The whole recruiting business is kind of creepy. Grown men fawn over teenagers attributes like their “length” or “motor”. It’s so hard for me to be a fan of recruiting since it’s unclear what I’m following. I’m not watching basketball games. It doesn’t actually matter who wins the meaningless high school or summer league games. Instead recruiting fans spend their time reading scouting reports, sharing rumors, keeping fingers crossed the recruits pass all their classes and getting aroused by watching crappily produced Youtube video highlights (DMX soundtrack undoubtedly).

Recruiting junkies like to brag to all the normal (below average to them) fans how much more he (I’ve never met a female recruiting guru) knows about their program than you do. Recruitiniks make it seem like they all just came from, or are about to, grab a beer with the coaching staff. They’ll say stuff like “This kid we got can straight up fly and has the softest hands since Chris Carter. He scored eight touchdowns a game in his sophomore season and he would have had more if the coach didn’t sit him. Ohio State and USC wanted him bad but he wanted to go to a “clean program”. He is such a good kid. The only questions is if he should line up in the slot or out wide.”. All this bravado even though there is a good chance nobody has even seen the sixteen year old kid play ball in an actual game.

Recruiting is to college sports what US Weekly is to Hollywood. Why watch the actual event (sports game=movie) when you can gossip about it instead!

As I said. I don’t get it.

Then one day Steve Lavin came to St. John’s. That day everything changed. Now I love recruiting. As my hipster friends Marc and Jon would say, it’s Mint Condition Son!

The Johnnies have a huge recruiting class of nine players this year. They’re basically flipping over the entire team from last year’s senior laden yet talent-challenged squad. The amazingness is that the recruiting class is ranked #3 in the entire nation. Only Duke and North Carolina are better. Consider this: Before this season the Johnnies have not had a top 100 recruit since Elijah Ingram in 2002. Norm Roberts just couldn’t land a stud. Now they have five in the top 75. Yup, Steve Lavin can really “Roy” em.

The best part of the recruiting class is that they are such great kids. True, I’ve never seen any of them every play in a game. But I know everything about them. In fact I consider them friends.

The anticipation is lovely. It’s like the nine hottest girls on Facebook just friended me and all agreed to start dating yours truly this fall. That is how I feel right now.

I’d like to introduce you to my new pals. I’m sure you will love them too.

Sir’Dominic Pointer (6-6, 195, Ranked #24)
Sir Dom is from Michigan and chose St. John’s over the Wolverines. When he did I hit up Sitman and every Michigan fan I could find and taunted them. At that point in his life his name was just Dom Pointer but at some point over the last 10 months he must have realized that he should be addressed with the respect that an up and coming Big East defensive stopper deserves. He shuts down his man. I’ve never seen him allow a basket. Pointer is a more athletic and aggressive version of Andre Igoudola. He also has the sickest follow up tip dunks. Sir Dom keeps it real on Twitter (@SirDom1) where he can usually be found “chillin”.

Jakarr Sampson (6-8, 200, Ranked #31)
Jakarr was the first player in the class to commit to St. John’s. He did so after consulting his boy Lebron James who recommended he go to the bright lights of NYC. Jakarr is from Akron and attended the same high school as James for a hot minute and plays on Lebron’s AAU team the King James Shooting Stars. Sampson is long. He is athletic. He is a natural three who can play the four and defend the two. He runs the break and plays above the rim.

Maurice Harkless (6-6, 200 Ranked #38)
Ironically, Mo is actually one of the only guys in the recruiting class actually from NYC thereby making him my hometown favorite. I also like him because he’s bouncy. He runs lanes agilely. No wasted motion. He can knock down the three-point shot and has a sweet mid-range pull-up. Best of all, he decomitted from UCONN before signing with St. John’s. Remember when UCONN got all the recruits. Well, now we know how they did it. They cheated. Here’s some mix tape action. Also, go to Twitter now to be the 937th follower of @moe_harkless.

D’Angelo Harrison (6-3, 180 Ranked #63)
I’m not sure I could have ever imagined the Johnnies landing a gunner from Texas but that’s just what they have here. Harrison is a scoring machine who can put points on the board in a hurry. He shoots like Glenn Rice and scores like Mark Aguirre. He takes big shots. Mad confidence son. No fear. Gotta love that about the kid. Here is his YouTube reel.

Norvel Pelle (6-9, 200 Ranked #75)
Pelle is from the LBC. He is the best Big Man on the West Coast and naturally shunned UCLA, Washington and Oregon to come East. He has a lengthy frame with a pterodactyl wing span. He has an engine likes a Maserati and hops like a Mexican jumping bean. Mad bouncy. He’s more creative on the glass than Chagall. Here he is “in da labbbbb” on Youtube.

Amir Garrett (6-6, 190 Ranked #96)
The only thing holding Garrett back from dominating the Big East is a 96 mile per hour left-handed fastball that just got him drafted by the Cincinnati Reds. He’s the next David Price if he wants to be. The upside on this kid is tremendous. He’s sick on the basketball court also. Garrett has that prototypical wing-type frame for the next level (whatever level you think that is add one more). He has superb athleticism, length, and he plays with reckless abandon. Watch him dunk over a 7′2″ schlub. Just wait till his perimeter skills evolve. If this kids comes to Queens…watch out!

Phil Greene (6-2, 170)
Greene is a shifty, slender combo guard from the Windy City. He has sick quickness and is silky smooth. He attacks. He finishes. A shifty ballhandler, he can either get into the lane and finish or pull up to hit mid-range jumpers. He compares himself to Rondo with a jump shot. Defensively, his length and quickness allow him to shut down both guard positions. His YouTube video is slick (produced by IMG Academy).

Nurideen Lindsey (6-4, 185)
Lindsay is the next Allen Iverson. He can score at will. Nuri is one of the top JUCO ballers in the nation. He averaged 22 points per game last year at Redlands CC. In his first game he put up 49 points and there was talk of him going straight to the NBA. Chad Ford has him ranked as the 63rd best prospect for 2012. He is a streetball legend in Philadelphia, where he averaged 38 points per game as a junior in High School. He then took two years off due to the tragic death of a close friend and his younger brother. Watch Lindsey drilling in this video. He never misses a shot! GHe can be found on twitter (@NurideenLindsey) praising the lor.d

Godsgift Achiuwa (6-9, 220)
Define intervention landed this JUCO All-American post player in Jamaica rounding out the Johnnies recruiting class. “Gift” is a tenacious, relentless paint player with high moral character. Since the Johnnies had recruited five wing players it was essential they get another big guy. His parents are Nigerian ministers who are quite biblical. His brother’s name is Promise, God’s Will and Precious. His sisters’ names are Grace and Peace. Here is Godsgift sharing the secrets of his unique name on ESPN.

So there you have it. Aren’t these guys just great. I can’t wait to hang out with them next year.

It hit me as soon as I realized that Miami was going to actually lose this series. Lebron James is not special. Sure, he is ultra talented. Perhaps the most talented athlete I’ll ever “witness”. But he is not going to change the world. He will not bring peace to the Middle East. He is the not the greatest to ever play the game. He is not Michael Jordan. He might not even be a winner. Heck, I might even forget all about him when I’m telling my great grandkids all about Ron Artest.

My bet is that Lebron will get over the hump with the right supporting cast and win a few championships. Kind of like Rip Hamilton, Vernon Maxwell and Tony Parker did. Not that long ago, everybody went bonkers because Alex Rodriguez kept on choking in the post-season. Then he had a few clutch hits in the 2009 World Series and the world moved on. Even as he approaches the all-time Home Run record, A-Rod is now just an after thought.

I’ve never in my life rooted against a team. It seems counter productive. But for most of this year I found myself rooting against the Heat. Yet as I did, I secretly wanted Lebron to stick it to everybody; the media, the crybaby Cleveland fans, and all the haters who jumped on the jealousy bandwagon. I kind of wanted his greatness to beat us all into submission. I kind of wanted his life to be awesome as my life sucked (apparently that still will happen). I kind of wanted to see him flip the bird to the world as he lifted the Larry O’Briend trophy over his head for each of the next eight straight seasons as lovable German foes helplessly coughed up phlegm balls in agonizing defeat.

You must understand, we sports fans just want to see cool stuff. We are all instigators. We want to see perfection OR the destruction of perfection. (Who cares if you dope as long as you keep on winning Lance, you cancer survivor, you!) We were lucky enough to watch both unfold all season long with Lebron and the Miami Heat. As this series progressed I kept waiting for him to do something crazy. The media scrutiny added fuel to the fire! Good or bad, I wanted to see Lebron burst into a sea of 5 Hour Energy.

But nothing happened. NOTHING HAPPENED. Unless you’re a fan of the game hot potato it was one of the biggest anti-climatic let downs in sports history. Even mighty Casey went down swinging! Lebron took three strikes looking!

In a blink of an eye (actually, it was a thirty minute ESPN special), Lebron went from the Hulk to Hollywood Hogan. Last night he turned from Hollywood Hogan to Terry Gene Bollea.

I’m sure Lebron will still be a huge news story for the next decade. But I’m over it. He’s just another A-Rod. I, for one, like my superstars cooked up with extra character and charisma.

Lebron is no longer fascinating.

Next.

I’m bracket surfing with the fam to Washington DC on Thursday for the first (oops, I mean second) round of the NCAA Tournament at the Verizon Center. This is an annual family tradition for the Littyhoopsters. Pick a city. Watch basketball. Seems simple, right? Not quite, my novice Bracketeer.

Here’s Littyhoops guide to KILLING IT at the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

First, for those non-fanatics, here’s the deal. The opening rounds of the NCAA Basketball tournament is played in eight different cities each year. Each region hosts eight teams. There are four games (doubleheader in the day and night) the first day and then all of the winners play in a second round doubleheader two days later.

1. Pick Your City
There are two different schools of thought on how to pick the right city. You can plan your trip months before Selection Sunday. In the case of my dad, he starts planning the next trip on the travel home from the current one. This is a great way to visit different cities and arenas and lock down travel and hotel accommodations. Our crew has been to Chicago, Philadelphia, Tampa, Providence, Raleigh, Indianapolis, Worcester and Long Island. The big issue here is that you don’t know what schools you will see play until they are announced just a few days before.

The other method is to follow your favorite school or alma mater wherever they are sent to play. For this strategy to work, your school has to actually make the tournament each year. Fans travel in packs with each other and try to out-dominate the rooting sections of other schools with weird chants and cheers. Until this year if I employed this strategy with the Johnnies or even Michigan this article might be about the NIT (NIT = not killing it)….(continue here)

–
That’s it for the free preview. Click on over to Sports Power Weekends to read the rest and be sure to send Jared an e-mail (jadacoop [at] gmail.com) whenever you’re ready to plan your next trip.

Want to watch something really cool? Check out Manchester United Wayne Rooney’s jaw-dropping game winning bicycle kick goal to beat rival Manchester City last weekend. It’s being debated as one of the greatest goals in soccer history! Also watch AMERICAN Clint Dempsey try to one-up him the very next day with his acrobatic rebound attempt off his shocking blocked penalty kick in extra time against Chelsea. So yeah, Soccer is cool.

Unlike the most popular professional team sports, in soccer the cool stuff is happening on the international stage. Most of the top American players compete in leagues outside of the US. SI.com has a weekly soccer column that does a nice job keeping tabs on Americans playing overseas. Quick summary: Dempsey is a stud, our goalies are competitive, all the other US players are mediocre and struggle to crack starting lineups.

What I don’t watch is the MLS. I’ve tried. But I find it awfully tough to get into a product that not only doesn’t feature the elite players in the world but doesn’t even feature many of the best Americans. I feel like I’m watching I-AA college football.

I’ve thought lots about what the MLS could do to improve both its product and its business. After all, on Sportsvite soccer is the most popular participation team sport in the US. There is a tremendous potential fan base.

I’d like to give the MLS its due credit. Entering only its 16th season, it’s become an established professional sports league with steady growth and franchise expansion. New teams in Vancouver, Portland and Montreal will give the MLS 18 teams by 2012. Over 4 millions fans attended games in 2010 with average attendance up 5.5% thanks in large part to the Seattle Sounders FC rapid fan base (36K per game). Despite the 2010 MLS Championship game receiving the lowest rating in its history (.5), the league is still hoping to raise its television revenue by 7x over it’s current $3MM annual deal with FOX Soccer. The business they’ve built is both solid and sustainable. That is no small feat as no other upstart pro sports league in the last few decades has faired as well.

For MLS to attract the casual sports fan a whole lot more needs to happen. The key will be for MLS to embrace the competition. It’s no secret that the best soccer is being played in Europe. Those live broadcasts and content are now widely available to the US audience through weekend morning games on ESPN and FOX Soccer Channel (cable) as well as FOX’s online package Foxsoccer.tv (not to mention the pirated streams that my dry cleaner seems to be watching 24/7). True, you can’t easily attend an international game, but in this media-dominated sports world it sure is easy to still be a fan. MLS shouldn’t and can’t ignore the fact that the best product is readily available in the US. Instead, it needs to find ways to connect with the European game.

Overseas Affiliates
MLS teams should form partnerships with European clubs that include exhibition games, marketing partnerships, player transfers and fan outreach. I’ve been spouting this theory for awhile but it actually became real last week when the LA Galaxy and Tottenham Hot Spurs (EPL) announced a strategic alliance. (UPDATE: Multiple other teams including Real Salt Lake have overseas partners but the relationships rarely trickle down to the local fans)

AEG President Tim Leiweke said “We have an existing relationship now with Tottenham, where we are beginning to think outside the box on football and how we do things together on football,” Most notably, this could include player transfers. Talented Americans can get some burn with the Spurs while well-known veterans can wind down their careers in Los Angeles. But it should also mean that Tottenham comes to LA for exhibition games each off-season and the Galaxy goes to London. Heck, they should play each other every year and create a little rivalry. Let youth soccer players in LA root for both the Galaxy and the Spurs. Let the alliance elevate and legitimize the Galaxy into a team that is relevant on the world stage. Show all Spurs games on local cable in LA. Boston Red Sox owner John Henry just acquired storied EPL team Liverpool FC. They should team up with the Kraft Group to form an alliance with the New England Revolution. There’s been a huge swoon of investment into the EPL as sports owners (many of them Yankees!) see the opportunity to take the league global. The opportunity to expand into the US market is one you can bet they are focusing on.

Overseas MLS Teams
Actually, the MLS should do more than just create partnerships with foreign clubs. They should buy a European team and turn it into a barn-storming MLS team that competes in a European League. This would allow MLS to transfer players to their own team overseas and give their young players much-needed exposure and experience in international competition. MLS can acquire a second division team in a strategic city/town and try and work their way up through promotion. Tickle the patriotic itch to root for American as underdogs in a foreign land. Allow MLS fans to watch Americans play overseas competition in meaningful games. They could also do this in Mexico and South America. MLS should become synonymous with American Soccer and export its product around the world. (UPDATE: FIFA has restrictions against soccer leagues having international teams).

Copy The FA Cup
The FA Cup is a tournament in England that dates back to the 1870’s and includes just about every soccer club in England. The competition is a knockout tournament with random drawings for each round (no seeds) although the top teams get byes into later rounds. Hundreds of teams ranging from local minor league clubs to most the prestigious Premiere League organizations compete against each other. It’s the NCAA Tournament, the US Open and Hoosiers all combined into one.

The MLS should do this. Let local semi-pro teams, college teams and minor league squads compete for the chance to work their way into the main draw to complete against MLS teams. Soccer is a hugely popular recreational sport. The league needs to embrace that and build the connection between recreational soccer and the professional game. (UPDATE: They do have this and it’s called the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The US tournament has been around since 1914 and includes both MLS and amateur squads).

Develop the American World Class Superstar
US Soccer tried to create the American superstar with Freddy Adu. Bust. They play up Landon Donavan as the face of American Soccer. While Donavan has gained respect as a top player in the MLS and for his play in international competition he also has washed up a few times in the Europe. They hyped up Jozy Altidore who skill level is nowhere near his athleticism. America’s two most respected players are probably Tim Howard and Dempsey. They long ago left the MLS to play in Europe and no longer have any association with the league.

I like to imagine what professional American athletes would be world class soccer players. My list includes Rajon Rondo, Nate Robinson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Steve Nash (yeah I realize he’s Canadian and already plays rec soccer in NYC), Josh Hamilton, Chris Paul and Devin Hester.

It’s not that easy to develop the Lebron of soccer. The US Soccer Federation valiantly tries to develop top talent through its youth developmental program but something tells me the true star will come from the streets. But when that star does emerge I wonder how that player will navigate his career. Certainly, he’ll play a substantial role on the US national team. But would he be better off in the MLS or overseas? Is there a way to capitalize on both opportunities at the same time?

–
Professional soccer has a very legitimate chance to explode in the United States. Yes, people have been saying this for years but I believe the access to international programming is the game changer. The MLS has a unique opportunity to creatively shape the lens through which the American soccer fans views the sport on a global level. They’ll have to make bold and unconventional moves to do so. I don’t think they have any other choice. Sports fans are really smart. If the MLS recognizes how the leagues fits into the global stage it will ultimately make it a stronger, more competitive, more compelling league. I hope it becomes just that.

On one of the days I somehow found myself all alone in an alleyway under the stands. I saw a young pitcher walking on the other side of the fence. I was able to get his attention, tossed my ball over the fence to him and slid my black sharpie into his hand. As he was signing the ball I mustered up the courage to say “Hey Mr. Pettitte, I really hope you get the number five spot in the rotation”. He was a bit surprised I actually knew who he was and gave me his dimpled and toothy grin and said “yeah, me too”. Excited by his coherent response and eye contact (almost unheard of in the spring training autograph game) I then told him I was a lefty. He grinned again and said “yeah, me too”. He tossed the ball back to me and went on his merry way to 240 Major League victories over the next 16 seasons.

Even without this interaction I probably would have become a big Pettitte fan. I love big time starting pitchers, especially lefties. I also love Pettitte’s sheer determination and focus when he is on the mound. Pettitte might never have been the most dominant pitcher of his day (and as Wallace Matthews wrties while Pettitte is an all-time Yankee great he doesn’t deserve a sniff at the Hall) but he was most definitely a big game pitcher. His 19 post-season victories are the most of all-time. His Game 5 duel of the 1996 World Series with John Smoltz is one of the clutchest pitching performance that I’ve watched. Any true Yankee fan has special memories of the 1996 season, one in which Pettitte was robbed of the Cy Young Award.

I followed his stats always hoping he would hit specific season and career milestones. Heck, it still irks me that he has only 4 career shutouts. In college, during the midst of Yankee’s glory, I tried to convince all my sports-encyclopedic friends that Pettitte was going to be the last pitcher to ever win 300 games. I still contend he was on pace to do it until a 2004 shoulder injury while on Houston slowed him down. The fact the Yanks pushed him away and went to Houston slowed them both down.

I was excited when Pettitte came back to the Yanks and snapped right back into his rightful spot in the rotation (and the post-season). I was disappointed when he was caught red-handed in the steroid scandal. I’m not even sure if I believed his excuse but I accepted his apology because he did it head on and with class (something not usually seen in the anabolic scene). Check out what his former teammates had to say when he announced his retirement.

But most of all I will remember what I learned from Andy. He gave a young kid (me!) the time of day for a few fleeting seconds and he won a fan for life. It makes it seem so obvious that if we all show bit of kindness here and there in everyday situations it can win us a whole lot of fans. Who doesn’t want a fan club?

Jimmer might not be the fastest cougar in the missionary, but I’ll borrow a phrase from my pal Jack K. when I say he can light it up like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you can see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!”

Fredette is crafty with the ball and is a threat to pull up and shoot from just about anywhere in the galaxy. He has more range then a Shania Twain vocal. His eclectic array of long range bombs, scoop shots, fade-aways and circuitous dribbling is reminiscent of the collegiate dominance Stephen Curry, Wally Szczerbiak or, dare I say, a caucasian Marcus Hatten.

Fredette doesn’t exactly look, talk or act like the best player in college basketball. He’s more like a dark-haired Toby McGuire from Pleasantville. But don’t let the small town boy act fool you. Before he was scoring at will in the college ranks, the scrappy working-class kid not from Scranton (Glen Falls instead) was honing his game at your favorite upstate New York correctional facilities. Jimmer’s older brother TJ thought it wise for him to play pick-up ball with the inmates. In his first game he locked down the penitentiary by scoring over 40 points despite being heckled by felons. In fact, Jimmer never lost playing prison ball and won some smokes for the convicts smart enough to bet on him.

If you’re still not sold, realize that Jimmer was able to do something that even the great Littyhoops failed to accomplish by putting CBS College Sports on the map! The victory over SDSU was probably the most buzzed about game to ever air on the network formerly known as CSTV and sometimes referred to as the ghetto Versus.

BYU is ranked #9 in the nation with a gaudy record of 20-1 so Fredette should be fun to watch as the Madness soon sweeps over us all. Last year, he scored 37 to lead BYU to a first round double-overtime NCAA tournament victory over Florida. You can catch Jimmer on Versus this Saturday at New Mexico or on February 5th against a solid UNLV squad.

Who knows if Fredette can hack it in the NBA (projected as a late first round pick) or if we’ll all forget about him in a few years like we did with our compadre Serge Zwikker (google the dude and see what comes up on the results). What I do know is that if Fredette keeps scoring like Single Troy he will surely be flirting dangerously close with getting his mug cropped right into the Littyhoops masthead. Now wouldn’t that be something…

It’s been a vexing and daunting decade. A few years ago I wrote a blog post called A Knickerbocker Depression where I listed out the Knicks ten most stumbling, bumbling moments of the decade. I had all but given up on the franchise that had run a muck into oblivion. I followed the team in the papers but quit watching games or rooting.

A few years ago I somehow ended up on a Knicks email list with my friends and a few die-hard fans who had kept hope percolating. I thought they were suckers and my forte was to be overly skeptical of their optimism. But it did get me interested and hoping once again. Shout out to the omnipresent Lech for lifting me out of my Knicks stupor. Our dream was to bring Lebron and an all-star sidekick to NYC in the summer of 2010. When that didn’t happen I felt cheated.

I did not have high expectations for this year’s team. Although talented, I thought Amare was more of an enigma than a leader and wasn’t sure how much of an upgrade he was over David Lee. The team had little size, no experience, baffling holes, and was missing a shooting guard (arguably the easiest position to fill on a team).

On the day of this year’s opening game I vented to the group spewing venom at Knicks General Manager Donnie Walsh for his egregious blunders and transgressions. After an early season losing streak the Knicks, undaunted by their doldrums, somehow managed to make the quantum leap to reel off 13 wins in 14 games heading into last night. With each victory, as well as the Melo rumors heating up, my excitement heightened that the Knicks were actually legit. After a victory over Melo and his Nuggets on Sunday and the thrilling defeat to the Celtics there’s no doubt; it’s on.

Amare is an omnipotent and omnipresent scorer and a surprising team leader. I’ve never seen a big guy with such agility and mobility who can score as easily and uniquely as he can. He has unlimited moves in the post, gets to the basket, gets fouled and has a deadly mid-range jump shot. I’m also a sucker for point guards. I love how they set the tempo and wheel and deal. Raymond Felton is everything I like in a point guard. He has a perfect handle, controls the tempo of the game, and asserts his control as the floor general, and his impetus is to run the team although he can also score when needed. He swishes and dishes with continuity. I loved Felton in college when he played at UNC. I’m not sure why he didn’t excel in Charlotte but he’s playing at a tenaciously all-star level so far this season. Throw in six precocious neophytes all under the age of 25 including two talented scorers in Will the Thrill and effervescent Gallo. What you have is a beautiful juggernaut of an offense and guys who are following the lead of two rejuvenated ultra-talented all-stars who have smoothly embraced leadership roles. Then there is the uncanny Landry Fields. It’s fun to watch.

I’m not going to say I’m glad the Knicks didn’t get Lebron. But heading into tonight’s game against the Heat I can’t imagine being any more jazzed than I am by the Knicks prodigious performance and prolific team chemistry.

It’s riveting that the buzz is starting to spread here in the city. When the Knicks are good the city feels more united. The Knicks are the only pro team in NYC that everybody supports. Cab drivers, family members, wall street guy, doormen, co-workers and friends are all about to jump on the band wagon.

During this winning streak I have been talking up the Knicks to my Dad who hasn’t followed them in years. He wasn’t even willing to give this team a chance. So I texted him to turn on the game Wednesday night and check them out. I also hit up every Knick fan I knew during the game and sent out a tweet urging the world to tune into a thrilling fourth quarter. A few hours later my Dad called asking if I could get us tickets to an upcoming game. Minutes earlier I had picked up tickets to go to next week’s game against Oklahoma City. I would love to see them play Miami but the cheapest seats are over $250!

I’m excited and aroused that the Knicks are rejuvanted. It makes New York City more scintillating. If you haven’t jumped on the band wagon do so tonight vs. the Cheat. We plan to do lots more winning and grinning.

Q: Will Rich Rodriguez be fired?
A: Yes…if it was up to me. But alas, it’s completely in the hands of Athletic Director Dave Brandon. Brandon is sticking to his guns that he will fully evaluate the program after the completion of the season (which means after some insignificant bowl game – possible the Insight Bowl in Tempe). FWIW, Brandon did say on Monday that “had we performed better during the season, it wouldn’t be an issue.” No Duh.

Q: What will Dave Brandon do?
A: I believe Rodriguez is gone. Brandon’s calculated actions put him in perfect position to terminate Rodriguez while simultaneously putting together a deal with a new coach. It’s what you might expect from a former Fortune 500 company CEO. In fact, if Brandon was AD a few years earlier there’s no way Rodriguez is even hired. Brandon clearly sees Rich Rod’s fatal flaws (so would Helen Keller). He doesn’t win and he doesn’t adhere to the Michigan tradition that fans and alumni cherish. Furthermore, he wasn’t hired by Brandon. Three nails in the coffin.

Q: When will this go down?
A: Brandon is adamant he will wait to make a decision till after the bowl game. Mgoblog agrees. Michigan saves $1.5MM if Rodriguez is terminated after January 1st. I’d like to see UM eat it and move on this week. Let the new coach hit the ground running and give him time to hire his staff, hit the recruiting trail and get familiar with his current personal (something Rich Rod didn’t seem to feel was all that necessary). One positive of waiting is that it hopefully allows Brandon to quietly secure a deal with whoever our next coach will be.

Q: But shouldn’t Rodriguez be given one more year. That mighty offense sure looks spready?
A: I don’t see any point in prolonging the inevitable. Even with an effective offensive scheme the team has the worst defense in the Big Ten and inexcusably incompetent special teams. True the team returns 19 of 22 starters next year but I don’t see any way Rodriguez will ever consistently win 10 or 11 games consistently…let alone make the fans/boosters/alumni proud.

Q: Hmm, How bad is this Dick Rod guy?
A: His performance has been atrocious. In three seasons his record is 15-21. No other Michigan coach has had a winning percentage less than 54%. He is winless in six games against arch-rivals Michigan State and Ohio State. He has six Big Ten victories and three of them are against woefully inept Indiana. He’s never beaten a Big Ten team with a winning record. In his first season in 2008, Michigan had the worst record in it’s history (3-9). After participating in 33 straight bowl games, the longest such streak in college football up to that point, Michigan didn’t qualify for a bowl in his first two seasons.

To be fair, Rodriguez has improved the team’s performance by two wins each year. If he continues that pattern Michigan will be 13-0 in three short years. But if you want to play with math, you can also argue that Rodriguez will never ever beat Ohio State if this pattern of getting demolished every season continues.

Q: Is He Evil?
A: Nah. Rodriguez is doing his best and coaching the way that he knows how. He’s trying to implement his system and build a program that he’s had success with in the past, most notably at West Virginia. He’s been under intense pressure and scrutiny from the Michigan community which hasn’t made things any easier.

Plain and simple, Rodriguez is not a good fit for the Head Football coach position at the University of Michigan. His losing record alone proves that point. But there is much more. Rodriguez likes to recruits players (ex. Demar Dorsey) that are at odds with Michigan admissions standards. He is not as cognizant and respectful of NCAA regulations, no matter how esoteric they might be, which has led to NCAA infractions and probation. His offensive scheme is gimmicky and radically different than the traditional Michigan pro-style football. His defense…what defense?

Q: So how in the name of Ypsilanti did Michigan get into this predicament?
A: Bill Martin should never have hired him. He just wasn’t the right guy to be the head coach for the University of Michigan. Bad fit. Martin botched the Les Miles hiring and panicked after he was rebuked by a few other coaching candidates. Rodriguez was out there, coming off some impressive success at West Virginia, and was able to convince Martin he was the right guy. Martin represented an academic institution. Everybody knows that big-time BCS college football is a business.

