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Spare Me Your Trash Takes, Cam Newton Is Making Football Fun Again

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Sark

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2015 was a huge year for race relations in the United States of America. The Black Lives Matter protests, the riots in Baltimore after the death of Freddy Gray, the marches in Chicago in response to the death of LaQuan McDonald. It was and still is a tense time in America. Sports are supposed to be our one great escape, something that all of us can bond over no matter our racial, socioeconomic, or educational background. Then came Cam Newton and the 15-1 Carolina Panthers, barnstorming their way to an eventual berth in Super Bowl 50, and a whole bunch of garbage takes shaming Cam Newton for having the audacity to be a black quarterback who is having fun.

Throughout his career, Newton has been nitpicked, criticized and called out every step of the way. If he dances when he scores, people get angry. If he gives a football to a child, people think it’s a PR stunt. With every single game he plays and dominates, you would think his doubters would have less ammunition. As we approach Super Sunday, some fans and pundits are still turning to coded racism to attack Newton for making football enjoyable.

If you want to criticize Cam Newton, do it because THOSE PANTS COST $850

The NFL is a soulless product. They will take your team away from you, your team will sign a garbage human being who viciously attacked his girlfriend and call him “a great leader.” You even might be forced into watching a team go 0-16 for the first time in league history. There are plenty of bad things about the NFL, but Cam Newton is not one of them. Like many of us, Newton has a skeletons in his closet, dating back to his time at Florida, when he was nearly expelled after being charged with the theft of a laptop and accused of cheating. Newton landed in junior college, then Auburn, where he won the Heisman Trophy and a National Championship in one electric season as a Tiger. Even at Auburn, Newton wasn’t without criticism, rumors abound that his father took a $180,000 payment for Newton to attend Auburn over other schools. Once he reached the pros, Newton was poked and prodded and there was even debate if he was worthy of the first overall pick (his contemporaries in the 2011 draft class were Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick)

Newton has hosted “Cam’s Thanksgiving Jam” – providing Thanksgiving dinner for hundreds of underprivileged and at risk kids in Charlotte every year since 2013.

None of them are the athlete Newton is, and perhaps more importantly, none of them are as lauded for their community outreach as much as Newton is. For every dance he does, or every time he dabs, it’s worth remembering that he is doing a LOT off the field as well: taking 25 mentally/physically handicapped children on shopping sprees at Christmastime, providing Thanksgiving dinner for 900 kids in Charlotte, and running his foundation, dedicated to “enhancing the lives of young people by addressing their socioeconomic, educational, physical, and emotional needs.” Sounds like an awful human being right?

What sickens me, is that some people are offended by Cam Newton being himself. It’s one thing to be a black quarterback, but god forbid he should dance when he accomplishes something while playing a game that he is putting his body and brain at risk for. Football is a game and one that is supposed to be fun. Cam Newton brings that childlike whimsy to a sport that has been sanitized by rule changes and is giving us the worst product in recent memory. Furthermore, the word “class” needs to be eradicated from sports. People used the same coded language two years ago when Richard Sherman went on his rant after the NFC Championship, the funny part is now some Seahawks fans are calling out Cam Newton for being “classless” and want him banned from playing at CenturyLink Field. Now of course that is a small sliver of people, but it’s still unbelievable.

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This fact may catch you by surprise, but in the last four Super Bowls, the NFC representative has featured a black Quarterback: Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson (twice) and now Newton. Kaepernick and Wilson were not put under the same microscope that Newton has been under since 2010. Perhaps it’s because Wilson is a celibate, bible quoting man of God, while Newton is hanging out with rappers Young Jeezy and Future before games. It could be speculated that Cam Newton is viewed as “different” because he is arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, but doesn’t feel the need to conform to stereotypes that are expected of a player in that role (except for shilling mediocre foodstuffs during NFL games, but shoot I do buy that yogurt.) If Newton hoists the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday, it will be a coronation six years in the making.

Even I was a Cam Newton detractor for the first two years of his career, but I changed, and you can too!

Now, I want to come clean. Your faithful writer did not like Cam Newton back in college and early in his NFL career for many of the same reasons some people do today. He was a showboater, I thought it was arrogant of him to wear #1, and I didn’t think he had the glib to be a successful NFL QB. It was shortly after the 2012 season, Newton’s second year that I changed my mind. I read an article that said he went back to Auburn with designs on finishing his degree in sociology. Now many players do this, but Newton did so because of a promise he made to his mother Jackie when he left school early for the 2011 draft. I grew up knowing much like Newton, when you make a promise to your mother, you keep it, and that was when Cam Newton earned my respect. Newton did finish that degree last June and used the 2015 season to launch himself into the stratosphere as not just a great quarterback, but a fun-loving pop culture phenomenon. The only difference is that if Newton were white, he would be Brett Favre circa 1996, and everyone would adore him. Alas, Cam is black, and embraces the fact he is just a 26 year old kid from Atlanta playing a game he loves. Cam is also a leader of one of the NFL’s most potent offenses on a 15-1 team with a very good chance of winning the Super Bowl. Finally, Cam is an NFL player that believe it or not, has no criminal record, no off the field scandals, and not a single shred of indecency about him, instead he is known more for how much he gives back. So spare me your garbage that Newton is a showboater, or plays the game the wrong way. Cam Newton makes football fun, and I can’t wait to see him and President Obama dab at the White House in June. Go Panthers.

Your Professional Sports Franchise Does Not Care About You, And Never Will: Putting The Rams Relocation In Perspective

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Sark

The Rams, like some who grew up in the midwest, have decided to uproot from St. Louis after 22 years and chase their Hollywood dreams. In a business where teams play Russian Roulette with cities to see who will publicly fund their new billion dollar stadiums, the Rams moving back to Los Angeles served as no surprise to me. While it is unfortunate that this marks the second time that the city of St. Louis has lost a football team (The Cardinals were in town from 1960-1987 before jetting off to the desert) and that is unfortunate for their fanbase, it serves as a perfect time to remind you: your favorite professional sports team does not care about you, nor will they ever.

Vilify Stan Kroenke all you want St. Louis, he and his football team don’t care.

When the Rams, and owner Stan Kroenke (who also owns my beloved Arsenal FC, who have zero chance of ever being relocated because EPL.) got their deal to move to Inglewood, CA approved earlier this week, social media provided some mixed reactions from players and fans. The players were grateful for their time in the Gateway City, but no doubt have to be mildly excited about leaving the midwest for sunny L.A. The fans of course were incredibly upset, but this was a move you could see coming from the moment Kroenke acquired the majority stake in the team in 2010 after the death of beloved owner Georgia Frontiere. The Edward Jones Dome, while only a skosh older than 20 years, looks like it could’ve been built in the 1970’s (stadium architecture jumped leaps and bounds from 1995-2015.) Let’s also not forget it has a problem with catching fire. That was issue number one. Number two is that St. Louis, first and foremost will always be a baseball town, they love their Cardinals, and as long as they are semi-relevant (which they have been as long as I’ve been alive and longer) that is the city’s first focus. Third, the fans just stopped caring as the Rams muddled their way through NFL purgatory with records hovering around .500 since 2010 (2011 was an exception) and their last playoff trip coming in 2004 (and their last winning season was in 2003.) To the casual, uninformed NFL fan, the Rams could move to Los Angeles and they wouldn’t blink twice.

The Browns were so bold as to march on Capitol Hill in late 1995 to try and keep Art Modell from moving the franchise to Baltimore

Now of course, the fans who are chanting “Kroenke Sucks” at Blues games and the ones tweeting vitriol about the situation, are involved in the hottest trend of 2015 – social media outrage. In the last twenty-two years, there have been five relocations including the Rams: The Rams to St. Louis (1995) The Raiders BACK to Oakland (1995) The Browns to Baltimore (1996) The Oilers to Tennessee (1997) and now the Rams to Los Angeles. The Key difference is that the world, and the realm of sports fandom, was a LOT different 19 years ago. Fans were just as upset when the Browns left Cleveland (despite a promise the Browns would return years later) and when the Oilers left Houston (the Texans arrived five seasons later.) With Twitter and Instagram, sites like SB Nation and other outlets on the internet to allow fans to vent rage, we now have an accurate snapshot of what fans endure when one of their favorite teams leaves them.

‘Fan Appreciation Day’ was not the hottest ticket in town this year

Now we can discuss one of my favorite topics, the fallacy of professional sports fandom. My former professor, John U. Bacon always cited that fans, whether affiliated or not, have a stronger connection to college sports than to professional sports. That bond only intensifies for students, alumni, and others professionally affiliated with a university. Before Bacon was even my professor, ESPN’s Trey Wingo told me during my internship in Bristol “Remember, fan is short for fanatic, and in biblical times, fanatics were willing to die for the cause they supported.” Now I like to think that most fans recognize there is a disconnect between pro sports teams and their patrons, but many do not. You are nothing but a dollar sign to your favorite pro sports team. Now I do not mean this as an insult, but as a simple fact. One prime example was given on this very blog last year, when the Chicago Blackhawks unveiled that Patrick Kane bobblehead night would be on January 24th when Kane was IN THE MIDDLE OF A RAPE INVESTIGATION. Despite the fact that the charges levied against Kane were eventually dropped, it was an incredibly tone deaf move from one of the better organizations in professional sports. In the midst of the Kane investigation, Yahoo’s Greg Wyshynski provided one of the best take home quotes that every fan should remember when watching their favorite team – “Don’t wrap your identity around something you don’t have control over.” Those words should ring as loud as church bells for all of us.

I love the Red Wings more than any other pro sports team, but I keep that fandom in check.

I watch the Lions, but I will never go to the lengths that Detroit Don and Superfan go to at Lions games, only to have their hearts wretched in amazing new ways 16 days a year. I love the Red Wings, and even have considered getting an “Al The Octopus” tattoo the next time they win the Stanley Cup, but I still have to pay out the nose to sit in nose bleed seats at the Joe. Perhaps most importantly, this has never happened to one of my teams, but I have been lucky enough that none of my favorite team’s players have been under any serious investigations like Patrick Kane, Kobe Bryant or Ben Roethlisberger. When players commit crimes, or commit other fallacies, they don’t do this with the fan in mind. They are also human beings capable of mistakes, but they are put under the magnifying glass because of the perch they sit on. What I find fascinating is that fans will go to extreme lengths, and I mean horrifyingly extreme, when their team is threatened. The most notable example being Blackhawks fans sending reporter Julie DiCaro death threats for reporting on the Kane case. I might be able to write a whole book on the dumb things sports fans do, but I hope I never have to include stories like that. Fans are willing to go to extreme lengths for their teams, but their teams won’t be repaying their fans in a similar fashion. ever.

Attending games has given me plenty of memories, but I’m not one of those people who is going to burn a jersey the minute my team moves.

I love my teams and enjoy watching them, but also understand that they are businesses. If the Lions were to demand that the public build them a new stadium to replace Ford Field using taxpayer dollars or threaten Detroit with relocation – let them relocate. We live in a day and age where attending a professional game can be a horrible experience, and television and the internet allow us to stay connected to our teams no matter where they are in the country. The Wings and Tigers would never relocate due to their historical roots, but if they were, I would still follow them to whichever new city they chose, because of the memories I have watching those teams. I know that with every ticket I purchase, and every $9.50 beer I drink is money I won’t see again, but it’s for the experience and the enjoyment I have of attending games with friends or family. So if it’s one takeaway you get from reading this, it’s that you have every right to enjoy your favorite pro teams, but remember, tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, and if your favorite team decides to move, hold on to the memories, follow them to their new town and try to make a game, but it’s not worth losing sleep over it, because pro sports teams are always going to do what they think is best, not what the fans want.

Michigan vs Michigan State: On Mishandled Snaps, Wrong Reports and Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Sark

I can’t believe how Saturday ended. I can’t imagine how everyone in attendance (both Spartan and Wolverine fans) felt about a moment that immediately seared itself into their memories (for better or for worse) for the rest of their lives. In a rivalry that has been overlooked in the past, and more recently, been dominated by Michigan State, the Spartans and Wolverines played an all-timer that will be shown on the Big Ten Network from now until eternity. That play will feature in every Michigan State pre-game hype video for the rest of time. The bigger storylines from this game are not what happened during that play, but all the absurdity that happened once the clock hit zero and the Spartans began celebrating.

The Sounds of Silence

Every Michigan fans mood from now until they play Minnesota on Halloween

I’m not old enough to know what the atmosphere was like in 1994 when Colorado QB Kordell Stewart found WR Michael Westbrook to connect on a 64 yard Touchdown to beat Michigan as time expired. That was the last time something this excruciatingly painful happened to Michigan on the final play of the game (some might argue Appalachian State but Michigan was already down on that final play when they attempted the field goal.) Speaking of App State, feelings have not been that blue inside the Big House since that fateful day in 2007. Moments like these etch themselves into college football history, and there are always two sides of it. Much like the Kick-Six in 2013 that gave Auburn their signature win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl, this was Michigan’s Kick-Six moment, something that no fan of either team, will ever forget. Keeping with the silence theme, Michigan and Wolverine nation don’t get an immediate reset from this – the team heads into the bye with this fresh in their minds. The next time Michigan plays, they take on Minnesota on Halloween night in Minneapolis. You can bet that Jim Harbaugh’s team will be ready to put this MSU loss behind them and go back to dominating opponents as they have for much of this season.

Michigan State is Kind of Good

Amidst all the Harbaugh-mania, it’s easy to forget that MSU has been the bully on the block for the last half decade

When wearing maize-tinted glasses, it’s very easy to forget that Michigan State has won 33 of their last 36 games. Mark Dantonio has rallied a team that has been ravaged by injuries to an undefeated record this year. The defense is not as dominant as it was under former defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi (Ranked 56th in total defense if I heard Sean McDonough correctly yesterday.) However, the “Spartans Will” mentality willed them to an improbable win against their archrivals. Despite how Michigan lost the game, and the pain that comes with losing to your in-state rival, there is no reason for the Wolverines to hang their heads losing to a team that has won the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl the last two years, and could very well be headed to another New Year’s Six bowl game this year (the Michigan State vs Ohio State game could be a meeting of undefeated teams in Columbus.) The only thing I disagreed with from Michigan State were players exuding confidence during the post game press conference, acting like they knew they had the game won all along. MSU may have dominated the stat column, but the team had a 0.02 percent win probability before the ball was snapped on that final play (per ESPN Stats & Info.) Referees admitted Sunday morning that there should have been a “roughing the snapper” call but for how poorly that game was officiated on both sides of the ball, that doesn’t surprise me. Furthermore, can we end the practice of allowing officials to admit they blew a call after the final whistle? It will never change the final result, and it just angers the fans of the team that lost even more.

It’s Not Over Until it’s Over

Know how over MSU's equipment staff thought it was? They'd dropped Bunyan off in U-M's locker room. #SurrealFinish pic.twitter.com/1j1I7nJ7Z1

— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) October 18, 2015

Do you know how “over” everyone thought that game was? Michigan State equipment managers had already dropped off the Paul Bunyan Trophy in Michigan’s locker room before the final play. News reporters were practicing their standups in the North endzone, prepared to talk about Jim Harbaugh’s team overcoming Mark Dantonio’s squad in their first meeting. WZZM Grand Rapids’ sports director Jamal Spencer actually did a live report discussing Michigan’s win before the game ended on the play (which has led to the internet razzing him non-stop for the mistake unfortunately.) Now when the game did come to an end, and only those clad in green and white were cheering in the Big House, that is when the five stages of grief began to take over for Michigan fans. Police reported fist fights, broken bottles, and yes, even sofas burning in Ann Arbor in the aftermath of the game. I know that sports fans all have their own ways of coping (I ate a sixteen inch Philly Cheese Steak sandwich for dinner last night…) but violence and property destruction are not the answers. I am proud to say I am from Ann Arbor, Michigan and am a graduate of U of M, but the minute I hear about sofas burning (or from earlier in the week, statues being defaced) I immediately cringe. Whether affiliated with the university or not, people who participate in such actions give sports fans a bad name, and make the school look bad. News crews were in Ann Arbor filming people burning those couches. I understand a loss like that can ruin your night, your weekend, hell even your whole month, but just remember what sports are – they are an escape, but they also are a pretty one-sided affair – the fans watch, the players play, but the fans only get an emotional response out of the game, they don’t get their money back when the team wins or loses. Just remember what Yahoo’s Greg Wyshinski once said “Don’t wrap your identity around something you don’t have control over.” Every armchair QB can debate from now until next year when Michigan and Michigan State play about better play calls, but remember, it is just a bunch of college kids playing a game at the end of the day.

Punting isn’t Easy, but Punters are People Too

Michigan Punter Blake O’Neill was on the wrong side of history Saturday night

Michigan Punter Blake O’Neill doesn’t need your Twitter death threats to know what catastrophe occurred on Saturday night. The Wolverines Australian folk hero turned into a goat in ten seconds and now will forever be apart of the Michigan vs Michigan State rivalry. Initially, everyone thought it would be because of the 80 yard punt he launched in the first quarter that actually travelled 98 yards from leaving his toe to being downed at the opposite one yard line. According to Jim Harbaugh, that final snap was low, leading to O’Neill’s mishandling of it and Jalen Watts-Jackson scoring the game winning TD. Blake O’Neill is a young man from Melbourne, Australia who grew up playing not football, but Australian Rules Football. He was converted to a proper football punter before spending last season at Weber State and transferring to Michigan for his graduate year. I had a chance to interact with O’Neill briefly before the Michigan vs Northwestern game and he was a delightful individual, taking time to pose for pictures with fans in between warming up for the game and engaging reporters like myself in football chit chat. People who are threatening him with death on Twitter, or White House Petitions trying to force his transfer, FOH. You should be banned from watching college football because you clearly cannot handle that every week, one team wins, and one team loses, and sometimes, that team will be yours. The good news is, O’Neill’s punting coach says he will not be fazed by the backlash from the loss, and I hope he continues to delight Wolverine fans with his booming, rugby style punts. I still don’t know how the student section doesn’t chant “AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE! OY! OY! OY!” on every punt, it’s a hell of a lot better than that “you suck” chant that needed to be retired about five years ago.

The Season Is Not Over

Keep Calm and Harbaugh On Michigan fans, it’s gonna be okay.

One loss does not define a season. Jim Harbaugh’s Lion King analogy makes even more sense now than it did during his press conference last week. “The past can hurt, you can either run from it, or you can learn from it.” You can bet a six figure sum that Harbaugh will make sure his team learns from this. Michigan is still WAY ahead of schedule in returning to national prominence after the darkness of 2008-2014. Combine the fact that the teams Michigan has lost to are a combined 13-0, and Michigan is still set up for greatness this year. They could very well be 9-2 headed into their home finale vs Ohio State and with a little help, they still could find their way to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game. College Football is a 12 week emotional roller coaster, and we know what happens when we strap in for that season long ride. So do what you have to in order to get past that loss Michigan fans, but remember, it still is great to be a Michigan Wolverine.

Wait, What? The Blackhawks Mishandling of the Patrick Kane Situation

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Sark

Kane at his training camp Press Conference last month

That’s it. I have tried to stand by idly and wait until all the information was released on Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane’s rape investigation before I passed judgement, but the team’s latest misstep is a bridge too far. The Blackhawks released their promotions schedule, and January 24, 2016 is ‘Patrick Kane bobble head night’. I shouldn’t have to delve into why this is so problematic, but in short, the fact that the organization is scheduling a promotional giveaway honoring an employee who has a potential pending rape charge, is disgusting. The team is already in hot water for allowing Kane to skate in camp, and then holding a press conference where the team insisted that the media only ask Kane about hockey-related questions. The NHL has no idea what to do, and in general, both casual fans and diehards are wondering whether Kane should be viewed as innocent or guilty while the investigation continues.

Patrick Kane is no saint, he was arrested in 2009 and charged with second-degree robbery, fourth-degree criminal mischief, and theft of services in Buffalo after assaulting a cab driver over 20 cents. Now, since then, he has kept himself out of trouble for the most part. His on ice exploits have been extraordinary, winning three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks, during which he: Scored the game winning goal (2010). Won Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP (2013) and was the co-leader in points for the playoffs (2015). Without a doubt, he is a Hall of Famer for his on-ice achievements at age 26. The problem that we now encounter, is what supposedly happened in Buffalo on the night of August 6, 2015. Look back through the past few years of high profile incidents among major athletes. Charges like DUIs are often brushed under the rug and handled internally, but violence against women and sexual assault charges are brought to the forefront (and properly so.) Jameis Winston, Ray Rice and Greg Hardy are just a few of these cases that have been in the limelight the last few years. Winston’s case was completely mishandled by the Tallahassee Police Department and we still have yet to come to a firm conclusion (Winston’s accuser filed a civil complaint in April before the NFL Draft.) Winston is currently the starting QB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rice and Hardy were both suspended, Rice has yet to find another NFL job (and most likely will not.) Hardy was suspended last year, and suspended for part this year retroactively as Roger Goodell continues to seemingly pick his punishments out of a hat. What will the NHL do if and when Kane is prosecuted? Commisioner Gary Bettman has never dealt with an incident like this, and the NHL does not have a domestic violence policy in place. The closest was L.A. Kings’ Defenseman Slava Voynov in 2014. Voynov was arrested in October 2014 and in November was charged with “one felony count of corporal injury to a spouse with great bodily injury” after he struck his pregnant wife. Voynov was recently released from jail and is being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, facing potential deportation to Russia. In all likelihood, Voynov’s NHL career is over. The Kane incident is Bettman’s next challenge.

Kane is innocent until proven guilty, but are we okay with that?

The charges against Kane became magnified when the story was picked up by the national media after the hockey media had focused on it. When ESPN’s Bomani Jones is commenting on hockey in a non-satirical manner, it is a major story (Jones openly jokes he knows nothing of the sport on Highly Questionable.) Now this is where the trouble really begins, everyone knows that hockey fans are committed and loyal to a fault. So loyal that Blackhawks fans took to threatening CBSChicago reporter Julie DiCaro on Twitter for reporter against their beloved Kane. The threats became so bad that DiCaro feared going into her office as people tweeted death threats at her. This is where I fall back onto my old adage “SPORTS ARE DUMB, THEY ARE NOT REAL LIFE.” What is real life is that people threatened someone they don’t know because she was doing her job, reporting on a rape investigation surrounding their favorite player. As a reporter, I have so many problems with this, but it’s hard to do anything about it. Keyboard warriors will say and do whatever they please from the comfort of their living rooms. A very poignant debate about Kane and the press conference took place on the September 18th edition of Marek vs. Wyshinski, a notable hockey podcast. Puck Daddy editor Greg Wyshinski raised two important points: 1. It is hard to pass judgement because none of us, other than Kane, the victim, and her friend, truly know what happened that night in Buffalo. 2. This is a test of what fandom truly is – the amount of women roaming around Chicago every fall and winter in Patrick Kane jerseys is staggering. The Blackhawks certainly have a stronger female fan base than many teams in the league. How do these women feel about Kane being in training camp and most likely playing in next week’s season opener? This is where Wyshinski made a point that I think should hold true for all fans of professional sports teams: “Don’t wrap your identity around something you don’t have control over.”

Well Blackhawks fans, what say you about Kaner?

This quote really stuck with me because it’s true: as fans, we spend money on tickets, memorabilia, jerseys, and many other material goods that financially benefit these professional franchises. What do we get in return? Experiences sure, but nothing truly tangible. Many fans will never meet their on-ice heroes. When fans decide to stop cheering for a team, the team could care less, the money will still flow in from new fans. Getting tickets to a game at the United Center is nearly impossible without season tickets or proper connections. The lack of control specifically points to what happens away from the ice/playing field. Wyshinski recommends keeping your teams “at an arms length” because when incidents like this happen, how are fans supposed to feel? How would those same female Blackhawks fans who have bought Kane jerseys feel about getting his bobble head on January 24th? We don’t know. Hockey fans can be a resilient and forgiving bunch – Todd Bertuzzi ended Steve Moore’s career in 2004, yet when he arrived in Detroit and put on the winged wheel, some fans (like myself), immediately embraced him as a power forward and enforcer, others did not forgive him for his transgressions during his Vancouver days and were happy to see him leave.

There are many professional athletes who almost never get into trouble, there are others who find themselves in situations like Kane. The fact of the matter is, Kane is probably going to play until this case is resolved, whether that be this season or down the road. Whether innocent or guilty, Kane has set a new precedent for the NHL on how they must handle rape investigations and domestic violence, because what has happened so far, is not acceptable.

What To Expect When You’re Expecting The Worst: Previewing the Detroit Tigers Second Half of the Season.

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Sark

Four straight AL Central division titles and one World Series appearance. The 2010’s have been the most successful period for the Detroit Tigers of my lifetime and the most competitive they have been since the mid-1980’s. The sad part it, it’s all coming to a crash ending.

I imagine this is how Brad Ausmus feels about the 2015 season.

Blame Ausmus. Blame Dombrowski. Blame the bullpen. Blame Greene and Simon. There’s blame to go all around for the fact the Tigers are .500 at the All-Star break and have looked woefully noncompetitive in many games. They are 9 games back in the divisional race and 3 1/2 out of the final Wild Card spot, which means barring them going 11-2 out of the gate after the break, they will not make the postseason. Now before I dive into what ails the team and what they have to do – let’s look at a few positives

The Summer of Martinez and McCann

Rookie James McCann has filled in for Alex Avila admirably.

I expected the former of this duo to have a great season, and the latter to be serviceable. Instead, both have proved to be vital cogs to the Tigers offense. J.D Martinez currently leads the team in Home Runs and RBI and is fourth with his .287 batting average. He also has missed a grand total of two games this year. For a player who was outright cut by the Astros in March 2014, Martinez has proven his worth for the Tigers. He may not have the speed to be an elite corner outfielder, but without his offensive output, the team would be in far worse condition this year. McCann on the other hand was tasked with replacing Alex Avila for the first half of the season as the team’s starting catcher. While his stat line doesn’t jump out with anything notable, the fact he is hitting above .275 when Avila hasn’t hit above .250 since 2011 is a welcome change for frustrated Tiger fans. Personally, I think the Tigers should let McCann keep the starters job and trade Avila for a box of TimBits (I had Tim Horton’s four times in a week while back home in Michigan, I miss it so.)

#VoteYo and Go-Go-Gose

Yoenis Cespedes and Anthony Gose have proven to be savvy offseason acquisitions by Dave Dombrowski.

The Yoenis Cespedes trade seems to be favoring the Tigers so far as Rick Porcello has imploded in Boston (5-9, 5.90 ERA in 100.2 IP). Cespedes has been his steady self during his first half season in Detroit. Starting every game, hitting .297 (well above his career average of .269) with 13 dingers and 51 RBI. I think Cespedes is a perfect fit in Detroit, but the problem is he is on the last year of his contract. The Tigers face the important decision: Pay a 29 year old player to stay with a team that may be forced to rebuild? Or trade him for bait at the deadline so he doesn’t walk away for nothing like Max Scherzer did last winter.

Next to Cespedes is another offseason trade acquisition, Anthony Gose. Gose has done a fine job filling the shoes that Austin Jackson left empty when he was dealt during the David Price trade last July, providing a good pop in his bat on offense and plenty of range in center field. Gose is also only 24 years old, which means regardless of what happens, the Tigers can keep him with the team even during a few down years.

Now we must discuss the bad news. The Tigers will not become sellers at the deadline because owner Mike Illitch in his old age wants to see the team win one more World Series before he moves on to the great owner’s box in the sky. This means we are trapped watching a team that struggles to put a full game together for the next two and a half months. Worse off, there is a chance that David Price and Yoenis Cespedes will both leave the Tigers in free agency after this year.

The Tigers MUST trade David Price

DP, it’s been real, but you gotta be ready to say deuces to the D.

It pained me to write the above lede, but it has to happen. Especially after Price earned the win in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, pitching a 1-2-3 frame. Losing Max Scherzer while still paying the shell of Justin Verlander was egg on management’s face. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you. Between the horrible trade of Doug Fister to Washington and losing Scherzer to the Nationals as well, I hope Dave Dombrowski has learned his lesson about dismantling the pitching staff. Now yes, by trading Price, the Tigers will be down to Verlander and Sanchez as the only quality starters left (even Verlander is losing that label somewhat.) However, if David Price were traded to the right team, one who knows they could lock him in to a lucrative, long-term extension, the Tigers can raid that team of prospects or even decent, major league starting players. Who these teams might be? I can’t be sure, but moving Price is probably a good way to jump start the rebuild process with some semi-decent pieces. Personally, I’d prefer if he were sent to an NL like Scherzer heading to the Nationals so the Tigers don’t have to face him other than a handful of times over the years.

Take a long, hard look at the bullpen.

Joakim Soria is the only mildly reliable arm in the Tigers pen, and that’s not chill.

This year marks the 13th season that I’ve watched Tiger baseball on a semi-regular basis (yes, the first year I watched the team was 2003, the 43-119 year.) So I have seen ups, downs and everything in between, the thing is, I can’t remember a time when the Tigers bullpen was not TRASH. From Todd ‘Rollercoaster” Jones to Jose Valverde. The flopping arm of Troy Percival to the dead elbow of Joe Nathan. The Tigers seem to have a penchant for acquring less than stellar bullpen talent. I think that Joakim Soria was actually a nice pickup last year before the deadline. The Tigers recently acquired Neftali Feliz, who has fallen off HARD since 2010, but perhaps he will be revitalized in a Tiger uniform (doubtful but I’ve seen crazier things.) This offseason, Dave Dombrowski (if given a new contract) MUST get the Tigers some proper bullpen help. That loss last Friday in Minnesota was completely unacceptable and wasted what may have been Justin Verlander’s one lights out start of the year. The team needs a closer, must choose if Soria is worthy of being the setup man, and a few specialists would help.

New Starting Pitching

The Tigers had the best five man rotation in baseball during their 2012 run to the AL pennant. Verlander, Scherzer, Sanchez, Fister and Porcello/Smyly/Insert Name Here were absolutely dominant. Less than three years later and the team is down to Price, Sanchez and a very hit or miss Verlander. Shane Greene has shown he is too “green” (couldn’t resist) to be a consistent major league starter, and Alfredo Simon has been a bust (I watched him allow five runs in an inning to the Pirates in person and spent the rest of the game not paying attention to baseball.) The team must address these issues this winter – sign a couple of decent pitchers (Doug Fister will be a free agent…) and have them slot up behind Verlander and Sanchez. If the team can find a couple of free agents or bring back a more seasoned Shane Greene, prospects could be brighter for 2016. However, this year, I only believe the Tigers have a true shot of winning a game when Verlander or Sanchez takes the mound.

Accept The Realities

This is not the Tigers year. Miggy is out hurt, V-Mart is proving he cant run the base-paths anymore, the bullpen has found a way to be even worse than in years past. I think the Tigers will be lucky to get an above .500 record once the season ends. The team has a seven game homestand beginning today vs the Orioles and Mariners. Things could be different if the Tigers go on a tear like they did to start the year, but barring that slim possibility, the team should trade its assets for young talent and focus on rebuilding for next year.

Look on the bright side though Detroit fans, with Babcock gone, the Red Wings are finally spending money! Hockey season is less than three months away! Football season is two months away! Just remember, while the Tigers may frustrate the hell out of us, there still are few better ways to spend a summer night in Detroit then down at the ballpark. Here’s to baseball season coming to a quick, merciful end.

Requiem For A Predictably Unpredictable Pair of Postseasons: We Could’ve Seen This Coming.

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Sark

Well it’s finals time in the NBA and the NHL – an equal parts exciting (for the games and the matchups) and horrifying (the baseball-only hellscape that we must endure until football and futbol return in August) time of the year. It’s hard to believe the playoffs in both sports began over a month and a half ago, but we’re down to the final four. What’s kind of surprising, but also unsurprising at the same time, are the matchups that we are looking at. At the start of the playoffs, many people could’ve picked these four teams and most people would say “yeah, I could see that happening.” But what’s important, is how these teams got there.

The Stanley Cup Final – (5) Chicago Blackhawks vs (2) Tampa Bay Lightning

My beloved Red Wings were eliminated over a month ago, but I only became more invested in the NHL playoffs after their elimination. I even attended my first postseason game this year! Watching Corey Crawford stand on his head and shutout the Wild in Game 3 of their second round matchup – I may dislike the Chicago Blackhawks, but after that game, I started telling everyone I know – bet everything you own and you ever will own on the Chicago Blackhawks. Their wild seven game Western Conference Finals series only further reinforced that. Despite the Ducks’, and head coach Bruce Bourdeau’s reputation for choking, it took a lot of guts and resilience from the NHL’s best team of the decade to come back to win that series. It all started with Jonathan “Captain Boring” Toews (HE HAS NO PERSONALITY! AT LEAST KANE GOT HIMSELF INTO TROUBLE AND HAS A THOR-ESQUE FLOW COMING OUT OF HIS HELMET!) scoring two late goals to get the Blackhawks to Overtime in Game 5. Despite the OT loss, any hockey fan knew the Hawks were taking that series. What is fascinating about this year’s ‘Hawks is the emergence of Corey Crawford as a top-tier goalie. I always joked that Crawford was the luckiest man in Chicago, but this year, he went from drunkenly falling down the stairs at a Rise Against concert in December to putting in his best Ed Belfour impression this postseason. In front of Crawford, Duncan Keith is putting in his credentials for toughest defenseman in the NHL. Since losing Michal Rozsival to a gruesome injury in the second round, the Blackhawks defense has been spread thin, giving tons of ice time to their top four defenders (Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya) and is playing Kimmo Timmonen in the third pairing, who has been in the NHL since before Bobby Orr. Chicago is zeroing in on what could be their third Stanley Cup title in three years, which after forty years of the Wirtz family driving the franchise into the ground, is quite the turnaround over the last decade. Per usual, the Blackhawks have found ways to win, but they may face their strongest opposition yet, the hottest team in the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Triplets have been the key to the Lightning’s deep postseason run this year. Can they keep it up vs battle-hardened Chicago?

The Lightning are young, fast, and are that. damn. good. As a Wings fan, that is TERRIFYING because Detroit and Tampa are in the same division. Before the year, or even these playoffs, I couldn’t name any Lightning players other than C Steven Stamkos or D Anton Stralman. GM Steve Yzerman arrived from Detroit in 2009 with a vision, and six years later it is coming to fruition. The story of the Lightning’s postseason run has been ‘The Triplets’ line consisting of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. The line came together because of injuries to other players, but has been the most dangerous scoring line in the NHL. Add in the all-world Stamkos and a bevy of other contributors, and the Lightning have the ability to crash the net against the Blackhawks makeshift defensive pairings (No disrespect to D. Keith, but the amount of ice time he’s had may catch up with him in the Finals.) Tampa’s road to the cup required even more ups and downs than Chicago – They played seven games vs Detroit, six vs Montreal and another seven vs the Rangers. Looking at last year’s Kings, playing more games seems to favor teams in the Cup. The Kings played in a Game 7 on the road for three straight rounds before bouncing the Rangers in five to hoist the Cup. It may depend on how goalie Ben Bishop, who entered the postseason with a grand total of zero postseason wins, can keep pace against Chicago’s ability to manufacture goals seemingly out of thin air.

The Lightning made now-Blackhawks C Brad Richards a star during their 2004 Stanley Cup run. Can he help his new team top the young Lightning?

Personally, I am “cheering” for the Lightning, since Detroit almost ousted them from the playoffs but lost in Game 7. However, a betting man can’t go against Chicago and all the experience they bring to the table. It should be a fun set of games to watch – I doubt it will be a sweep for either team and I expect it to go six if not seven (only way it goes shorter is Chicago completely takes over from Game 1). What would be fascinating should Tampa Bay win the cup is that this team is so much different from the 2004 team that won the first cup in franchise history. There is zero roster carryover BUT they face one of the players who helped them hoist the cup in 2004 – Center Brad Richards. Richards won the Conn Smythe Trophy during the Lightning’s last cup as a twenty-four year old. Now after stops in Dallas and New York, (Rangers) Richards signed a one year deal for the ‘Hawks last summer and finds himself facing his old team as Chicago’s second line center. Not the scoring threat he once was, nor facing any of his old teammates, this certainly will be a storyline to watch as he returns to the city that cemented him as a star. The Stanley Cup Final will be the old school vs new school matchup that can attract the casual fan as well as bring in hockey purists like myself. The only thing I can say is regardless of which team wins, watch when the winner hoists the cup, you’ll never see emotion in sports more raw then that of players winning Lord Stanley’s Cup.

