football

Watched the Barry Sanders video a few posts below and felt the need to go out an relive Biakabutuka's 313 yard performance against Ohio State in 1995.  Can't believe it was 15 years ago when I was tossing around in the Student Section at Michigan Stadium.  Here are the highlights.  It's over 9 minutes long, but man he ripped through OSU.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3wSUL3kk1w

 From www.michaganzone.net

I didn't see it in the countless threads about this, and thought it'd be a nice break from them. I'd rather you didn't neg me to Bolivian, but understand if you do. Also, this was not made by me.

I figured that I would post something excellent for people to watch rather than talking about you-know-what. After watching it, I can sympathize with the Lions for deciding that "hand it to Barry" would be their Super Bowl-winning strategy for ten seasons.

(Via Kottke.)

Edit: The embed was too big.

The latest from Henning.  He argues that it would be in everyone's best interest if DB made the decision sooner rather than later.  While he makes a fair point that it would be fairer to RR, the asst coaches and staff and the players / recruits to make the decision asap, I think that all of his arguments make sense only if you assume that RR is going to be fired.  (Which Henning does).

He even goes so far as to say that it is unfair to Stanford to keep make them start their new coaching search in January, as opposed to December.  Again, this 100% assumes that (1) DB has decided to fire RR, and (2) that Harbaugh would take the job and quit on his team on the even of a BCS Bowl or even Nat'l Championship game.

The article:

http://detnews.com/article/20101130/OPINION03/11300409/1131/sports0201/Waiting-to-decide-Rich-Rodriguez’s-fate-could-backfire-for-Michigan

Before anyone says "not another should we shouldn't we fire or keep RR and when post" that is not the purpose of my post.  I am simply passing along the latest article from a member of the Michigan MSM.  I am not trying to reiterate to death what has been repeated on this board a bazillion times today.  Even Henning in this article does not get into the "should we shouldn't we" issue.  And I am fairly certain that this has not yet been posted. 

There has been a lot of talk surrounding the job security of Rich Rodriguez, and I have stumbled upon something that may shed some light on the outcome. This thing goes way deeper than sabotage efforts by Herbie, or Tweet wars, or anything spoken by David Brandon in the wake of our 30 point trouncing at the hands of OSU. This thing is deep, and it spreads into realms nobody here realizes. I present my case.

Exhibit A
Domino's Pizza Commercial, circa 2009

A year after the disasterous 3-9 season that lit a fire under Rodriguez' chair, David Brandon, who at that time was CEO of Domino's Pizza, comes up with a new advertising campaign. "Giving a bailout to main street, not Wall Street," became the ode du jour. The symbolism is outwardly obvious. Brandon is fed up with the hierarchy at the Michigan Athletic Department, namely Rodriguez and his crew. Note that Brandon grabs a pizza box from the 'old' man, and places it into the hands of a younger passerby. A proverbial passing of the torch, or pepperoni, in this instance. Also note that all the cars in that commercial are Ford's, an obvious nod to a 'Michigan Man." Message sent.

Enter the Free Press. A bastion of morality in the decaying sector of popular culture know as news print. When the old guard says jump, they ask, "Onto what phallic device?" A sweeping attack on all that is Rodriguez decended upon the land. A strike that was military in its precision blindsided the administration, and left them exposed on all sides, sitting targets for the mouth breathers at ESPN to fire shots of lead towards. And fire they did, lamenting Rich to all who would listen.

Yound Man Told by Drew Sharp That Rich Hates Redheads
 

Exhibit B
Coalescence of the Old Guard

Still waters run deep. So it should be of no surprise that none other than Les Miles has become the lynchpin that has held together the Old Guard. As acting Don, Miles was responsible for issuing the kiss of death, which came in a very peculiar way:

What better moment than a decisive touchdown against a former National Champion and hated Spartan in Nick Saban's Crimson Tide to derail the outsider? Rotary phones in stodgy offices all across the midwest began to ring off the hook, as members confirmed that the sign had been cast. When grass touches the tongue, the end shall begin. The transition was to commence. Columns of white smoke would not be seen rising until the Prodigal Son returned to Ann Arbor.

A house once divided was now as focused as a Michigan receiver after a trip to the optometrist.

Exhibit C
The Mysterious Death of a Funny Man

At first glance, the passing of one Leslie Nielsen seems to be a tragic and unavoidable course of events. He was, after all, 84 years old. A closer look reveals a sordid turn of events that left this Hollywood legend dead in Florida. It also reveals the rapid escalation and the mounting tension between the two sides.

