OTD – November 17, 2006…11 Years
Ago
One of the remaining “One Name” coaches left
us to join the other greats in Football’s Valhalla.
On the same day, a Friday, I went out and
hopped in my car to go to lunch and the FAN (1130) in Detroit was reporting that Bo
had collapsed at WXYZ Studios and he was rushed to the hospital. It was about 10 minutes after that the
they were reporting he was gone. I’ll
admit it: I sat in my car and cried.
On the Eve of the Game, THE DAY he lived the other
364 days of the year to be part of. The
Game lived up to its name the next day, with Michigan falling just short
of a victory. Many claim that Michigan
football hasn’t been the same since. I
disagree. We’ve been on a wild ride,
but Michigan,
as the late great Bo would have said, is Michigan.
The Blog hadn’t started yet and I
used to send e-mails every Monday morning (or more often) to The
Distribution. I’ve
been doing this since 1997. Hard
to believe… Some of those from 2006 I post-posted into the Blog when I
started the MichiganManMMQ up.
Here’s a link to my post on Bo…
And the ESPN write-up…
This Just In
Well, it actually came in Wednesday but I had already
posted: Jeff Long is OUT as the AD at
Arkansas. So, that meeting that
happened (see below in the FMQ) was apparently a request to can
Bielema (Who Long hired) and he must have said “no”. Which, I guess is a firing offense. But Long was a great AD and the first CFP
Committee Director. Seems like a long
way to go to fire a coach. Now you need
to find a new AD and a new coach….
Okay – For the Last Time…
Some of you get on me for my Ref
Rants saying it makes me sound like I’m whining. Look at this and tell me how this ISN’T PI:
I’ll wait…
Game Day Picked Madison
Due to the fact that there aren’t many ranked
teams going at it this week thanks to the annual battle of the SEC
and the FCS schools the week before their “Big Rivalry” games.
The NCAA ought to make it illegal to play a non-Power
5 School in November. The
College Football fan base is literally in a lather and the menu includes
names like Bama playing Mercer and Clemson playing the Citadel. BS!
In fact, oddshark hasn’t even put any spreads up on
those games because handicappers have no idea what to do!
FOX F#$%cks AGAIN!
As cited above, Game Day didn’t really have a
choice this weekend if they wanted to cover a “Big Game” as Wiscy vs. now
ranked Michigan was the logical choice.
Problem is, Fox Sports was the “first” to pick a game this weekend for the B1G and
ESPN was second, BTN third. Two weeks
ago, Fox picked Michigan – Wiscy and announced the game time at
noon. See the dilemma here? If you want to go to ESPN’s Game Day, how
on earth do you get to a noon kick (11:00 AM Local) and see Corso don the head
gear at the same time? Game Day will be
broadcasting from Bascom Hill (on Campus) which is about a 10-15 minute walk
from Camp Randall. Not to
mention the time it takes to get into the stadium. Nobody likes to miss kick-off so, my guess is
the Wiscy crowd will be leaving early. Fox
could have moved the game to the 3:30 slot, but apparently declined. Fox
screws Madison Football Fans.
Idiots…
The Jump Around – When and How It
Was Born
File Under:
Why College Football Is SO MUCH MORE DAMN FUN than anything else…
For anyone that ISN’T aware of the “Jump
Around”, I linked an article from a couple of years ago about how it
came into being. Much like some of the greatest
traditions in College Football (Michigan Marching Band Drum Major Hat Removal, The
Banner, The Jug, etc), this one wasn’t planned and just kind of happened.
For those of you that don’t like “linking”, a
couple of excerpts:
In
1998, during the first night homecoming game for Wisconsin, Kluender was
looking for something to keep the crowd energized between the third and fourth
quarters. He had a list of suggested songs provided by Ryan Sondrup, an intern
in the marketing department and a former Badgers football player. Kluender
chose “Jump Around” and looked away from the field to check his notes. When he
turned back, he said the leaping students looked “like popcorn popping.
“I
would love to tell you it was the result of months of market research and focus
groups, but it just kind of happened,” said Kluender, who is an assistant
athletic director for marketing and promotions. “And that’s a reason it’s still
so popular: it wasn’t scheduled or planned.”
Does Camp
Randall Move and Shake With All That Jumping Around???
You Bet!
Another Excerpt:
“The
stadium definitely shakes,” said Mike Oliva, a Wisconsin engineering professor
who has studied Camp Randall’s movement. “People in the upper deck tend to feel
like the motion is anywhere from 2 inches to 10 inches.”
Oliva
conducted a more thorough safety study over a year and a half, and concluded
that the jumping was safe. He said in an e-mail that the actual motion during
the jumping was only 0.4 inches. But it occurs with such frequency that humans
are sensitive to it.
The Student Section Jumping Around!!
Inside the Press Box – Lights and Pipes Moving
Who’s the Other Guy???
I have a daily calendar on my desk that runs
down fun Michigan facts in all sports.
Today’s entry was that Charles Woodson is one of only two NFL
players to:
1. Win the Heisman
2. Win the Associated Press
Rookie of the year
3. Win the Associated Press
Player of the Year
4. Win a National
Championship (Michigan 1997)
5. Win a Super Bowl
Can you name the other guy?
The Double-Edged Sword of Harbaugh
Seen on Twitter:
If Michigan wins on Saturday, Wiscy will end up
just being an “average team” and the committee will have been right about where
they had them ranked…If Michigan loses on Saturday, Wiscy will be great and
Harbaugh will be over-rated.
You know it’s true…I hate the media.
THE FMQ
Damn you Gators! That
late TD screwed up what would have been a PHENOMENAL WEEK!!
But I’ll take the win, anyway. It seems like after winning the early parlay,
I’ve been bouncing around and just barely missing them. I almost didn’t take South Carolina (in the
parlay) and was seriously considering Auburn as I felt my read on them was spot
on. But the Gators are such a
mess right now, it’s hard not to play against them:
Winners!
Kind of a
quiet week before Turkey Day Rivalry Weekend!
On to this
week’s picks:
Miss State @
Arkansas (+11): This may be it
for Brett B. Jeff Long, Arkansas AD,
was called
into a meeting with the Board of Trustees this week and no one is quite
sure why (Well, we weren’t when I first wrote this, but we are pretty SURE NOW). So either his butt is on the line or Brett’s
is (Long’s gone). Brett’s buyout is a
not so huge $5.9M, but still.
Mullen probably looking to bounce back after a close loss to Bama…
Take Miss
State and lay the 11 for $25
Texas @ West
Virginia (-3): Texas going to WVU and it’s a
toss-up. WVU has been playing good football at
home but is lousy against the spread.
Texas is 7-3 ATS and they need ONE MORE WIN to become bowl
eligible. Hermann should be able to
knock off someone in the Big iiX in his first season.
Take Texas
and the 3 for $25
Gophers @
Northwestern (-6.5): Hmmmmm. Who do I trust here? Northwestern has been hot and cold. But the common game against the Huskers had the
Purple Kitties winning by a point and the Gophers Rowed the Damn Boat right up
Riley’s ass…I know the transitive property doesn’t always apply, but I
can’t ignore it, either.
Take the
Gophers and the 6.5 for $25
Virginia @
Miami (-19.5): Inflated-ish spread now that Miami knocked off a paper tiger in the
Domers. Virginia is not
17 points worse than Miami, at least I don’t think so. I expect a let-down and a more Miami-like
game in this one.
Take Virginia
and the 19.5 for $35
Pitt @ Va
Tech (-15.5): Va Tech has lost two in a row. Pitt’s a disaster and needs to win out to
make a bowl. I’m not saying Pitt
won’t be motivated, but Blacksburg is a tough place to win in November. Fuente wants to get back on the right track.
Take Va Tech
and lay the 15.5 for $25
Iowa State @
Baylor (+9.5): Iowa State wants to make this a
successful season. Not that it
isn’t already. But going down to Texas and taking care of business is what
winning teams do. The Cyclones have been decent
ATS and I think Baylor might be finally giving up on the season.
Take ISU and
lay the 9.5 for $35
Illinois @
the suckeyes (-38): The suckeyes need style points…And
an easy way to get them is to roll the Illini like a drunk hobo off a rail-road
flat car. All the predicted score and
stats sites have the suckeyes scoring no fewer than 50 points. And they can probably do that running about a
half a dozen plays. Question is, can Illini rally and
make a late cover? Nah…I just
hope nobody dies.
Take the suckeyes
and lay the 38 for $35
Navy @
Domers (-18.5 MONEYLINE $675): So, the Domers usually go down the tubes once their National Title
hopes are crushed. And Navy,
at 6-3 with a triple option offense, isn’t a bad team this season. So, which Domer team will it be? The one that rolls teams it’s supposed to
roll (without peeking ahead to Stanford) or is it just a shell of that team
that shows up and eeks out a win??? I’m
going with eekers… And the Moneyline here is attractive. Can Miami beat the Domers twice??
Take Navy
and the 18.5 for $50
Navy MONEYLINE
$50
Cornsuckers @ PSU (-23): Anyone tell me the last time the Huskers got
23 points in a football game? I
can’t remember either. I don’t believe
it’s ever happened. PSU is looking for
style points, too and since this is their last home game, look for a rout. I usually don’t like doing this, but If the
Gophers can hang 54 on the Huskers, PSU might score 100...
Take PSU and lay the 23 for $40
Maryland @ Sparty (-16): Well, I like Sparty here
but
17 seems a little high. Maryland
is a disaster, however, and Sparty should be able to cover that number, assuming
Lewerke gets back on track.
Maryland’s defense is simply way too bad and I see Sparty in a late game
cover INT or some such nonsense…
Take Sparty and lay the 16 for $35
LSU @
Tennessee (+14): This spread seems like a
gift. Jones canned, Brady Hoke at the helm. Not gonna’ say anything bad about the
Hokester, but he has been with two programs (Oregon and Tennessee) where the
head coach has been canned the season after his arrival. Coincidence? You decide.
Take LSU and
lay the 14 for $40
Mizzou @
Vandy (-7.5): Mizzou is a diesel truck right now. Vanderbilt started out well but is
back to being, well, Vanderbilt. I
think Mizzou get’s a bowl invitation walking away this weekend.
Take Mizzou
and lay the 7.5 for $40
Michigan @ Wiscy
( -7.5 MONEYLINE:
$250): So, this is it. I hate tricky spreads. Actually, let’s forget the spread for
a minute. We all know that the strength of both these teams is defense. Hornibrook is mistake prone and has thrown
12 INT’s this season, several that were pick 6’s. Two against Iowa last week. Peters has improved Michigan’s offense…how
much will be shown to us on Saturday. Michigan
has been storing away plays and Jedi Mind Tricks for the last three games,
running a pretty vanilla scheme. But
there may be fireworks Saturday. And
Wiscy is undefeated and looking for national respect with the undefeated target
on their back. But it’s hard to win them all…(see
Probability
Table)
Bottom Line:
Michigan either gains redemption over the next two games, or
slides further into oblivion with two losses to end the season at 8-4. I’m hoping for the former and something tells
me that Peters may be a very good player on the Big Stage. Bill Connelly offers up some advice to beat
Wiscy.
Screw It! Let’s go for
broke!
Take
Michigan and the 7.5 for $50
Take Michigan
for the win and the MONEYLINE for $50
PARLAY!
3 Bet/Team Parlay: 6-1
LSU – Mizzou
- Michigan: $50
Etc.
Man Shot Arguing About Auburn –
Bama
Sounds like something a suckeyes fan would do…
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