By George Eichorn, The Detroit Monitor

   The bowl season is nearly upon us. When Navy and Wake Forest kick-off this Saturday, December 20, just after 11 a.m., in the EagleBank Bowl in our nation’s capital, it will signal the start of nearly nonstop college post-season action. It won’t stop until the Bowl Championship Series title game on January 8 featuring Oklahoma and Florida in Miami.

   The state of Michigan hosts one bowl game — the Motor City Bowl on December 26 — and three teams in the 34-game field. The Michigan State Spartans are playing January 1 in the Capital One Bowl, the Western Michigan Broncos December 30 in the Texas Bowl and the Central Michigan Chippewas December 26 in the Motor City Bowl at Ford Field.

   Michigan State (9-3) and Georgia (9-3) recently made the trek to Orlando for the ceremonial contract signing, a longstanding tradition for the Capital One Bowl. Held at the Cheyenne Saloon in downtown Orlando, the lunch event featured athletics directors and coaches from both schools.

   Head coaches Mark Dantonio of Michigan State and Mark Richt of Georgia expressed enthusiasm for making return trips to Orlando after having great experiences in the past — MSU last year for the Champs Sports Bowl, and Georgia in 2004.

   “We had an outstanding experience in the entire bowl week and the city of Orlando treated us very, very well,” Dantonio said.  “It was first class in all respects. That is why we are so excited to be back here.”

   After the Capitol One Bowl contract signing, Richt previewed the game and discussed the 2008 season.

   “We, just like Michigan State, are trying to get win number ten,” Richt said to the media. “I think win number ten is very significant in any program, and I think both of us are going to be battling pretty hard for that.”

   Later, at his team’s practice facility in East Lansing, Dantonio turned up the heat in the building to simulate possible hot and humid game conditions in Florida.

   “I feel good about practice,” said Dantonio. “There’s a good intensity in here (at MSU), they’re very good competitively versus each other. We’ve got to tone it down a little bit to make sure nobody gets banged up too much.”

   “I think we’ve been preparing a little bit differently from last year,” said senior quarterback Brian Hoyer. “We’ve been going harder and realizing that even though it’s a month away, this game is important, and we have to prepare like it’s next week.”

   The Capital One Bowl kicks off at 1 p.m. on New Year’s Day and is nationally televised on ABC (channel 7 in Detroit). WJR-AM and the Spartan Sports Radio Network have the radio account with George Blaha, Jim Miller, Jason Strayhorn and Will Tieman.

   The head coaches from Western Michigan (9-3) and Rice (9-3) were in agreement December 10 on one important point when they met the Houston media for the first time: the third annual Texas Bowl is where they wanted to be in the postseason.

   WMU coach Bill Cubit and Owls coach David Bailiff and were at Reliant Stadium to promote the December 30 bowl, to be televised at 8 p.m. by the NFL Network. Both coaches agreed on the challenge presented by their opponent.

   “This is the bowl Rice wanted and we are so thrilled to be here and have an opponent like Western Michigan,” said Rice’s Bailiff, who was named Conference USA’s coach of the year. “We wanted somebody that was a good football team, and that is exactly what we got.”

   “This was our choice by far by our kids,” said WMU’s Cubit. “It’s really an honor to come down here to such a great city and play such a great team like Rice.”

   Both schools boast of one of the top passing attacks in the country; Rice is fifth and WMU ranks 10th. The Owls are led senior quarterback Chase Clement and receivers Jarett Dillard and James Casey, while the Broncos are commanded by junior QB Tim Hiller and senior receiver Jamarko Simmons.

   Rice’s personnel is familiar to Cubit. “I was on the All-American coaches selection committee, and the first name that came out of our region was Dillard from Rice, and all of a sudden we realized that this was our opponent and now we’ve got to go face him and everybody else there that they’ve got,” he said.

   The Motor City Bowl has the Chippewas appearing in their third consecutive MCB on Friday, December 26 (7:30 p.m., ESPN) in Detroit. The 2008 bowl is presented by automakers Ford and GM, as well as the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights.

   Central Michigan (8-4) faces Florida Atlantic University (6-6). The Chips are led by quarterback Dan LeFevour and the Mid-American Conference’s number two offense.

   “We’re happy to have the Chippewas and their fans back in the Motor City Bowl,” said Motor City Bowl executive director Ken Hoffman. “CMU was the first Michigan-based team to play in the Motor City Bowl in 2006, and last year played a down-to-the-wire contest against Purdue in front of a record crowd. We look forward to hosting Chippewa fans from throughout Michigan once again.”

   Paced by LeFevour, the 2006 Motor City Bowl MVP and the MAC’s leader in total offense, CMU boasts sophomore receiver Antonio Brown, the MAC leader in all-purpose yards, and sophomore All-MAC linebacker Nick Bellore, who led the MAC in tackles and was fourth in the nation.

   The Owls will make their second trip to Michigan in three months as they lost a non-conference game to the Spartans in East Lansing in September, 17-0.

   FAU is led by legendary coach Howard Schnellenberger, who is 5-0 in bowl games, including the 1983 Miami Hurricane’s national championship. The Owls defeated Memphis 44-27 in last year’s New Orleans Bowl.

   “We are tremendously excited to have Florida Atlantic University in the 2008 Motor City Bowl,” said Hoffman. “The Owls are one of college football’s great success stories, having been the youngest program in NCAA history to earn a bowl berth when they won the New Orleans Bowl last year. FAU only began playing football in 2000. We believe that they will represent the Sun Belt Conference quite competitively in the Motor City Bowl.”

   FAU won five of its last six games this year, after starting the season 1-5 against such national powers as Texas, Minnesota and Michigan State. During their last six games, the Owls averaged 35.6 points per game. They feature junior quarterback Rusty Smith, who Schnellenberger has called a pro prospect, and senior linebacker Frantz Joseph, the nation’s second leading tackler in 2008.

   Florida Atlantic is the second Sun Belt Conference team to compete in the Motor City Bowl. The first was Middle Tennessee State, who played CMU in 2006.

   The game will be in downtown’s Ford Field for the seventh consecutive season, after five years at the Pontiac Silverdome. Last year, Purdue beat Central Michigan 51- 48 on a last second field goal, before a record 60,624 fans. Gates will open December 26 at 5:30 p.m. and pre-game festivities commence at 7 p.m.

   Also of note: former University of Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was named recently as a special consultant to the Motor City Bowl Advisory Board. Coach Carr joins CEO George Perles, chairman and executive director Hoffman, president Philip Dubay and bowl sponsors as members of the group that helps guide Motor City Bowl activities. Carr ranks third all-time among coaches at the University of Michigan, with a 75% winning percentage. Carr stands only behind Bo Schembechler and Fielding Yost in that category.

   WJR will carry the Motor City broadcast with Will Tieman on play-by-play for the 12th straight year. Tickets are on sale at TicketMaster outlets, by calling 248-645-6666, the Ford Field Box Office and at the CMU athletic ticket office. The bowl’s Web site is www.motorcitybowl.com.

Reach George Eichorn at geichorn@yahoo.com.

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By Terry Foster, The Detroit News

If you want snow, we have plenty of snow. Detroit got socked with eight inches of snow over the weekend and more could be on its way. So why am I talking about snow in this blog? Well it seems as if a number of players on Florida Atlantic’s football team have never seen snow and they are excited about coming to Detroit and getting their first glimpse of the white stuff. And they will see plenty of it. The good thing is they don’t have to play in it when the Owls take on Central Michigan University in Friday’s Motor City Bowl game (7:30 p.m.) at Ford Field. The stadium of course is domed and you can sit and enjoy the game in 72 degree temperatures. Of course the rest of Detroit is not domed and temperatures will be closer to 22 degrees than 72. I am here to help you make it through the cold and snow as you travel up north to enjoy the game. If you do not own a coat, boot or wool cap do not worry. I can help you pack lighter for the trip to Detroit. Here is the deal. If you are flying into Metropolitan Airport and renting a car there are two options for you. After getting on I-94 toward Detroit exit at Southfield road heading north and get off at Michigan Avenue and go toward the Hyatt Hotel and Fairlane Town Center. You can find all the boots, coats and hats you want there.
Second option as you head toward downtown on I-94. Exit at Telegraph road south and you will see a Wal-Mart on your left. You can be on and off the exit in a matter of minutes. I recommend a coat, boots and a wool hat if you are a little light on the top. Even if you have a full complement of hair the hat is probably a good idea.

Downtown shopping is not great. But you can find some nice gear at The Detroit Locker room which is located in the Millender Center off Jefferson across the street from the Renaissance Center. You can even walk through a heated overpass that goes across Jefferson. The folks in there are nice and they will take care of you.

Another recommendation is to go four miles north on Woodward to the Wayne State University book store. You will see it in the welcome center in the cultural area. They sell thick sweat shirts and you can take a souvenir back home for when the rare times it gets chilly in Florida.

If you have more questions you can email me at Fosternews@aol.com or call 313-222-1494.

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By Todd (T.C.) Cameron

Earlier this week Haywood returned to be honored as UDM played host to Aquinas College of Grand Rapids at Calihan. While the current Titans labored to defeat the tiny NAIA school, the nod to a glorious past and hope of a similar future was impossible to ignore.

Titan basketball is enriched by the fact that the University of Detroit is truly a product of Detroit’s potent prep basketball legacy. There’s UCLA, nestled in talent-rich and tony Los Angeles, and DePaul University in Chicago, another hoops hotbed. New York’s St. John’s University comes to mind when considering the aforementioned question, too, because the five boroughs command a similar presence as Detroit’s basketball history. But unlike UDM, those programs are nationally-known brands with large, savvy recruiting networks.

All of those reasons make the men’s basketball accomplishments of UDM all the more remarkable because the Titan legacy is largely made in the Motor City. Even today, as the UDM recruiting base has expanded regionally, nationally, and in some cases, internationally, to counter the shrinking Detroit public school population and absolute void of a Catholic League school within the city proper, UDM still retains its’ distinctive city-proper signature with a handful of players from the PSL.

“This is what Keri (Gaither) and I are trying to rebuild, the identity that U of D can be a first choice for a PSL player,” Haywood explained from press row on Wednesday night as the honorary Titan coach. “This is a special place and there’s a unique history that matches the city itself.”

UDM Athletic Director Keri Gaither faces a unique challenge. Continue advancing her school’s athletic department from a financial and competition standpoint and do so in a city as depressed as any in America due to the economic conditions not seen in over two generations. And to be sure, UDM is a Detroit institution, because of the rich history that lives in the memories of so many followers. As one UDM staffer put it Wednesday night, “Calihan Hall is home to me. Even if I wasn’t working, this is where I’d want to be.”

Calihan, one of the area’s living, breathing museums of basketball history, is undergoing a gradual renovation. There’s the remodeled Titan Club and a refurbished foyer that relishes the Titan tradition with several etched glass panes, video boards and framed pictures abound. The press room upstairs is decorated nicely with pictures that recall the school’s historic architectural infrastructure in it’s glory. The floor gleams with the school’s new Titan logo and the Titans’ newly-renovated lockerroom is like a hall-of-fame at any other school. It’s arguable there’s not a building in the state, including MSU’s Jenison Field House, with a more impressive pedigree of amateur basketball than Calihan Hall.

Likewise, the courtside Titan legacy is undergoing a renovation. When Gaither hired men’s coach Ray McCallum to replace city icon Perry Watson, she hired a coach that was already well-versed with several aspects of the pressure that defines major college basketball. McCallum served as an assistant at Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana and was charged with resurrecting his alma mater’s good name when hired to be head man at Ball State from 1993-2000. The Cardinals waged battles with Gary Trent and Ohio U., Devin Davis and Miami and Earl Boykins, Brian Tolbert, Derrick Dial and Theron Wilson from Eastern Michigan.

The last admission, EMU, is a key reminder of the progress McCallum must make within the network of PSL and Catholic League coaches in metro Detroit. While Boykins was a Cleveland, Ohio native, Tolbert — like his brother, Tony — was a DePorres grad, Dial was a Cass Tech product and Wilson was a transplant from Detroit King who transformed Royal Oak Dondero into a top 10 team in Class A for three seasons. Those players all could have played at UDM 15 years ago, but chose EMU lead by Ben Braun and Gary Waters. Waters now coaches Cleveland State, a Horizon League opponent who visits Calihan on January 3rd. 

Saturday afternoon Eastern Michigan welcomed back Detroit King prodigy and former Huron George “Iceman” Gervin when the Eagles faced the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure. Like UDM, Eastern has a history in several sports that most schools not located in the shadow of a Big Ten power would envy seven days a week. But in 70 games with EMU, the Titans enjoy a 55-15 advantage over their Ypsilanti rivals. Add winning marks versus Central and Western, and 32 wins combined over Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame, it’s easy to see why UDM’s hardwood history becomes a central rallying point for supporters of the program.

The amount of talent available to UDM has thinned, and fighting the state’s three MAC schools, Oakland University and two Big Ten powers for the same fruit from the same trees won’t be easy, but procuring the top rung of metro Detroit’s talent is clearly McCallum’s charge.

UDM is relying on McCallum and Autumn Rademacher, a former Titan hired to resurrect women’s basketball, to re-make the Titans into what they’re known for: A basketball power in a talent-rich region.

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As I watch the Tiger Stadium daily demolition updates on media outlets in Detroit, seeing this rips away at my heart.

I can only imagine what New York Yankees fans will feel like when the wrecking ball reduces their treasured landmark to rubble and it becomes part of the redevelopment process.

On September 14, I fulfilled a lifelong dream to add Yankee Stadium to a long list of venues which I’ve been fortunate enough to witness a sporting event both as a fan as well as an accredited member of the media.

New York’s 8-4 win over the eventual American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays added more history to a building filled with plenty of it.

Shortstop Derek Jeter tied Lou Gehrig for most hits with 1,269 at Yankee Stadium while third baseman Alex Rodriguez hit a grand slam homer which enabled him to reach 100 RBIs for the 11^th straight season. It was Rodriguez’s 34^th homer of the year and gave him 100 runs in 13 consecutive seasons.

David Price, the top pick in the 2007 draft, made his major league debut and would go on and play a large role in enabling the Rays to reach their first trip to the World Series against the Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

When I arrived at Yankee Stadium at 11 am, I felt at home as six Metro Detroiters wearing Tigers hats along with attire from the Michigan Wolverines and MSU Spartans made their inaugural trips to the Bronx.

As I took pictures and spoke to fans, there were many seeing Yankee Stadium for the first time as 54,279 showed up on a muggy & cloudy day with the temperature 83 degrees.

I met a mother of an FAU student who lives in Kentucky, another guy that lives an hour south of Louisville, KY, that followed the Cardinals when Howard Schnellenberger was the coach. There was a 16-year old girl from Abilene, Texas, whose friend bought her a ticket for her birthday.

Throughout the day, I had to pour water on my face, arms and down my shirt to stay cool. But it was worth it!

As I told my Cousin Monique Leshman, who I stayed with that weekend, if this was any other place other than Yankee Stadium, I would have left by the fifth inning. But there was no way I was going to depart early. If I had, I would have missed out on “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” and “God Bless America” in the bottom of the seventh inning. I would have also missed Yankees legendary closer Mariano Rivera earn his 35^th save which lifted him into a tie with Lee Smith for second on the career list with 478.

I saw so many cooperative people take photos of others so they could cherish their memories at Yankee Stadium. What will be easy about seeing the new Yankee Stadium is that I won’t have to visualize where The House Babe Ruth Built was. What baseball fans do know is that there were 26 World Championships, 39 American League pennants won at the old shrine that Joe DiMaggio & Mickey Mantle immortalized.

What can we expect to see at the new Yankee Stadium? We’ll see more World Championships, players reaching 3,000 hits and if Rodriguez stays healthy, there is a good chance that he’ll be able to overtake Barry “Asterisk” Bonds 762 homers.

But what made this entire weekend special was hanging out with Monique at the World Trade Center sight 24 hours before going to “The Cathedral.” It was a historical weekend!

When the Yankees lost to my Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, I understood how important winning that World Series would have meant to this community. But I have to admit, it meant more to my community because it was our first major championship in any sport.

As much as I enjoyed Yankee Stadium, Tiger Stadium still is at the top in my heart, then again, it should be because it’s home! But for $168, it was the best money I’ve ever spent because for the rest of my life, I’ll never have any regrets about not making it to the “Greatest Venue in North American Sports History!”

Reach Scott Morganroth at scottbullm33@comcast.net.

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BY SCOTT MORGANROTH of The Deroit Monitor

What a difference 17 hours makes. I’ve never seen two football games, coaches or two teams so far apart as I did on November 15-16 in covering the Detroit Lions and Florida Atlantic University Owls.

When I arrived at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte , NC , on Sunday, November 16, my good friend, Fox-2’s Jennifer Hammond, asked what time did I arrive in town? I told her at 10:30 a.m. because I had a football game in Fort Lauderdale featuring the FAU Owls and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns . Jennifer smiled and said “you’re used to those all night drives” and wondered if I was tired and did I feel okay? We exchanged hugs and I told her I was fine and thanked her for asking.

It didn’t take long for me to acclimate from going to one of the worst facilities in college football at Lockhart Stadium to the Carolina Panthers beautiful venue. Yet there were many differences between these two contests. Yet what a weekend of football I was privileged to cover.

Saturday night, November 15, FAU scored two touchdowns in the first quarter to take an early 12-0 lead as two extra points failed. Against Carolina, the Lions orchestrated an impressive 12 play, 80 yards drive which took 7:37 to complete, as Detroit took a 7-0 lead with legendary kicker Jason Hanson making his extra point. Amazingly enough, this was the first time the Lions scored on an opening drive all-season.

As for kickers, watching FAU’s Warley Leroy kick a field goal or extra point is an adventure.

