About seven weeks ago I posted a blog that stated Michigan "was back"...I was wrong...I have no problem admitting when I am wrong and this is one of those times...
I am a loyal Michigan supporter, but the fact is, the Michigan football program has shown no improvement over last year's 3-9 debacle...I attended the Michigan-Penn State game and was totally disheartened by the poor defense and lack of offense...then after watching their performance against a 1-6 Illinois team who was 0-5 in the Big Ten, I am starting to wonder if Rich Rodriguez is the right man to lead the once proud and winning Michigan football program...
As of today, October 31, 2009, the Michigan football program is just an average program...Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and president Mary Sue Coleman need to monitor this situation closely...look at what happened to Nebraska...the Cornhusker administration stayed loyal to Bill Callahan and now the Huskers are just a 6-6 or 7-5 team - at that...through today, Michigan is not even at that level...
In this game against Illinois, Michigan's Ray Roundtree failed to score on a 70 plus yard reception as he got caught on the 1-yard-line...why was Roundtree caught?...for two years I have been drinking the Kool-Aid of Michigan strength coach Mike Barwis...Barwis talks about speed, speed, speed...then why did Roundtree get caught?...
Michigan then had it first and goal on the 1-yard line and could not score on four attempts...once again, where is Barwis and his strength program?...Barwis is nothing but a blowhard...he talks a good game, but since he has been in charge, I have seen nothing different in the players strength and speed than when Lloyd Carr was in charge...Barwis is nothing but a fast talking workout warrior who fooled the Michigan fans for the last 20 months...
As for Rodriguez, for two years I have heard about this potent spread offense...if the spread is a high scoring offense, why did Michigan score only 10 points last week and 13 this week against a 1 win team?...in Carr's last game, Michigan beat Florida who was led by Tim Tebow...since that game, the Michigan football program has plummeted faster than the economy did over that same time period...if Michigan played Florida today, the Wolverines would be crushed...
Michigan is sitting at 5 wins...and in reality, it is 4 wins because one of those victories came against a hapless I-AA Delaware State game...through 9 games, I don't see any improvement from this year's team than I did, through 9 games, of last year's team...I see a team that is struggling to score points and stop points...
Rodriguez has 3 games left - Purdue, at Wisconsin and Ohio State...if he does not beat Purdue next week, Michigan will not make a bowl game for the second straight year...after their performance over the last two weeks, there is no way Michigan is going to win at Madison...and there is no way they are going to beat Ohio State...so basically, Rodriguez's last shot to get in a bowl game will be next week...
The fact is, the Michigan football program is getting worse as the season wears on instead of getting better...that is why the Michigan administration needs to make a decision after the season...these next three weeks may determine Rodriguez's future in Ann Arbor...
I live in N.E. Ohio, and as a fan of the New York Yankees, I have always had to listen to the Cleveland fans cry and whine how the Yankees "bought" their championships even though they somehow had amnesia when the Indians "bought" Roberto Alomar, Chuck Finley, Juan Gonzalez, Orel Hershiser, Jack McDowell, etc...but that is for another day...
Anyway, what do the Cleveland fans have to say about their suddenly beloved Cavaliers...during the off-season the Cavaliers went out and acquired one of the biggest names to ever play in the NBA - Shaq - in order to try and win the NBA Championship...personally I do not have a problem with a team acquiring quality talent to try and win a championship...that is good for the fan base when an owner is committed to winning...
My only comment to the Cleveland sports fan - the next time you are ready to open your mouth and complain about the Yankees "buying" their titles, you better look at your own backyard because it looks like the Cavaliers are trying to "buy" a championship too...
From the Associated Press:
NEW YORK -- Once he was omnipresent at Yankee Stadium, micromanaging so much that World Series tickets could not be sent out until he revised the seating charts in his office. He raged at his players and celebrated them with equal gusto.
Now George Steinbrenner is 79 and frail. Still the owner but no longer the leader of his beloved Yankees, he saw just three regular-season games this season.
But he's coming back to New York just for the Series, and the Yankees can't wait.
"We're trying to do this for pops, Mr. Steinbrenner," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
George Steinbrenner was missing from the bubbly fueled celebration in the well-appointed clubhouse of the new Yankee Stadium on Sunday night, after the Yankees captured their first American League pennant in six years. He preferred to watch from home in Tampa, Fla.
But he was very much talked about.
His deeds were praised. Toasts were made in his honor.
"It means a tremendous amount to him," son Hank Steinbrenner said Monday. "And then winning the World Series would mean a tremendous amount to him."
Billions of dollars were spent to assemble baseball's priciest collection of talent, and they came from Steinbrenner's bank accounts. After erecting the fanciest ballpark ever seen, at a cost of $1.5 billion, it could even be said that he laid the very foundation for the franchise's latest restoration.
Yet he's been more an absence than a presence at the new stadium, visiting from Florida only for Opening Day, a 10-2 loss to Cleveland. The other games he saw were in Tampa.
He speaks haltingly in public and walks with difficultly following the second of two fainting spells that required hospitalization in December 2003 and October 2006. When he's seen, most often during spring training, he appears withdrawn.
His trademark attire used to be a turtleneck and navy blazer; now it's dark glasses. George Steinbrenner largely has been silenced, at least for Yankees fans.
He's said to easily get emotional in recent years, a wave of sentimentality he fought to suppress during his younger days. Hank Steinbrenner said his father has singled out Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez for special praise.
"This has taken him back 10 years, this team," Hank said. "It's very important to him. It's very special."
Heading a group that bought the team in 1973, Steinbrenner became famous on the back and front pages of New York's tabloids as "The Boss."
He fought with manager Billy Martin and lavished love and money on Reggie Jackson as the Yankees captured two World Series titles in the 1970s. His relationship with the 1990s teams was more tranquil, although losing streaks usually would bring back the old venom. He was a clubhouse presence into 2006, but by the time he attended the 2008 All-Star Game at old Yankee Stadium, he was in a golf cart to deliver the balls for the ceremonial first pitches.
He didn't even go to the final game at the old place, wasn't there to hear Derek Jeter implore fans to "take the memories from this stadium, add it to the new memories that come with the new Yankee Stadium, and continue to pass them on from generation to generation."
And he wasn't there for the most important initial memories from the new ballpark, missing all 15 walk-off wins during the regular season and skipping the playoffs against Minnesota and Los Angeles.
"We want to win this whole thing. We're one step away. We want to do it for my dad." said son Hal Steinbrenner, who was doused by Jeter in the clubhouse. "I know we all feel the same."
Hal Steinbrenner succeeded George as the controlling head last November, becoming the spokesman for the ownership group. Hal hasn't veered far from his father's feared standards, although he delivers them without the lava flood.
"We expect to win the championship. Every year," he said. "It's not going to change."
Another ESPN personality got the can...this time it was baseball analyst Steve Phillips...Phillips had a nice gig going as he was the third man in the booth with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on Sunday Night Baseball...
But he could not keep his pants up as he was banging a 22-year-old named Brooke Hundley in parking lots (photo above of them) ...the funny thing, back in June I was following her on Twitter...she usually had something interesting to say about ESPN...
Now that Phillips lost his job, he entered a "treatment facility"...what type of treatment facility???...is it an alcohol or drug facility?...the only other facility is a mental hospital...is there such thing as an over-sexed facility?...
Come on, tell us what facility!!!!..
Oh well, here is what was reported on ESPN.com:
Baseball analyst Steve Phillips was fired by ESPN on Sunday night less than a week after the former Mets general manager admitted having an affair with a production assistant at the cable network.
A representative for Phillips also announced the former Mets general manager was entering a treatment facility "to address his personal issues."
