Unverified Voracity:

I keep calling him "Epke" in my mind, but Michigan's latest basketball recruit is named "Ekpe" and don't you forget it. The Free Press chips in an article on Udoh, who is listed at 6'10, 240++:

"I think he's still growing," said Guy Hardaker, who coached Udoh at Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe. "He has two 7-foot grandfathers in Nigeria."

Also, "His upside is great." Great!

Meanwhile, Tommy Amaker says that Michigan is close to reaching the "ultimate level that we want to achieve": an NCAA tournament berth. Aim high.

When in doubt, say 6-5: the mantra of those unfortunate souls tasked with predicting the fate of Michigan State in any year. Unfortunate? The difficulty always comes in not in the prediction, but the attempted justification. It's "yes, but they won't be 8-3/3-8... trust me," and no one trusts you and then they do.

What? Anyway: SMQB is in doubt and says 6-5 in his Absurdly Premature Assessment of the Spartans. Tantalizing clip designed to get you to CLICK THE LINK:

Last year's kickers, John Goss and Matt Haughey, combined to make a whopping 5 of 16 field goals, and only 2 of 10 beyond 30 yards (the long was 32). Worst of all, the pair had an amazing four kicks blocked, the worst of which, of course, followed the rush job at the end of the first half against Ohio State, a disastrous ten-point swing that wound up setting flame not only to a comfortable Spartan lead in that critical game but that also triggered MSU's persistent schizophrenia for the rest of a henceforth dismal season in which the most noticeable positive was the entertainment of John L. Smith's straining forehead veins. Goss and Haughey, for the record, were still listed 1-2 on the Spring depth chart.

And he didn't even mention the blogging. Lede from an Oregon newspaper article on Google Maps mashup Platial:

Doug Gillett is a 23-time loser.

Doug, for his part, is fine with this.

Etc.: Athlon previews Michigan and places them at #13; OMG. OILERZZZZ.