Wolverine Wednesday: Mid-Week News and Notes

• Rumor mill is spinning that The Big 10 Athletics Directors and Presidents are meeting and planning on how to handle football in the Fall.   The best bet is some type of limited regional schedule.   We will see how it plays out.   One idea is to play, every other week to protect against positive tests.  This would be interesting as long at they tier the games, so we have Big Ten Football every Saturday.  Side note, please don't have Warde negotiate any of the games or terms.  

• Xavier Worthy, 4 star California WR is expected to announce his decision on Friday.  His nickname is flash and his speed has been described as "explosive".   Seems to be down to a Wolverine or Ducks decision.   Insiders believe he has already silently committed to one of those schools.  😀

• Grand Rapids 4 star guard Kobe Bufkin is announcing his decision on Friday.  Looks good for the good guys! 

• MSU Basketball got a commitment from 5 star guard Max Christie yesterday.  Big pick-up for the Spartans. 

• Pioneer HS 3 star WR Ali Fisher has committed to Buffalo.  Congrats! 

• 2022 Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick pro-style quarterback Kaden Cobb is expected to talk today to Michigan QB coach Ben McDaniels. 

• DeWitt HS will open their football season against Traverse City Central at Michigan Stadium, it seems there will be a number of opening day HS games at the Big House.  

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/07/wolverine-wednesday-mid-week-news-and.html

Federal funds will help community development around Maryland military bases

A newly awarded federal grant will help support community development around military installations throughout the state.

from http://open.maryland.gov/blog/federal-funds-will-help-community-development-around-maryland-military-bases/

Michigan Tuesday: Basketball Recruiting Heating Up

Forbes

Michigan Basketball needs a boat load of players in the 2021 class.  The class size could be 6-7 players which is huge number in basketball recruiting. 

Michigan recently landed 4 star Isaiah Barnes from Chicago and yesterday at 6:00 AM they landed 3 star Will Tschetter from Minnesota.   Will is ranked #149 player in the country by 24/7 and Phil Martelli led his recruitment to Michigan. 

Will is a 6'8 225 pound forward and has nice range, he shot 45% from 3 last season.   His offer list included the likes of Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Cincy, and Arkansas and more.   Will is much closer to his floor then ceiling and is expected to be a multi-year player in Ann Arbor. 

Welcome big man! 

Michigan is also trending for Grand Rapids guard Kobe Bufkin.   Kobe is rated as a 4 star player and the 78 player and the 15th shooting guard in the nation by 24/7.   Kobe's offer list includes the likes of MSU, DePaul, Northwestern, Mizzu, and TCU.    Kobe's measurables are 6'4 and 175 pounds.   His name checks out!

Positive news is expected later this week. 

• Ivy League is expected to announce moving football to the Spring. 

• Charles Matthews finished his Michigan degree as he rehabbed from his ACL injury.   I still wonder if there is some type of insurance settlement after he inquired himself during an NBA Draft workout.  

• Andre Rison says an assistant coach hit him while he was at MSU.  

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/07/michigan-tuesday-basketball-recruiting.html

Maryland breweries continue to take flight in 2019

Craft brewing has taken flight across the nation, and with more and more breweries popping up across the U.S., it’s undeniable the business of brewing will only keep growing. Maryland is no stranger to this...

from http://open.maryland.gov/blog/maryland-breweries-continue-take-flight-2019/

Michigan Monday: Finally Some Schedule Rumors

We are now in early July and team practices will be starting soon.   Michigan still has a trip to Washington on the schedule for September 5th.  What the hell is going on? 

How is that game and others not being rescheduled?   Finally we are hearing rumors that Michigan and other Big Ten teams could be making some schedule changes very soon.   Michael Spath from SI finally published an article with what he is hearing about the schedule. 

I won't ruin the article if you want to read it but he did have a few shocking things in there.  He does expect Michigan to play football this season if at all possible.  Here are some of his other expectations:

• Some Big Ten Schools won't play football at all 
• Washington and Arkansas State games will be cancelled
• Those games will be replaced by regional MAC schools 
• ND could be a fill in game (due to driving distance)
• Michigan could play a home and home (yes, multiple games against the same team in the same season) against teams like IU, MSU, and OSU 

It seems the Big Ten or NCAA doesn't want to take a leadership role in this and be the first to announce changes, so schools are scrambling.   For example,  Western Michigan just replaced their opening weekend game from Colgate to Stony Brook.  Why wouldn't they travel an hour to the Big House?  Maybe that still can happen?

The States of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana seem to be in the drivers seat for this type of arrangement.  There are so many college programs in these states/region.  Just in state, U of M could play Central, Western, and Eastern.  Not to mention all the schools in Ohio that are very close like Toledo, Akron, and Bowling Green. 

If these massive changes are going to happen, they will have to happen soon, as these schedules have been in place for many years.  If your going to re-engineer your entire schedule, you will need plenty of time to complete that!  

One a side note, no thanks to multiple games against OSU.   Unless its in some Big Ten playoff tournament thing.  Let's play Toledo instead of ND, I like ND living with the outcome of the last game for the next 10 years.   Cincinnati is also 3+ hours from the Big House as well.   Let's relight the Harbaugh - Fickell feud. 

If this regional model does happen, how does that effect a Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska who just top of mind might have a harder time scheduling schools in driving distance.  

• Michigan Basketball landed a commitment at 6:00 AM today from 3 star Will Tschetter who is listed at 6'8" and 225 pounds from Minnesota.   I will update this commitment on Tuesday, as I need the content topics!  :-)

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/07/michigan-monday-finally-some-schedule.html

Michigan Thursday: JJ is Elite

Michigan's 5 star 2021 QB JJ McCarthy participated in Trent Dilfer's Elite 11 competition this past week.  He was picked in the Top 11 (no order was given) after participating in 3 days worth of work outs.   This years ranking included junior highlight tapes and workout this past week.  Many that watched the workouts thought JJ did well and has a very live arm and could make all the throw.   The only issues mentioned was he is a bit thin right now and not really a threat as a runner.   SI had JJ ranked as high as #2 at the camp.

JJ is going to take a family vacation before heading to IMG for a semester.   He then will enroll at U of M in January. 

Kwity Paye gives us an update on the COVID processes the players are going through:

“When we first get into Schem, we have to go through the new inside of Schem,” Paye said. “Once we get there, we have to get our temperature checked and we have to fill out a survey every day to make sure we’re not experiencing any symptoms. Once we do that, we walk in, get our stuff from our lockers and go change. Once you do that, you can never come back from where you came, so you continue in a forward line. So once you get your stuff and change in the locker room, you can’t go back to the locker room – you can’t back through the front way. You have to go back through the locker room, enter onto the field and then you go train and stuff like that. Make sure you wash your hands before you touch any doors, before you touch any bottles, stuff like that.

“It’s good – our guys are doing a very great job of keeping us safe, making sure we’re wearing masks everywhere we go in the building. Just making sure we’re not spreading or contracting the virus in any way.”

“All of the strength coaches have to wear their masks,” Paye said. “If they want to come and spot us or anything, they have to put on an additional head gear equipment that prevents any germs, stuff like that. They have to put on extra layers to really, really prevent (transmission). If you break it down, chemicals, when you touch each other, it breaks down when we’re at rest or whatever. (We stay) six feet apart.”

• Michigan DE target Dallas Turner picked Alabama yesterday.  

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/07/michigan-thursday-jj-is-elite.html

Wolverine Wednesday: More Notes Then News

• JJ McCarthy is preforming well at the Elite 11 competition this week.   He is currently ranked #7 by 24/7 after Day 1, #9 after Day 2.   Seems the evaluators love his arm talent but is a bit thin and not a running threat. 

• I know Fred Wilpon is a Michigan man and made billions of dollars but his Bobby Bonilla deal where he wanted to save almost $6M to invest with Madoff has to be one of the worst contracts in all of sports.  If you don't know the story, the Mets didn't want to pay out Bobby's contract in 2000 (because they wanted to break the bank with Madoff ) so they signed a long term payout deal with Bobby and his agent with interest that started in 2011 and last 25 years.  Bobby is 57 and will be one of the highest paid players in this shorten season.  His take is 1.2M a year until 2035.  Today is Bobby Bonilla payout day and I'm sure he is smiling somewhere.  Even Charlie Weis thinks this is a good deal.    

• High School Football in the Spring is currently under consideration in Michigan. 

• How in the world is Michigan Football going to travel to Washington in 2 months?  When are we going to hear that game has been cancelled or re-scheduled?

• Former Michigan Football player Russ Furrha is opening a coffee shop across from the Big House and Pioneer.  Russ played for Rich Rod. 

• A man who threated Ohio State players and a shooting on campus during the Michigan-OSU in Columbus in 2018 is expected to plead guilty today.    

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/07/wolverine-wednesday-more-notes-then-news.html