It’s a beautiful day! No question the star of the game was this guy, who once again showed poise beyond his years: That photo was taken after Burke’s first start of the year in game 2 against Towson. Back then I wrote this: Burke is a cool cat for a true freshman by the way. He admitted he was a little nervous before the game after [getting] the nod for the start, but he certainly wasn’t nervous breaking the game down for the media. I think that was the last time he was nervous because that’s a cool dude. He’s cooler than Treezy with shades in the Maize Rage. And he not only led the team with the ball most notably creating the game winning score, he made several very nice plays on defense. In the final seconds (after he’d been on the court all but a couple minutes of the game) he had the awareness to help out Novak to stop Green’s drive just past the stripe, and he while he didn’t get the rebound, he turned, got a body on Green and broke up Green’s attempt to tip the ball in. Radio >> As an aside, I had the unique opportunity to listen to a portion of the game on the radio while heading back to the area. …
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Stonum Dismissed – Official Statement
Bummer, but not surprised after the recent incident. And this might be a first, includes a (very nice) statement from the guy being dismissed. Via U-M media relations: Wide Receiver Darryl Stonum Dismissed from U-M Football Team ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan head football coach Brady Hoke announced on Tuesday (Jan. 17) that wide receiver Darryl Stonum has been dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. “I love Darryl and wish him nothing but the absolute best,” Hoke said. “However, there is a responsibility and a higher standard you must be accountable to as a University of Michigan football student-athlete. That does not and will not change. It’s unfortunate because I believe he has grown a great deal as a person since the beginning of the season. My hope is that maturing process continues.” Stonum started 25 of 36 career games at U-M, catching 76 passes for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns. He also returned 62 kickoffs for 1,538 yards and holds the single-season kickoff return mark with 39 returns for 1,001 yards in 2009. Stonum redshirted in 2011. “I appreciate everything the University of Michigan, Dave Brandon and Coach Hoke have done for me,” said Stonum. “I look forward to continuing my football career down the road, but more importantly, right now I’m focused…
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Men’s Soccer Coach Chaka Daley joins WTKA (audio Jan-16)
Office pic via @umichsoccer via Twitter Brand spanking new Men’s Soccer Coach joined Ira this morning on WTKA 1050AM. Worth a listen. While Daley isn’t the most dynamic speaker in the world, the Q&A was pretty interesting. Among other things, Ira asked him about his team goals for next season, his approach to recruiting (locally, nationally and internationally), his plans to tie into to the former players (both varsity and club) and yes, whether he got a lesson in the rivalries with the Buckeyes and Spartans. Here’s the audio: [display_podcast] As always, you can check out all the WTKA podcasts here or check out WTKA.com. Here’s a goal for Coach Daley…more of this: And this:
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Righteous Bounty
The Sugar Bowl trophy was on display at Crisler last night before the Northwestern game, and the football squad honored during a timeout in the first half. A look: Molk makes that trophy look like a toy; Van Bergen has his back Craig Roh scouting out a courtside seat The team 132 logo helmet alongside the Sugar Bowl trophy – a few hundred waited in line for a better look and a photo Treezy and Denard eventually decided to emerge themselves into the Maize Rage Treezy found his shades and the earrings—so he started feeling it
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Jil Gordon & Painting The Little Brown Jug
Most people know the basics (or if you read this site, about everything you’d ever want to know) about the story of the Little Brown Jug. To recap, back in 1903, Michigan and Minnesota’s powerful teams played in Minneapolis to a fiercely fought 6-6 tie. After the game, the Wolverines left behind a five-gallon stoneware water jug, purchased at a local store before the game. Minnesota equipment manager Oscar Munson found it the following day or two and brought it to Director of Athletics L.J. Cooke. In remembrance of their mighty tie they decided to give the jug its first paint job, scribing, “Michigan Jug – ‘Captured’ by Oscar, October 31, 1903,” on one side. On the opposite face they spelled out, SCORE, “Minnesota 6, Michigan 6,” making the Minnesota “6” three times larger than the Wolverines’ score. Six years later Cooke and Michigan coach Fielding Yost agreed to play for the righteous crockery, something they’ve done 92 times now (if you count that 1903 game). While playing for the jug is of course one of the deepest and most replicated college football traditions, painting the jug actually is a practice that started before the teams even agreed to play for the pottery. After Cooke and Munson’s initial handicraft, the scores of the game have been painted on sometime after…
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Sugar Bowl 2012 – Behind the Scenes
A few random notes, pics and takes in the aftermath of a solid trip to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. A few quick hitters: >> Hospitality. File under you probably don’t care, but I’ll say it. The media was treated first class by the Sugar Bowl folks. Beyond being ridiculously courteous, they provided excellent communication, was quick with the transcription of the press conferences, offered good food/coffee/drinks, workspace, logistics, etc. They offered a couple of nice gifts as well—a Sugar Bowl jacket and luggage tags. It was very cool to be a part of it all. They also arranged for a 30 foot Po Boy (above). >> Dome View. The press box in the Dome is all the way at the top, here’s a fairly accurate look at the view from up top: They did have video monitors rolling everywhere, along with a screen of live stat updates. The ESPN feed appeared to be about 6-7 seconds behind the live-action. >> Fans. I was surprised by the number of Virginia Tech fans that showed up for the game. I thought Wolverine fans would overwhelm the joint but that didn’t happen. There was still more Maize and Blue out there but to me, it was only a slight majority. One thing I noticed wandering around town—Michigan definitely had more students just…
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Molk Postgame in the Big Easy Chair
Above that’s center David Molk, who was chilling out in the aftermath of the big win. He clearly didn’t want to take that Michigan jersey off for the final time quite yet. Molk: “I was fine before we got here. As pregame went through, one thing led to another and something happened.” On whether it was his call not to go versus the coaches/trainers: Molk: “I was waiting for feeling. Once I got that…it’s humanly impossibly for me to sit and watch football when I’m dressed up. So I figured it out, taped it up…and went at it.” Chris Balas asked if he was “fighting for his life” on the field: Molk: “I don’t know if I was fighting for my life. I still had one leg. Come on, I squat a ton [laughs] so one leg’s good enough.” On the idea of getting a championship ring: Molk: “We actually talked about. We weren’t even positive we’d get a ring after this game. It used to always be a Big Ten championship or nothing. You know, we didn’t win a Big Ten championship but at the same time, it’s a BCS bowl game. Something to remember you’d want to show to your grandkids and your grandkids’ grandkids. It’d be something to carry on.” Brandy drops in: Jim Brandstatter stopped by…
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Sugar Bowl 2012 | Michigan Postgame Photos– It’s Great, To Be, A Michigan Wolverine!
Great stuff. First off the MVP: Junior Megatron Hemingway after stepping from the podium Hoke waiting for the replay decision on the Virginia Tech overtime touchdown Mobbing Gibbons after the kick Koger and Odoms on stage Devin Gardner and Denard Robinson delivering their complex array of 5s Maize meets Blue confetti. Maroon and Orange confetti lining bird cages tomorrow. Molk looks at the Michigan fans while being fitted for his Pour some Sugar T-shirt RVB checks the fans Hoke preps for ESPN postgame. They made him switch sides of the desk for whatever reason. Mattison postgame Warrior Molk is about to take off the Michigan jersey for the last time – but not quite yet. Asked why he jumped into the game after the first series despite the pain, said he was “just doing what a Michigan Man is supposed to do.”
