Unverified Voracity Is Unhappy You Found Him Comment Count

Brian

Hurray issues. So this morning an iframe insert got put in the js file. It has been removed and we are monitoring that particular file intently; the good news is that no other files on the server have been changed. I've turned off js aggregation, which will make the site marginally slower for first loads. We are still looking for the entry vector; if a js file gets updated we will know about it and check to make sure it does not have the malicious code in it. We have a request in to Google for a clearance.

If you are concerned, running a noscript module on your browser is a good idea. Apologies.

(Note: this is unrelated to the scattered reports people were having of malware from the Google Ads, which are client-side issues.)

Fun with hats. Ace has it:

1888

There's Waldo. Insane axe-murdering Waldo.

Hatch update. Via his CaringBridge page:

By the grace of God, Austin James is showing improvements everyday. He is comfortable and stable. He has begun opening his BIG BLUE EYES a little bit more! We understand that his healing will be a very slow and gradual process; we're not sure whether Austin has any awareness of what he sees yet.

He's got a long way to go, but it sounds like he's getting out of the woods.

Further evidence for the skinflint theory. The Big Ten continues to pile up the cash:

They continue to not spend it on football coaches:

The SEC paid its assistant coaches an average of $276,122 in 2010, according to figures compiled by St. Louis attorney and agent Bob Lattinville of the firm Stinson Morrison Hecker.

The Big 12 was second at $232,685 and the Big Ten a distant fourth, behind the Atlantic Coast Conference, at $187,055. In each instance, the averages do not include salaries at private schools such as Baylor, Penn State and Vanderbilt.

You may have noticed that Penn State is not a private school, but they have some sort of state law that protects them from FOIA requests. They likely pay their assistants more than the Baylors and Vanderbilts of the world but Northwestern is also omitted and Penn State isn't closing a 50-grand gap with the Big 12, let alone the 90 grand to the SEC.

Not that I have a problem with not heaping even more money on football coaches, but Braves & Birds's theory that the Big Ten is falling behind because they refuse to lay out money for proven coaches is looking pretty good these days. At least Michigan bucked the trend by 1) wildly overpaying their version of Gene Chizik and 2) finding their own Mahlzahn in Mattison.

Dominoes go further. College hockey lurches towards its final configuration apace, with Northern Michigan making the obvious move to the WCHA. Northern was in (an almost completely different) WCHA until the late 90s and returns, renewing a conference rivalry with Michigan Tech and easing their travel burden.

Interestingly, word from Marquette has a surprising second school on the WCHA hit list: Alaska. The WCHA retains Anchorage and the conventional wisdom holds that two Alaska schools are too many for one conference since teams could be required to make more than one trip up north per year. If the WCHA's endgame is an eight team league, you'd think the conference schedule would be 28 games—four each against seven opponents. That would require two trips per year. Even if you go to a division system where you play four teams only twice, you're averaging 1.5 trips to Alaska per year. Lake Superior seems like a more logical option due to its natural rivalries with the other UP teams.

Meanwhile, the smoking husk of the CCHA takes another hit. Notre Dame's gone sooner or later. Western Michigan's openly pleading for someone to take them. Lake State has to be angling for a WCHA invite along with Alaska. Poor Bowling Green and Ferris State are hanging out in Fred Pletsch's basement drinking the cheapest beer on the market until Atlantic Hockey teams start to look attractive.

Current wild-ass guess at what college hockey in the West looks like in two years:

WCHA CCHA Big Ten TCHA
St. Cloud BGSU Michigan Miami
UAA Ferris State Michigan State Notre Dame
Minnesota State Mercyhurst Penn State WMU
MTU Robert Morris Ohio State North Dakota
NMU Niagara Wisconsin Minnesota-Duluth
Bemidji State Alaska Minnesota CC
LSSU     Denver
Air Force(?)     UNO

If LSSU does not move to the CCHA you can insert Cansisius, another Buffalo-area AH team, or UAH into the CCHA to make eight.

Is that viable for everyone in the WCHA and CCHA? I think the WCHA will be okay. Most of the programs there have recent financial commitments from their universities; at all of them hockey is unquestionably the top dog. That's the case for everyone in the CCHA, as well, except for Ferris (no recent insertion of capital) and BGSU (MAC football and basketball probably more important). I think Ferris would be able to keep its footing.

What would really help is having a formal state of Michigan championship. In this new doomsday scenario Michigan teams are split across four leagues, making the previous plan—which relied on a lot of conference games being counted for the championship—dubious. On the other hand, in this new world there are a ton of nonconference games that need filling.

Have fun storming the castle. Even if Russell Wilson isn't certain doom for Wisconsin's opponents this year he's better than whatever the Badgers had before. KC Joyner makes an interesting point, though: Scott Tolzien was one of the most underrated players of the last decade in the league and Wilson won't approach his insane efficiency.

Etc.: Michigan's new white hockey jersey is going to be regrettable in a few years, and I miss the cool Rangers-esque lettering on the maize one. Outrage is low because they'll just change them next year anyway. Yost Built also says "you're out, White Jersey" in a flat sexy German monotone. Holdin' The Rope assembles things.

Comments

psychomatt

July 11th, 2011 at 5:33 PM ^

Maybe it is a question of TV revenues, but why doesn't ND just stay put in the CCHA? They would dominate that conference, thereby earning an auto-berth into the NCAA tourney every year, and their "money" games still can be OOC series against most if not all of the teams in the B10. They also would avoid the increased travel costs of playing in the TCHA.

Edit: Also, "f" the retro jerseys ... the Great Brandon needs to come out with retro knit caps!

Monk

July 11th, 2011 at 9:35 PM ^

If it was ND carrying the conference, they would have a tough time getting recruits who want to play against other top teams, and also ones that want to experience rivalry play.  Unless the big ten schools guaranteed they'd have ND on their n/c schedule, that's likely not going to happen.

Steenie

July 11th, 2011 at 11:55 PM ^

 





I really hope CCHA schools like BGSU and LSSU end up in good situations.  People tend to forget that these are storied college hockey programs and that both at one point or another have been worthy of that 'powerhouse' distinction.

And for the new hockey jerseys....

The best jersey scheme UM has had consisted of the late 90s/mid 00's scheme of block M whites, block lettering blues, and script lettering maize jerseys.  That being said, I certainly do like the whites theyve been wearing the past few years, partly because I have a thing for simple, good looking throwback uniforms.  The block M blues dont make any sense to me, the block M belongs on the whites.  As for the 'rangers' style maize uniforms, it doesnt make any sense to me, it says 'adidas' or new york rangers, not michigan. I mean how good does the script michigan look on those maize jerseys?  When you see those, you think Michigan Hockey.  What does everyone else think?

WolvinLA2

July 11th, 2011 at 5:36 PM ^

I literally didn't understand a single word in that first paragraph.  Literally.

Also - Russell Wilson might not have the efficiency numbers that Tolzien had, but he'll also have a higher big play percentage, if you can quantify that somehow.  Tolzien wasn't ask to do a lot, and he didn't need to.  He was a highly efficient pretty vanilla QB.  Wilson will screw up more but probably wow you more as well.  If he's a wash, however, Wisconsin wins big time.

funkywolve

July 11th, 2011 at 5:59 PM ^

He doesn't have the blazin' speed Denard does, but he's got enough speed so that if teams are crashing in hard on Wisky's interior running game, Wisky can call a bootleg and if Wilson gets in the open he can pick up big yards.  That's something Wisky hasn't had at QB in a long time.

The points the guy made about NC State are interesting but I think he/we need to remember that NC State except for last year was pretty bad for most of Wilson's career.  The talent he'll have around him at Wisky will probably be a bit better than what he had around him for most of his career at NC State.

zlionsfan

July 12th, 2011 at 7:19 AM ^

but the general content was somewhat positive.

Translation: someone belonging to the species Internetus Assholus hacked a file on the server. Some visitors to the site may have experienced bad stuff as a result. They found it and removed it, aren't quite sure how it got there but are watching for it, and will continue to keep an eye on things.

If you're uncomfortable with the situation, there are a number of add-ons for browsers that can give you additional protection. On the Firefox side, NoScript will help you block scripts of all kinds from running. (Good news: bad stuff can be dumped on a site and you won't care. Bad news: injudicious use of it may prevent you from seeing certain features on some sites.) There are other add-ons that will do similar things as well; use them if you like.

bronxblue

July 11th, 2011 at 5:44 PM ^

I think the whole "Big 10 is falling behind everyone else" meme is a little overstated. 5 years ago UM and OSU played the last game of the regular season as 1-2, and even with UM down the league has been decent. Yes, bowl games such and the SEC has been on a run, but that is more due to having good athletes and shady recruiting then paying for coaches. For all the love people heap at guys like Petrino and Spurrier, their teams have been mediocre. Florida, Alabama, LSU, and Auburn have won because they get good kids and kick out the bad ones. That trend will need to change if the other conferences are going to catch up, not pay Fred Jackson more money (though he totally deserves it.)

WolvinLA2

July 11th, 2011 at 6:22 PM ^

I hate the arguments against the Big Ten as much as anyone, but the year UM-OSU played as 1-2, they both got smoked in their next game when they played a good team from other conferences.  Both teams were good that year, but after the bowls it was clear that the top of the Big Ten was not on par with the top of the Pac Ten or SEC. 

Since then it hasn't been too different.  Wisconsin lost to TCU in their bowl and MSU got slaughtered by Alabama, similar to how the Big Ten did against the rest of the SEC, OSU excepted. 

Until the Big Ten starts winning big OOC games, whether it be regular season or bowls, this meme will continue, and rightfully so. 

BlueDragon

July 11th, 2011 at 6:35 PM ^

2006 was the year when I finally realized that the Big Ten wasn't the best conference for football in the country.  It was a tough pill to swallow but the bowl game (against a dirty Usc) was convincing enough.  College football programs have not been competing on a level playing field for at least a decade now, not including the institutional advantages of being in a major conference, etc.

WolvinLA2

July 11th, 2011 at 7:08 PM ^

Yeah, I think I was the same way.  After we barely lost to OSU I thought OSU would beat Florida and I thought we would beat any team we played in our bowl, even if it was an OSU rematch.  Then we both got smoked and I came down to reality a bit. 

bronxblue

July 11th, 2011 at 5:44 PM ^

I think the whole "Big 10 is falling behind everyone else" meme is a little overstated. 5 years ago UM and OSU played the last game of the regular season as 1-2, and even with UM down the league has been decent. Yes, bowl games such and the SEC has been on a run, but that is more due to having good athletes and shady recruiting then paying for coaches. For all the love people heap at guys like Petrino and Spurrier, their teams have been mediocre. Florida, Alabama, LSU, and Auburn have won because they get good kids and kick out the bad ones. That trend will need to change if the other conferences are going to catch up, not pay Fred Jackson more money (though he totally deserves it.)

wile_e8

July 11th, 2011 at 5:45 PM ^

You know who is probably very sad Penn St. didn't get a cash infusion years ago? Wayne St. They would probably still have a team in that CCHA, especially if Western got left behind.

UMaD

July 11th, 2011 at 5:49 PM ^

If Hoke/Mattison are Chizik/Malzhan, and we already have our Cam Newton -- 18 months till Michigan celebrates it's first national title of this millenium.

Wolverine In Exile

July 12th, 2011 at 8:27 AM ^

Let's say you get the following distribution:

Big Ten: Michigan & Mich St

WCHA: No Mich & Mich Tech

CCHA or revamped AH: Ferris & Lake St

SuperMegaConference: Western

You could stage a tourney to start every year in which the top Mich team from each conference the previous year gets to play for a trophy. A kick-ass trophy. Big Bowl of Cherries, a new F350 truck, a 5-ft sturgeon caught off of Muskegeon, mittens sewn from the hair of Ron Mason, a piece of Taquamenon Falls rock carved in the likeness of the current governor, something. Stage it in Detroit or Grand Rapids, or hell even Traverse City (you think people wouldn't drive to TC for a weekend tournament and pack that city like there's no tomorrow???). Now this would be something to see.

Zone Left

July 11th, 2011 at 7:54 PM ^

I think the Big 10 fell behind a long time ago when it decided to strictly limit incoming class size without the SEC, Big 12, etc agreeing to do the same thing. Right or wrong, and I think the Big 10 is in the right, the SEC West in particular averages something like a full 25 player class extra each five year period.

25 more chances to be right in player evaluation is priceless for a coaching staff. It allows a staff to gamble on more academic and character risks, build depth, and just plain gives more chances to find good players. I read somewhere that most staffs hope for about 8-9 solid college players per recruiting cycle. Imagine getting 11-12 solid players instead of 8-9. That's a much better team and the difference between the SEC and the Big 10.

Assistant salaries matter too, but the players are what makes a team strong. That's why recruiting matters so much.

MGoPietrowski

July 11th, 2011 at 7:54 PM ^

Post work Monday tradition: Pork chops on the grill, then walking to the bar across the street for a Fat Tire and a read-through of mgoblog on my iPhone. Thanks for always keeping us updated, and reminding me why I'm glad that my pops went to UM and raised me right .

maizenbluedevil

July 12th, 2011 at 12:31 AM ^

Brian - Can we get a layman's terms translation of your first section re. the malware issues??

Basically, what I'm wondering - was this occurence an issue with the ads or with MGoBlog itself?  

 

Wolverine In Exile

July 12th, 2011 at 8:29 AM ^

A couple items to comment on:

1) AF is not leaving Atlantic Hockey with Army, geography be damned. AF has essentially a free transportation policy utilizing military airlift out of Peterson AFB, so travel costs aren't really a concern for them much, even though, yes, there's Colorado College and Denver U within driving distance.

2) WCHA picking up Northern is a good move as now Mich Tech has their natural rival-- and I think the WCHA will pick up the other Alaska school provided they get some sort of dispensation from the NCAA for additional non-conference games, and yes, I think Lake St would be a target as well. WCHA now becomes almost an "Lake Superior + Alaska" conference. The Alaska home games will probably be scheduled as consecutive road trips for visiting teams-- think Sa/Su series at Fairbanks, then a Th/Fr series at Anchorage so visitng teams miss one week of school.

3) CCHA's future. I think what you're going to see is Western, BG, Ferris (& Lake St if they're not in the WCHA)  try to cherry pick 2 Atlantic Hockey teams plus Alabama Huntsville. UAH will get its conference, and if you can get the two western Pennsylvania schools to join up, i.e. Robert Morris & Mercyhurst. You have a league that stretches from Pittsburgh to Grand Rapids (not too bad) with an outlier of Huntsville. And Huntsville is in northern Alabama.. we used to drive it from Ann Arbor when I was working satellite programs at Marshall SFC and it's not horrible (~11 hrs). You might see these schools though agree to a reduced scholarship number to save costs-- since they realize they're only going to be a 1 bid per season league, they're going to scrimp money to stay alive.

4) If the CCHA falls, then you'll see WMU go to the WCHA or accept its fate as whipping boy in the SuperMegaConference, and BG and Ferris try to get in a 14-team AH that now has to split into a Western Division with BG, Ferris, Rob Morris, Mercyhurst, Niagara, Canisius, and RIT; and an Eastern Div with Sacred Heart, Army, AF (to maintain Army relationship), Amer int'l, UConn,  Holy Cross, and Bentley. If BG or Ferris folds / drops to Div-3, then see UAH taking their slot in the Western Div of Atl Hockey.

5) NCAA tournament: So if all the current conferences stay intact, you now have for autobids: WCHA, SuperMegaConference, BigTen, CCHA, AH, ECAC, and Hockey East. That's 7 bids. Meaning there's now 9 at large bids up for grabs. Figure a new CCHA and AH are one bid leagues, a new WCHA and ECAC would be at most a 2 bid leagues, meaning there's most years going to be 7 at-large bids to compete against between SMC, Big Ten, and Hockey East. Big Ten will probably get 2-3 teams each year (with the 3rd coming from years ECAC or WCHA doesn't have 2), meaning now there's 5-6 at-large bids to go after betwen SMC and Hockey East. If I'm Hockey East or SMC, I'm hoping the CCHA dissolves so I get one more at-large bid, so maybe Hockey East takes Notre Dame, and the SMC "helps" by taking WMU and BG/Ferris/UAH. If this happens, Rico not only has a dynasty, but has now become a full fledged Mafia Don in that he'll have the blood of a folded BG, Ferris, Lake St, and/or UAH on his hands.