Mikey D

Okay, take a second to decipher this tweet from Draymond Green after the UNC game:

“And on my Spartans were young by I got some young hungry goons who's starvin to eat we're gonna take some growing pains but boy WATCH OUT!!!”

In one poorly written sentence, I think Draymond summarizes what we already feel about this Spartan basketball team. It’s going to be a little rough early, they’ll be some punch-the-wall, scream “Nooooo, why did you do that?” type moments, but once everything settles, this MSU team might be pretty good.

I honestly haven’t read anything truly negative about the game Friday night. How often does that happen after a 12-point loss? I think everyone is ecstatic about the grit and effort, the play of our freshmen, and the rebounding, despite the poor shooting and foul troubles. This year is unique in that expectations are lower, but they’re also realistic. The fan base understands we’re asking two freshmen, a transfer, and two redshirt freshmen (one coming off injury) to play major minutes, contribute, and gel with the returning members of the team. It’s going to take time and patience.

That is what made Friday’s effort so surprising. We destroyed the heralded frontcourt of Zeller and Henson- NBA guys- on the boards. That was not supposed to happen. Gentlemen, I say this proudly, MSU basketball, the brand we know and love, is back. I only hope we continue to beat down teams physically as the year progresses.

Alright, onto some thoughts:

Branden Dawson- As you know, I’m a recruiting junkie, and I flipped out when we got this guy last summer. Here’s what I said about him last August when he became a Spartan:

“Branden Dawson is a rebounding machine that is coming to play for Tom Izzo. That’s just downright scary. It’s hard to compare Dawson to any particular player from MSU’s past, but it seems like he’s got the versatility of a Raymar, the hops of Durrell, and has the potential to be the type of player Jason Richardson was. There is definite reason to be VERY excited about this kid. He’s probably our biggest recruit since Shannon Brown.”

So, are you excited yet? It’s rare, in a freshman’s first game, that he lives up to his billing. Dawson was everywhere on the court, and in my opinion, one of the main reasons we built an early lead, and one of the main reasons we lost the lead when he went out. His athleticism is unreal, and he’s going to bother a lot of teams with his feistiness and nose for the ball. I think my favorite play from Dawson was when he came back from his injury and promptly drilled a 19-foot jumper. Seriously, it’s been awhile since we’ve had a freshmen this good, this early.

Travis Trice- Messageboards are alive with people wanting Trice to start at PG, and Appling at SG. While I think that makes sense because Appling is a true SG, I don’t know if it will happen because of our lack of depth at PG. If Lucious was still on the team, then yes. But it’s pretty clear that Trice has true PG skills, and that the offense flows with him on the floor. He’s got some growing pains to go through, but the kid has no fear. He looked miniature next to all the UNC players, but still was not intimidated. He’s a coach’s son, and I have a feeling you’re going to hear “he’s got an understanding of the game” more times than you’ll be able to count. I’m excited for his growth, and we’re going to need it because he’s going to have to play major minutes.

Austin Thornton/Russell Byrd- Byrd just isn’t ready to play yet. He really hasn’t played in two years because of injuries, and it’s obvious he’s trying to work his way back in. Going against an athletic UNC team, probably not the best place to do it, but I think that’s why Thornton got so many minutes. Once Byrd gets his legs under him, he’ll take some of Thornton’s minutes, I guarantee it. Byrd has something Thornton doesn’t- a shooting touch. In the exhibition game against Hillsdale, Byrd nailed two, nothing but net, 3-pointers that were a beauty to behold. Just be patient. There’s a reason he had big schools like Kentucky going after him in high school.

Draymond Green- 18 rebounds!?! Didn’t feel like it, but it’s true. Happy with that, but unhappy with a 6-19 FG night. Look, it was a poor shooting night for all the Spartans, but Draymond is our senior captain, and as he goes offensively, so do the Spartans. It’s pretty similar to Lucas’s situation last year. We can sit here and cross our fingers that someone else steps up (Appling, Wood?), but I think if Draymond’s on shooting the ball- especially from 3-MSU will be very tough to beat.

Alex Gauna- Okay, he got pressed into action because of foul trouble to Nix and Payne, which is going to happen more than once this year. Not surprising it happened against the talent of UNC’s bigs, and will probably happen again against Duke’s talented frontcourt as well, but I thought he held his own. The stat line won’t tell you that, but you have to realize this was his first ever game as a Spartan going against NBA talent. That’s a tough assignment. To me, he showed some poise, made some nice passes, and was there down low banging. The game didn’t look too big for him, you know? I think he’ll get better and be a real contributor by year’s end.

Keith Appling- Point guard or shooting guard, he’s got to show a little more control. Honestly, he looks the same as last year, which is a little disappointing. Joe Rexrode pointed out that he needs to learn to pull up and hit a mid-range shot, which I agree with him wholeheartedly. Appling is either 3-point shooting, or driving to the rim, but there’s no in-between. He needs to add that to his game, or teams are going to be looking for the charge every time he drives.

Brandon Wood- Again, be patient with him, I think. Everybody is ripping him for being too passive, but he’s still trying to integrate himself into Izzo’s system. Playing with an unstable Appling and freshmen PG in Trice doesn’t make things easier. It was curious, however, that he was on the bench so much in the second half, especially with us being down so much and Wood being a scorer. I can only guess Izzo was unhappy with something, or he felt a taller line-up of Appling/Trice-Thornton-Dawson-Green-Payne/Nix was the better route to go. I think he’ll be a bigger part of the plan against Duke’s guards on Tuesday.

Nix and Payne- Sweet mother of mercy! Payne looks like a MAN this year. Holy crap, he added some muscle, and now he looks like a beast. That breakaway dunk he had? Jesus, I thought he was going to kill himself the way he was flying towards that basket. And Nix…it goes without saying he looks infinitely better, and his mind seems to be in the right place this year (remember the drama during the Maui tourney last year?). He was a rebounding machine Friday night. I truly do look forward to his battles with Jared Sullinger this year. Sullinger is the better player, but I think Nix will hold his own. These two guys are going to make MSU’s frontcourt pretty darn decent this year.

***

Duke this Tuesday night. I know everyone is going to be making a big deal about Coach K becoming the all-time wins leader, but I don’t think it’ll factor too much into the game. This will be Duke’s 3rd game in 5 days, with a travel day to NYC to boot. So the advantage that Duke will have of being a well rested, better prepared, motivated team will be minimal I think. You might see a lot of turnovers in this game, with both teams maybe being a little tired.

What’s interesting about this game is how MSU matches up with Duke’s backcourt. I think the UNC game illustrated that we can bang down low, so the match up against the Plumlee brothers should be pretty even. But how does MSU match-up against the quickness and 3-point shooting of Austin Rivers (#2 recruit in the country, Doc’s son), Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, and Quinn Cook? Here’s where I’m hoping Appling steps up and has his best game as a Spartan, but I’m not holding my breath. I’m super worried about Trice and his ability as a defender in this one, and I think this is one where Wood needs to play major minutes and contribute heavily, both offensively and defensively. And Thornton needs to play meaningful minutes as well, and hit a few buckets. He’s going to get at least 10-15 minutes, he just can’t take up space.

Those are tons of ifs, but the x-factors will be Green and Dawson. Looking over Duke’s line-up, it’s tough to see them matching up against these guys. Again, if Green is on, we will be right there at the end with Duke. If Dawson continues to get garbage buckets with his relentless motor, that can neutralize some of the deficiencies we have in the backcourt.

I think Duke has a 60-40 chance of winning this game. I have no idea the line on this game, but I feel like we will lose a close one to the more experienced and better offensively Duke team. I’ll say something like 71-65. And this isn’t me hedging my bets, but I would not be surprised if we upset them, because we have the talent to do it. I just don’t know if we’re at the point yet where we’ve gelled enough so we can pull off the upset. But that’s why we play the game!

***
One last thought: Gary Harris. This is just a big of deal as the Dawson signing. Imagine the UNC game Friday night with a legit scoring threat on the wing that UNC had to gameplan for. Everything would open up offensively. Right now teams can pack it in down low and dare us to shoot from the perimeter. That won’t happen next year. This kid will start from Day 1, right next to Dawson, and they will be great next to each other.

The great thing that Izzo has done is he has recruited Trice, and now Denzel Valentine for 2012, a tall do-it-all PG with MSU ties and is another coach’s son. Both Trice and Valentine are playmaking PGs, who look to get others involved. This is very different from Lucas, who was a primary scoring option for us. But these guys are going to utilize the talent we have- Dawson, Byrd, Harris, Payne, Nix- and create. I think in the next couple years we are going to see much better offensive efficiency because we will have two natural, smart, point guards.

But back to Harris. Not only will he be Green, but he won’t be playing for Indiana or Purdue, two of the other schools in major contention. Anytime you can add talent to your squad while another team is not getting better, that’s a major plus. And does this not sound like a Tom Izzo player?

“With Harris, the Spartans are getting a guard with great physical strength that competes on a daily basis and is always in attack mode. He will drive it hard to the basket without fear and finish with impressive body control. If left alone, he will knock down open shots out to the arc, but he does need to improve in that area. Defensively, watch him go after the opponent’s best player and take on the challenge of shutting him down. He always plays hard, no matter what -- a trait that Izzo's recruits must have.” ~Paul Biancardi, ESPN

I’m excited. MSU’s recruiting class, with Harris, is up to #4 in the ESPN rankings for 2012. I know the rankings don’t mean much, but if anything they tell you more potential talent is on the way. The future looks good.

~Mikey D

Let's start with the best picks for each round.

Rd 1: Adrian Peterson (Kevin, "W-A-F-Y")- I think this was the right move. It was probably really tempting to look at Vick, or maybe even one of those speedy backs in Rice or Charles, but with AP, you know what you're getting. Kevin's got 1200+ yards and 10+ TDs to build his team around.

Rd 2: Andre Johnson (Amber, "1st and Goal")- Andre Johnson was the #6 overall player, and for most, the #1 overall wideout. That's good value getting him at the #11 spot. I'm sure autodraft was surprised he was still there!

Rd 3: Philip Rivers (Adam, "300 Spartans")- I would have done a cartwheel in my office if that was me making that pick. I think Rivers is going to have a career year, and his schedule appears very fantasy friendly. Amazing he lasted as long as he did. Now throw it to Gates a lot...

Rd 4: Peyton Hillis (Mike, "The WhIZ Kids")- I'm expecting some shit for this one, but hear me out. First, Hillis was the #3 overall back last year- and went in the 4th round. That's exceptional value. That said, I would not have taken him in the first three rounds, mainly due to his finish last season. But even when I look at the finish, the man still averaged 80 total yards a game- it's not like he ran the ball 20 times for 42 yards. He's the goal line back for an improved Cleveland team with a solid o-line, so as a #2 RB, I feel I can get the same production as some of the #2 RBs taken in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. It's all about value.

RD 5: LeGarrette Blount (Grace, "brianwilsonisaDOUCHE")- It's the 5th round, and you need a RB. Sitting on the board is a RB that will get 250+ carries on an up-and-coming team that does not have one of those running back by committee messes. What a blessing! I'm not going to sit here and say Blount is otherworldly as a runner, but you get that many touches, you'll put up a 1,000 yards and maybe double-digit TDs by year's end (see: Rashard Mendenhall, 2010).

RD 6: Austin Collie (Adam, "300 Spartans")- Depending on your personal view of Collie, he's either a great pick or a complete reach because of his health issues. Here's what I know: When this guy is on, he's a top-10 receiver in the league. Peyton loves him, and I love that. Even if he only plays 8 games, give me 8 games of top production, and then I'll take my chances with the waiver wire. Adam, I hate you because I was targeting him with my 7th round pick.

RD 7: Jahvid Best (Mark, "Wookie Luv")- I almost left this round blank. There isn't really a pick that stands out, but Mark did nab a starting running back on a potentially explosive offense. Of course he's a huge injury risk, and isn't really an in-between the tackles runner, but the upside is that he's Jamaal Charles-lite. At the very least Best will catch a lot of passes out of the backfield, which will make up for his YPC average.

RD 8: Tim Hightower (Quinten, "Rage...RIGHT NOW")- A starting running back in the 8th round who has had a monster preseason, will get all the goal line duties, and is an excellent receiver? How is this possible??? Oh, wait, FOUR people chose defenses in the 8th round. Four!!! I just don't understand.

RD 9: Reggie Bush (Quinten, "Rage...RIGHT NOW")- Notice the RB trend? Reggie has just recently been named the starter in Miami, as the team is not enamored with the rookie Daniel Thomas. So if Reggie stays healthy, he's looking at 200+ touches. He'll never be an elite runner, but 1000+ yards and 5+ touchdowns is well within reach. Not a bad backup.

RD 10: DeAngelo Williams (Amber, "1st and Goal")- The #35 overall player on Yahoo!'s board, Williams dropped like a rock. Cam Newton doesn't inspire much confidence to lead the Panthers to respectability (yet), but DeAngelo just got his new deal and is out to prove he's worth it. And while Cam grows, they will give Williams the ball. What he does with them...well, that's the question. Personally, I'm not a believer, but in the 10th round, he's totally worth a flier.

RD 11: Mike Sims-Walker (Adam, "300 Spartans")- The Rams don't really have a tall deep threat. In the redzone, Sims-Walker will get the looks. With a rising QB, he could quickly become one of Bradford's favorite targets. I view Sims-Walker as the Marques Colston of that offense, with Danny Amendola as the Lance Moore. Depending on health, he could quickly become an every week starter.

RD 12: Willis McGahee (Mike, "The WhIZ Kids")- This was not a very sexy pick, but one thing the preseason has shown is that the Broncos are putting McGahee in the game as soon as they get into the redzone. And truth be told, I don't think the Broncos will be that bad this year. They are fairly competent on offense, so I think they will move the ball decently and will probably be involved in a couple shootouts. That means points. And if that's the case, I want the guy pounding it in at the goal line. I could easily see McGahee with 600-700 yards and 10 TDs. That would be about 120 fantasy points, which would have put him 13th last year in RB scoring- right between Ray Rice and Maurice Jones-Drew.

RD 13: Marcedes Lewis (Adam, "300 Spartans")- Um, how many teams get BACKUP tight ends that had over 700 yards receiving and 10 TDs? I know that Jacksonville could be scary bad this year, but he's their only legit receiving redzone target now that Sims-Walker has moved on. Garrard already has a rapport with him, so he's most definitely going to look his way when it matters.

