Once again, the Michigan State Spartans Men’s basketball team has surprised many bracket followers by making the Sweet Sixteen.  The over-achieving Spartans, under the leadership of coach Tom Izzo, face Northern Iowa in the next round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.   MSU must feel relieved not to be facing the overall number one seeded Kansas Jayhawks, who were sent home early by Northern Iowa, but is it better to face Goliath, or the team that slayed Goliath?   Also of concern is starting point guard Kalen Lucas’ injury to his Achilles tendon, which will in all likelihood make him unavailable to play in the rest of the tournament. But without Lucas, MSU is deep, so long as other players step up like they did on Sunday.

Sparty is looking forward to getting past the Panthers for a chance to play Big Ten Co-Champion Ohio State, if they are successful in their next round game against Tennessee.

Michigan State is the last remaining team from last year’s Final Four, with Villanova’s loss to St. Marys, and UConn and North Carolina missing the tournament entirely.  All in all, a great season for the Spartans.  GO STATE!

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Nate Robertson is channeling the spirit of crafty Tigers left-handers before him. He's talking with former Tigers pitchers Kenny Rogers and Frank Tanana to get their ideas on how to work in and out, up and down in the strike zone to keep hitters off balance. Both Rogers and Tanana were hard-throwing lefties when they entered the majors, before losing their velocity and finding success by necessity, mixing their pitches later in their careers. Now Robertson is trying to do the same thing.

"They had to learn a different style of pitching," Robertson said, "and they're obviously proof how to be successful with it. It's a mindset that you have to change, because you believe in something that used to work. You get that competitive nature of wanting to really power it by guys, and all of a sudden, you have to be like, 'Well, I'm going to pull the string instead of trying to put a fastball by you.'"

This change in approach began following elbow surgery last summer and groin surgery after the season, with a realization that Robertson might not be the same pitcher that he was four years ago.

Robertson’s changeup has become more pitch for him because it makes the fastball harder to hit, despite losing a few miles per hour.

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Johnny Damon had an impact in his first game against his old team on Saturday, March 13, with an RBI single as part of a three-run second inning and a solo homer to lead off a three-run fifth.

Dontrelle Willis appears to be getting it back together, and may make the opening day roster. Willis kept a dangerous Yankees split-squad lineup relatively quiet. New York's third-inning run was the first allowed by Willis in seven innings this spring. Tigers rookie center fielder and former Yankees prospect Austin Jackson helped out Willis tremendously by running down wind-blown drives for two highlight catches in the second inning. Jeremy Bonderman added two strikeouts of Marcus Thames and retired his final four batters.

Ace Justin Verlander allowed six hits and two runs and struck out two in four innings in his second Grapefruit League start on Thursday, March 11.  Detroit starter Matt Scherzer struck out five against the Mets on Saturday..

Ryan Perry has blossomed a year after he was a surprise pick to make the bullpen at the end of camp,. Everything about the 23-year-old's game seems to be more polished, He's the only Tiger pitcher yet to allow a hit or a walk in a game, a streak at 3 2/3 innings

Rick Porcello starts for the Tigers in Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Lakeland

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MSU made an unexpected early exit from the Big Ten NCAA Men’s basketball tournament on Friday, losing in overtime to Tubby Smith’s Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Gophers seem to be surging late in the season, as they dominated the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, to advance to the tournament final game, for the first time since the Big Ten tournament began in 1998.

Let’s hope that the days off give the Spartans the rest and motivation they need to go deep into the NCAA tournament which begins on Thursday!  GO SPARTANS!

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Spring Training, 2010, has started and hope springs eternal for all fans of every major league baseball team.  The Detroit Tigers look forward to a great season this year with several additions to last year’s roster which posted a strong but disappointing 2009 season.

Miguel Cabrera, Maglio Ordonez, and Carlos Guillen look great in Grapefruit League play.  On Friday afternoon’s game against the Houston Astros, starter Phil Coke allowed a hit and a walk, but struck out three in his two innings of work. Eddie Bonine worked two quick scoreless innings, and Joel Zumaya is back, and racked up back-to-back strikeouts to escape a bases loaded situation.

It is still too early to judge the impact of losing Curtis Granderson, or the value added by his replacement, Austin Jackson, in center field.  But Johnny Damon looked great as designated hitter. 

GO TIGERS

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