Michigan moves on, and there's a fantasy baseball bit at the end that you may or may not want to ignore. Maybe.

The first two rounds of the NCAA tournament were WILDLY entertaining (I don't count the play-in games as round one because they're PLAY-IN GAMES). Michigan & Michigan State both advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time together, so that's good. I was on the road, so I only caught the 2nd half of Michigan's first game. The second game was HIGHLY entertaining. 

I was legitimately worried about this game. VCU has that incredible full-court press and are very solid defensively. The press didn't bother me quite so much, because Michigan typically has 3 to 4 players on the court that can handle the ball pretty well, but I was worried about the half-court game. Unnecessarily so, as it turned out. VCU's 1 3-point shooter was COLD, Michigan brought its D and beat the press BADLY.

I was a little disappointed in Shaka Smart's performance in this game. I felt like he got out-coached a little by Beilein, although he also was severely out-talented by Michigan, personnel-wise. Beilein started Mitch McGary (and that worked out well), and played Spike Albrecht with Burke for large chunks of the game. I've thought for a long time this season (really since mid-way through the Big Ten schedule) that McGary should be starting. He brings the physical presence, post defense and rebounding edge that Michigan has lacked basically all year.

Next up is Kansas. I would've mush rather faced UNC, obviously. Kansas has a stout D and a couple guys that can score. MSU beat them earlier in the year, and I think the key is to limit Jeff Withey's effectiveness. McGary is going to have to put in WORK. Burke needs to have a better game than his last 2, that goes without saying, but I think rebounding and good games from Hardaway Jr. and Robinson III are more important.

The Pistons are still without Andre Drummond, although that could be coming to a close this week. Apparently he's going through full practices with the team, which likely means they just want to get his conditioning back up before putting him out on the floor. This is exciting, since I'm going to a game in a couple weeks & don't want to watch the team that's shown up the past couple of months.

*Obligatory personal fantasy baseball update*
(If you have no interest, you have my permission to check out for the rest of this post)

The fantasy baseball league that I've been in since 1997 held its draft this past Sunday evening. I ended up with David Price as my first pick, #3 in our draft (or #63 overall, since there are 12 teams with 5 keepers each). I'm pretty happy with my team (despite having the worst keepers of any owner). I really only punted 1 category (batting average), and made only half-hearted attempts at 2 others (steals and saves). The other 7 categories are all in play, and I think I've got a shot at 3 or 4 of them.

My catchers are pretty average to bad, but my infield is solid (led by Hosmer, Manny Machado, Kelly Johnson and Zobrist). My outfield is bloody spectacular though (led by Mark Trumbo, Nelson 'Boom-Stick' Cruz and Granderson), and I stole David Ortiz at the end of the 6th (or 11th round, counting keepers). I've got pretty solid pitching, I've got a closer and 6 starters. I like to pick up a guy that qualifies as a relief pitcher but is supposed to start, padding my wins and K's (hopefully). This year I got Wade Davis to fill that role. I want to get a look at my team's projected stats, but on the whole I'm feeling pretty good.