Unverified Voracity Features First Time Bath
Sponsorship note! This is going to be ironic given the crabbing a bit later about excessively corporate bits, but we've landed a sponsorship from a new book titled "For Michigan Fans Only" that will run over about the next two weeks. Check it out, see if you're interested, buy a copy or three, and discharge any lingering guilt you may have about not supporting the site.
Podcasting. I put in an appearance on The Michigan Man podcast to talk about the Purdue game, and talked some more new media stuff with Dan Levy of Press Coverage. And yes, we taped a podcast this week that should be up today or tomorrow. It is the angriest podcast.
Defense: we had it. Wolverine Historian's tribute to the mauling '85 defense:
Football with defense now seems like a bizarre anomaly that requires changes to your gameplanning.
via MVictors
Footie V. Congratulations to the men's soccer team, which won its first Big Ten title in 11 years of existence by stomping Penn State 4-1. MGoBlue has video highlights. Soony Saad's goal was a bit of a gift but Meram's two were sweet, and he would have had a hat trick but for a Penn State player pulling a Suarez. The BTN mics picked up the defender incredulously exclaiming "are you KIDDING ME, sir" after the guy had bashed away a certain goal with his forearm—even Rasheed Wallace thinks that's a stretch. BTW, Saad is now the nation's leading scorer with 18 goals.
The NCAA soccer tournament is a 48-team affair where 16 teams are seeded and receive byes; Michigan is the #10 seed and will play the winner of South Florida-Central Florida on Sunday at 2. The game is in Ann Arbor, so pack the place out. If they advance the third round will be at South Carolina or at home if SC is upset by the Coastal Carolina/Duke winner.
From national award winner thing to person at South Carolina. Your unbreakable faith in David Brandon's pimp hand has been further strengthened by the departure of compliance head Judy Van Horn for a job at South Carolina that seems identical to the one she's departing.
Van Horn only appears in the infamous CARA documents occasionally, mostly to gently spar with Draper. Whatever her offenses were they weren't public, and I plead not enough data if you're asking whether or not she should have been gently shown the door. I will say that I am enjoying the public announcements that Person Has Acquired Job You Don't Care About because they remind me of that scene in The Wire where deposed mayor Royce whispers sweet nothings to Clay Davis about staying in line or getting nothing. Don't go against the family.
Horrified Kafkaesque potato-man interlude.
via two seam fastball [Ed-M: That's Samara's livejournal account, Tiger fans.]
In other Brandon. The Crain's Detroit Business article on Brandon has been kicked around on the message board already but a couple opinion type objects follow on from this:
As part of dealing with the infractions, Brandon plans to operate the athletics program much like he did the corporations he ran for more than two decades, Ann Arbor-based Domino's Pizza Inc. and Livonia-based coupon marketer Valassis Communications Inc.
That includes creating a business plan and bolstering the image. The athletic department is conducting a national search for its first chief marketing officer, and Brandon is looking at where money should be spent on promotion.
"The first thing you need to do is resource properly against the areas that are very important. This is a department that's been under-resourced in terms of marketing muscle and expertise," he said, noting that just three people worked on marketing for UM athletics. The new CMO will add more staff.
"(We will) craft the message a little better in the media in terms of who we are, what's going on here and why it ought to be attractive to people," he said.
I guess that's fine and after the NCAA business it seems like a thorough reshaping of the athletic department is in order, but I'm a bit leery of the direction things have gone so far on the marketing front. I'm not buying a Big Chill shirt because it's got an Arby's logo on it. I'm extremely disappointed that David Brandon's pimp hand has so far spared Special K and his awful, generic gameday music.
The whole point of college athletics these days is a lack of the generic corporate moneygrab that makes professional games sterile experiences—have you been to a Wings game in the last ten years? Part of marketing the program is being actually different. Eroding the wall between Michigan's fusty, old-timey feel and your average AHL game brings a short-term Pavlovian response but hurts the development of long-term obsessives that allow Michigan to avoid two for one Subway promotions even when they're not doing that well.
This is a statement I don't like:
"My job as the quote-unquote CEO of Michigan athletics is to make sure that (the profit and loss statement) is healthy, that we're doing a good job of growing our revenues, that we're managing our costs," he said. "It operates very much like every business I've ever been associated with from the standpoint of what we do and what we need to do to be successful."
His job as the quote unquote CEO of Michigan athletics has zero to do with money. Money is a vehicle via which to graduate students and acquire wins, and in some cases I think the athletic department is sliding too much towards money. I thought the same thing under Martin, FWIW.
Hockey bits. A fuller exploration of what's going on with the hockey team will have to wait until football's over but, man, it's looking like a slightly less nerve-wracking version of last year. Michigan has avoided the ugly .500 start and is sitting at 6-3-3, but they're a last-second goal against Ferris State from splitting every weekend they've had this year save a sweep of Bowling Green. Michigan lost to a terrible version of BG last year so this is some progress. It's a far cry from the rampage they went on at the end of last season.
Making things a bit worse was how the Notre Dame series went down. Michigan was run out of the building Friday in a depressing game where they were outshot badly. This never happens. On Saturday they got down and then got a flood of freaky goals:
Michigan Hockey Net chalked the win up to puck luck and it's hard to disagree when Michigan's last three were some variety of bizarre. Langlais's invisible hockey player job is possibly the weirdest goal I've ever seen.
A lot of people have been muttering about a repeat of last year and it's not hard to see the similarities. Michigan does not have a lot of skill in the forward corps and has to rely on bombs and deflections too much. Only Hagelin brings a consistent look-at-that-guy presence on every shift. The goaltending is okay but not great, and the team seems to lack a shut down defenseman in the mold of a Mitera or a Komisarek.
At least they haven't lost to an awful team yet, and it looks like their schedule has been tough out of the gate—ND and Alaska are 1st and 4th in the league right now and Ferris is okay; even BG is 5-7 overall. UNH is 5-1-3. That Mercyhurst tie is going to rankle all year, though.
Cheese it! The cops! Penn State fans are still convinced that an epic refereeing conspiracy exists to prop up Michigan, and after watching this I'm convinced:
/commits seppuku because of the dishonor
Etc.: The Mathlete has us 50-50 to get to an eighth win before the bowl. Quite a coinflip coming up. Mets Maize on the Purdue game. John Clay might miss the Michigan game, but it won't matter since Wisconsin has two other fine backs.
November 16th, 2010 at 1:11 PM ^
that's not a stretch. 1985 def. surrendered 98 points in 12 games and the 1997 def. gave up 144 points. hammerstein, messner, mallory, cochran were all studs.
November 16th, 2010 at 1:22 PM ^
Good to know I have support. I figured the blog's demographic skews pretty young and there would not be that many folks around who vividly recall 1985.
The 1985 D just didnt allow any TDs......and I dont think anyone converted a PAT against them until the final game of the year. LOL
November 16th, 2010 at 1:35 PM ^
Doesn't account for the differences in offensive play over a decade makes (likewise, a defense now in an Oregon era too), but an argument could certainly be made. Likewise, after a bad team start, Bo might have argued his 1980 team was playing better than any team he ever fielded at the end of the season. That team gave up 9 points in their final 5 games (which included OSU and a first ever bowl win for Bo).
November 16th, 2010 at 1:56 PM ^
Hammerstein was a force of nature.
I hate making comparisons, though. I think we can honor both teams.
While it is more painful, I still think we are lucky to be able to watch the current players become a defensive unit.
November 16th, 2010 at 2:36 PM ^
imo. only because offenses tended to be more one-dimension running-style in 1985 than 1997 and beyond. i will give you the 1985 DL over 1997. but i will take 1997s back 7. i also think that every D starter on 1997 played some in the nfl. at least 3 are still there. pretty impressive
i used to love how hammestein would antincipate the snap, stand up, and just run sideways between the T and G. i've never really seen anyone do that on a consistent basis since. and messner was as tough as anyone. they were truly a run-stuffing DL.
you can't beat, though, the dominance of steele and woodson on the 1997 D. steele beat everyone. i especially remember him owning the msu tackle (name escapes me) who went on to have a long nfl career (all pro too i think).
November 16th, 2010 at 1:26 PM ^
Someone please explain the following terms and phrases:
Defensive All-American
Another Michigan interception
Five Wolverines were around the ball
(and so on)
My, but that video was simultaneously exhilarating and depressing.