Phillips acknowledged Wednesday he had a relationship with 22-year-old Brooke Hundley.
"Steve Phillips is no longer working for ESPN," network spokesman Josh Krulewitz said in a statement. "His ability to be an effective representative for ESPN has been significantly and irreparably damaged, and it became evident it was time to part ways."
Phillips had taken a leave of absence after the affair became public. Krulewitz declined comment when asked Sunday night about Hundley's status with the company.
After two months of the college football season, one thing is clear - there is no clearcut dominant team this season...
1. Florida (7-0) - once again the Gators were not impressive, but also, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen knows the Gators well and was prepared for this game...Gators head to Jacksonville this week for their annual beat up of Georgia...
2. Alabama (8-0) - with 4 minutes to go, Bama was up 12-3 and running out the clock...after an Ingram fumble, the Tide barely hangs on thanks to Terrance Cody's two blocked field goals (#62 in photo above) ...the Tide gets a well deserved week off...
3. Cincinnati (7-0) - the Bearcats are off to their best start since 1954...Zach Collaros did well filling in for the injured Pike at QB...
4. Texas (7-0) - no let down from their big win over Oklahoma...the Longhorns are on the road once again this week as they head to Okie State...
5. Boise State (7-0) - the bikinis and sunshine did not slow down this team on a mission...Boise whoops Hawaii 54-9...
6. LSU (6-1) - everyone is so down on LSU, but they are standing at 6-1 after a beating of Auburn...
7. Southern Cal (6-1) - once again the Beavers give the Trojans fits, but this time SC wins...USC heads to Oregon this week...
8. Iowa (8-0) - WOW, the Hawkeyes pulled one out of their behinds against Sparty...they get an easy one this week at home against Indiana...
9. TCU (7-0) - will the Horned Frogs defense ever get respect?...they went on the road this past week and held down BYU to just 7 points...
10. Penn State (6-1) - Penn State has a defense that can play with any of the big boys...
11. Georgia Tech (7-1) - no one is talking about Paul Johnson's bunch...this week they go out of conference against Vanderbilt...
12. Oklahoma State (6-1) - Okie State gets a big one this week when Texas comes to Stillwater...a win here would put a big stamp of approval on this program...
13. Oregon (6-1) - like Okie State, the Ducks have a big one at home against Southern Cal...a win here would put the Ducks in line for the Rose Bowl...
14. Pitt (7-1) - they would have been in the Top 10 if not for their only loss to N.C. State...they finish the season against Notre Dame, West Virginia, and Cincinnati...
15. Notre Dame (5-2) - the Irish get an unimpressive win, but they keep on winning...
16. Oklahoma (4-3) - the Sooners go into to Lawrence and lay the beatdown on Kansas...
Football Thoughts
- Except for Texas, is the Big 12 turning into the ACC in which there are 11 average teams who aren't worth anything?...last week Texas Tech smoked Nebraska only to get pounded, at home this week, to Texas A&M...
- Talking about Nebraska, what in the world has happened in Lincoln?...it looked like Bo Pelini had the program moving in the right direction then they lost to Texas Tech last week and 9-7 to Iowa State this week - with both games at home...
- Michigan looked horrible this week...doubts are starting up again about Rich Rodriguez...the Wolverines played their worst game of the year...
- This past week LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal talked to Terrelle Pryor...instead of talking to Pryor, James and Shaq should have did not talking to Jim Tressel...he is the one who is calling the offense...
- I think it would be great to see Florida and Alabama remain perfect and square off in the SEC title game...
- Say what you want about Lane Kiffin...but his dad, Monte, has the Vols playing some of the best defense in college football...
Eye Candy
Today's Eye Candy comes from the West Coast - Fight On USC, Fight On!!!
What are your late thoughts on the Vikings - Steelers game?
About seven weeks ago I posted a blog that stated Michigan "was back"...I was wrong...I have no problem admitting when I am wrong and this is one of those times...
