Cheers to the University of Michigan Solar Team for continuing its dynasty in solar races, winning for the fifth time in nine years. They even had a blog running during the race, you can check it out here. If my calculations are correct, some teams are still on the course.
Hey ladies, do you know how Michigan engineers do it? With less energy and greater efficiency, that’s how!! So take a number.
Did anyone out there hear the segment with former Nebraska stand-out and recovering drug addict Jason Peter on Jim Rome today? I caught it in the car, I’m looking for the audio to post. If you’ve got it please send it along.
Even if you know the story you’ve got to hear him tell it. In a nutshell, his younger brother was a highly rated Holtz commit to Notre Dame. The summer before he was to enroll he was injured in their swimming pool and was perhaps minutes from never walking again. He eventually recovered but it ended his career. According to Peter, Holtz never called his brother once when he was in the hospital. Nothing. When his brother eventually enrolled at Notre Dame, none of the coaching staff ever approached him about the injury or offered any assistance. Me writing this doesn’t do justice the passion of live interview, so I’m trying to get it for you.
All this said….I’ve heard a few things about Holtz and I’ve heard his motivational speech, I’ve seen some of the messes he’s created and I listen to him on ESPN. All this said—there’s two sides to stories like this, would like to hear what Holtz has to say but it definitely looks very bad.
Another WolverineHistorian joint, this time one of my favorites: 1994 Michigan vs. Notre Dame in South Bend. Subtitle: While you’ll remember the name Remy Hamilton forever:
A likely one-of-a-kind piece of Michigan football history popped up this week on eBay: a program from the Michigan vs. Lehigh game held October 31, 1896 in Detroit. It’s incredible and you can see the full auction here.
The item is owned by Brian who runs umichfootball.com, a site dedicated to Michigan Memorabilia. Definitely check it out. Brian bought this beauty from an antiques dealer in Michigan and he’s listing it for a cool $4,000. I’d love to know how much he paid for it! Whether someone buys it this week or not, he must be making out pretty good here.
Here’s all the pages from the program, all in pretty good shape:
As for the game itself, the Victors-to-be prevailed 40-0. Chicago Tribune described the game as such:
Michigan was nervous in the first half, and three times lost the ball on fumbles, once when it was but three yards from the Lehigh goal. After the men got warmed up, however, they played without blunder and had the Lehigh line practically at their mercy.
You can read the full Tribune article here, as usual there’s always something special about these ancient sports articles.
Michigan had an exceptional season in 1896 as Michigan’s win against Lehigh continued an undefeated run. The week later the Wolverines edged Minnesota (pre-Little Brown Jug) 6-4. Home wins over Oberlin and Wittenberg set up a showdown with the University of Chicago. I may have more on that game later, but unfortunately the Wolverines fell 7-6 in what was the first major college football played indoors, inside “The Coliseum”.
While the season may have ended in disappointment, a great tradition was born. Shortly (literally days) after this game, the concept of the Michigan Marching Band was hatched:
In the finest tradition of 19th-century Americana, the origin of the Michigan Marching Band was a grass roots student effort. In November 1896, the University of Michigan Band held its first rehearsal. At the behest of University President James Burrill Angell that the newly-formed band prove itself to be a “sincere venture,” the U-M Band gave its first public performance in 1897 at old University Hall for the Law School’s annual observance of Washington’s birthday. The first appearance on a football field was in the fall of 1898.
The auction closes July 30th, check it out here.
Great stuff pulled together by Auburn blogger Jerry over at The Joe Cribbs Car Wash.
Here’s his explanation of what it is:
….a (hopefully) collaborative attempt at providing a single, convenient reference page to anyone looking for team preview information as we approach the 2008 college football season. Links to previews for all 120 D-I teams are included below, organized alphabetically by conference, with BCS conferences listed first.
The PPP seeks to include links to as many worthwhile free team previews as possible, be they from mainstream sports sites, college football blogs, newspapers, or wherever.
Of course if you get only one non-free preview of Michigan’s 2008 Season, Hail To the Victors 2008 is a must buy and you can buy it for the value of the cans in your garage.
Elsewhere: Check out the new M blog, the Wolverine Liberation Army. It’s a deadly blend of Old School and Fight Club and definitely worth a look. I’m on board, and even erected a little message to the Ann Arbor elite this weekend:
Thanks for wolverinesFTW for this. I’m not a fan of these type of all-time lists but if nothing else, we gained a nice video compilation and a visit from the ww leader on campus:
You can vote here.
Sounds like a freshman end on the Hawkeyes gave the Iowa police all they can handle on Saturday:
Defensive end Riley Reiff, an incoming freshman from South Dakota, was arrested after allegedly leading at least eight Iowa City police officers on a 20-minute foot chase, multiple media outlets reported. The 19-year-old pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of public intoxication and interference with official acts.
A few takes:
* Eight cops? How many officers are on duty in Iowa City on a given summer night?
* This story was posted Sunday. So let me get this straight- all this happened on Saturday night/early Sunday morning??:
a) got drunk and did something wrong
b) was chased and caught by 8 cops
c) was arrested, booked and charged
d) pleaded guilty and that’s that?
Swift Iowa justice I guess. Jeez, I wish the issues in Ann Arbor were settled this tightly. You avoid the double public sting from the arrest itself, and then with the follow-up court date(s).
I read elsewhere that all this will cost him $562. Umm, if I went on such a rampage I’m guess I’d be cleaning the Big House after games for the next decade. Jokes aside, he’s a young kid, glad he may get a break on this one.
Elsewhere: According to a blurb in the Miami Herald, Urban Meyer “told a Miami audience that Tebow ‘is the greatest player of our era.”’ Wiener.
Congratulations to the late Dave Brown who joined 19 other coaches and players into the College Football Hall of Fame today. The two time (’73-’74) All-American defensive back was inducted alongside JoPa and Doug Flutie.
But you wouldn’t know about it because there is minimal local coverage [Freep] including no mention on mgoblue.com? What’s the deal? It’s not like the athletic department isn’t on top of things: there’s a mention of Dan Deirdorf winning an award for broadcasting.
Brown is the 34th individual with Michigan ties to be inducted, here’s a list I compiled for you:
I don’t have any memories of Brown since I was a wee lad when he took the field, but it’s clear he had some skills in the defensive backfield (9 career interceptions) and was a fine punt returner (11.1 career average). He co-captained the great 1974 squad that finished 10-1 and 3rd in the final AP poll. The lone loss that season was the 12-10 defeat at the hand of the Buckeyes. Here’s his full bio on his new college football hall of fame page:
Dave Brown was the leader of one of the most successful and yet frustrating periods in Michigan football history. The Wolverines posted a 30-2-1 record, tied for three Big Ten conference titles and never went to a bowl game. The defensive units on which Brown played were consistent national leaders. He was twice on squads that gave up the fewest points-per-game in the country. The other team placed second. In 33 games played, his teams surrendered more than ten points in only five games and registered 11 shutouts. On the freshman team, Brown was used on both offense as a receiver and in the defensive secondary. When he joined the varsity, he was moved to the defensive secondary on a full-time basis. His offensive abilities were then used as a punt return specialist. As a sophomore, he averaged over 15 yards a return with one touchdown. Brown would have one score in each of this three seasons. He also added one TD on an interception return. He was recognized as an all-Big Ten player. In his junior year he became a consensus All-America choice. He improved his status to that of a unanimous choice as a senior. When he completed his career he held the school record for passes broken up. Dave was chosen in the first round of the NFL draft and went on to a 16-year pro career. He then embarked on a coaching career. While an assistant coach at Texas Tech he died at the age of 52.
Good info but was that written by an android? “Dave Brown was good. He returned punts. He had interceptions.” Sheesh. And speaking of the HOF site, it’s tired. And sadly, MVictors has courted finer advertisers. It’s front page includes this sharp add for its own grilling sauces:
Joining Brown, Paterno and Flutie is Notre Dame’s Chris Zorich. Here he is, like Brown, photographed in his varsity sweater but for some reason he’s wearing it underneath his uniform:
At the 2008 Michigan spring game, Rich Rodriguez was asked by an M blogger whether there’d be an opportunity to meet the players this year a la’ the Fan Day events during the past few seasons. Coach Rod said there would be something in August, in conjunction with the team picture day. He also mentioned the possibility of something else during the summer but that ain’t going to happen. Here’s the short audio clip from the spring game presser:
There hasn’t been an announcement yet but that’s not unusual. Scrolling through the press releases from last year it looks like the Fan Day was announced a couple weeks before it was held on August 25, 2007.
