TartanAlex

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Date	Title	Body
16 weeks 15 hours ago	livestream?	Anyone know of a stream that's working for people outside the USA? Thanks!
26 weeks 2 days ago	Unbelievably stupid	Did I say unbelievably? I mean all too credibly stupid. Simple east/west divide* with nine conference games and no protected crossover would have been fine, simple, workable and about as fair as you can get. This? This is the opposite of that. *Draw lots to see which division gets Purude and which is left with Indiana.
26 weeks 2 days ago	TV money	It's not just about the BTN (though it is partly about the BTN) but about all the TV monies. the new contract is up to for negotiation in 2017. Adding states with a population of 15 million people to the Big Ten "footprint" makes a difference to the expected value of that contract. It probably also increases the value of the BTN too.
26 weeks 2 days ago	9 conference games	If - unlikely as it may be - we stick at 14 teams but expand to schedule nine conference games then, then playing three teams from the other division each year but scrapping protected cross-overs means you could ensure that you'd play everyone at least four times a decade. Hardly ideal but not much worse than at present. Even with a 16 team "conference" you would be playing every team in the other division once every four years, not once every eight. Assuming, that is, a 9 game schedule and no protected "rivalry".
26 weeks 2 days ago	Hoops	Well, the Terrapins won a national basketball title in 2002 so I guess they've been "nationally relevant" more recently than, er, we have.
26 weeks 2 days ago	East and West is Best	Of course it's about money. Adding Maryland and Rutgers brings another 15 million people into the Big Ten "footprint". That's worth quite a lot when the next TV contracts are signed. Maryland doesn't really "bring" the DC market since the Dc market is a) dominated by the Redskins and b) Virginia Tech is probably second there. After Va Tech it becomes pretty fractured with "exiles" from state schools across the country bringing their thing to the party and, incidentally, making DC one of the best places in America to watch college football. Still, Maryland has room for growth. So, obviously, does Rutgers. And, anyway, if you're going to be expanding (which I'd rather was not the case) who else is left to add that doesn't involve adding someone from the other side of the country? At least Maryland-Rutgers is contiguous and all that jazz. Maryland doesn't feel like it gets enough respect in the ACC. It won't get any more in the Big10 but at least it will make more money. So it makes some sense from their perspective. The obvious thing now is to move to a nine game conference schedule and eliminate protected crossovers. If that means not playing for the Jug every year then so be it. A shame but let's not pretend that this would be the end of Michigan football. Simple east/west divisions would be the best thing: UM, Sparty, OSU, Penn State, Rutgers, Indiana, Maryland in the east. Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, Minnesota in the other. Argue about which of Purdue/Indiana goes west. Am fine with whatever choice you make. But for sake of argument our opposite-division games could, for the sake of illustration, go like this: Year 1: Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois Year 2: Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue Year 3: Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois Year 4: Northwestern, Nebraska, Minnesota Year 5: Purdue, Iowa, Illinois Year 6: Wisconsin, Miinnesota, Nebraska, Year 7: Iowa, Purdue, Northwestern Year 8: Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota Year 9: Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa Year 10: Northwestern, Illinois, Nebraska Over ten years that gives you a minimum of four games vs each opponent. Not ideal but better than the SEC's "let's meet once in a blue moon and pretend we're in the same conference set up".
34 weeks 1 day ago	Who will replace Notre Dame? Auburn?	As mentioned above, Georgia is one possibility. But the likes of Oklahoma, Texas, USC, LSU, Florida, FSU are pretty unlikely. So too many of the next tier of teams (eg Virginia Tech has already announced home and homes with the likes of tOSU and Wisconsin). There's one good possibility, however: Auburn. I could cope with a home and home vs those Tigers. At present they seem to have no-one scheduled. http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/sec/auburn-tigers.php Even so: home and homes aren't the same as a regular rival. It will be good to get back together with ND so let's hope that happens.
34 weeks 2 days ago	Sad news	Which is more interesting? Games against ND or games against Baby Seal University? Hmmm. Not a difficult question! So if this is more than a mini-hiatus in the series this is a shame. I'd like to see us play two decent non-conference games a year with Western/Central/Eastern etc rotating through the schedule as a local warm-up. How likely is that? Not very, I guess and especially not if we move to a nine-game conference schedule.
37 weeks 3 days ago	Yeah, except...	There is no reason except that this is football and sometimes things happen for no reason. If every game were decided by "talent level" there'd be no need to, you know, actually watch the games. It would be quite boring.
39 weeks 22 hours ago	Depressing	Dave Brandon: because nothing says class like sneering at the opposition's teeny stadium wherever it is located in football-palookaville and suggesting, openly or not, that UM is far too big and grand and old to play in your back yard. Michigan is, what, one of the five wealthiest athletic departments in the country. It doesn't really need an extra couple of hundred thousand dollars. Anyway: I'd rather play at UConn than host some of the non-conference games Brandon is scheduling.
49 weeks 6 days ago	ESPN Gives Ohio to Michigan	Nevermind how Michigan is recruiting across the midwest; focus on Ohio instead. By ESPN's estimation michigan is going to land a greater number of the top 20 kids in Ohio than will tOSU. UM has 8 so far; the best Ohio State can manage (on present rankings) is 7. http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/databaseresults?fi...
1 year 24 weeks ago	The dumbest thing...	is ranking Va Tech ahead of Clemson. They played twice this year and the combined score was Clemson 61 Virginia Tech 13. Also, annoying though it is I think I'd probably rank Sparty ahead of Michigan. If I were being honest and all that. Going 1-1 vs Wisconsin is not a disgrace. Still, you know, am kind of super-gla it's the Wolverines in the BCS and not anyone else from the state.
1 year 25 weeks ago	Comically unpersuasive	104-23 in a three-school career kinda makes it obvious that Meyer is more than just the guy fortunate enough to have Tim Tebow. He's been a success everywhere; he will be a success at OSU too. No reason to suppose otherwise. Doesn't mean he will have a Tresselesque record in the Game but it's dumb to try and kid yourself into thinking he's not "really" that good a coach. The facts suggest he knows what he's doing.
1 year 49 weeks ago	Like a Rugby shirt	Weird to have a throwback jersey that ain't much like anything Michigan has ever worn. On the other hand they're not so different from the Otago (New Zealand) rugby jersey circa 1999-2000:
2 years 15 weeks ago	Yeah, right	You'll correct me if I'm wrong but I think the only Big Ten team with more recruits in the current ESPN top 100 is Ohio State. So, yeah, that's pretty underwhelming. The incoming class is shaping up nicely. The boys are doing ok for a team that doesn't currently have a superstar and is one of the youngest in the country. Patience is sometimes rewarded, you know?
2 years 19 weeks ago	Up to a point...	Point taken. But RichRod was brought to Michigan to install his system. It wasn't stubborness that made him do this, it was what the university wanted when he was hired. Otherwise he would not have been hired.
2 years 19 weeks ago	Sign me up for a dirt nap then.	When you disparage the Oregon offense as "basketball on grass" that ain't proper football and can't work just days before Oregon plays for a feckin' national title against another spread team then you are, my friends, a certifiable oaf. And, lo, here is Coach Hoke proudly sporting his Oaf Badge. Being dumber than a bad of rocks ought to be enough to disqualify him from further consideration for the UM job. Sadly, the reverse seems to be true for some.
2 years 19 weeks ago	Impossible? Maybe.	Year One was always going to be difficult. Perhaps even impossible. Not only did few players from 2007 return, UM was switching its football philosophy. The most predictable major program in the country was going sexy. But without a QB to run the offense it was doomed from the start. And since UM had hired RR to install his system it's daft to argue that he should have adapted it to suit Sheridan and Threet. The whole point of RR was to change things. So Year One was essentially Year Zero and I think you can make a decent argument that RR has been fired after just two "proper" years in which he had players (albeit young) who had some idea of what he wanted and aptitude for it. Of course there were mistakes, most obviously on defense. And the results and all the rest of it do make it hard to make the case for keeping RR. You can see why it has panned out this way. But if getting Harbaugh was a reasonable and consensus First Choice for next year I'd say that giving RR one more shot was a reasonable Second Choice. Sure, there would have been pressure and intense media speculation and a new DC and all that. But we'd also be better placed to see if the building could be finished, even late and over-budget, than is the case now that we've abandoned a half-completed project and are looking for a new architect to finish it in, well, lord knows what kind of style. So good luck to RR wherever he lands. I understand why it's happened this way but I can't help but feel somewhat sad about it all.
2 years 20 weeks ago	Unbelievable	Possibly the most ridiculous post in the long history of ridiculous internet nit-pickery. And so, therefore, a peculiar, if appalling, kind of awesome.
2 years 20 weeks ago	Hmmm	Who knew so many Michigan Men secretly hankered after becoming Notre Dame?
2 years 20 weeks ago	Recruiting a QB	Another reminder that, despite other needs, we could still do with a QB in this coming class. There's a pretty good chance that either Denard or Tate leave soon. It might be useful to have more than 2 QBs on the roster. (No offence to Jack Kennedy). All will, I guess, become clear soon enough. Mercifully. But, yeah, you keep DG off the field even if that costs the game.
2 years 21 weeks ago	Can you really have too many Ninjas?	I have no idea whether Prince Holloway can be a credible threat at the next level. But Rodriguez has taken two guys for the slot in each of his two most recent recruiting classes so it should not, perhaps, be a surprise that he's doing so again. As for "positions of need" well, sure, on the face of it slot isn't a priority. On the other hand I think RichRod has some idea of what he's doing, not least on the offensive side of the ball. Personally I'd still like to sign a QB since we're only a couple of injuries away from that becoming a super-high risk position. But perhaps we should all wait until Holloway actually commits? Then again, where would be the fun in that? Still, if he becomes a Wolverine then good luck to him.
2 years 23 weeks ago	Deaf...	Wouldn't it be sensible to use sign language when describing music to a deaf man? Just sayin'. 'Cos you can't sign on Mgoblog...
2 years 25 weeks ago	Hey	Too bad none of these Auburn "points" actually count. First-half scoring is all that matters, dude. :-)
2 years 25 weeks ago	Hmmm	Or, you know, you could just piss off.
2 years 25 weeks ago	Yup	Agreed. Great post Brian. At the moment defending RichRod - while acknowledging the real problems on the defense - feels a bit like being one of the lads at Rorke's Drift. There are an awful lot of Zulus circling the outpost, armed with very sharp spears... But we know how "Zulu" ends, don't we? Anyway: there seem to be some people who expect perfection on every drive and think that the offense is failing if that's not achieved. Way to guarantee disappointment, eh?
2 years 25 weeks ago	Slow start?	Yeah, why can't we ever score on the first play of the game?
2 years 26 weeks ago	Maybe	Fair enough. But it is, to an extent, a question of picking your poison. The secondary's youth means they have to be protected wherever possible. Inevitably that has an impact upon what you can do with the front 7. You say "excuse". I prefer "reason" and not just because it's a less pejorative term. Of course we'd like to see more production from the linebackers (in particular). But Obi Ezeh was not likely to suddenly become a stud while Mouton is merely uber-Mouton this year. Before the season started we knew there would be problems there. Moundros tells you that and so, alas, does the thankfully-abandoned attempt to fit Roh in at linebacker. So we shouldn't be shocked - shocked! - that LB play has still been a problem this year. Some of that can probably be ascribed to coaching but some of it is down to talent too. You're right that the secondary's youth can't explain everything but it is an important factor nonetheless. These problems aren't the product of any single problem (if they were it would be easier to solve them quickly) but a combination of factors which, when taken together, multiply the damage. Nevertheless, it *is* reasonable to suppose that some, maybe most, of the defensive players will improve next season. (Some of them won't but that's a question of ceiling and the fact that not every recruit has the career we'd hope for them.)
2 years 26 weeks ago	Experience matters	A good old 'un will beat a good young 'un. We know this to be the case but hope - and it really is just hope - that this young Michigan team will find ways of making a mockery of this tried and tested adage. We shouldn't be surprised when this turns out to be asking too much of them. Obviously wins and losses matter more than anything else. But when you're building something the wins and losses aren't the only things that count. A young team - and it is much, much younger than, say, Wisconsin - is a recipe for frustration. But, look, 2008 showed what happens when you try and play football without a QB. 2009 shows what happens when you have a true freshman QB. 2010 what happens when you have a true freshman/1st year starter secondary. Keep this in mind and the frustration remains the same but the record can't, objectively speaking, be a great surprise. Of course it's annoying. Of course it often hurts. Of course we'd rather see more rapid and consistent improvement on both sides of the ball. Of course there have been some curious decisions and sometimes we've not helped ourselves. But let's not pretend there's been *no* progress. There has, even if it has been uneven and imperfect. (Side note: it's unfortunate UM has missed Northwestern and Minnesota these past two years. We wouldn't be a better football team if we'd had them on the schedule but the Win-Loss record would probably look rather better. Equally: it's a shame Wisconsin, returning so few starters, slip off the schedule next season. Beating Minnesota next year won't have the same "kudos" that beating a young set of Badgers would have earned - even if victories against Wisconsin next year will be "over-valued".) So we are where we are. And we're not the only outift having a difficult season. Look at Texas (5-6), Miami  (7-4), Notre Dame (6-5), Tennessee (5-6), USC (7-4), Penn State (7-4), Georgia (5-6), Florida (7-4). Sure, some of those teams are better than we are. But all those mentioned are major programs who are suffering through disappointing seasons. As others have observed, college football - from top to bottom - is much more competitive than it was 40 years ago. True, the *manner* of some of our losses has been more dispiriting than the actual fact of the losses themselves. But this doesn't mean we can't or won't make progress before next season. "Those who stay will be champions" we like to say. And that applies to fans as well as players.
2 years 26 weeks ago	Hmmm	Sounds like you will be supporting tOSU next week. Or, ar least you will find an "upside" to a UM defeat.

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