Pryor a No-Go for NFL Draft

Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor is saying he won't be declaring for the NFL draft which is probably the right move as NFL scouts are saying Pryor would likely go in the fourth or fifth round of the supplemental draft. They see him as a player who is not an NFL style quarterback, an inaccurate passer and a player who struggles making decisions.

Eastern Michigan Bball Looking for New Head Coach

Eastern Michigan has been interviewing candidates this weekend to find the next head men's basketball coach Charles Ramsey was fired back on April 6. Texas Southern head coach Tony Harvey, former Utah head coach Jim Boylen and Grand Valley State Coach Ric Wesley have already turned down the position.

Former Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter interviewed on Saturday. He was also mentioned as a possible replacement at Bradley, Loyola and IUPUI.

I would be curious to know if EMU has contacted current Oakland University head coach Greg Kampe. He seems like he would be a natural fit as he already recruits the region and has successful taken OU from a DII program to a back to back NCAA tournament qualifier. Whether Kampe would want the job is another question.

Greg Kampe Finalist for Coach of the Year

Oakland University coach Greg Kampe has been named as a finalist for the 2011 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award and 2011 Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award. Coach Kampe had as good a year as any and should stand a good chance of winning both awards. Weird that Shaka Smart of VCU was left off both lists, not sure if that was an error or not.

The below are the other contenders:

2011 JIM PHELAN AWARD FINALISTS
Mike Brey Notre Dame
Rick Byrd Belmont
Jamie Dixon Pittsburgh
Billy Donovan Florida
Steve Fisher San Diego State
Greg Kampe Oakland
Mike Krzyzewski Duke
Steve Lavin St. John's
Thad Matta Ohio State
Stew Morrill Utah State
Sean Miller) Arizona
Matt Painter Purdue
Rick Pitino Louisville
Dave Rose Brigham Young
Bill Self Kansas
Roy Williams North Carolina

2011 HUGH DURHAM AWARD FINALISTS
Tommy Amaker Harvard
Randy Bennett St. Mary's
Rick Byrd Belmont
Ed Cooley Fairfield
Cliff Ellis Coastal Carolina
Jim Ferry Long Island
B.J. Hill Northern Colorado
Rob Jeter Milwaukee
Sydney Johnson Princeton
Greg Kampe Oakland
Jim Larranaga George Mason
Cuonzo Martin Missouri State
Dave Paulsen Bucknell
Clifford Reed Bethune-Cookman
Brad Stevens Butler
Blaine Taylor Old Dominion

Greg Anthony on Michigan Wolverines Basketball

Coco Crisp's Awesome Hair Day

Anderson Signs with Detroit Mercy Titans

High flying, slam-jam-bam, dipsey-doo-dunakaroo Doug Anderson, who was part of this season's Mott Community College team that reached the National Junior College championship game has signed with Detroit Mercy on Wednesday. Anderson has a 44 inch vertical has become a YouTube star showing off his jaw dropping dunks.

NBA's Biggest Floppers

Sports Illustrated took a poll of NBA players and who they thought were the biggest floppers in the league. Below is the top 10...

#10 Andres Nocioni
#9 Jose Barea
#8 Raja Bell
#7 Jarron Collins
#6 Shane Battier
#5 Kevin Martin
#4 Derek Fisher
#3 Luis Scola
#2 Manu Ginoboli

And the biggest flopper in the National Basketball Association?

Side Show Bob...

I mean Anderson Varejao

Knight Interested in UNLV Job?

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Sunday, that coaching legend and cross court chair tosser Bob Knight is interested in the head coaching vacancy at UNLV after Lon Kruger left for the Oklahoma Sooners job.

Insiders are also saying however, that former UNLV players Dave Rice and Reggie Theus are the most likely candidates to lead the Runnin' Rebels next year. What? No Grand-ma-m? Where you at Larry Johnson?

2 New Schools Added to the Summit League

The University of South Dakota (USD) and the University of Nebraska-Omaha have accepted invitations to become new members of The Summit League.

USD will begin league competition during the 2011-12 academic year and will have full eligibility for all regular season and tournament championships in 2012-13.

"Today is a great day to be a Coyote. Athletically and academically The Summit League is a perfect fit for The University of South Dakota," stated USD President James W. Abbott. "The Summit League is one of the premier athletic conferences in the nation and everyone at USD is very pleased our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete against their counterparts in this great league."

Over the past 10 years, USD has produced 15 individual National Champions, 290 All-Americans and seven National Players of the Year. In 2007-08, USD’s women’s basketball team recorded the nation’s best GPA, 3.69, and reached the NCAA Division II championship game. USD alumnus and current assistant track and field coach Derek Miles is a two-time Olympic pole vaulter and placed fourth at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games after winning the U.S. Olympic Trials earlier that summer.

Nebraska-Omaha will begin league competition during the 2012-13 academic year. When UNO begins Summit League competition in 2012-13, they will be part of a 10-member league that includes IPFW, IUPUI, UMKC, North Dakota State University, Oakland University, Oral Roberts University, the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University.

"All of us at the University of Nebraska at Omaha are excited by our move to The Summit League and the impending competition with its outstanding member institutions," said Trev Alberts, UNO Director of Athletics. "I would like to thank the members of our committee for their insight and diligence in determining the course of action that has brought UNO to The Summit League. Our reclassification will ensure the success of Maverick athletics for many years to come."

White Men CAN Jump!

5'10" Jacob Tucker won the 2011 NCAA Dunk Contest with a series of jaw dropping throw downs. Tucker was the shortest dude in the contest and boasts a 50" vertical!! Unbelievable video.

Wolverines vs Dukies

After the recent popular ESPN 30 for 30 documentary of the University of Michigan's Fab Five and their rivalry with the Duke Blue Devils, guess who the Wolverines meet in the 3rd round of this year's NCAA tourney? Ironically the hated Duke Blue Devils and their iconic coach Mike Krzyzewski.

UofM is of course an underdog coming into this game against Duke's 31-4 record. However Michigan has played the nation's best throughout the season fairly well. They were in close games this season against NCAA top seeds, Ohio State and Kansas.

"We've played the top teams in the country this year and fared well," junior captain Zack Novak said. "We're bound to get over the hump against one of them, so it would be great to do it (Sunday)."

No doubt Michigan's Big Blue faithful would love to see the Wolverines finally put away Duke in a tournament match-up. If they do, this could really put Michigan back on the basketball map again after languishing in near non-existence for years. A win like this and advancing to the Sweet 16 could do a lot for recruiting and helping Michigan get the players they need to take that next step as a program.

"It's a great rivalry. We played them a couple times in the last three or four years," Novak said. "Our class has split with them, 1-1. Right now, we're just thinking about present-day Duke versus present-day Michigan."

"We're just trying to embrace (the success) and you don't get too many chances to be in this situation," Novak said. "We have such a good opportunity that we just want to live in the 'now.'"

Be Bold: Pick Oakland - Belmont - Richmond

Oakland's Coach Kampe on Texas Longhorns

Oakland U vs Texas Longhorns

#13 Oakland University Golden Grizzlies vs #4 Texas Longhorns
Somehow Oakland ended up drawing the best 4-seed in the tourney. How this game goes, depends on which Texas team shows. Texas is tremendously talented, but is inconsistent and their most talented players are two freshman and a sophomore. OU on the other hand has been very consistent all year, one of the two scoring teams in the nation and fears no one having played a brutal non-conference schedule. The Grizzlies are anchored by future NBA draft pick Keith Benson and the fiery scoring point guard Reggie Hamilton. Texas comes in underestimating the Grizzlies and get edged out 79-77.

Hey - I'm an OU alum, gotta believe! GO GRIZZ!

Michigan's Fab 5 Documentary

Should be an interesting documentary of the greatest NCAA basketball recruiting class of all time, "The Fab Five". The 1991 University of Michigan recruitment class of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson changed not only basketball at the NCAA level but also ushered in a new hip hop swagger and style into the sports landscape. The team reached the 1992 and 1993 NCAA Championship games as both freshmen and sophomores, while starting a combined 304 of a possible 350 games.

What would follow was the largest scandal to hit the University of Michigan athletic department ever as well as cast a dark cloud over the basketball program for years to come.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies Go Dancing

The Oakland University Golden Grizzlies are going back to the Big Dance in 2011 for the second year in a row after downing Oral Roberts 90-76 on Tuesday night at the Sioux Falls Arena. Oakland's offense for much of the night looked like a high tempo machine that Oral Roberts (or any Summit League team) wasn't going to stop.

The Grizzlies (25-9) have won 18 of its last 19 games and will find out what team they will play and where on Sunday when the 68-team tournament field is announced. The famed ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, current is predicting OU as a 13 seed matching up against 4 seed Wisconsin.

Last year Oakland entered the NCAA Tournament at 26-8 and was selected as a 14th seed. They went on to lose to 3 seed Pitt, 89-66. Last year Oakland considered defense the trademark of the team. However in 2011, OU has returned with a high-powered offense that has many scoring options including NBA prospect Keith Benson, scoring guard Reggie Hamilton, 3 point specialist Travis Bader and a do-it all small forward Drew Valentine. Whichever school gets selected to play OU in the first round of the tourney should not sleep on the Grizzlies or they could find themselves going home early.

Should the Spartans Go Dancing?

Big 10 Record: 9-9
Overall Record: 17-13
RPI: 48
SOS: 9
Good Wins: Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Bad Losses: Iowa

Joe Lunardi Prediction: Yes, has the Spartans as one of the last 4 teams in the Dance. This would shun Missouri State, USC, Georgia and Alabama.

My thoughts: As long as State wins their Big 10 tourney opening round game vs Iowa, then they are in. However, I don't personally think they deserve it. They started out the season ranked #2 in the nation and then played themselves right out of the Top 25 and into mediocrity. They did next to nothing during the season to prove they belong. My personal feeling is they had their shot at being a player this year and blew it. I would much rather see a good mid-major like Missouri State get a shot at making a run. Also, I honestly think Mizzou State could beat the Spartans on a neutral floor.

Glenn Robinson III - Univ of MIchigan Commit

OU Grizzlies Clean Up at Summit Awards

Not only did the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies run through the Summit League this year, finishing with a record of 17-1 (22-9 overall).

But they also cleaned up on the individual awards for the Summit League this year. Center Keith Benson was selected both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Guard Larry Wright is the top sixth man, and Greg Kampe is Coach of the Year.

NFL Labor Negotations

I know this hasn't been going on all that long since the NFL season ended not too long ago, but I am already REALLY tired of the NFL labor negotiations. Just what a nation of people facing a lagging economy want to hear about.... millionaires arguing about money with billionaires.

I realize the NFL players risk a lot in the way of personal health by just going out there every Sunday to entertain the fans, and they need to get as much money as they can due to the very short career span of a professional athlete. But there aren't many Americans who can relate to millionaires going on strike. Or on the opposite end, there are even fewer who can related to billionaire owners feeling like they just aren't getting a big enough piece of the pie.

In the end it doesn't even matter, because no matter who wins, the fans will be the ones losing. Ticket prices will go up to compensate for one party getting a bigger slice of the profit.

The Curious Case of Rip Hamilton

Rip Hamilton, 3-time NBA All Star, NBA Champion and ..... team cancer?

Rip has been a valued member of the Detroit Pistons since the trade that brought him here in the 2002-2003 season. He helped define a hard working, lunch pail, tough minded Detroit team for many years during a very very successful number of years. However, over the years something has changed with Rip. Maybe as fans, we didn't notice it or just didn't mind it as much when the team was winning, but Rip is now viewed by many as a team cancer. The whining to officials, technical fouls, being critical of several Piston coaches and as of late coming up with seemingly fictional excuses to not participate in team activities.

What is worse is that his poor attitude has seemingly spread to the rest of the team. First it was Tayshaun, then Stuckey and now T-Mac too. The Rip virus has spread throughout the team. It is now at the point where the Detroit Pistons are the antithesis of what they once were. "Going to Work"? The team slogan these days should be "Going to Work When its Convenient".

The other tough part of this whole situation, was that I am not sure Joe Dumars could trade Rip Hamilton as many fans and sports personalities begged for him to do. Rip's contract was too large given his age and talents at this point in his career. No other team wants to be saddled with a disgruntled player who has a large contract.

Its sad to see as Rip was most likely on track to having his jersey put in the rafters with other Pistons' royalty. But given his childish actions this year and his part in a player protest, its hard to imagine Pistons brass would now want to hoist Hamilton's #32 into the rafters upon his retirement.

Oakland #1 Seed in Summit League Tourney

Oakland University Golden Grizzlies will be the top seed once again in the Summit League tourney this year. They will be looking for a repeat of its 2010 title and once again, punch their ticket to the Big Dance.

The Summit League will be playing its tournament in Sioux Falls for the third consecutive season. For the second straight year, all tournament games will be televised, including five men’s contests that will have a national reach via ESPN Full Court plus the title game that will air nationally on ESPN2.

Quarterfinal action will begin Saturday night, with No. 1 Oakland (22-9, 17-1) vs. No. 8 Southern Utah (11-18, 7-11) at 6 p.m.

This year OU has won both meetings against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds by scores of 81 -65 and 82-68.