Leelanau Sports Guy at sportspig.com

Opinions on five current sports topics from yours truly…

I’m not including it in the five, but my overall Beach Bums record with me in attendance is now 6-1 as I attended the season finale, a 8-5 loss in 11 innings to the Windy City Thunderbolts. I thought I was going to keep my perfect record as the Beach Bums rallied for a 5-4 lead after 8 innings, but they couldn’t hold on. Congrats on another fun season in Traverse City!

1. Wolverines upset by Mountaineers – If you say it that way it doesn’t sound as bad because I could be referring to West Virginia. I am still in shock of this outcome, but I can’t say I’m disappointed, and as a State fan I loved this…

In East Lansing, after plowing for four touchdowns in Michigan State’s 55-18 beatdown of Alabama-Birmingham, Spartans running back Jeehu Caulcrick said, “It felt like we won two games today.”

Here’s a great article on the game from Michigan Football Saturdays.

2. Spartans look good in Dantonio’s debut – Mike Dantonio has some big plans for Michigan State and his Spartans got off to a good start with a 55-18 win over UAB. Lots of power football and great passing from Brian Hoyer led the way to victory. The Spartans will struggle to finish .500 this season, but Dantonio should lay the foundation for a nice turnaround in East Lansing.

3. Tigers continue to struggle – It’s looking more and more like 2007 isn’t going to be the Tigers year. They can’t seem to get a winning streak going. Inconsistent pitching, injuries, and the lack of clutch hitting have all played a big part. Rogers returns tonight and Sheffield tomorrow to hopefully give the Tigers a spark for one last run at the Indians.

4. Norsemen vs. Lakers – The Leelanau County rivals go head to head this Friday for bragging rights for the following year. Suttons Bay is off to a 2-0 start including a big win over Traverse City St. Francis. Glen Lake is 1-1 and coming off a loss. Kickoff is Friday at 7:00 in Suttons Bay.

5. Michigan In Play Magazine – Check out their latest issue featuring 2007 Roberto Clemente Award Winner Curtis Granderson on the cover. I just emailed Jack Rosenberg and told him to keep up the great work. This magazine is a great source for Detroit and Michigan sports fans!

If you want to let the me know what you think, you can always send me an email at leelanausportsguy@sportspig.com or post a comment!

Mark Urban of the Record Eagle caught up with Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo at his annual Tom Izzo Charity Challenge at Hawk’s Eye in Bellaire. Urban got Izzo’s thoughts on the length of his career at MSU, on Billy Donovan going/not going to the NBA, the closer 3-point line in 2008-09, and Camp Quality.

Read Staying put makes Izzo a bit of a relic in the Record Eagle

The NFL Draft – I am in a NFL Draft contest again this year (last year I got 1 right) and I have absolutely no idea who is going where. The Lions have many options and they have to wait to see what the Raiders are going to do before they can get really serious about the draft. I like the Lions to trade down to #4 and then get Gaines Adams. It’s the position they need the most and Adams appears to be an impact player. Read Dan Wetzel’s column The misadventures of Millen if you want to laugh and be scared at the same time!

Maggs – Is it me, or is Magglio Ordonez quietly having a great start to 2007. He’s first on the Tigers in RBI’s, 2B’s, Runs, OBP, SLG & OPS, and he’s second in HR’s and BA, but no one’s talking about him. This is the Maggs that people weren’t sure we would ever see again, but he appears to be healthy and back to normal. I now it’s early, but Maggs playing like this is huge as Sheffield and the bottom of the order struggle.

Wings vs. Sharks – The Wings are in for a tough series, that should go seven games, and I like there chances with home-ice. They struggled against the Sharks during the regular season, losing 3 of 4, but they played two very solid games to finish off Calgary and will hopefully carry that momentum into tonight’s game. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost tonight either. It’s just going to be that kind of series.

Pistons vs. Magic – If Detroit is going to lose one, tonight’s the night. I just don’t see it happening. I think they will sweep the Magic and get some rest for the Bulls. Chicago is going to be the toughest team (and series) in the Eastern Conference.

High School Baseball – If you aren’t busy on Saturday, head over to Wuerfel Park to watch Lake Leelanau St. Mary take part in the inaugural Beach Bums Division 3 & 4 Invitational Tournament. The Eagles face Traverse City St. Francis at 10 AM, followed by Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart and Gaylord St. Mary’s at noon. A consolation and championship game will follow. Tickets are $5 for the entire day, and let me tell you Wuerfel Park is not a bad place to watch a game!

Random Stuff – Could less people be excited that Barry Bonds is now at 741 home runs? Seriously, no one cares outside of San Francisco. There’s not much better than Fantasy Baseball. Winning or losing, it’s just fun! I can’t wait for the Beach Bums season to start, it was exciting (and well played) baseball to watch last summer, and I look for more of the same as the Bums have added some good talent along with their “new” coach! Lots of people have Drew Stanton going very high in the draft, and I think be a good pick and could be a legitimate starter in the NFL!

Brian Wittkop Sr. loves electric football, so much that he wants to start a league in Northern Michigan. Wittkop has 25 game boards and teams from the NFL and college, many he painted himself.

Electric football pits two players head-to-head using plastic players with bases (some can be adjusted) that will move them in a desired direction. Little foam footballs can be thrown or carried by the players and field goals can be kicked. I had better settle down, or I won’t be able to work this afternoon.

“There’s a quaintness to this and it’s social,” said Wittkop, 48, who belonged to a league when he lived in Monroe.

Wittkop is among tens of thousands of people who now play it, said Ira H. Silverman, a spokesman for Miggle Toys Inc. of Highland Park, Ill., which sells the sets and accessories online and elsewhere.

“When the Internet came around, guys in Florida, Texas or Michigan started talking to each other about it,” Wittkop said. “I keep in touch with guys all over the country. I have an e-mail list of about 200.”

I have many fond memories of playing electric football and I still have my field in the basement, the 1985 Super Bowl Bears vs. Patriots edition. I might just have to set it up soon and play a game. Maybe even practice up enough to join the NMEFL (Northern Michigan Electric Football League).

Read Good vibrations on the gridiron in the Record Eagle
Purchase Electric Football Sets/Equipment at Miggle Toys
Visit Brian Wittkop Sr.’s Electric Football Web site

You can even watch video of Electric Football action…

Michigan State used a terrific defensive performance and basically cruised to a 61-49 win over #8 seed Marquette. The Spartans now face the East’s #1 seed North Carolina on Saturday night. Freshman Raymar Morgan led the way with 14 points and 9 rebounds and MSU held the Golden Eagles scoreless until midway through the first half. Drew Neitzel and Marquise Gray added 12 points each.

Tom Izzo had a great defensive game plan and it paid off as they held Marquette to 5 2-point field goals for the entire game.

“I don’t want to just be a defensive team — basketball is a two-way game,” Izzo said. “Saying that, if you can only be good at one, your chances of moving on are better if it’s the defensive end.”

This is turning out to be quite a “down year” for the Spartans. Many didn’t expect them to make the tournament, let alone win a game, and now they are into the second round and a date with North Carolina. The Spartans should give Carolina a good game, and I wouldn’t be shocked if they pulled off the upset, I just don’t think it’s likely. I love March Madness!

Read (9) Michigan St. 61, (8) Marquette 49 at Yahoo! Sports

Also, Big Al has a nice breakdown on his loves and hates of March Madness, it’s worth clicking…

Read Why I love, and hate, the NCAA tournament at The Wayne Fontes Experience

It’s the biggest win of the season, and it just might have moved Michigan State from the “bubble” tag and into the NCAA Tournament. Drew Neitzel scored 28 points, hitting 6 three’s, to lead the way as the Spartans ruined Wisconsin’s first game as the top team in the nation with a 64-55 win. It moves MSU to over .500 in the Big Ten (7-6) and also gave them their 20th win for the 8th time out of the last 10 seasons.

The Spartans did it in a way that has proven successful for a Tom Izzo team over the years – tough defense and rebounding. MSU outrebounded Wisconsin 41-24 and held the Badgers to 35.8 percent shooting.

Neitzel is showing he belongs on the big stage, but he’s getting some help. Raymar Morgan (12 points) and Travis Walton (13 points, 10 assists) were big once again and keep on improving as the season progresses. Walton was one of the key defenders in holding Alando Tucker (potential player of the year candidate) to 16 points, and only 2 in the second half.

As their confidence keeps growing they will be a very dangerous team during March Madness!

Read THE BIG ONE: MSU upsets No. 1 Wisconsin in the Detroit News

Updated: Just read this, it’s awesome! A real testament to Tom Izzo and what he has built at Michigan State…

Read Memorable footprint at Yahoo! Sports

Record Eagle sportswriter Mark Urban takes a look at the big rivalry game between Michigan State and Michigan and how it could play a very big part in either team making the NCAA Tournament. My guess is that neither are going to make the “Big Dance” and both will be playing in the NIT regardless of the outcome Tuesday.

Read Tuesday’s loser will miss the NCAAs in the Record Eagle

Also, here’s another article from the Record Eagle about the annual winter sports card and memorabilia at the Civic Center.

The Detroit News has compiled a list of the Top Michigan athletes by jersey number. Check it out and let them know of any they missed…

Read Top 99 Athletes in the Detroit News

My View: Here’s some of my favorite jersey numbers from the list above…

#20 – Billy Sims is the main reason, but Barry Sanders has something to do with it too.

#19 – My all-time favorite Red Wing.

#52 – Hey, she’s from Leelanau County, plus she’s a great player!

#11 & #4 – They will always be together in my book as the duo led the Pistons to their first two titles.

#3 – My all-time favorite Tiger.

Some links and thoughts on some recent Michigan/Detroit sports news…

Frankfort’s Banktson named Miss Basketball
I love it when an athlete from a Class D school gets recognized, especially when they are from northern Michigan!

Read Brenna Banktson: 2006 Miss Basketball at Absolute Michigan

Dantonio to take over reins in East Lansing
I love this hire! He’s a no-nonsense coach, exactly what the Spartans need. He’s got a great coaching pedigree and should be able to recruit some better talent then MSU has signed the last couple of seasons. It might take him 2-3 years, but I have no doubt he is the right man for this job!

Read MSU hires Mark Dantonio as new football coach at Absolute Michigan

Lions will always stink
I don’t have TV, so I usually am disappointed by the Lions listening on the radio, but with Thanksgiving Football a big part of holiday tradition, I got to see some of the game at the mother-in-law’s house. Let’s just say it’s what I expected to happen. I did think Joey would have a great game, and I thought the Lions would get beat pretty bad, especially without Kevin Jones, but come on already! Do we have to endure this every year? When I looked at the 2006 schedule I didn’t think they would only have 2 wins at this point that’s for sure. Although I don’t remember how many I predicted, but I am sure my final record guess was 8-8.

Read Have the Lions hit rock bottom? at The Wayne Fontes Experience

Just got this from Norm the Detroit Insider…

Press conference @1:30 in East Lansing to announce firing of John L. Smith. Just broke on WDFN.

Update at 12:55 pm
It’s not much more, but here’s the ESPN article…

Read Mich. St. news conference to discuss coach situation at ESPN

Update at 1:40 pm
John L. is saying bye, but not until after this season…

Read Michigan State coach Smith resigning after season at ESPN

My View: No surprise here. Everyone saw this coming. John L.’s biggest problem in my opinion was never being able to land the top-flight recruits. I always remember reading that players they were recruiting were always listing schools like Buffalo, Ball State, Idaho, Purdue, etc. instead of recruiting guys who the “big boys” wanted. Although hey do have a bunch of the top 30 prepsters from 2007 coming in (according to Rivals.com), they just didn’t seem to me to be bringing in legitimate Division I/Big Ten caliber players.

