Kenny Holland doin' some winged-wheel-ing and dealing

Well, I never felt the Wings were in position to be a big player in the trading frenzy this year, after Peter Forsburg went off the market (to rivals Nashville), but I am wrong. And in a big way. After Wings GM Ken Holland started us off with an appetizer, trading Jason Williams in a 3-way deal to acquire Kyle Calder from Philadelphia, he hit us with the big one today. Former nemesis Todd Bertuzzi was acquired from Florida, in exchange for a prospect, and possibly 3 draft picks, depending on Bertuzzi's impact, and the Wings ability to sign him to a long term deal. The reason why the Wings got such a great deal is that Bertuzzi has been hurt for most of the season, and that's why we got a bargain. But it's really a win-win situation for Detroit. Because even if Bertuzzi doesn't play a single minute for us, all we are out is one prospect. If he returns to form, and helps us throughout the playoffs, we could be hoisting Lord Stanley's cup, and then he's worth the draft picks. Ken Holland works his magic once again, and it doesn't cost his current team a penny. Reminds me a bit of Dave Dombrowski, getting Sean Casey at baseball's trading deadline last season. Hopefully the end result is just slightly different, with a championship instead of a runner-up.

Let's go Red Wings!!

Why can't U-M basketball be more like U-M football?

The inconsistency of the Michigan Men's basketball program will keep them out of the NCAA tournament - again. That, and lack of talent and the fact that COURTNEY SIMS KEEPS DISAPPEARING IN THE BIG GAMES!!!!! The only exception to that was the Indiana game, when he didn't start, he came in off the bench, and was huge for us down the stretch (offensively, at least, and did ok against DJ White, but disappeared when Michael White was tearing us apart, but I digress...). I don't understand this team. No, we don't have the most talent in the Big 10, but how do we lose games which we have big leads, against teams that have less or as much talent as we do (NC State, Iowa, I'm looking in your direction). And how do we play Ohio State oh so close, yet get blown out by UCLA and Georgetown, both of whom I would consider inferior to OSU?? How does this happen? And don't even get me started on the way we played against MSU, including the fact that we refused to go down low with the ball. One of Courtney Sims, Epke Udoh, and Brent Petway should've touched the ball EVERY time we had the ball. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Now, after today's win at Minnesota (more convincing than the home win (by 1) aganst them earlier in the season), we're 1 win shy of 20, with Games v MSU and @ OSU, and to get into the tournament, we need to beat State, at least, and win 2 games in the tournament. If we don't win either of our two remaining games (and I'm assuming that the OSU game is a loss), then we won't make it, barring a tournament championship (which would be a miracle in it's own right). Consistancy. That's all I ask for (and not being consistanly terrible, that's not an option). The only way this gets better, in my opinion, is if we start treating basketball like a football equal (which hasn't happened so far - just take a look at Crisler Arena for proof), and get a basketball coach who only cares about winning. Someone like Tom Izzo, who ALWAYS gets the best out of his players (like this season) instead of Amaker, who I really do like, but it seems like his teams always underachieve (1 NCAA appearance out of 9 (or 10) seasons).

Well, here's hoping for the best, and getting to see U-M (finally) back in the Tournament.

GO BLUE!!!

Arsenal FC, the Rocky Mountains, and Fidel Castro

That's right, I said Fidel freakin' Castro.

Yesterday, the Colorado Rapids announced that they have teamed with Arsenal FC in a player development deal, which will include the "Arsenal Center of Excellence" for youth academy training in Denver, the exchange of training, coaching, and marketing information, and the introduction of a youth tournament, dubbed the 'Arsenal Cup'. This deal is massive for MLS, and for Arsenal FC, as they try to spread their 'brand name' around the world. And with a world class training facility setup in Denver, it can only help the development of the players in this country, hopefully leading to more situations like this, and creating a stronger foothold in this country for the World's game. And, if a certain north London squad were to travel to this country (which manager Arsene Wenger really does not want to do) to play a friendly against the Rapids, that would be fantastic.

Now, about the Fidel Castro part...
According to Arsenal's official encyclopedia, the Gunners fan base has now grown to 27 Million fans around the world. This unofficially makes Arsenal FC the third most popular club in the world (from 2006), and this number continues to grow. Case in point: Arsenal offers many different types of membership programs, and all together, they have 171,000 registered members. This number is greater than the World record for club members held by Benfica (which was 161,000), and is enough to fill the Emirates Stadium almost 3 times. This report, which is reported here, also states that the club has been followed by many famous people, including one Fidel Castro. So, apparently that makes me a card-carrying communist as well (just kidding, but I did buy a red membership from my favorite footballing side).

Just kind of thought this was interesting (and btw, 3 posts in a week *shock*).

2 posts in a week - *gasp*

Well, this Chris Webber thing seems to be working out better than I thought. Last night was a good example of that, as he had 17 points, 6 boards, 6 assists, and 4 steals, as Detroit rolled over hapless Boston, 109-102 (the 'Stones got bored after 3 quarters, and that's why the score was as close as it was). The Pistons are now 8-3 with Webber on board, and he is consistantly around 15 points, and 5-10 boards a night. And, he wanders into the low post area, which I thought that he had gotten away from to focus on his jump shooting. So it's like we got the old Chris Webber, and Philly got stuck with the crappy one for 2 years. Sucks to be them!! Well, I still think we need one more piece of this puzzle to win it all this year (another C probably), but I think we will be more than just competitive in the lEast this year, and who knows? Maybe another championship is in the works...

Peyton's no Marino

Well, we can stop all of the 'what happens if Peyton doesn't win a Super Bowl' crap right now...

Last night, the Indianapolis Colts took care of the Chicago Bears, 29-17, and MVP Peyton Manning had a pretty good night, going 25-38 for 247 yards and a touchdown. It really was a remarkable game for the Colts, because on a night where the crowd was 75% against them, the weather was against them (supposedly, as the rain was supposed to make this passing attack non-effective), and on top of all that, the opening kick-off was returned for a touchdown by Chicago. But Manning used the passing game as effectively as possible, and Indy's two-headed rushing attack of Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes slashed through the excellent Chicago defense all day, and with Chicago QB Rex Grossman being his usual crappy self, all Indy had to do was play OK defense, and let Peyton take care of the rest. And that he did.

Ok, onto the best part of any Super Bowl - the Commercials. There were two commercials that had me rolling on the ground. First was the Rock - Paper - Bud Light:
Rock, Paper, Bud Light



Add to My Profile | More Videos

and second, the Kevin Federline commercial - mostly because it's probably the truth.
K-Fed's Front



Add to My Profile | More Videos

Enjoy.