I just finished Austin Murphy’s piece on Rich Rod and the Michigan program in Sports Illustrated (the article behind the Forcier cover-corner). That’s Murphy on the left with the hood; dressed way to lightly for the 2008 Spring game at Saline. Joe Schad’s in the overcoat, dress appropriately for the conditions. They’re chatting with Steve Threet. When I spotted Murphy at the 2008 Saline Spring game my first thought was that the guy was trying way too hard to look cool. It was freezing cold out there in the drizzle, and Murphy had on this thin striped pull-over atop designer jeans and was constantly blowing into his hands to keep warm. Then I heard his call into John U Bacon’s show on WTKA last week. While this might have been due to technical problems, Murphy was constantly cutting in and out and I suspect he was swinging his head around his receiver like a stoner whilst chatting with Bacs. Painful radio. But I’ll give my hipster friend one thing, he can write. For SI this week, Murphy sums up the history of Rodriguez’s tenure in Ann Arbor, captures sentiment of the Michigan faithful and weaves in a dash of Forcier and the Notre Dame win. Probably like you, when I read these national stories I’m not really looking for…
-
-
Interview: Vince Helmuth
His jersey number is about the only thing that didn’t change for Vince Helmuth last season. The arrival of Rich Rodriguez’s spread offense in 2008 brought with it a diminished role for his brand of fullback, the position Helmuth was recruited to play for then coach Lloyd Carr. He did not see the field in the final six games of the season, something foreign to the Saline High School football star and 2007 letter winner. That drove Helmuth to give defense a try and he’s currently working to secure playing time at noseguard or tackle. In Saturday’s spring game he made a few nice stops and will be working this summer to prepare for fall camp and the 2009 season. Helmuth and I spoke last week prior to the spring game about his decision to move to defense, on Rich Rodriguez’s comments about his weight, about the prospect of his brother Gabe joining him on the team, on new coordinator Greg Robinson and more. MVictors: Rich Rodriguez confirmed this spring that you are making the switch to defense. How did you approach the coaches about the change? Helmuth: I played defense in high school and was pretty good at it, but I didn’t know exactly what it would take to play defense at a school like Michigan. Midway through last…
-
Stevie Brown, 2009 Meyer Morton Award winner
This year’s Meyer Morton Award, which has been given out since 1925, went to Stevie Brown. It signifies the player that has shown the most progress in Spring drills. Past winners include Jamie Morris, Stan & Braylon Edwards, Desmond Howard, Jim Harbaugh, and in 1932, future president Gerald Ford. The PA announcer advised is designated for Michigan seniors, but traditionally this was not the case. Take Ford for instance, he was a senior and MVP in 1934 yet received the award two seasons prior. I wrote about this last year after the Saline spring game [see ‘On the Meyer Morton’: This is the oldest individual award given by the football program and its winners include the late Gerald Ford. I actually found this pic of Ford with the award (1932) when researching a post after his death: You may have picked up this mention on the great mgoblog within Brian’s spring practice post today: Will Johnson won kind of a weird award for a fifth-year senior and returning starter to pick up. Brian’s right. It’s a little weird for a 5th year senior to be getting this award. I’m still digging for the reference, but I’m 90% sure I read somewhere that this honored was originally reserved for underclassman. Take Ford for instance. The late president won the honor in…
-
Steven Threet Bolts Michigan
Incumbent QB Steven Threet is leaving Ann Arbor.
-
Scuttlebutt no more: Shafer departs
News tonight that Scott Shafer has resigned as defensive coordinator. I’m a little surprised despite the heavy scuttlebutt that was abound in the last few weeks. mgoblog put out a brain dump on potential candidates tonight including Notre Dame’s current defensive coordinator and Michigan man Corwin ‘Cornflakes’ Brown. I just don’t see what Cornflakes has done this season to earn the shot at this gig. My two run-ins with Shafer this season. First, I interviewed him at the Spring Game while covering the event for a local paper. Seemed like a great guy and he was all business. The next was after the Utah game. It wasn’t a run in as much as it was a drive by. I kind of felt bad after posting this as it made some rounds around the blogosphere but oh well. He was hunched over the railing at the bottom of the press box waiting to get down to the field. As I said at the time, it looked like someone shot his dog: That probably wasn’t far off. Check out the quote from Angelique tonight: “Bottom line is, I take full responsibility for the demise of the Michigan program,” Shafer, 41, said by phone Tuesday afternoon. “I accept all the responsibility.” Wow. A little sarcasm on the way out? Not sure but let’s…
-
Carty Interview Part III: Radio, Evil Wojo, Blogging and Bruce
Continuing the interview with former News columnist Jim Carty. In Part I we talked about his decision to leave the News, on his new blog, the day Lloyd Carr canceled his subscription and his feud with Bill ‘Huge’ Simonson. In Part II we talked about some of his critics, access at the Capital One Bowl, on the accusations the News misled some student athletes during the athademics series, and on when he called Bill Martin ‘Barnacle Bill’ during the coaching search. In the last installment, We discuss radio, the good vs. evil in the world of sports journalism, bloggers and their place in the media and finally, we wrap up with my plea to make Bruce Springsteen shut his yap and just sing. MVictors: I see you’re still doing the WTKA Bud Light Victors Lounge, are you able to “enjoy” the lounge now that you don’t have to run over to cover the games now? Jim Carty: I’m trying to do them all, sometimes law school prevents that. There’s a WTKA staff rule, no booze for the talent [laughs]. MVictors: Are you on the payroll for those gigs? Jim Carty: For the Monday appearance and for the Saturday appearance I’m paid a grand total of $100 [laughs]. MVictors: You do a great job on the radio, you seem very comfortable.…
-
Carty Interview Part II: Critics, Kolarik and Barnacle Bill
Continuing the interview with former News columnist Jim Carty. In Part I we talked about his decision to leave the News, on his new blog, the day Lloyd Carr canceled his subscription, and his feud with Bill ‘Huge’ Simonson. In Part II we talk about some of his critics and its impact on his personal life, on his access to the team at the Capital One Bowl, on the accusations the News misled some student-athletes during the athademics series, and finally, on dubbing Michigan athletic director Bill Martin ‘Barnacle Bill’ during the coaching search: MVictors: How big of a concern was some of the criticism of your work at the News reaching your family?Jim Carty: My kids I think are too little at this point, my oldest daughter is eight and I don’t think she’s ever been aware of the controversy I create. She just sort of thinks it’s cool that I worked for the newspaper and didn’t understand why I would go back to school. At one point during the Bernard Robinson thing, when I was writing that he should be kicked out of U-M, there were some phone calls to the house that really freaked my wife out. And in general, during the backlash from the project [academic series] I think that was very disturbing to my wife.…
-
Interview with Michael Rosenberg: Part I
Detroit Free Press sports columnist Michael Rosenberg’s first book, War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a time of unrest, will be released September 10. There have been a few reviews of the book out there already, and from what I’ve read it’s getting high marks. Rosenberg sent me an advance copy and I burned through the 330+ pages in a few days. It’s a wonderful read, well written and meticulously researched. A quick scan of the acknowledgments and book notes reveal the breadth of interviews, videos, books, and news sources that Rosenberg poured through to weave the tale of this period. The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry certainly plays a key role in this book but it’s more of a backdrop. Rosenberg unveils how each man and their teams both dealt with and were affected by the social and political turmoil of this time. Mixed in are some new stories and a fresh, deeper look at some of the old legends. For me, the most interesting elements of the book: * Rosenberg’s accounts of the various protests in Ann Arbor and Columbus during the period. * The insight into the mind of Woody Hayes – the guy is completely off the charts. * And apologies to my English teachers/professors but I was also re-introduced to and…
