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We are OK with it when they pick us because they think the helmets are cool.  It happens almost every year.  Teenagers do teenage things.

TING!!  You got it.

Because our class size is small and we missed out on some big players/had some early comitts flip away from us, there has been a convenient notion that recruiting has fallen off a cliff.

The services ranked us lower bacause of the small class size, because that is what they do; and the fan base focused on the guys we lost instead of the guys we got, because that is what they do.

In the meantime, we have been quietly picking up four-star after four-star with nobody noticing.  In a couple of years, there won't be any three-stars left on the team.

Needs MOAR old.

I wish we were not breaking in a new QB in 2015.  It nullifies some of the progress that is made by then.

Hopefully we can lead some games by enough points to get Shane some meaningful game-situation reps.

I can only answer for a sample of one:  Me.

I give money to Michigan academics, but not athletics.  I do it in large part because Michigan is top of mind because I follow Michigan sports teams.  It keeps the University relevant to me on a day to day basis, long after I've moved away from Ann Arbor and forgot what classes I took.

I feel bad about it, but I don't give money to my undergrad, a small private D3 school with no prominent sports teams and no national presence.  It's just not top of mind to me.

My wife went to Duke and Emory.  But she only gives money to Duke.  For the same kind of reasoning.  Fair or not, I'm sure this is pretty common. 

I live in the DC area.  I rememeber reading in the Washigton Post that George Mason University built more than ten new buildings because of the increase in donations and public interest when they made the Final Four.  It's not just theory, nationally prominent sports teams have a tangible benifit to the academic side of a University.

They don't like football, but they like the things football brings . . . Alumni donations.  They can't have it both ways.  Michigan is blessed to have successful sports programs and the enthusiastic Alumni base that results from that.

Michigan is not Brown.  It's not a little private boutique college that can survive off the large donations of a handful of rich people.  If that is the world you want to live in, don't come to Michigan. 

People don't like Duke here, but of all coaches, John Beilein reminds me most of Coach K.

It's good there is not much age difference between the two or Duke would come after Beilein when Coach K retires.  Don't know if Beilein would actually leave though.

It was so awesome to see John Beilein build our program up from scratch, and he is now able to reap the rewards.  

When he lost to Harvard - Tommy Ameker's Harvard - early on, it was the low point of his time here.  Admit it, we thought the hire was a mistake . . . a Princeton system guy who can't recruit about to have his lunch eaten by surrounding competitors who recruit top 10 classes evry year and know how to let them play and win.  

Bottom Line:

If he puts a leash on Dave "Wow" Brandon, color me happy.  

If he tries to go all University of Chicago circa 1939 on us, it's torch and pichfork time.

In Columbus in the fall, maybe.  Akron in the summer?  No.  Go for it.

You will likely be dissapointed . . . not at the venomous trash talk that will come your way, but that no one will care. 

I am encouraged by this quote:

Zing!

I don't think it's Pitino and Clapari giving the better shot at a national title.  If they were at Michigan and could not run an NBA farm team under the guise of a college team, they would not do nearly as well as Beilein has done.

It's quite a statement when winning yet another National Championship and earning a top ten finish in the World is a dissapointing year.

But i've been closely following UM Solar for years and it was dissapointing.

We are Alabama.

Indiana Day on BTN?

Does it end at noon?

Watching now.  This blog is my TV Guide.

I love the energy leading up to the game . . . the tailgates, the band pre-game show, the house/frat parties, the general buzz while touring around campus.

A noon game just cuts it all off short.  After the game, win or lose, the buzz is gone and everyone heads their seperate ways.  The glue that binds us all for the part of the day is gone.  We're not a gathering of Wolverine fans anymore, we're just a bunch of people walking around the same place.

"It's home to the most narcissistic, self-loving douche CEO of all time"

Even though it was against Alabama, it had the look and feel of a Tuesday night Bowl game in late December, sponsored by a company you have never heard of before.

The King of Stickum.

The story goes that he won an award for which the prize was a new car.  They tossed a toy car replica of it at him . . . and it stuck to him.

It's already better.  It's home and home.  Ann Arbor and Norman.  Not sold off to some soulless NFL dome for cold hard cash.

And we'll still be waiting to hear from Damien Harris.

As long as the fireworks are maize and blue.

No scarlett or green ones.

Carry on.

Just go to Brazil.

Damn.  Now we will never be able to even up our record in the BWW bowl.  Our shame will live for eternity in the record books.

Now I know how Brazil feels.

We will only invade Alberta, where the oil is.

They are each a different kind ot "better".  Maradona did not have the sharp-shooting and tight passing skills that Messi has.  Messi can't make the weaving 80-yard runs at full speed through traffic that Maradona could.

At least they won't be in four finals without winning one.  You always want the chance, but that would be a tough one to swallow.  Especially against Germany.

If Messi wins the WC in Brazil against this German team, it will be a bigger accomplishment.  But Maradona is still the better player.  Mesi is great in the attacking third and on free kicks, but Maradona could take over the entire game by himself from anywhere on the field.

Both ot them.  

A 105 year old grandma in Morocco who thought she was betting on camels, and a gerbil named               Bill.

He may be the best player in the world, but Messi looks like the guy that does your taxes.

Wow, at this point in the match yesterday there were 5 goals scored already.

I don't think the lesson of not getting too careless was lost on these two teams.

Germany, now you're just being mean.

I hope Fred scores.

So he does not get murdered.

Apparently Everbody >>> Brazil - (Neymar + Silva).

Damn.

How many points for a draw?

One problem with us not playing them though is that we pretty much put them in their place over the last 20 years.  Like the spoiled little rich kid who's mommy and daddy think is so precious and can conquer the world, then gets his ass kicked by the regular kid down the street as soon as he leaves the house.

We frequently put an emphatic end to the Notre Dame hype, and early in the season.  Now who will do it?

We'll have to be FSU or Clemson or VT fans for a day when they play ND.
 

They let Landon Donovan play so that he could at least be in some kind of "World" championship thingie.

Suck it, Jurgen.

And I couldn't even do that job.

/slinks away feeling like a loser, curses DNA.

It was fucking glorious.  I remember one year in the '90s when I didn't even tune in to watch until the second half because I had a few chores to do.  I already knew what the result would be so why drag it out?

I've followed Michigan Football since 1982.  There has never been a player more beloved as a person and as a player than Denard.  I hope he has a permanent presence around campus in the future like John Falk.  

To save a sub for a PK-Goalie in an extra time game.  

Stones, man.  Stones.

This match looks like a clone of the US-Belgium match.

Beware of the 93rd minute, CRC.

Possession seems to be a CONCACAF problem.

Howard-esque goaltending.

Yeah, you get the impression that Belgium figured they were out of it after the first half.  And they were probably right.  But I suppose I've gotten used to the naive USA never-say-die spirit and thought I'd see some of it from Belgium.

Case in point:  the Belgium corner at around 84'  After the missed header the ball bounced back to Belgium . . . and there were three Belgium players off sides laying on the ground.  They did not keep playing after the miss and hustle back on sides.  For all of their weaknesses, you would never see that from the Americans down 1 goal with 6+ minutes left.  Never. No matter who they were playing.

I read a bunch of coments by England fans on BBC after the US-Belgium game.  If you've ever read commnets by England fans about USA "soccer" you know they are brutally dismissive of anything to do with the USMNT.  I expected them to absolutely trash the US given how badly we were out-possessed and and-shot by Belgium.   

Instead they were raving about how hard and determined the US played the whole game.  The fact that we were outclassed but kept fighting to the point of almost pulling it out in extra time impressed them even more.  Given what they just went through with England crashing out with nary a whimper, they were totally enthralled with the way the USMNT fought to the last second.

Belgium seems to have packed it in.  They're just standing around.

In defense of the USA, it's not just hype when people talk about the spirit and determination that they play with, for all 90 minutes even when down.  The rest of the World truely is impressed with that characteristic.  We take it for granted, but not every team has it.

That Argentina is making Belgium look the way Belgium made us look is actually encouraging.  There are so few teams that are that good.  A dozen at most.  

We need to work on our technical skills, and we are doing it slowly but surely.  But there is room for us to move up the pecking order even without ultra-elite technical skills yet.  

Why did Green agree to come to the US?

Did he think he would not have a chance with Germany?  Was he fascinated by the prospect of being a pioneer in the rise of the USA to prominence?  Was we swept off his feet by the gentle cooing of Jurgen, as we all were here in the US?  

Or was he just a teenager making capricious and arbitrary recruiting decisions?  (But with no de-committs allowed!) 

It probably has something to do with the time consumption of running MGoBlog full time and now being married (people of the wife persuasion don't like being 2nd priority despite the "Yes I fully understand you have a time consuming job and I'm totally OK with it" speech before the engagement.)

I got it . . . he should just wait unitl they have a baby.  Then he'll have plenty of free time.  That's the ticket.

With two Fridays!

Soccer and America are no longer mutually exclusive.

Now Soccer and England on the other hand . . . 

We do try to work it up the field from the back, and Jurgen has emphasized this as the way he wants to play.  And we do it pretty well against teams that don't press us, or CONCACAF teams that we are better than.

But when we go up against teams that are better than us and press us, panic (and reality) sets in and we revert back to old USA . . . withdraw into a shell and hoof it upfield and hope our lone striker can win it in the air and do something with it.

Jurgen is trying to run the Spread with Manball players, if you will.  He needs guys to fit his system.  We hope to develop them over time.  In the meantime, he will keep trying to recruit Alabama's, er I mean Germany's, leftover four-stars.

Good write-up.  I think we can get into that 11-15 group over the next decade.  We have already gotten results against some of the teams listed - Mexico, Algeria, England.

Mexico is at that stage where they expect better than to make it out of the group stage but always lose in the round of sixteen.  They have had roughly the same or slightly better level of success as the USA has over the last several World Cups . . . we made the Quarters but they've been more consistent.  Yet where we find our level of success encouraging, they find the same level depressing.

It's a good time to be a USA fan.  It won't be long before we have the same outlook as Mexico . . . anything less than the Quarters is a disappiontment.

Jurgen's strategy is different.  But he does not have the players to run it well.  So you see what we saw in qualifying and at the World Cup . . . we start out playing possesion and attacking but then fall back into our old selves of pulling back and hoofing the ball to a lone striker if/when our original strategy fails.

Jurgen's goal state is the way Germany or Belgium play.  But we are a ways from having players developed that can do that.  Right now we struggle with even getting the first touch under control without a bobble.

This is actually a great time to be a USA soccer fan.  Expectations are low and every win over an opponent with even a modest pulse is treated like a priceless gem to be admired and enjoyed until the ride is over.  

Enjoy it while we have it.  Already the cynicism produced by rising expectations is creeping in as we get better.  

I have followed USA soccer since the '80s.  When they were college players.  At first we were happy just to win matches against professional overseas competition.  When we actually made the WC in '90 we were ecstatic just to be there.  Our goal was just to lose close like we did against Italy.  It was an unexpected joy to actually make it out of the group stage and into the knockout round in '94.

Now of course we are expected to make the WC every cycle.  Not doing so would be a disaster.  If we don't get out of the group stage, even in a "Group of Death", it is a disappointment.  We are very near the end of losing in the round of sixteen and still talking about how courageously the team played with a smile on our faces.

Our future is inevitably England and Mexico where anything less than a quater-final or semi-final is considered a disappointment, and most WCs end in gloom.

I Believe That We Will Win!!!

I Believe That We Will Win!!!

I Believe That We.

I

Magnus,

How in the world can you run your own blog and be one of the 5 most frequent posters on this blog?

Hell, you're probably even in the top 10 on 11W.

There is an enormous difference between calling one in the first half and calling one at 94 minutes.

You do not make that call at 94' unless you are absolutely sure it was a real foul that took away a real scoring chance in progress.  

Just because he should have made the call in the first half does not mean he should have made it in extra time.

Good God, I hope CONCACAF is using up all its bad luck today.

Costa Rica is not making Mexico's mistake of going into a total defensive shell.  They are showing just enough offence with 10 men to keep Greece working the whole field.

He went down like he was shot. It looked like somebody should be arrested, not booked. 

If you are going to sell it, then sell it.

Dam nice.

JMo knew how to sell it.  And he sold it like a man, without pretending he was hurt like a little girl.

Because it's not "diving" in the NBA.  They stand in, take the charge, and they either get the call or they don't.  Then they keep playing.

They don't writhe around on the ground like little girls, pretending they're hurt.

Caught 'em napping in the sun.

CONCACAF Thunder!!

Wow, they're letting them play, Big Ten Hoops style.

It all evened out.  They got through, we got through.  

Would you trade places with them now?  Would you rather be playing Belgium or the Netherlands?

No.

I hate the condescending attitude of European soccer toward North American soccer more than I hate Mexico.

However, I hate Ohio State more than I hate the condescending attitude of the SEC toward the Big Ten.

This probably has to do with the fact that Michigan has had its own success against the SEC, so who cares about Ohio State.  F Ohio State.

When the USA starts to have its own success against European teams, then we won't care about Mexico.  Then F Mexico.

Until then, CONCACAF Thunder!!

Holy shit, that was awesome.

Need one of Woodson.

It may really have been only an inch.  A little bit lower and the ball deflects into the goal.

Me too.  Can't have a good party if the host leaves too early.

Sad for Chile.  They deserve better.

Hope to say the same thing about Belgium and then Argentina.

Take 2 players off and allow 2 subs per period.  That will get things moving around.  Get that sucker over with.

I LOVE the way these two teams keep it moving.

It's fast-break versue fast-break.

Um, that's why it was the Group of Death.

You shouldn't have to.  We did everything we could do to send them through.  We gave up the latest regular time goal in WC history to tie Portugal.  We lost to Germany.  We totally set the table for Ghana.

And Ghana responded by . . . . by scoring a goal on themselves.

Portugal taketh, Portugal giveth back.

Pele is an American.  I know this because I saw him on a poster at Subway.

I Believe That We Will Tie!
I Believe That We Will Tie!

Michael Vick was an asset too.  Until he turned into an ass.

You take a risk when you sign players with known behavior issues.  And you know it in advance.

When my kids were toddlers, biting in pre-school was a big problem.  You would get thrown out if it happened multiple times.

So let's review . . . if a toddler did what Suarez did, he would get thrown out.  Yet Suarez was allowed to keep playing?

God invented FIFA so the NCAA could still have someone to laugh at.

Give it up.  The SEC is better and has been for a long time.

Now what are we going to do about it?

Meta:  Can you be Off-Topic in an Off-Topic thread?

OT: The death of American Football is being highly exaggerated.  Football has been in trouble before, and has adapted in response.  The game we know today is a much different game than it was 100+ years ago.  Much of that was due to safety issues.

It happened before and it will happen again.  The game will change and adapt.  It is too popular to just vanish.  Will it look different?  Yes.  Just like it looks different than it did 100+ years ago.  

We need an AAU structure for soccer.

Just rolls right off your tounge.

How about something more catchy like           "Big Ten".

I don't either.

But then again I didn't see the US scoring late against Ghana to win, or a Ghana tie with Germany, or the US giving up the latest regulation goal in WC history.

Or Spain.  Or Costa Rica.

You just never know. 

Are you kidding?  If that happens, every one there will buy you beers for the beautiful gift we gave them at 94' 32''.

I hope you get through too . . . with the USA.

Heads would explode.

Germany is not doing a whole lot better at keeping midfield possession than the US.  Ghana is for real.