Catching Up

I really "misunderestimated" the time involved in doing this. Alot of shit happened this week, and I had a hard time keeping up. I'd like to touch on a few things that happened since I last posted.

• Stop #2 on the "Michigan Revenge Tour '06" was a success. The defense of course, was sublime. They had a couple breakdowns early but recovered well and were pretty dominant. Six straight three-and-outs to start the second half, 12 total rush yards and just all-around pwnage were the highlights of the day. The offense had its struggles. UM struggled to maintain drives. Their longest scoring drive was less than 6o yards. The offense was greatly aided great field position as result of the defense and punt return team. I'm kind of worried, but I'd like to think it was more a result of Wisconsin's defense. Manningham recovered from an early bobble to have a 2 TD game, bring his season total to six. Now it's on to Minnesota to get the jug back.
  

• This probably deserves its own post, but the Tigers made the playoffs! Yay! I've specifically refrained from any Tigers posts until now, due to the roller-coaster nature of the past few weeks. I didn't want to sound bi-polar and god forbid, give the appearance of jumping off/on the bandwagon. But now I can breath a sigh of relief. It's still kind of amazing to me, speaking and writing the words "Tigers in the playoffs." Just the thought of a playoff game downtown; the buzz and excitement in the cool air, packed house, national media attention, millions of people across the country watching at home, it gets me all butterfly-ey inside. I can't wait. When I was sitting in the stands in 1987, watching the Tigers clinch the pennant on the last day of the season, my young mind, brimming with hope and optimism, untainted by cynicism and doubt, could have never imagined it would be 19 years before the Tigers got to the postseason again. The lesson I learned was to enjoy and savor the excitement of a season like this, no matter what happens. The pennant race, the playoffs; soak it up, appreciate the moment and don't take it for granted, because you never know when it may happen again.
  

• More Bengals got in trouble. Already suspended Odell Thurman was arresting for driving while over twice the legal limit. Apparently he wasn't satisfied with a four game suspension and wanted to stretch it out over the whole season. He said he was the most sober one in car. It looks like they did the old "hand the keys to the least-drunk member of the group and cross your fingers." Who else was there? Reggie McNeal and of course, Chris Henry, seen puking out the window. You'd think after about 8,000 run-ins with the law, Henry would try to walk the straight and narrow. What the hell is wrong with this team? On the field, there currently among the best teams in the NFL. Off the field, it's like North Dallas Forty.

• T.O. tried to kill himself. No he didn't. The police concluded "accidental overdose" and decided to leave it at that. I don't believe T.O. was trying to kill himself, but I don't totally buy his "allergic reaction" story. He might have been depressed and self-medicating, he might have just been irresponsible and took more pills than he was supposed to. I think the truth lies somewhere between suicide and bad reaction.

• Jason Whitlock burned bridges on his way out of ESPN, in fact he nuked them. He was then informed that he was persona non grata at the Worldwide Leader. I also happened to catch him on "Stoney and Wojo" on Wednesday, where he reitereated him comments about ESPN, Scoop Jackson, black culture, and Mike Lupica. He also had some choice words about Mitch Albom, making Stoney noticeably uncomfortable.
  

• Found via Deadspin, a report from a site called "The Daily Kos" that claims that ESPN uses canned cheers for Republicans and canned boos for Democrats who appear at ESPN-televised sporting events. I can't say I've noticed this, as I usually don't pay attention to the non-sporting parts of games. But I will be looking out for this in the future, and if true, will just add to my growing discontent with that network.