The "what does it mean" section is amazing. RB2 is "incredible". RB1 is best RB at Michigan in 15 years. O Line is also "incredible". JJ McCarthy remains really good. I'm just basking in the glow of these good feelings, man. It honestly blows my mind that we're here, as a program, after the last 15 years...
Fair, but from a college student perspective, there's something to be said for a big ass pizza by the slice shop that's open til 2. NYPD in A2 is the same (and Backroom).
But from a civilized, salary-earning, college grad perspective... Black Sheep, Red Wagon, Lola, Young Joni, Hello Pizza...
Not sure about you, but I care a heck of a lot more about college basketball and football than I do about college hockey and baseball. I would dare to say most do, that's where all the revenue comes from. Your solution would "fix" the problem by reducing the revenue of college sports- people will pay less attention, spend less money, care less. Then there's less money to divvy up, and players care less about getting their piece. That's one way to do it, but it's not very fun.
I still hold out hope for a middle ground- a way to direct the revenue generated by football and basketball to the people who are responsible for the interest, while still keeping the model close enough to the same that a) players still opt to play in college, preferably for my favorite team, and b) people care as much as they currently do about their team.
I would take that five seed in Lundardi's bracket in a heartbeat! Tennessee/Rick Barnes, then an sketchy Xavier team, then a chance to give Purdue the business and get revenge? There's a chance there!
Like, I don't go out of my way to watch women's hoops, but it's not like the WNBA (or the awesome UConn-Miss St. game Saturday night) kept something more important off of prime time TV. Other than baseball, what else is ESPN2 going to show in the summer? And, why does it bother you so much? Just, like, don't watch it.
Either way, it's sports. I like sports. If it happens to be on, I'll watch. Hell, I'll even take my kids to a game, because as others have mentioned, it's cheap and you can get great seats. And though I don't think a WNIT championship is worth a front page article (just like a swimming, gymnastics, or volleyball championship wouldn't), I'm not going to spit on a Michigan team that just won a championship and gets to hang a banner.
That, frankly, couldn't be further from the truth. I mean, they count more than NBA or NHL games because of the scarcity, but please. Even the best NFL regular season game, something like Denver/KC last weekend, counts only in the abstract, and in the seeding and tiebreakers for playoff positioning. Nothing "counts" like a college football game "counts" right now.
Not to belabor the point, and this comparison has been made many times, but in an 8 or 12 team playoff, that game in Columbus a couple weekends ago is for pride and seeding, not life or death. Even though it ended poorly, would anyone have cared/punched their fist through a wall if we would just meet them in the playoffs the week later? Anything that minimizes The Game is a non-starter in my book.
As amazing as this is to type, just two short years ago Michigan fans were feeling the same way, with an extra dose of AD incompetence. We felt that not only were things not going to change for a while, but that it had become "unfun" to watch the team we loved, with no signs of improvement or competence.
Then Hackett --> Harbaugh --> Nike/Jordan and here we are.
1) His helmet hits the QB in the left arm. He uses his shoulder to hit the QB in the ribs. The rule was not correctly applied. Look at the gif closely. The call is ridiculous.
2) It's a really bad rule. I would use this particular hit as a good example of hot to properly hit a QB and avoid a hit to the head. That's the goal of the rule. Why would there need to be an addendum to address hits to other parts of the body with the helmet? It's putting the referees in an impossible spot, and I fail to see how that hit in particular could have been executed differently. Head up? Well then he contacts the facemask, and that's targeting too. It's legislating tackling form, which is silly.
If he's actually used as a utility player, he can spell a bunch of different dudes, fill in most anywhere when there's an injury, lay down a bunt, and maybe steal a bag or two. Need one of those guys on the team.
Where the hate comes from, and the same thing with old Don Kelly, is that the managers fall in love with these guys and play them more than what their role is. They are utility guys because they're generally not great at any one position (jack of all trades). They should not be used as defensive replacements! Bringing in Romine to play 3rd every time the Tigers are leading is going to kill us in a big game one of these times. He's not much better defensively than Nicky C (see last night), and if the score gets tied up, you've lost one of your best bats for crucial extra innings plate appearances. Old Smoky Jim did this all the time with Don Kelly too, drove me nuts.
Been a few years since I've lived there. And I don't know too many kid friendly things other than the science center. Restaurant recs: Fido for coffee and brunch, Samurai for sushi, Hattie B's for hot chicken. It's worth a walk down Broadway in the afternoon: every bar and restaurant has live music that is better than most things you've heard, even if you don't like country music.
It's a fair point. And JB and team's inability to close the deal on potential game-changing recruits definitely hurt.
I guess my point though, is unless you're consistently bringing in the top of the line recruits (and really, only the blue chip programs are- Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, UNC), the key in college hoops to having a stable, consistent program is being able to have a steady roster of talent developing over 3 and 4 years. And, to be honest, outside of McGary, none of those dudes that left early, when they were recruited, were projected to be early entries. So if even a couple followed the Denzel Valentine path of development, and were solid contributors for three years until becoming a POY candidate in year four, then we're having a different conversation right now I think.
The core of this years' MSU team is Valentine and Costello (both seniors, got their butts kicked by Stauskas and Burke teams), and two transfers in Harris and Forbes, one of which in Harris Beilein either decided to pass on or couldn't close the deal on. Sure, he did well on both player development and pulling in those two transfers. Additionally, though, he only had to deal with one early entry in Gary Harris, while JB had 4 (and you can almost include Levert as #5 since he could have gone and was basically MIA anyway the past two years). Not to mention, other than year 2 McGary, those M teams were as healthy and the past two years' teams have not been.
I'm frustrated too, the team this year was frustrating as heck to watch. And the post recruiting has been a bundle of swings and misses. I just wish there was context around this outrage (and not just from OP here), and an understanding that, as Ace said, college hoops is such a crapshoot sometimes, and that two years ago, Beilein's club won the B1G by a whole two games.
Granted, things are different these days with the amount of money that gets poured into sports, but United fans have been spoiled with SAF's ability to make championship teams out of old guys the past few years. To not give Moyes the opportunity to earn their respect, rebuild the youth team a bit, and bring in his guys is a shame.
That being said, as an Everton fan, I'm not heartbroken with how things worked out for us. Martinez has been just fantastic, and has brought with him a style that's really fun to watch. Moyes did really well for a number of years with limited resources and I feel some loyalty to him for that, but the success RM has had this year makes me wonder what we were missing. Plus, he tried to take Leighton Baines with him to United, and got denied, so screw him :)
Wait, 2004 Wisconsin won the BTT, finished second place in the conference, had an overall 24-6 record at the end of the season, and got a SIX seed??? Man the B1G really stunk that year. Only sent 3 teams to the tourney (but were the home of the NIT champs!)
I don't disagree with your second part about the longer term picture. At all. And that's what I think worries me, is that this has the odor of an "activist shareholder" coming in and changing things up to maximize profits in the short term, with no concern paid for the long term. Obviously that's not entirely the case, as Brandon is a former Michigan football player himself and understands everything that goes along with that which can't be measured. As many have said above, I'm curious to see what happens next year.
As a fan of college football in general, though, it's hard not to see this as a bubble that will eventually pop. When people stop coming to games because prices are too high, schedules are too crappy, and the HD experience at home is enjoyable, then what? Couple that with the ongoing litigation about players unable to make money off of their own image and likeness, and things eventually will have to change. Does that mean ticket prices go down?
As a couple people mentioned above, Brandon is acting the CEO part and is trying to make as much money as possible for the AD. If 95% of the stadium buys tickets at $90, UM makes more money than if 100% of the stadium pays $70. From a "bottom line" perspective, sometimes a sellout is not even the desired outcome.
I'm hoping that the AD still places some non-monetary value on selling out the stadium, and would adjust prices accordingly. It energizes the fanbase, makes us proud to be at that game. Just think about how happy we were against ND, when we set the NCAA record for attendance.
** On a side note, true dynamic pricing would adjust the ticket price in both directions according to market value. This model only moves the price up if necessary, never down. I kind of think that's my biggest beef with this, and what makes it feel like an insult to us as fans.
Driver: Taylor Made Superfast Burner 2.0. Like the weight balance on this, feels a little more end-weighted than some of the newer drivers (RBZ), so I feel like I get a little more "whip" and clubhead speed. Put an oversize grip on it, which allows me to swing a little harder and still have control. Highly recommend that.
3-wood: Mizuno F60. 15 degree with the stock stiff shaft. Really like the look of this, and when I was trying out 3 woods about 4 years ago, this one had the best ball flight for me. Was able to turn it over pretty well.
Irons: Mizuno MP-60. Muscleback, so not a true blade, but for my money, there's not a better feeling iron than a Mizuno.
Wedges: Cleveland forged. I have a couple different varieties, but swapped out my 5 wood for a 52-degree gap wedge, and that has helped me, being able to take more full swings with wedges on my approach. Big fan of the Cleveland wedges, though.
Putter: Taylor Made Rossa Monte Carlo 7. Center shafted putter, which to my eye feels right. I used to have an end-shafter putter, and it always felt like I was hitting it off center, especially on long putts. Putters are all about feel, though, so try a bunch and find whatever feels right to your eye.
They've shown a great amount of skill on the ball in the second half, much better than the first... The first half they weren't able to keep posession at all
Jamie, I 100% agree. There is a place for investigative journalism and "exposees" (2 e's equals accented e), especially with the corruption in the city of Detroit, and the, um, interesting situation of the auto industry. For example, their top notch work on exposing the tip of the Kwame corruption iceberg ended up getting a mayor removed from office, along with double digit numbers of his cronies thrown behind bars (and, if there is a god, the former mayor himself will join them again). It's just depressing and frustrating that a similar amount of effort was spent by the paper's employees trying to dig up another scandal at the U of M.
Reporters can always find "something" if they look hard enough. I just wish I understood why they felt the need to dig into the football program...
I'm partial to Maxwell's (12th and Washington) or Harry's (5th and Washington, though a little pricier) close to the Dome. Stub and Herb's has really good burgers if you're looking for somewhere on the UMn campus.
As an aside, I'm still weighing whether I should go. I've been to 5 Min-Det games at the dome this year, and they've lost every one, some in amazingly frustrating fashion. I think I'm bad luck, and I really hate that place. And if they blow it, I'd rather just have my bourbon close and not have to talk to anyone. But, how often do you get to see your team clinch...
For those weeks that you can't make it to AA, the official Michigan Alumni Club-Twin Cities bar is Bar 508, next to the Target Center, downtown Mpls. I wasn't there Saturday (at a cabin in Northern WI, thank god for Dish Network) but it's usually a pretty good crowd.
I hope to all available deities that Michigan football does not put together a 10 year stretch like the tigers did. But, I couldn't agree more that, as a fellow tiger fan, the pain made the sweet sweeter. That's a great reminder.
Especially if the game you went to was the UT-Cal game from '04 where the Fighting Creamsicles scored the first 28 points or something on their way to a rout. It was pretty cool.
The sad part about the whole situation is how freaking perfect he would be in the spread and shred with Sammy Mac and Odoms. And it would have been that way for 4 years (maybe 3). Now he's playing as a freshman (which he said he wasn't keen on doing) in a system that hasn't yet figured out how to use him outside of a ISQD where he still picks up 10 yds. And will probably live in my nightmares for the next few years.
because of the sequence of events that led to Utah's last touchdown before the half. The Sheridan interception, the Troy Smith-like slicing of the defense, the option call with 2 seconds left instead of taking a knee. I think we all were just in shock.
That said, what did everyone expect? I didn't boo, and didn't like that others did. If there was ever a season where Michigan fans were going to need to be optimists, this is it. The stadium was absolutely dead throughout the third, and it only served as more ammo for those who call us fairweather fans.
They have a Panda Express on North Campus now??? God, I probably would be dead by now if they had that when I was there. Instead I dined on dollar double cheeseburgers and McChickens every evening.
My girlfriend and I (both alums '04) are driving in from MN Friday night and will be tailgating on the golf course. We'd certainly love to use them if they're still available. Email me at <my user name>@gmail.com and we can figure out the details.
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Via UM Hoops (via Instagram) https://twitter.com/umhoops/status/1745233771379437574?s=19
This was brilliant. It truly was a sports movie. And these men will be legends forever.
The "what does it mean" section is amazing. RB2 is "incredible". RB1 is best RB at Michigan in 15 years. O Line is also "incredible". JJ McCarthy remains really good. I'm just basking in the glow of these good feelings, man. It honestly blows my mind that we're here, as a program, after the last 15 years...
Holy cow- his AD is Brian Ellerbe??
Alumni Club has watched games at Yardhouse in St. Louis Park for the last 4 years if that is of interest, too.
Driving up from Mpls for tonight's game- more expensive than $8 but hopefully seeing a win in person!
Fair, but from a college student perspective, there's something to be said for a big ass pizza by the slice shop that's open til 2. NYPD in A2 is the same (and Backroom).
But from a civilized, salary-earning, college grad perspective... Black Sheep, Red Wagon, Lola, Young Joni, Hello Pizza...
Done and done. This one is very nice.
That's awesome! Small world...
Oblivion! I own(ed?) that debut CD, and Ben was a cool dude that was in a lot of freshman honors classes with me. Fun random memory there. Great club.
Goal is to find 80 degrees every week. Northern schools early, southern schools late. Then, the Game
Not sure about you, but I care a heck of a lot more about college basketball and football than I do about college hockey and baseball. I would dare to say most do, that's where all the revenue comes from. Your solution would "fix" the problem by reducing the revenue of college sports- people will pay less attention, spend less money, care less. Then there's less money to divvy up, and players care less about getting their piece. That's one way to do it, but it's not very fun.
I still hold out hope for a middle ground- a way to direct the revenue generated by football and basketball to the people who are responsible for the interest, while still keeping the model close enough to the same that a) players still opt to play in college, preferably for my favorite team, and b) people care as much as they currently do about their team.
I would take that five seed in Lundardi's bracket in a heartbeat! Tennessee/Rick Barnes, then an sketchy Xavier team, then a chance to give Purdue the business and get revenge? There's a chance there!
Was going to log in to say the same thing. Also, holy crap Northwestern. That "preseason ranked" thing was short lived.
Post in wrong spot
Insert eye-rolliest of eye-roll gifs.
Like, I don't go out of my way to watch women's hoops, but it's not like the WNBA (or the awesome UConn-Miss St. game Saturday night) kept something more important off of prime time TV. Other than baseball, what else is ESPN2 going to show in the summer? And, why does it bother you so much? Just, like, don't watch it.
Either way, it's sports. I like sports. If it happens to be on, I'll watch. Hell, I'll even take my kids to a game, because as others have mentioned, it's cheap and you can get great seats. And though I don't think a WNIT championship is worth a front page article (just like a swimming, gymnastics, or volleyball championship wouldn't), I'm not going to spit on a Michigan team that just won a championship and gets to hang a banner.
Go Blue.
boo this man.
My goodness...
Teez Tabor?
Corn Elder?
Damontae Kazee?
Cordrea Tankersley?
Those are some good names!
That, frankly, couldn't be further from the truth. I mean, they count more than NBA or NHL games because of the scarcity, but please. Even the best NFL regular season game, something like Denver/KC last weekend, counts only in the abstract, and in the seeding and tiebreakers for playoff positioning. Nothing "counts" like a college football game "counts" right now.
Not to belabor the point, and this comparison has been made many times, but in an 8 or 12 team playoff, that game in Columbus a couple weekends ago is for pride and seeding, not life or death. Even though it ended poorly, would anyone have cared/punched their fist through a wall if we would just meet them in the playoffs the week later? Anything that minimizes The Game is a non-starter in my book.
As amazing as this is to type, just two short years ago Michigan fans were feeling the same way, with an extra dose of AD incompetence. We felt that not only were things not going to change for a while, but that it had become "unfun" to watch the team we loved, with no signs of improvement or competence.
Then Hackett --> Harbaugh --> Nike/Jordan and here we are.
1) His helmet hits the QB in the left arm. He uses his shoulder to hit the QB in the ribs. The rule was not correctly applied. Look at the gif closely. The call is ridiculous.
2) It's a really bad rule. I would use this particular hit as a good example of hot to properly hit a QB and avoid a hit to the head. That's the goal of the rule. Why would there need to be an addendum to address hits to other parts of the body with the helmet? It's putting the referees in an impossible spot, and I fail to see how that hit in particular could have been executed differently. Head up? Well then he contacts the facemask, and that's targeting too. It's legislating tackling form, which is silly.
If he's actually used as a utility player, he can spell a bunch of different dudes, fill in most anywhere when there's an injury, lay down a bunt, and maybe steal a bag or two. Need one of those guys on the team.
Where the hate comes from, and the same thing with old Don Kelly, is that the managers fall in love with these guys and play them more than what their role is. They are utility guys because they're generally not great at any one position (jack of all trades). They should not be used as defensive replacements! Bringing in Romine to play 3rd every time the Tigers are leading is going to kill us in a big game one of these times. He's not much better defensively than Nicky C (see last night), and if the score gets tied up, you've lost one of your best bats for crucial extra innings plate appearances. Old Smoky Jim did this all the time with Don Kelly too, drove me nuts.
It kind of feels like the Devin Gardner medical redshirt to me, which they didn't apply for until his 4th year (I believe).
Basketball and hockey will set that back, but still, I live in Mpls and had no idea...
It's deferred to the lower court's decision.
It's a fair point. And JB and team's inability to close the deal on potential game-changing recruits definitely hurt.
I guess my point though, is unless you're consistently bringing in the top of the line recruits (and really, only the blue chip programs are- Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, UNC), the key in college hoops to having a stable, consistent program is being able to have a steady roster of talent developing over 3 and 4 years. And, to be honest, outside of McGary, none of those dudes that left early, when they were recruited, were projected to be early entries. So if even a couple followed the Denzel Valentine path of development, and were solid contributors for three years until becoming a POY candidate in year four, then we're having a different conversation right now I think.
The core of this years' MSU team is Valentine and Costello (both seniors, got their butts kicked by Stauskas and Burke teams), and two transfers in Harris and Forbes, one of which in Harris Beilein either decided to pass on or couldn't close the deal on. Sure, he did well on both player development and pulling in those two transfers. Additionally, though, he only had to deal with one early entry in Gary Harris, while JB had 4 (and you can almost include Levert as #5 since he could have gone and was basically MIA anyway the past two years). Not to mention, other than year 2 McGary, those M teams were as healthy and the past two years' teams have not been.
I'm frustrated too, the team this year was frustrating as heck to watch. And the post recruiting has been a bundle of swings and misses. I just wish there was context around this outrage (and not just from OP here), and an understanding that, as Ace said, college hoops is such a crapshoot sometimes, and that two years ago, Beilein's club won the B1G by a whole two games.
Can't believe he's seeing the field. Maybe he's a better swimmer than Diskerud...
Games that Sir Alex always seemed to find a way to win (4 minutes of extra time turning into 7, just in time for United to tie it up)
Granted, things are different these days with the amount of money that gets poured into sports, but United fans have been spoiled with SAF's ability to make championship teams out of old guys the past few years. To not give Moyes the opportunity to earn their respect, rebuild the youth team a bit, and bring in his guys is a shame.
That being said, as an Everton fan, I'm not heartbroken with how things worked out for us. Martinez has been just fantastic, and has brought with him a style that's really fun to watch. Moyes did really well for a number of years with limited resources and I feel some loyalty to him for that, but the success RM has had this year makes me wonder what we were missing. Plus, he tried to take Leighton Baines with him to United, and got denied, so screw him :)
Wait, 2004 Wisconsin won the BTT, finished second place in the conference, had an overall 24-6 record at the end of the season, and got a SIX seed??? Man the B1G really stunk that year. Only sent 3 teams to the tourney (but were the home of the NIT champs!)
I don't disagree with your second part about the longer term picture. At all. And that's what I think worries me, is that this has the odor of an "activist shareholder" coming in and changing things up to maximize profits in the short term, with no concern paid for the long term. Obviously that's not entirely the case, as Brandon is a former Michigan football player himself and understands everything that goes along with that which can't be measured. As many have said above, I'm curious to see what happens next year.
As a fan of college football in general, though, it's hard not to see this as a bubble that will eventually pop. When people stop coming to games because prices are too high, schedules are too crappy, and the HD experience at home is enjoyable, then what? Couple that with the ongoing litigation about players unable to make money off of their own image and likeness, and things eventually will have to change. Does that mean ticket prices go down?
As a couple people mentioned above, Brandon is acting the CEO part and is trying to make as much money as possible for the AD. If 95% of the stadium buys tickets at $90, UM makes more money than if 100% of the stadium pays $70. From a "bottom line" perspective, sometimes a sellout is not even the desired outcome.
I'm hoping that the AD still places some non-monetary value on selling out the stadium, and would adjust prices accordingly. It energizes the fanbase, makes us proud to be at that game. Just think about how happy we were against ND, when we set the NCAA record for attendance.
** On a side note, true dynamic pricing would adjust the ticket price in both directions according to market value. This model only moves the price up if necessary, never down. I kind of think that's my biggest beef with this, and what makes it feel like an insult to us as fans.
Driver: Taylor Made Superfast Burner 2.0. Like the weight balance on this, feels a little more end-weighted than some of the newer drivers (RBZ), so I feel like I get a little more "whip" and clubhead speed. Put an oversize grip on it, which allows me to swing a little harder and still have control. Highly recommend that.
3-wood: Mizuno F60. 15 degree with the stock stiff shaft. Really like the look of this, and when I was trying out 3 woods about 4 years ago, this one had the best ball flight for me. Was able to turn it over pretty well.
Irons: Mizuno MP-60. Muscleback, so not a true blade, but for my money, there's not a better feeling iron than a Mizuno.
Wedges: Cleveland forged. I have a couple different varieties, but swapped out my 5 wood for a 52-degree gap wedge, and that has helped me, being able to take more full swings with wedges on my approach. Big fan of the Cleveland wedges, though.
Putter: Taylor Made Rossa Monte Carlo 7. Center shafted putter, which to my eye feels right. I used to have an end-shafter putter, and it always felt like I was hitting it off center, especially on long putts. Putters are all about feel, though, so try a bunch and find whatever feels right to your eye.
Couple Maker's Manhattans for happy hour, now working on a delicious Great Lakes Brewing Edmund Fitzgerald
I think that's Andrew Golata. Wladi Klitschko lets Hayden Panetierre (sp?) (seen on the right) do the "below the belt" work.
Thank you for linking to this again... Honestly made my week...
They've shown a great amount of skill on the ball in the second half, much better than the first... The first half they weren't able to keep posession at all
Not with the sports bra on the back...
Especially because he's supposed to be the best of the English play-by-play men. I wished they would have acknowleged it, at least, after the fact.
because of the sequence of events that led to Utah's last touchdown before the half. The Sheridan interception, the Troy Smith-like slicing of the defense, the option call with 2 seconds left instead of taking a knee. I think we all were just in shock.
That said, what did everyone expect? I didn't boo, and didn't like that others did. If there was ever a season where Michigan fans were going to need to be optimists, this is it. The stadium was absolutely dead throughout the third, and it only served as more ammo for those who call us fairweather fans.