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Hey guys, I am still in the…

Hey guys, I am still in the first segment, so far I am enjoying it very much!

A small point - you rightly got on the Penn State PA announcer for mis-pronouncing Portillo. So....you guys should start pronouncing Quinnipiac correctly. You are putting the accent on the 2nd syllable. It should be on the 3rd syllable. 

 

Your welcome!!! https://youtu.be/Il6wP5zj9OY

Nope, no egg rolls in China!…

Nope, no egg rolls in China! Just spring rolls. 

I have been traveling to…

I have been traveling to China for 30 years, generally twice a year. Of course I have not been since Covid, last time I was there was October of 2019. 

You need a VPN. I use Express VPN. It always worked well for me. 

 

This could drive Izzo to…

This could drive Izzo to retire. He has to be in a corner somewhere twitching and babbling to himself. 

As a lifelong Giant fan,…

As a lifelong Giant fan, that game was up there and may be my favorite all time game. What you describe is exactly what happened. The Giants would put 4 DE's in on passing downs and the Pats line could not stop them. They beat the crap out of Brady that day. That package had it's own name - Nascar. 

If the Michigan D line can generate pressure just using the 4 DE's, without much blitzing, that might slow down the Ohio attack. Hit him early and often, let's see if he can handle it. 

 

Have you tried Express VPN?…

Have you tried Express VPN? Usually helps me to get to any site I want in China. Even sites showing sparty tears.

I bet we would have seen…

I bet we would have seen Criswell if we had a late lead. Otherwise there was no point burning him. Smart strategy by Bakich.

Now we are at full strength with Kaufman and Criswell for tomorrow. And if necessary I bet Tommy Henry could throw an inning. 

 

He thought it was ball 4.

He thought it was ball 4.

When you assume.....

My son is a UM alum,…

My son is a UM alum, currently at Georgetown Law. So I have paid some attention to Georgetown basketball this season. 

Patrick Ewing inherited a mess and has improved it. He has also started to recruit well. James Akinjo and Mac McClung played pretty well as freshmen. He has a couple of 3 star big men coming in next year. Both have potential if he can develop them. The days of Georgetown being an easy place to recruit are long gone. 

If Juwan is as good or just a little better than Ewing he will be fine, as he will be starting in a much better place. 

The angst around here after just a few days is unbelievable. Anyone who thinks Warde is just sitting on his ass and doing the bare minimum is a grade A idiot. Let's see what happens next week. If this search has gone nowhere a week from today, then OK, Warde deserves the flak. But I strongly suspect that won't be the case. If we don't have a coach, we will be close to having one. Then the negative critiques of the new hire can start, and surely will no matter who it is. 

 

No reason to be picky here.

No reason to be picky here.

Anyone but Sparty. 

Big picture....good for Duke…

Big picture....good for Duke to survive to take out State.

The enemy of my enemy......

I am in Vegas, I went over…

I am in Vegas, I went over to the Westgate late this afternoon and bet the good guys -1. 

I won a few dollars on the Iowa game, unfortunately they did not have the Minnesota game up Friday night when I left, and I could not get there this morning to place a bet. Opportunity lost. 

GO BLUE!! BEAT STATE!!!

 

 

As a life long Giants fan…

As a life long Giants fan this harkens back to the late 60's to early 70's. This organization is a dumpster fire. John Mara is clueless. 

The only upside here is getting Jabril. My son the Michigan alum will be getting a jersey. 

The tournament was a week…

The tournament was a week early because the Big East Tournament has the following week at MSG, and has had it for about 30 years. 

Delaney was so desperate to play in MSG that he accepted playing a week early. Which was great for me as a New Yorker, I got to go to the semis against State and the final against Purdue. 

We should hear any minute…

We should hear any minute now that Aubrey Solomon is getting his waiver to play immediately at Tennessee. I mean after all, he had a very bad situation at Michigan. I mean, he had to put up with......wait, what? 

I agree with this view. 

I agree with this view. 

Besides missing on Hughes, we also had Bode Wilde decommit to play for Saginaw in the OHL, where he is lighting it up. And didn't we also have a shot at Oliver Wahlstrom? He is not having a good season at BC, so maybe he would not have been a difference maker here. But he could have been. 

Mel is going to be fine. I am going to chalk this year up as a hiccup. And maybe it's not over yet, there is no one in the Big 10 we absolutely can't beat. Go on a little run and win the conference tournament and we will go to the dance again. 

Brendan Quinn's basketball…

Brendan Quinn's basketball coverage is worth the subscription price by itself IMHO. 

Their coverage is unique. I enjoy it. No regrets. Keep your eyes open, there are always deals to be had for new subscribers. 

Sam Webb yesterday said that…

Sam Webb yesterday said that Foote wants to stay in the NFL. He MIGHT consider college as a coordinator, but not as a position coach. 

Well this implies there will…

Well this implies there will be another co-OC. Hopefully Ed Warinner is getting a promotion and a raise.....and is staying.

 

It's 2 series of multiple…

It's 2 series of multiple tweets. Easier to search Scott Bell on Twitter. @sbell021

I know I'm shoveling against…

I know I'm shoveling against the Harbaugh sucks tide here, but for some perspective please go read Scott Bell's 2 manifestos he posted on Twitter tonight. If you don't already follow him, he's a UM alum who is currently the assistant sports editor at The Dallas Morning News. Normally he is sarcastic and witty. A great follow. Tonight he is rational and sober. Well worth the 10 minutes to read it, if even a small part of you wants to put down the pitchforks and be rational for a few minutes.

That thought occurred to me…

That thought occurred to me as well. EXCEPT - from what we hear, Don Brown runs the defensive side of things without interference. And Greg Mattison is extremely well respected and has been for a VERY long time. 

Something else is going on here. We don't know what it is. And likely never will unless Solomon wants to talk out of school (so to speak). And even then, all we get is his side. 

 

I'm wondering if the flip…

I'm wondering if the flip was a product of both the Harbaugh leaving crap AND the possibility that Don Brown was getting the Temple job? Now that it's clear that both are staying, he's strongly considering a return.

20  minutes to kickoff…

20  minutes to kickoff. Stadium still pretty empty but I think we are going to be the majority today.

Greetings from Section 108!

Greetings from Section 108!

I'm no maven but based on the rotation in warmups I'm guessing that Peters is #2 today. Milton #3.

Of course, which is why he…

Of course, which is why he does not deserve anything in the same universe of credit that Warinner does. But still, this unit was god awful last year, and lost the predicted #1 received just before the season started. 

I don't think he is a getting any prime P5 head coaching jobs as a result of what he has done here. But I do think he deserves some credit. 

I will take is a step further. Harbaugh deserves a MASSIVE amount of credit here. Coaches tend to stay within their comfort zone when hiring assistants (cough****Urban****cough). Harbaugh has shown a great willingness to step outside the box and hire people he does not have a history with. Of course Don Brown, who is the King of Defensive Coordinators, is the best hire he made. But credit JH for hiring Warinner and McElwain, 2 more guys he does not have history with. All of these guys have a pedigree and a long coaching history that could make a some coaches feel threatened. Instead, Harbaugh brings them in and uses their skills to benefit the team. 

I will be in Section 108,…

I will be in Section 108, Row 25. 


Go Blue!!!

Rather than start ANOTHER…

Rather than start ANOTHER new thread, I thought I would keep this one going. 

https://twitter.com/KyleRowland/status/1029046451412914176

Zach Smith was arrested in Dublin for OVI in 2013. The former OSU WR coach refused to take a breathalyzer. The incident was previously unreported.

And this is why keeping Urban is still not a slam dunk. What more is going to come out? 

FWIW if they fire him the…

FWIW if they fire him the cost won't be $38 million. That is a sunk cost, they were going to spend that money anyway. The actual cost will be the cost of the new coach, which surely will be less than that. That is extra spending that was not planned. 

It probably doesn't matter in the end because it is very likely they keep him. But their cost of letting him go is something less than $38 million. And that is assuming that they have to pay the full remaining amount of his contract. 

 

Spot On

Your analysis is spot on IMHO. 

Home ice matters but is not critical. Before game 7 of the Caps-Bolts series I heard a stat that surprised me - in the previous 20 game seven's in the NHL playoffs, the home team was 9-11. So now it's 9-12. 

And yes, Vegas got the benefit of generous expansion draft rules. And McPhee used them to his advantage. He built a team, as you mention, of solid 2nd and 3rd liners. But unlike teams strapped by the cap, they were able to load up on those types of players. And STILL were able to make trades for multiple first round picks in the last draft and the coming draft. If McPhee used and uses those picks wisely they could be good for quite a while. They even took on some dead cap hits to make the floor. So they are in position to go hard after some free agent, too. 

The really crazy thing is that some of those players (James Neal being example A) were taken with the express purpose of trading them at the deadline as rentals for even more picks. But instead they were actually buyers at the deadline, not sellers. 

As for Fleury, the Pens were totally boxed in. They had to keep Murray. He is younger and cheaper, and they have cap issues that letting go of Fleury helped solve. While he has been a high level goalie for most of his career, he has also had some serious issues in more than one playoff series. In this case Vegas is fortunate that he has had a great playoff run. 

I read that the league is giving the next expansion team (Seattle) the same rules. I wonder if GMs will handle it differently and not make as many side deals to protect certain players. That seems to have backfired in many cases. 

 

I'm not sure why he would go

I'm not sure why he would go back the the NTDP. He's already killed it at that level.

I've seen speculation that he takes the Auston Matthews route and plays a season in Switzerland. Or in Canadian juniors. Or spends a year at Michigan. Personally I think he would be best served by coming to Michigan. Not that I'm biased or anything.

Irresponsible Idiot?

I know nothing about Michigan high school football, and next to nothing about recruiting.

But it would seem to me that he is doing his kids a major disservice by indulging his UM hatred. A coach who truly has the best interests of his kids as his primary concern should maintain cordial relationships with ALL of the in state college programs. He doesn't have to be best buddies with Harbaugh, or Dantonio or anyone else. But having a public war with any of them is selfish and stupid.

Marody

I think it is likely that Marody leaves for the NHL. Edmonton gave up a 3rd round pick for him, they will push to sign him. 

I think Hughes is 50-50 to return. While the skill is obvious, he does still need some work, and he needs to fill out. I guess it depends on who drafts him. Don't forget that he was the youngest player in college hockey this year. Similar to Werenski, I could see him back for one more season. 

 

Bucci

Bucci loves college hockey, which is a good thing. But he is an awful play by play guy. They should put him in the studio. And Melrose......wow is he bad. Billy Jaffe should be doing color for these games, there isn't a better hockey color guy anywhere. 

 

 

Exactly

I feel exactly the same way you do. 

That was a killer of a way to end the season. BUT - that fact that we were there at all is something no one (except Mel!) could have honestly predicted before the season started, and certainly not at the end of December. 

My take from this season is that Mel is the real deal, an elite coach who hit the ground running because of his history here, and took only a half a season to get the team doing what he wanted. I don't think this will be his last Frozen Four here. 

I expect Marody to leave, Norris and hopefully Hughes to stay. Add Jack Hughes, get some expected progression from the returning players, and this team will be dangerous next season. Once Mel gets into a recruiting rhythm I think the sky is the limit. 

 

 

Overall a good period for us.

Overall a good period for us. Keep it going, boys!

Bye bye Suckeyes!!

Bye bye Suckeyes!!

Development

Yes, with Z running the offense this year there was a ceiling. But to not expect him to take a step or 2 or 6 forward next year? That is unrealistic. Beilein's history tells us that the most likely scenario is that he will improve the holes in his game. And Z seems like the kind of kid who will work relentlessly to make that improvement. I am very optimisitic about what we see from him next year. 

For that matter, I expect to see an improved version of Brooks next year, too. Playing the point in Beilein's offense is not easy, to say the least. Let's not forget that Z as a sophmore is a much better version of himself than he was as a freshman. Sophmore Brooks should be a more than capable backup. 

As for DeJulius, see the above. I have never seen him play but to expect a freshman to step in and make significant contributions at the point, would seem unlikely to me. I would think he will get some minutes, but more likely he spends most of the season watching and learning. If he is as good as I read he is, then the following year we will have an embarrasment of riches at the point. 

 

 

NY Yankees

As a more recent U-M fan (5 years) I have developed the proper hatred for State and OSU. I definitely would NOT be rooting for either of them tonight, and I don't expect any of their fans to root for us. And to me that is OK. 

I am a New Yorker and I have been a Yankee fan for close to 50 years. So I get the pretty much universal hatred that others have for the Yanks, and for Michigan. Twice in my life I have seen some of that automatic Yankee hatred dissapate. Once in 1996, and again last season. Both of those teams were not the usual Yankee teams, they were underdogs. And good fans of other teams appreciated it. Just like I think there are good fans out there who appreciate our Michigan team and most of all John Beilein. It's very hard to hate on Beilein. If there is any reason Buckeye fans are on board this time around, it's him. Nice to see, actually. 

Go Blue! 

GO BLUE!

My heart says Michigan. 

My wallet says Michigan (I have a ticket at 10/1 bought in Vegas the day before the tournament started).

My head? Who gives a crap what my head says? I KNOW we will play solid D. I really don't think we will be run off of the court, what they did on Saturday is unlikely to repeat.

We need Z to run the offense better than he did on Saturday, and we need to hit our 3's. Not at record pace, just hit at or just above our season average. And if that happens we can win this game and be NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!

 

Optimism

It the time of year for optimism. 

The D was really good last year, in spite of Mo Hurst being gone there is a very real possbility they will be even better this year. I get the feeling that Don Brown is just getting going on what he wants to do and now has both the athletes and the experience to do it. There were a LOT of first year starters last year, not so much this time around. This D should be terrifying for opposing offensive coordinators. 

As for the problem side of the ball (AKA "the offense"), I for one like to hear that Harbaugh admitted he screwed up. Better that than him continuing to stubbornly do the same things that weren't working. He's human, he screwed up, he's fixing it.

It seems like we will be solid at RB and TE. We will be more mature and better coached, therefore better at WR, and solid in the middle of the line. So it comes down to QB and OT. 3 key positions that need to be better. If they are we could have a really, really good season where we push OSU for the Big 10 East title. If not......I don't want to consider that possibility at this time of year. 

 

 

Mel Pearson

Add in Mel for hockey and things look very sunny in Ann Arbor.

Purdue

They put Haarms on the inbound pass. What a concept!

Learning the Beilein offense

Learning the Beilein offense takes time. He's there and contributing when we need him the most.

Later

Bye bye Buckeyes!

Gonzaga

ZAG UP!!

NEVER!

Just can't do it. All in on Gonzaga tonight.

Hmmmm, I am headed for Vegas

Hmmmm, I am headed for Vegas on Friday. Once the brackets come out I may have to place a bet on us to win the whole thing and one on us for the opening game. 

 

I am surprised to hear

I am surprised to hear that. 



I was at both the Saturday and Sunday games. While the Saturday game was absolutely more intense, anti-climactic is not a word I would have used for the championship game on Sunday. The crowd (more pro-blue than Saturday) was very into it, and the team, particularly Teske, was on point all day. When we went up 18 in the 2nd half it became more of a celebration, but it was not anti-climactic to me. 

Anyway, it was a LOT of fun to be there both days. Go Blue! 

Or......

I kept wondering how awesome we would have been if Bamba had come. He and Mo together would be unstoppable. But after this weekend, I'm not wondering any more. This team has been great, and a lot of fun to watch. 

The 2019 class should be very interesting. With all of the crap coming down from the FBI, does a program with a spotless reputation benefit? Maybe we attract 1 or 2 of those 5 stars that usually go elsewhere.