It's Christmas Day here on the Caribbean island of Nevis, where my spouse is a medical student and I the Gonzo Journalist am visiting for a while.

So what is the Current State of Things in the realms of whatever???

Well, it is certain at this juncture that the Atlantic Division of the Men's NBA is a total and complete joke. The first place team, Toronto, has a sorry record of 12-16 for a meager winning percentage of .429. If this mediocrity continues, I propose that the entire division be barred from the playoffs.

Michigan women's basketball stumbles into the Big Ten season with a less than impressive 7-6 non-conference mark. A loss to St. Bonaventure, not exactly a big time program, being the latest game for Cheryl Burnett's team. Michigan also lost to two Mid-American Conference teams and has generally shown the same inconsistency of the last couple of seasons, in which so-so non-conference seasons were followed by absolutely horrible Big Ten seasons (just one conference win in the last two campaigns). The Big Ten slate starts on December 28 with a trip to perennial powerhouse Purdue. Based on what I have seen so far, this could be very ugly. Hopefully it will not be.

Central Michigan plays tomorrow night in the Motor City Bowl, the Chippewas first Bowl appearance in quite a while. The Michigan Wolverines football team are no strangers to Bowls, and they will face Southern Cal in the "Granddaddy of 'Em All" (AKA the Rose Bowl) on New Year's Day. Go Blue and Fire Up Chips!

Also in college football news, Grand Valley State won another national championship at the Division 2 level. They have built a very good program there in Allendale, Michigan, and I would rank them number three in the state behind Michigan and Central Michigan. Yes, at this point in time I think that little GVSU would beat the crap out of the sad-sack Michigan State Spartans, as well as the other two MAC teams in the state (Western and Eastern Michigan). As they say, sometimes it is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.

That is all for now! Happy Holidays to you, whichever holidays you may celebrate. And may peace prevail on earth in 2007.