Once again I had the honor of witnessing the finishing touches on the Minnesota-Michigan game. Monday afternoon artist Jil Gordon painted Saturday’s tally on the Little Brown Jug under the watchful eye of the jug-bearer, longtime U-M equipment manager Jon Falk. (If you missed Angelique’s piece on Gordon last week, check it out here.) Here’s a few photos from Schembechler Hall: Jil was also able to get her hands on the replica inside the SH museum and tighten up the scores on that beauty as well: The Space Quandary. So the big question of course is what to do next season, as today Jil filled up the last slot left on the old crock in the current grid configuration. Options, ideas, et cetera have been discussed on these pages before. My gut: they will add new space for scores above the Ms, a single short column above, and a pair of columns below. All told you can record around 32-38 additional scores that way. Maintenance. A couple folks noticed in a tweet today that one year was blanked out. Explanation: When she updates the jug, Jil will occasionally (and thankfully) do a little maintenance. The 2001 cell was a bit choppy – it’s all good now. Data. In the 93 games in the series (and I’m counting 1903 because the…
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Greg Skrepenak’s Regret
You may know the story of former manster OL Greg Skrepenak, a two-time All-American and captain of Gary Moeller’s 1991 squad. He was sentenced in 2010 to serve 24 months in a federal prison after he pled guilty on a corruption charge while serving as a County Commissioner in Pennsylvania. He was freed in June. In the mail today I got my latest copy of LSA Magazine. It’s very well done so I usually thumb through it. In the back I spotted Skrepenak’s photo along with this piece he composed titled, Adding It Up. A snippet:
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Twelve is a Quarterback’s Number – Sights & Sounds (2012: Michigan 35, the Gophers 13)
So I’m following Brandin Hawthorne into the TCF Stadium tunnel after the game as he toted the jug back to the locker room. I got a slight bump from someone passing by and it was enough to jar my iPhone out of my left hand. As I was turning to grab it, a saw that a U-M player was already reaching down, in stride, and calmly scooping it up off the cement. Devin Gardner, who had just finished up an interview, handed me my phone. I thanked him and I mumbled something like, “nice game.” I’m not sure if there were any elderly ladies needing an escort on a crosswalk but I’m certain Gardner was there for them as well. After a frightening start, Gardner was amazing. I’m amazed that he can spend basically one week preparing for this game and do that. Yes, I realize it was The Gophers and like everyone else in this fanbase I’m prone to oversteer after any win, but that was remarkable. So that is the 5-star guy that everyone was salivating over out of high school. Because he’s so cool, I’ve theorized that Gardner is the type of person who needs to get pissed or face a challenge to really get going. In the postgame, I asked Hoke about it and he basically…
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Gopher Game Photos
Check out more postgame jug photos here, and of course pregame shots here. Slash! Gardner heading here: Gardner and Capt. Robinson comparing notes Gopher drumline adding some pageantry Gang tackle. There are few extra legs and feet in there somehow like the Iwo Jima Memorial Deep sigh. Guys, it’s hard to take the ‘No More Minnesota Nice’ thing seriously when you flash the hearty double thumbs up next to Mandy Pepperidge – who herself looks like she just found a box of puppies. And memo to the guy below: I know Gangnam Style is irresistible but you made a commitment when you put on that shirt and the eye black. I haven’t seen the reply yet but this is the play where Roundtree wrestled the catch down near the goal line to set up the score. Would love to see a little more of Wrestlin’ Roy the rest of the way. Here he is telling the back judge what was up: Until just now, I thought there were merely cute little helmet cozies on the back of the bench, certainly worthy of a post here for many reasons. Upon further review- they are actually hooked up to a propane-fueled heating (or cooling?) system. Gophers know how to deal with the elements, that’s for certain.…
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Dr. Sap’s Decals – Gopher Edition
Ed. Steve Sapardanis aka “Dr. Sap” is back with his decals. This week I added the Editor’s Pick & added a bit to 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. Context: Back when Bo was coaching the Michigan Football team, he awarded decals for individual as well as TEAM accomplishments. He also selected Champions each week. Not only were the obvious categories (offense, defense, special teams) selected, but Bo also made it a point to recognize the not so obvious ones – Scout Team Champions and Team Hustlers – each week. Take it away, Sap: OFFENSE DEVIN GARDNER – If you’re like me, earlier this year you watched the UM Spring Game and paid close attention to DG. To me, he showed back in April that the game had slowed down for him and he was much more comfortable in the pocket making plays. Maybe all that film study paid off. He must have also been watching the tapes of Jim Harbaugh – especially his rainbow TD pass to Ken Higgins against Indiana in 1986. Gardner’s TD pass to Dileo was much the same, except DG threw his on a ROPE – WOW!!! His performance evoked three words from me: Poise,…
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Gopher Pregame Photos
More Little Brown Jug shots here. Below find many more from a great day in Minneapolis: The Armory – where most reliable accounts claim the jug was found in 1903, and where it hung from ‘03-‘09 in the office of Minnesota AD Doc Cooke: Best B Dubs on the planet. It sits in the shadow of TCF Stadium and Williams Arena inside a converted old fire station. If you get too deep into the extreme Blazin’ wings sauce (or the booze), they can hose you down. Speaking of Williams Arena – I snuck in for a look and that place is sweet. Beer outside a college football stadium? Yawn. Beer inside a college football? Now we dance! To get to the beer you have to wander over to the beer/food garden behind the (east?) end zone. I’m not sure it’s the best view of the game, but I think it’s a choice place to sit next time you visit. Despite the empty seats the Gophers still definitely sold out. “What, take off our hats? Are you out of your mind?” Minnesota flashes their league championships on a ring on the stadium. I like it. More on 1904 later. Rawls and Norfleet feeling it pregame to Snapbacks and Tattoos. Denard seemingly ready…
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Jug Secured!
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Denard’s Arm and Beer
Two critical updates: Denard’s protection for the Golfer’s Elbow: Confirming they have beer here and you can drink it:
