Episodes

  • WTKA Roundtable 4/16/2026: It's Supposed To Be Harder

    WTKA Roundtable 4/16/2026: It's Supposed To Be Harder
    Apr 16 2026

    Things Discussed:

    • Best Michigan team ever? Seth: This team would destroy any previous Michigan team. The game gets better, the training gets better, the strategy gets better. They played together like they were together four years.
    • Championships are not easy.
    • This team vs Fab Five: Fabs had to score at the rim, and you can't do that against this team. 1989 team? The way Rice was shooting they could beat anybody, and they had more shooting. 2013 team? They were so good offensively but they'd need a ridiculous shooting day from the backcourt. Remember they didn't let Terry shoot threes, but perhaps he developed that in the NBA.
    • The refs hated the Fabs so much more than this team too, and they didn't really have a developed post game until Juwan was a junior. But imagine if you could put college C-Webb on a modern team, making him a switchable five? Oh man he'd be so good now.
    • This is the next evolution of hoops: consistent twos are better than threes, because threes will die on you.
    • Hunter S. Thompson: Sports journalist.
    • Loy = Morez? No.
    • Program golden age? They're going to continue to be very good, but this year will be among the best. It took a lot of luck to have a guy like Mara going unused by Mick Cronin and have a guy like Yaxel who's the best player of last year who wasn't in the NBA this year.
    • It gets harder to rebuild this team, because even Izzo is in the portal for rim protectors. The market at the rim has gone way up after they saw this team.
    • JP Estrella will help them on ORebs: he was one of the best on that team of bears.
    • Break: Our what-might-have-been team: Sam's is Kelly Baraka, Seth's is Antonio Bass as Rich Rod's 2008 QB.
    • Football: Hiter hype is off the charts. Sam thinks he's going to be an amazing zone runner.
    • Reliving Najee Harris: there were two flights; he was sitting next to Tua Tagovailoa on the other one, so you can't criticize him too much.
    • Sounds like a really good OL: Sam takes his Frazier victory lap. Gwar and Sprague and Norton, LG is Link, Efobi or Gach.
    • How much will they run the QB? 1) They flipped an Illinois commit, and 2) Whittingham's an Urban Meyer assistant.
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    50 mins
  • MGoPodcast 17.33: Let's Go Get The Boys

