If you can't play hockey right, go to state.

(clap, clap)

I had heard that the school in East Lansing was having trouble with their hockey team this year, but i had no idea how bad they were until i saw it with my own eyes at Yost on Friday. After getting a goal on weird breakaway, (highlights coming soon) their offense died and gave up several breakaway opportunities in which Michigan was able to shift the puck to the open side of the net away from Lerg and score. Not only did they do that, they seemed to be doing it at will by the end of the game.

A 6-1 win is great for any team, but when that team is Michigan and that win is against Michigan State after struggling to put goals in the net against Wisconsin can be a momentum builder for a team like the Wolverines. The momentum they got eventually carried them as they got three goals in the last two minutes to beat the Spartans at Munn.

Apparently State's team is young, but they won't admit it, my friend from the good guys went to the game on Saturday and remarked to one of the female students of the other school that Michigan was a young team last year too. She responded with a "ghetto head roll" and threatened him with physical harm, my friend, an occasional commenter on this blog told me his brother had to intervene to keep him from getting hurt. I guess not everybody loses graciously, or is willing to accept their own problems with their team.

The winged helmets on ice now look to get that momentum going against Michigan Tech on Saturday December 27 at Joe Louis Arena in the Great Lakes Invitational where they hope to retain the Macinnis Cup for the second year in a row after not winning it for nearly eleven years in a row.

If Michigan's offense is going to improve it will need to be much better than it was against WCHA competition last time it played them (Wisconsin). If they're not expect a defensive struggle with Bryan Hogan in net, something he's not accustomed to yet. More on Hogan later, but first here's my first experimental youtube video.



ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

Post Thanksgiving mortem

After watching the Michigan football team die in the second half against that school in Columbus. I tried to think of a way to not be negative about Rich Rodriguez's tenure here at the University so far. The most common saying thrown my way has been, all of his previous teams did really bad in their first seasons and they improved exponentially after that, i didn't accept that because this is Michigan and play like that is still unacceptable under any circumstances.

The conclusion i came to was that if the players who stay stick together they will be able to accomplish a better season next year. The biggest thing for this team in the off season is to preach teamwork and the ability to pick up for another's mistake, that means going after fumbles like you've never gone after fumbles before, block like your life depends on it not just your team's success. Together the Wolverines must stand or divided they will fail.

This season had promise in it, when they beat Wisconsin it seemed like everything was going to go right for this team, and the exact opposite happened. Threet got hurt and was never the same, the offensive line lost its sense of purpose and the secondary could not execute for some reason, except in the Minnesota. It seemed like every winged helmets worse nightmare come true and the problem was the team was not together it seemed like everybody out there was trying to take care of number one before busting their butt for the team.

In this case i want to single out two individuals for two very different reasons. Charles Stewart the strong safety has played like an embarrassment to all people named Charles especially Woodson and myself. His failed attempt at getting an interception against Illinois was the turning point in the game and quite possibly in the season because by playing the ball and not the man he allowed the big play to be made and exposed the world to the secondary's great weakness. Then, in the Ohio State he gets into it with one of the coaches for no reason that's been revealed so far. That is not only unacceptable behavior for a Michigan Wolverine it's unacceptable for any college football player to mouth off at a coach on national television especially if you're the one who's been screwing up lately. I'm glad he's graduating and i hope he finds something other than football to work in because he's been an abomination on the field.

Brandon Minor should be saluted for the following postgame quote:

You can’t really blame Rich Rod because everybody on the team did not buy in like they’re supposed to. We have a couple of guys not going hard,” he said. “We’ll correct that most definitely. That ain’t going to happen on my watch as a senior.

This is truly one of the most positive things that could happen to this team all season when Minor acknowledged this. He told the fans, we are taking the brunt of this season on ourselves as well as the responsibility of making it better next year. If there is anybody who should become the next great leader on the Wolverines for next season it's him.

Two things that Rich Rod will have to work on in the off season are:

1.) Teach the offensive line how to run block for your scheme and run these plays over and over again until you can get them to block correctly.

2.) Get the secondary to learn when to go for the interception, how not to get beat and how to break up passes.

Also i've been watching the Pittsburgh Steelers have some success with the type of defense HRG wants to run, their reason:

THEY ARE DEEPER AT LINEBACKER.

If Rich Rod wants to be successful on both sides of the ball he will have to load up on recruiting linebackers as well as recruiting running backs and linemen.

P.S.: It's not summer so i have to be able to post on all major sports individually now.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

Michigan metaphorical rivalry essays Part 1: Minnesota

Minnesota in football is like that guy you know in your neighborhood who was in a rock band in the seventies and had some success did a couple of tours with some good bands, but afterwards really burned out, and never seemed to adjust to the new climate in the eighties.

You know a few things about him but in reality, these things just add to the mystery of the man.

He apparently has a home but you don't know where. You see his son playing hockey, but you don't know how much he's associated with old dad. He seems to like the cold but he prefers to stay indoors for a lot of events. And the thing that boggles you the most is that he keeps asking you for "Jugs".

You're not entirely sure whether he has a speech impediment or whether he's just messing with you, either way, you try to avoid him as much as possible. Although generally docile he has taken stuff from you in the past, most notably in 2005. His son is also a hell of basketball player and if he's winning, he'll pour it on you in hockey.

wow that was shorter than i thought.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya