That game against Purdue last night – specifically, the second half – was one of the worst performances I've seen from any Spartan team in the last ten years. This was the first time I've witnessed one of Tom Izzo's squads quit on him in the middle of a game. I mean, come on... twelve points in the second half? WTF?!

Here's the bottom line: there's just not enough talent on this team. When Drew Neitzel isn't a scoring threat in a game, no one else can (or will) step up to pick up his points.

The offense was completely out of sync in the first half (against a weak Purdue defense), and when Drew didn't have one of his usual second half explosions, it was like everyone else on the team just gave up.

It was completely pathetic, and if these kids don't get it together right now (with four straight home games), there's no way we should expect the NCAA to invite us to the tournament this year. We haven't earned it.

Grrrrr.

Anyway, speaking of a lack of talent... it looks like a pretty mixed bag for Dantonio's first recruiting class. But, like I said yesterday, I am encouraged by his aggressiveness, and am cautiously optimistic for the future.

• State News: 'A complete meltdown'
• State News: An 'uphill battle' to finish with winning record
• Hey, Joe: Mackey mauling
• Hey, Joe: Signing day recap
• Grinz on Green: Dantonio's first recruit class rates C+

Bottom line, Prince was f#cking amazing during the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday. But, as good as he was, it will never come close to capturing the electricity of U2's 2002 Super Bowl halftime show, just four months after 9/11. It still gives me shivers to watch it.

Anyway, here's the Prince show, and parts 1 and 2 of U2's performance.

Enjoy!

Well, this doesn't look like the kind of recruiting class that's going to win any championships, but I like what I'm hearing about Mark Dantonio's efforts. Check out these two write-ups:

• Booth: Effort of MSU's new coaching regime pays off
• Hey, Joe: Signing day

This is probably the best news about MSU's football recruiting for 2007:

"I liked their aggressiveness, which bodes well for the future," said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. "They were going after all the big names, including players who were already committed to other teams.

"I like that in a staff, especially when you just take over. You can't back down from Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame. You have to just take it to them."

We've almost always been a second (third, fourth, fifth...) choice for the most talented players in Michigan and Ohio, but we're never going to be able to pick off some of those kids if we don't go after them.

A new coach's first class is usually a hodgepodge anyway, so there's really no harm in being aggressive. Dantonio's efforts could start paying dividends by this time next year.

I know football recruiting is a lot different from basketball, but sometimes all you need is one player to turn a program around. Antonio Smith was able to convince a bunch of his buddies from Flint to come play for Tom Izzo back in the mid-90s, and look how far we've come since then.

While I don't think we picked up that one magic bullet recruit for the football team this year, I'm cautiously optimistic that Dantonio will be able to nab one (at some point – crossing fingers) if he can accomplish some good things on the field this season.

More proof that my mom is bored out of her mind in Ohio:



That's Stefy, me, and Dan as M&M characters. I guess you can make these things at becomeanmm.com. To be honest, it's a little freaky how accurate these are. Especially Dan's.

If anyone else makes them self into an M&M, feel free to send it to me so I can show it off here on the blog.

Well, I'm getting my taxes done with Dee tonight. While I can't believe it's already tax season again, I am looking forward to getting this taken care of so I can get my return ASAP.

I'm a little unsure how things will change this time around since I wasn't a full-time student for the entire year, and since I started drawing a full-time salary in May, but even a small refund would be nice.

So yeah, I'll be getting the taxes done tonight, going to dad's for dinner tomorrow, attending a blogger get-together with some Lansing area Legislators on Thursday, and then going to Morgan's play on either Friday or Saturday. It's shaping up to be a pretty busy week, and next week could be even more hectic.

Man, February is gonna be over before I know it.

If you missed it, don't read this post.

• EW: Nuclear Family
• TV Squad: 24: 12:00pm - 1:00pm

The writers of these two articles have very different opinions about the whole Jack Bauer family drama. Personally, I'm enjoying it so far. Part of what made season five so much fun was the dysfunctional marriage drama between President Logan and his wife. I mean, there's only so much the writers can do with the ticking bomb plot-line, and this narrative added some much-needed depth to the show. I'm really curious to see how all this stuff with Jack's dad, his sister-in-law, and his nephew (son?) plays out in the coming weeks.

Quick sidenote: whether he's good or not, James Cromwell is a total badass as Jack's dad. No surprise.

It was nice to see President Palmer finally grow a pair during this episode, but I agree with the TV Squad critique that this subplot could easily slide back into season two territory (with an overzealous Chief of Staff and Vice President nipping at David Palmer's heels). Still, I'm liking Palmer 2.0 more and more every week, and have high hopes that the guy will bust some heads before the end of the season.

Play #1: Sleeping Beauty & The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Featuring the incomparable Morgan Pohl!

WHEN: February 9-10 & 16-17, 2007
SHOW TIMES: Fridays, 2:00 & 4:30 Saturdays
WHERE: Hannah Community Center
TICKETS: $5 (youth) / $7 (adult) at the door

Play #2: Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues
Introducing the marvelous Stefanie Spiro!

WHEN: February 15-16, 2007
SHOW TIMES: 8:00 PM
WHERE: Wharton Center for Performing Arts
TICKETS: $15.00

Be there, or be square...

Here's the rundown:

• Drove to Stef's on Friday afternoon, went out to lunch
• Came back and hung out at the house for a while
• Watched Groundhog Day on Comedy Central about three times
• Did a few things to help Teri get ready for the big fiesta
• Stef's relatives started showing up at 5:30 or 6 for the par-tay
• As always, lots of fun (and food) was had by all
• Slept in on Saturday; lazy morning watching mindless television
• Hit the road for Lansing a little before 2PM
• The drive was terrible; white-out conditions for 90% of the ride
• Made my way out to FedEx to pick up my new hard drive
• Came back and watched the painful loss (again) to OSU
• Was super-lazy for the rest of the day, watching ST: TNG episodes
• Slept in until about 10:30 on Sunday morning
• Watched some shows from the week with Stef before her rehearsal
• Went out for grocery shopping while she was gone; cleaned the apt.
• Stefy made it home just in time for the big game
• We were rooting for the Bears, but I really didn't care that the Colts won
• If nothing else, the rain made it a fun game to watch
• Prince's halftime show: amazing

This week is already shaping up to be kinda busy.

I'm getting my taxes done tomorrow, and going to my dad's house for dinner on Wednesday or Thursday. Morgan's play starts this week too, so Stef and I will go see the show on Friday or Saturday. FYI: If you're interested in going to see "Sleeping Beauty & The Twelve Dancing Princesses," check out the All of Us Express website for more info.

So yeah, that's it for now. I hope everyone had a nice weekend.

by Scott Pohl

OK, I'm a fan who's pre-disposed to think his shit don't STANK, but I thought Prince TORE IT UP last night. As me-me-me as you might have expected him to be at the Super Bowl, what a treat to hear him drop in bits of "Proud Mary" and "All Along the Watchtower!".

Adam Graham of the Detroit News writes, re: using the Foo Fighters song "Best of You", that Prince redefined the song as "a soul-drenched orgy of funk; Dave Grohl might as well retire the song to Prince, because it's his now."

If only they'd had some purple lights to actually turn the rain purple!

One of the all-time great Super Bowl halftime shows. I'll remember it long after I forget who won the dang game.