Weekend Roundup, Breakin' Rules Edition: July 27, 2009

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​What you missed this week on the internet while making pork rinds...


  • Rittenburg goes over the home run threats in the Big Ten.  14 players are named, 3 of which come from our fair Wolverines.

  • Deadspin noticed that the Detroit Lions are offering up a chance for you to relive the 2008 season.

  • Michigan announced that fan day will occur on August 23rd.  Because I am a masochist, I will link this information from the Toledo Blade.

  • The 10 worst BCS teams as reported by Maxim magazine... Michigan is #10.  I just canceled my subscription.

  • Notre Dame put together an alumni squad, coached by Lou Holtz, and went to Japan to play the Japanese American Football Team.  They won 19-3.  Yes, a Japanese American Football team exists, not a Japanese-American football team, but an American Football team comprised of Japanese people...in Japan.  Got it?  Me neither.

  • MGoBlue's latest construction photos highlight the impending destruction of the current pressbox, scheduled for November 2009 according to one of the captions.  I think we all get to take a piece with us after we beat Ohio State.

  • In an attempt to consolodate the number of times you hit refresh during a typical workday, Varsity Blue has been absorbed by MGoBlog.  It's a monopoly!

  • Shaun King wants Michigan fans to know that everything is going to be alright.  "You can still win football games running the football, playing great defense. But the thing is, when you get in a bowl game - and I'm talking national championship, Im not taking the fourth-place Big Ten team versus the fourth-place ACC team; Im talking the big games, the Floridas, the Oklahomas, the Southern Cals - you arent used to going against that type of athlete all year. It's culture shock.  Rodriguez is changing that about Michigan."  Sold!

  • Justin Feagin, who I clamored to have become the starter at QB last season, has done something really really really bad.  What it was, we don't know.  What we do know is that he's no longer an option at QB, WR, or DB.

  • Rittenburg has 3 predictions for the Wolverines for 2009.  Prediciton #1 is very bold, and if it happens, #3 is a lock.

Plus One...Minus One

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​Livonia tailback Austin White committed to Michigan today over Michigan State.  Had he committed to Michigan State, there would be 10 articles in various publications telling you about how Michigan State is winning the recruiting war and Dantonio is a living genius.  But since White went Blue, it's just another ho-hum blue chip commit for Rodriguez.  But my friends tell me I should stop worrying about what everybody else thinks...so while I stand by the adage that perception is reality, this is one hell of a pick up for a class that is shaping up to be one of our best ever.

None of this changes the fact that I get a creepy feeling when I follow recruiting.

Meanwhile, lineman Kurt Wermers is leaving the program, citing the obligatory family values and "not getting along with the players being brought in" instead of admitting that practice is too hard and that he's a girl that needs a father figure to coddle him.  And awwww, you're not making any friends.  Is it because they're so much faster than you that you can't catch them to talk to them?

So, he will go to Ball State and try to cling to remnants of the old regime.  No doubt Lloyd steered him there to spoon with Stan Parrish, who according to his bio tutored Tom Brady.  Stan took over for Brady Hoke, and will be a head coach for the first time since being dismissed from K-State after amassing a 2-30-1 record over a period of three years.  But hey, at least you won't have to run to the line of scrimmage, right Kurt?  And you won't have to worry about what round you are going to be drafted in either.

Chewing on That

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​The "little article that could" made the rounds today, in the end likely accomplishing what the author set out to do...piss off Michigan fans, stir up some shit, and get featured on mgoblog.  Brian was up to the task.  You know it's mid-summer in the football loving world when people are spending time on an article called "Chew on this one for a while."

Jaime Samuelson, who consequently, like, lost his job yesterday, blogged on the Freep about how WVA-RichRod will always be a hot topic.  "Always" might be a stretch.  I mean, if RichRod wins at Michigan, he will cease to belong in any way to West Virginia.  He will be Ann Arbor's native son.  His time in Morgantown will be long forgotten.  If time passes with continued success for RichRod at Michigan, you might even find some old Mountaineers re-claiming him for the sake of posterity...

"You speak of legendary Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez?  Well, he is from right here in West Virginia!  Made his chops right as a Mountaineer.  We are so proud of his success."

Ahhhh.  A man can dream.  Jaime reminds ye of little faith...

Rodriguez has won every single place he's gone. And every single place he's gone, there has been a period of transition. This never was about some Urban Meyer-esque overnight success story. This was about taking a program that was a perennial conference contender and turning it into a perennial national title contender. We all knew it was going to take time.

Change people...  Change.  Half of you idiots were all about it when it came to the country...but you're afraid of it now that it pertains to your football team.  Get on board.  You, me, a coach that is consistently on lists like this, and Hell's Bells blaring on 3rd down.

Go Blue!

Rich Rod's Last Year?

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​A writer from West Virginia has decided that this year will be the last year for Rich Rodriguez at Michigan.  The whole article oozes ignorance.

Although most coaches get at least three years to prove themselves, I'm convinced Rodriguez is only going to get two

That's just not the way things are done here.  We don't have relations with our siblings, we don't have mullets, and we don't fire coaches that are about to have back to back top 10 recruiting classes without seeing what he is going to do with the talent.  He would have to solicit a prostitute on Hoover St (consequently a great street name to pick up a prostitute) to be fired this year.  The ripple effect and aura of instability would plague the program for 10 years.  No matter what you think of Rich Rod, you should know that we are going to ride it out with him.  Oh, and this just in...we're going to win games this year.  Hat tip to Freep, original article here (comments are great on this one so be sure to scroll down).

Summer Roundup, Find Us A New Home Edition: 7/13/2009

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​Ya, we've (I've) been dormant for a while.  Not to make excuses, but the group is suffering from a little shell shock about recently becoming homeless.  With the new rules over at AAGO, we are actively seeking another venue to continue the traditions we've been building for the better part of 15 years in our spot by the green.  Fear not friends and fans, we will tailgate...you just might have to come and find us.  Maybe in this age of twitter and iphones we'll be able to figure it all out somehow.  In the meantime, if you have a spot you think might suit us, one with similar pricing, open space, and a location near the stadium, be sure to contact me at frank at umtailgate dot com.

During the layoff, I also neglected to mention the marrying off of the second of the Godfather's two daughters, affectionately known as the Princess.  It will certainly be a house divided, as the groom prefers the kelly green and gold over the Maize and Blue.  Congrats to the two of them...and to the Godfather who has finally alleviated himself of all financial burdens not related to football.  We expect big things, big tickets, more food, and more participation out of the Godfather now that he has nothing else to spend his money on. 

Internets, internets, internets: