Hey people - we are iconic!
"MGoBlog, the iconic Michigan fan site and message board, is teeming with attorneys offering insights on the Big Ten’s case against Harbaugh."
From a fairly even handed article in the Ringer.
November 21st, 2023 at 8:58 AM ^
How do I reconcile my pride at participating in an iconic fan site with the fact that I also enjoy being a contrarian iconoclast?
November 21st, 2023 at 9:01 AM ^
Contradictory feelings all over the place. "Michigan against everyone" then "Michigan, America's team". Strange days.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:06 AM ^
Good point. I'll have to use that dual spin against y'all. lol
...whichever is convenient at the time, I suppose.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:41 AM ^
I mean, it's always been OSU vs the world... yes?
November 21st, 2023 at 12:14 PM ^
This is why OSU is so tuff. Gosh darn it, they're TUFF!
November 21st, 2023 at 9:46 AM ^
If you're coming to The Game, we can give you our super secret "This is the One Guy Who's OK" sign, but you have to promise not to record it for anyone else, let alone give it to Purdue (or Iowa this year if we win.)
November 21st, 2023 at 10:17 AM ^
I don't have a ticket for the game.
...but if anyone has an extra... lol
November 21st, 2023 at 10:58 AM ^
"lol"
Exactly!
November 21st, 2023 at 11:24 AM ^
"America - where EVERYONE loves to be an individual."
November 21st, 2023 at 12:13 PM ^
You are all individuals. You can think for yourselves. Now piss off.
November 21st, 2023 at 12:28 PM ^
I'm not.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^
We're "America's Team" BECAUSE it's Michigan vs. Everybody - every fan has a strong opinion of us (for or against). Much like the Cowboys...
Not to mention the size of our alumni base and how dispersed it is throughout every major city
November 21st, 2023 at 8:59 AM ^
Hey people, we are ironic!
FIFY
November 21st, 2023 at 9:34 AM ^
isn't it iconic? Don't ya think?
November 21st, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
Like rain, on your wedding day
(Obligatory)
November 21st, 2023 at 10:22 AM ^
These damn flies keep landing in my chardonnay when I'm trying to read the blog in peace.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:06 AM ^
Iconic is apparently the media word of the month for November. I am not surprised to see it show up in our neighborhood.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:26 AM ^
It's a game changer.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:08 AM ^
Here there be icons.
November 21st, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
“Those Who Stay Will be Iconoclasts”
November 21st, 2023 at 9:15 AM ^
since someone from the Ringer is going to read this, tell Simmons, CR, and Fennessey to redo the Fugitive Rewatchables episode.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:58 AM ^
And add Breaking Away to the list! An Officer and a Gentleman?! Are you kidding me? One of the farthest things from a rewatchable I can think of.
November 21st, 2023 at 12:09 PM ^
His mom loves Richard Gere. Every 50 episodes or so, he throws her a bone.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:17 AM ^
I could have been a lawyer if I wanted to.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:18 AM ^
beat ohio
November 21st, 2023 at 9:21 AM ^
what a great website
November 21st, 2023 at 9:22 AM ^
“the unwavering belief that they are right and everyone else is not.”
To be fair, it’s plainly evident that we’re the only ones who carefully read the rule book…
November 21st, 2023 at 9:31 AM ^
Well, we are right. Everyone who is allowing themselves to be sheep, herded around by headlines with no substance, is usually wrong. That is the case here.
The fact that the herd includes our conference commissioner is bad luck for us, but it does not make that numbskull right.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:34 AM ^
Also to be fair, sign stealing via a network of hired fans is against the rules. It's pretty clear that if Harbaugh is going to say the things he says and ruffle the feathers of the NCAA (and a lot of other people), he needs to run the cleanest program in the world. If not, these things are going to continue to happen.
To be clear, I fully support Harbaugh. He challenges the NCAA power structure and those in power don't like that one bit. They want to shut him up or force him out and the easiest way to do that is to comb his program for issues. He must be squeaky clean from now on or else these 3 game suspensions will become a regular occurrence. Possibly extending more than 3 games.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:41 AM ^
“sign stealing via a network of hired fans is against the rules”
You sure about that? Seems TBD to me. But based on the words in the rule book, falls within the scope of acceptable activity. NCAA can do whatever it wants, obviously, and punish M even if M didn’t violate any rules, but based on the rules as they’re written there should be no controversy.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:20 AM ^
The article did not delve into the specific rules, which is the reason why we are right.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:53 AM ^
If you want to declare the CS method to be advance scouting, then you also have to consider it advanced scouting when other teams' coaches collude to share signs with coaches who have yet to play Michigan. They decoded (read "stole") the signs with the express purpose of sharing them after the game. The effect is the same, if not worse.
