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Date	Title	Body
5 hours 30 min ago	Very Talented Actor...	Although the role that introduced James Gandolfini to wide movie audiences was Virgil in "True Romance", as well as roles in movies like "Get Shorty" and "Crimson Tide", he is inextricably tied to one of the most successful and talked about series in the last 20 years if not ever. He really was very talented.  Very tragic news - 51 is far too young. His daughter was only born last October too. Condolences to his family and friends.
8 hours 54 min ago	Who Knows...	We're still a long way from NSD 2014 and it may or may not stay together, but for Ketucky to have five four-star recruits in one class is quite interesting considering that, according to Rivals, they've only managed 18 4-star recruits in the last 12 recruiting cycles total and no 5-star recruits.  Indeed, last year was the first time that they had a class that averaged 3 stars in all the time that Rivals has kept data. That might very well be because of some changes to how rankings were done, but when we're talking about a program that could barely muster a 2-star average for several years, this class stands out for them.
10 hours 18 min ago	Some Tidbits...	....courtesy of Crain's Detroit Business (LINK). Here's the projected improvement in team revenue: "A new arena, which would replace the aging Joe Louis Arena, could generate $5 million to $8 million annually in additional team revenue, sports industry insiders have told Crain's." According to the photo in this article, the area is bracketed by Woodward Avenue, Cass Avenue and Temple, which is just north of I-75, right near the Masonic and Cass Tech. You would definitely have a nice view from Comerica.  Some of the other items in the memorandum are interesting - it's supposedly a concession agreement, with the Wings' fee being $11.5 million annually. The DDA will pay a $62 million fee for tax capture if Olympia pays for another $200 million on additional projects.
12 hours 12 min ago	"Catch Of Mystery"...	Sifting through the pairings, I found what has to be one of the best likely unheralded catches ever...
12 hours 36 min ago	In All Fairness...	Sometimes, when I think "long, protracted slip 'n' slide with what appears to be an ominous conclusion", I think Indiana, at least in historical terms...
15 hours 51 min ago	Intriguing Quiz Indeed...	7 / 10 with a few lucky guesses based on my kneejerk feeling about the situation, so I don't know if  that means a fair implicit understanding of the rulebook or not. Probably not, and I played in various non-descript leagues for some time. Missed the question about the manager crossing the foul line twice in the same at-bat, and it might have been one of the more obvious ones too - I can't recall ever seeing it happen honestly.
20 hours 2 min ago	Here's The Route Map....	For those interested, here is the route map per the World Solar Challenge site: You can also view a map of where the competitors are from on the site as well.
1 day 4 hours ago	If There Is Interest...	Here is Dickerson's junior year highlight reel via YouTube...
1 day 6 hours ago	For The Board's Reference...	Per Rivals, Canteen has a very diverse set of offers so far, now including Michigan. The other schools are Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Rutgers, Temple and Tennessee. Brandon Watson's offers also include Boston College, Connecticut and Temple. According to 247Sports, Watson also made an unofficial visit to Tennessee's spring game.
1 day 10 hours ago	At Least For Recruiting...	Just looking at recruiting momentum, we might even have scored higher at least on this particular metric than most of the teams in the the studied group, I would imagine. In the last two full cycles, we've gotten three 5-stars and 26 4-stars (using Rivals here), and in 2014 to date, another 5-star and four more 4-stars. Considering that the 2010 and 2011 classes yielded zero 5-stars and only twelve 4-stars total, this is an incredible upward trend by itself.
1 day 11 hours ago	Not Only The Waterfalls...	There is an article which outlines some of the other improvements here - (LINK) "Along with the "waterfall," Alabama's players will come back to new lockers, graphics, position meeting rooms and a theater-style meeting room -- located where the Crimson Tide previously pumped iron -- when they kick off camp in August." Further, each locker will have an iPhone jack, and it describes the waterfall as "coming from a system which will flow a few feet from the hot and cold tubs near the locker room". This also links to an article where Scott Cochran, their S&C director, goes on at length about the new weight room.
1 day 14 hours ago	If You Look At Other Predictors...	Strangely, for the most part, these wouldn't be bold picks by Phil using most predictive measures (Sagarin numbers are based on 2012-13), and I admit that I do not understand North Carolina based on these numbers either.... TEAM SAGARIN RATING SAGARIN RANK OVERALL RANKING - MASSEY Alabama 99.40 1 1 Oregon 93.31 2 2 Texas A&M 93.31 3 3 Notre Dame 91.08 5 9 South Carolina 90.10 6 6 Florida 89.94 7 7 Stanford 87.85 9 10 LSU 87.53 10 5 Florida St 87.50 11 13 Ohio St 85.37 13 17 Michigan 82.25 20 20 Northwestern 81.72 21 28 Vanderbilt 80.77 25 21 North Carolina 76.70 43 52
1 day 14 hours ago	It Should Be Said...	To sort of tie this to a thread last night, it is interesting to note that the Michigan players on this ESPN list are some of the Wolverines who served the longest in the NBA as well. Chris Webber played 14 seasons, as did Glen Rice. Juwan Howard played for 18 seasons, and Jamal Crawford and Jalen Rose put in 12 seasons each. It would be great to see Burke and Hardaway and anyone in drafts in the coming years also be as long-lived in the league as these guys.
