Mikey D

The Good and The Bad of Kalin Lucas- The Good: Kalin is our leading scorer, and based on the last two games, our most clutch player. Mark my words- Kalin Lucas will win a game for us in the NCAA tournament this year. There will be one game in the tournament in which Lucas will need to come up huge and take over- and he will. It is comforting to know we have someone we can turn to when it matters. We have a finisher, and all good teams need to have that guy. The Bad: The turnovers need to stop. It's crazy how many times, especially early in games, he just makes bad decisions and turns the ball over. To go along with the turnovers is the wild drives Lucas seems to take at the basket (and he's not finishing them). In the Michigan game, with a 5 point lead and possession of the ball halfway through the 2nd half, Lucas took the ball up court, did not run an offensive set, drove the ball, and threw up a crazy shot that missed. Michigan grabbed the rebound, led a fast break, and hit a wide open three. The crowd went nuts and was rejuvenated. After an empty possession the next trip down for MSU, Michigan hit another three, and momentum had completely swung. Here's my point: It should never have been that way. If Lucas would have slowed the play down, ran a set, let our guys get in position to get a rebound/get back on defense, Michigan would have had to work to get off their shots (and judging by their shooting that night, probably would have missed). He needs to understand when it's appropriate to try a drive like that and the adverse effect it has on our team if he misses.

The Stud That is Raymar Morgan- At the beginning of the year I predicted Raymar would step it up big time this year. On a previous "MSU Thoughts" post that recapped the Gonzaga game I said, "Without Raymar Morgan, we don't win against Gonzaga, plain and simple. If you watched that game, you know that Morgan was the only thing we had going throughout the first half. He was the one that kept us in the game, both defensively and offensively." Replace 'Gonzaga' with 'Michigan' and the story is the same this past Tuesday. How could you not love Raymar last game? He definitely carried us; we would not have been in position to win that game without him. He's hitting a ridiculous 77% of his last 36 shots. And somewhere between last year and this year he's developed an outside jumper that he's actually hitting consistently. He's stayed out of foul trouble, too (although it's always funny to see the Raymar Morgan reaction to a foul call). He's our second leading scorer, and the combo of Lucas-Green-Morgan have carried us thus far through the season. And perhaps most importantly, he's been healthy. Keep it up, Raymar!!!

Freshmen Disappearance? It was only one game, but did anybody else notice that Nix and Sherman got very few minutes against Michigan? They both have been our starting center at various points of the season, but barely got minutes last game. I just think it's curious how you go from starting a game to not playing at all. My hunch is that because Michigan had a smaller lineup that Izzo just went with his more athletic guys that could defend on the perimeter better. I will definitely be watching against Northwestern to see the minutes our freshmen get.

Chart Toppers- How good is our team? There are many things you could look at, from rankings, to strength of schedule, to conference records, and on and on. But in basketball it boils down to two things: are you scoring points and are you playing good defense. You do those two things, and you probably have a good team. On the Big Ten Geeks blog there was a graph (posted on January 26th) that compared a team's offensive efficiency (points per possession) with a team's defensive efficiency (opponent's points per possession). We can sometimes get caught up in wins and losses ("well this team beat this team..."), but simple stats are sometimes a good way to gauge a team's performance. Obviously I'm happy with where MSU is at.

Logo Change- I am certainly a traditionalist, so I am not in favor of the new logo that MSU will unveil in April. That doesn't mean I hate it (I don't), and I will certainly get used to it in due time. But to me, a new logo is symbolic of a team/university that wants to undergo a change. Like the Lions, for example. Years and years of futility, and then they hire a new GM, new coaching staff, and draft Stafford. They are a team trying to make a change- to get people to stop thinking about 0-16, and more about the 'new' Lions. The new logo was supposed to be symbolic of that (and yes, of course, increase revenue through apparel sales). But from what I can tell, it appears that MSU is making the change just to make a change. Of course Nike will be making more money, and so will the University, but as a fan I don't see the benefit. I just wish there was a reason behind the change besides money. I'm sure some of the money MSU gets will be put towards good use at the University, but excuse me for thinking that some of MSU's bigwigs are probably just lining their pockets with some extra cash...

~Mikey D

Well I can't say we weren't warned. Real estate experts, home shows on television, home inspectors- everyone involved in the home buying/maintenance process- they all say it: Be prepared for unexpected costs to arise when you become a homeowner.

And Grace and I, financially at least, have been prepared. But I tell you what, it fucking sucks having to dole out money for this and that, even if it improves the quality of our home. Seven months into home ownership, I'm already sick and tired of it.

This past Friday morning our refrigerator started making a weird clunking sound. It wasn't that bad at first, but now it sounds like there is a gnome hiding in our fridge and he's taking a jackhammer to it. Just an annoying and awful sound. The fridge itself is about 10 years old- not the newest model out there, but not the oldest, either. We had a guy come out and look at it on Saturday morning (he spent five minutes looking at it- and I was out $7o, sheesh), and right away he knew the compressor was about to die. The compressor happens to be one of the most important parts of a refrigerator and costs upwards of $600 to replace. Many people with older fridges that have bad compressors ultimately end up just buying a new refrigerator altogether because of the high cost.

Grace and I have been planning a kitchen renovation in the near future, and that included getting a new refrigerator. But by near future we were not thinking about over the weekend. With our compressor dying (the repairman gave our fridge two weeks to live...sniffle sniffle), our hand was kind of forced. We were able to find a nice fridge for a $1000, but it wasn't the kind we had in mind. We've had our eyes on a bottom-drawer freezer refrigerator, but with the extremely small size of our galley kitchen, none of those more modern-type models would fit. So we had to settle for the usual top freezer unit. Paying a $1000 and having to settle is not something that sits easy with me.

So I've been thinking about some of the costs Grace and I have incurred since moving into our home. Obviously with Obama's credit we were able to purchase some things (some furniture for our basement, a new energy efficient washer and dryer, oven, bookcase, and paint for our whole house), but since we've gotten that money, here's a list of other things we've thrown down for that I wasn't anticipating when we first moved in:

-Lighting for our dining room.
-Money for our escrow account (apparently our lender wanted us to have more in it).
-Columbia Association dues (apparently we have to pay to live where we do- not county taxes or state taxes...or HOA...just to be living where we do- and where we live is nothing special).
-Carpenter ant removal in the basement.
-New refrigerator.

That's about $2500 worth of extra stuff in seven months. Throw in all the little things you get when you move- from picture frames to curtains to doormats- and it starts to add up!

But that's what you get when you buy a house. We were warned, and "they" were right. But I tell you, I am getting a little tired of spending money! Ah well, at least we're not like Tom Hanks in the "Money Pit". And it is all for making our house a better place to live.

At least that's what I'm telling myself as I write another check.

~Mikey D

At school we have just started these small breakout sessions with students to prepare us for the MSA in March. A math teacher is paired with a special area teacher to help teach a small math lesson on an objective that is often a struggle for students. The last couple of days we have been working on writing and evaluating algebraic expressions. The students have been doing pretty well, but I was surprised to find out that my colleague (the Spanish teacher) was having difficulty doing the problems- more than the kids were!

I understand the whole "if you don't use it, you'll lose it" idea, and that the math the kids are doing now in middle school is stuff we were doing in high school (meaning it is harder), but I feel like if you are a college educated person, especially in the education industry, that you should have certain knowledge that goes beyond just your content area.

Okay, so there was one particular problem that I asked her to assist students on if they needed help, and she told me she couldn't help them because she couldn't solve it. Here's the problem:

Evaluate (1/2)w + 60, when w=50

No, it's not basic addition or multiplication, and yes, there are variables, but how can you not understand that? Again, I understand if we're talking about a child or an "average" person off the streets not being able to come up with the right answer, but a 35-year old woman not far removed from college? I feel like if you are college educated you should be able to do this problem. Even if you forgot how to do problems like this, use your intelligence and try to work through it! W=50...there's a 'w' in the problem'...half of fifty...COME ON!

Am I wrong in thinking this way?

~Mikey D

I've been really into female artists lately. No particular reason why; just what's been on the playlist. One of my new favorite groups is The Postmarks. The last two weeks before school I've had my iPod on their playlist non-stop. It's very light, easy-listening music- perfect for 6:00 in the morning when the school is empty.

This song is called "Drift Away" (the acoustic versions are also very good), and it's one of my favorites (although I couldn't name just one favorite song by them...I like most of them right now).



