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Touché

I’m excited about this one for personal reasons, but Dr. Blitz has been a revelation.

Getting a Grade A Human, Too!

I grew up with “Big Al” outside of Columbus - he is a fantastic guy and his track record shows his coaching prowess. High-character individual, hard worker, but was always kind to everyone - I’m sure we’ll be seeing his position group thrive and I’m also sure we’ll be seeing Al spending time at Mott and otherwise getting involved in the community. Haven’t been this excited about a Michigan hire since December 2014...

Warde...

Look who Coach has his arm around while making his speach after winning the Jug at the 2:07 mark... Awesome that our football tradition has such devotion and stewardship across the generations (and that we have the video footage to prove it). 

Great New Feature

Thanks, Alex, for this piece.  Great overview of the MAC - not too much in the weeds, but good enough to watch with a reasonably informed interest.  Very excited to read the rest of these.  Nice work. 

Day of Birth "The Game" Program

I was born in Columbus, OH on the day of the 1983 "The Game" at around 9am.  My dad tells me that the first thing we did together was watch Michigan beat OSU from the hospital while my mom was in recovery.  After growing up in Columbus for 18 years, I went to Michigan and my sister followed in my footsteps two years later.  For my 30th birthday, she got me an original program from the 1983 "The Game" which I apparently watched when I was not more than three hours old.

Thank you for the reminder.

I mean this with absolutely sarcasm, I'm on the site every day but sometimes forget to vote.  Thanks for making it easy to remember.  

2005 Home Run Derby

Was working at Palio the summer that the MLB All-Star Game was in Detroit and a buddy came up with an extra ticket to the derby about 2 hours before my shift was supposed to start.  I liked my job but going to the Derby was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  I went in and told my manager that I was very sorry, that I understood if he wanted to fire me and that I was okay with him firing me, but I hoped that he wouldn't because IT'S THE DERBY and I didn't really have a choice.  

End of story, I went, saw Bobby Abreu set the then-record for HRs hit in a round and caught a David Ortiz-hit ball.  I also did not get fired (but worked double-shifts the next two weekends, which helped pay for the ticket).  

Most spontaneous M-related thing was parlaying a hot night at the blackjack table into a next-day flight to Dallas, weekend hotel and ticket to the M-Alabama game in 2012.  It was awesome unitl Alabama got the ball the second time...

LeBron vs. Basically Oklahoma

There was a holiday tournament in Columbus in December 2002 when LeBron was a senior at Akron SVSM and Columbus Brookhaven had Drew Lavender (first at Oklahoma, then took Xavier for a run in the NCAA tourney) and Brandon Foust (went to Oklahoma, as well).  Unreal game - LeBron has a chance to win at the end but is stripped by 5'7" Drew Lavender, who was murdered at the other end, setting up 2 FTs with 2 seconds to go to beat (and outscore) LeBron.  Lavender, a 90% FT shooter, misses both and the game goes to OT, in which SVSM prevails.

Definitely the best H.S. teams I've ever seen and one of the craziest games of any level I've ever watched live. 

There's youtube footage of the entire thing, but this clip has the finish if you go to the 6:10 mark, which starts with Foust tying the game. If someone wants to imbed, that's great - I don't want to clog the thread.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ45ZiV_g-g

Very possible, though it was

Very possible, though it was addressed to Coach Hoke.  I could see it going to the football office, but someone had to hand it from there to the development department.  I was pretty disappointed at the begging for money.  

And yes, the Bacon book will be riveting, I'm sure.  Three & Out was just depressing - I'm sure the tone of the new one will be a bit more optimistic given the post-Brandon developments.  

Hoke Wedding Invite / Donation Request

I got married this past fall (bye week, don't worry) and invited Hoke and his wife, making a personal appeal in case they'd be out on the east coast recruiting.  They, of course, declined (didn't even sign the reply card, much less send a picture or anything), but we got a smarmy note in return from the athletic development department observing "how much Michigan athletics mean to [us]" and asking for a donation.  Dave Brandon, everyone.

An aside - we chose our venue the year before we got married and went to do a tour on Michigan's bye week that year (Fall 2013).  To my absolute delight, the couple getting married at that space the evening we toured was another Michigan couple... who chose to get married on a Michigan bye week.  If you're reading this and got married at the Bryant Park Grill in NYC in October 2013, congratulations and salute!

About the "Update"

Back when the abuse story first broke and the NFL announced its punishment, Peter King, a senior SI writer, did a story on the investigation.  Deadspin already went into detail on it, so I'll link to them, but essentially Peter King reported that the NFL viewed unreleased "inside the elevator" footage in the course of its investigation.

After watching that video, it's tough to think that there is any other "inside the elevator" video that (i) would be available and (ii) would not show what this video shows.

Either Peter King's reporting was wrong, or we're not getting the entire truth from the NFL.  Not sure which, but as badly as the NFL looks right now, I wouldn't be surprised if they're trying to save face.

Neg away, but...

Isn't this actually a great idea for local families that shelled out for season tickets?  Assuming that it's free*?

I'm not married and I don't have kids, but I still remember my first trip to Ann Arbor back in the days where they left the stadium open all the time and you could just go down on the field and throw a football, kick field goals and re-enact Desmond's "Hello Heisman" pose.  It was the coolest thing a 9 year-old Michigan fan could do.  It's a hell of a lot better than a stupid mascot or something like that.  We'll see what they show (if they showed "The Sandlot" or "Remeber the Titains" or something like that, not terrible?), but I think this has the potential to be a decent new tradition.  And who knows, maybe some of the players show up and it's a big "family" thing.  The kids will not be talking about the scoreboards or a stupid t-shirt giveaway or any of that stuff, they'll be talking about how cool it was to sit on the field where their heroes play.  That's the "wholesome" stuff that I can get behind as a way to grow ties to the program. 

Being in the Big House stands with 115,000 screaming fans is incredible.  Being on the field at the Big House with 000,000 people in the stands is a different, but equally cool experience. 

*with this AD, this is not a 100% safe assumption.

Natal?

Any Natal-specific recommendations?  We've all obviously heard that Rio can be very dangerous - is it the same with other smaller cities in the North like Natal and Recife?  Any "must dos" in Natal (I've heard dune buggies are a thing).  Really appreciate the insight you already shared.

Agreed

No offense, but unless Germany and Portugal both falter, I hope you only see two matches :-).  That said, I've never been to a World Cup and I cannot wait to experience all the pageantry and excitement that goes with it.  You're going to see some pretty great cities, too - will be quite the adventure.

10 days in Brazil

Yes!  I'll be going to the US-Ghana match in Natal (I have extra tickets that I'm selling for face value + shipping if anyone needs them or knows someone who needs them) and then heading back to Rio for Spain-Chile and Russia-Belgium.  Should be awesome. 

I was pleased at how good we looked against Nigeria, so hoping for good things.  Where are you staying?

27-21

Michigan wins 27-21. 

The Ballpark Tour

I actually finished my 30th park on opening day this year - lots of great memories not just of the games/stadiums, but of the cities you'll visit, as well.  I did the East Coast driving tour with my father in 2006 and can share some insight, if you'd like.  Definitely helps to have more than one driver, as the nights can get unexpectedly long on I-95 if there's traffic (and there always is).

Enjoy!

16-5 in Top of 8th

Crazy stat they just announced on BTN - Michigan scored 14 runs without an extra base hit until a 2-run double in the top of 8.  Barry Larkin will be proud. 

Alumni Section

Amex presale starts tomorrow at 10am, as well.

Anyone know whether the Alumni Association has a section?  If so, please let the board know where it is.  Really looking forward to this as last year was a blast.

Need to Hit Open 3s

This is painfully obvious, but GRIII/Stauskas will likely have a LOT of open 3-point attempts if we break the press and get the resulting 2 offensive players with 1 defender who tries to keep from getting dunked on.  If we can hit a few of these early, it might take them out of their gameplan.

New York Teams

I submit to you, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  They don't even know where they're from!

But seriously, the New York Jets/Giants don't even play in the state of New York. It's probably about the same time in transit at "Detroit" but the different state is funny.  The Tampa Bay Rays play in St. Petersburg (in a crap hole, I might add), but that's a bit closer to TB.

Glad to be Gone

I was born and raised in Worthington, Ohio (Columbus suburb) and went to Michigan.  Growing up there was great - schools good enough to get into UM out of state, safe community, good youth sports scene, plenty of activity - but after Michigan became a huge part of my life, it felt less and less like home.  My allegiance to Michigan is extremely important to me and I felt like it was difficult to "be myself" and feel comfortable when I was at home for breaks.  Sure, good-natured ribbing from my family doctor (OSU M.D.) and certain neighbors (most of whom were graduates) was exactly that - good-natured.  The people that went to OSU (and were over 35 or had families) seemed to be proud of their school, respect the rivalry and go on about their business. 

The problem is that, as Bob Ufer so eloquently said, Columbus is filled with OSU fans who just care about the sports, or worse, just football (Ufer: "10,000 alumni and 72,000 truck drivers").  These people honestly made it tough to go "home" to visit family during breaks.  Going for a run in Michigan shorts would be met with yells from passing cars (once, I was even passed, and then someone turned around to throw a BP cup of soda at me).  Going to Kroger in a jersey on game day would be met with taunts ranging from a playful "Go Bucks" to "Go back to Michigan" to "You suck" to "Fuck Michigan" to "Fuck you."  The gas station attendant story above doesn't surprise me.   

Not everyone respects the rivalry, which makes it much more difficult for those of us (including the OSU fans who, I'm sure, hate to be lumped in with the "truck drivers") who DO respect the rivalry.  As much as I enjoyed my hometown, I would never move back there and being a Michigan alum is the only reason why.  I don't want to feel unwelcome in my own home city.

This is not to say that you shouldn't move to Columbus because many OSU fans are deplorable.  Just making sure you have another perspective and know what you're getting yourself into.  I turned out okay and love Michigan having gone through all of that, but I also wouldn't choose to do it again.

Best of luck and congrats on the opportunity.

What about

the "Friday Frame."  It's usually a one-frame drawing but it's now a fully-baked version.  Also announcing "Stay tuned for The Friday Frame" sounds pretty good...

YES!!

UPTON! MUPPETS! MUPTON!

Bring 'em on!

They should get a brain.

Fantastic Analysis

This three-part series has been awesome to read.  I understand that three consecutive plays in a game rarely have such an impact on the outcome, but if they do in the future, I'd love to see these "sequence" picture pages return.

Mattison on Denard

Leading up to his final home game, I'm sure we'll see hundreds of words written about Denard, his impact on the Michigan program these past four years and the type of person we all perceive him to be.  But Greg Mattison summed it up perfectly:

"You want everything possibly good that could ever happen for him to happen."

Amen.

55-17 Good guys

Let's do this.

Video Edit

I guess they edited this part out:

Doug: Jeremy, this is an interview, you don't have to pay me. This is $800.

Gallon: Soooo what, man? You earned that buck like a mothaf***er. Keep that s**t.

 

Gallon = Snoop Pearson still gets me every time I see Jeremy without a helmet.

RUBAS

I'm hoping hoping hoping that Johnny from RUBAS will write something "eulogizing" Denard's career.  I'm sure Brian's tribute will be great, but Johnny's work during the 2005-07 seasons (specifically his handling of Mike Hart) was some of the best-written, most touching Michigan-related work I've ever read.  If there is a bat signal for him, Brian, would you mind checking the light to make sure it works when we need him?

For the newbies, check him out here:  http://umichedme.blogspot.com/

There's some Denard stuff on there now, but it's not enough - if there's one guy I want to capture and regurgitate Denard's career, it's Johnny.

I don't know you, but I'll

I don't know you, but I'll probably see you on the plane for the same reason.

Couldn't agree more.

I picked up a slug of tickets this morning for Iowa just so I could be there with some friends for Denard's senior day.  That will really not be one to miss.  He's an incredible ambassador of the program.  His senior year reminds me of Red's speech in Shawshank Redemption after (spoiler alert) Andy escapes.  "Some birds aren't meant to be caged; their feathers are just too bright... but still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone."

There will be others, but I don't think there will be another Denard.

It's Crazy Zewski.

It's Crazy Zewski.

Excuse me, sir:

I have Notre Dame fans on line two.  They'd like a word...

Senior Day

The only problem about handing out legends patches against Ohio (or Iowa this year) is that, as the final home game of the season, it's Senior Day.  It seems like Coach Hoke really makes Senior Day a big deal, so I don't know that he'd want to have another ceremony potentially upstage Senior Day.  Mid-season ND or MSU seem like the right time to me, or potentially during the home game of the Pac-12 home-and-home series we are about to begin.

Sauer

How fantastic must Sauer have felt after getting run over, looking back and seeing JMFJ beating the living shit out of that dude?  Talk about having your goalie's back.  I don't tire of watching that clip.

Laugh, but who else?

Sure, Brady had an unreal NFL career, but he wasn't as great a Wolverine.  Re-read Brian's "Lionized" article that he links in the post above. 

Not only is Hart as the greatest all-around Wolverine since Chuck Heisman a serious argument, it's a winning one...

Hart absolutely has to be in.

Mike Hart was the only thing standing between the 2007 team and it becoming the 2008 team.  When asked if he regretted coming back to M, he said, "No way. This is my team. When we're losing, it's my team, and when we start winning again, it will be my team." 

No hyperbole, Hart is the greatest all-around Wolverine - talent, production, leadership, fantangables - since Charles Woodson.  He's the all-time leading rusher and he doesn't make the top 3?  No way.  All others on this list are deserving, and will eventually make it in all likelihood, but Mike Hart earned inclusion in the inagural class.

Jake Long Fantangible

When Ryan Mallett was a frosh subbing for an injured Henne in 2007 against Penn State, he went into celebration after a TD and Jake said, "Man, just hand the ball to the ref."

Mallett replied, "Sorry, Jake, don't hurt me."

That's all I need...

Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3608568

Re: Scarbrough

Ace, you'll be shocked, like, LEMON BET shocked?

I just miss recruiting prognostication without citrus-consuming consequences...

Venom.

Nothing like some ice cold venom to get the week going.  Can't say I disagree, though.  It'll enhance the "brand" to be playing in such a marquee game, but the game would probably be just as notable on the national landscape if it was played in Tuscaloosa or Ann Arbor.  It seems like the Jerryworld location and "Opening Day" nature of the game is the only "value add" that might be worth taking a haircut on.  Difficult to quantify such value, but it does seem like we are getting screwed...

Huge Props for Calvin & Hobbes

+1 for the C&H post.

No Official, Then?

I know he and Mathis were planning on taking a joint official during the fall.  I'm assuming this means that this is no longer happening.  Any insiders know if he's giving Michigan another unofficial before 6/6?

Thanks!

Really appreciate the heads up on this.  Very cool that our University is providing such a useful free service; selfishly I've been out of school a few years and miss the mental stimulation that comes with learning something new that isn't directly related to work.  I will definitely be taking a course - thanks again!

Kickers

I'm sure this section was tongue-in-cheek, but I think it will be interesting to see whether Will Hagerup is able to hold onto the punting job this spring/fall.  In addition to his part-time residence in the Animal Sciences dormatories for last year, he was underwhelming (despite having a leg cannon and drawing comparisons to Zoltan) and was actually lifted for Wile.  Just an addition to the "That is all."  That is all.

If someone told me...

...that I had a 1% chance of ever walking again, I'd say this technique has plenty of practical use.  This could just be the first proverbial step in his recovery.

Shawn - take some advice from Carl Weathers:

Don't touch your per diem. Go to Craft Service, get some raw veggies, bacon, a Cup-A-Soup, baby you got a stew goin'!!

Nebraska...

Wow, they are crazy.  No wonder their fans are so pissed when they lose at home.

Rivals has an update on last night's visit

And it appears from @RivalsMike's twitter feed that Urban wasn't, in fact, late.  I don't have a subscription but FWIW we may have jumped a bit on the "bad visit" meme.

Winning First Head-to-Head

If this Reeves report is true, winning the first high-profile recruiting battle against U. Meyer would be huge. Not only would we bet a quality player and human, but it would seriously slow down the recruiting machine down there. Very excited to see how this turns out. Just hope Mattison isn't delayed tomorrow...
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