Michigan Basketball is Back

It was 1998. Stu Douglass was seven years old. Richmond pulled of an upset over 3^rd seeded South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. John Beilein coached Richmond. Michigan lost a heartbreaker to UCLA in the second round. Michigan has not been in the tournament since. Eleven years later, John Beilein and Michigan are both in the tournament again—together.

Growing up a Michigan fan, words can’t truly express my excitement upon hearing Greg Gumbel’s words: “Coming out of Ann Arbor…the seventh Big Ten team… the Michigan Wolverines!” My initial reaction was disbelief. Sure, I felt like Michigan was a lock to get into the tournament. But, after eleven years of absence and at least two years of heartbreak, Michigan fans had to be anxious. Especially after being skipped over in the first three regions. But, once Michigan’s name was called the anxiety, the heartbreak, and the dispair was all replaced with joy.

After last year’s 10-22 showing, no one expected Michigan to make the NCAA Tournament. I, for one, was hoping for above .500 basketball. As a result, John Beilein, Manny Harris, and DeShawn Sims are going to get all of the credit. They deserve a lot of it. They coached and played inspired basketball all year. But, this tournament bid is about so much more than three people.

The long and winding road began on February 17, 1996. Prized recruit Mateen Cleaves was on his official visit to Michigan when the car he was riding in crashed… and changed everything. Upon investigation, it was found that Cleaves and his host players had made it to Michigan booster Ed Martin’s house that night. Cleaves went to Michigan State, Michigan went on probation, and Michigan’s basketball program went into a downward spiral.

The on-the-court trouble all started with Brian Ellerbe. Taking over for Steve Fisher, Ellerbe stepped into an impossible situation. Still, watching Brian Ellerbe coach basketball is something that no one should have to endure. Despite a terrible coaches and impending sanctions, Michigan brought in a great recruiting class for the 1999-2000 basketball season. Jamal Crawford stayed for a year and went to the NBA. Kevin Gaines played for a year and was eventually kicked off the team. Only LaVell Blanchard lasted all four years. He didn’t take Michigan to the tournament, but LaVell proved himself to be a true Michigan Man when Michigan needed it the most. Other players in the Ellerbe era that Michigan fans will remember include Avery Queen, Bernard Robinson Jr., Gavin Groninger, and Josh Asselin.

In 2001, many thought that Michigan was ready to go to the next level. Up-and-coming Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker was hired. Like Ellerbe, the start of Amaker’s time at Michigan was sparked by a great recruiting class. Daniel Horton, Lester Abram, and Chris Hunter gave Michigan fans something to get excited about. The following year, Dion Harris became the first Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan to choose Michigan in nine years. Tommy Amaker’s teams consistently got close, but never close enough to get into the tournament. In fact, the one year that Michigan was likely “in,” they were serving their one year self-imposed probation for the actions of Ed Martin. Names that Michigan fans may remember from the TA era include Graham Brown, Amadou Ba, Ron Coleman, Courtney Sims, Brent Petway, Reed Baker, and Jerret Smith.

And, as much as I hated Tommy Amaker as a coach, I must say… he deserves a lot of credit for what happened yesterday. Amaker walked into Michigan the year before they went on probation. The Michigan basketball program desperately needed stability as well as a clean-run program. Tommy Amaker provided that. He brought Michigan back into respectability. He wasn’t a great coach. He probably would not have this year’s team into the tournament. But, he served the University of Michigan to the best of his ability for six years. He loved the players, the school, the fans. Tommy Amaker is a true Michigan Man. His efforts will not be forgotten anytime soon. Thanks TA, hope you were cheering along yesterday, you deserve a lot of credit for what has happened.

Thanks to Amaker’s efforts, Michigan was able to get a high-profile coach like John Beilein. Beilein has done more in less time than can possibly be expected of him. And, to his credit, he has not lost sight of the significance of yesterday’s events. Before and after the selection show, Beilein was consistent in his appreciation of one group—the fans. More than anything, Greg Gumbel’s words yesterday justified the actions of those of us Michigan Basketball fans who have been with the team for the last eleven years. We have seen bad and worse. Yet, we have stuck with the team, the program, the school. It wasn’t always easy, but it was necessary. I, for one, had chills yesterday following the announcement. It’s a feeling that I will never forget. Finally, the time has come. The last eleven years have been worth it. Michigan Basketball is back.

Hitting the Lottery

If you missed it, an Ohio University offensive lineman won the lottery for $250,000 earlier this week. Michael Eynon is hardly the first person in sports to hit the jackpot. The following teams and players hit the proverbial jackpot, and it changed some of their careers. In other cases, it brought championships.


10. 2007 Seattle Supersonics
Reminiscent of the draft 23 years before it. A center injured in college taken ahead of a "do everything" guard/forward. In the case of the 2007 NBA Draft, there were two players clearly better than the rest. Picking first could prove a huge blunder. Picking seconds, like the Sonics did, is a no-brainer.

9. Eric Gagne
Traded at the 2007 trade deadline, Gagne pitched poorly in the twenty games he saw the mound in a Red Sox uniform. But, he managed to win a World Series in the process.

8. Jim Sorgi
Jim Sorgi's 2007 salary: $850,000. Jim Sorgi's career touchdown passes: 6. Sorgi has been fortunate enough to be Peyton Manning's backup for his entire four year career. And, he has yet to play in a meaningful game. Instead, he's getting paid nearly a million dollars to stay in shape and play the last two games of the year after the Colts have clinched the division title. I'd take it.

7. Steve Fisher
The day before the 1989 NCAA Tournament, Bill Frieder was fired as Michigan basketball coach. Steve Fisher was named interim coach and most assumed that he would be replaced following the tournament. Glen Rice scored a record 184 points in the tournament, making Fisher's job pretty easy. Fisher signed a contract following the tournament and hit the jackpot again two years later with the Fab Five.

6. Sam Cassell
Sam Cassell signed with the Celtics in March to provide them with a veteran point guard to help the young Celtic players not named Pierce, Allen, and Garnett. Instead, he averaged 12 minutes per game in the playoffs, proving to be a great, veteran cheerleader.

5. Christian Laettner
Christian Laettner was a wonderful college basketball player. His basketball IQ was through the roof. But, he wasn't a Dream Teamer. Except he was. He sat the bench in the 1992 Olympics and watched the greatest basketball team ever dominate like no one has ever seen before. And he gets to call himself a part of that team. Not a bad distinction.

4. Phil Jackson
One of the most successful coaches in NBA history sure has run into some great help. If Michael and Scottie weren't enough, Kobe and Shaq should have been. Sure, nine championships as a coach is tough to argue with. But, I'm pretty sure I could've had at least six with those four playing for me.

3. 2005 Illinois basketball
The only list member not to take full advantage of hitting the jackpot. Illinois played in Indianapolis, Rosemont, and St. Louis in their six tournament games. These three cities: a combined 1062 miles from Champaign. Rumor has it they walked to all three sites as a warm-up. Unfortunately, home court advantage at a neutral site tournament wasn't enough. Illinois lost to UNC in the Finals.

2. Larry Coker
The 2001 Miami team that Larry Coker inherited consisted of the following: Willis McGahee, Andre Johnson, Antrel Rolle, Ken Dorsey, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Jon Vilma, Bryant McKinnie, Kellen Winslow, Jeremy Shockey. That's not even all of the NFL talent on the roster at the time. Maybe the most talented college football team of all-time, Coker would have had to try not to win a National Championship. Apparently he did in 2002. Following the loss to Ohio State in the National Championship game, the talent left along with Coker's career.

1. 1984 Chicago Bulls
The Blazers picked Sam Bowie with the #2 pick. The Bulls had a no-brainer for a pick at #3. After establishing himself as the greatest player of all-time, Michael Jordan seems like even more of a no-brainer 24 years later.

The Return- SEC Academics

For the past year or so, I've been writing for one of my friends at theangryt.com. I recommend reading it daily. He's really got some great stuff there, and it gets a ton of traffic. In the past few weeks, I've decided to start writing in here again, and I'm going to start by posting some of my favorite articles that I've written for The Angry T.

This is probably my favorite-- talking about how poor academics actually helps SEC in recruiting.


Bigger... Faster... Dumber?


The SEC is the dominant conference. We've heard it for years. The last 2-3 years it is very possibly true. But why? They're faster, people say. Apparently the deep South breeds differently than the rest of the country.

Is it possible, though, that SEC schools are just able to take more athletes than other schools? Lower academic standards certainly make it a possibility. When looking at the academic reputations of the four major college football conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac Ten), it is clear that the SEC fails miserably.

Of the SEC's twelve schools, only Vanderbilt (18) and Florida (49) make the top 50 of US News and World's 2009 rankings. Only Georgia (58), Alabama (83), and Auburn (96) join them in the top 100. Two schools, Mississippi and Mississippi State, fall under the Tier 3 category. Even when those two sub-par schools are excluded, the average ranking among the other 10 SEC schools is a below-average 89.1.

By comparison, the two worst Big Ten schools (Michigan State and Indiana) are both ranked 71st. That's right, the worst Big Ten schools are ranked significantly ahead of the SEC's average. In perhaps the most staggering statistic, the SEC only has three schools that rank ahead of the two worst Big Ten schools. The Big Ten ranks at the top of the four conferences with a 50.1 average ranking and all eleven of their schools in the top 100.

The Pac Ten ranks second with an average ranking of 62.1 and only one Tier 3 school (Oregon State). The Big 12 falls slightly ahead of the SEC with an average ranking of 86.4 and two Tier 3 schools (Oklahoma State, Texas Tech).

So what does all of this mean? In short, the SEC has a recruiting advantage. Anyone who follows recruiting even a little bit realizes that there are a lot of kids coming out of high school with poor grades, test scores, etc, that are extremely talented athletes. It's not a stereotype. Different kids have different reasons for their academic shortcomings, many of which are beyond their control. When a school has lower academic standards, they can (in general) accept more recruits than schools with higher standards. Even if their entrance standards are decent, an easy trip to college appeals more to kids that are dead set on going to the NFL. Let's face it, student-athletes are not student-athletes anymore. If that were the case, kids would be flocking to the Big Ten. Or, recruits would be lining up to go to Vanderbilt, by far the best school in the SEC. Oh... but there's this little thing called reality. So are SEC players faster? Maybe. But it sure sounds like they're getting an easier ride.

This might not be as humorous as you expect from an article on the Angry T. But, well... the truth is funny enough.

Farewell Lloyd

1995 Virginia—Scott Dreisbach to Mercury Hayes. 1995 Ohio State—313. 1997. 2000 Orange Bowl—Brady, Terrell, Thomas. 2003 Ohio State—100th game. 2004 Michigan State—Braylon. 2005 Penn State—Henne to Manningham. Woodson, Jackson, Hall. Glen Steele. Foote, Irons, Jones, Sword. Hutchinson, Long, Baas. Terrell, Edwards, Streets, Toomer, Walker, Avant. Thomas, Perry, Hart. Griese, Brady, Henson, Navarre, Henne. 5 Big Ten Championships. One National Championship.

Only one man is directly responsible for all of this. Yet, even in the days after his retirement, Lloyd Carr still can’t get the respect he has earned. I guess it shouldn’t really surprise me… Michigan quarterbacks have encountered the same problem dating back to Elvis Grbac (yes, even Tom Brady). I guess I’m just an eternal optimist.

Growing up a Michigan fan, I have grown to expect two things—winning football games and winning football games with integrity. During his tenure, Lloyd Carr has done both. Has he been outcoached at times? Sure. So has Pete Carroll. But, there is so much more that goes into being a head coach than X’s and O’s. Joe Roberson, the man that hired him, recognized this. "I said to myself, 'I really want a coach who can be a role model to these young men in the educational sense,' " Roberson said. "Somebody who knows there are more letters in the alphabet than X and O. I felt Lloyd was that." On top of educating players, you have to get the right ones in the first place. Heck, Pete Carroll’s probably outcoached more than any of us will know.. . but his players just outexecute other teams. They’re just that much more talented. For thirteen years, Lloyd has gotten the right players. Sure, there’s a Kelly Baraka and a Johnny Sears every once in a while. More importantly, he’s found guys like Braylon Edwards, David Harris, and Mike Hart. Guys that others thought were too slow, too small, etc. Guys that, ultimately, make your program. And, when they step out of line, it is up to the coach to correct it. The stories of Lloyd handing guys like Braylon, Chris Perry, and Shawn Crable their transfer papers are told countless times. Meanwhile, Jim Tressel sits those same guys out for a play. Maybe I’m screwed up in the head, but I have no problem sacrificing a win here or there if it means running a clean program. Plenty of programs have taken a different approach—Miami, Florida State, Nebraska. They allow guys to play except in cases of murder. And look at where those programs are right now. Think that’s a coincidence? Michigan won’t see that sort of decline, and Lloyd Carr is directly responsible for that.

Lloyd didn’t have the impact of Bo, the fire of Moeller, or the charisma of either… but he produced better results. And, he’s done so much more. Adam Kraus described Carr at Lloyd’s last football bust as “not just a coach, but a maker of men.” Never have I seen a person command more respect from his inferiors than Lloyd Carr. His players thought so much of him that they gave him the Michigan ring that is given to each senior at the end of the year. The only other non-player to ever receive the ring? Bo.

Words can’t truly express how much I will miss Lloyd Carr. He has meant so much to the Michigan football family for so long. He was one hell of a coach. That, and most importantly to me, he represented the University of Michigan as well as it has ever been represented—something all Michigan fans, should be eternally grateful for. Goodbye Lloyd, you will be missed.

MSU Fallout

In one play, Shawn Crable pretty much summed up Michigan's season. He had Javon Ringer wrapped up, and let him slip through his fingers. Crable fell down, but he got up. He got up and made one of the finest defensive plays I've ever seen. I don't think people really appreciate how great a play Crable made. I don't care if he had an angle... he basically made up 15 yards on the fastest running back in the Big Ten. Not only did it show freakish athletic ability, it just showed how much Shawn Crable cares. Something we didn't see early in the year from the rest of the team...

Then there's Chad Henne. Coming into this year, the complaints were consistent: he can't win games... he can only manage them. Enter: Michigan Senior QB. John Navarre did it, Drew Henson did it, Brian Griese did it. But, no one did it better their senior year than Tom Brady. Sure, Griese won more games (and a NC), but Brady played a much bigger role in his victories, this is where the nickname "Captain Comeback" was born. Chad Henne is having a Tom Brady-like senior season. Against MSU and Illinois, he has showed unbelievable guts. (Do you have it? Chad does.) Mike Hart got all the publicity early in the year, and deservedly so. But, it's Henne's time. He has gone from a guy who could barely considered a leader, to a legitimate first round pick. The talent has always been there... the heart and the brain have finally caught up. And, you better believe he's going to do everything in his power to prevent a repeat of his previous Ohio State games.

