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Florida won't get screwed by the BCS if they are not in. At no point this season has Florida been number two. Michigan has been ahead of Florida in two polls after their season ended. People want to talk about Michigan's cake schedule. Guess what? Yes, Florida may have played the hardest schedule and only lost once. But Michigan played the third hardest schedule, and only lost--by three, on the road--to the best team in the country. Florida, Arkansas, LSU, and Auburn are all pretty much equal. The games between all those teams were close fought games that could have gone either way. Would you even consider one of the other teams? Had Arkansas beaten Florida, would Arkansas be in the discussion? Florida and Michigan have comparable offensive and defensive numbers. But without Florida's 62-0 win over Div I-AA West Carolina, those numbers aren't nearly as close. The big thing here is: On a neutral field, Michigan v Florida, who wins? Let's compare their games from this season: Michigan's games, ranked by record, and comparable Florida win. L OSU 42-39 (L Auburn 27-17) Edge: Michigan d Wisconsin 27-13 (d LSU 23-10) Edge: Even d Notre Dame 47-21 (d Arkansas 38-28) Edge: Michigan d Central Michigan 41-17 (d Tennessee 21-20) Edge: Even d Penn State 17-10 (d Georgia 21-14) Edge: Even d Minnesota 28-14 (d Alabama 28-13) Edge: Even d Iowa 20-6 (d South Carolina 17-16) Edge: Michigan d Indiana 34-3 (d Kentucky 26-7) Edge: Even d Ball State 34-26 (d UCF 42-0) Edge: Florida d Michigan State 31-13 (d Southern Miss 34-7) Edge: Michigan d Northwestern 17-3 (d Florida State 21-14) Edge: Even d Vanderbilt 27-7 (d Vanderbilt 25-19) Edge: Michigan Overall, Michigan has the edge 5 times to Florida's once. Michigan should be in the title game.

Florida had the hardest schedule, this is true. Michigan's was the third hardest, and included two wins over teams that should finish in the top ten, and a three point loss to the first team to ever post a perfect BCS score. If Michigan were in the SEc and Florida in the Big Ten, Michigan would be undefeated and Florida would be second place at best. Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin are all teams with 11 wins. Florida is the only SEC team to hit 11 wins. Michigan went 11-1, with 9 wins by 14 points or more, including two against top ten teams. Florida went 11-1 against Division I teams, with only four wins by a 14 point or greater margin. Florida's one loss was by ten points against Auburn. Michigan's one loss was by three points to OSU. Here's how the top fifteen fared: 1) OSU, Idle. 2) USC, Lost 3) UM, Idle 4) Florida, Won 5) LSU, Idle 6) Louisville, Won 7) Wisconsin, Idle 8) Boise State, Idle 9) Arkansas, lost 10) Notre Dame, Idle 11) Auburn, Idle 12) Oklahoma, winning 20-7, 1:25 remaining in the 3rd 13) Rutgers, tied 23-23, late 4th 14) Virginia Tech, Idle 15) West Virginia, tied 23-23, late 4th Based on that, the top ten after this week should look something like: 1) OSU (BCS Title Game) 2) Michigan (BCS Title Game) 3) Florida (Sugar Bowl) 4) Louisville (Sugar Bowl) 5) LSU (Rose Bowl) 6) Wisconsin (Capital One Bowl) 7) USC (Rose Bowl) 8) Boise State (Fiesta Bowl) 9) Notre Dame (Orange Bowl) 10) Oklahoma (Fiesta Bowl)

Why U-M should still be No.2: Against Notre Dame: UM scored 47 points, USC 44. UM gave up 21 points, USC 24. UM outgained Notre Dame by 95 yards (368-273). USC did not outgain Notre Dame (404-404) Now...if we take the percentage of UM's numbers against Notre Dame that USC put up, and apply that percentage to the OSU game as a prediction of a OCU/USC matchup... USC will lose by a score of 48-37. USC will gain 436 yards, and give up 744. Somehow, I don't think that sounds like USC is the right choice for the title game.

.895 to .894 save percentage....and the defense has been much better in front of Howard.

Mursak will probably see at least a handful of AHL games by the time I have him slated to be on the roster. Emmerton was included simply because he's a versatile player and the Wings have been having a youth movement. Likely, Emmerton won't be on the team for 07-08, in favor of a decent veteran to fill the 13th forward slot. But Mursak's speed and offensive instincts are good enough to get him a look at the big club after a few spots open up from the current roster. He's already the best skater in the organization.

Unless Mursak makes the Wings out of training camp (unlikely--Only one or two forward spots are likely to open up, and at least one will be filled from free agency) Mursak can't play in the AHL until January 20th, 2008. He'll likely finish next season with the Spirit and then potentially--depending on guys like McGrath and Grigorenko--will jump to the NHL. Here's how I see it playing out at forward over the next couple seasons barring trades that shake up the roster significantly OUT: Datsyuk, Lang, Maltby, Draper, Williams IN: Grigorenko, McGrath, Mursak, Emmerton, UFA scoring winger. This gives us a roster come 2008-09 that features a forward lineup of Zetterberg, Filppula, McGrath, Cleary at center, and Holmstrom, Samuelsson, Franzen, Hudler, Grigorenko, Mursak, Cleary, and a UFA scoring winger. Emmerton is slated as the 13th. That's solid, speedy, skilled both ways, and very young with only Homer, Sammy, and potentially the UFA pickup over 30.

I know a lot ofus on here have been waiting for Howard next year. But i looks like he might not be ready for full-time NHL duty when next season rolls around...which brings the question; Osgood/Liv in 07-08? This is the tandem I wanted for this season. Stefan might not be as strong a prospect, but he's more NHL-ready than Howard and would probably be the better choice to pair with Ozzie. MacDonald is an ok goalie, but he'll likely be traded or waived by that point as he is not as good as Liv.

All I did was use your line of reasoning with two different players. Your reaction was exactly what I expected. Inconsistent with the original post. How about we give Abdelkader a shot in the NHL before judging him as an inferior prospect? The guy wants to finish school. That doesn't make him a worse hockey player.

More than likely, Kolanos' attitude problem="I thought I was signing to play in Detroit! The AHL sucks."

Would you take Samuelsson over Latendresse? Samuelsson has been an NHL first liner for over a year now.

The CSS rankings were brought up as an example of why Abdelkader might have been viewed as a better pick than Latendresse. Not as comparison of their actual potential, but as a comparison of how highly they were thought of at draft time. Plus, as for the quote from RWC... RWC ranks Abdelkader ahead of Kopecky...and everyone on here is absolutely gushing about Kopecky this season, even though a year ago I was the only person on LGW who thought resigning him was a good idea. So which is it? Is Abdelkader a third linder, or is he a better prospect than Kopecky? He's also ranked above McGrath, Ryno, and Bootland. In fact, the only prospect forward ranked ahead of him that isn't on the team is Grigorenko, who is the top prospect on RWC. Hudler and Filppula are also ranked above him.

BAdelkader is a solid skater with a decent shot, good playmaking skills, a physical game and a mean streak, and good defensive play, and he can play all three forward positions. He should be a solid second liner who can contribute in all situations.

No kidding..how many times did we see the turf screw us? I remember one in particular where Breaston had the guy beat when he cut back right, but his feet just kept going for about a yard to the left. Would have been a huge play if the field hadn't given way.

If Colorado trades for Forsberg...it's Theodore. Budaj is not a better goalie prospect than, say, Niitymaki. And he's no closer to being an NHL-level starter, either. Theodore, however, has won a Vezina. If the Flyers did trade Forsberg for Theodore, you'd have to see Esche going back the other way and a forward going to Philly. Otherwise the Avs are short a goalie and the Flyers are short of NHL-caliber forwards. Maybe Forsberg and Esche for Theodore and Tyler Arnason?

The only way an SEC team goes to the title game is if Florida wins out and wins big, and USC loses to Notre Dame. Even then, Florida leapfrogging Michigan is a long shot. USC winning out seems to be the only realistic possibility for Michigan to be removed. And USC would have to be good enough to jump Michigan in the computer rankings--USC is already ahead in the polls that matter to the BCS--and moving up is not a guarantee even if they do win out. EDIT: Another reason Florida shouldn't be considered: Their schedule included a recent game vs Western Carolina...one of the worst teams in Div I-AA.

I've changed your analysis to see just which wins were against current top ten teams, and which potential wins could be. If Arkansas loses to LSU and then beats Florida, we'll have no one-loss teams in the SEC. Tommy Tuberville would contend that Auburn should be in the title game at that point, but we all know reality: A team whose only loss came to the unanimous number one is better than any two-loss team. If Notre Dame were also to win their game with USC, Michigan's place in the title game would be indisputable. Michigan is the only team right now that has beaten TWO top ten teams.

Samuelsson has 10 points in 14 games and is a good skater and solid defensively. Latendresse can't skate or play defense, and is only scoring since moving to a line with Ryder and Koivu.

Let's look at losses: Michigan: #1 Ohio State USC: NR Oregon State, possibly #5 Notre Dame Arkansas: #3 USC Notre Dame: #2 Michigan, possibly #3 USC Florida: Auburn (who lost to Arkansas) USC is the only team with a chance to remove Michigan--and to do that, they have to win two more games, one of them against Notre Dame, who Michigan destroyed and yet is now a top-five team again.

Polls are out, still waiting on computer rankings and new BCS. Michigan stays at 2nd in AP, drops to third behind USC in Harris and USA Today--and barring a huge discrepancy in the computers, Michigan falls to third in overall BCS. If Notre Dame beats USC, Michigan goes to Glendale and Wisconsin plays the Trojans in the Rose Bowl. Man..Imagine if Wisconsin were to beat the Trojans?? We'd end up with three Big Ten teams in the final top five....

USC winning out is the only scenario that should conceivably keep Michigan out of the title game. Let's round out an evaluation of the top ten: (1) OSU is undefeated and a unanimous #1 the past couple weeks. (2) Michigan lost to (1) OSU in a close game. (3) USC lost to (NR) Oregon State (4) Florida lost to (11) Auburn (5)Notre Dame and (9)Wisconsin lost to (2) Michigan. (6) Rutgers lost to (NR) Cincinnatti (7) Arkansas lost to (3) USC. (8) West Virginia lost to (10) Louisville. (10) Louisville lost to (6) Rutgers. Right away, we must exclude ND and Wisconsin for losing to UM. Rutgers is out also, having lost to Cincinnatti, and with Rutgers out, you lose Louisville and following that WV as well. So USC, Florida, or Arkansas are still left to consider. Arkansas lost to USC by a ridiculous margin, so they don't get in. That leaves USC and Florida. USC has an underwhelming loss to unranked Oregon State, but they' also laid a drubbing on top-ten Arkansas. If they win out, they probably get in by virtue of being a one-loss USC team. A close loss to OSU and dominating performances in every other game-including two other top-ten teams--is a better performance than any other one-loss team has had this season. USC winning out, with big wins, is the only way to keep Michigan out of the title game.

Here's how I see the lineup and batting order right now: 1) Granderson, CF 2) Polanco, 2b 3) Guillen, SS 4) Sheffield, DH 5) Rodriguez, C 6) Ordonez, RF 7) Casey, 1b 8) Monroe, LF 9) Inge, 3b Backups: IF: Shelton, Infante, Santiago, Perez OF: Thames, Clevlen, Gomez C: Wilson Rotation: Bonderman, Rogers, Robertson, Verlander, Maroth Bullpen: Miner, Ledezma, Zumaya, Grilli, Rodney, Colon, Jones Miller likely spends most of next year at Toledo starting.

If Notre Dame or Cal beat USC....then it's either Florida, Rutgers, or a rematch in the title game. Question for everybody....if it does go to a rematch...say Michigan beats OSU by a wide margin, something like 24-10 or bigger, and then in a rematch OSU wins in a close game, something like 17-14..... If that happens...who is the AP champ?

It will be a close game all the way through. Michigan will pull it out by less than a touchdown....Let's say 24-20.

You guys do realize that good skasting, skilled two-way grinding forward Abdelkader was ranked 17 places higher than 'super elite power forward prospect' Latendresse among North American skaters by the CSS? Abdelkader was ranked 25th among NA skaters..Latendresse was ranked 42nd. That's a HUGE difference.

f*** that. I could do as well as Latendresse has done since being moved to a line with Koivu and Ryder. Play Hudler or Kopecky with Zetterberg and Datsyuk and see what happens.