SOS Michigan State Basketball

By Kenneth W Paczas

Every season since 1997, Michigan State basketball has made the NCAA tournament. Often, they coasted through the big ten season, because they have been here before, and know that they get graded by what they do in the post season. They acted like they have been there before, and got it done when it mattered most.

Heading into the season, the Spartans looked like they had all the pieces for a magical season.  They came into the year ranked No. 2 in the country and we all bought into the hype.  By now we thought they would have one or two losses at the most, would be in a battle with Purdue and Ohio State for the Big Ten crown, and would have a realistic shot at a top seed come March.

Instead, we are looking at a 12-8 team that barely squeaked past Chaminade, Northwestern and Oakland.

Add to that the dismissal of Korie Lucius from the team, and all of the sudden East Lansing is looking more like a Michigan team from the last decade.

Recent history shows us that the regular season doesn't necessarily offer a true view of the quality of Izzo's teams.  Just about every time we think they are due for an early postseason exit, they win at least a couple of games in the Big Dance.  This year feels different.

A few more bad losses, and we won't be asking how far MSU will go in the tournament -- we'll be asking whether they will make the tournament.

This team was supposed to be head and shoulders better than the team that made the finals last year but they flat out aren’t. They lack the toughness that was a staple of Izzo led teams.

Every team goes through the ups and downs of a long season, but it seemed like Izzo had built a program that even in a down year could be expected to make a run at the Sweet 16.  Time may prove that the recent problems with the squad both on and off the court are just a speed bump, and Izzo will have the Spartans right back in the thick of things come March.

For the first time in a long time, I don't believe it.

I covered Kalin Lucas at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and his senior year he told me he couldn’t wait to get to Michigan State and make history. I’m not so sure if this is the type of history he was talking about.

This far into the season, being 12-8 and on the bubble of the NCAA tournament, Michigan State can’t act like they have been here before, because they haven’t; at least not since the middle of Bill Clinton’s second term.

Brady Hoke is the best man for the job!

By Kenneth W Paczas

In 2007, Carr announced his retirement, and rumors swirled who would be the next coach. The name Jim Harbaugh came up and people laughed.

“He has never won at a big time program. His first year at Stanford was blah. We need a sexy name.”

Three years later, don’t you wish you just hired the best coach? If we just hired Harbaugh that day, Michigan would of never fell off and you would still have a top 10 program in the country. Now, you can’t get him, and what does the fan base yell for?

“We want a sexy hire. We need a NAME!”

What is wrong with you people? Jim Tressel was not a sexy hire for OSU, Bob Stoops was not a sexy hire for Oklahoma, Jim Harbaugh was not a sexy hire for Stanford. Each program decided what they wanted out of their football team, and went out and got it. Since then, they have built huge programs. Michigan has their chance to do this with Brady Hoke.

Hoke looks a lot like he belongs in Animal House but the guy can flat out coach. He was at Michigan during a lot of good years (he recruited Tom Brady) and created others as a head coach where few came before. He took over at Ball State after six consecutive non-winning seasons, had four more in his first four years, then went 7-6, then 12-1, then bolted for San Diego State, where it should be a lot easier to recruit than Muncie, Ind., where Ball State is 6-18 since he left.

Except, historically, it wasn't easier. San Diego State had 10 consecutive non-winning seasons before Hoke, then another his first year.

This year, the Aztecs finished 9-4, with their first bowl win since 1969, and tied for third in the rugged Mountain West Conference, behind TCU and Utah, which beat the Aztecs by five and four points, respectively. San Diego State's other losses were by three points to Missouri and three to Brigham Young.

Hoke's best teams have had sturdy lines and running games, the perfect foil for nasty northern climates, particularly with Big Ten regular seasons now extended beyond Thanksgiving and the possibility that Soldier Field someday could host an inclement-weather conference championship game.

Respect columnist Jason Whitlock loves him so much, he went on to write this about Hoke.

