Recent Comments

First double post ever. Should I feel proud, ashamed, or somewhat unclean?

in the glow of an incredible, high-character team that pushed themselves to the brink of an NCAA championship, a great coach who represents Michigan about as well as anyone can, some phenomenal moments of shooting, defense (including one of the most athletic blocks you will ever see) and basketball acrobatics.

Not to mention that we encountered a worthy opponent devoid of s--t talkers and witnessed a classic final.

Hard to take the loss, but more than proud of the team and its accomplishments, which exceeded even the most optimistic pre-season expectations.

Next year in Arlington!

made of chips, pulled pork, refried beans, queso, veggies, beef, chicken, guacamole, and olives. He had to eat it in 45 minutes.

I barfed for him.

As I fill out the bracket, I see us having more difficulty with VCU than with Kansas; if we make it past VCU, I see a decent chance of a semifinal rematch with Indiana.

On the other hand, why do I even venture into these unpredictable waters?

1. They can

2. They hate us, and love to mock us

3. Their lineup is strewn with idiots of every stripe (even their pre-show announcer has an extremely obnoxious affectation)

4. They ____________

if it spreads to the porch.

no couches ablaze.

Wait, no reason for conflagrations.

Miller's Ice Cream on S. University before it became the wasteland that it is today - cheap, huge servings that made eating with a beard a trip to barbarianism.

He hired Brady Hoke, and I still detest him.

but they will be doing a significant renovation and expansion over the next few years (23 million dollars worth) which will put it on the level of pretty much any of its competition.

that it's not good to do double posts.

Count 'em, four gifts in the last two minutes, including the refusal to overturn the non-touchdown ruling at the end.

Pretty poor, and pretty cowardly; however, Stanford gave their own gifts on ND's last drive.

Based on the intensity of the Americans, the hype of the crowd, and the fact that the US has withered in quite a few of the recent Cups, I would say that each side sees this as a "war" that needs to be won in order to establish some golfing legitimacy - even the way the course was prepared showed serious thought toward ending the European dominance of the past twenty years.

It isn't easy to explain what happens to the Americans in these events - a hyper-individualism, self-focussed culture, whatever, but they certainly had a difficult time handling the pressure after the mini-meltdown of yesterday afternoon.

Who knows?

I wonder if what we're seeing is the fact that Meyer has lost something in the coaching department, either in adapting his system to current talent level, losing his intensity after his "retirement," or both (and something else included).

I would say that it is highly unlikely that the family has standing in the matter - that is, they have no legal interest in the case despite their apparently profound need to clear Joe's sullied name. I imagine any such suit will be quickly dismissed, as they cannot show harm.

A Bluetooth keyboard, either built in or separate. Faster than IPhone, Blackberry, etc.

Try it, you'll like it.

Just drive over in your Os-mobile and hope that it isn't too slippy out.

to click the link, here are two facts about Costco treating its employees well:

They pay full health benefits.

Average hourly wage is 70% higher than Sam's Club (between $18-$20 vs. around $11)

One more comparison: Costco CEO salary around 350-400k; Sam's Club 13-15 million.

going the way of all puff-baggies in three years, so even Minnesota will lose their advantage (assuming that the new Vikings stadium arises sans roof, which I believe is the plan).

Rothlesberger is not (an a__hole)? I think some number of various types of persons would beg to differ.

"Backyard recruiting brawl between Michigan and Michigan State is OVER"

or at least not as far behind as the current post will make you.

Not all BMWs are maintained to the same standard; this one had at least four cylanders misfiring and possibly not even functioning - not to mention accumulated rust, etc.

and Luxembourgers.

I feel that it's simply having spent many years watching Michigan teams that should win handily come ill-prepared, play tight, play without condifence, play down to their opponent (not that VT has "down" to play to), and so on. That kind of history makes pessimists out of many of us. Plus, my wife claims that Michigan fans have some kind of genetic predisposition to take on a slough of despond attitude, so it must be a nature and nurture double whammy. 

Makes it hard to emotionally experience what we say: "We're Michigan," and all that.

that make me want to see Michigan absolutely curb stomp Ohio on Saturday - to put their boots on Buckeye nuts and not let up until the annihilation is complete.

Well, I should say, I always want to see that, only now more than ever.

The Field of Dreams (reputedly up for sale)

ESPN should demand recusal by any Buckeye lover on the OSC; if not, move for a change of venue.

We'd be happy to hear the case here.

Moccasins = the snake, not the shoe (water moccasins)

I was waiting for someone to mention it: Zingermann's quality sandwiches for around 2/3 the price and 1/2 the snobbery - not that I dislike Zing's, but they buy pretty much the same ingredients and command premium (e.g. East Coast) money for the product.

Also, Amer's has, I believe, a third location at the Union.

... Is like a train wreck: a bloody mess that you want to pass by without looking, but that you end up gawking at just to see how bad it really is.

Do what I did:

Look around at your class and count off the number of people who consistently arrived late to class on Monday bragging about how wasted they were on the weekend; those who came to class on an infrequent basis; those who spouted nonsense in class as if it were gospel truth (they will end up as judges); and those who just plain spouted nonsense with one or another looks of bewilderment on their faces. Note that they are the curve makers who will help you succeed. Then consider that 8+ out of ten of your class will pass the Bar. Subtract the aforementioned most likely to fail and - voila - you have your confidence. 

At least that's what I told myself, although it didn't always curb the anxiety.

I've lived in all three, and would say:

Dexter area has best of all worlds - good, and increasingly better, schools; fairly low taxes; a good mix of housing options; very quick drive into A2; strong preservation/open space policies in the townships (Scio and Webster); close to a ton of recreation (Pinckney and Waterloo, along with other parks). It is fairly white, though, and is purely suburban and rural, with quite a few dirt roads.

Ann Arbor is Ann Arbor - all the great attributes of a small university city; lots of culture, parks, etc.. However, the taxes on real estate are often 2x the surrounding areas. Also, the roads are absolutely awful, and not likely to improve in the near future. In my opinion, the schools are somewhat overrated - at least uneven - with possible budget cut effects making the future a bit less certain.

Yspsilanti - I would not agree that it's dangerous, unless you live in certain areas. Some parts of the city are quite nice. On the other hand, bad schools, a sense that a good part of it is falling apart, and a feeling that it is somewhat "cut off" from other places (e.g. not a pleasant drive into A2 unless you take one of the northern, more suburban routes) make is much less desirable. 

I currently live in Dexter, with an Ann Arbor mailing address; it's my favorite of the three in terms of overall ambiance, and I can be in town (A2) in less than 15 minutes.

that you will find in the Twin Cities that you don't ever find here in A2 is a string of days where the "high" temperature (new definition) doesn't climb above 0. In my ten years there, the longest such streak was about 96 hours or so, which was a stunning experience that left my vehicle unusable (had to park outside).

Having said that, some people never really venture out into the cold, moving from their heated garage to their heated parking structure (aka "ramp") to the heated skyways. Winter can certainly be long, but there's a ton of activities that make it more than bearable, unless you just can't bear it.

that Tom is an incite-ful kind of guy - although his posts do stir up various emotional responses in us.

worry about de-commitments, transfers, and whatever other angst-producing possibilities exist for igniting our natural pessimism.

Or you could run replays of the recruiting victories, somewhat the way many of us did when we watched Michigan's NC basketball run in '89 about fifty times in the first month after the last win.

that the NCAA treats Tressel more strictly based on his position as HC, as opposed to McNair being an assistant. It would make some sense that they would, given the greater responsibility that the HC carries for the program and the influence he has as its representative.

I personally don't see how he survives the year, especially with the OSU administration seemingly setting up a situation where they can sever ties with a potentially less-damaging response by the NCAA (no lack of institutional control and all that).

using "everybody  does it," but denying that such is his argument, and then continuing all the way to the bottom of the toilet with, "anyway, it was the prinicpled thing to do." It is utterly incredible that he would attempt to take the moral high ground with that kind of turning wrong to right.

A biblical phrase comes to mind: "Woe to those who call evil good, and good, evil." Well, woe to them (Buckeyes), whatever and whenever, and wherever.

1. You like to engage in the pissing contest, as evinced by your reply comments.

2. Some of the replies to your argument are based on the simple fact that you had no real argument; rather, you made a conclusory statement ("best defense") with neither context nor justification.

Why don't we face the fact that the three years of Rodriguez' tenure are a complex mosaic of personality and historical interactions that, given the strength of the individual predilections, reactions, and opinion, along with the need for a fairly long transition to sort out those interactions, could not have produced success without patience. At any rate, there were certain predispositions, as we read in Brian's post of the e-mail he received, that would create an atmosphere of suspicion and offense that arises from hide-bound conservatism, which is not the same as honoring tradition.

But apparently ND is the frontrunner for Kiel, as well, so I'm not sure Mauk goes there.

... maybe they were stretching busts, using time that was over there.

Maybe?

Fairly difficult to get a "birth" in the tourney - don't think any are expecting; however, very likely that they will have a berth.

Puts me in the mind of Spud Webb, Nate Robinson (43 inch vertical), and Calvin Murphy, the first two being winners of the NBA slam-dunk contest.

Also stirs unreachable fantasy dreams of doing more than simply being able to touch a few inches above the bottom of the net.

Stupid genes.

1. Cornell, as long as you're not there under five feet of snow (even then it's beautiful)

2. SDSU and USD in San Diego: The latter has superb architecture and a view of the Pacific that's the equal of Pepperdine (another great spot)

3. UNC and Duke: Both really beautiful settings, especially Duke, which is like living in part forest/part botanical gardens. Plus the climate has long high points during the school year. Chapel Hill is a good surrounding environment for the university (Durham not so much).

4. Among the Big Ten/Eleven/Twelve etc., Madison is my choice for best, with Michigan and Indiana following, then Happy Valley and Northwestern.

There are also some small schools (e.g. Bowdoin in Maine, the Naval Academy and St. John's in Annapolis) that are really picturesque.

The point is that the worn out (should have been worn out) drumbeat of "Rodriguez screwed up Michigan in-state recruiting; ruined connections with in-state coaches"; blah, blah, blah continues unabated.

But, as noted in several other posts, bringing up facts in an attempt to overcome the Brady Hoke slobber fest that includes distorting the Rodriguez record is an exercise in futility, and is probably best shelved.

Well, there might be numerous reasons for the former players' comments, reasons that go beyond just believing Hoke is a great coach. It looks as if some number of them come from a bias against the Rodriguez hire and the whole cultural atmosphere at Michigan, which you can admire/like or find gratingly insular and arrogant.

At any rate, I do wonder if some of what we're seeing is not simply a Brandonesque approach to filling the most important position at the key sport at the school. We'll never know what Brandon would have done had he brought in Rodriguez, but we can certainly say that Martin could have put on a better show for RR than he did. I assume that was part Martin, part the coaching search, and part the rancor within the AD.

Let's hope that the hype, even if ill-motivated, will be a positive in the long run.

clicking. Sanity and addiction demand it.

1. no relaxing

2. no trust in Brandon, given how he handled Rodriguez and presser (but could be gained with right hire)

3. Will certainly support whomever he hires

the old Appy State video that we all made fun of before the Horror (Hot, Hot, Hot).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVENWl8uBeg

"until they have a few seasons under their belt." Exactly the problem; why are we even in the position of needing to hire someone who needs multiple years to see if they will succeed. Isn't that what we were in the midst of showing?

On the other hand, I believe that the right person (and that's where Brandon is on the spot) could bring success much more quickly. That is, someone who can hold the team together, bring in a decent class this year, and use well the players at his disposal.

Will DB pull it off? I'm highly skeptical but willing to be proven wrong.

Well, there's class - which characterizes Rich Rodriguez and the statement he made - and then there's masochism - which would include thanking someone who handled the last couple of months in about as poor a manner as could be expected.

I am hopeful that we will be back in the thick of things in the Big however many and on the national stage before too long, but I have the feeling that Rodriguez will find his way to success in a very short time.

Best regards to a man who, when it comes to integrity, runs circles around the crabby alumni, ersatz journalists, cranky "livin' in the past" players, and bandwagon fans who couldn't stand to give him a real chance. 

Now Brandon is in a pickle, and I sure hope he can find a good way out of it.

Maybe what the hell everybody else. Based on the fact that we know literally nothing about Brandon's/Harbaugh's/Rodriguez' plans, who has spoken to whom, etc., this is only a "screw up" for those who believe that we just HAVE TO HAVE, OH MY NO OTHER OPTIONS, HARBAUGH. 

For some of us who want to see Brandon retain Rodriguez, the only screw up has been letting this hang so that we become the focal point of idiot media attention all over again.

There is also the distinct possibility that Brandon has simply played his cards carefully so that no one looks like they turned down anyone else or didn't end up with what they wanted (again, except for the must have Harbaugh contingent). This still leaves us too much in an unwanted spotlight, but probably makes the school look less like simpletons and tools.

And I believe that an overhaul of defensive staff would go a long way toward helping the team fulfill its potential. The one thing that I find most difficult to assess and apply is how much the anti-Rodriguez crowd has affected the atmosphere, process, progress, team play etc. The constant refrain is that the environment has become "toxic"; to what extent is that simply a self-fulfilling prophecy and part of a vicious cycle?

It seems that Rodriguez has been treated rather shamefully at times, and not simply by media types. That's something that might not go away for a while, regardless of future wins. I hope, perhaps without reason, that Brandon will be strong enough to base his judgment on something more than such background static.

Assuming that such a thing even exists, for which we have no evidence one way or another.

Giving us only reasons to retain him, and then telling us that we "need to go in a different direction" - whatever the heck that means - is just the kind of stuff that begins, goes, and ends nowhere.

Let's have a great win today, put the noise behind us, and move in the direction we are currently goind.

When we lived in Minnesota, we adopted an 18 month-old boy. At preschool, the classes taught, of course, the Gopher fight song.  I instructed him on how to sing the "Victors" loudly enough to be heard when the school presented their spring program; this was enhanced by the fact that he couldn't quite carry the tune, and so stood out a bit more than otherwise.

This was a seminal experience, and was repeated with my daughter, who regularly would taunt "Goldie" the mascot at various sporting events. They are now both staunch Wolverines, and have suffered with me through the last few years with no hint of wavering in their allegiance.

When I was thinking about where to attend school and came to visit, walking across the Diag on April 1 1973 (when the Hash Bash was still an illegal, well-attended circus), seeing all the crazies, the miles of hair (on the guys), the music, the get ups people were wearing, and then going to the house where I was staying and finding 25 inhabitants sitting around a little black- and-white television watching "Planet of the Apes" in the dark ...

... and realizing, as a wandering, 19 year-old hippie, that this was somewhere I could live.

And have loved it ever since

Rodriguez? What happened to Bo?

According to the article, Michigan is not listed as a state where quadruped wolverines reside; however, see the following link for contradictory evidence:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4374309/ns/technology_and_science-science/

as it's transliterated from the Hebrew, which gives English speakers a variety of options, none of which indicate anti-semitic overtones.

Talk about panties in a bunch (or should I say a d'vorah up your tuchus?).

No surprise that he's made the national stage, especially when we consider the level of journalistic non-integrity and the general idea that any publicity is good publicity.  As far as I can tell, much of what ESPN does (even the voices of their lead-in announcers) is decidedly calculated to irritate and annoy, if not infuriate. SI has a couple of reasonable writers, but also brings along a number of weak, self-promoting types (e.g. Stewart Mandel).

Anyway, it's really a publicity-generating mindset that drives the media in ways that mirror the tabloids of old, and which panders to a fairly superficial reading and listening/watching public.

It is impossible for Rodriguez to have been fired and Harbaugh to have already been hired, and that for at least two reasons:

First, hiring is a public process that cannot be short-circuited by private deals.  I suppose that there may be some conversations among parties, but even that is unlikely, given the number of people who would have some knowledge of such talks.  The leak factor would be huge.

Second, Brandon would be putting the university, along with the football program, at risk, both legally (see point 1), and with regard to perception and reputation.  If you think the garbage storm that arose during the last search was a huge mess, you can't imagine what back room shenanigans would engender.

Your one clearly true point is that there is no proof for the claim of "already hired."  Frankly, I think the speculations are simply part of the pent-up need to immediately know what's happening on the part of much of our fan base.  

After all, it sucks to have neither knowledge of, or control over, something we're so invested in.

It afflicts the media more than most.  Our BBall improprieties are ancient history in journalism years, especially as the perpetrators age and/or fade from public prominence.

caveat: I agree with the original post, and believe that Rodriguez should have a minimum of one more year.

On the other hand, a "Bo level coach" would not be a negative, assuming that Harbaugh could ever reach that level.  My recollection of growing up during the Bo years, especially the 1970s, was of a supremely high level of performance, excluding the bowl games.  I went back to consider his record, and would propose that, under the current BCS muddle, he could well have won a couple or few national championships during his tenure.

The big IF is contained in Harbaugh's potential, which is still rather unproven; his interest, which is entirely speculative; and Brandon's plan for coaching, which is as well-guarded as "American Idol" results.

(along with various empirical data) disagree with Mr. Arnett.

the see-through girly tights they're wearing - or are they dirty fishnet stockings?

But we essentially hate them because they are tOSU

Stay home and watch from the safety of your living room.

Would someone put this thread out of our misery and kill it?

I would hardly say that Iowa thumped us, and MSU is debatable.  OK, so I won't argue with you about Wisconsin, but that's one out of three.

Besides, we beat an improved (substantially) Illinois team, and Purdue on the road.

Maybe recruits are seeing something better from their perspective.

Interestingly enough, the radio commentators noted, erroneously, that "Denard threw behind the receiver - that's a pretty unusual thing for him."

They're obviously not reading the right blogs, and don't have the memory or analytical skills to figure out patterns themselves.

Three-three-five defense

The whole less than sum of parts

Dial 9-1-1

Someone please explain the following terms and phrases:

Defensive All-American

Another Michigan interception

Five Wolverines were around the ball

(and so on)

My, but that video was simultaneously exhilarating and depressing.

Cloverleaf has gone downhill - at this point, no better, and perhaps worse than your average Perkins.

Take it from my two kids, who will devour anything of a breakfast nature and come back for more, and who were entirely unimpressed with the offerings there.

But the bathroom comment holds true.

How about, for the old-timers among us:

11. "Summertime Blues" 

12. "Shakin' All Over" 

13. "My Generation" 

14. "Magic Bus"

from the Who's "Live at Leeds"?

Or any three consecutive tracks from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

Or, less convincingly, perhaps:

"Highway 61 Revisited"

"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"

"Desolation Row"

all from Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited"

But only if you're over 50.

Just for taking the non-major accounting class. I, on the other hand, was stupid enough to take the general accounting (known as "weed them out") when I didn't have to, on the advice of a so- called friend. I may well have killed 10 million brain cells trying to keep up with the material on half or less of the time that the accounting geeks were spending per week.

... is implied. There is an undercurrent of hope among the Twin Cities sports media, perhaps understandable, and however unreasonable, that Henderson will stay at home.

In my experience (lived there for many years and attended a variety of events) the crowd will be on the overall friendly side, although Gopher basketball fans are generally more passionate about the team than the football supporters are. You'll find it pretty loud, very close quarters. It's easy to engage in good-natured ribbing without fearing for your life or having your son subjected to Ohio State-type garbage. I was in the 'Dome for the famous Michigan comeback of '03 and had no problem, even being surrounded by disgusted Gophers.

The campus is nothing to brag about but, if you're staying around the Barn, there are quite a few decent, but dive-like, Asian restaurants in the Dinkytown area (try Shuang Chen on 4th St.).

As you're from Canada, no need for me to prattle on about the weather - it may well be ten or twenty degrees warmer than what you're used to.

And, if you're not too embarrassed, do your best to convince Goldy to spin his head for the crowd.

"Was given," rather than "took."

... it seems like a convergence of a variety of factors. For example, I find Brian's Rock/Paper/Scissors metric an interesting, albeit slippery, subject for study. Do we find ourselves at the losing end of schemes more often than not? If so, does a large RPS deficiency point to a coaching, or to a talent, imbalance or, as is most likely, a combination of the two? So, if in a game against Purdue, the defensive coordinator continues to play his best corner 7 to 10 yards off the line of scrimmage such that Purdue is able to run approximately 50 simple ten yard out patterns, does that mean: a.) the coaches are stubborn; b.) the coaches are afraid of playing press because it means a lot of broken coverages (they don't trust a particular player); or c.) every attempt at one kind of defense exposes a different problem somewhere else.

The same question could be applied to the offense, where Wisconsin continually brought up their safeties to stop the run, essentially daring Michigan to go over the top - something that we rarely did. Does this mean that the coaches don't yet trust Forcier/the receivers?

No doubt the defense has all the issues that others have raised, but it would be interesting to be able to quantify the plusses/minuses involved in coaching decisions.

More RPS analysis, anyone?

It seems that this yours a pretty accurate assessment. From my observations, Tate has a set of fairly good moves that especially work when he has an idea of where he should be going (called plays, e.g.), but that are often slow to materialize when he's forced to think on his feet. According to his own self-evaluation, the game has begun to slow down (during the Illinois debacle, no less). It will be good to see the fruit of his catching up and see if the reads improve and the panic levels decrease.

As far as I can tell, he was not out-of bounds, the rule stating that "A player is out of bounds when any part of his person touches anything, other than another player or game official, on or outside a boundary line (Rule 4-2-1-I and II)."

So the only way for the play to be overruled was on the basis of an illegal forward lateral.

I have to respond simply on the basis of the fact that my two children will be attending their first Michigan game in two weeks (opener v. WMU). I became a fan when, having first moved to Ann Arbor, I couldn't find anywhere to fix my bicycle tire during the 1973 Ohio State game - all I could hear were the distant roars coming from somewhere south of the campus.

Now that we have returned to A2, I am looking forward to my daughter and son - 10 and 9, respectively - to pick up the banner of loyalty, which has often been grim determination mixed with regular jubilation, occasional disbelief, and fairly frequent disappointment. As far as training the young ones, I began inculcating fandom while we were living in Minnesota. My greatest triumph occurred when my son, in his first year of pre-school in Minneapolis, was under the tutelage of a Gopher fanatic who insisted on teaching the class the Minnesota fight song. Needless to say, I quickly instructed him in the proper singing of "The Victors," despite the fact that he was, at the time, incapable of carrying a tune. Whenever the class bellowed out their off-key rendition of the "Minnesota Rouser," Ben would counter with his version of "The Victors."

I've already been a bad example of the frustrated fan, so I am in the process of teaching my children that athletics are not worth bargaining for or losing peace over.

And, truth be told, the only other team I have had unwavering commitment to has been the Cleveland Browns, which is about as sad as it gets.

... maybe Charles Woodson.

It's hard to know why I would waste time doing this, but I need to say, "Stop." As in, stop with the hand-wringing, self-righteous calls for Rodriquez to "restore his reputation." As far as I, along with many others, am concerned, there is no need for Operation Reputation Rescue. This whole way of thinking is akin to seeing Lloyd's 9-3 record as mediocre.

I also find it interesting that your only goals are winning oriented. While I have no beef in establishing high standards for victories, especially those that involve ignorant asses from Columbus, South Bend, and East Lansing, I assume that you see the need for continued academic and behavioral success, something that RR appears to hold as a clear aim.

If we seen 7-8 wins next year, along with an absence of jail time and whining, I will be relatively satisfied. I would then expect a continued improvement in subsequent seasons.

And why do I have such expectations? Because of Rodriguez' reputation, which I believe is mostly, if not entirely, intact despite the season of suck.