Elite

A word of warning to my Ohio State friends: don't take me out to watch a Buckeye's tournament game.  They're 0-3 now when that happens!

Two years ago, Stacey and I got to enjoy watching them fall to Siena in the first round while we were at the bar watching MSU win at the same time.  Last year, we went to play pool while watching MSU beat Northern Iowa and something called Ali Farokhmanesh.  Before our game started, OSU lost to Tennessee.  Last night, with Stacey out of town, I decided to go out to dinner with some work friends.  Since the only teams I hate more than OSU are Duke and Kentucky, I was rooting for them.  Towards the end of the game, I remembered my history of bars and OSU games and told my friends about it.  I'm sorry.

It's been a very weird tournament.  I got three of the Elite 8 teams right.  But I had just as many losing in the first round (VCU, Butler, and Arizona).  At this point, it would appear that three of the four games could be complete blow outs leading to an "anyone's guess" Final Four.

Rank order of who I'm rooting for:
Butler
VCU
UConn
Arizona
Florida
Kansas
North Carolina
Kentucky
(The last three are really close in earning my hatred)

Rank order of likelihood to win it all:
Three who could win it
Kansas - have been the only team to blow out every opponent.  They seem to have the best talent and lead the nation in a lot of categories.  But they've made a lot of deep tournament runs in the past decade and have only won it once.
UConn - best player left, but they can't depend on scoring from two players to win every game, can they?
Florida - I really like their defense and they're getting production out of a lot of players
Everyone else
Arizona - have faced strong tournament teams every round and are probably playing some of the best basketball right now of any team.  But I just don't see it happening, which means they will win it all.
Kentucky - great talent, but that didn't get it done last year.  I wasn't blown away by their performance last night.

Butler - every game has been close until they and and they have pulled it out in crunch time.  That composure is due to their experience.  But they haven't faced a team that's strong in the tournament yet.
North Carolina - they're young and benefitted from playing the weakest Sweet 16 opponent of the bunch.  I think they've advanced further than they should have and I don't think there's any chance they can make the National Championship game.
VCU - To be honest, I didn't even have them beating USC.  I can't believe a play-in game team made it to the Sweet 16.  They're the only team left that I haven't really watched.  Kansas is on a whole different level than any of the teams they faced, so expect a blowout.

Nationwide Baseball Tour

It's official: stops 10 and 11 on our tour of major league ballparks will be....

Tampa Bay Rays - Tropicana Field
Atlanta Braves - Turner Field

Ironically, their games are against the Indians and Reds respectively. 

Complete Breakdown of the NFL Labor Battle

I have several thoughts on the various issues at play in the NFL Labor situation.  First, let me break down the 20 point contract bargaining agreement that the owners proposed at the last minute.  The revenue sharing included in said proposal can only be described as NOBODYCARESABOUTYOURSTUPIDDISAGREEMENTJUSTDONTCANCELANYGAMESANDYOUBETTERNOTFUCKWITHMYFANTASYFOOTBALLNEXTSEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As we've already seen, the labor battle will not to any favors for the league's perception.  Having star players like Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady, that are among the most popular athletes today, lead a lawsuit against their bosses will be damaging to their popularity, and therefore the league's as well.  Adding to the controversy is the immature plan to scare incoming players from attending the NFL draft and publicly celebrating their accomplishments.  One viewer of "Mike and Mike" this morning aptly compared this to a teacher's union pressuring students to skip their high school graduation to thumb their nose at the administration.  Finally, the official start of the lockout coincided with one of the worst natural disasters we've seen in recent years.  Released statements, press conferences, Twitter come-backs, and reports from various sources regarding a legal battle between millionaires and billionaires is not good PR, especially when it is competing for news airtime with scenes of towns being washed away and nuclear plants on fire.

I don't mean to be pretentious or smug, but nobody is going to win the public relations tug-of-war that has started.  We're five months away from losing games and fans are already tired of the rhetoric and party-lining.  We all know negotiations don't heat up until deadlines, so we are far from a resolution.  The best thing both sides, especially the players, could do at this point is shut up and deal with this behind closed doors.

And since there are more important things going on in the world right now, I want to focus on those issues.  I came across this article about how the Japanese aren't looting and found it very interesting.  Isn't looting part the government's motivation for stresses disaster preparedness?  Certainly they want people to have the proper supplies when something unfortunate happens, but indirectly that is meant to curb people from resorting to disorder and lawlessness to fulfill their needs.  Proof of our culture's self-centeredness could be found in the media's reporting of the earthquake and tsunami.  I found in numerous places that the typical reports on the immediate devastation in Japan, the resulting affect on neighboring countries, etc. were accompanied by articles on the affect that had on oil prices.  One reporter theorized that oil and gas prices should go down since this would surely stall the world's third largest economy.  Well good - that should counteract the price increases from the civil unrest in Libya! (Warning: if you couldn't tell that was seething with sarcasm, you need help.)

Again, to avoid being smug, I am not sure how I would react in a crisis situation.  If I need food or supplies and I am facing an empty store window with a brick in hand, I don't think I would concern myself with trying to find the owner or cash to pay them.  This report, if true, is certainly admirable and unfortunately uncommon.

Selection Sunday 3

I think all of our collective hearts were close to bursting, but it was well worth it.  We get to play the #1 seed that lost in the first round of their conference tournament, the weakest # 2 seed that was heavily questioned during the Selection show, a #3 seed who kicked their leading rebounder off the team, and a #4 seed that we've beaten already.  Having to play Florida in their home state will be tough

If our M.O. is outperforming in March...
Virginia Tech's is having their bubbles burst.  Is there a program in the country that is screwed over more?  This year, they will surely be a #1 seed in the NIT (meaning they just barely missed the NCAA) with a 21-11 record.  Last year, they were also a #1 seed with a record of 23-8.  In 2008, they were also a #1 seed with a record of 19-13.

You get to play in Cleveland, but....
George Mason?  Kentucky?  North Carolina?  Good luck Ohio State.  You'd think having your AD chair the selection committee would give you an advantage.  If there was any team that could run that gauntlet, however, it's OSU.  Columbus has a decent number of Kentucky fans because it's only 3 hours from Lexington.  That will be the most exciting matchup of the Sweet 16, in my opinion. 

Southeast = Upset Central?...
For our sake, hopefully it is.  Is everyone going to pick Old Dominion, Belmont, and Utah State in upsets?  I felt smart about those picks until I heard Seth Davis (?) announce those as his upsets.  I said it before - this will be Pitt's best chance to make the Final Four that they've ever had.  In previous tournaments, Pitt has lost when they've faced a star guard.   
2010 - Jordan Crawford - 27 points - Drafted 27th overall
2009 - Scottie Reynolds - 15 points - 1st Team All American
2008 - Drew Neitzel - 21 points - Second Team All American
2007 - Aaron Afflalo - 17 points - Drafted 27th overall
           Darren Collison - 12 points - Drafted 21st overall
2006 - Patrick O'Bryant - 28 points - Drafted 9th overall (ok, he's a center, but still...)
2005 - David Doubley - 17 points - Big West Player of the Year (now that's a stretch...)
2004 - Tony Allen - 23 points - Drafted 25th overall
2003 - Dwayne Wade - 22 points - Drafted 5th overall
2002 - Antonio Gates - 22 points - Really good football player

From my standpoint, the only potential All Americans in our bracket are Jimmer and Jacob Pullen from Kansas State, so that bodes well for them.

I was very anxious to learn more about our potential opponents, so I did some research.  Below are the rankings in the most important stat categories for the top teams in our region.

FT %
Wisconsin 1st (.824)
BYU 15th (.759)
St. John's 108th (.711)
Michigan State 147th (.699)
UCLA  199th (.683)
Pitt 234th (.672)
Florida  238th (.670)
Kansas State 300th (.647)

FG %
Pitt 20th (.474)
Florida 45th (.464)
UCLA 74th (.456)
St. John's 77th (.455)
BYU 92nd (.452)
Kansas State 159th (.438)
Wisconsin 124th (.445)
Michigan State 191st (.432)


3PT FG %
Pitt 18th (.390)
Kansas State 44th (.375)
Wisconsin 50th (.371)
BYU 83rd (.362)
Florida 110th (.356)
Michigan State 128th (.353)
St. John's 234th (.330)
UCLA 243rd (.329)

Rebounds Per Game
Pitt 8th (39.8)
BYU 16th (38.7)
Kansas State 35th (38)
Florida 48th (37.6)
UCLA 61st (37.3)
Michigan State 73rd (37)
St. John's 281st (32.8)
Wisconsin 299th (32.1)

Turnovers Per Game
Wisconsin 1st (7.4)
BYU 19th (11)
Pitt 35th (11.7)
Florida 81st (12.4)
St John's 81st (12.4)
Michigan State 144th (13.3)
UCLA 270th (14.9)
Kansas State 277th (15)

Takeaways
While free throws aren't our region's forte (outside of Wisconsin), rebounding is.  I am nervous to see that  we have by far the worst field goal percentage.  It is very encouraging to see that UCLA turns the ball over even more than we do and they can't shoot 3's.  That bodes well for our chances of winning the first round.  This year, Wisconsin is very typical Bo Ryan team in the sense that they don't give away any games.  They protect the basketball (they average two fewer turnovers per game than the 2nd best in the country!!!) and make their free throws.  Their achilles heal, obviously, is that they don't make a high percentage of their shots and they're horrible at rebounding.  That second stat is very surprising to me, because Wisconsin is usually very tall and talented at rebounding.

Selection Sunday 2

For the second "why does Penn State have such a high SOS" stat of the day:
Penn State is 4-9 against the RPI top 50 (#6 SOS).
Michigan is 6-9 (#17) and Illinois is 5-10 (#20).
Michigan State is 5-13 (#12). 
We only lost one game to a team outside of the top 50! (Thanks Iowa)
Too bad the NCAA tournament has so many teams in the Top 50 RPI or we'd do extremely well!

Because this will be over in a week...

The longer I think about it, the more I want BYU in the second round!!!

Let's face it... this will probably be over in a week too.  If you didn't understand from this video, the way the Bucky differs from the Dougie is that you need to spit on someone while you're dancing.

Selection Sunday

I am glad that Ken Pomeroy's data has MSU listed with the most difficult SOS. 

-Michigan State played four tournament conference champions (Oakland, UConn, Washington, and whomever wins the Big 10 Tourney.)  If Duke wins the ACC, that will make 5.
- If you throw in teams that lost in their conference's championship, you get Texas, Syracuse, Tennessee Tech, and the loser of the Big 10 Championship.
-I still don't get how Penn State is given such a high SOS.

Going by today's Bracketology rankings, here's what I think is the easiest path to the championship (assuming the highest seeds win each time).
#6 - WVU - St. Johns and K State have been two of the hottest teams late in the season (ignoring the conference tournaments).  UNLV has some quality wins (Wisconsin, Va Tech).  WVU is a middle of the road Big East team and is undersized.

#3 - BYU - The 3 seeds all appeared in their conference tournament championship.  BYU has proved that losing Davies has made them extremely vulnerable.  In their 15 appearances since 1984, they have lost in the first round 10 times and in the second 5 times.  Jimmer was Jimmer last year and they still lost by 12 in the second round.

#2 - Duke - Call me cocky, but we almost beat them at home with Kyrie Irving.  This is a typical Duke team - they rely on outside shooting are vulnerable when they have an off night.  They lost every big road game they faced (which is hypocritical to say, of course, because MSU did too).  There's no way I want to see Kemba again, San Diego St is a big unknown, and the "team who shall not be named" is MSU's kryptonite.

#1 - Pitt - Pitt is limping into the tournament with a 3-3 record in their past few games (to be fair, two were due to buzzer beaters and the third went OT).  They haven't performed well in the tournament and I haven't seen anything lately that makes me think this year will be any different. 
then
#1 - ND - They rank 76th in the country in rebounding despite having fairly tall guards.  The possibility of facing another Hansbrough scares me a little.  They have some quality road wins and are one of the hottest teams in the country right now (12-2 to end the season).
then
#1 Kansas - I don't want to have to face OSU again.  We played them close on the road, but we were beneficiaries of a Sullinger off night, which he probably would remember (do you recall their rematch against Wisconsin?  Ouch.)  On paper, they appear to be the team destined to win.  Kansas has also lost only two games this year and would have a huge height advantage.  They have had some disappointing tournament appearances in recent years, so I think we may be more likely to pull off a huge upset against them.

Colors

It may seem kind of weird, but there are a few colors that I see that make me happy every time I see them.
The bold red shine of my kayak reminds me of adventure.
The chipped yellow paint on my hockey stick is a secret hint of my secret childhood wish to play on U-M's hockey team.
The dirty white tape on it allows me to pretend I am a real hockey player .
The bright green frog photo at the top of my staircase is one of the last things I see before I go to bed every night.
The black sheen of Boo's coat makes her the cutest cat.
The chesnut brown of our deck is my favorite place to spend time in the summer.


.....I can't think of anything orange or blue right now that I like....

Diaper Dandies

Losing Chris Allen, Korie Lucious, Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers and Raymar Morgan in the past year means that next year's team will rely more on our underclassmen than any year since the 2006-2007 season.  That year, six of our seven leading scorers were Freshmen or Sophomores.  The other was Junior Drew Neitzel, who lead the team in scoring.  With the possibility of Appling and Payne moving into starting roles next year, I was interested to see how their freshmen campaigns stack up against some of the other notable Spartans of the past 10 years. 

Below are the freshman stats, ordered by Mins Per Game, for some of our most important players from the past decade.  I noted some of the impressive stats (and the worst FT offenders) in red.



My Takeaways:

• Perhaps the low number of minutes plays a large factor, but five of the top six in FG % are on this year's team.
• It would seem to be a good sign that Appling is Top Five in 3 pointers, but when you consider the other people in that category, it's SCARY!  Summers and Hill had the two most disappointing Senior years of anyone!
• It's sad that three of the four worst FT shooters are on this year's team.
• It's concerning that Adreian Payne is the second worst in Assists to Turnover Ratio.  However, seeing that Paul Davis was the worst provides some relief.
• Drew Neitzel ranked #2 in Assists despite playing the 13th highest number of minutes.  It makes me have a greater appreciation for him as a floor general.
• The 01-02 Freshman class WAS the team - they accounted for over 62% of the team's scoring.
• Chris Allen and Durrell Summers really made an impact with their minutes!  They were second best in Points Per Minute.
• How good do Paul Davis' and Goran Suton's free throw percentages look now?
• The player who I feel had a Freshman season closest to Appling was Kelvin Torbert or Maurice Ager.  If he is going to take over the point next season, he has a lot of work to do in ball control compared to some of our other PGs.
• Adreian Payne's year wasn't that dissimilar to Derrick Nix's 2009/2010.  If he gets a ton more minutes next year, he's going to have to take a big leap forward in improving his free throws and limiting his turnovers.

We Aint Dead Yet

I can't wait for March!  As we approach conference tournament time, I wanted to share a few of my thoughts on what to expect coming up.

Team with the most pressure: Pittsburgh
In a year lacking a dominant, NBA-ready team, the best team in the best conference should be a common pick to win it all.  However, Pitt has been the "anti-Michigan State" for the past nine years; one of the best regular season teams but falter in the tournament.  Since 2002, Pitt has lost in the Sweet Sixteen four times and only seen the Elite Eight once.  To say that coach Jamie Dixon is on the "hot seat" for these failures would be completely ignorant.  He has the best winning percentage in Big East history and tied the record for fastest coach to win 200 games.  The fact that he has completed this run without a single first round NBA Draft pick is certainly impressive.  With three starting seniors on this year's team, 2011 is the best opportunity for a deep run that they're going to get.

Team that will be toughest to project: St. John's
I have seen St. John's play twice now (vs. Pitt, @ Villanova) and they're one of the most exciting teams to watch.  Each time they came out incredibly hot and built a big lead before letting the other team back in the game.  Since they lost three straight at the end of January, St. John's has gone 8-1 with impressive victories against # 3 Duke, #9 UConn, #4 Pitt, and #14 Villanova.  Over that stretch, Dwight Hardy has been averaging 25 points per game.  A logical conclusion from this hot streak is that the team has become comfortable with first year coach Steve Lavin's game plan and coaching style.  Working in their favor: Experience.  Of their 9 players who have got quality minutes, 7 are seniors.  Working against them: Experience.  None of these players have been to the NCAA Tournament before and the only quality non-conference opponent they faced this season was St. Mary's in their first game of the season.  It will be interesting to see what they can do on a neutral court against some of the other quality teams in the country.  I could see them going as far as the Elite Eight, but they are also an easy target as a First Round upset if Dwight Hardy has a bad game.

Major Conference Tournament Most Likely to Have a Surprise Champion: SEC
Since 1992, Kentucky has dominated their tournament with 11 victories.  Mississippi State and Florida have won the next most with three championships a piece.  It has certainly lacked upsets.  I think this year will be different because the conference is "Florida" and "Everyone else".  I think they will have a lot of upsets in their tournament with someone other than division champions Florida and Alabama prevailing.  Regardless of what happens, look for Florida to be the only SEC standing by the end of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. 

Open Discussion

Topic: Mumford & Sons is a good band.  Particularly if you like Guster.  Discuss.

Michigan State HAS COME BACK to Columbus

Before I discuss the game last night, I would like to review a psychological concept.

"Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism." - Mayo Clinic


The website goes on to list the following symptons:
■Believing that you're better than others

■Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
■Exaggerating your achievements or talents
■Expecting constant praise and admiration
■Setting unrealistic goals

■Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional
■Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans


I mention this because I have learned that all Buckeye fans suffer from at least a mild case of NPD.  Living in Columbus has exposed me to a number of them.  They may be arrogant about their team and University, but every comment bragging about their success is followed up by saying something to the effect of "although they will say we didn't deserve it."  They usually means ESPN (most notably Mark May, Colin Cowherd, and formerly Trev Alberts), Michigan, the SEC, or just sports fans in general. 

I think more recently this is due to the University of Florida.  They can't erase the embarrassment that the Gators handed them in basketball and football and they think people discredit their recent successes as a result.  I think that Buckeye fans secretly also have an inferiority complex in relation to the SEC and can't get over those losses either. (This creates some cognitive dissonance.  Yes, I spent too much time researching psychology tonight.)

For example, after the Rose Bowl game last year, many people complained that "they" wouldn't give them credit for that win since they didn't beat an SEC team.  This year, leading up to the Sugar Bowl game against Arkansas, people complained that beating them wouldn't matter because it wasn't the top SEC team. 

This relates to the game last night because as we left the arena, we walked behind a group of typical OSU students and one of them drunkenly said "We are OHIO...STATE.  We're fucking awesome.  But of course ESPN hates us.  We lost one game to a team that never loses... AT HOME.  And we're number 3?  We're going to win it all in March and we'll show them". 

I enjoy the attitude that most Michigan State fans share.  We're proud of our accomplishments, we want even more, but I don't think we overreact when our teams lose or obsess about them.  Anyway, let's talk about the game last night.

I think the main strategy MSU had was to be aggressive with Sullinger and rotate around so we're throwing a lot of different guys at him.  Diebler is a very streaky shooter, so they did a good job defending him and limiting how open he was.  He has attempted 7+ three's nine times this season;  Iowa and Florida State were the only two teams to hold him to a lower percentage.  We outrebounded them by 10.  Kalin looked extremely confident leading the ball upcourt and driving to the basket.  Nix, Payne, and Sherman showed us moves in the paint that nobody knew they had in them.  The problem, of course, were fouls and William Buford.  I have been telling my Buckeye friends for months that he is the most underrated player in the country.

I am satisfied with the close loss if it continues to be a sign of things to come.  Izzo said it best:
"I wouldn't count us dead yet.  This is a pretty good team if we can regroup down the stretch and get three guys to play together instead of just two."

Kalin leads the ball up court

I admit - the crowd showed up for the game and the arena blew up at key moments.

Math is Hard

I don't get something. 

Michigan's roster currently lists 15 players, none of which are seniors.  Their 2011 recruiting class currently is 2 players.

Michigan State's roster has 13 players, 3 of which are seniors.  Our 2011 recruiting class is 4 strong.

Why does U-M have 3 more roster spots than we do next season?

Chrysler Eminem Super Bowl Commercial - Imported From Detroit

?

I'm just going to put it out there:

Does the growing frustration Tom Izzo has with his players indicate that he is closer to retiring?  Last year, he complained about them "not gelling".  This year, he has had to resort to benching and suspending but still experienced the worst performance he has ever seen from his team.  So, is he going to retire soon?  Ignoring how bad the Cleveland job appears now, do you think he regrets saying he would never go to the NBA?

(When Izzo announced he's staying at MSU, I said, "I think he will step down in as little as 3 years, but very likely within the next 5".  I think I look even smarter now).

Ouch

"If the NCAA tournament started today, Michigan State might not make it. And judging from how the Spartans played against Iowa on Wednesday, this would bother them for at least 15 minutes."

"Summers is averaging one assist for every 58 minutes of playing time. He is three times as likely to give the ball to the other team as he is to pass to a teammate for a basket"

-Michael Rosenberg

Music Continued

Since I am not happy with the music out currently, I wondered what time period was the best for me.  I put together a list of my favorite songs and organized them by year.  I wasn't surprised to find that 94-97 was my sweet spot.  It was the golden age of grunge/alternative and I was in my early teens at that point.  I remember wearing thermal shirts and flannel fondly.  What I was surprised to find out was 1970 was the top year for me because I didn't start really caring about music until 20-25 years later.

1965
"Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
1968
"Hey Jude" - Beatles
1970
"Instant Karma" - John Lennon
"Let It Be" - Beatles
"Cecilia" - Simon & Garfunkel
"Bridge over Troubled Water" - Simon & Garfunkel
1973
"Piano Man" - Billy Joel
1981
"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey
1987
"Smooth Criminal" - Michael Jackson
1988
"All I Want Is You" - U2
"Let the River Run" - Carly Simon
1989
"We Didn't Start the Fire" - Billy Joel
1990
"Thunderstruck" - AC/DC
1991
"November Rain" - Guns N' Roses
1993
"Heart Shaped Box" - Nirvana
1994
"Glycerine" - Bush
"Lightning Crashes" - Live
1995
"Wonderwall" - Oasis
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings" - Smashing Pumpkins
1996
"Seasons of Love" - Rent
"Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against The Machine
1997
"Demons" - Guster
"I Shall Not Walk Alone" - Ben Harper
"I Will Buy You a New Life" - Everclear
1999
"Colorblind" - Counting Crows
"I Miss You" - Incubus
2000
"Optimistic" - Radiohead
2001
"Wish You Were Here" - Incubus
2002
"Lose Yourself" - Eminem
2003
"Come Downstairs and Say Hello" - Guster
2005
"Hey Mama" - Kanye West
2009
"Empire State of Mind" - Jay Z
2010
"Lil Freak" - Usher

Go Bucks???

The more and more I think about Ohio State defeating Illinois and Purdue, I realize that it is better for us.  We need to accept that winning the Big 10 is now out of reach.  It's better if Ohio State has a ridiculously good season and continues to defeat the other top teams because it gives us the best chance to earn a higher final ranking in the Big 10.  Our Big 10 schedule so far has been much more difficult than others - Purdue still has to play Illinois and Wisconsin twice and a rematch against the Buckeyes.  Wisconsin still that Purdue series and two against OSU.  We still have our own challenges ahead, but I like that we only have one more conference loss than the #2 & 3 Big Ten teams.

No Fair?

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Ohio State destroyed Purdue tonight.  Then I realized that both Illinois and Purdue faced us before they squared off against OSU.  Could we have taken the brunt of their best effort only to set up their awaiting opponent with a "less than perfect" performance?  Then I did this research and found that only two Big Ten opponents did NOT face a Top 25 ranked team before OSU.

Indiana.....previous opponent: Penn State
Iowa.....previous opponent: #25 Illinois
Minnesota.....previous opponent: Indiana
Michigan.....previous opponent: #3 Kansas
Penn State.....previous opponent: # 16 Illinois
Iowa.....previous opponent: #25 Minnesota
Illinois.....previous opponent: #18 MSU
Purdue.....previous opponent: #18 MSU

Comparatively, this is what we've been up against.  Our wins are in bold.
Minnesota....previous opponent: #24 Wisconsin
Northwestern.....previous opponent: #11 Purdue
Penn State.....previous opponent: #10 Purdue
Wisconsin.....previous opponent: Michigan
Northwestern.....previous opponent: Iowa
Illinois.....previous opponent: #21 Wisconsin
Purdue.....previous opponent: Penn State

So over half of our opponents had tough matchups ahead of ours, but only one of our three toughest opponents had a pre-MSU challenge.

How does the rest of our schedule shake out?  About the same.  There are some favorable spots, but there are others that get to enjoy cupcakes before us.  Currently ranked teams are in bold.
Michigan.....previous opponent: Minnesota
Indiana.....previous opponent: Illinois
Iowa.....previous opponent: Michigan
Wisconsin.....previous opponent: Purdue
Penn State.....previous opponent: Michigan
Ohio State.....previous opponent: Wisconsin
Illinois.....previous opponent: Michigan
Minnesota.....previous opponent: Penn State
Purdue.....previous opponent: Indiana
Iowa.....previous opponent: Illinois
Michigan.....previous opponent: Minnesota

Pan Sports Power Rankings

Updating the Power Rankings of "Who is the most likely to win a championship soon"

1. Detroit Redwings
They could win the Stanley Cup as early as later this season, but injuries among the Goalies makes it not likely.  Their front office leadership will ensure that they will continue to win the Championship every few years.
2. Michigan State Basketball
This team is not going to get it done, but I have the sense that they are providing the leadership for a team that could get it done in the next few years. 
3. Detroit Tigers
They are proving they can make more intelligent roster moves than unintelligent ones.  The bigger hump is to actually make the playoffs than to advance and win them.  There should be a DQ if the Twins continue to make the playoffs and lose before the Series.
4. Detroit Lions
I think the Lions used to hold the bottom spot in my rankings.  So why the dramatic change?  The new front office appears to know what they are doing, which is a dramatic change.  The NFL is a league of parity, so why shouldn't we be a part of that?  The NFC Championship game demonstrates that the NFC North was a good division this year, so our 6-10 record despite significant injuries seems even more impressive.
5. Michigan State Hockey
While they have won the second most recent championship, the MSU Hockey program now seems stagnant.  They have struggled to make the NCAA tournament, which I think should be a regular expectation.  I was not a Rick Comley fan until they won it all and the lack of sustained success has drained some of that credibility.
6. Michigan State Football
You would think that winning a share of the Big 10 title would earn a higher ranking, but the lack of OSU on the schedule and the horrible performance against Alabama diminishes the aura of that title.  My lack of confidence in their ability to win the BCS is more due to the competitiveness of the division and the disparity between the elite 10 programs and everyone else.  With Nebraska joining the conference and a likely Michigan resurgence on the horizon, MSU's chances to sustain Big 10 Championships are narrow.
7. Detroit Pistons
The franchise, hindered by their impending sale, is headed nowhere.  They need to implode the team and rebuild around young talent.  The talent in the NBA is currently concentrated among 4-5 teams, so I think the next 10 NBA championships or so will be shared exclusively among that group.

Not Cutting It

Korie Lucious is 11-42 for FGs and 6-24 from three in Big Ten play.  That is 26% and 25% respectively.