You can pre-order now for $12.99!   Yes, yours truly submitted a piece on the remarkable season of 1909 including some cool photos from that season 100 years ago.  The abstract available from the Maple Street Press: It was one of those years for the Wolverines. While many Maize and Blue fans are left shaking their heads, there is reason for hope. Really. Hail to the Victors 2009 goes beyond the usual fluff to deliver hard-hitting analysis on where to look for, and expect, improvement from the Wolverines this fall. Edited by Brian Cook of the renowned MGoBlog.com, Hail to the Victors 2009 gets Michigan fans ready for the season with in-depth analysis, player and positional group profiles, and looks back to happier times and how those times will return. Just remember: Rich Rodriguez does have a plan and has succeeded before; there are some interesting decisions to be made among some young QBs; and there’s always Zoltan Mesko.

The Wikifeudia over Rich Rodriguez’s original hometown may have ended as I noticed this morning that his current entry has changed his birthplace to Chicago, IL from Grant Town, WV.   Readers of this site may recall a couple posts last year on this mess, prompted by author John U. Bacon’s piece in Michigan today on the Wolverine head coach: Rodriguez’s grandfather left Spain for the coal mines of West Virginia. Looking for a better life, the family moved to Chicago, where Rich was born. Still, Wikipedia page administrators refused to change the birthplace, despite Bacon later confirming his source: Rodriguez’s mother (who might know).  In defense of the Wikinerds there are several sources out there that either state Grant Town as his birthplace, or blurring things a bit, indicating that Rodriguez is “a native of” Grant Town.  I’m guessing Rodriguez a) doesn’t consider himself a Chicagoan, as he grew up in West Virginia, and b) probably preferred to highlight the Grant Town roots on early bios as he was coaching in the South and especially in Morgantown.  All that said, his current mgoblue.com bio still says he’s “a native of Grant Town.” I’m not exactly sure when the change was made, but I believe the final straw may have been the 2009 Spring media guide which confirms the Chicago birthplace…

ESPN.com Big Ten writer Adam Rittenberg picked up my recent post discussing the proposed non-conference game between Minnesota and Michigan, and the comments from Gopher AD Joel Maturi. Rittenberg took it one step further, asking the B10 offices if they would of had an issue with league schools scheduling games like this: A Big Ten spokesman said the league would have no objection to two of its members scheduling a non-league game. In 2002, Purdue and Indiana scheduled a nonconference basketball game in December because they were scheduled to meet just once during the regular season. I believe Michigan and Michigan State did the same thing in hoops a few years ago as well to avoid that ridiculous scheduling snafu. I’m waiting for a comment from President Obama on all of this, which I realize is a story about two guys talking about something that didn’t happen.  But–it’s definitely of interest to me, the mere idea of resuming the Minnesota rivalry prior to 2011 is an exciting idea and it provides a little insight to the scheduling process.  I applaud the effort by Martin to try to make this happen. Elsewhere: The Minnesota Star-Tribune is also now reporting the story of the talk of the 2010 game (scroll down, then to page 2), with a nice mention of MVictors (but…

An interesting segment on WTKA this morning when Kevin Grady, Sr., called up to discuss his sons, both of whom are kind of on the football team(?).  Last we heard Kevin, the former high school phenom, was dinged for not living up to the terms of his drunk driving probation. The younger son Kelvin Grady quit the hoops team after the season, but now appears poised to join the crew in Schembechler Hall on Rich Rod’s squad. Here’s the audio: [display_podcast] Here’s a few notes: On Kelvin, he said football offered him first out of high school and he actually committed to both football and basketball.   Kelvin prefers a “more up-tempo style” of hoops. Rodriguez’s offense “suits Kelvin real well.” and “It’s going to be a good fit.” Kelvin has 58 credits left to graduate, and wants to get his degree. “He never wanted to look back” and say what if? When asked where Rich Rod might put Kelvin: “Maybe a slot receiver.” Sam Webb asked him about Kevin’s status.  “When we look at Kevin, the kid has done some remarkable things in his career [in high school].” “Kevin has always been a role model and he’s done the right thing.” “The kid made a mistake.” “Once you are in the spotlight, you’re giving the media and everybody the opportunity…

Word on the street is that Bill Martin approached Minnesota about scheduling a non-conference game between Michigan and Minnesota in 2010, in particular, to open the renovated Big House on September 4.  From a diary post on mgoblog by user “rastafari”: I sat with Bill Martin at lunch today. He said that he tried to get Minnesota (as a non-conference game) for the opener in 2010 but they declined. Aside from that he said it will be a BCS school but still yet unknown. Not that a guy named rastafari isn’t a rock of journalistic credibility, but I sought out verification from a slightly more reliable source.   I contacted Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi and he was (very) kind to speak to me about it: MVictors: Recently word came out that the possibility of a game in 2010 in Ann Arbor was discussed between Minnesota and Michigan officials. Maturi: In the renovated Big House. MVictors: Yes. Did that come up? Maturi: Yes it did. MVictors: Were you interested? Maturi: There are different kinds of scheduling. When you’re Minnesota and you’re trying to improve your program and to be successful, I’m really thankful to coach Brewster for his willingness to play a tougher schedule.  Saying that, we had already scheduled Southern Cal for next year [2010].  I’m not a real brilliant…

Andy Mignery was in studio down at WTKA with Ben Holden and his installment of ‘The Big Show’.    The former M QB/TE was in to promote the Michigan From the Heart golf outing, which supports the efforts of U-M Athletes and their visits to Mott Children’s hospital. The outing is Monday, June 22nd at the Polo Fields GC at noon. They are looking for donors, sponsors, players, or just folks in for dinner.  More info, ask for Dick Lundy at 734-426-1155 or check out their website here.  [Ed: Hey, that conflicts with the MVictors JDRF Fore the Kids outing!  Choose wisely.] Here’s the audio of the portions where Mignery discussed his takes on the football team: [display_podcast] Notes: “You will see a different football team out there” this fall. “We removed a lot of diseases off this team” (through graduation, or being kicked off or those who left. The offensive line has taken “a complete 180.” Mignery thinks we’ll see Nick Sheridan start the first couple games, then Tate Forcier will be inserted. “They’ll put that kid [Forcier] in a position to win.” Mignery feels the biggest game is Notre Dame Sept. 12—mostly because of the test that it will be for Forcier. Said defensive coordinator hasn’t “lost any of his fire.”

“Too Tough”.  Words from the great Glenn E. ‘Bo’ Schembechler, when reviewed the 1997 season schedule that featured games against Colorado, Notre Dame, Iowa, Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin and of course Ohio State. As you can guess, this edition of eBay Watch is inspired by the 1997 slate of game and the auction of a pocket schedule for that season currently up for auction: The seller is asking for a minimum bid of $14.99 for this little beauty.  I’d say that’s a little much for a former freebie but we’ll see. If you don’t know how the 1997 season ended up, you probably wouldn’t be reading this site but it looks a little something like this.  So instead of looking back to the end of the season, I’m going to look back to the 1997 preseason. A friend of mine [thanks DH] sent me a copy of The Wolverine 1997 football preview issue, which of course took a look ahead at the upcoming tilt.   The editors wisely chose Mr. Woodson for the cover, with the headline ‘DOUBLE TROUBLE’.  I was a subscriber back then and I remember getting this issue. As mentioned one of the hot topics was the schedule itself.  In the season prior, the opponents on the ‘97 schedule went 83-47, the second-highest opponent winning percentage coming…