The BIG HOUSE Blog

Michigan Monday: Sloppy

2026-03-16T09:01:00.002-04:00

I've told this story before but I feel its relevant again. My son for many years played Travel Baseball here in Florida. The tournaments start Saturday and you play two games. Those games are for seeding the bracket on Sunday. If you went 0-2 or 1-1 on Saturday, to make the Championship game on Sunday, you could play 5 games on Sunday. By 8:00 or 9:00PM on Sunday when the Championship game starts, neither team has any pitching and every kids looks completely tired and not interested in playing another baseball game. The parents feel the same. If you win, you get this 4 foot $18 dollar trophy.

The Big Ten Tournament started on Tuesday and ended on Sunday late afternoon. Purdue had to play 4 games in 4 days and Michigan had to play 3 games in 3 days. Is that the level of effort we want to see in a championship game? Two teams completely gassed? Hat tip to Purdue who found something late in the season and played like the pre-season #1 in Chicago. They beat Michigan soundly on Sunday.

Michigan on the other had played about as worse as they could during their long weekend in Chicago. They sneak by Ohio State, beat Wisconsin on a last second jumper by Yax (after giving up a 13 point lead), and looked like zombie basketball against Purdue. Their focus and mind set this past weekend was not winning the Big Ten Tournament.

My thoughts:

Yax looked like he was still at the hotel for the first 1 1/2 games

I'm not sure Rez made the trip from A2, never seen him play so bad defensively against Wisconsin and Purdue.

Michigan is lost offensively without Cadeau and Yax on the floor.

Memo to Gayle, no more 3 point shots or layups. Only those mid range pop shots close to the hoop.

Way to many stupid turnovers, protect the ball.

Michigan's advantage is down low, why does Michigan settle for the 3 ball so often.

I was told there would be no math, but I'm pretty sure 3 is more then 2. Michigan collapsing on the driving Wisconsin point guards, just so they can hit an unconscious shooter (who is wide open) has to be the worst defense set possible.

Michigan is the #1 seed in Buffalo and Dusty and staff have their work cut out for them to get this team rested and refocused for a tournament run.

Big Ten Tourney Update: Survive and Advance

2026-03-13T15:28:00.005-04:00

Thoughts on the Win over OSU:

Everything is going to be hard from here on out. These teams have played Michigan now once or twice already.

Gayle struggles against his former team, need better effort from here on out.

Yax with 6 is very strange, maybe too many press clipping this week? Refocus big man and also wear some performance basketball sneakers, not heavy retros.

McKenney needs more time on the floor

Johnson had the first 6 points and finished with 11

Mara played well

Need the seniors to step up: Burnett, Gayle and Tschetter.

Will play either Illinois or Wisconsin

Michigan Friday: It's The Buckeyes for the 3rd Time

2026-03-13T09:25:00.002-04:00

Michigan tips off their 2026 Big Ten Tournament campaign in just at few hours at 12:00 EST or 11 Central. The Wolverines should be well rested as they haven't played since Sunday and Ohio State beat Iowa just Thursday afternoon. Michigan beat the Buckeyes in A2 on 1/23 74-62 (the Trey Burke game) then in CBus on Super Bowl Sunday 82-61. Since then OSU has gone 6-3 with loses to Virginia, MSU, and Iowa, with a highlight win over #8 Purdue at the time.

The Big 10 sent a letter to the NCAA to say the Tampering Investigations are silly, stop them and change the entire process. Their right, but who sends letters anymore? :-)

I know the Partridge lawsuit will be settled quietly, but I would really love it to go to court so we could see what the Big 10 bull sh$t investigation looked like. Remember when the other teams were scared for the safety of their players? Jim got suspended while on a plane to play Penn State. That was an unbelievable time and another clear example of very poor leadership from the Big Ten and Michigan Athletics Department for letting any of it happen. You think that would've ever happened to Saban and the SEC?

Michigan Thursday: News and Notes

2026-03-12T13:04:00.005-04:00

The Michigan Basketball team is now in Chicago and will await their next opponent. They will face either Ohio State or Iowa during the noon game on Friday.

Oregon State has picked off one of Dusty's top assistants and has hired Justin Joyner as their next head coach.

Josh Uche has signed a FA deal with the Dolphins

Kyler Murray is expected to sign with Minnesota to compete with JJ. Makes sense, JJ looked good, bad, and injured last season. After being injured his entire rookie season.

Will Johnson will wear #2 for the Cardinals now, he had been #0.

Crisler had 13 consecutive sell outs this year!

Former LB coach Chris Partridge is suing U of M. In a long list of Warde F-Up's this one has to be in the top 10.

Yax is a Sporting News 1st Team All-America

The Players Championship starts today. I've played the other Dye course there but not the $1200 per round "Stadium". Its a great complex and about a mile from the PGA Tour headquarters. This is for sure the 5th major.

Wolverine Wednesday: Maxx Return

2026-03-11T09:00:00.006-04:00

Is Maxx Crosby the best Eastern Michigan Football player ever? I think you can make a case for him over Charlie Batch, who had a long career but was mainly a backup for his career.

Jesse Minter's Raven's doctor was not optimistic about Maxx playing long term after they reviewed his recently repaired knee and sent him back to Tom Brady and the Raiders. I lean more to the Ravens on this decision, 2 first rounders is a lot of compensation for a guy, your not sure is going to play the next 5 years. The smile that can light up the night sky is from Trey Hendrickson’s camp.

Bam scored how many? 83!

Syracuse fires their head basketball coach today

Today's Trivia Question: Who is currently the longest tenured player with the New England Patriots? Answer: Former Michigan Wolverine offensive lineman Mike Onwenu.

Michigan Tuesday: Former Wolverines on the Move in NFL Free Agency

2026-03-10T11:09:00.004-04:00

Michigan has a number of players in the league and some of them were on move yesterday during the first day of free agency.

-Gary got traded from Green Bay to Dallas. Seems Jerry wants the former Packers Defensive Line.

-Devin Bush whose career was close to being over, signed a new 3 year deal with the Bears after a solid year with Cleveland.

-Paye is heading to the Raiders and will play for Tom Brady.

The Big Ten Tournament starts today, which is crazy.

Does the Detroit Lions have any money in free agency? They have signed a center so far.

OSU's President resigns after an inappropriate relationship.

Michigan Monday: Sweeping Sparty

2026-03-09T09:07:00.003-04:00

Love or hate Sparty but you have to admit that Tom Izzo can coach basketball. He can also recruit and outside of Coach B, Michigan has not had a coach that could match up the X O's with him. Coach B was not a supreme recruiter even though he was 2nd to none in other coaching areas.

Now Michigan has a coach that can do both and Dusty beat Tom and his squad by a combined 22 points this season. The match-ups might not be over either as Michigan could see Sparty this weekend or even in the NCAA Tournament.

Izzo used the Iowa game plan to pressure the top of the key and put Mara in conflict before he could make his lobs or other passes. This worked for a half as Michigan continues to find its footing without LJ Cason. Michigan then in the 2nd half matched MSU's physicality and shot better then Sparty. Yax was again the star and seems to love the bright lights with 27 points while Rez added a solid 18. I'm telling you right now, I love me some March Roddy Gayle who played well and scored 15, McKenney made some big baskets and had 12 off the bench. Burnett played better and had 10 points in his last game at Crisler. Cadeau and Mara both struggled combining for 6 points and 5 turnovers.

I love watching this team and I hate to nick pick but there is plenty for Dusty and staff to work on this week. MSU pushed the ball after made baskets and beat the Wolverines down the floor, the Michigan bigs got into foul trouble and Michigan did not look that organized on offense with the small unit was on the floor. The LJ role continues to be a work in progress. Cadeau struggled against MSU and Michigan really didn't have a solution at point when he went to the bench. Yax is a special talent but he just can't always be the solution on offense when Michigan gets into a funk.

In the first half Michigan played MSU's game. In the second, MSU couldn't keep up with Michigan's game. In the post game, Izzo fell right into the trap and had this quote: “I guess the crowd didn’t watch the game, because I’m nobody’s damn little brother, and neither is my team.”

This has been a historic regular season but the job is not done. Congrats to the seniors, lets go to work in Chicago! 9 more games, lets go!

LJ told CBS he is not going to have surgery until next month so he can be with the team through out the tournament run. He is going to have it done in A2 and rehab in A2 as well. The expectation is LJ will redshirt next season as he recovers.

How was that afternoon for all the recruits Dusty had on campus? 1 - Beat your rivals, 2 - Do Senior Night, 3- Get handed the Big Ten Trophy, 4 - Release the confetti, 5- Cut down the nets.

Give Yax the Big 10 Player of the Year and Mara the Defensive POY.

Michigan Friday: Gayle To The Victors

2026-03-06T09:54:00.000-05:00

I have been highly critical of Roddy Gayle's game lately. He had been turning the ball over, taking bad shots, and not defending up to his standard. In fact, that went for him and Burnett. If Michigan is going to make a run to the Final 4, they need these two veterans to step up.

Gayle did just that last night. Michigan was up 10 in a highly contested game and Burnett entered the game midway through the 2nd half, within seconds he fouled and gave up a 3 point play. Dusty looked at Gayle and it changed the game in winning time. Gayle in one defensive stand, got a huge block, grabbed an important rebound, and called a time out. Then in the next series, forced the driving Hawkeye to lose the ball off his knee. These two plays were the difference between the Wolverines making history as the 1st team in the Big Ten since the 1976 Bobby Knight undefeated Indiana Hoosiers to win all their games on the road in Big Ten play.

Michigan clearly missed LJ as the bench only scored 11 total points. The Wolverines were also turnover machines and made a total of 18 during the contest. Mara played well in spurts but he and Johnson combined for 8 turnovers as Iowa was contesting every pass.

Any road win in the Big Ten is a good win and Iowa City was ready to celebrate a huge win and they went home quiet. Next up is Sparty at Crisler on Sunday at 4:30. Next week is the Big Ten Tournament.

I did not know that Barry Sanders has a son who is a senior on MSU's basketball team

There are rumors that big changes can be coming for the Bowl system. Let me save you some time and kill the bowls do a Group of 6 playoff system and call it a day.

Michigan Thursday: Trap Game Time

2026-03-05T12:15:00.003-05:00

It's never easy to travel to Iowa and leave with a win. Tonight Dusty takes his #3 ranked squad into Iowa City to face a 20 win Hawkeyes team. With the end of the season and instate rival MSU coming this weekend, its the trapiest of trap games.

It will also be the first time the Wolverines will take the floor without Cason. It will also be interesting to see what the rotation will be off the bench.

Game tip is 8:00 on Peacock or NBC Sports Network.

RIP Lou Holtz, they will never make another one. I hated Lou when he was coaching ND but he was entertaining mixing it up at ESPN and taking shots at Ryan Day late in his life. He also made an appearance at Jimmy's strange Signing Day Extravaganza he did one year while at Michigan. Lou was also the Jets head coach for a minute. RIP coach.

Michigan Basketball is expecting a big recruiting weekend for the MSU game.

Wolverine Wednesday: New Recruiting Director and 3 First Rounders

2026-03-04T09:05:00.000-05:00

Michigan Basketball has it final last true road game on Thursday against Iowa. Prior to the Wolverines catching a flight, the Athletic has come out with its latest Mock NBA Draft and has 3 Wolverines poised to go in the first round: Yaxel Lendeborg #19, Morez Johnson Jr. #22, and Aday Mara #27. It still seems too early to think about reloading for next season. Speaking of next season, a full redshirt year for Cason is not out of the question as he rehabs his ACL.

Michigan Football also hired USC recruiting director on Tuesday who just lead the Trojans to the #1 class in the nation this past cycle. Meet Sklar Phan, who was an intern for the Las Vegas Raiders, also held staff roles at North Texas, Texas (where she graduated from), and Houston, prior to joining USC. Another solid hire by Coach Whitt.

Former Wolverine Frankie Collins was on Vandy this season but just quit the team.

I know the Vikings are looking for another QB as JJ has been hurt more then he has been healthy, but they also should be looking at getting a better offensive line and some type of running game.

UCLA beat Nebraska by 20 points last night?

Michigan Tuesday: Still #3

2026-03-03T08:51:00.001-05:00

Michigan accomplished one of its goals on Friday night. They secured the Big Ten Title all to themselves. Now, there are two more goals still out there. #2 is win the Big Ten Tournament and #3 is clearly the NCAA Tournament. Both of those goals just got a little tougher with the loss of Cason to an ACL injury.

To reach both goals its important Michigan finishes with a 2-0 record this week. They travel on Thursday to Iowa who is a 20 win team and face instate rival #8 ranked MSU on Sunday at Crisler. These games are not important for the Big Ten Championship seeding, they are important for Michigan's NCAA seeding and hopefully a #1 seed.

Who is going to play back up point guard? I expect to see Yax play some point forward and Trey McKinney to replace Cason in many situations. The wild card of course is Roddy Gayle and if he can find his game again. If you remember last season, he was in an incredibly bad slump to end the season and then found his game in the post season. We need him to find his game in a similar fashion this year. His game lately has been about poor decisions on driving the basketball, missed 3's, and turnovers. If he continues to play defense, rebound, and distribute the ball, he will find his offense.

Michigan continues to be ranked #3 as Duke has been beating everyone by 30 after their Michigan win.

Glasgow got released by the Lions yesterday. He has had a tremendous run for a college walk-on. He spent 7 years with the Lions and if he is healthy I expect him to sign with another NFL team.

The Lions also traded RB David Montgomery yesterday and got an offensive lineman and 2 draft picks from the Texans. This was a smart trade by Detroit, RB's have a very short shelf life in the NFL and the Lions have way too many other needs.

I know there was some news about Michigan's former head coach and a former staffer this weekend. I wanted you to understand where I am at news regarding that former coach. News of what that former head coach did or didn't do while at Michigan or his legal troubles is only relevant to this blog on the employment or loss of employment for Michigan's athletics director. I understand that the latest news is disturbing and should come with serious consequences for both men involved. This was one of the worst hires in the history of the program and I hope to never hear his name again. Michigan should also be looking for a new AD. I know getting Dusty was a great hire, but it still doesn't make up for the lack of leadership with the football team the last 3-4 years.

Vincent Gray has signed with the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL

Michigan Monday: Looking Back at Illinois

2026-03-02T12:10:00.002-05:00

I was worried about this game and thought it was going to be difficult for Michigan to win. Michigan played poorly against Duke and then followed it up with a sleepy effort against an under maned Minnesota squad. I mentioned here that this will be a difficult test for Dusty who had to reset his team to be ready to play in a few days and take a trip to top 10 Illinois.

In Dusty we trust and he and his squad showed up for Rez (Mortez Johnson) who transferred from Illinois and played one of its best games of the year. The house was completely sold out and the fans were getting on Johnson during warm ups and through the game. Michigan played smart and relied on the low post game and then the 3's started to fall. It was a great team effort and Michigan won by 14 points and the game wasn't even that close.

The bad news is we found out on Saturday Cason tore his ACL during the 1st half. He did come back in the 2nd and even scored a bucket before the knee pain got too intense. This is a tough loss for the Wolverines as he was instant energy off the bench and was one of the best performers on the team in the back half of the season. This means two things, 1 - Gayle has to wake up as he has played poorly while again in his Big 10 slump and 2- time for more McKinney. Gayle has played too much basketball to not understand his role and McKinney will be asked to handle the ball more often.

Michigan Friday: Illinois Challenge

2026-02-27T09:19:00.002-05:00

Dusty has his hands full this week. He decided to play Duke instead of resting the team last weekend and the Wolverines looked completely gassed against Minnesota on Tuesday. Now Michigan has a trip to the #10 ranked Fighting Illini tonight. Which will also be a Morez Johnson Jr. homecoming.

This might be a tough spot for the Wolverines. This team loves difficult challenges but hasn't played good basketball in over a week. Time for Dusty to show what type of coach he is. The schedule does not get any easier with a trip to Iowa next Thursday and a regular season finish against MSU (who upset Purdue last night).

Jaishawn Barham posted a 4.64-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

Looks like the undefeated Miami Redhawks practiced at Crisler yesterday as they prepare to play Western tonight.

Michigan is expected to get an unofficial from 2027 5 star DL Marcus Fakatou

Michigan Thursday: Having Some Fun With Koy

2026-02-26T09:22:00.001-05:00

This is Michigan's new QB Coach Koy Detmer Jr.:

If Koy was not coaching QB's at Michigan, what would he be doing?

A bartender in an old west salon?
A deputy that works with the Sherriff to hunt down Billy the Kid?
A work hand on the Yellowstone Ranch that is taken to the "train station" early in an episode?
A long reliever for the KC Royals in the 70's?

What you got BHB community? 😀

Wolverine Wednesday: Needs Gas

2026-02-25T09:09:00.000-05:00

Dusty's Michigan Basketball team won a share of the regular season Big Ten Championship last night but that might be burying the lead. The Golden Gophers rolled into Crisler a 22 point dog with 6 healthy players and stayed in the game most of the night. The Wolverines looked "gassed" from their power matchup Saturday night and then playing again on Tuesday.

The game was sloppy and disconnected as Minnesota stayed in zone the entire night and forced Michigan to shoot 3's. Yax who seemed completely out of it (maybe he is under the weather?) shot the ball 3 times and made one basket. Burnett and Gayle who have the most experience on the team, looked like Abbott and Costello on the court turning the ball over 6 times between them. Johnson who rarely has an off game scored just 6 points. Dusty played most of the bench in the 2nd half as the starters looked completely tired and off their game. Cadeau who always plays well after a bad outing did the same last night and was 6-10 from the field and added 15 points. Cason who is really becoming a good player added 14 and McKenney had a strange night hitting threes and shooting air balls was 4-9 from the floor with 12 points. The outing was head scratching to say the least and of course the talented Wolverines won by 10 points.

This type of effort will not get it done in Champaign or in Iowa City and not a good sign with Chicago a couple weeks away. Get these guys away from basketball for a couple of days and get them refocused on the goal.

ESPN it touting that Saturday was the most watched day of college basketball in the history of its network. Michigan - Duke had an audience of over 4M viewers.

Michigan Tuesday: Golden Gophers Tonight

2026-02-24T08:41:00.004-05:00

Michigan played its worst 2nd half against the best team they have faced this year on Saturday evening. Tonight they can win a share of the regular season Big Ten Championship by beating the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The game is at Crisler, its an 8:30 tip on BTN, and Michigan is favored by 22 points. Dusty's biggest job is to not let the Duke game beat them twice as a trip to Illinois on Friday night is up next. Then Iowa on the road and MSU at home to wrap up conference play.

When Michigan completely changes coaching staffs, I always wonder where and if the guys will show up at other programs. Wonder no more! (ht: wolverine wire)

Offensive coordinator - Chip Lindsey (Missouri)
Offensive line - Grant Newsome (New York Giants - asst. OL coach)
Tight Ends - Steve Casula (Texas - analyst)
Defensive line - Lou Esposito (Baltimore Ravens)
Linebackers - Brian Jean-Mary (Notre Dame)
Defensive backs - LaMar Morgan (Oklahoma - cornerbacks)
Special teams - JB Brown (Texas - analyst)

I'm shocked that nobody hired Wink, as I've been suggesting he was not hireable by any other programs or NFL teams for the last two years. Ron Bellamy is also looking for his next opportunity.

Lou's son who just committed to Michigan before he took the Ravens job, is blowing up on the recruiting trail with offers from Penn State and USC the last two days. Louis Esposito is a 2027 OL commit for the Wolverines.

Very sad news about Rondale Moore, who was a standout WR at Purdue and was a current teammate of JJ's on the Vikings. RIP. Another reminder that mental health is very important. Check on your friends and family members!

Michigan Monday: I Hate Good Loses

2026-02-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

There are no good loses in college football, every loss is a bad loss. Not so in college basketball, where rankings mean very little and everyone gets invited to the dance if you can play competitive basketball. Duke and Michigan faced off in DC and it was a hard fought game. Wasn't really played at a high level by either team but both teams competed and wanted to win. The officials were clearly paid by the whistle and both teams were in foul trouble. Michigan seemed to have the worst of the calls.

Michigan struggled in the 2nd half and couldn't hit an open jump shot, while Carlos Boozer's son played well. Duke ended up winning the battle. Michigan played one of it's worst games offensively all year and was in it until the last few minutes. It happens in basketball. Sometimes the shots spin out and sometimes you are going to lose a game.

Michigan had issues with guard play. Cadeau had another mystery game where he completely disappears, Burnett didn't score a point, Cason played ok but only added 7 points, Gayle had one bucket, and Mckinney added just 2. Michigan shot 6-25 from 3 and Mara got into early foul trouble. Yax kept Michigan in the game in the 1st half but couldn't muster much in the 2nd.

Michigan Basketball needed a reality reset. I never think its good for the players mindset to be ranked #1 in the nation. The only time that ranking matters is in the last ranking, every other ranking to quote Saban is "rat poison". I like that Michigan got out physicaled for most of the game and I like that the Wolverines had their worst offensive outing but was still competitive. That means the team was competing on defense and they now know you just can't roll the balls out and win. It was a great time for a reset and was the purpose of the game. Both teams could've taken the weekend off to heal and practice, instead they decided to let "iron sharpen iron". Great decision for fans and for college basketball. The next time these two teams meet, something special will be on the line.

Win the Big Ten regular season Championship and then reset for a run in two tournaments.

Michigan Friday: Blue Devils Eve

2026-02-20T12:38:00.006-05:00

Michigan Basketball has one of those important/not important games against the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday late afternoon. It's important because Michigan vs. Duke in basketball is always important, it's not because the outcome will not hurt either's' chance in the Big10 or ACC race and a potential #1 seed. College Basketball vs. College Football rewards teams on playing difficult matchups. Izzo has made a career on this method.

Looking forward to Saturday at 6:30. Tickets are a hot item and start at $334 on the resale market.

It seems unanimous that Michigan made a big time hire in new GM Dave Peloquin. Let's hope he makes the NIL program in Ann Arbor the best in the country.

Curt Cignetti cashes in on his National Championship at IU. He will now make over $13M a year.

Are the Chicago Bears heading to Indiana?

Michigan Thursday: Michigan Got A New GM

2026-02-19T09:35:00.000-05:00

The one thing that Warde has always failed to understand is, you don't fire an important position without knowing you are going to hire next. Warde is a bad leader for many reason, but his lack of future planning might be his biggest weakness.

Case in point, Coach Whitt comes in and has his coordinators lined up before he got to Ann Arbor. He also knew the priority was keeping the current roster in A2 and lining up great players in the portal. You can't bring in a new GM at that point and do that. So he keep Magee around until this week to serve that purpose. That is a boss move.

The next is hiring former ND Co-AD Dave Peloquin as Michigan's next GM. Dave was with ND for 21 years in these roles: Notre Dame’s director of player personnel 2004-2023, director of football development (2007-2013) and assistant athletic director/strategic initiatives (2023-2025).

This is considered to be a big time hire for Michigan and a midwest football guy leading the organization. ND was in the National Championship game twice under Dave's leadership. This seemed to be the #1 target and Coach Whitt landed him.

I can't tell you how happy I am to have a real leader leading this program on and off the field.

We reported a few weeks ago that some teams had not been paid from the Players Tournament that Michigan won over the holidays. Other reports have now surfaced that Michigan did get their share but not the $1M bonus for winning the tournament.

Wolverine Wednesday: You Can't Go 2-0 this Week without a Win in Mackey

2026-02-18T13:20:00.000-05:00

Mackey Arena is a really hard place to win. Purdue Basketball is always solid since the days the Big Dog was running the court. When Purdue is the Pre-Season #1 and currently in the top 10, it's even tougher.

Michigan put together one of its best performances in a true road game. Michigan has played better but those were all neutral site games. Michigan started shooting the 3 well in the first half and grew the lead to 20 early and was up by 16 at the half. Everyone expected the Boilermakers to make a run in the 2nd, they played better but only got within 8 points or so of the Wolverines, who always seemed to have an answer and a defensive stop when Purdue inched closer.

Cadeau got out of his mini slump and added 17 points 7 assists. Cason continued his hot streak with 13 and McKenny added another 13 off the bench. Yax followed script scoring 13, Johnson had a bit of an off game with 12 (3-7 from the floor), and Mara added 10. It was a complete team effort and a very good win.

A great win from a great Michigan team. Duke is up next on Saturday in DC. The fun continues.

Michigan Football lost their 2027 QB last night in Peter Bourque. This was somewhat expected as Michigan has a brand new staff and doesn't have a strong foundation with Peter. Michigan might still be his choice, but Peter didn't feel good about visiting other programs while committed to Michigan. Which is truly very honorable from the young man. I have faith in our new OC that he will find a good 2027 solution at QB.

Michigan Tuesday: Big Ball Game Night

2026-02-17T10:08:00.003-05:00

Michigan and Purdue play a top 10 match up in Indiana tonight. It's at a weird time and on a weird channel. Yes, its a 6:30 EST tip on Peacock. For those of you that don't subscribe and have YouTube TV, I do have a hack for you. The game is also telecast on the NBC Sports Channel, which does not require an extra subscription (on YouTube TV). This channel came back from the dead a few months ago and shows most Peacock games live.

Wheat is the new RB coach at Illinois. Wheat had a really bad run as head coach of Wayne State for a couple of years.

Former Detroit Tiger and current MLBPA executive director Tony Clark has resigned.

Sacramento State joining the MAC seems strange to me. It's just in football and the travel will be very costly for them and the MAC teams on their schedule. It's a 5 year experiment, with not a ton of upside. Warmer Tuesday night MACtion?

The new Michigan staff seems to be hitting the road and making some strides with recruits in the 2027 and beyond classes. Seems crazy that Spring Ball will be here before we know it.

Michigan Monday: Big Week for Michigan Basketball

2026-02-16T10:01:00.004-05:00

Michigan Basketball is really good when they don't play down to the competition. UCLA came in on Saturday for a strange 12:45 tip and found themselves only down 2 points at the half. The Bruins left Ann Arbor with a 30 point loss. Mick Cronin went from getting technical fouls in the first half to sitting in disbelief in the 2nd.

It's really hard to nit pick this team but of course I have a couple. I don't like the big line changes that Dusty does sometimes. Of course, that gives the starter's rest, but it also seems to bring the opponent back into the game. Michigan also starts most game by shooting too many 3's. Michigan can get anything they want in the lane and they are shooting quick 3's. Lastly, I believe Gayle needs to understand his role at bit better. Last year, Michigan Basketball needed him to score, this year we need Rodney to play great defense, get rebounds, and get the ball to the scores on offense. He continues to force the ball in the post for wild layups and often turns the ball over.

Michigan is so much better with Yax on the floor. He is an elite defender, great ball distributor, and can get buckets. Dusty realizes that and that is the reason he is rarely is off the floor in the 2nd half.

Now on to this week. Michigan has to travel to Purdue tomorrow night for a ~~top 15~~ top 10 match-up and then to DC for a neutral site game against ~~top 5~~ top 3 Duke. So here is my question, if Michigan has to go 1-1 this week, which team do you want to beat?

If Michigan beats Purdue, they continue to lead the Big Ten by a couple games.

If Michigan beats Duke, they make waves nationally, and its Duke! Of course, this game has zero effect on the Big Ten regular season championship.

Update: Michigan has a new number in front of their name in the AP poll. It's a good number and one that Ricky Bobby likes a lot. No need to dwell on it, lots of work to do this week and the rest of the season.

This might be crazy but I would rather beat Duke. Let's just go 2-0 and make this dumb question, even dumber.

Michigan Baseball opens their season 3-0. Seems strange to think about Michigan Baseball in February.

Michigan has hired Vandy Co-DC and DL Coach Larry Black as its next DL coach. Fun fact, Larry is the brother of Jibreel Black who was a former defensive lineman at Michigan. This seems to be a solid hire.

Michigan Friday: Nebraska Wanted Out

2026-02-13T09:06:00.001-05:00

I remember this as it was in the news for like 3 days maybe 5 years ago. The former AD of Nebraska Cornhuskers recently confirmed he did meet with the Big 12 commissioner on returning to the Big 12. He said, "it died on the vine". You think? Do you have any idea what the difference in payouts is between a Big 12 school and a Big 10 school? AI tells me for the 2024-2025 school year, the Big 12 payout was $35M per team. The Big 10 for the same time period was $63.3M. Not a hard decision.

Speaking of that, I wish they would've left. The Big 10 expected they were getting a football powerhouse and its been just the opposite. In fact, if we are selling off Big 10 schools, the Big 12 could take Rutgers and Maryland as well. That invite is still head scratching to me. If I remember correctly, the Big Ten commissioner was excited about bringing in the New York City TV audience in by inviting Rutgers. How is that working out? The lack of leadership and decision making at the Big 10 and NCAA is just shocking.

Speaking of NCAA leadership, they took another hit when former Ferris State QB and current Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss won his 6th year of eligibility in a Mississippi court. The NCAA needs to keep their nose out of college football. There needs to be a Football Commissioner for the Power 4 that can make rulings and set a salary cap. The NCCA is no longer a valid organization for big time college football. The NCAA is expected to appeal the decision on Chambliss.

UCLA visits Ann Arbor for a body clock game at 12:45 on Saturday. At least they get home earlier.

I know this is a few days late but I love the Tigers signed Justin Verlander. I hope he has a great year, Tigers Win the World Series, and he calls it a career.

Jim Harbaugh and former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel attended a Lakers game together. This is an interesting relationship.

Michigan Thursday: Wildcat Bites

2026-02-12T09:00:00.002-05:00

Michigan Basketball team showed up outside of Chicago last night as the #2 in the nation with eyes on being #1. The Northwestern Wildcats going in were 2-11 in the Big Ten and the Wolverines expected a layup line the entire game. Michigan showed up "sleepy" and the Wildcats were not missing from the field.

Cadeau had one of his "turnover" games but was shooting well from 3. The entire Michigan Basketball team looked disinterested in playing. They found themselves down by 9 at half and surly would play better after the break. Nope, the same teams hit the floor at the start of the 2nd and the Wildcats grew the lead to 16 points over the #2 team in the nation.

There were a few issues for the Wildcats, they were getting into foul trouble and there were hints they were starting to wear down. Both were accurate as Cason showed up for Cadeau (who didn't play much in the 2nd) and scored 13 of his 18 points in the 2nd session. Yax had another good game with 15 points, 12 boards, and really good defense when Michigan needed it (also led the team with 37 minutes).

Michigan did not wrestle the lead back until under 6 minutes in the game. Then Northwestern tired and beat up didn't have any more gas left in the tank and lost by 12 points.

Here is why I like this comeback for the Wolverines. This was one of the worst showing by this team all year and they still won by 12 points. They got into deep waters down 16 and fought back and won. NW was on fire and Michigan wasn't. The only way to come back from 16 down is to play defense and that is what the Wolverines did. The young guns off the bench won this game. Cason had 18 and McKenney hit some big 3's for a total of 12 points.

A win on the road in the Big10 is a good win. No matter the sport there always seems to be drama when Michigan heads to Chicago to play the Wildcats. I'm still shaking my head over that game at Wrigley.

The combine invites are out and Michigan will have a nice showing at the event:

Did I mention yesterday that Dusty landed another big fish in recruiting?

From Yahoo Sports:

Cosby, a 6-foot-10 versatile forward from the prestigious Montverde Academy, was long considered a consensus top-10 prospect in the 2027 class. However, his commitment came paired with the news of his reclassification into 2026. Despite moving up a year, Cosby remains one of the most coveted prospects in the country, currently sitting at No. 22 overall in the Rivals Industry Ranking and a high four-star (borderline five-star) on the 247Sports Composite.

Wolverine Wednesday: The Slow Death of the Bowl System

2026-02-11T09:13:00.000-05:00

If you read this blog, you know my thoughts on Bowl Games. They are winter exhibitions, where fan bases can travel if they want to. Draft eligible players usually opt out so they don't become the next Jake Butt and teams use to the time to develop young players. Would've of loved to have seen Michigan's first team defense against Texas. It's only a matter of time before the bowl games are gone completely.

The cancelation of bowl games has already started. The Bahamas Bowl and the LA Bowl were the first to check out. Now the Motor City Bowl which has had many names is no longer with us. When you watch these games and see maybe a couple thousands fans, you wonder how they make any money. The problem is they don't and now they are closing down. Even the upper bowl at the Citrus Bowl was empty for two of the biggest brands in college football.

The problem is we still love College Football and want more games. What do we do?

Have a Playoff system for the Power 4: Big 10, SEC, Big 12, and ACC.

Have another playoff system for the Group of 6 schools: AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW, SB, and PAC?.

Of course you play the games at different times or different days. Maybe Group of 6 plays on Wednesday and Friday nights.

It would be exciting and non-stop football all week in December and January. Let's be honest, the Group of 6 schools have not competed well in the Power 4 playoff system yet and probably won't. The main playoff system will only grow and the Group of 6 should as well.

This is not the NIT, its an opportunity for the Group of 6 to have real match-ups and get the nation excited about players or teams they haven't watched prior. It would also showcase a ton of talent for the NFL or big conference teams looking for help in the portal next season. Games would be played on campus, until the Championship game. To keep costs down and fan involvement high.

ESPN/Disney wake up and do this!!!