#content

patrick barron
But which position he? [Patrick Barron]

Here’s some very important #content for #content week as our focus remains on pushing out two very important projects. MGoBlog photographer Eric Upchurch last night tweeted one of those “make your all-time” lists that generate the same answers (our board is up to that now). I thought I’d up the difficulty/interest by theming them, sort of like how Ace made his all-Beilein teams last year. First: the 5-stars.

----------------------------------

Rule: Has to be over 4.5 stars on my database and a five-star to someone.

Cut-off: Had to commit (or transfer) to Michigan after 1989. If you want all-Bo teams talk to Dr. Sap, and anything earlier go to MVictors, because I’m not old enough to have strong opinions on anyone before the mid-1990s. Also my recruiting database only goes back to 1990 (yes, millennials, crootin existed before the Rivals database).

----------------------------------

Quarterback: Chad Henne

No this entire post won’t be me posting gifs and slapping some words on it; I just wanted to try it once.

Four-year starter, his healthy junior season was the best by a Michigan quarterback under Lloyd Carr despite being up against a parade of NFL draft picks. Drew Henson at his best was the best, but as the owner of a Henson jersey I can vouch it was Henne who really rescued the value of that purchase.

Speaking of that parade, partly because the position gets ranked higher, Michigan has brought in a LOT of five-star quarterbacks. Brandon Peters didn’t get anyone’s 5th star but was a 4.60 for reference.

Other candidates: Shea Patterson, Shane Morris, Devin Gardner, Ryan Mallett, Clayton Richard, Matt Gutierrez, Drew Henson, Jason Kapsner

Running Back: Tyrone Wheatley, Anthony Thomas

The first time I learned that Michigan had to convince high-schoolers to play for them—rather than, I dunno, springing from midfield or something—was a Free Press article about Wheatley being the most perfect human-football specimen ever produced in the state. Wheatley is the but… response to “are our 5-star running backs cursed?” You youngsters probably don’t know what it feels like to have this massive pair of shoulder pads gliding away from smurfs (and Nits). To this day his signature shoulder-dip is my go-to move when trying to dodge a person in an enclosed space.

If you do have a frame of reference, it’s probably because A-Train was a near carbon copy of #6. Thomas didn’t have much of a pro career but he was a great college player, fast enough to return kicks and one of the best pass blocking RBs of the modern era. And he always. Fell. Forward.

Other candidates: Kareem Walker, Ty Isaac, Derrick Green, Kevin Grady, Kelly Baraka, Justin Fargas, (okay okay we’re cursed!), Ricky Powers.

[After the JUMP: This all could have been (was) a Tweet. Happy June]

Yo this is going to be some #content right here, since I don’t have time for nothing else. I was going through our lists in preparation to transfer the tertiary things to the new site (don’t ask) and this reminded me it had been a long time since we cleaned up the links on the sidebar.

I’ve done so, but it hurt to remove some old bookmarks I used to check every day. So they don’t all just get summarily dumped, I figured a thread in tribute to some great Michigan writing during the formative years of blogging was in order. If you joined the sphere too late for the age when 20-something Michigan fans all had blogspots and tried to invent our own shticks so as to not come off as LiveJournals, some of them are worth going back and reading.

A top three:

Burgeoning Wolverine Star

image

An X’s and O’s Michigan blog. Chris Gaerig is one of those guys I keep meaning to contact about writing for HTTV sometime because he was a fantastic writer as well as a deep thinker about specific Michigan plays. His posts used to get linked regularly in UFRs. Neck Sharpies exists because I set out myself to fill some of the void he left. Also: basketball.

The Blog That Yost Built

image

There are two types of MGoBlog readers: those who think we have too much hockey, and those who think it’s awful how little we cover hockey. Tim Williams started his site because we didn’t have enough hockey coverage at MGoBlog and if he still had time to write he’d be a regular here, since we’re all among the former as well.

Ronald Bellamy’s Underachieving All-Stars

image

Though he has a far better writing gig these days, I still think of him as Johnny RBUAS. If you have ever wanted to feel very emotional about a beloved Michigan player’s fictionalized stream of consciousness, this site was for you. If you haven’t, really that’s okay, I won’t curl up in a ball and cry, unless Johnny RBUAS writes about it. Bonus: the url was umichedme dot blogspot.

Others I remember and don’t:

  • The Ace of Sports—His name was Ace (actually Harry), and he liked M and Detroit sports. Get it?
  • Autumn Thunder—The half-assed Michigan blog. MS Paint, Hart, and more Hart. Still occasionally useful, though some of his best work has grown outdated.
  • Bitter Rivals—Short-lived M v MSU site, beat Mike Hart to the fraternal metaphor.
  • Blah Blah Blah—2008 was not the year to start blogging about Michigan.
  • Hokeamaniac—That didn’t last.
  • In Rod We Trust—That didn’t last either.
  • Maize Wings—Very late to the very late-‘00s blogging party
  • MGoBlue Football
  • MGoSwim
  • Michigan Football Recruiting—Guy I grew up with made a crootin site.
  • Michigan Football Saturdays—Dedicated blogger in the era of everyone had a blog
  • Michigan Hockey Net—Covered M hockey, Red Wings
  • MMMGoBlueBBQ—Joe Pichey wrote for himself before he wrote for us.
  • Stadium & Main
  • The Diag—MLive tried to have a blog
  • The Game—Can’t think why a M fan wouldn’t want to post daily about the M-OSU rivalry anymore.
  • The M Zone—Humor site, now a worthy follow.
  • The Michigan Faithful
  • The Wolverine Blog
  • Three And Out
  • UMGoBlog—Annoyingly, would get our traffic. Annoyingly, UMGoBlue.com took his twitter handle.
  • Victors Valiant—Had useful previews.
  • When Carcajous Attack!—Used to have some great previews, joined Maize ‘n Brew for a time.
  • Wolverine Liberation Army—Only the unicorns remain of the once proud proletariat
  • Wolverines Daily

What did I miss? What do you miss?

Last night a Wisconsin fan sitting near us informed me that we are big football rivals. I tried to explain that this makes sense since we have so many rivals it’s hard to keep them all straight. Maybe a chart would help?

image

Click for full-size. I have nothing else to add. #content!