Datsyuk and Friends

First off, this is my first post in a LONG while. Just been real busy with school and all. So if you're reading this, thanks for reading. I really do appreciate it. As some of you may or may not know, last night marked the start of a brief partnership between then NHL and HBO focusing on the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins leading up to the 2011 NHL Winter Classic in Pittsburgh. The show was nothing short of spectacular. Ok so let's move past the fact that 99% of NHL fans can't stand either the Pens or Caps. I hate the Pens with all my heart. I can handle the Caps because Ovie is (to me) the best player in the world. But let's look at the bigger picture here: this show was flat out awesome. (For those who haven't seen the show and are planning to, I'll try to limit the spoilers.) I've never seen a show go behind the scenes in hockey. That's the real selling point for me here. It's like you're a member of the team. Hearing t

The year's first BCS rankings came out yesterday and, as always, there was controversy. I don't think they'll ever get this thing right. The one good thing? Neither Boise State or TCU were in the top 2. Thank you, computers, for not driving some Americans to harm themselves. But I digress. My beloved Michigan State Spartans have started this year's BCS ranked number 7. This is, obviously, the highest MSU has ever been ranked in the BCS. A number of students are in a state of euphoria over this feat. While this is completely understandable and acceptable, I'm here to be a voice of reason. Don't get me wrong, I want the Spartans to continue on their undefeated march just as much as the next person, but some people are going a little overboard. First, let's face it. We probably won't end up in the National Championship game. We need a lot.... LOT of help to do so. The biggest help would have to come from both Oregon and Oklahoma. I'll be rea

Before I get into my new post, I need to apologize for not posting my picks the last two weeks. Quite honestly, I've just been too excited about college football, or more specifically, my Spartans, to take the time to prognosticate. Maybe I'll get back into it, but I kinda doubt it. Short-lived, eh? Now....for those of you who pay attention to college football, or college sports in general, you would know that Ole Miss' nickname is the Rebels. This nickname, of course, has it's roots in Southern culture. Because of those roots, in 2003, their mascot, Colonel Reb, was discontinued by the university, who claimed that it was trying to change their image. They have since also discontinued displaying certain flags and playing certain songs at football games. Then, they decided to and really screw things up by changing their mascot and nickname. Fed up with the fact that their school does not have a mascot, this year students decided to hold a vote for a new mascot. T

Welcome back! We've got a light schedule in the Top 25 this week, thanks to some good matchups and a number of teams being off: (6)Nebraska (13)Utah (14)Arizona (15)Arkansas (20)South Carolina With that said, I didn't really look for any notable games this week because...well quite frankly I'm short on time. And I don't care about Notre Dame/Boston College. It's time......for the picks! TOP 25 (1)Alabama vs. (7)Florida This is one of 5 games this week pitting two ranked teams. This should be the most high-profile. Alabama and Florida are, to this point, the two best teams in the SEC. Florida is in a bit of a rebuilding phase after losing some stars from last year. Alabama returns almost their whole reigning-National Championship team. Even though on paper Alabama might have the edge, Florida could keep this one close thanks to a rising star who emerged last week. The new do-everything man for the Gators is a Freshman names Trey Burton. If you didn’t see/he

Welcome back to the blog! Last week was a week of surprises, thrills, and scares. This week there are a number of good matchups in the Top 25, so let's get right to it TOP 25 (1)Alabama @ (10)Arkansas A grudge match in the SEC. The highest-profile of 4 games pitting two ranked teams this week. Ingram, Richardson and the Tide roll in to Fayetteville (s/t to Joe Castelli) and face Heisman hopeful Ryan Mallett and the Razorbacks. Arkansas is only giving up 111 rushing yards per game, but this game may test their skill. This will be the first tough road test for the Tide, but they should prevail here. It will be close. 24-17 Tide. (2)Ohio State vs. Eastern Michigan Ahh yes. The weekly Big Ten – MAC matchup. Eastern Michigan hasn’t won a game in I-don’t-know-how-long. They won’t win this week, that’s for sure. Poor Eagles. Fun Fact: Eastern Michigan used to be known as Michigan Normal School. Michigan Normal School follows their normal pattern this week and loses big. 5

First off, I know I missed my roundup for last week. I had too much stuff going on that weekend. I may be discontinuing that column and writing this exclusively (predictions only vs. both). Regardless, I'll take a quick look at how I did last week: With 22 games on the docket last week, I ended up going 18-4, thanks in part to pants-shitting performances by Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. Moving on to this week: TOP 25 (1)Alabama @ Duke The Tide shouldn't have much of a problem here. Mark Ingram will finally play and inject some more power into an already powerful offense. 31-14 Bama (2)Ohio State vs. Ohio Ohio State comes off a big win against the Canes. This matchup should be a walkover. Don't expect the Wildcats to put up much of a fight. 42-10 Buckeyes (3)Boise State @ Wyoming The Broncos are back in action this week facing a Wyoming team that got beat down by Texas last week. The same should happen this week, although Boise's high ranking is really start

Welcome back to Datsyuk and Friends. Today, at the urging of a friend, I'm debuting my college football picks. This column will a Thursday staple for the blog. Again, I will do Top 25 matchups, and then any local or notable games. In the Monday column, I'll recap the games and tell you how I did on my picks. So without further ado: Top 25 (1)Alabama vs. (18)Penn State This will be an interesting matchup, one of many this weekend. Robert Bolden will have to grow up quickly to survive in the hostile environment in Tuscaloosa. Alabama has the deeper team, and Mark Ingram should be back contributing. I expect this game to be relatively close, but Big Ten teams play notoriously bas when they travel to the SEC. Home field advantage for Alabama takes this one. 27-14 Crimson Tide. (2)Ohio State vs. (12)Miami This should be a fun game to watch. Miami doesn’t have the firepower Ohio State does, even though they put up big numbers against Florida A&M. Miami is still mis

First off, welcome back to the blog. I've been away for quite some time now due to moving into my place at school and not getting internet right away. So thanks for coming back. I’m going to start a new segment of the blog this week. This will be a weekly report covering the world of college football. Why college and not pro, you ask? Well the answer is two-parted and quite simple:. A. I’m a college student. B. I like the passion that college players play with as opposed to my perception of “going through the motions” that pro players seem to have. Bottom line, to each his own. This segment will cover two distinctive sectors of college football: the Top 25 teams, and then Michigan teams and any other notable matchups of the week. I hope to have this segment up by Monday of each week, but since there was a Monday night game this week, it’s a little late. On to the Top 25: I will first admit that I didn’t get to watch many of these games. My own football Saturday activities t

The Little League World Series. Just the name itself makes one imagine old, hairy men lighting scented candles in their dimly lit dens, letting the candles burn until they melt and pouring the wax on their grotesque bodies for sexual stimulation while wondering what little Johnny from Davenport, Iowa is packing in his jock strap. The Little League World Series. The Summer Classic. Pedophile Month on ESPN. Whatever you call it, it is an abhorrent event that has more negatives than positives. Of course, the fact that it parades around young, hairless boys in competition at the pleasure of pedophiles worldwide is just one of the many awful facets of this annual tragedy. While I could go down the list and refute Adam's arguments for the LLWS, I believe that a good argument makes its own points and doesn't just negate the points someone else has said. So I'll be doing my best to avoid directly challenging any of Adam's points. Mostly because about 3 sentences through, I lost

Well, folks, it's that time of year again. Some might even say it's the most heartwarming, wonderful time of the year. No, I'm not talking about Christmas, or even back-to-school....I'm talking about the one, the only, Little League World Series. To some, the LLWS may seem a petty undertaking...a waste of time. I disagree. Sport, in and of itself, is good for youth. It teaches us teamwork, communication skills, and perseverance. I could go in-depth on all those sappy things, but I think the LLWS provides a number of other, better reasons for us to devote nearly a month of our television viewing time. Some of these may seem obvious, some may seem like a reach, but they're all legitimate, I promise. Among the myriad of reasons the Little League World Series is good: The kids - Everybody Most people love kids. They love watching kids do awesome things. In addition, people love watching kids embarrass themselves from time to time. This definitely happens on mo

Dear Ndamukong Suh, You are a 6'4", 307lb specimen of a human athlete. You are quite possibly the most dominant defensive lineman to come out of college in the last 10 years. You were drafted 2nd overall this year by our beloved Detroit Lions. You were drafted behind Sam Bradford and ahead of Gerald McCoy, both of whom have signed contracts. You know how much money you should be making. You said you wanted to be in camp on time. Well, this is now Day 3 of your holdout, and we Lions fans are getting sick of it. Sign the contract, Big Boy, and get into camp. Get to work so you can terrorize opposing quarterbacks and try to help restore some of the luster to Detroit football. We're sick of this crap, and just want to see you on the field. Sign a contract. Please and thanks. Best Regards, Disgruntled Loyal Detroit Lions Fans Everywhere

With the news this morning that veteran Mike Modano will be signing with the Red Wings on Thursday, I've decided to take a look at the lineup for this year. GM Ken Holland says he's still looking for another defenseman, and that may or may not happen, but let's look at who is on the roster as of now (I'm going to write the 4th line as I want to see it, not necessarily how it will play out): Forwards - Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Filppula Bertuzzi - Zetterberg - Franzen Cleary - Modano - Hudler Eaves - Helm - Abdelkader Reserve Forwards Miller, Draper, Ritola I am, of course, assuming that Helm and Abdelkader sign here in the near future. It would be a damn shame if they don't. Defense (And again, the pairings may end up being different with the young guys in the mix) - Lidstrom - Rafalski Stuart - Kronwall Ericsson - Kindl Reserve Defenseman Meech Goalies - Howard Osgood The first, obvious, thing that jumps out at me about this team is it's incredible depth. Especi

Gotta love summer classes. It seems such a simple task - condense a normal class into 7 weeks....and you're done. But oh-ho-ho how they trick you. They sucker you in and make the class ridiculous. And this can be done in more way than one. For instance, online classes. Now I know what some of you may say. "Hey Adam, online classes are so cool and easy!" Wrong. The guy who gives the lectures has an accent that is nothing short of a mix of Australian and Southern (think Louisiana type). Annoying as hell. It's nearly impossible to pay attention to the guy for more than about 5 minutes. Note-taking can be a pain in the ass, too. With one exception, it's fairly easy, actually. (I know I'm contradicting myself here, but bear with me a moment) Since the lectures are online and on a video .pdf, I can pause, rewind, skip thru, or completely rewatch lectures. That is pretty cool. But here's the major flaw. Finding time to actually watch the damn things.

If you follow Detroit sports, you surely know that our beloved Motor City Kitties got no-hit tonight. This is an embarrassment on many levels. Some of you may be saying, "Well, it's not THAT big a deal. I mean, there have already been 5 no hitters in the MLB this season, 6 if you count our very own Armando Galarraga's imperfect '28 out' perfect game." Well, you'd be wrong. It is that big of a deal, and for exactly that same reason. This is a slap in the face to the Tigers and Galarraga. The Tigers have now surrendered far too many "firsts" this year. They finished off a stellar series in Cleveland last weekend by allowing Jeanmar Gomez his first Major League win, in his first, and quite possibly only, Major League start no less (Gomez isn't exactly tearing it up in AAA, congrats, Tigers!). I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting/missing, but then we get to tonight. Going into tonight, the Tampa Bay Rays were one of 3 ac

Since I really don't know what to do for my first post on this blog, I'd like to formally welcome all readers to the Datsyuk and Friends blog. The idea for this blog was conceived by both Adam and myself. We wanted to create a blog that would be more of a group blog than an individual one, having posts from many contributors. Think of it as the perfect blog for schizophrenics. One blog, many voices. Though I think this primarily will be Adam's blog for now, I will be making my own occasional contributions to it in small segments that I've decided to put under the banner name "Moonshine." These short blogs will be exclusive to Datsyuk and Friends and cannot be read anywhere else. So please, enjoy what we are hoping will eventually become a blog that is greater than the sum of all its parts. And remember, Datsyuk's got friends in loooooow places. Where the Red Wings drown and Yzerman chases the Blues away.

As contributor MattByMoonlight has alluded to, yesterday was starlet Selena Gomez's 18th birthday. No doubt, scores of pedophiles across the globe are relieved that they can now stare at her for hours at a time. Gomez has been uncomfortably attractive until now, but pedos, normal human males, and Disney fans alike can all now stalkerishly objectify her without legal ramifications. Congrats, Selena!

Welcome to our new blog, Dastyuk and Friends . This is a joint venture with me and some friends who like to write stuff for our own entertainment, but if you enjoy it, too, then awesome! For the introductory post, I'm going to touch on my favorite sports team, the Detroit Red Wings. Seeing as the blog's namesake is Pavel Datsyuk, this seems mildly appropriate. As you may or may not know, the Wings have spent the past few weeks courting "coveted" free agent, and Michigan native, Mike Modano. GM Ken Holland and coach Mike Babcock have given their best effort to persuade Modano to join the club as their third line center. On the surface, this seems like a fantastic idea. Modano is from Westland, Michigan, about a 15 minute drive from where I live. I've played at the Mike Modano ice arena in Westland. It's a nice rink. Cold, icy, very conducive to playing the game of hockey. Unfortunately, some other things related to Mike Modano are cold and icy - his gam