What would you like to see Alex write about?
With basketball and hockey seasons entering the stretch run and spring sports just getting started + football spring practice just getting underway, I wanted to check in with the community and see what people would like to see me cover. Are there any pieces you wish to read about? Any topics that you would like me to try and cover that I haven't so far? Any ideas at all, feel free to send them my way in the comments:
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:16 PM ^
Recruiting would be at the top of the list for me, especially in this down period with no football games for months.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:23 PM ^
*Only if it’s good recruiting news.
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:50 PM ^
Agreed with Woodley^^^
TomVH was a killer here. I wasn't a member at the premium sites back then because Tom was every bit as good as EJ Holland and Sam Webb are today. Hold me TVH.
If I remember correctly, Ace was hired to fill Tom's role (and Tim Sullivan before Tom) but he didn't end up liking recruiting. Can't blame Ace for not loving the recruiting beat- I wouldn't want to call/text high schoolers all day either. But that void in coverage is certainly missed by many here. Maybe I should just move on... its been 10 years lol.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:23 PM ^
If you had any sort of meta-analysis takeaways from watching all of the many opponents this year for FFFF, and how they may or may not apply to next season's football opponents.
Spring Roster overanalysis is always appreciated, but Seth may be working on that already?
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:29 PM ^
Anything that resembles Neck Sharpies. Maybe include a breakdown of other successful plays around college football that Michigan's system would benefit from adopting.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:34 PM ^
@1GoBluePool on Twitter has been tweeting out kick-in-the-nuts plays. It got me thinking that it might be cathartic for us to have Neck Sharpies on the most hated plays in recent memory. Plays plays like JT was short and the ensuing TD, KWIII's TD runs, the DJ Turner missed tackle on Quentin Johnston, etc. could be interesting and healing Neck Sharpies to see. Maybe.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:30 PM ^
Football is always a great topic - Recruiting, roster analysis, coaching changes and the implications of those changes, but in my opinion, I think a semi-regular recruiting update would be well received.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:30 PM ^
I think a Drain's Takes piece could be interesting and would generate discussion on the board during the lean times. Things that could be covered include ranking college hockey jobs, Big Ten basketball jobs, Drain as college football commissioner (or any sport for that matter), etc. Use it a blanket to cover opinion pieces.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:31 PM ^
Maybe a segment on non-revenue sports and updates on how their respective seasons are going. If nothing else, just to give some love to the other Michigan student athletes that are working their tails off that we do not hear about.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:33 PM ^
Conference realignment
And former players where are they now?
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:36 PM ^
Since the WBB team is doing well, I think it would be cool to have game previews for big, televised games.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:37 PM ^
1. Post season analysis on key plays here and there.
2. Recruiting and potential impact of current and future players.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:38 PM ^
Are you posting in third person now? Getting a little too big for your britches, Alex. I'd say some more recruiting breakdowns. Maybe something on the NHL draft or playoffs with a focus on Michigan players. We've been yearning for an update on Ann Arbor politics. Perhaps a weekly piece titled "This week in MGOBLOG history" where you bring back some stories or posts from the past that shaped the culture of the board or had some historical significance.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:39 PM ^
1. combo maybe with MattEM - breakdown on how/why our hoops season has gone like it has
2. hoops recruiting
3. gravy recommendations - jar, can, homemade
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:53 PM ^
3b. what constitutes gravy, the brown stuff or the red stuff otherwise called spaghetti sauce
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:41 PM ^
Famous posters here like me for example. What makes my comments so darn spot-on and insightful and why do all my predictions seeming come true? Why am I so well-liked by one and all and why doesnt this universal adulation go to my head? I mean you could write several articles just trying to find out why, with everything I've got going for me, I'm more like the great unwashed than I'm not.
I mean you could a whole series on MgoRoyality like myself and other people who's names escape me at the moment but I'm sure there must be at least one or two other folk almost as interesting as me. I just dont know who they are off the top of my head.
Oh, and then maybe a deep dive profile into our assistant coaches. As the Ravens and now the Eagles demonstrated, Jimmy has assembled quite a coaching staff jugernaught that is single-handidly neutralizing the OSU talent advantadge.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:55 PM ^
Or a review/backstory of Mgoblog's most famous banned columns/topics.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:58 PM ^
mgrow, answering all those questions about you is a book, not a blog post. and that's before we get into the topic of your angel stick-figure bride...
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:19 PM ^
MGrowOld, I assumed you were so famous that EVERYONE knew EVERYTHING about you.
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:34 PM ^
I know right? But you would absolutely flabergasted how many times a day one of the little people here will comment on an epiphany of mine I've shared with the masses basically asking (in so many words) "how can I become as amazing as you?"
I get embarrassed talking about myself (as I'm sure you know) so I thought it might be better coming from a third party like Alex.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:21 PM ^
Jesus H Fiddlesticks I always knew you were Wolverine Devotee
February 22nd, 2023 at 5:25 PM ^
You can’t say fiddlesticks here.
February 22nd, 2023 at 5:51 PM ^
This board is so weird.
There was a user here named Big Pussy for a long time.
I've talked so much shit on this message board. It's always been a great time..
Now however, everyone wants to be offended by every stupid thing. No matter how dumb it is.
There's this band called Walter Etc. They used to be known as Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra. They have a song called otter pops in the icebox. It has a line that goes:
I'm from southern California where we said words like gay and I don't mean to offend it's just the way I was raised.
That line always meant a lot to me. I was raised in a community and a family where we all talked shit. Who can dis their homey the best was a badge of honor.
We're not all bad people, some of us just like talking shit.
February 22nd, 2023 at 6:28 PM ^
Fiddlesticks.
February 22nd, 2023 at 6:54 PM ^
I just ate a drumstick and my brain stopped tickin
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:23 PM ^
Your amazingness must include the ability to discern the question "how can I become as amazing as you?" in a variety of statements by those too overwhelmed by your very presence to actually use those words.
For instance, lesser natures with lesser minds would not recognize the awed question in such statements as "What's up" or "Hi" or "Watch out, buddy!"
February 22nd, 2023 at 5:31 PM ^
He can just reply "Are you experienced?".
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:43 PM ^
I know this is an odd request since it has been talked about a ton already. But NIL. Specifically...
If Michigan is behind other teams in NIL, why? Our Revenue stream and Income from football are top 5 year in and year out. Is it because we no longer have the network of donors we once had to pay for NIL? Do we no longer have a whale or two?
There was recently an article floating around that had Michigan near or at the top in recruiting expenses. I am guessing this does not factor in NIL?
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:59 PM ^
Recruiting and NIL are interdependent - I would guess, and if they aren't today, they certainly will be in the near future.
As far as Michigan's (football) recruiting expenses - there was a report published recently that captured a number of schools. However, the list was "not complete". The reporting to my interpretation was not compulsory and schools could have "opted out" of sending a response. And, for those schools who did "report", I'm not sure if the definitions of all of the expenses was clearly defined, and - it was a "self reporting" approach.
In the report I saw, Georgia spend a LOT - IIRC, about $ 4.5M for the period that ended in the middle (around June) of 2022. That $4.5M expenditure was significantly more than any other school.
NIL will be an evolving topic - and, I'd be very interested in how effective schools with "supposedly strong" NIL programs, such as Texas A&M - are doing in their retention of prospects / signed players. In the case of A&M, I wonder how many players from the "#1 recruiting class in 2022" have decided to enter the portal.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:44 PM ^
I really like the work you do on hockey, I would suggest:
- A preview of the Big Ten tournament. What Michigan (or anyone) needs to do to take down Minnesota.
- A look at how this year‘s hockey team is different, statistically, from last year’s number one overall seed team and what that means for the upcoming NCAA tournament. Should I plan to go to (ugh) Allentown or hold my money for Tampa?
Appreciate you soliciting input.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:47 PM ^
MGoBlog provides good film reviews, and Space Coyote posted more review yesterday, which got me thinking about coaches and their learning curve.
Is there any way to know—and write about—how much established coaches have found their own methods and stick with them or how much they keep learning.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:55 PM ^
How about a step back looking at the forest from the trees on Football. For example, reflecting on the prior 3-5 years in B1G and projecting out what to expect in the coming 3-5 years. Identify some meta trends and how well M and others are adapting to them
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:07 PM ^
I'd be interested to see a piece on football offseason buzz or rumors that you buy or don't buy and why. For example, is the Drew Allar hype real? Can PSU really challenge Michigan/OSU next year? Stuff like that
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:12 PM ^
Circling the Drain: a roundup of the worst and most hideous board posts on the various fansites.
This is a minor feature of Unverified Voracity already but there is enough substance there to make a juicy column
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:17 PM ^
Brain Drain: An exploration of the siphoning of talent from NCAA basketball and into alternative professional options like the G League, Europe, etc.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:18 PM ^
The Drain in Spain Stays Mainly on the Plains: a deep dive into the basketball team's offense this year and how it has diverged from previous years, with possible explanations into why (point guard issues, overall inexperience, etc)
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:23 PM ^
It's Draining Men: a regular interview column featuring resilient members of the various men's teams.
You can add a (wo) in front to also profile the resilient women, and make some other sort of pun when / if you encounter a nonbinary athlete.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:34 PM ^
Draining the main vein...this feature. Umm. It uh. Ermmmmm. Well it...uhhh
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:37 PM ^
Drain Explains the Pain
Alex explains why bad things happen to good people
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:05 PM ^
A Novel
Draining Day:
Journalist drama about a veteran blogger(Seth) who escorts a rookie (Alex) on his first day with the MGOBLOG tough inner-city message boards.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:12 PM ^
I'm not sure if you follow pro sports at all, but maybe NBA, NFL, and NHL draft pieces? I've always thought it'd be interesting to see this done from someone who focuses highly on college sports as opposed to the pro prognosticators who are often way off because they didn't actually watch any of the games.
Of course with a focus on Mich/B1G players.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:18 PM ^
I really like the content you and Dave bring to the hockey podcast, so maybe focus on hockey recruiting? It's an area that doesn't get much coverage and we seem to generally do very well with recruiting so I think it would be great if you could review whatever film is available and give us your takes on the guys who will be stepping into the program next year.
Matt covers basketball recruiting in-depth and both Brian and Seth cover football recruiting, so hockey recruiting would seem to be in your wheelhouse.
I am signed up for your newsletter and you talk about this being a golden age for the NHL so more of a deep dive on the talent coming to Ann Arbor could be pretty cool, although I imagine the audience would be pretty small.
February 23rd, 2023 at 3:13 AM ^
thanks for subscribing!
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:23 PM ^
board games
just wall-to-wall board games
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:25 PM ^
Can we get better baseball/softball coverage for Big Ten play? Maybe a preview on Friday on the weekend pitching matchups and breakdown of the opponent.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:31 PM ^
I have always wanted a "What ever happened to" series, like one that blows my mind is why did Ernest Shazor leave early and not get drafted, how was he not sucessful in the nfl. I feel like there is a lot of guys from that era that could happen with.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:31 PM ^
Should the Red Wings make a move before trade deadline? Maybe a NHL who is buying/selling.
Status of Michigan Hockey recruiting.
Naurato, what is his impact on this season and, assuming he stays going forward? What is the potential if he moves on?
Deep dive on the Athletic Department budget, with possible compares to B1G or P5?
Deep dive on NIL/Portal, what is known, how is this moment in time different from a year ago, what is the future looking like?
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:33 PM ^
A ranking of B1G campuses on their ability to survive a zombie apocalypse.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:35 PM ^
75 percent football, 20 percent basketball, 5 percent everything else.