I just saw this note posted by my friend Paul on Facebook:

We're leaving a lot of friends behind for Kentucky. If you were tagged in this video, this song was written with you in mind.

Well, I would've posted this even if I wasn't tagged in the note, but it's still a great tune. Great work, Paul!

The agony of defeat:

This must be, as Tom Izzo likes to say, like Christmas and the Fourth of July for MSU fans. The same week ESPN votes MSU the No. 2 program of the past decade, it tabs Michigan as the most underachieving in the same span.

I wonder if they can come up with a way to work the word "underachiever" into the slogan for next season's Maize Rage t-shirts.

Okay, it's hard to complain about the parking situation at my new gig since I have access to "some of the cheapest parking in Lansing."

But I'm going to anyway.

We basically have to park on the fifth floor (or higher) of this massive parking structure near the Capitol.

Five floors doesn't sound like a lot, but the way it's set up, you have to drive in a giant circle on every single floor to work your way up to the top.

It's not a stretch to say that it probably takes five minutes to get from the bottom of the ramp all the way up to an open parking space (usually on the sixth or seventh floor). That's pretty nuts, considering that it probably only takes me seven or eight minutes to get from my apartment to the ramp itself. Maybe the City of Lansing could spring for one of these bad boys:



Ah, well. I suppose there are worse things I could have to complain about with my job. Other than that though, things seem to be settling in really well. It's been a hectic week, but I'm slowly getting into the new groove.

Okay, Bill Richardson is probably my third favorite presidential candidate, but no matter who you're supporting at this point in the race, you gotta check out these ads. Very clever.

Honestly, whoever the dem nominee ends up being needs to hire the people who did these spots.

This one is pretty self-explanatory:

1. Being able to roll down my car windows and blast the stereo
   
2. Tennis weather (dad... anyone?)
   
3. Breaking out the flip-flops
   
4. Getting back into my evening walk routine
   
5. Leaves on the trees

Early May is seriously the best few weather weeks of the entire year, IMHO. Not too hot or cool; no bugs; allergies haven't kicked in yet. Seriously, for all the crap we Michiganders put up with during the winter, we really got it good in the springtime.

I meant to post this a couple weeks ago, but just never got around to it. On the whole, the big "Idol Gives Back" show was basically a bust. Half the celebs they said would be on the show got cut due to time constraints, and most of the performances that did make it wound up being really lame.

Side note: WTF was up with the Elivs/Celine duet? Anyone?

Thankfully, at least one performance stood out during this two-hour crapfest: Annie Lennox. Seriously... sister threw it down on "Bridge Over Troubled Water." I know the video quality is pretty piss pobre here, but if you missed it, check this out:

Yes, this is a real website:

What's the McFLY 2015 project?
It's a grassroots movement to get Nike to make available to consumers the futuristic-looking sneakers seen in the movie Back to the Future Part II.

Do these shoes even exist?
Yes, Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) wears them during the year-2015 scene that takes place at the beginning of Back to the Future 2.

I want those sneakers too, what do I have to do?
Just sign up on the official website of the McFly 2015 project. It's on the Interweb at www.mcfly2015.com

Oh, you know I totally signed this petition.

Well, the first day at the new gig went well today. Lots of paperwork to fill out, but that's to be expected. Tomorrow will be my first full day of real work, so I'm looking forward to getting my feet wet.

It's funny, one of the biggest changes I'll have to adjust to with the new job is the schedule shift. With the Trust Fund, I was used to coming in at 7 AM and working a loooong day Monday through Thursday, and then taking off early on Friday.

Well, that's not really going to jive with the new position, which has a much more traditional 9-5 schedule.

I'm not saying either one is necessarily better or worse than the other... they're just different.

Instead of passing out at 10 each night just so I can get up at 5:50 to go into work at 7, I'll be able to stay up a bit later and sleep in a little longer now. That definitely has a nice ring to it, but like I said, it's going to take me a while to get acclimated to the new routine.

Anyway, there's a bunch of stuff I need to take care of on my free time this week so I can get ready for Stef's party on Saturday and Mother's Day on Sunday. Not sure exactly how everything will play out yet, but I'm sure it'll all come together one way or another.

Number one is where ESPN's Andy Katz ranks Michigan State among the nation's best college hoops programs of the past ten years.

Pretty crazy, right?

Here are the highlights from Katz's piece (via Gang Green):

* Over the past 10 years, Michigan State played 32 ranked nonconference opponents in the regular season, including 20 in the top 10. MSU also played Kentucky twice during that period when the Wildcats were unranked.

* Izzo has had to deal with quite a bit of staff turnover, with six assistants leaving for head coaching jobs in the past 10 years.

* Few schools have as much of a defined basketball identity as Michigan State, which led the Big Ten in rebounding eight of the past 10 years and was ranked in the top 10 nationally six times.

* Every four-year player recruited by Izzo in the past 10 years has played in at least one Final Four.

That last one may be the one that pushes the Spartans over the top. Think about that: Izzo can legitimately claim that if a player stays for all four years, he's got a real shot at being in a Final Four.

It would be easy to anoint Duke as the top program over the past 10 years, but Michigan State's nonconference schedule, its ability to withstand losing assistants, the Final Fours (one more than Duke) and the facilities give the Spartans the nod, in one writer's opinion.

Arizona has been a model of consistency, but doesn't have the number of Final Fours to show for it (even though it can match MSU with its tough schedules). Kentucky, North Carolina, Connecticut, Maryland and Syracuse all have had a dip; all except Kentucky have missed the NCAA Tournament at least once during the past 10 years.

Florida's run has been extremely impressive. The Gators do have three Final Fours and two national titles, but they also had some early exits and weren't the dominant team in the SEC (Kentucky was) early on under Billy Donovan. The nonconference schedule and staff changes still would favor MSU.

Kansas has its points, too, weathering a head coaching change, overall staff changes and NBA draft defections to consistently make the NCAA Tournament and make deep runs. The Jayhawks, though, don't have as many Final Four appearances, a title or comparable facilities.

Of course, as a rabid Spartan fan, I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment, but it's still nice to have a prominent sports writer make the case for us. And he's ready to back up his own argument too:

There, it's been said. Now let the e-mails and message boards outside of East Lansing implode.

But if you disagree, you had better bring a lot of ammunition, because the Spartans have plenty on their side. Yes, we know. It's not what mainstream America is used to hearing, but it's the truth.

Ah, yes. It's always nice to have someone else re-affirm everything you already believed.

Speaking of which, Sparty just beat out the Purdue Boilermakers stupid train in the CBSsportsline.com mascot tournament. I mean, seriously... it's a f#cking train!

FYI, you can vote here for the Michigan State-Army matchup.

Well, tomorrow is the first day of my new job.

Here's hoping I get a better introduction from my new boss than this.