Arriving Late to the Michigan-Michigan State Blog Party

Various errands kept me from the computer all day, so I'm blogging long after people have said their piece on current events and I hate that. It's also possible that I was hung over from having Erin Andrews less than two miles from my house last night. I can tell when she's nearby; I get all light-headed. At Iowa, I had to miss classes the next day whenever she worked a game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Just... too... close.

Let's get to the reason Ms. Andrews was in Ann Arbor: Michigan-Michigan State. Unfortunately, my dear friend Mis Hooz decided to call during the game. Usually, I wouldn't take such a call, but since I kind of figured Michigan would lose and we hadn't talked in a couple of weeks, I was okay with blabbing on the phone. But I kept peeking at that corner score graphic. Hey, wait a minute - Michigan's winning. Then Brent Petway dunked that half-court lob pass from Jerret Smith, and I knew I had to get off the damn phone.

That was obviously unexpected and definitely impressive. Dion Harris was outstanding, and even Courtney Sims showed that he may actually have a pair. And suddenly, you have to wonder if those NCAA Tournament hopes are rising from the dead.

But maybe I'm just too far gone on Tommy Amaker, because my first thought after the game was, "Why the hell haven't they played that way all season?" Tom Izzo said Michigan played like a team that needed a win. The problem is that the Wolverines needed to play with that kind of desperation and urgency at least a month ago. Now it might be too late, in terms of NCAA tournament chances. And I still think that falls at Amaker's feet. I know - I shouldn't dump on the guy after his team's biggest victory of the season.

I also can't help but think a healthy Drew Neitzel would've made up that 11-point margin, even though Izzo would tell me not to. But as my sister pointed out to me via e-mail this morning, "He wasn't. Michigan won. Be happy." To which I responded, "Get back to me in a couple of weeks. Then I'll decide whether or not to be happy." Bah.