Today’s High Five:

• Jiri Hudler scored twice and Detroit notched a come-from-behind 6-4 victory over Chicago in the Winter Classic, played outdoors at Wrigley Field. And apparently the game also resurrected Chicago hockey.
• More reasons not to expect the Lions to make a front office hire soon.
• Brian at MGoBlog rains on the MSU football parade by questioning exactly how much MSU improved in year two of the Mark Dantonio era. The Mitten has already devoted billions of words to its counterargument, that the Spartans’ growth came from week-to-week consistency rather than an increased raw ability to make plays. The MGoBlog post also alludes to MSU’s limited talent base, which is an interesting subject in view of the MSU/U-M rivalry: Historically it’s true that Michigan has its pick of in-state high school talent. But that looks like it could be in flux for the first time in decades: Dantonio is a talented recruiter who is putting the final touches on State’s best class in years, while Rich Rodriguez generally leaves in-state recruiting to his assistants and focuses his own efforts on national recruiting. That leaves U-M vulnerable to erosion both in Michigan, where Dantonio’s personal attention could make inroads for MSU, and also nationally, where, if the Wolverines struggle again next season, Michigan’s brand could erode quickly among the types of top prospects who are weighing offers from Southern Cal and Florida in addition to U-M.
• Lions GM Martin Mayhew told the press he planned to play things close to the vest about personnel decisions, which is good strategy but bad for those of us who want to know what he’s thinking. There seem to be at least 19,000 candidates for the head coach job–here’s the latest–and I wonder if Mayhew is talking to so many people in part to make it hard to tell who he might be zeroing in on.
• Amir Johnson’s up-and-down season is back up, and now he has this story and its vaguely strange-sounding headline to show for it.