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6 years 6 months
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The crazy part is there are…

The crazy part is there are probably another 8-10 players from the 2023 team who would be drafted or draftable if they came out (or were able to come out) this year.  Three of those were high four stars or five stars in recruitment (Will Johnson, Donovan Edwards, Keon Sabb) and the rest are all guys that Michigan found, developed, and turned loose. 

The way you know I am paying…

The way you know I am paying the correct amount of attention to the men's basketball team is that I learned about Olivier's injury from this post.

To the discussion during the…

To the discussion during the roundtable about whether the history of decades or a century ago is relevant, I agree with you 100%, Seth, and not just because I was also a History major at U of M. The history matters because institutional history and one's personal legacy within its arc are absolutely daily considerations for most senior leaders at any major, prestigious legacy institution.  They view every decision through the lens of their place in history as it relates to the defining professional and communal association of their lives.  That goes for university presidents and regents (if not always ADs), who are exactly the people who would need to step up for M to lead boldly into the next era of fairer, more competitive and ultimately more sustainable college athletics.  Whether or not one of the steps they would take is replacing the AD with someone who could see past their own experiential confirmation bias ("my Michigan education is the reason I weathered injury and made something of myself" vs. "we have the opportunity to continue providing that valuable education to college athletes and also get them paid in case of injury") is a different question.  

I also think the comparison to the shifting economic paradigms of the Soviet and post-Soviet eras is dead on, because it properly frames the moment as an inevitable economic transition that carries with it the (not inevitable) opportunity for social progress to a more ethical model.  What people do now can determine whether or not the promise of that progress is realized as an equitably distributed universal good across the ecosystem in question.

Finally, it really struck me how much Sam's invocation of the collectives and crowd-sourced fundraising vehicles like One More Year set me off.  It's not because he's wrong about the practical need for mechanisms like those to be stood up and be successful in the current transitional context of college football and basketball.  But having just listened along to such passionate and well-articulated arguments from Seth and Brian for moral clarity about where things need to go, and while getting about excited about the opportunity Sherrone Moore has to build upon Jim Harbaugh's well-intentioned but incomplete advocacy for revenue sharing at a national level (ideally supported by U of M leadership), I was outraged to be immediately faced with the reality that as of this moment, the impetus is being put upon (small and large dollar) donors to pay the players for their work.  Workers should absolutely be paid, and they should be paid the full value of what the market will bear (until we rise up and throw off the shackles of freemarket capitilism amirite comrades).  But the notion that the University/B1G/NCAA should be able to preside over the primary cash cannon that is selling broadcast rights to media companies, and then turn to loyal bases of alumni and donors and say "hey, you gotta pay up if you want to keep Hunter, Blake, JJ" is offensive.  Why does the market value the players' labor so highly that it requires millions of dollars to retain their services?  Precisely because the media companies will shell out billions to broadcast them playing!  SHARE THE REVENUE DIRECTLY WITH THE PEOPLE WHO GENERATE IT, and the conferences and universities should get paid as brand managers at least and management at most.  Ownership, they are not.

The LANK video is incredible…

The LANK video is incredible.  Most I've ever liked Pat McAfee.

I went from "I wonder if…

I went from "I wonder if Brian is going to wait until after the natty to post both game columns, this is taking so long, WHERE'S MY FREE CONTENT!?" to "I cannot believe Brian put that masterpiece together in a day."  Incredible.  And only the latest in an unbroken chain of instances in which being an MGoBlog reader has not only given voice to, but also enhanced, heightened and illuminated my experience as a fan.  Honestly, if you guys aren't writing ten years ago, I might not even be watching this game.  Because you are, I get to enjoy it more than anything most sports fans can imagine.  One more.

Harbaugh literally bought…

Harbaugh literally bought some hungry kids some food.  Warde should be playing Jean Valjean to Pettiti's Javer.

Whoa whoa whoa.  My toddler…

Whoa whoa whoa.  My toddler is shocked to learn that there are people who object to pooping in a corner.

(No subject)

Sometimes you just gotta say what's real.

The Stalions airport novels…

The Stalions airport novels Bring Us Your Champions They're Our Meat has been posting on this are amazing - thanks for linking, Brian. 

The annoying emcee is…

The annoying emcee is bonkers to me.  Went to the UNLV game - first time in the stadium in 16 years - and while a lot of stuff was different, I loved the experience and felt the atmosphere was improved overall.  Especially student participation and volume.  

But then every time they cut to the MC on the scoreboard for a segment, I just didn't get it.  Who is that guy?  Why are we listening to him instead of Carl Grapentine?  What is his redeeming social value? 

Thanks for explaining, J. :-)

For sure things have changed…

For sure things have changed across the college football landscape in the last 12 years, but never forget that Jim Harbaugh was the guy who convinced likely #1 overall draft pick Andrew Luck to stay at Stanford for a fourth year in 2011.  And that was before NIL at a place where kids really weren't getting paid.  

🔥🔥🔥

You've outdone yourself…

🔥🔥🔥

You've outdone yourself this time, bronxblue.  Much love from a former Riverdalian.  

I had completely forgotten…

I had completely forgotten about Zombocom.  Cackling at my desk now.  Thank you.

Makes sense to Dragonchild's…

Makes sense to Dragonchild's point about being truly multiple: if you're going to bring both the pressure and the coverage from everywhere, you need personnel who can do both at every spot.

Would we be comping him to…

Would we be comping him to Kwity if we weren't playing such a different system in the front 7 now?

That had me laughing too.  I…

Like the man said: https://youtu.be/7LUUk6wVNrY?t=3 

This is art, Seth. …

This is art, Seth.  Hilarious, informative, and right on point. Best writing I get to read all week. Thanks for the info, analysis and history nerd cackles. 

Really thoughtful reflection…

Really thoughtful reflection on Moten's career in maize and blue, Seth.  Thanks for putting in the extra effort to give the guy his due and helping us all learn something from it as he moves on. 

Is Henderson a possibility…

Is Henderson a possibility at C?  If Zinter comes back, could ZZ finally land there?  Or are we looking at Crippen/Anderson in 2023 regardless?

I think this really cuts to…

I think this really cuts to the heart of it.  As Klatt says toward the end of the video, where you start matters because everything after is built from that baseline.  And Venom is 100% right that this initial ranking is built to soften up the ground for a CFP with 3 SEC teams in it.  So 2 ideas:

1. Can the non-SEC presidents get their stuff together to bring in the 12-team playoff before the contract expires? (legit question)

2. Can we ditch this whole new rights deal and instead get FOX to launch a weekly national broadcast like NBC has (had?) with Notre Dame, only where Gus and Klatt being our exclusive broadcasters is made official? (wishcasting)

100%.  The Rod Moore reveal…

100%.  The Rod Moore reveal upgraded it from "that's a cute premise" to laugh out loud funny for me.  

As another Tottenham fan, I…

As another Tottenham fan, I agree with all sentiments expressed here, and I think despite our recent run of success (of a sort), I feel confident we retain an appropriate level of self-loathing and fan dread.  Also I love this description of the midlands football scene.  And Middlesbrough really does suck.  If Wolves end up hiring Nuno back, Spurs fans will feel the OP's pain...

This was my first weekend on…

This was my first weekend on campus freshman year, my first ever Michigan football game and first time inside Michigan Stadium.  When I got to my seat (in row 94 lol), everyone around me was a stranger.  When Phil's kick sailed through the uprights, everyone around me was family.  Been hooked ever since.  

What a privilege to get our…

What a privilege to get our insightful Michigan content and beautiful writing in the same place.  Much love to the whole MGoBlog team and LFG!

Beautifully written, Seth. …

Beautifully written, Seth.  So much of the past half-century's experience inside and outside the program lives so concisely in that 6th paragraph.  The poetry of thoughtful exploration applied to the prose of human imperfection.  Hats off.

Thanks for these amazing…

Thanks for these amazing memories, MG!  Keep on truckin', and can't wait to see 44 yards!

What a post.  Where else can…

What a post.  Where else can you get a meticulously researched and sourced deep dive into a heretofore unheralded recruit, that explains how and why his commitment matters to the class and the program's future beyond it... and also: explainers on Montreal geography, the Quebecois secondary education system, and the CT prep school scene (Go Hopkins lol)... OH AND ALSO: dynamite references to the Montreal vs. New York bagel debate, the worst Harry Potter book, and a dig at the metric system? 

Total fire, Seth. This is what we keep coming back for.  And I hope you had a nice vacation. 

Underrated emerging theme of…

Underrated emerging theme of this year's One Frame at a Time.  What used to be the dominant purview of Harbaugh's explosive antics has been taken over by the menace of Don Brown. Dr. Blitz is more than welcome!

Anyone else having issues…

Anyone else having issues with both download and stream?

Franklin's mental narrative:…

Franklin's mental narrative:

Better stop the clock to make them think I think they think...

Is it sad field goal time?

Thanks for shining a light,… Thanks for shining a light, Brian, and to the whole mgoblog team for carrying forward that perfect blend of effort-driven insight, humor, levity and gravitas that is the essential core of good writing.
Ace back in the conversation…

Ace back in the conversation and throwing fire.  Truly, a resounding win over State is tonic for all. Good to see you!

Just want to shout out your…

Just want to shout out your excellent parenthetically split "an" in point 2. Score one for the language arts obsessives like us.  

Apologies for double post

My b

Could actually be intentional

It incentivizes both parties to say nice things about each other in an exit scenario. But actually, yeah... no this is really stupid. Any scenario where someone is fired for cause should net them zero beyond salary already paid.

Targeting

I watched the clip several times with the same thought about targeting. It's not targeting. Woodson is giving up so much height to the receiver that he plants his shoulder right into the WR's midsection. #2's helmet doesn't even come up past the receiver's chest. He just hits him so hard that the WR's head and neck snap back from the impact. Totally clean hit, even by today's standards. So in short, yeah, for sure he gets called for targeting and tossed in 2017.

Air Force... gulp

We should win the Air Force game handily but I am scared to death of injuries. Here's hoping that watching 250 different guys in winged helmets rotate through vs Cincy lets us rest a bit easier about depth.

Keep waiting for excitement to shatter

But it doesnt! I'm frankly thrilled to be in a good enough post-game mood after a week 1 tough matchup where I'm irrationally refreshing the site hoping to see UFR and other review posts already up. Onward into the 5-week skills refinement phase of the season.

Non-UM: Rutgers and Purdue just shaming the opposition; early hopes for getting DJ about of the division to Florida.