Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Happy Winter Break!


Happy holidays everyone! I know I'm a little late but I hope everyone is enjoying their break! I know that I'm enjoying this relaxing period where I don't have to think about grades, homework, professors, or classes in general.

This break has also been a great opportunity to catch up with my family. My second favorite present was a collection of Tarantino DVD's. Of course my favorite present was the arrival of the NBA!! Its back like it never left!

I will say that I do miss being on campus. I'm excited to start up IM Basketball, and more importantly Big Ten Basketball play will be in full swing when we get back. Its a weird limbo where I am excited to be back but I also hope this break never ends! See everybody in a couple weeks!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Holden Caf: Most Underrated Caf on Campus?


            One of my goals of this blog has been to bring little insights to things going on campus. With that in mind I think there is a common belief on campus that Holden is one of the weaker cafs. Until recently I accepted this as true until I got a little tired of eating at Wilson everyday and I have now eaten at Holden more often to mix it up. And now that I have, I must say that Holden is actually a really good caf. In fact, I’d argue Holden is the most underrated caf on campus. I have five reasons to back it up.

1)      Pangea, while not as good as the Pangea in Brody Square, is really good stir fry that always mixes up the options.
2)      Homestyle, like Pangea, has great variety, does miss out on the rotisserie chicken at Brody but all other options are accounted for.
3)      Unlike Homestyle and Pangea, Veg-Out is actually better at Holden due to various pasta options.
4)      The caf is usually very quiet with plenty of space offering a calm, peaceful setting to enjoy a meal.
5)      Holden is the only caf I know of that has Waffle Cones coupled with the incomparable MSU dairy ice cream.

Really those five things make up a truly solid caf, and in my mind, a hidden gem on campus. Disagree? What’s the most underrated caf on campus? I’d love to hear what caf I’ve been missing in the comments below!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Finals Feast


            What a week! I refuse to address the national tragedy that occurred over the weekend (The BCS is BS). And so I move on to this, the week before finals. This week is usually as stressful, if not more so, as finals. Thankfully there are plenty of ways on campus to relieve stress in these tough times. This week I played a little basketball at IM West, played some video games with my friends, and I got a care package from my parents full of snacks, coffee, and candy, all essentials for surviving finals. But by far, my favorite thing about this week was the Holiday dinner in the caf.
This fantastic finals feast (I’m sorry, I had to!) is made up of steak, chicken, popcorn shrimp, barbeque wings, chocolate fudge, egg nog, and much, much more. My personal favorite is the fresh hot mozzarella sticks. Another interesting wrinkle in the Holiday dinner is the large crowd. Some people don’t like this but I actually appreciated the opportunity to meet new people as table space was at a premium so groups of people who didn’t know each other were forced to sit with each other. I personally always enjoy meeting new people, and would love it if the caf were like that all the time. I’d get a chance to meet new people every day! I hope you pre-finals week is going smoothly, and make sure you are still finding time for yourself!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Where's the Love for MSU Basketball?


It’s an exciting weekend to be a Spartan! I will be attending the Big Ten Championship this weekend and I will be sure to blog about it next week. Perhaps lost in the shadow of the football team, the basketball team squares off with Nebraska-Omaha at 2pm. For some reason attendance for the Izzone is at an all-time low and is expected to be poor this Sunday. In response this Sunday’s game will be free to MSU students while supplies last. This is an incredible opportunity to those who do not have tickets to experience one of the top 5 student sections in America. For those interested the gate opens at 12:30.



            I for one cannot understand the lack of interest in MSU’s basketball team this year across campus. Yes the team underperformed from expectations last year. It was a year filled with distractions, player turmoil, and exodus of key starters. Yet somehow that team pulled it together to make it to the tournament. What does it say about this program that the worst season Izzo can remember finished with a tournament berth?
            Now we come to this season filled with promising yet still very raw youth. They started off showing positive things while facing two of the very toughest teams in the nation on the road. They’ve come back home and built solid progress most recently evident in our Wednesday victory over a very talented Florida State team while representing inthe Big Ten/ACC challenge.


            This is an exciting team to watch that clearly rallies around its leader Draymond Green (although I wish he’d play more within himself more often). This team plays with a relentless energy it simply did not have last year. Keith Appling already displays the scoring prowess both at the rim and from beyond the arc that made Kalin Lucas Big Ten Player of the year while displaying a stronger dedication to defense and rebounding. I could go on and on about the soaring potential of Nix and Payne, the spacing Byrd and Trice bring when they get more comfortable, and the change of pace post presence of a maturing Gauna. The point is that this team has great potential to make a splash, and is one of the most exciting teams to watch in the nation. I just hope my fellow Spartans will join me in supporting them this weekend as they build momentum to take on a tough Gonzaga team on the road on December 10th.