The crux of the whole argument by our rivals is that we had an unfair advantage because of CS. But if the other teams did indeed share our signs and collude against us, they not only had our signs, but had multiple coaching staffs working together to beat us. Depending on how much it can be proven that they worked together, that could be really bad for them, assuming that the B1G cares at all about the integrity of the game.
November 21st, 2023 at 10:04 AM ^
It is evident that B1G only cares about the "integrity of the game" when it suits an anti Michigan agenda.
November 21st, 2023 at 10:30 AM ^
The B1G won't care. Under the NCAA rules, getting information scouted from coaches could be worse, since the coaches are interpreting the information (scouting, which is not allowed) as opposed to passively filming and providing film sans analysis (filming, which is allowed)
November 21st, 2023 at 10:43 AM ^
What I'm saying is it doesn't matter of other programs are breaking the rules because Michigan is clearly in the crosshairs of the NCAA. Michigan (re: Harbaugh) are going to be held to unreasonable standards because they buck trends and ruffle feathers. Any violation of rules, no matter how big or small, is going to be used against the program. Even if such rule is violated regularly by other programs. This is clear.
Gotta be the cleanest program in existence now.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:55 AM ^
Well, yes, but it's still TBD if Michigan broke any rules since
1) filming is not scouting
2) contractors are not "institutional members"
3) recording opponent signs is only against the rules if done by a team participating in the game being recorded
etc.
November 21st, 2023 at 10:51 AM ^
If you want to declare the CS method to be advance scouting, then you also have to consider it advanced scouting when other teams' coaches collude to share signs with coaches who have yet to play Michigan.
This misses the point. The CS in-person scouting method does indeed break the rule, while the coaches sharing information among themselves does not.
Why? Because the rule - NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1 implemented in 1994 - is just a cost-savings rule for small schools, it has nothing to do with competitive advantage. The NCAA said so in writing when it attempted to rescind the rule in 2021 as part of its rule modernization effort. Because the rule is obsolete and immaterial in the internet age.
We broke an administrative rule by spending more money than we should have ($15,000). That's it. That is what we did.
OK, fine. You don't get to pick which rules you follow. You break the rule, you take the punishment. But the punishment has to fit the "crime." This is a misdemeanor. This is not a "scandal." The Big Ten is giving jail time for a parking ticket.
So, what should the punishment be? Well here's a hint at what it shouldn't be:
Suspending the head coach for the program's biggest game this fucking century.
That is the Big Ten blatantly putting its thumb on the competitive scale and directly interfering with game results to benefit the opposing team. Because that opposing team pressured them to do it.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^
The reason for the rule was cost-savings. The rule itself prohibits scouting regardless of expenditures.
Filming is not scouting, per NCAA rules. How they rule about all of this, and what room M has to contest (including in court), is still up in the air AFAICT. I'm not sure your analysis is hitting on relevant points.
November 21st, 2023 at 12:20 PM ^
Not sure I'd agree with the 'breaking the rule' thing. Michigan didn't spend a single dime on those iPhone videos, and fired the guys involved.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:55 PM ^
If Michigan believed it didn't break any rules then why are both Stalions and Partridge gone? There wouldn't be any need to fire anybody if what they did was legal. Especially Partridge. The article that OP posted is becoming more and more relevant as I read these comments. Homer bias is absolutely a thing on this blog, not that that is unexpected.
November 21st, 2023 at 10:34 AM ^
You are missing up our iconic status by not reading the rules about vast network.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:31 AM ^
At least iconic.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:33 AM ^
We've officially become Bob Loblaw's Law Blog
November 21st, 2023 at 9:34 AM ^
The article also features the maybe-a-little-too-accurate line:
“Somehow, every single person who attended the University of Michigan is a lawyer. (You can take my word; no fact-checking of this point is necessary.)”
November 21st, 2023 at 9:38 AM ^
I essentially am a lawyer, but without the degree.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:45 AM ^
That we're all World War 2 scholars is even more accurate.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:45 AM ^
Not a lawyer, but I took a few law school courses during grad school (mostly patent-related).
November 21st, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
While having a chemistry background doesn't do much in ways of parsing the NCAA rulebook, it does offer some similarities to people studying law: long nights studying, impenetrable language, and the public perception that we're all one opportunity away from going crooked.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:58 AM ^
I think the Michigan difference is that the first thing a lot of us did was read the rule book. Most people out there with opinions on this have not.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:47 AM ^
Yost putting up a point a minute. Gomberg discovering trivalent carbon. Those were good times!
Also, Ryan Day is an electrophile.
Go Blue!