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Is there any real evidence that playing a road game someplace really improves your chances of pulling recruits from there?  I know this is something coaches talk about, but to me it just seems like a relic of the old days when most games were only regionally-televised (if at all) and it was hard to really get exposure to teams outside your area.  

LOAD "*", 8, 1

Oh, that's right.  My bad.  Sorry, Polska.

Well, this may be nit-picking, but Peppers hasn't yet proven that he can shapeshift into a bear, eagle, or other North American fauna.  

Wait--aren't you the guy who doesn't know what a dungeonmaster is?  You can't truly appreciate a name like "Paladins" if you don't know what a dungeonmaster is.

Part I was awesome.  Part II was awesomer.  So there really does need to be a Part III.

I fully agree.  I live in Seattle, and can get good wool socks up here.  And you can get decent, not great, dress socks at most department stores.  But I usually have to travel to LA if I want to get a good caual sock for the warm weather months.   

Because he's Charles fucking Woodson, that's why Lions fans want him.

I have to +1 you for enhancing my vocabulary.  I had literally never heard of the term "kayfabe" until your post.  But I looked it up, and it makes perfect sense.

Did Nebraska recruit more successfully in the pre-Solich-firing era, or did their recruiting linger around the #25 mark even then? I know Nebraska has always been famous for its great walk-ons, but those teams also featured lots of elite talent--especially on defense and in the offensive backfield.

This does seem like an exceptional year for talent in Virginia, though.  Hand, Brown, Blanding--plus Green last year, and those are just the guys I know off the top of my head. I know UVA is an up-and-coming program, but I still doubt they would be in on so many guys like this if they were from, say, Kansas.

I hear he is now going by Andrew "JuJu" Brown.

I also was an IM ref at Michigan in the '90s.  It was interesting, because I had played two or three years of IM sports and constantly complained about the bad officiating--and then I became an IM ref myself and understood it from the other side.  But I was a pretty damn awful referree.  A couple of my favorite memories:

• In my very first game, the offensive team threw "the bomb" on the first play from scrimmage.  The receiver went up and made a circus catch.  I got caught up in the excitement of the play and raised my arms to signal "touchdown" as soon as I verified that he had possession of the ball and his feet were in-bounds. Only problem?  He landed at about the 5 yard-line.  The defensive team was pissed, but as the guy working the game with me said, "eh, they would have scored anyway."

• In the first game I officiated solo, it was a shoot-out, with the offenses marching up and down the field.  Each team had scored several touchdowns, and probably the only thing separating them score-wise were the PAT conversions.  So, at halftime, one of the coaches walks up to me and asks, "hey ref, what's the score?"  It was only then that I realized I was responsible for keeping score of the game.  I had no clue what the score really was, so I just made something up. 

• In the sorority league games, most teams wouldn't have a girl who could throw the ball more than five or ten yards.  Since they couldn't pass, and since there was really no run-blocking, most of the sororities would run these extremely complicated deception plays--multiple reverses, fakes, handoffs, etc.  Usually I was pretty good about keeping track of where the ball was.  But in the one game, which was ties 0-0 late in the second half, with pretty much the entire game having been played within about the same 15-yard stretch of the field, I blew a play dead after the defense pulled the flag of the girl I thought had the ball--only to see the girl who actually had the ball streaking down the opposite sideline with no defenders anywhere in sight.   You know those Southwest "wanna get away?" commercials...

In other words, he's Aaron Shea (and could play defense).

Yeah, I guess when you look more closely, it isn't as hard as I first thought.  There are a lot of big names but some of those teams are not going to be up to their usual quality.--Arizona St., BYU, Purdue, probably Staee and Pitt--and then, as you said, all their really difficult opponents are in South Bend.  But hopefully they go 5-7 anyway.

Before 1993, Wisconsin was a perennial Big Ten doormat.  But Alvarez came in and turned things around, and they were able to sustain success under Bielema.  Now, most people view Wisconsin as a legitimate contender most every season.

