The folks at Moe Sports/Underground Printing got a bunch of great entries for the "trick out your tailgate" contest and decided to do a couple things: Award three tailgates with custom shirts instead of just one as originally planned, see a breakdown below, and… Is considering awarding more winners as "tailgate of the week" this season based on the entries received. Details TBD. Drum roll, the three tailgates selected: Grand Champion Jason Freeman & John Baciak – "Grey Lot Tailgate" What they get: Forty (40) custom shirts made up and discounts to use at Moe’s for their tailgate members. They’ll be the official tailgate of the UMass game. What put them over the top? If you plan a theme this hard, you must be serious. I haven’t met Jason or John (yet) but you should know I likes me Irish fare: Tailgate Theme: ST. PATRICK’S DAY TAILGATE Description: With Massachusetts representing the state with the highest population of Irish Americans per capita, and with September 18th representing the halfway point to St. Patrick’s Day, this one was TOO EASY!!! We’ll be celebrating this cosmic Irish alignment of circumstances in true stereotypical American fashion: by wearing green t-shirts and beaded necklaces, drinking green beer, enjoying some corned beef hash, potato skins, and cranking up the Irish tunes! This will be one…
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Denard Robinson – Media Day
I spent a little time with Denard Sunday and most the questions and answers were pretty dry. My impression watching him—he feels like he’s the guy and exudes confidence. A few of the solid quotes including my favorite from the day*: How has he gotten better? "I think I’m more calm. I’m getting used to the offense, and that’s really helping me out." On his thoughts last year: "There was just a whole bunch going through my head and everything was coming by so fast. Everything has slowed down." On whether he thinks more than one quarterback will be starting this season. "Oh yeah, oh yeah. Because all of us are playing real good football right now. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Devin on the field and Tate on the field in one of these games. They could start the first game, we really don’t know." On Devin’s progress. "He calmed down. Everything was fast to him at first when he came in. He took it all in and he’s using it now." *On where he was with the read option last season: "Man. <laughs>. Last year I was like, ‘All right, I’m not reading, I’m just running’ – that’s what I was thinking. Now I can read it." Related: The Standard Fare Will Hagerup – Media Day Devin…
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Devin Gardner – Media Day
I spent a few moments with Devin Gardner. From the little I’ve seen, he’s clearly much improved and in the mix the fall and I’m very surprised after seeing Gardner a bit in the fall. A few quotes: Are you still living with Charlie? [for context, click here and scroll down]: Charlie? Oh no, I’m not living with Charlie anymore I’m living with Denard. How’s that going [living with Denard]? "It’s going great. You know, he’s like a garbage disposal, he eats everything, I don’t know why. He’s hungry all the time." He looks like he’s bigger. "Yeah, because he’s eating all that food <laughs>." It looks like you’ve improved [from spring to now], do you think so? "I’ve definitely improved from the spring, but I don’t think I’m where I need to be. I want to be the best at everything I do." What command of the playbook do you have at this point? "Everything they’ve taught us I know it to a ‘T’. I don’t know if they’ve told us everything, but they said it’s a big chunk that we’re going to use against UConn." Related: Will Hagerup – Media Day Tate Forcier – Media Day Media Day (Photo Gallery) Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Tate Forcier – Media Day
A few words from me before quoting Tate. This guy stood in here today and got hammered with questions about missing wings, expectations and being called out by Woolfolk. He handled it all like a pro. He was humble, apologetic, and most of all, kept getting back to do whatever’s best for the team. Whatever happens from here give him credit for manning up and embracing this adversity. He certainly won points with me today. Here’s Tate: Does he feel like he’s been challenged? "Yes..He told me he was going to. And I think Coach Rod has done a great job at it and it’s only making me better. I can’t be made at it." What did he do to earn his helmet wings back? "Something my dad always told me, action speak louder than words. I just stayed quiet…and did all the work, and make sure everyone saw me doing the work…first one on the practice field and the last one off. Whatever it took. I got them back and I’m happy." His answer to the skeptics, that this team won’t improve: "People can think what they want. They don’t see what’s going on every day like all of us players do." Did he think he didn’t have to work as hard (during the off-season)? "I wouldn’t say that,…
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Crisp, Clean and no Michigan in between