    MGoPodcast 17.33: Let's Go Get The Boys
    Apr 15 2026
    1 hour and 58 minutes The Sponsors Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com. Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers. 1. Hockey - Recapping the Frozen Four Starts at 0:51 We gotta talk about the hockey tournament. The fake hockey tournament. Whether they won or lost, it doesn't change anything about who this team was. Michigan played well enough to win, but one shot in nine minutes ended it. Almost every year it's not the best team that wins, it's usually Duluth or Denver. Denver is like the UConn men's basketball of hockey. There's no emotional story to apply your fandom to when it's just randomness. Denver's lack of penalties that were objectively bad no-calls just doesn't make it feel fair, especially the way they called Michigan's penalty in OT. even Alex and David think it was egregious, the players that poured their hearts into this deserve better. There is something wrong with this tournament, there would be a lot more respect for Buccigross if he would say something along those lines. There's not something wrong with Michigan, there's something wrong with the tournament. Imagine if in basketball they just stopped calling fouls in OT. 2. Hockey - Looking Ahead Starts at 27:50 Moldenhauer and Hage have announced returns. Apparently players have been informed to avoid the AHL if they can, college is a lot more enjoyable. Jack Nesbitt is the 12th overall pick and could be coming in, he's a TJ Hughes replacement. He's in the OHL playoffs and might not make a decision right away. Cameron Reid could also be coming in from the OHL, 21st overall to Nashville. Perron is the biggest one on the fence, if you get him then all your holes are plugged. JP Hurlbert is coming in regardless but he might wait a year to contribute. Nick Seaman is coming in as a 4th liner, Cooper Dennis might get deferred (and is Alex Drain sized). A lot of teams will be better next season, but Penn State had Gavin McKenna and weren't that great. Michigan State isn't missing a beat. There are a lot more, and better, options than just going to the NHL these days. They should be a pre-season top three, or maybe even top one. 3. Hot Takes and Basketball Portal Starts at 59:16 Takes hotter than the Denver Pioneers. The Red Wings need to make David Carle their head coach so they can win while being out-shot 2:1. This information might be outdated by the time you hear it! What is happening in the portal right now? Not much. Michigan gets JP Estrella out of Tennessee. He's a high efficiency but low usage player which is weird. He's a moneyball play vs getting Flory Bidunga. Otherwise there's not a lot of chatter. We're starting to expect Morez Johnson to return. Michigan needs a true rim protecting center and could probably also use a starting three. Juke Harris is worth going after but not worth the big bag, give that to the Seton Hall center, Najai Hines. Freshman Brandon McCoy went to a camp and looks like a guy you could have for 20 minutes a game. There's a trust of Dusty in the portal that the fanbase didn't have with Juwan. The Big Ten runs college basketball now. How would Beilein have done during this era? 4. Spring Game Preview Starts at 1:38:41 Spring Game is this weekend at 2pm, 12-18 starters will be sitting out. Bryce will probably play since they don't have enough quarterbacks, we better see Savion Hiter. Position groups are going to be split into balanced squads rather than have a draft, making it more like a controlled practice than a real game. In years past it was frustrating to see future NFL linemen with a walk-on running back behind them, you can't learn much from that. We expect to see a more evolved version of the offense with more quarterback runs. There is Travis Johnson buzz at wide receiver. Brian doesn't want to hear about Kendrick Bell. Hogan Hanson is generating excitement and the offensive line has intriguing positional battles. Evan Link is back and might play, Babalola is not playing yet. Whittingham is good at running the quarterback, it won't be the 2011 offense but it should be effective. The coaches apparently like the depth on the defensive line and think it's the strength of the team, which, ehhhh. Brian breaks down why this is not true. They trust Palepale. Do you prefer EDGE or ED? Linebacker depth is a concern, they don't really have anyone to back up the three main guys. The secondary should be ...
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    1 hr and 58 mins
  • Michigan HockeyCast 8.24: One Shot Away

    Michigan HockeyCast 8.24: One Shot Away
    Apr 14 2026

    1 Hour and 21 Minutes

    With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

    This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

    Segment 1 Do you gamble? Being a sports fan is just betting with emotion. As it turns out, Vegas offers a lot more than actual gambling. And it has THE SPHERE. We'd revisit despite initial skepticism. It's tough to continue emotionally gambling on a team that never wins the Frozen Four. Somehow Michigan keeps coming up against elite goaltending. Despite the disappointment, the team was resilient throughout the season. But still, sigh. Denver got frustratingly few penalties in this game, and some were objectively bad no-calls. Segment 2 Dave talks about the game until Alex tells him to stop. Denver controlled the opening minutes and scored off a Michigan turnover. Michigan scored twice in a minute. Michigan was taking control of the game while holding a lead into the 2nd period. It was a third stringer for Denver that ended up tying it. Denver goalie, Johnny Hicks, was insane, though. Shots were 52-26 in favor of Michigan. The eventual game-winner in OT came from a Michigan break-down. Michigan always plays well enough to win but just can't win in the Frozen Four, it's emotionally taxing. Player returns are already being announced. Jayden Perron is the main unknown. A pair of first round picks from the CHL are incoming! If Michigan gets everyone they want in the offseason they'll be a top three team. MUSIC
    • NHL on ESPN Theme
    • "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" -- En Vogue
    • Ice Hockey (NES) theme
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • WTKA Roundtable 4/9/2026: Shook the World

    WTKA Roundtable 4/9/2026: Shook the World
    Apr 9 2026

    Things Discussed:

    • Seth shares his story in the hotel lobby: Thank you to Champions Circle!!!
    • How this team was built: Michigan cared about fit and personality. If you're trying to copy this and you spend more in the portal you're doing it wrong.
    • Would any of these guys be as good if they stayed at their old schools?
    • Will Izzo hate this team more, or when Flint product Trey McKenney leads them to a repeat?
    • Dusty May future: perfect for this era where you pick whom you play for.
    • Portal: Can they get John Blackwell through admissions? If he can graduate from Wisconsin.
    • Portal: Juke Harris? Craig said he's a four; Seth says he is not a four because he's 200 pounds, and Wake was wrong.
    • Hockey preview: It's random, but the story is USNDTP won hockey this year. Best goalie, best route, best seed, get the nice locker room for both games. NCAA took CHL players and it turns out NCAA hockey is stronger.
    • Denver's goalie is super hot, their goalie is the Hurley of college hockey.
    • Who's favored? Nobody. 1/4ths.
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    48 mins
  • MGoPodcast 17.32: They Tried Telling Me I Was Ass

    MGoPodcast 17.32: They Tried Telling Me I Was Ass
    Apr 8 2026
    2 hours and 9 minutes The Sponsors Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com. Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers. 1. Just Won a Natty/Indianapolis Vibes Starts at 0:51 No crying this time, but we do think we can have nice things now. You get out of it what you put into it; the UMHoops guys are probably experiencing the highest of highs. The 2023 football championship was a thing no other fanbase has experienced; this is what a normal natty feels like. Some of us survived the 2023-24 team. The story begins with the Ellerbe years, the Beilein era absolutely helped build this. Don't resent the Fab Five, but they unfairly had to represent what Michigan could be. Reconsidering the Juwan era, the heart condition, how badly he needed a GM. Beilein was spiritually (and literally) present for this team; loudest the stadium got before Michigan hit a three was when they showed him. Very unselfish team. Built through the portal—Cronin was never going to be a good fit for Mara, Rez wasn't going to have a role after Illinois got the other Ivisic, Cadeau was struggling in a bad system at UNC, Yaxel used the portal to get here from JUCO via UAB, Roddy Gayle was the national glue guy of the year, Nimari was here three years through two coaching changes, and Will Tschetter was a five-year player who took a smaller role: nobody can make a good faith argument that any of these guys don't belong here. [The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP] 2. The UConn Game Starts at 27:50 Takes hotter than the rims during the final last night. Story of the game was UConn fouling the crap out of Michigan from literally the tip. Miss the first Cadeau and-one, then hit 24 free throws in a row to offset the terrible threes, until Roddy missed his pair. Snakebit shooting because Rez/Mara/Yax kept getting mismatches down low, but Michigan was able to play their bigs together, and that just made it impossible for UConn to score. Felt like Lendeborg was himself on defense; offensively he was obviously hobbled. Their communication was fantastic, and there weren't mismatches for UConn to hunt. A time or two they got Mara versus Karaban on the perimeter or something, but they didn't get backcut once. Tarris was basically shut down by Mara. Only thing they got were those ORebs, which were hat tips to them and also related to Michigan taking way the three. Next year Trey McKenney; graded on a curve he made 2 of Michigan's three jumpers, including the dagger. The Rube Goldberg three. Cadeau vs the Cadeau we thought we were getting. 3. How this Team Came Together Starts at 59:16 Revisiting how the roster came together, May's eye for talent, because every guy he got at FAU wound up a star somewhere. You can't actually build from the portal; if that's the lesson they're taking from this team they're going to get lit up. Cadeau cleaned up the TOs (but still commits them at the end of the game his banana peel). On the human to athlete personality spectrum, Mara is a normal human being, who never should have been paired with Cronin—all little guys who play basketball are born killers because you have to be, but it's common for bigs to be like that. Mara was the best player; he developed into a beast by the end of the year. Transfer teams: if you look at the rest of the top ten four didn't make the Tournament; Michigan was the only protected seed that took a lot of transfers. St. John's and Louisville were the others. Once you're been at a school a year you're not a transfer anymore. Cig vs May: Cignetti relied more on his JMU transfers. It's especially hard to recreate what Michigan did defensively, because at the end these guys won a title by doing the best job of anybody of playing with each other. Introducing the Bobby Hurley Index: How many photos do you look like Jim Carrey in The Mask? 4. Next Year Starts at 1:38:41 Are they looking at the portal list or the list of guys projected to the late 1st/early 2nd round? Mara and Rez are probably done—small chance they get Rez back. Cason going to redshirt. Gayle, Burnett, Yaxel are out of eligibility. Cadeau and McKinney: best backcourt in the country next year? McCoy is Charles Matthews-ish, going to be a major defensive presence; if you get two years out of him he's a big get but he doesn't have a deep shot, might be freshman Darius Morris or what we wanted Rubin Jones (PG who can guard...
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    2 hrs and 9 mins
  • Michigan HockeyCast 8.23: Duel with Dice in the Desert

    Michigan HockeyCast 8.23: Duel with Dice in the Desert
    Apr 6 2026

    1 Hour and 18 Minutes

    With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

    This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

    Segment 1 Between college hockey and the NHL playoff race the past few weeks have been exhausting, but worth it. The Eastern Conference is an extremely tight race, the Western Conference is the Avalanche, the Stars, and then everyone else competing for third place. The Red Wings have a weak rebuild and a lack of young star power like a lot of other rising teams. Previewing a red-hot Denver team with exception goaltending. Both Michigan and Denver have similar metrics. At one point this season the Denver goalie gave up 17 goals in 15 games. Is this sustainable against Michigan? Michigan should prioritize shot quality over quantity. Denver has an experienced defense but not as explosive of an offense as Michigan. If Michigan can exploit Denver's goalie early they may finally break their Frozen Four curse. Segment 2 Previewing Wisconsin and North Dakota. North Dakota is a more consistent, well-rounded team with strong possession metrics, balanced scoring from a core group, and solid special teams. Their goaltending is good not great. Wisconsin is more volatile: they can compete with anyone if they get strong goaltending and finishing, but their inconsistency, weaker penalty kill, and reliance on high-end performances make them less reliable.North Dakota is more dangerous overall, but Wisconsin is higher variance and can use that to compete with anyone. Both opponents would be difficult for Michigan for different reasons - we've seen what Wisconsin can do to Michigan.

    MUSIC

    • NHL on ESPN Theme
    • "Arrhythmic Glow" -- Mortimer Nyx
    • Ice Hockey (NES) theme
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    Not Yet Known
  • MGoPodcast 17.31: Get A Job, Jennifer

    MGoPodcast 17.31: Get A Job, Jennifer
    Apr 5 2026
    2 hours and 3 minutes The Sponsors Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com. Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers. 1. Final Four vs Arizona Starts at 0:51 Dave has a new nickname. Was this game... a let down? You could have maybe predicted that Arizona would struggle to score based on their over-reliance on twos. You probably could not have predicted that Michigan would put up over 90 points without Yaxel. Arizona was extremely physical which resulted in foul trouble, but when they got away with it they could score. Michigan forced Arizona into an ungodly number of two point jumpers off the dribble. They were 10-of-32 from mid-range. Arizona missing a dunk felt like the dagger. Michigan's maturity showed, they didn't seem blinded by the lights of the big stage. Elliott Cadeau had the greatest 2-of-14 half of basketball. Yaxel goes out the first time because of foul trouble and Arizona couldn't be more physical than Michigan's guards. Arizona has one way of playing that nobody else could stop, except for Michigan, and Arizona didn't know how to react. When shooting was tough, Trey McKenney stepped up. 16 points on 6-9 shooting, he has changed how we feel about mid-range shooting. [The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP] 2. Hot Takes and National Championship Preview - UConn Starts at 33:42 Takes hotter than ADAY MARA. Connecticut is #9 in Kenpom which feels like a relief, but they do have weird tournament joujou. That's better than having to play Duke at least. Michigan vs Tarris Reed for a national championship is crazy. Tarris has matured into a hoss and is their center, his backup, Eric Reibe, is a freshman and a drop-off but still a good player. They don't really play a second big. Alex Karaban is their second biggest player and he's been around college basketball for forever but he's a big wing. This is a game where Tschetter can play. Michigan can play two bigs and put one of them on Karaban but it might only be for 15-20 minutes of the game. Should Michigan make this into a shooting fest and maximize possessions? Tarris Reed is very difficult to ware out. Braylon Mullens is a freshman 6-6 195 lbs wing that Michigan can overwhelm. Silas Demery is a transfer from Georgia, the point guard, top 25 assist rate, top 100 steal rate. Gets to the line a ton, not that great from two. Solo Ball takes most of his shots from outside of the arc, he has also been seen wearing a boot. Expect UConn to show a lot of different coverages. How much Yaxel will we get? Expect it to be a Blake Corum vs Ohio State situation. He came to Michigan to play in this game so you gotta feel for him if he can't play much. UConn's biggest advantages are blocking two point shots and assists, which Michigan should be able to take advantage of. Their path to victory is to replicate what Purdue did in the Big Ten Championship game. Once again, the difference in this game will be Aday Mara. No Paul Szelc won't be officiating this game! ADDENDUM - Solo Ball was reported as being in a boot while this was recorded. If he's not able to play that is a huge drop-off. Even if he plays he's not going to be 100%, much like Yaxel. 3. Hot Takes and Gimmicky Top Five Commercial Takes Starts at 1:20:48 You know AI companies are running out of money because they can't even get Snoop Dogg on their commercials. Charles Barkley will say anything. Has Jennifer Garner acted in anything besides Capital One commercials in the last decade? AT&T did predict the Michigan Tennessee game. Are they putting the cocaine back in Coke? Tall Boozer looks like a normal Boozer, small Boozer looks like an AI recreation of a Boozer. 4. Potpourri: WBB, Hockey, and Football Bits Starts at 1:34:22 Women's basketball was dumptrucked, but at least we now can empathize with all the teams that played MBB. The game has gotten two chalky; it's the same four one-seeds, repeats of the same games. Is there a ceiling on this team, unless they suddenly double the money they put into it? David's hockey takes: Denver is not like or MSU who's going to take the puck off your stick, and those are the teams that Michigan struggles with. He likes Michigan with four lines and snipers versus a smaller goalie—shot quality game. Brian hates that it's Denver in the tournament. Is there a team that's looked better than Michigan in the Playoff? Wisconsin-NoDak is a pick 'em but ...
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    2 hrs and 4 mins
  • WTKA Roundtable 4/2/2026: The UPN Lineup

