Maize n Brew gives you your daily (or semidaily) rundown of all the Michigan Football, Michigan Basketball, College Football, and College Basketball news you need to get through the tedium of your boring desk job. For good measure we'll throw in a little irreverent information, comedy and commentary to help you salt away the time until the clock strikes 5pm. If you want Maize n Brew in 140 characters or less, follow us on Twitter! Or you can friend us on Facebook and become a fan of Maize n Brew on Facebook for more links. Time to take a sip of your:
Afternoon Michigan Brews
Let the Hoke vs Former Team Hype Begin - In what will be the dominant storyline of the week, Brady Hoke's fourth game as head coach at Michigan comes against his former team, the Aztecs of SDSU. Expect lots of emotions and subplots as the week goes on. Let's hope it's business as usual for those Wolverines. On a personal note, I went to the last SDSU game and a very talented Michigan team nearly lost, so let's hope M fares better this time around. Via AnnArbor dot com.
Can Denard Pass? - Hmm. This is going to be another ongoing debate. His numbers haven't been good, but he's been literally inches away on some of his throws. I'm in the "yes" category here, but he's got to go through his progressions more. He often forced some pretty bad throws in lieu of hitting wide open men.
David Molk Is A Person, Hates Media- hmm. I love this guy. So much grit.
Your NFL Non-Lions Rooting Guide - Magnus has graciously broken down all the M players in the NFL. I just pick teams with the most and hope they do well. It's really fun, especially last week's Henne v Brady passmageddon.
Decals!- In lieu of the Brewskis, on hiatus, I give you this: MVictors has some decals to give out. How very nice of them.
EMU Analysis from MnBn- Brad brings up a good point - I'm not worried about the offense - I agree that it's a hangover from ND. They'll be fine, especially as the season goes on. This is unbridled, blinding optimism here. Please.
Non-Michigan links after the jump.
Afternoon Non-Michigan Brews
San Diego State is Good- We knew Hoke could build winners, but hey, Michigan's facing one of his former projects this week. Who knew? I'm most impressed with their win over Washington State.
Dan Wetzel on Notre Dame's Position in Realignment - Hmm. What will happen to the Irish, who have proudly stayed independent for a while? With the Big East disintegrating, what's going to happen to their nonfootball sports? Should they pony up to a conference? We'll see. Their TV deal is really lucrative though, as is their BCS involvement. The ACC is in the power position here, so they can make any demands they want. Has the B1G door closed for ND, or will we see Mizzou or other teams hop on board as well? I really, really despise realignment.
Wait, what? - Big East/B12 merger? Ridiculous. Not totally improbable because, well, everything about the NCAA is scary right now.
More Realignment, Last One, I Promise - Oklahoma and Texas have been given permission to leave the B12, if that is to be believed. Looks like Oklahoma might be the voice of reason in this whole mess if an equal revenue sharing agreement is worked out. Let's just hope. Oh, I hate realignment. Let's just play football, please.
EDSBS Graphs Are Always Excellent- The good people at EDSBS examine Les Miles, Bob Stoops, suicide, Taylor Martinez's throwing motion, and much more. Always good for some snark, they are.
Brian's This Week in Schadenfreude- Also quite nice for the snark that it is... I would also like Joe Bauserman's address, so that I can visit him... and thank him.
Nate Silver Is Excellent - Another quality piece that may have some overrepresentation issues but still a great read about who follows football and what the markets are - this will have particular relevance now that Realignment Armageddon is upon us. Better name, anyone?
State's Backs Slumping- let's hope this continues. Not a whole lot went right against Notre Dame for them, and by the wonders of the Common Opponents theme, I am less scared of Sparty now. Then again, M can't stop the run and the game is at Spartan Stadium... yikes.
Extremely Relevant YouTube Clip of the Moment: