Certainly Payne-less, and a little painful (at least until overtime)

I can hear my (imaginary?) readers groaning after I use yet another Payneful pun. I promise that'll be the last time I torture you with one of those.

 

For most of today's MSU basketball game against Minnesota, it looked like it would follow the familiar Breslin Center script we've come to expect against ANY opponent: the Gophers play lights-out in the first half and take a lead into halftime. Then in the second half, Michigan State makes adjustments, the Gophers run out of steam and the Spartans pull out a win.

 

For most of the game, it appeared there'd be no deviation from the usual scenario, despite the fact that Richard Pitino's pressing, zone-playing team was causing problems for the Spartans. Still, by the waning moments of the second half, MSU seemed in control of the game. However, a funny thing happened on the way to the "inevitable win": Gary Harris missed two free throws, and the Gophers raced down court for the game-tying lay up. Ugh, another overtime game. As a fan, I felt emotionally and physically drained after the first 40 minutes of play, how could I bounce back for "bonus basketball." (Just imagine how the players felt?).

 

In overtime, though, it was ALL MSU. Instead of getting down on themselves for not finishing the job in regulation, the Spartans dominated the Gophers. I give this team this much: they are one resilient and unflappable bunch.

 

Denzel Valentine bounced back from his brutal performance against OSU and made some crucial plays down the stretch. Kenny Kaminski was also outstanding, and reminds me of Kirk Manns the way he strokes that outside shot. Keith Appling and Gary Harris were their usual smooth selves.

 

But how much longer can the Spartans get by without Adreian Payne? They should be able to survive a truly dreadful Northwestern team*, but after that, life without Payne could get tricky. Here's hoping he is healthy enough to play by the time the Spartans take on Illinois on January 18.

*The day after I posted this, Northwestern stunned Illinois, 49-43 for the Wildcats's first conference win of the season. Perhaps I spoke to soon when I dismissed them as "truly dreadful." Still, this is a game that MSU should win.

A little football and a little basketball

Michigan State football finished #3 in the final polls, and I'm okay with that. Sure, a #2 ranking would have been great, but considering how--once again--the Big Ten floundered in its bowl games, it's not surprising that Auburn, from the SEC, finished ahead of the Spartans. In the BCS national championship game, Auburn acquitted itself well, holding the lead for much of the game and only losing in the last minute. The Tigers are deserving of a #2 finish in the polls. Realistically, MSU's only shot at finishing #2 was if Auburn had been blown out by Florida State, and if Ohio State had been able to defeat Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

As far as the Big Ten's showing in the bowl games goes, I was disappointed. I thought that this bowl season was the conference's best shot in several years to finish over .500. Minnesota should have beaten a mediocre Syracuse team in the Texas Bowl, but instead looked like the proverbial "deer in headlights." Seems like the Gophers still have some bowl game growing pains, similar to the ones MSU experienced in the first four years of Mark Dantonio's tenure. Michigan looked completely uninspired against Kansas State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, and lost in a blowout. Iowa surprisingly hung with LSU in the Outback Bowl, but lacked the firepower to win the game. Wisconsin lost quarterback Joel Stave in the third quarter of the Capital One Bowl and and fell to South Carolina. At least Nebraska beat Georgia in the Gator Bowl, but I still have a difficult time thinking of the Cornhuskers as a full-fledged Big Ten team, and it's difficult to root for Bo Pelini.

So there you have it, yet another disappointing bowl season for the Big Ten Conference.

***

I watched the replay of the MSU/Ohio State basketball game, and without having to worry about the possibility of cardiac arrest, I was able to study it analytically. Through the last ten minutes of the first half, and the first twelve minutes of the second half, the Spartans were killing the Buckeyes in transition and running the fast break to perfection. The Spartans had a 55-38 lead with eight minutes remaining in the game.

I have to give the Buckeyes credit, though. They ratcheted up the defensive intensity and became much more aggressive, gradually chipping away at the lead. With five minutes left in the game, OSU was down by twelve points. The Buckeyes cut the lead by two points per minute through the three-minute mark of the second half. The the real flurry began...

Aaron Craft drove the lane with two minutes left, laid the ball up and in, and drew a foul from Denzel Valentine, who then fouled out. This cut the lead to the fore mentioned 57-54 score. Meanwhile, I'm sure Keith Appling and Adreian Payne's health issues were draining them of energy.

Though Keith Appling and Gary Harris did a great job containing and frustrating Aaron Craft through most of the game, Craft showed why he his such a highly lauded player and a perpetual thorn in the side of any opponent he faces. He made some huge plays in the last few minutes of regulation, particularly his three-point play, and his heads-up "use Adreian Payne's butt as an assist" in bounds pass. It was at this point that I, as a fan, reached full freak out mode.

It was the two walking wounded, Keith Appling and Adreian Payne, who had the game-saving play when Shannon Scott stole the ball and streaked down the court for what looked like the inevitable winning points. If those guys hadn't hustled to block Scott's lay up, we could be looking at one of the worst meltdown losses in the Tom Izzo era. Instead, the game went to overtime, where the Spartans regrouped and, aided by a Keith Appling three-point dagger, were able to walk away with a victory.

So, health continues to be an issue with this team, and who knows what it means going forward. On the bright side, the Spartans have what should be winnable games coming up at home against Minnesota and on the road versus Northwestern. Maybe that can buy them some time in order to get Payne, Appling, and Trice back to their normal selves.

Anybody have an inexpensive defibrillator for sale?

If there are many more games like last night's overtime win over Ohio State, I may need to install a defibrillator in my house.

You'd think by now, I'd be used to heart attack specials like last night's MSU game against the Buckeyes, but the answer is a definite "no."

Though the final few minutes of regulation almost killed me, I have to give the Spartans credit for regrouping in overtime and coming away with a win. Once again, the team is a veritable "walking wounded" with Adreian Payne still dealing with plantar fasciitis, Keith Appling suffering with leg cramps, and Travis Trice just plain sick. I don't know whether this is just a case of bad luck visiting the Spartan basketball team year after year, but this seems to be a perpetual problem with them. For whatever reason, it seems like MSU is never able to have a healthy basketball team...ever.

Still, the gritty Spartans won the game, and the two unhealthiest guys on the floor--Payne and Appling--played wonderfully. Except for an occasional grimace by Appling when he'd run down the floor, I'd never guess either player was hurting.

These 9:00 games are killing me. It's a good thing that the kids have another snow day today and, since I'm staying home with them, I didn't need to get up for work. Otherwise, I'd be a zombie. By the time last night's game was finally over (approximately 11:25 PM) I was so hopped up with adrenaline, I couldn't sleep until well past midnight. Hey, at least I wasn't one of the poor people who had to brave the arctic weather to watch the game in person at Breslin.

Later today, I plan on watching the replay of the game on Big Ten Network, where I can watch the game comfortably and not have to worry about going into cardiac arrest.

Trying to get into basketball mode; and a Heart of a Spartan book report

I'm having a hard time making the transition from football to basketball. The joy and euphoria of the MSU football team's accomplishments in 2013 still consume me.

But Big Ten action is underway for the Spartan basketball team. They opened up play on New Year's Eve at Penn State: a game in which MSU started off sluggish in the first half but completely shut down the Nittany Lions in the second half. Today, the Spartans are on the road for again, this time against Indiana. Though the Hoosiers are in a rebuilding year, Assembly Hall is a notoriously difficult place for visiting teams. I see this game as a dogfight, with the Spartans probably pulling away late--but I wouldn't be shocked at all if Indiana pulled the upset.

***

Back in November, I was the lucky beneficiary of a $50 gift card. I knew immediately what I wanted to use it on: something I'd wanted to obtain for a year, but never had due to its high cost (and some people not getting the hint during holiday seasons): Jack Ebling's book about the Michigan State football renaissance, Heart of a Spartan. As luck would have it, the $50 gift card covered the price of the book.

I've been reading the book here-and-there since November. I had to take a break from reading it during the twelve days I was on vacation in late November (it's far too large of a book to take on any travels), and only got to it a few times during the hectic Christmas holiday.

The book is good. Jack Ebling is a talented and insightful writer, and few people are as well-versed on MSU sports history and lore as he. The book is also chock full of outstanding color photographs. My only criticisms are that Jack takes a few too many potshots at "that school down the road," and the book could have used a better copy editor. There are far too many typographical errors littered throughout the text. In fact, there are so many typos that I wonder if the services of an editor were actually used at all.

It also seems that much of the book was taken from Ebling's blog posts on the Red Cedar Message Board, as he makes a few references to "this board." For readers not familiar with the online Spartan Tailgate and Red Cedar Message Board, this may be confusing.

Quibbling aside, Heart of a Spartan is a well-written and fascinating look into the program that Mark Dantonio has built at MSU, and is full of emotional stories of what makes this football program so special. I just finished reading the chapter about Arthur Ray, Jr.'s struggles with cancer, and the 2011 game against Youngstown State in which Ray's roommate and friend Joel Foreman voluntarily ended his consecutive start streak so that Arthur Ray could start the game against Youngstown State. It is such an amazing tale of bravery, selflessness, and friendship and I will admit I was teary-eyed.

Heart of a Spartan is a must-own for any MSU football fan. And, no, Jack Ebling didn't pay me to say that.

If there is a heaven, this must be what it's like

Michigan State finished its mission, begun as far back as the end of last season's Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. They are not only Big Ten champions, they are Rose Bowl champions, and when the dust clears could finish as high as #3 in the nation. The Spartans survived an all-out bare-knuckled slobber knocker against a tough team from Stanford.

What a great time to be a Spartan.

It wasn't a perfect game yesterday by any means. Connor Cook made an uncharacteristic mistake on a pick six, and late in the game when MSU finally got the running game going, Langford fumbled the ball for the only time I can remember all season.

But, like they have all season, the Spartans showed resolve, determination, and guts. They never quit, and they got it done in the end. And was it not fitting that the player to make the game-clinching play (or at least make a major contribution in the game-clinching play) was Kyler Elsworth, the former walk-on, fifth-year senior who was making his first ever start in his final collegiate game (in place of Max Bullough).

Kyler Elsworth and Shilique Calhoun in the game-clinching fourth down stop (Lansing State Journal photo)

Right now, I'm trying not to worry about Mark Dantonio's future at MSU, or about next year. Right here, right now, I am in heaven. It simply doesn't get any better than this as a Michigan State sports fan.

Max-ed out on Bullough: does the public have a right to know the truth?

I've been wrestling, the last few days, with whether the public has a right to know why Max Bullough was suspended from the MSU football team. I find myself going back-and-forth on the issue.
 

I've heard the argument that, if the truth is disclosed, the speculation will end, the story will soon die, and the focus can return to the Rose Bowl. I'm not convinced of that. Instead of the story being, "Bullough is suspended for undisclosed reasons, oh and by the way, MSU is playing in the Rose Bowl" the story would become, "Bullough is suspended for [name the infraction], oh and by the way MSU is playing in the Rose Bowl. Now, back to why, how, when, and where did Bullough [commit the unknown infraction]."
 

It seems that the Bullough story has already lost some steam, but I suppose we won't know for sure until January 1.
 

Ultimately, it's up to Max Bullough and his family to come forward when they see fit to do so. Their silence may be as much about protecting the team as it is about protecting Max.
 

I, for one, intend on focusing all of my attention on the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game, and not on Max Bullough's travails.

...and just when everything was so "rosy"

"Sometimes, at the height of our revelries, when our joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us." --Jean Shepherd, A Christmas Story

Happy Boxing Day, everyone.

MSU football fans' "unthinkable disaster" was discovered late Christmas evening. It feels considerable worse than the Bumpus hounds tearing apart the Christmas turkey.

I woke up briefly late last night, and checked my phone, as I often do when I wake up late at night for some reason. At the top of my Facebook feed was a photo of Max Bullough, with the headline, "Michigan State's Max Bullough suspended for Rose Bowl" (or something similar). I (along with countless other MSU fans, I'm sure) was in utter disbelief. How could this happen to one of MSU's team captains, the "quarterback" of the defense, a kid who has worked his entire career to reach this pinnacle, scion of the famous Bullough family of Spartan football?

What could Bullough have possibly done to get him suspended from the Rose Bowl? And why is it that it never seems easy for MSU football? The Spartans finally make it back to Pasadena for the first time in 26 years, and arguably the heart and soul of the team will not be making the trip. It puts a big damper on the whole game now, which will only be relieved if the Spartans find a way to beat Stanford without Bullough.

I applaud Mark Dantonio for taking a stand and suspending Bullough for whatever his transgression was. I'm sure it's extremely painful for Dantonio, but I have a feeling that Max is receiving as much punishment, if not more, from his grandfather, father, and uncles. This has to be extremely disappointing and embarrassing for the entire Bullough clan, and especially Max himself. It's an incredibly sad way for him to end his, up to now, outstanding Michigan State football career.

It's time for the MSU defense to pick up the slack in Bullough's absence, though his loss creates a large void. Thankfully, the defense has depth, and this is a perfect opportunity for someone like Ed Davis, Kyler Elsworth, Denicos Allen, or Taiwan Jones to have a big day on January 1. Someone had to replace Max Bullough soon anyway, it'll just happen one game earlier than anyone expected.