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The first two players I…

The first two players I recognized were McBurrows and Graham. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them as Captains (plus someone on the offensive side). McBurrows has the mantle from Mike and Graham is Graham.

Except that it’s not a gross…

Except that it’s not a gross exaggeration for people that remember this place circa 2020. How do I know this? I’m one of the people who thought JH should be fired after the 2-4 season and I’m usually one of the last people to advocate for firing someone. Mea culpa.

I know a guy who went to…

I know a guy who went to Illinois undergrad and UofM grad school. He explained to me why Illinois hates us. It boils down to they hate us because they ain’t us. 

I think the roster…

I think the roster management issue was the biggest factor. He just couldn’t get his top targets into the school, and when that failed, he had no Plan B. YoYo was a late add, IIRC. We thought that was a good pickup at the time, but after 2 seasons of not being able to see the court, that looks more like a desperation move. Tray Jackson was a backup plan (I hope,) who couldn’t make the transition to the Big10. Aaliya was another late, desperation attempt to get to 12 (not even 13) scholarship players. I watched the Ivy League tournament this weekend. Sure, there are some good players there, but not many that can play at the B10 level. Dipping his feet into that well turned out badly when Llewellyn got hurt. But even before his injury, it was obvious he didn’t have the quickness to guard B10 athletes.

So, in summary, poor planning combined with bad luck and an inability to motivate his team to play defense (or provide a plan on defense that didn’t rely on Reed chasing PGs 30 feet from the basket) were the reasons why we’re looking for a new coach. 

Go Blue!

Go Blue!

Michigan Man Forever

Michigan Man Forever

It’s the same in Taiwan. 7…

It’s the same in Taiwan. 7-11s double as post offices or something. I don’t remember the details, but yeah, just about every block has a 7-11.

In his final game with the…

In his final game with the maize and blue, he played 1 minute, the last minute, with the walk-ons. The writing was on the wall. Good luck, George. 
He shot 0.185 on the season. That’s below the Mendoza Line. 

OWI starts at 0.08. I think…

OWI starts at 0.08. I think they eliminated the 0.07-0.1 or greater than 0.1 distinction. Over 0.6 and he’s probably dead. 

At his size, more like 4. If…

It is at least a BAC of 0.08. At his size, that’s more like 4. If you’re going to drink that much, plan ahead. The irresponsibility displayed by this incident is reason enough to terminate his employment.

MF = Milton Friedman. We…

MF = Milton Friedman. We need someone who understands the economics of the new NIL era.

(With him as coach, maybe we could get Keith Jackson to call some basketball games.)

Milton was not the runner…

Milton was not the runner that Orji is

No, but I felt like doing…

No, but I felt like doing that on more than one occasion. 

I coached 4 years of grade…

I coached 4 years of grade school basketball. I’ll throw my hat in the ring. My record my first 2 seasons was 0-0. I coached the 1st and 2nd graders and we didn’t keep score. The next year I moved up to 3rd and 4th graders. We went 16-0, won the regular season and playoffs and I got to coach the league’s all-star team for a couple tournaments. I thought I was the shit. My coaching career ended the next season when we went 7-8. My biggest challenge that season was keeping my best player from sobbing during games. Anyway, the lesson I learned from that is it’s almost all about the players. Coach Howard had great rosters his first 2 seasons and did well. He constructed this roster this season and shit the bed. 
Whoever we bring in, I hope he can recruit. One of the biggest disappointments for me was Juwan’s inability to identify, bring in, and develop talent. I bought into the whole, “he has AAU connections, he has Chicago connections,” storyline. In the end, he couldn’t recruit (2 open scholarships this season) incoming freshmen or convince his players to return. C’est la vie.

Guess we’ll get a decision…

Guess we’ll get a decision in 6 months 
 

Or a half hour ago. Patience is a virtue.

It’s rich that Bando started…

It’s rich that Bando started that whole thing and then comes here to complain about it. He knew what he was doing.

Howard was an assistant…

Howard was an assistant coach for the Miami Heat. It doesn’t get much better than that in terms of a coaching training ground for in-game stuff. We paired him up with Martelli for the rest of the college stuff and that blew up. Juwan is ultimately responsible, but the thought process was sound.
He was being talked about for NBA jobs. The decision to hire him was not based solely on his UofM days. I’m not happy at how things turned out, but there’s no guarantees in the coaching business. Harbaugh was the closest thing to a sure thing and he started out 0-5 against OSU and took 7 seasons to get the train rolling to its current form.

