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…
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Red Simmons interview (video)
I posted several segments of my interview with former EMU track start and Michigan women’s track coach Ken ‘Red’ Simmons on YouTube. Simmons turns 100 in just a few days. In this segment he explains how he came to interview Fritz Crisler after retiring from his service at the Detroit Police Department in 1959: Here are links to the rest of the videos: Part 1: On his friend, track legend Jesse Owens Part 2: Police Department Part 3: Hired by Fritz Crisler Part 4: Working out at Crisler Arena Part 5: More Workout at Crisler More from the interview here in this previous post, including discussing his attendance at the first game at Michigan Stadium and how he ended up at Michigan Normal (EMU) instead of Michigan.
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Bet He Misses
Just caught this from the NYT, some casinos are distributing little handheld units that not only let you place traditional wagers but also on in-game events. From the article: Gamblers can also for the first time wager on the outcomes of events as the events transpire. When a football team lines up for a field goal, for example, bettors can bet on whether the kicker will make it or miss. To crunch the in-game odds they leaned on financial algorithms: The betting during events option is called in-running betting, and Lee Amaitis, chief executive of Cantor Gaming, says oddsmakers have dreamed of this for decades but have lacked the number-crunching resources to hang lines at game speed. To solve this problem, Cantor Gaming sets its in-game lines based upon algorithms from the financial services world. Mr. Amaitis says these algorithms are variations of those created by a sister company, Cantor Index, a financial spread-betting company in London that offers bets on various markets including equities, indices, bonds and commodities. Tempting man. Football seems ok, but I imagine the in-game feature wagering could make the back nine of PGA events pretty wild. And speaking of sports betting, the news of Texas Tech coach Mike Leach getting suspended for Alamo Bowl game against the Spartans sent the line into a tizzy –…
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Merry Christmas
May yours be filled with gorilla dunks chased with a nog: Get any righteous M stuff this morning? I finally got my set of Wolverine “Football Guys”…something I’ve been asking for for about 6 years:
