Bleacher Report - Articles by Charles Clinton

Michigan Wolverines, Tate Forcier Ready for Big Ten Play

Charles Clinton — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:39:12 -0400

After winning only three games in the whole 2008 season, the Michigan Wolverines have matched that total three games into this year's campaign.

The Maize and Blue resurgence so far has stemmed from answers to some of the questions that were posed of the team at the beginning of the season, as well as freshmen who have stepped up and become leaders on the team in their first year.

However, there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered.

Pleasant Surprises

Tate Forcier was the much hyped weapon of choice in the spring game who showed flashes of brilliance in front of a half full Michigan Stadium in April.

However, with the problems surrounding the program going into the season there was a lot of uncertainty about how Forcier and the Wolverines would handle the pressure of having to win games for their coach.

After a stellar performance against Western Michigan, he stepped on the field with 2:19 left in the game against Notre Dame and a three-point deficit at his own 43-yard-line and turned it into a four-point victory. His confidence and demeanor flows through the team and it has the team believing in themselves.

Stevie Brown, a much maligned free safety, was going into his senior season with a lot of uncertainty and a lot of questions concerning whether he could handle his new position as the spinner/linebacker.

So far, he has been one of the Wolverines' most prolific tacklers and has picked up a knack for the position with his speed that allows him to chase the ball on every play.

Aside from the quarterbacks, no other unit received more criticism for last year's poor outcome than the offensive line. So far this year, they have been able to open up gaping holes in opposing defenses for the Wolverines to run Rich Rodriguez's famed zone reads and traps, and it has resulted in an average of 271 rushing yards through the first three games.

With the improved depth at running back the Wolverines have been able to run the ball effectively, proving that they will be able to put points up throughout the season.

This team may prove to have one of the hardest offenses to stop, but they are also very young and there are still some questions regarding them and the defense.

Unanswered Questions

The Michigan defense gave up 34 points to Notre Dame and 17 points to a terrible Eastern Michigan squad last week.

While, in the latter game, they gave up all the points in the first half, it is still a troubling idea that Michigan could give up 17 points to them. Brandon Graham, Stevie Brown, and Donovan Warren are all stalwarts with experience behind them and leadership, but the rest of the defense is young and raw, especially the secondary.

This was especially apparent during the Notre Dame game when the Irish gained 490 yards, most of them through the air on deep passes. While Michael Floyd and Golden Tate may have been one of the most prolific receiving duos in college football, they also showed that there are weaknesses in the Michigan secondary.

Sophomore cornerback Boubacar Cissoko was trying to cover Michael Floyd for most of the game while playing hurt and was unable to execute the bump and run that he would normally. If he cannot get healthy, it may pose problems for the Wolverines secondary.

This team has a highly explosive offense that may offset those problems for this season and one of the telling points on whether that is going to happen is Denard Robinson. Prior to the season, there were rumors of him being a quarterback with Hermesian speed and a cannon arm.

While the rumors of his speed have been found to be true, his strong arm seems to be lacking in fundamentals.

This stems from his inexperience with the spread offense and the fact that he played in a Wing-T offense in high school that emphasized option running and deep outside passing when necessary.

It's clear that unlike Forcier, who played on a spread team in high school and enrolled early, Robinson may have some catching up to do. If he can acquire skills as a passer, he may become one of the biggest weapons the Big Ten has ever seen and the Michigan offense may go from high powered to unstoppable.

However, that is still working itself out.

The biggest unanswered question might be, now that Rich Rodriguez clearly has the right players to run his spread option offense, how will it fare in the cold Midwestern weather in October and November.

While at West Virginia, Rodriguez was one of the first coaches to establish a powerful run heavy spread at a school that was not in ideal conditions. The mountain weather would prove challenging for the Mountaineers, but most of the time they prevailed.

Time will tell if it will be the same for the Wolverines this season because they haven't played a game in which the temperature was less than 60 degrees so far.

Michigan Defense: The Secondary

Charles Clinton — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:57:23 -0400

This is the final installment of my Michigan football season preview, the offense is in Part I and Part II, the first part of the defense is right here.

Rich Rodriguez released the initial depth chart for the season today which cleared up some of the questions regarding the secondary.

The Michigan secondary will not be very deep this season and will rely on some things that may be a little more unconventional. More than any other unit on the team, they will need the starters to stay health, especially at safety.

The Wolverines have no seniors in the secondary, but they do have experienced players at three of the four starting positions in spite of losing starters from last season in Morgan Trent, Brendan Harrison, and Charles Stewart.

As mentioned in the previous article, last year's starting free safety Stevie Brown was moved to linebacker this season and will play a nickel/linebacker hybrid type position known as "The Spinner."

The reliable returning starter from last season is Donovan Warren who had 52 tackles in 11 games last year and one interception. Warren has been a two year starter and was a Freshman All-American in 2007. Last year, he played some of the season with a nagging foot injury which required surgery he missed spring practice due to rehabilitation.

Warren has shown flashes of brilliance in his first two seasons, but he has also shown a lack of discipline at times, occasionally committing stupid penalties and breaking for the ball at inopportune times. He is a player who is often underrated, and hopefully for Michigan, is hungry to prove himself as a great corner.

Boubacar Cissoko will play alongside Warren at the other corner slot, he received a substantial amount of playing time as a freshman nickel corner. At 5'9" he is one of the shortest corners in the country, but what he lacks in stature he makes up for in effort. Making two starts last season, Cissoko made 15 tackles and 11 of those were solo efforts, he is speedy and limits receivers yards after the catch.

Behind these two are two true freshmen and one redshirt, Justin Turner, Teric Jones, and JT Floyd respectively. Turner and Jones both come in as highly touted recruits from the most recent recruiting class.

Turner was recruited as an athlete out of Massilon, Ohio, and Jones was initially recruited as a running back out of Detroit Cass Tech High School which he attended with Cissoko and William Campbell.

Floyd is the X-factor of the three of these backups on the depth chart, he redshirted last year because of the amount of depth in the secondary, he was a safety in high school but because of his lack of size was moved to corner when he got to Michigan.

Being a three-star recruit, he was not as highly touted as any of the other players around him, so if he exceeds expectations this unit may be a pleasant surprise.

For historical reference, Michigan has had a number of true freshmen cornerbacks do well and go onto have great careers. Ty Law and Charles Woodson both played as Freshmen and went onto become All-Americans in college and All-Pros in the NFL.

At safety the question is bigger but there is slightly more experience, Troy Woolfolk and Mike Williams will be at the strong and free safety positions respectively.

Woolfolk, a junior, had established himself prior to moving into this position, but he had done so as nickel and as a special teams tackler. He was second on the team with 10 special teams tackles last season proving that he has no problem tackling players in the open field if necessary.

He also, prior to Denard Robinson's arrival, was the fastest player on the team. A hurdler on the Wolverines track team he has the speed to catch up to players and keep up with deep threat receivers, however he might lack the size to go after powerful running backs.

Mike Williams has not had as much experience as the other starters in the secondary but the redshirt sophomore from California has apparently impressed the coaches in practice this year. He led the team in special teams tackles with 11 last season despite only playing sparingly at safety.

He also impressed several media observers during two-a-days with his physical play and picked up two interceptions in one-on-one drills during the first week of camp.

Backing them up will be Jared Van Slyke, Jordan Kovacs, and Vladimir Emilien. Van Slyke is a transfer student from Southeast Missouri State and the son of Detroit Tigers first base coach Andy Van Slyke, and has impressed the coaches enough to make it onto the second spot on the depth chart.

Kovacs, a speedy walk on redshirt freshman has also been pressed into duty and impressed enough to get a spot on the depth chart this year.

Emilien is the only player who has been highly touted coming out of high school as a four star player out of Lauderhill, Florida despite missing his senior season with a torn ACL. Apparently, he too has done a good enough job to earn a spot on the chart as a true freshman.

In all seriousness this is the Wolverines weakest area in terms of both experience and depth. Hopefully the rest of the defense will play better and put pressure on the quarterback in order to make up for the weaknesses in the secondary. Unfortunately they too will have to deal with learning the new defensive system under new coordinator Greg Robinson.

All in all Michigan has worked hard this offseason and they desperately want to silence any doubters this season. I predict that this team will get to a bowl game in their second season under Rich Rodriguez but which one, I have no idea.

They will be vastly improved from last season on both sides of the ball because the offense will be able to control the ball longer and put points on the board taking the pressure off of the defense and quite possibly, becoming the best part of their defense.

Michigan Defense Preview: The Front Seven

Charles Clinton — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:42:23 -0400

I wrote up previews for offense in two parts, Part I and Part II. The Wolverine defense will be vastly different from last season with a new coordinator and a new system for them (unlike the offense) the players may have to adjust to the new alignments more this up coming seasons, which may in turn put pressure on the Michigan offense to perform.

First let's talk about the new coordinator Greg Robinson. Robinson is well known for being the most recent fired Head Coach at Syracuse, before that he was the defensive coordinator at Texas, and the Denver Broncos, winning a championship with both teams.
Robinson runs a 3-4 scheme where the defensive linemen are generally used to occupy the linemen while the linebackers take up the field and tackle whoever is carrying the ball while not being blocked.

If there is anybody on the Michigan defense who knows how to occupy offensive linemen it's senior Defensive End Brandon Graham. Graham was one of the best linemen in the conference this past season leading the team in sacks, in spite of the fact that he was injured for several games last year and was also double teamed in every game he played that season. He could be a blessing or a curse for this team depending on how well the other guys up front play, and how often this team brings serious pressure.

Joining Graham up front will be sophomores Nose Tackle Mike Martin and Tackle Ryan Van Bergen. Both of whom, in spite of not being starters, had substantial playing time last season.

Martin, at 6'2" 292 lbs, is considered a player with a very large upside for this team. Last season he led all freshmen with 20 tackles, playing every single game. He also came up big in the clutch making two big plays in the comeback victory over Wisconsin. He stopped PJ Hill from behind short of a first on a third down late in the fourth quarter, then hit quarterback Allen Everidge as he was attempting a pass on the two point conversion that would have tied the game and sent it to overtime.

Van Bergen mostly played defensive end last year, coming in to replace Graham or Tim Jamison whenever either one of them was tired. If there is any player who may need to adjust to the system more it may be him. He was used to playing in the 4-3 and was seldom double teamed the way Graham was. Hopefully for the Wolverines, he's improved in the offseason.

Backing them up will be upperclassmen Dominique Ware, Renaldo Sagesse, Greg Banks, Adam Patterson, and Tim North. As well as freshmen Will Campbell, Anthony LaLota, and Nathan Brink.

Campbell comes in as the jewel of the most recent recruiting class as a Rivals.com five-star 6'5" 318 lb tackle. He will get some playing time this season, although it his highly unlikely that he will start this year. LaLaota also comes in as a highly touted recruit as an end and should see substantial playing time as well. Both of them enrolled early and participated in spring practice, so they know their way around the defense.

Of the upperclassmen listed above, only Greg Banks has experience that doesn't involve goal line situations and special teams.

This brings up another major issue for the defense as a whole. Experience further down on the depth chart. If one of the top three linemen get hurt then whoever steps in is either going to be a freshman, or a guy who's barely had any playing time in the past. This will be a concern for this team once the season starts.

The Linebacking core will be shaken up by the 3-4 system, with new players and new responsibilities. On the outside there will likely be Stevie Brown and Brandon Herron, in the middle will be Obi Ezeh, and on the inside is Jonas Mouton.

Brown, Ezeh, and Mouton were all defensive starters last season. Brown was a free safety who bulked up during the offseason to play a nickel/LB hybrid position called "the spinner." Ezeh, a junior, was a standout his redshirt freshman year in 2007, breaking up a crucial pass in the Capitol One Bowl against Florida and becoming one of the leaders on the defense last season. He started every game last season, led the team in tackles with 98, and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten.

Mouton, another junior, was solid as a weakside linebacker, was second on the team in tackles with 76. He will be expected to have a very good season if he stays healthy.
Herron is a redshirt sophomore who, at the moment, seems to have beat out Junior Marell

Evans for the job of outside linebacker. He also, it seems, is going to be the primary blitzer from that position. Brown will probably play more of a read-and-react role as a linebacker, looking out for running back and covering the tight end on the outside, while occasionally blitzing.

Backing them up will be Evans, Kevin Leach, JB Fitzgerald, who are all at least sophomores on the team. The freshmen backups at linebacker will be Brandin Hawthorne, Brandon Smith (redshirt last year), Isiah Bell, Craig Roh, and Mike (who?) Jones (I couldn't resist).

If Michigan's defense wants to avoid having an untested freshman play at linebacker they hope that their starting four remain healthy. If they do, and the freshmen are able to get playing time an experience without lots of pressure they will be able to ease into position when the current starters graduate.

On both parts a lot of the success depends on two things: staying healthy and providing pressure. If the Michigan defense can do that they will be able to get more stops and give up less points. Of course it will help a lot if the offense is able to posses the ball and score and keep the defense off the field as much as possible and fresh for when they need to be there.

In practice reports on the athletic department website, it seems like the defense performs best when the offense is in bad field position. It also, appeared to be a 50-50 split when the offense had to drive the ball from the opposing 20. We'll see whether that is because of the offense being better or the defense being worse, however, it is clear that field position will be a key. Thankfully they will have Zoltan Mesko to take care of that.

Top Five Retired Division I-A Coaches without a National Championship

Charles Clinton — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:21:28 -0400

This list is dedicated to the college football coaches despite all of their best efforts and despite how hard they worked their teams were unable to get one of the polls to vote them a national championship. This list is composed of coaches that have been around since the inception of such poles and not coincidentally they have all been around since the advent of college football on national television in the 1960s. This is because any season before the major polls would be subject to serious question as to who the national champion was, also before television, the final poll was done before the bowl season which occasionally meant that the team voted National Champion was defeated in a bowl game. However, this list is meant to glorify these men's accomplishments, not pity them for not winning it all.

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Curtis Granderson as Batman to Tim Tebow's Superman

Charles Clinton — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:54:03 -0400

This is in response to an article about Tim Tebow's current status as College Football's Golden Boy, the part of this article that really caught my attention was that he was referred to as "Superman."

I guess that's my problem with him, more than the media baiting, more than me being a Michigan fan—I just don't like Superman. I've always had a problem with Superman, who has extraordinary powers powered by our sun because he was born on a planet that had a different sun, yes I am that big of a geek, sue me.

I've always been a fan of Batman over Superman, more or less because he is human because he clearly has flaws and because to me heroes must be relatable people.

The Batman of the '80s and '90s of Frank Miller and the Fox Kids cartoon that showcased urban decay and a gritty Gotham City much like the Detroit that I grew up in and still live in today, and portrayed Batman as a dark angel who was a criminal's worst nightmare.

I always liked that as opposed to Superman who was in a modern upscale city of Metropolis where it seems like the sun is always shining, much like Florida.

If Tim Tebow is Superman in the modern sports world, I would contend that Curtis Granderson would be its Batman.

He's clearly not perfect as an athlete, striking out a lot, and hitting a measly .255 despite the fact that he's well on pace for at least a 20 home run and 20 stolen base season.

He also shares many of the personality traits of Bruce Wayne, a charitable millionaire who's also seen as a little bit of a playboy with good looks and charm that the ladies simply can't resist.

He also has, coincidentally, been playing in Detroit as a number of corrupt local politicians have recently been caught red handed doing various dirty deeds.

While Curtis Granderson might be human, Grady Sizemore, like the Joker, would argue there's nothing mere about that mortal.

There's not a thing on the baseball diamond that he cannot do well, and he happens to be the bright shining face that an everybody looks up to in Detroit. Sure we criticize him when he strikes out or when he overplays a deep fly ball or gets caught stealing a base.

But we love him for doing whatever it takes to win, much like Tebow does down in Florida. The difference is we don't necessarily put him on the pedestal that the Floridians seem to put Tebow on, becasuse we know our hero is a mortal and quite frankly we Gothamites would not have it any other way.

Looking to our heroes for perfection means that we will always be let down. I'm sure that many of the people who idolize (take note of this term) Tebow put him up to things that I really don't think he's either capable of, or he shouldn't be comfortable with.

My biggest issue is that a lot of people have referred to Tim Tebow as the second coming of Jesus, most of whom are speaking in hyperbole. The problem with that is, sometimes I get the feeling that there are people who actually want to believe that, and sometimes I get the idea that Tebow himself wants to believe that himself.

Nobody, sports hero, or not should put that kind of messianic responsibility on their shoulders.

Yes, I understand why you guys look up to him, but for god's sake, he's not the second coming. He's a college football quarterback who takes out time to help kids. Does that make him a nice guy, sure, but I don't think his athletic skills or his big heart warrant asking him if he's a virgin or not.

I think that it's unfair that the media has focused so much on Tebow and so little on Granderson even though he reaches out to the media and is seen congenially by them.

It seems like you'll never see Curtis Granderson as a true hero on ESPN for his human nature, because he doesn't try to do things that he's not capable of doing and also because baseball doesn't get the same type of media hype that College Football gets.

Honestly, I'd like to see more of him in that kind of light, and less of Tim Tebow. For goodness sake, it's baseball season right now, and college football doesn't get started for another month and some change.

Why don't we focus on Tebow when it's his time and look at Granderson now. I understand that we all need heroes, why not look somewhere else?

The Pistons Should Go After Hedo Turkoglu and Then...

Charles Clinton — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:44:50 -0400

With Vince Carter being acquired by the Orlando Magic, it seems the Magic have little interest in renewing the contract of their star power forward Hedo Turkoglu; who opted out of his contract today.

The team that would probably be the most interested in him are the Detroit Pistons, who have a very good starting frontcourt with Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Antonio McDeyss, but it isn't getting any younger.

Wallace and McDeyss are both nearing the end of their fine NBA careers and have done all they could for the franchise. Prince, while a remarkable player, will not be able to carry the mail up front without some help, which is where Turkoglu comes in.

The Pistons have recently traded center Amir Johnson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Fabricio Oberto, which fulfills the need for new players in their backcourt, but not the need for youth with the 34-year old Oberto replacing the 22-year old Johnson. It seems that the Pistons were acquiring him to free up cap space to make some bigger moves this summer.

In another move, they also drafted small forward Austin Daye out of Gonzaga, another indication that the Pistons are concerned about what's going on up front.

Turkoglu would be a good fit for the Pistons because he is a team player with good NBA experience, he's been to the playoffs with three teams, most recently in the Finals with the Magic. He has been a key player and a role player on all three teams, but he has never been the star player. In a star oriented NBA, the Pistons have traditionally defied convention by going the way of chemistry, which has paid off in the past with the 2004 NBA Championship.

General Manager Joe Dumars said this past season that the Pistons needed to re-evaluate their team after he traded All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson. The move has been ridiculed as one of the most one sided trades in the NBA as the Nuggets went to the Western Conference Finals, where the Pistons were swept in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

One thing that seems clear right now is that that Detroit is content to have Rodney Stuckey as their full-time point guard. He seems capable of doing things right with the proper help as he helped guide the Pistons to a winning streak when Iverson was out with an injury.

If the Pistons are able to acquire Turkoglu after he officially becomes a free agent on July 1, the Pistons could also make some other moves with their recently freed up cap space with Billups, Johnson, and Iverson no longer on the team.

The question is, who do they get?

There are three candidates whose names have recently popped up in discussion lately, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosch, and Ben Gordon.

Ben Gordon is a 6'3" shooting guard for the Chicago Bulls, whose acquisition would likely result in a position change for Richard Hamilton, the Pistons current shooting guard who stands at 6'7". However, what he does bring is some desperately needed offense that the Pistons have lacked at times over the course of the past three years.

Bosch is a star forward/center for the Toronto Raptors, who many believe is interested in going somewhere else to get away from the Raptors losing ways. He has the best stats of the three players with 22.7 points per game and 10 rebounds per game averages. However his acquisition may be risky because he is a star and there may be questions about whether he can fit in with the chemistry that the Pistons are trying to build.

Boozer another forward/center currently plays for the Utah Jazz and will be up for free agency this summer. It is unclear on whether he wants to leave Utah or not, but he has had a down year recently in which he did not finish the season with an average of 20 points per game for the first time in three seasons. However, he is a consistent scorer and rebounder and works well with teammates, which should bode well for the Pistons should they choose to pursue him.

Above everything else, whoever the Pistons acquire must mesh well with Richard Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, and Jason Maxiell; because those are the four players on the Pistons current roster who will receive consistent playing time, and will not be going anywhere anytime soon.

They will also have to be able to deal with a young Head Coach in Michael Curry, who is going into his second season next year, if he can hold together a team with that talent they may be able to challenge in the new and improved Central Division, which now contains Shaq on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Hungry And Defensive: Detroit Tigers Charging Towards The All Star Break

Charles Clinton — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:44:46 -0400

After a disappointing season last year in which the Detroit Tigers did not live up to expectations, they have come out of the gate in the first 72 games and stormed to first place in the American League Central. They currently have a five game lead over the Minnesota Twins.

The turnaround has been unexpected and has left many scratching their heads over how long it can last. There is no question about how much the Tigers have improved, but there are several who are unsure on how the Tigers have been able to pull this off.

One thing that is certain is that the AL Central Division is not the strongest in baseball at the moment. With the Kansas City Royals fizzling out after their big start to the season, the division was up for grabs as early as May when the Tigers seized control and have failed to lose grip since then.

The Tigers faced several tests in their way this past month, and have struggled with some inconsistencies in their pitching and hitting.

Dontrelle Willis' struggles with anxiety disorder and Jeremy Bonderman's absence have both hurt a team that has grown to depend on their first three starters immensely. The Tigers have also struggled to find a second bat to go along with the red hot Miguel Cabrera.

They have lost to several key teams, and a sweep in Boston at the beginning of June was embarrassing although ace pitcher Justin Verlander was not slated to start at any point during the series.

It showcased the weaknesses of the Tigers rotation. Other series have showed the Tigers to be a team of resilience, especially during this most recent stretch of inter-league play.

The Tigers are currently on a seven-game winning streak and all of the wins have come in inter-league play, with the last four of them all being one-run wins. Last season, and early in this past season the Tigers would often lose these types of games by making more mistakes than their opponents, but this year that is not the case which brings forth the reason for why they have improved.

Defense.

Their pitching has improved no doubt especially with Justin Verlander currently leading the American League in strikeouts and Edwin Jackson having the second lowest ERA in the AL as well.

However, the biggest reason for their improvement has been how they play when they are not at bat.

In the field, they are making far fewer errors which doesn't allow their opponents to comeback so easily or for them to beat them without being a better team.

This is partially due to Curtis Granderson being arguable one of the best defensive centerfielders in baseball, but at the same time the rest of the team has been stepping up as well.

Players like Placido Polanco, Brandon Inge and Adam Everett in the infield have come up with key plays and avoided making too many foolish mistakes. Granderson has also been receiving substantial help from his fellow outfielders especially recently Josh Anderson and Don Kelly. It also doesn't hurt that right now acquiring Gerald Laird as catcher is probably one of the most underrated trades from this past off season.

There are still areas in which the Tigers can improve, but as of the 72nd game in the season, they are in a very good position to make a run to the postseason this year.

Because last year the Philadelphia Phillies did not have the most complete team as far as pitching and hitting was concerned, but what they did have the best fielding team, and that combined with what else they had was enough to win the World Series last year.

Top Five Greatest Detroit Pistons First Round Draft Choices

Charles Clinton — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:29:08 -0400

This list compiles the five best players the Pistons have ever taken in the first round, a list that's not too hard to narrow down seeing that many of their great teams have been made up of rejects from other teams. However the Motor City Bad Boys have made a few good and some straight up lucky choices in the first round. Disclaimer, not all of these players led the Pistons to a championship or even to that many playoff appearances, some of them just kept the franchise alive. Also, I would include Dennis Rodman on this list if he was drafted in the first round, but he wasn't.

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Michigan Football Season Preview: Offense, Part I

Charles Clinton — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:03:58 -0400

First and foremost, I've been a Michigan football fan since I was seven years old. I remember watching the Remy Hamilton game when they beat Notre Dame on a last second field goal in 1994.

Even though I knew nothing about football at the time, I knew I liked Michigan's helmets and I thought it would be cool to go there.

Little did I know that I would be there during one of the worst stretches in school history—one that included four losses to Ohio State. Now that I'm about to graduate, the bad luck I've brought will hopefully wear off.

I like coach Rich Rodriguez's offense—I see in it a very similar look to Bo Schembechler's philosophy of football with the option running game. I also believe that Rodriguez, through his toughness with the players and his demands of them, possesses a moxie similar to Bo's.

I think Bo was lucky that in 1969 apathy had not spread through American society and tainted everybody. He was lucky that there was no indifference in any of the players who played Michigan football at the time.

That was the problem last year—not just the lack of the quarterback, and not just the injuries. It was the indifference of some of the players towards Rich Rodriguez's way of doing things that really hurt.

Fortunately, enough of the players who caused those problems are gone that now Rodriguez can get down to business.

The key to this team's success will be the offensive line. I believe this so much that I will actually devote a separate article to it (see Part II).

The quarterback position will be much improved from last year, when the Wolverines had to choose between a walk-on and a player who became utterly indifferent as the season progressed. Freshman Tate Forcier will probably start at least by the time the Big Ten season rolls around.

He has a solid arm and can throw the deep ball when necessary, but I really like his elusiveness and mobility. He can improvise and throw on the run, keep the play alive, and can run to get the yards himself if necessary.

Freshman Denard Robinson will come to Michigan as a highly touted running quarterback, yet his mobility is not what impressed me when I saw his video. Robinson has an absolute cannon for an arm—I'm surprised he can throw as well as he does.

He completes some risky passes across his body, on the run, downfield.

The only disadvantage that he and Tate have is a lack of size. Some doubt that they will be able to handle the hard-hitting Big Ten.

It would not be good for many Wolverine fans to see another season's worth of Nick Sheridan starting against Ohio State.

At running back, Michigan is in really good shape. Barring injuries, the Wolverines should have a starting tailback tandem of seniors in Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown—both of whom are experienced, powerful, and fast.

Minor was Michigan's leading rusher last year with 533 yards on 106 carries, averaging five yards per carry. Both he and Brown were injured for parts of the season, but if they had been healthy, last season might not have been so bad.

If they can avoid injury this upcoming season and average four to five yards per carry, this team is going to be able to control the clock with their ground game.

Backing up these two will presumably be sophomore Michael Shaw and freshman Vincent Smith. Shaw led the team in rushing against Minnesota last season, and there are discussions about moving him to wide receiver. He's currently listed as a wideout on the depth chart, but that may change by the time the season rolls around on Sept. 5.

Smith is one of the several Pahokee, Florida products who have populated Ann Arbor under Rodriguez. He's a small running back who could be a very speedy guy in the open field.

I would also expect junior Mark Moundros to start at fullback and get his fair share of touches this upcoming season.

Wide receiver is the offensive skill position that most Michigan fans should be worried about, as senior Greg Matthews and sophomore Martavious Odoms return from last year's disaster.

Odoms was installed as a return man, and seemed unable to hold onto the ball for any prolonged period of time. Hopefully the Florida native will have adjusted to Michigan's weather by the time next season rolls around.

I believe Matthews, who failed to produce as a deep threat last year, is one of the few Michigan players who actually tried to do more than he could last season.

After redshirting his freshman year, Roy Roundtree expects to make a splash this upcoming season. If there is any receiver on this team who could be the deep threat necessary to keep the defense honest, it would be him.

While I'm primarily basing this off of a 50-yard touchdown reception that he caught from Forcier in the spring game, I also think that he has rapport with this team and a thirst to prove himself.

At the same time, he lacks experience and will have to be given some space to learn how to play in the system.

Darryl Stonum will return as a sophomore, but it's not clear for how long. It would be great to seem him stay out of trouble, but if he gets in Rodriguez's dog house one more time, he'll be on the outside looking in.

Sophomore Kevin Koger will likely be the starting tight end. At West Virginia, Rodriguez seldom ever used a tight end, but with Koger's talent, the coach may be coming around to the position.

He has been working with Koger as a blocker while also installing more looks in the offense that use one or two tight ends.

In closing, I reiterate my belief that Michigan will be a better team as long as they can control the ball on offense and keep the defense off the field. Rich Rodriguez may have a no-huddle offense, but it's also run-oriented in order to control the game tempo.

If the Wolverines can do these things, they will win at least enough games to become bowl-eligible.

Top 10 WR/TE in Michigan Football History

Charles Clinton — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:57:31 -0400

Although the University of Michigan has the great tradition of three yards-and-a cloud of dust football, there have been many great pass receivers in the 130 years of maize and blue football. These are the ten best in my opinion that are judged solely on their performance as players for the University, what they did in the professional ranks is irrelevant. Also, this list is in chronological order.

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Why Curtis Granderson Should Be an All-Star

Charles Clinton — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:30:14 -0400

In my opinion, Curtis Granderson is the best center fielder in the American League and also the best player on the Detroit Tigers. Yes, it's true that he is only hitting .258 right now, and it's also true that he's received a lot more help this year from his corner outfielders than he has in his three previous seasons, but he has had one of the most exciting first three seasons a player could have without making the all-star team.

It was a crime that he didn't make the team in his historic 2007 campaign in which he became the second player to ever have a quadruple 20 season, having more than 20 home runs, 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 steals. On top of that, he batted over .300 that year and made the best catch of the season, robbing Wily Mo Pena of a home run on July 8 of that year.

Although he has his weaknesses and has a tendency to be inconsistent at times, he is also one of the most exciting players in the game. I believe that it would be a crime if he doesn't appear on the field in St. Louis on July 14.

I think that he has been the catalyst that has enabled the Tigers to get first place. His 13 home runs led the team and he is on pace to hit at least 30 this year, which would be a career high for him. He's also on pace for over 20 stolen bases for the second time in his career. But neither of those comes close to showing why he's this team's catalyst or why he should be an All-Star. For proof of that, you have to look at a game on May 8.

Justin Verlander got the start that day and shut the Cleveland Indians out, giving up two hits through the first seven innings. At the top of the eighth, Granderson got a one-out walk, stole second, moved up to third on a groundout, and scored the go-ahead run on an infield single with two outs.

