Spring...

Well I have failed miserably at keeping this thing even semi-updated regularly. But, as I have some here, I will write a few ideas/thoughts/opinions on Spring and what comes with it...

DETROIT TIGERS BASEBALL

Spring brings baseball to us...my favorite sport. While my Tigers have had a rough start so far going 1-3 in the first four games, there is still 158 games to go on the season. The additions of Victor Martinez as well as Brad Penny and signing Jhonny Peralta to a contract makes the Tigers a definite threat in the AL Central. Until we play the Twins, White Sox, Indians, and Royals a few times, I will not say much. But, I do think we have a definite shot at winning the Central Division. Jim Leyland has got them in the right mindset and they just need to not have a nose-dive month like they tend to and stay in the thick of it until the end of September.

MICHIGAN FOOTBALL: SPRING BALL

Coach Brady Hoke has gotten his first few practices in and the team looks good. Junior QB Denard "Nard-Dog (or Shoelace I guess)" Robinson has been taking snaps under center and is looking pretty good. The team is learning the new schemes and showing that they can transition to a new coaching staff smoothly. Hopefully this is actually the case and they come out in September bigger and better than ever. The "Spring Game" will be held April 16th at The Big House. Hoke has made it clear that it won't be an actual game (not enough bodies) but they will definitely run drills and put on a bit of a show for the fans.

DETROIT RED WINGS: BACK IN THE PLAYOFFS

The Wings are in the NHL playoffs for the 20th consecutive season. They clinched the Central Division the other night with a win over the Minnesota Wild. They will most likely be the 2nd seed in the West behind the Vancouver Canucks, President Trophy winners. The Wings have been in the playoffs for the majority of my life and them not making would be like Michigan running out of the tunnel on a fall Saturday not wearing the Maize and Blue... THROWBACK JERSEYS FOR THE MAIZE AND BLUE Michigan will be wearing throwback unis against Notre Dame at the Big House on Sept. 10 in the first night game in Michigan Stadium history. While no pictures have been released yet, it appears they have been described as having numbers on the side of the helmet and a Block M's on the front of the jerseys. We shall see... Seems pretty cool though. I'm always up for spicing things up a little bit, as long as its a one-time thing. Can't hurt to pay homage to previous teams. Notre Dame will be wearing throwbacks as well. If I were to guess this is definitely a brain-child of Adidas (both ND and UofM are Adidas schools).

Pistons... Meh...retired Dennis Rodman's jersey...I guess that was cool.

NCAA FROZEN FOUR

The Michigan Hockey team has advanced to the Frozen Four after defeating Nebraska-Omaha in OT and Colorado College out in St. Louis two weeks ago. They now face North Dakota in the national semifinals in St. Paul, Minnesota. They play tomorrow (April 7th) night at 8:30pm. The game will be on ESPN2. I think Michigan definitely has a strong enough team to beat North Dakota, but it will be tough. North Dakota is the current No. 1 team in the country and were preseason No. 2 behind Boston College. In the other semi-final, Notre Dame faces off against Minnesota-Duluth. The championship game will be Saturday night. Hopefully I will have a reason to celebrate this weekend. This is certainly a busy time for sports. This was all just a few points and well known stuff already but I thought I would just do some writing. I will probably post a post-Frozen Four post in the next few days. Hopefully it is a celebratory one. If not...well...lets just hope we don't have to deal with that. Until later... Here's Red Berenson in the good ole days... Cheers, Kevin

Its Been a While Vol. 2

Between my brother Ryan pointing out it has been a while and my lack of interest in reading/writing for classes, time for a post...

I will admit that my internet social networking/writing has been more focused on Twitter as of late. But, nonetheless, write I shall.

There is so much to write about, so I will try to spread it out over the next few days. That, and topics that have been beat to death will be barely touched on. So...Topic Number 1...

The Big Chill

Probably the most fun I have had at a sporting event in a long time. "The Big Chill" pitted the University of Michigan Hockey Team against Michigan State in front of 113,411 people at Michigan Stadium. A whole Wikipedia article can be found here...

I just wanted to say how much fun that game was. I unfortunately had to do back-to-back all nighters because of it. But you know what? It was totally worth it. The atmosphere was amazing. The game was awesome (whenever Michigan wins it is awesome). And, to be frank, I don't think there was a moment throughout the game where I wasn't smiling. It was just an absolute blast and I enjoyed hearing Athletic Director Dave Brandon mention the idea of having a game like that every four years or so. Now if only we could get the Wings to come play in the Big House...

GATOR BOWL

Michigan went up against Mississippi State on New Years Day in Jacksonville. Only one team showed up to play. Final Score: Mississippi State - 52 Michigan - 14 Bye Bye Rich Rod.

I think what made me the most mad about this game was you could clearly tell Rich Rod just gave up. His facial expressions. His decisions throughout the game. I just really don't feel like ranting forever. So...on another note...

BRADY HOKE!

Brady Hoke was named the successor to Rich Rodriguez about a week after Coach Rodriguez was fired. After previously coaching at San Diego State and Ball State, he returns to Ann Arbor, where he coached under Lloyd Carr and Gary Moeller. While he wasn't my first choice, I think he was the best option. Obviously I would have loved to get Jim Harbaugh, but that was not an option. Coach Hoke is a former coach who knows the Midwest, the Big 10, and Michigan Football. WELCOME COACH HOKE!

Michigan Basketball

I've only been to one game this year, but I have watched most of them on television at the very least. And, I am just going to list off a few thoughts that come to mind with this team.

1. Young
2. Live and Die by the 3
3. Evan Smotrycz needs to go by "Mr. Smots"
4. Black McLimans is McLiman in your window
5. Tim Hardaway Jr. is getting better, still not great
6. Darius Morris is good, but needs to pass the freaking ball
7. If you don't think John Beilein is a good coach, you don't know basketball.
8. They're good, but just can't finish
9. See number 1
10. Thursday is going to be rough...

Until next time...

I am really going to try and write more. It would probably help considering I am an English Major and all. I think with the next post I'll focus on the pros some. And I'm gonna do a music post soon...its been a while. Until then...

Cheers,

Kevin

My Interaction with Sparky

Considering we lost one of the great managers of the game today, I thought I'd share a story of the time I met Sparky...

It was sometime around the age of 9 or 10 that I was really getting into baseball. My parents decided to send me to the UofM Baseball Camp (I think coached by Geoff Zahn at the time) and I was psyched. Sometime around the third day we were all eating our lunches in the bleachers, and all of a sudden everyone rushed to the field. There was a large group around this guy and I had no idea what was going on. I decided to walk over and see what all of the commotion was about. After making my way to centerfield I saw who it was...Sparky Anderson. I knew that this guy had coached the Tigers to the World Series in 1984, but at the time I really knew little else. I did not know about the Big Red Machine. I did not know about Johnny Bench. I knew about Ken Griffey Jr, but not Sr. I knew of Alan Trammel and Kirk Gibson and the rest of the '84 crew, but I don't think I realized the magnitude of who I was seeing. Sparky had us line-up around him so he could talk to us about baseball and life and a few other things. Afterwards he asked if anyone wanted autographs....shoot. It was then that I realized that I had nothing for him to autograph. I was wearing a dark navy blue Michigan shirt and hat. My baseball pants were not an option. My glove certainly was not an 0ption. And, it wasn't like I carried a pad of paper around with me at all times. So, at that very moment, I decided I could at least meet the guy. I stood in line, and when it came my turn, Sparky asked, "Son, what would you like me to sign." I replied, "Mr. Anderson, I don't have anything with me to sign, but I was hoping to just shake your hand." Sparky stopped, looked at me, and smiled. He told me that I was the most polite kid he had ever met and that he couldn't believe that all I wanted was a handshake. He kneeled down, gave me a hug, and told me to never change. As corny as this probably sounds, I took those words to heart. Obviously my family raising me has had an impact on that, but, I do think that story really did affect my life. So, today, I'd like to honor one of the greats. We all know that he hopped over the chalk-line on his way through the pearly gates.

RIP Sparky

Cheers,

Kevin

Well That Sucked

So, Saturday sucked. Nothing like getting absolutely beat down in your own stadium. I haven't felt like that in a while. Even last year...at least with Ohio State I was expecting it. I guess the worst part was probably how MSU took over Ann Arbor for a full 24-hour period. If I hear GO GREEN - GO WHITE one more time...gahhhhhh. OK, vent session over. Now that it is Thursday, I am moving on to Saturday's game. Michigan hosts Iowa this Saturday and celebrates Homecoming. Nothing like watching the alumni twirlers. Iowa was a pre-season favorite to win the Big Ten Title. They are 4-1 on the season, their only loss coming to Arizona on the road. I made the trip out to Iowa last year for the game and am hoping for a little revenge. If Michigan rebounds and wins the game this weekend, they will be bowl-eligible for te first time since 2007. Denard Robinson apparently had a Tebow-esque post-game speech on Saturday. If he really wants to prove himself, and get back in the Heisman Trophy race, he needs to bounce back and show the country who he is.

Prediction: Michigan - 34 Iowa - 27

Hopefull all goes accordingly and next week I can start predicting what bowl we'll be in. GO BLUE!

Cheers,

Kevin

One is Silver and the Other's Gold

The Detroit Red Wings have started their exhibition season and are getting closer and closer to dropping the puck on another run at the Stanley Cup. The Wings have made the playoffs 19 straight seasons, the longest stretch in the NHL and one of the longest in all of American professional sport. Detroit's off-season was highlighted by the signing of Livonia's own Mike Modano. Modano is a solid veteran addition to the team. He clearly is shooting for that last chance at a championship and finds himself with a solid opportunity with the Wings.

The Wings also re-signed Jiri Hudler after his one-stint in the KHL. This unfortunately provides me with a bit of a problem. While Hudler was with the Wings, he was my favorite player. Much like most of Detroit, my favorite Red Wing was this guy. Once he retired, I decided Jiri Hudler was my Red Wing. It was only confirmed after his general clowning at the Stanley Cup Celebration. But then, he left us. Last season I was forced to pick a new Red Wing...



I went with the young gun Jimmy Howard. I decided he's an up-and-coming star and that he was worth supporting. He also went to Ann Arbor Pioneer (best high school ever) and then this happened...



HE INSTANTLY BECOMES MY FAVORITE!

So, I'm in a pickle. I love Jiri and his shenanigans. But, Jimmy Howard is cool as hell. What do I do? Obviously I support them both. I'm reminded of the old kid's song/saying, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold." But, they can't both be my favorite....

Decisions decisions...

Cheers,

Kevin

Nard Dog...Nailin It

Because I suck and just haven't written a "new" post in such a long time...I figure this is a solid subject to write on. First off, let it be known that I've been referring to Denard Robinson as 'Nard Dog since last season...mostly in reference to this...



Denard has been running all over every team Michigan has played so far this season. It began with this...



then this...



then came this...



and most recently this...



The campus has Denard-Fever. T-Shirts...Signs...shoelaces untied...ESPN's Sportsnation filmed in Ann Arbor last week and everyone, myself included, had the fever. Some might suggest that the only prescription is more cow bell, but I would say its untied shoelaces, dreadlocks, and MORE NARD DOG.

While I do think the hype is getting a bit out of hand, he is pretty damn good. Michigan is 4-0 going into Big Ten play against IU this weekend. Is it weird that when I think of games against IU, all I think of is Antwaan Randle El? Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next few weeks. After this week, Michigan plays MSU at home, Iowa at home, has a bye week, then off to Happy Valley to take on the Nittany Lions. The month of October will be the real test. Hopefully all goes well. GO BLUE!

Cheers,

Kevin

PS: Just want to salute Coach Rich Rodriguez for his Lion King reference the other day...well done sir...well done.

Football Oh How I've Missed Thee

This post was intended for almost a month ago...enjoy it anyway...

Ladies and gentleman, it is almost officially here...

No, Shark Week already happened. No, The Tigers have already thrown in the towel. I'm talking about football. Sure the NFL has started its exhibition games, and the AFL just had its Arena Bowl the other night. But, I'm talking about the real deal. College football starts September 2nd and the NFL starts officially September 11th.

I've been getting by all summer by watching videos like this...



Football season is always my favorite part of the year. The Lions are undefeated. Michigan has a chance to rebound. And we get to spend another 4 months arguging over whether or not there should be a playoff in college football. Good luck to all teams and GO BLUE!

Cheers,

Kevin