Does Brian work here anymore?

I was hoping he would comment in writing of the new make up of the BIG. It would be entertaining as always.

Brian was a joy to read during some really down years for us fans. Sadly he has moved on to other endeavors. 

He owns the blog and still does the roundtable on WTKA. He has stepped away from the writing aspect for the time being.

My feelings on the matter:

1) Mgoblog is still a decent blog/website, but I hope it doesn't detract from the current staff to say that it isn't what it was.

2) I miss Brian's contributions to Mgoblog. For me, he is the reason I started visiting the site daily around 14 years ago.

3) With #2 in mind, I harbor no ill will toward Brian. A person's well being comes before anything, and while some of us commoners are not as fortunate to be able to take adequate time off from our jobs to support our health, anyone who can should.

Actual IM exchange between my brother (not a reader, lives in Ann Arbor) and me last week:

My brother: Did Brian Cooke publish an Ann Arbor election set of endorsements?
Me: Cook’s most recent blog post was on April 25. I think he quit and just didn’t tell anyone

Bill Simmons facetiously talks about his fingers not working anymore. I wonder if Brian has just lost the passion for writing after all these years.

I miss Brian 

Honestly I barely read the front page anymore...

No. He was fired.

DUDE. NOT COOL. Brian has posted MULTIPLE times about his personal struggles. He'll post when he fucking feels like it. Until then, be grateful that some else had the balls to quit their day job, pour their heart, soul, blood, and tears, into a personal pursuit for the last 15 years. So that you can have the best independent coverage on your HOBBY. I can't believe people are upvoting this. I'd have already sent you to Bolivia, if I was an admin.

It seems to be Seth's blog now and he's doing a great job. I thought may be the results of the 2021 season would cheer him up. But I'd rather see him attend to his personal life. I hope things improve for him and he can contribute more once the season starts.

It seems to be Seth's blog now and he's doing a great job. I thought may be the results of the 2021 season would cheer him up. But I'd rather see him attend to his personal life. I hope things improve for him and he can contribute more once the season starts.

so much yuck in this thread.

He does, he was switched from shoes to men's wear....men's wear is on the second floor.

I feel like Brian owes us a response to this post.

Why are we not focusing on the more hard hitting questions, like....what happened to Lloyd Brady? 

I have a friend who kind of retreated a bit from work and his social life and I hadn't seen him around like I always had.  At the time, I thought it was kind of surprising because, from the outside, it looked like things were going really well for him up until that point--good marriage, four healthy and wonderful kids, great career with a clear upward trajectory, etc.  I caught up with him a bit later and he confided what he was going through and I was blown away--under the surface stuff that was really hard to deal with, personal tragedies he hadn't shared with many people, etc.  While he was doing the best he could, everyone in his life was leaning on him to fix everything and he was close to a breaking point.  You never know what someone's dealing with but when they say they're taking time away, all you can do is support them in any way you can and hope they find their way through it.

I know Brian is around. I know he has a child or children, and I know he was married. I know he started and owns the site. I know that no formal announcement about his level of involvement or lack of involvement has been made by him, or by Seth, let alone any others.

I don't know the status of his marriage, and it really is none of my business. I don't know how Brian will be involved in mgoblog in the future, and again, it really is none of my business.

As with many readers here, Reality has a strong way of interfering with some of the things we spend a lot of time on, and has done so with Brian. Whether it be our health, or our relationships, or our work, or our changing interests, reality intrudes with brutality.

I wish Brian well. I hope that he sets priorities well. In particular, I hope he has a good relationship with his child or children, and ideally, that he can reconcile and build a healthy marriage. I would love to see him write and opine at Mgoblog once again. His words and wit are sorely missed. But I only want this if he can do so without causing irreparable harm to his life and relationships.

Ultimately, we happen to enjoy following a team or teams that wear maize and blue. But as with all sports, the success or lack thereof has very little to do with most of our lives. The young men and women who compete are literally strangers for most of us, and what they do on the gridiron or the court or on the ice has very little to do with our work, our children, our health, our relationships. It is an enjoyable bonding experience, a pleasurable diversion, which the blog and the internet make much more accessible. But if my interest in Michigan Sports means less of a healthy relationship with my wife and children, something is wrong.

Someone in my family went through a divorce over sports. The man's idea of a good life was work a full day, 5 days a week, watch and follow sports and occasionally play sports every evening, and  also watch sports all day Saturday and Sunday. Spending time with his wife, going to museums, going out to dinner, going on a walk, going to church, exercising, vacationing, were all well behind the man's interest in sports. His wife would have been fine with him following a team or two. But the overwhelming interest in sports and time spent following sports squeezed the life out of his marriage.

I could easily believe that Brian has needed to recalibrate the amount of time spent managing Mgoblog, and writing for Mgoblog, and doing all the behind-the-scenes stuff at Mgoblog. We forget this is his job, and not just a hobby. For most of us, it would close to kill us to spend as much time with our jobs as Brian spent with Mgoblog.