Last Call for a National Championship

Dear Class of 2009,

I hope unemploy- er, I mean "post graduation life" is treating you well. We've only been away from campus a few weeks, but I'll go on a limb and say you already miss Ann Arbor. You miss "halter-top"/"beach" days on Elbel in the Spring, the Law Quad in the Winter, and Football Saturdays in the Fall. I know I do.

We came to Michigan as freshman just as the Hill Cafeteria was beginning construction, the Art Museum's new wing was breaking ground, and "the Markley Tunnel" under the School of Public Health was in the infant stages. The new Business School was still a hole in the ground, and the School of Public Policy was about to open next door. During the four years we were in Ann Arbor, things always seemed to be in a transition phase. Nothing seemed complete. Nothing seemed finished.

Things weren't much different in the Michigan Athletic Department. Michigan Football went 11-1 our Sophomore year, but missed a national title chance with a loss against OSU. Michigan Hockey made the Frozen Four, but missed a national title chance in OT to Notre Dame. Michigan Baseball beat Vanderbilt (and Rays' pitcher David Price) to win the regional title, but lost to eventual national champs Oregon State the following round. Each time we saw a team close in on a title, they couldn't complete the journey. They couldn't finish what they started.

And, yes, Michigan Lacrosse won back-to-back national championships our final two years...but they are still a club varsity team waiting for their shot to play with the big boys. Can't count it.

Plain and simple, we have not seen a national title in our time at Michigan... in ANY sport. As if being part of the worst four year Football stretch of any graduating class the past fifteen years wasn't bad enough! Attending Michigan and witnessing one national title team is part of the athletic experience! Shouldn't we be eligible for some type of reparations payment?

While most of us have left Ann Arbor, we still have one last sport to help make up for all the close calls the past four years: SOFTBALL. This was the last Michigan sport to win a national title (2005), and it came the summer before our first semester on campus. The first team to win a softball title west of the Mississippi River. Down 0-1 in the series to UCLA, they came back to win two straight (the last one in 10 innings) and put Wolverine Softball on the national map. This season's team was 20-9 to begin the Big Ten season (last place in the Big Ten) and have now gone 27-1 since then to run the Big Ten title and make it to the College World Series. Most people had this team counted out after losing the opening series to Northwestern. Now they stand as the only Big Ten team left in the NCAA tournament, and are two wins away from the final series for the NCAA Championship. It is a comeback that Mickey Rourke would stand and applaud.

Like so many other things on Michigan's campus, this team had a transition period of its own. With only one senior and four upper classmen playing regularly, the season started out rough before slowly coming together after the Northwestern series. Freshmen Bree Evans and Amanda Chidester began playing softball well beyond their years. Dorian Shaw started living up to much of the hype the greeted her during her freshman season. The pitching duo of Nemitz and Taylor was unhittable. The foundation for a tournament run was falling into place. The finishing touches came during a sweep of OSU, that helped secure a Big Ten title on their home field.

Our class was at the Big House for "Touchdown MANNINGHAM" against PSU in Football, the NCAA Berth and beating of Duke at Crisler in hoops, and the '09 sweep of MSU at Yost in hockey. But we were also there for Toledo and Appalachian State, Harvard and the entire Amaker era in Basketball, and the Air Force game. We've had our good moments, our bad moments, but never our great moments.

That said, let's root as hard as we can for this softball team one last time. Drink to every Nikki Nemitz strikeout, cheer for every Dorian Shaw home run, and hope that Coach Hutch can keep her team, as she likes to say, "in the moment." The graduates from our 2009 class will always be Michigan fans, but this is the last chance for us to truly call a team "ours."

And as for all the construction projects I mentioned earlier? They were all finished before we left Ann Arbor, the last being the Art Museum opening two weeks before graduation. The University finished it all just in the nick of time.

Hopefully, Michigan Softball can do the same for us.

DSR Archive: Final Show of Year

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The Mixer: Finals Edition

It's Finals Week!!! That means a real lull in blogging and everyone too busy to celebrate the end of school/college. I'm sick of seeing the old baseball post remain at the top, so it's time for another edition of The Mixer!

I don't know how much longer I'll be blogging on this site (my next blogging site is in the works), but I just want to thank everyone who has visited our site regularly. I always enjoy hearing feedback from our listeners on MGoBlue or from our weekly shows. You guys have been awesome and it has been a great ride.

OK, put the tissues away. Time for The Mixer!

The week that was....: Hash Bash is a huge "tradition" at U of M, and I would be remiss not to acknowledge this. Now, in full disclosure, I DO NOT smoke weed. But I will never forget the first time I saw 60 year-old men in rainbow t-shirts walking down State Street my freshmen year. Only in Ann Arbor. I'll miss it. Anyways, here is the Family Guy song from last weekend (one of their best):



Cavs Playoff Proposal: I'll be at the Pistons game this Friday to watch LeBron complete Leg 3 of a first round sweep. It's so depressing to watch the shell of a championship team limp into the off-season. However, I'm still amazed at how loose the Cavs are right now. So much pressure to win the first professional title in their city going back to the 60's, yet they still have the sense of humor to do this...



Shameless Self-Promotion: Two new stories up from me this week. I told you guys about the Captain's Corner story I was working on, and that just got put up on MGoBlue. The video is in the Multimedia player in the right margin of the page.

The other story is about Michigan Soccer Captain Katie Miler and her college career. I really enjoyed doing both stories, and it took me a long time. Enjoy!

Good-Bye, College: Can anyone think of a more over-used song in heart-warming slide shows than "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)" by Green Day? I really feel like it was a good song that was killed by radio over-play...but then people just kept on drilling it into every emotional class video project and MTV reality show finale. Well, you won't get that from me. But I did have some of the best times in Ann Arbor in my last two years among friends at the Ann Arbor bars and restaurants. Here's a good example:



One of the greatest bar scenes from a movie ever created. We had plenty of these types of nights while I was here, too.

As for those staying behind, make sure you get your Ann Arbor Bucket Lists finished before it's too late. Here's one example:



The video quality is low, but that's what you get when you use iMovie to edit a project.

Hopefully, I'll post one more time before the year is over. Also, baseball coverage this weekend.

Until Then,

MB

MICHIGAN-MICHIGAN STATE BASEBALL LIVE AT 12:40 ON WCBN

By far, the largest crowd of the season is expected at Ray Fisher Stadium for the 2nd game of a 3 game set between Michigan and Michigan State. Join WCBN for LIVE coverage of the game and the pre-game ceremonies where former Michigan pitcher Jim Abbott will receive the honor of having his #31 retired.

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More Paulus

Well, I was putting the finishing touches on a beautifully written blog post and was about to hit the "Publish Post" button when I saw that Rob had created a post of his own...basically taking all of my same thoughts and stealing my thunder. There goes an hour out of my day. Thanks, Rob!

In all seriousness, Rob did a great job of showing why Paulus and Michigan do not mix. I agree that he should not come to Michigan and a scholarship should not be offered (Way to drop the ball on that story, ESPN!). Forcier and Robinson need time to learn and get experience and this would just cut them at the knees in getting a chance to play.

Lastly...Billy Gillespie? Really?!? This could be the coldest thing Rob has ever said about anything outside the state of Minnesota. But back to Paulus.

I'm willing to go a step further. Not only should Paulus not play for Michigan....He shouldn't be playing football at all!!! The fact the Green Bay Packers told this kid he had no shot to be drafted should have been a huge hint a Duke grad could follow.

Watch this interview. Does this look like a guy who seems confident in his ability to play football?



It's like you can almost see Paulus thinking "What the ^#$% am I getting myself into?" just by looking at his face. I don't think he can be a football player, and that interview shows that he probably doesn't believe it himself.

Here's something Paulus DOES do well: Basketball! Sure, he got bounced from the starting lineup at Duke this past year. But he was arguably the best sixth man in the nation. (Note: UNC's Ed Davis is not a Sixth Man. After the whole Marvin Williams departure of 2005, I'm buying into the conspiracy that Roy Williams was trying to keep Davis from jumping early because he knew his team was going to lose ten guys this year. After that Final Four, you cannot tell me Deon Thompson is better than Davis. It's not possible.) Paulus should head to Europe for a couple seasons and refine his skills. Great example of what Europe can do for a guy's skills is Will Bynum in Detroit. Coming out of Georgia Tech, Bynum didn't have the necessary skill set to make it in the NBA. But after he played in Europe for a few seasons, he developed a great first-step and a smooth jump shot to compliment his speed. Now he is arguably the Piston's starting point guard next season, after Stuckey took nights off this year and the "Iverson Experiment" went south.

I think this can work for Paulus. He is a tough guy, a smart basketball player, and has a great three point shot in his arsenal. With a little refining, I think he could definitely "pull a Bynum." OK, so he'll probably end up playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv or throwing alley-oops to Josh Childress on Olypiacos in Greece.

But it sure beats getting beat on by Will Campbell and Brandon Graham every week.

The Greg Paulus Debacle

Greg Paulus... Rich Rod... really? Look, I understand Michigan has the scholarship available. I get that Michigan has no depth at QB. I get that Paulus threw for close to 12,000 yards and 150 TD's at Christian Brothers Academy, but that was in 2004, wasn't it?

What we know for sure: Greg Paulus visited Michigan Football spring practice last Tuesday (4/7).  Paulus did not conduct an official workout, rather had a lengthy conversation with the Michigan coaches, namely Rich Rod. From all accounts, everything went well.

What G-Paul says: Rich Rod has given him the opportunity to play football at Michigan next fall. A scholarship has been offered and Paulus will have the chance to compete for the starting QB job.

What Tate & others say: Forcier told the Michigan Daily that the Michigan coaches told him that Paulus had not received an offer. In addition, I was told by a reliable source that an offer to G-Paul has not been made (as of Thursday morning).  Now this doesn't mean that Paulus won't receive an offer this weekend or next week, but as of now no offer to G-Paul.

My Take: Plain and simple, I don't like it.  The circus around Rich Rod only continues exactly at the time when it seemed the Wolverine fan base was starting to rally around him, with an estimated 50,000 attending the Spring Game last Saturday and a QB in Tate Forcier off to a great start. My concerns over G-Paul are as follows. First, the physical challenges. Paulus has not played football for 4 years. Sure, he was great in high school but that was against mediocre opponents in northern New York. He's only 6'1, 170 lb., that's smaller than Tate. Even G-Paul's high school coach questioned how successful he could be in a spread offense on the college level, specifically at a place like Michigan. Second, timing. Even if the NCAA grants G-Paul eligibility (which is another issue in it of itself), he will at most only receive one year. Paulus has missed all of spring practice and will basically be in the same camp as Denard Robinson in learning the complex Michigan spread offense in a short amount of time. Third, stunting the growth and alienating Tate Forcier. While Tate is far from a sure thing, I'm fairly confident in his abilities after watching his performance in the Spring Game last Saturday, 11-13, 130 yds that included a 60yd play-action TD pass to Roy Roundtree. Some of the initial quotes by Tate on the Paulus saga are understandable. How would you feel if you were the top QB in Spring and then suddenly, out of the blue, you would have to compete for the job with a guy who hadn't thrown a football in 5 years? Look, Paulus is the same guy who was mediocre at Duke, losing his starting point guard job his senior year to Nolan Smith and Elliot Williams. No thanks.

To me, this seems like a short-term fix when Rich Rod should be thinking about the the long-term. Is Michigan really better off going 8-4 with Paulus for 1 year, as opposed to Tate going 7-5 or 6-6 in his 1st of 4 years in '09? If G-Paul is willing to come to Michigan as the 3rd string, yes 3rd behind Forcier and Robinson, then fine, but if not join the Packers. Overall, I have always felt that Rich Rod was never a great fit for Michigan. His margin of error will always be thin, especially when compared with Lloyd Carr. It won't be as easy for Rich to get away with a 7-5 or 8-4 season in the years ahead. Frankly, Rich Rod should have made a gradual shift to the spread offense, playing to the strengths of the talent remaining on the team. Isn't that what great coaches do best? Instead, a huge roster turnover happened with transfers in Mallett and Threet, amongst others. His judgments have been highly questionable thus far: selecting Shafer and Robinson as defensive coordinators and picking Sheridan over Threet to start vs. Utah in the opener last year. My biggest fear now... Billy Gillespie. Yes, the former Kentucky basketball coach. Gillespie is a great coach but failed to fit in properly or live up to expectations in Lexington, causing his firing after 2 years. I have no doubt that Rich Rod is a great coach and has recruited great players, but a 6-6 or (god forbid!) a 5-7 season in 2009 and I'll really begin to doubt whether he's the right fit in Ann Arbor.

Michigan-Eastern Michigan Baseball LIVE on WCBN at 3:00

Weather permitting, join WCBN for LIVE coverage of today's Michigan-Eastern Michigan baseball doubleheader. Both games can be heard on the WCBN Sports Stream and MGoBlue.com with coverage beginning at 3pm.

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NHL Playoffs Preview Podcast

WCBN tackles the 2009 NHL Postseason.  Round-by-round predictions are made and a surprise Stanley Cup Finals matchup unfolds.

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The Mixer: Late Edition

With school coming to a close, I've been backed up on school work and the holiday weekend set me back. I was going to do a Mixer with a Masters theme last week. But seeing as we pimped out our web page to look like a Masters' jacket and beat you senseless with non-stop golf all week, I thought I'd just stick to what everyone is used to seeing.

...Speaking of what you are used to seeing, this web page seems to be having an identity crisis with its look. I think we've had 5 different web layouts in two days with three different color schemes. I don't call the shots on this blog, I just write for it. However, based on the color scheme, it looks like we've decided to start covering Syracuse athletics. Awesome. Go Orange.

Anyways, here is the Mixer...better late than never.

Baseball woes: Michigan Baseball dropped 3 out of four games last week, the first coming against MAC opponent CMU. I figured we were in trouble because this was a mid-week MAC game, but things went from bad to worse when I saw CMU was pitching their freshman phenom (drafted by the Royals in the 30th Round last year) and Michigan had put "Staff Day" where you would usually see the starter's name. Can you say "White Flag?"

As if this wasn't bad enough, Michigan decided to start freshman Kevin Vangheluwe. Hearing this, I thought "That name sounds familiar... where do I know this kid from?" Then I remembered....



Our boy is the one on his backside in the back row. He is also the one messing around with the chair. The video ends before Vangheluwe would eventually take off his shirt in strip-tease fashion. Thank me later for not including this.

RIP "The Bird": Today was bittersweet for me with the passing of Mark "The Bird" Fidrych. I grew up listening to stories about that magical 1976 season when The Bird won Rookie of the Year and started the '76 All-Star game. The Tigers weren't great back then, but The Bird gave people something to look forward to during a time when the city needed something to root for. It wasn't exactly like the '68 Tigers, when a championship was a calming influence to a city ripe with racial conflict. But Fidrych united people similar to the way that championship did. People loved the lanky 21 year old with shaggy hair and quirky antics, and the question "Hey, when's The Bird pitching this week?" was heard throughout auto plants all over Detroit. He'll never be in the HOF, but he will always be in the hearts and memories of Tiger's fans. God bless you, Bird. We'll miss you.



E:60 is Back!: Probably my favorite show on television, E:60, is back with a new season tonight. I'm not a big fan of Jeremy Schaap, but I really enjoy the kind of reporting they do: the longer, feature stories that give deep insight into topics that are interesting, but I might not have otherwise thought about. Being someone who does sports reporting, feature stories of this length and size are incredibly difficult. I have a huge amount of admiration for what they accomplish with the video they get and the people they interview. I highly recommend tuning in this season. Here are two of my favorite stories they've done so far. First, they profiled Kelly Pavlik and his hometown...



My family is originally from Youngstown and Warren (Ohio), so this story hit home. But beside that, Pavlik's attachment to his hometown is fascinating (as is the city itself).

...And, to end things on a lighter note, here is one of the features Bill Simmons did for the show on Prop Betting. Love him on the podcasts and articles, but I really like him doing these features, too. I just hope they don't over-expose him like they do Stephen A. Smith.



That's all I got. Baseball this week... also, look for a story I got coming up on MGoBlue about the "Captain's Corner" blog that has gained some recent popularity.

Until then...