RD 14: Braylon Edwards (Stacey, "Godzilla Gorillas")- Edwards is a total flake, but he's the #1 guy in San Francisco on a 1-year contract looking to prove he's a legit NFL receiver. The only downside is that he's got Alex Smith throwing him the ball, so you've got to temper expectations. Still, 800 yards and 6 TDs isn't out of the question. For a bye week fill-in? Sure, why not?

RD 15: Javon Ringer (Mark, "Wookie Luv")- Smart, smart, smart. I was curious going into the draft who was going to take Chris Johnson (I was going to at #7 if he was still there), and Mark grabbed him at #6. With his holdout, however, grabbing someone like Ringer to cover yourself the couple weeks (or more) he might be out was a solid move. The Titans have a couple softies to open their season (Jacksonville week one), so why not roll Ringer out there for probably 80 yards and a TD? I don't expect Ringer to last on Mark's roster, but it's a good short term pick-up.

And now onto the "reaches" of the draft...aka, Brian drafted who?

RD 1: Roddy White (Adam, "300 Spartans")- Let's be real, there aren't many true reaches in Round 1. This is only a reach due to hindsight. Had Adam known that Mark and I were going to go running back, and knowing the mini-run on QBs that was to occur at the start of Round 2, Adam could have had Roddy with his 2nd round pick. Hey, do it all over again Adam probably still takes Roddy, but it's those little things that always bother me in the end ("I could have had that guy a whole round later!!!").

RD 2: Mark Ingram (Brian, "Wicked Weasels")- Ah, autodraft. Let's say the Saints continue their high-octane offense, and Pierre Thomas gets hurt...and also Chris Ivory...well then Brian's pick is starting to look pretty good! Sadly, he could have gotten him at least 4-5 rounds later.

RD 3: Wes Welker (Brian, "Wicked Weasels")- Autodraft. But did anyone else notice that Brian's autodraft is not too far off from his actual draft craziness every year?

RD 4: Peyton Manning (Kevin, "W-A-F-Y")- I understand he was there, but you had Drew Brees! I think, with a 4th round pick, you're still looking for an impact player that fills a roster need. So unless Brees gets hurt, or you trade Manning (quite a possibility once he's back and healthy- I'll probably need a QB once Vick gets broken!), then Manning is merely regulated to the bench.

RD 5: Ryan Grant (Stacey, "Godzilla Gorillas")- A complete time share in Green Bay with Starks in an offense that is 100% pass first. Couple that with the fact he's coming off a pretty brutal injury, and I worry. A lot of the RBs taken after Grant seemed like safer bets, in my opinion.

RD 6: BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Grace, "brianwilsonisaDOUCHE")- "I want the law firm!" As strangely hot as it was that she knew that he was the "Law Firm", she definitely shouldn't have taken him in Round 6. Belichick is not a running back friendly coach, and the fact the Patriots drafted two RBs this year makes me uber-worried Green-Ellis is going to be in the mother of all running back platoons.

RD 7: Stephen Gostkowski (Brian, "Wicked Weasels")- Autodraft. Again.

RD 8: Malcom Floyd (Mark, "Wookie Luv")- I like Floyd, but not Round 8 like. Maybe round 10? He's clearly 3rd fiddle behind Jackson and Gates, so he's not going to duplicate the season he had last year when Jackson and Gates were both out (holdout and injury).

RD 9: The Kickers (Amber and Scott)- You don't show up for the draft, you get kickers in the 9th round. It's like your punishment.

RD 10: Jordy Nelson (Quinten, "Rage...RIGHT NOW")- This is more personal preference, but I liked Mike Sims-Walker, who went a round later, more than Jordy. It's the same type of deal with Malcom Floyd- there are too many mouths to feed in Green Bay. If you start him, you're crossing your fingers and hoping you rolled the dice for the right week for a score.

RD 11: Detroit Defense (Mark, "Wookie Luv")- I'm totally on the Detroit bandwagon, but the Detroit defense in Round 11??? My guess is that they'd still be there Round 15. Show me on the field when it counts before I buy. The secondary and linebackers are still sub-par.

RD 12: Hines Ward (Stacey, "Godzilla Gorillas")- How much do I not like Hines Ward? Enough where I think a kicker and Roy Williams were better picks. If last year was any indication, Hines is close to done. Couple with that with the emergence of Wallace, Brown, and Sanders, and it's just not looking good for Hines.

RD 13-15: None- Seriously, at this point, tell me which one of those guys was a bad pick?

I want to talk a little more about the draft and my favorite players for the upcoming season, but I'll save that for another post.

Curious your thoughts on the draft.

~Mikey D

As I'm sure you all remember, Adam and I both picked the Packers to make the Super Bowl on my blog last year during the NFL Picks post. Of course we both had them losing in the Super Bowl, but the fact is we had them there, which makes last year's picks a success compared to previous years. Let's see if we can get both teams in the Super Bowl right, or at least the winner of the big game correct.

NFC

NFC East
1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. Dallas Cowboys (Wild Card)
3. New York Giants
4. Washington Redskins
The Eagles are clearly the cream of the crop of this division. Is it just me, or is this the weakest the NFC East has been in years? Last year was pretty weak, but top to bottom, this division is not very strong. At years end if the Redskins end up finishing second, I'll only be mildly surprised. All of the teams here have flaws, just some more than others. I have yet to buy 100% into the Eagles and their "Dream Team" monicker. Usually superstar teams like this don't pan out like everyone excepts (2004 Lakers, for example). Plus, as great as Vick is, he's still and injury concern and has yet to carry a team to the promised land.

NFC North
1. Green Bay Packers
2. Detroit Lions
3. Chicago Bears
4. Minnesota Vikings
Lions, baby! I love what the Lions are doing on and off the field, and I think they take another step forward this year. It's already kind of unfortunate their entire draft class is hurt (especially LeShoure), but I think there's enough talent coming back we can still jump the Bears and Vikings. Not a big fan of either of those teams, especially Chicago. Last season seems like a mirage. The real Bears show themselves this year- an aging defense, a pourous offensive line, and an average QB in Cutler.

NFC South
1. Atlanta Falcons
2. New Orleans Saints (Wild Card)
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. Carolina Panthers
This will be the most competitive division in football, hands down. I think every one of these teams improved themselves in some way this off season. Even the Panthers should be halfway decent, with a little health this year, and a new QB (who looked good in his first preseason game). Whichever team can win at a division opponent's place the most will take the South.

NFC West
1. St. Louis Rams
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. San Francisco 49ers
4. Seattle Seahawks
As Colin Cowherd would say, the Seattle Sea Chickens are a dumpster fire. Tavaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst? God help them. The 49ers are the same teams as they were the past three years, and will only improve when they get a legit QB. Arizona has improved with a new QB and RB, but there's still defensive questions. Count me all-in on Bradford and the Rams. Upgrades across the board on defense and offense, a new OC in Josh McDaniels, and high expectations for sophomore Sam Bradford. Rams win the division and host a home playoff game, Bradford shines, Rams draft a big-play receiver in the 2012 draft, and Bradford becomes a top-15 fantasy QB next year. Book it.

NFC Playoffs:
Wild Card:
Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers (Green Bay 34, Dallas 17)
New Orleans Saints at St. Louis Rams (St. Louis 27, New Orleans 24)

Divisional:
Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons (Atlanta 20, Green Bay 17)
St. Louis Rams at Philadelphia Eagles (Philadelphia 40, St. Louis 21)

NFC Championship:
Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles (Atlanta 24, Philadelphia 23)

NFC Champion: Atlanta Falcons

AFC

AFC East
1. New England Patriots
2. New York Jets (Wild Card)
3. Buffalo Bills
4. Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins are awful, the Bills are less awful, but still awful. This is a two team race, as usual, between the Pats and Jets. I think the Patriots improved in the off season, bringing in help at the WR, RB, and DL positions, while getting Logan Mankins signed to a long-term deal (plus, with Brady-Hoyer-Mallet, that's gotta be the most talented trio of QBs on any team in the league). The Jets...lost Cotchery, lost Edwards, lost Brad Smith, have LT another year older, and still have Shonne Greene at RB. So how did they improve? Plax? Um, sell. Patriots win this division.

AFC North
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Baltimore Ravens (Wild Card)
3. Cleveland Browns
4. Cincinnati Bengals
Colt McCoy looks like the real deal for the Browns, unfortunately the Ravens and Steelers still own this division. The Browns are still a year or two away from becoming a threat, and the Bengals are about five years from having a chance to be legitimate. Give me the Steelers in this division, as they bring back every starter on both sides of the ball, and most importantly, own the Ravens in recent seasons. Seems like the easiest division to predict.

AFC South
1. Houston Texans
2. Indianapolis Colts
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Tennessee Titans
This is the year for the Texans. Peyton's starting the season a little banged up, and is clearly on the downhill of his career. Couple that with an aging Colt's roster, and now is the time for the Texans to make their move. They get Cushing back at LB, and got Joseph to shore up the CB spot. They are still dynamic on offense, with Arian Foster and Shaub, so now is the time they put it all together. Jacksonville and Tennessee are the epitomy of mediocre, and will probably score and upset or two here and there, but it's tough to seem them as legit threats to win the division or make the playoffs.

AFC West
1. San Diego Chargers
2. Oakland Raiders
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Denver Broncos
Love the Chargers this year, now that they have no expectations on them. They get Vincent Jackson back for the full season, still have Floyd and Gates, and stability at running back with Matthews and Tolbert. Oh yeah, and Philip Rivers. The defense- already solid- seems to have been upgraded as well. I think the Chiefs will slide back a bit this year, as I think a lot of their success was based on a soft schedule and catching teams by surprise. Cassell and company regress a bit this year, the Broncos stay a mess, and the Raiders- who went undefeated against AFC West teams last year- come in at #2 by default.

AFC Playoffs:
AFC Wild Card:
New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers (Pittsburgh 16, New York 13)
Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans (Baltimore 30, Houston 27)

AFC Divisional:
Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots (New England 31, Baltimore 20)
Pittsburgh Steelers at San Diego Chargers (San Diego 24, Pittsburgh 20)

AFC Championship:
San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots (New England 33, San Diego 31)

AFC Champion: New England Patriots

***

Super Bowl: Atlanta Falcons vs. New England Patriots
(Atlanta Falcons 26, New England Patriots 24)

Super Bowl Champions: Atlanta Falcons

~Mikey D

Guess who has a Twitter account!!! This guy!

I wasn't sure if I'd like it or not, and as it turns out, I love it. I'm semi-addicted, especially during this month of July when college basketball recruiting is in full force. I can follow all the premier scouts, all the local Big Ten teams insiders, as well as the national talking heads. I feel "in the know" way more than I used to. I know instantly who's offered, who's committed, and who's watching who at what tournament. If you're like Grace ("You know more about teenage boys than someone your age should"), I'm wasting my life, but I look at it as a convenient way to enjoy one of my hobbies/passions.

Thing is, I don't actually "tweet". Seriously, what important things do I have to say?

But that got me thinking at the beach over the weekend. What if we all got Twitter accounts? What a great way to stay connected long distance...it would be like a never-ending chat. I know we have the blogs, and we text and phone, but it'd be cool to have a place to talk about a sports play, post thoughts on some current event, post a link to an interesting story, or call Kevin stupid.

What do you think?

~Mikey D

My how time flies. This upcoming school year will be my 5th, and with that it will already be time for me to renew my teaching certificate (you have to do it every 5 years). On the last day of school I got a letter in my mailbox telling me as much, and to check to make sure I had the necessary requirements for renewal. So I did.

As a teacher, they want to see professional growth. They want to see you make an effort to become better. I figured, through my own ignorance, I did that by earning my Maser's and 8 CPD (Continuing Professional Development) credits (like graduate credits for teachers) during my first five years. Many of my colleagues said I was good to go. There was just one sticking point that I found: Required reading courses.

Apparently I need to have 12 reading credits logged (I can do 6 now, and 6 the next five years), but I have zero. For most teachers, the undergrad and grad reading courses they took in college count as these reading credits, and therefore they do not have to worry about them. But being that I went to school out of state, my transcripts don't specifically say "Reading Class", so therefore my district won't accept my previous credits earned (As I write this I'm staring at a pile of reading books from college! Proof, dammit!).

So I have zero reading credits. I teach math, I have a Masters, and I've shown professional growth by attending numerous workshops for CPD credit. And now I will be enrolling at the local community college to take a reading course with elementary reading teachers and paraprofessionals. They will say things like, "What reading lesson did you teach today?" And I will say things like, "I don't teach reading, I teach math". They'll follow up with a, "But then why are you here?" type question, and of course the smart-ass in me will say, "Because learning about elementary reading will make me a better middle school math teacher." They will look at me weird, I'll shrug my shoulders, and life will go on. It is what it is.

Sigh, my first class starts on the 12th. Trying to care will be hard.

~Mikey D

Everyone is talking about Ricky Rubio lately and whether he'll make the jump to the NBA, or stay with his Spanish team, Regal FC Barcelona. Now Regal FC Barcelona just won the Spanish league title- something very prestigious over there- without much assistance from Rubio. As many analysts and columnists have already pointed out, he's a reserve for the team (mostly due to nagging injuries) and only averaged about 5 points per game this year.

Okay, so who cares? Certainly not I; I don't give a shit about Rubio. But how did they win the Spanish championship without their "star"? Take a look at their starting roster.

Two of us. Now you know. Sparty on mother fuckers.

~Mikey D

I love sports trivia games. Here's one from ESPN, and the object is to type the correct team that a given three players have played for. You have to get all 30 in less than 5 minutes. I did it with about 15 seconds to spare. I think I probably could have done it with 30-45 seconds to spare if I didn't keep hitting 'enter' after every choice (you don't have to- if you get it right, it automatically takes you to the next group of players). Anyway, give it a shot.

http://espn.go.com/free-online-games/trivia/commonteams

~Mikey D

Yeah that’s right, we took a picture of our grocery shopping trip for the week. We are that proud.

Let me say this is mostly Grace. She is becoming an amazing couponer. She is very diligent at looking for deals in circulars, keeping track of upcoming deals, and matching coupons with sales. One of her new goals is to accumulate a majority of the supplies for the wedding house through couponing. I think she’s going to do it. Couponing takes effort, but there is such a high when you go shopping and walk out with a cart full of basically free stuff. We both look forward to grocery day now.

And for the first time ever, we saved over 50% on our entire bill. Grace is so pumped, and so am I. This week, because of previous weeks stock-ups, we were able to grab a lot of products- $152 worth. We stocked up on even more stuff. Here are some highlights:

-2 bags of tortilla chips, originally $7. We paid $1.50.

-2 packages of fudge brownie mix, originally $4.78. We paid only $0.50.

-1 bottle of Smart Balance milk, originally $4.49. We paid $1.00.

-1 bottle of Colgate toothpaste, originally $0.99. We paid nothing- FREE.

-2 packages of chicken nuggets, originally $7.98, We paid $3.00.

-4 packages of Suddenly Salads pasta salad mixes, originally $9.56. We paid $2.00.

-1 box of rottini pasta, originally $2.19. We paid $0.25.

-1 carton of Andes Mint ice cream, originally $2.79. We paid nothing- FREE.

-2 bottle of mustard, originally $3.98. We paid $1.00.

As great as our grocery trip was, I think our trip to Target was even better. We are now making weekly trip to Target because we are finding absolutely crazy deals. This week we bought a bottle of Nivea lotion ($5) and two bottles of spicy brown mustard ($2 each). How much did we pay? 17 cents. $0.17!!!!! Crazy. Plus they were out of the Worchester sauce we wanted to buy with a coupon, so Target gave us a rain check on the item. When we do go back and to pick it up, it will only cost us $.09.

That’s what I’m talking about.

~Mikey D

I love sports trivia games. Here's one from ESPN, and the object is to type the correct team that a given three players have played for. You have to get all 30 in less than 5 minutes. I did it with about 15 seconds to spare. I think I probably could have done it with 30-45 seconds to spare if I didn't keep hitting 'enter' after every choice (you don't have to- if you get it right, it automatically takes you to the next group of players). Anyway, give it a shot.

http://espn.go.com/free-online-games/trivia/commonteams

~Mikey D

I find the whole Ohio State story very interesting. As a former Michigan fan and life-long OSU hater, watching OSU's downfall has made me feel a sense of subdued joy. But what I can't stand is all this talk about Pryor and the seemingly never-ending debate on whether athletes should get paid. Ugh. The answer is NO.

I don't understand why a free education, room and board, meals, trips across the country, and the chance to play collegiate athletics isn't enough.

But the kids come from underprivileged backgrounds! They don't have the financial support as some other students!

And? Think about the alternative. You don't take the scholarship. What are you doing instead? For most of these athletes, college would be a pipe dream without sports because of their academic grades. You want money? Quit the team. Quit school. Go work at McDonalds. Then you'll have money. Or you can do what a majority of college students do and live off peanuts, and just have fun. You're an athlete in college! Why can't you just enjoy it??? YOU GET A FREE RIDE. Stop being so greedy. I would have killed for that. I'm sorry you don't have extra money for tattoos and fancy whips. I shed a tear for you.

Well schools could throw them a little bone...just a little pocket cash...

Yeah, just to the football players? If you give spending money to the football team, you better be prepared to do the same for the baseball, basketball, and tennis teams. All sports. Men's and women's. Do you think athletic departments and universities are prepared to shell out that kind of money?

Think about all the money they make off ticket sales, jerseys, etc! They must be rolling in dough!

Only the most high-profile programs have a chance at making cash. And if they do, the revenue generated is dispersed amongst the other lower revenue generating sports. To put it in perspective, Duke basketball even lost money last year. Duke! Shaka Smart, head coach at VCU, gets a million dollar raise for making the Final Four. Where does the money come from? A tuition hike, not a substantial amount, but enough to bring the VCU an extra million dollars from admissions. Well what do ya know...And don't get me started on Title IX. A blessing for women's sports, but an economic burden on athletic departments.

Look, the NCAA is just trying to create an equal playing field for all its student athletes. Do they have a perfect system right now? No, definitely not. But it is what it is right now, and receiving benefits is against the rules. That's why I feel little sympathy for Tressel getting the axe, or Pryor feeling the heat. Do things the right way, act like a student-athlete should, and there are no problems. If OSU did, Tressel would still be the head coach and Pryor is leading OSU to another BCS bowl, is the big man on campus, and continues to improve on his NFL stock. Not thinking about possibly moving to a D3 coaching job and worrying about the supplemental draft that may or may not happen...

Anyway...

Shifting gears completely, I noticed that my students have no concept of time. They can read a clock and everything, but time means little to them. I find this sad and fascinating at the same time.

My clock in my classroom has been off for the last month or so. It's one hour fast, and I don't know how it got that way, but it is. I could easily change it back to the right time, but that would require me getting a chair out, standing on it, and turning the knob on the back of the clock, and I'm too lazy for that. Heck, just subtract one hour exactly and you have the current time. Not hard. Plus I'm all set for daylight savings time in the fall.

But my kids don't get it. If a student wants to use the bathroom, he needs to right down the time on his hall pass and get it signed by the teacher. Today I had a student at 8:30 in the morning ask to use the bathroom, and he wrote down 9:30, the time on my clock. Maybe he was just rushing? Maybe. But this happens all the time. It's the first period of the day! How do you not get the 8 o'clock hour correct?

And there are times when kids will write passes later in the day and they will do double-takes at the clock and say things like, "Is it really X:XX o'clock?" I always just shake my head, because if it were really an hour ahead, they wouldn't be in my class anymore. How do they not know this? How do they not know the time when they're in a certain class period? It's baffling to me.

And finally...

OUR WEDDING DATE IS SET.

October 12th, 2012. Book it. We've also secured a house in the Outer Banks, and it's beautiful. Adam and Kevin, I will try to send you a link to it in the next couple days.

~Mikey D

I think a lot of people have this idea that a “couponer” is just a really, really cheap person. These couponers seem to go to all these efforts to save money, but in the end is it truly worth the hassle? When does couponing cross the line from making economical sense to creating an overly frugal consumer?

For Grace and me, it never crosses the line. Saving money is saving money, plain and simple. If you can do it, do it. When we plan (yes, plan) weekly shopping trips, we never deprive ourselves of anything we want. We sit down and make a shopping list of items we’ll need for our weekly dinners, lunches, snacks, desserts, etc, and we buy it. It’s not like we are saving money by having our weekly dinners consist of Ramen noodles and Easy-Mac. But we do find ways to save money through coupons, bonus card savings, sales, and in-store specials- like most smart couponers- and we use those deals to our advantage.

See we’ve learned the couponer philosophy. The trick isn’t to spend less by buying less; the trick is to spend less while buying more. And more is good.

This week Grace shaved $16 off our average grocery bill total. While that’s not an astronomically large number, it’s still pretty darn good. We bought everything we needed for the week, but more importantly we were able to contribute our growing stockpile. Here are the “extras” we bought this week:

-2 tubes of toothpaste
-1 toothbrush
-1 large bottle of mustard
-2 bottles of dish soap
-2 jars of spaghetti sauce
-1 box of penne pasta
-1 box of spaghetti
-1 Polish sausage (free)
-2 packages of rice (free)
-2 bottles of salad dressing
-2 boxes of cereal
-1 box of taco shells
-1 bag of jelly beans
-1 bag of Reece’s peanut butter cups

These are all things that went straight into our stockpile. The best part? We paid around a dollar or less for everything on the list. These are all items that when we plan future dinners we will have on hand and will not have to pay full price at the grocery store. Of course my favorite part was getting the sausage and rice for free. There is nothing like pulling an item off the shelf and knowing it is 100% free.

