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Michigan Hockey Preview Part 2: Defense

9/28/2018

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By: Alex Drain

Welcome to part II of our Michigan Hockey season preview, this time looking at the defense. We covered the forwards on Wednesday, which can be found here.

WHO RETURNS?: Michigan returns 5/6 of their defensive core, and it’s a unit that improved as the season went on last year. The biggest and most important name is Quinn Hughes. His return to Michigan is what will give this team a good shot to win a national title. One of the three biggest reasons Michigan became an elite college hockey team late last season is that Hughes began taking over games. His best attribute is his game-changing skating ability. He’s incredibly fast on skates, but he’s smooth as well, with Datsyukian skill. He can weave between defenders, somehow emerging unscathed from an attempted check and look up to find the perfect pass. With Cooper Marody departed, Hughes will be Michigan’s biggest offensive weapon and possession will drive through him. He’s a preseason favorite for the Hobey Baker Award (college hockey’s Heisman) and expect his playmaking to reach another level this season. He had 5 goals and 24 assists for 29 points in 37 games a year ago. An offensive season akin to that of Zach Werenski’s 2015-16 campaign (a point a game season) is very much a possibility for Hughes this season.


Outside of Hughes, there is a fair bit of talent that returns. Joe Cecconi, who was named the team’s captain, is back for his senior season. He is paired with Hughes on the top unit for the Wolverines and he’s a very steady defender. He improved significantly last season, feeding off of Hughes’s playmaking ability to up his career high in points by over 300% (from 8 in 2016-17 to 27 last year). Look for him to continue to be a factor offensively thanks to who he’s playing next to, but to be more of a leader. He’s the Brian Rafalski to Quinn Hughes’s Nick Lidstrom. Steady defensively, solid offensively, what you want out of someone playing next to a transcendent defenseman.


Last year’s second pairing is the only one that’s been interrupted. With Sam Piazza departed, Michigan loses by far their third best offensive-defenseman. With 15 points, he was #3 among Michigan defensemen in points. Last year, he was paired with Luke Martin, a pretty highly talented (2nd round pick) stay-at-home defenseman, which was an effective combination. Martin is back and will likely stick on the second pair, but Michigan will have to find someone to replace Piazza.

The third pairing is not at all flashy but very steady. Griffin Luce is back for his junior season, and Nick Boka is back for his senior season. Boka is a solid puck-mover but is not much of an offensive playmaker. His only goal last year was the clincher against Boston U in the NCAA Tournament. Across from him is Luce, who is also solid. Both guys were fine, but with only 10 points between them, they will not be doing the heavy lifting offensively. If we’re still making analogies to the 2007-09 Red Wings teams that shaped my hockey youth, these guys are the Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja types. Veteran and steady, but not going to wow you.

Outside of those 5, Michigan returns Christian Meike, a junior who didn’t play a single game last season. Could he find his way into the lineup? Sure. But I think it’s far more likely the open spot in the lineup is filled by one of the incoming freshmen.

WHO JOINS?: Michigan adds three freshmen defenseman, Nick Blankenburg, Jake Gingell, and Jack Summers. Perhaps it’s most notable who Michigan doesn’t add, as it seemed at this point last year that the Wolverines would add two potential NHL first round picks. Mattias Samuelsson flipped to Western Michigan to play with his brother (not much Mel could do about that), but the big shock was Bode Wilde, who seemed like he would slot in perfectly in Piazza’s old slot. Wilde was an aggressive defenseman and a potential top 15 NHL prospect. But then things went haywire, with Wilde decommitting right before the draft, due to unexplained personal problems. Those same personal problems caused him to slide all the way to #41 in June’s NHL Draft. While it would have been nice to have a guy with the talent of Wilde, something was going on with him that both Michigan and NHL teams saw and were bothered by. Whether that’s because he’s a problem in the locker room or what, it may just be best to not have him on the team, and that’s the reality we are living in.

As for the dudes on the roster, Summers and Gingell are two guys we have scouting on. Jack Summers reclassified from the 2019-20 class to this one and he profiles like most Mel Pearson defensemen: a smooth skating puck-mover. He’s not terribly highly touted, but he should be a factor to try and crack the lineup. Jake Gingell is probably a better shot to make the starting 6, mostly because he’s older. Gingell is 21 and wanted to play for Pearson at Michigan Tech, following him to Ann Arbor. He’s a 3.5 star prospect from Neutral Zone, but is more of an old-fashioned defenseman: physical and gritty, a hard hitter. While Mel has mostly been recruiting guys like Summers, speedy and skilled, Gingell is a true grinder. He probably wouldn’t fill Piazza’s role, but given his age and experience, he’s the most college ready.

Nick Blankenburg is a stab-in-the-dark guy. Undersized and old, coming from Alberta, which will be a tough transition. I don’t anticipate seeing him much early on. If you want to read more about these guys, I once again refer you to this MGoBlog article from the summer about Michigan hockey’s recruiting class.

OVERALL: Michigan’s defense improved as last season went along and I expect it to be better this season. Returning the majority of the group, with a lot of them now upperclassmen, the defense could be a strength of the team. It should also be a significant part of Michigan’s offensive attack, if for no reason other than the fact that Quinn Hughes exists. Watching him alone will make this group worth watching.

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Back and Forth Week 5: Northwestern Preview

9/27/2018

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Photo via SB Nation
By Alex Drain and Evan Oesterle

Alex:
Welcome back to another week of this series and Michigan is coming off of, in my opinion, their best win of the season, a 56-10 beatdown against Nebraska. We received a fair bit of ridicule in the lead up to the game for both predicting big blowouts while others will predicting a close game. But I guess that’s why you should go to wcbnsports.org for analysis, eh?


Evan: I didn’t really clap back much to anyone who criticized us. The game spoke for itself… I still don’t know how good this team is, but this might have been the best Michigan performance in 2 seasons.

Alex: Well the 56 points scored is the most since November 5, 2016, so it has been awhile.

Evan: Does this mean we are going to lose another heartbreaker in double OT in Columbus to end our playoff hopes?

Alex: I’m just going to ignore that and keep going to retain my sanity. There isn’t too much to look at in this game, to me. It was just so one-sided on both sides of the ball, with Michigan decisively winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. On every play, Michigan was either gaining yards and putting up points, or making the Huskers run for their lives. Do you have anything to take away from this one?

Evan: Devin Bush is still very fun to watch. Khaleke Hudson should not have been in the game in the second half. Khaleke Hudson needs to learn how to hit. Shea Patterson has great chemistry with the recievers. The special teams are very good. I still don’t know how good this team is. That’s about it. Should we move on to Northwestern?

Alex: I do have a few things I want to bring up. First off, for all we talked in the season preview about the punting situation being a liability, Will Hart has been pretty damn excellent through 4 games this season. He’s currently 4th in the NCAA (!!!!!) in average yardage per punt, at 52.6. It’s also been three straight games where Michigan’s tackles have successfully handled bad competition with very few misses. Will be interesting to continue to track going forward though the real test of course won’t come until Wisconsin. Finally, how about those backups, Dylan McCaffrey in particular?

Evan: I really wish that his touchdown run had counted. That was one of the most electric plays of the season. I’ve also been really impressed by Ronnie Bell as a receiver and Tru Wilson (although he isn’t really a backup anymore) as a running back. The backups on defense haven’t been quite as reliable, and poor old Brandon Peters looks rough. I really hope we get to see Joe Milton this season though. How about you?

Alex: I was just impressed by some of the downfield throws he made. The TD to Bell was right on the money and he had two others to Martin and Thomas that were either drops or excellent PBU’s by the opposing defense that were also very accurate. With his athletic ability on the ground, McCaffrey looks like a really exciting prospect for next season.

Before we talk about Northwestern, I do want to discuss a topic that we’ve brought up on the Podcast but one we haven’t talked about on this space yet. Through four weeks, would you say that you’re opinions of the team are better, worse, or the same compared to preseason expectations?

Evan: I would say that the defense is a bit worse than I expected, mostly because of the secondary. The offense is on par with what I expected, but close to exceeding expectations as the offense continues to improve. Special teams is much, much better than I expected. Will Hart has been excellent, Quinn Nordin struggles with extra points but has the leg for 60+ yard field goals, and both Ambry Thomas (KR) and DPJ (PR) have returned kicks for touchdowns already. Overall, the team is about what I expected. Since going down 14-0 to Notre Dame, Michigan has outscored its opponents 167-43. This team might be really good. We won’t find out for sure for a couple weeks, but I expected a national title contender with double digit regular season wins and it looks like that is what we are going to get from this team. What about you?

Alex: I mostly agree. I’m about where I was entering the season in terms of confidence in this team. The Notre Dame game was always going to be a strange barometer for the team because it’s an opening game with a new QB and a reshuffled coaching staff on the road, under the lights, against a top 15 opponent. How the team does against Wisconsin, Penn State, and Michigan State in October and November will say a lot more about this squad. I think you’re being a bit unfair to the defense. Again, we need to see it matched up against tougher opponents, but it really tightened up against Notre Dame after the early punch to the jaw. Yes there have been some issues against one James Proche but altogether, this is the #4 defense in S&P+ with a chance to be better. Patterson has been better than I expected, the rest of the offense has mostly lived up and Michigan is #5 in S&P+ altogether. They need to actually translate those fancy metrics into wins but this is a team that is very much capable of winning out. It’s also capable of coming up short in a bunch of close games and going 8-4 or 9-3. Only time will tell.

Shall we move onto Northwestern?

Evan: Sure. I can give a quick analysis of Northwestern: they are not good. Time to pack it up and go home.

But seriously. This is a team that has had two weeks to think about a loss to Akron. Despite out gaining the Zips by 127 yards and having 105 less penalty yards in that game, Northwestern lost due to some bad turnovers and a failure to convert on 4th down. Had it not been for a terrible personal foul at the end of their game against Purdue, they might be 0-3. Clayton Thorson is proving everyone who laughed at the idea of him being a high draft pick very right, and the Wildcats have had very high turnover in their running back depth. If all that isn’t enough, their kicker is 1-3 on field goals for the season, their punter averages 37.3 yards per punt, and they are 3/12 on 4th down attempts. Yikes.

Alex: You alluded to the RB issues, and it’s worth noting that Jeremy Larkin, their best RB, was forced to medically retire this week due to a serious spinal injury, so the Wildcats will be coming in blind at that position. With Thorson continuing to struggle, this is a legitimate opportunity for Michigan’s defense to pitch a shutout. That said, I think it is a real test for Michigan’s offense. A year ago, Northwestern had a top 25 defense in S&P+, mostly on the strength of a stout rush defense coming from an excellent front 7. They return most all of the pieces from that unit, including linebackers Paddy Hall and Nate Hall, as well as defensive end Joe Gaziano. Despite being 60th in S&P+ as a team this year, they are 27th in defense, so this is not a defense that is a pushover, even if it may have a weaker secondary. I’m interested in watching the offensive line be tested against this front 7 unit, in particular.

Evan: I agree, it will be interesting to watch. It’s a good tune up two weeks before an angry Wisconsin team comes to Ann Arbor. My three biggest questions for the offense right now: 1. Is there more to the playbook? The offense has had success the last few weeks with relatively basic run, pass, and play-action plays. It has to get more complex right? 2. Will there ever be real tempo? College defenses struggle with effective no-huddle schemes. I don’t want Michigan to run no-huddle if they aren’t capable, but if they are, now is the time to start practicing in game. 3. After DPJ, Higdon, Collins, and Gentry, what other playmaker is going to step up? There have been flashes from Perry, Martin, Evans, Mckeon, Bell, and even Tru Wilson. Not that Michigan is short on playmakers, but the more fine-tuned weapons they have, the better suited the offense will be for potential shootouts with Penn State and Ohio State down the road.

Alex: Those are fair questions and we may well get answers this week. The one I’m most sure about is question 1. There have been pretty clear references by the coaching staff and the players that there is a very deep playbook that they are not yet digging into. We saw that last year too, with lots of new stuff coming out against Ohio State. I would assume Harbaugh & Co. are saving the best sets for MSU and OSU. For me the biggest question is still about the tackles and the line as a whole. Will this improvement over the last few weeks hold at all against tougher competition?

Let’s wrap this up. Last week I defeated you in the prediction contest thanks to a garbage time TD by Nebraska, so we’re 2-2 through four weeks. As always, give me your prediction/MVP/thing to watch.

Evan: I have never been so upset about a garbage time touchdown. We got to watch that together from up in the press box, and I refused to look at you after, but I’m sure you had as much satisfaction as you could from Michigan giving up a touchdown.

Alex: We never settled what the winner will win at the end of the season.

Evan: That’s true. Let’s keep the stakes high: whoever wins gets second-half play-by-play of the North Carolina basketball game. The loser gets stuck with the first half. Deal?

Alex: Sure

Evan: Back to football. I’ll start with what I’m watching for this week: What does the run-pass mix look like for the offense? Patterson is averaging just 177 passing ypg which in part attributable to blowouts, in part to injury, but also in part due to play-calling. This should be the first time since Notre Dame when Higdon is breaking 30 yard runs every other player, so I’ll be looking for more early down passing plays.

My MVP is Rashan Gary. He has been awfully quiet due to drawing a lot of double teams and having teams run away from him (speaking of which, Chase Winovich has improved his run-stopping ability substantially, but that’s a conversation for another day). I think Gary has a big game and gets back into the spotlight.

This might be the most difficult score to predict so far this year. Northwestern shouldn’t have any success offensively, but as you mentioned, their defense is formidable. The Wolverines and Wildcats have some weird history; before the most recent affair in 2015 when Michigan delivered a 38-0 haymaker, the previous 3 games were all single digits. The weirdest of the bunch were the 2014 M00N game when the teams were tied at 0 at halftime before Michigan won 10-9 after then NW QB Trevor Siemian slipped on a two point conversion to end the game and the 2013 game Brendan Gibbons kicked a field goal that shouldn’t have counted to send the game to overtime with Michigan eventually winning 27-19 after 3 extra periods. Now that I’m done giving my history lesson, I’ll go with Michigan 37-Northwestern 7. Also, you are picking first the next couple weeks. I know you’re about to come back with Michigan 36-Northwestern 8 or something like that.

Alex: I’m not going to be that obvious in my attempts to game the system, but I am going to hedge a bit. I’ll take Michigan 31, Northwestern 6. My thing to watch, to continue to beat the dead horse, is the offensive line versus Northwestern’s front seven. I’ll go with Devin Bush as the MVP.

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Michigan Hockey Preview - Forwards

9/26/2018

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By: Alex Drain

Welcome to Part 1 of WCBN Sports’ Michigan Hockey Preview 2018-19. This will be a multi-part series looking at different positional groups. The first positional group will be forwards, covered in this article, so let’s get started:

WHO RETURNS?: The good news? Lots of people! The bad news? Not the best people. Put more directly, Michigan loses their whole top line, which did a lot of the heavy lifting, especially early in the year. But outside of that, they return 8 of the bottom 9 forwards, and add Will Lockwood, who was a clear top 6 forward until he got hurt in January and missed the whole Frozen Four run. The big split between that top 3 and bottom 9 a year ago was experience: the top line consisted of two seniors (the captain included) and an NHL-ready junior. The bottom 9 was populated by 4 freshmen, 3 sophomores (4 if you add Lockwood), 1 junior, and 1 senior. The returning forwards are mostly young and still developing players and they are the team’s X-Factors. If Michigan is to replicate their rather prolific offensive performances from a year ago, it is going to happen because the kids are alright.

The big names are the three that will probably constitute the new top line: Sophomore Josh Norris and Juniors Jake Slaker and Will Lockwood. Slaker is the best goal scorer of the three and looks likely to slide, at least reasonably well, into the Tony Calderone role from last season. Slaker was the most prolific scorer in the bottom 9 a year ago, netting 15 goals and 12 assists in 39 games. He was also pretty dependable in big situations, scoring a goal in each of the two B1G tournament quarterfinal games against Wisconsin, as well as a goal and an assist against Boston U in the Northeast Regional Final that sent Michigan to the Frozen Four. With the soon to be mentioned Josh Norris hopefully growing into a better playmaker, expect Slaker to comfortably lead the team in goals. As for Norris, he had a freshman season that perfectly fit the role he was asked to do: be a #2 center on a good team. The question for 2018-19 is whether he can be a #1 college center on a good team. The sophomore has elite talent, taken in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks. His freshman numbers were really solid, 8 goals and 15 assists for 23 points in 37 games. Again, those fit a #2 center. Michigan needs Norris to make a jump and come closer to a point per game pace this season, and given his talent, that is not at all unreasonable.

Losing Will Lockwood to injury in the middle of last year was a crushing blow, yet the team got better after it happened. So is Will Lockwood a detriment to the team? Of course not. It’s just that Mel’s coaching started to set in right around the time Lockwood got hurt. Before injury, he had 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points in 16 games. Across a full season, he would have been around that 25 point plateau that Norris and Slaker were. A fully healthy season from Lockwood, a former third rounder of Vancouver, would probably see the junior winger hit 30 points and fill the Dexter Dancs role from last season, with potentially higher upside.

The rest of the returners are varying degrees of checking line players, to young dudes who are developing, to wily vets. A year ago, the DMC line was excellent from wire to wire. Michigan took off, however, when they started defending better, when Hayden Lavigne emerged as the guy, and when the third and fourth lines started to score. That latter category are these guys. The highest scoring among them were Brendan Warren, Nick Pastujov, and Jack Becker. Warren is the oldest of the three, now entering his senior season. He had 9 goals and 6 assists for 15 points. While he could get a bit better, he’s pretty close to where his final ceiling is going to be as a college player: a solid middle six guy. He replaced Lockwood on the 2nd line but he’s probably not that caliber of a player. While he’ll likely start the year on the 2nd line, I think Michigan would prefer someone to surpass him.

For now, it seems like the 2nd line center will be last year’s 3rd line center, Nick Pastujov. Pastujov’s ability to center a competent 3rd line came on late in the year and was a big factor in Michigan’s improvement. Again like Warren, he’s probably more of a 3rd line player at heart, but he’ll start farther up on the depth chart until youth jump over him. He had 4 goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 2017-18. Finally, Jack Becker had a better-than-expected freshman season for Michigan, with 8 goals and 7 points in 32 games, frequently being used on the power play. Becker has the best chance of the three to stick on the second line for Michigan in 2018-19 and with a year of development, it’ll be exciting to see how much better he can get.

Of the remainder of the gang, Michael Pastujov has the most potential. Nick’s younger brother was also a freshman last season, finally breaking into the starting lineup midseason, and he finished with 5 goals and 4 assists in 20 games (a half season). He may be a 2nd line player when it’s all said and done, but he probably won’t be there this season. Pencil him on the third line. Adam Winborg is a savvy 4th line center and Dakota Raabe proved to be an effective 4th line winger and they’re both back. James Sanchez, Alex Roos, and Niko Porikos, who were used occasionally on the 4th lines, have all graduated.

WHO COMES IN? Michigan adds a handful of forwards in the current recruiting class, the biggest name being Jimmy Lambert. Lambert is an older guy, formerly from the BCHL, which he lit up last year, scoring 61 points in 55 games in the regular season. Neutral Zone listed him as a 4.25* prospect, applauding his hands and hockey sense, which is a very promising scouting report. Given that he’s an older player, he’s probably closer to his ceiling and is thus someone who could slot in to the top 9, and possibly top 6, immediately. Jack Randl will also probably slot into the team in some role. Unlike Lambert, Randl is the typical age, a 2000 kid who has played in Omaha at the USHL level for the last few years. He had 32 points (20 goals) in 49 games and was a candidate to go late in the NHL Draft, but didn’t end up making the cut. He’s more of a project, being younger, but he has a chance to contribute this season.

Finally, Nolan Moyle is the other notable name out of this class. Moyle flipped from MSU to Michigan and got a lot better between last year and the year prior, going from 15 points in 2016-17 to 45 points in 2017-18 playing in the USHL at Green Bay. He should be a guy who gets some minutes early on, but his production is more in question. There are a few stab in the dark type guys in this class but not any worth naming. This is a recruiting class that’s pretty mediocre, hurt by the late Red years and it won’t be until the 2020 recruiting class that the Mel Pearson Hockey Juggernaut becomes fully operational. If you want to read more about Michigan hockey’s incoming recruits, I recommend this MGoBlog piece from a little ways back.

OVERALL: This is a positional group that is fine. Again, growth is going to be required to maintain last year’s offensive pace, but they probably don’t need to maintain last year’s pace to be successful, assuming the defense and PK improve. If Norris, Slaker, and Lockwood hit their potential, the forward production could be very similar to last year’s gang. If not, expect a drop off. The development of guys like Becker and the Brothers Pastujov are also important to the team’s long term future, as are the freshmen who join the squad.

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Remembering Mac

9/26/2018

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By Max Cohen

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via Instagram
It’s been nearly one month since Mac Miller has died, and I still can’t wrap my head around it.  I heard the news from a text message, immediately went online to see if it was true, and my worst fears came true.  On September 7, Mac Miller, was pronounced dead in his California home from an apparent drug overdose. I was introduced to Miller’s music back when he had just released his EP, On and On and Beyond, and have loved him ever since.  Mac’s evolution as a rapper over his almost decade long career was one of the most impressive to see, and I was so sad for it to end in an instant.
Miller started his rap career rhyming over fun beats with simple lyrics about being a young rapper making money.  His mixtape, K.I.D.S, was on instant classic that brought Mac to the forefront of teen rap.  With his new fame, Mac began to use more drugs and eventually started battling depression and substance abuse, but he never stopped making music.  His mixtapes, Run On Sentences Vol. 1 & 2, and album, Watching Movies with the Sound Off, all are beautiful but depressing dives into the mind of a young adult struggling with his own thoughts.
In 2014, Mac released, in my opinion, his best project of his career in the mixtape Faces.  The 24-song, nearly hour and a half mixtape gives you the deepest look into Mac’s head and learn with him how he’s feeling.  Faces has a different sound than any other Mac project. It sounds like he focused on every little thing, from the lyrics, to the beat, to every single instrument and feature used.  Faces was recorded at one of the lowest points in Mac’s life.  Three years earlier, Mac’s debut album flopped with critics, and it got to his head, which led to the substance abuse and depression, and he was at the end of the line.  On the mixtape Mac delicately raps, “Trapped inside these dreams of mine, just trying to get some peace of mind, yeah, I've been trapped inside these dreams of mine, so you'll never get a piece of mind.”  This is just one example, but as a fan of Mac’s, it sucked hearing this come from him.  He had always been a fun, smile on his face kind of guy, but this mixtape finally made me realize that he was struggling.
Soon after Faces, Mac checked into rehab and got cleaner.  He hadn’t stopped drinking or smoking, but he was off hard drugs and knew his limit.  He signed a $10 million deal with Warner, and was getting ready to release his third studio album.  In September of 2015, Miller released his album, GO:OD AM, a rebirth and fresh start for Mac.  He started to stray away from the dark and gloomy music he had been releasing for a while, but still reflected on the mistakes he has made.  This made for a phenomenal album, but when listening back to one song in particular you hear Mac say, “They don’t want me to OD and have to talk to my mother tell her they could have done more to help me, and she’d be crying saying that she’d do anything to have me back.”  I was in absolute awe listening to this at the time the album came out, but listening back to it is gut wrenching.  It’s so sad that Mac was already in that place before and got out, only to end up back in the deep end.
Over the next three years Mac Miller went on to release two more albums, The Divine Feminine and Swimming, the latter of which released just a month before his death.  Swimming was Mac’s most reflective project.  He took a step back from his whole life after his break up with Ariana Grande, and put it into an album.  He was in love and that relationship ended, it sucks, but he got past it and wanted everyone to know. He was doing interviews with Zane Lowe saying how much better he was feeling, and put on a great Tiny Desk Concert for NPR.  There was no sign of Mac being in any place he was before. In the song 2009 on Swimming, Mac raps over beautifully played strings and piano, “I don't need to lie no more.  Nowadays all I do is shine, take a breath and ease my mind.”  I can’t put it into words how happy it made me feel when I first heard this song.  It really did feel like Mac was in a good place for the first time in a while, and it made me feel good.  
Picture
via Instagram
I don’t know when I will get over Mac’s death.  He was one of the first musicians I ever fell in love with and have followed his every move since.  Hearing Mac rap through everything he went through in life was eye-opening. He had changed from rapping about being young and rich to battling your own brain and going through tough relationships.  Mac put the words of so many people into his own songs and to die so young is tragic. He touched the lives of so many people that weren’t just fans. If you went on social media on September 7, your entire feed would be filled by actors, fans, athletes, and other musicians mourning for Mac.  From every story about his life, Mac seemed to not let fame get to his head and was always around for people. He cared about every person that was in his life. He put all his hard work into his music and it showed throughout his career. Mac Miller defined how to grow and change as an artist, but more importantly as a person, so cherish everything he did, and made, I will.

Links to some of my favorite Mac songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbV-Q6tz4B8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bL3znGwXFc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys-9b9QI3Q4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_G6rJrFj0U&list=PLMnxtb2tF-3vfhW91otaMycnykzpmFYNH&index=14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbpGiunpsA
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As_cvwAMYi4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq145gzkzFo&index=23&list=PLdqbye7rVrX3U9rR4x46YFh2MEG_tLs75

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WU7oGiwiao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txVY7E_rwys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B3YwcjQ_bU

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Farewell Hank

9/23/2018

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By: Alex Drain

Last Friday, Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland announced that longtime Red Wings forward and current captain Henrik Zetterberg would be retiring after doctors declared that his back condition would worsen even more if the soon-to-be 38 year old suited up for another year in Detroit. Watching Zetterberg go is another bittersweet moment as we slowly bid the 2008 era Red Wings farewell and it requires us to take a long look at his illustrious career.


Goodbye to Hank

Henrik Zetterberg’s NHL career was almost as unlikely as that of his Euro Twin counterpart, Pavel Datsyuk. A 7th round pick out of Sweden in 1999, Zetterberg was another gem plucked out of obscurity by legendary European hockey scout Hakan Andersson. He made his debut with the Red Wings in the fall of 2002 just days after his 22nd birthday. After two promising seasons with Detroit and the cancelled 2005 season, Zetterberg’s career exploded. He scored 39 goals and 46 assists for 85 points as the Red Wings won the President’s Trophy but fell short in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the hands of Edmonton. He followed it up with 68 points in 63 games the following season before hitting his peak in 2007-08. That year he netted 43 goals and 49 assists for 92 points in 75 games. He also had a career best +30 rating and was named a 2nd team NHL All-Star. But his greatest achievements would come after the regular season, as he would score 27 points in 22 playoff games. He led the NHL playoffs in games played, goals, points, and +/-, en route to a Stanley Cup Championship and a Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.

In that playoff run were several memorable highlights including a shift for the ages against Pittsburgh in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, where he nearly single handedly killed off a minute of 5-on-3 time at a crucial juncture of the series. He also scored the championship-winning goal in the third period of Game 6 against Pittsburgh, with a little help from Marc-Andre Fleury of course. There was also his slick shorthanded goal to seal a 3-0 series lead for the Red Wings in the WCF against Dallas (skip to 18:58) and an icing on the cake shorty in game 5 of that series (skip to 21:52).

The following season, the Red Wings would come oh so close to another title, falling one game short against Pittsburgh, losing in game 7 of the finals to the Penguins. That would be the beginning of the end of the dynasty and it was a downward slope from there. Detroit would never make the conference finals again with Zetterberg, losing in the second round three different times (2010, 2011, 2013), twice in game 7. In 2012, Zetterberg became the new captain following the retirement of Nick Lidstrom and he led the team with grace, even as the overall talent of the team declined. After 2016, the Euro Twins were reduced to just one, as Zetterberg and the Red Wings fan-base bid farewell to Pavel Datsyuk. The following year, Detroit missed the playoffs for the first time since 1992 and last year, the team had such a poor record that they snagged their highest first round pick since 1989.

A Look Back

In looking back on the career of Henrik Zetterberg, there’s a lot to think about. He will go down as one of the 10 or 12 greatest players in the history of one of the three most legendary franchises in professional hockey (I had a power ranking once upon a time that I never finished). His 1,082 games played ranks 6th, while his 337 goals, 623 assists, and 960 points ranks 5th in the team all-time record books, trailing only legends like Alex Delvecchio, Steve Yzerman, Nick Lidstrom, and Gordie Howe. He won a Stanley Cup and was arguably the best player on that team. All those accolades mean that his #40 should be retired into the rafters of Little Caesars Arena one day (hopefully next to Pavel Datsyuk’s #13).  

But when I look back at his career, I see myself. No, not in a hockey player sense obviously. But his evolution tracks closely with my Red Wings fandom because more than anyone else on the team in the past decade, Henrik Zetterberg made me a Red Wings fan. Hockey has always been an essential part of my family. My dad played (and still plays). My brother plays, so did multiple of my cousins, and many of my friends growing up. At Drain family gatherings in the winter, the television will likely be on, and it will likely be tuned into that night’s Red Wings game. Put simply, I was always going to be a Red Wings fan. But there also comes a point in life when the fandom doesn’t accept you. Rather you have to accept the fandom for yourself.

That happened to me in 2008. My earliest memories as a Red Wings fan were from 2006. While I watched the team pre-lockout, for a memory from 2003-2004 or before to stick, it would have to be quite vivid, like a championship (see: Detroit Pistons). But the Wings didn’t win a title back then, so some of my first Wings memories were from the 05-06 season. Strangely enough, that was Zetterberg’s first big season with the team. I remember Jiri Fischer’s heart attack and I remember everyone’s sadness when Steve Yzerman retired at the end of the season. But the year when I truly became a fan was Zetterberg’s best year with the team: 2007-08. It was that year that the Wings won the Stanley Cup and made me a Red Wings fan for life. My dad and I had tickets to Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals that year, a 4-0 victory over Dallas. While at the game, I bought an inflatable Stanley Cup which I still have. I remember the excitement of the championship, the happiness of being on top. The next season, I watched nearly every game and every playoff game, the year that I became a Red Wings addict. I remember Zetterberg dragging the team to the Finals, even while Lidstrom, Datsyuk, and Franzen missed key games late in the playoff run. And most of all, I remember the searing heartbreak in Game 7 of the Finals.

As the years have gone on, I’ve gained perspective in my relationship with the Red Wings and I’ve matured. But every year I’ve gotten older, Zetterberg was there too. For a nearly 5 year period, I had a Red Wings jersey, and the name on the back was Zetterberg. He played with grace, finesse, and leadership. He wasn’t the biggest, the fastest, the strongest, or the flashiest. He lacked Datsyuk’s brilliant skill and in many ways, he was the silent superstar of the past 12 years of the NHL. Yet Zetterberg was so darn likable, and respected by everyone across the NHL. He was sportsmanlike and won the Clancy Trophy in 2014-15 for humanitarian work in Metro Detroit as well as Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Nepal. Even as he got older and the team got worse, he was always a fixture of the team, competing game in and game out, scoring at about a 60 points/82 games clip in the last 4 seasons and missing just 5 games over that span. He helped bid us, as Red Wings fans, farewell to Yzerman, Osgood, Lidstrom, Franzen, Datsyuk, and The Joe along the way.

But now the time has come that we must say goodbye to Zetterberg too. With Zetterberg goes the last vestige of the era that I grew up with. Now that Hank is gone, Nick Kronwall is the only 2008 fixture left on the current team. Jimmy Howard, Darren Helm, and Justin Abdelkader all played games on that squad but none were mainstays and all, including Kronwall, are nearing the end of their playing careers. It’s been clear to Red Wings fans for a while that those days are long gone but sometimes it takes visceral moments like a farewell to the captain to make it clear. Whenever the Red Wings are contenders again, that team will look very different than it did in 2008.

But there still may be Zetterberg’s imprint on it. After all, guys like Larkin and Mantha, while not nearly the whole core, are important pieces of the Red Wings’ future and they benefited immensely from getting an up close experience with Zetterberg’s leadership. He was the ideal veteran mentor and embodied the skill and class that was the Red Wings dynasty of 1995-2009. And so it’s fitting that with Zetterberg goes the last symbol of the dynasty. He will be missed in Hockeytown, but it will always be his home and we will forever be grateful for the joy he brought us. So Hank, thanks for everything.

Image Credit:
https://therunnersports.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Henrik-Zetterberg-Red-Wings-2018.jpg
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Back and Forth Week 4: Nebraska Preview

9/20/2018

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Alex: We are back to break down week 3’s tussle with SMU and look forward to this week’s matchup with Nebraska. Let’s start by analyzing Michigan’s 45-20 defeat of the Mustangs. What jumped out to you most about that game?

Evan: I’ve got 3 letters for you, can you guess them?

Alex: DPJ

Evan: Bingo. I know SMU’s defense isn’t exactly Alabama, but DPJ has been excellent through three games and it all came together with a three-touchdown breakout performance. He still makes all 110,000 fans hold their breath every time he is back to return a punt, but his route-running and speed have been phenomenal for Shea Patterson and the passing game. Couple that with a brilliant over-the-shoulder catch in the end-zone and DPJ is rapidly becoming a superstar. How about you?

Alex: It’s amazing what having a QB who can throw a pass accurately will do to a young receiver’s production. It’s also amazing that you decided to start this piece off with optimism since you were quite disturbed with the way the game began if I remember correctly. That said, for me, what stood out was James Proche. This may be one of those games where we look back in 5 years or so and simply remember it as the James Proche Game, because he was on fire. I know the safeties have some issues in coverage, but the kid can play. We knew that in the scouting report coming in, but he was excellent, tormenting Michigan’s defense all over the field.

Evan: I think I’ve been refreshed this week by two things: seeing that Michigan’s defense (although they have failed the eye test) is the best in the country in terms of opponent yards per play (min. 3 FBS opponents) and Daxton Hill’s commitment. But if you want me to bash Josh Metellus and the first quarter offensive play-calling I certainly will.

Alex: I actually thought Kinnel was a bit worse in coverage than Metellus, but everyone was having problems, even the stellar Brandon Watson and LaVert Hill the few times they were put on Proche. Play calling was rather odd, and it seemed like they had a strange obsession with the I-formation on a day when the offensive line’s run blocking was not as good as normal. We did get a Ben Mason 1-yard TD dive though!

Evan: Ben Mason is quickly becoming a fan favorite, or at least a WCBN Sports favorite. I have to say, Michigan has come out slowly in every game. They have yet to put it together on either side of the ball in any game. They only have 3 weeks until Wisconsin comes to the Big House, and the week after that they go to East Lansing. Despite improvement from several individual players, the offensive-line and secondary have been far too spotty for me to feel confident yet. Not to mention, special teams has been just ok. I don’t know why they’ve picked up this trend of starting every game besides OSU slow the last season and a half, but it is not ideal.

Alex: Counterpoint, after the last two weeks, Michigan State and Wisconsin might both be bad so who knows! Also I think there is something to be said for the coaching staff saving the playbook for big games, given that they crafted an excellent game plan vs OSU last year. No doubt they’re holding things back for the big contests. Still, it would be nice to see an opening drive TD anytime in the next few weeks. I think it was nice to see competent pass protection again. I know it’s SMU, but after the Notre Dame game, I wasn’t sure there was a single DE in college football that Michigan’s tackles could block.

Evan: That’s fair. I have to say, I’m really most frustrated by the fact that I have no idea how good this team is after a quarter of the season. Notre Dame has looked awful the last two weeks, so our benchmark is kinda off. I don’t think we will really know how good (or not good) this team is until after the MSU game. Shea has been very solid, the skill position players have all looked great, and the stars in the front seven on defense look like stars. But what we expected to be the two biggest weaknesses pre-season, o-line and the safeties, are still hampering this team’s ceiling. That being said, they should roll this week.

Alex: I mean, you can be frustrated but it’s sorta what we expected, right? The way the schedule set up, there was only one real game in the first half of the season, and even that comes with caveats (being the season opener). Still, there are various things we can pick up on, like the fact Patterson has a 70.8% completion percentage and a 6:2 TD/INT ratio. He’s good. He’s less good when there are unblocked dudes looking to murder him, but he’s good. And a million years better than what Michigan had masquerading as a QB last year. We also know the pass catchers are good, that the defense as a whole is good. There’s only so much we can learn right now, but the same can be true with the rest of the conference, even as we watch many of the teams stumble early on.

Looking at Nebraska…. the poor Huskers are… very bad.

Evan: If Adrian Martinez doesn’t play, Nebraska might not score against this Wolverine defense. If Adrian Martinez plays, Nebraska might not score against this Wolverine defense. This game is going to be a bloodbath and poor Scott Frost is going to start 0-3. My one worry is another slow start, which could become even slower with Khaleke Hudson in the first half (it felt like the defense dropped off substantially after he exited in the 3rd quarter with the targeting penalty). But this one shouldn’t be a problem for Michigan.

Alex: It should be another easy blowout and Nebraska’s defense is simply brutal, so it should be an opportunity to light up the scoreboard for the Michigan offense. I don’t think there is too much to be gleaned from this game overall, but another smackdown like the one Michigan had against WMU in week 2 would be much appreciated. Fun fact for our readers, Michigan’s next 5 games are against teams that lost their most recent game, starting with Nebraska, who succumbed to Troy a week ago. Week 3 was not kind to the Big Ten.

Evan: No, it was not. The conference looks significantly weaker than it was expected to be. Ohio State has to be feeling great about their playoff chances right now, especially with the way Dwayne Haskins is playing. Each of the other top competitors appears to have a pretty major flaw: Michigan’s o-line and safeties, Penn State’s defense, Wisconsin’s passing game, MSU’s… everything. Let me get us off track for a second: rank the top 5 teams in the conference right now.

Alex: Hmmmmm… Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State? I don’t know if PSU is actually the second best team in the conference, but they don’t have a loss so I feel like they go there until they’re beaten. Among the one loss teams, Michigan’s loss is by far the best. Wisconsin’s is the worst, but Wisconsin was also a better team than MSU last year. I could go either way on 4-5 right now. And even with Ohio State, the Buckeyes have flaws. They gave up 500 yards last week. It’ll be a fun show of offense when they head to Happy Valley.

Evan: That’s a fair ranking. I think I would probably say the same. I really don’t have a sense of how good Arizona State is, so I’m not willing to say that’s a better loss than BYU yet. Anyways, what are you watching for this weekend?

Alex: I’m interested in #BackupWatch yet again. The 2nd teamers didn’t get in last week but if Michigan can blow it open early, I want to see what backups come in, specifically on the offensive line. Also we need to see a strong bounceback performance from the secondary.

How about you + prediction/MVP?

Evan: I’m interested to see how the secondary bounces back. Aside from the pick-6 by Metellus, the safeties had a brutal game. Can they recover? Will Brad Hawkins play? These are the key questions for me. My score prediction: After the first quarter: Nebraska 7 - Michigan 7. At the end of the game: Michigan 52 - Nebraska 7. The MVP will be Shea; he is going to light this defense up. Your thoughts?

Alex: My score is Michigan 51-Nebraska 10, so very similar. But I’m going with a defensive MVP, Devin Bush.

Image Credit:
https://athlonsports.com/sites/athlonsports.com/files/styles/article_top_img/public/ScottFrost_2018_nebraskaathletics_3.jpg
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The Ghost of Sam Hinkie Lurks in Philly

9/18/2018

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The 76ers just threw any hope of winning a championship in the garbage.

Since the firing of Jerry Colangelo in June, the Philadelphia 76ers were allegedly searching hard for a new GM. After a THREE MONTH LONG search, in which they certainly scoured every NBA front office for potential candidates, they decided to promote from within and put Elton Brand at the helm. That’s right, Elton Brand, a man the 76ers signed as a player just over 2 years ago. Whose only experience as an NBA executive is being the GM of the 76ers G-League affiliate the Delaware 87ers for an entire year. I do not want to insult the talent nor the intelligence of Elton Brand; he’s one of the most well respected individuals in basketball, but the 76ers are making a huge mistake.  

The 76ers want to win now. Their stiffest competition currently, and for the foreseeable future, are the Celtics, Rockets, and (duh) Warriors. These teams are each lead by guys with at least a decade’s worth of experience working in or around NBA front offices in Danny Ainge, Daryl Morey, and Bob Myers. Each of these men are experts at evaluating talent, negotiating, and maximizing cap space. The 76ers just hired a guy who has to learn the job on the fly while competing against guys who routinely make their peers look like fools (looking at you Billy King). What makes this so embarrassing is that the team had a chance to hire a guy with legitimate front office experience in David Griffin, who was instrumental in bringing a ring to The Land™. Unfortunately, there was a small hiccup because current Head Coach and acting GM Brett Brown was not comfortable giving full control of personnel decisions to the hire. On an unrelated note, Brown is a man who thinks there is nothing wrong with Ben Simmons’ jumper.

Now, I can understand anyone believing that the 76ers have simply too good of a young core in Joel Embiid, Simmons, and Markelle Fultz to mess up. They’re all so young and talented. They’re bound to win a championship with each other at some point. That may be true. I personally cannot think of any teams with three young, talented players that disintegrated before realizing their potential. Not one. Also, there are plenty of guys who have jumped straight from playing to coaching with tremendous success recently like Jason Kidd, Derek Fisher, and Earl Watson. I’m sure Brand will adjust to his new role much like those three.

In all seriousness, there seems to be something fundamentally wrong with the culture and/or front office in Philadelphia. The Thunder have shown how easy it is to squander a team that seems destined for a dynasty. Only time will tell, but I fear that the 76ers are doomed to never overcome their greatest mistake: firing Sam Hinkie.
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Back and Forth: Week 2 recap & SMU

9/13/2018

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Alex: We are back for our week three article in the back and forth and series. We have much more fun things to discuss this week on the heels of Michigan’s 49-3 hammering of Western Michigan. I hope your spirits are better this week!

Evan: I like winning games. And I like doing it by substantial margins. This game was much more reminiscent of the 2016 season than any game last year, so that’s an encouraging sign. I do have some frustrations from the game though… Overall the team played great and I’m not downplaying that, but the coaching staff still has me worried.

Alex: Would you care to elaborate on those frustrations?

Evan: You don’t want to start with the fun stuff? Ok fine, I’ll get this out of the way. When your running backs have been solid, and your run blocking has been decent, what’s the point of continuing to run the ball when you’re up 21, 28, 35, etc.? Throw the damn ball and let your quarterback who’s played one game with his receivers build some chemistry. Also, why are Juwann Bushell-Beatty/Jon Runyan seeing almost 100% of the first team reps against Western? We all know what’s coming. It’s inevitable. Do you want Jalen Mayfield or James Hudson’s first start to be a night game at MSU? Or a home game vs Wisconsin/Penn State? I’m not at practice everyday, so who know what’s really behind these decisions, but c’mon.

Alex: Well, I think given what Offensive Line Coach Ed Warinner said in media availability today, it could not be long until Hudson and Mayfield jump over Runyan and JBB. As for the throwing, I do have to think there is some element of honor issues going on here. When you’re up by huge amounts, the sportsmanlike thing to do is just to run the ball and let the time run out. I see the argument but also it’s not polite to be pouring it on against Western Michigan.

Let’s talk about the fun stuff now: which player stood out to you the most?

Evan: Offensively, Donovan Peoples-Jones continues to impress me. I know he’s had some special teams blunders, but he has a great rapport with Shea Patterson already. He leads the team with 12 targets and he’s caught 10 of those. I know Karan Higdon and Chris Evans looked great but I’ll wait to see what they do against defenses that are playing tackle football instead of two hand touch. Defensively, Josh Metellus stood out as the guy with the most energy. He committed another terrible penalty and was immediately pulled, but out of everyone on the field for either team, he seemed to have the most fire. I’m sure having to watch 3.5 quarters of the ND game fueled that, but I was impressed nonetheless.

Alex: It’s worth noting that Peoples-Jones caught his first career TD against Western and it was an even better throw by Patterson. I thought Nico Collins stood out, with a second straight deep pass hauled in from Patterson. He now appears to be a bona fide deep threat and a weapon good enough to make Tarik Black’s injury seem not so bad. I also liked what I saw from the interior of the line, Ben Bredeson in particular. A clear thing we saw in this game is that Michigan moved people. Didn’t really happen last year even against bad teams like Cincinnati and Air Force. But there were huge holes opening up last week and that was in part thanks to the interior of the line.

Defensively, Josh Ross had a much better game than the opener against Notre Dame. He seems to be seizing the job at weakside linebacker from Devin Gil and made an excellent stop on one 4th down play and was laying the boom on a couple of hits. But yes, Josh Metellus being out there with the backups in tandem with Brad Hawkins’s increased playing time is probably the most interesting story of this week. Do you think he wasn’t out there because coaches are sending him a message to be more disciplined? Or is he actually getting passed on the depth chart?

Evan: When he was in the game, he played well - again aside from the penalty. But aside from mistiming his jump on the touchdown against ND, Hawkins has been pretty good. Given how absolutely loaded Michigan is in the secondary, I’m sure we will continue to see both. A brief glimpse after a couple games at what the depth chart looks like:

CB1s: Lavert Hill, David Long, Brandon Watson

CB2s: Ambry Thomas, Casey Hughes (Is he alive?)

Safety 1s: Tyree Kinnel, ???? (Brad Hawkins/Metellus)

Safety 2s: Jaylen Kelly-Powell, ???? (Hawkins/Metellus)

All those guys would be the top DB on 90% of teams in the country. It is absolutely insane. My one concern on defense is the line. With Aubrey Solomon out for the foreseeable future, I haven’t been all that impressed with the rotation of guys on the inside: Kemp, Mone, and Dwumfour. Don Brown appears to be fully embracing 3-4-4 and 3-4-5 sets in lieu of good enough DTs, but Mo Hurst is really being missed right now.

Alex: Harbaugh has said that Solomon’s thing is a week by week thing. My guess is that he probably had arthroscopic knee surgery or something like that if it’s a week to week thing. Michigan will definitely be happy when he comes back, as Dwumfour has only been okay. I will say, I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Kemp, but we still need to see more. Before we begin talking about SMU, I want to get your thoughts on the second team offense and Dylan McCaffrey.

Evan: Let me give you one sentence about each of Michigan’s four scholarship quarterbacks.

Alex: I like this idea

Evan: Shea Patterson: Easily the best Michigan quarterback since Chad Henne

Dylan McCaffrey: At first glance, and this is totally unfair to him, will be better than Shea.

Brandon Peters: He’s transferring.

Joe Milton: Might be the most talented on the roster, but won’t play this year (redshirt).

Does that help answer your question?

Alex: Saying “____ is the best Michigan quarterback since Chad Henne” feels really sad but it’s a sign of Michigan’s recent history. I mostly agree with those assessments. I think there are legitimate questions about McCaffrey’s arm strength but he looks fluid and mobile and will be the easiest to slide into the Patterson role. I’d like to potentially see more of Peters in the coming week because he still has a role to play should an injury occur (which isn’t inconceivable).

I liked what I saw from the rest of the second team offense, particularly the offensive line. They shoved WMU around. Seeing more of Hudson and Mayfield is the most logical next step. Now onto SMU. Have you done any scouting of the Mustangs?

Evan: I watched the first half of their game against TCU, which was a little scary. TCU was playing terrible and making a ton of mistakes, but SMU’s defense looked formidable. Then I went to sleep, woke up and saw the score, and was no longer worried. They produced very little offensively the whole game, and this should be another 40+ point blowout.

Alex: It was not an impressive performance from SMU, especially following a week where they went out and lost to North Texas. This may be Michigan’s easiest game on the schedule and it should be the best opportunity to hit the 60+ point clip if the Wolverines are aggressive. Let’s wrap it up by making our predictions. Week 1’s prediction contest went to you, while in week 2 I was more accurate. Give me the score, MVP, and thing you’re watching for.

Evan: Michigan 52 - SMU 0 (Do I get bonus points if it’s actually a shutout?). The MVP will be Patterson. I expect Harbaugh to open up the playbook a little bit more. I’m watching for someone to step up at that Defensive Tackle spot. You?

Alex: Sure I’ll give you a bonus if it’s a shutout. I’m saying 59-7 Michigan. MVP as Karan Higdon, who will feast yet again on his quest for 1,000 yards. I’m watching offensive tackle rotation and whether Mayfield and Hudson get snaps with the 1’s.
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That’s all, see you next week!
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The Year in Golf (Just Kidding, It's About Tiger)

9/12/2018

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By Eric Margolin

As the PGA season comes to a close next weekend at East Lake, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what a miraculous season it has been. Patrick Reed and Francesco Molinari won their first majors, Brooks Koepka defended his US Open title and added a PGA Championship, and Jordan Spieth failed to qualify for the Tour Championship. Tony Finau is third in FedEx Cup points but hasn’t won a tournament this year, Phil Mickelson won for the first time since his 2013 Open Championship victory, and Justin Thomas once again led the money list with over $8 million in official winnings.

Only serious golf fans really care about these stories. The most miraculous part of the season has been the return of the greatest golfer to walk the planet. Tiger Woods played in seventeen tournaments this season, breaking out the Sunday reds in fifteen. He has two second place finishes and six top-10 finishes. He has jumped to 21st(635 spots) in the Official World Golf Rankings and shot his lowest 18-hole score since 2013 (62). Tiger is back, and it’s good for golf.  Whenever he plays on Sunday, Nielsen ratings rocket up. The PGA Championship saw a 69 percent rise in viewership on the final day, solely because of Woods.

Tiger Woods’ career arc is straight out of Hollywood: from unmatched hero, to uncontrollable villain, to washed up addict, to comeback kid. Most people know about Woods’ fall from grace, but very few my age and younger actually comprehend how good he was in his prime. Tiger was an unbeatable force during the 2000’s. Of the 540 weeks between 2000-2010, he was the top ranked golfer in the world for 525 of them. Without having won a tournament in five years, Tiger’s 23.2 percent winning percentage is still the highest of all time (the next closest golfer is at 7.75 percent). He is the only player to win all four major championships in a row, only player to win PGA Player of the Year eleven times, and possesses the lowest career scoring average in history (69.2). Tiger was unstoppable in his prime. Now, after years of waiting, the GOAT is back with one tournament left in the season
​.

With a win at Tour Championship it’s mathematically possible for Tiger to win the FedEx Cup, but it’s unlikely. He would need many of the top players to fall off a cliff over the four day tournament. However, Woods’ chances of winning the tournament are pretty high. Woods has played in the Tour Championship at East Lake nine times in his career, winning one of those tournaments. His average 72 hole score (273.89) is only slightly higher than the average winning score at the Georgia golf club (268.75). Excluding his first year on tour and “injury years,” his average score is less than a stroke away (269.67).

Tiger’s biggest problems this season have been his putting and his driving accuracy. Woods ranks 28th in total putts per round and 122nd in putts inside of ten feet. East Lake, a course known for its difficult green contours, forces players into risky putts if their approach shots aren’t on target. Tiger has to put the ball in the right locations, or his subpar putting could take him out of the running. Thankfully, his driving accuracy shouldn’t matter much with the open course layout. The wide fairways and few trees, should allow Woods to play his game no matter how badly he slices his tee shot. Tiger has a shot to finish his comeback season with a win, but even if he can’t pull it off, the best golfer in the history of the sport is healthy and ready to compete again.

The Tour Championship starts September 19, 2018 at 8:00 AM EST.


Image Source: The New York Times
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A Detroit Lions Diehard's Thoughts on 2018

9/9/2018

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The 2018 NFL Season is upon us, and with it comes another year of the pain and despair that is being a fan of the Detroit Lions. While the team has not suffered through the terrible seasons of my youth in recent years, they’ve been stuck in the pit of mediocrity that has consumed much of the NFL. After last season’s disappointing end, head coach Jim Caldwell was fired and was replaced by former Patriots Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia. With a new coach on hand, the Lions are looking to finally get over the hump and make the playoffs in 2018. Can they do it? Here are my thoughts on the upcoming season:

Offense
If the Lions make the playoffs in 2018, it will be because the offense became one of the top 5 units in the NFL. Detroit was 7th in PPG a year ago and 13th in yards per game, with the glaring weakness being a total lack of a running game. While it is true that the NFL is now a passing league, none of the top tier NFL offenses are without a functioning running game, which was the case with the Lions. Over the 4 years of Jim Caldwell’s tenure, the Lions were 28th, 32nd, 30th, and 32nd in rushing yards, a truly horrific track record. Since new GM Bob Quinn came into town, he has invested a humongous amount of capital in the running game. In his first draft, he took a LT in the first round (Taylor Decker) and a G/C in the third round (Graham Glasgow). The next offseason, he shelled out big money to a G and a RT (TJ Lang and Rick Wagner). This offseason, he signed a power running back (LeGarrette Blount), drafted a G/C in the first round (Frank Ragnow), and drafted a running back in the second round (Kerryon Johnson). Essentially, Quinn has sacrificed building a defense in pursuit of a running game.

Will it work? I don’t think anyone knows, but it has to. Using that many resources in pursuit of one goal is risky and it’s a gamble that needs to pay off. The Lions’ offensive line was dreadful last year because it had a ton of injuries, with Taylor Decker missing a half season, Lang and Wagner both missing several games, and former C Travis Swanson missing a handful of games late in the year. The biggest boon the Lions’ offense could get is to simply have all five of those guys healthy for most of the season. Offensive line is a position that performs as a unit, and it requires continuity and chemistry to be successful. In 2017, the Lions just never had that luxury. As for the running backs themselves, I love the way Kerryon Johnson ran in the preseason. He looked patient and explosive, with a really intelligent running style, a guy who has the potential to milk extra yards even when the blocking isn’t there. LeGarrette Blount is a wily veteran who will be useful in the short yardage situations that the Lions were very bad at last year.

The passing game is very good and there’s not much else to really be said about it. Marvin Jones and Golden Tate are the most underrated WR duo in the NFL, Theo Riddick is a weapon, and Kenny Golladay could be the breakout star of the team. All in all, the only thing holding this offense back is the running game. If the pieces come together and suddenly Detroit is say, the #20 rushing team, then the offense will be clearly one of the 5 best in the league. Having a solid running game would allow the team to extend drives in short yardage situations and make the opposing defenses finally respect the play action, opening up more passing opportunities. There’s a lot of talent on this unit, it just needs to all come together.

Defense
This is a lot less fun. The strategy for the Quinn regime defensively has been to get guys who are versatile and who can be used a lot of different ways. The problem is… while they may be versatile, it’s very much unclear if any of them are, ahem, good at football. The Lions do have a couple of studs: Glover Quin is a top tier free safety and Darius Slay is a top 5-10 cornerback in the NFL. Ziggy Ansah is productive when healthy. But outside of that…. *groans*. It’s basically a bunch of guys with not very impressive track records, which doesn’t give me a lot of optimism.

There is some young talent though! The Lions have gone all in on Quandre Diggs as their strong safety of the future, and I like that move. 2017 first round pick Jarrad Davis has the potential to be an elite run defender, it’s just unclear if he’s capable of covering anyone. Unfortunately, the preseason returns were… not great. Jalen Reeves-Maybin was a savvy fourth round pick in 2017, brought into be a coverage linebacker, but no one really knows if he’s capable of doing that. Christian Jones was a top tackler on Chicago last year but he didn’t grade out all that well on the advanced metrics.

On the defensive line, things are even more sketchy. At the other defensive end spot, across from Ansah, is Devon Kennard, who was brought in as an OLB but will mostly play as a pass rusher. He seems fine? Kerry Hyder is back after missing last season, which is a good sign since he had 8 sacks in 2016. Neither of these are every down players, so I assume Patricia is going to rotate them with frequency.

On the interior, things don’t look good, if I’m being honest. Da’Shawn Hand was a pick I liked in the fourth round of this draft, given he has huge potential, even if it’s been largely unrealized. He had a strong camp and preseason, and he may even start week 1. That’s good news for his potential growth as an NFL player, but probably bad news for the Lions. Detroit signed a pair of scrappy veterans at DT, Sylvester Williams and Ricky Jean Francois, both players with incredible names who graded out as pretty meh last season. Then there’s A’Shawn Robinson, who’s been fine as a run defender but hasn’t really developed into much else. He had a disappointing preseason and the former 2nd round pick has a lot to prove in 2018. Again, much like LB, it’s a lot of dudes, but no one knows if they’re good or not.

Lastly, the 2nd CB spot seems like it’s going to be won by Nevin Lawson, which is not a good sign. While Lawson was a solid #2 corner in 2016, he was awful in 2017 and didn’t have a strong summer camp. The Lions have to hope he finds his old form. At nickel, 2nd year player Jamal Agnew looks to get the nod after getting very few defense snaps a year ago. Let’s see how that goes.

All in all, I’m very worried about this defense. At run defending, the tackles are weak, the ends aren’t great at it, though the linebackers are solid at that aspect thanks to Davis. As for pass defending, the Lions have ¾ of a good secondary, but if Lawson doesn’t come around, oof is that a weak spot. Also, I have no faith that the Lions have anyone who can cover a TE, which is also not good. The hope for this unit to me, rests on Matt Patricia’s shoulders. Over the past several years, he converted a Patriots defense that was consistently very weak in yards per game and DVOA into one of the better PPGA defenses. His scheme is exclusively about bend not break, that giving up a bunch of yards is okay, so long as you don’t give up a touchdown.

A Few Words on the Trajectory of the Franchise
I was a fan of the decision to hire Bob Quinn. We as a franchise needed to shake things up after 20 years of either Matt Millen or Matt Millen’s right hand man (Martin Mayhew). Getting Bob Quinn from New England was smart in terms of trying to pry someone from the most successful franchise in the NFL. We’re now entering Year 3 of the Quinn era, and the jury is still out. Any discussion of Quinn has to start with the knowledge that he inherited a terrible roster. There were very few pieces on the offensive line, no good running backs, a gutted defensive line, few linebackers, and only Slay and Glover Quin in the secondary. Yes, the Lions went only 7-9 the year before Quinn was hired, but that was incredibly misleading. That was a team carried by Stafford entirely, lacking of talent everywhere on the roster.

So how has Quinn done to improve the Lions’ roster? Some of his picks look good, like Taylor Decker and Graham Glasgow, while others are a little worrying, like Teez Tabor and A’Shawn Robinson, for example. That’s to be expected from a GM. But my biggest question is about the trajectory of the franchise. Football is a strange sport, with injuries often being the difference between a good season and a bad season, and simple moves in the offseason can make a team a lot better (Atlanta 2016, New Orleans 2017). Thus, teams don’t really follow the classic rebuilding path of an NBA, MLB, or NHL team. Still, when a team bottoms out, like Cleveland or Chicago in recent years, you can still see a rebuilding arc. That isn’t as clear with the Lions, because they still have a very good QB. The good news is because of how well NFL QB’s age, Stafford will probably be good for another decade. However, I don’t really know how far away the Lions are from contending for a Super Bowl.

When I saw the Bears trade two first rounders for Khalil Mack, part of me wanted the Lions to do that. But part of me also feels like that’s a move I’d only feel comfortable making if you’re on the verge of winning a Super Bowl (the Bears aren’t obviously). And are the Lions? I’m not comfortable enough with the defense to answer yes, quite frankly. I know that Quinn and Patricia are in just their first year together, but I still wonder where this team is headed. What is the path to contention? Maybe the offense explodes this season and the team wins 11-12 games and is a real contender despite a suspect defense (a la Atlanta 2016). I know we’ll have the answer to this question soon enough, but it is the thing vexing me the most as the 2018 season kicks off tonight.

The last word on 2018
I don’t like making predictions about an overall season, but when in doubt, predict 7-9, 8-8, or 9-7. As my uncle always says, if you predict one of those things, you’re not going to be too far off, both in the context of the modern NFL, but if the team overperforms, you’ll be a few wins off, but the same is true if they go 5-11. It’s also the easiest prediction for a team that’s gone 7-9, 9-7, and 9-7 the last three years. The Lions have been trapped in mediocrity and unable to break free. The path to be elite in 2018 is to let the offense explode and have Patricia work his magic on the defense despite not great talent. But it’s easy to see how the opposite could happen if the Lions are on the wrong end of some close games. Detroit is in a loaded division in a loaded conference, which means they will probably be in a handful of close games like last season. I’m not feeling great about this season, but I’m also not really dreading it. I guess we just have to see what happens.
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