Michigan Sports Center

Friday Quick Hits: Brandon Graham Named Team MVP

2008-12-04T23:52:00.005-05:00

Brandon Graham was named Michigan's MVP for this past season. The award was voted on by Michigan players. Will Johnson, Mike Massey, Tim Jamison, Obi Ezeh, and Stephen Schilling also won awards.

Steve Kampfer is making great progress, and suddenly it doesn't seem so unlikely that he will return to the ice in a game later this season. That is remarkable considering he injured his skull and neck in an off-ice incident in October.

Matt Rust and Aaron Palushaj will play for Team USA in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. The event takes place from late December to early January and conflicts with the Great Lakes Invitational, meaning neither will play for Michigan during the GLI.

A couple of Maize Rage members organized a camp out for the Duke game. Even though tip off isn't until 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, some people are planning on braving the cold by camping out tonight in order to get the best seats in Crisler for the game.

Although MGoBlue is claiming that the Duke game is a sellout, some tickets are still available for students. According to an e-mail sent by the athletic department, the first 100 students who go to the women's basketball game against North Carolina State tonight (starts at 6:30 p.m.), sit in the section 9 bleachers, and stay for the entire game will receive free tickets to the Duke game on Saturday.

The athletic department recently launched a photo store.

66 Michigan athletes were named to the fall Big Ten all-academic team.

Donovan Tate, a football and baseball recruit, committed to North Carolina earlier this week. Tate is a very talented baseball player who may be a top 10 pick in next year's MLB draft. It isn't a guarantee that he will even go to college, but if he does UNC will be getting a great player in two sports. Tate had shown some interest in Michigan before committing to UNC.

Taylor Hill, who left the football team at the start of this past season, is going to transfer to Kent State or Youngstown State. He will go to Kent State if he is allowed to play starting next year. If the NCAA doesn't grant him eligibility for 2009, he will probably go to Youngstown State, which is a I-AA school. If he transfers to YSU, he could play immediately.

The Week 14 BlogPoll is out.

Notre Dame's athletic director confirmed that Charlie Weis will return next season.

Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville resigned on Wednesday. Even though Auburn's athletic director claims otherwise, it sure seems like he was forced out. Auburn went 5-7 this past season and was beat by Alabama for the first time since 2001.

Toledo hired Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Tim Beckman to be the team's new head coach.

McGuffie, Butler, and Horn Not at Football Bust

2008-12-04T20:09:00.004-05:00

According to John Heuser, Sam McGuffie, Carson Butler, and Avery Horn were not at the football bust earlier tonight. Rumors about McGuffie leaving Michigan have been circulating for some time now, but recently it sounded like he was going to stay. Just because he wasn't at the football bust doesn't mean he will leave for sure, but it certainly isn't a good sign.

The same goes for tight end turned defensive end Carson Butler. Butler was expected to leave the team after this season before he switched to defensive end. Once he started playing DE, there was some speculation that he would return to Michigan for his final year of eligibility. His absence from the bust basically confirms that he was the player that skipped the team meeting that took place the day after the Ohio State game. Rich Rodriguez said in his final weekly press conference that a player with one year of eligibility left didn't attend the meeting, so my guess is that Butler was that player.

Running back Avery Horn's absence from the football bust isn't a big surprise, either. Although there haven't been any direct rumors about Horn's future, the assumption was that he would transfer due to a lack of playing time. I imagine that is what will happen, although I'm only speculating at this point.

It sucks when any player leaves, but really the only notable one of these three would be McGuffie. Butler was seen as someone on his way out early on in the season, and Horn didn't get any playing time other than a couple kick returns. Obviously it would be nice if McGuffie stayed, but his future as a running back certainly has to come into question considering he suffered three concussions in the last two months of the season.

My guess is that we'll get confirmation of which players have left sometime soon. Final exams start for Michigan next week, and I would bet on hearing something after the semester ends.

Maryland Beats Michigan 75-70 Thanks to Strong Second Half

2008-12-04T19:23:00.005-05:00

Michigan led Maryland by 6 points at halftime and was playing well. The Wolverines made 6 three-pointers in the first half and nearly had the lead up to double digits at one point. However, Maryland got off to a very quick start in the second half and began to take over the game. The Terrapins' best player, Greivis Vasquez, started the second half off with a three-pointer, and then he found teammate Eric Hayes, who nailed a three-ball as well to tie the game.

In all, Maryland went on a 16-3 run to start the second half and led by 7 points almost five minutes in. Zack Novak quickly closed the gap, though. He nailed a three-pointer and was fouled as well. He made the free throw to complete the four-point play and proceeded to score on a layup the next trip down the floor. Jevohn Shepherd, who had another solid game, layed the ball in on Michigan's next possession to take the lead back from Maryland.

Michigan and Maryland traded the lead for the next few minutes before the Terrapins went ahead for good. Maryland wasn't able to get the lead any higher than four points until there were around three minutes left in the game. That's when Dave Neal hit a dagger of a three-pointer to put Maryland ahead by 7.

Michigan had time and plenty of chances to make a quick comeback, but they were only able to cut the lead down to 3 points, and that was only after Anthony Wright made a couple of lucky three-pointers. One was so far away that he nearly shot it from the bench, but it went in somehow to give Michigan a little hope. Unfortunately, Eric Hayes proceeded to nail both free throws after he was fouled, giving Maryland a 75-70 lead. Michigan missed two three-pointers in the closing seconds, keeping the score at 75-70 when the game went final.

Although it was disappointing that Michigan lost this game, it was encouraging that they could have won it. Michigan led briefly in the second half and kept it close until the very end with an ACC team on the road. Obviously that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is progress from where this team was at last season.

Michigan will get another chance to show their progression against Duke on Saturday. This will be the second meeting between Michigan in Duke in 15 days, so it will be interesting to see what adjustments both teams make. The game tips off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Online Stream of Michigan-Maryland Game

2008-12-03T19:14:00.005-05:00

The Michigan-Maryland game is on ESPNU, meaning most of you won't be able to watch it on TV. Luckily it appears that the game will be streamed online, so you should be able to watch it here or below. Just hit play to watch the game (it tips off around 7:30 p.m.).

UPDATE: The feed appears to be having some problems. If no video is showing up, it's not your fault. The problem is originating from the feed itself.

UPDATE II: Try this feed instead. It appears to be working.

UPDATE III: The game is over. Michigan lost 75-70 after leading by 6 at the half. I'll post a recap tomorrow.

Wednesday Quick Hits: Michigan Takes on Maryland Tonight

2008-12-03T00:58:00.006-05:00

Reminder: Michigan plays at Maryland tonight as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Both conferences currently have three wins each, meaning the winner of the challenge will be decided today. Michigan's game tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

Duke beat Purdue 76-60 on the road in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game last night. For comparison's sake, Michigan lost to Duke by a score of 71-56 in New York City, so it will be interesting to see what happens on Saturday when the Wolverines and Blue Devils meet again.

UM Hoops posted a schedule for the John Beilein Radio Show. The show will be held at the Pizza House in Ann Arbor.

Former Michigan football player Vada Murray has lung cancer. My thoughts and prayers go out to Vada, who was just recently an honorary captain for Michigan.

Multiple media outlets are reporting that Charlie Weis will return as Notre Dame's head coach next year. That news is a bit surprising, as Notre Dame has underachieved quite a bit the last two seasons. I personally thought Weis would be fired, but I am glad he will be given at least one more year. Weis doesn't seem like he is a very good coach, and he may even be able to survive beyond 2009 considering how easy ND's schedule is next year. Although he can recruit, I don't expect Notre Dame to go very far as long as Weis is at the helm.

Oregon's offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly, has been named the team's coach-in-waiting. He will take over for Mike Bellotti, who will become Oregon's athletic director when he retires.

Tuesday Quick Hits: Berenson Adjusts Lineup

2008-12-02T18:07:00.005-05:00

Red Berenson moved freshman David Wohlberg to the top line and moved Tim Miller to the fourth. With the way the team has been playing, I wouldn't be surprised if Bryan Hogan became the permanent starting goalie in the near future. Billy Sauer has struggled this season, and his teammates don't score very much when he is in net.

Jay Bilas, a former Duke player, is going to be the color commentator for Michigan's game against Duke on Saturday.

Video of DeShawn Sims buzzer beater from Saturday has made it on to YouTube. The video also includes Zack Novak's missed dunk at the end of regulation.

Ticket packages for basketball games will be going on sale tomorrow.

MGoBlog compared this year's Michigan team to last year's Notre Dame team. Both teams went 3-9, so there are definitely some similarities between them.

Varsity Blue scouted the Michigan high school football finals.

Michael Phelps is Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.

The Big Ten Network released a commercial with the conference's basketball coaches. It wasn't as good as the commercial with football coaches, but it's pretty good nonetheless.

Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly, who has been rumored to be the top candidate for the Notre Dame job if Charlie Weis were to be fired, claims that he is going to stay where he's at right now. I would be pretty surprised if that turned out to be true, but I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens to Weis first.

Monday Quick Hits: Michigan Upsets #1 Minnesota, Loses to Wisconsin

2008-12-01T00:30:00.002-05:00

Michigan beat #1 Minnesota on Friday by a score of 6-3. The game was played at Minnesota, and I guess it shouldn't be too surprising that Michigan actually scored for a change since Bryan Hogan was in net. On Saturday at Wisconsin, though, Michigan lost 3-0 with Billy Sauer in net. I don't know why Michigan fails to score when Sauer plays goalie, but if this keeps up Hogan is going to have to take over as the full-time starter. Although Sauer hasn't had the greatest season by any means, it's not his fault when his teammates don't score.

Michigan will look to pick up a couple wins in hockey on Friday and Saturday against Michigan State. Friday's game is in Ann Arbor and Saturday's matchup is in East Lansing.

The Michigan men's soccer team lost to Indiana 3-0 on Saturday, ending their season after making the Sweet 16.

The basketball team will play in the 2009 Old Spice Classic in Orlando. Baylor, Marquette, Alabama, Creighton, Xavier, Iona, and a team that will be announced later are scheduled to join Michigan in Orlando. It would be interesting if Michigan and Baylor ended up playing, as Ekpe Udoh, who transferred to Baylor after last season, will be eligible to play in 2009. (HT: UM Hoops)

If you are still depressed about Michigan going 3-9, WolverineHistorian uploaded highlights from one of the lone bright spots from this season: Michigan's comeback victory over Wisconsin.

Remember the last time Marques Slocum and Facebook mixed together? Well, Slocum, the one-time Michigan football player, and Facebook have joined forces again. Varsity Blue has the sad yet hilarious results.

In case your IQ dropped after reading anything Slocum wrote, raise it back up by watching a story the NFL Network did about Steve Breaston and how he loves comic books and writes poetry.

Lane Kiffin is going to be Tennessee's new head coach, and Monte Kiffin, his dad and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator, will reportedly join him in Knoxville.

Clemson is reportedly going to name interim coach Dabo Swinney the team's head coach once contract details are worked out. But I thought Rich Rodriguez was going to Clemson or Tennessee. Oh wait, I guess Mark May is just a complete idiot (May displays his idiocy just after half way into the audio the link goes to). That makes much more sense.

Rodriguez's agent, Mike Brown, is also Swinney's agent, so that would probably explain why Brown was so close to the situation in the first place. It wasn't because Rodriguez was planning on leaving Michigan but because a client of Brown's was the interim coach and was trying to become the head coach.

Eastern Michigan beat Central Michigan 56-52 on Friday. Oh, and this was a football game, in case you weren't sure. EMU's QB threw the ball 80 times and racked up over 500 yards and 5 touchdowns in the upset.

Sylvester Croom resigned as the head coach of Mississippi State after losing to Mississippi 45-0 on Friday.

What sucks more: the BCS or Notre Dame? It's a close one, and both make a great case for sucking more than the other. The BCS ranked Oklahoma ahead of Texas, even though the Longhorns beat the Sooners earlier this season. Since Oklahoma is ranked ahead of Texas, they get to go to the Big 12 championship game and are a win away from the national championship game.

Regardless of the countless flaws the BCS has, however, Notre Dame just flat out sucks. USC beat ND 38-3 on Saturday, and the Fighting Irish didn't even have a first down until the very end of the third quarter. They are now 6-6, and Charlie Weis' job is beyond being in jeopardy.

Early speculation suggests that if Weis were to be fired, Cincinnati's Brian Kelly, who just coached the Bearcats to a Big East title and BCS bowl berth, would be the leading candidate to replace him. Not only do I not want to see Kelly at Notre Dame, but I don't want Weis to be anywhere but South Bend. He has proven to be a lousy coach, and the longer he's there, the longer Notre Dame will be mediocre at best.

Michigan Survives Upset Scare Thanks to Sims' Overtime Buzzer Beater

2008-12-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Michigan survived quite the scare on Saturday against Savannah State. After getting off to an absolutely terrible start, Michigan actually trailed by 20 points at the half. Not only was this stunning considering the opponent was Savannah State, but any positive thoughts about the rest of the season immediately went out the window. A loss to Savannah State, especially one in embarrassing fashion, would take the program back as many steps as the UCLA win took it forward.

Thankfully there was still another half left to play. Michigan outscored Savannah State 15-0 to begin the second half and eventually came all the way back to tie the game. In fact, the game was tied with only a few seconds left, and Savannah State had possession of the ball. On an inbounds pass, though, Zack Novak stole the ball and rushed it down the court. He went up and attempted a dunk, and the ball rimmed out just as the clock expired. Michigan could have won the game in regulation, but Novak missed the dunk.

In overtime, Michigan struggled to make a field goal until Novak hit a three-pointer to give the Wolverines the lead. Then, after going back and forth, Savannah State tied the game with only 5 seconds left. Rather than call a timeout to slow the game down or draw up a play, Manny Harris got the ensuing inbounds pass and quickly passed it down the court to a wide open DeShawn Sims. Just before the buzzer sounded and the clock expired, Sims shot the ball from just inside the three-point line. The ball went right through the basket, and Sims became the hero, as Michigan won 66-64.

As exciting as this game was, it should have never come down to a buzzer beater in overtime for Michigan to beat Savannah State. I'm hoping this was just an off day for the team. Although it was great that they played so well to start the second half and erased a 20-point deficit, the fact that they were once trailing by 20 points is not good. Had it not been for Sims, who tied a career high in points (23) and rebounds (12) rebounds, and Manny Harris, who scored 22 points, 14 of which were from the free throw line, Michigan would have lost this game for sure.

If you want to take a positive out of this game, look no further than the fact that Michigan played poorly and still one. Last year's team didn't have that luxury, but not only did Michigan fight back on Saturday, but they escaped with a win in a game Savannah State dominated for at least 20 minutes. Obviously Michigan can't play this poorly and hope to come back against good teams, but it's a good thing they were able to on Saturday.

With this scare now in the back of the team's mind, Michigan embarks on a big week with two games against ACC teams. On Wednesday, Michigan heads to Maryland to play their game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Maryland beat Michigan State on Thanksgiving by an impressive score of 80-62. Since then, though, Maryland has been blown out by both Gonzaga and Georgetown. Mind you, those are both good teams, but it seems like the Terrapins are beatable. I guess we'll find out on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

On Saturday, Michigan hosts Duke for a rematch of the 2K Sports Classic title game that was played on November 21. Hopefully Michigan's second meeting with Duke in just over two weeks goes better than the first one did. Duke beat Michigan 71-56 and had little trouble with the 1-3-1. Also, although Michigan had an off shooting night, Duke definitely played a role in that by playing great defense. The rematch will tip off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN.

(To watch the entire Savannah State game, you can go to the Big Ten Network's website, as they have put it in their archives. For highlights, click here.)

MSC's Week 14 CBSSports.com BlogPoll

2008-12-01T00:00:00.003-05:00

My Week 14 BlogPoll features Alabama at #1 and Texas at #2. I decided to rank Texas ahead of Oklahoma because the Longhorns already beat the Sooners this season. Yes, Oklahoma did demolish a Texas Tech team that beat Texas, but there is no perfect way to settle this three-way tie.

Texas Tech is out of contention due to the fact that they were embarrassed by Oklahoma. But wait, they did beat Texas. Although that is true, Texas lost to the Red Raiders on the road on basically the last play of the game after a Longhorns defender dropped an interception only a couple plays earlier. On top of that, the Texas Tech game was the Longhorns' fourth in a row against a top 11 team. You can go along with the whole this team is better than that team who beat that other team scenario all day long, but at the end of the day there is no fair way to settle it. Given the circumstances, though, I picked Texas as the Big 12's best team.

After Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma, I have Florida ranked as the nation's fourth best team. If they beat Alabama, they would likely jump up to the top 2, but for right now I'm waiting to see what happens on Saturday. Florida has played great recently, but I can't forget that they lost to Mississippi. Between them, Texas, and Oklahoma, they have the worst loss, even though it was only by a point to a team that is now ranked 24th in my poll. Texas and OU both lost to top 10 teams -- Texas Tech and Texas, respectively.

USC comes in at 5th to round out the top 5, and I'll just present the rest of the poll to you as is.

Leave any thoughts about my poll or ideas for how I should rank the teams in the comments section and I'll take them into consideration when I officially submit my ballot on Wednesday.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama	--
2	Texas	--
3	Oklahoma	--
4	Florida	--
5	Southern Cal	--
6	Penn State	1
7	Texas Tech	1
8	Utah	--
9	Ohio State	1
10	Boise State	2
11	Ball State	3
12	TCU	3
13	Cincinnati	4
14	Georgia Tech	4
15	Boston College	4
16	Oklahoma State	7
17	Georgia	4
18	Missouri	7
19	Oregon	6
20	Pittsburgh	2
21	Michigan State	--
22	Northwestern	1
23	Iowa	1
24	Mississippi	2
25	Florida State	5

Dropped Out: Oregon State (#16).

Friday Quick Hits: Michigan Soccer Team Advances to Sweet 16

2008-11-28T00:25:00.004-05:00

The Michigan soccer team will play at Indiana in a Sweet 16 matchup as part of the NCAA Tournament tomorrow night. Michigan got to the Sweet 16 by beating UC Davis 2-1 on Tuesday. The Wolverines beat Indiana on the road earlier in the season but lost to the Hoosiers in the Big Ten tournament. Both games produced a 1-0 score, so the Sweet 16 matchup will likely be close as well. If the Wolverines beat IU, they would play UC Irvine or St. Johns in the Elite 8.

Michigan will host Savannah State in basketball at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be streamed live on the Big Ten Network's website.

Michigan is going to play in the College Hockey Showcase tonight and tomorrow. Tonight they will play at Minnesota, and the game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network at 8:05 p.m. ET. Michigan will then play at Wisconsin on Saturday at the same time. The Wolverines are heading into these two games on a losing streak after they were swept by Miami (Ohio) last week, so hopefully they will bounce back and pick up at least one win.

Former Michigan and current Louisville defensive coordinator Ron English is reportedly a candidate for the San Diego State and Eastern Michigan head coaching jobs. Former Michigan quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler and former Michigan wide receivers coach Erik Campbell are also reportedly candidates for EMU job.

The fact that three former Michigan assistants are in the running for the EMU job should come as no surprise considering Lloyd Carr is helping Eastern Michigan with their search. English, Loeffler, and Campbell were all on Carr's staff before he retired, so I'm guessing one of them will be on their way back to Washtenaw County.

The Blog That Yost Built has more on Michigan's most recent hockey commit, Kevin Clare.

Varsity Blue has a guide to the Michigan high school football finals that will air on FSN Detroit today, tomorrow, and Sunday (due to a game being shown on tape-delay).

This week's BlogPoll is out.

There are many intriguing college football games to watch today and tomorrow, but the one I'm really keeping an eye on is the matchup between USC and Notre Dame. According to BetUS Sportsbook, Notre Dame is a 32-point underdog in this game. Charlie Weis' job may be on the line, so the Fighting Irish better keep it closer than 32 points. It's pretty much a given that Notre Dame won't win, so the thing to watch for is how they play against the Trojans. If they are demolished from the start, I honestly would expect Notre Dame to can Weis, regardless of his reportedly enormous buyout.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T11:29:00.004-05:00

I'll be back with new content tomorrow. Until then, enjoy Thanksgiving and Go Blue!

(Image via http://christophercrosby.com)

Wednesday Quick Hits: Michigan Cruises to 83-49 Win Over Norfolk State

2008-11-26T00:10:00.003-05:00

Michigan beat Norfolk State in basketball by a score of 83-49 last night. Manny Harris had a double-double, as he led all scorers with 16 points and also had 15 rebounds. In total, five Michigan players scored in double-digits: Harris, Anthony Wright (12), Zack Novak (10), Jevohn Shepherd (11), and DeShawn Sims (11).

Michigan got off to a slow start but eventually cruised to victory. The lead nearly got up to 40 points late in the second half before Norfolk State went on a very small run. The bench players managed to get the lead back up to 34 by the end of the game.

During the Big Ten Network's broadcast of the game, former Michigan player and current color commentator Tim McCormick said that he thinks Laval Lucas-Perry will be the best point guard at Michigan since Rumeal Robinson. I'm guessing McCormick doesn't consider Jalen Rose to be a true point guard, but that's still a pretty interesting comment nonetheless. It seems like announcers talk up LLP in every Michigan game that is on TV. He becomes eligible to play on December 20.

Zack Gibson took a pretty hard fall early on in the game and didn't return. Apparently he hurt his tailbone, so I hope it's not too serious.

Steve Kampfer is skating again, which is a good sign that he is recovering from his injuries. It isn't expected that he will practice in the immediate future, as he needs to be 100% healthy before he returns considering how severe his injury was.

Michigan picked up another class of 2010 commitment for hockey. (HT: Michigan Hockey Net)

Charlie Weis may deserve to get fired, but Notre Dame may not be able to get rid of him since his buyout is reportedly worth more than $15 million. What in the hell was the athletic department thinking when they gave him such a big contract, especially since it came right after he almost beat USC?

Tuesday Quick Hits: Michigan Receives Votes in Both Basketball Polls

2008-11-25T02:13:00.007-05:00

If you want to go to Michigan's home basketball game tonight, the first since the UCLA upset, all you need to do is bring is two canned food items and you can get in for $1. If you are a student, tickets will be free like usual.

The basketball team received votes in both top 25 polls this week. Michigan was ranked 32nd in the AP poll and 40th in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

According to MGoBlue.com, the rematch between Michigan and Duke in basketball on December 6 is sold out.

The hockey team was swept by Miami (Ohio). Michigan lost 2-0 on Friday and 2-1 on Saturday.

As mentioned in the Monday presser notes post, Rich Rodriguez expects Brandon Graham to return for his senior season as of right now. Graham sounded like that was his plan following the OSU game, but he has until January 15 to declare for the NFL Draft. If scouts give him a good grade after he is evaluated, it wouldn't surprise me if he changed his mind. SI.com lists him as a rising player, so it seems that good things are being said about his potential in the pros.

Speaking of Graham, he was selected to the All-Big Ten second team. Zoltan Mesko was named to the All-Big Ten first team. The full list of Big Ten awards can be found here.

Also mentioned in yesterday's presser notes was that Sam McGuffie suffered a concussion on a kick return during the Ohio State game. I fear for the future of his career, as he has now had three concussions since October. That many in an entire career is dangerous, so three in a couple months can't be good. Here is a video of the hit:

One final thing from Rich Rodriguez's press conference yesterday is that Eastern Michigan will play Michigan next September. EMU joins Western Michigan and Notre Dame as non-conference teams on Michigan's schedule. Michigan still has to find a team to play at home in mid-October to fill out the schedule completely.

Brandon Minor said this after the OSU game on Saturday:
"You can't really blame Rich Rod because everybody on the team did not buy in like they're supposed to. We have a couple of guys not going hard," he said. "We'll correct that most definitely. That ain't going to happen on my watch as a senior."
My only hope is that the guys that aren't giving their all are gone by the time spring practice rolls around next year.

Michigan and Ohio State got together before Saturday's game just like they did last year. Who is to blame for the small scuffle? It sounds like OSU's Alex Boone helped get both teams involved.
Ohio State offensive tackle Alex Boone on the pushing and jawing between OSU and Michigan players as they ran off the field following warm-ups Saturday at Ohio Stadium: "I looked over, and they were talking, so I walked over and started talking, and the next thing I know, everyone was kind of pulling me back. I wasn't going to swing at anybody, I'm not that stupid."
Are you sure about that, Alex?

Spawn of MZone recapped the incident that happened on the sidelines in the first quarter of the OSU game involving Charles Stewart and a few coaches.

Tim Jamison's jersey got torn against Ohio State and he had to wear a #78 jersey the rest of the game.

Justin Feagin got in for a series or two against Ohio State and never threw a pass. He will permanently switch to the slot position next season.

Vlad Emilien, who officially committed to Michigan yesterday, plans to enroll early.

The women's basketball team upset #13 Vanderbilt on Sunday by a score of 50-42.

I tied for first-place with Happy Hour Valley in Big Ten Bloggers Pick'em.

Eastern Michigan fired football coach Jeff Genyk on Monday, and Lloyd Carr is going to help Eastern in their search for his replacement.

Not that you didn't know this already, but Mark Dantonio is a douchebag.

Joe Paterno had successful hip replacement surgery on Sunday and plans on returning to coach Penn State in their bowl game and next season.

Not only did Notre Dame lose at home to Syracuse on Saturday, but fans in the student section threw snowballs at Notre Dame players. After the beat down Notre Dame will receive at the hands of USC on Saturday, it will be pretty hard to believe that Charlie Weis will be back next season. I realize that his buyout is pretty big thanks to the ridiculous 10-year contract he was given, but Weis is proving to be a terrible head coach.

Florida State's Myron Rolle won a Rhodes Scholarship Saturday evening and then arrived at the Maryland-Florida State game right before halftime. It's pretty amazing that a college football player is that dedicated to academics and manages to balance being both a student and an athlete so well.

Week 13 Big Ten Recap

2008-11-25T01:50:00.001-05:00

Indiana - 10 :: Purdue - 62

I figured Purdue would step it up to ensure that Joe Tiller retires as a winner, but I never would have imagined that they would drop 62 on the Hoosiers. Purdue actually led 41-3 at the half and didn't let up. They continued to pile it on in the second half en route to this victory that allows Tiller to leave on top and with the Old Oaken Bucket back in West Lafayette.

Prediction: Sort of correct (Purdue won, but it wasn't close)

Michigan State - 18 :: Penn State - 49

The Nittany Lions got up on MSU 28-0 in the second quarter and never looked back. Three second half Deon Butler touchdowns gave Penn State a 49-7 lead, and they eventually won by a margin of 31 points after a Michigan State field goal and touchdown in the fourth quarter. Penn State's victory means that they are co-Big Ten champions with Ohio State and will be going to the Rose Bowl unless something bizarre happens that allows them to go to the national title game.

Prediction: Sort of correct (Penn State won, but it wasn't close)

Cal Poly - 35 :: Wisconsin - 36 (OT)

If it weren't for three missed extra points by Cal Poly, Wisconsin would have lost this game. Instead, they managed to make a late comeback to send the game to overtime. Cal Poly got the ball first and scored a touchdown, but they missed the ensuing extra point. Wisconsin, on the other hand, made the extra point after they scored a touchdown, giving them the 1-point victory.

Prediction: Sort of correct (Wisconsin won but not comfortably)

Illinois - 10 :: Northwestern - 27

The Fighting Illini are not going to a bowl, as they lost to Northwestern to finish the season with a 5-7 record. Northwestern got ahead of Illinois 13-0 at the half and took a 16-7 lead into the fourth quarter. Illinois did cut the lead down to 6 points after a field goal, but a Northwestern touchdown (followed by a 2-point conversion) and field goal gave the Wildcats a big enough cushion that made any comeback attempt impossible. That didn't matter anyways, as Illinois was shut out the rest of the way.

Prediction: Incorrect

Iowa - 55 :: Minnesota - 0

I knew Minnesota was in a funk after losing three straight games, but I didn't expect them to play as bad as they did against Iowa. The Hawkeyes absolutely destroyed Minnesota and won 55-0. Shonn Greene and Ricky Stanzi led the Hawkeyes to victory, as the two combined for 5 of Iowa's 7 touchdowns on the day. Iowa is now 8-4, whereas Minnesota is now 7-5. That's not a bad turnaround from the 1-11 season they had a year ago, but it's got to be disappointing for Minnesota fans considering the Golden Gophers were 7-1 a month ago.

Prediction: Sort of correct (Iowa won, but it wasn't close)

Predictions Update:

Last week: 5-1

Overall: 67-21

Monday Presser Notes (Week 14)

2008-11-24T19:06:00.003-05:00

(Note: I bolded the most important items that involve the future status of players, scheduling news, and other things that are worth calling attention to.)

Rich Rodriguez:

The team had dinner and a meeting last night and the seniors were excused first after they were reminded to complete their responsibilities like graduating. They were also thanked for laying the foundation for this program under Rodriguez.
"Naturally there is going to be some (attrition)."
Rodriguez wants to make sure everybody is 100% committed to the team.
One player that can graduate right now but still has another year of eligibility did not attend the meeting on Sunday.
Artis Chambers left the team last week, as did Zion Babb and Jason Kates.
"We gotta be more athletic."
Everything (coaches, players, schemes, etc.) will be evaluated.
A special teams coach will not be hired for next year.
"You can hire Knute Rockne and he's not going to make sure the guy catches the ball on a kickoff return or a punt."
Seven to eight recruits are expected to enroll early.
Patrick Omameh almost played as a true freshman and traveled to away games. Ricky Barnum and Rocko Khoury also nearly played and traveled to some away games. All three were redshirted and will likely see the field next year.
20-23 recruits will sign with Michigan for the 2009 recruiting class.
Rodriguez thinks Brandon Graham is coming back and believes that he should.
Terrence Robinson would have played this year if he wasn't injured.
Cory Zirbel's injury is probably career-ending. Rodriguez wants him back as a student assistant coach.
Stephen Schilling's injury should not require surgery.
Rodriguez isn't going to coach until he's 81 like Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden. He joked that he would be happy to make it to age 60.
There is some concern over the health of Sam McGuffie since he's had more than one concussion this season. (He got another one on the kick return during the Ohio State game where he was sandwiched by two OSU players, which I believe is his third since October. He got one against Toledo, one against Michigan State, and now one against OSU. That is never good for any player during an entire career let alone a span of a couple months.)
On a more positive note, Sam McGuffie is expected back next season.
Spring practice starts in mid-March and it is unknown if a true spring game will be held at Michigan Stadium. One will be held somewhere regardless of the venue.
Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Notre Dame are currently on next year's schedule. Michigan still needs to find one more team to schedule at home in mid-October.
Rodriguez doesn't think there will be a lot of attrition, and he is not worried about it since the players that stay will be fully committed.
"There were times where each unit played pretty well and there were times where each unit could have played better."
Oklahoma coaches visited Michigan last spring to discuss the spread offense. Michigan may make the return trip down there to see them next year. Kevin Wilson, Oklahoma's offensive coordinator, has visited with Rodriguez and his assistants just about every year. (That's pretty interesting since West Virginia played Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl last season and absolutely destroyed the Sooners.)
Rodriguez didn't say anything about whether or not changes to the staff will be made. He simply said that he will evaluate the coaches like he does every year.

Vladimir Emilien Commits to Michigan

2008-11-24T16:08:00.003-05:00

Florida safety Vladimir Emilien committed to Michigan today, becoming the sixth player in the 2009 class from the Sunshine State to do so. Emilien chose Michigan over Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Stanford among others. A big reason why he decided to pick Michigan is because they continued to recruit him after he tore his ACL.

"It meant a lot to me that U-M stayed loyal to me after I hurt my knee ... others stopped recruiting me at that time (read: OSU), and that hurt."

"Michigan stayed with me; they showed me they will still be with me in tough times as well as good."

Emilien is a 4-star prospect on Rivals and is ranked as the 16th best safety in the nation. Scout only gives him 3 stars, but ESPN's scout grade is an 80, which is tied for the fourth-highest of Michigan's current commits. ESPN has a video of Emilien as well as a detailed evaluation of him, part of which can be seen below.

Emilien is an active safety that is athletic and will definitely play at the next level. He has good size at 6'0" and 188 pounds. He is an aggressive safety that is always around the football. Times the blitz well and is especially effective when coming off the edge. Displays good agility and can change direction while maintaining body control and balance.

More than anything, this commitment is important because Michigan needs safeties desperately. I don't even need to tell you how bad the safeties played this year, so the more new players at that position the better.

MSC's Preliminary Week 13 CBSSports.com BlogPoll

2008-11-24T05:50:00.001-05:00

The top of my Week 13 top 25 was shaken up thanks to Oklahoma absolutely destroying Texas Tech. The win was beyond impressive, and it has created a three-way tie in the Big 12 South. There is no real good way to determine who should be ranked where out of Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech since they all lost to each other, but I decided to put Texas 2nd since they did beat OU and barely lost to Texas Tech. Although the Sooners looked great on Saturday, I couldn't put the fact that they lost to Texas out of my mind, so they are at #3 right now.

As for the rest of the poll, there were lots of changes in the final 10 spots. I'm not set in how my rankings are in those spots especially, so leave your suggestions in the comments section.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama	1
2	Texas	1
3	Oklahoma	2
4	Florida	--
5	Southern Cal	1
6	Texas Tech	5
7	Penn State	--
8	Utah	--
9	Oklahoma State	1
10	Ohio State	2
11	Missouri	--
12	Boise State	3
13	Georgia	--
14	Ball State	--
15	TCU	1
16	Oregon State	1
17	Cincinnati	1
18	Georgia Tech	5
19	Boston College	5
20	Florida State	5
21	Michigan State	6
22	Pittsburgh	3
23	Northwestern	3
24	Iowa	2
25	Oregon	1
Dropped Out: Brigham Young (#20), Maryland (#21), North Carolina (#22).