central michigan

Brian: I don't know what those words mean in proximity to each other.

Seth: It comes from fanfiction but whatever, here old person:

This Week’s Obsession: Play Rivalry Yente

Brian: I don't understand that either. Is this like season two of the Wire? Am I going to find a bunch of dead Purdues in a shipping container?

Seth: Everything is like season 2 of the Wire.

David: I took it as "who would be a fun rivalry for Michigan".

Seth: No. Take any two teams.

Brian: Please explain my goal here as if I was not a preteen.

The question:

Choose any two schools and make them rivals.

David: Ok, well, I didn't know that...so, I have "Louisville and Michigan".

Brian: Can I say Michigan and Notre Dame?

Seth: Yes. Except we're playing each other again And I thought you wanted The Situation Trophy.

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Brian: Well, clearly The Situation Trophy is the greatest and best idea I'll ever have and Rutgers-MSU promises to be highly competitive going forward, so yes, MSU-Rutgers is a rivalry in fact and not hypothesis. Which group of shirtless meatheads can slather themselves in the most AXE or BOD or SCREW THE SUBTLETY WE'RE JUST CALLING IT PENIS brand smelly bits? TUNE IN SATURDAY TO FIND OUT!

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By Wolverine Devotee

Michigan and Notre Dame. Seriously, though. In multiple sports. They're joining Big Ten hockey so that's fine on that front, but it's inexplicable that Michigan doesn't regularly play ND in basketball. In general the lack of consistent nonconference opponents in basketball mystifies me. Every year they play some random platter of opponents, many of them horrible. It's a bad setup.

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Seth: Michigan State and Central Michigan have been casually dating each other since the early '90s but it's time they take the leap. I have relatives who went to the game in Mount Pleasant who compare it still to the greatest sports events they've ever been to. Granted they don't get out much, but provincial entertainment is the point of having football rivalries between proximal ag schools in the middle of Corn Belt states.

Central Michigan has always been a third wheel in the directional Michigan circuit, however they fit a profile and command a region more like Iowa State than their MAC kin. They deserve more.

Michigan State meanwhile will always have that one decade when they're competitive with Michigan per century, but lack a rival to look down upon for the other 90 years. The lack of symmetry puts the onus on Spartan fans to carry far too much hate, and makes fandom of MSU a mostly bitter experience even in good times. Having their own Michigan State nearby could deflect some of that attention so they don't have to keep embarrassing themselves with the word "scUM".

Like the state if it didn't have Detroit, Michigan State without Michigan would feel like Iowa, which managed to be a most pleasant experience to travel to this year despite That. A serious annual rivalry with CMU might help the Spartans feel more like you're supposed to feel about your college football team.

They can have shirts that say "Middle Brother."

cmufans2small

I totally didn’t design this in 2012 and try to get UGP to sell it.

Add that the winner of each game gets to host the next one to make it unique and cool (and to justify the proper imbalance), and everybody profits.

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[After THE JUMP: this gets way more basketball than I intended.]

It was great to be back on the sidelines yesterday! Here are some photos from the game. 

 

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Cam Gordon (Upchurch)

 

Jarrod Wilson

Jarrod Wilson (Fuller)

 

 

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Devin Funchess (Upchurch)

 

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Devin Gardner (Fuller)

 


Photo Galleries

 

 

Here are links to our individual galleries if you'd like to see all of the photos. 

Bryan Fuller - Eric Upchurch

Manball? Manball. Please review the Liveblog Chaos Mitigation Post. Then Manball.

 
PROTIP: To embiggen, open the frame in a new tab.
 
[ED: Yes, yes I called it the Western Michigan Liveblog. I thought it was 2011. Can't wait to see what Tate  new Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison can do [ED to the ED: I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue]]