Cherundolo's Absence Destabilizes the U.S. Defense

With the United States men's national soccer team leading Mexico 2-0 in the final of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, getting revenge seemed likely to occur. In fact, with well over half of the match still to be played at the time, it was possible that the Americans would end up equaling the 5-0 score by which Mexico beat the U.S. in the championship match of the 2009 edition of the tournament.

However, the 2011 Gold Cup final turned out to be much closer to a repeat of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup final than a reverse of the 2009 Gold Cup final. Mexico scored the last four goals of the match to win 4-2 and qualify for the 2013 Confederations Cup. In the 2009 Confederations Cup, the U.S. led Brazil 2-0 before losing 3-2.

In this instance against Mexico, a significant substitution that was caused by an injury took place while there was a 1-0 American advantage. Defender Steve Cherundolo's hurt ankle prompted head coach Bob Bradley to substitute Jonathan Bornstein into the match in his place during the 11th minute. As Bornstein entered to play on the left side of the defense, Eric Lichaj moved to the opposite side to take over the right-back position that Cherundolo had been playing very well throughout the Gold Cup. This sequence of moves weakened the U.S. defense prior to the flurry of Mexican goals.

Other players who could have been chosen as the replacement for Cherundolo include Jonathan Spector and Tim Ream. However, either of these changes would have also come with some risk. Spector, like Bornstein, had not previously played in the 2011 Gold Cup at all. Ream entering for the first time since his foul caused a Panamanian penalty kick in the group stage would have involved U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra moving from the center of the defense back to the side of the defense. Taking into account the injury and the choice with which Bradley was faced, it was a problematic situation, and the option to try to repair it that he selected simply did not work out.

Conversely, there were controversial decisions made by Bradley during the tournament that ultimately were enormously successful. Foremost among these is the substitution that brought Freddy Adu into the semifinal match against Panama. Shortly thereafter, Adu made significant progress toward changing the perception of him from someone who had not lived up to a massive amount of hype to someone who might still have a bright future with the national team. 10 minutes after replacing teenage forward Juan Agudelo, Adu made a terrific pass to U.S. star Landon Donovan (another substitute by Bradley in this match), who made one more excellent pass, this one to Clint Dempsey for the only goal of the match that sent the Americans to the final.

So, will we see more of the Bob Bradley who has wonderful strategic judgments or the Bob Bradley who has questionable ones? Moreover, will we see the type of U.S. squad that beat top-ranked and eventual World Cup champion Spain in the Confederations Cup to reach its first-ever final in a FIFA tournament or the type of one that suffered its first-ever Gold Cup group stage loss? Will we see the kind of American team that finished on top of its World Cup group for the first time since 1930 or the kind of one that just surrendered four straight goals to Mexico?

What happens next for the United States men's national soccer team might be shaped by any of these possibilities. Since the U.S. will not be participating in the Confederations Cup for this World Cup cycle, the next big event will be the CONCACAF region's qualification for the 2014 World Cup. For all of the questions surrounding this squad, we do know that the U.S. should be exciting to watch going forward. With a premier goalkeeper like Tim Howard and strong play in the midfield from players such as Dempsey and Donovan, there is reason for optimism. Not consistently defending well is a significant concern. Finally, the development of young forwards Agudelo and Jozy Altidore will affect how formidable the U.S. team is going to be for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Smart Scheduling

How Your Schedule Can Make You A Better Team

As the summer is rolling along, the Michigan hockey team has released its 2011-2012 schedule. Most of the time, people are thinking o.k. that is nice, I do not care who we play and when, all that matters is that we win. However, if one looks a little closer, there are clues in how the coaches think about their team. This is what the 2011-12 schedule shows for the Michigan Wolverines.

Let us start with the non-conference schedule; usually Michigan has one or two early marquee games to show the NCAA committee and RPI they have a tournament quality team. Michigan will be challenged right out the bat with Niagara, St. Lawrence and wait for it… Bentley. Yes, these are not power conference teams fans nor players get excited about. Even later on Union nor Northeastern perk up your ears. It is not until Boston College in the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec. 29th that Michigan plays a legit power house team outside the conference.

From a coach’s perceptive, it is smart scheduling. With the graduation of Carl Hagelin and Matt Rust, this team will be young and unproven. The trio of A.J. Treais, Chris Brown, and Kevin Lynch will need to break out and become scoring leaders on this team. The seemingly soft early schedule will give confidence to these juniors and incoming freshmen Zach Hyman, Alex Guptill, and Brennan Serville in the scoring department. The team will only leave Yost ice arena twice in the first two months. The toughest match up in the first half will be going down to Oxford to play a pair with Miami in early November. Michigan could build up enough wins in the first half to roll into January and still be in good position even with tough games against Notre Dame and Miami in back to back weekends. Michigan closes the regular season with a pair against Northern Michigan at home and a pair on the road against lowly Bowling Green. When it comes to selection Sunday, the NCAA committee will be looking for marquee wins outside the conference as well as total wins, play down the stretch, and recent tournament history to determine Michigan's destiny. This schedule, combined with Michigan's tournament hisotory (21 straight tournament appearances) will hopefully put Michigan in a favorable light. Clearly, that is Red's and the rest of the coaching staff's plans. Hey, even if you are not satisfied with Michigan’s opponents, at least you will enjoy Yost’s brand new scoreboard!

-JZ

Let's Talk Baseball Realignment

With the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals now both in the books, and college football still 12 weeks away, I'd say it's high time for our sports focus to shift to the only sport still in season, baseball. The issue I'd like to deal with today is one that has gotten some recent press and will likely be settled in the off-season: realignment. But how will baseball shake up the 6-division format that it's used for the past 18 seasons? I've compiled the 3 best plans (in my opinion) that correct the biggest complaints about modern baseball: uneven divisions (6 teams in NL Central vs. 4 teams in AL West), unbalanced schedules (Orioles play the Yanks 19 times a year), and the small playoffs (which I personally don't mind but it's a given that Selig will add a 5th playoff team to each league)

With these problems in mind, let's look at 3 possible plans for baseball realignment:

Plan A: Keep It Simple

Change: Houston Astros move from the NL Central to the AL West, where they would join the only other Texan team in baseball, the Rangers.

Scheduling: Unbalanced as it is now, with each team playing their division opponents 19 times each (76 total), inter-division opponents 6 or 7 times each (68 total), and 6 series versus inter-league opponents (18 total). For teams with inter-league geographical rivals: (Mets-Yankees, Dodgers-Angels, A's-Giants, Orioles-Nats, Cubs-White Sox, Marlins-Rays, Cardinals-Royals, Indians-Reds), they are guaranteed to play each other 2 series per year (home and home), which will leave them their rivals + 4 other inter-league opponents. For teams without inter-league rivals, they will play 6 different inter-league opponents. There would always have to be one inter-league series happening, meaning that the 6 series for each team would be spread out, averaging about one per month for the entire season.

Playoffs: 5 per league, with each division winner earning a bye and the two wild-card teams playing a best-of-3 series.

Plan B: Balanced Schedule

Change: Houston Astros move from NL Central to AL West.

Scheduling: Balanced (at least more so) . 12 games against division opponents (48 total), 9 or 10 games against inter-division opponents (99 total), 5 series against inter-league opponents (15 games total). For the inter-league scheduling, no rivalries will be taken into account. Each team will play 5 inter-league teams spread out among the 3 divisions, with each team playing a different set of 5 teams each year for a 3 year rotation, so that each team will have played all 15 inter-league opponents over the course of 3 seasons.

Playoffs: Same as A. One variation that could be applied to the plan though would be to play the best-of-3 series entirely at the higher seeded wild-card team's park, giving a bigger advantage for finishing 4th rather than 5th.

Plan C: Party Like It's 1968

Changes: Eliminate divisions. Move Arizona Diamondbacks from National League to American League.

Scheduling: Balanced. For the 14 league opponents, play half of them 12 games each and the other half 9 games each (147 games total). This would rotate, so that over 2 years each team would play all of their league rivals 21 times total and over 4 years have 21 home games against each team. For inter-league opponents, play five teams one series each (15 games total), with each team playing all15 inter-league opponents at least once over the course of 3 seasons.

Playoffs: Top 5 teams in each league qualify, with the top 3 getting a first-round bye and the bottom two qualifiers facing off in a best-of-3 play-in series.


So there we have it, 3 ideas for how to change baseball for next season (and beyond!). Note that I included 5 playoff teams in all 3 plans as baseball seems set on it, but any of the three would work just as well with the current 4-team per league format. My personal favorite is plan B, although I think that people may gripe about losing their inter-league rivalry home and home every year.

I'd love to hear other suggestions or thoughts on these three plans.

Change is definitely coming to baseball, and I'm excited to see what form it takes.

Jim Tressel OUT at OSU

It's official. On this Memorial day morning, Jim Tressel handed in his letter of resignation to school President E. Gordon Gee. This is a complete reversal from March 8, when Tressel said he never considered resigning. However, it had to happen. Tressel knew of his players selling memorabilia and autographs for tattoos before the 2010-11 season. Yet he allowed them to play the whole season, even though he knew their eligibility had been compromised. Then, when asked about it by the NCAA in December whether he knew of these actions, he lied and said no. The cover-up was the final nail in the coffin. How does this impact Michigan? Well, obviously Tressel meant a lot to the Buckeyes, as he was 9-1 against the Wolverines in "The Game." It will be interesting to see where OSU goes from here. They've already said that they will search for a new replacement after the upcoming 2011-12 season, where current assistant coach Luke Fickell will lead the program. No one knows what this season will bring for the Buckeyes, as they will be without their starting QB and RB, as well as some others, for the first five games of the season (admittedly, the very weak non-conference slate. They return when the Big Ten season begins). Will there be players who transfer? Will any other revelations come out? And what will the NCAA meeting in August do to OSU? OSU could very well have wins vacated, be put on probation, and lose scholarships. Or, none of that could happen. But either way, an era has ended in Columbus, and now no one knows what will happen next.

The Director's Seat - Andy's Blog

I figured this could last at least two weeks. The next few Mondays I'll be traveling, so this is the last you'll hear from me for a while. Maybe somebody else will pick up the slack and throw something on the blog while I'm gone.

Entertainment

Arctic Monkeys - Library Pictures

The new Arctic Monkeys album is really good - certainly better than their last album, and in my estimation, better than their sophomore effort as well. This is one of the shorter, faster paced tracks on the LP, but the whole thing is worth a listen. It's streaming online here.

I've listened to a lot of other new music recently, including efforts from Bon Iver, The Vaccines, Givers, and Battles, but nothing has really captivated me, besides perhaps the new Bon Iver. It's not so easy finding new music you love every week.

The big buzz this past weekend was about the release of the Hangover II. I wasn't particularly blown away by the first edition, but it was funny enough, and so I watched the second installment with moderately high expectations. II is, and you'll hear this 100 times, the exact same movie in a different setting, and how you interact with this fact will color your viewing experience. Accept that it's the same movie again, remember that you enjoyed it the first time, and you'll have a pleasant enough time with the second. There are some classic Alan lines, and I laughed out loud more frequently than I did during the first movie, so there's that. All in all, worth a look.

The summer means your favorite shows are going on hiatus, but one you should be watching that will kick off a new season on June 23 is Louie, on FX. I don't know how it took me so long to get around to watching Louis C.K.'s show, but I watched the first season in a couple days, and it's really good. C.K. is hilarious, and a good third of each episode is just him doing standup, which is what he's known for and best at. The rest of the show plays on a down and out Dad theme, and as a sucker for self-deprecating humor, I'm a fan. You've got three weeks to watch the first season before the premiere of the second.

(Inter)national Sports

I hope everyone watched the UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United on Saturday afternoon (evening for me). Because it was dazzling. Barcelona dominated much of the first half but saw the score level at 1 after a glorious strike from Wayne Rooney. Barca came out and completely dominated the second half, and we were treated to some Lionel Messi magic. This will be at least the third place I say it, but it has been a privilege to watch Lionel Messi play football, and I will not soon forget this Barcelona team. After they shredded Arsenal in a much-mocked match in an earlier leg of the Champions League, I have to say I was rather pleased to see United suffer a similar, albeit less embarrassing fate. This Barcelona side will go down as one of the all-time great teams Europe has ever seen, and it's pretty special that we get to watch them. Highlights here, but sure to disappear soon.

The big story yesterday was the FINAL TURN collapse of rookie J.R. Hildebrand at the Indianapolis 500. I didn't see it live, so I know I've missed out on that special quality of watching it as it happened, but it's one of the most incredible things you'll ever see in sports.

There's just something special about live sports, and the sense that ANYTHING can happen and you could be witnessing history. I remember watching a bowling event earlier this year, and one guy had the championship all but sewn up, but inexplicably CRATERED on the last throw and lost. It was bowling, but my jaw was on the floor. Through the magic of the internet, here it is. Relevant portion around 9:20.

The NBA finals start tomorrow night, pitting Dirk and the Mavericks against the Miami Heat and its trio of stars. Better people than myself will preview this somewhere else, I'm sure. I just cannot get into the NBA playoffs. Dirk is a compelling story with his playoff feats, but I don't understand how anyone could be genuinely interested in the Heat. I don't like any of their larger than life superstars, and could not care less about whether or not they win rings. The nature of basketball - that one player can completely dominate a game - turns me off to it, especially in the star-driven league that is the NBA. Spare me the egos and theatrics, please.

Wednesday, however, brings us the Stanley Cup finals, pitting the Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins. I'll be shocked if Lord Stanley's Cup doesn't belong to Vancouver at the end of this series - the Sedins are too good, and the Canucks roll too much depth for the Bruins to handle. Tim Thomas will have to be huge for the Bruins to have any chance, and I suspect Roberto Luongo will be equal to the task in net for Vancouver. This should be a fun one to watch on NBC, as long as Pierre's time is as limited as possible.

Michigan Sports

The biggest news of the past week was perhaps the worst kept secret in the Michigan sports world - that Michigan men's lacrosse would be making the jump to D-1 next season, with women's lacrosse to follow in 2012-13. Details here in the MGoBlue roundup. It's extremely exciting to be the first team in 30 years to make the jump to D-1 lacrosse, and Michigan's dominant varsity club side finally moves up to the top level. The next couple seasons expect Michigan to play in a hodgepodge of venues, but you can be sure that Dave Brandon is crafting a plan for a dedicated lacrosse facility to compete with the best in the nation. For an introduction to the team, watch this series of video blogs.

WCBN hopes to broadcast Michigan men's lacrosse next season when the facilities afford us a steady internet connection and power source.

That's going to do it for now. Thanks for reading, hope to see you again soon!

The Director's Seat - Andy's Blog

This is probably a one-off that I'm passing off as the start of something grander to legitimize not studying for my last exam of 2011 over here in the Netherlands, but it's fun to dream. I'm well aware that the field of sports + pop culture combo blogging is quite crowded, but its crowded because it's kind of fun. This will almost certainly be a summer-only feature, and we'll switch back to a sports-only format once we have Michigan athletics to broadcast again. For now, bookmark this right next to your Simmons and Deadspin tabs.

Entertainment

Summer is either upon us or right around the corner, and there has always been a distinct "summer" style of music that I really enjoy. It's light, breezy, and jangly, and two new releases from hotly tipped bands have finally hit the interwebs.

First up is Cults' eponymously titled debut album, due May 31st, streaming exclusively via NPR. You can find it here. I just caught Cults in Amsterdam and they were really good, and this album starts as strong as any I've listened to all year. It's pleasant pop music for a pleasant summer. Here's the third track, "You Know What I Mean," which was a stunner live.

The much anticipated new album from Atlanta punks Black Lips, Arabia Mountain, has made its way to the internet ahead of its June 7 release date, and on first listen it sounds like all the concerns fans had about new producer Mark Ronson were unfounded. Perhaps slightly more sedate than their past albums, Arabia Mountain is still sure to be one of the most talked about albums of 2011. Here's a sample.

The only band whose album has actually already come out, Explosions in the Sky returned in 2011 with Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. The album is more of the same from the Austin-based band, which is to say atmospheric, soaring rock void of vocals. The result can be chilling if you're patient enough with the songs.

If that sound is familiar, it's because EITS provided much of the music for both the movie and TV versions of Friday Night Lights, which leads me to my next segment...

Everyone is watching Friday Night Lights on NBC, right? Because it's an incredible show, and in basically every way the best. Much more than a football drama (it doesn't hurt to be a football fan), this show captures human relationships better than any show I've ever watched, and it is a wholly engrossing viewing experience. The fifth (and final) season aired last fall on DirecTV, and NBC is in the middle of the fifth season now (Friday nights, 8 pm ET). Seriously, if you haven't already, do yourself the favor and start from the beginning and grow with this series. You couldn't ask for a better series. You'll find yourself wishing Michigan could hire Coach Eric Taylor to be a QB coach or something, I promise. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose. Here's an introduction for the uninitiated.

I won't get into more TV for now, as most shows I watch have wrapped up their seasons, but everyone should be doing their best to stay up to date with Parks and Recreation.

Finally, Vulture brings us a handy guide to summer movies in a form most of you should find familiar: F, Marry, Kill: The Summer Movie Edition. It's full of great looking movies to be released this Summer, but perhaps the most important revelation is that there is going to be a 4th Spy Kids movie! I loved the first one, when I was 11, but the last two weren't worth watching. I won't bother posting all the trailers that look good, but suffice it to say I will certainly be seeing Harry Potter, The Debt, and 30 Minutes or Less in theaters.

Here's the trailer for 30 Minutes or Less, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, and Danny McBride - a dream team of sorts. Be warned the trailer is NSFW.

There are some really great looking documentaries included in that lineup, which should serve as a reminder to take full advantage of the Michigan Theater's summer documentary series running June-August! Their Facebook page has all the details. A personal suggestion? Blood Into Wine, a documentary about Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan's winery operation, featuring a whole slew of comedians, musicians, and actors.

(Inter)national Sports

Novak Djokovic's amazing start to 2011 continues as the French Open gets underway at Roland Garros. Djoko is now 38-0 to start the year and chasing all kinds of history. Rafael Nadal has owned the clay in Paris for quite some time now, but Djokovic could be on target to knock Nadal off and claim his first French Open title. S.L. Price wrote a great piece in the latest Sports Illustrated that's worth your time. Find it here.

Michigan alum and benefactor Fred Wilpon is in the news again, this time for criticizing stars Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran in the midst of the Mets' on and off the field struggles. He doesn't say anything particularly wrong, but the candor is unusual. It appears that all three stars are in play for moves elsewhere.

Last night Joakim Noah became the second high profile player caught on TV dropping a homophobic slur, and while he quickly apologized, it will always come off as hollow. The NBA will almost certainly levy a fine like they did against Kobe Bryant, but none of this addresses the larger problem that homophobic slurs are a popular component of jock culture. With the recent news that Suns CEO Rick Welts is openly gay, the issue of homophobia in the NBA and in sports culture at large has been brought to the forefront, where it should be addressed candidly. It's time to hold athletes to a standard of basic human decency, and Steve Nash appears to be leading the pack.

Though Lance Armstrong has been dogged by doping allegations his entire career in a sport notorious for widespread doping, some of the strongest allegations yet have emerged from former teammates Tyler Hamilton and George Hincappie. 60 Minutes has the video report. Lance has always enjoyed a strong defense from sports fans and the American media, and it will be interesting to see whether these overwhelmingly damning allegations can finally tarnish his record-setting image. I've always found myself rooting for Armstrong and dismissing doping rumors as the work of the jealous French, but now we're forced to confront whether former American teammates would lie about Armstrong using illegal substances.

Chelsea F.C. fired respected manager Carlo Ancelotti yesterday, despite finishing second in the English Premier League, and winning the league in 2009-10. Roman Abramovich is a madman. Meanwhile, my Arsenal limped to a pathetic finish in the EPL, going from in the running for four trophies to fourth place in the EPL in a mere couple of months. So is the wild world of international football.

Michigan

Revenue sports are done for the year, and football recruiting will be the subject of dedicated posts throughout the summer. If you've been paying attention at all you should know that Brady Hoke and Co. are absolutely destroying it on the recruiting trail, and are on pace for Michigan's best recruiting class in recent memory. So that's fun.

In more somber news, Michigan was eliminated from the NCAA softball tournament yesterday after a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Kentucky that featured a 7th-inning collapse. The loss not only ends the season for Coach Hutch, but also marks the end of the historic careers of Jordan Taylor and Dorian Shaw. Big, big holes to fill next season. Recap on MGoBlue.com.

Lion Kim continues to be awesome, and Michigan surged to a win at their NCAA regional to earn a place in the NCAA championships in Oklahoma. Kim shot a career-best 65 to pace Michigan. He'll go down as one of Michigan's all-time greats, and treated M fans everywhere to quite a thrill following him at the Masters. The season is far from over for Michigan, which will be looking to pull the massive upset and take down #1 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Recap on MGoBlue.com.

That's going to do it for now. Please leave feedback here, or hit me up on Twitter , and we'll see about making this a regular summer feature if people like it.

Most importantly, this thing needs a proper name if it's going to continue. Suggestions appreciated and acknowledged!

Darius Morris' correct call

Look, we were all disappointed when Darius Morris decided to venture forth into the NBA. We all knew what a great team we would've had last year. However, this is not like Manny Harris' decision to leave early. Everyone predicted Manny to be a second rounder at best, and then he ended up undrafted. However, Morris has clearly received different information. Sporting News and nbadraft.net each have Morris all the way up to the seventeenth pick of the draft, to the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, the Hoops Report has Morris going 21st to the Trailblazers. While there are still some big mock drafts leaving Morris out of the first round (Sports Illustrated's Sam Amick for example) but the general consensus is that Morris is a first-round pick. There's still a lot of time for his stock to rise or fall, but based on the information he had come deadline time (to stay in the draft or pull out) he made the right decision based on the information available to him.

Semester Wrap Up

As I'm sure you can tell from a lack of activity over the last couple weeks, the 2010-11 WCBN Sports season has drawn to a close. We're done with official programming for the summer (though we may pop up here and there with a spring sport or a podcast), and it's been one heck of a year for the department. From the Denarding in South Bend and the Lexi Zimmerman show at Cliff Keen to the Big Chill and Big Dance, we've been there for some of the greatest Michigan moments ever. Hell, WCBN even got to broadcast a hockey national championship game. Sure there have been some lows, namely that debacle in Columbus, the Indiana Hoosier traffic management team, and flag football team Gus' Johnson's playoff loss, but on a whole we've made it to the end of another great year and have plenty to add to WCBN Sports lore.

Rest assured that we'll be discussing new ways to grow and improve the product WCBN Sports puts out, and we're hoping to come back in the Fall stronger than ever. Nothing makes us happier than knowing people are listening and enjoying our broadcasts and sports talk, and we'd all like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who supported us this past year. If you like what we do, your job now is to spread the word about WCBN Sports! This blog will be periodically updated throughout the summer, our Twitter account @WCBNSports will remain active, and we'll keep everybody informed about upcoming events, programming, etc. We love our listeners, and not only do we hope you return next season, but we also hope you bring a new listener or two into the fold. Thank you so much for all your support!

Go Blue!

WCBN Sports

Listen: Baseball v. Illinois

Listen live as Jeff Turner covers game two of the double header against Illinois at 2:30pm EST.

Questions/Comments about the Spring Game

1. How did Rich Rodriguez completely ignore Tony Anderson for 3 years?
- I don't know what everybody else saw, but I saw somebody who (based on admittedly flimsy evidence) should have at least been given a chance last year.

2. Is the underwhelming performance by Devin Gardner a good thing?
- I don't doubt DG's ability, but one of our monster quarterback recruits watching on TV might...which could be a good thing?

3. Had the spring game referees ever seen Denard Robinson run?
- I know they're trying to protect the quarterback, but some of the times that they blew plays dead I am certain that Denard had at least 5 yards left in him.

4. It's nice to see Mattison mix up packages and move around his best player.
- Mike Martin rushing off the outside like a linebacker and forcing running backs to try to pick him up on their own was refreshing to see.

5. More Mike Cox please.
- Give that MAN the damn ball.

6. No wide receiver deserves the #1 jersey.
- Too many drops yesterday and in years past.

7. It was nice to see the shotgun.
- Yes, Michigan liked to run a lot of sets out of the Power-I on offense, but every once in a while coach Hoke catered to the talents of Denard (such as the first play of the practice) and I appreciated that.

8. Should we be worried about the fact that the first team offense looked pretty lackluster as a unit?
- I don't think so. My mathematical reasoning:
Offense that ranks 9th in yards- Steve Schilling+ new system = Probably still pretty good

9. Was the defense that good, or was the offense that bad?
- There was compromise on behalf of both parties, but I do think that this defense looked worlds better than last year.

10. Is the spring game really an accurate way to determine anything?
- No, but it sure is fun to watch.

NCAA Hockey National Championship Michigan-Minnesota Duluth

Michigan is skating for its 10th national title in program history. The broadcast starts at 6:50 EASTERN time. Adam Brewster and Peter Saul have the call.

(Broadcasting live at http://ustre.am/lEOi)

Michigan-North Dakota in The Frozen Four

Listen live to Adam Brewster and Peter Saul from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Michigan takes on North Dakota at 8:20 Eastern.

Michigan-North Dakota in the Frozen Four. Broadcast starts 8:20 Eastern. (Broadcasting live at http://ustre.am/lEOi)

LISTEN LIVE to Michigan take on Colorado College in the West Regional Championship of the NCAA Tournament. Adam Brewster and Mike Lewandowski on the call.

NCAA Hockey Tournament Preview

Ok here we go, Michigan hockey is moving on to their version of the big dance and from this point on it’s win or go home. So as I’m sure you all are way past tearing up your NCAA hoops brackets, lets see if we can’t do a little better out on the ice.

East Regional – Bridgeport, CT

Yale (1) vs. Air Force (4) – Yale managed to grab the number one overall seed, which is a little bit ridiculous to me. They dominated the ECAC this season and ran through their conference tournament outscoring opponents 22-6 and 10-0 in the ECAC final four, but the ECAC is nowhere near as deep, or maybe even as strong at the top, as the other four major conferences in college hockey and Miami, BC, and North Dakota probably would have had an even better conference record. That being said, Yale is a very good hockey team. They score over four goals per game and give up less than two. Air Force looks to be yet again overmatched, as they seem to be every time they enter the tournament, but that doesn’t necessarily count them out (see Air Force 2 Michigan 0, March 27, 2009). While Air Force has given teams some good games in the past, I don’t see it this year. Prediction: Yale 5-1

Union (2) vs. Minnesota-Duluth (3) – Union also has played very good hockey out in the ECAC, which doesn’t impress me as much as it did the committee, but they did ride an 11 game unbeaten streak to the end of the regular season and only lost twice in 2011, until Colgate. Union managed to drop the Saturday and Sunday games in their ECAC quarterfinal series to the Raiders who went 11-28-3 this year. That would have been the equivalent of Michigan losing to BGSU in our CCHA quarters. Union is still a good team but a lapse like that does not bode well having to face an opponent like Duluth. These Bulldogs have had a heart-stopping season in the WCHA going to overtime 14 times overall, 13 in conference including their last loss in the WCHA tournament to Bemidji State. The NCAA tournament fosters close games and in those that required extra time UMD went 6-2-6, a pretty good OT record. I think the experience will help them in a big game situation and that will give them the edge over Union. Prediction: UMD 4-3 in OT of course

Northeast Regional – Manchester, NH

Miami (1) vs. New Hampshire (4) – Miami is on fire. They are unbeaten since January 21 and have won their last 6 by 3 goals or more. Andy Meile is playing like a man possessed and only will lose the Hobey Baker if the college hockey conspiracy the always seems to benefit the eastern half of the sport gives it to Boston College’s Cam Atkinson, or Barry Melrose gets to pick and North Dakota’s Matt Frattin steals it. But don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a one man show, Carter Camper is another Hobey Baker finalist, Riley Smith was all CCHA and the depth through the forward lines can provide scoring from everywhere. Miami is also a very physical team and at this point in the year, when players are on their last legs, the physical battle becomes a bigger factor. UNH is not necessarily a bad team either, they went 21-10-6 including a 17-6-4 mark in Hockey East and split an early season series with the Redhawks. But that was before Miami had their goaltending situation figured out. The only advantage UNH has in this game is that it is being played in their back yard. Prediction: Miami 5-1

Merrimack (2) vs. Notre Dame (3) – This is a very tough one to call. Before last weekend when Notre Dame showed its youth against Miami and looked frustrated in the third place game against the Wolverines, Merrimack looked like a great matchup for the Irish. Then at the same time Notre Dame was having an off weekend Merrimack beat UNH and made it to the Hockey East final only losing to Boston College by two and sticking with them for the whole game. Notre Dame has a lot of potential and Jeff Jackson is a fantastic hockey coach but there are a few too many kids who don’t have enough big game experience for me to trust them once they get to this point. Merrimack is in the tournament for the first time since 1988 and they will certainly be motivated to avoid the upset to the lower seeded Irish. They have shown that they can play well in the big games and won’t be going into the matchup doubting themselves after two poor performances in a conference final four. It will be a close one but I don’t think Notre Dame has it this year. Prediction: Merrimack 4-2

West Regional – St. Louis

Boston College (1) vs. Colorado College (4) – So the Eagles lost a fair bit of firepower from last year’s national championship squad but they still boast one of the best offensive records in the country at just under four goals per game. Hobey Baker candidate Cam Atkinson and his assist machine partner in crime Brian Gibbons are a one-two punch bested only by Miele and Camper. BC, as always, is all about speed. They are almost surely the fastest team in the tournament and will create so many mismatches in the offensive zone that teams will be forced to take penalties. And once you have to start trying to keep up with this team they will destroy you. CC on the other side of the ice has been up and down against high quality opponents this year, losing to Denver 4-1 before crushing them 9-2 and beating number 1 seed North Dakota 4-2 before going down 6-0 the next night to the Sioux. The Tigers are also a very big team, which does not bode well for trying to chase the Eagles up and down the ice. In short CC is just overmatched. Prediction: Boston College 5-0

Michigan (2) vs. Nebraska-Omaha (3) – The one that we all care about. Michigan is coming off a disappointing weekend at the Joe that saw them play what had to be their worst hockey of the season in a 5-2 loss at the hands of tournament bound Western Michigan, and a comforting but not overly impressive 4-2 win over Notre Dame. Shawn Hunwick didn’t play terribly in the loss but could certainly have been better and really seemed to lose his composure towards the end. It was reassuring to see him bounce back and make 42 saves against the Irish, which is his second most ever and his most in a game that didn’t go to overtime. The other major positive that the Wolverines got out of the Notre Dame game was that Louie Caporusso and Carl Hagelin each scored only 15 seconds apart; if those two players can get hot and work together well they become a scoring threat whenever they are on the ice. UNO spent a successful first season in the WCHA after leaving the CCHA last year at 21-15-2 including going 2-2 against one-seed North Dakota. Michigan split a series with the Mavericks early in the season and the two teams are within a tenth of a goal of each other in both goals against and goals for. However if you look at recent play Michigan only has one loss, albeit a bad one, in their last 10 whereas UNO are 5-5 in the same span including a sweep at the hands of Bemidji State in their first WCHA tournament series. Unless Michigan plays as poorly as they did against the Broncos, they are still the more talented team by a long shot. Prediction: Michigan 3-1

Midwest Regional – Green Bay

North Dakota (1) vs. Rensselaer (4) - In my opinion North Dakota deserved the number one overall seed in this tournament but Yale got that honor and the Sioux will have to deal with ECAC foe Rensselaer who only finished 5^th in one of the weaker conferences in college hockey and were only 2-3-2 against other tournament teams, in fact the U.S. Junior team took the Engineers (yes, the Engineers) to a shootout which RPI won. North Dakota, on the other hand, did nothing but win the WCHA regular season and tournament on the back of the leading goal scorer in the NCAA, Matt Frattin. UND has the second most prolific offense in the country at 4.05 goals per game and when Frattin is on the ice there will be no one on the Rensselaer team who will be able to handle him. This should be a breeze for the Fighting Sioux. Prediction: North Dakota 5-0

Denver (2) vs. Western Michigan (3) – The most cut and dried of the 2-3 games, Western played incredibly well against Michigan and not terribly against Miami but to be honest, they benefited from a horrible Michigan performance and Miami falling asleep for a few minutes before Andy Meile felt like winning. The Broncos also had to go to a third game against Ferris State and only won that one in overtime to even get to the Joe. Denver, on the other hand, ran through their conference tournament until they ran into UND and took them to overtime in a tough loss so close to the WCHA title. How Western managed a 3 seed over New Hampshire is a little baffling to me. Prediction: Denver 4-1

So that does it for the first round, the last eight match up like this:

East Final – Yale vs. Minnesota-Duluth

Northeast Final – Miami vs. Merrimack

West Final – Boston College vs. Michigan

Midwest Final – North Dakota vs. Denver

Yale (1) vs. Minnesota-Duluth (3) – This ECAC team will be a bit of a different animal for UMD. The battle of the Bulldogs favors Yale who lead the NCAA in goals for and goals against, and Duluth will most likely not get to take advantage of their wealth of close game experience. As much as I think ECAC teams are overrated, Yale will be just too strong for UMD. Prediction: Yale 4-1

Miami (1) vs. Merrimack (2) – Miami has been in the last two Frozen Fours for a reason, and when push comes to shove they know how to get it done in the big games. As long as Goalie Cody Reichard doesn’t have a major meltdown, the offensive firepower that Miami can put out will be too much for Merrimack who will be playing in their second NCAA game since the first Bush Administration. At a certain point Merrimack just won’t have it. Prediction: Miami 4-2

Boston College (1) vs. Michigan (2) – The speed of BC is what gives them an advantage over almost every team in the country, almost. Michigan’s defensive corps is probably the fastest the Eagles will have encountered and Chad Langlais, Lee Moffie, and hopefully a healthy Brandon Burlon will have to be at the top of their games; but if they are Michigan will be able to neutralize, for the most part, the BC offense. On the other half of the ice, the Wolverines will need to take advantage of the size of Chris Brown and Kevin Lynch who should be able to win any physical battle they get into. Call me a homer but for some reason I see some stellar play by Shawn Hunwick stealing this one. Prediction: Michigan 3-2

North Dakota (1) vs. Denver (2) – This is a rematch of the WCHA final which UND managed to take in double overtime on a goal from who else but Matt Frattin. That game ended 3-2, which was probably caused by both teams playing conservatively. I don’t see the tournament game going the same way. North Dakota has a very high-powered offense but Denver has already showed that they can stay with the Fighting Sioux and in this case I think it will be a race to the last goal which will be scored, once again, by Matt Frattin. Prediction: North Dakota 6-5 in OT

That gives us a Frozen Four of:

Yale vs. Miami

North Dakota vs. Michigan

Yale (1) vs. Miami (1) – This is where we find out how sub-par the ECAC really is, Yale will come into this game without having faced a real challenge in the tournament which can sometimes lead a team to come out flat in the early parts of a game, Miami won’t need anything else. That’s not to say this will be an easy win for the Redhawks, no Frozen Four games are, but if they get a lead early in this game Yale will be chasing them around the ice for the rest of the night. Camper and Miele will have been scoring all tournament, but this is when players like Pat Cannone, Alden Hirschfeld, and Justin Vaive will come up huge. Two straight Frozen Fours for these guys will give them yet another edge over the Yale squad and Miami will battle one out into the title game. Prediction: Miami 5-3

North Dakota (1) vs. Michigan (2) – Is just getting to the Frozen Four good enough for either of these teams? No. Do both teams have enough depth and leadership to handle the pressure that college hockey’s biggest stage brings? Yes. So who has the advantage? Games like this are often decided by an amazing individual effort, but in this case I think it will be decided by a lack of one. North Dakota is a very good hockey team that puts an incredible amount of emphasis on a single player in Frattin, and up until this point he has always stepped up and delivered performances that have earned him a shot at the Hobey Baker. But at some point it wears out. Coach Berenson will have a game plan ready that will totally shut down the nation’s leading goal scorer and force the Sioux to beat Michigan from other spots. I don’t think they can do it. I will admit that there is an overwhelming bias towards Michigan in these predictions but this team has a senior class that has put together a career deserving of a shot at the national title. Prediction: Michigan 2-1

So here it is, the national title coming down to two CCHA rivals that have been battling for supremacy in the Midwest for years.

Miami (1) vs. Michigan (2) – Last year’s heartbreaking loss to the Redhawks in the regional final has left a bad taste in the mouths of Michigan hockey fans for almost a year, and whether or not the Wolverines were wronged in that game is irrelevant at this point. We just want another shot at them. But take a step back and try to look at this situation through lenses that aren’t tinted with maize and blue. Two years ago Miami fans watched as one of the most epic collapses in college hockey was capped off by a shot from the point deflecting off of one of their own players pants and fluttering like a chip-shot over then-freshman Cody Reichard. The loss, in overtime, snatched away what would have been the school’s first national title. In anything. If that wasn’t enough, look at last year, when the Redhawks made an emotional run to the Frozen four yet again, fueled by the passing of their student manager Brendan Burke, only to get hit by the unstoppable force that was the BC Eagles. Now the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul is not Goggin in Oxford and Michigan fans would certainly equal the Miami faithful at the very least. And the Wolverines would certainly put up a much better performance then either of the two that they produced when being swept earlier this year. But at what point do we finally admit that as much as we hate Miami, as much as we want to hang another national title banner up at Yost, Carter Camper, Andy Miele, and Miami have earned the right to have one. It will be close, nationally title games always, but in the end Michigan will leave the ice with another year to try to get rid of a bad taste and karma will finally swing Miami’s way. Prediction: Miami 4-3 in OT

And I get to hear about it all summer from my Redhawk brother.

LISTEN LIVE to Michigan Take on BGSU in Game 2 of their second round CCHA Playoff series. Mike Lewandowski and Tyler Bruens on the call.

Michigan Hockey

LISTEN LIVE to Michigan take on Bowling Green State University in the second round of the CCHA tournament at 7:35. Adam Brewster, Mike Lewandowski, and Kevin Carpenter on the call.

WCBN Fundraiser Time!

The WCBN fundraiser runs now through March 20th. The WCBN fundraiser is the primary source of funding for the station, and is therefore critically important, esp. with cuts to education funding looming and college radio stations across the country being axed in tough financial times. The fundraiser is our listeners' chance to demonstrate to the University just how important keeping WCBN on the air and online is. It is especially important for WCBN Sports to show how loved it is and get a nice haul for the station. WCBN Sports is extremely grateful and privileged to be able to do what we do, and it's with the support of Michigan sports fans and college radio enthusiasts that we are able to continue broadcasting Michigan football, hockey, basketball, volleyball, baseball, and softball alongside daily sports talk shows and podcasts.

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@WCBNSports on Twitter

Greetings from The Netherlands! I thought I'd pop in to update everyone on the WCBN Sports presence on Twitter. The official Twitter account of the station is @WCBNSports, but we also have plenty of personalities with their own accounts. The full roster:

Sports Director Andrew Goddeeris: @amgodd

Adam Wilensky: @AWilensky24

Jack Warner: @jpwarner

Matt Bernstein: @mbern24

Adam Brewster: @adam_brew

Steve Petras: @spetras

Kevin Carpenter: @kevcarpenter

Tim Rohan: @TimRohan

Everett Cook: @everettcook

Jordan Rochelson: @jrochelson

Steve Cook: @CookSW

Steve Davenport: @StebertD

Follow everybody!

Michigan VS. Michigan State

LISTEN LIVE as the Michigan Wolverines host the Michigan State Spartans at Crisler Arena at 2 pm! Joe Lunardi has the Wolverines currently "dancing" in March, a win over the Spartans would go a long way to making his prediction true. Bill Rothwell and Tyler Bruens with the call.

Michigan vs. Wisconsin Basketball!

LISTEN LIVE as the Michigan Wolverines take on the #12 Wisconsin Badgers at Crisler Arena! Tyler Bruens, Eitan Neumark, Adam Wilensky, and Steve Davenport with the call at 6:30 pm!

Michigan Hockey vs. Western Michigan: Senior Night!

LISTEN LIVE as the Wolverines' seniors, including Carl Hagelin, attempt to finish the weekend sweep of the Broncos at Yost Ice Arena during tonight's Senior Night contest. John Zaccardelli and Tyler Bruens with the call, starting at about 7:30 pm EST.

LISTEN LIVE Michigan Hockey takes on the Broncos of Western Michigan. Mike Lewandowski, Adam Brewster, and Kevin Carpenter on the call.

Gotta Beat the Badgers to Get to March Madness

Like many Michigan basketball fans, I have begun to shuffle through different scenarios in my head regarding potential ways that the Michigan Wolverines can make it to March Madness. Before I get going, here's Michigan's remaining schedule for reference:

CURRENT RECORD: 16-10 (6-7 conf.)

02/16 (Tonight) @ Illiniois
02/19 @ Iowa
02/23 #10 Wisconsin
02/26 @ Minnesota
03/05 Michigan State

In the Big Ten, Michigan is currently ranked 6th.

Now, down to the nitty gritty:

Now, I'm not Joe Lunardi, but I do know a few things about how teams generally qualify for the the NCAA tournament. These things are:
- 20 wins is generally a must.
-Winning your conference tournament gets you an automatic bid.
-Strength of schedule helps.
-You need marquee wins.
- Joe Lunardi, the real guy for ESPN, is basically never wrong when it comes to predicting brackets.
- Joe Lunardi does not think that Michigan is currently a March Madness team.

This all taken into consideration, you will see that below I have plowed through a few realistic scenarios that could decide the season. In regards of Big Ten Tourney play, I have made the (dangerous) assumption that Michigan will win the games in which it will be the higher seed:

Scenario 1: Michigan wins the games that it will be favored in.
This means victories at Iowa and at home against Michigan State. It also means that Michigan will win one game in the Big Ten tournament, where they will likely face one of the two worst teams in the Big Ten.
Result: 19-14 OUT of March Madness

Scenario 2: Michigan wins every game except for the Wisconsin game.
While the idea of Michigan winning every game against non-ranked teams looks good on paper, when you dive into the numbers, the outcome is not as favorable as one would think. If Michigan won every game except for the Wisconsin game, they would be flirting with danger by not getting a marquee win and by capturing a seed in the Big Ten Tournament that would force them into a bye in the first round of the tournament, and then pit them against a 4-6 seed in the second round. A one and done in the Big Ten Tournament, therefore, would be very likely.
Result: 21-12 IN/OUT (With no marquee wins it depends on who they beat in the second round of the tourney... this is dicey) or 20-12 OUT

Scenario 3: Michigan beats the Badgers and wins two other games.
if Michigan beats the Badgers their tournament resume is greatly improved. By beating Wisconsin and 2 other teams (preferably Illinois, MSU, or Minnesota), Michigan would improve its record to 19-12 entering the Big Ten Tournament. Once again, Michigan would likely get a bye in the first round of the Big Ten Tourney and would run into a 4-6 seed.
Result: 20-13 IN (good strength of schedule & Marquee win) or 19-13 OUT

Scenario 4: Michigan beats 2 0f MSU, ILLINOIS, MINNESOTA and beats Iowa.
If Michigan wins three out of their next five games, but does not beat Wisconsin, it will put them in a very tough spot. The Wolverines will improve their record to 19-12, but they will probably capture a 5 or 6 seed in the BTT, which, once again, will give them a bye and force them to play a tough 3 or 4 seed in round 2.
Result: 20-13 OUT (Unless their win in the tournament is against #3 seed likely to be Wisconsin) or 19-13 OUT


Since I realize the above scenarios are chaotic, let me summarize what they mean:
- If Michigan beats the Wisconsin Badgers in the regular season they greatly improve their chances of making the tournament, and could keep their tournament hopes alive by only winning 2 other games in the regular season.
- If Michigan does not beat the Wisconsin Badgers (but beats every other team) in the regular season they will put themselves in a position where they have 20 wins, but no marquee wins. In the second round of the tournament (after a first round bye), they may get a shot at a marquee win, but the standings indicate that it will probably be against Wisconsin.
- Michigan can put themselves in a really crappy scenario by getting a 5 or 6 seed in the tournament by beating 3 teams not named Wisconsin. Not only would the Wolverines only have 19 wins going into the tournament, but they would once again score a first round bye in the BTT, and, if they were extremely lucky, would get a crack at the 3 seed (probably Wisconsin). A 20th victory against a team like current 4 seed Illinois really wouldn't do the trick for getting Michigan in the big dance.

The wild card in all of this is the performance of the #11 Purdue Boilermakers. Michigan does not play Purdue, but there is a distinct possibility that if Michigan wins 3 or more regular season games from here on out , they will play, and have to beat, the Boilermakers in their first game (in the second round) of the BT tournament. Unless, of course, Michigan beats Wisconsin on February 23...

Listen: Basketball v. Indiana

LISTEN LIVE

Michigan Hockey

LISTEN LIVE Michigan takes on the Ohio State Buckeyes at Yost tonight at 7:35. Mike Lewandowski and Kevin Carpenter have the call.

Michigan vs. Northwestern

Listen Live! as the Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball team takes on the Northwestern Wildcats at 6:30 at Crisler Arena! Can the Wolverines claim their 4th win in five games, including an impressive come-from-behind effort over Penn State on Sunday that featured the premiere of Tim Hardaway Jr's "beast mode"? Tune in to find out!

Reasons Why Michigan Will Win the NCAA Title and Reasons They Won’t

This has been nothing if not an up and down season for the Wolverine hockey team. Through most of the year we have had to deal with “The Friday Problem”, which may have originally had something to do with goaltending, but even after Bryan Hogan went down with a groin injury and our little friend Shawn Hunwick took over full time, the team came out flat in almost every Friday game, even when they won. On the other hand, there was an eleven game stretch in which we saw nine wins and two OT losses (one of which to our little brothers from East Lansing had to be one of the most poorly officiated games in CCHA history, but I digress) only to drop one to State of our own accord and look simply poor during a 0-2 trip to Miami(OH). So in light of our flip-flopping team I’d like to shell out a few reasons why Michigan hockey will go all the way to an NCAA title at the end of this season and a few why, when all is said and done, we will all be left with that bitter taste in our mouths yet again.

St. Paul Here We Come. Why Michigan Will Win The NCAA Title

Four Lines – This team may not have as much talent as we have seen at Yost in the past but there do not seem to be any gaping holes anywhere on the line sheet no matter who Red Berenson decides to toss out there. Michigan can roll four lines and three D-pairings without feeling vulnerable whenever a certain group is on the ice. The splitting of Louie Caporusso and Carl Hagelin at the beginning of the year along with the stellar play of lesser known players like Scooter Vaughn and AJ Treais has made the Wolverines one of the deepest teams in the country. Even if you nit-pick you can’t really take many shots at Lindsay Sparks, Jeff Rohrkemper, or Derek DeBlois when they suit up. On the back end there are times when Mac Bennett and Kevin Clare look like freshmen but the blue line is pretty solid all the way through.

Carl Hagelin – The Swedish future Ranger has been nothing short of spectacular in the hefty majority of Michigan’s games this season. I hate to make the comparison so early in his career, but the similarities to Red Wings star Henrik Zetterberg are nearly un-avoidable. It’s the fact that he does so much in all facets of the game that make a lot of think of his fellow Swede. His 35 points in 30 games (12 ahead of the next closest Wolverine) are not even close to the most significant contribution he has made to this team. What he does in the defensive zone is incredible for someone who is counted on so heavily on the other end of the ice. The Michigan penalty kill is fourth in the CCHA at 86% and there is no player who has more to do with any penalty that Michigan kills off than Hagelin. During a 5-on-3 against Alaska in the third period a few weeks ago, Carl was on the ice for more than two thirds of the kill. The total hockey player would not be complete without the leadership skills that, as a captain, Hagelin brings into the locker room. It is not possible to accurately put into words what the Swede means to this team.

Lack of an Unbeatable – Let’s be honest if Michigan had gotten the regional victory over Miami that they deserved last year they would have gone into Ford Field with an entire state behind them in what could only be described as a home series in the Frozen Four… and proceeded to have their tails whipped by Boston College. That team was one of the fastest and most offensively scary teams I have ever seen in college hockey and they were going to raise the trophy regardless of who was on the other side of the ice. There is no team like that this year in the country. BC sits on top of the rankings at 19-6, which is impressive but not mind blowing. In the one opportunity I had to see the Eagles play this season they looked good but nowhere near where they were last year. It doesn’t appear as though anyone else has decided to step into that role. Yale looked good for a while but as soon as the Bulldogs ran into some other top teams they looked decidedly average. Out west Denver has been very effective but again have not shown that swagger that last year’s BC took all the way to the top.

Riding a Hot Streak All the Way In – Michigan has two home stands against Ohio State and Western before traveling to Northern Michigan to finish the regular season. The Broncos provide a challenge but these are six very winnable games for the Wolverines. If they can take all six and really get to the top of their game there is not a team in the CCHA that can take Michigan down when they are playing at their best. Unless Notre Dame or Miami get unbelievably hot, leaving the Michigan colors attached to the CCHA Playoff Champions banner at Joe Louis Arena seems like a legitimate possibility. If it all comes to fruition Michigan would be on a ten game winning streak as the National tourney starts and would, in all likelihood, grab a #1 seed in the St. Louis region. That kind of momentum can carry this team past anyone they might face in St. Paul and bring another title to the best program in college hockey history.