Q: If we hire a new coach won’t it be another few years of rebuilding?
A: Baloney. Michigan is winning between six and eight games no matter who the coach is next year. They have legit talent at the skilled offensive positions. Denard Robinson was just named Offensive POY in the Big Ten. A competent head coach needs one year to put his system in place and should be at peak performance by his third year. There are still talented players on the roster and we shouldn’t miss a beat on the recruiting trail. Michigan has had a top 15 recruiting each year in the past decade.

SIDE NOTE: After a decade of utter futility, St. John’s new coach Steve Lavin was able to sign six blue chip recruits for the class of 2011 and has the third best recruiting class in the entire nation. It can turn around that quickly. Go Johnnies.

Q: So who will be the next head coach at Michigan?
A: Everybody’s favorite choice is Jim Harbaugh who is a former star QB at Michigan in the 1980’s and has been successful in coaching stints at San Diego and now Stanford. The only potential obstacle is if Harbaugh is interested in a NFL head coaching position. He previously interviewed for the Jets opening in 2009 and his brother is the coach of the Baltimore Ravens.

Q: Is Jim Harbaugh insane?
A: He’s not any crazier than any other big time college football coach and is certainly a few ratchets below Les Miles on the crazy totem. He’s strong-willed and speaks his mind. Harbaugh constantly went after Peter Carroll when he was at USC but backed it up with some shocking upsets. Harbaugh was also critical of Michigan academic standards for football players when he stated (spring of 2007) that Michigan players are “adulated when they’re playing. But when they get out, the people who adulated them won’t hire them.” Probably true actually although Mike Hart took exception to it.

Q: If Harbaugh falls through who else is out there?
A: There are other candidates besides Harbaugh. Les Miles is still around at LSU although he’s proven himself to be somewhat of a loony toon. Pure speculation also includes Chris Peterson (Boise State), Steve Mariucci and even Bill Cowhler or Jon Gruden as potential candidates. Michigan has the revenues, facilities, budget and tradition to offer a huge financial package and the prestige to go along with it. It’s Brandon’s job to sell this as a top coaching position in all of football. Desmond Howard believes in him to make the right move and at this point so do I.

Q: Can’t we pull a Cam Newton and pay some kid to come kick for us?
A: I wish. I would donate my Piggy bank to a kicker fund. Michigan’s four field goals were the worst in all of Division I college football. Not sure how or why Rodriguez forgot about this position.

Q: When will Michigan be good again?
A: Not soon enough. It will be even longer if we keep Rich Rod around for another season.

Q: How did you come up with this FAQ format?
A: I “consulted” with my Zen Master, Josh Ellstein, and we agreed this is the optimal format.

Q: What’s the deal with the Michigan basketball team?
A: LOL

Here is how Littyhoops sees it.

The NFL waited way too long on this issue. So they panicked. The darkest secret in professional sports is on the verge of being exposed. The sport of Football, as we know and love it today, is a death wish to the players who put their lives on the line each week they take the field.

The NFL realizes that insurmountable scientific evidence on the severity of concussions in football is now too obvious to ignore. They were trying to slow play this issue because they didn’t want to mess with the best and most popular product in sports. Heck, just last week they were trying to expand the season two additional weeks. But now they are taking a pr page from how Baseball dealt with steroids by taking a very public and aggressive stance against violent play. By doing this the league claims they value their players safety and well-being first and foremost.

This is blatent hypocricy.

The unsportsmanlike conduct here is that the NFL has built its brand on hard hits, fast-paced action, and awesome displays of power, strength and athleticism. It’s frightening and therefore exciting. It is must see TV. I often mention to people that I can imagine that a football player will one day be decapitated on the field (not sure why I think about things like this but I do). The force of a hit will be so hard that his head will pop right off.

Players have been trained to be devastating. The damage they inflict directly correlates to the accolades they receive and the dollars they earn. Duh! James Harrison just earned a $20MM dollar bonus. Sending the message that the style in which players have been trained is no longer appreciated but is now illegal is like accusing your pet cat Tom of murder for catching a mouse named Jerry.

The NFL realizes that medical advances and research studies will pack more punch than a Ronnie Lott open field helmet-to-helmet hit. The stats and studies are already out there. Watch this somewhat innocent ESPN Sports Science piece on concussions. Evidence will show that the effects of multiple concussions are far worse than what was previously understood. Add in the fact that concussions have been woefully under-diagnosed and we have ourselves a scandal. Former NFL players turn into vegtables at a young age. I would not be surprised if 5-10 players each game suffers a concussion. After all, there are over 100,000 concussions each year from football. Only a small percentage of these brain injuries are actually reported, diagnosed and treated. My neurosurgeon (yeah – it sucks to say you have a neurosurgeon) is convinced that the sport of football will not exist in its current form in the next generation as more information is revealed about the effects of concussions.

The game of football is about to experience a major transformation away from violence and towards speed, skill and more open space. It happened in Hockey. It is something that NASCAR is always managing (despite technology, cars are getting slower). This will be further accelerated by the NFL as it realizes that it can no longer conveniently ignore the damage, scrutiny and liability of the game that it sanctions. This isn’t a safety decision. It’s a business decision.

In the long run this will be a necessary evolution of a great sport. But in the now, it’s an awkward transition made at an awkward time. The NFL fumbled and everybody knows it. Shouldn’t they have figured this out in the off-season when the rules, messaging, pr, training and player communication could all be aligned with a clear plan on how the sport will move forward? I’m curious why the league panicked. Sure the league will claim they were as much in the dark as the very players that suffer from serious mental injuries. They will do everything and anything to “protect the shield” and the sanctity of the league. They need to if they want to remain the top pro sports league in the world.

This is going to get Roger Clemens ugly on a few different levels. Finger pointing, congressional hearings and more. Sound familiar? Archduke Franz Ferdinand hasn’t even been pancaked yet but the fireworks have already begun…

The highest expectation I had coming into the season was that we would be so bad and embarrassing that Dick Rod would be replaced before the season ended. Like a bright-eyed progressive two years after Obama’s inauguration, I had no hope. For the third straight season, Michigan had a three QB strategy less than 24 hours before the opening game. There’s not one skill position player on the offense with NFL potential. The defense, which was already awful to watch last season, lost it’s three best players and has a secondary with more walk-on’s then if Rudy’s offspring were cloned like Dolly the sheep.

So yeah, I was pumped to watch Shoelaces execute Rich Rod’s offense to perfection. At the very least, perhaps Rodriguez isn’t fully incompetent and he does have an offensive scheme that actually can work in college football (in fairness, he proved that at West Virginia). At the best, Robinson is developing into the dynamic quarterback that can do the same things Pat White did at West Virginia. Either way, I’m excited to watch Denard take on Notre Dame next week and that’s more than I could say before Saturday.

A few more thoughts…

Denard isn’t going to last long if he has to run the ball 29 times each game. He took a few big shots on Saturday. Also, I don’t know if he’ll ever go 19-for-22 again. If he’s really that good why’d it take Rodriguez until the night before the game to claim the starting gig?…It was wild to watch how much he improved from last year where he just ran around in circles without his shoelaces tied. Haven’t seen such sudden improvement since Ashley Simpson. He actually seemed poised and in control of the game and never came close to turning the ball over.

Is there a safer bet in America right now then to put your money on Tate Forcier transferring? You really think a member of QB Force is going to be a third-stringer? The Brothers Forcier have transferred more than the funds from Bernie Madoff’s hidden bank accounts. Watching Tate sulk on the sideline was almost as much fun as realzing that we were beating the same school that employs Jim Calhoun. I actually enjoyed watching Tate play last year. My big knock against him is that on a successful play he scampers for between 5-10 yards. In Rich Rod’s offense, there needs to be a QB who can break big plays (turns 7-yard scrambles into touchdowns) since there isn’t really a vertical passing game. Laces has that big play ability and hence is the guy we need to live or die by.

Not sure if there’s ever been more of a one-man football team in the history of football than our Wolverines. The closest thing, as Lil’ Guy likes to tell me, is when I used to play with Indiana in NCAA College Football 2003 for Playstation. I would first have to turn off fatigue and then change my lineup so Antwaan Randle-El was quarterback, cornerback, kick/punt returner and holder (for fakes). Problem is even though I entertained myself I would usually lose. The other problem is I’m not sure how to turn off fatigue in real life other than having Denard drink a few Rocket Fuels for breakfast on Saturday mornings and teaching him the magic of Velcro.

If Michigan can beat the Irish we have a great chance to be 5-0 going into a rivalry game with Michigan State. That would make the next five weeks of my life infinitely more interesting and actually justify the hundreds of hours of my time spent watching College Game Day, College Football Live and ESPN Insider. With Michigan not expected to be a factor this fall I was considering exploring the other 500 channels on my television set and watching shows like Little People Big World, Quints Surprise and keeping up with the lovable Kardashians.

I had an amusing moment to myself the other day reading how Greg Mathews, Johnny Sears, Alex Stenavich, Carson Butler, Donovan Warren, Stevie Brown and Carlos Brown were all cut during training camp. Shocker! A bit disappointed that Warren could have been a senior this year but years of psychological counseling has allowed me to overcome the empty abyss of Omar Cook syndrome.

Michigan has four players on the roster from Pahokee, Florida including Vincent Smith and Martavious Odoms. If you’re wondering how Muck City has such a strong football pipeline then you need to check out this youtube video on chasing cottton tail rabbits. It is one of my favorite Sportscenter features ever and will give you a full appreciation for how Odoms and Smith developed their abilty to cut down field.

Very neat to see Elliott Mealer’s brother Brock lead the team out on the field before the game. If you don’t know about Elliot tragic story you can read about it here. Watching him and his brother on Saturday reminded me why it’s so great to be a Michigan Man.

Speaking of Michgan men….

So after week #1 all I really have to say for now is…

SHOELACES FOR HEISMAN