Rough start to the season

On Saturday both major schools from the state of Michigan lost their season openers. Michigan was beaten at home by Utah 25-23. Michigan State traveled to Cal and was beaten 38-31. After watching both games these schools started of shaky, only to make games of it in the 2nd half.

Rich Rodriquez clearly proved he doesn't have the players to fit his system. Nick Sheridan started the game at quarterback and he showed that he cannot make the throws consistently on the college level. Steven Threet played the 2nd half and sparked a comeback for the Wolverines. He definitely has the better arm. I was surprised to see Brandon Minor not start, but found out later that he had been held out of some practices. Carlos Brown the other returner in the backfield played sparingly because of a groin injury. This opened the door for freshmen Sam McGuffie and Michael Shaw to get significant playing time. These two each scored but could not move the ball on the ground. Michigan ended up with 36 yards rushing. That's ridiculous! Their offensive line did not open any holes and sustain any blocks. This is the number one area of concern.

On defense they let Utah pass the ball down the field in the 1st half. I was surprised that they didn't blitz Utah's qb after watching him pick apart the secondary. The front four had a couple of sacks but did not standout the way I thought they would. The bright spot of the defense had to be Obi Ezeh. He was all over the field and ended up with 15 tackles and 1 interception. While Michigan struggled in the 1st half stopping Utah, they came out and played hard in the 2nd half. Overall Michigan was exposed for the weaknesses we thought they had. Inexperience on offense is their flaw and hopefully the 1st game will give them some tape to watch and work on their mistakes.

The Spartans played against a strong opponent on prime time and had high expectations. However Brian Hoyer their senior qb did not play like a returning starter and leader on this team. While he played better in the 4th quarter, he missed too many passes and made too many bad decisions. I was expecting a lot more from him. MSU did what we thought they would do on offense, pound the ball with Javon Ringer. He didn't break any big runs but kept the chains moving. The biggest surprise on offense had to be Mark Dell. The sophomore receiver had a career day with over 200 yards receiving. He stepped up in that number one receiver role.

Mistakes on special teams and not stopping the run on defense hurt the Spartans. The long snapper was shaky from the get go, and that has to be addressed in practice this week. The defense did not fill the holes that Cal opened in the running game. I thought Greg Jones was active but had an up and down game. Otis Wiley proved to be a play maker in the secondary. Two picks, one going back for a score carried the defense. MSU made the game close, and showed some fight, but Hoyer and that offense has to limit mistakes for this team to win this year.

winner, winner chicken dinner!!!!!

I was asked by a couple of people to post my fantasy football teams. What do you think of my chances this year?

Westchester Wind
QB - Drew Brees
RB - Marion Barber
RB - Darren McFadden
WR - Calvin Johnson
WR - Santonio Holmes
TE - Vernon Davis
K - Rod Bironas
D - Cowboys

Bench
QB - Marc Bulger
RB - Jonathan Stewart
RB - Ladell Betts
WR - Bernard Berrian
WR - Ted Ginn Jr.
WR - Kevin Walter
TE - Zach Miller
D - Cardinals


Jackson Jailbirds
QB - Drew Brees
RB - Brian Westbrook
RB - Michael Turner
WR - Marques Colston
WR - Lee Evans
WR - Roddy White
K - Josh Brown
D - Jaguars

Bench
QB - Phillip Rivers
RB - Rudi Johnson
RB - Justin Fargus
RB - Correll Buckhalter
WR - Vincent Jackson
TE - Antonio Gates
TE - Tony Scheffler


Silver Foam Saints
QB - Tony Romo
RB - LaDainian Tomlinson
RB - Maurice Jones-Drew
WR - Torry Holt
WR - Calvin Johnson
WR - Jerricho Cotchery
TE - Jeremy Shockey
K - Ryan Longwell
D - Redskins

Bench
QB - Brett Favre
RB - Selvin Young
RB - Kevin Smith
RB - Ray Rice
WR - Bernard Berrian
WR - Justin Gage
TE - Zach Miller
D - Eagles

Wolverine season preview

What's the saying, sometimes you have to take one step back to take 2 steps forward. The University of Michigan football team is doing exactly this. Rich Rodriquez is part of a major overhaul at Michigan. He is changing some traditions in the hopes of bringing Michigan up to level that some of their rivals have already reached.

On offense Michigan lost a lot of players to graduation and the draft. Gone are Chad Henne, Mike Hart, Mario Manningham, Adrian Arrington, Jake Long, and Adam Krauss. This is a total rebuilding project on this side of the ball. Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan have battled all spring and summer for the starting quarterback position. Rodriquez has not committed to either one, meaning that both guys will get their turn under center. The running back position is one of the few strengths on offense. Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown are returning this year. Both players showed last season that they could provide a decent running attack. Throw in freshmen Sam McGuffie and Michael Shaw and this position will be solid all year long. Greg Matthews is the only returning receiver to make an impact last season. With more 3 receiver sets, Michigan will need some of their young freshmen to step up. Finally the offensive line will have many new faces on it. Steve Schilling returns to lead a group of inexperienced, but quicker, offensive linemen than they have had in the past.

Rodriquez wants his defense to step up this year. He needs his players to play with more intensity and make quicker decisions. His defensive line will be the strength of the defense. Terrance Taylor and Will Johnson will clog up the middle, with Brandon Graham and Tim Jamison rushing from the end position. Even freshman Mike Martin will get significant playing time this year. The linebacker core is young with Obi Ezeh being the only player who made major contributions last year. He will be asked to lead this inexperienced group. In the secondary the Wolverines have some play makers. Morgan Trent and Donovan Warren have played in big games, and Brandon Harrison is growing as a player. This defense will need to help out a young offense with keeping their opponents off the scoreboard.

Rodriquez will be scrutinized all year as his many changes go in affect. However if Michigan wants to start playing for National Championships again this is the guy with the plan. 8 wins this season would be a great first year for Rodriquez. With a really good recruiting class coming in next year, fighting Ohio State, not to mention some of the up and coming teams like Michigan State, Illinois, and Wisonsin in the conference for the Big Ten title, Michigan will again become a powerhouse in college football.

Interest Lost

With nothing much on last night, the Tigers were in a close game against the Indians. Armando Galarraga was pitching, so I new the Tigers at least had a chance. I tried to watch the game, I'm a huge Tigers fan, but I found myself turning the channel looking for something else. I found out this morning that the Tigers lost in 10 innings 4-3. Am I surprised? Not this year.

There were so many expectations this year, and all this team has provided is disappointment. How many guys can you have on one team underachieve? From Dontrelle Willis to Gary Sheffield, this team has too many players who haven't earned their pay this year. The only injury you can really blame for this season's failures is Jeremy Bonderman's. Even writing this frustrates me! I could handle this team stinking if they were supposed to be bad. I have found out what true disappointment is this year though.

As a Tiger's fan the only thing you can hold on to, is next year. Miguel Cabrera in the second half has shown why he is one of the top players in baseball. Curtis Granderson and Justin Verlander have also shown glimpses of why they are also so highly regarded. But next year is next year, and I still have a month of watching this tragedy.

Gold Medal

Anyone who thought the USA Men's Basketball Team would roll over Spain in the gold medal game had a rude awakening this morning. Spain had been beaten by team USA by 37 points in an earlier meeting in these Olympics, however this time they had a few tricks for team USA. Juan Carlos Navarro, Rudy Fernandez, and Pau Gasol all gave brilliant performances, but they could not match the energy that Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade gave team USA in their thrilling 118-107 victory in the gold medal game. Wade dominated the 1st half leading the team with 27 points. Bryant made clutch shots in the 4th quarter to finish with 20 points.

The United States has earned their 1st gold medal since the 2000 Olympics. Sure that doesn't sound like a long span of time, but for a country who is known to dominate the game, team USA had something to prove. This morning team USA had problems with their defense, but foul trouble early led to some key reserves stepping up. Tayshaun Prince, Chris Paul, and Chris Bosh all played great. In all, the whole team stepped up when it mattered, bringing home the gold medal to the United States.

So should we start thinking about 2012? Current players like LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, and Chris Bosh should all be asked back. Inserting the likes of Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, Kevin Martin, Josh Smith, Greg Oden, Rodney Stuckey, and Brandon Roy would keep this team as one of the best in the world. But the best is what we all want right? Other countries will continue to get better, and this tournament will be harder to win in 2012.

the next Bo Jackson?

So last night was my big fantasy football draft. I'm the commissioner of a 12 man league that is pretty serious. We play for money, a trophy, but more importantly pride. I had the seventh pick of the draft and I took a player I know I can depend on to get me fantasy points, Marion Barber from the Dallas Cowboys. He'll get his touchdowns and rack up the yards this year. I won't go pick by pick with you, but one thing became apparent last night, you can't stock pile your teams anymore. Too much information is now out about the players. Fantasy football magazines and web sites provide every detail for each team. Who's going to get the playing time, who's injured, and who is ready to have a breakout year.

My strategy last night developed after my 1st pick. I realized that the league will probably be pretty equal this year because of every one's research, so I had to make some gambles. I picked guys who were either rookies like Darren McFadden of the Oakland Raiders and Jonathan Stewart of the Carolina Panthers who don't have the history for other league owners to go by, or players who have untapped potential, and are on the verge of stardom, such as Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions. Now with every risk there is a reward, but also a chance of failure. Could these players struggle this year leaving my team in danger of finishing at the bottom of the league? Yes, it could definitely happen. But like I previously stated a reward could be waiting for me. If these guys step up, the trophy, the money, and the pride could all be hanging out at Westchester for the Super Bowl!

Spartan season preview

Is this the year? Changes in Ann Arbor have led to an opportunity for Michigan State football to have the spotlight in the state. Mark Dantonio has quietly redirected the philosophies and style of Michigan State football from the downward spiral that John L. Smith and Bobby Williams created. Coming off a 7-6 season with all 6 loses by less than 7 points, Michigan State is poised to make some noise in the Big Ten. A better bowl and a 8 to 9 win season surely are the realistic goals Dantonio has set for his team.

The offense will be led by 2 seniors this year, Brian Hoyer and Javon Ringer. Hoyer had a good year last year and he has a talented group of receivers to throw to. Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham should be the starters at wide receiver with Deon Curry, and freshmen Fred Smith and Keyshawn Martin contributing this year. Ringer should be one of the top backs in the nation, getting more carries this year. His line has some guys returning, but will need to improve from last year.

On defense the Spartans will be looking for Trevor Anderson to carry the team up front. They will be inexperienced, so Anderson will be counted on leading the line. Eric Gordon and Greg Jones should make the linebackers an active group. Both players fly around the ball. As far as the secondary goes, Kendall Davis-Clark, Chris L. Rucker, and Otis Wiley will have to prove they can create turnovers and not let the top receivers in the Big Ten get by them. Let's not fool ourselves, the defense is a work in progress, probably the weak link of the team, but Dantoino knows this and is trying to right the ship. Adding one of the nation's best recruiting classes next year will help Michigan State on both sides of the ball and keep improving on the success that Dantonio has brought to this university.

looking ahead

Let's call it what you will, the Detroit Tigers are a .500 team right now. They are good enough to make you believe they have a chance at the playoffs, only to play bad enough at times to make you realize that's not going to happen. So where do they go from here? There are a core group of guys here that you can build around. Miquel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen, Placido Polanco, Magglio Ordonez, and Brandon Inge seem to be set for next year's team. That means you need to find a shortstop and a left fielder. Could you bring back the current players Edgar Renteria and Marcus Thames at those positions? Maybe, but I think it might be time to cut ties with Renteria and bring back Thames as a DH or part time player. Options to fill the shortstop position are either Cale Iorg, a Double A prospect in the organization who has some power, but needs more seasoning, or a free agent like Orlando Cabrera or Rafael Furcal. As far as getting a new left fielder here the Tigers might decide to hand that job over to one of their young guys, either Matt Joyce, Clete Thomas, or Brent Clevlen. All have had some major league experience with Joyce probably having the inside track on the job. However if they want to make a small splash in the free agent market maybe a guy like Mark Kotsay could help get on base and play good defense.

The bigger problem with this team that they will have to address is finding some better pitching. The Tigers can go into next year with Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, and hopefully Armando Galarraga if they resign him. Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis are under contract, but hopefully at least one of those guys will be gone. Seeing that Kenny Rogers will probably retire, hopefully, the team will need at least one starting pitcher. The obvious candidate in house would be Rick Porcello. He has all the tools to succeed in the majors, but might need one more season in the minors. The problem is the Tigers might not be able to wait. Other minor league pitchers who could creep into that starting rotation are Chris Lambert from Toledo, Luis Marte from Erie, and Jonah Nickerson from Lakeland. All of these guys have had solid years so far. There are some big name free agents like C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, John Lackey, Rich Harden, Oliver Perez, and Jon Garland who are available. Even mid level guys like Derek Lowe, Randy Wolf, or Ryan Dempster could help out this rotation. Mr. Illitch will have to open up the wallet again if he wants to add one of these guys.

Bullpen issues have persisted all year and some changes will need to be made there also. Resigning Joel Zumaya, Bobby Seay, Freddy Dolsi, and Zach Miner will need to be done. Fernando Rodney is the wild card here. He will be a free agent and his time might have run out in Detroit. He definitely has a million dollar arm, just a five cent head. Todd Jones will retire, so the closer role will be up for grabs. Should the Tigers spend all of their money on Francisco Rodriquez or to a lesser extent Jason Isringhausen? Maybe. The point is changes will have to made for the Tigers to make a run at the playoffs next year.

rookie serving cornbread

At Thursday night's first preseason game I was hoping to see the beginning of a rookie of the year type season out of Kevin Smith. There was no evidence of this on the field that night though. Mind you that taking my son Jack kept me from watching too much of the game (thank you hot dogs, cotton candy, Gatorade, and starbursts), but Smith did not stand out. 22 yards on 8 carries was nothing to write home about. But lets keep it in perspective, it was the 1st preseason game and his performance wasn't all his fault. The offensive line did not open up any holes. Edwin Mulitalo, the starting left guard did not play, but his absence wasn't the only reason for their poor play. Gosder Cherilus committed some penalties and in all had a below average performance. Maybe installing this cut blocking scheme will take longer than the fans had hoped.

The rookie Smith though, will have to start backing up his words. Mentioning a playoff win was way to premature. Some of the veterans need to explain to him how to handle his obvious confidence with the media. I like his enthusiasm when talking about the season and his expectations. This team has been lacking a little swagger for a few seasons now. However show it with your play, not your mouth. I think that Smith will have a good year, hopefully a 1,000 yards. If that happens he will deserve to hand out all that piping hot cornbread.

road to redemption

Road to redemption is the chant for the USA Men's Basketball team. 4 years ago they earned the bronze medal, and now they want gold. When you listen to the players on this year's team speak, they try and say the right things, like "how this is a challenge", and "everyone is gunning for them". But these players still don't get it. They don't understand that Olympic basketball is different than the NBA style that they play for most of the year. You cannot play one on one, you have to move the ball around. I thought Coach Mike Krzyzewski would have installed this idea, but after watching yesterday's game it hasn't happened. They don't run any kind of offense, unless you call fast breaks or ill advised 3 pointers your bread and butter. It looks like you're watching an NBA all star game with one point of difference, they play defense. Well some of the players try at least. Imagine watching an NBA game in early January. The games don't matter and the defense is not there consistently on every play.

The players on this team who look like they do get it are Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and especially Dwayne Wade. He has been great in the 4 exhibition games. However the point guards yesterday were embarrassing. Jason Kidd shouldn't be on the team, Chris Paul can't keep anyone in front of him on the defensive end, and Deron Willams made some bad turnovers. The rest of the team is so up and down during the game you wonder, how are they going to win gold. Yes the still are the favorites but anyone who believes it will be a cake walk is dreaming.

It's too bad that Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett didn't want to make the commitment to play on this team. If they would have, Jason Kidd and Carlos Boozer would be the odd men out. It would have given Team USA more size and defense. But this is the team that Coach K has to work with. I'd like to see him change the lineups though. I'd start Paul, Bryant, Prince, James, and Howard. Put Prince in there to get the ball moving around and create some mismatches with his length. Then off the bench I'd play Wade, Williams, Anthony, and Bosh. Bring Redd in if you need more shooting, and let Boozer and Kidd ride the pine unless needed. Maybe this team has too many stars and not enough roles players to keep up with the international game. I'm still psyched though for the Olympics to start. It's not 1992 anymore, the Dream Team is gone, but this is still our game, and we need to take it back.

where do I start?

On Thursday I will be introducing 2 people to Lions' football. Being a season ticketholder with my friend Brian, we have experienced the low lights of the past 8 seasons. People have laughed at us for paying for season tickets. My family has even tried convincing me to "give up" and find another team to cheer for, but every year Brian and I keep coming back. Well for the 1st preseason game this year I will be taking my 5 year old son Jack, and my 62 year old dad. Now my dad, who doesn't follow the Lions that close, has heard how bad the team has been in recent years, who hasn't right? The last time he went to a Lions game was in 1983. It was a Thanksgiving day game he took me to, and the Lions actually beat the Steelers 45 -3. Hard to believe right? Still my dad is excited to go to the game and see the stadium. I've talked it up. Ford Field is a 1st class facility, and the seats we've got are good, so he should at least be entertained.

My worries lie with Jack though. I am currently introducing him to football. He's going to play flag football this fall, and he hasn't really watched more than a few minutes of a game on T.V. so far. I know he's young, but I want him to develop the same passion for the sport that I have. His famous words are "this is so boring". Great I pick a Lions game for him to go to. But I have faith that the excitement of the crowd, the intricacies of the stadium, and hopefully the style of football will at least catch his attention on Thursday night. So if you see a little blonde hair boy wearing a Barry Sanders jersey, make sure you are cheering, so he'll hear it, and realize what is the NFL.

Teammates again?

Today Brett Favre is showing up at Green Bay Packers training camp to begin practicing with the team. This story has taken on a life of itself. ESPN has daily updates, and I'm sure the organization, and it's players are all tired of being in the middle of all of this. This is what I don't understand, why come back? It's understandable that you just can't turn off that competitive drive you've had for the past 17 years in the NFL, but redirect those feelings somewhere else. Favre has a foundation. He should concentrate his efforts into using his fame to help people. If he hadn't won a Super Bowl, or been MVP of the league, I would say he still had something to play for, but he's done those things. He owns almost every record there is, passing touchdowns, passing yards, and many more. Why is he doing this?

Here sits Aaron Rodgers waiting his turn to play in the NFL. This year he finally gets his shot to prove he can quarterback in this league, and Favre starts pulling this stunt. The Packers have said it will be an open competition for the starting quarterback job. Will the people in Green Bay call in death threats if Favre isn't the guy? He's a god there! All Favre is doing is making a situation even worse by showing up. Rodgers has to be thinking get me the hell out of here. I'll be interested to see how he handles this. I'm sure it will be with more class than how Favre has handled his whole I'm retired, to I'm thinking about coming back, no I'm thinking about staying retired and taking 20 million dollars from the Packers, to now suiting up with his old teammates.

the blame game

I'm tired of watching this pitching staff! I know that Armando Galarraga pitched a strong game today, but this staff has been extremely disappointing this year. So who do we blame? Dave Dombrowski for picking these guys for his team? Jim Leyland for not being able to get more out of his pitchers? My pick to go has to be Chuck Hernandez. There is no way this guy should be back next year. What has he done in the past few years with guys like Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, Nate Robertson, and Fernando Rodney, just to name a few? These pitchers have talent, some more than others, but all of them have regressed under Hernandez's tutelage. I understand that it's not all coaching, these players have to take some of blame for not producing, but it's hard to get rid of player contracts. You just can't dump salaries, but you can dump a pitching coach who clearly has not done his job. We need someone in here who can work with these guys. You have players like Dontrelle Willis, Fernando Rodney, Nate Robertson who need some serious coaching. If this team is going to contend next year, and they do have the hitting to do it, either Dombrowski has to acquire better pitchers or find a way to improve the ones he has.

promises not kept

At this point in the summer, I would have to grade Joe Dumars' off season an F. After the Pistons got bounced out of the playoffs, Joe Dumars gave the speech about how no one was untouchable and changes needed to be made. First he let go of Flip Saunders, and named Michael Curry head coach. I actually don't mind this move. I'm sick of the retread of NBA coaches this league continues to go through. Curry, a former player, should get the respect and energy out of this veteran team that Saunders could not do. Dumars started making questionable moves at the NBA draft when he traded away D.J. White, his 1st round pick, for the rights to Walter Sharpe in the 2nd round. Sharpe who is supposed to have untapped potential, was unnoticed in the NBA summer league. Next after obviously overvaluing his own players, and not making the blockbuster trade, he signed Will Bynum and Kwame Brown. These are not the moves he promised us. Basically he replaced Jarvis Hayes, Juan Dixon, and Theo Ratliff with Walter Sharpe, Will Bynum, and Kwame Brown. All this tells me is that the Pistons will go through the next year probably winning 48 to 52 games and struggle again in the playoffs. Lets look at what some of the other teams in the East did. The Celtics and Cavs stayed pat, but the Celtics trio and LeBron are good enough to carry those teams. The Raptors added Jermaine O'Neal and the Sixers added Elton Brand. Those two guys seriously upgrade their teams. Smaller moves like the Bucks adding Richard Jefferson and the Magic getting Mikael Pietrus and Courtney Lee will make their teams better. Even the Bulls and Heat who have some talent but underachieved last year, added the top two picks in the draft, Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley. The combination of these teams improving and the Pistons staying in their holding pattern will lead to another disappointing season.

the buzz of training camp

I can't remember the last time a Lions player had as much hype about him as Calvin Johnson does this year. He had a good rookie year, but some predictions for him this year are Pro Bowl numbers. Tom Kowalski from Booth Newspapers has said "1300 yards and 10 touchdowns is setting the bar low." Wow, could this be for real? It would be pretty exciting to have Calvin and Roy Williams tear up the league this year. In my opinion it all depends if Jon Kitna can stay on his feet this year. The offensive line gave up way too many sacks last year, and didn't give Kitna the time he needed to get rid of the ball. I think another factor to the success of the passing game, will be the consistency of the running game. I know its a leap of faith, but I hope Kevin Smith exceeds expectations this year and gets a 1,000 yards rushing. I might sound like a homer but if these things come true, it will be a great year for Lions football!