Hilarity in Local Sports Media

So, we all know that Dontrelle Willis isn't very good.  He had a below average start last night and Brian VanOchten of The Grand Rapids Press proceeds to write this puff piece on Willis, actually celebrating his substandard outing.

Noting that Jim Leyland and his teammates, "still has his back."

Less than two hours after that puff piece was posted, the D-Train was designated for assignment and his Tigers' career is over.  Apparently, Dave Dombrowski didn't have his back.

Just too funny

Crosby/Ovechkin in Winter Classic IV, Bettman not totally incompetent?

Gary Bettman didn't get his wish of Crosby vs. Ovechkin in the Stanley Cup playoffs thanks to those pesky Montreal Canadiens, he will showcase them on what is fastly becoming the league's biggest showcase, the NHL Winter Classic.

The 4th edition of the NHL's answer to largely meaningless college football games on New Year's Day will feature the closest thing the NHL has to superduperstars, as Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, from Heinz Field.

Students seek to ease tax stress

(NOTE: This article originally appeared in the February 10, 2010 edition of Central Michigan Life.)

Sometimes, students may feel like they need to learn a new language just to understand tax forms.

W2, 1040, 1040 short, 1099 — many have no idea what all these terms mean.

But two Central Michigan University students want to help.

More tax breaks this year for students

(NOTE: This article originally appeared in the February 10, 2010 edition of Central Michigan Life.)

The only two things guaranteed in life are death and taxes.

For most students, death is well off, though some would welcome it before paying taxes.

As the April 15 tax filing deadline approaches, there are more opportunities for students to receive a bigger refund than in recent years.

“It’s a good year to be in school,” said Nina Cunningham, public relations director of Liberty Tax. “There are more breaks than there were last year.”

First four minutes of LOST Season 6 online...

Hey there LOST fans, if you cannot wait until Tuesday night for the much anticipated final season premiere of LOST, the first four minutes are online now.  Minor spoilers are contained at the link, which can be found after the jump.

Wilbur addresses transition, budget processes

(NOTE: This article originally appeared in the January 29, 2010 edition of Central Michigan Life.)

The university presidential transition and looming budget cuts were the main topics of discussion as Interim University President Kathy Wilbur addressed Campus Conservatives Tuesday night.


The meeting, which took place in the Bovee University Center’s Lake St. Clair Room, continued a series of forums that Wilbur has hosted with various student groups around campus.

“We were very pleased to have Interim President Wilbur come to our meeting and speak with us,” said Hart junior Bryant Greiner, president of Campus Conservatives.

Beau Biden not running for the "Biden" seat

In a week where the Democratic party needs some good news, Beau Biden's announcement that he will run for reelection as Delaware's Attorney General instead of running for his father's, Vice President Joe Biden, old senate seat.

Beau Biden's decision to not run clears the path for 8-Term U.S. Rep. Mike Castle, the state's lone member in the House of Representatives, to take over the seat that Vice President Biden was elected to seven times.

I would call this a case of rats jumping off a sinking ship, but Beau Biden wasn't even on the ship.

Fivethirtyeight.com had the Delaware seat as the sixth seat most likely to change hands in 2010, with Beau Biden as potential candidate.  Without him, any Democrat running against Castle, who is a former Governor at Lt. Governor and has never received less than 55% of the vote in his statewide elections, it will be a tough hold for the Dems.  Putting this with Sen.-elect Scott Brown's mounmental upset last week in Massachusetts and the retirement of Sen. Byron Dorgan, the Democrats are having a bad week.

Michigan Senate candidate Michael Trebesh visiting campus Tuesday

(NOTE: This article originally appeared in the January 11, 2010 edition of Central Michigan Life.)

As Central Michigan University prepares to kick off the winter semester, local politicians are beginning to kick off their campaigns.


One such candidate is Michael Trebesh, who is speaking to Campus Conservatives at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Bovee University Center.

The location at Bovee has yet to be announced. The event is free and open to the public.

Fool Us Once, Shame on You; Fool Us Twice, Shame On Us

It was a conversation everybody around Mount Pleasant was having and we were all making the same jokes at the expense of the University of Cincinnati as Brian Kelly was ducking and dodging questions about going to Notre Dame.

"Boy, that sure sounds familar!"

"We heard the same things three years ago!"

"He's good as gone."

While everyone was making the jokes about the man who abandoned CMU before the 2006 Motor City Bowl, everyone in denial or were ignoring the chain reaction that Brian Kelly leaving Cincinnati for South Bend would set off.

The Big Ten is the Big Move CMU Needs

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

The head coach of the MAC Champion Central Michigan Chippewas is leaving for the University of Cincinnati.

Butch Jones will follow in Brian Kelly’s footsteps for the second time in three years, succeeding Kelly at Cincinnati after Kelly, who was CMU’s head football coach from 2004-06, left for the University of Notre Dame.

The university is now at a crossroad, do they want to be taken seriously as a football school or continue to be a big fish in a small pond and be a coach feeder system for bigger universities who take football seriously?

The answer is simple; Athletics Director Dave Heeke must do all within his power to have CMU join a Bowl Championship Series member conference.

And if he is not willing to do the work, the university must find someone who will.