Electron Erectshon

History

Member for

4 years 46 weeks

Karma

Current value

2

Recent Comments

Date	Title	Body
5 weeks 6 days ago	Full game in HD on YouTube	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeGuKZtAxyc The phantom foul on Burke is at the 17:05 mark, btw. Don't let Hancock's fake grimace fool you. At the very most, he was brushed, even before going into a shooting motion. There's a great still photo of it, but I don't know how to embed photos from my desktop. Btw, do .gifs cause anyone else computer to slow down and heat up? So tired of that sh*t.
6 weeks 8 hours ago	Spike dodges a bullet	In related news, seems as though our own Kate Upton has gone pro. Wasn't it P.Diddy who once said, "If you're a ho, I'm a pro."   /jk http://www.nydailynews.com/kate-guy-old-diddy-article-1.1312202 Probably explains why Spike didn't get a reply to his tweet.
6 weeks 9 hours ago	An idea	This picture, along with the .jpg of Burke's block, are pretty compelling. They say a lot without words. I think it would be pretty cool if someone created a montage or scrap book (or some combination) of all of these bad calls from the championship game and made it "circulate-able." Then we hammer the sh*t out of the NCAA's inbox. Why? I don't know. Teach someone a f*cking lesson maybe. Who knows, perhaps Greene's officiating career gets negatively impacted. Or maybe it will stick in some ref's mind, and they'll give US the breaks later down the road. Speaking of which, I remember when MSU got royally jobbed against Kansas in the Sweet 16 of the 1986 tourney (they didn't start the clock when State had a 4-pt lead late in the game - see 2:00 mark of this video). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2thhgxWuErs (Also, check out Larry Polec's improbable shot from behind the backboard, after the whistle, at the 6:00 mark of the same video. LARRY POLEC!). http://articles.philly.com/1986-03-23/sports/26083714_1_clock-malfunctioned-timer-kemper-arena Then again against GA Tech in 1990 (clock expired before Kenny Anderson got his shot off, 3:40 mark of video). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO8dROH3dQk. I kind of wondered whether MSU's horribly officiated tourney game against Iowa State in 2000, where Eustachy got ejected (lopsided in favor of MSU), was somehow the NCAA's "make-up call" for their earlier f* up's. http://bit.ly/xAjWZf. Kind of far-fetched, I know, but there's always the karma argument too.
6 weeks 10 hours ago	Thanks for the Dan LeBatard commentary	Found it on ESPN radio, at the 6:00 mark. Also, at the 3:00 mark, he talks about the fireworks scaring the sh*t out of Pitino but Beilein not being phased. Something to fear Pitino? I was thinking the same thing when that happened. http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=9152772 Also, if you didn't hear Gottlieb's interview yesterday, he says the same thing about the refs at the 5:05 minute mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAcbVNrJFTY Neutral fans of the sport who are saying what we UM fans have been saying about the refs, and the fact that MSU fans are so adamant that officiating played no role, are pretty good indicators of how bad it was.
6 weeks 11 hours ago	Jamal Crawford talks Fab 5 & UM Basketball on DP Show	I don't have enough points to start a thread so just posting this here since it also involves a former UM athlete recently getting interviewed by Dan Patrick. Just the first 4 minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zuVVpV_pRo Jamal Crawford talks about the influence the Fab 5 had on his decision to attend Michigan. Also talks about how good Trey Burke is. Given he was a one & done during the Dark Ages of UM basketball, I don't think a lot of people know much about Jamal. He's very articulate and still bleeds maize & blue.
