Lawyers can do anything now-a-days. I guess that $2.5 million buyout wasn't as ironclad as WVU fans made it out to be.
It think there is one person we can thank who made Turner into the NFL caliber long-snapper...Zoltan!
Excellent use of Wayne's World. I don't have speakers at the computer at school, but I recite that entire scene verbatim. Ha!
So, was Tyrone a track man playing football, or a football player who ran track?
I loved watching that Rose Bowl run!!
Buy-out agreements in coaching contracts are really liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are meant to punish the breaching party by making them pay up on agreed upon terms, but they cannot be punitive (excessive that is). Considering size of Beilein's buy-out (much higher than any other coach M considered, or any coach I know of for that matter), WVU probably realized $2.5 Million might not hold up in court and agreed to accept a reasonable amount for the damage they incurred.
Any updates on the new banner?
We USC fans definitely have to bow down to Michigan and its superior long snappers.
"Easy" Eddie Davis! Man, I haven't thought of that guy in forever and a day.
I love how the Rose Bowl always begins during the day and gradually descends into night by the end of the game, well, when the BCS doesn't screw it up.
actually, liquidated damages as punishment is what makes them unconstitutional. you can't force contract performance by threatening a penalty - that's coercion... but the rest of your assessment sounds right...
On that Rose Bowl interview with Moeller - when I heard him at the Bo memorial I thought he was getting old, but I guess he has been a discursive and mumbling public speaker from the get-go.
Are you mental?!? Get the net!!
On the subject of text messaging:
It is a widely known fact that Zoltan, Scourge of Romania (and most of Carpathia too), has taught the Special Team players (also known as the Special One's Special Ones) to communicate via extrasensory perception.
USC, in an effort to keep pace, has started a Happy Hands Club (shameless Napoleon Dynamite reference) with little success to date.
here's a topic for the offseason: injuries...can a guy be more "injury prone" than other guys for specific concrete reasons? my feeling is that injuries are random in nature, not attributable to anything specific. the case i'm pointing to is AP and his draft status. the guy twists an ankle and gets a freak collar bone injury and is labeled "injury prone." Mike hart pulled a hammy early in the year, and he's "injury prone." WTF? am i crazy?
I think certain guys are legitmately "injury prone" because they have degenerative conditions. Mark Prior comes to mind.
However, Hart and AP don't strike me as "injury prone" per se. This is especially true at a position like RB, where you're going to take a beating.
I continued yelling "give it to Wheatley" long after he was gone (like thru 97). I still do when I get back the Big House. I'm not sure most people know who I'm talking about any more. I must confess, I also made a lot of fun of Ed Davis. No particular reason other than he wasn't Wheatley.
It is absolutely possible to be "injury prone" for any number of reasons - a degenerative condition, a lack of flexibility, a playing style that invites greater contact and damage, even a psychological sensitivity to injury. The problem is that the media massively overuses it as a cliche and applies it to any guy who either has been injured a couple of times, is currently injured, or has suffered an injury that negatively impacted his team. Adrian Peterson might be injury prone if there is a structural weakness in his collarbone that will lead to additional breaks, but he is not injury prone just because he broke his collarbone and it made national news.
I love the multiple Felman Malveaux sightings in those Rose Bowl highlights. A classic, seldom-used Michigan #3 WR: Calvin Bell, Carl Tabb, Walter Smith...may all-time favorite though, Yale Van Dyne.
that should read "*my* all-time favorite"
Apropos of nothing: Walter Cross was the worst return man we ever had. Seriously. He was like a tired old dog who didn't want to play frisbee anymore.
ok, sure there are degenerative conditions, but it's not like the media or anyone else for that matter has any medical evidence to show this for any given player. Prior is a good example, but those type of injuries (arm) are unique to baseball pitchers (almost exclusively). I guess i just find it questionable at best to call a guy injury prone after 3-4 years of college ball. 1 freak injury and one loses 8 games. It would be interesting to see how one could quantitatively guage whether a player is actually injury prone or not.
also, what's the story w/ wtka the last few years? they have made bad decesion after bad decesion starting with the Defran hire a few years ago, the Fithian firing, the other PD who left for Milwaukee, and now Shand. the station has totally hit bottom. shand brought absolutely nothing to the table, except a few stories re: hockey. i wonder what got BM upset. and the huge show? what a piece of crap.
hey, no update on the M waxing of MSU in Lax? it was on Comcast local. why is MSu terrible in all but 2 sports?
On Beilein -
It also seems likely that his lawyers were willing to allege breach by WVU. With the relatively quick hiring of Huggins, it wouldn't be entirely unreasonable to guess that the AD had made contact before Beilein said he was leaving (not saying that happened, just that it's possible). Instead of going through the expensive process of defending itself, WVU recognized it would be better off taking what it could get for its foundation instead of giving all that money to the attorneys.
Just some (not so?) wild speculation.
"Injury prone" to me is a slippery thing. It should refer to players that don't play hurt or take longer to return from routine injuries like muscle strains, bruises, etc., rather than a guy like Adrian Peterson, who rushed back from a broken collarbone to play in a bowl game because he knew it was his last college game. That's not injury prone. That's tough. Hart's ankle injury that ruined his sophomore year gets him an "injury prone" label from some, but reinjuring because you played before you were healed shouldn't be a factor. Bottom line: many, perhaps most, football analysts are meatheads without the ability to create original thoughts. Therefore, any QB who moves his feet under pressure has "happy feet" and any RB that misses games for injuries is injury prone.
Also, I met Tyrone Wheatley at football camps back in the day. Never met a more humble and classy person, especially considering he was regarded as the top HS player in Michigan and one of the best in the country at the time. He carried himself as if he was just another guy, rather than the superstar that he was. Thanks for the vids, Brian.
Man, it gets me so pumped hearing that old-school Michigan Replay background music on those Rose Bowl videos.
I also love Wheatley waxing poetic about his "moral dilemma" of owing so much to his o-line.
And, this is purely from the UniWatch freak in me, but did anyone else notice how their uniforms in the Rose Bowl were different from the conventional away uni? Look at the sleeve stripes. They're more akin to the mid-to-late-1970's jerseys, if not exactly the same. With two exceptions. You can see Elvis Grbac and another quarterback seen in the background of the lockerroom scene opted for the loose-sleeved jersey, and were issued the normal-striped jersey. Interesting to see a Michigan team out there with grossly inconsistent jerseys.
Aram, you read Uni Watch? Awesome. I enjoy that site.
Hey guys, I have a request. I'm gonna be coming for the weekend Michigan plays BU in hockey for both of those games, and I want (shit..want doesn't cover it...I need this) to get a couple tickets for the Michigan-Minnesota football game too. Can you guys help me as far as telling me how to go about it and stuff like that. If you can email me (ncardamone34@yahoo.com) with info, any help would be hugely appreciated.
I mena, I may be rooting against you guys in Yost, but you'll have another huge fan in the Big House.
Anyone know what Dave Shand said to get fired? I know he had been critical of Amaker in his final days. I find it bizarre because he usually was a big time Michigan slappy, to the point where it actually annoyed me.
What a joke.
@Nick:
Tix for a game against Minny should be pretty easy (and cheap) to find from scalpers. Just walk around the MUnion in the morning or anywhere on State St. right before game time. Notwithstanding the Li'l Brown Jug, Minny is one of those B10 teams that Michigan fans don't get up for (see: Indiana, Northwestern).
ughh, leon hall didn't fall to my brownies.
Go Bengals and go Leon. Trade up and get Branch and Harris as a package deal! Yes.
I cannot believe Branch hasn't been taken yet. This is total insanity. Its clearly looking like he should've come back next year, which would have really solidified our d-line. Argh!
Brady Quinn should've won the Heisman!!!!!
What a bunch of morons!!! They picked that Louisville guy and a DT who didn't even play a full season. F@#$ing insane. Sick and tired of having to listen to Kiper hammer in the fact that Branch underachieved, even though all the clips that he had of Branch showed Branch kicking ass!!!
I was hoping Branch would end up with a decent team like the Bears or Patriots or the Colts, but about the only worse team he could have landed on than Arizona is Detroit.
The only good thing about it from Branch's perspective is that it offers his family in N.M. the chance to see him play home games in Arizona. Otherwise, it looks like Branch may have cost himself a lot of money by coming out early. If it's true that he was in lousy shape for the combines, then he screwed up completely.
And why would Arizona have picked another DT? Does this mean that Watson is a bust? And if it does, the natural thing would have been to avoid another Michigan guy. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but then that's Arizona.
And again, the Buckeyes have more people picked in the first round than us. It probably doesn't matter all that much in the cosmic scheme of things, but arrrrrrgh anyhow.
That's crap. The Buzzsaw fall ass backwards into a great DT. I hope Branch busts ass and proves the morons wrong yet again. Seriously, the biggest difference between the '05 and '06 defense was Taylor/Branch instead of Massey/Watson. Ugh.
I think scouts pretty much said 'screw the Big Ten' with Branch....and the 46 SEC guys taken in the 1st round.
"Seriously, the biggest difference between the '05 and '06 defense was Taylor/Branch instead of Massey/Watson. Ugh."
Absolutely 100% dead on correct. Was there ever a more underachieving DL duo for Michigan than Massey/Watson?
One of the biggest mysteries in the history of Michigan football to me is how a D-lineman who was 6'-8" managed to knock down only about three total passes in his career. You'd think he would have knocked down that many in a game by accident.
That's why I was so disappointed (though not surprised) that Branch came out. He had a good season overall, but wasn't much of a factor in the last two games. I think he had a bit more to prove. But with everyone telling him he was a top 5 pick, I guess it would be natural for him to go for the big $$.
Why no mention in this blog of Alex Legion's commitment to Kentucky?
SEC sent 11 in the 1st, with a whole lot more comming in years to come. ACC's top two had an uncharacteristic draft year and tied the Big Ten with 6. You know Miami and FSU will bounce back....but uh...Ohio State and Michigan? I saw Eugene Clifford and Donovan Warren this year...Brandon Graham last year....not much. The Big Ten seriously looks like it's going to have to adapt to Zook's recruiting tactics if it doesn't want to become considered in the same breath as the Big East.
Hmm....Big 10 will be who they are... an extremely good conference. Hawk, Edwards, YOuboty, Holmes, Mangold, Hall, David BAss, Greenway,Joe Thomas, Maroney...to name few were at the max 4 star recruits who were outside the top 100 in both the sites!!!...so yeah they were not the "Uber Fast Talent" that the SEC usually recruits, but our kids can hold their own ground!!
I think everyone is sick of hearing about legion, including me.
The Big Ten doing what now? It's all perception, rather than fact. Branch's stats are visible to all who'd care to check the UFR. And the work of D-linemen is the most obvious of all the defensive positions, because of the proximity to the quarterback who gets followed by the camera for the vast majority of the play. The results of this phenomenon lead to guys like Jamarcus Russell being taken first overall, a guy whose comparables according to Football Outsiders are "Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Michael Vick, David Carr, Joey Harrington, Alex Smith." Russell has similar issues as Branch supposedly does but while those are evident on the field, Branch's aren't actually visible. Alas!
At least the Lions didn't screw up for once.
I watched the damn combine and Russell was the one who was fat and did absolutely nothing. He ran a very avg time (mid 4.8) at his pro-day, with a very laid back attitude. But he is from SEC so he has to be good right?? Pheww..hope he does good, but he is the biggest "Boom or Bust" prospect in this draft and there is a good chance he will set the Raiders back by 4 years and a few mills!!
isn't it true that QBs in the draft have not only the highest variance, but highest failure rate wrt productivity? something like 7 out of the last 9 #1 overall picks have been qbs, but who have been successes?
Woodson, Wheatley, you know who to showcase to complete this youtube trifecta of tributes. The incomparable...James Whitley.
There should be a 9 minute clip of all the muffed punt returns somewhere on the net.
As a Jets and Michigan fan, I obviously love the David Harris selection. Granted, the Jets have traded away virtually their entire slew of draft choices to get Revis and Harris, I still think they made the right moves on Day 1.
Grade: B
Also, I live in Tennessee, deep in the heart of SEC country.
I try and get out of the hoopla regarding SEC vs Big Ten politics, but I saw JaMarcus in person this year and when he is playing his 'A' game, there is no one better.
The SEC is a great conference. The Big Ten is an equally great conference and I think the majority of America would agree that aside from the ACC these two conferences truly cultivate and determine the landscape of college football on a yearly basis.
Jeremy H- James Whitley... muffed punt returns, terrible secondary coverage, boneheaded awareness on the field... and another W to go with him- WEED!
I'm royally pissed the Lions passed on Harris.
Millen only likes undersized and injury-prone linebackers.
how much $$$ do you think branch cost himself by leaving early?
Darren Rovell (via Deadspin) said Quinn lost 17 million by going to the 22nd pick. So I'm guessing Branch lost at least that much (probably more) since he was figured to be a top 5-10 pick and fell to the beginning of the second round.
I read this somewhere, last year VY, the third overall, had 22 mil in guaranteed money (early 50s total) and Manny Lawson, the 22nd pick, had and overall contract of only 8 something mil. so yeah he lost out on a shit load, Branch must be getting something in the range of 3-4 mil for a 4-5 year contract.....
it's possible that if Branch stayed, he would be playing not to get hurt. Senioritis if you will. Plus Glenn Dorsey comes out next year...and he'd definetly go behind him.
QBs make more, so the VY number would be higher than something Branch would get, but I'd guess at least 10 million in guaranteed money.
Going in the 2nd round isn't worth leaving early, he would've been a top 10 pick next year with a season similar to the one he just had. There's be a lot less questions about his motor if he had the same kind of dominance again.
Wow ... That's what it looks like to win a Rose Bowl, I'd forgotten.
This is the best situation for Alan Branch. He has showed conclusively that he can take over for Gabe Watson. Just watch him unseat Gabe and obliterate QBs.
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