Unverified Voracity Emerges From 1980s Cartoons Comment Count

Brian

Take the women and the mead; I'm not coming out of the basement. If Michigan's hockey team just died like Vikings, FL TE Carlos Carvajal is living like one:

carloscarvajal-300x233He emerged from a local ten-year-old's He-Man rerun last Wednesday and is in the midst of a series of hilarious foibles in which he adapts to the modern world. He will master his strength, get the girl, and go to college. There will be a short-lived spinoff show at Purdue, Louisville, Tennessee, or another place that looks kindly on men wielding swords longer than themselves.

No, Michigan is not involved, but who cares? Carvajal's hair should be in the running for Name of the Year.

Good work there. You know that vandalism that took place in Michigan Stadium? Yeah…

Photos of the vandalized "M" in the Big House taken on March 30, 2010. (JAKE FROMM/Daily) It's not exactly earth-shattering. The turf should be fixed for the spring game, at which point it's getting replaced anyway. It did give Orson a chance to continue his campaign against the area media, at least.

Guh. 96 team NCAA tournament reaches DEFCON 2:

"I said from Day 1 that I would support the decision that came out of the (NCAA's) Board of Directors, which ostensibly is linked back to the presidents (in) the conferences," Delany said. "And if that's where it ends up, I support that."

Asked how he expects the expansion issue to play out, he said, "It's probable."

Won't someone think about the children? Is anyone going to care about any first round game at this point? What is the point of folding the NIT into the NCAA tournament? What is the NCAA's problem with a reasonable playoff field in either basketball or football? Is this the most roundly-despised inevitable idea in history?

The latest from spring. Inside Michigan Football translated into a non-browser-crippling format by anonymous heroes of the internet:

Maybe? No. But you keep waving your gums around. Jack Swarbrick had to open his mouth about conference affiliation. Hubbub ensued, and I pretty much dismissed it. But he keeps talking about it and every time he drops something it seems slightly more plausible than before. The latest tiny step towards plausibility comes from a KC Star article in which the Notre Dame AD elaborates on his previous comments:

“The traditional model, where a conference had a fixed fee media rights deal, if you added somebody you sliced the pie a little thinner,” Swarbrick said. “When you’re dealing with equity in a network ... it’s a situation we haven’t had before.”

At this rate he will elaborate ND right into the Big Ten by the 23rd century. He also said stuff about the Big East being an "extraordinary" partner and so forth and so on. I peg the chances of ND joining the Big Ten in the near future at 1.5%, up from 1%. Points to Mike Dearmond, the author, for deploying "tizzy" in his article.

The worst Final Four ever… and Butler. I guess it would have been more frustrating if Ekpe Udoh and Baylor had made it, but Michigan State, West Virginia, and Duke suck pretty hard because they are Michigan's primary rival, the school that Michigan yoinked its current coach from, and Duke.

Here's where I point out that Udoh's coach hired John Wall's AAU coach in the hopes of landing him and falls on the Calipari end of the dirtiness scale.

Etc.: UMHoops scouts Cody Zeller and Yogi Farrell. Georgia president Michael Adams is the guy who attempted to kill the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" nickname and appears to be spectacularly corrupt to boot. Naturally, the NCAA is considering him in their search to find Myles Brand's replacement.

SOMEONE HIRED TIM FLOYD. IT MAKES A GREGG DOYEL COLUMN LOOK SANE. RUN.

Comments

jamiemac

March 31st, 2010 at 1:17 PM ^

What a bizarre league, home of the renegade, rogue coaches.

Larry Eustachy, Huggy Bear for a spell, Tim Floyd, there are a few more whose names are escaping me at the moment

I expect Dave Bliss to be hired soon. Or even, dare I say his name, Kelv......nah, wont even type it.

streaker

March 31st, 2010 at 1:42 PM ^

Brian used the term "died like Vikings" instead of the Braveheart "died like Scotsmen."

Even though it would have been appropriate for our ice warriors to lift up their garments and show the NCAA their asses for the officiating gaffe against Miami, I prefer to think that they are better suited to pillage and sack without wearing skirts.

Ask Sparty.

MGlobules

March 31st, 2010 at 1:50 PM ^

contradiction in moving to--like--seven bazillion teams in the ROUNDball tourney but ESCHEWING expansion--even a tiny ickle bit--in OBLATE SPHEREball?

All I know is that "Selection Sunday" is, uh, not going to be quite the mind-blowing bit of high drama it once was. On the plus/minus side, we may be "on the bubble" next year, too.

Lordfoul

March 31st, 2010 at 7:38 PM ^

The video was nice, thanks Brian. I held my breath when Tate lay face down for several seconds on the goal line. No more red number this year I guess. I also thought the three stripes under the armpits on the Blue jerseys was hideous.

Go Butler.

M-Wolverine

March 31st, 2010 at 8:06 PM ^

...can't wait to see what you think if Archie Collins leaves Detroit Southeastern for MSU's staff.

The only way this Final Four could be worse would be if there had been a way for OSU and MSU to make the trip.

And the NCAA is going to be real happy with all the money for the 96 teams from ESPN, but ESPN is sure going to be pissed that they paid so much more for it than CBS when the ratings plummet from total disinterest in the first rounds, and every part time fan who only watches because they're in a pool (read: women) tune out because a pool bracket makes no sense anymore. How do so many stupid people get such positions of power?

zlionsfan

March 31st, 2010 at 8:43 PM ^

will get just as much mileage from name-dropping "North Carolina! Connecticut! History! NCAA basketball!" as CBS did from their lame-o commercial for another one of their blah-blah-blah shows that I have no interest in watching, especially not the same three seconds 150 times in one week.

I find it interesting that virtually everyone seems to think adding 32 teams is a terrible idea, except for the NCAA and ESPN, two organizations who have been known to identify the worst idea in a group of them and run with it.

I've no idea how much good this will do, if any, but the page from where you can send email to ESPN's ombudsman is here, and as near as I can tell, you can contact the NCAA here (I would use the "E-mail the Public Relations Staff" link).

Also, FWIW, I don't think women are only part-time fans any more. Some of my female friends are right there on the couches and chairs with us during the wonderful two days of inactivity heralding the first round of the tournament. (Actually, we make it four days, watching Saturday and Sunday as well, but that's for the advanced couch potato. Most people can't make it through Friday.)

SpartanDan

April 1st, 2010 at 9:41 PM ^

Why wouldn't a 96-team bracket be amenable to office pools? The extra round does make it harder to fit on a single sheet (though not impossible), but with all the online contests and bracket managers, does anyone run it by hand anymore with more than a half-dozen people?

I don't much care for expansion, but I don't think the "it's going to kill the office pools, and therefore casual fan interest" argument has any merit.

Evil Empire

April 1st, 2010 at 12:08 PM ^

I missed that announcement.

So somebody, apparently not Brutus, risked getting caught stealing an oddly shaped part of Michigan's M, when it's going to be removed and probably sold or given away in a few weeks anyway?

I assume the athletic department will sell the carpet in pieces like they did in 1991. If so, I want a piece that Dusty hasn't stood on.