Big Ten Country

Ten Shining Moments

Big Ten Country is going on its summer sabbatical now, and will return to regular blogging at the start of August. As usual, throughout the summer, it will be worth checking back as I'll be adding some historical information & articles on the side columns and doing summer remodeling. To end the year, here's ten shining moments from Big Ten action over the past academic year. Just imagine Luther Vandross being cued up and the music playing, as the moments run past...

10)Tubby Finds A Home: Tubby Smith guided Minnesota basketball back into winning ways. This one could have ranked a little higher had the Gophers made the NCAA Tournament or pulled a signature upset. But even without those, a coach who was underappreciated at Kentucky and comes to get a downtrodden Minnesota program respectable again is surely a story worth remembering.

9)In Memory of Terry: Indiana football lost head coach Terry Hoeppner in his fight with brain cancer, but the program retained his fighting spirit. The Hoosiers made their first bowl game since 1993 in honor of the man they called "Hoepp".

8)Shedding An Old Rap: Michigan State football built up a reputation as one that couldn't close the deal. But with a winning season on the line in the finale against Penn State, the Spartans were staring at 17-point deficit. Not only did they not quit, the offense suddenly looked unstoppable as they shredded a good defensive team and rallied for a win. It got them a Champs Sports Bowl bid.

7)Giant Killers In The Valley: Penn State returned the favor in basketball season. The Nittany Lion program still struggled, but they delivered stunning home wins against both Michigan State & Indiana that were huge factors in pushing those teams out of the conference race. More impressive, the Lions did it without their best player, as Geary Claxton was lost to a knee injury.

6)Freshman In West Lafayette: Matt Painter was supposed to be on a rebuilding year with four freshman playing. But led by Robbie Hummel, these Boilermakers were the surprise of the Big Ten, as they contended for the conference title to the very last week of the season.

5)Pasadena Bound: Ron Zook made believers out of doubters and gave new hope to Illinois football fans. His team warmed up with wins over Wisconsin & Penn State, then stunned Ohio State on the road. It all added up to a Rose Bowl bid and continued success on the recruiting trail, as Zook continues to rejuvenate Illini football.

4)A Historical Bookend: The Michigan football program was making history to start the year back in September, when they lost to Appalachian State. They ended the year by making history of a more positive kind, as offensive tackle Jake Long became the first Wolverine chosen first in the NFL draft since 1941.

3)A Fast Rebuild In Madison: That was quick. Wisconsin's basketball team lost Player of the Year Alando Tucker, and not only didn't miss a beat, but were a little stronger for the wear. Bo Ryan's program captured the third conference championship of his tenure, and the second outright crown.

2)A Fast Rebuild In Columbus:  That was quick. Ohio State's football team lost Heisman winner Troy Smith and still rolled to another Big Ten title and another trip to the BCS National Championship Game.

1)Keeping Faith: Indiana basketball fans had the great sports temptation placed in front of them. Their proud basketball program was finally back on its winning ways, in the mix for a Big Ten title and seen as a legitimate Final Four threat. Then it came out that Kelvin Sampson was again abusing his telephone privileges when it came to recruiting. It would have been easy enough to fall back on justification or other excuses. There are, after all, far worse violations being committed daily. IU fans could hardly have been blamed if they weren't ready to die on this hill.

But the fans showed they were different and that the long-standing reputation for integrity built up by Bob Knight over decades and sustained by Mike Davis (who came in for harsh words here and elsewhere, but was always squeaky-clean) mattered more then wins and losses. It took the university leadership a little longer to reach the same conclusion, but pushed along by public pressure they moved Sampson out. The IU season suffered for it, as the team was not the same after that point. But the grass-roots populace of Indiana had made a clear statement of what they wanted their program to be about.

Surely, seeing the common folk of Indiana overturn a recalcitrant administration was a good retirement gift for Knight, who stepped down at Texas Tech. And call me corny, but I think that kind of statement was what Big Ten sports is about. This is the best conference in the country. Not because our teams are always the best. The SEC has us in football, and the ACC owns us in hoops. But when it comes to playing athletics at a high level and still retaining a sense of priorities, no one matches the Big Ten. That's why I love the conference I grew up around, and it's a value system Indiana basketball fans rose up to protect.

Everyone have a great summer, and see you back here in August!

Draft Wrap

The NFL draft wrapped up a couple hours ago. As expected, Michigan was the story when it came to the Big Ten. Jake Long went to the Dolphins with the top pick, and he will get the chance to continue protecting the same quarterback. Chad Henne is also going to be dressing in aqua & orange next year as a second-round choice. Shawn Crable is going to the other end of the AFC East, joining the champion Patriots and Mario Manningham will go to the Giants. Indianapolis may have gotten a major steal in the sixth round when the grabbed the undersized, but intangible-loaded Michael Hart and Adrian Arrington went in the seventh round to New Orleans as another possible sleeper.

It was uncharacteristically quiet in Columbus this year. Vernon Gholston was the sixth choice overall in going to the Jets, but OSU didn't get called again until Kirk Barton and Larry Grant went in the seventh and final round.

As expected, Rashard Mendenhall went in the first round, although #23 to the Steelers was lower then anyone was projecting. But this is a good thing for the Illinois back, as Pittsburgh is a great place to work as a runner. And the Big Ten did get a fourth player in the first round. But it wasn't Devin Thomas. The Redskins traded out of the first round and found Thomas waiting in the early second. His place in Round 1 was taken by Purdue tight end Dustin Keller, who went to the Jets with the #30 pick overall.

Other odds and ends from New York:

--Indiana's two players went back-to-back in the second round. Tracy Porter was #40 to New Orleans and James Hardy came up next to Buffalo.

--The Eagles took a surprising flyer on Wisconsin corner Jack Ikegwuonu. If the Birds can keep him buried, the Badger defensive back could make an impact once he's healthy again. Three more UW players went in the sixth round, including kicker Taylor Melhaff (New Orleans) who has the best chance to have a long-term career at the next level.

--Penn State's two stud defenders, Dan Connor & Justin King slipped to the third and fourth round respectively. With King, I can see it, as he's a little small for an NFL corner. But Connor has a chance to be a solid pick at that spot for Carolina.

--Northwestern was the only team in the Big Ten not to have a player chosen. Illinois and Minnesota were the only ones with as few as one (Safety Dominque Barber was the Gopher chosen in the sixth round), and Michigan's six players led the way.

Big Ten Draft Prospects

The NFL draft is set to start on Saturday afternoon at 3 PM with the first two rounds. The remainder of the selections will be on Sunday. A few posts further down, the top players from the conference are discussed. Here's a brief primer on the key prospects from each Big Ten school.

Ohio State
Defensive end Vernon Gholston is a possible top five selection. After that, offensive tackle Kirk Barton is the only player that looks a lock to be chosen. Outside linebacker Larry Grant also has a shot at making a team.

Illinois
Rashard Mendenhall's going somewhere in the first round. That's about all we know for sure. It could be in the top ten, or he could slide. Inside linebacker J Leman will have to wait for the second day to see if he has a pro career ahead of him.

Michigan
A bumper crop of pro talent is coming out of Ann Arbor this year, led by offensive tackle Jake Long, who is still a contender to be the first overall choice. Mario Manningham projects as a good NFL receiver, although recent rumors about marijuana use are going to hurt him. Chad Henne will be an interesting player to watch. His shoulder problems last year would be a knock against him, but he was a four-year starter at a high level and pro teams tend to overreach on quarterbacks. I can see him going in the first round, or falling to a Sunday pick depending what the mood of the day is.

Mike Hart was all heart for his team, but his size is going to weigh heavily against him this weekend. Wide receiver Adrian Arrington has a chance to see his name called on Saturday, and on the defensive side, linebacker Shawn Crable and safety Jamar Adams are likely to be picked.

Wisconsin
Receiver Paul Hubbard is the top prospect in Madison, although there are concerns about his durabilty that will likely make him a Sunday choice. The same problem will push corner Jack Ikegwuonu down in the very late rounds. Ikegwuonu was one of the best corners in the nation when healthy, but a knee blowout has put a serious crimp in his NFL hopes. Also awaiting a call will be defensive tackle Nick Hayden and kicker Taylor Melhaff.

Penn State
Dan Connor ranks as one of the top linebackers on the board and has a chance to be a first-round choice. Corner Justin King will also go high, though I think he might be a little too small to be a big-time NFL defensive back. Anthony Morelli's superior physical tools might get some team desperate for a quarterback willing to take a flier on him, although that requires ignoring a significant amount of mediocre work and a reputation for not being the best reader of defenses that trails him from high school.

Michigan State
Devin Thomas' stock has been rising, and he's now the #2 receiver on the board. Whether he will join Gholston, Long and Mendenhall as first round picks out of the Big Ten is the conference's big unanswered question for Saturday. Tight end Kellen Davis and safety Nehemiah Warrick look to join him at the next level.

Indiana
James Hardy may be one of the great values in this year's draft. This big receiver is not rated as one of the best of a relatively weak receiver class, but his size and speed suggest one who can be a legitimate Pro Bowler. The Hoosiers also offer corner Tracy Porter, who is well-regarded by scouts and has a good chance to go on the first day.

Purdue
The system of Joe Tiller continues to produce passing game prospects. Tight end Dustin Keller is #1 at his position, and receiver Dorien Bryant may go high as well. Defensively, end Clif Avril may be a Saturday pick and outside linebacker Stanford Keglar has hopes of landing somewhere.

Iowa
All of Iowa's prospects are on defense. Watch for corner Charles Godfrey as a second-day choice with a chance to climb to Saturday. Defensive ends Kenny Iwebema and Bryan Mattison will also get their names called sometime this weekend.

Northwestern & Minnesota
It will be a quiet weekend for these two teams, with the best hopes being for Minnesota safety Dominique Barber as a late-round pick.

Season Recaps: Ohio State & Wisconsin

The last of the season recaps for both football and basketball takes place today with the two programs that brought home the championship hardware.

Ohio State
It was a banner year in Columbus during the fall, as the Buckeyes won their third straight conference championship. The past two have been outright and have ended in the BCS Championship Game. Unfortunately, both seasons have ended with decisive title-game losses to an SEC school, but only the most ignorant media members (a category that sadly includes most of them) would focus only on the latter at the expense of the former.

Jim Tressel had to replace all of his 2006 playmakers, including Heisman winner Troy Smith. He still got off to an 8-0 start against a relatively soft schedule, then beat Penn State & Wisconsin late in the year and capped it off with a dominating defensive effort in Ann Arbor to seal the league title. Only Illinois, who pulled a big upset in Columbus has been able to dent the OSU armor in league play over the last two seasons.

The basketball team was rebuilding this year after losing Greg Oden and Mike Conley to the NBA draft, so a repeat of last year's run to a league title and the NCAA final was out of the question from the get-go. Thad Matta's team had its high points--a near-miss at Tennessee and big late-season wins at home against Purdue and Michigan State that kept their tournament hopes alive, but in the end there wasn't enough consistency to return to the Big Dance. The Buckeyes still won the NIT as a nice consolation prize.

Wisconsin
The football team had great expectations in August as a Big Ten crown and a possible run for a national title were seen as reasonable goals. Those didn't quite pan out, as the team struggled to some early wins and then played poorly in back-to-back losses at Illinois & Penn State. In the wake of the latter defeat they found their footing, and lost only at Ohio State the rest of the regular season, throwing in a big win against Michigan that proved enough to get them a New Year's bid to the Outback Bowl. A loss at Tennessee ended a year that wasn't bad, but could have been more.

The basketball team was an unmitigated success. Losing Player of the Year Alando Tucker didn't stop Bo Ryan from re-tooling his team and running to a 16-2 Big Ten record and winning his third conference title. The Badgers also won a big nonconference game in Texas. The NCAA Tournament produced a Sweet 16 performance. Losing to 10th-seeded Davidson was an undeniable disappointment, but the body of work overall was one of the most impressive in the nation.

Season Recaps: Michigan & Michigan State

The reviews of the football and basketball seasons of conference schools continues into the state of Michigan today, as Big Ten Country looks back on the years of the Wolverines & Spartans.

Michigan
Football season started with a stunning and historic loss to Appalachian State on Labor Day weekend. The regular season ended with a fourth straight loss to Ohio State. In between the Wolverines played some good football. They continued their mastery of Penn State. They won at BCS-bound Illinois. But a loss at Wisconsin in the second-last game with Chad Henne hurt cost them a share of the conference title and set an ominous tone for what would go down in the following week's championship showdown with the Buckeyes.

The losses to OSU were finally the end for Lloyd Carr, But before leaving, the old coach had one last hurrah up his sleeve, pulling an upset of Florida in the Capital One Bowl. An era ended in the hiring process as UM went outside the system and brought in West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez to juice up the offense. The early days of the new regime have been awash in controversy and players leaving. Michigan's record of success speaks for itself and Rodriguez is a proven winner, but there's big challenges ahead in the short-term, as the program makes the transition to a spread offense.

The basketball team produced exciting freshman guard Manny Harris, but not much else. They lost at home to Northwestern, in the only game the Wildcats won in Big Ten play. Fans are hoping the rebuilding program of John Beilein accelerates next year.

Michigan State
MSU was one of the more successful overall programs in the league when you consider both sports. The football team began a new era under Mark Dantonio and started to shed its reputation as one that fell apart down the stretch. The early and mid-season was marked by tough, frustrating losses to Wisconsin and Michigan. But the Spartans began to surge in November and they capped it off by rallying from 17 points down to beat Penn State in the regular season finale. Then they turned in a noble effort in the Champs Sports Bowl against Boston College and its possible #1 draft pick in Matt Ryan.

The future is bright for Dantonio's program. The only cautionary note is that similar enthusiasm was found in East Lansing after one year under John L. Smith. MSU still faces the burden of overcoming its recent past, even in good times.

Tom Izzo's basketball team had a good year, although it wasn't what anyone associated with the program expected. National title hopes were in full bloom when practice started last fall. And non-conference play gave legitimacy to those hopes, with a big win over Texas being the highlight. But Big Ten games didn't go quite as well. The Spartans still defended their home floor, beating Purdue and hanging 103 points on Indiana in East Lansing. But they lost to both contenders on the road and they lost to eventual league champ Wisconsin on the road. Worst of all, they lost at Penn State & Iowa.

The NCAA Tournament was more of the same. They had a decent run, beating Pitt and making the Sweet 16. But their season-ending loss to Memphis was a rout. This program is still the best in the conference until further notice and can be expected to be back. And their season was hardly a bad one. But it could have been more then it was.

Season Recaps: Illinois & ND Football

Big Ten Country has always seen Notre Dame football as a first couisin to the family and included them in this blog's coverage. Today, they join Illinois in the season recaps.

Illinois
Life at this basketball school was turned upside down over the past year. Basketball took a tumble, while the football team scaled unexpected heights.

When the Illini lost the football opener to Missouri, no one could have guessed they'd just lost to a team who would be within one game of playing for a national title, or that they themselves would be playing Southern Cal in January. But Illinois took advantage of a schedule that was lined up for them, going 2-1 in home games against Wisconsin, Penn State & Michigan. And the one disappointment--a loss to the Wolverines--was more then made up for when Ron Zook took his team to Columbus and knocked off top-ranked Ohio State. When a series of late-season events still got the Buckeyes into the national title game, the Illini performance was persuasive enough to the Rose Bowl committee to get them a bid.

The Rose Bowl itself didn't go as Illinois fans hoped, though few observers were surprised. In the end, they had achieved more then enough just by being there. The program produced the conference MVP in running back Rashard Mendenhall, and with Zook recruiting very well, it looks like the good times might be just starting in Champaign.

Three years ago, Bruce Weber's basketball team came within a bucket of a perfect regular season and played for the national championship. Those days seemed light years ago, as Illinois struggled through a 14-18 regular season and won just five conference games. The lone highlight of the regular season was an 84-60 road pounding of Minnesota at a time the Gophers still harbored outside NCAA aspirations. As highlights go, that's not much.

But March was kinder to Weber. Illinois found their footing in the conference tournament and won three games, including triumphs over Indiana and Purdue. They lost to Wisconsin in the final and the overall record wasn't good enough to get them a postseason invite, but Illini fans can hope the fighting spirit their team showed will carry over into next year.

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Unless you've been hidden in a cave somewhere, you've surely heard that the past football season won't go down in the annals of Notre Dame football history. And with Illinois rising, the Fighting Irish have a potential threat for the loyalties of Chicago. Well, that might be an exaggeration. ND's chances of losing the loyalty of Chicago are on a par with the Democrats' chances of losing Massachusetts. But the Irish started the year 0-5, finished it 3-9 and were embarrassed several times along the way. They lost to every Big Ten team they played.

On the plus side, they beat two Pac-10 teams on the road. One of them was Stanford--the same Cardinal who stunned USC, and Notre Dame also beat UCLA. But Notre Dame Nation is desperately hoping that Charlie Weis' recruiting classes are as good as advertised. Now entering his fourth season, Weis expended a lot of the goodwill his back-to-back BCS runs of 2005-06 built up with last autumn's wipeout.

The Big Ten's Top Prospects

The NFL draft is a week away and Michigan's offensive tackle Jake Long may yet go #1 overall. The Miami Dolphins have opened negotiations with Long's agent, although Long could still go anywhere in the top five. The Detroit Free Press reports how Bill Parcells is sending out mixed signals on where his team might be going.

Long isn't the only Big Ten lineman who will hear his name called early. On the other side of the ball, Ohio State defensive end Vernon Ghoulston is a surefire Top 10 pick and may go in the top five. Looking at the draft order, the New England Patriots hold the #7 pick (this one is through a trade, it's the #31 choice overall the Pats must forfeit as a result of Spygate) and would be a nice place for top young player to land--certainly better then Arizona, Detroit or any of the usual wastelands the highest picks must start their careers.

Last year's conference MVP, Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois is the one other guaranteed first-rounder. Mendenhall has been projected anywhere from 10-15 in the mock drafts I've seen. The Lions & Bears are both in this part of the selection sequence, making it possible Mendenhall could stay close to his collegiate home.

The interesting wild-card out of the Big Ten is Michigan State receiver Devin Thomas. He's being projected as a late first-rounder, although he's shaping up as the kind of player some team could roll on the dice on much earlier, or he could slip out of the first round altogether. Rivals.com rates him as the #2 wide receiver on the board, ahead of James Hardy at Indiana and ahead of renowned national players like DeSean Jackson (Cal) and Early Doucet (LSU).

It will be interesting to see how it shakes out. Big Ten Country will have one more preview post before Roger Goodell steps to the podium in New York City next Saturday, where we look at some of the players in this league who have a good chance to go in the first two rounds.

Season Recaps: Indiana & Purdue

Big Ten Country's look back at the year that was continues today with both ends of what is the best rivalry in the league, as the seasons of Indiana & Purdue are considered.

Indiana
Indiana turned into a well-balanced athletic program this year, coming up with successful seasons in both football & basketball. This past fall, the football team fulfilled the great wish of the late Terry Hoeppner and reached its first bowl game since 1993. A big win at Iowa early signified the good things to come, and the Hoosiers finally won the Old Oaken Bucket battle against Purdue to end the year. Interim coach Bill Lynch was rewarded with a four-year contract. It's unlikely IU will ever be a signature football program, but they are finally climbing out of the dark cellar of the Big Ten.

Looking at the final regular season numbers of 25-6 overall & 14-4 in the league, no one would have guessed the rocky road the Hoosier basketball team had to travel to get there. The firing of Kelvin Sampson spoke well to Indiana's integrity, particularly of the fans, who pressured a recalcitrant athletic department to take quick action. But integrity usually comes at a cost. In this case, it cost Indiana a shot at a big March run, as the defense tanked once Sampson was gone. They lost the first game of the Big Ten tournament, were hammered by the NCAA committee who dropped them to a #8 seed, and said a quick goodbye in the Big Dance. Now they bring in a new coach in Tom Crean, who's had to say a quick goodbye to Eric Gordon. D.J. White is also leaving. But this is still a team who came within a fluke banked three-pointer against Wisconsin of tying for the league title. And in Crean, they have the kind of coach who will finally get Indiana winning again and when they have another big year, this one won't be upset by recruiting violations & controversies.

Purdue
It was a so-so year for the Boilermakers on the football field. The 7-5 finish produced no signature wins (with Notre Dame not filling that category this year), and no inexcusable losses. In the end, Joe Tiller's success has made this kind of year a disappointment, especially when the regular season ends with a loss to Indiana. But even though the Motor City Bowl wasn't the trip Boiler fans were hoping for, they returned to bowl play after a year's hiatus. Overall, this program seems to be at a vital crossing point.

Basketball was an unqualified success. With four freshmen getting significant minutes, Purdue was supposed to rebuilding. They rebuilt all the way to a 24-7 regular season mark, a 15-3 record in the Big Ten and an NCAA win for the second straight year. The Boilermakers showed their mental toughness when they beat Wisconsin up in Madison, and were the only team to beat the eventual conference champs in league play. The future is even brighter for Matt Painter as he pushes the program back to Keady-era levels.

Season Recaps: Penn State & Iowa

The postseason wraps on both football & men's basketball continue today with looks at the seasons of Penn State & Iowa.

Penn State
The Nittany Lion football program is in a major state of flux right now, as the ever-present question of when Joe Paterno will hang it up becomes more immediate. On the field, while PSU didn't have a bad year, 2007 was also not one to remember. The Lions continued their losing streak to Michigan and were outplayed badly at home by Ohio State. The defense, the pride of the program, was taken apart at Illinois and collapsed in a season-ending loss at Michigan State that may have cost the team a New Year's Day bid. The highlight of the year was a 38-7 thrashing of Wisconsin in October, and an Alamo Bowl victory that marked the third postseason triumph over a southern school in as many years.

PSU basketball has reason to ask what might have been. They pulled upsets of Michigan State & Indiana, and just missed an NIT bid with a heartbreaking loss to Illinois in the conference tournament. And they did all this in spite of losing MVP-caliber forward Geary Claxton to a knee injury early in the league schedule. They achieved more then anyone had a right to expect under such circumstances, although the injury leaves you wondering if this program can ever catch the break it needs to win consistently.

Iowa
This is another proud football program facing a difficult time, although in this case there's no issues over succession at the head coaching position. Kirk Ferentz is just going through a rough spell right now, as his team struggled in at 6-6, the second consecutive year the Hawks have been a disappointment. A win over Rose Bowl-bound Illinois and a three-game winning streak in November gave fans reason for hope, but a devastating loss to Western Michigan in the finale kept them home for bowl season.

In basketball, Iowa had a tough year, though it was expected as first-year coach Todd Lickliter began a rebuilding project. They struggled to a 13-19 finish, with the key highlight being a defensive masterpiece in holding Michigan State to 36 points in a home win. Guards Tony Freeman and Justin Johnson were the top performers, averaging in double-digits.

Season Recaps: Northwestern & Minnesota

Back from my honeymoon, it's time to offer congratulations to Kansas & Bill Self. I'm not sure how Illinois fans feel about their former coach, but I was happy to see Self get the brass ring a week ago tonight.

Now that we're officially into offseason for the two sports Big Ten Country covers, it's time to start brief recaps of what each school did in football & men's basketball the past year. Today, we look at Northwestern & Minnesota.

Northwestern
The Wildcats had the least successful year of any school when you look at both sports combined, but they saw some heartening improvement on the gridiron last fall. Pat Fitzgerald led his team to a 6-6 record, and had them in the bowl conversation all the way to a season-ending loss against Illinois. The highlight of the 'Cats year was a crazy two-week stretch in October. They won back-to-back overtime shootouts, first knocking off Michigan State in East Lansing (48-41), then winning a wild 2-OT game at home against Minnesota (49-48). The win over the Spartans, who would be surging down the stretch, was the top sports moment of the year for NU fans, and the .500 record gives hope that Fitzgerald has the program recovering from the tragic death of Randy Walker.

Basketball didn't fare quite as well. Northwestern won just one conference game and positive memories of the season have to be built on the emergence of quality freshman Michael Thompson as a possible difference-maker in years to come.

Minnesota
Minnesota AD Joel Matsui staked the future of the football program on firing Glen Mason, on the grounds that going to minor bowl games was no longer good enough. Minnesota responded by failing to win a single Big Ten game in the first year of the post-Mason era. UM is getting ready to move into a new stadium in 2009, and Matsui has to be desperately hoping that an unexpectedly strong recruiting class will set the groundwork for better days in the immediate future.

Basketball is much brighter in Minneapolis. Matsui ignored the same mentality that led him to do Mason in, and hired underappreciated Tubby Smith away from Kentucky prior to the season. Smith rewarded him and the Gopher fans with a nice 18-12 year and an NIT bid. The Gophs knocked off future NIT champ Ohio State in March and probably cost the Buckeyes a bid to the NCAA. After some hard years on the hardwood in recent years, things are looking up again.