Through Tate’s twitter goodbye we got a little reminder of when Troy Woolfolk’s criticized Forcier’s workout habits this summer. You might recall that later on media day Tate said all the right things about Woolfolk’s words, and he added that, “seniors are the leaders of this team. Whatever they say, they can say—it’s up to them.” So I thought this was interesting. My pal Steve Sap sent over a clipping from a September 1981 Detroit News a few weeks back. In it, T-Woolf’s dad Butch Woolfolk (B-Woolf?) spoke to the media about his concerns about the team a few weeks into the season. Preseason #1 Michigan was upset by Wisconsin the opener but then smoked Notre Dame 25-7 in Ann Arbor. After a disappointing five point win over Navy many were scratching their heads–and the elder Woolfolk made it known he wasn’t happy with the flaky start: “I have a tendency to speak my mind, and maybe I shouldn’t say this…but this team is just not mentally ready…It’s a mess.” He added, “I don’t like this team right now. I don’t like it at all.” While Butch didn’t target a particular player, he did call out his fellow senior teammates saying, “The sad part of it is there are a lot of seniors on this team. And seniors are supposed…
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Rich Eisen interviews Coach Hoke (audio)
From M alumnus Rich Eisen and his ‘Get Rich Quick’ NFL podcast, the segment where he interviews Brady Hoke: [display_podcast] Eisen = Cotton Pickin’ Blue
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DC Greg Mattison returns (U-M Official Release)
Official release via U-M Media Relations Hoke Hires Ravens Coordinator Greg Mattison to Run Wolverines Defense ANN ARBOR – University of Michigan football coach Brady Hoke hired one of the NFL’s top defensive coordinators to run the Wolverines defense, naming Greg Mattison to the same position that he previously held in Ann Arbor during the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Mattison served as the defensive line coach for the Wolverines from 1992-96.
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Hoke’s Seven Hires (U-M Official Release)
Via U-M Media relations. Hoke Announces Seven Staff Appointments ANN ARBOR – University of Michigan head coach Brady Hoke announced today (Tuesday, Jan. 18) the hiring of seven staff members to his Wolverine coaching and support staff. Hoke named six of the nine assistant coaching positions and the appointment of his strength and conditioning coach. Six members of the San Diego State staff joined Hoke in Ann Arbor. Al Borges will coordinate the offense and work with the quarterbacks, Dan Ferrigno will coordinate the special teams and coach the tight ends, Darrell Funk will coach the offensive line, Jeff Hecklinski mentors the wide receivers and Mark Smith has been appointed linebackers coach. Aaron Wellman also joined the Wolverines’ staff as the strength and conditioning coach.
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Clans Expanded
An epic guest post on mgoblog by uber-diarist and mgo-poweruser Misopogon adding three new columns to “The Clans”. I call it Clans 2.0: Electric Bo-Galoo: I’ve gotten a few incoming links from boards following other teams. Here’s a Northwestern fan’s take on the Wildcat Clans (Packs?): 1) North shore families. We go to the games if the kids don’t have soccer. One of us probably went to a Big Ten school. Hope the weather’s good. Don’t really care if the Cats win. 2) Dark ages PTSD sufferers. A .500 season is something to celebrate. We’ll never be consistent champions, but at least it’s not 1979. 3) Win-at-all-costers. As long as we play by NCAA rules, we should do whatever we have to to win. There’s a reason they keep score. Willing to sacrifice a few SAT points to play in a BCS bowl. EvanstonCat represents this faction on the boards. 4) The FitzPa faction. Fitz is our man for the next 30+ years. Keep him at all costs and trust his judgment in all matters. 5) Family befrienders. Form their opinions about coaches and other NU issues based entirely on what they hear at the family tailgates. Related: The Clans. The Factions. Defined. Discussing the Divisions (WTKA audio)
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Coffee Service for Fielding Yost’s Service (1927)
On the Friday before Michigan Stadium was officially dedicated back in 1927, the University Press Club hosted a dinner honoring Fielding Yost. Attendees included Michigan alumni and the editors from the various papers that covered the Wolverines over the years.
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Discussing the Divisions (WTKA audio)
I joined Sam Webb and Ira Weintraub on WTKA 1050AM this morning to talk a little bit about those Michigan factions, clans and divisions: Here’s the audio in two segments: [display_podcast] For context and a breakdown of the clans, click here. For all of the WTKA podcasts click here. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Buckeye Constructs LEGO Horseshoe
Kudos to another Buckeye fan who’s taken a run at constructing a LEGO Ohio Stadium: Paul Janssen of Dublin used about a million Lego pieces to build the recently finished 8-foot-by-6-foot model, which has room for 6,000 Lego people. Janssen says the project “took about 1,000 hours over two years.” A couple of nice photos of his masterpiece: This version of the ‘Shoe puts the 2006 version constructed by another rabid Bucknut, (discussed here on MVictors) to SHAME. It took twice as long for the ‘06 project and it stands just about a foot tall: It’s unconfirmed whether Janssen’s next “project” is to kiss a girl. (Of course, this jab is coming from a man who has a piece of the Big Chill ice in his freezer). Anyway, a hearty salute from up North to Janssen and his efforts here but he’s clearly missing a few details, especially the goings-on just outside the stadium: And while he included bathrooms, he missed this critical slice of reality: