Madness!

18 Comments

1. I saw the title, and was so hoping it was related to this.

   (If they have never used that as bumper music, they should).

   • Anytime I hear or read the word “madness” in isolation, I have to say, “takes its toll!” This annoys some people who have heard me do it multiple times.

     It’s astounding… time is fleeting…

     • Its just a jump to the left….

       • It’s the heavy heavy monster sound!

         • The nuttiest sound around!

         • Not the nazi-est sound around? Because that’s the way it sounds.

         • They are probably saying “nutsiest” – they were AKA “The Nutty Boys” (see the linked video above – that silly synchronized walk they do was called “The Nutty Train”).

           http://www.audiophileusa.com/item.cfm?record=66177

           Plus, I am pretty sure Madness were not Nazi-endorsers. 😉

2. You could also talk about how we didn’t have a pool going this year! Whatsupwiththat?

   • I think that’s my fault…

3. Well, obviously, I’m a little biased, but I saw my alma mater field its best team in 20 years, and they came up 6 points short of what likely would have been the greatest sports experience of my lifetime. I loved this team and had nothing but fun watching them make their run. That they helped put on the best show I’ve seen in a national title game in a long time (maybe ever) is just icing on the cake. What’s more, they were likable and clearly enjoying themselves out there, and they were coached by one of the game’s real class acts. It was a really good year to be a Michigan Man.

   Also, as I said on Twitter, it’s super hard to get mad about the fact that Kevin Ware gets to wear a championship ring.

   • I was pulling for Michigan for a few reasons…

     1.) The Fab Five were the first college team I ever really rooted for.
     2.) As such, Michigan has always been a team I liked to see do well, even if I didn’t actively root for them.
     3.) Fuck Ohio State.
     4.) A good friend when to Michigan and is a huge fan and gets crushed when they lose and I don’t like to see him crushed (unless it is at the hands of one of my favorite teams).
     5.) My sister randomly bought Owen a Michigan shirt, which I put him in for a few minutes before the game, and I really wanted his first experience as a sports fan to be a positive one.

     That being said, I was fairly tempered in my enthusiasm because of Kevin Ware. That you are able to say the same, with a much stronger alliance to the Wolverines, speaks to the power of his story.

     How did you feel about Burke being kept on the bench as long as he was with “foul trouble”?

     • As much as I hate to say it, I’m pretty much with Chuck Klosterman. Why would you pull Spike Albrecht at that point if you didn’t have to?

       Now, that said, I do have issues with the fact that Spike stayed in long past the point where Siva had turned him into a major defensive liability (and he hadn’t scored since halftime). I’d have liked to see more of Stauskas down the stretch.

       Still, I’m loathe to criticize Beilein’s game management too much. The only reason we were even in the game in the first place was because Beilein has one of the finest offensive minds in the game. Dude clearly knows what he’s doing (at least most of the time).

       • As much as I hate to say it, I’m pretty much with Chuck Klosterman

         I don’t follow his sports writing, but does Klosterman annoy you as much as he does me?

         • Yes. To the max.

         • I am more familiar with his music/pop culture writing. He is one of those writers people expect me to like, where I just do not get the appeal (John Hodgman is also in this category). I generally don’t find Klosterman enlightening or (most damningly) funny at all (though occasional mild amusement may sometimes be had).

           His music subjects are usually safe, well-known subjects – he seemingly takes pride in how middlebrow his tastes are, which in and of itself wouldn’t be problematic, if he had something interesting to say about them, or an interesting way to say it, or at least convincingly projected an enthusiasm or love for them.

           His writing’s just a bland wet noodle, that people inexplicably like. Hell, I’ll take Taibbi’s outright HST-biting misanthropy, over Klosterman’s hipster Garrison Keillor (and I LIKE old Keillor) – at least Taibbi has flavor.

           Mainly, I’m just jealous, because I don’t really think he’s that much better a writer than I am (and I’m not good), and yet he is so successful and well-known. 😉

4. Takeaways:

   1. Why did Michigan leave McGary and Hardaway (especially Hardaway!) on the bench for so long in the second half of the second half? It seemed like Hardaway sat for about 8 minutes which was dominated by a smothering Louisville defense. A pure scorer (or atleast a guy who can generate from inside) seemed like a no brainer to me.

   2. Louisville earned that win. There weren’t any important blown calls (tho Burke’s block on Siva seemed like a blown call to me, and an important one from a momentum standpoint, it wasn’t in the final 2-3 minutes) and Michigan played well (exceptionally well, I thought) down the stretch. Given the ease with which Louisville was scoring and how hard they made Michigan work to score, it’s a testament to those kid’s talent and teamwork that they were still in it down the stretch.

   Great game.

5. “So, what are your takeaways from the tourney?”

   #1Takeaway: Bones really, really belong INSIDE of the leg.

6. My takeaway was that the Kevin Ware thing got really, really old by the time the game started last night, however you couldn’t admit that in public around here.

   I have also learned that the day after a championship game, when your team wins, is like having zombies invade your workplace. We all spent the morning in a pissing contest about how little sleep we got. Suffice to say it was very quiet around the building by early afternoon as everyone fought of sleepiness.

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