By Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis If I told you at the beginning of the season that Michigan would finish the season with a 9-3 record, would you have taken that? Coming off the RichRod and Brady Hoke years, of course you would. Now that the season has played out, how does 9-3 look? A little bit different, right? Why? Expectations. In less than one year, our new coach has not only given us as a fan base expectations, but he has also raised them for the team. That bodes well for the future, but that doesn’t eliminate the sting of losing to Ohio State. The victories will come, and while it was easy to draw parallels from this team to the 1969 team in Bo’s first year, you need to remember this: That 1969 team had talent oozing all over the place. There were 18 players from that team that went on to play professional football. And don’t forget that 4 players from that squad are in the College Football Hall of Fame (so far!). Does this 2015 Michigan squad have that same level of talent? No. There is talent, but there are deficiencies that need to be addressed. It will take time to amass the talent needed to take down the B1G Boys, but they will come. For now,…
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Macepalm
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Twenty One
Congrats to Desmond Howard; the coveted #21 officially retired during the second quarter today: Via Matt Pargoff, they also did this in the North end zone, nice: And there’s are new flags atop the stadium on the south end honoring each retired jersey – I assume just for today?
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Holiday Shopping List for Michigan Fans
[Ed. Bonus Giveaway Time! Thanks to the folks at Rivalry Trophy. If you retweet this tweet or like this post on Facebook between today and Monday, I’ll pick one at random and send you a free mini-Little Brown Jug]: Without further ado, Is your better half stuck on what to get you for the holidays? Wondering what to get your Michigan-obsessed cousin? This is the best of the best of the stuff you should be considering – so read on, send and share. Some cool stuff this year: Leading off, I already mentioned the new line of awesome M watches from the mind of Shashi Mara – his new brand of HAIL Timepieces. Nice work Shashi, these are awesome. Check them all out here including some exclusive bundles. My favorite? Got to be the Khaki and Steel. Additional offerings include “Michigan Man” ($349), “Maize and Blue” ($299) and “Special Teams” ($279). Hurry because they are selling fast: Rivalry Trophy features a must-have with their Little Brown Jug replicas. Since it is home in Ann Arbor for while now you must have one in your M shrine or certainly, minimum, on your Christmas tree. That’s coming straight from the universe’s leading Jugologist. Available in ornament/dashboard, mid-size (around a foot) and full size. They also have bundles with ugly Paul Bunyan. …
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Harmon Wins the Heisman (1940) | This Week in Michigan Football History
Did you know it was 75 years ago Saturday that it was announced Tom Harmon had won the Heisman Trophy? Indeed, back then they voted, announced the winner, and held a ceremony to honor the recipient at a later date. So Saturday’s edition of #TWIMFbH talks a little about Old 98 and his finer moments on the gridiron (and off). Yes, in the radio clip I said Harmon “gave birth”. Ira busted my chops after that and wouldn’t let me edit it (to say “sired” or “fathered” which is probably a little more accurate, although I wouldn’t be against Harmon in life). Readers know the 1940 Cal game is one of my favorites; especially the drunk fan incident. More here and my tribute: You can listen to all 6 years of This Week In Michigan Football History here. And don’t forget to catch the whole KeyBank Countdown to Kickoff on WTKA 1050AM starting at 8am tomorrow, and of course live in the Bud Light Victors Lounge across from the Stadium on Main Street. See you out there. Follow MVictors on Twitter /script Well here were are, another regular season comes to an end as we face the Buckeyes in “The Game”. Today we honor so many great names in Meeechigan lore as we re- re-tire many jersey numbers, including the…
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It’s Time: The HAIL Collection
Folks, around the holidays I usually post my annual ‘gift list for Michigan Fans’. I do this to direct the loved ones of those who frequent this site to stuff respectable to wear/carry/read in 2016 and beyond. This year my man Shashi Mara, the creator of the Wolverines Collection (the epic Swiss timepieces you’ve seen on this site in the past) and available at the M Den’s Victors Collection, came to me with a new line a timepieces. That’s right, I said timepieces. Why a new line? He received a ton of demand for a new line of high quality Michigan watch to reach a broader set of the Meechigan fanbase…and thus the HAIL line was created. On top of that, he’s giving a portion of HAIL sales to support scholarships for future Wolverines. Long story short, Shashi asked me to help launch his new line. I accepted provided he let me permanently “borrow” one of these beauties (dude, I’m torn between the Valiant and the Khaki and Steel!) He put together a limited number of the following bundles, which include a free strap: “Valiant” ($249, 12 bundles available) – black steel case, 3-hand dial, with a black silicone strap and a free black & grey military/NATO strap (same as seen on 007 in the new Bond film): “Khaki & Black” ($279, 24 bundles available) – black steel…
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Sights & Sounds: Michigan 28, Penn State 16 (2015)
I don’t like the saying “playing with house money” because you need to reset expectations when things go well for you. Things are going well. We have a pretty good team with a lot of flaws, but we’re good enough to play mediocre and beat up a capable team on senior day on the road, and in doing so swept our B1G road schedule. Well done. I’ll take that but my eyes are on a bigger prize. While a trip to Indy seems a longshot let’s see where the chips fall. Beat the Buckeyes and I think we get a good look at one of the at-large bowl games or better. If we go to the Fiesta Bowl I say we take a pilgrimage to Camp David and and grab a few of those fancy chocolates. On Business. Handle your business! Props to Dantonio for out-toughing and out-coaching the Buckeyes down in the snake pit. You can’t count on anyone else to do your dirty work. And I think this explains a lot: I confirmed that these guys were in charge of protecting Urban Meyer’s brain: Non-Conformance – Penn State fans can sure do a white out, no doubt about that. Here’s the last meager attempt for a Big House maize out: I’ve heard lots of excuses why Michigan doesn’t execute maize-outs very well, but I don’t…
