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Date	Title	Body
16 weeks 2 days ago	Great insightful point	A lot of interesting comments - some of which are influenced by a variety of other agendas. Your point is exactly right. Bo and Woody were from a time when winning the kid's parents over was the most important thing and playing later on in the NFL was just an after thought. Charming mom and dad and assuring that their kid would get a good education and that someone would keep an eye on their lad were the big selling point. The coach as the ultimate loco parentis father figure was a major selling point back then. Both of them (it could be confidently stated) would have pulled an offer from any kid who did a hat press conference thing. Neither really liked recruiting and would usually close the deal after a lot of leg work by their assistants. High school coaches I believe had longer tenures back then - so Bo and Woody could actually know the coaches of the top 25 big high school in Michigan and Ohio. Today, some of the parents are the ones egging the kids on to think about which schools could help them get ready for the NFL. The role of non-traditional advisors also is huge now. There is now Twitter, Facebook, the Big Ten Network and the UM has its own video presence via the web and there are places like MGoBlog.com. Different times, different styles and different methods!
16 weeks 2 days ago	great diary - great data	Thanks for doing this - helps put a rational perspective on things. Unlike some sports like basketball where getting one player can elevate a team from an also-ran to a Elite Eight or even Final Four contender, one highly rated high school RB can only do so much - too many other variables. This diary (which I hope you'll keep up and possible expand to other positions like OL, DL, DB, QB) demonstrates a few points: 1. One player can only do so much - note that many of the RBs who went on to success in the NFL didn't rack up 3-4 1000 yd/seasons in college. This can be due to many reasons (playing behind a good starter, bad OL, etc) but it also suggests most were probably not starting as freshmen and running for 4 years (unlike Mike Hart). 2. Michigan did try to recruit and did land some highly rated RBs - but for whatever reason, it just didn't pan out. So welcome Derrick Green, but I hope Brady Hoke and Fred Jackson also picked up a few 3 and 4 star backs. 3. ? Any way to detect synergy between OL and RB recruitment? That is, does landing 4 and 5 star RBs help land 4 and 5 star OL and vice versa? Or are they independent variables - neither OL and RB really seem affected by signings in the other group? I realize that this may be tricky to assess?
17 weeks 6 days ago	"rogue chemists"? No, but think for a moment about implications	Yes, I think if the so called governing bodies really want to be serious about PEDs they need to investigate how they were synthesized, tested and distributed. Catching Victor Conte and Marion Jones is like catching the corner pusher and drug crack addict - they aren't the masterminds or the cartel lab people. I don't mean there is some secret group of "rogue chemists" on campus - but I do mean that you need to be somewhere there are recent grads who work in the biochemical and pharmaceutical industry nearby. Just like if you need to workup a gizmo which which is digital and can be computer driven, then the Silicon Valley is the place to be or if you want to do a civil aviation startup perhaps Wichita, Kansas would be a better place than downtown Ann Arbor due to the number of aeronautical engineers, project managers and other people who have civil aviation experience. Reverse engineer the question: If one were to try to develop a PED which could evade detection how would you do it? 1. You'd need someone familiar with the field - who knew the existing literature or what there may be. They can help guide the research and avoid deadends. Steroid synthesis and an understanding of the new field where peptide hormones which can stimulate steroid receptors or have steroid like effects is a requirement (this is why some plastic by products have steroid effects even though they don't have the classic steroid structure) 2. You'd need someone who knew how PED screening is done - what assays are used, what type of tests - mass spect? chromatography? 3. You'd need to have someone who has done drug clinical trials - after you have the prototype test drugs, you have to run some test trials to figure out the optimal dosing schedule - to know how close you could administer it to a potential test and how fast it clears the system. 4. You'd need a group of biochemists - some to fabricate the drug, some to work on how to optimize the drug for delivery (oral would be best, nasal absorption, topical ointment and finally injection), others to help figure out to best mask it - adding or subtracting a non-critical sidegroup or perhaps the form - could it be crystallized or aerosolized? Practical experience is important. 5. Finally, you'd need someone to act as a general project manager - to find a building to act as a lab, create a dummy front to buy supplies and materials from the science supply shops,  pay the electricity bills, and keep accounts to buy the major equipment to outfit the lab, some testing could be farmed out innocously to commercial testing labs without tipping your hand, but other things have to be done "in house" - this person doesn't have to be a scientist but has to have some practical experience in running major research science projects. This person reports to whomever is backing the effort financially. 6. This project will take years to perfect with no immediate payoff - unlike a met-amphetamine lab. The backers have to have deep pockets. So where would you look to find people who might have these skills and be underemployed?
18 weeks 1 day ago	A sad moment but necessary.	Historically cycling has always been suspect. BEFORE there were synthetic steroids available (pre-World War II) it was openly known that the top cyclists would fortify themselves with alcohol, cocaine, pep pills and strychnine - which was believed to help "loosen" up the muscles. So is it really that shocking ("Gambling at Rick's?!, I"m shocked - Inspector Renault, Casablanca) that once steroids, blood doping, etc. became available that it wouldn't be used? In strength and endurance sports, the advantages are obvious - but even in so-called "skill" sports, these agents allow quicker recovery and more intense training. Most people don't benefit - so most of the high school kids shooting up or loading up, are just wasting their money, time and threatening their future health for nothing. But for a few top percent, the small but significant improvement can be the difference between 10th place and 1st place, gold and never-was, scholarship and high-school flame out. Because of the secrecy we don't even know how PEDs could be used medically. When the whole BALCO affair developed the real push should have been aimed not just at Barry Bonds and Victor Conte, but at their biochemists - that is why BALCO was based there - it wasn't because Bonds was in SF. It is because UCSF, Berkley (U of California) and Stanford are around the corner. It takes more than a passing knowledge of biochemistry to design drugs and know the testing protocols to create structures to evade these tests. Notice that no one was charged in that regard? Where were the labs? Who was doing their synthesis? Who was running the initial trials to figure out the dosing programs and how to evade the testing? Designer PEDs are not off the shelf products - it isn't a met-amphetamine cooking receipe that someone cooks up on a cooktop in a trailer. If the sports governing bodies are serious about PEDs, they have to start here and understand how they are being created and how they are circumventing the testing process.
18 weeks 1 day ago	Why he is great	I watched the Pats Texans game with some people who aren't die hard FB fans and they actually had an insight. One of noted that Brady made the whole process look very easy. Just throw to the guy who is uncovered, or just arc the ball over the defender and into the waiting hands of the running receiver. It seemed at the time like one of those observations that non-fans make but later I realized that actually shows how great Brady really is as a QB and passer - he makes the game look that simple. Don't know if he is the greatest so far but clearly he is among the greatest.
18 weeks 3 days ago	I hope this is one of those turning point games	The NFL is often described as a copy-cat league. Once one team does something successfully the other teams emulate. The 1940 NFL championship game won by the Chicago Bears 73-0 over the Washington Redskins is usually cited as the game which established the T-formation as the dominant offensive formation for decades - replacing the single wing, A formation and other variants. Could the success of Kapernick, RG3 and Wilson make teams reassess spread attack/pistol attack QBs? Granted these guys could really throw the ball but Kapernick really did major damage scrambling and on the called runs. The pistol dive option which went 50+ yards for the TD put to rest the notion that the spread can't work in the NFL.
19 weeks 4 days ago	Agreed - not just position but also the team.	He would be a great RB on a team with a mature offense. New England is an intriguing possibility - Danny Woodhead who set all sorts of D2 records is an example - only DR is a much better runner. He is strong enough and powerful enough to run 10-12 x per game if needed, but really his real strength is popping him free on quick passes which can become lots of yards after catch. The other teams you mentioned may not be as good a fit. Denver needs to win now or tomorrow - can't plan on Peyton Manning beyond a few years, so if they need a runner, they'll need a RB more like Alfred Morris - who can really pound it between the tackles. We just have to hope he gets drafted by a team that has an interest in getting him on the field. The NFL is such a copy cat and conservative league, it is hard to be the first one to break ranks. He'll get drafted, but he'll have to be the trailblazer - his breakaway speed and elusiveness are clear, but how to best use his talents has so far not been clear - look at Pat White and how he ended up. If he becomes a star, it will make it easier for future players of the same style. An earlier poster also asked if anyone has ever swapped from offense to defense and been any good. The only name I could recall was Nolan Cromwell who was a running QB out of Kansas who later had a good career as a  DB for the old LA Rams.
19 weeks 6 days ago	Another implication	The large victory margin in the early Bo era must also take into account that the conference schedule was a true round robin and they were fewer non-conference cupcakes. That shows the tremendous superiority of the Wolverines over most of the Big Ten (except OSU) during that time.
19 weeks 6 days ago	Exactly!	The South Carolina game had so many what ifs - one wrap up tackle, one less fumble, one etc...Yes, the SEC teams have won many games this year, but the notion that any conference is dominating another is pretty untenable. Even if Louisville completely gags this game away, any notion of "dominance" should be put aside. "This is why they play the game...:
19 weeks 6 days ago	Technology is here but is the business infrastructure	From the postings, it seems that the technology is here or wil be very soon but there is doubt about whether the business infrastructure is there to take advantage of it. Especially given the basic conservatism of the major content providers (pro and college football) - what incentive is there to move away from a model which is in their eyes predictable and so far incredibly lucrative? For the NCAA and college football conferences, there is also the impending true football playoffs for Div. 1 in a few years - another reason why the forces of standing pat might advocate doing nothing new and seeing how that works first - if that is a huge financial bonanaza it brings back the same point - why tinker with something that is working great? Like a lot of new tech, the first users will have to be a bit more daring and a risk taker. The comedian Lous CK took such a chance with direct funding and promotion/distribution. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/louis-ck-video_n_1370516.html So, it might take a second or third tier sport or one which has a strong internet niche following - e.g. the people who follow EPL in the USA, or world class rugby or cricket (I know these barely register on the sports radar here but that is the point)  the USA market is such that even a small fan base could be profitable. The flip side hasn't been mentioned that such a system would allow easier and wider dissemination of US based sports around the world - something the NBA and NFL have long had an interest. The college game probably won't appeal to most except the most diehard world wide diehard football fans - but they do exist. For now, suspect the deals based on the old cable model will be OK for a few more years, but once someone takes a chance, the direct stream of revenue and the flexibility will be irresistible to the leagues.
19 weeks 6 days ago	Split decision	Agreed - the helmets worked and the jerseys largely due to the inability to recognize the numbers were a failure. Came to the game a bit late and at first I thought the Michigan receiver was wearing some sort of temp vest or even a no number jersey. I get it that modern jersey trends have been about creating new looks to buzz up sales. The UTL throwbacks worked well. But the jersey and helmets have to do their original purpose - allowing spectators to ID the team and players. No one did a TV test with the jerseys out on a field otherwise it would have been obvious that the numbers would blend and bleed with the jerseys.
22 weeks 5 days ago	Thanks for the link and for the clarification.	Like many I quickly clicked on the topic because I was confused and intrigued why Hoke was at a NBA-Olympic team reunion ... wondered if he talked with Magic, Bird, Jordan, etc.
23 weeks 3 days ago	interesting idea suggest a tweak	An interesting idea. Might suggest this tweak. Why not just track the number of minutes a team is ahead, behind or tied? Teams that dominate a game (e.g. 2012 Michigan versus Illinois 45-0) would have a brief period when the game was tied - in the case above, Michigan scored at 6 minutes into the 1st quarter and led the whole way. So the result would be BEHIND: 0 minutes, TIED: 6 minutes, AHEAD: 54 minutes. For a closer game (e.g.. 2012 MSU versus Michigan, 12-10) No score in 1st quarter -  TIED: 15 2nd quarter - Michigan scores FG at 10 mark, so that means the 5 min leading up the score were TIED: 5 min, AHEAD at 10 mark, added second FG at 1 min mark, so led for the remaining 10 min. At halftime for the UM, BEHIND: 0, TIED: 20, AHEAD 10 3rd quarter, UM leads until MSU scores a TD at 7 min into the quarter, so that means AHEAD: add 8 minutes, BEHIND: 7 minutes. 3RD quarter ends MSU leading 7-6 After 3rd quarter for the UM, BEHIND: 7, TIED: 20, AHEAD: 18 In the 4th quarter UM trails until in the 13th minute FG makes it 9-7, BEHIND: 7+2=9, TIED: 20, AHEAD 18 at this point, we stay ahead until MSU scores a FG at the 5 minute mark, making it 10-9, so we add 8 minutes to the AHEAD =18+8=26. We don't score until under the final minute FG, so rounding the full minute, we are behind 5 more minutes and ahead only 1. Final line: BEHIND 14, TIED 20, AHEAD 27 (doesn't add up perfectly to 60 minutes due to rounding to next minute, didn't feel like adding up the seconds but it could be done). This is a classic close game: nearly evenly split between TIED, BEHIND, and AHEAD. What about a game we snuck back to win? (Northwestern vs UM 2012 38-31 OT) 1st quarter - no score until 8th minute, NW scores and leads until UM ties at the 2nd minute. TIED: 10, BEHIND: 5 - score at quarter end: 7-7 2nd quarter - UM takes lead at 6 min mark, NW ties it just before the half. TIED: 7 (6+1), AHEAD 6, BEHIND: 5, game is tied at half time, 14-14. 3rd quarter - tied until NW scores at 11th min, adds FG at 3rd minute. Michigan adds TD but still trails for the whole quarter, 24-21. TIED: 7, AHEAD 6, BEHIND: 20 4th quarter - UM behind until 8th min when TD lifts them ahead 28-24. NW goes back in front at the 3rd min, 31-28. Michigan ties with FG with 2 seconds. TIED: 7, AHEAD: 11 (6+5), BEHIND: 30, score tied 31-31. In OT, time really doesn't matter since it is a single possession game, but tracking the number of minutes ahead, behind or tied confirms the notion that the UM were fortunate to win the game. Applying the idea to Stanford Oregon 2012 1st quarter - no score: TIED: 15 2nd quarter - Standford scores at 12th minute and leads until 3rd minute when Oregon ties. Halftime score: 7-7. For Stanford, TIED: 21, AHEAD 9, BEHIND: 0 3rd quarter - Oregon scores at 6 min mark making it 14-7. They hold the lead through the end of the quater. For Standford: TIED: 35, AHEAD 9, BEHIND: 6 4th quarter - Stanford equalizes at the 1 minute mark. For Stanford: TIED: 36, AHEAD: 9, BEHIND: 20 (14+6) Score is 14-14 going to OT. Again I'm rounding up - ideally one could just use the actual number of seconds but I doing this on the fly and didn't dig out the spreadsheet. Don't know what to call this stat - Time of Advantage, Time Ahead, Time of Dominance but it may be of value in assessing the nature of the wins and losses in an more objective way. Easy to find data. Easy to understand and calculate. Offers insight into a game. A 28-0 victory might have been for the winning team TIED:50, BEHIND: 0, AHEAD 10 when the other team finally wore out. In contrast a 35-0 blowout might have been a laugher from the start with a line of TIED: 1, BEHIND:0, AHEAD: 59. Yet in the paper, the two results might seem the same.
23 weeks 4 days ago	single platoon? another approach	It is easy to forget that once a huge monster player was someone who was 6'4" and weighed 245 lbs. If you look at the big NFL players of the late 1960's and early 1970's that was pretty big. Now, it is about average for some LB's let alone DT and DEs. The NFL and NCAA may want to bury their heads in the sand but there is some other factor (e.g. PED) at work creating the large numbers of supersized players. There was also a few very big players in the past - Roger Brown of the Lions from their Paper Lion era was one of only two 300 lbers in the NFL. Now, high school lines have been fielded where everyone is 300 lb+. Making the field wider and bigger (like in the CFL) may not help. As others have noted, it is not just the size but the speed - these new big players aren't just chunky but really fast. So it isn't just their Mass but their Velocity squared which is dangerous. Making the players more conscious of their vulnerability may help - ironically lessening the amount of equipment might decrease the false sense of invulnerability. Do top flight rugby players have the same concussion percentage? (not a regular fan of rugby but perhaps there are MgoBlog fans here who are). Single platoon with only limited substitution (think of it like a baseball game - once a player is subbed, he's out for the game) would make multi-talented players very important, but still allow running and passing of all sorts. It would place a natural brake on speed - the players would have to save their strength and energy. It would also allow small schools to compete more readily with big schools. Often small schools have a few talented players but can't fight the depth of a big school. We'd see more NCAA MBB tourney style upsets. BUT of course, this won't happen - too much money, and the increased specialization and speed is too entertaining on TV. Few QBs would develop to the degree they have today, if they also had to play DB. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady probably couldn't run well enough to stay on defense. Devin Gardner, Denard Robinson and for those remember, Nolan Cromwell would have been OK as DB/QB. All of the discussion about where to kickoff, the ease of field goals and such would become moot - no one would field a specialist kicker. So we'd probably not see many 40-50 yard FG attempts and more squib kickoffs. Perhaps once upon a time, eliminating the unlimited substitution rule and forcing teams to play single platoon style might have worked (this was largely how the game was played in Yost's time I think) As recently as the 1960's this issue was actually still be debated. Just too much money today to take a step in that direction.
25 weeks 3 days ago	He did not throw or take reps	At the Iowa game, he didn't take any of the usual offensive warm up throws. He probably sustained a neuropraxic injury to the ulnar nerve - often these take 6-8 weeks to recover fully. He could probably do simple light like hold a pencil after a week or so, but clutching a ball firm to avoid fumbling or throwing with velocity is probably unlikely. The good news is that if he was cleared to play, he probably doesn't have an injury which could be aggravated by contact. I'm sure he did what he could. That run was terrific and it will be one of the highlights of his career to score in the shoe against the bucks.
25 weeks 3 days ago	Hit the pillow but please don't yell at the cat	I hope DR gets the record AND he has a great post-UM career in what ever he does. Today it is hard to know unless you are on the inside, but it seems like he is a good guy and it would be great if he could end his college career as the record holder. He hasn't done anything publically to embarass the school or team. Go Denard and Go Wolverines!
25 weeks 3 days ago	Thank you - needed to be posted	Thank you for posting this. Victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan - to paraphrase JFK (could be wrong and if so I'm sure someone here will identify the proper source). When Brady Hoke took over the HC duties he faced many challenges. Beating the traditional rival OSU, restoring the dominance of UM in the Big House, and squashing the up and coming teams (like MSU, Illinois, NW). He's largely done that and he led the UM to a bowl game. I'm not overlooking the dismay many have had over issues with the offense this year which are real but we should look ahead with confidence - a realistic confidence and not the usual "wait till next year." Greg Mattison has re-established Michigan as a defensive power in the Big Ten and nationally. OSU only scored 6 second half points - six on two field goals. The defense will only get better. Why? Look at some of the better academic institutions which also play good college football - namely, Stanford, Northwestern and even Notre Dame. They show that there is a pool of players who can qualify here and really play. Michigan is and will be in the near future a top school so we can hope to draw on that same pool. We may not have a once in a generation player like Denard Robinson (the best running QB ever at the UM, eclipsing Steve Smith) next year but the team will be strong and a contender.
25 weeks 5 days ago	Close Game UM	A close game will go to the UM but a rout ... ugh. Go Blue! If Brady Hoke, Al Borges and Greg Mattison win this, this would rank as one of the greatest UM victories - dare I say it, it can be mentioned in the same breadth as the 1969 game. When you dislike someone or disagree with them, it is easy to overlook their attributes and only focus on their shortcomings. This is a good Buckeye team. Beating them would be an accomplishment.
25 weeks 5 days ago	Says a lot of the nature of ownership in the NFL	The NFL from its inception wanted individual owners or families and not some faceless conglomerate to own the team. I'm not clear as to why - perhaps they felt it made it easier to determine who is ultimately responsible. But as we've seen with some franchises, there is a price to be paid for this arrangment. 1. Individual owners sometimes put a bit too much of themselves into the process - they ultimately become a big part of why the team on the field is not more successful. 2. They meddle in the drafts - like Jerry Jones in Dallas or Al Davis in Oakland. 3. They can hire cronies or friends or just "nice people" who unfortunately are terrible football minds - like William Clay Ford in Detroit and Matt Millen - by most accounts, a great college and pro player and a fun analyst on TV but an unmitigated disaster as a personnel man and general manager - yet he got 10 years! This was in the modern era and not in the Detroit Heralds of 1917. 4. They can interfere with personnel decisions in trades or when to trade and move on - Bud Adams in Tennessee and staying with Vince Young long after everyone else realized he wasn't going to make it, or Woody Johnson of the NY Jets who by rumor admittedly okayed the trade of Tebow to the Jets despite his GM Mike Tannebaum and HC Rex Ryan giving just two weeks earlier a 3 year $40.5 million contract extension to QB Mark Sanchez.
25 weeks 5 days ago	Cable package options	Hi, just trying to understand some background on this deal. 1. We know already there are a multitude of UM, OSU and PSU fans in the NYC to Wash DC corridor. 2. It is already possible to view the BTN in that area on local cable providers. I was curious how easy option 2 is for fans? I have Comcast and most of the most basic packages have BTN in their sports lineup. Is that the case for people in Virginia, Maryland, NJ, and NY State? If it is, then the move isn't so much about getting the network onto cable packages as much as it is leveraging it into a more favorable position and promoting greater interest.
26 weeks 2 days ago	College Football Image	Since everyone is chiming in: With the Buckeyes, there is an obvious logic - in the Bo Era, they were the best opposing team in the league. The other little eight were all trampled underfoot. The Bo Era really defined college football for many of the older Michigan fans. In more recent years when th Spartans could put together good teams for consecutive years, bragging rights in-state with family, co-workers and neighbors played a role. For Notre Dame it probably goes back to a very visceral level nearly subconscious rivalry since both schools had periods of being really good (nationally good) at the very dawn of big time college football (1910-1930) - the first wave of the huge crowds (80,000) and when the big stadiums started up. For a while the Wolverines were the face of college football in the US; then under Knute Rockne it was briefly the Fighting Irish. Today, many schools can claim the mantle for a season or two of being "what college football is about" but ultimately the whole fall experience, on a college campus, tailgating admist the fall colors, and sitting in a classic dug into the ground bowl - you have to go to one of these schools from that era.
27 weeks 1 day ago	Yes, that is a good insight, maybe good timing....	The obsession over this whole comment cuts to the heart of the current Spartan UM issue. The UM being the older institution (since 1817 and nearing it bicentennial) and the one which has long been more influential (politically, economically, socially) can be looked upon as the "old firm" establishment and MSU as the upstart. It began as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan - becoming later the State Agricultural College. The school predates East Lansing as a municipality. By the early 1900, it had evolved into Michigan Agricultural College. By the 1920's it was Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science. It was not until 1964 that it actually became Michigan State University (MSU). Historically with the many name changes and an ever evolving mission one can see that a fixed identity has only been recent development. Interestingly the Spartans had a long period of football prowess which dominated the 1950's and early 1960's. The only joined the Big Ten in 1949 but the Duffy Daugherty era (1954-1972) saw them finish first in the Coaches Poll twice in 1965 and 1966. So why aren't the Sparty Fans more magnamimous given a pretty decent football history? The end of Daugherty era saw the rise of Bo and with that, years of 0.500 or so teams and the 1970's ushered in the Big 2 and the Little 8. It was also a period when college football on TV became really big with color TV penetration overtaking black-white broadcasts and those "in color" notices on TV programs started to fade out.  The reach of TV, the vast size of the UM alumni, and the expansion of the student body coincided nicely with Bo's great period. Vast pools of people now followed the Wolverines who had no actual ties with the school. Most of the current Sparty fans are too young to remember when they were good for a long time. In contrast most of the Michigan fans who are younger lived through the Bo/Mo/Lloyd era when Michigan was usually very good to great. The much older fans who remember the fallow period between 1949 and 1969 are only a smaller slice of the fanbase and they have lived to see the Wolverines become dominant again.
27 weeks 3 days ago	just another reason why it was a good choice	Jordan Kovacs is an excellent choice to be a recepient of the Wistert Legends honor. I get the sense from a story like this that he'll always keep the UM in mind and try to live up to the honor.
28 weeks 3 days ago	Martinez - Robinson, not a speed issue	As a DC, Coach Narduzzi maybe (intentionally or not) missing the real point about the difference between Taylor Martinez and Denard Robinson as running QBs. We all have seen that both are fast - really fast, but the one area which Taylor Martinez does excel is in his mesh ball fake. It was a huge part of why he was successful against MSU. His ball fake really pulled the DL, LBs and Safeties one or more gaps over which gave him the room to get to full speed. In a match race on a track, I think DR is faster, and because he is smaller and lighter, he would probably take Martinez in a 100 yards or 100 meters. But as a deceptive ball handler, Martinez is demonstrably better than most running QBs today.
28 weeks 5 days ago	Worth tracking	I'm sure many people would like to put this whole Penn State episode away but it maybe still worth following even on this board because the outcome may affect how college athletics are overseen on all campuses. Once what happened with college athletics was first the head coach's problem, then the athletic director's but it is clear now that everyone upto and including the president can be considered. The NCAA recently announced that they were extending the reach of penalties so that assistant coaches could no longer be the easy scapegoats for violations and be tossed in as a sacrificial lamb to halt an investigation - their head coaches and other oversight personnel would all share in the penalties. No place has a monopoly on bad events or good events. But the places with few bad events usually acknowledge that they can occur and don't pretend they are impossible. That willingness to acknowledge and think about that possibility is the first important step in ensuring that it won't happen.
29 weeks 2 days ago	probably neuropraxia	It may be a form of neuropraxia - which would be the best case. BUT often these take weeks for a full recovery. We'll see if Denard is able to practice and play this week. If not it may be several weeks and in some cases, 6-8 weeks which essentially is the whole season. I hope he comes back next week or later in the season but if that was the last game we see him play in a UM uniform, Denard Robinson still had an amazing career and will one day be honored as a Michigan legend.
29 weeks 5 days ago	Just another sign of civilization	Consider this observation: Nearly everything in human civilization starts out with the fundamental purpose. Food supplied calories, nutrients, and needed hydration. Clothing protected, kept in warmth and shelter from the elements. Now we pay MORE for food that has fewer calories on purpose and often lacking in key nutrients but are stylish. The best restaurants for example on a calorie and nutrient to price basis often are far worse than the typical fast food place or mom-and-pop corner diner, but people go the restaurant for the style, ambience and to be seen. Likewise with clothing. The whole women's fashion industry is nearly all style and well, by defninition fashion. So it is not surprising that even football uniforms are heading that way. Variant football uniforms are now like variant comic book covers and about as meaningful. The final proof of this is how little in contrast has been spent improving the protective properties of the uniform (helmets, pads, etc). The next thing and you saw it here first is that the uniform will form some collage image when they stand together, like when the whole offense lines up there will be larger composite image visible.
31 weeks 3 days ago	OK - I'll take the bait	Clearly too many players are getting their priorities wrong and have been devoting their time and energies to skool and not football. They forget they "ain't there to play skool, but football." No doubt this will be a teaching point this week.
31 weeks 5 days ago	Insight into the football bubble in Columbus	The only real nugget of information is an appreciation of the college football bubble that encases Columbus. It might explain why Kirk Herbstreit whose perceived lack of loyalty to tOSU program led him to leave town; he's far more high profile than the Luke Fickell. In most places this would have been all put down to one uberfan mouthing off and it would have died out. The OSU team is unbeaten and has looked OK, certainly good enough to challenge for the title (although ineligible).
32 weeks 4 days ago	An amazing quote	An amazing quote - simple yet profound, innocently assertive and completely honest without any regard to the long term significance. He should win 2012's most honest thing said by an athlete. That is from the OSU just makes it even better.

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