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Hardaway Jr., Michigan - So Far, So Good

Haters please step to the front of the line.

A common trend this week among college basketball insiders is admitting that they were wrong to have pegged Michigan as being overrated after the preseason polls ranked them at #5 to start the year.

Coming off an impressive win against an equally matched #16 NC State team last night, #3 Michigan is 6-0 and off to their best start since the '06-'07 season - where they began the year 7-0. The difference being in '06 they beat teams like Youngstown State and Central Connecticut State, and this season they are taking down established programs like Pittsburgh and Kansas State.

Highlighting all players on the Wolverine roster is the junior guard, Tim Hardaway Jr. 

After slumping during his sophomore season in '11-'12, in which he only shot 41.8% from the field, Hardaway is on a resurgence. Through the first six games of the season, Hardaway's pedigree is beginning to show as he leads his team in scoring, averaging close to 18 points per game, and by shooting an unbelievable 56.2% from the field.

With last night's win, Coach Belein and his team have managed to make it through the difficult portion of their non-conference schedule unscathed. Looking forward at their next seven match-ups, Michigan has a prime opportunity to enter Big Ten play undefeated. The opponents highlighting their next stretch of games being three interstate MAC schools and a struggling 1-3 West Virginia team.

This grace period of games is beneficial to Belein and his staff as it gives them a little over a month to further mature one of the younger rosters in the nation. Doing so is crucial once Big Ten play opens up on Jan. 3rd. With six Big Ten teams are currently ranked in the nations top 25, each game is going to be a battle.

Torii Hunter to the Tigers

Daddy Warbucks does it again.

With today's signing of Torii Hunter, Tigers owner Mike Ilitch once more shows the baseball world that he is willing to do anything - and by that I mean pay anything - to bring a World Series to Detroit.

Hunter (seen right), visited Detroit on Monday and was inked to a 2yr/$26 million deal by early Wednesday. Coming off a season in which he hit a career-high .313 with the Angels, many people still feel that the Tigers paid too much to bring him to Motown.

Now age 37, Hunter is a .277 career hitter with 14-years of experience at the major league level; playing for both Minnesota and most recently the Angels. With the return of Victor Martinez in 2013, who missed the entire 2012 season with a torn ACL, placing Hunter in the two spot next season behind Austin Jackson will on paper make the Tigers 1-6 line-up the most dangerous in the AL, and arguably even the majors (Jackson, Hunter, Cabrera, Fielder, Martinez, and Dirks).

 Also, having won nine career Gold Gloves, Hunter is a perfect fit defensively to fill into that corner outfield position for the Tigers. A position in which Detroit spent all of 2012 searching for some stability.

What makes this Tigers organization so intriguing is that they realize what city their team plays in.

With the exception of hockey, Detroit is not, and has never been, a hot ticket destination for big name free agents. Ilitch and GM Dave Dombrowski (seen left), both know that the only way to bring names like Prince Fielder and Torii Hunter to Detroit is to overpay.

I do have to agree with some of the critics. Overpaying players doesn't guarantee a championship by any means. But if you've watched the New York Yankees over the past 20 or so years, you know that it sure helps. Since 1996, the Yankees have made 10 trips to the ALCS and won seven World Series titles. More than any other team in baseball during that time span.

Detroit's early aggressiveness this offseason may be a sign of things to come. In 2012, the Tigers shed over $20 million in payroll with the departures of  Jose Valverde, Delmon Young, and Brandon Inge.

This puts a little more cash into the pockets of an owner who seemingly has no price limit.

Big Ten - Bizzaro World

It's no secret - Big Ten football is struggling.

Entering a season with five teams ranked in the preseason top 25 polls (Michigan #9, Michigan State #12, Ohio State #14, Wisconsin #15, and Nebraska #21), they have since fielded a gridiron debacle that could have never been foreseen.

Only Michigan and Nebraska are currently still ranked (Nebraska at #14, and Michigan at #21). Ohio State is undefeated and ranked highly in certain polls, but excluded from the BCS due to NCAA sanctions. Wisconsin is receiving votes at 7-3, but having not notched a win against a ranked opponent, they sit outside of the top 25. And Michigan State with a record of 5-5 tops all teams as the conference's biggest disappointment.

Throughout the rest of the conference, almost every team has under-performed. Other than Northwestern sitting at 7-3, no team is achieving anything worthy of analysis.

Luckily, there is a shining light for the Big Ten. A light so bright, it could potentially help erase the embarrassment brought about but their football programs. That light is... college basketball.

Similar to football, entering the college basketball season the Big Ten once again has five teams in the preseason polls; three of them in the top five. Indiana comes in at #1, Ohio St #4, Michigan #5, Michigan State #21, and Wisconsin #22.

Many analysts made claims before the college football season kicked off that certain teams in the Big Ten were ranked too high. Michigan highlighted that talk. Their predictions have for the most part come to pass. However for basketball, there aren't many people doubted the Big Ten's positions in the polls.

As we saw with football, just because a team is ranked high, that doesn't mean they deserve it. There's still a chance that the Big Ten doesn't live up to its preseason basketball rankings, as Michigan State and Purdue have already earned early season losses. But we'll have to wait a couple of months before we make any final conclusions.

For now most of the media buzz still surrounds football, and most likely will until after the bowl season in January. Lets just hope that when the smoke clears, the Big Ten has managed to salvage something positive to take into next fall.

Adrian Peterson Gashes Lions

Before playing Sunday at Minnesota, the Lions appeared to be on a resurgence; winning three of their previous four games. With a chance to go over .500 for the first time since starting the season 1-0, the Vikings thwarted Detroit's attempt, topping the Lions 34-24.

As usual, the Lions were trailing going into the 4th quarter, 20-10. Also as usual, the Lions scored multiple touchdowns in the 4th quarter. The unusual thing was that in most of the Lions comeback wins, their defense stepped up and kept opposing offenses off the scoreboard. Allowing our offense to cut the deficit.

The Viking offense apparently didn't get that memo. They scored 18-points in the final quarter, stifling any comeback attempt by the Lions. One of the big blows coming with eight minutes left on a 61-yard Peterson touchdown run (see video below at 1:43). Peterson finished the day with 171-yards rushing and one touchdown.

The loss came regardless of Stafford and Johnson having arguably their best games of the season. Stafford threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns, and Johnson caught 12 passes for 207 yards and a score.

If the Lions can't win when their big-guns bring their 'A' game, then they are definitely in trouble for their remaining seven-game schedule. With a combined opponent winning percentage of .714, this is likely the most daunting stretch of games in all of the NFL. Match-ups include Houston (8-1), Atlanta (8-1), Chicago (7-2), and twice against Green Bay (6-3).

With the inconsistent play of the Lions, you can definitely field an argument that this team could potentially go win-less to close out the season. My bold prediction is exactly that; a 4-12 finish for Detroit. But only time will truly tell.

However, one thing that remains consistent with this team are the crippling 4th quarter deficits that they find themselves in almost weekly.

Someone needs to tell them that the game start at 1:00 PM, not 3:30 PM.