Thursday, March 29, 2018

Anticipation...


NOTE:  This may be the last post before a Sunday Game wrap from a bar stool (?) as I’m taking next week off and heading down to Florida with the Fam.  Looking forward to it but we won’t be staying where we were in 2013 (Anna Maria Island) where accumulated family took over The Boathouse Bar on Friday evening watching this:

And then the subsequent Sunday we had even more patrons with us as Michigan destroyed Gatorland.  I like traditions and being in Florida for the FF has been one that I’ve enjoyed. 


Does This Michigan Team Remind You Of Anyone?

I got to thinking about this after reading an article that stated that while everyone respects Mo-Buckets play, he sort of plays like a thug…and I then thought of the biggest thug there ever was and the team that won the NBA Title in 1990.  And I started drawing more parallels and it’s uncanny!!!

Wagner – Laimbeer
Simpson – Thomas
MAAR - Dumars
Matthews – Rodman
Livers – Aguirre
Robinson – Johnson

Coincidence?  I don’t think so…..

Is The Tourney Selection Process Flawed?

There’s a couple of national writers out there claiming that the NCAA Tourney and the way it selects teams is flawed. 


They claim that had Loyola not won the MVC Tourney, Loyola probably wouldn’t have received an at large bid. 

Well, Boo-hoo…

Look, only 68 teams can get in and 67 of them end their season with a loss.  But who gets in, I believe, is finally getting to the point where I feel confident that the right teams are getting in.  Advanced stats and the SLOW phasing out of the archaic RPI and looking more towards Kenpom and ESPN’s BPI have shown everyone that stats and adjusted stats DO MATTER and definitely help when making a decision.

There are ALWAYS going to be teams that don’t make the tourney that deserve to make the tourney.  But instead of trying to figure out how to take more power 5 teams OUT of the tourney, why don’t you eliminate some of these mess teams that find a way to win their compass point conference tourney with KenPom or BPI stats that are in the 100’s? 

And if you happen to win your conference tourney but you have a losing record?  Nuh-uh.  See ya’.  At least in THAT way, you give the regular season some meaning. 
Or just do the simple thing and take it to 96 teams.  All seeds 8-16 are a play in game on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

See – Simple. 

Is the NCAA Tourney The “Best Way” to Crown a National Champion?

I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot about the NCAA not being the “Best way” to Crown the National Champion based on it’s “Single Elimination” approach and I’ve seen some arguments as to why re-seeding would make things more “fair”.  I’ve also seen that a “Best of 3” format should be considered once the Final Four is set.  To all that I say:

 Hogwash 

The NCAA Tournament routinely crowns a team that has finished in the Top 10 statistically for the season.  This year will probably be no different, unless Loyola manages to complete the miracle, which, I guess could happen. Numbers don’t lie and numbers usually hold up in Basketball.  Anyone in the Top 10 is worthy of a National Title.  Somebody just gets to be lucky in March and April, and that’s part of the beauty of this thing.    

Mailbag:  Is This Beilein’s Best Season of Coaching?

Hmmm….That’s a good one.  Beilein has had so many good to great teams during his tenure at Michigan dating back to the Novak years.  All the basketball seasons are special, and I don’t like to look at it as total wins and losses, but how did the team finish and how were the playing in the last games of the season?  You’re either getting better or worse…I remember the Novak era and those team did a lot of things and beat a lot of people they shouldn’t have beat and I think Beilein might have worked harder with some of that crew vs. how hard he’s worked in recent seasons.  I think what you have to respect about this season is the fact that he saw shortcomings in himself (last season) and filled that void.  That’s the key.  If you want to give it to him this season for that, I’d agree with that. 

And looking at my new favorite website, the last 10 games, is a great way to tell how a team finished and how poorly they might have been playing earlier in the season.

 
And it would follow that the last two seasons have shown some of the greatest improvements at Michigan going into the last 10.  I guess you could make an argument for last season as well with the early calls for Beilein’s ouster and then just for being able to have the heart to step up after a plane crash and coach those kids to win the B1G Tourney. 

The seasons have been unique, but I do think Beilein is getting better as he goes through them, also.  So I’ll go with this 2017-18 as his best coaching season.

What’s Your Prediction for the Icers?

Everyone pretty much knows the only thing I follow as closely as I follow Football is College Hoops.  That being said, I don’t have enough time to squeeze in Hockey, for the most part.  I do know that Michigan had to get on a roll late to get into the NCAA Tourney, and they had a lot of “Sweep” weekends they won, but quite a few they lost and were swept.  I distinctly remember two of those were to the suckeyes and the other weekend sweep was to the domers.  So, depending on how you want to look at this:  Either Michigan is due for a win over 1 or both of these teams, or Michigan is doomed.  Again, single elimination Hockey is fluky.  Michigan could win and still not be the best team in the country, but will have won the National Crown.  I’d take it. 
But I don’t think I can predict it. 

How’s Your Brackets?  And How Come We Never Get a Follow-up on Those?

Well, when there’s nothing to brag about, it’s just kind of easier to hope it all goes away.  I have two of the Final 4 Teams, and if the Grayson Allen shot would have gone down, I would have had 3 of the Final 4’s with a shot at some money.  Duke screwed me again and I think there’s one scenario where I make the podium.  But Michigan has to win it all.  Anyway, as always, a good time every year and sooner or later, all this planning and intense studying will pay off. 

Moe At Michigan Was Fulfilling a Dream

Good read by ESPN and anyone who’s worn a Michigan shirt or hat while travelling around Europe is often greeted with a “Go Blue!” while strolling around.  I’m going to miss Wagner when he leaves.  The guy is a worker and a workhorse who will earn it at the next level. 


The Coaches Who Played The Teams Pick The Winners

Yahoo Sports got 4 coaches to anonymously evaluate the games and pick the winners this Saturday.  Two of the coaches each picked Villanova and two split on Michigan vs. Loyola.  Loyola, after re-watching some more highlights, does in fact look a lot like Michigan.  Their defensive approach is sound and they play a very slow pace, limiting possessions.  I’m sure Beilein and company are seeing all that and are going to look to come out and play fast and furious, forcing some early Turnovers and taking the Ramblers out of their comfort zone. 


ETC

Michigan Has Played Loyola In The NCAA’s Prior To This…

In 1964 Cazzie and his team took down Loyola, but there was controversy and it was apparently an incredibly physical game….


This has to be the most insane thing of all time.  72 victories over 3 seasons and UTA fires its hoops coach for “Not making the NCAA Tourney enough.”  This sounds like a Brandictator move if I’ve ever heard one!!


Bridges Declares For Draft to Avoid Losing To Michigan – AGAIN!!!


Beilein Had His OWN Sister Long Before Sister Jean

Meet Sister Frances!!!

Michigan is coached by John Beilein, whose aunt was Sister Frances Niland. She died in 1995 at the age of 73. She’d be 96 now, a contemporary of Sister Jean’s, had she lived. And Sister Frances, by all accounts, was every bit the hoops fan that Sister Jean is — and perhaps an even feistier one.
Niland Jr. says his teams regularly reached the semifinals of diocesan tournaments but Sister Frances preferred champions. And she was known to yell at referees. Let the record show her language was always clean, if not always charitable

I’ve never met her and already I can tell I’d like her!!!

LNU Gymnastics Coach Backed Nassar Till the End!!

And THEN Flip-Flopped claiming she was duped!!


LNU Dean Strampel FINALLY ARRESTED regarding the Nassar Case

Why THIS TOOK SO F@#$%CKING LONG is also beyond me.  I still think they need to burn the whole place to the ground, fire everybody in the chain of command, including the regents, coaches and any administrators, and start over the way Penn State did. 

Lansing — Larry Nassar’s former boss used his position at Michigan State University to harass, discriminate, proposition, sexually assault and solicit pornographic videos of female students, investigators said Tuesday as they announced criminal charges against William Strampel.
Strampel, the 15-year dean of the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine who took medical leave in December, is also accused of failing to enforce or monitor protocols put in place for Nassar in 2014 after a female patient alleged inappropriate sexual conduct. Authorities say he allowed Nassar to return to work one month before MSU completed a Title IX investigation into his treatments
The charges, if true, suggest that not only was MSU harboring a serial sexual abuser in Nassar, but his celebrated supervisor was also manipulating female students for his own gratification. Strampel, who was one of at least 14 MSU representatives who were told of abuse complaints against Nassar, remains an MSU faculty member.
It was a stunning fall from the top of his field to a jail cell for Strampel, who just five months ago was honored as a master fellow for his contributions to osteopathic medicine by the American College of Osteopathic Internists.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Final Four(s)!!!


Michigan – Loyola – Kansas - Villanova
Sorry for the delay.  Work is a pain at times and customers just want things all the time!!!

Please take 3 minutes out of your day and remind yourself why the last two weeks is the BEST TIME OF YEAR IN ALL OF SPORTS!!!


It’s set.  San Antonio is about to be flooded in Maize and Blue, Maroon and Yellow, Jayhawk Blue and Navy and White!!

Conspiracy Theorists Unite! 

In what has to be two of the best feel good stories of this tourney, you have Loyola’s Sister Jean and Michigan’s Squeaky-Clean Head Coach Beilein squaring off on one side of the bracket, putting a quiet lid on all the FBI and NCAA sanctions that have been all over the news.  On the other side, you have Coach Wright and Self, two other programs that were not mentioned in the FBI probe that also have pretty good track records of keeping it clean. 

Interesting…It’s almost like the NCAA got the memo or something.

Something else:  No school that has adopted the “One and Done” style of recruiting future 1st round NBA players is in the Final Four. 

And, as you may or may not have heard, Michigan’s Hockey Team also made the Frozen Four and will be taking a trip to Minneapolis to play in the Xcel Energy Center!  
Michigan faces their arch nemesis domers (JEEZ I HATE THESE GUYS!!!) whle a 3rd B1G team, the suckeyes, faces off against Minnesota duluth. 

And the Women’s Gymnastic Team also won a National Title!!!  Way to go ladies!!!
Just going to glance at where Michigan ranks right now for the 2017-18 Learfiled Director’s Cup (which if you don’t know, this is the trophy for all combined Men’s and Women’s athletics and primarily looks at National Champs in those sports). 


If the Men’s Hoops team can continue this run, there’s a shot Michigan might actually win one of these things.   Stanford usually wins the damn thing, and Michigan was a runner up in 2003-04.




More Game recaps:  Still reflecting on the pounding Michigan put on the Aggies. Texas A&M was one of those fun games where you could sit back, relax and just take the whole entire thing in.  Shooting is contagious, and every Michigan player got in on the act. 
Interesting A&M Note that I came across on Saturday:  Michigan could have STOPPED SCORING with 12:30 left in the 2nd half and STILL WON THE GAME.


FSU

This game, OTOH, turned into a slugfest when Michigan couldn’t hit shots and the only guy seemingly unfazed by the biggest (was he human?) guy with the longest arms Michigan has seen all season, with the exception of MoBamba of Texas, started swatting every Michigan inside shot away.  Obiagu was the bane of every Michigan player’s attempted lay-ups and he gave Wagner a taste of what life is going to be like in the NBA every night.  Michigan gave up a 10-point lead and everyone – EVERYONE – in the Michigan universe said, “Uh-oh.  Here’s where missing free throws is going to get us.  Here’s where not making the 3 pointers is finally going to matter.”

DON’T TELL ME YOU WEREN’T THINKING THAT.  I could feel ALL OF YOU THINKING THAT ON SATRUDAY NIGHT!!!

But, resiliency and grit set in.  Beilein No Defense Teams of Season’s Past, without the defensive mind set, would have lost that game.  Trust me, we had all seen it happen.  These guys just went to the other end and stopped FSU from doing THEIR thing.  

Here’s a fascinating Stat:

The Wolverines also contested 90 percent of FSU's shots, per ESPN Stats & Information data. Think about that. The only Final Four team ranked within the top 10 on KenPom.com in adjusted defensive efficiency challenged nine of every 10 FSU shots.

Simpson completely took the FSU guards out of the game and Wagner was able to stay on the court and make life difficult for the bigs. 

Last week, it was “Thank you Jordan Poole!!”  Saturday I was thanking Charles Matthews.  I don’t know how many times I said, “Thank You Charles Matthews!!!” on Saturday, but I apparently said it enough that the guy sitting next to me said, “Why not just send him a gift? 

I cannot explain why Hamilton chose not to foul down 2 with 22 seconds left, especially the way Michigan has been shooting from the FT line this season.  I really thought someone had called time out and the clock hadn’t stopped, but nope.  FSU just chose to go down without extending the game.  Definitely a head scratcher, but I’ll take it. 
So here we are.  Final Fours are a gift, usually earned, sometimes lucked into, which Michigan has done both this season, and should always – ALWAYS - be enjoyed.  Win Saturday and then let your mind wander to the “What if…” of Monday night…
Speaking of this Saturday:  Imma’ kinda’ done with Sister Jean.  I mean, I’m a good catholic and all, and that being said, I still have trauma flashbacks over some of the nuns I had in grade school.   They all had either a nice thick yard stick or the ever-handy rubber tipped pointer that they enjoyed slamming down onto my desk when I was goofing off.  Which, as you can imagine, was rather often.  So, while I get that everyone loves Sister Jean, my memories of sisters is ENTIRELY different than everyone else’s.  No matter how nice they can appear…
But getting back to hoops for a minute:  Loyola is the real deal.  Yes, they’ve been lucky to get this far and have had most of the “Last Second Miracles” fall in. 
Their stats over the last 10 games has them ranked 24th in the country, and they are in pretty good company in that spot.
 I’m REALLY, REALLY glad Yakich, while at SIU, went 7-1 against them.  In other words:  I think he knows how to beat them. 

It Was Just 15 Months Ago…
That a lot of Sports writers, commentators and fans were wondering if Michigan was going to “Move on from Beilein.”  I had to go back to blog entries from late December ‘16 and early January ’17 to see what I had penned and wrote at the time.
After reviewing, it all came flooding back that I remember that I was NOT on the fire Beilein bandwagon, but I was DEFINITELY on the leadership not on display on the floor.  Walton was disappointing and Michigan wasn’t playing with a lot of fire.  Then, a couple of big wins and the emergence of Walton as a guy that could work in the Beilein offense.  A strong finish to the end of the regular season, the plane crash, the B1G Tourney Title and no more talk of JB moving on.  In fact, there should never EVER be any more talk of JB moving on.  Or Michigan moving on from him.  We need to appreciate what we have in Beilein, now more than ever. 
More Numbers
Michigan’s record in the Tourney since 2013:

Is that amazing or what?!!
And, if you assume that Levert and Walton don’t get benched with injuries in 2015, that would have probably been another appearance in the Dance.
So let’s add them up:
Sweet 16 Appearances:  4
Elite 8 Appearances:  3
Championship Game Appearances: 1
Total record:  14 Wins – 4 losses
And the same “snapshot” of that time span with LNU


Hmm….And can you tell me again, “Who has the best Basketball Program in the State of Michigan?”
I’ll wait….
Fun Fact #1:
I’m not sure I like who Michigan shares this distinction with, but I’ll take if never the less.  There’s only been 6 times where a school made an appearance in the Final Four and the Frozen 4 and the state of Michigan owns all 6 of those occurences!!
Fun Fact #2:
San Antonio has been pretty good to guys named Duncan and Robinson…But when you have both names?  WOOHOOO!!!



Friday, March 23, 2018

About Those Aggies...


WooHooooo!!
Bartender:  Oh God, You’re back….Can’t you find another bar?
2018 NCAA:  OH hell yeah, baby!!!  I’m back and I’m still rockin’ and rollin’!!!!  Like a Ramblin’ Man!!
Bartender:  Are you going to behave tonight? 
2018 NCAA:  Oh, Hell NO!!!  Gonna’ crush me some Aggies, get wild with the wrong kinda’ Wildcats, and I already mentioned the Ramblin’ Men!!!  They’re on a mission from God, you know!
Bartender:  Sheesh.  Let me get Uber arranged to get your drunk ass home tonight…
Highlights!
So many…So, SO MANY!  First, the crowd in LA was TOTALLY MICHIGAN!!! Way to go Fans and Alums!!!!
But the best games have to be when your starters are watching the game from the bench and this happens:


(Wait for the end of the clip for the Last 3-Pointer Made)
And CJ Baird, 3-Point Specialist & former Student Manager in his own words!!!
And when it did, Baird made his move with a crossover, drained a 30-footer with Texas A&M's Isiah Jasey in his face with 31 seconds left and unfurled an emotional celebration as he spun back down the court.
“I mean, every walk-on wants to go in there and shoot it, especially in the Sweet 16 when you touch the ball,” Baird said. “I told Ibi Watson when I got in there, ‘If you give me the ball, I’m going to shoot it.’ He said, ‘OK, do it then.’
“Jaaron (Simmons) called me up and I was kind of nervous when he did. I was like, ‘Oh they actually want me to do this.’ I didn’t think they’d actually let me do it. It was definitely one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.”
Mr. March Post Game:
The Wolverines made just 21 field goals Saturday against Houston; they had 20 in the first 20 minutes Thursday night, and 10 of them were 3-pointers.
“I mean, we are capable of that,” Beilein said. “That’s the whole theory here behind having five shooters on the floor: Stretch people out and hope that you can get enough open shots and then make ‘em.
And because we’re about equal time on this channel, Texas A&M’s coach Kennedy’s first comment at his presser:
“Felt like we ran into a buzz saw,” Aggies coach Billy Kennedy said, and he wasn’t alone.
And then there was this clown, Starks,
who had the audacity to say this before facing Simpson, the best defensive guard in the B1G, and arguably in the country.  Which has to be part of the reason that Simpson recorded and NCAA Tourney record 6 steals in the game!!!  And Starks, who averages 20, was held to 5 points…
14 Made 3-Pointers is another NCAA record!!!
Michigan the first team to score 99 since 1992.  And in 1992, we all can remember that Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Okie State, Kentucky AND MICHIGAN all scored over 100 points in various games throughout the Tournament!!!
Wow.  All I can say is wow. 
But, I will say that yesterday I was calmer than usual.  Every talking head and every “expert” was taking A&M.  And I was just shaking my head and thinking, “Do you guys REALLY WATCH college hoops?  Do you watch how good teams sometimes have games where shots just don’t go?  Or other teams play over their stat line?  But sooner or later, water finds its own level?
That’s what I was thinking. 
That and the A&M player Starks saying he couldn’t be guarded…That was an omen, for sure.
Oh, and when you’re team’s not playing well, there’s booze!!  Took the beating like a man!!  Actually kind of wanted to see that 100 go up at the end.  Cause, why not?
The Rest of the Mess
Loyola is definitely on a mission from God.  3 Games, won by a TOTAL of 4 points.  That’s not an AVERAGE Win margin…That’s a TOTAL WIN MARGIN.  IF you get extra credit for close wins, Loyola takes the cake.  And they’re doing it for the Penguin, Sister Jean!!
.
FSU took care of business when the Zags came out shooting COLD.  It can happen to anyone, and last night it was the Zag’s turn.  Michigan faces the Noles in the Regional Final on Saturday in what seems like a battle between two Basketball Bluebloods that each have a Football problem. 
K-State dispatched the Kats in Katlanta in front of Big Blue Nation that saw Calipari blaming everyone but his own team.  So, nothing new to see there. 
Just a bizarro world left hand side of the bracket.  We’re all used to it by now.
Predicting Friday’s Sweet 16 Games
People actually picked this?  Either just guys with too much time filling out multiples or secretaries without a clue...
Yesterday I was 2-2. I almost took the K-State Kats, but talked myself out of it at the last minute. 
Seeing as how I was 2-2 and don’t have a clue, I’m actually going to let Drunk 2018 NCAA make the picks today:
2018 NCAA:   How you doin’???
MMPG:  Great!  Just great.  Sober yet?
2018 NCAA:  Oh hell no!  Just getting started!  If you keep drinkin’ round the clock, I figured out that you don’t get hangovers!!!
MMPG:  All right, well, what do you see happening tonight?
2018 NCAA:  You’re gonna’ love this!!  Thursday was just the opening act!
Clemson vs. Kansas:  Clemson is a team that plays great D!  Kansas, not so much.  You know, usually, my more sober predecessors have all let at least 1 and sometimes 2 #1-Seeds get into the FF.  But I’m just a goofy drunk and I’m going to make this season memorable in more ways than “1”.  Bill Self is going to prove again that he’s a Big iiX  genius, and again an NCAA Tourney loser….
Take Clemson over Kansas in a nailbiter!!
Villanova vs. WVU:  WVU’s a sneaky good team that can hang with anyone because, defense.  Nova is a team that needs to hit threes and they played over their stat line in the first 2 games.  Wouldn’t it be funny if WVU and Huggy Bear ruined all the remaining brackets out there making this the most drunk and screwed up Tourney ever?  Hell Yeah!
Take WVU in a close one!!!
Duke vs. Syracuse:  Does the train stop here for Boeheim?  Maybe, if Duke can’t score on these guys.  Duke handily beat the Cuse by 14 earlier this season, and even I’m not drunk enough to think that the Cuse can somehow pull this off…
Take the Dookies over the Cuse in a blowout….
Purdue vs. Texas Tech:  Purdue Engineering is reportedly working on a $6 Million Dollar Arm for Haas, but you know what?  Purdue is doing just fine without Haas as Haarms has filled in nicely.  And that hair!!!  Who knew?  Boiler Up, Baby!!!  In fact, why don’t you get me a Boilermaker while I make this pick.
Take the Boilers walking away from Texas Tech….
There you have it!!! 
Look for Monday’s Final Four Preview!!!