    WTKA Roundtable 4/2/2026: The UPN Lineup
    Apr 2 2026

    Things Discussed:

    • Has Michigan found that November stride? More that Tennessee and Alabama didn't have the size; difference was Bama's PG went off.
    • It's a two-point game now. There's never been more than two teams that shot 60%+ from two; this year there are eight.
    • Looking at how size matters (I recap yesterday's Jimmystats).
    • The perfect guy to defend Arizona is Moussa Diabate. Note that Zona's main weakness seems to be extremely athletic rim defenders who can make them less efficient at the rim. Utah State, Cincy had those guys.
    • Matchups: Should they put Mara against Krivas? Not sure that will be efficient, but Mara in the 15 mins that Krivas sits should be a MAJOR advantage because Peat is a freshman super-wing and Awaka is a Tennessee big. Zona will play drop coverage, M should have some offense planned to get lops off that.
    • Peat: you can push him from the basket; he's taken 165 shots at the rim and 130 pullup Js and there's a MASSIVE difference in efficiency. Kharchenkov another outstanding freshman who can be pushed off his shot.
    • What Zona does is rebound and get free throws, and Michigan is set up to stop that. What Michigan does is oversize you and overmatches Yaxel vs guards, and Arizona is set up to stop that.
    • If Yaxel vs Kharchenkov or Peat is our big matchup win Brayden Burries vs our guards is theirs. He may be one step too fast for Nimari, think this is a March Roddy Game.
    • Super impressed with Cadeau's defense; he anticipates screens and that has saved Michigan from getting into bad matchups.
    • Bradley: Weird thing is it doesn't even matter where he's taking his twos from. Would be good on a Will Wade team.
    • Tschetter: salute to his play vs Tennessee in the 1st half. Sometimes you need that kind of effort.
    • Illinois or UConn: We disagree. Illinois is a better team, UConn can switch 1-5 and beat them in MSG, though that was back when it wasn't abnormal for Wagler to score 3 points.
    • Duke vs UConn: Biggest choke play ever?
    • Hockey: What's different? Sam asks if we have the best goalie in the Tournament: yeah, by a little. What's different about this team from the ones that didn't win? Brian: Nothing. Seth: Not as talented up front but they hit on all of their USNTDP guys; the United States' ability to develop hockey players has been the story of the year, and we're a part of that story.
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    49 mins