Dear Diary Rolls Old School Comment Count

Seth

burkeskate 426419_2865209485213_1912395564_n

Fruits of the photoshop thread

The weekend respite from blasé hockey brought back a sorely missed tradition: goal-by-goal analysis. MGoBlueline picked up where Center Ice left off, and collects the Diarist of the Week; 200 points to Gryffindor. A sampling:

3213MichiganvsFerrisStateHighlights1-3_zpsb3b7f230

Copp makes a truly spectacular pass through Guptill that ends up right on the tape of Lynch's stick. Lynch is now all alone in the high slot facing a goaltender who is going to have to move side-to-side to stop a shot.

3213MichiganvsFerrisStateHighlights1-4_zpsb3131ac0

Lynch doesn't hesitate, roofing a shot over the goaltender's glove that makes his Gatorade bottle jump.

By now, yes, everybody knows that Ferris got a free breakaway when they put a 7th man on the ice and nobody noticed. I remind you that the Penguins once spent over 90 important seconds of an NHL Finals elimination game with too many men on the ice and didn't get flagged. I can only surmise that this is legal to do against teams I root for.

LSAClassof2000 has continued to put together short stats-based diaries with cats at the bottom. This week he went into Big Ten scoring offense since 2000. Since so many different coaches and systems have come through during this time, I'm not sure what aggregating by school really does—scoring offense is probably the most 'duh' statistic available to fans, and having Nebraska in a percent of total calculation is just fruitless. Break it up by seasons and tempo-free stats and we're talking—I'd like to know how good, say, 2010 was compared to 2012 Ohio State.

The Blockhams this week tried a little genetic experiment, which as an amateur evolutionary biologist I should warn you that you'd better isolate a lot of genes or else you're as likely to get a too-small, powerless, nerve-pinch-susceptible swimmer with the power to make Tennessee fans deranged by mere mention of his name.

Etc. A sense of entitlement fails you at Penn State and undersells beating MSU, however I caution not to underrate the benefits of that feeling like you can just trust your team will win because that is a low simmering awesome feeling that can make entire weeks happy, and expecting too little will just make you numb. THE LAST FINAL REMAINING SCHEDULES FINAL FINAL by GOLBOGM. Wallpaper by jonvalk.

Best of the Board

IT’S ALMOST LIKE THE SEC CAN ONLY WIN WHEN THEY BLATANTLY CHEAT

A decade ago ESPN realized the power of fan polls to drive passions and traffic when its Page 2 ran a sports-wide uniform contest. One by one the greats—Red Wings red, Tigers white, and finally the maize and blue went down to the ugliest Broncos uniform in history. How? Some fans found a way to game the system. Now a guy whose claim to fame is he’s the Heisman winner’s favorite receiver is doing the same through the college ranks, and again Michigan ends up the finalist they’re trying to screw. Video of how they do it? Actually yeah.

Credit mgouser dmoo4u for uncovering the plot in time. It seems if you create a new group that group gets to vote again. Much of this was going on in the wee hours of last night. I suspect they’ve been doing this all the way up the ranks.

FOOTBAWWWWWWWWW?

Spring football at least but we are starving fans and we’ll take that. Before there was the Brian article on things to look for this spring, there was the thread of things to look for this spring. Eyes are on, in order, the offensive line, the receivers after Gallon, and the young defensive ends. Ojemudia gif appears:

ojemudiasmile

While on the subject of the foosballs YoBoMoLloRoHo (name complaint: I get that Kipke, Crisler and Bump don’t have easily accessible o’s but what’s your excuse for leaving out Oosterbaan?) takes us down to Georgia to see how they’re developing football talent. I appreciate the effort but having followed high school football in the State of Michigan for some time, I think you’re overrating the difference. I felt that certain schools in the past didn’t do what they could to get their players into BCS programs, but year-long S&C training happens here and on better equipment. Take a tour of Farmington Hills Harrison’s program sometime. The biggest difference between the north and the south in the programs themselves is coach longevity, and I don’t see how that’s a bonus. The biggest difference between Midwest HS football and the South is they have more talent there.

STAUSKAS VS LEVERT:

8534878287_7fd3a66463_o

Bryan Fuller | MGoBlog

Following the Penn State disaster the board starting asking whether a Stauskas who isn’t shooting 80% from behind the arc (and wasn’t defending so well) really ought to be starting over the LeVert sensation. Then we immediately got a chance to put this theory to the test when Stauskas was knocked out against MSU. Minutes in the last five games:

Game Stauskas LeVert
PSU 34 9
Illinois 26 16
@PSU 29 12
MSU 4 30
@Purdue 31 10

LeVert played well, Michigan beat its rival at home, and successful message recipient Stauskas’s defense was much better against Purdue. He drew Byrd and I don’t think that guy made a field goal until finally getting in on the parade of preposterous treys late. Competition is good. If LeVert establishes himself as a guy worth 15 minutes a game and the sum effect is to get Stauskas to play better I take. We’ll be watching what they do against Oladipo and Indiana.

The other question being mulled is whether B1G teams other than Michigan might struggle in the NCAAs when they don’t have Valentine et al. and the conference’s notoriously poop-flavored whistles protecting them. The theory goes that when Aaron Craft can’t mug people and MSU can’t send man-beasts with active elbows into the paint and Wisconsin can’t Wisconsin that those teams will lose a big part of their winning strategies. Answer 1: The rest of the NCAA isn’t the NBA. Answer 2: I don’t give a damn, because B1G officiating is a huge disadvantage for a team like Michigan, which hardly ever fouls and which often has a quicker undersized guy taking non-called charges. Michigan State has been going to Final Fours for over a decade with teams just like the one they have this year. Getting away from awful Big Ten refs won’t matter nearly as much as getting away from ridiculous Big Ten home court advantages.

BASKETBALL RECRUITING: LADIES EDITION

This would be a diary if it wasn’t for a demand by the OP that it remain on the board. Raoul put together an epic review of current recruiting targets for women’s basketball in the 2014, 2015, and yes even 2016. As in current high school freshmen. I’ve mentioned before that it’s quite common for the non-main sports to fill their classes years in advance (they have full and partial scholarships to give out so the athletes race to grab the few full rides available), so there’s a lot of pressure on the kids to commit before they can, you know, drive cars.

META: HELLO NEW MODS, NOT LIKE THE OLD MODS

Profitgoblue is stepping down from his longtime moderator chair in order to pursue his lifelong dream of getting a newborn to sleep through the night. Stepping into his place is LSAClassof2000. Better have some good, minable data in your posts from now on.

YOU MIGHT BE A THING IF YOU GET TAKEN IN BY THAT THING’S YOU MIGHT BE… LISTS

Buzzfeed is to Reddit as Flounder is to a group of fraternity brothers playing cards. That said, when Michigan fandom comes in for the “You might be a _____ if…” treatment anywhere, we bite. Here’s all the things from the Buzzfeed list you need to care about:

  • Chipatis. Pizza House takes all the credit but Pizza Bob invented the thing, which makes sense when you consider the whole trick is to make the salad on a paper plate first and then stuff it into a pita, and Bob’s is the place that 1) serves everything on paper plates, and 2) uses pita dough for its pizzas because it’s cheaper.
  • Not a Blimpy virgin. If you haven’t heard, it’s not going to be there much longer.
  • “Constant Buzz” and Casa Dominicks.

I guess you need to at least have taken the orientation tour to know not to step on the M on the Diag, that the UGLI exists, and the stacks are for scandalous trysts (I only ever went there to do research and found other people doing research). The other 29 things are generic, stupid, or things you would discover if you’re from Los Angeles and Googled “Things to do in Ann Arbor.” DON’T BE TAKEN IN BY STUPID BUZZFEED LISTS.

The comments at least mentioned the first day of spring, when the North Face jackets disappear and everyone is outside in shorts throwing frisbees because it’s blessedly 49 degrees. And while the Fishbowl is known to all, the c. 2001 Fishbowl RIsing movement and the Brabbs for Heisman campaign that originated there shall ne’er be forgot.

ETC. Softball has Wagner back. Also back: mercies. Possibly leaked Illinois alternate helmet that doesn’t seem to jive with the school’s attempts to get away from 1950s-‘how, white man’ Native American imagery [insert my usual spiel about how this is peanuts when there’s pro teams called Redskins and Indians].

Your Moment of Zen:

Vote Denard!

Comments

Needs

March 8th, 2013 at 10:20 AM ^

I think it's more accurate to say that the point of Brandon Dawson's elbow gave Lavert the nod in the MSU game.  Take out Stauskas's busted face and there's basically no trend there.

befuggled

March 8th, 2013 at 11:12 AM ^

There are just more people in the south than there are in the north. However, that doesn't hold for a direct comparison of Georgia to Michigan, which have nearly the same population size.

Could it be that many of the athletes that would be FBS athletes playing football in the south are instead playing basketball?

Seth

March 8th, 2013 at 11:31 AM ^

Actually the opposite: northern states are generally far more populated than the South; Mississippi and Alabama are bottom-third in population, and we've got giants like Ohio and Ilinois (and now Pennsylvania and Maryland and New Jersey I guess). It's the makeup of that population: Georgia's 33% African American, while Michigan is mostly German and Dutch and French and stuff. When Michigan State became a national power and Notre Dame returned to glory in the '60s it was because they were going into SEC country and taking a lot of the black talent that SEC schools segregated out.

They're also poorer states and that might be a more important factor by far than small racial athletic differences. Kids in poorer areas and kids who don't have access to great schools tend to see the prevailing sport as their best chance of future success. Notre Dame, a french catholic school for rich kids, built its football program on the backs of poor Catholics, who at the time grew up in the kind of tougher circumstances that tend to produce good football players.

Playing a sport at a high level isn't reserved just for poor kids, but it requires the kind of perseverence and survivability and other life lessons that the more willful poor kids learn from their environments.

GOLBOGM

March 8th, 2013 at 12:00 PM ^

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0764220.html

Area Population Change 2000-2010
4/1/1990 4/1/2000 4/1/2010 Number Percent
United States 248,709,837 281,421,906 308,745,538 27,745,538 9.7
Region          
Northeast 50,809,229 53,594,378 55,317,240 1,722,862 3.2
Midwest 59,668,632 64,392,776 66,927,001 2,534,225 3.9
South 85,445,930 100,236,826 114,555,744 14,318,924 14.3
West 57,786,082 63,197,932 71,945,553 8,747,621 13.8

NE: CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT

MW: IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NB, ND, OH, SD, WI

SO: AL, AR, DE, D.C., GL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV

W: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY

You could argue the split of the regions for their relevance for BCS conference comparisons- but the south is essentailly equally as large as the northeast and midwest combined now.  Yes MD is south and will be in the Big Ten now- but when you say a recruit from the south, or from the midwest etc. this chart works quite well.

Basically the South is responsible for more than half the growth of the country in the last two decades- and there are more states in the south than other regions.  

Sports preferance also plays a role.  In Chicago and NYC basketball is king, in the south its football, and in the northeast football blows...

Seth

March 8th, 2013 at 12:45 PM ^

I didn't realize the South had gained so much. Of course that includes Texas as part of the south, which A&M bler bler but I still don't count Texas as part of, say, Georgia's recruiting footprint the same way that Pennsylvania is part of Michigan's.

Anyway the greater point is it's not just about hard population, and the population growth toward the South (the more socially mobile folks who've been moving are more of a dilution) probably hasn't had nearly as much to do with the rise of the SEC in recent years so much as they pay players and cut every corner and that better competition is self-fulfilling. As far as their population is concerned, you're probably like to find more D-I-ready athletes among any 100 Georgia high school kids than any 100 kids from pick a northern state, both because other sports are equally or more important, and because of the makeup of that population.

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

March 8th, 2013 at 3:14 PM ^

There is a way to look at the ability of these states to generate "talent" regardless of race because we can compare "talent" within the populations instead of across populations.  The same kids are candidates for Fball and Bball within these states and, the last time I checked, black and white kids played both sports.

Georgia produces 2X more elite football players than basketball players.  Conversely, Michigan produces 2X more basketball than football talent. Michigan also produces elite basketball players as frequently as Georgia. As a comparison, Indiana is widely recognized for HS basketball and it produces Bball talent almost 7X more than Fball talent.

Those disparities within the state populations indicate focus and tradition as major drivers of athletics.  What's valued by the adults, gets played and played well by the kids.

Rivals Top 100 Players      
           
Georgia          
  Football   Basketball
  Total Spots   Total Spots
2012 7 31,47,63,72,88,90,94   6 27,44,79,91,92,95
2013 7 1,4,25,44,45,52,79   2 66,25
2014 10 9,11,16,39,51,67,75,85,95,98   4 23,25,26,48
Ave 8.0     4.0  
           
Michigan          
  Football   Basketball
  Total Spots   Total Spots
2012 0     2 81,83
2013 2 60,81   5 10,47,94,95,98
2014 3 21,32,56   4 21,32,56
Ave 1.7     3.7  
           
Indiana          
  Football   Basketball
  Total Spots   Total Spots
2012 1     10  
2013 1     4  
2014 0     4  
Ave 0.7     6.0  

 

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

March 8th, 2013 at 11:36 AM ^

On the name front, Oo was included for a short while but the excessively long name caused Ho to disappear for a few folks.  Even "Mgo" had brief consideration. Hopefully the next coach isn't "Moyer" or the like.

On the Georgia front, explain HOW the talent is 2-3X more plentiful in GA based on D1 scholarships than MI with the same population.  "More talent" is developed and not a product of genetic engineering.  HOW is it developed?

After living in both areas, the answer is fairly basic to me:  they focus more resources throughout the state in GA on football than MI.  Every school has S&C and the 10-day spring football is modeled on college programs.  Kids drop every other sport in HS because the coaches and staff work with kids year-round.  Conversely, basketball gets almost no focus and the quality of HS games is atrocious.

TampaJake

March 8th, 2013 at 12:46 PM ^

I get around to the greater Sarasota/Tampa area all HS season long, and it's just on a different scale.  Spring ball is just like college, the sport is year-round, coaching is year-round.  We do clinics almost every month, with HS teams as "scrimmage" teams (games with no kicking).

Not to mention it's hard to go outside and work on 7-on-7 drills in hip deep snow.

BTW, Madden 7on7 starts in April for Regionals..Finals at IMG in Sarasota, see you there.

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

March 8th, 2013 at 1:56 PM ^

Urban petitioned the Ohio HSAA to start spring football after seeing Florida's HS first hand.

The two biggest benefits with spring ball are:

1. Tackling.  Kids maintain their technique and timing so much better with 10 days of full-pad work in April rather than 8 months with no pads.  Kids tackle in mid-season form by game 1 in the fall.

2. Control.  The coaches can easily keep parents/volunteers engaged with program activities and kids from playing baseball or lacrosse. As you noted, year-round.

[Sidebar:  The risk of concussions and loss of cross-sport participation are negatives IMO.  The HS experience is lessened by the one sport myopia and too many schools emphasize football above academics and social development.]

 

 

imafreak1

March 8th, 2013 at 3:08 PM ^

What a terrible idea.

I don't think turning our HS into year round training grounds for college football teams makes any sense.

I know it wasn't your idea and you were not, necessarily, advocating it but did you note how neither of your "benefits" are really beneficial to the students? One of them is quite clearly a negative.

ST3

March 8th, 2013 at 3:18 PM ^

There is no such thing. Someone called me out on that and they were right. Don't believe me? Check here:

http://statsheet.com/mcb/referees/ted-valentine/conferences

 

Conference Games Fouls FPG
Big Ten 162 5315 32
SEC 149 4899 32
SoCon 140 4732 33
Big East 134 4894 36
ACC 130 4755 36
MAC 30 1088 36
Conference USA 26 931 35
SWAC 9 300 33
Sun Belt 9 272 30
Big South 9 263 29
A-10 6 170 28
Big 12 5 182 36
CAA 4 144 36
Mid-Continent 2 91 45
WAC 1 33 33
MEAC 1 40 40

ST3

March 8th, 2013 at 3:20 PM ^

There is no such thing. Someone called me out on that and they were right. Don't believe me? Check here:

http://statsheet.com/mcb/referees/ted-valentine/conferences

 

Conference Games Fouls FPG
Big Ten 162 5315 32
SEC 149 4899 32
SoCon 140 4732 33
Big East 134 4894 36
ACC 130 4755 36
MAC 30 1088 36
Conference USA 26 931 35
SWAC 9 300 33
Sun Belt 9 272 30
Big South 9 263 29
A-10 6 170 28
Big 12 5 182 36
CAA 4 144 36
Mid-Continent 2 91 45
WAC 1 33 33
MEAC 1 40 40

Raoul

March 8th, 2013 at 7:38 PM ^

Appreciate the shout-out on my WBB recruiting post. I'm not sure that I demanded that it remain on the board—it was really more of a gentle request.

As I said in the post, I'm going to keep updating it, so leaving it on the board will hopefully make it easier to find for those interested.

Also, FYI, women's basketball doesn't have partial scholarships like some of the other "nonrevenue" sports—each school has 15 full scholarships to hand out. You're right that early commitments aren't that uncommon, and certainly the recruiting of prospects begins much earlier than in football. Right now, the recruiting gurus in WBB are increasingly tweeting and posting about players in the 2017 and 2018 classes.

Adam Schnepp

March 9th, 2013 at 10:49 AM ^

Thanks for naming me Diarist of the Week, and also for naming me Griffyndor and not, like, Hufflepuff. I should have the GBGAs for Northern up tomorrow or Monday.