Let's All Go Crap On The Golden Dome

I'm so Mad I'm ready to drive down to South Bend and Spit, no, make that sh#$%t on the Golden Dome and everything we're made to believe it stands for:

In case you haven't heard, Michael Floyd did NOT get booted out of school for his third alcohol offense in less than two years while at Notre Dame.


Why does this make me so mad?

1. I HATE THE DOMERS! Ever since I was a kid and they somehow managed to beat my Michigan team and Anthony Carter under the lights in South Bend I've hated the Domers. I've hated the fact that their fans are blind to what they claim to represent. "We're different." "We're a small school against the world." "We're better than everyone else because we do it right." Well, Domer fans, this one should have you hanging your head in shame. Don't hand me the load of crap that Res Life understands that they could have potentiall ruined a life if they kicked him out...Come on, who are we kidding?

2. The Domers have more or less gone straight to the SEC level of "Win at any cost." Michael Floyd's presence on this year's team does multiple things for the Domers, and they ALL have to do with the bottom line: They'll win more games with him than without him. They'll undoubtedly sell more merchandise. And if this kid does somehow manage to turn it around and he has even a better than average season, he will be THE turn around story and "Heismann" talk about guy, even though he won't be the best college football player.

3. Once again, Notre Dame gets what Notre Dame wants.

I can proudly hold my head high as a Michigan fan and know that Rich Rodriguez and other Michigan coaches that proceeded Rich did the right thing when it came to the character building of young men and that school and football were secondary. Rich let Boubacar Cissoko go from the program and the University was close to being right behind him before he quit school. Unfortunately, the situation hasn't improved for Cissoko, but the University never the less did the right thing.

Domers, you definitely cannot say that.

Don't ever tell me you're better than the rest while this and countless other hypocritical acts, decisions, and continuing policies go unchallenged. In fact, not only are they unchallenged, they are supported throughout the University top to bottom.

That's sickening. If I were a Domer fan today, I would have to hang my head in shame. But Domers across the country won't do that. They'll be rejoicing that Kelly will have no choice but to re-instate Floyd on the team when the time comes.

Big Ten Season Schedules Released - 2013-2014

Well, it will be a long time before we can ever take out our frustrations on Illinois and Purdue again and this shouldn't be a surprise as we knew it was coming....Good riddens to the Cheeseheads. At least we have Minnesota, Northwestern and Indiana to beat up on....But these home games are pissing me off and the even years will be GREAT years to sell the season tix...Feast or Famine....

Why is it Feast or Famine? When we re-upped the contract and were "strongarmed" into agreeing with the DOMERS (JEEZ I HATE THESE GUYS MORE THAN DUKE!) into the odd years home (we used to be even years home. Because they wanted a "Premier" game at home (either Michigan or USC at home in opposite years) OUR home schedule now has

Odd Years:
Domers
Ohio State
NEBRASKA

Even Years:
Michigan State
Penn State....
Iowa

No offense to people at MSU, PSU and Iowa (well, maybe a little), but the Odd years for season ticket holders just literally skyrocketed in value vs. the even years.

Makes me glad I'm a season ticket holder....Of course, the University now does their own scalping with "Premium Games" and charges you more for those tix, anyway...Sigh...Remember when being a fan didn't cost you an arm, leg and your first born?

2 0 1 3

Date Opponent

Oct. 5 MINNESOTA*

Oct. 12 at Penn State*

Oct. 19 INDIANA*

Oct. 26 Open

Nov. 2 at Michigan State*

Nov. 9 NEBRASKA*

Nov. 16 at Northwestern*

Nov. 23 at Iowa*

Nov. 30 OHIO STATE*

Dec. 7 Big Ten Championship Game

2 0 1 4

Date Opponent

Sept. 27 at Indiana*

Oct. 4 Open

Oct. 11 MICHIGAN STATE*

Oct. 18 at Minnesota*

Oct. 25 PENN STATE*

Nov. 1 IOWA*

Nov. 8 at Nebraska*

Nov. 15 Open

Nov. 22 NORTHWESTERN*

Nov. 29 at Ohio State*

Dec. 6 Big Ten Championship Game

It's a Big Game in April....

The first Monday night in April is something that if you ask this question to a sports nut (in October), “What are you doing the first Monday night in April?”, the casual sports nut might have to think about it for a minute but the true sports nut will ask if you’re attending the NCAA Final Four and whether or not you’re offering him a ticket, plane ride, room, whatever. This is how sports nuts think….

Kind of like asking a Michigan or tOSU fan, “What are you doing the 3rd Saturday in November?”

I love the NCAA tournament. I really do. But I would be remiss if I didn’t let out a little frustration at this point with respect to this year’s Final Four:

-Virginia Commonwealth had 11 losses and didn't win its conference tournament

-Connecticut finished ninth (9th) in the Big East AND they are currently under NCAA investigation for something their coach did (but none of these kids were guilty of)

-Butler has nine losses

-Kentucky had eight.

(Now 9) VCU, Kentucky are Butler are now gone…And I'm not saying that UConn doesn’t deserve the national championship….But….. a ticket to the dance and the ability to win 6 games is all you need… I guess I’m a little shocked that the teams that managed to do it game in and game out all year (OSU – Kansas – North Carolina – DUKE (Jeez, I hate these guys…) – Pitt and the Domers) managed to all fail so miserably in this tournament. I mean, usually ONE number 1 seed gets in to the Final Four and wins the whole thing. That’s what it should be about. The culmination of a great season followed up with a 6 game winning streak right at the end. But this year, there were plenty of 2-3-4 loss teams that simply didn’t have what it takes to get to the final game. I have incredibly mixed feelings about U-Conn in this game and I was pulling hard for Butler. I just hate the Beast and I would prefer that they are not recognized as the National Champs.

But back to my point, what do teams have to do to win the whole thing? The good teams are capable and proved it at their conference opponent’s arenas and held serve on their home courts. This is something every basketball coach in a major conference will tell you is no easy task. So what makes it so much harder in the NCAA tournament? And how do teams that have no business being there find it so easy to put together?

Leave it to your Monday Morning Quarterback…I have a THEORY!

Of the above 4 teams, the only two that had real regular season (or post season success) were U-Conn and Butler. U-Conn started playing like they meant it in the Big East tournament and they still haven’t taken their foot off the throttle. Butler kind of did the same thing when they realized they need to win out to get a ticket to the dance punched. Kentucky didn’t do much of anything regular season but responded well in the SEC tournament. VCU…They just plain sucked and got lucky to make it in…

But when expectations are low, well, that’s when you catch people by surprise. That’s obvious. But what isn’t obvious is that when you’ve got nothing – no regular season record to speak of or anything to look back on and say, “Well, that was a success…” - then and only then you’ve got nothing to lose. And that’s a great feeling to have when the game is on the line and you have to take a shot.

Nobody was expecting us to do anything anyway and if I miss, well, I haven’t ruined anything special.

That’s powerful. And it makes you wonder if there shouldn’t be more consideration given to the mental and psychological state of teams that have a lot on the line with the number 1 seed. The number 1 seed is now a target for the 8-9 seeds that are getting better all the time. And as a coach, while you need to emphasize the regular season you need to be able to remove everything from the minds of these players and make the regular season seem like “yesterday’s news.” It’s old news, nobody cares and the only thing that matters is the next 6 games. Play them like you need to win to live…which I guess you do.

Big Nod to Ryno in the office pool I participated in for picking UConn to win the whole thing and finishing 2nd. Ryno will get prize money to the tune of $350 or so smackeroos. How many fathead stickers does $350 buy, anyway?

Wow...Just, Wow....

I had heard it existed, but you need to see this and read the blog entry by Greg over at M-Victors. This is one of the greatest memorabilia collections of Michigan tickets, artifacts and who knows what else that has been compiled by Jack Briegel. (Click to link to M-Victors). It's simply amazing and you can also see it GoBlueWolverine Mag, but I don't have a subscription...

Will the Stories EVER Stop?

Talk about a busy week in the blog world...And my real job has been one headache after another. And as I know there are quite a few of you that only read this blog for your collegiate sports updates, I believe it's imperative that I post again this week, if only to make sure that you are aware of every thing that's happening. And as always, I'm eternally grateful that SB Nation exists to put all of this into believable context without the journalistic integrity getting in the way!

1. St. Tressel - CONSPIRACY!

If you haven't been following, last Friday, OSU released information that Tressel in fact forwarded the "confidential" e-mails to Terrelle Pryor's Main Man, (read: Booster) Ted Sarniak, in some sort of helping gesture. I guess Tressel figured if he couldn't rein Pryor in, who better than the guy that holds Pryor's leash? Unfortunately for St. Tressel, that information is now out and visible to the world. So, let's run down what the NCAA has on Tressel and tOSU:

1. He lied about knowing when he knew about the sale of the items to the Tat-Shop.

2. He lied about keeping it to himself as it was a federal investigation.

3. He lied again when the story came out and the players were subject to getting kicked out of the Sugar Bowl.

4. Gene Smith and Gordon Gee lied at the press conference announcing Tressel's intial punishment stating that they understood that he had kept the e-mail confidential. That's Conspiracy

5. tOSU must now be looked at as being in alliance with Tressel on this, or, more or less, part of the cover up.

The problem with lying is you have to keep lying to support the first lie. It's always there, just aching for support. Which leads to the next one and the next one...And St. Tressel and tOSU are still telling them. George Castanza, in one of the greatest lines in TV history, once told Jerry how to beat a lie detector by stating,

"Jerry, its not a lie if you believe it."

Aparently, all of the hierarchy within tOSU "believes" that St. Tressel should not be blamed for any of this as he didn't really do anything wrong. Corruption, lies, old boys club...it's all great fodder for the NCAA meat grinder that has to deal with this and make tOSU an example. If Tressel manages to keep his job after everything in this ordeal is said and done, well, we will all then know that it's not about how you do it, it's whether your winning or losing.

2. The End of the Fiesta?

This is something right out of a Hollywood movie script. The CEO of the Fiesta Bowl, the guy's last name is John Junker (seriously), was so blatantly open about the financial abuses that he was committing with the Fiesta Bowl's revenue that he tried to openly justify, and get this:

1. A weekend birthday party for himself in Pebble Beach for $33,000 that he expensed to the Bowl.

2. A $1,200 strip club tab that he attended with friends because, "big athletes like to hang out at these places and business was definitely conducted." Business was definitely conducted....I'm thinking (insert the word or pleasure of your choice here) : _____________JOBS. Your list to choose from: Hand, Blow, and Booby

3. $46,000 or so in political contributions (read: bribes) and subsequent hush money paid to cover it up.

I'm not sure what Junker could have been thinking. Bowls are supposed to be non-profit organizations that "do good for the community". After this fiasco, and there's really no other term for it, I'm willing to bet that investigative journalists countrywide are going to start looking up the collective rear ends of the Rose, Orange and Sugar and find all sorts of juicy tid bits. Whether or not they find anything that even begins to compare to the sins of Junker is a moot point. They'll find something. Is this a portent to the end of the BCS? Wetzel seems to think so... You know, the guy who wrote the book "Death to the BCS." And the alternative?

The Cotton Bowl at JerryWorld. Yeah, sure....That'll fix all the corruption and abuses that are occuring in the BCS. I can't help but wonder if Mark Cuban isn't somehow behind all of this....

3. Auburn = Cash

MSU = Cash

tOSU= Sexual Favors

Remember the above equations as there will be a test later. HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel ran a show about former Auburn players being offered all of the above in exchange for playing with the respective teams that were recruiting them. The biggest problem I had with the story was the fact that the former players were paid for their appearance and several players that played with these guys have come out and said that they were more or less all liars. Not that I mind MSU and tOSU's names getting dragged through the mud some more and Auburn is part of the "Super Excellent Cheaters" conference anyway. But Auburn's reputation of "throwing duffel bags full of cash" at kids is getting a lot of play in the media. Where there's smoke, there's bound to be a small fire. I just wonder if anyone will eventually be able to make anything stick at that institution. A few choice cuts (Provided by SBN): McClover says there were money handshakes from boosters at other football camps too. At Auburn for a couple hundred dollars and at Michigan State. All the schools denied any wrongdoing. And things really started heating up a few months later when he went to Ohio State for an official visit where schools get a chance for one weekend to host prospective athletes.

McClover: "They send girls my way. I partied. When I got there I met up with a couple guys from the team. We went to a party and they asked me to pick any girl I wanted."

Kremer to McClover: "I think in one game you had four sacks, what did you earn in that game?"

McClover: "Four thousand. Against Alabama."

Noice.....Maybe Michigan should start paying for sacks against tOSU?

4. And Finally, one that slipped most noticeably under the radar except by your alert MMQ (MANY THANKS to Greg over at M-Victors) we have this photo:

Don't panic and don't get excited. Apparently the Former Gator Coach turned ESPN special analyst wanted to tour the Michigan facility and see the Wolverine operation up close and personal.

Hmmmmmm....What a gig for a couple of years. Go tour all the major Division 1 programs, look at what they have, what they do best, investigate the traditions and then go back to work after your recuperative hiatus and take it all with you. Urban Legend is a genius....unfortunately.

Phew...I think that's it for awhile....

Michigan Makes the Frozen 4!

IT’S GREAT TO BE A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE! After seeing the team in person this year (Thanks Chris K!) and watching them a couple of times on the tube, tracking them as they backed into the CCHA Championship when all Notre Dame had to do was win once at home, I had mixed feelings going into the NCCA Hockey tournament. I mean, Hockey is a fickle sport and you simply can’t handicap it, no matter how hard you try. But Red has them back to College Hockey’s ultimate event. Next Thursday, April 7th, is a Big Match-up for the Wolverines against (Denver) Correction: North Dakota in Minneapolis…And thanks to Dean G, I have an invitation to go. But I also have other commitments that will keep me from attending. It would be great to see this team win the whole thing. They play with a lot of heart and grit. I just wish it always showed up on the ice… If we can get past Denver into the final game, anything’s possible.

Speaking of handicapping, did you here about this guy? Somebody had the (audacity) foresight to bet VCU at 5,000 to 1 odds for $10 bucks back before the season started. That’s $50,000, folks, for a $10 speculation. The Vegas Hilton had VCU at 9,999 to 1 at one point. But no bets. Granted, VCU has to win the thing, but still…I wouldn’t mind having that ticket in my hand right now. VCU has to win 6 games which is what the old Vegas odds makers are counting on. Thinking out loud as a gambler, IF VCU makes the final game, the sports book may want to have a little talk with you and offer you a little less for your marker and you might be wise to take it if the offer was say, $20,000? Anything less, say $15,000 and I think I would have to decline. At that point, you could simply bet ½ of the $35,000 difference ($50,000 winner -$15,000 offer = $35,000) on Kentucky/Uconn winner ($17,500 total wager) and you will end up with either $17,500 or $32,500 in your pocket with only a $2,510 “total” bet and be further ahead. (That would be the difference between the casino’s offer and your championship bet – with either outcome). That’s 6 to 1 on the $17,500 and 13 to 1 on the $32,500. Of course, this implies that you have $17,500 laying around…and I haven’t figured in the vig and I’m assuming you can get a money line bet that is close to neutral and just lay it on the Kentucky/UConn winner.

If the offer was $20K and you declined, the new bet would be $15,000 ($50K-$20K = $30K) and you’d be looking at a net gain of either $15,000 or $35,000, or a $5,000 bet for $20,000. That’s a worse deal for you because it's a potential $5,000 loss albeit with better odds on th $35K (4 to 1 and 7 to 1) and it makes a difference to the casino…They are either paying you $15,000 - their first offer or $35,000…And they might take you up on the counter offer and you would be wise to simply take the $20G’s… No more gambling. And that’s a good thing. Too much math? No worries…I’m not entirely sure I’ve got it right, either. But if I had that ticket, you can bet that there would be a deep dive into this with about 10 spreadsheets doing the math on everything when I walk into the casino explaining the situation. That’s how you need to think about it when you’re holding a ticket like that and you have them by the “short hairs”.

If VCU wins one more game and that guy is probably done gambling and thinking about how to secure some dough.

Sweet…..

One More Time - WITH FEELING!

When I published my last post, I received an e-mail from a Domer that will remain nameless, stating that the average Domer Fan’s expectations this year for Hoops was quite high. In fact, it was a Domer inner circle feeling of, “Final 4 or Bust” mentality for most of the fans that follow Domer Hoops.

And this particular Domer stated he liked the direction of Michigan’s Basketball program a whole lot more than the Domers, even though the Domer's was a successful season, albeit in the B-East. Which got me to thinking: Where would this year’s Domer team have finished in the Big 10 and would it have made the tournament (assuming a lower seed)? And would they have been more battle tested against better teams from the Big 10?

More importantly, the Big 10’s share of Basketball revenue (figuring in the Big 10 Network and NCAA split) is way higher per team than what the Domer’s get from the Big East and the NCAA.
Also, in case you haven’t heard, the Big 10 will be forming its own Hockey conference of 6 teams in the 2013-2014 season after Penn State drops the first puck in 2012. Why is that a big deal? If you’re a casual hockey fan, it doesn’t really mean much to Michigan, OSU or Michigan State, other than they leave the CCHA (that has managed to endure through thick and thin). Those three will start having to play Wisconsin and Minnesota who, believe or not, are HUGE Hockey powers in the WCHA, which will also get weaker as a result of this “New Conference” in College Hockey. Everyone is guessing that the remaining powers in the CCHA (Miami, Domers, Bowling Green) will jump either out east or to the WCHA and the CCHA will die an ugly and brutal death. But that remains to be seen. Why is this important? Domer Hockey will need a home and the WCHA would require a lot of travel time and more importantly, cost. Where as Big 10 Hockey would have been pretty much the same road trips that the Domers take today – with ultimately HIGHER revenue than they will ever see in a diminished WCHA.

So, the question of the day is:

How bad has the Domer decision making team screwed up the rest of Domer athletics with respect to competition and championships and athletic revenue for the sake of its football team independence???

Yes, everyone at this point knows that the Domers could have easily been the 12th team in the Big 10. And that would have brought Basketball and Hockey and actually freed the B-East of a team that would not participate at the football level and allow them to court someone that truly brings something to the table with respect to revenue. Moving Villanova up to FBS level is just dumb for Villanova, and they know it, which is why they are dragging their feet.

And the Domers would have enjoyed a revenue split of equal value from the BTN, but chose to ignore that for the simple fact that they believe they can continue to leverage their football product into higher and higher returns from NBC.

Problem is, even if they can leverage that one product at NBC into a lucrative contract that creates a surplus for all athletics, there’s still the small problem that all the athletic teams are playing in lesser conferences with fewer opportunities for National Titles.

Or worse, they are playing as independents on the outside looking in with other conferences sitting with AQ status (in Football).

And mark my words, the day will come when the Domers are sitting on an undefeated season and the Big 10 and SEC champs are sitting with ether a no loss or 1 loss record after having won their Conference Championship (which, by the way, also gets some additional revenue). And the Domers will be left out in the cold because they didn’t “Earn their way in” to the Championship. There will be protests and howls then, but the record will state very clearly that the Domers could have been in a conference and it would have been different.

On a side note (But could have been it’s own Blog entry – and probably will if this Domer somehow ends up on the field against Michigan in September):

Michael Floyd, Team Captain and returning Senior, has been “indefinitely” suspended from the Football Team resulting from a DUI. If you haven’t seen the story, here’s a link.

Why do I think Kelly has to boot him? Well, maybe he doesn't...but Notre Dame does. Res Life has to, at least, according to every precedent that’s been established:

Notre Dame's Office of ResLife has a history of coming down hard on students in these situations. The student handbook says that if a student has a DUI and has at least one prior alcohol violation, that student must be separated from the university for at least one semester. It also mandates that the student submit to an alcohol assessment.
Floyd has two previous underage drinking citations from his time at home in Minnesota.

Better yet, go over to NDNation and go to Rock’s House. The Green(Blue?) and Gold are shitting bricks at the thought of losing Floyd. Everyone is defending him and stating that the University can’t kick him out…But apparently, the University does in fact kick you out for repeated violations. And the fact that Michael was already on probation probably doesn’t bode well for him or the Football team…

Hee-hee…First St. Tressel and now the Domers have made my Month. And to think I never used to really like March all that much…