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Date Title Body
Glacier. And two hearted. Glacier. And two hearted. Make sure to drink a trout slayer if you ever make it to Glacier.
Cadillac ELR

I have a 2016 Cadillac ELR and its awesome. I commute 10 miles round trip so basically never have to get gas. The electric motor is great, super torque-y. I can break the 20" wheels free in sport mode. And the added bonus is that the ride is incredibly quiet. I might never go back to an ICE. 

 

 

Hombrew. An old ale I just Hombrew. An old ale I just kegged that I'd been aging for 6 months.
its great stuff. visited new

its great stuff. visited new glarus for the first time last week and its an impressive place. impressive in a way places are when the build-out has an unlimited budget. 

Tonight I've had:2015 dark Tonight I've had:

2015 dark lord
Hill farmstead Anna
Toppling Goliath lightspeed IPA
Toppling Goliath golden nugget
New glarus serendipity
Allagash mattina rossa
Sante adairius saison Bernice
Dark horse bba plead the 5th
Crooked stave nightmare on brett

It was a great night
Manistee River trail/NCT is a Manistee River trail/NCT is a fantastic loop. Highly recommended. Also check out the Jordan River Valley trail. About the same distance as the manistee trail. Both great, though I prefer the manistee.
Thanks! Thanks!
I like ron's roadside BBQ. I like ron's roadside BBQ. Not a sit down restaurant though.

Question for all the people with smokers out there: any tips for BBQing brisket? Half the time mine ends up dry. I usually only smoke pork shoulder cause it's perfect every time, but when you do brisket right it's better than shoulder imo. So what's the secret for great brisket?
Peter Vanderkaay. A lot of Peter Vanderkaay. A lot of swimmers could go here but Peter is a sentimental favorite. 2 gold medals, 2 bronze. 14 big ten titles. 6 ncaa titles. Think he was the big ten athlete of the year too. Also, an all around good guy.
I've been complaining about I've been complaining about this for years...why fire Burns first? Why not hire a search firm and lock down Caleb Porter (or whomever) first and then fire Burns? If you swing and miss on the big fish keep burns on board. Brandon just hired a guy with the same record at a worse school who (and isn't the father of the program). And they paid him more! It's nuts. Brandon was so bad.
Agreed about Burns. If i Agreed about Burns. If i remember correctly they were somewhat similar to lacrosse and had a dominant run at the club level under burns before the move to varsity.

And if your going to fire the guy who sorta built the program, at least have a slam dunk hire ready to go. But again, let's hope they turn the corner this year.
My basic understanding is My basic understanding is this:

1) had a good but not elite coach in Steve Burns (who shepherded the team from club to varsity) who was fired a year or so removed from the final four after a bad year even though he lost quite a few guys early to the pros. This was part of Brandon's 'corporate' philosophy of culling the bottom performers.
2) instead of having a slam dunk hire ready the AD left the position vacant for a month or so and ended up hiring Chaka who had essentially the same career record as Burns. Chaka was paid more.
3) Chaka's on-field success at Michigan is about the same as his predecessor.

I really hope they can turn it around. I didn't know they had lost a lot of guys from that hyped class. As with all things, I blame Dave Brandon.
Not Velveeta and Rotel or

Not Velveeta and Rotel or Chobani but TAFFY

 

h/t @edsbs

Pediatric Cancer

Hey guys, not looking for sympathy, just thought this was an appropriate place to share...

 

There are a lot of worthy causes to donate to at Mott, including Chad's. And a lot of wonderful kids, including my own 15 month old daughter who is going through cancer treatment at Mott's:

https://www.facebook.com/prayforhannahmarie

and we met some other really really great kids, some even with some U-M football ties:

https://www.facebook.com/Prayingforemma

I can say that there are very wonderful doctors, nurses and support staff at Mott's and they do wonderful work. If you are looking to donate money or time to pediatric cancer, they are doing a new Block Out Cancer campaign at Mott's:

http://www.mottchildren.org/blockoutcancer 

If you're inclined, donate time or money, give facebook likes, swing by a caringbridge page, it makes a difference to the families that are going through this. 

As an aside, Lloyd Carr's efforts to get the new Mott's built were absolutely heroic, and he derserves all the praise he doesn't get for it. 

 

 

 

Boulevard dubbel and long Boulevard dubbel and long strange tripel
Tobias

Is it as hard for everyone else as it is for me to write or read "Tobias" without thinking of everyone's favorite buy-curious/Blueman/analrapist Tobias Funke? Might be a bigger reason than any to trade for Enstrom.

Tobias Enstrom

There has been some talk about Tobias Enstrom. Rumor is that Winnipeg is not confident about there ability to resign him after he becomes an UFA next year. he'd be a pretty good puck moving D-man and the wings might be able to get him without having to gut their roster (like Yandle, whom i would prefer all other things being equal). That being said, with a healthy Helm (and, of course, Z and Dats)  i still like this team. Everyone thinks Smith is going to be good. They have some good near NHL (Murasak, Tatar, Riley Sheehan) ready assets to move in a trade and of course a ton of cap space.

best case scenario they can grab Enstrom/Yandle for not much in assets. swap bobby ryan for someone (not Filp, apparently he is nearly untouchable) and picks or grab shane doan. and hope Shea Weber hits the free agent market or Nashville decides they have to move him at the trade deadline cause he isnt going to re-sign. that would be a really strong team.

i think they will make a move for a defensemen before the season starts. as of right now though they seem to be a 6-8 seed playoff team. Younger though, with assets and a ton of cap space.    

A lot of really good stuff suggested I think I need to add: The hold steady -- boys ad girls in America The shins - oh, inverted world Broken bells - broken bells The new pronographers - twin cinema, electric version Of monsters and men - my head is an animal Spoon - kill the moonlight Sufjan Stevens - Illinois And many others...
Hoke's at least 6 foot I had my picture taken with him at an alumni event last year. He's 6'1" and at the worst 6'.
yeah, that seems pretty

yeah, that seems pretty obvious, i was more just going for 'cool story, bro' than my exact feelings. 

B-School

It might be documented somewhere in the internet ether but i have heard that when Ross donated $100 million to the business school he stipulated that the school had to spend $75 million building/renovating the b-school and had to use his construction companies, so he made a little money back. I have no problem with that at all, btw, just kind of an interesting story... 

that is sarcasm right?

that is sarcasm right?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_School_of_Business

ACL HAd a similar experience as Brian waiting to get an MRI in Ann Arbor for my first ACL tear. My second, in Chicago, was much less of a hassle. Also, my first ACL tear (circa 2003 while at u of m) I went through the doctors at UHS who told me not to get a cadaver graft because, and I quote (slightly paraphrased), "they check the ligaments from the people, but, you never know how well, and, you could get AIDS." and obviously, I went with the patella tendon graft. After another ACL tear years later my doctor in Chicago laughed off the suggestion about getting AIDS and I get a cadaver ligament and so far it's working out well. The immediate recovery is much much better too. I feel it's really all about the PT though. Regardless, good luck.
Yes! I find it so funny/bizarre that more people who complain about the explotation of college athletes don't talk more about this. College athletes get compensated (/paid) in the form of scholarships/coaching/health care/team meals/etc, if a player thinks he's worth more than that he should be able to 'find a job' that pays him his true value ie go pro. It's totally fair, all the athletes not good enough to go pro will stay in college. No more exploitation. Market clearing behavior. We will all still go to Michigan games and watch them on TV. The real villain are the pro leagues (and their players, ironically) who have fought very hard to stop kids from coming out of high school right to the pros. Seriously, who is the villain here?
Agreed Plus there are enough avenues to critique what seems to be class or region-induced myopia on their merits without getting all political... For instance, why isn't Joe Nocera complaining about Apple's $80 billion cash horde? That's over $1 million per employee. Are Apple employees modern day slaves? Of course not, nor are college football players. Apple can charge way more than the marginal value of their products cause they are awesome and they have built a brand such that they can charge a premium for their products. Much like college sports. If Michigan's basketball team were an NBDL team where each player was getting paid $20k a year (ish), could they fill Crisler? The evidence says absolutely not as the D league is massively subsidized by the NBA. Like Apple, our athletic department (and many others around the country), derive their value from their brand because people like rooting for their schools (or their adopted schools). That being said, in my opinion college athletes should be getting 'cost of attendance' scholarships and probably more money than that. Scholarships should be guaranteed for four years, denard should get a kickback for all the #16 jerseys Michigan sells, etc. Just seems more fair to me.
posted from iPhone

IIRC when, after the dustup about moving The Game last year, the powers that be said Michigan-ohio would be the last game of the schedule at least until they move to a nine game conference schedule (~2015?). They left the door wide open to move it mid season. My guess is they make the attempt again. Let's hope it doesn't happen.

posted from iPhone

Why is MSU not eligible for a BCS bowl? Just cause they are projected to fall out of the top 14?

N'ice Chouffe

N'ice Chouffe is my favorite Christmas beer, though I can't find it in chicago anymore (they apparently switched distributors in Illinois). I found a clone recipe and am in the process of fermenting. If you can find it though, N'ice chouffe is highly recommended (la chouffe is really good too).
<br>You guys make me really want to try the founders breakfast stout(s). I was drinking bells Christmas ale last night and I think I'm gonna have to run to the store now and buy some founders...

posted from iPhone

More info:
<br>Against Iowa in 2009 Michigan had one loss (I think) and Iowa was ranked. It was a big night game and I bought tickets 2 weeks early then hand to sell them and watched the price fall through the floor on the last couple of days before the game.
<br>In 2005 (I think) both Michigan and northwestern ranked and I needed to sell 2 tickets outside the stadium and was only able to get face.
<br>Like I said, I'd bet they come down quite a bit.
<br>

Bought and sold both...

Iowa and northwestern on craigslist/by the stadium and prices seem to collapse in the days leading up to the game. Northwestern last two times we played there and Iowa in 2009. I don't know about that large of a group but in the 2-4 range I think you can get them face.

conspiracy theory.....

Warning: I have no proof for any of this. However, i have this sneaking suspicion that In The Big House is bought and paid for by the athletic department. The MO of the AD has been to leak stuff to the local papers to gauge public reaction/influence opinion (see: moving the OSU game, the mascot, night game uniforms), how does Pop Evil get an article in the detroit news on aug 19th  and on ESPN on aug 18th without some outside help? Then the athletic department has it playing before the team enters the stadium just a few weeks later, that just reeks of a marketing plan. Plus the production value of the video is pretty high, plus they have footage of the stadium and team they probably wouldnt have access to without the consent of the AD. And of course the song and album release are all timed perfectly with the start of the football season. The self-serving justifications from the AD also make me suspicious. 

/takes tin foil hat off

now, i realize Pop Evil are probably media savvy and kinda popular and touring with a big-ish rawk band (and i do wish them the best) so its possible blah blah blah but there is a lot of circumstantial evidence there to suggest heavy AD involvement. 

 

 

I simply don't believe our I simply don't believe our chief marketing officer Edit: mgoblake says it better
Seems like bad faith Seems like bad faith reporting by Travis.
$27 million or $15 million? Travis just says the BTN generates $333 million, not whether the schools' take is that much. Since that big ten own 51% of the network that work out to approx $15 million in the alternate scenario by 2015. That seems a lot more reasonable to me in terms of growth rate and stuff I've read in the past about distribution projections for the BTN.
Probably shouldn't derp the Probably shouldn't derp the OP for his point of view if Magnus is making the same points: "On top of the scattershot arm, it seems to me that Robinson looks a bit slower this year than he did last season" http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2011/09/michigan-28-san-diego-state-… Though I think (/hope) it's merely coincidence he's been caught from behind a couple of times.
Me too

Hoping it is just taking a while for iTunes to post.

A&M I disagree that A&M dilutes the SEC. They would be somewhere in between the 50th and 75th percentile in terms of prestige (not on par with adding oklahoma or fsu) but the world needs doormats too. And yes, markets blah blah but Texas is a big state and people like football there. More than any state the SEC is currently in. It's a big deal and there is a lot of revenue there. At worst they'd be a revenue neutral play for the SEC. That said I'm happy the big 10 hasn't added Pitt, Syracuse, Missouri, rutgers (yet).
Texas is in it for Texas but Texas is in it for Texas but what about this scenario: Texas joins the big ten but doesn't share in BTN revenues, and big ten schools don't share in the revenue from the Longhorn network. We'll call this a wash revenue wise for the two sides (although I'm not sure that it is, but I don't think it will detract from my point). Both the big ten and texas have deals with ABC/ESPN to air football games. One or two texas home conference games (big ten) air on the longhorn network, one or two of their road games appear on the BTN, the rest are on ABC/ESPN. This is significant leverage for BTN to get on basic cable in Texas and significant leverage for the longhorn network to get n basic cable in the Midwest. Everybody makes more money, ESPN is happy cause it still gets first choice in games (and texas gets better opponents) and it's investment in the longhorn network is recouping faster. Texas is in it for Texas but I think this is a win for everyone.
Looks like Texas would fit Looks like Texas would fit right in academically in the PAC-12. Or the big ten.
Ouch Notre dame is low. I also remember when notre dame almost joined in the late 90's hearing some scuttlebutt about how the academics at ND were against it cause the CIC would disrupt the character of the school by shifting more focus towards research instead of the undergraduate education.
Great research Justin, I Great research Justin, I appreciate the effort. I don't have time to look this up but I remember reading at some point that Penn state was roughly equal with Texas in terms of research expenditures in 1993 when PSU joined the big ten. They have since surged ahead of Texas and this is partially (mostly?) attributable to membership in the CIC. I think a point could be made about the causation of research spending, basically that any university that joins the big ten (within reason and with some institutional will) is going to see a similar surge as PSU. That being said, looking at those numbers makes me think we could afford to add a few 'academic' members if big ten is forced to expand to make up for Nebraska (Pipe dreams: UVA, UNC, DUke) and of course notre dame (great academics, small research, football power).
I believe the NBA tried to I believe the NBA tried to adopt similar rules in the last collective bargaining agreement but the players union would only compromise on 1 year out of high school. The only losers are the few guys a year that can actually make the jump from high school to pros each year. The quality of play in the NBA is better and the NCAA is no worse than when there was no one and done rule. As a selfish fan I would really like to see this.
Irony It's actually kinda funny, cause I could see it happening where the conferences get so big (20 teams), they will just split into 2 divisions of 10 and schedule where you get 9 games against teams in your division, then maybe 1, 2, or 3 games against teams from the other division. Basically, it would be like smaller conferences again with guaranteed OOC games against teams from other division and a revenue sharing agreement. I'd take us reverting to the Big Ten as one division then PSU, Nebraska, Texas, ND, Missouri, etc in the other division...
Oklahoma to B1G? Discussion question only, but if Texas A&M goes to SEC w/o Oklahoma, they seem to be the biggest fish out there. Why not Oklahoma to the B1G? Id rather have ND, or Texas, and I know oklahoma was rumored to SEC in the last round of expansion but why not? Rather them than missouri, plus they have a built in mega rivalry with Nebraska.
Congrats Tom. As a guy I Congrats Tom. As a guy I think you'd want to have a little boy but as someone with two young daughters let me assure you they are awesome as well
I think there are significant I think there are significant agglomeration effects with basketball unlike other sports. It's very easy for kids within walking distance to a park in a city play basketball for hours but to play football you need pads (kinda), a bunch of green open space, and a bunch of people. Basketball you just need a ball. It's just really easy to get a game in a city. Much easier than having your parents drive you to a park in suburbia. I dont think high school competition is at the heart of either, I think the community support and the neighborhoods aren't there anymore. They can't really develop as kids.
I have this theory that I I have this theory that I haven't tried to prove that mimics what true blue grit said. Basically that th relative decline of high-level basketball talent (rice, coleman, rose, webber, traylor, taylor, battier) has to do with the emptying out of the major urban areas on the east side of the state where their is a strong basketball culture. I think there would probably be a strong correlation between per capita income in Detroit and high end talent. As the remainder of the middle class has fled Detroit (or flint) that leaves less of the community infrastructure needed to develop talent (jalen rose was poor, but is there enough upper-lower and middle class people around to run clinics and church leagues, etc). Their is still high-end athletic talent it just doesn't get developed with the same efficiency. That's my hypothesis anyway. My football theory is that it has always been more of a middle class suburban sport (need more land, players, etc) so it hasn't been hurt as much as basketball. Plus I think football is probably on sort of a cultural up-tick relative to basketball.
Im not as down on Ericsson as Im not as down on Ericsson as the rest of this board. 3.25 seems a little much but I thought this last season was a vast improvement over the previous seasons. Kronwall is probably going to demand serious money after next year.
It would give me a reason to It would give me a reason to watch the pistons again
Unions take pay cuts West Bloomfield teachers union, as is happening all over the state/country, just took one: http://tinyurl.com/3t2n6wv The UAW took one as part the auto bailout