Washer Wars And Rivalry Fever: A Fans Survival Guide

A flooded washroom tried to bench my playoff Sunday, but the real show arrived after the towels and dehumidifier: a night of college hoops chaos, clutch free throws, and a rivalry that consumes an entire state. We start with the comic misery of a rebel washer and a 12-hour delivery “window” that feels more like house arrest, then shift into the kind of basketball that spikes blood pressure and resets narratives.

Michigan State’s comeback over Rutgers is our first case study in winning ugly and winning smart. Jeremy Fears erupts for a career night, the Spartans pound the glass like rent’s due, and free throws close the books. Turnovers don’t sink them because 45 rebounds and a 92 percent clip at the line travel under pressure. From there, we look at Michigan’s survival act against a Nebraska team that led nearly wire to wire. Nineteen turnovers would bury most contenders, but elite foul pressure and 83 percent at the stripe flipped the script. Morez Johnson Jr.’s clean double-double and Trey McKinney’s bench spark highlight a young core that turns chaos into oxygen.

All roads lead to Friday at the Breslin. We frame the stakes the way fans actually feel them: rankings fade, pride takes over, and the loudest moments will tilt the floor. If Michigan hits early shots and controls tempo, MSU must solve half-court scoring against length. If the Spartans grind the pace and crash the offensive glass, the game becomes a wrestling match defined by second-chance points. The deciding levers are simple and brutal: rebounding, turnover control, and who stays calm when the crowd goes nuclear. Respect to Izzo’s late-season edge, respect to Michigan’s two-way ceiling, and respect to a rivalry that makes even small runs feel seismic.

Hit play for a sharp, no-fluff breakdown of how clutch free throws, possession math, and composure decide big nights—and why one result won’t define March but will dominate your group chat until the rematch. If you enjoyed this, subscribe, share and drop a review with your Friday prediction on the text line. 

Transcript

Washer Meltdown On Playoff Sunday

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Get it, get it. What is up? This is cooking with gas. You know the deal. I'm gonna go fast. I'm gonna go hot. Cook with gas is exactly what I'm gonna do here. Now I do have a bit of unfortunate news. I did not get to watch the early game on Sunday due to my washer picking the worst possible time to become a supervillain. So it was playoff Sunday, the holy day, the one day you do not disturb football fans unless it's for touchdowns or chicken wings. Put a load in the washer thinking you're gonna be productive. Next thing you know, my washroom is SeaWorld. Water everywhere, I mean leaking into the basement like Niagara Falls. The playoff setup is now in danger, and my brain instantly goes caveman mode. I'm like, you want to fight today? Okay. So of course, I just start going full office space printer style on this washer. All I needed was the song still by the Ghetto Boys to be playing in order for it to be pure cinema for people to watch. Yelling, kicking, hitting the washer, not today, it's playoff Sunday. You had all week for this. Hit it like it owed me money, didn't fix anything, but emotionally it made me feel better. And I'd have to say that, man, machines were built differently back in the day. I mean, this machine was playing better defense than half the teams in the playoffs. And the crazy part, after I shut it off, cleaned everything up, I had I had a buddy here, I had family here, we were trying to clean everything up as quick as we could, make it the best situation possible. Of course, my head's spinning off my shoulders, but after we got everything cleaned off, I'm like, you know what? Soaked, mad, and tired, still went back and watched at least the second game. Because it's playoff Sunday, you don't quit, okay? You dry off and you move forward. I mean, this thing came at me with no mercy, no warning, just straight sabotage. It was basically like, oh, you're not watching football today in peace. You got snacks, you invited people over, well, I'm flooding your house. So I beat it up a little bit, put it in its place, and of course I'm replacing it, went straight online, ordered a brand new washer. I mean, you can't hold on to a washer that does that to you, right? I mean, it's like a bad ex-girlfriend. I mean, there's no way you're gonna have any trust in that washer ever again. You're never gonna be able to throw a load in and go to the grocery store and handle other business. I mean, you could come back to your house and it would look like Avatar, the way of water. The whole thing flooded. And I need to give a shout out to my friends, my family for all the helping hands that were around here. Obviously, doing something like that on my own would not have been any fun. So I had a buddy bring me a dehumidifier. I had another buddy here who I will when I was dealing with everything in the washroom, he was cooking in the kitchen, making chili dogs, making nachos. I mean, we made the best of a bad situation, and it was a great time. It ended up being a great time. However, now I have a delivery of a new washer. And you all know how these appliance places work. They give you a 12-hour window when they're gonna be here. I mean, they told me that my new washer would be delivered this week on a certain day between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. I mean, that's not a delivery window. That is a lifestyle. It's a hostage situation. You can't leave, you can't shower peacefully, you can't even emotionally commit to anything that's going on. You sit by the window like an abandoned dog, waiting for its owner to come home. And then every truck that comes by, you're like, is that them? Amazon. No. Is that them? UPS. Faked out. Is that them? Random dude with a ladder? Probably not. You gotta plan your whole day around potentially hearing a knock. That 12-hour window turns you into a survivalist. You gotta have snacks, you gotta have water, you gotta have your phone charged, you're just posted up like, all right, let's ride this out. And you know they're never coming at 7 a.m. They never do. They come at 6 43 when you've already accepted defeat. You're in your pajamas, they'll finally say, they're not coming today. That's when they pull up. They don't knock either like they should. They just hit you with the softest knock in history, like they're scared to wake you or the dog up or something. And if you miss it, that's another 12-hour window tomorrow. That's a two-day sentence. At this point, I'm not even excited about the washer, I just want my freedom back. And needless to say, I didn't get to watch too much of the first game. I did see the snow and everything. People in the house were watching the game while I was dealing with everything that was going on in the washroom, and everybody else was running around trying to take care of things also. But hey, it is what it is. Life happens. When you own a home or you're in a home, there is always some shit to fix. There's always something that's gonna be broken. And if you don't have a home yet, you're gonna figure that out real quick when you do get one. So be prepared and always have money and savings ready in order to get important things like washers, dryers, AC, heat, all that stuff fixed when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, and you need to do so. So thanks again to the people that were here and gave me a hand. You know who you are. You guys are priceless, and that's the end of the brant when it comes to my washer being a complete dickhead on Sunday. So moving on to more sports-driven content here. I'm not gonna be getting into the Super Bowl or anything like that. That'll be next week's episode. We got a whole media week between now and the actual Super Bowl, which is always just dumb as hell, but it's the way things are. I am going to talk about nothing other than college hoops, man. And let me tell you, Tuesday night was filled with some dramatic comeback wins by at least six ranked teams. And all six of those ranked teams were losing by double digits at some point to unranked teams that they were playing. Now, Michigan State had ruckers, and let me tell you, Jeremy Fierce, that dude scares me. As a Michigan fan, I do not want that dude to kick our ass up and down the floor on Friday because this game between Michigan and Michigan State that is happening Friday night at the Breslin is going to be epic. However, Jeremy Fierce scares the hell out of me. I mean, in this game against Ruckers, that dude had a career high 29 points. He just blew the roof off. He was 16 for 17 from free throw too, which that is just pure clutch, grit, badass basketball play. And let me tell you, being 16 of 17 from free throw is just straight clutch. You need to hit your free throws in order to win these games. I mean, Michigan State was what 24 for 26 for their free throws in this game. That is don't follow them. Do not put those dudes on the line because they will hit their free throws. Now, Michigan has struggled with free throws lately. However, Michigan State, they were 92% free throw percentage in this game versus Rutgers. They did have 15 turnovers, though. Those turnovers, man, you gotta cut them down. You cannot be turning the ball over against these teams like Michigan or Nebraska, or I'll even say Illinois or Purdue, even though Purdue's been struggling lately. You turn the ball over against these teams, they will most likely make you pay. Now Michigan State did have 45 rebounds yesterday. I mean, those guys rebounded like the rent was due. 45 rebounds to Rutgers 22. I mean, that right there, with the free throw percentage that they were hitting and the rebounds that they were getting, ultimately in the end, when that game hit overtime, I just I knew they were gonna pull that game out. When you lose for the majority of the game, the percent lead in this game was 80% to 16. So for 80% of the game, Rutgers was leading. 16% Michigan State led in this game. If that game somehow gets to overtime, the team that's better is most likely just gonna win it out every single time. That's just the way it is, because you have to win that game in regulation if you're Rutgers. You give MSU any type of second chances or any more time on the clock, they're gonna burn you. And that's exactly what MSU did. I congratulate MSU on the win. I was texted some of my family and friends after the game, after both games, saying, Man, we we both had to be sweating like crazy during these matchups. The last thing that you would want is a a bad L for your team going into the biggest game of the season. And that's exactly what's going on on Friday night. This is now you'll ask the coaches and they'll say, of course it's the biggest game of the season. It's the next one. We all know as fans that this is the biggest game of the season every year, especially when both teams are ranked in the top 10. They probably should both be ranked in the top five. So, congratulations to MSU on pulling that game out. I'd rather see both of these teams with W's than L's heading into this game on Friday night. Because, like I told you, this shit is gonna be a wild ride. And I'll talk about that more coming up. But right now, I'm gonna get into the game with Michigan and Nebraska because this game made me want to go grab my blood pressure machine and check it because I wanted to drive my car off a cliff as I witnessed Michigan just turn the ball over every single time they had it in their possession. I mean, to start the second quarter, I want to say they had five or six straight turnovers. Against a team that's ranked number five in the country, they were 20 and oh before this loss to Michigan. They are a very, very valid top five team. Even though they dropped this game to Michigan, they led for 91% of the game. We talked about lead time in the Michigan State Ruckers game. Nebraska led for 91% of this game. Somehow Michigan pulled it out in the end, and they get mad credit for doing that. As ugly as it was, they pulled out the W. However, you cannot be putting up numbers like Michigan and think you're gonna beat a team like Michigan State. In this game against Nebraska, Michigan had 19 turnovers. Elliot Cadeau, the leader of our offense, had eight of them on his own. That is just something you cannot do, especially against good teams. I still, I still, I mean, I know how Michigan won the game. They shot 83% from the free throw line. I mean, they were 19 of 23 from free throw. So that is how they won the game. I give them a lot of credit. Shooting from that line, like again, how I said in the Michigan State game, they were clutch in the free throws. Michigan was just the same in their free throws here. You have to hit your free throws or just go throw yourself in a trash bin somewhere. I don't need you out there from the line missing free shots. You guys are college basketball players. I don't see how any of you guys who are college basketball players can hit free throws. I mean, you should be practicing all the time. Literally, free throws can win you the game. Period. You hit the free throws, you will win the game. Now, Nebraska was 75%. The problem is they only shot four three throws. Now you could sit here and tell me, well, then Nebraska got screwed. Well, see, the problem is Michigan gets everyone in foul trouble. Their defense is stifling, and they have length and size that gets everyone in trouble. Mad issues for people who want to guard Michigan. Now, I also want to give credit to a couple players on Michigan. Morez Johnson Jr., 28 minutes, 17 points, 12 rebounds, zero turnovers. That is fundamental basketball, and that's what wins you games. More Johnson Jr. is trouble. Just like Fears is trouble on Michigan State. I mean, Johnson Jr. isn't necessarily as prolific as Fears, but him out there on the court, his fundamental basketball for how young he is, keep him out there as long as possible because he is key and an A plus player in the starting lineup. Then you had Trey McKinney coming off the bench, 22 minutes off the bench and 11 points. I mean, those two players right there, the the young core of Michigan looks super good with those two guys on the team. And I'm very pleased with what I see from both of them. I do need to see a little bit more out of Yaxel. If you are going to make a deep march run, Yax needs to step up. He had 10 points yesterday in 33 minutes. I mean, him and Elliot share the same amount of minutes on the floor. I just would like to see a little bit more out of Yaxel. However, you can tell that when Yax isn't playing that great, we have other players that step up and get the job done. That's why Michigan is so dangerous. We even have people like Will Cheddar coming off the bench, scoring seven points, hitting three pointers at absolute clutch times. I mean, you even got the student section wearing cheese heads for his last name, Cheddar. But that's what basketball's all about, at least college basketball. It's entertaining, it's fun, the fans make it everything. I will say this Michigan's student section is an embarrassment to college basketball. During these big massive games, yesterday it was mediocre and okay. Compared to like the IZone and the Breslin Center, Michigan doesn't even come close to that with a student section. They really need to step that student section up. I don't know how they need to do it, but they gotta change something because it's weak. Weak sauce. But it is as simple as this. Michigan is an absolute monster in college basketball. That's why, as of right now, they are still the favorite to win the national championship. That sure as shit doesn't mean that you're gonna go into Breslin and take care of business against Michigan State, especially if you play the way you did against Nebraska. You're gonna need to play some sound, almost perfect basketball in order for you guys to beat the Spartans. Because the Spartans right now are playing that whole Tom Izzo type of basketball. When it gets a little bit deeper into the season, a little bit closer to March, we all know what they say about Tom Izzo and the Spartans. And as much as I don't necessarily like his whiny crybaby ass on the sidelines always going at the refs, I gotta give the guy a ton of credit. He is a winner. Now, he only has one national championship, but he is a winner, and he takes his teams into March, and they are dangerous. So I need Dusty May to get on that Izzo level. Dusty May is a hell of a coach, obviously. But Izzo is Izzo, and I'm definitely gonna give the coaching advantage to Michigan State in this game. I'm gonna give Michigan State the defensive advantage in this. They are a hell of a defensive team. But in all other areas, Michigan's just a little bit better. Now I'm gonna say this about Friday's game. I think it needs to be put into context on how important this game really is. Is it important to the teams? Sure. Is it important to the coaches? Sure. Is the team that loses out of it? Of course not. Truthfully, this game doesn't mean shit in the grand scheme of things. It means something for the fans, for the state. It's an exciting game to watch, and that's what it's about. But whoever wins or loses this game, they gotta play each other again in like four weeks. Not only that, but this doesn't necessarily change a lot of shit. All it does is make it to where state fans and Michigan fans have some type of of bragging rights over each other. A bunch of idiots on the internet get to talk to each other, spew a bunch of shit online, and make the other team feel like they're inadequate or inferior to them, which isn't the case at all. Because I don't care if Michigan State wins this game by 40 or Michigan wins it by 40. I don't care if each team wins it by three or one point. It doesn't fucking matter. Both teams are good, both teams are gonna make it deep into March most likely, and both teams are title contenders. I want both teams with their best players out on the court, ready to ball. That's what I want. Because Friday night is Michigan, Michigan State. That means basketball takes a back seat to emotional damage, which takes the wheel. Okay? This is not just a game, it is a family argument in front of the company. That's what this is. The records don't matter, the rankings don't matter, momentum doesn't matter, okay? Somebody's walking out mad and somebody's going on social media for the next 48 hours talking a bunch of shit. Okay? That's the way it goes. And be prepared, okay, fans? Be prepared because you already know the refs are gonna lose control by the second media timeout. Somebody's getting a technical foul for clapping too hard. Every loose ball is gonna look like a WWE audition. Two dudes diving, sliding into the scorers table, the crowd's gonna be losing their minds like it's game seven of the finals, and the trash talk, this shit is generational, okay? MSU fans saying you can't shoot, Michigan fans saying they're soft, MSU fans saying you guys suck and you're scared. Michigan fans saying they're outdated and their coach belongs in a nursing home. It's basketball mad libs. That's what we're gonna be living on Friday night. It's gonna be fantastic though. So, who wins, right? If Michigan controls the tempo and hits early shots, I'll tell you right now it'll get real uncomfortable in that arena real fast for both the team and the fans. Now MSU would have to score at the half court, and that is not their favorite hobby. If Michigan State controls the tempo, turns it into a wrestling match, Michigan better bring a helmet, because I'll tell you right now, the turnovers and the second chance points, that's what's gonna matter in this game. The game will be decided by rebounding, that's that grown man stat, turnovers, and who stays calm when the crowd goes nuclear. Because that place will be a zoo. It's gonna be nuts. So Michigan has to be ready for that environment. And a lot of times, they are. So let's make it clear. This game is about pride, bragging rights, and who gets to be annoying at work on Monday. Somebody is gonna be walking out feeling amazing, the other person is gonna be unfollowing half of their friends, either on social media or quite possibly real life as well. Neither fan base will be normal again until the next time we play each other on March 8th, last game of the season. And that right there is rivalry content. That right there is podcast gold. And that right there, folks, is the end of this episode of Cooking with Gas. I appreciate everyone who listened to this full episode. Thank you again for being a part of this content, being a part of my podcast. Now you can truly be a part of my podcast. Go to my Facebook page, go to my Instagram page, on there you will find a link to my website for this podcast. You can see every single episode that I recorded. You can click on those individual episodes, and right above the podcast episode description, you will see a send a text button. You can hit that button, send me a text. You got your own opinions, you want to say something, who knows? You may even hear it on the air. So again, go to the Cooking with Gas Podcast Facebook page or cooking with gas podcast Instagram page. You will see it all right there, right in front of you. Click on any of that, it'll bring you straight to the website. You can Get involved yourself. That's what I want. That's what this is about. Let's get the fans involved. Everyone, I hope you have an amazing rest of your week and an even better weekend. I'm your host, Jared. And until next time, if your team wins, you're a genius. If they lose, the refs are corrupt. That's science. We out.