Unverified Voracity, T-Minus 13 Hours
A few TV items. Three things of note follow.
If you have Dish and live outside of the Big Ten footprint, they just yanked your BTN. An emailer, uh, emails:
After being all cocky about being the first guy to have BTN in the lineup last year on DISH, I just noticed that DISH has dumped BTN except in Ohio, MIchigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and "sections of Pennsylvania and Indiana". As a California alum, this sucks pretty hard. I have already complained to DISH, but I thought you might want to help mobilize mgoblog nation to get on their case. Thanks!
David
Class of '98
David followed up with Dish and found this out:
So, last year, the BTN was added to the base package. Now, I had to upgrade to the "Plus" package ($5/mo. for the music channels) and then add the big sports package for another $5.99/mo. I was assured by the operator that I could get it in LA, despite the footnote on the program guide. So, it appears to be available for about $11/mo. Very frustrating.
Unfortunate, and pricey, but heroin doesn’t come cheap.
A note on the “reverse mirroring” policy mentioned in yesterday’s mailbag: no, it doesn’t apply to ABC night games. MSU fans in Chicago are screwed since the powers that be decided to put Clemson-Alabama on this weekend instead of MSU-Cal.
This affects Michigan less than most other teams since they refuse to play night games at home, but there’s occasionally a regional ABC roadie that would not be available except on Gameplan. Your best bet in that situation is to get Gameplan for the weekend, which I believe costs twenty bucks.
And a protest from commenter Ninja Football about my dissing of sopcast yesterday:
I take exception with your disparaging remarks about Sopcast. I was forced to use it for a variety of games and for other events throughout the past year, and as long as you know what you're doing it isn't so bad. There is always the chance of the guy changing the channel, but if you find the right site and "reputable" (HA!) streamers you can be assured that won't happen. Saying it's "fraught with peril" immediately makes people think of viruses and crashing computers, and while it can at times be frustrating, it's better than reading about the game in the paper two days later.
If that’s all you’ve got and you want a live stream, I guess it’s worth a try. If anyone finds some reliable streams or wants to go so far as set some up themselves, let me know and I’ll pass the information on.
It’s in. Marques Slocum will not go into the night without a plaque, dammit:
Godspeed, Marques; I hope you eat Mark May and take his place someday.
How to act. Three separate Michigan blogs inform you how to act on gameday. Varsity Blue has the student section covered:
If you are sitting below row 80 and hear a cow bell and say anything related to the Christopher Walken sketch on SNL lampooning "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult, I hate you. Freshman year it's acceptable and funny for the first few games. Beyond that, seriously, that sketch was on like 8 years ago.
Maize & Blue Nation has more general suggestions:
Just as in the student section, refrain from getting plastered at the tailgate. And if you do, stay at the tailgate. If not, that drunk feeling in the first half will turn into a hung-over feeling in the 2nd half. Your head and your fellow seat mates will thank you.
If you are in the student section, try not to get drunk enough so that to keep your balance you have to shove the people in the row in front of you over and over again.
And MVictors has a checklist for game equipment; Stadium & Main also chips in some suggestions.
I only have one request: when the PA announcer says “welcome to Michigan Stadium,” don’t boo MAC teams and the like. “We’d like to extend a warm Michigan Stadium welcome to… Toledo!” should not be followed by rampant booing. I would prefer the booing to be restricted to actual rivals: ND, MSU, OSU.
Wait, also: if you wear a shirt with “Buck The Fuckeyes” or any sort of letter inversion shtick please castrate yourself. Possible exception: “Iuck the Fllini.”
Well, the situation is very fluid, you see. OSU defensive tackle Doug Worthington will not be suspended for the Youngstown State game after picking up a DUI. This is no doubt acceptable to the folks who thought Kevin Grady should be executed after his wild night of being passed out behind the wheel of his Denali.
Does Dartmouth have any particular sports rival? I've always wanted a t-shirt that said DUCK FARTMOUTH.
http://www.srah.net/weblog
Don't Fear the Reaper is an exception to the cowbell joke ban.
Also, Paul, stop stealing my awesome Purdue inversion joke.
Varsity Blue
So I'm confused by this point...The athletic department wants us to buy the new adidas jerseys because they are a nice profit margin item and helps the overall bottom line.
The athletic department encourages fans to wear maize to games, which I understand, because it shows up better on television
But the jerseys are either navy or white...
So, where exactly is the person who bought their football jersey expected to wear it? Isn't this the mildest bit contradictory?
Craig Barker || The Hoover Street Rag
They are also the same people who thought it was at least a little bit questionable that the vehicle "operated" by Grady was a Denali and don't bat an eyelash that Worthington was behind the wheel of an Escalade. I believe the truth for both is that the parents are actually not poor, but still.
Blogging the once-resurgent Virginia Cavaliers at http://fromoldvirginia.blogspot.com.
...I NEED MORE COWBELL!!!!
(and smuggled in booze....the secret to avoiding the 2nd half hangover)
Smuggling in more booze is indeed the secret to avoiding a painful 2nd half. Well, painful in regards to your person and vicinity, not necessarily the game.
That plaque itself is HOF-worthy.
Chicago gets MSU-Cal (apparently they changed their mind today). It's the rest of Illinois (such as Urbana, where I'm in grad school) that gets the shaft. As does most of Big Ten country. Thanks for nothing, ABC.
People tell people to not drink?
I'm confused. It's a football game, right?
great and omniscient Grand Poobah of the WLA
That's wrong on so many levels I don't even know where to begin.
Got a quarter?
It leaves way less of a mess, does not lead to increased aggression, and does not require supplies that could be used as projectiles. It is definitely recommended for those in Columbus or Morgantown, where brain cells aren't really needed anyways, but just as long as there are no couches in the vicinity.
So we can finally fly off into NASA
Well won't Varsity Blue be surprised when the band plays "don't fear the reaper" precisely to evoke that eight-year-old joke (and ideally inspire more cowbells and more noise).
It's just one of those pet peeves I've had after four years of that same joke. Anyway, Don't Fear the Reaper is a much better song to play between the 3rd and 4th quarters.
If there is one thing Michigan does not suffer from its a lack of respect. I felt ill when the band started playing Respect during Appalachian St. and Oregon. (They played it well, but all I could think is: Really?).
Also, I think "Boil the Fuckermakers" could be appropriate...
My Slice of the Internet
miss playing respect in the stands. Doesn;t too much matter to me what with being done with band, and I think picking a fun song that's relatively neutral in regards to how the game is going is wise and will be enjoyable as long as the arrangement doesn't suck, but Respect was fun because I could blast it so loud, it would be the last song that would come out properly for the rest of the night between my horrible shredded lips.