I have always been a burger guy, but ever since I started raising my own grass-fed beef (serious) and my own pastured bacon (also serious) I cannot recommend anything else.
Oh, and I like to throw on a fried egg from the chickens too, and, in summer, some greens from the garden.
I realize most people can't/won't do it this way, but a truly hand-crafted burger like that blows away the $100 billion beef supply chain burger every time.
I can't believe this team is in the middle of the B1G season and all any one of us can think of is "when are these guys out of here?" and "Harbaugh please."
What a trainwreck this program has become.
I look forward to the day when we can actually enjoy watching our team play again.
They need to be thanking the football players (and to a lesser extent basketball players too). Any dope with that fat budget and donor base could pay someone to build the facilities Michigan is building now. That's the AD's job.
In fact, outside of paying coaches and building facilities (and hiring more MBAs) there is literally nothing Brandon can do with the money.
It's the football/basketball players that are "creating the future" though. The non-revenue athletes should all be sending thank yous to Denard and Trey, not Dave.
But can you imagine any decent coach even allowing that to happen? Can you imagine Meyer or Harbaugh or Stoops or Saban going out there on Monday with a water bottle and some flimsy excuses only to make a fool of himself in front of the national media?
These top-tier coaches are borderline sociopaths who will lie, cheat, steal, punch dolphins...whatever it takes to win. They are not nice guys. They are experts in game theory, negotiation, scheming, and the history of war. They traffic exclusively in hypotheticals - gameplan or otherwise - and you are not going to outmanuever them so easily. That's why they win.
Hoke is probably a nice guy. But was never cut out for this job. He's in over his head. I don't feel sorry for him.
Hoke is exactly what Brandon wanted. A yes man. And now both of their careers are circling the toilet.
"the systems we had in place were inadequate to handle this unique and complex situation properly"
Gimme a break, there wasn't anything remotely complex about this. Any 4-year watching on TV could have told you what was going down. ABC/ESPN's 5th string announcers diagnosed the situation immediately and effectively.
The real problem is the CEO of the football program is woefully out of his league, doesn't wear a headset, and is effectively paid $4M to clap like a trained seal.
More perplexing though in retrospect: with his track record of player development, how was he ever able to recruit so well against coaches with established track records (like Meyer and Dantonio)??
This place needs serious, major change. It's almost impossible to screw up a place like Michigan, yet they are doing just that. Across the board.
As bad as we feel as fans/alums/minor stakeholders, let's not forget these poor players. They have way more at risk. They come here trusting the coaches to not only keep them safe, but to help them achieve their life goals. For most of them that probably means a shot to play football at the next level. They only get a brief window - one shot to make it - but these coaches/adminstrators are robbing them of that chance. And they sure as hell aren't getting a chance to score touchdowns, play in a rocking stadium, weave their way into Michigan legend, and compete for championships.
If my kid were a scholarship level football player I would be encouraging him to talk to anyone but this current staff. As a lifelong Michigan fan that makes me sad.
After that late/cheap/illegal hit to the quarterback, did any of the Michigan players get in Minnesota's grill? Any pushing or shoving? Anything on subsequent plays? There was no evidence of it on TV.
Maybe I'm old school, but I would at least like a couple guys to get fired up when the opponent is taking gratuitious cheap shots.
"Toughness" has become but a cheap platitude.That's all on Hoke.
Hoke said it himself, this will to be a good football team. Who needs Harbaugh?
Seriously though, these kind of writeups just reinforce my decision to wean myself from all sports media save Mgoblog. Just a bunch of people (14 year olds) talking.
There was that one period between Don Canham's retirement and the Sailboat Bill/Les Miles fiasco when I scarcely cared/knew who the AD was (the Tom Goss "halo" was a relatively small blip of outrage). The job description was pretty simple: don't screw it up.
I would just like to go back to the "game manager" approach to AD. Is that too much to ask for/implausible in today's collegiate athletics arms race environment?
A few years ago we moved west of Ann Arbor to an old homestead to get our kids outside more and to start raising our own food (beef, dairy, chicken, lamb, wool, etc.). It's been great for us, though for now I still run with my day job.
I never realized former players had to buy their way into the stadium. That is an idiotic way to alienate your corest-of-core supporters.
Assume 65 years of former classes still alive x 25 players per class x 10% of which go to any particular game = 160 people to accomodate. Add in guest for each = 320. You think they'd bend over backwards to get that done.
All to make an extra 320 x $75 x 7 home games = $170k per year.
Or, with Coke math: 320 x $2.50 x 7 = $5,600 per year.
I bet Dave Brandon never had to buy his own pizza.
PSU, OSU, Northwestern coaches kept asking John U if Brandon really sat in on film study with Hoke. They were chuckling, incredulous. No way they would have let their ADs do it.
I attended/watched every game nearly religiously for 30 years. I never once left or turned off a game one second early. I routinely ducked out of weddings, blew off work, and - as my wife still reminds me - skipped out on my kids' Halloween party the night of BraylonFest.
Then last season happened. I walked out on the UConn game. I eventually lost track of all the boring, demoralizing games I gave up on. MSU. Northwestern. Kansas State. They just weren't any fun to watch anymore.
I was excited for the Utah game. But by the second half I was out cleaning the barn while listening to the Brandy/Dierdorf play by play, resigned to another terrible loss.
Part of it is I have a lot more to do now: demanding job + hobby farm + 9(!) kids. But I still made it work even through all those lean RichRod years.
Last year broke me though. And this year I'm not doing much better.
Would love to see Michigan recruit a bona-fide shot blocker. The best way to keep opponent 2-pt FG% down on a defense featuring guys getting routinely beat off the dribble is having someone on the back line that can change shots without fouling.
Congrats on the birth of your first! We are expecting any day now and I could not be more excited. Having a newborn around is one of the best things going.
Watched first 5 minutes, became upset, decided to DVR, put everyone to bed, watched late, then nearly woke everyone up at 12:30am on the GRIII buzzer-beater.
Recent Comments
I have always been a burger guy, but ever since I started raising my own grass-fed beef (serious) and my own pastured bacon (also serious) I cannot recommend anything else.
Oh, and I like to throw on a fried egg from the chickens too, and, in summer, some greens from the garden.
I realize most people can't/won't do it this way, but a truly hand-crafted burger like that blows away the $100 billion beef supply chain burger every time.
/steps down from soapbox
I can't believe this team is in the middle of the B1G season and all any one of us can think of is "when are these guys out of here?" and "Harbaugh please."
What a trainwreck this program has become.
I look forward to the day when we can actually enjoy watching our team play again.
And the fact we need it for the Rutgers game is worse...
Part that strikes me as absurd: Harbaugh makes $5M a year. Meanwhile Hoke makes $4M a year.
Think about that for a second and try to hold back the crippling wave of nausea.
Please Jim. Come home to take your rightful place.
They need to be thanking the football players (and to a lesser extent basketball players too). Any dope with that fat budget and donor base could pay someone to build the facilities Michigan is building now. That's the AD's job.
In fact, outside of paying coaches and building facilities (and hiring more MBAs) there is literally nothing Brandon can do with the money.
It's the football/basketball players that are "creating the future" though. The non-revenue athletes should all be sending thank yous to Denard and Trey, not Dave.
A sandwich. Long day at the office and I'm starving.
But personally would have gone with a bit more of the fire and brimstone
So we agree that Hoke was thrown under the bus.
But can you imagine any decent coach even allowing that to happen? Can you imagine Meyer or Harbaugh or Stoops or Saban going out there on Monday with a water bottle and some flimsy excuses only to make a fool of himself in front of the national media?
These top-tier coaches are borderline sociopaths who will lie, cheat, steal, punch dolphins...whatever it takes to win. They are not nice guys. They are experts in game theory, negotiation, scheming, and the history of war. They traffic exclusively in hypotheticals - gameplan or otherwise - and you are not going to outmanuever them so easily. That's why they win.
Hoke is probably a nice guy. But was never cut out for this job. He's in over his head. I don't feel sorry for him.
Hoke is exactly what Brandon wanted. A yes man. And now both of their careers are circling the toilet.
"Sludgefart" is an appropriate term for this situation. In fact, it is the very definition of this program right now.
Bunch of idiots running the show.
"the systems we had in place were inadequate to handle this unique and complex situation properly"
Gimme a break, there wasn't anything remotely complex about this. Any 4-year watching on TV could have told you what was going down. ABC/ESPN's 5th string announcers diagnosed the situation immediately and effectively.
The real problem is the CEO of the football program is woefully out of his league, doesn't wear a headset, and is effectively paid $4M to clap like a trained seal.
Too hard to say whether the attendance streak ends With Mike Leach as coach.
But we'd have 3x that watching the pressers.
Finally F5 pays off!!!
This is 10x bigger than Stretchgate.
How bad would this team be if we had Miami (NTM) level recruits up and down the two-deep?
With this team, this offensive line, I don't expect to even have a quarterback standing at the end of that game.
How did it ever come to this? I have to explain to my kids that this is not normal.
He's gone.
More perplexing though in retrospect: with his track record of player development, how was he ever able to recruit so well against coaches with established track records (like Meyer and Dantonio)??
This place needs serious, major change. It's almost impossible to screw up a place like Michigan, yet they are doing just that. Across the board.
As bad as we feel as fans/alums/minor stakeholders, let's not forget these poor players. They have way more at risk. They come here trusting the coaches to not only keep them safe, but to help them achieve their life goals. For most of them that probably means a shot to play football at the next level. They only get a brief window - one shot to make it - but these coaches/adminstrators are robbing them of that chance. And they sure as hell aren't getting a chance to score touchdowns, play in a rocking stadium, weave their way into Michigan legend, and compete for championships.
If my kid were a scholarship level football player I would be encouraging him to talk to anyone but this current staff. As a lifelong Michigan fan that makes me sad.
After that late/cheap/illegal hit to the quarterback, did any of the Michigan players get in Minnesota's grill? Any pushing or shoving? Anything on subsequent plays? There was no evidence of it on TV.
Maybe I'm old school, but I would at least like a couple guys to get fired up when the opponent is taking gratuitious cheap shots.
"Toughness" has become but a cheap platitude.That's all on Hoke.
Maybe our last bit of perfect weather and I'll be baling hay.
This has been a Big Ten Championship hay season.
Basketball season is so much better with a barn full of hay.
Hoke said it himself, this will to be a good football team. Who needs Harbaugh?
Seriously though, these kind of writeups just reinforce my decision to wean myself from all sports media save Mgoblog. Just a bunch of people (14 year olds) talking.
There was that one period between Don Canham's retirement and the Sailboat Bill/Les Miles fiasco when I scarcely cared/knew who the AD was (the Tom Goss "halo" was a relatively small blip of outrage). The job description was pretty simple: don't screw it up.
I would just like to go back to the "game manager" approach to AD. Is that too much to ask for/implausible in today's collegiate athletics arms race environment?
Where/what do you farm quiverfull?
A few years ago we moved west of Ann Arbor to an old homestead to get our kids outside more and to start raising our own food (beef, dairy, chicken, lamb, wool, etc.). It's been great for us, though for now I still run with my day job.
Never thought I'd say this 10 years ago, but what I wouldn't do right now for just a Debord-level offense.
What is the over/under on yards acquired in MSU game?
I had forgotten the thrill of well-executed plays, competitive games against ranked opponents on the road, and Keith Jackson.
I never realized former players had to buy their way into the stadium. That is an idiotic way to alienate your corest-of-core supporters.
Assume 65 years of former classes still alive x 25 players per class x 10% of which go to any particular game = 160 people to accomodate. Add in guest for each = 320. You think they'd bend over backwards to get that done.
All to make an extra 320 x $75 x 7 home games = $170k per year.
Or, with Coke math: 320 x $2.50 x 7 = $5,600 per year.
I bet Dave Brandon never had to buy his own pizza.
PSU, OSU, Northwestern coaches kept asking John U if Brandon really sat in on film study with Hoke. They were chuckling, incredulous. No way they would have let their ADs do it.
But I really do have that many kids.
I can finally afford to take them all to the game!
Will be impossible to get them to bed tonight though with all those Coke products coursing through their little veins.
I attended/watched every game nearly religiously for 30 years. I never once left or turned off a game one second early. I routinely ducked out of weddings, blew off work, and - as my wife still reminds me - skipped out on my kids' Halloween party the night of BraylonFest.
Then last season happened. I walked out on the UConn game. I eventually lost track of all the boring, demoralizing games I gave up on. MSU. Northwestern. Kansas State. They just weren't any fun to watch anymore.
I was excited for the Utah game. But by the second half I was out cleaning the barn while listening to the Brandy/Dierdorf play by play, resigned to another terrible loss.
Part of it is I have a lot more to do now: demanding job + hobby farm + 9(!) kids. But I still made it work even through all those lean RichRod years.
Last year broke me though. And this year I'm not doing much better.
We named our post-tourney firstborn male goat "Spike"
Dude was small, savvy, and had major cojones, just like his namesake. Had to castrate him though and he wasn't the same afterwards.
True story.
Would love to see Michigan recruit a bona-fide shot blocker. The best way to keep opponent 2-pt FG% down on a defense featuring guys getting routinely beat off the dribble is having someone on the back line that can change shots without fouling.
Pretty good gig.
My office is in an outbuilding 15 steps from the back door.
Upside: no traffic, homecooked lunches
Downside: I never get a snowday
Congrats on the birth of your first! We are expecting any day now and I could not be more excited. Having a newborn around is one of the best things going.
and their names are Lincoln, Freedom, Condi, Coke, Pepsi, Manifest Destiny, Apple Pie, and Superman.
Watched first 5 minutes, became upset, decided to DVR, put everyone to bed, watched late, then nearly woke everyone up at 12:30am on the GRIII buzzer-beater.
Full disclosure: I have 8(!) kids.
Bo Ryan approves of the mitts in the Walton video
The guys over on their board are claiming it was a "non-committable" offer...
Bravo! I can't get enough of the whole pig meme.