Sports this 'n' that

 The Detroit Lions were missing about half of their coaching staff, including interim head coach Darrell Bevell, and some key players heading into Saturday's matinee vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The coaches were out due to---what else?----coronavirus issues, and it didn't help that the Lions lost QB Matthew Stafford in the first half due to injury, with Chase Daniel finishing the game.

Tom Brady and the Bucs built up such a big lead at halftime that coach Bruce Arians gave Brady the 2nd half off, while leaving Rob Gronkowski and Mike Evans in the game, likely due to incentives in their contracts, I'd guess, though past history reminds that Gronk was left in the game too long in a New England blowout of Indianapolis in 2012, and ended up getting injured when he should've been out of the game.

So naturally, Yahoo! accused the Bucs, who won, 47-7, of running it up as they locked down a wild card in the NFC.

The Lions wanted the game moved to today, so that the coaching staff would've been at full strength, but the league refused. The detractors will claim it's because they promoted the game and emphasized Brady. They'll also say that because the Lions are a weak team this year, in last place in the NFC North, they weren't getting any help from the league, which is wrong.

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The NFL also decided that the NFC West match between Arizona & San Francisco, won by the 49ers, would not be on over the air television. They contracted with Amazon Prime for the game (it's all about the money), though it was also available on Twitch, which is how I watched the game. The Cardinals' playoff hopes took a hit with the loss, as the Niners, last year's NFC champs, have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

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In the nightcap, Miami tripped Las Vegas, 26-25, but in the course of the game, benched rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa in favor of veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. Like the Cardinals, the Raiders' chances decreased with the loss.

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Pro wrestling was hit with a double whammy over the weekend.

First, legendary college and pro champion Danny Hodge had passed away. Hodge was one of the first stars to emerge from the University of Oklahoma, paving the way for later champions such as Steve "Dr. Death" Williams and current AEW/Bellator star Jake Hager.

Later in the night, speaking of AEW, Jon Huber, aka Mr. Brodie Lee, passed away due to lung issues at 41.

Huber, who worked as Luke Harper in WWE from 2014-19 on the main roster, winning the Intercontinental and tag titles during that span, held the TNT title in AEW as Lee earlier this year, set up as the figurehead leader of the Dark Order heel faction. A Rochester native, Huber was also a family man, and, as a gag, his young son Brodie was allowed to pin current AEW champion Kenny Omega at a recent taping.

Here's AEW's statement on the passing of Huber.

Rest in peace.