You betta check yo’ self before you wreck yo' self: Bumper Stickers

Yes this is going to become a regular "stick"/feature here at BHB. When something rubs me the wrong way, I will have a regular post in Ice Cube's honor: you betta check yo’ self before you wreck yo' self.



This week feature is on bumper stickers. What in the world posses people to put some sticky sign on their rig's bumper? I saw one today that said; "if your not outraged, your not paying attention". They were right, I think $4 Million is too much for a buyout! I am outraged!



I don't care if your a Republican or Democrat keep your political thoughts in your head and off your car. For those that love to support their University with a sticker on the their car - make sure it's a nice car. If you are sporting an 81 Accord and have a Harvard sticker on the back, your not really sending the right message to the boys back in Boston. (no Tommy this wasn't a crack at you, I'm sure you doing a fine job)



Enough with the boy taking a leak on a Chevy or a Ford. There is no reason for it.

I'm glad your kid made the honor roll at the XYZ academy. Hopefully, he or she is smart enough not to put a bumper sticker on their car when they are old enough to drive.

I'm happy that your "all country" and listen to a certain radio station. But it doesn't need to be on your car.

Your vehicle is one of the larger investments you have, don't throw some sticky sign on it that will peel or fade the paint. Support your team (or driver) by wearing your favorite gear or jersey, don't class down your ride by throwing a sign on the back bumper.



So the next time your at Cedar Point and the guy comes around and says can I put "I rode the Big (insert new ride here) today" bumper sticker on your car. Just say no!

Is Tate Forcier Serious about coming to Michigan?

Nice coat!

He came to Michigan's camp this summer and now will give Michigan 1 Official visit for the Utah game and One Un-Official visit for the MSU game.

I would say he is serious about coming to Michigan.

This is going to be interesting. It's looking more and more like RR would take 3 QB's in this class.

After ESPN Outside the Lines Report: PSU dismisses Baker and Taylor Today

A day after ESPN's "Outside the Lines" chronicles the large number of arrests the Penn State Football Program has had over the last 5 years, Penn State and Paterno today decide to dismiss both Chris Baker and Phil Taylor (defensive tackles) from the the team.

In May, Baker was placed on probation for two years after entering separate misdemeanor guilty pleas for his roles in the two fights.

He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault and criminal trespass in connection with a fight in April 2007 in State College. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault for a fight at the campus student union in October. All other charges against Baker were dismissed, and Baker was ordered to pay $2,500 in restitution.

Earlier, Paterno had suspended Baker because of his connection to both fights, but Baker by spring he had been cleared to work out with the team again.

Baker recorded eight tackles for loss -- 4 1/2 of them sacks -- in 2007 before Paterno held him out of the Nittany Lions' regular-season finale at Michigan State and the 24-17 Alamo Bowl win over Texas A&M.

Taylor had been suspended through mid-August by the university's office of judicial affairs for his role the campus fight in October. PSU police had charged him with simple assault.

He was dismissed from the football team today by coach Joe Paterno. A starter toward the end of the 2007 season, he had been expected to return to school Aug. 15, the day PSU's second summer semester ends.

The Most Hated College Football Program is ....

#2 USC
#3 Notre Dame
#4 Florida
#5 Oklahoma
#6 Michigan
#7 Texas
#8 Alabama
#9 The "U"
#10 Tennessee


Story @ blog.mlive.com

Alabama Fan Day is Sunday Aug 3rd

University of Alabama football fans will be able to watch the Crimson Tide practice in Bryant-Denny Stadium during Fan Day on Sunday.

Fans may enter the stadium, beginning at 1:30 p.m., and the open practice begins at 2:30.

Following practice, the Tide team, coaching staff and head coach Nick Saban will be available for autographs.

Full Story @ montgomeryadvertiser.com

Get Ready For Some Rule Changes This Fall

Every year we get a couple new rule changes in college football. This year is no exception. These new rules will mimic the NFL rules changes and will have an outcome on the way your favorite team celebrates, make tackles, and manage the clock. Here are some of the rule changes and my takes:

• Sportsmanship and Show Boating will now carry a 15 yard penalty. I understand this rule but it does take some creative fun out of the game. A college kid shouldn't go Chad Johnson, but he should be able to have a little fun. So I am afraid this penalty is going to be called way too often.
• Contact initiated by a defender with the crown of his helmet. This is a good penalty and is keeping safety in mind for both the offense and defense, my hope is they don't call a penalty on every big hit. This should only be called when the defender leads with his helmet.
• The Belichick Rule: No video taping the other team personnel. Good rule.
• All Face Mask penalties are 15 yards. No more 5 yarder. I like the 5 yard penalty and thought all face mask shouldn't be personal foul. Guess how many 3rd down stops are going to result in a 1st down? A lot!
• New Replay Rules: Certain field-goal attempts can now be reviewed, instances where a player is ruled down and a loose ball is immediately recovered, instances where a player is ruled out of bounds when he immediately carries the ball across the goal line.
• Head coaches now will retain a challenge if their initial challenge was successful.
• The Clock is one of the biggest changes for this season. The old system was the 25 second clock was started when the ball was ready for play. The new rule is a 40 second clock that will start as soon as the play is called dead. The clock will start automatically and you have 40 seconds for the ref to spot the ball and get the play off.
• With Two Minutes left in the half or the game, the play clock will start at the snap of the ball. Hopefully, this will let more teams get off more plays in under two minutes.

Should be interesting to see how these rules change the game. The clock change should have a big impact.

'08 Bama - More than Anything else, for this Year, there needs to be some Consistency! (CFN '08 Bama Preview)

Head coach: Nick Saban
2nd year: 7-6
13th year overall: 98-48-1
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 23, Def. 23, ST 3
Lettermen Lost: 21

Ten Best Alabama Players
1. OT Andre Smith, Jr.
2. C Antoine Caldwell, Sr.
3. S Rashad Johnson, Sr.
4. LB Rolondo McClain, Soph.
5. WR Julio Jones, Fr.
6. CB Kareem Jackson, Soph.
7. QB John Parker Wilson, Sr.
8. RB Terry Grant, Soph.
9. NT Lorenzo Washington Jr.
10. TE Nick Walker, Sr.

Alabama needs to win now or else there will be more pressure next year than there normally would be. The much-maligned Mike Shula came up with a ten-win season in 2005, and this year's team is far better.

It'll be tempting to look to the future after a 2008 recruiting class with mega-talents like WR Julio Jones, OT Tyler Love, LB Jerrell Harris and QB Star Jackson, but many of the top prepsters will be needed now. Considering next year the offense will likely be breaking in a new quarterback, star linemen Andre Smith (most likely) and Antoine Caldwell will be off to the NFL, along with safety Rashad Johnson, and many of the star recruits will still be a year away from shining, this is the year to come up with results or else it might be 2010 before the program really hits its stride.

More than anything else, for this year, there needs to be some consistency. Jim McElwain is the team's third offensive coordinator in as many years, the defense has major turnover in the back eight, and there can't be gaffes like there were last year against UL Monroe. The coaching staff is in place, the talent has been upgraded, and the expectations are starting to build.

Full 2008 'Bama CFN Preview @ cfn.scout.com

SEC's Most Bitter Rivalries

'Bama is involved in 3 of the top 5 bitter rivalries!

#1






#2







#5

Full Story @ myespn.go.com

The High Costs of Recruiting

We all know recruiting high school stars to come to U of M or any school is a costly endeavour. These trips are important, coaches need to be able to go into a young man or woman's home or school and sit down with them to see if they are interested in attending the University of Michigan. Some programs have private planes and I'm sure some travel mostly by car. But what are the cost's associated with recruiting and how much budget does a major University need to cover these trips? Gas is expensive these days.

Well, a new report released by the Chronicle of Higher Education reports that athletic programs are paying big dollars to recruit these kids. You might be surprised on who spends the most:

• Tennessee was the highest in the study with just over $2 Million spent on Recruiting. No other school hit the $2M mark.
• Notre Dame was second with $1.76M (Since 1996-97, Notre Dame has increased its spending on recruiting 161 percent. Only only Kansas State University, Duke University and West Virginia University increased their recruiting budget at a steeper pace)
• Florida spends $1.45 and was 3rd in spending
• Michigan State spent $1.01 M ranked 17th out of 116 schools
• Michigan spent $1.0 M Ranked 21 out of 116
• Indiana University spent $905,300 to rank 33rd
• Purdue University spent $730,500 to rank 53rd
• Eastern Michigan spent $611,412 to rank 64th
• Central Michigan spent $416,874 to rank 89th
• Ball State spent $290,500 to rank 104th
• Western Michigan spent $235,556 to rank 111th

If I'm an AD and I'm spending over a million dollars on recruiting expenses, I would hope to have a highly ranked recruiting class. Not sure MSU reached that goal last year.

Inside - Out: A closer look at Michigan's new Jerseys

Here are some photos that show the inside "traditional" items that Adidas put into their new Michigan uniforms. The shoulder pad photo (which is a little hard to read) are the Big Ten Champions years.

SEC QB's

Alabama, Wilson is the man and coach Nick Saban says revisions have made the offense more "quarterback friendly." Asked to explain, he indicated that the decision-making process had been simplified.

For Alabama to succeed, Wilson must make some Flynn-like plays.

In the 28-24 victory over Florida, Flynn ran for a first down on a fake field goal, and completed a fourth-down touchdown pass. Against Alabama, he completed a game-winning TD pass on fourth-and-4 from the Crimson Tide 32 with 2:49 to play.

Full Story @ arkansasnews.com

More Trouble in C-Bus

In what seems to be a late summer trend, another college athlete has been charged with Drunk Driving. Starting Defensive Tackle Doug Worthington was arrested in Columbus early Saturday morning and charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Worthington a 6-7, 276-pound tackle started 11 games last year and is listed as a defensive starter. Worthington and Tressel met on Sunday but no punishment has been announced.

Should Terrelle Pryor Red Shirt at OSU?

Yes, media days have come and gone and we are still a week away from camp opening when we can officially start rumors about who is looking really good at WR or this guy got hurt and maybe out for the year.

With that said, us Bloggers of the world have to look for posts anywhere we can find them. Well, one of the stories coming out of Media day was that Ohio State is looking forward to seeing what Terrelle Pryor can do on the field. I will attempt (yes, a Michigan Blog) below to make my case why TP should sit back a learn this year, let's see if you agree.

Case for TP Red Shirting:

• He can quickly learn his school is actually the Ohio State University and not UOS.


• He can learn behind a two year starter who lead his team to the National Championship game and may end up in the Arena league next year. (Columbus even has a team!)
  
• He would have 4 years to match up against Michigan's 5 Star QB Kevin Newsome.


• He will be one year farther away from the below picture (TP, try putting just one sock in your pants - you don't need four or five pairs - also 2 guys shouldn't be that close to your junk). Dude, I know your a freshmen and all, but come on your the #1 recruit in the country! (same goes for you Keith Wells - pictured to the right)

Case for TP playing:

• Boeckman and Pryor could go Leak and Tebow. Pryor could learn that great jump pass.


• If TP is really that good, he will only be in Columbus for 3 years anyway.


• With Youngstown State, Ohio, Troy, Minnesota, and Northwestern on the schedule, TP could get allot of exposure on the Big Ten Network.


• If Boekman continues his throwing troubles from last year, TP may end up the starter by the USC game.
• Boekman was a gray shirt and look how things turned out for him! (shouldn't gray shirt be renamed Grey Vest at UOS?)
  

What does the Vest have to say about all of this: "We always say, regardless of the position or what year someone is, you get as your work deserves," he said. "If Terrelle deserves to rotate in at quarterback (he will). The only little difference is at quarterback, there's a rhythmic thing to work out."

With both cases made, I think TP should sit out this year. For one, it is really going to be hard to play football with shorts like that. Second, Boekman has had the off season to learn and has stated he is going to hand off the football to "Beanie" as much as possible.

Future OSU Recruits: Please be aware of the above photo. At Michigan all you have to fear is Mike Barwis.

Good News in the Time Warner - Big Ten Network Talks

Looks like both Time Warner and the Big Ten Network are at the table talking about a way to get a deal done before the start of the football season. BTN President Mark Silverman had this to say; "We're working and talking to Time Warner," Silverman said. "We'll have an update hopefully in the next few weeks."

Side Note: Let's all take a look at the calendar. You have a month to get the deal signed and get the network on your cable channel lineup. Let's step up the communication!

Of course we're hopeful," Time Warner spokesperson Heidi Mock said. "Our last communication (from the corporate office) were that discussions were ongoing."
___________________________________________

• Sounds like Ohio State's Malcolm Jenkins had a great trip to the Playboy mansion for his All American photo shoot. He was pictured wearing a straw hat and throwing up outside the mansion. "My stomach was acting up. I didn't even know there were cameras around," Jenkins said. "It was an enjoyable weekend."
• Guess who's still around..........Yes, Tate Forcier has recently cut down his list to 6 schools. "I've got a solid six," Forcier said. "Right now it is Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Florida, Washington State and New Mexico." If he comes to Michigan, would you say; We have a plethora of young QB's next year? It for sure would be the 3 Amigo's!

Grady Officially Suspended

Sure there is a ton of non-information coming out of the Big Ten Media days in Chicago. But at least we found out that Kevin Grady is officially suspended. This comes as no big surprise after Kevin was charged with Drunk Driving earlier this month. He also had a blood-alcohol level of 0.281 (legally drunk is 0.08).

Here is what RR had to say about Grady:

He's been suspended from the team, and is no longer working out with the guys," Rodriguez said at the Big Ten football media day. "He's working out on his own. He's still attending classes. "It's kind of a week by week basis on him getting back. He has to do certain things within the program to earn his way back on the team. And once he does that, there will be some playing time penalties, and then he's on kind of a strict watch."

Let's hope Kevin learned his lesson and will do what it takes to get back on the team and have a big year.

Introducing the A11 Offense.. Is this headed to College Football?

This offense is one in which a center and two tight ends surround the football, three receivers are split right, three more split left and two quarterbacks stand behind in a shotgun, one of whom has to be at least 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Per the rules of the game, only five players are eligible to catch a pass during a particular play and seven players have to set up on the line of scrimmage. But in the minds of Bryan and Humphries, you can develop an infinite number of plays with an infinite number of formations.

Talk about confusing a defense.

Full Story @ highschool.rivals.com

Check out this Offense @ a11offense.com

Alabama Joke - Les Miles (LSU)

Miles told fans at an LSU booster club meeting in New Orleans last weekend "not to make too much of that (Alabama) game, as it seems like a lot of teams in Louisiana beat that team." It was a reference to the Crimson Tide's embarrassing loss to Louisiana-Monroe last season. Or maybe to LSU's own win in Tuscaloosa.

Full Story @ sportingnews.com

William Ming

William Ming, from Athens High School was the first news of the day when gave his verbal pledge during the week of the Tide's summer camp.

Ming, Scout.com four-star defensive end, is a 6-foot-4, 265-pound prospect who chose Alabama over several offers including Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

Ming made 67 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and five sacks as a junior. He is rated the No. 6 best player in the state by the Tuscaloosa News and TideSports.com.

