Where Would the DL Be Without Michigan Basketball?

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​The Freep is all over Michigan Basketball this week, and rightfully so I suppose. It started Tuesday morning with a sports section cover page and an article title with the crafty alliteration "woeful Wolverines." At the time, with Michigan having won 4 out of their last 5, I was pretty pissed about the article. Of course, the cagers took my blind support and flushed it right down the toilet that night by losing to Northwestern at Crisler. And here comes the Freep, getting their entire creative team together to come up with "Purple Reigns As Wolverines Fall to Northwestern." Ya, I think I saw that headline after A-Train's fumble in 2000.

Anyway, last week it was Air Georgia. This week, it's Courtney Sims.

Courtney has signed with the Iowa Energy. Submitted for your ironic approval...having a man that played throughout his college career with what could only be classified as a distinct lack of energy, now playing for a team called The Energy. Former Iowa Hawkeye Jeff Horner is also on the team, and if you are looking for a solid one liner that describes the state of the game in the NBDL, I think it would be this:

Wednesday, March 19th is Jeff Horner bobblehead giveaway night.

No, no, maybe it's this:

Thursday, March 27 is $1 beer night with hypnotist Tom Silver.

You can't make this shit up.

You Were Probably Watching Vandy Upset Tennessee

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If you are a college basketball fan, you probably spent the evening with ESPN. Indiana vs. Ohio State had the intrigue of Sampson-gate, and was Dan Dakich's first home game as the IU coach. That was the teaser at 7pm. #1 Tennessee traveled to #14 Vanderbilt in the nightcap at 9pm. Quality basketball.

Meanwhile on the BTN...the Northwestern Wildcats travel to Crisler Arena looking for their first Big Ten win. Seriously? Winless? Wait a minute, I have Comcast! No BTN for me! So with all the passion of Wilbur Shooter Flatch in a straight jacket listening to a radio, I sat down and stared at the mystically pleasing windows media player's psychedelic display as it vibrated to the murky internet radio call of the game.

With 4:31 to go in the first half, the Wildcats lead 36-17. A 19 point lead on the road for a team without a conference victory doesn't bode well for my March miracle plan for these Wolverines. Northwestern's last two victories came against Texas Pan American and Chicago State. Shit.

But Michigan wasn't finished. A run before the end of the half cut the lead to 11, followed by a steady climb throughout the second half. Finally, almost heroically, Michigan took their first lead with 1:15 to go in the game. The crowd, which was no doubt tiny and quiet with the student body in Cancun for the week, began an alternating GO BLUE chant. Too little, too late. Northwestern hit a three to go up two. Manny turned it over. A defensive stop led to a good look at a three pointer by Anthony Wright with 6 seconds to go. No good.

The Wildcats go to 1-14 on the year in the Big Ten, getting their first win in conference in over a year.

For me, it's not that we're bad, or that we lack talent, though both of those things are true. It's the inconsistency. The only thing you can really count on from this team is a 5+ minute scoring drought.

Ending on a good note...Michigan Baseball tied the Mets.

Losing Sucks, Even at the Prep Level

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​The Pirates fell to the Red Devils for the second time at home in just 10 days. The first time, it knocked Riverview out of contention for a Huron League title. On Monday, the first round of the district playoffs, it ended their season. If you want to read about it, there is a link here. Be warned, this link is to an article written in the News Herald, which has writers of a skill level just shy of Goody (who still struggles with quiet, quit, and quite). Regardless, congratulations go out to to the Pirates for one of the most exciting seasons in history...there was like 7 overtime games, and I enjoyed every one of them. They played hard, and were in every game they played, win or lose...even against Detroit Renaissance.

What does this have to do with UMTailgate.com? Riverview is my hometown and the hometown of Lloyd Carr. Our own Johnny Cleveland is the head coach. Your's truly does the PA announcing. Oh, and our rival, Grosse Ile, has Ohio State's color scheme and uses Michigan State's fight song. So f*ck them.

The Weekend Roundup, Oscar Edition: February 25, 2008

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Winner Winner

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Fifteen minutes until tipoff. No tickets. Ahhhh, but this is Michigan Basketball. Tickets can be had at the box office my friends. Even on Jalen Rose Day, you too can garner blue level seats.

It was an odd celebration. It was more about Jalen's charity, the Jalen Rose foundation, than it was about the man himself. But when halftime hit, the PA announcer rattled through Jalen's resume, full of statistical top 10's in nearly every basketball category. Then Jalen spoke. He took the crowd back to a time when things were good in Crisler arena. He gave thanks to the coaches that had a profound effect on his career: Perry Watson, Steve Fisher, Bo Schembechler. Watson and Fisher evoke mixed feelings for most Michigan fans. Perry Watson, whose involvement in the recruiting of the Fab 5 is well documented, also had links to  Ed Martin. Steve Fisher, the lovable old man, the Barney Fife that took us on the magical run in 1989, and had an even more magical run of recruits through the early 90's. It's unfortunate  it was all tarnished by money.

Jalen then individually called out the names of the other members of the Fab 5. Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King (who was in attendance), Ray Jackson. It's been a long time since those names have been uttered in public. Chris Webber is not allowed to be associated with the University in any way until 2013. Even more amazing, Jalen revealed that he had not been inside Crisler since he last donned the jersey. Now, with his NBA career coming to a close, Jalen promised to be back often. Roars of applause followed Jalen's final statement, which was that he would be back to see "those banners" go back up, referring to the missing final four banners from 1991 and 1992.

Maybe this is the beginning of the rebuilding of the past in Michigan Basketball. It was certainly an emotional time for those in attendance that had memories of the way Michigan Basketball used to be. Whether that will be enough to have us look past the black mark that accompanied the black socks remains to be seen.

As for the game...pretty much the worst shooting I have ever seen. The final was 49-43, and the score wasn't even indicative of how poor the execution was on the floor. But winning is what it's all about, right? OK, game over...on to the Joe.

With no respect for the law, or for human life, we made our way to the home of the Red Wings to exact revenge on Sparty for the ass-handing they gave us the night before. The goal was to see the end of the basketball game, and the drop of the puck at the hockey game. We came very close. Missed the drop by 30 seconds. But we arrived in time to see the #1 Wolverines take an early 2-0 lead on their way to reversing the previous evening's score. Michigan wins 5-2.

2 for 2 on the day, not bad. Here's the pics.