Before I shut down my computer for the night (and the year) I wanted to give a Happy New Year shout out to all of our readers. In June, when T9 asked me to get involved with "her little project" I had no idea that I would become as addicted to this process as I have become. A special thanks to her for not allowing the MZone community die without a fight. Each red dot on this map represents at least one of you guys and gals. It is pretty awesome when you think about it. I appreciate your participation, even if it is only to come and anonymously giggle at what goes on here. I greatly enjoy the virtual neighborhood we all have created (yes... even the buckeye fans) and I look forward to having as much fun (and maybe a few more wins) in 2009.
Be safe tonight.
I will post a Sparty Bowl Game Open Thread tomorrow.
Following up with the NY Times story on college football recruitment of Texas star Jamarkus McFarland, I thought it was important to do some more research on the alleged recruiting hostesses at Louisiana State University.
According to highly reliable sources inside the NY Times, which were obtained while one of their reporters was reading an english term paper from a New Orleans high school, there is a highly competitive LSU Recruiting Squad on the Baton Rouge campus. This important and highly sought after team is only available for attractive young women looking to contribute to the LSU football program and are willing to get freaky when needed.
According to my inside sources, No experience is necessary, but it is helpful to get the verbal commitment and Letter of Intent signed.
When asked about the existence and benefits of such a team, LSU head football coach Les Miles said "I don't think talent in and of itself is the reason why you win championships. We may have a DAMN FINE football team here now, but in order for us to compete in the S.E.C. we need to use our DAMN FINE young ladies to attract DAMN FINE recruits..."
This edition of Wallpaper Wednesday celebrates the improbable NFL playoff spot for Chad Henne and Jake Long with the Miami Dolphins. Their new team went from a league worst 1-15 to 11-5 and a Division Championship.While Chad did not have much to do with the Dolphin's stunning turnaround season -- Jake Long sure did.
I took this photo from my seat at Michigan Stadium during the famous 2004 M/MSU game. I am sure that Henne was looking at Braylon Edwards as he pulled away from center.
Here is the final NFL regular season update on former Wolverines:
• Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Steve Breaston grabbed five passes for 91 yards and one touchdown. He passed the 1,000 receiving yards milestone in only his second season in the NFL. He had a career-high 77 passes for 1,006 yards and three touchdowns this season. Not bad for a skinny kid drafted to return punts.
• Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall and linebacker Dhani Jones registered a team-high eight tackles during a 16-6 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Hall finished the season with a career-high 75 tackles and three interceptions (returning one pick for his first career touchdown). Jones led the Bengals with 116 tackles, six tackles for loss and one interception during the 2008 season.
• New York Giants WRs Mario Manningham and Amani Toomer each had 2 catches as the Giants lost a meaningless game to the Vikings.
• Cleveland Browns WR Braylon Edwards only had one catch for 5 yards, as the Browns season came to a merciful end. The Browns failed to score an offensive touchdown in their last 6 games.
• Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Woodson had three tackles and one interception in a 31-21 victory over the hapless Detroit Lions. Woodson amassed 62 tackles, seven interceptions and two touchdowns this season.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Cato June posted a season-high nine tackles during a 31-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders.
• Twelve former Michigan players on NFL playoff rosters: Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers Larry Foote and LaMarr Woodley. Miami Dolphins backup quarterback Chad Henne and offensive tackle Jake Long. New York Giants wide receivers Mario Manningham and Amani Toomer. Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Alan Branch, wide receiver Steve Breaston and defensive tackle Gabe Watson. Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant and offensive tackle Jon Runyan. Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl offensive guard Steve Hutchinson.
The New York Times ran a story on Christmas Day about the recruiting of Texas high school football star (and soon to be Oklahoma Sooner) Jamarkus McFarland.
I know I have said this before, but this story illustrates why I can't stomach paying close attention to college football recruiting. It perfectly encapulates the circus atmosphere that the recruiting process has become.
Here is the basic story: Jamarkus is a gifted football player, excellent student, and a pretty good kid. He has a very strong bond with his mother and grandmother. He is faced a choice between Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, and USC. He visits all four schools, some of them more than once. Has numerous face to face, phone, and email contact with coaches. It is a tough choice. He selects Oklahoma.
It is the details that make me want to puke:
Mom on the long term process: “Texas went to sleep in the summertime in recruiting J-Mac, When they went to sleep, Oklahoma woke up.”
Jamarkus wrote an English paper on a party he attended at the Texas/OU game in Dallas: “I will never forget the excitement amongst all participants... Alcohol was all you can drink, money was not an option. Girls were acting wild by taking off their tops, and pulling down their pants. Girls were also romancing each other. Some guys loved every minute of the freakiness some girls demonstrated. I have never attended a party of this magnitude....The attitude of the people at the party was that everyone should drink or not come to the party. Drugs were prevalent with no price attached.”
Jamarkus on an OU party: “Drinks were plentiful, but not to the extent they were (at the Dallas party)... Some people were tipsy, but in control of themselves....Some people who attend the University of Oklahoma seem to represent different values than some people who attend the University of Texas.”
Mom on Les Miles: “He was very dry” She was further turned off by L.S.U. when she saw hostesses sitting on the laps of recruits. Ohhh MY.
Texas Coach Mack Brown: “Whose house do you like better, Bob Stoops’s, Les Miles’s or mine?”. Mack Brown's house has flatscreen TVs in every room, including the bathrooms.
Jamarkus on Oklahoma when he was ready to choose Texas: “There ain’t nothing to do at Oklahoma except football” His Mom stopped him from announcing.
Mack Brown email to Mom: “It is obvious that the recruiting has put a strain on your relationship, JaMac wants Texas, and Mom wants OU. We want you to still come to Texas, but we are going to slow our process down because you two need some time to get on the same page. We do not want players at Texas if everyone isn’t on the same page.”
Mom: “This isn’t about J-Mac anymore, It’s about O.U. versus Texas. It shouldn’t be that way.”
Mom about Texas rumors of gifts: “It’s been made known that enough income would flow through where I would be good for a while”
Jamarkus to his Mom: “I hate this now, I really do, simply because of the pressure.”
Jamarkus to OU defensive line coach, Jackie Shipp: “I want you to coach me for the next four years... Isn’t that what you wanted for Christmas?"
The Texas spin control and media fallout of this story is just beginning.
The Michigan hockey team ended years of Sparty induced holiday depression last night at Joe Louis Arena. They won their second Great Lakes Invitational in a row, but more importantly they beat Michigan State to do it. Those pesky hockey Spartans had beaten us for the MacInnes Cup the last five times we played in the GLI final (97, '98, '99, 04 and 06). Michigan has now won the GLI 13 times, most of any school in the event history.
Sophomore (and future Ottawa Senator) Louie Caporusso was chosen the Tournament MVP highlighted by the natural hat trick he scored in the first period of a 5-0 semifinal victory over Michigan Tech on Saturday. Michigan defensemen Chad Langlais and Chris Summers and goaltender Bryan Hogan were also named to the All-Tourney team.
And oh yeah - Mark Dantonio: This only counts as one.
“Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways”
~ Stephen Vincent Benet
It is finally over.
My personal nightmare called the 2008 football season is over. Michigan delivers 3 wins. The Detroit Lions end the season winless. I need some serious healing, so I am turning to the future Mrs. Tom Brady to start the process. Warning: you all better be nice to me going forward, or I will start cheering for YOUR favorite football team next season.
Not many people remember the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They were an expansion team with castoffs from every other NFL team and wore those awful orange uniforms. Steve Spurrier was their QB and John McKay was their coach. McKay had been the coach at USC where he led the Trojans to four National Championships and two Heisman Trophies in 15 years. After turning down multiple NFL opportunities, he was lured to Tampa Bay to become the Buccaneers' first head coach. The root of his motivation was cash, $2M per year in 1976 was a lot of money... and the prospect of building a franchise from the ground up. His Buccaneers lost all 14 of their games in 1976 and lost their first 12 games of 1977 before finally winning a game against the New Orleans Saints. Since that time, no NFL team has ever gone through an entire season without winning a game.
Today in Wisconsin -- all that can change. The 2008 Detroit Lions are on the brink of history. There have been eight different teams since 1976 that have only won one game (including the Dolphins from last year). I am confident the Lions can avoid becoming #9. The Packers are bad, but this Detroit Lions team is something else. The Lions have lost 17 consecutive road games against Green Bay, dating to December 1991 which was two weeks before the official end of the Soviet Union. The last time the Lions won at Lambeau Field Jason Hanson was a senior at Washington State -- and Hanson has been with the team for 17 YEARS!!!! QB Dan Orlovsky was eight years old. NFL Films has tripled its camera staff for this game. I am surprised it was not "flexed" into a prime time slot. The only good news coming out of Detroit this week is that ticket prices won't be raised for next season. Wow.
