Rich Rodriguez joined Colin Cowherd this afternoon and talked about a few NFL draft prospects in the Big Ten. I pick up the audio where he’s discussing Steve Schilling (and he mentioned Perry Dorrestein). Then Cowherd asks about the final days at Michigan which he likens it to Shawshank – he tunneled through the foul crap/drama, but didn’t make it to the good stuff (fixing crappy old boats in Zihuatanejo). No surprise but RR clearly wants to coach again and is realistic about finding something in the next few weeks. Clip: [display_podcast]
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Tom Harmon Radio (Feb-3 – WTKA audio)
photo via this site I swung by WTKA 1050AM this morning to chat with Ira and Sam about the great Tom Harmon, the Big Ten Network’s #5 Icon. The show will air Sunday at 2:30PM (and re-air at 9pm, if the Super Bowl is a dud.) [display_podcast] – More Harmon stuff: Why Tom Harmon Went to Michigan Tom Harmon – Big Ten Icon #5 The Drunk and Old 98 Tommy’s the BMOC Harmon and Old Number..Six? Tom Harmon says ‘Vote Heston’ Harmon Jitterbugs with Joan & Jinx Harmon Goes for the Gusto
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Phil Simms Wants a Piece of Desmond
If you missed this little piece of Twitter drama this afternoon…apparently Phil Simms confronted Desmond at ‘The NFL Experience’ Event in Dallas over something Howard said about his son, Tennessee Vols QB Matt Simms. Via Twitter, Magic described what went down: desmond_howard 1:20pm via ÜberTwitter At NFL-Xperience and Phil Simms just threatened 2 hit me b/c I said his son was 1 of the worse QBs in the SEC. I told him "LET’S GO!" desmond_howard 1:39pm via ÜberTwitter I am DEAD serious about the Phil Simms thing. We all thought he was joking, but he kept going and said he wanted 2 take a swing at me!! desmond_howard 1:55pm via ÜberTwitter During the season we talked about the Tenn v LSU game and I said "u will see 3 of the worse QBs in the SEC" That’s what Phil did not like. desmond_howard 3:13pm via ÜberTwitter It ended w/police stepping in between so I could continue my appearance w/fans. Hey old man Simms, that’s weird! Congrats, you are now highest profile odd and overbearing athlete dad, surpassing Craig James. Maybe they could settle this with a Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Super Bowl MVP Trophy fight later. Related: Ace Discusses Simms vs. Desmond as well Follow MVictors on Twitter or I’ll fight you
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Michael Taylor Wants His Cornflakes (WTKA audio)
Turns out the WTKA afternoon show on Thursday was just as exciting as the morning show. Michael Taylor dialed up Jeff DeFran and went off on a spittle-filled rant, furious about the hiring of Curt Mallory over Taylor’s preference Corwin Brown. Clip: [display_podcast] . Obviously Taylor knows something about the matter and has been in touch with Brown, who Taylor says is “hurt”. The former M quarterback more than implies race was a factor in the hire and he’s pissed. One point – Taylor goes on and on about supporting Michigan letterman and how there’s a recent history of the administration spitting in the face of letterman. Of course Mallory is a letterman. And did you know that Brown, Taylor and Mallory were teammates on the 1989 squad, Bo’s last season? I like Taylor’s contributions to WTKA – on Sunday (where has he been?) and with the occasional phone call. One thing I always struggle with is Michael’s oft-repeated stance that his status as a letterman/former football player provides him the trump card over anyone’s opinion in all matters pertaining to U-M football. Come on. Speaking of qualifications [nice segue] I’m disqualified from commenting on Mallory vs. Brown since I joined a band of ten merry, pickled students who spelled C-O-R-N-F-L-A-K-E-S on our chests back at a game in 1992. …
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Why Tom Harmon Went to Michigan
Continuing the discussion of items you might not know about Harmon. In the last post, I mentioned his high school athletic prowess at Horace Mann High in Gary, Indiana. An interesting question is why he ended up at Michigan. Three factors would suggest that Harmon might consider a different destination during his senior year of 1936-37: Harmon had brothers who were athletes at relatively nearby Purdue & another who landed at Tulane. Michigan football was in the middle of a horrible stretch, coming off the worst 3-year span in school history from 1934-1936. (And still the worst three year stretch, thanks Brian for having my back.) He was walking into a serious rough patch and head coach Harry Kipke was under fire. The powerhouse at the time was jug rival Minnesota, with Bernie Bierman’s Gophers rolling up a string of 3 straight national championships. Nearby Notre Dame and coach Elmer Layden had some decent teams in the mid-1930s as well. One disclaimer: I’m not a Harmon biographer of course. These thoughts draw upon what I’ve read over the years (which isn’t everything). The non-cynical view: THIS IS MICHIGAN! Despite the tough stretch, U-M was still a great football power with two national titles in the decade under Kipke. On top of this and perhaps more importantly, Harmon’s high school coach…
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Tom Harmon – Big Ten Icon #5
This morning the BTN revealed that Old 98 Tom Harmon will be the next athlete featured in their Icons series. The Harmon segment will appear on Super Bowl Sunday at a special time: 2:30PM (and will re-air again at 9pm). The BTN cameras were on campus last week interviews for the feature. This week I’ll run a few posts on interesting things you might not know about Harmon. You know he’s #98 and the Heisman winner and of course he’s actor Mark Harmon’s dad. (Mark did consider coming to Michigan FWIW—his pops stayed out of it.) For starters, here’s a little about Harmon’s exploits before he even strapped on Crisler’s new-fangled winged helmet: High School Days Harmon was beyond a standout athlete in high school—he was off the charts. It was in his blood, demonstrated by his athletic family. Two of Harmon’s brothers ended up at Purdue, another at Tulane. In addition to being named all-state quarterback twice, Harmon earned 14 varsity letters at Horace Mann High in Gary, IN. He captained the 1936 basketball team and won the state title in the 100-yard dash & the 200-yard low hurdles. He tossed three no-hitters in AAU summer baseball. Fielding Yost called him the scholastic athlete of the year. It was in high school that Harmon also settled on the famous…
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Happy Days Are Here Again (Radio, Print, Mag)
A dash of MVictors-elsewhere: 1. Radio: Last night I spent a few minutes discussing the wonderful victory over the Spartans at Breslin with Hondo Carpenter of Spartan Nation on SN Radio. If you missed it, here’s the audio: [display_podcast] 2. Observer: Check me out ‘Up Front’ in the current Ann Arbor Observer. I wrote the short piece on the frat booze raids of 1931. You might recall this eBay Watch feature from December that has much more on the police action that nabbed football captain James Simrall. 3. GoBlueWolverine Mag: In the current issue I talk a little on the early days of Michigan hockey–much of it extracted from John U. Bacon’s wonderful Blue Ice. In the next issue check out a little more depth on those Michigan clans! Unite the Clans!
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Moving the Fence
If you don’t know what this means, you don’t know @bacari34 – HALOL! Blanket coverage of the game with sound, video and analysis by Dylan and Joe (damn, Joe’s voice kinda of sounds like mine) over at UMHoops where Beilein talks about moving the fence. Check out AnnArbor.com as well. So what were you doing/saying/feeling as this shot went up? Me: I let out a “COME. ON.” But it wasn’t a jubilant “Come On!” and it certainly wasn’t a “Come On” that you give when the punt returner fumbles or someone takes a bad shot. It was more like “COME…ON.” like you are trying to lift a heavy weight (like a gorilla off your back) or open a brutally tight lid on a jar. Or open a heavy jar with a tight lid. Whatever. P.S. Lucas was unbelievable. I was in Breslin back in the day when Steve Smith absolutely KILLED Michigan and Kalin’s second half run reminded me of that performance. Dang this win is sweet and Disco Stu’s shot was absolutely perfect. Props to Novak, Stu and the whole crew for a unexpected great night.
