initiate offense
shoot outside and score inside
pass, rebound, defend

Lendeborg’s performance is a big reason why the Wolverines are in position to do so. He unlocked Michigan’s offense, the ultimate wild card for a coach with May’s extensive playbook. He’s the versatile linchpin of a big-ball bully lineup that has stuffed opponents into lockers all season, able to run fast breaks, initiate offense in the half court, shoot outside, score inside, pass, rebound, defend. He’s shooting better than 37 percent from beyond the arc on the season and has developed a lethal Euro step that has defenders backpedaling out of posters in transition.

“(My mom) really dug me out of the hole that I was in,” Lendeborg said. “This is pretty much a dream come true.”

Adapted rom the article, Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg was meant for this Final Four moment. His mom made sure of it by Justin Williams who covers college football and basketball for The Athletic
April 3, 2026 5:30 am EDT

A team that has stuffed opponents into lockers all season with a key player who:

is able to run fast breaks –

initiate offense in the half court –

shoot outside –

score inside –

pass –

rebound –

defend –

Versatile?

The online dictionary define versatile says that “Versatile describes a person, tool, or material capable of doing many things well, adapting to new tasks, or having multiple uses. It implies flexibility, adaptability, and being “all-around”.

Versatile is indeed the word for a basketball player who is able to run fast breaks, initiate offense in the half court, shoot outside, score inside, pass, rebound, defend.

Versatile!

there’s a gallon of
milk from 1908 that’s
aged better than that

This thing of writing these essays started as an effort to recognized use of words in today’s media.

With that in mind, I cannot recall the last time I read anything like the line, “There’s a gallon of milk from 1908 that’s aged better than that.”

From the New York Times story, What we got right — and wrong — in weird NFL season: Concern for Bills, belief in Chiefs by Saad Yousuf where, under the heading, “Things we got wrong,” Mr. Yousuf writes:

The “genuinely mediocre” teams: Back in Week 3, we took on the task of categorizing the 12 teams that split their first two games and sat at 1-1. One of the categories was “genuinely mediocre,” and it included three teams: the Patriots, Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. That’s right. The only three teams that enter Week 18 with a chance to clinch the top seed in the AFC were labeled as “genuinely mediocre.” There’s a gallon of milk from 1908 that’s aged better than that.

I have to say that based on what was going on in Week 3, Mr. Yousef’s choices looked pretty safe but who could have known how the NFL, through their officiating proxies, would ordain that the season play out?

Back in the day I was sitting in a pre-election meeting at a TV station in Atlanta, Georgia and the News Director put on the table the idea of creating a list of the greatest un kept election year promises in Georgia history.

I banged the table and yelled, “Sherman will never cross the border!“

I’d have to say that there are gallons of milk for 1864 that aged better than that one.

No one could come up with anything better, though ‘Izzy will be loved by generations of Atlantan’s‘ came close.