This really caught my eye tonight, it's an award given to the 1919 Michigan baseball team celebrating their conference championship.

  That’s Chumley from Pawn Stars – the internet is great I just chatted with Aaron Herdez of Herdez Pawn in Phoenix, AZ.   He’s the nephew of the shop owner and was willing to talk about the status of the Scot Loeffler 1997 Michigan championship ring that showed up on eBay.   To recap, once word was out that former Michigan assistant’s ring was stolen, the authorities were contacted and the eBay auction was pulled.    A few different MVictors readers reported contacting Loeffler directly (or through family members), confirming that he wanted the ring back and was upset at some of the neg bombs flown his way, implying that he sold it.   A few quotes from Herdez on the situation: On Loeffler:  “He didn’t call it in stolen, he said he lost it and then he changed his mind.”  “We don’t know what really happened.” On how the store treats items like this that come in the store. “We do a police report for everything that comes into the store.” What is the status of the ring?  “It’s not for sale and it’s already been seized [by the police].  If I want it back I’ll have to take it court.” On how they came to own the ring:  “Everything we get comes from customers that walk into the store.” When they…

Check out this beauty.   A quick Friday edition of eBay Watch features a postcard, circa 1927, with a cool view down the endzone aisle inside the freshly built Big House.  Most photos of the stadium are from above or from the air, but this cat went Ansel Adams on me, click to enlarge:

The twin comedy duo The Sklar Brothers are Michigan grads and it’s always a good listen when they guest host the Jim Rome Show.   They were back at it on Wednesday. Usually laced into the madness is a Michigan reference or two and they didn’t disappoint: [display_podcast] And I love they used the Michigan version of his last name before it changed to “JHY” after he transferred to North Carolina. (HT: Thanks to Matt for the podcast)

I popped out to the Big House to catch part of the tour today, a few thoughts and naturally a few photos. I’m not sure if they are still available, but if you are in the market for a suite consider grabbing one on the end.    Yes, you’d think that’s the worst view but the view is just fine, they are the lowest priced at $55K, I hear they are slightly bigger than the others and – they have windows on two sides affording you a view of Ann Arbor and campus (from the north side) and of the golf course from the south.  They are effectively the corner office of the suites. Dave Brandon was on WTKA this morning and said he’s reviewed the plans for the Crisler renovation and said “you won’t believe” what they are going to do.   Here’s a shot of the current work they’re doing on Cazzie’s House: Recently an MVictors reader asked me about the status of the plaque of Bob Ufer that used to located on the entry to the press box.  I asked Dave Ablauf about this today, he said the plaque is safely tucked away in the media relations offices and they are still working on what to do with it. The new FieldTurf is in, a view from the new…

Once word was out that former Michigan assistant Scot Loeffler’s 1997 Michigan championship ring was stolen, the authorities were contacted and now it appears as though the eBay auction was pulled.    Per comments on MVictors: Via reader Ned DeGalan: Update> I have texted with Scot and he is aware of this. As of a few minutes ago this was taken off of eBay Scot has access to an attorney in Phoenix. My thanks to to the MGoBlog community for tipping me off about this as I was one of the bidders. Kudos to all of your community for their assistance. You are truly "Leaders and Best". Via reader @jusgre : I reported this to the Phoenix Police Department and this was their response as of 3:25 PM: Thank you for the information. Our Property Crimes Bureau is working with the owner of the ring to return it to him. Officer Jennifer Eastman Internet Detail Public Affairs Bureau Phoenix Police Department 602-262-4061 Visit us online at www.phoenix.gov/police More later?  We’ll see.  If the ring is recovered and returned to Loeffler you’ll hear about it here.

Ahh, the 1997 ring saga continues.   Thanks to friend of blog Craig Ross (with a hat tip to Brian at mgoblog) who passed along this info about the 1997 Championship Ring that is up on eBay right now, bearing the name Scott [sic] Loeffler: …I just talked to Scot. 1. The ring was stolen (in Arizona ) and Scot procured a replacement ring. He still has that ring and his national championship ring. He will never sell these. Scot has never been on e-bay in his life; has never sold anything on e-bay. He did not sell this ring or give it away. It was stolen. 2. Scot, recall, did not leave the UM. He was terminated with the rest of the staff (except Fred Jackson). Scot continues to have strong connections in Ann Arbor and continues to love the University. He is proud to be a graduate and proud to have coached here. He is mortified that anyone would think otherwise. So there you go.  This is backed up by MVictors reader ‘bluchip’, who posted this comment recently, similar story, more details, the exception being it “lost” vs. “stolen” which might be subjective when dealing with hotel rooms: Scot lost it four or five years ago in a Phoenix hotel while on a layover during a west coast recruiting…