Goodbye Damon's

Damon's was decidedly anti-Michigan hoops.  We not ON...or ON not ON....or just not ON.  Either way, call an electrician fergodsakes.

​Ahhhh Damon's.  We loved you once here at UMTailgate.com, sort of.  We held our yearly (now defunct...but WHY???) banquet there...not because of the food or service, but because for some reason they gave us their banquet room after the last home football game each year without having to jump through too many hoops.  

We had some good times there.  

The Godfather shed some tears there.  

And now, it's gone.  There was a time when we didn't all have giant TV's and barbeque that was essentially microwaved in a bag was able to sneak past our young tastebuds.  That was when Damon's thrived.  That time has passed.  So goodbye to this State Street highway exit staple.  And Johnny Cleveland...you can rest easy that you'll never have to pay the money you owe to that guy that works there.

Keep calm and GO BLUE!​

What's Up This Weekend? "Blade Runner is Loose!" Edition: February 22-24, 2013

I neglected to reference the fact that women's hoops beat Sparty on Sunday...my apologies to the title nine set.  And beating Sparty is beating Sparty, I don't care if it's a football game, a canned-goods collecting event, or a three-legged race.​

Today (2/22):​

• Baseball (0-3) vs. Fordham (0-0) in Port St. Lucie, FL:  Heartbreakers abound for baseball last weekend.  Michigan lost all three games by one run...the first two were extra innings walk-offs, and the third a walk-off in the 9th.  Wow.  Sucks.  They head to Florida to face Fordham for their  season opener.  2pm
• ​Hockey (10-18-2 / 7-15-2) at Ohio (13-12-7 / 12-7-5):  Weekend off last week for Michigan, who is probably still reeling from the 13 goals they gave up in two games to Manti T'eo's boys.  Puck drops at 6:35pm on BTN.

Tomorrow (2/23):​

• Baseball vs. Fordham in Port St. Lucie, FL:  See above.  Old-fashioned double-header starts at 11am.
• ​Hockey at Ohio: See above.  Puck drops at 7pm on Comcast Sports.

Sunday (2/24):​

• ​Basketball (22-4 / 9-4) at Illinois (20-8 / 7-7):  Michigan returns to action after a full week off, so I think it's finally time to put that Sparty game from the week before behind us.  And I think we're going to need all that we've got to get past the Illini in Champaign.  Tipoff is 1pm on ESPN.
• Women's Basketball (19-7 / 8-5) at #7 Penn State ​(22-3 / 12-1):  SIMULTANEOUS TIPOFF ALERT!!!  What will you do?  1pm on BTN.

Have You Seen Ohio's Schedule?

Is this for real?  Found this in my twitter archives from earlier this month:

Cute TTUN reference aside, coming off a sanction stained season of perfection that will no doubt be a motivational factor, this slate is a recipe for repeat perfection.  Ugh.  I guess it's relative.  Is the Big Ten going to start making a comeback nationally?  Who are the powers of the Big Ten for '13?  Does Penn State have a year left in them before the penalties start to really take their toll?  Will Ferentz make Iowa competitive and save his high paying job?  Is Northwestern planning to turn the corner?  

Anyway, Urban, unless you have another nervous breakdown like you had at Florida, we'll see you at our house on the 30th.  I'm looking for that season ruining '95, '96, '97 magic.​  Also, I can hear the echoes of Coach Hoke's cracking voice telling me we only worry about Michigan at Michigan...or perhaps that was RichRod.  No matter, here's our schedule for posterity:

Not exactly a host of world beaters...though BCS Championship Game runner-up Notre Dame does come to Ann Arbor for Under the Lights part deux.  Also, at Sparty, at NW, at PSU all reserve the right to be challenges.

It's fun to look at football in February.​  51 days until the Spring Game.  You got a hotel for UCONN yet?

Keep calm and GO BLUE!​

Way Back When-sday Pic of the Week

​November 17. 2007.  Kevin Cowbell and I attack mini-Brutus in section 30 as Michigan falls 14-3 in one of the worst games I've ever had to sit through.

Weekend Roundup, President's Day Edition: 2/18/13

William Howard Taft: Never ate anything from a vegetable garden

Here's what happened around those pesky internets while you were trying to find this in your size:

Hoops was underwhelming during Sunday's arena re-dedication game, as I expected.  There is something fundamentally wrong right now, and for me it's about grit and hustle, and not in the cliche sort of way.  I really mean we need to get physical.  Sparty cracked the code, and the code is to put your head down and ram us.  What we need is for Hoke to attend a hoops practice.  The meat-grinder is in order.  And get on the floor!  Dive around.  Take out the first couple of rows.  That being said, I've got this feeling now that we are going to claw our way back to the performance level we saw in December and January.  That's called optimism.  It's a rare find around the offices of UMTailgate.com.  I'm ready for a mad March.

• Michigan and Michigan State, both at the Palace to start the tournament?  Yes, that is the projection out of Indy this weekend says Mark Snyder in the Freep.  
• Stauskas and GRIII have returned to glory?  Not buying that they're back based on the eye test, but perhaps the stat lines will bolster their confidence and get them back to where we need them to be, 
  
• Penn State Recap:  Maize and Brew - Rededication -  "As mercurial as Michigan's freshmen can be, you might as well call Trey "Planck" because he's constant."
• Penn State Recap:  UMHoops  -  "Michigan continued to look like a team searching for its former self while limping past Penn State on Sunday afternoon. The Wolverines’ early season confidence and swagger is gone and a struggling defense becomes a more pressing concern with every passing game."
• I was ready to accept Minnesota as a power 6 weeks ago, but they've pooped the bed in a messier way than most.  Also, Chumbawamba reference FTW:  Tubthumping - Black Heart Gold Pants
• Today's Big Ten Basketball power rankings from our friends in Happy Valley.  Big Ten Hoops Weekly - Black Shoe Diaries
• Auburn alum Charles Barkley, during an NBA broadcast on TNT, put a fake bandage on his head and said he was mugged and got his credit cards jacked while he was in Alabama congratulating the football team.  This is spectacular.  USAToday
• Michigan two-way star, Heisman trophy winner, Super Bowl champion, National Champion, and future NFL Hall of Famer Charles Woodson was released by the Packers.  I'm sure he'll show up somewhere in the fall...best of luck Chuck.  
• Tim Hardaway Jr's old man...perhaps you have heard of him...is a finalist for the NBA Hall of Fame.
• $27 million and counting.  Wait until the civil suits arrive fellas.  Shut it down.