I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business, "You're Not So Good At Talking Anymore".
This group has been around awhile (the lead singer used to be the front man for 'The Early November'), and has just put out their new album. They opened for Copeland during Copeland's farewell tour and they were really good. I liked this song when they played it live, and a few weeks after the concert I remembered to download it, and it's been on steady rotation ever since.
The video sucks because, well, it's not a music video. But if you're curious what the front of their new album looks like...well here ya go!
"I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeadyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, waiting on my ennnnnnnnndinggggggggg..."
~Mikey D
~First and foremost, I’m glad Tom is back. I think it would have been a nightmare situation had he left. Going through a coaching search, trying to keep a top-ten recruiting class, avoiding mass exodus in terms of current player transfers, and keeping up with our 2011 and 2012 recruiting targets- it would have been an ugly mess, and perhaps would have set us back not only next year, but for the next couple of years. Yes, it could have been that bad. Now that Izzo is a lifer, we can groom the next coach and set in motion a change in power when the time comes. But again, I am so happy Izzo is still green.
~I will admit it. I cried last night during the presser. It happened when Izzo took the podium and the players walked to the front and gave him a hug and stood behind him. That kind of shit gets me, and was exactly what I needed to see (side note: Allen was there, but did not come up…very interesting). The loyalty is there, and anybody that thinks this whole situation is going to affect the upcoming season will be sadly mistaken.
~ The whole exchange with Detroit News columnist Lynn Henning is definitely making waves today. For the most part, I’m with Henning. I’d say about 70-30 I’m siding with Henning. As I made perfectly clear in my previous post, I hate how Izzo basically went dark for nine days. I’m sorry, but that’s ridiculous. There is a middle ground that Izzo needed to reach- not too much information, but not too little- that he failed to achieve (and perhaps I should include Hollis and Simon as well, since they felt the need to attack and criticize the media as well). For Izzo to not give any updates or information for nine days on a national story and expect the 24-hour news media not to get some misinformation is completely ignorant and surprising to me. He should know better.
~What bothered me equally was Izzo’s attack on Henning’s recent column, where he suggested that Izzo could never go back to MSU because of the amount of time it was taking him to decide his future. Izzo said something along the lines that he didn’t “appreciate” what Henning wrote. He then proceeded to blast Henning for not being close to MSU basketball, Izzo, and unfamiliar with the Cavs situation. While all of this is true, and while I do disagree with much of what Henning wrote, the guy is still entitled to his opinion. That was what he thought, so let him think it and let him write it. It amazed me that Izzo took it so personally and felt the need to spend four minutes in a back and forth with Henning about it. Again, if he didn’t want junk like that written, why didn’t he give the media something to write about? And it’s pretty sad that Izzo would take a newspaper article, an opinion, so personally.
~Now for the 30. This whole saga had plenty of misinformation, but mostly out of Cleveland. It was silly that a blog, WaitingForNextYear Cleveland, stuck by a story last Tuesday that Izzo was taking the Cavs job. It was that kind of misguided information that gets reporters in a tizzy and the story a little more crazy. So Izzo has a right to bash the media for that. That should not have reported. Just like Andy Katz stating Izzo was “leaning” towards the Cavs job. That should not have been reported as well. Izzo can bash that, too. But he can’t lump the entire media together. Single out the parties that made the story circus-like, but don’t include the ones that did their job right (and there were plenty of people that covered the story well).
~Something about last night’s press conference seemed amiss to me. I can’t put my finger on it, though. When Simon was talking, and they flashed to Izzo sitting, he looked extremely uncomfortable and fidgety- like that was the last place he wanted to be. Perhaps he was emotionally exhausted, or still angry at the media, but something felt…wrong. And even when he got to the microphone, the tone in his voice didn’t seem like he was glad the whole process was over and he was happy to be at MSU, but rather it was a tone of almost regret, or sadness. It was like he couldn’t convince himself that the Cleveland job was right, so he had to settle with coming back to MSU. Settling. That’s it. It felt like he settled on MSU, not chose to be back. I honestly believe 100% that if LeBron tipped his cap that he was going to be a Cavalier, Izzo would be gone right now.
~All that said, I did like the determination and motivation in Izzo’s voice towards the end. Now that he’s back, settling or not, he’s still going to give 110%, and it seems he’s out to prove people wrong. I like that. If anything this whole experience may have bonded the team, and perhaps angered them (it seems to have made Izzo a little feisty). There’s nothing I would like more than to kick off the 2010-11 season as an angry and motivated team. That would be much better than last year’s chemistry-lacking group.
And now it’s all over. Praise the lord, hallelujah. I can finally go back to my recruiting boards and track future MSU recruits and not have to worry about our coach.
Gigantic sigh of relief.
~Mikey D
I'm surprised there was no decision today on the Tom Izzo front. After not hearing anything Friday, I thought Izzo would think it over during the weekend, and then announce his plans today. After all, he was the one who said he wasn't going to drag this thing out.
I really want Izzo to stay (Last night I actually dreamed he announced he was taking the Cavs job, to a crowd at Breslin, and everybody broke into tears), but now I am getting a little perturbed.
I know he's always been intrigued by the challenge of the NBA, but I always thought if he ever took an NBA job it wouldn't be at MSU's expense. I thought he'd fall in love with the right situation and he'd tell Michigan State how much they've meant to him and he'd ride of into the sunset. I never imagined he'd put the program and its fans through such a torturous hell as this past week has been.
Izzo has talked about how he wants MSU to be considered one of the premier programs in basketball. But by dragging out this decision he's treating it as second-rate. The program does not deserve to be left in this limbo- with fans, players, the athletic department, recruits, boosters...and on and on- wondering what's next. Each day that passes makes it feel like Izzo loves MSU less and less; that he's trying to find out more information about a job he'd rather have. If you loved MSU, than you wouldn't go about it like this, Izzo. You'd at least be more open and honest, instead of keeping everyone in the dark.
I'm just at the point where I'm starting to feel really hurt. I feel blindsided by this whole Cleveland courtship, and I feel emotionally drained by how it's all playing out. It's almost like a break-up that comes out of the blue, where we're getting dumped for someone better (LeBron), despite our significant other (Izzo) telling us we were so great for all those years. And that feeling sucks.
It's quite possible that tomorrow Izzo will come out and say he is staying, and then he will proceed to say all the right things about his true love, MSU. Everything will soon be forgotten, and in due time everything will return to normalcy. By the time midnight madness rolls around and we beat Cupcake St. in our opener by 50, Izzo will be cheered, and Dan Gilbert will again just be known as "the guy who owns the Cavs".
But the fact remains Izzo still flirted with the pretty girl at the party. And he did it in front of our faces, and he did it for awhile. And he doesn't seem to care that he did.
That's tough, for me personally, to stomach.
~Mikey D
Obviously no one knows what's going to happen. There are no "inside" sources that can shed any enlightenment. This is Izzo's decision alone, and everything else is just pure speculation. Andy Katz knows no more than Jud Heathcote who knows no more than the Cleveland Plain Dealer. When Tom Izzo is ready, he'll be the one breaking his news.
That's why everything read out there has to be taken lightly. The stuff coming out of Cleveland is almost laughable. How do they have the inside scoop on the how the players feel Izzo will decide, or that Izzo is "close" or "leaning" towards the Cavs? It's interesting that the ones that have covered Izzo for years, that are the closest to the team, didn't break any "stories" like that. It's the the bloggers and reporters from Cleveland from a distance that seem to know all...yeah, okay.
It was a bad sign that Izzo took the trip to Cleveland to interview, meet, and tour the organization. It was a good sign that he came back to East Lansing. It was a great sign that he did not hold a press conference and make a decision the next day. If he had fallen in love with the job, he would have taken it within the last two days. That's usually how these things work- you don't typically wait on something you want. The fact that he sustained Dan Gilbert's full-court press is a good thing from an MSU fan's standpoint.
It's pretty safe to assume that Izzo is probably pretty torn on what to do. Having this weekend to reflect and think- perhaps with less media coverage- will hopefully do him good. It is my personal feeling that the more time Izzo takes, the better for us it is. I really think he has some doubt about the Cleveland job (now here I am speculating), some hesitation, and ultimately that's going to be the deciding factor that keeps him in East Lansing. I don't think that doubt goes away after this weekend, because there's really nothing left Cleveland can do to make their job more appealing (aside from assuring LeBron will be there, which, good for us, he's been quoted as saying he wants an NBA guy).
Does Izzo want the NBA challenge? Yes. But does he want to leave MSU now for it? That's the million dollar question. I'm going to be optimistic (I told Kevin I would try) and say that he stays. I know Derrick Nix is trying to be optimistic as well. He was quite emotional at the impromptu pep rally for Izzo the other night:
We'll see. Stay Green, Izzo!
~Mikey D
If Tom Izzo decides to return to MSU to fulfill his destiny as becoming one of the legends of college basketball, I shall name my 2010 fantasy football team in his honor. A small gesture, yes, but considering I've had the same team name for 5 years and take fantasy very seriously, one that should be taken as a great honor.
I bow to you, Izzo. Please come back home.
~Mikey D
I was reading “PostSecret” yesterday when I read this postcard: 
Jump off the Golden Gate Bridge?!? Not that I am thinking about doing it or would ever, but that’s not the way I would go. Maybe it has something to do with my fear of heights/bridges/ledges/pain, but there are definitely more humane ways to go. Why not just run the car in the garage for a bit with the doors closed? Does it have to be so dramatic; a grand finale to life?
Anyway, I searched around a bit and found out that the Golden Gate Bridge is the number one spot for suicide jumpers in the world. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by this (Grace says I shouldn’t), but yet I am. In the world? Wow…that’s just crazy to think about to me. I read that people make special trips from different parts of the globe just to make this one jump to death. Insane.
According to Wikipedia, the Bridge averages about one jumper every two weeks, and has amassed a total of 1200 deaths as of 2005. This is just an absolutely staggering number to me. It is approximately 245 feet from the bridge deck to the water, and a person jumping is hitting the water four seconds after jumping at a velocity of about 76 mph. Most are killed on impact, some drown, and for a select few (26 to be exact), some live. The Bridge boasts a 98% kill rate, a virtual sure thing for most jumpers.
In my searching, however, I found a film called “The Bridge”. It’s a 2006 documentary that spent the entire 2004 calendar year filming people on the Golden Gate Bridge. Of the 24 suicide jumpers that year, 23 were caught on tape, as well as numerous thwarted attempts. Intrigued, Grace and I sat down and watched it last night on Hulu.
It’s just crazy watching actual people make this jump. They look like normal people, walking along the bridge, and then all of a sudden they’re up and over a rail…and then gone. People are walking past them normally, unsuspecting of what’s about to happen, unable to help until it’s too late. 
The film itself is pretty interesting. It shows many of the jumpers meeting their end, but it’s not gruesome or gory. Just sad. Your heart races as they climb over the barrier, and even though you know they’re going to jump, you secretly wish they don’t. There are interviews with family members, friends, and loved ones to give you background as to who the jumper was as a person. It is a little repetitive (the first five minutes is no different than the last five), but I sat transfixed; I was fascinated.
If you want to see it, just click here.
~Mikey D
PS: Postsecret sender, if, on the very off chance you read this blog, please, don't jump. Get the help you need.
So back in the day I used to type many of my blog posts in Microsoft Word before cutting and pasting them onto my blog (I liked the spell check-as-you-go feature), and as a result I have many of my old posts saved in Word. I was a little bored this afternoon, so I was rereading some of them from the summer of 2005.
You know, I don't feel any different now than I did then, but man, I feel like I've grown up so much. I'm not saying I'm this completely mature person (far from it), but I'm definitely more mature than I once was. Rereading some of those old posts...I sounded like an idiot. Nevertheless, there were some parts that made me laugh about Kevin and I.
June 2005~"Kevin and I found trash on the side of the road and searched it. We were hoping for a cool chair or table, but we found nothing of the sort (at least worthwhile to take home). We did, however, find a cool Ben Wallace mini-basketball. We both decided it was full of diseases. Kevin then wiped the ball all over me. I now carry diseases. Stay away from me. Oh, and the ball is in our living room now, and it is fun to kick."
June 2005~"So before work today, Kevin and I were kicking the Ben Wallace ball around (yes, the Ben Wallace ball with all of the diseases)...On one errant kick off of my less than accurate foot, the ball headed for our kitchen table- straight for the plate of baked beans I had the previous night. Strangely, Kevin and I did not budge an inch, but merely watched the ball skip over the plate of baked beans (which [was] gross by the way). Why didn't we try to stop the ball from hitting the plate? Did we want to see the ball hit the plate??? Then, we proceeded to kick the ball into lots of things around our apartment. We hit the football helmet near our door. We hit the ceiling fan (sorry Adam, I know you don't want to hear that). We hit our entertainment center doors. Our reaction to each direct hit? Laughter. Lots and lots of laughter. So, this leads us to one conclusion. Breaking shit or hitting shit is pretty damn awesome. We want destruction. Destruction is, apparently, cool. If you would have asked me before we played our little game of "kick the ball" if I wanted to hit a plate of baked beans with a ball, I'd say no. But seeing the ball headed for the baked beans during the game...ohhhh I wanted nothing more than for it to smash into that plate and send baked beans everywhere."
July 2005~“Sarah says that Kevin and I together are horrible. Apparently we are mean and "retarded". Huh...I would just like to say that Kevin and I are not like that in the least...We are very nice guys (sometimes) with kind hearts (sometimes), who only wish the best for people (well, most people), and we would go out of our way to be kind and helpful to people (once again, most people). In short, we are god's gifts to you folks, not mean retards. You should all worship us and laugh at our jokes and make us dinner occasionally and buy us new video games and occasionally rub our feet when they are sore."
***
Disease balls, baked beans, destruction, and mean retards...Good times.
~Mikey D
