Did you catch the premiere of the latest ESPN 30 for 30 films, this one on Bo Jackson? I sat down with coach Gary Moeller a few weeks ago and he shared this story..thought it was timely: MVictors: Is there an opposing player that you faced while coaching at Michigan that was really special—a guy you really had to gameplan for. Does anybody stand out? Gary Moeller: It’s always hard to pick one guy. There were two times I went to Birmingham, Alabama to scout the Alabama-Auburn game. One time to scout Alabama when we played them in the Hall of Fame Bowl, and and another time, to prepare for the Sugar Bowl when we were to face Auburn. The time we were going to scouting Auburn, this guy gets the ball and he starts to sweep to the left and it’s all bottled up. He turns around, reverses the field—he must have gave 10 or 15 yards—takes off down the other sideline for a touchdown. It was the fastest thing; it was like he was shot out of a gun. He did it twice in the game, about the same distance from about the same spot for two long touchdowns. Bo Jackson. That guy was unbelievable. We were talking to each other, ‘How are we going to stop this…
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Ticket Transfers Back On ?
I didn’t see a release on this, but up on the U-M ticket site is form that allows current hoops, football or hockey season ticket holders to transfer their tickets to…anyone. As I understand it this is a exception to the regular policy: Is it possible to transfer my season tickets to any person? The purchase of season tickets is not a property right but rather a privilege that is assigned annually to you by the Michigan Athletic Department. Season ticket holder privileges may only be transferred to a spouse of a season ticket holder, or to the surviving spouse in the event of death. Such privileges cannot be transferred to children, colleagues, or friends of a season ticket holder. I believe #1000SSS allowed this around 5 years ago or so and it looks like it is back on, once again with a required donation of $500 per ticket to make it happen. Deadline to take part is February 15, 2013. MGOBLUE.com Ticket site
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Brock Does Fox
Great stuff, via mgoblog mgoboard: Awesome work – includes nice shout out to Barwis, including a little air time.
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Black and Blue Airs in Detroit Saturday
Saturday! The Emmy-nominated documentary “Black and Blue: The Story of Gerald Ford, Willis Ward and the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech Football Game” will air at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, on WXYZ-TV in Detroit. This is the first time the acclaimed film has aired on TV in southeast Michigan. via Gerald Ford, Willis Ward U-M football documentary ‘Black and Blue’ to air on TV.
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2012 Football Bust Notes
Why do so many fans attend this the Bust each year? I chatted with a few folks while the players were still signing autographs for fans, well before the event officially started and asked that question. It’s not cheap (small glass of beer is $5, rail cocktail $7), and there are other opportunities during the year to see the players. While U-M fans are charitable, it’s got nothing to do with supporting the U-M Club of Detroit. When the seniors got up to speak I was reminded why, to me, the Bust is such a special event. It’s really a unique chance to see these young guys in this moment when they say what really want they want to say—relatively unfiltered. I remember Angelique asking Kovacs to reflect on this career moments after the Ohio State game. Understandably he wouldn’t (probably couldn’t) do it. It’s so rare to get these guys to open up about anything beyond what happened on the field. While all the seniors, especially Kovacs, Denard, Will Campbell (hilarious), Pat Omameh and Jack Kennedy did a real nice job, it was Roy Roundtree who delivered the moment of the night. He started out in a joking mood talking about his recruitment, basically saying despite his commitment to Purdue, once offered by Michigan he was on his way…
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The Sting & the 1965 Rose Bowl Ring
Naturally, the question emerges from fans when they see stuff belonging to former U-M players up on eBay: How could (or how dare?) a Wolverine player do that? As I’ve stated on these pages, again and again, we usually don’t know the circumstances of how or why something ends up for sale so I’d rather not speculate on the reason. And we know, of course, that property of former athletes has value and thus is sought after—sometimes by deviants. Take the case of former footballer Jerry Mader. He earned 3 letters in football and played on Bump Elliott’s 1964 Big Ten & 1965 Rose Bowl championship squad. When his ‘64 Rose Bowl ring showed up on eBay recently he sent this note to his teammates explaining what happened..along with the rosy conclusion. Thanks to Mader for sharing a copy: For those of you who are concerned about my Rose Bowl being put up for sale on EBay, please understand that I’m not destitute and in need of extra cash. Of course, a little extra cash will always help but I wouldn’t mortgage my past efforts and experience as a member of the 1965 Rose Bowl Team! I especially appreciate the close relationships I have with many of you. As background, my ring was stolen from the Med- Sport locker room…
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Dr. Sap’s Decals – Snakepit Style
Ed. Steve Sapardanis aka “Dr. Sap” is back with his decals. This week I added the Editor’s Pick & the Fan Award. Here are the picks from Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6 and Week 7 and Week 8 and Week 9 and Week 10 and Week 11. OFFENSE JEREMY GALLON – I think “10-Gallon Hat” played his best and toughest game as a Wolverine on Saturday. He made several big time and clutch catches that kept drives alive and played with a level of determination that I had not seen out of him. He clearly understood the magnitude of the game and stepped up his own accordingly. DEFENSE FRANK CLARK – His blind-side sack on Braxton Miller in the second quarter was a TREMENDOUS hit and one that evoked memories for me of another seismic hit in a big game. In the 1979 Rose Bowl, Michigan linebacker Jerry Meter almost decapitated USC QB Paul McDonald on a similar play. I’ve put the two next to each other below – amazing how similar they look! SPECIAL TEAMS DENNIS NORFLEET – I’m going with #26 here not because of his returns. It was his heads up play on OSU’s muffed punt that gave Michigan the ball. He swatted the ball towards his teammates and allowed…
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Deserving Better (Ohio 26, Michigan 21)
I left Columbus with more questions. Like many of you I’m puzzled why Denard wasn’t used in the second half especially down the stretch. If he was hurt and out of commission he sure didn’t look it in the postgame and Hoke didn’t say as much in the postgame. While Hoke never really talks about injuries, it’s not like there’s some gamesmanship required here—the bowl game is five weeks away. And let’s say he was dinged up and couldn’t run the ball for some reason–toss him in the backfield as a decoy, no? Other than the lack of Denard down the stretch, the other frustration was how he was used in short yardage. He showed no indication that he was ever going to pass it and really didn’t throw in warm-ups. So if you aren’t going to have him throw it–at any point–then on short yardage put him in the backfield with Gardner and hand it or toss it to Denard, or fake it to #16 and have Gardner run it, or toss it to Gallon or ARGH. After the 2001 Michigan State Spartan Bob game Lloyd Carr summed up how he felt about his team, when he said, “They deserve better.” Kovacs was on the brink of tears in the postgame. The defense made huge players to keep Michigan…
