Continuing the interview with former News columnist Jim Carty. In Part I we talked about his decision to leave the News, on his new blog, the day Lloyd Carr canceled his subscription, and his feud with Bill ‘Huge’ Simonson. In Part II we talk about some of his critics and its impact on his personal life, on his access to the team at the Capital One Bowl, on the accusations the News misled some student-athletes during the athademics series, and finally, on dubbing Michigan athletic director Bill Martin ‘Barnacle Bill’ during the coaching search: MVictors: How big of a concern was some of the criticism of your work at the News reaching your family?Jim Carty: My kids I think are too little at this point, my oldest daughter is eight and I don’t think she’s ever been aware of the controversy I create. She just sort of thinks it’s cool that I worked for the newspaper and didn’t understand why I would go back to school. At one point during the Bernard Robinson thing, when I was writing that he should be kicked out of U-M, there were some phone calls to the house that really freaked my wife out. And in general, during the backlash from the project [academic series] I think that was very disturbing to my wife.…
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Rodriguez Contract and Tax neutralization: Shand was right
Thanks for the comments, emails and the feedback on the Dave Shand interview. The Blog that Yost Built called it “one of the best things I’ve read on the blogosphere. Ever.” And there’s been all kinds of discussion on various parts of the interviews on blogs and on all the major message boards. It’s always fun to see how people react to things you post, this was a thrill. Anyway, with Coach Rodriguez signing his contract last week we’ve got some specifics on the deal and at least part of what Shand revealed in the interview is confirmed. Recall that Shand said he heard that Rodriguez didn’t realize that the buy-out portion that Michigan paid to West Virginia was taxable, here’s part of the interview: So it cost Michigan, they say $2.5 million. But I’ve heard, through back sources, that Rich Rodriguez did not realize that the $2.5 million that Michigan is paying on his behalf is taxable, so Rodriquez is going to have to pay taxes on that. Michigan… has paid taxes on the [buy-out funds] it paid on his behalf which is all taxable income… Thanks to the contract being available via FOIA, we know that this is true (here’s the full contract), see section 3.02, part (g): Shand also said he heard that the University paid all…
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Shand Uncensored: Part I
Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down with former WTKA morning show host and former NHL and Michigan hockey player Dave Shand. The 90-minute interview was held at Mac’s in downtown Saline a couple of days after Michigan’s stunning loss to Illinois. Shand is in the middle of a lawsuit with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin, who Shand claims directly caused his dismissal from the Ann Arbor radio station. The interview is broken into a few parts, first, we’ll start with the basics: What he’s up to, the status of the lawsuit, and his thoughts on his old show and the new hosts at WTKA: MVictors: It’s been a year and a half since you were fired from WTKA, what have you been up to?Shand: Right after I was fired it took me a while to absorb it because we had just received the highest ratings that any show had ever gotten in the history of the radio station. I had just received a 50% raise in pay. Literally within a month, and we were right in the middle of the spring rating period, I was fired in April 23rd. No one ever gets fired in the middle of the rating period because you want to wait until the Arbitron ratings come out to make personnel decisions. If…
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Interview with Michael Rosenberg: Part I
Detroit Free Press sports columnist Michael Rosenberg’s first book, War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a time of unrest, will be released September 10. There have been a few reviews of the book out there already, and from what I’ve read it’s getting high marks. Rosenberg sent me an advance copy and I burned through the 330+ pages in a few days. It’s a wonderful read, well written and meticulously researched. A quick scan of the acknowledgments and book notes reveal the breadth of interviews, videos, books, and news sources that Rosenberg poured through to weave the tale of this period. The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry certainly plays a key role in this book but it’s more of a backdrop. Rosenberg unveils how each man and their teams both dealt with and were affected by the social and political turmoil of this time. Mixed in are some new stories and a fresh, deeper look at some of the old legends. For me, the most interesting elements of the book: * Rosenberg’s accounts of the various protests in Ann Arbor and Columbus during the period. * The insight into the mind of Woody Hayes – the guy is completely off the charts. * And apologies to my English teachers/professors but I was also re-introduced to and…
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Brandstatter on Karsch show (audio)
Michigan radio color man Jim Brandstatter sits in with Doug Karsch on 97.1/1270 and hits on the $4M buy-out and Michael Rosenberg’s recent piece [mgoblog’s blow-by-blow analysis] that trashes Rodriguez. [display_podcast] UPDATE: Today’s editorial in the News ties the Rodriguez settlement to the athademics scandal: If anyone is under the illusion that Michigan football is part of the universe of public education, get over it. Sure enough, we’ll get over it. Will you?
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M Practice Facility Construction Photos
There’s many changes going on around the athletic campus, with much of the focus for obvious reasons on the Michigan Stadium renovation. MLive.com‘s doing a nice job of publishing frequent updates on the project, here a nice photo from last week: Just down the road another major project is going on that hasn’t got much attention: the new football practice facility. Those in Ann Arbor know of this because you can’t miss it. The frame of the enormous structure, which is built on the site of the old outdoor practice field and the varsity soccer pitch, now dominates the skyline along State Street and it towers over Schembechler Hall. For those out of town I thought you might enjoy of few shots, click to see enlarge: Here’s a few details on the $26.1 million project from mgoblue.com: The new football facility, approximately 104,000 gross square feet to be built on an existing outdoor practice field, is expected to include a full-size football field, lobby, restrooms and storage space. Approximately 3,000 gross square feet of space in Schembechler Hall will be renovated as part of the project. Whoa! That’s a lot of gross square feet (I think). I don’t think the soccer pitch was a big loss. I used to occasionally walk by that thing after football games and always felt…
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Open Call for Stadium Help
The athletic department bought a quarter page ad in today’s Ann Arbor News announcing “Football Stadium Team Members Needed”. They did the same last year if you recall. I’ve heard the stadium has stepped up its demands on ushers, extending the time period they’re asked to be onsite and working (both before and after the games). This may have caused a few folks to bag it in the last couple years thus the need for more help. They also might need a few folks to guide people around the construction. If you are interested in tearing tickets and escorting pickled fans out of the stadium you are asked to gather at the Junge Family Center on Saturday June 7 at 9am. For more info you can dial 734.647.9760. I couldn’t find more info on mgoblue.com, but I did find this interesting poll: Yes, people hitting mgoblue.com tend to lean Maize and Blue. I love that Kentucky got some votes. Why don’t they just ask, ‘Which school has the best helmet in college football?” UPDATE: Found it, more from mgoblue.com.
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eBay Watch: The 1954 Bust
There’s a bevy of legendary former coaches and players descending on Ann Arbor for the 2008 Griese/Hutchinson Champions for Children’s Hearts Celebrity Golf Tournament (Sunday) as well as the Swing to Cure Diabetes (Monday) both at the M Course. This provides a nice opportunity to take a look at another item in the eBay Watch series, this time a signed program from the 1954 post-season football Bust autographed by the team and many of the greatest names in Michigan football history. Check it out: Coach Bennie Oosterbaan’s ’54 Wolverines finished just 6-3, certainly nothing too special but there were some notable wins. Anchored by All Big Ten quarterback Ron Kramer and All American tackle Art Walker, Michigan upset #4 Iowa and #8 Minnesota at home but fell 21-7 in the season finale to Woody Hayes and his #1 Buckeyes. The AP slotted the Wolverines at #15 in the final poll and Dr. StrangeHayes and the Bucks ended up sharing the national title after downing Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl. The 1954 season holds a special place in Buckeye lore. Obviously the national championship cements this distinction but this is in essence the year Woody Hayes deflected his critics and became a legend. I could go on about the ’54 version of ‘The Game’ but since my team lost, I…
