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MidWeek Matchup: Indigenous Tribe Week

Since midweek games now mean absolutely nothing toward the Michigan campaign to reach the NCAA tournament, they will start getting less coverage. This week we face off with Central Michigan Chippewas (the first of two Indian Native American tribes visiting Ann Arbor this week), who, like most other midweek games we’ve played this season, are not supposed to be that good.

Weather for the game appears to be a mass improvement over the start of the week:

Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 52F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.

West winds means straight in from right. Don’t look for too many high high fly balls to right to carry over the Blue Brick Monster.

For Central Michigan

My guess for starter is last week’s midweek guy, freshman lefty Rick Dodridge, who just came off his career best start.

http://www.cmuchippewas.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46417&SPID=4207&DB_OEM_ID=10500&ATCLID=3704723

The win over Wayne State was good enough to win MAC Western Division Pitcher of the Week. The CMU sports information directors haven’t released the probable pitchers for the week, so I’m going to guess this guy.

Things to note about CMU:

  • Their batters walk… a lot. They currently rank 16th in the nation.
  • Their pitchers strike out plenty of batters. They rank 60th with 8Ks/9IP.
  • They rank top 100 also in: Runs Scored (not runs per game however), Stolen Bases, Sac Bunts, and Double Plays (not DPs per game however).
  • Nate Theunissen is their power hitter with 28 RBI, 5 HR, 2 3B, and 5 2B (.621 slugging).
  • Billy Anderson and Rhett Goodmiller get on base a lot (both over .450 OB%). Anderson is the stolen base threat (14-14 on the year).

For Michigan

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sinnery or Wood start this game. Sinnery did see some action this weekend, so he may miss his start in favor of Wood. As of yet, the SID hasn’t announced the probables, so your guess is as good as mine.

Other Notes

It’s a Wednesday game, which can only mean one thing: MICHIGAN BASEBALL BINGO NIGHT! As per MGoBlue.com:

Wednesday, April 8, vs. Central Michigan, 6:05 p.m.
adidas Michigan Baseball Bingo — All fans in attendance will receive a Michigan baseball bingo card. The first five BINGO winners will receive a great Michigan prize!

And here’s Tim’s description of how Bingo works.

They distribute standard Bingo cards to anyone who wants them. Apparently, Paul and I aren’t eligible, because I certainly would have wanted one last game we went to. Then, at the end of each inning, they draw as many different numbers as Michigan batters get up during the inning (i.e. if we go 3up 3down, they only draw three numbers). Said numbers are announced over the loudspeaker. I’ve never seen somebody win, but I assume you stand up and shout “Bingo” and generally act like a lunatic to let them know you won. At this time, a prize is presumably distributed to you.

Posted under Baseball

The Ballad of William Campbell

A series exploring the commitments (and subsequent decommitments) of Michigan’s lost members of the class of 2009. SPOILER ALERT: This one has a happy ending.

The Commitment
Michigan DT William Campbell as ThorMichigan fans undoubtedly remember the least about William Campbell’s commitment, if only because it took place long, long before any othermembers of the class of 2009 committed to Rich Rodriguez. In fact, he didn’t even commit to Rodriguez at first: he committed to Lloyd Carr in the summer of 2007, after attending Michigan’s summer camp. For some context, that would be like Michigan receiving a verbal commitment for the Class of 2011 sometime this summer. When Rodriguez took the helm in Ann Arbor, Campbell didn’t wait long to reaffirm his commitment to the Wolverines.

The Decommitment
The entire time he was committed to Michigan, Campbell said he would like to take visits to other schools. He insisted he was firmly committed to Michigan, with no chance of anyone prying him away, but that he’d like to travel around the country and see Miami, Baton Rouge, and Los Angeles (Pete Carroll didn’t agree: he refused to host Campbell on an official visit, because he thought it would be impossible to pry Big Will away from Michigan).  When several schools told Campbell that they wouldn’t pay for his trip to their campuses, he decommitted from Michigan, in order to prove that he would at least welcome their recruiting pitches. His decommitment hit Michigan fans particularly hard, because it came within days of Then-5* QB commitment Kevin Newsome’s decommitment.

The Impact
The William Campbell story here takes several twists and turns. Michigan fans shudder every time he takes a visit, internet creeps by the name of “Dandy Don” say it’s 60-40 he’ll end up at LSU, and there is growing uncertainty that he’s as “basically still committed to UM” as he was when he originally decommitted. All this tension builds up to Army All-American week, and upon his arrival, Campbell states that he will no longer consider Michigan. After letting out a stream of expletives, most Michigan fans hope he’s just joking around. In the end, he re-commits to the Wolverines at the Army Game, enrolls early, and lives happily ever after the end. If anything, Campbell’s decommitment gave the Wolverines a better shot at landing a (much-needed) second defensive tackle in the class, though they were unable to close with any.

Will Cambell dancing at the AAAG

Posted under Football, Recruiting

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Tuesday Quick Links

OK, I don’t feel guilty doing it today, since there is plenty of good content already published and upcoming, and I don’t have an Unverified Voracity-like Substance to throw random interesting things into.

  • After running a 10.44 100m dash last week, incoming freshman QB Denard Robinson ran a 10.28 over the weekend. At this pace, he should be teleporting to the finish line in 0 seconds by the time he gets to ann Arbor in the summer. So, as established, Mr. Robinson is fast. I would expect the coaches to have a package of plays designed for him to run this fall.
  • After announcing his plans to transfer from the University of Miami, QB Robert Marve had Michigan on his list of five schools to which he would consider transferring. This was confusing to Michigan fans, because the Wolverines have little use for a pocket passer with 2 years of eligibility remaining. Rest easy, as he’s removed Michigan from his list of options, and replaced it with Arizona State. He cited “crowded QB situation” following the commitment of Devin Gardner, rather than the obvious “they probably couldn’t use my skill set.” Being afraid to beat out a true freshman (who is, by his own admission, a bit of a project) is something of a concern, especially for a guy who’s been the starter at his old school. Best of luck to Marve in the future. 
  • After Brian’s discussion of GERG’s potential 3-4/4-3 hybrid mega-confusing defense, noted X-and-Os expert GSimmons85 has given it his shot to educate the Michigan fandom on defensive fronts, alignments, and what it all might mean for the Wolverines’ D next year. 
  • Michigan Sports Center keeps you update with Alumni Flag Game rosters.
  • In the St. Paul Pioneer Press, you can find a truly touching story about former Michigan baseball player Mike Watters, his son’s struggle with cancer, and his meeting of a parentless young cancer patient named Victor (via MVictors).
  • Maize N Brew Dave gives his take on what the death of the Ann Arbor News might mean for the Michigan blogosphere, and how the role of the blog is likely to change fairly radically in the very near future. His take seems a little more dire than I might expect, and I think blogs will continue having the same ability to come up with content that we do now, but perhaps with even more access, which is definitely a good thing. Be honest, how often do most Michigan blogs link the AA News as the basis for an entire post? Not very frequently, in my memory. Maybe a Jim Carty column or two from back in the day, but that’s about it.

Posted under Analysis, Baseball, Coaching, Football, Spring Coverage

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Basketball UFR Wrap, Part 1

With the Upon Further Review series, I attempted to dissect the performance of individuals and lineups throughout Michigan’s basketball season. Though I didn’t start until halfway through the year (and didn’t UFR the last couple games), the aggregation of all the data may help us learn a bit more about the Michigan basketball team this season. Once football spring practice is over, I may go back to all the games I didn’t UFR, and get the plus/minus data for every game, which could certainly teach us something about the effectiveness of different combinations. For now, however, I’ll just add up the shooting data for each player over the course of the games UFRed.

Games included: Iowa III, Purdue II, Iowa II, Minnesota I, Northwestern II, Michigan State, UConn, Purdue I, Minnesota II, Wisconsin II, Ohio State II, Northwestern I, Ohio State I, Penn State I, Illinois II, Iowa I, Indiana, Illinois I, Oakland, Wisconsin I, NC Central

Individual Players

Stu Douglass
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 2 0/1 1/4 5/7 0/4
Midrange 0/3 3/4 1/2
3-pt 3/16 19/51 16/31 0/1

The overwhelming majority of Stu’s shots came from the outside (which is not surprising at all). What is somewhat surprising is how infrequently he jacked up bad looks. Expect his chart to look pretty different next year, as the departure of every point guard currently on the roster will force Stu to play a little more point.


Zack Gibson
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1 0/7 7/9 12/13 1/5
Midrange 2 2/4 2/4 3/5
3-pt 1 0/1 3/11 6/12

The casual Michigan Basketball fan can’t hate Zack Gibson enough (and there are a few legitimate reasons to not like his game), but he is actually a pretty darned good player at times. He can be a defensive liability, which obviously isn’t indicated on this chart, and he’s never going to dominate anyone offensively, but he is the quintessential role player.


Manny Harris
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 10 7/41 17/33 27/29 9/37
Midrange 3 0/20 11/25 2/5 5/15
3-pt 1 7/43 18/42 5/8

The striking thing about Manny’s chart, especially in relation to everyone else on the team, is his shot selection. He shots a whole hell of a lot of bad looks. The reasons for this are multiple, and some are Manny’s fault, whereas others aren’t. Things that are his fault? Obviously, he needs to improve his recognition of what he’s getting himself into as he drives the lane, and not go for it, or dish after driving. Even when he gets up in the air, he can get enough hangtime to hopefully pass out. He also shoots a lot of poor 3-pointers, though he seemed to develop a touch for making them towards the end of the year (sadly, not encapsulated in this chart). Things that aren’t his fault include having to carry the load on offense, getting stuck with the vast majority of the team’s last-second chucks to beat the shot clock, not being able to draw a foul call to save his life (those are in the chart as “1” attempts, even though many of them were definitely deserving of a call). With a hopefully improved roster next year, some of the external factors will go away completely or be reduced, and Manny could really improve his offensive efficiency.


CJ Lee
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 2 1/1 1/3 5/6 0/1
Midrange 0/1 1/2 0/2
3-pt 0/2 3/20 3/12

He was never meant to be an offensive player, and his (in)ability to consistently shoot bears out why.


Laval Lucas-Perry
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 3 0/8 2/3 5/8 1/18
Midrange 0/3 2/7 3/7 0/1
3-pt 2 3/9 17/40 11/29

After a blazing start to the season, he hit something of a wall (as did the other two freshmen), shooting more and more poorly over the course of the season, with a few excellent games mixed in. Next year, he’ll probably have to play more of a slashing PG-type role, which he actually did very well at times this year, to the point where I was begging for it in certain games toward the end of the year.


Zack Novak
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 5 3/3 3/3 1/6
Midrange 0/1 1/3 1/2 0/2
3-pt 4 8/21 15/41 10/25 0/2

I will repeat again that all three freshmen had their hot games and slumps. Novak is probably the most prone to this, because he was playing a position in which he was a physical underdog in every game, and was getting the hell beaten out of him on a regular basis. Next year, hopefully Cronin, Morgan, and McLimans will be able to give the team a little more size on a consistent basis, and Zack will be able to move to a more natural position.


Jevohn Shepherd
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 4 2/2 1/3 1/1 2/9
Midrange 0/1 1/2
3-pt 1/7 1/2

I don’t think I went an entire UFR of a game Shepherd played in one time this year without making the following statement: “Quintessential Jevohn Shepherd. He shows off his great athleticism and stunning lack of basketball ability all at once.”


DeShawn Sims
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 8 7/22 26/49 41/44 8/24
Midrange 4/17 26/57 9/11 1/3
3-pt 1 3/7 8/35 4/9

Among shots that fans can reasonably expect him to make (that is, those graded “2” or “3”), he shoots ridiculously well. He also did a much better job than the team’s other star, Manny, of choosing his shots wisely. He would take big post defenders out toward the perimeter, or post up smaller mismatches. Sims has one more year to get even better, and with more big men on next year’s team, hopefully be entirely dominant next year.


David Merritt
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1/1 1/2
Midrange 0/2 0/1 1/1
3-pt 1 4/10 1/5

At one point late in the season, he was actually leading the team in 3-point percentage. Like Lee, this sort of analysis isn’t going to make him look like a great player, because he does so little on offense.


Kelvin Grady
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 2 4/7 0/2 0/2
Midrange 1/2 0/1
3-pt 1/6 10/32 4/16

This graph surprises me, because Kelvin was one of the few players on this team that I was absolutely convinced would make the shot any time I saw him shoot an open 3. His loss will be lamented, because it hurts Michigan in terms of PG depth (currently: none).


Anthony Wright
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1
Midrange
3-pt 1/2 1/5 2/4

Man, I’m so over talking shit about Anthony Wright. His awesome performance in the Oklahoma game is not charted here, but he actually wasn’t as much of a “see the ball, shoot the ball” player as I’ve criticized him for (at least not in the second half of the season, when his minutes dropped off, which is what I’ve charted here).


Eric Puls
Quality 0 1 2 3 F
Lane
Midrange 1/1 0/1
3-pt 2/3

One hundred million dollars of awesome. Puls made his first like 5 three-pointers, which also happened to be his first 5 field goal attempts. If he can get Barwisized in the off-season (seriously: have him work out with the football team), he could contribute down the road, because dude can certainly shoot.


Posted under Analysis, Baseball, Basketball, Misc.

Weekend Recap: Penn State

I think it’s safe to say after this weekend, getting a top 3 seed in the BigTen Tournament is virtually out of the question. Michigan dropped two of three at home against Penn State, a team who will probably end up just over .500 in conference. Michigan continued its same struggles with relief pitching. The offense continued to leave a bunch of runners on base, 28 in 3 games. The defense let 9 unearned runs score. The catchers gave 2 free bases away due to catcher’s interference. It was just a rough weekend all around.

Game 1

Box Score R H E
PSU 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 2 6 10 2
Michigan 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 1

W – Ignas (3-0) L – Matt Miller (0-1) Sv – None

Chris Fetter got the shaft in this game. He pitched 8 innings, on 7 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and 11 strikeouts; he didn’t get the win, much less a decision. In his longest start (pitch count 136(!)) in well over a year, he posted 4 different 3 up-3 down innings highlighted by a three strikeout inning in the fourth.

He did get into trouble in the 5th inning, but had the game still in hand. He gave up two runs on a couple hits, but with two outs, Timmy Kalczynski let a ball get by him to allow the unearned run to score from third. In the 6th, again with two outs, John Lorenz made a throwing error to allow a second unearned run to score. That’d be all the runs scored against Fetter, but it was enough to tie the game.

The Michigan offense started the game fairly well. After loading the bases to lead off the first, Mike Dufek grounded out to the second basemen allowing a run to score. The second baseman flipped to second to force LaMarre out, but the short stop’s throw to first went wild, allowing Fellows to score as well. Michigan had the early 2-0 advantage.

The bottom of the order went quietly in the 2nd, but the top of the lineup went back to work in the third. After Cislo lead off with a single, he would steal second base and set up a Ryan LaMarre RBI double.

Cislo also lead off the 5th by working a 7 pitch walk. Fellows followed with a hit by the pitch. With Cislo in scoring position once again, Ryan LaMarre singled to center to drive the run in.

The score would stay tied at 4 until the top of the 10th inning. Deese singled off Miller to start the inning and would steal second. We intentionally walked Steranka to set up a potential inning ending double play. That didn’t happen. A pair of singles later saw the Nittany Lions go up 6-4, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish

Notable Stars

  • Chris Fetter – 8 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 11 K
  • Kevin Cislo – 3/3 3R, BB, SB, 2B, SACB
  • Ryan LaMarre – 2/3 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2B

Notable Goats

  • John Lorenz – Error lead to a run
  • Nick Urban – Called out on batter’s interference
  • Jake McLouth – 0/3 2 K, 3 LOB

Other Notes

  • Notes

Game 2

Box Score R H E
PSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 5 9 0
Michigan 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 2 x 9 13 3

W – Eric Katzman (5-2) L – Kelley (4-4) Sv – Dufek (3)

So at least the score worked out in our favor this time. Yet again, we saw a great pitching performance nearly squandered, this time by Eric Katzman. Katzman has hit a hot streak again, and I’m hoping it continues this way for the next few weeks. In this game he went 7.1 innings, allowing 7 hits and 5 runs (2 earned), on 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. Katzman, like Fetter in game one, also threw well over his usual number of pitches, finishing with an even 120 on the day. He, again like Fetter, also had 4 different 3 up/3 down innings. If he could pitch like this every week, he’d be up for BigTen pitcher of the year with Fetter.

The one blemish on the night came in the 7th inning when Penn State scored 5 runs. Katzman allowed a double and single to open the inning, but got two quick outs via fly ball and strikeout. Things were looking good until the next batter singled up the middle to give up two runs (only earned runs of the inning). On the play, LaMarre committed a throwing error. The error lead to a run on the very next play, a single. The next batter would ground the ball to John Lorenz; unfortunately, that didn’t end the inning either. Two runners would score on the wild throw by Lorenz, plating 3 unearned runs in the frame. Michigan was down 5-2. Ball sack.

The good news is Michigan didn’t give up. In the bottom half of the 7th, Kalczynski, who would both lead off and end the inning, started things off with a solo home run. A pitching change for Penn State turned out poorly as the next batter, Toth, would be hit by the pitch followed by a Cislo walk. Fellows then sacrificed the runners over, leaving LaMarre (who also homered the inning before) with an easy two RBIs by way of the single. Dufek then cleared the bases with a home run of his own. That’s a five run inning of Michigan’s own.

LaMarre wasn’t done. The next inning, after a lead off single by Toth, he would blast his second home run of the day. Michigan then had the 9-5 lead they wouldn’t give up.

Notable Stars

  • Eric Katzman – 7.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W
  • Ryan LaMarre – 4/5 5 RBI, 3 R, 2 HR, 2B
  • Alan Oaks – 3/3 R, RBI, HR, 2 2B
  • Mike Dufek – 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K, 0 R; 1/5 2 RBI, R, HR

Notable Goats

  • Ryan LaMarre – Throwing error for a run, also didn’t end the inning leading to the following:
  • John Lorenz – Throwing error for 2 runs
  • Tim Kalcyznski – catcher’s interference for a free base
  • Coley Crank – 0/4 K as DH

Other Notes

  • notes

Game 3

Box Score R H E
PSU 1 0 1 2 5 3 0 4 0 16 20 2
Michigan 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 5 8 3

W – Cianciolo (2-0) L -Travis Smith (4-3) Sv – None

I made it back home to catch the last few innings of this game. I almost wish I hadn’t. Michigan threw 6 pitchers in this game. Only two, Vangheluwe and ALAN OAKS, had what I would consider to be success (not that they didn’t give up any runs, but that they didn’t give up more runs than innings pitched). The emphasis on Alan Oaks isn’t really that emphatic, he has two appearances in 2007. Those two appearances were opposite ends of the spectrum. The first was a third of an inning against EMU where he hit a couple batters and walked one to give up a run on no hits. His second came against Vandy in the regional where he pitched a scoreless/hitless 1.2 innings with a walk and a strikeout (against that year’s manbearfreak of college baseball Pedro Alvarez).

The only other good came off the bats of LaMarre, Dufek, and Crank who each homered, and Alan Oaks who went 2/5 with a double.

The rest of the game was just bad. Crank (one run) and Kalcyznski each had an error at catcher. Toth had one for good measure too (2 runs). Crank also had a passed ball for an unearned run. Kalczynski also gave up a free base to a catcher’s interference call. Twice in as many games? Timmy Kal, back of the plate, man.

Notable Stars

  • Alan Oaks – 2/5 2B; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K, HBP

Notable Goats

  • Toth, Crank, Kalczynski – reasons listed in that last paragraph of the recap
  • Mike Wilson – .2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB (there were more runs, but not his fault)
  • Matt Gerbe – 0.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BF
  • Kevin Cislo – 0/4 3 LOB

Other Notes

  • Notes

Wrap Up

We’re tied (4-way) for fifth, and only 1 game behind the first place team. That is lucky as hell after the way we’ve played the last two weekends. My expectations for the team are falling pretty fast. With the massive amount of inconsistency, added with the sloppy play all weekend on defense, I’m not sure we get higher than a 4 seed in the BTT now. But as Eric Sorenson states, it can be done:

Hmmm, with the rest of the Big 10 playing some wicked-good baseball, maybe this signifies a paradigm shift at the top. Minnesota, fresh off a series win over No. 24 Ohio State, and Illinois, who lost two of three vs. Indiana, now take the reins of the top of the conference standings. There IS a way back for the Maize and Blue though. The Wolverines host both the Illini and the Gophers starting next week with UI.

The good news is the power part of the offense seems to be clicking right now. The bad news is the manufacturing of runs is still way low. We did see a slight increase in sacrifice bunts over the last two weeks, and they did lead to some runs. That said though, Michigan still stranded 28 runners in the series. We’ve got to start getting those runs in. We hit into 4 double plays this weekend, 3 in the Game 1 loss. We struck out 27 times as well, including 12 times in the Game 1 loss and 10 in the Game 3 loss.

Tim Kalcyznski was quoted in the Daily as thus:

“This could be a turning point,” Kalczynski said. “It could go one of two ways. It could go uphill really fast or downhill really fast. It’s just a matter of how mentally tough we are and how we respond.”

Next weekend is our chance to redeem ourselves and perhaps jump ahead in the standings. Michigan hosts the top team in the BigTen standings in Illinois. The Illini sit atop alone (two teams are tied for second at 3-2) with a 4-2 record. The Illini swept Michigan State in week 1 of Big10 play, but dropped 2 games this weekend at Indiana. The Illini feature some great pitching, so it may be tough pickings for runs again this weekend.

As for the midweek, the Akron game has already been canceled due to the snow storm (ha! It’s 75 degrees where I’m at today, and that’s after a cold front). The Wednesday game versus Central Michigan is still set for 6:05pm.

Posted under Baseball

Recruiting Update 4-6-09

I guess this is my punishment for only giving 1 recruiting update last week: there’s a ton of information that I need to cram in. Expect at least 1 more recruiting update this week, and maybe 2, since the Spring Game should be a fairly serious recruiting event. This update will be a strict adds/removals/offers affair. You can find the 2010 Recruiting Board here.

2010 Michigan Wolverine Devin Gardner

MI QB Devin Gardner (seen at left) has publicly announced his commitment to Michigan. He was already listed as committed on the recruiting board.

Michigan has apparently offered (or are heavily recruiting) LA DE Jordan Allen. However, the homestate LSU Tigers are still considered the (perhaps prohibitive) favorite.

The Wolverines also recently offered PA DE Dakota Royer.

According to two particularly revealing Scout headers, the Wolverine have offered both NY DE Dominique Easley and DE RB Jamaal Jackson. They’ve both been added to the board, and given the amount of football talent that comes out of that state, I’m surprised I didn’t have to look up the postal code for Delaware.

This Rivals header is equally obvious, and so it is true that OH OL Christian Pace has been offered, confirmed by ESPN. Sticking with ESPN, IN DE Blake Lueders has also received an offer. TX S Luke Muncie has also been offered (info in header).

FL WR Quinton Dunbar has decommitted from the University of Miami, and the Wolverines are among the 5 he will consider (joined by the Big 3 in Florida, as well as UCF). He will announce his decision on Signing Day. He’s been added to the board.

MI CB Mylan Hicks from Renaissance High School has received offers from the Wolverines and Michigan State this week.

super-sketchy ESPN report that I’m not sure how much I should trust asserts that Michigan offered 5 teammates at DeMatha High School in Maryland. I don’t trust the offer status, but it’s certainly worth at least adding the guys to the board. They are Michael Cooley, S Lorenzo Waters, OL Ari Kouandjio, RB Marcus Coker and S Jeff Knox. The only two that I had even heard of before this report were Knox and Coker, and Cooley isn’t in Rivals’s or Scout’s databases, while Kouandjio is nowhere to be found on Rivals (and Scout throws an ‘e’ at the end of his first name). Keep this developing situation in mind.

Another article with a pretty good amount of Michigan-related information is offered up by The State. SC S Bashaud Breeland has received a Michigan offer, as has SC DT Brandon Willis. VA LB Chase Williams is hearing from Michigan, and may get an offer down the road. He’s been added to the board.

GA QB/Ath Blake Sims, who was thought to be a pretty serious candidate for another signal-caller in this class, committed to Alabama. The first articles I saw about it had non-definitive titles like “Has Blake Sims committed to Alabama?” or “Blake Sims reportedly commits to Alabama,” but stuff in the last day or so has been more definitive.

CO QB/Ath Kain Colter has committed to Stanford, and will be removed from the board.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Men’s Lacrosse Weekend Report

Two ranked opponents came into Oosterbaan Fieldhouse this weekend with the intention of knocking off the #1 team in all the land, but Minnesota-Duluth and Colorado State probably wish they hadn’t even bothered to try. 

#7 Minnesota-Duluth
Trevor Yealy Scores Eleven Goals for Michigan LacrosseThe Wolverines had to shake off some cobwebs after what must have been a rough week of class. They didn’t manage to score until the Bulldogs had already gotten on the board, the first time this season Michigan has trailed in a home game(!). However, they flipped the “dominate” switch immediately thereafter, as Davis Reinhard won the ensuing faceoff, then found Josh Ein for a goal just 7 seconds after Duluth. Trevor Yealy got going immediately thereafter, and Duluth didn’t stand a chance. Yealy scored a program-record 11 goals in the contest, three of which came consecutively in the first quarter for a natural hat trick. Then he got a hat trick of hat tricks. And two more goals. Wes McGowan (2) was the only other Wolverine with multiple goals. Though he gave up 10 goals, sophomore goalkeeper Mark Stone made several exciting saves in his first complete game of the year. The highlight for Duluth came on their last goal of the night, as Casey Mithun shot behind his own back to beat Stone. Still, the Wolverines dominated this game nearly from start to finish, winning 18-10.

#8 Colorado State
After the slow start on Friday, Michigan wasn’t bound to let Colorado State get on board first the following night. Kevin Zorovich drew first blood with just under 6 minutes remaining in the first quarter. The final goal in that quarter was the night’s highlight, as Riley Kearns (perhaps inspired by UMD the previous night) shot behind his back to beat the goalie. Eager to make up for the first 9 minutes of lost time, Michigan tacked on 3 more goals before the first break. The Wolverines kept the offense humming in the second quarter, as they led 9-0 before CSU finally got on the scoreboard with under 5 minutes remaining. Though Michigan didn’t have a dominant individual performance like they did the previous night, the team effort on Senior Night may have been even more impressive. The final score of 16-3 saw only two Wolverines (Yealy with 4 and Zorovich with 2) score multiple goals, and sophomore Andrew Fowler faced only 10 shots, saving 7.

Up Next
After the long home stand, Michigan finally hits the road, traveling to Kalamazoo and Chicago to face Western Michigan and Illinois. The Illini are barely ranked in the top 25, but with the way Michigan has been dispatching even better teams, the neutral site (Lake Forest High School) shouldn’t give them too much of a problem. As the team is finally leaving the confines of Oosterbaan fieldhouse, I won’t be able to attend both games, and the comprehensive wrapups must come to an end, but I do plan to attend Friday’s game (at Vicksburg High School), and will be able to give a complete recap of that contest.

Posted under Other Sports

Big Ten 2010 Recruiting Class Rankings 4-5-09

Compare to the previous edition of the recruiting class rankings. 

4-4-09 Illinois gains commitment from Shawn Afryl.
4-5-09 Michigan gains (public) commitment from Devin Gardner. Minnesota gains commitment from Tom Parish.

#1 Ohio State – 4 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Andrew Norwell OL **** ***** NR
Jamel Turner DE **** ***** NR
JT Moore DE **** NR NR
David Durham LB NR NR NR

Everything remains static for the Buckeyes.

#2 Notre Dame – 3 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Chris Martin DE ***** ***** NR
Christian Lombard OL NR **** NR
Daniel Smith WR NR **** NR

No change.

#3 Michigan – 7 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Ricardo Miller WR **** **** NR
Devin Gardner QB **** **** NR
Jerald Robinson WR **** **** NR
Jeremy Jackson WR NR NR NR
DJ Williamson WR NR NR NR
Antonio Kinard LB NR NR NR
Tony Drake RB NR NR NR

Gardner goes public with his commitment, giving Michigan a trio of 4-star prospects early in the process. With the spring game this upcoming Saturday, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are several more commits.

#4 Penn State – 2 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Paul Jones QB **** ***** NR
Mike Hull LB **** **** NR

Paul Jones has decommitted from Penn State, but he’s still on the Rivals commit list, so in the rankings he shall stay. Keep in mind that he no longer considers himself committed to the Nittany Lions, though.

#5 Minnesota – 5 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Jimmy Gjere OL **** **** NR
Konrad Zagzebski LB NR *** NR
Tom Parish QB NR NR NR
Antoine Lewis WR NR NR NR
Lamonte Edwards Ath NR NR NR

The Gophers pick up yet another Wisconsin player. This time it’s QB Tom Parish.

#6 Michigan State – 1 commit
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Max Bullough LB **** **** NR

No change for Bullough and the Spartans.

#7 Illinois – 2 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Corey Cooper CB NR **** NR
Shawn Afryl OL NR NR NR

The Illini grab offensive lineman Shawn Afryl, who is unranked to both sites.

#8 Iowa – 1 commit
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
James Morris LB NR NR NR

Still no ranking for Morris.

Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin – 0 commits.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

We Have History: Penn State

Like last week against Iowa, I’ve gone through and compiled [most] of the information on our players versus Penn State.  There isn’t anyone doing that impressively against them.  Cilso does have a .393 batting average in 28 ABs.  Fetter does have a 7 inning shutout, but it was in a game we won 1-0.

I will note that I missed some Penn State hitters against Michigan pitchers, but I’m headed out for the weekend and don’t have time to get it done.  Games start at noon tomorrow (Saturday).

And a last note, quag77 left a comment stating Burgoon will be out a while.  Let’s just leave it as I am FULLY confident in their information.  That hurts the team, but I feel sorry for Tyler, he’s been doing so well.

Full Chart after the jump Read More…

Posted under Baseball

Gardner Announces For Michigan

2010 Michigan Wolverine Devin Gardner

Surprising nobody, MI QB Devin Gardner publicly committed to Michigan at Inkster High School today. His coach had told the press that Gardner committed to Michigan’s coaches, but Devin wanted to wait until after his basketball season ended. He was Michigan’s 4th commitment in the class of 2010.

Devin Gardner Goes Blue

Posted under Football, Recruiting