I lobbed a call in media relations and asked about if this was going to happen. In Fort Schembechler form, the short answer I received was ‘maybe, no announcement yet’. I asked about where it would be held if it were a go, again, really nothing except for they’d have to see what facilities are available.
My sense is that this is a go (it’d be foolish not to, especially after closing the spring game), it’s just a matter of making it official.
Update: After posting this I got a note from Bruce Madej who wrote, “We will have an announcement sometime in the next 2 weeks. We are dealing with logistical issues due to stadium construction.”
Related: Fan Day 2007: Mallett Mayhem
The audio of college football guru Phil Steele on Valenti and Foster. A lot of stuff you already know but a couple items of note:
* Projects Michigan in the Alamo Bowl vs. Nebraska.
* Sees Utah as a major test [agreed] and Steele picks the Utes to take the Mountain West conference.
* Says Michigan is currently a 3 point favorite over Notre Dame in Vegas, but thinks the Irish will be better than folks think.
Elsewhere: Each morning at 7:40am Sam Webb provides his recruiting round-up and started off again with Kevin Newsome. Click here for the clip. Webb is holding firm that there’s no info that leads him to think Newsome isn’t sticking to his commitment. Webb spoke to his parents as recently as yesterday. Newsome’s brother did attended the Va Tech summer camp and Webb advised that coach Frank Beamer did ask his brother about Kevin. [Sidenote: Someone needs to tell Webb what the phrase 'in lieu of' means - he says it all the time as if it equates to 'in light of'].
Sklars do Jungle: Don’t miss Michigan grads the Sklar Brothers on Jim Rome’s radio show Friday 7/18. Here’s a clip from last time where they interviewed Coach Rodriguez.
mgoblog announced the adds/drops to the BlogPoll including a note:
NOTE: With the departure of three Michigan blogs I can now lower the cap on voters per team to four, and have done so.
Bollocks.
ESPN radio’s Colin Cowherd revealed today that the Vegas Sports Consultants released their lines for the projected win totals of every college football team. Thanks to a caller to Cowherd’s show we learned that Michigan is set at 8. I would have thought it’d be set a tad lower (was thinking somewhere between 6.5-7.5 before I heard it). Keep in mind this only covers the regular season (no bowls, no conference championships).
Here’s the complete list of over/unders (scroll down past the odds of winning the national championship, M still 40-1 fyi). Here’s an audio clip with Ken White of the Vegas Sports Consultants where he talks about a few of teams including the Buckeyes:
Like Cowherd mentions in the clip, I also like to watch that Vegas poll. And I love that they are waiting for AP poll to drop before they release theirs. Expect Michigan somewhere in there given the 8 Over/Under and the recent odds released to win the national championship. I also love that White reveals that chumps like you and me tend to bet overs, therefore the lines are padded that way.
Guest columnist Schlimmy slipped this along, the odds were also released to win the Big Ten championship, of note: Michigan 11-2, Ohio 2-3, Illinois 4-1, Wisconsin 3-1, Penn State 5-1, MSU 12-1.
An admission
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Great observation by MVictors guest columnist Lew. He suspected some funny business in comparing the signatures on the two letters I wrote on in the last eBay Watch. Lew’s comment:
Great stuff, as usual, MVictors. I’m no handwriting expert, but what’s up with the “Fritz” signature on the Biggie Munn letter?
Lew’s instincts are correct in that there’s something goofy, but after a little digging I think he’s actually got it backwards. In looking back on some older posts, it looks to me as if the Biggie Munn letter of recommendation signature was delivered by Crisler himself, it’s the signature on the letter congratulating Ohio State that ol’ Fritz left to his secretary! Here’s the evidence:
The signature from the 1954 Football Bust has got to be authentic and while I’m also not a handwriting expert, it certainly shares many characteristics with the Munn letter of rec, and it’s nowhere in the neighborhood of the OSU letter. Also, how and/or why would someone falsify Crisler’s signature at a football bust? Case closed. You’ve got to chuckle a bit that Crisler didn’t bother to sign OSU letter, although I’m sure it wasn’t meant as a slight to his colleague in Columbus.
