I get tired of all the “public sector employee” bashing by people who know nothing about the workload and responsibilities these people carry, or simply classify all of them under their idiotic attitude that government shouldn’t exist.
In Dallas, scores of teachers camped out overnight on Saturday to be the first in line to accept the Dallas ISD’s offer of a $10,000 payment to induce retirement at the end of the current school year. In all, the “retirement fund” totals $7.3 MILLION - that’s a bunch of teachers getting out.
Mind you, with the plight of EVERY district in Texas, taking the payment means you’re done as an educator. No other districts will be adding staff; almost ALL of them will freeze hiring or cut back.
It begs the question: if you’re a teacher, would you take that Dallas ISD monetary “incentive?”
It won’t be as bad (hopefully) as Providence, RI, which pink-slipped the ENTIRE teacher staff of that city ... EVERYONE got a notice of termination because the city (which runs the schools) couldn’t figure out at this point in time how to pay anyone. Think about how you’d feel with that prospect stewing in your head for weeks on end, while STILL expected to perform your job at the highest level imaginable.
When people start bitching about how “good” teachers got it, in the workplace, and how they ONLY teach 9-10 months of the year, and have ALL these invisible benefits, active teachers should tell them the truth (even if they refuse to listen to facts instead of political propaganda) and tell them to spend one WEEK in their shoes in a classroom – facing those students, their parents, those administrators and school boards.
No one would take that offer ... too scared of the prospect of facing what these underpaid, underappreciated, disrespected, but unbelievably important pieces of the social puzzle see every day.
And that tells you everything you even need to know. Remember that before you utter another false, insincere word about teachers, police, fireman, EMTs, AND the person who checks your utility account to make sure your water or gas won’t be cut off because your dog ate the invoice.
And can the bashing about the receptionist who faces the minute-by-minute verbal abuse from utility customers, seldom nice on the phone to discuss some problem; or the municipal worker (in Dallas making minimum wage, mind you) to collect your stinky garbage; or fixing aging water lines that break in the middle of a blizzard so others can drink and bathe; or those who do hundreds of different positions at LESS than market value (sorry, but you read correctly – the public sector pays LESS than the private sector and my household is a shining example).
In many cases, public sector unions have foregone pay raises in exchange for the pension benefits – to get their earned income LATER rather than immediately. They are ALL middle-class members (no one is getting rich working for local-state or federal governments) so bashing them is ... kind of un-American, don’t you agree?
Here in Texas, there are “unions” – for the purpose of collective bargaining – exist only for those cities where civil service has been approved by voters (and fought tooth and nail by every city administration because it removes the “take it or leave it” attitude than management loves to possess). Teachers in Texas cannot strike because, technically, they are “state” employees since Austin provides school districts with the funds for each teacher’s base salary. And in Texas, state employees cannot strike.
I just find it incredible that people, who have jobs that are often far from being tagged as “essential” are the same ones demanding that their neighbors be forced to become unemployed. How cruel! How ... un-American!
To me, government is like a lawyer – you despise lawyers ... until you NEED one and then they become your best friend in life. Our government leaves a lot to be desired and our political leaders even less to be desired. But compared to other parts of the world, we look better by the minute.
Whether the United States is actually “exceptional” is a matter for debate, however we are unique. No other nation exists with so many major populated centers spread across vast territory; it’s difficult to govern and tough to unite. But, despite our many problems, people still flock to immigrate here like OUR ancestors did – because of our laws, our government and our opportunity.
Even for public sector employees.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Thank God that crap is over!
Granted it's 48 hours removed from the end of Super Bowl 45 (a good editor once told me that only ancient Romans should use their numerals in stories for XVL will stand for someone’s name starting with Xavier), but the fallout is raining down on Dallas-Fort Worth like nuclear winter.
The game itself was exciting enough – with the proper combination of big plays, tough defense (at times), turnovers and last-minute drama. The Packers might not have had the superior talent but it had the best performing quarterback, maintained its composure (no fumbles or interceptions) and won the game because they played better. Pure and simple.
But all the crap surrounding the game, and its buildup and its execution will be fodder for the gristmill in the days, months and years to come. If the Cowboys honestly believe they can successfully bid on the 50th anniversary Super Bowl, after ALL the major problems encountered (forget the minor glitches), then to quote Judas Priest, “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming.”
The ridiculous embarrassment over the seating fiasco on Game Day, the inability to move traffic to-and-from the Death Star, the less-than-successful usage of a large area to host events (instead of compacting things within an area accessible by transport) … and the response to the adverse weather are all strikes against a quick return to the Metroplex by the NFL.
The shocking weather calamity could not have been avoided, but it instantly focused on problems that existed but were going to be overlooked. Cowboys Stadium is situated between two major population centers but is difficult (to put it mildly) to access. The only east/west route is Interstate-30, which, in essence and in actuality, is the old DFW Turnpike; except for the exit ramps to the faraway parking spaces for Jerry World, it is the same old, crumbled solitary roadway that was laid down in the 1960s.
Between the Grand Prairie exit to Lone Star Park/Verizon Theater, and Loop 12 (Walton Walker), there are NO exit ramps of any kind and nowhere to go if they even existed (it’s nothing but the smelly part of the Trinity River and undeveloped wilderness). If there is a fender bender, or stalled vehicle, or an 18-wheeler jackknifing on a slip surface, the traffic tie-up is normally monumental. Add the stress of people trying to get to a particular destination by a certain kickoff time, you have a recipe for disaster; Mother Nature simply ratcheted it up 10 fold.
And, no, no city in Texas owns snowplows (possibly Amarillo and Lubbock where weather produces different problems); it would be a waste of money. Texans employ the natural form of snow removal – da sun! Or if you’re the right age, your SON! If the same storm that also struck the East Coast appears in two years’ time, the bellyaching will be just as coarse and loud.
Still, it will be a major factor for consideration if the Cowboys offer a bid for the game in five years. Critics think the Super Bowl should be limited to “warm” weather climates (South Florida, Southern California, Phoenix, New Orleans), but I think diversity is best; why not use San Francisco as a host city, or Seattle, Atlanta, Houston (again) or Nashville? You can’t guarantee the forecast unless the game gets moved to Honolulu.
Much has already by penned and spoken about the non-existent seating situation. Blame falls to the NFL and Jones because his ego, and the league’s greed, wanted an attendance record and mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money (multiply 1,250 tickets by an average face value of $750 and you ain’t talking chump change). According to scores of reports, the city of Arlington warned of this problem with those bleachers (situated at the very top of the stadium where no seats are suppose to be) two weeks prior.
Still someone at the city kept approving the non-work (can you say PAYOFF?) and it remained unnoticed until it was too late (the night before). The bleachers were the responsibility of the Cowboys and such an omission should cost lots of people their employment.
To make such a decision (no admission to more than 400 legitimate paying customers), three hours before kickoff, was as stone cold-hearted as it gets. No amount of refund can replace being told to get the hell out; these were also shuffled around from gate-to-gate in order to segregate them and keep them confused. In fact, the entire admission process was a huge cattle drive. Many fans did not get into the stadium until 15 minutes before kickoff, jammed into long, serpentine lines as unprofessional gate managers (NOT the Cowboys’ normal ticket handlers) were as slow as molasses in Irving all during the week.
It was just another black eye on an already negative review.
Here are some other observations:
My top Super Bowl commercials – Too many of them were lame as hell; most of the humor was forced and unnatural. I’d like for ad agencies to officially retire using chimpanzees and talking babies in the future, for Bud Light to stop showing people getting pummeled, and forced celebrity couples (Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Beiber???).
My favorites were: Budweiser (“Tiny Dancer”), Teleflora ad with Faith Hill (these were back-to-back and actually were clever), Pepsi Max with the telepathic couple (it was more truth than humorous), Bud Light with the dog partiers, the NFL commercial employing scenes from various TV shows, all about watching football, and Fox’s own “House,” and a parody to the age-old Coca-Cola commercial with Mean Joe Greene.
But my “favorite” was the Chrysler commercial, toward the end, starring Eminem, entitled “Born of Fire.” It was a rare 60-second spot, allowing the theme to breathe and soak into the viewer (the rebirth of the company and its hometown, Detroit). It was classy, it was upbeat at the end, and it was soaked in Chrysler’s new direction – luxury, just like its other ads highlighting when the car builder used to be known for (luxury cars like the New Yorker, but now it’s the 200).
Let’s not go to the movies – Based on what was previewed during the Super Bowl, everything this summer will be a sequel of some sort – Kung Fu Panda 2, Transformers 3 (without Megan Fox, so what’s the point)? Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Fast and Furious 5), concepts too strange to conceive (“Cowboys and Aliens” with the Bond guy and Indiana Jones???), and comic books characters coming to the big screen (Captain America, Thor). What the hell happened to actual creativity?
Turf warts – I don’t know how, and I don’t know why, but … I’m sorry, but something was wrong with the stadium turf/surface Sunday night. There were too many players suffering impact injuries on plays that shouldn’t have hurt anyone. Green Bay lost defensive back Charles Woodson to a broken collarbone on a tumble he takes 50 times a game.
And players were slipping all over the place, and it potentially cost Pittsburgh the game because, from my vantage point, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger never looked comfortable with the footing and appeared to be hobbling much of the contest.
Other players slipped and slid on key plays (Troy Polamalu fell down on one of Green Bay’s touchdown passes) and people acted as if the field surface was somehow … wet. It was yet another black eye for the NFL.
Black-Eyed halftime – As great as some country music is when performed live, it’s still not the cup of tea for the NFL. There are many big names, in that orbit, who could have been chosen, including someone like “King” George Strait, a native son of Texas.
But he’s smooth as 18-year-old aged scotch; not the fireworks and power I think is required for a huge venue (even if he HAS performed in such places).
There was nothing wrong with the Black-Eyed Peas; the show was colorful, loud and bombastic. But Cowboys Stadium is a horrid place for live music and often the Peas’ microphones reflected the many gremlins that often emerge. And despite the crowd noise that made it appear to be hugely receptive to all their “hits,” I have a strange suspicion most in attendance didn’t know any of them or any of the words.
Now, I would have LOVED to have seen, or heard, a different Texas icon perform ... that little ole band, ZZ Top! After all, they’re in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and for a 13-minute window, they could have blow the doors off the venue (“Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Tush,” “LaGrange,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs”).
But who would have been better? I answered my own question Monday afternoon when I watched a taped presentation from the CMT Network of a Pepsi Fan Jam event Saturday at the Verizon Theater in Grand Prairie.
The show, “Cross Roads,” which I assume pairs country and rock icons to discuss their music and play together, joined country diva Faith Hill with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders. Folks, of ALL the musical performances televised on Sunday (and before), THIS was the best, the rockingest and most energetic show of them all and IT should have been the halftime extravaganza at the Super Bowl.
The two ladies belted out Hill’s hits, “Breathe” and “This Kiss” as well as the Pretender classics “Middle of the Road,” “Brass in Pocket,” and “Down on the Chain Gang,” before concluding with the Janis Joplin tune, “Piece of My Heart.”
It would have brought the entire stadium to its feet and would have been remembered for its quality well beyond anything the Peas did, which was instantly forgettable.
The O’bama Factor – Of anything shown on the FOX pre-game presentation, the only piece of significance was the interview of President Obama by the FNC’s biggest star, Bill O’Reilly. People expected this confrontation to be as hard hitting as the game itself … but it wasn’t because President Obama refused to fence for long periods of time, instead parrying away any hot-button political questions and establishing a warmer tone than O’Reilly might have wanted.
In truth, it was simply a conversation between two men before the Super Bowl. The President would not engage when O’Reilly tried a little “liberal” smackdown, instead maintaining that his positions have been “centrist” for the first two years. Egypt was an easy question to ask, a difficult (but not unexpected) answer to explain and the health care bill points have been plowed over and over during the last two weeks.
What WAS interesting were the questions and responses to how the office, and job and its constant 24/7 spotlight, had changed the life of Obama-The Man. It might have been the first natural, unscripted answer delivered in months, and it was actually worth hearing.
Poor Bill was rushing to ask and questions and move to more of them in the short time-frame (15 minutes), so he often cut off the President in order to check off subject matter. Finally, President Obama said, “Wait!” and answered a query in the proper tone and slowed the entire interview to give a thoughtful response. At that instant, he, not the interviewer, gained the upper hand.
The two shook hands at the end (of part 1 with part 2 coming on O’Reilly’s show soon) and smiled. No blows were struck and the President demonstrated he could more than hold his own against the right-wing press’ most visible critic. Expect him to be seen (at selected times) on Fox News Channel to reinforce that impression.
Exactly where is this? – Truth be told, there was NOTHING “Texas” about anything presented on Sunday – televised or in the stadium. Say “Indianapolis” and you think of Peyton Manning; say Dallas and you conjure a different image. That was never reflected on FOX or even at the stadium. Shame on them for ignoring from whence they spoke.
Ritz Crackers’ guest chef made nothing with a Texas flavor, no one did a segment on the stadium itself (you’d think a billion dollars would get a tad more notice) and other than a misty-eyed hugfest with Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson, the Cowboys were an afterthought.
Hell, at least a Texas singer would have KNOWN the words to the national anthem and there’s enough rock, pop and country singers who would have trumped anything Christina Aguilera produced. In fact, even the pre-game parties lacked a Texas flair, with too many imports for this transplanted Texan’s taste.
The best thing about this entire episode is the coming of spring and that means BASEBALL!!!! Here in D-FW, we can transfer our sports emotions from the Cowboys to the Rangers, one soap opera to another (apparently). Spring training starts in a week or two and all will be right with the world…
The game itself was exciting enough – with the proper combination of big plays, tough defense (at times), turnovers and last-minute drama. The Packers might not have had the superior talent but it had the best performing quarterback, maintained its composure (no fumbles or interceptions) and won the game because they played better. Pure and simple.
But all the crap surrounding the game, and its buildup and its execution will be fodder for the gristmill in the days, months and years to come. If the Cowboys honestly believe they can successfully bid on the 50th anniversary Super Bowl, after ALL the major problems encountered (forget the minor glitches), then to quote Judas Priest, “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming.”
The ridiculous embarrassment over the seating fiasco on Game Day, the inability to move traffic to-and-from the Death Star, the less-than-successful usage of a large area to host events (instead of compacting things within an area accessible by transport) … and the response to the adverse weather are all strikes against a quick return to the Metroplex by the NFL.
The shocking weather calamity could not have been avoided, but it instantly focused on problems that existed but were going to be overlooked. Cowboys Stadium is situated between two major population centers but is difficult (to put it mildly) to access. The only east/west route is Interstate-30, which, in essence and in actuality, is the old DFW Turnpike; except for the exit ramps to the faraway parking spaces for Jerry World, it is the same old, crumbled solitary roadway that was laid down in the 1960s.
Between the Grand Prairie exit to Lone Star Park/Verizon Theater, and Loop 12 (Walton Walker), there are NO exit ramps of any kind and nowhere to go if they even existed (it’s nothing but the smelly part of the Trinity River and undeveloped wilderness). If there is a fender bender, or stalled vehicle, or an 18-wheeler jackknifing on a slip surface, the traffic tie-up is normally monumental. Add the stress of people trying to get to a particular destination by a certain kickoff time, you have a recipe for disaster; Mother Nature simply ratcheted it up 10 fold.
And, no, no city in Texas owns snowplows (possibly Amarillo and Lubbock where weather produces different problems); it would be a waste of money. Texans employ the natural form of snow removal – da sun! Or if you’re the right age, your SON! If the same storm that also struck the East Coast appears in two years’ time, the bellyaching will be just as coarse and loud.
Still, it will be a major factor for consideration if the Cowboys offer a bid for the game in five years. Critics think the Super Bowl should be limited to “warm” weather climates (South Florida, Southern California, Phoenix, New Orleans), but I think diversity is best; why not use San Francisco as a host city, or Seattle, Atlanta, Houston (again) or Nashville? You can’t guarantee the forecast unless the game gets moved to Honolulu.
Much has already by penned and spoken about the non-existent seating situation. Blame falls to the NFL and Jones because his ego, and the league’s greed, wanted an attendance record and mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money (multiply 1,250 tickets by an average face value of $750 and you ain’t talking chump change). According to scores of reports, the city of Arlington warned of this problem with those bleachers (situated at the very top of the stadium where no seats are suppose to be) two weeks prior.
Still someone at the city kept approving the non-work (can you say PAYOFF?) and it remained unnoticed until it was too late (the night before). The bleachers were the responsibility of the Cowboys and such an omission should cost lots of people their employment.
To make such a decision (no admission to more than 400 legitimate paying customers), three hours before kickoff, was as stone cold-hearted as it gets. No amount of refund can replace being told to get the hell out; these were also shuffled around from gate-to-gate in order to segregate them and keep them confused. In fact, the entire admission process was a huge cattle drive. Many fans did not get into the stadium until 15 minutes before kickoff, jammed into long, serpentine lines as unprofessional gate managers (NOT the Cowboys’ normal ticket handlers) were as slow as molasses in Irving all during the week.
It was just another black eye on an already negative review.
Here are some other observations:
My top Super Bowl commercials – Too many of them were lame as hell; most of the humor was forced and unnatural. I’d like for ad agencies to officially retire using chimpanzees and talking babies in the future, for Bud Light to stop showing people getting pummeled, and forced celebrity couples (Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Beiber???).
My favorites were: Budweiser (“Tiny Dancer”), Teleflora ad with Faith Hill (these were back-to-back and actually were clever), Pepsi Max with the telepathic couple (it was more truth than humorous), Bud Light with the dog partiers, the NFL commercial employing scenes from various TV shows, all about watching football, and Fox’s own “House,” and a parody to the age-old Coca-Cola commercial with Mean Joe Greene.
But my “favorite” was the Chrysler commercial, toward the end, starring Eminem, entitled “Born of Fire.” It was a rare 60-second spot, allowing the theme to breathe and soak into the viewer (the rebirth of the company and its hometown, Detroit). It was classy, it was upbeat at the end, and it was soaked in Chrysler’s new direction – luxury, just like its other ads highlighting when the car builder used to be known for (luxury cars like the New Yorker, but now it’s the 200).
Let’s not go to the movies – Based on what was previewed during the Super Bowl, everything this summer will be a sequel of some sort – Kung Fu Panda 2, Transformers 3 (without Megan Fox, so what’s the point)? Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Fast and Furious 5), concepts too strange to conceive (“Cowboys and Aliens” with the Bond guy and Indiana Jones???), and comic books characters coming to the big screen (Captain America, Thor). What the hell happened to actual creativity?
Turf warts – I don’t know how, and I don’t know why, but … I’m sorry, but something was wrong with the stadium turf/surface Sunday night. There were too many players suffering impact injuries on plays that shouldn’t have hurt anyone. Green Bay lost defensive back Charles Woodson to a broken collarbone on a tumble he takes 50 times a game.
And players were slipping all over the place, and it potentially cost Pittsburgh the game because, from my vantage point, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger never looked comfortable with the footing and appeared to be hobbling much of the contest.
Other players slipped and slid on key plays (Troy Polamalu fell down on one of Green Bay’s touchdown passes) and people acted as if the field surface was somehow … wet. It was yet another black eye for the NFL.
Black-Eyed halftime – As great as some country music is when performed live, it’s still not the cup of tea for the NFL. There are many big names, in that orbit, who could have been chosen, including someone like “King” George Strait, a native son of Texas.
But he’s smooth as 18-year-old aged scotch; not the fireworks and power I think is required for a huge venue (even if he HAS performed in such places).
There was nothing wrong with the Black-Eyed Peas; the show was colorful, loud and bombastic. But Cowboys Stadium is a horrid place for live music and often the Peas’ microphones reflected the many gremlins that often emerge. And despite the crowd noise that made it appear to be hugely receptive to all their “hits,” I have a strange suspicion most in attendance didn’t know any of them or any of the words.
Now, I would have LOVED to have seen, or heard, a different Texas icon perform ... that little ole band, ZZ Top! After all, they’re in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and for a 13-minute window, they could have blow the doors off the venue (“Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Tush,” “LaGrange,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs”).
But who would have been better? I answered my own question Monday afternoon when I watched a taped presentation from the CMT Network of a Pepsi Fan Jam event Saturday at the Verizon Theater in Grand Prairie.
The show, “Cross Roads,” which I assume pairs country and rock icons to discuss their music and play together, joined country diva Faith Hill with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders. Folks, of ALL the musical performances televised on Sunday (and before), THIS was the best, the rockingest and most energetic show of them all and IT should have been the halftime extravaganza at the Super Bowl.
The two ladies belted out Hill’s hits, “Breathe” and “This Kiss” as well as the Pretender classics “Middle of the Road,” “Brass in Pocket,” and “Down on the Chain Gang,” before concluding with the Janis Joplin tune, “Piece of My Heart.”
It would have brought the entire stadium to its feet and would have been remembered for its quality well beyond anything the Peas did, which was instantly forgettable.
The O’bama Factor – Of anything shown on the FOX pre-game presentation, the only piece of significance was the interview of President Obama by the FNC’s biggest star, Bill O’Reilly. People expected this confrontation to be as hard hitting as the game itself … but it wasn’t because President Obama refused to fence for long periods of time, instead parrying away any hot-button political questions and establishing a warmer tone than O’Reilly might have wanted.
In truth, it was simply a conversation between two men before the Super Bowl. The President would not engage when O’Reilly tried a little “liberal” smackdown, instead maintaining that his positions have been “centrist” for the first two years. Egypt was an easy question to ask, a difficult (but not unexpected) answer to explain and the health care bill points have been plowed over and over during the last two weeks.
What WAS interesting were the questions and responses to how the office, and job and its constant 24/7 spotlight, had changed the life of Obama-The Man. It might have been the first natural, unscripted answer delivered in months, and it was actually worth hearing.
Poor Bill was rushing to ask and questions and move to more of them in the short time-frame (15 minutes), so he often cut off the President in order to check off subject matter. Finally, President Obama said, “Wait!” and answered a query in the proper tone and slowed the entire interview to give a thoughtful response. At that instant, he, not the interviewer, gained the upper hand.
The two shook hands at the end (of part 1 with part 2 coming on O’Reilly’s show soon) and smiled. No blows were struck and the President demonstrated he could more than hold his own against the right-wing press’ most visible critic. Expect him to be seen (at selected times) on Fox News Channel to reinforce that impression.
Exactly where is this? – Truth be told, there was NOTHING “Texas” about anything presented on Sunday – televised or in the stadium. Say “Indianapolis” and you think of Peyton Manning; say Dallas and you conjure a different image. That was never reflected on FOX or even at the stadium. Shame on them for ignoring from whence they spoke.
Ritz Crackers’ guest chef made nothing with a Texas flavor, no one did a segment on the stadium itself (you’d think a billion dollars would get a tad more notice) and other than a misty-eyed hugfest with Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson, the Cowboys were an afterthought.
Hell, at least a Texas singer would have KNOWN the words to the national anthem and there’s enough rock, pop and country singers who would have trumped anything Christina Aguilera produced. In fact, even the pre-game parties lacked a Texas flair, with too many imports for this transplanted Texan’s taste.
The best thing about this entire episode is the coming of spring and that means BASEBALL!!!! Here in D-FW, we can transfer our sports emotions from the Cowboys to the Rangers, one soap opera to another (apparently). Spring training starts in a week or two and all will be right with the world…
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Welcome to the world of ‘The Brady Bunch’
And if first impressions are the most lasting, the Wolverines, starting in the fall, will be a very tough-minded squad on BOTH sides of the football … because that is exactly the impression delivered by Hoke in his initial Ann Arbor press conference Wednesday.
Interspersing sly and some self-deprecating humor with lectern pounding emphasis, anyone involved with the university, past and present, had to feel good about the future of the football program. If not, they need to find another school to follow.
He is a man who will LOVE to go to work every day to the job he had dreamt about for years. Jokingly, but truthfully, he said he’d walk from San Diego to Ann Arbor to accept the position. One look at his mannerisms suggests such a proclamation was true.
Hoke made five important points that cannot be overlooked:
First, he is about toughness and his team will be about toughness – a commodity lacking in the final games over the last three seasons. Michigan might have been fleet of foot in some spots, but “tough” was not an accurate moniker to attach to Rodriguez’ teams. Michigan has never been about finesse; it has been about rolling over people with all the weapons at its disposal.
Otherwise, the U-M defense would not have suffered so much and the kicking/special teams game been so rancid. There are scores of good running backs but not enough strong-willed offensive lines to open holes. There are lots of swift defensive backs but not enough strong-willed defensive linemen to apply the pressure needed to produce turnovers and stop opponents.
Second, Hoke pointedly said the program was not about him; it was about the school and the team. It was the first of many (perhaps unintentional) body slams delivered to the RichRod legacy. You know damn well Josh Groban is persona non gratis at future banquets. Hell, by the time, Athletic Director Dave Brandon finished his Q&A portion of the afternoon, Rodriguez’s memory got body-slammed more times than Andre the Giant.
Third, Hoke said the goal is to win the Big 10 title “repeatedly, successively.” When Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press tried to grill him on winning national titles, Hoke correctly noted that before one can leap tall buildings at a single bound, you must first take the first step – winning the conference crown, which will lead to all things glory.
With Nebraska’s entry into the conference, the Big 10 will be able to go nose-to-nose with the SEC in terms of quality programs; it won’t be a cakewalk to enter the BCS lottery.
Fourth, he WILL recruit Michigan because he understands its ultimate importance to the Wolverines’ future. Finally, for the first time in three years, a head coach acknowledged that horribly-neglected aspect. The current roster is highly devoid of in-state talent and the state’s top players will no longer be dismissed while chasing some pipe dream in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and elsewhere. In fact, it should become a mantra among ALL Michigan programs – to keep the best in the state IN the state.
Hopefully, Hoke will begin that process immediately and try to fill the Class of 2011 with as many local products as possible. I always point to the late Bo Schembechler’s recruitment of a player from the worst team within the Michigan high school ranks, a 0-9 Saginaw unit, to secure its best player, linebacker Calvin O’Neal, an All-Big 10 performer and U-M captain. You CAN find such talent IF you look.
Finally, Brady Hoke made his strongest remarks about the importance of rivalry games, especially the final encounter on the annual schedule (that other team, he said, much like Bo and Woody). He spoke very slow, and slammed his fist on the podium with each word when speaking about the need, and the attitude, to beat Ohio State (something sorely missing three years before when Rodriguez said it was just another game on the schedule).
It left a mark on the furniture and hopefully, it left a mark with the team, media and U-M fans.
We learned he can get emotional (when speaking about players’ lives he and other coaches have touched), he makes up words (“I’m good at Scrabble”), and he knows how to run the same defensive scheme that has baffled U-M players at a much more proficient and effective rate. Watch for the name, Rocky Long, to perhaps be the new defensive coordinator in Ann Arbor. The entire question of which assistants are retained will say much about Hoke’s approach to coaching.
It can be absolutely said that Brady Hoke is no mouse; his voice doesn’t just speak, it barks, it roars. You can feel the energy coming from him, even through the Big 10 Network into homes across Wolverine Nation.
Go Blue!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Michigan is now the Brady Bunch
It should be interesting...at least the search is over.
Friday, January 07, 2011
When number two is as good as prime choice
In 1977, the starlet that captured the fancy, imagination and lust of America was a Corpus Christi, Texas native named Farrah Fawcett (God rest her soul). In my role as a sports editor for the Conroe (Texas) Daily Courier, I got to interview the actress at a charity tennis event at a resort development near Conroe (I also played a round of doubles with her but that horror story will remain unearthed).
I am here to testify that she was, at that moment in mankind’s history, one of the most gorgeous, striking and stunning women I had ever seen. And up close, she had THE most perfect set of teeth (in terms of tone, shine and lineage) ever ever ever (and her legs weren’t half bad either).
I tell this story because, when she attended the University of Texas at Austin, Fawcett placed second in a Miss UT beauty contest. Think about that – SECOND place. And the really strange thing is no one can remember, or name, who finished first!
Jim Harbaugh, he of the Michigan heritage and Stanford resume, was (and probably remains) the top choice to become the next, and newest, coach for the Wolverine football program. BUT … he won’t; he has taken that funky feeling coursing through his veins and is remaining in the Bay Area to coach the struggling 49ers of San Francisco – for five years at $5 million per annum.
After listening to his Friday press conference, extra money from Ann Arbor was NOT going to change his mind; he WANTED to coach in the NFL – not in Ann Arbor or Palo Alto anymore. At 47, he thinks he’s ready for the rough-and-tumble of Sundays (provided there will be Sundays in 2011 because a work stoppage over a labor contract is quite likely).
So, Michigan faithful, Mohammed is not coming to the mountain and he doesn’t want to mountain to come to him. You are not going to the prom with the Homecoming Queen; you’ll have to do with number two (or three or whatever). Live with it!
Be reminded that Glenn Edward Schembechler was NOT the first choice in December, 1968, of new athletic director Don Canham (that honor went to Joe Paterno of Penn State, but Joe said “no”). How did that decision work for ya?
Move ahead to 2011 and new athletic director Dave Brandon first major hire – a new football coach. Obviously, the top choice is off the table, but is that necessarily a BAD thing? Only time will time; many college coaches have bolted campuses for the bright lights of the NFL, only to be returned sniveling to the “lesser” game (such as Lou Holtz, Nick Saban, Dennis Erickson – just to name a few).
You want to handicap the rest of the field?
Les Miles? Is not well-liked among SEC or Big 12 coaches (remember he coached at Oklahoma State before going to Baton Rogue) and there are numerous reasons for it. However, his resume does post a national championship and excellent recruiting classes.
Brady Hoke? Former UM assistant who is still unknown after rebuilding two programs – Ball State and San Diego State. Michigan is his dream job he has said in multiple interviews, which often means one will do whatever it takes for UM to win. But it just as easily could be a nightmare if he proved to be in too deep. After all, this isn’t Muncie or Paradise.
Tony Dungy? Forget it; Michigan couldn’t recruit him as a high school quarterback out of Jackson (he went to Minnesota), so what makes anyone think UM can convince him to come coach in Ann Arbor? Besides, he enjoys his current status of “football wiseman” on NBC.
Bo Pellini? Nebraska was as up-and-down a team as existed in the Big 12. Bo’s still playing with another coach’s roster.
If it is a “name” coach who is a proven winner that’s required, how about enticing Alabama’s Nick Saban, who has proven his “loyalty” at Michigan State, LSU AND the Miami Dolphins. You see, everyone has their price as Saban had proven often.
As I have written before, THIS is the hiring that will define Brandon’s tenure as AD – not a change in the women’s gymnastics program. And as National Signing Day draws closer, along with the prospect of a bottom-basement class entering in 2011 (without a new coach’s imprint upon it), a decision is required real damn soon.
But being someone else’s second choice, in reality, means nothing; the on-field performance will be the sole determining factor and often, the coaches with the best records are the overachievers who worked that much harder BECAUSE they weren’t the first choice. They had something to prove to everyone.
Michigan needs a coach out to prove himself and get a bunch of players, who will be seen as less than top-flight in terms of talent, to also become over-achievers. The best coach will be the one who gets even more than those players’ best out of them.
Like who finished ahead of Farrah Fawcett on the UT campus, I just can’t tell who that is…yet.
I am here to testify that she was, at that moment in mankind’s history, one of the most gorgeous, striking and stunning women I had ever seen. And up close, she had THE most perfect set of teeth (in terms of tone, shine and lineage) ever ever ever (and her legs weren’t half bad either).
I tell this story because, when she attended the University of Texas at Austin, Fawcett placed second in a Miss UT beauty contest. Think about that – SECOND place. And the really strange thing is no one can remember, or name, who finished first!
Jim Harbaugh, he of the Michigan heritage and Stanford resume, was (and probably remains) the top choice to become the next, and newest, coach for the Wolverine football program. BUT … he won’t; he has taken that funky feeling coursing through his veins and is remaining in the Bay Area to coach the struggling 49ers of San Francisco – for five years at $5 million per annum.
After listening to his Friday press conference, extra money from Ann Arbor was NOT going to change his mind; he WANTED to coach in the NFL – not in Ann Arbor or Palo Alto anymore. At 47, he thinks he’s ready for the rough-and-tumble of Sundays (provided there will be Sundays in 2011 because a work stoppage over a labor contract is quite likely).
So, Michigan faithful, Mohammed is not coming to the mountain and he doesn’t want to mountain to come to him. You are not going to the prom with the Homecoming Queen; you’ll have to do with number two (or three or whatever). Live with it!
Be reminded that Glenn Edward Schembechler was NOT the first choice in December, 1968, of new athletic director Don Canham (that honor went to Joe Paterno of Penn State, but Joe said “no”). How did that decision work for ya?
Move ahead to 2011 and new athletic director Dave Brandon first major hire – a new football coach. Obviously, the top choice is off the table, but is that necessarily a BAD thing? Only time will time; many college coaches have bolted campuses for the bright lights of the NFL, only to be returned sniveling to the “lesser” game (such as Lou Holtz, Nick Saban, Dennis Erickson – just to name a few).
You want to handicap the rest of the field?
Les Miles? Is not well-liked among SEC or Big 12 coaches (remember he coached at Oklahoma State before going to Baton Rogue) and there are numerous reasons for it. However, his resume does post a national championship and excellent recruiting classes.
Brady Hoke? Former UM assistant who is still unknown after rebuilding two programs – Ball State and San Diego State. Michigan is his dream job he has said in multiple interviews, which often means one will do whatever it takes for UM to win. But it just as easily could be a nightmare if he proved to be in too deep. After all, this isn’t Muncie or Paradise.
Tony Dungy? Forget it; Michigan couldn’t recruit him as a high school quarterback out of Jackson (he went to Minnesota), so what makes anyone think UM can convince him to come coach in Ann Arbor? Besides, he enjoys his current status of “football wiseman” on NBC.
Bo Pellini? Nebraska was as up-and-down a team as existed in the Big 12. Bo’s still playing with another coach’s roster.
If it is a “name” coach who is a proven winner that’s required, how about enticing Alabama’s Nick Saban, who has proven his “loyalty” at Michigan State, LSU AND the Miami Dolphins. You see, everyone has their price as Saban had proven often.
As I have written before, THIS is the hiring that will define Brandon’s tenure as AD – not a change in the women’s gymnastics program. And as National Signing Day draws closer, along with the prospect of a bottom-basement class entering in 2011 (without a new coach’s imprint upon it), a decision is required real damn soon.
But being someone else’s second choice, in reality, means nothing; the on-field performance will be the sole determining factor and often, the coaches with the best records are the overachievers who worked that much harder BECAUSE they weren’t the first choice. They had something to prove to everyone.
Michigan needs a coach out to prove himself and get a bunch of players, who will be seen as less than top-flight in terms of talent, to also become over-achievers. The best coach will be the one who gets even more than those players’ best out of them.
Like who finished ahead of Farrah Fawcett on the UT campus, I just can’t tell who that is…yet.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Meet the new boss; same as the old boss?
Well, well, the wicked witch of the west (Virginia) is gone. That constant sullen mugshot has melted away.
In its place, is … well, THAT is the question of the day, right? Who will be the new football coach at Michigan and, part two of that question states, when will he be hired?
The opinions concerning the dismissal, possible candidates and the entire process are flying like arrows in a circular firing squad – from ALL directions. And they are being directed at the one person who has put himself as the face of Michigan athletics (at least for the moment) – athletic director Dave Brandon.
Whether he hires Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh (with maize and blue blood running through his veins) or LSU coach Les Miles (with a bunch of Tabasco mixed in his blood) or San Diego State coach Brady Hoke or Boise State coach Chris Peterson or TCU coach Gary Patterson or … your name is as good as any other, Brandon has made at least ONE major mistake off the top. The process has become about him; his is the mind that needs convincing and he said so in the most public of means.
No NCAA program wants its athletic director to be the face of any sport; that’s the job of the football coach, or basketball coach or hockey, etc. Brandon wasn’t the face of Domino’s Pizza, even when that company struggled a few years ago because of declining sales and poor customer reaction to changes in the product.
But here he is now – Mister Michigan Football … until he hires a new face. And that person MUST have the kind of personality to assert himself into the role.
Harbaugh would be that type of person and allow Brandon to return to the shadows. Miles could be that personality, although his experiences at LSU and Oklahoma State often demonstrate that he doesn’t play well with other kids in the sand box.
But does the former UM quarterback want to coach in Ann Arbor??? Brandon, himself, doesn’t think so and say it publicly (a strange thing to say in a press conference when the entire Wolverine nation is set to crown Harbaugh as the throne’s successor).
Miles told media at the Cotton Bowl site this week that he has not been contacted about the job but never said he wasn’t interested. The gypsy in his football soul would never allow that; he’s ALWAYS interested.
Here’s what the new Michigan coach faces in 2011: home games against Western and Eastern Michigan, San Diego State (wouldn’t THAT be interesting if Hoke moves to Ann Arbor), a night game against Notre Dame, Indiana and Minnesota (both under new leadership), Illinois and you-know-who; road trips will go to Wisconsin, Sparty, Iowa and Northwestern.
Even with the talent on the roster, that is another bowl-eligible squad and if someone can implement a decent 4-3 defense, it could account for 7, 8 or maybe 9 victories. If the new coach can stop the leakage of recruits (shrinking BEFORE Rodriguez was clipped), 2011 might be salvageable and even seen as an improvement.
It’ll have to be because 2012 opens with a road trip to Arlington, Texas, to play Alabama, and Michigan’s program is in no position to honor that contract. Seriously! I have yet to comprehend why Brandon wanted that confrontation and sought it like his pants were on fire. If you think the Gator Bowl was a disastrous rout, just wait until Michigan faces Demetrious Hart (who dropped UM in favor of playing for Nick Saban) and the school that utterly coldcocked Michigan State the other day.
Anything past this Monday without an announcement will cripple the UM program for the first half of this decade. Recruiting will become a smoldering cinder since Rodriguez only received verbal commitments from a relatively small list (12 and falling) and most of them out of range from Brandon’s stated area of concentration (the Midwest, as he said at his presser). The new coach will focus FIRST on the Midwest (I guess that will include the home state) and areas surrounding Ann Arbor (Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania). That’s the same roadmap used by Bo Schembechler, whose ghost continue to haunt the room – for better or worse.
Bo succeeded in his first year with a roster entirely consisting of players brought to the campus by Bump Elliott. It took until 1971 to see the complete stamp placed by Bo on the program.
The man who hired him, Don Canham, quickly stepped away from the spotlight and let Bo by THE man (remember, Bo was NOT Canham’s first choice; Joe Paterno WAS). Believe me, Brandon has not shown himself to be a Don Canham yet.
The new coach cannot be a year-to-year figurehead; he must be someone who will last more than a decade on the job.
And it has to happen soon because everyone is scratching their heads over how this scenario has played itself out. That’s not a good thing for Michigan football.
Brandon must deliver the greatest meal of his life to his hungriest fan base and a helluva lot faster than promised by his former employer. Because what the alumni will send back to his desk won’t resemble cold pizza; it’ll look like empty donation envelopes and no change in the tomato sauce will repair that.
In its place, is … well, THAT is the question of the day, right? Who will be the new football coach at Michigan and, part two of that question states, when will he be hired?
The opinions concerning the dismissal, possible candidates and the entire process are flying like arrows in a circular firing squad – from ALL directions. And they are being directed at the one person who has put himself as the face of Michigan athletics (at least for the moment) – athletic director Dave Brandon.
Whether he hires Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh (with maize and blue blood running through his veins) or LSU coach Les Miles (with a bunch of Tabasco mixed in his blood) or San Diego State coach Brady Hoke or Boise State coach Chris Peterson or TCU coach Gary Patterson or … your name is as good as any other, Brandon has made at least ONE major mistake off the top. The process has become about him; his is the mind that needs convincing and he said so in the most public of means.
No NCAA program wants its athletic director to be the face of any sport; that’s the job of the football coach, or basketball coach or hockey, etc. Brandon wasn’t the face of Domino’s Pizza, even when that company struggled a few years ago because of declining sales and poor customer reaction to changes in the product.
But here he is now – Mister Michigan Football … until he hires a new face. And that person MUST have the kind of personality to assert himself into the role.
Harbaugh would be that type of person and allow Brandon to return to the shadows. Miles could be that personality, although his experiences at LSU and Oklahoma State often demonstrate that he doesn’t play well with other kids in the sand box.
But does the former UM quarterback want to coach in Ann Arbor??? Brandon, himself, doesn’t think so and say it publicly (a strange thing to say in a press conference when the entire Wolverine nation is set to crown Harbaugh as the throne’s successor).
Miles told media at the Cotton Bowl site this week that he has not been contacted about the job but never said he wasn’t interested. The gypsy in his football soul would never allow that; he’s ALWAYS interested.
Here’s what the new Michigan coach faces in 2011: home games against Western and Eastern Michigan, San Diego State (wouldn’t THAT be interesting if Hoke moves to Ann Arbor), a night game against Notre Dame, Indiana and Minnesota (both under new leadership), Illinois and you-know-who; road trips will go to Wisconsin, Sparty, Iowa and Northwestern.
Even with the talent on the roster, that is another bowl-eligible squad and if someone can implement a decent 4-3 defense, it could account for 7, 8 or maybe 9 victories. If the new coach can stop the leakage of recruits (shrinking BEFORE Rodriguez was clipped), 2011 might be salvageable and even seen as an improvement.
It’ll have to be because 2012 opens with a road trip to Arlington, Texas, to play Alabama, and Michigan’s program is in no position to honor that contract. Seriously! I have yet to comprehend why Brandon wanted that confrontation and sought it like his pants were on fire. If you think the Gator Bowl was a disastrous rout, just wait until Michigan faces Demetrious Hart (who dropped UM in favor of playing for Nick Saban) and the school that utterly coldcocked Michigan State the other day.
Anything past this Monday without an announcement will cripple the UM program for the first half of this decade. Recruiting will become a smoldering cinder since Rodriguez only received verbal commitments from a relatively small list (12 and falling) and most of them out of range from Brandon’s stated area of concentration (the Midwest, as he said at his presser). The new coach will focus FIRST on the Midwest (I guess that will include the home state) and areas surrounding Ann Arbor (Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania). That’s the same roadmap used by Bo Schembechler, whose ghost continue to haunt the room – for better or worse.
Bo succeeded in his first year with a roster entirely consisting of players brought to the campus by Bump Elliott. It took until 1971 to see the complete stamp placed by Bo on the program.
The man who hired him, Don Canham, quickly stepped away from the spotlight and let Bo by THE man (remember, Bo was NOT Canham’s first choice; Joe Paterno WAS). Believe me, Brandon has not shown himself to be a Don Canham yet.
The new coach cannot be a year-to-year figurehead; he must be someone who will last more than a decade on the job.
And it has to happen soon because everyone is scratching their heads over how this scenario has played itself out. That’s not a good thing for Michigan football.
Brandon must deliver the greatest meal of his life to his hungriest fan base and a helluva lot faster than promised by his former employer. Because what the alumni will send back to his desk won’t resemble cold pizza; it’ll look like empty donation envelopes and no change in the tomato sauce will repair that.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Open letter to Dave Brandon, Univ. of Michigan athletic director
Dear Sir,
I sincerely hope the extra revenue your school’s bank account received from agreeing to appear in the 2011 Gator Bowl – on New Year’s Day (merely because the game was played on Jan. 1) was worth the complete dismantling and embarrassment the Wolverines received in Jacksonville.
I hope the players enjoyed the festivities and pageantry that accompanied the contest; I hope the ban performed smartly at halftime and in any parade. I hope you’re happy about what transpired PRIOR to the actual kickoff because what followed perhaps set a new modern-day low for Michigan athletics.
Dave, we looked MORE than pathetic – we looked disorganized, ill-prepared (despite the extra practices) and, at the end, simply disinterested. We didn’t seem to be concerned when we couldn’t score inside the red zone on two occasions in the fourth quarter. Why? Because the game was over LONG before those drives ever began.
And with that lackluster, uninspired performance, you, as Michigan athletic director, should have no difficulty telling the head football coach to clean out his desk and take most of the coaches with him (as if the majority would be worthy of hiring elsewhere). And on Tuesday (unless the deal is already in place), you should hire either Jim Harbaugh away from Stanford or Brady Hoke away from San Diego State.
IF you fail to pull the trigger on those two moves, perhaps you need to return to the world of coupon clipping or pizza making. Rich Rodriguez need not have another day at the head football coach at what USED to be a prestigious program; he has helped dump it in to the crapper in just three years’ time.
Against a good Mississippi State team (playing without two of its top receivers), Michigan’s porous, stupidly-conceived defensive scheme allowed 42 unanswered points as it should its complete inability to tackle ANYONE all afternoon. Of course, it has neither enough talent, enough size nor sufficient coaching to do otherwise. But you, and every other school in the Big 10, have known that from Day One.
Despite Michigan’s opening drive, the average fan, blinded by the Florida sun, could tell the Wolverines were in deep doo-doo by the same, old tackling woes on the Bulldogs’ first drive. UM never stopped MSU offensively all game long – except for the first series of the third quarter.
At which point, Rodriguez sealed his fate to coach another season. Hell, Dave, you should have marched out of the press box and escorted him off the field at that moment.
It came at the 11:46 mark of the third quarter, after the lone defensive stand and a 33-yard punt return by Junior Hemingway; Michigan, horrible in the game inside the red zone (1 for 4), faced a fourth down decision and a 17-point deficit. At that moment of clarity, Rodriguez sent out a player who had not kicked a field goal in five months to try a miserable 36-yard boot … instead of trying to continue a potential scoring drive and regain a slight smidgen of momentum.
Of course, the attempt sailed way wide left; it’s been the story of Michigan kicking all season long so why did RichRod expect a different outcome? Even Einstein knew that type of thinking to define insanity.
At that exact moment, the 2011 Gator Bowl was “officially” over; the only question was the final (embarrassing) score. I think many of the Maize and Blue supporters understood it, too, because there began a noticeable collection of empty seats around Raymond James Stadium.
I didn’t see any fire or enthusiasm coming from Rodriguez throughout the contest; I saw entirely too much hand-slapping by UM defenders when they weren’t participating in plays; and I saw nothing improve whatsoever between the lackluster Ohio State loss and this debacle. Michigan has NO running game (backs not named Robinson carried the ball 14 times for 27 yards), NO defense (the game announcers rarely called the name of any defensive lineman for making a single tackle), NO kicking game (the only punt attempt was blocked) and NO future (if you were a top-flight recruit, would join this mess?).
Sorry, I lay some of the blame in your office. Rodriguez was a monumental mistake made by your predecessor (Bill Martin), but there seems to have been a greater push for all things monetary instead of stopping the slide downwards and making the proper adjustments (coaching-wise). Yet he was permitted, after some tears and Josh Groban theatrics, to coach Michigan in this final game. So how did that exactly go for you?
And because of contractual obligations you’ve decided to make, Michigan has been set up to be embarrassed against to start the 2012 season in my backyard – Arlington, Texas – when Alabama will play (and probably destroy) UM … because you have sniffed for the money more than what is good for this program.
This was a national shellacking (to use a word popular in November) and no one should be spared from the final verdict. Except for some blood-thirsty maniacs here in Texas, no one enjoys witnessing an execution … but that is exactly what it was on that field. And Mississippi State has a victory over a “name” school (in name-only at the moment).
The ball (whether fumbled by running backs too small to play, intercepted by quarterbacks forced to throw too much in a ball-control offense or blocked because the UM kicking game is the absolutely laughing stock in Division 1) is in YOUR court.
Stanford plays Monday night; an announcement needs to be made Tuesday afternoon (I’m considering the time zone differential). Otherwise, kiss off the next half-decade and cancel that Alabama contract. Time to make the RIGHT decisions … and fast!!!
I sincerely hope the extra revenue your school’s bank account received from agreeing to appear in the 2011 Gator Bowl – on New Year’s Day (merely because the game was played on Jan. 1) was worth the complete dismantling and embarrassment the Wolverines received in Jacksonville.
I hope the players enjoyed the festivities and pageantry that accompanied the contest; I hope the ban performed smartly at halftime and in any parade. I hope you’re happy about what transpired PRIOR to the actual kickoff because what followed perhaps set a new modern-day low for Michigan athletics.
Dave, we looked MORE than pathetic – we looked disorganized, ill-prepared (despite the extra practices) and, at the end, simply disinterested. We didn’t seem to be concerned when we couldn’t score inside the red zone on two occasions in the fourth quarter. Why? Because the game was over LONG before those drives ever began.
And with that lackluster, uninspired performance, you, as Michigan athletic director, should have no difficulty telling the head football coach to clean out his desk and take most of the coaches with him (as if the majority would be worthy of hiring elsewhere). And on Tuesday (unless the deal is already in place), you should hire either Jim Harbaugh away from Stanford or Brady Hoke away from San Diego State.
IF you fail to pull the trigger on those two moves, perhaps you need to return to the world of coupon clipping or pizza making. Rich Rodriguez need not have another day at the head football coach at what USED to be a prestigious program; he has helped dump it in to the crapper in just three years’ time.
Against a good Mississippi State team (playing without two of its top receivers), Michigan’s porous, stupidly-conceived defensive scheme allowed 42 unanswered points as it should its complete inability to tackle ANYONE all afternoon. Of course, it has neither enough talent, enough size nor sufficient coaching to do otherwise. But you, and every other school in the Big 10, have known that from Day One.
Despite Michigan’s opening drive, the average fan, blinded by the Florida sun, could tell the Wolverines were in deep doo-doo by the same, old tackling woes on the Bulldogs’ first drive. UM never stopped MSU offensively all game long – except for the first series of the third quarter.
At which point, Rodriguez sealed his fate to coach another season. Hell, Dave, you should have marched out of the press box and escorted him off the field at that moment.
It came at the 11:46 mark of the third quarter, after the lone defensive stand and a 33-yard punt return by Junior Hemingway; Michigan, horrible in the game inside the red zone (1 for 4), faced a fourth down decision and a 17-point deficit. At that moment of clarity, Rodriguez sent out a player who had not kicked a field goal in five months to try a miserable 36-yard boot … instead of trying to continue a potential scoring drive and regain a slight smidgen of momentum.
Of course, the attempt sailed way wide left; it’s been the story of Michigan kicking all season long so why did RichRod expect a different outcome? Even Einstein knew that type of thinking to define insanity.
At that exact moment, the 2011 Gator Bowl was “officially” over; the only question was the final (embarrassing) score. I think many of the Maize and Blue supporters understood it, too, because there began a noticeable collection of empty seats around Raymond James Stadium.
I didn’t see any fire or enthusiasm coming from Rodriguez throughout the contest; I saw entirely too much hand-slapping by UM defenders when they weren’t participating in plays; and I saw nothing improve whatsoever between the lackluster Ohio State loss and this debacle. Michigan has NO running game (backs not named Robinson carried the ball 14 times for 27 yards), NO defense (the game announcers rarely called the name of any defensive lineman for making a single tackle), NO kicking game (the only punt attempt was blocked) and NO future (if you were a top-flight recruit, would join this mess?).
Sorry, I lay some of the blame in your office. Rodriguez was a monumental mistake made by your predecessor (Bill Martin), but there seems to have been a greater push for all things monetary instead of stopping the slide downwards and making the proper adjustments (coaching-wise). Yet he was permitted, after some tears and Josh Groban theatrics, to coach Michigan in this final game. So how did that exactly go for you?
And because of contractual obligations you’ve decided to make, Michigan has been set up to be embarrassed against to start the 2012 season in my backyard – Arlington, Texas – when Alabama will play (and probably destroy) UM … because you have sniffed for the money more than what is good for this program.
This was a national shellacking (to use a word popular in November) and no one should be spared from the final verdict. Except for some blood-thirsty maniacs here in Texas, no one enjoys witnessing an execution … but that is exactly what it was on that field. And Mississippi State has a victory over a “name” school (in name-only at the moment).
The ball (whether fumbled by running backs too small to play, intercepted by quarterbacks forced to throw too much in a ball-control offense or blocked because the UM kicking game is the absolutely laughing stock in Division 1) is in YOUR court.
Stanford plays Monday night; an announcement needs to be made Tuesday afternoon (I’m considering the time zone differential). Otherwise, kiss off the next half-decade and cancel that Alabama contract. Time to make the RIGHT decisions … and fast!!!
Sincerely,
Chuck Bloom
Chuck Bloom
Class of ’74 (just like you, Dave)
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Gator Bowling: what will it ultimately mean?
As I settle into my easy chair this Saturday to watch the Wolverines battle Mississippi State in the annual Gator Bowl, I will carry the same question from kickoff to final whistle: what will it ultimately mean? What will a win, or loss, actually speak about the Michigan football program, its players, its coaches and … its future?
What will it say for a 7-5 team to face one of the middle rung squads (8-4 on the season) of the Southeastern Conference, albeit a nationally-ranked middle-of-the-pack team? And what happens on Jan, 2 when the dust clears and all eyes return to the future of UM head coach Rich Rodriguez?
Here’s what I know: If Michigan loses the game, Rodriguez most likely will have coached his last game in Ann Arbor. If the Wolverines win, and do it impressively, RichRod will be back for 2011; athletic director Dave Brandon will not have the ammunition to fire him.
Michigan accepted this bowl bid because it will bring more revenue to the school; it IS a New Year’s Day appearance at a recognized post-season encounter (really, who knows any history about the Insight.com Bowl????); and it will bring exposure to whatever progress has been accomplished in the last three seasons under Rodriguez.
The folks in Jacksonville, Florida invited Michigan because they were contractually obligated to have a Big 10 team and were delighted with UM because of its vast reputation in college football history and … they want to showcase Denard Robinson in their game. He will be a top three Heisman Trophy candidate for 2011 and what better way to inaugurate that campaign than with a huge showing at Raymond James Stadium.
With “Shoelace” at the helm, Michigan, when healthy, possesses one of the top five offenses in the nation. Sadly, too many people were absent against Ohio State in what had to be the worst performance of the 2010 season and THE most disappointing (the overall effort did not match the game’s importance).
Conversely, it turns out that Robinson’s first start proved to be the team’s best win this season – 30-10 over BCS bowl-bound and eventual Big East champion Connecticut in what was the best defensive effort of the year (I know the triple overtime win over Illinois was the most exciting game but it exposed everything that was wrong with Michigan.
So what does anyone in Michigan actually KNOW about Mississippi State? Most people don’t even know where the school is located (Starkville), the coach’s name (Dan Mullen in his first head coaching job in his second season after going 5-7 in 2009) or any “star” for the Bulldogs (you got me there).
Why the Bulldogs are ranked, and why they are a 4 ½-point favorite is a mystery. Mississippi State is clearly the little brother in that state and its signature victory in the 2010 season was over Ole Miss (31-23 in the regular season finale called the Egg Bowl … really?). The ‘Dogs only defeated three teams, all 6-6 (Georgia, Florida and Kentucky), that got bids to minor level games.
The four losses, all in SEC action, were home games against Auburn (17-14) and Arkansas (38-31 in double overtime) and on the road at LSU (29-7) and Alabama (30-10). They average 27.1 points per game and allow a smidge over 20 points per contest, although the defense has surrendered 30 or more points more than twice.
In my mind, the game comes down to Robinson’s ability to dominate the action on offense (if his receiving corps is healthy, it’s a wide-open attack; if not, it will be difficult to reach the 35 points I predict Michigan will score) and the Michigan defense successfully making stops in the Bulldog end of the field.
I’m predicting UM 35, MSU 24 because Michigan’s kicking woes won’t be solved in Florida for any fourth-down opportunity will not mean three-point tries.
And, as said before, most likely come Monday, the REAL game begins about Rodriguez’ continuance as Michigan head coach. So the question remains” what will it ultimately mean?
What will it say for a 7-5 team to face one of the middle rung squads (8-4 on the season) of the Southeastern Conference, albeit a nationally-ranked middle-of-the-pack team? And what happens on Jan, 2 when the dust clears and all eyes return to the future of UM head coach Rich Rodriguez?
Here’s what I know: If Michigan loses the game, Rodriguez most likely will have coached his last game in Ann Arbor. If the Wolverines win, and do it impressively, RichRod will be back for 2011; athletic director Dave Brandon will not have the ammunition to fire him.
Michigan accepted this bowl bid because it will bring more revenue to the school; it IS a New Year’s Day appearance at a recognized post-season encounter (really, who knows any history about the Insight.com Bowl????); and it will bring exposure to whatever progress has been accomplished in the last three seasons under Rodriguez.
The folks in Jacksonville, Florida invited Michigan because they were contractually obligated to have a Big 10 team and were delighted with UM because of its vast reputation in college football history and … they want to showcase Denard Robinson in their game. He will be a top three Heisman Trophy candidate for 2011 and what better way to inaugurate that campaign than with a huge showing at Raymond James Stadium.
With “Shoelace” at the helm, Michigan, when healthy, possesses one of the top five offenses in the nation. Sadly, too many people were absent against Ohio State in what had to be the worst performance of the 2010 season and THE most disappointing (the overall effort did not match the game’s importance).
Conversely, it turns out that Robinson’s first start proved to be the team’s best win this season – 30-10 over BCS bowl-bound and eventual Big East champion Connecticut in what was the best defensive effort of the year (I know the triple overtime win over Illinois was the most exciting game but it exposed everything that was wrong with Michigan.
So what does anyone in Michigan actually KNOW about Mississippi State? Most people don’t even know where the school is located (Starkville), the coach’s name (Dan Mullen in his first head coaching job in his second season after going 5-7 in 2009) or any “star” for the Bulldogs (you got me there).
Why the Bulldogs are ranked, and why they are a 4 ½-point favorite is a mystery. Mississippi State is clearly the little brother in that state and its signature victory in the 2010 season was over Ole Miss (31-23 in the regular season finale called the Egg Bowl … really?). The ‘Dogs only defeated three teams, all 6-6 (Georgia, Florida and Kentucky), that got bids to minor level games.
The four losses, all in SEC action, were home games against Auburn (17-14) and Arkansas (38-31 in double overtime) and on the road at LSU (29-7) and Alabama (30-10). They average 27.1 points per game and allow a smidge over 20 points per contest, although the defense has surrendered 30 or more points more than twice.
In my mind, the game comes down to Robinson’s ability to dominate the action on offense (if his receiving corps is healthy, it’s a wide-open attack; if not, it will be difficult to reach the 35 points I predict Michigan will score) and the Michigan defense successfully making stops in the Bulldog end of the field.
I’m predicting UM 35, MSU 24 because Michigan’s kicking woes won’t be solved in Florida for any fourth-down opportunity will not mean three-point tries.
And, as said before, most likely come Monday, the REAL game begins about Rodriguez’ continuance as Michigan head coach. So the question remains” what will it ultimately mean?
Friday, December 24, 2010
For all those on the road ...or trying to find their way back
I am dreaming tonight of a place I love
Even more than I usually do
And although I know it's a long road back
I promise you
I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find you
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.
Merry MERRY Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even more than I usually do
And although I know it's a long road back
I promise you
I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find you
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.
Merry MERRY Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Pryor knowledge: five questions to ask involving the Ohio State situation
After reading the initial reports concerning the 2011 suspensions of five Ohio State football players, including quarterback Terrell Pryor, I can think of FIVE immediate questions that can be asked, all of which beg answers:
First, why aren’t these particular players suspended from the Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl? Holding Pryor and the others from playing Akron or Toledo is actually meaningless. Only ONE Big Ten game will be sacrificed – (against Michigan State) and only one road game (at Miami of Florida). For the other seven conference games, Pryor gets to suit up including the season-ender Nov. 26 at Michigan.
Ironically, Pryor is accused of selling the vaunted “Gold Pants” he received for beating U-M in 2008..
If this quintet isn’t eligible to start the 2011 season in uniform, what makes the Sugar Bowl so damn different? As a Michigan fan, I’d sure like to have that question answered.
Second, Did the Ohio State administration know something before sanctions were announced Wednesday? Did it know back in November 2009, when according to AD Gene Smith, “We were not as explicit with our student-athlete education as we should have been in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years regarding the sale of apparel, awards and gifts issued by the athletics department. We began to significantly improve our education in November of 2009 to address these issues. After going through this experience, we will further enhance our education for all our student-athletes as we move forward.”
If those people played Sgt. Schultz (“I see nut-ting!”), why was there a “significant” improvement of student-athlete education in this area? And why did it take a full year for this to be revealed? You think Wisconsin and Michigan State supporters aren’t steaming mad at this point?
Third, shouldn’t these students have known better? Each NCAA scholarship-tendered is given a copy of NCAA rules, during recruitment and during school attendance. The best advice ever given to ANY athlete came, of course, from Bo Schembechler, who said constantly, “If you have any doubt about whether you might break a rule, just don’t do it; you probably are the way NCAA rules exist.”
Before those archaic rules change, the violating athlete will suffer. The question then becomes, “Is it worth it?”
And what does Ohio State do with its compliance director when the top players don’t quite fully understand the word, “compliance?”
Fourth, why is the Ohio State athletic administration fighting this punishment? Isn’t this a bit worse than violating practice limitations???
Some might say these players got off scot-free, especially since someone sat on this information for a year’s time. Although, the Rich Rodriguez era in Ann Arbor has not been Windex clean, when the penalties were announced, U-M decided to take its medicine and move along; Columbus is whining.
Finally, anyone really buying the “explanation” of youthful indiscretions and “kids being kids?” They are juniors and have been in the major spotlight for three years … and, in particular, Pryor.
He tweeted that he used the money for tattoos and his high school coach said the money was to help his family. Uh … why does THIS man know the “what for” about an improper transaction?
Of course, I heard one radio talk show host suggested these players should have ALL said, “my father sold it” … a reference to the Cam Newton situation (which was adjudicated FAR faster than this).
For those who don’t see the problem with what these players did, I’ll answer that. While a championship ring was sold for $1,000, what would have prevented a major Buckeye booster from offering … $100,000, or more? Could that transaction be the difference in keeping Pryor from turning pro in January or returning for a fourth year on a possible national championship squad? How much is THAT scenario worth?
The prices for the items are too similar and it sure appears the players were in collaboration with one another. It reeks of a deeper problem, namely WHO purchased these things for that kind of money? It has the familiar ring of booster payments and those of us in Texas know what THAT is all about (especially in Dallas where the former governor was the lead booster doing the payoffs for SMU).
Something smells in Columbus; and someone needs to dig a whole lot deeper into what happened and why.
I’m talking Chilean coal mine deep!
First, why aren’t these particular players suspended from the Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl? Holding Pryor and the others from playing Akron or Toledo is actually meaningless. Only ONE Big Ten game will be sacrificed – (against Michigan State) and only one road game (at Miami of Florida). For the other seven conference games, Pryor gets to suit up including the season-ender Nov. 26 at Michigan.
Ironically, Pryor is accused of selling the vaunted “Gold Pants” he received for beating U-M in 2008..
If this quintet isn’t eligible to start the 2011 season in uniform, what makes the Sugar Bowl so damn different? As a Michigan fan, I’d sure like to have that question answered.
Second, Did the Ohio State administration know something before sanctions were announced Wednesday? Did it know back in November 2009, when according to AD Gene Smith, “We were not as explicit with our student-athlete education as we should have been in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years regarding the sale of apparel, awards and gifts issued by the athletics department. We began to significantly improve our education in November of 2009 to address these issues. After going through this experience, we will further enhance our education for all our student-athletes as we move forward.”
If those people played Sgt. Schultz (“I see nut-ting!”), why was there a “significant” improvement of student-athlete education in this area? And why did it take a full year for this to be revealed? You think Wisconsin and Michigan State supporters aren’t steaming mad at this point?
Third, shouldn’t these students have known better? Each NCAA scholarship-tendered is given a copy of NCAA rules, during recruitment and during school attendance. The best advice ever given to ANY athlete came, of course, from Bo Schembechler, who said constantly, “If you have any doubt about whether you might break a rule, just don’t do it; you probably are the way NCAA rules exist.”
Before those archaic rules change, the violating athlete will suffer. The question then becomes, “Is it worth it?”
And what does Ohio State do with its compliance director when the top players don’t quite fully understand the word, “compliance?”
Fourth, why is the Ohio State athletic administration fighting this punishment? Isn’t this a bit worse than violating practice limitations???
Some might say these players got off scot-free, especially since someone sat on this information for a year’s time. Although, the Rich Rodriguez era in Ann Arbor has not been Windex clean, when the penalties were announced, U-M decided to take its medicine and move along; Columbus is whining.
Finally, anyone really buying the “explanation” of youthful indiscretions and “kids being kids?” They are juniors and have been in the major spotlight for three years … and, in particular, Pryor.
He tweeted that he used the money for tattoos and his high school coach said the money was to help his family. Uh … why does THIS man know the “what for” about an improper transaction?
Of course, I heard one radio talk show host suggested these players should have ALL said, “my father sold it” … a reference to the Cam Newton situation (which was adjudicated FAR faster than this).
For those who don’t see the problem with what these players did, I’ll answer that. While a championship ring was sold for $1,000, what would have prevented a major Buckeye booster from offering … $100,000, or more? Could that transaction be the difference in keeping Pryor from turning pro in January or returning for a fourth year on a possible national championship squad? How much is THAT scenario worth?
The prices for the items are too similar and it sure appears the players were in collaboration with one another. It reeks of a deeper problem, namely WHO purchased these things for that kind of money? It has the familiar ring of booster payments and those of us in Texas know what THAT is all about (especially in Dallas where the former governor was the lead booster doing the payoffs for SMU).
Something smells in Columbus; and someone needs to dig a whole lot deeper into what happened and why.
I’m talking Chilean coal mine deep!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Good enough to serve, but not good enough to be recognized
Riddle me this: why is it NOT OK to be the child of undocumented parents (no one properly raising children in ILLEGAL; there are LOTS of "legal" people - born here - who don't know the first thing about it) who was brought to this country at a young age, but knows no OTHER place of residence but WANTS to be a productive law-abiding legal citizen ...
YET ... it's just fine and dandy for said child-of-undocumented parents to serve - AND DIE - in the United States Armed Forces!!!!!!!!!
Someone try to explain that, please. If he or she is good enough to wear the damn uniform, they should be granted AUTOMATIC citizenship; they are doing a helluva lot more to protect our values/freedoms than MOST actual natural-born citizens.
So when the Republicans in the U.S. Senate vote to derail the DREAM Act, permitting the CHILDREN (not the parents, mind you) to clear-cut their way to U.S. citizenship (including military service), they need not ask in the future why Hispanics turn a blind eye to their speech. Action and votes speak louder than words; in this case, the words say "Screw you!"
YET ... it's just fine and dandy for said child-of-undocumented parents to serve - AND DIE - in the United States Armed Forces!!!!!!!!!
Someone try to explain that, please. If he or she is good enough to wear the damn uniform, they should be granted AUTOMATIC citizenship; they are doing a helluva lot more to protect our values/freedoms than MOST actual natural-born citizens.
So when the Republicans in the U.S. Senate vote to derail the DREAM Act, permitting the CHILDREN (not the parents, mind you) to clear-cut their way to U.S. citizenship (including military service), they need not ask in the future why Hispanics turn a blind eye to their speech. Action and votes speak louder than words; in this case, the words say "Screw you!"
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Bob Feller dead at 92
The greatest Cleveland Indian of them all has died today of leukemia at the age of 92.
All of Van Meter, Iowa ... and America mourns.
In his day, he was at fast and strong and brilliant as they came.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Top 10 all-time Christmas movies
Everyone has their lists and opinions and here’s a combination of both – the 10 best Christmas movies (all of which you can rent OR will be shown multiple times before Dec.25 on cable television):
10. – The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) – Despite an overtly Halloween theme, this film, produced by Tim Burton, is very much a Christmas movie and plays well in any year with almost ANY audience (except for the youngest and most timid of viewers).
9. – “The Bells of St. Mary” (1945) – This actually is a double bill since this movie is a sequel of the award-winning, “Going My Way.” Bing Crosby gets to sing and play a baseball-loving priest. If you see one, you must see the other.
8. – Scrooged (1988) – Yes, it is actually demented, with Bill Murray as his kinetic best. But, what I find fascinating, is the parody of network television, as seen through the warped mind of former SNL head writer Michael O’Donoghue, became reality in the form of what FOX has brought to the airwaves.
7. – The Bishop’s Wife (1948) – Talk about star power! David Niven, Loretta Young and Cary Grant is his regal, suave, sophisticated best as Dudley the Angel. The movie was re-made in the 1990s as “The Preacher’s Wife,” with Denzel Washington doing his Cary Grant thing, but it was a vehicle for singer Whitney Houston, who was mediocre, at best.
6. – Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962) – Perhaps the least known and best holiday musical EVER made. It was actually the last time Magoo, the near-blind old crotchety guy, was seen on TV, complete with the wonderful voice of Jim Backus (always known as a comic but should also be remembered as the perplexed father of James Dean in “Rebel Without A Cause”). The original songs (written by Jules Styne and Bob Merrill) were all wonderful and tells Charles Dickens’ story as well as any have done.
5. – White Christmas (1954) – The great director Michael Curtiz, who helmed the likes of “Casablanca,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “The Adventures of Robin Hood” did this lighthearted film with Crosby and Danny Kaye. The plot had nothing to do with the original song and was as thin as paychecks these days. But you don’t care; it’s about the music of Irving Berlin.
4. – A Christmas Carol (1951) – No story has been told and re-told more often than this Dickens classic. The 1951 British version, starring Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, is the best of the lot. But the 1984 made-for-TV Hallmark production, led by George C. Scott, is also spectacular.
3. – Miracle on 34th Street (1947) – The original is always the best and Edmund Gwenn won a well-deserved Best Supporting Oscar as the ultimate Kris Kringle. And note the years these classic movies were made…
2. – Christmas Story (1980) – Director Bob Clark would become better known for introducing the series of movies known as “Porky’s.” But he helmed this wonderful film, based on the writings of the late humorist Jean Shepherd.
It’s SOOOOO very Midwestern, and as a child of the Midwest, I related to almost every scene. Those people living in the South don’t know the pain of getting your tongue stuck on a frozen lamp post.
1. – It’s A Wonderful Life (1947) – Just one of many Frank Capra movies that could be labeled as “masterpiece,” but this is completely different from all his other offerings. In many ways, it is the epitome of the post-World War II genre where the movie moods were much darker than prior to 1940. The film’s star, James Stewart, often was pictured in light comedies or romances, but after the war, and after Stewart’s own experiences, he NEVER really did a lightweight film again.
The central focus of the plot is a man who is trying to commit suicide which is as dark as it gets. The long journey of redemption finally comes to the forefront in the movie’s final 15 minutes, and it’s the final moments that everyone remembers.
Oddly, it was filmed in the dead of summer, and despite its greatness, it lost the Best Picture Oscar in 1948 to another “masterpiece” – “The Best Year of Our Lives.”
Honorable mention – Several comedies – “Elf,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “Bad Santa” and “The Santa Clause” – make the honorable mention list. They aren’t Oscar-winners but do have a high degree of originality. Other movies that earned such mention would be “Die Hard” (it DOES happen during a Christmas party), “Home Alone 1 and 2,” and “The Homecoming” – a made-for-TV movie which was the basis for the long-running series, “The Waltons.”
By the way, I do not consider “Holiday Inn” to be a Christmas movie, despite the debut of Crosby’s version of “White Christmas” (the most popular Christmas song ever). It’s about a New England resort only open on … holidays.
Happy viewing!
10. – The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) – Despite an overtly Halloween theme, this film, produced by Tim Burton, is very much a Christmas movie and plays well in any year with almost ANY audience (except for the youngest and most timid of viewers).
9. – “The Bells of St. Mary” (1945) – This actually is a double bill since this movie is a sequel of the award-winning, “Going My Way.” Bing Crosby gets to sing and play a baseball-loving priest. If you see one, you must see the other.
8. – Scrooged (1988) – Yes, it is actually demented, with Bill Murray as his kinetic best. But, what I find fascinating, is the parody of network television, as seen through the warped mind of former SNL head writer Michael O’Donoghue, became reality in the form of what FOX has brought to the airwaves.
7. – The Bishop’s Wife (1948) – Talk about star power! David Niven, Loretta Young and Cary Grant is his regal, suave, sophisticated best as Dudley the Angel. The movie was re-made in the 1990s as “The Preacher’s Wife,” with Denzel Washington doing his Cary Grant thing, but it was a vehicle for singer Whitney Houston, who was mediocre, at best.
6. – Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962) – Perhaps the least known and best holiday musical EVER made. It was actually the last time Magoo, the near-blind old crotchety guy, was seen on TV, complete with the wonderful voice of Jim Backus (always known as a comic but should also be remembered as the perplexed father of James Dean in “Rebel Without A Cause”). The original songs (written by Jules Styne and Bob Merrill) were all wonderful and tells Charles Dickens’ story as well as any have done.
5. – White Christmas (1954) – The great director Michael Curtiz, who helmed the likes of “Casablanca,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “The Adventures of Robin Hood” did this lighthearted film with Crosby and Danny Kaye. The plot had nothing to do with the original song and was as thin as paychecks these days. But you don’t care; it’s about the music of Irving Berlin.
4. – A Christmas Carol (1951) – No story has been told and re-told more often than this Dickens classic. The 1951 British version, starring Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, is the best of the lot. But the 1984 made-for-TV Hallmark production, led by George C. Scott, is also spectacular.
3. – Miracle on 34th Street (1947) – The original is always the best and Edmund Gwenn won a well-deserved Best Supporting Oscar as the ultimate Kris Kringle. And note the years these classic movies were made…
2. – Christmas Story (1980) – Director Bob Clark would become better known for introducing the series of movies known as “Porky’s.” But he helmed this wonderful film, based on the writings of the late humorist Jean Shepherd.
It’s SOOOOO very Midwestern, and as a child of the Midwest, I related to almost every scene. Those people living in the South don’t know the pain of getting your tongue stuck on a frozen lamp post.
1. – It’s A Wonderful Life (1947) – Just one of many Frank Capra movies that could be labeled as “masterpiece,” but this is completely different from all his other offerings. In many ways, it is the epitome of the post-World War II genre where the movie moods were much darker than prior to 1940. The film’s star, James Stewart, often was pictured in light comedies or romances, but after the war, and after Stewart’s own experiences, he NEVER really did a lightweight film again.
The central focus of the plot is a man who is trying to commit suicide which is as dark as it gets. The long journey of redemption finally comes to the forefront in the movie’s final 15 minutes, and it’s the final moments that everyone remembers.
Oddly, it was filmed in the dead of summer, and despite its greatness, it lost the Best Picture Oscar in 1948 to another “masterpiece” – “The Best Year of Our Lives.”
Honorable mention – Several comedies – “Elf,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “Bad Santa” and “The Santa Clause” – make the honorable mention list. They aren’t Oscar-winners but do have a high degree of originality. Other movies that earned such mention would be “Die Hard” (it DOES happen during a Christmas party), “Home Alone 1 and 2,” and “The Homecoming” – a made-for-TV movie which was the basis for the long-running series, “The Waltons.”
By the way, I do not consider “Holiday Inn” to be a Christmas movie, despite the debut of Crosby’s version of “White Christmas” (the most popular Christmas song ever). It’s about a New England resort only open on … holidays.
Happy viewing!
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
The Den of the Mellow Men
If I had to choose my favorite University of Michigan football squad from among the many I’ve seen, or studied, or admired, my heart goes back to 1971 and the undefeated team (in the regular season) which beat Ohio State 10-7 in the finale before losing to Stanford 13-12 in the 58th Rose Bowl.
That game was lost, like SOOOOOO many others, to a little field goal kicker, named Rod Garcia, who booted a 31-yarder with 12 seconds left in the game. I cannot tell you how many times Michigan’s “bend but not break” defense fell before opposing field goal kickers (from Notre Dame and Ohio State especially).
It was the final game for an exceptional group of three-year players – the ones that helped stun Ohio State 24-12 in 1969 – and helped establish Bo Schembechler at the face and legacy of Michigan football.
In particular, there was a group of seven teammates (all African-Americans) who lived together in a house on Geddes Avenue, which went by the luscious name – the Den of the Mellow Men.
In this house, near Observatory, and across the street from a cemetery, lived the quintet of amazing talent and personalities – Reggie McKenzie, Glenn Doughty, Billy Taylor, Thom Darden, Butch Carpenter, Mike Oldham and Mike Taylor. And the structure was known because a small sign hung from the front porch, announcing its existence and title.
These guys could be seen everywhere on campus, mostly together, in class, at some restaurant (such as Bimbo’s, Cottage Inn, Pretzel Bell, Village Bell, Lamplighter), or just walking through the Diag. Nobody messed with them and for many, they epitomized “cool.”
In a 2009 U-M publication, the man they called “BT” reminisced about his Ann Arbor days.
“When I came to Michigan, I was part of the largest collection of black athletes ever at the school on scholarship. That was the time of the Black Action Movement (BAM) and Vietnam protests, but Bo wanted us to stay out of politics. And we vowed we were going to be part of a championship team together.
“That fit well with what Bo was planning in 1969 and he kept telling us we were going to beat the Buckeyes. (Everyone in) the Den of Mellow Men were all starters as sophomores and, to this day, I have never seen a team come together like we did for that Ohio State game.
“We expected a long oration from Bo before the game, but he just turned the bill of his cap to the back and said ‘our own newspapers are saying our chances of winning this game are slim and none.’
Then, Bo said: ‘We are going to go out there and kick their ass!’
You had to be a real man to get out of the Michigan locker room that day and when we took the field, no one felt their feet touch the ground. What a great team game we played that day!”
So, as has become the expectation in these postings from me, I have a couple of stories and the “Den.”
First, there is (I assume it still exists) a secret athletic fraternal order on campus – Michigauma, consisting mostly of athletes, which dated back to the formation of the program. I remember when I was living with a house filled with varsity swimmers that the roommates who were part of this group would tell of annual massive banquets, complete with people like yet-to-be President Gerald R. Ford and many legends within their respective sports.
While these meetings were secretive, it was an “open” secret around Ann Arbor, especially when the annual ceremonies for induction – what people call “hazing” – were held in the middle of everyone.
In the spring of 1972, one such public display found new Michigauma members (mostly juniors but the occasional worthy sophomore) took place in the Diag, toward the west end of the (former) UGLI, Undergraduate Library. At the edge of what we called “The Fishbowl” was a patch of grass and on this chilly spring afternoon, it was filled with enough water to produce a nice layer of mud.
As a crowd of curious onlookers gathered, some of the biggest names in UM athletics were lined up along the grass and ordered to do military-like stomach crawls through the muck – all presided by the society’s “Big Chief” – Reggie McKenzie. But Reggie, wearing this huge headdress, with his face painted with war paint-like stripes, wore … next-to-nothing – just a loin cloth with a Speedo underneath.
And to say Reggie McKenzie possessed a body was sculpted like a Greek statue would not do justice to him. He personified the word “chiseled,” and everyone knew it. Back then, an offensive guard (who would go on to NFL fame as the lead blocker when O.J. Simpson broke the 2,000-yard barrier for the Buffalo Bills) did not weigh 290-300 pounds. He was 245 pounds of steel and muscle and NO ONE messed with him on the field.
He simply stood there with his arms folded, muscles bulging from his arms and legs and pectorals – with these large-framed glasses. It literally made women swoon, (including members of the Radical Lesbians, an honest-to-God political group in those days with that exact name whose members whore fatigues and didn’t shave their legs) and men jealous.
Big Chief Reggie didn’t feel a thing on the 50-degree day; simply nodding his head when the new members needed to do something different in terms of small humiliation in front of the UM student body. And when the ceremony was finished, Reggie just walked away, while the place exploded in applause and whistles (he just smiled).
But I honestly think the Den members LOVED going to see Michigan hockey games, which were held in the dilapidated barn known laughingly as the Michigan Coliseum. It only held around 3,000 people and you simply jammed your way into the place to root for an average squad against the likes of Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota-Duluth or Wisconsin.
It was the kind of place where standing room meant you could press your face against the end glass and slam it when you disagreed with a referee’s call or to intimate the opposition.
Since it involved immediate and violent body contact, it became a natural attraction for football players, especially these particular men. Reggie, BT and the others would find their way to the same spot each game, in the corner near where the glass ended its enclosure.
On the Michigan team, there were some pretty good players (although the talent level got progressively better in the future), but the crowd favorite was a young French-Canadian forward-defenseman named Jean-Yves Cartier. However, everyone in Ann Arbor, and on the team, called him “Punch” – for very good reason. He led the Wolverines in penalty minutes and delivered the hardest checks on the team – always to the screaming delight of the crowd. When Punch took out an on-rushing forward into the boards, the Mellow Men would jump up in exuberantly, probably in admiration from one group of attackers to another.
Now, it was known (and witnessed by many, including me) when Reggie, Billy and Mike Taylor would pound the boards as Punch would his thing and … well … reach out from time to time to grab the jersey of a opposing player so Punch could line him up and BAMMM!, down he’d go as Cartier skated away as the fellow Den members would roar their approval. And if you were grabbed by Reggie McKenzie for a couple of seconds, you weren’t going anywhere!
Because, back in the day, things were different; it WAS a closer knit campus and it wasn’t unusual for such student “interaction.” You could show up at an Alice Cooper concert and sit directly behind the starting middle linebacker, who was toking on a nice doobie, as if it were nothing at all (until years later you see the same guy on public access television as an evangelical minister).
Ironically, once those players graduated, no one took their place as a group, as an inspiration …or in that house. However, as it so happened, I wound up living in that house (albeit in the basement for a year’s time) in a “room” that couldn’t pass for a broom closet today. Still I felt I was a part of history on that campus because I knew the “ghosts” of Big Chief Reggie had roamed the upper floors.
Perhaps that, and for many other reasons, is why the term “back in the day” is almost spiritual to former undergrads like me. There WAS something special about the events and people then.
It was the final game for an exceptional group of three-year players – the ones that helped stun Ohio State 24-12 in 1969 – and helped establish Bo Schembechler at the face and legacy of Michigan football.
In particular, there was a group of seven teammates (all African-Americans) who lived together in a house on Geddes Avenue, which went by the luscious name – the Den of the Mellow Men.
In this house, near Observatory, and across the street from a cemetery, lived the quintet of amazing talent and personalities – Reggie McKenzie, Glenn Doughty, Billy Taylor, Thom Darden, Butch Carpenter, Mike Oldham and Mike Taylor. And the structure was known because a small sign hung from the front porch, announcing its existence and title.
These guys could be seen everywhere on campus, mostly together, in class, at some restaurant (such as Bimbo’s, Cottage Inn, Pretzel Bell, Village Bell, Lamplighter), or just walking through the Diag. Nobody messed with them and for many, they epitomized “cool.”
In a 2009 U-M publication, the man they called “BT” reminisced about his Ann Arbor days.
“When I came to Michigan, I was part of the largest collection of black athletes ever at the school on scholarship. That was the time of the Black Action Movement (BAM) and Vietnam protests, but Bo wanted us to stay out of politics. And we vowed we were going to be part of a championship team together.
“That fit well with what Bo was planning in 1969 and he kept telling us we were going to beat the Buckeyes. (Everyone in) the Den of Mellow Men were all starters as sophomores and, to this day, I have never seen a team come together like we did for that Ohio State game.
“We expected a long oration from Bo before the game, but he just turned the bill of his cap to the back and said ‘our own newspapers are saying our chances of winning this game are slim and none.’
Then, Bo said: ‘We are going to go out there and kick their ass!’
You had to be a real man to get out of the Michigan locker room that day and when we took the field, no one felt their feet touch the ground. What a great team game we played that day!”
So, as has become the expectation in these postings from me, I have a couple of stories and the “Den.”
First, there is (I assume it still exists) a secret athletic fraternal order on campus – Michigauma, consisting mostly of athletes, which dated back to the formation of the program. I remember when I was living with a house filled with varsity swimmers that the roommates who were part of this group would tell of annual massive banquets, complete with people like yet-to-be President Gerald R. Ford and many legends within their respective sports.
While these meetings were secretive, it was an “open” secret around Ann Arbor, especially when the annual ceremonies for induction – what people call “hazing” – were held in the middle of everyone.
In the spring of 1972, one such public display found new Michigauma members (mostly juniors but the occasional worthy sophomore) took place in the Diag, toward the west end of the (former) UGLI, Undergraduate Library. At the edge of what we called “The Fishbowl” was a patch of grass and on this chilly spring afternoon, it was filled with enough water to produce a nice layer of mud.
As a crowd of curious onlookers gathered, some of the biggest names in UM athletics were lined up along the grass and ordered to do military-like stomach crawls through the muck – all presided by the society’s “Big Chief” – Reggie McKenzie. But Reggie, wearing this huge headdress, with his face painted with war paint-like stripes, wore … next-to-nothing – just a loin cloth with a Speedo underneath.
He simply stood there with his arms folded, muscles bulging from his arms and legs and pectorals – with these large-framed glasses. It literally made women swoon, (including members of the Radical Lesbians, an honest-to-God political group in those days with that exact name whose members whore fatigues and didn’t shave their legs) and men jealous.
Big Chief Reggie didn’t feel a thing on the 50-degree day; simply nodding his head when the new members needed to do something different in terms of small humiliation in front of the UM student body. And when the ceremony was finished, Reggie just walked away, while the place exploded in applause and whistles (he just smiled).
But I honestly think the Den members LOVED going to see Michigan hockey games, which were held in the dilapidated barn known laughingly as the Michigan Coliseum. It only held around 3,000 people and you simply jammed your way into the place to root for an average squad against the likes of Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota-Duluth or Wisconsin.
It was the kind of place where standing room meant you could press your face against the end glass and slam it when you disagreed with a referee’s call or to intimate the opposition.
Since it involved immediate and violent body contact, it became a natural attraction for football players, especially these particular men. Reggie, BT and the others would find their way to the same spot each game, in the corner near where the glass ended its enclosure.
On the Michigan team, there were some pretty good players (although the talent level got progressively better in the future), but the crowd favorite was a young French-Canadian forward-defenseman named Jean-Yves Cartier. However, everyone in Ann Arbor, and on the team, called him “Punch” – for very good reason. He led the Wolverines in penalty minutes and delivered the hardest checks on the team – always to the screaming delight of the crowd. When Punch took out an on-rushing forward into the boards, the Mellow Men would jump up in exuberantly, probably in admiration from one group of attackers to another.
Now, it was known (and witnessed by many, including me) when Reggie, Billy and Mike Taylor would pound the boards as Punch would his thing and … well … reach out from time to time to grab the jersey of a opposing player so Punch could line him up and BAMMM!, down he’d go as Cartier skated away as the fellow Den members would roar their approval. And if you were grabbed by Reggie McKenzie for a couple of seconds, you weren’t going anywhere!
Because, back in the day, things were different; it WAS a closer knit campus and it wasn’t unusual for such student “interaction.” You could show up at an Alice Cooper concert and sit directly behind the starting middle linebacker, who was toking on a nice doobie, as if it were nothing at all (until years later you see the same guy on public access television as an evangelical minister).
Perhaps that, and for many other reasons, is why the term “back in the day” is almost spiritual to former undergrads like me. There WAS something special about the events and people then.
Friday, December 03, 2010
My top 20 favorite movies
In order:
Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai, A Day at the Races, The Searchers, The Maltese Falcon, All the President’s Men, The Natural, American Graffiti, Field of Dreams, Duck Soup, Empire of the Sun, The Magnificent Seven, The Longest Day, The Great Escape, Shane, Citizen Kane, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Adventures of Robin Hood (Errol Flynn), West Side Story, M*A*S*H
Rest in peace, Ron Santo
Rest in peace, Ron Santo; when you died last night at the age of 70, baseball - not just the Chicago Cubs - lost a true fan, warrior and everlasting spirit of the game. Sadly, the people who choose the inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame constantly dismissed and overlooked your career work. Perhaps that will be corrected ... but only after you're gone.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Exactly what does ‘bowl eligible’ mean?
The current version of Division 1 NCAA football – where teams play under the banner of “Bowl Championship Series” – has morphed and twisted into a two-level measure of success. One is legitimate, the other is bogus.
Every team, allegedly, plays to win a national championship and with the system in place, it can only happen if you finish 1-2 in a convoluted ranking system. Until there is an earth-shattering cataclysmic event, that game will feature Oregon and Auburn (with undefeated TCU headed to the Big East and on the outside looking in … hence the move to a BCS-qualifying conference).
Everyone else is playing for money; only ONE school can be crowned national champion. All the other “bowl eligible” teams are looking for a paycheck and a party in a different town.
Michigan’s Wolverines are no different from any other cash-sniffing campus. If the proper bowl is accepted (meaning one paying enough to cover the squad’s expenses, plus school officials, and shows a profit in the end), it will be a positive experience. It will mean additional (and sanctioned) practice time and more exposure to recruits ahead of the February 2 national signing day.
But make NO mistake – being bowl eligible does not constitute success. For a large plurality of participating schools, it simply represents mediocrity for that completed regular season
If a team sports a .500 record (6-6 in the 2010 season), it does NOT deserve to play a 13th contest. Period. One or two games above that low watermark is only slightly better and in many cases, it includes a sub-.500 conference mark – another sign that team deserves to sit home (yes, Michigan is one of those teams under this stringent standard).
The reason for the plethora of mediocre teams is the ridiculous number of post-season bowl games – 34 not counting the championship game on Jan. 10 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. And in many cases, the conferences will NOT be able to meet their contractual obligations (the Big 10 needed NINE bowl-eligible teams and only got eight for a few conference ingredients will be missing from the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit; perhaps the tickets will only cost $5.55).
For the record, here are the games/dates and conferences involved:
New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 18, Mt. West-WAC
Humanitarian Bowl, Dec. 18, MAC-WAC
New Orleans, Dec. 18, C-USA-Sun Belt
St. Pete Bowl, Dec. 21, Big East-C-USA
Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 22, Mt. West-Pac-10
Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 23, Mt. West-Navy
Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24, C-USA-WAC
Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl (old Motor City Bowl), Dec. 26, Big 10-MAC
Independence Bowl, Dec. 27, ACC-Mt. West
Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 28, ACC-Big East
Insight Bowl (Tempe, AZ), Dec. 28, Big 10-Big 12
Eagle Bank Bowl (old Congressional Bowl), Dec. 29, ACC-C-USA
Texas Bowl (Houston), Dec. 29, Big 10-Big 12
Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29, Big 12-Pac-10
Armed Forces Bowl, Dec. 30, C-USA-Mt. West
New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Dec. 30, Big 12-Big East
Music City Bowl, Dec. 30, ACC-SEC
Holiday Bowl, Dec. 30, Big 12-Pac-10
Meineke Bowl, Dec. 31, ACC-Big East
Sun Bowl, Dec. 31, ACC-Pac 10
Liberty Bowl, Dec. 31, C-USA-SEC
Chick-fil-A Bowl, Dec. 31, ACC-SEC
TicketCity Bowl (Dallas), Jan. 1, Big 10-Big 12
Outback Bowl (Tampa), Jan. 1, Big 10-SEC
Capital One Bowl (Orlando), Jan. 1, Big 10-SEC
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville), Jan. 1, Big 10-SEC
Rose Bowl (Pasadena), Jan. 1, BCS (TCU)-BCS
Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ), Jan. 1, BCS-BCS
Orange Bowl (Miami), Jan. 3, BCS-BCS
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans), Jan. 4, BCS-BCS
GoDaddy.com Bowl (old GMAC Bowl), Jan. 6, MAC-Sun Belt
AT&T Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX), Jan. 7, Big 12-SEC
Papajohns.com Bowl, Jan. 8, Big East-SEC
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (old Emerald Bowl), Jan. 9, Pac-10-WAC
Citi BCS National Championship, Jan. 10, BCS 1-BCS 2
Makes your head explode, doesn’t it? And here are a couple of oddities: neither the Independence Bowl (formerly on TBS) or the Chick-fil-A Bowl have secured networks just yet, while the TicketCity Bowl will be aired on lonely little ESPN U – not the “bigger” outlets.
And it’s quite curious that CBS, the network for the regular SEC season, will only air one bowl game, the Sun Bowl from El Paso (which it has done for almost 30 years) but not involving an SEC team. ESPN will virtually air every bowl game on that above schedule (save a couple).
If you’re wondering about some of these “classics,” the New Era Pinstripe Bowl will be played (for its inaugural affair) in balmy Yankee Stadium in New York (good luck with all that) – the northernmost locale for post-season play.
Let’s consider Michigan’s plight for a moment. The Wolverines will essentially have two choices – either play in Glendale at the Insight Bowl against a school like Texas Tech or Baylor (both cratered in the final weeks of the Big 12 schedule) at 10 p.m. Michigan time, or play first thing in Dallas, at the old Cotton Bowl, at 11 a.m. Texas time, BUT on New Year’s Day, against either … Texas Tech or Baylor.
Not much of a choice, eh? Beating either school will prove nothing, but could be highly entertaining since both opponents feature wide-open offenses (Tech, by far, has the worst defense of the pair). But it’s not a feather in the cap, if you know what I mean.
A trip to Dallas would lay the groundwork for the 2012 season opener at Cowboys Stadium (new home of the old Cotton Bowl) in Arlington against Ala-freaking-bama. Anyone honestly think the UM program is ready for THAT game?!?
So let’s look at the “bowl-eligible” nominees for 2010:
At 6-6: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Louisville, UT-El Paso, Western Michigan, Brigham Young, Tennessee and Kentucky (which has a smart-looking 2-6 SEC record).
At 6-5 (with one more game to play): Army (yet to face Navy), Illinois (playing at Fresno State, 7-4, this Friday), Florida International (versus Middle Tennessee, 5-6, this weekend), Troy (playing Florida Atlantic), and Pittsburgh (facing Cincinnati).
At 7-4: South Florida and UConn (remember them?) play each other in their season finale.
They are trying to reach the 7-5 grouping of: Boston College, Miami, Fla. (who fired their coach last Saturday night), North Carolina, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas Tech, Syracuse, Iowa, Penn State, Northwestern, Michigan, Notre Dame (remember THEM?), and Florida. Southern Methodist, 7-5, is playing Central Florida, 9-3, this weekend for the Conference-USA title.
But the REAL excitement will see the 5-6 teams hoping, praying and playing to be … bowl-eligible. Arizona State, 5-6, hosts Arizona, 7-4; Louisiana Tech, 5-6, plays giant killer Nevada, 11-1; and in the biggest game of the day, Oregon State will not only be trying to win the annual “Civil War,” and keep number-2 Oregon from the BCS title game, but the Beavers will be seeking … bowl eligibility (currently at 5-6). You will be able to cut the tension with a butter knife.
You’ve got 28 bowl-eligible teams barely over, or at, .500 and four more trying to break the door down –nearly HALF the field needed for all those games. These games will not come cheap to the college football spectator, either; even the ones between these mediocre squads.
But is it worth it? Will it be worth all the expense, time, classroom time lost, etc., when perhaps 25 percent of these sponsored games will run deep in the red?
Here you see why there will never, ever, be a collegiate Div. 1 playoff format – the college presidents, who love their wining and dining, simply will not pick the top 11 bowls (for a 12-game format with first-round byes) or 15 bowls (for a full 16-team concept). Sponsors and organizers will scream bloody murder about the importance of these games to local economies, the fabric of the game, traditions and you-name-it.
You’ll see an outlandish and possibly corrupt bidding system among the various bowls to “buy” their way into a playoff and if you think the recruiting process is bad, and the influence of agents upon the sport is divisive, just wait until corporations rear their ugly heads into the mix. Nothing spells disaster like the influence of major league big money.
Let’s face it: those college presidents also have an eye on the budget bottom line; Boise State’s overtime loss to Ne-VAY-dah (it’s how the locals in Reno wish it pronounced) cost the university an estimated $12 MILLION because it won’t play in a BCS-level game. That is serious green to lose on that hideous blue turf.
A post-season bowl game will be a good thing for alumni in the chosen city or state; the UM clubs in Dallas or Phoenix will warmly welcome seeing this year’s version of the Maize and Blue (the spectacular Denard Robinson and the frightful Michigan defense) in their backyard.
But it’s hard to imagine getting all worked up – foaming at the mount – to place a school (Baylor) that outlaws copies of Playboy on its campus and only allowed DANCING permitted on school grounds in the last 15 years. Not at 7-5; that’s really a vanilla record when you are trying to achieve Rocky Road.
P.S. – For the record, Michigan is 1-0-1 against Baylor (There’s a story with the 1975 14-14 tie at home which will come later in the month) while it has never faced the boys from Lubbock.
Every team, allegedly, plays to win a national championship and with the system in place, it can only happen if you finish 1-2 in a convoluted ranking system. Until there is an earth-shattering cataclysmic event, that game will feature Oregon and Auburn (with undefeated TCU headed to the Big East and on the outside looking in … hence the move to a BCS-qualifying conference).
Everyone else is playing for money; only ONE school can be crowned national champion. All the other “bowl eligible” teams are looking for a paycheck and a party in a different town.
Michigan’s Wolverines are no different from any other cash-sniffing campus. If the proper bowl is accepted (meaning one paying enough to cover the squad’s expenses, plus school officials, and shows a profit in the end), it will be a positive experience. It will mean additional (and sanctioned) practice time and more exposure to recruits ahead of the February 2 national signing day.
But make NO mistake – being bowl eligible does not constitute success. For a large plurality of participating schools, it simply represents mediocrity for that completed regular season
If a team sports a .500 record (6-6 in the 2010 season), it does NOT deserve to play a 13th contest. Period. One or two games above that low watermark is only slightly better and in many cases, it includes a sub-.500 conference mark – another sign that team deserves to sit home (yes, Michigan is one of those teams under this stringent standard).
The reason for the plethora of mediocre teams is the ridiculous number of post-season bowl games – 34 not counting the championship game on Jan. 10 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. And in many cases, the conferences will NOT be able to meet their contractual obligations (the Big 10 needed NINE bowl-eligible teams and only got eight for a few conference ingredients will be missing from the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit; perhaps the tickets will only cost $5.55).
For the record, here are the games/dates and conferences involved:
New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 18, Mt. West-WAC
Humanitarian Bowl, Dec. 18, MAC-WAC
New Orleans, Dec. 18, C-USA-Sun Belt
St. Pete Bowl, Dec. 21, Big East-C-USA
Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 22, Mt. West-Pac-10
Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 23, Mt. West-Navy
Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24, C-USA-WAC
Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl (old Motor City Bowl), Dec. 26, Big 10-MAC
Independence Bowl, Dec. 27, ACC-Mt. West
Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 28, ACC-Big East
Insight Bowl (Tempe, AZ), Dec. 28, Big 10-Big 12
Eagle Bank Bowl (old Congressional Bowl), Dec. 29, ACC-C-USA
Texas Bowl (Houston), Dec. 29, Big 10-Big 12
Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29, Big 12-Pac-10
Armed Forces Bowl, Dec. 30, C-USA-Mt. West
New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Dec. 30, Big 12-Big East
Music City Bowl, Dec. 30, ACC-SEC
Holiday Bowl, Dec. 30, Big 12-Pac-10
Meineke Bowl, Dec. 31, ACC-Big East
Sun Bowl, Dec. 31, ACC-Pac 10
Liberty Bowl, Dec. 31, C-USA-SEC
Chick-fil-A Bowl, Dec. 31, ACC-SEC
TicketCity Bowl (Dallas), Jan. 1, Big 10-Big 12
Outback Bowl (Tampa), Jan. 1, Big 10-SEC
Capital One Bowl (Orlando), Jan. 1, Big 10-SEC
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville), Jan. 1, Big 10-SEC
Rose Bowl (Pasadena), Jan. 1, BCS (TCU)-BCS
Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ), Jan. 1, BCS-BCS
Orange Bowl (Miami), Jan. 3, BCS-BCS
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans), Jan. 4, BCS-BCS
GoDaddy.com Bowl (old GMAC Bowl), Jan. 6, MAC-Sun Belt
AT&T Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX), Jan. 7, Big 12-SEC
Papajohns.com Bowl, Jan. 8, Big East-SEC
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (old Emerald Bowl), Jan. 9, Pac-10-WAC
Citi BCS National Championship, Jan. 10, BCS 1-BCS 2
Makes your head explode, doesn’t it? And here are a couple of oddities: neither the Independence Bowl (formerly on TBS) or the Chick-fil-A Bowl have secured networks just yet, while the TicketCity Bowl will be aired on lonely little ESPN U – not the “bigger” outlets.
And it’s quite curious that CBS, the network for the regular SEC season, will only air one bowl game, the Sun Bowl from El Paso (which it has done for almost 30 years) but not involving an SEC team. ESPN will virtually air every bowl game on that above schedule (save a couple).
If you’re wondering about some of these “classics,” the New Era Pinstripe Bowl will be played (for its inaugural affair) in balmy Yankee Stadium in New York (good luck with all that) – the northernmost locale for post-season play.
Let’s consider Michigan’s plight for a moment. The Wolverines will essentially have two choices – either play in Glendale at the Insight Bowl against a school like Texas Tech or Baylor (both cratered in the final weeks of the Big 12 schedule) at 10 p.m. Michigan time, or play first thing in Dallas, at the old Cotton Bowl, at 11 a.m. Texas time, BUT on New Year’s Day, against either … Texas Tech or Baylor.
Not much of a choice, eh? Beating either school will prove nothing, but could be highly entertaining since both opponents feature wide-open offenses (Tech, by far, has the worst defense of the pair). But it’s not a feather in the cap, if you know what I mean.
A trip to Dallas would lay the groundwork for the 2012 season opener at Cowboys Stadium (new home of the old Cotton Bowl) in Arlington against Ala-freaking-bama. Anyone honestly think the UM program is ready for THAT game?!?
So let’s look at the “bowl-eligible” nominees for 2010:
At 6-6: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Louisville, UT-El Paso, Western Michigan, Brigham Young, Tennessee and Kentucky (which has a smart-looking 2-6 SEC record).
At 6-5 (with one more game to play): Army (yet to face Navy), Illinois (playing at Fresno State, 7-4, this Friday), Florida International (versus Middle Tennessee, 5-6, this weekend), Troy (playing Florida Atlantic), and Pittsburgh (facing Cincinnati).
At 7-4: South Florida and UConn (remember them?) play each other in their season finale.
They are trying to reach the 7-5 grouping of: Boston College, Miami, Fla. (who fired their coach last Saturday night), North Carolina, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas Tech, Syracuse, Iowa, Penn State, Northwestern, Michigan, Notre Dame (remember THEM?), and Florida. Southern Methodist, 7-5, is playing Central Florida, 9-3, this weekend for the Conference-USA title.
