Final Four is Set

A little late, but here it is, a look at the Final Four:

Butler:
Probably the surprise of the group, the Butler Bulldogs of the Horizon league make their first ever FInal Four appearance. Led by the tandem of, Howard and Hayward, Butler is a fundamentally sound team that beats you with defense and smart play. They rarely turn the ball over, so when they do, you better capitalize. They take good shots and aren't afraid of using clock. Butler is a tough opponent for any team in the nation.

Michigan State:
Not surprised that they made it this far, but I am surprised that they've done it without Kalin, twice. They beat the hot UNI Panthers and the Tennessee Volunteers without star point guard Kalin Lucas. The Spartans have not had an easy game yet, even being challenged by New Mexico State. Their road hasn't been easy, they needed a buzzer beater against Maryland and benefitted greatly from Tennessee's poor free throw shooting late in that game. If Summers can continue this streak, the Spartans will be in good shape, and who's gonna pick against Tom Izzo in March? I wouldn't.

West Virginia:
I called the one of the most overrated teams in the tournament, but they're here. They even managed to do it without starting point guard Darryl Bryant. They beat the red hot Kentucky Wildcats without a true point guard. I am impressed by what they've done so far, but their thin backcourt may catch up to them against Duke... Should be a good one.

Duke:
Called the worst of the one seeds, the Duke Blue Devils find themselves in yet another FInal Four and the only one seed still alive. Led by senior guards John Scheyer and Nolan Smith and junior guard/forward Kyle Singler, the Blue Devils have one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation. They can shoot the ball with anyone in the country, and that's the key to their success. But unlike other teams that tend to live and die with the three, Duke has something those teams don't: the ability to get the offensive rebounds. They dominated Baylor on the glass. Baylor was one of the best post teams in the country, but they couldn't keep Duke off the offensive glass. Look for offensive rebounds to be the deciding factor against the Mountaineers. If Duke gets the second chance boards, they will win, if not, West Virginia will be playing for the title.

Predictions:
I'm going to keep it short and simple. I'll take Michigan State over Butler because of coaching. State is more talented, not by much, but they are far better coached. And I'll take Duke because of the Big Three plus the offensive boards Duke always grabs.

Wings Win in Shootout.

The Detroit Red Wings took on the Nashville Predators in a very important game with playoff positioning on the line. With a win, the Wings could tie Nashville for the 5th spot in the West. Nashville is the only team that is just as hot as the Wings since the olympic break. Pekka Rinne has been a wall in the net. Playing on the road, this would prove to be a tough test for the Winged Wheel.

The Wings played a sloppy first, picking up three penalties in the first. But the PK for the Wings has been red hot lately, and did not allow the Preds to score. Second period was better for the Wings, but still no score. Third period comes around... Wings get alot of shots, no goals still. Overtime... still no goals, this game was bound for a shootout.

This bad boy went to 11 rounds before Kronwall got the game-winning goal and Howard followed that with the game-winning save. Only 2 goals were scored in the shoot out. It took 5 rounds before one goal was scored. It was an exciting game to watch, and an important win for the Wings.

Wings move into the 6th spot in the Western Conference, with 7 games remaining, look for the Wings to be in good shape when the postseason comes around. 3 games against Columbus and a game with the Oil, Detroit has a great chance to get the 5th spot. Pretty good for a team that seemed like every "fan" believed was too old and needed to shake things up. All I'm gonna say is, I was right.

Not One, but TWO overtimes

March Madness started up again, as the first games of the Sweet 16 started up. And boy did it live up to the hype. A couple of the games weren't too interesting, West Virginia beat Washington and Kentucky dominated Cornell, but the other two games had some excitement.

First game of the night, Syracuse vs Butler. The Orange were a heavy favorite in this one for good reason. Syracuse was still playing without Arinze Onuaku. They were fine the first two rounds without him, but they clearly needed him in this matchup. As good Syracuse is, even without Onuaku, they didn't put it all together and they fell to Butler 63-59 in this 5-1 upset. Syracuse is the second one seed to go down this tournament, so that opens the door for teams like Michigan State, Ohio State, Tennessee, even Northern Iowa, to have an easier road to the championship game. But the winner on that side would have to play Kansas State... more than likely, but Xavier had other plans.

Xavier, the six seed, was looking to do the same thing Butler did to Syracuse on the same court. This one was the definition of a thriller. Kansas State led by as many as 15 in the second half, but when it came down to the end, the two teams were trading leads. It was a tie game, until Clemente hit a huge three for Kansas State. Then K-State, correctly might I add, tried to foul Xavier before they shot. They missed the first foul, which was an obvious miss call, but got called for the second attempt. The only problem was that second attempt was in the act of shooting.Holloway was sent to the line shooting three for the tie. The 85% free throw shooter calmly sank all three to send it to overtime.

Time winding down in the first time, K-State up three. It looked like K-State was going to put away Xavier this time. But with time winding down, Jordan Crawford decided that one overtime wasn't enough. He calmly made a 30-foot three point shot. Clemente missed the buzzer beater from inside the three point line, so we were going to a second overtime. Well, K-State showed why they were the better team, as they finally pulled away from Xavier. There was little time left in the game, K-State was up three. Xavier was unable to hit the tying three and was forced to foul Clemente, who hit both free throws to make it a5 point game and seal the win for the Wildcats 101-96.

So it was just another typical day in March, and today I expect the nothing less. State plays everyone's new favorite team, Northern Iowa, tonight at 9:30. The Spartans are going to have to get this win without star point guard Kalin Lucas, who's done for the tourney with an achilles injury. Expect Izzo to have the boys ready, and the Spartans to advance. My other winners of the day are Duke, St. Mary's, and Ohio State.

Happy March everyone, enjoy today, and watch some basketball

Article Number Three for Spartan Edge

Hunt for the Playoffs:

By Dave Cobb

The Detroit Red Wings find themselves in a spot they haven’t been in since 1990; fighting for their playoff lives.

The Wings currently hold the longest active streak in all of sports by making the playoffs for 18 consecutive seasons, and for 17 of those they’ve had home ice, meaning they were a No. 4 seed or higher. But Detroit finds itself with its back against the wall this season, desperately fighting for a spot in the playoffs.

The Wings are currently in eighth place in the western conference with 85 points, four points up on Calgary. They trail the seventh spot by two points and the fifth and sixth spots by four.

With two games left against Nashville, Detroit has an opportunity to jump as high as sixth in the standings.

The chances of Detroit making the playoffs are better than ever right now. With a healthy line-up, the Red Wings have one of the best records since the Olympic break in the NHL. The penalty kill has been near perfect, and the power play has been nearly unstoppable. Henrik Zetterberg has been red hot with three points in his last game against Pittsburgh and 10 points in his last six games.

Every game from this point on is crucial for the Winged Wheel. With Nashville playing the best hockey in the NHL right now and Calgary not out of it yet, Detroit needs to make sure they get points in as many games as possible. They have gotten 11 points in their last six games and 17 points since the Olympic break. They also picked up four points in the final three games before the break, a total of 21 points in 14 games. That’s what Detroit has to keep doing to make the playoffs.

The Red Wings are the beneficiaries of possibly the easiest schedule remaining of the teams fighting for a playoff spot. They have two contests with Nashville, three against Columbus, and a game left with the Oilers, the worst team in the NHL. Their schedule also includes winnable games against the Blues and Flyers.

You can finally stop hitting the panic button Detroit: the Wings will be in the playoffs for the 19th straight season.

Sweet, Sweet, Victory

Last night my beloved Red Wings played the Penguins, led by that sissy girl Sidney Crosby. And the awesome, super fantastic Red Wings came out on top of the not so cool, dumb Pittsburgh Penguins. If you couldn't tell, I hate Crosby. I don't like the way he plays the game, I prefer Ovechkin's style. I do wish the Wings had more guys like Ovi, but that doesn't mean I'm going to abandon my team.

Detroit Pittsburgh has become quite the rivalry ever since the teams met twice in the Stanley Cup, and Pittsburgh got the better of Detroit in the 7 game series last year. Yes, it still hurts Wings fans, but we have to move on and be strong. The city of Detroit probably hates Crosby more than any other city in the NHL, with the exception of Philadelphia, but it's a mutual hate.

The Wings jumped off to the lead in the first period on a Filpula goal late in the period. Wings took that lead into the second, and expanded it to a 2-0 lead on a Zetterberg goal. The Penguins would later get a goal on a funny hop. The credit was given to Pascal Dupis. But the Wings would get that crucial next goal when Hank the Tank scored his second of the night to give the Wings a 3-1 lead. That would be the final.

But as time expired, there was a bit of a tussle in front of the net. Who else but Sidney Crosby what at the center of this? Sidney started cross checking Zetterberg in front of the net repeatedly. He also threw a bit of a bunch in there. Bertuzzi eventually came in to try to break things up, but it was Jimmy Howard that got in there to rip Sidney off of Zetterberg. I loved that moment, showed that Jimmy belongs here because he's a goalie willing to scrap.

Wings have important games down the stretch, look to see efforts such as this one from here on out. In the Winged Wheel I trust.

Another Typical Day in March...

So yet another day filled with crazy games and down to the wire finishes. Cornell upsets Wisconsin a blow out, Duke takes care of business along with Syracuse. Xavier beat Pittsburgh, yet further proving that the Big East is a fraud. Two games caught my eye, both involving the Big Ten. Purdue beats Texas A&M in overtime, and in what was the most thrilling game of the day, Michigan State beat Maryland on a Korie Lucious buzzer beating three pointer.

That game saw 4 lead changes in the last 45 seconds. Maryland went on a huge, quick run to take a one point lead. Then Draymond Green hit a jumper to take back the lad, which was quickly answered by a Grievous Vasquez basket. State had 6 seconds to score, Draymond brought it up, the found Lucious, barely missing Roe's head, and Lucious with a quick in step, lined up for three and nailed it as time expired. It was a huge win for Sparty, and they will take on the talk of the tourney: Northern Iowa.

A key note from this game, Kalin Lucas went down with what is probably a torn achilles tendon. It will be tough beating such a hot shooting team, led by Ali Forkhmanesh, who's hit two game winning threes already this tourney. I think MSU can do it though, in Tom Izzo I trust.

Relive and Enjoy Spartan fans.

A New Vid for the Kids

A new video for all my beloved fans

Round One: Done

Day one of the NCAA Tournament is over, and March Madness is living up to the title. THere are no perfect brackets left on ESPN, but who's surprised? Ohio beat Georgetown. It's lived up to the hype, and I hope it continues today and tomorrow.

One of the most satisfying feelings is correctly calling an upset. I didn't get Murray State or Ohio right, but I did get Cornell. In fact I guaranteed that game. But I know many people with busted brackets. My friend had Georgetown winning it all. But my bracket is still alive. In fact I'm winning my money bracket. I went 14-2 yesterday, and I'm 25-7 overall.

Here are some stand out stories from day one:
Cornell blows out Temple: I called this one, but Temple was supposed to hang around. Cornell just shot Temple out of the arena. The Big Red will have a real chance at beating Wisconsin, especially since the Badgers struggled against Wofford.

Nova's overrated:
Well, I called this one too. Nova went to overtime against Robert Morris and is currently losing to St. Mary's. I'm sorry for those that are riding the Scotty Reynolds train, but Nova train is coming to its final stop.

Dave's great at this tourny thing:
I'm currently first in my money bracket and have every elite 8 and 15 of the 16 sweet 16 teams still around. Most people should have numbers like that... but some people don't. Let's hope he can keep it up.

Well, folks, keep watching the madness, and enjoy it while it lasts. And let me know how your brackets are doing.

STOP THE MADNESS... No START THE MADNESS ALREADY!

IT'S MARCH MADNESS BABAAAAAAYYYYY SUPER SENTILATINGSENSATIONAL!!!!!! Okay this is not Dicky V, but it's his time of the year. I bet you are all dying to know who the Bearded One's got, and that's not an easy question... But I'm going to give you my take, so here we goooooooooo

Favorites: Kansas & Kentucky.
Well, if there was any doubt about who was the favorite in this one, it's Kansas. The number one overall seed and the best team in the country. I really like Kansas, but I don't have them winning in my bracket, I'll explain later. But anyway, These two teams are the clear cut favorites. John Wall and the rest of those Kentucky Babies against Cole Aldrich and them Kansas Jayhawks are the most popular picks in the final, no surprise there. Kansas I buy into, but Kentucky... I do not. Talent can get you far in the tourney, but in the end, I'll take experience over talent any day. Kansas has more experience than Kentucky, so if these teams meet, I'll take Kansas.