Those of you in the Ann Arbor area may recall that last season the News ran a regular pre-game piece where they asked Verne “Mini-Me” Troyer a few questions along with a prediction on the upcoming game. Needless to say “And Mini Me Makes Three” was unbelievably lame, but whatever, it was fun I guess.
Well, with the release of the tiny M fan’s X-rated tape, it’s safe to say Troyer won’t be back next season. Thanks to my buddy Rosey who sent me this shot of Mini-me donning his favorite gear with his “co-star”, 22 year-old Ranae Shrider a waitress aspiring model/actress:
Finding a replacement won’t be easy especially given where Mini set the bar last year. Rumored candidates include ‘the rock’ at the corner of Hill and Washtenaw and a Mr. Spots cheesesteak.
I mentioned last time that the memorabilia auction action has picked up a bit. There’s been so many one-of-a-kind items lately that I feel an obligation to get them out there. Here you go, apologies for the dump:
1. Bo and Woody’s Notes. An incredible item. The seller claims the following:
In 1969, the University of Wisconsin requested that all Big 10 coaches send to them a sampling of plays and words of wisdom that they kept in the athletic department for 35 years. They auctioned off all of it a few years ago and I was given chance to pick up 2 of the items..
Here’s a look at what Bo submitted: his eleven thoughts on “Basic Offensive Thinking”:
Woody Hayes diagrammed a few plays which are also included in the auction. Again, from the description:
The Ohio State University coach Woody Hayes diagram of 4 plays a Trap, 14 pass, 14 sweep and 98 Jet Pass(all hand diagramed by Woody). He also has notes on here like “”QB Look deep as you come out” Funny thing is that he chose 2 passes which was 2 more than he would be willing to run.
Here’s a link to the auction. It was bid up to just under $1,000 but did not meet the seller’s reserve.
2. Game Contract between OSU and EMU Executed by E.J. Rynearson himself, a contract paying $600 for a “B” game that was to be played between Ohio State and Michigan Normal’s (now Eastern Michigan) in Ypsilanti.
Not sure what a “B” game is/was, but the occasional double-header happened during the Depression in an effort to boost revenue (you can read about that in my article in Hail to the Victors 2008). But…this wasn’t double header as Ohio State didn’t travel to Ypsilanti that week, they actually hosted Vanderbilt and lost on October 10, 1931:
Here’s a link to this one. It sold for $128.
3. 1906 Graham Postcard The next item is a post card featuring Michigan’s lineman Walter ‘Octy’ Graham. The Chicago-born lineman played for Fielding Yost from 1904-06 during the point-a-minute reign of terror. Looks like the portly Graham conducted a few personal reigns of terror at the local bakery. Here’s the postcard, a tad weathered but still pretty cool:
Funny thing. Coach Yost is mysteriously absent from the official Bentley Library ‘06 team photo, but he appears in two alternate team shots taken campus [view #1 here, #2 here].
Here’s a link to this one. It was still up for auction at the time of this post.
4. 1939 Crisler gives Buckeyes Props The true gentleman. Here’s a letter from Fritz Crisler congratulating Ohio State’s athletic director on their 1939 conference championship. Note that Crisler gently reminds the Buckeye AD who won their head-to-head match-up that season:
Great stuff. Here’s a link to the auction. It sold for nearly $230.
**Update on this one: Is that Crisler signature a forgery?
5. Fritz recommends Biggie Munn for Sullivan Another cool letter from Crisler from the Biggie Munn estate. This is a personal letter of recommendation from the, at the time, Princeton coach to a muckety muck at Minnesota recommending Munn for the Sullivan award, which is presented to the outstanding amateur athlete (in any sport). Very nice:
Crisler’s note wasn’t enough to give Munn the nod, but oh well. Munn’s got a hockey arena now, while winner “Jarring Jim” Bausch has a three sentence Wikipedia entry. (Props - JJ did take the gold in the 1932 decathlon). Here’s a link to the auction. It’s still out there for sale.
6. Yost on Radio Broadcasts Another letter to the Buckeyes, this time a 1933 missive from AD Yost sharing his thoughts on the onset of radio broadcasters in college football. Note that in the Depression Era letter, Yost admitted a few concerns:
I love the reminder of the golf game at the end. Here’s a link to the auction. It went for $456.
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