• 8:14: Jason Hanson converts 35 yard FG.
• 2:01: Jason Hanson makes 47 yard field goal. Lions lead 13-0 with 2:01 left in third quarter.
• 3:15: Jason Hanson out to try a 44-yard FG. It’s good. 10-0 Lions

Height: 6-0

Weight: 190

Age: 41

College: Washington State

Hometown: Spokane, Wash.

Experience: 20 yrs

Yup, that’s right… It’s all about Jason Hanson tonight. He was certainly key and impressive to the Lions win tonight.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., shook much of Washington, D.C., and was felt as far north as Rhode Island and New York City and across Michigan.

The earthquake’s epicenter was 87 miles southwest of the capital near Mineral, Va., the US Geological Survey said. It struck at a depth of 3.7 miles.

Matthew Stafford looked sharp in his return from January shoulder surgery, throwing two touchdown passes in as many series and leaving before a defender laid a hand on him.

Stafford led a seven-play, 67-yard drive to open the game, capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson, and found Nate Burleson for a 7-yard touchdown after the Lions recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff.

Burleson’s touchdown originally was ruled incomplete on the field, but Lions coach Jim

Schwartz challenged the call reluctantly.

“I’m not real wild about challenging plays in a preseason game, but that one deserved to be challenged just because Nate made such a great catch,” Schwartz said.

Stafford finished 6-for-7 for 71 yards and left with a quarterback rating of 148.5.

He played just three games last year because of two separated throwing shoulders, and with both starting tackles hobbled — right tackle Gosder Cherilus played just two series as he continues his recovery from microfracture knee surgery, and left tackle Jeff Backus is on the active/non-football injury list with a partially torn chest muscle — the Lions were careful not to chance their quarterback’s health.

Running back Jahvid Best touched the ball four times on the Detroit Lions‘ first six plays, and Johnson’s 26-yard touchdown, off a play-action fake, was the only pass longer than 11 yards.

“I feel like we played at a pretty high level,” Stafford said. “We had a great tempo out there today. I feel like we were wearing their defense down even on that first drive just getting to the line of scrimmage, executing and throwing and catching, and Jahvid had a good game running the ball, too. So I definitely want to be out there and want to be healthy. I think we’re pretty exciting to watch when all the pieces are together.”

Johnson, a game-time decision because of a midweek ankle injury, left after his touchdown catch with what Schwartz termed a bruised shoulder.

“We just took him out of the game right then, but I don’t have any real concerns there,” Schwartz said. He caught the only two passes thrown his way for 37 yards.

Along with Stafford, the Lions got good production from their other quarterbacks.

Shaun Hill, who made 10 starts in place of Stafford last year, was his usual reliable self. He was 8-for-9 for 63 yards and ran for one touchdown, somersaulting over two defenders to give the Lions a 21-3 lead late in the second quarter.

Third-string quarterback Drew Stanton took over for Hill on the Lions’ final possession of the first half and led a 10-play, 49-yard drive that ended with Jason Hanson rushing onto the field to make a 37-yard field goal.

Stanton finished with a game-high 110 yards passing, and even No. 4 quarterback Zac Robinson led two scoring drives.

Defensively, the Lions forced two turnovers (not including the fumbled kick).

Ndamukong Suh harassed rookie Andy Dalton into an interception on his first play from scrimmage, and Willie Young caused a Jordan Palmer interception with good pressure late in the game.

Suh also drew one of three Lions personal fouls in the first half when he slammed Dalton to the ground, jarring his helmet loose. The play was reminiscent of one Suh was fined for last preseason when he body-slammed Jake Delhomme.

Free-agent additions Stephen Tulloch and Erik Coleman also drew personal fouls.

“We didn’t run the ball well enough. We didn’t stop the run well enough — too many penalties,” Schwartz said. “Some aggressive penalties, but too many penalties. There’s a lot of stuff we can work on. The good feeling is to come out of a game with a win like that and also be able to find a lot of things that you can still improve on.”

The Detroit Lions averaged 2.1 yards per carry Friday and had just 70 yards in the game.

Best finished with 12 yards on four carries, and Jerome Harrison — who got first crack at replacing rookie Mikel Leshoure as Best’s backup — managed 8 yards on six carries three days after he signed.

Mike Bell, who signed the same day as Harrison, was just as unimpressive, carrying five times for 5 yards.

Cedric Benson had 37 yards on six carries for the Bengals.

Credit: Detroit Free Press

If you are not a friend or relative of someone with influence in your world of your favorite nightclubs, try browsing the websites of the promoters of the best clubs in your city and submitting yourself to their guest lists. You will usually have more chances with these promoters’ sites than with the websites of the nightclubs themselves because the clubs’ promoters are the ones who run the guest lists.

But whether or not you are able to get your name on the guest lists of your favorite club, here are a few tips to help you get in, or jump the long queue, and have the night of your life.

So many people love to be late, but if it’s a choice between arriving early and not getting in at all, which would you choose? The earlier you show up at the door, the more chance you will have of getting in. Bouncers tend to let the early birds in freely so that later on, when the hordes of partiers arrive, they will not be surprised by an empty club and leave. Popular nightclubs tend to be a lot friendlier earlier in the night before the crowds arrive. Remember, their reputation for being a top hot spot in the city is still on the line.

Dress to impress. One thing that almost all popping nightclubs have in common is their dress code. Even most mid-level nightclubs will not allow entrance to a person wearing sneakers, tennis shoes or sleeveless shirts. Try to look good, and by good I mean well dressed. I don’t mean your best Timberland’s lol. I mean put on a nice dress shirt and some slick trousers finished off with a pair of polished shoes.

If you are a male and are planning on partying out with a big group of male friends, it may be wise to hunt down some females to accompany you. Large groups of men can be looked down on by nightclubs for many reasons, but the bouncers tend to soften up a little when there are females along. If this is impossible for some reason, try booking a table ahead of time for your all male group. The only exception to this of course is if you guys are heading to a stripclub instead. But if you are cool like me, then you can still pull off a few females to accompany you.

As a final note, avoid drinking before getting to the club — reputable nightclubs don’t like guests that have already been drinking because it means they will consume less of the clubs’ alcohol thus ruining your chance of skipping the queue — and always be sure to bring some ID.

The Bigger Picture: Franco and precocious primates are a volatile combination. In 2005′s The Ape, he inherited one as a roommate, and the resultant film was a cinematic disaster. In this movie, playing a scientist named Will Rodman, he secretly adopts a genetically altered chimp named Caesar (Andy Serkis), and a pretty fine piece of disaster cinema ensues.

Rodman’s seeking an Alzheimer’s cure so that he can save his father (John Lithgow), a once-brilliant musician. So he tests his vaccine on chimps, apparently making them smarter, until things go badly wrong and everything is shut down. But nobody knows about new ape-infant Caesar, so Rodman, unwilling to put him down, takes the sleeping simian home.

At first, the film is a bit iffy. The C.G.I. ape—as a child—looks unfinished and vaguely cartoonish, and the narrative brushes over several major leaps (Rodman has no idea that the female chimp he’s carefully monitoring for medical side-effects is pregnant and about to give birth? Really?). But the more things proceed, the less that stuff matters (though there are a few shots towards the end that really could have used a few extra week’s work on the rendering).

By the time an older Caesar makes trouble and gets thrown in a poorly run sanctuary with other apes, the suspension of disbelief is complete, even though (or maybe because) Caesar looks and emotes more like the real-life Andy Serkis than did the actor’s previous motion-capture roles of Kong and Gollum. Considering his captors are a sadistic Tom Felton and an apathetic Brian Cox, the deck is stacked in terms of whom to root for.

You may think you know the entire story already, not just because it’s a remake but also because the trailers give away some significant moments from the last part of the film. Fortunately, it turns out that 20th Century Fox has been playing some cards close to the vest. You probably don’t know as much as you think you do, and it’s a pleasure to watch the chaos theory in motion, with relatively minor events that come together in just the right way to create a planetary crisis (be sure to sit through the first part of the end credits for a crucial plot detail).

But be warned, this is no mild escapism. Apes and humans kick, punch, bleed, die and kill, while culture critics will have a field day wondering if the subtext is about slavery like the original, or perhaps the terrorists winning in the new era. Wink-wink in-jokes provide some levity, while fleeting newspaper headlines set up possible sequels. It’ll be interesting to see how, and if, those evolve.

A 10-story Ferris wheel, midway games and a bevy of Badass Beer will be on tap this weekend ahead of Kid Rock’s concerts at Comerica Park.

Kid Rock’s Badass Beer Block Party is the official designation for the pre-show festivities Friday and Saturday, when the hometown rocker will play for crowds of 40,000-plus at the downtown ballpark. Details were announced today.

The block parties, which will include a Badass Beer tent and food vendors, are free and open to those without concert tickets.

The official festivities will be just north of Comerica Park, across from the Hockeytown Café on Woodward — up the street from the site of block parties for Rock’s Comerica Park shows in 2009.

Kid Rock karaoke sessions and a mechanical bull will be part of the scene, with prizes to include Badass Beer swag and Made in Detroit merchandise.

Proceeds from the rides and games will go to the nonprofit Kid Rock Foundation.

Also to be given away are two Badass Beer guitars and a pair of VIP tickets for each night’s show.

The events kick off at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday. Stage time for opener Ty Stone & the Truth will be at about 6:30 p.m. each night in Comerica Park, with performances by Sammy Hagar and Kid Rock to follow.

Expect the area to be thumping both days: Tent parties will also be held at Cheli’s Chili Bar next to Comerica Park and at the Town Pump Tavern down Montcalm. Several after parties are in the works as well.

Credit: Detroit Free Press

Worldwide box office receipts for TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, have hit $1 billion, Paramount Pictures announced today. To date, the third installment of the hit Transformers franchise, and the first shot in 3-D, has grossed $338 million in U.S. (through Monday) and $663 million internationally (through Tuesday).

“TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON is the first billion dollar grossing movie in the history of Paramount Pictures, marking a substantial milestone in the 99 year life of this legendary studio,” said Brad Grey, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures. “We are grateful for the extraordinary work of Michael Bay and his film-making team, executive producer Steven Spielberg, and everyone at Paramount around the globe who played a part in helping make this latest TRANSFORMERS one of the 10 highest grossing films worldwide of all time.”

Earlier this summer, Paramount was the first studio to reach $1 billion in domestic grosses, aided by the $180.7 million opening of TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON over the July 4th holiday. This is the fifth year in a row that Paramount has reached the milestone before any other studio. Paramount Pictures International crossed the $2 billion mark on July 30th, making it the first for any studio this year to reach the benchmark. The studio has had six consecutive movies earning over $100 million at the domestic box office in 2011.

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON is directed by Michael Bay, written by Ehren Kruger and produced by Don Murphy & Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce. The executive producers are Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Brian Goldner and Mark Vahradian. When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us. The movie stars Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Julie White with John Malkovich and Frances McDormand.

Kid Rock is making it a two-night stand at Detroit’s Comerica Park this summer.

The Clarkston resident will perform on Aug. 13 in addition to the Aug. 12 concert he’d  announced on Belle Isle last week.

During the June 2 announcement, he said he had the entire Aug. 12 weekend reserved but wasn’t sure whether he’d do more than one show.

“It would be easy to be cocky and say we’re gonna do two,” he explained at the time, “but you just go for the one, on Friday, ’cause you don’t know what times are for people and what they have their money spent on and knowing that things are still economically hard around here. You hope you can do something Saturday (Aug. 13) …”

The announcement for the second show said it was due to “overwhelming fan demand.”

Rock plans to host activities outside of Comerica, which he says are still being determined but might include an outdoor stage featuring local bands, food vendors, art exhibits, a beer garden and “some fun games.”

Rock’s special guest for both shows will be Sammy Hagar and the Wabos.

Tickets for both shows go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, at the Comerica Park box office and select Meijer stores and online via Tickets.com and LiveNation.com. Tickets will not be sold via TicketMaster.

Prices will be $79.50 for the general admission field, $49.50 for lower deck grandstand and $30 for upper deck seats. There will also be a $99 six-pack for upper deck seats as well as a VIP package that includes a limited edition Kid Rock Detroit Tigers jersey.

Event: Michigan Gumball Auto Rally

When: August 7, 2011 :: 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Where:Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan in the South West parking lot

Kick off Motor City Month on Sunday, August 7th, with a large festival that is affordable, safe, and fun for the whole family! The Michigan Gumball Rally invites you and 10,000 of your closest friends to The Pontiac Silverdome parking lot on August 7th 2011 for affordable fun and entertainment:

• WRIF Muscle Car show with tons of trophies! ANYONE CAN ENTER IN THIS CAR SHOW!
• Vendor Booths with displays and free merchandise!
• Food and Beverage, Kid Zone, and plenty of parking!
• Burnout contest, motorcycle stunt show, and US Drift car performance!
• Music, Live Bands, and a live WRIF radio broadcast!

The Michigan Gumballers return from their convoy from Michigan’s U.P.!   ADMISSION (INCLUDING PARKING) IS ONLY $15.00 PER CAR LOAD! BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY THIS EVENT STARTS AT 10AM WITH CARS AND COFFEE CAR SHOW, BURNOUT CONTEST IN THE AFTERNOON, PLUS LIVE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT BEFORE SUNDOWN!

Call now for details or advertising opportunities for the Mighigan Gumball Auto Rally 248-835-5756

When it comes to cinematic villains, they’re at the top of the list. (Or is it the bottom?) Oskar Schindler duped ‘em. Rick Blaine shot one of ‘em. Indiana Jones killed nearly a whole battalion of ‘em.

Steve Rogers doesn’t care for Nazis much either. Hey, it’s the heart of World War II and the Axis powers are carving up Europe. How could he? But neither is he eager to go all Indiana on their sorry, movie-screen souls.

“I don’t want to kill anyone,” he confesses. But, he adds, “I don’t like bullies. I don’t care where they’re from.”

Steve knows all about bullies. The dude looks like he’s the 90-pound weakling in those Charles Atlas bodybuilding ads. He’s got the curvature of a pool cue, the strength of a partially melted Jell-O salad. He makes Michael Cera look like one tough hombre.

But that doesn’t negate the guy’s courage. Steve stands up to bullies wherever he sees them, and he obsessively tries to sign up for the war—even falsifying his records to get in. “There are men laying down their lives,” he says. “I have no right to do anything less.” But no military doctor will pass him.

Until, of course, he runs into mysterious and brilliant scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine, who drafts the lad into a secret government program designed to create super-soldiers through the wonders of cutting-edge chemistry. Steve seems the perfect candidate—not because of who he is on the outside, but who he is on the inside. Before long, the little guy finds himself strapped inside a coffin-like apparatus and infused with a weird assortment of drugs. And when the painful procedure is done, out steps …

Charles Atlas, of course.

No, no. It’s just Steve … only he’s about a foot taller and his shoulders are two feet wider. He looks ready to kick sand into the face of Adolph Hitler himself.

But those Nazis won’t leave well enough alone. Wanting the secret superhuman serum all to themselves, a spy sneaks into the lab and, before Steve can flex his mighty biceps just once, shoots several people and absconds with the formula. He doesn’t get far—Steve makes sure of that—but the formula’s destroyed and Erskine is dead. When the scientists made Captain America, they really did break the mold.

Conclusion:

By definition, superhero movies are about … heroes. We’ve seen a bevy of them walk, run, jump and fly through our movie theaters during the last several years, and there’s no sign of them stopping.

But we haven’t seen a hero like Captain America in a long, long time.

Cap traces his comic book roots to World War II, when he was created to take on Nazis and fight for the American Way. He was always an unapologetically nationalistic figure, and in this new movie he still is. As such, the film is an intentional throwback to a more innocent, more optimistic time, before scandal and cynicism and cable news shout-fests had beaten our national character beyond recognition. This movie recalls the days when Americans—most of them, anyway—truly considered the country a beacon, a city on a hill. And Captain America represents what we’ve long thought to be what’s best about us: Strength. An uncompromising spirit. Bravery, sometimes brash, but polite and self-effacing too.

“You don’t give up, do you?” Schmidt groans at Cap during a climactic melee.

“Nope,” he says.

How very “American” his response is. Simple. Straightforward. This is a guy who lets his actions speak for him.

Now, we need not say Cap represents an America that, for the most part, only ever lived in its national imagination. We must point out that the film has a few troublesome problems, including its love of wall-to-wall violence and the fact that our main hero is partly the product of (when you really sit and think about it) some potentially problematic chemistry. It’s a little weird to cheer for a guy who got strong through scientific alchemy when most of us are warning our kids about the dangers of body- and mind-altering drugs.

And yet there’s an inescapable optimism here, a goodness. Captain America tells us that muscles and nifty shields are great and all, but true heroism comes from within. And that it never goes out of style.