Former Gator Dupay arrested with rape and kidnapping

It appears that trouble just seems to follow one Teddy Dupay. First, it was the criminal assault - oops, sorry, the Cobra Kai-style leg sweep of Mateen Cleaves during the 2000 NCAA Championships. Then, it was the quick dismissal of Dupay from the U of F basketball team the very next year due to possible gambling activities. And now, the former "chippy sparkplug"-labelled point guard has been charged with felony rape, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping in the state of Utah.

Details currently are one-sided due to Dupay's lack of counsel at the time of arrest; although, he did admit in court that he and the victim (a former girlfriend of two years) got a little rough. But yet from the info obtained by the investigators attached to the case, the victim had two fractured ribs, bruises on her arm, shoulder and thigh, a swollen left eye and scratches on her back due to Dupay hitting and kicking her prior to the rape.

But there is one person who may still be on this guy's side - his former coach. Here's a telling quote from Billy Donovan, speaking at the time of Dupay's dismissal from the team back in 2001:

"I love Teddy," Donovan said. "There are people who do things wrong, but I will stand by him the rest of his life. I think he knows in his heart that I'm behind him. I'll miss not having him around, but our relationship will go on for a long, long time."

I wonder if Donovan would like to take those words back just like he did when he backed out of the Orlando job.

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Sweet 16 - Michigan State versus Memphis

With this tonight's game with Memphis, the Spartans have four possible scenarios. Three of them do not lead to a positive result:

• The game is a physical one and the refs decide to call the play tight. End Result: The Spartans lose by less than 10
• The game is a run-and-gun affair and Memphis' pressure gets to State's PGs. End Result: The Spartans lose by more than 10
• The game is a close one but the Spartans' Bigs decide to disappear (which has happened more times than not). End Results: The Spartans lose by around 10.

But if you've been listening to all of the prognosticators this week, almost all of them have been picking this scenario:

• The game is a physical one and the refs let both sides bang a little. Memphis' lack of consistant free-throw shooting comes back to haunt them late in the game. End Result: The Spartans win by less than 10.

Case in point, here's some analysis by the worst comb-over since Marv was wearing the toup, Joe Lunardi:

My prediction: The game will be a tough one and both side will have their weaknesses exposed some more (Spartans are scarily inconsistant with both their shot selection and their ball control; Tigers' depth is not the greatest and of course, their free-throws) but at the end, the Spartans should get a few breaks (and calls) and limp away with a 5 point victory.

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"Fair is foul and foul is fair" - Michigan State versus Wisconsin

I know that this missive might be perceived as sour grapes or a fanboy just pissing and moaning but I'm not about objectivity with this one.

I purposefully stay home to peacefully watch the MSU/Wisconsin game and ended watching an unbelievable display of flopping that would make Manu proud and ticky-tack fouls that made me wonder if the officiating team was working a Donaghy angle on the outcome.

Early on, you could see that the officials were imposing their will on the game by reaching for their whistle seemingly every other time Wisconsin brought the ball down court. By the first half, the Spartans had a meager two point lead but also was averaging about a foul a minute. Hmm, you don't think that those early fouls would have an effect on the second half, would ya?

By the time all was said and done, Michigan State held the Badgers to 17 made shots from the floor (37% from the floor, 29.4% from 3-point line), forced 11 turnovers and got 2 blocks while hitting 42% of their shots including being 47% from 3s, and dishing out 10 assists. That's a recipe for success against the very consistent and tough Wisconsin team. But the Spartans lost dramatically in the one area of the game that they could not control - fouls. Wisconsin only committed 18 total fouls resulting in 19 free throws while Michigan State had four player foul out and had a total of 30 fouls, resulting in 37 free throw attempts. The only reason that the Badgers only won by two was that they were a shade over 70% from the line.

At least the Spartans will get a chance to prove themselves in the NCAA Tourney against a non-Hightower led crew. But for this Big Ten semi-final game against the Badgers, the old witches in Macbeth were right - "Fair is foul and foul is fair".

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Last Day - vote SPARTY!

Today is the last day to vote on who will be the mascot on the EA Sports' NCAA Football 09 Wii cover and Sparty needs your help. He's in second place behind Butch T. Cougar of Washington State, who isn't in Sparty's league as far as image and style goes. So, who would you pick the rough and manly Sparty or the four-color Pink Panther?

So, I'm calling on all of the die-hard fans of classic American icons to click on the image below and vote to put Sparty over the hump. C'mon America (and outlying areas), let's get Sparty the recognition that he deserves!

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Eight Years Ago - One Shining Moment

It's hard to believe that eight years ago this week was the start of Michigan State drive to the NCAA National Baskbetball Championship. This year's team is too raw and too inconsistant to make another historic run. although, if you think to a couple of years ago, George Mason was just another mid-major starting down a Murder's Row of elite Basketball teams (MSU included) and that didn't stop them from making it to the Final Four. That's the way it is with the Madness - you never know...

So, in honor of the beginning of the Big Ten Tournament and here's to Charlie, Andre, AJ, Jason, Mo Pete and Mateen - my first National Championship team since I was a fan of any team (and I still have the T-shirts, guys).

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