Programming note: I am behind on UFR and will post it tomorrow. I have no excuse for this one other than severe lack of motivation.

Oh, uh, yeah. Article in the Daily on the new blog order interviews me. There is already a thread with jokes about my appearance if you need to get in on that action. This was the most interesting bit of the article to me:

With the day-to-day grind of beat reporting, that type of depth is almost impossible for newspapers to imitate. Here’s a typical workday for Snyder — on the Monday before the Northwestern football game, he attended a nearly two-and-a-half-hour-long press conference, filing a story right there. Snyder then stayed at the building, transcribing football quotes and working until the basketball presser took place at 3 p.m. After the press conference, Snyder attended basketball practice, finally leaving after nine hours and still needing to file a story about the basketball team. That’s time Cook can spend analyzing plays and breaking down each game, while relying on reporters like Snyder to uncover the day-to-day business of the team.

I've never had a problem with beat writers; they do their job and it's necessary. But, man, doesn't that explain a lot? You put yourself in this press-conference-file-story-press-conference-file-story routine, covering a thousand different items shallowly and spending large portions of your time either listening to or transcribing what someone else is thinking. Then you've got the columnists on basically the same schedule, writing three things a week about one of ten different pro or college teams. There's no focus.

This is apparently media-bash day on MGoBlog, so might as well get on with it:

Different. Mark Dantonio took over Cincinnati's football program and left for a bigger one after two mediocre years. The Free Press frames that decision like so*:

A man's word still means something.

Two years ago, the Spartans pursued Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio. But he rejected the overtures until the Bearcats' regular season was over.

Can you imagine anyone stretching the bounds of praiseworthy behavior in order to find something nice to say about Rich Rodriguez? No. This is the exact thing—leaving a job—that Rich Rodriguez has been killed for, and he stayed at West Virginia for seven years, turning it into a national power.

But Dantonio Keeps His Word.

Yep:

In fact. Hey, here's a nice thing about Rodriguez in a mainstream newspaper!

Harrison, the safety, was among them. Then last weekend on Senior Day, his parents were late getting to Michigan Stadium from Dayton because of traffic from an accident. So instead of having Harrison take the field unescorted, Rodriguez accompanied him.

"He didn't really need to do that," Harrison said. "I see him in a whole different way. I used to look at him as just my head coach. Now I look at him as if it's a different type of bond."

This is part of an article with extensive quotes from Harrison, Terrance Taylor, Don Dufek, and Rick Leach and an actual quote from someone who interacts with a large number of Michigan fans:

Jason McNamee is an employee at the Buckeye Wolverine Shop in Perrysburg, Ohio, near Toledo.

McNamee said most Wolverines customers understand the situation Rodriguez inherited and are willing to give him time.

"I'd say if we had 100 Michigan fans in here, only 5-10 would say he has to go now," McNamee said.

It's probably the most reasonable, best researched piece that's appeared in a newspaper this year. That newspaper?

The Columbus Dispatch.

Some day I would like to meet the people running the Free Press and News sports pages just so I can ask them "what makes you think annoying your core readership is a good idea?"

Don't take our Spielman away. Chris Spielman and Kirk Herbstreit orchestrated a much-publicized Michigan bashing session on Columbus talk radio recently. One of the more directly inflammatory  statements came from Spielman:

"I love seeing them beaten down, man. It's great," Spielman said.

Dr. Saturday says this should spell the end of Spielman broadcasting Michigan games:

And thus ends (or should end) Chris Spielman's license to call any Michigan game. I like Spielman, I like his transparent love for football, I like that he still seems more like a player than an announcer and that he obviously would rather be on the field colliding with people than in a suit and tie in a booth. I think he's one of the best color guys on the network. But unless ESPN's new strategy is to openly antagonize its viewers, it can't have a born, bred and admitted hater calling the team he hates.

One: yes, ESPN's strategy is to openly antagonize its viewers, something that has been made plain over the last decade. How many 15-minute Nick Lachey MNF interviews must we endure before this is plain?

Two: no. Spielman hates Michigan. Whatever. He's the only color guy working college football who would bother explaining that to stop a power run game like Michigan State the key player is the defensive end, who has to crash inside to eliminate the hole and disrupt the pulling offensive linemen, which will naturally cause the RB to bounce outside into the waiting arms of a linebacker.

Spielman does that. And he cloaks his disdain masterfully when called upon to do so. He can do Michigan games whenever he pleases. Don't leave us with Andre Ware, please.

Etc.: Ohio State fans can't read. The WLA does hate week right;  apparently those of us with Fandom Endurance III badges can never leave a game again. McMcMcCabe is seriously pissed off you guys that the Army Bowl is (gasp!) picking guys who he didn't even name all state. Also he would like his cranberry juice. UMTailgate says that was yesterday.

*(Worst Columnist in America link that you are urged to not follow: .)