As spun and performed by James ‘Spiderman’ Allen with his version of Another One Bites the Dust:
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Beilein Making the Media Rounds
Coach Beilein has been pretty busy the past couple days with his press conference introducing the him to the media and public, to meeting the existing players, to conducting a short practice, to chasing down recruits Grady, Harris and Legion. I also heard him this morning on 1050 WTKA and this afternoon on 1130 WDFN and he was very impressive on both shows. He talked a little hockey on the 1050 show to the delight of former M and NHL skater Dave Shand, and he mixed it up with Stoney and Wojo on the Detroit drive time show on DFN. It’s hard to describe but the guy just comes off as so genuine and real, and focused on doing things right. It’s a big departure from a 35 year old (Amaker) who in his first week was probably a little scared and a little confused. Beilein has a plan. One of my favorite lines from the news conference that introduced him was the new’s coach asking “You have a track, right?” several times, implying that’s where guys go if they a) want to be ready to play in his system, and b) don’t follow his rules. Good stuff.
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Coach John Beilein ? Looks like it…
Well, many sources this evening are confirming that Michigan is going to hire John Beilein to take over the hoops program. Good enough for someone to update Beilein’s Wikipedia entry (sheesh). I don’t know much about the guy short of the pieces posted on him in the Ann Arbor News, particulary by Jim Carty. He sounds like a great coach which you could argue Michigan has had since Frieder, maybe since Orr. I wonder if Bill Martin will need to have a chat with Coach Carr and talk about how the basketball coach makes more (and not a little more, a lot more) than the football coach. Wow. BTW – Kudos to Carty. Although he’s a latte-sucking, NPR-listening pinko, JC has done a really nice job covering this. He was sharply critical of Amaker which can’t make life easy for a sports writer in Ann Arbor to knock one of the major coaches. And he used some of his East coast ties to talk to coaches in the Big East about Beilein. Finally, he really pushed for the guy in the News and looks like he’s getting his wish.
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Open Season!
Why’s everybody picking on the Blue? Have you noticed all the Michigan sports bashing in recent weeks? Here are few examples that I’ve seen, some of which I’ve already discussed: – ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd’s rant, ripping Lloyd Carr and the Michigan program in general. In sum, Cowherd trashes Michigan over the past 5 years and in particular, Michigan’s development of players. He points to recent NFL drafts and the lack of big time draftees. – ESPN.com’s Pat Forde, declaring Florida’s starting five as the true “Fab Five“. He starts out saying that the Florida crew is “Better. Cleaner (one would hope). Tighter…And much more accomplished.” (This despite that these guys aren’t freshman or sophomores, or even from the same recruiting class). There are also references to Thad Motta’s recruiting class as the ‘Thad Five’. One thing is for sure, 15 years after these guys took the court their place in college basketball lore is solid, despite the NCAA violations. – Collegefootballnews.com taking big shots at the Michigan football team, going as far as to reach back into time and challenge the 1997 national championship based upon recent bowl performances. – How about Tom Izzo knocking the overall athletic department and its handling of basketball program? – Then add in Jay Bilas telling anyone who would listen that Michigan isn’t…
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Spring Practice Update: Butler Booted!!
Make the pain go away! Coach Carr kicked three players off the squad for showing up in the A2 police blotter including the sure-handed, athletic TE Carson Butler. This hurts. Butler did a great job filling in for Tyler Ecker in 2006 and made some really nice plays. He’ll be missed. On top of this, Carr didn’t go as far as booting WR Adrian Arrington off the team, but he’s not allowed to participate this spring and it isn’t clear whether he’ll be back in the fall. What else? Well, Mike Hart isn’t playing and is walking around in an arm sling to rest some type of shoulder procedure.
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On the Amaker Firing…
There was a lot of talk heading into this season on what it would take for Amaker to keep his job. Concensus amongst talk show callers was NCAA tournament or the highway. Of course it is not that simple. Bill Martin made a tough decision and give him credit for not taking the path of least resistance by firing Coach Amaker. I’m sure he had a conversation with President Coleman about this, given that Amaker’s wife is associate dean of students and a friend of MSC. A few thoughts: Surprise? In my mind I felt there was a 50-50 shot that Amaker would lose his job after the season. It was clear they weren’t making the NCAA again. Somehow I was still a little surprised when I heard the news of the firing. I’d say the vast majority of M fans are pleased that the school is taking a new direction. Izzo I’m a huge supporter of Coach Izzo and had a ball watching the Spartans battle North Carolina last night at Fraser’s Pub. Those guys play like hell for him and I’m envious. This said, I read some of Izzo’s comments in the paper today about the firing. Basically Izzo didn’t like the firing and suggested that you can’t put all of Michigan’s recent track record on Amaker, and…
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Scheduling I-AA
The athletic department announced that it is rounding out the 2007 football slate with Applachian State, the NCAA division I-AA national champion the past 2 seasons. The Mountaineers have taken on NC State, Kansas, and LSU in the past two seasons and got soundly beaten. So, I’d like to say this is crap so I will. This is crap. I thought the Vanderbilt opener was outstanding: a lower level major conference team with some players, a great way to start the season. If you are going to schedule I-AA why not go with the best, but Bill Martin can do better and I don’t just mean loading down the schedule with MAC teams. According to the folks on ESPN, the correct way to pronounce Appalachian is APPA-LATCH-IN. Not “APPA-LAY-SHIN”
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Carr’s Contract Change Hints at Retirement?
The Ann Arbor News reported that Lloyd Carr’s contract with the University of Michigan was altered slightly this December. The News, who obtained a copy of the contract via the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that the requirement for Carr to receive a deferred compensation payment was changed. The prior contract stated that Carr must work as “Head Football Coach” until July 1, 2007 as a condition for receiving that money. The new contract states that Carr must work for the university “”in any capacity”. After retirement, Carr’s contract makes him associate athletic director. So what does this mean? – For the Carr bashers, this will be interpreted as sweet, sweet music. Why would the change be made if the retirement feelings weren’t looming large for Carr and Bill Martin? – On the other hand, Carr has indicated that he may not be coaching much longer already, and this change simply might be something his lawyer recommended. Of course Martin said this means nothing, and Carr would say the same. Given that Carr will retire whenever he feels like it, you have to assume that Bill Martin will ask for some kind of notice to prepare for what could be a three ring circus: the hiring process for a new Wolverine coach. This might be the first sign that the…
