The Spartan hoops head coach joined Jim Rome in the second hour today, talked about the state of his team of course, but also reflected on the early days of the Michigan rivalry, much about the new Spartan logo, and finally on kicking Kalin Lucas out of practice.   Audio, approximately 11 mins: [display_podcast] Izzo joked that the 2000 NCAA title seems like it occurred “100 years ago” Admits he was “Too fixated” on Michigan basketball in his early days. “To this day I still love Chris [Webber].” On the “uproar” [Rome’s words] on the new MSU logo.  “We didn’t get a chance to sell the whole package [because the logo leaked out].” Izzo admits is that it was frustrating swapping logos/emblems over the past several years. On the resistance to the logo: “I was shocked…I could hardly tell the difference.” Izzo mentioned that several folks have likened the change to changing the U-M helmet, which Izzo dismissed because the winged helmet’s been around for many years [Izzo said “90 years”, technically it’s been 71 – history nerd!] and the Spartans have changed their logo several times over the years.   We all recall when Tom Goss tried to put ‘Hail to the Victors’ inside the maize wings of the winged helmet, but Jon Falk thankfully nixed it. Rome emailer Stu from…

Per the Detroit News, the Cold War deal is done between MSU and Michigan and will be Saturday December 11th at 3pm.   Earlier this month Rick Comley made some snarky remarks about assuming the game wouldn’t happen, but as I mentioned in that post I thought this was merely Comley taking a pot shot at U-M on local radio.   Given that this is going to happen, I restate my plea to Marty Bodnar and the ticket office: Take care of the hockey season ticket holders.  There are obviously plenty of seats to go around.

Via WTKA 1050AM podcast, here’s Coach Beilein joining Ira and Sam in the wake of the Michigan State loss: [display_podcast] Of note, Beilein explains that the play down the stretch that resulted in a Peedi airball three wasn’t definitely not the play as written up.  Beilein wanted Manny to take the ball to the rack but didn’t blame Sims for trying the shot given he had just hit two in a row.

Continuing the posting of my interview with Sam Webb.  GoBlueWolverine.com just posted another portion of the interview and you can view that here.   The rest will be in the next issue of GBW and will eventually be here on MVictors.   One thing I’ve noticed having interviewed a few folks in the media biz: people, like Sam, who interview a lot of people give excellent interviews themselves. Here’s a few excerpts for you, first on how Sam got started in recruiting: MVictors: So how did you get started in the recruiting business? Sam Webb:  It was never planned.  I was going to Michigan to get a computer engineering degree, don’t laugh [laughs].  At the time, and I think it was around 1997 and recruiting on the internet was just starting.  I remember being in the computer lab over on North Campus and going in there one late night to work on some ungodly program.  One night I went in and there was this website that someone had left on a computer called GoBlueWolverine.com.   On that site was basically anything you could have possibly wanted to know about Michigan recruiting. So I started looking at that site incessantly.  And not long after that site morphed with what is now The Wolverine, and the guy that was managing it was Tom Beaver.   Then…

Had a chance to roll up to The Palace to the see the Pistons face the Trailblazers who picked up former Fab Fiver Juwan Howard last fall.    Howard’s the last of those guys playing and I was in school when Juwan first took the court at U-M back in 1991.  He didn’t start but played most of the game in the 97-93 Blazers win.  He didn’t do much in those minutes–he tallied a bucket, picked up a couple fouls and missed a few shots and free throws.  But he was involved in a scuffle that migrated off the court in the second half, netting the Nook a technical foul [video here].  Piston Charlie Villanueva was the featured Piston bobble head for the fans, and he delivered the hard foul that started the fracas. Speaking of the Fab Five, part of their legacy is the baggy shorts and black socks and right now an eBay seller is offering baggy shorts that allegedly belonged to wingman and occasional M hoops local radio color man Jimmy King.   Unwashed?  Unknown.  But they want $425 and here’s the photo: Authenticity?  Tough to say, but the seller claims, “My older brother attended Michigan and his roommate was a team manager during the Fab Five time.”  So there you go. Back to Juwan, here’s a few photos…

Stumbled upon this nugget this am from Business Insider.  They asked litigator Dan Webb of Chicago powerhouse law firm Winston and Strawn about his most memorable courtroom moment.  Webb recalled his defense of sports agent Lloyd Bloom back in 1989, who was (allegedly) involved in a bunch of shenanigans with amateur athletes including Michigan’s Garland Rivers.  Several officials from various universities were asked to testify, and Webb explains the events of one memorable day: One of the marks of a great litigator, he said, is to know within a half-second what you want to do and do it flawlessly. One of those quick decisions was required in the sports agent’s case. At one point in the trial he had to cross examine the beloved Father Ted Hesburgh, the then-president of Notre Dame. Crossing Father Hesburgh was no trouble. "I didn’t mind or hesitate," Webb said. But soon enough legendary Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler took the stand. Webb watched how the jury responded to him — they almost bowed, he said.  What was Webb’s half-second decision? "I took one look at Bo Schembechler," Webb said, and thought, "I can cross a Roman Catholic priest, but not the greatest coach" in college football history. No questions, he told judge. While Bloom didn’t have the stones to talk to Bo, as you…

HT: BiggieMunn, Uni Watch has a quick take on the proposed redesigned Spartan logo, along with a few good links.   Check it out here.  Paul’s $.02: Honestly: I’ve always thought the Spartans logo looked a bit amateurish, and the new one — if that’s what it is — is hardly an improvement in that regard. Given how virtually every new mark foisted upon us these days tends to feature gratuitous beveling, shading, outlining, etc., this new design seems remarkably restrained. That’s not to say it’s better than the old mark, mind you (I definitely don’t think it passes the “Is it good or is it stupid?” test), but it hardly seems like a disaster, and I find it hard to get worked up about it one way or the other. But that’s just me. Perhaps that new notch above the nose guard is to provide a little forehead coverage*:   I was kind of hoping they’d look back and drop this gruffy fellow on the helmets: * Not that there’s anything wrong with dudes with giant foreheads.