“Hoke knows how to win and gets the best out of his players and coaches. They know how to recruit and identify talent that works in their system. At Ball State and San Diego State, Hoke assembled coaching staffs more qualified and skilled than the schools' budgets allow. Good coaches love working for Hoke. “

He also didn’t hesitate to add a prediction.

“If Michigan would love Hoke with half the passion Hoke loves Michigan, beating Ohio State and returning to the top of the Big Ten wouldn't take more than three seasons.”

Hoke is known for his defensive mindset. That being said, Hoke also knows how to coach offense.  I was impressed when, during a pretty dismal 5-7 season in 2006, Hoke chose to have his offensive line made up almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores.  He explained to his fan base that while the upper classmen might not make as many mistakes, they were not as talented as his young guys weren't going to help with the future of his program. Hoke was convinced if his young guys got the playing time, they could be something special down the road.

In 2007, the Cardinals were 7-6 and got invited to their first bowl game under Hoke. In 2008, they won 12 games, the most in school history.  None of that happens if Hoke doesn't coach his guys through the rough times to prepare them for greatness.

Hoke knows the school, the tradition, and he loves every part of it. MSU and OSU will not be just another game to him.

A lot of fans are upset about not getting a name. Well I would rather get the best coach and Hoke is that. Trust me, in five years, Miles will be long fired from LSU while Hoke will be a name and the Michigan fan base will be united under Hoke-A-Mania!

Griffey was the Best

By KEN W PACZAS

With all this steroid talk, and rumors circulating throughout baseball, one might want to sit down and think. Who really was the best baseball player of the last 15 years?

With “Game of Shadows”  in bookstores, the depth and breadth of baseball's steroid problem finds the industry and the implicated still unable to confront the facts.

Barry Bonds is talking baseball and baseball only. Gary Sheffield has announced he has “moved on.” No wonder. Were either man to confirm the steroid allegations contained in this book, it would be tantamount to admitting they perjured themselves before a grand jury.

Ken Griffey Junior however shows class and does not try to throw people under the bus. He knows that his records are tainted because of what others did.  Yet, he doesn’t go into mudslinging.

He claims to have no memory of the dinner table declaration Bonds is reported to have made in another book, “Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero.” The pertinent passage reveals a Bonds so consumed with jealousy for Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa that he vows to start “using some hard-core stuff, and hopefully it won't hurt my body.”

Improbably, but predictably, Griffey can't seem to remember the conversation. He and Bonds are friends – second-generation ballplayers who have each surpassed their famous fathers – and there's little to be gained from squealing.

Furthermore, Griffey has continually resisted efforts to emphasize his own example of nature-based slugging. Though juiced sluggers eroded his eminence in the 1990s, and though some of his associates were quick to repeat incriminating hearsay about Bonds, Junior has sought to stay above the fray. He was doing pretty well at it, too, until the long-leaked dinner story found its way into print.

Even though Griffey has said that parents should be role models, not baseball players. He still leads by an example that would make any parent proud.

Griffey has chosen to stay silent on the subject of steroids rather than risk being seen as sanctimonious. He held his tongue as McGwire, Sosa and Bonds erased home run records that might have been his had he stayed healthy.

Griffey won the National League's comeback player award for overcoming a major hamstring injury and having an impressive 2005 season — batting .301 with 35 homers and 92 runs batted in. It was his best season since 2000, his first in Cincinnati. While the home run kings of the steroid era have slowly been fading, Griffey has showed that when healthy, he can hit homeruns just like he did in 1995.

Griffey is a 10-time Gold Glove winner; 11-time All-Star; 1997 AL MVP; Mariners all-time leader in home runs and RBIs; MVP of 1992 All-Star game at age 23. He was an urban legend that lived up to the hype.

This will be the first spring training in almost two decades where Junior will be sitting at home and not participating. I know he was not the same player, but I loved seeing him on that field, reminding me of when baseball was good.

His swing was magic, his fielding was perfect. If it wasn’t for injuries, you have to wonder what might have been.

Sorry Barry, even with the injuries, Griffey is the best “Natural” baseball player of the last 15 years.