Insider rumblings on Michigan's forthcoming response
I did a morning scour of reputable insider posting on social media and the paywalled boards today. (Subscribe to those sites to read the exact content for yourself. It's worth it if you are obsessed with Signgate.) Here are some of the interesting nuggets:
- There is a rumor that video of Michigan practices was stolen and shared with Michigan's competitors. This is why, last offseason, Michigan erected a fence around its outdoor practice field. Michigan may have evidence of who stole the footage and shared it.
- Insiders say that Michigan has shared with the NCAA how common the practice of sign-stealing is, including Illinois' Ryan Walters having all of Michigan's signals in advance of last year's game, and "someone" allegedly sharing our signs with Purdue, via video, in advance of the B1G championship last year. As we know, sign-stealing is not inherently illegal, but sharing video might be.
- Isaiah Hole seems confident that Michigan is going to "strike back" in a way that is forceful and narrative-altering, but I will reserve judgment on that until we see what Michigan actually has.
- In my view, if the B1G hands down this absurd indefinite suspension, Michigan should make a show of considering a departure to the ACC (or, at the very least, adopting ND's approach of semi-ACC affiliation) by leaking that they are discussing it internally.
November 5th, 2023 at 4:36 PM ^
All those presidents need to be thinking about today and tomorrow is the possibility of discovery and exposure. They don't know what Michigan might know, or even suspect, and they'll assume what they think is the worst.
There is no reason to leak anything at this point except the threat of legal action, and Ono took care of that. Let them sweat. If they don't back down, it's on. If they do back down, start the investigations and the slow leaks.
November 5th, 2023 at 7:31 PM ^
Except in Sparty’s case leak something on IZZO and the hoops team. Only about 5 percent of their fans even still realize the football season is still going. Hit ‘em where it hurts!
November 5th, 2023 at 11:19 AM ^
I find this interesting
- There is a rumor that video of Michigan practices was stolen and shared with Michigan's competitors. This is why, last offseason, Michigan erected a fence around its outdoor practice field. Michigan may have evidence of who stole the footage and shared it.
Right after Curtis Blackwell accused MSU of doing something like that. Hmmmm
November 5th, 2023 at 11:20 AM ^
Blackwell thing came out in 2020 and the alleged offense was from before that.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:32 AM ^
Hey, Dantonio's been around that program for a long time. If the CFB world is gonna run with loosely tied together conspiracies, this one should be fair game too
Might actually explain why every single year is a slog vs MSU and it wasn't because they just 'get up' for the game and 'want it more' every year
November 5th, 2023 at 11:44 AM ^
I guess I was mostly reacting to the "right after" part of your comment.
Believe me, finding out that MSU taped our practices would not surprise me at all.
But if I am making up a guess, and we're just assuming this particular rumor is true, I think it's more likely OSU than MSU anyway (no one else would bother I don't think).
1) If this just happened (we put up the fence this year) it's because Day is going all out in his desperation to never lose to Michigan. I mean, the era is ending on his watch. We know he's feeling the pressure.
2) Not only did the team tape the practice, but gave it to other teams. I don't think MSU would share this. I could be wrong about that, but that feels more in line with what OSU was (we believe) doing with the signs, running around to everyone saying "Michigan is stealing signs illegally!" OSU doesn't view anyone else as a threat so they just want help in taking down Michigan. Also, it would help explain why everyone else has this bizarre loyalty to OSU. OSU is bringing everyone into their tent to beat up on Michigan.
#WeAreMAnon
November 5th, 2023 at 12:26 PM ^
I'm confused. Maybe it was just sloppy wording, but "video of Michigan practices was stolen and shared....Michigan may have evidence of who stole the footage and shared it."
That's not quite the same as taking the pictures yourself. What I thought had happened, from the way it was worded, is that Michigan had video of their own practices and somebody illegally got hold of it. And if it was digital footage that was hacked, the thief might have left a track.
Which is it?
November 5th, 2023 at 1:05 PM ^
Good question, no idea. Either way doesn't really change my overall position but I was basing the notion that it was filmed on this part of the OP:
"This is why, last offseason, Michigan erected a fence around its outdoor practice field."
That is a nonsensical response to someone hacking your computer.
November 5th, 2023 at 3:53 PM ^
The fence generates an Electro Magnetic Field…
November 5th, 2023 at 3:53 PM ^
Of the fence was to keep the hackers from physically accessing the servers, hackers are notoriously poor fence climbers…
November 5th, 2023 at 11:35 AM ^
Yeah, the timelines for that don't match up. But I do think UM putting up even more privacy around their practice field has to do with counter-measures to potential external information gathering, which is (frankly) how most teams handle stuff like that.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:48 AM ^
Not to mention that videotaping practice is clearly cheating; no gray areas involved. You have an expectation of privacy at practice that you shouldn’t have in front of 100,000 spectators and 10+ HDTV cameras.
November 5th, 2023 at 3:51 PM ^
which seems weird to me, because one can still stand on the overpass on Stadium Blvd with an unobstructed view of the practice field, and in theory, could set up a good camera on a tripod and film activity on that field all day and night, if one felt so inclined.
November 5th, 2023 at 4:40 PM ^
Hopefully there's a security camera pointed at the spot in question. I'd be willing to give somebody a day's practice videos if it meant busting the cameraman.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:20 AM ^
Scorched Earth time to go nuclear.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:21 AM ^
Fox we need you more than ever right now. ESPN will ignore this to avoid undermining Thamel. Also, this should've been done two weeks ago.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:21 AM ^
At this point, I'm just here for the all-out litigation assault. Seriously hoping I get to read about this shit in Money Stuff.
Ignore any proposed suspension, take it to the federal courts, and drag it out for years. Like I wrote before, if we're lucky this ends up being the thing that gets Kavanaugh to drive the stake into the NCAA's heart.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:29 AM ^
First time I’ve ever come across another human that reads Money Stuff. So I actually just looked up Adam Levine to see if he went to Michigan. Close enough — he went to Harvard and Yale.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^
You might be hanging out in the wrong spaces! Money Stuff is a daily-read in my circles.
BTW, it's Matt Levine. Adam (no relation, AFAIK) is the singer.
November 5th, 2023 at 12:45 PM ^
Well Matt thinks he can carry a tune pretty well.
November 5th, 2023 at 12:42 PM ^
Filing in the federal courts would be the way to go IMO also. Most people not in the know, and that would typically include coaches, have a funny habit of not having a clue as to what can be found during the discovery phase of litigation.
What do you mean my emails are stored on the university's email system?
The complaint would fill in more than a few bits of information that are now only speculative.
One would have to think that the B1G's counsel has mentioned on more than one occasion what the risks could be to the conference if it acted without due process. I also think that when Ono met with the Pettiti, there were things shared beyond Ono's letter.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:22 AM ^
I’m glad to hear that we are planning to fight back .. I thought we were just going to sit back and take it
November 5th, 2023 at 12:21 PM ^
As hard as it is to read/listen to the never ending drivel I would much rather they cackle with glee because Michigan is being quite and then have a dump truck drive up and dump the full load of evidence/payback.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:25 AM ^
I wonder if the players can do a class-action suit against the Big10 for destruction of their brand and hampering their potential NIL earnings?
November 5th, 2023 at 11:31 AM ^
This is what I want to know.
Imagine Harbaugh gets suspended for PSU and God forbid we lose. There is a dollar impact to the players draft stock let alone Michigans revenue.
November 5th, 2023 at 12:24 PM ^
Draft stock, which impacts bonuses and let us not forget future earnings as well as damage to their brand. It isn't hard to imagine a litigator out there somewhere with lust in their eyes. Poor young college students vs a massive corporation and a media fueled circus.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:48 AM ^
This is what I have been saying all along. This shit goes waaaay beyond competitiveness, rivalry, and winning and losing games. It's damaging to Michigan as an institution and a brand, and it can potentially affect players' NIL earnings while in school and also their draft position and thus future earnings in the NFL.
Sue everybody.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:27 AM ^
This is all interesting but I must remind everyone that insiders are trying to entice you to keep paying for their message boards so the sometimes-vague accounts and "just you wait, this will be epic!" ness of these posts feels a bit premeditated. A lot of the most extreme stuff we've heard from all sides - the OSU/MSU/PSU types, the Thamel/Dellenger "journalists"/PR scribes side, the Michigan side - have largely not turned out to be true. So yeah, I suspect the most anodyne portion of these claims will turn out to be the true ones and the rest are just rumors and supposition.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:35 AM ^
There is an element of truth to that, but I do think they have some evidence. Particularly in regards to Walters at Illinois.
The practice video I am not sure about.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
Yeah, I'm mostly talking about the practice video stuff. Walters having the signs is what I sort of expect; that's been the case for teams for years. Again, NW rather clearly knew the playcalls in 2018 and OSU knew Brown's signs in 2019 and we all sort of shrugged.
The "strike back" stuff feels a bit wishcasting - I suspect they'll have evidence how widespread the practice is and how other teams are likely skirting rules but I don't see Michigan throwing bombs all over at this point unless pushed to the limit.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:57 AM ^
It reads like fan fiction.
November 5th, 2023 at 12:22 PM ^
I agree, Comrade, which is why I qualified the Isaiah Hole rhetoric in the way I did. He implied on his podcast/YouTube that he doesn't have specific info, but rather general info that Michigan is planning an aggressive response.
November 5th, 2023 at 12:50 PM ^
Short of suspending Harbaugh, I'm not sure how much further things could be pushed. The Michigan athletics brand would seem to be more than a bit tarnished at the moment.
November 5th, 2023 at 12:26 PM ^
MGoBlog, come for the sports, stay for terms like anodyne.
November 5th, 2023 at 7:07 PM ^
Chris Balas should be fired.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:27 AM ^
I refuse to believe we'll be aggressive until I see it
November 5th, 2023 at 11:33 AM ^
The letter Santa Ono wrote was a great read and start
November 5th, 2023 at 12:51 PM ^
"Aggressive" in the genteel university presidents world does not mean "I WILL FUCK YOU UP BRO!" on the internet like some people want to see.
But, trust me, Michigan will be aggressive in the way that gets university presidents attention.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:28 AM ^
I'll be honest. I won't be upset if Ono makes a cursory call to MGoLawyers about exiting the conference. I just want the rumor out there so everybody knows we're not taking this in the fatal positron.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:31 AM ^
"Fatal Positron" sounds like a Schwarzenegger movie.
November 5th, 2023 at 12:14 PM ^
“Fatal Positron” stars Michael Douglas in the role of a cybernetic engineer who creates a synthetic AI-enabled office assistant that becomes obsessed with him, boiling his iPad and iPhone in a fit of jealous rage.
”I mean, I’m not gonna have my notifications muted, Dan.”
November 5th, 2023 at 11:44 AM ^
A cursory call to Eric Shanks might be enough.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:29 AM ^
I want to kiss you on the lips, you crazy commie
November 5th, 2023 at 11:31 AM ^
The coaches are pissed that even though they know what’s coming they still can’t stop Michigan.
“How dare Michigan change their signals!!”-Big Ten Coaches
November 5th, 2023 at 11:32 AM ^
The ACC/ND model is the way to go IMO. Better, more prestigious conference members. A regional rival, and a good conference for other sports. Also of note the ACC has a proportional revenue model. If we show up, we can keep our chunk. Additionally, UM is a force multiplier. UM will make the rest of the conference more competitive at football and the other sports in the ACC are great. Seems like an open/shut analysis. Michigan in the B1G is hamstrung by terrible programs that want to destroy us, off the field. While the ACC is home to schools that include natural rivals and academic peers who could stand to benefit from our involvement. The ACC with Michigan is a better athletic and academic conference than the B1G. The B1G will obviously benefit from the western programs but if UM dips out, then the USC/UCLA connects suddenly seem a lot less meaningful, they can only play OSU and PSU once. Let's go for it, lets drum up some ACC chatter and bring ND w/ us full time into the fold.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:40 AM ^
I wonder if Maryland might consider moving back to ACC in such a new landscape, they have more natural rivalry there. will Nebraska consider moving back to Big 12 now Colorado is back there too.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:53 AM ^
This is an interesting take. Instead of the Big10 being too big to fail, maybe it’s collapsing of its own weight. Ohio State is trying to throw their weight around a la Texas in the B12. How did that work out for them?
November 5th, 2023 at 12:06 PM ^
USC would surely rather be with ND and Michigan. UCLA would rather be with USC.
Penn St. would probably want in too but to hell with 'em, they aren't invited.
November 5th, 2023 at 12:15 PM ^
Let's leave the bullshit of the league, OSU and MSU behind. The ultimate coup would be to get that California schools back into the same conference with the backing of the CA state government lol. Just really leave the B1G high and dry.
November 5th, 2023 at 11:32 AM ^
So, someone filmed our practices? Please let it be ohio state, and them still getting spanked afterwards.