Friday stir-fry

♦ So am I crazy for thinking Michigan's still going to beat Penn State tomorrow? I watched most of the Nittany Lions' victory over Ohio State last Saturday, and was certainly impressed. But maybe the Buckeyes aren't as good as we thought they were, either.

And isn't it interesting how the prevailing sentiment has gone from "Paterno's old! He has to go!" to "Wow, what a job he's done! Who said he was too old?" Exhibit A: this New York Times feature on Paterno.

Call me a slappy, but I think Chad Henne wants to look good against his home state team. Michigan 23, Penn State 14.

♦ Lions prediction? The Lions have been "Team Turmoil" this week, with distrust among receivers and quarterbacks, and Roy Williams and Kevin Jones apparently totally still in a fight. (Oh, wait - now they're not in a fight, you guys!) It's too bad the passing game isn't in sync, because Carolina gives up a bunch of yards through the air. The Lions could use the pass to set up the run, and open up some space for Kevin Jones. Plus, the Carolina running backs are all banged up, the Lions' defense is playing well, and Vegas even favors the Lions by one point. So the Lions should win on Sunday, right?

Well, they should. But can you imagine these guys winning two games in a row? On Monday, we'll all be complaining again about how much this team sucks (and I'll probably be blogging about it). Panthers 27 (my fantasy team needs those John Kasay field goals), Lions 23.

♦ One more Michigan thing: Did you see this? Did "the great voice of the Great Lakes," WJR, really drop Michigan football and basketball broadcasts in favor of Michigan State's? Wow. WJR has been U-M's flagship station for almost 30 years. It was one of the things I learned to take for granted during my lifetime: Michigan sports on WJR.

Where does Michigan go from here? Their next stop can't come close to matching WJR's 50,000-watt blowtorch. The Detroit News says Infinity Broadcasting (WWJ, WXYT, WKRK-FM) will be in touch. And according to the Ann Arbor News, U-M's athletic director, Bill Martin, was completely caught off guard by the move.

♦ If you're a fan of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, CA, did you scream with rage and tear this article (also from today's NY Times) up into itty bitty confetti bits? "I should have either said, 'No catch,'" umpire Doug Eddings said. "Or, if I did have a catch, that he was out. Which I never said: 'He's out.'" Gee, ya think that woulda helped, Dougie-boy?

And since I haven't written about it, here's my quick take on Wednesday night's controversy, which completely hijacked every bit of sports broadcasting I watched or listened to yesterday:

If Anaheim's catcher, Josh Paul, tags Chicago's A.J. Pierzynski after he swung and missed - something I see catchers do all the time, whether they need to or not - that play is a complete non-issue.

♦ Staying in Anaheim for one more point, if you were wondering what they think of Mike Babcock, now that he's moved from Anaheim to Detroit, here's an interesting piece by the LA Times' Helene Elliott.