Sorry Folks Not This Year. Reasons Why Michigan Will Not Win the NCAA Tittle

Goaltending – I hate to even make this point because I am such a huge fan of Hunwick and Hogan, but neither of them ever give me that same level of confidence I used to have when the likes of Marty Turco and Al Montoya (cough cough should have stayed four years cough cough) were between the pipes. Hogan played very well at the beginning of the year and Hunwick has been ridiculous in a few since he has been the starter, but I simply do not see it. Goaltending can win you games in the tournament but it can REALLY lose them for you as well. Possibly the most talented Michigan team this side of the millennium was the 06-07 team. Conjuring memories of Hensick, Hunwick (Matt), Johnson, Porter, Cogliano, and Kolarik; this team should have been completed by goalie worthy of the talent level in front of him, instead 18-year-old sophomore Billy Sauer gave up 8 in the first round of the NCAA regional to see the Wolverines bounced by North Dakota. I’m not saying the Michigan goaltenders will have this kind of meltdown but hope does not spring eternal.

Louie, Louie? – Last year Louie Caporusso was a threat to score every time he had the puck inside the offensive zone. His two goals that gave Michigan the CCHA title over Northern at the Joe last year were a microcosm of what he could do for a team. Since the calendar turned to December 2010, Michigan’s second leading scorer has only three goals, and just eight on the season; Scooter Vaughn has nine. Not that he has completely disappeared, he still make plays in the offensive zone and works hard defensively but there are a lot of guys on this team that can do that. There are very few who can score like Louie can. If the Wolverines want to go on a run this post-season Caporusso has to take care of whatever is going on in his head and find the scoring touch he has lost.

Those Pesky Redhawks – We saw what can happen if Miami comes to play and Michigan doesn’t this past weekend. The Redhawks totally shut down Carl Hagelin and the rest of Michigan’s top two lines, leaving AJ Treais to pick up two in the first game and putting a goose egg on the board on Saturday. On the other side of ice Andy Miele and Cater Camper, the #1 and#2 leading scorers in the conference, tore the Michigan defense up, especially on the power-play. Miami’s biggest problem over the past few years has been getting up for big games, but for whatever reason when the Redhawks see Maize and Blue they catch fire. I have said that this team is much better than their record and if Michigan sees them in either the CCHA or the National tournament I will be very, very afraid.

The Unthinkable – Michigan is playing poorly. The last three games aside, they did not look great against Alaska in a series they swept, and had to come from behind the Friday before that against Ferris State. This run of bad form has been marked by a lack of offense and just enough defensive mistakes to lose, both of those things need to change quickly or Michigan could drop a game to OSU or Northern, another to WMU and find itself having to make a deep run into the CCHA playoffs or risk ‘gasp’ missing the NCAA tournament. Sitting 13^th in both major polls it is easily conceivable that Michigan would fall out of the top 15 if they manage to lose two of their last six regular season games. At that point, the thinking would probably be that Michigan has to at least make it to the title game, if not win the whole thing, to be guaranteed a spot in the big one. Can anyone else see Michigan State coming to Yost in the second round with the opportunity to end Michigan’s twenty-year streak of reaching the NCAA’s and somehow managing to take two of three? Or hitting the aforementioned Redhawks in the first game in Detroit? If the Wolverines can not get back to playing up to their best before they step on the ice against the Buckeyes on Friday, the unthinkable could become a reality.

So which is it going to be? Will this season end with glory or pain? Your guess is as good as mine.

Taming Our Freshmen Expectations

It seems like every year under head coach Rich Rodriguez, incoming freshmen had big shoes to fill when it came to contributing early.

In '08, it felt like the whole team was new. Sam McGuffie was our starting RB, Martavious Odoms was our go-to WR, and the terrible twosome (literally) of Threet/Sheridan was at the helm of the Wolverines' offense.

In '09, we still had no quarterback. Enter the Tate/Denard freshmen showdown.

In '10, it was the year of the special teams. No more Olesnavage/Mesko tandem at place kicker and punter respectively meant that the Wolverines needed an overhaul. And boy, was it ever a wild ride with Hagerup (who I supposed wasn't terrible for a punter) and Gibbons/Broekhuizen (who were both terrible for place kickers).

And that brings us to '11. Which of Brady Hoke's young guns will we see in '11? By my guess, less than a handful will see significant playing time, but there will be a few fortunate ones and they are...

PK Matt Wile- Be forewarned: MATT WILE WILL STRUGGLE IN '11. It's not that I think Wile is bad, but you can't exactly practice kicking in front of 100,000 people, so I'm sure the freshmen will miss a few bunnies here and there while he works out the kinks. Even if Wile only makes 65% of his FGs in '11, competition (or a lack thereof) from Gibbons (who has hit on 20% of his FGs as a Wolverine) and Broekhuizen (who has hit on 33%) should be weak enough to make Matt Wile Coach Hoke's #1 guy at PK. Wile also punts, but I don't think Hagerup's going anywhere.

CB Blake Countess- Blake is the headliner of Coach Hoke's first recruiting class at Michigan, so I would expect him to at least see the field on occasion. Since we really don't know defensive coordinator Greg Mattison's depth chart for his 4-3 defensive attack, it's hard for me to say in any definite form how often Blake will see the field. If Countess is good enough in practice to surpass JT Floyd and/or Courney Avery (he will not pass Woolfolk) on the depth chart, the Wolverine secondary should actually be in pretty good shape in '11 (fingers crossed).

TE Chris Barnett- With only two scholarship TEs on the Michigan roster in '11 (Senior Kevin Koger and Junior Brandon Moore), Chris Barnett will likely see playing time in the Brady Hoke offense, which frequently includes two TEs in offensive packages. I doubt Koger will be passed on the depth chart, but a healthy competition with Moore (in which I believe Barnett will win) should give Barnett the chance to contribute to Michigan's offensive attack on Saturdays in '11.

LB Kellen Jones- In Mattison's 4-3 system there is an obvious void at linebacker, where 2010's graduating seniors Jonas Mouton and Obi Ezeh have departed. It seems to me like Kenny Demens, who will be a junior in '11, should hold down the middle linebacker spot for the next two years. This leaves availability on the outside, where I believe that freshman Kellen Jones may see significant playing time.

National Signing Day Predictions

Big day tomorrow for the Wolverines. With Thomas Rawls already in the bag for '11, can Meeechigan score a few more recruits to improve their current Rivals position of 24? Here's the way I see things shaking down...

TE- Chris Barnett? In. Will likely decide Saturday (not tomorrow), but I'm liking Hoke's chances. (Thomas Rawls spilled the beans about Barnett's good feelings towards Michigan in a Sunday interview with Sam Webb of the Detroit News)
DL- Darian Cooper? Out. Not too little on behalf of Hoke's boys, just too late.
OT- Jake Fisher? Out. Fisher's wavering + Oregon's awesome facilities= Trouble
LB- Leilon Willingham? In. Michigan is just a better fit than Colorado for such a talent.
LB/TE/ATH- Frank Clark? In. I get the feeling Frank would have signed earlier, but it's tradition in his football-rich hometown of Glenville, Ohio to announce on Signing Day with teammates.

We'll see how things really shape up. Hopefully coach Hoke continues making us proud tomorrow.

UPDATE 9:57am: With the Snowpocalypse (AKA the Snowtorious B.I.G) drilling what seems like the entire US with snow, Willingham will decide tomorrow (Thursday) at 9am as a result of a snow day today.

Thus far, everything is going as predicted: Clark to Michigan, Fisher to Oregon. Watch out for Willingham tomorrow... rumor is swirling that he might stay home and be a Buffalo.

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.

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!

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.