Michigan Basketball

I need to jump in now and become a fan of Michigan basketball, which I never have been. Ever. Even when I attended Michigan, I went to one game when my family was in town. I sat way up in the nose bleed section and probably spent more time talking, snacking and texting that actually watching Michigan win or lose.

But the tide seems to be turning and, while I am not a huge college basketball fan, except during March Madness when everyone is, I think I can get into the games. We’ve got a new coach and, from what I saw last night, a lot of solid new players. Plus, I need a crutch with the impending close of a dismal football season and no possibility of a bowl game this year.

I fully expected to get trounced by #4 ranked UCLA last night. I was going to play the punching bag at my UCLA friend’s house. Figured it would be a chance to hang out, drink a beer, and watch a game I was sure to lose. Then, we clawed back from a poor start. Down 9 to 1 I was laughing and writing the game of. Ten minutes later, there was a crumb of hope on my otherwise empty plate. Very empty plate.

So, off to a 3-0 start. Not much, but far better than the last decade. Perhaps we’re finally shrugging off the Chris Webber fab-five curse.

Now, #2 Duke tonight. Yeesh. Maybe I spoke too soon!

GO BLUE!

Visiting Ann Arbor

Visiting Ann Arbor always takes me back to my college days. The campus was relatively the same — whether it is or I just remember it that way is probably irrelevant. There are some building improvements. Notably, the business school now looks like a massive red spaceship, a sharp looking addition to the museum on State Street, and some construction behind Hill Auditorium. But, overall, central campus has retained the same layout that I walked and rode during my undergrad years.

The notable sites I make a point to see when I visit are:

  • The men’s bathroom in Angel Hall near the Fishbowl computer lab.
  • The Starbucks on the corner of State and Liberty.
  • The Borders on Liberty.
  • The Big House.
  • Stucchi’s (Ice cream).

In line with the nostalgia of visiting Ann Arbor, I found the slideshow, “Time Machine: Traveling into the past in Mason Hall,” by James Tobin. Go Blue!

Lions and Tiger(s) and Wolverines, Oh My!

Forgive the title, I couldn’t resist.

The Lions won. The Tigers won. U of M won (finally). Tiger Woods won (easily), which meant the most exciting thing about the final tournament of the FedEx cup was finding out about the hidden arrow in the FedEx logo. Go ahead, look and see.

The Sylvania 300 was raced (Is that the lingo racing fans?) at the New Hampshire Int’l Speedway, which is fifteen minutes from where I live. The fans that didn’t (couldn’t? Do these things sell out?) get to see the race set up folding chairs on highway overpasses and watched the traffic driving south on I-93. They were watching me drive! I tried to give them a good show – a good clean lane switch. I overtook a Ford Focus in masterly fashion.

O.J. Simpson was arrested on a self-directed “sting-operation.”

The guy who bought Barry Bonds’ 756th home run baseball is asking the public what to do with it at vote756.com. There are three options: (1) send the ball to the hall of fame, (2) iron an asterisk onto the ball and send it to the hall of fame, or (3) banish the ball to outer space.

I don’t care about anything else that happened.

Go Blue: UM vs MSU Football

I went to the UM v. MSU football game in East Lansing this weekend. Michigan beat a tough and determined Spartan team, 28-24.

The patrons in front of me were true heathens. They were loud, obnoxious, and, well, they attacked me. They did not like that I was wearing a Michigan sweatshirt and shouting, “Go Blue,” in between chants of, “Go White” and “Go Green.” Nonetheless, I persisted with the fight song during touchdowns and clapping for Michigan. I wouldn’t have been so annoying had there been more Michigan fans in my area.

When UM scored it’s winning touchdown the TV camera was on me. I was on the scoreboard. I unzipped my jacket and held up the “Michigan” on my sweatshirt in front of the camera to show the stadium, at which point the large man in front of me with no sideburns and only slightly more intelligence grabbed the front of my sweatshirt. He assaulted me. Like I can’t celebrate.

The game was close, which is what I wanted. That’s always more exciting. Mallet, UM’s freshman quarterback, did an awesome job fumbling on the only play he played. And Hart did a more awesome job recovering the fumble for a first down. That’s the kind of stuff that happens when you win against a good team.

Go Blue.

… which reminds me… it was pointed out to me several times that there is no response to, “Go Blue.” If someone says it to you in passing, the only logical response is “Go Blue.” Saying, “Go Maize,” doesn’t really role off the tongue.

Black and Go Blue

The Big House was silenced and emptied yesterday when Oregon defeated Michigan, 39-7. This comes one week after Michigan lost to Appalachian State, 34-32, in what was considered the greatest upset in sports history. Continuing from last season, Michigan has now lost four games in a row. The loosing streak as been dubbed “The Curse of Bo,” referring to the fact that the Michigan men’s football team has lost every game they have played since Bo Schembechler, who coached Michigan from 1969 to 1989, died on November 17, 2006, one day before the Michigan v. Ohio State game last season.

Lloyd Carr has been burdened with much of the blame for Michigan’s poor performance. The following craigslist post pretty much sums up the Michigan fans’ sentiment towards his value to the team.

Michigan #6 in Preseason Ranks

I wish I had something more to say about the pre-season rankings below other than that I miss going to fall games in the Big House. I used to live a few blocks away from the stadium in Ann Arbor and the few of us who woke up early enough would sell parking spots on our lawn for $20. Most games we could park $400 worth of cars, money we either split and pocketed or put in the house fund to buy stuff (E.g. – a large screen TV.)

1. USC
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma
6. Michigan
7. Florida State
8. Miami
9. LSU
10. Tennessee