MGoRossGrad

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Date	Title	Body
1 week 4 days ago	Shoving another player to the	Shoving another player to the ground after play has stopped is "defensive intensity"? Telling a ref to go fuck himself is "physical play"? Knowing that your team is extremely thin because of injuries and not being able to control your emotions, ultimately getting yourself ejected is "smart"? C'mon now.  The Bulls are playing admirably as a matter of being on the wrong end of the talent stick right now.  But they're not "throwing Miami off their game" with this stuff.  They're fueling the fire. If they cut out all of the extracurricular thug-ness, they're elevated play would keep them in the game.
1 week 4 days ago	Honestly, there is not	Honestly, there is not much of a bias for Lebron.  If you've actually watched the series, he gets maybe one call per game.  The problem is the Chicago has no idea how to play smart.  What, we have a very short bench and we're playing against the most talented team in the league?  Let's play like thugs and shove superstars and bitch about the refs!  Grow up.
3 weeks 6 days ago	Call Dr. Spaceman!	Call Dr. Spaceman!
4 weeks 1 day ago	This idea irritates me the	This idea irritates me the most. "Pshhh what upperclass Michigan student wants to watch their team play a Michigan directional school in Row 80 in September?"  Seriously? You're right.  We should only expect students to show up for The Game.  Or against a highly-ranked B1G school.*  Is that where we're drawing the line?  I mean, screw it.  No more tickets to a student section, then.  Buy individual tickets for games that you want at actual market value. The student entitlement is ridiculous.  Yes, we all love pregaming and want to sit in Row 1.  But my god, it's your football team.  Go watch the 6 home games you had last year.  When did it become acceptable to be so cavalier about football indifference?  I graduated last year but I feel like Clint Eastwood.  Rabble, rabble, rabble.... *BTW, more than 3,000 students didn't show up at all for the MSU game last year.  Ridiculous.
4 weeks 2 days ago	I agree that the some of the	I agree that the some of the same problems aren't going to be rectified, but we also don't know to what end DB is working towards here. If it's to fill the student section to capacity quicker, yes GA helps that.  More people who care about the game but may not feel inclined to get to the game early in previous years are more inclined to get the game earlier to get seats.  No more 40% filled student sections at kickoff. If it's to completely fill the student section, no GA won't necessarily help that.  Like you said, not everyone is going to automatically make it to the game on time.  Some people may not even show up because they're so late.  Some student ticketholders who were "eh" about the games before are still going to be "eh" now. Part of me thinks that DB wants to see the student section fill up quickly with those students who actually show up for the games, just as every other seat does, and then see if the remaining students actually fill the entire section.  If not, make the student section smaller.  There are students who don't really care about football, you say?  Great.  Give their tickets to alumni and friends that do.
4 weeks 2 days ago	They also won't choose it	They also won't choose it because you can't see his number.  NCAA is paying bucks for #16 on that cover!  My hopes for the cover photo:  /s
4 weeks 2 days ago	Athletically, they would have	Athletically, they would have been perfect fits.  But as others have pointed out, expansion from here on out won't be predominately athletically related.  Media and academics are going to play into the algorithm before "good sports school" does. (Although seriously could you imagine this years B1G schedule for basketball, except substitute games against Northwestern and Nebraska with Louisville and Pitt.  Holy smokes!)
4 weeks 3 days ago	But....This isn't Crisler.	But....This isn't Crisler.  This is a student section that seats 20,000.  About 100 of the seats are elite.  9,900 are awesome seats  5,000 are okay.  5,000 not so much. Camping out two weeks before?  C'mon now.  You'll have to stand in line a little early to get the first 30-40 rows.  Everything else, just come before the game starts.
4 weeks 3 days ago	This. If you think that	This. If you think that 15,000 students are going to wait in line before the game, you're crazy.  Insane.  Even for the big games.  And on top of that, if you aren't in Row 10 or closer, you want to be a little further away because you can't see shit.  Rows 30-45 are better than Rows 20-30.  I can't believe the number of students who are lighting up Facebook with "Let's boycott the games altogether!  That'll show them!"  Seriously?  Their sense of entitlement ("I'm a senior so I deserve tickets") reeks of a fanbase who doesn't come to support the players and the team, but just comes after they're hammered to maintain social status. Next year attendance will be significantly lower attendance in the Student Section, we'll talk about it some more, argue about it some more, and then DB will finally cut back the student section.  It's worth allotting some of those tickets to the public who will show up on time rather than waste them on students who are passed out along State Street instead of at the game.
4 weeks 3 days ago	A lot of people are worried	A lot of people are worried about the competitive balance between the two new divisions, but I'll have to echo those who have pointed out that the balance is pretty well-distributed. Michigan, Ohio, Penn State, and MSU v. Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern.  As of the results from last two years that's a pretty even-handed distribution. It's so difficult to predict who is going to be the "powers" even with the strengths of Michigan, Ohio, Penn State and Nebraska's programs.  Tell me who thought Northwestern was going to have a 10-win season?  Tell me who thought MSU would nearly win the B1G ?  Tell me who thought Penn State would undergo the Sandusky scandal and lose a huge chunk of its competitive advantage?  Anyone actually think Ferentz's team would be reduced to the laughing stock of the B1G? Hell, we could turn out just like the Big 12.  Minnesota and Purdue could all of a sudden turn out a couple great classes and MSU and Penn State could fall off the map and we could be looking at an imbalance in the opposite direction. As of right now, competitively, these divisions make sense.
4 weeks 3 days ago	The problem with the	The problem with the basketball round robin, that you accurately pointed out, but nonetheless under-emphasized in my opinion, is that there's no benefit to being in the last slots of the Top 7.  Think about it:  the 7th seed has to face all of the top seeds for the last 6 games while the 8th seed just has to beat up on the bottom feeders?  Hell, the 8th seed team should go undefeated the rest of the way out and have a potentially better record than the #1 seed.
4 weeks 6 days ago	Yeah, you need high	Yeah, you need high individually ranked players to comprise a top class, but the way they are using "top class" is indicating more than just a numbered ranking. How many highly ranked classes don't pan out?  They get to campus and not that many contribute, they burn out, they don't work together.  It's good to see that their focus isn't on how many stars one player is racking up on Rivals, and more on how successful this class can be come time for the season.
5 weeks 6 hours ago	That looks pretty dead-on.	That looks pretty dead-on.  Iowa and PSU are going to be very underrated going into next year.  Newbill's return and a late season surge will help out PSU a lot especially as some of the lower tier teams in the B1G will struggle again next year.  And Iowa nearly won the NIT and brings back a lot of talent.
5 weeks 7 hours ago	If either of Walton/Irving	If either of Walton/Irving have breakout seasons, this could be a lot of fun again guys.  Like, a lot of fun.
5 weeks 8 hours ago	Make no mistake, Mary Sue was	Make no mistake, Mary Sue was a huge asset to the University.  Fantastic fundraiser and overall administrator. Ask any current student:  half of them have personally met her and have great anecdotes about her.
5 weeks 1 day ago	Yeah, consider me surprised	Yeah, consider me surprised that Lunardi has us so high, seeing as there is a very good chance we lose all four starters.  Or maybe he is just very bullish on Walton and Irvin.
5 weeks 1 day ago	My God.  Any hope of holding	My God.  Any hope of holding it together once they get to the Kansas game is futile.
6 weeks 3 days ago	This is what I'm clinging to	This is what I'm clinging to right now.  We've looked shaky in the opening weekend games (SDSU, Kansas, Syracuse), but we've been working on all levels for the second games (VCU and Florida).  I guess if Stauskas hits 5 threes before half, we'll know if we're on or not...
6 weeks 3 days ago	Ah, you beat me right before	Ah, you beat me right before I posted below! Great side-by-side analysis. Argh, Penn State....
6 weeks 3 days ago	I don't think Michigan's path	I don't think Michigan's path has been as impressive as this might lead you to believe, though. Sure we played more top teams.  But we didn't necessarily beat them.  Playing Indiana and Wisconsin twice isn't impressive seeing as we went 0-4 against them.  On top of that, Florida's Kenpom ranking was misleading from the start.  Just like Pitt's high ranking. I think both teams have had it pretty even when it comes to their key wins/paths here.  Michigan had some nice wins against Kansas, Syracuse, MSU and OSU.  Louisville had some nice wins against Duke, Syracuse, ND, and Georgetown. Good analysis though.  It's always fun to see just how tough the B1G was this year.
6 weeks 3 days ago	Yeah, I'm not feeling that	Yeah, I'm not feeling that sympathetic for the Orange fanbase. Their analysis leads me to believe that they scouted the game even less than the team did.  They seem to believe that everyone except Burke on Michigan's team had "career" games, and that Boeheim "completely" outcoached Beilein, and that Michigan didn't win, Syracuse merely shot themselves in the foot. They seem to forget that Michigan was a three-point shooting team who can knock 30+ footers down (hell, I guess just watching a few games from the past week would tell you that Burke's range is everything), McGary can hit jumpers from the foul line and can rocket around passes from anywhere on the court, Morgan plays good inside defense, etc.
7 weeks 21 hours ago	Yeah a lot of mixed feelings	Yeah a lot of mixed feelings from me too. On the one hand, this would be a step in the right direction to support the team, and like the article says, Chris shouldn't feel like everyone at Michigan hates him and never wants to see him again.  I think even people who aren't on his side would like to see him come forward, make amends, and be on better terms with the program, even if it is just a small gesture.  Not to mention, like was said, this is about the team and these kids now, and it would be huge to see him and the rest of the Fab Five there to support Mitch, Nik, GRIII, Spike, and Caris and the rest of the team. On the other hand, that is a best-case scenario and the media would never let it go down like that.  The second he is there at the game, reporters want to know his thoughts on the team and how they compare to his time and if he is ready to make amends, and how hard it is been for him to be distanced from the team.  It would be an ultimate distraction and would confirm probably why Chris hasn't come forward since then:  the media is never going to leave him alone if the cameras see him and Michigan together again, and that's not what his return in Atlanta would be about.
7 weeks 23 hours ago	Definitely.  I'm not a hard	Definitely.  I'm not a hard advocate for the maize-outs either, but I do like that the players decided to bring them out for limited, extra-special home games (basically, the revenge games against OSU, MSU, and Indiana).  They're an over-the-top, shake-your-head-and-grin burst of "well if it pumps up the kids..." type of occurrence.  And without a doubt, they photograph beautifully.  The fact that you can't even see the names on the back of the jerseys really hits home the idea of "the Team":   PHOTO / CHIP LITHERLAND
7 weeks 1 day ago	I hope I'm not the only	I hope I'm not the only one.... I think the current uniform design is, well, pretty awesome.  And this is coming from someone who has hated the collar detailing that Adidas has been trying to add in recent years. They are modern and sleek, but not flashy.  Minimalistic and actually somewhat classic (simple Michigan front with consistent blue detail), with a couple really nice touches that fulfill the "wow" factor (the mini block-ms that comprise the shading in the shorts).  The only criticism I'd have is still the shoulder piping that isn't quite working. The best part?  Adidas understands design in motion.  We can nitpick looking at a picture of the jersey, but when Trey throws a lob to streaking GRIII in transition, those blinding highlighters look explosive and intimidating. I get that uniforms tend to be a touchy subject and most want to revert back to the oldest of the old schools jerseys, but the team looks really good in the bright, bold maize jerseys.  The Adidas criticism is generally justified, but in terms of our basketball jerseys, I think they've done a good job.
7 weeks 1 day ago	After rewatching, I'm trying	After rewatching, I'm trying to think of a more complete, dominating game that I've seen Michigan play against a quality opponent.  I mean, just everything was clicking.  Granted Florida shot poorly and helped pad our lead, Michigan made everything look effortless.  That was a very pretty win.
7 weeks 1 day ago	That McGary save was just	That McGary save was just stupid.  Lolwut indeed. Spike had quite the GIFable game as well.  That baseball pass is a huge reassurance for next year.  Dude has split-second court vision like whoa.  I guess his acrobatic steal was okay too seeing as he just punked Florida starters who've been to the Elite 8 the past three straight years. For me, the GIF of the game was Hardaway pounding his chest.  You want to know what happened in the Kansas game?  Watch The Yell.  You want to know what happened in the Florida game?  Cue Hardaway.
7 weeks 1 day ago	I think this is the biggest	I think this is the biggest concern:  showing up. I'm not in any way suggesting that Beilein nor the team has thrown in the towel, said "we're just glad to make it this far," and come out uninterested. But just from the tourney standpoint and from a couple of instances this year, long breaks between games haven't been kind to us. In the SDSU game we started slow and were trailing for a good chuck of the first half.  The next week we started slow for about the first 35 minutes against Kansas.  Now we have another break in between games.  I hope that the Florida game really left an impression with the team:  Win the first 5 minutes.  By a lot.  Attacking early means being ahead early which means the game is a lot easier. I think this game comes down to the end.  Michigan by 2.
7 weeks 1 day ago	I was gonna say, he would be	I was gonna say, he would be less competing with Timmy and Nik and more sharing minutes with GRIII.  Personally, I think that would have really added depth as we don't have a true "4" man other than GRIII who is really a stretch-3.  Sure we can go two bigs but that affects our offensive production.   Burke/Spike at the 1 TH Jr/Stauskas/LeVert at the 2 and 3 GRIII/Smotty at the 4 McGary/Morgan/Horford at the 5   Anyway, good luck to the guy.  Hopefully he wasn't trying to run away from the B1G...
7 weeks 2 days ago	I don't think it's as	I don't think it's as "consciously" rigged in that sense. I think it would be safe to say though that as unbiased as refs want to be, they're gonna give the benefit of the doubt to an NBA superstar over anyone else.  Why?  Because the sport wants to solidify them as being virtuous, hardworking, honest heroes and therefore if a superstar player acts in a certain way ("not" fouling, or flopping), refs will go along with it instead of trying to stand up against it. Other than that, it's a pretty solidified notion that good officiating is rare.  It's a difficult job in real time.
7 weeks 3 days ago	The picture of Brad Stevens	The picture of Brad Stevens takes the cake.  Literally screaming "Noooooooo!" like a Disney villain.

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