I believe Rakim said it best when she said, "The wait is over, I got'em in formations like a soldier, like I told ya, greater and stronger, now that I'm older."

Yes ladies and gentlemen...The All-Manac is back.

Every so often drastic events happen in your life where you just step back, re-prioritize, and go out and make a difference. For Pat Tillman, it was September 11th. For Bruce Wayne, it was when Ra's Al Ghul challenged him in a Chinese prison. For Jimmy Chitwood, it was when the town called a meeting to fire high school coach Norman Dale. What was the All-Manac's defining moment? I believe I can sum it up in four simple words...

GARE-RE-SHEF-FIELD

That's right. Last week I learned that my beloved Detroit Tigers had traded three Minor League pitching prospects, most notably Humberto Sanchez, for the Yankee slugger. That was all I needed to end my month long leave of absence from my journalistic calling. Now, conventional wisdom says you don't trade touted pitching prospects for an aging slugger coming off an injury riddled season...but conventional wisdom also says you don't trade All-NBA Grant Hill for no-name Ben Wallace (I think that worked out ok). Furthermore, the Tigers are already LOADED with so many young pitching studs that they don't have room for them. Let's run down the list...

- Justin Verlander
- Joel Zumaya
- Jeremy Bonderman (still only 23 years old)
- Jordan Tata
- Wilfredo Ledezma
- Zach Minor
- Andrew Miller
- Jason Grilli
- Mike Maroth

Heck, Nate Robertson is not even that old. Another nugget to pass along to you...A source of mine (and yes, I actually have one) with the Toledo Mud Hens has told me all summer that Sanchez is very good...but not great. All-in-all I am already pumped for next April, and don't be surprised to see the Tigs make another fairly big move before then.

When deciding to come back to my online calling I had a tough decision to make. Do I, a) Prepare a full parade down the streets of East Lansing, full equipped with marching bands, floats and a Kenwood sound system blasting Mase's Welcome Back....or b) uncork a monster fan email column that had been growing the past month.

After some thought I shot down option A for several reasons:
1. Mase himself already tried that idea when he made his brief comeback, and if I remember correctly...no one cared
2. My undying support for University of Michigan Athletics is made fairly public here in East Lansing, and that's not exactly popular

So on we go to option B. A fan email column where I can answer all the questions/praises/death sentences that my readers send me. As always the following emails are unedited, except for the name and location of the sender, the content of his/her message...and the fact that any messages at all were actually sent to me for this column.

Taylor (St. Louis): HA! In your face! After a full year of you bashing the National League and our Cardinals they put your darling Tigers and the American League right where they belong...SECOND PLACE!

All-Manac: Taylor...here's the thing. I am not one to make excuses. So, I won't say that blowing through the AL so fast took the Tigers out of rhythm, I won't say that youth and inexperience finally caught up to them, and I won't say that every break went against them. The thing is, history will say that St. Louis won the 2006 World Series...but we all know it's more accurate to say that the Detroit Tigers lost it.

Bryon (Yuma, Arizona): I remember reading for first ever column before last years NCAA Tournament. Since following some of your picks had me finish in second place in my pool, who are some favorites this year?

Couple of things...
1) Maybe if you would have followed all of my tournament picks you would have ended up like me...first place and 2006 NCAA Tournament Pool Champ
2) Any one can give you pre-season favorites to win the title...what sets me apart from others is my ability to pick through all the garbage and find the sleepers (that and a charming personality and stunning looks...or at least that's what my mom tells me)

So without further adieu my 2006-7 College Basketball sleepers:
Marquette - Consider this, in the last three seasons Marquette has lost an NBA star (Dwyne Wade), two other sharp-shooting scorers now in the League (Travis Deiner and Steve Novak) and Damion Mason (transfer to LSU) who would now be their stud scorer. With all that, coach Tom Crean has gotten the Golden Eagles through a loaded Big East Conference and into the NCAA Tournament. Returning guard Domonic James may be the best point guard in the country...seriously.

Southern Illinois - One of the powers of the up-and-coming Missouri Valley Conference, the Salukis are back with their feisty play. For Power Conference teams, having Southern Illinois on your non-conference schedule is a lot like casting Mel Gibson together with Mel Brooks, Seth Green, Judd Hirsh and John Stewart...absolutely no good can become of it. Think about it, a win would be hard fought without much reward (because you are "supposed" to beat a mid-major) and a loss is not at all out of the question, and could ruin the season.

Xavier - Last year the X-Men almost pulled off a first round upset of Gonzaga. They may not have known it at the time, but it's probably a good thing that the Zags held them off. Had Xavier upset Adam Morrison and crew in round one, we would have only been subjected to about 50 times more post-game crying than Morrison exhibited after Gonzaga's collapse to UCLA. With Oklahoma transfer Drew Lavender now eligible, guard Stanley Burrel can focus on what he is best at...scoring points. Forward Josh Duncan adds beef in the middle for Xavier, who, like Southern Illinois, is a Mel Gibson team.

Michigan - Yea, yea...this team has been in this stage for about 3 years. They have to potential to be a great team and sneak up on people, but always seem to revert back to screwing it up in the end. The difference this year? The Big Ten's depth is significantly down this year, greatly reducing the amount of hard games that you usually would see in this conference. For them to see any success guard Dion Harris has to step up his game and forward Lester Abram has to stay healthy.

Edward (Philly): What happened to your boy Lynn Swan? He got beat pretty badly in the Governor's race in Pennsylvania.

All-Manac: Yea...Lynn Swan got smashed, there is no other way to say it. I hope to one day live in a country where we can have at least 10 Governors that don't even have a shred of political experience. Jesse Ventura was a start, then came Arnold's win in California, Lynn would have given us three. This is why I have been pushing Charles Barkley for Governor of Alabama.

In a related note, former NFL first round draft pick Heath Shuler won his Congressional Election in North Carolina. Shuler left University of Tennessee holding most school passing records (which have since been obliterated by Peyton Manning). The humorous thing about this situation...in the 1994 NFL Draft Combine Shuler took the Wonderlic test (The NFL's standard test given to rookies that tests for common sense and basic problem solving) and received a whomping score of 16/50. After last year's Vince Young fiasco, in which Young scored a 7/50 on his first test, a sample test was given to a nine year old boy for comparison's sake. The boy's score...13/50. That's right...three points behind a US Congressman.

Cameron (Madison, Wisc.): How are you liking the new season of NBC's The Office?

All-Manac: Unlike other writers of my genre, I normally don't respond to non-sports related questions. For The Office, I will make a brief exception. While it has yet to top the hilarity of Season Two (it's possible that nothing ever will) I like the direction this week's episode took the show...I think it could vault the show into the comedy hall of fame.

Lavar (Detroit): Man, you have been sayin for months that the Lions finally got a good coach. Let me tell you something...we still suck.

All-Manac: Lavar, let me first explain to you that I, of all people, truly feel your pain as I Lion's fan. It is true that I have said new coach Rod Marinelli was a great hire, and despite a 2-7 record, I still believe it. I really think that this team will turn it around fairly soon. Sure the team looks as bad as ever, but lets be honest here for a second. The Lions don't have very many...how can I word this...good football players. Not to mention the wrath of injuries that has left the defense so depleted that a three-legged Barbaro could probably run right though it. Rod is installing his system and, more importantly, his mentality that football is a physical game won in the trenches. And hey, if they are looking for someone to put up a fight in the trenches...I heard Albert Haynesworth might be available.

Kym (Fairbanks, Alaska): Where else online can we catch tidbits of your work?

All-Manac: Actually, I do contribute to other websites, glad you asked. This college football season I have been participating in an online top 12 poll called The Great 12. The site is put together by Dave Mulder, so most of the witty comments are his and not mine (meaning they aren't as witty as most of the material you would find on my site). In the spirit of new rules that make the coaches votes public, I will make my most recent poll public. Going into this weekend's big game...

1. Michigan - I've voted them #1 since they smacked Notre Dame
2. Ohio State - I've voted them #2 since said game
3. Rutgers - Correctly picked their victory over Louisville last week
4. Arkansas - Watching a RB play QB at the goaline makes me think I'm watching a video game
5. Florida - Too many close wins...they have trouble scoring points
6. USC - May be hitting their stride at the right time
7. Notre Dame - Must play defense if they wanna be USC next week
8. West Virginia - Glad I don't have to worry about them sneaking into the title game
9. Wisconsin - Only loss of the year was at Michigan
10. LSU - QB JaMarcus Russell proved he could win the big game
11. Louisville - Shouldn't be too down on themselves...they were basically playing destiny last week
12. Texas - Still may have another loss in them in the Big 12 Title game vs Nebraska

Ben (Dallas): So, the NBA season started last week. In one of the more predictable moves of the century, you haven't done a preview.

All-Manac: You know what Ben, I was actually going to write my preview preseason, but I got turned off by the NBA. It wasn't the new ball, or the Rasheed Wallace Technical Foul rule (which if I had to admit it, was needed), no it was something else that turned me off...Steven A Smith. I had forgotten that the start of the NBA season meant the start of my eardrums self-imploding from the volume of his voice. I've had enough of Steven A and his act. It's gotten to the point where I would rather jam ice picks in both of my ears while undergoing a triple lobotomy than listen to his 100+ decibel rants. I thought about boycotting NBA topics until ESPN fired him and hired me as a replacement. Unfortunately, they treated me just like that guy from the ESPN Mobile commercials that tried to get into the building. So, I will do a brief preview...but you haven't won Steven A...

Atlantic Division Winner - New Jersey Nets
Central Division Winner - Detroit Pistons
Southeast Division Winner - Orlando Magic
Remaining East Playoff seeds - 8. New York Knicks (yes...the Knicks) 7. Atlanta Hawks (yes...the Hawks) 6. Chicago Bulls 5. Cleveland Caviliers 4. Miami Heat

Pacific Division Winner - Los Angeles Clippers
Southwest Division Winner - San Antonio Spurs
Northwest Division Winner - Utah Jazz
Remain West Playoff seeds - 8. Los Angeles Lakers 7. New Orleans/OK Hornets 6. Houston Rockets 5. Phoenix Suns 4. Dallas Mavericks

NBA MVP - Tim Duncan
Rookie of the Year - Brandon Roy
Coach of the Year - Mike Woodson
Defensive Player of the Year - Ron Artest
Scoring Leader - Gilbert Arenas
Rebound Leader - Dwight Howard
Coolest Hair/Facial Hair - Adam Morrison

Peyton (Indianapolis): Hey man, we just beat your boy Tom Brady and the Pats again Dude! Yeeee-haw ya'll the Colts are rolling.

All-Manac: Sigh...yea. Right away I'll ask the obligatory, "How many rings have you won for your regular season victories?" But in all seriousness, I have something to admit. I have warmed up to Peyton Manning. It is amazing what having a guy on your fantasy team, coupled with few genuinely funny commercials can do for you as a fan. As far as I am concerned, him and LeBron James got huge points from me for having some pretty funny commercials. Do I really want to like Peyton? Deep down, no, but I don't want to make another huge mistake. When I was growing up I had a chance to watch the greatest basketball player ever, but I hated him because he played for the Bulls, who basically took over the NBA from the Pistons. I never appreciated watching Michael Jordan play, I don't want to make the same mistake with Manning. Am I saying he is the best QB ever? No, but he definitely could be once it's all said and done. AH, this situation is stickier than a Kenny Rogers curveball.

Gary (Columbia, SC): Most disfunctional team in sports...go

All-Manac: Grrrrrrreat question. For most the the 90's the Portland Jailblazers held down this "title" but I think a new leader has emerged. THE CINCINNATI BENGALS...come on down. They held off a late push from the Dallas Cowboys, but not even TO himself could overcome some of the Bengals rap sheet. Where to start...double digit off-season arrests, several key players suspended, Chad Johnson (who I love, but have to admit isn't the easiest to work with) crying about not getting enough catches...literally crying. I often wonder how life is for Carson Palmer, he basically lives out Weird Al's White and Nerdy video every day. I am waiting for the Chris Henry documentary to come out...oh wait, I'm told it's already on the air...some show called Cops.

All-Manac (East Lansing, MI): Didn't you get blasted for saying the Texans should have picked Mario Williams first in the NFL Draft, over Reggie Bush? How does it feel now that the season has proved you right.

All-Manac: Ok...so I sent that to myself. But only because I got ripped by pretty much everyone I talked to for standing behind the Mario Williams pick, and now no one wants to talk about it. Let's look at the stats...

Reggie Bush currently ranks sixth in the NFL in rushing yards AMONGST ROOKIES. Ahead of him are Joseph Addai (first round), Lawrence Maroney (1), Leon Washington (3), Wali Lundy (5) and Maurice Jones-Drew (3).

But Reggie Bush is a great receiver too!!! His 6.6 yards per catch currently ranks last in the NFL.
But Reggie Bush is a great return man too!!! Lawrence Maroney also has more return yards than Bush.

In his last three games Reggie has totaled 60 yards on 26 carries (2.3 avg) while coughing up a game-losing fumble and throwing an interception. During this time, a running back picked in the fifth round by the Texans (Lundy) has totaled over 170 yards.

Am I saying that Bush was a bad pick at #2? No, but he certainly wasn't the right pick at #1. I have said this for years, and it will always be true...running back is the most over-rated position in all of sports. Unless you have Ladanian Tomlinson or Larry Johnson, the only thing that really matters is the offensive line, blocking schemes and play-calling. Houston Texan coach Gary Kubiak comes from the zone-blocking scheme in Denver that makes all running backs 1,000 yards rushers...so why spend a high pick on a running back? Has Mario Williams set the league on fire? No, but his 4.5 sacks are tops on the team, and his impact is actually felt on the field. I am not sure the same can be said of Bush...

Unless you want to spend a #2 pick in the draft on a decoy.

(Don't forget I said the Suns would be worse when Amare Stoudamire came back...I got ripped for that too...what are they now 2-5?)

Hank (Orlando): A couple of weeks ago Sports Illustrated put out a best players of All-Time team. Was it just me or did they leave a lot of good players off?

All-Manac: I don't even know where to start. They left so many players off...
- Roberto Clemente
- Bob Gibson
- Barry Bonds
- Al Kaline
- Josh Gibson
- Max Zingle

You know...if you are gonna leave off the pride of the Pittsburgh Panther's bullpen, I don't know if I can consider you a notable source.

Lloyd (Ann Arbor, MI): I know that you are busy with all of your journalistic responsibilities, but is there anyway you could give me some insight on our game this weekend. We play Ohio State, in case you didn't know.

All-Manac: Yea Lloyd, it's a real busy time of year...I suppose I can whip up something real quick...seeing as this is probably the biggest game in Michigan History.

QB: Chad Henne has shown remarkable improvement this year, and that is a main reason for Michigan's revival. On the other hand Troy Smith has owned Michigan in the past. EDGE: Moderate - Ohio State

RB: Antonio Pittman is underrated and very talented. Michael Hart is a machine that was built for nothing but gaining yards in Michigan's zone blocking scheme. You can say that a lot of people are as good as him, but I don't know if any college player is BETTER (now that Adrian Peterson is hurt) EDGE: Heavy - Michigan

WR: Ted Ginn needs another great receiver next to him so that he can work in space (where he is deadly), he has one in Anthony Gonzales. That guy named Robiske-or-something isn't bad either. Had Michigan's Mario Manningham not been injured earlier in the year, I think Michigan wins by 20...no one can guard him. I think they have been saving his return for this game. Adrian Arrington provides another quality threat. EDGE: Slight - Ohio State

OL: There may be better O-Tackles in the country than Michigan OT Jake Long...like maybe one or two playing in the NFL. Michigan's offensive line is huge and works great together. So far this year the left side of their line (Long and Adam Kraus) have yet to commit a penalty. Michigan also sports a 6th O-lineman in the backfield in FB Obi Oleibou. I'd be lying if I said I knew any OSU linemen, so I won't go there...but they aren't as good as Michigan's. EDGE: Moderate - Michigan

DL: Their O-Line is good, but Michigan sports the best D-Line in college football. If you want to block LaMarr Woodley or Alan Branch you have to double team them...that leaves one OL to cover two other DLs. Ohio State's line is no slouch they have stud DTs that can clog up the line. EDGE: Moderate - Michigan

LB: Ohio State's James Laurinaitis is a finalist for the Butkus Award, and anchors what is routinely a strong OSU linebacking core. Michigan sports three LBs that will be first day draft picks this April. MLB David Harris has first round written all over him. EDGE: Slight - Michigan

DB: OSU's Malcom Jenkins is uber-athletic and is one of the top cover corners in the nation. Ohio State is a school known for producing NFL-Caliber DBs. Michigan's Leon Hall IS the top cover corner in the nation. If I was Lloyd Carr, I'd leave Hall one-on-one with Gonzales all game to eliminate him. I could then use CB Morgan Trent (who beat Ted Ginn in the 100m dash) and a safety to bracket the dangerous receiver. EDGE: Slight - Michigan

K: Ohio State has a history of great kickers...however, I don't know who their current kicker is. Whoever it may be probably isn't any better than Michigan's Garret Rivas (who is reliable) because I haven't heard of him. EDGE: Even

Coach: The "fire Lloyd Carr" rumors were hilarious last year, he has solidified himself as a great college coach. However, OSU's Jim Tressel owns Michigan. The only thing that may keep Tressel from becoming one of the greatest college coaches is the school's increasing blips on the police radar. EDGE: Moderate - Ohio State

Final Thoughts: It's been a long time coming. Arguments can be made for both teams, as they are loaded with talent. Ohio State has been rolling since their loss last year at Penn State, but they have never played a defense as good as Michigan's. The Maize and Blue could have as many as six first round picks in April come from this defense (four is more likely). Great defense and clock management (Mike Hart running the ball) can keep OSU's playmakers on the sidelines.

Lee Corso just said it perfectly..."This one's for you Bo."

Michigan - 24
Ohio State - 20