INSPIRATIONAL COUNTDOWN IMAGE: 25.

I liked the koala, wallaby, and I chilled with a kangaroo a bit. There was a wombat that I quite enjoyed also.
Todd Barry

The floor is not on fire and we need water desperately. Crisler's new floor:

I like it, and not just because there's a charge circle.

Soon to be us. Penn State fans on their version of Special K:

Penn State has been saying for years now that the piped-in commercial music has not compromised in any way the Blue Band's ability or chances to play music in the stands. I'm calling bullshit on that. Since Penn State football became The Greatest Show of Great Shows of Not-Just-JoePa in College Football or something they keep renaming to something worse, piped-in public address music has become more prominent within the gameday experience at Beaver Stadium. They are no longer just snippets of music, or pre-game warmups music when the band isn't even done with Tailgreat. Nope, Penn State now plays full songs over the PA. You know, those raucous, adrenaline-pumping classics like... Sweet Caroline?

And the poll:

Penn State fans are not down with the sickness. Ah ah ah ah ah.

Dirty. Boo Nieves did this in an international tournament against Russia: :

Dang. Nieves is consistently criticized for being a "perimeter player," FWIW, which probably means he tries stuff like this all the time instead of bulling his way to the net.

Practice highlight type substances. From Rivals and strictly FWIW since there's no pads:

Rerank. ESPN's latest 2012 re-rank sees Glenn Robinson III at #53 (up from #60) and Nick Stauskas at #85 (from #99). Their profiles don't show any updates, though—wonder if they still think Stauskas is a low-athleticism guy who can't create his own shot or whether this AAU season has changed that. The highlight videos suggest he can get to the hoop.

Mitch McGary is #3, BTW. Come on, Mitch McGary. Daddy needs a new pair of shoes.

Also rerank. Scout redid its Midwest state rankings. Your instate top 10:

Rank	Name	Pos	City (State) High School	Ht/Wt	Verbal
1	James Ross	MLB	Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Marys	06/01/20	Michigan
2	Aaron Burbridge	WR	Farmington Hills (Mich.) Harrison	06/01/80	Michigan State
3	Danny O'Brien	DT	Flint (Mich.) Powers	06/03/90
4	Royce Jenkins-Stone	MLB	Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech	06/02/15	Michigan
5	Terry Richardson	CB	Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech	05/09/65	Michigan
6	Ron Thompson	TE	Southfield (Mich.)	06/04/20
7	Devin Funchess	TE	Farmington Hills (Mich.) Harrison	06/05/10	Michigan
8	Dennis Norfleet	RB	Detroit (Mich.) King	05/07/75	Cincinnati
9	Mario Ojemudia	DE	Farmington Hills (Mich.) Harrison	06/03/15	Michigan
10	Ben Braden	OT	Rockford (Mich.)	06/07/19	Michigan

If O'Brien commits that's seven of the top ten with two of the others guys who wanted to commit but got slow-played because of grades (Burbridge) or undisclosed "things to clear up" (Thompson). They really should have taken Burbridge just to make Dantonio's head explode.

Braden's moved up and threatens to get a fourth star if he performs this fall. Only one That Guy complaint: Matt Godin is #15, which seems low for a guy with his size and offers. He's behind a CMU commit, for one, and Thompson appears to be picking between Syracuse, Indiana, and a late offer from Illinois.

Etc.: Michigan soccer enters this season ranked ninth, which is a vote of confidence in the program after they lost Justin Meram and Soony Saad—AKA all the goals—in the offseason. Hopefully that holds up. Hoke's entire opening presser. Two toned pants: ack.