Full Story @ tidesports.com

'Bama vs Clemson = $2 Million Each

Alabama and Clemson will reportedly earn nearly $2 million apiece for their season-opening matchup in Atlanta.

Full Story @ sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Both Michigan and OSU lose players off their Fall Rosters

Michigan released it's fall roster yesterday and one high profile player wasn't on it. Marques Slocum was a DT that had a ton of up side as a football player but had a hard time qualifying and now seems to have failed out of school. He spent the better part of 2 years trying to get into Michigan and made a few brief appearances in games last year. Now, it seems he couldn't hack it in the classroom and is officially off the team.

I wish Marques luck and hope he continues his education and football career.

OSU has seemed to finally cut ties with troubled safety Eugene Clifford. You might remember Eugene from: being suspended from the trip to the national championship game last season after breaking unspecified team rules. Then on July 4th weekend, he was arrested in Cincinnati after allegedly punching two employees of the Holy Grail sports bar while the employees were trying to break up a fight.

Eugene was one of the top recruits in the 2006 class out of Cincinnati Colerain and will continue his football skills at another school. Reportedly; Louisville, Eastern Kentucky and Western Carolina are all interested in Eugene, but he most likely will end up a D1A school where he can play right away. That rumored school seems to be Tennessee State.

Wolverines can't make golf tournament due to Barwis commitment

The last four years LaMarr Woodley and former Michigan State University football player and current St. Louis Rams defensive lineman Clifton Ryan started the Hero's for Kids golf tournament in Saginaw. Usually 20 football players from Michigan and MSU play in this event to help raise money for the kids.


This year, the Michigan football players have run into a conflict. That conflict is Barwis.

"It's a big disappointment for all of us," Preston said. "The (U-M) players always have said how much they enjoy Heroes For Kids, and the strength and conditioning coach (Mike Barwis) said he wants to work with us on this next year."But this workout is mandatory, and all players must attend. It's coach Rod's call on that. This is his first year (at U-M), and he's doing everything he can to make sure his team is successful."

Jamie Morris has set up for some Michigan student athletes from the Womens Gynanistics and Basketball team to attend the event. Also Roy Manning, Jr. a former Michigan football player will also participate.


Hopefully they can work the schedule next year so the players can play in this event while at the same time givnig the time they need to put into Barwis. This event has raised more than $250,000 for Saginaw youth recreation during the first three years.

Thank Goodness Kirk Ferentz didn't come to Ann Arbor

Would you want to send your son to play for Kirk Ferentz at Iowa right now? I'm guessing no.

The Iowa program is a complete mess at the moment and it seems to be getting worse by the minute.

The Iowa state Board of Regents is planning to have a special meeting this week to address a letter sent to University of Iowa officials by the mother of the alleged victim of the alleged Hillcrest Hall sexual assault involving Iowa football players last fall.

The mother's letter alleges that the Iowa Football program asked her daughter to keep this matter "quiet and in-house".

The two Iowa players involved are Clemmie Jevon Pugh and Abeberell Satterfield.

Warrants for the arrest of Satterfield and Everson were not issued until May 29, more than a week after Mason received the second letter from the mother of the alleged victim. The men later surrendered to authorities. Satterfield has been charged with second- and third-degree sexual abuse. Everson has been charged with, and has pleaded not guilty to, second-degree sexual abuse. Satterfield will plead not guilty, according to his attorney.

The Iowa Program is a complete mess and they are almost averaging an arrest a month. Something has to change and it's hard to believe but Kirk Ferentz job is on the line. This program and case seems very similar to Colorado and Gary Barrnet. Gary very much like Kirk was the toast of the town when he was with Northwestern and now is searching for any program to hire him. Gary could not get past the mess he made at Colorado and Kirk might be heading in that same direction.

Just think for a moment if Michigan had hired Kirk this winter and allegations like this came out (of course this matter happen after Michigan would have hired him), Michigan would have had to fire it's new coach after just hiring him. Not good! There has been a long pattern of questionable activity in Iowa City from players living in government funded homes to a long line of criminal activity.

I'm not saying Kirk was involved in the "keeping quiet" part or that he will lose his job. But something stinks in Iowa City and the captain always goes down with the ship. The Iowa Hawkeye boat is sinking and sinking fast. Kirk might coach like Vince Lombardi but if he doesn't clean up this program, it won't matter one bit.

Just this weekend: Defensive end Riley Reiff, an incoming freshman from South Dakota, was arrested after allegedly leading at least eight Iowa City police officers on a 20-minute foot chase, multiple media outlets reported. The 19-year-old pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of public intoxication and interference with official acts.

Do you think Kirk is looking forward to addressing the media this week at the Big Ten Kickoff in Chicago?

Curtis Painter for Heisman?

Is Curtis Painter a Heisman candidate? Purdue's Athletic department thinks so and is promoting him with a brand new web site. CurtisPainter12.com is launching this week with a bunch of stats's,video features and highlights.

I don't know about you but this statement alone should disqualify him from a trip to NYC. Painter was named Most Valuable Player of the 2007 Motor City Bowl.

Side Notes: Brian Hoyer and Todd Beockman had no comment if they wanted Heisman websites. Juice Williams asked which team Curtis played for and Beanie said he would let his My space page do his talking.......................

Dequinta isn't a Hotel but is a new Wolverine Commit

After losing a OL that seemed to be a strong Michigan lean to "goodtime" Charlie at ND yesterday, Michigan picked up a much needed commitment (rivals is reporting) from a LA DE/DT Dequinta Jones. DJ is 6-2 and weighs 275 and is ranked around the top 20 players in LA. He is a 3 star guy on both Rivals and Scout but fills a large hole in Michigan's recruiting class. DJ had offers from Arkansas, Cal, OK State, and Alabama.

Here is the update via Varsity Blue:

Jones is a big-time defensive end - something the Wolverines sorely need after missing on Nick Perry in 2008. He is considered more of a run-stuffer with speed than an edge rusher, but he shows ability to get to the quarterback as well. He has good size, and may even be able to grow into a defensive tackle unless the staff wishes to keep him at end. He comes from a winning program (Bastrop won the Louisiana state title in 2007) and hopes to bring his success to Ann Arbor. Jones was listed by the Times-Picayune as a player just outside the top 25 in the state of Louisiana. Blogger Dandy Don pegs him at #19 in the state, while praising his work ethic.

Newsome Update:

Many Wolverine fans have been worried about 2 things about Kevin Newsome (a 5 Star QB from Virgina and Michigan verbal commit).

#1 Worry: Many are reporting that Kevin is not fully committed to Michigan and has re-opened up his recruitment to places like VT or PSU. Well, here is what Kevin had to say: "I'm committed to Michigan," Newsome said. "Me and Bryce McNeal were going around bragging how we're going to beat Randall Carroll, who's going to USC, Cierre Wood, who's going to Notre Dame. We were bragging about things like that." Newsome said he really hit it off with McNeal. "It was great to be around a guy that's going to be a future teammate hopefully," he said. "He's a great guy. Bryce is a good, good guy. He's one of my boys now. We're going to really stay in touch." (Bryce is pictured below)

#2 Worry: Kevin has not shown his strong QB skills this summer at the elite football camps, after focusing on track this spring. Here is what Rival had to say about his performance at the Top Gun camp this weekend in Florida: But that Newsome wasn't the same guy who was on field at the All-Star Sports Complex this weekend. The Newsome on display at the Football University Top Gun Showcase Camp was confident, sure of his throws and accurate.
Kevin Newsome has worked to improve his throwing, and it shows.Instead of overthrowing or bouncing passes, he was making the right reads on progressions and nailing wide-open receiver after wide-open receiver. This was the quarterback who got college coaches and recruiting fans drooling.

"I've been throwing every day," said Newsome, who is one of the most physically impressive players in the nation at 6 feet 3 and 220 pounds. "I just decided to do it and stop complaining about the time I didn't have because of track. I just decided to start working harder to make up for the time I didn't have with track."

That hard work was on display first in Saturday's evening sessions and continued all day Sunday and again on Monday morning. After the other quarterbacks were done working out on Saturday and Sunday, Newsome was outside throwing passes at targets all by himself.

'Bama No #6 among "Football Factories"

A good football player -- above anything else -- wants to know which coach and which program will serve his purposes of reaching the NFL.

Where does Alabama stack up in this area, considering this was a year where the Tide was shut out of the NFL Draft?

10. Tennessee
9. The Mid-American Conference (I know, I know ...)
8. Syracuse
7. Penn State
6. Alabama
5. Michigan
4. Ohio State
3. Notre Dame
2. Miami
1. Southern Cal

Full Story @ blog.al.com/bamabeat

Martin picks ND, Another QB recruit? and Sam goes Woodson

• Zach Martin Offensive Tackle and the #1 recruit out of the state of Indiana picked ND last night over Michigan and a host of other schools. "I just knew I was going to Notre Dame and I didn't want to lead anyone on anymore," Martin said when asked why he chose the Irish without taking the scheduled Michigan visit. "I just knew where I wanted to go, so I thought I shouldn't drag it on any longer." This is a large blow to Michigan recruiting efforts in this class, Zach had visited Michigan and seemed to be a Wolverine lean. Looks like the local in-state team won in the end. Michigan continues to need OL, DT, and DE out of this class.
• Former Wolverine QB Clayton Richard now in AAA with the White Sox's and was also selected to the US Olympics team. Seems baseball was the right route for Clayton.
• Another QB? Michigan looking at South Carolina QB: South Pointe’s Stephon Gilmore is the highest-ranked quarterback in this class, but he is projected as a defensive back in college. Among his numerous offers, Michigan is the only one that wants him to play quarterback. Gilmore said he is more than willing to take whatever the defense gives him. “Being able to run opens up so many things,” he said. “Whenever you are able to beat teams with your feet, that’s just another thing they have to worry about.” Stephon is 6-1, 180 and passed for over 1,500 yards and ran for over 1,000 yards last season .
• Wonder what number your favorite freshmen will wear this fall? Wonder no longer:

2 - Sam McGuffie
4 - Marcus Witherspoon
5 - Justin Feagin
7 - Terrence Robinson
9 - Martavious Odoms
12 - J.T. Floyd
15 - Michael Cox
16 - Roy Roundtree
20 - Michael Shaw
22 - Darryl Stonum
25 - Kenny Demens
28 - Brandon Smith
33 - Boubacar Cissoko
36 - Taylor Hill
42 - J.B. Fitzgerald
56 - Ricky Barnum
57 - Elliott Mealer
63 - Rocko Khoury
64 - Kurt Wermers
65 - Patrick Omameh
68 - Mike Martin
78 - Dann O’Neill
86 - Kevin Koger
88 - Brandon Moore

Notables: Sam I am goes Woodson, Robinson goes Henne, Shaw goes Hart, Roundtree goes Arrington, Witherspoon goes Webber (what a great number for a LB!) and Feagin goes Jalen Rose.

WineMaster Woodson

Former Michigan Heisman trophy winner Charles Woodson has a new line of wines called 24. If your interested you can see them at charleswoodsonwines.com when they go on sale on 9/1.

Charles was even in town to support his wine and the Mott Children's hospital last Friday.

Of course the NFL has a problem with Chuck's new business endeavour:

After he did an interview about his passion for wine recently, and as news of Friday's event spread, the NFL contacted his representatives this week to remind him of the league's alcohol policy, specifically that any interviews supporting alcohol would be seen as an endorsement and "may have a detrimental effect on the great number of young fans who follow our game."

Of course the NFL loves all the advertising revenue they get from every major beer label on the planet!

Woodson and his partner Ruiz have a cabernet and a cabernet franc. Good Luck Chuck! Don't name any of your wines the 5 Buck Chuck, I think that title is already taken. :-)

No ESPY for App. State and Late Week Recruiting Update

Been pretty slow lately on the recruiting trail but here are a few updates:

• Michigan recruit is at Florida's camp this weekend: Fleming Island offensive tackle Ian Silberman, a junior who figures to be one of the state's most coveted targets in 2009. He already has offers from UF, Miami and Michigan and will work out tonight to help further build his reputation. "I'm excited," Silberman said. "It's not like the excitement you get to play a game, but I think players need to be there so the coaches can see where you're at. Plus, you get to go up against strong competition, and that's really helpful."
• I didn't know that Zach Martin was considering UK did you? Zach Martin, a 6-5, 270-pound offensive tackle from Indianapolis' Bishop Chatard High, is listed as a four-star recruit and the 18th-best tackle in the nation by Rivals.com. Martin is the son of Keith Martin, who played at UK from 1981-83 and was a teammate of offensive coordinator Joker Phillips.Martin lists UK as one of his favorites along with Michigan, Notre Dame, Virginia, Illinois and Purdue.
• Southern recruit likes Michigan (but parents prefer Clemson), if we land this recruit we should send a T-Shirt to his elementary school teacher! DeDe Lattimore, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound three-star linebacker from Cedar Shoals High School likes the Wolverines. "My elementary school teacher was from Michigan and he's the one who got me into them," he said. "That's when I started watching them all the time and I love the colors and the stadium is like the biggest in the world," Lattimore said. "It's just looks like an amazing environment. I know it's cold there, but I think I'd get used to it." Lattimore is also excited about the new coaching staff. "I love the tradition at Michigan and they have some good new coaches that are really going to be changing things up," he said. "I like coach Rich Rodriguez and it really impressed me that he was one of the few head coaches (and UCF) that offered me himself. That meant a lot." Lattimore says the Wolverines lead slightly over Oklahoma State, Louisville, Central Florida, South Florida, and Clemson.
• Update from yesterday's post: App. State doesn't win the ESPY for biggest upset (Giants over Tom Brady and Crew). Sorry guys, beat LSU this year and you will be a lock!!

New Uniforms Bowl at the Big House

No this isn't one of those pre-season Bowls when it's like August 18th and you flip on ESPN to find USC playing BYU in New Jersey.

This is the un-Official new Uniform Bowl when Utah meets Michigan at the Big House. Or in the athletic gear markets it's the non-Nike Bowl when: Under Armour meets Adidas. Both Michigan and Utah left Nike this past year.

Here is the Tale of the Tape: Utah's Under Armour vs Michigan's Adidas:

Colors: Utah can go all White or all Red or mix the two. Michigan's will stay with tradition and not mix the colors, but does have some new yellow strips on it's away Jerseys. So Flexibility vs Tradition. Have to go with Tradition: Michigan

Technology: Adidas: the ClimaCool fabric system that enhances ventilation in “high heat zones”; the Foromotion cuts, strategically placed seams that remove excess fabric such as when a wide receiver stretches for a ball; and beyond the jersey, players will have the TechFit PowerWeb sleeve for their calves to improve oxygen delivery and increase blood flow.

