Sports Then and Now

Sports have always been an integral part of Michigan’s culture. From the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings to the University of Michigan Wolverines, it seems like everyone in the state is a diehard fan of some team or another.

But lately, there has been a surge in interest from sports fans all over Michigan — and not just for one particular team. The state has become increasingly passionate about its teams, with more people cheering for their favorite athletes than ever before.

From professional franchises to college athletics, Michiganders are showing their love for these teams by attending games, wearing apparel, and sharing stories on social media; all signs that indicate that sports in Michigan are more popular than they’ve ever been before.

Rise In Interest From Sports Fans All Over Michigan

Sports in Michigan have been on the rise lately, with a surge of interest from sports fans all over the state. From Detroit Tigers and Red Wings games to University of Michigan Wolverines matches, it feels like everyone in the state is a diehard fan of some team or another. It’s as if Michiganders are determined to outshine even their most intense rivals when it comes to cheering for their favorite teams.

The popularity of Michigan sports franchises is further evident in the number of people attending games and wearing apparel. The stands are packed with loyal fans from all over the state who are eagerly rooting for their beloved teams and showing support for players no matter what the outcome may be.

With March Madness cancelled, the entire sports world on pause and many public gatherings and places across the country and globe closed due to the COVID-19 virus, there are only so many shows on Hulu, Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming channels that we can watch before sports withdrawals are surely to kick in.

Fortunately, YouTube is home to a plethora of vintage sporting events that can help pass the time before live sports return.

In part 1 of a multi-part series, Sports Then and Now has selected 10 vintage conference tournament games that include some of the all-time moments and players in college basketball history. For each one we have included the records, rankings, coaches and notable players at the time of the game, but are not spoiling the game with a summary in case you don’t remember the outcome and want to enjoy the moment without spoilers.

The fun part about watching vintage games is that it includes the original announcers, as well as showcasing some players who went on to greatness often before they had become household names, or as they were building their reputation. Players like Patrick Ewing, Ray Allen, Allen Iverson, Ralph Sampson, Tim Duncan, Jerry Stackhouse and many more are included in our selections.

There are certainly other great games to watch on YouTube, but we have chosen these partly because the entire game is available and the game epitomized the excitement of March Madness.

Enjoy!

1983 ACC Tournament Championship Game – Virginia vs. North Carolina State

Records Entering Game: Virginia 27-3; North Carolina State: 19-10

National Ranking: Virginia #2; North Carolina State unranked

Coaches: UVA: Terry Holland; North Carolina State: Jim Valvano

Notable Players: UVA – Ralph Sampson, Othell Wilson, Ricky Stokes, Rick Carlisle; NC State – Thurl Bailey, Sidney Lowe, Lorenzo Charles, Dereck Whittenburg, Terry Gannon

When it comes to the football rivalry between the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans, some observers see it as Big Brother vs. Little Brother with the Wolverines cast as the big brother and the Spartans as the little brother.

Heading into their 1990 meeting, Michigan had a confident feeling they were going to their little brother another beat down as the Wolverines entered the game as the #1 team in the country while Michigan State came in with a losing record.

The 1990 season was the first season in 21 years that Michigan did not have legendary head coach Bo Schembechler roaming the sidelines.

Gary Moeller, a Michigan assistant coach for 17 of Schembechler’s 21 years at Michigan, took over as head coach and guided the Wolverines to the #1 ranking despite a 28-24 loss to Notre Dame in the season opener.

Michigan had an offense that featured running back Jon Vaughn, the nation’s leading rusher at with 168 yards per game, sophomore quarterback Elvis Grbac, and a sophomore wide receiver named Desmond Howard, who was starting to make a name for himself in college football.

While the Wolverines came into the game as the top-ranked team in the country, the Spartans entered the game with a 1-2-1 record and were coming off a 12-7 loss to Iowa the week before.

This was the eighth season for Michigan State with head coach George Perles as head coach, who had complied a 46-33-3 record in his first seven seasons and had taken the Spartans to a Rose Bowl victory following a 1987 Big Ten championship season.

However, Perles had a 2-5 record against Michigan and had been held to an average of less than seven points in the previous five meetings against the Wolverines. Read the rest of this entry →

Iowa State self destructed last week.

It was an agonizing week for the all-seeing seer as four of his ten picks went South on October 1.

In retrospect, Zultan offers these occult words of wisdom to the Iowa State Cyclones, “In the future, if you are going to shoot yourself in the foot, do not use a sub machine gun.”

Prior to the Texas vs. Iowa State debacle, Arkansas came back to thwart Texas A & M as the Aggies failed by five points. Zultan could not believe his eyes as he watched A&M’s second collapse in a row. Someone must tell the Aggies that the game lasts 60 minutes, not 45.

Even playing in Columbus, Ohio State could only hold on, losing by three. It could have been even uglier. But MSU quarterback Kirk Cousins spared the Buckeyes abject humiliation by doing his own Spartan version of self-destruction in key moments.

Zultan blames his cloudy crystal ball which continues to conjure up  images from 2010.

But the pigskin prognosticator’s biggest miss was Clemson who stomped on Virginia Tech 23-3 without mercy. This Tiger is all business and will claim the ACC in 2011.  Zultan made a note to himself—C Rules in ACC.

What is more—to heap on massive degradation— almost three score of you recorded better results that the Mighty One. Zultan has barricaded himself in Mom’s garage, pouting and throwing rocks at a poster of Paul Rhoads.  Where was the triple overtime win when you really needed it, Coach?

Those surpassing the great one will be listed at the end of this article along with appropriate, if begrudging accolades.

Next up for the all-seeing seer—Week 2 in the Big Ten, Week 6 overall in the college football season.

Zultan offers you another week of difficult picks daring you to try to outguess him again.  If you feel lucky, or even if you don’t, click here to make your picks and see if you can surpass the big Z this coming Saturday.

Read the rest of this entry →

The scoreboard tells it all as JMU becomes the second I-AA team ever to defeat a ranked Division I-A opponent.

While the teams at the top of the rankings were able to pull out victories in the second week of the college season, there still were some big surprises and interesting stories during the weekend. Of course the biggest was the shocking upset of Virginia Tech by I-AA James Madison University, but other teams are starting to provide some interesting storylines for the 2010 College Football season.

JMU KNOCKS OFF VIRGINIA TECH AND BOISE STATE IN ONE GAME!

When the James Madison Dukes became the second Division I-AA team ever to defeat a ranked Division I-A team with their 21-16 victory over Virginia Tech, they didn’t just knock out the Hokies, they likely took potential BCS bowl buster Boise State down with them.

Given the overall poor performance of the ACC in the early season, even if Virginia Tech is able to turn things around and run the table within the conference, their power ranking isn’t going to be high enough to give Boise State the boost they are going to need if they hope to score many points for strength of schedule come BCS formula time.

Consider that while Boise State needed a late touchdown to defeat the Hokies by three points at a neutral site, James Madison led for nearly all of the fourth quarter to win by five points in a game played in front of Tech’s home crowd.

With Georgia Tech losing to Kansas, Miami getting knocked around at Ohio State and Florida State getting blasted by Oklahoma, it is very possible that the ACC won’t have a team ranked in the top 20 in the next poll. That doesn’t help Boise State at all as their hope for earning a spot in the BCS title game was in part based on Virginia Tech being considered a top 10-15 team throughout the season and the ACC being given some overall respect. Read the rest of this entry →

It's the best time of the year - football season in the Big 10 Conference.

Throughout the month of August, Sports Then and Now will be looking at major college football conference through a series of previews. We start off with the Big Ten:

It is August and we have waited long enough for college football to get underway.  It is time to begin announcing the winners and losers––then explaining why and how we went wrong the following week.

The life of a forecaster is not an easy one.  At least until the first of September we will be safe with these Big Ten Football Power Rankings.

The Big Ten Conference gets some grudging respect after winning a few Bowl Games in post-season play after the 2009 season––four wins to be exact after sending seven teams to bowl games.

Two BCS wins by Ohio State whacking Oregon in the Rose Bowl and Iowa knocking back the Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl enhanced the Big 10 aura heading into 2010.

This year the Big Ten enters the foray with four teams in the top 25.  The exact placement depends on the particular poll you chose to believe.  But it is safe to say that most expect Ohio State to be in the top five, Iowa in the top fifteen, Wisconsin in the top twenty with Penn State in the top twenty-five.

This is how the teams fall within the Conference…

Read the rest of this entry →