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Ninef Aghakan

Buster…

Ninef Aghakan

Buster Stanley 

Gannon Dudlar

Kerwin Waldroup

Chuck Winters

 

Washed out at Michigan is…

Washed out at Michigan is kind of what I meant. He went on to be a beast at Clemson and in the NFL obviously.  He was in the doghouse from nearly day one with Bobby Morrison and Coach Carr, then the credit card incident happened…

We recruited some absolute…

We recruited some absolute specimens at OLB in the early 90’s just had terrible luck getting them to the field consistently, except for Matt Dyson, who was a beast. 
Kerwin Waldrop, Sean Collins, Rasheed Simmons, David Bowens, Trevor Pryce… all just ridiculous athletes but all washed out before scratching the surface for one reason or another.  Mike Elston was highly regarded but hurt his shoulder and was never quite the same. 

This is a  perfectly valid…

This is a  perfectly valid off-season intellectual exercise.  If you don't want to participate, DON'T.

Depends on how you define "better," to start.  By most objective metrics, no. M was not "better."

OSU generally had higher rated talent at more positions, were more experienced at some key positions and, at the most important position, had a superlative starter compared to M's starter who was more "potential" than "results."  That would make them appear as the "better" team to most objective observers.

Some would go deeper and say that "matchup" could factor into this definition of "better" as well, and that with M's current style of play on offense, along with a defense that has been geared toward stopping an OSU style attack, that this is a great equalizer.  In-game coaching, preparation... is that part of what makes a team "better" or are those outside of that?  Many would argue that these are points that are outside of the "better team/worse team" paradigm. 

Regardless, sports is awesome because being the "better" team is only part of what determines the outcome.  Sometimes a team is so much "better" that it can erase bad matchups, emotional disparity, etc. by just overwhelming an opponent.  But, an opponent really only needs to be in the ball park talent wise to compete, and can then take advantage of all of the other factors; tangibles like scheme, preparation, and in-game coaching, along with intangibles like emotion, "creating opportunities" (if that's even a thing), making the most of the bounces that go your way, and so forth.  Hit those other things well and even if you don't catch an inordinate amount of breaks, you can still win convincingly.  Happens every day in every sport.

I think M maximized it's opportunities against OSU in a similar way that TCU did against M.  Not exactly the same, but when OSU was wrong M made them pay HARD.  Is that luck?  Is that prep?  Is that individual "focus"?  Whose to say.  M was certainly more dialed in than OSU was, and OSU wasn't resilient enough to overcome the early big plays, and given that the talent gap wasn't that much to overcome, M prevailed.  But I wouldn't consider that "winning despite not being the better team."  And I also can't sit here with a straight face and say "Michigan had the better team..." not if you're defining "better" in the "on-paper" way.

Totally agree on Alien Ant…

Totally agree on Alien Ant Farm... that's usually the very first one I mention when someone asks me this question!

I'm more of a fan of Kermit…

I'm more of a fan of Kermit the Frog's take on this one.

Joe Cocker - With a Little…

Joe Cocker - With a Little Help From my Friends (Beatles)

Manfred Man - Blinded by the Light (Springsteen)

Garth Brooks - Shameless (Billy Joel)

and call me crazy, but I love Gary Clark Jr./Junkie XL's version of Come Together... even more than I love the Beatles original (which just... *french kiss*)

JESUS.  Sorry.

I looked, I…

JESUS.  Sorry.

I looked, I swear.  Things are getting pushed down so fast... I looked at the board but nothing's in order there...

On A Henning; I have some…

On Henning being in more: I know some folks who are well acquainted with him who have indicated that he has been voicing some consternation about his lack of opportunities as a true receiver. With Wilson out, I’m wondering if that factored in to his seeing the field more than Anthony. Sort of an “okay, if you think you can make something happen, let’s see it” kind of thing. 

Pretty funny that you bring…

Pretty funny that you bring up Jeff Hecklinski literally hours before he’s fired by Brady Hoke at SDSU. The guy was ridin’ with Brady since Ball State and still got canned. 

I'll never forget when my…

I'll never forget when my 2nd cousin, who coaches at Harvard and played for Hutch in the 80's visited with me when I was a FB manager and we were out East for the Boston College game in 1994.  She wanted me to introduce her to Bo, so I did. 

She told him how she was an athlete under him when he was AD, and he goes "Softball?  You played for Hutch?  Best GODDAMN coach we have at Michigan.  PERIOD."

Always look forward to this!…

Always look forward to this!!!

KRP was great, but when I…

KRP was great, but when I think of him, my first thought goes to Spinal Tap.

“Yeah, listen, we'd love to stand around and chat, but we've gotta... sit down in the lobby and wait for the limo.”

Sort of reminds me of the…

Sort of reminds me of the predictions we had for our game against MSU last year…

Thanks for this!  Read it…

Thanks for this!  Read it every year.

It does make it worse… which…

It does make it worse… which is why it’s important to point out that, per the report, It didn’t happen. 
not sure where the OP came up with that allegation, but it doesn’t appear to be true. 

Wait wait wait:

OP…

Wait wait wait:

OP specifically says that the video coach "had troubling allegations regarding sexual assault of minors already on file when they hired him."  I've read the whole thing and I can't find mention of this.

OP also says "they gave him a positive referral to coach in Michigan after they decided they couldn't keep him on any longer."  But the report specifically says:

None of the witnesses we interviewed recalled anyone at the Blackhawks providing a written or verbal reference for Aldrich to his future employers. When interviewed, Aldrich stated that he did not list any Blackhawks employees as references on job applications, nor did he ask anyone from the Blackhawks to vouch for him or make any calls on his behalf.
 

and also:

Houghton High School reported to us that they identified no records reflecting a reference provided for Aldrich by the Blackhawks. The head hockey coach at Houghton High School told us that Aldrich did not formally apply for volunteer hockey coaching positions in 2010 and 2012. The head coach explained that Aldrich’s uncle, who was the assistant coach in 2010, had told the head coach that Aldrich was not working and asked if the team could help Aldrich. In 2012, the team re-hired Aldrich as a volunteer based on his work as a volunteer in 2010. The head coach said that he did not contact the Blackhawks about Aldrich at any time.

 

That's what they did.  He…

That's what they did.  He was fired.  The Blackhawks are being roasted because they didn't do more to protect FUTURE victims.

It's not about who's …

It's not about who's "expendable," it's about what you can PROVE. 

Doesn't matter if its a star employee or someone behind the scenes... you ruin their future prospects of employment by alleging they did something like this, and then you can't PROVE they did it... it's going to cost you A LOT.  And proof is hard.  

Ask anyone whose had to be…

Ask anyone whose had to be involved in these kinds of things... it ain't easy.

You have an employee who EMPHATICALLY claims that it was consensual, and people coming out of the wood work in support of him and sometimes leveling veiled threats at YOU if you "come after their guy."  

You have "allegations" and "claims" made by folks who, for obvious (and sometimes not-so-obvious) reasons, are more willing to "insinuate" than directly accuse, and aren't willing to go on record or have specific, DIRECT, conversations.  One, maybe two, are willing to speak openly, but then their stories don't always add up, or make sense, or match what someone else is saying (memory is a funny thing).  Plus, you're never quite sure, when the going gets tough, if they're going to bail on the whole thing (and you can't blame them if they do). 

Often, the people who are most willing to speak aren't the victims themselves but people close to them... which... not as helpful as you think.

Imagine being an employer who commits to not only terminating someone for conduct like this, but also commits to publicly disclosing the allegations in order to protect future potential victims.  You're talking about destroying a person's life, over something that wasn't personally witnessed by anyone in authority.  You need A LOT backing you up.  

By the time you're on your third or fourth conversation with the employee, they've lawyered up.    The lawyer tells you to either provide substantial proof or let it go... OR get your ass sued.  

Meanwhile you're working with YOUR lawyers.  They remind you of the way our justice system works; you have to substantiate the claims, and they look at what you have, which if true are horrible, but are never *quiiite* as solid as the case law suggests they need to be in order to shield you from all the grief this employee and his lawyer will bring down upon you should continue down this path.  You pay thousands of dollars for a legal opinion that puts your odds of coming out of the situation as the "justified party" at less than 50%.  *Might* win, depending on if this goes right, or that goes right... *might* lose if you get the wrong judge, or the wobbly witness retracts their statement, or something you never could have possibly known about a key figure suddenly comes to light... meanwhile the higher ups just want this thing over.  They have a business to run. 

In the end, the employment situation is untenable; who wants a guy like THAT working for them?  Who wants to work for an employer that would believe THAT OTHER PERSON over THEM?  And you part ways.  Now the best you can hope for is that the employee is willing to walk away without demanding some kind of payoff to do so.  AND, you can't provide a negative reference for all of the reasons noted above.  

We all *think* we want a justice system that believes the alleged victims by default, until you're the person being accused of something.  

We call that... "the…

We call that... "the Ojemudia"

Gotta love how Michigan is…

Gotta love how Michigan is on the list, with Western, Northern, Lake State and Tech all receiving some votes too.

Poor Sparty.

Man, the state of Minnesota is no joke. 

HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAA!!!!

HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAA!!!!

Man, Roman Wilson and…

Man, Roman Wilson and blocking... NOT VERY WELL ACQUAINTED.  

 

Fred Jackson would say that…

Fred Jackson would say that Mike Hart is like Fred Jackson, only faster.

M-43

M-43

Trying to load this site on…

Trying to load this site on Netscape Navigator SUUUUCKS.

You are the best B Mac.  THE…

You are the best B Mac.  THE BEST!

WOW.  That's some Papa was a…

WOW.  That's some Papa was a Rollin' Stone shit there...

Just so I'm clear:

Payton…

Just so I'm clear:

Payton Willis played two years at Vandy, one year at Minnesota, last year at C of C and is now back with the Gophers?  

Baylor. And both could end…

Baylor. And both could end up winning. ?

edit: well *soon* anyway. 

Yesss!!!

Yesss!!!

You know, I have to admit…

You know, I have to admit that I was one of them.  I had complete confidence in this team when they were down against Wisconsin after the layoff, but the Illinois game, for whatever reason, just shattered that.  The MSU loss made it a bit worse.

Now, when I see them down by 12 (just like they were against the Badgers) instead of being like "they're about to make their move" instead I go "they're about to get buried."

Human emotion/nature is a strange thing. Damn Illinois game dun broke me. 

Just need to point this out…

Just need to point this out from Brian's preview:

 

Michigan drop coverage. The best thing Maryland does on offense is run pick and roll...This might be a game to put Brandon Johns out for the backup C minutes, if you can do that in the presumed absence of Brooks.

Wow did you nail that.

Awesome shots!  You're…

Awesome shots!  You're providing us with life long memories!!!

totally sweet.  Thanks for…

totally sweet.  Thanks for the reminder! 

I almost forgot and I'm dying to check this out.

"Well that was the worst…

"Well that was the worst spring position battle ever."

 

IT CAME OUT MY NOSE!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

must've read some…

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

must've read some sarcasm into it that you didn't intend.  

Yep.  College careers…

Yep.  College careers generally take place after Olympic careers, and many American gymnasts don't go that route because our women's teams have been pretty successful and post Olympics is the best time to cash in... removing amateur status.  My wife's cousin, Jordyn Wieber, went straight into making money.  She then went to being an assistant coach at UCLA and now is the head coach at Arkansas.

We did have a former Olympian decide to compete for us here at Michigan about 20 years ago, Elise Ray, and she was one of our best.

Dear God. Mute your mic when…

Dear God. Mute your mic when coughing. 

I had a hat that I loved,…

I had a hat that I loved, blue with MICHIGAN in block rounded along the front.  Clean and classic EXCEPT that the M-Den put the damn "Victors Collection" "V" underneath the lettering and their V has that West Virginia "wings" thing going on, so everyone thought it was a Michigan hat with a WV logo underneath.

Dumb design decision.  Great hat otherwise.

Getting the band back…

Getting the band back together! 

Together, the two of them coached the O-line here in the early-mid 90's.  Les was centers and guards while DeBord was tackles and tight ends.

He also professed to…

He also professed to slapping women around when “they just had to get in the last word.”

 

so... I’m gunna say... mixed bag? 

Didn’t Connery endorse…

Didn’t Connery endorse slapping women around “when they just don’t give you any choice”?

ya... not a death I’m going to commemorate. 

Uhh... 

I remember I was…

Uhh... 

