With the announcement that football games are airing on 950AM WWJ this fall and for the next few years, here’s a brief look back at the first live broadcast directly from a Michigan football game. I’d typically offer up some original research for you but the Bentley Library has done a nice job already: For Michigan football fans, the most important first came at the 1924 Wisconsin game at Ferry Field when Edwin L. “Ty” Tyson and Leonard “Doc” Holland set up a microphone in the east end zone stands and did the first radio broadcast of a Michigan home game. It is believed to be the first “live” broadcast originating directly from a football stadium. Mr. Tyson had a long career in broadcasting and became quite the celebrity. Though he passed away in 1968, he’s a got strong presence on eBay right now as there are several photos of him available for bid, including this one with the WWJ microphone: Back to that first game, apparently, Yost almost squashed the idea fearing it would affect the bottom line: When Tyson first approached the Athletic Department with a proposal to broadcast the Wisconsin game, Fielding Yost was initially hesitant to agree. Like many Athletic Directors, Yost was concerned that providing a free broadcast of the game might hurt attendance. In…
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The Sharps Don’t think Michigan is so Keen
In last week’s WSJ, Darren ‘My Main Man’ Everson reported that the Vegas wise guys have pounced on the early release lines on two college football teams—Georgia, who they feel is underrated in the early lines—and your Wolverines for a different reason: Conversely, Michigan looks overrated to the experts, who are skeptical of teams that have a new coach. Of the five Michigan games on the list of available matchups, four have moved by at least three points because of action against the Wolverines—most notably the Notre Dame game. Once a two-point favorite, Michigan is now a four-point underdog. I just thought it was interesting, not a big deal. And there are many reasons not to give a crap about this (and FWIW, the underdog in the U-M-Notre Dame game has a ridiculously good record in the past couple decades). The bettors are reacting to the initial lines set by the book, so they are not necessarily saying Michigan is going to suck. Even if they did, as we sit here before U-M has even had a fall practice, I’m guessing most fans wouldn’t care. Check out the whole story here.
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Stonum, Hagerup Suspension Release
Looks like Darryl Stonum will be focusing on the books in 2011-12, making this Photoshop from last season a little more relevant: Sorry this had to happen, #22 seems like a great kid but man, under the circumstances you understand Hoke had to do something. I think a lot of folks projected at least the potential of a huge season in Borges’ offense, but each mention of that was laced with asterisks pending Hoke’s discipline. If you want to keep tabs on Stonum, he tweets like a champ so you can catch him there. I’m not clear on what Will Hagerup did but this hurts. I agree with Brian Cook’s assessment in Hail to the Kickoff 2011, he could have been even better than Mesko. Seriously. Still can I suppose, I just wonder what we’ll have back there now. Full release via Media Relations: U-M Football Head Coach Brady Hoke Announces Wide Receiver Stonum will Redshirt 2011 Season ANN ARBOR, Mich. – University of Michigan football head coach Brady Hoke announced Sunday (Aug. 7) that senior wide receiver Darryl Stonum (Stafford, Texas/Dulles HS) will redshirt the 2011 season. “While it would be great to have Darryl on the field this season, we feel it is in his best interest and the best interest of our program for him to redshirt,”…
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Do you have Anything in Light Bright Maize?
Mgo-reader J.P. sent over this question into mgoblog. Brian forwarded it my way for some level 2 support: Is it just me or is the ‘maize’ portion of Michigan’s uniforms–in all sports except Hockey–getting lighter? I see old games on BTN and remember from watching Michigan for the past 30 years that the maize used to be a deep, rich, gold/yellow. Over the past 10 years, the maize has gotten lighter and lighter to the point where it looks pastel now. This drives me nuts. I can’t stand the winged helmet that’s highlighter yellow instead of the richer maize. The pants look canary in color! This seemed to have started at the end of the Nike era and carried over to the Adidas unis. I’ve attached some pics. So, is it just me and the color remained the same? Is my eyesight getting worse? Is it the setting on my tv’s over the years? After a quick read I escalated this to a Severity One ticket and dispatched Michigan uniform guru Steve Sapardanis to resolve this. Take it away, Mr. Dr. Sapardanis: Disclaimer Let’s get this out of the way first: never, ever, ever go by the color you see of pics online, in mags/programs or even in photos – see these Harbaugh photos as reference: These two pics are…
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Red Berenson’s Six Brick, Double Trick
umichhockey tweeted this out last night, worth a post: This was presented to Red Berenson this weekend, the plate reads: These are 6 authentic bricks from the famed Philadelphia Spectrum (1967-2009). They represent the 6 goals scored by Red Berenson – the only double hat trick score on the road in NHL history – on November 7, 1968 as the St. Louis Blues defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 8-0. Presented by all the men who played for and those that worked for Michigan Hockey. Alumni Weekend – 2011. Not quite as cool but while we’re speaking of tweet pics, here’s the last known living piece of the Big Chill rink surface surviving the summer:
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Air Cover Needed
** One last chance to help out – the Walk is Saturday August 6th. A HUGE thanks for all the support to date. $1225 $1480 raised so far! A big thanks to Craig Ross for the impromptu donation at the media event, and all the readers and my blogging brothers who have helped out in one way or another. Folks occasionally ask how they can help support this site. Here’s a big way: On August 6, 2011 I return to the MSU campus for this year’s JDRF walk to cure diabetes. Yes, this event is in Spartan Country but this is not an green and white cause–in fact you may know that Bo Schembechler participated in the Ann Arbor JDRF walk and was a big advocate of diabetes research and education. I learned about this horrible disease when my nephew Jack was diagnosed at age 3. If you want a sense for what life is like with Type 1, watch this short video that Jack helped put together. All this said, I need some air cover. Here’s how you can help me: Donate to my walk group – something, anything Join me in East Lansing for the walk Learn about JDRF and Type 1 diabetes—you probably have some friends or relatives that are affected. All of the above Donate something/anything,…
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Red and Ira’s Secret
And yours. Sounds like the Ohio State vs. Michigan outdoor hockey game is going to happen, but judge for yourself. Here’s U-M Hockey coach Red Berenson on WTKA 1050AM with Sam and Ira this morning: Looking forward to those details coming up soon. You can check out all the WTKA podcasts right here. Just hearing this? Follow MVictors on Twitter, Jack.
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Turley You Can’t Be Serious
Bless his heart, Kyle Turley is still bitter that Hoke left San Diego State for Michigan. And someone somewhere in Chicago is bitter that Obama left Illinois for the White House. Rich Rodriguez had the entire State of West Virginia, Rick Heim, and about 30% of the Michigan fanbase bitter about how his hiring went down. Here’s the clip from the end of Turley’s interview on Jim Rome Wednesday: [display_podcast] Turley also cited Steve Fisher as the example of a guy who could have left SDSU for a bigger program but stayed, noting how Fish led SDSU to the Final Four last year (?).
