lions oh and 5!

Lions

The Lions are now 0-and-5 after a 42-17 blowout against the Cardinals at Ford Field.

Matthew Stafford was 20-of-32 for 188 yards, one TD and three interceptions before being benched in the third quarter. Lions head coach Jim Caldwell is squashing any potential quarterback controversy. Stafford was told at halftime he'd be pulled if he threw one more pick, which he did. Caldwell says Stafford is still the starter and likened it to a pitcher having a bad day.  Dan Orlovsky came in and finished 21-of-38 for 191 yards, a TD and a pick. The Lions took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter but it was all Arizona after that. Carson Palmer threw three TD passes as Arizona improved to 4-and-1. Detroit is off to its worst start since becoming the league's only 0-and-16 team in 2008.  The Lions host the Bears this Sunday.

NFL

Sunday Night Football….. Eli Manning connected with Larry Donnell late in the fourth quarter to give the Giants a 30-27 win over the 49ers.   The Broncos, Patriots, Packers, Falcons and Bengals stayed unbeaten.  "Monday Night Football" has the Chargers against the Steelers.

Red Wings

The Red Wings are back on home ice tomorrow as they kick off a two-game home stand against the Lightning. The Hurricanes will also come to town on Friday. Detroit is coming off a 4-3 win at Carolina on Saturday after opening with a 4-0 shutout of Toronto on Friday. Tampa Bay is 2-and-0 and plays at Boston tonight.

College Football

Michigan State is three spots lower in this week's AP Top-25 Poll. The Spartans slipped from fourth to seventh after surviving a 31-24 scare at Rutgers on Saturday night. Michigan State is now 6-and-0 overall and 2-and-0 in Big Ten play.  Michigan jumped up six spots. The Wolverines went from 18th to 12th after shutting out Northwestern 38-0 Saturday at the Big House. It was the third straight shutout, and fifth straight win for U-of-M. The Wolverines host MSU Saturday.   Unbeaten Ohio State is still No. 1 in this week's Associated Press college football poll, but its lead is only 21 points over No. 2 Baylor, which earned its highest ranking ever. TCU falls to third, followed by Utah and Clemson.

Baseball

The Astros beat the Royals, 4-2, at Minute Maid Park to take a 2-to-1 lead in the best-of-five set.   The Blue Jays avoided elimination with a 5-1 win over the Rangers in Arlington. Both series resume today.   The National League Division Series are also continuing today. The Cardinals and Cubs play at Wrigley Field, while the Mets meet the Dodgers at Citi Field. Each set is knotted up at one through two games.  Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley has received a two-game suspension from Major League Baseball for his slide in Game 2 of the NL division series against the New York Mets. Utley sent Ruben Tejada airborne after his jarring slide into second base, leaving the Mets second baseman with a fractured right fibula. Utley's agent said there would be an appeal, although MLB would likely try to resolve the matter before the series resumes with Game 3 today.

Pistons

The Pistons play the second of four straight preseason road games tomorrow night at Indiana. Detroit blew out the Bucks 117-88 Saturday in Milwaukee for its first win in three exhibition games so far.

Nascar

Joey Logano has secured an automatic berth in the third round of NASCAR's playoffs. Logano took the checkered flag at Sunday's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Kevin Harvick finished second. Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five. The Chase for the Sprint Cup heads to Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 next weekend.

PGA

The United States held off an inspired rally to win the Presidents Cup for the sixth straight time, this one decided by the final match.

Former Tiger Dies

Dean Chance, who won the 1964 Cy Young Award and later pitched a no-hitter with the Twins, died Sunday. He was 74.  Chance finished his 10 year career with the Tigers in 1971.   Chance died two months after being at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, for his induction into the Angels Hall of Fame.

High School Football

Ranked area High School Football teams Climax-Scotts, Coldwater and St. Phillip all won big over the weekend.  The latest AP rankings should be out later today.