Unverified Voracity Is Getting The Harbaughs Back Together Comment Count

Brian

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Exit Jeff Meyer. Lavall Jordan's first act as Butler head coach was to snatch longtime Beilein assistant Jeff Meyer out from under Michigan's Walter White. The parting was amicable:

The list of guys Meyer recruited at Michigan is a long and impressive one; also he got bizarrely chewed out by Tom Crean that one time. He will be missed. Beilein's had a knack for finding new coaches of late, so the program probably won't take much of a hit. The most relevant bit of this for Michigan fans may be what it says about Jordan: being able to snag a high profile assistant from Michigan is impressive. If he can keep Butler at its current level, Michigan's post-Beilein coaching search may well be one phone call.

I haven't seen any names for Meyer's replacement yet, which is somewhat unusual. Saadi Washington was instantly a likely hire when Alexander and Jordan departed for head jobs elsewhere. There is someone available…

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[Bryan Fuller]

Before you spit roast my head, consider that this would get Jim Harbaugh behind Michigan's bench at basketball games? And it would be really funny? And Crean might do it to get his furious revenge on Indiana? Yes? Maybe? No. Fine.

NORM. Here's something barely related to sports but good enough for this here site: Norm MacDonald infuriating a collection of Iowa honchos 20 years ago.

University of Iowa Athletic Department officials were teed off enough about Norm Macdonald’s Sunday night comedy act that they yanked his golf invitation for Monday.

Several members of the audience left during Macdonald’s act, which contained references to sex acts, AIDS and homosexuality. The comic alluded to the stream of people leaving the auditorium, but continued his set. “What do you want to talk about? Losing your luggage at the airport?” he asked as people left.

U of I Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby said Macdonald’s act “would be considered to be in very bad taste in nearly every venue in America.” Athletic Department spokesman Rick Klatt said the U of I was assured during contract negotiations that Macdonald could meet guidelines. “We were very explicit about the details of the event, and about the type of people who would be there,” Klatt said.

Mike Bridenstine, Los Angeles-based comedian/writer who grew up in Muscatine and attended the show as a teen:

“The joke that got the biggest/worst reaction was about bestiality porn. Old people and little kids were filing out. My mom felt so uncomfortable that she walked into the lobby, but complained, ‘They piped the sound out there too.’

“I physically hurt from laughing."

I went to a Norm MacDonald show at about the same time—maybe a couple of years later—and the main thing I remember from it is somehow Norm arrived at a point where it made sense to say "this cake here is my girlfriend. I f---ed it last night." I did not realize it at the time but I now know the show would have been greatly improved if Kirk Ferentz was there, fuming.

Norm himself:

“I didn’t even know anything was wrong. And then the next day these guys ... from some radio station or something, like I was sleeping, and they start asking these questions, you know. I didn’t know what to do, so I just tried to be funny. They go ‘Do you think your act is obscene?’ So I said ‘No, I think what’s obscene is there’s like kids dying in Vietnam, you know?’

“He goes ‘There’s no war in Vietnam!’ He like got all mad at me.”

I like Norm.

Angelique on Speight. He's been working to stay in front of Peters:

After returning from Michigan’s trip to Rome, Speight continued to watch every play from the entire season.

“I watched a little bit before spring ball, as well, but I got back to America and immediately went and clicked on the film and started watching that and knocked it all out,” Speight said. “Watched every game twice. There were certain plays in a few games at the end of the year that I wish I could have changed, but that’s what you live and learn from and you get better.”

He's imbibed the tao of Harbaugh when it comes to his injury:

He won’t be specific about the injury but said the shoulder is “back to 100 percent.” He also won’t say if he had surgery and turns coy when the subject comes up.

“I can’t remember,” Speight said, smiling. “That was way back in January, February, December.”

You know that thing where you turn into your father as you age? Yeah, that.

Catching up with Vincent Smith. Dan Murphy profiles Michigan's toughest running back in recent memory:

Vincent Smith is building momentum. He takes two short strides, sinking his hips like a retracting pinball plunger, and then launches himself clear over an 8-foot swath of freshly tilled and seeded earth. Smith gathers the five-gallon bucket of winter rye seeds next to his landing spot and moves on to the next patch of dirt.

It's late October in Michigan, and Smith is doing what he can to prep his garden-in-progress for the cold months ahead. The vacant lot he is trying to repurpose sits two blocks from the infamous Flint River, which in recent years delivered lead-tainted waters to the citizens of one of the Rust Belt's most down-on-its-luck cities. The rest of the street is lined by houses that range from worn but loved to dilapidated. The house that once stood on Smith's lot caught fire, and the city ordered its demolition several years earlier. He and a band of helpers spent weeks picking pieces of the old house and other garbage out of the ground when they decided last year that it was a good candidate to be turned into a community garden.

DJ Wilson scouted. DX on Wilson:

It will be interesting to see how his frame develops as he matures, since he already possess the skill set of a stretch-4, but he needs to add toughness and competitiveness to not emerge as a one-dimensional player. With NBA teams continue to search for big men who can shoot, handle, pass and switch, Wilson is a strong first round pick candidate and should have plenty of chances to break into an NBA rotation. - Source:

That's why he's in the draft: he's perfect for the modern NBA, where centers are power forwards who are expected to switch onto point guards and shoot threes. There's a 0% chance someone doesn't take him in the first round, because if he continues developing he can be part of a devastating five-out offense. Also despite being 21 he's got the upside of a younger player. Beilein:

"He’s just on his way to being a really good player," Beilein said. "He can really shoot. Put it together with his defense … he’s 21 with a body of a 19-year-old. The best is yet to come for him. He’s a super kid on and off the court; very coachable.

"Whoever gets him is going to be very fortunate."

If we could stop with the "DJ got bad advice" thing that would be great. He supposedly has a promise from the Nets, even.

Nope. Texas OT Brandon Hodges is looking to grad transfer but if Barking Carnival is right about the reason for his departure this will be a non-starter for Michigan:

Hodges was projected to start at right tackle, but he was reportedly done in by grades. Eric Nahlin at Inside Texas alluded this news coming a couple of days ago.

Michigan's last best shot at a grad transfer was Sunny Odogwu.

Etc.: Former NFL RB Alfonso Smith is joining the program as a staffer. David Harris to the Patriots. Ann Arbor is expensive.

Comments

bronxblue

June 22nd, 2017 at 1:19 PM ^

It's expensive, but there are lots of college towns with outsized rent. Boulder, State College, Madison, etc. are all pricey. College towns are very appealing for everyone, and it's going to be expensive when you have out-of-state money as well capable of paying that price. But at least A2 seems like they are trying to create more inventory.

WolvinLA2

June 22nd, 2017 at 3:25 PM ^

It's funny how we'll celebrate articles titled "Ann Arbor named best city in America" and then also support articles bitching about how it's expensive. News flash: things people like tend to be more expensive than things they like less. This article reads like a person writing a letter to Rolex complaining about them making expensive watches because that person can't afford them.

If you can't afford a luxury apartment, you should be happy they're putting them up. Those rich students were going to live somewhere, and the existence of these high rises will bring down the rent of wherever those students would have lived instead.

TJFB

June 22nd, 2017 at 1:52 PM ^

I lived in Ann Arbor for the first 22 years of my life before moving to the Bay Area 10 years ago. Living in SF, it's impossible to turn on the radio or read the news without hearing about the affordable housing crisis. These issues seem to be popping up in other locations too. Friends that have moved to Chicago, Denver, Seattle are all dealing with the same issues that faced SF several years ago. 

It's hard to not think that a national affordable housing crisis is developing.

OwenGoBlue

June 22nd, 2017 at 3:53 PM ^

There's real crisis in pockets of a number of cities, but it's not to the level of the Bay Area.

There are some big issues/unintended consequences cropping up nationally that cities need to figure out how to deal with beyond just increasing housing stock. Like the world of sold-out condo buildings that are largely empty because they're serving as parking for international money; this serves to price out actual residents, drive away business, hurt tax revenues, artificially inflate real estate value, etc.

taut

June 22nd, 2017 at 10:13 PM ^

"It's hard not to think that a national affordable housing crisis is developing".

It's not that hard for me to think there isn't really a crisis. There are some very pricey cities, sure. If you want to live comfortably in a world-class city like SF or NYC you need to be making some serious coin. Not everyone can afford that.

But these things have a way of sorting themselves out. I lived in four costly cities before moving back to MI, two on the east coast and two on the west. A big incentive to move back to MI was that my quality of life would be much better (obviously a subjective decision, at a stage of life where some things were valued more or less than they were as a young single guy). If AA gets too pricey, people who can't afford it or who don't value the AA experience highly enough will move down the road, to Ypsi, or Saline, Dexter, etc.

For students there may be a crunch, but back in the day when I was a student (80's) there were even then places that were pricey and places that were less desirable but more affordable, and adding an extra friend or two to the house increased the denominator and helped with rent. I had a buddy that couldn't afford AA so he lived in Ypsi and rode his motorcycle (couldn't afford a car) even in winter. If it snowed his GF dropped him off. So people adapt.

In the long run the unaffordability of coastal cities may be a factor in reviving midwestern city that have been losing population to the south and west for decades now. I've already seen it on a smaller scale with a bit more activity in Ypsi, as folks who are priced out of AA look for the next best thing.

potomacduc

June 22nd, 2017 at 6:12 PM ^

You don't need to confine yourself to those two cities; pretty much any place on either coast and even a few metro areas not on the coast are several rungs up the ladder from Ann Arbor. My guess is Ann Arbor is prety much smack in the middle on median home prices.  The problem isn't the cost of real estate in Ann Arbor, it's the lack of income for too many Michigan residents.

potomacduc

June 24th, 2017 at 5:56 PM ^

I can't find any source that matches your claim.

https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/uspricemon.pdf

Scroll to the bottom for May 2017 number. US Median Home Sales Price is $345,800.

This is for new homes though, so will skew higher. 

Even if the sale of tens of thousands of shacks in MS do drag down the US median beow the Ann Arbor sales price, I maintain my main claim: prices in Ann Arbor only seem high compared to the low incomes prevalent in the state.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIGWEENIE

June 22nd, 2017 at 1:05 PM ^

My wife comes home one day and asks do you know a comedian named Norm? Didnt know the last name. She says he only has 1 ball. I said the only guy I can think of is Norm MacDonald and have know idea how many balls he has.Turns out a friends GF went to DC and saw his show, hooked up with him and banged him. Her quote was he is famous what could I do? He forgave her by the way. She was always doing someone.

zachary_carson

June 22nd, 2017 at 1:20 PM ^

Have any of those people every heard Norm McDonald or watched anything in his career?  I mean, the guy has been pretty consistent with his material this whole time.  What did they expect?  Silly kids and their feelings.

wile_e8

June 22nd, 2017 at 2:34 PM ^

  1. This was 20 years ago. At time he was most known for hosting Weekend Update, and that was kept relatively clean due to FCC broadcast regulations. And since this was 20 years ago and the internet was still in it's infancy, things like YouTube didn't exist and finding out about his non-SNL career was very difficult for most people. 
  2. The article says it was mostly older parents walking out. But way to complain about kids these days without reading the article. 

mgobaran

June 22nd, 2017 at 1:22 PM ^

That's a big splash hire for recruiting. Plus we would get all of his pros about being a bball coach, while limiting his cons since it's not his program. I think Beilein wouldn't let him be as shady of a character. 

Swayze Howell Sheen

June 22nd, 2017 at 1:44 PM ^

love the quote "I think what’s obscene is there’s like kids dying in Vietnam, you know"

reminds me of all the religious folks who tuned into Louis CK after they heard a (G-rated) bit he did on how we take too many things for granted. Then, they saw the rest of his material...

Trebor

June 22nd, 2017 at 1:54 PM ^

I too like Norm MacDonald, but the one time I saw him live was the worst comedy show I've ever been to. Must have been an off night; either that or it was just the fact that he was stumbling drunk and spent the whole set talking about the pulled pork between his teeth. Dude was just not funny at all that night.

ish

June 22nd, 2017 at 1:56 PM ^

Norm played Hill Auditorium.  I think it was March or April of 97.  He had the same set he used at Iowa.  People didn't stream out of Hill, but there were a number of people who were put off.  Things started ok.  He had this bit about how his doctor told him that he's "skinny but fat."  He's doesn't weigh a lot but it's all bones and fat and no muscle.  Then he started comparing that to people with AIDS.  Some people were uncomfortable.  He played off that discomfort.

No comment on the parts above, but the full set was great.

Rufus X

June 22nd, 2017 at 2:09 PM ^

He is a funny funny dude.  The SNL Jeopardy as Burt Reynolds ("Turd Ferguson!") is just about perfection.

But if it's true that they told him what was off limits when they booked him and he agreed, then refused to comply, then he is an asshole.  A funny asshole, but an asshole nonetheless.

Jmer

June 22nd, 2017 at 2:48 PM ^

I would take him as a bench coach. He can focus on coaching and recruiting and not worry about running (or ruining) a program. But more so because the TV cameras can focus on Harbaugh at every home game. This would make me smile as I say to myself "we have the best damn football coach"

UMQuadz05

June 22nd, 2017 at 3:01 PM ^

MgoMinutiae:  Brian has an old post about the Cake Routine and it has my all time favorite post title:

"Unverified Voracity has carnal knowledge of foodstuffs"

Rabbit21

June 22nd, 2017 at 4:47 PM ^

Admittedly I just skipped through the video to check my impression, but the whole way through the video it looks like it's Jim Breuer up on the stage.  Am I missing something?

patrickdolan

June 22nd, 2017 at 6:06 PM ^

Los Lobos came through Iowa City in the mid-eighties when La Bamba was still #1. Fishbone opened for them. This African American punk, with a blond mohawk and silver-headed cane, came pogoing out on stage and the first words out of his mouth were "Let's party, motherfuckers!"



The yuppie dads who had brought their tween daughters to hear Los Lobos dragged their kids up the aisle and out. The people who remained danced their asses off.



Ann Arbor > Iowa City. And I love Iowa City.



As for Norm MacDonald, I've never found him all that funny, so I didn't go. I expect that three quarters (the younsters) of the audience stayed, and laughed their asses off.



But what's really obscene is the way the Iowa Athletic Department treats women, employees, athletes, and ordinary students.

patrickdolan

June 23rd, 2017 at 4:42 PM ^

My speculation at the time was that Los Lobos invited them along on the tour to remind people that they weren't a pop band.



Plus, at that particular moment, Fishbone was a world class live band. They may still be. In the mid-80s, they were absolutely smoking.



It would be weird for Hancher to ask someone to avoid profanity, especially a comedian, but if that's what happened with MacDonald, then you are correct, it's not the same. Thanks for the information.



Gary Barta still needs to go.

Autostocks

June 22nd, 2017 at 7:04 PM ^

I know it sounds all dramatic to say the Flint River delivered lead tainted water to the citizens of Flint, but actually it was the lead pipes that delivered the lead tainted water.  There is nothing wrong with the Flint River, the problem is that the water department failed to treat it with phosphate to keep it from corroding the lead water pipes.  Never let the facts get in the way of a good sound bite, though.