Thank you to the U-M Library, the U-M Bentley Historical Library for creating a searchable digitized archive of the Daily.   Within seconds I found a few never-before-seen nuggets on a few of my favorite topics like The Little Brown Jug and Willis Ward. Speaking of Ward, you may know a lot about the 1934 Willis Ward controversy that played out before the Georgia Tech game that year, either from this site or on mgoblue.com, or via the kickass and Emmy-nominated documentary Black and Blue.   I don’t think I had heard about this, though. It turns out more than a few folks raised a suspicious eye when, in May 1934 (yes, months before the Georgia Tech game mess heated up) the U-M track team failed to elect Ward captain of the 1935 squad.   Here’s one of the letters to the Daily in the May 25, 1934 edition: So nicely done, C.A. Blue. Thanks to a quick search in the new digital archive, I know that “Murmuring Michigan” refers to a piece that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, where the author described a few days on campus in Ann Arbor. As I understand it, he observed a movement of students on campus beginning to rebel against the established norms/biases of the day, like racism. He was right.  A few months later, the…

While the committee chairman’s words Tuesday night were promising, I still struggle seeing this happen for Michigan.  I think people agree the best scenario is Colorado winning on Friday night, opening the #4 slot in the playoff. First, via CFN here is how the committee selection process works: 2. Each member will list the best six teams, in no particular order. The six teams receiving the most votes will comprise the pool for the first ranking step. This is known as the “listing step.” 3. In the first ranking step, each member will rank those six teams, one through six, with one being the best. The best team in each member’s ranking will receive one point; second-best, two points, etc. The members’ rankings will be added together and the three teams receiving the fewest points will become the top three seeds. The three teams that were not seeded will be held over for the next ranking step. 4. Each member will list the six best remaining teams, in no particular order. The three teams receiving the most votes will be added to the three teams held over to comprise the next ranking step. We also know the committee values head-to-head and conference championships, but not necessarily more than the other.  And they only really look at these metrics when the…

I don’t see Michigan in play for a playoff spot no matter what happens.   If Washington and/or Clemson lose, I see the committee going for the B1G champ over Michigan and they aren’t putting three B1G teams in the playoff. The committee understands that if it takes Ohio State alone from the B1G, it will obviously ignore the conference champion.  The idealistic view is that the major conference champions more or less feed into the playoff.  They will debate taking solely Ohio State over Penn State should the Lions win Saturday – so much so that I could see Ohio State getting dropped out if Penn State wins.  The “only Ohio” scenario is less of a concern if Wisconsin wins for sure, but still a concern. Given the opportunity of a slot opening up, they will thankfully take the B1G champ. I think they signal this tonight by putting Michigan at #6, but even if they have them at #5, they will justify the B1G champ jumping them in the final rankings based on the championship win. So that leaves Michigan out.  But to me the consolation prize is pretty agreeable.  With the B1G champ in the playoff, the Rose Bowl has discretion and will take Michigan.  Under the scenario that Washington loses to Colorado to free up the…

Great idea from my pals at SupportUofM, Hoover Street and Maize and Blue Nation.  Co-sign.  Via Craig @ Hoover Street Rag: I’m moving forward because there’s only two choices: wallow in bitterness or accept the whims of cruel fate and hope the universe sees fit to balance them out in the long run. But it is better to take action than just to say you’re moving forward.  Thankfully, our friends at the Big Ten office have decided that, in addition to a “public reprimand” for Coach Harbaugh for his postgame comments, they have fined Michigan $10,000 for violations of the Big Ten’s sportsmanship policy. Now, we’re not worried about Michigan’s ability to pay the fine.  In fact, I’m pretty sure Warde Manuel has a small piggy bank in Weidenbach Hall labeled “Harbaugh Says Something Fund” filled with the petty cash overflow from Michigan Stadium popcorn sales that will cover it no sweat.  But, it gave our blog friend Justin at MaizeandGoBlue an idea, one supported by Kerri from SupportUofM and Brad from Maize & Blue Nation as well as us here at the HSR, to launch a fundraiser benefiting The ChadTough Foundation. This is a chance for all of us to turn a negative into a positive, to turn disappointment into hope, and to prove that the power of the Ann Arbor money cannon is a force for good. The…

From his Sirius interview with Chris Russo, interesting stuff from Gary Danielson on the Michigan-Ohio State game, the strategery of Harbaugh’s postgame rant, the spot, and a lot on the playoff scenarios. If things fall like they should, he wouldn’t put Ohio State in the playoff (“they lost the wrong game”) and discussed the odd situation we’re in with the committee and the conference championships. [display_podcast]   Follow MVictors on Twitter 

No official decals are being doled out this week from Dr. Sap, just a few words. Guest post by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis I’ve been there as a player, as a coach, as a parent and as a fan.  When you play the game long enough, you get to see all that’s good about competition and unfortunately, all that is bad about it.  It happens at every age and at every level.  Sooner or later, your will and morality will get tested and you will need to make a decision. Do you become a “win-at-all-cost” type of person or do you take the high road, knowing that in the end you will be vindicated and rewarded?  That decision will end up shaping the rest of not only your life, but the lives of those around you and who you influence. For me that point in time happened in 1978. I was not quite 14 years old but knew it was a significant moment in my life.  Bo Schembechler was asked why Michigan flew to South Bend instead of taking a bus to play Notre Dame in 1978?  His response was vintage Bo.  “Because Michigan goes 1st class!” Simple and to the point, but more importantly, it was a mindset that showed that Michigan was different. They were a cut above…

These days there’s no question about the identity of Michigan’s biggest rival—that’s that team from Ohio —but back in the late 1800s and well into the Fielding Yost era, public enemy number one was Chicago and Coach Stagg. While today we play the Buckeyes after the Thanksgiving holiday each season, did you know that Michigan actually used to play ON Thanksgiving day? Indeed and On this day exactly 120 years ago, Michigan and Chicago squared off on Thanksgiving Thursday in Chicago and they did this a few times starting in the 1890s. From This Week in Michigan Football History: This week take a trip waaay back to 1896, as the Wolverines led by coach William Ward headed to the Windy City to face Amos Alonzo Stagg and his Chicago Maroons. These days there’s no question about the identity of Michigan’s biggest rival—that’s that team from Ohio—but back in the late 1800s and well into the Fielding Yost era, public enemy number one was Chicago and Coach Stagg. While today we play the Buckeyes after the Thanksgiving holiday each season, did you know that Michigan actually used to play ON Thanksgiving day? Indeed and On this day exactly 120 years ago, Michigan and Chicago squared off on Thanksgiving Thursday in Chicago and they did this a few times starting in the 1890s.   The newly formed Western…