My Bet Everything You Own Prediction: Chicago in Six

The NBA Finals – (1) Golden State Warriors vs (2) Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors being in the NBA Finals was something easy enough to predict. The Warriors were dominant all year and have reigning MVP Stephen Curry in addition to Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and a variety of other talented players. The Cavs have LeBron James, who is playing in his fifth straight Finals matchup. Unlike the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which, to quote Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated, we as fans entered “A psychedelic hockey journey soundtracked only by Doc Emrick synonyms for passing a puck.” The NBA playoffs only became more bland as time went on. In the first round, there were incredible series like Clippers vs Spurs, the following round: Bulls vs Cavs, Clippers vs Rockets, and Warriors vs Grizzlies. Then in the conference finals, the NBA playoffs hit a wall. This time next year, We’re all going to remember Lil’ B cursing James Harden and Riley Curry more so than anything that happened in the Western Conference Finals on the court. In the East, the Cavaliers easily did away with the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in a four game sweep. With there only being a combined nine conference finals games, we entered a week long void of no playoff basketball, meaning people can dig up five year old tweets of Draymond Green slandering LeBron (Why do people spend their days mining through FIVE YEARS of tweets? I saw Draymond play in college, he was a buffoon at the time, like many college men at that age tend to be.) Luckily, the dark week is coming to an end and one team will hoist the O’Brien trophy within the next two weeks or so. Despite the fact that we all could’ve assumed a Warriors vs Cavs final was inevitable, what is refreshing is to have different teams in the finals. Since 1999, a grand total of four teams have made the conference finals out of the western conference: the Lakers (7x) Spurs (6x) Mavericks (2x) and Thunder (1x). It’s nice to see a different team and a new batch of young stars contending for the O’Brien trophy: the infinitely likable Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond “Baby Z-Bo” Green and Harrison Barnes in addition to more established players making their first finals appearances like Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut, Shaun Livingston Leandro Barbosa and David Lee. The Warriors are also led by their convivial coach Steve Kerr, whose transition from the announcing booth to the sideline was seamless.

Despite some rough patches, the Cavaliers are exactly where fans and the media expected them to be – competing for a championship

Facing the Warriors are the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James came back home and despite a turbulent season (is Kevin Love part of the big three? Or nah? Is David Blatt really coaching? Or just twiddling his thumbs while LeBron calls the shots?) LBJ has the Cavs back in the finals for the first time since 2007, where he fought tooth and nail to drag that motley crew all the way to the summit, only to be swept by the Spurs. This is a far different Cavs team than any of those pre-Miami LeBron teams. This Cavs team would’ve still been good even without James returning. Him, Kyrie Irving, K. Love and a host of contributors all got the Cavs back to the finals. Speaking of those contributors, I’ll remember this Cavs team for the number of in-season personnel changes – trading for C Timofey Mozgov, shipping off G Dion Waiters and acquiring G J.R Smith and G Iman Shumpert from the dumpster fire that were the Knicks. All of those trades made the Cavs *that* much better. Now while it is unlikely Kevin Love will return to the court after his run in with Kelly Olynyk in the first round, these Finals could determine whether he stays in Cleveland next season or decides to head for greener pastures.

Cleveland, the entire Curry family is coming for you

This series is interesting because it could head in a variety of directions – I say at minimum, it goes six games, but I really can’t pick a winner. I am cheering hard for the Warriors, not out of disdain for LeBron or the city of Cleveland, but because I really do like how the Warriors play the game. The Splash Bros. have been a ton of fun to watch, and while LeBron has ruled the East since 2010, the Warriors managed to conquer the incredibly tough West and reach the finals. Regardless, this is the matchup that basketball fans have been wanting and will finally get, and it’s gonna be a heck of a finish.

My Bet Everything You Own Prediction: Warriors In Six

Enjoy the finals y’all, because the dark times will soon be upon us…

Jam of the Week:

Bye Bye Babcock, Buenos Dias Blashill: The Red Wings will be just fine

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Sark

So long Coach Babcock and thanks for the memories. Your unmistakable sneer and fantastic head of hair (HOW DOES HE KEEP IT SO PERFECT?) will be missed in Hockeytown, but it was time for a divorce between the Red Wings and yourself. While your time in Detroit will never be forgotten, having won a Stanley Cup in your third year in the Motor City as well as falling one goal short of a second straight cup, the relationship began to sour a bit towards the later part of your tenure.

How many Cups is Babcock departing Detroit with?

Babcock’s accomplishments in Detroit will go down in the record books. In ten years coaching the Wings, he became the winningest coach in team history, earning win number 414 in April 2014, surpassing Jack Adams for most wins with the franchise. Later the same year, he recorded his 500th career win, becoming the second fastest coach to win 500 games in NHL history. The only one who did that quicker? Former Wings coach Scotty Bowman. Babcock also had to endure the challenge of facing his first year with the organization under the NHL’s new salary cap rules. The Red Wings went from being the most expensive collection of hall of famers ever assembled in 2002 (Luc Robataille was on the FOURTH LINE that year) to a new look organization that consistently mixed old, productive players with fresh blood. However, rumors around the team have said that some players began to tune out Babcock towards the end of his tenure, and the current iteration of the Red Wings are without a doubt, a team in transition. On May 8th, he requested permission to speak with other teams, and on May 20th, it was announced Babcock would return to his native Canada to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs, signing a contract for 8 years and 50 million dollars. Without turning this into a piece slandering the Maple Leafs, two factors played a role in that decision. Detroit GM Ken Holland said he would not give Babcock a deal longer than five years, and having led Canada to that famous Olympic triumph in Vancouver in 2010 (DAMN YOU SIDNEY CROSBY) Babcock could have the Maple Leafs just make the playoffs and be completely adored by Toronto fans. Much like when Brendan Shanahan headed for Ontario, I don’t hold ilk against either of them unless the Leafs beat the Wings in the playoffs – then all bets are off and I’m burning things.

The Stanley Cup Blues

June 12, 2009 was the day the music died for Detroit

June 12, 2009 is a day that will live in infamy for all Red Wings fans. For only the second time that I could remember, my team losing drove me to tears. (FWIW, the first was that Michigan vs Ohio State game in 2006) The team lost Game 7 to Pittsburgh 2-1 in Overtime (TALBOT!) at home nonetheless. Hindsight is 20/20, but after that Cup loss, the Chicago Blackhawks current reign as the best team in hockey. The Red Wings have made the playoffs every single year since losing on that fateful night, but the team has not dominated like they used to, having failed to get past the second round of the playoffs the last six seasons. They went from winning the President’s Trophy and being among the best teams in the regular season to having to fight their way into the playoffs during Babcock’s final two years. There also was always a foreboding sense of fear that Detroit didn’t have the killer instinct that they used to – since 2010, the team is 1-3 in playoff Game 7’s, with their only win coming over the Ducks in the 2013 conference quarterfinals. Long story short – the Red Wings turned into the San Jose Sharks East this decade. They always made the playoffs and some considered them a dark horse pick to make a run, but they failed to live up to expectations. I think one way to fix that will be some fresh blood in the coaching staff to reinvigorate the players.

Downgrading Detroit

These days, the Wings are a far cry from the legends that hoisted the cup three times between 1997 and 2002

Can you name the last time the Red Wings truly made a splash in free agency? This is a team that almost always made savvy trades and nabbed big name free agents in the pre-salary cap era, but the well has dried up since. I cannot name one free agent signing who made an instant difference since Marian ‘The Mercenary’ Hossa skipped town for Chicago after his lone season wearing the winged wheel in ’08-’09. Sure, the squad got Mike Modano for a feel good victory lap, but guys like Ian White, Stephen Weiss, Carlo Coliacovo? These are not necessarily signs that Holland was slipping, but that perhaps players didn’t want to come to Detroit, either not wanting to play for Babcock, or the franchise refused to splash the cash necessary. There are times where this came back to bite them, the first being in 2011. The team certainly could’ve used Jaromir Jagr’s 54 points, which would have been good for 4th on the team that season, but Jagr chose to sign with the Flyers instead after the Wings were named as a finalist for his services. This past year, the Red Wings were rumored to be interested in free agent defensemen Matt Niskanen and Dan Boyle, both of whom would fill the team’s need for a right handed shooting defenseman. The team missed on both, and their defensive shortcomings were exposed throughout the year, leading to the acquisition of Marek Zidlicky at the trade deadline. The “Red Wings Way” of Draft–>Develop–>Detroit is a fantastic way to ensure your hockey team is the model of consistency, but the playoff streak loses its luster a bit when the team can’t acquire the players necessary to get them over the second round hump they are stuck on.

