Bet the opposite of these and you might just be ok: Michigan vs. Florida is a tough one. As a retired drinker, gambler and smoker, I’ve learned a few things in my day. Never bet with a gorilla, keno is a suckers’ game and always take Michigan if they’re getting points.
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Carty: They’re fat
Per AA News columnist Jim Carty, the team (save Marquis Slocum) looked noticeably a tad plump at the open practice: Hart looks to be carrying a few extra pounds and he was far from alone. Right guard Alex Mitchell and a number of other linemen on both sides of the ball are as big as they’ve been all year, and by big, I mean big as in bellies, not big as in ripped. I question this a little bit, I mean, what’s Carty’s frame of reference? The locker room after the regular season games? He did add that Henne and Hart appeared to be a full strength despite Hart’s portliness. Elsewhere, the New York Times named Rich Rodriguez one of its 5 individuals who had a major impact on the sports world in 2007. Pete Thamel who does the Times’ The Quad Blog wrote the piece. On the Michigan hire: By hiring Rodriguez, Michigan, which had clung to its Bo Schembechler-bred power football roots, essentially pulled its head from the proverbial cloud of dust and conceded that gaining 3 yards at a time was no way to win national titles. Finally, I’m not a doctor but looks like they should have delivered Henne’s cortisone shots in his arse.
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Coach Berenson on WDFN (audio)
The audio from Red Berenson’s interview on the Stoney and Wojo show today discussing the GLI and more. Art Regner filled in for the hosts:
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Michigan Team Postcards (1907)
The last installment of eBay Watch is this year’s finest: a collection of postcards featuring members of 1907 Michigan football team. Perhaps a one of a kind set, the photos feature legendary players including the great Adolph ‘Germany’ Schulz, coach Yost and even the team trainer Keene Fitzpatrick. The seller offered up the entire collection and it didn’t go unnoticed by collectors. The winning bid for these beauties was $1,364.60 back in October. I actually used the photo of Joy Miller in ‘The Disgrace of 1909‘ but this is the first time I’m posting the entire set. Based on the crude way the auction items were photographed and presented on eBay, I doubt the seller was a professional memorabilia collector which makes this pretty cool. The postcard of Yost is different from the rest, not only the pose but also the background. It appears as though the publisher misspelled the surname of fullback Walter Rheinschild [no h on the postcard], and it is not clear as to why Eugene Flanagan was included as he doesn’t appear to have played a significant role on this or any team. In fact, the Bentley spells his name “Flanigan” but that’s only on an alternate full roster and he didn’t make the team photo in any season. Maybe he snuck into the shoot hoping…
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‘M’erry Christmas
Ahh the holidays once again. The webmaster was treated to a few choice M-related gifts including the highly regarded Michigan Crocs and a copy of John Kryk’s Natural Enemies, the definitive tome on the Michigan v. Notre Dame rivalry. The book will make a great addition to my library.
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Michigan Memorabilia Vault: 1960-present
A gallery of Michigan athletics memorabilia from around the web. Do you have anything from this era to share? Scan it in and send it over to me. Click to see full size:
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Carr at UCLA, Freep Special Report
Obviously it was a disappointing finish to the hoops game yesterday, as the UCLA wore down Beilein’s crew and pulled away easily in the second half. The turning point? When they showed the video of coach Carr in the stands. Note the time and the score at the time: And not to nitpick, but if you are going to put an end date on Carr’s coaching career, technically it’s 2008. Two interesting links from the Free Press today: 1. Wow, check out the exchange between Les Miles and Rodriguez, as described by Rodriguez’s mother. It kind of validates the cocktail party theory that the WVU/Pitt game basically determined our next coach: According to her, Miles thanked Rodriguez for losing the game against Pittsburgh. Miles then joked with Rodriguez that the loss cost Miles his dream job. “He told my son that if West Virginia had beaten Pitt, they would’ve been in the championship game, and that would’ve left an opening for him,” she said. 2. Definitely give this is a read. Shawn Windsor of the Free Press put together a special report on the days leading to the Rodriguez hiring.
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Michigan Tradition 101: Study Guide for Coach Rodriguez
In his introduction press conference last week, Coach Rodriguez was up front about not knowing much about the Michigan football tradition. He promised to take a book on Bo Schembechler (I assume it was the new one, John Bacon’s Bo’s Lasting Lessons) home over the weekend and give it a read. I think most Michigan fans are concerned about wins and losses and would trade a championship for a coach that knows, cherishes and embraces the previous hundred and thirty years of football in Ann Arbor. Fine. But there are quite a few of us around that the tradition matters. Again, not to say that an outsider can’t come in and embrace it. While I’m growing tired of the Bo references to this situation, you have to consider Schembechler. Bo wasn’t quite a complete outsider as was Rodriguez, but he was an outsider nonetheless and is now the quintessential M man. Count me as a one that will be disappointed if during his Monday press conference on November 3, 2008, Coach Rodriguez fails to recount the history of the Little Brown Jug, as Coach Carr did each year during his tenure. And consider me ‘blue’ if we learn that Rodriguez doesn’t do something each practice to prepare for Ohio State, as has been done by each opponent since the days…
