Plenty to dole out, take it away Sap: Adidas: 1 decal for bringing back the white socks on the road with a little block M on them a la Tom Harmon and the boys back in 1939! (Editor’s note: Might have to take this decal away. There’s obviously something wrong with the 2011 away jerseys, causing some of players to switch to last year’s model! Get that fixed, Beaverton) Dhani Jones: 1 decal for Rocking The Bowtie before, during and after the game! Hey, Dhani, how about a Bowtie with U-M helmet decals on it? Dr. Sap would make the switch to a bowtie if that were the case – GUARANTEED!! Greg Mattison: 1 decal for 2nd half shutout of Wildcats – Very Bill McCartney-esque! Denard Robinson: 5 decals – 9-yard TD pass to Watson in 1st QTR; 25-yard TD pass to Gallon in 2nd QTR; 2-yard TD run in 3rd QTR minus one shoe; 5-yard TD run in 4th QTR, +1 editor’s pick for running up to the crowd on the final score. Defense: 3 decals for each member of unit – 4th down stop in 2nd QTR; 4th down stop in 4th QTR; pitching a shutout in 2nd Half. Desmond Morgan: +1, editor’s choice, for flying over the NW offense line in an attempt to sack Persa. Jordan…
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Sights & Sounds: Michigan 42, Northwestern 24 (2011)
What a great night in Evanston and props to the throngs of Michigan fans who made the trip, many of whom blew my doors off on I-94 topping 95 MPH. After parking several blocks from the stadium, I was running a tad late so I flagged your typical pregame rickshaw driver and cruised to the stadium in style
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The Final Piece of the Puzzle (1943)….Found!
This month I submitted a piece on Ann Arbor resident Jack Briegel and his extraordinary collection. His focus is on ticket stubs and get this, of the 517 games played at Michigan Stadium to date, Briegel has a full ticket or stub from all of them but one. That's right – he's missing 1!
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Dr. Sap’s Decals – Minnesota
A lot of business to take care of but first, here’s a rundown of the original criteria for awarding the footballs via Dr. Sap: Bo Schembechler criteria announced on September 23, 1969 for determining how Wolverines would earn a helmet award sticker, according to a report the next day in the Ann Arbor News: ON OFFENSE: 1) An outstanding block, catch or run 2) TD pass or run over 25 yards 3) Outstanding second effort 4) Four crossfield blocks in one game 5) TD-saving tackle on punt return 6) Scoring TD with first down between the eight and 10-yard lines (all offensive players get one) 7) Making first down starting from inside our two-yard line 8 ) Scout player doing best job against defense ON DEFENSE: 1) Pass interception 2) Blocked kick 3) Key tackle inside 20-yard line 4) Causing fumble or interception 5) Recovering a fumble 6) Stopping opposing team inside the 10-yard line (all) 7) When defense scores a touchdown (all) 8 ) Outstanding second effort or great hit 9) Making following number of tackles, including assists — ends, tackles and backs, 9; middle guard and rover back, 12; and linebackers, 16 10) Scout player doing best job against offense We don’t use all those metrics of course (at least until they let us in practice). So here…
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Mud Bowl 2011? It’s A Go
From sources deep inside the Sigma Alpha Epsilon camp, it’s confirmed that Mud Bowl is on for 2011. Kick-off is slated for 9AM on October 29, Homecoming weekend. Michigan will face Purdue at the Big House at noon. Many wondered if the traditional slop fest would happen given SAE’s campus suspension, but it’s a go and it will benefit C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital once again this year. Last year the game raised $38,000 for Mott, and sights are set on $40,000 in 2011.
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Headlocking Hugs (Sights & Sounds) Michigan 28, San Diego State 7
Most were surprised how easy that went Saturday for Hoke and crew and Michigan together the most complete half I can remember. The biggest factor was the poor play of highly-rated QB Ryan Lindley, who seemed out of sorts all day. The U-M defense deserves some credit for that for sure but Lindley didn’t get a lot of help from his receivers who ran poor routes in many cases. Here’s Lindley trying to connect in the end zone in the fourth quarter and his receiver has a step on Countess – the ball is too high, off-target and just sailed: Commence the Miscellanea: Since I’m not going to tell you anything about how Denard fared on the field that you didn’t see with your own eyes Saturday, try this: Laces on Lockdown Denard’s “Xs” – In the postgame Denard talked about a recent trip to the lanes. He told the media, “I did all right,” and shared that he bowled the 200-160-170 series. The “X” in Denard’s Twitter handle stands for strike, and use can use an X to mark one thing off the list of things that you thought you could do better than #16. Switch to Schutt – Some nerd I asked Denard about his switch of helmet manufacturers this year. I was half hoping there was some…
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Foiling the Spartan Pranksters (1949)
[Update: Audio from This Week in Michigan Football history, discussing the ‘49 Spartan antics] Heading into 1949 season, Michigan was the two-time defending national champion and was riding a Yost-like 23-game winning streak. First in their way in the quest for the third championship in a row was Michigan State College who were still a few years away from admission to the conference. This won’t shock anyone in Ann Arbor, but before that game played 62 years ago this Saturday, a group of MSC fans came to town ready to stir things up. They had mixed results. One group succeeded in sneaking into Michigan Stadium and used white paint to insert the initials ‘MSC’ in six-foot block letters at midfield. They took the rest of the paint to deface the press box windows and give other parts of the stadium a white wash. Another group, apparently a crew of sixteen future leaders of men, set out to deliver a more complex prank. They actually carefully designed and built a structure that would seal off the iconic Engineering Arch on campus (left). They constructed a wooden frame and created 60 cement blocks that when pieced together, would shut down the Arch. They actually rehearsed the prank and, according to reports, apparently could complete the stunt within seven minutes. But shockingly, they…
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Forty-Seven & Victors Valhalla
As discussed this weekend, Dave Brandon said he planned to extend an offer to the families of U-M players who’ve had their jersey number retired to be honored as Michigan Football Legends. If those families signed off, that would mean U-M would effectively “un-retire” those numbers and have them join #21 in the Legends program with a dedicated locker, a special patch on the jersey along with some prime, dedicated real estate in Victors Valhalla* inside Schembechler Hall. As mentioned I’d like to see this happen and I hope those families eventually agree to do this. Of course we won’t ever see a timetable from State Street for this to happen, so I sought out Ben McCready, the godson of Bennie Oosterbaan, to get his thoughts. "I would love to see #47 on the field again," McCready told me. "It would remind players and fans, old and new, about the incredible playing and coaching legacy of the greatest athlete in the history of the University of Michigan." McCready also recently contacted a couple of Oosterbaan’s closer living relatives and found that they were also supportive of the Legends concept. "They loved the idea," he shared. So—this is far from official and we’ll see where this goes from here, but I see this as excellent news. If the Oosterbaan family steps…
