Good for Moe’s and UGP for scoring an exclusive partnership with the Bo people. A portion of the proceeds from each sale of Bo Schembechler apparel will be donated to the Heart of a Champion Research Fund and they’re nice: Rumor has so additional designs are in the works so stay tuned. Go Blue, Go Bo, Go to Moe’s!
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Poof Goes the Vest?
The saga continues on the Big Ten all-time coaching statistics. Readers of this site know that at the urging of a pesky blogger, the Big Ten officials updated their records last season to reflect the time Michigan left the conference from 1907-1916. The result was a boost to Fielding Yost’s lead over Jim Tressel in conference win percentage by coaches from .833 to .888 (here are the current numbers, through last year’s bowls): Mark Snyder discussed the ramifications of the Ohio State self-imposed vacated wins on the all-time records in this recent piece, & note Mark corrected Yost’s official win pct last night ;) As Snyder points out, I think we can assume nothing is official until the NCAA/Big Ten complete their investigations. I asked the Big Ten offices to confirm and I’m guessing they will say it be resolved when the investigation is completed. [Update July 11] I got the expected response from the Big Ten’s Scott Chipman: My question: Scott, is there an official ruling from the Big Ten on how the Ohio State sanctions/vacated wins affect Tressel’s conference win percentage? Or is this all pending the final NCAA/B10 rulings on the sanctions? Chipman’s reply: Greg, As of right now, that’s all TBD. I see a few possible outcomes that could impact these records once again: Final Punishment…
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40,000 Jugs
Enhancing the analysis of the true origins of the Little Brown Jug rivalry, I add this nugget. We know that in the aftermath of the 1903 brutal battle with Minnesota, Michigan left a water jug behind and after a series of events a college football tradition was born. As discussed in much detail here, the common contention that Fielding Yost requested that Minnesota athletic director Louis “Doc'” Cooke return the Wolverine water jug (and was told he’d have to “win it back”) never happened.
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Dirty Harry (WTKA audio)
When I hopped in the car Friday morning I was happy to hear the discussion on the WTKA 1050AM morning show focused on the 1930s and in particular, former M coach Harry Kipke. Ira took a few calls including a notable one from listener Don who broke down the whole discussion of “worst” three year stretch ever, and the fall of the Kipke era. Here’s Don’s call: [display_podcast] Well done, Don. As far as Don’s online Michigan historian, I’m pretty sure that’s me and he’s correct that you can find a lot more on that era on these pages. Regarding the worst stretch ever, I started that discussion three seasons ago when local writers started calling RichRod’s first the worst of all time. And despite what folks say (including our athletic department), by almost any measure the 3 year stretches from 1934-1936 and from 1935-1937 are worse, and Don adds some great points about our dismal performance against our rivals. It’s not so much that I care if you make a statement about the worst or best or whatever. But out of respect for those who care about the history and traditions of this university, at least mix in a “one of the” or “among the” before you drop in the word “worst” or “best”, assuming you are not willing to…
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Tom Harmon – Big Ten Icon #5 (Full Episode)
Big Ten Icon #5 Tom Harmon.. Follow MVictors on Twitter Related: Inside Big Ten Icons Big Ten Icon #5 – Why Tom Harmon Went to Michigan Tom Harmon – Big Ten Icon #5
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Husking History
Today the Big Ten officially welcomes Nebraska to the conference, so I say welcome to fans & the Husker bloggers. I’ve actually been to Lincoln for a “Big Ten” game – versus Iowa in 2000 and had an outstanding time. Other than the stadium being completely doused in red (something we’ve seen before), my other lasting impressions include a strapping man launching T-shirts out of his portable missile launcher, and the pro football feel to the whole event with the omnipresent ads, sponsored replays, etc. It’s a different environment than Michigan for sure, but not unlike what you get in other stadiums in the conference. Speaking of the bloggers, a few are celebrating the day with a post and Big Red Network even solicited notes from the conference blogosphere. Brian chimed in: From MGoBlog – Welcome. Michigan looks forward to proving once and for all that the 1997 Nebraska team couldn’t hold a candle to Charles Woodson and company. Please try to blend in when you overwhelm our stadium. So did I: From MVictors — Welcome. Nebraska and Michigan share many things historically of course: a deep running tradition of excellence, the 1997 national championship and Fielding Yost. Our teams even shared the outcome of the game when we met 100 years ago this fall in Lincoln – a…
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Badgers and Bad Bleachers (1905)
There is significance to this hard fought 12-0 Michigan victory over Wisconsin in 1905. First, this was really the last real test for Yost and crew before the showdown with Chicago on Thanksgiving day, where Yost would suffer his first defeat. The game also made headlines because the Ferry Field temporary stands for the game collapsed and gave everyone a big scare.
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Mascots and Phase II
I love that this stuff can carry sports talk radio. I do. I can’t stand many of the callers but I like hearing people talk passionately about throwback jerseys, mascots, stadium mods and whatever. Inevitably it invokes some discussion of history and tradition. On Mascots: Make sure you check out James Dickson’s excellent piece last week in Michigan Today on the history of mascots, Rich Eisen’s take then and now and much more. It included this excellent shot of the big bad wolf a.k.a. Willy the Wolverine getting a smooch from a mullet-sporting, chest hair-flaunting, wife beater-rocking LSA junior: One note – you know about Yost’s quest to bring in Biff and Bennie, but don’t forget about my boy Intrepidus from the 1930s. I summarized my take on the mascot situation in one tweet: The Michigan mascot in my head wears fierce armor made from pieces of the stadium halo, and the ’93 Final Four banner as a cape. Make that happen and I’ll sign on. Someone sketch that out for me and I owe you a beer. On Phase II: On the talk of completing the south end zone. Here’s my little idea to toss into the hopper. I’d like the idea to add more seats and all that, but I’d love to see a general admission concourse like…
