• Sights & Sounds: Sweep Tight ! (Michigan 79, Michigan State 70)

    Broom and Boom: We got you in Hoops, Ice Dancing and Jinxes.  (Oh, and embroidery).   Pres-elect Schlissel getting a tour from U-M Marketing chief Hunter Lochmann.   Timmy Hardaway in the house representing and showing off his extra long digits.   D Funch giving Stauskas some pointers during pregame   Clean   Several NBA Scouts on hand, here are a few looking over whatever they look at.  They must have been drooling over Payne.  I told one of them that #Levert was a pure athlete.  Reply: “Yes he is.”   “AP…Why do they call me the Angry Midget?  Why?”     Jon Falk!  His last day officially on the job is coming up!  :( Maize Rage feeling it!  They joined the dance team for a spicy little routine during the game.    Capt. Jake Ryan with Laura Hoke as Coach Mattison looks on.  Scoop: at this pace no chance Jake’s flowing locks return for ‘14. There is a lot going on here, all good to me.     Beilein going ballistic after the blocking call in front of him  – he wasn’t alone.    My pal Jil Gordon representing!   Zack Novak Attack (was was Back)  Happy Coach     Happy Coach part II. “This happens all the time guys.  Just like this.”   Staus-KISS! –  that’s pure $CAN right…

  • Coach Beilein joins WTKA (Mar-22 audio)

    A great interview with John Beilein on WTKA 1050AM this morning in the aftermath of the Duke game and of course the season.  He breaks down in detail a few situations in the final minutes of the game and of course talks to the future and how he thinks these guys will respond.  Enjoy: [display_podcast] As always – check out all of the WTKA podcasts here!

  • Mental Prep for Wednesday

    You been there I’m sure.  You’re out of the country, or out of TV coverage or for whatever reason, you can’t catch of feed or regular updates from an important game.   You feel helpless & the bits of data you find are precious. I could be found refreshing the final couple minutes of the Iowa game on ScoreMobile, trying to piece together what was going on.  The stretch in the final seconds of reg to tie the game (that I later learned was Jordan Morgan at the line sinking free throws) took 14 refreshes and lasted a span of around five anxious Caribbean minutes.  With three games to go it’s hard to believe this young group is actually in the discussion for tournament bid.  Pete, I may need my account at BracketScience.com freshened up. The Michigan State game is always going to be huge for so many reasons but first it’s a huge one with the Badgers.   There’s plenty on the line but what gets you extra pumped up for Wisconsin on Wednesday?  Bielema and Ryan are easy to hate, but beyond that—what’s your beef with the Badgers and their fans? They get too pickled at games?  Maybe so, but it’s a loveable kind of drunk, like the charming Alison a.ka. “Puke and Rally Aly” who I saw on Wipeout…

  • Moving the Fence

    If you don’t know what this means, you don’t know @bacari34 – HALOL! Blanket coverage of the game with sound, video and analysis by Dylan and Joe (damn, Joe’s voice kinda of sounds like mine) over at UMHoops where Beilein talks about moving the fence.  Check out AnnArbor.com as well. So what were you doing/saying/feeling as this shot went up? Me: I let out a “COME. ON.”   But it wasn’t a jubilant “Come On!” and it certainly wasn’t a “Come On” that you give when the punt returner fumbles or someone takes a bad shot.   It was more like “COME…ON.” like you are trying to lift a heavy weight (like a gorilla off your back) or open a brutally tight lid on a jar.  Or open a heavy jar with a tight lid.  Whatever. P.S. Lucas was unbelievable.  I was in Breslin back in the day when Steve Smith absolutely KILLED Michigan and Kalin’s second half run reminded me of that performance. Dang this win is sweet and Disco Stu’s shot was absolutely perfect.   Props to Novak, Stu and the whole crew for a unexpected great night.

  • Buckeye B.J. Mullens is Duncish and Gaumless (YouTube)

    Just posted on YouTube, a quick interview with Ohio State center B.J. Mullens this week on the upcoming Michigan game. Interviewer: Let’s be honest, give me your thoughts on the University of Michigan.Mullens: They suck. I mean come on. We’re going to go up there and beat them pretty bad. That’s a rival and that’s how it’s going to be.Interviewer: Do you give a damn for that whole state?Mullens: No. Not at all. So that’s fine, I don’t have an issue with a Buckeye trashing Michigan or vice versa, even dropping a “sucks” here and there. But the final question inadvertently produces a great moment in the history of this rivalry: Interviewer: In as many S.A.T vocabulary words as you can, your opinion of Michigan.Mullens: Boo. Isn’t that grounds for an NCAA investigation? A cow could have scored as well on that question. I love it because you know the interviewer is a Buckeye grad, yet he inadvertently delivers a perfect Stuttering John question. Update 1/17: Good question from Biggie Munn, ‘what in the hell sport did this raj cat play that he did not lose to um in 4 years?‘. Midway through the interview, Raj offers that he “went four years and never lost to Michigan”. The best I can tell Raj was in the homecoming class and his…

  • Robinson spills the beans

    Come on Rumeal! The star guard on Steve Fisher’s 1989 NCAA champions basically confirms that guys on the team were paid, from Mark Snyder’s post (with a surprisingly tame headline!): “You got nine pros and none of them left school early? If you’re taking care of players the right way, you understand the process to make it work. Otherwise, a player’s got to go out and look for help, it’s going to happen…” like with the Martin scandal. OK – so he doesn’t specifically say what that means but [cough, clear throat] maybe by “taking care of players the right way” he means furnishing them with Cottage Inn vouchers. Later he added, “Coaches have a lot of pressure to recruit the best players, and they have to turn to alumni for help. Alumni can’t help their school? I guess you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.” Robinson said he thinks they should call his team, with nine players that went to the pros, the Fab Nine.

  • 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…