A lot has changed in the 15+ years since I was graduated and became an official season ticket holder.  One thing that hasn’t is the yellow envelope with the dot matrix printed, tear-away renewal form that arrives each year about this time. Tickets as previously announced are $400/seat.  You can also buy additional individual seats to the Western Michigan, EMU and Delaware State games.  Also available are road tickets to the Iowa (up to 8, wow!), and Illinois (up to 2) games. The last few years the athletic department has offered some deal to incent you to pay by eCheck, to avoid the fees of Visa/MC and the handling of standard checks.    Typically it’s been a DVD of a game or season highlights, this year you get a 10% discount from the official Michigan online store. Please note that the email address of the Victors club is “mvictors @ umich.edu”, and this site is NOT affiliated with the Victors Club despite the implied endorsement (smiley face).  Yes, I’m a Victors Club member coincidently.

Here’s Greg Paulus on with ESPN‘s Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon: [display_podcast] Notes: How serious are you?  “It’s definitely something I’m considering…I’m definitely taking a look…I’m throwing every day.” On the Michigan opp: “It was a really good visit…it’s an opportunity to compete and find a good situation.” He’s “also running and lifting.” Yes or no, will we see you at Michigan?  “It is an option I’m looking into….I had a good visit…there’s also some other schools and some interest in the NFL…I can’t give you a real yes or no.” You can access all of the PTI podcasts here. Update 8pm: Mark Snyder of the Free Press reports on an official NCAA statement on the situation, which explains why Paulus keeps talking about the opportunity for grad school at Michigan when asked about the opportunity: “Mr. Paulus has expressed an interest in competing in a second sport at another Division I school after earning an undergraduate degree at Duke University and competing on the men’s basketball team. The NCAA encourages and applauds academic achievement and realizes this is an unique situation and opportunity for Mr. Paulus. Student-athletes seldom have the opportunity to transfer late in their college careers and compete in a second sport after four seasons of competition. The NCAA established a “students first” waiver process to address…

Via a tweet from UM Hoops.  So here’s the transcript of Tate Forcier’s comments on Greg Paulus as prepared by Michael Eisenstein in the Michigan Daily: From what I’ve heard, I’ve been talking to coaches all morning, my position coach, Coach (Rod) Smith, he told me specifically that they have not offered him. They don’t know why he would lie. They don’t know the kid. They haven’t offered them. They said we’ll let you’ll know what’s up, because right now, their specific words were, they haven’t offered them. I want to believe my coaches, I committed (to) them. Why would a kid like him lie to national media? So to me it’s still up in the air. “I want to believe my coaches.”  Getting ugly.  More: His quotes saying they offered him, I woke up and it was on TV. My coaches were calling me, they called me like three times this morning before I even saw it, but I don’t know if they saw it on TV before I did and just wanted to tell me the truth. It’s hard. I can’t give you a word on it. I’m not worried about it, a kid like that was good in high school, but it’s nearly impossible to come back to this level and play. It might be possible, but…

First, there’s word that ESPN is reporting that Rodriguez has offered an opportunity to play (*not necessarily a scholarship, but what’s the difference?) on the team to Duke’s Greg Paulus. [HT: Varsity Blue] Next, after a morning press conference Paulus jumped on Dan Patrick’s radio show to talk about his plans.   Here’s the audio, endure the ad at the beginning.  It’s pretty much exclusively about the Michigan opportunity, Paulus says he’s been offered a chance to enroll at U-M and “compete” on the football field: [display_podcast] Here’s the summary thanks to danpatrick.com: — Paulus said that there is an opportunity for him to play football at Michigan. He said he would continue his education in a masters program and join the team. — Paulus said that he spent the day around the Michigan football program and liked getting to know coach Rich Rodriguez. — Paulus said he has also spoken with a Big East and Big Ten team, as well as other schools, about being quarterback.

Update:  Now Mlive picked up the story, so go there for more details: From MLive Original Post: So, you debate whether to post a link to stuff like this. I didn’t sign up for this to get personal or embarrass individuals, and perhaps I’ve crossed that line a couple times. A friend of the site forwarded this story along. When Jim Cnockaert was let go from the Ann Arbor News in 2003 there were rumors that he was found with porn on a work computer. To me, it was scuttlebutt, nothing more, I don’t know if any specific charges were brought against him or if anything proven. He suddenly moved on and I don’t know if any formal reason was given. Apparently he lost another job in spring 2008 at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle for allegedly the same type of issue. He went on to a new gig in Virginia, but this time he’s being brought up on federal charges for the Bozeman incident: Cnockaert, 54, was fired from the Chronicle last spring after a co-worker told supervisors that she saw Cnockaert viewing child porn on a computer in the newspaper’s advertising department. According to court records, Chronicle publisher Stephanie Pressly and managing editor Nick Ehli confronted Cnockaert, and he acknowledged that he had used the computer to view pornography.…

A nice read in the Daily Orange, the Syracuse campus newspaper, on former M defensive coordinator Scott Shafer.  He sheds a tiny ray of light on what he thinks went wrong and points to issues with compatibility with Rodriguez’s staff, not a surprise: Shafer resigned soon after the season, and he has been public about the philosophical differences he and Rodriguez had during the 2008 season. "I took the job for all the wrong reasons," Shafer said. "I took it because it was Michigan, it was the Big House, the tradition. All great reasons. But at the end of the day, it’s got to be a good fit for you as a coach, and the guys you’re working with on a daily basis." After Michigan, Shafer knew he had to change his approach in looking for a new job. As he spent the holidays with his family and went about picking his next destination, he put a much larger emphasis on compatibility within a coaching staff. A soft jab at the current gang in Ann Arbor perhaps.  But then, building on the compatibility issue, Shafer said this about his new coaching staff: "Philosophically, things have meshed well so far," Shafer said. "More importantly, it’s fun to go to work with these guys. We’ve got guys who are fun to work…