We're Kind of a Big Deal

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Saturday by the numbers...

10 lbs of corned beef hash

54 eggs

6 pounds of chicken apple sausage

100 lbs. of grilled Kraft Macaroni and Cheese...which was, by the way, really good

24 lbs. of marinated pork loin

10 lbs. of bacon and kimchee fried rice

...and that's just what came off of the grill.

For the christening of our new tailgate spot and a celebration of 10 years of tailgating these internets, I'd say things went pretty well.  Couple that with the re-dedication of Michigan Stadium, Brock Mealer touching the banner, and Flash Dilithium re-introducing himself to the world...and I'd say the whole damn thing was pretty much perfect.

Thanks go out to Andrew Barnett for setting us up with the people of Kraft, and for all of his hard work making sure we had enough product to go around.  Thanks to Brian and Kevin for turning that Mac and Cheese out by the ton.  Thanks also to big #37 Jarrett Irons for being so accessible, so warm and welcoming, and for spending so much time talking to our group.

Here's the pictures from the Luau tailgate and Michigan's 30-10 victory over the UCONN Huskies:

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese...FOR THE GRILL!

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Exciting news for the tailgate, and for food consumption in general...

Come be a part of tailgating history as we partner up with KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese this weekend. Swing by my new location Saturday and be among the first to try delicious new KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese For the Grill. The first mac & cheese from KRAFT you can make on your grill.

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Tate Forcier Will Start, and 10 Other Things I'm Fairly Certain of for 2010

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By the clock it's gameday eve, and I've just returned from dollar beer nights at Packard Pub, Ann Arbor's newest watering hole.  Slightly faded, but still fired up for what I am hoping will be a great weekend.  Anyway, I've got some thoughts on the season I thought I'd share with you, in no particular order, and without any grammar checking....

1)  Tate Forcier will start Saturday.

For now, this position is about experience.  There's a place for Denard and Devin in this offense.  Both will certainly play.  As the season goes on, depending on our level of success, Denard may start, but Saturday's first series's belong to Tate....until he transfers that is.

2)  The defense will be better than last year

That isn't necessarily saying that the defense itself is going to be better, but by virtue of the offense being improved i.e. less 3 and outs, less turnovers, etc., the defense, at least on paper and on the scoreboard, will be better.

3)  Michigan will rank in the top 10 in the nation in scoring offense

And they're going to need to.

4)  Michigan will beat Michigan State or Ohio State...or both.

Win or lose, I expect us to be competitive in both of these contests.

5)  Michigan will start the season 6-0.

Big East bullshit, Brian Kelly's initial offering, FCS, BGSU, @ the Hoosiers, Little Brother

All no problem.  See you at homecoming, Hawkeyes.

6)  The leading rusher on the team will be Michael Shaw

Anybody else want to relay the "inside information" that Vinny Smith is still limping to me?  I think my mom called to tell me about it this afternoon.  I mean, everybody still says he's gonna play.  He's probably gonna play.  I just think the newly eligible Shaw is gonna play better.

7)  People are going to sneak booze into those suites.

Rules be damned.  If I just dropped a quarter of a million on three years of football games, your gonna have to have a gun....a big gun...to stop me from rolling in with a couple bottles of Belvedere.

8 )  Rich Rodriguez will receive a contract extension after the Wisconsin game, going into Ohio State week.

As I've stated before, they're no going to have him in limbo...that's bad for recruiting.  They'll tack a year or two on to his current deal, right before OSU...because timing is everything

9)  Michigan will play in the Alamo Bowl

See you in San Antonio.

10)  Brock Mealer will walk to the 50 yard line and touch the GO BLUE banner.

And you will choke back tears.

There's a game tomorrow.

GO BLUE!

Realignment!

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I'm pretty excited right now.  Things seem to be falling in to place.  Am I ready?  No.  But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm pretty much a generator and a tent away from the finest offseason in my personal tailgate planning history.  For those in the crew, I couldn't be more excited to see your reaction to our new tailgate home.

And then today the rumors began to swirl about the conference realignment.  Doug Karsh broke the story, confirming the rumors through his personal inside source just after lunch.  We are in a division made up of the three teams of the west: Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska....then add in Sparty and Northwestern.  The Game remains at the end of the season.  I quipped earlier that the end of The Victors will finally make sense.

Everybody wins.  And for those in the "everybody loses" camp, the only way to fix your issues is to have Michigan and Ohio State play every year in the Big Ten Championship Game despite their records, the rest of the conference be damned.

Next year's home schedule is just phenomenal.  The ND night game to start...Nebraska and Ohio State to finish.

But 2012?  Not so great for a traveler like me.  Someone explain to me how to manage @ Nebraska followed by @ Minnesota?  10 years I've been rocking the home and away games, and every year I'm dying for a new stadium.  Never happens.  Now they're going to give me two in two weeks?

I will let the guys with the beer provide the summary.

Anyway, I give the whole thing a great big thumbs up, and it makes me want to be competitive.  This has to work.  This has to work right now.  I don't want to be re-rebuilding when the league is reborn a juggernaut.

Must win.

Two days.  My god...two days.