MSU, Lions, and nothing to do
MSU hires another lamb - Michigan State announced the hiring of Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Mark Dantonio as the next sacrifice in the rotating carousel that is the top spot in Spartan world. This sounds too familiar...a conference USA coach who talks a good game, says he's got all the right tools to turn this program around, blah, blah, blah. He's only been a head coach for I believe three years at the University of Cincinnati, a school not exactly known as a football powerhouse, where in three years his record is just a few games above .500. Dantonio's resume looks impressive, but why does the university want to reach out to a member of the Spartan family (Dantonio was an assistant under Saban back in the early 90's)? Schools who reach to their past are those who are steeped in tradition, ala UM, Notre Dame, Ohio St., etc. MSU glory days are back in the around the time of the beginnings of the Cold War. Not since the rise and fall of the hippie culture have the men of Sparta been so much as a blip on the NCAA radar screen.
So how can MSU turn this thing around? First, they need to admit that they are not UM and they never will be. UM, Notre Dame, Ohio St, USC, Texas--these schools are like the McDonald's of college football. They are powerhouse programs who really exert no effort whatsoever when it comes to recruiting. Blue chippers will commit to these places because they want to...MSU is not going to steal anyone away from these schools, much in the same way that Burger King will never replace the Golden Arches in people's minds.
What MSU needs to do is accept the fact that they are 'Burger King.' So what now? BK will never pass McD's, but the BK can compete with and even beat Wendy's, Hardee's, Halo Burger, Rally's, or whatever 'other options' exist. MSU's new coach should target the players that slip through the fingers of the big boys and end up at the second tier Big Ten schools or the 'other options', players such as Ron Dayne at Wisconisn, Drew Brees at Purdue, Michael Robinson at Penn State, or Drew Tate at Iowa. These were four great college players who either carried their teams to Big Ten titles or made them contenders when the Big Two had down seasons. The last time MSU was in the Rose Bowl, Bush Sr. was in the White House (1988), and the Spartans have only been once since the Eisenhower era. As soon as they change their mindset, maybe they can get back to Pasadena. Maybe they can turn this thing around...maybe they can be a decent team. The Spartans will never be UM or Ohio St., but there's no reason the Spartans should ever finish a season ranked outside of the top 25. MSU can be the Burger King of the Big Ten, and be a perrennial third or fourth place team, and maybe have a season of magic every few years and win the Big Ten. They need to strive to be Iowa, Wisconsin, or Iowa. Because right now, they aren't even Indiana.
Lions sink to the bottom: Has there ever been a more classless act than the Lions organization encouraging the fans to boo Joey Harrington on his return to Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day? The Dolphins requested to have their defense introduced in the pregame announcements, and the organization did that. Then, in an act that shows that the entire organization has hit rock bottom, introduced 'Joey Blue Skies' as the Dolphins starting QB, all while playing Billy Joel's 'Piano Man'. Brilliant!! Because Joey happens to have the talent to play the piano, let's make fun of him!! I thought it was fantastic that Joey returned and threw three td's and led Miami to a win over the hapless Lions. I guess Joey wasn't the reason the Lions stunk for the past four years, huh? The Lions stink, Jon Kitna is not the answer, Matt Millen is a buffoon, and the Ford's, even after all these years, remain clueless. Rumor has it that the Ford's are now contemplating firing Millen over fears that they are beginning to alienate their main fan base. WOW!! When exactly did Mr. Ford see that...last week? Fans stopped caring about the Lions a long time ago...and that thud you just heard was the organization hitting rock bottom.
Nothing to do: It's in-between the fall and winter sports season's here in Tuscola County. With Cass City and Owen-Gage both losing last Monday night in girl's basketball regional action; that leaves us sportswriters here with nothing to do except get ready for the upcoming winter sports campaign. We took part in the first annual All-Thumb football team, which will be released December 6th in five papers throughout the Thumb. It was a democratic process with a few surprises and very little debate amongst the writers. It was pretty unanimous for team of the year, and I had to do a little preaching to convince for player of the year, but all in all, things went really well. Not so much for the girl's All-Thumb basketball, which was really surprising. I thought that the girls would be easier to pick...well, I was wrong. With less spots to fill, and with no real definitive choice for player of the year to choose from, the debate was a little more intense. Team of the year was pretty easy, as was coach of the year, and player of the year was, in my mind, an easy choice. Unfortunately, the democratic process won out, and the rest of the crew went a different direction in their choice for player of the year. Watch out for these teams on December 13th, when the five papers will release the All-Thumb Girl's basketball squads.
Lastly...I've changed my mind...UM should be playing OSU again come January 8th. The whole point of the BCS is to arrange a meeting of the two best teams in the country, which are #1 OSU and #2 UM.
So how can MSU turn this thing around? First, they need to admit that they are not UM and they never will be. UM, Notre Dame, Ohio St, USC, Texas--these schools are like the McDonald's of college football. They are powerhouse programs who really exert no effort whatsoever when it comes to recruiting. Blue chippers will commit to these places because they want to...MSU is not going to steal anyone away from these schools, much in the same way that Burger King will never replace the Golden Arches in people's minds.
What MSU needs to do is accept the fact that they are 'Burger King.' So what now? BK will never pass McD's, but the BK can compete with and even beat Wendy's, Hardee's, Halo Burger, Rally's, or whatever 'other options' exist. MSU's new coach should target the players that slip through the fingers of the big boys and end up at the second tier Big Ten schools or the 'other options', players such as Ron Dayne at Wisconisn, Drew Brees at Purdue, Michael Robinson at Penn State, or Drew Tate at Iowa. These were four great college players who either carried their teams to Big Ten titles or made them contenders when the Big Two had down seasons. The last time MSU was in the Rose Bowl, Bush Sr. was in the White House (1988), and the Spartans have only been once since the Eisenhower era. As soon as they change their mindset, maybe they can get back to Pasadena. Maybe they can turn this thing around...maybe they can be a decent team. The Spartans will never be UM or Ohio St., but there's no reason the Spartans should ever finish a season ranked outside of the top 25. MSU can be the Burger King of the Big Ten, and be a perrennial third or fourth place team, and maybe have a season of magic every few years and win the Big Ten. They need to strive to be Iowa, Wisconsin, or Iowa. Because right now, they aren't even Indiana.
Lions sink to the bottom: Has there ever been a more classless act than the Lions organization encouraging the fans to boo Joey Harrington on his return to Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day? The Dolphins requested to have their defense introduced in the pregame announcements, and the organization did that. Then, in an act that shows that the entire organization has hit rock bottom, introduced 'Joey Blue Skies' as the Dolphins starting QB, all while playing Billy Joel's 'Piano Man'. Brilliant!! Because Joey happens to have the talent to play the piano, let's make fun of him!! I thought it was fantastic that Joey returned and threw three td's and led Miami to a win over the hapless Lions. I guess Joey wasn't the reason the Lions stunk for the past four years, huh? The Lions stink, Jon Kitna is not the answer, Matt Millen is a buffoon, and the Ford's, even after all these years, remain clueless. Rumor has it that the Ford's are now contemplating firing Millen over fears that they are beginning to alienate their main fan base. WOW!! When exactly did Mr. Ford see that...last week? Fans stopped caring about the Lions a long time ago...and that thud you just heard was the organization hitting rock bottom.
Nothing to do: It's in-between the fall and winter sports season's here in Tuscola County. With Cass City and Owen-Gage both losing last Monday night in girl's basketball regional action; that leaves us sportswriters here with nothing to do except get ready for the upcoming winter sports campaign. We took part in the first annual All-Thumb football team, which will be released December 6th in five papers throughout the Thumb. It was a democratic process with a few surprises and very little debate amongst the writers. It was pretty unanimous for team of the year, and I had to do a little preaching to convince for player of the year, but all in all, things went really well. Not so much for the girl's All-Thumb basketball, which was really surprising. I thought that the girls would be easier to pick...well, I was wrong. With less spots to fill, and with no real definitive choice for player of the year to choose from, the debate was a little more intense. Team of the year was pretty easy, as was coach of the year, and player of the year was, in my mind, an easy choice. Unfortunately, the democratic process won out, and the rest of the crew went a different direction in their choice for player of the year. Watch out for these teams on December 13th, when the five papers will release the All-Thumb Girl's basketball squads.
Lastly...I've changed my mind...UM should be playing OSU again come January 8th. The whole point of the BCS is to arrange a meeting of the two best teams in the country, which are #1 OSU and #2 UM.
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