Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined Morning Edition host Doug Tribou to talk about local sports news this week.
Football this weekend:
Central Michigan at Michigan - Sat., Noon
Youngstown State at Michigan State - Sat., 3:30 p.m.
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions - Sun., 1:00 p.m.
Doug Tribou: The Michigan football team went on the road against Oklahoma last weekend. 18-year-old quarterback Bryce Underwood was making his second college start, and it’s probably one he’ll try to forget. He completed just nine passes for 142 yards. Those numbers won’t win a lot of college football games. What adjustments do Underwood and the rest of the Wolverines’ offense need to make this weekend?
John U. Bacon: It's really a coaching one, Doug. Chip Lindsey, the new offensive coordinator [and quarterbacks coach], kind of kept Bryce Underwood in bubble wrap the entire game — afraid of him throwing long passes or running the ball, which he didn't do the entire night. He's going to have to run the ball for Michigan to be effective, so they've got to unwrap him.
What is more striking to me is how the defense looked. Michigan got pushed around on both the offensive line and the defensive line, and they still had a chance to win. But that was not a good outing.
DT: Michigan State got an exciting double-overtime win over Boston College at Spartan Stadium last weekend coming out on top, 42-40. BC is not expected to have a great season, but still a good win for the Spartans. Michigan State will face Youngstown State University before the Spartans’ Big Ten conference schedule begins. What should MSU be focused on this weekend?
JUB: Now that one's simple, Doug. Not looking ahead beyond Youngstown State because the Big Ten starts after that. This should be, frankly, a relatively easy win. But the story here is [MSU quarterback] Aidan Chiles. We said last year he'd never quite developed. The first game did not look very good. That man threw four touchdown passes against Boston College [and] a [two-point conversion] winner there at the end in double overtime. So it seemed to be the arrival of Aidan Chiles.
DT: The Lions did not look like Super Bowl contenders in their season opener. The Green Bay Packers knocked them off 27-13. The offense had trouble sustaining and finishing drives. On Sunday, Detroit will face another NFC North division opponent when they host the Chicago Bears. What adjustments do the Lions need to make to get a win?
JUB: Well, they need to go back to their seven-year center, Frank Ragnow, who surprisingly retired this summer from the Lions and beg him to come back. That's what they have to do, Doug. [Laughs]
DT: [Laughs]
JUB: Because the offensive line — the most boring topic in football, I know, is the offensive line, but — that is Michigan's problem and that is the Lions' problem right now. So until they get that fixed, this could be a tough season.
DT: This week, The Athletic, the sports division of the New York Times, published a report about Ilitch Sports and Entertainment, which runs the Detroit Tigers among other organizations. The Athletic detailed numerous allegations of misconduct toward women who work for the Tigers by several male employees at the company — including some executives. Several of the men have been fired or had contracts that were not renewed with the Tigers.
The company responded to the report, defending its workplace culture and saying it does not tolerate discrimination or harassment. You’ve spent a long time covering sports and looking at sports organizations. Do you see a broader issue for Major League Baseball or other sports leagues here?
JUB: I can't say if it's broader than that. And even one of the women quoted in the article said that she's been working in sports all her life, and it's this team. It's this organization. It's very hard — and The Athletic, give them full points — it is very hard to print a story like this. You have to get people to talk to you who don't want to talk. It's very difficult. And they did, which shows you how the situation must be. Of the eight men in question, six resigned, were fired, or did not have their contracts renewed. That's a pretty serious list right there. So the question is what will they do next? And their communications so far are very short of what they should be, frankly.
DT: The Tigers are in the home stretch on the field — 15 games left. They’ve got a big lead in the American League Central and have a great chance of finishing with the best record in the A.L. What are the keys for them as they head toward the last couple of weeks of the regular season?
JUB: They need to get Lions center Frank Ragnow to come out of retirement. No, wait. Wrong team. [Laughs]
DT: [Laughs] He'd help any organization, really.
JUB: You know what? He really would, Doug. [Laughs]
They need more pitching. That's all there is to it, and you can't get it. So you just hope that their arms stay on. And [Tigers ace] Tarik Skubal, he must be all he's supposed to be because this is the team you have. They're good. I don't know if they're World Series good.
But, Doug, you missed the one bit of good news for fans of the Lions and Michigan Wolverines. And that is that J.J. McCarthy, the former Michigan quarterback, had a great game come-from-behind win on Monday night. Now, granted, that is one of the Lions' rivals, but that's all you got these days, right?
DT: [Laughs] Right. I guess the unfortunate news here is if you're a fan of J.J. McCarthy, you have to be sort of rooting for the Vikings, which is not all that beneficial for the Lions.
JUB: Exactly right. [Laughs]
Editor's note: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can hear the full conversation near the top of this page.
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