November 16th, 2010 at 1:39 PM ^
It's been about once a decade.
And if you can combine it with our offense....
November 16th, 2010 at 1:45 PM ^
We had a guy here way back when (last year) by the name of Brandon Graham who made a few Defensive All-American teams. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take out my dentures and settle down for an afternoon nap.
November 16th, 2010 at 1:27 PM ^
Didn't Bo and Gary Moeller realize you can't stop the power teams of the Big Ten with a 3 man line? What a bunch of bozos, boy they sure got lucky.
November 16th, 2010 at 1:35 PM ^
50-50? I'll take it. I would prefer the 50 that wins be against OSU in the snake pit, FWIW :)
Also I too cannot bear the shame that Molk has brought upon us. Seppuku is the only solution, after we burn the university down and fill the stadium in with cement. Molk will be left alone to witness the carnage and live witht he guilt of moving a football an inch to the left.
November 16th, 2010 at 1:43 PM ^
In regard to corporate sponsorships, take a look at what's happened at Crisler--more and more logos and tie-ins every year. This year, the "Michigan Hat Shuffle" has turned into the "Arby's Hat Shuffle," and there's now a sponsor for the T-shirt toss (see below from the 2010-11 Michigan Men's Basketball Promotions page).
Couple all these promotions with the "WHO WANTS A PIZZZAAAA!!!!!!!" announcer, and Crisler is quickly developing an atmosphere similar to that of Comerica Park.
Season-Long Promotions
Hungry Howie's Pizza Deliveries -- During a select timeout, the cheer and dance teams will be looking for the loudest fans in the stands to deliver a personal size pizza and beverage to.
Arby's Hat Shuffle -- One lucky contestant will be selected to represent their row. This contestant will have to keep their eye on the roast beef sandwich in order to win a great Arby's prize.
Meijer T-Shirt Toss -- During a select timeout, the cheer and dance teams will be throwing t-shirts to the loudest fans in the stands!
Germack "Nuttiest Fan-of-the-Game" Contest -- Each game, Germack will be seeking out the Nutteist Fan of the Game to reward with a special prize package.
Taco Bell Trivia Question (Big Ten Conference Games) -- How well do you know Michigan basketball? One contestant will be selected to answer a Michigan basketball trivia question. If correct, the winner will be entered into a drawing to win two Big Ten Tournament Tickets.
AT&T Text-in-and-Win Contest -- Each game a different AT&T text contest will be presented on the videoboard, with prizes ranging from autographed basketballs, Big Ten Tournament Tickets, courtside seats and more!
November 16th, 2010 at 1:47 PM ^
Had to give out a total of two coupons for their row. That's all that was in it, no joke.
And I don't know...maybe you should have pixelated all those logos like they do on TV. No free advertising on MGoBlog....all those corporations should now be clicking the Beveled Guilt button.
November 16th, 2010 at 2:28 PM ^
Well, they gave out more Arby's coupons at the women's game on Friday--looked like a full row got them.
My mistake on the logos--I shoud have simply deleted them. Can't do it now of course.
November 16th, 2010 at 1:56 PM ^
One of the reasons I prefer college sports to professonal is the lack of this kind of nonsense distracting from the actual game in progress. If this is the direction DB wants to go with marketing, I'm going to be a very sad panda.
November 16th, 2010 at 2:31 PM ^
Less sad than if we had none of that stuff and were 5-7 every year, I'm guessing. Of course I'm exaggerating a bit for effect, but look at the correlation between size of athletic department budget and on-field success. It's sobering but it's reality. As long as we don't get to the point of thinking, "this national championship for UM was brought to you by Ford Motor Co.," I'll be OK.
November 16th, 2010 at 2:52 PM ^
This isn't really pertinent to Michigan, but I don't really get what people are talking about regarding distractions at NFL games. I go to NFL games ever year in various stadiums and aren't ever distracted by things that aren't the football on the field.
I go to alot of NHL games and, yes, they blast music during puck stopages but otherwise it's all about the hockey.
NBA games are themselves a distraction from basketball so clearly they are just a big cirucs.
Can someone be specific about what it is they don't like about the pro-experience with regards to 'distractions' and what they are afraid will happen at Michigan?
November 16th, 2010 at 2:05 PM ^
They used to give away Lowe's gift cards for the hat shuffle a couple years ago. The AT&T things has been around for a couple of years, too. The shirts were sponsored by Meijer last year as well-- my daughter has one. This isn't all new.
November 16th, 2010 at 1:57 PM ^
Jerry Seinfeld's line about that you're not really rooting for a team as much as you are shirts, ergo, you're rooting for laundry is behind Brandon's CMO move. Brandon knows that the block M is iconic (remember the dictate earlier this year about moving more and more to just the Block M logo and not the Split M, marketing and brand protection.)
We've also seen a huge uptick in Brandon's efforts with regard to social media and a "playfulness" to the Athletic Department (remember the definitive guide to Tom Brady's hair?) This is about gradualism, making small changes, seeing what gets a positive reaction, and more importantly, what doesn't get people all up in arms, and then moving slowly, but steadily in those directions, bringing in the dollars along the way.
I don't like it, but I understand it.
November 16th, 2010 at 2:06 PM ^
Apparently blocking was optional for MSU back in 1985.
November 16th, 2010 at 2:06 PM ^
I'm all for the revenue that the CEO approach will generate as long as it doesn't become comical from a sponsorship standpoint - Wayne's World style
Having said that, I'm inclined to trust Mr. Brandon thus far - if only for his pimp scarfs
November 16th, 2010 at 2:23 PM ^
Brian, marketing does not have to equal corporate sponsorship ads all over the place. Marketing simply means doing a better job aligning your product, its placement and its promotion (and its price if you want the full b-school "four P's" treatment) to your customer base. As part of this, any good marketing person would try to avoid a lot of visible, corporate logos on everything because s/he knows the consumers that are Michigan fans are going to be turned off by this, maybe to the point of boycotting the sponsors' products. (Assuming you did before, are you now going to buy fewer roast beef sandwiches, curly fries or jamocha shakes from Arby's because you're disgusted with their logo on the Big Chill t-shirts?) This said, it's going to be hard to get corporations to invest in UM athletics if their presence isn't visible.
Leading to the second point: I agree with poster Mgobowl, that I believe he was tailoring his message to the publication/reader. If Brandon was asked in a press conference what his job as CEO of UM athletics was, I don't think he'd simply talk about the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Even so, if making money isn't the central purpose of his role, it is at least undeniably the biggest facilitator of that central purpose, IMO. If the athletic department can't make money, not only can't it reinvest that money into providing a better on-the-field product and/or a better experience for students (athlete and non-athlete alike) and fans, but also it is a drain on the university's ability to provide better academic and research opportunities for students, faculty and staff. And while bringing the product to market better isn't necessarily always about making money, it is always about influencing someone's choice. 90% of the time that choice is a purchasing choice. The other 10% is political. (Unfortunate but necessary disclaimer: these are not real stats based on any research whatsoever, just my hyperbole based on observation.)
November 16th, 2010 at 2:28 PM ^
...Brandon's pimp hand and his supposed use of it to oust Van Horn, I previously posted this info here.
In a related topic (but not covered in this article/interview), in Saturday's pre-game chat with Bruce Madej at MGoBlue.com, I asked a question about former associate athletic director for compliance Judy Van Horn's departure and Bruce replied privately. According to him, her departure was not expected and not engineered by anyone at Michigan. She took the South Carolina job on her own and there's currently a candidate search underway. This makes sense since there was no announcement about a successor in Brandon's abbreviated comment about her move. Pimp hand notwithstading.
So, if you believe Madej (and I see no reason not to since he could have simply ignored my question), the pimp hand was not employed. Van Horn simply decided to take another opportunity and start afresh.
November 16th, 2010 at 3:30 PM ^
I think Brian is spreading minor conspiracy theories here. Judy Van Horn has a very good reputation for what she does, and she was never implicated of doing anything wrong on the compliance side of things during Practicegate. The title she's getting at South Carolina does appear to be a step up from what she had at Michigan. Here, she was head of the compliance department. At South Carolina, it sounds like she's going to take on a larger role as a senior associate director, as well as a Women's Administration role. Whatever that is, but I know a lot of Universities are opening up spots just for women's athletics.
I think Judy is just making the next logical step in her career, en route to hoping to become an athletic director herself. I wish her the best of luck.
November 16th, 2010 at 2:39 PM ^
Deserved or not, Michigan got the W. Sometimes the game of hockey boils down to simple luck at times. Clearly Michigan got an abundance of it in that game...
November 16th, 2010 at 3:30 PM ^
That 1985 team was something special. Note where the AP had them ranked as the season went on (the 1984 season after the loss of Jim Harbaugh had a very tough second half). And very few of them went to the NFL. Shows what coaching and attitude can do. The mars on the record were a 10-12 loss (4 FG) to Chuck Long at Iowa and a 3-3 tie at Champaign.
Opponent | Rank | Date | Site | Result | Attend. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notre Dame | -/13 | 09/14 | H | W | 20-12 | 105,523 |
South Carolina | 19/11 | 09/21 | A | W | 34-3 | 74,200 |
Maryland | 12/17 | 09/28 | H | W | 20-0 | 105,282 |
Wisconsin | 5/- | 10/05 | H | W | 33-6 | 105,491 |
Michigan State | 3/- | 10/12 | A | W | 31-0 | 78,235 |
Iowa | 2/1 | 10/19 | A | L | 10-12 | 66,350 |
Indiana (HC) | 4/- | 10/26 | H | W | 42-15 | 105,629 |
Illinois | 4/- | 11/02 | A | T | 3-3 | 76,397 |
Purdue | 9/- | 11/09 | H | W | 47-0 | 105,503 |
Minnesota | 8/- | 11/16 | A | W | 48-7 | 64,129 |
Ohio State | 6/12 | 11/23 | H | W | 27-17 | 106,102 |
Nebraska | 5/8 | 01/01 | 1 | W | 27-23 | 72,454 |
Totals | 342-98 | 1,065,295 | ||||
1 - Fiesta Bowl, Tempe, Arizona |
Captains: Brad Cochran, Eric Kattus, Mike Mallory | |
All-Americans: Mike Hammerstein, Brad Cochran | |
All-Conference: Mike Mallory, Brad Cochran, Mike Hammerstein, Eric Kattus(TE), Mark Messner, Clay Miller (OT) | |
Most Valuable Player: Mike Hammerstein |
Some of the other heroes: Assistant coaches: Alex Agase, Tirrel Burton, Lloyd Carr, Jerry Hanlon, Jerry Meter, Gary Moeller, Bob Thornbladh, Elliot Uzelac, Milan Vooletich
courtesy of http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1985fbt.htm
November 16th, 2010 at 3:40 PM ^
Imagine if the internet existed in 1985 when #4 Michigan tied unranked Illinois 3-3.
UNACCEPTABLE!
November 16th, 2010 at 9:02 PM ^
In 1985 rankings went only 20 deep. That Illinois team had Jack Trudeau for a QB, had a regular season of 6-4-1 (with losses to USC and #10 Nebraska), and a bowl loss to Army. The week after the tie with Michigan, Iowa beat them 59-0. In those days, many teams fared poorly in the weeks after Bo's and Mo's boys beat the tar out of them.
November 16th, 2010 at 4:22 PM ^
That team didn't allow its 65th point until the first half of game 11.
November 16th, 2010 at 5:30 PM ^
not that the star system existed back in the dark ages - beyond probably Brad Cochran, Mark Messner and possibly Garland Rivers, the '85 defense was not made up of a bunch of nationally touted HS recruits. In fact, in the 1983 class, the Media meme was George Perles at MSU eating Bo's lunch as far as recruiting in state went - players like Pat Shurmur, Mark Nichols and Dean Altobelli to State while Michigan had to settle for 2nd best. The more things change, the more they stay the same...
November 17th, 2010 at 8:23 AM ^
I think Perles's memorable phrasology was "we knocked their socks off" in in-state recruiting. What a meathead George was....
November 16th, 2010 at 5:03 PM ^
... with the left foot was truly impressive.
November 16th, 2010 at 5:56 PM ^
In making that video, I had to leave out many plays because YouTube only allows 15 minute videos.
