baseball

The Michigan Baseball team is playing at Nebraska today in the Big Ten regular season finale.  Michigan is currently winning 4-3 in the bottom of the third and the game is on Big Ten Network.  If Michigan wins, they are guaranteed a spot in the Big Ten Tournament.  If Michigan loses, Penn State must beat Michigan State for Michigan to have a spot.  That game is currently 0-0 in the fifth.  Go Blue!

The Michigan Men's Baseball team won a huge game at Nebraska, 7-5.  Michigan was down 5-2 in the top of the sixth but a one run sixth inning and four run seventh inning propelled Michigan to the win.  Michigan remains tied for fifth win Illinois, who also won today, beating Minnesota 6-2.   Michigan State also crushed Penn State 16-1, yet remain in seventh place.  The top six teams qualify for the Big Ten Tournament and this is the final weekend of regular season play.  Below are the current standings:

 Team                  Record 
Indiana               15-7
Ohio State          15-7
Minnesota          12-7
Nebraska           14-8
Illinois                 13-9
Michigan             13-9
Michigan State   11-8
Northwestern      9-15
Iowa                      8-14
Purdue                 6-16
Penn State          3-19

Here is the gametracker link for the game:

http://www.mgoblue.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mbasebl.html?event=1224449&...

Go Blue!

There was an interesting discussion on Doc and Bentley this morning on whether a pitcher will have to wear a helmet in the near future.  With the 4000 former NFL players suing the league, will more cases like this begin to change the games that we all love to watch? 

MLB looked into protective headgear for pitchers after Brandon McCarthy suffered life-threatening brain injuries last season, but nothing was approved in time for Opening Day.

This may be a bit gruesome for some so Viewer Discretion is advised:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9252253/ja-happ-toronto-blue-jays-hit-...

I realize we are all awaiting McGary and Robinson's decisions, but we can multi-task! Tigers are in the 2nd, Verlander struck out 2 in the bottom of the first.

John U. Bacon writes a short introduction to the attached video highlighted in this month's Michigan Today profiling civil rights pioneer Branch Rickey and his relationship with the immortal Jackie Robinson.  Rickey was a 1911 graduate of Michigan Law School.

Like so many great Wolverines, he was born in Ohio but shook it off.  Interesting that Charles Thomas, a black player on Rickey's Ohio Wesleyan team (at that point Rickey was Wesleyan's coach) was a catalyst for Rickey's focus on discrimination in baseball.  The incident in particular - a not unusual story of a hotel refusing to lodge a person of color - took place in South Bend, but sadly could have occurred virtually anywhere in the U.S. at that time.

This is well worth 25 minutes of your time, and as "42" hits the theaters, remember that Branch Rickey was a law school alumnus and a model representative of UofM in many ways.

There is also a related story by Bacon regarding the impact Rickey had on Fred Wilpon (Mets owner, Michigan man, and namesake of the baseball-softball complex) that's worth a look.  LINK.  Money quote?  Money quote:

He practically invented Ladies' Day—which integrated an almost entirely male domain—spring training, and baseball's minor league system. Former St. Louis Cardinal great Stan Musial said, "An all-star team of our top farm clubs probably could have finished third behind the Cardinals and Dodgers. This was Branch Rickey's masterpiece."

Former Tiger's center fielder Curtis Granderson has been named by a source to be one of four players (three from the Yankees) to be facing a 50 game suspension for PED use.  Is PED use as rampant in other sports as it is in baseball, or do other leagues sweep it under the rug.  (This is not official but the guy coming out with this was right about Melky Cabrera being suspended last year before it was announced)

*****This is the first topic I've created, hopefully the link works******

http://daps.tv/source-robinson-cano-alex-rodriguez-ryan-braun-and-curtis-granderson-to-be-suspended/