Northwestern has been reasonably good for a number of years now.  They were very good under Gary Barnett, they were pretty good under Randy Walker, and now they are having success under Fitzgerald.  Now they are pulling in higher quality recruits, and they will be in the eminently winnable B1G West.  Northwestern probably hasn't reached Wisconsin's level of establishment yet, but it's worth noticing and discussing how close they are getting and what more they need to do.

Most programs lose money on bowl trips.  I wouldn't be surprised if you had some 6-6 team someplace whose athletic department was really struggling financially, and they decide to let ND take their spot in the Summer's Eve Bowl for a big payoff.  It would be sad to see something like that happen, as it wouldn't be fair to the players or fans of the displaced team, but big programs usually get their way in these sorts of matters.

Cannn youuuu dig it???

It's like the FICO score of football recruiting; from the 247 website:

"247Composite Rating

I thought about that, but we don't play VT until 2020.  Even if they redshirt, 2014 players will be long gone by then.

In fact, the main reason Woodson played CB at Michigan is because he saw that as his best chance of getting on the field early.  If we hadn't already had established stars at RB (Biakabatuka) and WR (Toomer, Hayes) when Woodson showed up, he might have been an offensive player after all.

I guess he was living up to his name.

We do have McCray coming in 2013, plus evidently Ferns can play SAM.  So it seems unlikely that would take two SLBs in 2014 plus Ferns. Maybe one SLB (Winovich or Swain), plus another MLB/WLB prospect?

The most likely reason appears to be that Watson doesn't project to SAM. The reason he doesn't project to SAM seems largely to be his lack of the requisite length. So it may not have been Watson's height per se that led the staff to stop recruiting him, but it nonetheless appears to have been a precipitating factor.

Speaking of moving to offense, that seems like an idea worth considering for Peppers if (a) none of our other WR prospects turn out to be spectacular and (b) Peppers actually, you know, signs with M.

"Honestly, it's a good thing because he will no longer be taking up valuable practice snaps, as he has since arriving."

Harsh.

In recent years, if a player has an Alabama offer, that to me signals he's a legitimate big-timer.  Before that, a USC offer meant the same.  

When Hoke first came in, the staff was putting out a lot of offers early in the recruiting cycle--presumably because we didn't have much depth and a lot of the players we did have didn't fit with their approach.  Now, with much depth restored and major prospects showing serious interest or signing with UM, the staff has become much more selective.  I still don't see a a M offer as being quite to the level of an Alabama of USC-heyday offer, but it's got to be getting close.    

You're right.  Perhaps this contribution then, from Respert for Three:

"Find this girl and kick her ass out of school. How hard is it to be a whore for christ sakes!?!? Send her ass to Eastern with myself and the rest of the riff raff.....I wana smash. Good times!

Edit... ..PS.....Start cheating and worry about the penalty later.....I want to witness a damn Rose Bowl before I die......They can take it away later, I just wana experience the damn thing!!!!!"

The nice thing about Sparty is, they don't just toss your salad--they can grow all the ingredients for it too.

But back to the original point, you only need Morris to play if DG does get hurt.  Chances are he won't.  If he gets dinged for a play here or a series there, you can send in Cleary to hand off the ball while DG rubs some dirt on it.  If there's a significant injury and you need to put Morris in, then you do it -- but why cross that bridge unless you have to?

2013 will probably be Dantonio's last chance at a division title before the realignment and recruiting disparities bury him. But I do think State has a legitimate shot at it. They will need to find replacements for Bell and their two outstanding corners and their WRs will have to stop dropping so many throws. But they should have a good front 7 on defense and they have at least one offensive playmaker in Burbridge.

I agree there is something to that. It may not go all the way back to the Don James scandals, but UW has definitely not been the same since Neuheisel was forced out.

I think the full quote was "Goodbye Buckeyes, hello Heisman."  That was awesome.