Granted, injuries haven’t helped, but stuff the coach can control and teach, like committing stupid penalties, was never really fixed in Smith’s tenure.

I will miss his crazy quotes, but MSU needs to ante up for a big-time coaching prospect, but I have a feeling the next coach might be Mooch.

Sorry for the lack of posts, alot of the Detroit Sports Blogs I visit seem to have hit the same wall, namely postseason baseball! The Tigers have taken up lots of my spare time and along with the regular everyday busy life the blog has suffered. Nevertheless, here’s my thoughts on the current state of Detroit Sports!

Detroit Tigers – WOW! and WOW! Everyone in northern Michigan seems to be buzzing with World Series fever as the Tigers get set to face the Cardinals/Mets winner. I am pulling for the Cards because their offense doesn’t seem as scary. I know, I know, what about Pujols? He is scary, but I think top to bottom the Mets lineup is stronger. Plus I would love to see a Leyland vs. LaRussa World Series. I know, they don’t actually play, but seeing them match wits head to head would be alot of fun.

I will be travelling down to the Motor City this weekend, no tickets unfortunately, but will probably try to cruise down and check out the craziness that will be at Comerica Park. I can’t wait to see it!

Check out lots of Detroit Tigers Info at Absolute Michigan

Detroit Lions – Lost in World Series fever is the fact that our beloved Lions won their first game of the season. Coach Rod Marinelli was awarded the game ball and he deserves it. I know it doesn’t show up in the overall record, but I am seeing some good things out of our Detroit Lions. They have been competitive in every game but one, and could easily be .500 with a break here or there. I think Marinelli will get this turned around, despite Millen’s goofs and I expect a playoff team possibly next season, but for sure in Marinelli Season 3.

Detroit Pistons – I have seen lots of positive press about Jason Maxiell and I have to say I am excited about the upcoming Pistons season. They will miss Big Ben, but this team will score more and be much better offensively, which might be necessary as the “D” might be down from what Pistons fans have seen the last few seasons. Either way, the Pistons will contend for the Eastern crown.

Detroit Red Wings – I will admit, haven’t really given much attention to the Wings yet, but once the World Series is over, they will be back on my radar.

Detroit Shock – Their second WNBA Title came without much of a word from me, so for that I must apologize. Congrats! I keep wondering why no NBA team has made Bill Laimbeer an NBA coach!

Michigan Wolverines – #3 in the BCS and could be setting things up for a #1 vs. #2 matchup when they travel to Ohio State. That’s something I have been predicting all along and now it’s beginning to look like I may have finally been right about something.

Michigan State Spartans – After the Illinois loss, I have been down on my Spartans. Now 3-4 and clinging to a possible bowl bid, they are through the worst of the schedule. I don’t know if there’s enough left in the tank, but John L. will give it his best shot.

That’s a quick look into the mind, not much going on as you can tell, but I will try to post more frequently and will try to snag some photos from my Detroit trip.

Go Tigers!*

*From what I can tell this is the new way to say Good-bye in northern Michigan!

Opinions on five current Detroit & national sports topics from yours truly…

1. Tigers – Clinging to a one game lead in the Central and alot of Tiger fans are feeling very nervous. Don’t be. The Tigers have the easiest schedule of the three remaining contenders and will start it off with a sweep of the Orioles. How do I know this? Because they are going to score some runs tonight!

The Tigers, though, may have a good opportunity to break out against Baltimore’s Hayden Penn (0-2, 36.82).

The 21-year-old right-hander lasted only three innings and was pounded for seven runs and nine hits, including three homers, in a 9-4 loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday. Penn actually reduced his ERA from 108.00.

2. Lions – I listened to the first game off and on Sunday and came away like everyone else, impressed with the defense, and puzzled by the offense. Of course sure enough on the final game-winning Seahawk drive our “D” goes soft and gives up a couple of big plays in a row to give up the easy field goal. I can’t really blame them though, they single-handedly kept the Lions in the game. I think Kitna is a “huge” improvement over Joey and he will be able to direct the Lions to some wins. Sorry Roy, just not this week.

3. Red Wings – The Wings are in TC, and the town is buzzing with excitement. I was thinking about trying to score some tickets, for the games next week. I did go to training camp a few years ago and really enjoyed it. You get to be real close to the action and interact with the players in a casual atmosphere. If you are a big Wings fan, I would definitely check it out one of these years, there are some tickets still available this year as well!

4. Wolverines Football – The biggest game of the weekend as the Wolverines travel down to Notre Dame. I might have to just breakdown and call up the biggest Wolverine fan I know (the father-in-law) and see if I can come watch the game on his new HD TV. I have this funny feeling Michigan is going to pull off the upset, behind the running of Michael Hart. Before the season started I thought Michigan might be able to contend for the title, and I still see a battle of unbeatens when they meet Ohio State at the end!

5. Spartans Football – Not really sure what to expect out of Sparty. MSU has looked very good one moment and very bad the next. That won’t cut it against a quality opponent. If MSU can pull this one out, then I look for Notre Dame to be 2-2 after next weekend!

If you want to let the me know what you think, you can always send me an email at leelanausportsguy@sportspig.com or post a comment!

An interesting movie title? Nope, just the interesting world of Detroit and Michigan Sports!

Rogers pitches strong in Tigers win

For everyone that said Kenny Rogers was done, and is a bad second half pitcher, he sure is coming on strong.

Rogers (13-6) gave up four hits and walked only one over seven innings, his third straight strong outing.

That sounds like a pitcher I would want to have down the stretch run as my team was battling for a division title. Lucky for us, the Tigers have him.

Marcus Thames led the offense with a homerun and a triple, and Fernando Rodney pitched two scoreless innnings of relief as the Tigers took game 2 of a crucial 4-game series with the White Sox. The division lead is back up to 7 1/2 and the Tigers are looking like their current funk could be finished!

Read Tigers’ Rogers shuts down White Sox at Yahoo! Sports

Lidstrom to follow Yzerman as Wings Captain
It’s going to take a while to get used to seeing someone else with a “C” permanently on their Wings jersey, but it’s a no-brainer that the player should be Niklas Lidstrom.

This pretty much sums up why he’s the right choice…

Lidstrom, 36, joined the team for the 1991-92 season. He is the longest-serving member of the squad and arguably the Wing’s best player. In June he won his fourth straight Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman.

Read Just call him Captain Lidstrom in the Freep

The Fall of Smoker
Detroit News writer Lynn Henning has another book coming out called Spartan Seasons II that follows some of the ups and downs of MSU sports. The following article is an excerpt from his book about Jeff Smoker and the 2002 MSU Football team that showed lots of potential, but ultimately fell flat.

Here’s a description of the book…

All the key figures live and breathe, spar and parry in these pages. The great athletes and those who strived greatly. Coaches Nick Saban and George Perles. Bobby Williams and John L. Smith. Jud Heathcote and Tom Izzo. The MSU presidents, athletic directors, and University trustees who influenced the ups and downs of MSU sports. Henning sought them out for their versions of who said what and who took the actions that made for wins or losses on the playing field and put MSU again and again into the headlines.

Read Inside story on turmoil of an MSU star in the Detroit News
Order the Books

I am very excited for college football to start. I am even more excited about senior quarterback Drew Stanton and what he can do in the high-octane Michigan State offense.

Now he’s going to try to not do too much and instead rely on teammates more to make big plays in crucial situations. I sure hope that’s the case and if it is watch out Big Ten!

Read MSU’s Stanton takes a new stance in the Freep

Also coming soon will be my Big Ten Football preview…

It’s too early for my predictions (which are usually wrong anyway), but some of the top preview magazines are out and have their preseason Big Ten and national title picks. Check out the article below for a quick summary from the Detroit News and check back in August for my picks!

According to the experts, Michigan will most likely finish 2nd in the Big Ten (to Ohio State) and Michigan State anywhere from 4th to 8th.

Read Outlook is not rosy for U-M or MSU at the Detroit News