In all, Grace and I received a stellar $52 off our bill because of coupons, bonus card savings, and specials. But we weren’t done!

We noticed that Target was having a special on Gillette Fusion razors- the exact razor I use. I have very sensitive skin, so electric razors don’t work out for me (I wish they did, though). I can really only shave twice a week without getting my skin super irritated. The plus side of only shaving a couple times a week is that my razors last longer. The downside is that when they go dull I have to pay $10 for a new one. So when there is special on razors, I like to take advantage of it.

So Target had a special where if you bought two razors, you’d receive a $5 Target gift card. Grace and I had been collecting $4-off Fusion razor coupons the last couple months, and had four of them saved. The plan was to go to Target and buy four razors, save $16 with the coupons, and then receive $10 in gift cards, which we would then turn around and use to buy two bottles Aveeno face soap- coupled with a $3 off coupon we had- to essentially get the $6.50 soap for free.

Mission accomplished. In all, we spent $25 on 4 Gillette Fusion razors and 2 bottles of Aveeno face soap. The retail price of those items was $55- so we ended up saving $30, or 55% off retail. With the razors purchased today, and the pack I already had in our stockpile, I am now set on razors through Christmas. It’s an expense I do not have to worry about, especially in the summer, when money is a little tighter.

This week Grace and I saved a grand total of $82 on our purchases. So is couponing worth it? For us, a full pantry, peace of mind, and 82 extra dollars in our bank account makes it all worth it.

~Mikey D

The pantry is almost full...

...working on the upstairs closet.

Grace's coupon binder.

With coupons.

I could write a whole post on this, being that I am a middle school teacher, but LZ Granderson's column for CNN.com sums up everything I would want to say (and better). It's a really good read.

"Parents, Don't Dress Your Girls Like Tramps"

I cannot believe that Abercrombie & Fitch would market a push-up bra to 7 year-olds (excuse me, 12 year-olds). That's just awful. But like Granderson said, they wouldn't market it if someone wasn't buying it...eek.

~Mikey D

This is in response to Adam's post of his second love, U of M Hockey.



~Mikey D

I was watching the Tiger's game yesterday, and they were showing Dave Dombrowski up in his suite looking down on the game. They also flashed the many titles he holds with the Tigers: General Manager, CEO, and President.

What the heck are the differences between those positions? Which is the highest in power? And can he technically fire himself from one of those positions, or is he perhaps un-fireable? I want to the know the duties of each position, or if they are all just one in the same and a fancy way of saying, "Dave Dombrowski has a lot of power".

~Mikey D

I've been listening to a lot of music lately that's different than my usual stuff (Guster, Copeland, Umbrellas, etc.). I've been really into Dev, The Cataracs, Hyper Crush, and a lot of other dance music. I know, very different stuff. But I've been really digging it for a couple months now, and so has Grace. It's just really fun music to dance and sing to, and it's definitely making car rides more enjoyable.

So along with the groups I listed above, I've also been listening to a lot of LMFAO. I truly feel like I'm the last person in the world to have heard them, judging by their millions and millions of YouTube hits, their bar anthem "Shots" (fun video, by the way), and oh yeah, their Grammy nomination. But eh, whatever. Below is a video of "Yes", probably our favorite song. We dance and sing in the car to this one...pretty much like the guys in the video.



I've also liked their newer song "Party Rock Anthem". I bounce all over the place to this one. Everyday I'm shuffling!



Anyway, something different. It's been awhile since I've done one of these posts.

~Mikey D

Why does it have to start at 9:23? That means it will end probably around midnight, perhaps longer with the championship celebration. That's too late for me!!!

This is just like the baseball playoffs. It's too late! It's not like this game is on a Saturday night. Come on now. The game is losing its younger audience who has bedtimes, and its old fogey audience (me) who goes to bed early.

Well, let me know if it was a good game. I'd DVR it, but it's just not the same.

~Mikey D

So usually when I read or hear about national or world news stories my blood doesn't boil, but for this one, it does.

Finally that pastor from Florida, Terry Jones, followed through on his burning of the Quran last month. When I first heard he was going to do this (wasn't it about a year ago?), I was wholly against it. Free speech is a great right of ours, but used carelessly or ignorantly it can lead to some disastrous results. It's not surprising then to have massive backlash against the burning in Afghanistan, which has resulted in at least twenty people dead, many of whom had nothing to do with Jones' message.

That's what bothers me the most. You have UN workers- not even from the U.S.- running for their lives in a UN compound from an angry mob, only to be captured and killed. And for what? Not for something they believed in or supported, but because some church in Florida burned something that so many people consider sacred. Whatever message Jones and his followers were trying to get out was completely lost by the way they exercised their right of free speech. How do you expect people to understand your points when you've completely alienated them to the extent they are so deeply offended they are ready to kill? It's like me saying to a classroom full of kids, "Listen up you stupid pieces shit, I've got something I want to say to you". You think they're listening to me? Hell no!

Look, innocent people die all the time, and it's a travesty, but this all could have been avoided with a little sensitivity and common sense. How could Jones not foresee any backlash? Are you that ignorant? Your burning was condemned by the president for Christ's sake! And while I do think the mobs that are ruthlessly murdering people should be the ones to blame for these peoples deaths, I can't help but place a fraction of the blame on Jones. The old legal analogy can be made that the mob was the empty gun, and Jones supplied the bullets.

But back when I first heard Jones was going to burn the Quran, I was thinking big picture. Al-Qaeda and terrorist groups are very real, and they are a constant threat. Every year we hear of some attack, or of some thwarted attempt of an attack. Just a few months ago there was the attack in the Russian airport. A year or so ago it was the potential plane bomber in Detroit. And these aren't going to go away. They are going to be a part of our lives for as long as there is unrest in the world and America is viewed as the "enemy". So looking bigger picture, what does this do to terrorist groups (especially in Afghanistan)? I can only think they will view Jones' actions as America's actions, and that we are all now lumped in as Quran and Muslim haters. I can only think that we are now going to have more determined terrorist cell groups (and possibly more groups) that are willing to do what is necessary to get their message across to the United States.

I'm just getting really sick of dumb people. It's agitating. Everyone from Terry Jones down to the idiot who goes 55 mph in the left lane of a four-lane highway on my way home from work. They are affecting my life too much, and I don't appreciate it. It's pissing me the fuck off.

~Mikey D

Adam, I know you said there was a strong likelihood of it happening, but I was still hoping it wouldn't be true. Jared Sullinger is coming back (so he says).

It's easy to say they won't be as good without Lighty, Diebler, and Lauderdale, but after the season Michigan just had with a team of freshman and sophomores, I'm not going to make that statement. They're still bringing back Sullinger, Craft, Buford, and Thomas, along with another solid Thad Matta recruiting class. But man, without Sullinger they would have been much less of a complete team.

Also, there are zero Big Ten teams left. That's kind of a bummer, but other than Purdue, I think all the teams represented themselves fairly well. The Big Ten lost a lot of close games. Penn State, Michigan State, Michigan, and Ohio State lost by two in their final game. Illinois won a game, but lost to Kansas. Wisconsin made it to the Sweet 16, which is like getting to a National Championship for Bo Ryan (yes, that's a dig). Purdue was the only true embarrassment with their performance against VCU. So, disappointing performance by the conference considering the number of teams that were in and the level of talented players, or solid performance, and it being one of those years with tough matchups and bad breaks?

~Mikey D

The MSC smokestack is coming down.

I'm really sad that it's going to be torn down, because for me it was one of my favorite sights on MSU's campus. I always loved staring at the "MSC" whenever I walked on campus or drove by. It's one of the iconic images of MSU's campus that I have.

That said, I did "vote" and leave feedback on what MSU should do with the smokestack and they went with the option I chose- tear it down and save the bricks. In my mind I could not justify the repair and maintenance costs needed. The fact that they are saving the white bricks to create a commemoration of the smokestack is reasonable. Gone, but not forgotten. Let's put the money we're saving to better use.

~Mikey D

-I’m at peace with MSU being knocked out. Actually, I was okay with it after the first half against UCLA. This has been such a long year- a very stressful year- and to not have to worry about how MSU will play in games and all the drama that comes with it is kind of nice. Now I can just sit back and enjoy the rest of the tournament. And let’s be realistic- the minute Lucious was kicked off the team (or maybe even before that), you knew that this wasn’t going to be our year. We kept the streak alive, so let’s be happy with that and move onto next year. A fresh start with some new faces may be just what the doctor ordered with this squad. Let’s hope for a relatively healthy and drama-free offseason.

-The tournament. Great games, boring bracket. I suppose the phrase “March Madness” is relative. There have been some crazy-ass endings to games (Butler-Pitt, Louisville-Morehead St.), so in that respect there’s been madness. But for the most part, it’s been chalk, chalk, chalk, on the bracket side of things, which has been less than maddening. I know that means there will be some high-profile matchups later on in the tournament, but I would rather have a chaotic bracket (as evidenced by the way I created my bracket this year). I like 11 seeds playing 10 seeds for a right to go to the Elite 8. I like schools like Butler playing for a trip to the Final Four. I just think we’re missing that element (thus far) this year.

-Okay, this has been going on for years now, but can we just say it- the Big East is overrated. The conference is full of a lot of really good teams, but no great teams. And I have a feeling this conference will always be overrated just because of its sheer volume and national exposure. They get a lot of love from ESPN and the media, which is fair, because they do play some exciting games, but the results often get over-hyped. I think it’s realistic to say that if you want to win an NCAA title you have to have a lot of NBA talent on your roster (at least two players), which is something I can’t recall Big East teams having in the last four to five years. Do you? The last NCAA champion from the Big East was UConn in 2004, with Villanueva, Josh Boone, Rudy Gay, and AJ Price- all guys that made it in the league. Before that it was Syracuse with Melo. But who is an NBA talent on a Big East roster? Ummm…Ben Hansborough? The only one I can think of is Kemba Walker, which is why I think they’re the only true legit threat to make the Final Four this year. Prove me wrong, Big East, prove me wrong.

-I’m proud of our Big Ten teams though. If you think about it, Penn State was a shot or two away from winning that first game, and if we decided to play more than 8 out of 40 minutes of basketball, we could have won our game as well. Then the Big Ten would have been 7-0 in the first round! But still, with Wisconsin handling their business, Michigan looking dominate (grrr), OSU and Purdue cruising, and Illinois knocking off a legit tournament team in UNLV, the Big Ten has been representing itself well. Here’s the order of teams I’m rooting for from here on out: 1. Illinois, 2. Ohio State, 3. Purdue, 4. Wisconsin, 5. Michigan. Fuck Michigan.

-Izzo is holding “exit” interviews with players soon. I’m really curious to see how much will get put out in the media. I have a feeling Lucas and Summers will hold nothing back. Oh to be a fly on the wall for that. I think like all us fans, Izzo is trying to make sense of the whole season. Personally, I think that’s an impossible task. There were so many different factors- health, suspensions, chemistry, brutal schedule- that a single determination cannot be made. But hopefully hearing the players speak and open up will help going forward.

-Speaking of going forward, Nix, Sherman, Payne, and Gauna HAVE TO put in the work this spring and summer. If those guys can take a step forward in their games, we could still have a decent looking squad next year. I would love to see MSU go back to its old style of basketball, where we are bruisers and rebounders, where we fight and out-physical teams. That begins down low, though. If we can establish a presence down there, it will be huge for us. I know we’ll have some young perimeter players, but they will have a lot of open looks if teams have to pay attention to our big guys.

-I’m super-excited to see what Trice and Dawson can bring next year. I hope they are close to immediate impact, because lord we need them.

-Long live Izzo, and go green!

~Mikey D

Whew! I am just glad that there is a wall this year! Normally I would be very excited about this winnable matchup, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. The last thing I want is to expect MSU to win, because we all know this team has a tendency to no-show at times.

But like Izzo said, it's a new season, so let's start our new season off with a win! Go green!!!

~The next two are must-wins for MSU, along with a decent showing in the Big Ten tournament. Here's what I don't get: How does Michigan get an entire week off before they play us??? I was pissed that we had to play at Minnesota a couple days after our Saturday game against Illinois (Minnesota had been off since Thursday), and now Michigan gets to rest and prepare for a home game while we play TWO games in-between? Ugh, bullshit. I feel completely hosed by this year's schedule.

~I really don't understand why we can't hit shots from the outside. It's kind of perplexing how an entire team can just shoot brick after brick. I mean, it's not like we don't have the talent. I'm watching other guys on other teams- guys who aren't recruited that heavily and are just mere role players- knock down shots all the time. Why can't we? And some of the sets that Izzo draws up are fantastic. There are some plays he draws up that leave guys wide open for short 12-foot jumpers, that they just clank. As a coach, you can only do so much.

~I'm still perplexed that Austin Thornton got significant minutes in the first half against Purdue. What MSU has done the last few games is limit Thornton's minutes (5 or less) and given Kebler significant time. And that's how it needs to be. So why is Thornton playing at the very beginning of the game? Why is he taking three shots (and two threes)? Not to mention, he is probably our worst perimeter defender, as evidenced when Moore blew right by him. I'm sorry, but he's a last-resort guy.

~Lucas and Green tried to do too much today. Lucas took some crazy-ass shots and obviously felt the need to carry the team. I think the same goes for Green. The easy bunnies that he missed down low I think were a product of him just forcing it too much. It must be tough to be those two guys because there isn't a lot of help for them. I mean, you look around the court and see Kebler (a walk-on), Sherman (undeveloped), and Summers (slump), and it's almost understandable. Still, I think you need to run some plays for those guys to get them involved. I love what MSU did with Summers against Minnesota in allowing him to penetrate the lane. And the way they used their three big guys against OSU was fantastic. More of that, please.

~Man, if I was an opposing coach the game plan would be pretty darn simple. Box-in-one zone defense that limits Lucas and forces Michigan State to shoot it from the outside. Eek. Or, if you have JaJuan Johnson, just let him demoralize our entire offense.

~I seriously thought last season was as low as it could get for MSU basketball, as far as the on the court play and drama off it. Granted, we won a share of the Big Ten title (although not in a dominating fashion) and made a Final Four run, but the year was exhausting. Even if we somehow make a run in the tournament this year, which would be awesome to see, this still has not been an enjoyable year to watch, and in fact, has been worse than last year. I could not have predicted that.

Oye, I'm tired. Today was really depressing.

~Mikey D

Whenever I hear of "Ryder" trucks, I think of the Oklahoma City bombing.

I find that ridiculously fascinating. My memories of an event that riveted me when I was a kid are triggered by a moving truck that I pass on the highway. And honestly, if it were not for those trucks, the event itself would be placed on a shelf in the back of my mind, rarely dusted off. How does that happen? How does such a significant event in recent American history become synonymous with a moving truck?

I thought about this a lot during a recent long car ride. I was curious if I was the only one who viewed Ryder trucks in the same manner. I asked Grace, and she said she thought of moving. Adam said two of Ryder's colors. But Kevin proved to me that I'm not alone in this thought.

I wonder what a nationwide poll would say? I wonder what Ryder executives would say? Let's say we kept up our 50% rate of people connecting Ryder to the bombing. That can't be a good thing for business, could it? Maybe for some people it wouldn't matter when choosing a moving truck, but for folks like me, well, all things equal, I'd rather go with Budget or some other truck company. Yeah, just because I think of that truck detonating in front of that building back in 1995. Crazy.

That also got me thinking about other things that I associate with major events. There are plenty of plane crashes I can think of. Whenever I hear TWA, I automatically think of TWA 800. Obviously the 9-11 crashes. But you know what's a weird one? Sticking with the transportation theme, whenever I see a white economy van with tinted windows I think of the DC Sniper. Every time a van like that passes me on the highway (only the white ones) I literally cringe and slump a bit in my seat. I just think "what if"...

But back to Ryder. Now I am curious to know the next time Adam or Grace see a Ryder truck if their minds will think of this post and Oklahoma City, or will Ryder trucks still remain relatively insignificant to them. Or the next time I see a Ryder truck, I wonder if I will immediately think of Oklahoma City, or will I think of Adam and Grace and wonder if they are thinking of Oklahoma City??? Interesting...

Is there anything that triggers a distant memory every time you see/hear it?

~Mikey D

Alright, clear your minds for just a second and tell me the first thing you think of when you hear the following:

Ryder Moving Truck

That's it.

~Mikey D

I refuse to give up on this team, no matter how rough it gets.

But let me just say, watching Wisconsin beat us up, down, and sideways...well that was tough to do for 2 hours (But I did it, so, um, moral victory for me?). I did, however, keep a level head throughout. Deep down I knew we weren't going to win, I just wanted to see some fight. I think for the most part- yes, even in a 26-point blowout- we fought hard.

Here what's bouncing around my head right now after this rough stretch:

~Back off. Seriously, the comments from fans are getting to be ridiculous. I know everyone is frustrated, but come on. The negativity that is surrounding the team right now is awful. I want to win just as much as the next fan, but I refuse to get on a messageboard or blog and just post about how much the team sucks, or how Izzo sucks, or how you aren't going to watch until next year, blah blah blah. Look, nobody is forcing you to watch. If you're not happy with the team, do something else. If you're not going to stick with them through the down times, then keep your mouth closed (I'm sure we'll see you again when times are good). This sense of entitlement that is wreaking from some MSU fans is intolerable. Goodness. Okay, I've said my piece.

~If I told you...What if I told you that before today's game that MSU would have only 7 turnovers inside the Kohl Center? That MSU would hit 13-16 free throws? That they'd be statistically even (or close) in rebounding, steals, and assists? I'd take it in a heartbeat. The only difference in the game today between MSU and Wisconsin was shooting. Wisconsin hit an absurd 60% of its shots. Yes, MSU's defense it partly to blame. From what I saw, and this is from my untrained eye, we really just don't match up well on defense against, well, anybody. We hustled today, but when you have Nix guarding a 3-point shooting forward, that's a mismatch for Wisconsin. Or Green guarding the taller Leuer. Or Appling guarding the stronger Jordan Taylor. Our personnel just isn't great right now.

~The regression of Durrell. Tom Izzo has every right to sit Durrell Summers for the rest of the season, but he needs Durrell out there too much right now, and unfortunately for us, he needs him to be playing at a high level. Here's Summers stat line against Wisconsin: 32 minutes, 3-12 shooting (zero 3's), 1-2 FT, 3 rebounds, 0 assists, and a mere 7 points. Against Iowa, in 26 minutes, he was 2-7 shooting (ALL 3-POINTERS) for 6 points, with no free throws, 1 assist, 3 rebounds and 3 turnovers. For a guy getting the minutes he does, those are simply mind-boggling low numbers. He is no longer a threat to score from the outside, he's not a threat to drive the ball and score in the paint, and he does not get his teammates involved. NBA talent? Sheesh, at this point I think he'd be lucky to get an overseas tryout with a team in Sri Lanka. I wish I had an answer for his play. I mean, is it all just a mental block?

~"Stay out of it, Nick Lachey". If you watch "The Soup" (or I suppose "Gossip Girl"), you know the line. But this line is reserved for Derrick Nix. While I like that guys are being a little more outspoken after recent losses (I'd much rather have guys speak up because they care, rather than just go through the daily motions), Derrick Nix does not need to be one of those guys. Questioning the leadership of Lucas and Summers, on multiple occasions, is okay as long as it isn't from the guy who flaked out on the team earlier in the year in Maui. Just a smidge hypocritical to start talking about commitment to the the team and such.

~I wonder...What effect is this season going to have on recruiting? It is very lucky that Izzo has the next three years wrapped up as far as incoming kids, but I do wonder what the perception of the program is from kids in the Midwest (and, to a lesser extent, nationally). Indiana is playing much better (and has great incoming classes the next few years), Michigan is young and improving, and Ohio State is an NBA-player factory that keeps on winning. If I'm a guy like Gary Harris (shooting guard from Indiana, who we desperately want), what's the appeal? In their current state, OSU and Indiana seem more appealing. And what about in-state recruiting? Does Michigan nab a few more in-state players in the coming years? Maybe I'm just panicking after a few bad losses, I don't know.

~Iowa State- Korie Lucious took a trip there this past Friday. Looks as if he and Allen will be back together (although because Korie would have to sit out a year, they won't play together). If there was any question of Korie coming back next year, I think that answers it. Bye-bye. I'm definitely more hurt over his departure than Allen's. Remember Izzo's press conference to announce he was returning to MSU? When all the players hugged him? Yeah, it was Lucious who had his arms wrapped around Izzo. That stings. Okay, here's the photo:



~There's time, but I don't know how we do it. I'm sure you'll hear from the MSU guys that they're going to do whatever it takes to turn the season around. And there will be plenty of opportunities. We've got OSU, Illinois, Purdue, and Minnesota, all ranked teams. We've got our revenge games against Iowa, Michigan, and Penn State. I hope we do make the most of those opportunities, but man, it's tough to see how with our current personnel. We just don't seem to have the players. I'm hoping Izzo finds some magic switch to hit, that the team gels and the chemistry is amazing, that Durrell starts lighting it up, and (for the love of God) teams start to cool down shooting against us. I suppose stranger things have happened.

Alright that's it. At least the Super Bowl will distract me. Next Thursday at home against Penn State. I'll be watching, like always.

~Mikey D