"Not one bit."

I'm in total agreement with Coach Izzo on Michigan: "Do I like them? Not one bit."

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.

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.

For once...

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

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.

Tom Izzo is wrong.

That was hard to type. I didn't expect Izzo to go against his boss in the press conference today, but getting hit with a "shame on you" is too much. His arguments are also weak. Gruff Sparty (a third logo used on merchandise, not uniforms) and changing between the block S and helmet logo on football helmets isn't the same as changing a ubiquitous and beloved logo. Replacing the Greek-influenced "Michigan State" wordmark with the Nike "State" wordmark is closer, but those are only used on basketball uniforms and didn't eliminate either the block S or helmet logo. If you're going to argue for the new logo, you have to make a compelling case for replacing a popular logo with 30+ years of history with a new design. I haven't seen that done yet.

Shame on Tom Izzo.

UPDATE: I like this photo posted on Facebook:

Izzo's Basement

Song and Dance Man

Sounds like Tom Izzo was pretty good at his one man fund-raising show "Izzo Goes To Broadway." I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around the idea that Izzo was willing to go that far to help out Coaches vs. Cancer. That's why the man is the most beloved college coach in the nation.

Bigger Fish

After clinching the Big Ten title last night with little celebration, Spartan coach Tom Izzo had this to say:

"I'm in the mood for frying bigger fish than the one I just fried."

That's what I like to hear. Bring on the big fish.

PR Nightmare

There's been a lot of people unhappy with the Big Ten Network. Apparently, Tom Izzo is one of them. Izzo had this to say yesterday:

I think it has been a PR nightmare. And, I think it has hurt all of us.

Of course, the network claims Izzo is just frustrated, and, what do you know, they are too. Well, I'm glad they're feeling my pain, but empathy doesn't but MSU on my television. It's a disaster for them that the Big Ten's highest profile coach says the network isn't working. If they don't get things fixed soon, people are just going to walk away, and that definitely isn't good for the conference.

Deep down...

...Tom Izzo is a football coach. You know this if you've followed MSU basketball over the past few years. So maybe it's not completely crazy that there are some rumors of him taking over the head coaching position of the football program. Now obviously this would only happen in Bizarro world, but here's a fascinating quote:

If someone asked him if he'd be interested in the job, "I would have to say no, but I'd probably deep down have to say yeah, I would," he said.

Huh. I think Izzo could do a good job, maybe even be a great football coach. But, on the other hand, making your national championship winning basketball coach into your football coach is crazy. And who would want the pressure of taking over his old job? Still, it's a strangely compelling idea.