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How To Treat Our Spartans Friends

I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I can't resist commenting about this whole mess any longer.  I made a reference to "Larry Nassar State University" on Facebook, and my Spartan friends were outraged.  They started talking about "class".  I thought back to the whole Ed Martin mess, and how much fun all the Sparties had dumping on Michigan (typical well-reasoned statement: "Michigan sucks!"), and I'm wondering how much "class" and restraint they're actually owed.  Here's what I feel like saying to them:

I remember back in the 90s when Michigan was suffering through the Ed Martin scandal, and how considerate and supportive you all were.  That was so wise and foresighted, since you knew that someday, if the tables were turned, you could count on Michigan fans to be just as considerate and supportive back.

I think we can all do better than "MSU sucks!", but I'm sticking with "Larry Nassar State University" for a while, just to make sure they know we're still watching this mess unfold.

MSU and PSU and OSU have all used the "oh yeah, prove it" defense in the past for their previous scandals, not cooperating and stonewalling until the authorities give up.  MSU won't be able to use that defense this time.  This is one scandal that isn't going to "just go away".

Rutgers

Hey, Rutgers women's basketball team came in tied for 4th in the conference...

Minor leagues

One of the reasons that "one and done" isn't as big a problem in college hockey and baseball is that there is a huge, well-established minor league system in those 2 sports, but not in football or basketball.  A talented high school athlete in football or basketball doesn't have the "straight to the minor leagues" option that a hockey or baseball player has, so they end up in college.  Maybe they're smart enough and motivated enough to take college classes, maybe not.

 

Michigan 81, Arkansas 71

Michigan 81, Arkansas 71

 

Michigan 79, Bradley 62

Who knows if someone else picked it first?  It's too hard to look through 45+ other comments to see.

 

Michigan 28-24, 285 yards rushing

Michigan 28-24, 285 yards rushing

 

Michigan 41 Illinois 12

Four field goals?

 

Where Is He Now?

I just looked at the current roster, and Gary Yerden isn't on it.  Anyone know what happened?

 

The First of Several Shootouts This Season

The Football Gods are still angry with us:

UConn 42

Mich 39

I hope I'm wrong.

Jim Harbaugh's Injury

Jim Harbaugh had a broken arm, not a broken leg, in the less-than-awesome 1984 season.

Water Bottle Ban?

This isn't really a "water bottle ban", it's an "outside water bottle ban".  I'm sure you'll be able to buy (for $4 or so) water bottles in the stadium, you just won't be able to bring your own in from the outside.

Water Bottle Ban?

This isn't really a "water bottle ban", it's a "outside water bottle ban".  I'm sure you'll be able to buy (for $4 or so) water bottles in the stadium, you just won't be able to bring your own in from the outside.

First Game Jitters

After watching 36 years of Michigan football, I've learned to fear the dreaded "First Game Jitters".  Sure, Michigan managed to win anyway for many years, but they've had a tough time lately.  The 2008 Utah team turned out to be a lot better than expected, but Appalachian State?  Ugh.  So, I sure don't have a very good feeling about the UConn game...

Don't Forget The 1984 Olympics

Don't forget that Barry was a member of the 1984 (Los Angeles) Olympic baseball team. Baseball was still a demonstration sport that year. Team USA made it to the finals, and lost to Japan, 6-3. Barry played in 3 of the 5 games that Team USA played, and batted .143.

Math Error

MSU's overall percentage (26-11) should be 0.703, not 0.647.

Beatable teams

Yeah, you should win the mid-week games against the "beatable" teams, but it's harder than it looks. The beatable teams often pitch their better-than-usual pitchers against a "name" team like Michigan, and Michigan pitches their "mid-week" pitchers. That can even things up in a hurry.

Rick Bay?

In past Athletic Director searches, the name Rick Bay has come up. He worked for the UM Alumni Association in the 70s. He was the AD at tOSU, but he resigned (presumably under pressure) after firing Earle Bruce (http://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/19/sports/sports-people-bay-talks-to-mic…). He was also the AD at San Diego State, but he resigned under pressure from there as well (http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1S1-9200305230811815.html). He's currently a consultant, I think.

Just throwing his name into consideration...

Reid's "Fumble"

To make the delicious coincidence even more delicious, do you remember who caught Reid's fumble in the air, threw it up, and started yelling at the refs? Indiana's head coach, Lee Corso!

Brian's stint on WTKA

Brian, you better get up before 7:00 a.m. if your radio stint is from 7-10 a.m.

I don't know if it's a tradition, but...

Brian mentioned Team Walks To The Stadium and Hype Video, but he didn't mention my favorite tradition that died with Rodriguez: "Michigan Replay". It was on for, what, 35 years, and was the #1 rated coach's show in the country, and he got rid of it. Do any of you watch the replacement show (can't even remember the name)? I tried, and it was a lot less interesting than "Michigan Replay".

I'll Take A Shot At It...

Yeah, I know, I’m the "basketball guy" at UMGoBlue.com, not one of the football guys, but I’m a UM football fan as well. Every year, I make my predictions for the upcoming UM football season, and most of the time I get pretty close. Occasionally I’m too optimistic (2007: predicted = 11-1, actual = 8-4), and occasionally I’m too pessimistic (2006: predicted = 7-5, actual = 11-1), but usually I’m optimistic and the Wolverines reward my optimism. Then there was last season. I predicted a 4-8 season, and I was the only person I knew who was predicting a losing season. I expected a few raised eyebrows, but I wasn’t prepared for the reaction I got. I got blasted for it. I never expected to get hate mail, but I did. Somehow, people thought that my prediction would somehow turn a good season into a bad one. Sorry, but I don’t have that kind of power.

As we all know, Michigan had their worst season ever (3-9), which is even worse than I had predicted. I took no joy from being (close to) right. I would have been overjoyed to have been proven wrong, and to have watched UM go 8-4 or something. Instead, it was like watching a slow-motion car crash.

So, how did I do it? Was it very careful analysis of all the players and how they would fit in the new schemes? Nope, it was just a matter of looking at the schedule and going with my gut feelings about each matchup. And that’s what I’m doing again for this season. Sure, I think UM will be (greatly) improved over last year. Sure, I think that all the players will be much more comfortable in the new schemes. Yeah, we just barely missed winning some games last season that we could win this season. But even taking all that into account, I still don’t have a very good feeling about the upcoming season. Maybe once I see the Rich Rodriguez Experiment succeed for a whole season, I’ll start to get some of my old optimism back, but for now, I’m still thinking “rebuilding”.

Anyway, here are my predictions for the 2009 season:

Western Michigan - W (They are a MAC team, after all)
Notre Dame - L (Closer than last year, but still a loss)
Eastern Michigan - W (Finally, an easy win)
Indiana - W (IU should finish last in the Big Ten)
at Michigan State - L (Maybe at home, but not on the road)
at Iowa - L (A very tough place to win)
Delaware State - W (A much-needed breather)
Penn State - L (PSU is just too good this year)
at Illinois - L (Too much Juice Williams)
Purdue - W (Keeping the bowl dream alive)
at Wisconsin - L (Another tough place to win)
Ohio State - L (Improved, but not enough)

I think UM will end up 5-7, in 8th place in the Big Ten, with no bowl game again.

Of the 7 losses, 2 of them might turn to wins: at Illinois and at Wisconsin. If UM can win either of them, then they might sneak into a lower-tier bowl game.

Agreed, But...

I agree with you about Drew Sharp and others like him, but I think you're letting him off too easily by saying that he's trying "to find an audience". What he's really trying to do is just be controversial for the sake of being controversial. He wants to piss people off, to get attention. He's often outrageous just to get a reaction. He wants the story to be about him.

Correct, But...

You are correct. Brian doesn't write crap. He's a good writer. The other guy, not so much.

Hate State

This one is easy:

MSU - Absolutely despise. If they never win another game in any sport, ever, I couldn't be happier. I hope the whole place burns to the ground someday, and someone plows the remains under with salt. MSU sports fans are the most obnoxious people I've ever encountered.

OSU - A worthy opponent on the athletic field, but woefully behind academically. I just wish we'd start beating them again in football.

ND - A decent rivalry. I root for them to lose, but not with much vigor.

Why Writers Write Crap

One of the main reasons that you see crap like this from writers is that they have space to fill every day/couple of days/week, and they run out of interesting things to say. So, they say something outrageous to a) fill up the space, and b) get some attention.

Another "Carson Lost Something" Story

I work as an usher for UM men's basketball (section 8/11, drop by), and Carson was in a group of football players (Kevin Grady and at least 2 more) who came to one of the early non-conference games. They sat in my section, and after the game, when I was taking a look for stuff that was left behind to take to the Lost & Found, I found Carson's student ID card. I took it to Lost & Found, but I doubt he ever picked it up, since he had announced he was leaving UM the day before.

If nothing else...

she needs to get a little more variety in her vocabulary.

Refresh My Memory

I had completely forgotten about the whole "run to the line of scrimmage in the 4th quarter" thing. Did the team actually do that in any of the games last season? I honestly can't remember, and I forgot to look for it at the time.

Early guess - to be updated in August

Early guess - to be updated in August when the dust settles:

WMU: W
ND: L
EMU: W
Indiana: W
@MSU: L
@Iowa: L
DSU: W
PSU: L
@Illinois: L
Purdue: W
@Wisconsin: L
OSU: L

That adds up to 5-7 (0-4 on the road). Maybe we can win one of those road games (most likely Illinois) and sneak into a crummy bowl game.

By the way, I don't think we've lost to MSU two years in a row since Duffy Daugherty was their coach.

Class Balance

I'm with B Ready: look at how it has worked out when we've had big (4-5) classes leave at once. Spread the scholarships out, so that you never have more than 3 starters graduate in the same class.

From My "Season Wrap-Up" Article

From my "Season Wrap-Up" article on UMGoBlue.com (http://umgoblue.com/absolutenm/templates/?a=668&z=1):

Before I go any further, I need to say a few words about recruiting. While fresh players are the lifeblood of any successful college program, some of the so-called experts place way too much emphasis on getting the greatest number of highly-ranked recruits. They tend to just look at the (somewhat arbitrary) "star" ranking system, and they issue these proclamations about how this school or that school has the #1 or #2 recruiting class, as if it were some mathematical formula. If only it were that easy! There are a lot more factors than the number of recruits and how many "stars" they’ve been assigned. As we saw this season, team chemistry can help turn a collection of walk-ons and 2- and 3-star recruits into a team that can beat a team packed with 5-star recruits. In the case of Beilein’s system, he is looking for a certain kind of player, so he might be chasing recruits that only get 2 or 3 stars. The experts look at all the 5-star recruits going elsewhere and announce that Beilein is getting out-recruited. Of course, half of those 5-star recruits end up leaving for the NBA after 1 or 2 seasons, but they get a lot of press while they’re in college. They may not help their programs in the long run, but they’re a wonderful short-term solution.

Coach Beilein is looking for a certain kind of player who will fit in with the rest of team, and stay at Michigan for all 4 years. He’s looking for players who are quick and versatile, and who can play anywhere on the floor. Everyone on the floor needs to be able to play point guard. Everyone needs to be able to run the floor, flat out, for 40 minutes. Everyone needs to be able to shoot 3-pointers, get rebounds, and play multiple styles of defense. Those players might not be 5-star recruits, but they’re more valuable to the team than any "one year wonder". Beilein knows what kind of players he wants on his team, and he gets them. Don’t worry about how many stars they get, or who else was chasing them.