A few clips from the Big Ten Network’s coverage of Michigan’s practice yesterday. First my impressions: * I know everyone talked about the pace of the practice, but you really got a sense for it. Everyone is constantly moving, doing down-ups, running back and forth between drills. * There are still a few semi flabby dudes out there. After all of the Barwis talk (I’m still waiting for someone to on NBC to speculate that Barwis must have worked with Michael Phelps), I expected everyone on the roster would look like Chippendale dancers (Swayze, not Farley). * Not a surprise, but you can see that Rodriguez is a tough S.O.B. * The quarterbacks looked pretty brutal. I mean, there doing that little 12 yard out drill with no pressure and they’re consistently throwing shaky passes, whether it was throwing to the inside or just missing the guy. Feagin looked rough, Sheridan threw a couple nice balls but it’s clear Threet has the stronger arm. Here’s the quarterback drills from BTN: You can also see Rodriguez’s interview here. Classic: They showed last year’s Michigan State game before the practice and I took in the fourth quarter. Chad Henne’s touchdown pass to Manningham will always be remembered as the play of the game, but the pass he delivered to Arrington a few…
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West Virginia Paper: Put Yost in WVU Hall of Fame
Caught this column from Mickey Furfari writing for The Times West Virginian. In it, Furfari recaps Yost’s ties to the school including a mention of the football letter he earned as tackle for the Mountaineers in 1895-96: Edited, see the full article. Sticking out like a sore thumb to West Virginians was a 130-0 mauling of the Mountaineers by U-M on Oct. 22, 1904. It remains the worst beating by far in WVU history….Despite that dreadful drubbing, I think Fielding Yost ought to be in the WVU Sports Hall of Fame. He’d get my vote.
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BTN will air Lloyd Carr ‘Legends’ piece 8/26
Next Tuesday at 6pm EDT the Big Ten Network will air its ‘Big Ten Legends’ series piece featuring Lloyd Carr. I caught the ad for this during the BTN’s practice coverage last night. Here’s more from their website: Big Ten Legends is a 30-minute show that lets fans experience the conference through the eyes of those who helped create the history and foundation of the Big Ten. Relive the greatest moments of the Big Ten through untold stories and remarkable personal accounts from legends such as Archie Griffin, Jim Abbott, Lloyd Carr and many others. Elsewhere, a local Indiana TV channel caught Carr at an event at the college football hall of fame, and he spoke a bit about the Notre Dame rivalry. Video here. Carr commented on the likelihood of one team dominating this rivalry, which will run at least through 2032, “By in large, no team will every dominate this series ever. It is too much of a rivalry for that to happen.” Update: Here’s a preview from BTN:
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Carty talks Shaw, McGuffie, QBs on WTKA (audio)
Ann Arbor News Jim Carty called into Sam Webb’s show this morning to chat on his observations from practice, including the buzz around super freshmen Michael Shaw and Leaping Sam McGuffie. Carty revealed his personal over/under for the team was set at 7.5 (sounds right) and that if he could book his own bet, he’s leaning a tad over that right now. Full audio via MLive, hopefully a proper podcast:
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Doc’s not just the Nickname (1920)
Celtics coach Doc Rivers had a great line this past season- when asked to comment on the health of one of his players he shot back, “You know Doc’s a nickname, correct?” Laughter ensued and Boston went on to win the NBA championship. Doc of course is a popular nickname amongst athletes for whatever reason, and just like Rivers, typically these guys don’t hold a doctorate or a professional medical license. The next installment of eBay Watch takes a look at a Michigan Man who was far from typical. Up for bid is a 1920ish baseball card featuring John Leonard ‘Doc’ Lavan, who attended Michigan from 1908-1911 and went on to have a nice major league career [from nationmaster.com]: Lavan played in 1,163 major league games, of which 1,126 were at the shortstop position. In 11 seasons, Lavan had a lifetime batting average of .245 with 954 hits, 377 RBIs, 338 runs scored, and 186 extra base hits. He had his best season as a batter in 1920 when he hit .289 with 32 extra base hits and 63 RBIs. You can see his career statistics here. Here’s the full auction, as of writing this post the card was still trying to fetch an opening bid. As for the nickname Doc, you guessed it, Lavan was an actual doctor. His…
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Vegas Likes Buckeyes
The Associated Press finally released their preseason poll, with Michigan absent from the top 25 (the 36 votes for the Wolverines placed them 32nd). The Vegas Insiders were waiting for the AP before to releasing theirs, and they did today with Ohio State tops just ahead of Georgia who is #1 just about everywhere else. Michigan didn’t make the VI poll either. Related: The Bucks easily top the MVictors Power Index as well, which compares the Big 10 and Notre Dame. I’m looking for someone to represent the Irish in the Index. If you have Notre Dame ties and you’re interested in participating, drop me a note.
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eBay Watch: A Proper Tailgating Vessel
A short edition of eBay Watch, this installment featuring this beautiful American made Chevy 4×4 with a limited edition paint job: Thanks to Matthew for forwarding this link. Right now this chick magnet has no bids with a starting price of $999.99. Here’s the full auction. My only beef? I would have insisted on the winged helmet design at least on the front of this sled, but I’m a romantic. If you hurry, you can test out this beauty at one of the biggest tailgating venues on the planet, the NASCAR race down tomorrow down at Michigan International Speedway just 40 or so miles from Ann Arbor. And speaking of the Sprint Cup series, did you know that current points leader Kyle Busch is a Michigan football fan? I did; I remember the piece they ran on ESPN or somewhere showing his tour of the Big House last year. Busch describes how it started in USA Today this week: Although he is from Las Vegas, young Busch is a big University of Michigan football fan. U of M is about 40 minutes away from MIS in Ann Arbor, Mich. “My brother (Kurt) moved up to Michigan years ago to run in the Craftsman Truck series and he went to a Michigan game,” Kyle recalled. “He bought me a Michigan sweatshirt…
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Michael Phelps about town
In case you missed the NBC clip of Phelps swimming, eating, and sleeping in Ann Arbor, check it out: If you recall, Phelps showed up at the Penn State game last season. I caught him walking up my section presumably to refuel at the concession stand given the NBC piece. My description: Today Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps was seen in the first half donning a Mike Hart jersey and a Detroit Tigers lid. If it wasn’t Phelps it was Screech which is still kind of cool. And now I’m officially a putz. HT: Chris Burke at MLive. Related: Olympic pride palpable in Canham Natatorium.