Blue By Ninety - ONE MORE YEAR FUND A SUCCESS, NFL SILENCE AROUND HARBAUGH, AND MICHIGAN HOOPS

Episode Date: January 16, 2023

Justin and the boys cover the one more year fund doing exactly what we hoped it would do, NFL radio silence around harbaugh is a good sign, michigan hoops talk and more.

This is the University of Michigan. Touchdown, Michigan! The beat of Michigan football! And they've caught extra pass. And it goes to the win! The three-pointer by Jordan Poole! Down the sideline! Peebles-Jones!

Touchdown, Wolverines! All right, welcome back to Blue by 90. I'm Justin, joined by Jack, Tanner, and Brandon. Today, we appreciate you guys coming on again. You know, Tanner, I'm tweeting out your first article right now, too. Appreciate you boys getting on the computer and starting writing too. We're grinding, dog. I had this grand plan of this really cool now's the time to take the next step type article, and then Harbaugh decided to leverage his NFL opportunities for a new contract.

That's been on the back burner. A little anticlimactic with the first piece, love Michael Barrett, but I didn't think my first article would be like a piece of news. I thought I'd maybe do a little longer form content, but glad to see Mikey back. Glad to see all the guys coming back. I'm sure we'll talk about that in the show, but yeah, really excited to get,

get started and hit the ground running with the writing part of this gig. Absolutely. I mean, we're, we're blessed to have you boys. I need to pick up the slack there. What's that? I need to pick up the slack there on the writing. You're the professional, man, with the experience. Look, I was doing the same thing. I texted Justin.

I was like, hey, I got some inspiration to write today, and I was really about to do it. And then Harbaugh was like, oh, hold on a second. It was a very similar trajectory as you, Tanner. I think we should probably hit Harbaugh up and let him know. Is he aware that this is screwing our

writing up? Maybe that would make him make a decision. I've been off social media as a New Year's resolution. Did something happen today? No. Just the last couple weeks. Oh, okay. You guys make it sound like it was something that happened today? No. Just the last couple weeks. Oh, okay. You guys make it sound like it was something that happened today.

No, no, no. Kind of just holding steady at this point. It seems like from the insider stuff, like maybe getting close, fingers crossed, but still got a lot to work on. I don't know. I don't know where we're at with that. Can we talk about the, like, coordination of your outfit, Tanner? Sorry to – I agree.

I'm kind of an awesome yeah so you know 313 hoodie had some dick sporting goods gift cards had to use it uh on the shop by the way dick sporting goods i don't know if they're trying to partner with us with some advertising money but i ordered this thing on friday it showed up on my door yesterday morning i don't know if they have like a like a warehouse in Southeast Michigan, but – I would assume so. Incredible. Do you know the story of what happened? Yes, and they didn't really have anything. I went there with the gift card, nothing.

But, yeah, I got this Lions-colored Tigers hat this summer. I absolutely love it. You know what I'm all about. I mean, you see this and you're like, yeah, that's not a Lions hat, but it's a Lions hat. So, thank you. You're always very coordinated. I do like it. I do like it. I do like it.

Look good, feel good, play good. I do. I love the Lions-Tigers hat. You know what I mean? It's a nice crossover. Yeah, I had to have it. I had to have it, boys. I like it.

It's like that episode of Suite Life where Hannah Montana came on the show. Absolutely. Crossover episode. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? You could also get a red on white one For the wings That was quite the reference there

We're three minutes in and this has gone off the rails Yeah this did not take long All by my doing All by my doing If you had a Hannah Montana reference on your bingo card You've already won The odds of that were not high, I'll be honest.

But I'll try to – I'm going to bring us back. I'm going to bring us back here. I'd say huge news in the past couple days for Michigan. Like, I mean, essentially everyone's returning. I don't know. The only person who hasn't announced it yet, I believe, is Cornelius. Chris Jenkins, too.

Chris Jenkins, yep. I know for a fact Chris Jenkins is still deciding. He's been talking to some NFL agents, figuring some stuff out. I know everyone's like, wait, he announced that he

was staying a few weeks back well i think some things happened he got better feedback from the nfl than i think that he was expecting after the season so it was like oh i should probably explore these opportunities so um we'll see but i mean zinter back keegan back, Keegan back, Mike Barrett back. This is like Blake Corham back. Brandon, you tweeted out, we're losing like 8% of our production. Olu, obviously, gigantic piece to lose. But you have all those other linemen back plus the addition of the transfers.

This offense should be ridiculous yeah they um for like i i guess i went off on that tangent was that last week or five days ago whenever that was the last stream we did when i went off the tangent before we dropped the mic off yeah and unintentionally unintentionally all right um but yeah it's the same thing it's the same story it's just michigan's getting so much back but here's the same thing. It's the same story. It's just Michigan's getting so much back. But here's the thing. I mean, last year, the conversation in the offseason, the conversation before week one, and, I mean, even the conversation for, like, the duration of the season, I would say,

was that Michigan couldn't replace Hutch and Ojabo. And, like, I understand that argument and the foundation of that argument. But that argument can't really be made going into this year. That's the biggest contrast. So not only are they returning more, they're also not losing the star power that they're losing in the little bit of what they're losing. I know Mike Morris was a big star for Michigan,

and I get that there's some impact guys leaving. Ryan Hayes was very good and a solid guy year by year. Schoon, obviously, a solid player as well. But they're not losing anything earth shattering. They're not losing a Heisman finalist like Hutch. They're actually getting one back in Corum, who, as we can all agree, without an injury, I think everyone in the country can agree if he wasn't injured, he'd be a Heisman finalist himself.

So, yeah, I think it's so seismic what they're returning. I mean, it's the impact that's returning. And that's why I say returning production. So they might not be returning the roster spots necessarily with some of the transfers like andrell like taylor upshaw you know i i understand that but it's the the the impact that's coming up coming back you're getting quorum jj edwards your offensive line comes back with zinner who was probably i would say unarguably the best lineman on the team. Trevor Keegan before his injuries. Because he was beat up at the end of the year.

I don't know if anyone knows that, but he was fighting through some stuff. Actually, I don't think people knew this either, but Zach was too. Okay. Everybody was. Right, everyone is at that point. But still, the level of play they had when they were healthy, not discrediting their level of play in the last couple of games, but when they're healthy, those guys are like undeniable top ten linemen in the draft this year.

So I think those are two guys who – they could end up having like three linemen taken in the first three rounds next year behind the Arizona State with Tomlinson. Is that his last name? I got to get used to it. Darius Henderson. Henderson.

Jesus Christ. I'm going to humble brag, name drop here. I met him the other day and he is just maybe the nicest human being ever. Like it's really freaking incredible how like we continue to have just like good human beings come into this program. He's engaged in getting married in May. Like I was oh who are you gonna live with he's like oh i'm i'm living with my fiance here i'm like okay yeah you're like 24 so this makes sense but still like i don't know just like smiling like so happy to be here legitimately was like just came in was like so thankful for everything he's like i just am so happy to be here i think i think that's the thing that's impressed me the most about the last two years and with the

turnaround is the culture that michigan built i think there were some cracks early on in the harbaugh era um a good portion of it where you heard stories come out about guys not being fully committed guys not being bought in and then you turn around the last two years and you have this brotherhood, this culture that every football team really strives for. And I think the cool thing about the transfers is every time, I mean, that's not the first time I've heard that about a certain transfer. Like when the two guys from Indiana came in, the tight end and the quarterback Tuttle and is it Barner?

Barner, AJ Barner. Yeah. I heard, you know, I just saw on Twitter from Indiana's Maze and Brew Twitter account or SB Nation, sorry, Indiana's SB Nation Twitter account of just like a couple stories on those guys. You know, I've heard nothing but great things about Ernest Houseman coming in from Nebraska, his story and his upbringing. So I think the really awesome part about all these transfers coming in is that Michigan is continuing to find guys that fit the culture that fit being a

football player at Michigan. And I don't think there's, hopefully there's not going to be any sort of jeopardization of this culture that they've built over the last couple of years. Yeah, absolutely. It's in like, I feel that that's unheard of in the year 2023 with NIL in the portal. For everywhere else in the country, it feels like it's like, you know, how much money do I get? I'm just going for the highest bidder, right?

And, like, for them to, you know, obviously NIL is involved for sure. But I think that, like, to – I still think that Jim and this coaching staff is putting character and fit pretty high up there with talent on the list when they're looking at roster management. So, you know, the one thing I will say though too like all right that's the that's the good part um the bad part is like this hardball stuff our recruiting is is at a standstill like it is you know i don't know it it's it's really frustrating to be honest and so um it was i i just like i said it on the last spot too.

It's like we just need to – it just needs to happen. We need that announcement from Harbaugh to come right away. And I don't know. It would shock me, I guess, now that like all these guys are saying that they're coming back. It would shock me if Harbaugh wasn't here. Like don't you guys agree with that? Like that would be the weirdest twist of all time that like your entire team

says, Hey, I'm recommitted to this. We're going to go win a 2023 Natty. And then Jim's like deuces. Yeah, no, I think, uh, I think everything we've seen like over the last couple of weeks, there was kind of like that point of panic where there was a lot of leaks coming out and the offer sheets and from the broncos and then oh he's getting 20 million and he wants out because of ward and ward isn't gonna do anything and they're

just gonna play chicken and this that and the other thing um and then you know sansa puts out that tweet everyone kind of calms down and when it comes to this type of stuff radio silence is the best thing i think right like if there's radio silence in the nfl i mean i guess if there's radio silence regarding your coach in the nfl that's typically good because the nfl is like the the most vocal media rumor mill ever like last year had legs to it because of the amount of people who carry that on for weeks until Harbaugh finally took that interview whereas this kind of like has immediately died and you can kind of tell he's not leaving Michigan even though places are at the very least

like vetting it and I don't know what it is maybe they don't want him maybe he just wants the leverage maybe the agency is just playing the smart game and i don't know i just know that i think he's gonna end up staying because of just the recent trends and where this thing looks to be heading don't you i i mean the santa thing i love it first of all like trans to the fan base is awesome um like it's it's it's something that we've really never seen before ever um from michigan's administration so that was like the biggest breath of fresh air ever but also at the same time like all right this is that's good it's a good tweet to see it's good to hear that there's positive things going but like let's let's make it happen what what are we – what's the holdup here?

You know, so I don't know. It's just – it's a frustrating thing, I think, from every fan that, like, this is continuing to go on mid-January when, like, again, we should be celebrating the shit out of one of the best teams in program history, right? And so, like, you know, I do, you know what I think too, to, to bring it back to these guys that are coming back.

Like I actually truly believe that the sour taste in their mouth has a big piece of them coming back. This is not like just NIL money or like it was the best option for them. Like every single guy I've talked to is like very visibly upset when you talk about the TCU game. And like, I think it eats at them and they're pretty pissed that that happened. And they,

they like are like, we're, we have to get back and make this right. Which I love. I think it, I think it goes to what the standard is now, right? Like 2021, you know, I remember going into the Ohio State game. I don't know about you guys, but I was like, man,

it would be awesome to win. You know, I think there's an opportunity if Hutch goes off, but like I wasn't really expecting much. And then they go and win it, and then with the Big Ten, and then we, you know, we see Michigan go to the playoffs. And that's when I started to get some confidence. I'm like, all right, yeah,, Georgia got manhandled by Bama. And I was like, okay, we can hang.

Obviously it didn't turn out that way. This past year I go in, you have two new coordinators on offense and defense. You lose Hutch, you lose Ojabo, you lose Dax Hill, you lose some playmakers all over the field on all three phases. And you're like, I think this team can be really damn good and then you go through and it's 13 and 0 and you go to the ohio state game and it was again it was because of the core injury i was like man i don't know like i really want to see michigan win this but i didn't really know what to expect now i think going into this year i'm like no michigan is a clear-cut team in the Big Ten. I think that's probably been felt within the building, but it's even more so –

I think it's even more entrenched in the mind of the people within the program that we are the top dog. We are the team that everyone is aiming for in the Big Ten. So I think it's all about the standard that going to the playoffs is not good enough, which is an awesome place to be as a michigan fan as and as a program you know i've lived through some really dark days i know we all have it's also a crazy thought at the same time it's awesome but it's wild that like i never do you think about two and a half years ago or two years and some some change ago where we're all like i have no idea like if harbaugh

can't get it done who can get it done like i, I felt like Nebraska fans probably felt during the end of Scott Frost's era. It's like, who else? Because who's going to come here? If you fire Harbaugh, who's coming? So, the turnaround has been amazing. Obviously, I would love to not kill momentum on the trail and just with public image of the program every January. But I do understand to a point, you know, I was last

episode, I was, I said, I was pretty pissed off, but I do understand, I guess, but I can see both sides of it. Um, not to be middleman Tanner, but, um, I do think it's, uh, it's a good, it's a good place to be. Um, there's just some things that need to be tied up right now. Yeah, I agree. I just want to like, all right, let's announce. Everyone else has announced. Jim, go and announce and let's get to it. These guys are coming back for workouts starting tomorrow, I believe. And so it's like, all right, let's get into this offseason and go.

I need a sick Harbaugh edit from Aaron Bills. Like, give me some crazy to drop on Twitter. He hasn't tweeted in like four years, bro. Just give me some fire shit. Incredible. If he did like one of those Tom Brady's like still here videos, like that would be unreal. He just tweets Wolf of Wall Street.

I'm not even. That would be incredible. It would be the most retweeted of wall street i'm not even that would be incredible i would it would be the most it would be the most retweeted tweet of all time i think honestly i would retweet it that's for sure it would yes um no it would be we need something like that we need we need a full video something something going on him like walking into the camera in slow-mo he wouldn't be able to do that, though. Bless his heart, he's a little too awkward. I know. I do say that respectfully.

Jim? Jim, you're awkward. Respectfully. Sorry. Talk a little ballsy now. You don't have to go back into the media scrums anymore, Brandon. Hey, let's point out one thing, all right? Let's point out one thing. I know I've had a

well-traveled writing career, but if there's one thing I can say with confidence, it's that I never didn't do anything but split down the middle with that guy. When it came to questions and to no questions, I never was like,

it's an easy time to pressure him. I was never like oh let's ask him the easy one so he can give me an inspirational answer it was just like i had an assignment and i was trying to get to the bottom of that assignment via asking him and sometimes that went great and sometimes he looked at me like i was a lunatic and barely answered me and that was that but like everyone can say that everyone everyone well i should not say everyone can say that i, everyone. Well, I should not say everyone can say that. I should say there are, everyone has been like no shown by that guy and everyone's gotten something good out of him outside,

outside of, outside of some select folks who I won't name, but I can name them because I don't know them. Are you talking about Rainer Saban? Is that one of the, Hey, bless his heart. Cause he's a nice guy.

