February 23 - Iowa at Michigan State

Tom Izzo's 300th career win was a wholly unremarkable one. The Spartans just jumped on top of Iowa from the beginning and it was never a close game. The Hawkeyes failed to score a field goal until halfway through the first half, stuck on one point until past the ten minute mark. For the second straight game, Spartans didn't turn the ball over (a season low five) and played great defense. Next up is a huge game against Wisconsin in Madison. I can only hope the momentum will carry on to the road and we can pick up a signature conference win.

February 20 - Penn State at Michigan State

This is what happens when the Spartans play up to their potential. They win. Easily. Everything went right for them, but more importantly they didn't turn the ball over and they ran the offense successfully. I'm not gonna ramble on here about a game that they dominated against a terrible team. I expect to write a similar entry after Saturday's game. These two will be the last "gimme" games of this season, so they better take advantage. It was nice to completely destroy Penn State after what they did to us earlier this month, though, I will say that much. Hope to do the same to Iowa.

Le Cercle Rouge - Jean-Pierre Melville (1970)

Melville's Le Cercle Rouge is in its simplest form, a story about a trio who plan a jewel heist while a ruthless cop does anything in his power to stop them. But like Melville's masterpiece Le Samourai, there are a lot more underlying themes that make this film unique. The main character is Corey, fantastically played by Alain Delon. Fresh out of prison, he decides to delve right back into the world of crime when he "stumbles" upon escaped prisoner Vogel. The two plan a jewel heist along with the help of ex-cop Jansen, played by Yves Montand. All the while they are being pursued by a ruthless investigator who will stop at nothing to bring them down. From the very beginning, the film forces itself upon the viewer. The early scenes are tense as the plot comes into focus. The film moves at a snail's pace, which is one of things that makes it so captivating. Anyone looking for a traditional action-filled movie will be disappointed. The first half of the movie ranks up there with all of Le Samourai, however, the second half drops this movie down quite a bit. The heist scene is long and drawn out. And though it is well done, it doesn't captivate the way the rest of the movie does. It feels a bit like a Rififi clone at this point. At nearly a half hour, the heist scene is even longer than Rififi's infamous scene. Although the slow pace fits in with the first half of the movie, it didn't quite feel as interesting. The ending is a tad predictable, although that's not to say it brings the film down. The film deals with one theme in particular that echoes throughout...no one is innocent. In a way, everyone in this film is guilty of something. There are no real likable characters. Anyone who's ever seen and enjoyed a Melville film before should absolutely check it out. Despite it's few flaws, it manages to entertain thoroughly.

February 16 - Michigan State at Indiana

Looks like I'm finally going to have to face facts. This team is just not as good as I thought. Granted they are still one of the most talented teams in the country, but they just don't play well when it counts. This loss puts them at 2-4 on the road in Big Ten play. and one of those wins was a completely worthless Northwestern team. They don't play well on the road, they don't play a full 40 minutes, key players disappear for huge stretches or even fail to show up for an entire game... the list goes on. This is without a doubt, the biggest mess of a 20-5 team I've ever seen in my life. They have no momentum, no fire, no drive. They were able to get Indiana on their heels early, but they got complacent and let them rally back into it to completely nullify an early eleven point lead. This may sound strange, but I don't even think this team is as good as last year's team. Last year's team was nowhere near as talented or deep, but they managed to play with a fire that I haven't seen since the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Behind this motivation and some great defense, they turned what should have been an NIT team at best into 9 seed that gave #1 seeded North Carolina all they could handle in the second round of the big dance. So why is a team that's deeper, more experienced and more talented failing to play as well? Your guess is as good as mine, but it's frustrating beyond belief. The only thing I can come up with is that this team thinks just being the most talented team on given night guarantees they will win. Even after a few humiliating losses, they still haven't figured out that YOU PLAY THE GAMES FOR A REASON. This Indiana program is a complete mess right now. But they put it all behind them on the court and came to play. This is exactly what the Spartans need to do turn this season around. I only hope they can use these backbreaking losses as motivation or an eyeopener that you can't just cruise at any point in the season or during a game. You have to ATTACK and GO FOR THE FUCKING KILL whether you're up 3 or 33. It's just depressing me to watch this team that's so talented, a team I had such I hopes for, go out on national television and drop the biggest fucking turd I ever seen in my life. I'm embarrassed to be a fan of this program right now because half the team didn't even FUCKING SHOW UP this game. Goran Suton: 0 points 1 rebound. Hey way to show up, buddy. Marquise Gray: 0 points, 2 rebounds. Solid game, big guy. Way to take advantage of Dj White not even playing in most of the game. Drew Naymick was the only big guy that didn't completely shit the fucking bed tonight. And of course I've saved the worst performance for last. Gee, remember in early January when Raymar Morgan scored 31 against Minnesota and was the front runner for Big Ten player of the year? Yeah, me neither. He's been shitting the bed on regular basis for the past month or so. Remember on Tuesday against Purdue where MSU was down one late with the ball and a chance to take the lead? What does Morgan do? Traveling, Purdue ball. They hit a 3 and put the game away. That's just a MENTALLY WEAK play. This whole team aside from maybe Neitzel or Naymick (both seniors) is unbelievably mentally weak. They make horrible decisions, turn the ball over and basically just look like shit in dressed in green uniforms. Half the time I just can't believe what I'm seeing. They completely lapse on defense half the time, stand around on offense and just get outhustled by teams that want it more. It's just ridiculous and I don't know how much more I can take.

This lost basically put a fork in any hopes of winning the regular season title (3 games back with only 6 left to play) so I guess it's just about tournament positioning at this point. Luckily the Spartans get to come home this week and play two below average teams at home (both teams they've already lost to!). If they lose to either Iowa or Penn State this week, I will run onto the court of the Breslin Center and TAKE A FUCKING SHIT. It'll be way less frustrating to watch than this goddamn team.

Into the Wild - Sean Penn (2007)

Based off the novel by Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild is the true story of of one young man's journey and experiences as he faces the harsh wilderness by himself. Based off the life of Chris McCandless, a recent college graduate, literally drops everything and begins a spiritual journey as he hikes his way across the Western United States. Along the way he meets a handful of people who change his perspective on life. The film is directed by actor Sean Penn, and it is for the most part, well done. Many of the shots of the sprawling wilderness are a visual treat. The performances are for the most part, solid if not spectacular. The movie's most pleasant surprise is Hal Holbrook who received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor from the academy for is role. Emile Hirsch delivers the performance of his young career as the strange but captivating McCandless. Some of the scenes are overdone a bit, but there's nothing too cringe worthy. One thing that the film seems to ignore a bit is the background of the character before his journey. There are few short scenes that delve into this, but i felt like for the most part, McCandless's parents, played by Academy Award winners Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt went to waste. Adding a few more scenes to explain these characters would have helped the film and help us understand the main character a bit more. The soundtrack is well done and the movie is a powerful experience. It's almost mind-boggling that someone could have lived like this, but the film does what it wanted to do. Open the viewer's eyes to a whole new perspective on life.

February 12 - Michigan State at Purdue

The picture to the right says it all. I just don't know what to think about this team anymore. they look as bad as you possibly can for a whole half, as good as you can possibly look for the next 13 minutes, and they choke it all away in the end. I don't know how this Purdue team wins games or where they came from. It's just completely baffling. I guess this pretty much puts a fork in the chances of winning the regular season title. I guess it's just time to regroup and focus on building momentum towards March. It doesn't get any easier though. At Indiana on Saturday and still left are road games at Wisconsin and Ohio State and at home again against Indiana. Here's hoping for at least a decent finish and a strong NCAA Tournament run. I'm done here.