I remember I was holding the cords for Coach Hermann while the game slogged on, and on... each team taking forever to line up, then run a play that went nowhere, then untangling and trudging back to the huddle, then up to the line, then ran another play (probably with Mike Alstott rushing for 2 yards).  I stood in the same place, FREEZING, for what felt like an eternity as my fingers slowly became a death-grip around the headphone cords.  

Hermann, like many position coaches, kind of liked to "stalk" the sideline and normally you just follow them.  But it was SO GODDAMN COLD that day, and the ball barely moved up and down the field, that I took to just sort of standing there and feeding him line, then reeling it back in as he would wonder 10 feet away, then sort of wander back.

Then, all of the sudden, Woodson *I think* intercepts the ball and Hermann just takes off running down the field.  I, of course, try to follow him... only I've been standing in one spot for so long that the puddle I was in had frozen and my feet were now glued to the turf.  Not expecting that, I start to fall over, but maintained my frozen death grip on Herm's cord... which means that as he's sprinting up the sideline away from me I rip the headset right off his head, jerking his head back and sending him on his ass.

He comes stalking back and yells "what the hell was that?!"  I stand their dumbfounded *how do you explain that sequence of events?* and he punches me square in the chest. 

It was only *KINDA* playful.  

Here's an interesting bit of…

Here's an interesting bit of Trivia:

During the 1999 season every AFC West team had a Michigan QB on the roster, 3 of them starters.

- Harbaugh (San Diego)

- Grbac (Kansas City)

- Griese (Denver)

- Dreisbach (Oakland) [IR]

Dreisbach was actually showing out that year in preseason for the Raiders, who LOVED him, and then he broke his leg against the Cowboys.  I remember watching, and rooting HARD for him and then seeing that play happen.  It was awful.  He was an awesome talent, and an even better person.  It was just one fluke injury after another for him.  

The fact that they went out…

The fact that they went out and partied despite knowing that they could be expelled actually proves the point.
 

Ugh. 

I remember Dreisbach…

Ugh. 

I remember Dreisbach getting injured at practice.  Got his thumb caught in James Hall's helmet on a follow-through and Hall of course, didn't realize it and whipped his head around and *snap.*  Saw the whole thing.

I was the running backs…

I was the running backs manager that year.  Tim was, without question, the most gifted Michigan football player that I saw (outside of Woodson, who I only saw in person as a Freshman). 

As for running backs?  Wheatley was amazing; Powers, C. Williams, Jon Ritchie,Todd Howard, all were great, but Tim was the full package; power, break away speed, tenacity, intelligence and MOVES.  He had an arsenal of jukes.  Not to go all coach Freddy J. on anyone, but he had Barry Sanders feet with 6'1" size. 

He couldn't spin-o-rama like Barry, but he could patter his feet twice as fast as a normal human being.  His body control was other worldly.  He could make everything from the waste up go one way while his feet went somewhere else entirely.  I used to say that he had the most deceptive "shoulder shimmy" ever.  And it almost always worked to leave a defender looking like a fool.  In the clear, Biakabutuka could then go full gazelle on people, high knees making him hard to form tackle.  He was also uncanny at pulling his feet out of someone's grasp from behind. 

And also, just a good, GOOD dude.  He was all about the academics.  Football for him was a means to an end.  I think his background really kept him from thinking that the NFL was the end-all-be-all.  He always talked about being an entrepreneur, not a football star.  

My last game (other than the…

My last game (other than the Alamo Bowl) as a manager.

Some of the funniest things I've ever seen involved Rod Payne and Les Miles.

One time Rod comes trotting off of the field during... some game... can't remember which, but we'd just gone 3 and out, and Les Miles very casually taps him on the shoulder pads and calmly says:  "Hey, Rod Payne, do me a favor son..." and then he just abruptly launches into a blocking stance and screams "BLOCK SOMEBODY!!!!"

Another time, same thing, Rod's coming off the field after a lackluster series and Coach Miles saunters in front of him and says "Hey, Rod Payne..." then he starts rubbing his own nipples in a circular fashion with his fingers and finishes with "I could be at the beach son.  I could be at the beach."

Probably had to be there.

As for Jarrett Irons, ONE SOLID DUDE.  Just a solid, solid dude.  Always cool, ALWAYS nice, always unassuming.