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(SportsNetwork.com) - The Detroit Lions try to keep their NFC North title hopes alive on Sunday when they welcome the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Ford Field. Detroit snapped a two-game losing streak and picked up a much-needed win on Thanksgiving, as Joique Bell and Calvin Johnson each scored twice to help the Lions snatch a 34-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. Matthew Stafford was 34-for-45 for 390 yards with two touchdown passes for the Lions (8-4), who bounced back from a pair of road losses to Arizona and New England. We had shown that we could do it in spurts at times this season, Stafford said of his offense. To put it together for 60 minutes was gratifying. Detroit, which remains a game behind Green Bay for first place in the NFC North, has now won three in a row at home and hasnt won four straight in the Motor City since 2007. Bell totaled 91 yards on 23 carries, while Johnson had 11 catches for 146 yards for the Lions, who had lost nine straight in its traditional Thanksgiving Day game, but has now won its past two thanks to this win and a victory over an Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay last year. Johnsons 25-yard touchdown reception was the Lions first in nine quarters and it was the first time the team went over 24 points since it hung 35 on the New York Giants in Week 1. Its something to build off of, Stafford said. Just being consistent with it, not having a bad quarter - maybe a bad series here, one or two, but making sure that we were playing well in every quarter. Tampa, meanwhile, continued to flounder in head coach Lovie Smiths first season and fell to 2-10 on the season, despite a valiant effort in a 14-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Josh McCown went 15-for-29 for 190 yards with an interception, and Doug Martin had a rushing touchdown for the Buccaneers (2-10), who have dropped their past two games and remained winless in six tries at home this season. Thats how 2-10 football teams play, they find a way to lose the game at the end, said Smith. We did some good things defensively and made some plays, but when you make dumb stupid penalties throughout the game they wind up biting you in the end. Compounding matters was a too many men on the field penalty with time winding down that cost the Bucs an opportunity to attempt a potential winning field goal. The Bucs, who were flagged 13 times, are tied with Seattle for most penalties in the league and have let fourth-quarter leads slip away in five of their 10 defeats. Growing pains, learning situations, normally it doesnt take this many games to get the point across, Smith said. Sundays matchup between these former NFC Central foes will mark the fourth clash in five seasons between them, with the Lions winning two of the three previous matchups (2010, 2011). The Lions, though, have dropped five of the past six home meetings in the series. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Detroits offense could be hitting its stride at the right time. The Lions generated a total of 474 yards in the win over the Bears with Megatron producing his finest game of the season. The talented wideout, who returned Nov. 9 after missing more than a month due to an ankle injury, was targeted a season-high 16 times in the victory. Hes hauled in 23 catches for 355 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his last three games versus the Buccaneers. And that offense could get even more of a boost this week with the return of running back Reggie Bush, who has been sidelined the past three weeks with an ankle injury. Even though Tampa comes into this contest with just two wins on the season, its opponents have averaged just 18.2 points per game over the past five games. The Bucs may also be able to keep Johnson in check, as they have given up three pass plays of 40-plus yards on the year, tied for the lowest total in the NFL. I see Tampa really being a bend but dont break defense, Detroit wideout Golden Tate said. I see those guys being one of those teams where, were going to let you mess up. Were not going to press. Were going to force a fumble or expect you to get a holding call on offense or throw an interception and were going to rally around that. The Bucs are minus-six in turnover differential on the year, but theyve forced 19 takeaways, the same amount as the Lions defense. The problem is that Tampa Bays offense has turned the ball over 25 times. Tampas offense has also failed to capitalize while in the red zone, particularly in the last three games, as they have managed a touchdown in just 28.6-percent of its chances. Weve got to do a better job in just our focus and weve got to demand more from ourselves because those things are stopping us, said McCown. And its a shame because, this past game specifically, because it puts you ... you get behind the sticks, especially when youre running the ball the way we ran it in the first half, but you start having penalties and you get behind the sticks and you cant run the ball, it changes what youre doing. Martin managed a season-best 58 yards on the ground last week versus the Bengals, but he will be going up against a Lions defense that is ranked No. 1 in the league against the run after surrendering a mere 13 yards on the ground to the Bears. The 13 yards allowed were the fewest since 1991 and team has given up just 2.7 yards per carry over the last four games. Detroit, meanwhile, also boasts the leagues No. 1 defense when it comes to points allowed as it is holding opponents to just 17.3 points per game through 12 games. OVERALL ANALYSIS Detroit actually controls its own destiny in terms of winning a division. The Lions have very winnable games the next three weeks before what could be a winner-take-all showdown with the Packers in Week 17. The Lions seem to be hitting on all cylinders at the moment and should be able to roll this week against what is an improving Buccaneers club. Sports Network predicted outcome: Lions 23, Buccaneers 12 Alexei Kovalev Jersey . -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. Serge Savard Jersey . The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-dominic-moore-canadiens-jersey/ . It was the first game back in Columbus for Rangers star Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets franchise leader in goals, assists and games. He was given a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period, but was booed loud and long after a second-period, two-handed shove up high on Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Max Domi Canadiens Jersey . -- With Tony Allen back, the Memphis Grizzlies were able to turn up their defence pressure and hold off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch. Jacques Plante Canadiens Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings, finally overtaking the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, who rank second and third this week.If I ever needed a brain transplant, Id choose a sportswriter because Id want a brain that had never been used.- Norm Van Brocklin When I was 13, I transferred to a new school for the first time. I had spent ten years from junior kindergarten through Grade 8 at the northwest corner of Bathurst Street and Viewmount Avenue in midtown Toronto. It was my home court advantage. I knew the roll of the rims and the carom of the walls and which teachers were lax at taking attendance. It couldnt last forever. At some point a promotion was coming, and my record setting minor league career wouldnt matter once new maths and makeup-laden girls challenged all that I had honed. I was heading to St. Andrews Junior High. Grade 9. The Show. Embarking on my first day in the wilds of the public school system, I knew I had to make my mark early. Mr. Pelech, my clever English teacher, noticed my t-shirt just minutes into the first class. It was a tattered, ink-drenched Grateful Dead concert tee. He remarked that "Grateful Dead" was an example of a contradiction. Contra what now? Coach tapped my shoulder and I hopped the boards. I proceeded to argue with a shellshocked Mr. Pelech for several minutes. My arguments were lithe, varied and completely illogical, but I had been trained to stand my ground no matter how ridiculous my position. Eventually, a hapless Mr. Pelech scanned the class and sputtered, "Just who is this guy?" Each one of my classmates shook their heads sheepishly as if to say uh, dont look at me. Mark made. Within two weeks I owned that school. They didnt realize the repressed explosiveness that ten years of private school Yiddish lessons would unleash. It is in this brazen spirit I introduce myself to you now, Dear Reader, as your new weekly columnist for Bardown. Why was I chosen as The One to guide you through the international sports landscape, particularly with so many scribes vying for your sports-saturated eyeballs? Commence the elucidation (AKA bring da noize): Basketball. This is my wheelhouse. I know all the lyrics to Kurtis Blows Basketball and I have for decades. I own a Sweet Georgia Brown-humming Harlem Globetrotters pinball machine from 1979. I still play pickup every week at a local high school against stiff competition in their very extremely late twenties. Also, I was an associate producer for the Toronto Towers of the NBA for nearly 500 games, post-games, pre-games and exactly five playoff games. Ooh, another thing, I call the Toronto Raptors the Toronto Towers because I have some self-respect. Baseball. I spent five teenage summers selling peanuts outside the Dome under the alias Mike Simmons. Despite a promising career as a sidearm Eephus pitch-throwing specialist, the leagues advanced scouts were never able to unravel the mysteries of my potential, because apparently throwing over the plate was a "prerequisite for success". Racists. I submit that using the All Star Game to decide home field advantage in the World Series is akin to the winner of the submission portion of Americas Funniest Home Videos determining the nominees for The Oscars Best Picture award. Also, you can thank me for getting the old Blue Jays logo back, as days after writing this piiece, the marketing director for the Jays was following me on Twitter, and months later a new logo was born.dddddddddddd Also, my therapist says I have something called a narcissistic personality disorder. Football. In 1998, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue the dream of being rich and famous which is why you know me so well today. That same year I became a fan of an upstart outfit known as the Baltimore Ravens because I thought Ray Lewis was almost definitely innocent of murder and I am obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe. Fifteen glorious seasons later I have two championship rings (made of foil and buttons) as my testament. I have correctly predicted, in pre-season, the Super Bowl participants for 13 consecutive years and I defy you to prove otherwise. (Note: Please dont reference my Twitter feed. Just be cool. This claim is all I have.) Hockey. I worked camera on the 2003 documentary A Day in the Life of the Maple Leafs so I know a thing or two about hockey. Well, exactly two things. One, when I was eight years old, my teenage neighbour convinced me his Mats Naslund rookie card could be mine for the extremely low price of my 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gurtski rookie card. (Note: I have forgotten how to spell that particular Edmonton Oilers name. At least my night terrors have subsided.) Two, I have developed an algorithm demonstrating the NHL to be the worst run league in the history of Industry. It involves a complicated geometric measurement involving my eyes and common sense. (A fact I will gladly prove over and over again until they, oh I dont know, realign the conferences to have an equal amount of teams. Lets start there.) Fantasy Sports. I Am Legend. In its heyday of 2001, my sprawling website, mikegallay.com, was a sports fantasy powerhouse boasting 16 writers covering all sports, catering to an audience of nearly 16 unique daily readers (and fans of ravines who misspelled mygulley.com). Chances are, if you were a Canadian sports fan in the early 2000s, you were reading articles about topics we also covered on mikegallay.com. The Professor And Mary Ann. I will happily cover all the secondary sports every time a participant either murders someone, is attacked by a spouse using the tools of their own sport, has sex on camera on TMZ, or breaks an important racial, cultural or gender barrier while also keeping our interest for more than eight minutes. Thats my pledge. Am I the precisely correct author to bring you whimsical, satirical, deadly accurate analysis of the sports that matter to you? Absolutely. And can I say that with total sincerity because part of my contract stipulates I have no editor? Two for two. Have I earned your attention to read my column next week? Lets put it this way. My topic will be 23 Ways to Make Over 7K a Week Working Part Time From Your Couch. My third column will be Bardown Seeks New Columnist, No Experience Required. Gallays Poll #1 What would you like to see Gallay write about in his next column? a) A 20,000-word essay conclusively proving Mike is the third Williams sister. b) Doug Gilmours Secret Recipes for 3am Snacks. c) My Weekend In The Hamptons With Barry Bonds. d) No column, just use this space to expand Badminton coverage. ' ' '