UMTailgate Carnival...Brought to You By Cholula

A reminder to everyone that this week's theme is the UMTailgate Carnival.  Elephant ears, cheesesteaks, and assorted carnival fare are on the menu.  The fryer(s) will also be in action with assorted delights.  In addition, hotsauce mavins Cholula are sponsoring our tailgate, and we will be distributing Cholula (we've got a lot of it) and Cholula cookbooks to our guests, passers-by, and neighboring tailgates.

On top of all of that, the Detroit Free Press will also be in attendance, taking pictures for an upcoming article on tailgating.

See you there!

Winner Winner

Fifteen minutes until tipoff. No tickets. Ahhhh, but this is Michigan Basketball. Tickets can be had at the box office my friends. Even on Jalen Rose Day, you too can garner blue level seats.

It was an odd celebration. It was more about Jalen's charity, the Jalen Rose foundation, than it was about the man himself. But when halftime hit, the PA announcer rattled through Jalen's resume, full of statistical top 10's in nearly every basketball category. Then Jalen spoke. He took the crowd back to a time when things were good in Crisler arena. He gave thanks to the coaches that had a profound effect on his career: Perry Watson, Steve Fisher, Bo Schembechler. Watson and Fisher evoke mixed feelings for most Michigan fans. Perry Watson, whose involvement in the recruiting of the Fab 5 is well documented, also had links to  Ed Martin. Steve Fisher, the lovable old man, the Barney Fife that took us on the magical run in 1989, and had an even more magical run of recruits through the early 90's. It's unfortunate  it was all tarnished by money.

Jalen then individually called out the names of the other members of the Fab 5. Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King (who was in attendance), Ray Jackson. It's been a long time since those names have been uttered in public. Chris Webber is not allowed to be associated with the University in any way until 2013. Even more amazing, Jalen revealed that he had not been inside Crisler since he last donned the jersey. Now, with his NBA career coming to a close, Jalen promised to be back often. Roars of applause followed Jalen's final statement, which was that he would be back to see "those banners" go back up, referring to the missing final four banners from 1991 and 1992.

Maybe this is the beginning of the rebuilding of the past in Michigan Basketball. It was certainly an emotional time for those in attendance that had memories of the way Michigan Basketball used to be. Whether that will be enough to have us look past the black mark that accompanied the black socks remains to be seen.

As for the game...pretty much the worst shooting I have ever seen. The final was 49-43, and the score wasn't even indicative of how poor the execution was on the floor. But winning is what it's all about, right? OK, game over...on to the Joe.

With no respect for the law, or for human life, we made our way to the home of the Red Wings to exact revenge on Sparty for the ass-handing they gave us the night before. The goal was to see the end of the basketball game, and the drop of the puck at the hockey game. We came very close. Missed the drop by 30 seconds. But we arrived in time to see the #1 Wolverines take an early 2-0 lead on their way to reversing the previous evening's score. Michigan wins 5-2.

2 for 2 on the day, not bad. Here's the pics.

If You Want Something Done Right...

​...you do it yourself.  So for today's two-sport double header action, instead of watching from the couch, a limited crew from UMTailgate.com will be in the stands.  Both Michigan Hockey and Michigan Basketball are coming off of disappointing losses, and play back to back today/tonight just 40 miles apart.   Tip off for the Jalen Rose festival is at 4pm, Michigan-Michigan State is scheduled to start at 7.  With pregame pageantry, the games should be separated by about 45 minutes.  So with some speedy driving, the A2 to Detroit trek should fall nicely between the Crisler buzzer and the drop at The Joe.

Full coverage tomorrow.

For now, watch Bo give a tour of the Big House courtesy of The Wizard of Odds, and try to hold back the tears (Dennis).

If This Were Any Other Year...

​...you'd be pissed at how screwed we're getting on this bowl bid.

Option #1:

West Virginia or Missouri lose, Ohio State goes to National Championship game that they will win just to ruin your 2008... Illinois goes to BCS. Michigan goes to Citrus Bowl of the Capital One variety.

Result of option #1:

You hold a razor blade to your wrist as you contemplate Ohio State's back-to-back trips to the BCS championship game. You ponder how Juice Williams expects to get loose against USC in the Rose Bowl. You wonder which team, Florida or LSU, would be more uncomfortable to watch dismantle your Wolverines. Tebow or New Bo? Hmmmm.

You find yourself in Orlando, Florida on New Year's Eve. Let me tell you folks, despite the perceived allure of Disneyville...Orlando sucks. The only thing worse than Orlando itself is the god-forsaken stadium in which the game will be played. From 2001:

First, for those that have never made the journey, let me tell you all a little bit about the Citrus Bowl. It is similar to going to a baseball game at old Tiger Stadium. The parking areas are a mix of gravel and grass. Local shops include a drug store, a liquor store, and a pawn shop, and all have bars on the windows. The pagentry of BCS bowl games is missing here. The only thing Citrus available at the Citrus Bowl were small bottles of Tangerine juice, obviously left over from the newly resurrected Tangerine Bowl played a week earlier. The food inside included cheese steak sandwiches, smoked turkey legs, popcorn, and hot dogs. All of the food was of the quality of, in the words of Stephen W., ˜a food stand in a 3rd world country.

Option #2:

West Virginia and Missouri both win. Ohio State goes to Rose Bowl to get dismantled by USC. Illinois goes to Citrus Bowl of the Capital One variety. Michigan goes to the Citrus Bowl of the Champs Sports variety.

Result of option #2:

A fair amount of embarrassment from attending a non-New-Year's-Day Bowl...but let's be honest, is embarrassment really an issue with the 2007 version of the Michigan Wolverines? An ACC opponent, most likely BC or Florida State, will be a better match. Maybe we can finally get revenge for 1991 against FSU. Oh, the intrigue...*yawn*.

You find yourself in Orlando, Florida on December 28th. Let me tell you folks, despite the perceived allure of Disneyville...Orlando sucks. The only thing worse than Orlando itself is the god-forsaken stadium in which the game will be played.

What Do You Do When You Lost to the Team That Lost to Appalachian State?

​I've never been shy in voicing my displeasure with the gameday experience at some of the hallowed Big Ten venues across the midwest. Ross-Ade stadium in West Lafayette has been the butt of many a joke over the years, and truly is a horrible place to travel to from an away fan's perspective. Previous diatribes can be seen here and here. But on another unseasonably warm fall Saturday (damn you Al Gore) Memorial Stadium made a run as worst spot on the Big Ten map. They encompass all aspects of stadium crappiness. Limited seating due to construction....check. Piped in music including such cliched wonders as "For Whom the Bell Tolls"...check. Poorly managed volume control on said music...check. Playing the music until moments before the snap...check. PA announcer that announces first downs for the home team as if gaining ten yards in akin to curing cancer...check. Asshole fans with an unwarranted chip on their shoulders...check. Fans talking shit to their opponent even though it's been 24 years since you defeated them in your own stadium...check. Having to turn your body to see the game action due to poorly designed seating angles...check. And as if that weren't enough, ticket misprints and confusing temporary section numbers led to me not getting to my seat until the 8 minute mark of the 1st quarter, though I arrived at the stadium 20 minutes before kickoff. Well done Champaign. Well done. I'm beginning to believe they didn't take away the Chief because of the inappropriate nature of the practice, but because he couldn't find his way in to your pathetic relic of a football stadium.

So there, I said it. Memorial Stadium = 50,000 Courics.

From a "game itself" perspective, I would like to thank the Illini for the timely penalties, turnovers, and sloppy play that allowed us to overcome having no Mike Hart, half of a Chad Henne, and our own pile of dumb mistakes to come out victorious once again. The 27-17 victory, though not satisfying from the "we played well" angle, was enough for me to smile and laugh at the group of Illini fans that started the game with an "Appalachian State" chant, and was enough to stick it a bit to Ronnie Zook. Zook, though he was fired from the University of Florida, still voted for them to go to the National Championship game last year over Michigan, and was the only Big Ten coach to do so. Dick. Screw you and your illegal recruits. Also, now watching the replay of the game from the ABC broadcast, it's also satisfying from the "I hate Musburger" perspective. His anti-Michigan demeanor makes me like Kirk Herbstreit...and Herbstreit is a Buckeye-loving assclown.

Summing up: Zook=dick, Musberger=with the terrorists, Herbstreit=fruit

A 7pm tailgate is a lot like giving birth. Three full meals. 12 hours of drinking. Cooking, loading, unloading, picture taking, smelling Gar, feeding Cooper....it's all so tiring. But it's worth it, especially when you are riding in and partying with a 40 foot home on wheels. Once again, UMTailgate.com flexed its tailgating muscle with a sophisticated menu, an array of cocktails and beer, and the best damn fans in the Big Ten. God we're good. Thanks to the rest of the five man traveling team for coming along and at no point saying "you brought too much stuff," even though I brought way too much stuff. Hope we can do it again next year. Happy Valley???