Check out Biercamp for a German style beer, an asparagus onion cheddar brat burger, and some outdoor seating. Walking distance to the Baseball stadium.
This is a great question, fellow lurker. If OSU did trade the signs, at that point it was not clear that OSU would make the CFP, so they were also colluding to ruin Michigan's chances for the CFP and to enhance their own chances. This is the ultimate in poor sportsmanship if the Big Ten really cares about such things. The Big Ten could have ended up with no CFP teams and lost that revenue and prestige.
Glad to see someone who has been here longer than me and has less points. And I also graduated in 1989 (if that is what your name means).
Michigan obtained other teams signs, likely illegally, through advance scouting
Other teams had Michigan's signs, through legal or illegal means. The other teams do not deny that they had Michigan signs
Having competitor's signs has equal value as an in-game advantage, regardless of the method which they were obtained. Thus Michigan obtained no meaningful in-game competitive advantage via advance scouting
If Michigan is proven to have violated NCAA rules through a full and proper NCAA investigation, they should accept a punishment proportional to the violation
The name Connor Stallions will fade like other scandals before him (even though it is a spectacular scandal name)
What annoys me is the idea that this was a massive competitive advantage and Michigan's 3 TD beat downs for OSU (and everyone else) over the past two years are invalid. This is a BS narrative led by OSU and MSU fans and embraced by their 'useful idiot' media friends.
Great write up, David. They did look great for most of the game. Nazar looked really strong. Also felt like the refs were letting them play (to Providence’s advantage) until they totally lost control and it became a penalty fest.
Any insight into why Draper didn’t play? Pletzke got plenty of ice time.
Hard to draw too many conclusions given the talent differential. Other than that BTN+ continues to consistently perform at the technical level of a 1987 local access cable TV station.
I will not be a fan of an AD (or a CEO) who reads a report that one of their key leaders (or their managers) "acted unprofessionally — especially in interactions with female staff members and in treatment of student athletes" and that the report writers "have concerns about the culture and operation of the men's hockey program" and that they find the leader himself as "not credible", and then sits on it for 4 months, and takes action only after the report becomes public. That person does not deserve my esteem.
I agree that people do question ADs and CEOs (with imperfect information), they are not always right, but that shouldn't disqualify them from questioning decisions.
It makes me upset to see employees who trust in those in power to always do the right thing. My experience is that those leaders who fear transparency do so for a reason. Sunlight is a fantastic disinfectant.
Perhaps. But my issue with Warde is less about the eventual decisions he makes, than the path he took to get to the decision.
Mel Pearson was let go. Why was the path to get there secretive, long, and torturous?
Jim Harbaugh was retained successfully. Why did it seem the President of the University had to step in to get it resolved?
Brandon Naurato is UM's hockey coach. Why drove the long timing to remove the interim tag?
I was really happy when Warde was made AD. Seemed like a great choice and he had done good work at UCONN (I lived in Hartford at the time).
But the Mel Pearson situation, and what it looked like was happening from far away, was a real turning point for me. Not a Warde hater, but certainly not a Warde fan.
I am just a fan, not an o-line expert, but is it really accurate to say that OSU's run blocking is good currently? My impression is that they seem to be excellent pass protectors, but that the run blocking has been sub-par, at least in 2022:
Their inability to convert short yardage situations on the ground was a key element of Michigan's successful defensive game plan in Columbus
Their game against Northwestern where they basically had to run the ball due to weather and got outgained by Northwestern on the ground
Maybe I am extrapolating too much off limited data, but my impression is that Ohio State did not have a good run blocking line in 2022
Not sure which school you root for (clearly not Michigan), but I’m quite sure they haven’t outperformed Michigan in all three of those sports in the last 2 years.
Could not agree more that the Kyle Connor year was the biggest insult.
And I was mentally prepared that the "Fantilli will be the first Hobey Baker winner with more PIM than Points" crowd was going to give us another insult to add to this list. Particularly after not even being nominated for Big Ten Player of the Year.
Was incredibly happy to see him win. I thought both he and Luka (who also spoke at the ceremony) were very gracious and did an outstanding job representing Michigan. Adam gave a shout out to the Children of Yost. For those who didn't see his speech, link is below.
Of course, Adam Fantilli needs to do what is right for his career, but I would love to see him back in Yost, playing with Luka, for one more year to become the first two time Hobey winner and help Michigan break through for the NC.
I don't think that's a fair criticism. It is a pretty heavily discussed debate as to which is the better strategy in college hockey to go for high end talent (and only keep it for 1-2 years) or to work with more undrafted players and have them gain experience and build within your culture.
Quinnipiac is the quintessential example of older players and culture. This year (and two years ago) Michigan was the quintessential example of high end, less experienced talent.
Minnesota this year has high end talent upfront and experienced talent on the blue line. And a decent goalie. This seems to be a pretty strong combination. I don't think this was Minnesota's strategy (I think things fell into place when Cooley flipped from ND). If Motzko planned this, then he is pretty smart guy.
This Michigan team was great to watch and fun to root for. There are a high event team and they had a high event season.
I am with you, no clap back detected. I look forward to your posts on Michigan hockey. I am firmly in the camp that Brendan Naurato has earned the job with the teams performance this year.
I don’t want to overweight the last two games too much, but I think we have see some good coaching/game planning in the last two wins. Specifically, beating OSU’s heavy forecheck and clamping down on Minnesota in the third period.
I just listened to Sam and JUB. JUB makes some points which are hard to disagree with. Fair points he makes on coaching:
As has been pointed out, the defense this year has been undisciplined much of the time
The PK lacks intensity
Overall team effort has varied from game to game, period to period
I got the sense he doesn't feel Naurato is intense enough - maybe too analytical? Maybe not demanding enough with the players?
He cites unnamed "NHL types" and former Michigan players who agree with him.
It felt like this was more JUB's analysis than a formed opinion from the Athletic Department. And in the second half, it started to sound a little like "Narauto hasn't paid his dues" like Muckalt and Wiseman, which I, personally, have no time for. Michigan Hockey gave him the opportunity and Narauto's team hasn't been perfect, but in a very tough situation, they made the most of it and have more potential wins in front of them.
JUB does say that the most likely scenario is that Michigan removes the interim tag, but that he believes that Michigan should look around at other options based on the concerns above. It's a good listen.
I know Minnesota is the consensus #1 seed. But Michigan played Minnesota three times this year with Adam Fantilli in the lineup. All three of those games were at Minnesota’s rink and Michigan won 2 of 3.
I really like the work you do on hockey, I would suggest:
A preview of the Big Ten tournament. What Michigan (or anyone) needs to do to take down Minnesota.
A look at how this year‘s hockey team is different, statistically, from last year’s number one overall seed team and what that means for the upcoming NCAA tournament. Should I plan to go to (ugh) Allentown or hold my money for Tampa?
What are your expectations for the second half of UM’s hockey season? Will Naurato’s teams continue the second half surges we have come to expect from Mel’s teams?
Are PSU and OSU for real or will they fade in the second half?
Why does Naurato still have the interim tag - wtf else does Warde have to work on?
Alex- please keep up the good work on the hockey podcasts. Look forward to them.
The best part of ESPN+ is the additional NHL and college sports games that you get. Not really for Michigan or Red Wings games, but out of market NHL games and non-P5 football and basketball. I know people find their editorial and pro-SEC approach distasteful, but they are a good source for additional live sports.
I think Portillo looked better last night, more like his old self. He wasn't out of position much, saw the puck through traffic, and was confident with the glove.
The other positive last night (as David notes) is that Luke Hughes played well. With more experience for the freshman and maybe even getting Nazar on the ice (maybe?), the second half should be fun.
Your premise that words have no connotation beyond the dictionary definition is faulty. It denies the reality of ‘dog whistles’ in speech.
The English language is not short of words, shouldn’t we chose one that doesn’t have offensive connotations? The list of offensive dog whistles is really not that large (but it is evolving as people call out those that insist on using them).
Your point is right, they don’t know how to handle it. But with all due respect, I think there were other, more notable, drawbacks to them ‘winning so much’ than that.
For what it’s worth, I just clicked through the link and read the whole article. I do not have an athletic subscription (that I know of). I know, “great story bro.” But I thought it might help others as it’s a good read about honesty and culture in leadership. A lot of organizations need a Biff Poggi. I am glad Michigan has one.
Agree with the multiple posts that say we have to clean up the defense. D is out of position too often and too many DZTOs/sloppy attempted exits. On the other hand, there are a lot of reasons to have high expectations for this team:
They likely still have upside based on their age/NCAA experience level
A large portion of the freshman class (beyond the first rounders) are meaningfully contributing - TJ Hughes, Brindley, Hallum, etc.
Strong special teams - where I think Naurato's methodologies have a huge impact
Luke Hughes has not been a major part of the scoring, yet
Eric Portillo is (again) playing at a very high level
It's a long season and there are plenty of challenges ahead, but it could be a special year.
Penn State had a shot without all the turnovers. But OSU is built and coached like a 7 on 7 team. They struggle running the ball and defending the run. And CJ Stroud can only play well when he is clean.
My feeling is that there is limited work going on to 'fix the offense'. The trend could also be explained by Borges resistance to change the playcalling. Each week there is more consistent film on our tendencies and it becomes even easier to game plan against us effectively. Just a hypothesis.
Recent Comments
Check out Biercamp for a German style beer, an asparagus onion cheddar brat burger, and some outdoor seating. Walking distance to the Baseball stadium.
This is a great question, fellow lurker. If OSU did trade the signs, at that point it was not clear that OSU would make the CFP, so they were also colluding to ruin Michigan's chances for the CFP and to enhance their own chances. This is the ultimate in poor sportsmanship if the Big Ten really cares about such things. The Big Ten could have ended up with no CFP teams and lost that revenue and prestige.
Glad to see someone who has been here longer than me and has less points. And I also graduated in 1989 (if that is what your name means).
…
For me, the message is
The name Connor Stallions will fade like other scandals before him (even though it is a spectacular scandal name)
What annoys me is the idea that this was a massive competitive advantage and Michigan's 3 TD beat downs for OSU (and everyone else) over the past two years are invalid. This is a BS narrative led by OSU and MSU fans and embraced by their 'useful idiot' media friends.
Great write up, David. They did look great for most of the game. Nazar looked really strong. Also felt like the refs were letting them play (to Providence’s advantage) until they totally lost control and it became a penalty fest.
Any insight into why Draper didn’t play? Pletzke got plenty of ice time.
Hard to draw too many conclusions given the talent differential. Other than that BTN+ continues to consistently perform at the technical level of a 1987 local access cable TV station.
Fully agree!
I will not be a fan of an AD (or a CEO) who reads a report that one of their key leaders (or their managers) "acted unprofessionally — especially in interactions with female staff members and in treatment of student athletes" and that the report writers "have concerns about the culture and operation of the men's hockey program" and that they find the leader himself as "not credible", and then sits on it for 4 months, and takes action only after the report becomes public. That person does not deserve my esteem.
I agree that people do question ADs and CEOs (with imperfect information), they are not always right, but that shouldn't disqualify them from questioning decisions.
It makes me upset to see employees who trust in those in power to always do the right thing. My experience is that those leaders who fear transparency do so for a reason. Sunlight is a fantastic disinfectant.
Perhaps. But my issue with Warde is less about the eventual decisions he makes, than the path he took to get to the decision.
I was really happy when Warde was made AD. Seemed like a great choice and he had done good work at UCONN (I lived in Hartford at the time).
But the Mel Pearson situation, and what it looked like was happening from far away, was a real turning point for me. Not a Warde hater, but certainly not a Warde fan.
I predict that, unlike Ryan Day, Urban will earn his way to third base through hours of hard work in the bar of an Applebee's outside Dayton.
I am just a fan, not an o-line expert, but is it really accurate to say that OSU's run blocking is good currently? My impression is that they seem to be excellent pass protectors, but that the run blocking has been sub-par, at least in 2022:
Maybe I am extrapolating too much off limited data, but my impression is that Ohio State did not have a good run blocking line in 2022
Not sure which school you root for (clearly not Michigan), but I’m quite sure they haven’t outperformed Michigan in all three of those sports in the last 2 years.
Could not agree more that the Kyle Connor year was the biggest insult.
And I was mentally prepared that the "Fantilli will be the first Hobey Baker winner with more PIM than Points" crowd was going to give us another insult to add to this list. Particularly after not even being nominated for Big Ten Player of the Year.
Was incredibly happy to see him win. I thought both he and Luka (who also spoke at the ceremony) were very gracious and did an outstanding job representing Michigan. Adam gave a shout out to the Children of Yost. For those who didn't see his speech, link is below.
Of course, Adam Fantilli needs to do what is right for his career, but I would love to see him back in Yost, playing with Luka, for one more year to become the first two time Hobey winner and help Michigan break through for the NC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWjnNL7QIAM
I don't think that's a fair criticism. It is a pretty heavily discussed debate as to which is the better strategy in college hockey to go for high end talent (and only keep it for 1-2 years) or to work with more undrafted players and have them gain experience and build within your culture.
Quinnipiac is the quintessential example of older players and culture. This year (and two years ago) Michigan was the quintessential example of high end, less experienced talent.
Minnesota this year has high end talent upfront and experienced talent on the blue line. And a decent goalie. This seems to be a pretty strong combination. I don't think this was Minnesota's strategy (I think things fell into place when Cooley flipped from ND). If Motzko planned this, then he is pretty smart guy.
This Michigan team was great to watch and fun to root for. There are a high event team and they had a high event season.
I am with you, no clap back detected. I look forward to your posts on Michigan hockey. I am firmly in the camp that Brendan Naurato has earned the job with the teams performance this year.
I don’t want to overweight the last two games too much, but I think we have see some good coaching/game planning in the last two wins. Specifically, beating OSU’s heavy forecheck and clamping down on Minnesota in the third period.
Looks Like Toledo is on…
Looks Like Toledo is on for 2025, hosted by BGSU.
And UVM is hosting the Frozen Four in St. Louis?
I just listened to Sam and JUB. JUB makes some points which are hard to disagree with. Fair points he makes on coaching:
It felt like this was more JUB's analysis than a formed opinion from the Athletic Department. And in the second half, it started to sound a little like "Narauto hasn't paid his dues" like Muckalt and Wiseman, which I, personally, have no time for. Michigan Hockey gave him the opportunity and Narauto's team hasn't been perfect, but in a very tough situation, they made the most of it and have more potential wins in front of them.
JUB does say that the most likely scenario is that Michigan removes the interim tag, but that he believes that Michigan should look around at other options based on the concerns above. It's a good listen.
See you in Allentown!
I know Minnesota is the consensus #1 seed. But Michigan played Minnesota three times this year with Adam Fantilli in the lineup. All three of those games were at Minnesota’s rink and Michigan won 2 of 3.
I listen every week. The hockey content is great. Sometimes the opening discussion can seem a little forced (board games?), but the rest is excellent.
Alex’s disdain both for Big Ten refs and rehashing the lack of consistency in majors/misconducts is accurate and entertaining.
I really like the work you do on hockey, I would suggest:
Appreciate you soliciting input.
Hockey team deserves more love.
Alex- please keep up the good work on the hockey podcasts. Look forward to them.
This is 100% true and there is a thread on it over at 11W. (No more out of place than this thread).
Head to head has to count for something.
The best part of ESPN+ is the additional NHL and college sports games that you get. Not really for Michigan or Red Wings games, but out of market NHL games and non-P5 football and basketball. I know people find their editorial and pro-SEC approach distasteful, but they are a good source for additional live sports.
I think Portillo looked better last night, more like his old self. He wasn't out of position much, saw the puck through traffic, and was confident with the glove.
The other positive last night (as David notes) is that Luke Hughes played well. With more experience for the freshman and maybe even getting Nazar on the ice (maybe?), the second half should be fun.
Your premise that words have no connotation beyond the dictionary definition is faulty. It denies the reality of ‘dog whistles’ in speech.
The English language is not short of words, shouldn’t we chose one that doesn’t have offensive connotations? The list of offensive dog whistles is really not that large (but it is evolving as people call out those that insist on using them).
Your point is right, they don’t know how to handle it. But with all due respect, I think there were other, more notable, drawbacks to them ‘winning so much’ than that.
If you head over to RCMB to read their thread, their reaction (mostly) parallels the approach here:
They even hypothesized that perhaps the letter was written by UM undergrads and Solari got scammed.
On balance, a lot more sane than crazy (which is likely the same proportion as in the fanbase as mentioned in other posts).
For what it’s worth, I just clicked through the link and read the whole article. I do not have an athletic subscription (that I know of). I know, “great story bro.” But I thought it might help others as it’s a good read about honesty and culture in leadership. A lot of organizations need a Biff Poggi. I am glad Michigan has one.
VOTE.
Agree with the multiple posts that say we have to clean up the defense. D is out of position too often and too many DZTOs/sloppy attempted exits. On the other hand, there are a lot of reasons to have high expectations for this team:
It's a long season and there are plenty of challenges ahead, but it could be a special year.
Penn State had a shot without all the turnovers. But OSU is built and coached like a 7 on 7 team. They struggle running the ball and defending the run. And CJ Stroud can only play well when he is clean.
I understand that he will have his degree from Notre Dame, so I think he would be a grad transfer.
My feeling is that there is limited work going on to 'fix the offense'. The trend could also be explained by Borges resistance to change the playcalling. Each week there is more consistent film on our tendencies and it becomes even easier to game plan against us effectively. Just a hypothesis.