February 21, 2016

Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble: Maryland 86. Michigan 82

February 21, 2016/ The Webmaster

I don't know what I was expecting out of the Wolverines today, but I know what I was expecting out of a Maryland team that had dropped their last two: their absolute best. And that might have been what we saw, arguably the best starting five in the country bringing their A-game, in which case we can continue to hope. Maybe the stark reality of Caris not returning is finally kicking in. No where to go. No one to lean on. Walton and Irvin need to lead. Donnal needs to be what he was today, crafty and scrappy. Someone needs to come off that bench every game the rest of the way like Kameron Chatman did today. Hit threes. Win.

It's been a season of extreme's, as we find ourselves either pleasantly surprised or greatly disappointed depending on the team that shows up. Some ugly wins, but (until tonight) not a lot of feel good losses...if there is such a thing. We're caught in limbo, bitching about Beilein and his foul policies one minute, and wondering how he masterfully makes this youth-filled rag tag bunch competitive the next. A text message I received when the Wolverines took the lead said "I am convinced Beilein is a witch." Another said "if he doesn't take Doyle out right now he should be fired." Extremes. And that was how the game went today. Amazingly competitive with everybody playing bigger and better than they are one minute, completely inept and scared the next, falling victims to dribble penetration again and again and again. They were a little more of the former though, showing a fortitude that has been lacking in the other losses they've had this year. They hung tough with whatever version of Maryland this was before falling 86-82.

Pretty sure the Wolverines need to win their remaining three games to lock in that tourney bid, a tall order considering how Wisky seems to finally be getting it together, and that our final game is against Iowa. I think two out of three would require a not-early exit from the B1G tourney. Seth Davis played carnival barker at halftime, reminding the nation (and the selection committee) how the Big Ten shit the bed in the non-conference and claimed that 5 should be all that make it. Hard to argue. Their not going to take OSU, Wisconsin and us to make 8 that's for sure, and we just got our asses handed to us in Columbus, making next Sunday night's affair in Madison all the more important...meanwhile not sleeping on Chris Collins and the Wildcats on Wednesday.

February 20, 2016

I Fixed Notre Dame

February 20, 2016/ The Webmaster

By which I mean I fixed the pictures, posts, and historical information contained herein. I did not fix the University of Notre Dame, its football program, that Brian Kelly is a dick, or the sad fact that he killed a kid.

We never got to say a proper goodbye to Notre Dame. The series ended by their hand through a rude passing of a note from their AD to our "DB" right before a kickoff a season prior. It's chronicled well in Endzone, so go read all about it there. We were a little scatterbrained as the series ended in South Bend with one of the worst losses in Michigan history. We went right to commencing our fanbase mission to rid Schembechler Hall of Hoke and Brandon, and forgot to even flip a bird on the way out of town.

So in the interest of closure, I present the best of the photographic evidence of the 13 matchups over the 16 seasons of UMTailgate.com:

2002: Notre Dame 25, Michigan 23: It was the first time I was invited to the "Party at the Godfather's," and the first time he provided T-shirts. It was also the beginning of the "curse of the shirt." The curse states that a loss often occurs whenever you purchase a shirt that depicts a game prior to that game actually occurring, a rule constantly broken by The Godfather.

2003: Michigan 38, Notre Dame 0: First tailgate managed out of the apartment complex where Daniel Horton choked his girlfriend, and clearly one of the most egregious overfills of a shitty coleman tailgate grill. A clear case of professional ideas on amateur equipment.

2004 Notre Dame 28 - Michigan 20: Back at the Godfather's for another party, another shirt, and another loss. I am not sure why The Godmother got dressed in a bandana and sunglasses, but all I can see are Shane's manly FROSTED TIPS.

2005 Notre Dame 17 - Michigan 10 : These fellas were just starting to fall in love.

2006: Michigan 47 - Notre Dame 21 : One of my favorite wins. Nothing better than dominating as an underdog on the road. Also, huge turning point for these programs here as the 5 seasons after this one would see the worst combined Michigan and ND records in history. <--That's an educated guess, but I'm pretty sure.

2007: Michigan 38 - Notre Dame 0 : Love this family pic, they haven't aged a bit. Also, the team that lost to Appalachian State beat Notre Dame 38-0.

2008: Notre Dame 35 - Michigan 17 : Rich Rod's first trip to Notre Dame ends badly. Above, three old dudes wearing glasses. Weird thing is, Godfather doesn't wear glasses.

2009: Michigan 38 - Notre Dame 34 : Tate had one of his only good moments before bottoming out to make room for the Denardening. We had an embedded reporter at the Luau tailgate and a vegetarian broke down and had a baby back rib. This was the season between the golf course and Pioneer, when we squeezed in to our little lot on Snyder. Miss you Craig!

2010: Michigan 28 - Notre Dame 24 : Wow, we won there twice? Had to look it up to make sure it wasn't a misprint. Yep, Denard had over 500 yards of total offense. Above, I am the lost Goodell brother.

2011 Michigan 35 - Notre Dame 31 : The first night game in Michigan Stadium history did not disappoint. Actually, that's not true. That game was a battle of ineptness for 3 1/2 quarters, and a heart attack maker the rest of the way, particularly the last 2 minutes. But a marathon tailgate, and about the best the two of us (above) looked all day...must have been early.

2012 Notre Dame 13 - Michigan 6 : It was wet and slippery and we had like 10 turnovers.

2013 Michigan 41 - Notre Dame 30 : Under The Lights 2 went well other than the fact that I was overserved, sprained an ankle and cracked my kneecap, and watched the bulk of the game through teary eyes. But Beyonce by video message!

2014 Notre Dame 31 - Michigan 0 : I have literally 4 pictures from this day. This is the best one. We got housed. Fire everybody.

Buh bye Fighting Irish! We'll always have the chicken dance. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Harbaugh is going to make you play us again, so there's that.

Go Blue!

February 19, 2016

What's Up This Weekend, 2/19/16

February 19, 2016/ The Webmaster

Pitchers and catchers have reported ya'll

Friday, 2/19/16

M Hockey vs. Ferris at Yost, 7:35P

Saturday, 2/20/16

M Baseball vs. Canisius in Port St. Lucie 11:00A & 2:00P
M Softball vs. Va Tech in Talahassee 12:00P
M WBasketball vs. Penn State at Crisler 12:00P

Sunday, 2/21/16

M Softball vs. Va Tech in Talahassee 10:00A
M Baseball vs. Canisius in Port St. Lucie 11:00A
M Basketball at Maryland 1:00P

For the sophistacated among us, here's a guide to the best beers to pair with girl scout cookies.
Back in the day (way back, like 1904), when dusk hit and there were no lights, and uniforms were similar between teams...you could sneak over to the other team's side and smoke the quarterback.
Phil Steele has Michigan #7 in his iteration of the "way too early" top teams in college football. The expectations are getting our of hand folks. We play the top 3 teams in the Big Ten on the road this year. And it seems we're trying to skip over the journey and just land at the ultimate destination. At the current hype rate, by the time we reach kickoff in September we'll be in a situation where if Michigan only wins the National Championship and doesn't blow out the runner-up, it will be a disappointment. Relax. Let's have some fun.
I like to discuss children over a large draft beer, so here's the recruiting roundup from Maize and Brew.
Deep details of Wednesday's drubbing in Columbus. Not looking forward to being nervous on selection Sunday. Lack of depth, lack of Caris, shots not falling...pick your poison.
Minny either guaranteed the Terps will be focused on Saturday, or stole the thunder of our potential upset with their win last night. Terps fans were pissed (and funny).
We've hired Devin Bush Sr, father of a commit, coach of some others, as a defensive analyst. Read the following in the cadence of The Talking Heads: You may ask yourself, what is a defensive analyst? No idea, but it looks like he'll shift to some recently vacated spot. You may ask yourself, can Michigan keep hiring coaches of commits? Yes, because coaches keep leaving for better jobs after just briefly brushing up against the greatness of Harbaugh. Into the blue again. After the money's gone. Once in a lifetime. Water flowing underground.

February 18, 2016

Throwback Thursday Takes Requests

February 18, 2016/ The Webmaster

After last week's Iowa menu post, C97 made a comment remarking on the old message board, which got me digging. I mean, despite the lackluster performance of this site the last few years (I blame RichRod) it really has a deep history that goes all the way back to the 2000 season. Below you'll find my favorite header, which adorned the top of our page from 2002-2005.

And yes, there was a message board. And it was glorious in its simplicity and anonymity. You could basically post as anyone, no logins needed, so you might find posts by Kirby Puckett or Billy Packer. Hmmmm...maybe we need a new message board. Anyway, it looked like this: