Unverified Voracity Has Hot Sellers Comment Count

Brian

New shirts! The MGoStore is rocking two new shirts. One of them is pretty obvious. The other is, er… not. Click either for link:

Print notorious-cone

Yes, the back of the Cone shirt says "leave ya twisted with chalk around ya body" in tribute to Cone rapping up a storm. WOOOOO. Get 'em while they last. Shoelace will be around for a bit, of course. Cone will be in our hearts forever but since it's kind of doubtful he gets a fifth year you probably want to scoop those bad boys up ASAP.

NOTE for folks who live in Ann Arbor and hate the idea of paying shipping costs: MGoShirts are available at Underground's retail space on South U. My cut there is the same as the one online, for people super concerned about the cash flow here. (This does happen.)

Outback Bowlin'. Orson Swindle would do well to avoid this vein-popping Zook special, but you're not Orson so here's the Wolverine Historian version of the 2003 Outback Bowl:

Part Two awaits in the lightbox.

I don't know if this is good or bad. Justin Turner was credited with a special teams tackle on Saturday, but that did not actually happen:

MSU corrected the official boxscore Sunday to show Jonas Mouton in on the tackle, and Turner, the No. 2-rated player in Michigan's 2009 recruiting class according to Rivals.com, remains eligible to redshirt.

So he's probably going to redshirt, and JT Floyd is going to start. Hurrah for good roster management? Boo because of thin secondary depth and the oddity of having such a highly-rated guy on a redshirt track? You make the call.

Also of indeterminate benefit. Rodriguez is going to take a look at linebackers who aren't Ezeh or Mouton (both of whom are at least making a number of good plays to go along with their terrible horrible not good ones in the UFR I've gotten to):

Yeah, every job is up for grabs every week,” Rodriguez said. “It sounds like coach speak, but our guys know they have to play at a certain level. Jonas (Mouton) and Obi (Ezeh) have played very, very hard. … I think Jonas is a very active player, and Obi has played solid, as well, but we can all play better.” …

"You take away a couple of those scramble plays, their big third and long passes, and it was a pretty solid effort,” Rodriguez said. “But you have to count those. Those are part of the whole deal. … We've got to be more consistent I think is the word in all three phases, particularly defensively."

"Player X has played very hard" is an excellent backhanded compliment. FWIW, I don't think anything will come of the starting jobs potentially coming open given Fitzgerald's shaky cameo and Leach's meh performance in the Eastern game. At least Mouton, who does appear to be blitzing a lot more recently, has guru-approved (and obvious) athletic ability. Leach doesn't.

As long as we're talking about the possibility of walk-ons busting into the starting lineup, let's highlight this bolded bit from yesterday's press conference recap:

Mike Williams wasn't 100% going into the game, but taking him out for Kovacs was a substitution issue, not an injury issue.

IE: Kovacs is just playing because the coaches think he's better. Williams got yanked quickly, too, right after he failed to get out on a short zone when Michigan was running three-deep and gave up a 15-yard hitch on Michigan State's endless drive. I didn't even think that was his fault, FWIW, as he was tasked with faking a blitz and had no chance to get out there; with Warren playing in the parking lot that play was super easy. FWIW, Kovacs has turned in a couple of impressive tackles so far. He's probably a disaster in coverage but Michigan is using him as downhill run-stuffer, something he seems capable of.

Family values, but on the tee-vee. Elliot Mealer will feature on that ESPN newsmagazine show E:60. You know, the one with jump cuts of Jeremy Schaap. Details:

Sports leader ESPN has followed the Mealer and Richer families for a year documenting how each family dealt with grief while moving ahead with their lives. On Tuesday the segment will air for the first time on ESPN and ESPN HD on a program called E:60 at 7 p.m.

"I first got contacted really early in the morning after I had just spoken at a FCA event at Napoleon High School," explained Elliott Mealer, a senior at the time of the accident that claimed two lives. "We talked it over as a family and all agreed that this could be something that could bring a positive light to the accident and everything after. As a little kid you always dream about being on ESPN and I guess in this sense it is bittersweet. I really wish I didn't have a story to tell but the fact of the matter is I do."

Worth examining, yes, I talk like Yoda for no reason mmmm.

Oh noes! You probably remember the nonstop caterwauling from Notre Dame fans in the aftermath of the referees getting Armando Allen's screen non-touchdown right. I wonder if they will take up arms and demand justice from the Big East replay officials on behalf of Washington:

ND-2-Point-Conversion-1024x768

That knee you see on the ground is Robert Hughes's. His entire body, and therefore the ball, is outside the endzone at this moment. This is the two point conversion that Notre Dame got to go up three, and without it they would have lost 30-28 in regulation. The lack of a review here is inexplicable. It was obvious the instant NBC cut to a replay of the play. CONSPIRACY

(Also, people: download a torrent and get a frame from that instead of taking pictures of your TV.)

Etc.: This is not Mark May pantomiming Lou Holtz performing fellatio on Jimmah, but it kind of looks like it is. Barwis porn migrates to web comics. Braves & Birds is confused about how to feel about the game Saturday.

Comments

Bryan

October 6th, 2009 at 11:50 AM ^

From the linked Braves and Birds article, "Larry Caper and Glen "Fastest When Running Between Jail and the Practice Field" Winston..."

It kinda sums up my feelings on the game as well. Also, another Elway comparison for Tate.

caup

October 6th, 2009 at 12:05 PM ^

How about a t-shirt that says "May the Forcier Be With You" with Tate in Luke Skywalker garb?
I think that would be a better seller than the shirt with the kinda-too-wordy quote with the Darth Vader head. Just my humble opinion...

Sparky79

October 6th, 2009 at 12:05 PM ^

How about Washington's overturned touchdown late in the 4th quarter? Ruled a touchdown, video replay (IMO) was inconclusive. The camera was at an angle, not right on the goal line, so how the replay official can conclusively say the ball was at the 1/2 yard line instead of on the goal line is beyond me (it was close, though a half yard seems like a rather obvious gap). Then Washington couldn't score with like eight tries at the goal line and kicked a field goal, ND gets the ball back and drives to win.

lablue

October 6th, 2009 at 3:31 PM ^

at least for this one, the announcers actually voiced their disagreement with the call to overturn the touchdown. I had to miss the end of the game so I didn't hear the call for the 2-pt conversion.

I pretty much figured ND would come back with 3 minutes left and down 5. I did set my DVR just in case though, so if Washington somehow won I could see Weis' priceless expression when the moment of defeat sunk in.

oakapple

October 6th, 2009 at 12:13 PM ^

Rodriguez is clearly not hesitant to play true freshmen. As bad as Michigan's secondary (ex. Warren) has been, I have to assume that Turner's on the bench because he's not better than the guys who are playing. At this point, even if he makes immense progress in practice, it seems wasteful to burn the redshirt.

New Kid On The Blog

October 6th, 2009 at 12:59 PM ^

I saw that 2-point conversion, or lack there of and couldn't believe it didn't get buzzed by the replay offical or the NBC talking heads didn't mention it. There are more non-touchdown touchdowns in Notre Dame stadium than anywhere else.

TIMMMAAY

October 6th, 2009 at 1:36 PM ^

Glad to hear you still get your cut from the Underground store in AA. I bought the mascot shirt there and didn't want to admit it since I felt guilty about not ordering online.

Bronco648

October 6th, 2009 at 1:43 PM ^

You could tell from the goal line camera that the 2pt. conversion failed to cross the goal line. And then, NBC cuts away from the replay lest it trigger a review. Both commentators fell silent when it was (pretty) obvious that the ball carrier was down. Lame.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Barwis would not be duct taped to a wall. The wall would be duct taped to him (and his feet would be on ground).

Bigasshammm

October 6th, 2009 at 2:19 PM ^

What about the Washington TD that clearly looked like some part of the ball crossed the line that wasn't called a TD and was actually overturned by the review? In no way was there clear "indisputable" evidence that the ball never crossed the line and therefore the TD should have been overturned. Granted the refs did give Washington another chance with a somewhat bs penalty giving them another shot at 1st and goal that they couldn't punch in. Had that been ruled a TD which it was clearly then they would have won that game. Conspiracy!

wolfman81

October 6th, 2009 at 2:39 PM ^

He can't help it that the old man was boring him. The man was tired! Plus, Lou Holtz is on the wrong channel. They should trade him to NBC for...hmmm...well...I don't know...Dungy?

...well, at least don't hate on him for that! He may do other hate-able things, but that was sheer boredom.

Irish

October 6th, 2009 at 3:12 PM ^

Conspiracy, yeah thats the obvious answer. LOL Wait just a second while I give you the double yes double eye roll......uh hu ........ uh hu, alright congrats I haven't done that in a while

Is this just more misdirected anger from a fanbase who lost last weekend? If you want to look into something I would love to hear about the 2 drive extending penalties that MSU was called on. One a pass interference penalty late in the 4th quarter and 2nd the late hit on a RB who was about to break a tackle and go up field, again in the 4th quarter. Those penalties amounted to 30 yards together, for an offense who had managed a whole 90 yards in the 3 quarters previously the timing was what I would call....... interesting

Stick to UM, you sound a lot less little brotherish

ShockFX

October 7th, 2009 at 1:09 AM ^

You're missing the :) in this and the above post. Also, the CONSPIRACY thing is a running joke. It's clearly not a conspiracy, it's just shitty reffing all around (except for the OOBscreen call, that was the proper call and you know it).

dougr188

October 6th, 2009 at 3:52 PM ^

Brian was simply having a little fun mixed in with a little truth and in typical "Irish" fashion you over read it.

Jorel

October 7th, 2009 at 11:06 AM ^

So, if "Kovacs has turned in a couple of impressive tackles so far. He's probably a disaster in coverage but Michigan is using him as downhill run-stuffer, something he seems capable of" then could he take Stevie Brown's SAM (hybrid) role next year? I know Brandon Smith and all, but perhaps he is big enough to be a WILL?

Wait, no; then who plays SS? Ugh.