Kangas's 39 Carries OU over IPFW

From OUgrizzlies.com

Senior Erik Kangas scored a career-high 39 points, going 8-for-13 from long range, junior Johnathon Jones scored 20 points with eight assists, and sophomore Will Hudson finished with a career-high 16 points with nine rebounds to lead Oakland University (11-9, 4-3) past IPFW (7-11, 2-5) in Summit League men's basketball action on Saturday inside the War Memorial Coliseum.

"It's a good win for us and one that we had to have if we were going to stay in this race," said OU coach Greg Kampe. "He (Erik Kangas) really had it going tonight. The thing that I like is he was really looking for it. We put a few things in for him, and he really liked the new things we put in for him."

Oakland will host a pair of Summit League games this weekend inside the Athletics Center O'Rena. The Grizzlies will take on IUPUI this Thursday night at 7 p.m. and Western Illinois on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Golden Grizzlies-Jaguars game will be regionally televised on FSN Detroit.

Peterson to be Retired to the Rafters

Morris Peterson's #42 will soon be hanging in the rafters of the Breslin center in recognition of his contribution to the basketball program. The Spartans will retire his number at a ceremony 20 minutes before today's 4 p.m. game against Illinois.

Morris was quoted as saying:

"I remember going into the Breslin the first time, looking up to the rafters and seeing all the great guys who have been through Michigan State," Peterson said Friday. "To have my name mentioned with those guys is just a tremendous honor.

Peterson was an All-American and All-Big Ten selection after averaging 16.8 points and six rebounds per game as a senior. He is ranked 10th on MSU's all-time scoring list with 1,588 points, after playing on three Big Ten championship and two NCAA Final Four teams.

Schwartz on the Prowl for Coordinator

Newly appointed Lions leader, Head Coach Jim Schwartz is wasting no time in getting a staff in place. Per Chris Mortensen of ESPN, at the top of his Offensive Coordinator list are Broncos quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates and Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

Side Note: I am 28 years old and this is a franchise that has won one playoff game in my life time. I think my only hope may be if they hire Jesus as their next coordinator, because it will take a miracle to turn this team around.

Lions Name Schwartz New Head Coach

From Mlive.com by Tom Kowalski

The Detroit Lions have confirmed that Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will be their new head coach. There will be a news conference to introduce Schwartz in Allen Park on Friday.

"After an extensive search that included several highly-qualified coaches, we are thrilled that Jim Schwartz will become our team's head coach,'' said Lions president Tom Lewand in a prepared statement. "(General manager) Martin (Mayhew) and I believe that Jim's qualifications and vision will lead this organization on the field toward our goal of becoming a championship football team."

Schwartz was a finalist, along with Miami Dolphins assistant coach Todd Bowles. Schwartz and Bowles are the only two candidates who are believed to have had a second interview. That second interview included a meeting with owner William Clay Ford.

Derick Nelson Out for Season

Oakland University Head Coach Greg Kampe announced that Derick Nelson (arguably OU's best player) will miss the remainder of the 2008-2009 season due to an ankle injury he suffered back on Nov. 13th and will take a medical redshirt which will make him eligible for next year.

"He experienced a great deal of pain in the State game, and afterwards he told me he couldn't go," said Kampe.

"We knew that it was going to be a long healing process. The bottom line is that it just hurts him too much and we are not going to do anything that would jeopardize his career. He is going to take the redshirt and come back next year, and I don't want to think about next year yet, but obviously it's going to make us better next season."

Golden Grizzlies Stomped Out by Centenary

OU can't keep losing to teams like Centenary College, who are in the bottom rung of the Summit League if they expect to be true contenders come conference tournament time. Oakland is usually one of the more talented teams in the Summit Conference, but you never can be sure of how they will play on the road. Prior to losing to Centenary, they had also lost the conference opener at Southern Utah, another team they are more then capable of beating.


From OUgrizzlies.com

After handing Centenary College its worst loss inside the Gold Dome (36 points) last season, the Gents (3-13, 1-3 Summit) returned the favor with a 20-point victory over Oakland University (10-8, 3-2 Summit), 80-60, on Thursday night inside the Gold Dome. The Golden Grizzlies shot just 10 percent from long range (2-19), while the Gents connected on 58 percent (11-19).

"We missed two easy buckets at the start of the game and it was like 5-4 through the first four minutes," said OU coach Greg Kampe. "Then (Nick) Stallings made some shots and they scored on like eight straight possessions and that was it. Tonight was the first time our freshman played like freshman."

Senior Erik Kangas led the way with 15 points, while sophomore Keith Benson tallied his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Drew Maynard had nine points with a career-high 10 rebounds and junior Johnathon Jones finished with 13 points and three assists.

CC's senior Nick Stallings scored a game-high 26 points, 20 in the first half. Junior Chase Adams finished with 17 for the Gents and sophomore Gary Redus was the final player in double figures with 14.

Centenary's bench outscored Oakland's bench 42-17 in the game. The Gents also scored 27 points off 16 OU turnovers and held the Grizzlies to a season-low 24 points in the first half.

The game started slowly with six lead changes and the final one coming at the 14:14 minute mark with the Gents on top 9-8. Centenary then outscored the Golden Grizzlies 25-3 run over a seven-minute span to build a 26-point lead and led by 21 at the break.

That deficit proved to be too much for Oakland as the Grizzlies never got within 14 points, creeping within 15 at the 15-minute mark. OU finished the game just 33 percent from the floor (19-57).

Marinelli to Seahawks?

From ProfootballTalk.com

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reported it on Sunday, and it’s gaining some traction in the Seattle media.

Former Lions coach Rod Marinelli could be joining the Seattle Seahawks as a member of Jim Mora, Jr.’s staff.

Per the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, KCPQ reported on Sunday night that Marinelli is in Seattle.

The connection to the team comes from Marinelli’s ties to Seahawks president Tim Ruskell, who worked in Tampa when Marinelli was the team’s defensive line coach.

Per Schefter, Marinelli could become the defensive coordinator, replacing John Marshall.

But since Marinelli never actually worked as a defensive coordinator before becoming the coach of the Lions, and since many former head coaches find the “coordinator” title to reflect too much of a demotion, we continue to think that Marinelli could land somewhere as “assistant head coach/defensive line.”

Unlike many former head coaches, Marinelli likely won’t be perceived as a potential threat to Mora. Marinelli is this generation’s Rich Kotite, and they both have roughly the same chance of becoming an NFL head coach as I do.

Last week, Marinelli visited with Bears coach Lovie Smith. The meeting was downplayed by Marinelli’s agent, who also represents Smith and the Bears’ current defensive coordinator, Bob Babich.

Even though Marinelli did a terrible job as a head coach in Detroit, I hope he hooks on somewhere in a lesser role. He is still a good guy that kept a locker room together while having the worst NFL season of any team ....EVER That has to count for something I suppose.

I do like how the article above does point out that even as a former Head Coach, Marinelli being brought in wouldn't be perceived as a threat. YA THINK? Even though the Seahawks are aweful, Marinelli did such a bad job leading the Lions that he isn't a threat to anyone. That is kind of funny.