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Date	Title	Body
2 years 3 weeks ago	IRA = BCS	As I alluded to in my post above, men's intercollegiate rowing is fraught with problems, primarily poor structure and organization that hinders growth.  Indeed, as mentioned by you, it is very much like the BCS with its exclusion of certain programs. For me, it was always laughable that a program like Temple University, a D1 program with a boathouse on the Schuylkill River, located in an area with loads of high school/junior rowing, and having rowing scholarships (i.e. all of the necessary resources), always was content to compete at the Dad Vail and dominate clubs, D2, and D3 teams (for a lot of years; not so much recently), and then have the gall to call themselves "national champions".  This is just one more example of what is the disorganization (most of it based on Eastern programs-biased "tradition") currently and continually undermining the credibility and future growth of the sport, both in the eyes of the public, and most importantly, the eyes of intercollegiate athletic departments.
2 years 3 weeks ago	Men's intercollegiate rowing status/history:	This post was originally for MGoShoe, but now I see that there are many informative posts on the subject as well.  Here it goes anway: The IRA (first held in 1895), while currently the national championship for men's intercollegiate rowing, has not always been so.  In fact, for most of the history of men's intercollegiate rowing (the oldest intercollegiate sport in America; a sport established with and still trying to maintain the ideals of "amateur" intercollegiate sports) there has not been a true national championship (sounds familiar....).  This was due to the scheduling of the IRA and how it conflicted with the academic schedules of the University of Washington and the University of California and of the scheduling of the Harvard - Yale race, all four traditional collegiate rowing powers. Washington and Cal competed at the IRA from the 1920s to the early 1970s, and then returned in 1995.  Harvard and Yale stopped competing in the IRA around 1898 (yes, 1898), and did not return until 2003, over 100 years later. There was an alternative to the IRA started in 1982 and held in Cincinnati.  It was the first time that men's rowing had a real national championship, as this event was held in mid-June, after Washington had finished their Spring Quarter, and after the Harvard - Yale race.  This race continued until the west coast programs decided to return to the IRA in 1996.  While Harvard and Yale have always had the ability to control the scheduling of their event, the fact they did not really encapsulates the problems that the sport has inflicted upon itself for so many years.  The rowing coaches, stewards, and alumni of the core men's programs (Washington, Cal, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Wisconsin, Navy, Syracuse, Brown, etc.) have for so long operated in a bubble.  In fact, the only reason men's rowing survived through difficult economic times and the massive growth of the NCAA is due to the fact that these programs have very affluent and influential alumni (not uncommon to see rowing alumni serving as university regents) and that many of these programs, while supported financially by their respective athletic departments, have separate endowments to back them. Men's intercollegiate rowing always has attempted to maintain its "amateur" status: 1)  Freshman rowing squads (as all/most intercollegiate sports were at one point). 2)  Non-scholarship status (until recently...):  There was a long standing "gentlemen's agreement" between the big public institution rowing powers (Washington, Cal, Wisconsin, and in some part UCLA) and the Ivy League programs (non-athletic scholarship conference) to not offer rowing scholarships.  In the late 1970's/early 1980s several programs began to offer rowing scholarships (namely Syracuse, Temple, and the Florida Institute of Technology (D2 program), and maybe a few others), and while they could attract several standout rowers to their programs, they could never achieve enough boat speed to win a national championship.  In the mid-1980s to early 1990s, Steve Gladstone (one of the premier collegiate rowing coaches) had immense success at Brown University by recruiting and enrolling foreign national team athletes.  While Brown is a non-athletic scholarship institution, they do (as all Ivy League teams) have "financial-aid packages".  In order to compete with this boat speed, other programs began to recruit internationally (it is very common now to see several foreigners manning seats in the top eight in the power programs).  Gladstone later returned to Cal in 1996* (he had coached there in the 1970's), bringing the same system AND scholarships (and success), thereby in essence breaking open the non-scholarship issue, with Washington following suit by adding scholarships in 1997 (and others as well). *  Trivia:  Gladstone also served as the Athletic Director at Cal during part of his stint, and hired Jeff Tedford (current Cal football coach).  Gladstone is now currently in his first year at Yale, and looks to be turning that program around after some slow years. With women's rowing being designated an "emerging sport" by the NCAA for Title IX reasons, the women's side of the sport, less entrenched by the control of the traditional Ivy League/Eastern powers, has flourished and surpassed the numbers (and arguably the visibility and the viability) of men's rowing.  The first NCAA women's championship was in 1997, and it includes a D1 (about 90 schools), D2 (about 25 schools), and D3 (about 60 schools) championship.  Women's rowing, especially at the D1 level, is truly a "national" sport, with many conferences represented (for example, Oklahoma and Alabama have D1 programs now; Texas has had one for a while, and is THE sleeping giant of the entire country, in my opinion). Men's intercollegiate rowing has taken note of the success of the women's side of the sport, with some realizing that the future, if there is to be growth, involves NCAA affiliation and integration.  The big public institutions are backing this, with the Ivy League programs seemingly less inclined to release their grip.  It will be very interesting to see how it plays out.  Here's hoping that the "powers that be" do the right thing for the good of the entire sport, and not just for their own program/league.
2 years 7 weeks ago	Test	http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.aradergalleries.com/print...
2 years 7 weeks ago	Test embed
2 years 29 weeks ago	I hate....	....those stupid buckeye "o" gloves.  Seriously, whoever thought that one up should be guilty of an NCAA major violation. I also hate Millen apologizing for the buckeye players and their personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.  Seriously, they broke the rules because they lack in class (oh wait, NOT a "Jim Tressel coached team!") And I agree:  I normally root for the Big Ten to win all of their bowl games.  There is no way this year that I can root for buckeyes, Dantonio, and Bielema.  NO WAY.
2 years 31 weeks ago	I did as well:	Dear SI.com, I am appalled at the hypocrisy displayed by Michael Rosenberg in the article about Cam Newton. In Rosenberg's mind, a drug dealer would be a hero if he built a basketball court for his community. This is akin to the modus operandi of a Somalian warlord. This being said, we do not know whether Cam Newton, his father, and Auburn University are guilty of these violations. Let due process run its course. However, Rosenberg is the guy who led the charge against Coach Rich Rodriguez for having his players stretch too much. Clearly it was an agenda of hate and demonization of a fine family man and a good coach, who does give back to the community in admirable ways. While Coach Rodriguez has been exonerated, Rosenberg continues to commit the "crime" of hypocrisy. I will never click on an SI.com link or subscribe to Sports Illustrated again while he is writing for you.
2 years 35 weeks ago	However, the original...	"Let The Right One In", is a highly acclaimed Swedish movie.  I thought it was great, FWIW.
2 years 36 weeks ago	Actually....	From what we have been reading from TomVH, your list is not so farfetched, with 3 of those 5 being in the "very good chance" type category.  A man can dream......
2 years 36 weeks ago	Question for TomVH:	Tom, do you have any information on Dee's teammate, the Dr. Phillips kicker?  His name is Stephen Moffitt, and he had a huge game last night.  He kicked a 51 yard field goal, and kicked every (maybe save one) kick-off in to the end zone for a touchback. I went to the Orlando Sentinel sports top 100 list where he is ranked around 60ish.  However there it says nothing about a commitment or any offers. He seems like a very solid prospect.....it would be interesting to know where he is headed. Thanks!
2 years 36 weeks ago	Congrats Dee!	Best of luck in the rest of your season at DP, and good luck in your career at MICHIGAN!
2 years 37 weeks ago	48 - 27	GO BLUE!!!
2 years 37 weeks ago	It happened right here at Michigan.	The incoming freshman class for the fall of 1978 had four teammates from the same Wisconsin high school (Grafton H.S.). Rich Strenger (OT) Mike Lemirande (DE/OLB) Dave Brewster (FB) Tom Garrity (C) They were a part of several Big Ten Championship Teams and were also a part of Bo's first Rose Bowl win ('80 season, '81 Rose Bowl win over Washington).
2 years 39 weeks ago	Your post....	is a mirror image of my childhood growing up in Florida a huge MICHIGAN fan.  Remember, those were the days when any given college team could only be televised a very limited number of times in the regular season (something crazy, like two times).  Sunday morning was the chance to get a glance at MICHIGAN, and we would watch the show religiously and listen to Bill Flemming's great voice. And now we have ESPN.....
2 years 39 weeks ago	I just called Brighthouse....	and they do not have a good answer for me.  They could only say that in the Tampa area they have access to FOUR overflow channels (as I could see on the BTN website), and in Orlando we have NONE. They did say that come Thursday or Friday there may be more information, so I guess I will have to wait and see....
2 years 39 weeks ago	Thanks for that info...	but my zip code is 32804, and I am not seeing it there when I go to the BTN Gamefinder link. I will try to call Brighthouse to ask what is happening.
2 years 39 weeks ago	Question....	I am also with Brighthouse but am watching via a Slingbox (non HD).  Do you see Brighthouse showing the game on a non HD overflow channel?  If so, could you kindly tell which one? Thank you!
2 years 39 weeks ago	So obviously RR was outcoached when.....	the MICHIGAN 2 star OG Patrick Omameh plowed over and pancaked the nd 5 star LB Manti Teo (and another player) to help spring Denard's 87 yard TD burst. I'll take being "outcoached" and "undisciplined" like that every play of every game.
2 years 39 weeks ago	The scariest thing about that pic is...	THOSE are the hot chicks at nd.
2 years 39 weeks ago	Martavious....	Dear Coach RR and staff, Please keep bringing in more guys like him. Thank you.
2 years 40 weeks ago	Phantom TD	T.J. Jones did not score The refs love ND Doesn't matter anyway.
2 years 40 weeks ago	Yes.	There were several, and one in particular where the nd player smacked him on the side of the helmet with the inside of his forearm.  This happened well after Denard threw the ball, and when he was on or very near to being down on the ground.  AND, it happened right in front of the ref.  NO CALL.
2 years 40 weeks ago	Yes...AND....	it's not like MICHIGAN did not play nd with walk-ons and freshmen at QB over the previous two seasons, and split those games.  The same dilemma nd found themselves in today, but only for a 1.5 quarters. It's all about getting it done with what you have on the field at any given time.  That's football.
2 years 40 weeks ago	Yes, I saw that too.	Stay classy nd.
2 years 40 weeks ago	I agree.	Look at the first series for nd when Crist made that one decent run.  Before he even stood up, he did a toss/spin of the ball forward and looked towards the MICHIGAN stands as if he had scored.  Later, Floyd of nd after a catch threw the ball in to the back of Mouton.  Both of these should have been unsportsmanlike calls (and of course the infamous NON-TD), but in the end, MICHIGAN got the W. I like the way these guys operate.  Kudos to the coaching staff.
2 years 40 weeks ago	That's what I'm talking about!	How the hell do the refs miss THAT move (which in itself is a fumble AND excessive celebration) FOLLOWED by his "I can't hear you" gesture to the crowd?  That is exactly the lack of class that certain nd players displayed today (NOT all, I agree). Man, if that would have cost MICHIGAN the game........ugly.
2 years 40 weeks ago	I agree with you 100%.	Every time it looked like nd had the momentum, the TEAM stepped up enough to get it done.  No panic.  No crap.  Just playing hard and focused. I'm loving it!
2 years 40 weeks ago	Great news!	Recruits will see the opportunities and the quality of the coaching, combined with MICHIGAN football tradition, and it will be be a slam dunk!
2 years 40 weeks ago	I agree!	They reviewed Shaw's play COUNTLESS times, but only made one very vague reference to an unsportsmanlike play that should have cost them a touchdown.
2 years 40 weeks ago	I hear you....BUT!.....	ONE GAME AT A TIME! Just keep doing it.....stay focused.  We don't need to talk about individual awards, the media will blow that up and continue to blow it up. Damn, I am so proud of the way the entire Team responded.  I can not say enough about how composed the coaches have these guys playing.  AWESOME! CONGRATS to the entire TEAM!!!
2 years 40 weeks ago	Agree.	Actually, I am not a huge fan of having "special game" uniforms because just as you stated, there is always that "jinx" aspect lingering out there... My own personal taste would choose this uniform over the current away uniform, even if it was this jersey with maize pants.  BEAT THE IRISH!!!

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