This Was Hail To The Victors; Now It's Cheaper Comment Count

Brian

The magazine. I should tell you about the magazine. What with the whole wedding thing I was slightly distracted, but now I am focused on one thing: you purchasing this:

denard-msp

Love the Hoke-pointing inset.

This year's main feature is the price, which is down to a cool $9.99 without a reduction in the amount of content. Other things:

  • Some guy named Brian from MGoBlog does the usual extensive preview of the offense, defense, special teams, incoming recruits, and overall zeitgeist of the program.
  • Jerry Hinnen, Tom Fornelli, and Ramzy Nasrallah combine to preview Michigan's 2011 schedule. We even managed to make the Ohio State preview relevant.
  • Johnny from RBUAS writes about Denard Robinson, prose flowing like dreads.
  • Seth Fisher, also known as Misopogon, goes in depth on recruting Ohio. Now more relevant than ever.
  • Chris Brown of Smart Football attempts to answer the looming offseason question "Al Borges + Denard Robinson == ???" Article is packed with illuminating graphs and some surprising revelations about Manball, or the lack thereof, in Borges's most recent offense.
  • Brian Fremeau of Football Outsiders attempts to answer another looming question about Michigan football: just how good was Michigan's offense last year and how do they become more efficient this year?
  • Michael Elkon of Braves and Birds finds out how much improvement Michigan's massive number of returning starters should yield.
  • Greg Dooley of MVictors recaps the crash-laden, ridiculously-pantsed 1911 season 100 years on.
  • John Kryk asks members of the massively hyped 1981 team what went wrong on a team that seemed to have it all.
  • Kryk also goes way back to the days when Nebraska and Notre Dame could not beat down the door of the Big Ten back when it was the Big X.
  • Craig Ross evaluates his fandom in the aftermath of the last three tumultuous years.
  • And various authors put their reputation, honor, and even their very lives on the line in a roundtable addressing critical questions of the day: how many greater-than symbols should we place next to Greg Mattison's name in relation to GERG's? How large and smoky will the crater in Columbus be? Has Kenny Demens broken out already or is he about to? How wrong do you feel about your fuming hat-stomping in the aftermath of Brady Hoke's hire?

All this and at least six ridiculous captions await you. Shipping now; on newstands in about three weeks.

Comments

oriental andrew

June 30th, 2011 at 4:24 PM ^

why replace a feature that many people really enjoy?  the obvious better solution is to ADD a new jamiemac feature next year.  you can skip johnny's feature, but lack of johnny would sadden many a panda.

Also, cover art and/or schedule centerfold by monuMental.  Make this happen for Wolverines Kickoff (nee HTTV) 2012.

Wave83

June 30th, 2011 at 3:10 PM ^

Will this be on sale at newstands in Ann Arbor?  I'd like to pick this up before vacation and don't want to wait until it can be mailed on July 27.  (The link says that they are taking orders now, but not mailing for another month.)

Thanks, Brian.  This looks great.

Six Zero

June 30th, 2011 at 3:11 PM ^

And approximately three nanoseconds after I saw that shot of Denard in action, it stood up.  i think I even heard it applaud.

Is it September yet?

stmccoy

June 30th, 2011 at 3:13 PM ^

Awesome.  This is a phenominal product.  I got last years for the first time and was very pleased.  I'm sad I have to wait.  Unless they will be available on Iowa newstands? (sarcasm)

JeremyB

June 30th, 2011 at 3:21 PM ^

Oh thank God. I saw the title of the post on Twitter, and assumed it meant you had found a cheesy recording of our fight song that Special K was going to pump through the PA, and the accompanying press release from Dave Brandon excising the MMB.

Augger

June 30th, 2011 at 3:33 PM ^

Awesome Awesome. Cant wait for this to arrive in my mailbox. For anyone not sure about buying Brian's magazine I cannot recommend it enough. I have bought the last two and have been incredibly impressed with the product. Easily the best college football pre-season mag you can get as a Michigan fan. The direct analysis is spot on, and the extra articles are really interesting and in-depth. Thanks in advance to Brian and all the other contributors for all your hard work! Aug

Desmondo

June 30th, 2011 at 3:34 PM ^

RBUAS is not good.  "Look at me!  I'm using five descriptive words when one will do and throwing entire paragraphs in that do nothing to inform or move the point forward! I'm just like a freshman in writing class who is so enamored with word count and my own emotions that I frequently ramble for pages without saying anything!  Woo!"

The other features look tremendous.  Will purchase.

Dix

June 30th, 2011 at 3:43 PM ^

I think he writes with concerted effort to capture complex emotions that cannot be whittled down to a simple setence.  It's a writing style, and he is excellent within that style. I can't fault you for not liking it, but I think that flatly saying he isn't good is a bit unfair. 

El Jeffe

June 30th, 2011 at 6:40 PM ^

Instead of making asinine statements about unquantifiable matters of taste, try this next time.

"Hi everyone, Desmondo here. I just logged on to say that I do not like Johnny's writing style. It displeases me. Other features of HTTV give me more pleasure than reading Johnny, who employs a writing style for which I do not care."

There, was that so hard?

go16blue

June 30th, 2011 at 3:45 PM ^

Quick question before I buy: is the in-depth preview that you do going to be much different than the one you do for the blog? I'll probably buy even if it is, but I still want to know.

Also, is this stuff on/going to be on Amazon?

Seth

July 1st, 2011 at 4:37 PM ^

I've read the thing cover to cover several times (I did the copyediting) -- the only 'repeat' of the blog is my article, which condensed and updated and made prettier and more readable my "Carves Up Ohio" series.

Brian's preview in The Magazine Formerly Known as HTTV is pretty different from the 2011 previews that will appear in this space around August -- the blog's are very video centric obviously. I remember thinking it was very fresh, though if you've read every word of this blog for the last three years there's not going to be THAT much new.

Personally I think the roundtable turned out the best.

TrppWlbrnID

June 30th, 2011 at 4:02 PM ^

John Kryk did his interviews over email.  i wouldn't want to ask a former football player "what the hell happened to you guys?" even if he is 50 something.