Farewell, sweet prince.

So, what did I miss? Only three basketball games, a College Hockey Showcase sweep, the beginning of the fallout from Sparty No! Part II (Glenn Winston Edition), and Charlie Weis getting fired? Oh, OK. Let’s turn it over to the blogosphere why I continue recovering from tryptophan poisoning and too much rest.

First, a few thoughts on Michigan hoops after an ugly 1-2 weekend in Orlando. I was able to catch the first two games in their entirety, but was forced to follow along with the Alabama game online, so if something seems off about these observations, blame ESPNU.

• Manny Harris is tremendous, and could be blossoming into an All-American before our eyes, but the guy needs more help than what he’s getting right now. DeShawn Sims is a very good player, but I’d like to see him stay on the block more — we have enough perimeter shooters, and Sims isn’t exactly a three-point gunner anyway. Forcing him to play down low could help his consistency issues — it seems like every game there’s a significant stretch where he disappears.
• Yes, Michigan is going to need a third player to step up in every game. I do expect that to be a different guy depending on the night — LLP took the role against Creighton, and then Michigan dropped two games when there really wasn’t a consistent third option.
• The free throw shooting over the weekend was terrible, to put it bluntly. However, I don’t think that issue will continue to plague Michigan throughout the season. There’s simply too many good shooters on this team for them to be shooting that poorly from the line. I’m not going to fret about free throws unless Michigan continues to shoot poorly for the next couple games.
• Never thought I’d say this, but can we see more Zack Gibson? He’s really developed as an offensive player, providing a threat in the post, and also is a presence on the defensive end. I’d like to see him and Sims get some time together when the Wolverines have to face bigger squads that are exploiting the team inside.

More coverage on hoops: MGoTim has his breakdown of the final two games posted, appropriately titled “Work in Progress“, and also takes a look at the Big Ten’s chances in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. UMHoops, as always, has game wraps, and Dylan also gets former co-captain David Merritt to answer five questions about the team. He has a lot of great insight about the team, and I look forward to hearing his thoughts as the season wears on.

On the football side of things, Dr. Saturday looks at Brandon Graham’s Heisman chances in an alternate reality. Honestly, if the guy isn’t a first-team All-American, it’s a crime. The Rivalry, Esq. put out a lot of great content over the holiday, including a discussion of what to do with Denard Robinson, why getting two BCS bids would hurt the Big Ten, and a look at how expansion could help the conference’s image.

Also, Bo Schemblogger has the most tremendously succinct denial of transfer rumors (these about Austin White) that I’ve ever seen. Funny how actually talking to a guy can really clear stuff up.

In national news, Michigan won’t have Charlie Weis to beat up at Notre Dame any more, which would be really sad if he wasn’t such a grating blowhard. The WLA has some suggestions for his next job, while Boiled Sports takes Weis to task for ducking the media and leaving his players to answer questions about his possible firing. You stay classy, Charlie.

In hockey, Puck Daddy looks at the problems of the NCAA against the major junior leagues after Robbie Czarnik quit for the OHL and Jack Campbell decommitted for the same reason last week, and The Blog That Yost Built has your weekend recap after Michigan took out Minnesota and Wisconsin in the College Hockey Showcase.

Regular content will resume tomorrow now that I’m through the post-vacation hangover and all caught up with school. Hope everyone had a great holiday.

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• Michigan Breaks Slump, Handles Minnesota
• Hoops Guts Out OT Victory
• Ugly? I’ll take it.
• Wolverines on the Web Turns It Up To 11
• Same Old Story: Poor Shooting Leads to Loss for Wolverines

(Slightly abbreviated Wolverines on the Web today … I’m struggling with a never-ending sinus infection and my internet connection keeps cutting out. Hooray, life.)

The video above comes courtesy of Maize and Blue Nation, who also has a second angle of the awesome pre-game flyover. Like Brad says at M&BN, there’s really nothing that compares to seeing a flyover live — it never fails to give me chills. Brad also has his reactions to the game posted, and his first statement just about sums up my feelings perfectly:

Rich Rodriguez did not throw 4 interceptions or fumble the ball in endzone. Tate Forcier did. Anyone who thinks Rodriguez should be fired is wrong. We had a gameplan to win this game. Rodriguez/Magee had a plan to move the ball against tOSU’s defense…and it worked. We just made too many mistakes.

Amen. Reactions are also up from MGoBrian, whose ennui is so strong I can barely muster the motivation to finish this sentence; Maize n Brew Dave, who, like me, was not particularly pleased with the amount of Ohio State fans in the stadium; and Burgeoning Wolverine Star, who thinks Vincent Smith solidified his spot as the 2010 starting tailback (I agree).

Greg over at MVictors has some pretty cool photos from before the game, including one of Paul Bunyan Jake Long and even CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The WCBN blog compares Tate Forcier’s freshman year to Mark Sanchez’s rookie season with the Jets, and also has an interview with 2010 commit Ken Wilkins, who was visiting for the Ohio State game.

In non-football sports, Dylan exchanges questions with Creighton blog The White and Blue Review before Michigan faces off with them on Thanksgiving, and The Blog That Yost Built details the depressing fallout from the Czarnik departure and Jack Campbell’s decision to play in the OHL. Even the hockey fans are saying ‘at least we have basketball’.

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• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Offensive Tackle
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Punter Zoltan Mesko was named to NationalChamps.net's preseason All-America first team

Football:

• 2009 Preseason All-Americans — NationalChamps.net — Zoltan Mesko is your preseason first team punter, although I hope we see far less of him this year than in 2008. Brandon Graham was named honorable mention. (HT: The Daily)
• Same Questions as Rodriguez Looks for Answers at Michigan — New York Times — Big props to The Daily’s Nate Sandals, who penned this article for the New York Times.
• Michigan football season-ticket sales are down, but by how much? — Detroit Free Press — Bad economy + 3-9 season + broke students = less student ticket sales. Don’t expect the stadium to be any less full though: 10,000 people are on the season ticket wait list, and with Notre Dame, Penn State, and Ohio State on the home slate in 2009 (and an improved Michigan team to boot) we can all still expect to be crammed into our seats with little room for elbows, hot dogs, sodas, or fresh air. Which is a good thing, I think.
• Before they were stars: How top picks graded out as preps — SI.com — SI takes a look at the Rivals rankings of their 2009 NFL Draft mock first round. If you think the star ratings are bogus, you might want to reconsider after checking out the piece: this year’s crop averages 3.59 stars, even including outlier Clay Matthews (a no-star walk-on).
• Chasing Blanchard and Davis — MVictors — Greg from MVictors takes a look at the Wolverines’ battles with Army’s famed running back duo in the wake of Doc Blanchard’s death. Great photos and some real interesting stuff on Fritz Crisler and the platoon system.
• Jake Long on ESPN’s First Take:

Basketball:

• Gabriel Richard’s Eso Akunne named 2009 Ann Arbor News Player of the Year — Ann Arbor News — Akunne is a preferred walk-on for Michigan next season, and put up some pretty impressive numbers (21.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists per game). The 6-3 guard could be a diamond in the rough for Michigan, who looked past his small school background and saw big time potential.

Hockey:

• US Takes Gold at World U18s — The Blog That Yost Built — Big time performances from future Wolverines, especially goaltender Jack Campbell (now officially dubbed “JMFC” by TBTYB), whose tournament numbers were straight mind-blowing (4-0-0, 0.75 GAA, .967 save %, 2 shutouts, no even strength goals allowed). Get that man on campus, STAT. Kevin Lynch (5-5-10, +9) also had an outstanding tournament, and fellow recruits Chris Brown, A.J. Treais and Jon Merrill all finished with positive +/- ratings.

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