Long Time, Lots to say

OK, so someone (Katie Beard) pointed out that I haven't written anything in a while and it's about time I added something here. It's time to break out the good, the bad, and the ugly again, so here we go. Quick hits on lots of things.

The Good

- Big Ten Football. After getting destroyed by the national media for much of the past two years, the Big Ten went out this year and had a winning record in bowl games. That included big wins against the Pac-10 champion (OSU over Oregon in the Rose Bowl) and ACC Champion (Iowa over Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl). On top of those wins, Penn State and Wisconsin beat two southern teams that were supposedly "too fast" for Big Ten defenses (LSU and Miami, respectively). Northwestern took Auburn to overtime and was hindered by the loss of their kicker in overtime. MSU, playing severely shorthanded after the Rather Hall Pot Luck Brawl, put in a good fight against a very good Texas Tech team. I'm not all for celebrating moral victories, but it was a good showing from the Big Ten as a whole. Hopefully that will lead to some national respect in the future, but only time will tell.

- Michigan State basketball. After today's victory over Illinois, MSU stands alone at the top of the Big Ten standings (15-3 overall, 5-0 in the Big Ten). The only loss that stands out was their loss to Florida. Other than that, not many teams are going to win games at North Carolina or at Texas this year. They've won 6 in a row and 10 of their last 11. While there is still some work to be done to get back to where they were last year, this team shows some promise. At times Draymond Green and Delvon Roe show they're ready to be big time players in this program. Green is the heart and soul of this team, and Coach Izzo rightfully made him the first sophomore captain since Mateen Cleaves.

- NFL playoffs. There's nothing more exciting than the NFL playoffs. The first weekend was rather dull, until the Green Bay-Arizona game late Sunday afternoon. The two teams combined for one of the most entertaining football games in NFL history. The two teams combined for 96 points in the Cardinals 51-45 overtime victory. The Packers fell behind early and it looked like we were in for another blowout (similar to the New England-Baltimore game earlier in the weekend), but they put it together to come back and force overtime. It's disappointing as a fan of the Packers to know they had the ball in overtime and a chance to win, but the fact that they came back in the game to get to that point is a moral victory I guess. Hopefully the rest of the playoffs won't disappoint.

The Bad

- Disappointing Big Ten Basketball teams. Purdue and Michigan have been very disappointing. Purdue started the year 14-0 including victories over Tennessee, Wake Forest, and West Virginia. Since then they've lost at Wisconsin (always a tough place to win), at home versus Ohio State, and at Northwestern (the same place MSU won by 20). For such a hot start, it's disappointing to see them at 2-3 and in the middle of the Big Ten standings. As for Michigan, this was supposed to be the year. Manny Harris and DaShawn Sims stayed for their senior years. Laval Lucas-Perry had a full year of experience since he transferred into the program. A couple of freshman were supposed to be big role players off the bench. All of that has lead to a 9-7 start for the Wolverines and puts them as a long-shot to make the NIT, let alone the NCAA tournament.

- Pete Carroll's double standard. A year ago USC was finishing a 12-1 season with a victory over Penn State in the Rose Bowl. QB Mark Sanchez threw for 4 touchdowns and over 400 yards in that game. A week later, he declared his intentions to enter the NFL draft that April and forgo his senior season at USC. At the time Pete Carroll, then USC's head coach, openly talked down about his player and his choice to enter the NFL draft, saying that Sanchez make a commitment USC and would be better off staying one more year and playing out his eligibility. Fast forward one year. Mark Sanchez is the starting QB for the New York Jets and won his first playoff game last weekend. USC just finished a disappointing season at 9-4, with a bowl victory over Boston College. Within two weeks of the college season ending, Pete Carroll had an agreement with the Seattle Seahawks to become their next head coach. In doing so, he would forgo multiple years he had remaining on a contract with the University of Southern California. How can he expect his players to stay in school when he's not even willing to complete his paid contract. At least the players leaving are leaving to start earning a paycheck.

In all honesty, it looks like Pete Carroll is leaving just before the NCAA starts major investigations into his program. There are already allegations against the USC basketball team in their recruitment of OJ Mayo and I have a feeling we'll hear something soon about the NCAA football team, especially things that took place while Reggie Bush was in a Trojan uniform. If you ask me, in the near future USC is going to lose scholarships and possibly face bans from post-season play.

The Ugly

- Lane Kiffin. A year ago, Lane Kiffin blew into Knoxville, Tennessee talking about all the places he would take the Volunteer football program. He directly attacked Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators and threatened the entire SEC. Move forward a year and Kiffin is on the move. He's leaving Tennessee to go back to USC (replacing the aforementioned Pete Carroll) where he spent time as an assistant coach and as the offensive coordinator earlier this decade. For a guy that seemed entirely dedicated to the Tennessee Volunteers (hell, he named his newborn son Knox after the city of Knoxville shortly after he was hired), it seems like his heart was never in it in Tennessee. What does he say to the recruits he spent all of last year recruiting? After he spent a year telling them there was no better place to be than Tennessee, how does he turn around and say USC is the best opportunity for him.