Kelvin Grady to stay at Michigan

As a slot WR on the FOOTBALL TEAM

WOW! Can't say I saw this one coming.

He was a highly recruited Spread offense RB/WR in high school. We will see how it works.

So not Paulus, but a different PG. Hilarious.

Paulus to Play for the Orange

Greg Paulus, once the starting Point Guard for Coach K at Duke has chose to play QB for Syracuse.

Great choice for all involved.

Michigan seemed to be a stretch, but Cuse should work. He is a hometown kid who should at the very least get more than the 30,000 fans that had been attending Orange home games this season.

Should be interesting to see if he has being a division 1 QB in him.

Which Bowl Will Michigan Play in in 2013

I have absolutely no idea.....

but, the people at Navy know where they are playing. They have already signed saying they would play in the Armed Forces Bowl in 2013. Just seems a bit strange to me.

For what it's worth they also will be playing in the Texas Bowl this season. They have already agreed to that too.

Navy has made 6 straight Bowls, and as long as they remain eligible not only will they make more Bowl Games, but they will be able to order their tickets on priceline YEARS AHEAD!

Kellen Lewis Booted Out of Indiana Program

Indiana's one star player has been kicked off the team. He had set 16 school records at the quarterback position, and was looking into playing Wide Receiver in the fall.

Lewis was going to be a senior in the fall, if he transfers it will have to be down a division.

Athletic Director Fred Glass said Wednesday, "Today's action underscores that no individual student-athlete, regardless of talent or popularity, is above the expectations of Indiana University,"

It definitely appears that way, Indiana football doesn't have much talent, in fact, he was pretty much it.

Threet decides on......

Arizona State, not a bad choice either. Lots of good looking women, insanely good weather, plus a good education.

Great place to be a career backup.

ACC/BIG 10 Challenge Schedule Released

Michigan State at UNC in "National Title Game Rematch"

The schedule for the 11th annual ACC/Big 10 Challenge has been set. Could this be the year for the Big 10 to finally break through and win this event? Its obviously too early to tell. There are still 7 months before the games so lets just look at the match-ups for now.

November 30: Penn St. @ Virginia

December 1: Maryland @ Indiana
MSU @ UNC
Northwestern @ NC State
Virginia Tech @ Iowa
Wake Forest @ Purdue

December 2: Boston College @ Michigan
Duke @ Wisconsin
Florida St. @ Ohio St.
Illinois @ Clemson
Minnesota @ Miami (Fla)

Paulus confirms UM scholarship offer

ESPN reports this morning that UM and has offered him a scholarship to come compete for the starting QB job.

Greg Paulus The Wolverine???

even stranger than that, Wolverine Quarterback??

Duke Point Guard Greg Paulus was in Ann Arbor Tuesday to talk to coach Rich Rodriguez about the possibilities of playing for the Michigan football team in the fall.

Paulus started at the point guard position for 3 seasons before being sent to the bench this past season. He was highly recruited out of High School as a record setting QB.

50,000 turn out for UM Spring Game

Top Units on both sides of the ball look solid

After a 3-9 season the fans of most college football teams become apathetic or disenfranchised but the fans of UM came out to prove to Coach Rich Rodriguez that their program is like no other in the country.

Over 10,000 fans arrived as early as 7:00AM to get a rare look inside the Wolverines locker room as it would look on a game day. Many waited for over an hour only to be turned away so that the locker room could be used for its true purpose.

The fans were then able to see some stars of the past in the first annual Alumni Flag Football Game. Notable participants including Rick Leach, Aaron Shea, Andy Mignery, Jay Riemersma, Anthony Thomas and Larry Foote took the field while other notable alumni such as Jake Long, Jon Jansen, LaMarr Woodley, Mike Hart, Steve Breaston and Desmond Howard looked on.

It was then time for the main attraction as the Wolverines took the walk down the tunnel for a highly anticipated Spring Game. BL and I were there for two things; one was to see freshman QB Tate Forcier run RichRod's offense and the other was to see how the defense that underperformed at times last year would look this year.

My take on Forcier is that he represents a QB who is FAR better equipped to run the spread offense. On foot he displays speed and has the ability to make defenders miss. He throws an accurate, catchable pass including his deep throws. Though his arm did not appear to be exceptionally strong he isn't Chad Pennington either. Defenses will have to respect his abilities which should open up room for UM's other skill players.

The first team D looked solid.... but they were playing the second team offense being led by David Cone who is, at best, the 4th string QB.

