According to Brian Cook, yes indeed: …But apparently it is happening. The contract is being signed Monday. Which is tomorrow. The following details are unconfirmed but of interest since they come from an established source: Game is happening because a desperate Jerry Jones “overpaid.” Michigan will be the nominal home team (important mostly for TV rights) and receive more money. There’s no additional game scheduled and there may not be. Jones might be well-positioned to provide some advice on HD scoreboards. More details are emerging this afternoon.  Apparently, the teams are going to play for this trophy, to be presented on a Super Bowl-like stage at midfield by Jerry Jones himself after the game: VERY COOL.  If true (still working on sources) this will knock the Paul Bunyan Trophy down a notch and compete with the Jug as the finest rivalry rack we compete for.   It’s uncertain whether the history of games will be retroactive to the epic 2000 Orange Bowl when Tom Brady and crew took down the Tide in overtime.  Not the First Time.  On a serious note, it’s not the first time Michigan’s squared off against a big-name opponent on an iconic neutral site of a professional sports team.  Check out those posts on Michigan’s battles against Army at Yankee Stadium in 1945 (vs. Doc Blanchard and…

Many of you know the tale of former Michigan uber-recruit Justin Fargas.  He came to Ann Arbor from California with huge expectations but things didn’t work out, at least here.  He ended up transferring to USC and has carved out, to my surprise, a nice career in the NFL with the Raiders.  Al Davis and crew released him in May; he’s currently a free agent. His pops is Antonio Fargas who played Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky and Hutch.   Huggy was played by Snoop in the 2004 S&H movie.     Huggy bears So who cares?  Well, fast forward to 2010 and Huggy and his son are involved in a current auction and it makes for the latest installment of eBay Watch.   Up for sale is a lot containing some of Justin’s pre-NFL memorabilia including a few choice items he saved from Ann Arbor.   As I’ve learned from watching Pawn Stars, if you rent a storage unit and fail to pay the bill, the owner can seize the items you stowed away and sell them off to recover damages.   Per the auction description, that’s allegedly what happened here: I BUY STORAGE LOCKERS AT AUCTION WHEN THE OWNERS DO NOT PAY THE BILL.  GOT ONE THE BELONGED TO ANTONIO FARGAS (HUGGY BEAR FROM STARSKY AND HUTCH) FATHER OF JUSTIN…

One hundred and fifty eBay Watch posts later, I figured it was time to run down my favorites.  To recap, here are items #10-#6, published earlier this week.  The Top 5: 5.  Suit Up like one of Yost’s Men (posted June 15, 2009) Probably the most remarkable auction of Michigan lore I’ve seen on eBay.  A freaking Yost-era uniform – belt, pants, helmet, and shoes – from the early 1910s up for sale.   What else can you say? I guess the question is what does one do with this stuff?  Put it on display in the man cave or home office?  It absolutely belongs in Schembechler Hall or at the Bentley Library.  I’m not sure what happened to it but it fetched a lot of bucks that’s for certain.  Read the original post here.  – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 4.  Coach Mac wants his Mojo Back (posted January 2008) Many ring-on-eBay dramas have played on this site thanks to eBay Watch.  Recently you’ve had the former assistant Scot Loeffler/pawn shop ‘97 ring imbroglio, which is still playing out.   Then in 2008 you have the Allen Bishop 1986 Rose Bowl ring saga.   Arguably…

“I’m onto you Dooley.” I’ll be up on the MSU Campus tomorrow morning for the walk to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.   Yes, I’ll be rubbing elbows with Coach Dantonio who’s the honorary chair of the event and I’ll be hurling sharp stares his way & will be looking for the vein on this forehead to throb, as if sensing my presence. Come out and join me – I’ll be with team “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and I’ll be signing copies of Hail to the Victors 2010 in a 1905-ish fountain pen. If you don’t understand the fuss over juvenile diabetes, this video is a good primer on what these kids and parents go through every morning, day, night (and late night). Can’t join?  Want to support MVictors?   Consider giving something – $5, $10, $250, whatever, to support this cause for me. Mandatory info block: EAST LANSING Date: August 7, 2010 Time: 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Location: Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan Corporate Chairman: Ronald Simon, Chairman and CEO, Auto-Owners Insurance Family Team Chairman: Jackie Bobb, Fellowship for a Cure Honorary Chairman: Mark Dantonio, Head Football Coach, Michigan State University Media Chairman: Sheri Jones, News Anchor, WLNS TV 6 Family Team Rally: April 24 at NCG Lansing Eastwood Cinemas Team Captain Kick-Off Luncheon: June 24, East Lansing Marriott…

Via U-M Media Relations: Statement from Michigan Head Coach Rich Rodriguez I have always taken compliance seriously and have sincerely felt our program was very open and transparent. I regret any mistakes that were made or rules that were misinterpreted. Any errors certainly weren’t made intentionally. I openly discussed my past practices with NCAA investigators and will continue to cooperate fully during this process. I have redoubled efforts with my staff and our compliance team to improve several processes, strengthen communications, and work to ensure these mistakes won’t happen in the future. We have a tremendous program and an exceptional group of student-athletes, and I look forward to an exciting and successful football season. Statement from Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon We’re not part of the inquiry at WVU and we have limited access to the information pertaining to this investigation. We’re certainly paying close attention to the situation, but we all need to let the process – and the facts – unfold before we draw any conclusions. I’m not going to speculate about any aspect of the outcome. I’ve already said Rich is our coach this fall and WVU’s announcement does not change that fact. Our focus is on our program and the start of the football season.

Definitely worth a listen! ( HT to mgoblog user tickledtodeath.) Audio: [display_podcast] Bullets: Tom Osborne.  Brandon heaped praise on Nebraska’s AD Tom O.  Brandon joked that he was glad he won’t be the “rookie” AD in the conference next season. Discussions with the other ADs/division.  Brandon was impressed with the nature of the discussions with the other schools, and “the tone” they had in the discussions.  Focus on division alignment was more focused on competitive balance than with things like geography. Rivalries.  Anyone worried about Michigan not playing Ohio State of MSU each season…don’t worry about it.  Brandon puts that to rest here.  If this wasn’t the case Brandon joked they’d still be in Chicago arguing. Future expansion? He could live with there they are right now (with 12 teams) “forever” Conference championship location – Said because the timeline very short, and have to reschedule the entire 2011 season, so he’s less concerned about the location.   Longer range plans and deals will follow after they get everything settled for 2011. How many conversations has he had with RichRod? “Spending a lot of time together.”  Met with him today.   “Have a great relationship and we talk a lot.” What does he talk about with RR?  What is the tone? “It’s not about Xs and Os.”  He’s a terrific coach, etc.  “I…

Longtime equipment manager Jon Falk’s book, ‘If These Walls Could Talk’ is out and the Schembechler Hall walls are a-talkin’.   32% percent off at Amazon right now, just $15.61 and it includes this snazzy cover:   Forward by Tom Brady?  That’s a surprise and very cool.  My attempt to get an advanced copy failed miserably so I look forward to reading it and sharing a review on these pages.  ( HT: Brian for noting it was released ). ‘If These Walls Could Talk’ 32% percent off at Amazon right now, just $15.61

I did some house cleaning recently on the eBay Watch Index, the year-by-year tally of all the eBay Watch posts from these pages from over the years.   The list now spans over 150 entries and given the excellent lists floating around on the web as we await kickoff of the season, I thought it’d be a good time to run down my favorites to date. Counting down from 10: 10.  Michigan Baseball Visits Japan (1932) (posted December 15, 2008) I don’t feature common items like tickets or programs very often in this series, but this was one special stub.  It’s a torn ticket from one of the games the Michigan baseball team played in Japan in 1932.  How this ended up preserved and in an a US auction I have no idea.  An MVictors reader was kind enough to translate shortly after I posted it: From an excellent summary published in Michigan Today in 1998, it all started with baseball teams from Japan doing a college tour in the US years earlier, with many of the stops in Ann Arbor from 1911 to 1925. Then in 1929, Michigan coach Ray Fisher got an invite from the Meiji University inviting the maize and blue to visit Japan as “ambassadors of good will.” Fielding Yost and the board of athletics approved the…