"Jeff Withey shouldn't have called him Peter Dinklage, is all I'm saying."
DonAZ
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| Date | Title | Body |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day 2 hours ago | Old Tucson |
Well, "historic area" in the sense that Old Tucson was originally constructed in 1939 as a movie set. Some famous movies were shot there ("Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" in 1957 and "Cimarron" in 1959). (The "real" O.K. Corral is in Tombstone, AZ, which is about 90 miles east of Tucson.) Old Tucson is set very near the Saguaro National Park, which is just strikingly beautiful in a Sonoran Desert sort of way. Want to see Saguaro cactus? There are lots of them in the park. It's going to be an interesting year for U of A football. If progress year-over-year is made, then I think there'll be more around here who start taking an interest. But after years of ho-hum football, it's going to take a year or two of really good football to regain the allegiance of the fans around here. |
| 6 days 14 hours ago | Flying |
I'm flying from Arizona to Detroit today ... oh joy. |
| 6 days 14 hours ago | BTN |
I don't get BTN, and I'm not willing to pay for it. So ... either live-stream off the internet or use BTN as the excuse to climb on the motorcycle and tune in Sirius sports and listen to the game. Things could be worse than cruising down some Arizona backroad while listening to Meeechigan football. |
| 6 days 16 hours ago | Wait ... I thought Michigan |
Wait ... I thought Michigan was going back to 70's boring-ball ... 3 yards and all that. What's this talk about receivers and ... and ... passing the ball?!! Two tight ends and a balanced line, baby ... Huckelby deep and Davis close ... Rickeeee Leach under center ... :-) I couldn't resist a little hat-tip to Ufer. |
| 1 week 1 day ago | Oh, I did ... I definitely |
Oh, I did ... I definitely did!! :-) |
| 1 week 1 day ago | Amen! |
Add to that rant anything to do with "The Bachelor" or "The Bachelorette" or whatever the hell it's called. Nobody gives a shit. Well, some do, obviously ... they watch the shows ... but we can reasonably dismiss them as worthless shits for watching the show. Nice rant, by the way ... not bad for someone with a UVA reference in their screen name. My wife went to UVA. She's obnoxious to the point of irritation about "Mr. Jefferson". Damn university with it's effed-up wavy brick walls, and its unfathomable tradition of dressing up for a football game. Preppy assholes. I hate their livers and guts. :-) |
| 1 week 1 day ago | He rested on Sunday because |
He rested on Sunday because he spent Saturday planning and creating college football. And he spent most of Saturday afternoon paying particular attention to Michigan football. It shows. :-) |
| 1 week 1 day ago | Buck you |
You could change your name to Buck Turgidson Would I get his secretary with the name change package?
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| 1 week 1 day ago | See, ball stickiness is not |
See, ball stickiness is not an issue in dry-heat Arizona. No humidity, no stickiness. As I sit here and type this my balls are comfortably non-sticky. Which is good, because they're attached to a loser named Don, and for that they're not very happy. :-) |
| 1 week 1 day ago | name a single Don or Donald |
name a single Don or Donald that has done anything good for society Can't. Don't exist. Frickin' losers, one and all. My wife confirms that, by the way. Wait ... maybe "King Dons":
Heaven help me, I love that sort of thing. I like SPAM as well. Crap ... look at my screen name ... I'm a dick. |
| 1 week 1 day ago | See, now I have to take |
See, now I have to take exception with that. I rather like Seth's writing. |
| 1 week 1 day ago | Dons |
You know what gets under my skin? People with "Don" in their screen name. :-) |
| 1 week 1 day ago | Purdue Claims to Fame |
Well, there was this gentleman named "Bob Griese" back in the day. And they have the Purdue Golden girls ... and that big-ass drum. Oh ... and way back in the day my grandfather was dean of microbiology there*. :-) * * * The OP criteria was a bit mixed. In terms of recent bad-luck, then Purdue wins the prize. In terms of historic cellar-dwelling, then probably Indiana. I'd say Northwestern, but their recent half-decentness erases a lot of my memory of the past. But in terms of unmet potential, then it's Iowa. * True story ... he was a professor of microbiology and for a period was dean. His research focused on bacteria capable of surving high temperatures, such as are found in ocean vents. My mother and her sister (my aunt) attended Purdue; my other aunt attended IU. |
| 1 week 1 day ago | You wrote: Denard was a |
You wrote:
and
and
Bravo ... very nicely written ... that captures the essence of Denard very well. I loved your phrase "He was imperfectly perfect" ... very apt. As for the UTL game, that will go down as Michigan legend. I recall watching that game, glued to the TV. I was supposed to pick my wife up at the airport that night ... she had to wait over an hour until the game finished. I was texting a buddy back in Virginia during the game -- he's a big Florida fan -- and he reported they too were glued to their sets. His 10 year old son, a big Gator fan, was jumping up and down screaming for Michigan. Everything about that game says "Michigan Legend" ... and Denard was center-stage for that.
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| 1 week 1 day ago | Plus it gives you more time |
Plus it gives you more time to post cool stuff over on TTB! So I applaud your restraint here ... now get back to work there! :-) |
| 1 week 3 days ago | Bravo |
With complete sincerity, I must say I enjoyed reading that more than any post here in the last month or two easily. What a fascinating look at the team from a perspective different from the usual X's and O's perspective. Very nicely done ... very nicely done. |
| 1 week 3 days ago | He [Lindley] played in |
True ... but he did face TCU that year. TCU had the #1 passing defense, the #5 rushing defense, and the #1 overall defense that year. Lindley did not light the scoreboard with his passing (11-for-26, 262 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT), but it was in the ballpark of competitve as the final score was 40-35. The thing that hurt SDSU was 3rd down conversions ... only 2 for 11. But again, that was against the #1 defense for 3rd down (TCU allowed only 24% conversion rate). Your point is still valid, and I'm not disputing it. I'm really just highlighting one data point (the TCU game). What the boxscore does not indicate is whether SDSU ultimate faded under the harsh lights of a nationally important game (TCU was undefeated). Gardner's game-time experience presumably is deeper in those situations.
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| 1 week 5 days ago | That's a big pig. I thought |
That's a big pig. I thought it was one of those "toy pigs," or whatever the hell they're called. But if that's Kalis' belly, and Kalis is a big dude, then that's a big damn pig. |
| 1 week 6 days ago | You can be the good guys |
That's a very fair point. It properly removes the supposed source of righteousness from the discussion. I've not followed Richt that closely, but if in fact it's a pattern of his to build up Georgia by disparaging others, then it's not a very compelling mechanism. That's true regardless of what one may claim as the pedestal upon which they stand.
No, I really can't. Or more precisely, I picture it requiring a great deal of provocation. Even then I can't picture his comments being really inflammatory; probably more an expression of his own personal disappointment rather than a condemnation of the other. Have I mentioned before that from what I know of Hoke I really admire the man?
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| 1 week 6 days ago | This is what I was thinking |
This is what I was thinking as well. I was reading Ace's update, and I saw the quote you have as well as this one: Brady Hoke and his coaches, meanwhile, are sticking to a decidedly old-school style of football, especially on offense—this as the rest of the country trends towards high-tempo variations on the spread-and-shred. I'm not convinced the trend is towards "high-tempo spread-and-shred," at least not as it is personified by schools such as West Virginia or Oregon. The thing that changed my mind about the pure spread-and-shred was USC's defeat of Oregon in 2011. What stood out in my mind was how USC's defensive front was getting into the Oregon backfield and disrupting the development of the spread plays. (I think LSU beat Oregon in the first game with a similar strategy.) What I wonder is whether or not we've witnessed the adaptive evolution of the defense to spread offenses. A spread offensive line that can't keep dominant defensive players out of the backfield had better be really good about getting plays off quickly. So I wonder if the adaptive response of the offense is to pull back somewhat on the spread elements to provide a degree more protection to the backfield? And it's not so much a full swing back to early 1970's football, but rather what you allude to -- the smart use of TEs to accomplish backfiend protection and multiple receiver options for a QB. If memory serves, Urban Meyer spoke of there being a trend away from pure spread when he had his broadcast booth stint. He said it was because of defensive adaptation. Alabama plays a game more like what Michigan is crafting. And I believe I recall Muschamp at Florida indicating that's the direction he's going. |
| 1 week 6 days ago | Like others -- Love this |
Like others -- Love this feature. Second -- I never before connected "BiSB" with "Blue in South Bend." Third -- The obvious parallel historically would be Hoke is building what Bo did upon his arrival. But for a contemporary comparison I think it's more like what Saban is doing at Alabama ... minus the championships (yet; crossing fingers) and the truckloads of 5-stars (again, yet; crossing fingers). What I mean is this: Saban's approach at Alabama strikes me as the opposite of flash and gimmick; it's all about execution of a small handful of key things. Saban, love him or hate him, is a master at the craft and he's very understated about it. His teams, generally, do not suffer the player problems teams like LSU and Florida have. When interviewed, Saban's players speak of knowing their roles and working as a team. I view Hoke building something very similar, and it's very Bo-like in its philosophy. The Pelini at Nebraska thing doesn't quite connect with me because the hope was he'd be Osborne 2.0, but he doesn't have the Osborne temperament. Hoke does. There's an element of this in Urban Meyer as well. The missing X-factor in my mind is the depth of the sincerity. With Hoke it seems to go to the bone; with Meyer it's hard to tell. Urban Meyer is the Don Draper of college football ... he's a cypher; very good at what he does but what's really inside we can't tell. Hoke is the opposite. As recruit after recruit has said, what you see is what you get. He's real, through and through. |
| 2 weeks 10 hours ago | Math geek joke -- There are |
Math geek joke -- There are 16 types of people in the world: 1 who understands hex, and ... well, F the rest. :-) Bonus -- Why do mathematicians confuse Halloween with Christmas? Because Oct-31 is equal to Dec-25! I'm here all week. |
| 2 weeks 13 hours ago | Base 10 |
I don't like this bias for Base-10 counting. Let's go Base-16 hex. Or binary! Lewan's 77 would be 01001101! |
| 2 weeks 1 day ago | Sure, they would say the |
Sure, they would say the same. The point I was making was that Hand's comment suggested a kind of low-key, workman-like quality to it. And if you look back across the general tone and tenor of Michigan football since Hoke arrived, you'll see the same kind of attitude displayed by many of the prominent players. Denard Robinson was justly famous for his humble demeanor and strong commitment to effort and teamwork. Taylor Lewan, for all the talk about his bicycle built for two and his pig, stayed low-key and workman-like regarding his return to Michigan for his 5th year. I'm not married to the "Michigan Man" phrase as if it embodies some trancendental qualities that only Michigan possesses. But it is true that Michigan has a unique history as one of the longest-running and winningest programs in college football. It's no mystery why the "Team 13x" lable is so popular with the players. It connects these young men with a tradition that is proud and honorable. My hope is Deshawn Hand comes to Michigan. If the low-key manner in which he plans to make his announcement is any indicator of his work ethic and character, then I think he will fit in very well with the kind of program Hoke is head of, and Hoke's imprint has by now worked into every corner of operation. |
| 2 weeks 1 day ago | I'm not going to have three hats |
Deshawn Hand on his planned announcement:
Good for him. He has "Michigan Man" written all over him. I hope he comes to the decision in his heart to make it official. |
| 2 weeks 2 days ago | Let's not get started on |
Let's not get started on George of the Jungle, Tom Slick and Super Chicken.
Theme song here. :-) |
| 2 weeks 2 days ago | living embodiment of the fox |
First ... props for the Aesop's fable reference. I'm trying to think if I've seen one before here on MGoBlog. Maybe ... but I can't recall. Second ... I can't see an Aesop's Fable and not think of "Fractured Fairy Tales" from the Bullwinkle TV show. Third ... with respect to "not being a good fit" ... set aside for the moment their practice of dismissing as not a good fit players once they commit elsewhere. What I wonder about is how a talented DE could not be a good fit ... anywhere. Seriously. Is there enough differentiation in the line play in the various defensive approaches where someone as athletic as Hand would really not be a good fit? Pick your defense: 3-4, 4-3, 3-3-5 ... whatever. Would someone of Hand's skill every truly and honestly be a poor fit in a defense? |
| 2 weeks 2 days ago | "But my favorite coaching |
From the article:
I am reminded of Jason Whitlock's article back on Feb 6 of 2011, just as Hoke was hired:
And:
When I read Whitlock's article way back then I was hopeful but guarded in my optimism. Since then there's not been a thing I've seen that makes me question the sincerity or integrity of Coach Hoke. Not a thing. The testimonies of recruits confirming Hoke's genuine nature are stacking. The word is out. We won't always get the recruit ... but we'll be in the hunt for them. |
| 2 weeks 3 days ago | Losses |
Most difficult for me as a young fan: 1976, 16-14 loss to Purdue. I really thought they were going to go undefeated and win national championship. Most angry I've been at quality of Michigan play: 2011, Gator Bowl loss to Mississippi State. It was not just the score, it was the culmination of all things I did not like about that 3 year era of Michigan. Most disappointed by What Should Not Have Been: 2012, loss to Notre Dame where 6 interceptions were given up. |
| 3 weeks 1 day ago | How fans split the Mitten |
That's actually an interesting question. We sit here from the vantage point of deep Michigan fandom, so our view is a bit biased ... but there's a good portion of the state that splits to Michigan State. Many aren't rabid fans, just fans that identify with MSU rather than U-M. Most probably pull for either team when the opponent is someone other than an in-state school. I used to think it was mostly geographical. But I'm not so sure it's a clean line that separates the two. I know more than a few smart and decent MSU fans, so let's stay away from the explanation of it being based on intelligence. My guess is it's more a question of environment during those formative years where kids start to take an interest in such things. If parents or family lean one way, chances are the kid will go that way as well. Not always, but usually.
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