Dear Diary Craps on Sochi
Soady two-holer > Sochi two-holer
One of the mods already put this in a thread but a front page reminder can't hurt: don't post scores or spoilers of Olympic events on delayed telecasts. This goes especially for the results of hockey games that will be broadcast in primetime. Laughing at the myriad (mostly toilet-related) follies of bored and pampered journalists with nothing else to talk about for four days is fine.
The NHL kindly added the hockey games to its schedule, and I Bleed Maize N Blue put up a list of Michigan folk. Your Wolverines are hockey players Carl Hagelin (Sweden), Brian Lebler (Austria), and Max Pacioretty (USA), and U.S. figure skaters Meryl Davis & Charlie White, Maia & Alex Shibutani, and Evan Bates.
Viewing guide:
Date | Event | Broadcast | Channel | Wolverine(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fri 2/7 | Opening Ceremony | 7:30 PM | NBC | All |
Sat 2/8 | Ice Dancing | 9:30 AM | NBC | Davis & White |
Wed 2/12 | Hky: Czech-Sweden | 12:00 PM | USA | Hagelin |
Thu 2/13 | Hky: Finland-Austria | 3:00 AM | NBCSN | Lebler |
Thu 2/13 | Hky: Slovakia-USA | 7:30 AM | NBCSN | Pacioretty |
Fri 2/14 | Hky: Sweden-Switzerland | 7:30 AM | NBCSN | Hagelin |
Fri 2/14 | Hky: Canada-Austria | 12:00 PM | USA | Brian Lebler |
Sat 2/15 | Hky: USA-Russia | 7:30 AM | NBCSN | Pacioretty |
Sat 2/15 | Hky: Sweden-Latvia | 12:00 PM | USA | Hagelin |
Sun 2/16 | Hky: Austria-Norway | 3:00 AM | USA | Lebler |
Sun 2/16 | Hky: Slovenia-USA | 7:30 AM | NBCSN | Pacioretty |
Makes M's Happy
Sara Driesenga pitched 263 innings with an ERA of 1.89 last year [Terra Molengraff/Daily]
Softball is my chosen sport for following without obsessing. Carol Hutchins is one of the best coaches the sport's ever had, and the team still exudes a spirit that's so so enjoyable. Just don't think too hard about the competitive aspects, or how large a role a pitcher plays in the outcome versus the rest of the team.
If you'd like to know how this team looks, the answer is "very good" again. Like the Tigers, they return ridiculous pitching—Haylie Wagner and Sara Driesenga are both aces, and they're joined this year by highly touted freshman Megan Betsa—and one of the game's best hitting infielders (shortstop Sierra Romero), but lost their cleanup hitter. Also like the Tigers they're not a very good defensive team.
Etc. Survey results for RunTheFootball's expectations thing says Michigan's not living up to those. Your weekly goal by goal analysis covers the tallies vs. Wisconsin last weekend. Michigan is still shooting the lights out in conference play except against Indiana, not updated with Nebraska game yet. Lacrosse. Softball.
Best of the Board
NATIONAL SIGNING EVE WAS LONG AND FULL OF TERRORS
The night before signing day I got an email from a source who's been spot-on before that Peppers was thinking about holding off signing his LOI the next day—nobody else had that info so I didn't publish it, but it appears he was correct and that Peppers's coach talked him down off the ledge. Since this source has been right about everything so far, I'll share the reason he gave for the wavering: another program's coach, claiming knowledge from an NCAA source, was in Peppers's ear about "possible major sanctions at Michigan," presumably for the Gibbons thing. Crutin, man.
Clarification Update: He didn't say which coach, and guesses are just that since virtually every coach goes around flingin' B.S. on signing eve. Playing defense keeps other coaches from going on the offensive against your class. It's just Crutin' man.
TIDBITS FROM THE SIGNING DAY PRESSER
- Clarity on LB recruit positions: Winovich is a Jake Ryan-style SAM, Ferns is a MIKE, Furbush is a MIKE or WILL, Wangler is a WILL or Stevie Brown-style SAM.
- Dymonte Thomas will just be a safety, no more nickel and diming
- Canteen is a slot guy
- Furbush cut his own cast off using a hedge trimmer.
Thanks to Every Roh Has Its Thorn for collating these.
PUNTING: NOW FAME-WORTHY
Monte Robbins [source] / Zoltan Mesko [Scout] / Adam Finley [Desimone]
Now that the stat-heads have shown the punt is the least important play in football, the NFL Hall of Fame, which is the second-least meaningful of all Hall of Fames (they're heavy on skill players and big names, light on understanding the game; the college football one is worse), has finally decided to let in the Guy (ha!) they named the punting award for.
This got me wondering if there's a punter in Michigan history who could surpass those I can personally recall. Punting stats have been kept only since 2000 by the NCAA, and Bentley only goes a few years further back. They're very wonky stats when they're good, and very badly curated, and the most accessible ones are more suggestive of a terrible offense than a great leg. Zoltan is the obvious if-memory-serves candidate for best Michigan punter ever. I remember thinking Adam Finley was underrated because he could pow it very high or place it out of bounds, and that Hayden Epstein was overrated because all he did was thwack it.
Great Grandpa Alfonse used ta say if you're lookin' back at the tings you missed you won't know what hit ya.
As for how Wile did I can pull 2013 conference data from cfbstats if you like:
Player | Team | Atts | Net YPA | % Ret |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cody Webster | Purdue | 70 | 42.5 | 31% |
Cameron Johnston | Ohio State | 49 | 41.7 | 16% |
Mike Sadler | Michigan State | 76 | 41.0 | 25% |
Sam Foltz | Nebraska | 71 | 39.9 | 21% |
Erich Toth | Indiana | 52 | 39.4 | 25% |
Peter Mortell | Minnesota | 62 | 39.0 | 42% |
Justin DuVernois | Illinois | 51 | 38.8 | 41% |
Alex Butterworth | Penn State | 51 | 38.5 | 22% |
Connor Kornbrath | Iowa | 65 | 38.4 | 34% |
Matt Wile | Michigan | 61 | 37.7 | 46% |
Drew Meyer | Wisconsin | 53 | 36.8 | 25% |
Brandon Williams | Northwestern | 58 | 35.3 | 22% |
That 46% of punts returned (ie didn't end with a fair catch, downed, out of bounds, or touchback) is the dinosaur punting. This is enough about punting for today.
CRASH TESTING HELMETS
UM Engineers are getting into the helmet-improvement game to understand the biomechanics of football hits.
Your Moment of Zen:
February 7th, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
Is showing live coverage of opening ceremonies.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
NBC is showing Days of Our Lives. Because god forbid someone misses that instead of the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^
Well, most people would miss the ceremony had NBC showed it at 11:00 AM on a Friday.
February 7th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
Can this other program's coach be identified? Does his name rhyme with Urban Meyer?
February 7th, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
Which, ow the Sheryl Crow-ian irony.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^
Wow. You aren't kidding. Irony indeed.
Seems like a swell guy, that Franklin.
February 8th, 2014 at 3:00 PM ^
Beats the shit and snot out of PSU. Glad I can hate PSU for the second time in my life.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^
February 7th, 2014 at 12:24 PM ^
February 7th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
I believe the coach in question's name rhymes with Brames Branklin. If you remember right, Peppers was considering Penn State at one point in time.
Unfortunately for Michigan, this Gibbons thing isn't going to die and go away quietly.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
Too bad he wasn't a star QB in Florida; no one would've cared. (though even more "too bad" that the kid was ever at Michigan).
February 7th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
Oh plently of people cared about Winston. That was a major story. But FSU was upfront about it the entire time, and didn't completely botch the PR side of their sexual assualt issue like Michigan has. They appear to have actual adults working in their PR department.
And unfortunately, it looks like its tough cookies for both victims here. College sports y'all.
February 7th, 2014 at 3:50 PM ^
While I agree that our folks screwed up the PR, I don't know that the Winston situation would've come out the same way in A2. I'm not in the weeds (or mangroves) of the details in Florida, but when the prosecutor decided not to prosecute, that was pretty much the end of it. The same decision was made in A2, but here we are, years later, dealing with fallout because the school (rightfully it seems) kicked Gibbons out. Maybe that'll happen down the line at FSU (not sure how their intra-school discipline works).
February 7th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
It will. This is NOT the kicker you're looking for....
February 7th, 2014 at 12:10 PM ^
February 7th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
It is definiltely Franklin, he's scum. Living in Tennessee around a bunch of UT fans, I've heard a bunch of horror stories (albiet maybe a little biased). He was recruiting Vonn Bell to Vandy, and after learning he wasn't going to be coming to Vandy, he turned Vonn off of Tennessee and advised him to go to OSU. Fuck that guy.
February 7th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
The prior year UM had all sorts of Special Team woes, and Bracken was the first punter ever specifically recruited by Bo. His first punt took off like a missile and the crowd absolutely went nuts. He still holds the record for longest punt in the Rose Bowl- 73 yards.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
Thank you for not posting the Peppers stuff. My heart appreciates your concern.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^
Did the softball team get rid of one of their best players for almost nothing?
February 7th, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^
Noah Furbush cut off his OWN cast... with a HEDGE TRIMMER?!
Thats a baaaaadddddd man! One can only assume a savage like this will blow up blocks and sack the quarterback every play, right?
February 7th, 2014 at 12:10 PM ^
February 7th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
February 7th, 2014 at 12:17 PM ^
Argh I hate how the mens' hockey doesn't commence for another five days.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:24 PM ^
I tell ya what that "Every Roh Has It's Thorn" guy is sure creative with his usernames.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:38 PM ^
Brian, please tell us: was it Franklin or another coach?
February 7th, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
1. Brian didn't write this. Brian has never written Dear Diary. Tim wrote two and I've been writing it for 4 years.
2. I didn't say which coach because he didn't say which coach. There are a lot more douchey coaches out there than the two everyone immediately named. If anyone's going around throwing names onto the hate pile over some signing day b.s. better add just about every single coach out there.
February 7th, 2014 at 1:05 PM ^
February 7th, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^
You should put your name and avatar somewhere in the thread...
February 7th, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^
Love the Escanaba in da Moonlight theme! We watch that movie every deer camp. First half of the movie is terrific. Second half is......strange. Great quotes from it, though. Where is the user Da Jimmer? He should be in on this!
February 7th, 2014 at 1:44 PM ^
Dere's some tings you gotta understand bout da superior state. The first ting is we don't explain tings.
February 7th, 2014 at 3:48 PM ^
February 7th, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^
is this Gibbons things going to kill us?
What a freaking mess...
Ahhh, have to keep my mind on M Bball
February 7th, 2014 at 3:56 PM ^
Is anyone else really surprised that Jabrill was almost fooled by bullshit negative recruiting not once, not twice, but three times??!! For a very smart and down to earth guy he sure seems pretty gullible. Cumong man!
February 7th, 2014 at 5:24 PM ^
When I watch the NCAA College World Series, I see the same enjoyment in the "all growed up" players.
Totally different attitude about the game from the guys dugout. Love watching their game, too, but the girls bring a different joy for the game.
/cool story bro
February 9th, 2014 at 9:30 PM ^
Not sure why Bates' partner was not mentioned... her name is Madison Chock.
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