Anyway, here are some things we learned this week:

1. Minneapolis is the Mecca of bad football.

Major football teams that make their home in Minneapolis are a combined 1-8, and things were especially bad this weekend. The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, who already have home losses to New Mexico State and North Dakota State on their resume, lost 58-0 in Ann Arbor on Saturday. Sunday, the Vikings dropped to 0-4 after losing to the similarly hapless Chiefs.

Wisconsin is lovely in the autumn.

2. States that have shores on Lakes Michigan and Superior are having a great fall.

Maybe Minnesota’s problem is that it borders only Lake Superior and not Lake Michigan. Things are much better in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Michigan is home to the Lions, who made yet another second-half comeback Sunday to remain undefeated; the Wolverines, who shut out the aforementioned Gophers 58-0 and have risen to #12 in the AP poll and #11 in the USA Today poll; and the Tigers, who are headed back to Detroit tied 1-1 with the Yankees in the American League Division Series.

Meanwhile in America’s Dairy, the Packers are a perfect 4-0, the Brewers are one game away from advancing to the National League Championship Series, and . . .

3. Wisconsin is a national championship contender

The Badgers, after a 48-17 creaming of Nebraska, are #4 according to the AP and #5 according to the coaches. Wisconsin’s toughest remaining game is either October 22 at Michigan State or November 19 at Illinois. Wisconsin should be favored in both. The Badgers have a clearer path to an undefeated season than any team other than Boise State. Don’t be surprised to see Wisconsin in New Orleans on January 9.

4. So is Clemson.

Yes, really. Clemson, currently #8 in both polls, may have a better trio of quality wins than anyone in the country. The Tigers are coming off of consecutive victories over defending national champion Auburn, preseason top-5 Florida State (albeit without starting QB EJ Manuel), and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg (by a score of 23-3). Clemson still has Georgia Tech in Atlanta, South Carolina in Columbia, and (possibly but probably) the ACC Championship Game, but the Tigers are more than capable of winning all three.

5. Brady Hoke made all my football dreams come true.

I’ve long been an advocate of 2-quarterback formations. Having 2 good quarterbacks should never be reason for controversy. Just play them both at the same time. (I’m not really an Xs-and-Os guy.)

Saturday, on the second play of Michigan’s public shaming of Minnesota, coach Brady Hoke put back-up QB Devin Gardner under center and lined up Denard Robinson as a third halfback. The Wolverines used the 2-QB set 4 times against the Gophers. I can only hope that they’ll return to this formation next week at Northwestern.

6. Alex Smith might be an NFL quarterback after all.

Smith went for a respectable 21-for-33 for 291 yards, 2 touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the 49ers’ road win over the Eagles on Sunday. I was going to make an “Alex Smith has gotten more chances than anyone not named ________” joke, but I couldn’t think of anyone in sports, entertainment, or any other walk of life who has gotten more chances, without doing anything to earn them, than Alex Smith.

At any rate, Smith is the starting quarterback on a team that is 3-1 (and was very nearly 4-0) and already has a 2-game lead in its division. He’s also 8th in the NFL in quarterback passer rating. (I know it’s a flawed stat, but still.)

7. Chris Johnson might still be an NFL running back.

In his first 3 games this season, Johnson rushed for a total of 98 yards on 48 carries. That’s barely 2 yards per attempt. Sunday against the Browns, he ran for 101 yards on 23 carries. Granted, it was one game, against the Browns. But for Titans fans and fantasy owners who had been waiting for C.J. To have a breakout game, “Johnson (101)” was a welcome sight.

8. Devin Hester is the most accomplished punt returner in NFL history.

Hester took a punt 69 yards into the end zone during the Bears’ victory Sunday over the Panthers, setting an NFL record with 11 career punt returns for touchdowns. You know who didn’t send Hester a congratulatory text? Hester’s old friend Nevin Shapiro.

9. Three NFL teams started Purdue quarterbacks this week.

Purdue football fans haven’t had much to feel good about lately. But on a weekend when the Boilers lost 38-10 to Notre Dame, 3 former Purdue quarterbacks started for pro teams (Brees, Orton, and Painter). Sure 2 of the 3 lost, but Curtis Painter (281 yards and no picks) played better than expected, and Purdue fans need something take pride in right now. Boiler up.

10. The MLB Playoffs have lived up to their opening act.

I feared that there was no way baseball’s Playoffs could be as exciting as the final night of the regular season, but so far the postseason hasn’t disappointed. Three of the 4 series were tied after 2 games, and there have been plenty of close games, lead changes, and gutty performances.

Last night the Rangers scored 4 runs in the 7th to edge out the Raymonds, and Justin Verlander pitched an 8-inning, 11-strikeout win against the Yankees. Sunday night, the Cardinals came back from down 4 to prove that Cliff Lee isn’t invincible in October. Perhaps last Wednesday was just an hors d’oeuvre.

11. Angel McCoughtry is the best professional athlete you’ve never heard of.

If you live in Minnesota and you’re depressed about the Vikings, Gophers, Twins, etc., you might want to follow the Lynx, who have a 1-0 lead in the WNBA Finals. If you do watch the remaining Finals games between the Lynx and the Atlanta Dream, pay attention to the Dream’s Angel McCoughtry, the best professional athlete you’ve never heard of.

Even people who ignore the WNBA have heard of Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, and Maya Moore (of the Lynx). Casual fans know Cappie Pondexter and Tamika Catchings (this year’s MVP). But few know about McCoughtry who is as good as any of them. The 6-1 forward has carried the Dream through the Playoffs—along the way eliminating my Indiana Fever with a barrage of jump shots that would have won her a HORSE tournament—and Sunday night scored 33 in a losing effort. McCoughtry already holds WNBA records for points in a Conference Finals game (42) and in a Finals game (35). Don’t be surprised if she saves the Dream from elimination and leads them to a title.

12. Kobe Bryant is getting ready to return to his childhood home.

Bryant and Italian club Virtus Bologna are working on a deal to bring Bryant to the country where he spent much of his childhood. Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, Kobe’s dad, signed with an Italian basketball team when Kobe was 6. Joe retired and moved the family back to the states when Kobe was 13. Bryant has said it would be a “dream” to play in Italy, but I’m guessing that he’d have no trouble letting go of that dream if the NBA lockout were to end today (and it almost certainly won’t).

13. Disney is really counting on people taking Real Steel seriously.

For each hour of sports you watched this weekend, you saw no fewer than 7 ads for Disney’s forthcoming movie Real Steel. Apparently, Disney believes that people will flock to theaters next week to see the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie. Disney is probably right. As a species we can’t resist special effects.

In fairness, Real Steel wasn’t inspired by Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots but by a pretty good 1956 Richard Matheson short story (“Steel”) that was the basis for a pretty good Twilight Zone episode. Neither the story nor the Twilight Zone episode were about a kid building a fighting robot with his estranged father. Rather, both were about an aging former boxer who refused to give up on his battered, out-of-date boxing robot. In a desperate effort to win money to repair his bot, the old fighter takes the robot’s place in the ring. (It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds.)

Most of America, including myself, have a tough time watching the FOX pregame show for one hour; 4+ hours of nonsense and laughter is just too much. That is why I found a few other shows to watch before the big game starts at precisely 6:29 pm EST.

Puppy Bowl VII

Animal Planet has been hyping the 7th Puppy Bowl for weeks. It is a once-a-year event that features America’s best puppies. The pups battle in a slow-paced game of ball, which is accompanied by slow paced music. I don’t really understand how scoring works for the Puppy Bowl, but I don’t think it makes sense. The game lasts a total of two whole hours and will be shown all day.

There are some positives to the Puppy Bowl compared to the actual Super Bowl. I do not know of any puppies that have been accused of sexual assault playing in this years Puppy Bowl. There were some complaints about a 3-4 defense, but it was settled after the puppy was given one hundred million bones.

Jersey Shore Marathon

It’s a proven fact that everyone has watched at least a part of Jersey Shore during their life. [Editor's note: Not me!] It is a great show that features the future of this country.

MTV is treating football fans to a six hour marathon from noon to six, or whenever you cannot take another minute of Sam and Ronnie fighting. That leaves 29 quality minutes to prepare for the game. It is a great alternative to the Puppy Bowl; unless you would rather watch puppies wander aimlessly instead of Ronnie exhibiting characteristics of someone with multiple personality disorder.

SportsNation

The fantastic Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd will host a two hour SportsNation in Dallas leading up to the game. The show is always a fun one to watch with the random voices always yelling from the background. Beadle and Cowherd are sure to have some great things planned for their Super Bowl Sunday Special.

Ohio State vs. Minnesota

This game should be a great one to get any sports fan warmed up for the Super Bowl. It features the unanimous #1 team in Ohio State and the #20 team in Minnesota playing at The Barn. Ohio State will try to defend their undefeated record, which is in large part due to the great play of freshman phenom Jared Sullinger. As long as Jimmer Ferdette doesn’t score 50 every game, Sullinger has a great chance to win National Player of the Year.

