Spring Football Scrimmage: Defense Rules

(2008 Apr 6)--OK, so the ES took a bit of a break this past week, traveling to the University of Georgia and Atlanta for an academic conference. Now, getting back into the groove, the ES chimes in a bit on the first spring scrimmage of 2008. Thanks to the folks over at MSU Sports Info, the information was provided by msuspartans.com.

On April 3, the Big Green was sent through a two-hour, 94-play "controlled" scrimmage in Spartan Stadium. The Doctor's zany scoring system provided the margin of victory to the defense over the offense, 58-42. But, more importantly, how did they fare? Well, it is nice to see the defense dominate scrimmages. DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS. Period. MSU should have a fairly solid defensive backfield for the first time since Dantonio was an assistant on the MSU staff back in 2000. And, it showed in the scrimmage. It also looks like incoming Cincy transfer Trevor Anderson will be a solid contributor to wreak havoc on opposing QBs, a la Jonal St Dic in 2007....

OFFENSE

QB Brian Hoyer was 12-of-23 for 138 yards; Backups NickFoles was 4-of-11 for 71 yards, and Kirk Cousins completed 5-of-13 for 27 yards. Not exactly lighting up the scoreboard, there...

Wideout Mark Dell had a scrimmage-best four receptions for 56 yards, and 11 different receivers caught at least one pass. TE Andrew Hawken had three catches for 40 yards.

On the ground, AJ Jimmerson got the bulk of the carries in the first scrimmage, rushing 17 times for 42 yards. Leggett picked up 36 yards on eight attempts, while Andre Anderson (5-9, 188, R-Fr.) rushed 10 times for 14 yards. Stud Javon Ringer was held out of the scrimmage after undergoing minor shoulder surgery.

DEFENSE

The Spartan defense came up with stops on 13 of the first 14 possessions, including four fumbles. Safeties Roderick Jenrette and Dan Fortener each recorded eight tackles and a PBU.. Linebacker Greg Jones had six tackles, a 7-yard sack, and a fumble recovery. Incoming Cincy transfer DE Trevor Anderson had five tackles, including two sacks for 17 yards. LB Eric Gordon made five tackles, one for a 3-yard loss, and forced a fumble. Safety Otis Wiley also had two tackles and two PBUs.

Says the Doctor: "Our best players played very well today on the defensive side of the football," Dantonio said. "Both Greg Jones and Otis Wiley played extremely well. Trevor Anderson is a very good player, and he made his presence known late in the scrimmage."

"In the second scrimmage, we're going to look for improved execution, especially on the offensive side of the football. We'll continue to evaluate the back-up quarterback situation as well as solidify the offensive line (positions). We also really need to find a go-to receiver. We've got some playmakers at the position, but they need to develop some consistency in catching the ball in traffic. Obviously, we have some incoming freshmen that will challenge for playing time when they report for August camp."

The Spartans have three practices scheduled (April 6, 8 and 10) before conducting their second "closed" scrimmage on Saturday, April 12. The spring game is set for Saturday, April 19 at 1:30 p.m. in Spartan Stadium. Admission is free.

#1 Reason Why We Lost to Memphis; Hockey Moves On

(2008 Mar 27)--Why did we get our butt kicked, 92-74, by Memphis? Answer: we were OUTCLASSED. Period. Earlier today, I gave seven reasons why we would be Memphis, but the one reason MSU lost was -- Memphis played better.

However, on an up-beat note, MSU hockey crushed Colorado College tonight in Colorado, 3-1. They will play Notre Dame on Saturday night, 10 pm on ESPNU to advance to the Frozen Four!

Seven Reasons Why MSU Will Beat Memphis

(2008 Mar 27)--When I heard coach Calipari say "we're not supposed to win" today, I nearly upchucked my lunch. What a complete joke; his team is the #1 team and he shouldn't be so cryptic or just goddang understated. He's not fooling anyone, and as the top seed, Memphis is favored. So there.

But, Calipari does have a point, and that is that Memphis won't win tomorrow. The problem is that other than a suspect Tennessee team, Memphis hasn't played any team worth a crap since LAST YEAR. And if they were worth a crap, then barely. Let's have a looksie.

1. Woosie schedule. Memphis won lots of games, primarily in a weak-assed Conference USA this year. How weak was it? Well according to rpiratings.com, ConfUSA was the 10th-strongest conference, behind the BCS conferences, Atlantic 10, and Mountain Valley. And, for all you who mention "but they played a strong non-conf stint" I say BULLSHIT. Who did they play? NCAA-bound Oklahoma, UConn, Austin Peay, Gtown, Arizona, Siena, Gonzaga, and Tennessee are a combined 5-8 in the tourney, with Tennesse the only remaining team. Tennessee and Gonzaga are the only two tourney-tested teams Memphis played since January 3. Meanwhile, MSU played UCLA, BYU, Texas, Purdue, Indiana, and Wisconsin -- a combined 7-3 in the tourney, with UCLA, Texas, and Wisky still alive. Finally, teams also play well at certain times of the year; MSU has played 10 teams ranked in the top 25 the time they played them; Memphis has played only four, and only one in 2008 (Tennessee). Finally, in the tourney, MSU has played Temple and a tough Pitt team. Memphis played Texas-Arlington (??) and snaked past a Miss St team from a terrible SEC. It's quality of opponents, not quantity, here people.

2. Defense. Michigan State's defense is what really rules the day. It is their defense that allows MSU to dominate lesser opponents, or keeps them in games against top flight opponents. Excet for losses at Penn State (???) and Indiana, and a win against Missouri, each of MSU's opponents has been held to less than 80 points, and 26 out of the 35 opponents has been held to less than 70 points. Similarly, 27 out of Memphis' 36 opponents have been held to 70 points or less... which leads us back to strength of schedule. When Memphis actually plays someone decent out of conference, the opponent lights 'em up: Austin Peay (82), Gonzaga (73), Miss State (74) , Georgetown (71), Connecticut (70). Michigan State is holding opponents to 57.5 points, and 35.2 percent shooting, including 20.0 percent from 3-point range. Now that's tight.

3. Free throws. If this game comes down to free throws in the end, Memphis is screwed. Their 59.7% FT average is well documented... and it hasn't come into play as much this year because Memphis has beaten up on its woosie schedule. In their loss to Tennessee, Memphis were 8-17 from the line. Why was the game vs Miss St so close last week? Memphis hit just 6-12 from the free thorown line in the last minute, pulling Miss St from 7 down to 3 down and giving them a shot to tie as time expired. Meanwhile, MSU has hit 25 of 27 FTs in the tourney, including a perfect 9-9 last week. Yes, free throws can matter. And, if the game is within 5 points at the end, they will.

4. Depth. MSU and Memphis lineups are both 10-deep. Izzo has used his bench religiously in the tournament, as has Calipari. If either team believes they can use their bench for an advantage, their wrong. In Memphis' last game, Miss St had five players log more than 10 minutes and almost won... Memphis had seven players log 10+ (I had to go to the Mississippi State website to find this out because Memphis' website is for shit). Against both Pitt and Temple, Mich State had eight players log 10+ minutes. You won't wear MSU down.

5. Turnovers, rebounding, etc. The turnover bug for MSU is frustrating... but has been solved to some extent in the NCAA tourney. MSU is holding onto the all better, and after two games has turned it over 26 times to opponents' 20 (-6). Memphis has turned it over 17 times to opponents 22 (+5); so, while Memphis has an advantage, they have forced only two more turnovers than MSU has. The rebounding advantage is about even, with MSU at +19 and Memphis at +21. This looks to be about even here; but MSU's opponents of Temple/Pitt are better than Tex-Arlington/Miss St, so you can argue an MSU advantage.

6. The Izzo factor. Izzo is 26-9 (.743) in tourney games, fourth best among active coaches. He's #1 with 7 sweet 16 appearanes, and 4 final fours. Calipari can't match it. He's 20-8 (.714) in the ncaa tourney, with 6 sweet 16 showings.

7. Finally, Memphis' website sucks. Somebody point to me where on their website you can find individual game state? Their website design leads to stat numbers off the page; a website that sucks that bad, they can't win.

Final score: MSU 68, Memphis 66.

MSU vs Memphis - Friday; MSU a 5-pt underdog

(2008 Mar 23)--The #5 MSU vs #1 Memphis tipoff in the Sweet 16 is scheduled for 7:10 10:00 pm EST this Friday in Houston (sorry for the err in the time). If victorious, MSU will play in the Regional Finals on Sunday at 2:40 pm EST. Caesars in Vegas lists Memphis as an early 5-pt favorite. As of Monday night, the line moved down to 4.5 pt Memphis favorite.

ICE HOCKEY VS COLO COLL

Meanwhile, the defending national champion MSU Spartan men's ice hockey team drew a #3 seed and will play #2 Colorado College in the West Region of the NCAA tournament. The game will begin at 10 pm EST on Friday. The west region is being hosted in Colorado Springs, and thus is a home game for CC. If victorious, MSU will play the winner of #1 New Hampshire and #4 Notre Dame at 10 pm EST on Saturday.

Enlightened Bracket #2

(2008 Mar 22)--OK, after getting some smack on the message board about my Big Ten Bloggers bracket, the ES figured I'll post my premier bracket... the one that has my "best shot" first; all the others are varations off it. My biggest bummer is that the ES changed from Siena to Vandy just before post time; but the ES also picked West Kentucky and Davidson; in the first round, the ES was 24-8 and has the Big Green to the Elite Eight, over Memphis...

click below to enlarge (via CBSsportsline thorugh 8 pm on Sat, Mar 22nd).

Vegas Odds For Tourney Wins: MSU 40-1

(2008 Mar 17)--#5 MSU is a 6.5 point favorite over #12 Temple on Thursday. Also, MSU is listed as 40-1 to win the tourney, and 12-1 to win the South region. Here are all the odds out of Vegas, to win the tourney. Italics are teams MSU played in 2007-8.

Team Start Current
UCLA 9/2 9/2
North Carolina 5/1 5/1
Kansas 5/1 5/1
Memphis 6/1 6/1
Texas 10/1 10/1
Tennessee 12/1 12/1
Georgetown 12/1 12/1
Louisville 15/1 15/1
Duke 15/1 15/1
Stanford 20/1 20/1
Connecticut 30/1 30/1
Clemson 35/1 35/1
Michigan State 40/1 40/1
Pittsburgh 40/1 40/1
Wisconsin 40/1 40/1
Southern California 50/1 50/1
Notre Dame 60/1 60/1
Xavier 60/1 60/1
Washington State 60/1 60/1
West Virginia 80/1 80/1
Marquette 80/1 80/1
Vanderbilt 100/1 100/1
Purdue 125/1 125/1
Miami-Florida 150/1 150/1
Indiana 150/1 150/1
Butler 150/1 150/1
Davidson College 200/1 200/1
Kansas State 200/1 200/1
Mississippi State 200/1 200/1
Drake 250/1 250/1
Saint Josephs-Pennsylvania 250/1 250/1
Oklahoma 250/1 250/1
Texas A&M 250/1 250/1
Oregon 300/1 300/1
Arizona 300/1 300/1
Gonzaga 300/1 300/1
Kentucky 400/1 400/1
Arkansas 400/1 400/1
Kent State 500/1 500/1
Georgia 500/1 500/1
UNLV 500/1 500/1
Villanova 600/1 600/1
Temple 600/1 600/1
Brigham Young 600/1 600/1
George Mason 800/1 800/1
Baylor 800/1 800/1
Saint Marys College-California 800/1 800/1
South Alabama 1000/1 1000/1
Western Kentucky 1000/1 1000/1
California State-Fullerton 1000/1 1000/1
San Diego 1200/1 1200/1
Oral Roberts 1200/1 1200/1
Siena College 1500/1 1500/1
Winthrop 1500/1 1500/1
Boise State 1500/1 1500/1
Austin Peay state 3000/1 3000/1
Cornell 3000/1 3000/1
Maryland-Baltimore County 3000/1 3000/1
Belmont 4000/1 4000/1
American 4000/1 4000/1
Coppin State 5000/1 5000/1
Mississippi Valley State 5000/1 5000/1
Mount Saint Marys 5000/1 5000/1
Texas-Arlington 5000/1 5000/1
Portland St 5000/1 5000/1

IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON

(2008 Mar 17)---If you were in Ann Arbor or Columbus, the joke is that PIGSKIN is all that is on your mind. We in Spartanland can say "nah-ne-nah-ne-na-nah" and laugh down South as our men's hoops team dances over the next month. Still, Pigskin is ALWAYS on the mind of the ES, and that said.... it is FOOTBALL SEASON as Spring Ball is underway in East Lansing. The Spring Game notably, is slated for April 19.

DANTONIO SKINNY
Highlights from the Doctor (www.msuspartans.com), per ES' scissors:

"I think it's a huge spring for our freshmen group, those guys that played some as true freshmen: Mark Dell, Aaron Bates, Antonio Jeremiah, Greg Jones and Oren Wilson. But also the guys who have not played and that were redshirted last year, I think it's a big opportunity for them to see where they're at in the big scheme of things and to really get their feet in pretty deep in terms of what we're doing out on the football field.We want to critique and master what we do fundamentally, whether it's defensive back or offensive tackle. We want to get better fundamentally. The game is played I think at a ground roots level. The game is played from the ground up with bent knees, power positions, catching the ball, blocking and tackling. We need to continue to work towards this and mastering those fundamentals."

QBs: "Connor will not participate in spring drills because of a shoulder injury. We'll have Hoyer, Nick Foles and Kirk Cousins. We'll look to see how Cousins and Foles have raised their game."

DL: "Trevor Anderson (a transfer from Cincinnati) will be playing for the first time. He's an outstanding player. Tyler Hoover is going to have immediate playing time. He's a guy that's going to step on the field and become a part of what we do on a regular basis right off the bat. Brandon Long, Tyler Hoover and Trevor Anderson, those are probably are three defensive ends heading into spring ball. Our young players - Oren Oren Wilson, Antonio Jeremiah and Ryan Wheat - need to be involved in that playing rotation."

Freshmen: "At wide receiver, we have two guys. B.J. Cunningham is an outstanding jumper. He only played two years in high school and also one in college. He's a big-bodied wide receiver that can really go up and get the football. Chris D. Rucker is another guy who redshirted. He's a 10.5 100-meter guy and can play a variety of positions for us. On the offensive line, Joel Foreman is a guy that you'll see playing and getting involved, as well as Jared McGaha.... On the defensive side of the ball, we really didn't redshirt hardly anybody. Ryan Wheat redshirted, as well as Kevin Pickelman. Kevin is going to be a very good football player. Ryan has a tremendous upside as well."

RECRUITING NEWS

Treadwell commits
Don Treadwell -- Spartans' offensive coordinator -- had his kid give a verbal commit to MSU over the weekend. Blake Treadwell (6-3, 261-lbs) will be a nice addition to the OL. However, the ES remembers seeing this kid 5 years ago shooting hoops three houses down when they lived in EL - it is AMAZING this kid is that big!

Spartan Pride's Skinny
SpartanPride, the frequent ES poster, also has provided a skinny on other potential Spartan commits as we head into Spring Ball. Foremost among them are:

RB Hersey Jackson of Allendale (6-0, 210-lbs, 4.5-40). Ohio St, JoePa, Wisky, Va Tech are all asking for his services...

LB Chad Setterbo (6-3, 195-lbs) of Spring Lake, MI. Setterbo runs a 4.7-40 and is also considering Iowa, Illiniois, Indiana, and every Division I team in Michigan.

DB Shamari Benton (6-0, 171-lbs) of Birmingham Brother Rice. He is quick and is considered one of the top DBs/safeties in the midwest.

#5 South Seeded Spartans NCAA Tourney Skinny

(2008 Mar 16)---MSU (25-8) is a #5 seed in the South region and will play #12 seeded Temple (21-12) on Thursday (time TBA). The winner of that matchup will play the winner of #4 Pittsburgh (26-9)/#13 Oral Roberts (24-8) to advance to the Sweet 16.

The MSU Spartans, fresh off a difficult last second loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten semis, look to avenge it with one of the more interesting brackets; Pittsburgh is one of the hottest teams in the nation...

CBS Sportsline Game Log Rakes Big Ten Officials Over Coals in MSU loss to Wisky

(2008 Mar 15)---ALL the posters at The Glog at CBSsportsline.com were fuming at the one-sided nature of refereeing by Big Ten officials:

"Great comeback by Wisconsin. It's hard to stand a chance if you're the Spartans when all 4 big men foul out, but Wisconsin still had to make the shots"

"Great effort MSU. I feel really bad that they did not get a fair shake today. 4 guys foul out to Wiscy's none, and just too much to overcome if game is called that tightly... unfortunately, called tightly on one side of the court. Have to shake this off (again) and focus on NCAA now..."

"Well...it was as ugly as can be, but a win is a win. The refs called this too closely, especially for a Big 10 game, but it is what it is."

"If NCAA games are called fairly. unlike this game, then Wiscy won't go past Sweet 16."

OUCH. That hurt, MSU falls on final shot, 65-63 to Wisky

(2008 Mar 15)---The bugaboo is still there. MSU lost, 65-63, to Wisconsin after dominating for the first 35 minutes. However, all of MSU's leading big players -- Drew Naymick, Goran Suton, Raymar Morgan, and Idong Ibok -- fouled out (too bad they don't call fouls both ways)... yet, MSU still managed to have the last shot to win; Neitzel missed a 3 pointer with seconds left. Tom Izzo was as disappointed as he has been in years. His team fought hard, especially defensively, all game long. They left it all on the floor but just came up short. "I'm really proud of these guys," said Izzo. "I won't forget about this today, or tomorrow, but I will by Monday." Give Wisconsin credit, they are a solid team and had a great game plan going deep into the low post as the game wore on. But, MSU played just as well today... but not well enough when it mattered to win.

The ES figures this team has a LONG tourney run in them. Wisconsin is an excellent team and MSU had this team on the ropes for the most part... if you don't have MSU in your long-term field of vision for the bracket, you're just a fool and not paying any attention. Go GREEN! On to the tourney and OUT of the Big Ten (thank GOD).

Wisky a 3.5 pt fave over MSU; Sparty investigated for steroid use

(2008 Mar 14)---After the pair of dominating wins by MSU and Wisky, the two foes matchup tomorrow at 1:40 pm, right after my kids birthday party ends at Chuck E Cheese. How convenient! Wisky is favored by 3 1/2 at this point...

You have to love Michael Capel's article on Sparty's use of steroids in the Spartan Weekly.

Neitzel GOES OFF

(2008 Mar 14)--- Drew Neitzel had his best offensive game of the year for MSU today, scoring 28 points en route to a 67-60 knockout of Ohio State. Next up: Wisky.

Big Ten Tourney Odds

(2008 Mar 14)--- MSU is favored by 4 1/2 over Ohio State today; Wisky by 13 over scUM; Purdue by 5 over Illini; and Indy by 5 over Minny...

ES Big Ten Hoops Blog Poll: Final Week - 10

(2008 Mar 10)--This is perverse, but the ES still picks the Boilers as his Big Ten Champs solely because of their sweeping the Badgers. Indiana losing to JoePa keeps the top 4 AS IS. Ohio State is on the outside looking in at the NCAAs... they will need to win a few in the Big Ten tourney to advance.

1. Purdue 15-3/24-7.
2. Wisconsin 16-2/26-4.
3. Michigan St. 12-6/24-7.
4. Indiana 14-4/25-6.
------------
5. Ohio St. 10-8/19-12.
6. Minnesota 8-10/18-12.
7. Joe Pa. 7-11/15-15.
8. Iowa 6-12/13-18.
9. Illinois 5-13/13-18.
10. Michigan 5-13/9-21.
11. Northwestern 1-17/8-21.

Oooops, we did it again; MSU falls flat late on road

(2008 Mar 10)--In what has become a predictible pattern, MSU fell flat late on the road again, this time at Ohio State in a regular season ending, 63-54 loss. 17 more turnovers in this loss - the bugaboo reared its ugly head again on Sunday... Let's get out of road games, and onto tourney and neutral courts where MSU will fare better; on other teams courts, MSU has been a disaster the past two years...

ES Big Ten Tourney Picks

After witnessing the absurd refereeing yesterday, I refuse to update this graph.

(2008 Mar 10)--- ES picks in Black cursive. ES figures MSU will get their shit together in a whole game for once, for twice, for thrice. And, the neutral court has been good to Sparty this year. Big surprise will be Minny bouncing Indy early...

Buckeyes/Sparty Even on Sunday

(2008 Mar 8)--The spread for the MSU at Ohio St game is near even through a variety of Vegas bookies late Saturday.LVSC Open lists MSU as a 2-pt favorite; Wynn lists the game even, after starting at a Sparty 1-pt favorite; Both Caesars and Golden Nugget lists the game as even; Palms and Stratosphere each have Ohio State as 1-pt favorites.

Does it really matter? Both teams will meet again next week in the Big Ten tourney.

Duffy Expansion Photos

(2008 Mar 7)--The Duffy Daugherty Football expansion project is taking shape nicely. Link below to access the Duffy expansion photo archive, and larger photos.

Neitzel, Suton, Naymick Shut Door on Illini

(2008 Mar 6)--That's right, the three uglies for MSU -- Drew Neitzel, Goran Suton, and Drew Naymick -- were all keys in helping #15 MSU shut down Illinois and hit key shots en route to a 59-51 victory. The three combined for 39 of MSU's 59 points. The Spartans hit 5-of-12 three pointers, and 10-of-11 free throws to help themselves to victory.

MSU slight favorite over Illini in Big Ten Stint

(2008 Mar 6)--According to LVSC Open Line from Las Vegas, MSU is a 2 point favorite over Illinois in tonight's men's hoops clash; Caesar's Palace started out with MSU as a 1-point favorite, but now the line is even. The Over/Under is 110 points, FYI... Tip off 9 pm on ESPN2.

MSU Football Recruiting Update: Five early commits 2009

(2008 Mar 6)--While there is no news on the gridiron recruiting front for the class of 2008, there is substantial progress for the Doctor reigning in home talent for 2009... you wonder if Rich Rodriguez getting acclamated at scUMland has opened up a window for the Doctor to reel in these solid recruits; I believe at this time last year, the Doctor had just one early recruit for 2008. Now, we have five for 2009. Four of the early recruits are on offense, and one on defense... Leading the pack is Larry Caper, a 5-11, 210-lb RB out of Battle Creek, MI. Another RB is Edwin Baker, 5-10, 1950lbs out of Oak Park. Both run 4.4-40 yard dashes. Andrew Maxwell (6-3, 180-lbs, Midland, MI), who led Midland Hight to the Division 2 finals last year, seems to be one of the leading high school quarterbacks this fall, and he has committed to MSU for 2009. Wideout Donald Spencer, standing 6-2, weighing 185-lbs, from Ypsilanti has committed to MSU. And, LB Chris Norman (6-2, 219-lbs) from Detroit will also play for the Green and White.

Notably, at this time, Michigan has just one verbal commitment for 2009, although a bit one: DT William Campbell (6-4, 327) out of Detroit.

Think any of these kids will change their minds? Naaaah.... They'd never do that!

ES Big Ten Hoops Blog Poll: Week 9

(2008 Mar 4)--OK, MSU gets its butt kicked at Wisky, kicks Indy's butt at the Breslin. So, who knows what? It's a jumbled mess on top...

1. Purdue 14-2/23-6.
2. Wisconsin 14-2/24-4.
3. Michigan St. 11-5/23-6.
4. Indiana 13-3/24-5.
------------
5. Minnesota 8-8/18-10.
6. Ohio St. 8-8/17-12.
7. Joe Pa. 6-10/14-14.
8. Iowa 5-12/12-18.
9. Illinois 4-12/12-17.
10. Michigan 5-12/9-20.
11. Northwestern 1-15/8-19.

We Kicked Their Ass, 103-74.

click on photo to enlarge

(2008 Mar 2)--We kicked #12 Indiana's ass all over the place today. My God, what more do you have to say other than smothering defense and the best shooting performance of the year by MSU? MSU took its season long underperforming frustrations out on Indiana today and kicked their tails up and down, left and right, and square in the middle. Finally, the fake dish and layup by Lucas that smoked all of the Hoosiers midway in the second half is something out of the Magic Man's playbook... arguably the play of the year in the Big Ten. MSU, 103-74, kicking the Indiana Hoosier's ass! Indy's Eric Gordon was smothered and got taught a few good lessons, and wore the road shoes of Drew Neitzel for a night, for once. Goran Suton was a big man, with 17 pts and 9 rebs; Raymar Morgan broke out for 20 points; Travis Walton had 11 assists... A total of 103 points??? MSU had 59 by half and was up by 32 points. MSU only had 9 turnovers, and had 28 assists on 37 baskets. MSU shot 61% to 44% and hit 13 of 24 three pointers. The Big Green hit on 16-of-20 free throws (80%). Wow; MSU finished the season undefeated, 17-0 at home.

Pictures below by ES. Click on them to enlarge...

Drew Neitzel kissing the S...

Neitzel hitting a 3 with crowd support..

MSU 5.5-pt fave over Indy; MSU #7 in Big10 spring football preview

(2008 Mar 2)--After playing Wisky tough for most of the last game but not hitting the broadside of the barn, the pundits must be thinking that Sparty chemistry + Senior day = Indy defeat. They've got MSU as a 5.5 point fave over Indy on Sunday. As Tom Izzo said after the last game, "we did everything we planned on: we limited turnovers and we kept them from the foul line... but we just couldn't hit our shots..." The game tips off at the Breslin at 2 pm. The ES will be there to watch the Spartan victory. Notably, Joe Lunardi has MSU listed as a six seed and falling in his Bracketology.

Also, while purusing the ESPN site, the ES got a wind of an early Big Ten football spring preview. It has a power ranking of Big Ten teams, with the Yellow Bellies at #5 and MSU at #7. Says ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg: "What we know: Javon Ringer joins quarterback Brian Hoyer in the backfield after rushing for 1,447 yards as a junior.
What we don't know: How the offensive and defensive lines will shape up without standouts like offensive tackle Pete Clifford and defensive end Jonal Saint-Dic.
How the Spartans can win the league title: By filling a plethora of holes on both sides of the ball, namely along the defensive line." Who does he pick as #1, 2, 3: Ohio State, Wisky, Joe Pa. Go figure...

MSU Runs Out of Gas at Wisky

(2008 Feb 29)--As the ES predicted, the MSU 42-57 loss at Wisky certainly demonstrated the weaknesses of MSU: (1) a lack of three point shooting which doomed the Spartans; and, (2) inconsistent play from the Bigs. (1) Drew Neitzel was hounded all game long by Wisconsin guard Michael Flowers -- Neitzel scored just 3 points on 1-10 shooting. (2) MSU had the best game of the year out of Suton (14 pts, 15 rebs), and an admirable defensive performance by Drew Naymick (4 pts, 2 rebs, 3 blks)... but Raymar Morgan (7 pts, 7 rebs) and Marquise Gray (0 pts) were invisible for the most part on the offensive end. And, although MSU turned the ball over just six times -- Wisky had a team record, with only one turnover all game long. Amazing. MSU's defense was stifling for the better part of the game, but every time they had a chance to make a bucket in the second half, they missed. Many open misses all night long, even by Neitzel on the rare occassion. Eventually, MSU ran out of gas and while Sparty shots continued to clank off the rim, Wisky's shots finally went in. Give Wisky credit for outlasting MSU last night.

I'd love to get another crack at Wisky. These teams were in a defensive battle, and MSU's shots just didn't fall. I'm guessing on a neutral court, in the Big Ten tourney, MSU has an even or better shot at taking out Wisky...

Wisconsin a 6-pt favorite over MSU

(2008 Feb 28)--Tonight's matchup vs Wisconsin at 9 pm has the potential to be a genesis for MSU as they spring into the postseason. Wisky is favored by 6 pts by Caesars Casino in Vegas. A victory, and MSU is primed for a long run... a loss, and well, it would be a predictable MSU outcome. Keys to the game: (all offense) -- 3-pt shots by Neitzel and Lucas, solid (and not inconsistent) inside play by the Bigs, and 12 turnovers or less.

ES Big Ten Hoops Blog Poll: Week 8

(2008 Feb 24)--Now, the ES travels along to Washington DC through Wednesday. Thus, no indepth analysis here, other than my weekly picks. MSU seemingly has picked it up a notch, but against bottom feeders JoePa and Iowa. This week will see if they get their mojo back, for real, with a stint at Wisky and home vs. Indy.

1. Indiana 12-2/23-4. Sacked their coach, then beat Purdue and NW.
2. Purdue 12-2/21-6. Lost to Indy, but they beat the Badgers twice this year.
3. Wisconsin 13-2/23-4. Beat OSU, beat Illini.
4. Michigan St. 10-4/22-5. Sparty takes it out on the poor: Joe Pa and Iowa.
5. Ohio St. 8-6/17-10. Officially a non-factor.
6. Minnesota 6-7/16-9. An also ran.
7. Michigan 5-10/9-18. Anyone to toss a pigskin? Won 4 of 5.
8. Joe Pa. 4-9/12-13. Football season? Lost 4 of 5.
9. Iowa 5-10/12-16. Football season? Lost 4 of 5.
10. Illinois 3-12/11-17. Football season? Lost 4 of 5.
11. Northwestern 0-14/7-18. Open season? Thank god for Chicago State and Texas Pan Am on the schedule.

MSU Teaches scUM a lesson, 5-2, in hockeyland

This Yellow Belly was having absoloutely no fun at Munn yesterday, taunted by the crowd and watching his goalie get peppered like a T-Bone steak (click to enlarge).

(2008 Feb 23)--The ES was at Munn Ice Arena and was screaming as MSU crushed the Wolvies, 5-2. The Spartans gave up many chances in the second period after an aggressive first period, and entered the final stanza, 2-1. But, then the floodgates opened, and MSU crushed UM behind not only great goaltending by Jeff Lerg, but a solid mix on the attack. For most of the game, scUM sat there, was aggrressive but failed to cover their goal with defensemen in adequate positions, and left their defense open -- when MSU took advantage.

Clearly, MSU is one of the best teams in the nation when it plays inspired. Tonight, there were at least five violent, crushing hits by MSU that would make any true hockey fan proud. MSU not only beat Michigan's ass on the scoreboard, but we outcoached them and we beat their ass on the ice. 5-2? The M-woosies are lucky it wasn't 8-0.

scUM goalie Billy Sauer representing what the Yellow Bellies do best: ON YOUR KNEES. MSU on the rush for the umpteenth time in Friday's 5-2 victory.

MSU Crushes Joe Pa, 86-49.

(2008 Feb 21)--Complete annihilation last night. End of story. Too bad Magic doesn't live around here; we could have used his pep talk speech a week ago.

ES Big Ten Hoops Blog Poll: Week 7

(2008 Feb 18)--Here it is. Need to head to Alpena by noon tomorrow. From EL, that means out the door by 7 am. OUCH. MSU may be falling like a rock, but so is OSU... thus, solidifying Sparty's fourth place.

1. Purdue 12-1/21-5
2. Indiana 10-2/21-4
3. Wisconsin 11-2/21-4
4. Michigan St. 8-4/20-5
5. Ohio St. 8-5/17-9
6. Minnesota 5-7/15-9
7. Penn St. 4-8/12-12
8. Michigan 4-9/8-17
9. Iowa 4-9/11-15
10. Illinois 3-10/11-15
11. Northwestern 0-12/7-16

Spartan Hoops Sinking Fast

(2008 Feb 16)--Wow, MSU gets its butt kicked, embarrassed at embattled Indiana. The Spartans right now just aren't a good basketball team. They are average. MSU turned the ball over stupidly countless times; with DJ White injured you think that the Spartans would take advantage of the situation with our big guys inside... but instead they pissed it away. The big guys inside did NOTHING but play awful. Raymar Morgan, Goran Suton, and Marquise Gray collectively played like SHIT -- brain dead, not thinking... with the best interior player on the IU bench MSU couldn't do anything right. And, yet another team burns MSUwith their hot shooting with no answer by the Spartans. We have no good consistent long distance shooters.

Go figure. Just a bad, bad peformance. Overrated MSU? Indeed. Izzo needs to figure this out. MSU just is playing terrible.

Indy favored by 5 over MSU

(2008 Feb 16)--The Big Green are 5 point underdogs at Indiana this evening in a huge Big Ten matchup that will be broadcast on ESPN tonight. ES will be watching intently, maybe at the Spartan Sports Cafe or Champs.... While the ES was wrong last time, he won't be this time around: watch MSU pick up a W, with Neitzel picking up his game and a Spartan team playing more focused as they are against-the-wall. MSU just needs the game more and the timing is good after a very strong second half at Purdue. It would also be very difficult to see MSU losing 3 of 4 games.

Big Matchup: MSU Even vs Purdue

(2008 Feb 12)--The oddsmakers have an even-up game vs MSU or Purdue; it's a pick 'em, there is no spread. ES figures that tonight's stint vs Purdue will be decided once again by the worst refereeing crew in the country -- from the Big Ten. Expect at least 60 free throws in a choppy game that the refs will want to control. Four players will foul out and the game will last seemingly forever... 2 1/2 hours.

The key for MSU: it is critical for Suton and Gray to get out of their funk and be solid contributors tonight - Suton for 20 minutes, Gray for 10+. An inside presence, and combined 14 boards out of these two would lead to victory. Neitzel needs to score at least 15 points; if Lucas is limited because of his sore knee, Neitzel will need to play the whole way and score 20; and we'll need 10 from Allen. We may see Dahlman in a relief role some time today if Allen is off his game. This is all plausible, not impossible.

It will happen, the Boilers are due for a loss and MSU is due for a big win on the road. The cream rises to the top. MSU 72, Purdue 68.

ES Big Ten Bloggers Hoops Poll: Week 6 - MSU now #9

(2008 Feb 12)--The ES chimes in on week 6 Big Ten Bloggers Poll... The referees still suck.

1. Purdue. 10-1/19-5. Beat JoePa, Beat Wisky. Due for a loss. Up next vs Sparty, NW.
2. Indiana. 9-1/20-3. Beat Illinois, Beat Ohio St. Also due for a loss. Up next triple homesteader vs Wisky, Sparty, Boilers.
3. Michigan St. 8-2/20-3. Beat NW. Time to put up or shut up. Up next at Boilers, at Indy.
4. Wisconsin. 9-2/19-4. Beat Iowa, Lost to Purdue. Up next at Indy, vs Minny.
5. Ohio St. 7-4/16-8. Beat scUM, Lost to Indy. Up next at NW, at scUM.
6. Minnesota 5-5/15-7. Beat NW, Beat Iowa. Next up vs Illini, at Wisky.
7. Iowa 4-8/11-14. Lose to Wisky, Lose at Minny. Up next vs scUM, NW.
8. Illinois 2-9/10-12. Lose to Indy. Up next at Minny, at JoePa.
9. Penn St. 3-8/11-12. Lose to Purdue, Lose to scUM. Up next vs Illini, at Sparty.
10. Michigan 2-9/6-17. Lose to Ohio St, Lose to JoePa. Up next at Iowa, vs Ohio St.
11. Northwestern 0-10/7-14. Lose to Minny, Lose to Sparty. Up next vs Ohio St, vs Purdue.

MSU Outlasts NW, 70-55; Can MSU be the next Wofford?

(2008 Feb 10)--Behind a season-high 21 points from Drew Neitzel, Michigan State (20-3/8-2) defeated Northwestern at home, 70-55, in a war of attrition. Joining Neitzel as Spartan stars of the game was another all-around, outstanding performance from the big red-head, Drew Naymick,, who had 10 points, 8 rebounds and a career-high 6 blocks. The third star of the night was Purdue, who helped MSU's cause by defeating Wisky in Madison last night. MSU travels to both Purdue (Feb 12) and Indy (Feb 16) this week and has destiny in its own hands to climb alone on top of the conference race.

OK - guess what was Purdue's only loss at home this year? That's right folks, a 69-66 loss to Wofford on December 19. The ES will come out with his Big Ten blogger standings later today...

By the way, MSU hockey (18-8-5, 14-5-3) was SWEPT this weekend at Northern Michigan. Wow, what a shocker after its outstanding effort vs Michigan two weeks ago. This is an up-and-down hockey team, folks...

All Verbals Sign LOI; Whitner Reportedly Doesn't Clear Grades

(2008 Feb 6)--Today, the MSU Spartans unveil their 2008 recruiting class, and all reports are that MSU will sign a class of 21-22 (see recruits); the previous report of Dawawn Whitner joining the Big Green still may be the case, but reportedly he has to clear academic hurdles first. Last minute VHTs to break for other schools were Nick Perry choosing Southern Cal over MSU, and Mark Ingram chose Alabama over MSU -- you can't blame them for going to warmer weather...

National LOI Recruiting Day Is Here!

(2008 Feb 6)--Today, the MSU Spartans will unveil their first football recruits who have signed national letters of intent for 2008. Most pundits believe MSU will snag 23-25 recruits; 21 have verbally committed as of February 5. While other players can commit in the coming months, the bulk of the commitments will be announced today. Stay tuned throughout the day for updates and for the Doctor's official announcement of the 2008 recruiting class.

Again, to reiterate from an earlier ES post -- it matters most how these players compete and how MD coaches than the raw talent via the recruiting services... taking a look at MSU vs scUM, our comparative recruiting classes since 2002, as ranked by Rivals.com:

ES Big Ten Bloggers Hoops Poll: Week 5- MSU now #11

(2008 Feb 4)--Here is the ES' Big Ten Bloggers Hoops poll for week 5. Mind you, he ES thinks Izzo will get MSU's ship straightened... but maybe not before tourney time. Season's start Izzo predicted 14-4 record is what it would take to win Big Ten. MSU still on track - but no room for error with road stints at Purdue, Wisky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio St. The ES maintains this is the worst refereeing season ever in Big Ten history; any game with a 51-21 edge in FTs surely demonstrates happy whistles and a home edge by refs.

1. Purdue. 8-1/17-5. Beat Iowa, Beat Illinois. Enjoy it now, Boilers, you won't be here at season's end. This time next week, 9-2: at JoePa (win), at Wisky (loss).
2. Wisconsin. 8-1/18-3. Beat Indy, Beat Minny. Wisky has best chance to Big Ten title. This time next week, 9-2: at Iowa (loss), Purdue (win).
3. Indiana. 7-1/18-3. Lose to Wisky, Beat NW. Indy weaknesses exposed, but there is time to correct... This time next week, 9-2: at Illinois (loss), at Ohio St. (win).
4. Michigan St. 7-2/19-3. Beat Illinois, Lose to JoePa. Puzzling losses doom MSU in run to title. This time next week, 8-2: NW (win).
5. Ohio St. 6-3/15-7. Beat JoePa, Lose to Iowa. Good home team, bad road team. This time next week, 7-4: scUM (win), Indy (loss).
6. Iowa 4-6/11-12. Lose to Purdue, Beat Ohio State. Schizophrenic sizzlers. This time next week, 5-7: Wisky (win), at Minny (loss).
7. Penn St. 3-6/11-10. Lose to Ohio St, Beat Mich St. Surprise! JoePa gets a woody with 51-21 FT advantage in win over MSU. This time next week, 4-7: at Purdue (loss), at scUM (win).
8. Minnesota 3-5/13-7. Beat scUM, Lose to Wisky. Tubby town in 1-4 slump. This time next week, 5-5: at NW (win), Iowa (win).
9. Illinois 2-8/10-11. Lose to Mich St, Lose to Purdue. Weber all but gone on 2-11 losing streak; deceiving team plays better than its record. This time next week, 3-8: Indy (win).
10. Michigan 1-8/5-16. Lose to Minny. Yellow Bellies unfortunately have NW on schedule just twice. This time next week, 1-10: at Ohio St (loss), JoePa (loss).
11. Northwestern 0-8/7-12. Beat Texas Pan-Am, Lose to Indy. Cats could pounce on Tubby this week... maybe... This time next week, 0-10: Minny (loss), at Mich St (loss).

MSU M-Hoops Falls to #9 RPI, Adds OL Hueter

(2008 Feb 3)--The Big Green fell to #9 in the RPI poll after losing to Joe Pa. Notably, Wisconsin is #14, Ohio State #26, Indiana #38, and Purdue #51. And, Joe Lunardi's Bracketology puts MSU #3 out West vs Cornell/BYU/UConn.

And, the Big Green Touchdown Machine picked up another OL recruit, but one completely off the major program recruiting screens with this Zach Hueter kid out of North Branch. Hueter also was considering WMU, EMU, and CMU.

Spartans Fall to Joe Pa??? In Hoops, 85-76??

(2008 Feb 3)--Spartans fall on the road to another one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, to JoePa, 85-76. MSU did not execute defensively, giving up 9 three pointers and a season-high 85 points allowed. JoePa had 30 more free throw attempts, and 4 Spartans fouled out. Amazingly, MSU had only 10 turnovers. But, Drew Neitzel scored just six points on 2-10 shooting. MSU certainly doesn't have its game together, but give credit to JoePa for hitting the shots as well. Still, great teams don't lose by nine to average or poor teams. Said Izzo, "it's hard to complain about anything (else) with the job I did coaching, because that team of ours was not ready to play from the opening seconds. "When I get home there will be a lot of blame for Michigan State, but the credit should go to Penn State and how they played. That was a monumental effort by a team that's been beaten down and beaten up by a lot of people."

Duffy Daugherty Expansion

(2008 Feb 2)--Here is a photo the ES took walking to the MSU demolition of scUM men's basketball on Jan. 27. Things are moving along swimmingly... You can see a few more photos dating back to groundbreaking last year at the Duffy Expansion archive.

LB, DL Committs - Doctor Nabs 14 so far on defense

(2008 Jan 29)--While all the recruiting services are noting the verbal commitment from LB Steve Gardiner of Ohio and DL Cameron Jude from Manchester, Virginia, there also looks to be an impending verbal commitment from DT Dawawn Whitner of Cleveland (OH) Glenville according to lots of board chatter. At this point, the recruiting count looks this way:

14 DEF: 4 DBs, 4 LBs, 5 DLs.
7 OFF: 2 OLs, 3 WRs, 2 RBs

Whitner is 6-3, 300-lbs (bio) and is a good get for MSU: he was also considering Ohio State, West Virginia, Illinois, Purdue, Minny, Maryland, and Louisville. Rivals lists him as 285 pounds. Scout.com notes he weighs 310 pounds and runs a 5.06 40-yd dash. Let's call him an even 300-pounder.

Jude is 6-4, 235-lbs (bio). According to Scout.com, last year Jude had 89 tackles, 45 for losses, 10½ sacks and forced five fumbles. Was the Dominion player of the year on defense." He chose MSU over UConn, Va Tech, BC, and Marshall. Will his twin brother Ryan join him?

Gardiner is 6-0, 203-lbs, and runs a 4.5-40. According to Scout.com, he had 125 tackles, two sacks, forced two fumbles, and had two interceptions as a junior. He earned All-District and All-Conference honors. Rivals lists him a a Top 20 weakside LB recruit nationally. He is a great addition to MSU.

Recruiting Trail HOT

(2008 Jan 29)--God almighty is the ES Tag Board heating up with recruiting... the ES is getting over 1,000 hits per day for people to get the skinny on recruiting; thanks to spartanpride for bringing some good news our way. Interesting news is that Yourhighness Morgan, a LB out of Florida who has committed to Florida Atlantic, may still consider MSU. The ES can already hear the rumble out of Ann Arbor for them having to bow down to Yourhighness... LB Steve Gardiner out of Ohio is also a strong consideration, as is VHTs RB Mark Ingram of Flint and DL Nick Perry of Detroit. MSU has about 7 more scholarships to offer until signing day next Wednesday...

Best Start EVER; What is up with the refs?

(2008 Jan 29)--All the MSU trophys and championships, and right now after the 51-41 defeat of Illinois, the Big Green is off to its BEST START EVER. We've never been 19-2. Yahhooooo, even though the game set basketball back 100 years.... MSU really struggled offensively, but luckily Illinois shot just 35-something percent from the FT line. Illini hit 7-19 from the charity stripe. Good news was seeing Neitzel hit some shots and the defensive work by Walton was just smothering. Bad news is that the new freshmen are acting more and more like freshmen, with Lucas and Summers turning the ball over at will, and Allen seemingly out of his game.

But, is it just me or are the refs getting worse and worse? Some of the phantom calls were bewildering, while the refs flat out missed seeing Chris Allen being pushed to the floor. Bad refereeing on both sides -- it is getting worse! This is one of the worst years I have ever seen.... it is going to take more than bionic contact lenses to improve the refereeing - this is an issue Jim Delaney needs to deal with.

Drew Neitzel: Big10 POW in his own words

(2008 Jan 29)--Here you go, some verbiage from Drew Neitzel, your Big Ten Player of the Week... two games, two wins, 19 ppg, 6 apg, 4 rpg... courtesy Big Ten Network.

ES Big Ten Bloggers Hoops Poll: Week 4 - MSU now #7

(2008 Jan 28)--MSU moves up to #7 in the USA Today Poll and is a solid #6 in the RPI ratings; the Big Green is 18-2/6-1 and off to its best start in school history. The ES opines on MSU in week 4of the Big Ten men's hoops race as part of The Big Ten Bloggers Basketball Poll. Thanks to Gopher Nation for getting the ball rolling.

1. Michigan St. 18-2/6-1. MSU off to its best start… EVER.

2. Indiana. 17-2/6-0. Never any shame in
losing to UConn, but they did, at home... and that drops ‘em.

3. Purdue. 15-5/6-1. Purdue beats Wisky;
only conf. loss is to Sparty.

4. Wisconsin. 16-3/6-1. Wisky beats Yellow
Bellies but loses to Purdue… ergo, Wisky drops a notch.

5. Ohio St. 13-6/5-2. Buckeyes beat up on Illini and Minny to stay in upper tier.

6. Minnesota. 12-6/2-4. Minny’s loss at OSU keeps Tubby from climbing into top tier.

7. Iowa 9-10/2-4. Iowa beats JoePa to
continue its gradual climb.

8. Illinois 10-11/2-6. Illini are bad, but
beat NW Next up at Sparty. :)

9. Joe Pa 10-9/2-5. Football school on
hardwood now in complete freefall after loss to Iowa.

10. Yellow Bellies 5-15/1-7. Worst season ever effort still within reach after Little Sister gets its butt kicked by Big Brother
in East Lansing and at Wisky.

11. N'western 6-11/0-7. Terrible; one of worst in the country, Sagarin has Nwestern at #191; rpiratings.com puts NW at #209
in the country...

MSU Kicked UM Butt, 77-62

(2008 Jan 28)--We kicked some Yellow Belly tail yesterday. period.

MSU 17-pt fave over Yellow Bellies; 2-2 hockey tie

(2008 Jan 26)--According to Caesars in Las Vegas, MSU is a 17 point favorite over the Michigan piece of crap men's hoops team tomorrow at the Breslin. The ES will be there for the demolition and to teach them a lesson. With the scuM 1-3-1 zone, watch Drew Neitzel, Chris Allen, and Kalin Lucas torch the nets from the outside. Just a bad matchup this weekend.

By the way, if you didn't see MSU-UM hockey this weekend, you missed a treat. MSU tied UM 2-2 today, but only after an own-goal late in the 3rd period by MSU -- we had these guys beat dead-to-rights; and we won on Friday. MSU clearly is among the best in the nation and has a great shot to repeat as national champs.

Ice Hockey Blanks scUM, 1-0 at Yost

(2008 Jan 25)--If you missed it tonight, you missed one whale of a game on Fox Sports Net, with your Defending National Champion MSU Spartans displaying a brutally, gritty, tough effort in a 1-0 victory over the Yellow Bellies at Yost Ice Arena tonight. MSU Goalie Jeff Lerg has shutout for 8+ periods now; it was MSU's first win at Yost since 2003... which also happens to be the last time scUM was shutout at home; MSU ended scUM's 9-game win streak. On to Munn Ice Arena for the sweep!

Blogging World Suffers Through Another Award Ceremony

Hey, check out the blogging world trophies over at EDSBS and if interested submit your nominations for best Big Ten blog. Only submit the ES site if you think you can tear the shit out of it... Invitations are welcome! There is actually an "invitation gizmo" (a.k.a. "php form") page for you to fill out... Funniest bit is the canned look of blogs - most bloggers wouldn't know a webpage if they saw it. Somebody do this awards ceremony justice and nominate Hondo's blog...

Spartans Add LB Rolf of Ohio

(2008 Jan 22)--MSU added another recruit today to its incoming football class, with LB David Rolf (6-3, 220-lbs) of Picqua (OH) choosing the Big Green over Oregon, Utah, Vanderbilt, Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Air Force. He runs a 4.49 40 yard dash and Rivals considers him a good get with a 3-star rating.

Big Ten Bloggers Hoops Poll: Week 3

(2008 Jan 20)--The ES opines on MSU in week 3 of the Big Ten men's hoops race as part of The Big Ten Bloggers Basketball Poll. Thanks to Gopher Nation for getting the ball rolling.

1. Indiana. 16-1/5-0. Hoosiers take down Tubby in Minny, beat Joe Pa in Penny...

2. Michigan St. 16-2/4-1. Spartans revive from Hawkeye slump; beat Ohio St and Minny. Neitzel's 19 points vs Gophers pull him and Spartans out of slump.

3. Wisconsin. 15-2/5-0. Bo Ryan learns nothing about his Badgers this week, sopping up on bottom feeders JoePa and NWestern.

4. Purdue. 13-5/4-1. Boilers beat Hawkeyes on the road, whoop up on hapless Illini at home to belong in upper tier of league.

5. Ohio St. 12-6/3-2. Buckeyes pushed around on boards by MSU, miss Oden. Then travel to Vols to lose in non-conf tilt.

6. Minnesota. 12-5/2-3. Is Tubby's team terrible? Naah... his schedule is front loaded. Still, Izzo swept Tubby, and Indy also taught him who's boss. Minny falling.

7. Iowa 9-10/2-4. Hawks put up a good fight in a tight home loss to Purdue, then go on the road and kick some Yellow Belly arse. This team isn't great, but has some moxy.

8. Illinois 9-10/1-5. Illini finally snake Big Ten win by crushing the Yellow Bellies, then drop a tough fight on the road at Purdue. 1-5 record has one bad loss at Joe Pa but three tough road losses at Wisky, Indy, and Purdue.

9. Joe Pa 10-7/2-3. Falling like a rock. Joe Pa's reality beginning to take shape at the bottom of the Big Ten, with crushing defeats home vs Wisky at at Indy.

10. Yellow Bellies 5-13/1-5. scUM looking to break a long time record for most losses in a season, they lose at home to Iowa and crushed on the road at Illini. Next up: at Wisky and MSU. :)

11. N'western 6-9/0-5. It's too bad. Any other year, a team as bad as the Yellow Bellies would be in the cellar. This year, we have an even worse team: East Lansing High could beat the 'Cats. They pick up a win vs Chicago State but fall at Wisky. 0-18 is possible...

Recruiting Trail Heats Up... inside the Daugherty from spartanpride

(2008 Jan 18)--There is a lot of discussion and heat about Spartan football recruits here with three weeks to go until national football LOI signing day. ES tagboard frequenter, spartanpride, notes several potential recruits: RB Mark Ingram (5-10, 195-lbs) still is considered one of the top recruits for MD; he is visiting Arizona State but still has great potential to join MSU. Spartanpride has other insight: " DE J. Smith is 75% history; 45% chance with CB D. Beckford, TE K. Koger a chance, LB J. B. Fitzgerald declining but maybe signing day surprise. I know alot of people hope OT Rhonne Sanderson verbals, LB David Rolf would be sending us near top 30 and if Ingram and DE Nick Perry, yes... top 30 year. "

Here are potential ranknigs from spartan pride. The ES links up to the SpartanMag profiles for each of these guys... 1. Jude Brothers (DE Cameron and LB Jude) 2. Beckford 3. S Will Fleming 4. LB Eteyen Edet. -- 1. LB Mike Balogun 2. Bishop 3. Ingram 4. Perry 5. Rolf 6. Sanderson 7. DE Steven Winston.

Spartans Dispatch Bucks

(2008 Jan 15)--Good to see Drew Netizel back to hitting the three ball. He scored 13 with a 6-1 TO:Asst ratio, 5 rebs. Kalin Lucas matched Neitzel with 13. Nine players played at least 11 minutes. MSU had 20 offensive rebounds. And, Drew Naymick had 11 points! MSU led by 21 at one point and cruise to a 66-60 victory.

Big Ten Bloggers Hoops Poll: Week 2

(2008 Jan 13)--The ES opines on MSU in the Big Ten men's hoops race as part of The Big Ten Bloggers Basketball Poll. Thanks to Gopher Nation for getting the ball rolling.

1. Indiana. 14-1/3-0. "The sign of a pretty good team is finding ways to win when maybe you're not on top of your game," Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson said. IU takes care of business, defeats bottom feeders Illinois and the Yellow Bellies.

2. Michigan St. 14-2/2-1. "It was a total breakdown by just about every player on our team. I thought that was one of the poorest overall games we've played, maybe since I've been head coach. We deserved what we got," said MSU coach Tom Izzo. Spartans get past Purdue but lose at Iowa; nearly defeat bad Iowa squad despite lowest Big Ten scoring output in 50 years.

3. Wisconsin. 13-2/3-0. "You know our defense that I’ve coached from my high school college coach and from a bobby knight game from 1972 hasn’t changed any," said Wisky coach Bo Ryan. Impressive home win over cellar dwellar Illinois.

4. Purdue 11-5/2-1. "They beat us eight straight games, and our players were aware of that. It was very important for us to get over the hump against a quality team like Ohio State," said Purdue coach Matt Painter. Boilermakers may be the league's surprise team. Purdue puts up tough fight in loss at the Breslin in East Lansing, kicks Buckeye butt at home.

5. Ohio St. 12-4/3-1. "Its uncharted waters, as a coach when you win some games on the road everyone thinks yoN're ok but as a coach you're saying I know we're not where we need to be right now," said OSU coach Thad Matta. Buckeyes beat poor Iowa team and lose at tougher-than-expected Purdue team.

6. Minnesota 12-3/2-1. "We liked how we improved on the boards this game, but we still need to get better and we obviously need to address our free-throw shooting," said Minny coach Tubby Smith after NW victory. Minny eeks out comeback win at JoePa, blows out awful NW at home.

7. Iowa 8-9/1-3. "I am proud of our guys for the effort they gave and the results they were able to come up with," said Iowa coach Todd Lickliter after victory over #6 Spartans move Hawks out of the cellar. Iowa lost by 31 at Ohio State three days earlier.

8. JoePa 10-5/2-1. "This is a great league and a very unforgiving league. If you relax, this is what happens to you. We are up 16 with the ball and we relax and turn it over and a three-point play, turn it over another three-point play. Time out, we come back, we make a change and another turnover. It's a focus thing," JoePa coach Ed DeChellis said. JoePa grounded in reality after home loss to Minny... back to the bottom they go.

9. Illinois 8-9/0-4. "Being close on a Big Ten road trip, you have to find a way to grind it out. We spread people out, we were screening, cutting using the clock. There were some good things," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said in trying to find a silver lining for Big Ten's cellar dwellar. Illini lose at #21 Wisky and at #10 Indiana. Ouch.

10. Michigan 5-11/1-3. "Our kids are so happy,. The coaches are, because we've had a rough go, certainly for at least the last month," said scUM coach John Bielein. Yellow Bellies end six game losing streak with win at NW to annoint the 'Cats as the conference's worst; loss at Indy earlier in the week.

11. Northwestern 5-8/0-4. "I just didn't see the intensity, defensively, that I thought we needed. In the second half, the effort was measurably better, but it was just too far gone by then," said NW coach Bill Carmody.Tick, tick, tick... Clock is running out on Carmody's time in Evanston. 'Cats fall at home to bad Yellow Belly team, lose at Buckeyes.

MSU Gets RB/LB Commit

(2008 Jan 13)--MSU received a verbal commitment from Glenn Winston (6-1, 213, 4.4-40, bio), a running back/linebacker from Detroit. SpartanMag.com ranked him as the #11 on their top players for 2008. SpartanMag.com. Scout.com lists Winston as the #66 RB inthe country. He chose MSU over BGSU, Illinois, Indiana, scUM, Minnesota, and Toledo.

That makes 17 recruits for MSU so far -- quite a number of recruits were in town, and reliable ES tagger spartanpride notes that Taylor Hill, a highly touted LB out of Youngstown, Ohio, had a very good visit with MSU coaches this weekend. Scout.com lists Hill as committed to West Virginia, and Scout reports that Hill also committed to Oklahoma back in July - so who knows where he will go until signing day. And, insterestingly, OLB JB Fitzgerald (who has committed to scUM) took a tour at MSU this weekend...

Football Notes: TJ, National LOI, 4th Qtr, Greg Jones; JLS to Hawaii???

(2008 Jan 12)--The ES has been circling the mid-Michigan area like a hawk (or a do-do bird), viewing MSU football from afar, and provides these droppings....

TJ WILLIAMS A GONER
TJ Williams has not been invited to return to the MSU football team. Williams, who came into the season on suspension and as an up-and-coming wideout for MSU, ended up playing DB for the better part of the season. But, he was suspended for the Champs Bowl game and a variety of issues lead Mark Dantonio to dismiss him; the Doctor won't elaborate. This is a mixed blessing for MSU: it is too bad this kid can't get his act straight because he's a talented player that could have contributed next year. However, we also don't need players around that won't follow the rules. Sayonara, TJ!

NATIONAL LOI DAY FEB 6
With national letter-of-intent signing day coming up on February 6, there is the expected hype and anticipation for MSU's recruiting class and inevitable comparisons to others in the Big Ten. With 16 already verbally committed, MD has stated that MSU will offer scholarships to another 6-8. Said the Doctor, "we are where we need to be in terms of recruiting right now. So we're very much excited about that and we just have to land a couple more here, whether it's in state or outside of state to make it a super year for us. Thus far, from our commitments, every one of our commitments with the exception of two, have been in our camp, so we know what we're getting, and that's exciting for me, for us. We want to recruit character-quality players, that have an upside with size, speed and intelligence and guys who want to play with a passion. I think that's the mixture that we want." ES sarcastic moment: I guess that's better than recruiting small, slow, and stupid players who are lazy.

FOURTH QUARTER PROGRAM
Another interesting tidbit is what the Doctor calls "The Fourth-Quarter Program," which is a fancy term for the MSU off-season conditioning program. To be critical to some extent of all college football, is that players need to be in these workouts if they want to have a chance to play... and football season is supposed to be over, right? This is one of the ES' big issues with college football, the overemphasis on training by ALL D1 colleges that take college life out of the athlete. But, until this issue is dealt with by all schools, MSU needs to maintain its committment to stay competitive. Anyhow, the Doctor notes that the program will start in early February and will go for 15 or 16 of those workouts, with a few wrinkles, to enhance individual strength and team cohesion.

DATES TO REMEMBER
Signing Day is February 6, spring football practice begins on March 17 and the spring game is scheduled for April 19.

JONES NAMES ALL-AMERICA AGAIN
Freshman LB Greg Jones, who had 78 tackles this year, was named a freshman All America by the Football Writers Association. Jones previously earned first-team Freshman All-America honors from The Sporting News, CollegeFootballNews.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com.

JOHN L SMITH TO HAWAII
The AP has reported John L Smith's request to be considered for the Hawaii job. Despite all the hilarity coming from Hawaii fans screaming for JLS to not even be considered -- the reality is that Smith was successful everywhere except MSU. With the pathetic schedule and competition Hawaii faces every year and the spread offense, JLS actually would be a good fit. But, his bitching about Hawaii's thug-like tactics and MSU getting screwed in our visit certainly won't help.

UGA President Calls for D1A Football Playoff

(2008 Jan 8)--University of Georgia President Michael Adams has proposed an 8-team NCAA football playoff. This is BIG news because Adams is not only the president of UGA, but because he also chairs the NCAA Executive Committee and sits on the Knight Commission. Adams sent a letter to NCAA President Myles Brand, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, BCS Conference Commissioners, and ESPN, calling for the eight team playoff after the traditonal bowls -- Adams' scenario would have the inners of the four major bowls would face off in semifinal games on the second Saturday in January, and the national title on the third Saturday.

Adams, a long time supporter of bowls and critics of the playoff, has changed his mind because of the major dollars at stake and the power resting in the hands of a few and the tv networks. Says Adams, "the television networks have grown too poweful in deciding who plays and when they plahy, and, indeed, whom theyhire to coach. The BCS has become a beauty contest largely stage-managed by the networks, which in turn protect the interest of their own partner conferences." Read the Adams letter and the official release.

The ES has LONG been in favor of an NCAA playoff in Division IA, if only that it is already being done in Division IAA, 2, and 3. However, there are concerns at the further exploitation of the athletes themselves. Will the players get a cut of the money generated? Will it trickle down to the athletes in some form or fashion -- and if so, how... or will it go back to the NCAA to build an addition to their HQ or to hire more unnecessary staff? Interesting how this comes out after his Dawgs were snubbed for the title tilt and crushed Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl - you know that had to frustrate the UGA Nation.

Stay tuned. If it comes from Adams, this has momentum. Lets see what type of power and support he can gather to make it happen...

Big Ten Ref Sanzere Chokes

(2008 Jan 6)--This guy pictured below, Mike Sanzere, refereed the MSU vs Minny game last night, and was booed repeatedly by the 15,000 in attendance. Izzo got a technical foul because this blind idiot blew a charge call - among several calls. He should have his refereeing credentials pulled. Send his arse to Division 3 or the NAIA, where he belongs. He chokes.

ES Polls Big Ten M-Hoops

(2008 Jan 6)--The ES is jumping on the bandwagon, comparing teams with photos of others... BlackHeartGoldPants gets the honors for doing a fantastic job matching up the Spartans and Hilary in a political metaphor. The ES looks at actors to give a persona to the recent play of the BigTeners... The Big Ten Bloggers Basketball Poll is a labor of love supervised by Gopher Nation, let's see if they let ES join in....