Big Ten Network and Comcast Deal Imminent

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Big Ten Network and Comcast have reached an agreement and the announcement will be made official later this week. The BTN did not compromise on it's initial demandthat the channel be made available on the expanded basic cable package. Comcast wanted to put the BTN on their premium sports tier that subscribers would have to subscribe to in order to get the BTN.

Originally, the BTN was asking $1.10 from Comcast per subscriber, but reports are that they will only receive $.70-$.80 in the final deal.

A deal has yet to be reached with Times Warner Cable which is the provider for most of Ohio, including Columbus.

The Ann Arbor News Refuses to Quit

Credit the Ann Arbor News for their persistence, I guess. Today's headline story: University of Michigan Officials Balk at Academics and Athletics Probe. Basic summary of the story is that the University doesn't want to talk about their mini-investigation that they did as a response to the previous Ann Arbor News special on Academics & Athletics at U of M.

It's a bit of a reach to be publishing a story criticizing the university for not wanting to talk about a scandal that no matter how hard the AA News tries, just does not exist.

Michigan Man Leads US Open

After the first round of play, Justin Hicks was tied for the lead in the US Open at Torrey Pines. Seven birdies led Hicks to a -3 day and a share of the lead with Kevin Streelman. A slew of others sit a stroke back at -2.

Hicks is from Riverview, Michigan and played collegiate golf at the University of Michigan.

Some other notable scores:

RK	PLAYER
T7	Ernie Els	-1
T7	Lee Westwood	-1
T12	Luke Donald	E
T12	Phil Mickelson	E
T12	Vijay Singh	E
T19	Tiger Woods	+1
T31	Adam Scott	+2
T64	Trevor Immelman	+4

UPDATE: Some guy named Tiger has officially taken over.

Udoh to Baylor

Former Michigan F/C Ekpe Udoh announced yesterday that he will be transfering to Baylor University this fall. Udoh, originally from Edmond, Oklahoma, had Baylor on a short list of possible transfer schools not far from home. Last Season, Head Coach Scott Drew took the Bears to their first NCAA tournament since 1988. Udoh will be ineligible for the 2008-09 season.

The Dunking Deutschman

First off, let me say that it is an AMAZING feeling to have electricity back after a 5 day blackout. It's crazy how out of the loop I feel after getting back online for the first time and going to CNN.com or ESPN.com and feeling completely lost (The Tigers are 8 back?!?!). The feeling of confusion is nothing compared to the ones of anger and frustration I've had for DTE Energy these past few days. DTE is steadily climbing the charts, reaching "Comcast-esque" territory as one of the worst public service providers in the area. If any of you reading this lost power/had damage done to their house, hang in there and may you have a speedy recovery with it all.

This past Wednesday, Coach John Beilein was on WTKA radio in Ann Arbor and spoke briefly with radio personality and Detroit News writer Sam Webb about new recruit Robin Benzing. As previously posted by our own Stu Zaas, Benzing played for Germany's U18 team and averaged roughly 10 points and 4 rebounds per game in 2007. Although Beilein kept things brief, he went as far as mentioning that Benzing could develop a skill set similar to that of countryman Dirk Nowitzki. He indicated that Benzing has the makings of an inside-outside game similar to that of the former NBA MVP, however stating that Benzing will only be used as "an emergency center" and will be used sparingly. This means more playing time for Zach Gibson, the other center with an undeveloped skill set. Should be interesting to see if Coach Beilein keeps to his word, or if the pressure to play the young prospect reaches a critical point early in the season. It seems doubtful with Ben Cronin coming in, but stranger things have happened with Maize and Blue Basketball in the past two years.

In other local news, IU guard Jordan Crawford (formerly of Detroit Renaissance) appears to be headed home, set to transfer to UDM after his transcripts are released by IU. This has been reported by two local papers and one prominent recruiting site, but nothing official has been released. UDM has collected a nice class of transfers this season and look to have a great roster lined up for the 2009-10 campaign. The only reason I bring this up is to propose a possible home-and-home series between Michigan and UDM. UDM is recruiting players that will make them a Horizon League contender and this would be a great way for Michigan to possibly develop a nice rivalry game with an up-and-coming Mid-Major located nearby. Look for either MSU or UM (or both) to work out some type of series with UDM in the next two years. The opportunity seems almost too good to pass up with the type of talent UDM and Ray McCallum are bringing to Detroit.

Michigan in 2nd Place in the Directors Cup Standings

In the penultimate Directors Cup Standings, Michigan holds the second place slot with 958 points. Stanford is running away with the cup as they have an insurmountable 390 point lead. Ohio State is right on our heals at third, just 23.25 points back. Penn State and Texas round out the top five.

The Directors Cup is awarded by the National Association of College Directors of Athletics to the school that accumulates the most points across 10 of the most popular NCAA sports for men's and women's teams. Points are awarded based on order of finish at the end of the season with 100 points going to the team that finishes first. Five "participation" points are awarded to all teams that finish 65th or lower.

Looking at the top 25, it's nice to see seven Big 10 teams listed, including three in the top five.

Here's the breakdown of schools that made the top 25 by conference:

Big 10 - 7
Pac 10 - 5
SEC - 5
ACC - 4
Big 12 - 2

Here are the current top 25:

1.	Stanford	1348.00
2.	Michigan	958.00
3.	Ohio State	934.75
4.	Penn State	912.00
5.	Texas	887.50
6.	UCLA	882.00
7.	California	881.00
8.	North Carolina	824.00
9.	Florida	823.75
10.	Duke (N.C.)	798.00
11.	Southern California	787.50
12.	Louisiana State U.	764.50
13.	Arizona State	762.00
14.	Georgia	756.25
15.	Notre Dame	730.50
16.	Tennessee	717.75
17.	Florida State	697.00
18.	Wisconsin	678.50
19.	Virginia	670.00
20.	Texas A&M	652.50
21.	West Virginia	630.50
22.	Minnesota	581.00
23.	Purdue	536.50
24.	Auburn	532.75
25.	Michigan State	531.75

A state of Michigan side note - Grand Valley State University ran away with the Division II cup, edging out second place Minnesota State Mankato by 212.75 points.

More information on the cup and full standings can be found at the NACDA website.

Michigan should hold on to the second place position as rowing finished 11th in the nation, softball made the super regionals (top 16) and baseball reached the regional round (32). UCLA might creep up the standings with good showings in both softball and baseball. Ohio State and Penn State will not accumulate more than the five point minimum in those sports, so those schools could slip a few slots as the SEC and Pac 10 make up ground in their strong sports.

Rodriguez Makes Unusual Scholarship Offer

Michigan made a scholarship offer to a Quarterback from South Carolina. No news there. The news comes because Cornelius Jones is a Junior at Spartanburg High School and has YET TO PLAY A DOWN of high school football. Jones's coach sent a five minute highlight tape from a scrimmage to Rodriguez and after seeing it, Rodriguez immediately made an offer to the 6'3 185 lb QB.

Even Jones wasn't expecting the offer, “I was shocked,” he said in response to the quick offer.

Jones has been kicked off the team and out of school the past few years due to disciplinary issues, but has been given a second chance and hopes to make the most of it

Spartanburg plans to run a similar spread-style offense to that of the Wolverines under Rodriguez. Apparently Rodriguez saw enough from a five minute video to offer a full ride to a guy who has never taken a snap in a real game. A guy who wasn't even in school this spring and missed the last few seasons due to off-field incidents. A guy who Rodriguez hasn't even talked to, let alone met in person.

Step back and think about it. The University of Michigan is an academic institution, and a pretty good one at that. Here they are offering a full ride to a kid who wasn't even going to school this past semester!

Cleveland Indians Love the Maize and Blue

Cleveland's obsession with Michigan players continued today as they added Adam Abraham (13th round, 411 overall) and Nate Recknagel (19th round, 591 overall). This makes three Wolverines for the Indians as they also drafted Zach Putnam yesterday in the fifth round. Somehow the Indians did not draft Jason Christian as he went to the Oakland A's 17 slots higher than Putnam.

The Indians now have the Big 10 pitcher of the year in Putnam as well as the Big 10 player of the year in Recknagel.

Christian and Putnam are both good as gone with these quotes from Putnam in today's Ann Arbor News, "I am very confident that the Indians and I will be able to work something out, because I'm looking forward to playing for them. The Indians are in a very small group of organizations I've been told are the best in the business, and so obviously it was a thrill for my family and me when they picked me."

I would guess that Abraham leaves as well, as last year Pickens gave up his final year of collegiate eligibility and signed with the Indians even though he was drafted in the 50th round. Abraham says he will consider Cleveland's offer but if it isn't appealing, he will go play in the Cape Cod League this summer and return to Michigan for his senior year.

Putnam Selected by Indians, Christian by the Athletics in 5th round

Apparently the Cleveland Indians like Michigan grads, as they selected Zach Putnam with the 171st pick in this year's Major League Baseball entry draft, only one year after they selected Doug Pickens from the University of Michigan. Putnam dropped further than many had predicted, and speculation will most likely exist around the University about whether he will now come back for his senior season.

On a sour note, MLB.com has no idea who Zach Putnam is. First of all, they have him listed "Steven Putnam." Second of all, they wrote the following about him:

Comments: Some see him as a pitcher, others as a hitter. He's got raw power in either spot. On the mound, he's got the potential to throw three to four quality pitches, though he'll have to correct some flaws in his delivery first. Those issues have caused some command issues, though scouts remained intrigued about the potential.

Zach Putnam is a middle round prospect as a hitter, to be completely frank. From the plate, he had a good year, not a great year, in a bad baseball conference. As a pitcher, he had a great year and has a world-class performance (one-hitter against Oregon St. in last year's Super Regional) under his belt. He was picked by the Indians to be groomed as a pitcher, and nobody thinks that he's being drafted to hit the baseball.

Interesting that fellow Junior, Jason Christian was drafted higher than Putnam. Christian went at pick # 154 to Oakland. I think that this means Christian is gone for sure, Putnam...we'll have to wait and see. He was drafted out of high school and turned that down. I think he goes pro because how much better can he get? He was 9-0, Big 10 Pitcher of the year...I think his performance is peaked and he knows he can't improve much statistically so he goes and joins the Indians organization.

Next to go from Michigan:
Adam Abraham (3b/p?)
Nate Recknagel (1b)

Abraham had a tremendous season, hitting around .350. He did not pitch much this season, but was named the closer before the year started and threw 35 innings with a 3.52 ERA last year.

Recknagel was one of the most prolific hitters in the country hitting around .400 for much of the year before a late slump dropped him to .370. Nate set the Michigan single season record for homer runs with 23. The Big 10 player of the year suffered a wrist injury in last week's regional against Kentucky which could drop him a bit in the draft.

Also, I noticed that MLB.com also messed up Kentucky's Sawyer (not Swain) Carroll. They need to get their act together and get the names right!

UPDATE: Apparently MLB was right, Putnam's real name is Steven Zachary McGuire Putnam.
UPDATE #2: And I guess the MLB is the MLB for a reason. Swain Sawyer Carroll it is.

Gand Valley Inherits Two More Former Wolverines

The Grady Valley State Football and Basketball teams added a little more maize and blue as Quintin Patilla and Jerrett Smith have announced intentions to transfer.

Patilla didn't go quietly as he accused the new staff of "not caring" about his health issues. Maybe Carr and company held his asthma inhaler for him when he needed to use it. Losing the third string fullback and convicted felon shouldn't hurt the Wolverines too much.

Smith began the season as the starting point guard, however academic issues led to suspensions and missed road trips before he was eventually dismissed from the team in December. Smith averaged 4.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, and 2.7 apg. Smith will be reunited with former Wolverine guard, K'len Morris, who transfered earlier this season to GVSU.

Former Michigan PG Jerret Smith has reportedly accepted an offer to play basketball at Grand Valley State University. Smith, a junior guard who was kicked off the team for not meeting Coach John Beilein's academic standards, will have eligibility for the 2008-09 season and will suit up for the Lakers this fall. He averaged 4.2 pts and 2.7 assists in 65 games as a Wolverine.

Expert Analysis from Matt Boyer: This is a good pick-up for GVSU. They get a PG with experience playing against some of the strongest teams in the nation. The biggest knock on Smith while in Ann Arbor was his lack of focus and defense in clutch situations. His poor decision-making often led to defensive break-downs and turnovers that Wolverine fans remember all to well under the Tommy Amaker regime. I think Smith will have success at a smaller school (GVSU is D-II) playing against weaker competition, but I don't think the move will hurt Michigan any, even if Smith returns with Grand Valley to face Michigan in the pre-season it won't come back to bite the Wolverines (Remember, GVSU beat Michigan State last year in an exhibition game). Kelvin Grady appeared to have way more hunger and drive than Smith did as a freshman. This should only translate to Grady steadily improving and Michigan fans forgetting all about Jerret Smith.

Side Note #1: CONGRATS to the DETROIT RED WINGS! 2008 STANLEY CUP CHAMPS! Tony, enjoy the celebration b/c this has to be the sweetest graduation present of all.

Side Note #2 : I know transferring to Grand Valley allows for more playing time, but why would you want to trade the classy block M logo for that thing? What is that?

Wings/Pens Triple Overtime Live Blog

So I started watching this game at 8 at my house before leaving to go watch the rest of it at Damons with some friends. At 11:00 Damons closed, at which point we were shot dirty looks from the waitstaff for the next half hour until one of them finally came up to us and asked us to start heading out. At that point, the second overtime was about to end, so we figured that'd be a good time to leave. I just got home to watch the last few minutes of OT number two, so now i'm ready to live-blog the third overtime

19:32: The would have been kind of disappointing if they scored so quickly. After that 15-minute intermission, I want at least five or six minutes of solid hockey before the winner

16:41: I forgot, I don't have to comply with the NCAA blogging policy of just three posts per period.

15:43: It's making me tired just watching these guys.

14:25: Matt Boyer and I were talking about how this game is reminding us of the last OT marathon we watched earlier in the playoffs between Dallas and San Jose that went into the 4th OT. I hope this one ends soon, I've gotta get up in a few hours.

13:10: Tony, I hope your heart was up for this challenge. I wonder how the fans are holding up down there at the Joe

11:44: Franzan had a good look there...wide open in front. The Wings have definitely been the more aggressive team, you can't keep giving them all these chances and expect to live another game if you're the Penguins

10:39: Wow! Horrible penalty to take, it'll be a four-minute advantage for the Penguins. If they don't score here, the Wings are going to win it.

10:03: Well, he called it. Sykora said earlier in the period that he was going to get the game-winner and he backed it up, beating Osgood glove-side to force game six back in Pittsburgh.

Good night!

Wolverines Eliminated From Big 10 Tournament

Kentucky defeated Michigan 12-6 yesterday to end the Wolverines season in the Ann Arbor Regional. Jeff Decarlo got the start in the elimination game but failed to record an out, leaving with the bases loaded. Ben Jensen came on and finished off the first inning, but not before Kentucky scored seven runs to take a 7-1 lead. Kentucky would add two more in the second to go up 9-1 before Michigan started their comeback.

The Wolverines would come within three at 9-6 on Zach Putnam's three-run shot to left center but that would be as close as it would get. All-American, Sawyer Carroll would blast a two-run homer to put the game out of reach at 11-6 in the sixth inning.

It was a big year for Michigan as they opened up a renovated Ray Fisher Stadium as part of the Wilpon Baseball and Softball Complex. The Wolverines hosted a NCAA regional for the first time since 1985 and set a Big Ten Conference record for wins with 26. That record may never be broken as the Big Ten teams will play just 23 games in the future.

Also, i'd like to point out that I was PERFECT 6-6 on my regional picks and correctly nailed the order of finish. None of our poll voters chose Michigan to finish third...

Michigan Advances in NCAA Regional

#2 seed Michigan defeated #3 Kentucky by a score of 7-5. The game was suspended after 4.2 innings on Saturday night when a storm struck Ann Arbor. Michigan was ahead 5-1 at the time with runners at first and second and a 3-1 count to Adam Abraham. The Wolverines wasted no time getting run six across today as on the very first pitch, Maloney sent the runners and Abraham knocked an RBI single into center field.

Kentucky would get back into the game scoring four runs in the top of the eighth to close the margin to 7-5. That would be as close as they'd get however, as Michael Powers came on to earn his fourth save in his last four outings.

Zach Putnam was the winning pitcher, improving to 9-0 on the season. Michigan will take on Arizona tonight at 7:00 at the Fish. Head on down, or listen live on WCBN.

NCAA Regional Preview

#1 Seed: #23 Arizona Wildcats (38-17, 12-12, RPI #10)

The wildcats are a powerful offensive team, with eight hitters batting .299 or better. The Wildcats went just .500 in PAC-10 play, but are coming off series victories over #4 Arizona State and #15 Stanford to end the season. Arizona hoped to host a regional, but were named the last #1 seed and sent a long way from home to Ann Arbor. Arizona began the season ranked #2 in the country and they are the only #1 seed not hosting their regional.

Offensive player to watch: C.J. Ziegler, Senior 1b (.340; 19 HR; 53 RBI; .684 Slugging %)
Pitcher to watch: Schlereth, Daniel, Junior LHP (2-0; 1.73 ERA; 74 SO; 16 BB)

#2 Seed: #16 Michigan Wolverines (45-12, 26-5, RPI #35)

Michigan is a dark horse in the tournament because nobody is quite sure what to expect out of the Wolverines. Michigan boasts a well balanced team, hitting .315 with a team ERA of 4.07. Despite upsetting #1 ranked Vanderbilt in last year's regionals Michigan's 45-12 record wasn't good enough to warrant a #1 seed this year. The reason - the most of those wins came in the Big Ten which has an RPI of 13, behind conferences such as the WCC, Sun Belt, CAA, Big East, and MVC. I don't even know what the WCC, CAA, or MVC are! Michigan is just 1-4 against RPI top 25 teams so they will need to be clicking on all cylinders if they hope to advance to their second straight super regional.

Offensive player to watch: Nate Recknagel, Senior 1b (.372; 23 HR; 68 RBI; .758 Slugging %)
Pitcher to watch: Chris Fetter, Junior RHP (10-1; 2.39 ERA; 75 SO; 25 BB)

#3 Seed: Kentucky Wildcats (42-17, 16-14, RPI #33)
Kentucky is another extremely balanced team that could make a run to come out of the regional on top despite their #3 seed. The Wildcats are led by first team All-American, Sawyer Carroll who boasts a .415 average to go along with 15 home runs and 78 RBI. As a team, Kentucky hits at a .320 clip to go with a 3.53 ERA. This is Kentucky's 6th ever NCAA appearance and their 42 wins are the second most in school history.


Offensive player to watch: Sawyer Carroll, Senior OF/1B (.415; 15 HR; 78 RBI; .755 Slugging %)
Pitcher to watch: Chris Rusin, Junior LHP (Canton, MI) (6-2; 2.84 ERA; 65 SO; 17 BB)

#4 Seed: Eastern Michigan University (25-32, 15-8, RPI #160)
Somehow Eastern Michigan has come back from an 0-17 start to make the NCAA Tournament after winning the automatic bid from the MAC. The Eagles are huge underdogs and would shock everybody if they can come away with a win in the regional. The Eagles are coached by Jake Boss who is in his first year at Eastern Michigan after leaving his assistant coaching job at Michigan last season.

Offensive player to watch: Zach Leonard, FR OF/IF (.342; 9 HR; 51 RBI)
Pitcher to watch: umm...we'll go with N/A here as EMU has a team ERA of 7.65


Predictions:

Today:
Arizona over Eastern
Michigan over Kentucky

Tomorrow:
Kentucky over Eastern
Arizona over Michigan

Sunday:
Kentucky over Michigan
Arizona over Kentucky

Order of Finish:
1) Arizona
2) Kentucky
3) Michigan
4) Eastern

in other news, my posting will be light for awhile as I'm without my laptop seeing as my house got robbed last night. At least I made the paper....

http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/05/police_beat_burglary_follows_b.html

Quick Hits and a National Championship

Couple quick updates on some of the previous articles we have done on Maize and Blog:

The Udoh Saga Continues: A few weeks ago, we posted that Ekpe Udoh had thought about/decided to transfer from U of M because of reported differences with Michigan's style of basketball. To update the situation, Udoh released his choices for transfer schools earlier this week in the Edmond Sun, his hometown paper. Atop the list were local schools (Oklahoma, OSU, Baylor) and mid-majors Wichita State and Missouri State. The article also quoted Udoh expressing his displeasure for Beilein's offensive schemes (You don't say?!). I wouldn't be surprised to see him at OU or Baylor, both local choices which implement a sound post game on offense. Wichita has traditionally been a perimeter oriented team and OSU has a new coach with a new scheme that also would rely on jumpshots, neither a good fit for Udoh.

Simmons watch: I posted a story a few weeks ago about popular ESPN blogger/writer Bill Simmons in which I mentioned Simmons' ongoing battles with ESPN brass and how Simmons had created an alternate site for some of his old material. It wasn't known at the time that he would be posting regularly on this site, but it turns out that he has been regularly posting articles on this site, many of which were pretty well-written and entertaining. Check 'em out.

1st National Title in 4 years!.... OK, so what if it was in Men's Club Lacrosse. Some people might be quick to dismiss their success, but not me. I'll give the LaX team some much deserved credit. This is a team that, despite Bill Martin's repeated refusals to give them varsity status, has accomplished more than some varsity teams have in the past decade. Not only did they manage to win a national title, but they were also able to bring in top varsity talent to compete against during the offseason in order to draw interest and create a local fan base. (Michigan faced off against both Army and Johns Hopkins earlier this year in the Michigan Lacrosse Showcase on Elbel Field). The event drew an estimated 4,000 people. That's more than some Michigan Men's Bball games, regardless of the attendance figures the Athletic Dept. is putting out. Seriously though. Who are they trying fool by saying 10,000 people came to see Illinois and U of M when there are only 5 people sitting in the upper bowl? Congrats to the Men's LaX team and good luck in achieving varsity status next year. I know that's a ticket I'd gladly purchase after this season.

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer. Sorry if the blogging has been light as I know many people have been busy, but we are finishing strong as the Spring season ends. Look for a Mail Bag post by the end of the week.

Chris Graham Signs with the Saints

Yesterday, the New Orleans Saints agreed to a contract with former U of M linebacker, Chris Graham. Graham was a four-year letterman and two year starter for the Wolverines. Graham finished his career at Michigan with 92 tackles, 1 sack, and 11 TFL

Near-Record Setting Performance for Joakim Noah

A few days ago we learned of Joakim Noah's arrest for having an open container of alcohol in public as well as possession of marijuana. A day or so after that, we hear how his father, French tennis star, Yannick Noah defended his son, saying that it shouldn't be such a big deal that Joakim had a beer on the street.

Well today we learned that Noah had another run in with the law that same day. While driving on the campus of the University of Florida, Noah was pulled over for speeding. He was also cited for not wearing a seat belt as well as for driving with a suspended license.

No public response yet from his dad on that one

A Break from Sports

So I returned from Israel earlier this week, to meet my two new housemates who are subletting in my house for the summer. We'll call them John and Jane. Here are my first conversations with both of them:

Stu: So, what brings you from Wisconsin to Ann Arbor for the summer?
Jane: Oh, I'm working at the Botanical Gardnes
S: How'd you find that?
J: The internet
S: Oh, and how'd you find this house to live in all the way in Wisconsin?
J: The internet. But I swear, I really don't like the internet that much. Oh, by the way, my boyfriend flies in from Australia tomorrow night, he's going to be living with us for a month.
S: Oh, thats cool, how long was he in Australia?
J: No, he lives there
S: So how'd you meet him
J: The internet....

I'm pretty sure this is the first time they've met in person

A few days later I meet the other guy who I'm living with and I give him and his girlfriend an Israeli chocolate bar that I brought back from Israel

John: Wow, they speak a different language in Israel?
Stu: Yea...
J: What language do they speak there?
S: Hebrew...
J: Oh
J's Girlfriend: I better save the wrapper then

So that is my current housing situation.

Michigan to Host Basebal Regional

For the first time in 22 years, Michigan will host a regional at Ray Fisher Stadium. The Wolverines will take on Kentucky on Friday, May 30th and then will play the winner/loser of the Arizona vs Eastern Michigan game. The regional is a double elimination four team tournament. Seeds are as following for the Michigan Regional:

(1) Arizona (38-17)
(2) Michigan (45-12)
(3) Kentucky (42-17)
(4) Eastern Michigan (25-32)

Michigan is the only team hosting a regional not to be named a number one seed. The winner of the Michigan regional will go on to face the winner of the Miami regional June 6th. Miami is the tournament's overall #1 seed.

This is the 21st time that the Wolverines have reached the NCAA tournament, and the fourth consecutive year. Last season Michigan upset #1 ranked Vanderbilt to win the regional, then fell to eventual champions Oregon State in the Super Regional.

Here is the entire 64-team field

Michigan Softball Wins Game One of Super Regional

Michigan defeated Virginia Tech 1-0 today at Alumni Field in game one of the NCAA Super Regional. It was a pitchers duel that lived up to anyone's expectations as Michigan's freshman phenom, Jordan Taylor outpitched Angela Tincher of Virginia Tech. Tincher came in leading the nation in ERA (.61) and Strikeouts (619). Tincher is also best known for no-hitting Team USA earlier this season, one of four no-hitters that she has thrown this season.

Neither pitcher allowed a run until Angela Findlay singled home Michelle Weatherdon who came on to pinch-run after Allesandra Giampaolo hit her 61st career double giving Michigan their only runner in scoring position all game long. That double tied Giampaolo for the career doubles record, but more importantly gave Michigan the chance to score the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run. With a 3-2 count, Angela Findlay drove a single back through the middle and Weatherdon was just able to beat the throw home.

Jordan Taylor picked up her 31st win of the season, going the distance allowing just three hits, no walks, and struck out seven. The two teams will face off again tomorrow at 1PM. The game will be televised on ESPN and we will have the broadcast on WCBN and MGOBLUE.com.

Audio Highlights from Michigan's 1-0 Win:
Allesandra Giampaolo's Double
Angela Findlay's RBI Single
Last out of the Game

Video Highlights Courtesy of MGOBLUE.com