i didnt get to read the article cause its now behind a paywall, but isnt this whole taxes thing way overrated? as junglechop says, florida will presumably have a bunch of other taxes to make up for revenue (property, sales, etc) and my guess is their effective tax rate in Florida isnt too far from Akron's stated 7%. Plus, dont professional athletes have to pay state income taxes in a bunch of states cause they earn income all over the country? but what do i know, im no accountant and i didnt get to read the article. kinda bugs me that in the same way that the entire MSM said with great authority that the BTN was distributing $22 million per school when it was no where close to that.
seems like a great idea. i wonder though, why is there such a sense of 'now or never' urgency? I remember reading an interview with the coach that said he thought they had a small window for attaining varsity status. Is this cause the athletic department is fickle? i know this may be simplifying your argument Tim, but i dont think the AD would ever think they shouldnt go varsity because they cant compete with ND/OSU. So, why is this window so small? Also, have you spoken to anyone with 'authority' on the subject of the varsity bump (i mean coach paul or the athletic department)? i remember in the same article i referenced above (which i couldnt find to link to) coach paul said something suggesting varsity status is on the table, just wondering if there is any sort of official/unofficial stance on that coming from the athletic department...
but never pulled the trigger. most online places said you had to rent for a 3 day minimum but when i called the places they said i could rent for 2 days if i wanted. i have some acquaintances that have done it and had a blast. good luck.
growing up in the ann arbor area and never getting to the cross the zilwaukee bridge (we took 96 to 127 north) id give 'up north' the old porn definition: i know it when i see it. That being said, i am headed to Glen Arbor this weekend and am incredibly excited.
...argieshark. and i second what mgoshoe says about asking Dave Brandon at a presser. I'd like to get an answer about the whole Title IX issue as well, a quick glance at wikipedia leads me to believe that there is no hard and fast rule as to number of sports or scholarships merely that you have to provide an equal opportunity to both genders. anyway, congrats to the lacrosse team.
Tim linked to this interview with coach John Paul a month or so ago but its very interesting and touches on the 'lacrosse going to varsity' topic for those of you that are interested. This quote in particular:
"412: Is the ultimate goal to be a Division 1 team?
JP: It is. I never would have said that a few years ago with my professional background. I knew the realities here. I knew our old AD was not interested in that. So, it wasn’t something worth pursuing for us.
There are a lot of things coming together that make it a realistic goal. That doesn’t mean its going to happen. It just means the stars are aligning and we have a small window in the next year or two to see if we can make something happen."
whole article here. pretty interesting stuff and id recommend the whole thing. Doesnt really touch on the whole Title IX thing but as the athletic department has been running large budget surpluses for at least the last 5 years it seems likely that they could financially swing adding two more varsity sports. i dont have any real inside info though. Another national title cant hurt the the odds...
The wings have $13 million in cap room to resign Lidstrom and 5 forwards (Holmstrom, Helm, Abdelkader, Ritola, Eaves, Bertuzzi...?). If Lidstrom resigns for $5 million or less that will gives us some flexibility (however small) to maybe go after a skilled forward to pair on the third line with Clearly and Hudler (or however Babcock wants to distribute them). I am pretty optimistic considering Chicago has a goalie, 2 defenseman, and 3 forwards to sign for next year and they are already $800,000 over the cap. The Sharks also have to resign Marleau and are feeling a little bit of cap heat, so here is to hoping those two clubs take a step back and the Wings retool and get rested after 3 long playoff runs.
The original thesis that Delany is playing brinksmanship with ND strikes me as very possibly (hopefully in my opinion) true. Its clear that the entire reason (if not rational) for expansion has to due with BTN money and not really with the idea of a conference championship game. Anyway, if its all about increasing BTN revenue (and worth) why not just have the BTN bid for the Big East's TV rights? You get the east coast market and dont have to muck up your the OSU-Michigan, not to mention all the other traditions. OF course there are a bunch of caveats, not the least being another conference raiding the Big East and not getting BTN on basic cable in those markets, but in theory you get all the benefits (money to the Big Ten schools) without the inconvenience of a killing the 'true' big ten.
Also, Delany should just threaten the Big East if they dont kick ND out he will destroy their conference. Seems like we have a lot of ways to paint them into a corner now...
I actually heard a segment on NPR's marketplace money that this was one of ESPN's new expansion strategies. They think there is untapped revenue that the fox sports' of the world are getting locally and they are not (obviously, which is why they are doing this...). But the other interesting points were ESPN thinks this could be profitable because of the decline of the local newspaper and with the rise of blogs sports coverage is more specific than ever. So, yeah, Johnson, Stafford, Izzo. ESPN is pretty much the NFL network-lite at this point. And my bet is that it will suck.
Go Blue! anyone know if there is a free feed for tonights game? yesterday apparently FREEMONTH10 worked as a coupon thing after you registered, here is hoping it will work tonight.
I dont have any specific info on ticketing but the Notre Dame game is great if you have some friends in Chicago (also good if you dont). There is a train from Chicago to South Bend (alcohol is allowed on the train) and there is a bus from the train station to the stadium. Its a pretty fun experience if you have some friends you could stay with in Chicago and make a weekend out of it.
I really can't give an informed opinion about the PAC-10 in the bowls this year as Michigan doing poorly during the regular season left me too depressed to watch much other college football. However, I have really developed this absolute/(irrational?) hatred of Stanford and Jim Harbaugh because I want to stop all of this crazy Harbaugh to Michigan talk. It has exceeded my desire to see the SEC do poorly in bowl games. Anybody else have this specific/(crazy? irrational?) feelings about Stanford/Harbaugh?
Phil is one of the classiest and most dignified people i have ever met. Rarely will you ever meet a nicer man. Hopefully a few breaks will fall his way and he'll be playing in the spring flag football game again next year.
I was listening to that flag football game on WTKA last april and he broke up a pass (maybe intended for Ron Bellamy?) and the announcer (maybe Jamie Morris?) screamed, "was that brabbs?!? that was brabbs!!" I had a smile ear to ear but it didnt surprise me, nor did the special teams plays he made in his career, he was/is a legitimately great athlete. Lets hope that his fitness and will to win help him in the coming months and years.
As his friend it makes me so happy to see all the nice comments everyone has for him as i am sure he and his wife and kids appreciate them. Everyone remembers him for that kick (one of the great Michigan moments in my life) but he is a smart, accomplished man with a great family who is so much more than that one moment.
Good luck Phil!
I'm a U-M alum living in Chicago and have wanted a Michigan vanity plate for a long time but have been too lazy to do all the great research you have done. Give me a little time to reread the post and comments and gather my thoughts but i have a few ideas that might be able to help. I'm close to some people who are pretty high up in the Chicago alumni association (maybe they could give us access to the email list or something...) and i think setting up a facebook page to gather support/signatures/etc might be a big help.
Right now i just want to bask in this victory a little more but ill try and get some stuff together soon.
Again, i love all the research and would love to do my little part to help.
Go Blue! Great win yesterday!
i am a little conflicted about boycotting the freep too just because i like to get a detroit newspaper take while relishing in a win but the Detroit News doesnt publish a sports section on Sunday (or a paper at all) which obviously makes it impossible not to read the freep. Plus Brian doesnt get his editorial up until Monday and I need to read something about the game.
Today I have only halfheartedly read the freep's account and have generally just read the comments from people on this site. Getting all my Michigan news here is kind of like reading the huffington post or the smoking gun for all your political news; you only get the take from someone who has your own bias. That may be an extreme example (i think people here are generally honest and well-informed) but i think getting your news from a national or regional source lets you know what spin is being placed on the game/practice scandel/whatever...
so, whatever, that editorial just made me more angry and i am going to have to get suck it up and not give the freep and more of my money/hits.
well done Brian.
i too share everyone's frustration with freep's (consistent)yellow/mockery/agenda journalism. But again, thank you Brian for being our voice, I just wish it could be much bigger at this point...
I'm not a normal poster but had to express anger at Freep/Rosenberg. This article wasn't as bad as it could have been though the original headline was way over the top. The one thing that I thought over and over when I was reading it was a line from an interview Rosenberg had with MVictors about his book 'the war as they knew it.' the discussion led to rosenberg's articles about RichRod after his hiring and Brian's stern rebuttal of Rosenberg's characterization of Coach being a serial job shopper/huge dick. anyway, Rosenberg's implication was that he knows things we don't know so we should just trust his opinion. the actual quote was this:
"I don’t want to say that I know more about it than someone else, because that’s not necessarily accurate or fair, but I may know more about it than some people give me credit for. Sometimes there are things you don’t write but they influence your opinion."
One of my favorite things about this blog, in particular, and the bulk of the comments, is the need for evidence to back up your arguments. It bothers me so much that Rosenberg can just say, 'well, you have to trust my evidence because i cant/wont show it too you.' and that they will stretch the truth so much to sell newspapers. I know complaining in this forum will do nothing to change that but I am hoping that it will be a little therapeutic.
i also echo the comments ago Rosenberg taking the would-be coke dealers assertions about 'common knowledge' but questions RichRod about his due diligence about with high school coach/mom. grr...
Recent Comments
i didnt get to read the article cause its now behind a paywall, but isnt this whole taxes thing way overrated? as junglechop says, florida will presumably have a bunch of other taxes to make up for revenue (property, sales, etc) and my guess is their effective tax rate in Florida isnt too far from Akron's stated 7%. Plus, dont professional athletes have to pay state income taxes in a bunch of states cause they earn income all over the country? but what do i know, im no accountant and i didnt get to read the article. kinda bugs me that in the same way that the entire MSM said with great authority that the BTN was distributing $22 million per school when it was no where close to that.
I was sent mine through the Alumni Association
seems like a great idea. i wonder though, why is there such a sense of 'now or never' urgency? I remember reading an interview with the coach that said he thought they had a small window for attaining varsity status. Is this cause the athletic department is fickle? i know this may be simplifying your argument Tim, but i dont think the AD would ever think they shouldnt go varsity because they cant compete with ND/OSU. So, why is this window so small? Also, have you spoken to anyone with 'authority' on the subject of the varsity bump (i mean coach paul or the athletic department)? i remember in the same article i referenced above (which i couldnt find to link to) coach paul said something suggesting varsity status is on the table, just wondering if there is any sort of official/unofficial stance on that coming from the athletic department...
anyway, appreciate the updates. great work.
but never pulled the trigger. most online places said you had to rent for a 3 day minimum but when i called the places they said i could rent for 2 days if i wanted. i have some acquaintances that have done it and had a blast. good luck.
growing up in the ann arbor area and never getting to the cross the zilwaukee bridge (we took 96 to 127 north) id give 'up north' the old porn definition: i know it when i see it. That being said, i am headed to Glen Arbor this weekend and am incredibly excited.
...argieshark. and i second what mgoshoe says about asking Dave Brandon at a presser. I'd like to get an answer about the whole Title IX issue as well, a quick glance at wikipedia leads me to believe that there is no hard and fast rule as to number of sports or scholarships merely that you have to provide an equal opportunity to both genders. anyway, congrats to the lacrosse team.
Tim linked to this interview with coach John Paul a month or so ago but its very interesting and touches on the 'lacrosse going to varsity' topic for those of you that are interested. This quote in particular:
whole article here. pretty interesting stuff and id recommend the whole thing. Doesnt really touch on the whole Title IX thing but as the athletic department has been running large budget surpluses for at least the last 5 years it seems likely that they could financially swing adding two more varsity sports. i dont have any real inside info though. Another national title cant hurt the the odds...
The wings have $13 million in cap room to resign Lidstrom and 5 forwards (Holmstrom, Helm, Abdelkader, Ritola, Eaves, Bertuzzi...?). If Lidstrom resigns for $5 million or less that will gives us some flexibility (however small) to maybe go after a skilled forward to pair on the third line with Clearly and Hudler (or however Babcock wants to distribute them). I am pretty optimistic considering Chicago has a goalie, 2 defenseman, and 3 forwards to sign for next year and they are already $800,000 over the cap. The Sharks also have to resign Marleau and are feeling a little bit of cap heat, so here is to hoping those two clubs take a step back and the Wings retool and get rested after 3 long playoff runs.