"Trying to lose?"

We've heard athletes and coaches say it over and over and over again. In post-game interviews, in press conferences, whenever they're interviewed: "All that matters is winning"... "As long as we win I'm happy"... etc., etc.

So, naturally - having been brainwashed - I am a bit surprised when I see things that make me believe a team and organization are not trying to win. A small example to begin with: The Minnesota Vikings were trailing the Miami Dolphins 24-13 this past Sunday in a very important game for Minnesota, which is trying to get back into the wildcard picture in the NFC.

Anyway, the Vikings were driving in the final minute. Their chances of winning the game were not good - but stranger things have happened. There were seven seconds remaining and Minnesota had the ball at the Miami 1-yard line. Now, obviously, they needed two scores. So that would entail a quick touchdown, an onside kick (which, on average, takes 1-4 seconds to recover), and a Hail Mary pass. Again, very, very unlikely, but possible ("We'll do whatever it takes to win").

So what did the Vikings do? Not a quick slant, not a quick out. No, they ran a play-action rollout play, which took six seconds. And they didn't even score. Of course, they punched it in on the next play.

But the game was over. Case closed. Time to hit the showers.

Again, I know I'm being nit-picky here, but if professional teams really do want to win every game, the Vikings would have continued to try in those final seconds instead of running a stupid play that decreased their chance of winning from .1 percent to 0 percent.

All right, enough of that.

To move on to bigger and badder things, let's stay in the NFC North where the Detroit Lions are hanging in their usual spot: at the bottom of the standings of the worse division in football. At 2-8, Detroit has no use in playing out the season (except, maybe, to get that No. 1 draft pick - but there are no receivers that good this year).

Ok, no more wide receiver jokes. I promise. The Lions organization is a perfect example for this column. In fact, it made this column. If not for the Lions, I wouldn't be writing this - although I really was enraged with the Vikings' play-call on Sunday.

The Lions' problems are not on the field so much as they are upstairs. Current general manager Matt Millen is an absolute joke. He's been with the Lions for 90 games. They are 23-67. They haven't made the playoffs once. They haven't won more than six games in a season and have suffered two-win and three-win seasons. You get the picture.

And yet Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr. refuses to rid of Millen. Millen continues to bring in new coach after new coach (he's on his third helping with Rod Marinelli); he's drafted a bevy of malcontents (Charles Rogers; Mike Williams, unless he shapes up). And he's cast a dark cloud over this organization. It got so bad last year that before and after the team's final home game fans marched up and down the streets outside Ford Field yielding anti-Millen signs.

Ford could have possibly saved the franchise by ditching Millen before this season. No such luck for Lions fans.

Ford is ridiculously loyal to Millen, and right there, Lions fans, you have your recipe for disaster.

No, it wasn't quarterback Joey Harrington, who's returning Thursday as the starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins, a franchise that actually carries a sense of hope. No, the Lions' struggles this season are not because Shaun Rogers flunked a drug test (although that is pretty sad).

I rarely blame losing on someone who doesn't play or stand on the sideline. But in this case, it's too obvious. Millen's coaches haven't succeeded. His draft picks have dogged it. His teams have had chemistry issues. He hasn't done a damn thing right in nearly six years.

And the Lions keep on losing. I found it kind of eerie when I visited the team's official website and couldn't find a link to the Lions' season-by-season records. There was every other possible statistic - but no records. Obviously, not just the fans are embarrassed by their team.

Hopefully Clay's cheeks will begin to redden. Only then, maybe, would he consider throwing Millen into the cold, giving this franchise a chance to win.

Maybe it'll be after Thanksgiving. Could things get any worse than Harrington returning to Detroit and winning?

We shall see.