After the Penn State loss, I’m guessing most M fans would say a NCAA tourney bid is not going to happen in 2009. That’s of course a 180 from just over a week ago, but we were warned by a few folks this season might go this way. Shots aren’t falling and the team is struggling, Coach Beilein talked with Sam Webb and Andy Evans this morning on WTKA about where the team is at, what he’s doing to get things back on track, and how he & Pittsnogle faced a similar slump one year at West Virginia: [display_podcast] . The situation is even worse than Brian at mgoblog suggested just earlier this week: Moving forward, the last two games have blown whatever margin of error Michigan had in their effort to make the tournament. Even if you assume wins home and away against Northwestern and away against Iowa—potentially dodgy but absolutely necessary to make the tourney—you have to find three wins in these games to get Michigan to .500 in conference: Home: Penn State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue Away: Ohio State, Purdue, Minnesota Yikes. One of those assumed games is Saturday’s tilt against Kevin Coble and the bomb-dropping Northwestern Wildcats who showed Michigan State a little something called style last night at Breslin. A few highlights from the action,…
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Beautiful Hoops; M downs Illini 74-64
What a classic basketball game today as Beilein and hoops recover from the tough Wisconsin loss to get their first conference win, 74-64 over Illinois. It certainly wasn’t a must win, but losing the first two Big Ten games at home would have caused a bit of a shiver. On hand for the game was once again coaches Carr and Rodriguez, each with their wives. BTN color man and Buckeye Jimmy Jackson couldn’t help but admit that he was sorry that Lloyd Carr hung up his whistle, saying as a Buck, Carr was his favorite coach. Some forget that Carr crushed the Buckeyes early in his coaching career and despite the struggles against Tressel was 6-7 lifetime. But he certainly finished on a down note and Jackson’s comment would be excusable if Carr and his wife Laurie weren’t sitting right next to him on the end of the press table. Come on man. But I thought Jackson did a good job for BTN and today, and man, was he awesome at Ohio State. When they panned over to Fab Fiver Jimmy King chilling in the tunnel JJ talked about some of their battles (Ohio State won two during the regular season with Michigan winning in the NCAA tournament). I was at the game at Crisler his senior year and Jackson…
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Another Reason I Don’t go to Damon’s
Damon’s Grill is a decent spot to hit if you travel especially in a pinch when you need to see a game. A few years ago they opened a franchise on State Street just off 94 but I don’t think I’ve stepped in there yet. Last winter I considered stopping by to check out Coach Beilein’s show which is broadcast on location at the rib joint but after seeing this article, I won’t be visiting anytime soon. The Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Edition published this piece on a crisis affecting bargoers- the practice of shorting pints of beer. Sales of “falsies” or 14oz glasses are on the rise as the price of beer is shoots up. The article goes through the issue and how many beer lovers are reacting, going as far as trying to legislate away the practice as has been done in the UK for quite a while: In the U.K., the Imperial Pint (equivalent to 19.2 U.S. ounces) has been a government-regulated standard for several centuries. The standard requires use of official pint glasses — with the word “Pint” and the European “CE” marking — etched onto each glass. I mention Damon’s because they were cited as one of the 14 ounce offenders in the article. I’m sure this is a common practice at restaurant chains but…
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Jalen Rose on WTKA (full audio .mp3)
It was great to hear Jalen talk a little bit about the Fab Five, their legacy and even about a certain football recruit this morning on the Michigan Insider with Sam Webb on 1050AM WTKA. He’s in Ann Arbor this weekend to be honored at Saturday’s hoops tilt against Illinois and says this is a tremendous moment for him [my thoughts on this]. Rose also talked about his thoughts on the University one day having the entire Fab 5 back on campus, the day he hopes happens before he, Ray, Jimmy, Chris and Juwan are using “canes and wheelchairs”. Here’s the full audio of the interview: [display_podcast] Jalen even gave an unsolicited plea for Terrelle Pryor to make the right decision and come to Michigan. Sweet Jesus, I thought the coaching search was a Death March! That said, it’s great to know that busy guys like Jalen are concerned enough about the school (and a sport they didn’t even play) to chime in. He clearly also follows the basketball team and likes what Beilein is doing so far. UPDATE: Check out Eric Lacy’s piece and interview on Jalen in the Detroit News. And a take from Rosenberg.
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Yes Sir! Three Straight as Buckeyes Fall
Just great to see these guys starting to pull it together. What a win over the hated Buckeyes and such a great way to start wrapping up the season. The guys that stayed never seemed to waver on Beilein’s system but either way it’s great to see some of the struggle start to pay off. Coach Rodriguez addressed the fans at halftime and guaranteed that the team would be wearing Maize and Blue when they come out of the tunnel. Oh, and they’ll play real hard as well.
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Relief: Beilein and crew down Wildcats
Congrats to the Coach Beilein and the hoops squad as they got off the schneid by taking down Northwestern 78-68 for their first Big Ten win. No word whether Coach Rodriguez did the mid-court shot at halftime. Apparently Beilein’s inspirational highlight DVD helped. Coach Beielin asked team manager and local guy Pete Burak to suit up for the game, but he didn’t play. Pretty cool. Seriously, what are you supposed to do about that? And in case the Indiana blow-out wasn’t out of your mind yet, the IU Blog Inside the Hall runs a little film session on Eric Gordon demonstrating the super frosh’s ridiculous range. The set? You bet: Crisler arena.
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Hoosiers Breeze in front of Coaches Carr & Rod
This is midway through the first half – this is real Made it up to the game last night and it wasn’t as close as the 78-64 final score. – It’s a little frustrating to sit and watch. The offense pretty much looks for an open three and then clanks it off the rim. The good news? It seemed like they were getting good looks at the rim before then tossing the brick. – The highlight of the game was DeShawn Sims’ three-quarter court heave to end the half. The place erupted and that was nice to see. – Newsflash: Eric Gordon is amazing. Michigan kept it relatively close near half because Gordon was on the bench with three fouls. – A few local AA-list celebrities at the game including: * Coach Carr with wife Laurie at mid-court. He got a huge cheer when they showed him on the screen. * Coach Rod with a few new staffers (see pic). Both coaches spent some time with Florida grad and supreme hotness Erin Andrews. * Joe Dumars courtside checking out the talent. * Sam Webb of WTKA. – As far as the arena, it was at best 40% full with large portions of the Maize section empty. Four of us walked up to Crisler without tickets. A few different fans handed…