Unverified Voracity Promises There's Some Sports After The Jump
Calling it a clown show would be too kind. If you don't live in Ann Arbor, you can skip to the next section. Ann Arborites: last night the anti party city council majority fired the city administrator for no reason. They put the motion to fire him on the city council agenda at the last second. There was no discussion about why Howard Lazarus was getting fired; the anti party simply ignored the Open Meetings Act, decided to fire a dedicated civil servant, and set 300k of city money on fire.
Tonight Ann Arbor City Council voted to fire our city administrator. Here are the thoughts that @votegrand and @A2Ackerman shared about this travesty pic.twitter.com/4pNdU7Z4nK
— chip smith (@VoteChipSmith) February 19, 2020
This is par for the course for the current majority, which has openly considered violating state law—Bolt vs Lansing if you want to know—only for city staff to say "uh… that would violate state law." Firing Lazarus is like firing the crash alert system on your car. Since the goal of the anti party is to freeze Ann Arbor in amber to the detriment of the entire county outside their core constituency, this suits them just fine.
Ann Arbor can restore a city council majority not intent on driving off a cliff on August 4th. So here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna figure out which ward you're in and you're gonna vote for one of the following people on August 4th:
Then Ann Arbor governance can move on from the bit where the city council majority spends its time shrieking and flinging poo. Thanks in advance.
[After THE JUMP: Speaking of disastrous situations: the Cavs!]
Kardashian-Some Basketball Player I Want To Say Kyle Young? John Beilein is officially done with the Cavs. Thus ends the most obviously doomed marriage since the very first horse was led to water. There was no going back after the "thugs" moment, innocent mistake or not. Via the Athletic:
Instead, multiple players began playing songs that included the word “thug” whenever Beilein was within earshot, sources said: Bone Thugz-n-Harmony’s “Thuggish Ruggish Bone” and Tupac’s “Thugz Mansion” among them. As the team boarded the bus a few days after the incident, one player was intentionally playing Trick Daddy’s “I’m a Thug” with Beilein a few feet away. Other players blasted songs with the word “thug” loudly during workouts in the facility. Players did this to make light of a very tough situation, according to one team source.`
Funny! Also a dick move after Beilein reportedly apologized profusely. The tidbit in this article that stood out is that this is the second straight year the Cavs' head coach has wanted to bolt at the All Star Break. Last year interim head coach (interim!) Larry Drew was trying to bail and have the Cavs' G-League coach take over. This is the situation Beilein walked into willingly. I'll never understand it.
Brian Hamilton on that:
If the counterargument is that there aren’t fewer problems in college, only different problems … yes! That is exactly correct! Personally, if I’m making pretty good money as it is, I’m taking “kid-doesn’t-go-to-class” over “none-of-my-players-will-listen-to-me-and-there-is-nothing-I-can-do-about-that” as far as challenges in my daily existence.
Is you taking notes? Stringer Bell is disgusted with MSU's opsec:
That's a photo of Curtis Blackwell (left) on a recruiting visit to Daelin Hayes's home. Blackwell was not an assistant coach and isn't allowed to do that. Mark Dantonio said this never happened in a court deposition, leading to an amazing but unfortunately short-lived headline: "Photo, recruit's mother dispute Mark Dantonio's claim he didn't violate NCAA rules." Literally true:
Lawyers for Dantonio also said, "While Dantonio does not recall Blackwell being at the location depicted in the pictures, or how Blackwell came to appear in the photograph, he is adamant that he did not drive (Blackwell) there or authorize (Blackwell) to be there."
Extra guy on a recruiting trip is small beer but we have evidence Dantonio was willing to lie in a deposition to cover stuff up; everything else Blackwell's asserting is probably true too. Blackwell really did run ol' Mark out of town on a rail.
If you would like a seven page RCMB thread about how this image is photoshopped it's right here.
Yes yes yes also yes. Not enough going on for a full basketball recruiting post but the news on Josh Christopher continues to be as good as possible without a commitment, and that might not be as long-term a process as expected. Rivals's Corey Evans:
I had a pretty good feeling just a month ago that Josh Christopher, despite my belief that Michigan was the program to beat, would visit all of his finalists before committing. That might not be the case any longer. Christopher's commitment might not be too far away and the feeling is that Michigan is on the precipice of adding the five-star to its 2020 class.
We're in the sour grapes period at UCLA:
Both recruitments are typical five-star level recruitments -- demanding quite a bit of attention, unpredictable, with many different people and forces having influence on the players' decision -- and at times, seemingly ridiculous. It's what we've labeled before a "circus" recruitment.
Cumong man. Christopher's the kid who didn't transfer to Adjective Academy so he could play on a legitimate high school team without anyone taller than 6'5".
Also in recruiting news, Hunter Dickinson going for 40:
Dickinson shot one three pointer in his most recent EYBL season, so the deep shooting is a new development.
Number one. Baseball is #1 in Baseball America's poll for the first time ever:
NEW COLLEGE TOP 2⃣5⃣
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) February 17, 2020
It didn't take long for a shakeup at the top.
After an impressive weekend in Arizona, @umichbaseball is the No. 1 team in the country.
It's the first time in our 40 years of ranking the Top 25 Michigan is No. 1.https://t.co/vtLpz2DFWA pic.twitter.com/wkoPTDWkBO
Michigan beat #1 Vandy and #3 ASU in their poll; others are a bit more circumspect. Michigan's still off to a start that you're hoping for as they try to capitalize on the most attention they've gotten since Barry Larkin was around. Via twitter person Manuel Excel one of the main questions about Michigan's season—starters past Criswell—had an encouraging early answer:
#Michigan LHP Steve Hajjar was terrific in the first inning. Two strikeouts and sat 91-93 and up to 94 with his fastball. Also showed a CH and SL.
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) February 16, 2020
Hajjar punched out Spencer Torkelson on a filthy 79 mph CH. Went 93, 82 SL, 94 and 79 for the K. @umichbaseball
HERM COME OUT OF THE TUNNEL YOU COWARD. Arizona State and Michigan are trying to work out a couple football games, per their AD. AD then kept talking:
“(Jim) Harbaugh, the coach at Michigan, he was the quarterback when ASU won the (1987) Rose Bowl. I would love — before whatever happens to him, since he can’t beat Ohio State, I would love to see us now take him on and beat him as coach.”
As a proponent of the Solve Your Problems Through Wrestling Promos school of management I approve of this message. This is the equivalent of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan claiming Hulk Hogan can't beat his latest monster and is top-quality work.
CCHA back. When Big Ten hockey disrupted the college hockey landscape the old WCHA and CCHA quickly became unrecognizable or—in the CCHA's case—dead. The WCHA became a bit of a dumping ground, taking both Alaska teams and Alabama-Huntsville, which caused financial issues for the rest of the league. Their solution was to bolt en masse and resurrect the CCHA name:
On Tuesday, it was announced that the new league being formed by seven members of the current WCHA—Bemidji State, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Minnesota State, and Northern Michigan—would inherit the CCHA name. When the previous incarnation of the CCHA resolved, Bowling Green retained the name rights. trophies, etc. from the old league.
They're trying to add St Thomas, currently a D-3 school in Minnesota, as an eighth member. Huntsville and the Alaska schools—if their programs continue to exist—will apparently become independents. That's less unviable than it used to be. Independent Arizona State is headed for a bid this year. It sounds like the budget crisis for the Alaska schools has passed and they'll continue on.
I'd hope Michigan does Fairbanks a solid and schedules them. Those old CCHA connections mean something, and also they gave the world a treasure.
IIRC you get an exemption if you go to Alaska to play, like Hawaii in football. I have to imagine seeing the bear stuff in person will fire them up so much that they score a billion goals once they get back. They're still doing it!
Go play there.
Etc.: Cesar Ruiz is the last pick of the first round in Mel Kiper's latest mock draft. Brief Brendan Brisson profile in the Hockey News.
February 19th, 2020 at 3:27 PM ^
Brian I can tell exactly when the Ann Arbor City Council went off the rails. Back in 1980 I ran against Susan Greenberg for Ward II (I think) and was narrowly defeated 2,800 to 2,500. Had I won I'm relatively certain that all your current problems would've been solved long ago and you and your family would be enjoying the mortal utopia my council contribution would've surely created.
I tried.
February 19th, 2020 at 5:29 PM ^
Sooo. . . you’re saying this is all your fault?
/ I keed man
February 19th, 2020 at 7:33 PM ^
The Universe said thank you for your efforts by cursing the Cleveland Browns. The curse started with the 1980 playoffs and Brian Sipe's end zone INT vs. the Raiders. It had no formal end date.
February 19th, 2020 at 7:39 PM ^
When I get my time machine working I'm not going to stop the Kennedy assassination, I'm going to Ann Arbor circa 1980 and buy you 301 votes.
February 20th, 2020 at 8:47 AM ^
Just checked council minutes, it was 1st Ward, she was sworn into office April 14, 1980.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015084452013&view=1up&seq=7
page 7
The internet is amazing...actual Ward results :
https:\\washtenaw.org/DocumentCenter/View/12867/April-1980-Elections
Page 20
You knocked it out of the park in Precinct 14...
February 19th, 2020 at 3:29 PM ^
I am a long term sub at a school in Chicago.
Quiz: Guess what an NBA team and 8th grade class have in common?
Answer: “none-of-my-players-will-listen-to-me-and-there-is-nothing-I-can-do-about-that”.
February 19th, 2020 at 9:16 PM ^
I taught 7th and 8th graders for fifteen years. Wouldn't trade it for anything, fantastic kids...but the rare "Bad day at work" was worse than most things you can imagine. Full moon, hormones, just before a vacation, end of day...when those all came together it was certainly interesting!
February 19th, 2020 at 3:35 PM ^
UCLA fans reaction to the Christopher news has been amazing. My personal favorite went something along these lines. "Michigan may look shiny from afar, but Cronin is really building something in Westwood and Christopher will regret his decision." Thus ignoring that Howard had a twenty year NBA career and was an NBA assistant. They continue to be funny: "Recruits just want to play against tough competition and right now that's in the Big Ten, it's not that Michigan or Howard are all that special." Thus ignoring that Christopher is not listing other Big Ten programs. The Salt is overflowing down in Southern California.
February 19th, 2020 at 3:40 PM ^
I would hardly compare Jim Harbaugh to Hulk Hogan.
Maybe a Brock Lesner. All hype, but little in the means of skills or accomplishments
February 19th, 2020 at 3:51 PM ^
So frustrating to see people talk about Harbaugh this way. If you wanna say he has failed to beat OSU, go for it. But that’s literally the only problem. He is top 5 all time in NFL win %, he got to a super bowl, her quickly turned Stanford from crap to very good, he quickly turned uofm from average to top 10. That’s an amazing resume. But yes, he is 0-5 against OSU.
February 19th, 2020 at 4:17 PM ^
He is 0-5 with 3 blow outside to osu and miserable in bowl games. People around here have to stop acting like the heat JH gets is acceptable. Every single person on this blog expected better. Stop it.
February 19th, 2020 at 4:32 PM ^
it's hard to argue the bowl record as anything other than an OSU hangover in a meaningless game, where you've had some key kids sit out.
February 19th, 2020 at 4:44 PM ^
Weak excuses, excuses excuses excuses
February 19th, 2020 at 6:34 PM ^
Bowl games are never meaningless. There is an entire month between the osu game and our bowl game every year. You think we have an annual month long hangover from a loss that causes another loss? That is foolish but even if we pretend it's true that's embarrassing for our coaching staff. "Well we lost to osu again guys so I won't get us prepared for our bowl game that doesn't matter." - No coach ever
Come on man...
February 19th, 2020 at 6:06 PM ^
These exchanges are so predictable:
Poster 1: Harbaugh has no skills!
Poster 2: Harbaugh is plainly very good but hasn't beaten the best of the best.
Poster 3 (Missing the point): But look at the OSU and bowl game records! Put down the Maize and Blue glasses, we expected better!
Rinse, cycle, repeat.
February 19th, 2020 at 7:06 PM ^
Thank you!
February 20th, 2020 at 10:20 AM ^
Blessed is he who expects not, for he shall not be disappointed.
Hopes, rather than expects, might be more accurate. These things take time, but patience is not a notable feature in fan blogs.
Harbaugh has restored Michigan to its historic level of success, so in that sense things have got better (Bo lost quite a few bowl games too). Unfortunately, OSU has surged ahead in recent years (for reasons regularly discussed on mgoblog), so they retain a decisive edge.
Can we catch them? We have as good a chance as any of the teams in the B1G, and the fact that we receive closer attention from OSU than do the others suggests that they realize it too.
This year? There's always a chance if we are spared injuries at important positions and a good quarterback emerges.
And maybe OSU will switch its focus to beating Clemson?
Go Blue!
February 20th, 2020 at 2:21 PM ^
Y'all clowns acting like you didn't expect more. Enjoy 9-3 and losing to osu by 40 every year ??
February 20th, 2020 at 3:52 PM ^
My apologies. I thought you might be interested in a serious discussion, not merely taunting.
Which team(s) do you support, by the way, so that we can learn from their success (or feel inferior to it, if that is why you visit this blog)?
Have a nice day.
February 19th, 2020 at 3:54 PM ^
Brock Lesner is actually an extremely skilled wrestler. He is more skilled than our very own Scott Rechsteiner.
He had a great 2 year dual with another all-timer - Stephen Neal - who Lesner lost to junior year, but beat senior year.
February 19th, 2020 at 3:59 PM ^
Thank you. Lesnar has a very good record. A one-time NCAA heavyweight champion, a 2-time B1G champion, and also a UFC heavyweight champion.
He was more of a pure wrestler than a well-rounded MMA fighter, but he still did win - and defend twice-over - that UFC belt. Not bad.
February 19th, 2020 at 3:57 PM ^
I mean, Hulk Hogan's an unabashed racist, so maybe it's good that Harbaugh's not like him?
February 19th, 2020 at 5:23 PM ^
Wan't Hulk Hogan friends with the Junk Yard Dog?
February 19th, 2020 at 7:07 PM ^
But he was not friends with Zeus
February 19th, 2020 at 4:19 PM ^
Jim would only approve a comparison to Ric Flair!
February 19th, 2020 at 6:22 PM ^
Whoooooooo!!!!!!!!!
February 19th, 2020 at 3:51 PM ^
Former Pistons coach Chuck Daly said: "Look, I'm not dealing with just 12 men out there. I'm dealing with 12 corporations. Every guy is the head of his own major corporation. The player makes a million a year. Consquently, you're dealing with the president of his own company. Each day. Every day." That was back in the day, so some info is dated, but I guess Beilein never heard that.
Interesting trivia: Daly, an assistant with the 76ers, was hired by the Cavs as their third head coach in 1981. He got fired before the season ended, having gone 9-32.
February 19th, 2020 at 3:53 PM ^
Beilein should have played hardball with these guys. Disrespect him, you don’t see the court. Yeah it probably wouldn’t have worked, but nothing was going to work. Might as well show these out of touch, filthy rich, and inflated egos men what’s up.
February 19th, 2020 at 4:44 PM ^
I agree in principle. It’s ironic that this all started over maybe using the word “thugs”. In reality Belein should have used the word “assholes” because the kind of hazing they did to a 65 year old man who has a good heart is absolutely appalling. While I would have liked to see him bite back a bit, I can only imagine how miserable this was for him to endure. Just one more reason to hate the cavs.
February 19th, 2020 at 9:26 PM ^
I had the exact same thought. So the Cavs aren’t thugs, they are assholes. Enjoy not winning anything, since you already suck and are opposed to being taught how to improve.
February 20th, 2020 at 6:11 AM ^
the kind of hazing they did to a 65 year old man who has a good heart
Who apologized, but it's all cancel culture these days. Hazing is woke yo. Say one thing and you've given the world justification to go all Clockwork Orange on you until you're gone. Because being mean to the imperfect is righteous.
Folks these days are so woke. So very, very woke.
/ they're assholes
February 19th, 2020 at 4:00 PM ^
Thanks for sharing. First time heard it. Chuck Daly is a wise man.
February 19th, 2020 at 4:32 PM ^
Was....Chuck left us in 2009....?
February 19th, 2020 at 5:01 PM ^
Chuck Daly is dead?!?!? Man, that makes so happy that Keith Jackson is still kicking around.
February 20th, 2020 at 4:08 AM ^
Daddy Rich was the best ... and the best dressed.
February 19th, 2020 at 3:56 PM ^
What happened to the no politics rule?
February 19th, 2020 at 4:20 PM ^
The exception is A2 politics. Read the fine print.
February 19th, 2020 at 4:21 PM ^
I don't think it applies to the owner of the site. Not a good look, but whatever.
February 19th, 2020 at 5:28 PM ^
It’s still right there at the bottom of the ethics page on the site. Not even just a generic “no politics” rule for the forum or commenters, he literally lists it under “things I will not post on.”
February 19th, 2020 at 5:40 PM ^
I posted this same thing back a while ago when Brian was posting on all the AA candidates and I got dumped on by posters saying "Brian can do what he wants, its his blog." Well, its his blog, but he said he wouldnt post on it either, and yet continues to do so.
February 19th, 2020 at 5:59 PM ^
Never dumped on you, but I want to say there's Ann Arbor politics and there's politics where someone brings up...you know. The first is something that very few people who read this blog are going to get too worked up about; the second, whoa boy. If Brian wants to use his space to talk about AA politics, very few people will storm away in anger.
February 19th, 2020 at 6:07 PM ^
Also he tells people in the first sentence what is about to come, it isn't like he's baiting people into reading it.
February 20th, 2020 at 9:24 AM ^
If you didn't already know which way Brian leans politically you do now, every candidate he is promoting is a democrat. Probably not going to help increase "Beveled Guilt" donations, or maybe it will.
February 20th, 2020 at 10:49 AM ^
I wonder if there’s a reason why every candidate in a “Dem Primary” (as labeled on the picture) that Brian promoted is a Democrat? Maybe we can get some really smart people to figure out this mystery.
And you can ask why he didn’t do the same for a Republican primary but I imagine that it doesn’t really matter who the Republican candidate is in the general election.
February 20th, 2020 at 4:04 PM ^
Valid point but still doesn't change his political leanings.
February 20th, 2020 at 4:25 PM ^
It's Ann Arbor, so party labels mean a lot less than policy prerogtaives, and Brian's interests have always on this stuff have always been more concretely focused on a pro-local growth policy than anything that really maps onto party lines. If you were trying to map it onto a national perspective (which is mostly irrelevant) there are republicans and democrats leaning into the positions in different places all over the country.
February 20th, 2020 at 4:15 AM ^
“things I will not post on.”
It's not the political commentary that irks me as much as the ending of a sentence with a preposition.
February 19th, 2020 at 8:15 PM ^
the hard-on some of you have against any discussion of ann arbor politics is mind-boggling.
February 20th, 2020 at 6:45 AM ^
As an Ann Arbor resident I'm glad he is calling out the Insane Clown Posse.
February 19th, 2020 at 3:56 PM ^
Beilein is an incredibly gifted coach and teacher, a basketball genius, and one of the best human beings in the sport. But he's arguably as naive as one could possibly be.
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