It's Tuesday, but there's a lot in the Michigan Football and College Football Universe to get you caught up on. Here's what's ON TAP:
Stuff You Need to Read Right Now
A Detailed Look at Defensive Line Play. Tomahawk Nation looks at the details of defensive line play. It's a "Back to Basics" discussion that is so awesome your brain will explode with happiness. Goddammit I love this site.
Smart Football explains the Georgia shallow cross patterns. Go there. Read. Be educated.
Dan Shanoff notes that ProFootballTalk just partnered with NBC Sports. Just to make things interesting he suggests the potential for Mr. Swindle to find his way to CBS. Please God, make this happen. I beg you. And while your at it I'd like a pony. BTW, ABC/ESPN, I have a voice of golden silk and can drink like Musberger. I understand you may have need of my services...
Fixing the NBA Draft: A modest proposal. A Sea of Blue proposes some tweaks to the NBA draft that actually would bring some sanity to the process. Unfortunately, that's why these great suggestions will never come to fruition. Still, great work by ASOB.
Michigan Football
Heisman Pundit goes rating the nation's top quarterbacks. Of note, he picks Tate Forcier to be the top freshman QB in the country. Woo.
The Free Press asks if Michigan's Taylor Lewan is the next Jake Long? Let the hype wagon begin rolling. It's never too early to heap monstrous expectations on a 17 year-old now is it? "Right now, I'm 275. I need to gain about 10 more pounds if I want to play," Lewan said. I think we're looking at a redshirt folks. Relax a tad.
Michigan picked up two new commits: TX OLB Holmes Onwukaife (3*) and SC QB Cornelius Jones (N/R). News and a short interview with Onwukaife over at MGoBlog.
Cornelius Jones Goes Blue. In case you're wondering who, exactly, Cornelius Jones is, Varsity Blue's got you covered. (Hint: Not an awesome vampire in Brooklyn).
2010 Michigan commitment Ricardo Miller moving to Michigan. File this under stuff you already knew. Class of 2010 wide receiver commit Ricardo Miller, is moving to the Ann Arbor Area. He just hasn't figured out where he'll be going to school.
Will Gholston commits to MSU. SBN's outstanding Spartans blog, The Only Colors, has the news on our newest Green and White nemesis. I am long overdue in linking The Only Colors, and that's my bad. The Only Colors is churning out killer content and really giving a great MSU take on all things Spartan. I'm hoping a little copious linkage will buy me some forgiveness. Lo siento, gentlemen.
Whoa. This is kind of a sad day. The M-Den lost its contract with University of Michigan to supply Wolverine apparel for sale at the Big House. I know the MDen is a corporation that makes money, yadda yadda. But I bought my first Michigan T-shirt from them back in '93. No word on who will replace the MDen as the University's new "official" merchandiser when their contract expires at the end of the month. But in hindsight, the merchandise and apparel have just sucked the last few years.
Make your own joke. Mine will just get me in trouble. HT: Eleven Warriors. To borrow from Swindle on this one.
[R]emember that you don’t have to make the really bizarre and funny things in this world up, you just have to pull them off the wires. Also, if anyone needed the ability to withstand pepper spray right now in the manner of Ohio State fans, it’s protesting Iranis.
Michigan Basketball
UMHoops is back to its player report cards. Our beloved Honky Magic receives a Tommy Boy. :_(
College Football
Bruce Feldman takes a look a the 10 softest nonconference schedules in the country. First up for a fisking? Northwestern and Penn State sit Nos. 1 and 2 on that list.
The Fanhouse seems to think that Notre Dame's dwindling TV revenue from its NBC contract may finally force the Domers into a conference. Right now Notre Dame's television (NBC Football) and shared Big East conference revenue (basketball only) in 2009 will be, at best, $11.35 million. By comparison, in 2008, every school in the Big Ten will clear north of $15 million from the conference, a number that will only increase in years to come. Every school in the SEC will bank, conservatively, $17 million. Ha. Indiana is kicking your ass financially. While it's an interesting thought that this will "force" Notre Dame into a conference, I'm not so sure.
Here's why: while Texas is tops athletic revenues, Notre Dame is still bringing in $59.77 million on football alone. That's more than enough to keep Notre Dame's athletic department free floating. Still, with Texas' athletic department generating $120.3 million from all sports and a staggering $72.95 Million from football alone, you've gotta think that the Domers are looking at a conference, even in the abstract, as a way to generate more cash.
For the record, Michigan came in 4th at $99 million, with $57.37 million of that revenue coming from football (7th overall).
The Sporting News gives us their top 5 College football teams poised to improve this season. Michigan, of course, gets no love.
That said they don't fall into TSN's 5 College football teams in line for a decline in '09. TSN takes Minnesota behind the woodshed, and Matt Hayes predicts a 4-8 season for the Varmint Cong. Wow. With 16 starters back you're predicting 4-8? I know they've got a tough schedule, but I get the feeling their offensive line is going to be really, really good.
Dr. Saturday says Maryland v. West Virginia is not a rivalry? When I was in DC is sure as hell was. That is as nasty a crowd as I have ever experienced. I had forty year olds, hammered out of their minds, bringing their kids to the game wanting to fight me becuase they thought I went to Maryland or West Virginia, all because I wasn't wearing Red or wearing blue and yellow. It's just a nasty, nasty rivalry. Don't under sell it.
More from the good Doctor. The Iron Bowl is not that kind of extreme (but it's close) What's a little good, old fashioned hate among friends?
Taylor Mays and the USC Song Girls. USC Safety Taylor Mays life is so much better at 21 than yours will ever be. I hate him for this.
College Basketball
More fallout for the USC basketball team following Tim Floyd's resignation.
Random Stuff
Don't click here. don't ever click here. You'll never look at the toilet the same way.