But the REAL excitement will see the 5-6 teams hoping, praying and playing to be … bowl-eligible. Arizona State, 5-6, hosts Arizona, 7-4; Louisiana Tech, 5-6, plays giant killer Nevada, 11-1; and in the biggest game of the day, Oregon State will not only be trying to win the annual “Civil War,” and keep number-2 Oregon from the BCS title game, but the Beavers will be seeking … bowl eligibility (currently at 5-6). You will be able to cut the tension with a butter knife.
You’ve got 28 bowl-eligible teams barely over, or at, .500 and four more trying to break the door down –nearly HALF the field needed for all those games. These games will not come cheap to the college football spectator, either; even the ones between these mediocre squads.
But is it worth it? Will it be worth all the expense, time, classroom time lost, etc., when perhaps 25 percent of these sponsored games will run deep in the red?
Here you see why there will never, ever, be a collegiate Div. 1 playoff format – the college presidents, who love their wining and dining, simply will not pick the top 11 bowls (for a 12-game format with first-round byes) or 15 bowls (for a full 16-team concept). Sponsors and organizers will scream bloody murder about the importance of these games to local economies, the fabric of the game, traditions and you-name-it.
You’ll see an outlandish and possibly corrupt bidding system among the various bowls to “buy” their way into a playoff and if you think the recruiting process is bad, and the influence of agents upon the sport is divisive, just wait until corporations rear their ugly heads into the mix. Nothing spells disaster like the influence of major league big money.
Let’s face it: those college presidents also have an eye on the budget bottom line; Boise State’s overtime loss to Ne-VAY-dah (it’s how the locals in Reno wish it pronounced) cost the university an estimated $12 MILLION because it won’t play in a BCS-level game. That is serious green to lose on that hideous blue turf.
A post-season bowl game will be a good thing for alumni in the chosen city or state; the UM clubs in Dallas or Phoenix will warmly welcome seeing this year’s version of the Maize and Blue (the spectacular Denard Robinson and the frightful Michigan defense) in their backyard.
But it’s hard to imagine getting all worked up – foaming at the mount – to place a school (Baylor) that outlaws copies of Playboy on its campus and only allowed DANCING permitted on school grounds in the last 15 years. Not at 7-5; that’s really a vanilla record when you are trying to achieve Rocky Road.
P.S. – For the record, Michigan is 1-0-1 against Baylor (There’s a story with the 1975 14-14 tie at home which will come later in the month) while it has never faced the boys from Lubbock.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Michigan v. Ohio State: Talent talks; bullcrap walks
On Thanksgiving Day, I did what most males in their 50s did – I ate too much turkey (I was moderate on dressing and sweet potatoes) and sat in my easy chair, watching tons of football.
Despite my current address, I enjoyed New Orleans’ comeback over the (Keith) Urban-ized Dallas Cowboys, reminisced with some sadness as Tom Brady, a great Michigan alum, stripped Detroit’s defense bare in the second half, en route to the annual Lions defeat, and muted the sound while Texas A&M showed how ordinary the Texas Longhorns were this season.
But I also had my remote flipping to two channels, watching the way things USED to be. On the Big Ten Network and ESPN Classic, replays of past Michigan-Ohio State games aired. Looking at those Wolverine teams, from the 1990s, and early 2000s early demonstrated why the current crop of U-M uniform wearers have lost the last EIGHT meetings in a row to the Buckeyes.
It boiled down to one major different – talent. Michigan had MORE talented football players at most positions than its biggest rival – Ohio State. The reason John Cooper (a quality coach) was forced out of Columbus came because he lost so many games to Michigan. The reason it happened was simple – Cooper didn’t recruit as well as his predecessors (or his replacement, Jim Tressel, who has been masterful in that department).
The real reason Michigan dropped its seventh consecutive game Saturday to the Buckeyes, 37-7, (and the third straight in the hope-to-be-over Rich Rodriguez era) is identical – Ohio State has TONS more talent on its roster than does U-M. It wasn’t bragging this past week when an OSU starter claimed that only one Michigan player on defense could start for the Bucks; it was a stoned-cold fact!
Rodriguez is guilty of being John Cooper; he has NOT recruited enough talent in several areas, mostly defense and kicking. It’s why he cannot beat Ohio State, even more than the emphasis he may, or may not, have placed on this game in the past.
This loss continued the Tressel domination over Michigan, having won nine of his 10 encounters. He entered the job focusing, like a laser beam, on Michigan because he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that besting Michigan in all phases, would lead him to the top of the Big 10 – not Wisconsin, not Michigan State, not Purdue … it was Michigan that USED to set the standard for excellence.
Not anymore, sad to admit; Ohio State is the program by which all other conference schools are judged, including U-M. That is how far the Wolverine football program has fallen; signs of improvement aren’t being made fast enough. It’s the same that a hospitalized patient has made “improvement” going from a coma to being in extremely critical condition.
Or as Groucho Marx would say, “I’m a success story; I’ve worked my way up from nothing to a case of extreme poverty.” Michigan is still impoverished on its roster.
The Wolverines have a relatively small (but important) senior class departing after the lousy bowl game it will appear in December. There will be many key holes on both sides of the ball to replace in 2011. And as I looked at the roster for this post-game analysis, most of the 2010 juniors simply never got on the field. Jordan Kovacs wasn’t even recruited by either Rodriguez or former coach Lloyd Carr; he was a walk-on.
It left me wondering exactly where all this recruited up-and-coming talent exists. Being forced to play freshman after freshman simply is not a formula for victory. And with the defense is such a state of ineptness, which will come to Michigan to save it from itself?
As for the game itself, it wasn’t so much a tragedy as embarrassing; most of the second half, and all of the fourth quarter, felt like a death march. All I kept mumbling was trying to determine when the game would end from its funereal existence. As soon as Tate Forcier threw a poorly conceived pass on the first play of the second half, I knew, in my heart, the white flag had been raised. I saw no fire on the sidelines and no emotion coming out of Rodriguez. Every time the ABC camera panned to him, he had this “Why is this happening to me?” puss – not the kind of face a coach with his job on the line should possess.
Unless you KNOW this era is over … or should be. RichRod stands at 15-22 overall in his three seasons – the WORST ever losing (he hasn’t won anything ever here) percentage in Michigan football history … period! Another stoned-cold fact! The only “quality” win over a BCS team appears to be the season-opener over … Connecticut (whose apparent future appearance in the Fiesta Bowl should tell you why the Big East should be removed as an automatic qualifying conference for the BCS).
While the offense dominated the first quarter, Rodriguez’s total lack of faith in his kicking game forced decisions no other coach would allow to himself to be placed. Field goals that normally would have been automatic choices were not considered and it costs Michigan early points and early momentum. Fumbles and dropped passes only compounded the problem.
And when it came time for Michigan to punt, there was no punter! He was sitting in Ann Arbor suspended for “violation of team rules.” (One has to wonder what kind of player allows himself to GET suspended for the “biggest” rivalry game of the year).
Since an alternative punter does NOT exist on the Michigan roster, Rodriguez was forced to go with the player for which he had lost faith to even try point-after kicks. And that incompetence in punting gave Ohio State more points; Seth Broekhuizen, who has no business being on the Wolverine roster in 2011, launched three of the worst looking punts in school history. It simply made the Buckeye offense’s job much easier and the Michigan defense’s task that more arduous.
By the way: Ohio State’s punter is a former professional soccer player; the backup quarterback is a former minor league baseball player. Why can’t U-M find someone with those qualifications?
Of course, the U-M special teams, horrible all season long, continued that pattern by allowing a key 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown (where a one-on-one block opened the enter sideline lane because there were no other Wolverine jerseys in sight). More lack of depth saw U-M kickoff returns handled by two newcomers ... because of injuries; as a result, U-M averaged less than 18 yards per kickoff return (Ohio State’s other return was for 26 yards, still above average).
Injuries everywhere can be a legitimate reason for less-than-stellar play. Denard Robinson could not play in the second half because of dislocated fingers on his left hand, and when he was playing, he only had one health starting receiver (Roy Roundtree) and one nicked-up starter (Darryl Stonum); gone were Junior Hemingway and Martavious Odoms. Consequently, it was easy for the OSU defense simply to double-team the obvious targets and concentrate on stopping U-M’s running game.
It didn’t help that Michigan gave up on rushing the football in the second half, executing only nine running calls out of 29 plays. But it didn’t matter; the outcome was not in doubt after halftime.
One cannot blame Michigan’s defense for this loss; this unit acquitted itself well for the first 30 minutes despite the 24-7 halftime deficit. If one removes the kickoff return and short field from the (first) shanked punt, it’s a much closer affair. The first OSU touchdown mostly resulted when no one called timeout from the Michigan sideline prior to Pryor’s 39-yard pass play on third down and deep in Buckeye territory. The defense looked confused and unprepared on that play but no coach signaled for a stop before the ball was snapped (and there was ample time do to so).
No, the defense played hard and snuffed the Ohio running attack, including Pryor for most of that half. By the second half, as said, the air had gone out of the balloon and it was basically all garbage time.
Any Wolverine fan looking for a silver lining in this loss will only go blind; nothing good came from this. I actually yelled at the TV, asking for the UM Marching Band to stop playing “The Victors” because the words “The Champions of the West” no longer applied.
Two postscripts: The officiating stunk this game; inconsistent at best. No one can understand why one play – the Ohio State fumble that was overturned – gets reviewed and another – the Buckeye interception to open the third quarter where the player didn’t really have full control – was not reviewed. Better guidelines need to be put in place. And some of the flags against Ohio State were just plain silly – unsportsmanlike conduct for diving into the end zone for a touchdown (where he was splitting two defenders) and for forming an “O” with his hands after a touchdown (especially when the gloves worn were designed to do exactly that). The officials waited until the fourth touchdown to make that particular call; only after it had been done THREE times before.
Second, can we PLEASE stop wearing ugly-ass throwback uniforms for college and pro football games? Ugly is as ugly does, and Ohio State wore ugly uniforms, notably those red helmets. When the 1941 national champion Buckeyes (for whom the uniforms honored) play, the helmets were made of leather and had no facemasks. The red coloring was to distinguish your team from the other guy. Yuck!
Back to my Thanksgiving epiphany of sorts: I watched the 2006 game replay with a keen eye – the 42-39 loss in Columbus – when the two schools were ranked number one and two in the nation; that was the peak of Michigan football personnel in the decade.
Then came Appalachian State, where U-M was embarrassed by a mobile quarterback in a spread offense. Suddenly, the Michigan fan base became enamored with this system and willing to cast aside whatever offensive scheme was being employed.
U-M lost 14-3 to a pedestrian Ohio State team and the inevitable changing of the guard was spray-painting on the walls along State Street. Carr stepped down but the “negotiations” with LSU’s Les Miles, a U-M alum, were bungled. (Frankly, I think Miles, who hasn’t played well with others in the coaching sandbox, used the whole affair to squeeze more money out of Baton Rogue).
Former Michigan AD Bill Martin, frankly, did not do enough vetting and homework on Rodriguez, the biggest “name” coach using this flashy offense. The other school having wild success with the spread was Texas Tech and it has never played a lick of defense either.
However, West Virginia did not play the same caliber of opponent as Michigan; it was easier to hide deficiencies when the competition wasn’t as keen. Rodriguez might not have inherited the quality of talent he expected in Ann Arbor, but he didn’t bring a complete championship program with him. He did bring some NCAA baggage, a costly contract buyout and more hope than reality.
Despite the 7-5 record (compared to the disgusting 3-9 record in his first year – a mark Lloyd Carr would NOT have had if he were still coaching), no clear-thinking Michigan football follower can truthfully say the school is “on the “verge” of anything resembling a Big 10 champion, let alone a BCS title contender. A winning record is what satisfies Indiana or Minnesota – not Michigan.
New athletic director David Brandon might try to say all the right things about evaluating the staff and its head coach, but if he isn’t contemplating an immediate alternative, HE might not be the right man for that job either.
There is a way for the faithful to have their voices heard toward that end – speak with your pocketbooks. If it becomes known that donations are drying up from the alumni, and won’t return until serious changes are made, it could be the force that pushes Rodriguez out the door and allow someone who can challenge Ohio State to be hired.
Someone who will not only challenge the Buckeyes but fully understand the importance of returning Michigan to its rightful place in the Big 10 – as THE standard bearer in football, and most other athletic endeavors.
‘Cause, brother, it ain’t happening now.
Despite my current address, I enjoyed New Orleans’ comeback over the (Keith) Urban-ized Dallas Cowboys, reminisced with some sadness as Tom Brady, a great Michigan alum, stripped Detroit’s defense bare in the second half, en route to the annual Lions defeat, and muted the sound while Texas A&M showed how ordinary the Texas Longhorns were this season.
But I also had my remote flipping to two channels, watching the way things USED to be. On the Big Ten Network and ESPN Classic, replays of past Michigan-Ohio State games aired. Looking at those Wolverine teams, from the 1990s, and early 2000s early demonstrated why the current crop of U-M uniform wearers have lost the last EIGHT meetings in a row to the Buckeyes.
It boiled down to one major different – talent. Michigan had MORE talented football players at most positions than its biggest rival – Ohio State. The reason John Cooper (a quality coach) was forced out of Columbus came because he lost so many games to Michigan. The reason it happened was simple – Cooper didn’t recruit as well as his predecessors (or his replacement, Jim Tressel, who has been masterful in that department).
The real reason Michigan dropped its seventh consecutive game Saturday to the Buckeyes, 37-7, (and the third straight in the hope-to-be-over Rich Rodriguez era) is identical – Ohio State has TONS more talent on its roster than does U-M. It wasn’t bragging this past week when an OSU starter claimed that only one Michigan player on defense could start for the Bucks; it was a stoned-cold fact!
Rodriguez is guilty of being John Cooper; he has NOT recruited enough talent in several areas, mostly defense and kicking. It’s why he cannot beat Ohio State, even more than the emphasis he may, or may not, have placed on this game in the past.
This loss continued the Tressel domination over Michigan, having won nine of his 10 encounters. He entered the job focusing, like a laser beam, on Michigan because he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that besting Michigan in all phases, would lead him to the top of the Big 10 – not Wisconsin, not Michigan State, not Purdue … it was Michigan that USED to set the standard for excellence.
Not anymore, sad to admit; Ohio State is the program by which all other conference schools are judged, including U-M. That is how far the Wolverine football program has fallen; signs of improvement aren’t being made fast enough. It’s the same that a hospitalized patient has made “improvement” going from a coma to being in extremely critical condition.
Or as Groucho Marx would say, “I’m a success story; I’ve worked my way up from nothing to a case of extreme poverty.” Michigan is still impoverished on its roster.
The Wolverines have a relatively small (but important) senior class departing after the lousy bowl game it will appear in December. There will be many key holes on both sides of the ball to replace in 2011. And as I looked at the roster for this post-game analysis, most of the 2010 juniors simply never got on the field. Jordan Kovacs wasn’t even recruited by either Rodriguez or former coach Lloyd Carr; he was a walk-on.
It left me wondering exactly where all this recruited up-and-coming talent exists. Being forced to play freshman after freshman simply is not a formula for victory. And with the defense is such a state of ineptness, which will come to Michigan to save it from itself?
As for the game itself, it wasn’t so much a tragedy as embarrassing; most of the second half, and all of the fourth quarter, felt like a death march. All I kept mumbling was trying to determine when the game would end from its funereal existence. As soon as Tate Forcier threw a poorly conceived pass on the first play of the second half, I knew, in my heart, the white flag had been raised. I saw no fire on the sidelines and no emotion coming out of Rodriguez. Every time the ABC camera panned to him, he had this “Why is this happening to me?” puss – not the kind of face a coach with his job on the line should possess.
Unless you KNOW this era is over … or should be. RichRod stands at 15-22 overall in his three seasons – the WORST ever losing (he hasn’t won anything ever here) percentage in Michigan football history … period! Another stoned-cold fact! The only “quality” win over a BCS team appears to be the season-opener over … Connecticut (whose apparent future appearance in the Fiesta Bowl should tell you why the Big East should be removed as an automatic qualifying conference for the BCS).
While the offense dominated the first quarter, Rodriguez’s total lack of faith in his kicking game forced decisions no other coach would allow to himself to be placed. Field goals that normally would have been automatic choices were not considered and it costs Michigan early points and early momentum. Fumbles and dropped passes only compounded the problem.
And when it came time for Michigan to punt, there was no punter! He was sitting in Ann Arbor suspended for “violation of team rules.” (One has to wonder what kind of player allows himself to GET suspended for the “biggest” rivalry game of the year).
Since an alternative punter does NOT exist on the Michigan roster, Rodriguez was forced to go with the player for which he had lost faith to even try point-after kicks. And that incompetence in punting gave Ohio State more points; Seth Broekhuizen, who has no business being on the Wolverine roster in 2011, launched three of the worst looking punts in school history. It simply made the Buckeye offense’s job much easier and the Michigan defense’s task that more arduous.
By the way: Ohio State’s punter is a former professional soccer player; the backup quarterback is a former minor league baseball player. Why can’t U-M find someone with those qualifications?
Of course, the U-M special teams, horrible all season long, continued that pattern by allowing a key 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown (where a one-on-one block opened the enter sideline lane because there were no other Wolverine jerseys in sight). More lack of depth saw U-M kickoff returns handled by two newcomers ... because of injuries; as a result, U-M averaged less than 18 yards per kickoff return (Ohio State’s other return was for 26 yards, still above average).
