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The answer is contracts,…

The answer is contracts, which I suspect the NCAA doesn't permit and a lot of schools probably want to avoid.  However, that is how you avoid chaos and still pay the athletes.

Yes.  September 1989 during…

Yes.  September 1989 during Bo's last season.  I was at the game.

Really good to hear from you…

Really good to hear from you, Ace!  I will confess I thought of you during the 3+ hour podcast, and I am glad you were listening too.

Go Blue!

I was going to mention this…

I was going to mention this as well.  My wife and I live in Cleveland and were on a trip to North Carolina while we were listening to this game on XM Radio.   When there were seconds left and the 49ers were lining up for a game winning Money Moody FG, we KNEW the Browns had lost.  (Heck, we're used to that.)   We COULD NOT BELIEVE IT when the announcers said that he had missed and that the Browns had won.

I am really glad to hear Moody has had a spectacular year and that NFL people are now recognizing his abilities like UM fans have for several seasons.   My wife is, in particular, a Moody fan.   As she would say to me numerous times over the last few seasons before this one, "Thank God for Jake Moody."

Do yourself a favor:  go to…

Do yourself a favor:  go to the Rose Parade.   We went to the 1990 Rose Bowl and watched the parade.  I think it is a great bucket list thing to do if you are lucky enough to see the Wolverines play in Pasadena.   I wish I could go this year.

I'd suggest getting seats toward the beginning of the parade route.   The parade ends there earlier, obviously, and it is closer to the Rose Bowl.   We were younger in 1990 and paid less to sit further east along Colorado Blvd.   It was fine, except it was a long walk and we missed half of the 1st quarter.

I'm pissed about this…

I'm pissed about this surrender.   They should have at least gotten the suspension shortened to 2 games so he would be on the sideline for the Game.

I'm worried about what this portends, and also worried about how it looks.

If it was filed in federal…

If it was filed in federal court, it absolutely will be (is) there.  Don't know which district, and a lot of people are suggesting it will be filed in state court.

Wishing all the best for…

Wishing all the best for your son, you, and your family.  Don't worry about anything else right now.  We can all wait.

Jesus, that is disgusting.  …

Jesus, that is disgusting.   We shouldn't have to read published articles with red pens handy.

Oh, no!

Oh, no!

I spent my late 20s and…

I spent my late 20s and early 30s in the Bay Area, so I did get used to early football games, including morning games.  I've been back in the midwest for a few decades, so I have lost the touch a bit, but given the family commitments, 9 a.m. would be perfect for me (and my wife).  

I'm in California for a…

I'm in California for a wedding on November 11, so I will be glad to be able to watch the PSU game in the morning and not risk missing a night game that conflicts with the ceremony.

Of course, I'm also glad to avoid a white-out in Happy Valley.

It is a take off from the…

It is a take off from the old joke from the late 1950s in Brooklyn:  One room, gun with two bullets, and Hitler, Stalin, and Walter O'Malley (who had just moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles).  Robert Moses probably deserved the bullets.

Thanks for reminding me…

Thanks for reminding me about Herman Weaver.  I hadn't heard his name in years.

Oh, was Ibrahim not playing?

Oh, was Ibrahim not playing?

Purdue-Minnesota, easily. …

Purdue-Minnesota, easily.  What an upset.

Craig Ross will be pleased.

Craig Ross will be pleased.

I immediately thought of…

I immediately thought of your first three points.  Fortunately, I think number 4 has sailed.

I would bet that many home…

I would bet that many home states will seek to tax college students instead of the state where the college is located.  My son had to pay income tax (or at least report it -- not sure how much tax was due) in Ohio and in our city (local income tax) when he worked part time in Ann Arbor while at UM.  If that is true, the tax laws of state where the college is located may be irrelevant.

I'm not a tax attorney, so don't take this to the bank, but I think I may be right about this.

He won't be the first…

He won't be the first Canadian with a degree from McGill to serve as University President at Michigan.  That distinction belongs to Harold Shapiro.

I've been watching old…

I've been watching old Secretariat tapes on YouTube recently and when I saw the linked clip of this weekend's Derby (which I wasn't able to watch live) I drew the same comparison you did.  It is incredibly exhilarating watching a horse blow by the entire field.

And yet Secretariat running away from the field like they are of a different species ("Secretariat is all alone!") probably still stands out to me to be the greatest horse racing feat ever.

I had Kamisar for First…

I had Kamisar for First Amendment.  He was larger than life.   The story in his NYT obit about the Korean War and T-bone Hill blew me away.  I had no idea.

Or maybe keep it up because…

Or maybe keep it up because it least it is on the main page where we can see it.

Very sad to see the Tappan…

Very sad to see the Tappan Oak go.

I recall that the bark of the Oak had a slight red tinge to it (when I was on campus in the 80s).   My older brother, who was a student in the 60s, told me a story that somewhere back in history (well before his time) that students occasionally painted the tree red . . . when they won the big game, maybe?   I am a little vague on what the pre-environmental movement tradition was, but the evidence remained decades later, albeit a bit faint and easy to overlook.

Anyway, the old oak had history and I hate to see it disappear from the Diag.

No, you're the "Host" now!

No, you're the "Host" now!

I watched it last night as…

I watched it last night as well after Seth tweeted that it was coming up.  It really was a great documentary that will be interesting to everyone following this blog.  Also, Seth was fantastic and I am glad he will be receiving some well-deserved attention for his work.

Good.

Good.

Yes, Maize pants on the road…

Yes, Maize pants on the road and always.  Home and away.

Yesterday's game is posted…

Yesterday's game is posted now.   Looks like a great site.  Thanks for sharing the link.

We met at one of the Bacon…

We met at one of the Bacon events, probably at Winking Lizard.

You launched a nice thread here.

Hey, MGrow.  Thanks for your…

Hey, MGrow.  Thanks for your diary entry.

I'm another UM alum living in Ohio (Cleveland area) for the last 26 years.   I have two sons, aged 27 and 30, one a Miami (NNTM) grad and the other a UM grad.  We did all the tours, albeit 10 and 13 years ago, respectively.  Indiana, Maryland, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Miami U., Ohio U., OSU, and of course Michigan.

I noticed then, long before COVID, that Michigan tours sucked by comparison.  (Hell, Virginia Tech had to deal with discussion about the mass killing of several dozen students only one year before and still pulled off a more compelling tour.)  MGrow points out good specifics, and times were a bit different then, but Michigan's tour experience definitely lacked relative enthusiasm.  Michigan did not seem to feel the need to sell itself and I always found its effort disappointing.  The walking tours themselves lacked the physical scope I'd have liked.  (They included the Union, a spin around the Diag, and back.  No Hill Auditorium, Michigan League, or the Hill Dorms.)  The tour guides also got things wrong, but I was only in position to be a critic of the Michigan tour guides.  I didn't have any background information about any of the other campuses, so those tour guides could have told me anything.

Once a year I participate in interviewing new Michigan students for our local alumni association's scholarship.   One question that occasionally comes up from the students is what do we think is the worst thing about Michigan.  I piped up with the damn campus tours.  It was a silly, trivial response, but honestly I think it is true.   I am sad to hear that the problem is persisting a decade after I made the same observation.

Winter Olympics are…

Winter Olympics are frequently held in small cities (e.g. Lake Placid, Lilliehammer, Olympic (Squaw) Valley).  

If you have an account,…

If you have an account, check out this little blurb from WIRED.  It includes a graph showing the population of the host cities at the time the games were held.    https://www.wired.com/2012/08/urban-populations-of-the-summer-olympics/ 

It appears that the last time the host city was less than 5 million was Athens in 2004.   The preceding three Olympics (Barcelona in 1992; Atlanta in 1996; and Sydney in 2000) were also in that category.

I have some doubts about the accuracy of the chart regarding Tokyo's current population.  It suggests a population in the neighborhood of 10 million, while at the same time indicating a population of 20 million when Tokyo hosted the games in 1964.   A google search appears to suggest a population of about 19 million in 1964, so that would be accurate.  However, my searches for a current (either 2020 or 2021) population range from 13 million to 37 million.  This discrepancy might result from a distinction between city proper and metropolitan area populations.  Either way, the chart underestimates Tokyo's population by at least a little, and probably a lot.  Also, Brisbane will be a lot smaller, assuming its current population of 2.5 million does not explode in the next 11 years.

Bruce Springsteen's "Adam…

Bruce Springsteen's "Adam Raised a Cain."

I'm not suggesting anything…

I'm not suggesting anything about the scientific positions or recommendations UM's scientists would take or make.  I only point out that when the government gives you a warning, you ignore it at your own peril, even if they cannot or will not fine you or put you in jail if you ignore the warning.

I'm also not suggesting that the health warning wasn't supported by evidence or was in any way unwise.   I assume the warning was well-taken and I hope that UM will act responsibly. 

I also don't know whether testing, quarantines, and even vaccinations might form a basis for returning to play earlier than 14 days after the announcement.  Hopefully that decision will be made by people smarter than me.

When the health department…

When the health department recommends you do something and you ignore it, be prepared for enhanced liability if someone dies or a lot of people get sick because of your decision.  

It doesn't matter whether the health department had authority to impose sanctions directly.   The department's warning forced the athletic department's hand.

Michigan, along with Chicago…

Michigan, along with Chicago, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Minnesota, Illinois, and Purdue, were in the Western Conference at the time (i.e. 1890s).

Excellent, Seth.  I was…

Excellent, Seth.  I was happy you included the fat man TD.

The loss of that drive that…

The loss of that drive that we saw for the first two years is the most mysterious and disheartening thing about the Harbaugh era.  I'm not sure I will ever understand it.

So, is there a link to a…

So, is there a link to a complete schedule anywhere?

I remember laughing and…

I remember laughing and sighing the first time I noticed that Charley's sign had added "Est 1979."   It was the newest bar in town when I was a freshman . . . in 1979.

So, Howard "is gaining…

So, Howard "is gaining traction within [NBA] front offices."  The question is whether NBA teams are gaining any traction with Howard.   If we don't have any information on that, all we know is that NBA teams recognize that Howard is a good coach. 

There was always a risk that someday Howard might return to the NBA.  However, I don't think this tells us anything we didn't already know and only serves to cause anxiety.

No.

No.

Thanks for this one, Ace.  

Thanks for this one, Ace.  

I had the privilege of being at this game.   I saw Michigan play at the Rose Bowl twice that season.   The second game, Bo's last as coach, which was against USC in the January 1 bowl game, did not go as well as this September game against UCLA.

In the pre-internet era, when I did not have the opportunity to read about individual games ad nauseum, I would easily forget most details of individual games.   Same with this one.   I didn't remember that Elvis had struggled; I just remember that he was new and grew into a very good player.  I didn't recall that Desmond was on the team, that the Rocket Ismail fiasco was the previous week, and I certainly had never heard of GERG.

But the onside kick was what I would never forget.   You cited the newspaper article with players all saying that the ball "just popped up."  Let me tell you, from my vantage point more than 100 yards away in the north end zone, with the ball being kicked away from me, the ball just popped up.   It seemed as if divine intervention decided to be on Michigan's side for a change.

I also recall reporting published in the newspapers (where else would I have heard it?) that immediately after the onside kick, during a quick huddle with offense before they took the field, Bo excitedly told them "We're going to win this one!"

Great job with the retrospective.  Enjoyed hearing Jackson's voice.  Being at the game, I didn't know he broadcast it (although I am not at all surprised).

I've never noticed those…

I've never noticed those before.  Just add the word "basketball" in the post and make it easy.

I thought this was about…

I thought this was about Brian.

Four FEET over the record…

Four FEET over the record high.  https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=dtx&gage=midm4 

Probably my favorite game…

Probably my favorite game that I ever attended.

I forgot the name Bill…

I forgot the name Bill Munson.  (Sorry.)

I saw this in the news a few…

I saw this in the news a few months ago.  What immediately struck me was that I could not believe that Karras was not already in the Hall.