A few good posts from around the M nerdosphere and beyooooond: * What Happened? MGOBLOG explains how Michigan hockey overcame the dismal preseason projections to end up the #1 seed and in the Frozen Four. BC also has a few nice photos including my favorite here. * More on Michigan’s win over Clarkson: Hoover Street breaks the game down into tiny little pieces. * BYE, BYE No. 1 : Sport Illustrated’s Vault reaches back to 1969 into the aftermath of Bo’s greatest win, one of the most popular retro reads on SI right now. * Family Matters to Rodriguez : Bruce Feldman’s blog on ESPN.com. I’ll save you some time: Having been around the Michigan program for the past four days, I got the feeling that the Boren comments have been shrugged off by a lot of players, who have really appeared to buy into the new regime. In truth, it actually seems to be the opposite of that, where guys who have been in the program for years have been invigorated by the spirit Rodriguez and his staff have brought. * Rodriguez on WTKA. MLive has Coach Rod from this morning:

I didn’t hear any f-bombs that would scare any more 300 lb lineman away. Dig it:

New coach Rich Rodriguez is continuing his good will tour. First he met with the current players and staff, then he met with various groups of former players, now he wants to see you. And by you I mean those that paid your Victors Club or alumni dues. The timing might be perfect as someone typed in the phrase “I am concerned about Michigan football” in Google today (and found no answers at MVictors.com). Yes indeed, Bill Martin will join Rich Rod on the cleverly titled ‘On the Road’ tour from April 17 to May 1, 2008. They’ll start with two nights in Michigan, then hit Chicago and New York before two final dates in California. Here’s the info on the Michigan dates, I’m planning on hitting the debut: Thursday, April 17, 2008 6-8 p.m. EDT University of Michigan Athletic Campus Junge Family Champions Center Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Monday, April 21, 2008 6-8 p.m. EDT The Dearborn Inn Dearborn Ballroom 20301 Oakwood Boulevard Dearborn, Michigan 48124 Complete info is here. The cost is $25 and if you’re an alumnus and your dues aren’t quite up to date, you can pony up now and join the fun. In a perfect world we’d get the van fired up and follow Rich Rod around the country:

I was pounded last night and this morning with pundits framing this year’s Final Four as the greatest ever, pointing to the unprecedented four #1 seeds, and the AP which understandably had Memphis, North Carolina, UCLA and Kansas in top slots in the final poll. Other experts pointed to the tradition of these schools and their placement in all-time NCAA hoops wins. It’s no doubt an impressive Final Four but I don’t think you can call it the unquestioned strongest field ever. The 1993 Final Four is remembered most for Chris Webber’s timeout, and for folks in Ann Arbor, the fact that Michigan’s existence was wiped from the NCAA and University record books. But comparing it with the 2008 field I think you can argue the 1993 field is as strong if not stronger. First let’s look at the seedings, as that’s what most folks look to when anointing the current group the greatest ever. Yes, all #1 seeds made it and get ready to be reminded of that all week (flashback to Super Bowl XL- it turns out Jerome Bettis is from Detroit). In 1993 you came up just short, with three #1’s (Michigan, Kentucky, North Carolina) and a #2 (Kansas). The Kansas nipped Big Ten champ and #1 seed Indiana 83-77 in the Midwest Regional final. So looking…

UPDATE 4/12/08: Full Spring Game 2008 coverage, click here Of course you do. There’s still no word from Michigan’s official site, but the Saline Reporter is confirming that the 2008 Michigan Spring football game will indeed be played on April 12th at 1:30pm at Saline High School. The game is closed to the public as at best 10,000 fans could squeeze into the site and you’d have to expect crazy demand to get a peek at Coach Rod’s new offense and defense. It looks like it will be televised on the Big Ten Network, but some folks will get a first hand view of the goings on. Per the Reporter: While many members of the Saline athletic department, school system and athletics teams will be able to attend, White said that attendance issues would ultimately be left up to Michigan and the U of M athletic department. Many of you have already racked your noggin on how to get in, perhaps calling in favors with friends in Saline or within the athletic department. Forget any ideas of sneaking in with the equipment truck or waving a clip board as security will be tight. To save you some effort, I took a trip up to Saline and cased the joint. It’ll be interesting to see how the University manages the flow…

Correct. Full story,