Today's random questions
Thank you to everyone who participated yesterday. I enjoyed the varied responses.
To those who thought my hockey question was out of line, I direct your attention the front page: The hockey recruiting post has been up for many hours. There is a grand total of two comments, one of which is a complaint about the content of the blog.
1) Which football game is better evidence that we merely live in a simulation and this isn't real life: App St 2007 or MSU 2015?
2) Better ringtone: Hellooooooo Heisman or TOUCHDOWN BILLY TAYLOR!
3) More hateable if he played for the other team: Nik Stauskas or Mike Hart?
4) Who would you rather strand at the Pike frat house in East Lansing wearing a Tate Forcier jersey: "I am in country X how do I watch the game" guy or "I'm thinking about cutting the cord any suggestions for how to watch sports" guy?
5) Better trash talk: Charles Matthews "Get up, bitch" to Nick Ward or Darius Morris "Get the fuck off my court?" to Kalin Lucas?
My answers:
1) MSU 2015
2) Touchdown Billy Taylor...more likely to get your attention.
3) It's easier to hate basketball players but Mike Hart really could get under your skin.
4) I believe guy in random country will win in a landslide but I am taking cord cutter guy. Come on, guy, you know what the options are. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing either of these guys on the board for a long, long time.
5) GTFOMC has a special place in my heart but Get up, bitch came with a lot of game time left so I give it the edge because Charles still had to back it up.
1. MSU 2015
2. Hello Heisman
3. Stauskas - although I would throw Moe Wagner into that mix. Opposing fans that I hang around with hated that guy.
4. Cut the cord guy
5. Charles Matthews - everything about it was perfect.
Stauskas - although I would throw Moe Wagner into that mix
Iggy too... we'd fucking hate that guy if he was on the other team.
- MSU 2015. That game was the flukiest shit I've ever seen.
- Hello Heisman
- Stauskas although Hart had a lot of irritating qualities too lol
- I don't understand this question
- Darius Morris that shit was iconic
1. App St - #5 ranked team in the country and to unranked/season over after 1 game.
2. Hello Heisman
3. We all would have hated both of these if they played elsewhere. Glad they didn’t tho.
4. Definitely the “I’m in country x and how do i watch the game” guy
5. Darius Morris by a slim margin.
"...one of which is a complaint about the content of the blog."
I will admit to not having read that column, yet, but I will. But seriously? A complaint about sports blog content when there are literally ZERO sports being played? Got damn, some people are just asshats.
1) MSU 2015. Blah... App St, Desmond getting held, JT, a whiff on the 10 yd line... Karma isn't getting evened out.
2) TD Billy Taylor. I'm (getting) old and my lawn needs work, so stay the fuck off it.
3) Stauskas. A straight up asshole on the court.
4) Cord cutter guy. You've already researched it, STFU and move on, already! By now, different country guy is just repeating a meme...
5) Get up, Bitch! Charles' team largely owned them some MSU, and he was telling Ward to take his beating like a man. He backed it up, too!
1) The Horror (truly started the decline of the program on the field, even though they finished that season out ok)
2) Hellllloooooooo Heisman
3) Mo Wagner (but probably Stauskas between the 2)
4) Cord Cutter
5) GTFOMC
1. App State. First game as a student. Welcome to Michigan!
2. Helllllo Heisman. Way more iconic.
3. Stauskas. On the court for nearly the whole game and way more visible during play.
4. cut the cord
5. get up bitch. cuts a little deeper
1) MSU 2015; unlike app st. we actually deserved to win that game
2) Hello Heisman for me
3) I feel like most of the hatred of Hart was cooked up by the media, not that he couldn't get under your skin. Stauskas also was a bit of a douche on the court, but it was awesome because great players get that right.
4) Cut the Cord guy
5) I love "get up, bitch" because I feel like it encapsulated the differences between that Michigan team and that MSU team. One wanted everything handed to them and the other scrapped their way to a national championship game.
1) OSU 2007. Still probably the single most miserable day for me as a Michigan fan. I was there, and at the App. St. game. Probably still would have been the worst if it was a nice day, but it was cold and drizzling.
2) Helloooo Heisman. Hello works pretty well for a ringtone, and it just sounds so good. Also I remember Desmond, not old enough for Billy Taylor.
3) Stauskas (but really Mo). It seems like hating basketball players is more common. Presumably because their shit-talking is much more easily seen. Not sure what would piss people off about Mike Hart besides the little brother thing, though that's a big one.
4) Eh
5) Get the fuck off my court
Also I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I am soooooo bored with work at home that I must ask a few more pressing questions I've always had for M sports that are similar to these.
1) Between the 2013 (Burke/THJ/frosh), 2014 (Stauskas/Levert), and 2017 (Plane team) squads, which one was the most fun to watch?
2) If you could reverse one of the results of the '06 and '16 OSU games, which one would you choose?
3) In the 2018 tourney, if you could trade Villanova losing in the S16 to West Virginia for UNC beating Texas A&M, setting M up with a rematch in the S16 and playing from there, would you do it?
4) Basketball/football early departure you'd most want to have back for another season in hindsight (within reason, i.e. can't say Peppers because he was a forgone conclusion)
5) B1G coach you most want removed from the league: Day, Holtmann, Izzo, Franklin
Fwiw, my answers would be
1) 2014
2) '06
3) No
4) DJ Wilson
5) Day
I would’ve taken 2016 over 2006 in a heartbeat. We would’ve gotten ham blasted by Florida in the title game anyway, and while I don’t think Michigan would’ve beaten Clemson in 2016, I do know this: if Harbaugh had beaten Meyer in his second year on the job, in Columbus, with an injured QB and a playoff spot on the line, the entire trajectory of the rivalry would be altered right now. This program could know it could still beat OSU when they are at their best. The entire program and fan base could’ve breathed a huge sigh of relief, and I truly believe it would’ve paved the way to more victories. They could finally come into this game not walking around on eggshells and trying not to make mistakes.
This rivalry advantage that OSU enjoys is just as much mental now as it is physical. If Michigan won in 2016, that mental advantage is gone completely. Recruiting would’ve skyrocketed, and the respect Michigan craves on the national level would be there. I don’t think beating Tressel that day would’ve helped Michigan beat Meyer, Day, or this fully armed and operational battle station OSU has at its disposal in the here and now.
Agree completely. The 2006 team probably would've been pummeled by Florida. I don't buy the idea that we "matched up better with them" than OSU.
1) 13 or 17 probably. 2013 had the POTY and a national title run but that '17 team had such low expectations coming into the tourney, crashed the plane and just refused to lose after that. Probaly 17?
2) I mean, 2006 had bigger implications and would have been great b/c of Bo's passing, but the 16 game could have flipped the narrative completely, affected recruiting, etc. IMO, in 06 I don't think M gets past USC or whomever in teh boawl anyway and I don't think that one game could have turned the recruiting/general momentum of the program around the way a win in 16 could have. Both earn a BTT with a win so I'd go with 16
3) I don't recall much about the UNC team in 18, so IDK. I'd trade I guess b/c that Nova team was never gonna lose that game.
4) Drew Henson count? Woodson? More realistically, has to be McGary.
5) Franklin doesn't both me that much TBH. He recruits well but doesn't seem to get the coords to put him over the top the last 3 years nor the EoG coaching to get there. Izzo has been the MSU program. Without him and Magic Johnson, MSU is basically a non factor in basketball. I'd go with him just to see how they adjust without him. He's like their Schembechler.
1) 2013. I remember being really, really sad at the end of 14 because that team was no more, but I have more vivid memories of actually watching 2013.
2) 2006. Puts us in the title game.
3) No. Leave well enough alone. Good question. I have similar concepts of "trade this for that" or "leave well enough alone" in the pipeline.
4) Off the top of my head I guess I'll say Drew Henson, if he qualifies. (Username checks out.)
5) Day, all day. Unless that just means they end up with Saban or something.
1. 2013 - the team was so talented and never knew who would go off that game. However, the 2017 team was damn fun to watch down the stretch - if they had been better throughout the season, I would go with them. 2013 did it the whole year.
2. 2016 - I don't think we would have won the national championship in 2006 or 2016, but I do think 2008 - 2014 are still bad regardless of the 2006 game. If we win 2016 I think we are talking about Harbaugh and the program as one of the 6 or 7 best in the country right now.
3. No
4. Jordan Poole - I think Howard would've let him create more and would have been able to connect to him better than Beilein. I think Howard would've brought out the best in Poole and we would've seen this years team possibly win the B10 because of it.
5. Izzo - his incessant whining is so annoying; plus, I think he is a scumbag when it comes to player discipline, who he recruits/protects, etc. Just time for him to go
1) 2013 because it was the first time in a long time that I actually felt that we could something important.
2) This is a great question and took me a long time to decide but I agree with people that 2016 is more important for shifting the narrative around the program. I do think we could have beat that Florida team in 06. Lets' not forget we beat Florida the next year with a worse defense and mostly the same offense as 06.
3) No. I just wish we had gotten a better whistle against Nova or Divincenzo did not go NBA Jam on us. I was at the game and the team fell apart in the first half after a good start. Part of that was the refs and part was ridiculous shooting.
4) Has to be a basketball player because of the impact they can have. I would say Burke but there was no way he would come back after winning player of the year. So I will go with McGary not being suspended for bs reasons. 2014 team could have beaten Kentucky with him.
5) Izzo because of the number of years he has been there.
5) Izzo.
His behavior is on a Bobby Knight trajectory.
1) MSU 2015. I was there (or was I?). It was terrible (or was it?)
2) TOUCHDOWN BILLY TAYLOR! Good for a laugh
3) Stauskas absent the little brother comment
4) Guy watching the game in another country FOR SURE. The other question you could reasonably expect a decent amount of readers will have good answers to
5) Charles Matthews
1) 2015
2) Shoelaces Flopping in the Wind
3) Moe W
4) Country X
5) Devin Bush's Lawn Care
1. App State. Still the worst game ever.
2. Hello Heisman. Des was the first Michigan football player I loved as a kid, so I have bias in full force.
3. Stauskas. Basketball players are just better shit talkers than football players and therefore are inherently more hateable.
4. Random country. At least the cord cutters are looking for feedback from people on what service they use and how much they like or dislike it.
5. Get the fuck off my court. It felt like the iconic moment that the program was coming back to what I knew and loved as a kid growing up.
1) MSU 2015 by a mile. App State sucked to watch, but they were the better team that day. They were essentially the Alabama of FCS, and you’ve just got to tip your hat to those guys. No ill will towards them. MSU was even worse, because it was the flukiest shit I’ve ever seen on a football field, and it was to a rival. Worst football day of my life. Even worse than 2016 OSU. And MSU took every opportunity to twist the knife any and every way they could.
2) Hello Heisman
3) Hart. I think he was more of a shit talker.
4) Option A by a mile
5) D-Mo. That year really started the foundation of what Beilein built here. It proved MSU was indeed mortal and Michigan could beat them. That moment will always be iconic for me.
Why do people get so upset about content? Just don't read it. I've never understood the angst - just like with the people screaming that there are too many bowl games. So what? Don't watch them if you don't want to. Don't read hockey content if you don't want to.
1) MSU 2015 - While the App St. game is more painful and a larger stain on our history, that felt more self-inflicted than universe-induced bad luck.
2) Hello Heisman
3) Stauskas hands down. He's our version of the token annoying white Duke player. Stauskas was always acting cocky on the court, mugging for the fans/cameras, and then would nail a killer shot in someone's face. Hart was annoying OFF the field, not on it. On the field he was a guy opposing teams would grit their teeth and say, "damn, how did that little guy eek out that first down with three people grabbing him?"
4) Cord cutter guy easily. Having been the person in a foreign country, that's a real Michigan-related need that this board can help with. Cord cutting is a general decision without a specific Michigan aspect - just a general "any advice" type of question.
5) GTFOMC is my favorite because it was more representative of the overall state of our program and marked a return to prominence. Matthews/Ward was classic, but that was more of a mano-a-mano situation and didn't carry the weight of the programs behind it.
My OP was misleading. The complaint was that the hockey recruiting content was too good and that such effort should be used on football recruiting instead. Just to clarify.
1. 2015 MSU - this game would've ended MSU as soon as UM got a real coach. App State sucked, but that team and the coming years were going to happen either way because of the end of Carr's regime.
2. Hello heisman
3. Stauskas - Hart was only on the field 1/2 the time and without an O-Line couldn't do anything. Stauskas plays the whole game and could set the nets on fire with no help - and the 3 googles were awesome but would be the worst if it weren't for our team.
4. Cord cutter - you already know, just make a damn decision
5. Get up bitch - that was supposed to be the MSU team that won the championship and had the most talent Izzo had ever assembled; and we owned them. Plus, Matthews laughing in Ward's face makes that line even more iconic.
1) App State 07 was far more embarrassing. Michigan got full on beat for a full 60 minutes that game as opposed to bad end of game strategy and luck in MSU 15
2) Can’t go wrong with either; Ufer and Jackson are legends.
3) Stauskas. The demeanor combined with the cocky YouTube videos give him the edge for me.
4) Cord cutting guy is the worst. No one cares you’re trying to save 3 cents a month
5) This one was the most difficult. I’m leaning towards Mathews since it was early in the game and they backed it up and won
1 - 2015 MSU. App State sucked, but that wasn't really a fluke. We sucked against mobile QBs, as evidenced by Week 2 when Oregon came into the Big House and pantsed us.
Plus I'm gonna go down an alternate history road too. We beat MSU, they go into the OSU game with 2 conference losses. With their 2 losses, they're out of the title race, so they don't play outstanding against OSU, and OSU beats them. Now OSU is 11-0 and hasn't really been challenged all year. They sleepwalk into Ann Arbor against a 10-1 UM team, and we upset them for the East Division title.
A guy can dream right?
2 - Hello Heisman
3 - Stauskas. Basketball players are just eminently more hateable
4 - The cord cutter guy. Every now and again, the Country guy will get an answer, "check out this bar" or "this restaurant is the Barcelona alumni home". But it's like you said, this isn't new information about cord cutting, you should know what you need to do by now.
5 - Get the fuck off my court. The player/team that (re)started it all
MSU 2015. App State merely exposed the aging patchwork of old thinking and tradition that was holding Michigan football together in 2007. MSU 2015 was a stupid fluke and proof that MSU had a deal with the devil that apparently expired around 2017 or 2018
1) MSU 2015 was utterly insane. I was at the App st game and at least I could understand that because our defense was exposed. The MSU ending still doesnt make sense to me.
2) Heisman... people still use ringtones?
3) Stauskas has a punchable face if he is on another team. Hart never really did the amount of taunting that Stauskas did either.
4) Cord cutting guy for sure. Sometimes being in another country during football season is not your fault.
5) Morris because it came at a time when the program was trying to get back to State's level. That was the game where I really started to believe that the program was back on track and in the right hands.
LOL... Number 4 is brilliant.
...and it's "hey, I'm in Fiji with the trophy wife, how can I catch Saturday's game online? Or are there any Michigan bars in Fiji" guy by a mile.
As long as you keep talking trash about hockey, I'm going to keep arguing with you. Popularity isn't a good measure of quality. Harry Potter books have sold over 500 million copies, and Infinite Jest has sold only a million. Which do you think is better?
1) The Horror is just one of those things that was bound to happen in college football eventually, it just happened to be us. In fact, it's what makes college football special. MSU 2015 is proof that God hates Michigan football, because Michigan deserved to win that game and smug Dantonio absolutely did not deserve to get into the playoff that year.
Actually, I take that all back. The App State game is better proof of a simulation since it was a rather conventional upset, as they go. Our simulator just kept resetting his PS3 until Michigan lost that game.
2) Hellooooo Heisman but both are before my time so I don't have strong feelings.
3) Stauskas. Nobody likes the white guys on other basketball teams. Look at Wisconsin, Duke, the guy on MSU everyone called McPoyle, etc.
4) I don't care, both guys are just a fact of life. You gotta learn to ignore them.
5) GTFOMC is a classic, much deeper and more layered than "get up bitch." It tells a story, and it's not a straight insult. In analogy form, Get up, bitch : GTFOMC :: Go fuck yourself : Fuck you