Auburn's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton remains eligible and keeps his award because the NCAA determined his father, Cecil Newton, acted alone in shopping his son to a number of schools before ultimately choosing Auburn.

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo is suspended one game for employing someone at a camp who at some point had direct contact with a recruit - but not at the camp.

Now-Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari is free to go from school to school with no consequences even though each school he leaves always ends up facing sanctions.

Five Ohio State football players, including three starters, must sit out the team's first five games next season after it was discovered they sold awards, gifts and university apparel and received improper benefits in 2009. A sixth football student-athlete must sit out the first game in 2011 for receiving discounted services in violation of NCAA rules. If the suspension is upheld, Pryor's first game will be Oct. 8 against Nebraska.

NCAA makes rules as it goes
The NCAA says the players - Mike Adams, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Terrelle Pryor, Solomon Thomas and Jordan Whiting can still play Jan. 4 in the Sugar Bowl because of "inadequate rules education." Ohio State's first five games next year are against Akron, Toledo, at Miami (Fl.), Colorado and Michigan State.

The violations fall under the NCAA’s preferential treatment bylaws. They should fall under the NCAA's "We throw the hammer down when we want" bylaws.

The hypocrisy of the NCAA is astounding. How can that group even have a shred of credibility after it basically makes up rules as the situation allows?

The OSU players said the money earned from selling the items - Big Ten championship rings, jerseys, etc. - went to help their families. That's debatable, of course. What isn't debatable, though, is the lack of consistency in the NCAA rules.

In the case of Newton, all he needed to do was play dumb to maintain his eligibility. How stupid must Reggie Bush feel after he "voluntarily" returned his 2005 award? And why don't all these Buckeye players just say "My parents sold those things without my knowledge" so they, too, can maintain their eligibility?

The NCAA is displaying hypocrisy of the highest order.

"You can prostitute out your son to a bunch of schools. We'll let that go. You can be a certified dirtbag. We'll let that go. But don't do what all other celebrities do and use your name to get free stuff. We'll kill you for that."

If Ohio State is smart, it will look into similar occurrences and fight the ruling.

In 2002, a group of Georgia players sold SEC championship rings and was initially disciplined. But the NCAA didn't uphold suspensions because a rule on selling memorabilia wasn't clear.

Athletes are exploited
Money will always be an issue for college athletes. In the two biggest revenue-generating sports (basketball, football), most of the players come from nothing. That isn't to say they can use their families economic situation to break rules. But I sometimes understand why they do it.

Imagine walking around on a beautiful campus seeing people wearing a jersey featuring the number you wear as big as day on the front. Imagine playing in a stadium 7-8 times a fall in front of 112,000 people who came to see you. Then imagine not having money to take a girl out to dinner. Or not having enough cash to go in on a pizza with some of your boys.

At some point, you would think, "This school is making a mint off me. And I can't even take my girl out?"

The NCAA and these institutions can get rich off these kids and the kids get nothing. I hate the argument about the "student-athletes" getting a scholarship. The scholarship is great. I would have given anything to have had all my schooling paid for. But it'd also be great if all the athletes did something with those degree, like graduate. The whole concept of the student-athlete is a joke, but that's another issue.

Schools give out scholarships to science majors, too. And those science majors are allowed to work and take whatever they want from whoever they want. Both the athlete and the academic have to keep a certain grade-point average. And the academic has to keep a substantially higher GPA, I know. But the school isn't making millions off the academic. And 112,000 people aren't paying $50 a ticket to see the science major do a chemistry experiment.

Think about this: Ohio State annually brings in $20 million on tickets sales alone. But Pryor can't sell a ring given to him to, allegedly, help his mother out? How is that fair? How is it right some OSU players, allegedly, swapped autographs for tattoos that probably cost no more than $150, but those same players can take $500 worth of schwag from the sponsor of whatever bowl game they're in?

Reggie Bush made USC millions. The school wants nothing to do with him. But his coach, who likely knew about everything going on, is free to take any job he likes.

Chris Webber did the same for the University of Michigan, but he can't go on campus or even donate money for a few more years. I still see "MICHIGAN 4" jerseys every now and then. So what if there's no name on back. Had Rob Pelinka been No. 4, how many of those jerseys would the NCAA and school have sold?

Stipends may be the answer
With the Newton ruling, the NCAA may have opened Pandora's Box. Language in the rules should be revisited ASAP, or you'll have every recruit in the country on the take. What makes the Ohio State case even worse is the NCAA wants to punish these students when it doesn't cost the NCAA a dime. I could've sworn we lived in a capitalist society. Or am I wrong.

That capitalism may only be set up to benefit a few, though, since all the OSU players will be on the field for the team's bowl game against Arkansas. That's all about money, too. No way the NCAA and ESPN were going to risk the loss of ad revenue by not having Pryor on the field. But who cares about some early September game against Akron on the Big Ten Network, right? Again, it's perfectly acceptable for the NCAA and TV networks to line their pockets. But curse the kids who tries to make a few dollars!!!

A much simpler way to attempt to fix the problem is paying college athletes. Most of the cases have the players taking small amounts, anyway. Why not just pay them (olympic sport athletes included) a stipend each semester of, say, $1,500-$3,000? All they want the money for is a pair of sneakers and maybe to take a girl to see a movie.

A university typically has about 500 athletes. Let's say OSU paid all 500 $2,000 each semester. That would only add up to the school spending about $2,000,000 each year (Remember, OSU makes $20 million a year in ticket sales alone). I know there would be some players who wouldn't think that amount would suffice. Throw the book at those guys. But I'm inclined to believe those greedy players would think a little harder about the decision they make if they know it can kill long-term prospects.

To take it a step further, athletes who are "the face of a team," such as Pryor, should get royalties from jersey sales. Why should people who already have money be allowed to get richer, while these players are held back. Sure, Pryor could make millions in the NFL, but there's no guarantee of that.

Realistically, the only way to put a stop to all this is if someone successfully sues the NCAA. But how long would that court case last? Years.

Hypocrisy of the higher order. That's what the NCAA exhibits time and time again.

I guess I'm no better. Here I am calling the group to the carpet, yet I'm infatuated with the product they put out.

If the NCAA can ride both sides of the fence, so can I.

As just about everyone knows, Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio suffered a heart attack early Sunday morning after the Spartans’ unbelievable overtime win over Notre Dame.

Dantonio, 54, has since had an angioplasty and been released from the hospital. When he will return to the sidelines is yet to be determined.

Heart ailments are no joke. It’s good Coach D’s wife was able to get him to the hospital shortly after he began to take ill, or the talk around East Lansing may have been on something other than Coach’s, um, guts in calling for a fake field goal down three in extra play to Notre Dame.

Someone did decide to make light of a very serious situation, though, and it was totally uncalled for.

Matt Patrick, a morning radio host for South Bend, Ind., news/talk station 95.3 MNC, Tuesday morning got in front of a camera for a short video podcast and said God caused Dantonio to have a heart attack because MSU cheated the Irish. His reasoning was that the play clock had expired before the snap on the game’s final play.

“The moral of the story is you mess around with the Fighting Irish, you cheat on the last play of the game, overtime, and beat the Irish, God is going to get you,” Patrick said.

A little research found Patrick, a 30-year radio veteran, Tuesday was hosting just his seventh show with the station, which leads me to believe his comments served as nothing more than a way to gain listeners and draw traffic to the station website.

More research found Patrick is an avid Notre Dame supporter, which would normally raise an eyebrow, but most radio host have strong ties to teams in their area and make their feelings known.

He has since issued an apology in video form on the station’s website after reports of several Spartan fans calling the general manager of the station voicing their displeasure with Patrick’s distasteful, classless, idiotic remarks — and after pressure from said GM, I presume.

The comments shouldn’t have ever been made.

I joke all the time about games giving me heart attacks. As an MSU fan and alum and well-known sports psycho, I make that joke frequently. I decided to come up with some new material after Dantonio’s episode because heart ailments among college football coaches is becoming an alarming trend.

Florida coach Urban Meyer retired then unretired after suffering a heart attack last winter. Northwestern head coach Randy Walker, 52, died following a heart attack in July 2006.

The job is a stressful one. Running practice and watching film 20 hours a day; not being able to spend ample time with your family and friends; and worrying about 100-plus kids and hoping they don’t decide to do anything stupid.

When episodes such as Dantonio’s take place, they’re no laughing matter.

Maybe the guy was just mad his team lost. I’d be upset, too, if I supported a team that replaced one coach, Charlie Weis, with a (slightly) slimmer version — Brian Kelly, who coaches the same style Weis did. Neither is known for their defense, which has failed the Irish in each of the last two weeks. There are already rumblings Notre Dame fans are souring on Kelly.

Maybe Patrick wanted to deflect from the fact Notre Dame is the most overrated program in college football the last 25 years.
The last time Notre Dame football did anything significant, cell phones looked like laptops and MTV still featured music videos.

What big-time recruit wants to play there these days? No 17-year-old kid cares about the history of Notre Dame. No 17-year-old kid cares enough to learn the history of the Irish, either.

Maybe God hates Notre Dame. How many times in recent years has the team played well enough to get fans’ hopes up and made it to a BCS game only to get destroyed by a better team?

Patrick was talking about karma when he made his comments. If there were any real karma, he’d be searching the classifieds right now.

My boys and I every summer have a night where we decide to set the win totals of our favorite teams.

The best part about the whole process is it usually takes place about the time a White Castle tastes like a filet, which makes for some interesting predictions and discussion.

Last year, everybody was saying Michigan State, our alma mater, would win nine or 10 games. Everybody called me crazy for saying we'd top out at seven wins. State finished 6-7.

This year, I've hopped over to the other side of the fence. And this year, people are saying I'm as crazy as Kourtney Kardashian's baby daddy.

That's because I think MSU is going to be playing in Pasadena on New Year's Day 2011. Yes, I have my reasons. and, no, I haven't been hanging out with Paris Hilton.

Please, if you're gonna laugh, wait until the end.

Schedule plays into MSU’s hands
As a Spartan alum, I know MSU football handles prosperity as well as Lindsay Lohan, but the Spartans would have to quit at various points in the season to not win at least nine games. That or run awry of some frat boys.

Of the 12 games on MSU’s slate, seven are at Spartan Stadium against perennial powers such as Western Michigan (Sept. 4), Northern Colorado (Sept. 25) and Minnesota — a team many have picked to finish dead last in the Big Ten this season (Nov. 6).

The rest of the “home” slate includes Florida Atlantic Sept. 11 (I don’t care if the game is at Ford Field and is supposed to be a home game for FAU. It’s a home game for MSU, even if the Owls will recoup the gate), Notre Dame (Sept. 19), Wisconsin (Oct. 2), Illinois for Homecoming (Oct. 16), and Purdue (Nov. 20).

The only real toughie in the Spartans first eight games should come when the Badgers, ranked No. 12 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches polls, travel to East Lansing. It’ll be Wisconsin’s first test after games at UNLV, and home against San Jose State, Arizona State and Austin Peay. Seriously. Who makes these non-conference schedules? Duncan Hines?

While the Badgers will be a top-20 team all season, the first game in a hostile environment could have Wisconsin rattled, enabling MSU to eek out a win.

On top of that, the Spartans don’t even leave the state of Michigan until Oct. 23 when they travel to Northwestern, where MSU has won two straight and lead the all-time series, 34-16.

The remainder of the Spartans’ road slate consists of on Oct. 9 going to Ann Arbor to face a Michigan team that may have quit on John L. Rodriguez by then, No. 9/10 Iowa on Devil’s Night and at a play MSU never wins — Nov. 27 in Happy Valley against No. 19/14 Penn State.

Rivalry games against Notre Dame and at The Out House will naturally provide tests for the Spartans, but Notre Dame implementing a new scheme that includes a no-huddle offense and the loss of several players slated to make an impact this season for Michigan in its secondary should prove too much for those squads to overcome. Both games will be shootouts, but I think the overall experience of MSU’s personnel will be the difference.

With a schedule as strong as Michelle Pfeiffer’s eggs in “Scarface,” MSU has a realistic shot at starting 8-0 going into November. Cold-weather home wins against the Gophers and Boilermakers should be a given at that point in the season — if the Spartans are for real. So going 1-2 against Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions would put MSU at 10-2, 6-2 in the Big Ten. It's not out of the realm of possibility that MSU could win two of those three games, since Wisconsin is at home and I don't think Penn State will be any good this season. And I say that knowing we win in Happy Valley as often as Charles Barkley refuses a second Krispy Kreme.

That 10-2 finish would give the Spartans their best record since they finished 10-2 following the 1999 season. It could also likely put them in some sort of tie with Iowa and/or Wisconsin for second place in the conference.

Winning that tiebreaker would be crucial for any of those three teams because that second-place finish would send them to Pasadena and the 2011 Rose Bowl (I’ll get to who’ll win the Big Ten later).

I think MSU has the best shot to win that tiebreaker for one huge reason other than its creampuff schedule.

Part II coming tomorrow

In the end, Michigan State head basketball coach Tom Izzo opted to stay with the girl who has been so good to him for a number of years, and who he's had more highs than lows with instead of leaving for the new girl with the fake ... you know.

Izzo tonight said he'll be a Spartan for life. And with that, Spartan Nation breathed a big sigh of relief. Myself included.

A number of MSU alums and fans said they wouldn't be mad if Izzo, the winningest coach in the history of the school, did decide to take his coaching acumen to the NBA, but I wouldn't have believed any of them had they told me they wouldn't shed a tear.

But he didn't. Now, instead of putting his future in the hands of some grown men who may or may not take his coaching lessons to heart, Izzo will return to a lockerroom full of kids who know what listening to his lessons can lead to.

But what made Izzo, who has spent nearly enough time in East Lansing that he could earn a pension, decide to stay with the Green & White? Why didn't the fiery coach leave for "greener pastures."

What went through in mind during this process?

Was it the recruiting trips? One of which led him to a player he would name his first son after.

Was it the thought of leaving everything he's built in East Lansing, including the Berkowitz Basketball Complex?

Was it the desire to remain an institution in a city and state vs. becoming just a coach in a league?

Was it knowing that, by staying, he'd continue to help turn boys into men, teaching discipline and teamwork vs. babysitting millionaires who only care about themselves?

Was it the run he made to the Final Four with his team this spring?

Was it all the lessons all the players learned about each other and themselves during that run?

Was it knowing he'd be returning to the majority of the major parts of that team, which will likely be favored to win the 2011 National Championship?

Was it knowing winning that championship, his second, would put Izzo in select company?

Was it knowing he can get titles 3, 4, and 5 in short order?

Was it realizing college coaches are loved and remembered for ages and many things beyond winning, while pro coaches are known just for winning?

I'm sure all those things and then some went into Izzo's thought process. Whatever it was, he made the right decision.

There comes a time in a lot of relationships when one party feels the need to explore other options. This can be for any number of reasons - see what else is out there, see what life is like without the person you're leaving.

Sometimes a couple realizes they can't live without each other. Other instances result in the two going their separate ways.

That line of thinking extends beyond dating. It can also apply to business and employment. And this has to be playing a role in Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo's thinking while he is being courted by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Proven track record
Izzo has been a part of the MSU coaching staff since 1983. He took over head coaching duties from Jud Heathcoate - his mentor and confidante - in 1995. Since taking the reins 15 years ago, Izzo has made a helluva name for himself.

Izzo is currently the longest-tenured coach in the Big Ten. He is the winningest coach in MSU history. In 1998, MSU began a streak of 13 straight NCAA tournament appearances, which is the 5th longest current streak among Division I teams. During that run only Kansas/North Carolina coach Roy Williams has as many NCAA tournament wins as Tom Izzo (35). Izzo also joins Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Pittsburgh/UCLA coach Ben Howland as the only three coaches that have made three consecutive Final Fours since the NCAA tournament bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Izzo has coached his squads to six regular-season Big Ten championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles, six NCAA Final Four appearances, and one NCAA national championship - in 2000. Since he became head coach at MSU, every player he has recruited and who completed their full eligibility has gone to the Final Four. Eighty-two percent of his players who completed their eligibility left MSU with a degree.

No "What Ifs" allowed
It is because of all Izzo has accomplished in his time in my home away from home for five years - East Lansing - that I wouldn't be the least bit upset if he took the Cavs job he has reportedly been offered.

For all he has done for our basketball program, and school, Izzo has built up plenty of goodwill with the MSU fanbase and has earned the right to take a shot at coaching at the highest level in his profession - the NBA.

Sure, the odds of him succeeding are slim to none - if you look at the list of other college coaches who took the NBA plunge (only Larry Brown has won both an NCAA and NBA Title) - but I'd be willing to bet Izzo isn't the type of person who wants to be saying "What If" when he's 80 years old. The reported five-year, $30 million deal Cavs owner and MSU Alum Dan Gilbert has on the table for Izzo can't hurt, either. Neither can the prospect of coaching one of the 10 most talented/psychically imposing players in league history.

Stay on task
At the other end of the spectrum, you have the commitment Izzo has made to not explore any other head coaching opportunities until he leads the Spartans to a third national title, which would be his second as coach.

How much criticism would Izzo get for leaving a team that will likely be ranked No. 1 in every major poll going into the 2010-11 season? That same team, likely to be picked to win the 2011 national title, returns nearly every major cog in a squad that is coming off back-to-back Final Fours, along with what is arguably Izzo's best recruiting class. The Spartans will be a legit 13 deep this upcoming season - and 10 deep in 2011-12. These are all things Izzo knows.

He also knows he has his office in the Berkowitz Complex as long as he wants it. And that the Spartan fanbase will always be in his corner. What he doesn't know, and what is the biggest wildcard in this entire situation, is if Cavs star LeBron James will re-sign with the team this summer. I'm almost positive that's why no one has heard from Izzo regarding Cleveland's attempt to woo him.

Say Izzo agrees to take the job later this month, but James signs elsewhere. Where does that leave him AND the Cavs organization? Izzo would then be saddled with a team full of less-than players, most likely playing in front of crowds no bigger than 7,500 on any given night. Yea, Izzo would have his $30 million, and nothing much else beyond that. But he most likely wouldn't make it to the end of his contract. If James decides Izzo's the man he wants to play for, it's a completely different situation.

So, no, I won't be upset with Izzo if he decides to test the NBA waters. But I do hope he sees what he has at MSU and decides that life is great in East Lansing.

Last weekend, some friends and I made the trek for Indianapolis for what we thought would be a celebratory Saturday in which our Spartans would continue their march to a third national title.

By now, everyone knows it didn't go the way we would have liked, but something good came out of the trip.

Early Saturday morning, my friends and I met up with some friends at the Columbia Club, a swank hotel in the heart of downtown Indy that I'm surprised they let me in. It was there that we became aware of something called Maguire University.

You know the movie "Accepted" where Justin Long's character makes up a college? Well, Maguire University is sort of like that. It's a fictitious school "established" in 1963 by a group of Chicago high school basketball coaches for the sole purpose of getting tickets to the Final Four. The group has been in every city that has hosted the Final Four for the past 45 years.

According to literature from the gathering, where there were libations as far as the eye could see, the idea was put into fruition by High School basketball coach Len Tyrrell at Maguire's Pub in Forest Park, Ill. The NCAA fell for it, and so did at least one real school: the U.S. Air Force Academy, which contacted Tyrrell (Maguire's self-proclaimed "Chancellor") and asked to play his nonexistent team.

Maguire (nicknamed "the Jollymen") received Final Four tickets for two years, until a writer wrote about the scam in The Chicago Tribune. Naturally, the NCAA - the fun-loving group it is - was not amused. The coaches then had to acquire their own tickets, and at least one of them has attended every Final Four (or, as they call it, Final Five) ever since. Maguire's motto, "We Play Hurt," is a reference to the hangovers accrued by Maguire's "students." Everyone in my group has wristbands or pins that feature the motto, which I will wear proudly wherever I go this summer. Even church.

So this made-up school has been at every Final Four for the past 45 years. For its "students," getting there is as easy as booking a flight and making hotel reservations.

For REAL teams, it's much more difficult than that. But here's a look at 10 squads I think have the best shot of getting to Houston for next year's "Final Five."

Waaaay too early 2010-11 Top 10

1. Michigan State - Minus Raymar Morgan, MSU returns six guys who have played in the last two Final Fours and welcomes in one of the top five recruiting classes in the country.
2. Purdue - The Boilers lose defensive stalwart Chris Kramer and Keaton Grant from a team that was ranked in the top 7 most of last season. Minus another freak injury, and if Lewis Jackson can stay healthy, Purdue should challenge for the title in 2011.
3. Butler - The Bulldogs should dominate the Horizon League once again and with everyone of consequence returning, save for Willie Veasley. With its roster in tact and its tournament run, Butler should be able to parlay that exposure into a high national ranking.
4. Duke - The Blue Devils lose three starters, including their starting power forward and center, but Duke's perimeter depth should rival MSU's with Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler, Andre Dawkins and transfer Seth Curry (younger brother of former Davidson star Stephen Curry).
5. Georgetown - If Greg Monroe is smart, he'll stay in college another year. If that happens, the Hoyas return everyone from last season and the team should be in revenge mode after being bounced early from the tournament this year.
6. Kansas State - KSU's floor general, Denis Clemente, and banger Luis Colon graduate, but the Wildcats bring back potential lottery pick Jacob Pullen and his spectacular beard, along with Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels. All three scored in double figures last season.
7. Ohio State - Losing the best player in the country would hurt any team, but Evan Turner (presumably) skipping his senior season may not be that big a blow to a Buckeye team that returns Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year David Lighty, Jon Diebler and William Buford. OSU also brings in the best recruiting class money could buy.
8. Pittsburgh - The Panthers overachieved this season and snuck up on people. That won't happen next year.
9. North Carolina - Call this season one of growing pains for the Tar Heels. There's too much talent on that roster for UNC to struggle two years in a row. Bringing in the No. 1 player in the country - Harrison Barnes - doesn't hurt, either.
10. Florida - The Gators will return with their entire starting 5 in tact from a tournament team. Couple that with the losses other teams in the SEC (Kentucky, Tennessee) will suffer because of graduation and guys leaving early, and Florida should won the SEC next year.

I'm a very, VERY superstitious person when it comes to the Michigan State basketball team.

I always tell myself, and whoever will listen to me without punching me in the kidneys, that we're gonna lose every tournament game. Some might look at it like reverse psychology, I call it hoping for the best and expecting the worst.

Basketball makes me a nervous wreck. It got so bad during the Elite Eight match-up against Tennessee that I had my back turned to the TV for the last 10 seconds of the game. For the entire second half, I shook like somebody with warrants during a routine traffic stop. My knees were shaking so badly that they sounded like I was constantly banging two rocks together.

My friends and I are all spread out since Graduation. The shaking got so bad Sunday that when Tennessee's Scotty Hopson stepped to the free throw line late in the game, a text I sent one of my best friends read like this: "I'm nnot watchsin the enxt free throw. I cant ype because skahingi"

And, yes, I do realize it's unhealthy to reach that level of anxiety because of a basketball game.

Now, since we're in our sixth Final Four since 1999 and second straight, with no squad as talented as last year's North Carolina team left in the field, I can't help but be a little optimistic.

I only need to look at the venue (Indianapolis) and a couple other interesting tidbits for that inspiration.

-We're playing in a city where coach Tom Izzo is undefeated (7-0) in NCAA Tournament games.
-Last time MSU played in a Final Four in the Circle City, 2000, the team cut down the nets after winning the school's second national title.
-In 1979, the year the Spartans captured their first national title, MSU played a mid-major team from Indiana (Indiana State) with a versatile forward who had the look of an NBA prospect (Larry Bird).
-In 2010, State is playing a mid-major team from Indiana (Butler) with a versatile forward who could be a pro (Gordon Hayward).
-In 2000, MSU in its national semifinal game was matched up against a team known for its lockdown defense in Wisconsin, which State beat, 53-41.
-Saturday, the Spartans will be matched up against a team in Butler that hasn't given up more than 59 points in four games so far during this tournament. MSU has proven to be one of the few teams in the tournament that can play fast or slow.
-In 2000, only one "blue-blood" program, besides MSU, made it to that year's Final Four: North Carolina, which made its 15th appearance that spring. Florida and Wisconsin both were making their second appearances.
-In 2010, only one "blue-blood" program, besides MSU (eight Final Fours), made it to this years Final Four: Duke, making its 15th appearance. This weekend's games mark the first and second Final Fours for Butler and West Virginia, respectively.

It's not in my nature to pick us to win, but I can't help be confident with all the parallels between the past and this weekend. All week, talking heads, newspapers columnists and radio show callers have made a big deal about the fact MSU has won each of its four tournament games by a total of 13 points and the fact that the Spartans have trailed in the second half of each game. Wouldn't you go with the team that can win a close game?

Some people have said next year is the year for MSU, with the highly-touted recruiting class the Spartans have coming in and the returnees on the roster. People said the same thing about Duke in 1991 - that '92 was the Blue Devils year. Duke won back-to-back titles in those two years. I think the same will happen for the Spartans.

Predictions
Semifinal One
MSU-74
Butler-67

Semifinal Two
Duke-78
West Virginia-73

National Championship
MSU-79
Duke-75

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go put everything I have on Butler.

-6'8"

-230 pounds

-Four-year starter

-Averaged double-figure points and around 6 board a game his entire career, along with shooting about 51 percent from the field

-The ability to score on the wing, combined with the skills to get buckets in the paint

-Can guard multiple positions

That looks like the resume of an NBA Lottery pick, right?

What about when you add this in:

-Looks lost on the court at times

-Sulks when things don't go his way

-No-shows entire games at times

-A bit of a whiner

That looks like the attributes of an athlete with the mental acumen of Ron Artest.

But that's been, for better or worse, what MSU has gotten from Raymar Morgan the last four years. Morgan shows flashes of brilliance at times - like averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds over State's final three regular season games. Those were all wins MSU HAD to have, and Raymar was easily the best player on the floor in each contest.

Then there's the other side of it, like when Morgan had a five-game stretch of 0, 8, 8, 6 and 4 points when MSU lost three of five, and the lead in the Big Ten, early last month.

That's what kills me. I get more upset when Ray has a great game (WHY THE #%$* CAN'T YOU PLAY THIS WAY ALL THE TIME?!?) than I do when he goes out and gives a performance that rivals the acting in "Homeboys From Outer Space." How weird is that? There's so much potential there, but he hasn't fully harnessed it. He's faced injuries and illness during his time in East Lansing, but more often than not, Morgan has played like Rasheed Wallace: great skills and talent, but no real desire to be The Man.

Look at Texas' Damion James. I've been telling my boys all season that he and Raymar are the exact same player: same size, skill set, everything. But James doesn't take nights off (he's scored in double figures in 28 of Texas' 31 games and has 15 double-doubles this season) and is projected as a top-15 pick in this summer's NBA Draft. Morgan - because of his inconsistent play and demeanor at times, not is level of skill - will be lucky to latch on with a team overseas.

But Ray can redeem himself if he carries his good play from the end of the regular season into the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.

The most frustrating thing about that?

Nobody knows if he will.

Last week, I told a friend the four teams in the best position to lock up Number One seeds in the NCAA Tournament were Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Michigan State.

A week and three killer losses later, MSU (19-6, 9-3 Big Ten) has fallen out of that group.

It's amazing what an 8-day stretch can do in sports. A team can go from looking like Christina Milian to resembling something out of "Daybreakers." That's what's happened to the Spartans. Their last three opponents (Wisconsin, Illinois and Purdue) all shot better than 50 percent against MSU's defense. The three Ls came by an average of 12 points and players who had been steady for the lion's share of the season - Draymond Green and Durrell Summers - played like you'd think Tiger Woods would have the last few years with all the things he'd been hiding.

Ankle injury to reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas aside, MSU hasn't put a complete game together since blasting Northwestern by 21 Jan. 2 in Evanston. Sure, the 9-0 start in conference LOOKED good, until you realize it came against the Wildcats, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Hickory High, Carver High and the high school from "Hang Time." One of those wins was against Illinois, but that was before the Illini hit their current stride. There are good things that came out of that stretch, though. We saw that MSU could win tough games in hard-to-win gyms (Williams Arena); and we saw how clutch Lucas is.

That's why I'm not jumping off the bandwagon. These are the dog days of the college season. Sure, you want your team to go undefeated every year, but the likelihood of that happening is about as high as Kevin Federline's vertical leap. Two of the teams now on State's tail in the Big Ten title race (Purdue, Ohio State) had three-game skids of their own, now they look like they could make deep tournament runs. Plus, I trust coach Tom Izzo to straighten his guys out and find a way to make a deep run of their own.

Another thing on MSU's side is the upcoming schedule. Four of the Spartans' remaining six games are against three of the four worst teams in the conference (Michigan, Penn State and Indiana). Those three teams have combined to go 8-26 in Big Ten games. MSU gets Ohio State at home Feb. 21 and travels to West Lafayette to take on the Boilermakers Feb. 28.

I think MSU will straighten things out and go 5-1 in its last six games. That's due in part to having four games against teams that couldn't win a wheelchair basketball league and partly because there's too much pride and talent in East Lansing for the slide to continue.

Look for the Spartans to finish 24-7, 14-4 and share the regular season title with Purdue. After having my hopes of a one seed dashed in a week's time, I'm looking for the Spartans to be no lower than a three seed in the Big Dance.

What happens from there? Who knows.

With news coming out that eight Michigan State football players have been suspended indefinitely following their involvement in a dorm brawl Nov. 22, head coach Mark Dantonio must take a stand immediately and tell everyone on that roster he won't stand for this anymore.

An alleged fight the night before - after the team played Andy Dufresne to Penn State's The Sisters - at a club supposedly led to the fracas, where 15 MSU players were allegedly in attendance, 10 of whom are said to have been involved. Of the eight who have been suspended, three (WR B.J. Cunningham, WR Mark Dell and CB Chris L. Rucker) get significant playing time.

I don't understand how not even ONE of the players thought to say "We stand more to lose than anybody in all this, so let's just squash it." They messed it up for everyone on the team. No more second chances. One mistake, you're gone. When you're trying to build a program and establish a reputation, things of this nature cannot be tolerated.

The frat boys who the players went after still get to do whatever they want. The idiots who ski-masked up, what do they get? Less practice time, no bowl game, criminal charges possibly, and in the case of Roderick Jenrette and Glenn Winston, no more football.

It's not like this was an immediate reaction, all of these guys had time, nearly an entire day, to think about it and still none of them though, "this probably won't end well."

Winston got two shots, now I don't know what's gonna happen to him. I always thought Dantonio giving him a second chance essentially saved his life, now I don't know what's gonna become of him. How can somebody be so dumb?

Dantonio has to be smart in all this, because a pattern is forming in East Lansing.

The MSU coach allowed Winston to return to the squad late last summer after he served four months in jail for an October 2008 assault in which an MSU hockey player was seriously injured.

Dantonio also threw Jenrette off the team for the entire 2008 season to attempt to fix unknown personal problems before giving him his roster spot back in 2009.

I don't care who it is. I don't care if Kirk Cousins gets caught trying to take the bell out of Beaumont Tower, he has to go.

I don't care if Larry Caper gets caught trying to take an extra steak or handful of fries at dinner. He has to go.

These types of incidents can't keep happening. Dantonio is the best football coach MSU has had in eons. I know he wants to win, but it can't be at all costs, especially at the cost of tarnishing the university's name.

Sports have always served as a distraction for fans.

Watching a football game can, for a little while, make people forget what ails them.

Not around here. Not this fall.

The last couple months have been awful for fans of local teams. I've gotten to the point that I'd rather watch a Maury Povich marathon than watch a football game featuring one of our teams.

The University of Michigan has pulled an MSU: start fast and fade.

The Spartans have performed well below expectations (not mine, though) and will be lucky to play in a bowl game.

And the Lions have been, well, the Lions.

Fast forward to hockey and basketball season, and the Pistons, while they'll be entertaining, likely won't make the playoffs. And the area's one consistently really good franchise, the Red Wings, stumbled out of the gate (tied for second in the Central Division with Chicago, one point behind Columbus) and will be in a fight all year to make hockey's second season.

I know it's extremely early in the game, but if the playoffs started this weekend, fans of the two Detroit teams that have seen the most success in recent years would have to find a second squad to root for because their hometown team would be watching postseason action at Bdubs with the rest of us.

Things could get much better, though, come winter.

The Spartan men's hoops team is ranked second in the nation (behind Kansas, a team MSU beat twice last season) in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls. Michigan's hoop squad is ranked 15th in both polls, as the Wolverines will look to build on last season's trip to the Big Dance - their first since 1998.

So there may be some light at the end of this long tunnel, but right now, being a Detroit sports fan is about as fun as watching DVR'd episodes of NOVA on a Saturday night.

I'm friends with a lot of Michigan fans.

Most of the time, they're not that bad (I'm being nice), but some of them have been unbearable the last couple days.

They talk about how State fans are hanging their hats on beating Michigan in OT last weekend and how that win "makes State's season."

Although I know they're just responding in the way a jilted lover would, that statement isn't entirely false.

We needed that win Saturday. Starting 1-4, 0-2 in the Big Ten, would have been catastrophic. An already reeling fan base would have jumped off the ledge. But that win could have come against anyone and it still would have been a big deal.

I don't care if it had come against the Monroe School for Paraplegics, State (2-3, 1-1) had to have that win. Sure, in the process we beat Michigan in back-to-back years for the first time since before "Good Times" was on the air, but that was minor - to me, at least. Hopefully it breathed some life back into the roster. And with the way the schedule's set up, MSU should be able to build on the win.

State travels to Champagne to take on Illinois this weekend. The Illini is 1-3, 0-2 in conference, and coming off two demoralizing losses to the class of the Big Ten (Ohio State and Penn State, respectively). It's gotten so bad that Illinois coach Ron Zook Monday announced he's benching senior quarterback Juice Williams (1 TD, 4 picks this season) in favor of junior Eddie McGee, who started in the team's lone win this season over Illinois State Sept. 12. If that doesn't scream PANIC, I don't know what does. In the team's three losses, Illinois has been outscored 102-26. State should win this game. Now watch McGee come out and go 26/34 for 417 yards and 4 TDs.

MSU welcomes Northwestern to East Lansing Oct. 17. Neither MSU or NW has done anything impressive this season,but I'll take MSU's one semi-big win over Michigan over all of the Wildcats' victories (vs. Towson and Eastern Michigan and at Purdue). MSU was able to go to Evanston last year, when Northwestern had a much better team, and beat the Wilcats, 37-20, despite being dominated statistically. Northwestern lost it's top three receivers from a year ago, its top running back and starting quarterback all to graduation.

State SHOULD in theory be able to come out on top here, as well, bringing MSU's mark on the season to 4-3, 3-1 in the Big Ten before undefeated Iowa (vs. Michigan Oct. 10, at Wisconsin Oct. 17) comes calling Oct. 24 for a night game. However, the last two times the Wildcats have come to East Lansing, Northwestern is 2-0 and has scored 97 points to MSU's 55. That includes a 49-14, Joe Jackson-esque whooping at Homecoming in 2005. The only reason fans even stayed at that game past halftime was to see if they won the 50/50.

So, yea, winning the UM game might have made MSU's season. We won't know that for a couple months, though.

I had this thing in college with our athletic teams where before every big game, I would walk around telling everybody, "We're gonna lose. I have a bad feeling about this."

My friends caught on quickly, recognizing it was a form of reverse psychology or a "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" approach.

That was easy with MSU's hoops team. The basketball team has been like Halle Berry: consistently good with a couple of hiccups (Catwoman/The 2006 season). The football squad on the other hand has been like Fergie. You think there's something there sometimes, but more often than not, you have a "meh" reaction.

Maybe that's the approach I was taking about a month ago when I predicted MSU to finish 7-5 and play in the Insight Bowl. Everyone and their mother had picked State to finish 9-3 or 10-2 and challenge for the Big Ten crown. I knew better.

I'll admit: I was wrong about the quarterback play. I thought Kirk Cousins OR Keith Nichol would struggle with being "The Man." Cousins (60.6 completion percentage, 7 TDs, 2 picks) has played well this season. Nichol has not. Nichol has 5 TD tosses and 2 interceptions. Two of those scores came in mop-up duty after last week's debacle in Wisconsin had already been decided.

I was right about the possibility of a lack of a running game. Through a quarter of the season, as a team, MSU is averaging 117.8 yards/game. That's good for 10th in the Big Ten. The team's longest run of the season, a whopping 25-yard scamper, belongs to Nichol. To top things off, we have three rushing touchdowns. That'd make sense if we were Texas Tech, but this is the Big Ten. You can't win if you can't run the ball.

I had no idea the defense would be this bad, though. Outside of Greg Jones (second in the FBS with 52 tackles, 4.5 TFL) no one on the defensive side of the ball has played well. Take away State's lone win vs. Montana State and the defense is giving up about 33 points/game. State's opponents are 12-12 in the Red Zone and converting nearly half their third-down plays. The team can't come up with a set 11, shuffling defensive backs and lineman in and out of the lineup.

That's what worries me most about the Michigan game. UM leads the Big Ten in scoring (37.5 ppg) and rush offense (240.3 yards/game, good for 8th in the country). Why does that scare me? State can't tackle. The guys on defense probably whiff on the dummies in practice. When a team has as many guys who are capable of making big plays with their feet as Michigan does, that doesn't bode well, especially if you CAN'T TACKLE.

Tomorrow's game is tailor-made for a UM blowout. The forecast is calling for 52 and rainy. Tate Forcier, AKA The Father, Son AND Holy Ghost, who's nursing an injured shoulder, may not have to make more than 10 throws for Michigan to win. Handing the ball off to Carlos Brown or Brandon Minor 35-40 times could do the trick. Remember that stat I threw out about MSU's long rush for the season? It wasn't even for a score. None of State's long rushes have been for scores. Michigan has three runs of more than 30 yards (31, 43 and 90 yards) that have directly resulted in six points.

State's strength is it's passing game (320.8 yards/game so far. UM's weakness has been its secondary (Michigan has given up 243.8 passing yards/game so far this season). Big plays through the air could help in canceling out UM's big plays on the ground. But it's a little tough to throw in a downpour (think State's 17-3 win over Florida Atlantic last season or The Game That Shall Not Be Named from 2006 where Jehuu Caulcrick had 111 yards on 7 carries partway through the third quarter and touched the pill once the rest of the way).

State should be fired up this week. Any chance of a special season has gone down the drain, but 2-3, 1-1 looks a lot better next to your name than 1-4, 0-2. But MSU should have been fired up last week after the way it let the Notre Dame game literally slip through its hands. Instead, the team came out flat and played Tila Tequila to Wisconsin's Shawne Merriman.

With all those variables in mind, I can't pick State to win tomorrow. I'll get up at 5:45 tomorrow morning, load up my car, and head up to East Lansing to have fun with friends. But I'll probably sit on my hands and keep my mouth shut during the game. If MSU comes out thinking its season is on the line - it is - then the team should go hard for 60 minutes and come up with a win.

I just don't see it happening, though.

UM-34
MSU-20

I will now pour hot wax into my eye sockets.

I picked the Spartan football team to go 7-5 at the start of the season.

That was based on research and analysis. In my heart, I always want them to go 10-2 or 11-1 and end up in the Rose Bowl.

Even though I thought State would be a middle of the pack Big Ten team, it still hurts when my team loses in the fashion they have the last couple weeks. The Notre Dame loss was the worst. I didn't think State would win, but when the team fought like it did, I thought they could pull it out.

I won't rehash what happened, but that loss hurt almost as much as hearing your girlfriend say she doesn't wanna be with you anymore. The ND loss hurt so much that I made a (friendly) bet with a friend for the Michigan/MSU game. Seems innocent enough, right? I took Michigan at -6.5. Granted, it was later in the day, after I had drowned my sorrows and had the close of the game run through my head 1,657,789 times, but that showed me how much Green and White blood runs through my veins. I felt so down about a loss that I went with the enemy.

I have since gotten out of that bet. MSU needs to get out of the dumps. A win at Wisconsin tomorrow, and State could be on their way to a shot at the Big Ten title. That shows you how much I think of this Big Ten.

State can get on a roll. That has to start in Madison. Camp Randall is a very tough place to play and an even tougher place to win, but I don't think "No way State wins this game" when I see the Badgers on MSU's schedule. And Wisconsin playing Northern Illinois, Fresno State and Wofford to this point in the season (Bret Bielema apparently graduated from the Bill Snyder/Any SEC Coach School of Scheduling) doesn't have me at all rattled.

So get it done, fellas. You can build on a 2-2 start. A 1-3 start with Michigan coming up, presumably undefeated after they roll over Indiana, could cause panic in the locker room and the stands. And I don't know if I can take many more Saturdays like last week.

And I don't know if I'll get through next week if we lose tomorrow. I know waaaaaaaaay too many UM fans.

Even though I picked MSU to lose to Notre Dame last Saturday, taking the L still hurts.

That game could have been ugly. Notre Dame put 14 points on the board in 5 minutes. I hadn't even settled in to watch the game before State was down two scores.

I could hear it loud and clear. "Same Old Spartans (SOS)." I could hear that coming from MSU fans and followers of other area teams. It looked like the heart-breaking loss to Central Michigan last week stayed with the squad.

But somehow, MSU rose up to take a one-point lead into the locker room. The game went from looking like Tila Tequila to Halle Berry in a hurry, and, as a friend astutely pointed out, I became MUCH more confident in State pulling out its seventh straight win at Notre Dame stadium. A hundred times more confident than I was going into the game. Those Same Old Spartans would have quit after getting down early and lost, 45-7. These Spartans fought valiantly and nearly pulled it out.

You know how the game turned out. Both teams fought hard throughout the second half, with ND escaping with a 33-30 win, thus helping its head coach's case as to why he should not be sent back to Nal Hutta.

There were some questionable calls made in the game: State blitzed a lot in the game, but I wish they would have done it more early on. The secondary continued to play soft coverage. The running game remains shaky at best.

The bad thing about the loss is that MSU should have played for OT after signal-caller Kirk Cousins (no more dueling QBs, Coach D. Keith Nichol should be used like Michigan uses Denard Robinson AT THE MOST) overshot tailback Larry Caper for what would have been the winning score. I know Cousins played masterfully up until the Play That Shall Not Be Named happened, but don't put him in that position.

There were 35 seconds left in regulation and State had the ball at ND's 18-yard line. I know we didn't have any more timeouts, but run the ball up the middle, let Brett Swenson nail a chip shot, and you head into OT.

MSU is two plays away from being 3-0. I'm not gonna play "coulda, shoulda, woulda" but this went from potentially being a special season, to now being a campaign that must be salvaged, starting with a win at Wisconsin Saturday. A 1-3 start with a game against Michigan on the horizon would send local media outlets and message boards into a tizzy (yea, I used that word).

But I don't see the start as State taking a step back. I picked MSU to finish 7-5 this season and said 2010 is the year we win the Big Ten. I thought the defense would be better, but I questioned the ability of the team to challenge for a New Year's Day bowl after losing 97 percent of its rushing attack and a senior QB who knew how to manage a game.

What I see is a fairly young team (at a number of key positions) working its way into a lather. Yea, I think State will finish middle of the pack in the conference, but the team is much more talented than in past years.

I don't see a collapse happening. In years past, a start like this would have meant a 4-8 finish and fans calling for the coach's head. Coach Mark Dantonio will rally the troops and State should be able to go 6-3 the rest of the way.

So, no, these aren't the Same Old Spartans.

At least I hope they're not.

My alma mater (MSU) plays one of its fiercest rivals - Notre Dame - Saturday in South Bend.

Like clockwork at this time of year, I'm reminded of some of the great plays State has made to beat the Irish in their place every time we've gone to Notre Dame Stadium since 1993.

Jason Teague streaking up the right sideline in overtime to seal a 44-41 victory in 2005.

Greg Taplin's 40-yard interception return for a score in State's 22-16 win in '03.

Charles Rogers' 47-yard 4th-quarter TD catch from Ryan Van Dyke to sew up a 17-10 triumph in 2001.

Rogers exploits on the football field in his time at MSU have been well documented.

The Saginaw High School grad broke a number of the school's receiving records and won the 2002 Biletnikoff award, given to the best receiver in college football.

Drafted 2nd overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2003 NFL Draft, Rogers had star written all over him, with his size and blazing speed. He caught 22 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns in his first five games in Detroit before breaking his collarbone.

Rogers career, and personal life, haven't been the same since.

During the 2005 season, Rogers was suspended four games by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy for a third time. The Lions filed a grievance against the wide out, seeking to recoup $10 of his $14.2 million signing bonus. Once the suspension was up, Rogers played in only nine games, starting three. He caught just 14 balls for a shade under 200 yards and one score.

Prior to the start of the 2006 season, Rogers was released by the Lions. He hasn't seen a football field of any kind since.

Rogers, has, however, seen his share of jail cells. He's been arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman (the charges were dropped). Earlier this year, he was jailed for violating his probation from an earlier charge. Today, he was arrested in Novi for driving under the influence of alcohol after being found by police unresponsive behind the wheel of his car.

Rogers needs help. But the days of him needing help so he can get back on the gridiron are over. Aside form his own, he has seven mouths to feed. Seven little ones to serve as a role model for. Chuck has to get right for his children and family. As a man, he must want to be around to see his kids grow up. That won't happen at the rate he's going.

I'm sure depression stemming from the way his professional career has turned out has played a major role in his battle with alcohol and drugs, but Rogers has to see the bigger picture. Football is nowhere to be found in the frame.

27-20, MSU, late in the fourth.

"If I were Butch Jones, I'd go for two if I scored here."

Those were the exact words that came out of my mouth before Central Michigan scored to make it 27-26 REALLY late in the fourth quarter of today's game between Central Michigan and Michigan State in East Lansing.

"I was thinking the exact same thing. Please don't let 'em get it," my boy Ro said.

CMU didn't cash in on the two-point conversion, but everything else went the way of the squad from Mount Pleasant.

I love my school, but losses like this one make life as a State fan difficult because it does nothing but give other local fanbases (you know who you are) ammunition.

I wouldn't have minded it if I knew Central was the better team. Hell, I wouldn't have minded it had they recovered that picture perfect onside kick and didn't move the ball. THAT would have been AWESOME.

Didn't happen.

I understand that CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour picked our secondary apart, particularly our supposed "shutdown" corner, C.L. Rucker, who got picked on like that fat kid in "Bad Santa" today, but why would MSU head coach Mark Dantonio call for such soft coverage to be played on Central's last drive?

Nine-yard completion after nine-yard completion helped CMU get in position to win the game; and that's what happened.

I don't wanna hear any of that"Same Old Spartans" jazz, because I odn't believe that's what this is. I honestly think the Spartans may have been looking ahead to next week's showdown at Notre Dame.

But that's no excuse for losing AT HOME to a MAC TEAM. Now Central's win will be featured in the "A Block" of SportsCenter tonight, probably remixed with highlights from Toledo and Appalachian State winning at Michigan the last two years. Sure, CMU has been picked by many to finish atop the MAC this fall, but that doesn't do anything to soften the blow.

State better regroup, or the season for this year's Big Ten Title darkhorse could quickly spiral out of control. Road games at the Irish and Wisconsin are on the horizon; and now starting 1-3 is a very strong possibility.

And if that happens, the Oct. 3 matchup against You Know Who could make or break State's season.

Now if you'll excuse, I've got a few expletives to hurl and a cell phone to shut off.