Miscellaneous Minutiae, 1/31/2012

Guess which one Michigan fans are right now? (HT: Toothpaste for Dinner) 

Recruiting is still stupid...news at 11: So, last week I briefly laid out the reasons why I think paying inordinate amounts of attention to the dizzying highs and terrifying lows of recruiting is: a) stupid and b) why grown men whose emotional state depends on recruiting success should be treated with suspicion. Of course, this past weekend's happenings only serve to underscore that fact.

Psst. Hey, come here. Yes, you, Mr. EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE Guy. It's going to be okay. We will have a top 10 class, filled with great players and, by all accounts, good dudes. "But it could've been top 5!" Stop it. If you are shocked that Michigan isn't getting every single recruit that you've ever heard of in passing, or that Urban Meyer is recruiting well, then you are not very smart. Click on any of the weekend recruiting threads on MGoBlog and subject yourself to the apocalyptic wailings of folks proclaiming the end of Michigan because we didn't get somebody who most probably hadn't even heard before this past week (i.e. Kozan)...it's a bit much. I mean, I was really taken aback, and that's saying something given some of the recruiting misses--and the resulting Internet meltdowns--over the years.

As far as I'm concerned, both Michigan and Ohio are bringing in very good classes. Regardless of what the recruiting services will try to tell you, measuring the respective worth of two classes on a micro level is about as impossible as picking who the two "best" teams in college football are, as the BCS aims to do. Also, when you really think about it, acting disappointed and reacting in the way that many have reacted is sort of a slap in the face to the tremendous kids that Hoke has already gotten to commit.

Luckily, the hysteria will soon be coming to an end with NSD falling on Wednesday. Just know that if you are measuring the success of Michigan's 2012 recruiting efforts vis-a-vis Ohio/Urban Meyer/a perceived level of Ohio malfeasance gone inadequately punished, you will be disappointed...and it will be your own fault.

Big Dance Projectin': Various hoops folks are coming out with their early bracket predictions, and Michigan seems to be in good position according to guys like Palm and Lunardi. Obviously these don't mean anything given that they're only based on what has happened thus far but it is interesting to see that we're getting some respect. I have a hard time believing that Michigan will actually be a 4 or a 5 when push comes to shove, but we'll see. Again, Wednesday will go a long way toward determining what Michigan will do the rest of the way.

Bowl Games Coming To Your (College) CITAYYY: In the continuing effort to justify and/or validate the existence of bowls like the Beef O'Brady's Bowl, one AD suggests moving "secondary" bowls (a word that, in and of itself, already indicates a level of unworthiness) to campus locations instead of farflung/undesirable places like, say, Shreveport.

Also, the AD proposed that all teams that qualified for a bowl would receive the same bowl “loot” – i.e. bowl gifts – paid out of a central pool of funds from the BCS bowls or another source so that each student-athlete was treated the same.

THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOME KINDA SOCIALISM TO ME PAWWLLLLLL. But seriously, that's not going to happen, wishful thinking guy. Anything to slowly eliminate the existence of guys whose sole purpose is to shadily siphon money from minor bowl games while wearing a blazer and doing literally nothing, I guess. There would be the issue of who gets to play at home, I suppose, but compared to the current setup it can't really get much worse or more nonsensical. With that said, as stupid and shamtastic as the current system is, I am a fan of more football as opposed to less (as you should be), so upping the threshold for bowl eligibility to 7 wins is a net negative. I would like the option of being able to watch two 6-6 teams play a game of negligible stakes, thank you very much.

Maxwell Club GETS IT: Brady Hoke won this award and that's cool, but I only link to this to point out Maxwell Club executive director Mark Wolpert's tremendous diction:

"Coach Hoke has engineered a tremendous turnaround in the Michigan football program in just one year and it was obvious that his team improved each week," said Maxwell Club executive director Mark Wolpert in a release. "

Honorary MICHIGAN MAN status bestowed upon your person, Mr. Wolpert. Side effects may include: irritability, tendency to overreact in response to minor events, a desire to sit when others are in an emotionally excited state, and Bob Seger.

Scouting Indiana: BHGP painfully relives Sunday's game in Bloomington. The Hoosiers dropped 103 on the Hawkeyes, which is more than the Los Angeles Lakers can say that they've scored on most teams thus far this season. Zeller went 11/12 en route to scoring 26 points, which is pretty ridiculous. BHGP cite's the inability to adequately defend the pick and roll as one of many reasons for Iowa's Gerg-ian defensive performance. These defensive concerns will remain valid when the Hoosiers come to Crisler. Indiana definitely won't score 100+ on Michigan in Ann Arbor, but the matchups are far from favorable. Michigan will not be able to key on Zeller like they did against Sullinger

Michigan's perimeter defenders (Burke, Stu, THJ, etc.) cannot allow themselves to get split on the pick and roll with regularity or Michigan will have open 3s and dunks rained down on them something fierce. Likewise, Morgan will be in the unenviable position of having to hedge and make it back down low to defend against the Ent playing basketball that is Cody Zeller. Good luck!

More? Trey comes in at #3 on a freshman of the year watch list behind the Kentucky guys. Brian Phillips on Nadal-Djokovic; as usual, he is definitely worth the read, particularly in light of the excellence of that final match. So, this is a thing. Justin Turner lands at Hawaii.