It goes without saying, that defense was pretty special. Giving up just 5 touchdowns in 11 regular season games is insane. Especially when you take into account that 2 of those 5 touchdowns were because of Jamie Morris. We were pinned deep against Indiana and Jamie fumbled the ball away giving Indiana a first and goal at the 2 yard line. And against Ohio State, Jamie lost a fumble at our own 9 yard line which OSU pounded into the end zone 3 plays later.
November 16th, 2010 at 6:13 PM ^
for us older MGoBloggers, '85 was a special year, particularly coming off the 6-6 1984 season where some thought the game had passed Bo by.
November 16th, 2010 at 7:05 PM ^
I was a pre-schooler at the time so I don't remember any specifics but it's amazing that people thought the game had passed Bo by in 1984 simply because he lost his starting quarterback in game 5 of the season and stumbled to a 6-6 record. Especially since he was 9-3 the year before (2 of those 3 losses coming in the final seconds of the game).
Losing 6 games in a season was unheard of at Michigan with Bo. So I could understand the frustration but to say the game had passed Bo by? That's just stupid.
November 17th, 2010 at 8:21 AM ^
Believe it or not, there was this bit of graffiti scrawled on the walls above the urinals in the Blind Pig and the Del Rio back in 1975 because of our losses to OSU:
"Fire Bo, hire Linda Lovelace: she doesn't choke on the big one!"
While nobody was seriously proposing that Bo be fired, there was plenty of grumbling about Bo for end-of-the-season losses to OSU in '70, '72, '73 (a tie but felt like a loss), '74, and '75.
Due to the criminally stupid and unfair conference policy of not allowing participation in any bowl other than the Rose Bowl prior to '75, the previous losses meant that those Michigan teams had to stay home for the holidays. That was a big factor in the grumbling.
November 17th, 2010 at 11:22 AM ^
Bo had a habit of dropping at least one game each year to an unranked nobody. How quickly people forget.
I'm finding it ironically amusing that so many fans are trying to hold Rodriguez to a higher standard than they did Bo.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:57 PM ^
I was there in '85, my junior year. That was still the best Michigan team I ever saw. Yes, better than '97. If it wasn't for that damn field goal vs Iowa....
<br>
<br>The D Line and the overall dominance was just like I remembered (thanks for the video BTW - awesome). But the thing I forgot, or maybe now see in comparison is the emotion. Did you see the way Garland ran from the back of the play to congratulate Hammerstein after the sack? That was a TEAM. I have grown to appreciate the passion and never say die effort of our 2010 team, so I'm not saying it's lacking. Just that the emotion stood out after my 14 minute return to 1985.
November 17th, 2010 at 10:25 AM ^
PENALTIES G No Yds Avg/G ------------------------------------------ 1. Penn State.......... 10 35 271 27.1 2. Wisconsin........... 10 31 308 30.8 3. Ohio State.......... 10 45 411 41.1 4. Iowa................ 10 54 421 42.1 5. Minnesota........... 11 60 472 42.9 6. Indiana............. 10 47 446 44.6 7. Michigan............ 10 50 512 51.2 8. Purdue.............. 10 57 525 52.5 9. Illinois............ 10 64 580 58.0 10.Northwestern........ 10 70 632 63.2 11.Michigan State...... 10 70 635 63.5 OPPONENT PENALTIES G No Yds Avg/G ------------------------------------------ 1. Indiana............. 10 66 644 64.4 2. Iowa................ 10 65 587 58.7 3. Minnesota........... 11 65 600 54.5 4. Northwestern........ 10 60 518 51.8 5. Michigan State...... 10 57 508 50.8 6. Wisconsin........... 10 54 459 45.9 7. Purdue.............. 10 55 450 45.0 8. Ohio State.......... 10 53 449 44.9 9. Illinois............ 10 47 434 43.4 10.Penn State.......... 10 49 405 40.5 11.Michigan............ 10 45 375 37.5
CONSPIRACY!
November 17th, 2010 at 10:35 AM ^
I was usually a defensive end but my junior year in high school our starting center got injured and I started 10 games in his place. I know it's just high school, so I am not sure if it is the same in college but before every game I would ask the official what was acceptable in regards to moving the ball or getting it in a more comfortable position before the snap. Depending on the official it was usually ok to do what Molk did in that video.
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