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Love this

I haven't commented in more than a year, but I had to say something after reading this post. Alex, this post about Spike is full of great writing. For example, I loved the following:

That’s it right there. That’s every suburban kid in every flyover state who rubs his hands together to keep them warm, who navigates the patches of ice in the driveway, who dribbles that ball outside, by himself, as he counts 5, 4, 3, 2… and throws the ball at the hoop as he yells 1. Spike was the unheralded recruit who managed to find his way to a major program, managed to find his way onto the floor at the freakin’ Georgia Dome, and just decided to go for it* instead of simply “managing” the game.

I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts. It's writing like this that separates this blog from other sports blogs. Keep up the good work.

Devin gif

Saddest part is how white everyone else's jerseys are.

Not saying that at all

I'm just saying this specific attempt at a joke is not funny. It's not clever either.

Offensive jokes can be funny. I like offensive humor, as long it is clever.

Jokes...

are also meant to be funny. Saying the kid is going to get a tumor again and die anyway is not funny.

Beat Michigan!

The only time I will ever say this.

Someone needs to make this kid a maize and blue shirt that says something like "Beat Michigan! Go Grant! M CLUB (or UM) SUPPORTS YOU!"

Annapolis

Beautiful town, and I love the campus. There is a great view of the USNA from across the Severn. There's a WWII memorial across the bridge that is pretty impressive in its own right. The view of the USNA from the memorial is stunning.

Also, if you ever have a chance, try to visit during commisioning week (their graduation week). They really spruce everything up (new coats of paint, etc.), and the spring weather is usually amazing. Plus, there is a lot of excitement as the midshipmen learn what they will be doing (subs, marines, seals, etc.).

As for Annapolis, there are good restaurants and some decent nightlife. I would recommend trying to get out on a boat on the Chesapeake and Severn River. There are various cruises that will take you around the area.

I think I just talked myself into taking a trip out there one of these weekends while the weather is nice.

With that said, Ann Arbor is better, but Annapolis is a close 2nd to me.

Varsity

That's it.

Hoke

I thought he was just supposed to throw up his hands and say, "I quit" whenever Urban offered a kid Hoke was recruiting.

I guess the MSM should start giving Hoke some credit.

My damn phone is too slow

I like the way you think though.

Kovacs

Lou and Jordan.

Plus

Denard was injured for a good part of the season (although Nebraska might have been a win if Devin was ready).

Football is still a game that is won and lost in the trenches, and Hoke's D-line and O-line recruiting has been amazing.

I was one of the many highly skeptical ones

After Carr's last few years (minus 06) and Rich Rod, it seemed like an underwhelming hire. The first press conference sold me though. My God, that was a brilliant press conference! Everything since has kept me sold.

Hoke loves Michigan. He loves the kids. He wants to win. He doesn't make excuses. He doesn't punt every time he has a 4th and inches with the lead. He isn't flashy, but I bet he commands a living room when he recruits. AND, he seems to do all of this while remaining humble. Hoke is the threat, Coach Dantonio...Hoke is the threat!

Finally, he's a defensive-minded coach. I only like high scoring games when it's Michigan winning 56-7. I am part of a possibly dying breed that loves a 9-7 game, as long as it's because of great defenses and not incompetent offenses.

Super psyched about Hoke's recruiting. Go Blue!

A Heisman, NC, 3 straight against Ohio, MSU interception, etc.

Beat that! Seriously, please beat that (or at least lead the team to the NC).

I am excited about this kid. He wants to be better than Woodson and isn't too shy to say it.

Also, Hoke is the man.

A question

Of the people posting on this thread, who rowed for Michigan? If not Michigan, where did you row?

Rowing for Michigan was an amazing experience for me.

Sam Webb

Just retweeted Paramus Catholic's tweet that Peppers will attend Michigan.

I agree that Vails was stronger than the ECAC...

...which is why it was nice to see them rebound and perform like they did today.

To be fair

If Michigan had varsity status and had rosters with athletes from around the country and the world like this

http://www.gocrimson.com/sports/mcrew-hw/2012-13/roster-fv

or this

http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-crew/mtt/wash-m-crew-mtt.html

they would be able to compete with the Olympic development level crews that the Ivies and Pac 12 schools put out on a regular basis. Also, it would be helpful if rowers didn't have to pay hundreds of dollars in dues and engage in fundraisers just to compete. As a former M rower, varsity status would be bittersweet because there is something special about the atmosphere at Michigan that would disappear, or change significantly, if they started recruiting and granted scholarships. With that said, I would still love to see it happen.

As for the Dad Vail regatta this year, they were the only crew in the final that was competing the next day at the ECAC championship and they vindicated themselves by beating two teams today at ACRA that beat them at Vails. Plus, Coach Hartsuff tailors his training plan to peak at ACRA, and he clearly did his job this year.

Finally, Michigan may have had faster crews in the past, but the level of competition at the club level is much stronger than it was 6 years ago. Thus, their streak is even more impressive because everyone else is getting faster by following Michigan's (and UVA's) blueprint for having a successful club program.

M softball fever. Catch It!

Exciting game! Just hang on. Three outs away from advancing.

I would love to see Coach Hutchins get one more NCAA championship.

Steve Smith

Good call!

Tough question

Harbaugh was my childhood hero. Ricky Leach is the first Michigan player whose name I knew. Elvis had the best name. Griese led the team to the NC. Brady was underrated and has proved that. Denard was the most electric, and you have to love him attending other M sporting events on a regular basis.

After those six, I still enjoyed the careers of Henne, Wangler, Collins and even Navarre.

The best thing about this question is the reminder that we have been pretty blessed as fans when it comes to QBs. I hope Devin Gardner is part of the discussion in a year or two.

If you held a gun to my head right now, I'd go with Griese because of the 97 season and the 96 upset of OSU. If you held a gun to my head tomorrow, I might go with someone else.

Awesome interview, Heiko

Thank you for writing this.

And thanks to Coach Borges for agreeing to the interview.

An explanation

Each rowing team has several boats. The premier boat is the Varsity 8 (so 8 rowers, plus a coxswain who steers and motivates the crew).

So most teams have a Varsity 8 and a Second Varsity 8 (sometimes called a JV8). These are the top two boats. Then they have fours (four rowers per boat). They have a first and second 4.

Finally, there are the freshman boats...which are broken down the same way with the first Freshman 8 being the best.

Each race is assigned a certain # of possible points for first place through last. The Varsity 8 races are worth the most points and the fours are worth less. Think of how they score swimming and track and field based on total points for multiple events.

The OP didnt use the most clear language (but the OP just borrowed the horrible shorhand used in the Big Ten results pdf). Michigan winning the 0 II Varsity Fours F1 means the Michigan one the Grand Final (F1, first final), in the 2nd Varsity four event. So Michigan won that event, and is B1G champ in that event. OSU won the most points, and events, so they are the overall team B1G champ.

 

Some other rowing info

I also was going to point out that there are only 3 teams Michigan has not beaten.

Michigan men's rowing has competed with the top varsity programs for the last 10-15 years. The coaches are outstanding. They take mostly walkons who played different sports in high school, and turn them into real collegiate athletes. The team has produced three separate Olympians, one each at the last 3 Olympics. The team placed in the top 10 a few times at IRA before the varsity programs decided that they could not take losing to Michigan and a couple of the other top clubs. Michigan's varsity 8 finished in the top 10 to 12 a few times, and team finished in the top 7 or 8 a few times as well (if my memory serves me correctly). For those of you that don't know, the Varsity 8 is the premier event in rowing (and it's called the varsity 8 even at club programs), but rowing also has a team championship based on point totals for different events (kind of like swimming or track). They even had a freshman 8 finish second in the country about 10 years ago. In other words, they beat every varsity program's freshman boat at the IRA, except one.

I do not know if Michigan is next in line for varsity status (although they should be in my biased opinion as a former rower). There are a lot of factors to be considered, and who knows when or if the school will add more sports. Plus, the school would have to add another women's team if men's rowing were added due to Title IX issues.

Finally, for those of you who know nothing about rowing, it is the first intercolliage sport, and some of the first collegiate football games were opening acts for rowing races. I would highly recommend reading The Shell Game by Stephen Kiesling for an understanding of the history of collegiate athletics and college rowing (specifically the Harvard-Yale race). Also, Pulitzer Prize winning author David Halberstam wrote a great book called The Amateurs that follows the 84 Olymic team.

Maryland?

Rutgers?

MSU and OSU fans

They will vote against the winged helmet.

 

Biggest mistake

Since Grant Irons.

Seriously though, good luck to him. Can't trash talk the brother of a Wolverine. He went where his heart is, and that's what it's all about.

 

Enjoyed it

I am a sucker for anything A2 though.

Conspiracy theory

That schedule makes it seem like Mr. Brandon knew this was coming.

I agree

I previously have advocated Brandon pulling the same move on them before this year's game because of the bush league stunt they pulled last year. Pay them whatever penalty there is for cancelling the game. I'm sure a marquee home game would make up for it.

Farley sums it up

I agree with dumping ND in 2014

Pay them whatever buyout there is and schedule a good team at home.

BUT, they will call us chicken...and I really don't give a shit.

Dr. Explosion

I live out of state too, but I usually try to make it back for the MSU, OSU or ND game. In 2014, my best choice is PSU. No offense to them, but PSU just doesn't do it for me like our big 3 rivals.

This hurts all fans, not just season ticket holders.

 

I didn't even think of the students when I saw this schedule

AND neither did the B1G...then again, maybe they were only thinking of the MSU students.

Maybe they should stop this scheduling shit show if they want students to stay interested in college football. Just a thought.

The B1G

Honoring nothing and building meaningless footprints.

Michigan should always play MSU and OSU home games on alternating years. This makes no sense and is a big F you to M fans.

I am so happy that we lose Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. on a regular basis to play MD and Rutgers every year and to not see MSU or OSU at home every other year.

At this point, let's just join the fucking ACC with ND.

 

MD and NJ also top cursing states

Is this the hidden agenda behind the B1G's expansion?

I hope no one...

calls Marty McFly chicken.

If I recall correctly

When the series resumed in the 70s, the plan was for the Michigan v. ND game to be the first game of the season for both teams. However, ND started scheduling a game before the UM game to work out the first-game kinks. Michigan then started doing the same, so the game eventually became the second or third game for each team.

 

A2 is such a dump

That's why it's on so many "best of" lists. Also, A2 actually has a decent job market.

Ugly girls? Yes, Michigan is not Arizona State, but there are plenty of attractive girls. The douches who make comments about ugly UofM girls probably wouldn't have a chance with an attractive girl who is also intelligent.

 

B1G recruiting

Ohio must not have wanted him because the media keeps telling me that no one in the B1G can recruit with Urban Meyer. I give the Main Stream Media five fakes out of five.

Hoke is a recruiting master.

You're welcome

The beauty of radio was the necessity for colorful and descriptive language. Ufer, Harwell and the other radio greats had the task of making the game come alive in their listeners minds. They didn't used canned terms like "trickeration"...they made their broadcasts their own.

If you like Harwell on baseball, here's Ufer on college football (first 4 minutes of this clip):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIvtdXP0A3Y

I would love it if ABC/ESPN used this as an intro to a Michigan game some day, but 4 minutes without an ad might be too much to ask. Some of it may be a little dated, like the reference to women's figures, but that's part of it's beauty.

 

Wrote it in 55

Also recited it at is Hall of Fame induction: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hof/Ernie_Harwell_HOF_Induction.shtml

I'm not sure when this one was recorded though.

Ernie Harwell

I remember summer vacations in the UP and picking up his broadcasts of Tiger games, or driving around Metro Detroit with the game on, or sitting in Michigan Stadium in September watching a football game while listening to Ernie on WJR. Talk about a legend.

College football is my favorite sport, but Ernie Harwell's "Baseball" always makes the room a little dustry. I am too computer illiterate to embed, so here's a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cloU58N0YVI

 

Totally different, yet beautiful in their own way

Keith Jackson's voice was golden. His understated excitement is part of what made him great. One of my biggest gripes with Musberger is that he acts like every play is the biggest play ever, instead of just announcing the game. Keith Jackson just told it how it was.

I only had Ufer around for my early years as a UM fan, but his excitement and love for Michigan is what made him great. He was a homer, but I think he was respected outside of UM (maybe some of the older guys know more about this).

To answer your question, I would prefer Keith Jackson for any non-Michigan game, but Ufer for a Michigan game.

Keith Jackson also called a lot of sports outside of football and did an amazing job with those sports as well.

100% increase

Brandon is going to use that as an excuse for his ticket increases.

"Well at least I didn't raise ticket prices 100% like Don Canham did in '75!"

Luckily, somewhere between 125 and 150ish

I was lucky enough to have a dad with season tickets as a kid and went to almost every home game growing up, and then had student tickets for 5 years. I actually did the math on this, and the only reason for the range is that I do not know how many home games I went to each season before I was 8. When I turned 8, I went to pretty much every home game until after I graduated from U of M.

My favorite season was 97. I had just graduated from UofM and went to every home game, except for the Minnesota game. I also went up to MSU and witnessed the greatest interception ever. I topped it off with the only bowl game I have ever attended...kind of a good choice for a first bowl game. 97 was also the last season I attended a majority of the home games since I unfortuntatley have lived on the East Coast since then and have only made it back for 1 or 2 games a year.

As for favorite section, the student section was fun back in my day, but section 8 is where my dad has had season tickets for years, so it's my favorite place for nostalgic reasons.

Finally, I have only been to three road venues, plus one Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl was by far the best experience. Beautiful place to watch a game. I also have been to MSU, PSU and ND. ND is a nice stadium, but it's in the middle on nowhere. PSU was okay. The fans were actually nice, but I was there for victories in 93 and 99. Spartan Stadium is a concrete monstrosity.

Fister: "Hey Sanchez, bet I beat your K record tonight!"

Fister is trying to Larry Bird Sanchez's record.

In 1985 Kevin McHale set the Celtics single game scoring record only to see Larry Bird surpass it 9 nights later.

Harvard too

I cannot wait until Brady Hoke starts coaching talent (in the junior/senior classes) that warrants multiple draft picks in the top 3 rounds.

Here comes the Lions

Would be interesting to see Denard in Honolulu Blue.

Agreed

I called her an idiot in a comment above. I do not think she's an idiot for being raped or for carrying the emotional scars of being raped. She's probably an intelligent woman, but her letter is idiotic on several levels. One, as I stated above, a university's decision to change an athetic department's logo is in no way related to rape. Two, she attacks the university for low APRs and a few criminal incidents involving athletes and assumes that the university is doing nothing about its problems because it created a new husky logo. Three, she is projecting her horrible experience onto all of the male athletes in the athletic department.

I was involved in intercollegiate athletics as a coach of an Olympic/non-revenue sport years ago. I coached men and women. Most of the young men I coached were wonderful young men who would not tolerate a rapist on their team. Although my sport was not an "agressive" sport, some of these young men played "aggressive" sports like football, basketball or hockey in high school and some did not. I did not look at some of my athletes and think, "Look at those potential rapists over there who played football growing up." That would be a generalization, and thus wrong.

Blanket generalizations about any group (athletes, Christians, Jews, Muslims, blacks, whites, etc.) are unproductive and harmful towards members of those groups. See Duke lacrosse.

Also, my background as a prosecutor has showed me that rapists and abusers come from a wide variety of backgrounds. The only thing they have in common is that they are pathetic losers. 

If the university covered up this young woman's rape, then that is a huge problem that she should publicly speak out against. However, there are better ways than writing an article filled with innuendo about a husky logo. Regardless, the people who are threatening her are the biggest idiots here.

Some perspective

I am a prosecutor, and I exclusively prosecuted domestic violence cases for a couple years. Violence towards women is a serious problem that is often ignored in our society. Rape victims are ostracized and often are judged more harshly than defendants at trial. Domestic abusers control their victims by threatening to take away or harm their kids. Many, if not most, homicides are the result of domestic violence.

I could go on, but my point is that a fucking new husky logo is not the problem. This woman is an idiot.