Fast-forward to the bottom of the ninth. Verlander continued to pitch a gem. He had struck out 10 players, but he might have been in trouble, here. There was a man on first with one out and Grady Sizemore was at the plate as the potential winning run.

He scorched one to deep center field and it looked like it was out of the park. But Granderson leaped up, climbed that wall, reached over it, caught the ball, landed on his feet, and nearly doubled off of Josh Barfield at first.

Verlander struck out the next batter to complete the gem and promptly bought the man dinner. That game started a 10-3 run during the next 13 games for the Tigers, leading them to capture first place in the central division.

Granderson is the kind of player that the Major Leagues should be promoting as a star. He cares about his community. He has a charity that raises money for inner city sports programs called Grand Kids. In addition to his big heart and athletic ability, he also knows how to use his head. He blogs for Yahoo Sports and has a college degree from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Everything about the guy suggests that he would be a good distraction for a league that has been riddled with accusations of steroid use and arrogant, aloof star players. Granderson, by contrast, is accessible and beloved by fans, teammates, and local media alike, and I'd like to see Fox do a package on the good he's doing.

Why I Like the Detroit Lions

Charles Clinton — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:34:54 -0400

Since William Clay Ford took over the Detroit Lions in 1964, the team has been representative of the gradual ultimate decline of my hometown of Detroit.

While the Big Three automakers have continued to eat it economically and drag the rest of the town with them, the Lions have been consistently bad as the city has gotten progressively worse.

On top of that, both the city and the team have blown what chances they have had to change their losing ways and improve their standing in the world.

The culmination of this has been last year, in which the team went 0-16. It was an absolutely magnificently bad season that I had never seen.

I've seen some bad teams in Detroit (the Tigers once lost 119 games setting an American League record), but even then they were able to turn around their futility as they now sit in first place in the AL Central.

The Pistons had some really bad years in the mid 90's, and the year after they lost Grant Hill was one of the toughest times to be a Pistons' fan in anybody's lifetime.

However, the 0-16 team was special because they had been bad for so long, this was the ultimate culmination in the team's futility.

It wasn't like the team was trying to lose either, it was just that every time the Lions would make it close they would find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

By the fourth game of the season, I began to sense that this was going to be something of historic proportions.

The team had been run into the ground by a horribly incompetent General Manager in Matt Millen, who reminded me of the many corrupt politicians who ran this city and state with his general lack of knowledge in how things go down and how to run things smoothly.

The only game that was in any way controversial all season long was against the Minnesota Vikings, in which their was a questionable pass interference call against the Lions that allowed the Vikes to get into field goal position to win the game in the last minute.

Even I think that game was a hopeless cause, because in it Dan Orlovsky committed the mistake that defined the season by accidentally running out of his own end zone for a safety.

So, with all this bad stuff happening to the team, why do I support them?

The primary reason is because there are thousands of people flooding out of my home town and my home state. If i don't support this team and support this city, who will?

This is where i grew up, the only home I know and I will always have a deep-seeded emotional connection to it no matter where I go in life.

Plus, we Detroiters tend to be emotionally masochistic. I know that from going to half-full Tiger games for much of my childhood during the summer when the team would be absolutely terrible and consistently snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in close games.

However, I kept going to games kept supporting them. Now they are up on top, which leads me to my second point.

The Detroit Lions are at the absolute bottom of the NFL and, in a sense, they're at the bottom in life like so many people in my depressed hometown who have been laid off and are looking for work wherever they can find it.

I've been in a similar position in life and I'm trying to work my way out of it now. If the Lions can work their way out of the bottom, then there is hope for all of us in this town.

I believe that if I get anywhere positive in life, it will be because I grew up here and because of the tough experiences of supporting the Lions and Tigers, who were painful to root for but I had to love anyway.

Schwarz Defensive Changes for the Lions: Going From 3-4 to 4-3

Charles Clinton — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:14:20 -0400

In last year's historic season the Detroit Lions utilized a 3-4 defensive scheme for their front seven that was supposed to bear a passing resemblance to that of the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, passing would be the operative word there.

They also used the Tampa Two coverage system in the secondary. On any other team this may have worked but for the most historically inept team in NFL history the Lions failed at it miserably especially with their total inability to stop the run. They gave up an NFL high 171.8 yards in an average game, and they weren't much better at stopping the pass either.

New head coach Jim Schwartz is coming from his previous job as the defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans who gave up a mere 93 yards rushing per game. He brings in an alternative scheme with a 4-3 alignment and a lot more man-to-man coverage in the secondary.

Like any system in football there are needs and there are certain positions where you need a specific style of player. One of the biggest differences between 4-3 and the 3-4 is the emphasis it puts on the defensive linemen to be fast and be able to out run the offensive line on the pass rush.

Like the 3-4 the linebackers have similar responsibilities in plugging the holes on running plays, but the middle linebacker is supposed to be able to blitz as well as plug holes and when he blitzes is supposed to create a mismatch for the normally slow center creating either a double team on him that will spring one of the defensive linemen loose to pressure the quarterback, or allow him to outrun the center to get to the quarterback.

In order for this to work the Lions need a solid middle linebacker and a sturdy quick defensive linemen who can get to the quarterback. They were able to pick up the former in Larry Foote from the Steelers, an inside linebacker in their 3-4 scheme.

Foote was superb in being able to stop the run but growing frustrated in Tomlin's wariness to let him blitz the quarterback often. The also picked up a strong side linebacker in Julian Peterson, most recently of the Seattle Seahawks. This five-time pro bowler will definitely help prevent any running backs from getting to the outside.

Unfortunately for the Lions there isn't as much to cheer about from the defensive line area, or in the secondary. Jared DeVries, for example, has been with them since 1999, the last time they made the playoffs, has averaged a little bit more than two tackles per game in his career.

In order to be a solid defensive end in this system he has to tackle a little bit more than that. Dewayne White has posted better stats and has shown some improvement over the past two years, but still needs a lot of work done.

The Lions have recently acquired a defensive end who could be capable of rushing the quarterback in Eric Hicks, a former all-pro player in 2002. Hicks has speed and proved it with 44.5 career sacks over the course of an 11 year career with Kansas City and the New York Jets, although he spent last year injured, if he is healthy this team might be able to work in Cliff Avril and Rudolph Hardie and other young players into the rotation.

The secondary has gotten a boost in Phillip Buchanon a starter corner at Tampa Bay who had 52 tackles and two interceptions including one for a touchdown last year. If he can be a shutdown corner for this Lions team it will enable the rest of their defense to sharpen up their skills and make room for improvement as the season progresses.

The most important thing for this team's turnaround is chemistry, if Schwartz can provide that on both sides of the ball they may be able to fulfill Kevin Smith's prediction of making the playoffs. If the offense can be able to control the clock it will allow the defense to work on the opponents and win ball games, and that is a huge improvement over a winless season last year.

Michigan Football's Top 10 Matchups for 2009

Charles Clinton — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:55:08 -0400

In Rich Rodriguez second season there are going to be many necessary adjustments needed in order for the team to improve over the course of the season. These ones will include being able to make the spread offense work as well as being able to defend it against other teams that use it. Breaking in a freshman quarterback in Tate Forcier to run it, and dealing with many defensive departures from last year's disaster of a season. These matchups will be key for Michigan's success in the upcoming season, in no particular order.

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Money vs. Experience: The Detroit Lions' Quarterback Controversy

Charles Clinton — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:21:15 -0400

The Detroit Lions are going to have an interesting choice on their hands this August.

Coming off a win-less season that everybody has been talking about, new Head Coach Jim Schwartz will have to look at the two potential starting quarterbacks for this season.

One is an experienced player who, years ago, led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC championship game. The other is the first-round pick in the draft and one of the highest paid players on the team.

