I was at Tiger Stadium when McLain won his 30th game (on a Willie Horton walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th). In 1971, when he was on his way to a 10-22 record with the Senators, there was some speculation that he might become the first player to win 30 games in a season and then to lose 30 games in a season.
Word is that Princeton's Mitch Henderson is in discussions with Stanford. Henderson played under the legendary Pete Carril, and has amassed a 232-121 record in 12 years at Princeton, with only one losing season. You may recall that last year's Princeton team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Would be an intriguing option.
I’m dating myself here, but my 1970’s high school team would break out the single wing on our last offensive series of the first half. We assumed, correctly, that the opposing coach would then devote the entire halftime break to teaching his team how to defend it.
As a long-time high school coach (and whose Michigan football fandom dates back to my first game when Michigan beat Duke on a last-second field goal in 1967), let me repeat what I stress with my athletes:
The fact that most of us would have preferred to face FSU in the semis actually validates the committee's decision: objectively, Alabama is the (significantly) better team. They scare the bejesus out of me. And I truly loathe Nick Saban with the passion of a thousand burning suns (particularly, for those who are old enough to remember, after he screwed Jim Mandich in Miami).
Which is what is going to make Michigan's win so very, very sweet.
I was flummoxed by this as well. Perhaps the analytics say something else, but if you miss the 2-point conversion, you have lost the game. If, instead, you go for the one-point PAT (which is virtually a sure thing), it's a one-possession affair. Mind you, I'm not complaining. But what was he thinking??
This from a lawyer who has no expertise in this area, so take it for what it is worth. In order to obtain a temporary restraining order, the petitioner (in this case, Michigan) will have to show both a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on the merits and that there will be irreparable harm if the TRO isn't granted. While I tend to view the world through maize-and-blue glasses, I think Michigan wins on both counts: The suspension is a clear violation of the Big Ten rules (which the court can consider a binding contract on all parties), and the loss of the head coach can reasonably be construed as resulting in irreparable harm.
Here's an analogy from the world of law. The police may not search your home without a warrant. If a private person searches your house without your permission, finds contraband and then hands it over to the police, that evidence can be used against you at trial, since the police were not involved in obtaining the evidence. If, however, the police asked or instructed the private person to do that, then the evidence will be suppressed, since the person was acting as an agent for the police.
The bottom line will be, harkening back to the Watergate hearings, what did Coach Harbaugh know, and when did he know it?
Hilariously, Rutgers claims to be the co-national college football champion for the year 1869, and points to Parke H. Davis' 1934 list of "National Champion Foot Ball Teams" as authority. Rutgers went 1-1 that year, splitting its series with the other national co-champion, Princeton. There were no other college football teams in 1869.
I apologize for getting all didactic on you, but OSU is not "fazing in" a new quarterback; the Buckeyes are phasing in a new quarterback. Though we should all hope that they are fazed by the result.
I grew up in the Burns Park neighborhood in the 60's and 70's. Bennie Oosterbaan lived just a few doors down, and the Dufek family lived next door. Their father, Don Dufek, Sr., played for Michigan in the early 1950's and was MVP of the 1951 Rose Bowl. Older brothers Don and Bill were both All-Americans at Michigan, and Don played eight years in the NFL. Younger brother Joe went to Yale and then played for the Buffalo Bills. Good people, all.
For a very long time, I was certain that Mick Jagger was singing "I'm so affable, I'm so affable, I'm so affable and she's so cold." For those of you not of my vintage, the actual lyrics are "I'm so hot for her."
Not sure this is on-topic for this thread, but I see that on-line ticket brokers are offering tickets (at shockingly high prices) for the Texas game in the fall of 2024. Have tickets even been printed? (I know, "printed" is no longer the correct term, but you know I mean). And even if they have, can we assume that this game is actually going to be played in light of the conference reconfiguration?
Former college kicker here (in the days when we were allowed to use a tee). In the humble opinion of this oldster, the nod goes to Kevin Butler. A worthy fourth-round draft pick by the Bears and, to date, the only kicker in the college HOF.
I'm astonished that Celtic/Rangers (Scottish football) is not only not on the list, but has not received a single mention in the posts. It is the oldest rivalry in all of sports (started in 1888), it has long-standing and highly-divisive religious and political undertones, their supporters HATE each other, and collectively the two clubs have won the Scottish League 107 times. The next-best club has won the league four times.
My father, a longtime professor in the Classics Department at the U, spent the last two months of his life in a hospital. The total bill? Zero dollars. He was living in the UK at the time.
You are all children. The 1969 team -- and the 24-12 win over Ohio State, marking the emergence of Michigan as a football school once again. Jim Mandich, Tom Curtis, Dan Dierdorf, Don Moorhead, Reggie McKenzie, Marty Huff, Billy Taylor. Legends.
No coach has ever said: "The only reason we won is that we got all the calls." I worked courtside as a scorer at a D-I school for many years, and I can assure you that the refs really, truly, honestly want to do the best they can. Sometimes they miss calls; they're human. Sometimes it seems that they're favoring the other team. They're not.
I have a daughter, who also happened to have been an athlete in college. She is far more concerned with treating other people with dignity than winning a game.
I also coach high school track, and have coached young people who are transitioning and against young people who are transitioning. Yes, those transitioning from male to female have a significant advantage. No, it's not the end of the world. It's an extracurricular activity, for heaven's sake.
Nick Saban is an awful human being (we should all trust the late, great Jim Mandich on this one). Heck, if OSU were playing Alabama, I would still root against Alabama. I hate Alabama with the passion of thousand and one burning suns, just edging out OSU. Go Dawgs!
I am not sure it really much matters. There is no way that the powers-that-be were going to match Alabama against Georgia in the semis; if Michigan had been ranked in the top spot, they simply would have put Georgia #4. This is NOT an easy match-up. Georgia is much, much better than they looked last night.
On the other hand, no one in the country is playing better than Michigan right now.
Before The Game, I remember thinking to myself that I feel a greater degree of despair when Michigan loses to OSU than the degree of joy I feel when we win.
I was wrong. I am STILL floating on air. Michigan could lose to Iowa 50-0 on Saturday, and NOTHING will take away the elation I am still feeling.
This was as excruciating a loss as they come. But if, before the season began, you had told me that, eight games into the season, Michigan would be 7-1, ranked #9 in the country, with its only loss coming on the road, by four points, against a Top Ten team, I'd define that as a huge step forward.
I am terrified. Does anyone remember last year's second game? After an opening week, in which our boys trounced then-#21 Minnesota 49-24 at Minnesota, while Michigan State was losing at home to Rutgers, we were all looking forward to an old-fashioned stomping of Sparty in Week Two.
Looking at the crowd in those clips leads me to ask: what's the over/under for the percentage of the overall crowd at Saturday's game who will be Michigan fans?
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I was at Tiger Stadium when McLain won his 30th game (on a Willie Horton walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th). In 1971, when he was on his way to a 10-22 record with the Senators, there was some speculation that he might become the first player to win 30 games in a season and then to lose 30 games in a season.
Word is that Princeton's Mitch Henderson is in discussions with Stanford. Henderson played under the legendary Pete Carril, and has amassed a 232-121 record in 12 years at Princeton, with only one losing season. You may recall that last year's Princeton team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Would be an intriguing option.
Can I write in "Harbaugh avoiding Gatorade bath at the end of the Washington Game"?
I’m dating myself here, but my 1970’s high school team would break out the single wing on our last offensive series of the first half. We assumed, correctly, that the opposing coach would then devote the entire halftime break to teaching his team how to defend it.
We would never use it in the second half.
As a long-time high school coach (and whose Michigan football fandom dates back to my first game when Michigan beat Duke on a last-second field goal in 1967), let me repeat what I stress with my athletes:
Win with grace, lose with dignity.
Serious answer: Iowa's defense is much better than Ohio State's.
The fact that most of us would have preferred to face FSU in the semis actually validates the committee's decision: objectively, Alabama is the (significantly) better team. They scare the bejesus out of me. And I truly loathe Nick Saban with the passion of a thousand burning suns (particularly, for those who are old enough to remember, after he screwed Jim Mandich in Miami).
Which is what is going to make Michigan's win so very, very sweet.
BET!!!
Apparently the line is -21.5 and the over/under is 35. If you want Michigan giving the points AND the under, you are stuck with 28-6.
I was flummoxed by this as well. Perhaps the analytics say something else, but if you miss the 2-point conversion, you have lost the game. If, instead, you go for the one-point PAT (which is virtually a sure thing), it's a one-possession affair. Mind you, I'm not complaining. But what was he thinking??
This from a lawyer who has no expertise in this area, so take it for what it is worth. In order to obtain a temporary restraining order, the petitioner (in this case, Michigan) will have to show both a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on the merits and that there will be irreparable harm if the TRO isn't granted. While I tend to view the world through maize-and-blue glasses, I think Michigan wins on both counts: The suspension is a clear violation of the Big Ten rules (which the court can consider a binding contract on all parties), and the loss of the head coach can reasonably be construed as resulting in irreparable harm.
Here's an analogy from the world of law. The police may not search your home without a warrant. If a private person searches your house without your permission, finds contraband and then hands it over to the police, that evidence can be used against you at trial, since the police were not involved in obtaining the evidence. If, however, the police asked or instructed the private person to do that, then the evidence will be suppressed, since the person was acting as an agent for the police.
The bottom line will be, harkening back to the Watergate hearings, what did Coach Harbaugh know, and when did he know it?
Actually, attrition warfare dates back millennia. A prime example is the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the year 70 C.E.
Hilariously, Rutgers claims to be the co-national college football champion for the year 1869, and points to Parke H. Davis' 1934 list of "National Champion Foot Ball Teams" as authority. Rutgers went 1-1 that year, splitting its series with the other national co-champion, Princeton. There were no other college football teams in 1869.
I apologize for getting all didactic on you, but OSU is not "fazing in" a new quarterback; the Buckeyes are phasing in a new quarterback. Though we should all hope that they are fazed by the result.
I grew up in the Burns Park neighborhood in the 60's and 70's. Bennie Oosterbaan lived just a few doors down, and the Dufek family lived next door. Their father, Don Dufek, Sr., played for Michigan in the early 1950's and was MVP of the 1951 Rose Bowl. Older brothers Don and Bill were both All-Americans at Michigan, and Don played eight years in the NFL. Younger brother Joe went to Yale and then played for the Buffalo Bills. Good people, all.
For a very long time, I was certain that Mick Jagger was singing "I'm so affable, I'm so affable, I'm so affable and she's so cold." For those of you not of my vintage, the actual lyrics are "I'm so hot for her."
Not sure this is on-topic for this thread, but I see that on-line ticket brokers are offering tickets (at shockingly high prices) for the Texas game in the fall of 2024. Have tickets even been printed? (I know, "printed" is no longer the correct term, but you know I mean). And even if they have, can we assume that this game is actually going to be played in light of the conference reconfiguration?
While Vermont's governor is a Republican, he would be a Democrat in any other state.
Princeton. Orange and black, with the winged helmet, which Fritz Crisler brought to Ann Arbor from New Jersey.
Former college kicker here (in the days when we were allowed to use a tee). In the humble opinion of this oldster, the nod goes to Kevin Butler. A worthy fourth-round draft pick by the Bears and, to date, the only kicker in the college HOF.
I'm astonished that Celtic/Rangers (Scottish football) is not only not on the list, but has not received a single mention in the posts. It is the oldest rivalry in all of sports (started in 1888), it has long-standing and highly-divisive religious and political undertones, their supporters HATE each other, and collectively the two clubs have won the Scottish League 107 times. The next-best club has won the league four times.
Root for Derby County for 45 years and then get back to me.
My first-ever stab at this. Be kind.
Eric Epenesa (LB, #39):
My father, a longtime professor in the Classics Department at the U, spent the last two months of his life in a hospital. The total bill? Zero dollars. He was living in the UK at the time.
You are all children. The 1969 team -- and the 24-12 win over Ohio State, marking the emergence of Michigan as a football school once again. Jim Mandich, Tom Curtis, Dan Dierdorf, Don Moorhead, Reggie McKenzie, Marty Huff, Billy Taylor. Legends.
Am I showing my age?
Does anyone recall where he was ranked when he was being recruited out of high school?
No coach has ever said: "The only reason we won is that we got all the calls." I worked courtside as a scorer at a D-I school for many years, and I can assure you that the refs really, truly, honestly want to do the best they can. Sometimes they miss calls; they're human. Sometimes it seems that they're favoring the other team. They're not.
For an in-depth look at the hit and its effects on the two players involved: The Big Hit: 15 Years Later | Michigan | Penn State | Big Ten Football - Bing video
I have a daughter, who also happened to have been an athlete in college. She is far more concerned with treating other people with dignity than winning a game.
I also coach high school track, and have coached young people who are transitioning and against young people who are transitioning. Yes, those transitioning from male to female have a significant advantage. No, it's not the end of the world. It's an extracurricular activity, for heaven's sake.
Nick Saban is an awful human being (we should all trust the late, great Jim Mandich on this one). Heck, if OSU were playing Alabama, I would still root against Alabama. I hate Alabama with the passion of thousand and one burning suns, just edging out OSU. Go Dawgs!
"From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered --
We few. We happy few.
We band of brothers, for he today
That sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother."
-- William Shakespeare
Little known fact: Michael Nesmith's mother invented Wite-Out.
The things you learn by coming to MGoBlog every day!
I am not sure it really much matters. There is no way that the powers-that-be were going to match Alabama against Georgia in the semis; if Michigan had been ranked in the top spot, they simply would have put Georgia #4. This is NOT an easy match-up. Georgia is much, much better than they looked last night.
On the other hand, no one in the country is playing better than Michigan right now.
This has been one hell of a ride!
Before The Game, I remember thinking to myself that I feel a greater degree of despair when Michigan loses to OSU than the degree of joy I feel when we win.
I was wrong. I am STILL floating on air. Michigan could lose to Iowa 50-0 on Saturday, and NOTHING will take away the elation I am still feeling.
Damn that was fantastic.
So… I have to root for OSU on Saturday?
I’d rather stick needles in my eyes. But I’ll do it for the team.
This was as excruciating a loss as they come. But if, before the season began, you had told me that, eight games into the season, Michigan would be 7-1, ranked #9 in the country, with its only loss coming on the road, by four points, against a Top Ten team, I'd define that as a huge step forward.
We're 7-0 and covered the spread in the last game! CHANGE THE QUARTERBACK!!
Pet peeve alert: It's "alumnus," not "alumni."
One alumnus, two alumni.
I am terrified. Does anyone remember last year's second game? After an opening week, in which our boys trounced then-#21 Minnesota 49-24 at Minnesota, while Michigan State was losing at home to Rutgers, we were all looking forward to an old-fashioned stomping of Sparty in Week Two.
The sting of that loss lingers still.
If it were up to me, I'd rename it after Gerald Ford.
My wish is that the players stay positive for a couple of weeks.
"Please dear God, let me break even. I need the money."
Looking at the crowd in those clips leads me to ask: what's the over/under for the percentage of the overall crowd at Saturday's game who will be Michigan fans?
Blue 41, Non-Blue 15
If you have a pear-shaped body, you should not wear pear-colored clothes. Or act juicy.