He's got some story. He's got some, but he's a nice, I'm not kidding. He's a nice guy. I'm sure he's very guy. He's got some story. He's got some – But he's a nice – I'm not kidding. He's a nice guy. I'm sure he's very nice. He's got some story as well though. Is he just like troll – like is he Stephen A or Skip Bayless where like they know exactly what they're doing?

And so – because then I get it. If you're just doing it for clicks, but also like I don't know. I can't speak for his intentions because I didn't really have any like intimate conversations with him. Just like, hey, how are you? That's get it. If you're just doing it for clicks, but also, like, I don't know. I can't speak for his intentions because, like, I didn't really have any, like, intimate conversations with him. Just like, hey, how are you? That's about it. But I think in a world of journalism, especially at the Michigan beat, where it's so saturated and everyone's writing the same stories,

and the access is so limited and guided and by design, and you can take away however you want to take that away. I'm not gonna i think dave and chad do an amazing job but i'm not gonna like shy away from the fact that that it's tough it's hard to to get stories that are different in that sphere it's hard you have to work for it and you know i was able to get the the my michigan stories features this season that i thought were a really good way of kind of working with what we had to work with. Right. And a lot of people just sit there complaining, I can't get any I can't get any access. I can't get any access. I can't get any access. And they just bitch and moan.

And they never write anything with any substance because they never reached out to ask how they could. And I think that when you put your best foot forward and you're like, hey, I understand access is going to be limited. But how can I how can I do something better? And I'm like, hey, how about a positive backstory about why they chose Michigan and what Michigan means to them? And I got to spend five minutes behind the scenes of every single press conference this year because of that, not every single press conference, but like every Tuesday

after the pressers, I got a chance to meet with a guy for like five minutes. And it was everyone from Mike Hart to Will Johnson. And not a lot of people were doing that, but not a lot of people were trying to do that. So it's kind of what you make of it with the Michigan beat. You're not going to be spoon-fed anything. You're going to have to grind for it all. And I think guys like Rainer just want to differentiate from the pack.

And whether you agree with how he's differentiating, I can't discredit him for doing anything besides that. It's definitely different than whatever the people write. And I think when you strive for originality in an extremely saturated market, like I can't be too upset with you about it. So I respect what he did. But, you know, there's a – I don't really respect that.

There's no James Yoders in person. I can tell you that. James Yoders, what did you say? It's fine. I'm in my own head. I just hear myself. I just – I don't know. Like it's funny for me to hear people talk about the blue wall

when like the things they're talking about are being reported on by the Michigan Beat. Like, when people are like, oh, the blue wall is at it again. It's like, well, no. Like, you know, the Detroit News, Angelique was the one that broke, I think, the Mozzie story. Like, it's just a broader story, you know, or like a broader conversation around, you know, just

conspiracy theorists, I suppose. Well, that came from MGO Blog, right? That came from MGO Blog, right? I don't remember. I thought it was the Detroit News that like initially broke that story, but I just, you know, I find it funny when rival fans talk about the blue wall and it's like, no, like they're literally reporting on the story. Like, I don't

know if you understand what you're saying versus what's going on. We've gotten way off track here. Me too. I'll take one. On an unrelated note, I just opened our Blue by 90 DMs and I want to thank Draco is his name for sending

us a full frontal nude photo of himself. Really appreciate that. Draco Malfoy, dude? I'll forward it on to you guys so you guys can also... Thank you.

Appreciate you, Draco. Thank you for that. Big Drake zero. Let's talk some hoops. What a segue oh good segue good segue um the the basketball team like kind of looked good at times today against northwestern i don't know there there's like times where i'm like all right i can see this team putting some games together here, and we can, like, go on a run.

But, I mean, the Iowa game was one of the most frustrating things I've ever watched in my life. And it was like – I've never seen, like, more inconsistency, I'd say, from a team and maybe a program, I guess, in general. Yeah, I think watching the game today, it was a game of spurts, as basketball typically can be a game of runs. But I think I saw the stat that in the last 9.55 of the first half, Michigan gave up 31 points. And Northwestern is not a good offensive basketball team. I think the thing that gets me really frustrated when it comes to this basketball team is just – and I'm going to be careful with how I say this,

but there can be a lackadaisical approach defensively and when it comes to rebounding. There are a lot of times where I'll see Michigan make a shot and the other team will just push it up the court for a wide-open dunk or layup. There's a lot of times where it feels like guys could be getting to loose balls or could be getting in front of somebody to box out. And there's just – it's just a lack of – I don't know if I want to say leadership, but it just feels like there's not really a guy on the team that says,

hey, we're winning this fucking game. Like, Michigan's had that in the past. And that's where I think Will Chenner is that guy right now. Took the words right out of my mouth. He's young, but he's the only guy – like, he got on Terrace Reed in Iowa City and was pissed at a lack of rotation on defense or something. I don't remember exactly what it was.

But I love seeing that fire, man. Like, I love seeing that fire from Xavier Simpson. I love seeing it from Shawnee Brown. I love seeing it from Isaiah Livers. Michigan doesn't have a guy on the team right now, other than Will Cheddar, that's really – that's not afraid to yell at his teammates like that. And, like, I don't know.

There just continues to be times where Hunter Dickinson doesn't look like he even wants to be on the court, to be honest with you. Way too many times does that happen. Way too many times. And, like, today against Northwestern, there were times where it was like, when are we going to get the ball to Hunter? I know that they were doubling him every single time he got the ball. But, like, I still think two years ago,

I remember him specifically saying he loved when teams doubled him because it left somebody else open. And it was at that time where I was like, he is an incredible passer. And, like, he could continue to do it. And the reality is that this team still runs through hunter and it will forever until hunter is not you know in ann arbor anymore um but like you're right i mean he's not that guy jet's not that guy you know doug mcdannell is obviously super young still and and still getting it but he's not that guy like there's

nobody that is in that rotation really outside of cheddar coming off the bench that is like i'm gonna do everything i can to make sure that we win this game you know and so i've been you've been you're like waiting for it to happen and that's just like nonchalant it feels like all the time um and then the other thing that i really like i don't understand the rotations i really don't get them like cheddar playing zero zero minutes in the first half and then played like incredibly significant time in the second half he was the first guy at the bench in the second half first guy off the bench and then didn't come out for 10 minutes or something. Like, it was wild. I'd love to see his plus minus.

Like, when he came out of the game against Iowa, Iowa went on a run. And then I don't think he ever saw the court. I don't know if he saw the court in overtime. I don't know. Like, and I want everyone to understand, we're not saying Will Cheddar is, like, a first-round pick or late. But he brings just a level of try hard that you sometimes need on a basketball team like you need a guy that is kind of a psychopath in a good way and i think jitter really brings that i mean he had

four fouls in 10 minutes so he's got a long way to go but i think our point is is that he is a guy who's going to get on his teammates he's going to hustle and that stuff as cliche and as lame as it can sound, can be really influential on a basketball court. You see your teammate going hard, you're like, damn, I got to go hard now too. It's just a snowball effect. 1000%.

And I thought there were a lot of times, especially in that Iowa game, but even today too. And I know it's a noon game at Chrysler against Northwestern on a Sunday. It's not going to be the most hype environment and it's I like it's tougher to get up for those games than an 8 p.m Saturday night game right where everyone's like pumped up but like there are times where everyone's just standing there watching the ball drop to the floor on a rebound or like you know not hustling back on it like after a missed shot like you said like it just feels like if the team pushes it at all it's it's an open layup you know

so i don't know but i ultimately i do like i still think michigan has the pieces if they want to or can put it together like i still do think there's opportunity here where the the nice thing that's going on right now is the big 10 outside of purdue is still completely wide open so there's a chance for them and i think looking at their schedule like they actually should be favored in probably six out of the next seven maybe uh five out of the next seven maybe, something like that. So, like, there's a chance for them to go on a run here and see how it goes. But do you have the schedule pulled up, Tanner? Yeah, they play Maryland on Thursday at Maryland and then they're home against Minnesota.

They've got Purdue. I don't know where – that one's at Michigan. It's at Chrysler. But it looks like looking at their schedule as of now, I think Wisconsin is going to drop in the rankings. They played Wisconsin twice in the last – they played Wisconsin twice in 12 days in February. But outside of Purdue,

they don't have any other ranked teams currently on the schedule. So we'll see. But they have a chance. The one – you know, this is the one I want to talk about. The one at Iowa City is so damn winnable. I mean, you foul a three-point shooter up four with like 15 seconds left. It's literally the only – like, all right, if there's one thing you can't do, that's it.

No, you got to give them space to land. But I think they bounce back in a solid way. I mean, look, Northwestern's not very good. Chris Collins, I can't believe he's been there 10 seasons, which is kind of crazy. But just looking at the stats today and just from watching it, the backcourt was phenomenal, I thought. I thought Doug, Kobe, and Jet all played phenomenal games. All played at least 34 minutes. Kobe had 20, three and four. That was probably Kobe's best game of his career, don't you think? He hit some big shots. Jet hit some nice shots.

Doug had some big threes that kind of kept them in the game when it felt like Northwestern might be able to go on a run. And then, you know, we're talking about Hunter. I mean, he still had, you know, 10 points, 15 boards. I think he had a deep, deep shot. I don't know if it was a two or three, but he played decently well. But for his standards and what we know he can do, it just – I don't know because it's tough to know because he is such a tall dude

and like he's not the fastest guy, right? But you can kind of tell when he's kind of going through the motions. And as a junior and an upperclassman and the amount of NIL money that he does get, like I would just like to see it be more consistent from an effort perspective. One thing I think about Juwan howard that i continue i continue to have this thought and i don't want to have this thought all right so don't think this is a man-made thought this is this is seeing with these two right here all right this is what i'm seeing here with right it's got nothing to do with this got everything to do with this or these two right here i'm

pointing my eyeballs bad radio but uh juwan's just – I don't know, man. I think he was an – I think he's an NBA coach. He's trying to, like, still equip himself to coaching college from a schematic standpoint, I guess. And I think he had guys who were here when he first got here that kind of understood what it took to win in the college game. But since then, based on who he's recruited – and, again, like I'm not saying this with any agenda. It's just from what but since then based on who he's recruited and again like

i'm not saying this with any agenda it's just from what i've seen the guys he's recruited uh compared to the guys he inherited there is a difference not in talent but just in like grit dog like just like the mentality of playing team basketball and i don't know if that's a game plan type thing where he just wants to run a lot of iso stuff and wants to run a lot of sets that's it. Cause to me, here's what I see, or at least what I, what I saw early on in the season. I think it's changed a bit over time here, but what I saw a lot of was we're either going to run ISO and let one guy catch or shoot, or we're going to throw it to Hunter and that's it. Those are your two options. And Hey, that works well with jet jet can jet can run. I, so he's like, he's a guy that can, that can shoot at all three levels of the court. So, you know, I'm there with that.

But I saw Doug McDaniel take a step back three today that looked like he just got done benching and just went into the L.A. fitness gym to just take a quick shot to blow off some steam. And again, again, I say it again, bless his heart. I don't have anything against Doug McDaniel. It's not his game, though. And there's just too much ISO.

And I don't know, man. I guess I'm like an old man. Doug McDaniel was four's not his game, though. There's just too much ISO. I don't know, man. I guess I'm like an old man. Doug McDaniel was 4 of 7 from 3 today. He was good from 3, but the state of 3 was ugly. That's what I see is the ISO and the ISO. I don't know. I admittedly don't know a ton about basketball. It just seems like Michigan doesn't get a lot

of shots and rhythm. We went from beeline to Howard and from a guy who was like a basketball watcher. I never wrote about basketball for a reason i like specifically asked not to because i'm that ignorant about the sport uh but and like i'll admit that hand in the air but what when you watch sets from the beeline era and you watch sets from the jawan era they're they're like night and day and i and i get it like oh beeline spent 30 minutes of practice

working on bounce passes and I'm like guess what he went to a national championship twice or was it twice yeah twice Louis against Louisville and against against Nova so I mean I will say college games I yes for sure it's definitely it's no doubt a different game and but like I don't know i'm i'm i am looking at the this you know what happened today and i as frustrating as this team has been to watch throughout the season like i i'm gonna choose to take away the positives from today like us doug us having a scoring point guard in doug it seems to be more and more comfortable each game in being a scorer. Like, we haven't had that in a while now.

I mean, Devontae Jones ended up by the end of the season being, like, a go-to guy. But, like, I think that, you know, that just makes such a big difference. You know, we haven't had, like, a go-to guard that's scoring, like, 17 points regular basis since what Derek Walton maybe you know like I think that having Doug do that and then the the thing that I loved was Kobe going 9 for 11 from the floor it does not get much more efficient than that and then honestly Jet Howard had 16 points on 4 of 11 so So, he had an off-day shooting. Still puts up 16 points. And, Tanner, to your point, like, I know Hunter has his standards, but, like, it's kind of crazy when we're saying 10 points and 15 rebounds

is a bad day for Hunter Dickinson. You know what I mean? So, I'm going to choose to take away the positives from this one specifically. I am mentally blocking out Iowaowa city uh for for my own mental health here um and like i don't know i i do i still will say i i think this team has potential to like make a run and be probably not like a national title contender but like you know be a top three team in the big 10 or something. It's, it's just going to be, do they choose like when, when do they make, make that turn? They got to turn the corner at some point.

And I'm looking at like, Hey, play three games in a row consistently good. That's what I'm looking for in Michigan basketball. We have seen one game at a time, you know, one good game, one bad game, one good game, one bad game. And so I do think that there's got to be somebody that steps up and says, I'm going to be the guy that – I don't have to be the guy that scores every time, but I'm going to be the guy that gets everyone better. That's Will Cheddar. To me, Juwan Howard should put him in just specifically for the energy. You need an energy guy. And, like, honestly, if I was Juwan during should put him in just specifically for the energy. You need an energy guy.

And, like, honestly, if I was Juwan during these times, like earlier on in the season when it was obvious that Michigan was, like, not in the mental headspace or whatever, I think that I would have been like, hey, I'm going to play my entire bench until I find somebody that's actually going to give me 110% effort every time down the floor. And then to your point, Tanner, it would be, you know, it's contagious, right? Yeah. I mean, I'm going to take the positives from this team too. And I think the thing that is, it clouds my judgment is that they're probably a handful of possessions away from being

in first place in the Big Ten in the conversation of being a top 25 team. So like, they're very close, but it's just, it's like the inconsistency. And then some of like the boneheaded mistakes are what kind of has, has kind of tanked their season a little bit to an extent. Because if they want to make the tournament,

they have to like win a lot of games. You know, they're 9-7 currently – or 10-7? Yeah. So they've got to win, you know, they've probably got to win at least 18, 19, 20 games, I would think, to feel comfortable getting into the tournament just because of the lack of a statement win in the non-con. So they certainly can do it.

And I wouldn't be shocked by the end of the year if they're playing some really good basketball the only thing is i hope it's not too late i hope either they won enough or they're gonna have to win the victim tournament so they're running out of time i mean it's january 15th as we're recording you know we're only a couple months away from from march madness so you know gotta gotta kick into the high gear now. And I have no doubt that they can. And I've loved seeing the growth of the young guards. I mean, Kobe's been playing his ass off. I think Doug has been really, really good.

I think Doug, if we had – if Michigan had some better shooters, I think Doug's numbers would be even better. Because I think there's a lot on his plate at the moment. But he's really stepped up to the plate and, you know, stepped up to the challenge. So, there's a lot to like um but i think this team is too good to be sitting at you know whatever their current record is so and i think they would probably admit that right like honestly like i think that they all know like like let's be honest the talent on this team is really good on paper

like it's a very talented team they just haven't been able to put it all together so i do i i think that's that's actually probably the best way to put it tanner like this team is way better than their record and they're too good to be a bubble team honestly that's and then i think that's why like it's frustrating to watch when you sit there and you're like i've watched them play well when they put when they put up 90 at minnesota you know it's frustrating to watch when you sit there and you're like i've watched them play well when they put when they put up 90 at minnesota you know it's like wait why can't we have that not that you need to score 90 every night but like you know shoot it consistently and and play hard so uh i think i'm looking for that you know like i said i will like what this team needs to do is put three games together.

Start today with Northwestern. What do we got for the – you said Maryland? Yeah, Maryland, Minnesota, Purdue. I mean, if they can go out and go 3-0 versus Northwestern, Maryland, and Minnesota going into that Purdue game at home, like, all right, now we're talking. Now we're talking, right? You got to string some wins together. All of a sudden, and even if you don't win that Purdue game at home,

because Purdue is, like, obviously a really, really good team, and Zach Eadie, I mean, he's a freak show of a human being. But, like, I would love to, like, go, you know, have a good win streak going into that Purdue game. And then we're – all of a sudden it's like, oh, shit. And then we're fighting for a top spot in the Big Ten for sure. I think it's pretty miraculous that they're – like, given the dialogue surrounding Michigan basketball this year,

I think you guys are right in saying that for them to be in the spot is pretty encouraging. Because if they're going to turn the corner, because I don't think they have yet necessarily. I know it kind of seemed like they were going to against Maryland. Of course, today they played better. But I think the dialogue you guys have mentioned today about just good game, bad game, good game, bad game, I think it's spot on. So I think it kind of guys have mentioned today about just good game,

bad game, good game, bad game. Yeah. I think it's spot on. So I think it kind of comes down to that. If they can build some consistency, like you said, Justin, just pull together a few wins in a row here, could really flip the script in their season, which is crazy because you think about it, a few weeks ago,

everyone was just kind of trashing them, right? I think the reality is – sorry, go ahead. No, that was it. I mean, they just still are. Yeah. The reality is we can't be good at football and basketball at the same time. I don't know what – It's never been – that's never happened really.

Although Michigan won the Big Ten and then Michigan football won the Big Ten in the same calendar year. Yeah, calendar year. I mean, that was a – We're talking academic calendar year. I get it. Yeah, I feel like we made that tweet up to fit the narrative so that it would get a lot of –

I think that was more it. I mean, you know, outside of men's basketball, the women's basketball is sitting at 15-3 at the top part of the Big Ten. They've got some ranked games coming up against Maryland in a week and a half. And they play number 24, Illinois. And they also have number three. We should go to that. February 20th, Ohio State, number three in the country at Michigan.

I don't know what day of the week that is, but we should do something. Because we've got to show the ladies some support. You know, we talk a lot about the men's. But, you know, the ladies have been killing it the last few years. And, you know, Kim Barnes-Rico is just an awesome coach, just a fantastic college coach. So, really happy to see them. Can we talk about Kaitlyn Clark since they just played Iowa?

She's unreal. Is she the best all-around – like, men and women, Clark since they just played Iowa. Unreal. Is she the best all-around? Men and women, I think she's the best basketball player in college basketball. You know what it makes me think of? Remember when Brittany Griner said she could take DeMarcus Cousins on one-on-one?

I think Caitlin Clark could pick out somebody from college basketball and pick one-on-one. Yeah, because, like, DeMarcus Cousins is going to just, like, obviously be bigger, and Brittany Griner is not going to, like, be able to physically go, like, back him down. But Caitlin Clark can just shoot it from the logo, so she doesn't need to do that.

Like, I have never in my life seen somebody just so like nonchalantly just like on the run essentially up the court from the logo just chuck it up and it's like a good shot it's not like i don't know it's so wild so if you if you're out there and if you haven't watched caitlin clark just go on YouTube and look up her highlights. You are going to be in shock. It is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. Yeah, we talked about who was a really big women's player a couple years ago, Sabrina Ionescu from Oregon.

Ionescu, yeah. She was a baller, dude. And she still is in the WNBA. Look, I'm not a WNBA guy, but I know she puts up buckets. She does put up buckets. Is Kaitlyn Clark more popular than her? I think the NIL era kind of aided her. No, I think – well, I think she – well, I think Sabrina, I think that's how you say her name. She was so closely linked with Kobe, and I think that was part of her ascent to kind of stardom.

Gotcha. But still, I mean, Kaitlyn Clark's got a chance to be that, like, she should do like some like and one street ball. Like that should be her thing is she just like rolls up to courts against guys and like tries to get in a run and then just starts dropping buckets. Cause I'm sure like a lot of guys would not recognize her, like, just, you know, off the street. That should be her, like, summer YouTube channel. It would be like Kyrie Irving, Uncle Drew.

Yeah. But she'll just be herself and just smoke dudes. Yes. Because you know that there would be some asshole dudes. Not some. It would be, like, 90% asshole dudes that are like, no, honey, you can't like, you know, you can't come into, into this run. And then she'd come in and just like rock them.

Cause like, I think, I think what people don't, don't understand is that yes, division one men's basketball player versus division one women's basketball player. Like, yeah, it's, it's really, unfortunately not a contest, but I think if you just pull Joe Schmoe off the street, like, and you're not ready for that like she'd probably smoke some dudes at an la fitness uh as just as it would be so funny because all that you know like those are the dudes that i would get the most angry about it too you know yeah that would be smoking their shit. We should try and get – maybe we do that with, like, some of our players, like Maddie.

We get Maddie to go roll up, and then she's just drilling threes. Us four and her, and we're just like, I'm just dying out of breath. Looking like Kevin James and grownups. I just can't – because, hey, I don't know. I haven't run up and down a basketball court in a while. I do a lot of cardio, but not, like, sprinting and such. But that would be some good content, man, I don't know. I haven't run up and down a basketball court in a while. I do a lot of cardio, but not like sprinting and such. But that would be some good content, man. I would enjoy that.