[ed 8.17 – Got a call from Bruce Madej at U-M Media Relations on this. He advises that this logo is not “new” or a change and in fact, the Block M with the blue outline is used in certain media/TV situations and is still at midfield today. Madej did confirm that there is an effort to have a more consistent look to the logo. For the record.] I have a friend that does some work with the athletic department and he told me that this year he was provided a subtle change to the Block M design on his products. The previous version of the logo included an outline of blue around the M, and you’ve seen the older editions that have MICHIGAN across the middle. A rundown of the trademarked M images is found here. I spoke to Erin at IMG who confirmed that the athletic department is going with the all Maize look and that the move “was made when Dave Brandon, Michigan’s new Athletic Director, took office in March.” Voila: I guess it shouldn’t be a shock that one of Brandon’s first moves was to usher in a consistent look and feel to the iconic M logo. I like it. I like it a lot. What is interesting to me is that there wasn’t any…
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NCAA hearing Concludes; Brandon Statement
The hearing dragged on most of the day, perhaps a bit longer than the media hanging outside the committee room expected. Hot news? Beyond the AD dropping a few Dominos pizza pies on the press (hopefully topped with coffee beans) the timetable for the official NCAA decision is unclear. Oh, and count the Alabama game as officially a "maybe", and Michigan and Notre Dame are still working out the details of the future of their football-playing relationship. Statement from Super Dave Brandon, via U-M Media relations: Statement from Dave Brandon Regarding NCAA Hearing We feel that the committee gave us a full and fair hearing today. Our statements today were similar to those we provided the NCAA earlier this summer: We own the mistakes we have made, we fixed some process and communication problems that caused them, and we’re keeping a close eye on this so it doesn’t happen again. I’m proud of the extra effort everyone has been putting into compliance these past several months. Rich and his staff – in coordination with the compliance group – have been working together to keep us on the right track. We will await the committee’s decision and we will not speculate about the outcome – we must let the process play out. We won’t comment further on this matter until after…
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Rich Rodriguez Full Presser (08-09 audio)
RR: "Have any of you ever kissed a girl?" You know you’re getting old when driving over, the thought enters your mind that this "late" night press conference will be cutting into your precious ‘Antiques Roadshow’ time. Yikes. Full audio from this evening below. Follow MVictors on Twitter for live updates during press conferences this season. [display_podcast] Key takeaways/notes: RR called out "a handful of guys" that aren’t in shape. Wouldn’t name names. He didn’t name anyone beyond the "guys upfront" for being in exceptional shape. Coach Rodriguez wouldn’t comment on the WVU allegations, deferred to his previous statements. First practice in pads is Friday morning "full contact"; two-a-days start Sunday. All the quarterbacks took the first snap together, haha. "All three guys are competing." Said Devin is in "great shape". On the Woolfolk comments and Tate. "I’m glad our seniors are taking some ownership and leadership in this team." … "Tate knows he’s a lot of work to do to prove himself, not only on the field but off the field." On whether Tate is doing the right things to prove himself. "I don’t watch summer practices." Weeee. All the injured players in the from the spring are back 100% except Will Heiniger. Michael Shaw and some other players are still in summer school, into next week.…
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Interview: John Pollack of ‘Save the Big House’
On Wednesday fans and media will get a good look inside the nearly completed renovation of Michigan Stadium. While there’s seemingly been an overwhelming positive reaction to the new digs by fans, you may recall that the project had its opponents. The most vocal was a group named Save The Big House, led by longtime U-M fan and Ann Arbor native John Pollack. The group received much attention in the media including this piece in the New York Times. Pollack, 44, formerly a speechwriter for President Clinton and Rep. David Bonior, suggested that the needs of the athletic department could be met via an alternate design. His team proposed a less costly plan that would expand seating, add bathrooms and the upgrade the press box without adding premium seating or suites: savethebighouse.com Pollack is the author of the book Cork Boat and resides in New York these days. He was kind enough to answer a few questions about the (nearly) finished project. For the record, a couple things here. I told Pollack right off that I disagree with much of his stance about the renovation. And if I count as a U-M historian, I’m firmly with Bacs, John Kryk and the others who argue Fielding Yost would support this project based on what I know about the man. This said,…
