The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Tickets On Sale For Big Ten Basketball Tournament Big Ten basketball fans moved into a nice little early March routine in terms of attending the conference tournament. Pack the bags for India- napolis and settle in for four days of basketball. It's different this time around, with the venue changing back to Chicago, and the men's and women's events set in different arenas. Tickets are now on sale for both conference tourna- ment events. The women will battle it out March 7-10 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoff- man Estates, Ill. Lower-level tickets are available directly through Michi- gan's ticket office, while general pub- lic tickets can be obtained through the Sears Centre Arena ticket offices at 1-888-SEARS-TIX (732-7784) or www. searscenter.com. All-session seats for the women's tournament cost $60 through Jan. 31, a discount off the regular price of $80. The women's tournament features general admission seating. The Big Ten Men's Basketball Tour- nament returns to Chicago's United Center, where the event began back in 1998. The men haven't played at the United Center since 2007, but will compete there this year from March 14-17. Lower-level seats for the men's tournament can be obtained by U-M fans through Michigan's ticket of- fice, with upper level seats available through Ticketmaster outlets, www. ticketmasker.com or by calling Ticket- master at (800) 745-3000. They're also available through the United Center ticket offices (312-455-4668) or www. unitedcenter.com. INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Sitting Down With Men's Basketball Senior Guard Josh Bartelstein giving an inside look at the Michigan men's basketball team — everything from practice to video game tournaments in the players' free time. Go to www. mgoblue.com to read the blog, and you can send comments and questions to him at askbart20@gmail.com. Two seasons ago, senior guard Josh Bartelstein started a blog, intending on The Wolverine: Was the blog your idea, or did it come from someone in the athletic department? years ago when I was a sophomore. The whole team went to Europe over the summer, and everyone did little blog entries about what we had done that day. When we came back, [sports information director] Tom Wywrot said that he really liked my entries and asked if I'd like to try doing it for a whole season. It has taken off from there. Bartelstein: "We started it two write about your team as the sea- son is happening? Bartelstein: "It's a really cool thing. At first, writing one every week, I really didn't know what to expect, but it was something that I really enjoyed, and the fans love it. People ask me all the time about the blog, because it gives them kind of an inside scoop. It helps to show that we're real people just like everyone else, not just basketball players you see on TV. Michigan fans are awesome; they love their teams. And the feedback has been the coolest part of the whole thing. The Wolverine: What is it like to " Bartelstein writes a blog on MGoBlue.com that was created to give people an inside look at the Michigan men's basketball team. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL All-session seats for the men's tour- nament at the 100 and 200 levels of the United Center cost $325 through the individual university ticket offices. Ticketmaster and the United Center box office have all-session seats avail- able for $240 or $175, depending on seat location. Orders are restricted to eight all-session tickets. Students attending Big Ten schools can take advantage of a special dis- counted rate of $50 per all-session seat. Students need to produce a valid student ID to enter and will be located in balcony sections. The Wolverine: With so much hype surrounding the team this year, are you planning anything special for the blog? Bartelstein: "Tom has a few social media things he'd like to try with it. I've just been getting a ton of e-mails from fans, just asking questions about the team and the new renovations to Crisler Arena." The Wolverine: Have any of your teammates been a little upset about anything " you've written? Bartelstein: "Oh yeah. When Zack Novak and Stu Douglass were here, they'd " about. He wants our student section to see us as classmates, not just basketball players. The blog helps show us as typical college students who like playing video games and have a lot of homework. The Wolverine: How important is it to have that connection with fans? Bartelstein: "That's one of the things that Coach Beilein talks " always get it. They were in it a lot, because they were my roommates. They'd always want me to show them what I wrote before I published. Now, my room- mates are Jordan Morgan, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jon Horford. So, they're always interested to see what's coming out. — Andy Reid NOVEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 15