The Lions have not had a decent signal caller since Scott Mitchell in 1995, who along with Barry Sanders and Herman Moore led the Lions to record offensive numbers.

Arguably, to some, that was a fluke season as Mitchell faded fast after that year. The Lions have been unable to find consistency in the passing game for quite some time, a problem that has been exacerbated by a woeful offensive line.

Both quarterbacks have shown some mobility. Daunte Culpepper was once considered the next Michael Vick, leading the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game in only his second season.

He has put on lots of weight since then and does not have the open field speed that he had when he first entered the league.

He doesn't have Randy Moss to throw to either.

Matt Stafford showed some impressive open-field speed while at Georgia, as well as a great arm and ability to throw on the run, which will be sorely tested when he starts playing in regular games with the Lions.

Because of the $41.5 million contract he's under, that playing time will probably come at some point during this season. The question, is will he be able to handle it?

Culpepper, who has been plagued by injuries the past four seasons, has said that this is the most healthy he's been since 2004—his best statistical year. If he can show mere flashes of himself from that season, he's going to play. But when?

It's safe to say that whoever does better in the preseason will be the man who gets the job for the first game of the regular season on Sept. 13 in New Orleans. The question is not only who is it going to be, but when that man fouls up, will he get yanked for the other guy?

I think that Culpepper will start out the season, and Stafford will initially get garbage time in the blowout losses. Early enough into the season they will lose enough games to want to throw the rookie into the fire and Stafford will be expected to perform.

The important thing about the Lions is that the expectations are so low that a rookie quarterback can come in and show mere flashes of greatness and he won't look like a draft bust.

His rookie-season stats may be irrelevant if he has a good career, but the real test will be if he can bounce back from a difficult season.

With Nowhere To Go but Up, How High Is the Detroit Lions' Ceiling?

Charles Clinton — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:45:13 -0400

Coming off of a historically bad season last year that will be forever etched in the memories of all NFL fans, the Detroit Lions have nowhere to go but up. The question for this team is "How high is the ceiling?"

My personal opinion on this team is that it's probably not very high, but it is highly unlikely that they will go winless another season. This team wants desperately to change its losing mentality and history, but making the playoffs seems to be quite a stretch.

Although it is true that the NFC North has not been a very good division the last few years, that's due in large part due to how bad the Lions have been under former GM Matt Millen.

Now the Lions have a new team president in Tom Lewand and GM in Martin Mayhew. They also have a new Coach in Jim Schwartz and quarterback in the first pick in this year's draft, Matthew Stafford. While these personnel changes signal that the Lions desperately want to shed themselves of their losing ways, they're still a long way from getting results.

Putting in a new quarterback, especially a rookie, is a risk for any NFL team. While there have been recent stories of immediate success with Matt Ryan in Atlanta and Joe Flacco in Baltimore, more fans are reminded of the epic failures of Ryan Leaf in San Diego.

On top of that, for some young QBs success comes with growing pains, such as Troy Aikman, who was the top pick in the 1989 draft for the Cowboys and went 1-15 in his first season before leading the 'Boys to three Super Bowls in four years.

Stafford showed a lot of promise in the NFL combine with his arm, but what I think will be more key for him will be his mobility. The Lions have one of the worst offensive line in the league, and he will have to do a lot of scrambling in order to find Calvin Johnson to make big plays this season. He will also probably take a lot of sacks this upcoming season.

One of the few players that showed any kind of promise for the Lions last season was Running Back Kevin Smith who rushed for 976 yards in his rookie season out of Central Florida. While he's clearly not Barry Sanders he can pick up tough yards and has proven that he has breakaway speed. If Smith has a breakout season with 1,000-plus yards, I could see it translate into some possible upset wins in early home games against Minnesota and Washington.

The defense will get a huge shakeup with Schwartz coming in from the Tennessee Titans with their powerful aggressive 4-3 defense changing over from their 3-4 alignment last season. On top of that, they added Pro-Bowl linebacker Larry Foote, who came from the amazing 3-4 Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers into the new system to play middle linebacker and essentially be the defensive captain.

Lions fans are hoping that Schwartz can come in and work his magic to turn the league's worst rush defense into something better. I would advise those fans to have some patience. The Titans had Albert Haynesworth last season and gave up a mere 93.4 rushing yards per game, whereas the Lions gave up nearly twice that amount in an average with 172.1 yards on the ground for their opponents.

I think that this team will improve and win at the very least four games. However i don't think that they will be able to make the playoffs, as Kevin Smith has predicted. I think a fair assumption is that they will probably win somewhere between four and six games as a fair estimate, and while the playoffs are the goal of this team this season, I find it highly unlikely that they will be able to reach that goal.

At the end of the season, I think the Lions will be 5-11 and fourth in the NFC North with a promising young quarterback who managed to get through a year of punishment relatively unscathed.

The Lions Now Have Larry Foote....Now a Few Questions for Him.

Charles Clinton — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:36:40 -0400

The Detroit Lions have many needs, not the least of which was an inside/middle linebacker.

After going 0-16 and having the worst defense in the NFL in addition to the worst record, the need to shake things up is enormous right now. Getting Larry Foote could be something that could help turn this team around defensively.

The Lions clearly need more than just an inside linebacker, but getting Foote was a step in the right direction. A homegrown hero from the north side of town, Foote went to Pershing High School on the city's near Northeast side and attended the University of Michigan, where he was one of the Wolverines' leading tacklers his junior and senior years in addition to being an All-American his senior year.

Prior to this season, he'd played his entire career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he was a 3-4 inside linebacker whose primary jobs were to plug any holes on running plays and stop the screen pass. He went from averaging nearly five tackles a game his senior year to averaging 6.3 per game in the Steelers' 2005 Super Bowl season.

Although his numbers slipped the last few years, it was largely due to the fact that the Steelers had increased depth at linebacker over that time period with the addition of James Harrison and fellow Wolverine, LaMarr Woodley.

One problem that will arise for Foote, not necessarily the team as a whole, will be how he adjusts to being a leader on a defense after coming from a team that was full of leaders and great linebackers. If I were conducting an interview with him, I would ask him how he would plan to deal with that role as a leader on this defense, how does he see himself in relationship to being a leader, and whether he feels it necessary to be a leader himself?

I would also ask him the obvious question of what is it like to go from the Super Bowl champs to the team that just lost all 16 games? I don't know if he's tired of answering that just yet, but i think he just might still be happy to be back in his hometown.

I would ask him what he wants to accomplish in his first (and possibly only) season in Detroit. What he hopes to help this team do, and how far he thinks this team can go, and how much will they improve, seeing that they can't get any lower than 0-16?

As a follow up, I would ask him why he only signed a one-year contract in the first place; whether he wants to play in Detroit for the long run or whether he just wants to play and see what happens.

The need for linebacker has been addressed by the Lions, but the need for an offensive lineman has yet to be seriously addressed by the Steelers. The last question I would ask Foote would be whether he felt mad about them releasing him instead of trading him for an O-lineman and whether he felt like they undervalued him?

Who Is This Man and What Has He Done with Fernando Rodney?

Charles Clinton — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:43:07 -0400

For the past two years, the anxiety over the position of closing pitcher for the Detroit Tigers has been enormous. A big reason for that is Fernando Rodney, who has been with the team since his rookie year in 2002. He has been noted for his remarkable inconsistency ever since helping the team to a World Series appearance in 2006.

Last season, with Todd Jones being on the verge of retirement and Joel Zumaya on the disabled list for much of the year, manager Jim Leyland had Rodney try his role as the successor to Jones. His stat line speaks for itself; 0-6 W-L, 13-19 save opp, and a staggeringly high 4.91 ERA.

For the last two seasons, the bullpen has been labeled as the biggest problem the Tigers have, and Rodney has been the chief example, with an over four ERA the past two seasons. He also has the unfortunate distinction of committing a costly error in the World Series that helped cost the Tigers a game.

So why is he all of a sudden doing well?

Today, Rodney got his second save in as many opportunities against the Texas Rangers, and in three appearances he has yet to give up a run. While in the games he has appeared, he's gotten a boost from the offense, it's remarkable that he hasn't given up a run in his first three appearances, and I hope I didn't jinx him. If he can keep this up, it would be a welcome change from the roller coaster of agony that was Todd Jones.

This should be taken with a grain of salt; the two series the Tigers have played so far were against Toronto and Texas, respectively. Neither of whom has done much recently or is expected to do much this year. The real test will be coming up tomorrow, as the Tigers take on division rivals the Chicago White Sox. Hopefully, the bats will stay hot, as they've averaged nearly six runs a game so far, and Rodney will be able to make White Sox hitters feel ice cold.

Michigan Spring Game: The Good, the Bad, and the Iffy

Charles Clinton — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:44:09 -0400

Michigan Football fans have been anticipating the public spring practice at Michigan Stadium ever since the New Year began and Steven Threet decided to transfer in January.

After Nick Sheriden got injured in the early practice sessions, the pressure has been placed squarely on the shoulders of Tate Forcier, the true freshman quarterback out of San Diego, Calif.

After the ineptitude of Threet, Sheriden, and the whole offensive line in last year's 3-9 campaign (the first losing season at Michigan since 1967), fans were wondering how much the team had improved.

Prior to the game, Coach Rich Rodriguez said that some of the defensive starters would not be getting much playing time throughout the game. He mentioned a few names such as Brandon Graham, last year's All-Big Ten Defensive End.

On top of that, he mentioned that he wanted some of the younger players to get some reps in public in front of a big crowd.

With the stadium being about half-full with about 50,000 fans, those freshmen got a mere taste of what Michigan Stadium is going to be like come September.

The Good

Tate Forcier: He was elusive, he made almost all the right reads and almost every time he got the offense down the field, they scored; he controlled the clock.

Honestly, there wasn't a whole lot of things that he did wrong, aside from get tackled for a safety in a drill where the offense was backed up against the goal line and he got stopped in the end zone trying to bring it out.

He did manage to make up for it the next time he ran that drill, he threw for a first down and Carlos Brown did the rest by breaking for an 82-yard touchdown run on the next play.

Tate also threw a very pretty 45-yard TD pass to Roy Roundtree over the middle, which proved two things: one was that Tate can throw long, and the other was that Roundtree can be a solid receiver this season.

The Offensive Line: Say what you want about Threet and Sheriden's performance last year, they go no help from the men up front.

Earlier today, they were overpowering the defense and creating holes for Vincent Smith, Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor to get through, and they also enabled the zone read to be run to perfection.

The Bad

Matchups: The first team defense never matched up with the first team defense. The second team offense looked very shaky and inconsistent under David Cone against the first team defense which included Obi Ezeh and Boubacar Cissoko.

Likewise, the second team defense didn't do a good job stopping Tate Forcier and the first team offense. If Michigan wants to be competitive next season, they might want their best players practicing against each other more.

Injured Players: While the loss of Nick Sheriden is something that many fans will welcome, there were other injuries that fans are not going to be happy about. Cornerback Donovan Warren didn't play and was on crutches, didn't even dress, he seemed to be really hurt.

Last year's All Big Ten Freshman Defensive Tackle Mike Martin didn't play, he didn't seem to be hurt, but he didn't play.

I was hoping to see him play, because he was amazing at getting into the backfield from the nose position. I hope he plays well this next season.

Two point conversions: They did a drill simulating an overtime situation in which the offense was down by eight and had to get a touchdown and a two point conversion.

Most of the time they got the touchdown, but the only time they got the two points was when Tate rolled out on a waggle, couldn't find anybody open, dodged a few tacklers and dove into the endzone, which made Rich Rod really mad because he called a pass on that play.

The Iffy

Contact with Quarterbacks: I understand the idea behind not having anybody touch the quarterback in practice, you need a quarterback to run your offense, throw the ball and handle the ball every down, and if he gets hurt in practice you need someone to replace him.

Now here's why I disagree with that, in order to simulate a game experience in practice you need to make it as close to the real thing as possible.

Not having Tate take contact in practice might be detrimental to his progress going into games with full contact. On top of that, it might be a measure of how he can handle it.

Play calling: A lot of Michigan fans were excited about the hiring of Rich Rodriguez and his implementation of the spread offense.

After this past season's fiasco a lot of people have either started calling for his immediate resignation or said that the players he had this past season weren't suited for the system.

Now that he seems to have players that are suited for that system, he's calling the plays he wants called.

The thing that interests me is that the Michigan offense under Rich Rod seems not too different from that of Bo Schembechler, only instead of the draw play off-tackle it's to be the zone read off-tackle.

This seems to be not what Michigan fans were expecting out of this bold new offense that he was brought in to implement. I'm also sure that if he becomes successful doing this, he will be criticized for being boring in spite of winning.

Conclusion

After seeing the Michigan spring game, I am happy to report that the Wolverines will be better next season then they were in 2008. How much better is anybody's guess.

Doyle Alexander and The 1987 AL East Race

Charles Clinton — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:09:42 -0400

If you are a hardcore fan of the Detroit Tigers the name Doyle Alexander probably invokes bittersweet memories. People loved the fact that he helped the Tigers win the AL East in 1987, but hate the fact that they traded then-minor league prospect John Smoltz to the Atlanta Braves to get him.

For Tiger fans who grew up during the 1990s like myself, it was a bitter pill to swallow whenever Smoltz and the Atlanta Braves made it to the World Series knowing full well we could had used his talents at the time. But the short term effects of trading Alexander were absolutely amazing.

In 1987 the Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays were in a Division race that went down to the wire from July to the end of the season. The starters for both teams were getting overworked so the Tigers made a move shortly before the trade deadline to bring another starter in who could help out.

Alexander was a familiar face to Tiger fans—he had been the veteran ace of the up and coming Blue Jay staff in 84 and 85 in which both the Tigers and Blue Jays won the division respectively. He was 37 years old and in his 17th major league season, he had never won a ring and he knew he wasn't going to get many chances after this.

Doyle started 11 games, won nine of them and didn't lose a single one, on top of that he had three complete game shutouts.

In one of the no-decisions was one of the most memorable games in Tiger history he pitched for ten innings of a 13 inning marathon which they later won over the Jays at old Exhibition Stadium in Toronto with a 500 foot home run by Kirk Gibson foreshadowing his triumph with the Dodgers next year.

In spite of Alexander's postseason faltering in the ALCS that year against the Minnesota Twins, his performance in the regular season stands as one of the greatest stretches in the history of an old and storied franchise.

Kelvin Grady Leaving Michigan; What Does This Mean For Wolverine Basketball?

Charles Clinton — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:22:50 -0400

The Michigan basketball team got some sad news in the aftermath of their first tournament appearance in over a decade: Point guard Kelvin Grady is leaving the program. Largely seen as a potential successor to fifth-year senior captain CJ Lee, Grady's loss will have a huge impact on the team next season.

Although he did not start much this past season after starting his whole freshman season, he was a crucial figure in some games. Against Duke in the regular season, he assisted on two key three pointers to Zack Novack by getting the ball up the court and driving to the lane before kicking it out to him.

Those two plays were the six-point swing that the Wolverines needed to be able to pull off the upset, because before that happened Michigan was trailing by three with six minutes left in the game. Less than a minute later, thanks to Grady and Novack, they led by three.

Another game in which Grady was a huge help was in the NCAA tournament's opening contest, in which Grady relieved starter Lee and was able to get the ball past Clemson's full-court press in the first round. Without his ball handling skills, it's quite possible that Michigan's tourney appearance would have been one and done.

Which begs the question: Who will be Michigan's point guard next year? For now, the answer will probably be either be redshirt sophomore Laval Lucas-Perry or incoming freshman and four-star recruit Darius Morris.

Perry is generally a shooting guard despite his point guard size; he is not generally the one to bring the ball up the court, although he can do it. Morris is highly regarded as the top point guard out of his home state of California, and it was a steal for Michigan to get his commitment before their tournament run, but he's also a freshman and can be expected to make freshman mistakes.

Morris has the potential to be the best point guard at Michigan since Jalen Rose, but he will need some space to grow, which is where the loss of Grady hurts. Without another true point guard on the team, Coach John Beilein will have to scramble to find somebody to give him that growing space.

Michigan-Clemson- Breaking It Down

Charles Clinton — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:03:16 -0400

Michigan is in the Big Dance for the first time since 1998 and facing a faltering, but tough, Clemson team who is now a No. 7 seed after spending much of the season in the conversation as being a possible top-four seed in any region of the tournament.

The Wolverines on the other hand are coming in right off the bubble after a shaky Big Ten season preceded by a non-conference schedule that went way beyond expectations.

Both teams have difficult defenses to figure out. Michigan runs a half-court 1-3-1 zone that causes havoc in the backcourt and leads to lots of opposing turnovers.

Clemson runs a full-court press after every basket they make which not only leads to lots of steals , but also lots of backcourt, 10-second and shot clock violations. This type of defense puts a huge burden on the Wolverine point guards, they are going to have to find a way to get the ball up the court reliably and not turn the ball over in the process.

"In the Big Ten I don't think there's another team that's full-court pressing for 40 minutes," said Michigan coach John Beilein on Clemson's defense. "That can be a good thing, that can be a bad thing, let's see how we react."

When Michigan has the ball

The key matchup for Michigan offensively is how will their point gaurds avoid the press. While they have beaten teams with full-court press before, specifically Indiana and Minnesota.

Those teams did not run it after every single made basket in the game. Generally their go-to point gaurd when a press gives them trouble is sophomore Kelvin Grady who has recently been relegated to bench duty for inconsistent defensive play.

Some question fifth-year senior C.J. Lee's ability to get up the court with sophomores Dermontez Sitt and Terrence Oglesby harassing him everytime he brings the ball up the court. Both of these men have a two inch height advantage on Lee, which they can use should he try to pass it across the timeline.

The Tigers don't have a large height advantage over Michigan in the front court, but it could be enough with junior Trevor Booker and senior Raymond Sykes being the two team leaders in blocked shots having height advantages over sophomore Manny Harris (the Wolverines best player) and junior Deshawn Sims (who has been carrying the team down the stretch this year) respectively.

If they can prevent these two players from getting any sort of inside game going to offset the affect of Beilein's three point oriented offense, then Michigan had better hope their outside shooting is sharp that day, because they will need it.

When Clemson has the ball

Unlike Michigan's offense which has had a rotating third scorer to go with Harris and Sims this year, whenever they can get one, Clemson has three players who average double figures in Booker, Oglesby and senior swingman K.C. Rivers.

This consistency in scoring could be tough for the Wolverines who haven't faced many teams that distribute the ball as well as the Tigers do. Also, all three of their leading scorers average over 39 percent from beyond the arc—problematic for a defense designed to force a team outside.

Fortunately for Michigan, Clemson does turn the ball over a fair amount. Both Sitt and Sykes average more than two turnovers a game and their three leading scorers average at least one a game. If the Wolverines can get those numbers to increase, they might be able to get some baskets in transition and make times tough for the Tigers.

Intangibles

The momentum going in this game might be what gives Michigan the biggest advantage. Clemson has lost five of their last eight games including losses at home to Virginia Tech and in the ACC tournament to Georgia Tech, both of whom missed the tournament.

Michigan has done the opposite, winning five out of eight including wins over two tournament squads in Minnesota and Purdue. The Wolverines needed to prove themselves down the stretch in order to get to this level. Clemson got in based largely on their amazing 16-0 start to the season despite now having a 25-8 record.

Who they'll play next.

Whoever wins this game will probably play Oklahoma in the second round, while Morgan State may put up a valiant effort, it is going to be nearly impossible to shut down the Sooners All-American sophomore center Blake Griffin.

Griffin could be a top-10 NBA draft pick this year if he plays well in the tournament. Any team who plays them will have to figure out a way to negate Griffin because his performance is invariably tied to the Sooners performance, when he is hot, so are his teammates.

Michigan-Minnesota: Big Ten Barnyard Bubble Brawl

Charles Clinton — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:15:55 -0500

One of the biggest games in Michigan Basketball history in recent years happened when the Wolverines took on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a Big Ten clash with major NCAA tournament implications.

Both teams on the bubble looking for a quality victory against a fellow bubble team. Michigan looking for their third road win of the season stumbled in their past two away games, losing to Iowa in overtime and by five points to Wisconsin.

The Gophers were coming off a home victory against the same Wisconsin team the Wolverines had just lost to.

Minnesota got off to a great start in the first half leading by as many as nine points, but the Wolverines kept hanging on cutting the lead to as little as one and trailed by merely three points at halftime.

The Gophers regrouped early in the second half and were leading by as many as 12 points with about 13 minutes left in regulation. The Wolverines were desperate for some offense and so they inserted Laval Lucas Perry halfway through the second half and he began to connect from beyond the arc as Michigan climbed their way back into the ball game.

One of the major signs that this game was turning towards Michigan's favor was when they cut the lead to seven and Minnesota had the ball.

The Gophers missed a shot with nine minutes on the game clock and with 8:59 on the clock they got a new possession and a new shot clock, which promptly stopped and didn't restart until ten seconds later.

Then at 8:34 referee Ed Hightower realized that there was something wrong, and stopped the game. He and the other officials realized their might be a shot clock violation, but ruled that if Minnesota had seen the shot clock showing one instead of 11 they would have gotten a shot off.

So they took six seconds off both the shot and game clock, Michigan forced a shot clock violation anyways and the Perry hit another three pointer to cut the lead to four.

Perry finished the game with all 19 of the Wolverines bench points, but it was Deshawn Sims who siezed control of the game and became the hero with 24 points for the whole game. Down the stretch he made several shots that would eventually put Michigan in the lead.

62-60, before the Big Ten's leading scorer Manny Harris made a three pointer and later dished to Sims for what would turn out to be a dagger of a dunk.

Minnesota coach Tubby Smith made a crucial error with 4.1 seconds left. Right as the ball was in the hands of the team's best shooter, Lawrence Westbrook, Smith called a timeout right before Westbrook launched what would have been a game-tying three pointer that would have almost certainly sent the game into overtime.

Instead when the Gophers inbounded the ball to Westbrook, he bobbled the ball and drew a triple team failing to get off a good shot attempt as time expired. Michigan finally had their quality win.

The Gophers out rebounded the Wolverines 30-13 and shot 55 percent compared to 49 percent for Michigan. The telling statistic for why they lost the game was that they went 2-10 from beyond the arc, and their opponents went 9-22, which while far from perfect can be used to compensate for giving up a lot of two point baskets.

Michigan coach John Beilein's system often emphasizes the long range shot and it is starting to really catch on in Ann Arbor as the Wolverines compensate for their lack of size.

As of Friday, on ESPN's bracketology Michigan was ranked as the second of the last four teams in the tournament as a 12 seed with Minnesota being solidly in as an eight seed. Time will tell where this most recent classic will draw their fates in the upcoming March Madness.