Under Armour: Slight changes in looks and material are part of the new package. "They're tighter and lighter," said Johnson, "so I can run faster." "It feels lighter," said Mack. "It's all good." Not a tough one here - Michigan

Intangibles: Inside the Adidas Michigan uniforms will have Bo Schembechler’s famous quote ‘Those Who Stay Will Be Champions’ in the hem. It will also have (silicone prints of) the 42 Big Ten championships on the inside of shoulder pad area.

Inside Utah's new jersey will say, "Urban Meyer Coached Here!". This is a tough one - I have to go with a PUSH.......... :-)

So the Wolverines have the clear edge in the new Uniform battle, let's hope that translates to a 14 point victory on the field.

Ezekial Knight's Career at Alabama has Officially Ended

Linebacker Ezekial Knight's career at Alabama officially ended Wednesday when coach Nick Saban declared him "medically disqualified."

Knight, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound senior from Wedowee, started at outside linebacker in 2007 and made 64 tackles.

But he had not been cleared for the 2008 season because of an undisclosed health issue dating back to surgery he had to correct a heart murmur in 2006. His condition flared up again during winter conditioning.

Complete Story @ Birmingham News

4-Star Receiver Opts for Baseball over 'Bama Football

Destin Hood a four-star receiver from Mobile won't enroll with the other signees this August. Like Melvin Ray, assume coach Nick Saban left the door open for Alabama football if baseball doesn't work out.

Complete Story @ blog.al.com/rapsheet

4 Things that I'm tired of reading about Michigan

Recruiting Michigan: I love that the Freep keeps reporting that Michigan has the state's top player but Michigan State as the rest of the state's top talent. They continue to try to make the point that these players are choosing MSU over U of M. Which in many cases is not true, some of these kids that are going to MSU are not even listed has having a Michigan offer. With that said, MSU is putting together a nice class and was recently listed in the top 10 by Rivals.

Field Turf: Yes, Michigan has Field Turf and every program or high school that puts in Field Turf, gives Michigan a shout out for having it. Ok, enough already. We really don't care what your surface is and yes Michigan has it. Good luck to IU and others who are finally coming out of the 80's and finding out there is a better surface out there to play football on.

The Disaster in Late August: Will this ever die? Or will we continue to see these highlights like Kordell's Bomb for the next 10-15 years. In every preview (for every team) for the season, they start out with something like: "Since App. State upset #5 ranked Michigan last year, we know nobody is safe opening weekend". Let's all get past this. App. State was a National Champion last year and beat a Michigan team that was not prepared to play. This was not some team D1A team with a .500 record, this was the best D1A team that could have housed many D1 teams last year. Doesn't matter Michigan should have taken care of business and beat them by 14-21 points. Either way this loss and last year is along time ago, there is a new Michigan program coming so lets bury this loss and move on. App. State is even up for an ESPY for goodness sakes.

Breaking News: Rich Rodriguez left WVU. Can we finally move on from this? The money is paid (or will be paid) and RR is coaching Michigan. Bottom line, WVU got some money and Michigan got it's coach. WVU fans should focus on your quality team coached by "Jimmy Stewart".

Honorable Mentions to the top 4: Jake Long was the number one draft pick, Chad Henne has a shot to play right away in Miami, Michigan has new Uniforms, Beanie Wells had a good day against Michigan last year, and recruit Dennis Thames is related to Tigers Marcus Thames.

Penn State will beat Michigan this year (in something)

This guy must have the Big Ten Network for away games - No this isn't Barwis house.

Don't you just love watching a football game at Michigan stadium and hearing the PA announcer say "thank you for being part of the largest crowd watching a football game in America today".

Well, next year the Big House will not be the biggest. Why? Well Michigan stadium is under construction and with the settlement with Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America for more Wheel Chair seating the Big House will drop to 106, 201. Meaning for only the second time since 1973 Michigan will not lead the nation in attendance.

Who will? You guested it. Penn State's Beaver Stadium holds 107, 282. Michigan before the construction held 107,501. After the construction is complete in 2010, Michigan hopes to be at 108,001.

So PSU fans you got your must needed win. Forget the 10 wins in a row, Chad Henne, or Steve Breaston. You Penn State will lead the nation in attendance next year.

When asked for a comment, JoPa said, "Where's that damn remote - Murder She Wrote is on!!"

'Bama vs. Virginia Tech to Open '09 Season?

Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver confirmed today that the Hokies will open the 2009 season against a Southeastern Conference team – probably Alabama -- in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Complete Story @ hamptonroads.com

Ranking the Conferences - SEC #1.. Where does 'Bama Fall?

- Top Non-Conference Game: ' Bama vs Clemson

- Freshmen of Impact: (WR) Julio Jones

- Outland Trophy Candidate - (OT) Andre Smith

- Thorpe Award Candidate - (DB) Rashad Johnson

- Top Conference Games (SEC) - Auburn at Alabama

- SEC Player Rankings:

QB - #20 John Parker Wilson

RB - #17 Terry Grant

Center - #5 Antoine Caldwell

Tackle - #2 Andre Smith

Inside Linebacker - #9 Rolando McClain

Safety - #9 Rashad Johnson

All-Purpose Players - #7 Javier Arenas.

- Top Unit Rankings: Backfield #7 Alabama, Offensive Line #6 Alabama

- National Recruiting Ranking - #1 Alabama

- Top Impact Freshmen - Julio Jones, WR, Alabama

- Top Senior Quarterbacks - John Parker Wilson, Alabama

SEC Pre-Season Magazine Predictions and Honors

Ezekial Knight yet to be Cleared for '08

University of Alabama linebacker Ezekial Knight has been calling smaller schools searching for a team, apparently signaling an end to his Crimson Tide football career.

Fighting heart ailments since 2006, Knight was cleared to play in 2007 and made 64 tackles. He had a setback during winter conditioning and has not been cleared to play in 2008. Coach Nick Saban has not spoken in-depth about Knight's status.

Knight, a senior who has not yet been medically cleared for the 2008 season.

Full Story @ blog.al.com/spotnews

Memo to West Virginia Columnist's: It's over - cover the Olympics or something

I just don't understand why West Virgina is still so upset at Rich Rodriguez. They got their $4 Million and going to have a top 25 team this year. Why are they still upset?

They just can't let this go. People leave for better jobs and Rich did. People get upset with their boss and leave for other jobs, Rich did.

Chuck Landon a West Virgina columnist is still upset at the buyout and Rich. Here are some statements from his article (if you can call it that):

As far as I'm concerned, the controversial former West Virginia University head football coach got away with "Grand Theft Contract."

The remaining $2.5 million, as well as his legal fees, are being paid immediately by Rich Rod's new employer -- the University of Michigan. That means we now know what the going rate for integrity is in the land of Maize & Blue.

Remember, this is the same University of Michigan that pompously proclaims that it's an institution that holds itself to a "higher standard."Well, from where I'm sitting, UM just dropped the bar so low in this limbo contest about the only thing that still can pass under it is Rodriguez' ethics.

Quicker than Guerlain could suggest the right fragrance to hide the stench of these cesspoolish proceedings, the check was written and the air was cleared. Shalimar, Mary Sue? Unfortunately, not even Febreeze could eliminate the odor wafting off of Rodriguez' part of the deal. It stinks to high "Almost Heaven."

Rich Rod's $500,000 installment essentially will be the same as Morgantown mogul Mike Puskar donating a half-million dollars to WVU. It will supply Rodriguez with a very nice tax write-off not once, not twice, but on three separate 1040s.

Fielding Yost must be turning over in his grave.

After six years of fawning and pawning, the Mountain State media finally removed its Rich Rod goggles when Rodriguez bolted so unceremoniously to Michigan.

Don't you just love his points? Maybe he had too much to drink last night when he wrote this. He even applauds Michael Rosenberg's Free Press article, so he must have some type of head injury.

He is mad that Michigan paid the majority of his contract buyout? How do you think Buyouts get handled? Most of the time the university/employer pays them. This is just a fact.

Has the integrity of U of M come under question? Well, they hired one of the best coaches in the country, tried to get the buyout lowered, and then paid the buy out. Seems to me they did the right thing. If hired a high profile coach, how would you wanted WVU to handle it? Pretty sure you shouldn't compare the smell of Ann Arbor vs the smell in any town in West Virgina.

Rich shouldn't get a write off for his $1.5 Million? Are you crazy Chuck? Why not? Maybe you should name the football stadium after him for the $1.5M! Rich is paying $1.5 M out of his pocket for leaving a job. If you quit and herald-dispatch, I'm sure you wouldn't want to pay $25,000 because your working at the West Virgina Press (I made that name up - I don't follow newspapers in West Virgina).

Is Fritz turning over in his grave? My hope is that Fritz would be concerned about the level of play that Michigan has had on the field that last couple of years and happy they are changing the environment of the Michigan program.

Last point he made himself, if Rich was still at WVU everyone in the media in West Virgina would still love him. The only reason they don't love him any longer is because he is wearing a navy block M hat. If you ask me, to hate a person because they got a new job is pretty shallow.

Chuck do yourself and your readers a favor and let this go. Wish Rich good luck at Michigan and just hope he doesn't meet WVU in a BCS Bowl game in a few years. If you got a better job, I'm sure your colleagues would do just that. Funny how you never hear his former players saying anything negative about him at Michigan. Must be only people like Chuck that are upset.

Chuck in the words of IceCube: “you betta check yo’ self before you wreck yo' self"!

Cell Block News and Notes: That is way too many seats in the Rose Bowl!

• DB and QB still have Michigan on their list of schools: Defensive back Mywan Jackson (6-0, 180) of Seffner, Fla., will visit North Carolina, Illinois and Michigan this month, and he might stop by USC. Jackson also has offers from Louisville, Rutgers, Auburn and West Virginia. Louisville has been recruiting him the hardest. Jackson plays quarterback but is being recruited for cornerback. Clemson and USC are among the 35 offers for quarterback Eugene Smith (6-4, 190) of Miramar, Fla. Some of the other offers are South Florida, Central Florida, Boston College, LSU, Michigan, Auburn, Louisville, Florida State and Florida.


• Zach Martin, Indiana's top recruit OL for the Class of 2009 is considering ND and Michigan very seriously. ND seemly took a lead this weekend when Zach was scheduled to take visits to South Bend and Ann Arbor. Zach did not make it to Ann Arbor this weekend after his trip to South Bend. Has be made a decision to commit to ND? We hope he keeps his options open and makes another visit to The Big House.


• Remember Christian Wilson? Well, he gets some love in this North Carolina preview:

Incoming freshman Christian Wilson could also contribute at tight end. As asophomore Wilson was featured on the ESPN reality show Bound for Glory featuring Dick Butkus. He initially committed to Michigan, but chose to sign with the Tar Heels after the coaching change in Ann Arbor.

• Is Ann Arbor Titletown? ESPN to tape it's SportsCenter series at the Diag today.


• Dude must have one flat butt! Jim Purol broke his own record by sitting in 39,250 seats at the Rose Bowl in a 48 hour period. Jim has many records including sitting in all 107,501 chairs at the University of Michigan's football stadium. (Jim my man, how hard was that? they are all bleachers, all you would have to do drag your ass around the stadium for a day) The Rose Bowl feat was harder because they are all real seats. What did Jim think of the Rose Bowl where all the hopes and dreams live for every Big Ten Team?
  

  The feat has taken a toll on his body and his cleanliness, as soot on the seats rubbed off on his clothes. He says he loves the Rose Bowl but calls the place "filthy."

Nice Hat!

Kevin stays home for the weekend

Many Michigan fans wondered what Kevin Newsome might do this past weekend. Would he have BBQ in his backyard? Maybe take a dip in the local pool? Practice his deep outs? Or maybe just work out? The problem was this weekend was the weekend of Virgina Tech's Senior Football Camp and it's been rumored for weeks that Kevin's verbal commitment to Michigan was "soft" and that VT was coming on strong. A strong indication of that rumor (to be true) would have been Kevin's attendance at VT's camp this weekend. Well............

Quarterback Kevin Newsome, from Western Branch High in Chesapeake, was not at the camp. He has committed to Michigan but might be wavering. Newsome's younger brother, Keevon, a rising junior defensive end, did attend.

New Away Jerseys

New info about the Jerseys:

We put Bo Schembechler’s famous quote ‘Those Who Stay Will Be Champions’ in the hem of the authentic jersey. It’s not just about us just putting a logo on the program. We also have (silicone prints of) the 42 Big Ten championships on the inside of shoulder pad area. We can do everything with the outside of the jersey to uphold the honor and tradition. We’re putting more on the inside.”

Adidas is touting three technological aspects of the jerseys: the ClimaCool fabric system that enhances ventilation in “high heat zones”; the Foromotion cuts, strategically placed seams that remove excess fabric such as when a wide receiver stretches for a ball; and beyond the jersey, players will have the TechFit PowerWeb sleeve for their calves to improve oxygen delivery and increase blood flow.

I have to say, I like the "Tradition" items inside the Jersey. I know some will say the Away Jerseys look too much like West Virgina's but I like the change.

Ticket Prices

The average SEC ticket price - including the minimum donations required for the right to purchase season tickets - has increased 80 percent since 1998, from $61.07 to $110.05, according to an analysis by The Birmingham News.

In the SEC, Alabama ($50.71) and Auburn ($50) have the most expensive average face-value tickets in 2008.

Alabama charges $355 for season tickets and requires at least a $130 donation. To sit in better seats, there are minimum donation levels at $260, $390, $600, $1,300 and $3,250.

At the very minimum, a Crimson Tide fan who wants season tickets will pay $69.29 per game in 2008. That's up 67 percent from a decade ago.

Thirteen SEC games cost $55 or more this season. Alabama or Auburn is involved in nine of them.

Full Story @ al.com/sports/birminghamnews

'Bama Football Tickets on Sale Monday 7/14 @ 8AM

The University of Alabama announced the public sale of six games, Tulane, Western Kentucky, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Arkansas State and Mississippi State, to go on sale Monday, July 14, 2008 at 8 a.m. Tickets from this sale are from sections not used by visiting teams.

Source - www.nbc13.com

Enough Said!!

I don't really support Georgia either, however, UGA trying to draw blood on an Auburn Football Player - PRICELESS!!

Camp Kevin

As Mgoblog puts it "we are on Kevin Newsome watch" this weekend. Meaning if Kevin shows up for Virgina Tech's camp he is not solid on his Michigan verbal commitment and is open to seeing and hearing what Tech has to offer.

The former Western Branch star, headed to Hargrave Military Academy for his senior season, has committed to Michigan. But his former coach, Lew Johnston, said recently that Tech coaches are still hotly pursuing Newsome and were hoping he'd come to this weekend's camp. Kevin Newsome Sr. said this week that his younger son, 2010 defensive end Keevon, plans to make the camp. He said didn't know about Kevin.

I have put together a top 10 list for Kevin on why he doesn't want to attend Tech's Camp:

1. Do you really want to play on Special Teams at Tech?


2. Tech is short for Technical and your really not interested in HTML or Java script are you?


3. Frank Beamer will most likely be the head coach at Penn State next year anyway.


4. Mike Vick is bankrupt - Tom Brady isn't


5. Zoltan punts for Michigan


6. Don't you want to play against Pryor for 2-3 years to see which one of you is the better QB?


7. Dude - Barwis!


8. Dude - Zingermans!


9. It's going to be really hot in Blacksburg this weekend, would it make more sense to work with T Martin instead? (Dude this is so not Band Camp)


10. Rich has 1.5 million reasons he needs a QB like you!

Think about it Kevin, there really isn't a reason to go camping this weekend. (have you seen the price of gas!!!) Stay home and relax!

The College Football Season opens Seven Weeks from Today!!

On Aug. 28 there will be a Pacific-10 game (Oregon State at Stanford) and a border battle (North Carolina State at South Carolina). The next day is June Jones' debut as SMU coach after taking Hawaii to the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Mustangs play a Conference USA game at Rice.

The first Saturday features last year's giant killers, Armanti Edwards-led Appalachian State, at LSU. It's the first time defending champs from Division I's subdivisions will meet to open a season. ASU famously won at Michigan last year.

Later, Clemson meets Alabama in Atlanta. Sunday, instate rivals Kentucky and Louisville will meet. The weekend ends Monday in Pasadena, Calif., with Tennessee vs. UCLA in Rick Neuhiesel's debut as coach at his alma mater.

Full Story @ usatoday.com

Cell Block News and Notes

• Grady Pleads not guilty to drunk driving charges:

According to the ticket issued to Grady, he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.281. Under Michigan law, a driver with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher is considered drunk. In a pre-trial conference with Grady, Sluiter said he did not offer to reduce the charge in part because of the high blood alcohol level alleged by police. "It's a substantial level," Sluiter said. "But I've seen higher."

• Grand Valley State Continues to get good players via transfer:

Grand Valley State football fans can get excited about the transfer of former Colorado recruit and record-setting running back P.T. Gates. Gates is joined on the latest list by former University of Michigan linebacker Quintin Patilla. Patilla, bothered by asthma problems at Michigan, might switch to defensive line and could exercise a redshirt option this year.

• Middletown, OH CB DJ Hunter chooses The Vols over Michigan, Ohio State, and MSU. Seems like a unique pick put ok. He must like the speed in the SEC.
• Michigan says Oklahoma athlete recruit David Gordon can run track, play water polo, use the Michigan Union, Eat at Zingerman's, and play golf at the U of M course. Michigan doesn't have a great chance at getting Gordon:

  "I have a top four and Arkansas is number one right now," Gordon said. "I went there on a visit and it felt like home. After that it's LSU. Oklahoma and Michigan are fighting for number three".

  Wow, fighting for #3 let's put this guy on the commit list right now!

The Freep and MICHAEL ROSENBERG

I have been reading Michael's stuff for years and have usually enjoyed his articles. Today his article was titled: Embarrassing ordeal reveals ugly truths about Rodriguez. I thought to myself this is worth a read.

Feel free to read it if you like, but here are his summarized points that he makes in the article:

• RR and Bill Martin were too bull headed to ever settle this case, it was Mary Sue Colman who stepped it and said enough (because she would have had to testify).


• That RR had zero chance to win this case.
  
• That he didn't win anything in the end, except a longer payment schedule.


• He calls RR a Serial Job Shopper


• That he uses too "colorful" language during practices

I would like to address his points one by one, because I think he is way off the mark in many of his points:

1) RR and Bill Martin didn't want to settle. Michael needs to look at the article below his in today's Free Press Online. U of M was on the line for most of the settlement/buyout ($2.5m). IMO: Michigan wanted this lawsuit to continue to see if they could buy down the buyout just like in the Beilein's case. There were 3 reasons, they wanted it settled on Tuesday. 1) they didn't want it to become public that there was an agreement to take care of the buyout internally at Michigan and still have the case go on 2) Mary Sue didn't want to testify 3) The football team and coaches need to focus on Utah and not this case. So I think this point was a big swing a miss for Michael.

2) That Rich had zero chance to win this case. Let's see, John Beilein had the same problem and his buyout was cut all most in half, most of the staff involved in this case have been found to be "less then honest" and most if not all are not longer employed by WVU. The "fired" errr resigning President just said that he did speak with Rich about buyouts and not believing in them. So again Mike, you missed the boat on this point as well. Strike two!

3) Rich didn't win anything in the end. Maybe true and yes this should have been settled long ago. But WVU did lose any interest on the Money, is going to be paid over years instead of a lump sum and WVU will have to pay for all it's representation fees. So yes, there was some minor things Michigan won out of this. Mike, you hit a single here.

4) RR is a Serial Job shopper. Maybe. It's too early to tell but he didn't take the Alabama job and I'm sure there were many other Universities that came calling. If I am the head coach of West Virgina and have a shot at a historic football program and can get a raise. I listen. Mike if the New York Times or Sports Illustrated comes calling, you would listen and maybe even take the job. So I'm not sold he is a job hopper yet. Another swing and a miss ...............

5) That RR and his coaching staff is too tough on the Michigan players. Mike where have you been for the last 9 years? Have you seen the Wolverines on the field? What did you like about last years team loaded with NFL talent that lost it's first game because they weren't close to being ready to play? Mike, Michigan needed a huge change, they needed to go "George Costanza" and do everything just the opposite. Sometimes change is hard, sometime change is tough, but if you don't think the Michigan football program needed some drastic changes then your just asleep at the wheel. Strike 4 Mike, you are way out!

Good Night Now!

2008 Preview!

2008 Outlook: Alabama returns the core of what should be a solid offense but has a lot of work to do to fill all the holes on defense. More than anything, the Crimson Tide must continue to build numbers and depth and will need immediate help from a highly regarded recruiting class.

Scouting The Offense: QB John Parker Wilson is a senior but still has a lot to prove and the Tide is rebuilding at receiver. On the plus side, the line is improving, the running game should be productive and the Tide seemed to find a better sense of direction under new coordinator Jim McElwain.

Scouting The Defense: The Tide lost some key players from last year’s defense and will need big seasons out of their returning players, especially FS Rashad Johnson, DE Bobby Greenwood and ILB Rolando McClain. There are plenty of spots here for young players to earn playing time.

Scouting The Special Teams: Return specialist Javier Arenas is as dangerous as they come in the SEC and Leigh Tiffin proved to be a solid kicker last season, but punter P.J. Fitzgerald remains a source of consternation for the Tide.

Full Story @ sports.yahoo.com

Tarence Farmer - No Longer with the Tide

Redshirt freshman wide receiver/defensive back Tarence Farmer has left Alabama's football team and is not expected back for the 2008 season, sources tell the Press-Register.

Full Story @ al.com/alabamafootball

'BAMA Preseason 29, 26?

Phil Steele’s 2008 College Football Preview: The Crimson Tide was just outside of Steele’s preseason Top 25, at No. 26, with a bowl projection of facing Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Full Story @ tidesports.com

RR and Michigan pays the $4 Large

In a unique turn of events, the AP is reporting that RR has reached an agreement with WVU to pay the $4 Million buyout of his contract with West Virgina. West Virgina's attorney said an agreement was reached late Tuesday night.

At this point there are allot of unanswered questions, like:

• What was negotiated Tuesday night?
• Does he pay the $4 M over the next 20 years?
• Why pay now? It seemed from the outside that the trial was going well and that most of the WVU staff were found to be less then honest and had lost their jobs for other transgressions.
• Did he just want to be done with this? Maybe he didn't want it to be a distraction for the season and camp should start in a couple of weeks.
• Will he use "Sailboat Bill" bank (Ann Arbor Bank) to finance the Buyout?
• What will WVU do with the money? Will they name a building after Rich at WVU? Maybe the Barwis Training Center?
• WVU is getting over $6 Million from Michigan's basketball and football head coaches. At least let us have Pat White for one season! That seems fair to me.

Update:

Flaherty (WVU's attorney) said he would reveal additional details about the settlement, including the period for repayment, after the deal is approved by the board. However, he said the payment would not be made in a lump sum.

Adding pressure to Rodriguez was a lawsuit WVU filed in a Michigan court last week, asking a judge to order Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and President Mary Sue Coleman to testify in depositions. A hearing on that request had been set for Wednesday afternoon.

The Rodriguez camp approached the university with a "significant and serious offer" within the past few days, and WVU responded with a counter proposal Tuesday, Flaherty said. That set off a series of meetings with a court-appointed mediator, Frank Fragale.

In my opinion, Rich didn't want to bring his boss and his bosses boss into his lawsuit and wanted it settled right away.

Update #2 Per the Freep:

Rodriguez is expected to pay $1.5 million spread over three years, beginning in 2010. U-M is expected to pay the balance of the sum, $2.5 million, immediately and cover Rodriguez’s legal fees later, two people with knowledge of the agreement told the Free Press this morning.

Now it looks like Michigan asked RR to do the lawsuit to see if they could get the number whittled down since they were on the hook for the majority of the buyout.

When it says Michigan is expected to pay $2.5 maybe it's really Bill Davidson, Pistons owner paying it (pure speculation by the BHB). Either way, it's Done and Done. Now it's time to focus on Utah. Play on boys!

Recruiting Update: Michississippi? and MSU beats OSU for a Center

• Dennis Thames a 4 start Safety and RB prospect from Mississippi (and nephew of Tiger Outfielder Marcus Thames) will visit Ann Arbor this week and stay with Uncle as the Tigers have a 6 game home stretch. Historically it's been difficult to pull recruits out of Mississippi, because most recruits prefer to stay close to home but Michigan has a true shot at landing Dennis with his Uncle so close to Ann Arbor. We will see, if Michigan can't land Dennis they might want to focus on some other states for recruiting. It's just very difficult to pull recruits from their close families.
• Speaking of Southern recruits: Safety Jonathan Scott is down to his top 3 schools: "Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Michigan are the three schools I have been talking to the most. Scott's brother plays for the Buckeyes: "My brother, CB James Scott, plays for them. I have always wanted to play against my brother. I also talk to Coach Rod Smith every now and then. He is a good guy."Scott will keep it simple when it comes decision time."I just want to fit in their defense and be comfortable with the campus. That is pretty much it"
• Offensive Lineman Kyle Koehne close to a decision: The 6-6, 285-pound Koehne has narrowed his choices to Boston College, Florida, Michigan and Michigan State. "It's been a little more intense than I thought it would be," said Koehne, rated as a three-star recruit by rivals.com. "I've enjoyed it, but I'd like to have it done before the season." BHB: with offers from those schools look for Kyle to jump up to a 4 Star prospect when new rankings are released.
• Another Indiana Lineman Zack Martin isn't as close to a decision: The 6-5, 270-pound Martin, a four-star recruit and No. 18-ranked lineman by rivals.com, has whittled his choices to Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Notre Dame and Virginia. He has taken unofficial visits to his finalists."I'm going to try to have a decision made before the season, but I don't want to rush it,'' Martin said. "I had a good feeling about all of those schools."
• MSU beats OSU for a Center. The vest hasn't lost too many recruiting battles this year. But today he lost Nate Klatt, a 6-foot-4, 280 pound center to Michigan State.
• Here is a misleading article by the Freep: Saying two of the state's top players haven't committed yet. One is Dion Sims who is considering playing Basketball over Football (but is ranked higher in football) - Michigan has an offer out to him for Football. Second is Cameron Gordon who is a LB/WR and wants to play WR in college. Of course Michigan would rather have him as a LB and has not made an offer. As we know, Michigan's top HS football player (by far) is Cass Tech's William Campbell. William committed to Michigan back in the Carr days and still is verbally commited to the Class of 2009. Michigan also has a verbal from Will's class-mate Teric Jones.

Big Problems in Ohio for the Big Ten Network

The State of Michigan is all set, Comcast and the Big Ten Network have a deal. Doesn't really matter because Michigan's first slate of games is on National TV anyway (ESPN, ABC, or NBC).

So Michigan fans are covered for now (of course Michigan will have to have at least one conference game on the BTN and most likely the Toledo game as well).

Still the BTN has major issues in the State of Ohio where Time Warner Cable rules and now The Ohio State University or UOS (for Mr. Pryor) two out of their first 4 games will be on the network. The Buckeyes' games against Youngstown State on Aug. 30 and Troy on Sept. 20.

Time Warner (which is on the block) still doesn't have a deal with The Big Ten Network even though most of their concerns were the same as Comcast's. So why no deal? We don't know.

But the fact of the matter is that OSU vs Youngstown State and OSU vs Troy will both be on the BTN. If you include the mandatory Big Ten Conference game, OSU will be on the BTN at least 3 times this season. (OSU vs USC will be a night game on ABC and 9/6 game vs Ohio U will be a ESPN or the deuce)

Memo to Time Warner Cable: Get this deal done or you will be losing a ton of customers to a Dish provider in Ohio. If your a Michigan fan in Ohio you have most likely until 10/11 (Toledo) until the Wolverines show up on the BTN. OSU fans have until 8/30.

Tick Toc................................

'Bama Preseason #29

Alabama currently doesn't look quite as talented on paper as LSU or Auburn. But the Tide also doesn't look like a team that will have to settle for another Independence Bowl bid.

Complete 'Bama Preview @ collegefootball.rivals.com

Happy 4th! Michigan and OSU may battle over a kicker

• Anthony Fera considered to be one of the top kickers in the country may have to decide between Michigan and OSU. Anthony just kicked at Michigan's kicker camp and had this to say;

  “It’s going really good right now,” Fera said. “Right now I don’t have any offers, but it’s kind of like, for a kicker to get offers right away is kind of unexpected. It usually takes a little while. But I think Michigan, they’re really high on me right now, then Penn State and Ohio State. I kicked for them all and they want to think it over and stuff.
  

• Jay Hopson is recruiting Bastrop (LA) DE DeQuinta Jones. Michigan was one of the first schools to offer and is one of the schools top of his list. Hopson recruited his brother to Southern Miss.

  The scholarship offer Michigan extended earlier this year suggests that the Wolverines agree with that assessment.“It was in May before I got out of school,” Jones recalled. “I think I’m going to go up there for a visit.” The Maize & Blue has a legitimate chance in this fight thanks to Jones’ pre-existing relationship with linebackers coach, Jay Hopson.“I know him pretty good from when he was at Southern Miss, the school my brother goes to,” Jones explained.

• Rivals is ranking Michigan's 2009 class at #4 in the country at this point. Ohio State class is rated #1 (no big surprise there with 23 recruits). MSU was a surprise ranking at #10.
• TT has bought in to the new Michigan coaches and is set for a big Sr. year.

  "We were doing Pilates," Taylor said a few weeks ago of his teammates. "Man, that stuff is hard. Some of the things we do are crazy. We've never done that before, but it makes us more flexible." He claimed he returned from the Capital One Bowl in January weighing 327 pounds. Now, thanks to Michigan's intense workout regime, he's below 304 and plans to be at 295 by Aug. 4 when twice-a-day practices begin. "I'm going to be lean," he said, laughing, knowing what his 6-foot frame can handle. "I know doing that, being more flexible, doing the things they want and improving in the areas I can improve in, all working together, it's a blessing I stayed here and we got (strength coach) Mike Barwis."