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Date	Title	Body
12 weeks 5 hours ago	Bad things happening - it already has ...	I believe there were two incidents in the late 90s/early 2000s involving Nebraska football and Miami (OH) football players walking off the field as the crowd stormed it. In both cases a player, having lost, ended up striking fans (of course they were drunk) who were charging the field and intimidating them. I might sound like an old man, but fans - you didn't win the game. You cheered but your participation rarely changes things. Celebrate in the stands - you don't need to rush the court, particularly more than once every few years. And yes, GET OFF MY LAWN!
12 weeks 4 days ago	40 times	Are quite inaccurate of a measurement, even at the combine. As a track guy, I laugh at the measurement. The NFL has what it needs, he's fast. Then you look at the tape and see how explosive he is, and the ability to run away from everyone on the field. The biggest question for NFL scouts is getting off the line, getting into and out of routes and then being a reliable receiver. Particularly with the type of throws to maximize Denard's speed.
15 weeks 6 days ago	A big issue	Alone this isn't a huge story unless your a UT grad and want pristine heroes. However late last year UT suspended their long time, very successful women's track and field coach just months after giving her a huge raise. She was let go at the beginning of the year just prior to the indoor season based on a consensual relationship with an athlete. She has since considered legal action vs. Texas (probably will claim discrimination based on her race, gender and sexual orientation). While Major Applewhite appears to have not engaged with a subordinate as she did, it leaves Texas exposed should she pursue something legally. Just the threat of legal action is now increased. On a lighter note, Chris Sims is wondering why that student never called him back.
19 weeks 6 days ago	Makes sense	Weeden is a pick machine (even at OSU he made bad decisions he got away with). McCoy has good mobility and could do some zone-read if needed. Spread the field, give him options, and then have Richardson plow through a spread out D.
19 weeks 6 days ago	Losing teams and alma mater?	I respect this young man and his respect for his school, his fans, himself and the game, but how often does the losing teams band play their alma mater, particularly on a road loss (which you could assume would be similar to a bowl loss)? Great story and I agree with all the superlatives, but before I say the same about his teammates and coaches I would like to know a little more (I.e. did they even expect to hear or did hear it being played)?
20 weeks 2 hours ago	Correction	When he was hired, he was repeatedly assured the issue was a legal one and that any NCAA involvement would be minimal. That is why they changed his contract after the sanctions were handed down. In a win now, win often business, you don't have long to improve. Those scholarship reductions mean that Penn State will be functioning essentially as an FCS school in FBS. Sure there talent will be better, but that will leave them with NO chance for recruiting mistakes. Just think about how many we endured under the latter years of Carr and Rodriguez and in the end, we had only two losing seasons. I'd say he's in a Tommy Amaker type situation, but if he can win as much as Amaker over the next 3-4 years, he's a miracle worker. He'll be fired before his contract runs out.
20 weeks 15 hours ago	Joining Ron English's staff	At EMU is the most likely spot. Get turned down at Iowa for OC and then witness the tire fire their offense has become - makes sense to leave.
24 weeks 2 days ago	Just for fun	Mike Leach!! Charlie Strong. Sure, he's probably going to wait for an SEC job, but I think many schools won't consider him. Doeren has to be kicking himself. Out of left field - bud foster the DC at VT? And since people have mentioned how an ND defensive coordinator worked in the past - the job Bob Davie did with the tire-fire that Locksley created at New Mexico is impressive.
