A lot to do today, so let's not waste any time:
Michigan basketball's 2012 freshmen class officially arrives in Ann Arbor - Michigan basketball now officially has five new members as the class of 2012 has made it on campus for the summer session. Despite the fact that the growing excitement for football season is clouding your mind, it is okay to be just a leeettle excited for the start of basketball.
Underclassmen summer camp roundup - Of course, the summer provides us with a great look at some of college football's next big names as the camp circuit is in full swing. Maize and Blue news runs down some of Michigan's summer camp's best performers.
Michigan basketball PG Trey Burke standing out on national summer camp circuit
"He has a great command of the ball and is a terrific open court passer," ESPN.com analyst Reggie Rankin wrote of Burke at this weekend's Deron Williams' Skills Academy in Chicago. "He can also knock down open jumpers on the break or when reading the defense as he comes off ball screens, can nail ball-reversal spot up 3s and make a play when the offense breaks down.
If Trey Burke can handle the increased pressure he will receive this year then Michigan could be scary good. Okay, time to get a little bit more excited.
Michigan football freshmen discuss preparing for college | Detroit Free Press - Obligatory snarky comment about the Freep interviewing incoming freshmen.
3 reasons why Michigan QB Denard Robinson will be a Heisman finalist, and 3 why he won't - What doesn't get mentioned enough is that for the first time the "September Heisman" actually means something. If Robinson leads Michigan past Alabama, Notre Dame, Air Force, and UMass without losing a game, you'll be hard pressed to find someone to challenge him for frontrunner status.
A Few Thoughts - Anytime Tremendous posts "A Few Thoughts" you'd better read them. Unless you don't like bad news concerning Laquon Treadwell.
Sandusky Goes Away, America's Coaches To Pick Up the Pieces
The parents' trust, though, is a little to tougher to earn and that's the way it should be. One of the concepts, I learned and try to sell to parents is that they should release their children to the game. Let it be their team, their experience and their journey with the parents there to model poise and confidence for them and support them when they need it. That's a tough sell for some parents. Anyone who's seen a parent screaming at a kid, a ref, or a coach in a youth game knows it's a concept that's far from universal.
My warning to that concept, though, is that the parents should make absolutely sure as best they can that the coaches and environment to which they are releasing their child is a safe one. Something tells me that parents these days have Sandusky in the back of their minds when assessing a sports team or organization. They probably look a little harder for danger signs and are quicker to distrust rather than trust good coaches and volunteers. I can't blame them.
As someone who used to coach, I can sympathize with this. If you are a good coach and person you work really hard to overcome the sins of the worst of the profession.
Legendary Michigan State Coach Duffy Daugherty Proposed Eight-Team College Football Playoff in 1966
Why did Daugherty embrace the revolutionary banner? He was upset from the year before when the AP poll had the audacity to award the national title after the Rose Bowl, which MSU lost 14-12 to UCLA. Because awarding titles in a team sport based on what a bunch of men thought, from its very inception, was profoundly stupid.
The far reaching effects of this would be fascinating. Do PSU or FSU join conferences? Do the SWC and the Big Eight ever need to merge? Does the Big East ever open up to football? Does the Ten-Year War yield better national results for Michigan an Ohio State? One thing is for sure: this idea made way too much sense to be put into practice in the 60's.