Coach Rodriguez joined WDFN 1130AM host and Michigan hoops radio voice Matt Shepherd on his ‘Shep, Shave and Shower’ show this morning to chat.   Shep started out by describing Rodriguez’s life as “pure hell” the past 72 hours. “A whole bunch of the players and the player’s parents call..” “It completely blindsided me. “ “Until you get to know [players], you’ve got to motivate them all the same way.” “For the majority [of players], the vast majority, I think it’s worked very, very well.” “Last year I think we had 120 guys on the team, there are a handful that maybe didn’t take it as well or whatever, that may have been the case.  But to imply there was anything against the rules that was done; we’ve never done that and never will.” “Several [coaches] in the Big Ten have called.” Audio: [display_podcast] Elsewhere: Today before practice, Rodriguez shared the story about the day former Michigan assistant Don Nehlen told him he would receive a scholarship.  The Mountaineers were preparing for a game against Oklahoma (1982?) when Nehlen approached Rodriguez, who was struggling financially at the time.   “He walked right up when we were stretching,” Rodriguez recalled.  “He said, ‘Why don’t you talk to me after practice, we’re going to give you a scholarship.”  Just to ensure the young Rodriguez…

A common theme in the national media response to the Free Press report is that the biggest concern for Rodriguez is not the potential NCAA violations (consensus seems to be they will be minor if anything), but the exposure of a rift in the team. The argument goes that if Michigan gets off to a tough start Rodriguez could lose more guys, perhaps led by the group that is unhappy about the off-season workouts. There’s still some confusion as to whether there are guys on the current team (the one that is practicing today) that stuffed the complaint box.  Someone who only identifies himself as “Brian” at site called mgoblog discussed this week: Ten "former or current players," of whom five or six are responsible for the quotes in the story and the description of the Rodriguez program. One of them is Toney Clemons. The other four or five… well, I’m sure anyone who’s followed Michigan football over the last year and a half can mentally insert candidates for the other spots. Why not tell us that the core of the story included current players, and how many? It’s not like asserting any specific number of current players is going to endanger the anonymous whistle-blowers. The Free Press chose not to provide this information, instead choosing to leave this vague,…

Former M quarterback Rick Leach weighing in and I love it, joining Sam Webb and Ira Weintraub this morning on WTKA 1050AM’s Michigan Insider: [display_podcast] Notes: “I need to defend the honor” of Rodriguez, Barwis, the players, etc. On the press conference: “This has hurt me so deeply, I took time off to drive to Ann Arbor so I could stand in the back of Rich Rodriguez’s press conference.  So I could listen and see the press, and the people that showed up and what they wanted to say.. I wanted to see it with my own two eyes.” [Leach then talks about his relationship with Rodriguez and seems to get choked up.] “I’m deeply disappointed about how this come out and when it came out.” “We will not let anything deter us from what we’re going to do.  I can promise you that.”

[Webmaster’s note: Again for 2009, re-examining the standard stadium gear for the upcoming season, with some tweaks to the ‘07 and ‘08 versions]. Moving on… Ah, it’s that time of year. Many of you out there are no doubt running through your tailgating gear, grills, food, wares, etc., for the early start on Saturday.  It’s going to be a long day and that’s just before you get to the stadium. Any fan knows there’s some thought that goes into your in-stadium gear as well—a completely separate exercise.  Once again, here’s a few suggestions for 2009: 1. AM/FM Radio. Forget the latest incarnation of the radio that sticks in your ear, they are unreliable.  Bring in a radio you trust to listen to the play-by-play from Brandy and Beckmann. You’ll get injury reports, sideline observations, statistics and analysis of key plays that are under review (although Brandstatter always seems to think the replay will goes Michigan’s way). Probably most critical: you’ll have a chance to block out the blabber from an idiot nearby that is giving his own play-by-play or screaming at the coaches. 2. M Lid. While not an absolute requirement, it certainly helps to keep that sun from beating down on you.  For those in the North end zone or east side of the field, could be critical. 3.…

So Michael Rosenberg is getting it from all over the U-M blogosphere (and some beyond) and even is the target of a Twitterembargo.  I suppose I’m one of the few that actually knows Rosenberg a little bit having interviewed him this time last year for his excellent book, War As They Knew It.  No, we’re not pals, we don’t bowl together nor do we ride a tandem bike around town.  I just know him from sitting down for an hour or so for the interview at Sweetwaters, stopping by the book signing and seeing him at a few media events. He’s a nice guy (and has a top notch dry sense of humor).  And that has nothing to do with anything you feel about the piece, beyond those of you who think he wrote this just to be a prick. I noticed there’s a few folks reading the interview from last year, especially part two where he discusses his article from the time that was highly critical of Rodriguez.  Suggest you a) read the whole interview, and; b) remember that these items were said a year ago and obviously not related to the current story.   That said, he hit on a few topics that I think many would like to ask him today, right down to criticism from mgoblog and…

In the whirlwind of perspectives out there on the Free Press allegations, I thought I’d toss in another.  I reached out to former Michigan hockey player, assistant coach, WTKA morning show co-host and lawyer Dave Shand.   As always, given his resume Shand has something interesting to add, never seems to fit snuggly within any particular profile of Michigan fan and he’s not afraid to talk about it. We spoke about the Free Press report which he read in detail this weekend: His initial reaction to Free Press piece: Shand: “There are certain things that really astonished me in the report; things that I don’t think stunned anybody else. I was shocked that Judy Van Horn was doing spot checks.  Judy is very good and very tough.  But when I was there as an assistant coach, it was a given that coaches were not going to go over the NCAA maximum (of supervised hours).  There were no spot checks.  Spots checks mean you don’t trust your own coach!  And that bothers me because I really like what Rich Rodriguez is doing and I really like the direction of the program.” On how the hockey program monitored practice time when he coached: Shand: “I can tell you exactly the way it worked. We had our practices which were mandatory and supervised and…

(HT: UMGoBlog) Related: MVictors interviews with Michael Rosenberg: * Part I: Discussing War as They Knew it * Part II: Rodriguez, the blogosphere and more

Via the U-M Media Relations department, Statement from Athletic Director Bill Martin We are committed to following both the letter and the intent of the NCAA rules and we take any allegations of violations seriously. We believe we have been compliant with NCAA rules but nonetheless we have launched a full investigation of the allegations in today’s newspaper. We have already reached out to both the Big Ten and the NCAA and we will have more to say on this as soon as we have completed our assessment. Related: An Involuntary Round-up on the Free Press report Free Press investigates off-season work-outs