Hondo's MSU Mailbag: EXCLUSIVE Information From a Very Big Week
LOS ANGELES, CA.—The Michigan State University Athletics program is having a great week.
Tom Izzo and his cagers took out their second-most bitter rival, the Duke Blue Devils, in the Champions Classic; what a game that was. New football coach Pat Fitzgerald got a massive and signature win over Michigan - always, ALWAYS in any sport, the biggest game of the year - and hockey is rolling. This interview is exclusive and breaking information.
Spartan Nation Speaks Up
Each week, I ask you all to send me your biggest questions and thoughts on anything MSU-athletic-related, and you always respond. If you have something you want to ask, fire away this week: email me at SpartanNationMail@yahoo.com and put "Spartan Nation" in the subject line.
So without any more waiting, let’s dig in on your questions.
Are You Serious?
Hondo, it is a great early Christmas gift to have you writing a column every week. I miss your inside, common-sense reporting that we have loved for years. My question: are you serious? Another MSU trustee suing the school? Any thoughts or insight on it?Christopher in Olivet, MI
Hi Christopher, I appreciate the very kind words. I actually know a lot about this, so let me say a few words and direct you to my new podcast with him and his lawyer, so you can judge.
Michigan State University Trustee Mike Balow is suing the school over its ridiculous (in my opinion) policy, which has nothing to do with ethics.
Earlier this year, it was modified with what is being labeled a loyalty clause, as some elected trustees were publicly critical of university policies.
Balow and his people reached out to me. They asked for no questions to be off-limits, and I could ask anything, and I did.
Balow, an alumnus of the US Naval Academy and a properly elected trustee of our beloved institution, has allegedly been stonewalled in seeing documents and information, and he hasn’t been silent about it.
He refused to be silent, and he refused to sign the document. He was not the only one; this was bipartisan.
I have maintained for years that this is not a republican or democrat position; it is a Green and White position.
No trustee, on a board known for its utter ineptitude, should sign that. Whether we voted for them or not, they represent us. For far too long, the bureaucracy of Michigan State University, in my opinion, has seen itself, through its ignorance and arrogance, as the self-entitled benefactors. We all understand privileged information. I have some about the school myself, and its sensitivity.
But to attempt to silence the elected officials of this school is absurd to me. I would vote immediately to impeach anyone who voted for it, and anyone not 100% committed to releasing all of the Dr. Larry Nassar-related files (the ONLY redactions being those that protect the identity of the victims), with no redactions for the board members, to assure the public interest.
Balow approached me for this interview. Balow put no restrictions on it that said anything to me.
I have made a handsome living for a long time with members of the Michigan State Board of Trustees, and this is NOT a fight that they want. But they have picked some in the past who were not intelligent, so while I love the University, I have zero confidence or trust in the Board.
They are there to consent and advise, not lead or run. Our ballots are our last line of defense, and those people represent you. How dare anyone try to shut them up, or agree to be shut up? If we don’t like what you are saying, we will vote you out.
This cannot be allowed at a public institution. A private one or a private company, for sure. But not a public institution.
Watch the Entire EXCLUSIVE Podcast Below:
Go, Tom, Go!
Hondo, I love your weekly column, and now that I know you are on AM 1320 WILS with Mike Austin every week, I am a religious listener, even though I do not live in Lansing. My question is so simple, but I think profound. What stood out to you about Izzo’s game plan versus Duke?Mandy D., Southfield, MI
Great question, Mandy, and thanks for listening. I thought that Tom had his team take the game right at Duke. Michigan State, time after time, dared the Blue Devils to match their toughness, and the Spartans' defense overwhelmed them.
Tom Izzo is brilliant at finding those small inches he can exploit; that is why when he has teams that aren’t as talented, they are competitive, and when they are, they can be dominating.
One day, sooner rather than later, Spartan Nation will live life without Tom Izzo on that bench. I do not look forward to it.
It is never a bad day to be a Spartan; that day will be miserable.
Signature Win for Fitz?
Hi Hondo. I have heard you praise the Pat Fitzgerald hire, and I wasn't a big fan until they beat Michigan. I am curious: you called the win, and what did you see that others did not?Jeff J. Sterling Heights, MI
Thanks, Jeff, but I wouldn’t say I called it. I will always pick our Spartans when they face Michigan, in anything. It was a signature win for Pat Fitzgerald at the very best time.
That said, I don’t think Michigan is tough (not a statement at all about their Coach; he inherited this group), and the Spartans are.
I stand with, behind, and in lockstep with Fitz. He gets us, our culture, and even though he is an alumnus of an elitist University like Northwestern, even though they unbelievably and explicitly turned their back on him.
Fitz, having gone to an elitist school, which I consider the folks from Ann Arbor, isn’t one of them. He is a blue-collar guy who represents Spartan Nation's values and beliefs.
He coaches football like Tom Izzo coaches basketball, and Adam Nightingale coaches hockey. I want him to do great, and when you saw his team, understaffed in every way, come out punching, I was hooting and hollering. That upset victory over Michigan brought tears to my eyes. It means more to us.
For any elitist school graduates, that is the term some in the Spartan Nation use, and it is defined as: Shouting and cheering loudly when your bitter rival on the athletic field cannot match the toughness, physicality, and mental competency being displayed by the good guys wearing the Green and White.
It’s Night Time
Hondo, I am not a big hockey guy. I know at MSU that is sacrilegious, but I came here from Texas for Vet school, so show me some grace. LOL. We started going to games when they first hired Adam Nightingale because you were so high on him. Now my husband and I can’t decide which of the big three sports we love more. Do you think we keep him for a long time?Annie D. Grand Rapids
Thank you, Annie. MSU needs to get him under a long-term deal with a very difficult buyout. They have to make it so the only way they lose him is to an NHL job; that should be the only job that could financially buy him, but there is a bigger caveat.
Nights is NOT a man who has his life out of order. I knew him as a kid, and highly respected him then. MSU needs to lock him up with a deal that fully funds his program and leaves him alone. Your only answer is: Yes, Coach Nights; thank you, Coach Nights; we appreciate you, Coach Nights; right away, Coach Nights.
He is early in his career, what Izzo is. He should not have to face the crudeness, ignorance, and stupidity that Izzo has faced here. Nights is a treasure to Spartan Nation and must be treated as such.
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Hondo S. Carpenter Sr. is an award-winning sports journalist with decades of experience. He serves as the Senior Writer for NFL and College sports, and is the beat writer covering the Las Vegas Raiders. Additionally, he is the editor and publisher for several sites On SI. Carpenter is a member of the Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA), the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
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