Westsider Rider

Damn Right I'm All In

2009-09-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

When I first heard this year's slogan it didn't do much for me. I didn't really like it, didn't really hate it, it was just whatever. After the events of the past few days though it couldn't be more fitting for this team and our program. Like the saying goes, it's easy to kick someone when they're down and that's exactly what's going on now. These attacks are coming from all angles and these are the times we need to band together the most. I know not everyone was on board with the Rich Rodriguez hire, but this is our team and our program and it must be supported. No matter what, the team comes first and even if you don't like Coach Rodriguez after last years showing, or didn't want him in the first place he is still the coach at Michigan. He is part of our team, and this team needs us to stand behind them now.

It's upsetting to hear these reports come out because these reporters and newspapers have their own agendas. I mean when other coaches and players across the country are saying this report is nothing it shows how ridiculous it is. Even the Buckeyes are coming to our defense with Kirk Herbstreit talking about how it's a witch hunt and a joke. How ludicrous is it when you're getting fairer treatment from Ohio State than your own local paper?

But it's time to put it behind us and concentrate on the task at hand, the upcoming season. Players and coaches will always change over time, but Michigan never will. The Winged Helmet, the Go Blue Banner, the Big House and all the things that are known as Michigan will always stay the same. So you either need to get in or get out because I know I'm All In and always will be, are you?

Picks of the Week

2008-09-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

Last week was a winning one starting off 3-2, only 4 picks this week:

Northwestern -6.5 @ Duke - Northwestern pulled away from Syracuse last week and should continue their winning ways as I expect them to pull a couple of big wins in the Big Ten this season. Duke is still Duke and will not be able to keep up with the Wildcats.

California -13.5 @ Washington State - The Bears come off their win over Michigan State, which should have been more of a blowout had Coach Tedford not put Nate Longshore in the game who attributed to a 14 point swing when he threw an interception in the end zone while Cal was driving and also threw a pick six. The Cougars got beat up in Seattle by Oklahoma State and look like they are going through their growing pains with the coaching change.

West Virginia @ East Carolina Over 49 - Still not sure if East Carolina will be able to keep the momentum of the win over Virginia Tech, but I do know that West Virginia puts up points in bunches and East Carolina should be able to score as well. 49 seems too low for a West Virginia game.

Texas Tech @ Nevada Over 68 - This game features two teams with explosive offenses and it will likely be one of those games that is determined by whatever team has the ball last. Mike Leach's spread vs. Chris Ault's Pistol offense, should be great for those that love scoring.

Top 25

2008-09-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

Travelling on vacation this week so haven't had a chance to update, better late than never.

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Missouri
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
6. USC
7. LSU
8. West Virginia
9. Texas
10. Auburn
11. Kansas
12. BYU
13. Fresno State
14. Alabama
15. South Florida
16. Wisconsin
17. Wake Forest
18. Oregon
19. Arizona State
20. Penn State
21. East Carolina
22. Utah
23. California
24. UCLA
25. Boston College

I believe the media is giving too much credit to USC for their win over Virginia. Virginia was a terrible team that had no chance of staying close to USC and the travel factor is being played up too much. I couldn't believe Clemson just rolled over like that, I should have known better than to buy into their hype. Same goes with Pittsburgh, they're still a Dave Wannstedt coached team so choking should be expected.

Picks of the Week

2008-08-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

Picks of the Week is back for its 3rd year, let's hope to continue the success:

Florida Atlantic +24 @ Texas – Rusty Smith is one of 10 returning offensive starters for the Owls who will face an inexperienced secondary for Texas which will allow the Owls to stay in this game.

Clemson -4.5 vs. Alabama – James Davis comes home to Atlanta to take on the Crimson Tide and he will not disappoint. Expect the dynamic duo of Spiller and Davis to have a big day and throw that in with the fact that the Tide are 2-8 ATS in their non-conference games in the last 3 years I like the Tigers to take it.

California -4.5 vs. Michigan State – The Bears ended a disappointing season with a come from behind win in the Armed Forces Bowl and look to bounce back to the form that led to them to the #2 ranking in the country. Kevin Riley is now at the helm taking over for Nate Longshore and Jahvid Best now gets to step in for Justin Forsett. Michigan State’s D won’t be able to keep up with the Cal O and I see the Bears rolling on.

Northwestern -11.5 vs. Syracuse – There haven’t been many teams in the country that have been worse than Syracuse in the past few years and it doesn’t look like it’s getting better when you have recruits decommitting from your program to go to Central Michigan. C.J. Bacher and Tyrell Sutton are back and that should be plenty to get the Wildcats over the Orange.

USC -19.5 @ Virginia – Those of you that know me semi-well know the severe dislike I have for USC and that’s probably understating it. But it’s mostly for the most ignorant and arrogant fanbase I have ever encountered. At the same time I cannot deny the great teams they have been fielding year in and year out and this year is no exception. Although the O isn’t as strong as it has been in the past, the D is exceptional and will be able to shut down anything and everything UVA throws at them. With the loss of Chris Long to the NFL and Jameel Sewell gone for academics I don’t see how the Hoos have any chance, USC wins big.

Preseason Top 25

2008-08-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Missouri
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
6. USC
7. LSU
8. West Virginia
9. Clemson
10. Auburn
11. Texas
12. Kansas
13. BYU
14. South Florida
15. Virginia Tech
16. Texas Tech
17. Wisconsin
18. Tennessee
19. Wake Forest
20. Arizona State
21. Illinois
22. Pittsburgh
23. Fresno State
24. Penn State
25. California

The Calm Before the Storm

2008-08-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

For all my loyal readers, all 3 of you, I am not dead, I've just kept myself from getting worked up too soon over college football season, that and the Lakers loss just took too much out of me to write about it. Thankfully the Olympics provided a much needed distraction from the upcoming season and here we are only 2 days away from the first kickoff when we get to watch Vanderbilt take on Miami of Ohio, among other games that I shouldn't, but you know I will be watching. There's a lot of different things I want to touch on so this post will seem very unorganized and jumbled together but here goes:

I don't think it will officially hit me that Rich Rodriguez is our head coach until I see him on the sidelines on Saturday. For all the years that I've followed Michigan football I have only known one coach and to see a new man at the helm will be kind of weird.
With that said, I can't wait to see this new offense. For years we have been running the same shit over and over, as all Michigan fans know we used to be able to call our plays with frightening accuracy. We are finally going to be on a level playing field as other programs around the country were passing us by with new techniques and schemes that we were unwilling to adopt.
I really don't like our new road jerseys, call me old school but I just don't like all the piping and the additional maize on it. Although they're not nearly as bad as the changes that Cal made to their jerseys this season.
I believe this will be my most enjoyable season to watch as a fan. With the coaching change I am not putting any expectations on this team. Sure I expect the team to keep the bowl streak in tact but aside from that I am just going to sit back and enjoy the ride this season. Moreso than any other season opener, the excitement isn't just about this season but the change in our program as a whole and I know there will be some bumps along the way this season. Sure we'll probably lose a game we shouldn't but we should probably win a game we shouldn't as well. I could continue on about it but Brian at MGoBlog has already summed it up the best:

And you know what? This seems like great fun. Michigan’s going to run out on the field and play like they’re one of those teams trying to make inferior talent work. They’re going to line up in the shotgun without a huddle. When whichever quarterback happens to be that play’s piñata raises his leg, the team will glance to the sideline and get the new play in. On average, this will be a run that goes for six yards.

At no point will they assume physical or mental superiority over their opponent. Their plan is to raid the endzone as best they can, which may be “not very well at all,” but by God they’re going to try on every snap.

It’s going to be a fiasco. It’s going to be ugly and tantalizing and dispiriting and awesome. I can’t wait.

"OK, This smells familiar for us"

2008-04-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

It's been 4 long years since the Lakers have won a playoff series, 6 years since a sweep and damn does it feel good. The Nuggets finally showed up for a game and looked like they were on the verge of winning it until Kobe stepped up and reminded everyone why he is considered the best closer in the league finishing with 14 points over the last 5 1/2 minute to send the Nuggets to vacation and the Lakers waiting for a 2nd round opponent.

The first half went very well looking like the Lakers were ready to just take the W without getting much of a fight from Denver. Turns out the Nuggets did have some fight in them as they fought back in the third and kept it close for the rest of the game. But Kobe did what he needed to do to get the W. The turnaround jumper over K-Mart as the shot clock expired was ridiculous as was the stretch when he made the 3, then got an and 1 on JR Smith. Only concern is with his Free Throw shooting which has been troublesome at times, but when it comes down to it he makes them when he needs to but it has been enough of a problem for me to mention it.
Luckily for the Lakers, Denver is a team that is not very mentally tough. They gave up at times throughout the series making it easy for the Lakers to go on some runs and put games out of reach. That will not be the case as we wait for Utah or Houston, most likely Utah. But the Lakers have had success against the Jazz this season and I am confident we can get the job done in the next round. The good news is the extra time off will help Trevor Ariza get some work in and it sounds like he could make a contribution in the next round. Still no positive news from the Bynum camp but I am not worried about it, if he's ready great bring him along slowly, but there's no need to rush with the long-term future to think about. For now I'm going to enjoy this series win since it's been so long and worry about all that stuff once we officially get the 2nd round set.

What a difference a year makes

2008-04-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

The following is a post I started writing halfway through the series but never was able to finish up. Full update a little bit later.

I had planned to write about the Michigan hockey team prior to the Frozen Four but considering the run we were on I didn't want to jinx it and I guess it didn't matter since either way. That said the NBA playoffs began this past weekend and it's just amazing to think how different the Lakers situation is in just one year. From Kobe and no help and a 7 seed to a real team that isn't solely dependent on Kobe and the #1 seed. Considering Kobe's comments during the offseason and then Bynum's injury, I don't think any Lakers fan even the most optimistic ones, could have seen this team winning the West this season. I came into this season thinking that getting to Round 2 would be good enough in conjunction with the development of Bynum but with the addition of Gasol and his seamless integration into the offense the expectations have changed.
With that, the Lakers opened the 2008 playoffs with high expectations of bringing home another banner. Although I can dream of that as a fan, I know this years Western Conference playoffs will be extremely difficult, even as a #1 seed considering the gap between teams 1 and 6 was only 3 games.

March Madness Picks

2008-03-20T00:56:00.001-07:00

Now that the quarter is over I've finally got some time to update and what better time than March Madness. I had started catching the fever as UCI made its run through the Big West Tournament, but it was not to be as they lost in the Big West finals to a very dangerous Cal State Fullerton team that wouldn't be shocking to make some noise in the tournament. Heading to Vegas tomorrow for the opening weekend of the madness as I've done the past 3 years and for those that haven't gone yet during this time, I highly recommend it as a sports fan, there's nothing like it. So here are my picks, to save space in the first two rounds just calling the upsets, everything else I'm taking the favorite:

East-First Round: Saint Josephs over Oklahoma
Second Round: Butler over Tennessee
Sweet Sixteen: UNC over Washington State, Louisville over Butler
Regional Champ: North Carolina

Midwest-First Round: Kansas State over USC, Davidson over Gonzaga, Cal State Fullerton over Wisconsin
Second Round: None
Sweet Sixteen: Kansas over Vanderbilt, Georgetown over Kansas State
Regional Champ: Georgetown

South-First Round: St. Mary's over Miami
Second Round: None
Sweet Sixteen: Texas over Stanford, Memphis over Pittsburgh
Regional Champ: Texas

West-First Round: Baylor over Purdue, Arizona over West Virginia
Second Round: Drake over Connecticut
Sweet Sixteen: UCLA over Drake, Duke over Xavier
Regional Champ: UCLA

Final Four: North Carolina over Georgetown, UCLA over Texas

National Champion: UCLA

What else can I say?

2008-02-25T16:07:00.000-08:00

When the Lakers made the move and got Pau Gasol, I think all of us Lakers fans expected a lot. We were immediately thrust into title contention and became one of the favorites, but I don't know if many people would be able to say they expected this much. This team is rolling right now and hasn't skipped a beat as they integrated Gasol into the offense. He does so much for this team it's unreal to think of what we had to give up to get him.

Now our only concern seems to be when Bynum comes back and how will he fit into this team as he comes back from injury. At least he is on schedule, unlike Trevor Ariza who will be missed as his broken foot is not healing as quickly as hoped. We need Ariza because Luke Walton has definitely regressed after getting his new contract. I don't know what it is but he is not playing very well and is extremely frustrating to watch at times. Sasha is really now a machine as he likes to call himself and with Jordan putting up solid minutes backing up D Fish there's not much more this team needs.

I was sitting there watching the game last night and thought to myself how unbelievably lucky we are as Lakers fans to be rebuilt like that so quickly. I was extremely young at the time but I do remember the end of the Showtime era and growing up with Cedric Ceballos and Sedale Threatt. Then the summer of 96 came with Kobe and Shaq and we were rolling again in a few years. Then Shaq is traded, the team made some dumb moves (Caron for Kwame) and combine that with Kobe's tirade this offseason I didn't know what to expect. Now we are one of, if not the favorite now to win the title and the team is set up for a great run as this team is extremely young.

As I said before, Lamar would play well in this role as a 3rd option, but the question is two fold, one is how will he react once Bynum comes back and he becomes option 3 or even possibly 4, and then for the future, how does he fit into this team in the long run? Lamar has put up unbelievable numbers since Pau has arrived but he's currently the 28th highest paid player in the league at $13.524 million per season and his contract is up next year. With Pau in the fold and Kobe who will not be moved and Bynum becomes eligible for his big time extension the front office will have a tough decision.

A quick break from the countdown to Signing Day

2008-02-04T12:42:00.001-08:00

Yes, I've been neglecting the site for a while, I just didn't feel like I had anything new to bring to the table aside from all the news that is regularly being reported. Besides I didn't want to get too worked up over how Terrelle Pryor could potentially determine the fate of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry for the next few years. Good news is we did receive a commitment from Terrence Robinson last night and if his clip below doesn't get you excited I don't know what will.

That said the exciting news broke from out here in Los Angeles as the Lakers made the blockbuster move to acquire Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies for essentially nothing, giving up Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittendon along with Aaron McKie and two first rounders. It does hurt having to give up Javaris as he is very exciting to watch but with the emergence of Jordan Farmar this season, he became expendable.

Obviously getting an All-Star caliber player is huge, but to do so without giving up any of our key assets makes it even better. In addition I believe, as many do, this will free up Lamar Odom as it will relieve him of any pressure of having to be the #2 guy and will be the 3rd scorer until Bynum comes back at which he could be the 4th. Now is a 4th scorer worth the contract he has right now? That's another question we'll ponder at a different time. This immediately throws the Lakers back into the championship mix, those of us optimistic folks out here had already thought we could compete with the emergence of Bynum this season, but this legitimately puts us in the conversation across the league. The two keys will be how will Pau acclimate himself to the triangle? Something I don't think will be a problem and how/when will Andrew come back and will he be at full strength? With a healthy lineup this team is as loaded as any in the league now and throw in the depth across the board this is a team that no one will want to face come playoff time. An exciting week is ahead as Gasol's debut will be tomorrow against New Jersey, then National Signing Day is on Wednesday. I'm still holding out hope for Terrelle Pryor and hopefully he will realize that Ann Arbor is the best place for him.

Though I will be catching passes in another city starting next fall, I will always be a Michigan man.

2008-01-09T13:13:00.000-08:00

Words from Adrian Arrington's statement as he announced he would be leaving for the NFL. I can't fault him as he had a huge day against Florida and bumped his stock up considerably. Also Super Mario looks to be gone as well so I wish them the best. The other news is Ryan Mallett's transfer, which was expected. I really like the way Coach Rodriguez came out and said he's only concerned with players playing for Michigan. It's very reminiscent of Coach Schembechler.

Now the team is very short on QB's and WR's and there is a big need at both positions. A lot of people are forgetting Steven Threet who transferred last year from Georgia Tech, he was a top 10 QB Mallett's year and should be considered the favorite to start right now. It also makes the depth chart that much more attractive for Terrelle Pryor. Signing Day is less than a month away and Coach Rodriguez says he expects to sign a full class of 25 so there are still a few spots to fill. It's going to be an exciting countdown to Signing Day.

Happy New Year

2008-01-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

Been a long time with a combination of being on vacation and laziness so there haven't been any posts for a month. During my last post there was a lot of confusion and disappointment as our coaching search was in the middle of the Les Miles debacle and it looked like we were going to promote from within. Then a short few days later we learned that we were talking to Rich Rodriguez. Initially I thought there was no chance it would happen but I'm extremely happy that it happened and with the hire. Sure there was a strong pull towards Miles because he is one of us but Rodriguez wasn't a big problem with our coaching staff due to the fact that they were all Michigan Men and too stuck in their ways? In addition Rodriguez is considered one of the authorities on the spread offense and considering how Michigan was still stuck in the three yards and a cloud of dust mentality with our old coaches I'm extremely pleased that we are moving into the 21st century.

Onto the next topic being the performance of the team on New Years day sending Coach Carr out with a big W. I was one of many who thought we didn't have a chance in this game. Considering the way we finished the year and the running ability of Tebow and the speed of Percy Harvin I didn't think we would keep it within 2 TD's, but as they say that's why they play the game. I couldn't have been more thrilled to be proven wrong. When I turned the game on and watched our first drive I knew we definitely showed up to play and we were going to give a hell of a performance. It was great to see not only Coach Carr but the seniors go out with a bang like that. Especially seeing Henne play in his best game as a Wolverine.

Now it's down the stretch of recruiting season with signing day only a few short weeks away. There was a lot of concern with the coaching change but there have yet to be any defections as of yet. Marcus Witherspoon is supposed to now visit Tennessee but after getting Brandon Smith over the weekend and reconfirming with J.B. Fitzgerald should help in keeping him in the Maize and Blue. The big recruiting news centers around the Rivals #1 player in the nation Terrelle Pryor who added Michigan to his list after Coach Rodriguez was hired and it looks to be a Michigan/Ohio State battle. There is a lot of talk that it will depend on what Ryan Mallett does so we will just have to sit and wait. But after watching Pryor in the U.S. Army All-American game I couldn't help but think of what kind of damage he could do for us in a winged helmet or against us in a grey one. Let's hope he decides on the good guys.

Finally, I want to close with the Lakers who are on a tear and looking like they will be able to do some damage this season come playoff time. Andrew Bynum has become a force on the inside and the youngsters are all stepping up even as Kobe has struggled these past few games. It's great to see the team taking care of business against these bad Eastern Conference teams and now we've got a big two game roadtrip to Memphis and New Orleans the next two days. It'll be a good test on Wednesday against a Hornets team that carved us up earlier this year.

Where do we go from here?

2007-12-04T00:34:00.001-08:00

I, like most Michigan fans, expected by this time we'd have announced Les Miles as the next Michigan head coach. Now many know throughout this season my top choice was Jeff Tedford, but after watching Cal much more closely this season and seeing the team stumble down the stretch I realize that was the wrong choice. That said I was ready to see Les back in AA. When I was woken up by a phone call telling me Herbstreit had said Miles was coming with Jon Tenuta I couldn't contain myself. Then it all came crashing down. The details, along with every rumor/scenario as to what transpired, I'm sure everyone has read before so I'll spare them.

Now that leads to the question who is next? First up is it CANNOT be Kirk Ferentz. Everyone across the country was scratching their heads when his name came up first and I know we will become the laughingstock of the country if we end up with him. I was already getting shit from fans of other schools about the potential for Ferentz. There has been some talk about Mike Debord and Brady Hoke, I'm not even consider them serious candidates for the job because if either of them became head coach I don't even know what I would do. Ron English I could live with as long as we cleaned house and brought in a new OC and new S&C coaches, that said I wouldn't be thrilled with it. He has no head coaching experience and our D has struggled a lot lately.

Hopefully there is a home run out there that no one is seeing that Bill Martin has his eye on. If you follow Michigan closely enough I'm sure you've come across some pipe dream scenarios on different message boards but maybe they're more realistic than we can see. At this point that's all I have to pin my hopes on. That or the fact that Bill Martin realizes he made a mistake and gives Les a reasonable offer that he will not turn down. These past few days have made it very difficult for me to concentrate on anything but the search. I need to take a step back like I did during the Kobe trade rumors and let it play out, although in this case I hope there are changes made. As incompetent as Bill Martin looks right now I'm willing to wait it out a little bit because I really can't believe that there are no other candidates out there than our internal candidates. Let's hope that is the case.

Post Regular Season Top 25

2007-12-04T00:16:00.000-08:00

1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Virginia Tech
6. USC
7. West Virginia
8. Missouri
9. Kansas
10. Florida
11. Illinois
12. Hawaii
13. Auburn
14. Clemson
15. Wisconsin
16. Boston College
17. Arizona State
18. Texas
19. Arkansas
20. Texas Tech
21. Cincinnati
22. BYU
23. Boise State
24. Oregon State
25. UCF

Just when you thought the season couldn't get any crazier, both 1 and 2 go down leading us to an Ohio State-LSU matchup.
I wish Georgia was able to play LSU in the SEC Championship, that would've been awesome.
Who would've thought Pitt could come up with a game like that in Morgantown?
Bowl matchups I'm looking forward to outside the BCS are the Missouri-Arkansas and Clemson-Auburn game. Also most likely I'll be heading to the Holiday Bowl to watch Texas-Arizona State.
Yes, I wanted Michigan to play in a New Years Day game but not against Florida, I don't think we can keep it within 2 TD's.

Week 14 Top 25

2007-11-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

1. West Virginia
2. Missouri
3. Georgia
4. Ohio State
5. LSU
6. Virginia Tech
7. USC
8. Oklahoma
9. Kansas
10. Florida
11. Illinois
12. Auburn
13. Hawaii
14. Boston College
15. Clemson
16. Wisconsin
17. Arizona State
18. Texas
19. Texas Tech
20. Cincinnati
21. Arkansas
22. BYU
23. Oregon
24. Boise State
25. Oregon State

The craziness that is this season of college football continues with LSU and Kansas going down. I expected LSU to lose once the game went to OT considering the way this season has gone.
So we've seen that Arizona State is a pretender that beat up on a weak early season schedule, same with Kansas.
Good matchups in all the conference championship games this week I expect LSU and Virginia Tech to win, still on the fence with Oklahoma-Missouri, but OU is the early favorite according to the bookmakers.
Hawaii has one last test with the Huskies coming to town. Washington is the only other team to beat Boise State this season and the Huskies will be treating this game like their bowl game so I could see them playing spoiler.

Week 13 Top 25

2007-11-20T19:45:00.000-08:00

1. LSU
2. West Virginia
3. Georgia
4. Kansas
5. Ohio State
6. Missouri
7. Virginia Tech
8. Oklahoma
9. Oregon
10. USC
11. Arizona State
12. Texas
13. Virginia
14. Illinois
15. Florida
16. Boise State
17. Hawaii
18. Wisconsin
19. Auburn
20. Boston College
21. Texas Tech
22. Connecticut
23. Cincinnati
24. Oregon State
25. BYU

Another week, another #2 goes down, although this one had more to do with injury than the others. I've maintained all along I believe West Virginia is the next team in line and I'm not changing that. Kansas and Missouri have their chance on Saturday night to prove me otherwise.
Big game on Turkey day with USC traveling to Arizona State. Winner will have an inside track at the BCS and the Sun Devils control their own destiny now in the Pac 10.
Boise State at Hawaii as well and after watching Hawaii struggle these past few weeks I think Boise gets the job done.
UConn-West Virginia for the Big East title and Virginia-Virginia Tech for the right to play in the ACC Championship game.

It's Official

2007-11-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

I was all set to discuss the horrific performance from our team on Saturday but considering Coach Carr's retirement earlier this morning I think it's better to discuss that for later. For all the problems I have had with Coach Carr concerning coaching and his retention of certain assistants, he ran our program the right way, the Michigan way. For all the problems we've had with him in recent years, Coach Carr will always be remembered for bringing Michigan the 1997 National Championship and also for running a clean program with class. For that I am extremely proud to have had him as the head coach of my team. Thank you Coach Carr.

Update: MGoBlog says it best "I'll miss him sometimes, but mostly on Monday, not Saturday."

Gametime

2007-11-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

Just got into Ann Arbor and I can't even put into words all the thoughts that are running through my mind. It seems like it was yesterday we opened the 2004 season with a true freshman QB and then another true freshman took over the RB position as well. Now we sit here less than a day away from their last home games in a Michigan uniform. We have followed along through the highs and lows of these last four seasons and now we come to the end of this story. It may be unfair but it comes down to one game and hopefully we can look back on this story as a happy ending. Let's Go Blue!

Picks of the Week

2007-11-16T22:12:00.000-08:00

Last week was 2-4 bringing the season total to 31-24.

Virginia Tech -16 vs. Miami - The Hurricanes were embarrassed at home last week in the last game at the Orange Bowl and it doesn't get any easier as they have to travel to Blacksburg this week. The Hokies should have no problem covering after watching Miami play last week.

Missouri -7 at Kansas State - Chase Daniel has Missouri in the hunt for the Big XII and National Championships and I don't believe the Tigers will trip up this week before they play the Jayhawks next week. Kansas State has struggled since they beat Texas and I don't think they can hang with Missouri.

Georgia -6.5 (buying a point) vs. Kentucky - The Bulldogs are on a roll after beating up on Auburn and I don't expect it to stop. Dawgs beat up the Cats.

West Virginia -6 @ Cincinnati - These of two of my favorite teams from this season as I rode both of them for the majority of the year and here they are matched up against each other. West Virginia is looking like the team that led many to believe they could be in the hunt for a National Championship and I don't think Cincinnati has the athletes yet to get it done.

BYU -10 (buying half a point) at Wyoming - Wyoming was throttled by Utah last week so badly that their head coach gave the Utah head coach the finger. I see no reason why BYU can't do the same as the Cougars should win easily.

Two more days

2007-11-15T10:27:00.000-08:00

Less than 48 hours to go. Now that I think of it, there are many similarities between 2003 and this season. In addition to playing Ohio State the last game of the year for a Rose Bowl berth, that team had senior leaders at QB and RB that had a two game losing streak against Ohio State as well as losing to Oregon and beating Notre Dame 38-0 in the regular season. Here's to Henne, Hart and Long, closing their careers out the way Perry and Navarre did in 2003.

Big Ten Roundtable

2007-11-15T09:03:00.000-08:00

From Around the Oval:

1. Call me crazy, but it seems like the refs have been even worse this year than usual. I've noticed what seems like an unusal amount of questionable calls/non-calls go against the Buckeyes this season, but then, I am just a little biased, and the only referee performances I notice are the crappy ones. What have you thought of the Big Ten refs this season? Do any especially bad calls stand out to you?

I haven't noticed anything especially bad this season but I haven't watched too many Big Ten games outside of Michigan. The one really bad call I did watch was the Purdue/Penn State game when I believe Selwyn Lymon went clearly out of bounds after a reception and the ref kept winding the clock forcing Purdue to call a timeout they needed later in the game.

2. How is recruiting going for your team? Any incoming players that opponents should be concerned about for 2008, or will the cupboards be left bare? (Note: If you don't follow recruiting, please post an entertaining picture of some sort at this point.)

Recruiting is going well considering the terrible start it's the usual Michigan recruiting class with a solid group of incoming recruits. There are some holes on the OL and S but there's still plenty of time in the recruiting season and a strong finish could help out. It would be great to land the safeties we're recruiting at Long Beach Poly to continue building that pipeline and because I love it when Michigan has plenty of California representation on the team. I'd say the players most likely to be known for next season as freshmen will be RB Sam McGuffie, CB Boubacar Cissoko and possibly WR Daryl Stonum because we always seem to play true freshmen receivers as blockers to get experience but he could end up playing a bigger role if Mario and Adrian leave for the NFL.

3. The OSU-Michigan game is taken pretty seriously 'round these parts. For at least this week, the rivalry is all-consuming for just about every OSU fan I know. But let's face it, there's plenty more to hate (or at least dislike) in college football than our rivals. So, other than your team's current rival(s), what team, person, rule, concept, intangible object, etc., would you like to declare a rival, the better to focus your hatred on them/it?

Ignorant, arrogant USC fans that just hopped on the bandwagon, hopefully going away soon
Rocky Top
USC band playing the same song after every play
Tennessee
Pete Carroll
Phil Fulmer
Jeremiah Johnson (pounding the hammer on the M)
Sweatervest
Florida
Nebraska
Tim Tebow
Teams that get overrated by playing a weak schedule
BCS
Charlie Weis
Karl Dorrell for ruining UCLA Football
USC
West Coast homers that don't appreciate football outside of the Pac-10

It's Time

2007-11-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

Another year has passed and here we are again in a familiar situation. Last game of the regular season, Big Ten Championship on the line as well as a trip to the Rose Bowl. Coming into this season we had very high hopes. Thoughts of a trip to New Orleans crossed our minds at times. That was all dashed away in week 1 and then buried deep into the ground after week 2. But now we stand 10 weeks later playing for almost everything this senior class came back to play for. Beat Ohio State. Win the Bowl Game.

Jake, Chad and Mike could have left last season for the NFL but they didn't. These guys know, as well as you and I do, that this class' legacy rests on these last two games. No matter what records Henne and Hart break, if they do not get the job done on Saturday, there will always be that asterisk by them in the minds of many of the Michigan faithful because they never beat Ohio State. Not only for them, but for Coach Carr who will be retiring who has come under fire recently as well for his inability to beat Tressel and bowl games.

So here we are 3 days and 1 game away from cementing a legacy, a legacy for the Mike Hart, Chad Henne and Jake Long, a legacy for Coach Carr and another legend to add to the folklore of this program. Go Blue!

Week 12 Top 25

2007-11-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

1. LSU
2. Oregon
3. West Virginia
4. Oklahoma
5. Georgia
6. Kansas
7. Ohio State
8. Missouri
9. Virginia Tech
10. USC
11. Arizona State
12. Texas
13. Clemson
14. Virginia
15. Hawaii
16. Boise State
17. Illinois
18. Florida
19. Cincinnati
20. Wisconsin
21. Michigan
22. Kentucky
23. Auburn
24. Boston College
25. Tennessee

I said last week I almost moved LSU and Oregon ahead of Ohio State, Illinois took care of that.
I was never impressed with Boston College and these past two weeks show why, they were an average team with a below average schedule making them look good.
Obviously the big game this week is Michigan-Ohio State with the Big Ten Championship on the line, but there are a few other big conference showdowns as Cincinnati hosts West Virginia and Boston College heads to Clemson. Also Kentucky heads to Athens to take on Georgia.
UCLA was close to taking down Arizona State but couldn't finish the job. My potential upsets picks this week are Vandy at Tennessee and Northwestern at Illinois, young team probably ripe for a letdown after the big win last week.

Picks of the Week

2007-11-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

A perfect week last weekend going 3-0 to bring the season record to 29-20. We've only got a few weeks left so here's to closing it out strong.

Arkansas at Tennessee - This game is a pick em and I'm going with the Razorbacks. Darren McFadden is finally getting healthy and showing the form that made him the Heisman runner up last season. He'll keep making his push for the trophy this year with a big performance in Knoxville.

Purdue -4.5 vs. Michigan State - Purdue is coming off a tough loss to Penn State but they should be ready to handle a Spartan team that has lost 3 straight. The secondary of Michigan State will not be able to handle the WR's of Purdue and Curtis Painter should have a big game.

Utah -13.5 vs. Wyoming - The Utes are rolling coming off 3 straight victories and host the Cowboys of Wyoming who just had a tough loss to San Diego State. I expect Utah to keep the streak going with another big victory.

Oregon State -5 vs. Washington - The Huskies finally ended their losing streak by beating Stanford last week but it will at one as the Beavers look to rebound from their loss to USC and become bowl eligible with one more victory.

Utah State +24.5 vs. Boise State - Utah State is having a rough season but they have kept fighting as many of their losses are very close. Combine that with the trouble that Boise State has when playing away from the blue turf and Utah State should be able to keep it close enough to cover.

Hawaii -17 vs. Fresno State - Hawaii is like Boise State, great at home and bad on the road. Continuing with that trend since Hawaii is still unbeaten and at home I expect them to try to put on a show because they know they still need to rise a bit in the rankings to guarantee a BCS bowl bid.

My new theory on the Kobe situation, probably way off

2007-11-08T10:50:00.000-08:00

Last week it was reported that Kobe had vetoed a trade that was in place to send him to Chicago. It confirmed reports that Kobe was not willing to go to Chicago if Luol Deng would be sent back to Los Angeles. As I read this part of me thought that maybe Kobe doesn't want to leave anymore and this was before the two big wins over Phoenix and Utah. Kobe is known as a stubborn person and I think that he does not want to admit that he doesn't want to leave anymore. So he vetoes this trade and any other future trade to stay in Los Angeles while not admitting that he messed up. It's probably way off base but it's the first thing that came to mind when I saw the article.

Another interesting point which was brought up by a buddy of mine as well as an ESPN article is how much mileage is left in Kobe? If he opts out will he truly have the demand that we think he will? Granted if Kobe is all about winning as he says, and I believe him, then I wouldn't be shocked to see him opt out and sign for the MLE somewhere.

Week 11 Top 25

2007-11-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Oregon
4. West Virginia
5. Oklahoma
6. Kansas
7. Georgia
8. Missouri
9. Michigan
10. Virginia Tech
11. USC
12. Boston College
13. Arizona State
14. Texas
15. Hawaii
16. Auburn
17. Florida
18. Connecticut
19. Boise State
20. Clemson
21. Kentucky
22. Virginia
23. Florida State
24. Alabama
25. Cincinnati

I'm too far removed from Saturday to have any detailed thoughts on the games. I was tempted to move LSU and Oregon ahead of Ohio State but in a year where everyone is getting knocked off left and right, still being unbeaten counts for something.
Nothing very big this weekend between ranked teams besides the Auburn-Georgia game but there are plenty of intruiging matchups across the slate with Michigan-Wisconsin, Cal-USC, Texas-Texas Tech, Texas A&M-Missouri, Kansas-Oklahoma St., Florida St.-Virginia Tech and South Carolina-Florida.
Don't be surprised to see Arizona State fall again this week, UCLA is known for winning games they shouldn't even be close in.

Swamped

2007-11-08T00:31:00.000-08:00

with exams which end tomorrow, will have more up as soon as I get the chance.

Picks of the Week

2007-11-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

Another good enough week going 3-1 to bring the season total to 26-20. Here we go:

Oregon -6.5 (buying a point) vs. Arizona State - Oregon has been impressive all throughout this season and take on the surprising Sun Devils in Eugene. Just to be safe I'm buying the point to bring the line down to 6.5. Arizona State has not been tested this season and this will be their first true test heading to Autzen. I dont' believe they'll pass the test.

Missouri -4 @ Colorado - The Tigers continue to get the job done and I don't think that will change this week in Boulder. Chase Daniel has Missouri playing great ball and they will continue to try to stay on the fringe of the National Title chase.

Arizona -1 vs. UCLA - UCLA is about to go down the tubes and last week was just the start. When Kahlil Bell left the game last week the Bruins were unable to get anything done offensively. With Bell out for the season now it will continue to be tough for them, throw in the fact that Arizona is coming off of a big win over Washington with a late comeback I expect the Wildcats to keep rolling.

Not a good way to start for the Lakers and Dodger talk

2007-10-31T21:53:00.000-07:00

First up is the news that Grady Little has resigned and it looks like Joe Torre will become the next manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. I'm definitely excited to hear about this as Torre is a proven manager who has won multiple championships and should be able to help this young ballclub. It probably won't hurt that he'll want to prove to Steinbrenner and the Yankees that he's still got it as a great manager. And who knows maybe this means Arod is coming to the Dodgers?

I was in attendance at Staples Center last night as the Lakers opened the season against the Houston Rockets. From my side of the arena I didn't think Kobe was being booed but I had friends sitting at the other side who said he definitely was. But those boos turned to cheers near the end as the Lakers almost came back from a double digit deficit in the last minute and a half. I was very pleased with the way the team played defense at times, but then there was the big lapse in the third quarter, combined with Kobe forcing his shot too much and it spelled doom for the Lakers.

As I've mentioned plenty of times, and all Lakers fans know, Kobe will get frustrated when he doesn't get calls then tries too hard to get them by forcing the action and essentially playing 1 on 5 so it's tough for the guys around him to get involved in the game. Granted Lamar Odom and Javaris Crittendon did not play but still they should have won the game if they had hit their free throws. The team shot 60% with Kobe only shooting 67%, I have never seen Kobe miss so many free throws, I guess his wrist is hurting him. On the other positive, it was great to see Derek Fisher back in purple and gold. He knows how to play with Kobe and it showed as he was the only other Laker in double digits on a very efficient 6 of 9 shooting night.

That said, I’ve stopped discussing all the Kobe rumors as they’ve just gotten out of hand and I didn’t want to deal with every little rumor that spread as we know 99% of that stuff is not true. Honestly, I can’t imagine that the Lakers would’ve green lighted the trade that ESPN is reporting today that fell through which would’ve brought Ben Wallace and Ron Artest to the Lakers. It would make no sense and it would've been a terrible move. Also making things more difficult is Kobe's insistence on Luol Deng staying a Bull if he gets moved. Someone has to budge and we'll just have to wait and see who does, Kobe or the Lakers, or for myself and all other Lakers fans sakes either the front office makes another push for Jermaine O'Neal, as long as they don't have to give up Odom AND Bynum, one or the other is fine, or this team gets it together somehow once Lamar gets back and starts winning because as they say winning cures all and it may be the only thing that can save this situation. Below are pics I took from last night.

Week 10 Top 25

2007-10-31T18:08:00.000-07:00

1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Oregon
4. West Virginia
5. Oklahoma
6. Boston College
7. Arizona State
8. Kansas
9. Georgia
10. Missouri
11. Michigan
12. Virginia Tech
13. USC
14. Texas
15. Hawaii
16. Alabama
17. Auburn
18. Florida
19. Connecticut
20. South Carolina
21. South Florida
22. Boise State
23. Clemson
24. Kentucky
25. Wake Forest

For the first time in a while not a huge shakeup in the polls. Two big games this week with Oregon-ASU and LSU-Alabama.
I'm still not impressed with Boston College after they luckily pulled it out in Blacksburg on Thursday night. I expect them to trip up somewhere along the way.
Very impressed with what Oregon did considering their turnovers and the fact that Mike Belotti turned into Lloyd Carr once the Ducks took the 14 point lead with 8 and change to play in the game which almost backfired on him.
Georgia storming the field after the first TD was awesome. I couldn't believe Mark Richt actually called for it, I thought it was a great call considering Florida's dominance over Georgia in recent years.
The bottom part of the poll is a mess I can't find enough teams I think should be in there.

Picks of the Week

2007-10-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

With the downswing I've taken lately a winning 3-2 week looks great, although it was one FG away from being 4-1. That brings the season total to 23-19 and here's this weeks picks:

Oregon -3 vs. USC - After seeing Oregon demolish opponents week after week and putting up points in bunches I am continually impressed by their performances. With USC coming to Autzen, I believe they will be pumped and ready to go, especially knowing that this game could give them an even greater argument at why they belong in the National Championship race.

West Virginia -6 @ Rutgers - As I've said all along West Virginia is a horse I've rode all year long, except their one loss against South Florida which I sat out, and I'm not going to bail on them now. They have been impressive in all their wins not only covering but doing so by the smallest of margins to make it tough on their bettors. With that said I fully expect a WVU win by 7 in the last minute just to make me sweat it out.

South Carolina +125 @ Tennessee - The Gamecocks are coming off their upset loss to Vandy and they should be fired up and ready to go. Throw in Steve Spurrier's rivalry with Tennessee and Phil Fulmer and the Cocks should take this game. Tennessee has not been impressive at all this year and the Volunteer faithful will be coming for his job after this one's done.

Washington State +190 vs. UCLA - This may be a surprising pick but it follows along with UCLA and how they do things. They'll win a big game like they did last week only to come out and lay an egg this week. There have been numerous reports that the focus in practice thsi week was nothing like it was against Cal and I completely believe it. Throw in the fact that it is a road game at the Paloose where the Bruins have struggled in recent years, only 1-5 against them in the last 6 years and the one loss was a miracle come back win two years ago, and I fully expect the let down to occur in Pullman.

Recap from the Rose Bowl

2007-10-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I went to the Rose Bowl to take in the Cal-UCLA contest. Sure it was an upset but I definitely wasn't surprised to see UCLA pull it out, they pull out games they shouldn't every once in a while, but end up losing a good amount of games they shouldn't. Meaning they'll probably lose this weekend at Washington State.

Everyone is always on Karl Dorrell's case, and rightfully so, as I witnessed the most horrific decision I've ever seen from a college football coach at this game. For those that haven't heard about it or seen it, here's the recap. It's late in the 3rd quarter UCLA is down by one and now faces a 3rd and 1 on the Cal 38 yard line. I told my friends I was with I'd run a play action pass because you're going to go for it anywhere on the 38 and sure enough, play action called but nothing is there and Pat Cowan scrambles for no gain. So now we sit at 4th and 1, with a UCLA team that had been running the ball decently well against Cal and Dorrell calls a timeout. Sure it wasn't necessary but not terrible. Then out of the timeout UCLA attempts to draw Cal offsides, fails and ends up taking a delay of game penalty to punt back to Cal. Words cannot describe my thoughts when I saw this play unfold, as did the other Bruin fans around me at the Rose Bowl. The sad part is, Dorrell keeps pulling these upsets out and will keep saving his job. For the good of UCLA's program hopefully he'll be relieved of his duties soon, because there is no way he is going to do anything great with UCLA Football.

Coolest looking beer pong table ever, I'd love to get one of Staples Center or Crisler Arena.

Justin Forsett on the move, turned out good for him that ND pulled his scholarship.

TD, DeSean Jackson

Big Ten Roundtable

2007-10-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

This week from Black Shoe Diaries, here are my answers:

Pretend for a moment you're the little Japanese guy on Heroes. You can close your eyes, clench your fists, crap your pants and go back in time. If you could go back and change one play for your team this season, what would it be?

The obvious play would be the blocked field goal by Appalachian State at the end of the season opener. Granted it would've been an ugly win but in this year's insane college football season Michigan would still be in the hunt for the NC. The other choice would be the 2 point conversion Coach Carr went for in the 2nd half which forced the team to go for another 2 point conversion, both which failed. Had we kicked the first extra point, we would've kicked the 2nd one and been tied and headed to overtime.

We're now two-thirds of the way through the season. Everyone likes to debate who will be the Big Ten Coach of the Year. I want to know which Big Ten coach is a complete moron that should be demoted back to fullbacks coach on a team that runs the spread offense?

I'm gonna go with Joe Tiller here. He's got to learn that all that O that runs up the score on bad teams isn't going to cut it if he ever wants to win the Big Ten. Even in the years that he didn't play Michigan and Ohio State he couldn't get it done and now that both teams are back on the schedule I don't see it happening anytime soon.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. But the Bible doesn't say anything about your rival. Which current Big Ten player do you most wish played for your team?

I would probably say Dan Connor as it would look great playing LB for the Maize and Blue this year.

Bonus Question: It's probably too early to start thinking about next year. Well, unless you're Minnesota in which case you've been thinking about next year for a month or so already. Assess your team's future. Was this year your chance to make a run or is this just a rebuilding year with greater expectations in 2008? Or do you plan to suck in 2008 just as much as you suck now?

This was supposed to be the year we made our run. Henne and Hart as seniors along with the favorable schedule. I believe we'll be in contention for the Big Ten next season but end up falling short, I wouldn't be surprised to see an 8-4 regular season next year but at the same time I could just as easily see us going 10-2 or 11-1 . A lot will depend on the WR's, IMO, as Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington can declare for the draft and it would make the transition a whole lot easier for Ryan Mallett to come in with two experienced wideouts to count on.

Week 9 Top 25

2007-10-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Oregon
4. Oklahoma
5. West Virginia
6. Florida
7. Boston College
8. Virginia Tech
9. Arizona State
10. USC
11. South Florida
12. Kansas
13. Kentucky
14. Missouri
15. Hawaii
16. South Carolina
17. Georgia
18. Michigan
19. Texas
20. Alabama
21. Auburn
22. Penn State
23. Rutgers
24. Virginia
25. California

After seeing what Oregon did again this week I've moved them up to #3. They are one explosive football team and can put up points in a hurry, we'll see if I look like a genius or an idiot after the Ducks take on USC this weekend at Autzen. Still not buying the other unbeatens BC, Kansas and ASU, two of the three get a chance to prove it with BC taking on VT tomorrow and ASU taking on Cal, although they are currently reeling after two straight losses. Speaking of the Golden Bears they get the biggest fall for this week after their debacle at the Rose Bowl. I've been praising Jeff Tedford for his offensive prowess but I didn't see enough of it on Saturday. There's no reason UCLA should have beaten that Cal team but they did, Coach Tedford has to get this thing turned around quick with a visit to Tempe this weekend. Plenty of intruiging matchups starting with tomorrow, can't wait for this weekend's action to see what it brings.

Pictures from AA earlier this season

2007-10-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

As promised here are some pictures from the games I attended earlier this season against Oregon and Notre Dame. I'll have my top 25 up later as well as pictures/thoughts from the Rose Bowl this past Saturday.

Mallett getting ready to take the field for the first time.

Notre Dame Game

Hart going in for the TD

One of Mallett's 3 TD passes

Picture says it all.

Pictures from games earlier this season Part 1

2007-10-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

I've finally come around getting the pictures I took from the three games I attended in September, Cal-Tennessee and Michigan vs. Oregon and Notre Dame, here are a few of the good ones. I'll also have up later pictures from the Cal-UCLA game I attended on Saturday with some thoughts. First up Cal-Tennessee.

Tightwad Hill, where you can watch the games for free.

This is the DeSean Jackson Punt Return, first the catch...

Right after he made the sick juke...

And to the house.

Big Ten Blogger Roundtable

2007-10-22T01:38:00.000-07:00

1. Call your shot. We are halfway through the Big Ten season (or, at least, most of us are). What will be your team's final record? Where, if anywhere, will your team be spending late December/early January? Who will win the Big Ten?

Part of me really wants to say that we'll win out but I think that's going to be too much to ask with the games in East Lansing and Madison before the showdown with the Buckeyes. I'll say 7-1 in conference, 9-3 overall and another berth in the Rose Bowl where we'll end up probably losing to the Pac-10 representative because that's what we always do.

2. How is your team's coaching situation? Clearly, this varies from school to school, with some coaches approaching retirement (Carr/Paterno), some who are just starting out (Brewster/Fitzgerald), the unique case of Bill Lynch, and others who seem to be in their primes. If your coach is on the tail end of his career, where do you see things going from here? If he's still early in his tenure, any buyer's remorse? If he's in he's somewhere in the middle, are you happy or wishing things would go a different direction? How does your view correspond to the "majority" view among your school's fans?

With rumors of Coach Carr's departure having been floated around since even as early as 2004, I believe we are going to see his retirement sometime within the next 2-3 years, if not sooner. I have been on the Jeff Tedford bandwagon for a couple of years because of what he has done at Cal, turning around a program that was considered one of the worst in the nation, as well as handling the academic requirements at a great academic institution such as Berkeley. I had a lot of questions about Les Miles and although he was on my list, was not at the top of it, but my thoughts are shifting towards Miles and I'd say he is slightly ahead on my wish list now, call Miles 1a and Tedford 1b.

I'd say my view corresponds with the majority of Michigan fans, Miles seems to bring the best combination of having a connection with Michigan, while at the same time being open to new ideas and evolving with the game. He is also willing to get great coordinators as evidenced with Crowton and Pellini.

BONUS BASKETBALL QUESTION: If you plan to cover basketball, give us a brief outlook for your team. Who is your best player? What do you expect from the team?

I'll cover basketball as much as I can depending on what games I'll end up getting here on the west coast. It will help that I have the Big Ten Network but the time difference will also play a factor. I expect good things from this team, but I've always had a high expectation for our basketball program. I believe we can make the tourney this year, but I'll have to wait and see depending on how our guys pick up Coach Beilein's system.

Picks of the Week

2007-10-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

After an atrocious 0-5, the season record now stands at 20-17, let's see if we can turn it around:

Alabama vs. Tennessee Under 55.5 - Two bets here with Bama as a pick em and the under for the game as well. Bama has struggled the past two weeks to beat inferior teams but with the rivalry game this week I expect them to come out firing on all cylinders. Traditionally this game is very low scoring and I believe it will be with the quality of both defenses.

Cincinnati -9.5 @ Pittsburgh - Cincinnati is coming off their loss to Louisville, their first of the season. They will be ready to go to take on a Pitt team that has not played well all year long and I don't expect them to turn it around at this point.

Louisiana Tech +15.5 vs. Boise State - Boise State seems to struggle away from the Blue Turf and Louisiana Tech has given teams hard times when they play them at home so I believe this game will be closer than most think.

West Virginia -24 vs. Mississippi State - The Mountaineers should continue to roll as they take on the Bulldogs from Mississippi State. WVU has taken care of business easily for most of the season and I expect them to continue their trend of covering ATS.

Week 8 Top 25

2007-10-18T01:11:00.000-07:00

The horrible betting weekend kept me away for a while, also gave me some time to think about this weeks poll with the big shakeup up top.

1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Oklahoma
4. California
5. South Florida
6. West Virginia
7. Oregon
8. Boston College
9. South Carolina
10. Kentucky
11. Florida
12. Virginia Tech
13. Arizona State
14. USC
15. Kansas
16. Auburn
17. Hawaii
18. Cincinnati
19. Georgia
20. Texas
21. Michigan
22. Tennessee
23. Texas Tech
24. Penn State
25. Virginia

I didn't penalize the losses as much as many people, I still believe that LSU is one of the two best teams in the country and Cal, if not for the inexplicable brain fart from Kevin Riley, would have won that game without their starting QB. Hawaii was unimpressive at San Jose State but they're still unbeaten and it counts for something this crazy season. Michigan returns to the poll as well with the big win over Purdue, which was not even as close as it looked as 2 TD's were scored in the last minute to cut the deficit to 27. Some more showdowns this week starting with South Florida heading to Rutgers as well as Auburn-LSU and Florida-Kentucky.

Picks of the Week

2007-10-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

Got back to a winning week going 3-2, to take the season to 20-12, here's this week's edition:

Northwestern -6.5 vs. Minnesota - The Wildcats come off their big win against Michigan State to face a Minnesota team that continues to struggle. I don't see how the Gophers will keep it close.

Wisconsin +7 @ Penn State - Wisconsin is on the road for a second week in a row this time to Happy Valley to face Penn State. This game will definitely be a close one and I can definitely see the Badgers winning this game out right.

Illinois -5 @ Iowa - The Fighting Illini are ranked and ready to continue their winning ways coming off their big win over Wisconsin. Iowa is having big time problems this year and it should continue as they face the Illini.

Indiana +3.5 @ Michigan State - Indiana needs one more win to become bowl eligible and its still October, who would've ever thought. That is enough for the Hoosiers to come out fired up and take on a Spartan team coming off their loss to Northwestern. IU will get ready to bowl after this game.

Boston College -13.5 @ Notre Dame - This is the weekly bet against Notre Dame because they are that bad bet. BC is undefeated and in the top 5 heading into South Bend where they have won their previous two trips. Matt Ryan will continue to lead his campaign for the Heisman and the Eagles roll.

Big Ten Blogger Roundtable

2007-10-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

1. We’re halfway through the season. Practically the entire national media has declared that the Big Ten is having a down year. Is this cyclical, or is the conference actually becoming less and less relevant? What is your team doing to enhance or destroy the conference’s reputation?

It's a cyclical thing right now. Just like the Pac-10 was considered down the past few years and now they're up again. Michigan has done plenty to destroy the conference's reputation this season with the way the season started.

2. Illinois is winning football games. Football games! Illinois! How much longer will we have to put up with this crap?

For a couple of seasons but then Zook will do like he did at Florida, recruit great talent only to be a terrible coach of said talent.

3. I’m a man! I’m 32! For you, fair Big Ten Blogger, where does the line get drawn when, as Sunday Morning QB eloquently states, “second-guessing the split-second decisions of college kids under extreme physical duress”? Hypothetically speaking, would you settle for saying that your underwhelming quarterback “simply isn’t performing well and needs to be replaced”, or would you call him “a functional retard that is one drool cup shy of riding the short bus to practice”?

I've definitely toned down my frustration with players, although more of it has to do with our coaching staff. I've never really gone over the edge and gone to insulting the players and as I get older it'll probably happen less.

4. Finally, a quick two-part question. Which player or players on your team have you been pleasantly surprised with this season, and what is the most important game remaining on your schedule?

I think the easy answer for this one is Morgan Trent. There was a lot of concern coming into the season as he was supposed to be our #1 CB but he's done a good job so far. The corners have been the least of our worries on defense. Definitely Ohio State is the most important, no matter what has happened this season, Henne and Hart have yet to beat Ohio State and although they have done great things for this team and this program I'm willing to bet if they do not bring home a W against the Buckeyes this year there will always be that asterisk next to their names in the minds of many Wolverine fans.

Week 7 Top 25

2007-10-10T00:56:00.000-07:00

1. LSU
2. California
3. Ohio State
4. Oklahoma
5. West Virginia
6. Oregon
7. South Carolina
8. South Florida
9. Boston College
10. Cincinnati
11. Florida
12. USC
13. Missouri
14. Hawaii
15. Illinois
16. Arizona State
17. Georgia
18. Kentucky
19. Wisconsin
20. Florida State
21. Auburn
22. Texas
23. Tennessee
24. Kansas
25. Indiana

Another week, more craziness in the polls. It's a very weird year as there are arguments to move everyone outside of the top 3. A year like this there'll probably be only one if any undefeated team when the bowl season rolls around. I'm not that high on BC as many are, while I am very high on Cincinnati. A lot of teams we're not used to in the top 25, for football at least are in the poll, you'd think basketball season came early the way these basketball schools are all throughout it. Only two games this week involving ranked teams as LSU heads to Kentucky, and we will see if Missouri is for real with a trip to Norman. But just because teams are playing non-ranked teams we've seen throughout this crazy season that anything is possible so nothing would surprise me at this point.

Picks of the Week

2007-10-04T19:02:00.001-07:00

After an atrocious 2-5 week we look to turn things around here with the season standings now at 17-10.

Cincinnati +4 at Rutgers - The Bearcats have been the one constant this season not only winning but covering every step of the way. They take on a Rutgers team that they defeated last year and is hurting after their loss to Maryland. I'm gonna keep riding the wave with the Bearcats.

Wisconsin +120 at Illinois - Yes I believe Wisconsin is a bit overrated, but an underdog at Illinois??? I just can't buy that, I'm taking the Badgers as I don't think Juice Williams is quite ready to take it to the next level yet, this week at least.

Indiana -13.5 vs. Minnesota - the Hoosiers picked up a big win at Iowa last week and should continue their winning ways against a bad Golden Gopher team as Lewis to Hardy will light it up.

Virginia Tech +5.5 @ Clemson - Clemson pulled their usual choke job once they get close to the top 10 and nows the part of the season where they fold and drop a few games in a row. I'll take the Hokies and the points.

LSU -7 vs Florida - Florida comes off the home loss to Auburn while LSU struggled for a half with Tulane. LSU is my #1 team in the country and they will play like it this week after they self destructed at Florida last year. The Glenn Dorsey will be causing problems for Tebow and co. all day and whether its Flynn or Perrilloux the Bayou Bengals have plenty of other weapons to put points up on the board.

Week 6 Top 25

2007-10-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

1. LSU
2. California
3. USC
4. Ohio State
5. South Florida
6. Kentucky
7. West Virginia
8. Oklahoma
9. Wisconsin
10. Boston College
11. Georgia
12. Oregon
13. South Carolina
14. Texas
15. Virginia Tech
16. Cincinnati
17. Hawaii
18. Arizona State
19. Purdue
20. Rutgers
21. Clemson
22. Missouri
23. Auburn
24. Kansas State
25. Illinois

Plenty of movement in this week's poll. A lot of unbeatens went down but not enough teams to take their place so I did not make many drastic moves in the poll. Gone are Penn State, Alabama and Michigan State while Auburn, Kansas State and Illinois make their entrance. After watching Cal again I am more convinced than ever that they can/will take down USC and the road win at Oregon is much more impressive than any win that USC has put up so far this year. It is really weird having South Florida, Kentucky and Boston College in the top 10 as well as Cincinnati in the top 20 but it's that kind of year. Some more shakeups will occur with the Red River Shootout, Kentucky-South Carolina, who would've that that would be a big game, and LSU-Florida. Here's to another great week of College Football.

Days like Saturday are why I love college football

2007-10-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

It was sort of ironic that Saturday turned out the way it did considering my Friday night at the Dodgers game. While tailgating one of my friends asked me if I was still watching college football this season. I was sort of surprised at this question considering my friends know my obsession with the sport. But my friend's question shows the thought process of the typical LA area fan. He's not a college football fan by any means but he says to me something along the lines of considering the way the season started I would've assumed you stopped watching because you have nothing left to play for. His reasoning was we no longer had a shot at the national championship so considering the expectations coming into the season there was no need to follow the team anymore. I can tell you that if USC loses two games in a row the bandwagon would empty so fast it wouldn't even be funny as most people out here think that way as well.

Then came Saturday which started with another sloppy ugly win for Michigan. I don't even know where to start with this coaching staff. I am, along with many others, continually disgusted at the playcalling by Mike DeBored, and as MGoBlog says "Throwing Rock since 1969." Everyone knows first down is a stretch run left, the exact same f(*#ing play. At least when Henne was playing it changed up a little bit but even then the plays are still predictable. I can't remember the last time I saw a play action pass that wasn't a rollout that was thrown to the tight end. Is it too much to ask to perhaps maybe throw in a play action on first down when the defense is stacking the box expecting it go left to Mike Hart? It's no wonder we get beat every season with all the talent we have because our coaching cannot adapt to the times.

After the Michigan game ended I immediately turned to the Cal-Oregon game so I could show my friends why I endorse Jeff Tedford as our next head coach. Tedford opened with a pass, then a play action pass, something I couldn't even tell you the last time I saw Michigan call. Yes Tedford is a west coast guy but I'm gonna hold onto the dream of bringing him out to AA once Coach Carr retires. His history of developing QB's with our tradition of QB's would be a perfect match. He would bring our offense out of the dark ages and back to competing on the national level. Right now we can only play in the Big Ten and then get beat whenever we go out of conference.

Now onto the big story of the weekend which was 5 of the top 10 teams losing. Days like this are why I watch college football, no matter what is on paper any team can go down any day, as Michigan fans saw first hand on September 1st. No other sport brings so much intensity into each game because each game is a playoff. I'll have my new top 25 up later and obviously it will feature a lot of new changes. It's amazing to see this coming Saturday which was supposed to feature a number of big time games including Texas-Oklahoma and Florida-LSU lose some of their luster as 3 of the previously undefeated teams went down this past weekend as it seems like both Texas and Oklahoma looked ahead and were not focused on the game at hand. Cal came through with a big time win at Oregon and now are the next team up after LSU and USC, although from what I've seen this season I believe Cal can beat USC. We still have to wait over a month until that game though and as we saw last weekend we can't get ahead of ourselves.

Picks of the Week

2007-09-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

Great week last week sweeping the slate going 5-0 and bringing the season to 15-5, I've got a lot of games I like this week so let's hope we can keep it rolling:

Alabama +1.5 vs. Florida State (Neutral Site) - The Crimson Tide should be fired up coming off the home OT loss to Georgia. Florida State has not shown much this year, losing to Clemson and ugly wins against UAB and Colorado. The Seminoles offense has not shown the improvement many expected with Jimbo Fisher heading there and I don't think it will change this week. The Tide will roll.

Oklahoma at Colorado - Over 55.5 - The Sooners have been putting up points like crazy and that will continue in Boulder.

California +7 (buying 0.5 points) @ Oregon - Cal is too good to be a TD underdog even at Oregon. The Ducks have put up points in bunches but I still believe they are a bit overrated. Cal knows the Ducks very well, especially with Tedford being the former OC under Bellotti. I think Cal will win outright which is worth the bet at +200, but 7 points is too much to pass up.

Texas -13.5 (buying 1 point) vs. Kansas State - The Wildcats upset the Longhorns last year and I think they will be out for revenge. That combined with the fact that Texas started to put up some points last week, albeit against Rice, I believe the Horns will be ready to make a statement before they head to the Red River Shootout next week.

Purdue -20.5 (buying 1.5 points) vs. Notre Dame - One of the rules of this year so far is bet on whoever is playing Notre Dame and we will continue that trend this week. Just to play it on the safe side I'm buying 1.5 points but the Boilermakers should win in a rout. Purdue has been scoring over 47 points per game and there is no way the Irish O can put up even half of that.

Cincinnati -13.5 (buying 1 point) at San Diego State - Another trend of the year has been to ride the Cincinnati Bearcats who are rolling with another blowout victory last week. This week they travel to face the Aztecs who have had a tough going this year. The Bearcats are starting to get national recognition and it will continue with the win this week.

Clemson -2.5 (buying 0.5 points) at Georgia Tech - After what was thought to be an impressive season opening win at Notre Dame, the Yellow Jackets have floundered and been very disappointing. The Davis/Spiller combo will be too much for them to handle as the Tigers pound the ground game to a victory.

Week 5 Top 25

2007-09-25T00:27:00.000-07:00

1. LSU
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. West Virginia
5. Florida
6. California
7. Texas
8. Ohio State
9. Wisconsin
10. Oregon
11. Rutgers
12. Kentucky
13. Boston College
14. Clemson
15. South Carolina
16. Georgia
17. South Florida
18. Virginia Tech
19. Penn State
20. Alabama
21. Cincinnati
22. Purdue
23. Missouri
24. Michigan State
25. Arizona State

The big gainer of the week is Kentucky after their impressive win at Fayetteville. While the two biggest losers are Penn State dropping 9 spots as well as Louisville who is now completely out of the top 25 after their pathetic performance against a previously winless Syracuse team. Other than that just a bit of shuffling teams around a few spots as well as Missouri and Arizona State joining the poll. It will be a big week as Florida takes on Auburn, who is reeling but still could be dangerous, Alabama taking on Florida State in Jacksonville and the marquee matchup of the weekend California traveling to Oregon which should determine who is in line to take their shot at USC.

And we have some life

2007-09-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

As great as it was to get the first win, we knew that it didn't mean much considering how bad Notre Dame is. And now after opening the conference slate with a win over Penn State the season still has a lot of potential. Sure a lot of the confidence in this team is gone after the opening two weeks but they are showing signs of life, at least in the Big Ten race. With the majority of the other teams playing styles that match up well against our strengths I wouldn't be surprised to see this team still win a Big Ten title, then end up losing to whoever finishes 2nd in the Pac-10 whether it be USC, Cal or Oregon.

Sure there are things that are still frustrating watching this team, the offensive playcalling. But I did see some great things that most have already noted. Mallett has done a great job at times making plays such as the 3rd and 11 where he scrambled around and found Mathews for a 12 yard gain and first down on the last drive. Also gotta love his pocket presence standing in the face of the blitz and delivering the ball to Mathews that time in the red zone, I forgot exactly when it was. Props also have to go out to the defense only allowing 3 FG's especially after two of them were in the red zone. That said there is plenty of work to be done but the schedule seems to give us a break when we need it with Northwestern and Eastern Michigan the next two weeks, which should allow us to ease Henne back into the lineup. But I must say I am extremely proud of the fight this team has shown from getting up off the canvas. They will be a player in the Big Ten race and I'm ready to watch it unfold.

Picks of the Week

2007-09-20T22:18:00.001-07:00

Last week was a barely winning week going 3-2, bringing the overall season to 10-5. Let's hope we can make this week better.

Michigan State -11 @ Notre Dame - We all saw how bad Notre Dame was last week and it won't get any better with the Spartans coming to South Bend. Yes, the Michigan State team that has won 5 in a row in South Bend, expect the streak to continue.

West Virginia -23.5 (buying a point) vs. East Carolina - The line is actually set at 24.5 but I'm buying a point and going with the Mountaineers. WVU has been rolling all season long and covering as well so I will continue to roll with them.

Cincinnati -24 vs. Marshall - The Bearcats are also on a roll as they have easily handled every team they have faced so far this year. Marshall on the other hand is winless and struggling to even compete in their games. Expect more of the same as Cincinnati should take this going away.

Purdue -13.5 @ Minnesota - The Golden Gophers have struggled all year long with losses to Bowling Green and Florida Atlantic with their one win being a squeaker over Miami (OH). They have allowed over 36 points per game in this stretch, while Purdue rolls in undefeated and averaging almost 50 points per game. Not a good combination for the Gophers as the Boilermakers should blow this team out.

Oregon -17 @ Stanford - The Ducks look like they are a force to be reckoned with in the Pac-10 this season and they get to open up the conference slate at a Stanford Cardinal team that is coming off their first win of the year against San Jose State. 3 weeks ago UCLA blew this team out 45-17, and I expect a similar score, if not more from the Ducks as they should keep their momentum going into next weeks big showdown vs. California.

Big Ten Roundtable

2007-09-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

1. Time to break out the crystal ball. I want to know what happens at the END of the season. Give me your offensive and defensive Players of the Year in the Big Ten along with Coach of the Year and why.

Offensive POY: Mike Hart. Michigan will continue to give him plenty of carries as he will determine how far this team will go this season.
Defensive POY: Dan Connor. Overshadowed the past few years by Paul Posluzny, it's his time to shine this season
Coach of the Year: Mark Dantonio. He's done a great job in getting the Spartans to 3-0 and I don't think we'll see a John L. Smith type collapse this year

2. With the upsets, close games, and head scratchers so far, every game we thought was going to be important has changed. Michigan State is 3-0, for Pete's sake, and they look good doing it. Pick the three games on the Big Ten Schedule that will determine the Big Ten Champion. Bonus Points for not picking three games on your own schedule.

1. Wisconsin at Ohio State - the obvious choice as the top front runners for the Big Ten collide on November 3rd
2. Penn State vs. Ohio State
3. Penn State vs. Wisconsin

3. How many games, this season, have you been to? How many games have you tailgated at? If you have tailgated, name your beverage of choice. If you answered no to the previous questions, hang your head in shame, or at least give a good story about watching the game in enemy territory and giving the bouncer the finger when he asked you to quiet down.

So far I have been to three college football games this season, the first one was not a Big Ten contest as I was up in Berkeley for California-Tennessee. Drinking consisted of Miller Lite during the Michigan-Appalachian State game, then once I got to Berkeley I drank whatever my Cal friends gave me because I really needed it.

Second game was Michigan-Oregon, no tailgating because I had plenty to drink the night before. The third game was last week's Michigan-Notre Dame where due to our losing streak I switched it up and drank at a game I was attending which consisted of a Miller Lite and 3 Irish Car Bombs at the Brown Jug.

Bitter/Angry Bonus Question!

4. As the Big Ten Season kicks off, the Conference is in somewhat of a difficult position nationally. Needing some momentum after a horrid BCS performance, the Conference needed some momentum early in the season. It hasn't gotten it. The first three weeks have been abysmal. Is this just a down year for the Big Ten, is there a change Nationally that the Big Ten just hasn't picked up on, is there some truth to the "Big Ten Style of Play" that everyone harps on, or has college football simply caught up? What so you think and why? I may be beating a dead horse, but no one looks good this year and I'm at a loss as to why.

I think it's a combination of factors as partially it is a down year, the other part being the Big Ten Style of Play IMO. Watching plenty of Pac-1o games out here as well as SEC contests there is definitely a difference in the offense in the Pac-10 and defense in the SEC. The offenses in the Big Ten don't play nearly as fast as they do out west, and the defenses are not up to the level of those in the south right now. But it will adjust itself as every conference goes through these times, much like the Pac-10 was going through a few years ago.

Blogpoll Roundtable 3.2

2007-09-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

1. Handicap your team's chances to win your conference championship. If your team is not the favorite who is?

After 3 weeks I'd say our chances of winning the conference championship lie around 35%. Just a rough estimate. I still think this team could pull it together and get it done considering we do play in the Big Ten where there are no other spread offenses the like of Oregon or even Appalachian State. I'd say the favorite right now is Wisconsin/Ohio State, I can't make up my mind. Both teams have not looked overly impressive but they are getting the job done.

2. Outline the (realistic) best case and worst case scenarios for your team.

Best Case: The team that we thought was showing up at the beginning of the season does show up we run the table and make it to the Rose Bowl, then get beat by whatever team in the Pac-10 that shows up with lots of speed and spread ability.

Worst Case: Only getting wins over Northwestern, Eastern Michigan and Minnesota while losing to everyone else leaving the team at 4-8 and making the Year of Infinite Pain of 2 years ago look like a great season.

3. We're only 3 games into the season but teams and storylines are starting to take shape. Compare your team to a character or theme from a fable or children's tale.

Even though MGoBlog has already said it I have to agree with him and say Humpty Dumpty.

4. Imagine you're coach of your team. Give three specific changes you'd implement immediately which you think would have the biggest impact on improving your team.

First, as Brian said in his response, stop making everything so damn predictable. We all know when a true freshman wide receiver enters the game it's going to be a run. We all know the first play of every game is run to the left side.

Second, as Dave from Maize N' Brew said, stop with the soft zone.

Finally I would get rid of Mike Gittleson and the outdated Strength and Conditioning coaching that our program currently uses. Our players seem to get slower once they get to Ann Arbor and we need to get with the times and get rid of the outdated H.I.T. technique that pretty much every other school in the country has stopped using.

5. USC, LSU/Florida, and Oklahoma have established themselves as frontrunners in the early going. Which other team or teams are you eyeballing as potential BCS party crashers?

Definitely have to throw in West Virginia as they have impressed. Also need to look at the winner of the California/Oregon contest next week as a possibility as well. I would also mention South Florida but their win over Auburn doesn't look nearly as good as it did a week ago.

Week 4 Top 25

2007-09-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Been busy with orientation starting for school so I'm a bit behind. I still have to get to both the Blogpoll and Big Ten Roundtable's as well as still put up the pictures from the three games I attended so far this season. But first here's this week's top 25.

1. LSU
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. West Virginia
5. Florida
6. California
7. Wisconsin
8. Ohio State
9. Texas
10. Penn State
11. Oregon
12. Boston College
13. Alabama
14. Rutgers
15. Louisville
16. South Carolina
17. Clemson
18. South Florida
19. Texas A&M
20. Virginia Tech
21. Kentucky
22. Hawaii
23. Purdue
24. Cincinnati
25. Michigan State

Not much changes up top. Yes USC was impressive in their win over Nebraska but that was expected, Texas drops a few spots for struggling again. Big movers include Oregon, Boston College and Alabama. The bottom part of the top 25 looks like it's basketball season with Kentucky, Cincinnati and Michigan State making their entrance.

Make or Break Time

2007-09-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

The battle of winless teams is only hours away but I feel an unusual calmness about myself as we head into this game. Sure it could be partly because I feel as if the season is over but I just have this weird sense of confidence that we will get the job done today. I believe in Ryan Mallett being able to get the job done and most especially I believe that Mike Hart will not let this team lose today.

This team is at a crossroads today. If they do not get the job done today there's no telling how bad this season could be. I've told my friends I believe this team will implode if we lose today. Watching Hart start yelling at Adam Kraus and then shaking the coaches off in staying in the game we could see a major meltdown if we don't get the W today. But I believe in this team today and I don't think it will happen.

Sure we're upset at the way this season has started but there's still 10 more games to be played. Do I expect us to run the table? Absolutely not. But I do expect this team to play much better than we have the first two weeks and continue to improve and as long as that's the case we will have a chance to win every game we play and that's all that I ask for. The effort, which it seems we have been lacking for the past two weeks, needs to show up. People across the country are all ready to continue to hammer on us if we don't get the job done. We cannot let this happen. I have faith in this team to turn it around starting today. For everyone heading out to the Big House let's get behind this team and show them the support they need. Let's Go Blue! Beat the Irish!

Picks of the Week

2007-09-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

Was in Chicago during the week so I didn't have much of a chance to update and also give one of my plays of the week which was West Virginia -16.5 against Maryland which covered but here are the other picks of the week. Last week was a losing one at 2-3 to bring the record to 7-3.

Vanderbilt -5.5 vs. Mississippi - Both teams are coming off losses but Ole Miss is still struggling to get it turned around under the Orgeron. The Commodores have homefield advantage and the great duo of Chris Nickson to Earl Bennett and that will be the deciding factor.

Louisville at Kentucky - Over 77 - People who have been following Louisville know their offensive prowess as seen by their 131 points in two games. Those that watched last week also know how bad their defense is as they gave up 42 points to MTSU. This game could go either way but I expect a lot of points to be put up in this in-state rivalry. Andre Woodson and the Wildcats are hungry for a win over the Cardinals and the offense will give them a great chance to do it.

Georgia Tech -6.5 vs. Boston College - After their big opening week win at Notre Dame, the Yellow Jackets rolled through Samford to set up this weeks ACC showdown against the Eagles in Atlanta. Tashard Choice should have another big game and the Jon Tenuta led D should give BC plenty of problems.

USC -9.5 @ Nebraska - The Cornhusker faithful have been waiting for this big time statement game to tell the nation that they are back. Unfortunately it won't happen this week against USC. Many people point to Sam Keller's prior experience against USC but you still must remember he lost a 18 point first half lead the last time he played them. Also with the USC coaching staff familiar with him they will be able to have the schemes ready to confuse him. Whenever USC is on upset alert they always come out with the big W. If you look at all their losses the past few years they are in conference games and to under the radar teams such as Oregon State last year. The Trojans should roll in this one.

Cincinnati -7 @ Miami (OH) - The Bearcats led by Brian Kelly have jumped out to a great start this season only allowing 6 total points along with the big 34-3 win over Oregon State last week. Cincinnati should keep rolling against a Miami (OH) team that struggled to beat Ball State.

Week 3 Top 25

2007-09-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

1. LSU
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. West Virginia
5. Florida
6. California
7. Texas
8. Louisville
9. Wisconsin
10. Ohio State
11. UCLA
12. Georgia Tech
13. Penn State
14. Arkansas
15. South Carolina
16. Rutgers
17. Nebraska
18. Clemson
19. Hawaii
20. Virginia Tech
21. South Florida
22. Oregon
23. Texas A&M
24. South Florida
25. Boston College

A few changes two weeks into the season. LSU is my new #1, I was extremely impressed with their play against Virginia Tech. They were great on both sides of the ball and I expect it to continue this season. Also South Carolina makes their entry into the poll with the impressive win Between the Hedges at Georgia. South Florida is also in after their big win at Auburn. A lot of people are expecting the big 3 in the Big East to win the title but don't sleep on the Bulls.

