Illitch to buy Pistons???

The Detroit News is reporting that Mike Illitch will be buying the Pistons within the next 30 days...

Story here....

Please be true....Please be true.....Please be true....

More on this as it develops. (always wanted to say that)

Friday could be.....Dee-lectable

Orlando Dr. Phillips RB Dee Hart will be announcing his college decision on Friday. For those who don't know, Hart is a very important recruit for Michigan football. Ranked the #1 all purpose back to Rivals, the #9 RB to Scout, and the #9 RB to ESPN, he's kind of a big deal. He's friends with Merlin Olsen, and his apartment smells of rich mahogany. He is down to two schools; Michigan and Alabama. I......Dee-test Alabama. My hopes would be Dee-flated if he commits to Nick Saban. My Hart would be broken. I would be Dee-lighted to see another Hart in Michigan's backfield. Since Michigan is rumored to play Alabama in 2012, Hart could be critical if Michigan hopes to Dee-feat the Crimson Tide. This Dee-cision was once thought to be Dee-tween between Michigan and Auburn, but he had a change of Hart.

I just raided the mail in Tuscaloosa, and found this....

I'm liking Michigan's chances, or maybe I need to switch to Dee-caf.

Detroit Lions, You're the one. You make draft time lots of fun!

1991. I was 10. Jahvid Best was 2. Brett Favre was 41. Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was the number one song on the radio. 1991 was the last time the Lions beat Green Bay at Lambeau. Unbelievable.  For the second time in four weeks, the Lions make the final score appear much closer than the game actually was.

The Chicago game was close throughout. The Minnesota game was a blow-out.  But the Philly/Green Bay games.....The Lions should have lost both by 21. It seems like both teams took their foot off the gas, and was unable to find their rhythm again when the Lions made it close.

It would be easy to blame Matthew Stafford's injury for many of the team's struggles, but I just don't see it. Shaun "please God, stay healthy so we aren't subjected to Drew Stanton" Hill has played well in Stafford's absence.  Of course it's easy to amass 300+ yards when your team has to abandon the run at halftime, but he hasn't been the reason they lost. He also, obviously, hasn't been the one to lead them to victory. When it comes to Shaun Hill, he's just sorta there. The interceptions are worrisome, but he is out there trying to make plays. Right, Mike Valenti? 

So, who is to blame? Well, anyone associated with the defense with a few exceptions. They just can't stop anyone. John Kuhn, essentially killed 6:00 on the final drive. Who? The pride of Shippensburg, that's who. He had 7 carries for 34 yards on the final drive. Aaron Rodgers was held to what will most likely be a season low with 181 yards, but he only attempted 17 passes. He had a QB rating of 105.3. 

On a bittersweet note, Charles Woodson did what Charles Woodson does. He returned an interception for a TD. He has now done this against the Lions in three consecutive seasons. Go blue!

So what's next? The Rams. Sam Bradford. One of the few teams I figured would always be lower in the Power Rankings of any given expert this season. The one "guaranteed" victory on the 2010 schedule. Well, the Rams are 2-2 and tied for the lead in the NFC West. The Lions are tied with Carolina, San Francisco, and Buffalo in the race for the number 1 draft pick next April. Finally, something I think the Lions can win.

Former Wolverine Round-Up

Ryan Mallet, QB Arkansas- Did not play this week.
Up next: Vs Texas A&M (3-1)

Steven Threet, QB Arizona State- Did not have a great day against Oregon State. 14-29 for 203 yards and a 1/3 TD-INT ratio.
Up next: At Washington (2-2)

Sam McGuffie, RB Rice- Fairly good day in a loss to SMU. 20 carries for 96 yards and a TD and 5 receptions for 45 yards. Still trying to live up to the hype.
Up next: At UTEP (4-1)

Toney Clemons, WR Colorado- Tough day in a win over the surprisingly bad Georgia Bulldogs. One catch for 10 yards and 1 kick return for 22.
Up next: At #24 Missouri (4-0)

Bryan Wright, K Bowling Green- Miserable day against Buffalo. Missed his only field goal attempt, and only went 2/3 on extra point attempts.
Up next: AT Ohio (2-3)

Cobrani Mixon, LB Kent State- Probably the best day of anyone in a losing effort against Miami (OH). 8 total tackles (1tfl), 1 sack and a fumble recovery.
Up next:Vs Akron (0-5)

Note: I don't mention guys like Dann O'Neill, Justin Boren, etc... for three reasons:

1. Lineman stats are nearly impossible to find.
2. Dann O'Neill has too many N's in his name.
3. Justin Boren is not worth the effort.

I also only include players who actually made it to Ann Arbor. The list of players who committed to Michigan, but never signed a LOI is far too long.

Knee-jerk Reaction

1. Denard Robinson is Bo Jackson in Tecmo Super Bowl.
2. Defense wins championships*
3. You add Donovan Warren, Justin Turner, Troy Woolfolk, Vladimir Emilien, and Demar Dorsey to this secondary, and people start talking BCS Bowl. Warren went all Shazor. T-Wolf got injured. JT Turner and Emilien transferred due to depth chart concerns. Dorsey was unable to gain admittance.
4. The WR corps. is grossly underrated. Hemingway, Roundtree, Stonum, Grady, and Koger give Robinson more than enough weapons to beat most teams that will undoubtedly focus on keeping contain. Then add in Odoms, TRob, Gallon, Ricardo.... WR depth is just fine.
5. The kicking game is still worrisome, but they hit extra points just fine.

*Unless you have a QB that amasses over 500 yards of total offense/game.

This Week in Great College Football Names

Shavodrick Beaver

Shavodrick Beaver is a sophomore QB for the Tulsa Hurricanes. As many of you may know, Beaver was once committed to play football in Ann Arbor. He was one of two QB commits to end up signing elsewhere along with current Penn State QB Kevin Newsome.  Michigan was able to recover and wound up with Tate Forcier and some young fellow named Denard Robinson. I think the Wolverine coaches are o.k. with the way things ended up. The biggest blow to many Michigan fan's morale was missing out on the possible backfield combination of Shavodrick and RB Mike Cox.  Beaver running the zone-read with Cox. Beaver scampers for a 5 yard gain with a Cox block. The possibilities, as they say, were endless.

Beaver is currently the back-up quarterback to former University of Texas QB G.J. Kinne. There is a great name showdown looming on October 16th, when Tulsa hosts Tulane which boasts the also spectacularly named senior DT Oscar Ponce de Leon.

Quickie Preview-Indiana

This was supposed to be the third straight easy, get all the seniors in for the fourth quarter, please oh please don't let anyone important get seriously injured, type of game.  UMASS didn't cooperate, and Denard got hurt against Bowling Green, so let's hope the third time is the charm. After the events of the last two games, I will now place this game in the don't show MSU too much, don't get caught looking ahead to MSU, and seriously this time....don't let anyone important get injured, category. When a team has won 16 straight, the tendency is to look past the opposition, especially when you are playing a rival in 7 days. This shouldn't happen, but we all know it does.

LAST YEAR

I'd rather not talk about it, but I will anyway (quickly).  IU led until Michigan scored on a TD pass from Forcier to Odoms with 2:29 left in the fourth quarter, and sealed it with a controversial  interception by Donovan Warren, leading IU coach Bill Lynch to freak out. Michigan was favored by 19 points, but won 36-33. Guess who they played the following week? Yep, MSU. Trap game.....get yer trap game here!

WHO TO BE WORRIED ABOUT

IU ranks 14th nationally in passing yards/game and 10th in points/game. They only rank 96th in rushing yards/game, so their strength is obviously their passing attack.

QB Ben Chappell- Chappell is a pure pocket-passer who last year had a 17-15 TD-INT ratio.  He is off to a pretty good start so far going 71-98 for 890 yds and a 9-0 TD?INT ratio.  Of course they have played Towson, Western Kentucky, and the Akron Zips. Not really the greatest barometer to judge a defense.

WR Damarlo Belcher- Belcher was the Hoosier's 2nd best WR last year catching 61 passes for 770 yards and 5TD. He is a match-up nightmare standing 6'5'' and 215lbs.  He is leading IU through 3 games with 21 catches totaling 284 yards and 2 scores.

TE Ted Bolser- Redshirt freshman Ted Bolser is not only the youngest person on earth that goes by "Ted", but has been a surprise receiving threat so far. He has only caught 9 balls fr 128 yards, but 4 of those catches ended in 6 points.

WR/KR/PR/CPA/FBI/BMOC Tandon Doss- This guy, in a word(or 3), does it all. Over 1000 total yards and 6 TDs last year. He is off to a slow start this year with 8 receptions for 102 yards and a TD, 3 carries for 17 yards and a score.  He is the type of player that can score any time he touches the ball, so keeping it out of his hands will be key.

FUN FACTS

Indiana's football team has the brother of 2 UM players on it. IU Sophomore DL Larry Black is the brother of Michigan freshman DL Jibreel Black, and Hoosier punter Chris Hagerup is the brother of Michigan punter Will Hagerup.

PREDICTION

I hate these game. I know hate is a strong word, but I can't think of a stronger one. These are the games that have a 95% chance of having Michigan look bad. Unless they go out and win 50something to something under 14 points, people will have something to say.  Can the Wolverines go out and win 55-10? Sure. Can they go out and win 36-33? Last year shows they can. Can they lose? I honestly think it would take the most unlikely sequence of events since Happy Gilmore sank his putt to beat Shooter McGavin. Injuries, turnovers, Rich Rodriguez trading jobs with Ron Zook for the afternoon, followed by the NCAA granting one final game of eligibility to Antwaan Randle El, James Hardy, Anthony Thompson, and Tracy Porter. I think this will be closer than it should be, but wouldn't be surprised by a blowout.

FINAL SCORE?

Michigan 38

Indiana 27