26 weeks 3 days ago	Apparently reading is difficult	If you would actually read my post, I made a number of observations based on my coaching experience and compared to my days as an athlete. I'm hardly an old man (mid 30s), so perhaps you can go re-read my comments. I never advocated blindly following anyone, but there was a certain amount of respect athletes had for coaches. Did I ever question my coach, yes? Was there a right way to do it? Absolutely. I never upstaged my coach, a trainer or staff during practice. I knew I could talk to them after practice. I'm not sure that Barker did that at. As for stereotyping, I'm in the classroom daily and on the practice field. This is what I see. And from fellow coaches, many from 30 and over, they've noticed much of the same things. You see, sometimes us "old men" actually have something called wisdom. It comes from experience. You see things. You can track trends. You notice how things change over time. Sure, we're succeptible to comparing things to the days of old (these student-athletes are very fortunate today and I wish I had much of what they had ...). I realize that many of them have it harder in some respects - much of my friends grew up in stable home environments, which many of these athletes don't have. BTW - I've shared this view with one of my friends who has done multiple tours, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he'd agree with the generalization. You might want to consider what a generalization is, and why people use it, effectively. I didn't say everyone was like this, but when I read the comments by the athlete in question, I instantly begin to wonder what his motives were, and if he's correct. Post Script - we see Jerry Kill's response. He wasn't being a jerk by not rewarding the kid a scholarship, there was a time limit. Oklahoma had a similar situation with a running back a few years ago, and consider the walk on wide receiver at Michigan State a few years back. I believe he initially started when John L was there, and bridged over to the Dantonio era. Can't remember the name right now, but lets not assume the coach is a jerk because most kids today have been told they are great since day 1.
26 weeks 4 days ago	Perspectives from a coach	Kids are much different these days, and it's mostly NOT good.  There was something about the old days in terms of responses to an authority figure. One - in an age when sports medicine is so advanced, techniques for warmup and post-workout recovery is so high, yet athletes don't seem to want to put the time in doing it right. they're too damn worried about the latest video game, who's tweeting what, and the bs that goes with life these days.  Two - injured athletes in general, don't approach rehab work the same way they do training. The best do, but most use it as an opportunity to slack. I've watched injured athletes skip rehab sessions, not fully stretch, ignore warnings, and even goof around and work the injured areas in non-workout activities, only to watch them complain about it later. I adopted a simple policy this year - if you skipped going to the trainers room before school for rehab (we have 3 certified AT's on campus), you're healthy enough to practice without restrictions. This generation thinks because they can google stuff that they are suddenly full of wisdom. Forget the fact that most of them don't actually do much research, but even when they do, that means they have information. They can't synthesize, analyze or evaluate worth anything and might be a generation dumber than any other in time.  Three - everyone always says they work hard and are dedicated. Well, I started to hear that too much by athletes skipping rehab, skipping practices, eating poorly, etc. So I've put together a list of "What you'll need to do when you say, 'I want to get better'". This list is quite exhaustive, but it embodies the person who really means "I want to get better". That phrase is as trite and overused as "I love you". Okay, show me. I've adapted it to the classroom as well. Most athletes won't do half of what's on the list, so It's a good reminder of what they really need to do.  Four - coddled. As a teacher/coach, these kids are the weakest and laziest I could imagine. They all think they are good because they are told that and they have the participation ribbons to show it. I had one of my senior athletes tell me in a written post-race evaluation that they were proud of their last performance because, even though they missed their PR by over 2 minutes, they fought hard on the course and attacked the tough parts, oh and finally beat a teammate that they never beat before in a race, but beat regularly in practice. Great, because there is nothing more that I want then you being happy with a horrible race performance and focusing on finishing ahead of teammates.  I don't know Jerry Kill, and he might be an ass, but honestly, I know too many of these athletes today are spoiled, coddled, and their comments should be viewed with MASSIVE amounts of skepticism. My high school coach in one of my sports was a jerk. And yet I made sure that I ran for my teammates and myself, and I learned to deal with it. My parents supported me, but never offered to get involved. I confronted my jerk coach, and he listened, he made some changes, even though much of the damage was done, but we handled it like two adults. Maybe that's the lesson here. Sack up, confront Coach Kill and deal with it. Great job quitting on your teammates. And then publicly crying about it during the season, not waiting until the season was over. Great way to rip your team apart. Two words for a kid like that: Selfish d-bag.
30 weeks 3 days ago	Ignorance is embarrassing	A track is more than just an oval of concrete. Whether indoor orb outdoor, you have a very specialized coating that goes over the concrete that is designed to provide some cushion while maximizing return energy for each stride. In addition, it has to withstand the spikes of the runners season after season, and in a place like Michigan constant use in the winter. It's sad that a school like GVSU has an amazing indoor facility with grandstands, huge video screen, beautiful locker rooms, great athletic training facilities, etc. Track isn't cheap.
