Michigan health officials have issued a new epidemic order requiring rapid testing for all youth athletes ages 13 to 19 beginning April 2, a mandate school officials expect to be time-consuming and one that so far has raised more questions than answers.The order for rapid antigen testing applies to all sports — contact and non-contact, winter and spring — regardless of the organizer, such as the Michigan High School Athletic Association or private club sports. The state health department is releasing the testing protocols on Saturday. It is not clear to me, whether this order will be expanded to include adult coaches or adult sports officials. I am scheduled to umpire my first baseball game on April 12. I will receive my second vaccine this coming Tuesday. More to come later on this.
Last night, I watched live the exchange between MSU coach Izzo and player Gabe Brown as the Spartans ran off the court at half-time with an eleven point lead. Izzo grabbed Brown by the arm and jersey and started yelling at Brown for a missed assignment that allowed UCLA to score as the half was ending. Brown jerked his arm away from Izzo and started yelling back at Izzo. It was an ugly scene that we have seen before. Although many of the halftime analysts and former Spartans quickly came to Izzo’s defense, Kenny Smith, was very clear in calling out Izzo. In my opinion, the incident cost the Spartans the game. The Spartans came out of half-time flat and lethargic. Their defense was not existent and their offense was dysfuntional. They lost in overtime after only scoring one basket in the last eight minutes of the game.
If you look back on my blogs over the last year, you know that I am very supportive and have great respect for Tom Izzo and what he has done for MSU and this state. However, there is no place for Izzo’s behavior that occurred last night. Imagine if that was a professor grabbing a student by the arm and shirt. No one would tolerate that behavior. Imagine if the president of the university did that to one of their direct reports. No one would tolerate it. Just because it occured in the middle of an athletic event does not justify it. Just because that is Izzo’s way of holding his student athletes accountable does not justify it. The Univeristy of Indiana turned a blind eye to Bobby Knight for decades, until he was caught on tape with his hands around a players throat. Izzo was wrong and he needs to be held accountable for his actions. I am not saying he needs to be fired, but he needs to know that another incident will not be tolerated.
One of the things I alway enjoy about the NCAA tournament are the new commercials from Capital One with Spike Lee, Samuel Jackson Charles Barkley. They have had some classics. The new one about Barkley driving them to Annapolis rather than Indianapolis is good. It seems like they really have fun making the commercials.
The first 24 hours of the tournament has not been kind to the B1G. MSU, OSU and Purdue have all gone down to defeat in the first round with all three teams losing in overtime. In a one and done tournament, the little things matter. In all three cases, one more made foul shot or one less turnover would have been the difference and changed the outcome. It is what makes the NCAA tournament so special. The best team does not always win.
Today I attended via Zoom my monthly Packard Health board meeting. I love this organization. In the last week or so Packard has vaccinated more than 40 patients at home by taking the vaccine to some of our patients who are not able to get to a vaccine site. I am so glad I have been part of this organization for the last 10 years. Please check us out by going to our website at packardhealth.org. Any donations will be welcome.
Stay safe. Wear your mask properly. Wash your hands regularly. Social distance. Schedule your vaccine.
Quotes of the day: The debate on Izzo has been split on social media, as it was among TBS analysts Thursday night and Friday morning. TBS’s Kenny Smith said on air that the incident was “extreme, that’s not normal,” while Charles Barkley, sitting just to Smith’s left, shot down that opinion, saying the exchange is “part of the game.” “Come on, it’s part of coaching,” Dick Vitale, the longtime ESPN analyst, “He has great love for those kids, and they know it. “Anybody that knows basketball knows his love is in the right place.”He loves those kids, and they love him.”
Orchid of the day: Packard Health. See above.
Onion of the day: Tom Izzo.