Recent Comments

I think tragedies like these just put things in perspective as far as priorities. Not just as far as the difference between a new roof and a new house, but also the difference between having a family who's alive and safe and losing a loved one. As you said, houses can be rebuilt, but you can't replace a child/mother/friend. I think the best thing to do in situations like these is to count our blessings, and instead of complaining about the little things in life that seem to not be going our way, find joy in what we've been blessed with and try to learn to not take those blessings for granted.

I live in the Edmond/Oklahoma City year - moved here about 4 years ago.  It seems as if every "devastating" tornado that has hit the metro area since I've lived here carved a path right through Moore. Not growing up here but living here long enough to know a bit about Oklahoma's tornado history, I would never move to Moore. It's just one big bullseye. 

On a side note in talks of damage/lives lost, Moore had about a 20 minute heads up that the tornado was coming.  News feeds and weather updates are heavy and frequent in this area when it comes to tornadoes, and my crew at work was already watching the TV even before the tornado hit outside of Moore. Almost everyone should have known it was on its way, and more than likely 100+ lives will be lost from this one tornado.  Back in the day, they had no warnings; if they weren't looking up in the sky, they probably had no clue one was coming.  I feel that if we still lived in that age today, the lives lost today would have been WAY worse - possibly hitting that #1 spot for most lives lost. The damage from this thing is unbelievable. Everyone who lives in this area can feel this one, and we all know someone who this has affected. It's just crazy. 

Not exactly the same situation. The state of Oklahoma has a pretty solid base of recruits every year, almost comparable to Michigan. Then there's Texas, its border state, which is one of the 3 biggest recruiting states in the country. Texas may be large and spread out, but Michigan's recruiting spread is very comparable to Oklahoma's spread. Nebraska is literally in the middle of nowhere. 

Here's a list of Nebraska's border states:

South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming.

You could maybe include Missouri, which is probably the best recruiting state among those remotely close to them (Missouri or Colorado). Not to mention that the state of Nebraska isn't exactly known for it's elite football either. Sure, some eliteish guys can pop up here and there, but not near as frequent as even states like Michigan or Oklahoma. 

Short story: The current recruiting trend does not assist Nebraska in any way.

I received my t-shirt yesterday, so they must have the corrected t-shirts in. I wouldn't be surprised if you receive yours in the next couple of days as I live in Oklahoma City.

The reason I wouldn't worry about this is the fact that Beilein is really good at making changes if necessary. If his initial plan isn't working as he'd hoped, he won't just sit on it and hope the team improves individually if better options are available. College basketball is a game where multiple lineups work, particularly situational lineups. Some games might work best with McGary at the 4 while other match ups might ask for more athleticism, and Beilein has proven to understand this (especially this past season). Not worried about it at all.

It's early, but it feels like our class has the potential to look like USC's epic class from last year prior to it's epic crash (small but loaded).

Wow.

Just fyi, I purchased a house yesterday and actually need a few couches. Instead of burning them, you could donate them to me. 

Or maybe it's the fact that college football really has THREE major player of the year awards instead of two (Walter Camp, Heisman, and Maxwell).

MOAR is better?

HERE FOR THE AFTER PARTY HECK YES!!!! GOSH I HOPE THIS THREAD STAYS!!

HERE FOR THE AFTER PARTY!!!!! HECK FREAKING YES!!!!!

I debated on whether or not I would allow my homerism to get the best of me and put Michigan in the final four.  After watching this, I have no regrets.

I will admit.. I NEARLY created a new account just minutes after I created my first one due to the fact that I couldn't figure out why in the world I created a username that not only states my real name but also begins with "Corky;" I have no idea what I was on at the time.

I'm committed, though, and I plan on riding this thing to the end.

Bolivia is no place to enjoy life from what I've heard; however, unknowingly residing there is just plain tragic.

Had me some Chili's bacon ranch quesadillas. Not gonna lie... That's one solid quesadilla.

Good to know. The two always confused me. Thank you for that piece of information.

I think I've learned more grammatical and spelling lessons over the few years of mgoblog reading than I have in all my years of English classes. Sometimes I feel like there's a grading scale attached to each post.

Maybe someone has a beef with you and wants to send you to the grave.

I kid; I kid.

Waaaaaaaaait a second. I thought Meyer was going to take all the recruits we ever wanted from us. Must be some funny business goin' around. Maybe Wilton is secretly committed to Ohio and is allowing us to believe he is recruiting Drake to UM when he is actually informing him that if they all play for Meyer they will have the best team ever and win all the championships. Hoke must put an end to this before it's too late!

Edit: /s?

Hooooooly Poop.

Conley blah blah rabble rabble. Dawson blah blah rabble rabble. Treadwell, Green, McQuay OH MY.

Come on, guys. We're fine. We still have a top 5 class even after losing Conley (potentially) and Dawson. AND we still have a great shot at all three elite prospects mentioned above. Those of you who are freaking out that this will steal Treadwell's spot, well if you don't friggin' remember..... Treadwell just announced last week(?) that he's taking an OFFICIAL to Michigan.  I highly doubt the coaches would give up on Treadwell after that announcement, and if this commitment would really hurt our shot with him, I feel like the coaches maybe would have held off a little longer before offering Da'Mario. We still could snag all three elite recruits, and this hurts them none.

So just shut your traps, and welcome our new friend, Da'Mario Jones. He could be The Threat 2.0 but 6 inches taller, you never know. I have high hopes for the kid, especially if he's a slot type; fyi WE NEED THOSE.

WELCOME.

WAIT a second... are you saying that.... *gasp*.... we have GOOD Treadwell news????? Does this mean Treadwell might actually be a "good fit" for Michigan after all??? Is it possible???

My girlfriend has epilepsy as well (controlled through medications), and she was forced to take anxiety medications since stress was a major reason for why her seizures came back a few years ago.  From what I understand about coaching... stress would seem to be quite common in the industry.  So between fatigue and stress, I would say being a NCAA Division 1 BCS-level coach is probably not the most ideal job for someone who has problems with seizures. Not saying he should quit, but I wouldn't expect his condition to get much better while he remains a coach. Pretty sad, indeed.

My girlfriend refers to doodling as playing with my weiner. Not sure that's what you're referring to here, but no, it generally does not help. Unless you're concentrating on doodling.

It is very frustrating. NEVER FORGET.

Calling all rich Mgobloggers:

Do it. $15,000. Make it happen. You know you want to....

From what I could see... Frank Clark didn't start last week. It's possible that instead of just suspending him for game after game, you could slowly give him more playing time as he earns it. I'm not saying Hoke will use this method, but I think this method could work on certain occasions.

And whether he plays or not, Hoke is clearly disciplining the kid. He's earned my trust enough to know that when he says something, he means it. I personally feel like the fact that Hoke benched both Touissant and Clark for the Alabama game and not a UMASS type game is definitely telling that not only did he take both of their situations seriously (and put teaching them in front of his own desire to win games), I think that there is probably more to the story than any of us knows with Clark since both suspensions were for the one game. We know Touissant's story; Clark's actions are the ones that are unclear. I'm not saying you can compare the two either way, but I am saying that you can compare the suspensions - both one game - and maybe come up with a conclusion that it might not be as severe as it first sounded. But again, it's hard to conclude with much without the full story.

No matter what, I trust Hoke. He's legit. It shows through what recruits and players have to say about him, and it shows through his interviews. I have a hard time believing anyone can look at Brady Hoke and just plain dislike the guy. He's classy, and he's highly respectable among other coaches. In fact, I've heard OSU fans say good things about him. You won't hear Michigan fans saying things like that about Tressel or Dantonio too often. 

Point being, I'm not concerned about this at all. Let him do the coaching and the teaching, and we will most definitely see his discipline structure as time passes. Players will continue to make mistakes. It happens to everyone. Let us judge when more evidence is available.

Devin Funchess.... quite the tight end. Very nice.

Well, if you win, then there's a lot to gain.  Can you imagine the insanity on the board if we would have won? Talk about a season and career-defining win for the Michigan football program. Recruiting, media hype, and all kinds of hooplah. Yes, it sucks we lost. And it's difficult to see any benefits of this game after such a rough defeat, but there are some major potential rewards for scheduling games like these. 

HECK YES WE JUST NEARLY SCORED A TOUCHDOWN. 

And runs for three more for good measure.

I think of all the 2012 recruits... the recruit who will make me go "goo-goo-ga-ga" the most upon seeing their presence on the field will be Norfleet. I don't care if they blow his redshirt by only playing him on special teams this year, i just want to see him play. And I don't want to wait. I have a serious man-crush on this kid. And Sproles, so maybe that explains it... Yep, it does. Sproles = Norfleet = <3

I was attempting to build up some confidence in the guy... but then Mr. "Smarty-pants" TrueBlue had to run his yapper. Thanks! 'Preciatecha!

My honest reaction to this.. "meh." I can throw a football blindfolded just as far as I can without being vision impaired. Nice try, Shane!

Just before football season starts, it seems that I can never resist reading any article/preview on Michigan football. Most of the time it's all the same as far as previews go, but I loved the personal emphasis in this article - specifically the Roh piece. That was great reading. Definitely worth the time.

I pooped.

You're just a guy!

Is she single? A friend of mine wants to know.

I kinda follow the same logic as you here. Usually go 20-25% at restaurants, but I try to keep my bare minimum at $3 per meal. For instance, go to a a dine-in pizza place where my meal is $10 and I'll automatically make it $13. I usually feel bad for the waiters who work at cheaper restaurants thinking they make less in tips than people who do the same job for a little bit fancier restaurant. They're doing the same job for about the same amount of time, sometimes an even better job, but they get jipped on tips just because the food is cheaper and not as many high-priced drink options.  That's my logic anyway.

This is the least comical post I've ever read from you.

However, due to the fact that I agree with your assessment on Green and that I now realize you are in fact human... upvote complete.

Little did you know, but beating OSU once is equivalent to multiple victories. NCAA sanctions can be pretty harsh these days.

Part of the shock of the whole thing was that everyone talked about how good of a kid he was in high school, staying away from the wrong crowd. I also think I heard he was a bit sheltered, so that might have been part of it. Either way, I'm glad to see he's doing what he loves. I was really excited about him when he came; that was about the time I started following recruiting. I hope the best for the kid.

Nope, get it ALL out today. Who wants more days like this? 

If Lewan's twosie is in fact a photoshopped onesie, I'd like to know NOW!

Love that freakin' game. So good. Used to be my favorite game to play on x-box. Ha.

I'm just going to say this... while I'm all in with the Shane lovefest, calling him a future Heisman winner before his senior season of high school starts is a bit much. Only four players will win the heisman while he is eligible to even play. FOUR guys. And despite the fact that QB tends to be the position with the best shot at winning the award, he still has to compete with quarterbacks from multiple classes. Get excited, definitely. Just don't assume he's the next Peyton Manning before he even steps on campus. Even if he is that talented, it's pretty well known RB is going to be an important aspect of this offense, which will take away from his numbers. I'm really dang excited for him to play for Michigan, but I don't think it's wise to get your expectations too high let alone predict that far into the future.

However, that's some decent info I hadn't heard before regarding Browne.

Kyle Kalis on moped sighting + David Dawson tweeting "seriously" = sign of good things to come.

Thanks for the link. Great article on a great kid. He gives reason to why I follow recruiting in the first place - gives you the ability to learn about the kids' characters before they make a physical impact on the field. And it's guys like him that you love to see go to the school you have a passion for.

You're not a good fit.

Thanks for letting me know. I was incredibly bored while waiting for my girlfriend to get home from work to cook me some supper. HA.

My brother has a beagle named "Moose." And it is... how you say... quite "special"...

As an avid Thunder fan, I'm curious to see if they make any big moves today or not. There have been rumblings about a potential swap for the #3 pick to get Beal, probably sending Harden away... Apparently Sam Presti (Thunder GM) is in love with the kid.

Personally... this idea kinda terrifies me. The Thunder has a chance to win it all next year, and I'm pretty sure Harden>Beal....

I didn't watch Beal very much at all, so I have no opinion of the guy in general, but I know there's a chance they can't afford Harden after this year. 

I honestly don't think they'll pull the trigger on Beal, but if they do... that will definitely make the Thunder's chances of getting back to The Finals a lot more difficult.

Now that my suspicion has been confirmed, time to mow the lawn in 100 degree weather. Nothing like diverting my "FINE. BE THAT WAY" mentality towards a hot date with a push-mower and a bunch of weeds. 

Honestly though, it's too early to care too much. Congrats, Harris. See you in three years or somethin'.

McGary has a nice smile. Nearly Denardesque. NEARLY.

Yeah, I agree. As you point towards, Harden and Ibaka's contracts are both up at the end of next season. 

I haven't looked at the numbers as to what the Thunder will be able to offer them, but I believe Russell left the possibility of getting them both locked up by not getting the full max deal everyone expected he would get. Harden will be the tough pull I think. I know there will be teams willing to shell out some major cash to get him, so the Thunder will have to compete with that. I think it's possible though.

Feel bad for Durant? In four years, this team turned from one of the worst at 23-59 to making The Finals. He loves it in OKC and has explicitly stated that many times, and he is playing for the second youngest team in the NBA with their three best players all under 24 years old. He has a better setup for future success than Lebron when he moved to Miami.

Also, I don't know how you could say a team is "cursed" when the majority of the team just lost their FIRST finals. Lebron didn't win until his third try. This statement is wrong on so many levels. 

Part of the deal is that with football Notre Dame is independent, so they don't have a conference schedule.  You could kind of say Michigan is part of their "conference schedule," as is MSU and USC as well as others. 

In basketball, however, they are a part of the Big East and, therefore, have their own conference schedule.  Even though it's highly possible for ND & UM to play every year due to the non-conference schedule being decently large, it's still not quite the same situation as football. If they played all of their annual football nemeses in basketball every year, they'd only have maybe 5 interchangeable non-conference games on a given year.

Yeah, I read that, and to this date I don't think it's had much of an effect on Blair.  He's not a starter, but he has made an impact for the Spurs.

Hello. ;)

I think Poggi is a better example.  Heck yes.

Prayer sent your way.  Good luck, dude. No matter what, you are pursuing your dreams, so doubts will never cloud your mind. 

*hug* 

Percy Harvin begs to differ.

LEEROYYYYYYYYY JJJEEENNNKINNSSSS

The only thing I don't like about the "top 4" scenario is that this could once again create controversy by allowing teams who didn't win their conference to potentially make the playoffs, which only diminishes the importance of conference championship games and also gives way to the possiblity of the "Alabama/LSU rematch" scenario, which is the biggest argument for the whole playoff scenario. 

And let's not forget, this could allow the potential for OSU/Michigan to play THREE times in one season. If controversy stems from a "rematch," I'd like to believe the college football community would be more pissed from a "re-rematch."

Going to be really tough for the Thunder to pull off this series with the Spurs extensive playoff experience.  I think it will be a good series though. Solid comeback win by the Spurs in the 4th. They completely shut the Thunder down. 

Personally, I think it would have benefited the Thunder to keep Ibaka in the game in the 4th. The lack of his presence allowed the Spurs to continually score in the paint with ease.

All I can say is I am quite privileged to have the Thunder in my backyard. Yes, there's not much here to follow professionally, but the Thunder craze is huge here. They've built a really solid organization and have some outstanding professionals as the face of their team. Really proud of what they've done so far.

Unfortunately, thoroughbreds aren't allowed more than 18 characters in their name. "CJKF5H" would have to suffice. Make sure it's an elite thoroughbred and you could seriously raise the awareness to levels never imagined. Maybe enough to get Craig James to actually speak on this tragedy.

You mean not even Tom knows for sure? I swear, if Tom was still here, he would have heard BEFORE Dawson. Sad story.

/s

Actually... they did make them pay quite severely. USC just happens to be one of those schools that attracts elite talent despite the sanctions. The argument is that other schools should have received a punishment more like USC (Ohio). 

At the very least, it will be interesting to follow the rb situation at USC over the next few years. I feel like Isaac will be one of those guys I pay attention to throughout his career despite going to a school I absolutely despise.

This is just something that bugs me, so this is nothing against you.  I just don't like how Spike's been talked about as a "career back-up."  You just never know, dude.

Also, I'm kind of puzzled by this whole "2-star drags the class down" meme. That's what it looks like ESPN is doing here, but how does that even make sense? Our class gets worse by adding a 2-star? It's not like he's dragging down our class and will hurt our team down the road, shrinking our chances of success. If you don't think he adds anything to the class, then that just means it stands where it was before.

The biggest reason I say this is because I don't see a "numbers system" that ESPN uses like Rivals.  I've noticed in football recruiting rankings, ESPN tends to analyze class rankings by team needs in addition to player rankings (perception).  In other words, I'm confused.  But whatever, it's not like Michigan will not be as good because ESPN lowered their class ranking.  Just gives us something to talk about.

Actually, Taco Pants is a beast.  He's the unanimous #1 recruit in the nation.  You're the confused one, MaizeMN.

Edit: GAH!!!!!! +1 for beating me to it.

There is some sweetness in you after all. Maybe "His Sweetness" is a part of your future mgoblogging?

Also, I'm happy for this kid. I really hope I hear more of him in the future - regarding his success.

Yeah... 3-4 years away of becoming the next "pre-sanctioned" USC in that we make it to the NC game every other year.  HECK YES.  

A national championship.  And $.  Two games bring in more cash than one.

Question: At what point did Laquon decide he was going to visit this weekend? Before or after Csont'e('s?) commitment? 

This would help me determine how often I should check into mgoblog this weekend.

Actually no, but when you are sitting in your own office and then burst out laughing in a realm of silence with a handful of offices around you, it wouldn't take much to come up with the conclusion that something unrelated to work prompted me to laugh out loud.  Also, 90% of my workload is done via computer, so assumptions can be made.

I guess I must add that reading mgoblog during work hours would be frowned upon by my superiors.  

He's still the most reputable coach in the B1G with the most national championships to his name.  Despite the fact that I have no positive feelings for the guy whatsoever, I have no reason to argue against him being the #1 coach in the conference until it's proven that he's no longer that good.  

It's tough to say that Spike will "always be a back-up."  You never know what can happen.  He might either have to play due to injuries, or he might eventually crack the starting lineup over time as an upperclassman.

I just don't ever like hearing things like "always be a back-up," especially before the kid even makes it to campus.  Besides, you never know how long Walton will stay.  He may be an early-entry as well, and we definitely don't know who our future PG options will be after him.

And to do this, initiate mods...? 

Seriously though, we are getting destroyed. Dang Husker fans.

Semi off-topic, but does anyone else think Dallas coach Rick Carlisle looks like a gray-haired Jim Carrey?

True. +1. Regardless, I was being sarcastic. I would almost enroll early just so I would have a good excuse to not have to go to prom. "Sorry ladies. The girls here are much much hotter."

Agreed. Us "U-M" fans need to stick together.  I used to HAVE to go somewhere to watch games on BTN, but I switched to AT&T over Cox to solve that issue.  

BWW has become a preferential choice for me if it's around lunch time.  Their honey bbq wings are one of my true loves in life.  

When a decision results in three consecutive days of RAGE threads, you know it will be overturned.

Note: DB is watching.

If I knew, I'd be there. Only person I've met here who was a Michigan fan was some dude working at a Chili's restaurant.  He mentioned it because my girlfriend was wearing one of my Michigan shirts.  I've watched a few games at Buffalo Wild Wings or Fox and the Hound, and there are usually at least a few people there wearing the maize and blue.  UM has a presence pretty much anywhere you go it seems.

I took all comments into consideration, and I decided to go ahead and eat the dang piece of cake.  Thank you for correcting my stubbornness, as it was quite delicious.  Looking forward to pooping it out later.

There was good and bad.  Either way, It's over now. Time to stop getting so upset about it and move forward.  Enjoy what you have in front of you.  I sure as heck am.  Love me some Hoke.

HEY YOU GUYS, there's one thing we're forgetting here... JUMBOTRON.  

Who needs the marching band at the game when you can slap them on that giant TV as they do their thing at the Big House.  Now we can keep ALL the $$$$$$

BRILLIANT!

This is usually beyond me as I don't even own a twitter account, but I checked out a few of the recruits Shane's hitting up and stumbled upon this particular tweet from Eddie Vanderdoes...

Dang...I get home from bball and I jumped up a 100 followers. Haha Michigan Fans don't mess around lol. #Representing #Pride

No, but just because he didn't start for USC doesn't mean he wasn't developed there.  It's not like he was picked up by the Patriots because he was terrible, just to transform him into a starter.

This whole "consensus four star" thing is getting kind of old. 

/s 

And it makes me that much happier to picture Meyer receiving a phone call from Ben only to be told "I decided Michigan is a much better school. See you soon." 

Welcome!

So this one time, there was this guy named Trey Burke, and he was loved for his immense skill on the basketball court.

When rumors spilled of him leaving for the NBA, those who loved him were then found with a wide range of emotions.  Some were angry, others questioned their religious beliefs, and most of them just cried.  Only few held hope for the future.

However, just when all hope seemed to be lost, Trey had a sudden change of heart.  And.. ah screw it.

HECK YES TREY'S COMING BACK!!!!

I'll believe it when it's official, but three words come to mind when thinking of Trey back for next year. "Depth at PG."  Oh, that sounds lovely.

I have a feeling that by the end of Spike's career at Michigan, he will be, in fact, quite loved.

I really dig this addition to the class.  This is what you call "filling a position of need."  With quality might I add.

I will add that if, in fact, he does decide to leave, I too will be in "mourning."

However, having gone through these "mourning" before, life goes on.  And I'm still excited to see how far our program will rise, because it will most definitely continue to do that.

Look at it this way... The kid played with McGary and GRIII on their AAU team.  They already know how to play together.  I would like to think this gives Spike a little bit of a boost at least in team chemistry.

He may not be highly touted, but it sure sounds like he can play the point (of course this is based off of "coach speak" in the linked article, but still). Is he a Trey Burke? No, but who says we even need a Trey Burke on this team to be successful? We will have enough playmakers in Hardaway and GRIII, a shooter in Stauskas, and a crash-the-boards type in McGary as far as touted talent goes.  We need a guy who can distribute to them. Granted, he'll just be a freshman, but it sure sounds like he has the tools to be a true point guard as someone who can control the ball and distribute.  Maybe that's all the team needs to perform at a high level - a Steve Nash type (not comparing ability, just the type of player). 

If we get this kid, I will be very happy.  Even if it just means we actually have a true point on our team.  Which... yeah.  I'd say we could kind of use a little bit of that.

So what you're really saying is our linebackers will suck to Bolivia this year. GREAT!

If you visit the site "mgoblog.com." At work. A lot more than you probably should.

Or it could just be that they finally got their guy... *cough*Poggi*cough*

I don't believe transfers would qualify for the spring semester next year being that they have to be enrolled full-time for one full academic year before they can join the team.  

What about "Big Baby" Glen Davis? He's listed as 6'9" and about 290 lbs, so probably a little bit heavier than Sullinger, but I think are very similar in athleticism.