I woke up yesterday morning excited about the U of M/OSU basketball game. Number 3 vs Number 4. The first time these two teams played against each other when both teams were ranked in the top 5. National TV and both teams projected as number 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. Based on the recent Covid-19 pause, I wasn’t expecting U of M to win since they hadn’t won in Columbus in 7 years. I was just hoping for a well played game, which is what I got and so much more. This game was so well played by both teams, that it was a shame that one of the teams had to lose. In my 60+ years of watching college basketball games, this goes down as one of the finest played games I have ever watched. It compares to Duke vs Kentucky in the regional finals (the Christian Laetner shot), the national semi-finals of Phi Slamma Jamma (Houston) vs Doctors of Dunk (Louisville), and Eastern Michigan vs Kentucky State in 1970. Here are some of the statisticss from the game yesterday. Turnovers:16 combined for both teams, with Michigan only one in second half. Three point shooting: Michigan 47% and OSU 50% with Michigan 10-13 in first half. Total shooting: Michigan and OSU 53%. Free throw shooting: Michigan 79% OSU 92%. Michigan 19 assists on 31 baskets. This was a game that would have been more enjoyable to watch if I had not cared who won.
Today the The Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch attempt by former President Donald J. Trump to shield his financial records, issuing a brief, unsigned order requiring Mr. Trump’s accountants to turn over his tax return and other records to prosecutors in New York. The case concerned a subpoena to Mr. Trump’s accountants, Mazars USA, by the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr. The firm has said it will comply with the final ruling of the courts, meaning that the grand jury should receive the documents in short order.
Former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield resigned Monday morning as CEO of a southwest Michigan economic development group after a wave of criticism over his past opposition to civil rights protections for gays and lesbians. In a letter to the board of Southwest Michigan First, Chatfield, said the organization deserves “someone with a blank political slate that won’t bring about the division that I’ve unfortunately caused.”
Crains Detroit Business published a forum on the status of mental health in Michigan. There were a lot of different articles and opinions on what is wrong and what needs to be done to fix the issues. As a former member of the Washtenaw CMH and a former member of one of the statewide PIHPs, I can attest to many of the issues identified in the various articles. Here is a link to the magazine articles. Thank you to former Michigan DH&HS Director, Jim Haveman for bringing this to my attention.
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/crains-forum
Things are getting ridiculous in the world of sports. ESPN has announced that San Diego Padre 22 year old shortstop, Fenando Tatis, Jr., has signed a 14 year $340 million contract. Since most MLB contracts are guaranteed providing the player doesn’t break certain personal conduct agreements, my guess is that one of the two parties is going to want to get out of this contract before it ends.
Quote of the Day: “As a Christian, I believe the Bible. I don’t want to hide from that. Nor do I want to run from that. I don’t say that as a shield, and I certainly don’t say that to use as a weapon. I say it only because I want to be open and honest. And I don’t want to feel I have to be quiet about that within this community so I could collect a paycheck.” Former Michigan Speaker of the House, Lee Chatfield after resigning from his new position as CEO of Southwest Michigan First, an economic development group less than 14 days after being hired.
Orchid of the Day: Crain’s Detroit Business for publishing the above mentioned forum on mental health in Michigan.
Onion of the Day: Draymond Green of Golden State Warriors for his two technicals in the last 9.3 seconds of the game that caused Golden State to lose a game they had in hand. Not the first time and not the last that he has allowed his emotions to get the best of him at the expense of his team.