Sorry for the long gap between posts. Work has been busy. Let's get to it.
Although its not football season, perhaps some of the biggest news of the football season came on Wednesday. For those that don't follow recruiting, Wednesday was national signing day, when high school seniors are allowed to sign a letter of intent to accept an athletic scholarship in football. Getting good recruiting classes has shown to be the key to success on the football field -- teams that normally recruit well generally have better records and are better teams. There are schools who don't recruit at the top of the pack who are still successful, such as Boise State, TCU, BYU, but its almost a given that Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Florida recruit well.
For MSU, all players that had verbally committed to Michigan State signed their letters. This includes star player William Gholston, who has generated a plethora of press over his abilities on defense. Dantonio has stated Gholston will play a combination of Outside Linebacker and Defensive End. Other highlights include QB Joe Boisture from Saline, RB Nick Hill from Chelsea, and CB Mylan Hicks from Detroit's Renaissance High School. The recruiting class has been rated around #30 in the country, which isn't great, but definitely a step up from past years' classes.
It's interesting to note that Boisture's and Hill's HS are right in Michigan territory -- both are within 30 minutes drive of Michigan Stadium. Additionally, Saline HS (where I went, woohoo!) now has a scholarship QB at both Michigan State (Boisture) and at Michigan (remember Nick Sheridan?)
BUT WAIT, WHAT ABOUT BASKETBALL?!?!?!
The Spartans traveled to rival Michigan last week, which pretty much was seen by every basketball fan in the state. To summarize, it was close all game, and Kalin Lucas drained yet another big-time shot with 3 seconds remaining in the game. On the other end of the court, with 1.5 seconds left, forward DeShawn Sims tried to tip in an inbounds pass for the win, but it rattled off the rim. There was debate about a foul that should have been called on Durrell Summers for grabbing Sims' jersey on the way up (that did happen) but Sims also pushed off barely before the shot. Additionally, Lucas was pushed, with two hands, by Manny Harris on the other end of the court before his game-winner. I'm not trying to justify anything, but it would be grasping at straws to expect the refs to call a foul on that final play.
MSU played Wisconsin on Tuesday at Madison. To summarize, it was miserable. Wisconsin under Bo Ryan has developed a reputation for playing a slow, time-control style of basketball. The players are coached not to try to make a play until there is 10 seconds left on the shot clock, unless the defense leaves a man open. They have also developed a reputation for "flopping" on defense -- meaning slightly overreacting to contact to make a shove or elbow look worse than it actually is. More times than not, the refs will give them that call. As much bad mouthing as I have now given them, their style of play is within the rulebook of basketball. Bo Ryan knows how to run this system as a science and is one of the most successful coaches within Big Ten play. However, that has come at the expense of the respect of most fans in this league outside of Wisconsin state borders.
Michigan State went down by double-digits early and couldn't find anyone on the offensive end to answer Wisconsin's great shooting. Wisconsin ran rampant on the Spartans, improving Bo Ryan's record against Tom Izzo to 12-5. Izzo has not won in Madison since Bo Ryan took over. Adding injury to insult, Kalin Lucas sprained an ankle early in the second half and didn't return. He was questionable for tonight's game against Illinois, but Tom Izzo has said Lucas will see minutes. How many he can take on that ankle is to be determined on the court.
My take on the team: The Spartan's were bound to lose one sooner or later, after seeing their play at Minnesota and Michigan. It seems almost every Tom Izzo team gets a butt-kicking once a season or so. Last year, it was North Carolina -- that loss had a lot of people saying we were not a top ten team last year, which was proven false during the tournament. It is clear MSU will not run away with the Big Ten as it did last year -- road games remain at Illinois, Penn State, Indiana, and Purdue, with home games against Purdue, Ohio State, and Michigan. The schedule is back heavy and I think we will see at least 2 more losses in Big Ten play. My guess would be tonight at Illinois due to Lucas' injury and at Purdue. Wisconsin, Purdue, Ohio State, and Illinois are all tied for 2nd with 3 losses. The race at the end will be interesting.
