Sunday, January 30, 2011

Michigan vs. Iowa

Listen Live!
Listen in as the Michigan Wolverines take on the Iowa Hawkeyes at Crisler Arena in a tough basketball matchup. Will the Wolverines keep the momentum gained from the Michigan State win on thursday, or will there be the dreaded "hangover effect"? Tune in to find out! Tyler Bruens, Jeff Turner, and Ryan Krasnoo with the call.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Michigan vs Michigan St. at the Joe tonight!!!

Listen Live!
Listen in as the 6th ranked Michigan Wolverines take on the Michigan State Spartans at Joe Louis Arena tonight at 8 pm! It'll be John Zaccardelli, Tyler Bruens, and Mike Lewandowski with the call!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Other Sports

Here at Michigan, I think that we tend to focus on the big revenue sports a lot. Football obviously gets the majority of the attention, with basketball and hockey scooping up whatever is left. I figured I would give you a quick rundown of some of the University's lesser known sports. When our basketball and football teams fall on tough times, perhaps we can find solace in knowing Michigan's other sports are picking up the slack.

Women's basketball: Led by senior guard Veronica Hicks, the Wolverines have won three in a row and 6-of their last-8 games, vaulting them into a tie for 2nd in the Big Ten. Hicks has had a double-double in two of their last three games, and is helping to lead an incredibly young team as the only senior on the roster. They have a realistic shot to make the NCAA tournament, so at least one of our basketball teams will be competing in March.

Wrestling: Ranked No. 11 in the country, Michigan recently beat No. 19 Northwestern, who was previously undefeated. Michigan has the No. 1 141-pound wrestler in the country, Kellen Russell, the No. 13 197-pounder, Anthony Biondo and the No. 10 heavyweight, Ben Apland. All three won against Northwestern, helping push the Wolverines (2-0 Big Ten, 7-2 overall) over the top against one of the conferences' best teams.

Women's water polo: Even though their season is young, the Wolverines have impressed early. No. 8 Michigan had its first tournament of the season last weekend, splitting the four games. The Wolverines beat No. 15 Cal State Northridge and No. 7 San Jose State while losing by only one goal to No. 4 UCLA and then was blown out by No. 1 Stanford. The Wolverines have great depth and experience, with six seniors, and should contend not only for the Big Ten title, but also for a national championship in the spring.

Men's Gymnastics: The team that won a national championship last year will contend again this year, starting off the season ranked No. 6 in the nation. They lost by less than 4 points last weekend to No. 5 Penn State, but are still in good shape going into the season.

If anyone wants to talk small sports or just sports in general, don't be afraid to leave a comment or send me an email at evcook@umich.edu.

NCAA Hockey Tournament Prediction 1/24

Alright, one week in to this, and already the NCAA is throwing out major changes to the system. They have changed the TUC rule to consider all teams with a RPI better than .500, rather than the top 25 in RPI. This caused lots of movement towards the bottom of the Pairwise but towards the top, it remains, a strong top 4, with Michigan and BC tied at 5th, 3 pairs separated from teams above and below them. Anyways, to our brackets:

East Regional (Bridgeport)

1 Yale vs. 16 RIT

8 Wisconsin vs. 9 Notre Dame

Midwest Regional (Green Bay)

4 Denver vs. 13 Dartmouth

5 Michigan vs. 12 Nebraska-Omaha

West Regional (St. Louis)

3. North Dakota vs. 14 Merrimack

6 Boston College vs. 11 Western Michigan

Northeast Regional (Manchester)

2 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 15 Union

7 Rensselaer vs. 10 New Hampshire

Notes for this week's:

  • Never again will we see a pairwise work out this neatly, as the only necessary move was switching the 2 seed bracket with the 4 seed bracket in terms of regional placement. There were no intraconference matchups to deal with and very nice looking attendance possibilities (except for St. Louis, which I believe is a lost cause and an overall stupid choice for regional location).
  • Right now, it looks like Michigan will need one of the one seeds and probably BC to drop off for the chance of stealing a 1 seed overall. Coming up are two big weekends for the Wolverines as well, playing FYS at the Joe and then, two games in Oxford against Rico's Bunch, win all three and they will be in a very strong position moving forward.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Listen: Hockey v. Alaska

Listen Live as the Wolverines look to take the front end of a two-game series at Yost against the Nanooks

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Greg Mattison as Defensive Coordinator: The good, the bad, the verdict


The Good:


- Mattison comes from success in the NFL.
As defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, Mattison has coached the #3 ranked defense in the NFL in 2009-2010 and the #10 ranked defense in the NFL in 2010-2011.
- Mattison has coached at Michigan.
From 1992-1994, Mattison was the defensive line coach of the Wolverines. From 1995-1996, Mattison was the Wolverines' defensive coordinator.
- Michigan's defense, under Mattison's direction, allowed 17.2 points per game in 1995 and 15.3 points per game in 1996.
In 2010, the Wolverines allowed 35.23 ppg...
- Mattison likes to recruit and is apparently good at it.
- Mattison loves Michigan.
According to Mattison, it was the only place that could have (and did) lure him away from the Ravens.
- Mattison has beaten Ohio State more recently than 2003.
Remember the 2007 BCS National Championship Game? That was Mattison's Florida Gator defense making Troy Smith look like a chump.



The Bad:

- Mattison is 61 years old.
Can anyone really see him coaching for more than 5-10 years?
- After 1996, Mattison ditched Michigan for the same position (defensive coordinator) at Notre Dame.
Mattison apparently had strong ties to then-Irish coach Bob Davie... Michigan got the last laugh in 1997 anyway.



The Verdict:

There's no sense in getting worked up because of Mattison's age or past decisions. He is a great fit for the Wolverines.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

NCAA Hockey Tournament

Starting today, I will post once a week with a predicted NCAA hockey tournament bracket. This is really just my take, as I was bored and there is no Joe Lunardi for us college hockey fans. Remember, it is REALLY early in the process so it will definitely change big time in the next 2 months, but this will give you a general idea of where Michigan is in relation to the rest of the college hockey world.

East Regional (Bridgeport)

1 Yale vs. 14 UNO

8 Boston College vs. 9 Wisconsin

Midwest Regional (Green Bay)

2 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 16 RIT

7 Notre Dame vs. 10 Merrimack

West Regional (St. Louis)

4 Denver vs. 13 Union

5 Michigan vs. 12 Dartmouth

Northeast Regional (Manchester)

3. North Dakota vs. 15 RPI

6 New Hampshire vs. 11 Western Michigan


Notes:

  • Poor Yale, being the only non-WCHA 1 seed is stuck playing UNO.
  • Miami not being in it is the biggest example of why this will definitely change between now and once March 20th rolls around.
  • Biggest goal at this point is bracket integrity, thus North Dakota in Manchester and Denver in St Louis

Friday, January 14, 2011

LISTEN: Hockey v. Ferris State

LISTEN LIVE at 7:35 as Michigan gets set to take on #19 Ferris State in front of a sold out Yost crowd!

Andrew Goddeeris, John Zaccardelli, Kevin Carpenter, and Michael Lewandowski with the call.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

LISTEN: Basketball v. #2 That School Down South

LISTEN LIVE at 6:30 as Michigan takes on the Buckeyes at Crisler.

Andrew Goddeeris, Everett Cook, Ryan Krasnoo, and Jordan Rochelson on the call.

Denard Robinson to Stay at Michigan


I know that your trust in the media regarding Michigan athletics is badly damaged after this coaching search, but I have good news if you are willing to believe me.

Denard Robinson will stay at Michigan.

Based on the circumstances of how I learned this information, all I really want to say is that I will personally support this claim with 99% confidence, because I trust where it came from. I will also say that this word was received after Hoke was hired.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

LISTEN: Basketball v. Kansas

LISTEN LIVE at 4:30 as Michigan looks to take down the #3 Kansas Jayhawks at Crisler!

Andrew Goddeeris, Tyler Bruens, and Matt Bernstein on the call.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

LISTEN LIVE: Hockey v. Michigan State

LISTEN LIVE at 7:05 as Michigan hockey looks to avenge an overtime loss last night at Munn as they take on the Spartans in front of a rowdy Yost crowd.

Andrew Goddeeris, Adam Brewster, and Michael Lewandowksi on the call!

ALSO LIVE on 88.3 WCBN-FM Ann Arbor!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

If Not Harbaugh...

It's never over 'till it's over with Harbaugh, but if in fact he is not coming, the guys at WCBN are divided over who they would like to see the Wolverines grab as a second choice. Our allegiances are as follows:

Gary Patterson: Tyler, Andy G, Chris L, Adam

Les Miles: Bill, Steve N, Joe, Kevin, Seth

Brady Hoke: Michael L, Steve P

Chris Peterson: Kudi

Pat Fitzgerald: Rushi, Roberto


We encourage all readers to post their choice for Michigan coach (assuming no Harbaugh) in the "comments" section.



Sunday, January 2, 2011

5 Truths That Should Keep Us Grounded as a Fan Base


You have probably already made your judgment regarding the future of coach Rod, but before you make your verdict final, the facts behind what happened this year (and in years past) in college football should be examined.

1. Michigan was 22nd in total offense in college football this year with 34.3 points per game.
They averaged only 20 points per game against ranked teams (with only 7 points coming against OSU).

2. Rich Rodriguez's team lost to Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State this year.
He is now 0-9 against these teams as head coach of Michigan.

3. Michigan was 102nd in total defense this year surrendering 33.8 points per game.
Do we really need numbers here? Watching that defense was like repeatedly sticking a fork in your eye.

4. Michigan's record has gotten better every year.
3-9... 5-7 ....7-5 (7-6 with bowl game)

5. The Big Ten was not great this year.
Michigan's very average record this year cannot be excused by great in-conference competition. It's not that the Big Ten was necessarily bad, but did you see who went 11-1 in the regular season? Did you see any of the New Year's Day bowl games?...YIKES!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

A Decision



It's going to be tough to keep perspective after that bowl game, but I've had enough: almost. I've been a big Rich Rodriguez supporter during my time as a student here at the University of Michigan, pointing out how the offense had emerged as a juggernaut under his leadership. Sure, we had no kicking game whatsoever, and yes we had a porous defense, but that was on account of the 6 true freshmen we were forced to start in the secondary. However, after the bowl game my arguments looked far weaker.

Yes, we have a great offense...against subpar teams. Michigan scored 17 against Michigan State, 7 versus Ohio State, and as we saw today, 14 against Mississippi state. There is no doubt that, with a young offense that will return nearly every starter next year, it will only get better. However, considering that Michigan played average against good teams, it will get better regardless of who the head coach is. Whether it is Rodriguez or Harbaugh (or someone else), the offense will be far above average, as long as Michigan makes a smart hire. I would think that Michigan would hire someone with a brain, who realizes that this offense is so dynamic that it does not need to be changed, and would thus keep the spread. If not, then the offense will indeed take a nosedive as Denard would most likely leave (it would make sense for him at least, as he would not be effective in a non-spread offense). Finally, my largest issue with Rodriguez today: after a solid month of preparation, that was how ready he had our offense? For an offensive "genius", 14 points against Mississippi state is not that impressive. I feel another coach could have done better. What needs to be changed the most is the other two-thirds of the program.

We all know that Rich Rodriguez was brought into this program for his offensive skill set, however the fact that offense is only one-third of a football team cannot be simply overlooked. Under his leadership, Michigan's defense has deteriorated. Yes, the youth plays a major role in that. Still, giving up 52 points to a mid-level SEC offense after a month of preparation is inexcusable. A lot of this will fall on Greg Robinson's head, and deservedly so. He deserves to be fired (and there is absolutely no way he's here next year). But the fact remains: the person who hired him to run the defense? Rodriguez. That is another factor under his control that he failed at: it is his job to hire the defensive coordinator, and he clearly picked the wrong individual (twice now when one remembers his first DC: Scott Shafer).

Finally, we have the third area: special teams. Is Gibbons/Broekhuizen the best Rodriguez could recruit during his three years here? At the same time, his decision to go for the 35 yd FG in the third quarter was ludicrous. It was a fourth and 5 at the 18 yard line. All the fans knew Gibbons was going to miss that kick, and indeed he did. The fact that Gibbons, who clearly was the best Kicker in practice the month before the bowl to have been given the kick in the first place, couldn't make a 35 yarder in pristine conditions shows just how far special teams had falled under Rodriguez.

Now, even after all of this, i'm still not all for firing him. I'm just typing out the thoughts that entered my head after this travesty of a bowl game. My final idea: I still do not mind Rodriguez being kept around for one more year to see if he, and a new set of coaches, can continue the development of the offense and improve both the special teams and the defense. However, after being completely in the keep Rich Rod camp all season long, I am now at least open to the idea of having another coach. I am no longer convinced that would be a terrible idea. As long as we hire a coach who has a proven pedigree on the defensive side of the ball and will keep the spread (and thus Denard Robinson) at the University of Michigan (or hire an offensive coordinator with experience in the spread) will have my support. But I do belive that Michigan will be making a mistake if they bring in a coach who wants a pro-style offense that leads Denard to leave the school (and i wouldn't blame him as he would not be effective in such an offense). It is now up to David Brandon to make a very difficult decision.