Elite

My failed attempt at learning to back it in, low speed, inability to accelerate effectively, too much braking, too little leaning, dirt tires instead of supermoto tires

Elite.  That's what Michigan is today.  They join Florida as the only teams from last year's 8 that are in this year's 8.  Everybody else is at home.  The path to this point, the sloppy moments, and the fact that we nearly shit the bed (in what would have been in the hall of fame of Michigan epic collapses) against the 11th seeded Vols last night means absolutely nothing.  NOTHING.  I don't care how they played, I don't care how they looked, I don't care about any past tense verb you can throw at me.   I also don't care about what an amazing performance Jordan Morgan has put in in this tournament or that he has effectively become 2013 McGary.  

I care about the current game.  The 3rd seeded Wolverines beat the 14th seeded Xavier Minutemen by 5 in the opening round of the 1989 NCAA tournament.  And Glen Rice and I could care less.

And I will continue to care about the current game until there isn't one.  Then we can reminisce and evaluate and pat each other on the back.

Also, today marks the one-year anniversary of Trey being Trey:

Trey Burke makes an awesome 30 foot shot which puts them into overtime with Kansas.

Remember that?  That's when we backed in to the Elite 8 last year.  Until the last 4-minutes, it was arguably a worse performance than the one we had last night.

So here we are, moving on to play Calipari's band of illegally recruited, underachieving one-and-dones.  I'm guessing people will wonder how we plan to handle their size.  Just a guess.  If Jordan Morgan pulls another one out, I'll see you on Delta.com on your iPhone in the lobby of Lucas Oil at around 7:15pm tomorrow.

----------

15 brackets can still take first place cash in the UMTailgate.com tournament challenge, and 6 of those have a better than 5% chance:

That top one...the one that belongs to baby gorilla, is very dependent on Michigan State winning it all, and Michigan losing on Sunday.  Think about that before you root for him.

Good luck everyone!  And as always, Go Blue!

12 Teams Remain, 38 Brackets Still with a Chance

We beat this version of the Vols by 30

Big game tonight?  Big game tonight.  Between Ken Pomeroy, BPI, RPI, and all the talking heads, I have no idea whether I should be confident,  but I guess I am for today.  I think the reason I'm confident is my trust in Beilein and what he can do with this team in 6 days.  Couple that with the fact that I don't think there is all that much difference between Tennessee and Texas, and that helps me to lean the scales towards us playing on Sunday.  I had Tennessee in this game against us in my bracket, and the funny thing about that is that I had them because of the dual team selection method...in short, I thought it would be Iowa, not Tennessee, making their way past Duke (not Mercer).  Well, it seems two wrongs occasionally make a right.

Anyway, Michigan is effectively two wins away from adding John Beilein to Michigan's Mount Rushmore of coaches.  Bo level shit people.  Exciting times.

And somewhat exciting times remain for 38 brackets in the UMTailgate.com tournament challenge.  The percentages vary, and change rapidly from game to game, but a little more than a third of the brackets still have a chance to take the first place cash.  Below are those with a better than 5% chance at just that:

Not sure what kind of posting frequency you can expect in the next 72-hours...could be too sad...could be celebrating too hard....could be too lazy.  But either way, Go Blue, Go Cavs, and good luck with your brackets.

Way Back When-sday Pic of the Week

Jan 1, 2002:  The four-man crew that made it's way to Orlando to watch Michigan fall 45-17 to the Tennessee Volunteers in the last Citrus Bowl (now called Capital One).  We drove back after the game...straight through to Michigan.  Dear basketball team, AVENGE ME!!!

Weekend Roundup, Molly Ringwold Edition: March 24, 2013

Is it me, or are there only about six different advertisers for all three of the channels broadcasting the NCAA tournament.  Shit is getting repetitive.  Here's what happened around the internet while you got a hole in one, a 5-card royal flush, and won the lottery in the same day:

• We won.  Michigan sent Wofford and Texas back to their respective homes and will move on to Indianapolis to face Tennessee on Friday, and the winner of Louisville vs. Kentucky on Sunday,  Texas blurbs...
  • UMHoops covers Jordan Morgan's career day and his mantra of "I don't want to go home"
  • Ace covers the statistical differences and requests a bow from John Beilein over on MGoBlog
  • Maize and Go Blue gives his three stars to Morgan, GRIII, and Stauskas
  • The Daily Texan says very little
• Maize N Brew has reached part 3 of a 3-part series on how Brady Hoke can get the 9 wins he needs to remain the head coach
• MLive shows the math on how the football teams revenues sustain the Michigan athletic department
• ESPN reports that Graham Glasgow is out for the rest of spring and for the opener against App State.  Preliminary indications it's for a driving related offense.

Also, happy Mike Legg goal (3/24/96) anniversary!

Day 4 Roundup

48 games are done, and Frydaddy is in the lead, both in points (4-way tie) and in possible points.  Dude is killing it.  Unfortunately for him, we've never had someone lead after week one and end up the winner.  His bracket sure is pretty though:

We've got plenty of not-so-pretty brackets too, including our last "Thanks for your $20" bracket of the day of week one...

Good luck the rest of the way, and Go Blue!