6 weeks 1 day ago	Beilein	Beilein got this team to a championship game. In my estimation, his only mistake along the way was not keeping Burke in the game at the end of the 1st half to slow down the Hancock effect. But that's kind of something you're forced to arrive at in retrospect. If we would have won, we'd all be praising Beilein's foresight for saving Burke until the 2nd half. The lack of fouling earlier had very little impact IMO. In fact, I didn't have any problem with how they played it. Michigan should have had the ball with :50 seconds left and down 4, but they didn't call Behanan over the back. They went up 6 after that and the game was effectively over. Fouling would have probably just changed the margin of defeat. And for anyone who doubts whether we have the best coach in men's college basketball on our side, just listen to this short and sweet interview Beilein did with Andy Katz after the game. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:9150551 Seriously, I enjoy his personality and coaching style even more than Bo's. And the best part is that we get to have more kids that fit his mold for as long as he decides to coach. If that's not awesome, I don't know what is.
6 weeks 1 day ago	Best performance by two teams I've ever seen	I think the opening comments between Gottlieb and Patrick in this clip pretty much summarize my sentiments. Best NC game Gottlieb had ever seen and recognizes how the crowd appreciated it too. For those wondering whether any pundits had something to say about the officiating, tune in to the conversation at the 5:05 mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAcbVNrJFTY Patrick is from Ohio -- and has made his views towards Michigan clear in the past (i.e. he does not despise us, but he is definitely not a fan. Listen to his interview with Denard from Feb 2013 to get the gist) -- and I think that explains why he's so quick to claim that the charge Morgan took at the end of the Syracuse game was an "obviously bad call." It was anything but an obviously bad call, as described here by Brian on Sunday. In real-time, and in replays, it looked like a charge and the referee did not hesitate to call it one. Anyway, this was a fantastic game. I just kept telling my gf, who doesn't watch much basketball, to enjoy what she was seeing, because it was the kind of spectacular performance I had never seen before. May never see again. So proud of this team and how they left it all on the court yesterday.
6 weeks 1 day ago	Thanks for the psychology lesson	How about, just shut up. Spare us your self-righteous b.s. Or maybe make your points at a more relevant time, like perhaps if UM fans were bitching about the refs in any of the 7 games we lost this season. This didn't happen. Some of us are capable of looking at things objectively. I almost always find myself saying, "I didn't have a problem with the refs" when we lose. What pleasure do people like you derive from coming around here and telling other fans they're delusional? Do you think it somehow makes you better than us? Above us? Check the comments sections of all of the articles from the major websites following this game. They're littered with neutral fans taking issue with the officiating. And the consensus is that UM got the short end of the stick. That's how you get a pulse on whether the officiating was so bad that it deserves to be called out. Why call it out? I don't know. Maybe because it's therapeutic. Or maybe the feedback will eventually reach the crew who called that game and give them pause to think about how they just denied Trey Burke, the University of Michigan, and college basketball fans everywhere, what should have been one of the greatest blocks in college basketball history. Michigan teams are rarely the benefactors of huge blown calls -- in very important games -- and for some of us with a good memory, it just plain sucks. For me it started as a fan when a #1 ranked UM team saw Desmond Howard tripped in the end zone of the MSU game. There was also Spartan Bob the clock keeper who gave Sparty more time than it deserved to throw a last-minute TD. (We were ranked #6 in the country going into that game). The horribly lopsided refereeing Red has had to put up with in the NCAA tourney over the years can't be overstated (examples too numerous to list but John Gravelese's disallowed OT goal against MIA for a right to play in a Frozen Four in Detroit in 2010 is indicative). It's not to say we've never had a huge call go our way in a very important game. It's arguable that Rumeal Robinson wasn't fouled at the end of regulation in the 1989 Seton Hall NC game. Doesn't mean he wouldn't have made a layup instead of free throws, but that is the only game I can remember where I felt like LOU fans must have felt on multiple occasions last night. And don't tell me about Morgan's block that was a called a charge against Syracuse. In real-time, and even after replays, that still looks like a charge to me. Compare these to the breaks our rivals got in winning their NC's. MSU was the benefactor of the worst officiated game I ever saw against Larry Eustachy's Iowa St. team the year they won in 2000. And OSU had lost to MIA in the Fiesta Bowl, until a ref named Porter called a phantom PI penalty in the end zone giving them new life. All I'm saying is just shut up. Don't lecture fans about being bad fans because they possess critical thinking skills. Your broad generalizations about fans and officiating and the deterioration of sports in general because of the collective mindset of complainers like myself is sickening. Just shut up and stop "obcessing" about how people like us are ruining sports.
6 weeks 1 day ago	Like Jim Joyce denying Armando Galarraga of his perfect game.	A few disclaimers before I address the refs. I thought the teams were evenly matched and the game itself was the best championship game I’ve ever watched. Both teams played excellently. Louisville didn’t miss many shots, Siva was dynamite and Djieng hit some huge buckets down the stretch (i.e. FT extended jumper, hook shot). The game probably would have come down to a final possession – essentially a coin flip – but the refs took that moment away. Yes, the refereeing was bad and it made a huge difference. The fact that the national media isn’t acknowledging it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. The fact that Jay Bilas and Jay Williams say “Behanan was just tougher and got hammered too (but didn’t complain)” shouldn’t affect what you know. And here’s what you know. -- Djieng’s obvious goaltend took away 2 points for us in the 1st half. -- Burke’s 2nd foul was a bad call. There’s stepping into a guy who gets busted for leaving his feet, and then there’s throwing yourself at a defender who has floated out of the play. Removing Burke from the game enabled LOU to exploit a talent mismatch between Hancock and LeVert. Those 4, 3-pointers in the 1st half made all the difference in the world. Could have Beilein rolled the dice and left Burke in? Yes, and I would have if I was in his position, but the decision should not have needed to be made. It had a huge impact on the game. McGary feeds off Burke and without Burke, to some extent, McGary was nullified too. -- Burke’s 2nd half block was “all ball.” It was a game-changer. Momentum was on UM’s side and Burke’s liftoff and challenge was building upon that momentum. The refs don’t make that call and Michigan has a chance to even up the game on the next possession. -- Hancock’s ORIGINAL 4th foul – that was attributed to someone else – made a huge difference. He couldn’t have made that pivotal 3-pointer if he was on the bench along with McGary. (btw, I have no qualms with all of McGary’s 4 fouls). -- Djieng traveled and then Behanan fouled before that momentous high-glass putback by Behanan. At best, Behanan may have earned a tie-up on that possession (arrow favored MICH), but that was not a case of  “man against boy” BEAST mode winning the day. (I love how they call a tie-up in the Witchita State game when it wasn’t nearly as close to a tie-up as the one they let Behanan get away with.) -- Behanan was also over the back and resulted in LeVert getting pushed out-of-bounds on that key stop – that we earned -- when we were down 4 points with 50 seconds left. Look, I realize that Michigan was the benefactor of a couple of questionable bumps, hand checks and in-bounds warnings. But those types of calls aren’t the issue. LOU were benefactors of those "meh, play on" and relatively unimportant calls too (e.g. Siva charge in the 1st half, Robinson getting hacked on a made jumper in the 2nd half, McGary getting undercut on a rebound that resulted in a tie-up instead of an obvious foul on LOU). The calls I’m noting here were massive game-changing mistakes that had a huge impact on how this game played out. It is sad. And just because the talking heads in the media don’t address it – and other fan-bases will call us whiners – doesn’t change the fact that we were on the wrong end of bad officiating and it is perfectly okay to be disappointed and sad about it. It’s a shame that an unbelievable game like this didn’t have a chance to find its natural ending. That’s what refs can do sometimes. You just hope it doesn’t happen during a once-in-a-lifetime contest like this. After thoughts… The One Shining Moment (OSM) basically says it all when it comes to what people outside of UM think of UM. “They” don’t like us. We are not liked by anyone. From what I can remember, OSM featured a crowd shot, The TREY, a Robinson alley-oop and an Albrecht 3-pointer in the championship. Craft’s buzzer beater seemed to receive the OSM glorification more than The Trey. THE TREY for Pete’s sake! John Beilein is my favorite UM coach of all-time. Just getting to hear what he had to say during halftime and then the post-game interview with Tracy Wolfson, made me appreciate him even more. Pitino is a phony sleaze ball, and I have no idea how HE got the breaks in this game. How does that happen? Beats me. Also, this UM team is my favorite of all-time. And I’ve been watching for many decades. All class, all heart and intelligence to boot. What a pleasure it was to watch those guys. All I can say to those fans who are younger than me, appreciate this run. It was truly fantastic and defied so much logic. I was already a huge fan of UM in 1989 and attended Michigan during the Fab 5 years, and this tourney run could easily be the best I ever get to see in my lifetime.
25 weeks 2 days ago	The trend becomes clear, next year...	Replying because your post is one that I want to re-visit from time to time. My guess is that it adequately describes the sentiment shared by a good chunk of the fan base at this stage of Hoke's tenure. My heart is wholeheartedly aligned with your optimistic take on the future, but my brain is agreement with Brian's "wrong side of history" assessment. For better results, a lot of it will depend on whether Michigan can still land some top-flight skill position players in this year's recruiting class (e.g. Isaac, Green, Treadwell). If not, I believe things are going to look like they do now, both next year and for the foreseeable future. Let's hope Hoke and company can nab these important prospects down the stretch. I like how you're comparing Hoke's record to Harbaugh, Meyer, Kelly and Saban. If he follows a similar projection, I, for one, will admit I was wrong about having doubts and will give him all the credit in the world. I hope others from our divided fan base will do the same. On the flip side, if that doesn't happen, I hope our admin doesn't hesitate to move in another direction, unlike the unyielding support it gave to Carr in the latter half of his career, despite losing to App State, losing 6 of his last 7 to OSU, etc. "The trend becomes clear next year" (i.e. Year 3) seems to hold some water as far as NCAA coaching changes go. Kind of OT, but I still think Harbaugh is a longshot to coach here someday (many years from now) after he's fulfilled his NFL goals. If a few things wouldn't have come to pass in A2 like they did, we might have already seen him on the sidelines. That said, for a coaching legend-in-the-making like Harbaugh, a NC is a "must" for the mantle. And there's no other / better place than UM for that to happen. In the meantime, let's hope your "sky is not falling, the program is still trending in the right direction" is the right call! GO BLUE!
25 weeks 3 days ago	Loeffler	Not going to debate your opinion re: Loeffler's abilities as a coach. I think you'd find the UM community divided. Auburn fans probably aren't divided (http://dev.chuckoliver.net/2012/10/auburns-struggles-point-directly-to-o...) . It's a worthwhile discussion b/c I could see Hoke bringing him back on staff when he leaves with Chizik, though maybe not until 2014. Some relevant statistics are in order. I couldn't find where "QB rating" was tracked during the Navarre years, but here's his career stats at UM sans QB rating. Also, here's what it looked like for Henne, Tebow (2009 only) and Brantley (2010 only). Also including numbers re: Temple Total Offense (2011) and Auburn Total Offense (2012). John Navarre (2000-2003 -- Yardage and Completion% improvement. Big 10 Champs 2003, 10-3) http://stats.ath.umich.edu/football/cmaster.php?pkey=15 Chad Henne (2004- 2007 -- Yardage and Rating drop-off. Co-Big10 Champs 2004, 9-3. 0-4 against OSU.)   Career Statistics   Passing Rushing Year GP GS Comp Att Pct Yds Lng TD Int Rat. Att Yds Avg Lng TD 2004 12 12 240 399 60.2 2743 69 25 12 132.6 55     9 2 2005 12 12 223 382 58.4 2526 54 23 8 129.6 54     18 1 2006 13 13 203 328 61.9 2508 69 22 8 143.4 47     14 0 2007 10 8 162 278 58.3 1938 65 17 9 130.5 24     9 0 Total 47 45 828 1387 59.7 9715 69 87 37 133.9 180     18 3 Tim Tebow (2009 only -- QB Rating drop-off)       Passing   Rushing Season Team GP Rating Att Comp Pct Yds TD INT Sack Att Yds TD 2006 Florida Gators 14 201.7 33 22 66.7 358 5 1 0 89 469 8 2007 Florida Gators 13 172.5 350 234 66.9 3,286 32 6 13 210 895 23 2008 Florida Gators 14 172.4 298 192 64.4 2,747 30 4 15 176 673 12 2009 Florida Gators 14 155.6 304 213 70.1 2,895 21 5 25 217 910 14   Totals 55 170.8 985 661 67.1 9,286 88 15 53 692 2947 57   John Brantley (2010 only -- QB Rating dropoff) http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/15582/type/college/john-brantley Temple Total Offense 2011: 63 out of 120 http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2011&rpt=IA_teamtotoff&site=o... Auburn Total Offense 2012: 115 out of 120  http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/1027/p3 Conclusion: Body of work is a mixed bag, IMO, but the trend doesn't appear to be a favorable one.
25 weeks 4 days ago	Great accomplishment by ND	Congrats to ND and Jack Swarbrick for having the foresight to hire Brian Kelly in 2009. A lot of old time MGobloggers were clamoring for BK to get hired back in 2007 but we got what we got as Sailor Bill was perfecting his squash game. I doubt ND survives the SEC winner but still an amazing job in just 3 short years. I only wish we had the same expectations for our own program. Alas, even the holy grail of a Big10 Championship has eluded us for nearly a decade now.
29 weeks 4 days ago	Right Dude	Right dude. Gardner didn't improve enough to beat out Russell Bellomy for backup QB responsibilities. Or even 3rd string responsibilities when things get utterly desperate? Like right now? Gimme a break. This is poor decision-making by the offense coordinator (and by extension Hoke), plain and simple. And it's sad. Because people like you will be making excuses for it over the next 5+ years. Just like y'all did for Lloyd. Whatever. I don't care anymore.
29 weeks 4 days ago	A BackUp QB	There's no excuse for Borges not being able to turn to Gardner in this situation. When your redshirt backup QB can hardly lead the team to a 1-yard gain, there has to be a better option. Gardner is a talent and should be able to come in at this moment and give Michigan a chance to win a game where the defense is playing so valiantly. Darn shame folks.
3 years 46 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	TBS, It's early yet, you know that. If Lloyd could lose 6 of his last 7 to OSU, then you have a better chance of going sober for 48 hours than RR has of getting canned in less than 3 years. What's the point of bellyaching now? The "silent majority" you refer to does exist but it's also a sensible majority that realizes the past is usually a good indicator of the future and RR is a pretty passionate dude about football. He'll win games, lots of them which I know you believe as well. My concern with RR, since the hire, was will he win the big one? He hasn't yet but every championship coach must start somewhere and it seems like more often than not, a championship coach wins early in his tenure (e.g. Meyer, Tressel, Carrol, Stoops) or then the "can't win the big one" label gets smacked on them and the head games begin. Sure, there's the Lefty and Roy Williams type, who eventually get the job done, but I don't think that's what most of us had in mind with RR and to some extent, are afraid of - sticking with an underachiever for too long like likeable Lloyd (that's a lot of L's!). Year 2 is important. I think people get that. Correct me if I'm wrong but your point also seems to be that RR should be held to the same success timeline as the other elite coaches in college football and you can't understand why everyone who posts on this blog is enamored with him after a 3-9 season. I'd say people just want to give him the benefit of the doubt. In the big picture, we hired RR to bring excitement to the Big House, beat OSU and win championships. He's already accomplished 1 of 3 in just one year, which is pretty impressive given the rich history and tradition of UM football. Would Les have changed our stagnant culture as much? He has 2 more years to figure out the other 2. If he doesn't you'll see the tide change and yes, TBS, you'll have been out in front of it. In the meantime, don't forget the big picture: http://www.nytimes.com/images/blogs/freakonomics/posts/happic.jpg Wise little girl, that Lisa Simpson.
3 years 50 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	When fans discuss and debate my beloved Loins, I just don't get it. Those that believe in the Loins or are disappointed in the Loins, usually just haven't smelled them long enough. The Loins are the most consistent thing in all of sports. That's the beauty of the Loins. They ruin everyone. You can be the greatest football player in the league and and you will be ruined once you don the Honolulu Blue. I don't want my Loins any other way. STINKY.
4 years 6 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	Yeah, he sounded a lot different to me..like somebody who is tired of all the b.s. (he had deal with last year) and just wants to start kicking everyone's ass. He's being more public about his controller self and that works just fine for me, especially when it comes to the impressionable young gangsta type - his players of course, not the media. Though Drew Sharp might have some gangsta in him. The more I think about it, I'd like to see RR coach up Drew Sharp. "Yo Rich, take that!" and a spoon of pudding goes flying past RR's head. "Aw shucks, that's just Drew.. it's in the past. I'll forget about it if you don't write something negative about my son Rhett, UM QB, Class of 2017."
4 years 11 weeks ago	None - tribute to HaloScan	You clearly have no idea what you're talking with regards to Morrison. He's 32 and his playing days are far from over. So which beverage cart girl are you anyway? I'd like to say "hello" to you at the next hockey golf outing.
4 years 15 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	Agreed re: your analysis of the Kellogg's decision. It's not like Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes are marketed towards kids. Those hypocrites at Kellogg's should know by now that eating sugared cereals is no less harmful than smoking pot when you get right down to it. Anything to save a buck, these faceless corporate a-holes.
4 years 15 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	Well, you don't know me do you? And I don't know you. Hence, I have no name for you. I just know what you contribute to this blog, which is pretty much garbage. Calling someone a douchebag because you don't agree with their post is about as thoughtful as your colorful handle. When people can't create their own original ideas they resort to name calling, much like a 5-year old, probably b/c they're still in grade school (pretending to be a college student) or have not or will not ever develop certain critical thinking skills. The fact that Brodie and wolverine1987, solid contributors to this blog, share my POV should tell you something about your own. Commenters like you seem to thrive on cutting & pasting articles in your posts, asking questions of the community, perhaps to show you've done your homework, hoping someone will give you a little pat on the back. I spend the time writing this simply b/c you've been posting a lot lately. Perhaps you should think about not posting a lot. Or like, not posting.
4 years 15 weeks ago	None	see above
4 years 15 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	http://www.mgoblog.com/content/antonio-bass-not-true-rumor
4 years 15 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	Ugh. I recall you getting your panties in a bunch on a thread where some commenters, including myself, said RR's 3-9 first year at UM didn't warrant a passing grade. Look, people are entitled to be turned off by certain things. This doesn't make you an asshole or anti-Revolution. I like optimism and I don't like bragging. If Tate Forcier turns out to be a great QB at Michigan then clearly my concerns were just concerns, except they'll have been unfounded. Obviously you must know Tate and Jimmy Clausen, which puts you in a much better position to compare the two. I apologize for insulting your friends.
4 years 15 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	You're right that I don't know Tate Forcier. In fact, I have nothing to go on except what I've read. Which is, the family's very odd self-promoting website (links below). Somebody's diary posting about his game time demeanor and this snippet from his myspace page. I don't know, it's probably more of a reflection of the way kids are nowadays. I won't kid you though, the picture of him where he is dwarfed by RR and the Clausen brother precedent thing scares me a little. Most people here like predictions (at least THE KNOWLEDGE told me so) so here's mine: Threet will be our QB for the next 2 or 3 years with Robinson coming in to switch things up. Gardner will follow and Forcier will play the role of Gutierrez or, I don't know, maybe Jason Forcier whilst at UM. (Cue the booing.) If I'm wrong, I imagine I'll be banned and all my online credibility will go to hell in a handbasket. I have no idea what I'll do then. http://www.qbforce.com/tate/tracker.html http://www.qbforce.com/home_pics/philosophies.htm
4 years 15 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	IF, IF, that's really really Tate Forcier's writing, there's just something about that tone. And that website, QB Force. I don't like any of it. Reminds me of a spiky hair SoCal flake pulling up in a limousine and making his announcement . I hope Tate Forcier succeeds at Michigan, don't get me wrong. And he's just a kid so his tact will change over time. Aside from that, I like Steven Threet. He wasn't all-Big10 last year but not too many redshirt freshmen are right? I don't care who leads us to better than .500 next year, but my money is on Threet.
4 years 16 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	ESPN has the video up now. It's really tough to see the contact, if it's there. http://www.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=290312509
4 years 16 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	No sarcasm here... Could someone (perhaps the WLA who seems to be very good at this sort of thing) breakdown the difference between the Novak elbow and the Conboy takedown? I get the difference between Novak and Tropp's hit, but cheap shot elbow to the front of the face vs. cheap shot sucker punch to the back of the head don't feel like a 1-game suspension vs. expulsion difference apart. Perhaps if a flagrant elbow to the face ended someone's basketball career, like Bertuzzi did to Steve Moore, we'd have a different feeling about it. Then again you can't get to someone's spinal cord through their nose. I may have just answered my own question but the disparity still seems out of whack to me.
4 years 17 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	Leave it to Ward and the Beaver to remind us all that it's never too late to revisit family values.
4 years 24 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	GVSU: School's first national championships in 2002 & 2003. Coach of the Year 2X's. 41-2 over his final 3 seasons. CMU: Resurrected the program after Debord drove into the ground. Won first MAC championship in 2006 since 1994. Team won it again in 2007 after he was gone. Cincinnati: First Big East Championship & BCS bid in school history, 2008 (with Sheridan-like problems at the QB position). Coach of the Year in first season, 2007. Obviously the difference between good and great is subjective so you can come to your own conclusions. I think there are a handful of coaches who can consistently win the big game, especially championship games. Me personally, I believe that coaches who win national championships, at any level, must be great football coaches. Tressel won 4 NC's in his 15 years at Youngstown St. Never had any D-1 head coaching experience before taking the OSU job. As mentioned, BK won 2 NC's in 13 years at GVSU. His teams were unstoppable towards the end and it's conceivable he would have picked up a couple more NC's if he'd have stayed a few years longer (matching Tressel's success). I've heard several interviews BK has done and that's what impresses me most about him. He's very articulate and from what I can tell, very intelligent. Seems to me the best of the best coaches usually have that going for them in any sport.
4 years 24 weeks ago	None (tribute to Haloscan)	Dude, seriously. Do you have any idea what the rosters looked like on all the teams I note above? Because I sure as hell don't and there's no effin' way I'm going to go back and research it. My guess is you don't have any idea either. Results are results. Each team has their own unique set of obstacles to overcome. I'm sure the teams I mention had similar challenges and to think they didn't is naive. RR had a talent disadvantage to be sure but are you telling me that there wasn't some failure on the part of the coaching staff to work with the talent available to them? (e.g. judging Sheridan as the better QB coming out of the preseason, not featuring Minor until midway through the season, and ARGUABLY driving key offensive players to transfer or go pro (major emphasis here on ARGUABLY, we'll never know whether they would have stayed or gone). While you're researching the roster differences of the above teams I noted perhaps you can research the attrition rate of teams that RR has coached in his first year vs. other teams lead by other coaches? My hypothesis is that RR has a higher attrition rate. Does that make him a bad coach? FUCK NO. He's made it pretty clear that he's a guy who wants to work with people who are willing to play by his rules, who are loyal, etc. He probably bends over less than other coaches to reach all types of personalities and this approach hurts him during transition years but pays huge dividends down the road. His Year 1 results were terrible. Ask him, and I'm almost certain he'd say the same thing. In fact, I bet he would have graded his results with an "E" or "F" based on what he's said in the press. I was being generous with a "D."

more