Overall this team looks like it will fit into Rich Rodriguez's general pattern where his first year is poor win-loss wise and the team makes a mid-level bowl in his second year. There were fans drinking the 10-2 this year kool-aid in attendance but I'm not one of them. I'm expecting a 7 or 8 win season with an appearance in a solid bowl game.

Michigan State Season In Review

Despite the disappointing finish to the season Monday Night, the Michigan State Spartans had a tremendous season. They had many players play well above expectations, won a ton of road games, and beat some very good teams. In the NCAA tournament they beat the best two teams in the Big East, which was no doubt the best conference in America this season.

The Michigan State Spartans had what many would call a disappointing non-conference performance. They did beat Oklahoma State,Kansas and Texas pretty handily, but had two bad losses to a young Maryland team, and then got demolished (for the first time) at Ford Field by North Carolina. The Spartans learned a lot about their team though early on. They learned that incoming Freshman Forwards Delvon Roe and Dreymond Green both would be able to contribute more than Coach Izzo had anticipated. They also learned that this team was not the same without Goran Suton, and that the team is more successful when Point Guard Kalin Lucas is a scorer and not a facilitator.

State opened up Big Ten play with a road game @ undefeated Minnesota. The Spartans won that game easily, and would go on to 8-1 road record in conference play. Michigan State would end up 15-3 in 18 conference games, 4 games ahead of the 2nd place Purdue Boilermakers. It seemed nationally that the focus on the Spartans was the fact that they had some bad losses in conference play (PSU/NW @ home and OSU in the BTT), not the fact that they were 8-1 on the road, or 4 games above the rest of the competition. Come tourney time, the Spartans would prove that they had gained strength throughout the season.

Then came the NCAA Tournament. MSU was awarded a 2 seed for their efforts. In the first round they won easily, as they should vs an overmatched Robert Morris squad. They would move on to face a talented USC team coming off a Pac 10 Tourney Title. The Spartans would prevail vs the Trojans behind the timely scoring splurge coming from Travis Walton jumpshots.

That would move the Spartans into the Sweet 16 vs an improved Kansas team. The Jayhawks would prove to be a very tough opponent, leading by 9 points at Halftime. Izzo would then switch the guard matchups defensively and Senior Travis Walton would go on to shut down Sharon Collins in the 2nd half. Kalin Lucas would hit a "and 1" leaning jumpshot in the last minute of the game to win it for the Spartans.

Then would come the elite 8. Going into the Elite 8 the Spartans were the longshot (vegas odds) amongst the teams remaining. That was understandable because they were facing the overall #1 seed in the Louisville Cardinals. This game was where Izzo shined particularly. He forced his team to slow down, all season they tried to run, and for this one game he knew the slower the better. The Spartans held the Cardinals team to an unbelievable 52 points and won easily in the 2nd half. ON TO THE FINAL 4 FOR THE 5TH TIME IN 11 YEARS.

Once they got there they would face a Uconn team led by 7'3 center Hasheem Thabeet. This would prove to be a very tough game, but the Spartans game plan of shutting down Uconn guard AJ Price (5/20) would prove to be key. The Spartans scored 82 points vs one of the best defensive teams in the nation. Raymar Morgan had 18 points, his first big game since his sickness halfway through the season.

MSU would go on to lose the National Championship to North Carolina. Marking the 2nd time that the Tarheels would beat Michigan State at Ford Field. This was one team that Izzo and MSU had no answers for.

Michigan State basketball in 2009 was the Big Ten Champ (by 4 games), the Big 12 champ (beat Kansas twice, Oklahoma State and Texas), and the Big East Champ (beating L'ville and Uconn in the NCAA Tournament). Izzo once again proved his tournament prowess. MSU should control recruiting in Detroit for the next 100 years (following what was an amazing weekend in "THE D"). Maybe most importantly the Spartans return a strong squad next season.

Incoming recruits:
6'10 C Garrick Sherman (compared to Goran Suton with better post moves)
6'9 PF Derrick Nix (lost 40 lbs Sr Year, Won Mr. Basketball (MI) needs to lose 20 more lbs)

Michigan Basketball Season in Review

UM hoops enjoys best season in 11 years in 2009

Fans of the UM hoops squad have had few reasons to cheer over the last decade. Any winning they did was negated by NCAA sanctions. Coaches Ellerbee and Amaker cleaned the program up, but the lack of winning led to more frustrations. Coach Beilein was brought in to restore UM hoops to its place near the top of the Big 10. In his second year, Beilein guided the Wolverines to a 21-14 record including wins against UCLA, Duke, Illinois and a NCAA tournament victory against Clemson before loosing to Blake Griffin led Oklahoma.

