Hail To The Victors!

I don't have much in the way of details, because I couldn't get the Internet radio feed to work and the Gametracker play-by-play wasn't much better, but the Michigan Icers won tonight 5-3, clinching the regular season CCHA title.  Kevin Porter had a goal and an assist, and defenseman Mark Mitera had three assists.

The game was tied 2-2 halfway through, but Porter put Michigan up 3-2, and Max Pacioretty made it 4-2 just 15 seconds into the third period. 

UM gets next weekend off, and will face the lowest-seeded team that emerges from the first round of the CCHA playoffs on March 14-16.

Congrats to Michigan on its 10th regular season CCHA title!

Ferris St. Preview

I'll be honest:  I don't know much about Ferris, other than that they swept Miami 10 days ago when Miami was suffering from its Michigan hangover.  The crack CCHA scheduling staff managed to have Michigan play two series out of its last four against teams it had not played previously during the season.  I do know that Ferris had been on a 3-0-2 tear before splitting its last series with Bowling Green, which means they're still on a 4-1-2 tear over their last seven games.

Championship Math

Last weekend's (and Tuesday's) results have simplified the title situation somewhat.  Everyone but Michigan and Miami has been eliminated.  Michigan has 42 points with 2 games left; Miami has 41 with only a Friday game with cellar-dweller OSU remaining.  So...

Michigan wins with a win either night, or two ties.  If any of those happen, Michigan wins no matter what Miami does.  If Michigan loses both, Miami wins with a win on Friday.  If Michigan ties and loses, and Miami wins, Miami will benefit from an odd CCHA tiebreaker that gives precedence to total league wins over the teams' head-to-head record.  Here is the tie-breaker explanation from the CCHA.

Odds and Ends

Forgot to mention it last week, but Aaron Palushaj was named CCHA Freshman of the Week for his performance in the sweep against LSSU.

Friday's game is at 7:35 from Yost Ice Arena.  It will be Senior Night, and the chance for fans to say goodbye to Kevin Porter, Chad Kolarik, and the rest of the seniors.  Tickets are still available, so if you're in the area, head over to the game and soak in the atmosphere.  Saturday's game is at 7:05 in Big Rapids.  No television for either game; you can get the audio feed link from mgoblue.com.

Let's hope that Michigan locks it down on Friday night.  Along those lines, here's some video from one of last year's contests, a 9-4 Michigan win featuring a JJ hat trick.

 

Go Blue!

Quick Hockey Note

Miami, the only team that can catch Michigan for the CCHA regular-season title, has a rare Tuesday game against OSU in Columbus tonight at 7pm. An OSU victory would seal the CCHA championship for Michigan, so dig deep and (gulp) root for the Nuts tonight. If you're so inclined, here's a link to the CSTV Gametracker page.

I'll have the result up later, and a preview of Michigan's weekend series against Ferris on Thursday morning.

UPDATE: It was a close one, but Miami scored halfway through the 3rd period to win 2-1. Miami is one point behind and Michigan has one game in hand. Any combination of a Michigan win, two Michigan ties, or a Miami loss Friday night will give Michigan the CCHA title.

Wolverines in the Combine -- Part II

Well we've been over the possible first round draft picks coming out of Michigan this year, but that's not the half of it. Michigan has four other players representing the Maize and Blue in the NFL Combine.

When will they be drafted? What can they do to improve their stock? Let's take a look..

Shawn Crable, LB

Crable is a good linebacker that has been told he could potentially play DE in the NFL. He did line up at DE a few times while he was at Michigan, and while he wasn't fantastic, he showed that he can pick up the position at the next level.

In a dense class in terms of the defensive line as well as the linebacker positions, however, he isn't exactly a standout. There are plenty of linebackers ahead of him, and quite a few DE's as well. So while he might have a good amount of talent, and will probably end up a starter in the NFL, he won't be a first round draft pick.

Projection: Mid-Late Second Round

Jamar Adams

Jamar Adams is also an odd case. If he is drafted to a team that allows him to do what he can do in the box, he will flourish and be a good NFL player with a decently long career. If he's forced into a system where he has to drop back and play coverage, he's not going to last long at all.

He would be a solid pick up, however, for those teams that are looking for a good safety to play up in coverage or to stop the run in the box. He doesn't have the speed or the coverage skills to make it as a coverage safety in the NFL, however.

Projection: Third Round

Adrian Arrington

Adrian Arrington is perhaps the most unpredictable of all of the Michigan players that are participating in the Combine this year. He has the talent to go in the early second round, absolutely. He doesn't have the exposure or the name recognition, on the other hand, to go any sooner than the middle of the third round.

Arrington went off during the Capital One bowl, and the one handed, circus sideline catch that set up the winning score, as well as the behind the back catch in the first quarter, as well as the diving touchdown catch that wasn't (both of which can be found in these highlights) might have gone to his head, because he left a year early.

Sure he has the talent, but he really only had one season of prominence at Michigan, whereas Manningham has been turning heads since his freshman year. But would another year in a brand new offense (with a brand new quarterback who is still to be determined)? This one's a tough call.

Arrington hurt himself and was unable to show the scouts what he's capable of today, but should be in good shape for Pro Day in Ann Arbor in March.

Projection: Great Pro Day Showing- Early Third Round, "Meh" Pro Day Showing- Early Fourth Round

Mike Hart

Everyone knows how good Mike Hart is. Everyone knows that a team would be better off drafting him, even if he wouldn't ever see the field, just because of his presence. He lift's the team's spirits, he has more heart than any player I've ever seen play the game of football, and he's not a half bad football player, either.

So why isn't he in the talks for a multi-year, $10 million NFL contract next year? A multitude of reasons. He's small (5'9, 200lbs), and he's not too quick, either (he ran a 4.67 forty today). He can move piles a few yards, sure, but in the NFL he won't be an every down, starting back. He just won't.

He'll be a solid back-up for sure, but teams don't use their early draft picks on players that they're planning on being back-ups in the future. He'll be a presence in the NFL for years, but he'll never be a Larry Johnson or Shaun Alexander.

Projection: Late Third Round

Look for a combine wrap-up soon. Thanks for reading.

That's More Like It

I guess my pessimism following Friday night's game was misplaced. It turns out that all Michigan needed to do was score first...and then again, and again. Michigan scored the first three goals, and scored a goal in the last minute of each period to win 5-2. Game video can be found here and pictures can be found here.

Defenseman Chris Summers set up the first goal of the game when he carried the puck end-to-end. Spartan goalie Jeff Lerg stopped his shot, but Tim Miller put in the rebound.

Five minutes later, the Spartans made an uncharacteristic defensive mistake, clearing the puck directly to Aaron Palushaj right in front of their net. Palushaj scored to make it 2-0.

Just before the end of the first period, Brandon Naurato put Michigan up 3-0, with the goal once again coming off a rebound given up by Lerg.

After nearly 30 minutes of solid defensive play by Michigan, the Wolverines fell asleep for the middle of the second period, giving up two goals in the space of about three minutes, energizing the Spartans and their fans. One hopes the Michigan coaching staff spends some time with the team this week in practice reminding them that leaving opposing players unguarded in the slot is a bad idea.

Just as things seemed to have turned the Spartans' way (after allowing those goals, Michigan goalie Billy Sauer suddenly looked uncertain and tentative), Michigan scored in the final minute of the period to seize the momentum going in to the locker room, as Max Pacioretty deflected in a harmless-looking wrist shot from the point by defenseman Mark Mitera.

Michigan played a solid third period, committing no penalties, and limiting the Spartans' scoring chances. In the final minute, MSU pulled its goalie, but Tim Miller put the puck into the empty net to seal the victory.

With the victory, Michigan eliminated MSU from the race for the regular-season CCHA title. Miami beat Western Michigan, leaving the Wolverines 3 points ahead with two games remaining. Michigan has a home-and-home with Ferris State next weekend, and Miami plays Ohio State in Columbus on Tuesday night before playing its finale in Oxford on Friday night. A Michigan win (or two ties) or a Miami loss clinches the CCHA title for Michigan. The teams could tie for the regular season title if Michigan loses one to Ferris St. and ties the other, and Miami sweeps OSU. In that event, the first tie-breaker is conference wins, and Miami would have more wins if that happens. Here's hoping Michigan puts away Ferris Friday on Senior Night to end the suspense.

I'll have a preview of the final series of the regular season up later in the week.

Notes

• Michigan scored more goals on Saturday than in its first three games combined (4) against MSU.
• The goalies in the game presented quite a contrast. Billy Sauer stands 6-2, whereas Spartan goalie Jeff Lerg is 5-6.
• Michigan coach Red Berenson was honored for coaching his 1000th college game (all at Michigan), although the ceremony was marred a bit by the on-ice host's malfunctioning microphone.
• Michigan improved its record when scoring first to 22-0-3.
• Although Kevin Porter went without a goal for the fourth game in a row, he tallied two assists to take the team lead at 26.
• For the first time in the last four regular-season games at the Joe, the game was a sellout. Michigan fans appeared to slightly outnumber MSU fans, though both schools were well-represented.
• Whoever built the Joe Louis Arena parking garage should be sentenced to an eternity of trying to exit from the top level after a sold-out event.

Other Sports

• The Michigan baseball team improved to 2-0 with a 16-6 win over Villanova. The series finale is today at noon. The teams are playing in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Michigan next plays the Mets on Tuesday.
• The Ladies' softball team followed up on an 8-0 win over Birmingham Southern yesterday (featuring a perfect game from pitcher Nikki Nemitz) with a 9-0 win over Auburn in the UCF Tournament in Orlando this morning. Michigan wraps up the tournament with a 4pm game against UCF this afternoon. The 12th-ranked ladies are 10-2 on the young season.

Well.. Technically We Won

After the final buzzer went off in last night's game against the Illini, we had more points on the scoreboard than they did. That's about the extent of our victory, because the entire game was a miserable performance by both sides.

A few examples..

• The teams combined to shoot 31% from the field, with Michigan shooting 30%

• Michigan's leading scorers were Manny Harris (14) and Kelvin Grady (12)

• Illinois' were Calvin Brock (12) and Trent Meacham (11)

• Midway through the second half, there was a gripping five minute stretch where Michigan outscored Illinois  4-0. In five minutes.

• Illinois has an eight and a half minute field goal drought for most of the tail end of the second half.

• There were 26 turnovers in the game (Illinois 16, Michigan 10)

• Michigan shot an incredible 24% from three point range (5-21).. Illinois shot 32% (6-19)

• The final score was 49-43. Forty Nine to Forty Three. Neither team scored fifty points. That happened in ONE other game yesterday, and that one involved a team called Bethune-Cookman.

So really, we didn't 'win' so much as we played absolutely terrible basketball against a team that somehow played worse basketball than we did. But I'll take it, a win is a win an we've won four of our last five.

Hopefully we can start winning because of our skill again, however, instead of our opponents lack thereof.

Michigan tips off against Northwestern on Tuesday, and let's hope it goes something like the first time we played them this season.

Photo Courtesy: AP/Tony Ding

Wolverines in the Combine

As I mentioned a few days ago, seven former Wolverines will be taking part in the NFL Combine over the next few days.

Chad Henne (QB), Mike Hart (HB), Jake Long (OT), Mario Manningham (WR), Adrian Arrington (WR), Shawn Crable (LB) and Jamar Adams (S) will be showing NFL teams what they can do, and M&BS wishes each of them the best of luck.

Who will represent Michigan and the Big Ten as standouts at the combine? Let me give you my take on it..

 Jake Long, OT                 

Wow. Jake Long. He'll be a top five pick, could be top three, and should be number one. His Junior year, he won the Big Ten's Offensive Lineman of the Year award. No big deal, right? It's a conference award, players win them all the time.

The big deal is who he beat out to win it. OTs Joe Thomas (Wisconsin) and Levi Brown (Penn State) were both in the mix for the award two years ago, and both ended up behind Long in the voting. If those names look familiar, it's because they were both top-five picks in last years draft. Thomas (drafted third overall) and Brown (fifth) are both fantastic players, and both were starters in the NFL in their rookie seasons.

Long has another year of college experience, and is better than ever. A team would be downright foolish to not take him first overall. I'm looking at you, Miami.

Mario Manningham, WR

Mario Manningham is an odd case. Clearly he is a fantastic wide receiver, but he might not be first round material. Players such as DeSean Jackson, Malcolm Kelley and Limas Sweed are being projected to go ahead of Manningham in the draft, however FoxSports ranks Manningham the #1 ready NFL starter.

So what's the real story on this guy?

In my opinion, he is the most prototypical wide receiver in this year's class, however teams might look over him for a few reasons. Most notably is the fact that he's only six feet tall. Not terrible by any means, but a few more inches would do wonders to his draft stock.

A great combine could all but secure his being selected in the first round. He needs to show scouts that his size doesn't affect his strength, and that he does, in fact, have sub-4.5 speed.

Chad Henne, QB

Chad Henne is a great talent who has the misfortune of being in a class with perceived better talent. Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Brian Brohm and Andre Woodson make up a good quarterback class for this year's draft. In the end, draft position could come down to mobility issues.

Of all quarterbacks in this years class (ALL of them), Henne has the worst 40 time, with a mid time of 5.18. That's ridiculous. Jake Long has a mid time of 5.08, and he's a 315lb offensive lineman for god's sake. Brian Brohm, Andre Woodson, and Matt Ryan all have mid times of 4.8 or lower, and while that doesn't exactly put them up there with Dennis Dixon, it shows scouts that if those quarterbacks absolutely needed to scramble on a play, they would be able to. A 40 time nearing 5.2 really makes some scouts nervous, which is why Chad will probably go in the early to middle second round.

What a team would get in Chad Henne is a phenomenal pocket passer. As we saw throughout his career at Michigan, he can pass as well as any of the former Wolverine greats, and he has the track record to prove it. We even saw what he could to out of the shotgun during the Capital One bowl, a formation that we rarely saw him in.

With a good combine, however, he could climb as high as the very late first round. Especially if a team is looking for a very solid pocket passer. His 40 time needs to improve immensely, however. As in lower than five seconds.

So that's three potential first rounder's. Analysis of the other four players in the combine coming up next.

Uggghhh...

5-2 bad guys. Just ugly. The Sparties are the masters of just waiting for mistakes by the other team. Unfortunately, so far this season, this is a Michigan team that makes too many mistakes. As a result, MSU is a terrible matchup for us.

Try again tomorrow, I guess, but there's not much reason for optimism. MSU has dominated the three games to date this year. I've never seen UM beat MSU in person, so here's hoping.

Miami won as well, so Michigan's lead is now 3 points with 3 games to go.

Welcome to Adam, and great first story!

Back To Reality

Michigan was served a dose of reality last night, as they fell for the first time in their last four games to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 69-60. The Wolverines remained resilient fighting back from an early three point barrage from the Gophers, eventually building a 2nd half lead. In the end, it was too much of Lawrence McKenzie’s outside shooting, inside toughness on the part of Minnesota, sprinkled in with some questionable home-court officiating.

While there were some encouraging signs the team can take from this loss (continued hustle and scrappiness in a hostile environment), last night’s loss served as a reminder that this team is still quite a ways from being a threat in the B10 conference. This game more than any in recent weeks, highlighted the program’s current deficiencies:

1. The lack of depth was never more apparent than last night. Defections and injuries have really taken its toll on this team. This is clearly not the most talented team in the league. Ideally, players like Coleman and Grady would come off your bench and guys like Zach Gibson and CJ Lee should see the floor for a couple minutes a game. Instead, due to a lack of quality players, these guys are forced to play more minutes than they should. It’s to the point that when players do something wrong, Beilein has too leave them on the court, missing an obvious teaching opportunity, because he has no one to put in their place. It was noticeable at the end of last night’s loss that these players were worn down.

2. Compound the fact that they got basically nothing from the 3-spot last night (Wright/Coleman) and this team is playing with maybe 4 legitimate Big Ten caliber players. When this team does not get consistent scoring from a third option behind Manny and DeShawn, they are much easier to defend. Coleman’s lack of performance, while now expected, has been a huge disappointment. Like many of Amaker’s recruits he seems to be playing at the same level he had when he arrived 4 years ago.

3. We need to get stronger inside. Not only are our bigs physically weaker than most front lines in the conference, but they tend to go long stretches without the necessary intensity and aggression. While DeShawn and Ekpe provide skills this team sorely needs, offensive versatility and shot blocking, respectively, they are not yet at the level where they need to be to consistently deliver the goods. All too often last night, they had balls knocked away, were out-fought for rebounds, and beaten to loose balls by Gopher big men who just seemed to want it a little more.

4. Shooting and defensive lapses remain an issue. They’ve been a problem most of the season, and they reared their ugly head again last night. We settled for too many rushed 3’s and the numbers are indicative of that.

All that being said, I like the direction the team is heading. They have been more competitive the second time around against each of their opponents. Even given all of the negatives I highlighted above, the team was still in position to steal one at the Barn because they kept fighting and grinding out baskets. We have a nice core of young talent (especially Manny, DeShawn and Ekpe) to build around and they are all getting a chance to play early in their careers. Essentially anyone who is contributing anything to this team will be back again next year. So we can assume they will all make strides given Coach B’s track record of developing players. Add to that the infusion of new talent: LLP, Douglas, Cronin, and possibly 1 more recruit, and the talent base should be vastly improved next year. With another year in the system players will be more comfortable with Coach B’s offensive schemes and player rotations.

It’s going to take time. As a lifelong fan, I’ve been waiting 10 years just to see them play a meaningful game in March. John Beilein is the right guy for the job. He’ll have the team in the Tourney hunt 2 years down the line. The fans need to see this through and they will be rewarded with great basketball in time.

As for the rest of the season, I’m not much for predictions, but I think Michigan can go 2-2 from here on out. Anything less would be disappointing.

I think everyone would be happy if big Zach Gibson would stop jacking up threes.

(Photo Courtesy: AP/Andy King)

Allow me to Introduce..

Thus far, Dan has been a phenomenal addition to M&BS. If one more writer was good, two more must be better. So I have just signed on Adam, who will be writing basketball for us. I've seen some of his work (as well as his next post, which should go up in a few minutes), and you won't be disappointed.

We've been pretty lucky with writing talent here at Maize and Blue Sports, something I've been pleasantly surprised with. Who knew that the Internet housed so many phenomenal writers, and more importantly, rabid Wolverine fans? I didn't, but boy have I seen proof of it over the last few days.

Congratulations, Adam. Welcome to Maize and Blue Sports.

I'm just sorry your first post has to be on something as depressing as last night's performance.

MSU Preview

If you know anything about college hockey, you don't need to say much more than that it's time for UM and MSU to match up again.

Last year, Michigan won the regular-season series, 2-1-1. Add in an MSU win at the Great Lakes Invitational in December, and a UM win in the CCHA tournament, and Michigan took the series 3-2-1. MSU got the last laugh, however, when it caught fire in the NCAA tournament and pulled off a string of upsets to claim its third national title.

Kolarik Injured

The big news for Michigan was the loss of alternate captain Chad Kolarik while killing a 5-on-3 power play in the third period of Saturday's game against LSSU. Although it appeared to be a knee injury at the time, current reports indicate that it is a hamstring injury. Red Berenson said on Monday that Kolarik could be out for up to 5 weeks. If that holds true, he would miss the rest of the regular season and Michigan's first series in the CCHA tournament (Michigan has locked up one of the top 4 seeds and will get a bye week while the lower-seeded teams stage an elimination round).

Freshman Aaron Palushaj stepped up to join the top line of Kevin Porter and Max Pacioretty to finish out Saturday night's game; whether that will become permanent remains to be seen. Kolarik is both the team leader and an excellent scoring compliment to Porter, so his loss is significant. Porter could solidify his standing as the favorite for the Hobey Baker Trophy (college hockey's Heisman Trophy for the uninitiated) with a big weekend.

What to Look For

When State is on its game, it presents the kind of defensive-minded opponent that has traditionally given Berenson's Michigan teams difficulties. Spartan goalie Jeff Lerg has often shone against the Wolverines, but has also had a couple of letdowns. In last year's regular-season matchup at the Joe, Lerg stopped 54 of 57 Michigan shots, which ought to be some kind of record. On the other hand, he gave up a 3-0 lead before settling for a 3-3 tie (granted, it's hard to blame a goalie when he makes 54 saves). When the teams met in the CCHA semifinals, Michigan blew the game open with three goals in the second period. Bottom line: when Lerg is on his game, he is tough to beat, but on occasion has given up goals in bunches. Match that up against Michigan's tendency to get impatient and take ill-advised penalties, (and Billy Sauer's penchant for making things interesting in goal) and who knows what's going to happen.

The Spartans will come in desperate; they are 5 points back with 4 games remaining. Anything but a Spartan sweep leaves them virtually eliminated. Either a Michigan win or two ties will eliminate MSU from contention for the regular-season title.

As with anything else, games between these two teams are hard-fought and emotional battles. Would anyone be surprised to see some more of this?

History

All-time, Michigan leads the series with MSU, 127-117-18. This year, MSU beat Michigan 1-0 in a tight defensive contest at Yost on Jan. 25. The following day at MSU, it appeared that MSU was going to pull off a second straight upset, when Spartan defenseman Matt Schepke tried to clear the puck from in front of his own net by swatting it with his hand. In what can only be described as one of the more fortuitous bounces of the year, the puck inexplicably went straight into the MSU net, leading to a 2-2 tie. (Note: although the game was televised, no enterprising soul has posted a clip at Youtube or Myspace - if anyone has one let me know).

Starting in 1991, UM and MSU have played at least one regular-season game at Joe Louis Arena. Michigan is 7-8-5 in those games (the teams played a full series at the Joe in 1991 and 1992, and one game per season there since then). Some video from last year's game:

The most famous game between these old rivals, of course, was the "Cold War," played October 6, 2001 to kick off the season, at Spartan Stadium, before a crowd of 74,544, which remains the largest crowd ever to watch a hockey game. Rumor has it that they're talking about doing a game at Ford Field next year, perhaps as a doubleheader with a Red Wings game (Ford Field hosts the 2010 Frozen Four and wants to do a dress rehearsal next year). Michigan was 47 seconds away from a win when the Spartans tied the game 3-3. Overtime settled nothing and the teams settled for yet another tie. Some video for you:

The weekend series will have some impact on the Pairwise rankings used to seed teams in the NCAA tournament. Brian Cook has broken it down far better than I ever could, so take a look to see how things are setting up. Historical note: those of you who have read John U. Bacon's Blue Ice know that Michigan would be well-served, historically speaking, not to wind up with the no. 1 overall seed.

Ever wonder where the hockey version of the Michigan winged helmet came from? Yep, I was there the night they first wore them. The place went nuts. Note how young Red looks in the picture.

Odds and Ends

It's early yet - there's still a month of games down South to be played before they'll even play the home opener - but the ladies' softball team is off to a 7-1 start. And don't look now but the baseball team starts its season Friday in Florida with a 3-game series against Villanova, followed by an exhibition against the Mets.

That's all for now. I'll have a quick blurb Saturday morning to recap Friday night's game, and then I'm headed up to Detroit for the game Saturday.

