WTI: Watch out, Elle Driver

Geoff:	Last weekend, two of us were lucky enough to attend the 2007 edition of Michigan-MSU.  And to be there was glorious.
Craig:	And I was nearly throwing up in a living room in South Lyon, but a giant wall of HD is also glorious.
Jeremy:	I had seats in the MSU alumni section, and it was amazing how quickly their fans abandoned ship at the first sign of struggle.
Geoff:	You get your heart broken enough times, maybe you just can't hold on as tight.
Jeremy:	A psychologist could have a field day with why they're conditioned to do that.

Geoff:	I was over in the Michigan section, and that was rocking.
Craig:	And I was remembering why I am not a fan of Paul Maguire.
Geoff:	I was fortunate to be over there.  Less chance of someone starting a fight with me for being too obnoxious.
Jeremy:	The team is on a ruthless revenge tour, and OSU stands in the way between us and the greatest redemption story ever.
Craig:	So would that make Michigan State O-Ren Ishii, or just the Crazy 88?
Geoff:	I don't know.  Who fails more consistently?
Craig:	Say what you will, but O-Ren did build up a pretty good Yakuza crime syndicate before getting the top of her head lopped off.
Geoff:	There is no telling what I would do to secure a win over Ohio State this year.  At this point, there is nothing that could be sweeter.
Jeremy:	would you...  rest Henne and Hart vs.  Wisconsin?
Craig:	No.  I will get my Hattori Hanzo out to prevent that.  It's their career, it's the last two game of their careers, they know they want to beat tOSU.  It should be the call of a combination of the players, coaches, and medical staff.
Geoff:	If it meant a win over OSU, absolutely.  But I don't know that resting Henne helps at all.  Getting him and his receivers working in rhythm is terribly important.  And like Craig says, you can't hold them out of one of their last games in a Michigan uniform.
Jeremy:	Priority #1 should be keeping them as healthy as possible for OSU.  It sounds like neither one will hear a damn word of this "resting" business, so it will be on the coaches.  If Carr plays them and we lose to OSU, they'll say the guys weren't rested properly.  if he doesn't play them and we lose, they'll say it was because Hart and Henne were out of sync for not playing the week before.  But is that worth it for the chance to play them both weeks and win both weeks in an absolute blaze of glory?
Craig:	I have a feeling that if there is a loss to tOSU, it will not be due to Henne and Hart.
Geoff:	Agreed.  Beanie Wells scares the bejesus out of me, especially after what Caulcrick and Ringer were able to do.  Michigan wins very few games in which it is outgained on the ground.
Craig:	Agreed.  You know, I wanted to raise a theory.  Michigan seems to have trouble right out of the gate, as we have seen in each of the last three games.  Is this possibly because teams now run those 15 play scripts and so they have so tightly executed them during the week that any defense we throw at them will not be sufficient?
Geoff:	I think they have trouble out of the gate in a macro sense.  Look at the start of the season for an example on a larger scale.  Then they settle into whatever they're supposed to be doing.
Craig:	If only we could believe that we need to start playing from the word go...sigh.
Geoff:	I wonder if we're as predictable defensively as we are on the other side of the ball.  Scripted sequences would have an advantage in that case.
Jeremy:	We were in the Herrmann days.
Craig:	You know, we could raise this question with the Lord High Poobah of game film...
Geoff:	Jeremy, did you spend a lot of time in East Lansing before the game? We didn't get in until about an hour before game time, so we went right to the stadium.  Even accounting for that, I was surprised by how little abuse I took.
Jeremy:	We tailgated for 3 hours in the Farm Lane lot, which is the commuter lot, and took a shuttle in.  Everyone was cordial.
Geoff:	Yeah.  All I had was one guy who questioned my commitment to heterosexuality, which 1.) Way to put your homophobia out there, and 2.) Your team is the Spartans.  Everyone else left me alone.
Jeremy:	The best shirt I saw all day said "hail to the victors," with the ASU A, Oregon O, and Spartan S.  If you're going to base your pride on your opponent's struggles, that's admittedly a clever way to do it.
Geoff:	There was a woman a few rows ahead of me with a Grand Valley State hoodie.  I don't know if that was an intentional taunt, but I enjoyed it.
Jeremy:	I got a picture of a man wearing one who swears it was because his son goes there.  He was clearly tired of being harassed all morning, but I was supportive.
Jeremy:	What did you think of the bands and their shows?
Geoff:	MSU's '90's show was pretty good, if a little bland.  They did [something I can't remember], RHCP's "Higher Ground" cover, Aerosmith's "Eat the Rich", and No Doubt's "Spiderwebs".
Jeremy:	I do appreciate their efforts to cater directly to the student section, but "Spiderwebs" isn't exactly a roaring, crowd-energizing song.
Craig:	Honestly, were it not for Sirius 24, I don't know I would have remembered "Spiderwebs"...It's the backup long-snapper of No Doubt singles.
Geoff:	And is "Eat the Rich" really the one you're going to choose from Aerosmith? For that matter, '90's Aerosmith, really?
Craig:	From that album, really?
Jeremy:	Also, an amplified bass? Really?
Craig:	Isn't that standard Sparty practice? I know it is at the JLA for hockey.
Jeremy:	I did like their drum rack.  While gimmicky, it adds an extra dimension to the sound, and keeps the drumline stationary so they can focus more on their music.  The drill focused more on isolated shapes at the beginning, and once the rack was brought out, large symmetrical forms on either side.
Geoff:	Yeah.  And they had the drum break in the middle of the show.
Craig:	Did they have a washboard break?
Geoff:	No, no Beck.
Jeremy:	Um, OSU basketball just lost to D-II Findlay.
Geoff:	There's some sort of epidemic.
Craig:	I blame the Big Ten Network.
Geoff:	Thank you, Coach Beilein, for not losing to Ferris.
Craig:	Speaking of M Basketball...I am deeply encouraged by...the new Lights at Crisler.  The morgue is dead, so to speak.  It really pops now on video footage.
Geoff:	The highlights looked a lot sharper.  I want to see what it looks like inside now.
Craig:	I have secured my tickets for UCLA to do just that.
Geoff:	I hope to get to a game or two this year, especially since there's no way Comcast will be picking up the BTN any time soon.
Geoff:	Hockey had a nice weekend in Omaha.  It sounds like they didn't play their best, but managed to sweep the Mavericks anyway.  That's the kind of a weekend that you need to have if you want to compete for the CCHA title.
Craig:	Agreed.  Taking care of business at home and with what looks to be the lower rungs of the conference, that will bode well.
Geoff:	Miami looks scary.
Craig:	Miami looks like a machine and, I think, with their new rink, will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.  Of course, we should note their AD is Brad Bates, one of Bo's boys from the late 1970s.
Jeremy:	Having only seen box scores and Blog Yost Built recaps, it looks like Sauer is stepping up.
Geoff:	Sauer had a nice pair of games against BU.  Maybe he can put together at least a solid season, because the offense seems to be clicking.
Geoff:	Anyway, let's hope football can put it together against Wisconsin for a win, and that we come out of Madison healthier than East Lansing.
Craig:	Agreed.  I was really hoping for a night game in Madtown, but it looks like the great philosopher Jagger was right once more.
Jeremy:	In eleven days we could easily see Lloyd Carr end his time in Michigan stadium by being carried off the densely packed field on Jake Long and Shawn Crable's shoulders.  They need to do what it takes this week to make that happen.
Geoff:	Absolutely.
Craig:	Affirmed.
Geoff:	It's a win we desperately want and need.  Go blue.
Jeremy:	Go blue!
Craig:	Go Blue!