Monday Blues

Quick and depressing (at least mostly) musings for this Monday:

Uuugh:

1. Mario Manningham's burning significantly depressed his nfl value, moving him from "high" 2nd round to a 3rd round pick;

2. Adrian Arrington really should have stayed in school. He would have been far better off than going to the Saints in the 7th (that's right, the seventh round);

3. Mike Hart has always been slow (that's depressing by itself) but apparently he was so slow that he couldn't get drafted above these running backs when he was drafted the 202nd pick, in the 6th round: Jerome Felton of Gurman, Matt Forte of Tulane, Tim Hightower of Richmond, Xavier Omon of Northwest Missouri State, Marcus Thomas of UTEP, Owen Schmitt and Steve Slaton of WVA, and Jalen Parmele of Toledo.

4. Jamar Adams didn't get drafted.

5. Ryan Mundy leaves the Michigan program, is chastised and universally referred to as Ryan Yards After Mundy by Michigan bloggers and many nonblogging Michigan fans, is drafted in the 6th round (ahead of Mike Hart, even);

6. Epkeh Udoh still hasn't announced he's not transferring (is this like waiting for RoJo to commit to USC?)

Not so Uuuugh:

1. YAC Mundy was drafted, but only after transferring to the West Virgina Frauduversity where he studied ginsu ninja warrior techniques under the zen master Mike Barwis who is now teaching ginsu ninja warrior techniques to the University of Michigan.

2. Mike Hart was drafted ahead of Jehuu Caulcrick (who was not drafted at all) Poor little brother.

3. Steve Slaton, Owen Schmitt and Ryan Mundy were all whipped into shape by and drafted in part because of their ginsu ninja warrior zen master Mike Barwis.

4. Jerome Felton from Furman did 30 bench press reps, the most of any running back, in the combines, and is referred to as an extraordinary short yardage back. Maybe he can actually make the team:

Compares To: JEROME BETTIS-ex-Pittsburgh...Felton is much quicker than Bettis, but both display the powerful frame that allows them to break tackles and drag multiple defenders in attempts to gain additional yardage. Felton is a devastating scorer when near the goal line and has shown decent receiving skills out of the backfield. He might be a better fit in a one-back offense, but he has enough hip snap to play tailback and the upper body strength to play fullback, making him a valuable prospect due to his versatility.

Draft Day

So, it's draft day '08 and I'll try to follow the significant events for Michigan fans and picks of local interest.

1. Jake. No further words necessary. (The first of two likely Wolverine first round picks. (Hey Millen, how about taking Chad after trading down a few notches?? -- Or maybe you could just take another MSU wide receiver. That'd be a good idea.)

2. Long Number 2 is expected, according to the espn guys and The Doo (Mel Kiper, also known as TD).

Aaaannd: Yes, The Doo nailed it.

3. Atlanta is supposed to take Matt Ryan. The Doo is going to continue to gush over him the next 10 minutes. Trade?

Bonus Material: Did anyone at ESPN consider telling Shannon Sharpe that he looked like a circus clown?

Aaaannd: No surprise, other than Sharpe's outfit.

4. Oakland. Will they stay with the offense for Lane Kiffin, or will Al Davis stick it to his coach and take a defensive star after Lane wanted to fire the defensive staff, but Davis wouldn't let him? If offense, it's McFadden. If defense, I'd guess it will be Dorsey.

Aaaaand: Kiffin wins.

RED WINGS: GOOOOOOOAAL. 1-0 WINGS.

5. KC on the clock. This is a toss up, as far as I'm concerned. KC could use some Dline help. They should go with Dorsey. We'll see.

Aaaand: Dorsey it is. Wow, Herbstreit trying to cover up his buckeye favortism by saying that Dorsey is the best DL in the draft and the best DT in 13 years.

6. Jets: McFadden is gone, who they surely would have taken. Would they take VG if Dorsey is gone to KC?

Bonus Material: Not that my vote counts, but with the way this is potentially shaking out, I'd love to see the Cowboys give the Lions some draft picks for Roy Williams here. Can't imagine that Matty would make a smart move, but . . .

Aaaaand: FWIW, they should take a look at Chad or Flacco here. Pennington is, shall we say, very bad? That probably doesn't cover it, actually.

VG it is.

7. It doesn't seem possible, but New England is picking 7th. Doesn't seem right, does it. Will they take VG? Will they trade down? We know they aren't taking Vernon. I really have no idea who they'll actually take here. But, I'd be thinking defense were I Belichek.

Will it be Rivers? Personally, I'd like to see them trade down. But who's going to jump up here? Maybe Millen to draft a receiver?

Aaand: TRADE! Sean Payton, huh. We know him. We contacted him. How about Rivers?

Ellis. I think this is a great pick. I actually believe he could be better than Dorsey and Ghoston. I was hoping he'd be there at the Lions pick. O'well.

8. Already, Jacksonville moves up to Baltimore's pick. Mort says they have the guy in mind. Thought he said Harvey. Missed part of it. The Doo likes Mendenhall in this area on his chart.

Aaand: The Doo says they'd be crazy to move up to pick the "23rd best player in the draft". Wow. Harvey. Dumb move, in my mind. He would have been there later. Why would they trade all the way to 8th to take Harvey. Why not try to trade with Chicago, the Lions, or someone a little lower?

BTW, what a GREAT trade for Baltimore. 4 picks for one. Nice move.

9. Cincinnati: Who will become the next felon?

Aaand: Looks like Rivers as he's crying before the commercial break.

It is so.

10. New England is back. They missed out on Rivers, if they wanted him. They needed LB help.

Aaaand. Mayo. Darn it. That's a Lions pick, too. Major bummer. Maybe they did miss out on Rivers, as Mayo and Rivers play the same position, and Rivers universally higher ranked by the pundits, and The Doo.

GOOOOOOOAAAAAL. Franzen. 2-0

GOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLL! 3-0. Right between goalie legs.

11. Buffalo: I missed this entirely while watching 2 goals in a minute by the Wings. Missed The Doo. They took the CB McKelvin.

12. Denver. All set at quarterback are the Broncos. Henne won't be it.

Aaand: Ryan Clady, Boise. Tackle. Good pick. This is the type of guy that we can expect to see on Michigan's OL athletically in tye next 4-5 years.

GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAL Henrik. 4-0 Wings.


Followed by a McCarty fight!

13. Panthers. Missed it while watching the Wings score again, but Jonathon Stewart the 2nd back taken? Really? Why not Mendenhall? I shouldn't wonder after watching what he did to our sieve defense v. Oregon. But, I'm surprised. This is good for Mendenhall to Lions proponents, though.


14. Chicago: They're going to steal Mendenhall from the grasp of the Lions, were I a betting man. But, I've never bet. Not even on the Wolverines in the NIT in Vegas. So I don't know what I'm talking about.

I cannot imagine anyone taking Felix Jones in this range. He shouldn't go until the end of the 1st, for my money.

Aaaand: There goes one of the Lions 2 possibilities at tackle. Now probably Mendenhall of rhe tackle out of VT.

15. Millen's Miserious Lions: Conventional wisdom is Mendenhall or a tackle. As much as they need a wide out, I'm still hoping for a trade down for multiple picks. If not, Henne, Henne.

Please take Henne. Please take Henne. Please take Henne. Kitna must go. Stanton, muh, not so much. With Martz gone, we've got to think pounding the ball with play action passing, unlike Martz-ball. Henne would be perfect for this. But, he's also probably still available in 8 spots from now.

Hey, wow. Lions war room. Matt had his finger in his nose.

Wooooo. Trade to KC. Awesome move! This is good. Millen, Millen, Millen (what am I thinking?)

So, what do the Lions get: To pick two spots later, and. . . . Meh. The 5th round probably doesn't matter. They do, though, move up 10 spots in the 2nd round, so I guess that'll work out, so long as Arizona doesn't take who the M&M boys want--presumably Mendenhall.

KC takes: Brandon Albert from UVA. Intersting pick considering that he's not supposed to really be ready to play tackle. I thought the idea was to find out whether Coyle could hack it. Not sure how a nonstarter is going to do that.

16. Arizona takes a corner the Lions probably had no interest in, so, good trade and looks like they get Mendenhall at 17.

17. Millen's Not Quite as Miserious Lions:

Aaaaand: Noooooooooooooooooooo! Gozder Cherilus?????? Whyy?

Really. Why not just take the kid from UVA at 15? I like taking an offensive lineman. I don't like this offensive lineman at this spot. The Doo says a "C" grade.

18. Trade to Baltimore = Flacco. Ok. I guess. Cam Cameron takes Flacco instead of Chad. Huh. Chad will be next qb to go. Cam must have been lured by the helmet.

19. Eagles. This should be an offensive lineman. The guy from VT is still available. Trade. Jacksonville takes. . . .

Aaaaand. Otah. Well, there's a tackle Millen could have taken and expected to play. I do agree with The Doo, though, that Jacksonville gave up quite a bit.

20. Bucs. I dare you, Jon. Take the State receiver.

Aaand: I like it. DB from Kansas. Aquib alone is a great name. Not to mention Talib sounds really stinkin' good with Aquib. Nice pick, I think. I would've taken him for the Lions at 17. Apparently, though, Aquib does have Manningham Burning tendancies.

21. Redskins. Trade to Hotlanta. Sam Baker. USC. Interesting move by Atlanta. 6'5" OL to go with Matt Ryan. We're coming up to Chad Henne range here.

22. Dallas. Don't expect Dallas to take Henne, obviously. I'm betting Mendenhall. Maybe Felix.

Aaaand. Felix it is. Can't believe they took him before Mendenhall, really. I guess Mendenhall is a little more like Barber than Felix. Felix probably a little faster and trickier, but not as tough as Mendenhall. At what point does Detroit look to trade up a little to try to pick up Mendenhall?

23. Steelers. Some teams are smart. Others are not. Pitt falls in the former category. The Lions in the latter. The Lions reach to take an OL that probably would have dropped to the 2nd round. Maybe not, but certainly farther than they took him. On the other hand, Mendenhall drops all the way to 23, and Pitt pulls the trigger. Nice pick. This will be a little like having Bettis in the backfield, only Mendenhall may be better.

Aaaand. Mendenhall it is.

24. Tennessee. This could be a slot for Chad. If he doesn't go here, it looks like he could fall to the 2nd round. Well, considering that Nashville actually plans to use Vince Young as its quarterback (though I don't think he'll be around in 2 years) I suppose they really can't take Chad here. ESPN guys talkin' up Devin Thomas. Were it me, I'd take an OL to bolster that line.

Aaaand: Chris Johnson. Wow. Would not have expected a running back here. But, if a 4.24 is a real 40 time, that's amazing. Still wouldn't have pulled the trigger here for this team.

25. Seahawks. Huh. Trade to Dallas, and Dallas picks cb Mike Jenkins. I thought they picked up Pac Man? This guy is blazingly fast. From South Florida. And he returns kicks, including a 100 yarder last year. The 'boys will not be hurting for speed in this draft after taking Jones and Jenkins, plus they'll have Pac Man, who at least before being evicted from the NFL was pretty fast.

26. Texans. Duane Brown. Tackle. VT. Quite the run on OLs. This is a guy who does not look as athletic as Gozder. I'll give the Lions credit here. The Doo had him ahead of Gozder.

Ok. So I took some time off. I realize I have wrongfully called Keshawn, Shannon Sharpe. Sorry Shannon. The rest of the first round went off without much fanfare. The lions took a short linebacker from Colorado with their second pick. Don't know anything about him. I also, suppose it's too much too ask for Detroit to draft good, strong q.b. I mean, you know, they have Drew Stanton. He'll be perfect for the continued mediocrity the Lions are headed for.

Wow, Brian Brohm before Chad. That's surprising to me. Maybe Green Bay wants somebody more mobile than Chad, a la Brett Favre. Still Surprising, Chad's the better pro.

Wooooooooooooh for Chad. Best spot he could've gone. He'll start in 2 years. Parcells will be putting together a tough, running team, and Chad will be perfect for that type of offense. And to go to Miami with Jake. Wow. As much as I would've like to see Chad in Detroit, it's good for his career not to become part of the death star that is the Detroit Lions. Favorite new AFC team = Miami Dolphins.

Neewwwwwwsome

It's official, well at least as "official" as an unofficial verbal commitment can be -- see Jai Eugene, Roy Roundtree, Sam McGuffie et al. NOnetheless, this is a very good commitment for RichRod, the Michigan Spread Option era, and Mr. Neeewwwwwwwsome himself.

A rounding applause, ladies and gentlemen, for . . .

. . . The villain of the Scoop Carty nonstories. . . . .

Shar --- eeee ---- Aaaa ---- Cho. Kevin Newsome and his family gave Shari very kind remarks:

While visiting Michigan, Newsome and his family were able to meet and discuss the academic aspects of Michigan with academic advisor Shari Acho, something Newsome's mother specifically referred to as a highlight of his April 12 weekend visit

"I loved Miss Shari too," Newsome said. "I believe I want to major in Business type subjects and Michigan's Business School [compared] around the United States is one of the top, so that's already a great advantage for Michigan."

Take that, Scoop!

Stalking is What Internets Are For

The Pistons were not on here. (No, seriously, they weren't on -- uggh Charter. I mean, yeah, I have cable, not dish or direct tv, but I have full cable, and pay a fortune for it. This aggression simply will not stand, man.) And the Tiger game got a little out of hand in the 6th, so . . . . yes, Internet Stalking. On our newest potential QB recruit, one Kevin Newsome. These are one hitters on Newsome pulled directly from, for the most part, keyboards with which I have no familiarity, and could be as trustworthy as Drew Sharp or even Terry Foster. So read these, with the possible exception of certain track facts which have been repeated more than just the link provided here, with several grains of Alder Smoked Salt.

1. This guy thinks that K.N. is going to be all that, and maybe more.

2. ESPN recruting service:

At times will look very robotic in relation to fundamentals and at others, shows a smooth release and delivery mechanics look sharp. Accuracy is the biggest thing with him right now as he can be right on the money or really spray the ball around.

3. Could be playing at another high school next year? Unsubstantiated rumor:

I've heard that Newsome will actually play for Hargrave this year instead of his HS. Given UK's move to keep players away from Hargrave, this can't be good news for the Cats.

4. Hurdle extraordinaire. 14.1 in 110 Hurdles and 7.5 in 55 M.

5. Chesapeake, his hometown, spared the highway gunman his life in 2003. Remember that one?

Chesapeake made national headlines in 2003 when, under a court-ordered change of venue, the community hosted the first trial of convicted murderer Beltway sniper Lee Boyd Malvo for one of the 2002 terrorist-style attacks. A jury spared him a potential death sentence, choosing a sentence of "life in prison without parole" instead for the young man, who was 17 years old at the time of the crime spree. A jury in neighboring Virginia Beach sentenced his older partner John Allen Muhammad to death for another of the attacks.

6. Kevin won the Ace Parker Athletic Award of Excellence:

In track, he was runnerup in the district in the 55-meter hurdles indoors and in the 110-meter hurdles outdoors. He was runnerup in the 110-meter hurdles and runnerup at the state meet. So far, this year he has the state's best time in the 55-meter hurdles indoors at 7.44.

The 6-3 Newsome has a 4.3 clocking in the 40.

7. State hurdling title in Indoor this year.

8. Kevin has academic sights on something other than general studies?

QB Recruit

Kevin Newsome is a 6'2 210 lb quarterback from Chesapeake, Virginia. He runs a 4.57 40 per Rivals. Offers from a variety of programs, the cream of which are: Nebraska, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Illinois, and Michigan.

If you really, really enjoy screaming high school cheerleaders and cowbells turn up the sound on this video. If not, just leave it off, because this clip may include every completed pass by Kevin in the entire 2007 season -- it is 10 minutes long! Regardless Mr. Newsome has a familiar song to those of us over 30 up on his myspace page, which was pointed out to me by Varsity Blue.

Mmmmm Chickens

In time for the big race in Pennsylvania tomorrow is this classic youtubes:



This is one of those youtubes that just can't be beat. After watching this youtube, you may feel like Barack Obama is being unfairly picked on, unfairly portrayed, and generally taken advantage of. I have a solution for Mr. Obama:

2008 Michigan Football Spring Game

The Spring video from Big Ten Network is embedded below. It took quite awhile to get through when I played it -- a lot of breaks as downloading. The video quality, if you can get by the breaks. is very good, and there's pretty accurate commentary to help identify the players you may not be familiar with. I warn you, have another couple windows open or be watching tv, or something when you try to watch the video, it is comparatively slower loading than John Navarre's 40 time.


Some of the plays looked familiar from the Cap One Bowl, specifically some of the swing passes and reverse looks.

Steven Threet looked pretty good. The timing on Threet's passes were actually pretty good from what I saw. There is one very badly underthrown bomb, which was still completed. Potential issue is an apparent side arm delivery, though it might be limited to swing passes. He does NOT have a Chad Henne gun, though.

Sheridan looked bad. Slow delivery. And, at least at the beginning of the tape, he couldn't complete a swing pass on the clips here.

Cone is big. And he did not look good.

Brandon Minor looked very fast on the first touchdown run. Basically untouched as he weaved through defenders. Kevin Grady also looked strong, and appears over his injury. Avery Horn got quite a few carries and looks pretty fast. It would have been interesting to see how he compared at this point to Carlos Brown. While all will likely get playing time in the fall, I would think that Minor leads the way, and will assume that Brown is 1B with Kevin Grady 2.

Note that you'll hear, I think, the names of Stonum, Martell Webb.

Defensively, Brandon Graham looked very good. Stevie Brown had 3 picks, and looked to break nicely on one of them. The others looked like pretty darn bad passes.



MVictors has audio up, including an interview with Steven Threet that is worth a listen.

Varsity Blue also has a short summary up, you might want to look at, including starting offensive line projections.

You Stay Classy East Lansing

Carl Monday is disgusted that these classy Spartans didn't whip it out for CedarFest. Maybe there just wasn't a library closeby. Even the lowly Sparty was too classy to whip it out in public like Buckeye Michael Cooper. You stay classy Sparty:



And only a classy university . . . . er, like the michigan agricultural college in spartandom, would one expect an "Official Video" of this important outcry of public protest against the brutal oppression suffered upon the weak and insturdy at . . . . CedarFest:

Well, at least I won't get drunk.

5-4 Domers in OT..DAMMIT!

I will drink the Wolverine hockey team to a win.

Ok, it's the frozen four. We started the game with a pathetic showing and were down 3-0 and the end of one period. It is now 4-4 after three periods heading into overtime. I have the solution. You will all thank me after the Wolverines win this one. I decided that since Kevin Porter is our captain and likely Hobey Baker winner, I needed to spur him on by drinking Breckenridge Vanilla PORTER during the OT. The game is being played in Denver...the beer is brewed in Denver...coincidence??? I think not. So lets hope it doesnt go into triple OT, because I might not make it that long if I have to keep drinking the whole time! GO BLUE!

New iPod to focus on individual Universities

Apple has announced a new line of the ever popular iPod. The new version will come pre-loaded with the fight song, video clips and photos pertaining to individual colleges and universities. I was a bit disappointed to learn that Michigan State is the first University to be released. It is an iPod touch, pre-loaded with the fight song, Sparty photos, and a movie clip of the ever annoying "What is your occupation??? SPARTAN!" that they play every 5 minutes at football games. I'm wondering if it will also include a training video from hockey coach Rick Comley teaching the fine art of diving. He is definitely the leading mind in college hockey on that subject! Anyway, back to the actual iPod - it was made available this week on Apple.com and should be in local retailers by early May. Here is a sneak peak at the new advertisement:

It's Carl Monday Time

In my perusal of the Pringle's chipcapades, I came across another Penn State masturbation incident. Spencer Ridenhour played Safety for the Nittany Lions. He transferred to UMass. But he took a few cans of Pringles with him to uncork at UMass.

It is obviously time for internet investigative hero, Carl Monday to invade the land of JoPa. Carl Monday is a Cleveland television reporter. He's seems about 1/4 as entertaining as our good friend Bill Bonds. But, Carl is the right man to break this masturbation ring in Happy Valley. Carl is renowned for busting Buckeye Michael Cooper, Cleveland's most famous masturbator:



But Carl Monday, didn't leave it there. He buried Buckeye Michael Cooper:



I see visions of trenchcoats at the Pattee!

Holy Masturbation, Batman

I'll give the Lions $2.00 not to sell that hand lotion:

According to the criminal complaint, a woman said Pringle sat down on top of a desk behind her and asked if she wanted to purchase some hand lotion he was selling for the basketball team.

Seems that Michigan's Larry Harrison is not alone in the dash to the Olympic Medals for athletes masturbating in public. In the footsteps of Larry Harrison, Penn State basketball point guard, Stan "the Penis-Man" Pringle has been busted for following a young lady with his pants down and "hands on" in the Pattee library. Pattee Library. You mean to tell me that Stan the Penis Man Pringle was patting it in the Pattee!

What is even more er' hardening, is that this young lady was also followed into her dorm a couple weeks earlier by the Penis Man Pringle, who managed to uncork his can of chips in a dorm stairway then, too. I feel sorry for this girl. Maybe it's a snack food thing: