Starting out in the Swelter: Gophers @ Middle Tennesse State Preview

Gotta say it right off the bat.  I've been a big fan of the Middle Tennessee State logo and mascot for several years now.  How would I even know or care it existed you might ask?  A fair question.  And those who know me well, know that Gopher Bandanna Guy is a major sucker for all things blue and silver.  It's a superior color combo in any setting, and frankly had there been a Big Ten school that sported these colors I might be blogging for them right now, rather than about the beloved Gophers.  Then add the lightning breath onto the Pegasus, and you've made the a top ten collegiate logo in my humble opinion. I mean look at that horse - its ready to stomp your ass and then fly off into a thunderstorm.

But enough with the flattery of our first opponent of the 2010 Golden Gopher football season.  Our beloved Maroon and Gold are headed south to Murfreesboro, TN for a Thursday night tilt (televised on ESPN U, 7:30PM EST) to kick off the season.  Anecdotally speaking, this game perhaps more than any other on the 2010 schedule seems to be the one that Gopher fans (the casual and diehard) are the most split on.  The naysayers and Brewster Bashers say this game is the harbinger of the end for the Tim Brewster era - where we'll go into a hostile southern football stadium, in stifling heat that we can't handle, and allow a Sunbelt Conference Team give our Big Ten team a dose of comeuppance.  Then there are the overtly positive fans who are already claiming victory, in the name of the quality of Big Ten football.  Have the NDSU's and Appalachian State's of the world taught us nothing?

But of course, those teams (and several others of recent upset memory) have reminded most of us college football fans that small conference and even inferior division teams can occasionally rise up and knock off a BCS conference opponent, their own conference strength be damned.  The Blue Raiders dominated most of their opponents in the Sun Belt last year (7-1 in conference), were beat down by Clemson and Mississippi State, and beat a weak Memphis team at home and an equally hapless Maryland on the road. The Gophers and MTSU had no common opponents in 2009, but Maryland (who MTSU beat on a last second field goal) was removed by 1 degree of separation (Maryland was plowed under by Cal, 52-13 in their 2009 opener).  What's that all mean?  Most likely nothing.  The Gopher team that hung with Cal for 3 quarters is not this year's 2010 team, nor is the Blue Raider squad, who had dynamic QB Dwight Dasher racking up yardage on the 'Terps.

One year later, and Dwight Dasher is still the QB for MTSU.  Problem is he's been suspended by the NCAA, apparently for a $1,500 loan he got to play poker with.  There's more details to this story, but what matters is that MTSU is without their senior dual-threat QB.  That fact alone cause Vegas to move the line on this game substantially, pushing the Gophs from road dog to slight road favorites.  Obviously the oddsmakers think highly of Dasher.

At this point it appears highly likely that this suspension will stand, and the Gopher defense will not have to face the Sun Belt Conference's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.  Good for us.  Bad for the Murfreesboro Faithful.  But there are 20 other Blue Raiders too line up against and a JUCO backup QB in Logan Kilgore.  Apparently the sophomore Kilgore is getting the start over his upperclassman teammate Jeff Murphy, because he's gotten in more practice this preseason.

FBT (Fringe Bowl Team) did a nice initial eval of MTSU back in July, when Dasher was still expected to be the starting QB, and (I believe) accurately portrayed the Blue Raiders as a Northwestern-lite, as a team that runs the spread, and relies on their QB grabbing yards when the pocket breaks down.  With Kilgore at the helm its uncertain what we'll get, but we all know a quarterback doesn't need to be particularly fast to stack up yards on our defense historically, just somewhat elusive (Mike Kafka anybody?).  The buzz from some Blue Raiders fans is that he has been quite accurate in practices, but he's not the runner Dasher is.

So who steps up for MTSU on offense, if Kilgore is ineffective?  An experienced, smallish offensive line (both OTs on the depth chart listed at less than 275 lbs) and 3 talented running backs - Phillip Tanner, Ben Cunningham, and D.D. Kyles who are expected to share carries this season.  The matchup I'm most interested in watching this Thursday is going to be our less experienced front four matchup with this O-line.  Dominate up front and make Kilgore uncomfortable and we win this game.  I'm also curious to see if Cosgrove will keep it simple for this first game, or if he'll pick up where he left off last year, incorporating blitzes from all over the field.

When the Gophers have the ball, the MTSU defense is small, quick, and senior-laden.  For Weber and Co. to put the ball into the endzone, its going to take some consistent sustained drives, as I don't think we'll see a lot of big plays and broken coverage handed to us from this experienced defense.  We've heard all spring and summer camp that the Gophs are rededicated to running the ball.  And although, I believe they are under Horton, it may be frustrating to watch several drives grind to a halt early in the game because we're establishing the run, and predictably rushing the ball on 1st and 2nd downs. Patience is key - something Fisch did not have last year with the run, and I think Horton will display.

Ok - enough babbling and regurgitating what others have already written. Like last year, I'll provide my weekly prediction and players of the game for both teams.  This MTSU road game feels awfully like the Syracuse game last season to me (but without climate control and the Eric Decker and Mike Williams NFL-preview show).  Very winnable for Minnesota, but it will be nail-bitingly close, thanks to some stalled drives due to our commitment to run early, and some 2nd half brain cramps on defense.  Weber start out his senior season well, and look real sharp on some drives and make us feel good about having him under center for one more year.

Prediction: Minnesota 24, Middle Tennessee State 20

Gopher Player of the Game: Adam Weber - 14 for 20 for 195 yards and 2 TDs

Blue Raider Player of the Game: Phillip Tanner - 16 carries for 95 yards and 1 TD

Coach Brew - Boosting My Confidence Through Tremendous Surliness

I'm not sure if any of you have managed to make your way on over to the excellent Gopher Football blog 'Fringe Bowl Team', but if not, you're really missing out.  It's really the blog I wish this one could become, if I lived near campus and didn't have 2 little kids, a 50 hour a week job, and too many other sports interests to divert my attention.  But I digress - MV does a phenomenal job there and has daily updates on recruiting, training camp, and recently he's been catching video of post practice interviews with players and coaches. In particular, an interview with Coach Brew posted earlier this week (8/23) was a real gem.  And while I realize this was a topic batted about on Gopherhole the other day, I can't help but further reflect here.

First off, take the 10 minutes and watch it.  You'll be entertained by a Coach Brewster that maybe you haven't seen much of in the past.  This Brew is downright curmudgeonly with the media, and I like it.  I kinda wish he was like this all the time.

Or if you don't have the 10 minutes, zip ahead to 5:05 and listen to the question Brew receives about linebacker, Keenan Cooper.  His initial response is to incredulously repeat back the 8th grade level question, and then mid-way thru, shrug his shoulders and just go with it.  Then he looks at the camera and states that he wonders how much the interviewers think about the questions their asking, only to have the dolt (presumably Marcus Fuller) try and make the excuse that he 'just came from basketball practice and is, spaced out'.  Love it.

Shortly after, Brew gets snappy with Phil Miller (who's been more of a friend to the program than most writers in town).  Again, this exchange just brings a smile to my face.  And more importantly, it makes me feel more confident about this team's direction.

Why?  To me, Coach Brewster appears to be a guy on a mission, and he just wants to start playing football (he states as much later in the interview).  He's taken some lumps in the media for a good while, and he's no doubt fed up, and ready to lash out a bit.  And there's almost a hint of confidence (or even arrogance) in his demeanor that makes me think he knows something the rest of the Big Ten doesn't, and he can't wait to unleash it on them.  Maybe I'm just being my usual overly optimistic self, but I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that might be the case.

What or who might be unleashed, I'm not sure - Is it MarQueis at WR (who Dave Mona proclaimed would be 1st Team All-Big Ten - talk about bold)?  Is it Donnell Kirkwood at RB, who's turned a lot of heads in this preseason?  Or is it scheme, in the form of Horton's simplified offense?

Maybe all - maybe none. Either way, go get 'em Coach Brew, and GO GOPHERS!

Calling our shots - 2010 Gopher Football Predictions

Are there more than 2 wins on this 2010 schedule?  Can we finish 'bowl eligible'?  Rose Bowl or bust for Pasadena Brew? These are the burning questions of this upcoming Golden Gopher football season. We've had all summer to mull over the Gophs list of opponents (not that we needed it), and here's what our brain trust came up with:

The breakdown of each set of predictions has some interesting wins/losses - here's the brief rationale:

• Omar likes us breaking out to a nice 3-1 start, and carrying that momentum into our Big Ten opener vs. Northwestern, and finds us road wins at Purdue and Illinois.
• JJ and KZ don't like our season opener on the road at MTSU, and both like the upset at Wisconsin (which I just don't see happening this year).  They differ only on where we'll get a road win in Weeks 10 and 11.
• Gopher Bandanna Guy calls for the upset of USC, followed by a letdown loss to NIU, and a rebound victory vs. Northwestern.  Then a 6 game losing streak is ended with the team rallying around the seemingly dead man walking, Coach Brew - taking down Illinois in Champaign and then shocking an over-confident Iowa squad to save his job a la Wayne Fontes.
• 2Mutch is the self-proclaimed 'Debbie Downer' of the group, giving the Gophs a more tempered 4-8 record, and basically has us winning only games where there's a chance of being favored in the line.
• NG also likes us to ruin Wisconsin's season by knocking them off in Camp Randall, and taking down Iowa at home.  Brew gets himself a couple of trinkets under this scenario, and that would certainly bode well for coaching Minnesota into his 5th year.

So what's it all mean?  Probably nothing more than confirming that all of us are crazy dreamers and/or hopeful optimists when it comes to Golden Gopher Football.  Virtually every publication and website prediction I've come across has us between 1 and 4 wins, and in last place.  The experts are expecting grim results.

Bodog.com has us as 50/1 odds to win the conference (worst odds in the conference, behind Indiana at 40/1).  Any Hoosier fans out there want to wager (beer?) that we'll finish above them in the standings?  Ok, maybe that's a bad idea. Our schedule is tougher, but we've got something going for us more than anybody else in the Big Ten - no one expects ANYTHING from the Gophers, and guess what?  There is some burgeoning talent on this team that will surpise some teams that don't scout closesly.  Underestimate the Gophers at your peril! (hey, if loyal members of Gopher Nation can't stay positive, who can?)

Here's some predictions on Minnesota's individual players -
GBG likes:
Offensive Player of the Year: Da'Jon McKnight, WR (680 yrd, 9 TDs)
Defensive Player of the Year: Keanon Cooper, LB  (65 tackles, 2 INTs, 4 FF)
Leading Rusher: D'uane Bennett (720 yds)
Leading Receiver: Da'Jon McKnight (680 yds)
Leading Tackler: Mike Rallis, LB (85 tackles)
Sack Leader: Ra'Shede Hegeman (8 sacks)
INT Leader: Michael Carter (4 INTs)

2Mutch likes:
Offensive Player of the Year: Adam Weber (in a nice bounceback season)
Defensive Player of the Year: Kim Royston (back from injury and a force)

And finally, Just Jake likes Brandon Kirksey to have a monster junior year at DT, big enough that he bolts for the NFL draft a year early.  Wow.  Now that's a bold prediction.

What's on tap for Give 'Em Hell Goldy?

Thanks to a spring and summer filled with a hectic work travel schedule, playoff Bucks basketball, MLB road trippin', and slow-pitch softball - this blog all but died over the warmer months.  But so what?  We didn't have that many readers anyways.

But what'd we miss?  All kinds of stuff.  The Gopher Baseball team won the Big Team Championship (outstanding),  Kyle Theret and Gary Tinsley got themselves suspended, Nebraska joined the Big Ten, and Royce White bolted for Iowa State, among other things.  

But with Gopher football on the horizon and hoops not far behind, there is now motivation to get back into the swing of posting more regularly.  So what's on tap here?  Again, all kinds of stuff.

We'll be putting together a set of Big Ten Football predictions, a quick look at some of the new faces we'll see on the gridiron this Fall, resuming the weekly Game Preview and 'What we learned' cycle, and more entries to 'Gopher Profiles in Courage'.  Gopher Bandanna Guy will be attending plenty of football games again this year, so expect more original photos and perhaps even some video footage.    

 So check in regularly, as we'll be attempting to pour on the content.

Looks like EA nailed it - The Bank immortalized in video gamedom

With the release of EA Sports NCAA Football 2011 a few weeks ago, The Bank is now officially part of the video game universe.  'Bout time.   

The game developers missed the deadline for last years 2010 game, and so its been finally included in this years edition.  Judging by the video though, it was worth the wait - they nailed it.  My only complaint is that it looks like they missed our Big Ten Titles and National Championships displayed proudly on the facade in front of the bottom of the upper deck.  In some ways this video game version is better though, as it is advertisement free.  Not a TCF, Arby's, Cenex, or Coca-Cola logo to be seen.  In other words, its the stadium as I wish it would have been.  Not that I'm complaining about the real stadium.  Corporate advertising aside, its nearly perfect in my biased opinion.

For you schlubs who haven't been to the new digs yet, here's a photo for comparison.

Yeah, well, that's like, your opinion, man - Surviving White Hot Hawkeye Hate.

Feeling masochistic?  Then check out the latest from 'The Rivalry, Esq'.  Deep breath Gopher friends.

Ugh, pretty rough, huh?  This guy takes some potshots, speaks some truth (admittedly), and generally does his best to put thumbtacks in the shoes of Gopher fans everywhere.  My hat is off to him.  The piece is well done.  This truly is hate-speech at its finest.  I wonder where the venom glands reside in this Squawkeye's body.

I do take issue with the notion that he feels like the rivalry Minnesota has with the Hawkeyes and Badgers no longer exists, simply because we've been down in football.  Both rivalries (and they are indeed just that) have ebbed and flowed with one side dominating the other for stretches.  Yes the last 3 decades have been brutal for us, but then the 70s and 60s were downright awful for Iowa.  And so it goes.

I did enjoy that the best he could come up with about our basketball program was suggesting that we'll soon be paying attention to "whoever replaces Tubby Smith", a notion that seems to be less and less likely with each growing day, particularly with the stellar recruiting class coming in once again (and just wait until Cory Joseph and Mo Walker commit)

Deal with it Hawkeyes - Tubby likes Minneapolis and will be wearing Maroon and Gold ties for a while, to dominate your pathetic group of talentless roundballers. I know, I know, this is the part where Hawkeye fans pretend they don't really care about basketball, and only football is important.  Don't worry.  You don't have to pretend - we saw your attendance last year.  Even if the seats were paid for - you weren't showing up.  You can enjoy our follies on the gridiron.  We'll enjoy yours on the hardwood. You like Mason/Brewster and their bumbling ways - we enjoyed Alford's dirtbaggishness and Lickliter's in-over-his-headedness'.  Its all good.  Fair enough?

At least during the football offseason, you Squawkeye fans can enjoy some of that 'Broadway quality theatre in Des Moines' one of your bretheren has raved about.

Finally some news that will make us smile.

Suck it Souhan.

Screw you Dennis Dodd.

Put away your wallet Phil Knight.

The Associated Press reports that Tubby is working on a contract extension, and NOT looking for a new job.

Forgive me if I find the AP slightly more credible than a blogger from CBS Sportsline, and a 'columnist' who takes pot shots at bald first year coaches of Sweet 16 teams, while being a bald-o himself (see his latest idiotic quip about Tubby here).

If you don't believe that, then go straight to the top for an answer.  I know, I know, he's just delivering the company line here.  Still he seems pretty damn sincere to me.  I'm putting my trust in Tubby to not let us down.  Of course, perhaps Phil Knight is loading up a second dump truck with money right now... sigh.  Everyone, EVERYONE has a price.

Its time to make my April, Mr. Orlando Smith.  Re-up for another 6 years, and get Cory Joseph to commit.

Suddenly, a new leader has emerged in insulting your sports intelligence - Dim Jim shoots from the hip.

Not content to let Fat Pat be the only writer to get his jabs in at the Gophs, Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan has produced his own form of hot, steaming compost over the last few days.  Oh good. I haven't read an article explaining why we shouldn't really care about Golden Gopher basketball or anything else with the block 'M' attached to it in awhile.  Wait a minute, yes I have.  I won't get into too many of the details, as 'The Daily Gopher's' PJS does a outstanding job dissecting the latest nonsense that passes for sports opinion these days.  This is a must read, as it brilliantly takes a part Souhan's laziness and utter disregard for actually KNOWING something about the topic he decided to tackle.  Read Souhan's mess of an editorial first though, before seeing it sliced apart.  Its worth the reaction.

Next, after creating his little piece of bulletin board material for the Musketeers, and being thanked by Xavier coach, Chris Mack (whom he ironically - see Souhan's own picture above - refers to as 'Whiny McBaldwhimp'), he churns out a truly insulting post in his blog that suggests that Jamie Dixon would 'eat him (Mack) alive' in the next round, among other things.  Hmm.  How'd that work out for Chris Mack last Sunday?  And 'Whiny McBaldwhimp' - what the hell is that?  Souhan looks like Harry Shearer's (see other pic) estranged kid brother (sorry Harry, I love ya, but neither of you are exactly tough guys).  But hey, all I know is that Chris Mack guided Xavier into the Sweet 16 in his first season, and definitely proved that they deserved that #6 seed.  Clearly making the Gophs underdogs, both conventionally (the Selection committee saw it this way), and posthumously - the #6 beat our #11.

Worst of all, one of his 'favorite moments' at the Bradley Center was an exaggerated (to the benefit of Wisconsin Badger fans no less), somewhat pointless slice of Session 1. His moment? "Wisconsin fans roaring throughout the Bradley Center when the Badgers came back against Wofford.  Even though Pitt was playing Oakland in the Bradley Center, and the Wisconsin game was available only on TVs in the corridors."  Huh?  It wasn't as if the place was packed with Badger fans (it wasn't), there was hardly a roar in the place (a dull cheer at best). More like a sigh of relief after Jon Leuer hit the game clinching free throws.  I know, cause I was standing out there in the concourse watching it.  It had become more compelling than the game going on 10 steps away. Really by the time this all happened, the Bradley Center was over half empty, as Pitt had Oakland well under control, and most of the Gopher and Xavier fans had emptied out onto the streets.  Why exaggerate this, if not to somehow juxtapose Badger fans loyalty versus Gopher fans?  Ah, but I'm sure I'm just being hyper-sensitive. 

What it really comes down to with Dim Jim and Fat Pat is that I'm starting to believe that these two are just writing this crap in an effort just to see how many people who unapologetically follow the Gophers through thick and thin, they can drive insane. Congratulations guys, its working (on me at least).  Somebody more levelheaded than me please tell me I'm wrong, and that these guys are just calling it down the middle.  Maybe I'm too 'duckies and bunnies' on the U.  I'm fine with that if I am. And I certainly won't pretend to be something I'm not.  But I also don't think everything the athletic department does is beyond criticism either though (my disdain of Jedd Fisch in 2009 for example). 

Then again, maybe these two (Souhan and Reusse) are just complete douchebags, working for a dying medium that frankly, deserves to die if these are the best opinion writers they can employ.  Hey guys, guess what? I might read your columns for the sake of sado-masochism, but I don't buy your newspaper, and I generally don't support your advertisers.  Maybe if you actually played things down the middle once in a while and weren't so goddamn lazy in your research, you'd help circulation pick up.   Try it.  It couldn't hurt, could it?  Its not like the paper is tanking or anything.  Oh, wait...

Now, before your head explodes - get over to the Daily Gopher for that great dissection of the crap Souhan has been churning out.

Gophers can't top Musketeers - the 2009-10 season comes to a close.

Despite the outcome, still had a great time at the BC for the Milwaukee NCAA regional.  Attended the pre-game for Minnesota fans at Bootleggers, and it was Gopherrific to see so much Maroon and Gold in one place, all unified and postive.  The bartenders were kept very busy all morning.  After a couple hours of imbibing, I headed into Session 1 with my bud TKL who is a NU and IU alum, and Big Ten thru and thru.

A number of observations/comments:

• Since it was a weekday and before 6pm, the parking situation around the BC was not real good.  All on-street parking on side streets were 3 hour max or less.  I ended up in a ramp that raked you to pay for parking during both sessions 1 and 2.
• On my 9:30 am walk from the ramp to Bootleggers, I walked past not one, but two separate Iowa Hawkeye fans.  By the second one, I was so bewildered at the sight of them that I said to him "What are you guys here shopping for a coach?"  He ignored me.
• Bootleggers was full up of Maroon and Gold.  Pretty awesome.  They had two huge U of Minn Alumni flags hanging from the rafters. The Rouser spontaneously broke out a few times, and spirits were high.  At one point, a large banner was unfurled that said "It's Tubby Time - Let's Dance" or something like that.  Very cool.  
• A group of Oakland fans swung into Bootleggers, and were definitely enjoying themselves.  A fun bunch.
• The BC got pretty full up by midway through the 1st Half, when the corner upper deck seats get filled up, good to see, since a number of the Thursday regional games had a lot of empty seats.
• Xavier and Minnesota brought vocal crowds, both were on top of the game and rallied around their teams at the right moments.
• No beer sales in the BC, no doubt due to NCAA stipulations.  Stuck with Pepsi products.  Got bad gut-rot from a soda.  A little beer will put out that fire.
• Headed back to Bootleggers after Session 1, with a pit stop at the Calderone Pub first.  Nice mix of fans from all the teams in the regional there.  
• Bootleggers was no longer the Gopher haven it was when I left there that morning.  Badger fans had decended upon it, and the Gopher fans started to disperse.  Still our banners were up and we were flying the flag
• Finally the Bootleggers staff start to take down the huge 'Welcome M Alumni' flags.  I offer to buy  one off the guy taking it down, but he states that these belong to the Alumni Association, to which I reply "I'm in the Alumni Association! Sell it to me!"  No dice.

Panoramic view from our seats in Sec 221.

Obstructed view, but close enough that I didn't care.

Goldy keepin' it real, while the Musketeer looks on.

Goldy and the bench look on in the 1st Half.

Tubby paces the sidelines.

For some reason my camera chose to focus on Blake - I thought it kinda made this pic cool.

LW inbounds during the second half.

Gopher Nation stands to acknowledge the seniors, Westbrook, Johnson, and Bostick.

Its over, its all over.

Gopher Bandanna Guy and TKL just glad to be a part of March Madness.

Ralph Sampson the 2nd.  Certainly the tallest man currentlyin the building. Very likely the tallest man currently in the State of Wisconsin. And quite possibly the tallest man currently in the upper Midwest.  Also see Bryant Allen sitting with friends, and Paul Carter sitting with sister on the bottom of photo.

Game 2 - Pitt brings out their lovely cheerleaders, and apparently one grouchy one.  Smile dear, you're at the Big Dance!

The Oakland Golden Grizzly.  I thought he was pretty cool.  Huge head, might be one of the biggest I've ever seen on a mascot.

Pitt sets up the offense.

With Pitt firmly in control, the stands empty out, but the Oakland Grizz faithful stick to the end.

Gone Dancin' - Gopher Bandanna Guy is out for the Big Dance.

Big Dance here I come! Okay, so admittedly its not a very long trip.  Really just a 35 minute drive from my home, and even less from my office.  Its in my backyard, and I'm no stranger to the Bradley Center (affectionately known as 'the BC') or the surrounding scene, being a Bucks Season ticket holder. And I'm also no stranger to attending NCAA Tournament games.  But this will be the first I attend where the beloved Maroon and Gold are playing for something (I can't count the 1997 Final Four, as I didn't get in the RCA Dome).

My Dad got me hooked on Tourney Time when I was just a freshman in high school, when he pulled me out of school to accompany him to the 1992 Milwaukee Regional.  By the end of the 6 games, it ended up as one of my favorite sports memories ever as a kid. The regional was chalk until the 2nd round.  I'll never forget the end of the game matching #7 seed Georgia Tech vs.  #2 seed USC.  Matt Geiger inbounded to James Forrest with 0.8 seconds left for a game-winning catch and shoot.  You've surely seen that moment before on many a 'One Shining Moment' montages from years past (and if not, the link will show you - its only 40 seconds).  I was there, and loving every second of it.  But what only people who were there know about that game, was that the supposedly neutral crowd became very pro-Georgia Tech early on. Mid-first half,  the crowd turned on USC and their star player, Harold 'Baby Jordan' Miner, after he displayed his showpony pre-freethrow routine by obnoxiously passing the ball through his legs and around his back.  Boos rained down from there on, and the Milwaukee crowd got solidly behind Bobby Cremins' crew.  That's one of the things that makes the Big Dance so great, seemingly neutral basketball fans or fans of other teams not involved, can and will rabidly turn against the favorite, or the team of a player that simply turns everyone off.  Since then, I've enjoyed so many great tournament games, as I'm sure all of us have.  This just reinforced my love of this, the greatest of American sporting events.  Screw the Super Bowl.  Tourney Time is where it's at. No doubt about it.

And since that regional, I've been sold on the glory that is attending the NCAA Tournament in person.  I took in the 1st/2nd round Milwaukee '96 when Tim Duncan came to town, the '97 Final Four when the Clem and the Gophers stormed Indianapolis (although we didn't get into the game, as it was cost-prohibitive), the '02 3rd/4th round games in Madison when 4 big progams laden with NBA talent (much of it marginal, admittedly) rolled into town - Texas, Illinois, Kansas, and Oregon. And lastly, I fulfilled one of my minor goals in life by taking my Dad to the Final Four in Detroit last year, as my way of thanking him for pulling me out of school for a life experience 17 years earlier (Thank you Dad -did I mention that he was also the Principal of my school at the time?).

That brings me up to the present.  Ever since I nabbed my Session 1 tickets (almost immediately after seeing we landing the #11 seed in the Milwaukee regional last Sunday afternoon), I've been absolutely jacked up for this game against Xavier.  The chances for the Gophers to land in a Milwaukee regional are pretty slim on any given year, due to the fact that, a) Milwaukee only hosts about every 4-6 years, and b) the Gophers don't make the tournament all that frequently (that's changing though...).  This is could quite literally be a once-in-decades opportunity.  And so I'm seizing it.

Over Friday (and hopefully Sunday) Gopher Bandanna Guy will be running around 4th and State, photo documenting the fun, and the game itself.  Check back, as I'll have pics, musings, and reflections on the general vibe of the event.  I plan on spending my pre-game Friday morning over at 'Bootleggers' on Ye Olde Worlde Thirde Streete, which has been designated 'Gopher Nation headquarters' by the UMAA.  Then heading into Session 1 for the Minnesota-Xavier and Pitt-Oakland games.  After that its up in the air - scalp back in for the Session 2 Ohio State-UCSB and Georgia Tech-Oklahoma State games?  Meet up with some friends and settle in on Water Street?  Will Gopher Bandanna Gal shut down all the fun and call me home? Who knows?  Win or lose, the day should be memorable.

As far as a breakdown on the game vs. the Musketeers goes, frankly I'm too excited to think rationally and critically on this one, and there are plenty of other speculators out there you can turn to.  I'll just give my prediction and leave it at that.
Gophers pull the upset 71 - 66, on the strength of DJ's defense and some hot Westbrook shooting.


That's it for now - check back Saturday night for Friday's recap.  GO GOPHERS!!!

Surprise, surprise - Fat Pat Strikes Again.

Saturday was another great day to be a Gopher basketball fan.  It was Tubby Time at its finest.  After pounding the Nittany Lions into giving up basketball until Fall on Thursday, and then wrestling a win away from the always tough Izzo-led Spartans on Friday evening, the Gophs came out hot and absolutely BURIED Purdue.  Now tomorrow we're in the Tournament Championship vs. Evan Turner and his Buckeye friends.  Pretty exciting stuff, and the team is peaking at the right time.

Who cares if the motivation behind the team's success is from the disrespect they were shown by the media and coaches in the conference awards, or if they're just gelling when they need to?  Winning is winning - and it counts whether Robbie Hummel or Chris Allen plays or not.  Well, not to our good friend Patrick Reusse.  Not content to write the standard congratulatory editorial (the kind you'd see in the 10 other Big Ten towns), complementing Tubby for getting the team to play their best ball now, and look past the troubles they've dealt with (and to a large degree overcome), Reusse delivers another series of paragraphs that backhandedly compliment the Gophs, and downplay the recent hot streak.  Its clear to me that this is just another article designed to get the casual fan who might be suddenly interested in watching the Gophers take on OSU or a 1st round opponent in the Big Dance, to be dissuaded from caring about this team because he needs to remind everyone that they underachieved.  Ironically, Just Jake and I were conversing via phone after the win, and I (somewhat rhetorically) asked him how long he thought it would be until Reusse spun this negative.  He laughed and said 'not long'.  I agreed, but even I was stunned to see that it took less than 6 hours after the win for him to take another sucker punch at Tubby and Company.

Why the hell is this guy so motivated in making people jaded on the Gophers?  I have no idea, but Reusse seems to be committed to tearing down any good feelings that might generate around the football or basketball programs.  We (the fans who follow the program) all know the team has underachieved this season.  We all acknowledge that they've had some character issues (Mbakwe and White).  We realize the Nolen suspension was unfortunate.  We get that Sampson and Iverson are still developing, and we knew there would be growing pains along the way.  Yup. We get all that.  But I guess if we're to listen to this hack, we shouldn't enjoy the success now, knowing that.  Thanks for setting us straight Mr. Reusse.

Devoe All Growed Up

Well, Devoe Joseph ain't all growed up yet, but he's taking some big steps. His stone-cold shooting in OT was marvelous to behold; not only for the results (obviously) but just as much that someone OTHER than Larry "Don't Call Me Bryant" Westbrook had the brass tacks and cojones to take big shots with a defender in his face in crunch time. He sure doesn't seem to like our half-court sets; then again, NO ONE on our teams seems to like the half-court sets. Hope he can rectify that in the off-season. Funnily enough, I got a vmail from a buddy at the end of regulation who declared Devoe, and I quote, "Devoe Joseph is a F'n Mess. He is one of the worst point guards I've EVER SEEN on our team..." That's the sort of positivity I love from fellow Gopher fans! Personally, I'm excited to see Devoe continue to grow tonight and in the post-season (NIT or NCAA). It's gonna get real interesting when Nolen is back next year, and if we can land Devoe's little bro (and supposedly superior guard) Cory next year. That will be a stacked guard rotation.

It's been nice these first to conference tourney games seeing the Gophs morph into the team we all saw they had the potential to be earlier this year. The sheer domination of PSU was a prime example of our depth, talent, and determination (DJ especially in his FU to the moron coaches who kept him off the all D team), and last night's MSU game was a study in mental and physical toughness. Once the refs decided they'd only randomly called soft fouls, we got down to the business of banging around -- a big thanks to a guy I've been up and down on these last 2 years -- Colton Iverson. His clear out box-out (at the 0:28 mark) that led to a DJ dunk was a prime example of that. For better or worse, it appears that in big games this year, we really need a whole lotta of Iverson time (Butler earlier, MSU, etc) to win big games.

Tonight's game with the Boilers is gonna be fun. I personally hope we see a lot of RSIII as I think his game matches well with Purdue's long athletes. I really want to beat Purdue, especially since the slow, white hack that is Chris Kramer irritates the hell out of me. Defensive Player of the Year my arse.

Prediction: Gophers 73 - Purdue 68

NCAA Tournament here we come?

Probably not unless we win 2 more games.  However,  I get this weird feeling that if we can get by Michigan State tomorrow evening, we will win the entire Conference Tourney.  And if that happens - Damian Johnson will be crowned tournament MVP.  Book it.

I am probably completely off base here, but I wanted to throw this out here so I'm on record.  Either way, a solid tune-up win vs. Penn State.

GO GOPHS!  BEAT SPARTY!

Big Ten Men's Basketball Awards a Big Time Snub.

Today the Big Ten revealed their Men's Basketball All-Big Ten teams, and for the most part it appeared they got it right. McCamey, Lucas, Turner, Hummel, and Moore got 1st team.  Fine, a great group that seems right to me (maybe Shurna over E'Twaun?).  2nd team? Sims, Shurna, Battle, JaJuan, and Hughes.  Yup. Seems OK.  3rd team?  Harris, Green, Morgan, Buford, Bohannon. Whatever, things get pretty subjective down on the 3rd team, and I'm not a fan of Bohannon at all, but that's fine.  Player of the Year - Evan Turner.  Very good, definitely deserved it.  So where's the snub you ask?

Gopher senior forward Damian Johnson, affectionately known as 'DJ Swat' in the Gopher blogosphere came up completely empty.  Not making 3rd team or even honorable mention was one thing.  But not making the All-Defensive Team?  This is a snub in the truest sense of the word.  Damien led the Big Ten in steals (58 at 1.9 spg), and was third in blocks (57 at 1.9 bpg, and arguably inch-for-inch the best shot blocker in the conference, given his height relative to the other leading shot stuffers in the conference.

Members of this 2010 All-Defensive team include: Nash, Lauderdale, Jajuan, Kramer, and Hughes.  So who should Damian have supplanted?  Either Lauderdale, Nash, or JJ in my opinion.  Damian is a better all-around defender than any of these guys, and his numbers prove it (at least in the case of Lauderdale and Nash).  Both Lauderdale and Jajuan were slightly better shot blockers, but neither show up anywhere near the top 15 in steals.  And while its true that DJ is not quite as good a rebounder as those two, DJ's ability to defend on the ball, in the post, or on the top of the zone makes him a far more versatile defender than either of these two.  He's also probably the best help side defender in the conference.  Damian's combined rebound, blocks, and steals per game average is 8.2, while JaJuan Johnson is at 10.0, but heavily weighted towards rebounds (7.2 rpg).  Lauderdale is at an 8.0, with 3 times fewer steals per game.  Nash is at a paltry 6.1, and probably played more zone defense than anybody else on the list.  Clearly, DJ Swat's multi-talented approach to defense is not appreciated by the coaches or media.  Which seems odd to me, because he causes all kinds of matchup problems for opposing teams. 

What's even more frustrating to me though is that Larry Westbrook was the Gopher's lone representative on the awards sheet, as an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. Not because Minnesota only got one award winner (I'm fine with that given the team's balance and depth), but because this award was clearly given to Westbrook because some media writer opened the Gopher's statbook, and saw that LW led the team in scoring (and only by a slim margin).  Westbrook contributed little more than scoring this year, while Johnson did everything.  Case in point, Senior Night was an analog for his entire career of filling up the stat sheet in ways other than just scoring - scoring 10 points while dishing out 11 assists, 5 boards, 3 blocks, and 3 steals.  In 23 minutes.  At least give him a slight modicum of recognition.  

Oh, by the way 2 players from Iowa managed more accolades than Damian. Yeah, that seems about right. Thanks for nothing coaches and media members.  You all suck.

If Dr. Tom was dead, he'd be spinning in his grave: Gophs destroy Hawkeyes

Ain't it fun playing the Squawk-eyes?  They truly are terrible.  Unathletic, slow, and pale.  The maroon and gold had their way on Sunday, and it was fun to watch.  Pretty much every minute of it.  My only gripe were Wayne Larivee's continued insistence that this was each of the Gopher seniors' last game in Barn.  Wayne, did anybody bother to mention to you that at this point we're pretty much a lock to host an NIT game or two?

It was great to see Westbrook and Johnson go off on Senior night.  Hell, even Bostick got some love.  I know LW has been the subject of a lot of criticism throughout the year for his pouting and temperment, but I still love the guy for how he can light it up some nights, and has the fearlessness take any shot.  DJ played a game that was an analog for his entire productive career at Minnesota. 10 points, 11 assists, 5 boards, 3 steals, and 3 blocks in 23 minutes.  Yeah, I know Iowa is horrid, but that's serious production in limited time.

What's really a shame is that he won't be recognized as Big Ten Defensive POY, an award I think he deserves. Chris Kramer and David Lighty are nice defenders (and my guesses for Def-POY), but in my opinion they don't contribute to the defense the same way DJ does. DJ may not be a true shut down defender, but much of his defense is played coming from the help side.  Damien steals and blocks, and as such creates offensive opportunities for his teammates.  He's inch-for-inch the best shot blocker in the Big Ten, ranked 3rd in the Big Ten, and with nothing but centers around him statistically.  He leads the conference in steals. He constantly deflects balls in the passing lane.  And he's a nightmare matchup in a zone.  What more can the kid do?  Come on writers - give DJ Swat a little love (great nickname from 'The Daily Gopher', along with a nice summary of the graduating seniors).  He deserves this award.

What's really disappointing about today is that had we not laid an egg against Michigan or won one of the last second heartbreakers, we'd have taken 5th place in the standings, as Illinois got taken apart by Wisconsin. That would have made our tourney hopes look a lot better right now.  Such is life as a Gopher fan.  Its hard to figure this team out. They can be so sharp some nights, and like absolute dogs the next. Inconsistency is our middle name.  Still, I think a win over Penn State (who look like a very dangerous team to face right now) and then a win over the Spartans in the second round will put us in, unless some dark horse wins the B-10 tourney (the B-10 tourney bracket came out a few hours ago).  Anybody else agree?