Way Back When-sday Pic of the Week
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My view in 2006. It (rushing the field) has happened three times now in my presence: 2002, 2006, 2012.
Weekend Roundup: Big Ten Meetings Edition 7-30-12
/My god it's nearly August. Jet plane for Jerry's World leaves in less than a month. Game with defending national champion in 32 days. Whoa.
Here's what happened across the internets while you pondered how much it would cost to actually become Batman:
- AnnArbor.com takes a look at Michigan's new roster, which now includes the incoming freshmen. Of note, everybody is fully embracing the Gittleson plan, packing on pounds and no doubt getting slower, namely Jibreel Black and Craig Roh. We are about to Lloyd the shit out of this team. Soon after its release, Mgoblog took that roster and analyzed it like it was their job...which I guess it is. You wish your job was that cool.
- Denard comes out of games for injuries. You've seen it. I've seen it. His style of play makes it an inevitability. So it's a good idea to have a good back up. We have a serviceable one whose abilities have yet to be tapped...and we've decided that he needs to get time at wide receiver. I guess we've got to appease him before Shane Morris gets here and forces him to switch positions in the name of pro-style philosophies., but does it make sense for THIS season? Anyway, the Freep says he's busy adjusting to his role.
- From ESPN...Brady speaks at Big Ten Media Days about being the preseason Big Ten favorite, moving Roh and Black, and Will Campbell's abs.
- Denard Robinson, whose 3229 rushing yards is just 667 shy of Randle El's Big Ten QB record, spoke at the Big Ten media days.
- Black Shoe Diaries covers the six top recruits that have decided to reaffirm their verbals to Penn State. I sympathize with what the Penn State blogosphere is going through...it sucks and its not your fault it sucks. I also appreciate the fact that this is good news for Penn State right now. I also want to be clear that these six kids will not be signing with Penn State in February. You'd have to be bat shit crazy to sign up for four years of no bowls, a team short on scholarship athletes, and no ability (short of a fifth year of eligibility) to reap any benefits of your efforts.
- Urban Meyer's camp "Friday Night Lights" debuted in Columbus this weekend. From the sound of the Eleven Warriors recap, it was a resounding success, and it gave onlookers a chance to gaze upon the horseshoe's new scoreboard and new and louder music. And the scoreboard wars continue....
- Boiled Sports presents 2012's pivotal Boilermakers, players that are going to need to step up to get them the success they pine for, which is apparently 8 wins.
- Derrick Walton, who is about a year from his arrival at Michigan, lead his AAU team to the Adidas Super 64 Championship in Las Vegas on Sunday, and was named the tournament MVP. UMHoops has more.
- Iowa has beaten Michigan three times in a row, a first in the series that dates back to 1900. No player our team has beaten Iowa...or Michigan State for that matter. Damn you Rodriguez Years! Anyway, Hawk Central reminds you of your Hawkeye problem.
- For all things recruiting, you need yourself some UM BBQ. Maize and Brew covers the event in great detail.
- People in glass houses are occasionally allowed to throw stones. So, despite this...I still take great pleasure in this. Maybe if Brady and Urban get together they can universally decide not to have their players miss playing time in a closed door meeting. That way, nobody can talk shit about the other, and Fitz can start in Texas.
- AnnArbor.com covers Brady Hoke's proficiency in night games. 3-0 last year....9-0 in that Ball State miracle year. Good news considering the schedule is skewed toward the latter part of the day on Saturdays this fall.
- They're going to let students into the Big House to watch the Cowboys Classic on the big screens. Very cool. Good luck keeping the alcohol out of there on a Saturday night on welcome weekend.
- Jalen Rose will join ESPN College Gameday...the hoops version...this fall along with Bruce Pearl.
- Eleven Warriors doesn't exactly pine for Shane Morris, but they certainly do pine for there own version of this recruiting recruit.
When Cheaters and Liars Collide, Nobody Wins
/Trivia: Who won the 2010 Penn State vs. Ohio State game?
Answer: Not Penn State. And not Ohio State.
Championship Sunday Picture Page
/Were we always this fired up about regular season titles? I guess I always thought of the Big Ten tournament champion as the Big Ten champion. I felt that way in '98, when Michigan won the inaugural Big Ten tourney. College basketball is a game predicated on tournaments. I'm pretty sure Kentucky didn't cut down the nets Sunday afternoon and declare themselves the regular season National Champion. In March, nobody cares about regular season championships. Nobody that is except a banner-starved fanbase that just wants to hang something from this century and get a ring for the fingers of a couple of un-recruited kids from Indiana.
Banners really mean something around here. We've hung our fair share, as well as unceremoniously taken a few down. The 1986 Big Ten banner and 1989 National Championship banner have remained. But that's getting to be an awfully long time ago. I can remember thinking it was a long time ago when I was here as a student. For a college student today, those banners might as well be from 1956.
But there will be fresh cloth to hang from the rafters now. 2012 Big Ten Champions.
It took this…
To beat this...
Before needing to find a way to root for this…
To beat this…
Hoping to cause this…
And place an order for this...
Somehow, it all worked out. But there's lots left to do. Plenty more banners up for grabs. Plenty more rings.
The Big Ten tourney bracket is now available. We're up on Friday at 6:30pm vs. the winner of Northwestern-Minnesota.
Wire to Wire
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During this same week two years ago, Michigan lost back-to-back games at home to Penn State and Illinois, and while the dream was probably long since over, the two losses effectively left the 2010 Big Ten tournament's auto-bid as Michigan's only chance to get to postseason play. As disappointing as the season had been, I had delusions of Michigan winning that Big Ten tournament and dancing again...just as I had at the end of each season for the better part of decade. I thought since this team had received that NCAA Tournament taste in 2009, they might have the drive to make it happen. Needing a conference tournament run to salvage a season is the mark of desperation. It's the way you think when you're not good. It's how we'd lived our lives as Michigan Basketball fans since 1998. Ohio State, who at the time was the toast of the conference, needed a 37 foot prayer from Evan Turner to beat the Wolverines and end that season for the Wolverines. No tourney. No NIT. No post-season.
Now, just two years later, the momentum has swung to a place where the NCAA tournament is an expectation...the postseason even appears on the official schedule. This year, despite a slate that included a Maui Invitaional and a run through the what might be the nation's most powerful conference, they haven't dissappointed.
Michigan has been ranked in both polls for the entirety of the 2011-12 basketball season. Michigan hasn't lost for over a year on their home court. They split the season series with their two biggest rivals. They're not playing their way in anymore, they're playing for seed. And they did it all after losing a huge portion of their offense to the NBA in Darius Morris.
That's not to say it's been pretty the whole way. The road has been a huge issue, and Tuesday's game at Northwestern looms large as Michigan attempts to position themselves for their first Big Ten regular season championship in 26 years. Their lack of big men that are skilled around the rim, both in scoring and rebounding, sets them up for problems against most teams. And the John Beilein system (while effective) isn't pretty, and from an offensive perspective, it can be downright frustrating to watch even in victory, especially on nights where the threes aren't falling. But good systems evolve, and while the offense has basically consisted of Trey Burke drive-and-score and Trey Burke drive-and-dish...there seems to be a push (which was evident Saturday night) to get Jordan Morgan more involved in an inside out type gameplan despite his shortcomings. Trey Burke was decidedly "the show" against the Buckeyes, but Jordan Morgan might have played his best game at Michigan...and did it against one of the Big Ten's best players.
Michigan took a 6-0 lead to start the game, and while they found themselves looking over their shoulders the whole time and never really got a commanding lead...they never trailed...going tip to horn over one of the best teams in the country.
Three of the remaining four games on Michigan's schedule are on the road, and while they aren't against the Big Ten's best (Northwestern, Illinois, and Penn State) they are still decidedly not in Crisler. The Boilermakers are the lone home game remaining, and are the only thing standing in the way of a perfect home season (which would make us perfect at home in football and basketball!) when they come to Ann Arbor this Saturday for senior night. Michigan needs to win all four of these games if they want to end that 26 year drought.
From Other Places:
- MGoBlog goes muppets...there's been a run on muppets this year!
- UMHoops recaps and also gives us five key plays.
- AnnArbor.com poses the question: Do You Believe?
- Wojo uses "flummoxes" in his headline about the game.
- The Buckeye Blog is mad at Thad for not getting Trey.
