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Came here to say exactly…

Came here to say exactly this. Unless they're eyeing some very coveted assistant or an NBA person (unlikely on both fronts), no one is going anywhere for at least a couple of weeks.

Heard this on the podcast…

Heard this on the podcast Pardon My Take and it changed the way I thought about tournament expansion. Make the actual tournament 64 teams. This makes it easy and straight-forward to follow and also ensures that making the tournament remains meaningful and the regular season isn't a large exercise in seeding arrangement for all but the very worst Power 5 teams (CoughMichiganCough).

However, you can expand beyond 64 before making the final cut and create a true play-in tournament that doesn't technically count as the tournament. So, you start with, for example, 56 qualifiers (AQs and deserving at-larges) and then create a tournament of 16, 24 (with byes) or 32 to get you the final 8 teams. You get knocked out and you officially never made the tournament and can go play the NIT (or whatever). I know this is largely form over substance but I do think it changes the way we'd all view expansion. Has the upside of giving everyone more exciting and meaningful basketball to watch (always a good thing) without watering down the actual tournament. 

If they can't accomplish it that way, I'm against expansion.

He was definitely not a …

He was definitely not a "bust" - maybe his pro career was not as good as expected, but he played 8 years, made a Pro Bowl and had 5500 career receiving yards and 40 TDs. He also had some big moments for the Jets in the playoffs. That's a solid, albeit far from legendary, NFL career.

David Terrell on the other hand played essentially 4 years and had a quarter of those stats.

I have not. I recall reading…

I have not. I recall reading though that they would not be going out until around the end of the month.

Should have added - I've…

Should have added - I've obviously tracked down photos from the TV feed, but I'm looking for an actual print-quality photo. So far my usual internet sleuthing has been unsuccessful.

The Petrino Effect.

The Petrino Effect.

Guys, this is fan fiction…

Guys, this is fan fiction. Even if Connors is not recused - and he may or may not chose to (I don’t know the judicial canons like I do the RPCs) - he’s not going to be behind the scenes conspiring with the University to inflict maximum damage on the Big Ten.

Look, I get that there is…

Look, I get that there is growing sentiment from these folks that something NEEDS to happen but what is the actual (settled) factual predicate that would support suspending JH at this juncture? Maybe I’m putting too much faith in the commissioner but just sort of vaguely gesturing at some facts that, at this point, may not even amount to a rules violation, and then throwing a punishment at JH specifically seems like absurd mob justice. I just don’t see that happening at this point.

Even if they’re going to work from the fact that CS was at games - which he probably was and which would likely be a violation - then how do you take action against Harbaugh specifically without knowing his involvement, if any?

Based on the review of the…

Based on the review of the bylaws, I think the only potential issue here for a technical rules violation is if Stallions sent football team interns/personnel to do the recording. I think that could technically qualify as in-person scouting (though there is a not facially absurd argument that this is simply "recording" rather than "scouting") because it is done by persons formally affiliated with the program rather than a third-party. If the only real violation turns on the fact that, instead of sending Joe Schmoe to the games to record, a few times Stallions sent an intern (probably without any appreciation for the difference), I don't really see how even the NCAA could try to turn this into a major violation, and that's true even if this went higher up than Stallions.

That's pretty bullish on us…

That's pretty bullish on us I think given the defensive departures, but if ND is somehow 5 then us clocking in at 6 almost seems bearish.

Not even close.

Not even close.

I think you may be…

I think you may be forgetting that UCLA had three straight final four appearances from 2005-2007. The Ben Howland era is where a big chunk of that NBA talent came from (Westbrook, Love, Jrue Holliday, etc.).

I continue to be amazed by…

I continue to be amazed by the scheduling complaints year after year. We went undefeated in non-conference this year! Playing IU the week before The Game is too big of a task? OSU just played its most challenging opponent all year (Penn State) the week before! The only problem with scheduling is that our biggest yearly rival and division-mate is Ohio State who is a Top 3 program every year and will continue to kick our ass and shut the door on our top-level goals each year.

It's premature only if you…

It's premature only if you take the rankings to be some sort of forward-looking metric at who the ultimate national champion will be. I don't know why you would do that in a sport where the champion is ultimately determined by a 68 team single elimination tournament, but I guess many voters do engage in that. Michigan has the best resume to date by a wide margin and absolutely deserves to be ranked #1. Do I think they'll win the national title? No, but what's the point of even playing the games if the rankings only reflect what each voter thinks hypothetically will happen on some mythical neutral floor event between all the teams.

Yes. Without hesitation even.

Yes. Without hesitation even.

"Do you want our coaches to…

"Do you want our coaches to become wife beating, student killing, walking ATM's like their coaches?"

I realize the question was intended to be rhetorical but the answer is yes. However, since there do not appear to be any readily available (to UM at least) wife beating, student killing, walking ATMs who also guarantee greater success for the program, I think your arguments for Harbaugh are mostly sound.

In 4 full seasons he has 3 double digit win seasons and the one that wasn't featured numerous games started by a historically bad third-string UM QB. RichRod and Hoke demonstrate what can happen when you decide to roll the dice on the unknown.

Also, isn't it entirely possible that the backsliding on offense is growing pains and that the changes that have been made will result in long term improvements? It seems obvious that the backsliding relates to the offseason changes made. The talent is as good, if not better than last year. If the offseason changes are both a short and long term negative, isn't the problem really Gattis/the changes rather than Harbaugh? It's not like UM didn't score points against OSU at the end of last season.

It would seem like you're throwing out the baby with the bathwater if the reaction to this is tossing Harbaugh and going back into the coaching wilderness again.

The unheralded star of the…

The unheralded star of the reaction shots is the gentleman just quietly shaking his head in a Hawaiian shirt and a visor for no one in particular it seems.

Could ya not?

Could ya not?

Darius Morris earned over $3…

Darius Morris earned over $3 million in the NBA. I'm not sure he got it "wrong."

It's impossible to say, really. Who is to say whether or not Morris returns, injures himself and never earns those 3 million dollars. Why does the default for so many here to be presuming that all of these guys will improve if they return?

I think Iggy's stock could improve with another year of Beilein coaching, but I think even his best case scenario sees him rise to a late first rounder. Even with that bump it's possible - if he has the chops to play in the NBA and actually stick around - that he ends up earning more going a year early in the second round. We'll never know what could've been under any scenario, but all of these guys are at least going to get a chance in the NBA. If that's the case, even when leaving early is the "wrong" option, it's probably not a "bad" decision.

Also, I say this as someone who loves Poole - but I'm not sure why people think he'll improve his stock in another year. Poole is Poole. Looking at his interactions with Beilein on the sideline this season and his general quality of play, I'm not sure he's the type of player that is particularly conducive to being coached up. He seems - for better and for worse - to be the type of player that is going to go as far as his talents and hard work take him. If that's the case, then he probably is better off leaving now while he's younger and has more potential.

I think last night was an…

I think last night was an extremely mental thing. The team got stuck - which we've seen a few times earlier in the year (i.e. PSU, Iowa) - and this time had to try to develop confidence and get back into their groove against the best KenPom defense in the country other than itself. The players they have this year on offense just don't have the combination of skill and confidence to bust out of that. At one point I recall thinking that they honestly might be more efficient just letting Jordan Poole take his heat check 3s on literally every possession. Z had his worst game since making the leap by a wide, wide margin and they simply can't overcome that against a team like Texas Tech.

In general though, I think the larger problem with this team over the course of the season was simply shooting. This was, arguably, Beilein's worst shooting team since taking over. Iggy was a solid threat from outside. Livers was excellent from an efficiency standpoint as well - though some of that I think derives from what his usage expectations are. Poole was fine but nothing remarkable - on his best nights he absolutely could kill you from there, but on many more it felt like he was providing replacement level shooting from deep (or worse). And the rest of the team just was not able to efficiently shoot from the outside. Maybe you had to respect them slightly, but honestly, I don't get why more teams didn't slack off Z/Matthews/Teske more frequently.

It really held them back, particularly when an opponent plays good defense and can clog the passing lanes at the expense of a perimeter shot or two. Hopefully these guys can work on that this offseason, because absent that and/or one of the current or incoming freshman coming in and becoming a real threat like Iggy, I think this team is going to face similar limitations next season. (With that said, I'm well aware that facing similar limitations to a 30 win team that was a 2 seed in the tournament is hardly a stinging indictment of the overall quality of the team).

Our conference schedule next…

Our conference schedule next year is far from daunting. We avoid Nebraska completely who handicappers have as a potential national player next year. We get MSU and OSU at home. Our only road games of concern are PSU and Wisconsin. 2 total road games of concern all year where you will likely be - at worst - a couple point dog is nothing to complain about.

In theory, I get the gripe regarding non-conference scheduling, but our loss to ND last year had no impact on our season at all beyond the game itself. We had everything still to play for going into OSU. Had we beaten some scrub team and still lost to OSU at year's end, we wouldn't have made the playoffs and also would've been trounced against Florida. We're playing one good program (that's clearly not beyond our depth) out of conference each year. This year we get them at home.

I think the schedule isn't the problem. The inability to beat good teams reliably is the problem. And the main problem - above anything else - is we can't beat OSU at home or on the road. Until we can do that, the scheduling strategy is nothing but a lot of speculation that I think is largely unfounded.

Desperate is probably the…

Desperate is probably the last word I would use to describe the state of affairs at OSU, who have eaten our lunch for the better part of two decades now.

Good point

Ah, yes. A great closing point.

Hey, I, admittedly, have no knowledge of this subject I'm talking dismissively about it.

LMAO

Look, this isn't a Spartan thing - I think Miles Bridges actually could be a great NBA player when played at the proper position by a legitimate NBA coach - but there is no way in holy hell that Nick Ward is getting taken in any round of the NBA Draft. Frankly, even in the old NBA, he'd be undersized and not particularly skilled. In the current one?! LOL. I think Jordan Morgan has more of a chance of making an impact in an NBA rotation coming from whatever country he's in right now than Nick Ward.

Handsy/grabby

I actually have been saying the handsy/grabby thing about UofM's defense for awhile. I don't think it should be taken perjoratively, I think it's the way you defend the modern college game. Honestly, if you focus on Z all game long, in addition to the relentless textbook foul-free defense he gives is a decent number of arm grabs to keep his guy with him. Frankly, to be an elite defense, that's the kind of stuff you have to do (in situations where you know you want get called for it).

"Fight in the streets" is definitely getting a little carried away with the description. Unless this guy's just referring to Mo Wagner's off-the-top rope loose ball move, which, OK.

Atmosphere

As an alum in New Jersey, I selfishly would love for it to come back. I get the reasons why it would not. Particularly if the Big East is given the monopoly on the week before the actual tournament. Though, Brooklyn I'm sure would present a similar pro-UM atmosphere if they go to the Barclay's.

I went to the games Thursday and yesterday. Thursday was a bit of a sleepy crowd. I'd say it was marginally pro-UM, but having attended Big East Tournament early session games before, I don't think that's any different than most first round(s) games for any conference at any site. The atmosphere yesterday was electric and was very, very visibly pro-Michigan in the arena. I think it'd be a real boon to UofM to be able to take advantage of NYC being a home-away-from-home situation again. 

Hmmm

Can't wait for Every Day Should Be Saturday's Sunday report on Friday's Saturday commitment.

Arm strength?

I'm not sure arm strength is the issue. Dude casually chucked a 65 yard hail mary at the end of his bowl game while running out of bounds. But I agree re: downfield accuracy. That's why I think Magnus' initial Vick comparison is probably the most apt. Though, I'm not sure we'll ever see someone with the agility/elusiveness of Vick at the QB position again.

Your issue is the salary?

I don't understand the critique about his salary. Who cares what the salary is? It's not hurting the athletic department in any way. The only question that matters is, would UM be able to hire a better coach? If the answer is no, then what does the salary matter? If the answer is yes, then you're going to have to pay the new guy (who is presumably very desirable) a figure probably in line wit Harbaugh's salary anyway. 

I highly doubt the answer to that all-important question is going to be yes in two years, but, to each their own.

 

Pretty tired?

The solution is pretty simple. Stop reading them.

Pro-tip: If a website looks like it was made using Angelfire, it is probably not worth your mental energy to read it.

Specifics

I have been hard pressed to find specifics on this so far this year. Does it have an actual release day and a working title?

Meh

Not sure the record really matters. Characters and human drama matter for television and I think Michigan football had plenty of that this year.

Think about Hard Knocks. Its best moment had nothing to do with the team they were covering being future Super Bowl champs or even football, it was Rex Ryan yelling, "Let's go eat a God damn snack!"

I am sure Harbaugh will provide compelling enough television. I'm also sure the producers will find the kids on the team who make for a fun watch as well. I bet it's an enjoyable watch, despite the overwhelming feeling from this season being one of frustration.

It is slightly nebulous

It is slightly nebulous. Though 72 hours from Saturday at ~ 2:30 would have expired yesterday at the same time. So I think if he had been completely symptom free, he could have been cleared by now.

That being said, it certainly is possible he is cleared at some other point later today.

Correct

Correct.

To be clear, I didn't post this trying to imply that it meant Peters is done for in terms of his OSU availability; just that, he could have been cleared by today, and it appears he has not been. I had not really seen any updates since that initial comment by Harbaugh in terms of his progression. Fingers crossed the status changes tomorrow or Friday.

That's Not What Harbaugh Initially Said

Initially Harbaugh said he could be cleared as early as today:

http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/sports/harbaugh-michigan-qb-peters…

Yes

Michigan is not getting anyone any better and I am sure any such contract would include the usual termination for cause terms that account for the unexpected. There will also always be buyouts that our cash-flush University, alumni base and athletic department could always afford.

I love Michigan as much as anyone here, but you are absolutely delusional if you envision a scenario where Harbaugh fails and the next coach who comes in will succeed where he has failed. If Harbaugh is let go, the program will basically have announced at that point that it is chasing the dragon and will never get back to where it once was. More importantly, what rational, attainable and desirable head coach will look at Jim Harbaugh's resume prior to UofM, see that UofM let him go, somehow dissatisfied with his results, and think that UofM is a place where he can succeed and thrive and spend the rest of his days?

They should lock him up now and foreclose 90% of the dumb chatter that surrounds the program in the form of either: a) Harbaugh's leaving for the NFL (or UCLA, apparently): or b) Harbaugh isn't meeting expectations - time to look elsewhere!

WCBN

I believe Blake is a WCBN sports alum.

Partisanship aside

The most batty (and hilarious) comment in that thread was the guy saying we didn't get much of a pass rush against Air Force. If I recall correctly, Air Force called, maybe 6 pass plays, they completed one and every other featured a Michigan sack, a QB forced to the sidelines, a QB having to throw the ball away, or a QB pressured to throw into massive coverage.

The Knowledge as Multiverse Traveler

I know that some haters on here will claim that THE KNOWLEDGE has been wrong before and has not soared on occasion, but it is they who are wrong.

First, let us presume that THE KNOWLEDGE is capable of astral travel, transversing both time, space and dimensons, a fairly straightforward and non-controversial assumption given that THE KNOWLEDGE has, previously, gone to the future and provided us statements that were accurate. Then let us also assume that we are just a part of one of many possibile universes within an infinitely large multiverse where all possibilities and outcomes exist in one universe or the others. With these assumptions, it is undeniable that THE KNOWLEDGE is right. THE KNOWLEDGE is always right - always has been and always will be. You are just too myopic to see it. THE KNOWLEDGE sees it all.

Fuck it

1. 12-0

2. Offense is about what I expected for week 1. Think the passing game will improve but be far from otherworldly.

3. Defense is slightly better than anticipated.

4. Saquon Barkley, Baker Mayfield and Jalen Hurts

5. Michigan, 'Bama, Oklahoma and Clemson

Stupidity aside

Stupidity of the larger thesis aside, this article is so bad for two primary reasons:

1) He spends a significant portion of the article quibbling with an obviously correct use of the word vindicated. He was quite clearly cleared of the "suspicion" that he was shark humping guy. The claim doesn't have to be that you engaged in genocide for the word vindicated to be deployed correctly.

2) This paragraph makes absolutely no sense and is one of the worst paragraphs of writing I've ever seen published by a largely reputable media company:

Except there was no blame to clear, no crime committed. The only connection was our brains seeing a resemblance and somehow believing McElwain was capable of such a pose. 

I have literally no idea what point he is trying to make with this paragraph. It is impossible to determine. How does the evidentiary basis for the "connection" relate to the use of the word vindicated or whether or not such an act is morally reprehensible or criminal? Dodd seems to start this paragraph by casting aside the joke accusations that it was McElwain (and the moral implications inherent in those accusations) as if they did not exist and then he indicts those very accusations in the next sentence as though they do exist. Which is it?

Also, putting aside that this is a Twitter joke, isn't the best evidence in a "'Hey, who is that guy shown in an online photo?' Mystery" (TM), an analysis of resemblances via photographs? Must we wait until someone is subpoenae'd to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on McElwain's boating history and fishing experience before making such a joke or lobbing such an accusation? I did not file a FOIA request before accepting that the video of Lane Kiffin unenthusiastically promoting FAU football featured Lane Kiffin and not Daniel Tosh.

This is the work of a stupid, stupid man and a bad, bad writer.

NY Post/Mushnick

Yeah, I'm fairly certain that Phil Mushnick has never been an insightful journalist. Pretty much no one working for the Post's sports page is an insightful journalist. It is a tabloid rag. It's the newspaper equivalent of First Take.

Seems pretty simple to me

Seems pretty simple to me - he was having an off offensive night and he brings little in the way of rebounding or defense to the table. Sure, he brings more defensively than Duncan Robinson but if Duncan Robinson's shots are falling (and he was shooting well despite some misses) he should get more minutes than an off-his-game Wagner.

No

This team has developed to the point where they can beat anybody on any given night, but the level of competition in the NCAA tournament is just much more difficult than the B1G tourney, and it requires 6 games to win it, not 4. I just don't see this team winning more than 4 given the odds.

While Beilein has turned this team into one no one wants to play, at the end of the day, this is a team with 1-2 NBA players (non-lottery), at best. In order to win a championship they will have to beat ~3 teams that feature 3-4+ NBA guys (featuring a lottery guy or two). That's VERY tough to do. During the NCG-Elite 8 run, we were trotting out 5 NBA guys. I think you'll find most championship teams look more like that than what we're rolling with this year, sadly.

A little disappointing

That's a little disappointing for him I'm sure considering, for context, Junior Hemingway ran a 4.53.

Amazing

Taking a page out of Wale's book. This is hysterical.

I look forward to all of us replying to Finebaum's tweets with some variation on a "P"-based first name that isn't Paul.

New Jerseyan here

New Jerseyan here. You guys up in Bergen County realize the traffic is so bad outside of Sunday because everyone has to get all of their shit done on one weekend day (or in the few hours after work during the week), right?

Wildly Pro

A+. I think the team uniforms are much improved. I was a little wary of Jumpman at first for football but I ended up liking it a lot.

But, probably more importantly, on a consumer level, the Dri-fit stuff is tremendous. The more conservative, traditional look to t-shirts, etc. that Nike provides is a much welcomed change from the louder, more abrasive Adidas style.

Says who?

Says who? Slightly younger than when Fleck took the job, but Fleck's experience beforehand was being WR at a bunch of middling programs and then for the Buccaneers for one season. 

Not saying Mike Hart is a good hire necessarily, but I wouldn't dismiss a guy like him off-hand.

This is dumb.

No shots at the OP - this is probably worthy of posting - but man, this is the stupidest recruiting report/update I've maybe ever seen. The reporter repeats what his "source" tells him. Then he acknowledges that it is contradictory and can be read two different ways (essentially stating that, without further information, it is meaningless). Then he does no follow up with said "source" to ascertain which of the two meanings he meant to imply. So, basically, this "source" is inarticulate and the reporter is either too dumb or lazy to get to the bottom of his own report.

Thanks SEC Country!