Finally, I cannot believe Mark Dantonio. Maybe it's because I've been raised better. Maybe it's because I've grown up as a Michigan fan. But, I've come to expect more than what Dantonio showed after the game (and after the Appalachian State game). I can handle a player running his mouth, especially if he backs it up. But, a coach... sorry, I expect more. This is part of the reason that I will support Lloyd Carr to the grave (note: change is still needed, see previous post). After the Appalachian State game, Dantonio offered a 'moment of silence' for Michigan at his UAB press conference. Jehuu Caulcrick said that it feels like they won two games that day (okay, but you better back it up). And, then, Michigan players offer a moment of silence after the game, and Dantonio gets mad? You brought it on yourself buddy. Jehuu gets mad about something that Terrence Taylor told him after the game? What do you want to be it was something along the lines of..

TT: Good game, man.
JC: Thanks, wish we could've pulled it out.
TT: Yeah, probably feels like you lost twice today, huh?

Then, Dantonio gets mad about Hart's "little brother" comment (totally accurate btw), and says this..

"Does Hart have a little brother or is he the little brother?" Dantonio asked. "I don't know, he's ... that tall." Dantonio placed his hand to his chest to illustrate Hart's stature.

Can you imagine Lloyd Carr doing that? Pete Carroll? Jim Tressel? Dantonio went on to rant about how this was "just the beginning", and proceeded to start another countdown to next year's game. Maybe you should worry about Purdue and Penn State. Have you not learned anything from the past? You put everything into the Michigan game, and it backfires. You lose, and you collapse. You lose games before it because you're focused too much on Michigan. Maybe you haven't learned as much as you think you have. Just remember...

You're still Michigan State.

State of the Program (long)

If you're going to read/comment, please read the entire thing.

I'm not sure who I am more disappointed in... the team or the fans. Let me start with the fans.

You boo the Detroit Lions. You boo the referees. You boo the opposing team. You boo Brent Musberger. You do NOT boo your own school. You do NOT boo your own fight song. I have little respect for those who do. I think part of it comes from going to games my entire life, games where booing backfired. Just to name a few...

1995 Michigan/Virginia-- Opening game. Michigan is down 17-0 going into the fourth quarter. The boos were everywhere. Michigan completes (at the time) the greatest comeback in their history with a Scott Dreisbach to Mercury Hayes TD pass in the corner of the endzone (my favorite play in U-M history, to this day).

1997 Michigan/Iowa-- Michigan goes to halftime losing and getting booed of the field after Tim Dwight tears the special teams apart in the first half. Check that year again... yeah, that worked out pretty well.

2004 Michigan/Michigan State-- Two words: Braylon Edwards.

The only things preventing booing from being the runaway winner for stupid things fans do are the overrated chant and the wave. It's not just that booing backfires, as it clearly does. Booing accomplishes nothing positive. Everyone always says, "Well, if they know we don't approve of how they're playing, they'll change." Yeah, and Bill Parcells was going to control TO. Regardless of what Lloyd Carr and the players will tell you, they hear you booing. And it affects them. It's not as if they don't already know the fans are disappointed with their play. The fans aren't half as disappointed as the players themselves are. If I came into a room when you were taking an exam, you answered several questions in a row incorrectly, and I started booing... would that encourage you to do any better? No, it would embarrass the hell out of you. It would just make you feel like shit and it would put you in the wrong sort of mentality for the remainder of the exam. The same thing goes on the football field. So, cheer... please. If you don't, I *will* find you and I *will* call you out.

Next... if you don't know anything about football, shut the fuck up. Here are a few signs that I'm talking about you.

1. Brandon Minor fumbles the ball and you start chanting "Fire Lloyd."
2. You complain constantly that Michael Hart isn't in on every single offensive play.
3. Chad Henne throws a bad interception and you start chanting "Fire Lloyd."
4. You were (seriously) chanting "We want Mallett" against Oregon.
5. An opposing WR catches a 4 yard pass against a zone coverage and you bitch about how bad our secondary is.

Seriously, Chad Henne, Lloyd Carr, and the secondary aren't responsible for every bad thing that happens on a football field. This is John Navarre all over again. In fact, I bet some people wish they had John Navarre back. Michigan fans anointed JN as the worst 4 year starter in college football history (paging Reggie Ball). When did Navarre ever overthrow a wide open Braylon Edwards consistently? 2003 Ohio State was supposed to be his signature game-- the game that would "define his legacy". (Michigan won that game.) That shows how rational some Michigan fans are. When you lose to Appalachian State and get blown out by Oregon at home, you have much deeper issues than just two people and a position group. I'm as unhappy as the next guy, but please don't blame all of Michigan's troubles on Chad Henne and Lloyd Carr. If you're one of these people, I have some lake front property to sell you in downtown Ann Arbor.

On to the team... the coaching has just been bad. Ron English got all of the credit last year when things were going well, so he certainly deserves a large amount of the blame now. He has essentially rendered his best defender useless. Shawn Crable is an excellent SAM, he plays very well off the ball. But, when you put him at DE and he gets blocked initially, he is out of the play completely. Put him back at LB, let him roam and make some plays. You have Brandon Graham at DE... the same Brandon Graham that was an All-American coming out of HS. I don't care whose doghouse he is in.. put him on the field. He can make plays, which is more than can be said for 9 other guys on the defense. Johnny Thompson and Chris Graham need to be benched. They both have tons of talent, tons of speed... but it just doesn't translate to the field. It definitely makes you appreciate David Harris. Chris Graham would beat Harris in a race on the track. Put Harris on the football field, and the game speed differential is enormous. Graham and Thompson (along with every safety not named Brandent Englemon) make themselves much slower with poor fundamentals and poor pursuit angles. Maybe they all just need a geometry class. Or, somebody could just tell them the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. David Harris understood that. And, he didn't miss tackles, something the entire defense struggles with. Look at the Oregon game tape and notice all of the "form tackles" on defense for them. I noticed this difference just in warmups. It's something that is very easy to be corrected... and it needs to be corrected badly. As for the secondary... communication is a huge issue. We saw this in the Ohio State game last year. The play that sticks out in most peoples' minds is the play action pass to Ginn across the middle. Leon Hall stays short/outside on Ginn because he's expecting safety help over the top. That's the CB's job in a Cover 2. This has happened at least 3-4 times this year already. When you see the CB trying to catch the WR from the outside, that's generally a safety issue. Brandon Harrison has done this several times expecting safety help. It's a simple matter of communication.

The offense has been my biggest disappointment. Against Applachian State, the defense gave the team a chance to win the game in the second half, and the offense just laid an egg. Who would've thought that Michigan's offense would be 11th in the Big Ten after games with 1-AA and Pac Ten opponents? Playcalling and execution have both been problems. The problem with playcalling isn't running the ball too much, I would argue that we haven't run the ball enough. But, when we choose to pass the ball, we are far too safe. Without knowing what plays are called, it's impossible to know whether this falls on DeBord or Henne. Henne does seem to be living up to the nickname Chad "Checkdown" Henne, though. The middle of the field is there... Greg Matthews (who deserves to be suspended) is getting open. The over-the-top pass to Manningham is there. The fade to Arrington is there. Use it. Don't just throw swing/screen passes all game. Note to Mike DeBord: When we line up trips left to the far side of the field, THE OPPONENT KNOWS IT IS A WR SCREEN. When we have the FB in, the opponent knows that we are running the ball. Check the film... that's why they are putting 9 in the box in that situation. Use this to your advantage. Go trips left from the shotgun and run a draw. Put the FB in and use some play action. This isn't difficult... it's simple football. You don't need to get fancy, just be a bit more creative. In the end... you have better players than the other team when you are on offense. Put them in situations to succeed.

As for the state of the program as a whole, Michigan is still Michigan. The assertion that Michigan football is mediocre now is ludicrous. If Michigan was mediocre, they wouldn't be getting the publicity (albeit negative) that they are. If Michigan State lost to Appalachian State and Oregon to start the season, no one would care. In fact, most people would expect it. We are not Notre Dame... we have had legitimate success in the past 10 years. 1 National Championship and 5 Big Ten Championships is more than most can say. It's clearly time for a change. This "change" is not just the head coach. Lloyd Carr is not the coach he used to be, but he isn't the biggest problem. It's the Bo mentality. Time changes, Michigan needs to as well. This doesn't mean moving to the spread offense, this just means a change. Maintain tradition, maintain integrity, but change. Michigan is still Michigan... and that will be evident when the search for the next leader of Michigan football begins.

I leave you with this, a Teddy Roosevelt quote, one that Lloyd Carr quotes all of the time. As long as any of us have been alive, it has been easy to be a Michigan fan. Now, it's time to man up. Show some pride, show some loyalty to a school and a program that have given you countless memories.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Some Random Sports Thoughts

Dan Patrick-- I was kinda sad when I heard DP was leaving ESPN. He's the last of the SC anchors that I grew up watching (Stuart Scott doesn't count). He's always pretty rational, and he's got that dry sense of humor that just makes you want to listen. Now, they need to bring back Kenny Mayne... permanently.

The Tigers-- Everyone's freaking out... and those people obviously became fans last year. I've been through about 18 losing seasons (of 20), so the losing doesn't bother me. But, they're almost becoming like the Pistons. They just don't seem to care. They become nearly unwatchable in a lot of losses. Most of these guys went through at least one rough season with the Tigers. Hopefully, they can remember the true excitement they brought to an entire state last year. I'm not too worried.. they're bound to turn it around. But, I would like to see a couple things happen. Jason Grilli needs to go. He's a liability when his accuracy is just a little "off". Bring back Jordan Tata. I LOVED this guy at the start of last year.. I never understood why he got sent back down. He pitched brilliantly the other day in his start, and he proved last year that he can come out of the bullpen with success.

Barry Bonds-- I think he's a complete prick. No, he is. But, he's gotten a raw deal. Barry is, in my opinion (and by far), the best player of this generation. You can talk about Griffey in his prime, but he was always more of a HR hitter. When it comes to going to all fields, he's not even close to Bonds. No one (perhaps ever) can compare to Bonds when it comes to seeing the baseball. His vision is truly remarkable. Oh yeah.. he stole 30+ bases routinely in his prime (something Griffey never came close to). Perhaps the only thing Griffey has going for him is his defense. Even then, Barry Bonds has 9 Gold Gloves. Back to Bonds getting a raw deal.. where's all of the outcry for McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, Pudge, etc.?? The evidence against these guys (and many more) is just as strong (if not stronger), yet they all seem to be getting a free pass. Even Bud Selig seems to be singling Bonds out. If this was Pudge breaking the record... would there even be a question if he was going to be there? Of course not. Barry is about to break the greatest record in all of sports. It's something, even without steroids, he would be approaching. Yes, he's a complete ass. But, he's one of the best baseball players ever. He deserves this moment. When A-Rod breaks his record in 10 or so years, I will be the first one to stand up and applaud.. but I will be applauding whenever Bonds breaks Hank's record as well.

Tim Donaghy-- Wait, the NBA is fixed!?!? Next you'll tell me that the Tour de France is dirty. Has anyone actually watched the last two years of the playoffs? The Pistons dominate two regular seasons.. but the two young, rising stars and faces of the NBA somehow beat them in the playoffs. Playoff officiating has been questionable for years. This is nothing new... just something independent of the NBA ordering it.

Michael Vick-- Another complete jerk--white, black, or purple. I can't stand when the race card is brought up in something like this. Do you really think we would condone Jim Tressel fighting dogs (my next suspicion)? Would we give Danny Crawford a break if he was betting on NBA games? This whole thing just confirms what I've always thought... NFL players are much bigger thugs than NBA players ever will be. And, ex-Michigan players never seem to be caught up in this sort of thing.

College Football-- Can't wait... the best sport period. If Michigan's secondary holds up, watch out.