Welcome to Hoop City. Throughout the weekend of this year’s Final Four, the college basketball shrine is open at Cobo Hall in Downtown Detroit. Upon walking into the hall, music is blaring, basketballs are hitting the floor and swishing through the nets, and fans are cheering for their teams. It truly is basketball heaven.Hoop City opened yesterday and closes Monday. Open noon to 8 p.m. Friday, Sunday, and Monday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, fans shouldn’t miss out on their opportunity to be a part of the Final Four. Even if you are not going to the game, you can still feel like you are part of the town’s atmosphere by showing up at Cobo Hall. Throughout the City, there are activities that are great for everyone. While entering the city, the first thing many fans approach is the Coke Zero NCAA Championship Zone“It just caught me by the eye,” said Villanova fan Jamal Walker. “I love that basketball shooting game that keeps track of my points until time runs out after thirty seconds. I made 15 shots.”
Also in the Coke Zero NCAA Championship Zone is a game where fans can play for their favorite Final Four team. They are pulled out of a small audience and they play against another team in an “Around the World” type of game. The winning team of each round continues to play while new fans are picked to play for other teams. The last remaining team at the end of the day receives a trophy. All throughout Cobo Hall there are many activities. There are stations such as CBS College Sports’ various basketball half courts where fans can play “Lightning” or “21,” to the kids station where if a child puts the ball through the hoop they receive a prize. Overall, there are 21 different stations, including a food court, sponsored by different companies. There is also entertainment for fans to enjoy. On the NCAA Center Court, various performances take place each day.
On Friday, there was a Detroit Media Celebrity Game, on Saturday there was the State Farm Coaches All American Team Introductions, Sunday there are clinics that fans can participate in, and on Monday there are fan games and dunk contests. There is something there for everyone to watch and participate in. Along with interactive basketball games and entertainment, there is a Michigan Sports Hall of Fame truck filled with Detroit team memorabilia and plaques with Detroit sports legends on them.“While walking through the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame truck I was able to relive some of my memories growing up watching the Tigers play at Tiger Stadium,” said Michigan State fan Michael Thompson. “It’s moments like these that make proud to be a Detroiter.”
Hoop City is a place where the big time basketball fan lives. There is so much to do there. Fans can wait in line to meet and receive autographs from Oklahoma superstar Blake Griffin and Davidson standout Stephen Curry or shoot around with some friends. No basketball fan could ever become bored in a town like Hoop City. 
Governed by New York based company MTKG, Hoop City has a city that is for the fan, and by the fan.
I was sitting on my couch the other day, after school, watching ESPN. Jim Rome was on and he was interviewing Michigan State Senior Guard Travis Walton. Now, I do not like Jim Rom because I think he is full of himself and very cocky. However, I decided to continue to watch his show because I am a State fan and I wanted to see what Walton had to say. As Rome and Walton were speaking, it occurred to me that young members of today's society have a speech impediment. In every single one of Walton's answers he used the phrase "ya know." He'd say something along the lines of "Ya know, I took that shot and made it, ya know." No I don't know. And while Travis Walton is a bright kid, saying "ya know" every five words makes him sound somewhat stupid.
This also takes place in every teenager across America. It is an epidemic that I have come to call the "Teenage Like Epidemic," or "T.L.E." Every high schooler has it, including me. It is a bad habit that I am trying to rid myself of. TLE most often kicks in when I am trying to describe something out loud. I have said thing similar to "In my first hour class today, we, like, did this activity where you do a lot of, ya know, like, umm, stretches and stuff." It makes me sound stupid. If I had said, "In my first hour yoga class today, we did a Pilate's workout followed by final relaxation," wouldn't it have sounded a lot better?
My dad loves to correct me of TLE. I'll be having a conversation with him and he will interrupt me and make me start over just because I said like. Sometimes I don't even notice I'm saying it because it has become such a bad habit for a very long time. I am a true believer that this happens to all teenage students because we say like so much.
But who is to fault for TLE? Schools, teachers, parents? Have they taught us wrong? No. It is in my opinion that TLE is a contagious infection passed down to kids by our American Athletes. If there is one flaw to them besides steroids it is their speech. Whenever I watch an athlete in a press conference, they always use "like," "umm," and "ya know." They could be describing their game winning shot or their spectacular catch in the outfield; no matter what it always kicks in to their system.
TLE is a fault in American society that needs to be fixed. There is no antibiotic or pill for it, but as victims of TLE we need to realize the epidemic and work together to find a cure. You could do what I do and have your parents correct you and make you start your sentence over. It's not a big deal. TLE makes us teenagers sound less intelligent than we actually are. We are a smart group of citizens. Don't let TLE define who you are, stand up to it and defend yourself instead.
How far can Michigan State go in this NCAA Tournament? With their Sweet Sixteen game tonight against Kansas, it is crucial for MSU to pull out a win if they want to play in the Final Four in front of their own fans. I know it's obvious that they have to win the game to advance to the next round, but this years tournament has an extra special meaning for the Spartans. Having home advantage in the Final Four is like having a plate handed to you with a silver spoon on it. The Spartans are heading into tonight's game playing their best basketball of the season, I'm convinced. You know they're playing well when Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Travis Walton is putting up 18 points against Southern Cal, a guy who is only averaging 5.3 ppg this season.
So far in the tournament, the Spartans are really playing like the want to make it to Ford Field. They beat Robert Morris easily, but in the game against USC, the Spartans really came through in the last few minutes of the game. I don't mean to be cliche but it was a battle to the wire. The Spartans pushed out a victory in the second half and won 74-69, however, at one point MSU did trail by five.
Tonight, MSU will play the Kansas Jayhawks, who they beat earlier in the season. However, at that time it was January, the Spartans were at home, and it is obvious that both teams have improved since then. Kansas is defending it's National Championship so you know they will be ready to play. The Spartans need to pick it up on offense in order to win tonight. Spartan scoring leader Kalin Lucas only put up ten points against USC, but the key tonight will be Raymar Morgan who only put of three points against USC. Morgan needs to have strong games this weekend because his play could be the deciding factor in a Michigan Sweet 16 exit or a Final Four appearance. 
In an article written by Detroit Free Press columnist Drew Sharp, MSU head coach Tom Izzo said "the junior forward is having frustrating mood swings -- from melancholy to extremely melancholy." If Michigan State expects to win Morgan needs to get a grip on things and want to make it to the Final Four as much as his coach and team do.
Right now I am in first place for my bracket pool. I have Michigan State in my Final Four, along with Uconn, Pitt, and UNC, however, Michigan State has to want to be there. They are going to have to get past a tough Kansas team and a tough Louisville team, if they beat Arizona. Michigan State has the drive to succeed and if they want it bad enough they will. They have an advantage in not having to travel as far as other teams and they have played in Indianapolis before when they won the NCAA Tournament in 2000. Also, Michigan State knows what could happen if they "March to Motown." The opportunity to win a National Championship in front of a home crowd would be stupid to pass up.
Some key factors you might want to know about Michigan State before their upcoming games are:
1. Michigan State is 7-0 all-time as a 2 seed.
2. The Spartans beat the Jayhawks 75-62 on Jan. 10 in East Lansing.
3. Before the game against USC, Travis Walton hadn't scored in double figures since he had 11 against Kansas.
4. Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Travis Walton scored a career-high 18 points, moving Michigan State into the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in 12 years. That's more appearances in the last dozen years of any school besides Duke.
5. In the last 12 years, every Spartan who has stayed for four years has appeared in a Final Four.
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