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The unspoken part about…

The unspoken part about these regional sites is that a lot of arenas no longer want to bid for them because you now are tying your arena up for an extra day because of the rest day between games and because they are money losers.  If you went back to campus sites, it at least might make more sense for schools to host.

We could also consider a SuperRegional situation where one building hosts the six games over four days, but that probably would not fly either.

I wish I could upvote this…

I wish I could upvote this twice.

FYI, CBS Sports Network has…

FYI, CBS Sports Network has both NCHC games today on cable. NESN has the Hockey East games, and everything else, you're out of luck.

Is that why the drum major…

Is that why the drum major is the first guy to get to Braylon after one of the late touchdowns in Braylonfest?

The probability matrix…

The probability matrix updates in the overnight.

https://www.collegehockeynews.com/ratings/probabilityMatrix.php

Michigan is up to a 100% chance to make the tournament.  It looks like the simulations are giving Michigan a 40% chance of winning in EL next weekend, which, I have to say, that feels about right?

Excellent performance by the…

Excellent performance by the fourth line tonight to allow Naurato to roll four deep, keeping his top lines fresher late. It's the little things in playoff hockey. 

The press release, for…

The press release, for posterity:

https://mgoblue.com/news/2024/3/15/mens-basketball-michigan-announces-leadership-change-in-mens-basketball

I just want to record my…

I just want to record my admiration for the post calling Brian's "what are we even doing here" five minutes before Brian posted a "what are we even doing here?"

Similarly, remember that…

Similarly, remember that Warde conducted his own climate investigation into Michigan hockey under Pearson that didn't raise the issues that the Wilmer Hale report found, so perhaps having an outside firm do it at least allows people to feel like they can speak a little more freely?

The three most interesting…

The three most interesting takeaways for me:
1). The outside firm hired to review the culture, which again is likely to provide cover for a firing.
2). The lack of anything to move the needle to anyone who has been paying even a modicum of attention to this program for the last few years.
2a). The complete lack of discussion of anything in the Michigan AD that is not the MBB program, which the rumormongers and OSU Millerites were insisting was all coming.
3). That Quinn got a nice sitdown with Sanderson's lawyer(s).

We literally had a law firm…

We literally had a law firm report detailing the toxic culture that Mel was permitting, so if we're reintroducing facts already in evidence, fine, the finger should be pointed at Warde for a). wanting to stick with Mel, and b). weirdly not keeping Mel from acting like the government in exile on social media last year.  Which, again, things people are already pissed off about.

Now, if there's more than that, so be it, but it would hardly be shocking to find out that 1000SSS is letting a whole bunch of horrible ish slide.

No, because I think it might…

No, because I think it might also be in line with other data points we have going back a few years...the Pearson report details went into a lot of this, the Sanderson incident suggests it's not an uncommon thing.

Each time, the department weathered the storm, so it would be interesting to see what people would think might move the needle in this regard about new levels of toxic workplace.

Pairwise predictor moves…

Pairwise predictor moves Michigan to 99.4% as of this morning's 20,000 simulations, which isn't a lock, but certainly feels much better than it did three weeks ago.

I'll be curious to see what tomorrow's numbers say since it will now simulate Michigan/Minnesota instead of Michigan/MSU or Michigan/Minnesota.

Next weekend is a one gamer,…

Next weekend is a one gamer, so I think the math of only having two potential games left against a quality opponent of either MSU or Minnesota will help.

Duluth has rallied to tie it…

Duluth has rallied to tie it at 5

Good!  So we learned from…

Good!  So we learned from our mistakes, and mistakes, and mistakes.

(It also might be easier to do this kind of thing with a new football administration.)  But good!

But even then, it's really…

But even then, it's really not in our control.  If we were doing basketball-style scheduling where you're making matchups in the off-season and can have a sense of what kind of team they might have, that would make more sense.  But these games are scheduled years out.

To wit: Brady Hoke was still the coach when the home and home with Texas was announced!
https://fbschedules.com/michigan-texas-schedule-football-series-2024-2027/

(A reminder that as part of the dealmaking to get Texas into the SEC sooner, Michigan and Texas swapped the home games from that 2014 deal so FOX could have Texas at Michigan as Big Noon Saturday in Week 2.  Which would have then given Michigan the usual seven home game slate for this coming season.)

Tell Texas in 2014 "Oh yeah, Michigan will be coming off a national title and you'll have made your first playoff the previous season." and they would have laughed at you.

