unverified voracity
hockey
old school
northwestern
lolsparty
pat fitzgerald
zak irvin
basketball scheduling
derrick walton
1906 ohio state
i can't even lolsparty properly anymore
student advisory council

Unverified Voracity Rides The Rails Comment Count

Brian

Old timey. Railroads were efficient back in the day.

That's less time than it takes by car, isn't it?

Don't hit ladies. But the shirt. Greg Oden was arrested for battery. The mugshot:

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JMFJ available for hockey type activties. If you're not doing anything tomorrow, Yost is hosting a charity event featuring Jack Johnson:

Come out and play with (or against!) NHL Star, Olympic Silver Medalist, and U of M alum Jack Johnson as he and Justin Spiro renew their on-ice rivalry in Johnson's collegiate barn, the world famous Yost Ice Arena!!!

The game formerly known as the "Spiro/Johnson Ice Bowl" has been renamed to honor the memory of Andrew Michael Singler. The two squads will compete for the inaugural and already very prestigious Singler Cup.

ALL ages and skill levels are welcome, as this "fierce" exhibition has seen men as old as 65 and boys as young as 10 scoring key goals. Spiro is commonly regarded as the worst skater on the planet, so don't be shy!

Cost is $20 per player, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Andrew Singler Stay Strong Foundation (http://singlerstaystrongfoundation.com/).

You should try to check him and then you'll have a story about how you broke your neck doing something stupid.

One good, one not so much. Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin participated in the Adidas Nations thing recently. Walton looks ready to step forward and become a primary option:

- Derrick Walton Jr. had a good day running the show for his team.

On Friday Walton was very good with regards to distributing the basketball, making sound decisions in the pick-and-roll game and getting his teammates the ball where they were best positioned to enjoy success. One of the beneficiaries was teammate Zak Irvin, who knocked down multiple jump shots on the tail end of those Walton passes. With an eye towards next season, this weekend will be good for the two Wolverines as they (along with Caris LeVert) are the ones best positioned for a breakout 2014-15.

But over the course of the camp, Irvin didn't show that his game had expanded much:

Zak Irvin (Michigan):  …didn’t appear to be much better than when I last saw him in Indianapolis during the Sweet 16/Elite Eight weekend. Irvin can still perform as a catch-and-shoot player, but after losing Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary, Irvin needs to step up this season and do more off-the-bounce. That didn’t happen at adidas Nations. Irvin struggled with two-dribble pull-ups and was stripped multiple times while trying to drive to the basket. Still plenty of time before November, but Irvin doesn’t look much better than last season. (SP)

He was not much of a slasher even in high school, preferring to take those midrange pull-ups when he wasn't taking threes. And as we've mentioned several times before, Irvin was far more in the Just A Shooter category than Stauskas was during their respective freshman years. He should diversify a bit; he is still going to be a guy who mostly has shots created for him. With Walton and LeVert around that shouldn't be a huge problem. I might even prefer it if Irvin focused more on his defense, which has the potential to be really good, than expanding his offensive game. Michigan could use a lockdown perimeter defender more than they need another guy to get to the basket.

This should be more fun. I forgot to put this in the last one:

"Acurate" is not a good word to misspell, but inserting an unnecessary and incorrect "whereas" is the hallmark of someone who learned to write by expanding a one page paper to five by inserting meaningless jibberish endlessly.

Yes, yes, MSU fans, scoreboard. Just don't say anything other than "oh no, not again" when Duncan Robinson signs on here rather soon. Then we are good.

All of the other ESPNs are full of Tebow. The lineup of basketball's nonconference tourney has been announced, and one thing in particular jumps off the page:

VCU vs. Villanova, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

Michigan vs. Oregon, 9 p.m. (ESPN3)

ESPN3? You have an early-season matchup between an Elite 8 team and an outfit that got to the second round of last year's tourney and that doesn't even warrant placement on ESPNU? I'm not mad, I'm impressed, actually I'm a little mad.

Michigan's "opening round" opponents will be Bucknell and Detroit; both are middling mid-majors. Bucknell was 11-7 in the Patriot league last year, Detroit 6-10 in the Horizon. These are the kind of teams Michigan should be scheduling instead of New Jersey Tech or whatever: respectable, beatable.

As a bonus, Detroit has a couple of interesting names. Juwan Howard Jr is Yes That Juwan Howard's son; Carlton Brundidge spent a year at Michigan before looking for a place he was more likely to play. He got about 20 minutes a game last year for the Titans, shooting 67/44/28.

A couple of hockey departures. Defensemen Spencer Hyman and Mike Szuma are no longer with the team. Hyman will play at Toronto. Szuma is still enrolled. Both were walk-ons; Szuma got 30 games two years ago as Michigan tried to fill some big holes on their blue line but did not play last year.

With Werenski's early entry there are still ten(!) defensemen on the roster, so impact should be minimal. I mean, you can fill out a line chart like so:

  • Werenski-Downing
  • Lohan-De Jong
  • Sinelli-Serville

And you've still got Cutler Martin, Sam Piazza, Mike Chiasson, and Niko Porikos scratched. I don't think I've ever seen a hockey roster with this many dudes on it.

Yup. The current student government president on the athletic department's advisory council:

While this advisory council is a big step forward, it also takes a leap back. These twenty students are handpicked by the Athletic Department based off one's class standing, twitter handle (optional), and the answer to two questions. The questions are: "Why do you want to be a part of the Football Student Advisory Council" and "What is your favorite Michigan Athletics memory?". Oh, and you have to be a season ticket holder. This is problematic for two reasons. The first is that this puts a price on a students' ability to give feedback and make a change. The second is that while students are given more of a voice, it is the AD that is picking the students, not the students themselves. This means that the AD could very easily pick a group of "yes men", take a policy to this group and then say they consulted the students on a policy change.

That is almost certainly going to happen given the way the department has been run the last few years. CYA CYA CYA.

Is this a good thing for you? One of the more laughable quotes from Big Ten Media Days came from Pat Fitzgerald:

"You've got to go win," Fitzgerald said Tuesday. "Finally! You've got to go win. No longer can you have a traditional name behind you and four coaches with statues in front of the stadium and 90,000 people every week and you're automatically going to be ranked ... in the top 20.

"That football side now matters."

Even if the first bit was accurate, the Big Ten was and is the major beneficiary of that tendency. SEC teams win and the other conferences don't have the same lucrative fanbases. And then there's the fact that the first bit is not accurate. The football side "now matters." Okay. Alabama's just around because of statues.

If he's talking about Northwestern specifically, the only team even vaguely eligible for BCS consideration since the Wildcats went to the Rose Bowl was 2012, when Northwestern went 9-3 in the regular season without beating a ranked opponent or even playing one ranked higher than #24 by year's end. The system made the correct call to dump NW into the Gator Bowl.

Etc.: DJ Wilson will not play on Michigan's Italian trip after surgery on a finger, should be fine by the time the season rolls around. Matt Hinton lands at Grantland. I'm not even going to talk about Brandon's radio appearance today. Yeah!

Mike Hart, coach, profiled. NYT on autonomy. Why is Kansas State any good? Countess switches to #2, blogger grumbles uselessly about kids these days.

Comments

creelymonk10

August 7th, 2014 at 11:25 AM ^

This is back in 1906 before the Interstate Highway System. If Brian meant nowadays, it's about 3.5 hours now using the highway, 4.5 hours using just US-23. Back in 1906 with a speed limit of 12 mph, it would've taken almost 16 hours using US-23 by car. Which shows just how important the railways were to travel back then.

But Brian probably meant is it faster than it is to drive presently, so everything I just said meant nothing.

Joined: 12/04/2009

MGoPoints: 10678

Benoit Balls

August 9th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^

its about 2 hours to Toledo, another 45 or so to get to As and then another 45 to get to exit 82. I plan my drive time so that I avoid rush hours and the hell that is getting stuck in the herd of people going up north for the weekend on Fridays

Joined: 11/27/2010

MGoPoints: 5168

NittanyFan

August 7th, 2014 at 2:47 PM ^

one cannot do as much drinking/partying in the car.

 

I've done a few bus excersions for games.  Definitely time for partying there!  It is a whole lot of fun, without the assorted head-aches of parking, traffic, et cetera.  A train would be the same dynamic.

 

I sort of wish I could see that 1906 train ride.  Would have been a grand old time: drinking on the way down, hanging at the equivalent of the Varsity Bar for pre-game, seeing a 6-0 win, and then drinking some more on the ride back!

Joined: 12/04/2012

MGoPoints: 42889

turd ferguson

August 7th, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^

There's more than one scoreboard with MSU.  There's the scoreboard of football, which dammit.  And then there's the scoreboard of life, and that game's already over.

Joined: 12/09/2009

MGoPoints: 26493

Jonesy

August 7th, 2014 at 6:29 PM ^

You can also use it to watch replays of games on any of those channels starting about an hour after the game finishes for about two weeks afterwards.  And its accessible via appletv.  ESPN3 rocks.

Joined: 03/14/2012

MGoPoints: 10532

bronxblue

August 7th, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^

I never understand those long-winded placards outside of lockerrooms.  If you are trying to pump up your players, I can't imagine anything less thrilling than reading a bunch of differently-sized fonts on a clear board.  And if it is supposed to intimidate opponents, I can't imagine they'd even be close to the home lockerroom to see it.

"Those Who Stay Will be Champions" and "Play like a Champion" are way better, but then again those are from schools that have actually been consistent winners.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171030

PAproudtoGoBlue

August 7th, 2014 at 11:54 AM ^

So is it an M grad that's in charge of the printing or a Staee grad that does the proof read? I'm not the best speller but I check mine before I post something, let alone bolting a sign to a wall. Yikes.

Joined: 07/11/2013

MGoPoints: 547

dahblue

August 7th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^

Ok...I know Brian said he wasn't going to comment on Brandon's radio interview, but because it's so hard to resist, this doozy is hard to resist.  It shows not only that Dave has a difficult time being truthful, but also that he thinks very little of the intelligence of those who might hear his words.  The quote is his response to the lesson he learned when the Regents said no to his post-TD fireworks plan:

 “The lesson I learned is you should never bring something like that up in the month of July when it’s a slow sports period. The world got fixated on the fact that we wanted to blast off a few fireworks in conjunction with a football game. When we get to the point where that’s the point where that’s the lead story and that’s the topic of talk radio, then we need more news. It was just one of those that we had done before and we had an interest in doing some similar things in a couple games this upcoming season. It was mostly driven by our marching band and some programs they had planned. Obviously it met with some resistance and we’ll move in a different direction. We have some other things we can do. Fireworks are not the key component to how we put on a game presentation here.”

Joined: 11/09/2009

MGoPoints: 5253

cutter

August 7th, 2014 at 2:28 PM ^

Fireworks have been used at non-football sporting events before at Michigan Stadium.  Each time it happened--for the Big Chill and Winter Classic hockey games--the Board of Regents had no objections concerning safety issues or how it would impact the neighborhood.  Given their track record, Brandon didn't have any reason to think the regents would cite those reasons for rejecting their use at a football game.  

Even if they objected to having them at the game because it encroached on UM's football traditions or were expressions of cultural excess (to paraphrase a couple of the Regents), it seems remarkably short-sighted on their part to at least not approve the fireworks scheduled for the Miami (Ohio) game (remember that they had separate votes on that game and the night game with PSU).  Although it wasn't publicized in the newspapers, it was pretty clear the reasons for the fireworks was that they were going to be used as part of the Michigan Marching Band's commemoration  of the 200th anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner.  

I do have to give the Regents credit--the MMB's celebration of our national anthem ("bombs bursting in air", "rockets red glare") will likely be one of the very few in the entire country that will not include fireworks as part of the program.  One is left to wonder what happens during a possible night game between Michgian and Oklahoma in 2026.  Would this same group allow fireworks as part of a commemoration of the country's 250th anniversary during such a game?  Or would that be outside the scope of Michigan football tradition or perhaps be considered a cultural excess?

One of the regents talked about his fifty years of watching Michigan football and how the only fireworks he needed to see were on the field.  I can't imagine what his reaction would have been when the first GO BLUE banner was put on the field in 1962.  Would he have had objections to the contract signed in 1970 to play Notre Dame seeing that Fielding H. Yost and Fritz Crisler hated their guts?  What sort of reaction can you imagine he would have had in 1974 when female cheerleaders first ventured onto the sidelines (not to mention the more recent addition of dance team members)?  Would he have been pro or con on helmet stickers or having the block M put on and then removed and put back on the jerseys?  

I could keep going on with this, but the larger point I'm making is the the Michigan fan football experience has been dynamic over the decades, not static.  Things that weren't traditions or part of the norm year ago are now commonplace.  OTOH, we don't throw marshmellows on the field or pass co-eds up the stands when a touchdown is scored or see the UM cheerleaders ram the opposing team's mascot into the goal posts or watch a dog wearing a bandana catching a frisbee anymore.  But we did unretired a number of jerseys ("Michigan Legends"), built luxury boxes and premium seating and are trying to get better cell coverage and WIFI into a structure built almost 90 years ago.

  

 

 

Joined: 07/07/2008

MGoPoints: 815

cutter

August 8th, 2014 at 8:10 AM ^

There are things that have been put forward that were part of the Michigan game day experience that we don't witness anymore.  Conversely, other elements have been introduced and adapted over time and now dont' bear any real mention because they're accepted practice.

That's one reason why I have such a small opinion on what the Regents said regarding their refursal to support the fireworks display.  If shooting fireworks off after a touchdown in concert with playing "The Victors" during the Penn State night game didn't work because the crowd didn't like it, etc., then set it aside and don't do it again.  If the fan response was postive, then perhaps make it part of the UTL experience.

I realize people cringe at the idea of making a football game "an experience".  Commentators on this blog and on other boards like to make fun of Brandon's comment about having every game being a "Super Bowl".

In some respects, I agree with them.  I have sympathy for people who feel that the Michigan football experience for fans is becoming rather homogenous.  Having the rawk music blare through the speakers is hardly original (nor is the selection of tunes they use) and I would say that the AD has lacked originality in some of the things they have tried to make the game experience more enjoyable.

But I don't have a problem with UM trying to make the night games a bit more special.  While someone like John U. Bacon may have problems with special halftime shows (Grrr--What does Bo have to do with Beyonce?), I don't see the harm in breaking out of the mold on occasion and presenting something a little bit different.   Keep the core traditions, but to reuse a phrase I wrote earlier, don't be static either becuase things then get stale.

All schools have traditions and rituals--fights songs, pre game introductions, special cheers, etc.  In that regard, Michigan's larger game day experience is much like any other programs.  The things that make it unique are really just two--playing in front of the largest crowd every weekend in the largest college football stadium and having  no commercial advertising within the bowl structure itself (I think Notre Dame is the only other one that doen't do it).  In terms of adveritising, I don't mean the ones sellng tickets for the field hockey team or promoting the banquet facilities at Michigan Stadium either.  I'm talking about the stuff you get at most every other college stadium, i.e., static and video advertising for banks, cable providers, the local car wash, etc.

Joined: 07/07/2008

MGoPoints: 815

UMQuadz05

August 7th, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^

First, that's depressing.  Even in the NE (where at least some rail infrastructure remains un-destroyed), many routes are the same speed or slower than 100 years ago.  Also, I replied to that tweet, and the same journey is impossible today, at least on commericial trains.

Second, do special chartered trains like that have a chance at making a comeback?  I'd rather ride in a train, sober up and maybe nap, than try to get out of a football stadium parking lot and head up a clogged highway. 

 

Joined: 04/03/2009

MGoPoints: 7329

Wolverine 73

August 7th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^

Just awesome.  I mean, you have to be a jerk to wear that shirt in the first instance but immortalizing it in a mugshot after an arrest for battery is a perfect 10. 

Joined: 08/03/2009

MGoPoints: 27118

UofM-StL

August 7th, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^

It's a less common usage of the word, but it can be used to mean essentially "because" or "since." I actually think the second half of that thing (starting with "For if you want what is ours") is pretty cool, it has kind of a Medieval battle motivational thing going on. The first half, on the other hand, is extremely clumsy. "With every accurate pass" is maybe the least threatening line I've ever read.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whereas

Joined: 11/21/2011

MGoPoints: 818

Alton

August 7th, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^

I think it is technically incorrect.  Although one definition of "whereas" is essentially legalese for "because," You can not substitute "whereas" for "because" in all circumstances--it is used only in a very specific way.

