National. Invitational. Tournament.

Hello NIT! After a compelling start to the season, including wins over then #4 UCLA and then #4 Duke, the Michigan basketball team has moved slowly towards an epic collapse. Think 2008 Denver Broncos or 2007 New York Mets.

Last night Michigan lost to Ohio State for the second time in 10 days. The stats were...I want to say ugly, but that is not descriptive enough. Grotesque? Repulsive? Vile?

• 18 first half points
• 21 turnovers, 11 assists
• 15-49 shooting, a shade over 30%
• Bench? 0-9 from the field, 6 turnovers
• Manny Harris had 10 turnovers
• Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims shot a combined 20 two-point shots, making 8...the rest of the team took THREE shots inside the arc, making zero
• Again, besides the big 2, Michigan shot 5-24
• Ohio State shot 57% for the game, defense anyone?

After the hot start, 13-3 overall and 3-1 in conference, Michigan has lost all the swagger we witnessed early in the season. Losing four of the last five games including the two to Ohio State and one at penn state. Michigan now stands at 14-7 overall and 4-5 in the conference. Now comes the difficult part of the schedule...

at #17 Purdue, home Penn State, at #2 UConn, home #9 Michigan State, at Northwestern, home #24 Minnesota, at Iowa, home #17 Purdue, at Wisconsin, at #24 Minnesota

How many wins do you see in there? two? maybe three? So let's assume the best and say they get four. Four of the last ten leaves Michigan at 18-13 overall with a conference record of 8-10. That's not likely to garner an NCAA tournament bid.

Michigan needs to rally and reach the 20 win plateau with a .500 or better conference record if they want to have a shot to end their NCAA tournament drought.

I'm gonna try to stay optimistic, but sheesh...Michigan went from a dark horse contender in the big ten to a team that may struggle to win two more games. 

Non-Sports Post...hilarious video...Lawnmower DUI

The Argument is settled...for now...

Kobe Bryant is better than LeBron James...for now.

Monday night the two best players in the NBA faced off in Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against LeBron James and the Cavaliers. It should be noted that going into Monday night these two teams had the two best records in the league, the Lakers being 31-8 and the Cavs at 31-7. 

All the talking heads and headline writers around the country were hyping up this game as Kobe vs. LeBron. And while both players guarded each other for much of the night, the individual matchup left much to be desired. 

LeBron finished the game 9-25 from the field for 23 points to go along with 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Kobe went 9-22 for 20 points, 12 assists, and 6 rebounds. So well both guys had good games, it is hardly what we the people expected. On MLK day, on TNT, two best teams, two best players, I think we half expected 40 points a piece. What we got was two good performances, with a little bit of magic sprinkled in, and that's where Kobe distanced himself from LeBron as the best in the world. 

The debate has raged on for a couple years now, as Kobe and LeBron have continued to show the rest of the league why they are head and shoulders above the rest of the field (Dwyane Wade is great, but he's not in this conversation). 

LeBron has the physique, the drive, and the raw spectacular athleticism that no one else in the history of the NBA can claim. The ceiling for how good LeBron can be is seemingly limitless, his year-to-year improvement is mind boggling. Just when you think he can't possibly get any better, he improves. His decision making has made tremendous progress, as evidenced by his career low average in turnovers this year. His field goal percentage and free throw percentage are both at a career high level. He is the most physically gifted player in the NBA...but he is not the best...for now.

For now the only answer can be Kobe Bryant. No one has ever had the offensive creativity and confidence that Kobe has. Over the last few years and carrying into this summer at the olympics, Kobe has taken his game to the next level. He now trusts his teammates more so than he ever has. This may stem from the fact that he has a competent cast around him for the first time since Shaq left. Regardless of what the motivation was, Kobe has developed into the cold-blooded game-changing maestro of the game that has him second to no one else in the world right now. 

The Monday night game sealed the deal. Playing with a newly dislocated ring finger on his shooting hand, Kobe stepped his game up yet again. As I said before, Kobe didn't have the all-around dominant game that we have come to expect from him, but he stepped up when the situation called for it. I hope you all watched the game...but if not...let me break down a couple of the "Kobesque" moments that led directly to this column. Cut to the 4th quarter, Lakers up 8 with nine minutes to go. Sensing that the Lakers can put the game away with a big run, Kobe puts the team on his back. Also on his back was LeBron James...

Go to the 1:40 mark of the video to make sense of the next two paragraphs. 

Kobe backs down LeBron, giving up a couple inches and 30 to 40 pounds, and LeBron is five years younger. Kobe falls away to the baseline and shoots a rainbow fadeaway over the outstretched (very long) arms of LeBron James. Swish...Lakers up 10.

Next Lakers possesion, still up 10, Kobe drives to the left side of the basket right into the body of LeBron James who nary moves an inch. Kobe continues on his newly obstructed path and throws up a running floating 15 foot teardrop type deal while falling towards the out of bounds line. Swish...Tweet...well probably more like Tweet and then Swish. Translation, foul and the ball goes in, foul on LeBron. Lakers up 12. Crowd goes wild, LeBron is perplexed, and all the sudden the complexion of the game is changed. To using a boxing analogy, the Cavs were on the ropes, and it was all thanks to Kobe Bryant's calculated flurry of big time punches. 

So for now, the argument is settled. If anyone asks, Kobe Bryant is better than LeBron James...for now. 

SUPER BOWL 44! Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizo...this must be a misprint...

Super Bowl 43, I mean XXXXIII, is set. The Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers won their respective conference championships Sunday to earn the trip to Tampa. Let the media circus begin...

This is a classic battle of Offense vs. Defense. The high-powered passing attack of the Arizona Cardinals is led by Kurt Warner. But the most important part of the Cardinals offense, besides the obvious importance of the offensive line, is Larry Fitzgerald. Does he have a nickname? According to the all-knowing entity that is The Google Search, nothing came up. I hope Chris Berman doesn't take it upon himself to dub him something lame...please have mercy.

The defense is clearly the backbone of the Steelers team, and has been for the last decade or so. They will certainly be challenged by the Cardinals. 

The teams played in the 2007 regular season and the Cardinals came out on top 21-14. I would venture that both coaching staffs are rewatching that game as teams don't change that much from year to year, especially ones with the same coaching staff in place. 

I learned a long time ago that when a coach goes against the last team he coached for, it is wise to take notice. This situation isn't exactly the same, as Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt didn't coach under or with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. HOWEVA...current Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians was the wide receivers coach under Ken Whisenhunt when Whisehunt was offensive coordinator for the Steelers under Bill Cowher. Are you following? The point is, Whisenhunt probably spent a lot of time teaching Arians. Which would lead me to believe that he has a fairly good understanding of what the Steelers want to do on offense, and what Arians would like to try and accomplish. This philosophy can obviously go both ways, as Arians certainly knows a lot of the ins and outs of Whisenhunt's offense. Advantage? Anyone who followed the last paragraph. 

More to come as the game nears. 

Lions hire Schwartz...Jim Schwartz

Before anything else, lets get the obvious Schwartz jokes out of the way...youtube video --> "I see your schwartz is as big as mine! or I hate it when I get my schwartz twisted!"

The Detroit Lions have found their next head coach, Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Schwartz kinda looks like a Wally and the Beav type of guy, no? Schwartz has been Jeff Fisher's defensive coordinator with the Titans for the last eight years. From what I remember of the last eight years the Titans have always has a pretty legit defense, so I suppose from that aspect I am intrigued by the selection. 

Upon first hearing about the hiring I thought, 'great, another defensive coordinator type, much like Rod Marinelli.' But I decided to hold off too much thought until I did a little homework.

Said homework suggests there is more than meets the eye with Mr. Schwartz. Schwartz was the runner-up to Mike Nolan for the San Francisco 49ers head coaching position in 2005. So that shows that someone else has been high on him, and the 49ers are a pretty well put together organization. Also Schwartz interviewed for the head coaching positions with the Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons.

Schwartz got his start in the NFL doing research as a college and pro scout for Bill Belichick (as much as I can't stand all the Belichick praise, some of it has to be legit) on the Cleveland Browns staff in the mid-1990s. Someone with a knowledge of player development is desperately needed in Detroit. I would think that his previous history as a scout is possibly what sold him to the Lions.

Anyway, I hope this works out. The Lions have been killing the great sports fans of Detroit for too long. We want to support the team, so give us a chance to support you!

Next on the Lions agenda, who to take at #1 in the draft? thoughts? A post about the potential will be coming up as the draft approaches. 

AUTHOR SIGHTING!!!!!!!!

Vacation is over! Had a lot of changes going on, but I am back to blog. Sorry about the month off. Things will be picking up again. I should be out of the above bathtub and back to my island today. Thanks for everyone's support. 

-ABJ