The last two days – You're not running suicides when you're working out. No, absolutely not. We're on the elliptical. And funny enough, you're not really like jumping or sprinting or trying to play defense. I played hungover basketball the last two mornings after going out Friday and Saturday night.

And I legitimately was like seeing multiple hoops and it was not good. Not good. Anybody else miss that invite to go out? Damn, bro. Just, you know, catch that one either, you know? Yeah. That's crazy.

You're hanging out with his friends. Yeah. No, that's cool. No, I mean with his friends. Yeah, no, that's cool. I mean, I don't know. Well, I sent him. You know how – so the postal service these days, you know how they are. Yeah, man. I checked my mail today, but it was Sunday, so it must become a Monday. Oh, well, it was a holiday too.

Yeah, it was MLK Day, so like that's probably why. All right, all right. Send a pigeon next time. If you get it, yeah. Send me your email. I'll get you. We don't have Twitter, text, or anything. No.

Email. Let's exchange information. I'll try to make sure that it works. Yeah, no. Yeah, I'll hit you up on AIM. We'll sort the details. Did you check my B- get the details did you check my b-reel did you check my i'm not on there i'm not on there i'm old now like i come on i'm actually i did it for like a little bit and then i got a new phone and like i would have had to log back in and i just never did

it also that's kind of how i live my life to be honest like me too if i have the like i i feel like it's to the point like if i forget my like bank information i'll probably just get a new bank account bro like any resistance to logging into where i'm like okay did i use an exclamation point or a period on the same password I use on every other account, but this is the one that's going to make sure that it's secure. I, I'm against big password. I'm sick of those guys.

I was talking to my, I was talking to one of my friends and he has to change his, his work password once a month. Oh, I go every three months and I, I can't say what I was going to say, but I hate it every time. I was,

I mean, I think that would be enough for me to quit like i let me i'll just change jobs i think that would be easier for me to do dude it's like also like i work at home like i don't know who's coming in here to like look at policy information but i i don't know why i need to change it every but it's like a regulation thing but it is a pain in the ass because you have to have so many certain special characters in there and it just ends up being a bunch of gibberish by the ass because you have to have so many certain special characters in there and it just ends up being a bunch of gibberish by the end it's hard to remember and that was like so i got a new phone after on a bachelor party i literally just dropped it in a lake which tough scene i was where was the bachelor party it was in lake cumberland in

kentucky so we're on a gigantic like 70 foot houseboat it was so sick there was a hot tub on top of it it was incredible all right all right but we were the lake that we're in is like 90 feet deep everywhere and i was djing and dancing up top on the boat and i'm just like you know it just just went up do you have apple care yeah like that's fine and stuff but i also it was friday of a four-day bachelor party so that little tip that doesn't make your wife happy when you lose your phone and can't contact her for a bachelor party um you know you needed you needed what kayen had at your bachelor party. He had a black bag on a lanyard with his phone in it.

That's a Kalen move, dog. It was. He woke up at 4 a.m. in his bathing suit still with it around his neck. It was incredible. It was incredible. Also, back to my bachelor party too, which was the funniest thing ever, is my father-in-law just forgetting his phone in his car for the entire weekend

never never texted his wife just was just like yeah we'll figure it out on monday hey wait so did you so for your bachelor party did you have you had, you had parents there or what? Yeah. My dad and my father-in-law both came for like two – was it two of the nights? I think two nights and then they did. So they came. It was – they had the times. When was the last time they had that? Breaking news. Breaking news.

Breaking news. Is it happening? Cornelius Johnson's coming back. That's good. I had written a note here. I had seen somewhere that he was enrolled in grad school at Michigan. I was not surprised to see that. That's great.

That's fantastic. That's per... Per Clayton? Per his Instagram? Per his Instagram. Okay. Per Blue by 90 group chat. Per CJ. CJ on CJ.

CJ, let's go. CJ on CJ. This guy just edited my article. Let's get it. This guy's a machine. Let's go. Let's go. He sleeps two hours a day. He doesn't sleep. Okay. Go read our

stuff because CJ is just absolutely grinding. He also writes like 90% of our articles. I'm trying to help him out with that. Would you guys have Andre Anthony or CJ? Well, like Cornelius Johnson, CJ. Sorry. Not to... I'll add on that

CJ grinds. I'll add on. Sorry. I was just in my brain. I think that, I think that Andrell is probably more talented. Yeah, maybe. But I think that like having a fifth year guy back is that it played a lot of ball is probably better.

Yeah. I think there's something to leadership in a certain room, and him being the elder statesman I think is a good thing. I think he's gotten a lot of shit at times from the Michigan fan base because he hasn't put up a 70-catch, 1,000-yard season. But I also think he's extremely talented, and I think he's a guy that in an offense where Michigan's throwing the ball more is going to get a lot of catches and a lot of targets.

And I think he could be an NFL player for sure. So I'm excited to have him back, definitely. And also, who has had those seasons? Like, it's not like they're – David Terrell? I mean, in Michigan, yeah, Braylon. I mean, you got to go back. Like, maybe Roundtree.

Yeah, I mean, it's been a minute. We're talking about the best receivers in Michigan history, right? So, like – Braylon, you've got to go back. Maybe Roundtree. It's been a minute. We're talking about the best receivers in Michigan history. Yeah. This is supposed to be the best team in history, so what the hell? Well, guess what? We have a round.

Yeah. If he pulls out the Routree he pulled out in Columbus, he's going to have a fruitful final year. If he can have Cameron Martinez on him at all times, he might go for 5,000 yards, I'll be honest. Not the crap on the Michigan native, but yikes. Well, he chose to go Scarlett and Grayson. He did.

Yeah, he did. Going from Muskegon to Columbus, Ohio sounds absolutely terrible. Muskegon is beautifully good at Columbus, but I digress. I will say, too, here's what I would say. 1,000%, even though that Blake Corham and Donovan Edwards are both going to have

probably 200 yards a game, I expect us to still throw the ball a lot more. I for sure expect us. Also, you know, JJ, when you think about it, he didn't throw with any of our receivers until fall camp. So like when you're talking about the timing and the rhythm of all this, like it's, you know, it's not a secret. It's not like it's not crazy that he was missing on some of those throws throughout like the middle of the season. And then obviously by the end of the year, it was clicking because he actually got those in a rhythm. So I think when we're going through an entire offseason of him being able to get routes down for, you know, with these guys, like I think think it's gonna be we could be lethal and you know i i think when you have the option of of uh of donovan and blake and also like i wouldn't

be shocked if dono is like 75 slot next year too i. I would be in heaven because I think he is such a mismatch. What linebacker or outside, you know, wherever, like there's no way that you can guard Donnell in that slot. I really hope they utilize hurry up as well. Keep the same personnel on defense on the field and then you can switch Donovan from the backfield to to the slot i mean it's there's a lot of possibilities that are really exciting i just want to take advantage of them yeah i agree i agree i i mean all right so now we can say we can add cornelius to that list we're just waiting on we're just

waiting on chris jenkins it's way nine chris like i mean if you would have told me like obviously i had a hand in the one more year fund which is awesome but like if you would have told me from the outside and even i didn't know this like that we'd get possibly all these guys back like that's insane i think we were saying like if we got like three out of five, we'd be like clutch, right? Holy shit. It's insane. And you guys were talking about culture earlier, and it's like if you have good culture, you don't have to talk about it. You don't have to explain it.

It's apparent. You can see it. It's right in front of you. There's no questioning good culture. Guys play. Guys play hard. Guys come back and play. Guys want to play together.

And Michigan has learned from it. Yeah. I think this is the last year i remember tweeting this um i don't know what it was oh you know what it was during the transfer portal when everyone was transferring to michigan when like everyone and their mother was like we're gonna go to michigan for like a week do you guys remember that it's like aj barner and that's cool you know all those guys were coming to michigan right so and i had this thought and i tweeted i was like okay hey as a society i think we're gonna have to get used to michigan being good like i think last like last year i shouldn't say last year i mean maybe last season quote unquote so this past season kind of like notarized and justified the success michigan had the year prior and then everyone coming back further proves that I think this is kind of like

a here to stay type of deal. This is like at least a five-year run. I feel like we're on year three of what's going to be a five-year run. Does any of those years end with a championship that's still left to be answered? And I think if you're going to, it's probably this year based on the recruiting classes. But again, you bring in Jaden Davis, you play the portal game a little bit,

and it kind of offsets all that stuff anyway, and you're going to continue to have an opportunity. And I think Michigan's coaching staff, and you guys can correct me if you guys think I'm wrong, but I think their coaching staff was like, hey, we have enough holes to fill in the portal, or we have enough holes filled in the portal to offset this 2023 class to just be a value class where we get the best guys we can get for the positions we need because we're going to go hard in 2024 and bring in a big class. We just brought in a big class in 2022 with guys like Will Johnson and Mason Graham and Derek Moore and Keyon Sav and all these guys that are going to be plug-and-play type of defenders in their second, third years on campus.

We're not going to have a whole lot of needs for the guys in the 2023 class, So we can go hard in 24, build on Jaden Davis, you know, hopefully, et cetera, et cetera. So I think they were like, they were just like, hey, win, and it's going to take care of everything, the portal, and the rest will figure itself out. So that's why I think we're at a minimum. At a minimum, I think we're in a five-year run, at a minimum. But there's an opportunity for greater success there because of this culture that seems to have just unbelievable continuity.

You don't keep a guy like Sharon Moore on the salary that he has without good culture. You don't keep a guy like Blake Corum who could easily go pro if he wanted to without good culture and a little bit of NIL money, of course, but all that, all that in mind, I mean,

you know, taking advantage of what you can legally take advantage of is, like, uber important and something that Santa has encouraged. And, you know, it's just – it's a good spot right now. And I think it's going to keep going, man. I think the culture, like we said, speaks for itself. We're about $200 away from $100K on the one more year fund, by the way. Great work. Great work.

Great work to our unquestioned leader. Visionaries. Pretty dope. I'm going to shamelessly steal this from my guy at Metawooten Peace. We're cousins. Same last name. Don't look at the pictures of us, though. We don't look alike.

But he tweeted about the Valiant one more year fund and said, can we do that for Jet? So we need it. Got some work for you. All right. I'll get right on that. Hey, don't work too hard. Tomorrow's a holiday.

I will be with the basketball team tomorrow, actually, doing an MLK video shoot. All right. So we'll let you talk to Jet. No days off. No days off. Zero. I mean, You guys are grinding

right in pieces. Find somebody who grinds harder than we do. You can't. It's impossible. You can't. We've said it before. We do this podcast drunk, hungover, tired,

excited. There's nothing that holds us back from from doing this podcast so uh there's we've done it we did it on thanksgiving on thanksgiving day um there's if you no i don't you know i really i rarely toot my own horn right i really don't i don't talk about myself much at all right no yeah no i i can't recall a time that i was like talking highly of myself or making trying to make myself sound cool uh but i mean you know we really nobody does it like us really it's hard to be us don't say that i'm just glad to be here man man. Not everyone can do it.

All right, we'll wrap it up there. We've ranted on for long enough, I think, now. I've got a couple questions, actually. Well, first one's not a question. Michigan Wrestling, undefeated, number three in the country. We did not go to the duel today. We could not find tickets because reasons. And then I do have a question on our most bitter rival.

There's no shot C.J. Stroud is actually considering coming back, right? I keep seeing these rumors, and it's like, do you guys realize that he would be $35 million richer if he goes to the draft? Like, I don't know. That'd be wild. There's no shot, right? There's no – I mean –

The top, what, 10 pick? Top five. Awesome. Yeah, I mean, you got the Texans sitting there. You got the Colts sitting there. He's falling a little bit. He might fall a little bit. Which is crazy.

How would he fall, though? Because that game against Georgia, for me, restored all my faith in his ability as a prospect. Dude. Yeah, but Bryce Young did the same thing. So he solidified himself as the number one pick. You know what? Will Levis? You got Will Levis there too?

I know Josh Allen is the count, but you got to – like with Will Levis, everything has to go right. Like there's no wiggle room for him. It has to all go – Not against Will Levis, but – No, that's what – people keep talking about the Lions taking the quarterback. I don't need that. Just build the defense, you know, maybe grab a playmaker here or there.

That's amazing. Why would you move on from Goff? He was incredible this year. He had, like, one bad game. I don't know. I'm just – like, okay, when you put the number $35 million on it, like, I don't – there's no way that Ohio State's coming up with that money in NIL.

I know that they have, like – they're ready to throw bunches of money, but, like the Ohio state's coming up with that money in NIL. I know that they have like, they're ready to throw bunches of money, but like, they're not coming up with that. Nor that doesn't return an ROI. Right. Like even if you win a natty, you like $35 million. Yeah. Like no, whatever your small business is or, you know, whatever the NIL deal is, there's no way you recoup that other than like, well, Ohio state made the playoffs and maybe won the national championship like that this is like that's the thing with nil that it's

like people spend other people's money and like you know i want michigan to be as proactive as possible and just i know you're super involved in that but like that's where it's funny where it's like yeah i want you know we got to spend millions millions of dollars and it's like what's not your money like you're not maybe you're pitching into the one year one more year fund which is awesome but like the money that we're talking about is coming from like a handful of key figures that they have to put this shit down and they're not really seeing a big return on it like they're just doing it because they love their school so that's the interesting part of nil that doesn't get talked about a lot but there's no right. There's no shot.

Think about... Dude, if he gets hurt, it's not worth it. That would be the dumbest investment. Because if you get hurt in the NFL, guess what? The team's still sticking by you because they paid you $35 million.

And you can come back from it. I don't understand. I've seen those rumors and he has not declared it. He still has yet to declare. It's January 15th, January 16th. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the last day to declare. We'll see what happens. It would be

wild. I was joking. I think Josh Ogdahl put it out there. I thought we were all joking that we are like, oh, he's 0-2. I don't care if he comes back. I'm sorry to admit this. I care if he comes back.

He is a very good quarterback. I want them to have to bring in a first-year starter to Ann Arbor. I want that. Yes. I want it to be Kyle McCord. Maybe he's better. I doubt it. Yeah, I know they reload,ord. Maybe he's better. I doubt it. Yeah, I know they reload, but C.J. Stroud is an animal.

If he's better than C.J. Stroud, then let's be honest, we're in trouble anyway. I don't know. The only thing that would annoy the shit out of me is if they get Grayson McCall or somebody in the portal at some point. Well, the portal's closed now, right?

Or is it still on? No, it closes next Wednesday. Yeah, we didn't talk about Ayabi Oki transferring, although I think that honestly might be more of two things, following Biff Poggi. Yeah. And also think about Derek Moore, Braden McGregor, all those weak side defense events coming on.

So I'm not as concerned about that. I would have loved to have had him because I thought he made some great plays this year. But I'm not worrying at all about that one. Yeah, it sucks. He was a good kid that, like, really obviously helped us. And I thought that he would have been able to make a big leap this year. I did too. Okay, question, though, with the portal.

Like, when the portal closes, does it mean, with the portal, like when the portal closes, is it mean it's the last day to enter the portal and then you're just in the portal until you decide somewhere to go? Is that how it works? Or do you have to like enter? Transfer at any time, right? There's no time that it like,

quote unquote, like closes for you to commit anywhere. I think it's just, you have to enter exit at a certain time. Gotcha. But I don't know what that means. I think it's just you have to enter or exit at a certain time. But I don't know what that means. I think you're saying it's a good question because Oki transferred in when he did in the middle of...

Well, he was a grad transfer, which is the difference, I think. Does it even have any rules? Can I get an FAQ page on this shit, please? Hey, I gotta build those for work every day of my life. I need that. get an FAQ page on this shit, please. Hey, I got to build those for work every day of my life. I need that. I need

the Wikipedia page on the transfer portal. It's right next to targeting and process of the catch. Part of the library. It looks like it closes on January 18th, so this week. And then it opens up again from May 1st to May 15th.

So I don't know because I think you have to be in the portal to make sure it's not tampering so you can communicate with schools, right? Isn't that the whole point of it? Yeah, except for there's no real rules. There's no real rules. We got Lincoln Riley out here tampering his ass off, but we're concerned about some cheeseburgers. I know we talked about that last week, but it's still mind-blowing.

What did you say, Jay? According to an ESPN article, it says, instead of being able to leave a school at any time, players now have to enter the portal within set dates. The first window opens the day after the championship teams are selected, which will be December 5th, and closes 45 days later on January 18th. And there is also a 15-day spring period from May 1st to 15th.

Interesting. Yeah. All right. Hey, how many days till the spring game? That's what I'm actually thinking about. Got to get into – Got to get into – Speaking of spring games, the boys going to come out

and watch Coach Justice go to work this spring or what? Ooh. Who are you coaching? Hey, it's all about the players. It's all about the players. But – Who are you coaching? If you guys want to come.

I'll wind up. Still, I'll wind up. I've been there for like – This is my fourth season with them. Down river. Down river. Down river. Iron for like, this is my fourth season with them. So down river, down river, ironically enough,

keep this low key, but I am interviewing for a head coach spot just to add on my dish of things that I love to eat. I love how you said, keep this low key as we're still live and recording. Yeah. I'm not cutting that word. Whatever.

That's fine. I didn't say the school is trying to care, but, but yeah. And like everybody knows, like everybody within my baseball sphere knows say the school so i don't care but oh yeah uh and like everybody knows like everybody within my baseball sphere knows so yeah um i don't know coaching's just become like it's my seventh year doing it and that's how i met justin so yeah it's a good time man i love it there's just it's just something i can never like i can never sacrifice it it's just

like the sense of fulfillment that you need especially in a time where like i'm never i was never busy with my work during the springtime because football was in the fall and the winter sports were in the winter and then you know that was that was kind of it you just kind of chilled out in the spring and summer so you know it's something for me that i just i'm built to do it at this point like i've been doing it long enough and you got to coach a pioneer we need me to resurrect yeah until well that's something we shouldn't talk about. I did for a time. There was a moment in time where I coached there, Justin and I. Do you –

The Wogu was there. Yeah, Wogu was there. I saw games two and three of the CWS finals against Vanderbilt in person. But you're the bad luck guy. I did – well, I did see them play Texas Tech in that World Series as well in person. And they won that game. But I actually worked for TD Ameritrade, who sponsored the ballpark, so I got some free tickets.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Yeah. Now it's Charles Schwab Field. It's kind of lame. Doesn't have the same ring. It's obviously not Rosenblatt, but it's a great venue. It's a great venue. Hopefully Michigan can get back because that was a fantastic time.

Tracy Smith will get them there. Love it. Love it. Clayton Anderson, shout out. Shout out Clayton Anderson. If we're going to talk about Michigan baseball, we're going to need to give your boy 45 minutes. I was going to say, this might need to be another episode.

We're not going another 45 minutes. Can I ask? The last of us just came out. I'm going to watch it as well. I love the video. That 90s show comes out this week. Which one? That 70s show spinoff on Netflix, that 90s show.

It's got the OG Baron. I'll let somebody else watch it first. Red and Kitty. I'll come back i'll check rotten tomatoes um i just want to throw this in there i was at uptown coney over on jackson uh we live right over there we were grabbing some some brunch i don't even know what time it was and uh bro the head on lose yourself m&m just like blaring through the speakers all i can think of is when we're at the tailgate and Clayton Anderson was just rocking out on the guitars

to lose yourself. I'm hammered drunk in the first row. That's amazing. Wearing a tuxedo t-shirt. Just incredible. I need that level of serotonin at every moment of my life. It was an incredible day.

That was an incredible day. The vibes have never been higher. Never been higher. It was an incredible day. That was an incredible day. That was like – the vibes have never been higher. Never been higher. Dude, because it was like 60 degrees. It was like 72. It was hot. Perfect. It was hot.

I got a sunburn. It was Halloween weekend, Michigan State weekend, like night game, just twisted tees absolutely flowing through my veins. Oh, my God. Jack put on one of the best shop-bend performances on stage out of nowhere. Of my life. Ever. You will never repeat that.

No. They're not carbonated, so that was my key. Yeah. You did make Clayton look like shit, though. I did. That was bad. That was tough. I kind of stared him down, too.

What was the drink that was not carbonated? Twisted tea okay okay yeah there's it's a low key you would not think it because obviously like pretty sugary it's probably the easiest thing to choc on ever so you get the light ones they're like 100 calories like i'd rather have that than a seltzer like way more flavor way more feeling oh. I like to have some tea. I don't think it's too sugary, though, to drink all day. I feel like... I don't know. You didn't say way more fiber or something. Do we eat Raisin Bran? What kind of statement is that? What did you say? Me?

Did you say way more fiber? Way too sugary. No, Tanner. You said way... No, I said it was way more fulfilling to drink. Oh. I thought you said more fiber. I was like, alright, we are looking at the wrong... If I'm looking for something to drink, I said it was way more fulfilling to drink. Oh. I thought you said more fiber. I was like, all right, we are looking at the wrong way. If I'm looking for something to drink, I'm like,

you know what, we've got a little bit more fiber in it. I'm not picking beverages off of fiber. I don't even know if that's a thing. That's what I was wondering. All right. For the sake of our listeners, I'm going to wrap this up. I forgot we even said we were done. I forgot that we were recording at this point, honestly. This is incredible content.

It's just so natural with you guys. You can follow us at Blue by 90 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, at Blue by 90 Podcast on YouTube and blueby90.com. We appreciate you. Go blue. Go blue. Go blue. Go blue.