Buffet open 24/7

You may have noticed that I added a new "thingee" on the sidebar of this blog. It only takes a couple of interweb clicks for me to get obsessed with something -- and today (well... technically yesterday since I am on west coast time right now) I decided to learn about DELICIOUS. I am hooked.

I have loved Brian's mgo.licio.us links for some time because... well quite frankly they generate a ton of hits for us when we get listed. So I decided to launch something similar for us to share the random bits of internet gold I find on a daily basis. It really is nothing more than my "buffet" links feature available all the time. The downside is that we don't get to read Whet's designed comments to keep us beat down, but I think the benefit far outweighs the downside.

If you have something cool and want to share it with the crowd, email it to us and I will take it under consideration for posting. Also, I may even share the SPAWN DELICIOUS password with T9 if she promises to not post links to every Tom Brady NFL comeback feature about to hit the net.

Monday buffet feast

This is a magical time of the year for sports. NHL & NBA playoffs, baseball season, and College spring games and the NFL draft. There are just too many things going to avoid an unhealthy trip to the buffet palace. Put on your best Hawaiian shirt, but make sure you don't tuck it in, you will need the room.

• Morgan Trent and Terrance Taylor were drafted yesterday in the NFL draft. Terrance went in the 4th round to the Indianapolis Colts. Morgan went in the 6th round to the Cincinnati Bengals.
• The Lions had a chance to take either Laurinaitis or Maualuga in the 2nd Round. Instead they took a defensive back from Western Michigan. Ugggggggggg.
• Abilene Christian had more players picked in the NFL draft than Miami & Notre Dame.
• More the 95,000 people came out the watch the Ohio State Spring Game. Everyone that cares says that Terrell Pryor looked good. From the looks of the picture above, Coach Tressel did not. Yikes.
• The Red Wings swept the Columbus Blue Jackets in their first round NHL playoff matchup. Yeah, we own Ohio.
• Lebron James (and the Cavs) swept the Detroit Pistons in their first round NBA playoff matchup. Boo, Ohio owns us.
• Braylon Edwards is still a Cleveland Brown. At least one Ohio writer thinks this is a good thing. Given Braylon's high maintenance ego, I can't imagine this is not going to be distraction in training camp.
• Crazy finish yesterday in the NASCAR race. Michigan native Brad Keselowski wins his first Sprint Cup race (in his 5th start).
• Roger Clemens continues to flush his reputation down the toilet. This time it involves a Detroit stripper and a wannabe porn star named Abby Rode.

Monday madness at the buffet table

• Oklahoma's Blake Griffin is getting alot of national attention along with some scorn of Michigan fans for his antics during the NCAA 2nd round game. I hope those same people that loathed Blake's "gun show" thought Desmond's "heisman pose" was just as uncouth. I don't get worked up over college kids having fun and doing silly things.
• Griffin is predicted as the overall #1 pick in the NBA draft. I will agree he is an exciting and explosive college player, but comparing him at this point to Shaq is premature. Instead, I would call him the next Corliss Williamson.
• Bad news: The Michigan Hockey team gave up 4 goals in the 3rd period, blowing a 2 goal lead to lose to Notre Dame in the CCHA finals. Good news: The Michigan Hockey team made it to their 19th straight NCAA tourney and will play Air Force on Friday as the #1 seed in the Eastern Region.
• Michigan senior wrestler Steve Luke won the NCAA championship on saturday. He became the 14th different wolverine grappler to bring home the NCAA title. Ohio State blew a big lead on the last day and finished second in the team standings to Iowa.
• After getting swept at Arizona a few weekends ago, Michigan's Baseball team has won 4 in a row. Their game with Eastern this week has been moved up because of a prediction of bad weather. Shocking.
• Just a reminder for my friend T9: my birthday is in late April. Instead of a softball, I think I would like to have Maggie Viefhaus sign my bald head.
• Spring practice has started and the spring football game is quickly approaching. A scheduling mistake on my part has forced me to make a change in plans. Sorry, but there will be no Spawn get-together this year. I failed to connect Easter weekend with the spring game weekend. My wife did not fail to remember Easter. She wins.
• The Ann Arbor News is closing up shop. Queue the munchkins...

Ring Around the Buffet Table

It has been a while since I have taken a trip to the buffet table, so here we go...

• The Athletic Department confirmed the long standing rumor that there is a hockey game planned for Michigan Stadium. Expect to play Sparty on December 10, 2010. The marketing opportunities for this are endless, we can only hope the weather cooperates.
• Red Berenson signs a contract and the Hockey team prepares for the CCHA playoffs on Friday March 13th at Yost.
• As a kid, beside Ohio State, my least favorite teams were the NY Yankees, Boston Celtics, and the Montreal Canadians. The Canadians took a huge step towards cementing themselves in the rear of my list. I am glad their 100th season has turned into a nightmare. I hope they have many more to come.
• Desmond Howard, Rob Lytle, and Curtis Greer are on the 2009 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame. Inductees will be announced on April 30th. I expect Desmond will get in easily.
• The Michigan Baseball team is 7-2, with all 9 games played somewhere in Florida. Coach Rich Maloney got his 500th win this week. They play Siena today and a doubleheader tomorrow in Port St, Lucie. Sunday they take on the NY Mets. The first home game of the season is March 20th. Brrrrrrrr.
• The Michigan Softball team is in Louisville this weekend for a tourney. They are 13-5 and ranked #6 in the nation. Their first home game is March 28th.
• Barring a miracle run the B10 Tourney, the Michigan Basketball team is likely headed to the NIT. Yawn.
• Last weekend was a tough one for the Penn State baseball team. They lost all four of their games to Texas, were shutout twice, scored a total of four runs, and got no-hit (by a former Phils draft pick) on Sunday. Ouch.

Doughboys and Baked Gold Medals

As if I did not eat enough yesterday at the Super Bowl party I attended, it is time to step up to the buffet.

1) Larry Foote Super Bowl introduction: Anyone looking to tear down Larry Foote because he did not say "Michigan" during the player intros on NBC's Super Bowl broadcast needs to seek professional help. There is nothing wrong with giving a shout out to your high school. LaMarr Woodley said Michigan a couple of seconds right before, so if you really needed to hear it, you did. Foote now has two Super Bowl rings (and will likely get more) he can say just about anything he wants. You only need to read this quote he made during SB week to understand he clearly has no lingering animosity towards the Michigan program. If I went to a high school with a name like the DETROIT PERSHING DOUGHBOYS -- I think I would say it a lot too. That name is about as badass of a name as you can get.

2) Steve Breaston's afro: Because I failed to set my TIVO before I left the house yesterday I can't share it right now, but Steve Breaston's afro in his head shot was epic. I am grabbing the torrent of the game right now, so I will have it later today. Move over Oscar Gamble, Steve Breaston is taking over.

3) Gold Medal Bong hits: For those of you looking to mock a celebrated Olympic athlete, your time is here. Anyone looking to rip on Michigan because of the strong Michael Phelps connection, tear away. Michael Phelps is a 23 year old kid. He has 14 gold medals and more money than you. He went to a party in Columbia, SC (is this an SEC conspiracy to make the B10 look bad ???) and took a few bong hits. Get over it. He has spent the last 6 months traveling around the country so people can give him standing ovations and feel good about being an American. If he smokes pot at a party, that would put him strongly in mass cluster of average American 20 somethings. After reading his public statements in which he admitted that he made a judgement mistake, I officially continue to don't care. He still has a wheel-barrel full of gold medals and can swim faster than most of us can run.

4) Santonio Holmes: Congrats to SanAntonio Holmes for winning the Super Bowl MVP. He was the best offensive player in a Steelers uniform yesterday. The game winning catch was astounding. Congrats to THE Ohio State Buckeye football family for nabbing your first MVP trophy. Anyone looking to tear down Holmes for admitting that he sold drugs as a kid, see my comments on Michael Phelps. I don't really care. Holmes is a product of the environment he grew up in. I am glad he found a way to a better life. I am also glad I can put this buckeye sticker I have lying around to a good use.

5) Auggie Garrido: Texas baseball coach Auggie Garrido did something unique today. The winningest coach in division I college baseball history went to court and plead guilty to a DWI charge. I can't remember the last time a public figure got arrested for something and walked into court and said "guilty" without some sort of bargaining process. I spend a lot of time watching Garrido teach his kids how to become good players and better men during the college baseball season. In my opinion this is an incredibly strong lesson for him to teach: Do what is right. Take responsibility for your choices and actions. Learn from your mistakes.

6) Recruiting and National signing day: We are down to the final couple of days before high school seniors can officially sign a binding letter of intent to the college of your choice. I silently follow what is going on because I love Michigan. From all indications RR has rounded up a decent class, filling many areas of critical need. We are still in the hunt for some additional players and I hope we continue to add more talent. T9 and I will continue to hold to our policy of not talking about high school recruits until they officially put on the uniform and start practicing with the team. There is always a lot of rumors floating around these kids and I see no upside in talking about them until they are here.

All you can eat Wednesday

In a desperate attempt to push T9's "tranny" post as far down the page as possible, I thought today would be a good day to take a spin around the buffet table...

• The Michigan Men's basketball team plays tonight at Indiana. Game is on the Big Ten Network in stunning HD.

• The Michigan Women's basketball team plays at Crisler tomorrow against Illinois. That game is also on the Big Ten Network.

• The hockey team will host #8 Miami this weekend at Yost. This is a HUGE set of games because we were swept in Oxford in November.

• The Spring Football game looks like it is going to return to Michigan Stadium on April 11th. I have never found the time to attend, but I just may find a reason to come to Ann Arbor that weekend. A quick look at the baseball and softball schedule tells me that both teams will also be in Ann Arbor that weekend. Sounds like a great time, if it doesn't rain. Time for T9 to stock the fridge and clean out the guest room, I'm coming for visit.

• It looks like we have seven football recruits that are enrolled early, including a highly rated QB. Again, I am refusing to mention any potential incoming recruit names until I see them wearing winged helmets.

• No defensive coordinator yet. Our former DC just took the same job at Syracuse.

• One of our soccer players is turning pro early ? I don't follow soccer at all, but I don't think this happens very often with NCAA soccer players.

• As expected, Sam McGuffie will be a Rice Owl. Scot Loeffler was hired by Florida as the quarterbacks coach. I hope that Morgan Trent realizes that playing in the East West Shrine Game does not mean he gets to cover crippled kids.

• Matt Stafford #1 pick of the Lions ??? No announcement yet on Beanie Wells. Go Beanie Go.

• It looks like Boston College is going to fire their coach because he interviewed with the NY Jets about their NFL Head Coach vacancy. The line for the lawyers is forming now.

• The Utah Attorney General thinks the Utes have been treated unfairly by the BCS.

• The MAC finished their perfect 0-4 bowl season last night with the Ball State loss to Shavodrick Beaver's new team. Thank buddha for Iowa, I would hate to be compared to that loser conference.

A Girl Scouts: Minnesota plus some crumbs

Sheridan starts due to Threet's concussion.
That is all.

Cue the Gopher (HT: BAH)


Ok, ok. Here are the sad facts. Minnesota allows an average of 132.5 yards rushing per game this season and 230.3 yards thru the air each game. We have averaged 138.6 yards per game via ground shipping (HT:BAH) and 149.4 yds/game thru the air.

Seriously, I think that there can only be one history-making, earth-shattering triumph of hope this week---and, well, this game ain't it.

And now, for something completely different...

• Some blotter acid: Stonum drives drunk.
• Urban Meyer does the right thing: Jacques Robinson is a pussy.
• Joel Foreman, offensive guard for Sparty did not start last week against Wisconsin because he did not wear a tie on Game Day.....
• Ryan Leaf, QB coach for West Texas A&M, and former 2nd pick overall in the 1998 draft (behind Peyton Manning) out of Washington State, has been placed on indefinite leave per his request due to personal issues.......you may remember the drama-trauma that was his stint in the NFL
• The axe falls for Prince at KState. And the rush for the door at Tennessee begins....

Deep breathing

Not a great weekend to be a top 25 football program: USC, Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin (!), Wake Forest all lose. Predicting the BCS at this point of the season is a waste of good oxygen. I am not sold on Oklahoma, Alabama looks strong.

This offense will be a lot more fun to watch when we have a quarterback that can run it correctly all the time. I am happy the Threet turned it around in the 4th quarter, but that was painful to watch most of the game.

The much talked about Barwis conditioning program showed up in the 4th quarter. The harder you work, the luckier you get.

Senior Terrance Taylor had some choice words at halftime. When you lose it is a further erosion of family values -- when you comeback and win it is called leadership.

Michael Phelps must have a contract with someone other than Adidas. Note the generic #8 jersey.

Penn State looked good even if I had to watch their HD offense in non-HD - but I don't think they are better than the Bucks.

All you can eat Thursday

I am heading out on my annual "guys weekend" with a group of drunken friends tomorrow morning. Each year we pick a city where we can attend a MLB game on Friday night, a College Football game on Saturday, and an NFL game on Sunday. Past years have included Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and San Francisco. This year we have chosen Washington DC (Nats, Navy, and Redskins). T9 is going to have to pick up the loose pieces until Monday afternoon. In the mean time, it is time for the buffet...

1) When Zoltan Mesko is finished, Ray Guy will be a distant memory of an average punter and uninspired leader.

2) Charlie Weis walked without the aid of a cane or crutches on Tuesday. Apparently has found a new miracle cure for a torn ACL/MCL... cheeseburgers covered in gravy !!

3) There is some concern at Auburn about the arrival of the GameDay crew. Whatever.. just show me some more Tiger Girls and everything will be OK (NSFW warning).

4) Steven Threet is the QB starter against Wisconsin. If Nick Sheridan ever sees another down of meaningful football this season we are all doomed.