Leslie enters the scene in 2002, when he is named an honorary citizen of West Virginia, the same year Rodriguez has his big turnaround at WVU. The two become fast friends, living as kings of West Virginia. Nielsen takes the WVU divorce especially hard, as do most denizens of that fine state, and their relationship quickly soured.

Leslie spends the remainder of his life just miles away from Harbaugh and his staff. Having a penchant for college football coaches, he makes fast friends with the former Michigan QB, and becomes outwardly critical of the Rodriguez regime. When asked about the coaching tenure of Rich Rod, Nielsen responds:

I'm sorry I can't be more optimistic, Doctor, but we've got a long road ahead of us. It's like having sex. It's a painstaking and arduous task that seems to go on and on forever, and just when you think things are going your way, nothing happens.

Speculation arises that Nielsen had joined the Old Guard.

Feeling betrayed, Rodriguez becomes spiteful. The spite gives way to unbridled anger when Rich gets word that Nielsen plans to meet with Brandon to reveal undisclosed indiscretions from his past. Last week Calvin McGee, a henchman in Rodriguez' platoon, travels down to Florida. Some are convinced it's a recruiting trip, others a job interview. But the truth is much more sinister. Nielsen got on Rod's bad side.

Alarm rings out through the Old Guard, as they become fully aware of just what they have awakened.

Exhibit D
The Culmination of Events

Michigan fans with their ears to the ground have started to stir, as they can now confirm what the seismometers have been predicting for the last few years. Something is a brewin'. In fact, many seemingly random events can be attributed to the Cold War that will soon come to fruition.

The stitches Obama received during a 'friendly' game of basketball? That was Beilein sending a message that the President needs to back his horse. A similar message was sent by the Old Guard to Rue McLanahan after she openly supported the proliferation of the spread offense in college football. Rue was an avid college football fan.

Both sides have become brazen with their displays of power and authority. There is no telling how fast, or how far, this will go. One thing is for sure, there will be no winners. Brian, as a figure head in this debate, I'd lay low for a while. Find a nice hamlet somewhere down south and let this thing play out. I just hope it's not too late.

So when I was talking to one of the coaches at Notre Dame - Ohio, he mentioned the gripe that OSU fans have about Tressel. From their perspective, Tressel basically won with players who were already there when he came. Now, success begets success in recruiting, and Ohio State continue to cruise with one or two losses a year. The problem is, many OSU fans don't really think Tressel is ever going to win a national championship. But you don't cut loose a coach who is only losing a game a year. I think many of us would be thrilled to have Ohio State's problems. Whatever.

But our conversation got me to thinking about next year's Michigan schedule. As has been mentioned already, almost regardless of who coaches, Michigan could win its first 10 games next year. I wonder if some of the RR haters really are campaigning to get rid of Rodriguez now, knowing that it will be a lot harder with to fire him with a 10 - 2 record. It would be cruel and unfair not to let the coaches and team the chance to prove themselves next year.

Personally, I desperately hope that RR stays at Michigan. Yes, our defense needs serious work. But I truly believe that with the added experience, and the return of Woolfolk, and the incoming class, our defense will see massive improvement. While the defense won't be awesome, they will be more than good enough for us to compete in all our games. This would happen even if Gerg were to stay and wasn't the fall guy.

I badly want RR to be given the chance to run the table next year. Why? Not just because I think it would be fair. But I also think his players love  him, and that with just a little luck, and getting through one more year, we will be competing at the highest level for years to come.

in contrast to Tressel, I believe that RR will truly be competitive in big bowl games. We just have to be patient. Now isn't the time to panic. RR came into a crummy situation, and should not be a sacrifice to the blood lust of the mindless hoards.

There are two analogies that come to mind. I'm thinking first, of Return of the Jedi, where Lando Calrissian says, "Don't worry, my friend's down there. He'll have that shield down in time." That's exactly what happens. If we're patient with RR, I fully believe we'll topple the empire in Columbus, and bring jubilation to Michigan fans for many years.

The bad analogy is to Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, when Robert Brewster activates Skynet, plunging the world into a nuclear wasteland. Pulling the plug on RR would do the same thing to Michigan. It has taken years to get to where we are now. To change course would cause havoc that could last for many, many years. I am trusting in DB to stay the course.