After taking in all of these shows, the game will finally arrive at exactly 6:29 pm. Halftime might even be a great time to catch up on any missed action in the Puppy Bowl.

——————–

We are just over one week away from NFL kickoff 2009, less that a week from College Football, and coming down the stretch in Major League Baseball. Here are my top 5 stories for this week.

1 – LA Dodgers Make Deals to Solidify Playoff Roster

As the waiver deadline approaches the most active team seems to be the L.A. Dodgers, picking up White Sox slugger Jim Thome and Diamondbacks’ hurler Jon Garland. As of today the Dodgers hold a 5.5 game lead on Colorado, who also made a move trading for White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras.

I’ll tell you this: the Dodgers are putting together a team that will compete with the Yankees in the World Series. There is no doubt in my mind that the Dodgers are the team to beat in the National League, save for maybe (and this is painful for a Cub’s fan to admit) the Cardinals.

2 – A Tale of Two Cities: Minnesota and Philadelphia

Brett Favre and Michael Vick have made their comebacks and the inevitable debates have followed.

In Minnesota, talk of team mutiny was rumored, some sources saying that the locker room was split. These rumors were put to bed quickly, but Viking Nation may see it differently. One Vikings fan was found to have a live goat in her trunk painted purple and gold.

Vick has also been met with equivalent praise and disapproval, with Donovan McNabb going on record saying that Vick’s presence and the style of play-calling involving Vick was “a gimmick” and a distraction from their game plan.

I’ll tell you this: Like it or not, the Vikings became a contender when they signed Favre. However, Vick brings quite the distraction both on and off of the field. It will be interesting to see, but if McNabb is already skeptical about Vick’s role, then that can’t be a good sign for the Eagles.

3 – Trouble in Ann Arbor

In what has been a tumultuous summer of violations in College Football, one last situation has raised its ugly head right before the season’s start.

This week some former and current players accused Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff of exceeding the NCAA’s practice guidelines and complained that the staff was over-working student athletes beyond the maximum weekly and daily hours limitations. Rodriguez responded with an emotional press conference, completely denying the allegations by saying that they were “miscommunications” and “just not true.”

I’ll Tell You This: The Wolverines went 3-9 last year in Rodriguez’s first year at the helm. While it would not surprise me that these players were over-worked, I think the bigger issue is that, to save his job, Rodriguez has to find a way to bring Michigan back to being one of the premier teams in the NCAA.

4 – Injuries in the NFL Preseason

With the NFL preseason coming to an end, injuries have already begun to raise their ugly heads at big-time positions for teams.

Patriots QB Tom Brady injured his shoulder when Redskins $100 million dollar man Albert Haynesworth crushed him in the second quarter of their game last week. The master of masking issues, Bill Belichick, down-played the injury saying that Brady would be ready for the regular season.

Brett Favre has said that he has a cracked rib, but played in the Vikings’ preseason game against Houston without any protection. Could it be that Favre is preparing an excuse for what might become a disappointing season?

Finally, all of Kansas City stopped breathing for about 24 hours when off-season acquisition QB Matt Cassel went down hard with a knee injury. At first the prognosis was 4-6 weeks, seemingly a finishing blow to KC before the season even started; however, now reports are saying that the MCL strain that Cassel suffered was minor and he would return to the lineup possibly sooner rather that later, maybe even for the season opener.

I’ll Tell You This: Nothing can kill a team’s season faster than an unexpected and unnecessary preseason injury. Hopefully all of the above stay healthy so we can watch as many teams battle it out for the playoffs at full strength as possible. A healthy NFL is a more fan-friendly NFL.

5 – The Return of Pacman

Adam “Pacman” Jones has returned to football. But this time it’s not in the NFL. It’s not even with the upstart AFL, which launches next month. 

No, Pacman Jones is headed to the Canadian Football League. He has signed “in principal” a one year deal with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

I’ll tell you this: Who cares?

Apparently no-one in the NFL is ok with giving Jones yet another chance to prove that he can’t control his personal life, and honestly, I can’t blame them. Jones is just one of those players with all the talent in the world but no self-control. And playing professional sports is a luxury. He can’t control his life, he is a thug, and he is not a role model like we want our athletes of today to be.

Good riddance Pacman. Canada, you can have him.

**********

You can follow BigMB on twitter by going to www.twitter.com/mylesb3269

* – Jose Contreras and Jim Thome photo credit: by Charles Rex Arbogast – AP via South Side Sox

Virtually identical, I couldn’t find any serious differences in numbers and percentages while I scoped the official Minnesota Wisconsin box score from last night. I read up on the game, watched the highlights and still couldn’t find a serious statistic or problem that would point to how Wisconsin fell to the Gophers at home, after taking an 11 point lead before the half. It had to exist in the intangibles, and it does.

Since he left Kentucky, the SEC has suffered, but the Big Ten has added one of college basketball’s best minds to match Tom Izzo. There’s a reason that he will be in the Hall of Fame one day. Tubby Smith knows how to create a team that wins. He has done that in Minnesota and we can look towards the Wisconsin game for why.

Every good coach has to “sell his system”, when the W’s come, the troops get on board. Tubby Smith has his entire team on board with his system. Not just his assistants, not just starters, not just the sixth man; I mean the whole team. That’s because everyone is involved.

Bo Ryan worked a rotation of primarily 7 players, maxing out starters with each one close to 40 minutes for the Badgers last night. While some of the best squads in the country are primarily looking at 7 player rotations – Duke, Wake Forest, Michigan State, UConn. The minutes lean heavily on 5 starters and two players coming off the bench, for the most part.

7 players came off the bench last night for Tubby Smith. That means 12 players got minutes in a hard fought, OT battle, in the heat of conference play. 9 players saw more than 15 minutes in the game. The whole team got a win. Not just 7 guys and there’s value in a having a long bench in college basketball and it extends beyond conventional sports thinking

Putting guys on the floor, and having a deep bench doesn’t just keep legs fresh and defense active, it creates intangibles. It creates a new definition for team game. Tubby Smith has 9 players averaging 15 minutes, more than 5 points and 2 rebounds. No those numbers aren’t staggering but at the minimum everyone is contributing, positively. To have accountability and 9 players that you can trust on the floor isn’t something every coach in the country has or wants to risk.

That’s a decision by the coach, to get every member of his squad on board, to get every man minutes, to create a culture of belief around your program. Taking risks on young players in college, at the peak of their development breeds confidence and hunger in a team and a locker room. When virtually every player on Minnesota’s team has contributed something to their start, players are all in. It shows, too. They’ve won 16 games and they are 4 wins away from the magic 20 and gaining that invitation to dance in March.

We all know that college basketball is an emotional game. One that champions a team game played with commitment, toughness, and a never-die attitude. The Gophers showed that last night overcoming a huge second half deficit. They showed swagger and depth on the road. They showed that their record is not a fluke, and that they have the moxie to challenge Tom Izzo’s team for the Big Ten title. (By the way, Feb. 4 is the date when the two see each other again in East Lansing.) All this, thanks to a new face on the sidelines. Tubby Smith has created a team in the Barn that is enjoying unseen success, and challenging the hockey team for headlines due to selling his brand of team basketball.

Far-fetched? Maybe, if you’re a numbers guy, or one that just believes in talent. Though, for those who have been part of a scrappy locker room, jumped around in warm-ups as part of confident bench, or get a little choked up during “Rudy”, it makes sense. When your coach calls your number more often than not, you’re that much more willing to fight for that team, that fight will win games in college basketball.

]]> http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2009/01/minnesota-basketball-tubby-smith-has-a-whole-team-running-towards-tourney/feed/ 0 http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2008/10/big-ten-preseason-poll-released/ http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2008/10/big-ten-preseason-poll-released/#comments Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:56:57 +0000 Nicholas Gerlach http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2008/10/big-ten-preseason-poll-released/ The sixth-annual Unauthorized Big Ten Basketball Writers Preview Poll was released over the weekend.

Purdue was picked to finish first and the recently punched-in-the-balls by Kelvin Sampson IU program was selected to finish dead last in the Big Ten.

Here are the results (first place votes are in parenthesis):

1. Purdue (10)

2. Michigan State (5)

3. Wisconsin

4. Ohio State

5. Minnesota

6. Illinois

7. Penn State

8. Michigan

T9. Iowa

T9. Northwestern

11. Indiana

The Pre-season all Big Ten team is:

Robbie Hummel (Purdue)

E’ Twaun Moore (Purdue)

Marcus Landry (Wisconsin)

Manny Harris (Michigan State)

Raymar Morgan (Michigan State)

Hummel was also selected as the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. He is the first Purdue player to be selected since Chad Austin in 1997. Purdue was also selected to win the women’s Big Ten title as well if you are interested in Jump Balls, falling down and traveling violations.

I think this is pretty fair considering that it is a Preseason poll and it is pretty much based on last years results. Obviously Indiana was hurt by the mass exodus that occured last spring summer from their much maligned basketball program. I still think Tom Crean is a good enough coach to get them out of the basement of the Big Ten this year.