Unverified Voracity: Mean Team Edition

Fulmer Cup, here we come. Michigan officially enters the Fulmer Cup sweepstakes with our own version of the 7th Floor Crew, though we'll probably get points deducted because only one player on scholarship is involved--third string tailback Jerome Jackson. Two walkons, Landon Smith and Tyrone Jordan, are also involved in this:

The [controversial rap] song, titled "Measly Penny," was brought to the athletic department's attention sometime this week. The Michigan Daily has also obtained a copy of the rap, which alludes to threats against the female student.

The group calls itself the "Mean Team."

I question the "alludes to threats" construction, which implies something like...

We may be threatening you! Or maybe not! Read between the lines of this clever wordplay to find out!

...but this, as they say, is no good. At the very least all three will get extremely familiar with Michigan Stadium's steps; if Lloyd is feeling ornery they could be gone from the team. No word on whether "Measly Penny" has any lines that will worm their way into pop culture a la "52 isn't just my number." If you're looking for a link I tried to find one but failed--it's probably better that way anyway.

The nation's curling obession is over for a bit. This blog's obsession, however, promises to continue indefinitely, especially when you can close your eyes and hear this. Yessir. (HT: Tom Tolbert's radio show via Deadspin.)

The hockey team is a vast disappointment. There's no other way to put it. The latest indignity: a 3-0 third period lead turning into a 4-3 overtime loss in a game that the beautiful woodland creatures of Ann Arbor were fortunate I missed. The team is stumbling towards the finish line, a couple of fortunate victories over good teams at the beginning of the year the only thing propping up their PWR rankings enough to get them into the tournament... probably.

Michigan's stellar 1-3-2 finish slid them from eighth to eleventh in the pairwise; they finished third in the league. As a result, the second-round playoff series coming up in two weeks is a critical one for the Wolverines. Lose it, and Michigan could fall a couple additional slots and be in serious danger of missing the tournament for the first time since 1990. Yuck. I'm stocking up on holy water, canned vegetables and geiger counters, since Michigan hockey missing the tournament in the same year the football team goes 7-5 would be an unmistakable sign of the Apocalypse.

Anyway: Yost Built has five reasons to panic (check) and five reasons to, um, not panic (er?). I cosign with enthusiasm. Also, Chris Heisenberg has posted a couple updates on 2007 recruits considering Michigan.

Diiirrrty, and not in the Christina Aguliera "wait, I'm a slut now" way: college basketball recruiting. The New York Times and Washington Post are both examining the proliferation of unaccredited prep "schools" with classes like "Coloring Between The Lines And You," "Introduction to Protractors," and "Contract Signing 101: Asking Questions Is For Pansies." The main WTF graf:

In 2000, the N.C.A.A. began allowing high school administrators to determine the legitimacy of their own core courses. Three years later, the N.C.A.A. began allowing students to compensate for low College Board scores with higher grade-point averages.

Yeah, that sounds like a fantastic idea. Meanwhile, Native American imagery blah blah blah.

(HT: Yoco and Section Six)

...But, hell, we've got to do it. 2006 SG Patrick Beverly is profiled in the Sun Times.

Bracketology's latest: Michigan is a #9, playing Cal in the first round. The Diag has more details on Abram (hopefully returning versus IU), Hunter (maybe by the tournament), and other bracket predictions.