Upset City, Baby!!!

March Madness is the most anticipated sporting event in March (apologies to college hockey fans). And it did not disappoint during the first weekend of play. Like most, my bracket is screwed-up beyond all recognition. However, after the dust settled, I found myself only a point out of first place (Thank You, Scottie Reynolds). In case you missed it, here's a breakdown of this weekend's past events/ honors:

Biggest Shot: This goes to Western Kentucky at the buzzer against Drake. Now, I know some people would like to argue San Diego with 1.2 seconds left, which probably was a bigger upset. But that play can't beat a 3 pointer at the buzzer from 2 feet behind the line off a drop pass. Bob Knight said it was the best play out of a timeout he has seen all year. I'll side with the General on this one.

Team to beat: It's a toss-up between UNC and Kansas. Take your pick. Both looked strong in the first two rounds of play. Each team mirrors each other, with both teams having the ability to go 7 or 8 deep by just rotating players in off the bench (Chalmers, Lawson, Rush, Ellington, Hansborough, Ginyard,Collins... Getting the picture?). If things play out, these two will play each other in the national semi-final (in what would be a heavyweight prize fight), with the winner most likely cruising to a national title.

Biggest Upset: I'm going with Davidson over Georgetown. Stephen Curry has beaten two tourney regulars (Gonzaga and G'town) essentially by himself. Yes, he looks like he's twelve and probably couldn't grow a beard if he wanted to... but he's got a grown man's game. I think he's got problems coming up with Bo Ryan and Wisconsin, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him drop at least 30 on the Badgers. Apologies to San Diego on their tourney run, but when a kid drops 70 in two games (and his name isn't Kobe or Lebron) you need to show him some love.

Biggest Disappointment: Far and away, this was Duke. I didn't have them getting past the second round, but c'mon! They shoot the lights out all year and then basically lay an egg in their two biggest games against Belmont and WVU?! I'm still trying to figure out how they beat UNC. And don't give me the typical Ty Lawson excuse. This team couldn't have beaten Michigan in its last two weeks of play (Yeah, they were THAT bad).

Michigan Earns Overall #1 Seed

Michigan will be the overall #1 seed and head to the Albany, NY Regional where they will take on the Niagara University Purple Eagles in opening round play. Should Michigan advance, they would face the winner between St. Cloud State and Clarkson. Friday's game will be televised by ESPNU at 7:30, or you can listen to Tony, Andrew, and Kevin on the WCBN Sports Stream.

UPDATE: Now online are the highlights from the weekend set to music...check them out by clicking here

Michigan Wolverines Win the CCHA Championship!

So there was absolutely no internet at the Joe tonight, thus no broadcast and no blog. To make up for it, I stayed up late cutting up the highlights for you so please check them out by clicking on the links below! Full recap to come tomorrow when I am well-rested.

Goal #1: Michigan takes a 1-0 lead as Aaron Palushaj scores his ninth goal of the season off a BEAUTIFUL feed from Matt Rust at the 7:38 mark of the 2nd Period. Tony and Andrew have the call

Goal #2: Michigan takes a 2-0 lead behind another beautiful play. This time it was Brandon Naurato who pokes it off of a Tim Miller assist. Miller did a spectacular job winning the faceoff, but instead of hitting it back, Miller directed the puck in front of the net where a charging Naurato was able to drive it past Zatkoff. Tony and Christian call this one and Christian displays his excellent journalistic skills in the post-game press conference as you'll hear.

Michigan Wins the CCHA Championship!

CCHA Semifinals: Michigan vs. Northern Michigan Game Highlight

To listen to the highlight compilation from last night's 6-4 CCHA Semifinal win for Michigan, click here

CCHA Semifinals: Michigan vs. Northern Michigan

Michigan wins 6-4! Here's Tony Bolton and Christian Montgomery calling the empty netter for the final highlight of the night. You can hear all of the highlights that the internet at the Joe would permit at the WCBN Sports Podcast. We're packing up, so no recap for now. Wish us luck driving home from the Joe. Good night and go Blue!

-- 10:57 --

EMPTY NET GOAL!!! Michigan will win the game 6-4, as Ben Winnett puts the capper on a huge, tough-fought win for the Wolverines over NMU. I'm working on a goal highlight and a recap, but we may have to leave, so I can't promise one now, but you can rest easy for one more night, as Michigan survives a crazy game at the Joe and will play Miami tomorrow night in the CCHA Finals.

-- 10:53 --

Michigan went offside with 1:15 remaining. Northern had held the puck in Michigan's zone for about 30 seconds, but Stewart stayed in the net. Now, with a minute remaining and Northern in control of the puck, Stewart has gone to the bench.

-- 10:49 --

By the way, yet again, the internet failed me as it is just not fast enough for streaming audio, so there will be no highlight of the 5th Michigan goal. Billy Sauer does not look good, so this game is far from over, but 1:54 remains, as there will now be a face off in front of Stewart. Look for Stewart to come to the Northern bench soon.

-- 10:47 --

GOAL!!! Kolarik shoots the puck from the near-side circle and AGAIN the puck bounces off a Northern defenseman. They're giving the goal to Tim Miller (his second of the game as of now) and the assist goes to Kolarik. Welcome back to the top line, Tim Miller, who seems to enjoy playing in place of Pacioretty. 5-4 Wolverines.

-- 10:44 --

What a crazy game. We've been going end-to-end with scoring opportunities, as Caporusso couldn't convert against Stewart, and then Sauer left a fat rebound out in front, but covered up on the subsequent shot. 4:20 remaining, still tied at 4.

-- 10:42 --

The goaltending in this game warrants a serious conversation. Michigan has been shooting at Stewart, who is big and positions himself well but is by no means mobile, while Sauer has ignored positional fundamentals, playing one of his most sporadic games of the year. 5:51 remaining in the 3rd with the game tied at 4.

-- 10:39 --

Stewart has stood on his head, almost single-handedly killing off the Michigan power play. Michigan led 4-3 with seven a half to go, but NMU has tied up the game yet again on a goal by Jared Brown from Matt Siddall. The internet was too slow to stream the NMU goal, but you can go back to the good times and listen to Tony and Christian's call of Michigan's 4th goal by clicking HERE.

-- 10:34 --

Mark Olver continues the trend of dirty play by NMU, as he stuck out his leg to try and trip Kevin Porter by the knees -- he'll go to the box, and we'll play at four-on-four for a 1:12 before Michigan goes on the PP.

-- 10:30 --

After an NMU defenseman covered the puck in his defensive zone, Turnbull hit at the puck but got called for a hit from behind... "c'mon Shegos," says Andrew Seid, and I agree -- that's a weak call. We'll be playing at four-on-four before NMU goes on the power play.

-- 10:28 --

Tonight's attendance has been announced at 9,471... I'll give the fans a pass given the horrendous weather, even though the Joe can fit about 21,000 people. Gregor Hanson just took a slashing penalty, so Michigan now goes on the PP.

-- 10:25 --

GOAL!!! Mark Mitera took the shot from inside the blue line, and it looked like it deflected off of both NMU defenseman Blake Cosgrove and Michigan forward Travis Turnbull before it beat Stewart. Turnbull scores from Mitera and Kampfer and now Michigan leads 4-3. Goal highlight to come....

-- 10:21 --

Billy looked a little shaky on the last Northern rush, but Nick Sirota took a penalty in the NMU offensive zone on the fore-check, so with 15:01 remaining, Michigan has a PP.

-- 10:18 --

Michigan is getting beaten to nearly every puck, but Sauer has stood tall so far in the 3rd. They've announced that Chad Langlais picked up an assist on the Miller goal, which you can listen to by clicking HERE (it's Tony and Christian Montgomery now).

-- 10:16 --

Game on! 16:37 remaining, as Sauer covers up after a flurry of NMU shots.

-- 10:14 --

We have a stoppage in play because of a large crack in the boards. You can't make this stuff up. 3-3 Michigan with 18:49 left in the 3rd.

-- 10:10 --

GOAL!!! MICHIGAN TIES THE GAME!!! It is now 3-3, as Tim Miller passed the puck in net and it bounced off the skate of T.J. Miller into the net, as Stewart was moving from post-to-post and had no chance. Goal highlight to come....

-- 10:08 --

Michigan has killed off the final few moments of the power play, and so we are now skating at full strength.

-- 10:05 --

NMU's 3rd goal highlight from Tony and Andrew can be accessed by clicking HERE. I'm glad that didn't take 2 hours... you can visit the WCBN Sports Podcast to listen to all of the goal highlights from the CCHA Tournament, as well as WCBN Sports podcast shows.

-- 10:02 --

As I've said, the internet here is really slow, and it fades in and out, so while I was able to upload the first two highlights in a matter of seconds, it now tells me that the 3rd highlight will take 2 hours, so we'll see if we can get that up sooner rather than later. We are now in the 2nd intermission, and there's not much we can say at this point. Michigan leads NMU in shots 27-8, yet Northern has beaten Sauer three times, including twice in the final five minutes or so of the 2nd period. It's not as though Michigan is playing badly, even defensively, but NMU has converted on seemingly every major scoring opportunity they've had, and Brian Stewart has been up to the task against the firepower that Michigan brings on offense. The real problem is that Michigan's defensive blunders have been far more glaring than Northern's. It is inexplicable that Mark Mitera would decide to pinch on a power play opportunity when NMU has two men coming the other way through the neutral zone. The 3rd goal was simply a great wrister, but conservative play by Scooter Vaughan and Mark Mitera could've enabled Michigan to avoid giving up the first two. Added to that, you've got the officiating of Shegos and the large Northern contingent in the crowd, and the feeling here is not positive from a Michigan standpoint. I'm nervous, to be honest. 5 minutes left in the 2nd intermission -- lets hope that the Wolverines can figure out a way to beat Stewart by then.

-- 9:59 --

Here come the bad highlights. Check out Tony and Andrew's call of NMU's 2nd goal, which tied the game at two-a-piece by clicking HERE.

-- 9:49 --

If you'd like to go back to when things were going well, check out Tony Bolton and Andrew Seid's call of Michigan's 2nd goal by clicking HERE.

-- 9:46 --

Michigan has taken a penalty, as Chris Summers retaliates after being slashed with a trip -- it is 3-2 NMU, who will end the 2nd period on the power play.

-- 9:45 --

NMU now has the lead at 3-2. They have now scored on half of their shots, as a wrister from the near-side circle by Matt Siddall beats Billy Sauer.

-- 9:43 --

Tie game, 2-2. Kevin Porter got tackled amidst an odd-man rush for NMU, and when the puck bounced out in front of the net, Billy Sauer missed on a poke-check giving Mark Olver an open spot in Sauer's five-hole, and he was not to be denied. This is very disappointing, considering Michigan leads in shots 25-5, yet NMU has converted on two of those five shots.

-- 9:41 --

NMU has taken a bench minor for too many men with under 7 minutes remaining in the 2nd period. NMU just had a short-handed opportunity after a blunder by Mark Mitera, but Billy Sauer held strong and Michigan still holds their 2-1 lead, as they go to work on the PP.

-- 9:36 --

GOAL!!! Travis Turnbull takes the feed from Louie Caporusso and slides the puck past Stewart to give Michigan a 2-1 lead. Considering how well NMU has been playing this period, this was a HUGE goal to give Michigan a lead at the midway point of the game. T.J. Miller then took a penalty for tripping while Michigan got a bench minor, being served by Brandon Naurato, for too many men on the ice. A goal highlight is to come.

-- 9:33 --

Michigan has killed off the penalty with the help of a Tristin Llewellyn blocked shot. Llewellyn limped off the ice, so we'll have to watch to see if his injury is serious. On a positive note, Chris Summers has been playing well since being hit into the boards head-first in the 1st period.

-- 9:26 --

The puck just rolled through the crease past a sprawling Billy Sauer, and on a subsequent slap shot the puck bounced off the glass and back into the crease, but Sauer covered up.

-- 9:23 --

Matt Rust has taken a penalty with a little over 14 minutes remaining. Tony and Andrew are perplexed at the call, and rightly so, as it looked like Rust barely tapped the pad of goalie Brian Stewart.

-- 9:22 --

Michigan is having a tough time gaining the zone against NMU, and now that they finally have, the power play is about to expire with Michigan still passing the puck around the perimeter. Brian Stewart has covered up, and the power play rush is over.

-- 9:20 --

With 16:58 remaining in the 2nd, NMU's Alan Dorich takes a penalty for tripping. Michigan will be on the power play.

-- 9:18 --


Tune in to hear Tony Bolton and Andrew Seid LIVE at the Joe for the 2nd period now that our technical difficulties are somewhat over.

-- 9:12 --

That's the end of the first period, with the score tied at 1 a piece. The Wolverines ended the period with some extended pressure in the NMU zone but not many scoring chances as NMU does a great job blocking any movement in the slots for the Wolverines. Shots in that period were 12-2 in favor of the Wolverines.

--8:58--

With 4:55 remaining in the 1st period, NMU is on the board with a goal from Matt Butcher, his 8th of the season. Assisting on the goal were Gregor Hanson and Ray Kaunisto. Just 29 seconds later, Billy Smith is hit with a game misconduct and 5 minute major for checking from behind. The Wolverines are now on the power play for the rest of the period.

--8:49--

With 8:16 remaining, Billy Sauer just made a nice glove save on a slap shot from the far-side circle. It's great to see Billy on top of his game early on, especially given how easy it can be for a goalie to fall asleep in a game where the first shot on goal against him comes with under 9 minutes remaining in the 1st. The shot total thus far is 8-1 in favor of the Wolverines.

-- 8:42 --

By the way, the internet here is painfully slow. Since I finished writing that delayed post, Northern took a penalty and killed it off, so we still sit at 1-0 with under 10 minutes remaining in the 1st.

-- 8:37 --


GOAL!!! Chad Kolarik scores his 4th goal since coming back from the groin injury to give Michigan a 1-0 lead with a little over 12:30 remaining inthe 1st. Kolarik swept around the net and slipped the puck past Stewart before he could move from post to post. Tim Miller and Tristin Llewellyn picked up assists on the goal. I can't emphasize enough how important it is for Michigan to pour it on early against a tough Northern team. You don't want to let these guys hang around, because regardless of how much talent Michigan has when compared to Northern, anything can happen in a close game, as evidenced by Michigan's two ties at Yost against Northern earlier this year.

-- 8:36 --

Well, we're finally here and set up at the Joe. The new technology we're trying to use for the broadcast is failing us thus far, but we're still working on getting a live broadcast up and running for you, and, if we do, the live game blog will feature goal highlights during the game. As of right now, we are a little over four minutes in and Northern is skating pretty well. Michigan had two quality scoring chances, but starting goalie Brian Stewart turned Michigan aside both times. On another somber note, NMU is better represented in the crowd, and that is very disappointing.

Finally, on a positive note, both Matt Rust and Scooter Vaughan are in the lineup for the Wolverines, with Tim Miller moving up to the top line in place of suspended Max Pacioretty. Go Blue!

--8:28 --

As Rich Rod would say: "You pat your bracket on the butt after day 1 and on day 2 you end up with crap in your hand!"

So yesterday was a great opening day to March Madness for my bracket with the only game I missed being Purdue over Baylor. I only had Baylor into the second round anyway so I was happy.

I should have heeded Rich Rodriguez's advice from the press conference yesterday to not pat my bracket on the butt.

After only the first set of games today, I now find crap in my hands.

Thank you Gonzaga and Drake.

Gonzaga, first of all, was pathetic losing to one skinny twelve year old in Stephen Curry who dropped 40. Don't get me wrong, this was one of the toughest first round games for me to pick because of that aformentioned skinny twelve year old who is a phenom. But, I decided that he alone could not beat Gonzaga. For a majority of the game I was right, until that is Mark Few's terrible coaching. With Gonzaga still in control midway through the second half, Davidson started to go on a run. I was thinking "timeout" for FOUR STRAIGHT possessions, but Mark Few refused to call one resulting in Davidson's first lead of the half. Way to go coach.
And by the way, I had Gonzaga all the way in the elite eight. A stretch, maybe, but I think Georgetown is extremely overrated and thought Gonzaga would beat them. Now Davidson will have that opportunity and I think they have a good shot. They push the ball up the floor extremely quick offensively and with Stephen Curry, even though he looks like a 12 year old, Davidson will always have a shot.

Then, to continue the crapping on my hand, Drake decided to struggle for a majority of their game. But, as the second half clock was nearing under 6 minutes, they orchestrated one of the smartest comebacks I have ever seen. The defense was unable to stop Brazelton and WKU's quick offense, so even with 5-6 minutes left in the game, they started to press and foul WKU. This finally got their offense out of rhythm and allowed Drake to creep all the way back. Most of the time when you think comeback, you think of a team going on a quick run. Not this one. There was no 2 minute scoring run. This was a carefully orchestrated comeback getting the opposing offense out of rhythm and allowing their own offense to come along slowly. Hats off to the Keno Davis and the coaching staff for the comeback and to the players for executing the plan perfectly. Then I had to leave when overtime started for a meeting and I was feeling pretty good that my Sweet 16 pick Drake would pull it out. I just got back to my computer to see a game-winning three pointer with time expiring by WKU nullified the great Bulldog comeback. This was the big crap in my hands as another Sweet 16 team was knocked out AND I did not even get to see the game-winning three with time expiring.

I guess we all learn our lessons. Lesson here, "In Rod we trust." I was stupid enough to pat my bracket on the butt after yesterday even after going to Rod's presser and hearing his quote. Well now I have experienced getting crap on your hand and I have learned my lesson.

I hope you all learn your lesson too. Never be proud of your bracket. You WILL regret it.

WCBN Broomball Video Highlights

Michigan Baseball Postponed Again

Michigan Baseball's game against the IPFW Mastodons today, scheduled for a 3:05 start, has been canceled due to "expected inclement weather." Basically, the snow is supposed to start falling in the early afternoon, and by the time Michigan would be taking the field, they would have most likely been trudging through five-eight inches of snow -- now that's what I call some inclement weather. No make-up date has been announced, and their next game will be the make-up of their last postponed game (the would-have-been Wednesday home opener) to be played on Monday, March 24th, at 3:05 against Oakland. You'll be able to listen to the game live on the WCBN sports stream.

UPDATE: The IPFW Game has been rescheduled for 3:05 on Wednesday, March 26th. This means that Michigan is slated to play games Monday (Oakland - Makeup from 3/19), Tuesday (Bowling Green), Wednesday, Friday (Iowa), Saturday (Doubleheader vs Iowa) and Sunday (Iowa). First of all, it's doubtful that all those games will be played due to weather. However, how can Michigan get through all those games with their current rotation? Some starters are going to have to step up and pitch deep into games or Michigan will have a depleted bullpen headed into Big 10 play.

WCBN Broomball Clinches Playoff Birth

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- WCBN Sports (3-0) slipped and slid to a hard-fought 3-3 win in the regular season finale at Yost Ice Arena. With the draw, and the 10 sportsmanship points that WCBN earned, they have clinched their second consecutive playoff berth in broomball, and their third consecutive playoff berth overall.

WCBN jumped out to an early 1-0 lead behind captain, Stuart Zaas's (Solon, OH/ Solon High School) fifth goal of the season. Zaas scored unassisted off a rebound as co-captain Andrew Seid's (San Antonio, TX / Ronald Reagan High School) slapshot from the left wing was blocked by the goalie, but before it could be covered up, Zaas roofed it over the sprawled out goalie.

Just a few minuets later, Chelsea Slater (Cincinnati , OH / Turpin High School) scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season. In an all-out sprint, Slater was able to outrace the goalie to the ball and sneak a wrister over his outstretched glove to give WCBN a 3-0 lead.

War Chinchillas then took advantage of a defensive lap by WCBN as #54 "Broomball Gretzky" broke loose and was able to finally beat goalie, Jon Moore (Searsport, ME / Searsport District High School) to cut the lead to 3-1 at the 14:34 mark. Off the ensuing faceoff, #54 took the ball all the way through the WCBN defense again and scored as time expired in the half. After video review, the ruling on the ice stood and the goal was counted making the score 3-2 at halftime.

Zaas tried to keep the team focused at halftime, but Kevin "Hulk Hogan" Gregus (Crystal Lake, IL / Prairie Ridge High School) was unable to control his temper as he was whistled for roughing after a vicious cross check against a War Chinchilla forward. After the game, the Chinchilla Captain asked for a urine sample from Gregus as he suspected the use of performance enhancers. Results of this drug test will be known later on in the week. Defensewoman Claire Otwell (Traverse City, MI / Traverse City High School) along with Sports Director, Tony Bolton (Canton, MI / Salem High School) starred on the penalty kill as the pair did not allow the War Chinchillas to register a single shot on goal during their one-player advantage. The War Chinchillas were able to find the net again to tie the game up at 4:45 in the second half on a one-timer that just flew by Moore's stick.

With the game's final seconds ticking off the jumbotron, both teams tried frantically to break the 3-3 deadlock resulting in a series of collisions and wipeouts. With just ten seconds to go and WCBN making one final push, Seid was taken out on an incidental collision. X-rays were negative and Seid is listed as day-to-day and hopes to practice with the team on Saturday. Zaas was also banged up in the second half as he slid knee-first into the boards. Zaas left the game to receive treatment on the bench, but was able to return later in the half. He is listed on the three-day DL saying after the game, "I'll be ready to go for the playoffs for sure, but I may have to sit out tomorrow's beverage shift at West Quad."

Watch for the replay of this game on ESPN Classic Canadian 8 - Da Eight Eh? sometime early next week. Playoff game time has yet to be announced for WCBN Sports as seeding is still to be determined. With the 3-0 regular season record, WCBN is guaranteed a spot in the Co-Rec Division B Novice A playoffs. Check back on Tuesday as the brackets are released at 6:01 EST.

Game One Recap
Game Two Recap

BOXSCORE:
Goals-Assists-Points

Slater 2-0-2
Zaas 1-0-1
Moore 12 Saves, 80% save percentage
Season Leaders:

Points:
1) Slater 10
2) Zaas 8
3) Gregus/Seid 5

Goals:
1) Slater 8
2) Zaas 5
3) Seid 4

Assists:
1) Gregus 3
1) Zaas 3
2) Slater 2

GAME NOTES:

• With #54's goal in the first half, Moore's shutout streak ended after 74:34 without allowing a goal.
  
• WCBN's 3 goal output is their lowest of the season
  
• With the draw, WCBN Sports is on a franchise high three-game winning streak.
  
• Kevin Gregus's roughing penalty in the second half was the first penalty assessed to WCBN this season.
• Stuart Zaas and Andrew Seid are both listed as day-to-day on the official injury report
  
• Both teams received all 10 sportsmanship points
• Player of the game: Chelsea Slater - Scored two goals
  
• Game Time: 33 minutes
  
• Attendance: 1
  

Media Contact: Stuart Zaas (440-227-5897)

Rich Rod Presser

For the second time in less than a week new University of Michigan football coach Rich Rod held a press conference. This time the presser took place in the Michigan Football Meeting Room at Schembechler Hall-a place that got the nick name "Fort Schembechler " due to the reluctance of the program to welcome members of the media. However, all that seems to be changing with Coach Rod giving the media a level of inclusion not found around Ann Arbor in 40 some years.

There are two new signs up on the walls, one reading, "Spot The Ball" an offensive reference and on the other wall, "Hold The Rope" no doubt for the defense. Then a quote on the front of the wall which I loved, "When the time comes to perform, the time to prepare has passed."

I'll run down some of the more interesting quotes from the presser, today was the first practice in pads for the boys.

-Rod said three times that the players are still out of shape and still need to condition. Now, I know it has been the off season and the boys have been eating hamburgers, donuts, and milkshakes but how can they be THIS out of shape? It makes you wonder what "in shape" was under the Carr staff and just how different it is under Rod.

-The guys lift on Mondays and Wednesdays-Kevin Grady practiced full today, back from the sore hamstring he had. Not so lucky was running back Carlos Brown who broke a finger while lifting weights.

-Rod said he would not know the starting QB until Aug, and all three are learning the system as best as they can at this point in the process.

-There will be a Spring Game taking place on April 12th, and it will be at a local high school TBA. It will not be a game but an offense vs. defense scrimmage because there are simply not enough guys practicing to play a game. So, if I had to guess it will be much like the last Spring Game with the crazy scoring system they had in place.

-There is a lack of leadership on this team, and I guess thats to be expected with all the talent that left from last year's team. Right now Brandon Minor and Morgan Trent are starting emerge at the vocal leaders of the team but the coaches want more players to start stepping up, particularly the seniors.

-The topic of Captains came up and it will be quite different than what Michigan fas are used too. It was a bit confusing but here is what we gathered-there will be different captains for the offense and defense for every game next season. Then, at the end of the season the team will select the permanent captains at the end of the season, which will go into the record books. Sounds like Trent will be the guy on defense, offense might have to search for awhile.

-Michigan is very thin at three positions: Wide Receiver, where M only has 5 right now and they want 10. QB-Only 3 on the roster and only one coming in the fall. OL-future recruiting classes will fill these voids in the years to come.

-Michigan seems to be right on schedule making the transition to Rod's system. He said that the team is at the same point all his previous teams have been at this time, and he is seeing and experiencing the same frustrations that he has every where else. That's the good news, the bad news? In Rod's first season at Tulane the team went 7-4. In his first season at West Virginia he went 3-8.

-But without a doubt the best comment came towards the end of the presser when Rod let out this gem in response to if any player is starting to stand out, "Well, I don't pat players on the butt because you might end up with crap on your hands."

The days quoting elegant poets moved on when Lloyd did.

Michigan Baseball Home Opener

Remember to listen to WCBN's Tony Bolton, Rushi Vyas, Stu Zaas, and Andrew Seid LIVE on the Sports Stream, as they broadcast Michigan's home opener against Oakland today at 3:05 PM.

UPDATE: Michigan ties the game at 1-1 on a bases loaded error by third baseman Jonathan Zalenski on a Leif Mahler grounder. Nate Recknagel would follow the Mahler ground ball with a line drive to Zalenski, who would redeem himself by snagging the hot shot to retire the side.

-- 4:00 P.M. --

UPDATE: Despite being no-hit by Oakland's Greg Welke thus far, Michigan has pushed their second run of the game across the plate on a sacrifice fly by Nate Recknagel. 2-1 Michigan, bottom of the 5th.

-- 4:43 P.M. --

UPDATE: Adam Abraham breaks up the no-no with a run-scoring double to left center, giving the Wolverines a 3-1 lead. Derek Van Buskirk followed with an RBI bloop single, and now Michigan leads Oakland 4-1. I'm off to go do the Daily Sports Report -- if you'd like to tune in live at 5:15, click HERE.

-- 4:48 P.M. --

UPDATE: I'm back from the Daily Sports Report, and Michigan's lead has been cut from 6-1 to 6-4 so far in the top of the 8th inning. A run-scoring balk by Eric Katzman and a 2-run double off of Tyler Burgoon has plated the three runs for Oakland in this 8th inning.

-- 5:49 P.M. --

UPDATE: Burgoon gets the backwards-K to retire the side in the 8th -- Michigan leads 6-4 in the middle of the 8th.

-- 5:51 P.M. --

UPDATE: Nate Recknagel smacked a solo shot in the bottom of the 8th to give Michigan an insurance run. 7-4 Michigan, top of the 9th with Tyler Burgoon staying on to try and close this one out.

-- 6:04 P.M. --

UPDATE: Michigan wins 7-4 -- Travis Smith gets the win with Tyler Burgoon picking up the save. Michigan is now 1-0 at home on the year and, if the weather permits, will take on IPFW at the Fish tomorrow at 3:05 P.M. Go Blue!

-- 6:10 P.M. --

Michigan in the 2008 NCAA Tournament (No, Seriously)

Ok, so there are other NCAA Tournaments that start today in St. Louis and in Columbus.

Let's start in St. Louis where #3 Michigan will be well represented in the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Tournament. One week removed from the Big 10 Championships where Michigan was the only team to post multiple champions, Michigan surged up in the national rankings and will look to improve on last year's 6th place team finish.

Russell (25-5) will be seeded #3 in the 141# weight class after his first place finish in the Big 10 Tournament. Russell is a true freshman out of the esteemed Blair Academy in New Jersey and has spent a few weeks holding the #1 ranking earlier this season. I like Russell to win it in the future, but he is too inexperienced for this year.
Predicted Finish: 4th place

Josh Churella (21-3) is the #5 seed in the 149# class as he looks to improve on his runner-up finish in last year's tournament. Churella has battled illness and injury towards the end of the season, so hopefully the extra week of rest has him back near 100%.
Predicted Finish: 3rd place

Jeff Marsh (21-12) will be unseeded as he earned his first NCAA berth with a fifth-place finish in the Big 10 Tournament last week. Marsh has wrestled well against top competition as he creeped into the top #25 after knocking off then #1-seeded Michael Poeta of Illinois earlier this year.
Predicted Finish: Does not place

Eric Tannenbaum (26-2) earned the #1 seed in the 165# bracket and is coming off his second career Big 10 title. Tannenbaum's toughest competition will come from Iowa's #1 ranked, but #2 seeded Mark Perry. The two wrestlers have split the four previous matches against one another with Tannenbaum taking the latest by a score of 3-2 in the Big 10 title match.
Predicted Finish: 2nd place

Steve Luke (25-2) is #2 seed in the 174# bracket. Luke took sixth place in last year's NCAA Championships but missed most of the season due to injury. He's healthy this year as he just won his second straight Big 10 crown. Luke is a tough wrestler as evidenced by his 26-minute marathon match in the Cliff Keen Invitational earlier this season when he just wouldn't stop bleeding. Luke lost that match in double overtime to #1 ranked and undefeated Keith Gavin of Pitt. The bracket is set up for a rematch of that classic match and I see Luke avenging the loss to take the National Championship.
Predicted Finish: 1st place

Tyrell Todd (21-3) is the #3 seed in the 184# weight class. Todd took second in the Big 10 Championships and he looks to improve on last year's 5th place finish at nationals. Looking at the bracket, Todd has a tough quarterfinals matchup should he meet #2 seeded and undefeated Mike Pucillo of Ohio State he pinned in last year's NCAA Championship 5th place match. Pucillo has defeated Todd twice this year, both by one-point margins. Most recently, Pucillo beat Todd 4-3 on a take-down with just 12 seconds left in the title match of the Big 10's. I look for Todd to get by Pucillo and reach the championship match.
Predicted Finish: 2nd place

Predicted Team Finish: 2nd place behind Iowa

#11 Women's Swimming/Diving will also begin action today in Columbus as they are led by Seniors Elyse Lee and Katie Skendrovic. Stephanie O'Callaghan, Jillian Drow, Erica LaBonté, and Caitlin Dunphy-Daly round up the Diving qualifiers.

Michigan is coming off a successful Big 10 Championship runner-up finish. Melissa Jaeger set a conference record in the 200-yd butterfly breaking her own record with a time of 1:56.25. Emily Brunemann, who was named Big 10 Swimmer of the Year, took first place in the 1,650-yard freestyle, winning by over 25 seconds! Her time of 15:51.29 shattered her previous school record by over nine seconds.

My swimming background is not quite as strong as my wrestling background, so this preview will be much shorter than wrestlings, and I'm not going to offer any predictions here. Check out MGOBLUE for better coverage. The NCAA also provides great coverage including live stats and video for wrestling and swimming/diving.

Ok, with some non-revenue sport coverage out of the way, let's sit back, relax and enjoy the madness of March. George/Xavier tips off a little under two hours!

WRESTLING UPDATE:
Michigan will have four all-americans as Josh Churella and Tyrell Todd are still alive in the consolation bracket while Steve Luke and Eric Tannenbaum advanced to the Championship match which will be televised live on ESPN tomorrow night. Both should be excellent matches as Tannenbaum has a rematch from the Big 10 finals with Mark Perry of Iowa and Luke has his rematch with Gavin (I wish I was as good with my basketball bracket as I was with my wrestling predictions). Coverage starts at 7:30, Luke and Tannenbaum should be on around 8:15 or so. Michigan currently stands in 6th Place in the team standings but could definitely move up into the top three with a strong showing from the four wrestlers remaining.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year.."

Tomorrow is the greatest weekday for sports viewing out of the entire year.

At noon, the NCAA tournament and its 64 team field will begin its frantic run for the national championship. It is arguably the greatest day to be a fan because for the next two days, college basketball games will be running for almost 12 hours, starting at noon and ending around 12:15am. Say "Good-bye" to soap operas, and "Hello" to Gus Johnson.

Some of my favorite memories from middle school and high school were on this day when the guys would sneak to the teachers lounge to catch part of the game at lunch time and then take 6 bathroom breaks per class period to keep checking the scores. My religion teacher probably thought I had the prostate of a sixty-eight year old man. This was obviously before the days of laptop computers, and the widely used strategy of college students who bring the computer to watch the games on-demand. Last year, I got to witness a great early round upset by Winthrop at 2pm because of the on-demand program from CBS.

God bless Spanish class at noon.

We all enjoy March Madness. Even if people don't follow college basketball, they are still filling out a bracket or flipping a coin to decide on who they should pick. Watching the evening games with friends is one of the best things about all the coverage. It brings together people who you might not have seen since this time last year, but you still remain the best of friends because of The Tourney and your annual NCAA pool. So with that...

Let the Madness begin.

NCAA Tournament on TV Tomorrow (Thursday 3/20)

Well, March Madness is nearly here. 14 hours and counting. These are the games that you will see tomorrow in the Ann Arbor area on CBS:

Denver, CO 12:20PM: Michigan State-Temple
Washington, DC 2:40PM: Baylor-Purdue
Omaha, NE 7:10PM: Kansas State-USC (Beasley vs. Mayo!!!)
Denver, CO 9:45PM: Notre Dame-George Mason

Again, those are the primary games. While we get to see the entire MSU-Temple game, CBS will move us around from the other three games if they become blowouts. Your CBS announcers for the 8 sites are:

Thursday/Saturday:
Anaheim, CA- Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
Omaha, NE- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
Washington, DC- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Denver, CO- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore

Friday/Sunday:
Raleigh, NC- Jim Nantz/Billy Packer
Birmingham, AL- Verne Lundquist/Bill ‘Onions' Raftery
Little Rock, AK-Ian (Eye-In) Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Tampa, FL- Tim Brando, Mike Gminski

No real surprises from the announcers. The one name you might not know is Carter Blackburn. He’s in there to give the great Dick Enberg a break from calling four games in one day. Blackburn calls the two early games on Thursday, Marquette-Kentucky at 2:40pm and Cornell-Stanford at 5:00pm (west coast only). Enberg gets the two night games.

Two final notes:
(1) Matching the schedule with the announcers, you can tell we get Gus Johnson twice tomorrow. No better way to kick off the tourney than with Mr. Johnson.
(2) LET’S GO ORAL ROBERTS!!!

Programming Notes

1. In case you have not yet heard, the Michigan baseball game today against Oakland, which would have been the team's home opener, has been canceled "due to wet grounds." If you ask me, it sounds like Wednesday, March 19th was just a bit hasty for the opening of the renovated Ray Fisher Stadium at the brand new Wilpon Complex. You can listen to WCBN's top crew of Tony Bolton, Rob Salaman, Stu Zaas, and Andrew Seid LIVE tomorrow at 3:05 for the new Michigan baseball home opener against Oakland on MGoBlue.com.

2. We are going to attempt to bring you the Michigan hockey CCHA Tournament Semi-final match-up with Northern Michigan LIVE Friday night from Joe Louis Arena on the WCBN Sports Stream -- we are using some new technology on Friday night, so you may have to bear with us on the broadcast side of WCBN coverage, but we will certainly have a live blog of the game on both Friday and Saturday night right here at Maize & Blog. If we do have the live broadcast up and running, the live blog will feature highlights, much like the CCHA Quarterfinals against UNO.

3. If you would like to listen to Monday, March 17th's edition of Extra Points, please visit our brand new WCBN Sports Extra Points Archives Podcast. You can also listen to WCBN's Daily Sports Reports from yesterday and today on the WCBN Sports Daily Sports Report Archives Podcast, and you can hear the best banter from the WCBN crew on the WCBN Sports Game of the Week Archives Podcast.

4. To listen to the Daily Sports Report LIVE Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday at 5:15, click here.

UPDATE: WCBN's March Madness Bracket Preview is finally up and online along with our Michigan Baseball Update as their home opener will be tomorrow, to listen to these podcasts, just click here.

Red Sox go on Strike

The Boston Red Sox players have done something very unusual. The team has voted to boycott their final spring training game today against the Blue Jays, and are threatening to boycott their season opening series against the Oakland A's next week in Japan. The players are doing this because the team's coaching staff and other staff members are not getting the same $40,000 stipend from Major League Baseball for the series in Japan that the players are getting.

My prediction: Bud Selig folds and gives in to the players demands. MLB generated over $5 billion in revenue last year. In addition, this series in Japan means a lot for baseball as Selig tries to increase worldwide awareness for the game (plus MLB will probably make a ton of money on this trip, by far offsetting the cost of providing a stipend for the coaches and staff). I will provide updates as this situation unfolds.

UPDATE: Major League Baseball has apparently folded, as the Red Sox will make the trip to Japan and play the Oakland A's in the season opener next week (if you want to watch, get up early, game starts at 6am ET).

On a completely separate and hilarious note, Robert Weintraub, a writer for ESPN's Page 2, has come up with a modern-day update for the baseball classic with his Bull Durham: 21st Century Edition.

Terrelle Pryor to Sign at Noon

Finally. Apparently the Terrelle Pryor drama is about to come to a close, as he will officially announce the school to which he plans to sign a letter of intent today at noon. As Stu wrote earlier in the week, Pryor says he was down to two schools, and presumably has narrowed that down to one (although you never know with him -- I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see him call this press conference just so he can hear himself speak on TV a little more, just as he did on National Signing Day when he opted to not cancel his press conference, even though he had not decided which school he would be attending). While I don't agree with Rivals.com's assessment of Michigan still being in the race for Pryor (he was set on Ohio St. before his dad wanted him to look closer at Penn St. -- the Michigan-Ohio St. debate has been over for awhile in Pryor's head), I do agree with Stu that this is a done deal; Pryor will be a Buckeye. Wouldn't you go to a school where (1) you are already friends with some of the incoming freshman and (2) you will get snaps as the QB of a team that is a perennial BCS bowl competitor? Don't blame Pryor, just look forward to Michigan using him as a source of motivation for the next four years.

Basketball vs Hockey

Let's compare the performances of the Michigan Hockey and Basketball teams from last Friday:

	Basketball		Hockey		Advantage
(Field) Goals Scored	10		10		PUSH
(Field) Goals Allowed	17		1
Season Record Set for Points	Record Low		Record High
Shooting %	20		25
# of Players who Scored	6		8
Fouls/Penalty Minutes	14		14		PUSH
Assists	8		15
Blocks	4		9
Advanced to Next Round	HAHAHA		Yes

And the edge goes to.....Michigan Hockey!

Michigan Hockey Photo Album

Michigan Hockey Photo Album

Click on the photo to see more, including pictures of the fight!

Michigan Spring Practice Photo Gallery

Spring Football Practice Photo Album

Click on the photo to see more spring practice photos