Against Carolina , all Hanson did was set more records. His 56-yard field goal was the longest ever on the road for the Lions. It was his sixth 50-yarder of the season. He was the eighth player in NFL history to kick six 50 yarders in a season. Hanson recorded his 39^th 50-yarder to pull within one of Morten Andersen’s 40. Hanson tied that mark on Thanksgiving against the Tennessee Titans. The 56-yard field goal was the longest in the Lions 75-year history by a kicker outdoors. Hanson moved into eighth place in career points with 1,714 passing Nick Lowery, The Panthers even tried to freeze Hanson with eight seconds left in the first half yet he still converted the 35-yard field goal.

Both the Lions and Owls games featured excellent running performances. FAU’s Charles Pierre, who also wears No. 20, is 5-9, 210 pounds. He has been making long runs all season for the Owls and will someday play on Sundays in the NFL. Against UL-L, he had 10 carries for 109 yards, a 50-yard TD for a 10.9 average. He has rushed for 937 yards and eight touchdowns. Like Barry Sanders, Pierre runs low to the ground, has breakaway ability and is quick.

Lions rookie Kevin Smith had the first of what will be many 100 yard games with 112. Unfortunately for Detroit , Carolina ’s DeAngelo Williams (120) and Jonathan Stewart (130) made team history by both running for 100 yards in the same contest. I guess Detroit ’s defense forgot that this was tackle and not flag football.

FAU’s win was its fourth straight lifting its record to 5-5 while the Lions loss sunk them to 0-10. The Owls would record their sixth win with a 57-50 win over Florida International University on November 29 to become bowl eligible and keep their post-season alive. As for the Lions, there will be no playoffs and their four-game winning streak occurred during the preseason.

Comparing Coaches Rod Marinelli and Howard Schnellenberger would be impossible. In 24 seasons as a college head coach, Schnellenberger is 147-125. He won a national championship at Miami in 1983. The only similarity between them is each have Super Bowl rings as NFL assistants. Marinelli is 10-34 as an NFL head coach and will likely end up looking for work in 2009. I’d find it hard to believe he’ll land another pro head coaching job anytime soon.

When the Panthers game was over, Detroit News columnist Rob Parker’s relentless questioning of Marinelli made it look like he was taking target practice at a rifle range as the Lions public relations staff watched the onslaught. I never thought it was possible for a team to be this bad and have its first impressive opening drive in the 10^th game. But I was wrong.

Seven hundred miles south and 12 hours away, FAU won its game 40-29. After the Lions 31-22 loss on a beautiful sunny day in downtown Charlotte , all running back Rudi Johnson and defensive tackle Shaun Cody could do was just hope to find a win somewhere.

Being a former Southern Cal Trojan, losing is something Cody is not accustomed to.

“There is no way to adopt to losing and that’s not part of the game plan,” Cody said. “We’re trying to deal with this as a team, turn it around and it’s a little tough right now. I don’t worry about having a winless season just preparing for the next week’s game and trying to get that first win.”

Johnson would have experienced a losing season if he were with his old team the Cincinnati Bengals (1-10-1). He said he’s not thinking of going 0-16.

“This sucks and that’s something no one would have ever thought about going into the season that we’d be where we are now,” Johnson said. “What do you get out of it? Keep fighting and keep coming to work everyday, practicing and you can only get better. We have to keep striving to get better. The first win will be the hardest one but I guarantee we won’t go 0-16. We just have to keep working.”

In both games I’ve seen at Charlotte between the Lions and Panthers, it’s always record setting. The last time the Lions were in North Carolina , Detroit set the record for losing its 24^th straight road game, on December 21, 2003, dropping a 20-14 decision. As it stands now, the numbers are working against the Lions. Detroit is only the 10^th team since the 1970 merger to start a season 0-12.

With the Lions 47-10 drubbing by the Tennessee Titans, Detroit has dropped to 33-34-2 on Turkey Day. It was the worst loss ever on Thanksgiving and the 47 points were the most allowed on the holiday. Detroit ’s defense has yielded 31.5 points per-game, the most against a team in 27 years. They have only two interceptions in 12 games.

Titans running backs LenDale White and Chris Johnson became the second tandem to rush for over 100 yards against the Lions this season. White had 106 yards and Johnson had 125. As aforementioned, Williams and Stewart recorded that feat. The Lions had six-first downs against the Titans and only two in the second half.

In a year that was supposed to celebrate 75 years of Lions football, nobody would have ever though that the season would explode so badly.

Reach Scott Morganroth at scottbullm@comcast.net. Read his articles in the Detroit Monitor, published Thursdays in Metro Detroit.

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