Michigan Beats Michigan State in a Thriller

Photo Credit: UMhoops.com

Michigan and Michigan State renewed their rivalry Tuesday. They were meeting as ranked teams for the first time since 1998. (MSU was 9th going in, Michigan 19th.)

Michigan got off to a hot start int he first half, shooting the ball well and moving the ball around to get open looks. Michigan at one point built their lead up to 11 points and definitely looked like the better team in the first half.

But Sparty wouldn't go away. They kept coming back and keeping it close. The Spartans were able to rally by exploiting their advantage over Michigan and pounding the ball inside. Derrick Nix had a game from the bench, dropping a Spartan high 13 points. 30 of MSU's 59 points came from the bench.

It was back and forth at the end, but Trey Burke made yet another great play, getting the ball out on the fast break and giving it to Stu Douglas for the eventual game winner. Draymond Green had a good look for the win, but couldn't get it to go.

Trey Burke was the key to this game. He didn't look like a freshman point guard playing in a big game; he looked like a four year starter. Tim Hardaway JR was a virtual non fact, and Burke, along with Zack Novak, stepped up when it mattered for the Wolverines.

The one perplexing thing about this game was how MSU handled themselves in the late stages. They took out Nix, despite his dominating presence in the low block, and after that, they seemed to stop pounding it inside all together, which is what got them their lead. When they had the lead late, they decided to just wind down the clock and take a jump shot instead of try to get the ball inside, where they had established their dominance.

But in the end Michigan won, it's a game that could have gone either way. MSU got outplayed for most of the game, and Michigan missed too many free throws and gave MSU opportunities to come back, so both teams could have executed better.

But both teams were evenly matched, and it was a hell of a basketball game. Let's just enjoy the intensity of a rivalry where both teams are on the same level. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Roar Restored

So the Lions had a pretty good season, eh? 10-6 and the first playoff appearance since `99. I'd say it was a pretty successful year. But everyone reading this knows what this season. Time to give it a grade, since I'm back in school and everything...

Detroit Lions 2011 Season Grade: A-

The Lions definitely exceeded my and most people's expectations this year by making it to the post season. It was an amazing year, filled with all kinds of up and downs and drama in almost every game. The Lions became the first team to comeback from a 20 point deficit and win in back-to-back games, first team to comeback and win three games when trailing by 17, and the only team to comeback and win when down 13 points four times in one season. Cardiac Cats, Comeback Cats, call them whatever you want, either way it was an exciting season.

Everyone will take a 10-6 season and a playoff birth, but one can't ignore the missed opportunity the Lions had in the last week of the season. The Lions couldn't find a way to beat the Green Bay Backups and win an opportunity to play the New York Giants, very beatable team. Instead the Lions had to play the Saints, and we all know how that went.

That's why they get an A-. And A would have been that 11-5, or if the Lions had performed better in games against playoff teams (Lions only beat one playoff team, Denver.) A+ would have been the miracle of winning the division, or something absurd. But I give them a solid A- for making the playoffs and putting Detroit is back on the football map.

The future for the Lions is bright; however, many tough decisions and financial hurdles loom over their heads, the real test of Mayhew will be deciding who stays and goes while maintaing a winner.

Detroit Lions 2011 MVP: Matthew Stafford.

To me, it's clear who the MVP of this team is: Matthew Stafford. Everyone had one question about him: What can he do in a full 16 games? How bout throw for 5038 yards (one of four quarterbacks to reach 5000) 41 touchdowns (franchise record) and a completion percentage of 63.5.

I'm not ignoring Megatron's season. Calvin had an unreal season as well. He was absurdly great starting the season, but there was a stretch where he disappeared. And while teams were kind of taking him a way, Stafford excelled in spreading the ball around and the Lions still had a potent offense. And keep in mind, all of Stafford's stats and accomplishments were done with zero running game. Everyone knew what they were doing, but they still scored. Stafford is the MVP of the 2011 Lions, without a doubt.

2011 Lions season was a special one, and the future looks bright for our Motor City Kitties. They're going forward down the field.

The Prodigal Beard Returns

It sure has been awhile since I've been on here, now hasn't it? I said to myself when I started this that if I ever found myself "I have to blog about..." instead of "I want to blog about...." That it was time to walk away. And after some much needed time off, I'm back, and I'm going to relaunch this bad boy with some great new ideas!

What I'd like to do is have a written blog three times a week, minimum once a week, but only posting when I want to, and not as an obligation. That way the writing stays genuine and the quality remains high.

But what I want to do is get the people involved. If there's ever an issue you'd like my opinion on, let me know. Post it on the Bearded Fellow Facebook page, hit me up on twitter @DCobb1621. I'm planning on setting up an email address just for this blog, and possibly even it's own twitter feed.

One thing I'd like to do is a weekly or ever other week podcast. Like a weekly wrap up/preview podcast of the what's going on in sports. That will probably be more successful and more used during football season, but I'm gonna give it a whirl.

Last year I tried doing live webchats, which was fun when people were there. I'd like to get that going again, maybe like once a month or something. Not too frequently in order to keep it fresh.

What made this blog fun was feedback and interactions with you, the readers. I want to get this as interactive as possible.

I know you guy's missed me, and now I'm back. Expect big things from 2012. And since the world's gonna end, I might as well blog about sports while I still can, right?

Bring on Another Young

Tigers acquired Delmon Young from the Minnesota Twins in a trade on Monday. They gave up Lester Oliveros (who was the player to be named later) and Cole Nelson, a single A reliever... So who cares?

Clearly it was a salary dump for the Twins, they decided to get something for Young while they could before he went to arbitration, which he's eligible for next season.

The Twins placed Young on waivers and the Tigers claimed him. The Twins then worked out a deal with Detroit and here we are.

Ironically enough, Young made his debut against said Twins. And in his first Tiger at-bat, he homered. Young in his first series as a Tiger showed that he can make an impact with his bat. And frankly anyone out in right field is a better option than Magglio... except Raburn...

But this move is an absolute perfect move for the Tigers. Young was a former number one pick, he's only 25, and last year had a pretty damn good year hitting .298 with 21 home runs and 112 RBIs.

Young has struggled so far this year and has been hampered by injuries, but there's no doubt that hitting front of Cabrera will help Young get those numbers back up.

This move makes the Tigers an even greater front runner for the AL Comedy Central, so long as Leyland doesn't over-manage us out of another division title.

Rewarded for What?

Earlier this week, Mike Illitch decided that Dave Dombrowski nd Jim Leyland have earned themselves contract extensions. A four-year extension for Dombrowski and a one-year deal for Leyland.

But warranted this extension? What did they do to earn it?

Well let's see... The Tigers have been in first place for a month... And that's about it.

That apparently is good enough for the Tiger organization. But it's not good enough for me, and it shouldn't be for you.

Let's look at this like we're Wings fans (which we are in Detroit.) Would you accept one postseason trip, no championships from the Wings? Would accept One division title in 20+ years? Would accept constant second half collapses? The answer to all these questions is NO.

Okay, I know the Tigers and the Red Wings are two different franchises with two different standards... But why can't we expect our team to make it to the playoffs? Why can't we expect the Tigers to with the AL Comedy Central? With guys like Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander and our high payroll, we should demand success.

Yet there seems to be an acceptance of "almost" succeeding. It wasn't too long ago the Tigers were the worst team in baseball, I get that. But those days are gone. We have legitimate talent and should be in the postseason and should win division titles.

Before I rip these two apart, I will give them credit for turning this franchise around. Dombrowski has made plenty of mistakes, and he'll get a pass in this blog because he's showing he wants to win this year with the moves he's made. (Yet giving him the four-year extension was premature) But the moves he's made prove he's trying to earn it.

But on the other hand, there's Jim Leyland. If I ran this team he would have been fired last year, but I don't. His antics and hunches paid off in '06, and too many Tiger fans I here gave him a pass, he got us a taste of "success" that we're not used to and he's got us in some pennant races.

But he hasn't won anything. Every Tiger team under Leyland has underachieved, and every Tiger team under Leyland has collapsed in the second half.

Let's look at 2008, shall we? We tied the Twins that year. What did Leyland do down the stretch? He rested Polanco. He rested a guy who was lights out at the plate in a pennant chase...

What's he doing this year? His same crazy insane resting schedule expect now it's worse than ever. We trade for Betemit, and rarely plays, yet all he does is get the job done. He sat four regulars in the series finale against Texas, basically throwing the game. We see the best line up we have about once a week.

He refuses to get Magglio out of the three hole despite his lack of speed, hitting, power, and everything else that matters. He insists on playing Andy Dirks, Ryan Raburn on "hunches." He has one of our best hitters this year hitting 8th in Avila, he gives star players too many days off. Peralta, Martinez, Betemit, and Boesch need to play almost every day and Miggy needs to be in the line up everyday.

His over-managing is clearly costing us games. Every Tiger fan knows it. He rests guys despite having an off day the next day, he takes out Betemit, a switch hitter, for Don Kelly because of "match-ups" and he'll play guys like Dirks and Raburn on "hunches."

Some say the best managers manage with their gut. I can agree to a point... I say, the best managers play their best line up and play the guys that are producing. The best managers WIN.

Bottom line, giving these two contract extensions before we've won anything is a mistake. Their jobs should have been in limbo until they actually closed the deal and won the pennant. I can see the division lead dwindling, and as September rolls around... I fully anticipate Leyland and the boys continuing their annual tradition of abismal performances when it matters.

Crash and Burn... The August Tradition

Bob Bradley Gets Das Boot

On Thursday, US Soccer announced that it was relieving Bob Bradley of his duties. Not too much of a surprise, but to me it still was surprising.

The timing is what confused me. I think it's better for teams to have the same coach for the four years leading up to a world cup, so if Bradley were to be let go, it should have been after the 2010 World Cup.

But I think I know why US Soccer made the decision it did and when it did... They finally made an agreement with Juergen Klinsmann, the perfect fit to lead US Soccer to it's full potential.

He wasn't hired after Bruce Arena probably because back then US Soccer wasn't willing to give him as much control and power as he wanted. But now, Sunil Gulati is willing to give him the keys and drive the car.

Klinsmann has got a great resume, winning a World Cup as a player with Germany in 1990 and leading Germany to a third place finish in 2006. He brings that World Cup experience that no one in US Soccer has and it will be an invaluable piece to getting this team to compete with the big boys of the world.

It's the perfect hire for US Soccer, and it shows that we are taking soccer seriously, and are looking to take it up to the net level. Klinsmann is the perfect man at the helm to get the job done.

Lockout Over, Free Agent Frenzy Follows

The lockout is over (HOOOORAY) and the free agency frenzy has been well underway. There have been a ton of a moves, and a lot of moving and shaking over the past few days, but how involve were the Lions?

The Lions didn't make any big splashes, but that made some good moves. They weren't going to get Nnamdi Asomugha, Jonathon Joseph wasn't out of the question, but it would have really limited what the Lions could do to fill other holes.

Detroit Lions Offseason Grade: B (thus far)
The Lions did a good job of filling holes on defense and bringing in quality guys. Justin Durant is a solid linebacker, but has had some injury problems, not somebody I wanted, but they got him for a fair price (I guess.) Rashied Davis is a signing that makes me go "meh." We needed a veteran 4th wide out, but there were other guys I would have liked to see us pursue (Brandon Stokley in particular.) Eric Wright is a guy that showed some talent, but was abysmal last year in Cleveland. But the best signings were Steven Tulloch and the resigning of Chris Houston. Without those two signings, the offseason would be an F. That's how much I like that these signings.

I would have liked to have seen the Lions sign these guys instead (all guys signed for doable contracts) Brandon Stokley, Barret Ruud, Nick Barnett, Chris Houston, and one of the veteran corners that were cut, like a Nate Clements.

Obviously, I am not a GM, I don't know what it would have taken to get those guys, some or all, but those were guys I would have liked to see in Detroit next season.

But the Lions did a good job of addressing needs with good value guys. Expect them to be competing for a potential playoff spot next year.