5) Not sure if anyone saw it... but Ohio State lost on Saturday night to USC. The natives are getting restless and starting to tear at their own skins. At this rate, Terrell Pryor is going to be the starting QB by the Purdue game.

6) Buckeye Doug Worthington is sorry that he was "a drunk" and "a loser".

7) Iowa players are tired of getting booed, by their own student section.

8) Former Sparty Mark Ingram rediscovers the pleasant sound of prison doors being closed behind you.

9) Speaking of Sparty... Javon Ringer is a legit Heisman candidate (until they lose a meaningless game to a random B10 team) and Seven MSU girls pose in the Playboy Big 10 issue (which has an SEC Florida Gator girl on the cover?). While I have not seen the issue (yet) -- somehow they found three UM females to put in the issue. This could be interesting...

All you can eat Tuesday

• Inside Michigan Football with Rich Rodriguez, episode one available here. I miss the Michigan Replay music.
• Rich Rodriguez press conference video is available on line at MGoBlue. RR does not hide his disappointment very well. "Michigan beat Michigan on Saturday."
• Freshman Justin Feagin is going to be redshirted. Who wants to take bets that he will never take a snap at QB for the Wolverines ?
• Jason's little brother Tate makes a verbal commitment. The 2009 recruiting class is looking pretty good, although I would like to see some more offensive linemen sign on the verbal line.
• Very cool 360 stadium panaroma shot from Detroit News.
• Pucker time in Columbus about Beanie's foot. A team insider said that after immediate X-rays showed showed no broken bones, further evaluation indicated it likely was a soft-tissue injury to the forefoot. Such an injury could cause him to miss anything from just a week to the rest of the season. Yikes. If I had to predict the future, he is out against Ohio and in against USC.
• NFL news for former Michigan players. Cuts: Rueben Riley (Panthers), Jamar Adams (Seahawks), Drew Henson and Ron Bellamy (Lions), Victor Hobson and Matt Gutierrez (Patriots), Tony Pape (Chargers), Matt Lentz and Grant Mason (Steelers), Adam Kraus (Ravens), Shantee Orr (Browns), Adam Stenavich (Cowboys), Tim Massaquoi (Bills), Markus Curry (49ers). Adrian Arrington was placed on injured reserve by the Saints. Mike Hart appears to have made the Colts.
• LenDale White doesn't play professional football in Ohio.
• Even in Oklahoma, if you are out past 2AM -- bad things like guns, knives and tire irons will happen.

Saturday Smorgasbord

* Michael. Phelps. WOW

* Kevin Grady has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunk driving charge this week. Pretty hard not to after you've blown a 0.281 on the drunk-o-meter. Grady must either spend three days in jail or perform 24 hours of community service. He also must serve 12 months of probation and pay $3,290 in fines and fees. But, it hasn't kept him from practicing with the team.......Which I think is crap.

* Zack Putnam, RHP, will skip his senior season with the Wolverines to sign with the Cleveland Indians for $650,000.

* Jim Carty likes it! He really likes it! The Stadium, that is.....

* Janos Baranyai, an Olympic weightlifter from Hungary inverted his right elbow (DON'T look if you get grossed out easily. I'm serious) while trying to snatch 148 kg during competition this week. The good news is that he didn't break anything and may be able to return to his sport....yiiccch

* Apparently the USC football team has been plagued by tinea cruris during this month's camp. USC = University of Scratchy Crotch????? ha ha

Thursday morning at the buffet table

30 days.

How can you tell we are getting close to the start of the college football season ? There are about a thousand stories flowing from every direction each and every day. Each major conference has held a media event and we are sliding into to last few weeks before the REAL fun begins.

Rather than post or comment on each and every nugget that I find interesting, I am going to from time to time just post a list and let the magic happen.

So, in no particular order... here we go....

• Charlie Weis eats Wrigley Field
• Somehow Jimmy Clausen makes the 2008 O’Brien Watch List
• ESPN expresses some concern about Penn State's Football program
• Miami's monster 2008 recruiting class has academic issues
• Somehow Kirk Ferentz keeps his job in Iowa
• Ron Zook is removed from the Mendenhall family christmas card list
• Almost everyone hates Ohio State -- except these guys
• Tressel's magic number hits thirty
• Helmet clash : at least they will lose once this year
• Meet the 2008 USC song girls
• Ball State's coach thinks Toldeo will do great in Ann Arbor
• Jake Long blocks too hard in practice
• West Virginia player appears to be in BIG trouble -- somehow this is going to be RR's fault
• The Mike Barwis media honeymoon continues
• Sparty is sick of Barwis and would like you to know they have a strength program too
• Playing football for Mack Brown is not all sunshine and lollypops
• Myron Rolle is not your typical college football player