Whereas is used almost exclusively in the construction "Whereas X, therefore Y".  It is never used as "Y, whereas X", which is the way that it is used in the sign.

This sign is exactly what happens when somebody uses a thesaurus to substitute one word for another without actually knowing that word.

Joined: 07/05/2008

MGoPoints: 13277

panthera leo fututio

August 7th, 2014 at 2:02 PM ^

I've been on a bit of an Eastbound and Down kick lately, and the thing that strikes me about the MSU sign isn't the carelessness with spellcheck or the unfamiliarity with "whereas", it's the fact that the whole sign is written in straight-up Kenny Powers prose. Not in the sense of explicit references to genitalia or intoxicants, but in the sense of being a pompous impersonation of some made-up narration of a virtuous warrior on a solemn quest, or some bullshit.

Joined: 09/15/2008

MGoPoints: 2154

Prince Lover

August 7th, 2014 at 3:01 PM ^

The whole sign is pretty silly, even if the spelling was accurate. I don't get the choices of different sizes of lines, I don't understand the different emphasis of certain words(TACKLE), I don't get why they ignore punctuation(a comma to replace whereas makes that debate go away) and mostly I don't understand why the message is directed toward opponents as opposed to addressed to the team. Make them feel every bone crushing tackle, they want to take what is yours, they wrote you off, etc. It's not just my anti-Sparty, I would think this was silly in any locker room.

Joined: 07/01/2013

MGoPoints: 13070

Alton

August 7th, 2014 at 2:36 PM ^

* It appears that the train ride from Ann Arbor to Columbus would have been about 180 to 200 miles.  That means the train trip averaged 45 to 50 mph, the same speed that the train is supposed to take you between Chicago and Ann Arbor, except it has never been less than 30-60 minutes late in my experience.

* Per Wikipedia, there were 6,000 people at the game and the fans on the special train filled 11 coaches.  Figuring 50-60 people per coach, that means 10 percent of the people at the game arrived by train from Ann Arbor.

* The game kicked off at 2:30.  Given the fact that there was no such thing as daylight saving time in October of 1906, it is the equivalent of a 3:30 kickoff today.  I'm sure traditionalists were grumbling about that--if they weren't grumbling about the fact that you had to get 10 yards in 4 tries to get a first down (a new rule that year).

* Since the game would have ended at about 4:30, there was plenty of time to party in Columbus both before and after the game.

* Michigan won, 6-0.  The game was scoreless with 5 minutes to go, but Michigan kicked a (4-point) field goal on their 5th field goal attempt of the game, and then got a safety when a snap went over the OSU quarterback's head a couple of minutes later.

Joined: 07/05/2008

MGoPoints: 13277

michelin

August 7th, 2014 at 3:19 PM ^

Why does the MSU AD seem unencumbered by the rules of spelling, grammar or—for that matter, football?  Was their poster produced by delirious delusional MSU grad who could never learn to type “acurately?”   

Probably.

But there may also be another explanation.  A new recruit recently told us that MSU is now a “collage.”  Accordingly, the poster may have been intended to be a random assemblage of various magazine and newspaper clippings, and texts glued atop one another onto a canvas---resulting in a surreal combination of egregious misspellings, infantile font changes, and unintelligible run-on sentences.   Rumor has it that the same approach will be used to replace the usual MSU diploma.  The degrees depicted on the canvas will be chosen randomly, which explains why some freshmen commits now believe they are working on master's degrees.

Joined: 09/22/2009

MGoPoints: 2541

Roy at Haabs

August 7th, 2014 at 5:12 PM ^

I'm not even going to talk about Brandon's radio appearance today. Yeah!

Brian also promised a fireworks column that never ran and - unless I missed it - didn't mention Brandon's interview with Wojo.

Did somebody get to him?

 

Joined: 08/07/2014

MGoPoints: 14

Mr. Yost

August 8th, 2014 at 5:42 AM ^

Today Brian hates Dave Brandon Tomorrow Brian will hate Dave Brandon. There should be a section every Monday reserved for what Dave Brandon did to piss Brian off the previous week, what he's doing and what he's about to do to piss off Brian.

Joined: 07/25/2011

MGoPoints: -9898220