~Mikey D

This is a song I can't get out of my head and have been playing non-stop (like Guster, 'Either Way', non-stop). It's by Marina & The Diamonds and is called 'I Am Not a Robot'. I just wanted to share.




"It’s okay to say you’ve got a weak spot
You don’t always have to be on top
Better to be hated than love, love, loved for what you’re not"


~Mikey D

Okay, twenty questions to determine your status as a Michigan State basketball fan. One point for each question right, with a chance for a couple bonus points (zero points if you get a question wrong...no negatives). I recommend jotting some of these answers down for when you check yourself. Answers are in the comment section. Here's a rubric for your final tally:

20+ Points: Tom Izzo will name his next child after you.
16-19 Points: Loyal member of the Izzone.
12-15 Points: At least you've heard of MSU basketball...
0-12 Points: Fuck off, poser. Go Green! Go White!

MSU Basketball Fan Quiz
1. You remember MSU’s 2009 Final Four run like it was yesterday and can retrace every win to the National Championship.

2. You still remember MSU’s 2005 Final Four run like it was yesterday and can retrace every win to the Final Four.

3. You know which states Durrell Summers and Chris Allen are from.

4. You can name the two team captains.

5. When someone says the name “Tom Herzog” you laugh because the mental image you have of him is funny.

6. You know all four of Izzo’s major recruits for next season.

7. You know the number of free throws Derrik Nix has made all season.

8. Of MSU’s 14 wins thus far, you remember at least 12 out of the 14 (bonus point if you can name all 14).

9. You know the next three games on MSU’s schedule.

10. You can name at least 8 out of the 10 players on MSU’s bench that have seen playing time this year (bonus point if you can get all 10). We’ll assume Nix is a starter since he has been the last few games.

11. You can mimic Raymar Morgan’s reaction when he gets called for a foul- in particular his unnecessary reach-in fouls.

12. You can mimic Tom Izzo’s reaction to an idiotic Raymar Morgan foul.

13. The thought of the latter part of MSU’s Big Ten schedule makes you nervous…

14. Of all the losses so far, the North Carolina loss still bothers you the most. You wonder why we can’t beat this team, especially in the NCAA Tournament. You cringe when you remember that MSU has lost to UNC __________ times in the NCAA Tournament since 2005.

15. You have at least six MSU Spartan shirts- one for each game (and win) they will have this year in the Big Dance.

16. The staple of MSU basketball is rebounding. Because of this, you know our team’s leading rebounder.

17. You know how many points MSU needs to score for everyone to get free tacos.

18. You know MSU’s ranking- in both polls.

19. You get angry at Sportscenter because their MSU highlights are too short. You know one Durrell Summers dunk does not suffice.

20. You know how many wins Tom Izzo has as a head coach.

~Mikey D

I just need to put some thoughts out in words and open up a bit.

I cried at work today, and I've never done that before. I've been very stressed lately, and I guess it all just came to a head. My job just hasn't been that enjoyable lately, to the point it's making me depressed. I am actually depressed going to work, coming home from work, and at home at night. Yeah, that's not good, and I know it's not a healthy way to live, either.

So I had just been observed by one the heads of the math department for my school's county, and we were talking over lunch about the lesson I had taught. I told her that I thought it was a crap lesson, that my management skills were shit, and that the content (a geometry lesson on circles) only got partially covered. I expected her to all but agree with me (she's a brutally honest woman), except she went in the complete opposite direction and praised me for having one of the best lessons she'd seen all day. She thought my management skills were superb, and the lesson was full of engaging activities and higher-level student questioning that us teachers strive for. It was a complete 180 from the state of mind I was in, and I just broke down.

Every day, after every lesson, after every school day, my mind is going non-stop on how to improve my instruction and teaching. I want to be the best at what I do, and that's not some bullshit statement I'm just throwing out there. I'm ultra-competitive, and I hate not doing something well.

It's to a fault, though. I put more pressure on myself to succeed than I probably can reasonably handle, and thus create unnecessary stress I am forced to handle. And as Grace can attest, when dealing with stress I tend to internalize it, and, in essence, I shut down. I know I can be a miserable person to live with when I do this, and for that I'm sorry Grace. You don't deserve that, and I truly love you for being as understanding as you are.

I didn't quite know what to say my observer as I tried to stop crying. I've known her for three years now and we have an excellent relationship, but this was something new for me. I felt very unprofessional in a way, but at the same time I couldn't give a fuck. It needed to come out.

After awhile, I just opened up to her. I told her how I stress myself out, how I'm probably too hard on myself, and how my life is pretty much devoted to school. But as I kept going I surprised myself when I said that I don't feel appreciated.

I never really search for compliments on my teaching, so when they come I am always pleasantly surprised. But there's another side of being appreciated that goes far beyond pats on the back and "good jobs".

Do you know how many times my principal has been in my classroom this year? Twice. My two assistant principals? Zero. My math department chair, the person who is supposed to work with me on creating lessons and giving me feedback on my teaching? Twice. Basically, nobody sees me teach. I could be doing finger painting and making macaroni noodle pictures for all they know.

It hurts. When I put so much of my life into what I do...

I had my first good day in school today that I've had in a long while. Part of it was me opening up, part of it was just having someone appreciate what I do by taking the time to see it, and part of it was me having the feeling that I am a damn good teacher. In fact, the primary reason is the latter. I am a good teacher, and if I could bottle up what I'm feeling right now and save it for when I'm down on myself, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Thanks for reading. Just a rough patch right now. It will all be alright in the end.

"anyone can answer their own questions
all you have to do is look inside [inside inside]
you know it inside
you know it will be alright [alright alright]
you know its alright"
-Au Revoir Simone, "Shadows"




~Mikey D

A schmorgesborg of random thoughts I've had over the holidays!

~Since these are random thoughts, let me start with something random. You know Jay Z's song, 'Empire State of Mind'? Decent song, but I love his thinking. In one line he's referring to his courtside seats at Nets and Knicks games, and saying that he, "could trip a referee". Haha, finally someone that thinks like I do on the matter of tripping people! You know, I could have tripped Tom Izzo before...

~Family update #1: My mom recently had surgery on her knee. She's had a lot of pain the last few years with her knee (not to get too graphic, because it grosses me out, but she's had a lot of bone-on-bone grinding causing her pain) and finally got the corrective surgery. Now she's supposed to be laid up for the next few months, as she can hardly move around. She's not even allowed to go to work, which I think is awesome. 3 months off work!?! Where can I get a job like that?

~Family update #2: At my grandma's house in Detroit we watched some old home videos (circa 1991) of an old Christmas and pool party. It was kind of weird seeing myself as a kid in moving pictures (my parents never took home movies of us kids). I mean I like to think I have a good memory of things I did when I was a kid, but it's hard to remember how I actually acted. One thing that those videos pointed out was that I was rough on Colin. I constantly wrestled and fought him. There was video of my grandma opening a present and in the background you could hear, "Quarterback sack!!!" and then a large crashing sound. I felt bad for Colin.

~Family update #3: Okay, so Grace does not like being called some things. Apparently if you call her a 'pig', 'cow', or 'fat', she gets offended. But I only call her these names when she asks the question, "Am I fat"? She is so skinny that the only reasonable response is to give her a completely unreasonable one- like saying she's as big as a cow. My new nickname for her the past couple of weeks has been 'pigcow'. I used it in Michigan with my family and it really caught on, although now I think she's getting tired of it...

~So I used to be terrible to my brother, and I call my girlfriend a pigcow. I'm an asshole.

~I told Grace this morning that I wished Tim Tebow and Tyler Hansborough played the same sport and were on the same team so I could hate them both at the same time. I've been thinking about my all-time, 'Fuck You Team'. The list so far includes the following: Tim Tebow, Tyler Hansborough, JJ Redick, Derek Jeter (late 90s, early 00s), Joakim Noah, failed Lions' draft picks (Harrington, Williams, and Rogers), and Roy Williams as coach. This is just the beginning of the list, so feel free to add-on. I'm sure Ahman Green and Brett Favre will make some peoples list...

~Wow, Wisconsin blowing out OSU by 20+? That'll make me reevaluate my thoughts on OSU finishing 2nd in the Big Ten this coming season. By the way, Bo Ryan is ridiculously underrated as a coach. All the guy does is win, in mother fucking Wisconsin nonetheless. His name should be mentioned when more high profile job openings come up, whether he's interested or not.

~This might be a Guinness World Record, but Jay Billas is still blowing the cocks of the Texas Longhorns. Ever since the MSU game, he's had their dicks in his mouth. What's that, 10 straight days of oral pleasure? Good job, Jay, I'm glad you're good at something, because you're not very good at being a very impartial and unbiased announcer. Seriously, when we were up 7 or 8 you were still loving on Texas. Fuck off. And yes, it's quite obvious I'm still hurt over that loss...I want a marquee win!

~Family Update #4: My brother Andy came back to Maryland with my dad, and while he was gone my mom cleaned his room for him. Andy is almost 17 now...and when you clean a teenage boy's room you are going to find some interesting things- like about 50 McDonald's trays. Apparently Andy and his friends stick these trays underneath the front tires of their cars, and when they gun the gas their cars will spin and do donuts. Kids these days, I tell ya. But I never had heard of people doing that before. Am I late to the party, or is this a new thing?

~Family Update #4 (continued): In continuing with the Andy room cleaning, my mom also looked inside Andy's ottoman...and found the thing filled with old moldy food. Fucking gross. I guess my mom gives Andy too much breakfast in the mornings, and Andy, instead of just throwing it away when my mom wasn't looking, stuffed it in his ottoman (and a couple random shoe boxes in his closet...I know...). It baffled all of us why he would let his ottoman get so moldy. I mean, he had 2 hours from the end of school until my mom got home, why not dispose of it then?

~I think I'm going to put a Craigslist ad out offering after school tutoring. I figure I could probably get $30+ an hour doing it, and even if I did it for only 3-4 hours a week, that's an extra $400 a month (untaxed). There's some stuff that I would like to get framed, but I never seem to have the extra cash I need to get them all done. This might be a great way to get that extra cash. My only problem is I stay late at school 4 out of the 5 days of the week, so I am pretty exhausted as it is. I don't want to wear myself out too much.

~I think Grace and I have a holiday tradition! On our trips back up to East Lansing, we always walk around campus and Grand River, and we always take our picture in front of the Beaumont Tower. I think it'll be fun to look at all our Christmas photos from years past down the road. Here's this year:


~I know next year's fantasy season is a ways off, but to me Chris Johnson is the clear number 1 pick. I know MJD and AP get TDs, but if you want the yards and TD combo, CJ is the choice. He has 20 more total fantasy points than AP, which is staggering. He's in a run-oriented offense, and should get you 1500 yards and 10+ TDs, without all the fumbles that AP comes with. I'd take him first.

~I just looked at the final fantasy point totals for my team. In looking at the RB point totals, Thomas Jones and Joseph Addai finished 5th and 6th respectively. Remarkable. Brady, Favre, and Schaub finished 4th, 5th, and 7th amongst QBs. Randy Moss was the number 1 wideout. Gates was the number 3 TE. And yet I couldn't make the playoffs...Kevin, play me that super small violin, please...

~Congrats to Stacey! I'm happy that the belt is staying within our "group". I do have to admit I was rooting for Kevin in the championship, though. Nothing against Stacey, and I know Kevin is happy just to not finish last, but Kevin really did put out a great team. He had a great draft with Rodgers, AP, and Gore, and had some tremendous FA pickups in Driver, Steve Smith, and Vince Young. It was a deserving team, to say the least. Kev, you've come a long way since your teams of Michael Vick and whatever Lions you could pickup. Although you were much easier to beat back then...

~You will never convince me that resting your starters is a good idea going into the playoffs, especially if you have a first round bye. Why would you get yourself out of the rhythm you're in? I know they're worried about injuries (which could happen in practice, it's football for Christ's sake), but as a coach I'd be more worried about coming out rusty that first game. If it's Week 17 and you're a little banged up, that's one thing. But if you're the Colts, and have Peyton Manning who never gets hurt or misses a fucking game, well, you're stupid. My two cents.

~My preseason prediction for the Super Bowl was Eagles versus Patriots. I don't feel overly confident with either team, but I'll stick with them.

~MSU plays Northwestern tonight in basketball at 6:30, and then Texas Tech (I wish Crabtree was still in college) at 9:00 in football. Could the schedule makers laid that out any better? On my birthday no less? That makes me happy.

Happy New Year everyone!

~Mikey D