Sleepers/Overlooked: New Mexico, Michigan State, Duke, Wisconsin.
Now these teams could be very dangerous. I threw Duke and State in there because I think most people will over look them as a potential National Champion, but all four of these teams have a shot at making a run to the Elite 8 or Final Four. I think no one is looking at New Mexico as a threat, but they could knock of West Virginia oh so easily. Watch out for the Lobos, they could make a run.

Upset alert: Siena, Cornell, Utah State, San Diego State
Well, every year, a 12 seed beats a 5 seed. Cornell or Utah State will be that 12 seed. I think Cornell will beat Temple. Cornell almost beat Kansas at Kansas so they can hang with good teams. They are also one of the best shooting teams country. Siena could beat Purdue just because of no Robbie Hummell. But I'm going to take Purdue, but they better be careful. San Diego State has a shot because they are a solid team, and Tennessee is one of the streakiest teams in the country.

Overrated: Villanova, West Virginia, Kansas State.
These three teams are easily the most overrated in the tournament. So many people are buying into these teams to win it all. West Virginia is overrated, Nova is too inconsistent, and Kansas State is overrated as well. K-State is 0-3 to Kansas, and recently had a bad loss at home to a poor Iowa State team. Nova lives and dies with Scotty Reynolds. West Virginia has gotten extremely lucky they haven't come out of this season with more losses. Proceed with caution with these teams.

So who do I got? Well, I think Kansas will win it all, but I always make my brackets to set myself apart. I have many brackets, so I'll just give you the Final Four of the one I just did. Duke, K-State, Kansas, New Mexico. Why? Because if it happens I'm going to win. I have Duke beating Kansas for it all.

But my official prediction is Kansas Duke final, and the Blue Devils cutting down the nets.

Red WIngs huge Victory

Yes, I do realize that happened Monday night, two days ago, but I had a busy Tuesday so forgive me for taking too long. Wait no, I don't need to apologize, the only reason I did is because this blog doesn't seem timely. Otherwise, I'd enjoy making you wait. Muhahahaha *evil laugh* Well anyway here's the legitimate blog.

The Wings played Calgary in Calgary Monday night in what was easily the most important game of the season thus far. Both teams new the importance of this game, and they both came out ready to play. But only a few minutes in, Calgary would strike first. A good, aggressive forecheck led to and an Andreas Lilja turnover. Greg Conroy got the steal, then eventually put the puck in the net off the second rebound. Falling behind on the road is tough, but falling behind early is no easy task to overcome. Especially when every game means something, and even more so, this game meant everything to both teams. The Wings had a big wall to climb, but playoff teams climb these walls.

Second period comes along and me and my new Red Wing good luck charm have been texting this entire time, most of which I cannot repeat, let's just say I wasn't happy with Lilja and she just wasn't happy. But then the Wings get their first power-play of the night. She says to me, "It's alright, we're gonna score on the power-play." I reply with damn right. It was one of the moments were you just knew a goal was coming... But then Williams hooked Glencross n a breakaway so it Calgary had a penalty shot. But Jimmy Howard coming up in the clutch turns Glencross's shot away. The Wings would then capitalize with a Pavel Datsyuk snipe that Kiprusoff had no chance at. That makes it 10 straight games with a power-play for Detroit, the longest active streak in the NHL.

Third period rolls along and it's a 1-1 tie. Detroit appears to be the better team this period. Maybe it was because Calgary had lost last night, but maybe it's because Detroit's just the better team. Four minutes into the period and disaster strikes for the Winged Wheel. Brain Rafalski's stick clipped the eye of I believe Conroy, while Rafalski was finishing a check. ITwas a fluke, but it was also a 4-minute double minor. But that didn't phase Detroit, as they successfully killed it off, which was a huge momentum boost. No score for a long time in the period, until Johan Franzen just throws a slap shot towards the net from the blue line that none other than Thomas Holmstrom tipped into the net, his 20th goal this season. Detroit was in the midst of a change; Franzen and Homer were the only two Red Wings in the Flames zone, they just so happened to be in perfect position. The Wings held on to win 2-1.

Detroit is red hot at the right time. They have a power-play goal in 10 consecutive games and have successfully killed 46 of their 49 penalties in a span of 16 games. Add those two factors with some good defense and healthy players, and what you got is a playoff team, and a dangerous one at that. Like I predicted earlier, Wings will get up to 7, but trailing now by 3 points, it won't be easy, but they will be in the playoffs for the 19th straight season. If I were the Sharks or Blackhawks, I would be worried about a first round matchup with Detroit.

Michigan's Heart Broken

*picture different game, but they still look distraught


.......... watch the video........ damnit

Wings win and you get a video

So the Wings won last tonight 5-1 over the Wild. An important game. Calgary and NAshville both win, so the standings don't change. Which makes this win bigger. The Red Wings have got to keep winning. Nashville and Calgary are hot, so the Wings MUST keep pace. They cannot afford to drop any farther. If they fall three points behind Calgary, they may be in some trouble. There is plenty of time, I know this, but the Winged Wheel has got to keep winning to make the playoffs. They will do so and get the 7th seed, but they have got to keep up with the Predators and Flames in order to do so.

And now for your viewing pleasure, here's me with bad camera work.

Nomar Retires a Red Sock.

One of my all time favorites, Nomar Garciaparra retired today. He signed a one-day deal with the Red Sox just so he could retire a Red Sock. Nomar played 14 seasons in the majors with Boston, Chicago, LA Dogers, and Oakland. But he will be remembered for his days in Boston. Great fielder, and an even better hitter, Nomar was a 6 time all star and two time AL batting champion. He finishes his career with a .313 batting average and 1747 hits.

Not a hall of famer, but boarderline. He played his best years in Boston, which by default he always has a chance at making it, but I don't believe he deserves it, not with guys like Trammel and Whitaker not in. His numbers are solid, but the whole piece of work is not hall of fame material if you ask me.

But still, Nomar was always one of my favorites. Was it his name? A little bit. But mostly, it was the way he played it. He was a classy guy and the face of the cursed Boston team. They traded him the year they won it all, but they still gave him a World Series ring. That's how much he meant to the Boston organization.

Farewell Nomar, you may have fallen off the face of the earth to end your career, but I will always remember you as one of the best shortstops in the game. Enjoy your new job at ESPN.

Vick gets an award, and Iverson's life sucks.

Well a couple of my least favorite athletes are in the news today. One of them is making good headlines, and the other... well no surprises. Michael Vick wins some courage award and Allen Iverson has problems with drinking and gambling. One of these guys gets my sympathy, the other just pisses me off... And it's the guy in the positive news that pisses me off.

So Michael Vick gets a courage award... what is wrong with that, you ask. The man murdered dogs, and now he gets an award for "doing everything the right way. He had to be thrown in jail, lose everything, and almost lose his football career to learn how to behave. Are you kidding me??? This is a joke. I am angered by this. Great I'm glad he's not a dirt bag anymore, but let's reward him for doing what he has to do. If he wasn't perfect, or near perfect, he would have been in serious trouble. It's not secret that if he would have been in legal trouble, the hammer would have been thrown down on him. So he had to act like a civil citizen, but to reward him is an utter joke. Just disgusts me. Where's my reward? Complete joke.

Allen Iverson has left the Sixers because of a ton of issues. He's always had problems with gambling and drinking, but now it's worse. His wife not only filed for divorce, but also wants custody of all five kids. Anyone who knows AI, and I don't, knows that he loves his family and his kids. I have a little sympathy for him, I mean it sucks that his wife wants to leave him now and take the kids. Now that his career is over and all that he would have left is his family, his family is abandoning him. I don't condone his behavior, since apparently he's been doing it for a long time, but my heart goes out to him because he might lose his family, and not just his career.

And now I'd like to express my disappointment in Big Ben Roethlisberger. I love Big Ben, he's my favorite QB in the NFl, but this is just upsetting. Civil sexual assault charges in Lake Tahoe, now criminal charges in Georgia. Well no charges have been filed yet, but most likely there will be. The face of the Steelers, c'mon Ben, keep it in your pants brah.

Dombrowski... You sir, are delusional.

So did you guys here what Dave Dombrowski said about the current state of the Tigers? Well you should probably ignore it. He's just trying to spin. This is just for selling tickets, or getting the less than knowledgeable fans to buy into this Tiger team. It's garbage, well here's the quote in the Free Press.

"Right now, of any time that I’ve been here — and it’s hard for people to see this — I think we’re in the best shape going forward,” Dombrowski said. “I think we’re in a position where we can compete year in and year out. If some things go right, we have a chance to be pretty good for a while.”

Are you kidding me??? You're telling me this team, minus Granderson, Jackson, Polanco, and Rodney are better than the team in '06, which had Magglio, Pudge, Polacno, Granderson, etc etc performing at top levels? So Gerald Laird is as good as Pudge, arguably the best catcher ever? Is this some kind of joke? Cuz it ain't funny. I'm sorry, this is all opinion, I am an opinionated guy. But this is just a joke right? Well I will agree to this, no good GM should ever admit his team is rebuilding... but to go to this length in the lie? To say this is the best team you've fielded in 9 years on the job? If they don't win the World Series, they are, by default, worse than the `06 team he put out there. I'm sorry, Dave, but I'm not buying this garbage.

Okay, now that I vented, time for me to assess the Tigers. They are B A D folks. Last year can only be described as a miracle, and this team is worse. Don't believe in Johnny Damon, he's old and a bad fielder. Don't buy into the trade of Granderson, w egot prospects. Auston Jackson ( I do believe that's his name,) is not ready, and he will play everyday for us. This team will not be good. .500 team at best, I'm sorry Tiger fans, get used to it.

ANother win for the Wings.

Good start for Detroit after the Olympic break, winning three of their four games. All of the wins were against teams the Red Wings are chasing in the standings (Colorado, Nashville, Chicago.) They are big momentum builders, confidence builders, and point builders. The Wings are one point behind Nashville for the 7th spot and now three points up on Calgary for the 8th spot in the West.

The Red Wings playoff push is off to a big start. The Wings are now fully healthy and throwing out there the best line-ups they've had all season. The returns of Holmstrom and Franzen will make a huge difference this year, especially Franzen. The Wings have clearly missed Franzen's all around ability to just put the puck into the net. He's a big body, hard to take off the puck, and excellent at getting to the net. Add that to his wicked snap shot, and you have a goal scorer on your hands that other teams must always watch out for. He also takes the pressure off Pavel and Hank. Those two were relied on all season for all the offense. Now with Franzen, the Wings can separate Pavel and Hank, which will then in turn provide a more well rounded scoring assault.

The next game is one of the biggest games all year for the Wings. This could change the entire course of the season. The Wings take on Calgary tuesday. Obviously this game is important. If Detroit wins, they move up five points, if they lose, the lead drops down to only one. My official prediction: Calgary's trade moves have left their team with plenty of players, but not performers. They picked up a handful of Leafs for Deon Phanuff. I'll take Deon over the Leafs any day. And to make matters worse, Calgary has to play the red hot Red Wings. I'll take Detroit 4-2 in this important March matchup.

HEY HEY HOCKEYTOWN!

Short Vid

Well I have a video for you children, it's ME at the Breslin. I wanted to talk about how great rivalries are... but this game just stunk. But I love rivalries in general. They bring the best out of each other. Nothing better than Michigan Ohio State or Michigan Michigan State.

Lions Make Splash

So NFL free agency started yesterday at Midnight, and the Lions wasted no time in making moves. The Lions signed Defensive End Kyle Vanden Bosch to a 4-year $26 million, wide-receiver Nate Burleson to a 5-year $25 million deal, and traded for Browns defensive tackle for a mid-round draft pick. They also received the Browns 7th rounder.

I like the moves, I think it shows us, the fans, that they are taking strides in the right direction, for the first time in about... ten years. Probably longer than that... anyways I approve. I think both Williams and Vanden Bosch bolster a less than stellar D-line that needs significant improvement. Burleson gives Detroit a wide receiver to throw to not named Calvin Johnson. Plus, unlike Roy Williams, Burleson is not a head case and does not need the ball thrown at him every play. He's the perfect number two for Detroit if he stays healthy.

Now are they suddenly a good team? Absolutely not. They have a long way to go. They need secondary help, like some corners that can actually cover, linebackers, they need to bring Foote back someway somehow. But most of all, they need guards. They have the worst guards in the NFL. They need guards more than tackles for sure. O-line is dismal, but the guards are the first area to address.

The Lions are the closest they've been to success since the days of Barry. With another draft like last years, they could be good by next (2011) season. I really like the direction of the organization now that Millen is gone. I think Lions fans will be rewarded soon with a .500 season... let's not get crazy though.

MSU holds off Penn State.

Michigan State took on Talor Battle... oh and the rest of Penn State actually showed up for once. It was a very exciting game, and little ol Penn State fought their heart out, but it just wasn't enough. But it was surprising how close it was. It was one of those games where you have no idea it's close until you look up at the score board and say "Holy Crap, it's only a three point game." But let's get a recap shall we?

First half was pretty even, MSU had the better half and led going into the locker room. Nothing really of note happened, Lucas threw a beautiful alley-oop (how the hell do ya spell it?) pass to Durrell Summers that got the Izzone going. But other than that... it was a straight forward half. Austin Thorton scored... that was awesome.

Second half was exciting... mostly because it wasn't a blow out yet. Penn State was able to silently rally to get the lead. They led pretty late in the game, but State wasn't about to lose to Penn State. State promptly took the lead back 62-60, eventually winning 67-65, but it was interesting. Draymond got a steal, then provided a nice outlet pass to Raymar Morgan, who got foulded going for the lay-up. He nailed both free throws to go up four with about 13 seconds left. Penn State quickly goes down and makes a three (not Battle, believe it.) Lucas is intentionally fouled with about 6 seconds left. He makes the first, misses the second, but good defensive pressure prevented Battle from getting anywhere, and he couldn't get the half court heave off in time. He missed it anyways.

But I would like to make a point here, yes it was a nice win, yes Kebler played and I went nuts. But we over looked Penn State. It was evident, it shouldn't have been close. MSU has to avoid this in the future if it wants to take care of business when it counts. Or heck, even Sunday MSU has to avoid that. MSU has rival Michigan in town, and you can never over look a rival, no matter how bad they are. But good win for the Spartans, needed to win to stay in the hunt for the Big Ten regular season title.

To keep up with him

*Ignore the Kansas City... but I thought that looked cool when I did the ol google search

Okay I've been slacking. I think I can just beat my rival in a month and just slack off, well it just doesn't work that way. I gotta get focused. Well I am about to blog the crap out of Friday, I want at least three posts today. I might do four... we'll. But I swear upon thee I shall beat him in 2010. Well here's post numero uno of the day... Enjoy

So yesterday, Riley, Matt, and I were discussing what we would do if we won the lottery. Well Riley would mount a giraffe and Matt would own an absurd amount of cars. Me... I would buy a private jet, a nice American car, season tickets to the Wings... then I don't know what. But it did make me think... what if I was absurdly rich? Not from the lotto, but from my career. I have some Donald Trump like success and I have too much money. Well I decided I would buy a hockey team. I would like to be the 51% owner of a hockey team. Not the Red Wings, I want a crappy team with no fan base. WHy? So I can bring back THE WHALE. Well that is if I could acquire the rights to the Whaler logo from Hartford. If not, I would probably move the team to Wisconsin. Milwaukee being the most likely destination. The Milwaukee Blades. That's what I'm thinking. Sounds good right?

I would buy the Florida Panthers, get rid of that dismal franchise. Why do they get a hockey team? I have no idea. But they would be the team to buy. Well there's a list of teams I would buy, whatever one is for sale the cheapest. Atlanta, Florida, Nashville, Tampa, we went over this before... But I would buy that team and move them It boggles me that Florida has two teams and a northern state like Wisconsin doesn't have one.

Well why do I make such a ridiculous post? Is it because I'm trailing my rival by two? Yes. But I also want to maybe get some feedback for once... So I pose a question to the reading audience. What sport would you buy a team in? Why? Where are you going to have them play? Give me some feedback. Leave a comment here, or on facebook, I don't care. What sport would you ideally own a team in?

Trade Deadline Assessment:

Well the NHL trade deadline has gone and passed, but no real big moves. The Wings made one deal, Kyle Newberry for Jordan Owens. Minor leaguer for minor leaguer, nothing big, Which I am disappointed but not surprised at. But there were deals made, and I am going to assess the winners and losers of the deadline.

Winners:
Colorado Avalanche. They made what I thought was the best and biggest deal of the day. They sent Wolski to Phoenix for Porter and Mueller. I love this deal for Colorado. Wolski is good, but so is Mueller, and Porter has the potential of a very good player. He won the Hobey Baker in his college days at Michigan. Good deal for the Avalanche

Toronto Maple Leafs. They got rid of so many players. The days leading up to the deadline and at the deadline, they dumped a lot of players. How can a seller be a winner? When they are as bad as the Leaf. They accumulated picks and prospects and with a young core with Phaneuf and Phil Kessel, the Leaf are a few years away from being good. But it's coming, so no worries Leaf fans (Matt I'm talking to you) the woes of losing are coming to an end soon.

Washington Capitals. The big winner of the deadline here, the best team in the East getting stronger. They addressed the penalty kill by acquiring Scott Walker. They also got defensemen Milan Jurcina and Joe Corvo. Eric Bellanger is also a new capital. Good deals for Washington as they addressed their one weakness: penalty kill.

And the losers of the deadline:

Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers need one thing, every year... goaltending. They did nothing. With Ray Emery done for the year, who's playing between the pipes for the Flyers? I have no idea but it's not going to be pretty. Maybe they conceded defeat to the Capitals, but they did not address their one big need.

Vancouver Canucks. Another team that pretty much stoop pat. They had a couple deals, but they did not bolster the blue line. I felt with the injuries to their defense they needed some depth defensemen, and they failed to do that. It could be a sticky situation in Vancouver as they try to make a run at the cup. In Roberto they trust.

Calgary Flames: What were they doing? Trading away Phaneuff and Jokinen? Well maybe Oli wasn't working out, but they traded away quality for quantity. Traded Deon for a boat load of Leafs... who are apart of a losing program, not a winning one. I don't like the deals they made, it was quantity over quality. Bad moves Flames, Iginla needs help.

Detroit Red WIngs: This one is just a personal feeling. They did nothing when I felt they needed to make some sort of deal for a scorer or defenseman. They didn't just making one minor deal that won't have any impact this year. There probably wasn't anything to the Wings liking, and Holland doesn't make a deal unless it improves the Wings, so he knows more than me, but I'm still disappointed.

Well there's my assessment, If you disagree... too bad. LEave me feed back, I'm starting to encourage more feedback. Feel free to tear me a new one when you disagree, or blow steam up my ass when my blogs just rock your world. Leave a comment, you know you want tooooooooo

Good win for the Winged Wheel

Well they almost blew it, but they got the win no worries. Red Wings played the Avalanche last night to start the hockey season back up, the only game played in the NHL might I add. This was a crucial game for the Wings; playing a team ahead of them in the standings. This late in the season, it is important to get points out of as many games as possible, picking up two every time you should get the two. The Wings got the job done.

Detroit took a 2-0 lead into the second period, with goals by Holmstrom and Franzen. Homer's goal was set up by a beautiful pass from, who else, Pavel Datsyuk. Franzen's power play goal was a pretty one as well; he drove the side of the net and roofed it over Anderson as he went down to poke check. The Wings dominated play the first period and looked well on their way to getting the two points... then Kerry Frazier happened.

Second period, Wings on a power play, Franzen gets a rebound and puts in the back of the net, 3-0 right? RIGHT? No, Kerry Frazier does what he does best... and that's suck at his job. He called off the goal, saying it was goalie interference. I will admit, Homer was in the crease, but did he really interfere with Anderson? I think not. But the momentum shifts to Colorado and they then proceed to put in the next 2 goals. One of which was a very weak goal... damnit Howard. We were all squared at 2's going to the third.

It looked like the Wings were going to blow yet another two goal lead, but then the Wings got another power play chance. Pavel gets the puck and drags it across the middle, everyone expected a shot, I did too. He had a decent look. But what he did was drop a pass to Lidstrom who let it fly into the open net. 3-2 Wings. That would be our final.

So the Wings jump into the 8 spot and start things off right after the Olympic break... But I think they need to do more. The trade deadline is tomorrow, and Detroit's got to be a buyer. They need a little somethin to get them over the top and into the playoffs. Who or what? I don't know, I haven't seen who's available. But a defenseman or scorer is ideal. I haven't brushed up on my trade rumors, so I can't tell you who's available, but there's always buyers and sellers. Ken needs to find that seller. He's made good deadline deals before (Stuart, Schneider, Lang, Shanahan.) and I think he can pull another one.