Errors and Omissions

As I’ve stated in the past one of the things I detest about the ASSociated Press and the media in general is their lack of accountability. Any blowhard can spout off, say incredibly stupid things and ignore their responsibility when someone calls them on it when proven wrong. With that in mind, I hold myself to the same scrutiny that I hold the big boys so I feel the urge to fess up when I’m wrong and this is just such an occasion. In one of my first posts I debated the preseason polls and pointed out teams that I thought were overrated and underrated. My main choice for an overrated team was Ohio State. Now it would take a blind, deaf, mute (or a Big Ten ref) not to realize the stupidity of this pick, so I’m taking the time to point out I was severely wrong; these guys have proven themselves worthy of the number one ranking. I never contested the utter terror the OSU offense could strike in opposing defensive coordinators; my questions lied exclusively on the defensive side of the ball. I found it incredibly naive to believe a team could replace 9 starters, most of which were high NFL draft picks, and not miss a beat. Well, I was wrong. The Ohio State coaches must be given heaping piles of respect for the job they’ve done preparing these guys.

I'm not the only person he made look like an ass

On the flip side, one of my picks for an underrated team was Michigan State. STOP LAUGHING!! Ok, I apparently was on crack that day but I thought that THIS was going to be the year the John L. Smith had his players together and ready to play a complete season. I still think Drew Stanton is a fine quarterback and he has some very good wide receivers to throw to, but the defense never materialized and again this team is as nutty as they come. They lost to Illinois… ILLINIOS! Jesus! How bad are the Illini? They haven’t won a Big Ten game since 2004. How long will it take before Michigan State fires this staff? Not just John L. Smith, the entire staff, including the fucking water boy: these guys suck bad. The Illinois game was the quintessential example of a team that has quit. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when you lose a heart-breaking game you either suck it up, come out the next week fired up to play or you feel sorry for yourself and come out flat. Example A: Michigan State vs. Illinois after a tough loss to the Irish. Enough said. Example B: Penn State vs. Illinois in 2005. After giving up a heart breaking, last second score to the Wolverines, Penn State went on the road and completely annihilated the Illini; the game was over before the first quarter ended. Now comes the game of the year for Michigan State: they travel to Ann Arbor to take on hated big brother Michigan. They have two options – come out fired up knowing you have nothing to lose, or completely pack it in and start the yearly tumble into the maelstrom that is their season.

Pretty much sums it up for Sparty