Koo’s Corner

-Yesterday I blogged about Justin Boren’s surprising transfer away from Michigan. Today we got some insight into his decision, with some very harsh words about the new Michigan regime.

“I regret leaving behind my friends and teammates, but I need to stand up for what I know is right. I wore the winged helmet with pride, whether we won or lost, whether things were going well or times were tough.

Michigan football was a family, built on mutual respect and support for each other from Coach Carr on down. We knew it took the entire family, a team effort, and we all worked together. I have great trouble accepting that those family values have eroded in just a few months. That same helmet, that I was raised on and proudly claimed for the last two years, now brings a completely different emotion to me, one that interferes with practicing and playing my best and mentally preparing for what is required.

That I am unable to perform under these circumstances at the level I expect of myself, and my teammates and Michigan fans deserve, is why I have made the decision to leave. To those of you outside the program, the loyal Michigan fans and alumni, I know you will have trouble understanding, but I do want to thank you for your years of support. I wish my teammates the best and will always be proud to have been a part of Michigan football over the past two years.”

Boren joins 2 fellow offensive lineman and quarterback Ryan Mallet as those who have opted to leave Michigan rather then be a part of Rich Rodriguez’s transformation. There are rumbling that Boren is considering Ohio State and Cincinnat.
-It only gets worse for the Wolverines as the local media is beginning to take a look at Michigans’ academic programs for athlets. Mlive, has done an extensive search into the subject and found some alarming trends found below.

-It was also a rough day for Astros shortstop Kazuo Matsui. He was placed on the disabled list where his injury was made pubic for all sports fans.

“A slower-than-expected recovery means Matsui could need four weeks to fully recover from surgery to repair an anal fissure, a tear of the skin near the anus that causes bleeding and discomfort.”

- The NCAA tourney tips off again tomorrow. I’ll say West Virginia beats Xavier in a tight game, UCLA pulls away from Western Kentucky late, UNC edges out Wazzou by 10, with Loisville and Tennessee playing the game of the night. I’ll say Tennessee by 3.

I am some what compelled to pick Xavier and Louisville but I’ll stick to my bracket for now.

-Yesterday I blogged about Justin Boren’s surprising transfer away from Michigan. Today we got some insight into his decision, with some very harsh words about the new Michigan regime.

“I regret leaving behind my friends and teammates, but I need to stand up for what I know is right. I wore the winged helmet with pride, whether we won or lost, whether things were going well or times were tough.

Michigan football was a family, built on mutual respect and support for each other from Coach Carr on down. We knew it took the entire family, a team effort, and we all worked together. I have great trouble accepting that those family values have eroded in just a few months. That same helmet, that I was raised on and proudly claimed for the last two years, now brings a completely different emotion to me, one that interferes with practicing and playing my best and mentally preparing for what is required.

That I am unable to perform under these circumstances at the level I expect of myself, and my teammates and Michigan fans deserve, is why I have made the decision to leave. To those of you outside the program, the loyal Michigan fans and alumni, I know you will have trouble understanding, but I do want to thank you for your years of support. I wish my teammates the best and will always be proud to have been a part of Michigan football over the past two years.”

Boren joins 2 fellow offensive lineman and quarterback Ryan Mallet as those who have opted to leave Michigan rather then be a part of Rich Rodriguez’s transformation. There are rumbling that Boren is considering Ohio State and Cincinnat.
-It only gets worse for the Wolverines as the local media is beginning to take a look at Michigans’ academic programs for athlets. Mlive, has done an extensive search into the subject and found some alarming trends found below.

-It was also a rough day for Astros shortstop Kazuo Matsui. He was placed on the disabled list where his injury was made pubic for all sports fans.

“A slower-than-expected recovery means Matsui could need four weeks to fully recover from surgery to repair an anal fissure, a tear of the skin near the anus that causes bleeding and discomfort.”

- The NCAA tourney tips off again tomorrow. I’ll say West Virginia beats Xavier in a tight game, UCLA pulls away from Western Kentucky late, UNC edges out Wazzou by 10, with Loisville and Tennessee playing the game of the night. I’ll say Tennessee by 3.

I am some what compelled to pick Xavier and Louisville but I’ll stick to my bracket for now.

-Yesterday I blogged about Justin Boren’s surprising transfer away from Michigan. Today we got some insight into his decision, with some very harsh words about the new Michigan regime.

“I regret leaving behind my friends and teammates, but I need to stand up for what I know is right. I wore the winged helmet with pride, whether we won or lost, whether things were going well or times were tough.

Michigan football was a family, built on mutual respect and support for each other from Coach Carr on down. We knew it took the entire family, a team effort, and we all worked together. I have great trouble accepting that those family values have eroded in just a few months. That same helmet, that I was raised on and proudly claimed for the last two years, now brings a completely different emotion to me, one that interferes with practicing and playing my best and mentally preparing for what is required.

That I am unable to perform under these circumstances at the level I expect of myself, and my teammates and Michigan fans deserve, is why I have made the decision to leave. To those of you outside the program, the loyal Michigan fans and alumni, I know you will have trouble understanding, but I do want to thank you for your years of support. I wish my teammates the best and will always be proud to have been a part of Michigan football over the past two years.”

Boren joins 2 fellow offensive lineman and quarterback Ryan Mallet as those who have opted to leave Michigan rather then be a part of Rich Rodriguez’s transformation. There are rumbling that Boren is considering Ohio State and Cincinnat.
-It only gets worse for the Wolverines as the local media is beginning to take a look at Michigans’ academic programs for athlets. Mlive, has done an extensive search into the subject and found some alarming trends found below.

-It was also a rough day for Astros shortstop Kazuo Matsui. He was placed on the disabled list where his injury was made pubic for all sports fans.

“A slower-than-expected recovery means Matsui could need four weeks to fully recover from surgery to repair an anal fissure, a tear of the skin near the anus that causes bleeding and discomfort.”

- The NCAA tourney tips off again tomorrow. I’ll say West Virginia beats Xavier in a tight game, UCLA pulls away from Western Kentucky late, UNC edges out Wazzou by 10, with Loisville and Tennessee playing the game of the night. I’ll say Tennessee by 3.

I am some what compelled to pick Xavier and Louisville but I’ll stick to my bracket for now.

Here are some mid week thoughts on the world of sports.

- The MLB season kicked off this early morning with the A’s playing the Redsox in…… Japan. This 2 game series will count before both teams fly back to the states to play a couple of exhibition games, before once again starting the regular season. The game started at a 3 AM PT and was an A’s home game despite that Boston has 2 prominent Japenese players.

These games have made headlines for all the wrong reasons. I understand the need to internationalize baseball to non domestic audience but have to say there are better ways to do it. While its a little out of the box, Bobby Valentine is pushing for a true world series pitting the MLB champion agaisnt the Japenese league champion in Hawaii. Interesting concept that will never happen, but I think it’s not too bad.

- Its going to be a rough transition in Ann Arbor for Rich Rodriguez. With the dramatic change in system, I don’t know if Rodriguez will ever get his program back to the stature that the AD and boosters expect it to be. Last week I blogged about Terrelle Pryor selecting Ohio State over the Wolverines, which now leaves Michigan with a pretty barren and bleak QB situation.

Although there has been a lot of rumblings of the Rodriguez regime overhauling the complacent attitude of the team, some Wolverines have not taken to the change so kindly. Starting offensive guard Justin Boren (a Michigan football legacy) has decided to leave the program. Its an extreme rarity to have a starter transfer and one that has been on campus for 2 1/2 years. Boren was in position to be an all conference player but obviously butted heads with the new regime. The more interesting tidbit is that its in the realm of possibility that Boren would transfer to Ohio State. He would not be eligible for a scholarship due to it being an inter conference transfer, but Boren is a Central Ohio native who almost picked the Buckeyes over Michigan. Keep an eye on this as Boren’s brother ,a high school junior looking for a OSU offer, might be the enticing last piece for this recruiting puzzle. If so it would be the first football transfer from Michigan to Ohio State in the history of the rivalry (historians correct me if I am wrong)

- My bracket is doing ok. The games have been fun to watch. UNC is dominating. Can’t wait for Thursday. My Final 4 is in tact so far (Texas, Tennessee, UCLA (apparently the refs and god are a fan of), and Kansas.

- Lastly the 49ers have already butchered this years draft. They in essence traded the 7th pick in the draft for Joe Staley (who has not lived up to the billing thus far) and now have lost their 5th round pick for tampering violations stemming from last year’s courting of Lance Briggs. Even worse the niners will have to flip flop their 3rd round pick with the Bears moving them back from 7th to 12th. The Niners, a proud dynasty in the nineties built on consistent proficiency in the draft, now find themselves sand bagged by a string of incompetent decisions which has essentially already ruined a draft day that is still a month away.