Go Blue!

Quick chat with Phil

My long time buddy Phil, over at The Nittany Lion has been nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule and sit down with me and have a little chat.

He asked me about my opinions on a multitude of topics to do with Michigan, and I did the same for him on topics covering Penn State. Here was my side of the interview, for the other half of it go check out his site, TheNittanyLion.com.

---

TNL: Coach Rodriguez has already made a lot of noise in the Big Ten with the Michigan recruiting season, do you think that he will be able to enjoy the same success that he has had over the past few years now that he's with Michigan?

M&BS: Over time, absolutely. In the next year or two, he'll be doing his best to stock the cupboards with players who are more fit to run the spread, most significantly a great dual-threat QB. Once he has most positions filled with players that were brought to Ann Arbor to run the spread, however, we will absolutely be a National Title contender.

 

TNL: Lets say Terrelle Pryor doesn't choose Michigan, how much of a concern is that? And do you think the spread offense will be a success with a different quarterback? And who would that be?

M&BS: Well it's pretty much accepted in the Michigan community that Terrelle Pryor is headed elsewhere in 2008. It's a decent-sized inconvenience, but not a huge, season-ruining event. We've got a few quarterbacks that we can go with next season. Justin Feagin, a three star recruit that we picked up this year, is a better passer than Pryor, but isn't as elusive. Steven Threet has had a year of experience on the sidelines, and while he isn't really a runner, we saw in the Capital One Bowl that even a pocket passer can flourish in the spread offense. So to answer your question, we would absolutely be better off if Pryor decided to don the Maize and Blue next season, but we can still be successful with the players already on the roster.

 

TNL: What is your opinion of the criticism Rich Rodriguez has gotten over the past few months, and do you think that it could hurt Michigan's reputation for honorable coaches?

M&BS: If you want my blatantly honest opinion, I think it's reflects much worse on the West Virginia organization and fan base. Clearly they were hurt by his departure after everything he's done for their program, and especially after he said he would be at WVU for a long time, but the fact that they're drudging this on for so long reflects more negatively on them than it does on us. For them to be threatening him and his family MONTHS after he left, that's just ridiculous. The shredding incident is utter stupidity, and the whole "he called recruits from his West Virginia call phone" is a last swipe at a coach that, many West Virginians think, has betrayed his home state. In the end, do you blame him for leaving a WVU program that was nothing before he came along for Michigan? I don't at all.

 

TNL: Alright, one final question. What are your expectations for the coming season?

M&BS: High. Probably too high. It's a bad habit of most Michigan fans to expect the most and be disappointed when they do what they finish with a season that is just 'good'. In terms of specifics, anything worse than a #2 finish in the big ten is a bitter disappointment, we had better finish in the top 25, and a BCS Bowl win would be phenomenal. However, we could go 1-11, and as long as we beat Ohio State I still wouldn't be too upset.

Thanks for your time, Phil. Always a pleasure.

And I strongly recommend everyone, Penn State fan or not, to go take a look at The Nittany Lion. It's a great blog, and Phil's a great writer with some interesting posts.

Goodnight, and look out tomorrow for Dan's weekend hockey preview.

Getting Started

Thanks to Austin for the warm words of welcome.

So, what's a guy in Columbus doing writing on a Michigan sports blog? I've often wondered about life's twists and turns that have brought me here myself. It's a long story, but suffice it to say I fell in love with Michigan from my first campus visit in 1984. I went to Ann Arbor in 1986 and graduated in 1990. Six years later, I found myself in Columbus, and it has been home since then.

I have attended Michigan sporting events with crowds of under a hundred (who decided that night baseball in March is a good idea?) and as large as 112,000 in the Big House. Along the way, I had the fortune of attending 1/2 of Bo's Rose Bowl wins, his last game in Michigan Stadium, and many other unforgettable (and a few very forgettable) Michigan sporting events.

I am a die-hard Michigan fan, but I also love college sports of all kinds. I've been to baseball games in Austin, Texas, and water polo matches in Berkeley, California. I spent a day at the Frozen Four here in Columbus in 2005, and spent 20 hours watching basketball when the first round of the NCAA tournament was here last year.

As the blog develops, I'll probably share some thoughts on life in Columbus as a Wolverine. We have a hardy band of brave souls living here behind enemy lines. For the moment, though, let's talk about Michigan hockey, which will be my focus, at least for the next two months.

The history and tradition of Michigan football is well known. What is not as well known is the history and tradition of Michigan hockey, although the record has been just as successful. Michigan boasts more NCAA hockey championships (9) than any other school, and played a huge role in the creation and establishment of the NCAA hockey tournament. Michigan also plays its home games at Yost Ice Arena, a classic old barn which housed the basketball team until Crisler Arena opened in 1972. I can only imagine how intimidating a venue for basketball it must have been.

Back in my days on campus, Michigan basketball was a tougher ticket than Michigan hockey. When I started attending games at Yost in 1987, a crowd of 3,000 was a big deal, and the hockey band was anyone who showed up carrying an instrument. By the time I left Ann Arbor in 1990, Michigan had reached respectability, and the next decade and a half would prove wildly successful.

As I said at the outset, Michigan has more national titles than anyone else. Michigan dominated the early days of the NCAA tournament, winning 7 titles from 1947 to 1964. The next 25 years were the dark days of Michigan hockey, punctuated only by a runner-up finish in 1977. That season marked Michigan's only appearance in the NCAA tournament from 1965 to 1991. 1983 saw the hiring of Gordon "Red" Berenson, a former star at Michigan who also starred in the NHL. Under Berenson, the team began a slow but steady climb from perennial doormat back to prominence as a national power.

It would take 6 seasons of frustration, but from 1991 to the present, Michigan has reached the NCAA tournament every season. Over that span, Michigan has won 8 regular-season CCHA titles and 7 postseason CCHA tournament titles, never finishing lower than 3rd in the conference. Michigan won the 1996 and 1998 NCAA titles, and made it to the Frozen Four six additional times. Along the way, Yost Ice Arena has become one of the most intimidating venues in all of college sports.

But history is the province of old fogies like me (quick - how many Michigan alums does it take to change a light bulb? Nine - one to actually change it and eight to talk about how good the old one was). Today, Michigan hockey is ranked at the top of the national polls, and is two wins away from clinching the 9th regular season CCHA title of the Berenson era.

Coming up this weekend: a "road and Joe" series with arch-rival Michigan State. Friday night's game will be at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing; Saturday night's game will be at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. If you've been waiting to check them out, there are plenty of tickets still available for Saturday night's game at the Joe. You can find ticket information here.

That's enough for this intro. Look for a preview of this weekend's series on Thursday! Thanks again to Austin for inviting me to join this endeavor, and bear with me as a figure this blogging thing out.

Go Blue!

Maize and Blue- Bits and Pieces: 2/19/08

I don't like to start with bad news, but I do like to finish with good news, so you're going to have to put up with the bad news right up front.

David Merritt is done for the season:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – University of Michigan men's basketball coach John Beilein announced Tuesday (Feb. 19) that senior guard David Merritt (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS) will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the medial meniscus in his left knee against Ohio State (Feb. 17).

No, Merritt wasn't our best player. Not by a long shot. His career best game was Sunday, a seven point, four assist outing before leaving with the injury. His performance on the court is not what he's known for on the team, however. Coach Beilein puts it best:

"His overall stats are not even close to what David means to this team. He is just a wonderful leader both on and off the court."

In what will most likely be his last game in a Michigan uniform, Merritt showed as much heart as anyone on the floor, hitting a three pointer and two impressive lay-ups to extinguish an Ohio State run.

Thanks for the effort, David. Your presence will be missed, on and off the court.

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The Detroit Free Press is reporting on a Rivals.com article that quotes Terrelle Pryor on a multitude of things, none of which have anything to do with "The Riot at South Fayette" (let's pretend Fayette rhymes with riot, because makes the nickname exponentially cooler.)

What Pryor's quotes do allude to, however, is that he's not coming to Ann Arbor. "Blasphemy!" you say. "Which quotes could you have possibly misconstrued to prove that?!" you ask.

Pryor admits he was set to sign with Ohio State the day before Feb. 6, but a conversation with his father, Craig, made him think twice.

Ouch. That clearly doesn't sting us as badly as it does Ohio State, because he was minutes from signing with them. Literally. He was going to sign a piece of paper with a big red 'O' on it, until his dad said "Not so fast, my friend!"

And while we're not in any worse of a position as we were 15 minutes before he was going to sign his LOI, we're not exactly in better standing:

"I've seen everything at Michigan, but I didn't get to see everything at Ohio State," he said. "I am still in touch with all the Ohio State commitments I've become friends with, but they're being really cool about it, not pressuring me."

Translation: "Michigan can't really do anything to change my mind, short of paying me. Lots. Ohio State, on the other hand, I'd like to see more of what they have to offer."

And with coaches only able to call recruits once a week, it's tough for RichRod to get in a position to be persuasive more than that. I'll give us a 5% chance at landing him.

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MAIZE AND BLUE SPORTS HAS A NEW WRITER!

Daniel, a Michigan graduate currently living in Columbus (yeah, I know), is going to be helping me out here at M&B Sports. He's a fantastic writer, as you'll see in his first post (likely going up tomorrow morning).

For now, he'll mostly be covering hockey, but he's such a fantastic writer, and good personality for the blog that I wouldn't be surprised if he very quickly turns into a general sports poster.

Everyone welcome Dan to the blog, and leave him a nice welcome message in the comments.

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Others:

• Lloyd Carr will be receiving his 2007 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award on March 4, at 7pm. You, yes you, can purchase tickets to the event. Check the link for details.

• Freshman forward Aaron Palushaj was named the CCHA rookie of the week for this past week, which included three assists in a weekend sweep of Lake Superior State.

• Another freshman player out of Ann Arbor won player of the week honors this past week as well, Michigan Guard Manny Harris. In big wins over Iowa and Ohio State, Harris shot 57% from three point range, 94% from the charity stripe, and averaged 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Wow.

• Former Michigan hockey player Kevin Quick has been charged with identity theft.

Leave a message for me in the comments, and Go Blue!

Gaining Momentum

Just a quick post to let you guys know of a few things that are going on here at Maize and Blue Sports.

The main topic I want to address is that this blog is going to be different than many, in that it is going to be run by quite a few different guys, who I will hand pick.

Ideally there will be a writer for all major sports in Ann Arbor (football, basketball, hockey, baseball, more?) and maybe one or two more that just cover everything, but for now we're taking it pretty slow.

I have, however, chosen one writer already. He's really impressed me with his knowledge and writing style, and I know you guys are going to really enjoy reading his stuff. He really is a great writer and a great guy.

I'll be introducing him in a post later this evening, and you can expect to see his first post tomorrow, most likely.

This is just the beginning. Maize and Blue Sports is going to continue to grow quite a bit over the next few weeks, and I hope that you guys will be with us through it all.

Thanks for reading, and Go Blue!

Maize and Blue - Bits and Pieces: 2/18/08

Surprisingly enough, there is quite a bit of noteworthy Michigan sports news for a random Monday in February. Let's take a look.

Of course you've heard that Michigan beat Ohio State for the first time, in any sport, in about thirteen years. The victory came in a thriller yesterday that was back and forth for the whole first half, resulting in a tie at halftime. Michigan played some fantastic basketball in the second half, which enabled them to overtake the Bucks with 16:32 left in the second half, and they would never relinquish the lead, resulting in an 80-70 win.

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If there wasn't enough negativity around #1 QB recruit Terrelle Pryor, we can throw another con to his resume: he can't handle hostile crowds.

That's a pretty interesting piece, although it's continued from C-1, which is clearly nonexistent. Probably worth a read. Here are some of the more interesting excerpts, however.

Given Pryor's stature, he's prone to abuse, particularly in the intimate setting of a basketball court. The Lions' student section certainly came prepared.

One student dressed in a red sweater vest - think Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel. Each time Pryor took his position for free throws, he heard it.

"Hey, Pryor, look, it's Jim Tressel."

"Here's your daddy for the next four years."

That's actually pretty clever. No biggie, really. No hostility, no vulgarity, nothing too bad.

In a tension-packed game befitting a championship stage instead of a quarterfinal match-up, Pryor jawed at the South Fayette students. His actions only incited them further.

Two South Fayette students were ejected from the gymnasium during the fourth quarter. The first left peacefully as the Jeannette fans cheered. The second made a major mistake. He put his hands on a policemen attempting to escort him from the stands.

With everything that's said by fans during basketball games, you've got to wonder what these two did to get ejected and escorted away by police, but the article doesn't elaborate on what they said. It does, however, elaborate on how Pryor reacted.

He continued his dialogue with fans. Then, after post-game handshakes, Pryor immediately went toward the student section.

Following a ridiculous, prolonged exchange, Pryor's teammates intervened.

I'm wondering how long it took for teammates, coaches, or anyone associated with Terrelle for that matter to say "You know what? This might not be the best thing."

Based on the articles wording, it took much too long.

But that's not all, folks.

One officer, however, did not appreciate the direction of the conversation. He was present when Pryor accosted the South Fayette fans.

"You're lucky we didn't take your kid (Pryor) in," the officer said. "He threatened to go into the crowd."

Wow. Are we sure we want this kid? Some hecklers get to him at a basketball game, and not only does he confront them after the post-game handshakes, he threatens to go into the crowd? He could have been taken in by the police?

I wouldn't mind landing this kid by any means, but if he can't handle a high school basketball crowd, imagine what he'll do at the 'Shoe, Happy Valley, or The Big House. Can't wait.

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Others:

• Seven Wolverines will be participating in the NFL Scouting Combine. Best of luck, guys. Make us proud.

• RichRod's halftime speech against the Buckeye's was pretty darn good:

“I’ve been called a lot of things,” he said with the microphone still in hand. “But the best thing somebody called me was a former letterman who said ‘Coach Rod, you are a Michigan man.’”

Go Blue.