As I Lions fans, I am torn. One part of me wants them to win. Another part of me wants this 0-16 season. It will define absolute rock bottom for the franchise. Nothing but up from here. The worse thing is.... those 1976 Bucs were an expansion team in their first year of existence -- The Lions have been around since the Great Depression. The Lions haven't had a winning season since 2000 and are about to finish off the NFL's worst eight-year run of losing since 1950. It's pretty sad that it's come to this.
The team may not be headed to a bowl game, but the coaches went to one...
As I was watching the final couple of minutes of the Motor City Bowl tonight I noticed some familiar faces on the sidelines. I grabbed a quick frame when I realized that both Rich Rodriguez and Calvin Magee were watching Florida Atlantic beat Central. At first it did not make any sense... and then I read T9's comment in this weeks NFL update. Central Michigan Head Coach Butch Jones spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons as an assistant coach under Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia University. I think that might also be Tony Dews may also be standing to Magee's left.
Watching this game reminded me too much of the 2008 Michigan football season and strangely elevated my blood pressure a little. The spread offensive attack is so dependent on a QB to make the right decisions and right plays. CMU QB Dan LeFevour is about 10,000% times better at running the offense than either Steven Threet or Nick Sheridan. Looking back, how we won 3 games this year is a miracle.
In the whirl wind of christmas activity -- I forgot to do the weekly Wolverines in the NFL update: • Cincinnati Bengals CB Leon Hall scored his first career touchdown when he intercepted a pass in front of former teammate Braylon Edwards and returned it 50 yards to the endzone -- helping the Bengals shut out the Cleveland Browns, 14-0. Hall intercepted three passes in the game, his only interceptions this season.
• Browns WR Braylon Edwards did make four catches and 35 receiving yards in the losing effort to the Bengals. The Browns offense makes the Baby Jesus cry.
• Philadelphia Eagles WR Jason Avant made 2 catches in a tough loss at Washington.
• Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl CB Charles Woodson had another interception and returned it 22 yards to set up a crucial fourth quarter field goal, but the Packers managed to lose the Chicago Bears in overtime, 20-17. I am hoping they will just stay rolled over for the Lions on Sunday.
• Pittsburgh Steelers LB Larry Foote made a season best six tackles during a 31-14 loss to the Tennessee Titans. SI cover boy LaMarr Woodley added 3 tackles.
• Arizona Cardinals DT Gabe Watson made a career high eight tackles as the Cardinals dropped a 47-7 decision to the New England Patriots. Cardinal WR Steve Breaston only had one catch in the game.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers FB B.J. Askew crossed the goal line for the second time of his career, scoring on a one-yard carry in a 41-24 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
• New York Jets kicker Jay Feely converted a 20-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, the 200th field goal of his NFL career. Jets LB David Harris made four tackles to reach the 200+ career tackles in only his second season. Jets CB Ty Law made 3 tackles. The Jets lost to the Seahawks.
• New York Giants WR Amani Toomer did not let his car insurance lapse or have his home searched by police, but he did have 2 catches against the Panthers. His Giants secured playoff home field advantage with the win.
Wishing all our readers a holiday season filled with health, light, and love. Please post where on our big blue marble you are celebrating the true meaning of this holiday: Peace on Earth and Good Will Towards Men.
Nice job by T9 on the Hawaii / Notre Dame preview. Since we didn't make it to our own bowl game - it is fun to check in with some of our friends to see how they are enjoying their travel experiences.
It looks like Charlie needs to apply a little for sun screen to his face, it is getting a little bit red. Remember: the rays in Hawaii are a lot more dangerous than in South Bend Big Fella.
Also it is good to see that he is starting his New Years Resolution diet early. Nothing but fruit and veggies going forward.
The 7-6 Warriors from Hawai'i play Fat Charlie's (6-6) boys on Christmas Eve in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl at Aloha Stadium. Kick off is at 8pm Eastern on ESPN. That's 3pm Hawaiian. I figure that we know all that we care to about The Domers --but Greg McMackin's team??? Not so much.
This is not your 12-0 Hawai'i team of yore. No Colt Brennan. No June Jones. Colt graduated and June Jones left the rock to go to Southern Methodist University (of NCAA death penalty fame) and defensive coordinator Greg McMackin became the head coach. Love his last name. Reminds me of another famous Hawaiian.....
So let's find out about these Warriors. I was at the Michigan v. Hawaii game at Aloha Stadium in 1998, and I can tell you that Aloha Stadium is super cool brah. The 2007 Hawaiian squad went 5-2 at home and for the season won games against Weber State (36-17), Fresno State (32-29 OT), La Tech (24-14), Nevada (38-31), New Mexico State (42-30), and Idaho (49-17) to finish second in the WAC--behind Boise State.
Hawai'i owns this bowl, appearing in 2002, '03, '04, and '06 winning all of them except the first. Weird fact: ND last traveled to a Hawaiian bowl when it appeared in the Aloha Bowl in 1984 which they lost to SMU (June Jones' new school...). ND and Hawai'i have met twice before and ND won in both 1991 and 1997. The third time's da charm brah. Beat ND, yah.
ESPN scouts this game and doesn't even talk about Hawai'i. Shocking ND-favoritism. The only reason to go check out their site is to see their comparison charts matching the almost identical stats for each team in total yards, rushing yards, passing yards, and points scored. I'll get to the details in a minute, but one of the BEST things about the Hawai'ian Warriors is their pre-game Ha'ka. Check it out.
Unfortunately, the Sugar Bowl refs and the WAC penalized them for unsportsmanlike conduct for performing the Ha'ka prior to last year's game. Hopefully the home-town crew will look the other way this year.
On the offense: The Warriors are led by QB Greg Alexander, a JuCo transfer junior from Santa Rosa CA and the WAC offensive player of the week back in October for his performance against Nevada. His numbers are solid, completing about 64% of his passes and tossing 12 TDs. Their other QB, Inoke Funaki, also a junior, completed 56% of his passes, but threw to the other guys 12 times.... doh! Their preferred receivers are Greg Salas and Michael Washington. Salas, the "X" receiver wearing #1, is a sophmore receiver out of Chino, CA and Washington is the senior out of Aliquippa, PA who also returns punts and kickoffs. More importantly, Washington's 3rd cousin is Ty Law!!! On the ground for the Warriors, keep your eyes on Daniel Libre and Kealoha Pilares. Each averages about 4-5 yards per carry, scoring 6 and 5 rushing TDs respectively.
On the defense: Linebacker Solomon Elimimian was the WAC's co-defensive player of the year. The guy averages 10.9 tackles per game, and I'm betting he becomes Jimmah's new-best friend. As Andy's son would say: BEAST! A senior out of Compton in LA, this dude takes no prisoners. Oh, and he's an academic all-WAC team member as well. Look for him on Sundays. Another guy Jimmah should be a'scared of is David Veikune off the left end. WatchRyan Mouton too. He returned a pick for 91 yards this season against Nevada. He also returns kicks and averages 21.4 yards per return. He housed one for 90 yards this season too.
Although still a run-and-shoot offense, Hawai'i hasn't really been lighting up the score board. Nor have they shut down too many opponents. In their defense, they did play 4 ranked teams this season: No. 5 Florida, at No. 22 Fresno State, at No. 15 Boise State, and No. 13 Cinncinati. (pre-emptive strike: that's more than we can say...) Hawai'i's special teams are very solid and have blocked 3 FGs this season. I think that their special teams will make a game changing impact.
With game time temperatures in the low 70s and a boat load of jet-lag for the Irish, I'm calling this one in favor of the Warriors, 38-23. Making a perfect 10 losses in bowl games! As an aside, Mike Haywood, ND's offensive co-ordinator will be the new head coach at Miami (OH). This makes Haywood the 7th black head coach (Ron English was #6) in the FBS and the third one in the MAC........And, it also means that Fat Charlie is callin' the plays. I can't stop giggling! To quote one of MGoBlog Brian's favorite expressions (with the help of Avenue Q and Sponge Bob): SCHADENFREUDE
And, dear reader, I would be completely remiss if I did not end this post with some happy healing images from Hawai'i---particularly given the weather in the upper Midwest......
I am just going to mail it in this week for Wallpaper Wednesday. I thought about doing a Mark Dantonio Grinch thing, but I just could not make it work in time.
I have a special Detroit Lions wallpaper I will put up after Christmas - but this week I decided to keep it simple and traditional. This one looks very cool on my computer screen.
Merry Christmas. Happy Hanaka. Joyous Kwanzaa. Go Blue.
It helps explain why I was in so much pain this fall. It helps explain why everything I know about college football was turned upside down. It helps explain why my beloved Michigan football team only won 3 games last season. It wasn't that our QB was putrid and our line offensive.
It all makes sense now...
THEY HAD ALL OF OUR PLAYS !!!!
Some guy in Alabama is selling a RICH RODRIGUEZ SPREAD OPTION FOOTBALL PLAYBOOK PACKAGE on ebay. For only $21.99 you can purchase a CD with the entire spread option playbook from the 1999 Clemson Tigers (110 pages) and the 2002 and 2005 West Virginia Mountaineers (226 pages and 158 pages). Everything you need is here. It makes perfect sense now !!!!
He even describes the package like this: "This package is great for ... coaches who want to get an edge on the competition."
The cause for our 2008 train-wreck is now crystal clear. For less than $25 from his paypal account Joe Paterno was able to purchase this stuff, sit in the press box and figure us out. For less than $25 borrowed from his buddy Jim Tressel -- Mark Dantonio was able to get the edge his jolly green giants needed to win. That guy in Toledo was able to tell what we were doing and make the world believe a MAC team can come into Michigan Stadium and win. Fat Charlie was able to predict our every move, even with a broken leg and a full stomach.
The good news, apparently Brett Bielema and Tim Brewster were too cheap to throw down the cash to ensure they could beat Michigan this year too.
Just when you thought it was safe to remove him from your conscience, Plaxico Burress jumps right back into my mental meat grinder.
I was christmas shopping at the bookstore yesterday and happened to see this book on the shelves. I did a quick inventory of all the people I know that might be interested in reading this post super bowl cash grab. I am friends with several Giants and Sparty fans, but I couldn't do it. I quickly moved on to the history section. Seriously, who in their right mind would purchase or read a book written by or about this jerk ?
Then last night, I was enjoying a Mexican Martini at the office Holiday Party, and I see his name AGAIN. This time it is on the Monday Night Football crawl. Of course I am interested to learn that he is now being sued by a Florida women for a car crash that happened in May. The lawsuit filed this month in Broward County claims Burress’s car collided with the rear of her vehicle. According to a document provided by the women's lawyer, the insurance on Plax's $140,000 Mercedes-Benz lapsed three days before the crash. There is also a letter from Allstate says Burress neglected to pay his premiums.
Hey Plax: The number you were looking for is 1-800-ALLSTATE.
Congrats to former Michigan Defensive Coordinator Ron English. He is going to be named as the new head coach at Eastern Michigan at 1PM EST today. This hiring does not come a surprise, as Lloyd Carr was part of the EMU coach search committee. English will be the fifth African-American coach in Division I college football.
The head football coach job at Eastern is a tough gig. It is primarily a commuter school. Very low student involvement. They operate in the shadow of the Michigan campus. They compete with successful in-state MAC programs at Central and Western Michigan. Their last bowl game was in the 1987 California Bowl.
Despite all the downside, Eastern is a head coach opportunity. I would really like to see Ron English do well in Ypsi. From my observations, he is a good man and a solid football coach. I will root for them all year long except when they come to Ann Arbor in September.
A couple of years ago Yost asked if someone could dig up a copy of the Woody Hayes Clemson punch from the 1978 Gator Bowl. It took me a couple of hours to dig up the clip from a Clemson web site and throw some Best Damn Band music on it. Since July 2006, when I uploaded this clip on YouTube it has been viewed 287,763 times. I eventually had to turn off the comments feature because I was getting tired of deleting "F*uck Michigan" and "Woody waz the BEST" feedback from the buckeye brain surgeons that frequent that corner of the internet.
Until last week, I never actually watched the 1978 Gator Bowl game. If you are interested in seeing the actual game, I have uploaded it to MGoVideo. It is not exactly a HD broadcast, but it was a pretty good football game. Most people are only interested in this part....
As I watched and listened to Keith Jackson and Ara Parseghian attempt to describe the chaos following the interception -- I found it funny that neither of them had any idea that Woody had slugged Charlie Bauman. They both watched the replay. Not a word.
To add more chaos, Woody ended up getting another 15 yard penalty for refusing to leave the field a play later. That was what Keith and Ara focused on the rest of the way.
Even as the game ended, they had no idea that Woody had punched a Clemson player. Not one spotter pointed it out. I think everyone was in shock.
I am so confident the Lions are going to win today that I am going to set my TIVO and walk away and do something else like christmas shopping. I will watch it later.
I will do a few A Girl Scouts along the way as well. And I'm sure Andy will work his magic too. But, I have to be honest, my enthusiasm for this bowl season is diminished as compared to others. I miss our winged helmets.
EagleBank Bowl Wake Forest vs. Navy
Washington, D.C. RFK Stadium
Dec. 20, 11 a.m.
ESPN
New Mexico Colorado State vs. Fresno State
Albuquerque University Stadium
Dec. 20, 2:30 p.m.
ESPN
magicJack St. Petersburg Memphis vs. South Florida
St. Petersburg. Fla. Tropicana Field
Dec. 20, 4:30 p.m.
ESPN2
Pioneer Las Vegas BYU vs. Arizona
Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium
Dec. 20, 8 p.m.
ESPN
R+L Carriers New Orleans Southern Miss vs. Troy
New Orleans Superdome
Dec. 21, 8:15 p.m.
ESPN
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Boise State vs. TCU
San Diego Qualcomm Stadium
Dec. 23, 8 p.m.
ESPN
Sheraton Hawaii Hawaii vs. Notre Dame
Honolulu Aloha Stadium
Dec. 24, 8 p.m.
ESPN
Motor City Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan
Detroit Ford Field
Dec. 26, 7:30p.m.
ESPN
Meineke Car Care West Virginia vs. North Carolina
Charlotte, N.C. Bank of America Stadium
Dec. 27, 1 p.m.
ESPN
Champs Sports Wisconsin vs. Florida State
Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl
Dec. 27, 4:30 p.m.
ESPN
Emerald Miami (Fla.) vs. California
San Francisco AT&T Park
Dec. 27, 8 p.m.
ESPN
Independence Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
Shreveport, La. Independence Stadium
Dec. 28, 8:15 p.m.
ESPN
Papajohns.com NC State vs. Rutgers
Birmingham, Ala. Legion Field
Dec. 29, 3 p.m.
ESPN
Valero Alamo Missouri vs. Northwestern
San Antonio Alamodome
Dec. 29, 8 p.m.
ESPN
Roady's Humanitarian Maryland vs. Nevada
Boise, Idaho Bronco Stadium
Dec. 30, 4:30 p.m.
ESPN
Texas Western Michigan vs. Rice
Houston Reliant Stadium
Dec. 30, 8 p.m.
NFL Network
Pacific Life Holiday Oklahoma State vs. Oregon
San Diego Qualcomm Stadium
Dec. 30, 8 p.m.
ESPN
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Houston vs. Air Force
Fort Worth, Texas Amon G. Carter Stadium
Dec. 31, Noon
ESPN
Brut Sun Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh
El Paso, Texas Sun Bowl
Dec. 31, 2 p.m.
CBS
Gaylord Hotels Music City Boston College vs. Vanderbilt
Nashville, Tenn. LP Field
Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m.
ESPN
Insight Kansas vs. Minnesota
Tempe, Ariz. Sun Devil Stadium
Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m.
NFL Network
Chick-fil-A LSU vs. Georgia Tech
Atlanta Georgia Dome
Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.
ESPN
Outback South Carolina vs. Iowa
Tampa, Fla. Raymond James Stadium
Jan. 1, 2009, 11 a.m.
ESPN
Capital One Georgia vs. Michigan State
Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl
Jan. 1, 2009, 1 p.m.
ABC
Konica Minolta Gator Nebraska vs. Clemson
Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
Jan. 1, 2009, 1 p.m.
CBS
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi Penn State vs. USC
Pasadena, Calif. Rose Bowl
Jan. 1, 2009, 4:30 p.m.
ABC
FedEx Orange Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
Miami Dolphin Stadium
Jan. 1, 2009, 8:30 p.m.
FOX
AT&T Cotton Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech
Dallas Cotton Bowl
Jan. 2, 2009, 2 p.m.
FOX
AutoZone Liberty Kentucky vs. East Carolina
Memphis, Tenn. Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Jan. 2, 2009, 5 p.m.
ESPN
Allstate Sugar Utah vs. Alabama
New Orleans Superdome
Jan. 2, 2009, 8 p.m.
FOX
International Buffalo vs. Connecticut
Toronto Rogers Centre
Jan. 3, 2009, Noon
ESPN2
Tostitos Fiesta Ohio State vs. Texas
Glendale, Ariz. University of Phoenix Stadium
Jan. 5, 2009, 8 p.m.
FOX
GMAC Ball State vs. Tulsa
Mobile, Ala. Ladd-Peebles Stadium
Jan. 6, 2009, 8 p.m.
ESPN
FedEx BCS National Championship Game Florida vs. Oklahoma
Navy leads Wake Forest at halftime in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl. Woo Whoooo !!!
A couple of interesting things: This is a rematch game, Navy went to Winston Salem and beat Wake earlier this season. This is essentially a home game for Navy - as Annapolis is about a 40 minute drive to RFK Stadium. Not exactly a vacation trip for either team. It is 30 degrees and playing this game at RFK is similar to playing a bowl game in the old Tiger Stadium. Most of the seats are rusted out and the stadium needs to be imploded.
Also congrats to the Richmond Spiders, the FCS National Champions. They beat Appy State a couple of weeks ago and beat Montana last night.
