To this day, the most read post on these pages remains the breakdown of the Conboy-Tropp-Kampfer mauling from January’s Michigan-Michigan State game. Spartan Andrew Conboy was kicked off the team and left school, opting to take his chances within the Canadiens organization. It looks like he’s currently playing with the Hamilton Bulldogs. Corey Tropp was also kicked off the MSU team but earned his way back onto Rick Comley’s squad, and will return to Yost tonight. Wolverine Steve Kampfer is of course still skating for coach Berenson. Should be an interesting night tonight. Here’s a look back, first at Red’s comments from January on the weekly coaches’ show at The Arena just after the incident: [display_podcast] And here are those stills that I took from Section 22: Conboy and Tropp zero in on Kampfer Conboy gives Kampfer the old clothesline from behind …and takes Kampfer down. Tropp cocks his stick, but actually pulls back a bit Then Tropp gets a look… …and then takes a swing.. …and connects. Michigan immediately dispatches the team doctor To Conboy’s credit, he appears to shove Corey Tropp with his right arm… ..and then pushes him away with his left
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Chicken Choked
I sit across from the heart of the Yost student section and it wasn’t hard to make out one particular young mind on Friday night: the dude dressed as a chicken screaming into a megaphone. Turns out that crazy chicken was Andy Reid, sports editor of the Daily. He made an encore appearance Saturday night but things didn’t go as planned: Saturday night, I got kicked out. Not cool, dude. Amidst an entire student section doing the same thing [the vulgar C-YA chant], an usher grabbed my elbow and told me it was time to leave, unless I wanted to be led out of the stadium in handcuffs. I will admit that I stood out from the other Children of Yost. I may or may not have had a megaphone. And I may or may not have been, ahem, dressed up — if you went to the game, you might have seen a six-foot chicken standing against the glass in section 18. But that’s even more reason to not kick me out. How is the team supposed to focus and be motivated without a yellow, fuzzy chicken standing behind the glass? Reid suggests other things could be done to curb the nasty chant (which is delivered when opposing players are sent to the penalty box) including a message from Red…
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eBay Watch: Those Corny Winged Helmets (1989)
Update 3/10: A little more hockey helmet history on WTKA tonight. John U. Bacon brought this up on the Red Berenson show and the old coach brought up more details on those days, twenty years ago, when the hockey team donned the winged helmets. [display_podcast] I didn’t know that the helmet designs are actually taped (Red explains why). Red also said the players liked the new helmets at least “for the most part, there’s always a couple”. Yes, we know at least one student athlete who thought the design was 100% pure cornball (see below). Original post from 2/21/09: This week we’ll start with an unlikely candidate for an eBay Watch post: a hockey program from the February 11, 1989 game against Notre Dame. Bidding starts at $4.95 and here’s a look: Shortly after this game, in late February of 1989, Red Berenson gave the green light for the team to apply the famed winged pattern to the hockey helmets. This month marks the 20th anniversary of the hockey version of the football design (which coincidentally had its 70th anniversary this season). The exact day in that February? I’m not exactly sure. John U. Bacon devoted a chapter to the switch in Blue Ice, and the Bentley Library republished it for you here. Here’s captain Alex Roberts recollection of that…
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Red Berenson Ain’t Riding | Michigan Hockey’s Cold Night in the Soo
With Lake Superior State in town this weekend I thought I’d share some audio from my interview last fall with former Michigan hockey player and coach Dave Shand. This was published in the third segment of the interview, which was conducted over drinks at the great Mac’s Acadian restaurant in downtown Saline. I just made a comment about how Rich Rod hates to lose and this prompts Shand to go into a story about the night they lost 10-5 to Lake Superior State up in Sault Ste Marie in November 1990. Amazing story: MVictors: Sticking on the topic of coaches, we still don’t know a whole lot about Rodriguez but we know he really doesn’t like to lose. I think he cited it as a reason he didn’t want to film Michigan Replay after games (in case they lost). Shand: You haven’t seen fuckin’ Red after a loss. There’s actually a story in John Bacon’s book Blue Ice. We’re up in Sault Ste Marie, and we’re playing Lake [Superior] State. I think the previous 27 times we’d played them we beat them twice. This was 90-91. Lake State was defending national champions. They were big, physical and they’d bang the shit out of you, especially in their own building. I think we lost 10-5. It’s just Red and I up…
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Coach Red Speaks, again, for the last time (WTKA audio)
Michigan coach Red Berenson clearly wants to put this to bed and behind his team, and after one more post I’ll do the same (for tonight). I’ve already checked the availability of MDekers.com since I’m hockey guy now. Last night on the WTKA Red Berenson show at The Arena in downtown Ann Arbor, the Michigan coach gave hosts Andy Evans and John U. Bacon his take on the Kampfer/Tropp/Conboy incident. Here’s the audio: [display_podcast] . Notes and quotes: Red was still concerned about Kampfer’s health and his ability to play this weekend. “The incident was uncalled for, it was unnecessary, it has been dealt with. It should not happen in any league.” “Kids have to remember you’re responsible for what you do on the ice. Whether you’re a hockey player or a baseball player, when you’re holding that bat or holding a hockey stick, you’re responsible for what you’re doing with it.” Even asmuch as the kid that grabbed Kampfer, the Conboy kid, who’s a big tough kid, and was maybe out of line to jump Kampfer from behind needlessly, but maybe out of frustration, the end of the game or whatever, and he held the other kid [Corey Tropp] off that already hit him with a stick when he was down. He held him off with one hand, and…
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Michigan completes Spartan Sweep, Kampfer injured (YouTube)
A great night up at old Yost again tonight save for the final few minutes where it got very ugly. A few highlights from up in Section 22 including a clip of the Michigan students dropping f-bombs on the Spartans after Kampfer was injured.
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Broncs Cheer
photo: mgoblue.com I went to Yost to see a rout last night, instead I witnessed a Western Michigan squad gut out a tough 2-1 win. For the biggest run down of notes and analysis you’ll get anywhere, go to The Blog That Yost Built. My takes: * Western celebrated like they just beat the Russians after the game, piling on their goalie Gill and one guy scrambling to grab the puck for a keepsake. I think I saw one guy try to cut the net off the goal (can they do that?) and another dude trying to jam the Score-O board into the team bus. Guys, great win but act like you’ve been there before. * We saw the 2008 debut of the women’s synchronized skating team at Yost, giving a solid performance with only a couple slips. One gal went down pretty hard at the end, tried to get up only to be denied her footing. She finally made it back to the group to the relief of the crowd but her frown revealed she was hurt or pissed or maybe both. I think they should spice up the show by skating in a costume-wearing villain character, perhaps a guy in a wolf getup or a sweatervest and have the girls somehow subdue the rapscallion. * The Michigan players…
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Martin, Carr and Berenson talk about cancer diagnosis
Via wolverinesFTW, captured from Channel 4 in Detroit:
