My UConn weekend images

I finished editing these pictures this morning and created a FLICKR account to easily share them. I only brought one lens with me on the trip, so my pics are limited to wide angle shots.

LINK

There are a couple I am quite proud of, and you may be seeing them again in a future wallpaper wednesday post.

113,090

I could not wait until Wednesday to post this.

Words can not describe how much fun I had on Saturday. Here was my view as the game was getting ready to start. It was as if I had been holding my breath for two years, and I was finally able to take a deep breath of fresh air.

I know we are a long way from "back" - but I won't let worrying about the future diminish the joy I felt on Saturday.

Go Blue.

We don't need no stinking healing post

Michigan 30
UConn 10

Denard..... this bud is for you!!!!!

This is what 113,090 looks like.

A Girl Scouts: Scrimmage 8/21/2010

Well boys and girls. T9 got the chance (along with a dozen hundred others, or so) to check out the new premium seats and the team.

Lemme say, the stadium looks great! The new sound system will have the place ROCKIN'.
And tomorrow is the annual Fan Day.

Beyond that, you are on your own.

Just kidding.

In theory there were no photos/videos allowed. Rule follower here did just that. I'm betting you will be able to find some other blog/website with the contraband if you desire. Me? I'm just going to share what I saw.

Denard: He will absolutely start as he is clearly the leader on the team. He had the most energy during warm-ups, was the first one and the fastest one doing stretch drills, and was clearly the first-team QB of the day during the 'scrimmage'. He hit a nice 23-ish yard pass on a WICKED play fake to Grady. And then ran it in for another 25 or so on a QB draw, juking a DB as he went. Enough to even get the sidelines "ooh-ing".

Tater: Low energy, still doesn't step into his throws. Can hit Tacopants on a dime though....ie, over threw a bunch. Just didn't seem engaged, although propped his center up when a bad snap caused a fumble. He and Denard didn't seem to have much love for each other. Not nasty, just not talking to one another or very friendly---at least from the nosebleed seats.

Devin Gardner: Our lucky number 7. Lemme tell you this kid looks GOOD. Tall, poised, mobile, accurate, made smart reads--he got most of the action for the day.

RBs: Ooooh we got a bunch of them! Mike Shaw looks strong and fast. Although I think he coughed one up. Vince Smith is a beast. He looks fast and confident and was not afraid to go lateral. Quote of the day? "Cox your ball carrier". Hoping for more Beavis and Butthead like comments soon! heh-heh. heh-heh.

And, all of the QBs got some snaps up under center from the typical, old-school, smash-mouth, big ugly I-formation football. Niiiiice.

Big ol' number 77 Taylor Lewan even got flagged for a personal foul after the whistle going after safety Jordan Kovacs. I like the intensity!

AND NOW TO EVERYONE'S QUESTION:

THE DEFENSE

Unfortunately, it will remain a mystery. Lots of different looks, lots of substitutions and variation. I will say, however, that the D closes fast and hits hard. Still no support in the middle, but better pursuit angles and zone-like defense. Anyone hits us deep on the edge though and that will be 6. A lot.
Like I said before, best Defense??? BALL CONTROL OFFENSE.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Take your anti-acids now. Kick off team didn't kick it into the end-zone once, and didn't control the return. Punt coverage? Close your eyes as it may be a scary ride.

OVERALL????
I'm stoked for the season to start already!!!!!
I'm excited for the "new" stadium and "new" crowd traditions.
And, I've got my fingers crossed that we can win the ones we are supposed to and that everyone stays healthy.

GO BLUE !!!!!!!
BEAT CONNECTICUT

Big House Makeover

Here is an awesome picture from inside a Michigan Stadium luxury box taken yesterday by former Michigan kicker Phillip Brabbs. Phil was kind enough to post this on his blog: Multiple Myeloma for dummies. If you have never visited this site, do yourself a favor today, and check it out.

VANDALS at the Big House

By: Jake Fromm
Daily Staff Photographer
Published March 30th, 2010

University Police reported yesterday that Michigan Stadium was vandalized this weekend when a strip of the block ‘M’ on the 50-yard line was stolen. The incident was reported by stadium staff at 11:30 a.m. on Monday. Diane Brown, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety, said the stolen strip was a 6” by 4’ piece on the edge of the ‘M’ and that there was some damage to the surrounding area. Damages are estimated at approximately $1,000 to repair the affected area of the field. There are no suspects or leads, but the incident is under investigation. University Police are unsure how someone was able to access the field.

Put the keys away and yell

I was watching the Central Michigan at Michigan State game on Saturday and I saw something that raised my blood pressure to a dangerous level. And...No, it wasn't Mark Dantonio.

For those of you that missed it, it was a great game ending in with a timeless Sparty meltdown. Down 27-20 Central rallied and scored a touchdown in the final minute. Rather than kick the PAT to send it to OT, they went for the win. The two point conversion failed and it looked like they would lose 26-27. BUT, After a perfect on-side kick and a couple of plays they were in position to kick the game winning 47 yard field goal. They miss it, but Sparty was called off-sides and they get another chance from 42 yards.

Eight seconds left. Right before the eventual game winning FG ESPN pans the noisy and anxious Central Michigan section at Spartan Stadium -- and I see this:

I can only assume the guy on the phone was a MSU fan calling his friends complaining that they were going to lose another game they had in the win column. But more importantly, notice the brunet female CMU fan making noise. Now take your eyes two people to her left. Yes, the fan wearing a "M" hat. He looks like he does not have any idea what to do in such a critical moment of the game...

Rather than follow the lead of the Chippewa fans sitting around him by making some noise or clapping his hands, this poor misguided Wolverine fan takes out his keys and starts shaking them. Wow. I can see Yost's head spin off his shoulders now.

I will admit, I thought the "key play" shtick was cute..... in 1980. I am posting this as a public service, in case you are unsure on what to do next time you are in Michigan Stadium. If just one Michigan fan changes his behavior, it will be worth it. At critical moments in the game put your keys in your pocket and scream. If you absolutely have to jingle your keys, go ahead and multitask : open your mouth and scream while holding your keys.

Fun with Flickr

I like to go check out the photo sharing site Flickr every once in a while to see what is out there.

The sheer volume of images that people take and post is staggering. I went out there today because I needed some inspiration for a post and knowing full well there would be a bunch of new stuff from the spring game.

My first search criteria was "michigan football" -- was entirely too ambitious. It returned 24,508 results. On the first page was this image from a flickr user called marylea. The picture is from the 2007 Notre Dame game. Yes, those are real dead wolverines on this tailgate table next to the maize and blue candy. WTF ?

A couple of pages later I ran into this awesome picture of the baddest muther-focking punter in the universe taken by flickr photog gotjenks. This picture was taken before the 2008 Orlando Bowl game against Florida.

I'm pretty sure Mesko just punched Tim Tebow in the face, kicked sand in Urban Myers mouth, and stole Percy Harvin's girlfriend before he decided to walk to the locker room listening to Romanian gangster rap.

How Zoltan manages to walk down State Street without a body guard there to protect him from screaming co-eds wanting to satisfy his every desire is beyond my ability to understand.

I then changed my search criteria to "michigan spring game" and was greeted by a much more manageable 338 images to "creep on" (my 15 year old daughter taught me that term recently and I try to use it as much as possible now). The first one was this good clear wide angle view of the stadium shot by baklein62. It gives you decent feel for how many people were actually at the game on saturday. There looks to be a lot more people in this picture that I thought when I watched the video. The weather helped. If you look close enough, I think I can see T9.

The next one to catch my eye was this gem of an Obi Ezeh fan dressed in a bear costume posted by baklein62. I am sure there is a logical explanation for fur - I am hoping for something good like "Obi is going to be as good as Mike Singletary"... but like the comment stated on the photo there is no excuse for wearing a blazer (with shorts) to a game.

Dude.... Georgia plays their games a little further down the road.

After a couple of pages of recruit stalking -- I ran across the Michigan Daily set of images from the Spring Game. As a professional sports photographer - I always appreciate the images the student photographers capture for the Daily. In my opinion, they do a much better job than the guys at the Detroit Free Press or Detroit News. This one is very solid shot of Carlos Brown leaving everyone on the field in his dust in a scene that I can only hope repeats itself 10 or 15 times this year. Yes Sru, if you close your eyes tight enough you have seen Beanie Wells do the same thing with the same colors running behind him.

The next one that caught my eye was this very tight image of the Greg Matthews touchdown catch take by Daily Photographer Sam Wolson.

I know all too well the feeling Sam was having as he was firing away with his second camera body (equipped with a shorter lens for such moments) hoping that the players would stay in his frame and the camera would focus fast enough allowing him to get the shot.

There really is nothing like it.

Little did Sam know, a couple of feet behind him, sitting in the stands was flickr photog jptrack01 firing away at the same action. You can see Sam's shoulder and lens in the corner of this image.

Know Your Foe - Michigan

Spring Game: Time for me knock a little rust off this blog and post something of substance. The best thing about the spring game is that Michigan is guaranteed a win. I could put a joke in here that this game will be tougher than the upcoming Delaware State or Eastern Michigan game, but I can’t run the risk of jinxing myself or this team in April. Seriously, this is our first opportunity to see the “early enrollee” freshman play in game like conditions. I am excited to hear about how Tate Forcier and Will Campbell do. I don’t expect anything earth shattering, but it will be a good first step in getting the bitter taste of the 2008 season out of my throat.

History: In 1817 The University of Michigan was founded in Detroit by the governor and judges of Michigan Territory. It was known as the Catholepistemiad (an invented name mixing Greek and Latin). The original curriculum was strictly classical before adding sciences and research. The cornerstone of the university's first building, near the corner of Bates and Congress in Detroit, was laid on September 24, 1817, and within a year both a primary school and a classical academy were functioning within it.

As you might expect, the awkward name of the Catholepistemiad became a target of ridicule. Governor Cass referred to it as the "Cathole-what's its name" and thought it a "pedantic and uncouth name". Justice James V. Campbell said it was "neither Greek, Latin, nor English, [but merely] a piece of language gone mad." On April 30, 1821, Governor Cass and a couple of Judges passed a new act that changed the name of the institution to the University of Michigan and put control in the hands of a Board of Trustees consisting of 20 members plus the governor.

The University officially moved to Ann Arbor 16 years later (1837 is the same year Michigan became a state) onto a 40 acre plot now know as Central Campus. The first classes were held in 1841. Eleven men graduated in the first commencement ceremony in 1845.

Location: Located about 45 minutes west of Detroit, Ann Arbor is Michigan’s seventh largest city and the seat for Washtenaw county. It was founded in 1824 by land speculators. During the 1960s and 1970s, the city gained a reputation as an important center for liberal politics and this left-leaning culture continues today. The city's economy originally supported by manufacturing is now centered on education and high-tech. The University employs about 40,000 people in the area. Many technology companies drawn to the area by the research and development money pouring into the university. No matter how you slice it, Ann Arbor is still in Michigan which means the winters are brutally cold. If you have never lived in Ann Arbor it can be a wonderful place to call home and I would move there in a second if I convince my wife that it would not lead to my premature death via self-inflicted local sports insanity.

Nickname: We call ourselves Wolverines, and yes the wolverine is a member of the weasel family. As I have taught my kids, the wolverine is “pound for pound the most ferocious animal on the planet” and is “physically incapable of backing up”. Since the earliest days of recorded University history (as early as 1861), the students and alumni have been referring to themselves as Wolverines -- although no official reason is recorded.

General George Armstrong Custer (a Monroe Michigan native) commanded the Union Army's Michigan Calvary Brigade was known as the Wolverines in the Civil War. That turned out alright until he took his show west in a sad preview of future Rose Bowl performances.

There are lots of theories regarding how we became known as Wolverines, including a popular one involving the long running animosity and border war with Ohio. It is nice to see that things don't change much in 150 years.

While wild wolverines exist in Oregon, Montana, Washington, Colorado, Wyoming, California, and parts of Canada, there are no wild wolverines in Michigan until 2004 when scientists confirmed they saw a Wolverine in Michigan for the first time in 200 years.

Colors/Logo/Helmet/Mascot: Maize and Blue. In 1867 a group of students met and adopted blue and maize as the official school colors. However, no one actually specified the exact shades until 1912, when school officials chose fabric ribbons depicting the actual shades. And since colors were not standardized at that time, azure blue could be every shade from a pale sky blue to a deep lapis lazuli, all of which were utilized along with a variety of yellows from the palest lemon to bright gold.

Michigan has a bunch of branded logos and a lot of rules about how they are to be used. The most common theme is the block M. However nothing has become more of a symbol of the University’s athletic teams more than the winged helmet. Originally lifted from Princeton and the leather helmet designs of the time, it has developed into the most recognized brand the University of Michigan has and is used by multiple sports teams on campus.

We don’t have a cute costumed mascot character that runs around with the cheerleaders like all of the other teams we play (I am looking at you Notre Dame, Michigan State, Penn State, and Ohio State). However, in the mid-1920s we did use a mounted and stuffed wolverine as the team mascot.

In 1923, after seeing the University of Wisconsin football team bring live badgers to games, Fielding Yost decided we needed a live wolverine. Despite writing letters to 68 trappers, Yost was reportedly unable to find one. However in 1927 the Detroit Zoo got 10 wolverines and Yost made a deal for two of them named Bennie and Biff. They made their first appearance came on dedication day for Michigan Stadium in 1927. Over time Biff and Bennie grew larger and more ferocious, leading Yost to conclude, "It was obvious that the Michigan mascots had designs on the Michigan men toting them, and those designs were by no means friendly." The live wolverine experiment ended after just one season. Eventually became too vicious to remain on the campus zoo and were moved back to the Detroit Zoo.

Fight Song: The Victors is the official fight song of the University of Michigan. Written in 1898 by Louis Elbel after Michigan defeated the University of Chicago, then a national football power. John Philip Sousa called one of the best marches he'd ever heard and I don’t think you will find any un-biased person that does not rank it in the top 2 or 3 college fight songs available. On a personal note, I have found it to be quite a versatile song… as a young father I used it as a very successful bedtime lullaby and it was the first song my kids ever learned. It is the only tune I can play on a piano.

The long version of the lyrics can be found here :

We mostly just know and care about these:
Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
the leaders and best

Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan,
the champions of the West!




You can also find the sheet music here.

Academics: No matter how you slice it, The University of Michigan is a damn good school. More than 70% of universities 200 major programs, departments, and schools ranked in the top 10 in the United States. It is currently ranked as the 26th best National University in the US News and World Report behind only Northwestern (ranked 12th) in the Big 10. Amongst public schools on the list, only Cal-Berkley, Virginia, and UCLA are ranked ahead of Michigan. The university has matriculated 26 Rhodes Scholars.

Stadium: Michigan plays home football games at Michigan Stadium. When the current renovation is complete, it will once again be the largest college football stadium in the world. Currently the official capacity is 106,201 (the extra seat is said to be "reserved" for Fielding H. Yost) – but we routinely put more than 110,000. ABC’s Keith Jackson was the first to call it “The Big House”. Michigan Stadium has witnessed over 200 consecutive crowds of greater than 100,000 - dating back to 1975. We hold the NCAA single-game attendance record at 112,118 with the 2003 game with Ohio State (yes, sadly that is also the last time we beat the bucks).

In the early 1920s, Fielding Yost formed a vision that would become Michigan Stadium. He realized with winning teams and large fan turnouts, we needed for a larger football stadium. The stadium was built on land that had been home to an underground spring. The water posed a problem to the construction, creating a surface that resembled quicksand. It was this moist ground that engulfed a crane which remains under the stadium today.

On Oct. 1, 1927, Michigan played Ohio Wesleyan in the first game at Michigan Stadium, winning 33-0. Dedication of the new stadium came three weeks later, Oct. 22, 1927, against Ohio State, in another Michigan victory. The Buckeyes had hoped for revenge from the dedication of their own stadium five years earlier when the Wolverines came away with a 19-0 victory.

Athletics: Beyond football, Michigan has 23 other varsity sports. In seven of the past 10 years, Michigan has finished in the top six of the NACDA Director's Cup. We are one of only two schools (Minnesota is the other) in NCAA history to win a national championship in the four major men’s sports (baseball, basketball, football, and ice hockey). The Wolverines have won NCAA Division I national championships in lot’s of other sports including women's field hockey, men's golf, men's gymnastics, women's softball, men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, and men's outdoor track and field. Overall we have 32 official NCAA national championships, trailing only Penn State in the Big Ten for all time titles. We however won our titles while being a member of the Big Ten.

No one will argue that it is our football program that pays the bills. The football program is among the most successful in college football history. We have the most wins, highest winning percentage, and we won the first Rose Bowl game in 1902. The Wolverine football program has claimed 11 national titles. Three Michigan football (Tom Harmon, Desmond Howard, and Charles Woodson) players have won the Heisman Trophy. We have a decent rivalry with Ohio State. I could go on an on, but suffice to say Rich Rodriguez has a decent foundation onto which he can rebuild this program.

Famous Wolverines: There are more than 425,000 living alumni of the University of Michigan. Famous alumni include the "father" of the iPod, the founder of Google, the voice of Darth Vader, and the first American to walk in space. I don’t have the time or energy to start listing famous names. You can find a great list here. Michigan has seven Nobel prize winners, eight astronauts, and one US President.

The Game: I think RR has backed off on his original commitment to make the spring game more exciting and an event. Personally I just hope the weather is nice for T9 and everyone else. I also hope that no player gets injured badly impacting the team in the fall.

Other things I want to see: I hope that the offensive line improves. I hope that Will Campbell does not crush anyone’s soul and make them transfer to Ohio State. I hope that Vlad Emilien does not impale anyone. I hope that Tate Forcier does not break in half and is half as good as everyone expects him to be.

Michigan 24
Michigan 10

UnHappy Valley

The Penn State University Riot Police and a team of grief counsellors were called out in force this week in Happy Valley after the NCAA announced the highly anticipated final results of the 2008 College Football attendance race. Nittany Lion fans poured into the streets, many of them with tears running down their faces screaming uncontrollably. Some even resorted to rioting as they loudly protested their stunning second place finish in the standings. This is the sixth time this decade that Penn State has finished second to Michigan in the attendance race.

"I don't know what to say, we thought we had it made when they had to eliminate so many seats during their expansion project..." stated Penn State Athletics Director Tim Curley. Despite having a capacity of 107,282 (larger than Michigan Stadium's 106,201) the Nittany Lions were once again outdrawn by the Wolverines by about 200 fans. Penn State averaged 108,254 while Michigan packed in 108,571.

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was less diplomatic following the NCAA announcement: "I don't know what it is that we have to do to beat these ASSHOLES !!! We beat them on the field 46-17, they only win three stinking games, and they STILL put more fannies in the seats... It is really embarrassing..." Penn State has expanded Beaver Stadium seven times since Paterno became football coach in 1966. Rumors of further expansion including a 9th deck have not been confirmed by anyone inside the program.

Penn State fans were burning up the internet message boards with all kinds of complaints and whining about the results. "Maybe they mis-counted us because we were all dressed in white..." Some even suggested that Penn State would be better off "dropping out of the NCAA" and joining another college athletic association that would recognize how superior their storied program really was.

Paterno also stated that he is planning on complaining loudly to the Big Ten Commissioner at the next conference meetin regarding inconsistent counting methods used by stadium officials in Ann Arbor. "It is bad enough that we have to put up with the 'REF-ERINES' making sure Michigan wins on the field, but this is getting to be too much. First it was Tony Johnson's foot, then it was Jason Avant's heel followed by Lloyd's extra second. I just can't take it anymore..."

Big House Construction

How is the construction going at the Stadium ?

For those of us that do not live in Ann Arbor, the Michigan Architecture, Engineering and Construction team has a web site to keep up with how things are going as the campus changes. There are a LOT of projects going on right now.

They have set up a couple of web cams in the stadium, so you can see how it looks. Here is a link to the general overview. My favorite views are from the south scoreboard, they where they have two cameras set up: one looking northwest to the press box structure and another looking northeast to the new luxury boxes. Because I live in a place where it will get close to 70 degrees today, that snow looks so nice and peaceful.

I can NOT wait to see how it looks on April 11th at the Spring Game. Please let me know if you are planning on coming to the spring game. I would love to organize a SPAWN TAILGATE.

HT: Stadium and Main for the AEC link.

Fun with Tilt-Shift

Before my friend T9 convinced me to "participate" in her "I think I want to start a blog..." venture -- I had other hobbies that I was actually able to concentrate on and enjoy. One of them was sports photography.

A couple of weeks ago, I carried my camera into Michigan Stadium. I wanted to shoot some "wide angle" images to capture the scale of the on-going construction project.

Today I was on a critically important conference call and started re-reading an article on Tilt-Shift photography. In general, it is a photography technique that makes your subject look like a miniature version of itself. Professional tilt-shift lenses cost real money, and my wife has denied all requests for additional funding until I get published in Sports Illustrated. So I found a simple photoshop tutorial so I could fake it.

The original image can be viewed here.

Beaver in the Big House

I typically do not post about recruits because I think it opens Pandora's box of bad karma, but considering how bad we are THIS year, it is time for me to start thinking about NEXT year.

Amongst the many recruits at Michigan Stadium on Saturday was Texas QB recruit Shavodrick Beaver. It is my opinion that the single most important position in the Rich Rodriguez spread offense is the quarterback position. EVERYTHING depends on the QB 1) making good decisions 2) having the physical skills to throw to an open receiver and 3) having the speed to keep the defense off balance and aware of the run.

Beaver recently had shoulder surgery and is planning on enrolling early - which is good because without the benefit of spring football he would not be ready to go in 2009.

D

Saturday's game against Wisconsin not only marks the start of the Big Ten Season in the new Rich Rod era, but it will also be the 500th game played in the house that Yost built.


The Miller family farm, ca. 1902 at the future site of Michigan Stadium. The buildings stand at the approximate site of section 23. John Miller, whose father built the house, was a ticket attendant at gate no. 6 on opening day and manned the post for fifty years.

A few fun facts:
1) The stadium is actually built on the site of an underground spring/lake. Because of the high water table, the ground had to be lowered, which is why the bowl is underground and not above ground. Legend has it that there is still a steam shovel used during construction stuck in the quicksand/muck beneath the stadium.
2) The first game at Michigan Stadium was October 1, 1927 against Ohio Wesleyan. Michigan won that 'contest' 33-0.
3) Fuzzy Math???? Need some fact checkers please.....according to the Bentley's web site, the record thru 2006 at the Big House is 373-109-15. If you include the 5-3 record from the 2007 season as well as the 1-1 at home this season that brings the total up to 379-113-15 which would make tomorrow's game the 508th game????? and not really the 500th.
4) Most wins coached in the stadium? 129. Fielding H. Yost
5) Most losses coached in the stadium? 26. Bump Elliott
6) The last time there were fewer than 100,000 fans in attendance was Oct. 25, 1975. "Only" 95,857 were on hand for the 55-7 Michigan victory over Indiana.
7) The NCAA regular season attendance record was set against tUOS in 2003 when 112,118 were in attendance.
8) With attendance over 100,000 for each home game, Ann Arbor basically doubles in size. For the 3rd year in a row, Verizon will be activating a COLT (cell on light truck) on game days in order to handle the increased capacity of those in the stadium trying to use their cellys!!!