I don't love ESPN's FPI, and…

I don't love ESPN's FPI, and I wish I could get the rankings coming out of conference championship week, but Michigan played what ESPN has as the seventh toughest schedule in the country, in part because they played Penn State, Ohio State, Iowa, Alabama, and Washington.  Plus UNLV and Bowling Green ended up being better than expected.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/fpi/_/view/resume/sort/resume.avgsosrank/dir/asc

It was perceived as an easy schedule because that is how the narrative was set over the long off-season.  It was not an easy one by the time every game was played.

Wait, I thought Warde was…

Wait, I thought Warde was the one who was floating that comparison?

I was at Senior Night on…

I was at Senior Night on Saturday and it struck me that they were recognizing the CoY seniors and I was just thinking "Dang, that would have been very awkward." back in the late 1990s.

If you're officially recognized and sanctioned by the Athletic Department, they have a modicum of control over you.  This can be a good thing and a bad thing, but it definitely flattens the presentation a bit, if nothing else.

Fix the "fumble through the…

Fix the "fumble through the end zone is a touchback" rule.

If you're willing to spend…

If you're willing to spend:

https://www.petermillar.com/c/game-day/mens-collegiate/big-ten/michigan

Concur, there is absolutely…

Concur, there is absolutely no way that number survived Purdue 1995.  

We're also still claiming…

We're also still claiming 350+ STRAIGHT games with crowds over 100,000 like 2020 didn't happen, which mean, I get it, but at least contextualize it.

I have bought a LOT of stuff…

I have bought a LOT of stuff from the M Den (I may have also been the person that suggested they add wedding and baby registries.  Which they did.)

Still some years to go for…

Still some years to go for my family (son is in seventh grade)
 

I am, however, waiting on word from my 17 former students for whom I wrote letters of recommendation and will find out their EA fates today.

A friend mentioned to me…

A friend mentioned to me that it is easier to get into certain schools at U-M (non LS&A) from WCC than it is to transfer between units (because units don't like losing their own numbers.)  So if you know you want to be Public Health or Natural Resources, etc, it can sometimes be a very viable plan B.

The money is nice and makes…

The money is nice and makes an easier headline to understand while the immunity stuff is better to keep off the main page as to try and avoid a reminder that it's still out there.  It's a great bit of messaging.

I thank you for this.  It's…

I thank you for this.  It's a wonderful bit of "let's remember some scores."

I also know from my M-Den…

I also know from my M-Den contacts that they were running three shifts at the warehouse for the last two weeks to keep up with the orders and that the Briarwood store was doing GameDay Saturday levels of traffic from the day after the game through MLK Day (when we were in there.)

If you ordered National…

If you ordered National Champs gear, it said the expected ship date would be January 26 when you checked out.

Aww, man, this is wonderful…

Aww, man, this is wonderful.  Well done, Ace, and thanks for giving this a spot to land MGoBlog crew.

Yes, but had it been "Ravens…

Yes, but had it been "Ravens-esque", it would have been incorrect.

Just came in to say the same…

Just came in to say the same thing.  How could Harbaugh agree to a contract extension that keeps him from talking to NFL teams this off-season if he's talking to the Chargers (reportedly) tomorrow?  It is a completely valid observation that doesn't mean anything really.

I don't disagree with folks…

I don't disagree with folks picking "Jump Around" and stealing Wisconsin's mojo, but for me, I think it was Erick All's game-winning TD in Happy Valley. 

They had already lost to Michigan State, they had fumbled and handed Penn State an absolute gift, only to see the defense limit PSU to a field goal, and they needed something, and Hassan is moving them slowly but surely down the field after a big opening run, and then a beautiful play design and Erick All rumbles all the way for the go-ahead TD.  Previous iterations of Harbaugh teams don't get that moment; they fold after things go sideways.  That was the moment I thought we had a shot.  (Though I will say, Ohio State's surgical dismantling of Michigan State the next week did give me some pause, but well, I should have known not to draw any conclusions from a Michigan State game.)

When the real thing comes up…

When the real thing comes up, my suggested Michigan donation will be 148.81, which is the combined scores of Maryland, OSU, Iowa, Alabama, and Washington.

($539.56 would be the 538-156 season scoring margin if one wanted to do so.)

I think when April rolls around, Michigan can be the first school to clear seven figures on its own, which is hilarious for a charity drive that could have been won with small four figures just a decade ago.

As was said to me over on…

As was said to me over on BlueSky, "We're not expecting anything mission-critical out of you today, boss, stand down."

Lauren is a Michigan Daily…

Lauren is a Michigan Daily alumna (and one of my APUSH 5s back in the day.)

We thank you for your…

We thank you for your service!

One other dumb thing.
At the…

One other dumb thing.

At the Rose Bowl in the early third quarter, I realized my tailgate pass was obscuring the front side of my tour pass, so I flipped it around.  Then Bama took the lead and then they went up seven.  I flipped the pass back to its pre-game configuration, and well, there you go.

Every day before Game Day…

Every day before Game Day this year, maize polo under my lightest Michigan quarter zip.

In honor of the Fullcast, a Gatorade Fast Twitch every Game Day morning. "I'm on the ceiling, brother!"

Homefield 1997 Michigan "Victors Valiant" Rose Bowl shirt under a Michigan polo.  Jersey of choice based on vibes that day from my 33 different options.

My goodness, this is so well…

My goodness, this is so well done.  Thank you Patrick and thank you Bryan.

One of my son's favorite…

One of my son's favorite moments from the trip was on Sunday morning, on the way back up from breakfast, Roman used his keycard to get Semaj back to Semaj's floor and my 12 year old son shouted to Roman as he slipped out of the elevator "I love your channel!" and Semaj chuckled and shook his head.

It was an excellent overall…

It was an excellent overall experience.  I had been told by several people when I mentioned that I was going that it is the rare thing in this world that lives up to the hype, and I agree with that assessment.

Richard Johnson of Split Zone Duo noted that it was one of the few college football experiences that he has had in the last few years where it feels like every single person in attendance is in there first, foremost, and only to watch a football game.  There did not need to be entertainment interstitials, the piped-in music was minimal (but occasionally extant), the use of "Mr. Brightside" and "Dixieland Delight" for the two teams during the second half felt very fun as a change of pace, but mostly, from the Michigan End Zone, row 40, I felt like it was as great a seat as I have had for an exceptional football game.  Blake's OT TD essentially came right at me; the roar of the Michigan crowd washed over me as I hugged my son and my wife after the 4th and goal stop in overtime.  It was everything I wanted the experience to be, a memory that will last a lifetime.

Also, I want to say that the Alumni Association tour package, though pricey, was the way to go.  Got to stay at the team hotel, we talked to about 15 players on Sunday night briefly (Kenneth Grant's girlfriend was so excited someone recognized him enough to want a photo.), my table took second and third place in the Welcome Party Rose Bowl trivia contest (which means I have an M-Den gift card eventually making its way to me), the pep rally was silly fun (the MMB was fantastic), and the busses were exactly where they said they would be after the game.  It was a great trip all in all.  One more win to go.

Leon was one of my favorites…

Leon was one of my favorites because he seemed like a real team-first guy, and when we saw him at Kids' Club events, it was clear that his teammates really liked him a lot.

He has a receiving touchdown AND a rushing touchdown, which is pretty cool.  I will be rooting for him wherever he lands.

My one question is, he is a three-year letter winner (2021, 2022, 2023) and he did not appear in any games in 2020, so how does he have two years of eligibility left?  His COVID shirt is also his redshirt?

 

Seth,
An excellent update…

Seth,

An excellent update AND excellent news.  Love that you're highlighting Child Life Services, as you laid out, they make such a big difference for the patients at Mott.

Looking forward to meeting…

Looking forward to meeting some of you folks there. (We booked a full alumni association package on Sunday) 

Point of order: Though he…

Point of order: Though he did not start the 1996 game, Brian Griese should rightfully be considered the winning quarterback in the 1995, 1996, and 1997 games, since Michigan scored all 13 of its points on the second half of the 1996 game after he came off the bench.

Yes, because putting in four…

Yes, because putting in four undefeated Power 5 champions is the easiest play, and Texas can be sad, but they shouldn't have lost to Oklahoma.  Georgia/FSU in the Sugar Bowl and Michigan/Washington in the Rose would have felt right and good enough.

Given that Texas and…

Given that Texas and Michigan was important enough to Fox to get the order of the games flipped so that Michigan hosted in 2024 so Fox could televise the game, thus allowing Texas to move a year early to the SEC, I do not see how Michigan is going to get out of this game.