Final Four Bound!

I have resisted commenting on M's tourney run up to this point, but I can refrain no longer.  



Unbelievable!

 

Not the last trophy we're raising this year hopefully...

So classy, and criminally underrated.

 



This wouldn't be complete without an acknowledgement of how we got here. Coming from 10 points down in the final 2:50 - unlikely, unprecedented, gutsy, somehow expected -  it's something we'll probably never see again. The basketball statistics site kenpom.com put the probability of Michigan winning the game at that point at .6%. A 1-in-200 chance. Truly amazing.

 



Filling Out Your Bracket?

I like the way this kid thinks. Michigan to the finals - hey, I'll take it. Not likely, but that's why they call it March Madness.

Some tips (but don't complain to me when they're wrong!):

• Usually it's the 12 over 5 seed that's a lock every year, but this year I like every 5 to advance.
• It's the 11 vs. 6 matchup that I see being the source of real drama. Usually something like 31% of 11 vs. 6's result in upsets, but this year I like at least 3 of them. Which ones? Your guess is as good as mine. How about Minny, Belmont, and St. Mary's?
• Could some even higher seeds win and advance? Don't even mention South Dakota St.! How about Valpo?? Nah, I don't like them either to win. With both in-state teams playing in the friendly Palace, I think they each win their first two games.
•  Last year two 15 seeds won - could the unthinkable happen again? No.
• But a 14 could make some noise - I see Marquette being a vulnerable 3 seed. Maybe underdog Davidson could give a scare.
•  Is the Big Ten finally going to break through and end it's 13 year title drought this April in the ATL? I think so. Sparty, the hated Buckeyes, those gouge-your-eyes-out-because-they're-so-boring Badgers, even the least experienced team in the field, your Michigan Wolverines, could advance to the Georgia Dome. But it's the LoosiersHoosiers I see cutting down the nets and concluding the annual One Shining Moment montage. 

Ya got that? Look for most of these educated guesses to be wrong because, hey - it's March Madness! Good luck!

Inspiring Video

Had to post this interview of Rodney Rogers. I remember when he was still in the NBA, before a tragic four-wheeling accident robbed him of his body. Nice job by C-Webb too, conducting the interview.

New Video and Clinical Trial Update

Walking on Wednesday :)

Check out this great update on the FDA-approved Schwann cell transplantation clinical trial the Miami Project is undertaking. “This trial is a critical step in moving our basic science discoveries into people with acute spinal cord injury,” says W. Dalton Dietrich, Ph.D., scientific director of The Miami Project. “It will serve as a basis for future treatments that include combination approaches that should enhance the beneficial effects of Schwann cell transplantation and provide better functional improvements in people living with spinal cord injuries.”

Still early in the process, of course, but exciting stuff nonetheless.