Saturday Noteworthy Links

No basketball game today, so let's take a look at some of the happenings around the world of sports.  Remember, this blog is a lot of Maize and Blue, but also a little bit of everything.  :)

• Over at Beck's MLB blog, we are provided with an early look of the Tigers 2009 lineup.
• Mlive has a nice article about the state of Michigan sports (specifically attendance) given the weak economy.
• Paul at Varsity Blue provided some quality videos of a few new Michigan football recruits.  The one with Tate Forcier is probably what you all want to see.
• Apparently the "A-11 Offense" was too much for some.  The NFHS changed some rules around to outlaw the "gimmick" offense.  I've never seen the offense in person, but I would hate to scheme against it defensively.
• There's a video over at Prep Ticket illustrating the story of future Michigan WR Je'Ron Stokes.  He was probably the last 2009 recruit to sign-on at Michigan.  Coach Rod definitely deserves credit for reeling in this kid.  He was exciting to watch at the Army All-American Bowl.
• A. Sherrod Blakely wrote a piece on Mlive about the Pistons' Amir Johnson being mentioned in trade rumors.  This is especially interesting for me now since I'm living in Phoenix and constantly hear about the Suns' desire to trade Amare Stoudemire.  Hopefully, the Pistons can make it happen.
• Amare apparently doesn't like all the trade talk.
• The Lions have found their personnel man.  Former Jaguars V.P. of Player Personnel James Harris will now have a very similar role in the Lions' organization.  It's no secret there is a ton of work to do with the roster.  How about starting with the QB decision, the offensive line, and then the entire defense.
• Pre-game for tomorrow's basketball game can be found here.  It could be a struggle for the Maize and Blue.  Evanston is a tough place to play, as the Illini found out Thursday night, having to rally from a double-digit deficit to secure the victory.

That's it for today.  I'll definitely post on the Michigan-Northwestern game tomorrow.  It's at 1 PM my time, so I should have something around 4-5 PM.  My mother-in-law is coming in from Michigan tomorrow though, so I can't make any promises.  

Go blue!

To Help Soothe the Soul

Amidst the 3-9 football season and the ups and downs of this year's basketball team, it's been tough sledding for Michigan Fans. Here's a little something to help ease all the pain.

MSU Loss Aftermath

U-M's Beilein: 'We're just working to get better'

#9 MSU 54 UM 42

Well, that was NOT pretty.  MSU grinds it out at Crisler for a 54-42 win.  For Michigan, this was a devastating blow to their tournament chances.  MSU, on the other hand, gets a quality Big Ten road victory.

Without stats in front of me, it seems like this loss comes down to free throw shooting.  UM struggled at the stripe tonight.  At one point during the game, they were 4 for 9 and trailing MSU by 5.  Two painful misses came at the end of the first half when Gibson's dunk was called back because of an intentional foul on State.  Gibson subsequently missed his two freebies.  I would have rather had the no-call, as Gibson had the easy dunk.  Dylan from umhoops.com said it best during a live blog over at mgoblog: "Murphy's Law."

On the other hand, credit MSU's defense.  They managed to challenge Michigan's shots all night long.  It was no secret they play extremely solid D.  Again, without stats in front of me, I can't imagine UM having shot better than 35-40 percent.

As I mentioned during halftime, Delvon Roe continued to be a force.  He was named player of the game after finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  That's a decent double-double for a freshman.

For UM, Sims led the way with a very solid night.  He finished with 18 points and 4 boards in only 25 minutes.  He got into early foul trouble in the second half and had to miss quite some time while MSU continued their onslaught on the glass.  Gibson I'm sure gives it his best every night, but at 6-11 you'd expect a little more out of him simply on height alone.  Maybe a try-out with the football team will give him some toughness?

Highlights here

*My brother sent me another text during the game saying "Greg Robinson is sitting in front of me."  An interesting and exciting night for him I'm sure.  I'm glad he got the opportunity to be in the limelight for a couple of hours.*

Michigan vs. MSU at the Half

At the half, it's Michigan State 23 - Michigan 15.  

The one question I have in my mind right now: did Michigan really just score 15 points in an entire half?

The frustration continues to mount about the missed 3 point shots.  Novak threw up a few; two tough ones from the corner that didn't have chance.  Manny forced at least one with an MSU defender in his face.  Kelvin's lone attempt rattled in and out.  Surprisingly, LLP finally made a shot.

On a positive note, MSU only has 23 points.  The defense seems to have gotten better lately.  JB has been mixing up the looks, using man, the 1-3-1, and the 2-3.  IMO, the 2-3 has been extremely efficient as of late.  I'd like to see them utilize it a bit more.  This should help take care of the mismatches in the post, as UM would have two wing defenders to crash down on an entry pass down low.  Roe has 11 points at the half, at least two of those on a soft Shepherd foul.  If you're going to foul, do it STRONG!

On a more personal note, my brother called me from the game to let me know he met Rich Rod, Bill Martin, and Drew Henson.  He's been hanging out with Jeremy Jackson lately (a 2010 WR commit for UM).  I saw him heading down toward the court as the ESPN cameras showed Izzo heading to the locker room.

Go blue!  Post game wrap-up to follow.