I’ve been with Michigan for about 17 years. That’s a major part of my life (I’m 27). You see, I wasn’t always a Michigan fan, merely because I didn’t know any better. I grew up in a Buckeye household, and like all little kids, was forced to wear the obligatory OSU gear my parents made me wear. When I went into 5th grade (I was about 10), I started to make my own sports decisions and one of the first was to become a Michigan fan.

I’ll tell you, it wasn’t easy growing up a Wolverines fan in a home full of Buckeyes. I grew up in a small town right outside Toledo, Ohio. For those who don’t know much about Toledo, it’s home to the fiercest UM-OSU rivalry between Ann Arbor and Columbus. Located about 53 miles south of Ann Arbor (1 hour’s drive) and 140 miles north of Columbus (2.5 hours drive), Toledo is the biggest city between the Big House and the Shoe, making it the ideal place for a fierce UM-OSU rivalry. Nearly half of the city and surrounding area root for the Wolverines and the other half root for the Buckeyes. Considering this is the greatest college football rivalry of all time, things can get kind of crazy!

It’s funny because you’d think they’d be crazy in Ann Arbor and Columbus. Not so. The vast majority of people living in Ann Arbor are for UM. The vast majority of people living in Columbus are for OSU. There is no major rivalry going on in the cities, unless the opposing team and all their fans make their way to said city. It’s not like Toledo. Toledo is special if for no other reason than that it epitomizes how NCAA football and this massive rivalry have made their way into the lives of the people who consider themselves fans. NCAA football is huge in the Midwest and this rivalry can pit father against daughter, brother against brother and even wife against husband. There is no better (or worse) time in Toledo then in November, on Saturdays, especially *that* Saturday.

Now that you know a little about my history as a Michigan Wolverines fan, I want to talk about the Michigan legacy. I’ve heard “winningnest-shminingnest” Michigan is over”, “Michigan has no hope” and a variety of other negative comments concerning the newly re-formed Michigan team. I never gave up hope that the Wolverines would come back and make me proud. They did just that, beating rival Wisconsin 27-25 in last Saturday’s game. There is no doubt Michigan has a long way to go, but we’ve been able to get just a small peek into what new Michigan Coach Rich Rodriguez is capable of accomplishing with these guys!

I know there have been naysayers about Rodriguez, but I’m not one of them. I like him. I think he’ll be excellent for this team. I’m glad he’s the new coach. Sure, they could have hired within Michigan, but after last season, the school needed a boost; something fresh and new. The Big Ten, as a whole, is becoming stale. We’ve seen the same ol’ same ol’ from schools like OSU. All of these schools need a makeover and now it just happens to be Michigan’s turn.

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Texas Tech’s Bobby Knight announced his resignation on Monday from Texas Tech. His son, Pat, will take over. As of right now, there is not much information available as to Knight’s abrupt departure.

Knight recorded his 900th win this season in front of a sell-out crowd and is the winningest men’s coach in Division I history. The fiery coach has been a fan favorite and has a way of making his teams win. But the coach has been trouble in the past because of that temper.

Speculation has led some to think he had a bet that if the Giants won the Super Bowl, he would step down. Him and a lot of other lost that bet.

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Rick Marjerus isn’t an easy man to listen to. The St. Louis coach shows no inflection and could lull you to sleep while interviewing him. However, listen to his words because there is so much more to this man.

Marjerus is a rare breed of public sports figures. He is honest, unwavering and responsible. He recently was at a rally for Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and supported a women’s right to choose abortion as well as stem cell research.

He took immediate heat from the St. Louis archbishop Raymond Burke who felt a person working at Jesuit school shouldn’t say such things. Instead of waffling on his stance and spinning what he said, Marjerus stood tall and backed his words telling ESPN: “I believe in ending the war. I believe in gun control. I believe in stem-cell [research]. I believe in pro-choice. I respect that women need to make the decisions that are right for them, and I think it’s wrong for people to speculate what they would do in a gut-wrenching, agonizing situation.”

It’s not every day that someone is willing to stand up the way Marjerus has. He cares about winning, but this also shows the man cares about quality of life. I am not going to say whether I agree with his opinions, but it’s good to hear about a man who has opinions. He works at a university where free-thinking and open-mindedness should be embraced rather than stifled.

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The Rutgers basketball teams pulled off an upset that didn’t seem possible this season. The Scarlet Knights have been struggling and it didn’t seem as they would even get a Big East win this year.

Their first conference win came against the most unlikely opponent — No. 19 Villanova. Rutgers defended its home court with an 80-68 win over the Wildcats.

Second-year Rutgers coach Fred Hill used to be an assistant at ‘Nova under Jay Wright and is very close with him. After the game Hill was quoted as saying he had mixed emotions because he would never want to be a person he considers a family member.

But I am sure Hill is not sitting at home wondering how to say sorry. Hill knows that it’s all about winning. Rutgers played great defense as Villanova committed a season-high 19 turnovers. Also, junior Anthony Farmer and freshman Michael Coburn scored 23 points each to lead the Scarlet Knights.

I am sure the RAC was rocking on Wednesday night, but this isn’t going to pull Rutgers out of the Big East cellar. However, this is a start. The women’s basketball has made its mark, making a Final Four appearance last year. The football team is all anyone can talk about in Piscataway despite this year’s mediocrity.

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When you think of college basketball, most people tend to think of March Madness. With the men’s basketball teams fighting for several grueling weeks until one team in the nation gets to reign supreme.

There is more to college basketball to that though. There is actually a whole other side of the sport that doesn’t get as much attention, and I am not immune to that.

Women’s college basketball is just as passionate, just a inspiring as them men’s game. However, if you’re outside of Tennessee or Connecticut, there isn’t much talk on who is going to win the Naismith Award (that’s the women’s National Player of the Year).

One of the most exciting women’s games happened on Monday night when top-ranked UConn took on the No. 3 North Carolina. If you are ready to just skim through the rest of this post or even hit your back button, consider this: the Gampel Pavilion was sold out (10,167) and there were over 100 media request for the game. So, people were interested.

Yes, even though it’s only January, women’s basketball is a big deal and not just when these hard-nosed women make it to Tampa for the Final Four.

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Top-ranked North Carolina has been playing on the edge all season. The Tar Heels almost lost twice this season and unranked Maryland finally pulled it off.

The Terps Bambale Osby hit a layup with 21 seconds left for the winner. Maryland stunned North Carolina and now No. 2 Memphis fans everywhere finally feel redeemed.

The Tar Heels had two close ones already this season. They defeated Clemson 90-88 in overtime and beat Georgia Tech 83-82. This team was either going to squeak by in the close games, which just showed how good the team really is, or the close games were going to catch up to them.

Obviously, it was the latter. North Carolina is off to its best start in nearly 20 years, so this one loss isn’t going to denounce the team. The Tar Heels are top five team and should treated as such. Pundits have such high esteem for this team that even after the close games, no one really changed their position thinking they shouldn’t be the top ranked team in the country.

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Bob Knight is definitely a character. I watched Texas Tech’s game last night hoping to see Knight pull off his 900th, and I wasn’t disappointed. Going into the game it didn’t look good for Texas Tech as it was playing Texas A&M, the No. 10 ranked team in the country.

However, Tech took control of the game from the start and defeated the Aggies, 68-53. The gym was packed, there were signs being held up everywhere. Fans wanted to witness history as Knight became the first Division I men’s coach to 900 wins.

Afterward, he address the crowd on a microphone.

“You folks being here — seats being full for a change — really made a difference tonight,” he said.

The crowd roared, but I think Knight was taking a dig at the fans. Before I watched the game, I was actually in attendance for the Temple vs. No. 20 Xavier game last night. Temple pulled off the upset (hitting 13 3-pointers helped), but I couldn’t help but notice how the crowd was sparse. The Liacouras Center is in the middle of Philadelphia with a train and bus stops in the vicinity, yet the school can’t pack the gym for a ranked team. I guess it’s been that way since John Chaney left.

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If college basketball hasn’t felt right this year, perhaps is because Dick Vitale hasn’t been screaming at you from the television.

A North Carolina vs. Duke game isn’t the same without Vitale, the colorful ESPN analyst, yelling “BABY!” about sixty times in a broadcast. Love or hate him, fans have to admit he brings an excitement to college basketball that many others can’t.

Vitale had surgery on his vocal cords to remove non-cancerous lesions in December. Everything went well for the 68 year old and he is expected to return on Feb. 6.

Guess which game he is calling. Time’s up. North Carolina and Duke.

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Bobby Knight is one of the most well known personalities in college basketball. He is the winningest coach in Division I men’s history, but it’s much more than that.

Knight isn’t afraid to shout or kick the chairs. The ornery coach has never been one to hide behind a façade.

For all his antics and, sometimes, childish behavior, one thing is certain, Knight is a good basketball coach. He demands a particular work ethic for his programs, and only recruits players he knows will give their all. If a player gives him less than he expects, it’s the last time a player will slack off. Knight makes sure of it.

The 67-year-old coach has been in the business for 42 years. Perhaps his longevity has lent more to his win record than his coaching, but his passion has never been questioned.

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Yikes! I am sure Rick Majerus didn’t expect this when he decided to take over at St. Louis this year.

Majerus led Utah to 11 NCAA Tournaments and the 1998 Final Four, but this season has been the complete opposite of his 20 years there.

First, there was the 41-point loss to Kent State. Perhaps that could have been an anomaly, but Thursday night was even worse. Majerus’ squad put up a Division 1-record 20 points against George Washington.

That’s twenty points in a whole game, not just one-half of play. That was the lowest scoring output since the shot clock was introduced in the 1985-1986 season, too young for even me to remember.

While the rest of the Atlantic 10 is on the rise, Saint Louis if falling at an exponential rate that I am sure Majerus never dreamed of.

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