Oregon doesn't have much of an in-state recruiting base, but it does border on California.

I would actually go further down your path, F.M.H.; I think both systems are flawed.  

Attending college these days is not so much a "choice" as a prerequisite for access to any kind of decent employment opportunties.  Yes, there are still some decent-paying jobs you can get without a college degree, and you hear the occasional story about some person who skipped college and went off to fantastic success in some field or another.  But for the most part, if you don't want to be flipping burgers at McDonald's then you need a credential.  And I don't feel it is either fair or socially sustainable for that credential to cost $20K, $40K, $60K and up wherever you go.  The massive amounts of student borrowing and the resulting debt traps are sharply limiting the opportunties of our young people and impairing social mobility.  This is a serious problem that we, as a society, will need to address.

Because the basic higher education model that exists in this country is so deeply flawed to begin with, I don't think it makes an effective counterpoint to the situation facing student athletes.  Student-athletes (at least, the ones who play major college football or hoops) don't have an acceptable set of choices IMO--but comparing their dliemma to the supposedly "rational choice" confronting most ordinary college students probably makes student-athletes' situation appear less unfair, not more so.  Is it objectively unfair to Trey Burke that he can't cash his skills in for beaucoup $$ while he's till in college?  Sure.  But that's a first world problem next to the ordinary student borrowing $40Ka year and deciding between some entry-level job someplace or plunking down even more borrowed cash for grad school.

The only acceptable mascot for UM would be a live wolverine.  We would keep it in a cage, and before every home game, the wolverine would be released onto the field to chase down and devour a live version of whatever the opposing team's mascot is.  

I went to law school at Louisville and so I felt compelled to do the infield thing at least once.  I finally made it my third year, and thus easily relate to your experience. 

However, I also went to Churchill Downs one random Saturday after the Derby, and formed a newfound respect for the place.  Instead of the infield, we were admitted to the actual grandstands for $2 a head.  There were no lines to place bets.  Concessions were cheap and accessible.  Perhaps my memory of that day is buoyed by having hit two exacta bets and walking out $150 richer than I entered (even after paying for food & drinks galore), but even if I'd lost it would have cost me under $50 for a full day of watching some of the best thoroughbred racing in the world. 

That's why I always highly recommend Churchill Downs to anyone passing through Louisville during the horse racing season.  Just avoid the big events like Derby, Oaks, or Breeders Cup, and you'll have a terrific time.

Well, I read through your exchange with WolveinLA2 earlier today and thought it was a good example of this board at its best.  You both made good points and argued your positions without coming off as douches.  Then, evidently some unfortunate person came along, straight from RCMB or mlive most likely, and moderated your comments as flamebait because he or she presumably didn't agree with you.  

#whywecan'thavenicethings

See, for years I would always complain to my buddies that none of the great prospects out of Detroit Pershing would ever sign with Michigan, and inevitably somebody would say, "but we got Willie Mitchell!"  So now I have this name association thing going on between Detroit Pershing and Willie Mitchell.

I keep waiting for that school to change its name to "Detroit Willie Mitchell." 

It seems like you would have reach pretty far down in the barrel of Div. I-AA teams to find a suitable opponent for a spring scrimmage.  Even thinking about the possibility of having The Horror II for a spring game gives me the willies.

I didn't know the answer.  But according to her Wikipedia page, she came out in 1981.  Her last Grand Slam title was in 1975, but she continued to play singles until 1983 and doubles until 1990.  So, it looks like she was definitely past her prime when she came out.

Billie Jean King was probably the first high-profile athlete to come out. But this is big nonetheless.

Guns, Germs & Steel. Terrific book. I've read that and every other book by Jered Diamond, except his new one which is on my list. It's interesting you bring him up, because he articulately defends indigenous cultures against ignorant modern encroachmments all the time.

If the Jets really had acquired Tebow just for the purpose of screwing him over, then the Jets would be my favorite NFL team ever.  

It seems like ND gets all the players with the last name of "Wood."  Cierre Wood, Lo Wood, etc.  I am concerned that now they are also moving in on the Hoods.  Somebody needs to draw a line in the sand.

I think that just goes to show why it's important for athletes to take the educational piece seriously.  Besides, JT does have a Sugar Bowl ring, and thousands of people like me across the country who, should we happen to randomly encounter him anywhere, will happily buy him a beer with only the words "Illinois, 2011."

Well, I actually like the compass rose design the best (though I agree, none of the four choices are particularly compelling).  I therefore refrained from voting, so instead of being inflated by 50,000 votes its total is now only inflated by 49,999.

I predict that the 2014 Chik-fil-A Peach Bowl National Semifinal will give a multi-million dollar contract to a consulting firm to come up with an appropriate name, and the firm's recommendation will be: 2014 Chik-fil-A Peach Bowl National Semifinal.

Stanford has been good at football for what, maybe six or seven years now? Since they have been recruiting well I presume they will remain good for some time yet, but I still can't quite believe Stanford will sustain its recent levels of success for very long.

In typical Sparty fashion, it will have to do its crushing from behind bars because the bad meme police arrested that one a long time ago.

Burbridge looked pretty good last year, and DeAnthony Arnett has talent.

Wow, another day without girlie pics on TTB.  If this continues, I may eventually be willing to check the site at my office.

I'm glad to hear that Marvin Robinson is in the mix for a job. He's definitely paid his dues.

all the other parents are wondering why I just pumped my fist at the five year-old girls doing "demi, and rise..."

Thanks Yost.  This will hopefully make sitting though my daughter's ballet practice more palatable.

I am hoping he commits to the Buckeyes again today, and then withdraws his committment again on Monday morning.  

I read on ESPN last nght that he's attending the Ohio spring game.  

Here's a link to the article.  It is paywalled so I won't cut & paste the relevant text, but the gist of it is that since the Michigan and OSU games are at the same time, he had to choose--and chose unwisely.

I don't know where he is or what he is doing, but he would theoretically have a year of eligibility left, right?

I was also part of the peaceful celebration on South U after the 1998 hockey championship.  I don't recall seeing any overturned cars, though I suppose it's possible something could have happened later in the evening. 

I just looked at his Rivals page, and Williams has some pretty solid facial hair for a 2014 kid. 

I guess that joke really is (mildly) funny in mo ways than one.

It has to be called Karma.  From the Elijah Johnson thing to seemingly every 50/50 ball bouncing straight to a Jayhawk to the miracle finish--I am not a religious man but there were forces at work that man does not comprehend.

Okay, but a rule like "everybody must wear yellow" is not content-neutral.  Imagine, in a different context, a rule that "everybody must pray to Jehova" or "everybody must hate the Russians." 

"It just doesn't happen" is a very persuasive argument in a constitutional free speech context if the record shows that, indeed, the problem that the government is suppressing speech in order to prevent is not, in fact, a realistic concern. 

I actually litigated a case like this once.  i was representing an organization of public housing tenants who had been told by the housing authority that they would no longer be permitted to post anything whatsoever on the exterior surfaces of their doors.  The main reason the housing authority gave was a concern that tenants would post inflammatory material that would lead to arguments and disputes--and potentially violence--between neighbors.  But, tenants had been posting things on their doors in this particular housing authority for decades, and there was no record of there ever being a violent incident prompted by a door posting.  That was a very helpful fact in winning the case.  FYI, the case went to our state supreme court and was decided 5-4, so you can see how close of a question this is.

I don't think the safety issue is legit.  You can do plenty of other things to assure safety that don't involve restricting speech.  For instance, you can post security guards and have rules against assault.  I think there would need to be a pretty convincing record of M students beating up opposing fans before you could justify a rule like this on safety grounds, and I don't think you could establish that record.

Presumably, the state dinner example you gave would occur in a "non-public forum," where speech restrictions can be imposed so long as they are "content-neutral and reasonable in light of the forum."  Requiring formal dress at a fancy dinner meets this requirement.

I don't think the policy is unconstitutional either, but someone who feels strongly that it is could probably make a reasonably convincing argument. 

Not on the west coast, evidently

As soon as I got that issue in the mail, I went through the mgoblog store hoping to find that shirt.  I came up empty, so evidently it has other origins.  Anyone know where it's from?

Perhaps I am mistaken, but I always thought the "Fishbowl" referred to the glassed-in area where Mason Hall connects to Angell Hall, which you can view from the Diag--not the computer lab.

Also, I have to disagree with the Rick's slide.  I stopped going there altogether once I didn't have to use my fake ID anymore.

On Rivals.com, Ohio's 2012 class was worth 2,382 points.  Pittman had a 5.9 rating and was the #95 overall player, good for 154 total points.  Thus, deducting Pittman from that class would leave OSU with 2,228 points.  Michigan's 2012 class was scored at 2,132.  So Ohio would still come out slightly ahead.

I'd still rather have our class though.

Though I agree with your overall message, Sparty actually did play Ohio in 2011, and defeated them in Columbus.  I remember because it was a brutal 10-7 game--which, if I am not mistaken, was the game that spawned the incredible Joe Bauserman passing chart.  Notably, Ohio was without the entire Tat 5 for that game.  

If you have a conference where two teams are consistently signing top-10 recruiting classes, while no team in the rest of the conference consistently finishes in the top 20, then it's a pretty good bet that, over time, the two teams that recruit well will come to dominate.

Great news for the team and for DG.  Finally the NCAA gets something right.

I have just eaten a super-spicy ghost pepper in honor of your elevation to mod status.

(Technically, it was just a jalapeno, not a ghost pepper.  And to be perectly honest, another reason I ate it was to kind of give my carne asada some kick.  But it's all good).

Embarrassingly, I still own my #6 jersey that I purchased as a M freshman in 1993.  I usually break it out once or twice per season.  I guess if Wheatley Jr. commits, I can feel good about getting a new one.

MLive should probably just stop.

Although we wound up not winning the game, Brandon Graham's annihilating goal line hit in the 2009 game was an unforgettable play.

Ferns should send Saban a custom t-shirt that says "Hells" on the front and "No" on the back.

So what you are saying is, the Split M is kind of like having your avatar being a photo of a kid with an angry expression wearing a Michigan shirt while giving the finger, and the words "F__K Ohio" at the top and bottom?

You can order one with four proofs-of-purchase for Wonka Bars.

It doesn't really require backbone to dismiss players for crime when you are 9 spots over the scholarship limit. 

If I had to choose between Henson and Gardner, I'd take Gardner every day.  Gardner is faster, more athletic, an inch taller, and leagues more mature.  Henson might have had a bit more arm strength, but accuracy-wise I think they are comparable, and Henson didn't really demonstrate the advanced decision-making skills until his third season.  I don't mean this as a criticism of Henson, who was a terrific college QB.  Rather, I think there are plenty of legitimate reasons to be excited about what Gardner's going to do.

John Navarre holds the Michigan record for passing yards in a season with 3,331 in 2003.   The Michigan record for TD passes in a season is 25, shared by Grbac ('91) and Henne ('04).  So if Gardner matches your prediction, he will break the yardage record and obliterate the TD pass record.

How do we know that someone wrote that?  Isn't it possible that the snowflakes just spontaneoulsy spelled "Go Blue" according to how they naturally landed?

No.  As much as I hate to admit it, Mattison will eventually have to retire and I don't want Jim Herrmann around when that happens.

I knew Glen Steele in college.  He was a terrific player and would probably make an effective coach, but he doesn't have the personality of a born recruiter.  Plus, I don't really know what he's up to these days.  So, whether he is a plausible candidate kind of depends on what you want out of a new hire.

Well, there may not be postcards but there are various posters and canvas prints of VS's artwork to choose from.  I went for the two 11 x 17 prints, myself.  That is a bit larger than I would have liked, but I am sure I can find a place for them.

I am glad you included that second paragraph.  I too feel like I could have gotten even more out of my UM experience, had I been a little more serious and a lot more mature at the time.  Things have worked out alright for me regardless, but I do kind of kick myself for basically investing a disproportionate share of my college years on drinking and partying rather than focusing on my education.  C'est la vie, I guess.  

Yeah, that game was brutally hot.  I remember going to some restaurant immediately after the game and downing about nine Cokes.  Plus for the first 52 minutes or so it didn't look like there was any way on Earth that M was going to come back.  But I stayed, fortunately.  

This is a good point.  

As of now, M only has 16 spots for the 2014 class.  With normal attrition, we are still looking at a class no larger than 20.  Perhaps if M had another half-dozen scholarships to give out, Pallante would have gotten a normal offer.  But with only 16-19 spots, the staff is presumably saving them for higher-priority recruits.

We might be able to just wait until 2015 and sign another player of comparable ability to Pallante.  But if we did that, then the player redshirts the '15 season and isn't available until 2016.  By taking Pallante as a grayshirt in 2014, maybe we have him available and ready to contribute a year earlier.  

Personally, though, I think M's history of turning wrestlers into effective defensive linemen suggests Pallante is going to be a good player.   

I highly doubt Pallatine is going to wind up as a zero star recruit.  There are lots of players who Scout and Rivals don't get around to rating until pretty late in the cycle.

That said, Hoke's defensive staff has gotten production out of walk-ons (Heininger, Brink, arguably Kovacs depending on how you define him and how much credit you give to Rich Rod's staff), a guy recruited to play offensive line (QWash), and several players who came in with underwhelming recruiting profiles (Desmond Morgan, Raymon Taylor, Keith Heitzman).

Maybe you could Google "anger management classes."

PA Baller, since you are new here, you probably are not familiar with something called the "Heininger Certainty Principle."  To enhance your mgoblog experience, please check out the following: http://mgoblog.com/content/upon-further-review-2012-defense-vs-illinois

Well, I didn't realize Rogers had a 4.46 forty time.  I still don't think he had the kind of athleticism and change-of-direction ability that you need to play CB. . I always viewed Rogers, though, as a WR who got pressed into service due to necessity--not as a player whose natural abilities made him a good fit for the position.  For that reason I've always respected Rogers for being a team player.  As you say, Rogers could probably have done a lot better with superior coaching; I still find it hard to believe he would have been an effective corner no matter who his coach was, but who knows?

I'm getting ready to go see a live performance by En Vogue.  It will be hilariawesome.

Lloyd would usually "fire" coordinators by finidng NFL position coach gigs for them.  I suspect that's what Dantonio did here.  If and when Narduzzi leaves, it will probably either be for a HC position or a DC job at a more prestigious school.

That is classic.  Great find, thanks for sharing it.

Marshall and Webb should remain committed to Ohio, then flip to M on national signing day 2014.  

I have difficulty envisioning how that will work in practice. 

Say a team makes a first down, and then the runner is tackled in-bounds.  Under NCAA rules, the clock must stop, and then re-start once the chains are moved.  Now if the clock re-starts at :02, the offense must run a play--they cannot spike the ball  (thus preventing the opportunity to run the FG team on, for instance)?  I don't like that, but I could live with that change.

Now, let's say a team completes a pass with the clock running.  They begin lining up and decide to spike the ball.  Say the clock is approaching 3 seconds when the team snaps the ball.  Does this mean that if they did not get the snap off with at least 3 seconds remaining, then the game is automatically over if the QB spikes the ball?  That's how I interpret it.  That seems like an injustice waiting to happen.