32 weeks 4 days ago	I'm hoping your comment	Is as sarcastic as I suspect the OP was. Did you see Zook's product. Talented but uncoached athletes are a disaster. You have to give a guy two years at least.
33 weeks 4 days ago	Troy Nunes	I think we racked up a safety or two in that game. For years hence Nunes became a verb among our friends and it was always followed by a reference to Dr. Zaius. Good times.
43 weeks 3 days ago	Worst case scenario for Penn State still isn't that bad	It's July 23rd, fall camps will start in a few weeks, meaning no juniors or seniors are transfering from Penn State, not starters who are returning for sure. Why would you transfer right before fall camp to coaches that don't know you, to a system you don't know, when you have no time to prepare. Good luck breaking into the starting line up.  They'll be fine next year, as USC showed the first year of their sanctions, even with Lane Kiffin as coach. Seasons two and three will be rough and they'll probably bottom out to around 3 or 4 wins by the end of the sanctions period. At that point, as already mentioned, the facilities will still be in place, the huge stadium, Pennsylvania will still be pumping out football players, and if O'Brien is a bad coach, he'll be sacked, and an up and coming assistant or MAC type coach will be drooling over the chance to come into Happy Valley and rebuild the program. They'll have the instant selling point of starting immediately, by then, something horrific will have happened at another program and people will have lessened their hate, and the improvement will be on. In fact, the worst thing that might happen to Penn State is they are mediocre with O'Brien during this period, they retain him, and perhaps they stay mediocre. While as a coach, it's hard to argue Joe Paterno build the program, and to a lesser extent the school, much like Bowden, the program had declined strongly under him, even with the occasional good season (see 2005). By falling flat on their faces during this period, they can begin a completely new building process. Oklahoma did this, Texas did this, USC did this, a lot of programs fell hard, and then rebuilt. Penn State has everything in place to do the same, and the region will remain loyal.
43 weeks 3 days ago	Much ado about nothing	I personally like traditional, clean cut, simple jerseys. But I'm also a 36 year old former student and briefly athlete. What does my opinion matter. Am one of 85 men on scholarship to play football at Michigan? Am I an incoming recruit? No, neither of them, so my opinion means about as much as almost everyone on this board - NOTHING! This does help recruiting. And yes, before you come running at me with Alabama, Texas, USC, and Oklahoma - lets just be honest here - how many national titles have these teams won in the past decade, or even played for? We had 2 straight losing seasons, a few 4 and 5 loss seasons, and honestly, no one cares about tradition of the program anymore. If they did, Notre Dame wouldn't still be trying to wake up the echos for the better part of two decades now. Furthermore, USC and Texas are the flagship programs in two of the most fertile recruiting states. Michigan, if you haven't noticed, isn't a hotbed for tons of top prospects.  Even classic programs like Ohio State have done the alternate jersey thing (and at a much worse level), and they've played for 3 national championships in the last ten years (cheaters or not).  Finally, I think Brian went through and detailed last year the history of the white road jersey - and it has been constantly under some sort of change. Maybe not every year, but at least once a decade, if not more. So it's not like they are messing with the home jersey which has pretty much remained the same since at least Ol' Number 98 was bringing Buckeye fans to their feet in the Horseshoe.  My thoughts from an elder Wolverine.
43 weeks 3 days ago	What makes our distinguished University sound stupid	Has always been the addition of You Suck at the end of Temptation. We didn't do it when I was a student ('98), but sometime shortly after it started. It's not even clever, it's offensive, and can't we come up with something better - oh yeah, Go Blue. And no, Go Blue never sounds stupid, up by 3 scores, down by 5 scores (oh, the RichRod era).  As for doing it while the US Air Force Academy is playing us, and their cadets are watching ... you're right, they are tougher than almost every member of the student body. And I'm sure they won't even be able to make out what is being said, but that isn't the point. Remember, that entire student body has signed up to protect this country. While we can have different views on prior US military action (most of which is not decided upon by the military - our commander in chief is a civilian commander) they go and serve where they are told and when they are told. They put their lives at risk defending most of us, who live under and are able to do what we want because of that protection. Not always perfect, but definitely honorable.  In summary, You Suck is a stupid cheer and should be cut out permanently. However, it might be a nice touch to do it starting with the Air Force game. My opinion.
44 weeks 3 days ago	And what were his findings ....	As it relates to current or former employees outside of "the four". I am beginning to find it hard to believe that many, many others were aware of and involved in this situation. This to include PSU officials and current board members., coaching staff under Joe, other administrators, not to mention the entire Second Mile board and some or perhaps many community members.
49 weeks 5 days ago	The state of track and field at Michigan	I briefly ran for the Maize and Blue, and so it's important to see them be successful. Michigan has had or did have many long-term coaches, some of which have left in recent years (Warhurst being the foremost). Henry (women's) and LaPlante (men) have been around for a significant amount of time, particulary Henry, and the program's haven't improved much. Now, Wisconsin is a conference powerhouse, and Penn State has had some good teams, particuarly on the women's side a few years ago, but Michigan should be more competitive. It might be time to replace the head coaches on both sides. Plus, there were questions about what really happened when, after Michigan's surprise title in 2008 (I believe) why Warhurst and LaPlante switched places. (being a distance coach, I'd rather just be able to do my thing and let someone else run the team, until it involves scholarships, that's a different beast).  Gibby needs time, as he seems to coach more toward the 5 and 10k, longer distances, where Warhurst really, really excelled with that 1500 - 5000 type runner throughout his career. And I think Gibby is going to be good in the long run.  Not sure what is going on with McGuire. The women were exceptionally tough, pushing Wisconsin to the edge or beating them, and then after the about 2006, it's been rough since. He's had some good runners, but not dominant like prior. And it was shortly after that run that Stanford allegedly came calling, and he turned them down. Of course, I don't think he has the professional group he had in the mid 2000s of Anna Pierce, Katie Waites, Lindsey Gallo, and others (another 1500 meter runner from Cornell). That might play a role. I did notice the men had only 3 paid coaches, with 4 volunteer assistants. While two are probably Gibby's former runners still training with him, you'd like to see all the event groups at a Big Ten school actually getting at least part time pay.
1 year 3 weeks ago	Quick question	How does Toney Clemons get drafted ahead of Hemmingway? Sometimes I have no idea what NFL front offices are thinking. Then again, what does my opinion matter.
1 year 3 weeks ago	being in the tempe area	That kid is a complete waste of talent. Cincinnati will soon discover that.
1 year 3 weeks ago	Honor them for what?	Working together to begin a dark period in Michigan basketball? Their B10 titles - nope never one those. There two back-to-back national championship losses - didn't tiny Butler accomplish that, and were at least somewhat competitve in both games.  Honor the fact that they made a mockery of the integrity of the University. That whenever I mention integrity in college athletics one of the first topics brought up is the Fab Five, and the next group of recruits who took money. Great! I know this is not the popular story, but while inventive and progressive for basketball, their damage to the legacy and reputation of the program is harmful. Under Freider and Orr (no saints themselves) Michigan was consistently competing for conference titles. Orr took Michigan to a championship game loss. Frieder's recruits won a title with then interim coach Steve Fisher. Since the recruiting classes of Webber, Rose, Howard, King, Jackson, and then Traylor, Baston, Ward, Taylor and Mitchell (btw - Mitchell was in my orientation group - of course he slept through it, which was why he was in orientation for the second time), Michigan basketball has either been a joke, or we've been giddy with finishing in the top half of the Big Ten and making the tournament. What a step down.  Let this period die at Michigan. Let us move on, let those outside the university celebrate it, but for the University, no celebration, no forced apologies, no revisionist history. Most of them have proven that it's all about themselves, and never was about Michigan.
1 year 3 weeks ago	No one is stopping CWebb	Except there really isn't a his side to the story besides a selfish kid who thinks the rules didn't apply to him. He's always tried to play this reality that he's someone who he isn't. He had enough money to survive in college. The, "I can't afford a pizza, while they're selling my jersey" stuff was crap. Mitch Albom and anyone who believes that has little idea of what college athletes actually get. They get a training table with more food than they need. They have stipends when they travel, that most athletes end up having much more left over than they'd actually spend.  Plus, forget about the degree potential. Let's be real, the two years at Michigan gave him time to develop as a basketball player, meaning he was more desirable as a basketball player to the NBA, meaning more money.
