brainsplotch

Quite some time ago I mentioned that I'd be handing out the First Annual Brainsplotch Big Ten Football Awards. Unfortunately, life kind of got in the way and I have both neglected this blog and NOT given out the awards. Knowing how much it means to the Big Ten, I am back to hand out these much coveted "virtual trophies." Most valuable player--Shonn Greene, Iowa Best Running Back--Shonn Greene, Iowa (Javon Ringer, Evan Royster, and Chris "Beanie" Wells close behind) Best Quarterback--Daryll Clark, Penn State Best Wide Receiver--Arrelious Benn, Illinois (not a real standout year for receivers) Best Kicker--Brett Swenson, Michigan State Best Defensive Player (sorry, I don't feel like breaking this down by position)--James Laurinaitis, Ohio State Coach of the Year--Mark Dantonio, Michigan State (sure, call me a homer, but I give Dantonio the nod slightly over Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern. Getting MSU to a 6-2, third place finish in the Big Ten in just his seco...

I've resisted writing about the Detroit Lions for most of this year because there seemed to be very little point. With the success of Michigan State's football team this season, my sporting world this fall was occupied solely by the Spartans. Thankfully, the Lions' disastrous season has been, for me, merely a sideshow. However, now with the very real possibility of the NFL's first ever 0-16 season only one loss away, how could I possibly resist discussing this most pathetic of pro sports franchises. What's particularly stupendous about the Detroit Lions' ineptitude is that the National Football League does everything in its power to make sure there is parity in the league. But even with profit-sharing, easy schedules for weak teams, and all the other various checks-and-balances put in in place by the NFL to guarantee competitiveness, the Lions have managed to set a new standard in awfulness. This terrible season is simply the culmination of the disastrous Matt M...

Friday night, when I woke up at about 1 AM and couldn't get back to sleep, I did what I usually do when I suffer from insomnia and turned on the tube. As fate would have it, the Sundance Channel was just about to air "You're Gonna Miss Me," a documentary on legendary '60s acid casualty Roky Erickson. In case anyone out there doesn't know, Roky Erickson was singer for the '60s psychedelic rock band The 13th Floor Elevators and also did some great stuff in the seventies, despite being institutionalized for three years from about 1969 to 1972. (My chronology might be off, but I don't feel like checking my facts right now). The only Roky Erickson I currently have in my music collection is the 13th Floor Elevators' first album, "Psychedelic Sounds of..." It's the CD issue released by Varese Sarabande and, not only is the title misspelled, but the sound quality is abysmal. From what I've read, the original master tapes ha...

I've got it bad for Facebook, and I don't know if there is a cure. Around the same time I started this blog, I opened up a Facebook account. My rationale was innocent enough: I found an old college acquaintance of mine who was on Facebook and the only way for me to get back in touch with him was through Facebook. After a few days, though, I saw all the little things you can do on Facebook--become a fan of so-and-so, upload pictures, continually revise and update your profile (as if anyone really reads that anyway) and, of course, search and search and search for people. Now it seems I'm on Facebook first thing every morning, and first thing when I get home from work. I've become obsessed with checking my in-box, checking other peoples' updates, checking to see if anyone has commented on my status, etc. It is the worst time-suck ever invented--although, in its defense, I have re-connected with people I have not spoken to or seen in over 15 years. So, tell me, is t...

I'm definitely not a fan of the University of Michigan, nor am I a fan of Ohio State University. As a college football fan, though, I can't help but grudgingly respect the success the two schools have had for so many years. The architects of this football success, at least in the last half of the twentieth century, were Woody Hayes at Ohio State and Bo Schembechler at Michigan. As a died-in-the-wool Spartan, it was with a great deal of trepidation that I picked up this book (and for any Spartan fans out there who think I've completely lost my mind, I assure you that I checked the book out of the library and did not purchase it--so no Green-and-White money was exchanged for a Maize-and-Blue/Scarlet-and-Grey book). I had heard enough good buzz about the book from reliable sources, and had listened to an interview with Michael Rosenberg on the "Huge" radio show out of Grand Rapids. This, of course, meant that I had to suffer through Bill "Huge" Si...

I've heard rumblings that the NFL should no longer allow the Detroit Lions to have a monopoly on the Thanksgiving day football game and should rotate it amongst all the league's teams. As much as I realize how much of a drag it must be for the rest of the country to suffer through the Lions every Turkey Day, as a born and bred Michiganian, I'd really miss this tradition. From a purely objective standpoint, it makes perfect sense to rotate the game, but my heart says "No! Leave the poor Lions alone!" Some of my most permanent Thanksgiving memories have to do with the Lions. There was the 1980 game against Chicago when the Bears' David Wiliams ran back the kickoff in overtime to beat the "Lie-downs." I can vividly remember sitting in front of my grandma's TV, the rest of the family watching with a combination of horror and humor, as the Lions let another one go in typically inimitable Lions fashion. There was the game against the Steelers a f...

This shot of Glenn Winston getting gang tackled by Penn State's outstanding defense tells you everything you need to know about this game. So much for that 1997 magic I was hoping for! I intended on writing about this game much sooner after the fact, but am just getting to it now. Saturday night I spent watching Oklahoma's massacre of Texas Tech, Sunday I was busy doing other things, and yesterday I was both coming down with a cold and helping my son finish up a school project. So here I am at home trying to recover from my first bout of the winter cruds. At this point, I don't have much to add to what has already been said or written about MSU's loss to the Nittany Lions. It's pretty simple that the better team won. Penn State is a team that, if not for losing control of their game against Iowa (a game the Lions dominated), would be undefeated and possibly playing for a national championship. Michigan State has the misfortune, every other year, of having to conclu...

I went through my personal archives of newspaper clippings and came across the Lansing State Journal sports section from November 30, 1997. Here are some post game photos from the newspaper. I hope the Lansing State Journal doesn't stumble on this blog and decide to sue me. I remember that day as being cold, drizzly and very gray (in other words, a typical November day in Michigan). It's great to see these photos and have my memories confirmed. By the way, Ike Reese is one of my all-time favorite Spartan athletes. What he may have lacked in sheer athletic ability he more than made up for in grit, determination, and character. He parlayed that into a nine-year NFL career. I hear that he is now hosting a sports radio show in Pennsylvania, and will be the Spartans' honorary captain when they take on the Nittany Lions.

With Michigan State facing Penn State today for a shot at the Big Ten title, I can't help buy recall the best, and certainly most amazing, game I ever witnessed at Spartan Stadium. The date was November 29, 1997 (the Saturday after Thanksgiving). The beaten and bruised Spartans thrashed the #4 Nittany Lions, 49-14. One aspect of journal keeping that is wonderful is that I can often go back and see what I wrote about particular events in my life. Here are my observations of the game the day after: "...I saw the greatest college football game ever played in Spartan Stadium. I realize that sounds like grand hyperbole, but I swear it's true! I have never witnessed, in person, a better game at Spartan Stadium...Michigan State rushed for over 400 yards, with Marc Renaud and Sedrick Irvin gaining over 200 yards each. An absolutely unexpected and awesome display, the likes of which I may never see again...Michigan State took out all the anger and frustration from the season ...

It's funny to me that the creation of this blog coincided with the start of the football season. When I started writing this thing, I had no idea what form it would take. It was my intention to just let it flow naturally and write about whatever I deemed important or interesting at the time. However, as Michigan State's season unfolded, I became more and more excited about the direction the team was taking and eventually Brainsplotch became, for all intents and purposes, a football fan blog. I even considered renaming it something like "Dispatches from Sparta" or some such goofy Spartan-themed moniker, but have decided to keep it's current name. (I'd hate for all zero of my fans out there to not be able to find this wonderful blog and, once they did find it, have to reset their favorites list--that could get messy). Once the football season is over, I'll write about other things unless, of course, I become obsessed with college basketball. As I stated in...

I've been meaning to write an extended entry for some time, but have had the hardest time finding the time. Here's one quick thought: Who would have ever guessed that this year's Ohio State/Michigan game would be the third most important game in the state this week. Michigan State and Penn State are playing for the Big Ten title this Saturday, and tonight Ball State takes on Central Michigan in a game with both MAC title and BCS implications (Ball State is trying to stay undefeated and get a shot at a BCS bowl game, CMU is undefeated in the MAC and, along with Ball State, vying for the MAC title). It's been one odd, but exhilarating, year in college football.

The Spartans knocked off Purdue today in what was not a pretty game, but as the expression goes: I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty. Here are some random thoughts about today's game and MSU football in general: Is Michigan State a great team? No. Are they a good team? Most definitely. Are they a very good team? If the definition of a "very good" team is one that never gives up, always plays hard, makes the big play, and gets the most out of its talent, then the answer is certainly "yes." Depending on how the Penn State game goes, and how the Spartans play in their bowl game, it's still possible that they could be remembered as a great team, but I'm not too concerned about that. I want to just appreciate what this team has already accomplished this year. Let's put this season into perspective. Two years ago, in John L. Smith's last (brutal) season as coach, the team completely imploded after the awful loss to Notre Dame. With the ...

Election night I drifted in and out of sleep plopped in front of the TV, but snapped immediately awake when i heard someone on NBC's coverage, at 11:00 PM, declare Obama the winner. It was one of the few moments in my life when I truly felt like I was witnessing history I was definitely teary-eyed when, at midnight, Obama delivered his acceptance speech in front of that amazing sea of people in Chicago. I'm not afraid to admit I was misty--the election of our first African-American President is a monumental achievement for this country. Obama also brings the promise of a new direction for the United States. I'm not naive enough to believe that one man alone can correct all that ills the country. This is an incredibly difficult time for anyone to become President. One thing is certain however--as of right now, world opinion of the U.S. just went up exponentially upon Obama's election. That's definitely a step in the right direction.

I just returned from Spartan Stadium. I don't have much time to write, but I will be adding to this later. The first three hours of the game were "ho hum," but the last half- hour or so was the best half-hour (certainly the most surreal half-hour) I've ever spent at an MSU football game. Wow! I'm finally returning to this post, and all I have to say is that there is truly something special going on with this Michigan State football team. They may not be the most talented team in the Big Ten, but they are certainly the guttiest and most determined. As I wrote earlier, I was actually at Spartan Stadium for this game. Through most of it I was thinking that, as usual, I had selected the wrong game to attend. Wisconsin's beefy offensive line was blowing our defense off the line of scrimmage, and the Badger's outstanding tandem of tailbacks, P.J. Hill and John Clay, were running all over the field. Little did I know that the Badgers' (and their head coach...

I've meant to write in this blog earlier this week, but am just now getting around to it. What a strange week it was for MSU football. Immediately following the Spartans win over Michigan, the "Blue Wall" was being reconstructed. Ancient Detroit sportswriter Jerry Green rose from his crypt and treated us to this column: (The following URL is no longer valid. If you want to read this column--I don't know why you would, but if you do--find the Detroit News microform in a library). http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081025/OPINION03/810250452/1004 Then, fellow Detroit News scribe Rob Parker stated on Detroit TV that MSU backup quarterback Kirk Cousins was involved in a fight involving Spartan football and hockey players. His information was bogus, and he apologized in the middle of the week for getting the story completely wrong. (I will give Mr. Parker credit for at least apologizing for his mistake). On Monday, I made the egregious error of ...

A pictures tells a 1000 words. Not much for me to add, except that I'm one happy MSU alumnus right now!

Tomorrow's the big game between MSU and Michigan and I have continually mulled the game over in my head for the last week: My entire adult life, forty years and change total, the Michigan Wolverines have fielded a generally strong football team, usually contending for a Big Ten title. I can think of only one season in which they were truly mediocre: 1984. That was the year that quarterback Jim Harbaugh broke his arm in the MSU game and was out the rest of the year (see my post, "Spartan Memories Volume 2" below). The Wolvies finished 6-6 that season. Based on Michigan's incredible run of consistent excellence going all the way back to Bump Elliott's last year in '68, it's hard for me to fathom that they are so seemingly AWFUL this year. I continue to be nervous about State's chances in tomorrow's game, but then I remind myself that Michigan lost to a bad MAC team (Toledo) AT HOME! (To put Toledo's mediocrity in perspective, the Rockets have a r...

...so it is for now. I do actually have a life outside of MSU football, and if the Spartans die against Michigan this Saturday (and their season goes south--which, let's face it, very well could happen) I will spend more time writing about other subjects. I tend to become obsessed with things for short periods of time, and then move on to other areas. As for now, I am all about MSU football. As I've written before, it has thus far proven to be excellect escapism. I watched Brian Matthews interview with McCain and Palin on the NBC Nightly News. They spent most of the interview talking about Bill Ayers. Is that all they have? Hasn't it pretty much been established that America as a whole doesn't give a hoot about Obama's relationship with Ayers. The way McCain and Palin talked about him, you'd think they were running against Ayers and not Obama. I'm so ready for this election to be over!

On October 6, 1984, Michigan State defeated Michigan 19-7 in Ann Arbor, thus ending a six-game losing streak to the Wolverines. At the time, I was a 16 year-old 11th grader living in Michigan's Thumb amongst hordes of what are, these days, known as "WalMart Wolverines". To say the least, I was ecstatic after MSU's win. (Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the game on TV because I was working that day--in order to make money to attend MSU two years later. In those days, MSU's public televison station WKAR showed replays of Spartan football games late Saturday night, so I'm pretty sure I was at least able to see the game that way). When I was in eleventh grade, my English teacher required us all to keep a journal for the entire school year. At the time, I considered it a pain and a nuisance, but I thank her now because I have so much fun going back and reading the stuff I wrote back then. I thought it might be fun to share my journal entry for October 6, 19...

Late last week, I started reading Duffy Daugherty's autobiography, published in 1974, entitled simply, Duffy . After reading some some typically insane, irate comments from MSU "fans" angry as hell over the Ohio State loss, I came across something in Duffy's book that can be applied to these fans. Duffy actually wrote this in regard to unrealistic expectations of media, but it also accurately describes many fans. Here's what Duffy said, "Quite often, a writer or broadcaster will want you to win so badly that he'll expect you to, even when you're saddled with a mediocre team. Then, when you don't do as well as he expected, he'll rip your guts out because of his own disappointment." Spartan fans, I know you're disappointed that the team didn't beat Ohio State (and, did not even make it a game). Sometimes, you bump into a team that's just flat out better than your team. That's life. Now, I wouldn't necessarily classify t...

First the good news, it was a lovely, sunny day in the Lansing area today. Now the bad news, Ohio State kicked MSU's tail today. This was one ugly game. So ugly that I pretty much turned it off at halftime and only tuned in sporadically in the second half to see how bad the carnage was. Wow, I feel a little foolish to have ever doubted Ohio State. How in heaven's name did they ever lose 35-3 to USC? (Yeah, I know, unsettled quarterback situation, Beanie Wells hurt, etc. But still, is USC that good to have hammered OSU that badly? How the heck did USC then lose to a mediocre Oregon State team? I'll have to save that for a different discussion). As the Lansing State Journal's Joe Rexrode wrote, it was a "reality check" for MSU. Yes, they have improved, but they are not yet close to being in Ohio State's league. Perhaps if the Spartans had caught the Buckeyes earlier in the year, they could have won this game, but Ohio State has had some tim...

Allow me to take a break from football for a second and get on my political soapbox. On Wednesday, Barack Obama and John McCain had their third and final debate. Perhaps I'm a tad biased, since I'm an unapologetic liberal , but I continue to be impressed by the stately and, well, presidential, demeanor of Barack Obama. I have also been consistently struck by how angry John McCain always seems to be: angry at Obama (whom he treats like a wayward adolescent) and angry with any nation or leader who dares disagree with the United States. Do we really need or want an angry President? I will be casting my vote for Obama for one basic reason: I agree with his beliefs and do not agree with those of McCain. That is why I have voted for Dukakis (lost), Clinton (won twice), Gore (lost), and Kerry (lost). (As you can see by that record, being a Democratic supporter is not too much different from being a Spartan football fan). If you're reading this post, and you're still undecide...

As much as I've tried not to, I have been obsessing over tomorrow's MSU/OSU game since... well, since about a half hour after the MSU/Northwestern game. The Spartans have a legitimate shot in this game, and let's face it--a victory over the Buckeyes would be huge for this program. I am trying not to get my hopes up. As a longtime Spartan football fan, I have been conditioned to keep my expectations as low as possible so that when the inevitable disappointment occurs, it doesn't hurt as bad. Still, I am greatly encouraged by the progress of this football program under Dantonio. I have no doubt that the guys will be ready to play tomorrow. If State can contain Beanie Wells and force Terrelle Pryor into bad decisions, while maintaining the excellent special teams play we've gotten so far this year, it could be a very happy day for the folks in green and white.

I am getting excited about this MSU football season, and this feeling is both exhilarating and a little scary. I, like many other Spartan fans, have been burned too many times before--but something seems different about this year. (Am I crazy to feel this way?) The Spartans have been mentally prepared for every game they've played, and have consistently made the big and important plays exactly when they've needed them. As far as the Northwestern game goes, the Spartans set the tone immediately by jumping all over the Wildcats in the first quarter. By the time Northwestern woke up, they were down by 17 and could never get back in the game. But what is particularly impressive about Michigan State is the way they consistently responded to every score Northwestern made. When the Wildcats finally got on the scoreboard to make it a 17-7 game, State immediately marched dowfield, scored a touchdown, and went into intermission up 24-7. Then, when Northwestern took the second half k...

In keeping with the Michigan State football theme that I seemed to have established thus far with this blog, I might as well keep the ball rolling, so to speak. I never consciously aimed to make this a "Spartan football blog," but with our nation's economy in utter shambles, and the election year increasing in intensity and nastiness, my mind really craves escapism lately. For the moment, MSU football is providing that escapism. So why not escape along with me? I have been mulling this idea around in my head for awhile, and was actually going to start it prior to the Indiana game. However, it wasn't until now that I have finally got around to doing a little feature that I will call "My Spartan Memories." I hope all of my one or two readers out there in cyberspace enjoy it. Michigan State will be playing the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston tomorrow, so this is a perfect opportunity to reflect back on the very first MSU football game I ever att...

Right now, I'm cleaning out my garage and listening to the Detroit Lions game on the radio. Why put myself through the torture you ask? I am finding it incredibly entertaining to hear the Lions' broadcast crew of Dan Miller and Jim Brandstatter describe the massacre against the Bears. First of all, you'd think the Lions were playing in the Super Bowl the way these guys describe the action. Plus, it's always fun to hear Brandy get indignant over the officials' "bad calls." Dan Miller is probably the Lions' biggest cheerleader, but even he is being critical of the Lions' horrendous play. It's a little bit later in the day now, and the Lions lost 34-7 to the Bears at Ford Field. I think this franchise has officially hit rock bottom (which is saying a lot when you consider how godawful they have been for so many years) . Not only are they losing every game, but they aren't even competitive. It's so sad and pathetic that I, as a fan, have re...

I am a graduate of Michigan State University (if you have not already guessed) and have lived in the greater Lansing area for the better part of 27 years. In all that time, I had never once attended the MSU Homecoming Parade...until this Friday, that is. I really had a good time (except for the parts where I had to make sure my kids didn't get by a car trying to get from our car to the parade, and the parts where I had to temper my kids' ravenous appetite for the candy being thrown from the paraders). A few weeks ago, while watching an episode of the childrens show "Oswald" with my younger son, Oswald and his friends attend (and maybe even become part of --I don't remember precisely) a parade. My son immediately decided that he wanted to see a parade. My mind raced through a list of potential parades and, lo and behold, struck upon the Homecoming parade. "There's a parade next month, and we can go to that one," I said to my son. Later, I told my wife...

Okay, prepare yourselves for a non-football post! Just last week, I read somewhere online that the first six Creedence Clearwater Revival albums will be reissued on September 30 in deluxe packages with bonus tracks. These reissues will include liner notes by such rock critic luminaries as Robert Christgau and Ben Fong-Torres. I was ecstatic upon hearing the news. I love Creedence. I grew up listening to Creedence. Some of my earliest hazy childhood memories are of me in the living room of my parents little apartment in Holt, Michigan in about 1972, with my dad playing Green River or Cosmo's Factory on the old Motorola console stereo. Of course, at the time I had no idea what the name of the albums were or even the name of the performer. To this day, though, I can remember being really scared by the long instense instrumental in the middle of "Ramble Tamble." As a junior high and high schooler, other (generally much crappier) music took promin...

Just finished watching the Spartans wear down the Hoosiers and get out of Bloomington with a win. Not pretty by any stretch, but I'll take it. Very nice to start off the Big Ten season at 1-0. MSU's next opponent is Iowa on Homecoming in East Lansing. The Hawkeyes lost at home to Northwestern, so next week's game for the Spartans is definitely winnable. (Having said that, Northwestern looks like they will be a tough team to contend with this year. They are still undefeated. With the parity in college football, which became particularly evident this weekend, that's saying something regardless of the competition the Wildcats have faced). Back to MSU/Indiana: First of all, I could not believe the number of empty seats at Memorial Stadium. Is Indiana that indifferent towards football? (The answer must be a resounding "yes." I suppose the Hoosier faithful are too busy counting down the days until basketball season). If I didn't have responsibilitie...

As I write this post, I am relishing my "victory beer," a very smooth Indian Pale Ale from the Michigan Brewing Company. It's tasting pretty darned good right now. Nice, solid win for the Spartans today. I knew that Dantonio would have the boys ready today, and MSU as a team were about as good as I have seen them in quite some time. I felt that for any Heisman talk regarding Javon Ringer to be truly justified, he'd have to bring it against big-name competition. Yes, I know Notre Dame is not a great team, but they have improved from last year and they are still NOTRE DAME. That name is nationally recognized and if you can light them up, you can guarantee that the national pundits will take a shine to you. Having said that, the long Big Ten season is still in front of us, and the test for the Spartans will be if they can stay healthy enough to finish with a winning record. I am still maintaining relatively low expectations until proven otherwise. I know that man...