There are thousands of Michigan football-related items on the eBay and this time of year including all kind of items for on or for under your tree. This one has to be top of your list, Juwan Howard in Fab 5 gear dunking on your face: A while we’re on hit, how about this beauty of Jim Harbaugh:
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Jug Retained – Minnesota Recap
Another slow start, another nice win for a Michigan team playing short handed. Despite the early mistakes blew away the Gophers in the second half and retained the Little Brown Jug. Ryan Mallett took one step back but two steps forward in his development, making up for some early mistakes by connecting with Manningham on some nice throws in the second. In the end Captain Shawn Crable secured the ancient receptacle and the Wolverines ensured that it would be safe in Ann Arbor for another year. A few takes from inside the Big House: – As I observed at the 2005 game, the Gopher fans were a big no-show at the Big House. I think I counted about 20 Minnesota fans, concentrated in one pocket of the stadium (see pic above). Either that or they have devious Maize and Blue colored disguises. I think I saw more hockey fans from Boston U. who were in town to watch the Terriers get swept by the Blue at Yost. – All signs point to a health Hart and Henne returning next week for the big one against State. Henne was active on the sideline and I saw Hart do a little sprint after the pre-game coin toss. They’ll be needed; Danontio will have the Spartans primed. – I caught Beckmann and Brandstatter…
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Joy Miller & The Disgrace of 1909
In an ironic twist to Yost's claim that the Irish held loose eligibility requirements, on Christmas Eve 1909 the New York Times broke the news to the world that Coach Yost's house wasn't quite in order. The headline declared "FOOTBALL SCANDAL IN MICHIGAN TEAM". The issue was with Michigan's halfback J. Joy Miller who it seems didn't bother to attend any classes in the Fall of 1909.
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Nine Timing Bastards (Michigan-Penn State 2007)
The Bizarro World 2007 season continues as the Blue takes down Penn State again. The same Nittany Lions team that many folks felt had the inside track for the Big Ten title. It was a classic conference battle where the two teams seemed to pick up where they left off the past couple of games. Big hits, quarterbacks running for their lives and some tense moments down the stretch. In the end, Penn State couldn’t break through Michigan’s defense and never found a way to stop Mike Hart. Nine times in a row Michigan has sent Penn State packing. Now Michigan is right back into the conference picture and will have two weeks to progress as Northwestern and Eastern Michigan should [should!] offer no challenge. Semi-stale takes on this battle: Appalachian Nightmare: Most have heard by now that App State lost today to Wofford. Whatever. I’m more concerned with this little scenario that Jim Carty presented in today’s Ann Arbor News: Let’s say Michigan beats Penn State, Penn State beats Ohio State, and Ohio State beats Michigan. All three teams end up with one conference loss. In that scenario, the Lions win a tie-breaker over Michigan and Ohio State because those teams played I-AA opponents. That’s right, playing a I-AA team can eliminate you from the Rose Bowl. It’s a…
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Pee in the Cornflakes
Just learned from classmate Rosey that Corwin “Cornflakes” Brown is leaving the staff of the New York Jets to take the defensive coordinator job at Notre Dame. This hurts. It always hurts when a player or coach becomes affiliated with a rival, but a captain? Cornflakes served as captain for the 1992 Wolverines, who were Big Ten and Rose Bowl champs. The team was also undefeated but didn’t win the national title because three of the games amazingly ended in ties. This team took the tie to a new level. [Michigan trivia buffs, check yourself on ‘How many Michigan teams were undefeated in the 1990s?’]. When they weren’t tying people they were kicking ass. The 1992 Wolverines scored more than 30 points on 8 of 12 games, including putting up 61 on Houston, and tossing a 63-spot on Minnesota. Brown was popular with the Michigan students when he played. It is confirmed that one group of madcaps even painted C-O-R-N-F-L-A-K-E-S on their pasty bare chests during one game. He’ll have his hands full with the Irish, who were smoked by his former school, LSU and USC this past year (and each of these teams put on the brakes late in the game).
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The Wolverine Pack and 1926
Given the mood of most Michigan fans right now, it may be refreshing to take a look back at better days. Check out this graphic taken from the October 23, 1926 issue of the San Diego Sun which several members of the 1926 Wolverines.
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Gerald Ford, Michigan Man
We all learned this morning that President Ford died yesterday at the age of 93. Many know of his ties to the University of Michigan and of course to some of the great Michigan football teams of the 1930s led by Harry Kipke. The above photo was taken from the 1934 team photo, Ford was starting center on that squad.
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Golden Gophers Grift Growler
Little Brown Jug disappears after defensive breakdown SALINE, MICHIGAN OCTOBER 8, 2005 Third and nine, deep in Michigan’s end. The Golden Gophers had run on first and second downs, seemingly content to run out the malfunctioning game clock. Certainly they wouldn’t put the ball on the arm of a back-up quarterback, and would take their chances in overtime. Lloyd Carr acknowledged all of this after the game. Instead of stopping Gary “Love Muscle” Russell, the solid sophomore running back slipped around the right side, up Minnesota’s sideline to the Michigan 13 yard line. Bye, bye Jug. How could this possibly happen? Here’s a few takes on this disaster: – Rushing Gained, Allowed. Michigan only managed 94 rushing yards. The Gophers surrendered 364 to Penn State last week. This wasn’t the fault of Mike Hart, who went over 100. He ran hard; he didn’t have the holes. – King a Homer. Despite Rivas’s tough day, he did drill a 47-yarder in the second quarter. Michigan Stadium public address announcer Howard King had a tough day as well, messing up some calls. On Rivas’s field goal, as the ball was in there air, you could hear King mutter “Come On” urging the ball through the uprights. Assume King forgot to turn off the microphone, but it is nice to know that his…
