Mikey D

I thought about doing a post on the Lions' draft, just to vent more than anything, but I thought Terry Foster of the Detroit News pretty much sums up all of the feelings I have right now, so I'll let him do the venting:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20090425/OPINION03/904250398/1126/Lions+ignore+their+problems++go+for+flash

~Mikey D

Stafford gets a $78 million dollar contract with about $42 million guaranteed. WOW!!!

I've actually been warming to Stafford the past couple days. He seems like a very level-headed and realistic guy. I mean, there's no way I can know that for sure because I don't know the first thing about him as a person, but from all the interviews that I've watched, he seems to be very grounded. I don't think he's going to come in here and think everything about the Lions is going to change overnight, a la the Falcons last year. It seems like he understands this is a rebuilding project, and he's just the foundation. We'll see. For now, I will buy into Stafford and be 100% happy with the pick.

But wow, that's a shit-ton of money. ROOKIE SALARY SCALE, PLEASE!

I hope and pray to God that they take and OT with #20. I think McShay said they were targeting Michael Oher out of Miss. I'd take it! McShay actually said we'd have the makings of a great offensive line, with Cherillous at RT, moving Backus to LG, and having Oher at LT. That would remain to be seen, but it definitely would be better than what we've had the last, oh I don't know, FOREVER.

And then we have pick #33, too. I'm really hoping there's a stud DT that slipped...but I doubt that'll be the case. I wouldn't mind seeing the Lions trading up to get one, though. If we can't get a decent DT, I want some sort of LB/CB help. I know we got Peterson to go along with Sims, but we need that strong middle linebacker. And any corner help would be great. Anthony Henry, the guy we got from the Cowboys...not the answer.

So yea, if we can come away with a quality QB-LT-DT, I will consider this draft a success. But, since we're the Lions, we'll end up with Stafford, Percy Harvin (gotta have a WR), and some kicker from Montana State. I should just be resigned to our fate, haha.

I was reading ESPN.com, and I like this coincidence: Matthew Stafford played his high school football at the same place Bobby Layne did...the last great Lions' QB (no, Scott Mitchell is not the last great Lions' QB). Perhaps it's all destiny.

~Mikey D

PS~ Mortenson said this morning the Patriots may move up into the top-10 to get.......Crabtree. Brady, Moss, Welker...and Crabtree? Sweet jesus. All rumor and speculation, but that's the fun part of the draft.

Do you like the Lions new logo?

I don't hate it, but I lean towards staying with tradition and the older logo...I suppose if I really wanted to stay with tradition I'd want all-silver helmets.

It is more lion-like, and it's mean-looking, and it keeps with the old-logos theme...

Yay.

~Mikey D

~Billy Donovan is a good coach, yes? Then why do I read this ESPN article about some Florida douche that's transferring and see that Donovan has had 3 guys transfer in the past year, along with an incoming recruit requesting to be released from his commitment? My how the mighty have fallen...what happened???

~I know Adam is worried about this Detroit-Columbus series, but I'm not. Yes, Mason is good in net. But the one stat that I feel is most important is the power play. Detroit is number one, Columbus is number thirty. Big difference. So while Mason may be great, some are going to get by (see Thursday), and I don't think Columbus can hang, especially if they can't take advantage of shorthanded opportunities. Wings in five, six at most.

~Like I told Adam on the phone, Detroit-Pittsburgh in the finals. Rematch! Pittsburgh is red-hot right now, so they're peaking at the right time.

~Is anyone else excited about this Tigers team? Perhaps not because it's hockey and basketball playoff time, but I love this Tigers team. I honestly feel like our starting rotation is the best it's been in a long while- including the 06' AL championship season. We have Verlander, Galaraga, Jackson, Porcello, and Bonderman...that's fucking awesome. We know Verlander can be good, Galaraga is showing signs of being great, Jackson is a mid-90s thrower that won 14 last year, Porcello is supposed to the hottest prospect we've got (and more touted than Andrew Miller was), and sheesh, Bonderman in the 5th spot??? I think the AL Central is relatively weak this year, and the strength of our starters might win us the division....which is why I'm going with the Tigers to win the Central.

~I've watched Fernando Rodney pitch twice now this year. He's been good. I can't believe I just said Rodney has been good...a pig just flew by my window.

~And I know Adam Everett and the Gerald Laird signings are not headline-grabbing, but they are the best moves we have made the last three years. Everybody on this team has a role now, and everybody has a position. That was the problem the last couple years; nobody knew where they were playing and what their place on the team was. Not anymore. Everett is at short, and he's there for defense. Guillen, left field. Cabrerra, first. Inge, third. Thames will finally get his ABs at DH. Done and done. Sprinkle in the young guys around this set line-up, and I think you'll start to see this team gel and play better than you have the past two seasons.

~Miguel Cabrera is my pick for AL MVP. One word: Beast. He's too good.

~While I'm picking random shit, my baseball predictions:
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Los Angeles Angels
AL Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays

NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Colorado Rockies
NL Wild Card: Florida Marlins

World Series: Detroit Tigers versus St. Louis Cardinals

REMATCH!!!

~The Detroit Pistons are playing the Cleveland Cavaliers...did you know? Man, there is no buzz about Detroit basketball anymore. I know we're an eight seed, but still, we're playing LeBron and the number one Cavaliers. You would think there would be a little something about this series, but there's nothing...let's leave A.I. in Cleveland and go home with our cap space. See you next year P's. I promise I will be more excited.

~I am one of those who is falling for Mark Sanchez. Sorry...but I am. I know Stafford rates higher on everyone's boards, but the more I listen, read, and watch Sanchez, the more I can tell he has the "it" factor. I don't know...it's just a feeling. If I were the Lions, I'd still take Jason Smith the tackle...but if I'm taking a QB, fuck the so-called experts and go with the guy you think will be a leader and a winner. Sometimes it's not always about arm-strength and throwing the ball 60 yards from your knees...although that is pretty cool.

~As much of a mess the Lions are, the Redskins are too...just in a more expensive sort of way. Being so close to D.C. and listening to the sports talk, this team has ZERO direction (The latest rumor is Washington giving up two-first round picks to Seattle for the #4 pick to get Sanchez...sheesh that's steep). Reminds me of back home! While the Lions are trapped in a hellish realm of doom, the Redskins are trapped in a constant state of 8-8 and 9-7 mediocrity. It's like Dante's levels of Hell. The Lions are lower than the Redskins, but they're still both in Hell.

~If you draft Michael Crabtree on your fantasy team next year, I will kill you. The warning has been issued.

That's all for now.

~Mikey D

Did you know that Mill Run, PA is just a few hours away from where we live? The thought never occurred to me either! Mill Run is home of Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous architectural design, Fallingwater. Ever since 9th grade drafting class with Mr. Ross, I've been semi-obsessed with it. And by semi-obsessed I mean I've scoured the internet looking at pictures of it (Fallingwater was my desktop screensaver for an extended period of time in college), reading about it, and going, "man, that's a sweet house".

But not once have I thought about actually visiting the darn place! Probably because I lived in Michigan and it'd be about an 8 hour drive to do so, but now that I live in Maryland, it's an easy weekend getaway. So Grace and I went.

We went on about an hour and a half tour, and I loved it. Everything in the house is preserved the best it can be. Most of the original furniture, paintings, etc. are still there. It was like walking back in time, and then through someones house. There was an original Picasso painting in a bedroom. A fifteenth century wood carving. A portrait of the original owner, Edward Kaufman. Real neat stuff.

You had to be very careful inside the house as everything was original. We weren't allowed to touch anything- and I mean anything. We had to watch where we stepped on the floors so we wouldn't step on rugs. We couldn't touch books on bookshelves, much less the walls. While it kind of sucked you couldn't get more up close and "personal" with everything, they have done just a fantastic job preserving everything that it makes you see why they are so strict. They wouldn't even let you take pictures inside! I guess that's their way of getting people to come visit. If you already know what the inside looks like, why bother...

Anyway, here are some pictures. It was really a good time; I'm glad we went.

After our tour Grace and I went for lunch in some small cafe in Confluence, PA. I think all you need to know about this place was that there big town event was called the "Gun and Cash Bash". Yikes. What is it? Basically a four hour raffle, with a prize given out every fifteen minutes. You pay twenty bucks to get in, then there is a drawing, first for a $200 cash prize, and then fifteen minutes later a drawing for a gun. And so on and so on, every fifteen minutes, for four hours. Hence the clever naming of the event, "Gun and Cash Bash".

We left as soon as we ate.

Good trip; I highly recommend going if you're ever in Mill Run, PA.

~Mikey D

So unless something major happens, this will be my last MSU basketball post...until next year. I am still sad about losing Monday, perhaps someday I'll get over it.

Did You Know?
Soooo apparently Chris Allen and Korie Lucious each broke a foot during Monday's championship game (see here). First, what are the odds that two guys from the same team both break a foot during the same game? Weird. Second, impeccable timing. How awful would it have been to lose those two guys, say during the Ohio State game in the Big Ten tournament? Both had their moments in the tourney, so I suppose if you're going to break your feet, might as well go out in the last game. And I don't remember Allen hurting himself, but I do remember Korie. He got called for a foul on Lawson after Hansbrough knocked him over, and into Lawson, on a moving screen! Bullshit. One more reason to hate Tyler Hansbrough.

Who's Coming In Next Year?
It's pretty obvious that we need some frontcourt depth. Losing Ibok, Gray, and Sutton...that's a lot of big bodies gone. So our chances for next season are going to rely on a couple of big men that Izzo has coming in, and probably, and I shudder to think this, Tom Herzog. So who are these freshman?

The first is a guy out of Ohio named Garrick Sherman (see here). He's a 6-10 center, and rated as the 63rd best freshmen prospect, and 8th best center. My first reaction is, "Sweet, a big guy!". But then as you look at his picture, you don't feel too confident. Eek. I mean, I hate to make judgements, but can you picture this guy banging with big men like Thabeet and Aldrich the way Sutton, Gray, and Ibok did? And the guy is a measly 220 pounds...6-10 and only 220? Bulk up mother fucker! The other concern is that he did not play elite high school competition, so there is a concern about his transition to Division I Big Ten basketball.

The second guy is out Detroit named Derrick Nix (see here). Now this is what I'm talking about! He's only rated the 117 best prospect and the 16th best center, but one look at him and I know he's a Tom Izzo player. 6-9 and 275 pounds and considered a banger. Can you just picture him out-muscling his opponents? I sure as hell can. And before you think "Well Marquise Gray was big and he sucked", this guy has already proven that he's more than just a big body (at least on the high school level). He just took home the state of Michigan's "Mr. Basketball award (see here). If you can't tell, I kind of like this guy and am excited to see him.

We also have a third guy coming in named Dion Sims out of Orchard Lake, Michigan (see here). He's a small forward at 6-5, but weighs a healthy 230 (that's more than fucking Sherman who's 5 inches taller! Sheesh...). He finished fourth in Michigan's "Mr. Basketball" voting this past year. It's interesting on his Rivals.com profile page there are no videos of his basketball highlights...just football. So apparently he was a pretty decent football player as well...which you know Izzo probably loves. Another tough guy coming in!

And After That?
People knock Izzo all the time for his recruiting. While he is a very good recruiter in Michigan and parts of Big Ten country, he rarely goes outside of the Midwest to find elite level talent. This usually doesn't bother me because it's fun to win with the home-grown talent. It means more to the players when they slap on a jersey that's says "Michigan State" when they've grown up in the area watching the Spartans play. Did anyone else notice that NOBODY off UNC's starting line-up was from North Carolina? Eh, not so much a fan of that.

But now it is starting to bother me a little. Izzo talks about putting his program into the "elite" company of the programs like North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, etc. Well how you do that is by winning championships, and if it wasn't painfully obvious on Monday, it's hard without some elite level talent. I'm not saying Izzo isn't a good enough coach to take Midwest talent and make them into champions, because he is, but if he wants to be in title contention year after year, he's got to go outside his recruiting zone. My two cents.

So in two years it looks like we'll be focusing on guards:
Trey Zeigler, G, 75th ranked prospect, not committed to MSU yet (see here).
Keith Appling, G, 81st ranked prospect, verbal commitment to MSU (see here).
Russell Byrd, G, 89th ranked prospect, committed to MSU (see here).
Alex Gauna, PF, 121st ranked prospect, not committed to MSU yet (see here).
Joe Horford, PF, 137h ranked prospect, not committed to MSU yet (see here).

Intriguing group. Appling was hurt this year, but as a junior was the odds-on favorite to win the "Mr. Basketball" title- which tells you how good this kid could be. Byrd is a 6-7 guard...a guard! Apparently he is deadly from downtown, and Izzo made him his number one focus of this recruiting class. And Byrd was recruited heavily too by some big boys like Kentucky and Louisville. Man, a 6-7 guard who can shoot from deep...he'll have no problem getting off any shot he wants. I'm thinking like an Earl Clark from Louisville or Robby fucking Hummel from Purdue.

And yes, Joe Horford is Al's little brother. My guess is he ends up in Florida...

Next Year's Outlook?
If you listen to ESPN, all the experts put us around 5th in the country with a strong chance of returning to the Final Four.

The State News agrees (see here), and comes up with a list of reasons why. I disagree with most on the list, though. Herzog will not stand tall, because he's a poor man's Shawn Bradley. And Allen will not become a star, but rather a solid role player. Summers will start and be the star, if anyone.

While we have this great group of guys returning, the Big Ten has a lot of great teams with guys coming back.

Illinois. Michigan. Purdue. Minnesota. Four tourney teams, all bringing back the core of their teams and much more. Ohio State loses Mullens, but brings back everyone else and a top recruiting class to boot. Purdue is predicted to be the 4th best team by the experts, based on the fact they're returning more than MSU and Hummel will be healthy all year. Indiana, while god-awful this past year, has a great coach and a top-10 recruiting class on the way. Minnesota has every starter returning!!! It scares me to think how good the Big Ten will be and how tough it's going to be to go through. I am going to go out on a limb and predict that the Big Ten conference winner will not win it by four games next year.

I'm not saying MSU won't win the Big Ten, but it's going to be more difficult than this year. And when a conference is strong, the good teams end up beating each other up...which hurts come NCAA seeding time. I can see MSU being anywhere from a 2-seed again next year, all the way to a 7, 8, or 9. I know it sounds unrealistic to be that low of a seed coming off a national championship game appearance, but it's not out of the realm with how good the conference should be.

Hopefully the Big Ten will get a little respect next year.

My preseason top 5:
1. Kansas (did you hear they might land a top-5 recruit, a Memphis transfer, and have every starter returning?)
2. Syracuse (all coming back)
3. Purdue (all coming back)
4. Michigan State (freshmen need to step up!)
5. Duke (all coming back, and should be ACC favorite)

Final Thoughts
We finished with a Big Ten Conference Title, made it to the National Championship Game, and finished #2 in the final rankings. We had the Big Ten player of the year, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, the Midwest Regional most outstanding player (Suton), and two Final Four first-teamers (Suton and Lucas). We beat a slew of Big Ten teams that made the NCAA tourney this year, Texas (ranked 23rd), Kansas twice (ranked 10th), Louisville (ranked 5th), and UConn (ranked 3rd).

What a year.

~Mikey D

I feel sick both mentally and physically. I wanted to win a National Championship so badly last night...it hurts. If you go out in the first round (a la George Mason), you hurt, but it's a disappointment hurt. You go out in the championship round, with that trophy forty minutes away from you...you just wonder when you'll ever get that golden opportunity again.

Watching last night's game though, obviously the better team did win. They were just too good. I remember on selection Sunday rocking back and forth on my couch saying out loud, "Put us anywhere than but with North Carolina, put anywhere than but with North Carolina...". If we were placed in UNC's draw, there's no way we'd be in the Final Four and have made the run we did. They just did not give anyone a chance all tournament long. They are a great team.

I do wish we could have played better, but I don't think the outcome would have been much different even if we did. You could point to a zillion different stats- from turnovers, to missed free-throws, to fast break points- they don't matter. We had some stage fright, went up against a great team, and lost. I can live with it.

I just hope nobody diminishes what we did to get to that National Championship game. We didn't get "lucky" getting there. Watching the Louisville and UConn games...we won those. We outplayed our competition. In crunch time against USC and Kansas, we made the plays. One game? Maybe a fluke. But five in a row, on the big stage...no sir. Jim Calhoun called this team "special", and I agree that it was. The Louisville and UConn games will forever be etched in my minds as masterpieces. I have never seen Spartan teams play as well as they did. And I will remember them the next time MSU is in the underdog role in future NCAA tournaments, and I will remember just how well Tom Izzo teams can play when it matters.

So while it hurts today, I am happy for a fantastic run. I am ecstatic that Walton and Suton (and Ibok and Gray) got to go out on a run like this, finishing in Detroit. I am excited to think about next year, with Lucas, Morgan, Allen, and Summers back and our three amazing freshmen another year older (although the Big Ten is going to be TOUGH). This team still has a chance to do more special things in the future.

I love my Spartans.



~Mikey D

This a new for "The Wall", as it has never grown to be this big. Congratulations to the Spartans, you keep making us so proud!

Now let's get our revenge!

~Mikey D

As a math dork, this is what I like to do in my free time.

The last I had checked, UConn is a 4-point favorite over MSU this coming Saturday. That means the Vegas odds-makers are giving UConn a slight-edge (comparatively, UNC is an 8.5 point favorite over Nova...a prohibitive favorite).

That got me thinking about what I thought MSU's chances are for Saturday. How confident would I be in MSU? What kind of chances would I give them to win?

First, let's start from the beginning with the confidence I had in MSU winning each game up until now. These are the probabilities I gave MSU for winning against each opponent before their games:

Robert Morris: 49/50 (98% chance of winning)
USC: 3/5 (60% chance of winning)
Kansas: 2/3 (67% chance of winning)
Louisville: 1/5 (20% chance of winning)

Yes, the USC game made me more nervous than Kansas. I guess since we had already beaten Kansas once I figured we could do it again, and USC was red-hot. Whatever. Anyway, if I take all of those probabilities of my confidence in MSU and determine MSU's chances of just making the Final Four, I personally only gave them an 8% chance...which sounds awful. I did, however, pick MSU to make the Final Four (and win it all), so in a way I deserve credit for choosing them despite the 8% chance I gave them.

Now I don't think the chances I gave MSU to win each game would be much different from other peoples. People might have had MSU a little higher against USC, or a little lower against Kansas, but all in all, I'd say the chances I gave them would be pretty much on par with the rest of the country (except Kevin's, who would obviously give MSU a 100% chance of winning every single game).

All that said, this makes MSU's run to the Final Four even more remarkable. If before the tournament someone said MSU would have an 8% chance of making the Final Four, you wouldn't be feeling too confident about their chances. It's like choosing a number between 1-10...and getting it right on. I don't know, it just makes me appreciate the run that this team is on just a little bit more.

So going forward, what would be MSU's chances this weekend of winning the whole thing? I'm going to assume that UNC beats Nova for this.

Connecticut: 1/3 (33% chance of winning)
North Carolina: 1/8 (12.5% chance of winning)

So I am giving Michigan State a 4% chance of cutting down the nets on Monday night. Hey, UConn and North Carolina??? That's a tall order. But you never know. Again, I picked MSU before the season and in my bracket, and if anybody can get us to the promised land, it's Mr. Izzo.

To wrap up my fun with probabilities, if I total up all of MSU's chances, from the beginning of the tourney to the end, I am giving Michigan State .32% chance of winning the National Championship. Less than a percent! Less than half a percent! But we will do it.

Bring it. Hahooot! Hahoot!

~Mikey D