Michigan Monday: Masters Recap

This is one of the days where I go off script and don't talk about Michigan Football or Basketball.   

I was bored and little pissed off at Bryson Sunday afternoon.  I had watched Masters coverage all day, from 10:00 AM on the Masters App unil the CBS coverage started.  Rory starts the round by throwing away his lead and giving it directly to Bryson.  The problem was Bryson wasn't ready to receive the gift.  He went opposite Bryson and started to do strange stuff, like hitting irons off the tee.  Then on a perfect day, not being able to hit the green with a wedge. 

I've been to Augusta National once and it's a magical place.  TV doesn't represent the slopes of the greens at all.  The course's defense is the tree lined fairways and its unbelievable greens.  So when a world class golfer has a wedge in their hands from the fairway and no wind, that is on the golfer not the conditions.  

Bryson had no iron control at all.  All his irons are the same length and when he struggles like this, I wonder if that is the proper strategy.  

Rory's horrors on #10 Tee when he almost hit a cabin while leading the Masters in 2011 was now gone.  He was up by 4 on the back nine with a SW in his hands on 13.   He then shanks the wedge into the water and the boring Masters was back!  

Finally someone started to make a run and it was Justin Rose who controlled the tournament for the first two days.  Scotty was treading water all weekend and Aberg finished his round with a triple on 18.  Rory was leaking gas but had enough holes to make up for his bad mistake.   He misses a short eagle putt on 15 and then a short part putt on 18 to win.   Rory was going full Rory at the Masters.   Bryson who had mentally given up around 13, could still have been in the tournament if he hadn't been checked out.  

It's ironic that Rose has been in two playoffs in the Masters vs. two players that the golf gods needed to give them a win:  Sergio and Rory.  Sergio deserved winning a Major and we really can't see that happening again.   Rory was going to win a green jacket, he is just too good, even though he wasn't on Sunday. 

Rory regrouped in the playoffs and hit a great drive and approach.  Rose's perfect approach jumps over the hole and didn't leak back down by the cup.  Rory hits an even better approach and his ball does leak back.  Rose's putt slides by and Rory's makes his putt and falls to his knees.  A classic Rory, even when he is bad, he is really good. (no golfer has ever won the Masters with 4 double bogeys in 4 rounds)

A crazy day at the Masters. 

Michigan Tuesday: Brakes on the Axle?

Seems the Axle might be strongly leaning towards the NBA.  Even though he is a late first rounder or second, he told a Birmingham newspaper that he is 80-20 going to the league and Ann Arbor is a safety net.   We will see how his draft stock plays out, I remember a young Hunter Dickinson going through the draft process only to come back and play 14 more years of college basketball.  

• Congrats to Florida on the NCAA Championship last night.   Kelvin Sampson again misses out on the winning that National Championship.  I'm sure Jim Nance will be sad at Augusta this weekend.   Dusty's former recruit and player at FAU Alijah Martin is now a National Champion.

• Augusta?  Welcome to Masters Week!

• I hear OSU presumed QB starter is struggling in Spring Practice.  Which we hear every year.  I one time watched the Ohio State Spring Game and Justin Fields looked awful.  I think they leak that information on purpose. 

• Amorion Walker is listed on the Spring Roster without a number.  Coach Bellamy says, he is working through something.   Usually when a player doesn't have a number, he has work to do in the classroom. 

• One name I thought we would hear more from last season was MSU transfer Safety Jaden Mangham who played 2 years in East Lansing.  Sounds like Jaden got hurt in Fall camp and the learning curve between the two schools was larger than expected.   After red shirting last year, I expect a big year from Jaden.

Michigan Monday: Masters Thoughts and Pro Ball

I would love to talk about the Masters today as I watched more than my fair share this weekend.  Brooks Koepka just didn't have his A game for a round and a half on Sunday and lost the Green Jacket to Jon Rahm the most talented golfer in the world right now.  The PGA also dodged a bullet because if Brooks had won, a LIV golfer would be the current holder of the green jacket.  I'm sure there was some nervousness on Phil making a run on Sunday as well.  

Sunday the NBA started firing coaches as that regular season has come to an end.  That got me thinking if Juwan Howard would still be a hot commodity in the NBA and would now be the time, he took those conversations more seriously?  That would be a bad deal for Caleb Love and others that just transferred to Ann Arbor.  

• Joey Baker who was investigating another year in A2, but has decided to look for opportunities in professional basketball. 

• If you didn't catch it during the Masters, Jim Nance threw a little shade at Brooks Koepka when he was walking by a crosswalk and mentioned he was on the CW.  Speaking of the CW, they seem to be in play for the PAC 12 Football contract.  In more golf news, Will Zalatoris who withdrew from the Masters is out for the year after electing to have back surgery.   

• Thought of the day, how many offensive linemen will Michigan take in the 2024 class?

• 5-star 2024 CB Aaron Scott Jr. is down to 12 schools, Michigan is one of them

Michigan Thursday: Brandon Johns in Portal

Michigan's 4-year power forward Brandon Johns will spend his COVID year at another program.   Brandon was a great recruiting win as he was from East Lansing and the highlight of his career was subbing in for an injured Livers in the NCAA Tournament last year.  

If I could summarize Brandon's time in Ann Arbor, it seemed he lacked confidence in his game.   I hope he finds that confidence at another school in another conference.   Good Luck Brandon! 

• The Masters start this morning

• Did you know that former Masters Champion Angel Cabrera is in prison in Argentina for domestic violence?  

• Michigan Hockey plays tonight for entry into the NC game

• QB CJ Carr is the 50th ranked player in the 2024 class to 24/7

Michigan Monday: Spring Game Stuff, 1 Baller Comes Back - 1 Leaves, and The Masters

So lets get to the most important stuff first since this is a Basketball School now.  Chaundee Brown has elected to go to the NBA (and hire an agent) and Eli Brooks is staying for a 5th year due to the COVID rule.  

Happy for Chaundee and was hoping he would give Ann Arbor one more year.  He came to accomplish a championship and make a name for himself.   Its not un-heard of for a 6th man to make a big splash in the NBA (See Duncan Robinson) and Brown is an elite defender.  If he continues to hit the 3, he is going to have a spot on a roster.   

I'm also excited for Eli to come back.  You could argue that he was Michigan's most important player all year long.  Having his experience at either guard positions is going to give the young guys a great example and room to grow.  

There isn't a ton out there about the Spring Game, but here are a few things I heard: 

• Fans like the Blue on Blue uniforms (it was on twitter) 
• Cade is very much in command of the offense and JJ is still learning 
• RB's are really good, Haskins and Corum stood out 
• Hard to read the OL as they were spread between 2 teams 
• WR's had a bit of an under preforming day 
• LB's are very deep and talented
• Dax of course is the best player on D and maybe on the field

I like that the Spring Practice buzz is a minimum this year and lets hope they fix the defense and find some type of offense to run.  I willing to bet, Michigan is going to run and run heavy offense this year. 

Watched a ton of Masters over the weekend, was hoping for a fun Sunday afternoon but it was a bit boring as Matsuyama played consistently all day.  It did get interesting on 15 and 16 but Zander hit it into the drink on 16.   If he makes Par on 16, there could have been a playoff.   Matsuyama played very well between 2-14 and deserved the green jacket after a great back nine on Saturday.

Michigan Friday: Daelin Hayes Should Do Stand-up

Hayes is a former DE from ND that is preparing for the NFL Draft.  He played his HS Football at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.  He was recently quoted as saying, "The best players in Michigan go to Norte Dame".   Which is laugh out loud funny.    If Daelin doesn't make it in the NFL, he will be welcome at the Laugh Factory or the Funny Bone anytime he likes. 

• Speaking of funny:  At the Masters yesterday, while hitting an approach shot out out the trees,  Rory Milroy hit his father with his shot in the butt.   Jalen's brother Justin Rose is leading after the 1st round. 😀

• Giles Jackson might not be done playing in the Big House as the rumor is he is heading to Washington, which is Michigan's week 2 opponent next season.

• Franz is still considered a lottery pick after his poor performance against UCLA.   I expect he will announce his decision that he is going to the NBA soon. 

Have a good weekend and enjoy the Masters! 

Michigan Thursday: Welcome to Masters Thursday

One of my favorite times of the year, watching the Masters this weekend.  If you haven't been, its a special place and a bucket list for every golfer. 

My two picks this week are Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm. 

• Mike Smith turns pro.  Good for him and good luck.  My guess is he will line up something overseas.  

• Tough month for the Miller's as both brothers lost their jobs at IU and now Arizona.  Coach B is a name that has been tied to Arizona's opening and a great pick to clean up a dirty program.  

• Illinois Ayo has decided to also go pro and of course is an NBA prospect. 

• Michigan Football has added CMU and New Mexico to the 2025 schedule.

• Tiger Woods crash was due to excessive speed.  Tell us something we didn't know. 

Michigan Monday: It's All About The Points

Michigan Basketball played a bad game late on Tuesday night where they only gave up 51 points to UCLA for the entire game.  UCLA and Gonzaga played a classic on Saturday night where UCLA scored a total of 90 points.  Its clear Michigan would be in the National Championship game right now if they had only made their free throws.  😀

Should be a good game tonight with probably the two best teams in the nation all year long.   As you know, I don't like it when other teams find Michigan's weakness.   In football this past season it took 1 game.  In Basketball it was the Illinois game.   Did UCLA put on tape, how to beat Gonzaga? Shooting nearly 60% helps.  

Also a hat tip to the NCAA for fixing a mistake from Tuesday night.  Both games on Saturday started at a decent time, I know it was a Saturday and not a Tuesday but starting a game at 6:00 and 8:30 on Tuesday would have been doable as well.    Tonight's tip is at 9:20.

• Deep thought: Has Michigan's run through the NCAA taken the focus off of Spring Football?  I would say yes.  I hope they are getting some work done! 

• Livers had surgery on his foot and full recovery is 6 months.  I guess his injury was much worse then we expected.  Does this effect his NBA Draft status?

• Big Ten Basketball Transfer news from this past weekend:  Rhode Island Point Guard Fatts Russell and Georgetown's Qudus Wahab both transferred to Maryland.  Illinois landed Florida Center Omar Payne.  

• It's Masters Week for you golf fans out there! Congrats to Jordan Spieth who got his first PGA Tour win in over 4 years!  Big week for friend of the Blog Augusta J!  Who will be attending a practice round this year.  

• Asking for a friend, will the Tigers be watchable this year?

Michigan Thursday: Salutes Masters Day

To me this is the first day of Spring, the start of the Masters.   I really wish the club would open more TV coverage as it starts at 3:00 today.   They should start at Noon or earlier and go through until the last player is on the course.  

Of course the top story continues to be if Tiger can win another Masters.  I don't believe he will be in serious contention this weekend, as he had a recent neck injury and hasn't played a ton this season.    I expect Rory McElroy to be there on Sunday if his mind will let him.   Mickelson's mental block is the US Open and Augusta is Rory's.   We will see if he can get bye that.

If you haven't been to this tournament, it really is a special place.   The food prices are stuck in 1972 and you won't find anything without the Masters logo.  Even the water bottles have it.

TV doesn't do the slopes on the green any justice at all.   They are crazy and borderline unfair.  If you get a chance to go, I would recommend a practice round.  Which is easier to get in and the players are much more relaxed.   Today through Sunday is all business.   This trip is a must for any golf fan.  

• Sam Webb expects both Iggy and Poole to stay in the draft process.  There had been some buzz about Poole not being exactly happy with his role, so maybe he is gone either way.   As I mentioned yesterday, both have a second round grade so they have some ground to make up to make this decision worth while.  

• Coach B was out to see William and Mary graduate transfer Justin Pierce who is a 6'7 wing who averaged just under 15 points a game, with 9 rebounds.   Pretty much every other team wants Justin as well.  

• Having both Iggy and Poole headed to the draft, hopefully is good news for potential freshman Franz Wagner who is considering playing pro ball at home or coming to the States to play college basketball.  As you know, Franz is Mo's brother.

• Michigan NBA Day #2?

DJ Wilson: 18 PTS, 17 REB, 4 AST
Caris LeVert: 10 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST
Duncan Robinson: 15 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL
Glenn Robinson III: 9 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST
Trey Burke: 6 PTS, 3 AST Also Caris put Duncan Robinson on a poster.

Michigan Monday: Masters Re-cap, Burke Trends and Adidas Camp

If you have followed this blog for 3-4 years you know I like to jump off the board from time to time to discuss golf.  Last night was another fantastic finish at the Masters.   In a year that seemed to be set up for all kind of story lines like:  Tigers Return, Phil's 4th, or Rory's time to dominate.  A real story line came through and a deserving winner put on the green jacket. 

If you don't follow golf very closely; Bubba Watson is tall left hander that drills the ball with his driver and has the touch with his wedges to make him an elite golfer.   Most guys that can hit a golf ball 330 yards sometimes have trouble with the other parts of the game and can never put it all together.  Bubba doesn't have that problem and has never had a lesson his entire life.  His father gave him some basic pointers at age 10 after that he took his own advice.   Yes, that is correct the Masters Champion who putted on greens with slopes like a roller coaster (I have been there to seen those greens live and TV doesn't come close to describing how difficult it is to putt them) has never had a golf lesson and just beat the best golfers in the world. 

Bubba is a guy you would meet at local club or municipal course.  He hits the ball and ton but always seems to have time for an autograph or a hello to fans.  He swings a pink driver, I would assume to promote breast cancer and he recently lost his father to that deadly disease.  He hit a crazy good approach shot to the green and 2 putted to win the Masters on the second playoff hole.  I can't really explain it, but most of us couldn't dream of hitting a shot out of the woods and not during a playoff of a major golf tournament.

Bubba has a  new born son and wife at home that couldn't travel due to his son's early age.   After he won the most prestigious tournament in the world, he broke down in the arms of his caddy and then his mom tapped in and got a long hug.  What impressed me was his fellow friends and PGA competitors where following the playoffs and were lining up to give him a hug.   If you notice, you don't see that if Tiger or Phil wins.  Today he his a major winner and but I will bet you a $1 he would be rather known as a "good guy" when you describe him from here on out.  When asked what he thought about being in the Butler Cabin to put on his green jacket, he responded: "I don't know, my dreams never got this far".   That is a Masters Champion I feel good to cheer for.   Congratulations Bubba!

Back to Michigan News:

• The latest Burke trends on twitter have him coming back to Michigan.  We will see.  The longer this goes on the better it is for Michigan chances next year.  Spike did commit to Michigan this weekend, so there is a plan b if he goes or a guy that can give him some minutes when he needs a break next year.

• Michigan had a DE visitor from California in town for a visit to Ann Arbor and attended the Adidas Camp.   That visitor is Joe Mathis who won the MVP the week before at the NIKE camp in LA.  He loved his visit to Ann Arbor and now list Michigan as his leader.  He wants to get back to Ann Arbor for a game this fall and met with Greg Mattison who wasn't in town this weekend.  He has already been to UCLA and USC.  He is cousins with highly ranked S Stu Cravens and they are planning to take their officials to Ann Arbor together.

• It seemed the highlights from the Adidas camp was Michigan commit CB Jourdan Lewis.  Insiders say he was the best cover guy there.  David Dawson wanted to go against Joe Mathis and held his own most of the day.  Berkly Edwards ran a 4.3 on grass and is now listing a Minnesota offer.    Shane was there and his passes looking accurate to the guys who attended.

Michigan Friday: It's all about the #4!

The two highlight of Thursday were Lion Kim at the Masters and the Michigan Hockey Team winning their Frozen 4 game. 

• Lion shot a decent +4 76 on Thursday.  Playing in your first major and with the likes of Davis Love III and former Master Champion José María Olazábal.  Right now it doesn't look good for him to make the cut unless he goes in red numbers today.  Either way it's a tremendous honor to play in the tournament and think he had done great!

• I will be the first to say that I know very little about Hockey.  What I do know is Michigan beat a great hockey team last night in North Dakota.  ND is said to be full of NHL players and pretty much blew out many of their opponents this year.  Either way, Michigan won a low scoring game last night and I even watched the last few minutes when Michigan scored the open net goal.  

 Other News:

• Michigan has already started on the 2013 class by already offering instate 6'3 187 pound QB Shane Morris who already has 4 BCS offers.   Shane and his family are Michigan fans. 

• With the new Big Ten Schedule formats - Michigan and Wisconsin will take 6 years off and the Wolverines and Badgers won't play until 2015. 

• ESPN loves Michigan Documentaries.  The Fab 5 was their highest rated 30/30 ever and now they are doing one on former Michigan QB Tom Brady, called the Brady 6. Which references the 6 QB's taken in the NFL draft before Tom.  Does any of these names ring a bell?  Chad Pennington (No. 18, Jets), Giovanni Carmazzi (65, 49ers), Chris Redman (75, Ravens), Tee Martin (163, Steelers), Marc Bulger (168, Saints) and Spergon Wynn (183, Browns). 

Michigan Thursday: A Wolverine at Augusta National

Rarely do we get a chance to cheer for a Wolverine at the Masters.  Even if your not a golf fan, this week you can support Lion Kim a U of M golfer that will be one of six amateurs in the field today at Augusta National.  Lion earned the invite by winning the 85th U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship last summer.  "Obviously, I'm extremely excited," said Kim, who ranks second all time at U-M with a career scoring average of 73.30 strokes per round. "I feel my game is at a good place right now and I'm getting to where I can compete at The Masters. It's exciting but it's also pretty nerve-wracking to know that you're playing on the biggest stage in golf."  Lion is playing with Davis Love and José María Olazábal today.

If your a golf fan you don't need another reason to watch the Masters.  If your not, please tune in and support Lion and maybe you can see why so many of us love this sport.   Augusta National is a special place and I got chance to be at the tournament 3 years ago.  It's a perfect golf course and that pretty much sums it up. 

On a side note:  Maybe this is the guy RR kept talking about when he kept referencing the Lion King movie? :)  Good Luck Lion and Go Blue!

• From a good news to sad news:  The Michigan Men community lost a member yesterday, with the passing of Vada Murray to his fight to cancer.   Vada as you know was a Wolverine Safety from 1988-1990 and then a Ann Arbor Policeman after he graduated.  RIP Michigan Man, RIP.

• The Michigan Hockey Team is in the Frozen 4 Tonight.  Go Blue!

• Michigan Football Walk On News:  Michigan has added a new offensive line recruit for the 2011 class.  Gary Yerden has accepted a invitation to be a preferred walk-on at Michigan.  Gary is a 6'6 330 pound offensive lineman with only one year of football under his belt at Portage Northern.  Gary has a high upside with his lack of football experience but guess what?  The kid is strong!  He is the 3 time State Champion in weightlifting by dead lifting a state record 630 pounds.  Wow! Sounds like a great pick up.

• ESPN is saying Michigan's Basketball preseason ranking should be #16.  I would agree if Darius Morris stays in Ann Arbor.   

• TomVH has an interview up with 2012 TE prospect Evan Baylis.

Golf's Hat Trick

As some of you regular readers of Bighouseblog know, I am a golf fan. This year, I have had the unique opportunity to attend three huge professional golf events: The Masters, The PGA Championship, and this weekend's Ryder Cup. Each of these tournaments were different but special experiences. So if you will allow me to "go off the board" for a minute, I would love to share with you my thoughts and experiences from such a "lucky" year for attending such great events.

The Masters: As Jim Nance says, it truly is "a tradition like no other". When your on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National it's something very special. The place is magical, beautiful, and perfect all together. If you ever get a chance to attend, you should whether your a golf fan or not. I have never seen an event run so well. Like their name says they have "mastered" every aspect of your viewing and attending pleasure. You can get a 2 drinks and a sandwich for less then $10. Television doesn't come close to showing the speed and breaks in the greens and most of the pin placements aren't even fair. It's a wonderful experience to just attend and enjoy the historic course, there is also some pretty good golf played there as well.

The PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: We were lucky enough to attend Friday's round (the day with the best weather) when it was Hot and a little windy. This was a day where the best golfers in the world (minus Tiger) were against the long Oakland Hills golf course and the course won. We watched golf for 11 hours and could have counted the number of birdies we saw on one hand. I have been to US Open's and Ryder Cup's at Oakland Hills but this was as tough as I have ever seen this course play. Great Day of watching golfers trying to take on the "Monster" and end up looking like most of us do playing on the weekend.

The 2008 Ryder Cup: This weekend was like no other golf event I have been to. (When I attended the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills the US team got beat badly and only manged one point the entire day) This past Saturday was filled with tremendous golf from both the US and European Teams. Many different crowd eruptions from fans from "across the pond" and even here in the "good old" USA.

The players were on both sides were very focused and the fans were chanting "USA, USA, USA" all day. This weekend was as special as watching golf gets. It wasn't one golfer against the course, this was a team and country event. It was Olympics for Golf.

Both teams were playing "out of their minds" with amazing shot making and un-believable putting. Both teams were playing to the crowds and you could really see that Paul Azinger put together a team of good players but players with personality that could thrive in this format. Boo Weekly played perfect golf, his energy, humor, and "down home" personality was a perfect fit for the US. Tie that in with Kentucky natives JB Holmes and Kenny Perry with the young "AK" Anthony Kim. The US team was tough to beat.

The energy and memories of this past weekend will last a lifetime. If you think golf is boring to watch or not for you, give the Ryder Cup a chance. It's the Masters meets Michigan - Ohio State. It's the US Open meets the Olympics. It's a wonderful chance to be patriotic, it's a wonderful chance to get your blood boiling, It's a wonderful chance to be American and cheer for your love for golf and for the love or your country. It's a chance to put the thoughts of $4 gas, historic foreclosers, Presidential elections, and a down economy away and just be American for a few hours. Well done gentlemen, you made your country proud.