Spartans Make It Two In A Row In OT At Home-Wings Split Home And Home With Columbus

Instead of writing about each game individually of the Detroit-Columbus home and home series i thought i could talk about them after the series wrapped up tonight in Detroit, i had know idea they would be so similar. Friday night was another game when the Wings didn't start "on-time", as head coach Mike Babcock likes to say, and the Blue Jackets took an early 2-0 lead. The Wings just can't get out of the way of this injury bug lately and it came up to bite them again last night when Jim Howard went down with an apparent knee injury (Howard is day to day with a sore knee) and net front presence Tomas Holmstrom left the game with a broken hand (Holmstrom is out for 3-4 weeks with the injury). The Wings kept battling and found a way to tie it up and send the game into overtime. Both teams would trade scoring chances in the overtime period and the game would be decided in a shootout which was the Wings 3rd shootout in 5 games. Joey McDonald came on in relief for the injured Jim Howard and didn't allow a goal until Antoine Vermette won it for the Blue Jackets.

Tonight was another game that the Wings didn't start "on-time as head coach Mike Babcock like to say with the Blue Jackets jumping out to an early 2-0 win (sound familiar?). This time though the Red Wings would tie it up before the end of the 1st period on goals from Valtteri Filppula and Drew Miller. The teams would trade leads and ties for the rest of the game Jonathan Ericsson, Brian Rafalski, and Kris Draper would add goals for their team to put them up 5-4 in the 3rd period. The most underrated player in the league and the one player that scares me the most as a fan Rick Nash scored with the goalie pulled to send this game into overtime (i feel like i've seen this before). But this time Johan Franzen would make sure that his team wouldn't go to another shootout when he scored on an absolute snipe shot off of a great feed by Zetterberg to win it for the Wings by a final of 6-5. The Red Wings head back out on the road on Tuesday when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pen's in their new arena. The injury report update for both teams are that Jim Howard is thinking that he will be ready to go on Tuesday night and Sydney Crosby is still unknown with post-concussion symptoms.

The Spartans hoops squad had to come back and win in overtime in their last two games at home. First it was a gritty comeback win against Wisconsin on Thursday night with Draymond Green leading the way with another one of his double-doubles this season. This afternoon was no different, Northwestern gave the Spartans all they could handle in a game that saw over 10 lead changes. Draymond Green tied the game again on two big free-throws with under a minute to play before fouling out in the overtime period. Freshman and Senior guards Keith Appling and Kalin Lucas filled up the scoring column for their team today scoring 19 and 18 points respectively, the 19 points Appling scored setting his career high. Turnovers reared their ugly head for the spartans again today with the team turning the ball over 16 times, which gave the Wildcats way to many opportunities to stay in the game. The Spartans will try to carry the momentum they gained from these two overtime wins with them when they play Illinois on Tuesday night at Illinois.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and please beat the Jets tomorrow Patriots i can't stand Rex or any of his players.

Drew in the D

Wings Try To Make It 3 Comebacks In A Row Against Colorado, Come Up Just Short

The Wings made it interesting in the 3rd pulling to with in one but they couldn't find away to get the equalizer and lost to the Av's by a score of 5-4. Tonights game was another one where the Wings found themselves playing from behind giving up a 4-1 lead to Colorado in the 1st period. But they found away to claw their way back into the game scoring at the end of the 1st period to make it 4-2 and then scoring on a 3rd period powerplay to bring it back to a 1 goal game at 5-4. It just wasn't enough tonight though as they weren't able to find that last goal to tie it up and ended up losing their first road game in the last 7 games. The team has been hit by the injury bug with key players going down for lengthy periods, but Henrik Zetterberg hasn't seemed to be effected by this very negatively. Hank has been on a 11 game point streak since his Euro Twin Datsyuk went down with a broken hand, and had 2 points tonight to help his team try and get back in the game. The Wings will wrap up this long roadie with a home and home series with the Columbus Blue Jackets starting in Columbus Friday than in Detroit on Saturday.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and congratulations to the National Champion Auburn Tigers.

Drew in the D

Howard Makes Save Of The Year In Wings OT Win Over Vancouver

It was another gutsy win for the Wings Saturday night in Vancouver, when they beat the NHL's top team in overtime. Jim Howard had what could possibly be the save of the year when you robbed Daniel Sedin on a breakaway, snatching the puck out of mid-air just before it crossed the goal line while laying on his back. It was a hard fought game that ended 1-1 going into overtime. Franzen scored in regulation to tie the game up for his team and Jiri Hudler netted the game winner in overtime and give the Wings the extra point. Once again though it was Jim Howard that kept his team in the game and gave them the opportunity to win it for him by not only making the amazing save on Daniel in the 1st, but also making another great glove save on the other Sedin brother, Henrik. Its nice to see the Red Wings playing well and finding ways to win despite the major injuries to some key players they have to deal with right now, but i can't help but wonder how close these games really would have been if Modano, Filppula, and Datsyuk were in the line up.

Wings Douse The Flames In OT

Wings win 2 straight games in Alberta, beating Calgary 5-4 in overtime. A night before the Red Wings face off against the best team in the Western Conference in Vancouver they had to grind out a big win against the flames. For most of the game Calgary outplayed the Wings and the score showed that, until the 3rd period when Brian Rafalski tied it up on his 2nd goal of the season and the game. Howie was a little shaky in the first 2 periods but he picked it up and held strong between the pipe during a big 4-3 penalty kill in overtime to send it to a shoot out where he wouldn't allow a goal to help his team to 2 points. It wasn't all good news for the Wings tonight, yet again another key player went down with a serious injury. Brad Stuart's jaw was broken on a very dirty hit by Tom Kostopoulos in the 2nd period. The hit is probably (should) bring on a suspension for Kostopoulos but i couldn't believe that he was only assessed a 2 minute minor, what no 4 minute double or maybe a 5 minute major for that asinine hit on Stuart. Hopefully the Wings can stay healthy until some of their players get healthy and get back on the ice with the team. The team will take the short trip out to Vancouver to take on the 1st place Canucks at 10 pm.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and how about those Spartans beating #8 Michigan in OT.

Drew in the D

Wings Start Long Road Trip With A Win In Edmonton

After dropping two straight games at home the Red Wings were looking to get back on a winning track tonight in Edmonton. That is exactly what they did beating the Oilers 5-3 in the first of 5 road games the Wings have in their up coming schedule. The Wings opened up the scoring tonight when Henrik Zetterberg scored in the first period to give his team the early lead. The Red Wings would build up a 3-1 lead through the 2nd period only to give up 2 3rd period goals to allow the Oilers back in the game. The Wings has to of been thinking about losing their last two game at home and how bad of a taste that left in their mouth because they turned it on in the last 5 minutes of the game and took it to Edmonton. Bertuzzi and Helm would score about 30 seconds apart from each other to give their team a 5-3 lead with less than 3 minutes left in the game. Bertuzzi and Helm came up huge in the game both recording multi point game with 2 goals and 1 goal and 1 assist respectively. The teams win also gave Chris Osgood his 401st win of his career which now puts him just 2 wins behind his childhood idol Grant Fuhr in the all-time wins list. The Wings continue their second Canadian road trip on Friday when they skate with the Flames in Calgary.

I would be remiss if i didn't offer my opinion on how both of my Football teams finished on the season this past weekend. First the Spartans, what can i say it hurt to see my team get dragged through the turf up and down the field b a faster and more physical Alabama team, but i can't nuke the whole season just because how they performed in a post season "money" bowl. Yes i wanted them to win and yes i probably was jaded in thinking that they might actually have a chance against a team that is light years ahead of them in talent but Michigan State athletics is and will always be with the Red Wings my first loves in sports. 

Now as for the Lions, can we please get this new collective bargaining deal done NFL PLEASE!!! I need, we need...No Detroit needs this next season more than any sports team in any city in the world has needed a season. The way this team has come together and has been coached and guided in these past few weeks has been everything that i have asked for from this organization as a whole and that i have never gotten, until now.  There is a feeling within the Honolulu Blue Nation that there is a new day dawning in downtown Detroit at Ford Field the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel coming this off-season and in the 2011-2012 season. Our two best players have been our two best players all year, and to be honest they were the two best players at there position in the entire league this year. Calvin Johnson 77 catches for 1,120 yards and 12 Td's with three different quarterbacks and Ndamukong Suh with 66 tackles 10 sacks an interception and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in his rookie year as a defensive tackle. I know all the old guard fans will say oh its just meaningless wins that don't effect the outcome of this season. Well you know what FUCK YOU then if you can't get excited about winning after winning only 2 games in the past 2 seasons than you don't deserve to feel the joy and pride i feel for my team today. This team has started on a path to redemption this season, they didn't start out pretty but i think we can all agree even in those early season loses there was something different about this team than the past few, a mentality that they could not just play with every team but actually beat them and we saw that in the Philadelphia game and the Jets game. Yes we lost both games but there needs to be some perspective with a team that set the water mark for being bad in sports. Martin Mayhew and the management did a great job this off season of not only getting talented players here but finding players that would work in this kind of system and environment and even thrive in it. Jim Schwartz would probably admit this off-season that he made some rookie coaching mistakes this year that ended up costing a game or two for his team, but i don't think anyone can argue that he had his team running at top gear for every game this year especially in the last 4 that they won. In the first time in a long time i am excited yes even giddy to see what kind of moves Mayhew and Schwartz make in the free-agent market and the Draft this off-season to improve this teams chances of being even better this up coming season, so again i beg of you Roger Goodell and NFL owners PLEASE PLEASE!!! Get this deal done not just for Detroits sake but for all the NFL fans.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and thanks for a fun and entertaining football season Michigan State and Lions.

Drew in the D

Spartans Get Back On Track, Winning Their Big Ten Opener-Islanders Give Wings An UnHappy New Year

Losing in overtime to a now 11 win team isn't the way the Red Wings nor their fans wanted to ring in the New Year. But that exactly what happened tonight down at the Joe with the Isle's winning 4-3 on a powerplay goal in overtime. The Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson helped his team carry a 3-2 lead into the 3rd period by coming up with big stops in the first 2 periods. Valtteri Filppula gave his team some much needed momentum going into the 2nd intermission when he scored with 8 seconds left to bring the Wings back to within one goal. In the 3rd period the Islanders were in full defensive mode trying to hold onto their slim 3-2 lead and Tomas Tatar made them pay by scoring his first ever NHL goal. The game would go to overtime tied at 3 and after the Islanders killed off about 1:30 of a Red Wing powerplay Henrik Zetterberg took a bad holding penalty to give the Isles their own powerplay which they would score on to end the game. The Red Wings seemed to have broken head coach Mike Babcock's cardinal rule of always starting on time by not getting going offensively until midway through the 2nd period and allowing the visiting team to build a 3-1 lead. It was fun to see the Wings mount a 3rd period come-back but im sure all the fans wanted to see a win tonight just like i did for New Years. The Wings will welcome in one of the best teams not only in the Eastern Conference but in the entire league and also one of their former players on Sunday when Ville Leino and the Philadelphia Flyers come to town.

The Spartans opened up their Big Ten title defense with a come from behind win against Minnesota today. It didn't start out the way the Spartans had hoped it would with them being down 28-22 at the half but they found their mark in the 2nd half. Michigan State outscored Minnesota 49-34 in the 2nd thanks in part to Durrell Summers leading the way in scoring for the Spartans with 19 pts. Draymond Green also had a nice game scoring 14 pts with 6 rebounds and 4 helpers to help his team to a win. Some positives that the team can take from this gritty win were getting 24 assists on 28 baskets and only turning the ball over 8 times, which had been a problem for the Spartans in the non-conference games. The team will enjoy this win on New Years day and get back to work on Monday when they travel to Evanston to take on Northwestern in the Spartans first Big Ten road test of the season.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! and good luck to the Michigan State football team tomorrow when they take on Alabama in the Capital One Bowl

Osgood Notches Win #400 In Overtime In Colorado

Third time was the charm for Chris Osgood, after failing to get his 400th win on two prior attempts he finally gained access to the ultra-exclusive 400 win club tonight in Colorado. It was an exciting game between the Red Wings and Avalanche in the Pepsi Center tonight with the teams going back and forth in scoring all night until Kronwall won it for his team in OT. The win gave the Wings their 50th point of the season tying Pittsburgh for tops in the league, but tonight was all about the Os-man. Chris Osgood became only the 10th goalie all-time to ever reach the 400 win plateau for his career and doing it in stellar fashion might i add. Ossie was flashing the pads all night stopping 46 of 49 shots again and making key saves when his team needed him to. As much as we all know that Osgood would have loved to have won number 400 in front of the fans in Detroit it seems fitting that the win came against a team and in a arena that he has always performed so well against. Tonight was just another chapter to the history of the Detroit-Colorado rivalry that Osgood has played a major part in over the years, who doesn't love watching the youtube video of he and Patrick Roy going toe to toe in the second Wings-Av's brawl. Now that he has reached his personal goal of 400 wins in his career he can start peeking ahead in the record books with Grant Fuhr at 403 and Glenn Hall at 407, both numbers very reachable for Ossie by the end of the season. 

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and once again congratulations to Chris "Ossie" Osgood for winning his 400th NHL game.

Drew in the D

This Is What 23,000 Teddy Bears Look Like On A Hockey Rink

This is the annual Calgary Hitmen Teddy Bear toss where the fans throw teddy bears on the ice after the first Hitmen goal is scored and the teddy bears are hand delivered to the local childrens hospital by the players, how cool is that

Lidstoms Hat-Trick Helps Wings To A Win Over The Blues

It took 1,442 games into his carrier but Nick Lidstrom finally has his first hat-trick. Lidstrom's 4 point night helped his team beat their divisional rival St.Louis 5-2.  Cleary and Zetterberg also had big multi-point nights to help their team to the win. Datsyuk only recorded one assist on the night but he was up to his old tricks going all "Magic Man" on the Blue's defensive players, at one point beating 3 out of the corner and almost setting up Z for a goal. The "Magic Man" also pulled a new trick out of his very deep bag when he tried to go backhand forehand through his legs and almost beat Jaroslav Halak far side had the Blues goalie not been able to get a piece of it to send it just wide of the post. It was a very nice bounce back game for the Wings tonight after what had to have been a frustrating night on Monday getting shut out by Jonathan Quick on 51 shots. The Red Wings will travel out to Chicago tomorrow to get ready to take on the 'Hawks friday night at the United Center.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and once again hats off to Nick Lidstrom on his first career hat-trick

Drew in the D

Quick Denies Detroit A Third Win In A Row

Uhh..is there a reset button on this thing? That's what the Wings were saying after their 5-0 loss to Jonathan Quick and the Kings tonight. Kings goalie Quick played out of his mind tonight saving 51 of 51 shots against him for his 1st shutout against the Wings. Basically this game was the entire Red Wings team against Jonathan Quick, and you know what Quick 51 Wings 0 i give the LA 'tender full marks for his outstanding play tonight. The fact that the Wings got shut out wasn't for lack of trying but it was just one of those nights when a hot team runs into a hot goalie and something had to give, except tonight Quick didn't give..AT ALL. While it wasn't what the Red Wings had in mind for their rematch with the Kings they can't let this one linger as they have two big division games this week, starting on Wednesday against the Blues at the Joe and Friday night against the wannabe Wings in Chicago

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and will someone get the number of that purple and white truck that just ran over the Red Wings....i mean seriously WTF!!!

Drew in the D

Lions Give Fans Early Christmas Present

The Lions won their 3rd game of the season ending a 10 game losing streak to the Packers and picking up their first division win in 19 games. It was all about Detroit's defense today holding the Packers to 66 rush yards, 3 pts, 3 turnovers, and recording 4 sacks. Landon Johnson knocked Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers out of the game in the 2nd quarter with a concussion when he finished a tackle bouncing Rodger's head off of the turf. Back-up Matt Flynn took over for the Pack' and for a time looked to fill the void fairly well until he threw a huge interception to Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy in the end zone. 3rd string quarterback Drew Stanton did just enough to win the game for his team today tossing tight end Will Heller the ball on a well set-up and executed screen play that went for the games only touchdown, thanks in part to a great down field block by running back Jahvid Best. The Lions finally had a run game today gashing the Green Bay defense for 190 yds on 41 carries. It was great to see this team finally close out a game getting stops at the end when they needed to and not making the "same old" mistakes that us as Lions fans i'm sure were expecting to see. But those penalties never came, the bone headed mistakes never came and the Lions can and should feel good especially on the defensive side of the ball about their teams 60 minute effort today, i know this fan does. Detroit heads back out on the road next weekend to Raymond James stadium to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to try and get that ever elusive road win.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and get those shovels and snow blowers out people you're gonna need them tomorrow.

Drew in the D

Spartans Hold Of Gizzlies Down At The Palace-Osgood gets win # 399 Against The Devils

The Red Wings put in two early goals on Martin Brodeur to start on their way to a 4-1 win tonight in New Jersey. Pavel "En Fuego" Datsyuk was en fuego tonight recording another 3 point night with a goal and 2 helpers in the game. Pav's twin Henrik Zetterberg also had a multi-point night scoring a goal and recording an assist, Holmstrom and Cleary would also score on the greatest goalie of all time tonight. Not to be out done by his teammates Chris Osgood played in what was most likely his best performance this season stopping 33 of 34 shots and nailing down win number 399 of his hall of fame career. With this win Ossie brings himself with in one win of the exclusive 400 win club and now is just 5 wins away from passing Grant Fuhr and owning the 9th most wins in NHL history, i think its safe to say he will get there before the end of the season. The Red Wings will fly back to Detroit tonight and get ready to play the LA Kings Monday night down at the Joe when they will try to avenge the lose in OT they suffered out in la la land last week.

The Spartans avoid an upset to Oakland University in another out of conference road game down at the Palace of Auburn Hills, winning 77-76. The Grizz' gave MSU all it could handle never letting the Spartans build on a lead keeping it close to the final buzzer. Kalin Lucas led the way for his team scoring 25 pts and 5 assists, while Draymond Green had another solid game with 11pts and 5 assists. The team seemed to finally get control of their turnover problem during the game today only giving the ball up 8 times, although Lucas turned it over 5 times by himself. Little by little you can see this years team starting to gel and get more comfortable with each of their own roles on the floor, but they are a long way from being the pre-season #2 team and National Champion favorite that a lot of people had them at. 7-3 is a disappointing start to their season but im sure no one would argue that they have had one of the most difficult if not the most difficult out of conference schedules, playing all of their ranked opponents on the road. They have two more home games against Prairie View A&M and then against Texas before they open up the Big Ten season on New Years eve against Minnesota in East Lansing.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and congrats go out to one of the great Swedish players ever to play in the NHL, Marcus Naslund's #19 was retired in Vancouver tonight and very deservingly so.

Drew in the D

Wings Snap Their 3 Game Slide With A Win Against Original 6 Rival Habs

First off let me apologize for being missing in action for the last few days, with a nasty cold and finals this coming week i was a little distracted so i humbly ask for your forgiveness. Now onto the real business, Jim Howard put on another all-star showing tonight in his team 4-2 win over original six foe Montreal. The Red Wings big guns were on display tonight with Lidstrom, Kronwall, and "Magic Man" Datsyuk all scoring goals. Lidstrom got his team on the board and tied the game at one when he scored with 1.2 seconds left in the 1st on a 5 on 3 power play in the 1st period. Jim Howard was the big star for the Wings again tonight stopping 36 of 38 shots and stonewalling the Habs in the 3rd when they tested him on multiple occasions, including a spectacular glove save on a rebound from his behind. Howie has quietly become the goalie that every team wishes they could have and has had anything but a sophomore slump this season with 16-4-2 record and a .916%. The Red Wings will take the flight out to New Jersey tonight to take on the Devils tomorrow night at 7pm.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and GO GREEN in the Big Chill tomorrow

Drew in the D

Wings Go Duck Hunting In Anaheim

Jim Howard records his 2nd shutout of the season blanking the Ducks again this time in Anaheim 4-0. This wasn't cheapy either Howard stopped all of Anaheim's 41 shots on goal, with more then a few high light saves. Johan Franzen broke the ice scoring just 1:09 into the 1st period and the Wings would take that 1-0 lead into the 1st intermission. Anaheim come out strong in the 2nd carrying the play to Detroit and bulging their shot total to 25 to the Wings 10 mid-way through the 2nd. But the Wings picked it up and Homer found a juicy rebound off of a Zetterberg shot in front of the net and banged it home putting the wings up 2-0, and about 4 minutes later Cleary would deflect in his team leading 12th of the year giving his team a 3-0 lead at the break. The Red Wings played a solid third but the Ducks were still able muster 41 shots on net that Howard had to deal with and deal with them he did, always managing to find a way to get in front of the puck and keep his 2nd clean sheet of the season intact. It was self-admittedly not the teams best 60 minute effort but when you have number 35 between the pipes right now you don't have to be perfect every night. The Wings will take the short trip up to L.A. from Anaheim to take on the young and dangerous Kings tomorrow night at 10:30, looking for the sweep on this short 3-game road trip.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and maybe don't do the sing-along next time Rich Rod it's just not working.

Drew in the D

Wings Take A Bite Out Of The Sharks

The Euro Twins were in full effect last night in the Wings 5-3 win over San Jose at the Shark Tank. The Wings didn't waist time getting on the board first ,when Henrik Zetterberg recorded his first of 4 points on the night putting the puck on Cleary's stick for a tap in, giving Cleary his 11th goal of the year and his team a 1-0 lead. The it was Datsyuk's turn and once again he went all "Magic Man" splitting two San Jose defenders and fighting off a desperation hook to regain control of the puck and shot it past a sprawling Antero Niittymaki, making it 2-0 in favor of the Red Wings. Datsyuk and Zetterberg would combine for a total of 7 point on the night with Pavel recording a goal and 2 assist and Zetterberg scoring twice and getting 2 helpers on the night. Jim Howard just continues to be the solid-get the job done goalie that this team needs between the pipes with all the offensive talent that he has playing in front of him. He saved 25-28 shots and made a big save that lead to Zetterbergs 2nd goal on the night providing a big 2 goal swing in the 3rd period that made it a 3 goal game and basically sealed the win for the Wings. The Sharks scored late in the game to make the score a little more palatable for the home fans but they were never really in this one after giving up that early goal in the 1st period. The Wings will make the short trip up to Anaheim where they will get an extra day off and play Friday night at 10 pm est.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world

Drew in the D

Wings Take Both Games Of Their Home And Home Against Columbus

I was lucky enough to be in attendance for tonight's Red Wings 4-2 victory over the Blue Jackets and here is a shot of the national anthem. The Blue Jackets got on the board first scoring in the late stages of the 1st period taking a 1-0 lead into the break. The Wings would tie it up on Nick Kronwalls powerplay goal mid-way through the 2nd, followed 14 second later by Darren Helms roof shot to give the wings a 2-1 lead heading into the 3rd. Just 50 seconds into the 3rd Val Filppula slotted home his 6th of the season off of a great play from Bertuzzi and Franzen making it 3-1 Wings. The Jackets showed just how improved they are this year by not giving up and giving a good push back after the 3rd goal, eventually drawing a 4 minute high-sticking penalty that would turn into a 5-3 chance for 2:00 when Kronwall was called for holding. Thats when Jim Howard and the Wings penalty killers took over and shut-down the Jackets offense with Howie making big saves including a high light reel flashy left pad save to stop a sure goal for the Jackets. The Wings killed off all 6 minutes of penalties during that time bringing the home crowd to their feet who roared their appreciation. Columbus would score late on a powerplay to make it a one goal game with 1:30 to play but Dan Cleary would seal it back-handing in an empty netter for his 10th of the season sending the fans and yours truly home happy. The Wings will hope on their team plane tonight and head out to the west coast for a few games next week starting with a meeting with the sharks on Tuesday.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and here is to another great night down at the Joe love the energy down there every time i go.

Drew in the D

2010 Big Ten Co-Champion Michigan State Spartans

What else is there to say then what an amazing year it has been for Mark Dantonio and his Michigan State football team. It started with the late night drama in East Lansing when on 4th down in OT on a play called little giants they faked a field goal and passed it for a game winning touchdown. This win spring boarded them to an 8 game win streak including big wins over Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and North Western, all back to back games mind you. The team hit a big time road block in Iowa city getting dropped by the Hawkeyes 37-6 and handing the Spartans their first loss of the season. Thats when the questions about this teams heart and character and are they the same old spartans started to come up. But coach Dantonio and his team answered all those questions emphatically by winning their final three games including a big-time road win at Penn State, a place that they have not won at since 1965. It was a year of first for the Spartans which saw the first time they had beaten their big sister Michigan three times in a row, the first time the team has won 7 home games in a season, the first time the team won 11 games in the regular season in its history, the first time they have beaten Penn State at Penn State since they joined the Big Ten and the first Big Ten Title in coach Dantonio's regime. The way that the Rose Bowl birth will be awarded will most likely see Wisconsin making the trip out to Pasadena this year but the Spartans still have a good chance of getting a spot in one of the New Years day bowls thanks in part to the loss by the Boise State Frauncos last night in Nevada.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and Congratulations to Coach Dantonio, his coaching staff and his great team for winning the Big Ten title this season and thank you for all of the memories through out the season

Drew in the D

Wings Take The First Of The Home And Home In Columbus

Jim Howard was stellar tonight, playing a big role in his teams win against the Blue Jackets down in Columbus. A lot of fans (myself included) were wondering how Howard would bounce back from the loss he took in Atlanta, where he let in 4 goals before getting lifted during the 2nd intermission. He did more then bounce back he was absolutely dominant in the win tonight saving 34-35 shots with a .971 save % and making more then a few highlight reel saves on the night. Johan Franzen got the scoring started for the Red Wings netting his 10th of the season early in the 2nd period, Filppula would get the first assist on his goal. The Wings would get their 2nd goal of the game on a powerplay in the 3rd period when Filppula made a great give and go pass coming around the back of the net to one-time a shot in past Steve Mason for his second point of the game. The Wings were brilliant on the penalty kill tonight killing off all 5 of the Jackets opportunities with more then a little help from their All-Star goalie (yea i said it) Jim Howard. Howies best save of the night came in the 2nd period, when during a Columbus powerplay he went from right post to left post flawlessly to absolutely rob Jackets forward Jakub Voracek who thought he had a wide open 4x6. It was a solid win against the team that the Wings had been tied with at the top of their division and a good all around team performance on the road in a hostile environment against a quality hockey club. The Red Wings will play the Blue Jackets in the return leg of this home and home on Sunday evening at 5 pm at the Joe.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and i hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Drew in the D

Kalin Lucas, MSU Flex Their Muscles In Second Half-Thrashers Start Thanksgiving Celebration A Day Early

The Wings looked like they were thinking about all the turkey and stuffing they were gonna be eating tomorrow already instead of the game that they had to play down in Atlanta today. It started with the Thrashers scoring just 3 minutes into the game followed shortly there after by a short handed goal to put them up 2-0, Bertuzzi would score on a powerplay to cut the lead in half. Thats as close as it would get as the Thrashers and their goalie Ondrej Pavelec turned it up winning the game 5-1. It wasn't the Wings best effort by far and im sure Babcock wont let this kind of game happen to many more times if at all this season. The team will enjoy the holiday tomorrow with their families and get ready for the home and home they have starting on Friday with the Blue Jackets down in Columbus then hosting them on Sunday in the return game. 

It wasn't looking good at half-time when the Spartans were down 44-34 to Washington. The second half was much different with the normal Spartan defense taking over holding the huskies to 27 pts to their 42. Kalin Lucas had another banner day showing why he was the pre-season Big Ten player of the year, scoring a new career high 29 points. While im sure the team was disappointed about losing to Connecticut last night and not playing in the championship their coach Tom Izze says they are leaving a better team then when they come here. The Spartans take third place in the EA Sports Maui Invitational and leave Hawai'i with a 4-1 record. Michigan State will welcome Tennessee Tech to the Bres' at 1 pm this Sunday.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and just enjoy the turkey tomorrow folks, gobble gobble.

Drew in the D

Kemba Walker, UCONN Hands MSU Its First Loss Of The Season

For the first time in a long time the Spartans guards got out played in a game. Kemba Walker, point guard and star of the Huskies absolutely went off tonight against the Spartans scoring 30 points giving him his 4th straight game of scoring 30+ points. Walker finished with 30 points and 4 assists and carrying his team to the upset of #2 Michigan State and tomorrows Maui Invitational final. Draymond Green recorded another double-double scoring 22 pts with 12 rebs but in the end it wasn't enough to help his team win the game. The game was close up until the final possessions when Draymond missed to free throws and Kalin Lucas threw away the ball on an errant pass sealing the win for UConn. It was another game that i'm sure coach Izzo will be disappointed with his teams effort in but they have another chance to put it together for two halves when they take on either Kentucky or Washington tomorrow in the third place game of the invitational.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and it wouldn't hurt to work on passing the ball, 14 turnovers just wont cut it if you want to win a championship this year.

Drew in the D