Diaries

I just got sent the ratings for every team in NCAA 09, for those who are interested in video games.

http://www.sportsgamer.com/assets/rosters/ncaa_09_roster.xls

I posted a breakdown of Michigan's ratings on my site here.

The Final verdict on the New Uni's is in:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080713/SPORTS06/80713039

The Lightning Streaks on the Road Jerseys is the real deal. I'm okay with that. As long as the Home Uniforms stay the same.

I know tradition is important, and great at Michigan, but the Road Jerseys have always been subject to change, never having that same striking effect as the home uniforms.

So let them play with the road Jerseys some more. I bet they'll still be better than...... YOU KNOW WHAT?  I change my mind. Fuck these lightning streaks, this is Michigan Dammit!!!

DEATH TO THE PIPING.  PleaseOPlease make it stop; the piping haunts my dreams. 

I admit it.  I read a lot of posts on MGoBlog.  I also admit that I don't understand half of the silly language that is used here... the "inside speak" of blogs if you will... but it's still fun!  I'm a 40-something which I am sure is old by standards of readers here, but what the heck?  I'll try this out!  It will give me a place to share my "M-thusiasm!"

I don't know a lot about recruiting and because I live well south of Cow-lumbus, (actually in the former land of Rich Rod) - it's a little risky wearing M apparel around.  But I do know that I love to follow the Wolverines.  It's not easy here, but I still do it.  MGoBlog REALLY helps too!

I didn't even attend Michigan.  I graduated from another school in Michigan, but I grew up going to the games.  I believe my first game was a Wisconsin game when I was somewhere around 8-10 years old.  This was back in the days when we were wiping teams out by dozens and dozens of points. 

But I learned to love the traditions of all that is the M experience.  I'm doing my best to pass them on to my kids now. 

The one thing that MOST attracted me to the program was Bo.  He was straight up an incredible influence on a lot of young impressionable males my age.  Yes, our dads were the ultimate men we looked up to, but Bo ran a close second.  Every time I met him he always was kind to me.  Always had time for a word.  Always encouraged a young fan to keep rooting for his team... our team.  He ran the show the way it should be run.  I'm sure a lot of OSU fans my age feel the same way about Woody Hayes.  But I'm on the Maize & Blue side of this line - forever! 

So, thanks to Brian for putting up this site.  A chance to connect and feel a little closer to the place where I had so many great memories as a young person!  

And now - it's back to reading about WVU and OSU in my local paper every day.  Ha-ha!

Now that THE KNOWLEDGE is back, let's start having some fun season predictions

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Yes

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These predictions will be in three parts:

1. Michigan OOC games

2. Michigan Big Ten games

3. Bowl Projections

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Yes

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This post will write about OOC games

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The Toledo and Miami games are obvious wins; so the two interesting games are Utah and Notre Lame

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As for Utah. They are a decent to good team, but have issues at QB. My inside information says that he will not be ready for the game at 100%. Add this to the new aggressive and better conditions M D and the results will be ugly... for Utah. The question is on the other side of the ball. Being the first game, the offense shall be ugly, but M will start the new era with a win

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THE KNOWLEDGE predicts: M 24 - Utah 10

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yes

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Notre Lame sucks.

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M 31 - ND 3

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yes

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Michigan Striker Peri Marosevic scores twice in USA Under 20s 3-0 win over Mexico:

http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_7733249.html

U-20 MNT

U.S. U-20 MNT Tops Mexico, 3-0, as Marosevic Nets Two Goals in Rivalry Match

LAREDO, Texas (July 11, 2008) – The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team defeated rival Mexico in front of a raucous pro-Mexico crowd in the Laredo, Texas. Defender Sheanon Williams scored the game-winning goal in the 25th minute and forward Peri Marosevic added a brace in the first half in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,000. “Games like this are the best way to evaluate players,” said head coach Thomas Rongen. “I thought we took our chances well and that’s important. Another very positive thing for us is that we really didn’t give Mexico any good looks at the goal. I’m very happy with the way we played defensively and maybe we could be a little better with the ball, but we want to continue to do well on set pieces. That was obviously one of our strengths tonight.” Two corner kicks from midfielder Brandon Manzonelli, who was making his first appearance with the U-20s, led directly to two U.S. goals. The first, in the 25th minute, was driven in from the right, and deflected off a couple of players in front of the goal. The ball found its way to Williams’ feet, and the defender powered it in for what would prove to be the game-winner. Less than two minutes later, hometown star Felix Garcia streaked upfield, out-pacing several Mexican defenders with the ball at his feet. Once he got into the box, he struck a low shot at a tough angle that Mexican goalkeeper Hugo Gonzalez did well to get a hand on, but the ball caromed right to Marosevic, who was making a hard run to the far post. The deflected shot went right into Marosevic’s path, and he hammered it home from close range to double the USA lead. The teams exchanged possessions throughout the majority of the half, but there was a shortage of many quality chances for either side. The best chance for Mexico came from Alberto Soto, who was Mexico’s most dangerous attacker. In the 22nd minute, he received the ball 20 yards from goal, looked up and saw an opening before ripping a shot that went just over the crossbar. Seconds before the halftime whistle, the U.S. put a dagger in Mexico’s chance for a comeback. Manzonelli whipped in another corner that skidded past a defender to Marosevic, who once again scored from close range. This time he slotted into the side netting of the far post to round out the scoring on the night. The second half, despite being scoreless, was just as action packed as Mexico battled for every inch, and the U.S. refused to go down without a fight. Some chippy play from both sides led to three ejections in the half, including a player from each team in the 66th minute. By the 72nd minute, the game was nine against 10, as Mexico’s Daniel Montes was also ejected. Despite the open field, neither team was able to string together an attack, as Mexico relied mostly on counter-attacks that were broken up by the U.S. back line. The Americans were content to possess the ball by passing it around Mexico’s high-pressure defense.

One thing I am very much looking forward to in the Rich Rodriguez era is the long run. Whether it is for a TD or not, I have vivid memories of seeing WV teams sprint for 50/60/70 yards on many occasions. Conversely, while I loved the Mike Hart era, it definitely left something to be desired in terms of home-run type running plays. Some basic statisical research shows that we should be in for some long-distance sprints come September:

 In 2007, WVU had 7 players with a carry of over 50 yards, while Michigan had 2. In 2006, it was 4-1 in favor of WVU. Think about that...7 players getting a carry of 50 yards or more?!? Granted, our personnel isn't exactly like2007 WVU's and I don't expect to see Threet with a 50+yard carry. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see us get to at least 4 or so. Not only do I think the number of players that have a long carry increases, but also the overally number of times it happens. I can't find the numbers for exactly how many times this happened for UM or WVU last year or in 2006, but looking at game logs for players, it is clear that it happened many more times in Morgantown than it did in Ann Arbor. With some of the speed RR brought in with the Freshman class, I expect to see some long-distance running this season.