Yeah, kind of bizarre that…

Yeah, kind of bizarre that YoYo and GW3 got a combined 1 minute in this game. Seems like Howard isn’t planning on them or himself being part of the team next season.

Has he been fired yet?

Has he been fired yet?

Timeout?!?

Timeout?!?

A 7 point deficit seems…

A 7 point deficit seems insurmountable because I know we’re scoring 2 more points the rest of the way.

I saw both. Barbie was like…

I saw both. Barbie was like a mashup of the Lego movie and Mad Men. I didn’t care for it. Oppenheimer given the Pulp Fiction treatment (non-linear time progression) seemed unnecessary. The Robert Downey Jr. character did nothing for me, but I was never a fan of his. I just thought it was odd that the focus of the movie was the Downey character’s revenge instead of the discovery of the bomb that changed history forever more.

(And if you’re tempted to see Holdovers, do yourself a favor and watch Dead Poets’ Society, Sideways, or Good Will Hunting instead. Talk about a derivative flick.)

Coach Howard inspired me to…

Coach Howard inspired me to look up the meaning of the term, “swan song.”

a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement.

Yep, I got that one right.

I’m OK if Dug transfers 

I’m OK if Dug transfers 

“Defensive Slugfest” or…

“Defensive Slugfest” or offensive suckfest?

Nice how Reed waited until…

Nice how Reed waited until game 32 to finish with authority.

I think he could recruit…

I think he could recruit talented, humble, team-oriented players. He might have trouble with the kids looking for the biggest bag. I appreciate the kids who score a touchdown and hand the ball to the official. We had a guy like that recently but my mind is drawing a blank.

Jaw dropping for me would be…

Jaw dropping for me would be Barry Sanders. I believe he still lives in Detroit.

I have no idea if he would be a good coach or not, (“be like me,” while great in theory is hard to put into practice) but my jaw might break from dropping so fast.

Seth has never had a no…

Seth has never had a no religion rule. The MK comment appears to be gone, but it didn’t strike me as something that should be deleted. He had a point of view, the majority disagreed with him and downvoted accordingly.

https://mgoblog.com/content/dayenu

The players ARE paid by the…

The players ARE paid by the school, just not very much. They get “full cost of attendance” scholarships that amount to ~$2-4K per year. 
So it’s legal and they do it, why isn’t it more? Because the NCAA is a monopoly (or a cartel?) and they don’t want to pay anymore than they have to.

If the students become employees, minimum wage laws go into effect and the schools would have to pay the players at least $7.25/hr. At 20 hours per week, even assuming they work 52 weeks a year, that’s $7,540 annually. Considering UofM players are getting $75k in annual benefits, $7540 seems insignificant.

So the next question is, how much of the $60M TV revenue is due to the name on the back of the uniform and how much is due to the name on the front? I think it’s worth mentioning that the university gets about $3 of the ~$20 you are paying for licensed UofM gear. If you split that with the player, they’re not getting rich on legitimate NIL. If the player can take advantage of a wealthy alum with a massive inferiority complex, more power to them.

So eliminate athletic…

So eliminate athletic scholarships and room and board. The alternative is that non-scholarship students take those spots. They (or their parents,) pay tuition, etc. So money is being funneled into the General Fund. It’s either through the AD or through regular students.

The AD pays the University $28M in scholarship costs. That’s a fraction of the $200M budget, but it’s not zero either. University operations are also compensated for room and board.

The Athletic Department…

The Athletic Department gives students scholarships. I believe they reimburse the colleges at out-of-state tuition rates, but whatever. A portion of the revenue is going to the colleges to pay for professors’ salaries and lecturers and stuff. Room and board is going to the dorms. I’d be interested to see what the breakdown is between AD administration salaries and revenues being directed to the general fund.

He isn’t doing anything on…

He isn’t doing anything on defense other than pointing out wide open guys.

In this era of 7th-year…

In this era of 7th-year seniors, why is Burnett a senior? I mean, he’s not great, but he is a warm body. I would welcome him back next season.

I’ve seen better defensive…

I’ve seen better defensive effort at NBA All-Star games.

Dug doesn’t care, why should…

Dug doesn’t care, why should we? He had plenty of time to switch with Reed on that last play and guard Tominaga. Instead, he stuck with Rienk and let Reed try to guard Tominaga.

I should make a joke about…

I should make a joke about eyeing a home laser and eye safety but I’m too tired. Just don’t stare into the laser.

I took my laser safety test this week and got 85%, so you shouldn’t listen to me anyway.

She’s the anti-Juwan. They…

She’s the anti-Juwan. They have the best defense in the big 10 and got better as the game went along tonight.

https://youtu.be/p1sxzHpsefA…

Speaking of Harbaugh, this is an 8 minute video of Jim and John discussing EUTM and other Harbaughisms. The comments section is full of Chargers fans expressing disbelief that they were able to get Jim. 
It might be too soon for some of you, but I enjoyed it.

https://youtu.be/p1sxzHpsefA?si=98fT74m9clCY8Ip_

I heard a commentator say…

I heard a commentator say that Mike Johnson asked his side to show some decorum and I immediately thought of Blake.

And he’s a three time BIGGIE.

And he’s a three time BIGGIE.

Yes, they’re playing in the…

Yes, they’re playing in the BTT tonight at 9PM.

MGoBlog is a business. It…

MGoBlog is a business. It has a choice to make: have a beveled guilt button to support the blog, have a button to support the MGoFullback through NIL, or do both. No one should be surprised that the first option is chosen. This isn’t a charity. Telling other people what to do with their money is a fool’s errand.
What surprises me is the advocacy of transactional relationships for players over transformational opportunities. It might be the one thing I agree with Warde and Harbaugh about and disagree with Seth. Attending UofM can undoubtedly be a transformational experience. Look no further than me, a nerdy math geek from East Lansing who got a Ph.D. from UofM and ended up living a life I never could have dreamed of. Or my two favorite bloggers, who if I understand correctly, turned a Computer Engineering degree and a history degree into the greatest university sports website in the world. I believe I’ve heard them say that MGo doesn’t work (to this extent) at any other university. So why are we limiting student athletes to mere transactional decisions?* Supposedly, Athletes were paid under the table by UofM in 190-whatever. By advocating for a return to that model, only through quasi-legal NIL deals, don’t we diminish the experience and opportunities of the modern athlete? 

*I, myself, prefer a both/and approach as opposed to either/or. You can argue that the “transaction” should include more cash, but it must be noted that a scholarship offer is already transactional with benefits worth over $300K over 4 years, for playing football.

The expression is “different…

The expression is “different sides of the aisle,” but “different sides of the isle” could work as well since Michigan consists of 2 peninsulas. 
This is one of those malapropisms I find amusing, like “collect the low hanging food” instead of low hanging fruit. 
I know someone who attended the 2020 Presidential debate. That was also cool, until they found out they were exposed to covid by one candidate’s supporters. (I mean, if we are going to skirt political issues, why not go full 2020-level insanity?)

So far yes, but I’m only ~50…

So far yes, but I’m only ~50 pages into it.

 

My sister got me “My Effin…

My sister got me “My Effin Life” for Christmas. That’s Geddy Lee’s autobiography. I found it very interesting, but I’m a huge Rush fan from way back. While reading that, I also read “The Silk Roads,” a history of the world told through a central Asian perspective. I don’t normally read 2 books at the same time, but The Silk Roads was a slog and I really wanted to read Geddy’s book so I couldn’t wait anymore. The Silk Roads was really interesting, it’s just not a summer vacation page-turner type read.

Currently, I’m reading Collapse, The Fall of the Soviet Union. Ever since I saw the HBO documentary about Chernobyl, I’ve been fascinated with that era in Soviet history.

Canham presided over the…

Canham presided over the Anderson scandal. Even though everyone blames Bo, that was really Canham’s fault.

With some actual coaching,…

With some actual coaching, Reed can be a B10 caliber starter.

MSU and Michigan Tech are 2A…

MSU and Michigan Tech are 2A and 2B in my opinion. MSU is so large that they have many good opportunities, but one can also get lost there. They have to want to succeed to take advantage of it. 

Reed with another foul 30…

Reed with another foul 30 feet from the basket