Addendum: The Victors | Project OSPREY
Saturday, 8 March 2014
(№ 12) Michigan 84-80 Indiana
23-7, Big Ten 15-3

Wonder of wonders, the D.V.R. was revived from an apparently catastrophic failure, & last night I belatedly watched Saturday's game. The valiant Wolverines returned to their unfortunate pattern of falling behind early, a habit I'd hoped they'd left behind. The wily Hoosiers played a brilliant offensive game, shooting over sixty per cent from the field; I've only seen them in their two games against Michigan, so I'm at a loss to understand how they are a sub-.500 club in league play. Byeh? The capricious Zebras, the only team that plays in every single game, had a rough night, with actual fouls missed & phantom fouls called. I was not at all displeased with Coach Beilein's technical foul, because that sequence of non-calls was atrocious. I do not pretend that the Zebras have an easy job, but that is no excuse for such a lackluster piece of work.

B1G tournament play begins today, with eight clubs in action. The four winners will advance to face the four clubs with first-round byes in tomorrow's action. The four second-round winners then face off in the semifinals on Saturday, with that day's two winners meeting in the tournament final on Sunday. The field for the N.C.A.A. tournament—"March Madness"—will be announced later on Sunday, once all the conference tournaments have concluded. I am no tournament expert, no far-sighted prognosticator, but depending on how the tournament goes methinks the valiant Wolverines have a good chance of being a № 2 or № 3 seed, with an outside, outside chance of snagging one of the coveted № 1 seeds. Why not? The valiant Wolverines are the champions of the toughest, most fratricidal league in major-conference ball. But probably a № 2 or № 3 seed for the № 8-ranked Maize & Blue.

Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Polka Medley of the Day
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Angry White Boy Polka" from Poodle Hat (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: Polka-link. "Angry White Boy Polka" is the longest of the polka medleys, at over five minutes' length. I doubt this has anything specifically to do with the nu metal/rap-rock the "Angry White Boy Polka" parodies, as the generally trend is for slightly longer medleys. The last "Weird Al" polka under four minutes was "Bohemian Polka," released almost twenty years hence.