Finally back

It's been over two weeks since I wrote in this blog. I don't really have a good reason for NOT writing, I just haven't gotten around to it. Last time I was here, I proclaimed Michigan as the team to beat in the Big Ten, and I still stand by that. However, as should not be too surprising, there are plenty of teams that should make things interesting. MSU is 5-1 and just won a big home game against Ohio State. The Spartans are right where I assume Izzo likes them, just slightly under the radar. Other teams in the mix are Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio State, and those pesky Wisconsin Badgers, who seem to be perpetually downplayed at the beginning of each season but always seem to wreak havoc. I don't know how often I'll be posting in here during the hoops season. I don't think anyone needs my two-bit, blow-by-blow analysis of the season. For that, you're better served reading Joe Rexrode at the Detroit Free Press, Jim Comparoni at SpartanMag, or Jack Ebling at the Red Cedar Message Board/Spartan Tailgate. Those guys are the true experts in the field. But if you enjoy the sometimes hysterical ramblings of a fan, please stay tuned.

Hate to say it, but Michigan is the team to beat for the Big Ten title

Michigan absolutely demolished Northwestern last night. Now granted, Drew Crawford is out for the season, but even with him, I don't think the Wildcats come within 15 of Michigan.

I know this is ostensibly an MSU-related blog, but I have to say that Michigan is really, really good in basketball this year, with a lethal perimeter game AND guys who can get it done in the paint. Barring injuries, I don't see anyone seriously challenging Michigan for the Big Ten title this year. Hate me all you want, fellow MSU fans, but sometimes the truth hurts.

Bowl game mania

I'm watching the Northwestern/Mississippi State game. This is one game where I wouldn't be surprised to see the Big Ten win. I also have a feeling Wisconsin will give Stanford all they can handle, and don't count Michigan out against South Carolina. (You can probably guess who I'm rooting for in that game, however).
I will try and make periodic updates to this post throughout the day.
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Northwestern has a 13-0 lead over Mississippi State. Go 'Cats!
Purdue, unsurprisingly, is down by two touchdowns to Oklahoma State. This game had mismatch written all over it.
More later...
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Flipping channels between NW game and Michigan. Drinking a Yeungling.
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A few observations we (me and my sister-in-law's husband--can I call him my "brother-in-law"? I'm not sure about the rules regarding this) have had while watching the bowl games today: why do college football teams need to train with Navy Seals? Isn't that overkill? Do the Navy Seals do it pro bono, or do they receive payment? How do they find the time to train a college football team?
If college basketball is like jazz or hip-hop, then college football is like '70s prog rock: bloated and self-important. Do college football coaches really need state troopers to accompany them? I've never seen Tom Izzo or any other college coach guarded courtside by state troopers.
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The Outback Bowl just ended. What an exciting game. I greatly enjoyed watching the Wolverines' hearts ripped from their chests and the looks of disbelief on the faces of their fans.
Congratulations to the Northwestern Wildcats on their first bowl win since 1949.
Now the Rose Bowl is about to start.
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More later... (I'm sure you're all dying for more of my razor-sharp observations).

Happy New Year

This is an experiment: I am posting from my Droid Razr. On the final day of 2012, I am finally technologically advanced enough to be able to do this.
Full disclosure: I only saw about one minute of today's Minnesota basketball game. I was trying to get the house ready for company tonight and knew full well the game would be a distraction, so I periodically checked the score on my Droid. (No, Motorola is NOT paying me for product placement, but they should).
As I posted elsewhere, there's no reason to freak out about this MSU liss to Minnesota. The Gophers are a good team and beating them in the old barn on New Years Eve was a tall order for any team. Road wins will be especially hard to come by in the Big Ten this season, just ask Indiana who barely beat Iowa this afternoon.
I won't let the hoops loss get me down. I plan on having some adult beverages tonight among friends and enjoying the new year. I hope all of you do the same...and BE SAFE.

A perfectly fitting, but perfectly happy end to the football season (Michigan State 17, TCU 16)

It was at various turns ugly, comical, inept, inspired, exciting, and electrifying. In short, last night's Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl was like the entire MSU football season in microcosm. But unlike most of the Spartans' regular season, the bowl game ended happily.

I have to admit I wasn't too terribly excited about last night's bowl. But in that, I don't think my feelings were unlike those of most MSU fans. Still, by the time 10:15 rolled around last night, I was ready for some MSU football. It felt good to see those guys I hadn't seen since the last weekend of November.

Of course, I was about to change my mind by halftime. The first half of the BWW Bowl was, to be charitable, not MSU football's finest hour. However, I decided not to bail on the team. I don't know exactly why. Maybe it was because I thought there was no possible way the Spartans could play worse than they had in the first two quarters. As it turned out, I was correct.

It was refreshing to finally see the breaks go MSU's way, as they did in the second half. None was bigger than TCU's muffed punt that gave the Spartans the ball at the Horned Frogs' five-yard line, with the Spartans scoring a touchdown two plays later and seizing the momentum. MSU's defense completely shut down TCU's offense and TCU's defense received a big dose of Le'Veon Bell (who most likely played his final game in an MSU uniform).

The bad Spartan fan in me, conditioned by the bad fortune the football team endured all season, kept expecting that somehow TCU would manage to win and deliver another heartbreaking blow to the Spartans. But that never happened. MSU made the plays and caught the breaks. Dan Conroy made arguably the best kick of his career to give the Spartans the 17-16 lead, and the defense stopped TCU in the final minute of the game. Victory for MSU.

Perhaps the most intriguing development of the evening was the benching of Andrew Maxwell in favor of Connor Cook. Cook, though he wasn't perfect, brought a definite spark and swagger to MSU's offense and made some big passes in the Spartans' final drive for the game-winning field goal. The 2013 quarterback competition will be interesting.

At 2:00 AM last night, I was a happy guy. Don't tell me that the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl wasn't important, because I was about as excited as I've been following an MSU victory of any kind. After what this team has been through, they deserved last night's win. Despite the ugliness of the win, and MSU's performance through most of it, I am optimistic (albeit guardedly optimistic) about the 2013 team.

Spartans beat the Longhorns, and a football recap

I meant to get to this yesterday, but 'tis the season for other activities besides blogging about sports.

The Spartans played significantly better in the second half of yesterday's game, as I expected they would, and beat Texas, 67-56. Derrick Nix had a career day.

Heading into the Big Ten season, Michigan and Indiana are clearly playing better than anyone in the conference, but who knows what will happen once these twelve teams start beating up on each other.

The Spartans are playing tough, Tom Izzo defense, which may make up for the team's eyesore of an offense.  The key to their success offensively may be how well Nix and Payne play in the paint, as well as Branden Dawson. Perimeter shooting looks like it will be inconsistent, unless Gary Harris continues to gain confidence throughout the season and can gain a consistent shot.  But good defense can go a long way, and that could carry this team. Realistically, I don't see the Spartans winning the Big Ten this year, but I certainly won't count them out.

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I never got around to a football recap.

I know the season isn't over yet, with the Spartans soon heading to Arizona to play in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, but by then the college basketball season will be about to get into full swing, and I may not want to write about football.

The Spartans' season was a disappointment, there is no denying.  I didn't make any predictions before the season started because, honestly, I had no idea what to expect. However, I thought 8-4 or 9-3 were realistic  expectations: a step back from 2010 and 2011, but not too far of a drop off.  I didn't expect 6-6. When you get right down to it, this is still Michigan State football. The program has not yet reached the point where it can simply reload each season and one can automatically pencil in at least 8 or 9 wins.

Despite the 6-6 season, MSU really had a pretty darned good team this year. It wasn't one of those 6-6 records of past MSU seasons in which at least a few of the losses were blowouts.  The Spartans lost five Big Ten games by a combined 13 points. The only game MSU lost by more than four points was the non-conference game against Notre Dame. The final score of that particular contest was 20-3, but the outcome swung on a few phenomenal offensive plays by Everett Golson. The game was closer than the final score indicates and, by the way, the Fighting Irish went undefeated this season and are playing for the national championship.

Still, great teams make the one or two plays necessary to seize victory from the jaws of defeat, and too often this season MSU was unable to make those plays. They were a competitive .500 team, and that's about it.

Along the way, the Spartans had a few quality wins. In retrospect, MSU's opening day win over Boise State may be the best one. The Broncos only lost one more game the rest of the season en route to an 11-2 record and a Maaco Bowl win over Washington. MSU's other impressive win was the improbable overtime road nailbiter over Big Ten Rose Bowl representative Wisconsin. Granted, the Badgers lost their starting quarterback in that game, but the Spartans thoroughly shut down Montee Ball and James White. The Badgers came into that game having won 22 straight home games until the Spartans beat them.

The Spartans' defense was absolutely great this season, but the team's downfall was without a doubt offense and special teams. Though Andrew Maxwell did an adequate job at quarterback, Kirk Cousins may go down as one of the top two or three quarterbacks to ever play at Michigan State.

We (fans and the media) thoroughly underestimated how difficult it would be to replace Keshawn Martin, B.J. Cunningham, Keith Nichol and Edwin Baker. MSU has produced so many outstanding receivers over the years, I took it for granted that this year's crop would just step in and not miss a beat. That didn't happen.

Keshawn Martin has athleticism and kick return capabilities that were sorely missed on this year's team. (MSU always seemed to get very little from kick returns this season and often started possessions with poor field position). B.J. Cunningham and Keith Nichol had sure hands and always seem to make big catches when they were needed the most. Keith Nichol was also an exceptionally good blocker. Edwin Baker, despite his fumbling problems, had speed on the edges that Le'Veon Bell simply doesn't have. Baker was sorely missed in short yardage situations.

Le'Veon Bell had a great year at running back, but unfortunately nobody else stepped up as a viable second back. I expected either Larry Caper or Nick Hill to complement Bell, but that never happened.

The inexperienced receivers got off to a rocky start, but improved throughout the year. Bennie Fowler and Keith Mumphery each finished the season with 41 catches. Aaron Burbridge and Tony Lippett both had good seasons too, and Dion Sims was excellent at tight end. Sims may be in the NFL next season, but Fowler, Mumphery, Burbridge, and Lippett will all be back, so the receiver position should have a lot of depth in 2013. I just hope that DeAnthony Arnett can get things straightened out on and off the field, and that if Sims doesn't return, the Spartans have viable alternatives at tight end.

Dan Conroy also was not quite as good in 2012 as he had been in 2011. He was perfect on PATs for the second consecutive season, but only 22 of 31 on field goal attempts compared to 18 for 24 in 2011.

Basically, MSU's defense was just as good if not better in 2012 than 2011, but offense and special teams took a big step back.  It added up to a disappointing 6-6 record, but a win over TCU in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl would end the season on a bright note and give some hope for 2013.

MSU/Texas halftime observations

MSU's lack of perimeter shooting has me troubled, as has their consistent inability to handle the rock. However, Derrick Nix is having a great game, and that is good. The Spartans just need better play from everyone else.

All year I've heard about how Texas basketball was bad this year. Well, I watched a good deal of their game against North Carolina and the Longhorns demolished the Heels. That game was not close. From what  I can tell so far, Texas is good and should only continue to improve throughout the remainder of the season.

It's only halftime, and few coaches are better at making halftime adjustments than Tom Izzo. If MSU can continue to play good defense, which is their calling card this year, and make some shots, perhaps they can pull this game out.