M-Den = M-Done???

Well, Mr. Martin has done it again....It seems that MDen just got out-bid and Michigan's official athletic apparel got out-sourced. ich.

From the Michigan media mongers:

Athletic Department selects new merchandising partner
By Kim Broekhuizen
Public Affairs and Media Relations

"The university has selected eSports Partners Inc. as its new, exclusive, on-site retail merchandising partner for Intercollegiate Athletics. The new M Go Blue Shop will become the official store of Michigan Athletics.

Under a 10-year contract, the partnership with eSports will deliver exclusive products and superior online service to U-M fans and provide greater selection and quality of merchandise.

“We decided to go with eSports because of their national scope, creative marketing and superior customer service. We believe our new M Go Blue Shop will be an excellent shopping experience for our customers,” says U-M Athletic Director Bill Martin.

The new online store, located at www.mgoblueshop.com, opens Wednesday. Michigan fans will be able to shop online anytime for the largest selection of officially licensed Michigan merchandise, including Adidas football sideline apparel, T-shirts, jerseys, caps, home furnishings and much more. The online store will offer an expanded assortment of products including women’s and children’s merchandise.

Proceeds from purchases at M Go Blue Shop will directly benefit the Athletic Department scholarships and programs.

Martin also states, “Royalty revenues from these licensing endeavors help support our 25 sports teams beyond football and basketball, fund athletic department infrastructure, pay for long-term capital projects and contribute to U-M’s academic programs.”

Martin says fans will see several enhancements and new opportunities to make online shopping for “M” merchandise more convenient and user-friendly, including:

• A larger product selection including several exclusive items.

• Easier navigation allowing quicker access throughout the Web site.

• Increased product detail, including multiple views and color swatches.

• Advanced search functionality by vendor, player, color, size and price.

• Extensive customer support with links to order status and package tracking.

• Free printed merchandise catalogs, also available on the Web.

Dallas-based eSports Partners Inc. also is the official licensing partner for the NFL Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys and the University of Arkansas and Texas A&M."

Leo says Go Blue !

It is the end of the quarter and I am in DC this week - so things might be a little slow around here unless T9 has a sudden burst of creative energy. Don't worry, I am a "plan ahead type guy" and I already have the wallpaper ready for this week.

In the meantime, I found this photo on Life.com of Leonardo DiCaprio hanging out with Zac Efron at the NBA finals last week.

Do you think he can play QB ?

Sunday Swimsuit - Joanna Krupa

I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.
~ Exodus Chapter 23:22

Anyone that despises Terrell Owens is alright in my book.

Desmond makes the catch

Now back to what I was working on before the UM Flint club football team ruined my day... In keeping with the national obsession this week of all things Michael Jackson - and because this is primarily a Michigan football blog, I found a Michigan football angle to this freak show nightmare.

The video is a clip from the (gulp) 1991 Florida State game. Yes, that game. You can clearly hear the FSU war chant in the background, which in itself is unsurprising because they played it all the time because they scored about a thousand points on us. ABC sideline reporter Jack Arute describes Desmond Howard's "best catch ever". I added a little photoshop magic for some additional fun.

Someone please stop UM Flint football

Somewhere Fritz Crisler is rolling over in his grave and Bo is negotiating a plague of locusts to descend upon Flint. I saw this link this morning on MSC and I added to it to the buffet -- but I could not let it go without seeking your comments. More importantly I would like to hear your ideas (copyright or license infringement ?) on how to stop this from actually happening.

Apparently some artistic genius at the University of Michigan Flint club football team thought it would be a good idea to update the classic Michigan winged helmet and uniforms with something a little more hip and modern. The result is something I expect to see in a college football video game rip-off or a tattoo parlor.

Needless to say, I think this is a crime against humanity and someone needs to stop these undead zombies from Flint from actually doing this.

A real hero

With the national news dominated by the death of a famous singer and actress, this is not getting much attention. I just had it sent to me from a friend and I had to share and throw out some perspective on this day:

Ed Freeman

November 14th, 1965. Landing Zone X-ray. Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam. You are a 19 year old kid. You are critically wounded and dying in the jungle. Your infantry company is badly outnumbered and the enemy fire from 100 or 200 yards away is so intense that your own Company Commander has ordered the Medi-Vac helicopters to stop coming in.

You're lying there, listening to the NVA machine guns. You know you are not getting out. Your family is halfway around the world 12,000 miles away and you know you will never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

Then, suddenly, over the machine gun noise, you hear that distinct sound of helicopter. You look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because there are no Medi-Vac markings on it.

Ed Freeman is coming for you. He is not a Medic, it's not his job. But he is flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, even after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.

He is coming any way.

He drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the doctors and nurses. You are safe, but he is not. He keeps coming back…13 more times…and takes about 30 of your buddies out. All of who would never have gotten out.

Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died Wednesday, March 25th, 2009, in Boise, Idaho. He was 80 years old. May God rest his soul.

Human Nature.

I don't care what you may or may not think of him as an individual or the veracity of the controversies around him, but there is no denying that he was absolutely the king of pop and his loss today, at the age of 50, is a tragedy.
An Icon.
An Artist.
A Man.

Rest in Peace.

Sparty Crime Wave

MSU Campus Police are investigating a recent campus crime wave. Someone is stealing money from Michigan State's tampon machines. In the first 12 days of June at least six tampon dispensing machines have been pilfered. The total reported loss of at least $7.50 in unmarked change. The thieves have targeted machines in the the Chemistry and Human Ecology Buildings along with the Computer Center. Apparently this particular type of crime is a new trend according to MSU Police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor :

“Thefts from feminine-hygiene dispensers have been spotty in the past.”

Quite honestly, you can work in the news gathering business for 50 years and you just won't get a better quote from a campus police officer. But the opening sentence of the State News says it best:

"A heavy flow of break-ins and thefts from feminine-hygiene dispensers across campus led MSU Police to launch an investigation."

In an effort to help our friends within the Sparty Police Department, we here at the Spawn of MZone have gathered up some very interesting photos that might help with their ongoing investigation of this disturbing crime wave.

	It is very important with every police investigation that you first take a look at well known criminals that might have been in the area. It is very common to see a convict return to a life of crime after they are released or freed on bond awaiting trial.
	It is also important to take a look at organizations that associate with or encourage criminal activities. Getting to the top of these organizations takes time and patience.
	Your investigation should also not be limited to convicts and organized crime figures. Everyone could be a suspect and you need to be willing to look at everything -- including well known or iconic persons within the community
	It is also important to take a look at former celebrities that just can't seem to let go of their glory days. Quite often these people are drawn to a life of crime because it replaces the "rush" they once felt when they were stars.
	Also, you just can't focus on the obvious suspects. Criminals are not limited to one socio-economic class or background. As a criminal investigator you must force yourself to look beyond the outward appearance of professional success and wealth. Always remember: criminals can come from all walks of life.
	It is not uncommon to find your suspect hiding in broad daylight. Focus on the most obvious areas and public areas where there are a lot of transients. You need to be prepared to deal with persons with mental health issues including delusions and a history of psychopathic behavior.
	And finally it is very important that you involve the entire community in your search. It takes a village to catch a criminal. Put up wanted posters. Ask for local news coverage. Offer rewards. Sometimes the most difficult cases are cracked from tips collected by your average citizen.

(HT: new Spawn poster jimsflies)

"Let them eat cake!!!!" Spawn turns One!

Of course Andy planted the seed.......
While my jumping out of a cake is a baaaad idea, I thought you might enjoy (?) these options:


Or, we coulda hired Jenna Jameson:


Or, I could just be cruel...................................................................................


















HA!!!! gotcha!!!

Wallpaper Wednesday: AC

Today we celebrate our ONE YEAR anniversary with a wallpaper of my favorite #1 : Anthony Carter.

Back-slaps, high-fives, and huge pieces of cake to everyone. 534 posts and (gulp) 3 wins later, we have come a long way since this.

It has been a lot more fun than I expected when I agreed to jump into the fire with T9. I know that we both can't wait until we once again have a decent football team to blog about.

Red Wing Hall of Famers

Congrats to former Detroit Red Wings Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille for getting the call into the Hall of Fame. While Hull and Lobitaille made names for themselves before they came to Detroit, the threesome won a Stanley Cup together with the 2002 Wings.

Steve Yzerman spent his entire career in Detroit. He served as captain for 20 years and led the team to three Stanley Cups before retiring after 22 seasons as the sixth all-time leading scorer in NHL history with 1,755 points.

Bat Trick

I have been sent this video link by a couple of people now, so I thought that I would share it with all of you. The fat part of my thumb hurts every time I watch it.

The ballplayer in the video is named Josh Womack. He was a 2nd round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2002. He played 6 years in their minor league system and never made it up to the majors. He is currently playing for an independent team named the Long Beach Armada in the Golden Baseball League.

One Year later

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the MZone closing down. After 350ish days of attempting to fill the gap -- I have come to understand why Yost made the decision that he did. I don't want to sound overly dramatic, but this can be a time consuming and challenging hobby.

As we stand here today : T9 is no longer afraid of computers and still enjoys sharing her big scientific brain. I am still having fun making wallpapers and searching for acceptable Sunday Swimsuit entries. We have had well over 200,000 visits and we have done our best to keep the original MZone community we enjoyed so much together (yes, even our Buckeye friends) . If you are a long time poster - Thank You. If you have joined us in the last year -- welcome aboard and Thank You. If you are a silent reader - feel free to join in. This would would have ended a long time ago without you.

Yost: if you are reading this (I know you lurk out there in the shadows) the offer for you to "get back in the game" and become a regular contributor is still on the table. A one year vacation is plenty of time to fill the tanks. I know you are bored. Come back and enjoy Michigan's 2009 Redemption Tour with us. In the mean time we will keep the fire going.

Sunday Swimsuit - Nicky Whelan

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.

~ ALBERT SCHWEITZER

Her name is Nicky Whelan and she is an Australian actress.

Beating cancer with M gear

T9 and I have a strict policy about not doing any advertising on this site. We do this for fun and don't want to turn this into anything other than a mind-numbing-marriage-and-time-eating hobby. As such, we have turned down several proposals to advertise.

Rules are made only until something comes along to inspire you to break them. This is one of those things.

Spawn reader Noel sent us this note while I was on vacation:

---

Guys,
Love your site. I was hoping I could convince you guys to throw some publicity for a good cause on your blogsite, specifically for the Scholarship Committee at Michigan that I co-chair. My name is Noel {last name removed}, I'm Co-Chair of the Bernard Maloy Cancer Scholarship at UofM and I was hoping guys would consider posting a web on the front page of your website that connects to our auction website so your readers can check us out.

The Scholarship is in honor of a professor at Michigan who passed away in 2002 of esophageal cancer. The Scholarship is awarded to Michigan undergrads who either have cancer themselves or who have direct family members who have or are battling cancer. To fund the Scholarship we're holding an online 'ebay style' auction of sports memorabilia that is open now through the end of the football season. The auction website is www.umich.cmarket.com and as you can see, many of the lots up for bids are UofM football items. I am co-chairing the Scholarship committee along with Pat Maloy's widow Nora and 12 vice-chairs, including Tyrone Wheatley. Please feel free to review our website and let me know if you would be willing to help us get some publicity for our upcoming fundraiser.

Thank you for your time and Go Blue.
Noel

---

Take a look at the stuff they have, it is pretty impressive. I've got my eye on a signed Lamar Woodley mini-helmet and can feel the money leaving my pocket already...

Mr. Irrelevant

I have been looking for a reason to use this picture...

Former South Carolina Kicker Ryan Succop made a name for himself in April when he was the last player drafted in the 2009 NFL Draft.

According to his agent, he is about to sign a $1.2M contract with the KC Chiefs. Keep in mind that NFL contract money is not guaranteed and the Chiefs have a decent young kicker. But at least I got to use the gamecock chicks photo.

Caption Contest: Senator Tressel

It has been a while since we have had a caption contest and things are getting a little boring around here. So let's get to it... T9 will be the judge and announce the winner on (or around) Friday the 26th.

My submission:
Coach Tressel did not have to travel far to secure the commitment of the 3rd Boren brother for his next recruiting class.

Just in case you are hungry:
DEEP-FRIED RATTLESNAKE
1 rattlesnake cut into steaks
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup cracker crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper

Mix dry ingredients. Whisk milk into beaten egg and use to dip snake steaks. Then coat them with dry ingredients. Fry, uncovered, in 400 degree oil until brown.

NCAA Champions. Again.

Congratulations to Seniors Tiffiany Ofili and Geena Gall !!!!

Geena won her second national championship in the 800 m.

Tiffany Ofili captured her third (yes 3rd) national championship in the 100 m hurdles. She owns 5 national titles over her career at Michigan.

Tiffany is enrolled in the College of Pharmacy. Geena is in LS&A and received an Athletic Academic Achievement Award in 2007-8. Well done ladies!!!

Wallpaper Wednesday: Charles in charge

This week I attempted to teach myself how to alter perspective in photoshop. This Charles Woodson collage was not exactly what I had in mind, but as I kept working on it, it grew on me, and I started to like it.

If any photoshop artists out there have any good perspective tutorial links, please pass them along.

Go Blue !!

Tuesday Swimsuit

College World Series

The College World Series started over the weekend. I realize that not many people around here follow college baseball, but this is one of the great sporting events in the country. If you are even a little bit of baseball fan - spending a couple of days in Omaha during the CWS is awesome. I had the pleasure of shooting the entire series last year for Baseball America (16 games in 10 days). I could not make it back this year (my wife scheduled a european vacation instead) -- but my son and I already have it penciled into the master calendar for next year.

Going into the series, my pick to win it all was Cal State Fullerton. Of course they were the first team eliminated. In Omaha, we call that "two and barbecue". LSU has sprung up into the cat-birds seat with a win last night against Arkansas. My finals prediction right now is Texas v LSU.

Fake Jordans and 10 pounds of Pot

This story must somehow involve the NBA...

According the the Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Police Department has seized 500 pairs of counterfeit Air Jordans from the Halsted Indoor Mall after Nike complained. In addition to the fake sneakers, they also grabbed 10 pounds of marijuana. One of the men arrested was the store's owner, Nate Driggers, former Boston Celtic (he played 15 games during the 1996-1997 season). Counterfeit Air Jordans cost a customer $35 a pair, versus the $150 an authentic pair of the shoes costs.

No charges have been filed yet in connection with the marijuana found in the store.

Go Wings !!!!

Roman summer vacation

As promised, I wanted to share some of my pictures from the family vacation from last week in Rome. Rather than just put generic photos of the hot spots that you can find anywhere on the internet, I decided to add a little flair to make my photos stand out. Needless to say, my son and I got some pretty strange looks from the local Roman citizens and other tourists whenever the winged helmet got pulled out.

	Officially our adventure started at Newark Airport. We landed in Rome at 7:30 AM on Monday and forced ourselves to stay awake most of that day.
	The Spanish Steps are one of the most busy tourist places in Rome. At just about any time of the day, there are 100s of people just hanging out.
	Another very popular tourist hangout is Trevi Fountain. Built in only 1762, it is one of Rome's newer additions to the "must see" stops. It is only a 2 block walk to the best gelato (ice cream) in Rome.
	One of my favorite places to visit was the Roman Colosseum. It was built in 80 AD and was the home to many centuries of Roman entertainment, including Gladiator fights.
	View from inside the Colosseum. You can see the tunnels and cages staged beneath the main stage.
	A short walk from the Colosseum is the ruins of the Roman Forum. This place was the center of Ancient Roma and the home of the Roman Senate.
	Another very impressive old building is The Pantheon. This building was built sometime around 118 AD and is the home of Raphael's tomb.
	Rome is filled with dozens of plazas, which essentially are the neighborhood town squares. My favorite was Piazza Navona because of the stunning architecture and cafes.
	Rome is also home of St Peter's Square. This is the home of the Catholic Church and the Pope.

Michigan Football on WTKA

The football team, along with selected coaches and alumni will take over WTKA starting at 0600 on June 11th and 12th to raise money for C. S. Mott Children's Hospital.

You don't hate children do you???? Good. Then LISTEN and DONATE.

Wallpaper Wednesday: Mike Hart

Sorry for the delay on this weeks Wallpaper Wednesday submission, but I my internal clock is upside down.

This one has been sitting on my computer for some time waiting for the finishing touches and available week.

Buckeye Graduation

This saturday THE Ohio State University will hold their spring graduation ceremony, swelling the already full pool for fast food behind the counter talent.

Check out the nice OH-IO cake that someone made for Jess. If you are dyslexic like me, at first glance everything appears right.... no wait.

Swimsuit Sunday: T9 Style--penance

Andy is looking all over Naples for

DANIELLA SARAHYBA

My Turn

I'm off for just a bit but will return early next week.
Have no fear, I've left a prize for you on Sunday.
really, you'll be happy

A Rose by any other name.......

would take the SAT just as well?????
NBA Rookie of the Year for 2008-9 and former Memphis B-ball player Derrick Rose has been accused of finding someone else to take his SATs for him. Brilliant....
Memphis is trying to figure out how to keep their wins, and their appearance in the 2008 NCAA Championship Game....since after all, it's not THEIR fault he cheated.

W
T
F

Makes me kinda proud of Bill Martin and President Mary Sue Coleman, even if it meant taking the banners down......
integrity.

Hello from Italy

No international issues yet. Here is the view from the hotel roof-top last night.

Traffic in Rome is nothing like the US, because essentially there really are no rules. It is very entertaining to watch the motorcycles increase the degree of difficulty from hard to impossible. The Peroni is cold, plentiful and refreshing. As expected internet connectivity is harder and more expensive to get here (27 Euros for 24 hours from the hotel room) -- I won't be connecting too much. We are busy doing the tourist thing in Rome for the last couple of days. Went to Sistine Chapel today where I got scolded by an american college student for illegally taking a picture of the ceiling. In my mind he went to Notre Dame, but I didn't spend any cycles to confirm. I figured it would be bad form to pummel a domer in the Vatican City. Colosseum and ruins tomorrow. A day trip to Pompeii and a couple of days in Florence. I will put together a web gallery to share on the flight home.

Arrivederci.

Wallpaper Wednesday: Substitute Teacher

Well, as you all know, Andy is off galavanting across Europe with his family.
I have not yet received any calls from the consulate, so I'm assuming all is well.
Hopefully Shorty's got his back....

Anyway, no way I can give you the wonders of wallpaper, but I know another M-fan who can.
For those of you who know yvgeni, his site Nothing Is Illuminated is fantastic!
He has graciously allowed me to provide an example of his work here, but I HIGHLY recommend you check out his other creations. Mad Skills.


Big HT to yvgeni!

Hiding Behind Momma's FERPA Skirts

A big ol' HT to SiC for finding this from, of all places, The Columbus Dispatch. twice. seriously, go read both of those articles before going further.

Apparently the self-righteous Buckeyes are hiding out while having their cake and eating it too. tUOS is one of the schools with the highest number of NCAA violations, most of them self-reported. BUT---the reports are limited, redacted, obscured, or otherwise non-informative because tUOS plays the FERPA card. That's right: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

It's a federal law crafted in 1974 that was meant to protect the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. It's aka The Buckley Amendment. It means that students also have the right to see their own educational records and consent (or not) to have those records released to others. tUOS claims that if they release information then they will be at risk of losing all their federal funding....riiiiight.

One portion of the law however states:

"Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

• School officials with legitimate educational interest;
  
• Other schools to which a student is transferring;
  
• Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
  
• Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
  
• Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
  
• Accrediting organizations;
  
• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
  
• Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
  
• State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law."

Now one would think that "specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes" would include the likes of NCAA officials. NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND. (shout out to Coach Corso recovering from a minor stroke btw). That would be wrong! That is private student information that just can't be shared!!! No matter that someone got money from a booster. REDACTED. Or that someone tested positive on a random drug test. WHITE OUT. Heck, the school can't even tell you who was on the team plane....shhh! we can't discuss such things in public.

Hmmmm...but what about those media guides??? (now of the unprinted variety) They have height, weight, high school, GPA, major, performance records etc etc about the athletes....where's the FERPA handcuffs for those revenue generating documents???
OHHHHH>>>> wait, never mind.

So, yeah, I say that tUOS (among others) is playing the self-righteous FERPA card as their very own huge loophole to avoid doing the right thing....
And as SiC pointed out to me, if the Dispatch is going to call the Bucks out you KNOW there's something to it.....