Wednesday, November 07, 2007

The Second Coming of John L. Smith?


After getting rid of goofy John L. Smith in November, Michigan State hired Mark Dantonio from Cincinnati, seemingly a grounded and fairly normal being with a solid football resume. Dantonio announced that beating Michigan was at the top of his "to-do" list, which brought cheers from the Spartan faithful.

He installed a clock in the Spartan practice facility that counted down the seconds until the Michigan game.

"At least they'll be on time for the game," Michigan left tackle Jake Long remarked.

This pissing match was just beginning.

At the start of the season, Dantonio asked if there should be a moment of silence after being told on his postgame radio show that the Wolverines had lost to Appalachian State. Michigan waited to deliver its response on Saturday in the form of a 28-24 victory over Sparty, followed by Wolverine players huddling at midfield for a "moment of silence." Running back Mike Hart then poured it on, referring to Michigan State as a "little brother" of Michigan.

That brings us to the above video of Dantonio, who is beginning to look more and more like another John L. Smith.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm still trying to figure out how in the world Mike Hart has the audacity to talk smack to anyone after he and his team lost to App. St. at the beginning of the year, in what has to be the biggest upset in the history of college football (yes, I know Stanford beat USC, but when a Div. I-AA team beats a top 5 Div. I-AA team that has national championship aspirations, the latter is by far a bigger upset). Funny, I don't remember any smack talk from Hart after that loss. What a joke.

Anonymous said...

umm....he went 4-0 against lil' brother, I think that gives him room to talk about MSU.

Anonymous said...

umm... Mike Hart has gone 0-3 against Ohio State, but he's still talking trash about OSU. I think it's safe to say Mike Hart talks trash no matter whether he has the "right to." Good football player, but someone who can't shut up.

Anonymous said...

Exactly what trash has Hart talked about OSU?

Fred Zimmerman said...

In case you hadn't noticed, Michigan has now won 8 in a row. Only three other teams have longer winning streaks this year.

I agree, nothing to brag about until we make it ten in a row, but remember this then ...

Anonymous said...

I, too, would like to hear the trash Hart talked about Ohio State?

Michigan has won six straight against MSU. If MSU wants it to stop, then fucking beat the Wolverines.

Michigan can have "a moment of silence" at MSU's 50-yard line, a rebuttal against Dantonio's initial shit-talking about the App. State loss.

Anonymous said...

Once again the Wolverines go out of their way to create some perceived slight then act like boorish clowns (which apparently is justified to many because the scored more points)

The Dantonio "moment of silence" comment came when after his first career win he was repeatedly asked for a reaction about the UM-App State game. Anyone that listened could tell his real message was "why should I have to talk about Michigan after my game" he finally said do you want a moment of silence for them.
Most Spartan fans loved his response to Hart's ridiculous assertion that they were laughing on the UM sideline as the game was never in doubt.

Anonymous said...

The comment about the 'moment of silence for Michigan' came after MSU's first game when Dantonio was answering questions about the win. It wasn't so much of a joke as it was a 'I want to talk about Michigan State, not Michigan' kind of comment.

If I remember correctly, a reporter asked "What do you think about Appalachian State beating Michigan?" and Dantonio replied "What, do you want to have a moment of silence for them?"

Fred Zimmerman said...

Kyle: D'Antonio's comment was a smart-ass remark, but I agree it's no big deal. It's certainly not bothering me.

Did you know that Michigan State's record in its last 21 Big Ten games is 3-18?

World of Isaac said...

so let me get this straight:

What Dantonio said in that video was the equivalent of John L slapping himself in the face at a press conference...

wow!

Anonymous said...

Mike Hart said directly after last year's loss to Ohio State that the Buckeye defense "was nothing special" and that UM would win if they played again.

Not the most incendiary comments, but came off as whiny and classless. He hasn't said anything that bad, but UM is also 0-3 against Ohio State in his three years.

The point is he has a hard time tipping his cap to the other team and avoiding excuses(something Buckeye fans say that Tressel's players consistently will do).

Fred Zimmerman said...

wait a minute, Buckeye fans talking about class? ho ho ho ... you'll be classy when you treat visitors to your stadium with courtesy.

Anonymous said...

Firstly, I was talking about the players' actions, not the fans'.

Secondly, class is not exactly what's being referenced here. It's sportsmanship and leaving it on the field. With Michigan's "Moment of Silence" after the MSU game and Hart's comments (http://blog.mlive.com/thediag/2007/11/hart_shows_lack_of_class.html) I think that UM's PLAYERS (especially its "leaders") could show some maturity.

BTW, I'd like a new plasma for xmas (ho ho ho).

Fred Zimmerman said...

I probably wouldn't have said it, but then, I'm not Mike Hart. We can't all be boring and mature 24x7, and I'm glad he's not. That's the fun of the guy.

Calling your in-state arch-rival the "little brother" is really pretty tame stuff, when you get right down to it, isn't it? I mean, it's not something that might get you fired from a job, like making a racist comment, or cursing out your co-worker ... it's exactly what it sounds like, which is Male Rivalry 101. Defensible, considering football is all about male rivalry.

Especially considering Michigan is 67-28-5 against MSU in the 100 games of the series...

Anonymous said...

Notwithstanding the stupidity of a 51 year-old Head coach attacking a 21 yar-old player, these MSU clowns act as if they have never acted with anything less than class. In fact, Mr. Caulcrick, MSU's fullback, claims to take the high road in gracious winning and yet he, among other MSU classy players can be readily seen in a video of MSU planting its flag AT NOTRE DAME in 2005.

Anonymous said...

I love stupid whiny Sparties.

Start deluding yourselves that things will be different next year.

Also, for the first moron in this thread, Mike Hart is one of the best football players in the game and one of the best ever at UM. You want to keep bringing up App St? How's it feel to lose to the team that lost to App St for the 8th time in a row?

We offer no apologies for owning you guys. Keep obsessing about UM. It clearly helps your program.

Anonymous said...

Didn't Florida show the world that Mike Hart was right about the tOSU's defense last year ?

Fred Zimmerman said...

the M-OSU game should be fun this year. Michigan scored 39 against OSU's defense last year, which is mostly the same kids, so I think they can score against them this year. The game will come down to whether M gives up the back-breaking big plays as it did last year.