Message to Bill Martin and Rich Rodriguez: Please do not schedule them next year.
• Women's B-ball now 7-4 after last night's 65-50 victory against Cinncinati (8-3). The women Wolverines take on No. 18 ranked tUOS at 2pm Sunday. Available on the BTN.
The weather service claims that Ann Arbor is due for 7-12 inches of snow today. We shall see how much truly falls--but I'm sticking with the winter sports ice theme no matter!While the chemical proclivities of ice are somewhat fascinating, what one can DO on the ice is pretty cool. There's olympic curling, figure skating, ice dancing, hockey, speed skating, and the IM sport favorite: broom ball. Ok, now all of you out there 'fess up: you know that you have definitely watched curling on a boring Sunday afternoon AND you definitely know who Dick Button is. Admit it. It's ok. You will not forfeit your 'man card'. Promise. And I promise not to subject you to the science of triple salchows, or images of Brian Boitano in spandex.Really. Oh no, dear reader. Today's Sports Science Friday is allllll about the blade! en garde! Skate sharpening is a pure science unto itself and equipment managers the world over know exactly how their guys want their skates hollowed. What? A hollow skate? Dumb girl...skates are made of steel they ain't hollow. HAH! Wrongo. If you look at the bottom of a skate you will see that it actually is comprised of two thin blade edges separated ever so slightly in the center. The distance between the edges is called the radius of the hollow (ROH), the deeper the hollow the sharper the 'edge'. Goalies like flat hollows as they need to move from side to side and don't want an edge to catch. Super skater-finessers want a deeper hollow so they can 'dig in' to the ice and push off for quick starts and stops. It's about balancing glide and slide vs. grip and go.
The radius of the hollow is measured in 8th's of an inch. The term comes from the idea of the curve or hollow as the arc of a circle. (oh crap...now I gotta dig out the geometry). Actually MikeD at HFBoards is gonna break out the geometry--I'm just gonna recap. Remember that the radius of a circle is actually 1/2 the diameter of that circle. r = D/2. The depth of the hollow is 'simply' the arc of the radius of an imaginary circle ground into the bottom of the skate. The smaller the radius, the deeper the hollow. So a 5/8" ROH is deeper than a 1" hollow. The trick is making sure that the edges are even. If the hollow is off-set than one side will be 'deeper' than the other, producing 'stick' when one tries to skate. According to sharpeningsolutions: "The skate is sharpened with a rotating grinding wheel. Prior to sharpening, the wheel is "dressed" (using a special diamond-tipped tool) in such a way that it has a circular cross-section (whose radius is the Radius of Hollow). The skate blade is clamped into a holder, which holds its bottom surface perpendicular to the grinding wheel. Your friendly skate sharpener moves the clamped blade along the rotating grinding wheel to refresh the hollow in the bottom of the skate. The sharpening machine has a special guide to keep the blade perfectly aligned with the grinding wheel.The goal of the sharpening is to remove just enough metal from the bottom of the blade to renew the edges. A steady hand is required, so that no part of the blade is ground more than another."
So all this blade stuff is REALLY important. Because if you are an NHL Ice Girl......ya gotta look gooooooood. I think you guys will like Yanina from the Chicago Blackhawks. Or this girl from New York:
Congratulations to Minnesota Vikings offensive guard Steve Hutchinson and Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson. These former Michigan Wolverines were voted by the fans as starters for the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl, hosted in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sunday February 8th. I've never actually watched the Pro Bowl, and doubt I will this year. But it is nice to see our guys get recognized.
Hutchinson started his NFL career in Seattle now anchors what is considered by many as the NFLs best offensive line. He helped pave the way for RB Adrian Peterson to set the new Vikings single-season rushing record and set a new team record for 100-yard games in a season. He has blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his eight NFL seasons.
Woodson started his NFL career in Oakland joined the Packers as a free agent in 2006 and has posted half of his career interceptions (17 of 34) in his 44 games with the Packers. This season he overcame an early season broken toe to make the Pro Bowl. He has five interceptions this year (tied for second in the NFL). He has established a new career-high with three sacks (topping his 2 1/2 in 2004), is on pace for a new career-high in tackles with 72 and two games remaining (79 in 2000), and leads the team in passes defensed with 17.
This is the sixth Pro Bowl for Hutchinson (three with the Seahawks and three for the Vikings) and the fifth for Woodson (four with the Raiders and now one with the Packers).
Weekly update on former Wolverines playing in the NFL.
• NY Jets Kicker Jay Feely converted a 31-yard field goal and was perfect on four PATs. He has now surpassed the 100-point plateau for the fifth time in his career with 105 points this season. Somewhere former buckeye kicker Mike Nugent is screaming "F*CK MICHIGAN !!!".
• NY Jets LB David Harris made 11 tackles - passing the double digit mark for the second week in a row. The Jets beat the Bills 31-27
• Packers CB/S Charles Woodson made six tackles for the fourth-consecutive week and recorded one sack as the Packers fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-16. Woodson also was announced as a starter for the NFC pro-bowl squad, his fifth career trip to Hawaii (more on that later).
• Philadelphia Eagles WR Jason Avant had a team-high 101 yards on five receptions during a 30-10 Monday night victory over the Cleveland Browns. This was Jason's first career 100-yard receiving game.
• Tampa Bay QB Brian Griese returned to the lineup with a 26-of-37 and 269 yard performance. He threw one touchdown and the Bucs won 13-10. LB Cato June posted a season-high seven tackles in the game.
• Arizona Cardinals WR Steve Breaston had 4 catches in a loss to the Vikings.
• Steelers LB LaMarr Woodley only made 2 tackles in a win over the Ravens, but he did make the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. Very cool.
• Bengals LB Dhani Jones made 6 tackles in a win over the Redskins.
• Neither Mario Manningham or Amani Toomer shot themselves in the leg. Toomer had three catches and Manningham had one in the Giants Sunday Night loss to the Cowboys.
RichRod accepted Scott Shafer's resignation today as both agreed that the program needed to go "in a different direction".
Honestly, I feel badly for Mrs. Shafer. This guy's been dragging her all over the damned country most recently moving from California to ..... Michigan.
Let the prognostication begin!!! WHO'S OUR NEW DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR ??????
After a week of rumors and dueling press releases, it is over. The 20+ year run of the Arena Football League appears to have come to an end. The league owners have decided to suspend the 2009 season. They say they are looking for an economic model that will work. Good luck. Suspending a season is the equivalent of a highly coveted high school football player "re-opening" his recruitment - rarely (if ever) does it mean good news for the original plank holders. Former Michigan kicker Remy Hamilton is officially out of work and I have something to write about today.
I am not sure why, but I have always been a sucker for professional football alternatives. I am too young to remember ever watching the WFL in the 1970's, but I do remember when the Memphis Southmen signed Larry Csonka away from the Miami Dolphins. In the 1980's I loved the USFL and the Anthony Carter led Michigan Panthers. I even tried to watch the XFL for a game or two in 2001. But since 1987, the AFL has been something unique. I have to admit that every once in a while it was fun to sit down and watch football played in a hockey arena, even if they did routinely score 60+ points per team.
Sadly it is time to say adios to the league that gave us the Detroit Drive (4 time AFL champions). The league that gave Art Schlichter a chance to make some money (so he could make some more bets) and Jeff Smoker a job other than delivering pizzas. The league that gave Kurt Warner a stage to throw for 10,000+ yards and make the improbable jump to the Super Bowl. The league gave John Bon Jovi an opportunity to own a football team and deliver a championship to Philadelphia. Most importantly has been a place that has allowed many former Wolverines a chance to keep playing football.
Former Michigan Wolverine AFL players (HT: Arenafan.com) Kraig Baker William Carr Jean Charles Scott Dreisbach Pete Elezovic Juaquin Feazell Jay Feely Remy Hamilton (Active player) Billy Harris Tony Henderson Todd Howard Ben Huff Paul Jokisch Steven King Marcus Knight Garland Rivers Dan Rumishek Russell Shaw Buster Stanley John Vitale Dwayne Ware Brent White James Whitley Chuck Winters
Dedicated to the fun loving online community of The MZone -- with a special nod to it's founder Yost. We welcome all contributions and opinions here, not just those viewed from the Michigan perspective. It is perfectly acceptable to disagree with someone or something here, but personal attacks will not be allowed.
If you have something you want to share, feel free to send us stuff at spawnofmzone at gmail dot com.
Before I shut down my computer for the night (and the year) I wanted to give a Happy New Year shout out to all of our readers. In June, when T9 asked me to get involved with "her little project" I had no idea that I would become as addicted to this process as I have become. A special thanks to her for not allowing the MZone community die without a fight. Each red dot on this map represents at least one of you guys and gals. It is pretty awesome when you think about it. I appreciate your participation, even if it is only to come and anonymously giggle at what goes on here. I greatly enjoy the virtual neighborhood we all have created (yes... even the buckeye fans) and I look forward to having as much fun (and maybe a few more wins) in 2009.
It is finally over.
Posts
