1 hour and 58 minutes

The Sponsors

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers.

1. Hockey - Recapping the Frozen Four

Starts at 0:51

We gotta talk about the hockey tournament. The fake hockey tournament. Whether they won or lost, it doesn't change anything about who this team was. Michigan played well enough to win, but one shot in nine minutes ended it. Almost every year it's not the best team that wins, it's usually Duluth or Denver. Denver is like the UConn men's basketball of hockey. There's no emotional story to apply your fandom to when it's just randomness. Denver's lack of penalties that were objectively bad no-calls just doesn't make it feel fair, especially the way they called Michigan's penalty in OT. even Alex and David think it was egregious, the players that poured their hearts into this deserve better. There is something wrong with this tournament, there would be a lot more respect for Buccigross if he would say something along those lines. There's not something wrong with Michigan, there's something wrong with the tournament. Imagine if in basketball they just stopped calling fouls in OT.

2. Hockey - Looking Ahead

Starts at 27:50

Moldenhauer and Hage have announced returns. Apparently players have been informed to avoid the AHL if they can, college is a lot more enjoyable. Jack Nesbitt is the 12th overall pick and could be coming in, he's a TJ Hughes replacement. He's in the OHL playoffs and might not make a decision right away. Cameron Reid could also be coming in from the OHL, 21st overall to Nashville. Perron is the biggest one on the fence, if you get him then all your holes are plugged. JP Hurlbert is coming in regardless but he might wait a year to contribute. Nick Seaman is coming in as a 4th liner, Cooper Dennis might get deferred (and is Alex Drain sized). A lot of teams will be better next season, but Penn State had Gavin McKenna and weren't that great. Michigan State isn't missing a beat. There are a lot more, and better, options than just going to the NHL these days. They should be a pre-season top three, or maybe even top one.

3. Hot Takes and Basketball Portal

Starts at 59:16

Takes hotter than the Denver Pioneers. The Red Wings need to make David Carle their head coach so they can win while being out-shot 2:1. This information might be outdated by the time you hear it! What is happening in the portal right now? Not much. Michigan gets JP Estrella out of Tennessee. He's a high efficiency but low usage player which is weird. He's a moneyball play vs getting Flory Bidunga. Otherwise there's not a lot of chatter. We're starting to expect Morez Johnson to return. Michigan needs a true rim protecting center and could probably also use a starting three. Juke Harris is worth going after but not worth the big bag, give that to the Seton Hall center, Najai Hines. Freshman Brandon McCoy went to a camp and looks like a guy you could have for 20 minutes a game. There's a trust of Dusty in the portal that the fanbase didn't have with Juwan. The Big Ten runs college basketball now. How would Beilein have done during this era?

4. Spring Game Preview

Starts at 1:38:41

Spring Game is this weekend at 2pm, 12-18 starters will be sitting out. Bryce will probably play since they don't have enough quarterbacks, we better see Savion Hiter. Position groups are going to be split into balanced squads rather than have a draft, making it more like a controlled practice than a real game. In years past it was frustrating to see future NFL linemen with a walk-on running back behind them, you can't learn much from that. We expect to see a more evolved version of the offense with more quarterback runs. There is Travis Johnson buzz at wide receiver. Brian doesn't want to hear about Kendrick Bell. Hogan Hanson is generating excitement and the offensive line has intriguing positional battles. Evan Link is back and might play, Babalola is not playing yet. Whittingham is good at running the quarterback, it won't be the 2011 offense but it should be effective. The coaches apparently like the depth on the defensive line and think it's the strength of the team, which, ehhhh. Brian breaks down why this is not true. They trust Palepale. Do you prefer EDGE or ED? Linebacker depth is a concern, they don't really have anyone to back up the three main guys. The secondary should be settled in. Shamari Earls is making a move at corner. Who's at nickel now? If Rod Moore isn't on the field in the spring game then enjoy a nice coaching career. Kerry Coombs brings a lot of old guy energy and gets mic'd up a lot. Jay Hill is like the mormon kid from South Park. Don't blame us if it rains.

MUSIC:

"I Root"—Michael Nau
"Sitting Still"—Michael Rault
"Sails Across the Sea"—Boz Metzdorf
“Across 110th Street”—JJ Johnson and his Orchestra