Dre Bly Should Be Suspended

Dre Bly recently stated the Lions would not be in the situation they are in if Jeff Garcia had been the quarterback.

"One guy in particular ... is the cause of this whole thing," Bly stated on the NFL Network. “It's not hard to figure out. The quarterback here has been bad. He has not really gotten the job done ever since I have been here. I really believe Coach (Mariucci) would not have been fired if Jeff (Garcia) would have been healthy."

"Joey's been here four years," Bly continued, "and being the No. 3 pick in the draft, he hasn't given us anything."

Some of that is true and some teammates on the Lions feel the same way. However, in Harrington’s defense he has played for one coach who didn’t deserve to be a head coach, another coach who had no faith in him and never gave him a chance, a group of receivers with a lot of talent but awful personalities and work ethic, a non-existent rushing game and an offensive line that couldn’t start at Monroe High School.

Moreover, the last time I checked Garcia was throwing an interception to a Chicago Bears defender in overtime to lose the game and Mr. Bly was part of a secondary that let Chris Weinke and the Carolina Panthers move 80 yards down the field and score a touchdown in the final minute to beat the Lions 21-20.

Damn you Joey. How could you let that happen? Don’t you even know how to play the bench? You make me sick.

Mr. Bly is an idiot and a mediocre football player at best. How many times have you seen him intercept a ball and then try to pitch it to another player only to fumble the ball? Or how about intercepting a pass in the end zone and taking it out to only getting to the two-yard line instead of taking a knee in the end zone and starting the offensive drive at the twenty-yard line?

Now Harrington has not been a good quarterback. But he has also played for the worst organization since 2001. Furthermore, Harrington has handled his criticism and fans insults about his sexuality and toughness with class and dignity. He has never said a bad word about the Detroit Lions teammates, organization or fans. He has never said anything bad about the city of Detroit either.

Harrington responded to Bly’s comments to Detroit Free Press writer, Mitch Album.

"I'm not even going to dignify his comments by getting into a public arguing match,” Harrington said. “What I will say is what Coach Jauron told the team last night: As a team we have to stick together. Without that, at this point, we have nothing. I don't think those comments are appropriate for a teammate to make. I've never believed it's OK to publicly criticize a teammate. I've stayed away from that all season, and I'm going to continue to stay away from that now.”

"We've had a disappointing season. We are all frustrated and upset about it. But passing the blame is something that I have never done and I never will do."

Once again Harrington is classy. He plays his heart out every time he gets on the field, which won’t be this Sunday against the Vikings because interim Head Coach Dick Jauron told reporters today that Garcia would be the starter.

Dre Bly should be suspended for the rest of the year and let go before training camp next season. If you are not a team player and cannot keep those comments within the organization you do not deserve to play even for the worst team in the NFL since 2001.

Kenny Anderson Owes Me an Apology

Dear Kenny Anderson,
You hurt my feelings. You don’t know me and you don’t know you ruined my sleepover at Nick Grego’s house, but you and your Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were cheaters.

You made a basket against Michigan State in the 1990 Sweet Sixteen to send the game into overtime. Your team prevailed in the extra session 81-80.

However, when you shot the ball there was no time left on the clock. Therefore, your shot should not have counted and the Spartans should have gone to the Elite Eight, not your stupid Yellow Jackets.

Now the Yellow Jackets visit the Breslin Student Event Center. I hope MSU erases the fifteen years of anguish I have lived in because of that shot. I think the Spartans will and I think your Yellow Jackets are dumb.

You’re a cheater Kenny Anderson and you made Nick and me very sad. I hope you make a national apology during the half-time festivities. I haven’t talked to Nick in a couple of years, but I’m sure he feels the same way.

Sincerely,
Andrew Zillgitt

P.S. I haven’t been living in anguish for fifteen years solely because of that shot. There are some other disappointments in my life, but that shot still upsets me.

P.S.S. I’m sorry for calling you a cheater. You’re probably a great human being, but you lied about making that shot. Watch the replay. The game was over.

Whatever comes after P.S.S. It’s a good thing you didn’t play for Weber State because then you would have hurt my little sister’s feelings and then I’d have to beat you up.

Bob Ross vs. Terrorism

I saw the artist Bob Ross recently on PBS and I had an epiphany…or what I imagine would be one if I had ever had one to compare this to.

Mr. Ross is the personification of peace and tranquility. If everyone would take a half-hour out of their day to watch Mr. Ross paint a “cozy little lake” and a “happy cloud”, there would be no crime or war. There would be no anger in general.

I would like to try that as an experiment. Does Mr. Ross really decrease anger and rage? We could take some would be terrorists and sit them in a room at Gitmo and have them watch Mr. Ross paint. There could be a second group and they would watch one of Osama bin Laden’s crazy videos. Finally, the third group would be the control and they would not watch any TV and just get tortured as has become a US custom.

I wonder if Mr. Ross ever painted a Middle Eastern portrait. He probably would have said, “Here’s a nice piece of sand. We’ll put a happy little rock right here. And maybe we’ll paint the sun over here. It will look like it is setting. But this is your painting, I’m just providing ideas.”

If Mr. Ross were still alive I’m sure he’d do anything to stop all the hate in this world. I’m convinced he could too. It calms me down and anything that happens to me is certainly applicable to everyone else in this world.

I recommend watching Mr. Ross paint. You will be relaxed and at peace with life.

Ducks Suffer Due To Notre Dame Bias

Poor Oregon.

The Oregon Ducks will probably not make a BCS bowl game even though they are 10-1 and their only lost is against the two time defending National Champion USC. (And they actually led 21-3 in that game.)

Most likely the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play in a BCS game despite having lost two games (one to USC and the other to 5-6 Michigan State) because the NCAA and the national media have some sick perverse love affair with the small Catholic school from South Bend, Indiana.

Notre Dame has not beaten a quality opponent all year. They beat a U of M team that had to struggle to go 7-4, and overrated Tennessee team that did not become bowl eligible for the first time in a gazillion years, and a University of Washington team that was 2-9. Notre Dame struggled in victories over Navy and Stanford and their wins against Syracuse, BYU and Purdue were not impressive because those three teams have a combined record of 12-21. In fact The Fighting Irish only beat four teams with winning records. How are they ranked sixth in the nation ahead of The Ohio State University whose only two losses are to number two Texas and number four Penn State?

Sure Notre Dame has put up some impressive offensive numbers under new Head Coach Charlie Weis. But is that deserving of a BCS bid over Oregon?

The argument that the BCS it is all about TV ratings is bogus. If that were the case U of M should face Florida State or Miami every year for the National Championship game.

Moreover, just because every Catholic is a fan of Notre Dame this does not mean higher ratings for a particular bowl game that features the Fighting Irish. Only 24 % of the US population is Catholic and what percent of those are sports fans? Maybe a Protestant School like Alma (Protestants make up 53% of the US population) should play in the National Championship game because that would encompass half of the US population.

A Notre Dame vs. Ohio State match up (as is the rumor) in the BCS is only intriguing because it will display what an over-hyped team Notre Dame truly is. The OSU fans would love to see this match up. Linebacker AJ Hawk would destroy the Irish WR, Jeff Samardzija and then QB Brady Quinn would have to try to figure out who else to throw the ball to 100 times per game (probably Maurice Stovall). Offensively The OSU would be able to run with RB Antonio Pittman or QB Troy Smith and WR Santonio Holmes would have a field day against Notre Dame’s pitiful secondary.

But this match up should never happen. Notre Dame does not deserve a BCS bid at 9-2, with wins against mediocre football teams, over Oregon who is 10-1 and defeated quality opponents like Fresno State, California and Arizona State.

Xochimilco = Fine Mexican Dining

The top five Mexican restaurant blog seemed to get everyone commenting on their favorite Mexican eating establishments. Jacob had suggested I try Xochimilco, which is located in Mexican Town in Detroit, Mi. So last night Jacob, Nicole, Sarah, Chris, Katherine, Jeni and I went to D-Town to experience come fine Mexican eating. (Emily and DJ were supposed to go, but ended up not attending.)

Jacob was right. The food there is awesome. As always I ended up ordering the beef and cheese enchilada plate. However, I did so only after it fairly won a tournament against the three combination plates. The enchilada plate was on par with El Az, but I would also recommend getting a combo plate because they looked so good. The enchiladas were huge. For a moment I thought I could double up and have another plate, but alas it was too much food for me.

Combo number three (I made the Mambo Number Five joke three or four times last night, because I’m stupid) consisted of a chicken and cheese enchilada, chunky beef burrito and two beef and cheese tacos all served with rice and beans. I was pulling for that plate, but enchiladas won two out of three coin tosses.

The salsa was very good. There were two selections: mild and hot. The hot had a unique aftertaste to it. It was different than any other salsa I have ever had and I was very impressed. I would have liked to bottle it up and take some home, but with the whole check fiasco I opted not to ask our waitress if I could do that. The chips were served hot. I burned my mouth.

The margarita I had was different as well. It tasted as if it were carbonated; like I was drinking All Sport spiked with tequila. I enjoyed it, which is odd because I hate All Sport. I would have had another, but they were strong and my tolerance isn’t what it used to be.

The service was the only iffy part of the whole Xochimilco experience. Our food was served faster than a speeding bullet. We ordered and in less than ten minutes we were eating our food. (So a speeding bullet is anything faster than ten minutes.) However, when it came time to get the check the waitress could not separate the bill and was rude to Nicole. Every party at the table had to pay their own portion of the bill (with no tip included) then they brought back a separate receipt in which you could pay your tip. Sound confusing? It was. The manager said it saved time. It confused me more than the first time I had to learn the pathogenesis of left ventricular hypertrophy and the resulting diastolic dysfunction in cardiology.

Finally, the ambience. I love Detroit. It is an amazing city despite its dwindling population and negative portrayal by media outlets. Detroit boasts great sports, from the outstanding Public School League of high-school basketball to the Red Wings; fine culture, there is the culture rich area by Wayne State University featuring the DIA to Greektown and Mexican Town; rich musical history, such as the birth place of Motown and home to rockers like Mitch Ryder, the White Stripes, Brendan Benson and Eminem; and amazing architecture, like the houses on Grand BLVD and the Fisher and Fox Theatres. Detroit has it all. Xochimilco and Mexican Town offer everything Detroit has in a small couple of blocks. The restaurant itself is rather large and has a brick entrance that made me feel like I was walking into a castle (and I like to feel like I am a king, which I am).

It was a good night at a good restaurant. Does it make my top five? Yeah, knock out Taco Bell (but I still love you Taco Bell, don’t be mad at me). With some more visits to Xochimilco it may move up even higher.

Spartans Face Wildcats and Other Thoughts

Isn’t ironic. Don’t you think?

I’m not sure it is ironic, but it is an interesting coincidence.

Last year three rowdy MSU fans cheered for the University of Arizona while they squeaked past the University of Michigan in the Preseason NIT (we’re all used to seeing U of M in the post-season NIT. Zing!). Some U of M fans at Steve’s Bar in Monroe, Mi called all MSU and us fans classless. We (actually Jon, but we were ready to validate his claim) called him a douche-bag.

Now this Thanksgiving Eve the Spartans play Arizona in the Maui Invitational at 4.30 pm on ESPN2. We certainly won’t be chanting, ”Ar-I-zona!” We will be yelling, “Let’s go State.” Hopefully, MSU does not face the same fate the Wolverines suffered from last year.

Arizona is ranked eighth in the nation, while MSU is 1-2 and number twelve. Arizona lost last night to UCONN and MSU lost a thriller in three OTs to Gonzaga. Winner of this game finishes third at the Maui Invitational.


If MSU can play solid perimeter defense and slow down the Wildcats fast break, they should be able to come away with a victory and avoid having two Big Ten teams from the state of Michigan losing to Arizona on consecutive Thanksgiving Eves.

Go State! We’re not douche-bags! (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)

Some other quick thoughts:
1. Last night the headline on ESPN.com regarding the outstanding MSU-Gonzaga game was, “Maui Wowie.” Isn’t Maui Wowie a sought after type of marijuana?

2. I drove by Taylor Lanes in Taylor, Mi yesterday. It is a bowling alley, but I thought it kinda sounded like a porn stars name. “Taylor Lanes in Going Down in Downriver.” Oh that’s just dirty.

3. It’s snowing today and it looks like there is going to be some snow accumulation. Just last Tuesday I ran in a tee shirt and shorts. I love Michigan weather, but for everyone traveling to M-Town tonight for the festivities be very careful.

4. The movies that are being released this holiday season look fantastic. I really want to see Sryiana, Kong and even Harry Potter.

5. Go State! Go Pistons! Go Lions! Happy Thanksgiving!

Spartans Lose Heartbreaker to Zags in Three OTs

The best regular season college basketball game ever. No arguments.

The best game prior to this one was Duke – UNC in 1995 when Jeff Capel hit a 30 foot three pointer to send the underdog Duke (looks weird typing that) into overtime against the Tar Heels.

But tonight Gonzaga made 3 more free throws late in the third overtime and MSU lost 109-106.

What a game!

Maurice Ager, who played with four fouls from thirteen minutes to go in the first half to one minute to go in the third overtime, hit big shot after big shot, including an amazing buzzer beater to send the game into the first extra session.

Adam Morrison had 41 points for the Bulldogs of Gonzaga and the commentators frequently referred to him as the next Larry Bird. I see the comparisons and they are pretty fair. Morrison doesn’t miss (actually he missed 14 shots, 14-28 from the floor) and he is unselfish. He can put the ball and the floor and has his hands and feet ready to shoot coming off of screens.

Red-shirt freshman Goran Suton missed a lay-up with four seconds to go in the third overtime that would have put the Spartans up 108-107. Suton went right hand on the left side of the rim and that’s a fundamentals no-no. Left hand, left side young man. But don’t get too down on him MSU fans. He is by far and away the most surprising player on MSU’s team thus far in the early season. He gives the Spartans quality minutes and has great range shooting and solid ball-handling skills. But ya gotta hit the bunnies!

It was an entertaining game and to repeat all ESPN analysts, it was played at such a high-level. From watching the Spartans, they are a much better team than I thought they would be. I was very impressed. But they must win their next game. Starting a season 1-3 is not acceptable and feeling good about a loss like this is inexcusable. Izzo will have the team ready for Kansas and hopefully they come away with a win.

Jukebox Hero

You’re at a bar.

You put a five into the jukebox.

You get to play ten songs.

What do you do? What do you do? The answer of course is jukebox dominate!

Tell me what songs you’d play. Here are mine:

1. Public Service Announcement (Interlude) – Jay Z
2. Sometimes I Rhyme Slow, Sometimes I Rhyme Quick – Nice and Smooth
3. B Girls – The Young and the Restless
4. Just A Friend – Biz Markie
5. Girl – Beck
6. So Begins Our Alabee – Of Montreal
7. Love Train – The O’Jays
8. Fat Bottom Girls – Queen
9. Iggy and Angus – Sloan
10. Undone-the Sweater Song – Weezer

Mexican Food; It's What's For Dinner

I’ve calmed down about Michigan State football and now it’s time to eat. If it wasn’t for food, I probably wouldn’t be alive.

So I’m eating Mexican food again. I love it. I love it so much I’m gonna rank my Top Five Mexican restaurants. Again, this is interactive (like my Top Five Drinking Experiences) so feel free to tell me your Top Five Mexican Restaurants. Here we go.

5. Taco Bell, Anywhere, USA
“What? Taco Bell? Come on! “ you might be thinking. Well back off! It’s cheap. It’s almost always available and sometimes it’s so good you forget your actually eating bad food. It’s so good I ate it three days in a row for lunch on my Pediatrics Rotation. I would get a number eight, soft shell with a Mountain Dew and go to Young Patriot’s Park in Riverview, Mi. I ate my delicious Taco Bell while I sat outside next to a peaceful pond inhabited by hundreds of ducks and geese, with a large peaceful nuclear warhead monument next to it on repeat sixty degree November days.

4. Amigos, Taylor, Mi
Ah. Taylortucky. This is kind of like a blue-collar El Azteco. Great enchilada plate and the salsa, the hot stuff, rival El Az. It’s not better than El Az, but could be mentioned in the same sentence (see last sentence). It’s only five minutes from my apartment and I frequent it often. Also, you can get a carryout order in less than five minutes. Tommy likey.

3. San Miguel’s, Hilton Head Island, SC
If Amigos is the blue-collar El Az, then this quaint place located in Shelter Cove is the white-collar El Az. There is outdoor seating right next to a dock full of very large boats. The food is outstanding, the beer is cheap (Corona’s are $2.50) and again the salsa is very good (but not as good as Amigos). San Miguel’s gets the third spot mostly because of its ambience, but it also has a fine food.

2. Panchero’s, East Lansing, Mi
This is the Panchero’s in downtown E.L. The one in Okemos is no good. Stupid gringos. The one in Eastwood Town Centre is not very welcoming. The one in downtown is just right. It’s so just right, it can be used for any meal, i.e. lunch, dinner or the late-night drunken feast (when it is at its best!). The service there is friendly and prompt and the cost can’t be beat (except by Taco Bell, but this is real food). Pinto or Black main?

1. El Azteco, East Lansing, Mi
The one and only El Az! If this restaurant where a woman I would marry her. I was introduced to this fine establishment by my brother Jeff after we watched the Spartan football team’s spring practice and former Spartan coach George Perles gave me a watch (he also gave his players money, which is badness according to the NCAA). I say a little thank to Jeff every time I eat there. The salsa is the best in the history of mankind. The enchilada plate is phenomenal…once I ate two of them in one sitting. The Topopo Salad that Chris eats is large enough to feed two Chrises. Jon eats the burrito plate, which is fantastic. Although, the last pitcher of margaritas I had tasted like vomit (literally) usually they are superb. So what if the service is awful. The food is great and sometimes you have such a buzz from the margs it doesn’t matter. I love El Az! Hooray for El Az!

Random Thoughts for 11/18/05

Sometimes I run north on Fort Street. I run past a White Castle. I’m pretty sure the smells I smell are future angioplasties.

I should do an internal medicine residency, then a cardiology fellowship and then specialize in cardiovascular surgery. (See above random thought.)

What happened to Weezer? Their songs lack a soul now.

I’d buy Inspector Gadget if it came out on DVD. I own Garfield Season One and Two.

George Bush is the worst president ever. Worse than Buchanan and Polk.

Prison Break is a stupid TV show and Fox should stop calling it a two-hour event when it is on back-to-back on Monday nights. I should be watching a two-hour event of Arrested Development.

I like to call Prison Break, the Shawshank Redemption on steroids.

Beavis and Butthead should be mentioned as one of the best cartoons of all time, along with the Simpsons, The Family Guy, GI Joe and Scooby Doo.

Why do I have a blog?

I think God and Santa Claus are half-brothers.

If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. ~ Deep Thoughts with Jack Handy

1984 in 2005?

Double Think – a term from George Orwell’s novel 1984; “Reality Control. The power to hold two completely contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accept both of them,” (http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/ns-dict.html).

Double Speak – a term never used in George Orwell’s novel 1984 but often referenced to it; “Deliberately ambiguous or evasive language; any language that pretends to communicate but actually does not,” (http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/ns-dict.html)

USAToday.com reported today that Republicans have decided to “fight back” against the Democrats and their questioning of the Iraqi War.

On Veteran’s Day, President Bush stated, “These baseless attacks [Democrats questioning the war] send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will."

Vice President, Dick Cheney, responded to the statements by some Democratic Senators stating, “one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever made in this city [Washington DC]."

Wow! Really? Is it even more dishonest than actually making those false charges of WMDs in Iraq?

Here’s where the 1984 references come into play. It is scary to hear the two most powerful people in the free world use double think on a daily basis. We must have peace/we must have war.

In 1984, Winston defined double think as, “…to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them.”

President Bush and Vice President Cheney have done this since they ran for office in 2000. While Bush was trailing Arizona Senator John McCain in the South Carolina Primary, Bush and his team ran ads stating McCain had an African American child out of wedlock. Yet, Bush stated he would restore integrity to the White House. A politically shrewd move like that does not have any integrity.

Cheney stated Iraq and Saddam Hussein were involved in the 9/11 attacks. A complete lie. He stated it with such confidence of its truth, 70% of Americans believed it was true. Later, Cheney was asked if he remembered saying that and again he lied. He said he had never said that.

It is unbelievable to see how Bush and his cabinet have used double think to pursue endless war (another concept from 1984) in order to have peace. War is Peace. That is on page seventeen. I hope someone in the news illustrates this in an interview with one of these liars. I’d love to see George Stephanopoulos ask Cheney if he intentionally met to use 1984 as his policy bible or if it just happened that way.

As an interesting side-note, both the New York Times and USA Today ran articles about how the Bush Administration is using similar language about Iraq that Nixon’s administration used for Vietnam. How is this a surprise? Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were both in the Nixon administration. From the same people who brought you Vietnam and Watergate, now Iraq and the Valerie Plame Scandal. Liars, Liars, Liars, Liars! I’m not sure these people can even be considered good people. They certainly are awful leaders, but they just may be evil as well.

Most people read 1984 and said, “My goodness. I hope that never happens.” Cheney and his buddies read it and thought, “Cool. Let’s do it.”

I’m sorry. I know I’m sending mixed messages about America since I’m disagreeing with idiots like Bush and Cheney. So let me set the record straight: I love America and I don’t like seeing Americans and Iraqis die because someone lied. I want America to be a beacon of freedom, tolerance, love and peace and I don’t think that should be achieved by invading other countries and preemptive war.

So President Bush and Vice President Cheney, I may have just committed thought crime. Please don’t send the thought police after me. And if I end up missing, someone send a lawyer to Gitmo for me.

One More Reason to Watch the Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Demetri Martin, one of today's brightest and most talented young comics, has now been added to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in a segment called "Trend Spotting."

Tonight's Trend Spotting sequence concerned the increasing popularity with people under 25 drinking wine. Although Martin looked a little awkward in his debut on the Daily Show, his comedy was excellent.

He stated 98% of all people less than 25 y/o drink two glasses of wine a night. "Although that statistic was made up, it's probably true," he explained.

He also asked a woman, "What wine would you drink if you were lost on a peninsula?" She asked, "Can you be lost on a peninsula." "I guess you could be if you had a bad sense of direction," he replied.

He also informed everyone to drink red wine with meat, white wine with pasta and vegans are not humans. He also explained that wine coolers are not cool, they are just gay wine.

Adding Martin to this experienced cast of fake news reporters makes the Daily Show even better than it was.

Good Times, Bad Times, MSU has had its Share

College football is all about tradition. A new tradition at the end of Michigan State’s football season is discussing, or rather ranting, about how the program needs a new head coach.

Early in this season the thousands of fans who were calling John L. Smith the best coach in the Big Ten are now demanding he be fired. How quick things can turn!

However, does John L. Smith deserve all the blame for the Spartan’s 1-5 funk after a 4-0 start? Or is there a systemic problem with MSU football, in that the team has fast starts and cools as the season progresses no matter who the coach is?

Yes.

John L. Smith has been out-coached by himself all year long. He was too conservative versus U of M and allowed the biggest blunder in college football this season to occur at Ohio State as the Spartans were completely dominating the Buckeyes. He did not make adjustments in the special teams early enough in the season to account for such an awful place-kicker. Finally, he continually allows Chris Smeland to devise game plans that put MSU’s defense at a disadvantage before the game begins, i.e. he does not blitz enough, he plays the DB’s 15 yards off the line of scrimmage and there are usually only six players in the box. All of these schemes allow teams to nickel and dime the ball down the field.

But MSU has traditionally had great starts, only to falter as the season progressed. All of the MSU fans who have acquired whip-lash from jumping off the bandwagon so quickly, are stating things were better under Nick Satan, I mean Saban. But were they?

Nick Saban was 11-6-1 in his first six games of his first three years, including a 5-1 start in 1997. In that same year, 1997, Saban and the Spartans lost four of their last six games to end the season 6-5. Moreover, MSU never won a bowl game with Saban and the Spartans was outscored 134-49 in the three bowl games he coached (45-26 to LSU, 38-0 to Stanford and 51-23 to the University of Washington).

So fast starts are common at Michigan State and the Spartans have had trouble winning big games regardless of who was on the sideline.

In Saban’s sixth year, his team, full of his recruits, went 9-2 and was invited to the Citrus Bowl. It certainly has been a frustrating year for Spartan football, but give John L. Smith six years and see where this program is.

Now a counterargument to the simple wins and losses analysis is the quality of those wins and lopsidedness of the losses. That discussion is for a different time, but for right now all that needs to be pointed out is that the Spartans are on the same track with John L. Smith as they were with Beelzebub…I mean Satan…I mean Saban.

So go State! Eat them up, beat them up, kill them in their sleep.

MSU is 9-1 in its last ten games versus top ten teams at Spartan Stadium. The More You Know…

Not so Good Part 2

This is the second installment of the “Not so Good” series chronicling the MSU Spartan’s football season.

Today the Spartans lost 41-18 to fall to 5-5 on the year. A season that began with such promise and a 4-0 start has seen the Spartans lose 5 of their last six and now are just one week from officially becoming eliminated from the post season.

Last week I talked about how bad the coaching was. Today, the blame cannot be completely placed on the coaches. MSU penalties and dropped passes as well as a lack of energy cost MSU the game.

However, the coaches aren’t off the hook. Defensive Coordinator, Chris Smeland, still called an awful game. But the offense did not abandon the pass too early and had some big plays out of the running game, which is a positive in an otherwise pathetic game.

In the end Minnesota played with more energy and effort on Senior Day and the Spartans made too many mistakes.

I don’t even know how to dissect the game further than this. It was all about effort and energy today and the Spartans did not have it.

John L. Smith is now 18-17 (11-12 in the Big Ten) as the Spartan’s head coach. (Bobby Williams was 16-17 when he was fired after three years.) He lost to Minnesota for the first time in his three years at State and is now in ninth place in the Big Ten along with Purdue and Indiana.

So for a little fun, leave your comments and give a suggestion on who should be the next MSU football coach (all four of you who read this). In a later blog I will give some of my suggestions.
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As a side-note, Glen Mason is a classless coach and individual. Today with 12 seconds remaining in the game and the ball on the one yard line, instead of taking a knee and letting the time run out with his team up 34-18, he ran the ball and scored a touchdown. Mason did a similar thing to Bobby Williams in Williams’ last year at State. With Minnesota up 28-7 he faked a punt on fourth and eight to keep the ball in Minnesota’s hands.

It’s plays like those that make Mason a classless individual and coach. He plays weak non-conference opponents to boost his record and then falters in the Big Ten. Next year when he loses half of his offensive line and Maroney as well as several key defensive seniors, it will be interesting to see what Minnesota’s record is. He has to come to East Lansing next year and I am sure these MSU players will remember this classless move.

Well congratulations Glen Mason, you have punched your ticket to the Music City Bowl in a classless fashion.

Ball Don't Lie

I was forced to like Larry Brown. He was hired as the coach of the Pistons and then he won a NBA Championship in his first year behind the bench.

I had to eat all my former statements about how he thinks he’s bigger than the game, he’s not loyal to a team or a city and how he cannot coach in the post-season.

After his first year in Detroit/Auburn Hills, I felt like I had been unfair to him. He seemed to love Detroit, be loyal to the Pistons franchise and certainly did not portray himself as bigger than the game while coaching the 2003-2004 NBA champs.

Then I looked like a genius after the 2005 NBA Finals. Everything I had originally said appeared true. Brown was fired from the Pistons in a complex turn of events (which the Pistons are not void of error) and a few weeks later entered his new “last coaching stop” with the New York Knicks.

I laughed. If Brown had trouble handling Chauncey Billups as a shoot first point guard, how would he be able to corral the loose cannon Stephon Marbury? What about Jamal Crawford? Last year the Knicks showed they didn’t believe in defense, and I wondered how will they adapt to “Pound for Pound’s” defense first style of coaching.

The answer is they haven’t. Last night the Knicks fell to the Golden State Warriors 85-84 to go to 0-5 on the season. On the Flip side (get the pun?) the Piston’s improved to 6-0 and 3-0 on their current West Coast Swing as they defeated the Portland Trailblazers 84-81.

Now that Larry Brown is gone I can resume my dislike for him. Although I generally do not relish in another individuals failure, I don’t mind seeing Brown struggle at his dream job.

But hang in there Larry. I was 0-8 to start this fantasy football season, but I got a win last week and I’m sure you’ll get a couple before this season is over.

Patriotism and the Iraqi War

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day; a day to reflect and celebrate the sacrifices US soldiers have made to protect this country.

My grandfather was in WWII. He worked for the telephone company in Monroe, Mi and when the war began he was asked to serve his country and set up communication lines in Germany. He would run behind tanks and lay down telephone wire. That is about all I know from his WWII experience because he never talked about it.

At the beginning of the movie “Jarhead” (a movie about the first Gulf War), Anthony Swofford is asked by the Marines Drill Sergeant if his father fought in Vietnam. Swofford replied yes. The drill sergeant asked if his father talked about it. Swofford said never. The sergeant yelled, good, that means he really fought.

Where am I going with this? War is ugly. It is the worst action, besides genocide, that humans do. It should be avoided at all costs and when it must be done people must question if it was done for the right motives.

Yesterday, in a speech to Army Veterans, President Bush stated it is wrong to question the Iraqi war. He explained, “The stakes in the global war on terror are too high, and the national interest is too important, for politicians to throw out false charges. These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will. As our troops fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life, they deserve to know that their elected leaders who voted to send them to war continue to stand behind them."

President Bush became the first president in American history to initiate a war. And he worse than just doing that, he and his administration lied. There were no weapons of mass destruction. This war did not stop the spread of terrorism. Saddam Hussein was not linked to 9/11 or al Qaeda.

After he declared major combat operations in Iraq were over, rebel troops and terrorists have taken over large portions of the country and are killing coalition troops and innocent civilians every day. There was the Abu Graib scandal, reports that US troops do not have the proper equipment to fight the rebel insurgents and scripted interviews aired to the public to try to portray this war as a success.

What President Bush said yesterday was cowardly and indefensible. If this war was so necessary, he should not have to worry about defending his choices. His actions should speak loud enough.

Moreover, how dare he question one’s loyalty and patriotism to a country because one disagrees with his war-mongering attitude. I love this country and that is why I question his actions, because I want a US and a world that lives in peace and can use compassion and understanding to advance humanity. Thank you to all who question his lies and deceitfulness.

At the end of “Jarhead”, when the war was over, Swofford said to his sniper partner Troy, “I didn’t even get to shoot my gun.” He sounded relieved yet disappointed. I thought I bet there are thousands of parents, friends and relatives who wish their loved ones could have been that lucky.

To date 2,062 US soldiers have died in Iraq (91% of the total fatalities) and 15,586 have been wounded in action.

Please President Bush, end this senseless war and NEVER question one’s patriotism because they do not want to see Americans die in an unjustified war.

Visit http://icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx for more information about casualties of the Iraq War.

The Ohio State University Lands Great Recruiting Class

The Ohio State University had potentially the best basketball recruiting class ever but, ended up ranked second behind North Carolina in the final 2006 College Basketball recruiting rankings.

The OSU signed the number one overall player in the nation, 7’0’’ center Greg Oden. The OSU also received commitments from SG Daequan Cook, PG Mike Conley (Oden’s high school teammate), SG David Lighty and PF Othello Hunter. All of the players were Top 150 recruits and the top recruits in their respective positions.

The “Thad Five”, as Buckeye fans are calling this recruiting class, was an interesting development. At one point, roughly a year ago, Oden and Conley were considered Michigan State locks because they both played at Lawrence North High School – the alma mater of former Spartan Chris Hill. However, the two Indiana teammates committed to The OSU and soon after top SG David Lighty gave his verbal commitment.

The OSU was still one player away from a perfect class. They focused their efforts on the top Ohio SF prospect, Raymar Morgan. However, Michigan State had been recruiting Morgan for two years before The OSU got involved and in the end the 6’7’’ McKinley (Canton) High School standout decided to be a Spartan. This left The OSU searching for their fifth and final recruit.

Othello Hunter was a drop-off from Morgan and because of this The OSU dropped from the number one class of 2006 to the number two.

However, the ranking doesn’t matter too much because, if OSU doesn’t win the National Championship in 2006-2007 year, they will win it in 2007-2008 (if Oden sticks around). Furthermore, the good recruiting news continues for The OSU. Currently The OSU is the front-runner for the number one prospect in the class of 2007, Cincinnati SG O.J. Mayo.

So look out Big Ten. The Buckeyes have arrived under Thad Mata. If these recruiting classes can stay together and play as a team, there will be championships of The OSU in the near future.

As for other schools who did well on signing day, MSU received a solid class. They signed four-star prospects Morgan and center Tom Herzog as well as the top ranked player in Minnesota and three-star recruit, Isaiah Dahlman. Dahlman’s high school team was 33-0 last year and has won the state championship all three years he has been on varsity. He will try to make it four in a row this year as a senior.

The University of Michigan signed two recruits: 6’7’’ PF DeShawn Sims from Detroit Pershing and 6’4’’ SG K’Len Morris from Grand Blanc Michigan. These two players will add depth to U of M’s team and Sims will be a star in the Big Ten if he can stay mentally focused.

For more information about basketball recruits, check out www.rivals.com.

Good Times and Beer

This blog is only for people 21 y/o or older...or those with an amazing fake Virginia ID.

The holiday season is right around the corner. And we all know what that means: family, friends, love, charity and thankfulness of one’s blessings. It also means there will probably be some drinking going down. As a big fan of beer and certain liquors, this excites me.

So that got me thinking. What are my Top Five Bar Moments/Drinking Experiences? I’m going to list them here, but I would like this to be interactive. So, if you feel like divulging some of your drunken escapades that would be fantastic. If you would like to maintain some confidentiality, just comment as an “anonymous” and this will maintain your secrecy.

Without further ado, I present Andy Zillgitt’s Top Five Bar Moments/Drinking Experiences.

5. The Noodle, Monroe, Mi – Nov. 27th, 2002
This makes the list purely for sentimental reasons. It was the last time we could celebrate Thanksgiving Eve at the Red Noodle Inn. Nothing too out of the ordinary occurred, but it was a nice farewell to a classy bar.

4. Augustiner Bierhalle, Munich, Bavaria – May 25th, 2003
Oh German beer is great. Emily and I decided to eat German cuisine that night and drink in a true German beer-hall. She had bratwurst and onions and sauerkraut. It looked disgusting, smelled awful and tasted even worse. My delicious plate consisted of pork, onions, carrots and liver meshed into a nice little patty and served cold with olive oil soaked over it. Thank god for potatoes and pretzels. Anyhoo, after not eating a complete meal, Emily and I downed several (4 Liters each) of fine Augustiner beer. A real sober Emily then explained to me that she wanted to own a BMW when she grew up and decided petting one like a dog would signify her love for beamers. Remember that Emily? I do.

3. Steve’s Bar, Monroe, Mi – Nov. 24th, 2004
Emily, the ultimate instigator, Jon and I cheered for Arizona as they squeaked by U of M in a Preseason NIT (the NIT as become synonymous for U of M basketball…zing!). The county commissioner decided he should start talking smack to my little sister. Jon, who is way more of a man than me, came to her defense. The county commissioner called her and all MSU fans classless. Jon said, “Well at least I’m not a 45 y/o douche-bag.” The County Commissioner replied, “I’m not 45.” “Yeah, you’re still a douche-bag,” Jon reiterated. Classic.

2. Party at 104 Gaylord, Mt. Pleasant, Mi – Sept. 18, 1999
This was the first party Chris and I had gone to at Jacob, Matt and the rest of the 104 Gaylord gang’s (Joe, Jason and Sawicki) house. It was one of those perfect September Michigan days: 65 degrees and sunny. MSU beat Notre Dame 23-16 on a great catch and run by Gari Scott and Minus Grover rocked the house. It was one of several parities Minus Grover headlined at 10459 Gaylord, but the first one was the best.

1. Lou and Harry’s Five Star Deli, East Lansing, Mi – March 25, 2005
This day was so special it had a name: A Good Friday for Drinking. It was Good Friday and the Lord was a State fan that day as MSU topped Duke in the Sweet Sixteen 78-68. (Important sports trivia digression: What is the only school to beat both Duke and Kentucky in the same NCAA Tournament? Answer: Michigan State). Jon, Rachelle and I arrived at Lou and Harry’s at noon. Dave, the GM, asked if we were coming back for the game at 7.00. We told him we were there for the game. An awkward silence ensued as he tried to contemplate what we would do for seven hours. We drank. And drank some more. Chris and Dan showed up. They drank. Then Jeni. And she drank. Then Emily and Brooke. And then all of Emily’s friends arrived Chibro, Teresa, Amy, Peter). And they all drank. Then tip off at 7.00 and total MSU domination. I think all would agree this was the best day in the history of the world…and that’s not even hyperbole.

So what is your top five?

Improved Bedtime Reading

I finally got the Rolling Stone for November 17, 2005. This is nice because it gives me new bedtime reading. My propaganda Spartan Sports Magazine has not arrived and my only other reading material (besides medical journals) was the November 3rd, 2005 Rolling Stone with an exclusive interview with U2 front man, Bono.

Bono and U2 are stupid. And this interview confirmed it. Although I cannot stand U2 I suffered through this article because I had nothing else to put me to sleep.

Here are some memorable quotes, “Bob Dylan taught me that you should let people down. You don’t have to live up to their expectations.” Really? He told you that. Cool. Way to name drop!

“I’m sick of Bono.” You know what? You’re not the only one.

The new Rolling Stone has an interview with Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, an article by Al Gore, a story about people working to solve global warming and a feature about comedian Sarah Silverman. Plus there are, as always, movie reviews by the great Peter Travers. And the best thing about it: no U2 and Bono.

Oh Jon, Thanks for Your Wisdom

Tonight, on the Daily Show, Jon Stewart stated:

TO won't be playing for the rest of the year because he is a dick.
TO, the talented idiot. And now on to George Bush.

I would make just one correction...Bush isn't talented. Oh snap!

Loveable Losers the Ligers Finally Win

Hoo-ray for me!

After a depressingly dismal (I adore alliterations) start the Ligers have finally gotten to the win column with a 53-50 upset over the Crimson Herd in the fantasy Muskrat Football Association (MFA).

The Ligers had been the laughing stock (and rightfully so) of the MFA but now have gained some respect.

All of the credit goes to me and only me. I could have given up after the 0-8 start, but I found some players and put them together and now I am competing. The Ligers only lost to first place expansion team the Notorious S.A.V. 86-79 last week, and under my aggressive moves have begun to compete in this league. (I think that was a run-on sentence.)

The early woes this season are due to a draft miscommunication between MFA Commissioner and Bryon Bomia, me. I had thought there would only be eight teams and did my pre-draft rankings based on this assumption. However, expansion teams the Notorious S.A.V. and the Crimson Herd entered the league and my whole draft order was skewed into a tangent and alternative Ligers, but reality to everyone else. Here are some of my drafting mistakes:

1. Daunte Caulpepper – out for the season with a torn ACL, PCL and MCL
2. Charles Rogers – he does drugs
3. Ahman Green – torn ACL
4. Brian Griese – torn ACL
5. Kevin Jones – Marriucci screwed this one up
6. Brandon Stokley – Not so good this year after I looked like genius picking him up last year

So you see, I made some mistakes. But with Byron Leftwich, Larry Johnson, Tatum Bell and the Carolina Defense, the Ligers may be competitive. However, tonight I celebrate and anyone who reads this should as well. THE LIGERS WON! Drink a nice cold beer (preferably a Miller High Life because champagne is in order for this accomplishment) for the Ligers. Drink several if you feel so inclined. It’s a great day.

Family Guy is Good, NO1MARE is Bad

Oh I love it! “They let Sarah Jessica Parker on TV, and she looks like a foot!” Peter Griffin exclaimed when he found out the FCC was regulating his favorite TV shows.

The Family Guy was great tonight. The head of the FCC was Cobra Commander. The FCC song was hilarious. There was an appearance of the mystical Tinkle Fairy, a Homer Simpson reference and the beginning were Stewie beat-up Osama bin Laden was sweet. U S A! U S A! U S A!

I freekin’ love that show.

On an unrelated topic, the young woman with the license plate NO1MARE driving the red Plymouth Neon smoking a cigarette and chatting on her cell phone owes me an apology. Twice she cut me off. Good thing I was paying attention and avoided the accident. Surprisingly, I kept my cool and didn’t yell obscenities at her. Although if fate should bring us together again I certainly won’t hesitate to tell her how she nearly ruined my life (and I won’t be nice). So watch out NO1MARE…

Monroe Cross Country Turns Out Solid Performance at State Meet

Monroe High School Boy’s Cross Country team finished 18th at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Finals yesterday with a team score of 397. Pinckney High School won the meet with a score of 146.

Monroe was led by Cole Sanseverino, who finished fifth with a time of 15.47, and Justin Heck who ran 16.02 and finished 18th. Jared Werner, Kane Johnson and Nathan Perez turned in solid performances as well as they all finished in the top 150 in the team competition.

Anthony Webb and Wesley Long were the sixth and seventh runners for Monroe and finished 183 and 196 respectively in the team race.

An 18th place finish is a nice finale to a fantastic season for Monroe Cross County. Although this result may seem disappointing to a team ranked in the top ten most of the year, it is difficult to enter the state meet and do well with little experience in big races. It is not that Monroe ran poorly, they just needed more familiarity with the state meet. Just a week earlier at the Willow Metropark Regionals Monroe placed second behind Ann Arbor Pioneer. Pioneer was the 2005 runner-up to Pinckney. So it is obvious Monroe can compete with the top teams in the state. Next year they will be able to build on this race and turn out an even better performance.

There is little doubt that next season will be another good season for Monroe. Coach Mark Scoles has built a solid foundation for this program and if the returning runners do their summer homework this team could be looking at a top five finish, maybe even higher.

Congratulations to the 2005 Monroe Boy’s Cross Country team on a great season.

(Thanks Emily for the headline)

Not So Good

I like to make predictions after the game, because I find that I am right more times than not.

Let’s dissect today’s Michigan State loss to previously 2-6 and 0-5 in the Big Ten Purdue.

Three things are glaring, as is always the case with MSU’s games this year.

1. Playing Calling and Game Plan
Purdue was 11/17 on third down conversions. Wow! Why could a team that couldn’t move the ball against any other school, be so effective against MSU? The answer is Chris Smeland and his ridiculously awful defensive game plan. He rarely blitzes and when he does it is never on third down. Painter, Purdue’s inexperienced quarterback was able to pick the defensive apart on both the passing game and running the option. Smeland’s players looked as if they have never seen the option, although, they have one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the Big Ten as their signal caller. I’m pretty sure DE Michael Bazemore was about as confused as he has ever been. It’s not his fault, it’s that the defense wasn’t prepared. Smeland should be gone. His defenses in the last three years have been one of the worst in the Big Ten and his inability to have his team ready to defend is inexcusable.
The Spartans like to get out to a fast start. The game against Northwestern they went 3 plays and 75 yards for a TD. Today against Purdue, it was 4 plays for 68 yards. After that, the offense was pretty stagnant. Actually, that’s too polite. It was pathetic. The play calling is so predictable. If there is a package in which there are 3 TE, MSU will run it. If Kellen Freeman-Davis moves in motion in a shotgun package, it will be a draw play. There is absolutely no creativity. I counted three straight drives in which MSU ran on third down and three; each time they were denied a first down. If the Spartans want to go to a bowl game (which they won’t) they have to GAME PLAN NOT FIRST SERIES PLAN.
Finally, MSU looked like MSU under Bobby Williams. A drive that started at Purdue’s 34-yard line ended with a punt after 4 straight penalties on the offensive line. This along with a missed field goal deflated the Spartans already fragile psyche.

2. Special Teams
Oh Lord. Please, for the love of College Football Saturdays, find a place kicker. This walk-on Haughey player may be a feel good story, but he can’t kick 26-yard field goals either. When MSU steps on the field they are already at a disadvantage because it is either touchdown or bust. This is way too much pressure on the offense, an offense that has to put up amazing numbers (although they didn’t today) to compensate for a poor defense with poor defensive game plans.
And as bad as the placekicking has been, the punting has been just as poor. Well, not really, but Brandon Fields has not performed well at all. John L. Smith says it’s because of all the pressure for being a Pre-Season All American. That’s a bunch of non-sense. HE’S A PUNTER. His job is rather simple: don’t suck. He doesn’t understand his job.

3. Can’t Win Big Game
John L. Smith never won a big game at Louisville. He has not one a big game at MSU. Against MSU’s rivals (U of M, Notre Dame, Penn State) he is 3-5 including 0-3 against U of M. He is 0-2 against Ohio State, even though both games he should have won. He is 0-1 in bowl games (he never won a bowl game at Louisville). This year on Homecoming (a big game for any school) he lost to Northwestern in an embarrassing rout, 49-14. Currently he is 11-11 in big ten games. Is that what Ron Mason and MSU want? Is that what MSU fans deserve? This team is far too good to be 5-4. MSU should have beat U of M, Ohio State and Purdue. Losses like this are intolerable. If MSU wants to move to the upper echelon of the Big Ten in football, a change may need to be made.
I like John L. Smith’s style of football. I like the spread. Moreover, I am not one to call for the firing of a coach. But if MSU does not make a bowl game for the second straight year, with a team that could have easily competed for a Big Ten title this year, something needs to be done. One thing for sure is Chris Smeland needs to go. Week in and week out the defense looks bad and that is a reflection of poor planning.
John L. has done some nice things, I like his recruiting and I like his style of play, but he needs to game plan better and realize these losses are his fault and not the players.

Well, next up is Minnesota. MSU won’t win this game. They can’t stop the run and if they try, the much-improved Cupito will light them up through the air. Then MSU has Penn State in the season finale. That will be a HUGE GAME. Maybe John L. Smith can win the HUGE GAME; because it has become obvious he can’t win the big ones.

Monroe Cross Country is Back

The first Saturday in November is usually a special day for boys and girls cross country teams in the state of Michigan. It is the day of the state meet, in which the top three teams from nine regions come to Michigan International Speedway (MIS) and run for a championship.

This year the Monroe boy’s team, led by Cole Sanseverino and Justin Heck, enters the state meet ranked sixth in the state after finishing second in the Willow Metropark Regional (arguably the toughest region in the state).

Monroe Cross Country, once the most dominant high school athletic program in the state of Michigan, fell on hard times in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. However, Monroe Cross Country Alumnus and current coach Mark Scoles has led the program back to its winning ways.

With outstanding talents like Sanseverino and Heck, Monroe’s team also has great depth with Jared Werner, Nathan Perez, and Kane Johnson.

A cliché in cross country is you are only as good as your fifth man. In Monroe’s case, they are very good. In cross country a team needs to have a pack of runners that finish close to each other as opposed to having a great runner and then two or three average runners. This bodes well for Monroe at the state meet today. If Sanseverino and Heck can repeat their regional performances and Perez, Johnson and Werner finish close to each other look out; Monroe could finish in the top three.

It’s great to see Monroe’s boy’s cross country team back on top where they belong. And if Coach Scoles can keep drawing talented runners who are willing to do their summer homework, i.e., run 500 miles, Monroe will stay on top for a long time.

The Division One race is at 2.00 this afternoon at MIS.

dj's on leave

i'm not as funny as dj. i don't plan on being as funny as dj. however, dj is on sabbatical and i feel the need to speed...or write about some of the things he would write about and carry on his short lived legacy. dj's writing a movie and needs some free time. i spend friday nights drinking beer and watching hbo all by my lonesome. i figure i can be more productive with my excessive free time and substitute for dj’s absence.

i guess i'm like the substitute teacher that people won't completely make fun of, but when i'm not around will talk about what a douche-bag i am. like tony crane from saved by the bell...b to the b, to the b. go bayside!

i can't say i'll be as thorough as dj. and i certainly won't be as pop culture oriented. i'll write more about pandas - pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infection - good rock bands (minus grover, evad, etc.) and bad sports teams (the lions, the spartans, etc). i can't keep up with paris hilton and ashley simpson. but, i'll do my best to be entertaining.

i'm not a journalist. but my sister and brother are, so back off.

my second post (this is my first) will talk about the day in college football. stay tuned if you'd like.

happy easter and to all a good night.

android

p.s. the only way to kill a yellow beetle is to beat the shit out of it (right jon?)

i'm down with downriver and msu

fall in michigan rulz, everything else droolz! go state!