Is this the beginning of our decline???

2007-09-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

I brought this topic up with some of my friends after last week and it seems like I may be right. Is this the start of our decline? Every major football power in the past 20-30 years has gone through a bad stretch where they had losing seasons and missed bowl games, everyone except for Michigan. USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Penn State, Alabama, and others have dealt with losing seasons. I'm sure none of the fans of the aforementioned teams saw their decline coming, much like no one could have ever imagined Michigan starting this season 0-2.

The coaching staff has been getting by with just enough. The Big Ten Championships and the Rose Bowl Berths have given the coaching staff a pass when it can be seen that Michigan has not been able to compete at the elite level the past few years. The coaching staff is too stubborn to make any changes into the modern era of football and we are seeing the problems that arise when that happens. Everybody knows the first play of any Michigan offense is run left, and when any true freshman receiver gets into the game it's a running play. Tendencies like this are easily picked up by any fan watching Michigan casually, you think opposing coaching staffs can't pick up on that while studying film for a living?

Changes must occur this offseason otherwise this will continue. This era of unlimited scholarships and huge talent gaps between teams is gone. No longer can the Michigan philosophy of line up and ram it down the opponents throat be implemented successfully. We have seen what happens when we try that against teams with the same or more talent than we have. As this season goes on there will be more and more talk about Coach Carr's successor and it is already heating up as there is talk all over the place about Les Miles due to his connections to Michigan. I'm sure more names will emerge, my choice is Jeff Tedford from Cal, there are also a lot of others that want Greg Schiano from Rutgers, or even some wanting coaches with NFL experience such as Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher which I find unrealistic but who knows. It will be an interesting week as Michigan faces Notre Dame with both teams 0-2 for the first time ever, and extremely desperate for a win. Mike Hart has guaranteed victory, let's hope this team can come through before it implodes.

Picks of the Week

2007-09-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

So it looks like the College Football gods gave me a good week so I wouldn't give up completely on the sport, although I would've given it all up for the Michigan win. So I started the season with a bang going 5-0. So without further adieu, here's this week's picks.

West Virginia -24 @ Marshall - The Mountaineers rolled up the points on Western Michigan last week and I expect nothing less this week. This year's WVU squad could be like the 2005 Texas squad led by Vince Young that seemed to cover the spread and the over every single week.

California -14 @ Colorado State - The Golden Bears rolled on last week against the Vols and they should do the same to the Rams who lost a close one in OT to their instate rival Colorado last week.

TCU +9 @ Texas - the Horned Frogs come off the shutout win over Baylor while the Longhorns struggled with Arkansas State last week. This is a big game for TCU and I expect them to come out and give the Horns everything they got and possibly even win but I think the points are the way to go.

Hawaii -27.5 @ Louisiana Tech - Not many saw Colt Brennan put up 416 yards and 6 TD's in the first half and he will be able to continue to rack up the yards against the Bulldogs. Hawaii should roll them easily.

LSU -11.5 vs. Virginia Tech - The Bayou Bengals easily dismantled the Mississippi State Bulldogs last week and should be hyped up and ready to go for this big game on Saturday night primetime. The Hokies struggled to put away East Carolina last week and will have difficulties trying to put hold this high powered LSU offense.

Week 2 Top 25

2007-09-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

1. USC
2. LSU
3. West Virginia
4. Oklahoma
5. Texas
6. Louisville
7. California
8. Wisconsin
9. Florida
10. Ohio State
11. Georgia
12. Virginia Tech
13. Arkansas
14. Auburn
15. UCLA
16. Georgia Tech
17. Texas A&M
18. Hawaii
19. Penn State
20. Clemson
21. Rutgers
22. TCU
23. Nebraska
24. Boise State
25. Tennessee

So there we go after one week of play and of course Michigan belongs nowhere near that list after last weeks play. I was very impressed with California and expect them to do big things this year in the Pac-10. I have always been a proponent of Jeff Tedford for next Michigan Head Coach and that has not changed. Also have to give a shout to Colt Brennan and his huge first half that he put up last Saturday. He'll need to continue to do that if he wants any shot at the Heisman. Two new entries are Georgia Tech coming off the impressive win over Notre Dame in South Bend and Clemson. This week will tell us a lot as there are a number of big time matchups with Virginia Tech traveling to LSU, Miami at Oklahoma and TCU at Texas.

What more is there to say

2007-09-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

It's been very difficult dealing with the debacle that was last Saturday. I haven't read, watched, listened to much about the game but two points I wanted to make about it. First is the unnecessary use of the 2 point conversion. In the 3rd quarter it was way too early for the coaching staff to go for 2. Was the coaching staff really concerned that we wouldn't score again and would need a FG to potentially tie the game? Replace the two missed two point conversions with two extra points and its a tie game going into overtime. The other point is on Crable's blocking on last FG block. Rule number one of PAT/FG blocking is always take the inside man. Granted I only saw the replay two times because I couldn't stomach it anymore but from what I saw it was the man inside of Crable that got to the ball untouched.

It was very tough getting from San Francisco to Berkeley after the game to watch Cal-Tennessee. Everywhere we went it was tough to stomach the smack talk coming from all the fans. At least the Cal fans were very classy but the Tennessee fans we encountered were what was expected from them and I'll leave it at that. It was probably the best thing for me to go to that game as it made me completely forget about the debacle. I've got some pictures that I'll put up later including some of the PR TD that DeSean Jackson had. Speaking of which, it reminded me of something Steve Breaston would do as we have seen Breaston make many jukes like that in his day, he just wouldn't be able to take it to the house. The difference is that Jackson has ridiculous breakaway speed that Breaston didn't.

And now I am in Ann Arbor for the next 10 days to watch the Oregon and Notre Dame games. This whole season was supposed to be something special but that has been taken from us 1 week into the year. Typically during my trips from Los Angeles to Detroit I get hyped up and there's a lot of excitement as I know I'm heading to the Big House but that was missing during my flight today. Don't get me wrong I will be in the Stadium these next two weeks screaming my head off and supporting my team but it's like the wind has been taken out of my sails for now. I'm ready for the second wind to kick in on Saturday morning. The optimist in me still wants to believe we can run the rest of the table and make the Rose Bowl, then the realist in me which witnessed last Saturday knows that if Appalachian State was able to tear up our D like that Oregon is definitely capable. I just hope this Michigan team comes out and plays like I know it's capable of and that's all I can ask for.

Picks of the Week

2007-08-31T00:06:00.000-07:00

Here we go on the eve of the first full day of College Football Picks of the Week is back. Last year's record was 35-26, nothing great but at least it was on the positive side of the scoreboard so here we go with the start of the 2007 season.

Oregon -16 vs. Houston - I like Oregon in the friendly confines of Autzen Stadium, a very difficult place to play, especially for a new starting QB at Houston as Kevin Kolb and his 4 years of starting experience are off to the Philadelphia Eagles. Expect the Ducks to roll in this one.

Georgia Tech +2 @ Notre Dame - Count me among those that expect Notre Dame to struggle this year. A new QB will be unveiled, most likely Demetrius Jones according to internet rumors, but whoever it is will have to take on a nasty Jon Tenuta defense that will be all over the ND offense. Throw in Tashard Choice returning and the fact that Reggie Ball is gone and I think the Yellow Jackets will pick up a big opening week win.

California -6 vs. Tennessee - I was hesitant on this game at this line, then came the news of Erik Ainge's broken pinky and I feel much better about it. Combine that with the explosiveness of the Cal offense and I believe the Bears, who are hungry to get revenge for last season's opening week debacle in Knoxville, will be fired up and hit the Vols straight out the gate.

Texas Tech -9 @ SMU - Mike Leach offenses usually put up scores in bunches and I expect nothing less on Monday as the Red Raiders take on the Mustangs. Throw in the return of starting QB Graham Harrell it should be more of the same.

West Virginia -23.5 vs. Western Michigan - The Mountaineers open up their season against the Broncos and I believe they will come out firing on all cylinders much like another team in their conference Louisville did last night. I expect Pat White and Steve Slaton to start their Heisman campaigns in impressive fashion and make it an easy win.

Only hours away

2007-08-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

The anticipation of a new season is here, everyone is undefeated, everyone can dream the same dreams of winning their conference and even the national championship. For those that haven't experienced it I don't know how to describe it but just thinking about it brings me to thinking about all my trips to Ann Arbor for games since I graduated. Something about landing at DTW after taking the red eye from LAX then taking that drive towards campus as you exit the 94 off of State Street and seeing the practice facility.

Then the walk down to the stadium as the thousands upon thousands of Michigan faithful get to the Stadium. Whether you get there from the Pioneer lot, the Golf Course, down Hoover or crossing Elbel Field, I'm sure all the fans who bleed Maize and Blue like me feel the same thing. The chills as you approach the Big House and anticipate what you will see inside.

I still remember my first time in the Big House like it was yesterday. It was my freshman year and we were opening with Notre Dame back in 1999. College Gameday was in town so I planned on getting down there early to be at the front of the barrier to yell and scream and maybe get a few seconds on TV. It was easier said than done considering I was living in Bursley Hall. But a few of us made our way down there and it was definitely a good experience. But it was nothing compared to what I would be experiencing a few hours later. I could feel the energy as I entered the stadium close to kickoff and I tell everyone I can the experience of my first time walking into a packed Big House. The band playing the Victors, 110,000+ strong singing and pumping along it is a moment I will never forget.

Every new season brings that energy, that memory, the anticipation back to me and here we are again with another season ready to go. I won't be able to experience it opening week this year as I am heading to Berkeley to watch Cal-Tennessee on Saturday but I am eagerly awaiting my return to Ann Arbor for the Oregon and Notre Dame games. I may not be there in person on September 1st but when I see the game on TV it will bring me back to all the emotions I had walking into Michigan Stadium for the first time back in 1999. It will give me chills up my spine and it will signal the true start to the college football season for me. It will also begin the new season of hope, hope that we can make this year, 2007 a special one.

Preseason Top 25

2007-08-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

The last weekend of the year without football has come and gone and now the games begin starting on Thursday. That said I haven't had a chance to post my thoughts on the upcoming season so here we begin with my top 25:

1. USC
2. LSU
3. West Virginia
4. Michigan
5. Texas
6. Oklahoma
7. Louisville
8. Wisconsin
9. Florida
10. Ohio State
11. Virginia Tech
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Arkansas
15. Auburn
16. UCLA
17. Penn State
18. Texas A&M
19. Florida State
20. Tennessee
21. Hawaii
22. Rutgers
23. TCU
24. Nebraska
25. Boise State

So there it is my first take of the 2007 college football season. Nothing earth shattering, IMO at least in the initial poll. I really like LSU this year, even with the loss of Jamarcus Russell as Matt Flynn has shown in his limited PT that he can lead the Tigers. Oklahoma has questions at QB as Sam Bradford takes over but the nation must learn the name DeMarco Murray as he will be all over highlight reels this season. I like the offense at Cal as well but similar to Michigan they lost a lot on defense and that is the big question. Let's see if Franchione can finally get it going at A&M, with all the weapons he has at his disposal with McGee, Lane, Goodson and Bennett there will be no excuses in College Station this year. Hawaii should go unbeaten with their schedule and Colt Brennan will put up huge numbers all year long for him to be at least in the discussion for the Heisman. We only have 3 days left as 4 top 25 teams are in action on Thursday as LSU, Rutgers, Louisville and Boise State all kickoff. There's nothing like the anticipation of a new season, I can't wait.

Captains announced and chalk up commitment #14

2007-08-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

The captains for the 2007 Michigan football team were announced today and they are Jake Long, Mike Hart and Shawn Crable. It's not a surprise to see this announcement as the only other two potential possibilities were Chad Henne and Jamar Adams. Maize N Brew has an article with his thoughts about Henne not being selected. Congratulations to the newly named captains and also for Jake Long who is now the 11th player in school history to be named captain two times or more.
Also another commitment is on the books as Christian Wilson has committed to Michigan today. He is a member of the Rivals 250 and the #14 LB according to Rivals. He will be brought in by Michigan as an H-Back but could eventually move over to LB depending on how the rest of this class shapes up. Regardless it's another talented player from PA who is joining the Maize and Blue and we are glad to have him. Welcome to Michigan Christian. Less than two weeks until kickoff, I'm getting more and more excited by the day.

It's almost time

2007-08-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

It's great to be back home after a long vacation, especially when its now only 3 weeks to go before college football season starts. There is great anticipation always as a new season approaches. I can't wait to get the bad taste of 1/1/07 out of my mouth and get the new season kicked off. Should be an exciting first month as I'll be attending 4 games in the 1st month of the season.

First up this season is a trip to Berkeley to watch Cal take on Tennessee, followed by 2 consecutive weekends in Ann Arbor for the Oregon and Notre Dame games then a week off and closing in September will be the trip to Evanston to watch a game at Northwestern, which will add another stadium to the list. Mapgameday.com has a cool feature which you can show all the stadiums you have been to and will calculate the distance from your home.

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I'm still catching up on all the news around the sports world as 99% of the sports coverage I saw overseas had to do with the other football. With only 19 days to go I know I'm not the only Michigan fan that is ready to kick this season off. It'll be here before we know it.

Vacation Time

2007-07-10T22:55:00.001-07:00

I never got a chance to do a draft recap after it was done and since I don't have much time I'll keep it short. I loved the Javaris Crittendon pick at 19, he was the guy I wanted all along. I don't know much about the two second round picks but maybe the fact that we got Pau Gasol's brother Marc, Pau will push for a trade to LA? And I have no clue about Sun Yue so we'll have to wait and see how it turns out, I don't mind the two picks as gambles.

Not like I've been updating frequently anyways lately but the updates will become more infrequent for the next few weeks, as in none, because I will be in Europe on vacation until August. Hopefully I can come back home and hear that we got Kevin Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal or someone that can help the Lakers win a first round series.

Draft Day

2007-06-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

I've got to admit, I haven't been following the draft prospects as much as I normally do because first we all know what is happening at the top with Oden and Durant and second, I fully expected that whoever the Lakers draft at 19 will not be with the team as he should be moved in a trade. But as the draft draws near, I am facing the reality that the 19th selection very well may be on this team next year. Considering the Lakers already drafted Jordan Farmar last year, and they have an offer out for most of their Mid Level Exception to Theodoros Papaloukas it is assumed that the Lakers will take a player for the front line if the pick is theirs to keep. But we can hope someone like Farmar, who was projected higher last year, can fall and the Lakers can get a steal at 19. I've heard numerous possibilities from Javaris Crittenton to Josh McRoberts to Rudy Fernandez to Sean Williams or Jason Smith. If it is a random player not on our board that could be the signal that a trade has been made and the pick is for another team. Which would be reminiscent of the Lakers drafting Chris Jeffries a few years back and shipping him that night to Toronto for Kareem Rush.

There is a lot of anticipation among Lakers fans for a trade, free agent signing or draft pick, anything to help the team improve and also show Kobe that the team is serious about winning. The next few weeks are very important to the Lakers franchise and can either save or destroy the team. I can only hope for a miracle move by the front office or my beloved Lakers may be put into rebuilding mode for many years to come, which is extremely difficult for me to fathom considering the success the Lakers have had all throughout my life. There have only been a couple of times the team has even missed the playoffs while I've been alive so to think of it without a superstar and a competitive playoff team is difficult for me to swallow. I really hope it doesn't have to come to that.

And we're back

2007-06-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

Been away on trips to New York and Las Vegas so there has been no activity on the site of late but there is so much to get to, let's begin with recruiting.

The Summer Football Camp has come and gone and there are two new commitments, with one impending one as well this weekend. Rocko Khoury got the offer he was waiting for and committed a few days after receiving the offer. He becomes the 4th OL to join this class but we will still be looking to add another one or two. The other camp commitment was junior DT William Campbell from Cass Tech in Detroit, same school as Boubacar Cissoko, it's rare to see a junior commitment be released so early but it's definitely great to see us continue to lock up in-state talent and show that last year was a fluke.
The impending commitment looks like it will come from Texas WR Daryl Stonum. He was just up at Michigan this past week and his top three was supposed to be Michigan, Florida State and USC. His original plan was to visit FSU in July and USC in August, but now he has changed his mind and will announce this coming Sunday on TV in Dallas. That is a great sign for the Maize and Blue.
There are so many Lakers rumors out there right now it's tough to figure out what is going on. What we do know is that the front office is actually trying to make something happen and bring in some big name talent whether it be Jermaine O'Neal or Kevin Garnett. The rumored 4 team deal that spread on Monday is now dead and supposedly Phoenix is now the leader to pick up KG. But some of the pieces don't add up. No matter what is rumored, unless Amare Stoudamire's knee requires more work down the line I find it hard to believe that the Suns are willing to trade him for KG. There was rumors of the Lakers bringing in Atlanta to make a deal and I thought that would be the best way for it to work. Use Atlanta instead of Boston in the 4 way deal and then you have happy campers all the way around. Atlanta gets a veteran big in O'Neal to solidify their team with Joe Johnson, Minnesota gets the high draft pick they desire at #3 as well as expiring K in the form of Kwame Brown, Indiana gets Bynum/Odom which they wanted all along and the Lakers get the Big Ticket which would immediately create the buzz in LA that would makes Staples Center the place to be again. So while the Suns may be the leader I'm not counting the Lakers out yet. The interesting note is that if KG is traded after July 1st his trade kicker counts fully against this year, as opposed to before July 1st the trade kicker can be spread out over two years. In that case, we know Jerry Buss is willing to take on Garnett's contract even if it means luxury tax, while we know Robert Sarver, Suns owner, does not want to pay any more luxury tax than is necessary. Throw that in with the fact that Dr. Buss did tell the Wolves that he is willing to re-sign KG to an extension and I still like our chances. Do I like them as much as I did a few days ago? No, but I still think we have a chance to get it done.
Oregon State repeated as National Champs in baseball but UC Irvine made a great run including being the first team to win back to back extra inning games in the CWS. I hope to catch some games next year when I'm down there.
I was in Vegas over the weekend and was able to catch the Ricky Hatton-Jose Luis Castillo fight. The fight was good for the time it lasted, only four rounds, but what made the fight worth it was the atmosphere. Thousands and thousands of English fans made the trip across the pond and created a setting like I've never seen before. It gave me a taste of what watching a soccer game in England would probably be like. There were groups of friends all wearing shirts they had made for the trip along with horns, a band and a number of songs they had created for their fighter Ricky Hatton, who ended up winning with a 4th round KO. The interesting thing afterwards was Hatton calling out Floyd Mayweather and even more interesting now is the fact that Floyd says he'll fight. Hatton is a very good fighter but he will be no match for Pretty Boy Floyd. Hatton recently has been holding a lot during fights after getting his punches in but Floyd would not allow that to happen. Also Hatton has not seen the speed of Floyd before and that will be difficult for him to handle. If this fight really goes down, chalk it up for Floyd by decision.

This is truly the dead season

2007-06-15T09:23:00.001-07:00

The NBA Finals are over and I didn't even watch it, College Football is a few months away so I don't have much to look forward to hence the lack of updates on the site. At least the Dodgers are hanging around first place and I guess I'll have to check out a Galaxy game or two once David Beckham arrives. But before we get to that point there is still some college baseball to be played this weekend with the College World Series beginning today. Although Michigan was knocked out by Oregon State I will continue to watch as two local teams are still fighting it out. One being the powerhouse Cal State Fullerton Titans as I've spent the majority of my life living in Fullerton I have always followed them and the second being my next school this upcoming fall when I begin my graduate work at UC Irvine. The Titans took care of business as expected beating UCLA at home but the surprise came from the Anteaters who were the only road team in the Super Regionals to advance as they defeated the Witchita State Shockers, probably one of the funniest matchups that could happen in college sports. Go Anteaters and Titans!

Also there is the Freeway Series this weekend as the Angels come up to face the Dodgers. For some reason the Angels seem to dominate the Dodgers and it needs to stop. I don't know why but it seems like the Dodgers can never beat them as the Angels swept the Dodgers a few weeks back when they played in Anaheim. After going through rough patch, 1-5, the Dodgers got it back together by sweeping the Mets, which hopefully gives them the momentum they need headed into this series. It's great to see the bench and guys just called up from AAA contributing as Wilson Betemit has hit HR's in the last two games and Matt Kemp is contributing as well. That brings up the question that many Dodger fans ask is when will they start playing the young guns on a consistent basis? Such as Kemp, Tony Abreu and James Loney. I really like what I heard on the radio about a quote from Jeff Kent who told the young guys at Spring Training to come and get his job. It breeds a healthy level of competition within the team and lets the guys know that just because they are the hot young prospect they aren't going to be given immediate PT. Which makes it even better to see them coming up to the Big Leagues and making plays. I really love what Dodgers Management has done setting this team up with a good mix of veterans and youth to give this team not only a great chance at winning now but down the line as well.

Friday Roundup

2007-06-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I last updated and a lot has gone on but covered by most already so I'll keep it brief:

Michigan football received two more commitments for the 08 class from NJ LB Marcus Witherspoon and in-state DT Mike Martin. Both are 4 stars according to Rivals and are in the Rivals 250. Gotta love the fact that the staff is hitting NJ so hard this year with Witherspoon already in the fold as well as being in the top 3-5's of so many highly ranked NJ kids as well. In addition, getting Martin adds to the number of in-state kids we are locking up. There was some concern after last year's in-state recruiting debacle but it doesn't look like it's going to happen again as we are in great shape to lock up the majority of the top 10 in state this season. As always MGoBlog has more details on Witherspoon and Martin.
After the big upset over the #1 team in the country Vanderbilt, the Michigan baseball team continues its quest to get to Omaha and the College World Series tomorrow as they travel to Corvallis, Oregon to take on the Beavers of Oregon State in the Super Regionals. Oregon State is the defending national champion and will be a tough opponent but after beating Vandy, anything is possible. Especially with the great road record the team has this year.
All quiet on the Lakers front as it looks like it will be a couple weeks, closer to draft time, before anything happens. Also since free agency doesn't begin until July 1st any possible sign and trade deals can't happen until then so we will have to be patient to see what the front office can do. The pressure is on Mitch Kupchak and company to get something done

My head is still spinning

2007-05-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

At this point most people know that Kobe has now backed off his initial comments of wanting a trade. But then in the LA Times today he stated "It's just a matter of I don't want to go no place else." But asked if he still wanted to be traded: "Yes." So what the heck is going on here? As fans we can speculate all we want but I think for my sanity I will be just sitting back and letting it unfold because this situation has already made me lose my head at times. Dr. Buss is always about winning and I think he will find a way to diffuse the situation and we will look back on this a few years from now and laugh, well that's my dream scenario that I will stick with until I have to think otherwise. The Times article says that Buss will speak with Kobe today before he leaves for vacation so hopefully that will be able to clear some things up and calm Kobe down even more than talking with Phil and Magic. I cannot fathom seeing Kobe in anything other than Forum Blue and Gold and I hope I never have to.

At a loss for words

2007-05-30T10:28:00.001-07:00

I got a call from a friend yesterday afternoon telling me about Kobe's tirade on the radio and how upset/angry/frustrated he sounded. Then drops the other shoe today as Kobe tells Stephen A Smith he wants out and there's nothing the Lakers can say to change his mind. I'm one to say never say never, but at the same time I'm starting to brace myself for this. There's a lot that's gone wrong in Lakerland the past few years but I never thought it would come to this. There is so much that is running through my head right now about it that I can't fully post right now. I'll have something up later on it. But keep in mind as TrueHoop posted today: "It's going to be very tough to accomodate Bryant's trade request. My bet is that only a very small number of teams have anything even close to the talent, salaries, and cash to make a real offer ." Just remember though Kobe's opt out isn't for two years so it's not as imperative to trade him as it was to Shaq who was going into the last year before he could opt out.

The West just got tougher

2007-05-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time, no one really cared about the draft lottery and it didn't matter if you got #1 or not. Andrea Bargnani was nothing to get excited about. That changed this year with two potential franchise players coming into the draft in Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. The lottery was a major event and would immediately help two struggling franchises. Except most expected those two teams to be Memphis and Boston. Instead it turned out to be Portland and Seattle. Regardless of who Portland takes and leaves for Seattle, it means that the two best players in this draft are not only coming into the Western Conference but the Pacific Division.

Portland is already a good young team and is only getting better with their luck. Throw in Oden with Lamarcus Aldridge, Jarrett Jack, Brandon Roy and Zach Randolph and that is a very good lineup. Although this could allow the Blazer front office to move Randolph which is very possible, maybe even to the Lakers. Then Seattle with Ray Allen and Kevin Durant, and possibly Rashard Lewis, although I would assume they would try to move Lewis in a sign and trade considering he wants a big contract and since they Durant and Lewis have somewhat similar type games. So it makes the already difficult Western Conference that much tougher and since they are both in the Lakers division that means those 8 games a year are now more difficult. Also Memphis slipping to 4 may just begin the start of the rebuilding process there and they may be willing to move Pau Gasol.

Now where does that leave the Lakers in this offseason where they need to make some major changes if they are to compete for a title? I don't know. Bringing Oden into the division could make the Lakers front office realize they'll need a low post presence and end up keeping Bynum because of it. On the other hand it could make the team think that Oden will need a couple years to be brought up to speed before he becomes the dominant force that many believe he will and the front office could sacrifice the future for the present realizing their window is very small. Who knows what Lakers management is thinking, all I know is that sure it may have hurt the Lakers to get both of these great talents into the Pacific Division but at least it provides a greater sense of urgency knowing that everyone else in the division is getting better and if the Lakers even want to make the playoffs they will have to make some big time moves.

One opening left in 08

2007-05-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

One of the two openings in the 2008 schedule has been filled as Michigan has announced they will play Toledo. The Rockets will be filling in the opening on October 11th, a week before traveling to Penn State. Knowing the philosophy of all athletic departments at major football schools we should know that the majority of these announcements will be announcing games against MAC opponents. Michigan believes that playing ND is enough for a non-conference schedule and will fill remaining holes with home games against teams that will play at Michigan for the payday. I have discussed previously my preference of mixing up the big non-conference game so it isn't Notre Dame every year, but it doesn't seem like many people agree with me. There is still one remaining opening in the 08 schedule on September 20th, the week after we travel to Notre Dame. Considering that 08 will most likely be the beginning of the Ryan Mallett era, I'm willing to bet that the opening on the 20th will also be another team from a non-BCS conference. I'm getting so excited just talking about football schedules, the season will be here faster than you think.

Add number 5 to the list

2007-05-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

It's being reported around the internet s that TE Brandon Moore has committed to Michigan this morning. This is a huge pickup for the Wolverines especially at a position of need at TE. After Carson Butler was dismissed from the team the depth chart looked extremely thin and that probably had to help with Moore who was considered an OSU lean early, and then when the Buckeyes didn't offer, looked like he was southern bound as he had a number of big time offers from southern schools including the big three in Florida as well as Georgia, LSU and Clemson. Moore was part of the Rivals Pre-Evaluation Top 100 and is listed as 6'6", 243 lbs and has been clocked at 4.65 in the 40. He is a great student sporting a 4.2 GPA as well so it seems like a great fit for us. Welcome to Michigan Brandon! This is definitely a great way to kick off the weekend.

Welcome to Michigan Kurt Wermers and Ben Cronin!

2007-05-17T17:22:00.001-07:00

This time of year is usually the slow season for recruiting after spring practice and before summer camp, when another batch of players will earn offers, but news has spread today that OL Kurt Wermers from Indiana has committed to Michigan. He is listed as a 6'5", 260 lb OG and is now the 4th commitment, 3rd on the offensive line, for the 2008 class. OL is definitely a position of need and it is great to lock up another one in Kurt. As always MGoBlog is on top of it and already has a write up.

Also, on Wednesday Coach Beilein picked up his first basketball commitment as Ben Cronin a 7 footer from Syracuse, NY decided to join the Maize and Blue. He is from the 08 class and adds some much needed help to the front line. Cronin had been recruited by Beilein at West Virginia and continued to pursue him after he took the Michigan job. Syracuse came in late with an offer but Cronin wanted to play for Coach Beilein. Cronin is not highly ranked but considering most of the top ranked kids for 08 are already committed or deep in their recruitments it will be tough for Coach Beilein to get some big name help immediately. As the team picks up some W's the players will start warming up to Michigan again and Beilein will be able to recruit a higher caliber athlete than he was used to at West Virginia so the 08 class may disappoint many recruitniks. Just trying to keep a realistic level of expectations considering as soon as he was hired I was telling people I expected Michigan back in the tourney this season, which I still believe we can accomplish. At least its some positive news during what is usually the dead period of recruiting.

Props to Braylon Edwards

2007-05-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a moment and give mad props to Braylon Edwards as ESPN.com is reporting that he is pledging $1 million for college scholarships for students in Cleveland. This is in addition to the $500,000 he donated to endow a football scholarship at Michigan. It's great to see athletes give back to the community, especially in this way, investing in education for children. As I am part of a scholarship foundation I know it is very difficult for many students to afford the cost of college and in some cases these types of scholarships are the only way for these students to get a college education. It's even better to see a former Michigan athlete such as Braylon represent the school in such a positive way. Great work Braylon, and hope next season is the year you really break out in the NFL.

Back to Dodger Stadium

2007-05-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, for the first time this season I went back to Chavez Ravine for my first trip to Dodger Stadium of the 2007 campaign. The Dodgers took on the Reds so it was an opportunity to see one of my favorite players growing up Ken Griffey Jr. In addition, Brad Penny was pitching for the Dodgers so I knew we would have a great chance of winning. That's exactly what happened as Penny pitched a great game, retiring 17 consecutive batters as the Dodgers won 7-3. The seats I sat in were by far the best I've ever had at a Dodgers game so I took advantage of it by taking some pictures.

Pre Game 40's? Check

The Dodgers get ready for Griffey

Penny Delivers

Rafael Furcal up with the bases loaded

Russell Martin at the plate

Joe Beimel delivers to Griffey

The trademark Griffey swing, but this time only to the warning track

Andre Ethier catching the last out

DODGERS WIN!

2007-05-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

Since the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs I have lost most of my interest of the NBA Playoffs. I'll still catch parts of games here and there but I don't clear out my schedule to watch Cleveland/New Jersey. But the Jazz-Warriors game was on at the gym and they showed Derek Fisher walking into the locker room after getting back from his family situation which had kept him from playing in Game 1. As a Lakers fan I always have great memories of Derek Fisher, hitting 3's, drawing charges and of course 0.4 seconds against San Antonio in the playoffs. No one knew what his family situation was, but figuring that it must be ok if he is playing in the game immediately coming in from the airport it was a good sight to see.

Then after the game he announced what it was, his daughter had to undergo surgery for a rare form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma. According to the link via truehoop, 87% of children with the disease die but thankfully Fishers' daughter got surgery just in time. It is amazing to think of athletes in these situations where they have off the court trouble and then end up making big plays as Fisher did for Utah last night. I will always consider D Fish a Laker and it is great to hear that the surgery went well and I wish Fisher and his family all the best.

Other news in the league surrounds another former Laker Shaquille O'Neal. Who has been the subject of possible trade rumors considering the Heat were swept out of the playoffs in the first round. Pat Riley has come out and stated that Shaq will not be traded. This is exactly what I was talking about when I defended Kobe to all the Kobe and Lakers haters when Shaq was dealt in the summer of 2003. Kobe did not run Shaq out of town, it was a business decision that the Lakers made and they were right. Big men decline drastically as they get older and the numbers prove it this year as Shaq averaged 17.3 points per game as he missed 42 games. Those numbers will only get worse as Shaq keeps aging and with the Heat on the hook for his salary at $20 million per year for the next 3 seasons it can easily be seen he is not worth that money. It was the right business decision made by Dr. Buss and the Lakers, now they just need to take those savings from not re-signing Shaq and putting it towards making the moves necessary to put a contender on the floor. A lot easier said than done but the Lakers will be making some moves this offseason or, I don't even want to think about that scenario.

R.I.P. Diego Corrales

2007-05-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

Wasn't able to update yesterday but there was a sad story in the boxing world as Diego Corrales died on Monday night in a motorcycle accident. Ironically it was on the two year anniversary of his battle with Jose Luis Castillo, a fight that goes down as the greatest I have ever witnessed. I remember watching the fight because I had heard from someone that it was supposed to be a good one and it did not disappoint. It was the most action packed fight I have ever seen, fights like that are what turn casual fans into real boxing fans. After being knocked down twice in the 10th round, Corrales came back to TKO Castillo as the ref had to step in because Castillo was against the ropes and could not defend himself. Corrales was a warrior, he would go toe to toe with you in the ring. He challenged a lot of good fighters and did not shy away from any fight. Fighters like him are rare nowadays because he would accept fights against other great boxers and he was not afraid to just exchange blows with you. Because of that he immediately became one of my favorite fighters.

Corrales promoter Gary Shaw said it best in the article:

"He always told me he had to please the fans, and I should never worry about him getting knocked out. He would say they would have to carry him out of the ring. That's the way he fought. That's what made him so exciting."

For those that haven't seen it here's the 10th round of Castillo-Corrales I which goes down as one of the greatest rounds of boxing ever in my book.

College Football Saturday Night

2007-05-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

ABC/ESPN announced part of the schedule for Primetime College Football on Saturday night. Probably due to the lack of big time non-conference games this season's schedule none of the game stand out as OMG MUST WATCH!!! like Texas-Ohio State was last year but still there are some quality games, and I'm sure more will be added as the ACC, Big XII and Big East portions of the schedule have not been released. There is one major complaint I have with the schedule and that is the lack of games on September 8th and October 13th as the network will air Nascar instead. I was born and raised in Southern California so I have no idea how or why Nascar is so big. It is stupid and boring. Let's watch a bunch of cars drive around in an oval 500 times and see who wins. I don't care what game you put on, it could be a I-AA game for all I care and it would be better than watching Nascar, but that's just my opinion.

What has me really excited about the schedule is that two games that I plan on attending this season are on the schedule. Those games being the September 1st game Tennessee at California and the October 6th Notre Dame at UCLA. Michigan has one game on the schedule so far which is the October 20th contest at Illinois. I've always been a fan of night games because I think playing under the lights just adds more excitement and buzz to the game as most of the time it is a big time game so it is intensified. Granted I never want to see Michigan-Ohio State as a night game, but I wouldn't mind one day to see some night games at the Big House. With constant pressure from TV for Michigan to host a night game it wouldn't shock me to see one in the next few years, but I also know that the administration will try to hold it off as long as they can.

Get me some help damn it!

2007-05-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

As expected the Lakers dropped Game 5 to Phoenix and are now eliminated from the playoffs. Kobe had a poor shooting night but Lamar Odom finally showed up and put in 33 to help the Lakers make a run, but as has been the case during this series, the Lakers made a run to make it interesting only to fade down the stretch. This game and playoff series has had me torn as I find it difficult for myself to root for the Lakers knowing that any win would just give the front office false hope that this team can compete as currently constructed. In a scenario that is very similar to Michigan football from 2003-2005 the Lakers thought they were good enough but this past season showed that they are not.

In 2003 and 2004 Michigan got to the Rose Bowl in back to back seasons but ended up losing both of them. Coming into 2006 a lot was expected of the team as the core of the previous two teams came back but combination of injuries and bad luck along with the bad coaching that all Michigan fans had been complaining about for the past few seasons brought the worst Michigan football season in 20+ years. So near the end of the 2005 season I was also torn because I knew only more losses would bring about the changes that would be necessary to make the national championship runs that all Michigan fans knew the team was capable of, but at the same time the fan in me wouldn't allow me to root against my team. Many times we must take one step backwards to take two steps forward and this is another one of those situations.

Last night's loss might have been the best thing possible for the future of this Lakers franchise. It was good to see TNT panned to Mitch Kupchak a couple of times near the end of the game so we knew he was watching in person how this team was not capable of making a championship run that the front office, coming into this season, believed it could make because it had the same core as last year's team that took Phoenix to 7 games. I'm still torn on the Andrew Bynum situation, I don't think we should trade him because his ceiling is so high but at the same time I am coming around on it because Phil and Kobe are here to win now, Phil is only under contract for a few more seasons and this Kobe that we see is only here for a few more years. I still believe not trading Bynum for Kidd was the correct move but if Indiana is willing to listen for Jermaine O'Neal I may change my tune.

Regardless the front office has a lot of work to do this offseason. Marc Stein has a good article up on ESPN about it. For those that are interested RealGM.com has a trade checker which you can mess around with and come up with your own trades for the Lakers to make this offseason. For those that are curious, Lamar and Kwame will match up enough salary to bring in Jermaine O'Neal or Kevin Garnett and the deals still work if they throw in Bynum as well. Perhaps O'Neal can be had for cheaper this offseason as he just had knee surgery? That is my main concern with Jermaine as he has had a problem staying healthy. Perhaps the Ron Artest talks will re-open but will the Maloofs sign off on trading to a division rival? There was a deal in place for Bibby but the Maloofs rejected it because of that so it will be difficult to deal with them. Finally the Kevin Garnett dream scenario everyone has been dreaming about, the problem is Kevin McHale is the GM in Minnesota, as a Celtic he hates the Lakers and I doubt he will ever deal with the Lakers to help them out, especially for the cornerstone of their franchise like Kevin Garnett has been. Regardless of what players they try to pursue we now know that changes should be coming, Kupchak better do something to earn his salary this offseason or there will be a lot of unhappy fans and most importantly a very unhappy Kobe.

2007 NFL Draft

2007-04-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Black Hole Jamarcus

With much of my time taken up by the Lakers I did not have much discussion of the Raiders as well as the NFL draft which took place over the weekend. The draft is always an event I look forward to as college football fan, and with the Raiders holding the #1 pick it made it even more important for me than usual. While I can't say I'm upset about the pick of Jamarcus at #1 there are some concerns I have about him. I would have preferred taking Calvin Johnson at #1 and addressing the QB situation in the second round but at the same time because of the horrific display that the Raiders called an offense put on last year I understand why the team did not want to mess around and drafted what they believe is the franchise quarterback that was so desperately needed. Jamarcus peaked at the right time saving his best play for the end of the year, he has great arm strength and enough mobility to get by so I am happy to see him in the Silver and Black.

The other big news on Day 1 from the Raiders standpoint was the trade of a 4th round pick to Detroit for Mike Williams and Josh McCown. Williams was a star at USC but has done nothing in the NFL, there are a lot of reports that he has consistently shown up out of shape and is not willing to do the work that is necessary to succeed in the NFL. I really don't care about Williams because if he doesn't want to play that's fine the Raiders already have Jerry Porter and Ronald Curry. The key part of this deal was getting Josh McCown, who only has one year left on his deal but will be crucial for the Raiders this upcoming season. Prior to Saturday the Raiders had Andrew Walter and Josh Booty as QB's on their roster so the job is definitely open and I am penciling in McCown as the starter now. It's extremely rare to see a rookie QB succeed in the NFL and having McCown will buy enough time for the Raiders to develop Russell and not expect immediate dividends.

The second trade, but bigger one on Sunday was the Raiders traded Randy Moss to the Patriots for a 4th round pick. Although on the surface it doesn't look like an even trade, the Raiders had to make a move and get rid of Moss because he was becoming a cancer in the locker room. Also it will give the Raiders some cap relief.

The Raiders draft picks are as follows:

1st, 1- Jamarcus Russell, QB, LSU
2nd, 38- Zach Miller, TE, Arizona State
3rd, 65- Quentin Moses, DE, Georgia
3rd, 91- Mario Henderson, OT, Florida State
3rd, 99- Johnnie Lee Higgins, WR, UTEP
4th, 100 - Michael Bush, RB, Louisville
4th, 110- John Bowie, CB, Cincinnati
5th, 138- Jay Richardson, DE, Ohio State
5th, 165- Eric Frampton, S, Washington State
6th, 174- Orenthal O'Neal, FB, Arkansas State
7th, 254- Jonathan Holland, WR, Louisiana Tech

I like the Zach Miller pick a lot, he played great for Arizona State and was considered the 2nd TE available in the draft behind Greg Olsen. Quentin Moses was considered higher before the season started but did not play as well as he did his junior year, this could be a very good pick for the Raiders at this point. Johnnie Lee Higgins has put up some good numbers at UTEP and he can be a valuable asset in the return game as well. Should be a good complement at WR to what the Raiders currently have. Then came day 2 which started out with a bang in my book as the Raiders drafted Michael Bush the RB from Louisville who declared early as a junior. He broke his leg this season and was unable to workout. He probably should have stayed in school but he decided to make the jump and I'm ecstatic the Raiders were able to grab him in the 4th round. If healthy he would have been a 1st or 2nd round pick, the injury concerns are there but in the 4th its a great pick.

Looking across the league I really liked what the 49ers, Vikings and Bills did in the draft. Patrick Willis is a stud, and trading back up to get Joe Staley at 28 was a very good bargain. Add Jason Hill in the 3rd round and the 49ers probably had one of, if not the best first day's of the draft. I think they also got two very good late round picks in Tarell Brown from Texas and Thomas Clayton from Kansas State.

The other draft I really liked was of the Minnesota Vikings. Getting Adrian Peterson at #7 was a steal for them and then in the 2nd round they were able to get Sidney Rice the early entry WR from South Carolina who had been falling on the boards but at 44 it was a great value. Then in the third they were able to grab Marcus McCauley from Fresno State who probably should have gone a bit higher as he did not play as well this year as he did last year so his stock dropped but it could be a steal for the Vikings. Also liked the Rufus Alexander pick in the 6th round.

The Bills also did a good job on day one getting Marshawn Lynch at 12 who should be able to step in and fill the void now that Willis McGahee is gone and Paul Posluszny is a solid pick in the 2nd round. Getting Trent Edwards in the 3rd round was a steal as he was rated as the #3 QB by some teams, and was the 3rd in my book. His production wasn't as great because he played at Stanford but I believe there will be many teams kicking themselves down the line for not taking him.

Drafts I didn't like were by the Titans and Eagles. The Titans had many needs coming into this draft and safety was not one of them. So it was a surprise they took Michael Griffin, who was a reach even at pick #19 in the first round. WR was a glaring need for them as well as CB. With Robert Meachem and Dwayne Bowe on the board or even Aaron Ross as a CB that could return kicks the Titans went after Griffin.

The Eagles traded out of the first round in a good deal with the Cowboys but ended up making a questionable pick in the 2nd round by taking Kevin Kolb as the third quarterback ahead of John Beck, Drew Stanton and Trent Edwards. Kolb is a good QB but I don't believe is as good as the other three QB's previously mentioned. We will see how he adapts to going to a new offense for the first time as his high school head coach was hired at Houston and Kolb followed him there, so he has essentially been playing pretty much the same offense for 8 years. But he will have plenty of time to learn as Donovan McNabb is still the man in Philly. So another draft has come and gone and now there is nothing left on the football landscape until camps open for NFL and college. My main concern is getting Jamarcus in to camp on time as he will need all the time he can to get accustomed to the NFL.

Where do we go from here?

2007-04-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Following another disappointing performance the Lakers have fallen into a 3-1 hole against Phoenix and with the way the team has played thus far it doesn’t look like this series will be going on much longer. Steve Nash tallied 23 assists as the Suns pretty much cruised after halftime to a 113-100 win. There’s not much to add to what I’ve said before about changes being needed for this team to compete to win a championship. The talent is just not there right now and it is up to the front office to realize this and not sit idle as they have stated numerous times before that the team can compete as is. Pushing Phoenix to 7 games last year I believe the front office got a false sense of security in believing this team can make a run.

This discussion brings up Andrew Bynum and if it is worth it for the Lakers to hold onto him or if they need to trade him to bring in the proven player right now to help the Lakers win. Had a debate on this with a group of friends on Saturday with half on the trade Bynum now side to bring in another great player, while the other half, which I was on, that Bynum is too valuable for the long term of the franchise that we cannot trade him. Yes Kobe is the best player in the game today and his window is only for the next few years and yes I agree that we need to bring in players that can have an impact on the team. But Bynum is still only 19 years old and has shown flashes of brilliance for someone that is still learning the game and getting his conditioning to the point to play 82 games a year. You can’t just look at it for Kobe’s years, you have to look at post Kobe era. Bynum, if he develops as I believe he will, will be the cornerstone of the franchise after Kobe is gone. When Bynum becomes the force we believe he will become, at that point it will be easier to find a suitable wing player to add to the Lakers at that time, than to trade Bynum away now for say a Kevin Garnett who only has a couple good years left in him. I think too many fans are looking at this too short sighted and need to look at the big picture. But I’m not in charge so who knows what will happen, all I know is that something must change otherwise we’ll be looking at a similar fate for the Lakers next year.

There is a faint heartbeat

2007-04-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

The Lakers looked as if they were ready to take an early vacation. The Suns jumped out to an 11-0 lead and seemed as if they would never look back. My thoughts started to wander about how this team could be rebuilt within a season. It didn’t get any better as the Suns took a 31-17 lead into the 2^nd quarter. But the switch was flipped and the Lakers looked like a new team. Playing great defense, other guys stepping up and making plays and all of a sudden the Lakers were only down 3 at the half. Fortunately for us Lakers fans they kept up the intensity throughout and were able to secure the 95-89 victory making the series 2-1 and brought some life back into the team.

As I have said all along, as everyone else has as well, someone else besides Kobe needed to step up to make some plays and that happened last night with Kwame and Lamar pouring in 19 and 18 points respectively. The question now is can these other guys keep it up? What else can we say about Kobe that already hasn't been said? 45 points in 45 minutes on 57.6% shooting and 100% from the line. Including the game clinching turnaround jumper which he hits with such ease but when I try to replicate it when I practice on the court I can never hit it. Another key to Kobe's success last night was he did not settle for jumpers and took the ball to the rack. Kobe settles for the jumper too often when he doesn't need to and hopefully he will look back on this game film and realize he can and needs to attack the basket to give the Lakers a better chance to win.

In addition, the major key was defense and energy. The Lakers played great defense and you could tell it looked like they wanted it more and played harder. All the key stats for this went in the Lakers favor as they had more steals, blocks and rebounds than the Suns. They also had fewer turnovers than the Suns which was key. I really liked what Phil did in bringing in Shammond Williams to play more physical defense on the Suns guards. It worked last night but we will have to wait and see what adjustments are made on both sides. I can’t say enough about the defensive effort as the team settled down after the big first quarter by the Suns and did not allow more than 20 points the last 3 quarters.

Those were all the positives to take from the game, the one point that really bugs me right now still is that fucking idiot Smush Parker instead of holding the ball tried to make a point by slamming it at the end of the game. There is no need for that especially considering we are still down 2-1 in this series. Boneheaded play like that is part of the reason why Smush is disliked by so many Lakers fans. He reaches too much on defense, takes stupid shots, and then like last night makes stupid decisions. The Suns are already going to be ready to play on Sunday, no need to add fuel to the fire, especially considering it was directly in front of the Suns bench.

An interesting point was brought up by Kenny Smith in the post game show. He was discussing with Sam Cassell when they were on the Rockets that during the playoffs they would always try to start out playing at a level 8 but never below a level 6. Once they lost a game they would tell themselves they would have to play at a higher level the next game. The Jet brought this up in context of how will the Suns react now that the Lakers have stepped up their game, will the Suns take it now to a level 9 or 10? Because the Lakers are now playing at that level and the Suns will need to match or exceed that to win. The same question can be asked of the Lakers are they ready to play even harder on Sunday knowing that the Suns will be coming out with more urgency than they did last night considering they had thoroughly dominated the Lakers on Tuesday, then jumped out to an immediate 11-0 lead so they let their guard down thinking it would be smooth sailing the rest of the way. Can’t wait to see what the Zenmaster has in store for matchups and adjustments. But we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves, this team does have its problems and I am concerned about the ability of the others on the team can step up the way Kwame and Lamar did last night. The Lakers must also play defense like last night the rest of the way if we stand a chance to win this series, which considering the explosiveness of the Suns offense, is not very likely. But I'll be glad to eat crow on that statement.

Thursday Roundup

2007-04-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Dodgers Lose Again and Bonds is a cheater - The Dodgers lost their 3rd game in a row, 2nd to the Giants 6-4 last night as Barry Bonds hit HR 741. The Doyers as they are called by the locals, jumped out to a strong start but have struggled as of late, as is expected at some point during the long baseball season so I am not worried. I will take this moment to discuss my thoughts on Barry Bonds as he closes in on breaking Hank Aaron's home run record. Sure you may take this as a hater rant since I am a Dodgers fan but anyone out there that thinks that Barry Bonds did not take steroids is out of their fucking mind. Look at Barry Bonds before and after, you cannot tell me he grew that much at his age completely naturally. There is no way. Granted I am not saying that he isn't a great player, he was a great player and still is, but he has been aided by steroids in getting the home run record.

Many people have said steroids can't help you with your hand-eye coordination to hit the ball, which is true, Bonds does have great eyes and can see pitches very well, the difference is that before steroids these shots he would hit that would be singles or doubles are now home runs because of his steroid use. There is also some debate over whether Hank Aaron should be in attendence, but he has said he won't and I believe he is right. Anyone with common sense knows that Barry Bonds has used some sort of steroids and Aaron does not want to be at the game when he breaks the record because that can be taken as a sign of approval that it was ok for him to cheat to break the record. I was hoping coming into this season that Bonds would suffer some sort of set back that would prevent him from reaching the record but it doesn't look like that will be the case.

Mundy to West Virginia - Former Michigan Safety Ryan Mundy is now at West Virginia waiting for an NCAA ruling for an appeal he made to be able to play for the Mountaineers this season. Mundy arrived at Michigan with a lot of expectations coming from the same high school as Steve Breaston, being highly ranked and at a position of need. Because of that he was never able to live up to expectations, also add in the nerve injury that caused him to miss the 03 season and he was a disappointment in the eyes of many Wolverine fans. So much so that Brian at MGoBlog came up with a new stat YAM, Yards After Mundy. But I have nothing bad to say about him, good luck to Ryan and hopefully he gets wins his appeal.

De La Hoya / Mayweather - The big fight is coming up next weekend as Floyd Mayweather Jr. takes on Oscar De La Hoya in what is the biggest boxing match I can remember in a long time. I know a lot of people have given up on boxing and moved to the MMA stuff but for some reason I'm still not into MMA as much as I am boxing. Not sure why but Boxing seems more skillful to me as you only use your hands and have numerous tactics while in MMA you just try to beat the shit out of each other with no strategy, that's just my take on it though.

I've never liked De La Hoya, I don't know what it is but I've never been a fan, something about the Golden Boy image I didn't like. For many Floyd is the bad boy of boxing, he runs his mouth, talks a lot of shit, and is cocky as hell which most of the public dislikes. For some reason I was always drawn to that add to the fact that he is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan and I've been a Floyd fan. Sort of like Kobe how many people consider him arrogant while I consider him confident. People hate the over the top confidence that Kobe and Floyd exude, nothing exemplifies this more than a fight I saw with Floyd where he came to the ring on a throne that was carried by 4 people so he didn't have to walk to the ring. I thought that was awesome, his haters thought it was ridiculous.

ESPN has a great article on Floyd which gives some more insight to who he is and may help others get a better understanding of him. After reading the article and watching the 2nd episode of De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7 I drew a lot of comparisons from Floyd to Tupac as well. Floyd's doctor who checks him before all his fights said he would get upset when he read bad things written about Floyd because that's not who he is in real life. His boxing persona, Pretty Boy Floyd is different than Floyd Mayweather Jr the person. I'd say the same is true of Tupac and how his media image was much different than how the person he was in real life. I can't wait for this fight and I'm going to enjoy it as it looks like it will be the biggest fight for a long time as rarely do fights of this magnitude get done in boxing.

The future of the Lakers to be determined tonight

2007-04-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

As you read that title I'm sure you're thinking "No shit Kenny, of course we know if the Lakers lose tonight and get down 0-3 this series is done." Obviously that is true so I'm not really going into that. The Lakers have done a good job at times throughout this series (Quarters 1-3 of the first game, and the 1st quarter of Game 2) at playing with the Suns, but as we all know basketball is a 48 minute game so unless the Lakers put together a 48 minute game we cannot win against the Suns.

What I'm more referring to is the long term future of this Lakers team. As I posted at halftime of Game 2, I was extremely frustrated at the play of this team and the fact that Mitch Kupchak has been on the radio numerous times saying this team will not undergo any major changes. Tonight may determine if he changes his tune to that statement. As Lamar Odom said after Sunday's game the Lakers lack camraderie right now. That is a statement you may expect to hear during the preseason or even in the early stages of the regular season and shake it off, but to hear it in the middle of the playoffs is disheartening. This team has gone through numerous injury problems so I understand how timing and teamwork may be off a bit but to say there is no camraderie really has me worried more than anything. You can see it in the body language of the players no one seems to really care that much aside from Kobe and hopefully this team doesn't start pointing fingers at each other. You can definitely see it in Smush Parker as he is clearly upset at his demotion this late in the year and when he's on the floor it doesn't even look like he wants to be there.

If the Lakers get blown out today it could be the signal for Lakers management to say enough and realize this team in its current state is nowhere near where they think it is. I believe last year's close call to take the Suns to 7 games put management in a comfort zone thinking that a couple years this same team could make a run at it, but it can't. Number 1, Smush must go. He is an offense first PG, who plays no D, he has a lot of steals because he finds himself reaching and getting steals or he'll let the defender by and pick up a stupid foul reaching for a steal or leaving his teammates out to dry and allowing an easy bucket. Aside from that we will have to wait and see what happens with free agency and the draft before I can make any statements as to what else I think this team needs. The Lakers franchise has a proud tradition of winning and this team is not living up to that standard. If you look up at the rafters of Staples there are only NBA Championship banners, no division championships, no conference championships as you will see with a lot of other teams. If you don't win the championship your season was not as successful as it should have been. Only a few years ago I was at Lakers games wondering where they would put the 10th banner up, Staples has them up in 3 rows of 3 and there isn't much space around them, now I'm left to ponder if I will see the 10th banner go up.

At a loss for words

2007-04-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

and the game is not even over yet. The Lakers are trailing by 21 at halftime and I am so frustrated and furious I can't even begin to describe it. I may not even watch the second half to prevent myself from getting even worse because I don't see anyway how it can get any better. This is a pathetic excuse for an effort at the game and Lakers management needs to pull their heads out of their asses. Numerous times Mitch Kupchak has said no major changes need to be made to this team, that is bullshit. This team in its current state has no chance to do anything EVER in the playoffs. This team is much farther behind than anyone that is affiliated with the organization wants to admit. Everyone except Kobe, Bynum and Luke Walton can be moved and this team needs to be blown up. I don't know who realistically will be available, KG is a pipedream and will be continued to be treated as such, but changes have to be made. That's all I can say about that without going on a profanity laced tirade. No way should a team in the playoffs be getting blown out of the water like the Lakers are right now. If I knew the team was going to play like this I'd say the 0.5% chance at winning the lottery would have been better than this in the long run. I implore Lakers management to look long and hard and realize that this team cannot go on like this next season or it will be more of the same. Kobe carrying the team for half the season, sneaking into the playoffs, then getting blown out in the first round. I know Dr. Buss cares about winning as much as I do so I can only hope he feels the same way.

Can the Lakers turn it around?

2007-04-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

That is the question heading into tonight's Game 2 in Phoenix. The Lakers will now try to do exactly what they did last year which was lose Game 1 only to come back and win Game 2. Considering I was expecting a blowout on Sunday I may have overreacted a bit to the Lakers failure to closeout Game 1 but at the same time there will not be that many opportunities for the Lakers to do so and that is what hurts. The Suns shooting was horrendous on Sunday and they still ended up winning, that is a terrible sign.

