I caught this first on mgoblog, and reader Bethany sent me the details.  Apparently the Fab Five reunion and charity event that was planned for this weekend has been 86’ed.  Ouch.   Here’s the email she received: Please be advised that the Celebration of Michigan Athletes, hosted by members of the Fab Five that was to take place on  April 4, 2009 in the Sound Board at Motor City Casino Hotel has been cancelled.  Neptix..com will be facilitating your refunds and they will start processing them on Monday, March 30th.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.  We appreciate your support of the Fab Five and will advise you in the future of any upcoming events.  If you have any questions or concerns in regards to your refund you may call Neptix.com direct at 248.632.0298 or for other inquiries you may email us at fab5event@yahoo.com. The tickets did seem a little pricey, but it’s not clear why the event was nixed.  Lack of paying customers?  Did one or more of the Fab 5 have to back out?  (It wouldn’t be the same with four….that’s the problem with a nickname like that.) Hope to find out soon. Update 3/31:  Doug Karsch discussed on his show on 97.1 The Ticket today.  He and his co-host speculated that the Fabulous ones canceled…

An excellent edition of John U. Bacon’s ‘Big Show’ on WTKA 1050AM this afternoon.  I caught a few of the segments featuring Clark Kellogg, SI’s Tim Layden, former Daily writer Nate Sandals, mgoblog‘s Brian Cook, and Bruce Madej, Michigan director of media relations and associate athletic director. The topic was the great shift in the media, particularly vivid this week on the heels of the annoucement that the Ann Arbor News will be shutting its doors this summer. Cook, the undisputed king of the M bloggers, talked about how the changes might affect coverage in general and his work in particular.  He also spoke of his relationship (none) with the athletic department, a situation he described as “a Mexican standoff” which I’m told usually ends badly. Counter that with Madej, a former News staffer and the man who’s controlled media access to Michigan athletics since 1982.  He offered his perspective on how the athletic department views the changes and interestingly, how they view new media entities like bloggers. Here’s the audio from Cook then Madej: [display_podcast] Great stuff today.  One suggestion: I’d like to have Bacon and frequent in studio guest Richard Deitsch bring on Charles Eisendrath, director of the Knight-Wallace fellows, and allow Eisendrath to share his views as he did with Mitch Albom last week. By the way,…

Historic bad calls by refs involving Michigan.

The whole Rich Rodriguez contract buy-out fiasco is firmly in the rearview mirror but I thought this was interesting.  Most of these contracts have buy-outs that work both ways: one if the coach terminates the contract early, another if it’s the decision of the school. For whatever reason Kentucky hoops coach Billy Gillispie never worked out the details and failed to sign a formal contract.  He was terminated today and he’d be wise to do the same with his agent and lawyers.  From Rivals/Yahoo: Gillispie signed a memorandum of understanding in [athletic directory Mitch] Barnhart’s house following a whirlwind courtship that lasted less than a day. Yet he never signed a formal contract as his lawyer and the university fought over the wording. In the end, that decision may end up costing him millions. Barnhart said the university did not plan to pay Gillispie a $6 million buyout that was to be part of his seven-year deal that remains unsigned. “Suffice it to say it will be less than that,” Barnhart said. Brutal.  Tom Izzo has been mentioned as a candidate which is nothing that a few more “Thank You, Tom” billboards can’t fix. 

The pain!  Michigan hockey is done, upset by Air Force 2-0.   From WCBN’s live blog late in the third period: Even with multiple man advantages, it just seems to be one of those night[s] where nothing goes Michigan’s way. More later.  It sounded like a lethal combination of coming out a little flat, a hot goaltender, tough bounces and some questionable calls. 

Mitch Albom and guest Charles Eisendrath, director of Michigan’s Knight-Wallace Fellows, discussed the Ann Arbor News situation on WJR.  Audio from earlier this week: [display_podcast] Eisendrath: “I think we’re going into the Final Four.   The big ones will be The New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post probably.” Interesting, Eisendrath is “wildy optimistic” about the future of local journalism. After Eisendrath hangs up Albom admits (go to about 10 minutes in) he doesn’t agree with “90%” of what Eisendrath said.   I agree that it’s a stretch to project that the future of online news will be pay-subscriber based.  But then host starts to lose me. First, Mitch gives zero credit to you, the reader: “You can’t tell me that the average person, who already has got the attention span of a gnat, can distinguish between whether they’re reading a blogger or [an accredited journalist].” Sure, it’s the wild west out there but give some credit to the consumer.  It’s natural selection.  How many times can a blogger write garbage or cry wolf on a bogus rumor before you don’t go back?  And it’s not like word/reputation doesn’t travel quickly on the internet. Then he argues that a newspaper is more portable than online media and that readers don’t want to go to “14 different…

Yesterday the official U-M site mgoblue.com announced the election of former Michigan baseball coach Branch Rickey to the college baseball Hall of Fame.  Rickey is best known for his role in breaking baseball’s color barrier by bringing Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers while he was the team’s general manager.  From mgoblue: Rickey, who coached the Wolverines from 1910-1913 while attending the Michigan Law School and compiled a 68-32-4 record, is the Hall of Fame Vintage-Era inductee. The Vintage-Era designation is for those who played or coached prior to 1947. Rickey’s college experience influenced his role in promoting Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier years later as general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey is also known for the development of the farm system and the introduction of the batting helmet. Rickey’s professional career saw him lead the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1920s and 1930s, the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s and the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1950s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967 as a Pioneer and Executive. Due to his role in this historic event and his place in Cooperstown, Rickey memorabilia is quite valuable and you’ll find it constantly being peddled on eBay.   One interesting item up right now (with a steep asking price of $1,995) is a program from a…