Before the season most expected Michigan to lose four to six games (me) this year so sitting at 5-1 at this point shouldn’t be shock. But when drilling down at each game, losses vs. UConn or Notre Dame or even at Indiana were stomachable. But if you insisted during preseason that one of those losses would be to MSU you’d get a little cringe from anyone, definitely from me. That hurt. Monday I wrote, "you could argue that the future of Michigan football is in the balance" on Saturday’s game. That was admittedly a tad strong but given the manner of the result, the scales just tilted against the future of Rich Rod in Ann Arbor. There’s plenty of opportunity, starting Saturday, to tip things back. This morning you’ve got a fanbase of M fans, as in Missourah, as in ‘show me’ this team can hang in the Big Ten. Sights and Sounds Check out my pregame photos here. I’ve been trying to post these just as the game starts so if you like this kind of thing, head here early in the first quarter during home games if you want to check them out. Includes former captains Mark Messner, Jim Conley, Denard and more. One of those pregame shots included the Screaming Eagle parachute drop which I think is…
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That’s Just Not Cool Man
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Michigan State (Pregame – Photos)
I’ll post a few here, my favorite first: The legend Mark Messner no doubt recalling his epic battles with Tony Mandarich, here with his two sons before the game: 1964 team captain Jim Conley says ‘Hail!’ Off topic, it was an incredible day there for tailgating. Here two wild and crazy guys lost their football in the 18th hole pond and took an unprecedented means to retrieve it: The Screaming Eagle dropped in pregame:
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Pregame with Hondo (audio)
On air with Hondo Carpenter of the prolific Spartan Nation this evening. Of course talked a bit on the big game, the fan hype, how much this means to Michigan and of course, about #16. Here’s the audio: [display_podcast] . As I told Hondo, I give Michigan the edge but I could see it going either way. Related: Monday with Hondo (audio from earlier this week)
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Beat Spartans – Do Things Like This
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This Week in Michigan Football History: October 9, 1909
Here’s the next entry in ‘This Week in Michigan Football History’ to be played Saturday on WTKA 1050AM’s Key Bank Countdown to Kick-off pregame show before the battle against the Spartans. This time we head way, way back to one of my favorite years. It all started on October 9, 1909 when Fielding Yost and his ‘Yostmen’ faced off against the Case Rough Riders. A few notes on this one: Note I called the score of the Syracuse game as 44-0. One of the highlights of doing history on this site was discovering the extra point in the score of this game. I convinced the great folks at the Bentley Library to change it from 43-0 based on my findings – full story. I quickly dismiss the Notre Dame loss in the clip but it was a pretty big deal at the time for Notre Dame. It’s rumored that during this game the nickname, ‘Fighting Irish’ was hatched, and at the end of the year, the distinction of ‘Champions of the West’ was heavily debated as either belonging to Michigan or the Irish. And yes, Yost tried to convince folks Michigan didn’t take the game seriously, as if it were more like a scrimmage or practice. More here. The Penn game and the support of the crew of the U.S.S.…
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Put My Large In 2 Mediums
Thanks to reader Biggie Munn for passing this along. I was in the Howell Arby’s a few months back and I noticed the Michigan-themed cups. It occurred to me (with a Spartan sitting next to me) that everyone might not appreciate that. I also noticed the last few cases of Coke Zero have had a Michigan football theme to them. A few Spartans aren’t happy. Via spartantailgate: When I buy a 12 pack of Coke Zero and open the box to get one of the pop cans, why do I see a certain college name and logo on it? Arby’s do you like losing business by being bias? Do those who are obsessed with this particular school in question call you and demand that you promote this school and their football program? Via Rivals: Is this a state wide campaign? I can’t imagine the National Headquarters in Florida promoting this. Would they be a part of promoting FSU or UF in northern Florida? I would think not. IMO this is NOT wise in the state of Michigan either. When discussing this with an Arby’s spokesperson she said the promotion was part of the agreement with U.M. for the Big Chill Hockey game in Ann Arbor. If this is true, I suggested that they consider adding the event and both Universities…
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Mr. Hagelin’s Ribs
mgoblog I try to catch the Red Berenson show on WTKA Tuesday nights when I can. There’s always a great line or story that makes it worth the listen and this week was no exception. Here’s the very last segment of the show where host Ira Weintraub asks Coach Berenson about recruiting players like Swedish phenom Carl Hagelin: Two notes: Gotta love Red mimicking the conversation between he and Boris in Berenson’s Saskatchewanese. I actually met Boris last fall. He came to a party a friend threw for the Wisconsin game. I was told Carl Hagelin’s dad was going to show and I had a picture of this old, fair-haired Swede in my head. Boris shows up and he’s really not much older than I am. Things that happen as you approach 40. Anyway, the hockey team was struggling and I asked Boris what the problem was. He offered up a single sentence (paraphrasing): 90% effort isn’t good enough. Hearing this I put down the handful of Cheetos, drove home and tore off 9 semi-perfect push-ups.