The good, the bad, and the ugly

Ok folks, another week of the good, the bad, and the ugly here. With it being Thanksgiving week, there's likely to be more non-sports items in here. We'll see how it goes as I type this while waiting for my client to actually show up for a meeting this morning.

THE GOOD

- I haven't said much about them yet, but the Michigan State basketball team is off to a good start. Durrell Summers really appears to have taken a big jump from is sophomore year to his junior year. Not only is he finding new ways to score, he's also rebounding the ball better than ever. He might be MSU's next great rebounding guard (i.e. Charlie Bell). Kalin Lucas appears to be more aggressive with the ball this year, trying to get to the basket as often as possible and finishing the play more often than not. Draymond Green is playing like a man amongst boys at time. He plays much bigger than his 6'6" size and helps me be less worried about MSU's lack of experienced big men. Delvon Roe and Raymar Morgan have both battled injuries early this year but appear to be rounding into shape. Roe has definitely shown more explosion than last year as his knees continue to get healthier. The big tests continue this week with games against Florida and Rutgers/UMass out in Atlantic City and then the big match-up with North Carolina next week in Chapel Hill.

- Big Ten Basketball as a whole. MSU, Illinois, and Purdue are off to 4-0 starts. MSU has a big win over Gonzaga. Purdue has a big victory over Tennessee (a team that seemed to be able to score at will against everyone else). Wisconsin beat a good Arizona team out in Maui. The top 8 teams in the Big Ten are going to be very good and make this season one of the best Big Ten conference seasons in a long time. With everyone from the first and second team all-big ten teams returning from last year, it should be fun.

- Thanksgiving with the in-laws. I'm off tonight after work for a few days with the in-laws. Michelle's sister is home from Connecticut for the weekend and her uncle and cousin will be over tomorrow afternoon. Knowing the in-laws like I do, it'll be a fun mix of food, drinks, and conversation. We might even sneak in a good movie or two.

- Lions win. Everyone now loves Matt Stafford after complaining about him all year. I'm not sure what to think yet, but it was a heck of a performance to win at the last second against Cleveland this past weekend. He was also the youngest player (and first rookie) to ever throw five touchdown passes in a single game. I think the future is bright, I just hope the Lions find a way to provide him a better defense and a better offensive line. Now, with his injured arm still hurting, it appears no one will see him play this week as the Lions are on national TV for Thanksgiving and that's a shame.

THE BAD

- Coaching decisions at the college football and NFL levels. Let me preface this by saying, I have no problem with Bill Belichik going for it on fourth and 2 from his own 28 yard line with over two minutes left against the Colts. I have a problem with the play call. When you have Randy Moss and Wes Welker (maybe the best possession receiver in the history of the NFL) on your roster, how do you design a play for Kevin Faulk to run a two yard out pattern? When you need two yards, ever pattern should be run at least 4 yards down field. It just makes sense in case they have to cut a route short for some reason.

At the college level, you have the brilliant decisions of Les Miles last weekend. For Les Miles, how many times do you have to run a fade pattern near the goal line before you realize it's just not a high percentage play when you only have one chance? Then, you get the pass interference call the first time, so you do it again? I'm sorry, but on a two-point conversion play from the 1.5 yard line (after the penalty), you're telling me he doesn't have anything better than a fade route in his playbook?? Then, they somehow manage to recover the on-side kick. They get down in field goal range, take a sack, throw a screen pass that loses 5 more yards, and somehow manages to waste 17 seconds deciding if he should call time-out or not. With 9 seconds left now, he throws a deep pass that somehow ends with a first down in field goal range with 1 second on the clock. The clock is stopped because of the first down, but instead of running the field goal team onto the field for a last second field goal, he yells at his QB to spike the ball to stop the clock. THERE'S 1 SECOND LEFT!!!!! No play will last less than 1 second. I'm not saying LSU would have won the game if it went to overtime (if they make the 2 point conversion). I'm not saying their kicker would have made a rushed kick. But how do you not give yourself a chance?? Blame this one on the coaching staff. LSU played well enough to win that game.

- Thanksgiving away from home. For the first time in my 28 years of life, I won't be spending Thanksgiving with my family. Don't get me wrong, I love my fiance and her family, but when I wake up tomorrow morning, I can guarantee I'll miss my mom and dad and be sad that I'm not in Wisconsin. I know it's part of growing up and part of living 400 miles away from them, but that doesn't make it any easier. For those of you near your family for the holidays (even if it's rushing from one place to another to see both your family and your in-laws), enjoy your time this weekend.


THE UGLY

- And again this week, we feature the University of Michigan football program. News comes out that Rich Rodriguez gave the majority of the practice time with the number one offense to Denard Robinson the week of the Wisconsin football game. Then, who comes out for the first snap of the game? Tate Forcier. Does this make any sense to anyone? How do you not play the guy who practiced all week? This is just another example of how a team that started 4-0 managed to go 1-7 to end the year and finish last in the Big Ten. They're going to give Rich Rodriguez another yer to prove himself, but the seat is definitely getting hot in Ann Arbor.

- Glenn Winston and the MSU football team. Last year Winston was involved in an altercation that I won't even begin to talk about. I wasn't there and there are so many conflicting stories, I don't know who to believe. It ended with another MSU athlete in the hospital and Winston had to serve a multi-month jail term last summer. When he came back, MSU head coach Mark Dantonio gave him another chance to prove himself and Winston proved he was a valuable part of the football team and was doing things the right way off the field. Then he suffered a knee injury that ended his season and this week news came out that he's off the team for good.

The story going around is that Winston, Rod Jenrette (another football player) and a group of men were involved in a large altercation in the lobby of Rather Hall on the MSU campus. News reports say numerous individuals ended up at the hospital of emergency room to treat injuries and news has come out that Winston and Jenrette have been permanently kicked off the team. This is another example with an athlete who was given every chance in the world and completely blowing the opportunities placed in his lap. While I was conflicted when Winston returned to the team this past fall, I had big hopes for him on and off the field. Now he's completely proven he didn't deserve the opportunity. I hope he doesn't waste the rest of his life, but unfortunately we've seen it too many times with athletes who fail to capitalize on the opportunities presented to them.