Somebody in Central Michigan University’s programming screwed up big time.

Program Board and On The Fly Productions are co-sponsoring rapper Fabolous’ performance at 7:30 tonight at Rose Arena. The event, which ends Hip-Hop Week at CMU, cost $25,000 out of the programming budget.

Tickets originally cost $14 to $22 for students, faculty and staff. Program Board President David Breed said in early August it was a good time to bring him because Fabolous’ new album, “Loso’s Way,” released July 28, went straight to No. 1 on iTunes.

Things got funny a month later. On Monday, the show became free for students, faculty and staff. Breed said slumping ticket sales contributed to that decision. Coordinator of Student Activities Damon Brown cited other reasons, including the excitement around the CMU football team’s 29-27 upset over Michigan State last Saturday.

On Thursday, On The Fly Productions and Program Board made an appearance at Wares Fair for the first time in years. Why? To hand out Fabolous tickets to students.

In a nutshell, CMU programming paid $25,000 for a rapper it has to give away tickets for. Somebody screwed up big time.

I am all for bringing quality entertainment to campus. Dane Cook and Dave Matthews were here before my time and were extremely popular. Ludacris and T-Pain also came to campus in high demand over the last few years.

Let’s face it: students are drawn to entertainment. Program Board and On The Fly worked hard over the years to help that. But somebody here miscalculated who CMU students would pay money to see.

According to the Web site concertideas.com, here are some of the other acts CMU could have ended Hip-Hop Week with for around the same cost or cheaper: Bubba Sparxxx ($12-15,000), Chamillionaire ($20-25,000), Ice T ($12-15,000 as a lecturer), Mike Jones ($20-25,000) and the Ying Yang Twins ($10-15,000).

I’m not saying all of those acts are better choices. And I’m not saying all of those acts are available for that specific time and date. But when you pay $25,000 for an act you can’t get people to go to, you didn’t make the right choice.

Singing comedian Stephen Lynch, coming Oct. 16, is the next big test. His price tag is $37,000. Ticket prices are not quite set. But will students pay to see him?

If not, CMU programming has to go back to the drawing board and get a real pulse of the students.

Find an act CMU students will pay to see.

Click the thumbnail on the right (the “M”) to view a Flash presentation of the CMU football team’s spring breakdown in a popup window.

The presentation requires Adobe Flash Player. To get it, click here.

DIRECTIONS: Move the mouse cursor over each position on the left side to display a breakdown on the right side.

A late-season rematch with defending Mid-American Conference West champion Ball State and three games on ESPN networks highlight the CMU football team’s 2009 schedule.

The team begins the season on the road with trips to Arizona (Saturday, Sept. 5) and Michigan State (Sept. 12). It opens Kelly/Shorts Stadium against Alcorn State on Sept. 19 before entering MAC play.

CMU plays Akron for the seventh time since 2000 at home on Sept. 26. The Chippewas won the last meeting between the two teams in Mount Pleasant, 24-21, in 2006.

The team then travels to Buffalo to take on the defending MAC Champions on Oct. 3. CMU won last year’s meeting 27-25 after the Bulls missed a game-ending field goal off the right upright.

The Chippewas then play Eastern Michigan at home on Oct. 10 before meeting Western Michigan in Kalamazoo on Oct. 17. CMU won the last meeting at Waldo Stadium, 34-31, but lost the last meeting against EMU at home, 48-45, in 2007.

The team plays two consecutive road games after that – against Bowling Green (Oct. 24) and Boston College (Oct. 31). The Eagles beat the Chippewas 31-24 in 2006, the last time the two teams met.

After a bye week, CMU finishes the season against MAC opponents on national television. It plays at home against Toledo on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and at Ball State on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Both games will play on ESPN2 or ESPNU.

The Chippewas finish the season at home, the day after Thanksgiving, against Northern Illinois on Nov. 27. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

The MAC Championship Game is at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, at Ford Field. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

2009 Season Schedule

Date Opponent Time/TV
Sat, Sept. 5 at Arizona TBA
Sat, Sept. 12 at Michigan State TBA
Sat, Sept. 19 vs. Alcorn State TBA
Sat, Sept. 26 vs. Akron* TBA
Sat, Oct. 3 at Buffalo* TBA
Sat, Oct. 10 vs. Eastern Michigan* TBA
Sat, Oct. 17 at Western Michigan* TBA
Sat, Oct 24 at Bowling Green* TBA
Sat, Oct. 31 at Boston College TBA
Wed, Nov. 11 vs. Toledo* 8 pm/ESPN2
Wed, Nov. 18 at Ball State* TBA
Fri, Nov. 27 vs. Northern Illinois TBA
Fri, Dec. 4 MAC Championship 8 pm/ESPN2

* Denotes MAC game

Patrick Siller

With its chances of taking first in the Mid-American Conference West Division gone, the men’s basketball team can take solace in playing spoiler.

With its one-point Saturday loss to Eastern Michigan, CMU needs Ball State and Western Michigan both to go winless to reach first. But the two teams play tonight, eliminating CMU from contention.

Instead, the Chippewas will focus on breaking an 11-game losing streak to Toledo at 7 p.m. today.

“I think more than anything, it would be a great feeling to just win on our home floor,” said coach Ernie Zeigler. “We’ve not played mentally tough enough to win on our own floor and we need to finish the home regular season with a win.”

It is the final game at Rose Arena for three players – senior forward Marcus Van, junior Brandon Ford and senior walk-on Ryan Thomas. Ford will graduate and not return to the team next season.

“It would only be fitting for them to end their career with a home win,” Zeigler said.

CMU now battles Northern Illinois in the MAC West standings, as both teams hold a 5-9 conference record. Toledo and Eastern Michigan are just one game back as well. If the MAC Tournament started today, CMU would be seeded No. 9 and play Western Michigan.

“Given the fact that last Wednesday against Ball State, we let that one get away from us,” said junior guard Jordan Bitzer. “To end with a win at home would give us confidence going into MACs.”

Despite Toledo’s 4-10 conference record (6-23 overall), Zeigler said he has urged his team to overlook the Rockets’ struggles this season.

“Toledo, for us, percentages and how they’re playing goes right out the window,” he said. “They have owned us over the last few years. It’s going to be a difficult task for us to defend our home court.”

Wednesday’s game offers a rematch of what Zeigler said was one of the low points of the season.

On Jan. 20, the Rockets handed Central a 75-61 loss while the team shot just 36.2 percent and did not hold a lead past the 13:49 mark in the first half.

Justin Anyijon grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds and scored 13 points for the Rockets.

But Toledo did not fare well after, losing its next seven games before winning two of its last four. The Rockets averaged only 58 points per game while giving up 67.3 during the span.

“That’s probably something we shouldn’t be looking at because that could make you overlook them as a team,” Bitzer said. “They’re better than what’s on paper.”

The Rockets boast senior guards Tyrone Kent (15 points per game) and Jonathan Amos (13.4).

Zeigler had the team run a drill to ready it for the battle in the post.

“We have to become more physical,” he said. “With the lack of depth up front, we have to drive the ball and expect contact and draw contact and finish through contact.”

The team finishes the regular season on the road at Western Michigan before the start of the MAC Tournament on March 10.

sports@cm-life.com

The baseball team won 15-6 in the second half of a doubleheader Saturday against UNC-Asheville to salvage a weekend series.

CMU (3-5) lost its two previous two games to the Bulldogs on the weekend, 7-4 earlier on Saturday and 12-4 on Friday.

“We started out kind of slow,” said sophomore outfielder Matt Faiman. “But by the third game we finally stepped up. We just had to focus more.”

The final game of the series, scheduled for noon Sunday, was canceled because of poor weather conditions.

Faiman had four runs batted in on four hits in the win. His performance matched his season total heading into the game.

Freshman designated hitter Nate Theunissen went 2-for-4 and added three RBIs.

Freshman pitcher Zach Cooper earned the win after giving up no earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched.

“We started to play CMU baseball in the third game,” said coach Steve Jaksa. “We got off to a slow start, for whatever reason. We just lacked the enthusiasm.”

The team lost 12-4 Friday after giving up seven runs in the third inning.

The Chippewas lost 7-4 on Saturday despite rallying for four runs in the eighth inning.

“We had one bad inning in the first game. We weren’t giving up errors, they were just stringing hits together,” Jaksa said. “We have to learn to get out of the inning. In most cases it just takes one more big strikeout or a diving catch, but someone has to make the big play.”

The team has a four-day break before traveling back to Florida to face Northeastern on March 6.

“We’ve shown that we can be strong in the field and at the plate,” Faimen said. “But we have to work on being more consistent”

sports@cm-life.com

Dear Michael Rao,

You know me. At least, I think you do – we’ve shaken hands on several occasions.

The last time was during your trip to the journalism department last December, when we gave you a tour of the new multimedia room and the CM Life office.

I have always known you as a very approachable person, as a man who treasures his family and friends as much as his job. You always had a plethora of ideas for this university and rarely did you have a frown on your face.

As a student, I felt the impact you had on this university over the years. When I first stepped on campus in 2005, there were no Fabiano and Celani halls gracing the CMU skyline. There was no new education building replacing the downtrodden Ronan Hall. Kelly/Shorts Stadium had no giant scoreboard or light poles. Broomfield Road was a two-way mess.

Up until last week, you continued to promote progress. You spoke at Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting of hiring an interim dean for the medical school, a project that was approved less than six months ago.

You spoke just like you do at every Board meeting. You spoke with passion. You know that despite the university’s positives, there is always room for improvement.

Then, less than 36 hours later … poof.

You were gone. Nowhere to be found.

Except, of course, 740 miles away in Richmond, Va., where you accepted the presidency at Virginia Commonwealth University. It was a vanishing act comparable to former CMU football coach Brian Kelly, who bolted for Cincinnati one December night in 2006.

And there you stood behind the podium at VCU, speaking just like you do at CMU. You spoke with passion. You know of the opportunities that lay before you. After all, VCU already has a prestigious medical school. It is a $2 billion organization, and you will make double the money you make here.

Unfortunately, the road you placed in front of yourself comes at the expense of not just myself, but the students, faculty members, administrators and Trustees of Central Michigan University who spoke with you and worked with you for nearly a decade. Very few of us knew that despite your well-intentioned words Thursday, your heart was looking elsewhere.

You say nine years is a long time – and it certainly is. No one expected you to stay forever, and no one is faulting you for moving on with your career. But you are bolting during a time when CMU needs its leadership the most.

Despite Michigan’s dire economic climate and a constant dwindling in state appropriations, you had big dreams for this university. In the last two years, you pushed for a medical school, a biotechnology building, a Bovee University Center renovation and a Rose Arena renovation. Never in the last nine years has CMU had a bigger slate of projects on its hands.

You may always downplay your importance in the development of these projects, but every project needs leadership from the people who envision them. One will be missing when workers break ground on CMU’s multi-million dollar medical school. You.

Personally, I wish you good luck at VCU. Thank you for the nine years you and your family spent here.

But if you could, do us all one more favor. Make your last four months count.

This university could really use that.

Be sure to follow CM Life on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/CMLIFE for the latest updates on University President Michael Rao, plus all other breaking news stories and updates.

CM Life also will continue to update its blog at http://cmlife.wordpress.com as the semester progresses. Be sure to bookmark us at both sites for 24-7 coverage of Mount Pleasant and Central Michigan University.