• 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…

  • Broom! (Goes the Dynamite) Michigan 70, MSU 63

      What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, don’t you think?  Bullets: It has been amazing to witness the young guys, especially Morgan, Hardaway & Morris, maturing and improving since the start of the season.   It’s tangible progress before our eyes so hats off to the entire coaching staff and of course the team.  I actually give some credit to the M fans for the Maize out.  As I like to say, Wolverine fans are really good at “Wear Whatever You Want-Outs” but horrible at Maize-outs.  I thought the place was about 75-ish percent maize which is about as good as you are going to get.  I was a student during the Fab Five era when we used to wait out hours to pile into Crisler and pack the place  It had that feel yesterday. Speaking of the Maize-out: the always sharp-dressed M assistant Bacari Alexander looked sharp in his brown suit, but what do we need to do to get Coach Tweet outfitted in an all-Maize ensemble??  Sharp! Those on Twitter might have seen a barrage of  “HALOL!”.   I’ve been asked by a few folks what it refers to.  It’s a common tag on Coach Alexander’s tweets which I presumed to simply be an emphatic version of “LOL!”.   Sunday morning Bacari confirmed this: I expected the students…

  • Tom Izzo joins Jim Rome (6-17 audio)

    The interview starts off a bit slow but Rome gets into the LeBron questions and Izzo’s future near the end.  Izzo normally has a raspy voice but he definitely sounded worn down – no wonder.     Of note: It might be a Dumb-and-Dumberesque chance, but when asked, Izzo did leave the door cracked for another look at the NBA. Izzo dropped a U.P. reference in there, which has got to leave JR scratching his head, no? Izzo revealed a big driver to his looks at the NBA is to challenge the notion that college coaches can’t make it in the NBA.  His pulse picked up a bit during that discussion. Rome didn’t go into the media/coverage subplot here and I was a little surprised he missed that.  In 11 minutes he had room to hit that and usually JR is very in tune with what’s being discussed locally.  I was hopeful Izzo would make mention of, “Those nerds on The Red Cedar.”  No go. Audio: [display_podcast] Related:

  • Interview: Pete Tiernan of bracketscience.com

    This week I sat down with Pete Tiernan, founder of bracketscience.com, a website with a comprehensive database that allows subscribers to slice and dice historical NCAA tournament data.  Tiernan also provides statistical trends, charts, tips and strategies for busting up your pools. Over the past several years he’s contributed a column to ESPN.com insider$ and in 2009 will be featured at CBSSports.com. Tiernan holds two degrees from Michigan and taught for a while within the English department.   His ties to the M basketball program run deep as his dad, ‘Boom Boom’ Tom Tiernan, laced them up for the Maize & Blue back when they played at Yost Field House in the early 1950s. We met in downtown Saline at the excellent Brecon Grille and over a few pints, he was kind enough to answer questions about Beilein, Michigan, tourney trends, the selection committee and more.  We close with a cool story about his son who played for the Grand Valley State team that shocked Michigan State at Breslin last year.  Enjoy: MVictors: Michigan basketball is becoming relevant again thanks to John Beilein. Let’s cut right to it, how does Beilein’s tournament coaching record stack up? Tiernan: Michigan made a very good choice.   John Beilein is the top overperforming active coach of the modern tournament era. There’s a statistic that I have…