Unverified Voracity Is Rando Slander Turtleneck Doof Comment Count

Brian

When in Rome, kayak as the Romans did. Cesar Ruiz's displacement is an asset on the football field. In a kayak not so much.

This trip is probably the most Summer Of Harbaugh thing that's happened yet. Except for the shirtless touch football game at a camp he participated in. That's permanently #1.

I could use more Gus in my life. ESPN's college football announcing crew was decimated this year so I'm much more into this than I would have been previously:

...this season kicks off Fox Sports' six-year, $1.44 billion deal with the Big Ten Conference. Under the terms of the new pact, not only has Fox wrested the deed to the annual Ohio State-Michigan game from co-rights holder ESPN/ABC, but it will also broadcast the Big Ten football championship game in December. (And no, the change of broadcast venues doesn't suggest that the Buckeyes-Wolverines grudge match is going to move under the lights for a primetime airing any time soon -- tradition still demands a noon game.)

Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt might be the best extant CFB announce team and I'm totally down with those guys calling M-OSU. Hopefully FOX tones down the robots and goes with a more collegiate feel for their Big Ten games.

I am far less enthused about this, however:

“It’s still a concern,” Manuel said. “The only difference is, the Big Ten and television can assign us to a primetime game and it’s not our option. In November, we have the option if we choose to do so. I don’t anticipate that choice being made.” ...

“It comes out in terms of we agreed to it several years ago as a part of negotiating the new Big Ten television contract that we would allow up to two games at night,” Manuel said. “Last year for this (2016) football season, we had the option. Next year and moving forward the Big Ten can assign us and television in the Big Ten. In the month of September and October.” ...

“Jim (Harbaugh) and I have been in lockstep, saying our preference is in the afternoon and not in the evening,” Manuel said. “In this particular case, we have granted the ability for the Big Ten to assign two home games in the evening. That’s where it will go.”

I don't know if that's yet another Dave Brandon ace negotiation or an unfortunate side-effect of being part of the Big Ten during a period when it's being run by someone who cares about nothing other than stacking dollars. It kind of sounds like the former since Manuel says "we have granted the ability" to the Big Ten. Which is another going-away president from the worst AD in history. Also in "Dave Brandon's icy hand reaches out from the grave": he scheduled Air Force again. Never schedule Air Force.

Cord cutting leads to other forms of cutting. ESPN is about to have an on-air bloodletting:

ESPN will part ways with more than 40 people, all of them “talent,” a label that ESPN applies to radio hosts and writers (almost all of whom regularly do video or audio), not just traditional TV personalities. ESPN says it has 1,000 people in the category. Still, you can expect most of the people cut to be faces you’ve seen on TV. In some cases, ESPN may buy people out of existing long-term contracts—as Sports Illustrated points out, that is unusual.

Most of these folks are probably going to be peripheral folks with few names you'd be familiar with, but the story speculates about one potential exit that would be frown-inducing:

The New York Daily News has some speculation, including SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross, whose contract expires on July 1.

Nooooooooooo. Buccigross is probably the network's foremost college hockey proponent and things would not be the same without him. Here's hoping his skillset keeps him on the four-letter.

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who are you going to believe, your own lying eyes or this dipshit?

This week in bullshit. Danny Kanell brings his turtleneck to a fact party:

Kanell is way out of line here. Consider the environment he's living in at the time of the FSU game: various players have outright skipped bowl games and gotten praise for it in the media; neither Leonard Fournette nor Christian McCaffrey has seen his draft stock altered one iota by that decision. Even if Peppers wasn't going to play by his choice he could have just said "nope" privately and not dressed, as is common in football.

Instead he dressed and attempted to warm up, whereupon he looked like a guy who'd injured his hamstring. So unless he's a pathological liar who's simultaneously extremely convincing at faking muscle injuries, he was, you know, injured. Kanell is slandering Peppers without proof.  Probably because he's dumb as a brick.

Here's a guy in need of some firin', ESPN.

When third chances go wrong. If your program has a guy get in trouble, it had a guy get in trouble. It happens. If your program takes a guy with two arrests in his recent past you'd better do your homework, because if he gets in trouble again that is on you. This is on Mark Dantonio:

Robertson was arrested for criminal mischief* in 2015, then arrested shortly before Signing Day for inappropriately grabbing a female student at his high school. MSU issued a statement about the deep background they did on the guy in an attempt to justify the signing:

“Our decision to accept Auston Robertson’s signed National Letter of Intent and Big Ten Tender has been evaluated over the last three months while utilizing all resources available to us to thoroughly review his situation,” Dantonio said.

“Our relationship with Auston began last summer when he committed to Michigan State. When we accepted his verbal (commitment), we also made a commitment to him and his family. We elected not to sign him in early February, and since then he has been accepted into a pretrial diversionary program and must continue to satisfy those requirements. Given all the information available to us, we believe Auston should be provided with an opportunity to begin his education and playing career at Michigan State.”

He lasted barely a year before getting charged with criminal sexual conduct in East Lansing, a charge that is easily predicted by the nature of the battery he got diverted. The above statement should have read "We know this is a risk for the people who will be around Robertson. Sorry. (Not sorry.)" That risk seems to have resulted in something very bad indeed, given the fact that Robertson went on the lam for two days. Even more ominously, Mark Dantonio saw fit to remove him from MSU's team. Short of failing to meet academic eligibility requirements, when does that happen?

This isn't and shouldn't be a rivalry thing. Hopefully the fact that I bombed Brady Hoke and Dave Brandon for their useless lies about Brendan Gibbons demonstrates that 1) nobody is immune from this sort of thing and 2) I'm not just a message board dude with my rivalry lols. It should be about what looks like an institution that has serious issues with sexual assault, at multiple levels.

*[And "resisting law enforcement," a charge which I'm always extremely dubious about.]

Expected starter confirmation. Chris Evans on his spring game deployment:

"I wanted to play more  ... But they said 'nah, nah, nah, you're not going to play, you're not going to play.' I just respected that and just back to the drawing board (for spring practice) on Tuesday."

That is a leader in the clubhouse.

Red encomiums. John Bacon:

Berenson loved the game from the start. When he was a 6-year old kid in Regina, Saskatchewan, for Christmas his parents gave him new skates, new gloves and new shin pads. He was so excited, he called his best friend – at 6 a.m.

When his friend's mom answered, she asked, "Do you know what time it is?"

Berenson replied, "Yes -- but this is important!"

From CHN:

Berenson stepped down Monday after 33 years as Michigan's head coach. He was hired during a tumultuous time in the program's history, May 1984. It was the third time then-athletic director Don Canham had asked him to take over. He was an assistant coach in the NHL at the time. He finally accepted.

"I left a job making $85,000 a year to take a job making $40,000," Berenson said. "I thought, 'Did I get my MBA at Michigan to make a decision like this?' But it was the right thing to do. I loved Michigan and loved the experience I had."

MGoBlue has a thing that's more of a pretty-design item than a story but here is a picture:

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And Hoover Street Rag:

Red Berenson did not invent Michigan hockey, that's Vic Heyliger and Al Renfrew.  But Red did save Michigan hockey, first with the Regina Regiment, then by coming home to Ann Arbor in 1984.  He was hired by Don Canham, and he, slowly but surely, brought Michigan back from the abyss.  He won 848 games in the NCAA, fourth most in college hockey, and starting in 1990-91 when Michigan posted a 34-win season and its made first trip to the NCAAs in 14 years, an event they would not miss for the next 22 seasons, Michigan began a streak of 8 straight 30-win seasons, with 6 Frozen Fours and 2 national titles, Michigan's eighth and ninth all time.  And in all of this, in the down seasons, after the Hunwick fueled miracle run in 2011, after Mel left, and we wondered when would this moment come.  Then came last year, when Michigan hockey was fun again and four NHL-caliber players were lighting the lamp and Michigan won the conference tournament, there was the notion of maybe the old magic had been recaptured, let Red have one more run this year and then hand the reins off after one more season.  But, wishing doesn't make it so, and Michigan Hockey Summer took its toll, as it is wont to do.

Woke Harbaugh continues. Harbaugh on Colin Kaepernick in Time:

Colin Kaepernick was alone in his early protests last year when he boldly and courageously confronted perceived inequalities in our social-justice system by refusing to stand for the national anthem. At times in our nation's history, we have been all too quick to judge and oppose our fellow Americans for exercising their First Amendment right to address things they believe unjust.

Rather than besmirch their character, we must celebrate their act. For we cannot pioneer and invent if we are fearful of deviating from the norm, damaging our public perception or—most important—harming our own personal interests.

That writing style is familiar from the opening video at home games. Feels like every word is capitalized, which is very Harbaugh.

Etc.: Some Peppers fluff. Tom Herman wants it nice and light. Fart man. John Borton reports that Brad Hawkins will play safety at Michigan, as expected. Graham Couch, man.

Comments

Bando Calrissian

April 25th, 2017 at 1:12 PM ^

I'm nowhere near the athlete Peppers is, but I've had a series of hamstring injuries and know what it looks like when you have that kind of injury. Peppers looked like a person trying in vain to push through when their muscle feels like it's not attached to your leg. These people acting like he was faking? You can't fake that without getting a freaking Oscar nomination.

 

schreibee

April 25th, 2017 at 4:44 PM ^

Your implication that espn's focus on hawt takes is hurting their business pretty much goes against virtually every other media outlet of this era.

Hawt takes is about all that's left - twitter et al, first take, fox, etc. Incendiary = Hawt. Stands to reason I zuppose...

Check movie receipts from 2016 - Disney accounted for virtually ALL profit taken in the industry, so they know something about how people wish to be entertained.

Just not necessarily the type of folks who frequent mgoblog!

 

OwenGoBlue

April 25th, 2017 at 8:18 PM ^

It's hurting their TV business and will hurt it more moving forward. The format works for ESPN.com and online ads, but not for subscribers.

As people cut cords, you need to create user affinity (to slow down cable losses and increase people buying ESPN-inclusive packages through alternative providers) and networks do that best through unique properties. ESPN still has unique properties for live sports, but as all of the other shows become "all of what you see online/on Twitter, now read aloud" they're not distinguishing themselves from competition. 30 for 30s, OTL, etc. would be the exceptions.

It's easy to blame the broadcast-side revenue decline all on the category but ESPN's programming decisions are having an impact, too.

Mr. Yost

April 25th, 2017 at 11:31 PM ^

Exactly...they're losing viewership to FOX. Look at what they did to the 6pm SportsCenter.

They're going to basically turn it into E! Sports even more than they already have. If you're not loud, obnoxious, with a shit ton of takes piss people off and get clicks/comments...they have no need for you.

FoxSports is about to bring ESPN into an area I never thought I'd see...shameful, but hey, dolla dolla billz ya'll.

ijohnb

April 25th, 2017 at 1:40 PM ^

this point, it is not really about Gus Johnson as much as not having ESPN call The Game every year.  With Herbstreit calling it every year and Galloway as one of the primary studio guys, Michigan was always going to be the "non-preferred" team of the two.  Given that The Game is likely going to have extreme significance on an annual basis, I think that happened at just the right time.  I am not a Herbstreit hater, but it always had a pro-Ohio State lean to it regardless of how objective he tries to be.

MGoGrendel

April 25th, 2017 at 2:37 PM ^

has pretty much been decimated.

With all the cost cutting the last two (or more) years, all the good announcers are gone.  A ton of them are calling games for MLB teams and doing a great job.  So, in that sense, I'm glad they are no longer with ESPN.

Leaders And Best

April 25th, 2017 at 1:39 PM ^

Didn't think this was worth its own thread, but I found this tweet from Mark Dantonio pretty funny. Two more Spartan players are reported to be off the team. Dantonio has now been reduced to tweeting about rumors of his players getting kicked off the team or in #RedLock (whatever that means):

 

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

April 25th, 2017 at 6:48 PM ^

First, a 3rd rate reporter regarding 2nd team players prompts D'antonio to comment after "no comment" on felony and title IX issues with top players.

Second, he now hashtags his own term that covers serious behavior issues. Classic MSU behavior.

Third, now a reporter should ask about specific other players in red lock since he is willing to name at least 2 in this status.

MSU football is a tire fire.

Kevin13

April 25th, 2017 at 1:41 PM ^

assigned, not sure there is much complaining we can or should do. Everyone is reaching for money and the B1G has a 1.44 billion dollar contract that every school is gladly taking their cut of.

Well networks can make more money back on primetime games and want the ability to assign some. Can't take the money without some drawbacks.

Stuck in Utah

April 25th, 2017 at 1:53 PM ^

“And "resisting law enforcement," a charge which I'm always extremely dubious about.”

So instead of looking into the situation to see if the charge has merit (i.e. keeping an open mind), you just assume the officer is lying?

ijohnb

April 25th, 2017 at 2:19 PM ^

just seems like a redundant charge to Disorderly Person.  The charge is often used as a kind of "add on" to ambiguous charges like Disorderly Person or Disorderly Conduct so it will plead out quickly as it often does. 

And the decision to charge the offense would have nothing to do with the police officer reporting the facts, it would have to do with the prosecutor deciding to charge.

See, us superior, postmodern, humane, progressives, aren't all bad.  We just tend to, kind- of, think, about stuff sometimes.

In reply to by ijohnb

Stuck in Utah

April 25th, 2017 at 2:42 PM ^

Resisting law enforcement is not a redundant charge to disorderly person because disorderly person or disorderly conduct is an offense against the public whereas resisting law enforcement or resisting arrest is an offense committed when the suspect doesn’t do what he/she’s told to do; which is designed to protect the suspect as well as the officer.

Police today are almost dammed if they do and dammed if they don’t. We as a society required police to enforce the law and extremely scrutinize them when they have to use force to effect an arrest. Police wouldn’t need to use any force if suspects would simply comply. If what the officer is ordering someone to do is unjust, unlawful or unconstitutional, then they will have an excellent lawsuit and will likely win a large sum of money.

Also, while you are correct that it’s up to the prosecutor to ultimately decide what charges are filed in court, they do however rely heavily on what the officer arrested the suspect on or issues a citation for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUUZ2fKVqcs

ijohnb

April 25th, 2017 at 2:59 PM ^

on where the offense occurs.  In some jurisdictions, hiding until you are found is considered Resisting Law Enforcement even if you don't physically threaten or resist once you are found.  To me, that is a "dubious" charge. 

Gulogulo37

April 26th, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^

I definitely agree it's not redundant, and it's not fair to be dubious of charges of resisting arrest.

Having said that, this is absolutely false, " If what the officer is ordering someone to do is unjust, unlawful or unconstitutional, then they will have an excellent lawsuit and will likely win a large sum of money." There have been plenty of journalism written about how difficult it is to prosecute police officers.

1464

April 25th, 2017 at 11:53 PM ^

It is my new official stance that people on either side of this and/or similar arguments are all just a bunch of bitches.  Both sides have validity.  Neither of you will convince the other.  And it appears that both sides are ready to start name calling.  Apparently we are all stupid toothless hillbillies or sensitive and jittery millenial liberals.  There is obviously no in between.  No fucking reason to weigh both sides of an argument.

To be honest - this thread isn't bad.  It's just... I see it and hear it 100 times a week now and I'm just sick of this shit.

I hate you all, and I hate myself because I am guilty of the same damned conversational traps.  The past decade has been the aboslute worst.  Everyone on both sides is so goddamned sensitive and neither side is willing to concede anything.  It's interesting that while Michigan is in Rome, we all get to live a long, drawn out fall of the Roman Empire here at home...

Stuck in Utah

April 25th, 2017 at 3:41 PM ^

Dubious definition:

1.       Hesitating or doubting.

2.       Not to be relied upon; suspect.

When a police officer arrests someone or issues a citation to a suspect for resisting law enforcement, the officer is accusing the suspect of resisting. So, when Brian said “and "resisting law enforcement," a charge which I'm always extremely dubious about,” he is saying that he always extremely doubts the officer in this charge, or that the officer is always extremely suspect when charging this offense, or that when this offense is charged the officer should always be extremely not relied upon. I may be wrong but this certainly feels like accusing the officer of being dishonest in this type of situation and definitely doesn’t seem like an open mind, hence my initial post.

MgoHillbilly

April 25th, 2017 at 4:37 PM ^

I've seen that charge made recklessly too many times to count.
Example: a woman is charged with obstruction of an officer after she is bent over the hood of her vehicle which is hot to the touch during an arrest and lifts her head up to keep it from burning.

Generally, there are as many bad cops as there are good ones.

Erik_in_Dayton

April 25th, 2017 at 1:57 PM ^

Wasn't he crying before or after the game as a result of not being able to play?  Kanell has obviously never bothered to learn about Peppers and what a competitor he is. 

ijohnb

April 25th, 2017 at 2:03 PM ^

thought some things about it were kind of odd, I can't deny that.  Not odd for any specific reason, but just kind of "off."   He had the entire day to determine if he was going to play, and it was a little out of the ordinary that he would just be deciding, like the minute that coverage picked up, whether he was going to play or not.  I also thought it was a little strange that he was watching the game from the press box, I can't say as though I can remember that ever happening. 

Like I said, it doesn't add up to any particular "theory," but I can at least acknowledge that I was vaguely curious as to the circumstances.

That doesn't mean that a paid ESPN analyst should be able to just throw it out there though without following up on it.  That is a whole different thing.

In reply to by ijohnb

Erik_in_Dayton

April 25th, 2017 at 2:09 PM ^

Harbaugh sent him to the press box because he was very emotional and Harbaugh feared that he would be a distraction.  I took the delayed decision to be a result of him hoping that his leg might heal much faster than expected and not wanting to give up on that hope until the last minute.

In reply to by ijohnb

Blue eNVy

April 25th, 2017 at 2:16 PM ^

Never played sports with a nagging ankle, hammy, or any other sort of workable injury?  Coverage picked up during warmups, when he was trying to work through his hammy issue.  Maybe a little adrenaline and stretching (perhaps cortisone shot) makes the appendage feel like new, but you’re not going to know unless you get out there and get the blood flowing. 

Post Orange Bowl, Peppers was interviewed in the locker room and clarified that Coach wanted him in the booth as to not draw attention or create a spectacle regarding him not playing.

 

*Edit: I think Erik is more on point in regards to why he was in the booth.

In reply to by ijohnb

getsome

April 25th, 2017 at 4:22 PM ^

athletes make game time desicions all the time, quite literally deciding if theyre able to go after warming up just prior to game.  the athlete / staff / md / trainer may be leaning one or the other but its not always public and often not definitive until right before tip.

my only real comment is plenty of game time decisions occur in sports

MGoAndy

April 25th, 2017 at 1:57 PM ^

...is not an "easy predictor" of future criminal behavior, and that's a lazy comment perpetuating a dangerous myth that sees young people who have made mistakes while their brains are developing thrown into prison well into their adult years, if not for their entire lives.  SCOTUS recognized as much when it ruled automatic juvenile life without parole sentences are unconstitutional.  this isn't to say MSU should or shouldn't have taken him, but merely that there were lots of other factors (perhaps inadequate supervision/counseling/therapy) that led him to offend again.