February 24th, 2016 at 5:11 PM ^
The Silverdome looks lovely covered in snow.
February 24th, 2016 at 5:33 PM ^
It does stand out, even in its present state, as you travel through Pontiac near the I-75 and M-59 area, even with the roof collapsed and falling in and snow covering a long abandoned parking lot. Gaze upon it while you can, however, as the Silverdome is supposed to come down this spring. I don't know what they'll do with the old practice facility immediately to the southeast of the main complex though - I think there are teams that actually use that for soccer and some other things.
February 24th, 2016 at 6:09 PM ^
They should have demolished it when the Lions left.
February 24th, 2016 at 5:12 PM ^
I thought that place was abandoned? I did not know they fixed that up.
February 24th, 2016 at 5:12 PM ^
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February 24th, 2016 at 5:15 PM ^
February 24th, 2016 at 5:15 PM ^
February 24th, 2016 at 6:11 PM ^
It should be called the SilverHole since there is no longer a roof.
February 24th, 2016 at 5:14 PM ^
Are you sure it was scheduled for the Silverdome?
February 24th, 2016 at 5:52 PM ^
LOL uh..... Ultimate Soccer Arena is where it was supposed to be.
It's outstanding seeing all the disgruntled Detroit alums/students (they don't have fans) on twitter. Kind of odd, though. They should be thankful.
I realize facing Michigan in anything is like the Super Bowl for every other school in MI, but Detroit sucks. They just lost to Mercer.
Michigan upset Colgate two weeks ago. This was likely going to be the 3rd straight win for M over Detroit, and the 2nd straight ass-whooping in the series.
We have nothing to gain from playing them anymore. In 5 years as a program, we've already surpassed Detroit who has had a team longer. Why give them the validation and satisfaction of playing us and risk a bad loss?
February 24th, 2016 at 7:33 PM ^
I disagree. Michigan should definitely keep them on the schedule. Michigan is playing much better these days, but they're not exactly Syracuse at this point. They still need wins where they can get them and Detroit is a perfect team in that sense. Detroit offers a close, convenient away game that can be played on a Wednesday night. Michigan doesn't have any other opponents in that range.
February 24th, 2016 at 10:05 PM ^
At the end of the day, they're not worth the time. They would've gotten dumped, just like they got dumped last year at OB, in that 15-6 beatdown.
Jenny U doesn't even bother to schedule them for the Women's tean, so why should the men? They're not good in either sport.
Their people throw fits over me saying that on Twitter because it's true. Sorry? I'm not gonna lie.
February 24th, 2016 at 11:10 PM ^
UDM and UM should definitely play every year and continue the series.
Detroit has fans. There are a lot of people who follow UDM's lacrosse team very closely. They were the first D1 team in the state of Michigan in the newer era of Collegiate Lacrosse (MSU had a team back in the day that folded in the eary 90's), and that meant something to a lot of lacrosse people in the state. Sure, they aren't UM in name and brand recognition, and they arent good currently, but they have fans. That's a naive comment to make and im not really sure what your apparent beef is with UDM.
Yes, UDM is not very good this year. And UM is getting better each year. Is UM going to win most of the time? Probably yes. But Detroit has won its conference and gone to the NCAA Tournament, where they very nearly upset the #1 seed Notre Dame. Consistantly, they won't be a power, but they are capable of fielding above-average to good teams.
Michigan's first varsity game was against Detroit. There is some history there. The "State Championship" is a cool thing and big for some people. This game can be a great thing for lacrosse in the state of Michigan. Its an excellent way to continue to "grow the game" which is a big thing in the lacrosse community. Having both of these teams in the state is great for continuing to develop interest and knowledge in a state where the sport continues to grow and has talent but does not have the history and tradition of the east coast and mid-atlantic states.
There are only 70 D1 lacrosse teams. From a practical standpoint, it makes sense to have this game. Light travel, easy to do. UM will play Maryland, OSU, Hopkins every year, so its not going to hurt to have an early season game like this. Virginia plays VMI (who migh be THE worst team in D1) every year. Syracuse finds time to play Hobart (who is a D3 school in everything but lax) every year and no one makes a dumb stink about it. They enjoy a little fun rivalry, enjoy a little tradition, and have fun watching lacrosse like they should.
February 25th, 2016 at 1:18 AM ^
February 25th, 2016 at 6:40 AM ^
What the hell, man. You don't want to play bad teams because that shit is sooooo beneath you and you don't want to play good teams because you're afraid of losing to them? Colgate is not gonna let us play them eight times, you know.
February 25th, 2016 at 10:43 AM ^
I just prefer that we don't play THAT bad team.
February 25th, 2016 at 12:14 PM ^
Why?
The cognitive dissonance here is strong. You can't claim to be on such a superior plane that UDM is beneath us, and at the same time claim that risking a loss to them is a bad idea. Common sense says that if you're concerned about losing, then we look like assholes for claiming we're so much better than them and that maybe those UDM fans have a point when you're a dick to them on Twitter.
What are you even worried about? They might steal recruits? Do you think that worries the football program when they play games against CMU and WMU? And again, if that's a concern, then you'd have no business with the superior attitude.
I might remind you that they have an NCAA tournament appearance and we do not. I might also remind you that they beat Ohio State last year and we did not.
February 25th, 2016 at 12:19 PM ^
This is an honest, no-snark question. What is your issue with UDM that you feel this way and have to go on twitter and go on about it as well?
February 25th, 2016 at 12:41 PM ^
I agree w Quailman & Wahoo. We need a variety in the schedule. EVery team needs to flesh out the schedule with cupcakes and powerhouses. UVA plays VMI, Syracuse plays Siena, Duke plays Mercer. Detroit is on ND's schedule too. ND is #1.
Looking at Michigan's schedule I think its pretty balanced. We have the obligatory Big Ten matchups vs elite programs Maryland & Hopkins and a tough OOC game at UNC. The schedule also features games vs second-tier programs Penn State, Ohio State and Brown. And it has a lot of mid-range teams like Marist and Colgate and weaker Ivies Penn and Dartmouth that should be good matchups for Michigan and possible Ws. Then there are a handful of winnable games that Michigan absolutely needs (Del, Rutgers, Vermont) and Detroit is one of them. I think that schedule is tough but fair.
Geography and convenience make Detroit and Michigan natural foes. Plus, with the scheduling crunch teams face these days (why they're playing games in February) D-1 teams need to play their neighbors/closest competitors. It gives M the perfect opportunity for a mid-week game (and apparently as Quailman noted it's turning into a decent tradition).
February 25th, 2016 at 10:04 AM ^
Traditions are hard to have when your program is only five years old. The game has only been played thrice, but its been on the schedule all five years. This is the second time it has had to be cancelled.
Like I mentioned before, there are 70 D1 teams. There really isnt a "MAC" for UM to play to fill out the schedule, which is generally only going to be about 12-13 games. So you play your 5 BIG games, play a couple of lower level teams and fill the rest with quality opponents to help you earn an NCAA bid. Just playing Maryland and Hopkins isnt going to get it done though. Not to mention the added benefit of travelling to and playing "powerhouse programs", or even the solid to good programs that are more prevelant on UM's schedule like Brown and Colgate:exposure for the UM Brand and in recruiting.
No matter if UM jumped from Club or if they took a year of not playing and only recruiting, the first couple years were going to be rough. You either have a team with some club players or a team of nearly all Fr/So. But don't forget that a few of those Club players ended up being the teams' leading scorers.
Not sure what you mean by the women building the team by recruiting scholarship players and the men not so much. The men obviously were recrutiing scholarship players for the first year. They just had a built in group of players already on campus that could help the process and fill out the roster. By the second year most the club players were gone, except the few that could still be helpful. UM's Club team was a bit of a dynasty before the varsity team, there were guys on that team that were talented enough to at the very least be role players in D1. Though it was a few years before, the first Club player to get drafted into Major Leauge Lacrosse came from UM, Brekkan Kolhitz.
February 25th, 2016 at 11:58 AM ^
There was no middle ground between club and varsity. What other option was there? (well in the old days the NCAA used to have "associate program" status but that doesn't exist anymore).
But, I'm with you Quailman - I think the club players get a bad rap. Michigan always had kids who could play at a high level. And I think a lot of the discussion on this board treats them like useless, un-athletic novices who didn't understand the game. When I was a freshman in the early 2000s there were at least 5 kids on the team who had been recruited by Division 1 teams. And we had others who could've played at that level but fell through the cracks because they were from non-traditional recruiting areas. Granted, they were not top recruits but they could've played at Division 1 schools if they wanted to.
In later club years, Michigan actually began recruiting and was able to get players who were otherwise considering NCAA programs. Having them to build on was an asset, not a liability. And like you said - some of those club players were still major contributors once Michigan had varsity recruits on the roster.
In their first few years of D-1 play they had kids on the field who were upperclassmen with years of playing college-level lacrosse under their belt. I would say that is vastly better than starting nearly all freshmen and a handful of transfers who rode the bench at other programs.
I try to make this point a lot - lacrosse talent and recruiting is not like football or basketball. Michigan's club lacrosse program was not like an intramural football squad that suddenly found itself playing against Florida State.
(I think the club players were a positive for the transition - but my beef is with the coaching and that's why they weren't better from the get-go. But that's a whole other story altogether).
February 25th, 2016 at 12:17 PM ^
You're absolutely right about your point lacrosse talent and recruiting not being like the big two sports. Due to many things like the nature of the game, where athletes are coming from, and the fact that scholarships arent full ride, the talent can end up in different places.
You hit the nail on the head about people hearing "club" and associating it with Intramurals or beer league. At least in this instance with lacrosse. The MCLA, the league that UM played in, is for the most part far from that. While the teams are "club" a lot of those teams are club because the school wont fund or cant fund a lacrosse team but essentially act as a varsity team. Like you said, there are a lot of players at some school like UM in the MCLA that could play D1 but chose to go to a school without a varsity program for other reasons besides lacrosse.
Also, your last point has a lot of weight to it...
February 25th, 2016 at 12:49 PM ^
For me personally, I'm completely on board with the fact that "club" lacrosse isn't to be taken lightly, because, well, it's pretty much undeniable. Further, I would add that even if starting a varsity team from scratch were the "right" thing to do in terms of getting up to speed ASAP, it would've been the wrong thing to do by the people involved.
I have to give credit to Brandon where credit is due. John Paul did all the gruntwork in building an MCLA powerhouse, and spent years and years on that. He and his players deserved their shot. It would not have been a very Michigan thing to do, to tell him, thanks for what you've done, say hi to your replacement who will get to reap the rewards of your hard work.
On top of that, people seem to act like our fifth season of D-I would still be our fifth season of D-I if we'd "done it right." No, this would be, perhaps our third season of D-I, and we'd probably be right about where we are now. Promoting the club team had zero effect on the amount of time we had to recruit a D-I team.
February 25th, 2016 at 1:39 PM ^
Good points. I actually think JP is a good coach and he can coach at this level. He understands the game better than most coaches in the country. He really put the program together and its starting to show (I hope this season goes well and he sticks around because he's really good for the program).
But, he has moved away from a lot of the things that made the team successful in the past and he has ceded a lot of responsibility to his assistant coaches to install and run the offense and defense. I think he's bought into some new-age philosophies that don't translate to success for Michigan on the field. I think he needs to get back to basics and coach the way he knows how.
February 24th, 2016 at 5:17 PM ^
February 24th, 2016 at 5:19 PM ^
February 24th, 2016 at 5:19 PM ^
That's too bad.
No, not really.
February 24th, 2016 at 5:24 PM ^
and Blast from the Past, but then she got all weird and started feeding chewed up food to her kid.
February 24th, 2016 at 5:22 PM ^
February 24th, 2016 at 7:35 PM ^
The perils of February lacrosse...and it was scheduled for the same time as Michigan's must-win home basketball game v Northwestern.
Is there a make-up date for it? Michigan could use a W, and Detroit was a good candidate.
In other newish program news - High Point beat UVA last night in a monumental upset. High Point has been around a couple of years now and gave Maryland a scare last week. Good to see a new program take down a blue-blood.
February 25th, 2016 at 1:17 AM ^