Most Read Recent "Sports Thoughts" Columns

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Monday, Sept. 23, 2024 Column

Later today, Michigan Coach Sherrone Moore will meet the media in Ann Arbor.

It's a tradition. All coaches do it in college football.

I'm not going today, so you can bet nobody will ask the big question on every realistic Michigan football fan's mind: "Do we have another Brady Hoke-Rich Rodriguez situation on our hands?"

Sure, the Wolverines won  27-24 over USC with a late drive to avoid two losses in a row.

They're talking in Ann Arbor about how Moore is an offensive lineman at heart and is getting back to Bo Schembeckler's brand of smash nose football — run it down your opponent's throat behind the big fellas up front.

UM has a good offensive line. They have a great defense. The running game is looking good with Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullins.

But you don't win national championships without a great quarterback.

UM does not have a top quality QB.

Alex Orji was 7-for-12 for only 30 yards in his first start for the Wolverines. He saw action behind David Warren in the first two games but it was mostly for his legs.

He adds another dimension to UM's offense with his ability to run the ball. He ran it 13 times on Saturday against USC for 43 yards.

He has potential. But he's not yet good enough to take UM to the top of the polls. Maybe he can help the Wolverines win the Big 10. Maybe.

Potential does not win big football games against nationally-ranked opponents but Coach Moore benched Warren after he threw three interceptions in the 31-12 loss to Texas last week at the Big House. Warren was 22-for-23 for 204 yards through the air but Orji got the call this week.

Sherrone had to do something.

Losing twice in a row at the Big House?

Yeah, that would be taking us back to the disastrous era of Brady Hoke following Rich Rod.

So Sherrone chose to go with potential and chose Orji to save his job.

Yes, save his job. Losing to Texas already had many in the UM faithful remembering back to the days of Brady Hoke and Rich Rod. Some suggested talking Tom Brady into giving coaching a try instead of broadcasting if he wants to stay in football.

Losing two in a row at the Big House would have doomed Sherrone.

So he benched Warren.

Potential does not win big football games against nationally-ranked opponents but Coach Moore benched Warren after he threw three interceptions in the 31-12 loss to Texas last week at the Big House. Warren was 22-for-23 for 204 yards through the air but Orji got the call this week.

Thankfully, Mullins ran 17 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns to lead UM's 290 yards on the ground to only 96 for USC. It was 199 to minus-16 in the first half.

USC came into the game 2-0 in non-league play and ranked 11th in the country.

But did the Trojans deserve to be ranked that high? If so, Big 10 football is presenting some national championship kind of talent with UM, Ohio State, Penn State and Illinois all joining USC in the top 25.

The Wolverines jumped up to No. 12 after the Texas loss sent them from No. 9 to No. 18.

Ohio State is No. 3 and Penn State is No. 9 this week. Both are 3-0 while 4-0 Illinois is now No. 19. USC fell to No. 12 behind UM this week by loisng its debut game in the conference after leaving the Pac 10 this season.

Minnesota's P.J. Fleck is rowing his boat of Golden Gophers to the Big House this week for UM's second Big 10 showdown. If Sherrone lets his troops take their eyes off the challenge to become better fast, he could find himself quickly in the coaching fraternity unemployment line. UM's fan base won't tolerate "pretty good" — just ask Brady Hoke or Rich Rod. And they got the ax before  Jim Harbaugh delivered last season's national championship trophy to Ann Arbor.

But Minnesota is coming off a 31-14 loss at home to Iowa — its first of the season after non-conference romps of 48-0 over Rhode Island and 27-0 over Nevada. You can bet Fleck will have his Gophers pumped to play UM on the road. “Row the Boat” is a mantra and philosophy used by Fleck that encourages people to embrace challenges and achieve their goals. It's how he put Western Michigan University on the national map to get the job at Minnesota in the first place.

I'm predicting a Minnesota upset to end any talk around Ann Arbor of making the expanded NCAA playoff field this season. Talk of Coach Sherrone not being the right guy for UM will dominate the rest of the year and he will get his walking papers when his Wolverines don't win the Big 10 crown again when losing to Ohio State, and maybe even Michigan state.

I hope I'm wrong. I sure enjoyed that last ditch drive to nip USC — probably more than the national title since I was relegated to watching that one from a hospital bed at UM Hospital in Ann Arbor after a kidney transplant to save my life.

When initially told my new kidney wasn't working, I figured God was giving me a "going away" gift with that national title game victory by the Wolverines I've rooted for since my childhood. 

But I can be in Heaven on earth if I'm wrong about Sheronne being the guy to lead UM

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Mike Killbreath appears daily on Metro Flint News/Talk Radio via The Michigan Sports Zone at 4:45 pm. He's an award-winning sports writer, sports columnist, news columnist and investigative reporter who is the former long-time owner of the local Metro Flint area chain of 14 community newspapers. This fall marks his 50th year as a journalist. He also hosts a new weekly national TV show known as The American Crusaders on cable TV and various OTT TV live streaming platforms.

You can't blame Kristin Haynie if she is rooting for an off weekend or for Flint's Kendyl Smith to get sick after last weekend's impressive performance in Louisville, Kentucky. (See Related Story in Today's Most Read Recent Stories in the Sports Section of The Daily Gazette)

Haynie took over as the new head coach of Central Michigan University's women's basketball team last year. Landing Kendyl Smith to go to CMU would help her rebuilding project there since the junior-to-be at Flint Powers Catholic is sure to attract interest from Big Ten schools and other top Division 1 programs as a potential Miss Basketball winner before she's done.

CMU was the first Division 1 school to offer Kendyl Smith a full ride scholarship (when she was an 8th grader with two national championships on her resume in lower level AAU brackets) and Coach Heynie has been showing up often at her games during the last high school season and on the AAU trail this summer.

Only one more summer event remains with an invitation only tournament for top players from around the country on tap this weekend in South Carolina. Smith will get to show off her skills there against top 16u stars from around the USA.

She has been doing that all summer, too, around the midwest with the Legends U 16u team of prep all-stars from Michigan and Ohio. The Columbus-based program features five all-star AAU teams at the 17u, 16u, 15u and 14u brackets. They went a combined 33-1 with four national championships last weekend in Louisville.

"She's being seen by college coaches everywhere," Kevin Smith said about his daughter. "It has been such a great experience playing in this program."

We honored Kendyl Smith for her big weekend with The Morning Gazette Radio Show's Bouquet of Roses for spreading a little Metro Flint pride in Louisville. Listeners immediately complained via a flood of texts that high school athletes never get such a distinction from our radio show. I guess that really makes it more special what a big accomplishment it was for the young Smith girl.

In fact, she's not the first local prep athlete to get such an individual honor. A number of local prep teams contending for state championships have been given the special salute as a "team" but only one other local prep player has been given the honor in an individual fashion. . We gave Monte Morris of Flint Beecher our Bouquet of Roses on a show with the late Flint City Councilman Eric Mays on the morning we found out he won Mr. Basketball en route to leading the Bucs to their second straight Class C state championship.

Morris went on to a great collegiate career at Iowa State before making it big in the NBA where he has now played for four teams  — the Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizard, Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Could a career in the WNBA be ahead for Smith?

CMU's head coach certainly would be one with connections to help get her there. Haynie has WNBA pedigree, including a championship in 2005 while playing at Sacrament with the  Monarchs. She also played in the WNBA with the Atlanta Dream and Detroit Shock as well as playing professionally overseas afterward in Italy, Lithuania, Russia and Greece. She has also been an assistant coach in the WNBA with the  Minnesota Lynx.

You can bet Haynie has Kendyl Smith's dad rooting for her to win the recruiting sweepstakes because Mount Pleasant would be within driving distance from Flint for friends and family to see her play. Her grandpa (Craig Smith) is a CMU grad, too. Older sister Amaya Smith is also in the fold at CMU for next season as one of five top freshman recruits Haynie landed in her rebuilding project with the Chippewas.

 Amaya Smith was first team all-Saginaw Valley League this past winter with younger sister Kendyl while leading Powers to a deep run in the state tournament. Powers won a Division 2 regional championship.

Now that Coach Haynie has had an up close experience with Amaya Smith, I'm sure she is impressed with the work ethic. She's a gym rat who has been shooting 1,000 3's every day in her workout routine since she was in grade school. That's why she's deadly from outside but it's her defense and leadership that makes her one of the area's best I've ever seen in local girls' basketball circles.

In a radio conversation with the legendary Eric Mays, he once classified Bryan Rison of Beecher as the best ever he had seen in local boys' hoops while I went with Flint Central's Eric Turner. When the subject turned to the best girl ever, I went with Goodrich's Taylor Gleason who was all-state four times and led the Martians to back-to-back state championships her last two years with tenacious defense along with averaging over 21 points per game as a senior. Mays paused and made a prediction about a then 5-year-old.

"You might think I'm crazy but I saw this little white girl playing against older boys, making them cry she was so much better than everyone out there," Mays said about Kendyl Smith. "Her and her sister were the only two white girls in the gym, and I'm telling you  —  they were dominating! I don't know their names but they are the girls of Kevin Smith who is a Flint cop. That little one is gonna be something special  — maybe the best ever from this area for sure. Ask Mateen Cleaves. She made his kid cry."

I'd put her in a class with Goodrich's Gleason, the old twin towers of Flint Northern (Pamela and Paula McGee who went on to play professionally after All-American careers at USC followed back-to-back titles with the Vikings in 1979 and 1980), Deanna Nolan who also won two state titles at Northern as a Miss Basketball winner her senior in 1995 before eventually going on to WNBA stardom, Goodrich's Tania Davis who was a  Miss Basketball winner in 2015, Powers Catholic’s Lisa Negri who led her school to a fourth straight Final Four appearance in 1991, Flint Hamady's Laurie Byrd who completed a brilliant career with the Hawks in 1978 before going on to star at Eastern Michigan and play professionally and current Mott Community College Coach  Letitia Hughley who never lost a game in high school basketball when helping lead Flint Northern to three straight state titles prior to leading the Vikings to two state titles as a coach before landing the Mott job in 2005.

I'd complete my all-time top 10 in the Metro Flint regional area with the Smith sisters.

Younger sister Kendyl is flashy in a Magic Johnson mold and obviously has more talent than Amaya, but I'm not so sure my first pick in a draft wouldn't be the big sister. Her defense stands out but best of all  —  she's a winner who inspires everyone around her.

Look for big things out of her at CMU.

The biggest prize of all may be luring sister Kendyl to the CMU campus.

READ "OLD SPORTS THOUGHTS" COLUMNS

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Mike Killbreath is an award-winning newspaper sports columnist. He appears on Metro Flint News/Talk Radio via The Daily Gazette Sports Weekend Show Sundays from 6-8 pm and on The Morning Gazette Radio Show weekday mornings from 8 am until 9:30 am. He's an award-winning news columnist and investigative reporter who is the former long-time owner of the local Metro Flint area chain of 14 community newspapers. This fall will be his 50th year as a journalist. He also hosts a new weekly national TV show known as The American Crusaders on cable TV and various OTT TV live streaming platforms.

Tuesday, July 2, 2024 Column

A friend e-mailed me a clip from Fox 2 Detroit late last night after the 11 o'clock news revealed why Craig Monroe has been off broadcasts of the Detroit Tigers' games. (See Related Story)

I have not missed C-Mo and all the fun and baseball knowledge he brings to the booth.

My home has Comcast Xfinity which couldn't reach a deal with Bally Sports which took Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization not long after buying out Fox Sports Detroit TV.

So C-Mo quit coming into my home.

By the time I finally figured out how to add the special app to see games again on my TV (well, I needed one of the older 5 grandkids to come visit), a nose dive back into loserville soured my zest to shell out more money for cable TV and all our various streaming TV services.

But if they had not gone on to their nose dive into 15 games out of first place long before the All-Star Game break, C-Mo would have given me some entertainment on nights when watching the Tigers  would be better than watching mindless shows with another member of my household.

But C-Mo likely isn't coming back — guilty or not on these charges of rape of more than 20 years ago while he was in the minor leagues. What's worse  — allegations are that it began while the victim was under age.

If true, prison is the best place for him.

But before we jump to conclusions, remember our area's own victim of untrue rape allegations. I went to every day of a high profile trial for Mateen Cleaves  — our Flintstone star of national championship fame at Michigan State. He used the Manley brothers (Frank and Mike) to prove he didn't do it.

So where does he go to get his reputation back?

Just last week, someone mentioned how he "got away with rape because he could afford the Sharks" and I had to set him straight.

But remember how Mateen was immediately shouting to the world that he didn't do it.

Nothing but crickets out of C-Mo.

I'm worried about that fact. If he didn't do it, why isn't he out denying it happened?

If he's not guilty, he needs to give Frank Manley a call. If he's guilty, don't bother.

Frank Manley wins cases because he says there's a simple key to his success: He only defends clients who are not guilty. 

READ "OLD SPORTS THOUGHTS" COLUMNS

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Mike Killbreath is an award-winning newspaper sports columnist. He appears on Metro Flint News/Talk Radio via The Daily Gazette Sports Weekend Show Sundays from 6-8 pm and on The Morning Gazette Radio Show weekday mornings from 8 am until 9:30 am. He's an award-winning news columnist and investigative reporter who is the former long-time owner of the local Metro Flint area chain of 14 community newspapers. This fall will be his 50th year as a journalist. He also hosts a new weekly national TV show known as The American Crusaders on cable TV and various OTT TV live streaming platforms.

Monday, June 24, 2024 Column

A letter passed on to me by a volunteer little league coach hit home as I spend so many weekends watching my two grandsons at baseball parks. 

One (Jack) is on Foutch baseball's 9u travel team and another one (Preston) is one of the few two 6-year-olds on Foutch's 8u coach-pitch travel team. The Foutch program attracts quality parents who are there for all the right reasons  —  supporting their kids as they chase their dreams of getting better and building self confidence while enjoying all the life lessons of America's greatest game. 

I'm really glad to be away from the rec league ballparks for a bit (I have a third grandson who is only age 3 but already spending too much time at ballparks not to fall in love with the game!)

It's at these rec league parks all over America that parents are often there for all the wrong reasons  — expecting coaches to work magic to transform their once-per-week or twice-per-week young athlete into an absolute superstar. Forget all the practice, dedication, travel and traveling to far away places it takes for travel parents to produce better talent from their kids.

Well, anyway, here's the letter from a Volunteer Coach and it fits, too, from several of our Foutch baseball opponents this summer: 

"Today I heard a comment made about me behind my back. I started to turn around and look, but then decided better of it and kept my eyes on the field. My wife hears things like this more often than I do, because many of you don’t know who she is. She tells me what you say. I have received angry emails, full of “suggestions,” about who should be playing where and how I... lost that day’s game for the kids. I thought I’d write an open letter to all of you parents, even though I might never send it. I’ll start it this way: “I am a volunteer.”

I’m the one who answered the call when the league said they didn’t have enough coaches. I understand that you were too busy. I have some news for you. I’m not retired. I’m busy too. I have other children and a job, just like you do. Not only do I not get paid to do this – it costs me money. I see you walk up to the game 15 minutes after it started, still dressed for work. 

Do you know I’ve already been here over an hour? Imagine if you had to leave work early nearly every day. I’ve never seen you at a practice. I’m sure you’re plugging away at the office. But I’m out here, on the field, trying my best to teach these children how to play a sport they love, while my bank account suffers.

I know. I make mistakes. In fact, maybe I’m not even that great of a coach. But I treat the kids fairly and with respect. I am pretty sure they like coming to my practices and games, and without me or someone like me, there’d be no team for them to play on. I’m part of this community too and it’s no picnic being out here on this stage like this. It’s a lot easier back there with the other parents where no one is second-guessing you.

And I also know you think I give my son or daughter unfair advantages. I try not to. In fact, have you ever considered that maybe I’m harder on him than on the others? I’m sure he hears plenty of criticism at school from classmates, who hear it from you at home, about what a lame coach I am. 

And if, even unconsciously, my kids are getting a slight advantage because I know them better and trust their abilities, is that the worst thing in the world, considering the sacrifice I’m making? Trust me, I want to win too. And if your son or daughter could guarantee we’d do that, I’d give them the chance.

After this game is over, I’ll be the last one to leave. I have to break down the field, put away all the equipment and make sure everyone has had a parent arrive to pick them up. There have been evenings when my son and I waited with a player until after dark before someone came to get them. 

Many nights I’m sure you’ve already had dinner and are relaxing on the couch by the time I finally kick the mud off my shoes and climb into my car, which hasn’t been washed or vacuumed for weeks. Why bother cleaning it during the season? Do you know how nice it would be if, just once, after a game one of you offered to carry the heavy gear bag to my car or help straighten up the field?

If I sound angry, I’m not. I do this because I love it and I love being around the kids. There are plenty of rewards and I remind myself that while you’re at the office working, your kid is saying something that makes us all laugh or brings a tear to my eye. The positives outweigh the negatives. I just wish sometime those who don’t choose to volunteer their time would leave the coaching to the few of us who do."

READ TODAY'S "SPORTS THOUGHTS" COLUMN

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Mike Killbreath is an award-winning newspaper sports columnist. He appears on Metro Flint News/Talk Radio via The Daily Gazette Sports Weekend Show Sundays from 6-8 pm and on The Morning Gazette Radio Show weekday mornings from 8 am until 9:30 am. He's an award-winning news columnist and investigative reporter who is the former long-time owner of the local Metro Flint area chain of 14 newspapers. This fall will be his 50th year as a journalist. He also hosts a new weekly national TV show known as The American Crusaders on cable TV and various OTT TV live streaming platforms.

Saturday, June 23, 2024 Column

Now that  out-of-state media giant Townsquare Media has shut down 1470 AM, Metro Flint News/Talk Radio is left as the only local radio station presenting high school football and basketball broadcasts.

We will keep in mind that we're the only game in town for prep athletes to get such recognition as we prepare for another prep season.

We will kick off our 2024 broadcasts on Thursday, Aug. 29th when Davison takes on Warren De La Salle Collegiate in the Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University. The two-day event is sponsored by the Detroit Sports Commission.

Davison plays  in the second game of an opening night doubleheader at 7 pm. A second team from the Metro Flint regional area (Clarkston) will also play in the 12th annual kick-off event at Wayne State University.

The Thursday opener pits Southgate Anderson against Trenton at 4 p.m. 

Action on Friday, Aug. 30 will will feature Belleville taking on Clarkston at 4 pm and Detroit King facing Cleveland Heights at 7 pm.

We will feature some of our veteran broadcasters and we're still looking for new talent to expand our presentation of game broadcasts. If you want to apply, call us at (810) 771-8421 to leave a message or go to our CCN Jobs Page to apply.

We pay only $50 for play-by-play announcers and $35 for color commentators who must have previous experience. Candidates without experience may be able to win a chance to join one of our veteran broadcasters on the air for on-the-job training if you want to win a paying position.

Who knows? You may have what it takes to someday move into a big time media job as a broadcaster or move up to the state college ranks.

READ TODAY'S "SPORTS THOUGHTS" COLUMN

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Mike Killbreath is an award-winning newspaper sports columnist. He appears on Metro Flint News/Talk Radio via The Daily Gazette Sports Weekend Show Sundays from 6-8 pm and on The Morning Gazette Radio Show weekday mornings from 8 am until 9:30 am. He's an award-winning news columnist and investigative reporter who is the former long-time owner of the local Metro Flint area chain of 14 newspapers. This fall will be his 50th year as a journalist. He also hosts a new weekly national TV show known as The American Crusaders on cable TV and various OTT TV live streaming platforms.