brainsplotch

I didn't feel like posting anything after last week's MSU loss to Notre Dame. It was a disappointing defeat, but I was proud of the way the team hung in there and kept fighting back. This week however... What is there to say about today's 38-30 loss to Wisconsin. Only about the worst defensive performance I've seen by a Spartan team in quite some time, and this is a program that hasn't exactly had a stellar defense since Nick Saban was coach. The game wasn't nearly as close as the final score would have anyone believe. Wisconsin decided not to play defense in the final couple minutes, and the Spartans got a couple easy scores. Wake me up when basketball season starts.

It's a bright, sunny autumn Saturday here in mid-Michigan, just the type of day I absolutely love. This post is not going to be one of any great significance, just a few random observations. We have had very little rain here for a number of weeks, so I mowed the lawn for the first time in two weeks. Had to get the mowing in before the start of the Michigan State/Notre Dame football game at 3:30. I don't have a read on the MSU/ND game. It's hard to get a feel for how good either one of these teams are. A recurring theme this week seems to be how embarrassing it must be for State to have lost to Central Michigan. I agree that a Big Ten team should not lose to a MAC team in its own stadium, but there is so much more parity in college football these days then I can ever remember. CMU is probably the best team in the MAC, led by an experienced and gifted quarterback. I don't think MSU's loss is as embarrassing as some may think. I just hope State can at least play...

I was at the game, with seats that, unfortunately, happened to be in the CMU section. They had every right to go nuts, but it sure was hard to take. Lots of "Fire Up Chips" crazies at the game, who looked like they'd been pounding the adult beverages since early Friday morning. I'm not proud of some of my behavior during the game. I didn't get in the face of any Chip fans (thankfully), but I did blow my stack more than a few times. Let's say that some f-bombs were hurled and my MSU baseball cap took a beating from being tossed on the ground. Not cool, and I should have controlled myself. I have really got to learn not to take these games that seriously, particularly after what I went through with my son this summer. It's only a darned game, for crying out loud. I did congratulate several CMU people after the game. In fact, I impulsively offered my ticket stub to some random guy in CMU garb whom I saw outside the stadium. He turned it down. Then it occurred...

Just a quick post before I head over to Spartan Stadium for today's game against the Central Michigan Chippewas. Call me crazy, but the Chips scare me. They must be better than what they showed last week against Arizona. Dan Lefevour is a good quarterback and I know he's better than last week's performance. The Spartans need to take these guys seriously, and I think they will. But in the event that State is looking ahead to Notre Dame, it could be a long afternoon.

Last year, I devoted a post to almost all of Michigan State's football games. Why not make it a tradition? I don't know that we can take much from the Spartans' first game of the 2009 campaign. I thought both Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol looked good at quarterback, but would give a slight edge to Cousins. His passing was a bit crisper, but Nichol definitely brings elusiveness and speed. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see them split equal time again next week, when State takes on Central Michigan. The receiving corps looked quite good. B.J. Cunningham had a nice game, and Blair White impressed me yet again. He's got the best hands of all of them, and is fast. The real stunner for me was Dion Sims at tight end. I see him listed at 6'5" and 230 pounds, but he looks bigger than that--and, wow, does he have speed for a big guy. This kid is going to be fun to watch. The running game was solid if unspectacular. I don't know if that was a result of Montana S...

Unless you've been living under a large rock, you're probably aware that the Beatles' catalog will be reissued on CD on September 9, and that "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game will be coming out that same day. Perhaps I'm betraying my age, but I'm not that excited about "The Beatles: Rock Band" (although I must admit that the more I read about it, the more fun it sounds), but I am rather excited about the remastered music. I don't think I've mentioned in this blog before, but I am a Beatles nerd--not one of those "uber-nerds" who, say, owns every single Beatles vinyl, cassette, and compact disc release (Capitol and Parlophone, mono and stereo), every single bootleg recording, has read every single Beatles book, and has every wall in the home plastered with Beatles posters and other memorabilia --but I am perhaps the next level below that extreme peak of Fab Four geekdom. I've got about 20 vinyl Beatles LPs (two copies eac...