1 year 5 weeks ago	Seriously ...	This is Michigan fergodsakes!! We don't need a high profile athletics program for students to pound out applications to want to come here. Even though I was a student-athlete, Michigan was near the bottom of the schools I applied to because of the huge athletic department (big time football schools can't really be serious about academics, can they?). I was wrong, but to many academically minded students, this can be a negative, not necessarily a positive.  Continue on with the discussion.
1 year 12 weeks ago	Mario Lopez	is trying so hard not to lose it as he's holding that microphone. That was painful to watch.
1 year 12 weeks ago	Interesting perspective	However, again, having coached athletes, you realize that if he didn't care about them at all, he would have already removed them from the team for whatever their violations were, both serious or just consistent minor infractions. Sometimes, because you care, you actually have to say hard things to people. My suspicion is that after much of a season where all efforts to get through to them have failed, he finally pushed the final button. What does he have to lose? Nothing. If the seniors have no pride, they'll quit, won't play, etc and that will be the end of their careers. If they have that special pride in them, they'll make corrections, grow up, and change their destiny.  As for the rest of the team, do you think that there are others on the team, non-seniors, who probably are playing hard, doing the right things, and are sick and tired of seeing others not do it. They don't have a problem when the coach embarrasses those they already know to be screw ups.  If you listen back to the audio, he is constantly referencing the long term impact on these kids lives, or ability to function in larger society. It might not be nice or pretty, but I can hear someone making a point much larger than basketball here. As a coach, I can tell you that is what every game, practice, workout, etc is about, a life lesson. Sports throws a lot of easily managed "adversity" at you (it really isn't adversity - I hate it when athletes say that), but it can help prepare you for those really adverse and challenging moments in life. I think this is where Pat is going. Too much coddling these days, and not enough calling out and making statements that are more true than fair.
1 year 12 weeks ago	That wasn't what I expected	Honestly, given that we don't know what has gone on with the team ... I'm not sure it was that bad. Honestly, the tone was actually quite calm. He was pretty controlled, but it sounds like his seniors are not working.  Now, I'm not sure if you have been a coach before, but take over a poor program at any level, and it's difficult to come in, change the culture, when you have seniors who don't care and aren't doing what they need to do. As a coach, I can understand the frustration, and at some point, you need to say this, and if they aren't listening in private, you might need to go public and see how they respond. I hear the remarks and he's basically saying their childish and they need to grow up.  I think it probably should stay in the locker room, but sometimes you have to do something extreme to get their attention, or shut them down permanently.
1 year 15 weeks ago	Henson has a mixed legacy	Because during his junior year, he had Thomas in the backfield and Terrell and Walker to throw to, and I'm sure there was a TE who I'm forgetting, and yet his team finished 9-3, with losses at Purdue, Northwestern and UCLA (when he was injured). Granted, the defense was awful that year, but I'm still upset at his decision to not tuck and run (taking the sack) and keep the clock running against Purdue instead of trying to complete a tough throw. There is no way Dorsch hits a FG from more than a yard further out.  I feel bad having Bass on the list given that it wasn't his fault he never met the hype. That knee injury was devastating.
1 year 15 weeks ago	In all fairness	I believe Kapsner was behind two pretty good quarterbacks in Brady and Henson.
1 year 16 weeks ago	I'm curious	But the common statement is that Paterno would have had to seen Sandusky all the time, with boys, and have known he was on trips. I believe the latter has already been documented as false (some of sandusky's travel was last minute). If you remember in 3 & out, rodriguez didn't have control over sideline passes. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that with a massive program like Penn State, and an older coach like Paterno, that much of the activities were delegated to others and that he would not know. Since they were NOT close (now well documented) its not like Jerry would seek out Paterno. Joe was still responsible for his program and his failure to do more breaks my heart. I see ignorance and poor leadership, but neither malice or intent to deceive from JoePa. I do see that in his superiors. I really want to separate fact from supposition so that we can all learn from this and try to effectively prevent in the future.
1 year 16 weeks ago	Correction	Joe had superiors. If he didn't, he would have died as head coach. Apparently his power in Happy Valley wasn't as iron-clad as suspected.

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