I lied

I am still in town and have a little time while I take a packing break. I need your input on an urgent matter.

Mouse has requested that I make her an honorary poster while I am gone for the next couple weeks. I am not sure why she wants this authority, but she is welcome to comment on this post explaining why I should let her have administrator access to this blog.

Based on her argument, please comment on whether I should grant her access for two weeks. Majority rules (1 vote per person...and the entire CrazyChica blog gets one total vote).

Results will be finalized tomorrow.

Two Week Break

Although I put up several more posts today, I regret to inform you all that there will be no more posts for two weeks. I am leaving on Wednesday night for a 5 day vacation to the Domincan Republic followed up by 4 days working in the Philadelphia office and a Labor Day Weekend visit from CableGirl. I doubt that I will have a chance to post anything between now and Labor Day.

College Football Preview, part 5

In the fifth and final installment of my college football season preview, I am providing a breakdown of the 2006 Michigan team as well as a game-by-game prediction for the 2006 Michigan Wolverines. Please keep your bitching about me "not being a real fan since I think Michigan won't go 12-0" to a minimum please, FlyingV.

Here is a brief rundown of each Michigan unit in 2006:

Offense
The offense played very well in 2005, especially considering the injuries that decimated the offensive line. With some luck on the injury front, the Michigan offense should be stellar in 2006. There are two solid running backs and some experienced receivers this year. Hopefully, Steve Breaston will learn to be more than just a kick returner in 2006. A better season from him and this unit is downright scary. The Achilles heel of this unit is QB depth. If Henne goes down, the offense is screwed. There is not a viable option at QB after Henne on this roster since backup QB Matt Gutierrez transferred after last season.

Defense
The defense played respectable well for the first 50 minutes of most games in 2005. However, this unit was never able to close out games. They were unable to hold two possession leads in each of the last two games of 2005 and their best 4th quarter defensive stand in a close game last year was when they held Iowa to a FG to force OT. This defense looks just as unimpressive, especially at LB. Hopefully Prescott Burgess learned to run faster than me in this offseason. The exciting change in 2006 is the departure of longtime defensive coordinator Jim Hermann. Maybe Ron English will figure out how to use his slow defensive players in a way that prevents mobile QBs from rushing for 150+ yards this year.

Special Teams
Michigan has turned around their special teams unit over the past 4 years. They were terrible in the late-90s early-2000s. However, this squad looks stellar. The kicking game should be good (although Garret Rivas cannot boot 50+yd field goals). The return game is always dangerous with Steve Breaston returning kicks. This group will win more games than it loses for Michigan in 2006.

Here is my game-by-game prediction:

Game 1 - Vanderbilt
At least this cupcake is from a good conference and not the MAC. However, Vanderbilt is just pathetic this year now that they have lost their phenom QB from last season. Michigan will score a lot of points on a bad defense. The true test is how the Michigan defense looks with a new defensive coordinator on the sidelines this year.

Michigan 45, Vanderbilt 20

Game 2 - Central Michigan
Michigan has never lost to a MAC team. The end.

Michigan 41, Central Michigan 13

Game 3 - at Notre Dame
Michigan has not won at Notre Dame since Gary Moeller was the coach and are 1-5-1 in their last seven trips to South Bend. Michigan has not won their first road game of the year since 1999 (@Syracuse). There is a lot of bad karma here. Notre Dame is also a better team with a better coach. It kills me to predict a Michigan loss here, but I just don't see how we can possibly win this game unless Henne throws for 350+ yards. I don't trust our defense to do the job.

Notre Dame 29, Michigan 17

Game 4 - Wisconsin
Michigan has only lost one Big Ten opener in the past 22 years. Unfortunately, that game was at Wisconsin last season. Michigan will be looking for revenge, and Wisconsin does not have enough firepower to win at Michigan this year. Lloyd Carr has fared quite well against Wisconsin during his tenure, and I think Michigan will welcome the new Wisconsin coach to Michigan Stadium by giving the Badgers a loss in the conference opener.

Michigan 24, Wisconsin 17

Game 5 - at Minnesota
This game scares me. Minnesota is not as good as last year now that their star RB Maroney is in the NFL. However, they run the ball very well, regardless of who is at RB. Michigan is on the road and their run defense has been putrid in recent years. This could be that inexplicable conference loss in 2006. Michigan always loses one of these crappy games each year, and this game appears to be the most likely fit. If Michigan is truly motivated to recapture the Little Brown Jug after losing it for the first time since the mid-1980s last year, then they will probably win. Although I am worried about this game, there is no excuse for this Minnesota team to beat Michigan. MinnesOta is nowhere near as talented as their past 3 teams.

Michigan 38, Minnesota 24

Game 6 - Michigan State
Michigan State has not won at Michigan since 1990. John L Smith has a bunch of 'L' against Michigan since he became the Spartan coach in 2003 (though all three losses were very close games). This Michigan State team is actually somewhat scary. However, Michigan will steal this game because of superior special teams play (MSU is incapable of making a field goal these days).

Michigan 27, Michigan State 21

Game 7 - at Penn State
Under the lights at Beaver Stadium, this game is getting pretty significant hype already. However, I just don't think Penn State is that good. They lost a lot of players on the O-Line and D-Line, which are always the hardest to replace. Also, they lost 14 starters from last year's team. Throw in a new QB that is not as mobile as Michael Robinson, and I see a team that will lose six games in 2006. Given that Penn State might be rocking if the Nittany Lions have less than 2 losses coming into this game, there is upset potential. However, I think Michigan guts out a tough victory in Happy Valley.

Michigan 24, Penn State 13

Game 8 - Iowa
This is going to be a huge game. Iowa has played Michigan very tough over the past four years. Kirk Ferentz is a great coach and usually outwits Lloyd Carr. Iowa returns a lot of players from last year's team, and have the tools and toughness to win a game in Ann Arbor. My prediction is that this game comes down to the last drive (or OT). Chad Henne's late game heroics steal this one.

Michigan 26, Iowa 24

Game 9 - Northwestern
Northwestern was a scary team last year, but with an untested QB running the show for a offensive scheme that depends heavily on QB plays/decision making, Michigan should have no trouble.

Michigan 34, Northwestern 14

Game 10 - Ball State
Michigan has never lost to a MAC team. The end.

Michigan 41, Ball State 13

Game 11 - at Indiana
A nice "bye" before Ohio State.

Michigan 44, Indiana 16

Game 12 - at Ohio State
Both teams will enter this game with 1 loss and undefeated in conference play. With the winner Pasadena bound, there will be plenty on the line in Columbus. Jim Tressel has gotten the best of Lloyd Carr since he became head coach, so Carr is under a lot of pressure this year. Ohio State's mobile QB Troy Smith will provide a major test for Ron English and his Michigan defense, especially given how well Smith has played against Michigan the past two seasons. Ohio State's defense is a lot weaker this year. Their front seven is not nearly as strong as they were last year, so Michigan definitely has a chance. This game will be close, and I think it will come down to turnovers. Given Michigan's track record in this game recently, I am not optimistic.

Ohio State 25, Michigan 20

Game 13 - Bowl Game
With a 10-2 record, Michigan might get an at-large BCS bid. However, this is not a BCS-worthy team. The only reason I think Michigan goes 10-2 is because the Big Ten is very weak in 2006. Regardless of where Michigan plays in January, they will lose and end the 2006 season with an improved 10-3 record.

College Football Preview, part 4

Here is my official pre-season Top 25 poll. I will preface this post by saying that preseason polls are stupid. Do you vote based on where you think the teams will finish (and take schedule into account) or vote based on team talent. I decided to vote based on where I think teams will finish, but once a couple games have been played, I will vote based on how a team has performed and who they have played. No team that beat sa bunch of cupcakes will get a high ranking from me in the RCI this year.

I value my vote in the prestigious RCI and figure that it's time I suck it up and give RoopDogg my preseason ballot:

I think all the top teams have at least one fatal flaw this year. I cannot imagine any team other than West Virginia winning all their regular season games this year.

1) Texas - If they beat Ohio State at home in September, the schedule looks fairly promising
2) Ohio State
3) Florida - My dark horse for the BCS title game this year
4) West Virginia - Will make BCS title game after running the table against an easy schedule, but will lose by 30 in BCS title game
5) Notre Dame
6) USC
7) Auburn
8) Florida State - Lucked out from all the Miami suspensions in their season opener against the 'Canes
9) Louisville - will go 11-1 with all those cupcakes
10) California
11) LSU
12) Virginia Tech
13) Miami
14) Michigan
15) Nebraska - They will win the pathetic Big 12 North
16) Iowa
17) Georgia
18) Oregon
19) Oklahoma
20) Alabama - Will win a lot of 2-0 games this year
21) Boise State
22) TCU
23) Clemson
24) Wisconsin
25) Utah

Others NOT receiving votes - Tennessee (can never vote for them), Penn State (will lose 6 games this year),

A day at the Pilot Pen

Today I went to watch the first day of the Pilot Pen tennis tournament in New Haven. This tournament is one of the US Open tune-ups for both the men's and women's tour, but very few of the top men were playing in the event this year. There were several high ranking women in the event, but none of the were scheduled to play today.

I saw a match between an aging American player (Vince Spadea) and an up and coming US youngster (19 year-old Ryan Sweeting). I had seen Spadea play over the years on TV, so I thought that he'd cruise past the youngster. However, Sweeting won the match. In my opinion, Spadia was nothing more than a 32-year old punk. He had the whole casual "surfer look", but he spent half the match berating a poor line judge for 1-2 bad calls. He was warned for foul language early in the match after a call did not go his way. When the line judge that was the focus of his tantrums called an obviously long shot 'out', he came over and congratulated the woman for a good call. Sweeting had a sick serve, but was otherwise a very erratic player who was hesitant to attack the net despite inconsistent ground strokes. Spadea tried to expose this by just pushing the ball over the net and playing long rallys, but he was unable to employ this strategy successfully. I found out later than this was just qualifying match and not a first-round match. Given that Spadea was once ranked in the top 20 in the world, I was surprised.

The biggest crowd of the day was on Court 3, where no matches were played. Instead, James Blake's practice session with another player and both coaches (including former tennis great and Michigan native Todd Martin) attracted a huge crowd.

I had never seen professional tennis before. Being able to watch some of the outer court matches from the first row was a very cool experience, even though it was incredibly hot outside this morning. These players are all amazing.

And That's a Wrap

While I have more good stuff to write about, I will save that for another day. I've had enough blogging for tonight.

College Football Preview, part 3

Here is the highly anticipated third installment in my five-part college football season preview. Today, I will discuss my best college football road trip experiences, my worst road trip experiences, and the three venues I would love to watch a game at.

While I have seen a lot of college football games away from Michigan stadium, I would hardly consider myself a well-traveled college football fan. I have seen fifteen Division 1 college football gamed outside of Ann Arbor (over nine different stadiums). Here is a quick rundown of my favorite places to watch a game away from Ann Arbor:

Penn State – Great atmosphere, great fans, great times. I’ve been to Happy Valley twice (both Michigan wins). The stadium is incredibly loud and the fans were very kind to the Michigan band. The whole game day atmosphere reminds me a lot of Ann Arbor. I am excited to go back for a night game in 2006 (assuming I can find game tickets).

Iowa – Mpls Ju and I are walking around the morning of the game to get a good feel of the game day atmosphere. A random Iowa family sees us in Michigan sweatshirts and invites us to join them and have a beer. We spent thirty minutes drinking a beer on a very cold morning (holding a cold beer on a cold morning is not pleasant). Everyone we met at Iowa was really nice. The game was the highly advertised Hawkeye “Blackout” and it was quite impressive. While some of the students harassed us, I thought the Iowa fans were very well behaved (and their students were nowhere near as obnoxious as the average Michigan student at a game).

Notre Dame – Domer fans have a reputation for being very obnoxious across the country. However, that stereotype does not apply whatsoever to the fans/students that attend their home games. The worst gesture that we saw at the 2002 UM-ND games was a thumbs down gesture from some students. No middle fingers. No vulgarity. Even the usher in our section was awesome. He wished us a great day when he showed us our seats before the game and was very pleasant afterwards (in a non-taunting manner) when we left after the crushing Michigan loss. Too bad the Michigan students embarrassed my school that day with their vulgar antics. Definitely the nicest group of fans I have ever encountered.

Rose Bowl – Whether it is a game against the UCLA Bruins or the ‘Granddaddy of them All’, the Rose Bowl place is a beautiful place to watch a game. Throw in a tailgate on the huge golf course that surrounds the stadium, and it’s definitely a road trip that every college football game must make at some point.

Here are the worst two places to watch a game

Illinois – This might have been more a function of circumstance, but my trip to Illinois was a scary experience. The Illini were 3-0 and ranked around #10. The game was on national TV during primetime, and the fans were really drunk. It was the first sellout at their football stadium in years, and the crowd was crazy loud. When the Michigan band took the field for pregame, all I remember seeing was a sea of middle fingers from the student section (seated between the 40-yard lines). During the game, the Michigan band was pelted with all sorts of flying objects (radishes, lemons, loose change, you name it…it hit us). We had a band member that was physically assaulted as we were leaving the stadium after the game (drunk fan tried to rip the hat off a band member’s head…even though the hat was strapped around his neck). All Michigan fans say that Columbus, Ohio is the road trip from hell, but I went to both Illinois and Columbus in 2001 and the Illinois trip was much scarier for me.

Ohio State – Two lasting images from the 2001 trip to Ohio State. The first was a middle-aged man wearing an Andy Katzenmoyer jersey with a huge mullet giving our bus the “suck-it” gesture when he realized that we were the band. Another was the 60-year old granny and her grandson flipping off the band as we were marching to the stadium. That’s the type of white trash that we see at Ohio State. The band spends time at practice the week before the game marching in a tight parade formation since drunken OSU fans often attack us at Ohio State when marching through town. Michigan won the football game that day, but the band had to wait in the stadium for forty-five minutes after the game ended since it was not safe for us to leave. When we did leave, the riot police was protecting us from a bunch of fans that looked really pissed off. Our busses were hit with several eggs as we were leaving Columbus. I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to Columbus again. They treat opposing fans like crap and the cops just sit back and laugh at the poor Michigan fans that are getting verbally and physically assaulted.

Three places I want to see a game someday:

Texas A&M – Preferably against Oklahoma or Texas.
Alabama – Obviously, against the Auburn Tigers.
Nebraska – I’ve heard nothing but good things about the football experience there.

I will add Minnesota and Syracuse (vs. Iowa) to the list of road trips this year. After 2006, I will have seen a game at every Big Ten School except Indiana and Purdue.
The last two parts of my season preview will consist of my preseason Top 25 poll and my game-by-game breakdown of the 2006 Michigan football schedule.

It's Funny Because It's True

I was talking to Mouse on the phone tonight on my drive home after the softball game. She needed a male perspective on a boy-related issue. While I will spare you all the details from a conversation, I have to mock Mouse for one comment.

She was complaining about a certain guy that was being stupid. With a perfectly sincere delivery, Mouse asked me "Why can't I find a guy that will just do what I want him to"?

Well said, Mouse. Good luck finding that guy.

FINALLY!

It's been a while, but it's time for another softball post. We had our regular season finale against The Assholes (Son of a Pitch) today. Based on the past couple seasons, this game should have been for the regular season title. However, The Assholes had lost some of their good guys from last season and were nowhere near as good this year. Even though P&C had already locked up the regular season title, the playoff seeding would be impacted by our game. The standings were tight going into today's game:

1 - P&C (12-1)
2 - Beerbuddies (10-3)
3T - The Assholes (8-4)
3T - The Swarm (8-4)
...
7 - The Swinging Bunts (5-8)

With The Assholes holding the tiebreaker over The Swarm and The Swarm playing the Beerbuddies on the other field this evening, a lot was hanging on today's games.

Karma was on our side. P&C has lost 8 regular season and playoff games since 2003 (40-8 record). Of those 8 losses, 7 were on the dreaded "Picnic Field". Only one loss was on the "South Field", which is where we played today.

The game was definitely going to be intense since the other team was filled with assholes. Their captain was bitching about the umpire's large strike zone (he was one of those 'let's get this game over with' umpires). The umpire screwed us on two calls in the bottom of the first when he called runners out that were clearly safe, but we just let them go. In the second inning, there was a very controversial play. Tricki scooped up a bad throw at first base, but she came off the bag. With the ball in her right hand, she touched the base with her left (glove) hand for the force out. The ump ruled the runner out, and the other team FLIPPED out. Three of their players start arguing with the umpire that he got the call wrong. The argument lasted for a couple minutes, but no one was ejected. I was sure the ump got the call right, but RoopDogg disagreed when I discussed it with him afterwards. I tried to look up this play on the internet for a correct ruling, but I found nothing. Their captain continued arguing balls and strikes throughout the game. The ump had a big strike zone, but he umps a lot of games in this league and we all know what he calls. He's very consistent.

Both defenses played very well today. PhillyPhanatic was all over the place today at SS. One of the best games I have seen from our 'Franchise' player. We scored three runs in the fourth inning to take a 5-1 lead. Both teams were held scoreless the rest of the way. For the first time in seven tries over four seasons, we FINALLY beat The Assholes. I hate playing against that team. They do nothing but bitch during the game and they don't seem to have any fun on the field. It was a nice feeling to win today and a great wrap up to a 13-1 regular season.

The Swarm also lost today, so those teams are still tied for third place with one game left. Assuming both teams win their last games, we will probably play The Swarm in the semifinals. They are the only team to beat us this year, but they are a lot of fun to play against (and always give us a close game). I really wish they finished second or third because it would be much more fun to play a best-of-three championship series against them. Oh well. We'll play whoever we have to in the playoffs and try to beat them!

Nice Surprise

I received a gift in the mail from the Michigan Marching Band. They sent me a live recording of Crisler Concert 2005 as a thank you for my gift to the Elbel Club last year. The band sent me a similar gift a few years ago from the 2002 Crisler Concert. Looking at the songs from the 2005 season, I was quite jealous. Back when I was in the band, we played a whole bunch of classical crap and stuff that never entertained the audience. The band has gotten much better at entertaining the audience with their current director.

I'm listening to the CD right now. I only have one beef. The band sounds awesome (as always). However, whoever set up the microphones at the Crisler Concert is on my shit list. You can barely hear the trumpets, and I am sure it's because the microphones are located by the horns and trombones. I find that incredibly frustrating given my roots. Boo urns. Oh well, it's still a cool CD and a nice gift from the band.

Playing Catchup

I've been pretty busy lately and unable to keep up much. Don't fear. I am playing catchup tonight! Stay tuned...

Toughest Day of Work. Ever.

Today was a difficult day at work. I needed to make some changes to how my staff was structured. As part of the changes, I had to tell someone that they no longer had a job at my company. The first time I have ever had to have that conversation with someone. Hopefully, it's the last time for a long time.

The individual I let go was not entirely qualified for her current role. I hired her after interviewing some internal candidates for a job opening a little over a year ago. At the time, her department was getting downsized and she would have lost her job at that point if I didn't hire her. With her current role expanding to include more work and responsibility, I really needed someone with an actuarial background in that job. However, there is the personal side to the whole situation. You never want to have to take someone's job away (unless they do something that warrants getting fired). She has a family to feed, and I am definitely adding a lot of stress to her life right now.

When I made the tough decision a few months ago to take this course, I insisted that I be allowed to "warn" the individual, even though this is not necessarily standard procedure. I told her a few months ago that her current job would be consolidated across the rest of the team later in the summer and that I would support her any way possible with an internal job search. Unfortunately, she was not able to find something and I ran out of time to stall.

While the termination notice was not much of a surprise for her, it was still not a pleasant experience delivering the message today. My boss offered to deliver the notice instead, but I felt that I had to do this since it was ultimately my decision. I felt sick afterwards and just spent the rest of the afternoon filing stuff away and cleaning out my e-mail since I could not focus on actual work. I don't know how senior management can deliver this type of message on a fairly regular basis in the working world. It's definitely not fun.

I've probably said too much already, so I should stop now. Needless to say, it's been a very difficult day. I've been dreading today for a while now. At least it is over.

Go Tigers

For the second time this year, I watched a Detroit Tigers game on television today. The Tigers beat the Red Sox. Yay! The Tigers are now 2-0 when their awesome good luck charm is watching. Although the Red Sox are my team out here, I will always consider the home team to be #1. I am still shocked that the Tigers are actually good this year. How did that happen?

The wedding in Buffalo was a good time. Other than the seven of us from CT and the wedding party, I do not think that there were any people under thirty. It was mostly a family affair, but they were a lot of fun.

I am not a big fan of the long drives, but the company for the ride was good (despite my critical comments regarding FlyingV's DJ skills). Given that it's late and I am tired, I'll post three pictures and just leave it at that.

So many bubbles...

BuckeyeBoy ponders life.

Sharply dressed men.

On the Road Again

Enjoy the second of my five preseason football posts below. I'm off to Buffalo for the weekend. Yet another wedding. Last one of the season for me since I will be unable to attend the other two I was invited to.

College Football Preview, part 2

Last time, I wrote about the greatest Michigan games in recent history that I attended or wish I had attended. My list was missing a few great games of the past decade (almost all of the 1994-1997 seasons) because I missed all of those games because of competitive high school marching band ruining my Saturdays.

This time, I am going to drudge up memories of games I really wish I could repress permanently. Here are the five most heartbreaking losses I attended as well as the most heartbreaking losses I saw on TV.

Five Most Heartbreaking Losses Attended:

2001 - MICHIGAN STATE 26, Michigan 24
Two days before taking an actuarial exam, a full-day road trip with the band to East Lansing for a 3:30PM football game was not high on my list of things I wanted to do. I was just a little stressed out at the time (especially since I failed this exam six months earlier). However, I was not about to miss this game against the hated Spartans. It really looked like Michigan was going to finally roll over MSU and get a big road win. The BCS title was not yet out of the question for the 1-loss Wolverines with their fairly easy closing schedule (OSU was weak this year).

MSU was missing their top three defensive backs, so all Michigan had to do was throw the ball to Marquise Walker all game. The first half was the Marquise Walker show. I think he had about 120yds receiving and 2 TDs in the first 30 minutes, but Michigan was only up something like 14-10 at halftime.

The defenses took over in the second half, but the Michigan offense stopped throwing to their unstoppable WR. MSU took a 20-17 lead and had the ball with about 7 minutes to play when Michigan recovered a fumble on the MSU 35 yard line. Michigan, facing a third and long, found unlikely target Jermaine Gonzales in the back of the end zone to take a lead.

Michigan would get the ball back with a chance to end the game with one first down. However, in classic Lloydball fashion, the offense played it very close to the vest, went three-and-out, and MSU took over possession with 1-2 minutes left. MSU appeared to be stopped by the Michigan defenses when a 4th and long pass sailed incomplete. However, DB Jeremy LeSeur was flagged for illegal hands to the face while covering Charles Rogers on the other side of the field. MSU took advantage of the play and drove to the Michigan 1 yard line, where Jeff Smoker was tackled in bounds with 11 seconds left. The refs sprinted to place the ball, and Smoker snapped the ball with 1 second left. Amazingly, the ball was snapped, hit the ground, the ref signaled the end of the play, and the clock operator reacted and stopped the clock all with 1 second left. Yeah, Right. I was sitting next to the UM bench and everyone was LIVID! MSU got a gift extra play from the 1 yard line, got away with a blatant hold on the UM DE , and Smoker found TJ Duckett in the end zone. Oh man did that ending suck. That was not a good Spartan team in 2001. They had no business winning that game. While the ending was pure BS, Michigan should have not even let the Spartans hang around that day. Bad things happen in Spartan Stadium to Lloyd Carr led teams after the sun goes down.

Check out the WJR transcript of the last minute. Unfortunately, I can't find an audio clip of the call. THIEVERY!


2001 - Ohio State 26, MICHIGAN 20
This one was not a screw job, just a demoralizing loss that was not nearly as close as the final score indicates. All Michigan had to do was win at home against OSU, something they had done every time since 1987, to secure the Big Ten title and a trip to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. OSU had a new coach, four losses, and had just benched QB Steve Belli"sorry" because of legal issues. This game should have been in the bag. However, things went terribly wrong. Some of the memories from my last home game as a member of the marching band:

- Just before the senior MMB members were to be honored on senior day, we sat in the corner of the end zone and watched Jonathan Wells rush for 50 yards on 4th-and-1 right in front of us to give OSU a 14-0 lead.
- Navarre finally gets benched just before halftime and OSU gets a safety when the ball is snapped over QB Jermaine Gonzales's head, giving the Buckeyes a 23-0 halftime lead.
- Michigan mounts a great comeback, but sure handed WR Marquise Walker drops a sure touchdown on a 3rd down pass that would have made the game close late in the third quarter.
- Cold rain comes down right after the game ends (it had been dreary and drizzly all day), and we have to stand on the field in the rain and wait to start our post game show until after the OSU players get off our damn field and stop celebrating.

What a terrible senior day. Michigan falls into the Citrus Bowl for the third time in my four years of school. It was a crushing loss to an OSU team that was really not that good (but very well prepared).

2000 - UCLA 23, Michigan 20
I traveled out to Santa Barbara to spend an extended weekend with my brother and attend the big game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. It was a hot day, with the temperature topping out at well over 100 degrees.

The teams were very evenly matched, but the difference was one official on the UCLA sideline. He robbed Michigan's defensive back (LeSeur or Curry) of an obvious interception by ruling that he was out of bounds (UCLA would score a TD on that drive). He also tried to call a BS pass interference penalty on Michigan late in the game that other officials overturned because the pass was only 15 feet over the receiver's head. Every bad call in that game was made by the ref on the UCLA sideline, and they were all in UCLA's favor.

However, the real cause of the loss was the two missed FGs by enigmatic K Hayden Epstein, including a missed 25-yarder in the last six minutes. Michigan was also driving in the last two minutes of the game, but John Navarre threw an ill-advised pass that was picked off inside the UCLA 20. This was supposed to be a great Michigan team. In fact, it was a great team that went 9-3 with three losses by 3 points or less. However, the preseason injury to Drew Henson and the pathetic defense kept this team from reaching their potential.

1999 - Illinois 35, MICHIGAN 29
This game cost us a Rose Bowl trip in 1999. It was the one of the craziest fourth quarters I have seen. Michigan one led 27-7 during the second half. Who would have thought that a missed extra point would change the tone of the game? Illinois came back with three straight touchdowns, and Michigan trailed by one point about halfway through the fourth quarter (thanks to that damn missed XP). Tom Brady led the Wolverines into scoring range, but on 2nd-and-10 in Illinois territory, the ball was snapped over Brady's head. Michigan lost twenty-five yards on the play and the drive stalled.

Illinois needed one first down to run out the clock. RB Rocky Harvey got that first down, and then decided to take it all the way for a touchdown, giving Michigan the ball back down 35-27 with 1-2 minutes left. Once again, Brady drove Michigan down the field and inside the Illini 20-yard line. Unfortunately, Brady was intercepted on the 1. Amazingly, the Illini player tried running with the ball and was stripped. The ball rolled into the end zone, but Michigan was unable to win the race to the loose ball. Illinois recovered for a safety. Michigan got the ball back with a few seconds left and no timeouts, and they were unable to score a miraculous touchdown.

One of the worst choke jobs I have seen from a Michigan team.

1998 - Syracuse 38, MICHIGAN 28
Michigan was one year removed from a national title, but their defense, despite returning 9 or 10 starters, was exposed for the second week in a row and Michigan fell to 0-2. Syracuse provided the blueprint for beating Michigan that has held up for the past 7 years. Have a mobile QB. Donovan McNabb led the Orangemen to touchdowns or field goals on their first 5 drives of the game. On their sixth drive, Michigan finally held Syracuse to a missed FG, but the game was already well out of reach. The signature play was when Michigan was about to sack McNabb, but the lineman was only able to rip off McNabb's shoe. Donovan then scrambled 25 yards for a touchdown.

This was the only time I left a Michigan game early (I was not in the band this year). When Syracuse went up 38-7 early in the third quarter, I had enough. Sadly, about half of the fans had already left. Freshman QB Drew Henson led the team down the field twice in garbage time, but the game was not as close as the final score.

Two Most Heartbreaking Losses Watched on TV:

2000 - NORTHWESTERN 54, Michigan 51
This game still has me speechless. No Michigan team should score 51 points in regulation time and lose. Ever. Jim Hermann should have been fired after this game. Northwestern's RB dropped a fourth down pass in the end zone late in the game, despite being wide open. Anthony Thomas had the game clinching first down (and many more yards) before dropping the football (I won't call it a fumble because he was not even touched). Northwestern comes back and wins. Michigan finishes tied for first in the Big Ten and does not go to the Rose Bowl because of this loss.

I was watching the game at the "shit-brown house" (I didn't live there at the time). We had a marching band concert that night at Hill Auditorium (Band-o-Rama). We were supposed to be there in full uniform by 7PM for warm-ups. The football game went past 7PM, and none of us at the house left for the concert. Definitely not with the game still undecided. By the time the game finally ended (7:15ish), we all rushed over to Hill in full uniform. To our surprise, about 1/3 of the band was still missing. We started the concert late that night, but no one was really in the mood for "Michigan cheer" that evening after the wildest Michigan game I have every watched.

1994 - Colorado 27, MICHIGAN 26
A week after a stunning last-second win at Notre Dame, #7 Colorado came into Ann Arbor to face #3 Michigan. (I miss the days when powerhouse teams would play non-conference games against each other in September)

I missed nearly the entire game since we had a high school marching band competition that afternoon. I got home with about 6 minutes left. Michigan was up by 12 points and had the ball. Unfortunately, the game turned quickly. Colorado scored a touchdown, but Michigan was unable to run out the clock on their next possession. With the ball on their inside their own 20 and 10 seconds left, Colorado didn't have many options. A quick short pass to the 30 or 35-yard line gave Kordell Stewart enough room to launch a desperation bomb on the last play of the game that could reach the end zone. Sadly, the Michigan defender (either Ty Law or Shonte Peoples) tipped the desperation pass up in the air. Michael Westbrook snuck in behind the play and caught the ball for a touchdown. I still remember the sinking feeling when Keith Jackson exclaimed, "There are no flags on the field". I know people who were at that game. They say that Michigan Stadium has never been quieter.

Just call me Pele

About once a week for the past month or so, a group of us have been playing soccer after work. We've had quite an impressive turnout lately, with over 20 people showing up to play. Given the strong showing from our summer interns, we decided to play a full-time vs. intern soccer game on Monday. While the tradition is not as deep as the annual softball game against the interns, the game promised to be quite competitive. Some of the interns were very good soccer players.

Despite my lack of skills, I showed up to play as well. Amazingly, we dominated the game. While I thought we could win, I never thought we'd win 5-0. As good as the interns were individually, they played horribly as a team. The full-timers that actually were good did a great job of passing and involving all teammates, which made us much better as a group. Heck, I even scored a goal. Not only that, but it was a really good shot in the far corner from the edge of the 18-yard box. To top off the wonderful goal, I showed my complete lack of coordination by falling down right after I shot the ball. At least my goal celebration made up for my pathetic balance (and no, I did not take off my shirt during my celebration).

Of course, FlyingV had to top me three minutes later with an even prettier goal. Seriously, even though he is a soccer novice (though better than me), FlyingV took a beautiful cross from a teammate and headed it into the upper corner. With authority nonetheless!

It was fun to put the interns "in their place" during their last week of the summer after losing to them in a few too many sports and games last month. :) Of course, I say that in jest. I'll miss the added competition when they all return to school soon.

Also, quick shout out to P&C softball for clinching the regular season championship tonight with a convincing 27-4 mercy killing of the last place team in the league. We are 12-1 heading into the regular season finale against The Assholes with a two game lead over the two teams tied for second place. Maybe we will beat The Assholes for the first time ever next week.

College Football Preview, part 1

I will eventually get around to my 2005 pre-season predictions (including a legitimate top 25 poll that RoopDogg can use for his rigged RCI). However, my first post will be one of three strolls down memory lane.

Here are the best five Michigan games I have attended since I first stepped foot in Michigan Stadium on August 31, 1996.

(Home team in CAPS. I linked the Mgoblue.com write ups for each game, but I wrote my own memories of the game without referencing the stories)

1999 – Michigan 31, PENN STATE 27
Tom Brady had finally won the B.S. competition for the starting QB job by this point of the season (since he had already led three successful and dramatic 4th quarter comebacks). Unfortunately, Brady threw the game away after building up a 17-7 3rd quarter lead. I think he threw 3 or 4 interceptions on the afternoon, but the one that appeared to seal Michigan's fate was one returned for a touchdown with about 6-7 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Down 27-17 to the team that was #1 in the country most of the season and boasting an amazing defense led by LaVarr Arrington, I was not optimistic about our chances. Apparently, I was not yet enough of a believer in Tom Brady. Brady led the Michigan offense down the field twice, scoring on a 5-yard scramble to pull within four with about 4 minutes left and throwing a beautiful touchdown pass to Marcus Knight in the back of the endzone with about 1:30 to play. Penn State drove deep into Michigan territory in the last minute, but their QB fumbled upon getting sacked and Michigan recovered, sealing a dramatic win in Happy Valley. Rushing the field at Beaver Stadium at the end was definitely the highlight of my first year in the marching band.

2005 Rose Bowl – Texas 38, Michigan 37
Yes, Michigan lost this game. However, it was one of the most exhilarating and maddening Michigan games I have ever seen. I remember Donovan McNabb exposing Michigan's inability to stop the mobile QB way back in 1998. I remember less mobile QBs like Drew Brees and Zack Kustok also exposing the defense. You better believe I was terrified about Vince Young, especially with Jim Hermann still in charge of the defense. I knew the game would be a shootout since Texas would have no answer for Braylon Edwards, either. The game did not disappoint. Michigan built up an uncomfortable two-possession lead in the fourth quarter, but Vince Young continued to terrorize the slow Michigan defense. The game came down to a ~35-yard field goal attempt from a poor kicker for Texas. Michigan partially blocked the kick, but the ball barely carried through the uprights and Texas won. I tend to not take the bowl losses so hard, so I still appreciated the exciting football game. It was still a great way to cap an amazing sixteen-day West Coast vacation that included ten days of camping in Mexico.

2000 Orange Bowl – Michigan 35, Alabama 34 (OT)
Michigan snuck into a BCS bowl with a 10-2 record despite not winning their conference. Shockingly, the Orange Bowl was not a sell-out for the game (there were about 10k empty seats). Local papers blamed Y2K and ridiculous prices for plane tickets to Miami for New Years Eve 1999 for the lack of attendance, but it was sad that these two teams could not sell out the stadium.

Alabama was a very powerful team this season, featuring RB Shaun Alexander and a great O-Line led by Chris Samuels. Alabama jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Michigan fought back with two touchdown passes to David "B.A.D." Terrell. Alabama then raced out to a 28-14 lead, but Tom Brady led Michigan back once again with another TD pass to Terrell and a short TD run by Anthony Thomas. After a late 4th quarter fumble on the 1-yd line by Thomas and a blocked FG attempt by Hayden Epstein as time expired, the game went into overtime. Michigan scored a TD on their first or second play. Alabama came back and scored quickly as well. However, their kicker inexplicably missed the extra point despite no pressure from the Michigan defense.

The OT was played in the endzone where I was sitting, and I was stunned/speechless for about 30 seconds after I saw the kick sail right of the uprights. Then I started celebrating like crazy! By the time the game ended, it was well past 1AM on a New Years Day that started around 7:30AM for the band, yet none of us were ready to leave the stadium.

Tom Brady came onto the trumpet bus after the game to thank us for our support throughout the season. He is an awesome, yet grounded individual. He will always be my favorite Michigan player.

2000 – Michigan 35, ILLINOIS 31
The Michigan Band was making their first trip to Champaign since the early 1980s. This was a rare big game against an Illinois team that stunned us at home in 1999. Led by Kurt Kittner, the Fighting Illini were dark horse contenders for the Big Ten championship. Michigan was reeling from a bitter screw job in Pasadena against UCLA the week before and a freak injury to starting QB Drew Henson in training camp that held him out of the first three games in favor of redshirt freshman John Navarre.

The game was on during primetime on ESPN. The Illini student section was liquored up and ready for this one.

The game started pretty slow, with neither team able to generate any offense. Trailing by a few points late in the second quarter, Michigan shocked everyone by throwing injured QB Drew Henson into the game. The mood of the most lethal offense in Michigan history (Henson, David Terrell, Anthony Thomas, Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus, etc) changed immediately. Michigan drove down the field just before halftime, but Hayden Epstein missed a chip shot FG, causing Henson to chuck his helmet halfway across the bench in anger.

The second half was a completely different game. I think there was a stretch where 6 straight possessions ended with touchdowns or field goals. Michigan was always playing catch up and just needed one big stop so that they could get the ball with a chance to take the lead. Michigan got that chance, thanks to a favorable call from the refs. The Illinois RB fumbled the football deep in Illinois territory, but he appeared to be down by contact prior to fumbling. However, absent instant replay, the call stood. Anthony Thomas busted a 20-yd run inside the Illini 5 yard line. He appeared to fumble on the play (I was sitting in the back of this endzone and he CLEARLY fumbled). However, the officials ruled Thomas down and the crowd was PISSED! Michigan scored a TD a couple plays later and held on for a dramatic 35-31 win. The Big Ten apologized to Illinois two days later for botching both key calls in the last five minutes of the game.

The overnight bus ride back to Michigan after the game was quite sweet after a big win in the most vicious environment I have ever witnessed. Illinois never recovered from the loss in 2000 and finished with a very poor record. However, they would rebound to win the Big Ten title outright in 2001 despite losing to Michigan by 25 points.

1999 – MICHIGAN 26, Notre Dame 22
My first football game as a member of the marching band was no cupcake for the maize and blue. A year after Notre Dame crushed the defending national champs 38-20, Michigan had something to prove. I remember that it was crazy-hot outside (90 degrees?) and I was wondering why on earth I signed up to wear a wool uniform on game days after a year of watching games in comfortable clothes in the student section. There were several second half lead changes, but unproven, unclutch, and unloved-to-date Senior QB Tom Brady won the first of several first half battles with "wonder boy" Sophomore QB Drew Henson and led the offense down the field for a late fourth quarter touchdown. Notre Dame mounted a last minute drive and appeared to complete a first down pass inside the Michigan 20-yard line with 3 seconds left (from my poor perspective in row 3 from the other end of the stadium), but the receiver was stopped just short of the chains and the refs decided that it was not close enough to measure. ND had no timeouts left, so the last 3 seconds of the clock ran down despite massive protests from the ND sidelines and Michigan won the game 26-22.

3 recent Michigan games I wish I had attended:

2002 – MICHIGAN 31, Washington 29
First game after graduating from Michigan. It was really tough watching that first game on TV after leaving school, especially since the game came down to a last-second FG. I was in Worcester with Gary1 and another friend from my South Quad days, but it wasn't the same as sitting in Michigan Stadium that afternoon.

2004 – MICHIGAN 45, Michigan State 37 (3OT)
I was so close to going to this game. Mpls Ju and I discussed visiting TheDogDoctor (our best MSU friend) and taking her to the game. However, I decided to visit Mpls Ju in Minneapolis that weekend since she was lacking funds to travel. At least we didn’t give up on our team and watched the game all the way down to the thrilling finish, though we both wish we had seen that game live.

2005 – MICHIGAN 27, Penn State 25
WE OWN…
Once again, I thought about going back for the game, but decided to go down to Philadelphia for the weekend instead. CableGirl drove up from DC on Saturday and we watched the game with some of my PSU friends in the area. Watching Michigan win their seventh in a row against JoePa capped one of the most exciting 60:00 of football I have seen on TV.

Still to come - the most heartbreaking losses I have attended, the best away game venues, game-by-game prediction for Michigan in 2006, and my preseason Top 25.

Yo Yo Yo

Yo Yo Yo. Are you ready for Jeannie Ortega? Are you?

The FIX is in!

As RoopDogg pointed out in his comment, since FlyingV won his own NBAJam tournament, the FIX was clearly in!

A well designed 24-player tournament with an elaborate ranking system dwindled the field down to 16 after three preliminary games for the double elimination tournament yesterday. In order to form eight teams of two, the top 8 seeds were paired off with the bottom 8 seeds. I was the sixth seed after the preliminary round, but I was stuck with a sub-par partner for the tournament. Surprisingly, my partner was the only one of the 16 that didn't show up last night. I played my first game with BuckeyeBoy (who didn't participate in the tournament). However, he mysteriously disappeared later in the night and I picked up a different partner who was just hanging out at FlyingV's for the evening for the later games.

One interesting twist for the tournament was that you could not play with the same NBA team twice. Since some teams were much better than others, there was a lot of strategery choosing a team for each game.

My first game was a hard fought battle against #3/14 seeded UNICorn and K-Pal. A hard fought win with the not-so-clutch Chris Webber led Warriors moved me along. We pulled off an impressive 30-point win with New Jersey in the second round despite trailing at halftime. Derrick Coleman caught "fire" twice and racked up a ton of second half points.

The championship of the winner's bracket was game #1 against #8/9 seed FlyingV. FlyingV and his partner cruised through their first two games, including a record-tying 100 point outburst in their first game. A poor choice of team (Knicks) and a strong performance from FlyingV led to a 25-point loss. We bounced back in the championship of the losers' bracket with a strong win with the Jazz.

To win the tournament title, we needed to beat FlyingV and his partner twice in a row. The first game pitted FlyingV and the Hornets against me and the Spurs. In an ugly, defensive showdown, we hung on for a dramatic 3 or 4 point win. We still had the powerful Hornets left on our list of eligible teams, so we took them for the rubber match. FlyingV dug deep into the list of teams and selected the Bullets. I thought we had the game wrapped up at this point. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that I was about to witness an amazing shooting display. FlyingV and his partner scored on every possession from the middle of the first quarter through the beginning of the third quarter, despite never having a player "on fire". We scored at a good clip as well, but in the end, we lost by 25. FlyingV and his partner both shot over 80% from the field. That is just insane. The FIX was definitely in! Congrats to you, FlyingV.

Finally, an Evening to Relax

Tonight was the first worknight of the week where I got home before 7:30PM. After three straight nights of sports after work (pick-up soccer + 2 softball games), it is nice to vegetate for a night. The blisters on my feet from Monday's soccer game definitely thank me for it. Walking/running around was painful for me the last couple nights (as opposed to just painful for those that have to watch me run).

Unfortunately, my first free night of the week involves nothing fun. After working until 6PM, I came home and started paying bills and straightening up. Yeah, I am boring tonight. Meh.

Maybe I'll start with the first of my college football season preview posts tonight. We'll see...

Thrilling Read

Came across this exciting paper on the internet tonight. I was definitely excited and proud to see this. Truly excellent news!

I am still a slacker

I just got home for the evening. We beat the interns in softball tonight. 22 to 8. However, both sides were badly bloodied from a smack-talk war that started to get a little too vicious at the end. The good news is that we have clinched at least a share of the regular season title with two games left. Our next game is against the 0-11 last place team, so I like our chances for an outright regular season title!

FlyingV hosted his NBAJam 8-team, 16-player double elimination tournament tonight after the softball game. My teammate was a no show, so I picked up a different partner that did not play in the preliminary rounds. We made it to the finals before falling to FlyingV and his teammate. I'll put a story up soon.

I swear I'll actually write something soon. I have like four stories now that I could write more about. Tomorrow should actually be a better day to be a vegetable after work and start writing.