Blashill has been an una-blash-ed success since joining the Wings organization since 2011

Next Coach Up: Wings fans, meet a name you may have heard before: Jeff Blashill. The 41 year old Michigan native (born and raised in Sault St. Marie) has been with the organization since 2011 when he served as an assistant in Detroit before taking his current position as head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2012. Blashill has had success at every level he has coached at. He started as a college assistant with Ferris State and Miami (OH) – two storied hockey programs. His first year (2008-09) with the USHL’s Indiana Ice ended in a Clark Cup championship. In his only year at Western Michigan University, he led the Broncos to their best season in fifteen years – a top four CCHA finish, a CCHA tournament title, and an appearance in the NCAA tournament. In his first year in Grand Rapids, Blashill led the Griffins (which consisted of current Red Wings Danny DeKeyser, Luke Glendening, Thomas Jurco, Gustav Nyquist, Riley Sheahen, Tomas Tatar and Peter Mrazek) to a Calder Cup championship. When other NHL teams requested to interview Blashill last offseason, Holland had a conversation with him, and Blashill elected to stay in Grand Rapids for another year with a pay raise making him the highest paid coach in the AHL at $400,000. He currently has the Griffins in the third round of the Calder Cup playoffs as they challenge for their second championship in three years after losing in last year’s conference semis to the eventual champions, the Texas Stars. While Blashill is busy getting his team ready, Holland said that he will be the first interview – and many, myself included, believe he is a shoo-in as the Red Wings next head coach.

Follow The Model

Blashill and Babcock had very similar career paths which could bode well should the Grand Rapids coach be Detroit’s choice

What’s fascinating are the similarities in the coaching paths that Babcock and Blashill have both taken. Babcock was in the WHL, before a two year stop with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in the AHL before taking over in Anaheim in 2002, getting the then-Mighty Ducks to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in his first year. He took over in Detroit after the 2004-05 lockout. Blashill has been in Grand Rapids three years after his own stint coaching at the junior level, and now could be ready to make his leap to the NHL. Blashill could do far worse than have a tenure as long as Babcock’s lasted in Detroit. That is sheer speculation, but as a long time Red Wings fan, I am confident in saying that Blashill is far more Mike Babcock than he is Dave Lewis (the Wings coach from 2002-04 who tried to fill Scotty Bowman’s shoes and failed to meet expectations.) One case study of note is Jon Cooper. The Lightning’s head honcho won at every level before being brought to Tampa before last season and now he has a young team built by a great GM in the Eastern Conference Finals. Blashill could be set up to succeed just like Cooper has, except he has a level of familiarity with the organization that Cooper did not.

Make Detroit a Destination Again.

Signing Livonia native Brian Rafalski as a free agent in 2007 helped the Red Wings win their only Cup under Babcock’s watch

This is the counterpoint to everything written about free agency above. The Red Wings need to splash some cash and show that they can bring in the big fish again. Blashill’s potential hiring is the first step in that process. The second is targeting needs and giving in to a player’s demands a little bit. It used to be that Detroit could turn up their nose at free agent contract demands because they were the best team in hockey. This is no longer the case as the Wings are not even the second best team in their own division.

Could Jeff Petry pull a move like Rafalski did eight years ago?

A few free agent needs that immediately come to mind are a right handed shooting defenseman (Zidlicky is 38 years old after all and Alexey Marchenko will probably begin the season in Grand Rapids) and someone to replace the scoring punch of Johan Franzen, who sadly may never take the ice again due to his concussion problems. For defensemen – the team should be willing to throw money at one of the twentysomething righties on the market like Mike Green (Capitals) Andrej Sekera (Kings) or Jeff Petry (Canadiens). Petry sticks out as the most intriguing, and arguably, willing, candidate. Born in Ann Arbor and raised in Farmington Hills, in addition to playing for Michigan State, Petry fills a need and could return home as a free agent for the first time in his career. Petry’s father Dan was a member of the 1984 World Series Champion Tigers as well. For that Top 6 scoring punch, it would be nice to see Holland put the moves on Ducks winger Matt Beleskey should he choose not to re-sign. Beleskey is a solid power forward type player who has had a career contract year with 22 goals and 32 points. He also has five goals in the playoffs for Anaheim while leading the team in hits during the postseason. He would be a risk or reward type signing, but on a team with proven young scorers, he would not be under immense pressure to match that goal tally.

Regardless of what happens over the next few months, we are headed into a new era of Red Wings hockey. With Ken Holland running personnel, Pavel and Hank still producing and a new crop of young talent ready and hungry, the Wings don’t need Mike Babcock to continue their hallowed playoff streak. Jeff Blashill just may be the guy who like Babcock upon his arrival in 2005, can inject some fresh blood and revitalize the Red Wings into becoming a Stanley Cup contender once again.

Jam of the Week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsP-MjIueL4

Let My Brady Go: The Ballghazi Witch Hunt is the NFL at its Hypocritical Best

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Sark

As soon as I saw the news break on Twitter of the Wells report on “Deflategate/Ballghazi” I knew I would not be able to watch any of the sports networks like ESPN or FS1. That is because this gives them an excuse to blather on about the NFL during it’s dead period instead of discussing more pertinent matters – like the NBA and NHL playoffs. I have been sick of hearing about this deflated ball non-story since it first broke back in January. Something stinks here and it’s worse than the stench of Brady and Belichick pulling the “oops you caught me” routine for the second time in the last decade. Let’s examine what has led to the Patriots fines, docked draft picks and Tom Brady’s ludicrous four game suspension.

“At the behest of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, the league in 2006 started allowing teams to bring their own footballs to games. Quarterbacks break in these balls how they see fit. Essentially, it became legal to doctor the footballs.” – Peter King, TheMMQB.com, 5/8/2015

So the NFL dug their own grave on this one, and picked Touchdown Tom as the scapegoat for a story that has been blown out of proportion. In the last year alone, the NFL has seen the Ray Rice scandal, Greg Hardy have his domestic violence issues, Adrian Peterson’s suspension, and going back slightly further, the Richie Incognito bullying incident from two seasons ago. All of these off the field incidents have MUCH LARGER CONSEQUENCES for these men both on and off the field. Ray Rice was suspended a paltry two games, Hardy and Peterson both were suspended for fifteen, Incognito was suspended by the team for 8 games and spent 2014 out of football due to his incident. The precedent that “Dishonorable Chairman” Goodell has set is that if you are beating your significant other off the field, a felony in most states, you pay your time and can come back like nothing is wrong, yet if you adjust the footballs, underneath the statute the NFL put in place and overstep your boundaries slightly, or as Deadspin’s Barry Petchesky put it so eloquently –

“Despite the Patriots schadenfreude (the last pure sports emotion), the punishment is a fucked-up overreaction from a league hyper-desperate to protect its image—it’s no accident that the NFL cited “conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the game of professional football.”” – Barry Petchesky, Deadspin.com, 5/12/15

I’m just assuming that this is Roger Goodell at any given time in the league office whenever trouble appears on the horizon

This whole “ballghazi” issue can be traced back to 2006, when the league began allowing the doctoring of footballs (within certain specifications) to each quarterback’s personal liking. This was to appease Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and the rule had not caused any trouble over the first nine years of it’s enforcement. The original reporter who broke the Ballghazi story is Bob Kravitz, an Indianapolis Colts reporter who works for WTHR Indianapolis. He orginally reported in the wee hours of the morning after the AFC Championship game that the NFL “may” have been investigating the Patriots for tampering with game balls. After the Pats improbable Super Bowl win (YOU GIVE THE BALL TO BEAST MODE.) Kravitz, who had spent the prior two weeks leading the lynch mob against the Patriots, calling for the removal of Bill Belichick as head coach among other things, offered a ‘mea culpa’ for his role in the entire situation after the Super Bowl. It would be egregious to say that Kravitz was salty about the Colts’ loss and ignited a firestorm about this because the team he covers got absolutely blown out, but it also would not be entirely incorrect in this world of #HOTTAKES that we now live in.

Tom Brady isn’t the only GOAT who cheated during their playing days.

In a world without social media, Ballghazi is not a story. Look at some of the past incidents that everyone sweeps under the rug – Jerry Rice, who is without a doubt the greatest receiver of all time, admitted to using stickum on his gloves to get him a better grip on the football. QB Brad Johnson, who won Super Bowl 37 with the Buccaneers, paid ball boys $7500 to doctor the footballs before his team’s blowout win over the Raiders. This is gamesmanship above everything else. Of ALL major sports leagues, I find it comical the NFL is cracking down the hardest on Brady and Belichick for cheating. Look back to the Spygate incident, Eric Mangini was the coach who reported the Patriots after Mangini’s Jets played New England during the season opener of the 2007 season. Mangini served as an assistant under Belichick during the team’s initial Super Bowl run of three titles in four years. Mangini himself expressed regret over reporting the team for Spygate in 2012. Mangini bit the hand that fed him, and due to his whistleblower actions, hasn’t been a head coach in the league since being fired by Cleveland.

NFL fans frequently cast stones from inside their glass houses

It makes me laugh that NFL fans discuss the “integrity” of the game and things of that nature, in any sport (especially the Big 4 in the United States), teams probably cheat as much as they can get away with. If you dig deep enough, every team has their flaws. Now whether the Patriots have been careless, or the victims of their success (read: other teams digging deeper to try and undermine the franchise) one cannot be sure. What we all can be sure of is that no team is the “goodie-two shoes” franchise that fans think they are. That is the nature of the beast, because the only thing more important than winning, is money, and winning and money are mutually beneficial parties in the eyes of the owners, the players, and the fans. Take for example Colts fans who wanted the Patriots removed from the Super Bowl after Ballghazi broke. They will gladly overlook the fact that owner Jim Irsay was arrested for DUI with $30,000 cash on hand in addition to prescription drugs. No one is sure what unscrupulous activities the billionaire may have been getting into, but much like the Patriots, nobody knows your dirty laundry until you get caught.

Roger Goodell has had an up and down tenure as NFL commissioner over the last decade, and this latest suspension is proof that he is in full on panic mode. Goodell is only able to stay in power because he has the full support of the owners, or, at least did have full support of the owners. Goodell has lost Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who ranks among the NFL ownership elite alongside the Mara’s (Giants) and the Rooney’s (Steelers) in terms of stature. It’s the support of the owners that help keep Roger Goodell employed, and handsomely compensated with his absurd eight-figure salary ($40 million/year+ at last check.) Could losing his relationship with Kraft be the beginning of the end for Uncle Roger? That is hyperbolic, but it certainly doesn’t help him in terms of longevity. What also doesn’t help is how different he treats each situation – Rice gets two games, Peterson loses a whole season, and Brady gets four. There is no continuity, or standard in any of his punitive measures.

Some of the Brady hatred is definitely based on jealously more so than cheating.

Now to Brady’s suspension. When the news first broke of Brady’s suspension, I imagine he was sitting in his mansion, drinking wine out of a golden chalice, sitting upon a Game of Thrones-inspired iron throne while wearing all four Super Bowl rings on his hand. While the punishment structure has been as uneven as the NCAA’s, the difference between the NFL and NCAA is that there is no vacating of titles or records like in the college ranks. The NFL can’t just strip the Patriots Super Bowl 49 victory away from them. There could be an asterisk attached to it, but the legions of Patriots fans and most NFL fans won’t bother. As I have said many, many times when my teams lose – sports are dumb: we buy clothing and tickets to games to only benefit the teams. Sure, a win may provide personal validation on certain levels, but really, professional sports teams see fans as dollar signs more than anything. Speaking of dollar signs, do a random survey of 100 die-hard NFL fans, specifically those who say they dislike or hate Tom Brady. You ask them how many years they would give up off the end of their lives to live for a year as Tom Brady, and I would hedge my bets that most would give up somewhere between five to ten years off their lifespan to spend a year as Tom Brady. The man is a god in the nation’s biggest sport, a lock for the Hall of Fame (no he will not get the Pete Rose treatment) rich, and married to a Brazillian supermodel with few tykes running around. He has embodied the material American dream. As much as I revile the “hate us ’cause they ain’t us” motto that Pats fans have adopted about Ballghazi, it does carry some water. Brady will be out for the first four games of the 2015 season without pay. For a QB entering his 16th season, the suspension may actually benefit his 39 year old body – taking some time off at the start of the year certainly could keep him fresher for the playoffs. In Brady’s place will probably be last year’s second round pick Jimmy Garappolo. While untested, Garappolo will get plenty of reps during training camp and the preseason. The Patriots also have a favorable schedule in Pittsburgh, @Buffalo, Jacksonville and @Dallas. The NFL could think that suspending Brady will tank their season, but at worst, the team is 2-2 after that stretch. The same record they started the season with in THREE OF THEIR FOUR SUPER BOWL WINNING SEASONS (’01, ’03 and ’14.)

If you think the Patriots will falter under Jimmy G, you forget how good Belichick made Matt Cassel look in Brady’s 2008 absence.

In all likelihood, Brady will appeal his suspension. Former Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma (who was initially suspended for the entire 2012 campaign for his role in the Saints bounty scandal) has encouraged Brady to sue the NFL to try and get his suspension reduced. Brady is a smart man who will do what ever he thinks is right in the eyes of himself, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft. Whether that is sitting out for a month, appealing the suspension, or any other major action, won’t be known for awhile.

No football in the world is going to help you win by 38! Let it go and let Tom be great! On to the 2015 season #7tormsComing

— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) May 8, 2015

Get this man out of power immediately.

As you can tell from my rambling, I believe that Ballghazi has been a non-story from the start. As 49ers QB Colin Kapernick points out above, the Patriots did not win that game because of deflated footballs, they won the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl by being That. Damn. Good. Do I think that Brady perhaps should show a little more remorse instead of playing coy and acting a fool? Sure, but I also respect him for not catering to the expectations that the public have for him. As Brad Pitt’s character Jackie Cogan in Killing Them Softly said at the end of that excellent, excellent film. “This guy (Goodell in this case) wants to tell me we’re living in a community? Don’t make me laugh. I’m living in America, and in America you’re on your own. America’s not a country. It’s just a business. Now f***ng pay me” That’s what the NFL is above anything else – a business that relies on dollars and sense. The Ballghazi penalties and suspension don’t really involve either – the million dollar fine will just go back into the NFL’s coffers, and Brady will probably appeal the suspension and get it knocked down to two games. More than anything, this suspension shows that Roger Goodell needs to be removed from power as NFL commisioner and replaced with someone who can dole out punishment that is fair and just with the severity of the crime. Until that happens – #FreeBrady

Jam of the Week

Good Old Hockey Game, Brand New Perspective: My First NHL Game from Press Row

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Sark

When the Minnesota Wild beat the St. Louis Blues on Sunday April 26 to advance to the second round, I was elated. Not only because it meant I would be able to start off my late sportscast with Stanley Cup Playoff highlights, but because it meant a story idea I had been kicking around could finally come to fruition. I routinely cover the Sioux Falls Stampede for work, and have done so even more since their playoff run began and now has earned them the right to compete in the Clark Cup Final. Two former Stampede players are members of the Wild, Forward Thomas Vanek (who just signed this past offseason) and Nate Prosser (in his fourth year in Minnesota.) I instantly resolved to do a story discussing the Stampede’s playoff run with the pair of Stampede alumni. After submitting and getting my credential approved, my news director approved of the idea and I found out I would spend my Cinco De Mayo working in St. Paul covering the Wild before their game 3 vs the Chicago Blackhawks (a FAR cry from how I had spent the last three years on said day.)

The four hour trip may have been boring, but the scenery sometimes provided a view.

When the day finally came, I rolled out of bed at 5:30, got myself ready, and into the station car to drive myself up to the Twin Cities. Like driving anywhere outside of Sioux Falls, my drive featured mostly farm land, electricity creating wind mills, and even a horse in the middle of the median trying to be corraled by Minnesota State Police just after I crossed the state line. Having made a quick stop to consume the breakfast of champions (a sausage egg biscuit with the hash brown stuffed inside and a coffee.) I got off I-35 in St. Paul to arrive at the Xcel Energy Center, the home of the Wild since their inception in 2000, the building gleamed at the corner of Kellogg Ave and 7th, and sits within spitting distance of the State capital. Upon getting there and recieving my media pass, I set up my camera gear to start recording footage for my story during morning skate. The first thing I was struck by was this was the first NHL arena I had been to that was not Joe Louis Arena. As much as I love the Joe, it’s an absolute dump by comparison. ‘The X’ had many more creature comforts and felt almost new when pitted against where my beloved Wings play. After shooting practice, I had to get to the locker room for media availibility. It was somewhat obvious I was a rookie among grizzled veterans in terms of the media presence.

Shooting morning skate with 100+ other members of the media was much different than my day to day responsibilites

Some photographers even brought step ladders so they could get better shots of players like Zach Parise and Ryan Suter who had droves of journalists surrounding them. Luckily for me, Nate Prosser has been a scratch during the playoffs, so I was the only one interviewing him. Upon introducing myself and saying I was from Sioux Falls, a slight smile came to his face as I set things up. For being the first NHL player I interviewed, Prosser was very receptive and had plenty of good sound bites for me. Once I wrapped up, I started hunting for Thomas Vanek and asked a member of the public relations team. I felt a gulp in my throat when a man in a grey suit with a Wild lapel pin told me that since his gear was in his locker, he may not return after hitting the showers. After a few minutes passed and the rest of the media contingent headed for Wild Coach Mike Yeo’s press conference, the same man returned to tell me since I was up from Sioux Falls, Vanek would spare an extra five minutes for me. This was paramount considering Vanek is still regarded as one of the best players in Stampede history. Upon meeting the Austrian born Vanek, two things surprised me: first, he was only a couple of inches taller than me, and two: he still had a European-tinge on his english, which I found interesting considering he had emigrated to South Dakota in 1998. As I spoke with him about his time in Sioux Falls and his first season with the Wild, I started to piece together my story in my head. Once I wrapped up with Vanek, it was back out to the car to set up my stand-up. There is nothing more confounding than attempting to shoot your own standup with different factors like traffic passing by behind me as well as myself flubbing my own scripts. After going through about 15 different takes, I finally nailed one and was ready to move on to the edit booth. (read: my hotel room) Working against a deadline, I knew I had to script, record my voiceover, and cut the whole thing together in time for the six o’clock news. Normally this is a process I can take care of in under an hour, but working with our road gear on a laptop and having to voice through the camera made the process take a bit longer. It was all a learning experience as this was my first road trip (and I went without a photographer nonetheless.) After a few pitfalls, I got the package done and sent to the office, which meant I could focus on the game itself.

My view upon arriving in my space in Press Row

As I got out of my Uber and arrived at The X about 6:40 PM, it felt so much different than every other hockey game I had been to. This was a combination that it was the playoffs, and the fact that usually when I watch hockey, I’ve enjoyed a few Canadian beers among friends before hitting the arena. As I flashed my press pass to walk inside, I went up to the press box and took a seat at my space in press row. Considering I had no more “work” to do, I figured I would spend most of the game live-tweeting and enjoying hockey (without cheering of course, because that would be unprofessional.) The Wild had just started to skate onto the ice for pregame warmups and you could smell it in the air. There’s something different about playoff hockey vs regular season hockey, especially in a place like Minnesota, where the sport is king. As the game began, the fans were quite raucous for the first period. The atmosphere was so inviting part of me wanted to go buy a Wild hat, sneak into the nosebleed seats and cheer on the team with the fans! Patrick Kane scored what would be the game’s only goal late in the first period. The Wild had been playing well, but weren’t executing on their shot opportunities. As the second half kicked in, everyone in the box began to realize that Corey Crawford had been possessed by the spirit of Domink Hasek. Save after save, and on the other side of the ice, Wild goalie and cult hero Devan Dubnyk was putting in an incredible effort, and aside from the one goal he allowed to Patrick Kane, had a great game, with the fans shouting “DUUUUUUUBBEEE” after every shot he deflected away. After the end of the second, I elected to go stretch my legs and take a walk down on the concourse. As I was surrounded by Wild and ‘Hawks fans, it felt just like home, fans at the game with family, friends, significant others – there is something about hockey to me that really brings people from all backgrounds together, and I would discover more about that later in the night. As I stepped into “The Lodge”

Those of you who know me could tell this was an inevitable purchase

– the Wild’s team store, I made a slightly rash but easily justifiable decision – I was in Minnesota, in what may be my only Wild game, I wanted to get a sweater. So I had a Jason Pominville #29 sweater made up during the third and would collect it after the game. Having logged a near 15 hour work day, I let my “treat yo self” philosophy take over (and despite being there as a member of the media, it’s not like I took it up to the box with me.

By the time the third period began, there was a general consensus in the building that the final score had long been established. As the game wound down, the X fans were still cheering on their squad, but came to the sobering conclusion they were about to be down three games to zero to one of the best teams in hockey. The final horn blew and Wild fans slowly exited the building. Rather than take the elevator to Coach Yeo’s press conference, I ended up in the stairwell with droves of Wild and Blackhawks fans streaming out of the building. I started shooting the breeze with the groups around me as we slowly made our way down the stairs. Since the game let out at 9:30, I figured why not get a taste of Saint Paul. I retrieved my Pominville jersey and slipped it on over my dress shirt and immediately headed to the Irish pub across the street. Normally, I’m someone very hesitant about being in situations as such by myself, but I figured, new city – what’s the worst that could happen? After I ordered a beer, an older gentleman in a Mikael Granlund jersey spotted the number on my sleeve, tapped me on the shoulder and said “well we may as well burn these things, they played like shit.” He was right, Granlund and Pominville’s line had done nothing that night. After that I struck up conversation with him and his friend, speaking about the game and what brought me up to town. As I went to two other watering holes on 7th Avenue, similar situations occured. I just struck up conversation about the game and throughly enjoyed my conversation with people I’ll never run into again. That’s the beauty of sports, the common interest brings together different fans and can lead to anything. As I drove home the next morning, exhausted, I was very happy with my trip to St. Paul. My story went well, I saw the game, and even found a bar (Pat McGovern’s Tavern) that sold Oberon, one of my favorite Michigan craft beers. Now I do have to say, being at an NHL game not featuring the Red Wings and not being able to enjoy a beer while watching hockey was something new for me, it was still an exhilarating day. I know this is the first of many forays for me into travelling for work, and if this trip set the bar, things can only go up from here!

Jam of the Week

For Those Who Leave Michigan: What I’ve Learned in my year since Graduation

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Sark

A year later, graduating from Michigan still ranks as the proudest day of my life.

Seeing that’s it’s graduation week in Ann Arbor, and having read a great post on my friend Emily’s blog (check it out, she’s an incredibly passionate writer) I figured what better time than now to reflect on the 365(ish) days since I became a Michigan alumnus.

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I walked across the stage at the Michigan Theater and went from being a Michigan student to a Michigan graduate. I’m not sure what’s harder to believe: that I have been out of college for a full year, or that graduation really didn’t feel like that long ago… The first thing you’ll learn when you leave school is that time passes a lot quicker. Maybe it’s that I don’t have any homework, maybe it’s that I don’t go to the bar five nights a week like I did super-senior year, or maybe it’s the fact that a work schedule keeps things so neat and tidy (even in an unpredictable profession like mine) that the weeks just fly by. I moved out of Michigan eight months ago this week, and it doesn’t feel like it has been that long.

Moving so far away from home has meant I’ve learned to treasure all the time that I am able to spend with college friends, even if it’s just grabbing beers and watching basketball.

While I did have a whopping five months of summer (and no job to boot) after graduation, that wasn’t exactly the dream experience that it sounds like on paper. As soon as graduation Saturday was over, I had some friends who left the next day, and I still haven’t seen nearly a year later (vacation time and travel are something you cannot get enough of at this age.) Obviously, this is something I wish I could change but it’s an unfortunate reality, so with that, treasure those weekend get togethers and make new memories. The one thing I have made certain of in all the trips I’ve made either home or to other destinations to meet friends is to always take a ton of pictures, and I disconnect from my phone (sounds crazy right?) I don’t worry about work emails or texting people who aren’t immediately with me that weekend, I just unplug, live in the moment, and enjoy every second that I can with friends who I wish I could see more often. Of course not everyone moves as far away as I did with no friends nearby, but at the same time, doing so has showed me how to make friends in the real world. Common interests, working together, there’s a lot of different things at play instead of bonding at Skeeps over tequila shots (wow I made a ton of friends that way.)

If you had told me I’d be working in South Dakota a year ago, I’d have said you were crazy. But I’ve embraced my new surroundings to the fullest.

For those of you who have jobs lined up in the big city, more power to you, you’ll meet plenty of people in addition to having an abundance of alumni around (looking at you New York, Chicago, LA, San Francisco and Dallas.) For those of you who embrace entering the shit like I have, always keep an open mind and an open attitude. Never say no to anything because you never know what could happen. Meet as many people as possible and do as many things as you can, because in the real world, you’ll make friends from all age groups and backgrounds, which certainly keeps things interesting.

I’ve made my way back to Ann Arbor plenty, it feels different, but especially for a native like me, it will always be home (even if Rick’s doesn’t feel like home anymore)

When I finally left Ann Arbor at the end of September, I had settled into a nice postgrad rhythm of applying for jobs, exercising, and going out to the bar like I was still a senior. While I enjoyed acting like Van Wilder, leaving Ann Arbor made me realize two important facts – One: the town never changes. There may be a few new restaurants or tall apartment buildings, but in the three trips I have made back since I left, almost nothing feels different, which is great, because even when you leave Michigan you can always return hoMe. Of course, the same friends and people you always saw will move on to new places and greener pastures, but that’s the joy of reuniting back in your college town. Just don’t do what I did for my 24th birthday and try to think you can party like you did in college (derp.) Secondly: Your college doesn’t feel the same once you graduate. You’ll still have younger friends who are in school and everything may seem business as usual, but believe me, something will feel different when you step into Jug, Charley’s, Ricks or Skeeps upon your return to the deuce.

Baking unholy creations like this has become one of my new favorite hobby since moving

Finally, the transition from college to a real job was certainly my wake up call. Now instead of attempting to work hard and play hard like I did in college, I’ll come home, plan out my weekly meals or read, watch the Daily Show, or grab a beer with coworkers and turn in relatively early. The biggest thing that will hit you at some point (unless you are going to grad school, then go wild) is that becoming a functional member of society is something we all do at one point or another. Those desires to drink tequila and down NYPD on a Tuesday or sing your heart out at Karaoke when you have work the next day at 9 am gradually fades into the distance as you start this next chapter of your life. For me, I’ve channeled all the energy I put into those things during school into self-improvement as a postgrad: I’ve become quite the chef and baker, I read and write as much as possible, some days if I feel really ambitious, I’ll even wake up at 7 am and sneak in 9 holes of golf before I head into the office in the afternoon. Don’t let time go to waste watching Netflix all day (some days you will end up doing that, Those Seinfeld reruns on Hulu won’t watch themselves) but see how much you can learn and do in this first year outside of the classroom .Take up a new hobby or sport – just because you may never sit in a classroom again doesn’t mean you have to stop learning at that breakneck Michigan pace.

Your school pride will only increase the further you go from Michigan. A few weeks ago, I spotted an older gentleman at my gym wearing a MIchigan t shirt, I shouted Go Blue and asked him what his connection was. Turns out, his son had attended the U back in the mid 2000’s and was even in the Marching Band. When you leave campus, that readily available pool of people who have so much in common will disapate. So with that Join the Alumni Assocation. You don’t have to be as cheap as me and refrain from donating, but being in contact with other Michigan alums not only is a great networking opportunity, but can lead to great social interactions and exchanging of stories about days gone by.

These are just a few of the many things I’ve learned in my year since I graduated, and I’m sure I will learn plenty more in the years to come, knowing in the back of my mind, my home and my school will always be there for me in Ann Arbor. For the Class of 2015, I wish you all the best in whatever the future may hold for you. Grad school, a new job, or maybe being like me and moving back in with your folks until you figure your life out, just remember that as a Michigan graduate, you have accomplished something you can be proud of for the rest of your life. For those who leave Michigan, but Michigan never leaves, for today: goodbye, tomorrow: good luck, and forever: GO BLUE!

Jam of the Week