Last Night on "The Knee Jerks": Talkin' MAC Smack with EMU Hoops Coach Charles Ramsey

College basketball was in focus last night on "The Knee Jerks," the weekly gabfest I co-host on Blog Talk Radio with Big Al Beaton, who's rapidly beginning his own Internet writing empire.

That's because our guest was EMU men's coach Charles Ramsey, who's in his fifth year at the school in Ypsilanti.

The Eagles (9-7 overall; 1-2 in the MAC) feature no less than seven Metro Detroit players on their roster. Ramsey himself is an Ypsi kid who attended EMU and was an assistant there. He became the team's head coach in March 2005.

Ramsey is full of energy and passion, and that came through in the interview. It was good stuff, as he talked about the team's goals and how it can get back to the top of the MAC.

After coach, Al and I got down to business---literally. The finances of sports was the underlying theme in just about all of our topics. It was there when we talked about the Jose Valverde signing by the Tigers. It was present when the discussion turned to the future of the Pistons and Red Wings, as far as venue and, in the Pistons' case, possible sale.

Finally, we roasted the NHL on their bungling of the shootout debacle in Dallas involving the Red Wings last Saturday. Then it was time for our "Jerks of the Week."


Some Highlights:

Big Al

On the Pistons: "These aren't the Clippers. The Pistons are worth a lot of money. But it looks like Karen Davidson doesn't want to own a basketball team anymore."

On the Tigers' signing of Valverde: "This is sending mixed signals. I think it's a waste of money."

On the Red Wings' situation: "It's hard to believe, but Joe Louis Arena is a dinosaur, and it's only 30 years old. The luxury suites are in the nosebleed section. Who ever thought they might partner with the Palace Sports and Entertainment people?"

Eno

On the Pistons: "Karen Davidson might end up selling just a portion of the team, not the whole thing. She shouldn't be in a hurry, although I think the current state of the team might be hastening her decision to sell."

On the Valverde signing: "Maybe there are other moves coming down the pike, that will make this make more sense. Right now it seems to fly in the face of the Curtis Granderson, 'Let's get cheaper and younger' trade."

On the shootout debacle: "There should only be two entities making decisions: the ref closest to the play, and the video review people. That's it! If you start reversing decisions like that, then you'd better be really sure. And the ref who made the original call had the best view in the house!"


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Jan. 25: (guest TBD)

You can listen to the episode by clicking below!