Monday, June 28, 2010

"Owned Up."

William Clay Ford Sr. said yesterday after Lions president Tom Lewand was arrested for drunk driving that "Tom made a very serious mistake and he appropriately owned up to that mistake." Can you really call it "owning up" to a mistake after the cops have arrested you? Once you're in cuffs and blow a .21 on the breathalyzer I don't think you get extra credit for admitting you screwed up.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

A Thought

I haven't watched any of the World Cup, but I did catch a little of discussion about all of the noise caused by the vuvuzela and wanted to comment. Noisemakers suck. Whether it's the vuvuzela, thunder sticks, or whatever other contraption you come up with to artificially make noise, it has no place in the stadium. It's cheating. If fans can be loud enough to distract the opposing team, go for it. Yell your head off. Clap. I'm even okay with a little shaking of keys. But devices made solely for making noise should be kept outside the stadium.

Good

Friday, June 25, 2010

Quote of the Day

Truth is, these losers offer no solutions – they’re just misery engines bent on destroying the achievements of others.

-Greg Gutfeld, Daily Gut

Friday, June 18, 2010

Movie Review

Okay, this obviously isn't worth anything, but I'll give my take on "Avatar." I saw it this weekend. Didn't come in with too much expectation. All the buzz was too long ago to be washed into the hype. I thought the movie was worth seeing ($3). However, I don't think I'd pay $10 to own it. In fact, if I never see the movie again, I believe I'd be fine. So, I didn't hate it, it's just not "Dark Knight."

"Oh be careful little eyes what you see..."

I never thought this day would come. I'm deeply disappointed in myself as a man, as a father, and as a citizen of the United States of America. My worst nightmare happened yesterday. I should have been more cautious. I should have been more prepared. But instead I was negligent. I let my guard down. I let my family down. My daughter, whom I am responsible for, saw something no child should ever see. She may be scarred for life. I tried to apologize...but the tears had already started forming. Then the moment of silence before the violent screams. It can't be undone. What's done is done. There is no going back. Only pain. I will never forget that day. That moment. There is no excuse. No explanation.



My daughter (deep breath) saw a goal during a soccer game of the World Cup yesterday while at The Whole Foods Market in Utica. There, I said it. Send me hate mail. Threaten my life. Punish me.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Utes Going West

If the Pac-10 hadn't been so close to adding Texas and Oklahoma, then today's announcement that Utah is joining the conference would really seem like a big deal, instead it's more like an epilogue to all of the action last week. The appeal for the Utes is obvious, they could potentially get a chance to play in a BCS title game which they've been complaining about missing out on. The benefit for the rest of us is that Utah would actually have to prove they can earn their way into said title game when playing in a real conference. Maybe now would be a good time to call of the antitrust lawsuits against the BCS though? That's just lame.

One other thought: Wouldn't it be kind of disappointing to get to the Rose Bowl and have to play Utah? Multiply that by a factor of ten if we were to have a Nebraska vs. Utah Rose Bowl.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Should I stay or should I go?

Katrina Hancock of WDIV 4 in Detroit is reporting that Tom Izzo will stay at MSU. There's a press conference scheduled for 8:30 pm ET.

UPDATE: Trustee George Perles says Izzo is staying.

UPDATE 2: He's staying. Izzo's statement:

It's been an agonizing week as I tried to make a decision about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I apologize for the time the process has taken, but sometimes there are opportunities that come about that must be thoroughly examined. I'm no different than any other successful coach in that I've had multiple inquiries before, but this one was uniquely intriguing. There was a lot of information to gather and consider and some of it wasn't easily obtainable. But when making a life decision, I owed it to myself and my family to do my due diligence. From that I never wavered. And I'm pleased to say I am here for life at Michigan State.

Throughout the entire process, Dan Gilbert and the entire Cleveland organization has been nothing but class. His professionalism and caring nature for me, my family and Michigan State have been impressive. I wish him nothing but the best in his quest to win a world championship. Just as I decided to stay home, I hope a 6-8, 270-pound forward in Cleveland decides to stay home.

We have a great team returning next year with incredibly high goals. I've repeatedly said I have greater goals for our program and that remains unchanged. Tops on that list is becoming one of just seven schools with three or more NCAA Championships. I'm also driven to continue to raise the perception of our program to an elite level.

The entire Michigan State community has been terrific. I'm almost embarrassed by some of the acts of support, but I'm certainly touched. I tried to approach this decision in a rational manner, but my heart was always at MSU.

My goals are not limited to Spartan basketball. I want to do whatever I can to make our entire athletic department and university better. Most important is helping Mark Dantonio and his football team attain its goal of winning a Big Ten Championship and playing in the Rose Bowl.

Soccer Sucks

I was going to avoid writing anything about the World Cup entirely, but I just can't hold out any longer. For one thing, even though it's Game 6 of the NBA Finals tonight (which I also don't care about), ESPN has World Cup coverage all over the front page. I'm often willing to side with ESPN against its critics, but they are absolutely trying to push soccer on viewers and it's pretty ridiculous. I'm glad I don't watch SportsCenter any more, because I'd probably throw something at the TV.

The second thing is that Andy McCarthy at The Corner shared a link to this article in The Washington Times. The conclusion:
There were a few enjoyable things about watching soccer. No commercials, it looks good in HD and I was able to get some things done around the house since there was no real danger of missing anything.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Stayin' Alive

Texas decided today that it could make enough money in the Big 12 for it to be worth sticking around, so Oklahoma, OSU, and A&M decided to stay as well. So the Big 12 (?) survives for now and the Pac-10 is thwarted in its quest for college football supremacy.

Crazy Talk

Lynn Henning of the The Detroit News is crazy. 99.9% of MSU fans would be absolutely thrilled to have Izzo continue to coach the team and, despite all of this with Cleveland, wouldn't question his dedication to the job.

"Hope"

Saturday, June 12, 2010

For once...

...I agree with Terry Foster completely. Tom Izzo is a college coach.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Not Superman

The Washington Post has an article today entitled "Don't expect Obama to be Superman." It's not much more than a list of excuses for Obama not living up to his rhetoric, but I found it especially amusing in this case. Why? Maybe the author hasn't seen this picture?



Or this one?


If you let yourself be sold as a superhero, don't complain that people expect too much of you.

Moving On

The shakeup of college football continued today as Nebraska officially announced they will apply for membership in the Big Ten. Assuming they are accepted, which they should be, they would begin play in 2011.

Also, remember how the MWC wasn't making any moves? Well that went out the window today as Boise State left the WAC and joined the MWC for the 2011 season.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Dominoes Falling

Those people who said there weren't going to be any conference moves? They were wrong, as Colorado announced today they are joining the Pac-10. That doesn't necessarily mean the end of the Big 12, except that Nebraska is reportedly ready to move to the Big Ten (Excuse me while I vomit). That doesn't mean the conference has to fold, as you're only talking about adding two new teams, but it certainly puts the Big 12 on shaky ground. Baylor especially is in a bad position. They were hoping to replace Colorado on the list of schools that could potentially move to the Pac-10, now they could be left out in the cold with the Kansas schools, Missouri, and Iowa State. Missouri was supposed to be a team the Big Ten was interested in, but apparently they are now "getting the cold shoulder" from the Big Ten.

The Pac-10 needed some good news to announce today as USC just got hit with a 2-year postseason ban.

To the gound.

ESPN says sources claim Izzo is close to taking the Cavaliers coaching job. Apparently he's meeting with the team today, so he's obviously interested.

Two thoughts:

- Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert is an MSU graduate. If he does this he should never be welcome on campus again. If he's in any alumni associations, they should throw him out.

- I need to go buy gas cans.

Monday, June 07, 2010

Cleveland Sucks

ESPN reports that the Cleveland Cavaliers have extended an offer of their head coaching job to Tom Izzo. Izzo previously said he wouldn't be interested in the NBA until he won another championship. I think it's pretty unlikely that Izzo would take the job, but the sheer horror of the idea does leave me just a little nervous.

Conference Expansion Roundup

- Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott has been given the power to make decisions regarding expansion.

- An announcement could come as soon as 7/27.

- Conjecture is that an expanded Pac-10 could make $20 million per year in TV money for member schools. This surprised me, as I would think with all those teams they could at least match what the Big Ten made last year.

- The Big Ten presidents and chancellors met today. According to MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon, council chair, "It's possible that the timeline may be altered, but not the process."

- To join the Big Ten, a school has to submit an application, then receive votes from at least eight presidents or chancellors. This vote could happen electronically, so another meeting wouldn't necessarily need to happen.

- Anyone else notice that every time Big Ten expansion is mentioned academic standards come up, but when Pac-10 expansion is brought up no one says anything about academics? AAU membership is often cited (list of members here) when talking about the Big Ten since every school is a member, but out of the Pac-10 Stanford, Arizona, Cal, UCLA, Oregon, and USC are members as well. Sure, it's not everyone, but I'm surprised it isn't a bigger part of the conversation.

- The Mountain West conference isn't changing for now. I'm sure that's a relief for everyone.

Sunday, June 06, 2010

Inside Out

Another 90's song:

Deadline

The Big 12 has reportedly issued an ultimatum to Nebraska and Missouri: commit to staying in the Big 12 by 5 pm Friday or... well, it's not like they're going to be kicked out at the end of the week, but presumably there will be consequences. But, hey, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe is still comfortable that the Big 12 will remain intact. Right.

The most interesting bit of information in the article? An actual measure of the difference in TV money between Big Ten and Big 12 teams. Big 12 teams each made $7-10 million last year, Big Ten teams made $22 million.

Also, I did some research and poked around ND message boards, trying to get an idea of the overall feeling about how all of this will affect Notre Dame. There's surprisingly little talk that I can find, and what there is suggest they aren't worried, as you would expect from the most arrogant fans this side of Ann Arbor.

Saturday, June 05, 2010

Heating Up

Last month there was speculation about how Big Ten expansion could cause tectonic shifts across college sports. Apparently the Pac 10 got the message, because there is now a report that they're offering invitations to Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado, who would play in a division with Arizona and Arizona State. This would swell the Pac 10 to sixteen teams, making it the first mega-conference. Obviously, this changes everything. The Big Ten was planning on waiting through the summer, but they may have to act sooner rather than later before the feeding frenzy starts.

Will the Big 12 break up? Apparently Missouri and Nebraska are very serious about joining the Big Ten, even eager. Texas could go pretty much anywhere it wants, but would prefer to move with some of the other Big 12 teams to keep rivalries intact. Texas apparently is also looking in to starting a TV network of its own, which could complicate matters. As for the other teams, right now it sounds like they want to see what Texas does.

A few other issues:
- When are we going to see the SEC make a move? They can't be planning on just sitting back and watching this unfold.

- If the Pac 10 expands to 16 teams, does that the other major conference are going to try and get to that number?

- Notre Dame hasn't been interested in the Big Ten's offer. Are they starting to get nervous? Being independent is workable in the current landscape, but if mega-conferences are going to emerge in 2011 things will be much different.

- What are Kansas, KSU, Iowa State, and Baylor going to do if the rest of the conference abandons them?

First word: Diesel.

Shaquille O'Neal challenged last year's spelling bee champion to spelling contest on Friday. Kavya Shivashankar, 14, responded with a little trash talk: "Are you sure you want to do this? I did win the national spelling bee last year."

Apparently there are people that dislike Shaq, but when I hear of something like this, I can't imagine why. He'll follow through on this, and get killed, but everyone will have a good time. What's not to like?

Thursday, June 03, 2010

The Way

More 90's music. You know how songs sometimes get connected to certain moments in your brain? My enduring memory of this song is listening to it while drinking Mountain Dew during a break from picking up stones with Big Daddy. Probably heard it a hundred times that summer but that's the one that sticks in my head.

The (Mostly) Perfect Game

A few thoughts on the blown call last night:

- Jim Joyce, by all accounts, is a good guy and great umpire. But he screwed this one up badly. Criticism is deserved.

- Threats against his family though are just stupid.

- Everyone involved acted with class. A shocking amount of class really. It speaks well of everyone involved.

- "Blown calls are part of baseball." "Human error is part of the game." I've heard that all day. It's garbage. I'm not really a baseball guy, but one of the things I do appreciate most about baseball is the history and tradition. Still, to keep technology out that could avert many mistakes is foolish.

- "Instant replay would make the game too long." Who could tell the difference? There's plenty of ways to cut more time out of MLB games, and replay can be done quickly if handled right. College football has an extensive replay system, but the overall amount of time added is minimal, especially compared to the impact of major blown calls.

- The bottom line for me: It is intolerable that thousands of fans at home can easily see that a call is wrong and nothing can be done to change it.

- I'm glad the MLB isn't stepping in and reversing the call. Yeah, it was bad, but I think that would be worse. And set an awful precedent.

- That Corvette sure is shiny.

- Armando Galarraga will probably be remembered better and longer because the game ended this way. Maybe he should change his number to 28 though.

- Politicians "declaring" it a perfect game and trying to score cheap political points? That's lame.

Comic Cover of the Week: Superman/Batman Annual #4

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Closing Time

All this graduation stuff has got me in a 90's mood:

Now that's a sinkhole.

You think you've seen sinkholes? Not until you've seen the one in Guatemala City after Tropical Storm Agatha:

Nuke the leak?

Well, this is certainly a novel idea. And potentially a good one.

Captain America

According to AICN, this is the costume from the upcoming Captain America movie: