A few items to check out from around the M nerdosphere and beyond. Check out the great Maize n Brew’s ‘Five Reasons to Love Ann Arbor‘. Ahh, good times. While not quite the same thing, I did pull together an out-of-towner’s bar guide to Ann Arbor which is of the same ilk. Dig it here. Next, don’t miss the passion on TBTYB on Datsyuk’s goal that was waived off in Game 4. Angry. I always love any Autumn Thunder depiction of our AD “Big Billy Dollaz”, especially when he makes it rain like Pac. CFN is out with its “Way Too Early Bowl Projections” and has Michigan landing in the Outback Bowl against the defending national champion for the second straight year (LSU). I’ll take that! Let’s book it. BCS projections come out tomorrow.

Been away for a few days but I see that the drama around Rodriguez hasn’t let up a bit. Some pretty interesting comments from readers on my two posts on the #1 jersey deal, and now I see that Rodriguez’s full deposition is out there. Links:Part I Part II Part III I’m looking through it but the first thing that stuck out, being a novice of depositions (and disguises), I found the glossary and index of every word uttered pretty wild: I spotted “Boubacar” in the transcript and shot over to this section. Curious as the court reporter couldn’t get “Terrelle” or “Pryor” consistently correct but nailed “Boubacar Cissoko”. Anyway, here’s Rich Rod getting grilled on the timing of calling the recruits with his West Virginia phone: I don’t know exactly how this went down in the court, but it seems Rodriguez ignores the frequent objections by his lawyer, the same guy who likened Rodriguez’s situation to slavery not too long ago. Not sure that if in these cases there was an objection, a huddle, then an answer, although there are other instances when it is clear Robon objects then says it is ok to answer. Don’t know, but there are countless occasions where Robon objects but it appears Rodriguez blows him off and answers anyway: [Update: Got an excellent…

The #1 jersey controversy has definitely struck a nerve with the Maize and Blue community. Judging from the comments and emails to this site alone, this is definitely a hot one. I understand. Most fans were a little surprised when Rich Rod overhauled the entire coaching staff holding onto just one assistant- Fred Jackson. But in the end I think people understood. Certainly fans wish the whole mess with West Virginia wasn’t happening but again, I think they get that any divorce like this is going to be a little ugly. As far as upholding tradition I think he’s done the right things so far. The ‘On the Road‘ tour has been a great success, and he’s taken a few opportunities to meet with former players. Each time he’s been challenged on something (Boren, that whole paper-shredding B.S., the lawsuits, the snake-oil-a-rama), he’s addressed it directly and to me, perfectly. He’s hasn’t bashed anyone, he gave his take on the situation and it’s always left me feeling like good about the way it was handled. In some cases, the stuff turned out to be complete bull. This one cuts right into everyone’s fears. Ignoring the tradition and more recently, the scholarship, tied to the #1 jersey would be a blunder. If Rodriguez did know about it and ignored it, I…

Check out some audio from Jim Rome today. He went pretty hard at Rich Rodriguez over the snafu with #1 jersey and the Braylon Edwards comments. Rome’s take on this. “Either you didn’t know or you didn’t care. Both bad.” He went off pretty hard on RR. Here’s specifically what Braylon Edwards said on ESPN, where he alleges that Rodriguez gave the prized number to a DB: “I am already mad that Rich Rod because he gave the No. 1 jersey to someone other than a wide receiver, which is breaking tradition,” Edwards said. “But I think he is a great coach and will lead Michigan to a turnaround.” His comments on Mike Tirico’s ESPN Radio show also Tuesday were a bit more pointed. “I’m glad you gave me a Go Blue question because Rich Rod gave the No. 1 jersey to an incoming freshman DB and the No. 1 jersey has never been worn by anybody outside of a wide receiver,” Edwards said. “It dates back to Anthony Carter, (Greg) McMurtry, Tyrone Butterfield, Derrick Alexander, David Terrell, and yours truly. So I’m going to have a talk with him about that the next time I see him.” My take? Hold up here. Let’s not take one incident, possibly a mistake, and turn Rodriguez into Bill Callahan. Let’s see what…