Scanning the Savanna

It’s not that Chris Spielman was ever afraid to express his opinion when he played for the Detroit Lions, but the former linebacker just found talk to be a cheap substitute for action.

And Spielman has always been about action.

Jeff Backus

Detroit Lions tackle Jeff Backus will be earning a combined $6.45 million in base salary and bonus. That seems like an awful lot of money to be paying somebody who has never been to the Pro Bowl in his previous 10 seasons.

A group that preservationists tout as a potential developer of the shuttered Civic Arena hasn’t visited Pittsburgh, hasn’t seen the inside of the building and hasn’t talked with any city officials about it.

Even so, members of the Apostolopoulos family, who bought Michigan’s Pontiac Silverdome in 2009, say they are serious about saving the Igloo, the former home of the Penguins hockey team.