[Ed. Bonus Giveaway Time! Thanks to the folks at Rivalry Trophy. If you retweet this tweet or like this post on Facebook between today and Monday, I’ll pick one at random and send you a free mini-Little Brown Jug]: Without further ado, Is your better half stuck on what to get you for the holidays? Wondering what to get your Michigan-obsessed cousin? This is the best of the best of the stuff you should be considering – so read on, send and share. Some cool stuff this year: Leading off, I already mentioned the new line of awesome M watches from the mind of Shashi Mara – his new brand of HAIL Timepieces. Nice work Shashi, these are awesome. Check them all out here including some exclusive bundles. My favorite? Got to be the Khaki and Steel. Additional offerings include “Michigan Man” ($349), “Maize and Blue” ($299) and “Special Teams” ($279). Hurry because they are selling fast: Rivalry Trophy features a must-have with their Little Brown Jug replicas. Since it is home in Ann Arbor for while now you must have one in your M shrine or certainly, minimum, on your Christmas tree. That’s coming straight from the universe’s leading Jugologist. Available in ornament/dashboard, mid-size (around a foot) and full size. They also have bundles with ugly Paul Bunyan. …
-
-
It’s Time: The HAIL Collection
Folks, around the holidays I usually post my annual ‘gift list for Michigan Fans’. I do this to direct the loved ones of those who frequent this site to stuff respectable to wear/carry/read in 2016 and beyond. This year my man Shashi Mara, the creator of the Wolverines Collection (the epic Swiss timepieces you’ve seen on this site in the past) and available at the M Den’s Victors Collection, came to me with a new line a timepieces. That’s right, I said timepieces. Why a new line? He received a ton of demand for a new line of high quality Michigan watch to reach a broader set of the Meechigan fanbase…and thus the HAIL line was created. On top of that, he’s giving a portion of HAIL sales to support scholarships for future Wolverines. Long story short, Shashi asked me to help launch his new line. I accepted provided he let me permanently “borrow” one of these beauties (dude, I’m torn between the Valiant and the Khaki and Steel!) He put together a limited number of the following bundles, which include a free strap: “Valiant” ($249, 12 bundles available) – black steel case, 3-hand dial, with a black silicone strap and a free black & grey military/NATO strap (same as seen on 007 in the new Bond film): “Khaki & Black” ($279, 24 bundles available) – black steel…
-
Taming Biff and Bennie
Partnering with Shashi Mara and MaraWatch was such a natural fit for me because that’s really what Shashi has been doing with his line of M luxury watches err, timepieces [when they are that nice you call them timepieces]. Over at Zingerman’s Coffee House earlier this year Mara tipped me off that he was extending out his catalog to add new products. Please welcome Biff and Bennie, new epic cufflinks as part of his collection: Fine-tuned M historians know that Biff and Bennie were the names of the living mascots that Yost brought to Ann Arbor in the 1920s, and the nasty duo was an attraction during the 1927 Michigan Stadium dedication against Ohio State. Check out more here, including the design process that pushes 3D printing technology to maize and blue glory. Want? Go to www.marawatch.com/collection to see the sets Writing Instruments (not mere pens!)Another addition to the collection are these premium devices – available for delivery immediately, order directly via phone (734) 436-8138. According to Shashi, there are fewer than a dozen available in each style (silver/gold), with the classic Point-A-Minute era gridiron design: Well done Shashi, keep it coming.
-
Provisioning for Michigan Stadium | 2014 Style
My annual post outlining your checklist before entering Michigan Stadium on Saturday. Optional for 2014: A. MaraWatch – Only required if you want to look cool and have everyone like & respect you. Only then. B. Tricked out customized adidas – Only for the true players (see A.) C. Blow-up Doll(s) – To help fill up the empty seats around you. D. Stick/Rope/Towel – ..to bite down on to help ease the pain if you see 98 running for his life against App St, or if TFLA remains in triple digits. The rest: 1. Radio with quality Headphones. Forget the latest incarnation of the “official” radio that sticks on your ear (do they have another one in 2014?), they are unreliable. Bring in a radio you trust to listen to the play-by-play from Brandy and Dan Dierdorf on WTKA 1050AM. You’ll get injury reports, sideline observations, statistics and analysis of key plays that are under review (although Brandstatter always seems to think the replay will goes Michigan’s way). You can also check out the entire pregame show and This Week in Michigan Football History as it plays. Probably most critical: with the radio in your ears you can block out the blabber from the fool nearby who won’t shut his Twizzler hole as he belts out play-by-play and screams down…
-
Wearing the Game Changer
In The Shawshank Redemption, while recapping how Andy Dufresne walked through the prison wearing the warden’s shoes, Red asks, “I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a mans shoes?” That’s probably fair, unless we’re talking about Billy Taylor’s Pumas of course. Many of you know this season I got to test drive one of the products of my sponsor MaraWatch. Unlike Andy’s shoes the watch was noticed—throughout the season I fielded compliments heading into the stadium, on the field by alums, and even up in the press box by my media buds. I also got to know the man behind the operation, Shashi Mara. We met a few weeks back in Ann Arbor and I got to see the whole collection and the different straps. The dude has a great story and an intense passion for his product—down to the finish on the underside of the buckles. I love it. Over coffee Shashi shared a sneak peek at a couple videos he was pulling together to promote the brand. They’ve since been finished and they are pure gold–here’s my favorite: Interested in wearing one? For the holidays they’ll donate 10% of the sale price to a charity such as the Charles Woodson Clinical Research Fund or the Blavin Scholars Fund. or perhaps something that’s close to you. …
-
Case Opened (Michigan 42, Gophers 13)
Straight to the miscellanea: Honoring Falk > Postgame: Q. For the last 40 years your equipment manager Jon Falk has been the keeper of the jug. Any last words about Mr. Falk and knowing he’s got the job one more time that concludes his tenure here? Hoke: “Well, we gave it to him when we got in the locker room. I just hope he doesn’t take it home. But no, very emotional, very happy. Jon, his loyalty to Michigan and Michigan football is special.” I caught up with Falk after the game as he was heading out of the stadium. He told me when he got the jug he told the players, “There’s no coach & there’s no player bigger than Michigan football.” Uniform notes > Team wore LHS decal in honor of Lucas, son of former All-B1G tackle Adam Stenavich. As Sap pointed out, that’s the first non-player or coach to be honored in such a way (POTUS Ford, Bo, Ron Kramer). Timeline updated. Mood > Slight uptick, but that was way closer than the score of course and..well…meh: Jug History slaughtered but forgiven > At the conclusion of the broadcast Mike Patrick absolutely butchered the history of the jug, talking some nonsense about Minnesota taking the jug to Michigan and the crock being made of clay from the…