There were down periods during the season, most notably a 2-7 stretch in late January and early February and a 9-9 Big 10 record.

Michigan losses Seniors C.J. Lee, David Merritt, and Jevohn Shepperd as well as Sophomore Kelvin Grady who announced his intention to transfer on April 2. Michigan is bringing in a solid recruiting class led by SG Matt Vogrich (IL) and oversized PG Darius Morris (CA). The Wolverines will also be adding much needed interior help in PF's Blake McLimans (MA) and Jordan Morgan(MI).

Michigan will be returning its top 5 scorers including First Team All Big 10 forward Manny Harris and Third Team All Big 10 forward DeShawn Sims.

All in all with the additions being made and the experience gained this year the Wolverines should be among the top tier of the Big 10 next year and have a legitimate shot at making the Sweet 16.

Recruiting Link: http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/school?schoolId=130&season=2009&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fschool%3fschoolId%3d130%26season%3d2009

UNC'S PERFECT HALF CRUSHES MSU

The Tarheels decided early on that they were going to win the National Title. North Carolina did everything they possibly could do in the first half of the game to guarantee they would be crowned NCAA Champs. They went on to score 55 points and have a 21 point lead at the half. Wayne Ellington was unguardable, Tyler Hansbrough was hitting 17 foot fadeaways, and Ty Lawson had 7 first half STEALS!

Michigan State made it easy for the Tarheels by turning the ball over early and often. Travis Walton played as if he was a freshman, Suton shot an airball on a wide open 17 footer, and Kalin Lucas was playing too fast even for the lightning quick Point Guard. Chris Allen finished the game 0/8 from the field (0/7 3pt). It was simply put a bad day for the Green and White.

North Carolina's first half was the best half I have ever seen. Their defense was incredible, and their offense was essentially perfect. To go even further, the Tarheels tourney was a dominating performance. The only were challenged once (LSU) in the 2nd half, and that game even was won easily. The closest margin was 12 points and that was versus Oklahoma, and that game was a beat down.

All the credit goes to the Tarheels. Lawson, Hansbrough, and Ellington all could have been 1st round picks last year and they returned to school to do exactly what they did last night. They lost one of their starters in the preseason and never let that slow them down. Their performance last night was one of legend and the Tarheels had a special season. They went a little under the radar, as most of the attention went to the top Big East teams this season, but UNC knew all along they were the best team in the nation.

Both teams had great seasons, and the Spartans have a great future ahead of them. What a great weekend in Detroit, and what a tournament. So sad to know that college basketball is over now.

FINALS PREVIEW

I think by now everyone knows this game is being played 92 miles from East Lansing, in the biggest site ever to host a Final Four. The crowd will be crazy, and the Spartans will be ready. The Tarheels will still be the heavy favorites, and deservedly so. They have been at the top for a long time, and are led by Seniors. This should be a title game not to be forgotten for another 30 years or so (this is the 30th anniversary of Magic vs Bird in the NCAA Finals).

BL and CP are going to discuss the game in full detail, position by position and even further.

We will Start with a dandy. The Point Guard Battle. Big Ten POY Kalin Lucas and ACC POY Ty Lawson.

BL: Ty Lawson is the best PG in America. He has controlled the game for season's now. When you play Carolina you know that you have to get back and be focused on every possession or Lawson will either be laying it in, or will be dishing off to a big man for a layup. Kalin Lucas is trying to be everything that Lawson is, and to be honest he is close. Lucas' game is further along at this stage of his career than Lawson was as a Sophomore. Lucas not only runs the ball up the court and gets easy buckets, but from time to time plays off the ball and runs around screens like he is RIP Hamilton. His game is more diverse than Lawson, but that doesn't necessarily mean better. This matchup will be crucial in this game, and I think the edge goes to Lawson, but that doesn't mean that Lucas cannot lead the Spartans to victory. EDGE: Carolina, but barely.

CP: Most experts agree that to win the NCAA tournament you must have great guard play. These two teams are led by two of the best point guards in the nation. UNC's Ty Lawson averaged 15.9 points and 6.5 assists while being voted ACC POY. He combines A sweet shooting stroke with unparallelled ability to get to the basket. Kalin Lucas was the Big Ten POY while averaging 14.8 points and 4.4 assists per game. He is the player in the country most often compared to Lawson. EDGE: Carolina.

Now to the play of the wing players (SG/SF)

BL: First lets identify the players being considered by both teams. For Carolina, Ellington and Danny Green. The Spartans have Travis Walton and Raymar Morgan starting, and Durrell Summers and Chris Allen backing them up.
The TarHeels have the names, in fact most casual fans around the nation have no idea who Travis Walton is, and Morgan has been sick/injured for the 2nd half of the season (producing very little before Final 4 explosion). The Spartans from time to time are led by a backup, at many points in this season the offense of MSU has been ran for Summers to get open looks from the outside, and ask Louisville how he has done with those shots. For Carolina, this team is tremendously talented, but moves to a special team when Ellington is on. When Ellington is UNC's best player, they are at their best. Tomorrow will not be one of those days. Travis Walton is the NCAA's version of Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest. Players have nightmares about facing him. Sharon Collins was shut down after Izzo switched assignments at halftime, then T-Will of Lville was next (made 1 FG all game). AJ Price shot 5/20 for Uconn. Travis Walton is amazing, and I have a hard time thinking that it will be any different, even with the talent level of Wayne Ellington. Raymar Morgan makes plays off pick and roll and early offense, Summers hits big 2nd half shots, and Travis Walton plays his normal amazing defense. EDGE: for tomorrow MSU.

CP:On the wing UNC is led by Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. These two talented Tar Heels average a combined 28.5 points, 9.5 boards, and 5.5 assists per contest while playing the type of defense demanded of the by Coach Roy Williams and logging major minutes.MSU is led by Raymar Morgan and Travis Walton on the wing. Morgan is probably the Spartans best athlete, but had been struggling with injuries. He showed why he is considered by many to be the key for the Spartans by putting up 18 points and 9 boards against UConn on Saturday. Travis Walton is a three All Big-Ten defensive player and was the defensive POY this year. He routinely shuts down the oppositions best player. His scoring has exploded in the tournament, but can be considered extra. MSU holds a considerable advantage in depth on the wing in Durrell Summers and Chris Allen who average a combined 17.4 points a game. EDGE: Spartans, but not by much.

Now to the Big Men of the two teams (and there are no shortage)

BL: Once again Carolina has the names (although Goran Suton is getting a lot of love lately). Tyler Hansbrough is one of the most decorated college players of all time. He is at the top of the ACC scoring list, and has made more FT than any player ever. He is also near the top of the scoring list in the NCAA Tournament. Hansbrough has help in fellow forwards Deon Thompson and Ed Davis. The Spartans have more big men that see the floor than any team in the nation. Playing 4 bigs 10+ minutes almost every night, and 5 on occasion (not to mention their 6'8 SF R Morgan). Goran Suton leads the way in order of production and is very versatile. He sets great screens, shoots the ball very well and defends in the post. Freshman Delvon Roe and Dre' Green have been great in the final month of the season, and seem to always have fresh legs with Izzo's substitution patterns. I love the Spartans big men, and even more how Izzo uses them. The problem for the Spartans lies in history. Hansbrough has dominated the Spartans in the past. I have no reason to think there will be anything different in Hansbrough's last game as a TarHeel. EDGE: Tarheels, although the Spartans bigs will produce as well

CP:On the inside UNC is led by 2008 national POY Tyler Hansbrough and Deon Thompson. Hansbrough followed up his POY season by averaging 21.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while getting to the free throw line almost 9 times per game. Thompson is a solid defender and chips in 11 points and 6 boards per contest. The Spartans are led by senior Goran Suton and freshman Delvon Roe. Suton is averaging a double double in the tournament so far. Solid depth is provided by Flint native Marquise Gray and Saginaw native Draymond Green and Coach Izzo knows exactly how to use them all. EDGE: The Spartans are deeper but the edge goes to UNC.

All the little things (You know little, like usually game deciding)

BL: There are many things other than the starting lineups and how they look on paper that decide basketball games. This game will be no different. Both teams are led by tremendous coaches, I will consider that a wash. The environment tomorrow will be that of legend, there has never been a crowd like this one, and it will be predominantly GREEN. This crowd will have an impact as long as the Spartans don't get down early. Probably the biggest advantage in the game will be the Spartans bench, and how they use it. They will have bigs run in and out of the game all game long, and they will stay attacking Hansbrough and Thompson throughout. UNC has dealt all season with teams with better depth, and it has rarely effected them. The Tarheels have 3 players who could have been 1st round picks last season, and all 3 of them came back to be a Championship team in 2009. Although I think that there are ways for UNC to attack all these disadvantages, the advantage in these categories has to go to the Spartans. EDGE: Spartans.

CP:There are many things in favor of the Spartans; the crowd, their depth, and an underdog mentality being the three biggest. Coaching is a definite wash between these two future Hall of Famers. State must keep it close and keep the crowd in it while getting the bench involved to overcome the edge in top end talent that the Tar Heels hold. UNC's season will be a failure without a National Title. They were the favorites as soon as the three first round picks returned. All the pressure is on them. EDGE:MSU



Final Thoughts and Game Winner

BL: This should be a game that will be talked about for a very long time. The Spartans were over-looked throughout the season as they did nothing but win road games all year long. The Tarheels have been on top for what seems like a decade now. Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough may be the two biggest names in the NCAA outside of Blake Griffin. Kalin Lucas has a chance to be just as special, but at this point has not quite made it there. MSU appears to be on a mission, but so does Carolina.

The actual game: There are a few keys to WHAT I BELIEVE WILL DECIDE THE GAME. First is the fact that Carolina is their best when Ellington is going strong. I believe that Walton (and his teammates) will make things very difficult for him on the perimeter. I also believe that the Spartans will attack Hansbrough on the interior early on, and hopefully for the Spartan faithful they will pick up some early fouls on Mr. Perfect. Ty Lawson will be himself, but the options of kicking out to Green and Ellington should not be as open as they usually are. On offense the Spartans will need to push back on the Tarheels some, as the old theory of those who run don't like to guard teams that run against them. But as they did vs both Louisville and Uconn the Spartans will need to be very efficient when they run, because if they miss they will be quickly inbounding the ball as UNC will turn those mistakes into points. Carolina likes to swarm and pressure defensively anywhere inside of the three point line, and the Spartans have been terrific with the extra pass in this NCAA tournament.

I predict that the Tarheels will get 20+ from Hansbrough, but he will be tested on defense. Ty Lawson will be forced to prove he really is a 40% 3pt shooter, and Green and Ellington will be forced to shoot their jumpshots with a hand in their face unlike vs the rest of the teams they have played so far in this tourney. Kalin Lucas will have to show that he is the player that Spartans fans think he is, and WALTON HAS TO BE the defender he has been.

I think the Spartans will do all the needed things to pull out the game, and they will do so, and win the game in the last 7 minutes of the game. Spartans bring home the title and more people call into work Tuesday in Detroit than ever before. (BL)

CP: UNC has been considered the elite team this year. Led by NBA level talent in Lawson, Hansbrough, and Ellington the Heels have been rated near the top all season. MSU has been considered to be the top team in the Big 10 all year, but this is a year that the conference has been considered to be weak. They had struggles with injuries in the middle of the year, but once they got healthy they began to show the nation who they are. They have a coach who is able to motivate them for any opponent and can use the "Us against the World" mentality as literally no "expert" in the country has picked them to be anything other than the sacrifice in another UNC coronation. The Spartans have defeated two number one seeds in the tournament and will make it three tonight..... MSU 74 UNC 69

MSU Reaches Finals

Michigan State went into the Final Four with a "home-court advantage", in case you some how had not heard. The crowd was amazing, and the scene was fabulous, but the play of the Spartans was even better. The game was tough, and the Huskies were a very talented team, but this Michigan State team looks like a team on a mission. People keep questioning this team's talent, and giving Izzo all the credit, but this team showed its strength today.

The game went back and forth early in the first half. Uconn seemed not to miss for the first ten minutes or so of the game. The Spartans were giving up too many inside shots, and missing many open shots. In the final 10:00 of the first half Michigan State tightened up and forced Uconn into tougher shots, and Freshman Korie Lucious scored 11 points very quickly. When Forward Delvon Roe made a nice post shot with :05 seconds remaining in the half the Spartans took a 38-36 lead into the locker room. Right around this time I believe every true Spartan fan knew what was coming in the 2nd half. In the first half the Spartans got pretty much everything they wanted, but just didn't cash in. The 2nd half would proove to be much different.

Uconn came out the locker room focused, maybe more so than the Spartans. A quick 6-0 run in the first minute of the 2nd half woke up the Spartans very quickly. From that point on MSU played tough. Kalin Lucas stepped up, Raymar Morgan showed up for the first time in what seems like a full season, and the depth came into play again as Saginaw native Dre' Green made a big impact. By the time Durrell Summers put Uconn's Stanley Robinson on a poster by dunking all over his face, MSU fans knew they would be playing on Monday. Michigan State held off a late UConn push to win 82-73. The Spartans will face off vs the Mighty UNC Tarheels on Monday, and we all know the pundits are going to tell us the Tarheels have "TOO MUCH TALENT" for the Spartans to prevail. But lets be honest, it's a whole lot more fun THIS WAY.