Again, the basketball team takes on Illinois in Chambana tonight at 9, ESPN national coverage. Next game is on Tuesday against no. 7 Purdue -- same time, same channel.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Growing up
In case you missed it, MSU won a thriller at Minnesota earlier today. The team never lead in the game until about a minute and a half left. Biggest deficit was 13, the largest lead a Big Ten opponent had over the Spartans all year. All though on paper it doesn't seem like a huge win. Sure, its on the road in a hard place to play and Minnesota isn't at the top of the Big Ten standings right now, but something very interesting happened.
After the game, as he was leaving the court, Izzo had a few tears in his eyes. I can only speculate why, but most people have a hunch that it was because he was extremely proud of his team. At the post game interviews, Kalin Lucas told reporters Izzo had told him during a late timeout that there are certain moments that players achieve greatness (Something to that effect). Lucas answered with authority, as he drained the winning three with 1:27 left in the game, to put MSU up 65-62. After starting the game with a dismal FG%, Lucas finished with 22 points. Not to be outdone, Raymar Morgan, the team's notorious disappearing act, finished with 17 points. Morgan was integral during the Spartan's run in the second half. It looks like he has turned a corner as well -- he was (badly) called for his fourth foul with about 10 minutes left. He came in for the last 5 minutes or so and played aggressive on both ends of the court without fouling. Those who have seen a majority of games the last 4 years will tell you that is the first time he has showed that kind of control and passion. Ever.
MSU ended up with below a 40% FG percentage, but players stepped up when they had to. If you recall, Lucas was effectively called out by Izzo for his lack of leadership on the team. Morgan hasn't lead by example yet this year. Although it doesn't show up on the stat sheet Chris Allen is also becoming a much better player. Allen hit 4 threes and played noticeably good defense on a couple of talented Minnesota guards. Izzo called out the team after the Iowa game, saying they had a lot of growing up to do still. This win affected him in a powerful way, so hopefully we will that spark come March.
After the game, as he was leaving the court, Izzo had a few tears in his eyes. I can only speculate why, but most people have a hunch that it was because he was extremely proud of his team. At the post game interviews, Kalin Lucas told reporters Izzo had told him during a late timeout that there are certain moments that players achieve greatness (Something to that effect). Lucas answered with authority, as he drained the winning three with 1:27 left in the game, to put MSU up 65-62. After starting the game with a dismal FG%, Lucas finished with 22 points. Not to be outdone, Raymar Morgan, the team's notorious disappearing act, finished with 17 points. Morgan was integral during the Spartan's run in the second half. It looks like he has turned a corner as well -- he was (badly) called for his fourth foul with about 10 minutes left. He came in for the last 5 minutes or so and played aggressive on both ends of the court without fouling. Those who have seen a majority of games the last 4 years will tell you that is the first time he has showed that kind of control and passion. Ever.
MSU ended up with below a 40% FG percentage, but players stepped up when they had to. If you recall, Lucas was effectively called out by Izzo for his lack of leadership on the team. Morgan hasn't lead by example yet this year. Although it doesn't show up on the stat sheet Chris Allen is also becoming a much better player. Allen hit 4 threes and played noticeably good defense on a couple of talented Minnesota guards. Izzo called out the team after the Iowa game, saying they had a lot of growing up to do still. This win affected him in a powerful way, so hopefully we will that spark come March.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
A Defining Moment
Although the Men's Basketball team is off to a 6-0 big ten start, there is a HUGE controversy brewing in East Lansing. I'll try to be both thorough and concise...
Late in December, MSU applied for a patent, for the image that is in the top left of this post. The use of this logo would be as follows (from the patent status):
"educational services, namely, providing courses of instruction and continuing education at the college and graduate level and conducting summer camps and workshops for youth in the fields of athletics, music, and fine arts and crafts; entertainment services in the nature of organizing collegiate sporting events and competitions and conducting music concerts and arts festivals"
In short, it will be a representation of MSU, or a logo. Initially, many believed it would be an alternate logo they use for some merchandise (kind of like the old school, "gruff" sparty logo that's tattooed on Delvon Roe's Arm). However, a story printed on MLive.com today quoted an MSU employee saying it will be a "comprehensive package" and the result of 2 years of work between MSU and Nike.
Nike has been working with the university for a number of years as the jersey supplier for a number of sports. The basketball teams, in particular, have been a large focus of Nike's for a number of years -- the basketball team gets new, redesigned accents on their jerseys every couple years. However, their logo and color scheme has been consistent for years.
From what it sounds like, the old Spartan Helmet will be replaced by a different version of the helmet in April. Whether or not you agree with the move, it is a huge deal when an entire athletics department changes their logo. Sure, pro sports do it once in a while, but tradition is a huge part of the college experience. Any student to a university is introduced to the school's traditions first and foremost. The athletics logo is inevitably the face of the university. More people around the country and world see this logo before statistics of the student body, the number of faculty, the fruits of MSU research, or administrative decisions made by the President.
Here's my take on it: This is ridiculous. MSU athletics, including Mark Dantonio and Tom Izzo, have repeatedly cited tradition and history as the cornerstone of their programs. Coach Izzo has recent grads come back repeatedly to talk to his players and makes sure his grads and predecessors are in the loop as much as possible. The first thing Dantonio did when he got to campus was build an entire wing of a building honoring the great people related to the Spartan Football team's history. The Spartan helmet has been the face of our athletics department in arguably our most high profile era since we became the "Spartans" -- Tom Izzo's 5 final fours, Perles' 1988 Rose Bowl team, the recent resurgence of the football team under Mark Dantonio, and among all, the highest quality of education and administration that the university has seen.
A "new look" for MSU Athletics helps no one. It may help sell more T-shirts, water bottles, and posters, but at what cost? I might not survive a story that came out if Nike had a direct influence in changing our logo. Personally, I'm going to do what I can to voice my opinion to the athletics department. That means writing letters and emails, people. Sorry, but the whole "support a cause on facebook" doesn't accomplish anything -- Darfur still sucks, Breast Cancer groups don't cure breast cancer, and Global Warming hasn't slowed down. I encourage everyone who is against this change to let the administration know how they feel. Letters, petitions, emails, anything TANGIBLE that can be shown as dissent for the logo. Of course, the language that speaks the loudest for any university is money. I can imagine there may be longtime season-ticket holders who may not renew, supporters of different campus departments that will stop donating, and also cause a wave of disdain for MSU by its graduates.
This logo fiasco needs to either be cleared up by the administration, or it has the potential to drive a serious wedge in MSU's fanbase.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Quick Update!
Quick update before I head to bed...
All the football players that weren't kicked off the team or transferred that were thought to be involved in the Rather hall brawl are reinstated...for now. Dantonio made it clear that their privileges don't extend beyond team meetings. Here's the list:
Kicked off: Glenn Winston, Roderick Jenrette
Transferred: Ashton Leggett, Ishmyl Johnson, Bryden Trawick, Jamiihr Williams
Reinstated: Chris L. Rucker, Chris D. Rucker, Myles White, Mark Dell, BJ Cunningham, Donald Spencer, J'Michael Deane, Fred Smith
Note on Myles White: he was not charged in connection with the brawl, he got a MIP/UIP For pissing outside of the small planet.
Of the people we lost, Jenrette proved himself to be bad news, but he was a solid player. Ishmyl Johnson and Trawick had potential, but there's no telling if they would've panned out. I believe court proceedings were postponed until the end of February. I'll post here when I know more.
HOOPS NEWS: Izzo confirmed Dion Sims (True Freshmen Tight End) can practice with the BBall team. Sims is 6-5, 270 lbs-ish, which is quite a load for a basketball player. He may slim down if he's serious about playing. I'm sure right now he's relegated to the scout team (practice dummy) until he learns how to play Izzo-ball, but you may see him in limited minutes if we have a blow out going later in the season. A lot of people are comparing him to Matt Trannon, a former PF on the team (remember the mask?) who also played football, but I think Trannon was more highly sought as a recruit no the hardwood. Good luck to Dion!
All the football players that weren't kicked off the team or transferred that were thought to be involved in the Rather hall brawl are reinstated...for now. Dantonio made it clear that their privileges don't extend beyond team meetings. Here's the list:
Kicked off: Glenn Winston, Roderick Jenrette
Transferred: Ashton Leggett, Ishmyl Johnson, Bryden Trawick, Jamiihr Williams
Reinstated: Chris L. Rucker, Chris D. Rucker, Myles White, Mark Dell, BJ Cunningham, Donald Spencer, J'Michael Deane, Fred Smith
Note on Myles White: he was not charged in connection with the brawl, he got a MIP/UIP For pissing outside of the small planet.
Of the people we lost, Jenrette proved himself to be bad news, but he was a solid player. Ishmyl Johnson and Trawick had potential, but there's no telling if they would've panned out. I believe court proceedings were postponed until the end of February. I'll post here when I know more.
HOOPS NEWS: Izzo confirmed Dion Sims (True Freshmen Tight End) can practice with the BBall team. Sims is 6-5, 270 lbs-ish, which is quite a load for a basketball player. He may slim down if he's serious about playing. I'm sure right now he's relegated to the scout team (practice dummy) until he learns how to play Izzo-ball, but you may see him in limited minutes if we have a blow out going later in the season. A lot of people are comparing him to Matt Trannon, a former PF on the team (remember the mask?) who also played football, but I think Trannon was more highly sought as a recruit no the hardwood. Good luck to Dion!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
All About the Pentiums...
Computers are kind of required for anyone under the age of 50 nowadays. You can't be even remotely prepared for high school, let alone college, without basic knowledge of computers. However, there's some more advanced stuff that normal people would just not know about to make a PC run faster.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert. All of this is gathered from articles I have read, and my understanding of computers. I am not liable for any damage incurred due to misuse of your computer based on these tips. As always, if you are not comfortable with these processes and would rather an expert do it for you, by all means go with that. BACK UP YOUR SYSTEM BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY CHANGES TO IT!
Here's a side paragraph about the whole Mac vs. PC thing. Mac's are wonderful computers. The engineering behind them systems is solid, and they take advantage of the hardware's resources rather well. The trade-off for this, however, is twofold: The price and operating cost of them, and slightly less freedom with applications. A Mac will cost significantly more than a PC with the same parts and specs. Additionally, Mac's cannot be fixed as easy...but they don't have many problems. So trade off is there's a lot of small time commitments and costs associated with owning a PC, while Mac's may require a larger investment, but less often. I've seen that the operating life of both computers are relatively equal. For the rest of this post, I can only mainly speak to PC's, but there are a few general tips for both users.
First note: To find out your system specs, go to the control panel and look for the "System" icon. Its buried somewhere in there. Other times, find the C drive in My Computer, right-click, and check the properties.
Best tip I can give: If you have a laptop, you need to find a way to cool it down.
Sure, there is a fan that is designed to provide sufficient air flow to take the heat off the processor, but over time, no matter how careful you are with your computer, dust and dirt will make it's way into your machine, so it could use some help. For a lot of laptops, the vents and processor are located near the rear of the base, so try finding a laptop cooling station at best buy or something that has a fan or two near the back of the structure. These things can cost around 20 bucks. If you don't want to spend cash, just prop up the two back corners on anything you can find. I used a couple small pieces of corrugated cardboard taped together. I'm not an expert, so I have no proof it works, but it certainly seemed to help me.
Similarly, for desktops, make sure you give your system's fan the best chance possible. Make sure the holes in the side or back of your computer are away from walls, and free of dust. Buy a 4 dollar can of compressed air and take 5 minutes once a month. The bolder audience can open up the desktop and dust the entire inside GENTLY!!!!
Now then, what about the operating system? The biggest problem for computers slowing down is an exceeding amount of programs or processes running in the background. Whenever you install software, or security updates, or anything, it occasionally installs programs that are supposed to be "for convenience" but inevitably they pile up and before you know it, half of your computer's power is dedicated to running these programs you used once every week. A way to combat this is NEVER install any add-ons, toolbars, or third-party apps. Basically, whenever you install software, make sure no check boxes are checked except what is required to install software.
Another way to "clean up" is to look in the bottom corner of Windows. Find any icons that appear when you first start up. This includes AIM, Quick Launch anything, Customer support, etc. Anything besides your security software, mouse, internet, and basic stuff. Open up each one, and most times there is a preference that lets you disable "run on start up." This will save some power. Additionally, go to the start menu, and find "Run." Type in "msconfig" ... no quotations. Find the "Startup" tab. Find any programs that you don't want to run right away, and uncheck them. If you don't know what something is, google it. There are a lot of sites out there dedicated to cataloging process names, and giving a recommendation on whether it is required.
Another way to save some speed is to check out your security software. In my opinion, a lot of the shit they provide is completely unnecessary. Windows has a built in Firewall, you don't need a Norton firewall also. Antiphishing? Identity protection? Email Scanning? Not necessary. Gmail, Yahoo, school emails have built in scanning, Identity protection won't do anything except ask you if "YOU'RE SURE? RIGHT?" whenever you buy a jimmy john's sandwich online. Even pop-up blockers are built into internet browsers. Keep the basic stuff, disable everything else.
Internet browsers: Firefox hogs memory like crazy. If you're a normal internet user, use Google Chrome. You too, Apple users. Safari is sweet, but Chrome is faster and uses less resources. Operating system: Windows 7 should be used by anyone who is running Vista. It runs way smoother, for the same system requirements as Vista. So many people have had problems with Vista, many of which have been eliminated. Apparently, Microsoft actually started caring about their consumers now that Apple has taken over the universe.
The equivalent of the kid who lights fires in trash cans for the hell of it is "Desktop Windows Manager" This thing's sole purpose is to bring up that little window preview when you mouse over something on your taskbar (bottom of the screen). For this, it uses a MASSIVE amount of memory. Completely unnecessary unless you want the luxury. I'm pretty sure you can disable this like a normal program, or you can just use "task manager" (accessed by ctrl+alt+delete) to close it out at will. If you have a lot of memory on your computer, say 4GB or so, it won't hurt too much.
Memory: If you're buying a new computer, don't settle for anything less than 4GB unless you know how to install new memory yourself. 1GB is the minimum for Vista and 7, but this stuff gets outdated so fast, you should be good for several years with 4GB.
Hard Drives: Your computer will run faster if you use less hard drive space. Think about keeping it down to half of your total space available. If this isn't possible, invest in an external Hard drive. You can get a 1 TB (1000 GB) for under 100 bucks nowadays. Well worth it. Additionally, both Windows and Mac systems allow you to automatically backup any files or system information you want on a set time schedule.
Well, thats it for now. Good luck! By all means, if I am misinformed on some of this stuff, make it known!
Disclaimer: I am not an expert. All of this is gathered from articles I have read, and my understanding of computers. I am not liable for any damage incurred due to misuse of your computer based on these tips. As always, if you are not comfortable with these processes and would rather an expert do it for you, by all means go with that. BACK UP YOUR SYSTEM BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY CHANGES TO IT!
Here's a side paragraph about the whole Mac vs. PC thing. Mac's are wonderful computers. The engineering behind them systems is solid, and they take advantage of the hardware's resources rather well. The trade-off for this, however, is twofold: The price and operating cost of them, and slightly less freedom with applications. A Mac will cost significantly more than a PC with the same parts and specs. Additionally, Mac's cannot be fixed as easy...but they don't have many problems. So trade off is there's a lot of small time commitments and costs associated with owning a PC, while Mac's may require a larger investment, but less often. I've seen that the operating life of both computers are relatively equal. For the rest of this post, I can only mainly speak to PC's, but there are a few general tips for both users.
First note: To find out your system specs, go to the control panel and look for the "System" icon. Its buried somewhere in there. Other times, find the C drive in My Computer, right-click, and check the properties.
Best tip I can give: If you have a laptop, you need to find a way to cool it down.
Sure, there is a fan that is designed to provide sufficient air flow to take the heat off the processor, but over time, no matter how careful you are with your computer, dust and dirt will make it's way into your machine, so it could use some help. For a lot of laptops, the vents and processor are located near the rear of the base, so try finding a laptop cooling station at best buy or something that has a fan or two near the back of the structure. These things can cost around 20 bucks. If you don't want to spend cash, just prop up the two back corners on anything you can find. I used a couple small pieces of corrugated cardboard taped together. I'm not an expert, so I have no proof it works, but it certainly seemed to help me.
Similarly, for desktops, make sure you give your system's fan the best chance possible. Make sure the holes in the side or back of your computer are away from walls, and free of dust. Buy a 4 dollar can of compressed air and take 5 minutes once a month. The bolder audience can open up the desktop and dust the entire inside GENTLY!!!!
Now then, what about the operating system? The biggest problem for computers slowing down is an exceeding amount of programs or processes running in the background. Whenever you install software, or security updates, or anything, it occasionally installs programs that are supposed to be "for convenience" but inevitably they pile up and before you know it, half of your computer's power is dedicated to running these programs you used once every week. A way to combat this is NEVER install any add-ons, toolbars, or third-party apps. Basically, whenever you install software, make sure no check boxes are checked except what is required to install software.
Another way to "clean up" is to look in the bottom corner of Windows. Find any icons that appear when you first start up. This includes AIM, Quick Launch anything, Customer support, etc. Anything besides your security software, mouse, internet, and basic stuff. Open up each one, and most times there is a preference that lets you disable "run on start up." This will save some power. Additionally, go to the start menu, and find "Run." Type in "msconfig" ... no quotations. Find the "Startup" tab. Find any programs that you don't want to run right away, and uncheck them. If you don't know what something is, google it. There are a lot of sites out there dedicated to cataloging process names, and giving a recommendation on whether it is required.
Another way to save some speed is to check out your security software. In my opinion, a lot of the shit they provide is completely unnecessary. Windows has a built in Firewall, you don't need a Norton firewall also. Antiphishing? Identity protection? Email Scanning? Not necessary. Gmail, Yahoo, school emails have built in scanning, Identity protection won't do anything except ask you if "YOU'RE SURE? RIGHT?" whenever you buy a jimmy john's sandwich online. Even pop-up blockers are built into internet browsers. Keep the basic stuff, disable everything else.
Internet browsers: Firefox hogs memory like crazy. If you're a normal internet user, use Google Chrome. You too, Apple users. Safari is sweet, but Chrome is faster and uses less resources. Operating system: Windows 7 should be used by anyone who is running Vista. It runs way smoother, for the same system requirements as Vista. So many people have had problems with Vista, many of which have been eliminated. Apparently, Microsoft actually started caring about their consumers now that Apple has taken over the universe.
The equivalent of the kid who lights fires in trash cans for the hell of it is "Desktop Windows Manager" This thing's sole purpose is to bring up that little window preview when you mouse over something on your taskbar (bottom of the screen). For this, it uses a MASSIVE amount of memory. Completely unnecessary unless you want the luxury. I'm pretty sure you can disable this like a normal program, or you can just use "task manager" (accessed by ctrl+alt+delete) to close it out at will. If you have a lot of memory on your computer, say 4GB or so, it won't hurt too much.
Memory: If you're buying a new computer, don't settle for anything less than 4GB unless you know how to install new memory yourself. 1GB is the minimum for Vista and 7, but this stuff gets outdated so fast, you should be good for several years with 4GB.
Hard Drives: Your computer will run faster if you use less hard drive space. Think about keeping it down to half of your total space available. If this isn't possible, invest in an external Hard drive. You can get a 1 TB (1000 GB) for under 100 bucks nowadays. Well worth it. Additionally, both Windows and Mac systems allow you to automatically backup any files or system information you want on a set time schedule.
Well, thats it for now. Good luck! By all means, if I am misinformed on some of this stuff, make it known!
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