Michigan joins the rest of the civilized world!

It's over! It's all over! In a stunning turn of eventsthat only took, what, a BILLION years, the Supreme Court decided not to hear the case, which meant that the previous ruling was upheld and-- whatever. The bottom line is that girls' volleyball is now going to be in the fall, like almost everywhere else.

I hear they're getting cable TV this summer, too.

The biggest side effect of all this is that Michigan club volleyball is about to...EXPLODE. No longer will M One, M Elite, those M clubs, play their first competition at the MEQ, far behind the progress of everyone else. Now they can suffer through a 6-month-plus club season like the rest of us poor saps.

This will give these clubs a chance to be relevant in the Junior Olympic picture, something they haven't been since Magelssen, Crawford, and, well, Magelssen played for Dead Frog (excluding Fraser's brief ascendance to something resembling important).

Across America, the future Tom Hogan's, Jeff Reavis', and Tom Paszko's of this world are packing up their belongings and saying "Yes!" to Michigan. If ever there was a time to invest in hair gel futures, it's now.

Really? A whole village?

Browsing through the Michigan volleyball web page, we stumbled upon "Michigan Volleyball Up Close," which includes the section "It Takes a Village." Quickly we clicked the link, hoping to be treated to a lovely ode to Hillary Clinton's thinly veiled stab at socialism...at least that's what our Republican uncle calls it...only to find a couple of video interviews with Mark and Leisa Rosen, conducted by former Wolverine Ashley Buckingham.

The site says "In this section you can meet all of the people that work behind the scenes at Michigan Volleyball." Two people? That's it? We'll have to check with the census bureau or a more definitive authority, but we don't think two people constitute a hamlet, let alone a village, unless we're talking Last of the Mohicans or something.

We suggest that they change the name of this section to something more appropriate, such as "It Takes Two," a subtle nod to Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock. Or at least let us know when this so-called "village" is gonna get some more inhabitants.

Quote of the Day, re: deranged volleydad

"It's not like this was the first conversation that we had with him."

That's Fowlerville High School principal Wayne Roedel, speaking about the recent decision to ban Joseph Kusmierz, a parent, from attending any high school athletic events. The decision came after Kusmierz accosted a ref following a J.V. volleyball match and then took a couple of swings at people trying to break up the fracas.

"We thought it was in our best interest to have him not attend any of our athletic contests."

We agree. This indefinite ban might give Kusmierz a chance to channel all that J.V. volleyball rage in a positive direction.

Perhaps knitting.

High school action gettin' nutty in the Mitten State

I tell ya', the high school season in the rest of the civilized world may have ended months ago, but things are really heating up in Michigan! For instance, just last night Blissfield beat Onsted, Clinton beat Erie Mason, and Lenawee Christian beat Vandercook Lake! Plus, Charlevoix beat Traverse City St. Francis and Harbor Springs beat Elk Rapids! I mean, that is some heavy duty action! A clash of titans in the world, of...um, of...

...yeah I don't know what any of that means, either.

Parental Role Model, Case Study #1

You gotta love THAT parent. THAT guy. The one who decides he is going to take matters into their own hands, as happened at a J.V. volleyball tournament in Hartland Township, Michigan. You know how these things go: parent won't shut up for whole match, then decides the best course of action is to confront the referee -- ALWAYS a winning strategy -- and things turn ugly, police are called, and another child is ensured years of therapy later in life.

The only good part about this story is that the parent in question "allegedly threw punches twice — missing both times." YES. That is excellence in being a moron. Here's to you, Parent Living His Life through His Daughter's Athletic Career. Bravo. Bra...vo.