I Did Not Enjoy That

I felt that coming the whole time.  And I'm not the only one.  The doom was palpable in Crisler, with every missed free throw, with every missed lay in, with every missed opportunity, there was a growing sense that the other shoe was going to drop...perhaps not off the glass and in...but drop nonetheless.

Even more unfortunate is that I am completely numb to shit like that these days.  Yep, I'm a little dissappionted, but certainly not shocked.  I've seen 3-9.  You can't phase me. 

And this season is far from over.  We needed that one, but we didn't NEED that one.  And tournament or not, what has been accomplished here with the hand that has been dealt is special.  I'm a Beilein fan, and that's something I've never said before.  The future is bright, and as for the present, there is only one thing I want....a sweep of the Angry Midget's Minions.

Thanks to my old friend Mischa for the tickets, and to Cooper for the halftime upgrade.  I took horrible pictures...but I will share them anyway.  Denard sighting!

Weekend Roundup, 2012 Edition: February 7, 2011

Again, those who can't do, link:

• Michigan State lost to Wisconsin 82-56 on Sunday.  This guy in my office tells me they played much better than they did when they played Iowa.  I almost didn't hear his analysis because I was laughing so hard.  But I do have this MSU blog that I trust, and he said the same thing, so ya, maybe.
• Tate started visiting schools today.  Kansas State and Miami are on the list, but none of that compares to the update made to Tate's homepage, where a photoshopped Yoda-Bo and Tate Skywalker discuss Tate's transfer.  No, seriously.

• Though this article in AnnArbor.com seems to insinuate otherwise, I believe that the current staff was happy to reach out to former players.  I do, however, believe that there were a lot of players that refused to reciprocate.
• Phil Simms came close to cleaning Desmond Howard's clock on Saturday in an attempt to defend his son whom Howard called "one of the worst quarterbacks in the SEC."  Desmond broke the story on twitter...very 2011 of him.  Follow him: @desmond_howard.  Follow me: @umtailgate.
• Rittenburg rates Michigan's 2011 recruiting class.
• MGoBlog covers the 2012 offensive recruiting hotlist.
• Brady was in the barbershop and the townspeople asked if he plans to run a man-to-man or zone defense.  An eighty year old man suggested that "zone was the only thing that worked in the past."  Another person said that if Jimmy switches to Terhune then we haven't got a prayer.  Looks like we are going with the 4-3.

Big Chill Pics

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

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!

Weekend Roundup: August 23, 2010

​It's becoming pretty clear that QB1 is not Tate's job to lose anymore.  However, Tate spoke this weekend and I gotta say, if his actual maturity level is anywhere near the maturity level he's been coached into portraying, he's going to be a tremendous leader.  He's saying all the right things:

I got a big head. ... The thing I learned after last year was to be humble. It's such a big jump. It would be hard for any freshman to come in here and do that. You're not just at any university. You're at Michigan. It's Michigan. That's why I came here. It's Michigan. It's different. It's the top stage for everything. It was hard for me to handle last year, and I learned from mistakes.

And regarding Troy Woolfolk...

I stop by his..room every day.  Every since that day he called me out I feel I’m obligated to show him, show the rest of the seniors, that I’m all in on this team and it’s all about Michigan.

Getting a little bit fired up over here.  It's like 11 days away people.

The huge Media Day post over at MGoBlog will take care of all of your interview needs from the weekend, and Maize and Brew provides a nice summary of the scrimmage.

Meanwhile....in Columbus...

Everybody's favorite Buckeye (who was ineligible in 2002, just like the Reggie Bush situation, but nobody did anything about it for some reason so OSU got to keep their tainted-by-bullshit-interference-call national title) Maurice Clarett, who is currently taking classes at OSU, is planning to try out for the Omaha Nighthawks.  We wish the best to Mo in his continuing quest to get his goose on.

I told you last week that the Troy Woolfolk thing was no big deal, Maize and Blog gives you 5 more reasons why you shouldn't worry.

Prepare yourself for this year's first theme with this Inception-remixed trailer for Caddyshack.