2010 CCHA Tournament Finals

LISTEN HERE to WCBN's call of the CCHA Tournament Finals, as Michigan seeks an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Hockey Tournament against Northern Michigan. With a win, the Wolverines would extend their streak to 20 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and become the first team with a seed worse than #4 to win the CCHA Tournament.

2010 WCBN March Madness Picks

WCBN Sports' Podcast

Michigan-LSSU Game Two Highlights

WCBN Sports' Podcast

CCHA First Round Continues Tonight

Listen live to WCBN Sports as the Michigan Wolverines hope to finish off a first round sweep of the Lake Superior State Lakers in the CCHA Tournament tonight at Yost. Use the link in the post below or go to WCBN.org and navigate to the WCBN Sports Stream.

Game Time: 7:35
Venue: Yost Ice Arena
Broadcast: WCBN Sports Stream

Listen: CCHA Playoffs First Round - Michigan Hockey vs. Lake Superior State

We are LIVE at Yost for tonight's Hockey game between Michigan and Lake Superior State. Michigan swept the Lakers over Halloween weekend in the Soo and look to repeat that performance starting tonight in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Michigan will be playing in the first weekend of the CCHA playoffs for the first time EVER, with a trip to Munn as a reward assuming no upsets of UNO or Alaska by the two worst teams in the CCHA.

Listen Live HERE on WCBN.org's sports stream.

Andrew Seid and Jeremy Kreisberg on the call.

Go Blue!

CCHA Standings Update (2/25)

After a feel-good night at Yost featuring the final regular season home game for five Michigan seniors and a shutout performance from Shawn Hunwick (not a typo), Michigan is one win closer to a first-round bye in the CCHA Tournament...

Current Standings

1. Miami: 26 GP, 66 Pts., 20 W

2. Ferris St.: 26 GP, 46 Pts., 13 W

2. Michigan St.: 26 GP, 46 Pts., 13 W

4. Alaska: 28 GP, 45 Pts., 11 W

5. Nebraska-Omaha: 28 GP, 44 Pts., 13 W

6. Michigan: 27 GP, 43 Pts., 14 W

7. Northern Michigan: 26 GP, 42 Pts., 11 W

8. Ohio State

9. Lake Superior

10. Notre Dame

11. Bowling Green

12. Western Michigan

Michigan Hockey Begins Push Towards CCHA Title

It begins tonight. Michigan Hockey has one more shot at lengthening its streak of 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances -- the longest in the sport. We are still one week away from raising the curtains on the 2010 CCHA Tournament, which represents Michigan's lone opportunity to qualify for a tournament that will surely not afford an at-large bid to this year's group of Wolverines. But it begins tonight. Michigan welcomes Notre Dame to Yost Ice Arena in the first of a two-game, three-day home-and-home to finish the regular season. In order to receive a bye in the first round of the CCHA Tournament and a home series in the Quarterfinals, Michigan will need to win twice and get some help...

Current Standings

1. Miami: 26 GP, 66 Pts., 20 W

2. Ferris St.: 26 GP, 46 Pts., 13 W

2. Michigan St.: 26 GP, 46 Pts., 13 W

4. Alaska: 28 GP, 45 Pts., 11 W

5. Nebraska-Omaha: 28 GP, 44 Pts., 13 W

6. Northern Michigan: 26 GP, 42 Pts., 11 W

7. Michigan: 26 GP, 40 Pts., 13 W

8. Ohio State

9. Lake Superior

10. Notre Dame

11. Bowling Green

12. Western Michigan

Tiebreakers: 1. Conference Wins; 2. Head-to-Head Record; 3. Head-to-Head Goal Differential

CCHA Series' This Weekend: Notre Dame vs. Michigan, Bowling Green vs. Michigan State, Western Michigan vs. Ferris State, Lake Superior at Northern Michigan, Ohio State vs. Miami

So, what does this mean for everyone else?

1. Miami has the top spot locked up

2. Michigan State and Ferris State are playing this weekend for the number two seed. If their respective series' this weekend don't settle things, Ferris State will get the number two seed by virtue of a 6-4 goal differential in the teams' only series (played last weekend).

3. Alaska and UNO are done playing CCHA games - UNO cannot get a first-round bye, and Alaska would be the beneficiary of failures from Northern Michigan and Michigan

4. Northern Michigan can clinch the #4 seed with five points this weekend at home against the Lakers

What does Michigan need for the #4 seed?

1. Two wins - In order to jump Alaska and UNO, Michigan needs five points. Michigan would win a tiebreaker over Alaska by virtue of Michigan's 13 conference wins, so Michigan could receive the #4 seed with one regulation win and one shootout win

2. NMU must lose at least one game - if Michigan picks up all six points available to them against Notre Dame, NMU would be forced to gain at least five points against Lake Superior, as Michigan owns the conference-wins tiebreaker over the Wildcats. If Michigan wins once in regulation and once in a shootout (five points), NMU would need four points (one regulation win and one shootout loss or two shootout losses).

And then we're in?

Not even close. But, in order to have a chance at making a run in the CCHA Tournament, Michigan would be greatly aided by a first-round bye and a home series in the Quarterfinals. If Michigan can get to the Semis, they'll need two wins in front of a favorable crowd at Joe Louis Arena in order to extend their streak of consecutive tournament appearances to 20.

It won't be easy, and it's far from likely. Miami is one of the best teams in the country, and Michigan has been tremendously inconsistent this season. But this is a talented team with the best coach in the country, and our job, as fans, is to keep hope alive.

Soccer Facility Update

Via Twitter, a new set of photos popped up online today that show some progress on the new soccer facility being constructed and slated to open in Fall 2010.

New soccer facility set to open Fall 2010

The coolest thing about the new facility, though, is the inclusion of a new press box. With wireless internet, this press box would potentially allow WCBN to begin broadcasting UofM soccer and tap into a whole new audience. We'll stay with this developing story and certainly do our best to be bringing you Michigan soccer in Fall 2010.

Who Dat?

As Tracy Porter raced 74 yards for a Pick-6 with a little over 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, you knew the game was over. You could feel the excitement all the way down in the French Quarter. These Saints are 'Aints no more: the New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl champions. Drew Brees earned the MVP honor by completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns to tie the Super Bowl record for completions. Peyton Manning had a good game of his own, going 31 out of 45 for 333 yards and a TD, but his one mistake cost the Colts the game. Does this end the discussion of Peyton Manning being the greatest QB of all time, at least for now? Did Sean Payton have the greatest Super Bowl coaching performance in history? Does Drew Brees now belong in the same echelon of QBs as Tom Brady and Manning? Who are the favorites for 2010? Listen in to Extra Points at 6:00 pm tonight as we analyze Super Bowl 44 in vivid detail.

So Rich...who exactly is this negative recruiter?

During today's football press conference, when asked about the difficulty of recruiting this year in contrast to the the past, Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez brought up the topic of negative recruiting. Negative recruiting, characterized by insulting other schools as a means of promoting one's own program, is something that is consistently present in only one school in the Big Ten, according to Rodriguez. When asked what school he was referring to later in the press conference, Rodriguez wisely responded, "I'm not gonna tell you." He then retracted his statement with, "You mean the one in the Big Ten?", he paused and smirked, "I'm not gonna tell you."

So who was it? Currently there are 9 possibilities, as Rodriguez was adamant that he was not talking about Ohio State. Too bad... there's always room for more bad blood in that rivalry. Nonetheless, there are still nine candidates to think about, and with some common sense, it's plausible to narrow it down.

Rodriguez claimed that he heard about this school recruiting negatively through the recruits that he was pursuing.And if Michigan was in the running for the same recruits as this other school, then the program must be decent. Let's face it- Michigan doesn't exactly recruit along the same lines as Indiana, Illinois, and Northwestern.

Down to 6.

There are two other clues:

1) The first, and it's an admitted stretch, is that Rodriguez, based on his hesitation and simply the fact that he brought up the topic of negative recruiting, seemed like deep down he wanted to tell the media who the school was, but knew it wasn't in his best interest. And if he wanted to tell the media, then he probably had negative feelings toward this school.

2) Rodriguez mentioned later in the press conference that there are "guys" that complain that he's trying to steal guys that are already committed.

Conclusion: Purdue

Purdue is a solid football program that has been at odds with Rodriguez ever since he "stole" Roy Roundtree from then Purdue head coach Joe Tiller in his first recruiting season with the Wolverines. Not to mention the incident last November when head coach Danny Hope approached Rich Rodriguez at midfield after the football game and confronted Rodriguez for being responsible for getting one of his players suspended.

A good program + negative feelings on both sides= a likely candidate


Please feel free to theorize any other schools that coach Rodriguez was targeting by posting your ideas in the "comments" section.

Demar Dorsey commits to Michigan

Safety Demar Dorsey has faxed his letter of intent to the University of Michigan. He is the number 2 rated safety according to ESPN. With Dorsey's commitment, Michigan's class is now complete. For a more in-depth look at Michigan's class of 2010, listen in to WCBN today at 5:15 for a special signing-day version of the Daily Sports Report.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/18960/michigan-gets-huge-boost-with-dorsey

UPDATE:

WCBN Sports would like to take this opportunity to introduce the "DREAD the DREADS" campaign. With eight players on the roster with dreadlocks - including Dorsey, Denard Robinson, and Vincent Smith - it's time Michigan built up a dreadlocks cult. I want to see this phrase on t-shirts, posters, and I want to see the Michigan Stadium student section complete with scattered dreadlocks wigs. We all know dreadlocks are a sign of superior athletic ability and general awesomeness, and it's time Michigan supports its dreadlocked demons. When opponents step onto the field at Michigan Stadium on Saturday afternoons, they WILL DREAD THE DREADS.

- Andrew G

Rashad Knight to choose Rutgers over Michigan

According to Sports Illustrated.com, FL S Rashad Knight will sign a letter of intent to play with Rutgers, after narrowing his field to Greg Schiano's Scarlet Knights and Rich Rodriguez's Michigan Wolverines. Rashad Knight, a four-star defensive back, is the highest-ranked recruit from the state of Florida to commit to Rutgers. Knight is ranked as the 19th best safety in the country and the 46th best prospect in the state of Florida.

...but the real issue at stake is whether we want a player who is quoted as saying this...

"I really like what they're doing there and how they do things," Knight said about Rutgers. "I like coach Pinkham and coach Schiano a lot. In fact, coach Schiano reminds me a lot of my mom."

...and do we really want a coach who posits himself as a motherly influence on our recruits? i think i'll pass. two more cracks at a top safety come tomorrow with california's sean parker and florida's demar dorsey...

The SI.com story reads as follows:

One of the top remaining uncommitted prospects from Florida, Rashad Knight, will sign a letter of intent for Rutgers, SI.com has learned. A 5-foot-10 and 181-pound safety for Trinity Christian in Jacksonville, Knight is rated as a four-star player by Rivals.com. Knight will choose Rutgers over Michigan, where he took official visits. He also made an official visit to Auburn in December.

"I sat down with my family and talked about it -- I called the coach at Michigan to let him know," Knight said. "I just felt too comfortable at Rutgers to not go there."

Knight played safety in high school but says that Rutgers envisions him as a cornerback. Among his many offers were Auburn, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Purdue and West Virginia. He said that the recent trend of Rutgers producing NFL players helped sell him on the program. It didn't start very well, however, for the Scarlet Knights in trying to land Knight.

"A lot of coaches from a bunch of schools called here and there, but he [Rutgers' secondary coach Ed Pinkham] kept calling me so much, it started to get annoying," Knight said. "Then, after awhile, I began to feel real comfortable with him and what he was saying and our talks."

Listen: Highlights of Last Night's Classic at the Joe

A new chapter was added to college hockey's fiercest rivalry last night, as Michigan and Michigan State fought to the finish at Joe Louis Arena. After State took a 4-3 lead with four unanswered goals, Michigan had six minutes to save their season...

Listen to the highlights from WCBN Sports!

Michigan Vs. Iowa

Good afternoon boys and girls! Adam Brewster and I will be liveblogging this afternoon's game between the Wolverines and the Hawkeyes starting at tipoff at 4:35 pm. Can Michigan recover and end their three game losing streak? Follow along to find out:

Laval Lucas Perry and Aaron Fuller each hit layups to close out the game. Michigan wins! 60-46 improving to 11-10 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten. Their next game is Tuesday at 7:00 pm at Northwestern. Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims lead all scorers with 20 apiece. Good evening and Go Blue!!

Manny Harris hit both his free throws to give him 20 points also. Harris and Sims both left the game, and were replaced by Matt Vogrich and Zack Gibson. 58-44 Michigan.

Aaron Fuller hit layups on Iowa's last two possessions to make the score 56-42 with only two minutes remaining.

Before the final TV timeout Aaron Fuller hit a layup, score now 56-38 Michigan with 3:40 left in the game.

John Lickliter drilled a long three. Darius Morris was fouled on the following possession an knocked down both of his free throws. 56-36 Michigan.

Fuller got one of two from the line. 54-33 Michigan.

After Eric May hit a lay up, Zack Novak picked up his fourth foul on the following Iowa possession which will send Aaron Fuller to the line after the TV timeout. 54-32 Michigan.

Iowa's Eric May picked up his fourth foul after tripping Manny Harris. Harris hit both his free throws and has 15 on the game. Aaron Fuller got his ninth point of the half on the following possession. Harris responded with a pull up triple. 54-30 Michigan. 7 minutes remaining.

DeShawn Sims got a rebound off his own miss, giving him 20 points and 10 rebounds for the game. 49-28 Michigan.

Iowa's Eric May ended their scoring drought with a layup. On the following Iowa possession Anthony Wright fouled Aaron Fuller who hit both his free throws. The score now 47-28 Michigan halfway through the second half.

Zack Gibson got an offensive rebound on Manny Harris' missed three and hit the layup to give Michigan a 47-24 lead. Iowa calls timeout with 11:36 remaining in the game.

Harris drilled a pull up triple, increasing Michigan's lead to 21 with the score now 45-24 Michigan. 12:20 left in the half.

DeShawn Sims missed a reverse layup, but grabbed his own rebound, hitting an easy layup to give him 18 points for the game.

Manny Harris drew the foul driving towards the basket and completed the three point play, hitting his free throw. Harris now has ten points.

Aaron Fuller picked up his fourth foul of the game and has since headed to the bench. DeShawn Sims was fouled going up for an offensive board on Stu Douglass's desperation three. Sims went 1-2 at the line.

Iowa's Aaron Fuller has scored Iowa's last five points, all coming in the second half. Making the score 36-22 Michigan at the first TV timeout of the half.

Zack Novak picked up his third foul, giving him more fouls than baskets. Iowa's Aaron fuller his one of two from the line.

Zack Novak drills a long three pointer as the shot clock was expiring to give Michigan a 34-17 lead two minutes into the second half.

Sims got his thirteenth point of the game with an assist from Manny Harris to start second half scoring. Zack Novak picked up his second foul.

Second Half Begins! Laval Lucas-Perry to inbound for the Wolverines to begin the half. Lucas Perry missed a three to start the half and DeShawn Sims was fouled on the offensive rebound.

And Iowa's Eric May throws it down to end the first half, Michigan is up 29-17. High scorer for Michigan is Deshawn Sims with 11 points, for Iowa it's Cully Payne with 4. We'll be back in 15 minutes with the live blog for the second half!

And Manny Harris instead commits his fifth turnover of the game, so with 7.9 seconds left in the game, Iowa will take the last shot of the first half. Iowa has called a timeout to draw a play.

And Michigan takes a timeout with 25.3 seconds remaining to plan as they will have the last shot of the half, barring a turnover. After an Iowa layup and a Zack Novak 3, the score stands at Michigan 29 Iowa 15.

Time out Iowa after a beautiful no look pass from Darius Morris gives Sims a wide-open layup. Michigan now up 26-13 with 1:53 remaining in the first half.

And the 6-9 255 lb. Brennan Cougill drills a three pointer to make the score 24-13 Michigan. 2:10 remaining.

LLP knocks down two free throws to push Michigan's lead to 14 with four minutes remaining.

Manny misses three layups in a row, now 22-10 Michigan with 5 minutes remaining.

Timeout on the floor with 7:12 left, Michigan up 22-5 after a 3 from Manny Harris. Michigan's defense continues to force turnovers with a startling frequency.

8:06 left in the first half, foul against Iowa Aaron Fuller, that's his third foul. 19-5 Michigan.

With 10:34 left in the half, Iowa hits it's first FG: a 3-pointer from Devan Bawinkel. 17-5 Michigan.

A tv timeout with 11:36 left in the half, Michigan up 16-2 after another Douglass 3. Iowa still does not have a field goal.

Blocking foul against Novak, Iowa now at the line. Eric May drills both freethrows to finally put Iowa on the board. 13-2 Michigan with 13 minutes left.

14:44 left, still 9-0 as the Ref's check the monitor to see if Iowa's Matt Gatens hit the rim on his three point attempt. Michigan's defense has been tenacious so far this afternoon.

Michigan up 9-0, layup by Manny a three by Douglass, and another Sims layup. Defense holding up well so far. Timeout Iowa with 16:37 remaining.

Tip won by Michigan, the game has officially begun! Sims takes it in the post for the first basket, assist by Douglass. 19:30 left in the first

Starters are Zack Novak, Stu Douglass, Manny Harris, Laval Lucas-Perry, and Deshawn Sims for Michigan. For Iowa, the starters are Cully Payne, Matt Gatens, Aaron Fuller, Eric May, and Jarryd Cole. Almost tip time here in Crisler!

Ticket Giveaway: Friday Night on GOTW

WCBN will be giving away tickets to Saturday's Michigan - Michigan State hockey game at Joe Louis Arena!

Tune-in to 88.3 FM or WCBN.org on Friday night from 7 P.M. to 10 P.M. to play Family Feud against WCBN Sports' expert studio analysts. Call in to the show at 734-763-3500!

Manny Harris Suspension Rumor Mill

Michigan basketball star guard Manny Harris was reinstated today by Coach John Beilein after serving a one-game suspension for an unnamed offense that occurred during practice on Friday. While Harris has officially rejoined his teammates for their showdown with Michigan State at Crisler tomorrow evening - sparing Wolverine fans from what would have been utter humiliation - there has been no official word on what Manny L'Adorable Harris did to deserve sitting out the team's brutal loss to Purdue. WCBN Sports offers their best guesses:

• Harris, enraged when Michael Rosenberg interrogated him about the length of Coach Beilein's practices, punched the hack Free Press "journalist" squarely in the face. Beilein, while impressed by Harris' defense of his honor, was forced to suspend Harris, much to the pleasure of Rosenberg, whose vendetta against all things West Virginia continues to destroy everything beautiful about Michigan.

• Freshman walk-on and Club Trillion member Josh Bartelstein showed up to practice Friday and Manny Harris promptly delivered a roundhouse kick to his face, apparently, for existing. Coach Beilein was overhead laughing, and was seen high-fiving Harris, but out of the fear that Bartelstein's father would pull the $500,000 contribution he made to the program to secure Josh's spot, he decided to suspend Harris for one game.

What a clown.

Beilein applauds Manny doing what everyone else wanted to do.

Got other theories? Post them in the comments. WCBN Sports will continue to follow this breaking story and bring you updated rumors as they develop.

Michigan Hockey vs. Alaska Live on Sports Stream

We are LIVE at Yost for tonight's Hockey game between Michigan and Alaska. Michigan beat the Nanooks 6-0 last night and will look to sweep them for the weekend and extend the current win-streak to 5 games. A win tonight will also move the Wolverines into a tie with Alaska for fourth in the CCHA standings.

Listen Live HERE on WCBN.org's sports stream.

Andrew Seid, Andrew Goddeeris, and Rushi Vyas on the call.

Go Blue!

Coach Rodriguez...Take Notes

January was supposed to be a month to cleanse our souls from the evils of the 2009 Michigan football season--one that began with a quartet of promise and ended in conference contempt. College football has given way to hoops and hockey, although many Michiganders are busy commiserating over the Pistons, Red Wings, and Wolverines. But as the weather turns, I'm left reflecting on a football season gone awry and the prospects for improvement in 2010.

Football's 2009 Big Ten conference is largely reminiscent of basketball's Big Ten conference the preceding season. They came in with relatively low expectations and, by the end of the season, appeared to be a conference on the rise. The bowls have become a huge source of optimism for fans of college football's longest standing conference, with the Big Ten winning its four most prominent bowl games:

Champs Sports Bowl: Wisconsin 20 - Miami (FL) 14

Capital One Bowl: Penn St. 19 - LSU 17

Rose Bowl: Ohio St. 26 - Oregon 17

Orange Bowl: Iowa 24 - Georgia Tech 14

Perhaps most notable about the Big Ten's bowl dominance was the fact that each Big Ten team in the four games listed above was an underdog (Penn St.-LSU was nearly a pick'em game) in Vegas. The Big Ten, by all accounts, vastly exceeded expectations, and nearly went 7-0 in the bowl season (Michigan State led in the fourth quarter against Texas Tech, Northwestern lost in overtime against Auburn, and Minnesota lost by one against Iowa State).

And let's be clear; these games were a clash of styles. Wisconsin beat the athletes at the "U." Ohio St. beat the Pac-10 spread. Iowa took care of a gimmicky, option offense. And maybe--just maybe--while Rich Rodriguez presumably watched the Big Ten compete with the nation's best, the thought crossed the embattled coach's mind that Michigan was doing something right before he got here.

Maybe, just maybe, a team can win in the Big Ten with the type of players used by Lloyd Carr when Michigan thoroughly dismantled Tim Tebow and Florida at the 2008 Capital One Bowl. Maybe, just maybe, throwing out the playbook used by Yost, Crisler, and Schembechler was not the brightest idea. Maybe, just maybe, it was not the best idea to stop recruiting the likes of Chad Henne and Mike Hart--the top-flight NFL prospects whom Michigan could attract with their cold-weather grind-it-out style of play.

The problem with Michigan football fans today is that we are so faithfully devoted to the winged helmet that we are willing to move the bar each year for a coach who has yet to win more than two games in the Big Ten. When he got here, we expected to win the Big Ten in 2010. After a three-win 2008 season, we just wanted to reach a Bowl Game in 2009 and compete with the class of the Big Ten in 2010.

Now, we'd be content with a seven-win season against the likes of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Bowling Green. Now, we simply roll our eyes when Tony Grimes eschews the Wolverines for Maryland, Mississippi, or some school with a warmer climate than Ann Arbor. Now, we hope that our defense couldn't possibly be any worse, even after losing Brandon Graham, Stevie Brown, and Donovan Warren.

Is Rich Rodriguez the best coach for the current Michigan team? Absolutely. Would any available coach win more games for Michigan in 2010 than Rodriguez? Probably not. But that's not my question today, as I reflect on 2009.

Are we building a championship program?

I surely don't think so. And if you don't, after 2 seasons and nearly two complete recruiting classes, it may be time to begin thinking about competing with the rest of the rising Big Ten.

Help WCBN Sports!

WCBN Sports has been using YouCastr as its main audio server this year in order to give listeners an interactive, high-quality broadcasting experience. Unfortunately, YouCastr is changing its service in 2010 and eliminating its free-to-view audio broadcasts; needless to say, WCBN is unwilling to force its listeners to pay for Michigan sports audio.

So, today, we are asking for advice. Do you know of any online audio servers through which we can bring you Michigan sports without charging fees? Please let us know if you have any thoughts.

Thank you,

WCBN Sports

Listen: Michigan v. Ohio State

Tune-in to WCBN Sports today as Michigan takes on the Buckeyes in the home opener of the Big Ten season.

Game: Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Wolverines
Time: 430 PM
Venue: Crisler Arena (Ann Arbor, MI)
Broadcast Link: YouCastr