On the bright side the Lakers did show that they can play with the Suns for about 3 quarters and they just need to extend that effort to a full 48 minutes. I heard on the radio this morning that the Suns are something like 1-10 in their last 11 series in Game 2's so that does bode well for the Lakers. As always someone else other than Kobe will need to hit shots for the Lakers to have a chance. The other big key is our big men to stop playing so soft. Kwame and Bynum have to take the ball to the rack strong otherwise they will not score. With Amare Stoudamire back in the middle for the Suns there is the strong defensive presence in the post that was not seen in last seasons playoff matchup. A number of times on Sunday the Lakers tried to lay it up inside and Amare would either alter or straight up block the shot. If the posts start taking the ball to the hole stronger and someone else is able to hit some shots, if Kobe actually gives them the opportunity to, there should be no reason the Lakers should not be able to steal Game 2 in Phoenix. The defense was there for most of the game as they held the Suns to only 95 points. Keeping Phoenix under 100 is the only way the Lakers will have a chance because there is no way this team will win a shootout with Phoenix, unless Kobe decides to drop 81 again. So heading into tonight I am cautiously optimistic about our chances. I wish I could be more confident but I'm not, hope the team proves me wrong.

Hello and Goodbye

2007-04-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Hello to Elliott Mealer, Welcome to Michigan! Mealer became the 3rd commitment of the 08 recruiting class for football last night. Listed as a 6'6" 280 lb OT he is the second OT to commit after Dann O'Neill earlier this year. In a year where OL recruiting is vital, Michigan has been able to pick up a second solid OL and we will need more. After Ohio State picked up Michael Brewster over the weekend as well as the impending official announcement of J.B. Shugarts as well it looks like Ohio State is done with their OL recruiting for the year which probably explains the lack of OSU offer for Mealer. I was thinking the exact same thing but Brian beat me to it, but the Buckeyes loss is the Wolverines gain and I am happy to have Elliott at Michigan.

Goodbye finally to Alex Legion who will be signing with Kentucky. Sure he's a great talent but his commit, de-commit, re-commit and sign, then de-commit/release from his LOI has not endeared him to Michigan fans, especially considering that Laval Lucas Perry most likely would have committed to Michigan had Legion not taken the last spot by re-committing the day before Perry was set to announce. He's got too many voices in his ear and for his sake I hope UK was really where he wanted to go and not where one of his handlers or his mother pushed him to. It's only fitting that he goes to Kentucky where another previous Michigan decommitment ended up Joe Crawford. The crazier thing is the similarity between Crawford and Legion in the fact that they probably ended up costing Michigan another quality player. For those that don't remember Crawford was expected to go to MSU, while his teammate Malik Hairston was considered to be leaning towards UM. Then out of nowhere Crawford commits to Michigan, and Hairston has no scholarship available for him. Later on Crawford de-commits and goes to Kentucky while Hairston ends up at Oregon because Michigan had too much ground to make up and was not able to. I'm just glad I won't have to hear about Legion anymore and we can concentrate on the guys that will be playing for Michigan this fall. Weeks after the announcement I am still pumped up about Michigan basketball and can't wait for them to take the court later this year.

Proving the haters right

2007-04-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

The Lakers provided a glimmer of hope as they, well at least Kobe, played well for the first half of yesterday's 95-87 loss to the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 of the playoffs. Partly due to the Lakers defense, and the other part due to the Suns horrific shooting the Lakers led pretty much throughout the game until the middle of the fourth quarter and from that point on they were never back in it. Kobe did a spectacular job in the first half hitting from all over including draining a 3 over two defenders at the end of the first half to give the Lakers a 9 point halftime lead.
Up until that point the Lakers did a great job limiting the Suns to just 39 points at halftime.

Then, came the second half which was a different story. For the first half of the 3rd quarter the Lakers still played well, extending the lead to as many as 12 before it was time for the Leandro Barbosa show. Barbosa was the x-factor that killed us yesterday. He led the way in the 3rd quarter as he hit a ridiculous 3 at the buzzer to cut the Lakers lead to 3. In pathetic fashion the Lakers only put up 10 points in the 4th quarter. As Phil Jackson said "What we do know is that we can play with this ballclub, and we have the energy to contain them for a full game. They played a 48-minute game and we played a 36-minute game." This was absolutely correct, the Lakers played great 3 quarters and faded down the stretch, as they have done numerous times this season.

Kobe struggled to put up 11 points in the second half after a brilliant first half. The problem in this is Kobe was on fire so he thought he could win the game himself. Which he definitely can do at times but yesterday was not one of them. He forced the issue too much, shot too often and did not pass the ball to his teammates when they were open. There were plenty of instances where he came down was doubled and did not kick it to the wide open man behind the arc. Sure these guys are not dependable at times, but if Sasha or Mo is wide open then I don't mind them taking that three instead of Kobe having to drive get cut off by a second man and throwing up a crazy 18 footer over two players, especially at the end of the game when his legs were clearly not there compared to the first half. This is the type of play that that Kobe haters have been pointing to when arguing why Kobe is not a great player. It really hurts to see in games as big as this that Kobe proves the haters right. We've only got one day until Game 2, we need the Kobe that proves the haters wrong.

Is this what we've been waiting for?

2007-04-19T10:26:00.000-07:00

For the first time this month the Lakers won consecutive games, a pretty pathetic stat, as they defeated Sacramento 117-106 to clinch the seventh spot in the West and a rematch with the Phoenix Suns. After a promising start to the season the Lakers stumbled down the stretch barely making it into the playoffs. I, like many Lakers fans, thought there was plenty to build off of last years playoffs even though they did blow a 3-1 series lead. As I stated earlier this season I would be disappointed if we didn't make it out of the first round of the playoffs and it looked like I would be disappointed to end the season.

But I did see some hope last night, albeit it was against the second stringers of Sacramento. The Lakers finished with over 70 points in the paint, the highest total this season, and something they will need if they want to upset the Suns. Kobe got his with 34, and locked up the scoring title for the 2nd year in a row, becoming the first LA Laker to ever accomplish the feat, George Mikan did it in Minneapolis, but the pleasant surprise was the play of Kwame Brown's 17 points which included 7-8 from the field and 3-3 from the line. We will need that type of play from him and Andrew Bynum if we are to even make it a difficult series for Phoenix.

Jordan Farmar got the start for the 2nd consecutive game and we will have to wait and see if Phil will go to him again on Sunday. The interesting thing about the season series with the Suns is that the only Laker win was without Kobe on opening night. The Lakers started out slow that day and I was expecting a blowout as I was in attendance only to be pleasantly surprised by the comeback that was made. This team has had to deal with numerous injuries throughout the course of the season and has not been able to turn back into the cohesive unit that started the season so strongly. They still haven't been able to put it together as a whole the past few weeks but hopefully yesterday gives them the confidence necessary to put it together for this series. I doubt it but I can keep hope alive.

What is going on here? Legion back to UM?

2007-04-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

In what may possibly be the weirdest recruiting story I have ever followed for potential Michigan player it looks like Alex Legion may end back up at Michigan which would be the first time I have ever heard of a player committing to a school three times. MGoBlog and Maize n Brew have their thoughts on the situation which has new information on Legion's recruitment brought today from the Detroit Free Press.

According to Fox Sports yesterday, Legion was no longer considering Michigan and I really didn't feel like it would have been that big of a loss after the whole committing and de-committing twice. There had always been rumors about Tim Green's involvement in Legion's recruitment and it looks like they were true. I was upset yesterday because as I didn't want someone that doesn't want to play for Michigan. By asking out of his letter of intent, it would mean for the second time that Alex Legion did not want to come to Michigan and I had enough of his games. But it looks like he really is being pulled in many different directions and doesn't know what to do as everyone is in his ear.

I feel bad for him as he can't make a decision by himself due to all these outside influences. Hopefully the time he has now until May 15th, the end of this signing period, he will be able to make a decision for himself that he comes to. Not what his AAU coach, or what his mom want him to do, but what he wants to do. When I was making my college choice my parents did not want me to go to Michigan but I did anyways. It wasn't anything against Michigan it was just far from home and they didn't want me that far away. But they supported my decision and I can say that it was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. I hope Alex gets to make his own decision and it is one that he can live with for the rest of his life. If that decision is Michigan, that is great and I will be happy to see him suit up for the Maize and Blue, but after reading this article which confirm all the rumors about what has been going on behind the scenes I won't have a problem if he decides some other school is best for him.

Alex Legion released from LOI

2007-04-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

As expected Alex Legion has been granted a release from his Letter of Intent he signed with Michigan. The article states that Michigan will still recruit him but I hope we do not. Numerous scouts and people who follow basketball closely have said that Legion would be a great fit with Beilein's offense. He is just looking for an excuse to get out and he got it. Legion initially committed, then de-committed, only to re-commit and sign his LOI before he asked out for it now. There is no need for Coach Beilein to waste his time and resources to recruit him and he should look elsewhere if he wants to bring in another player for this class.

Also of note is Reed Baker will be leaving the team, which opens up 2 scholarships with Legion asking out now. So Coach Beilein could bring in 2 players for this class but considering how late in the game it is I doubt that will happen. This will leave either 2 or 3 scholarships for the 2008 class dependent upon if another player is found for this class or not. I think it would be better to wait considering most of the top players are already signed and with the good season I expect from this team next year it would open up more doors to many recruits in the 08 class.

Jackie Robinson Day

2007-04-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. It was a great tribute for a great man before the Dodgers game against the Padres last night and the entire Dodger team wore #42 to honor him. Many other individuals, and in some cases teams wore 42 as well to pay tribute to the man that did so much not only for the game of baseball but for race relations in America. Props must go out to Ken Griffey Jr. who came up with the idea and approached the MLB to wear 42. Unlike the NBA, who denied Jerry Stackhouse's request to put Robinson on his jersey, he already wears #42, the MLB allowed the entire league the option to wear 42 and many took advantage of it. Bruins Nation has a great post entitled Honoring Jackie which also has links to a bunch of other articles about paying tribute to Jackie.

The Dodgers were able to get the victory last night 9-3 over the Padres, and pitcher Chris Young who wrote a dissertation on Robinson for his thesis at Princeton. As a Dodgers fan it means even more to see these tributes to a great man. A few years ago when I was going to purchase a Dodgers jersey I knew which one I wanted, a Jackie Robinson. They were difficult to find at the time but fortunately a Cooperstown collection came out with 42 and I jumped on it immediately. To hear and read about the things he had to endure to make it with the Dodgers I feel honored to be able to pay tribute to him by wearing his jersey.

Finally

2007-04-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Lakers finally picked up a much needed W and in conjunction with the Clippers loss to Sacramento, secured a spot in the playoffs. Most likely it will be as the 7th seed against Phoenix, but there is a chance it could be the 8th and a matchup with Dallas. Either way the Lakers have their work cut out for them. The Lakers close the season out at Sacramento on Wednesday night.

Once again it was a similar story. The Lakers jump out to a big lead, blow the lead and for the first time in a while they did not blow the game. Kobe ended up a very efficient 50 points which helped the cause as he shot 72% from the field for the game. Also surprising was the move by Phil Jackson to start Jordan Farmar over Smush Parker. Many Lakers fans, including myself, have been wanting this to happen for a while but to see it happen in the second to last regular seaosn game was surprising. Farmar had a decent game with 9 points and 3 assists in 28 minutes of play. We will have to wait and see how Phil handles the point guard situation in the playoffs. Shammond Williams who got a good amount of run a few weeks back has been non-existent, who knows how Smush will react to his benching at this late in the season and who knows how Farmar will fare in the playoffs. Kobe needs some help if the Lakers want to win because it will be difficult for Kobe to score 50 a game in the playoffs and it seems like that is the only way they win lately. Some other guys must step up otherwise the Lakers will be done in 4 games.

Spring Practice comes to a close

2007-04-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

Lost in all the hype of the John Beilein hire, Spring Football has been put on the backburner for most Michigan fans for the first time I can ever remember. But before we discuss football there is an article from Andy Katz at ESPN discussing all the new coaching hires and here's what he has to say about Michigan:

Michigan : This also is a contender for best hire of the coaching carousel. John Beilein is arguably one of the best coaches in the country, let alone one of the smartest. Michigan will be well-coached, well-schooled and hard to beat from this day forward. It doesn't matter how he recruits Detroit or the state. He will win. You watch.

It's great to hear that Coach Beilein is so respected among his peers and although he's not the big name that many hoped for I truly believe he will take Michigan back to national prominence.

Now to football, there were a bunch of injuries that prevented a lot of players from practicing in Spring Ball and it just got worse. As rumored last week, Kevin Grady did tear his ACL and will most likely miss the 2007 campaign. Reports were that he was performing well in practice and he was the #2 back but with this injury it looks like that will go to Brandon Minor.

Another rumor that has been floating around surrounds Carlos Brown and his possible transfer. After some time off and debating it looks like he will not be leaving Ann Arbor. Not sure if Grady's injury played into the decision in any way as Carlos had moved to CB but it is great to hear that he will be returning. With the lack of depth at RB, he may be moved back, or more likely he will probably play a little of both since there is not much depth at either position. I wish Michigan would start televising their spring practice like numerous other programs have been doing on ESPNU but I don't see that happening anytime soon so I'll have to rely on reports online. I am very excited to hear about what Ryan Mallett does tomorrow.

*&^%$#$@!$#@@$$&!!!!

2007-04-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

Same story, different day. The Lakers blew a big second half lead, decided to stop playing defense and sat and watched as nobody helped Kobe out. It was a roller coaster ride throughout as the Clippers jumped out to a big lead early in the first quarter, then the Lakers took a large lead in the second half, only to give it up again at the end. Kobe took over in the 3rd quarter but the Lakers could not hold onto the lead that was as big as 17 at one point. I feel like I'm watching Michigan snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

There has been debate among Lakers fans whether or not making the playoffs this year is even worth it. I have always been on the side of making it is important even if we do lose in the first round because this team is so young and no one is playoff tested except for Kobe so the experience could be worth a lot down the road. However, I am not so sure anymore. Watching this team the past few weeks has been extremely painful and it doesn't look to change much. If this team even holds on to their playoff spot I expect it to be done in 4 or 5. Anything more would be an accomplishment the way they are playing right now.

The Lakers still hold a 1 1/2 game lead for the 7th spot in the West over the Clippers and Golden State. With 3 games to play it's not bad but it could be better. I definitely expect a loss tonight against Phoenix but with closing games against Seattle and Sacramento hopefully the team can get on a mini roll before the playoffs begin. As long as the Lakers finish 2-1 they will make the playoffs no matter what the Clippers and Golden State do. In this scenario if the Clippers win out they would take the 7th spot, but they close with Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix and New Orleans so I don't expect that to happen. Golden State closes with Sacramento, Minnesota, Dallas and Portland. The Lakers hold the tiebreaker over the Warriors but not the Clippers.

Great news to start the day

2007-04-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

Woke up to a text message this morning that just made my day. My boy from New York sent me a simple two words that immediately woke me up: "Manny Staying!" That's all I needed to jump start my day and then I got to work to read "Harris says he will attend Michigan after all" There was a great deal of trepidation on my part as I wrote on Monday:

Onto Coach Beilein's attempt to keep together this 07 class, it doesn't look good. Both Alex Legion and Manny Harris met with Beilein this past week and I believe it would be miraculous if he was able to keep both players.

Thankfully, it looks like I may be wrong on this one. Also, the article on Manny staying also has a quote from Alex Legion stating "I'm starting to like Michigan more and more," and Coach Beilein is expected to go see Legion in Virginia this weekend. Props go out to Coach Beilein, and also to Coach Jackson for re-securing Manny's commitment, let's finish it out and lock up Legion again. There are also rumors that the schedule will be upgraded next season which would include a renewal of the Duke series, which I would be glad to see cause I can't stand them and I would love to beat them after all the blowouts they had against us when I was in school.

Onto other College Basketball news now is the time that many players declare their intentions to stay in school or declare for the NBA Draft. Starting with the players that are leaving: Kevin Durant of Texas, Arron Afflalo of UCLA and Julian Wright of Kansas. Durant's announcement was expected considering he took the College Basketball world by storm, sweeping every major award out there and being the first freshman to win a number of them. It was reported he really wanted to stay but was scared off by the Shaun Livingston injury as they are of similar build and did not want to risk something like that. It would have been great to see Durant in college for another season but there's no way you can fault him considering he will be at worst the 2nd player picked in the draft.

Then there's Arron Afflalo, who I believe could use another year at UCLA and win a national championship in the process. He is a borderline first round pick and unless he wows the scouts he could very easily fall into the second round. UCLA must also wait for Darren Collison's decision as well. Considering the weak PG class he could decide to make the jump, and if he does it would be a huge blow to the Bruins. Hopefully he will decide to stay and play with Kevin Love and lead UCLA to a 3rd consecutive Final Four.

Julian Wright declared but has not signed with an agent, leaving the potential for him to return to Kansas. But as he is projected a top 15 pick I doubt that happens. Brandon Rush is also expected to declare, which would be devastating to Kansas.

With these defections the big winner in all this is North Carolina where Tyler Hansborough, Tywon Lawson and Wayne Ellington have all announced they will return next season. UNC is now my odds on favorite to win the title next year, with or without Brandan Wright who has yet to announce. The deadline is April 29th to declare and I'm sure there will be many more announcements that will have impact on the upcoming college basketball season.

The slide continues

2007-04-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

The Lakers had their chances, but couldn't finish something that's been happening a lot lately as they dropped a pivotal game against the Denver Nuggets last night. That leaves the Lakers 1 1/2 games behind Denver with 4 to play, and with Denver owning the tiebreaker it's more like 2 1/2 meaning the Lakers are most likely headed to a repeat of last year as the 7th seed to face the 2nd seed Phoenix Suns. Denver has 5 games remaining and would have to go 1-4 while the Lakers win out to get the 6th seed. At worst the Nuggets should finish 2-3 as they have winnable games against New Orleans, Memphis and Minnesota, as well as Utah and San Antonio. The Lakers close out with the Clippers, Phoenix, Seattle and Sacramento. Knowing the way this team is playing right now they'll probably split these 4. If they finish worse, than 2-2 there is a chance they could be the 8th seed, or possibly even miss the playoffs.

As I've harped on the past few posts, the main problem lies with the defense. In the month of April alone, the last 6 games, the Lakers have allowed their opponents to score over 100 points 5 of those games. Defense like that against the Suns will end the Lakers season in 4 or 5 games. There is some bright side as Vladimir Radmonovic is expected to return this week. Maybe he's the shot in the arm our team needs, who knows, with Lamar's shoulder not allowing him to effectively shoot from the outside, maybe Vlad can pick up the slack. But considering he himself is coming off a shoulder injury, I doubt it, maybe the time off allowed his hand to heal which will improve his shooting because it definitely wasn't what the Lakers expected when they signed him.

Regardless of the playoff matchup it will be against a tough team, one of the top 3 in the West. The Lakers need to start playing better D and stop making so many stupid mistakes. Sure the playoffs are completely independent of the regular season but I would feel much better about our chances if the team started playing better. Let's hope the turnaround starts on Thursday against the Clippers.