Unverified Voracity Chases Stanford Futilely
YOU'RE A TALLER. User Bombadil reports that Ian Bunting is still getting mail from Mississippi State, too.
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This may be fake but probably not.
WE'RE ALL FLIPPER. Congrats to the men's gymnastics team, national champs. Sam Mikulak is your champion on parallel bars and high bar plus the overall individual national champ.
With men's swimming bringing home a title of their own plus the basketball team's run to the final, Michigan is actually threatening Stanford's Director's Cup hegemony. When the Director's Cup releases their updated standings tomorrow Michigan should be on top of the rankings with only a few sports left: golf, base/softball, track and field, women's water polo, women's lacrosse, and men's volleyball.
Michigan's pretty good at some of those… but, uh, unfortunately Stanford is better.
Top 25 Rankings for Stanford in spring sports, most rankings updated last weekend:
Softball - 16
Men's Golf - 8
Women's Golf - 12
Baseball - receiving votes
Women's T&F - 9
Women's Water Polo - 1
Men's Volleyball - 6
Women's Rowing - 9
Women's Tennis – 12
This is how you dominate the Director's Cup since a year after its inception. If you want even more details, the board has you covered.
Goodbye, 11 to 15 minutes. Draft Express's Trey Burke draft video is all kinds of fun. Even the five minutes dedicated to Burke drawbacks features a number of Kobe assists or shoulda-been Kobe assists:
What an awesome player.
YER A BALLERZ. The NCAA 14 cover:
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Will I buy this crap-pile of a game from the worst company in America because it has Denard Robinson on the cover? Maybe. Have they fixed the kangaroo linebackers yet? Made any positive changes to gameplay since 2004?
ORGAN TRAWLERZ. The NHL's Central Scouting Bureau has released their final rankings, with a slew of future Wolverines included:
- #34 JT Compher
- #49 Michael Downing
- #84 Tyler Motte
- #111 Nolan De Jong
- #136 Alex Kile
- #142 Andrew Copp
- #157 Evan Allen
2014 recruit Dexter Dancs fell out of the rankings after being 154th in the midterm. Everyone went up save Compher, who dropped from #20. Default reminder: the CSB has separate lists for goalies and Europeans, so add 30% to each guy's ranking to get a projected draft spot. FWIW, Compher and Downing have appeared in a lot of first round mock drafts I've seen.
So. Michigan's class may lack a Trouba-level dominant star, but it is extremely deep. Everyone who's coming in next year* save recent goalie pickup Zach Nagelvoort and Bryson Cianfrone is likely to get picked in the upcoming draft. Kile in particular is a bonus after being passed over a year ago. He nearly doubled his points in the USHL this year and gives Michigan another option for a scoring-line forward.
That helps make up for the fade from Cianfrone, who was headed for the first round of the OHL draft before his Michigan commitment. He's off NHL draft radars and has a 6-15-21 line in the USHL this year. He is a 5'8" kid who's coming in as an 18 year old, so you can construct a picture in which he still develops into what he was supposed to be a couple years ago.
Anyway: strong incoming class that hopefully sticks around long enough to be impact upperclassmen. And how about Andrew Copp?
*[Spencer Hyman and Max Shuart may also arrive, but neither signed a LOI so I assume they are walking on.]
And we're done. Show us what we've won. Oh, it's a wheezing dog and a dead iguana. Jim Delany on further Big Ten expansion:
"Given everything that has gone on, yes," Delany said when asked about the ACC’s deal cementing the current five major conferences to their respective lineups.
Although Delany said the 16-team superconference format was also "an arbitrary number" that he wasn’t part of, the Big Ten was open to further expansion. ... There still is the possibility that a team from the SEC (Missouri) could leave for the Big Ten -- the SEC has no grant of rights or exit fee -- but that’s a pipe dream, at best.
So here we are. Playing Rutgers and Maryland every year, and not Iowa and Wisconsin and Nebraska. It's hard not to see Delany as a giant middle finger to fans, just walkin' around. Mighty big hand you escaped from there. Tell us more about media markets. Please, yes, just like that. Yes. Like that. About media markets.
What is a name, anyway? The powers that be paid someone millions of dollars to tell them to call the college football playoff "College Football Playoff." Nice work if you can get it. Not quite as good as Bill Hancock's job, which is to say whatever the hell he wants at any time without bothering to pretend he believes it.
That is not actually a name. If you call your dog "dog" you have not named him but described him. It is bad when your "name" for a thing is in fact a description of a superset of what you are—there are already other, separate college football playoffs. Delany:
"I'll be happy with whatever. Obviously I'm not great with names."
Yes, but that's no reason to eschew the concept entirely. You can try again, Mr. Delany, as long as you float some trial balloons to see if the entire internet mocks you before you make a decision. You can love again.
Anyway. These folks trademarked their name-type substance. Can you even do that? I want to make shirts that say "COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF" to test this out. If Xerox is too generic to be a trademark, how can "college football playoff" be unique enough? Someone who likes being in lawsuits, please find this out.
Further confirmation. In not-quite-announced news that's pretty much announced, yeah, Desmond Morgan is permanently moving to MLB so James Ross can start at WLB:
“Playing in space is something I definitely had to adjust to my first two years here because I wasn’t used to that in high school. I was more of an in the box kind of guy,” Morgan said. “Going back over to MIKE, I kind of feel a little bit more comfortable in a sense because of that.
“During the spring, it’s been an adjustment but it was something I kind of grew up playing.”
Joe Bolden and Royce Jenkins-Stone will back up the MLB and WLB spots, respectively.
BONUS: James Ross named "most improved player" this spring. Hype rocket is entering stage two.
Ann Arbor is pretty all right. Click for big.
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WE AGREE OH MY PANTS. Dave Brandon and I both think a ten game conference schedule is a good idea.
"I'm in favor of looking at it for the same reasons we went from eight to nine," Brandon told MLive.com. Those reasons include more competitive schedules, as well as greater ability for players to see each of the league's 13 other teams in their careers.
The money thing is an issue, but raise your hand if you'd willingly eat the extra costs from a hypothetical exhibition game in exchange for a tenth conference game. That's everybody, right?
Etc.: "In a sign of the times, Michigan has competition at fullback." : /
25 memories of "college sports' dumbest goldrush." Blake McLimans taking his talents to Oxford. RIP, Toomer's oaks. Senior highlights from Mark Donnal. Stretch four, yo. Athletic directors are sad. David Thorpe really likes Trey Burke($).
April 24th, 2013 at 12:46 PM ^
Maybe the name of the playoffs is intended to indicate that this is the Platonic ideal of the college footbal playoff. Hence the capital letters.
The capitalization is used the same way Oscar Wilde or William Blake would have used it. I thought that was obvious.
April 24th, 2013 at 12:49 PM ^
And between his looks and this:
Tell us more about media markets. Please, yes, just like that. Yes. Like that. About media markets.
I think of a completely different body part sticking up when I think of Delany.
And that's a lot of toilet paper-
At least they got a chance to go out with a celebration, rather than a whimper.
April 24th, 2013 at 12:50 PM ^
OT as far as this thar post goes, but my fellow MGoReader doesn't work here any more, so I have no one to discuss this with...
ESPN had the first half of their exiting senior survey, and in the responses for best redshirt freshman, someone said about Jeremy Clark, "A 6-6 safety and I know he can do some things back there."
Apologies if this has been discussed before, but is Clark really 6'6" or is this a bit of the exagerrating? And are we thinking this is good (defensive Funchess! DeFunchess?) or bad (can't think of another 6'6" safety off the top of my head so it must be something that can never work)?
April 24th, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^
MGoBlue lists Clark at 6'4" which means he's probably like 6'2"
I think 6'4" might be accurate. Looked comparatively tall in the spring game next to virtually anyone, including on the sideline directly next to other tall dudes.
April 24th, 2013 at 12:59 PM ^
They should have come up with a creative name for the football playoff like the "NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship." Because the name is critical to its being enjoyable.
That was a quality highlight video of his strengths. When they mentioned his ability to block shots I was wondering if they were going to show his block on Peyton Siva that was called a foul. Sure enough they did, I still had a tough time watching that and the rest of the Louisville highlights in Burkes clips. But he should go top 10, maybe top 5 and hopefully he has a long succesful NBA career.
I'm still baffled by the artist's selection of Denard's facial expression. Why on earth you would take a man whose iconic smile is literally the first thing most people visualize when they think of him and give him an expression that looks like he's watching somebody steal his car is beyond me.
That line almost killed me. I mean, I was laughing so hard while eating that I almost choked.
And, did Brian just compare Rutgers and Maryland to a "wheezing dog and a dead iguana?" If so, which is which?
Kangaroo linebackers? I don't know of any kangaroos that know where a QB is going to throw the ball and leap to knock it down before the QB even begins cocking his throwing arm.
...and the fact that they bring in two of the biggest media markets does turn out to help the B1G financially, are we going to get one of those one sentence apologies and then be expected to pretend like all the rage and wrongness never happened -- you know, like the whole we should keep RR for a fourth year instead of hiring Hoke thing? Just want to be prepared.
I had a reply typed up, but it was overly mean. I tried again, but it was still mean so I gave up. Fortunately you nailed it.
We're supposed to rend our garmets because Iowa and 2 years of playing Nebraska are untouchable rivalries that mean everything to the school, even though far more students are from the East Coast than are from Greater Corn, Midwest.
I thought it was joke but I keep seeing it posted around like he actually said that
And I don't understand what happened to Bryson Cianfrone. When we grabbed him, it looked like a slam-dunk, 5 star type guy because I thought he was a projected top 10 pick in the OHL draft and now he's one of the only guys not getting drafted? How does that even happen?
When Cianfrone committed he was putting up great numbers in the OJHL. This year he moved on to the USHL against better competition, and his production tailed off. Add into consideration that he's a smaller guy, and scouts will back off quick.
The real head scratcher is Evan Allen who was projected as a 3rd-4th round pick, and has seen his rankings free fall the entire year despite putting up a 23-24-47 line with the U-18 team.
Allen's free fall in the rankings surprised me as well. He's averaging 0.72 points per game, and while this isn't in Compher territory (0.91 points per game) it still seems like a 47 point season should boost his ranking, not cause it to tank. He's having a good World Championship too, so I don't know what the scouts are seeing that they don't like.
Quite honestly, if you get rid of that little kid Cubs fan in front, Ann Arbor becomes perfect.
Michigan State wanted so badly to be a pioneer and outdo MIchigan that they actually were a pioneer at the presidents taking power away from the AD's. They were so obnoxious about taking over AD affairs that it cost them Nick Saban.
In other words, Sparty can't even do "cutting edge" right.
I thoroughly enjoyed the gold rush piece.
24. The Big Ten started all this more or less on purpose.Then ended up with Rutgers and Maryland.
That seems like appropriate punishment. Too bad the guy that started it doesn't really think of it as punishment.
Well done, Bombadil. Bravo.
I was hoping the new playoff format would make for some interesting non-conference games, but now the 10 game schedule? I love Big Ten games, but I also like seeing how we match-up with other schools other than in bowl games. Do any of the people that run college athletics care about anything else but money? It will backfire on them in the long run, IMO.
I live in the Washington DC area, so the idea of seeing Michigan play Maryland (20 minute drive from my home) and Rutgers (3.5 hour drive) every year in football (not to mention a whole slew of other sports) in person is pretty appealing. I love Ann Arbor and going to MIchigan Stadium for a game, but when the drive is between seven and eight hours (or I have to pay plane fare, etc.), it's a real bonus to be able to go to College Park (or Fedex Field or M&T Stadium) or northern New Jersey (or the "new Meadowlands") to see them play as an alternative.
One thing Brian deliberatley fails to mention is that with Michigan in the Big Ten East, that locks in Penn State as an annual opponent as well (something that didn't happen before Nebraska joined the B1G). Now I realize it'll take awhile for PSU to get its football program back to snuff given the sanctions, but the program is still one of the most recognizable in CFB and it's still a rivalry (besides, it's fun to watch highlights of the 1997 game on YouTube).
Brian also talks about Michigan not playing Nebraska or Wisconsin or Iowa on a regular basis. But with a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2016 and with the Big Ten anxious to keep the networks happy (especially with a new media deal in the works a few years down the line), I strongly suspect that we'll see those schools on the schedule more often then not. That's especially true since the B1G designed the divisions so that there was only one protected crossover game (Indiana-Purdue) On a side note, I don't understand the attraction to Iowa given their recent up and down track record. If anything, Northwestern seems a more solid program right now than the Hawkeyes.
We'll see what happens. If Maryland and/or Rutgers becomes the new Utah or Texas Christian, then bringing those two schools into the conference is going to be judged differently. If not, then at worst, they're just as likely replacing programs like Minnesota or Illinois on the schedule as they are Nebraska, Wisconsin or Iowa (?!!!).
So fast forward five years and assume there's no more major conference realignment. The Big Ten will have signed its new media rights deal and by current estimates, conference distributions will be in the low $40M range. Michigan will open the season with a game at Arkansas with two more home non-conference opponents on the slate. There may even be a conference game in Week 2 or 3 of the season. Since this is an even numbered year, Michigan will likely play Ohio State in Columbus and MSU in Ann Arbor. There will be at least one game on the East Coast (Maryland or Rutgers) plus matchups with Penn State and Indiana. Finally, there will be three more games against Western Division opponents with one of them probably being Nebraska or Wiscconsin. And who knows? Iowa may be on the upswing again and they could be on the schedule as well. That doesn't seem to me like anyone lifted thier middle finger to the fans, now does it?
Besides, if the conference does opt for a ten-game conference schedule, it means UM will be playing all the western division teams at least twice over a four-year period. It just gives me chills thinking about that regular rotation of games between the Wolverines and the Hawkeyes. :)
I agree with this. We have a lot more alumni and fans that live on the East Coast than we do in Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska and we recruit out there a ton more as well.
I liked the Iowa and Minnesota rivalries too, but I didn't love them and I don't mind having those half the time instead of like 80% or however often we played them before this whole division thing happened. I liked PSU more, and we have them full time now. I liked OSU and MSU more and we still have them full time. So our two best conference rivalries stayed put, we traded Iowa for PSU (a win) and we replace Nebraska and Minnesota with Rutgers and Maryland, which is probably a small downgrade from a competitive standpoint but a huge gain for recruiting and exposure in a more important part of the country.
Well I live in Iowa, so yea middle finger. And yea it does suck and is an atrocity that games against Iowa are being taken away and given to...Maryland and Rutgers. I've no problem for the fans out East enjoying the fact that Michigan will be playing closer to you/them. But to say it's legitimate to take away games from the traditional Big Ten schools and, even Nebraska, for these flaky-ass schools "out East" in Maryland and Rutgers is odd. The Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa matchups go back decades but because these teams have been up and down over the years means it's no big deal to replace them with schools with zero track records of success, is a flaky notion itself.
Aren't we being a bit hyperbolic in our commentary? Do you really think it's an atrocity that Michigan will be playing Maryland and Rutgers on a more regular basis than Iowa? Please tell me what it is about MD and RU that make them "flaky-ass" because I don't get that vibe where I'm located. If anything, their profiles in terms of student body, research profiles, etc. make them quentessential Big Ten schools.
If you're talking about zero track records of success, then you have to include Minnesota and Indiana to that list. Should we kick them out because of it or is okay because they have long standing ties in the conference? Of course, neither Penn State or Nebraska have long standing ties, but it's okay for them to be in the conference because the programs are successful. You don't mind playing PSU or UN-L in lieu of "traditional" Big Ten schools, but it's an atrocity if Michigan plays Maryland or Rutgers on a regular basis.
What happens in those years where Rutgers and/or Maryland are actually better in the W-L column than Iowa? Are they suddenly better choices because of it? Or is this just a temporary thing until the Hawkeyes get their program back on track again?
I may have a longer sense of history than you, but I can remember when the Big Ten was the Big 8/Little 2 and a school like Wisconsin or Northwestern didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell to beat Michigan or Ohio State. Should the conference have outed them back in the 1970s? Or would you concede that those programs got better over time.
The thing is, we don't know how good Maryland and Rutgers can become given the resources they're going to be managing in the near term. As I wrote before, if they become the next Utah or TCU, then we'll be singing a whole different tune here.
One more thing. While I don't know where you're located in Iowa, here's the time per Mapquest to drive to the following locations from iowa City:
Madison, WI - 3.3 hours
Champaign, IL - 4.3 hours
Evanston, IL - 4.5 hours
Lincoln, NE - 4.8 hours
Minneapolis, MN - 5.0 hours
It looks to me that in those years when Michigan isn't playing at Iowa, you probably have some other options to work with.
But Brian, you totally missed what they intend to do. In the true interest of amature athletics, it's going to be "College Football Playoff sponsored by _________."
See, I really don't have a problem with this. The Rose Bowl is actually the Rose Bowl presented by Citi or Vizio or something like that, but everyone still just calls it the Rose Bowl. For the same reason, I had no problem with the Capital One Citrus Bowl or the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, because in normal convo you could just drop the sponsor. When they became the Capital One Bowl and the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, the line was crossed.
If this is called the College Football Playoff sponsored by Bank of America, I won't care. If it's the Bank of America Playoff, I'll get pissed.
April 24th, 2013 at 11:10 PM ^
Ten conference games only works if you stay at 14. If you do, then it is a big step toward resolving a basic problem (competitive balance over time).
However, I fear that this is an indicator that they will go to 16 sooner rather than later. I mean, if you go to 16, you have to play ten conference games.
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