Coming off of back to back dramatic endings that resulted in L’s, the Lions decided to give fans a rest and simply hand the game over to the Vikings at the end. This was clearly a game that Detroit missed injured starting QB Matthew Stafford. Sean Hill completed 67% of his passes but only averaged 8 yards per completion. Minnesota once again struggled through the air but did just fine on the ground thanks to Adrian Peterson. This game also saw 6 combined turnovers that led to all 10 points scored by the Lions and 7 points for the Vikings.
The Lions offense was dealt yet another injury blow when Jahvid Best went out in the 1st quarter with a toe injury. The Lions only managed 63 yards on the ground and have averaged just 83 yards per game for the season so far. The passing game showed the effects of losing starting wide receiver Nate Burleson. Hill was forced to rely on screens and safety check downs that led to 21 catches by non receivers. Hill was also responsible for the final nails in the coffin by throwing back to back end zone interceptions late in the 4th quarter.
The Vikings on the other had no problem running the ball with Adrian Peterson going for 160 yards and 2 scores on 23 carries. The front seven of the Lions could only hold up so long against the constant pounding by Peterson. This inevitably led to his longest scoring run of his career on an 80 yard score late in the 3rd quarter.
Brett Favre on the other hand won’t be feeling to well Monday morning. He was only sacked once but had constant pressure in his face. The defensive line knocked him down several times and forced several errant throws that resulted in two interceptions. Even when the Lions didn’t get pressure on him his lackluster chemistry with the receivers continued. He was clearly frustrated and not on the same page as his receivers were running routes and reading the defense.
The Vikings can walk away from the game knowing they avoided a disastrous 0-3 start but still have work to do on offense. The Lions on the other hand are seeing yet another season goes by the wayside and will complete their road division schedule against Green Bay next week.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Lions lose heartbreaker to Bears 19-14
This game has so many storylines I almost don’t know where to start. I could talk about the Bear’s overwhelming edge in total yards 463 to 168 for the Lions. I could bring up the 4 turnovers the Bear’s had that led to 14 points for the Lions. I could actually defend the Lion’s defense for giving up that many yards but holding the Bears scoreless for 95% of the 2nd half. I could also bring up the Lions went from being up 14-3 with 1:30 left in the first half to total disaster in the remaining 90 seconds of the half.
All of the above starting points are valid yet pale in comparison to the single biggest factor/play/story of the game. The old cliché “if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it is a duck” comes to mind. Just insert if Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson has 2 feet down in the end zone, clearly displays possession to the refs, has his knee and rear end hit the ground, it’s a touchdown right. Wrong according to the mystifying rules of the N.F.L. none of that was good enough to “quote” complete the “process” of the catch. I guess they wanted Calvin Johnson to gift wrap the ball complete with a bow and present it to the officials. There is not a football fan from here to Timbuktu that would watch that play and not say it’s a touchdown.
The Lions running game and offensive line that looked so good in pre season provided an anemic 20 yard game total. And in case you’re wondering, that wasn’t a typo only 20 total rushing yards or as many yards Chris Johnson can get blindfolded with one hand tied behind his back. The Bears offense showed the growing pains of going thru year 1 of the Mike Martz offensive system. Jay Cutler was completely out of sync with his receivers on numerous occasions and others just wildly inaccurate. Jay Cutler has a weak Lions secondary to thank for his 23 completions on 35 attempts for 362 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception day.
As a lifelong Lions fan myself what occurred in the last 1:30 falls into the typical “it’s the Lions” category of bad luck, bad calls, bad injuries etc… After scoring their second touch down off of a Bears turnover a 14-3 halftime lead seemed all but guaranteed right. Not so fast because this is the Lions and one 89 yard screen pass touchdown pass to Matt Forte later it was 14-10 all of a sudden. Ok, disheartening and momentum killing but still a four point lead and starting the third quarter with the ball. But wait a minute, here comes Julius Peppers around the corner to sack Matt Stafford and cause a potential season crushing shoulder injury to Stafford. Initial reports have him missing several weeks pending further medical testing. Lion’s fans can take heart that it’s not the same shoulder he hurt last year right, oh never mind it is his throwing shoulder this time around.
I would not want to be a Bear’s fan right now either, if it took all of this to eek out a win against the Lions. Jay Cutler has a very steep learning curve to run this offense. The defense will eventually play teams that run an actual N.F.L. caliber offense to test their mettle. The Lions on the other hand have no hope if they are forced to rely on their back up QB Sean Hill for any length of time.
All of the above starting points are valid yet pale in comparison to the single biggest factor/play/story of the game. The old cliché “if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it is a duck” comes to mind. Just insert if Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson has 2 feet down in the end zone, clearly displays possession to the refs, has his knee and rear end hit the ground, it’s a touchdown right. Wrong according to the mystifying rules of the N.F.L. none of that was good enough to “quote” complete the “process” of the catch. I guess they wanted Calvin Johnson to gift wrap the ball complete with a bow and present it to the officials. There is not a football fan from here to Timbuktu that would watch that play and not say it’s a touchdown.
The Lions running game and offensive line that looked so good in pre season provided an anemic 20 yard game total. And in case you’re wondering, that wasn’t a typo only 20 total rushing yards or as many yards Chris Johnson can get blindfolded with one hand tied behind his back. The Bears offense showed the growing pains of going thru year 1 of the Mike Martz offensive system. Jay Cutler was completely out of sync with his receivers on numerous occasions and others just wildly inaccurate. Jay Cutler has a weak Lions secondary to thank for his 23 completions on 35 attempts for 362 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception day.
As a lifelong Lions fan myself what occurred in the last 1:30 falls into the typical “it’s the Lions” category of bad luck, bad calls, bad injuries etc… After scoring their second touch down off of a Bears turnover a 14-3 halftime lead seemed all but guaranteed right. Not so fast because this is the Lions and one 89 yard screen pass touchdown pass to Matt Forte later it was 14-10 all of a sudden. Ok, disheartening and momentum killing but still a four point lead and starting the third quarter with the ball. But wait a minute, here comes Julius Peppers around the corner to sack Matt Stafford and cause a potential season crushing shoulder injury to Stafford. Initial reports have him missing several weeks pending further medical testing. Lion’s fans can take heart that it’s not the same shoulder he hurt last year right, oh never mind it is his throwing shoulder this time around.
I would not want to be a Bear’s fan right now either, if it took all of this to eek out a win against the Lions. Jay Cutler has a very steep learning curve to run this offense. The defense will eventually play teams that run an actual N.F.L. caliber offense to test their mettle. The Lions on the other hand have no hope if they are forced to rely on their back up QB Sean Hill for any length of time.
Monday, September 6, 2010
U of M opens up with 30-10 win over University of Connecticut
The newly renovated Big House was christened by the Denard Robinson show. U of M’s dual threat quarter back ran for 197 yards and passed for 186 yards for 383 total yards of offense. Connecticut’s offense did their defense no favors and let Michigan control the ball for 37 minutes overall. UConn’s defense saw a steady dose of quarterback runs and screen passes throughout the game.
The game opened up with several dazzling runs by Robinson that helped Michigan gain 287 yards on the ground for the game. The offensive line showed itself to be a unit of strength, paving the way for Robinson and the running back duo of Michael Shaw and Vincent Smith who combined for 99 yards themselves. Michigan’s offense used the running game to set up the passing game to perfection. Robinson threw a healthy dose of screen passes with a few deep balls going 19 of 22 completed passes for 186 yards and 1 touchdown. Michigan knows what it has with his legs but his improvement throwing the ball could make or break the entire season.
Unfortunately as impressive as the Michigan offense was their defense was equally unimpressive. The defensive line is average at best. The secondary is very weak to say the least. The halftime score would have been much closer if Connecticut’s wide receivers had not dropped several wide open deep passes. This put a lot of pressure on the UConn defense that it could not withstand. The defense can only hope that the offense will be able to put up shoot out like point totals game in and game out to bail them out. Of course, this will be much easier in non-conference play compared to conference play but only time will tell.
Jason
The game opened up with several dazzling runs by Robinson that helped Michigan gain 287 yards on the ground for the game. The offensive line showed itself to be a unit of strength, paving the way for Robinson and the running back duo of Michael Shaw and Vincent Smith who combined for 99 yards themselves. Michigan’s offense used the running game to set up the passing game to perfection. Robinson threw a healthy dose of screen passes with a few deep balls going 19 of 22 completed passes for 186 yards and 1 touchdown. Michigan knows what it has with his legs but his improvement throwing the ball could make or break the entire season.
Unfortunately as impressive as the Michigan offense was their defense was equally unimpressive. The defensive line is average at best. The secondary is very weak to say the least. The halftime score would have been much closer if Connecticut’s wide receivers had not dropped several wide open deep passes. This put a lot of pressure on the UConn defense that it could not withstand. The defense can only hope that the offense will be able to put up shoot out like point totals game in and game out to bail them out. Of course, this will be much easier in non-conference play compared to conference play but only time will tell.
Jason
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Detroit Lions Victorious in Great Lakes Classic
On Saturday night in that ever important 3rd pre season game against the Cleveland Browns the Lions did just enough to capitalize on 3 Cleveland turn overs to emerge as winners 35-27.
I do have to say coming on the heels of a pretty good first 2 games this one was pretty disappointing for the most part with a few bright spots and exposing more problems down the road.
The good was a lightning quick 1:28 3 play scoring drive on their first possession of the game highlighted by Jahvid Best 51 yard opening run followed by a 10 yard reception and capped nicely by a Stafford to the other Johnson,Bryant touchdown pass. The other pleasant trend that continued is good run blocking by not only the starters but also the second unit (omg could this mean actual talented depth)that helped Aaron Brown to a very nice 5 carries for 34 yards and 2 td game. This along with his 4 solid kick off returns for 95 yards may have just cemented his roster spot. Another bright spot was the return of Louis Delmas at safety who saw his first pre season action in the first 2 defensive series of the game. He responded with a couple of nice red zone pass coverage plays and had 1 tackle for loss in run pursuit.
The bad of course is that Best came out of the game after his spectacular first series with tightness in his legs and one can only hope it is just a minor couple day thing and Kevin Smith given his first significant playing time was largely disappointing. He got 8 carries for just 20 yards and 1 touchdown but fumbled once and slipped on another rushing play. The Defense was just all around terrible giving up 414 total yards of offense is unacceptable pre season game or not. Even the starting defensive line got done in by a good offensive line anchored by Pro-Bowler Joe Thomas and some nice game planning by the Browns. It was evident that Cleveland watched the tape and decided to go up tempo no huddle quick short throws to negate the pass rush as evident by Jake Delhomme starting connecting on 10 of his first 13 throws for only 73 yards. I sure hope this is not a trend of things to come in the regular season.
The Lions also added to their injury list by placing Jared DeVries on the Injured Reserve list for the list and watching their starting middle line backer DeAndre Levy go down with a pulled groin muscle on the very first play of the game. In what could be a truly debilitating loss to an already weak line backing unit.
Jason
I do have to say coming on the heels of a pretty good first 2 games this one was pretty disappointing for the most part with a few bright spots and exposing more problems down the road.
The good was a lightning quick 1:28 3 play scoring drive on their first possession of the game highlighted by Jahvid Best 51 yard opening run followed by a 10 yard reception and capped nicely by a Stafford to the other Johnson,Bryant touchdown pass. The other pleasant trend that continued is good run blocking by not only the starters but also the second unit (omg could this mean actual talented depth)that helped Aaron Brown to a very nice 5 carries for 34 yards and 2 td game. This along with his 4 solid kick off returns for 95 yards may have just cemented his roster spot. Another bright spot was the return of Louis Delmas at safety who saw his first pre season action in the first 2 defensive series of the game. He responded with a couple of nice red zone pass coverage plays and had 1 tackle for loss in run pursuit.
The bad of course is that Best came out of the game after his spectacular first series with tightness in his legs and one can only hope it is just a minor couple day thing and Kevin Smith given his first significant playing time was largely disappointing. He got 8 carries for just 20 yards and 1 touchdown but fumbled once and slipped on another rushing play. The Defense was just all around terrible giving up 414 total yards of offense is unacceptable pre season game or not. Even the starting defensive line got done in by a good offensive line anchored by Pro-Bowler Joe Thomas and some nice game planning by the Browns. It was evident that Cleveland watched the tape and decided to go up tempo no huddle quick short throws to negate the pass rush as evident by Jake Delhomme starting connecting on 10 of his first 13 throws for only 73 yards. I sure hope this is not a trend of things to come in the regular season.
The Lions also added to their injury list by placing Jared DeVries on the Injured Reserve list for the list and watching their starting middle line backer DeAndre Levy go down with a pulled groin muscle on the very first play of the game. In what could be a truly debilitating loss to an already weak line backing unit.
Jason
Sunday, August 15, 2010
1st Lions Pre-season game ends with Pittsburg claiming a 23-7 Victory
The Lions visited Heinz field and not only had to contend with the Steelers but Mother Nature reared her ugly head and forced a 73 minute weather delay due to lightning and excessive rain.
2 areas jumped out at me from the game, the play of the starting defensive line and the play of Stafford and his developing chemistry with Calvin Johnson.
Kyle Vanden Bosh led the charge of the D-line and showed why Coach Jim Schwartz was on his front porch at 12:01 of the Free Agency signing period. His motor was revved up and pumping from the opening play as he made 2 plays in the backfield on Pittsburgs 1st offensive series. His play was contagious as his defensive end counterpart Cliff Avril followed up with a nice speed rush sack on Leftwich. Holding the Steelers to 25 yds in the 1st quarter was a very nice way to start out. It also seems our defense might be able to generate some turnovers as they forced 2 fumbles early on. Of course I didn’t see the linebackers or secondary do much of anything thru out the entire game but that was more or less expected. Of course no pre-season game is complete without a key injury and up and coming 2nd year 1st rnd Linebacker Jordan Dizon obliged by going down in the 2nd quarter with an apparent knee injury. With Jim Schwartz offering the comment that it could be of the serious variety but will have to wait for the full medical evaluation to come.
The Lions offense tried setting the tone early with a heavy dose of newly minted 1st round RB pick Jahvid Best between the tackles and the results were far from overwhelming. The offensive line as usual needs to show some improvement for Best to do better than 4 rushes for 10 yards early on featuring a failed 3rd and short rush on the first drive. Best did show off his speed on his best carry of the night when he got around the corner and down the sidelines in a display all Lions fans hope to see plenty of this season. Best also showed a very nice acumen for catching the ball and picking up his blitzing blocking assignments on passing downs, 2 crucial areas for any running back starting of in the NFL.
Matthew Stafford showed he is very capable of making that big 2nd year leap that so many Lions fans are craving from our bonus baby 1st round pick. Everyone knows he has a rocket of an arm and that was clearly on display with one laser pass after another. However, I came away most impressed with his precision and accuracy as he went 8 for 11 for 68 yards and a touchdown to who else but Calvin Johnson. I only counted 2 throws that were off target, one that went off the receivers fingertips and was intercepted and an under throw to Johnson in the end zone. It was great to see him targeting the Lions top threat in Calvin Johnson so often including 3 end zone throws that led to the td.
It wasn’t all roses though with the back ups needing a lot of work in an effort to build up much needed depth on the defensive end. The 1st team only committed 2 penalties when they were in but the rest of the team drew an alarming 9 more the rest of the game to go with all of there missed tackles that let Pittsburgh’s back ups march down the field at will.
All in All a very good overall result for the beginning of Pre-season football and a sign of good things to come for the up coming season.
Jason Behr
2 areas jumped out at me from the game, the play of the starting defensive line and the play of Stafford and his developing chemistry with Calvin Johnson.
Kyle Vanden Bosh led the charge of the D-line and showed why Coach Jim Schwartz was on his front porch at 12:01 of the Free Agency signing period. His motor was revved up and pumping from the opening play as he made 2 plays in the backfield on Pittsburgs 1st offensive series. His play was contagious as his defensive end counterpart Cliff Avril followed up with a nice speed rush sack on Leftwich. Holding the Steelers to 25 yds in the 1st quarter was a very nice way to start out. It also seems our defense might be able to generate some turnovers as they forced 2 fumbles early on. Of course I didn’t see the linebackers or secondary do much of anything thru out the entire game but that was more or less expected. Of course no pre-season game is complete without a key injury and up and coming 2nd year 1st rnd Linebacker Jordan Dizon obliged by going down in the 2nd quarter with an apparent knee injury. With Jim Schwartz offering the comment that it could be of the serious variety but will have to wait for the full medical evaluation to come.
The Lions offense tried setting the tone early with a heavy dose of newly minted 1st round RB pick Jahvid Best between the tackles and the results were far from overwhelming. The offensive line as usual needs to show some improvement for Best to do better than 4 rushes for 10 yards early on featuring a failed 3rd and short rush on the first drive. Best did show off his speed on his best carry of the night when he got around the corner and down the sidelines in a display all Lions fans hope to see plenty of this season. Best also showed a very nice acumen for catching the ball and picking up his blitzing blocking assignments on passing downs, 2 crucial areas for any running back starting of in the NFL.
Matthew Stafford showed he is very capable of making that big 2nd year leap that so many Lions fans are craving from our bonus baby 1st round pick. Everyone knows he has a rocket of an arm and that was clearly on display with one laser pass after another. However, I came away most impressed with his precision and accuracy as he went 8 for 11 for 68 yards and a touchdown to who else but Calvin Johnson. I only counted 2 throws that were off target, one that went off the receivers fingertips and was intercepted and an under throw to Johnson in the end zone. It was great to see him targeting the Lions top threat in Calvin Johnson so often including 3 end zone throws that led to the td.
It wasn’t all roses though with the back ups needing a lot of work in an effort to build up much needed depth on the defensive end. The 1st team only committed 2 penalties when they were in but the rest of the team drew an alarming 9 more the rest of the game to go with all of there missed tackles that let Pittsburgh’s back ups march down the field at will.
All in All a very good overall result for the beginning of Pre-season football and a sign of good things to come for the up coming season.
Jason Behr
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Detroit Tigers go on roll at just the right time
The Detroit Tigers have shown impeccable timing with there current hot streak that coincides nicely with them becoming the sole team sport that Detroit still has going.
Last week was particularly rewarding with series wins at home against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in a variety of ways. Some of them were from dominating pitching performances others was pure ball mashing and one awesome Saturday night comeback to save a disastrous Dontrelle Willis performance.
Of course they have had the very good fortune of an older vet going down in Guillen only to see a rookie phenom in Brennan Boesch come up and start hammering the ball. Who would have thought that the first 2 rookie of the month winners would come from the Tigers with Austin Jackson winning the first and Boesch winning the second. Jackson sure has done a lot to make us forget about the Curtis Granderson trade. The ultimate question of course is can one or both of these rookies keep this up for the entire season.
The strongest and most consistent part of the team so far has been there bullpen far and way. They have been lights out so far with Zumaya learning how to become a pitcher instead of just a thrower but still the capability of hitting triple digits on the radar gun when needed. The biggest question mark is the starting pitching with only Justin Verlander shining on a consistent basis and lots of inconsistency with all the rest. It also seems like Miquel Cabrera has taken some huge steps in maturing as a person and cleaning up his personnel life. I don't think his MVP start to the season coming on the heels of him giving up alcohol is a coincidence.
Here's to another fun and exciting summer of Tigers Baseball
Last week was particularly rewarding with series wins at home against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in a variety of ways. Some of them were from dominating pitching performances others was pure ball mashing and one awesome Saturday night comeback to save a disastrous Dontrelle Willis performance.
Of course they have had the very good fortune of an older vet going down in Guillen only to see a rookie phenom in Brennan Boesch come up and start hammering the ball. Who would have thought that the first 2 rookie of the month winners would come from the Tigers with Austin Jackson winning the first and Boesch winning the second. Jackson sure has done a lot to make us forget about the Curtis Granderson trade. The ultimate question of course is can one or both of these rookies keep this up for the entire season.
The strongest and most consistent part of the team so far has been there bullpen far and way. They have been lights out so far with Zumaya learning how to become a pitcher instead of just a thrower but still the capability of hitting triple digits on the radar gun when needed. The biggest question mark is the starting pitching with only Justin Verlander shining on a consistent basis and lots of inconsistency with all the rest. It also seems like Miquel Cabrera has taken some huge steps in maturing as a person and cleaning up his personnel life. I don't think his MVP start to the season coming on the heels of him giving up alcohol is a coincidence.
Here's to another fun and exciting summer of Tigers Baseball
Monday, May 10, 2010
Red Wings Season comes to an end
The title pretty much says it all and we are left with a slightly longer summer without hockey than most fans are accustomed to after Saturdays 2-1 defeat by the Sharks.
This certainly has been one of the most difficult seasons to judge in recent Red Wing history given all the adversity they had to fight thru. Of course I felt a profound sense of disappointment and sadness but it was more of a resigned contentment. This season had so many obstacles to it from the rash of early season injuries, compressed Olympic year schedule and the wear and tear of the last 3 deep playoff runs in the last 3 years. Needless to say aside from Pittsburgh with its much younger roster there isn't another team in the NHL that has played more hockey than the Red Wings these past 3 years. It was strange going into the Playoffs without the usual Stanly Cup or bust realistic expectation but that was the reality this year. There wasn't the usual finger pointing about this star or that one under performing or riding the goalie out of town. Jimmy Howard did a remarkable job as a rookie and showed he has the mental toughness to take on the toughest position in Detroit Sports (along with Lions QB of course). I don't even blame the refs with all of the missed calls and bad penalties thru out the playoffs. The Red Wings just had the unfortunate timing of running into a team that finally learned how to turn regular season success into playoff success after many years of disappointment in the San Jose Sharks.
Of course this summer will be very very busy for Ken Holland and the Red Wing brain trust with all the issues they have to deal with. From dealing with player's free agency with Lidstrom at the top of the pile to long time Wings like Maltby and Holmstrom and not so long time Wings player Bertuzi. They also have a host of restricted free agents in Helm, Eaves and Miller. I also can't imagine "the captain" deciding he wants to tackle that open GM job down in Tampa Bay and leaving the only organization he has ever known.
This certainly has been one of the most difficult seasons to judge in recent Red Wing history given all the adversity they had to fight thru. Of course I felt a profound sense of disappointment and sadness but it was more of a resigned contentment. This season had so many obstacles to it from the rash of early season injuries, compressed Olympic year schedule and the wear and tear of the last 3 deep playoff runs in the last 3 years. Needless to say aside from Pittsburgh with its much younger roster there isn't another team in the NHL that has played more hockey than the Red Wings these past 3 years. It was strange going into the Playoffs without the usual Stanly Cup or bust realistic expectation but that was the reality this year. There wasn't the usual finger pointing about this star or that one under performing or riding the goalie out of town. Jimmy Howard did a remarkable job as a rookie and showed he has the mental toughness to take on the toughest position in Detroit Sports (along with Lions QB of course). I don't even blame the refs with all of the missed calls and bad penalties thru out the playoffs. The Red Wings just had the unfortunate timing of running into a team that finally learned how to turn regular season success into playoff success after many years of disappointment in the San Jose Sharks.
Of course this summer will be very very busy for Ken Holland and the Red Wing brain trust with all the issues they have to deal with. From dealing with player's free agency with Lidstrom at the top of the pile to long time Wings like Maltby and Holmstrom and not so long time Wings player Bertuzi. They also have a host of restricted free agents in Helm, Eaves and Miller. I also can't imagine "the captain" deciding he wants to tackle that open GM job down in Tampa Bay and leaving the only organization he has ever known.
For a nice wrap up on The Red Wing Season feel free to look up this link.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Ernie Harwell Passes Away at age 92
Life has a funny way of putting things into perspective and last night was certainly one of those moments. The passing of such an iconic figure not only in Detroit sports but to legions of Baseball fans across this great nation certainly does just that. Today the sadness or fond memories being recalled or the happiness of our youth has nothing to do with the scores from last night but all about Ernie Harwell leaving us late yesterday evening.
The man from Georgia with that Southern drawl enlightened generations of baseball fans and stories of his kindness to each and everyone that met him are truly inspiring.
I can imagine that I am amongst the 1000's in the blogosphere all writing about this same topic and here is just one link from the "National" perspective that I have read today from across the board whether it is from radio, print media, or the internet.
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The man from Georgia with that Southern drawl enlightened generations of baseball fans and stories of his kindness to each and everyone that met him are truly inspiring.
I can imagine that I am amongst the 1000's in the blogosphere all writing about this same topic and here is just one link from the "National" perspective that I have read today from across the board whether it is from radio, print media, or the internet.
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Monday, March 22, 2010
March Madness opens with a Weekend to Remember
What an exhilaration, breath taking, heart pounding, phenomenal (feel free to add any other hyperbole) start to March Madness. Never in all my years of watching the Mens NCAA College Basketball Tournament can I recall a weekend with more buzzer beaters, overtime games, and Cinderella upsets.
The first day had drama and suspense from the very beginning to the very end. It started in fine fashion with Old Dominion knocking of the Fighting Irish by a mere point. Even though my disdain of Notre Dame is more geared toward there football program, it still rubs of onto there basketball team as well. Then there was the near historic upset of #2 seeded Villanova by Robert Morris who had the lead and control of the game all the way up to the very end before they succumbed in overtime. Helped mightily by there 40 free throw attempts to 26 by Robert Morris, can you say big school bias anyone. Lets not forget about the Racers of Murray State that calmly knocked off #4 seeded Vanderbilt on a 15 foot buzzer beater by Danero Thomas who was only the 3rd option on the play. Maybe its my anti SEC football bias creeping in but always nice to see the SEC fall flat no matter the sport.
As incredible as these 1st afternoon round of games were, the evening session said hold up we have some sprinkles to add. Now normally I would not be caught dead giving props to any school that has Ohio in its name but when its #14 seeded The State University of Ohio toppling a powerhouse like #3 seeded Georgetown I will happily make an exception. A precursor of things to come for the Big East that saw only 2 of 8 teams advance to the sweet sixteen.
These games were just the tip of the Iceberg for the weekend which saw three double digit seeded teams advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. With #9 seeded Northern Perhaps topping all of that by taking down overall #1 seeded Kansas on a cold blooded 3 point shot that will undoubtedly make its way into the NCAA archives and live on for years to come. It was #12 seeded Cornell becoming the first Ivy league school in over 30 years knocking of Wisconsin handily to advance to next weekend. It was Pac-10 regular season winner Washington storming back against Marquette in the 1st round and then soundly taking out #3 seeded and very new to the party New Mexico. Then the little school that could out of the San Francisco area Saint Mary's College knocking of everyones darling mid-major Richmond first and then beating the aforementioned over rated Villanova next.
I most certainly did not forget the Drama that our home state M.S.U. Spartans brought to the table as the advanced not so easily or healthy to the Sweet Sixteen for the 3rd straight year. However I will be forth coming with another update this afternoon that will give there Spartans there due and I would be remiss if I did not give a very special honorable mention to what the Red Wings accomplished this weekend. Scoring 2 goals with less than a second to go on back to back nights to force the 1st game into overtime and to win in overtime the next night, seemed to fit in nicely with the weekends theme.
Jason Behr
The first day had drama and suspense from the very beginning to the very end. It started in fine fashion with Old Dominion knocking of the Fighting Irish by a mere point. Even though my disdain of Notre Dame is more geared toward there football program, it still rubs of onto there basketball team as well. Then there was the near historic upset of #2 seeded Villanova by Robert Morris who had the lead and control of the game all the way up to the very end before they succumbed in overtime. Helped mightily by there 40 free throw attempts to 26 by Robert Morris, can you say big school bias anyone. Lets not forget about the Racers of Murray State that calmly knocked off #4 seeded Vanderbilt on a 15 foot buzzer beater by Danero Thomas who was only the 3rd option on the play. Maybe its my anti SEC football bias creeping in but always nice to see the SEC fall flat no matter the sport.
As incredible as these 1st afternoon round of games were, the evening session said hold up we have some sprinkles to add. Now normally I would not be caught dead giving props to any school that has Ohio in its name but when its #14 seeded The State University of Ohio toppling a powerhouse like #3 seeded Georgetown I will happily make an exception. A precursor of things to come for the Big East that saw only 2 of 8 teams advance to the sweet sixteen.
These games were just the tip of the Iceberg for the weekend which saw three double digit seeded teams advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. With #9 seeded Northern Perhaps topping all of that by taking down overall #1 seeded Kansas on a cold blooded 3 point shot that will undoubtedly make its way into the NCAA archives and live on for years to come. It was #12 seeded Cornell becoming the first Ivy league school in over 30 years knocking of Wisconsin handily to advance to next weekend. It was Pac-10 regular season winner Washington storming back against Marquette in the 1st round and then soundly taking out #3 seeded and very new to the party New Mexico. Then the little school that could out of the San Francisco area Saint Mary's College knocking of everyones darling mid-major Richmond first and then beating the aforementioned over rated Villanova next.
I most certainly did not forget the Drama that our home state M.S.U. Spartans brought to the table as the advanced not so easily or healthy to the Sweet Sixteen for the 3rd straight year. However I will be forth coming with another update this afternoon that will give there Spartans there due and I would be remiss if I did not give a very special honorable mention to what the Red Wings accomplished this weekend. Scoring 2 goals with less than a second to go on back to back nights to force the 1st game into overtime and to win in overtime the next night, seemed to fit in nicely with the weekends theme.
Jason Behr
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Red Wings defeat Calgary 2-1 in key match up
Wow what an exciting late night game. Talk about a great way to start off the week by watching the Wings deliver a full 60 minute effort that results in a 3 point lead on the Calgary Flames for the 8th and final playoff spot.
It seems that our star players like Pavel and Hank have definitely heeded Mike Babcocks "our stars have to play like stars" mantra with both of them skating hard and making plays on both ends. I just marvel at a player like Holmstrom that can stand in front of that net take the physical abuse he does and still be so deft with his stick at deflecting in wide shots to the nets. The game winner with 1:19 left had to be a heart breaker for the Flames.
Of course we still have 2 key match ups with Nashville coming up and still need some teams in front of us to lose a game or two but all in all I like where the Wings are headed. I can't imagine either Chicago or San Jose looking forward to first round match up with a Wings team firing on all cylinders.
As always feel free to comment good, bad or otherwise
Jason
For an official recap go here
It seems that our star players like Pavel and Hank have definitely heeded Mike Babcocks "our stars have to play like stars" mantra with both of them skating hard and making plays on both ends. I just marvel at a player like Holmstrom that can stand in front of that net take the physical abuse he does and still be so deft with his stick at deflecting in wide shots to the nets. The game winner with 1:19 left had to be a heart breaker for the Flames.
Of course we still have 2 key match ups with Nashville coming up and still need some teams in front of us to lose a game or two but all in all I like where the Wings are headed. I can't imagine either Chicago or San Jose looking forward to first round match up with a Wings team firing on all cylinders.
As always feel free to comment good, bad or otherwise
Jason
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Michigan State bows out in big ten tourney
Does anybody remember that classic quote from Rob Schneider in the movie Necessary Roughness?
"Coach, nows not the time to make sure everybody has played. Hey, I haven't played yet, maybe I should go in."
That was actually one of his many classic quotes as announcer Chuck Neiderman.
It's the not the time to make sure everybody played that was eerily similar to the way Michigan State coach Tom Izzo handled his team on Friday. The Spartans loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament left many fans, media and even a few players scratching their heads over the way Izzo managed the player rotation.
With Chris Allen suspended for mysterious reasons, the Spartans were definitely in need of a lift at the guard play. For some reason though Durrell Summers was benched most of the second half again for mysterious reasons. In his place were seldom used Austin Thorton and walk-on Mike Kebler which left Spartan fans wondering why in the world is Izzo benching Summers for those two. Yes, Kebler did help the defense improve in the 2nd half, but offensively he was a liability. The stat line: 20 minutes, zero points, 2 missed free throws and two costly turnovers. One of those miscues was on a fast break where Kalin Lucas passed to him and he basically couldn't wait to release it back to a Minnesota player as if he were holding a hand grenade. The other was while grabbing a rebound after a Minnesota miss and basically tripping over his own feet out of bounds. Lucas was standing right near him and you could see the look of disgust on his face when they showed the replays.
So at the risk of making the offense look bad, Izzo thought at least he would make their defense look good. But Izzo didn't need to contribute to the offensive demise - the players did that on their own with all the missed free throws. Sparty was an aberration from the charity stripe in Friday's loss in which they were slightly over 50% including four straight crucial misses in overtime. Minnesota obviously didn't have issues with the basket as they were close to 75% in free throws. And did anybody notice how a few of the Minnesota players just step up to the line and calmly shoot it in no time? Usually their results are all net. Smooth and secure. The Spartan players stand at the line, stare at it too long, measure it, and almost aim it. Even a lot of their makes were rim rattlers that were fortunate to bounce in. Make a few more free throws and Michigan State could have been the ones facing the battered and bruised Boilermakers, which Minnesota dismantled on Saturday.
MSU's defense has actually improved over the last 4 or 5 games thanks in part to Chris Allen and due to Raymar Morgan playing up to potential. Get Allen back in. Get Summers some more playing time. And get the continued solid play from Morgan. Get all those in place and the Spartans can forget about the Minnesota meltdown and focus on a respectable run in the upcoming NCAA.
"Coach, nows not the time to make sure everybody has played. Hey, I haven't played yet, maybe I should go in."
That was actually one of his many classic quotes as announcer Chuck Neiderman.
It's the not the time to make sure everybody played that was eerily similar to the way Michigan State coach Tom Izzo handled his team on Friday. The Spartans loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament left many fans, media and even a few players scratching their heads over the way Izzo managed the player rotation.
With Chris Allen suspended for mysterious reasons, the Spartans were definitely in need of a lift at the guard play. For some reason though Durrell Summers was benched most of the second half again for mysterious reasons. In his place were seldom used Austin Thorton and walk-on Mike Kebler which left Spartan fans wondering why in the world is Izzo benching Summers for those two. Yes, Kebler did help the defense improve in the 2nd half, but offensively he was a liability. The stat line: 20 minutes, zero points, 2 missed free throws and two costly turnovers. One of those miscues was on a fast break where Kalin Lucas passed to him and he basically couldn't wait to release it back to a Minnesota player as if he were holding a hand grenade. The other was while grabbing a rebound after a Minnesota miss and basically tripping over his own feet out of bounds. Lucas was standing right near him and you could see the look of disgust on his face when they showed the replays.
So at the risk of making the offense look bad, Izzo thought at least he would make their defense look good. But Izzo didn't need to contribute to the offensive demise - the players did that on their own with all the missed free throws. Sparty was an aberration from the charity stripe in Friday's loss in which they were slightly over 50% including four straight crucial misses in overtime. Minnesota obviously didn't have issues with the basket as they were close to 75% in free throws. And did anybody notice how a few of the Minnesota players just step up to the line and calmly shoot it in no time? Usually their results are all net. Smooth and secure. The Spartan players stand at the line, stare at it too long, measure it, and almost aim it. Even a lot of their makes were rim rattlers that were fortunate to bounce in. Make a few more free throws and Michigan State could have been the ones facing the battered and bruised Boilermakers, which Minnesota dismantled on Saturday.
MSU's defense has actually improved over the last 4 or 5 games thanks in part to Chris Allen and due to Raymar Morgan playing up to potential. Get Allen back in. Get Summers some more playing time. And get the continued solid play from Morgan. Get all those in place and the Spartans can forget about the Minnesota meltdown and focus on a respectable run in the upcoming NCAA.
Monday, February 22, 2010
U.S. defeats Canada 5-3 in Olympic Hockey
Wow what an exciting game that was last night for both countries. In Canada they estimate that 2/3 of the entire population watched portions of the game and MSNBC recorded there 3rd highest show rating ever with only Presidential debates topping it.
For an official recap see US stuns Canada 5-3 to win Group A
This game really reminded me of old fashion playoff hockey pre-Lockout with the physical hard skating nature of the game and the officials just letting them play. I did not see to many ticky tack holds or interference penalties being called and the faster and more aggressive team coming out on top with the U.S. team. I found myself waiting for the announcers to mention names like Crosby, Iginla, Thorton, etc but instead it was mostly the 3rd and 4th line muck and grind types for the Canadian team being called. It did bring joy to my heart seeing Crosby sprawled out on the ice in front of his own net after a U.S. score.
The United States team used the tried and true formula of hot goal tending by M.S.U.'s own Ryan Miller stopping 42 of 45 shots with lots of effort and work in there own zone fighting of the Canadians and taking advantages of turnovers and mistakes on the other side. I am not sure where Dearborn's own and current Detroit Red Wing Brian Rafalski found all of this offense with 2 goals and an assist in the game coming on the heels of scoring the last two American goals the game before. The United States team really used there youth and speed to take it to the big guns of the Canadians who have only known the new NHL and never had to fight through the vaunted New Jersey Devils neutral zone trap and deal with defenders obstruction, hooking and holding til there hearts content. And yes I am talking to you Mr. Crosby, Nash, and Iginla you might want to talk to some of the older players on the team to get a handle on just how much effort and work is required in those tight checking games.
Now Canada faces the unenviable position of facing the Russians in the Quarterfinals and they better be ready to give all they can or the unthinkable could happen by missing the medal round completely.
Jason
For an official recap see US stuns Canada 5-3 to win Group A
This game really reminded me of old fashion playoff hockey pre-Lockout with the physical hard skating nature of the game and the officials just letting them play. I did not see to many ticky tack holds or interference penalties being called and the faster and more aggressive team coming out on top with the U.S. team. I found myself waiting for the announcers to mention names like Crosby, Iginla, Thorton, etc but instead it was mostly the 3rd and 4th line muck and grind types for the Canadian team being called. It did bring joy to my heart seeing Crosby sprawled out on the ice in front of his own net after a U.S. score.
The United States team used the tried and true formula of hot goal tending by M.S.U.'s own Ryan Miller stopping 42 of 45 shots with lots of effort and work in there own zone fighting of the Canadians and taking advantages of turnovers and mistakes on the other side. I am not sure where Dearborn's own and current Detroit Red Wing Brian Rafalski found all of this offense with 2 goals and an assist in the game coming on the heels of scoring the last two American goals the game before. The United States team really used there youth and speed to take it to the big guns of the Canadians who have only known the new NHL and never had to fight through the vaunted New Jersey Devils neutral zone trap and deal with defenders obstruction, hooking and holding til there hearts content. And yes I am talking to you Mr. Crosby, Nash, and Iginla you might want to talk to some of the older players on the team to get a handle on just how much effort and work is required in those tight checking games.
Now Canada faces the unenviable position of facing the Russians in the Quarterfinals and they better be ready to give all they can or the unthinkable could happen by missing the medal round completely.
Jason
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Olympic Hockey gets under in Vancouver
In light of the NHL Olympic break and the NBA All Star break plus the sad rebuilding state of the hometown Pistons I feel compelled to jot down some random Olympic musings.
The biggest story line from the Olympics for me is the mens Hockey Tournament which is sure to feature some dynamite games from powerhouse's like Russia, Canada, U.S. and Sweden and of course the ever present dark horse that is just 1 hot goalie away from a run in this one and done format.
It is such a crap shoot between the Russians, Canada and Sweden because they all feature such top level talent from with Russia featuring Ovechkin and Malkin along with Datsyuk and Canada with all world goalie Martin Brodeur along with Crosby, Nash, Iginla etc... just to many names to mention and of course the Red Wings affiliate Sweden team with hometown hero's Zetterburg, Lidstrom, and Franzen. The main strength of the U.S. team is youthful exuberance with just a veteran or two thrown in like Brian Rafalski, the sort of team that just might not know how nervous they should be. I predict the preliminary rounds will go according to form with all the favorites easily making it thru and I see 3 of the 4 in the medal round with Sweden or United States losing in the quarters.
I believe we will see a rematch of the famous 1972 Summit Series between Russia and Canada in the finals. A finals that will shatter many many Olympic Television rating records with the same result as it was in Mother Russia with Canada winning the biggest Hockey Game ever played anywhere.
On a foot note I think for once the Olympic break will greatly benefit the Red Wings given the precarious health of the team all year. I think the 3 weeks off will really allow the players staying home a good long recovery time and a player like Franzen just coming back from a major knee injury a great chance to get his conditioning and timing back. I expect a very hot start for the Wings after the break to safely put them in that 5th or 6th seed slot.
Feel free to comment on any other Olympic moments that stand out to you
Jason
The biggest story line from the Olympics for me is the mens Hockey Tournament which is sure to feature some dynamite games from powerhouse's like Russia, Canada, U.S. and Sweden and of course the ever present dark horse that is just 1 hot goalie away from a run in this one and done format.
It is such a crap shoot between the Russians, Canada and Sweden because they all feature such top level talent from with Russia featuring Ovechkin and Malkin along with Datsyuk and Canada with all world goalie Martin Brodeur along with Crosby, Nash, Iginla etc... just to many names to mention and of course the Red Wings affiliate Sweden team with hometown hero's Zetterburg, Lidstrom, and Franzen. The main strength of the U.S. team is youthful exuberance with just a veteran or two thrown in like Brian Rafalski, the sort of team that just might not know how nervous they should be. I predict the preliminary rounds will go according to form with all the favorites easily making it thru and I see 3 of the 4 in the medal round with Sweden or United States losing in the quarters.
I believe we will see a rematch of the famous 1972 Summit Series between Russia and Canada in the finals. A finals that will shatter many many Olympic Television rating records with the same result as it was in Mother Russia with Canada winning the biggest Hockey Game ever played anywhere.
On a foot note I think for once the Olympic break will greatly benefit the Red Wings given the precarious health of the team all year. I think the 3 weeks off will really allow the players staying home a good long recovery time and a player like Franzen just coming back from a major knee injury a great chance to get his conditioning and timing back. I expect a very hot start for the Wings after the break to safely put them in that 5th or 6th seed slot.
Feel free to comment on any other Olympic moments that stand out to you
Jason
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Michigan State plays Purdue in conference contest
Today we are going to talk about turnovers.
Not the kind bakeries churn out to satisfy the sweet tooth. It's the kind that happens in sports when you give up your possession of the ball to the opponent. When talking about Michigan State's basketball team, they've been churning out plenty of turnovers lately and how sweet that has been for their opponents.
This season's State basketball squad has been giving the ball away to their opponents at an alarming rate. Following Saturday's 78-73 loss at Illinois, the Spartans are the leaders in the big ten in turnovers. In their 11 conference games, MSU has 157 total turnovers. The next closest is lowly Iowa who are near the bottom of the big ten standings. MSU is the conference leader in the standings, but also the conference leader in miscues.
The total turnovers would not be as concerning if they were forcing their opponents into even more miscues. Unfortunately for State, their opponents aren't coughing it up as much. Their opposition is at 122 turnovers which puts State at 8th place in that category. In only 2 of their 11 conference games thus far, they've turned it over less than their opponent (in that category, less is good).
Turnovers are a double edge sword in which you're taking away an opportunity for you to score, but then handing your opponent an extra chance to score. Empty at your end, but a bonus possession at the other end. It's kinda like carrying around a handful of money on a windy day—you're going to get poorer, but chances are someone is going to find those bills and they'll get richer.
So who is to blame? Are big ten defenses that good? Or is MSU's ball handling that bad? Smart money is on the latter. While State may be the epitome of carelessness, several big ten teams are the cornerstone of carefulness. An amazing 4 big ten teams are in the top 20 nationally at fewest turnovers. National statistics here folks, not conference. Wisconsin turns it over less than anybody in the land and Michigan coughs it up the 10th fewest times. Michigan State's next opponent, Purdue, is also a top-20 member of the protecting-the-rock club.
This seems to go against the grain of one of coach Tom Izzo's greatest traits….discipline. His Spartans aren't showing the discipline needed when it comes to maintaining the ball. That will be crucial against Purdue on Tuesday. If State can maintain the ball better, chances are they'll get a win to maintain their conference lead better.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Saints defeat Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl 44
The NFL concludes its season with a very exciting Super Bowl game. Saints pick off Manning, Colts to win Super Bowl Drew Brees definitely laid claim to his place in the elite Quarterback conversation and Congratulations to Who Dat Nation in New Orleans.
Jason
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Spartans lose tough road game it Illinois
I have to admit right off the top that I don't watch a whole lot of regular season college basketball, but I did watch Saturdays ESPN's College Game day feature game pitting the hometown Michigan State Spartans vs the Fighting Illini.
Of course there was a major subplot of M.S.U. being without its All American Point Guard Kalin Lucas due to a sprained ankle suffered against Wisconsin earlier in the week. I know during last years magical run to the title run Korie Lucious was a definite spark plug and came up big in some unexpected spots, but being counted on running the attack for the number 5 team in the nation is a whole other matter. Unfortunately he did let his inexperience bubble to the service by to often rushing the plays as opposed to letting the game come to him and this resulted in him having 6 of the 18 total turnovers for M.S.U. Of course he was not alone in the turn over department with several other players chipping in for 3 or 4 turnovers.
Take care and enjoy the SuperBowl
Jason Behr
Of course there was a major subplot of M.S.U. being without its All American Point Guard Kalin Lucas due to a sprained ankle suffered against Wisconsin earlier in the week. I know during last years magical run to the title run Korie Lucious was a definite spark plug and came up big in some unexpected spots, but being counted on running the attack for the number 5 team in the nation is a whole other matter. Unfortunately he did let his inexperience bubble to the service by to often rushing the plays as opposed to letting the game come to him and this resulted in him having 6 of the 18 total turnovers for M.S.U. Of course he was not alone in the turn over department with several other players chipping in for 3 or 4 turnovers.
For a look at the numbers see the Box Score
Take care and enjoy the SuperBowl
Jason Behr
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Alamo finally ends on sunday morning
Got Freep? Then you got nothing.
Well nothing when it comes to Alamo Bowl game story in Sunday's Free Press sports page. Even though the game didn't end until after 1am Sunday morning, it would not have been out of the realms of reality for the Free Press to delay printing of their Sunday edition. Given today's modern technology, the Free Press could have composed a little summary and cut and paste a box score in no time.
The issue though would be space. They would have needed a lot of space to print the box score from Saturday's Alamo Bowl. By now everyone is probably aware that Michigan State lost 41-31 to Texas Tech in a day after new year's shootout. Would you have expected anything less than a shootout in the Alamo? And in true Alamo fashion, State found themselves in the same predicament as Davy Crockett and company were in -- they were simply outgunned. Coming into the game, Texas Tech was one of the top passing teams in the country. State was in the bottom 20 of pass defense in the country. Not only was State outgunned, but they were also out-manned. For the past month, State had the stigma of 14 players suspended due to their alleged criminal actions.
Texas Tech saw State's suspensions and raised them a coach suspension, only to be followed by that coach being fired 3 days before the game. The outside activity by both teams made tv coverage more suited to be done by CNN rather than ESPN.
All off-field controversy aside, the game was able to provide plenty of action on the field. Texas Tech's offense was well known, but MSU's wasn't exactly chop liver. State came into the game as the top passing team in the big 10 and in the top 50 in the country. Perhaps Texas Tech coach Mike Leach even slipped MSU a few play calls too, because the Spartans used a slew of trick plays to their advantage. A punter throwing passes, quarterbacks catching passes, and a wide receiver throwing for a touchdown. Down the stretch State actually led with 8 minutes left, but once Texas Tech made the QB switch, the Spartans could no longer hold back the Red Raiders at The Alamo.
For State to improve next year, the solution is simple -- shore up the secondary. Mark Dantonio may have developed the passing offense sooner than expected, but that positive doesn't outweigh his negative. This off season will give him a chance to try to regain some balance.
Well nothing when it comes to Alamo Bowl game story in Sunday's Free Press sports page. Even though the game didn't end until after 1am Sunday morning, it would not have been out of the realms of reality for the Free Press to delay printing of their Sunday edition. Given today's modern technology, the Free Press could have composed a little summary and cut and paste a box score in no time.
The issue though would be space. They would have needed a lot of space to print the box score from Saturday's Alamo Bowl. By now everyone is probably aware that Michigan State lost 41-31 to Texas Tech in a day after new year's shootout. Would you have expected anything less than a shootout in the Alamo? And in true Alamo fashion, State found themselves in the same predicament as Davy Crockett and company were in -- they were simply outgunned. Coming into the game, Texas Tech was one of the top passing teams in the country. State was in the bottom 20 of pass defense in the country. Not only was State outgunned, but they were also out-manned. For the past month, State had the stigma of 14 players suspended due to their alleged criminal actions.
Texas Tech saw State's suspensions and raised them a coach suspension, only to be followed by that coach being fired 3 days before the game. The outside activity by both teams made tv coverage more suited to be done by CNN rather than ESPN.
All off-field controversy aside, the game was able to provide plenty of action on the field. Texas Tech's offense was well known, but MSU's wasn't exactly chop liver. State came into the game as the top passing team in the big 10 and in the top 50 in the country. Perhaps Texas Tech coach Mike Leach even slipped MSU a few play calls too, because the Spartans used a slew of trick plays to their advantage. A punter throwing passes, quarterbacks catching passes, and a wide receiver throwing for a touchdown. Down the stretch State actually led with 8 minutes left, but once Texas Tech made the QB switch, the Spartans could no longer hold back the Red Raiders at The Alamo.
For State to improve next year, the solution is simple -- shore up the secondary. Mark Dantonio may have developed the passing offense sooner than expected, but that positive doesn't outweigh his negative. This off season will give him a chance to try to regain some balance.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Detroit Lions losing while worse are winning
The bad are getting better. While the worst seem to be getting worse.
About 2 months ago the NFL seemed to be inundated with a lot of really bad football teams. Surprisingly, the Lions weren't at the top, err, bottom of that list. Who would have thought that teams like Oakland, Tampa, Cleveland and Washington (to name a few) would be looking worse on the field than the Lions? Sure, Detroit had a similar record to all those teams, but they weren't looking and loosing as badly as all those teams. After all, the Lions actually beat Washington and Cleveland.
The win over Cleveland seen by a few thousand at Ford Field was definitely the turning point of the season. But not the momentum turning point the local media and Lions loyalists hyped it up to being. Since that made-for-local-blackout moment, the Lions have been outscored 156-58.
How bad are the Lions? They lost at home to St. Louis, a 1-14 team!
How bad are the Lions? They got blown out at Seattle, who in turn got blown out at home by Tampa. Tampa also won at New Orleans last week! Whereas Detroit was destroyed at NOLA in week 1.
Other dismally looking teams besides Tampa have been making progress. Oakland is 5-10 and have won at Denver and at Pittsburgh. Cleveland has just won 3 straight, including a win over Pittsburgh. The common denominator there? Pittsburgh, of course they actually beat Detroit. Washington is up to 4-11 and have beaten Denver.
So while some of the dismal teams of this season have been pro-gressing, leave it to the Lions to be re-gressing. On a positive note, at least they've been backing into the number 2 pick in the next NFL draft.
About 2 months ago the NFL seemed to be inundated with a lot of really bad football teams. Surprisingly, the Lions weren't at the top, err, bottom of that list. Who would have thought that teams like Oakland, Tampa, Cleveland and Washington (to name a few) would be looking worse on the field than the Lions? Sure, Detroit had a similar record to all those teams, but they weren't looking and loosing as badly as all those teams. After all, the Lions actually beat Washington and Cleveland.
The win over Cleveland seen by a few thousand at Ford Field was definitely the turning point of the season. But not the momentum turning point the local media and Lions loyalists hyped it up to being. Since that made-for-local-blackout moment, the Lions have been outscored 156-58.
How bad are the Lions? They lost at home to St. Louis, a 1-14 team!
How bad are the Lions? They got blown out at Seattle, who in turn got blown out at home by Tampa. Tampa also won at New Orleans last week! Whereas Detroit was destroyed at NOLA in week 1.
Other dismally looking teams besides Tampa have been making progress. Oakland is 5-10 and have won at Denver and at Pittsburgh. Cleveland has just won 3 straight, including a win over Pittsburgh. The common denominator there? Pittsburgh, of course they actually beat Detroit. Washington is up to 4-11 and have beaten Denver.
So while some of the dismal teams of this season have been pro-gressing, leave it to the Lions to be re-gressing. On a positive note, at least they've been backing into the number 2 pick in the next NFL draft.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tigers Season comes to a crashing end
Well has everyone recovered from yesterdays classic/heartbreaker one game playoff yet. I don't know about you but watching the highlights just made it more and more depressing to me. This game had it all classic Metrodome "house of horrors" see one of my very very early posts along with classic season long problems.
Well good riddance to the metrodome and all those artificial turf high hoppers (ala should have been game ending double play in 10th between Polanco and Everrit) and the classic losing the ball in the outfield (thanks to rookie Dan Kelly) and the ever friendly outfield bounce (compliments of Ryan Raburn's attempted sliding catch with bonus points going to Curtis Granderson not taking proper back up angle). Of course all that does is gloss over the most glaring hole the team has had from beginning to end and that is lack of clutch hits over and over again. It was dizzying how my runners got stranded at third with less than two outs not only in this game but thru out the season.
As always people will second guess the manager for the 100's of small decisions that are made in any given season and serve as the seedy underside of many wins and losses thru out the season. I do wonder why he "rested" Polanco in the 4th to last game of season and how he only played Magglio (Mr. 380 batting average in September/October) 6 innings on the day of the Monday White Sox double header. But the most glaring error in judgment was being married to his righty/lefty batter/pitcher match ups where he started Aubrey Huff and is one hundred and change batting average instead of starting Ryan Raburn and his season ending 291 batting average.
In the end one of the analyst had it right when he said "it seemed like so many players had 4 to 5 times to change the course of this game" and when our line up regularly feature 3-4 sub 250 hitters and the Twins simply did not you end up with this result.
Good Luck DD on construction next years team and building on the momentum of this season.
For an official recap see this ESPN article and for my rant on it please keep reading
Well good riddance to the metrodome and all those artificial turf high hoppers (ala should have been game ending double play in 10th between Polanco and Everrit) and the classic losing the ball in the outfield (thanks to rookie Dan Kelly) and the ever friendly outfield bounce (compliments of Ryan Raburn's attempted sliding catch with bonus points going to Curtis Granderson not taking proper back up angle). Of course all that does is gloss over the most glaring hole the team has had from beginning to end and that is lack of clutch hits over and over again. It was dizzying how my runners got stranded at third with less than two outs not only in this game but thru out the season.
As always people will second guess the manager for the 100's of small decisions that are made in any given season and serve as the seedy underside of many wins and losses thru out the season. I do wonder why he "rested" Polanco in the 4th to last game of season and how he only played Magglio (Mr. 380 batting average in September/October) 6 innings on the day of the Monday White Sox double header. But the most glaring error in judgment was being married to his righty/lefty batter/pitcher match ups where he started Aubrey Huff and is one hundred and change batting average instead of starting Ryan Raburn and his season ending 291 batting average.
In the end one of the analyst had it right when he said "it seemed like so many players had 4 to 5 times to change the course of this game" and when our line up regularly feature 3-4 sub 250 hitters and the Twins simply did not you end up with this result.
Good Luck DD on construction next years team and building on the momentum of this season.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Detroit Red Wings Season on the Cusp
Believe it or not another NHL season is just days away from kicking off and once again the Detroit Red Wings are prohibitive favorites to make there 3rd straight Stanley Cup Finals and a rubber match with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
For a complete run down on the Red Wings see there preview on there home page for the entire 2009-10 season player break down.
Afraid it will have to be short and sweet tonight because its time to root on the Tigers tonight against those Twins.
Jason
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