H O C K E Y D I N O

Fanatic You

I've asked a friend of mine who is from Michigan and lives here why he roots for the evil OSU.
His response was that he didnt like the arrogance of Michigan, and that his family is from
Ohio.

Interesting. Is that legitimate? I'm not so sure. The Sports Commandments clearly state that
you must root for your home team. And you can only root for another team if you move, or if
you are from a state that has no team in that sport. And, when you move you must still always
root for your home team over your newly adopted team. Yes, if your team moves you can
jump ship and adopt a new team. Front runners shall burn in hell.

I used to write as a writer covering the Red Wings. My colleagues would give me slack all
day long - they hate the Red Wings. I was blind to that, I thought it was just envy and jealousy.
In fact it was my confidence and "arrogance" of being a Wings fan that really ticked them off.
I was a Wings fan when they sucked...and I watched them evolve into something great. So
that arrogance was just confidence and pride supporting a winning team finally and a storied
tradition.

Michigan's record speaks for itself. OSU's record speaks for itself. So does the Yankees, Red Wings, Cowboys, Patriots, etc. They deserve all the accolades. The arrogance of the fans for
each is justifieid. Apologist for each are never justifieid! So the question is, do you turn on your hometown schools because you don't like certain people? Or are you somehow expected to root for another team because your parents are from there? It's possible a new Commandment needs to cover this. What are your thoughts?

You see when it comes to sports, this is not a free country. There are rules of sport that must
apply. Those that do not abide by those rules, written or unwritten shall suffer the
consequences of eternal criticism, and potentially turning in their man-membership card.

Cutting the Turkey

Cutting the Thanksgiving Day game from Detroit???

Yes that's the latest rumor and supposed movement in the NFL tv negotiations. They are sick of the dud games America is forced to watch because of our beloved Honolulu Blue & Silver suck.

The question is, if it meant firing Millen would you accept this happening?

I say no. That would be the worst thing he could have done. He's already proven he can't manage a team effectively, then to take away our tradition? That would be the worst thing ever to come out of his reign.

If the FORD Family has any sense of loyalty to the community, they will do all they can to preserve this tradition. I understand what America must feel watching this game...but imagine how I feel because I am there!

Dear NFL - don't take away our tradition, this is all we have. Our football team is gone, and the game itself is ours. Show us some mercy Dear Lords of the Gridiron. Have mercy on our souls!

http://churchofnfl.blogspot.com/ <--- I do not tailgate in vain!

College plays vs. Pro
Point made to me: because college football coaches and players have a limited amount of time that they can devote to game planning, the schemes are a lot more basic than pro. because of this the games are usually decide by athleticism and emotion. The argument is not which game is better, the argument is which one is more exciting.

My Counterpoint...Spurrier couldn't handle the pro preparation. He said he wanted to golf everyday and being a coach in the pros it was impossible to do because of the rigorous schedule it entailed.

But then how does that apply to baseball and hockey, where college players are usually a step ahead of the curve? The theory is because they practice more during the week, while OHL and minor league players are playing games more. So wouldn't a football player have just as much practice time as a hockey player and baseball player? It takes 3 years for a defenseman in pro hockey to mature. It takes 3 years for WR to hit his stride, and rookie qbs take time to groom in the pros There are exceptions to every rule, but I'm talking more about the norm. It could just be they aren't mentally mature enough to handle advanced play sets, and it just requires experience and repetition. Look at how big of a step usually a senior player has over a junior player. They run the same plays year to year. Emotion and athleticism are always key in any sport, and an intangible that doesn't just stand alone - too many other factors at play. That same athleticism and emotion that can make a player good in college means nothing in the pros.

The skill level is less in college because of body sometimes and mental immaturity most of the time. The play sets I believe are tailored to those lower skill sets by the coaches. They keep it simple because they have no choice. Yes the outcomes of games are based on athleticism and emotion for those reasons. I do not believe it is based on limited amount of preparation time like you said. I believe its more around limited amount of maturity and skillsets for the majority of players on each team.

People often are surprised that I’m a Michigan fan. I’ve been one since I was a youngster watching Bo go at it with Woody. I don’t find myself rooting for other schools. Yes I like it when MSU wins, and I want them to win..the same applies for EMU, Wayne, CMU, Albion, Oakland etc… However U of M has always been numero uno in my book, most likely out of the tradition of it all.

What surprises people is that I don’t side with them when Michigan loses. The first thing that comes out of their mouth is “if” “or” “but”, and never just that they sucked or deserved to lose. Now I know this isn’t always the case, but more often than not these are the types I run into. I’m ok with arrogance, they deserve it. But I prefer realism and realistic responses to why a team lost as opposed to an emotional illusion created to cloud their pain. It’s ok to be mad or hurt when your team loses, it does not show a weak character flaw to feel this way. It is however worse if you live in denial that the loss actually happened or that some football god was making it so. The referee did this or the referee did that. No people, your coach called a stupid play on 3rd down, and your tight end couldn’t block a butterfly, that’s why you lost.

With the way the team is playing this year, the apologies are few and far between. But this fact of Michigan Football still exists. It may exist at other colleges as well, I don’t know. People don’t hate Michigan because they are good, they hate Michigan because their fans can’t or won’t admit when they aren’t good. Right now all the Michigan fans are saying “so what” to this post.

From time to time in the world of sports there are things that are just annoying. There are things that you just can’t stand. Here are some of the things I find completely annoying in sports:
The leprechaun at Notre Dame…I’d like to drop kick him to Lafeyette.

Male cheerleaders…do we really need this? Does anyone care?

John Madden…nails on a chalkboard.

WNBA…no one cares, no one ever will. Stop force feeding us the scores.

David Stern…time to go. What you did early on was great, what you are doing now sucks.

Gary Bettman…time to go. You got what you wanted except a tv deal.

Whispering…golf announcers whispering during their commentary. Come on.

Weekend tv…why is bass fishing so friggin popular?

Laugther…can the fox football guys ever go 5 minutes without some incomprehensible chatter?

Al Michaels…he tries too hard.

ABC College Football…how in the world do they let Gary Danielson go? He’s the best.

Ken Daniels…does a good play by play for the Red Wings when he’s actually doing it, more often than not he’s talking about something else besides the play.

Michael Vick jerseys…why do grown men have to wear these jerseys? I don’t get it.

Ads…sponsorship on hockey boards. I didn’t know the Wings played at Taladega?

Jerk…the one guy in your fantasy football league that everyone loves to hate. They’d tar and feather him if they could.

What are some of the things that annoy you?

Responding to a liberal that I know...

Then move to Canada where your socialist tendencies are more the norm. It sucks that I need to debate enough with Republicans on things they just don't get, but then when I even have to approach a lefty I wonder if it's worth my time. The economy of the country is doing pretty good, Michigan excluded (democratic senator, governor, Detroit dems), Wall Street is kicking ass, unemployment is at it's lowest ever. So how exactly is your life really in the pits right now? Personally I know 5 people who've had their house up for sale for a year or more. I know 12 people who've been job eliminated, and with the exception of one, none blame Bush. The governor of Michigan has not done her job, and needs to be fired. Bec you are very smart, don't get caught up in the media hype.
Let's say the dumbocrats win on Tuesday, then all of a sudden you are in a good mood because why? What exactly is going to change besides your perception that is for the betterment of your life? Taxes going up is a very good possibility because that is the democrat theme, you know sharing from the pot and stealing from those that are productive for those that are not (oh yeah real incentive to succeed and be productive there). The government needs to know that we won't stand for the current status quo of the Republicans not doing enough, and the Dems wanting to choke us to death. We need an overhaul of the system, and that will happen if and only if the majority of people get a clue. I'm not holding my breath.

Most of you from what I gather , just love the Fall. It's all I hear about. Some of you even say it is your favorite season. You love the changing of the colors, the cooling of the weather, carving pumpkins, and spiced cider. Crazy talk I say, crazy!

I do not like the fall and I'll tell you why. Sure I like pumpkins, and I love cider. I also love the World Series, and watching football. But I ask you, who in their right mind doesn't like that stuff? If football season was in the winter or spring you would still love it, and most of you will drink spiked cider all year around if given the chance. Now Thanksgiving I love...well... because food loves me...I can't deny it. The day after Thanksgiving is pure hell however with the thrust of mindless shoppers heading to the malls searching for tasteless gifts. So that's just one day, and yeah Halloween for the 2 hours it occurs is kinda neat too. But Fall is also the beginning of the school year and that totally is rotten. Unless you are some weird alien freak who prefers school over summer vacation.

Ok so the 3 weeks of leaves changing colors is nice if it doesn't rain. When it is cloudy, try taking a picture of a burnt orange tree...it aint pretty. In fact I do not find Fall to be pretty at all. I see the leaves falling as quite depressing, as a beautiful tree dying turning into a big brown stick that offers no shade or color. It is just a place for icicles to drop and fall on your head in the winter. The weather gets cooler, and since global warming is a farce, the nights are even colder. All the flowers die, and then what is left? Fall is the dying decay of summer and all that was in its splendor. Fall offers nothing but a preparation of a long winter. No one look forward to fall, they look forward to football, and well I'm not sure actually. Like I said, I know you like it, but you never give me a strong reason why.

More clouds, more rain, more mud in the house from the dogs. I don't even want to talk about cleaning up after the dogs in a yard that's full of leaves. Leaves...raking leaves over and over, and if you miss some, they become a pile of dirt in the spring, which makes more mud for the dogs to track in.

So I ask you my children what is so cool about the Fall? Tell me I need to know. I just don't see it. Do you wear a jacket or do you wear a coat? Do you need a hat and gloves, or only part of the time? Should you wear a sweater or just a long sleeve shirt? Then there's the fact that days get shorter, much shorter, and the lack of sun sucks the life right out of me. How do I combat that? Drink the spiced cider most likely.

People may name their daughters June, April, or May. But do they name them September, October, or November? NO! Because those months are simply just ugly. Now granted I know some chicks that should be named one of those months…but you get my drift.

I think if you are all with me on this, we can eliminate September 2 through December 21, and just go from Labor Day to Christmas week. Who needs the fall? Come on let's do it. No More Fall!