fab five

I won't summarize as you can read it for yourselves, below.  Your opinions?

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab--ncaa--michigan-should-be-apologizing...

Very thoughtful letter that I feel resonates with the team's situation today.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/57669/check-out-thi...

I have been thinking of you a lot since I sat glued to the TV during the championship game. I know that there may be nothing I or anyone else can say to ease the pain and disappointment of what happened. Still, for whatever it's worth, you, and your team, were terrific. And part of playing for high stakes under great pressure is the constant risk of mental error. I know. I have lost two political races and made countless mistakes over the last twenty years. What matters is the intensity, integrity, and courage you bring to the effort. That is certainly what you have done. You can always regret what occurred but don't let it get you down or take away the satisfaction of what you have accomplished. You have a great future. Hang in there.
Sincerely, Bill Clinton

 

 

 

I know this is a polarizing topic to many within this fanbase, but I came across this letter written by a professor at Michigan titled "An Open Letter to Chris Webber: You are loved."

In it he discusses a possible way for him to reconcile with the past and his influence on the freshman currently on the roster. He actually teaches a class with all five of the freshman in it so he has some real perspective on the topic. I know many people have their minds made up on the issue of whether or not the Fab Five should be honored, but in light of the Final Four this weekend, I thought it might foster a good discussion on the board about taking a realistic approach on how to deal with the past properly. If you don't think Chris Webber should ever be allowed on campus, you're entitled to that opinion, but the ban ends in May and sooner or later something will probably happen involving the Fab Five, and Chris Webber will probably be one of the main driving forces behind how good or bad the results end up being for him, the Fab Five and the university as well.

Found a gem this morning from one of Wisconsin's student newspapers:

http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/sports/april-fools-michigan-s-final-four-berth-stymied/article_09748a4e-9a94-11e2-bd79-001a4bcf887a.html

From TFA:

However, there was a shocking development while the Wolverines were in the process of cutting down the nets at Cowboys Stadium. NCAA President Mark Emmert informed Beilein and his team their win against the Gators would be vacated due to the recent findings of improper benefits given to several players, including All-American sophomore guard Trey Burke.

According to a source inside the locker room, when Beilein asked Emmert who was responsible for turning the Wolverines into NCAA authorities, Emmert said it was none other than Fab Five members Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose and Chris Webber.

And then later:

“We’re the original Fab Five, and nobody will ever duplicate what we had in Ann Arbor,” Webber said, pausing to take a swig of his brown-bag-wrapped bottle of whiskey.

Well played, Daily Cardinal.

A few weeks back, at the beginning of the tournament, Jalen Rose made some comments about how he hoped to reunite the Fab Five by getting tickets to watch the Wolverines play in Atlanta.  Always the polarizing figure on these very pages*, this was met with mixed reaction.

Some people said things along the lines of, "Jalen, it's not about you and the Fab Five anymore.  Why would you announce that you are buying courtside tickets with the rest of the Fab Five and make it all about you, you're so selfish, etc."

Personally, I like Jalen Rose and think he has been a (mostly) good representative for the University.  I did not mind the comments, though I can understand why some may have felt that way.

ANYWAY, on sportcenter they asked Rose to compare the current team to the Fab Five (this is inevitable, and certainly not the fault of Jalen), and it seems like he took some of y'alls criticism to heart, specifically saying that he did not want to make the comparison because this team is special in their own way, and this final four trip is about them.  Good for him.

Link?  http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9118211   Link.

* Shout out to THE_KNOWLEDGE.   Pretty awesome how he picked Wichita St. in the final four.

** He didn't do it on these very pages, but obvs. he did, and is totally soaring.

During the Clippers-Mavericks game last night, the play-by-play announcer asked what team will Kansas face on Friday, and Chris Webber responded by humming "The Victors," which I think is a wonderful reply.

There is a clip with sound of the exchange at  http://www.annarbor.com/mi/wolverines/2013/03/video_ex-michigan_star_chris_w/

Webber isn't vocal about his support of the team, like Jalen and others, so I found it interesting and somewhat surprising. Please delete and forgive a newb if this isn't thread worthy, though.