February 9 - Nortwestern at Michigan State

Not a whole lot to say about this one. The Spartans were able to bounce back and take care of the Big Ten's worst team at home after losing that abortion of a game in State College last week. It wasn't a blowout by any means, but just watching you got the feeling the Wildcats really had no chance to win from the very start. The Spartans didn't play a great game, but they did enough to get the job done successfully enough and get ready for a big week coming up. On Tuesday MSU heads down to West Lafayette to take on the surprising 10-1 Purdue Boilermakers who are coming off yet another big win over Wisconsin. I've questioned Wisconsin's legitimacy all season, so to me those wins don't look as big as they were in reality. I think that the Spartans should be able to put together a good game and beat a very inexperienced club as they did in east Lansing a month ago. After that is another huge game on Saturday in Bloomington to take on the Hoosiers. Indiana has a hellish week of their own, playing at 7-3 Ohio State on Sunday, at home versus 9-2 Wisconsin on Wednesday, and again on Saturday at home against the 8-2 Spartans. The game will cap a huge week for the top Big Ten teams as we begin to find out who the class of the conference is. I'm not sure exactly how the two teams match up, as this is their first meeting, but I of course like the Spartans out of sheer bias. I guess we'll find out a lot about the conference this week. As for the hapless Wildcats, they are eight losses from running the table in the conference for a perfect 0-18 record. I'd like to wish them all the best in achieving this milestone. Good luck, boys.

American Gangster - Ridley Scott (2007)

Although, I don't particularly like the title of the move, the film itself is a whole different story. Ridley Scott is usually good for an enjoyable movie experience and this one was no exception. It's the story of Frank Lucas, a drug-dealing gangster of New York in the early 1970s. The film also stars Russell Crowe as the cop determined to brings his drug empire down. It's very clear from the start that this isn't going to be the typical "cops and bad guys" movie. The film is presented from both sides and both characters come off as protagonists and likeable. It's ultimately up to the viewer to choose which side they sympathize with more; although there's another huge element that plays into the movie. A third major character, played by Josh Brolin, becomes the key to the film when all is said and done. The action scenes are well done, and most of the performances are very good. Chief among them is Franks, mother, played by Ruby Dee, who earned an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. Crowe and Denzel Washington do what they have done their entire careers... turn in solid performances. The film is a bit longer than average at two and a half hours, but there's enough going on to keep the viewer interested throughout the duration. Overall, it's not incredible or groundbreaking by any means, it's still an entertaining work worth checking out.

What an Awesome Super Bowl

I, like many other people across the country, thought the Patriots would roll tonight, although we hoped they wouldn't. After a defensive battle, and two heroic touchdown drives, one by each team, the Giants came out of top and handed New England their first loss since the 2006 AFC title game against the Colts. 18 wins sandwiched in between losses to two goofy brothers from the south. It doesn't get any funnier than that. After all the crap we've gotten in the media the last few months about the success of "Boston sports" it was nice to see the pride and joy of Boston crash and burn on the world's biggest stage. I came into this Superbowl apathetic after last year's game by the Bears, but I'm pretty happy for the Giants after all is said and done. Now that both Mannings have won it all, can we get back to where we left off in the NFC Championship against New Orleans last year? Yes, I think we can. Bears in '08.

Wait. Who am I kidding?

I Don't Even Know What To Say

Seriously. I've never watched such a terrible game in my entire life so I'm not even going to bother writing about it.

The Darjeeling Limited - Wes Anderson (2007)

Wes Anderson's latest film is almost exactly like his others, but at this point, that's not a bad thing. All the classic Anderson elements are here. Estranged family relations, sibling rivalries, slow motion, strange props and witty, snappy dialogue. Although this film can't touch the Anderson masterpieces (Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums) it is a solid addition to an already very impressive filmography for Anderson. To me, Wes's previous film, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, felt a bit empty. I didn't feel for the characters very much and the film tailed off at the end. The Darjeeling Limited does not fall victim to any of these problems. The film's three main characters are all are genuinely interesting and they will keep you entertained for the duration of the film. A few gags are repeated throughout the film and yet they still bring the laughs every time. One of my favorite things about the movie is all the great supporting characters. Chief among them is the "manager" of the train, pictured above. The film also gets an early cameo from Bill Murray which is good for a laugh or two. Like all of his previous films, Wes relies less on the actual story and more on the actual film making to make the movie enjoyable. However, this doesn't mean the movie didn't have heart because that's certainly not the case. A scene at a native village intertwined with a flashback is especially moving. The ending is the only thing I wasn't too high on. It kinda seems like they couldn't figure out how to end it and left it a bit too ambiguous. I would have liked to have seen at least a little closure. Regardless, the flaws of this film are far outweighed by it's merits. I think big time Wes fans like myself will love this film while others who are less keen on the director may not care for it as much. But in my eyes it's worth of being next to No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood as a top film of 2007.

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut album is a nice surprise, and a new addition to an ever growing group of bands who have become popular through the internet. Appearing on blogs, and spreading by word of mouth, the band was signed to a record deal and released their first album earlier this week. The album is instantly likable. The songs are fun, upbeat and catchy. I've had several of them stuck in my head all day after listening to it this morning while walking to class. It's a relatively short album at only 34 minutes, but that doesn't deter it at all. Vampire Weekend's sound is tough to pinpoint, but to me they sound like a combination of Spoon and a much more lo-fi Arcade Fire. The lead vocalist reminds me a lot of Britt Daniel from Spoon...with a little Caribbean accent that goes well with the sound of the music. It's tough to pick a favorite track (or even a least favorite) because the album is so even all the way through, however if I absolutely had to I'd go with "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa." It's such a simple song, but it's infinitely catchy, especially the lyrics ("is your bed made? is your sweater on?"). Pitchfork has already received some backlash for giving this relatively unknown band a great review and significantly helping their career as they have done with other bands such as Tapes 'N Tapes and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. However, unlike those bands, I truly believe this album deserves the 8.8 Pitchfork gave it. It's a good listen and will almost certainly be on my top 20 end of the year list for 2008.

January 30 - Illinois at Michigan State

Well, it wasn't in the least bit pretty, but a win is a win. The final score of 51-41 represents how sloppy this game was. A very physical contest with lots of fouls and not much run and gun from either team. But again, the Spartans prove they can beat you in a variety of different ways. The previous two contests were high scoring, with the Spartans running up an down the floor for easy scores. This game was a grind; each possession took up a great deal of the shot clock. They also found a way to play through horrid shooting from nearly everyone and foul trouble from several key players. Illinois, on the other hand, showed why they are only 2-7 in Big Ten play. Their defense was effective, holding MSU to only 51 points (20 in the first half). However, their offense may be the worst in the Big Ten this side of Northwestern. They couldn't make free throws to keep them in the game, and for the most part, they shot worse than the Spartans did. Just three years removed the National Championship Game, the Illinois program has crashed back to earth, and it couldn't be any funnier to me. I'd tell the Illini to have fun in the NIT at this point, but they're not even good enough to make it there. See you in Champaign in a few weeks, boys.

As for the Spartans, this win marks the best 21 game start in 109 years of Michigan State basketball. That's right, better than both of the national title winning teams and all six final four teams. It's obviously still early, but i like the tone that sets as we delve into deeper and increasingly more important games. This weekend it's in State College, PA to take on the hobbled Nittany Lions. After that it's Northwestern at home. Then the schedule gets much more challenging. But it's good to know this team has put itself in position to win their first regular season conference title since 2001. Tomorrow is the first game between any of the three ranked Big Ten teams as Indiana takes on Wisconsin in Madison. Since Indiana is still undefeated in conference play, I'll be rooting for Bo Ryan and his horrible team. Hope it's a good game.

Also, happy 53rd birthday, Tom Izzo.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash

Stephen Malkmus's first three solo records were nothing short of fantastic. He had built on the success of his band Pavement and in some ways taken it to new levels. While it's not commonly agreed upon that his solo career has exceeded his achievements as the Pavement frontman, it's hard to argue that they pale in comparison either. Real Emotional Trash is his fourth record, a follow up to 2005's Face the Truth. Although it was a fairly good record, something about the record left me somewhat dissatisfied. The middle of the record really dragged and brought the album as a whole down a peg. With Real Emotional Trash, it is the complete opposite. The middle tracks are among the best, including the mind-numbing ten minute title track. The album as a whole most closely resembles 2003's Pig Lib, which was a bit more "jammy" and less pop oriented than his debut or Face the Truth. "Baltimore" and "Hopscotch Willie" have some great solos reminiscent of previous tracks like "Animal Midnight" or "1 Percent of One." My personal favorite track is "Out of Reaches" because it blends every great element of the album into one song. Some great instrumentation and a nice tune with classic Stephen Malkmus lyrics. One of the little things i noticed that seems to make a big difference in enjoying this album is the track order. The short songs are intermingled nicely with the longer ones making for a great listen the whole way through. For example, the long, solo-filled "Baltimore" is followed immediately by the short, more pop-oriented "Gardenia." The highlight of the album for many people will be the grinding ten minute title track. Starting off slow and mellow, it elevates to a face-melting solo and right back again. Overall, the album has something for anyone who likes good music. It's very early into the year, but in my eyes Real Emotional Trash is the early frontrunner for album of 2008. Just another chapter in the impressive career of Stephen Malkmus.

The Bulls Are Terrible

I had high hopes for this team before the season started. And justifiably so. The team had come off it's best season in nearly a decade and looked ready to make the next step with a few key additions and a maturing and improving core. Well so much for that. As of January 27th, the Bulls were 17-26, bad enough to be 11th out of 15 teams in the horrible Eastern Conference. They've already fired their coach (the only team to do so this season) and have not been able to string together a solid group of wins in a row yet this year. I've never seen a team so baffling in all my life. All the talent is there to at least be a playoff team. Maybe the "best in the East" proclamations were a little ridiculous but there is no reason for this. Fortunately there's plenty of people to spread the blame around to. The Ben Wallace signing has been a disaster the franchise hasn't seen the likes of since Eddie Robinson. Luol Deng and Ben Gordon are hobbled and not the players they were last year. Kirk Hinrich has been wildly inconsistent. "Future Stud" Tyrus Thomas's development has come to a complete stand still. And on top of all that, Joakim Noah is being a jackass in the locker room and disrupting team chemistry. Not to mention the Kobe Bryant trade rumors that were hanging over this team all summer and fall. All seaosn I've kept waiting for them to pull it together and play like the team they're supposed to be, but at this point I've pretty much given up hope. I can only hope now that the ping pong balls bounce Chicago's way in a few months and we can draft Kansas State's Michael Beasley.

January 27 - Michigan at Michigan State

Drew Neitzel has finally found his shot; and that is a very good thing. Over the last four games, Neitzel has averaged 19 points per contest, and not surprisingly, the Spartans have been rolling. The Spartans have proved throughout the year that they can be a very good team without Neitzel scoring a whole lot. But for them to be a true title contender, they need Drew to be an offensive weapon like he was all of last season. As Big Ten play begins to tune up I have no doubt he will continue to find his shot and knock it down. With this whole team running at full strength i see no reason why they won't win the Big Ten season title and grab a 2 seed in the tournament at the very least. I keep hearing about how good Indiana is, but they've lost to the only two teams on their schedule that are in the top 50 (UConn and Xavier). I guess we will find out a lot about them this week when they head to Madison to take on the Badgers. As for the actual game on Sunday, I was pretty impressed. After a brief lapse early in the first half, the Spartans took over and were able to cruise to a fairly easy win. It was pretty obvious that Michigan just doesn't have the talent right now to seriously compete in the Big Ten. The Spartans' offense looked crisp and they ran the floor and got easy baskets. The defense looked as good as it has all season. The only thing I'm really concerned with right now (and have been all season) is turnovers. This is especially true when Neitzel and Travis Walton are out of the game because it puts the ball in the hands of freshman Kalin Lucas. Lucas is a great player and he will only get better and more poised down the stretch so I hope this is only a temporary issue.

Up next are the 2-6 Illini at the Breslin Center on Wednesday. I expect another fairly easy win as we continue to roll through the easiest part of the conference schedule. Also of note, if MSU wins, they will be 19-2 for the first time in program history. That's pretty impressive.