Recent Comments

Oh Canada!

Oh, goody.

Yet another upcoming year where everyone gets to remark about how well John Beilein is doing with a depleted roster.

The was a "Far Side" cartoon that showed two lions surveying a heard of zebras. The one lion says to the other "Enough of this weeding out the old and the sick stuff, I want something in its prime."

Enough of watching John Beilein perform miracles with young, skinny, inexperienced players.  I want to see him kick asses with some elite players in their prime.

+1,000.

I actually learned something.  I thought the selection comittee was only going to meet once to pick the top 4 at the end of the season, like the NCAA BB committee, but they are actually going to rate the top 25 every week, starting mid-season.

Also, there is nothing preventing Indy or Detroit from bidding and winning the host of the NC.  Chicago would be great, but it's probably limitited to domes in northern cities.

I say put an inflatable roof on the Big House in January and enter the bidding process.

We're like "One-and-a-Half-and-Done" U.

Whoo Hoo!!  Suck it, Kentucky.

Looks like there is no passion for College Football at LSU either.

It's a shame.  I'll bet they could have some really cool night games there if they cared.

I worked instead.  Threw off my whole routine.

Nah, he goes to every team's Spring Game.

Does it help us that we will be playing on the same turf that we have when we go to ND for the last time?  

Maybe Jalen can hang his banner there.

Taxes.  Blah.  Lots of nasty surpises this year.

At least 70's and Sunny!

Spot on.  Eastern PA.

It shows how formative your early years are.  Even though I have not lived there for decades, it was able to pinpoint where I was "from".

Sign me up, even with that "overtime".

$2.2 million according to the above.

I wish I wasn't so cynical when it comes to DB.  

So, I read the article and half of me thinks "OK, it's good that he gets input from his customer".

But the other half of me reads the little lectures he gives to the students about Stubhub, and alcohol, and so on, and I think he is just going through the motions because it looks good . . . and he does not actually give a rat's ass about what the students think because he is smarter than them and his mind is made up anyway.

I've been following Michigan football since the early 80's and Denard is probably the most beloved player I've seen in that time.

Some guys make a big impact but then you kind of forget about them once they leave.  But not Denard.  Never Denard.

I hope he is one of the faces we perpetually see around campus for years and years to come.  He's from Florida, but of Michigan.

Whoo Hoo!!

The Significant Six.  That's even better than the Elite Eight, right?

+1 for the Underdog reference.

I would have thought that we'd see more of Duke and Ohio State.

Oh wait, you have to at least win a game.

Just like their basketball team.

"Dominate" is an interesting description of whatever it was we did.

We lost, but we played a good game.  Nothing to hide,

Nothing like tonight's dumbfest.

We are easily one of the top two teams.

Good.  Get rid of him.

Are you new to college sports?

They don't actually have clear lanes.  They just put their heads down, charge at the defenders, and fling the ball up in the air.  They either get a blocking call, or their other athletes get the OREB and they do it again.

If the game is called like a basketball game and not a football game, that strategy does not work so well.

Yes, what was remarkable about the Fab 5 is that they did it against teams of mostly Juniors and Seniors . . . many of whom were NBA-level players who stayed to be Juniors and Seniors.

Kentucky did what it did against teams of mostly Freshmen and Sophomores . . . teams like us.  

Not quite the same accomplishment.

At least we know we can beat UConn.

Out of millions.

Over/Under on Fab Five comparisons on Monday:  22.

Take the over.

Why we hate Kentucky:

". . . Randle and the Harrisons shared a rich AAU history.  Randle was the prize of the Texas Titans, a Dallas-based club that was funded by Kenny Troutt, a team parent and telecom billionaire; they traveled to tournaments like an NBA team in private planes with deluxe accommodations."

As high school kids.  Yeah, I'm sure they are attending classes in backpacks and eating cold pizza for lunch with the other students as One-And-Done's at Kentucky.  Those fuckers never even see the inside of a classroom.

All that is wrong with College Basketball.

Um, UConn . . .  don't let him have that shot at the end of the game.

K. Thx.

Kentucky, NO!

Kentucky is starting to look tired on D.

It's not as easy as it is on O where you can just put your head down and toss the ball up.

+1

They're all over Kentucky's knob.  I guess it's fair with Kentucky being up by 14.

No, wait.  They're down 4?

*Sigh*  

What could have been.

Like we were, Wisconsin is on the verge of breaking this open.  We conld not finish a few key plays.  We'll see how they do.  If they get a double digit lead on Kentucky, they'll crack.

The Refs are doing their best to foul Wisconsin out of the game in the first half.

Meanwhile, Kentucky gets away with mugging on the other end.

Some perspective please.  Of course the D is going to look great in the Spring Game.  They can just tee off and go after the QB and RB.  There's no screens, no DG scrambles, no draws.  Nothing to keep them honest.

In a real game, the O will have a lot more weapons than just running straight ahead.  Gardner's legs alone will keep a defense honest.

No, we won't be the kind of offense that can just pound straight ahead this year.  But we knew that.  But that does not mean the O will not be able to move the ball.

I like the quote that Marcus Ray sadi abut Nuss in some of the earlier practices.  He said that Nuss was good at finding something that worked, finding a way to move the ball, when the D was taking away what he wanted to do.  

He's not afraid to go to Plan B and Plan C.  That's refreshing.  (It's even more refreshing that he has a Plan B and Plan C.)  When you have an offense that has Gardner, Funchess, Canteen, and company on it, you are going to have some alternative options to move the ball.  And Nuss will use them.

You never want to show too much on Offense in the Spring Game.

Um, mission accomplished.

I like Marcus Ray as an analyst.

Yeah.  I have no idea what's going on.

Good crowd though.  I wonder if they know what's going on.

I wish we were playing in the Final Four tonight.

I like cheese.  Especially swiss.  I can take or leave cheddar.

Bo's statue looks like MacArthur wading onshore to take back the Philippines.

Yeah, I agree for "official" Soccer terms that are unique to the sport, like Yellow Card or Corner Kick.  And there is a certain charm to the British vernacular when watching Soccer . . . I could listen to Ian Darke all day long. 

But it's really odd when Americans use British terms for common everyday things that are not Soccer-specific, terms they would never use any other time, just because they are talking about Soccer.  It makes them look like insecure posers.

I'd like for us to have enough self confidence as a Soccer nation to use our own damn Soccer terms.   

I hope he comes here and says "I should have gone to Michigan in the first place.  All you young recruits on the fence . . . always go to Michigan when in doubt."  

Something like that.

Woody, Bruce, Cooper, and even Tressel all respected Michigan even as they tried to beat us.

Meyer and Co. are very different.

Too bad that Ohio State folks are too stupid to realize they are being mocked.

Nobody dogged it like "The Judge".

He was good when he wanted to be, but for some reason he seldom wanted to be.

He was the anti-Novak.  Got the least effort out of the most talent.

You're

            come.

At least then there will be something to look at in that section.

Live Human Sacrifice.

I've seen Reality TV.  The public is ready for this.

I wish Beilein could coach Football.

The scary thing is that they don't look like that much of a prank nowadays.  UConn's actual unis don't look that much different.

You have to go a lot further out there to come up with something truly shocking.  There are some actual unis out there on teams that look like they could be April Fools jokes . . . but they're serious.

Doesn't do that well in UNC colors either.

I bet he killed it though in his Michigan sweatshirt and his Ohio State shorts.

They crushed Bobby Knight in the 1986 season final.  It was a "playoff" game, with the winner taking the Big Ten Championship.

I would say that Frieder's teams did not always play focused.  Lots of Hotdogging.  Even Knight commented on how good they were when focused, but that they were not focused most of the time.  

He was a dick.  He was also right.  The 1986 team went out in the second round against Johnny Orr's Iowa State team at the Barn in Minnesota.  They mailed in that performance, assuming it was just a formality.  They did not take ISU seriously until too late.

Based on how they did after they left Michigan, Fisher is a much better coach than Frieder.  He is the gold standard in terms of his Michigan record that the rest are chasing.

Beilein may catch him, but he's not there yet.

Wasn't there something something about "The Team"?

And people say that Bo never won a National Championship.  He did . . . in Basketball.

People don't realize what an illustrious basketball history Michigan has.  Just since the '60's alone:

- We've won the National Championship (1989),

- Played in 6 total NC games (1965, 1976, 1989, 1992, 1993, 2013),

- Reached 7 total Final Fours (1964, 1965, 1976, 1989, 1992, 1993, 2013),

- Made it to 12 total Elite Eights (1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2013, 2014),

- and reached 13 total Sweet Sixteen's (1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2013, 2014).

What's very interesting about Michigan's NCAA history is that once we reach the Sweet Sixteen, we are golden.  Only once (1988) did we reach the Sweet Sixteen and go no further.  Only five times did we "only" get as far as the Elite Eight (1966, 1974, 1977, 1994, 2014).  This year we were a close-your-eyes-and-hold-your-breath basket away from that number only being four.

That's a better record than such elite "Basketball Schools" as Arizona, Syracuse, and Purdue. 

You could easily argue that during most of our lifetimes, Michigan has been more of a Basketball School than a Football School.

My kids were playing April Fools pranks on each other this morning trying to top each other.  They did not know I was paying attention so they were not expecting any April Fools pranks to come from me.

As we were leaving the house for school, I told my 11 year-old son in an excited voice that I had just gotten an emergency email that there was a water-main break at his school.  School was canceled for the day.  He lit up like a light bulb and immediately dropped his coat and backpack and went back in the house.

I waited a bit then I announced:  "April Fools!"  The kids were surprised, shocked, and impressed all at once.  They didn't expect Dad, of all people, to top them both on April Fools pranks.  (For now.)

The Spring Game has never really gotten off the ground at Michigan.

But what if . . . 

What if we had a "Fall Game" before the start of the season at the end of two-a-day practices?  Make the last scrimmage a "Spring Game" type of event.

People would definitely attend that.  It would be like a dry run mini home game.  The players and fans would love it.  It could actually be a significant revenue generator for the AD.

Is there any kind of rule against it?

It's not like Columbus is next to Key West.  If it was 80 there, it was at least high 70's in A2.

Look, if they can do it at Ohio State, they can do it at Michigan.  Essentially the same weather.  Also, Ohio State does not have any magic depth multiplier that we don't have.   They manage to have a Spring Game that looks like something without people getting hurt.

The "We can't have a Spring Game because our situation is unique" argument reminds me of the "We can't have a Night Game because our situation is unique" argument.  Turns out it wasn't true at all.

If the AD really wanted to do it, they could do it.   

Trey's was a lot deeper.

The blue circle by his foot is not the top of the key like it is for Harrison.  It's the mid-court logo.

A win.

Yes, they seem to have forgotten that they got a fresh 35 on the missed shot that still hit the rim.  I'm surprised Beilein did not call timeout.

When is your execution?  That we'll all watch.

Maybe you could do it right after "One Shining Moment"?

An all-SEC Final.

I just can't wait.

Because we had to lay off their shooters to try to protect the lane.  If we had McGary and did not have to help as much in the lane, they would not have had so many open looks that even Rec league players can make.

Nice touch "replaying" the tears of joy at the end.

I thought the same thing.  Beilein is nothing but class and the entire basketball world knows it.

It's only a matter of time before Beilein's reputation gives him the benefit of the doubt with Refs like Krzyzewski gets with Duke.

The Final Four is a big deal.  You win a Regional, you get to cut down nets, and you get a sweet trophy from the NCAA for it.  It deserves a banner.  Even Duke who has like 15 of them puts up banners for it.

Yeah, they were not all Walton's fault.

It looked like was instructed by Beilein to do a lot of bounce passes near the rim (which can be very effective against big men playing D), but his teammates were not quite ready for them.

Don't care.  Old news.

Now, about Kentucky . . . 

Loved the sweet Tenn foul on Walton.  Now that's a foul.

If you are going to foul a guy shooting a three, then you go foul him linebacker-style in front of God and Country.  Let the Ref's whistle sing it from the hills like the Sound of Music. 

We made the Elite Eight in 1994 with the Fab Five minus Webber.  Lost to eventual NC Arkansas in the Regional final.

2 days for Beilein is like a week in ordinary coach-years.

There is only one team that is still playing from last year's Final Four.

National Champion Louisville?  Nope.

Wichita State?  Nope

Syracuse?  Nope.

It's Michigan.  Who would have thought that in December?

Kentucky is afraid to shoot the ball.  Everything is right at the rim.

If we play them, we should go to a 0-5 zone.

It was like she was Beilein's daughter.

They have to bring out the cheerleaders to be recognized.

I hate what Kentucky stands for . . . "One-and-Done-U".

A rematch with Louisville will get our undivided attention.

Let him win us a National Championship and then go in peace.

next year will take care of itself.

Take care of the ball, son.

That Michigan TOV% is appaling.

Barkley is just going to wait until 11:30 tonight before he picks the UL-KY winner.

A little bigger . . . but also a little slower.

B1G speed!

Tennesee is big, but they are slow.  Orange traffic cones on D.

Give Tenn something to think about regardless.

That's all Jordan needed to hear.

I for one am flattered by the concept of "Walmart Wolverines".  It means that Michigan is so compelling that people that have no connection to it whatsoever still admire it and want to be a part of it.  To that I say: "Welcome".

Nobody cares about Michigan State unless they are winning big games.  When that's over, they go back to not caring. 

Normally I squeeze an orange for my breakfast, but today I CRUSHED it.

The reconcilliation has begun.

Good call.

Voracity.  I got the wrong fake word.

I should have verified voracity.