Injuries everywhere can be a legitimate reason for less-than-stellar play. Denard Robinson could not play in the second half because of dislocated fingers on his left hand, and when he was playing, he only had one health starting receiver (Roy Roundtree) and one nicked-up starter (Darryl Stonum); gone were Junior Hemingway and Martavious Odoms. Consequently, it was easy for the OSU defense simply to double-team the obvious targets and concentrate on stopping U-M’s running game.
It didn’t help that Michigan gave up on rushing the football in the second half, executing only nine running calls out of 29 plays. But it didn’t matter; the outcome was not in doubt after halftime.
One cannot blame Michigan’s defense for this loss; this unit acquitted itself well for the first 30 minutes despite the 24-7 halftime deficit. If one removes the kickoff return and short field from the (first) shanked punt, it’s a much closer affair. The first OSU touchdown mostly resulted when no one called timeout from the Michigan sideline prior to Pryor’s 39-yard pass play on third down and deep in Buckeye territory. The defense looked confused and unprepared on that play but no coach signaled for a stop before the ball was snapped (and there was ample time do to so).
No, the defense played hard and snuffed the Ohio running attack, including Pryor for most of that half. By the second half, as said, the air had gone out of the balloon and it was basically all garbage time.
Any Wolverine fan looking for a silver lining in this loss will only go blind; nothing good came from this. I actually yelled at the TV, asking for the UM Marching Band to stop playing “The Victors” because the words “The Champions of the West” no longer applied.
Two postscripts: The officiating stunk this game; inconsistent at best. No one can understand why one play – the Ohio State fumble that was overturned – gets reviewed and another – the Buckeye interception to open the third quarter where the player didn’t really have full control – was not reviewed. Better guidelines need to be put in place. And some of the flags against Ohio State were just plain silly – unsportsmanlike conduct for diving into the end zone for a touchdown (where he was splitting two defenders) and for forming an “O” with his hands after a touchdown (especially when the gloves worn were designed to do exactly that). The officials waited until the fourth touchdown to make that particular call; only after it had been done THREE times before.
Second, can we PLEASE stop wearing ugly-ass throwback uniforms for college and pro football games? Ugly is as ugly does, and Ohio State wore ugly uniforms, notably those red helmets. When the 1941 national champion Buckeyes (for whom the uniforms honored) play, the helmets were made of leather and had no facemasks. The red coloring was to distinguish your team from the other guy. Yuck!
Back to my Thanksgiving epiphany of sorts: I watched the 2006 game replay with a keen eye – the 42-39 loss in Columbus – when the two schools were ranked number one and two in the nation; that was the peak of Michigan football personnel in the decade.
Then came Appalachian State, where U-M was embarrassed by a mobile quarterback in a spread offense. Suddenly, the Michigan fan base became enamored with this system and willing to cast aside whatever offensive scheme was being employed.
U-M lost 14-3 to a pedestrian Ohio State team and the inevitable changing of the guard was spray-painting on the walls along State Street. Carr stepped down but the “negotiations” with LSU’s Les Miles, a U-M alum, were bungled. (Frankly, I think Miles, who hasn’t played well with others in the coaching sandbox, used the whole affair to squeeze more money out of Baton Rogue).
Former Michigan AD Bill Martin, frankly, did not do enough vetting and homework on Rodriguez, the biggest “name” coach using this flashy offense. The other school having wild success with the spread was Texas Tech and it has never played a lick of defense either.
However, West Virginia did not play the same caliber of opponent as Michigan; it was easier to hide deficiencies when the competition wasn’t as keen. Rodriguez might not have inherited the quality of talent he expected in Ann Arbor, but he didn’t bring a complete championship program with him. He did bring some NCAA baggage, a costly contract buyout and more hope than reality.
Despite the 7-5 record (compared to the disgusting 3-9 record in his first year – a mark Lloyd Carr would NOT have had if he were still coaching), no clear-thinking Michigan football follower can truthfully say the school is “on the “verge” of anything resembling a Big 10 champion, let alone a BCS title contender. A winning record is what satisfies Indiana or Minnesota – not Michigan.
New athletic director David Brandon might try to say all the right things about evaluating the staff and its head coach, but if he isn’t contemplating an immediate alternative, HE might not be the right man for that job either.
There is a way for the faithful to have their voices heard toward that end – speak with your pocketbooks. If it becomes known that donations are drying up from the alumni, and won’t return until serious changes are made, it could be the force that pushes Rodriguez out the door and allow someone who can challenge Ohio State to be hired.
Someone who will not only challenge the Buckeyes but fully understand the importance of returning Michigan to its rightful place in the Big 10 – as THE standard bearer in football, and most other athletic endeavors.
‘Cause, brother, it ain’t happening now.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Michigan-Wisconsin: Look, ma, no defense!
God bless the digital video recorder (DVR)! It permits one to be 200 miles away (let’s say at your 4-year-old granddaughter’s birthday party) and still be able to capture every moment of a show or sporting event in crystal clear, high-definition (Santa, I want one for Christmas…) glory when you returned.
Then bless the little button on the remote control that allows you to speed past any and all commercials, any and all game action, and any and all inane studio cut-ins or game babble (even if it IS Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese). When the final score, 48-28, is already known before you sit and watch, it makes you appreciate (and celebrate) the fast forward feature – especially at quadruple forwarding speed. Three hours of television is reduced to but 35-40 minutes of actual play time.
My fast forward button got a beating early Sunday morning. It was not necessary to watch each of Wisconsin’s running plays to know that the Wolverines were utterly incapable of stopping them. Like most rodeos, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Seeing freshmen and undersized defensive linemen flail at flashes of red-and-white uniforms whisking past them requires just a few examples – not scores of them.
Let’s state this at the outset: Wisconsin is a MUCH better football team than Michigan at this point in time…in ALL facets of the game. They are bigger, stronger, more diverse and deeper in talent, better on defense in coverage, tackling and strength (the latter being a major factor in winning last Saturday). They are better on special teams; then again half the high schools in Texas are better in that department.
The 2011 Badgers are, right now, one of the top 4-5 college teams in the country. Period. How they lost to Michigan State should be a mystery worthy of inclusion on “Dateline NBC.”
The gap in program status between the two schools was starkly evident on the Big House floor. Wisconsin looked confident and played that way; Michigan looked disorganized on defense and utterly impotent on special teams.
But … if you’ve watched this team from the opening game, this is old news. If you’re … let’s pick a name out of the air … Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press, this is all news to you (because you have NOT watched the same team from early September). I love Albom as a writer, but his post-game column was done by someone in a coma since the UConn game.
A review of just a couple of the revelations Albom suddenly discovered:
“Can’t stop ’em, can’t beat ’em. It’s pretty simple. The Wolverines have one fast superstar, a flashy offense and a nonexistent defense. I mean Casper the Ghost nonexistent.”
Duh! Been that way since Day One.
“Speaking of which — what’s with the inability to tackle? Don’t players at Michigan’s level arrive knowing how to tackle? Don’t they get coached? You’d never know it watching them. They are out of position, coming at bad angles, flailing with their arms and flinging off opponents like water off a shaking dog.”
Mitch if you wish to check, this was said on THIS blog ... oh, five weeks AGO (by yours truly and by the two hosts of the podcast).
“But it’s more than youth. They don’t look like they know what they’re doing. Their coaching is absolutely suspect. And you can’t fix that fundamental stuff during the season. You address it in training camps, in spring practices, in recruiting and in the staff you hire.”
That applies to the defense and special teams as well, and, again, was highlighted in details on this blog 5-6 weeks ago. But it makes for good post-game analysis in the big city paper … even if it IS a bit late to the party.
Here are more truths that MUST be accepted by the average Wolverine fan. This roster is too small and too inexperienced to deal with quality-ranked teams. When you’ve reached mid-November, it is impossible to change ANYTHING – defensive schemes, offensive pass patterns or, especially, personnel on both sides of the ball.
All one can do is hope and pray major changes are immediately made among the coaching staff – starting with a new defensive coordinator and assistants … and a new special teams coach. Someone must explain to me why Darryl Stonum, arguably the best return man on the U-M roster, had NOT been on the kickoff return unit until an injury to Jeremy Gallon forced that move. The last person to make BIG plays on kickoff returns was … Stonum last season; funny how short one’s memory becomes in the face of poor returns and fumbles.
And who decided on an onside kick down 31-21? All that did was reduce the amount of rushing yards Wisconsin would garner and made it easier to score. That coaching miscue essentially ended Michigan’s chances of winning the game.
Then there’s the kicking game, the single most embarrassing product EVER seen in a Michigan uniform. Ever and that’s dating back to the 19th century! If a school like Michigan cannot produce someone who can kick a 30-yard field goal, or not shank PAT conversions, it has no business on the field.
How did U-M sink to this unspeakable depth? If you’ve been there three years, how could there NOT be a junior or senior placekicker handling these chores (instead of two freshman or someone scrapped off the rugby team at Palmer Field?).
When did a school with record-book lineage, such as Jay Feely, Mike Gillette, Garrett Rivas, Ali Haji-Sheikh, Remy Hamilton, Hayden Epstein and, yes, this blog’s own Jeff DelVerne (15 career field goals including four against Notre Dame in 1999), allow itself to be caught with its pants around its ankles without a viable kicking game?
The answer is obvious – recruiting (the same answer as to why the Michigan defense is woeful). In three years’ time, this is what passes for a roster on defense and kicking and it is unacceptable.
To be fair, the gap between high school senior and college freshman is wider than the Grand Canyon. When asked about playing freshmen, Bo Schembechler once said, “The best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores, and then juniors and then seniors.” The talent is raw on defense and starting five first-year players (not even redshirts) against a team like Wisconsin or Ohio State is a recipe for disaster – as evident last Saturday.
But it’s a reason, not an alibi. Eleven games have gone and gone and the essential elements of positioning and tackling are not present and THAT is a coaching problem. Recruiting needs to focus like a laser beam on size, strength and agility up front in order to erase this ridiculous 3-5-3 defensive alignment (which couldn’t stop a stripper with a roll of $20 bills).
Next week will NOT be pretty. Ohio State doesn’t run the ball as well as Wisconsin and Terrell Pryor can make poor throws in the passing game. But, up front, the Buckeyes are as big and strong as ever and that is a situation Michigan cannot handle, given its current personnel.
At Ohio Stadium, the OSU Band might be able to use the head of Craig Robinson to dot the “I” because it should be his last game (bowl game or not). The sad part is several other heads need to roll at the same time and it will probably mean a deficit among coaching responsibilities in advance of the Insight Bowl or Texas Bowl or Fruit Bowl.
Michigan needs better players and the process has got to begin Nov. 28 because the shopping list is long.
Postscript – The worse part of losing to Wisconsin was allowing that banty rooster of a coach, Bret Bielema, crow about his superiority as a system to Michigan. Of course, it ain’t bragging if you can back it up but this jerkwad take it to a different level. Someone who would so deliberately embarrass a fellow conference member (as was the case the week before against Indiana) will, one day, get his in spades.
Here’s hoping that day comes REAL soon. Perhaps he’ll be hired to be the next coach of the Dallas Cowboys; believe me, that would be purgatory and a living hell combined. :-)
Then bless the little button on the remote control that allows you to speed past any and all commercials, any and all game action, and any and all inane studio cut-ins or game babble (even if it IS Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese). When the final score, 48-28, is already known before you sit and watch, it makes you appreciate (and celebrate) the fast forward feature – especially at quadruple forwarding speed. Three hours of television is reduced to but 35-40 minutes of actual play time.
My fast forward button got a beating early Sunday morning. It was not necessary to watch each of Wisconsin’s running plays to know that the Wolverines were utterly incapable of stopping them. Like most rodeos, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Seeing freshmen and undersized defensive linemen flail at flashes of red-and-white uniforms whisking past them requires just a few examples – not scores of them.
Let’s state this at the outset: Wisconsin is a MUCH better football team than Michigan at this point in time…in ALL facets of the game. They are bigger, stronger, more diverse and deeper in talent, better on defense in coverage, tackling and strength (the latter being a major factor in winning last Saturday). They are better on special teams; then again half the high schools in Texas are better in that department.
The 2011 Badgers are, right now, one of the top 4-5 college teams in the country. Period. How they lost to Michigan State should be a mystery worthy of inclusion on “Dateline NBC.”
The gap in program status between the two schools was starkly evident on the Big House floor. Wisconsin looked confident and played that way; Michigan looked disorganized on defense and utterly impotent on special teams.
But … if you’ve watched this team from the opening game, this is old news. If you’re … let’s pick a name out of the air … Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press, this is all news to you (because you have NOT watched the same team from early September). I love Albom as a writer, but his post-game column was done by someone in a coma since the UConn game.
A review of just a couple of the revelations Albom suddenly discovered:
“Can’t stop ’em, can’t beat ’em. It’s pretty simple. The Wolverines have one fast superstar, a flashy offense and a nonexistent defense. I mean Casper the Ghost nonexistent.”
Duh! Been that way since Day One.
“Speaking of which — what’s with the inability to tackle? Don’t players at Michigan’s level arrive knowing how to tackle? Don’t they get coached? You’d never know it watching them. They are out of position, coming at bad angles, flailing with their arms and flinging off opponents like water off a shaking dog.”
Mitch if you wish to check, this was said on THIS blog ... oh, five weeks AGO (by yours truly and by the two hosts of the podcast).
“But it’s more than youth. They don’t look like they know what they’re doing. Their coaching is absolutely suspect. And you can’t fix that fundamental stuff during the season. You address it in training camps, in spring practices, in recruiting and in the staff you hire.”
That applies to the defense and special teams as well, and, again, was highlighted in details on this blog 5-6 weeks ago. But it makes for good post-game analysis in the big city paper … even if it IS a bit late to the party.
Here are more truths that MUST be accepted by the average Wolverine fan. This roster is too small and too inexperienced to deal with quality-ranked teams. When you’ve reached mid-November, it is impossible to change ANYTHING – defensive schemes, offensive pass patterns or, especially, personnel on both sides of the ball.
All one can do is hope and pray major changes are immediately made among the coaching staff – starting with a new defensive coordinator and assistants … and a new special teams coach. Someone must explain to me why Darryl Stonum, arguably the best return man on the U-M roster, had NOT been on the kickoff return unit until an injury to Jeremy Gallon forced that move. The last person to make BIG plays on kickoff returns was … Stonum last season; funny how short one’s memory becomes in the face of poor returns and fumbles.
And who decided on an onside kick down 31-21? All that did was reduce the amount of rushing yards Wisconsin would garner and made it easier to score. That coaching miscue essentially ended Michigan’s chances of winning the game.
Then there’s the kicking game, the single most embarrassing product EVER seen in a Michigan uniform. Ever and that’s dating back to the 19th century! If a school like Michigan cannot produce someone who can kick a 30-yard field goal, or not shank PAT conversions, it has no business on the field.
How did U-M sink to this unspeakable depth? If you’ve been there three years, how could there NOT be a junior or senior placekicker handling these chores (instead of two freshman or someone scrapped off the rugby team at Palmer Field?).
When did a school with record-book lineage, such as Jay Feely, Mike Gillette, Garrett Rivas, Ali Haji-Sheikh, Remy Hamilton, Hayden Epstein and, yes, this blog’s own Jeff DelVerne (15 career field goals including four against Notre Dame in 1999), allow itself to be caught with its pants around its ankles without a viable kicking game?
The answer is obvious – recruiting (the same answer as to why the Michigan defense is woeful). In three years’ time, this is what passes for a roster on defense and kicking and it is unacceptable.
To be fair, the gap between high school senior and college freshman is wider than the Grand Canyon. When asked about playing freshmen, Bo Schembechler once said, “The best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores, and then juniors and then seniors.” The talent is raw on defense and starting five first-year players (not even redshirts) against a team like Wisconsin or Ohio State is a recipe for disaster – as evident last Saturday.
But it’s a reason, not an alibi. Eleven games have gone and gone and the essential elements of positioning and tackling are not present and THAT is a coaching problem. Recruiting needs to focus like a laser beam on size, strength and agility up front in order to erase this ridiculous 3-5-3 defensive alignment (which couldn’t stop a stripper with a roll of $20 bills).
Next week will NOT be pretty. Ohio State doesn’t run the ball as well as Wisconsin and Terrell Pryor can make poor throws in the passing game. But, up front, the Buckeyes are as big and strong as ever and that is a situation Michigan cannot handle, given its current personnel.
At Ohio Stadium, the OSU Band might be able to use the head of Craig Robinson to dot the “I” because it should be his last game (bowl game or not). The sad part is several other heads need to roll at the same time and it will probably mean a deficit among coaching responsibilities in advance of the Insight Bowl or Texas Bowl or Fruit Bowl.
Michigan needs better players and the process has got to begin Nov. 28 because the shopping list is long.
Postscript – The worse part of losing to Wisconsin was allowing that banty rooster of a coach, Bret Bielema, crow about his superiority as a system to Michigan. Of course, it ain’t bragging if you can back it up but this jerkwad take it to a different level. Someone who would so deliberately embarrass a fellow conference member (as was the case the week before against Indiana) will, one day, get his in spades.
Here’s hoping that day comes REAL soon. Perhaps he’ll be hired to be the next coach of the Dallas Cowboys; believe me, that would be purgatory and a living hell combined. :-)
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