I’ve been trying to catch Sam Webb for an interview for quite a while now and recently I finally had the chance to sit down with him. Here is Part I
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Bing and Jalen
If you missed it, check out the outstanding piece by Mike Rosenberg in SI this week on former Piston and current Detroit mayor Dave Bing. Yes, there is tie to Michigan athletics with a portion touching on Bing’s relationship with Jalen, an excerpt: The Pistons roomed Jimmy and Dave together on the road, hoping Dave could reel him in a little, but that was like trying to net a pack of butterflies. Walker was traded to Houston in August 1972; five months later Jalen Anthony Rose was born in Detroit. Jimmy was Jalen’s biological father. Jimmy was a lot of kids’ biological father. "I hear that number is in the teens," Rose says. Jalen’s mother, Jeanne Rose, was a key puncher for Chrysler. His father was invisible; Jalen never saw him. But his father’s backcourtmate was around. Bing kept tabs on the kid, taught him what he could. "Like a godfather," Rose says. For years they talked about everything but Jimmy. "That was not something we heavily stressed," Rose says. "Or discussed. Or even acknowledged." Rose went on to be a star at Southwestern High. Jimmy was never there, but he was always with him. Rose chose number 42 because it was the reverse of the 24 that Jimmy wore with the Pistons. Jalen wanted to play like his father…
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Rick Comley on Cold War 2: “I’m assuming that’s not going to happen.”
Check out this exchange from The Game 730AM WVFN, Lansing’s sports radio station. Spartan hockey coach Rick Comley joined the ‘Staudt on Sports’ show on January 4 and longtime Lansing sportscaster Tim Staudt asked the MSU coach about outdoor hockey: Tim Staudt: “Do you think Michigan State will ever play another outdoor game?” Rick Comley: “Well you know we had agreed to play Michigan next year on December 11th in an outdoor game and there’s been no talk since then so I’m assuming that’s not going to happen. So you know I bet at some point we do, but where it will be, who knows?" Staudt: “So you’re saying to me that you haven’t heard one way or another whether the December 11th game in Michigan Stadium is on or off yet.” Comley: “No. They announced that we were playing without asking us, number one. And then number two, we told them we would play after the fact and we’ve heard nothing since. I’m assuming then, that they’re not doing it.” Staudt: [the Dean is chuckling] “Well if you don’t know, then I’m guessing the game may not be on yet. If he [Comley] doesn’t know, who’s supposed to know?” Thanks to show producer Brock Palmbos, here’s the audio if you need it: [display_podcast] . I contacted Jamie Weir…
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The Wisterts: Ox, Moose and Whitey (1949)
Check out this great photo of three icons in Michigan football lore: The Wistert Brothers, Albert (“Ox”), Francis (“Whitey”) and Alvin (“Moose”):
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Big House David Brandon
Via U-M Media Relations, photo credit the University of Michigan Athletic Department. Assume this was snapped on the day of the 1973 team photo. Thankfully Bo dissuaded him from changing his name to Brandon OchoCinco:
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Official U-M Release on David Brandon Hiring
Via U-M Media-Relations: David A. Brandon named athletic director David A. Brandon has been named director of the University of Michigan Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, pending approval by the U-M Board of Regents at its regularly scheduled Jan. 21 meeting. A U-M alumnus who played football under Bo Schembechler and has served as a U-M regent, Brandon, 57, is currently chairman and chief executive officer of Ann Arbor-based Domino’s Pizza, Inc. “With his widely acclaimed leadership skills, business acumen, long-term involvement with the university, and personal knowledge of the challenges and rewards of being a student athlete, David Brandon is an ideal candidate for athletic director,” said Mary Sue Coleman. “I am confident that he will carry on the tradition of excellence in U-M athletics as we enter a new era.” Coleman directed the search personally with the support of a small advisory group. The five-year appointment will be effective March 8, 2010. “It is my distinct honor and privilege to have this opportunity to serve the University in yet another way,” Brandon said. “My participation as a student-athlete at U-M has made a profound impact on my life and career, and I fully understand and respect the important role our athletic programs play in helping to shape the culture and image of our University community.” The university began its…
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Dave Brandon 1973
News this morning that Dominos CEO Dave Brandon will take the reins of the athletic department effective March 2010. More later, but here’s Brandon as a senior on Bo Schembechler’s 1973 squad thanks to the U-M Bentley Library:
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Happy 100th Birthday, Red Simmons!
Most mornings you can find former Michigan women’s track coach Ken ‘Red’ Simmons at Crisler Arena, lifting weights, walking steps and occasionally taking laps around the concourse. His fitness routine today is a far cry from a Mike Barwis workout session, but Coach Simmons has a pretty good excuse– he turns 100 years old today (January 5, 2010). Simmons was a high school track champion at Redford High in Detroit and intended on joining the Michigan track team before the stock market crash of 1929 ended those plans. He eventually wound up running track at Michigan Normal (later Eastern Michigan) in Ypsilanti where he had a successful collegiate career which included a trip to the 1932 Olympic trials. After school, Simmons joined the Detroit Police Department where he served as an officer and was on the police track team for twenty-five years. During his tenure on the force he became good friends with Olympic legend Jesse Owens and implemented the then-revolutionary practice of including weight training as part of the squad workout regimen. In 1959, just two days after his retirement from the Police Department, Simmons knocked on Fritz Crisler’s door in Ann Arbor to inquire about a coaching position at Michigan. Crisler knew of Simmons exploits on the track and his use of weight-training and hired him in to…
