Light The Cauldron

I still can't believe that in the 20 years it's taken Michigan basketball to return to the #1 spot, only 26 different teams have been the top-ranked team in the nation. Twenty six! But it finally happened: Michigan took the top spot again. With a Duke loss at Miami last week, and two Michigan wins over Purdue and Illinois, there wasn't any real doubt over who was the mightiest team in the land...for the AP. I don't know many news outlets that still use the USA Today Coaches Poll, but that poll has Kansas ranked number one. I'm not here to talk about that, though. In many people's eyes, this week is a huge one for Michigan. Yes, it is the number one team in the land. But they have to defend that ranking against one of the top teams in the nation - and who had been #1 for the first month of the season - Indiana. The Hoosiers have taken their hits - first against in-state rival Butler, then against Wisconsin, and finally in a near defeat by Michigan State last

I’ve already heard it. “Any more talk about the Harbaugh brothers coaching in the Super Bowl and I’m going to puke.”  Usually I am one of those people. Any overhyped, media-crazed story has me rolling my eyes and flipping the channel. I’ve written about the hype, and how horrible it is, many times. I’ve verbally complained to people about the hype.  But this time? This time, folks, I’m taking the side of hype. So sue me. Let’s go over the other facts of the past fourteen days: the baseball writers decided no one was worthy of making the Hall of Fame, Lance Armstrong confessed to Oprah that he took PEDs, and Mante Te’o was the victim of a horrid prank (or so we think at the moment). Those types of stories are pretty depressing. The media trounces on those stories to get us to react. They want us to talk about the validity of the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) and whether or not baseball players accused of taking steroids are should be in the HOF. Th

Hi, my name is _______, and I am a hockey fan. It almost seems that you need to do that in order for people to understand you. "You're a hockey fan? Even with all the crap the NHL has put you through? Your seasons never start on time! Hockey shouldn't be played in the summer! Blah blahblahblahblahblah?" Yes, even with all the crap the NHL has put me through, I am still a fan of hockey. Exhibit A: as I was preparing to go out and run my errands, I turned on the Blackhawks-Kings game and was immediately drawn in. In the first five minutes of the game, there was a 5-on-3 and Chicago scored a goal. How does anyone not get drawn in? As my father says, hockey is the best sport to watch on an HD TV, too. The whiteness of the ice really makes the players pop out of the picture - not to mention it's a lot easier to follow the puck, too. No bright flashes of red or blue necessary, FOX. Some hockey fans vow to never watch or attend the sport ever again because of wh

I seem to remember something like this happening 20 years ago. Back then, the Fab Five dominated the college court. Their style was unconstitutional, their swagger was unorthodox. But they won - a lot. And the thing that really got people talking about them was their youth. Five freshmen started for Michigan, sending juniors and seniors to the bench that weren't bad players - they just couldn't keep up. But what happened in the NCAA Tournaments? As freshmen and sophomores, the Fab Five (and Friends) couldn't pull out that last game. The more experienced Duke and North Carolina teams beat them. And before we could say "Wait till next year, when we've got these guys as upperclassmen!", Chris Webber bolted for the NBA, and the magic was gone. Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose left the next year. I even remember something like this two years ago. Darius Morris was poised to help Michigan basketball compete in a tough Big Ten Conference. But amid the whisperings