1 day 19 hours ago	Of Minor Note...	If you look at Campbell's Rivals page, it lists offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Boston College, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi State, NC State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and a few others still, but conspicuously absent from this list is Michigan State.  However, it is interesting to note that I arrived at that page through this like - (HERE) - which reports that Campbell did receive an offer from MSU a few weeks ago (also, the piece is from late May). 247Sports - also linked in that article - reports an offer but the typical "cool" for interest as a result. Clearly, transmitting offers via subspace from the edge of known space creates problems with getting timely updates everywhere.
2 days 6 hours ago	The March Madness Ride...	There are a lot of good Burke and Hardaway moments to relive in March Madness this past season too. Indeed, one of Burke's came with just a few seconds to go against Kansas - I could watch that shot all day.  They came up huge though - in the tournament, Burke and Hardaway account for about 30% of the rebounds and over half of the assists, as well as about one-third of all of the points we scored.  It's on now, and Hardaway is talking about the things he will miss about Michigan. It is very nice to hear him talk about the support from students, fans and alumni/alumnae as one of those things.
2 days 7 hours ago	The Longevity Angle...	"The players mentioned throughout our rankings prove that it’s far easier to get into the NBA than it is to stay there. Michigan’s best pros -- the school has produced 22 overall since 1989 -- enjoyed lengthy terms in the NBA. That’s why we’ve given them so much credit. " Basketball-Reference.com lists 41 Wolverines who have seen action in the NBA and/or ABA. Removing the few instances of single-year careers, the average Wolverine has seen 7.63 years of service in professional basketball. Twelve of those players have seen careers of a decade or more. They are correct - for longevity, that's really not bad at all.
2 days 10 hours ago	SBNation On Lunt...	They have a decent summary of Lunt's competition at the position in 2014 over at SBNation (LINK) Essentially, it would be Scheelhaase's rarely-seen but ostensibly serviceable backup - Reilly O'Toole, as well as four-star Aaron Bailey and a 2014 commit (if he stays with Illinois) named Chayce Crouch.  In the opinion of an author quoted in this piece anyway, Bill Cubit's system is pretty much made for a QB such as Lunt. According to this, one of the reasons he wanted a transfer was a lack of communication regarding the QB competition and where he stood in it.
2 days 10 hours ago	Good Article...	“It was my favorite coaching staff,” he said. “A lot of charisma. They’re just fun guys to be around. You can tell by looking at the players. All the players are comfortable talking to the coaches." It's nice to hear this from Hand especially because it is something other recruits have essentially said, that they are impressed with the interactions between players and coaches at Michigan. That only helps us, I think. Even more impressive is Hand's very three-dimensional perspective on his future, talking to professors in his field of interest as well. Clearly, he simply wants to be successful in all his endeavors and that is great to see.
2 days 12 hours ago	One Of My Questions...	"Let's assume that membership is restricted to institutions in the Power 6 conferences (Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big 10, Pac-12, and Southeastern). " This would cover roughly half of the schools that field Division I football teams, of course, but I suppose my question on this would surround the disparities even among these power conferences in revenue generation and thus the comparative ability of each school to contribute to any fund which would cover items like health insurance or educational assistance.  According to this (LINK), for example, only 23 division I athletic departments made money last year - all of them would fall in this theoretical superdivision, but the distribution of these schools is uneven at the conference level. Eight are in the SEC, six are in the Big Ten and four are in the Big XII. It very quickly goes downhill from there to schools like Rutgers, for example, that ran a substantial deficit which it made up from school funds and student fees.  I don't know how many departments could easily contribute the amount that it might take to implement the author's idea.
2 days 19 hours ago	Interesting Notes...	From the Day 2 notes: "Lawrence said that if Hand and Malik both end up Wolverines, they would form one of the best defensive lines ever. Gotta like the confidence Lawrence has and the fact that he could even mention that shows promise for Wolverine fans. " Well, such a line would only have the #1 recruit in the nation and the #3 recruit at the DE position (per Rivals anyway) on it, so if this turned out to be the case and they both came, I don't know if there would have been a more heralded line coming into school in the era of rankings. It's certainly an appealing idea.  The notes mention that Lawrence has taken it upon himself to talk to McDowell, and if they do end up playing on the same team this fall, I have to think that helps Michigan's position even more.  Interesting stuff, OP. Thanks for sharing this.
3 days 5 hours ago	For Further Analysis...	If anyone is interested in further commentary and some of the more interesting commentary as to why Braxton Miller is not first on this list, do click on the AL.com article linked in the SI piece. Danny Sheridan digs a little deeper with regards to Miller: "If Braxton Miller played in the SEC ... he'd be in a M.A.S.H. unit. He wouldn't finish the season. If Ohio State played in the SEC and they played a normal SEC schedule, they'd lose at least four games. This ain't like playing Indiana. They'd be 6-6." He also goes on a bit about how Urban Meyer has been lucky to inherit talent and even suggests that Meyer might be overrated some. This is just immediately before his hard sell on Yeldon.
3 days 7 hours ago	According To 247...	According to 247, there was nominal interest from Michigan but no recorded offer to Kief, although it does list Mark Smith as having recruited him. The offers themselves (aside from the winner - Alabama) were from Arkansas, Boston College, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Connecticuit, Illinois, Indiana, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio (MAC Version), Ohio State, Toledo, UCF, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
3 days 10 hours ago	A General Update...	For general reference, here are the some of the Tigers team stats and their ranking in the MLB (in parentheses) as of this morning per StatSheet: Team Hitting BA H R HR RBI .278 (1) 655 (3) 331 (5) 68 (16) 322 (4) Team Pitching ERA R WHIP BB SO 3.52 (6) 248 (26) 1.18 (2) 175 (26) 634 (1) Team Fielding PO A E PB FP 1,788 (23) 556 (26) 28 (27) 6 (7) 98.8% (4) Through seven, it's still a very good stat line for FIster - 5 Ks, 1 BB and a one-hitter even if the one hit was a home run. As a team, the Tigers are 9-27 at the plate today as we go into the 8th inning.
3 days 17 hours ago	The Sporting News Top 10...	Here's the actual writeup from Sporting News - (HERE). They gave Mitch McGary an awesome compliment too: "He has shown great command of every important tool: shooting, passing, scoring in the post, even handling the ball when necessary. He is an insatiable rebounder. He holds his position defensively and blocks the occasional shot. And he plays freaking hard. " Runner-up in their listing is Montrezl Harrell from Louisville, followed by Willie Cauley-Stein at Kentucky.
3 days 19 hours ago	Happy Father's Day...	First and foremost, Happy Father's Day to all the MGoDads out there. Go Blue! As my wife actually works later today, we're keeping it pretty simple here - my kids wanted to help my wife make breakfast, so we'll be enjoying that as soon as everyone is up. My daughter heard me reminscing about a full English breakfast a while back, so supposedly this is what I am getting.  They also apparently made something for me and that is the reason I was barred from the basement yesterday. That was a bit of a shame as I needed a few things from down there to fix something, so right now the wheelbarrow still has a flat tire, but I would rather be surprised by this gift.  Beyond that, we'll probably take the kids to the splash pad in Canton if the weather improves and do whatever else before my wife leaves for work. I'll also call my own dad later - my parents are up north for the weekend, so there won't be the same multi-generational gathering as we've had here in the past.
3 days 19 hours ago	Either Way...	In addition to Hutchinson, the other all-American to wear #76 was Stefan Humphries.  For #77, including Lewan, Jake Long, Jon Jansen and Paul Seymour. I think Arthur Walker wore it as well.  So, for yesterday as well as today, we have two fairly decorated numbers in Michigan history.
4 days 4 hours ago	Not This Year...	I did not go this year, but my father and I have gone in years past. Among the cars that sit idly in the family collection would be an Oldsmobile 442, which we would traditionally park somewhere in the Gratiot and Toepfer area before the cruise itself. We will more than likely be at the one on Fort Street in the downriver communities later this month though, and I will be driving the Oldsmobile.  Love the Mustang, incidentally.
4 days 11 hours ago	Odd But Perhaps Cool...	In the fashion of a neighbor who taught me much about Michigan and its history growing up, I have over the years collected - via sending them in the mail or meeting players and coaches at events - dollar bills signed by various Michigan players and coaches. Among some of the names who have signed bills (I started doing this in the 1990s) are Bo Schembechler, Gary Moeller, Tyrone Wheatley, Anthony Carter, Rick Leach, Jamie Morris and Jarrett Irons, among some others.
4 days 12 hours ago	SBNation Summary...	Bud Elliott at SBNation scouted him in April - the full assessment is here (LINK). Here was how he basically summarized Darlington. "Darlington is a smart, tough player, and the son of a coach. That doesn't guarantee success, but growing up around the game probably can't hurt. Darlington reminds me a bit of a more controlled Taylor Martinez. If used in the right way, he can be very successful." In the Sentinel article, it's interesting that he relates things to his own upbringing (e.g., pointing out similarities between Pelini and his father) because we've seen it in our own success that the ability of recruits to personally relate to people and things within a program is definitely a positive draw for them.
4 days 19 hours ago	One Question...	According to his blog yesterday, he was also going to talk about his new book a little bit during the speech as well - "Fourth And Long: The Fight For The Soul Of College Football". I assume that is what the OP is talking about in his first point (i.e., college football being ruined by "higher ups"), but did he mention when it would be out? I believe he was granted access to four programs in the Big Ten and he more or less compares their reactions to the growing influence of various people and entities and their money. It sounds like it will be a great read, but I was curious as to how detailed he was.

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