20
Years Ago – This Happened!
The Heisman Trophy Voting was in and the
hardware went to none other than Charles Woodson from the University of
Michigan!
I know I posted on Monday about the discussion 20 years
later, but Dr. Sap has a pretty good recap with highlights of how it all went
down in 1997. Marcus Ray was right when he
stated that Charles didn’t have a speech prepared – he was winging the
whole thing.
Phil Fulmer had this to say about Charles possibly winning
the award:
Sensing that perhaps his QB was losing
his lead in the race, Volunteer Coach Phillip Fulmer showed everyone his true
colors when he said this about Woodson potentially winning the award: "To
me, there's no question in my mind that Peyton's the best player in the
country," Fulmer said. "I think he's the best player and the best
representative. I keep hearing this about Woodson. I don't know. Maybe they're
trying to create competition there to create interest. That's what I hope. All
I know is that it would be a travesty."
Nice.
To his credit, Michigan Lloyd Carr
responded much more professionally: "I read the quote from Fulmer, which
if it's accurate is extremely tasteless," Carr said. "I just think I
have respect for the people who have been given a vote, and it's their choice.
For someone to try to influence them, who has something personal to gain, is
absolutely in poor taste."
Fulmer’s comments were the worst and I do believe that he
was the coach that voted Michigan 4th in the coaches poll after
getting pantsed by Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
Phil
Fulmer: May you forever walk the
football desert….
And
YOU Were Hoping That The Playoff Was Killing The Bowls
Not even close. Great
article about the “Health” of the bowl system and how the Play-Off and ESPN
buying the failing non-profit bowls and putting them into the CFP money fodder
machine is actually saving the bows!
So, yeah, ESPN is slowly taking over the sports world. Whether you like it or not.
The
MMPG
Tuesday in Texas was ugly in a lot of ways, it was good in a lot
of ways, and finally, it was a thing of beauty.
The
Ugly:
I’m sick to my stomach about Wagner’s ankle
and hope his injury isn’t serious.
Michigan is still shooting really bad. Again, I hope this is the mid-season slump
that they’re in a little early and everything improves from here. Michigan goes cold so often I never know
when, if ever, they’re going to heat back up.
But they make points when they counted, leading us to:
The
Good
Michigan actually won the rebounding battle that no
one expected to win against that tree at Texas named Mo Bamba, a 5-star recruit.
He had a really lousy game, so, thanks.
And maybe Michigan had something to do with that.
Wagner,
MAAR and Matthews made key shots at key times, when
momentum could have changed…Especially MAAR: The Trey
Burke like top of the Key, way too high, off the glass 3-pointer he dropped. And yes, I heard him yell “GLASS!” Jump to the 1:05 mark (or the 5:00 mark on
the game clock in the 2nd half) of the complete game film
below and enjoy!
The
Beauty
Winning on the road against quality teams is tough. Whether or not Texas is any good at the end
of the season, this gritty win should go a long way towards supporting
Michigan’s chances if they’re on the bubble. I suddenly feel better about this team’s
chances, but we have to know more about Mo Wagner. Hopefully it’s just a minor sprain that they
can tape the crap out of it.
Michigan Hoops blog is stating that based on non-con
opponents
RPI and where Michigan may end up (depending on wins), that he believes 11-12
wins in CONFERENCE are probably necessary to get firmly off the bubble. It’s hard for me to believe (that would give
Michigan 23 or 24 wins, maybe 25 depending on many they win in the B1G Tourney)
that a team with that many wins in the B1G doesn’t make the tourney. Obviously, this is to blame on really
SOFT NON-CONFERENCE scheduling.
And Michigan has to take more of a Sparty approach in the future to
avoid this kind of crap.
I
just saw a sickening stat that made me throw up a little bit...In my pants.
MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS!
Michigan is shooting 62.7 percent from the line, a figure
that ranks 335th out of 351 teams. It is the worst percentage for a Beilein
team in his 26 seasons as a Division I head coach.
There’s
a
little-known tie-breaker I use when I’m filling out my brackets for the NCAA
Tourney. If I get to a head to head
match-up that looks pretty even on paper, the one stat I fall back on is FT%.
And I always take the team with the
higher FT%, always. Got make ‘em from the Charity Stripe.
No Ifs, Ands or Buts about it:
Gotta.
Make. Free – Throws. PERIOD.
Quick Simmons
Observation: The guy can’t play
defense. He’s going to need to figure
out what Michigan is about or lose out to guys that can’t shoot but understand
that Michigan will give up the low post, but no free looks at 3-pointers. They have to be contested.
You
Didn’t Seem All That Excited About Patterson
Well, this is true. Like I said, I think there were times in his
highlight reel that he was taking some unnecessary risks. I don’t mind that as long as it’s working,
but when it isn’t and the train goes off the rails, yeah. I’d like a steady hand and someone that makes
the check down reads and completes passes.
It’s hard to believe that Jake Ruddock is going to have been the best
QB to play under Harbaugh in 4 seasons.
But that’s where it stands.
You Don’t Think Fisher Was an “A” Hire?
Nope. And I’ll gladly place a bet that says that Texas
A&M has buyer’s remorse sooner rather than later. But A&M had to have their guy. Fisher’s last 3 seasons in Tallahassee have
been a “disappointment” (He was 25-12 in those 3 seasons) and if you
read any of the blogs, there weren’t a ton of tears shed by the fans with
Fisher’s departure. Everything will look
different next season and we’ll see who is good and who’s going through the
motions. But it will be fun to watch
Taggart and Fisher for the next couple of years.
The Bowl Picks
Every Year I do this as a way to
get the betting to a positive if I’m down.
I’m down this year as The Army Navy Game did nothing to pad my
account (I should have looked at the weather and I would have
definitely changed my bet on the OVER).
Anyway, The Matrix with the Puke Factor and all (Ignore that 2016 - This is 2017! Too lazy to retake the picture...):
So, there’s actually an
interesting bowl game on tomorrow, right in the “Sweet Spot” of the day at
3:30! This should be a great excuse to
get out of Christmas Shopping if asked!
Oregon’s new Coach Cristobal will be in his first game and I suspect
that Oregon will be pumped up and ready to play. However, Oregon’s all time leading rusher is
sitting the game OUT!!! Boise State it
is! That was an easy pick.
As for the rest? Always go with the team closest to the venue
that might bring in some fans. Look for
pissed off teams (Sparty) that may feel they were slighted and should be playing
on New Year’s Day. Undefeated teams
(UCF) are going to be motivated to put a mark on their program’s history. Other than that, it’s a crap shoot. Some years, I’ve done great. Others…Not so much. Especially ATS.
I’m a curious fellow by nature and
decided to start looking up where some of the names of these bowls came from. I hope this isn’t wasting your time!
And this is a Camellia. I had no idea what the thing was. 
I’ve been told I’m a bit naïve
at times for not knowing what something is.
I had no idea this was a “thing”, so I guess sponsoring a bowl for
advertising works! Cheribundi Tart Cherry
Juice is real. I like FAU
getting 17 in this game and will wager some dough.
“Frisco” is the name of a
metropolis in Texas. Okay – maybe not a
metropolis. But it’s right here
on the map just north of the Big “D” – Looky:
Because they have a mascot and I
think you know where Idaho is, I’m putting in a picture of the mascot.
Etc. – Dedicated To The
Debacle In East Lansing
The Michigan House Speaker Calls
For MSU President Simon to Resign
Finally.
At least someone is paying attention to what the hell is going on. I’m sure she won’t, but at least someone is
suggesting it.
Wetzel Comes Down HARD On Sparty
And The Nassar Mess
And is starting to ask the questions who knew
what and when did they know? As Dan
stated, heads should be rolling all over the place…
The News Also Chimes In As Sparty’s
Dean Of Osteopathic Medicine Takes A Leave
Strempel, probably the guy that
did the most to enable Nassar, is stepping down from his Dean’s position. The howls are growing louder from the victims
and students alike.
Protests are planned on the day the board of trustees meets to vote on a
raise for Simon…
