Meet Raul Wallenberg, who did more with his Michigan degree than, well, anyone:
Wallenberg developed a system of Swedish safe-houses, and eventually worked to create a separate international ghetto for Jews under protection from Sweden and other neutral powers. He created a rescue team that worked to protect those under Swedish protection--in some instances, they would impersonate Nazi officials in order to demand Jews from death marches, and then return them to Budapest. For his actions, Wallenberg was a target of multiple assassination attempts.
Then he disappeard, but man that guy had some chutzpah. In Michigan guys who didn't save thousands of lives, ReadYourGuard, who played some football at Michigan himself, has started interviewing former players. His first is Clay Miller. His story includes Bo's first use of the goal line formation. It is very much worth a read.
The annual betting prospectus. Tim Tolman from The Saturday Edge puts out a free betting prospectus every year for the Big Ten. Again, I like to read the gamblers' takes because they're forced to be more realistic. On the other hand:
My biggest gripe is he expects Rashan Gary to replace Willie Henry at 3-tech; if Gary starts it's because Wormley is at 3-tech and Gary is at SDE. One man's guess at how the DL will shake out on competitive snaps:
| Anchor (SDE) | Tackle (3-tech) | Nose | End (WDE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gary (40%) | Wormley (40%) | Glasgow (53%) | Charlton (75%) |
| Wormley (45%) | Hurst (40%) | Mone (45%) | Winovich (20%) |
| Taco/Godin/ Marshall (15%) | Godin/Mone/ Gary (10%) | Hurst (2%) | Jones/Uche/ Gary (5%) |
That has Wormley and Taco on the field most of the time, Glasgow and Mone rotating to stay fresh (Hurst is the NT only when they go Bear), Hurst getting a lot of play at DT, and Gary on the field about half the time, but all over the line. It'll probably change up from game to game as Don Brown decides which dude is best suited for his particular matchup.
Anyway Tim doesn't even say the name Hurst, even though Matt Godin and Brady Pallante(!) come in for mentions. If Pallante plays non-garbage time this year there would have to be a plume of green smoke where the DT two-deep once stood.
Part time blogger. Our mods don't get the appreciation they deserve. Sometimes it shows. Hit play at the bottom, skip the first 30 seconds, and sing along:
You are struggling to defend your dumb notion
It’s half-cocked, riddled with emotion
When the words don’t come you turn it all around
Throw out a “f---”, then run the ship aground
It's actually good.
First year QB: A problem? User unWavering wrote a diary that starts by showing you every national champion or runner up QB since 2000 and that half were first-time starters. If you extend that to the start of the BCS era you get Vick, junior Weinke, the guy who replaced Peyton Manning, and Marcus Outzen (Weinke was injured). None of them were coached by Jim Harbaugh. Quarterback will be fine; injuries to the offensive line, bad linebacker play, safeties regressing, and games when O'Neill's crew are officiating are my biggest concerns.
From Johnny Orr to Beilein. The helpful thread title is Michigan has now produced more 1st round NBA Draft picks than any other program in the B1G. Indiana has more first and second rounders historically but Beilein's national championship game roster alone had four first-rounders on it plus a second-rounder.
What is the one question you would ask Warde Manuel?
How can I help?
Seriously. And feel free to pass that along.
[After the jump: a good reason to thank the troops, a draw-a-Woliverine competition, and an important update on Michigan's QB battle.]
[Kinda]
[No not really but you'll want to see it anyway.]
What's the longest stretch you ever stayed awake. Possibly inspired by the zombies working for Harbaugh in every time zone that can hold a 100-yard field this summer, the OP asked how long people pushed it.
The plurality were the usual college procrastinators writing papers. I added my own self-inflicted 40-hour story then read all the military guys' tales of 72- or 96- or 100-hour stretches to keep my sorry, collegiate, procrastinating drunk ass safe. So I gave each member of the U.S. Armed Forces in that thread: mgobob (served in Rangers, Vietnam), Rabbit21 (USAF), USAF89, Harlans Haze (Navy), 1VaBlue1 (Navy), umbig11, HHW, and Jimmy the Chin, 241 points—one for every year since the Continental Army started pulling all-nighters to make the British go away (who knew you could just put it to a vote?).
Warming the hot takes with some cool November Rain, or something. Unlike the rest of the staff I've always lived in the metro-Detroit area, where the airwaves have been polluted as long as I've had control of the dial with 97.1's format of "Let's say the dumbest possible thing and take callers." So I was thrilled in 2013 when 105.1 switched to sports to break Sparty's grip on the state's largest radio market. Having produced a radio show for Michigan fans, I know there's a big market for intelligent sports content. Instead they tried to out-dumb Valenti and Foster. Results: turns out Michigan fans don't bite on the same chum as the rest of the college football world. I wonder who could have told them this.
Six syllables Ace learned for nothing. Hawaii's best player won't be making the trip for the opener, or the rest of the season. In case the slaughter of a bottom-100 Mountain West program that doesn't know what time zone it's in was going to have any survivors.
Academic institutions now hates math. The CIC, which was the academic alliance between Big Ten schools and that one former Big Ten school, changed its name to the B1G Academic Alliance. Some of that $10 billion will now have to go to researching how 10=14. In the meantime, your pizza delivery boy will no longer have to know how to calculate y = x + .15x.
Peak offseason? We had a thread asking if you believe in aliens. Move along.
It's coming from somewhere. Via an interview with Rich Scarcella of the Reading Eagle, James Franklin's job is hard because he has to talk about the one thing my mom knows about Penn State:
"I'm in Chicago at a wedding of one of my former players and the most recent things (allegations that late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was told that Sandusky abused children in the 1970s) come up. I spend all Friday and Saturday on the phone talking to all of our players because other schools are contacting them and telling them the NCAA is going to get involved again and impose more sanctions… The people we’re competing with – Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame – this is just not something they have to deal with. Although we want to move on, those other schools are not letting us move on."
He goes on to say...
"Those programs as well as others know that and use that against us. We have that conversation with every single prospect. We don’t usually initiate it, but it’s coming from somewhere."
Yeah, somewhere. Either these recruits are hearing it from Harbaugh, Kelly, Meyer, and Dantonio, or the kids read the news; Franklin has his hunch.
Draw a wolverine submissions. I am putting them all here because the thread is filled with dongs.
Etc. Basketball phonebooks are here. Assistant coach salaries. Draftageddon for people who don't appreciate fine content.
Your Moment of Zen:
It's the circle of life... #summer16pic.twitter.com/6LPupLizZd
— John O'Korn (@JohnOKorn) June 29, 2016
The quarterback battle will of course continue through fall but right now it is apparent that Speight plans to orchestrate O'Korn's downfall then replace the offensive line with hyenas until Malzone drops his hedonistic philosophy and returns to reclaim the pridelands.