Ryan Mallett's punishment will be: "He'll be in shape, that's for sure," Petrino added. He's going to get up at six o'clock in the morning every day," Petrino continued. "We'll have an eleven o'clock curfew for him for the rest of the semester and then there's going to be some community service involved in it."
Red Berenson, Michigan's Hockey Coach gets a 1 year extension. Red is considering retiring but doesn't know when.
Hockey at the Big House? It might happen after the renovations are completed. A mgoblog reader suggested the idea of a double header with the Red Wings. Sounds like a great idea!
Michigan's Junior Day will be March 13 and has been named "The Night of Champions". In-state prospects planning to attend include: Detroit Southeastern defensive end William Gholston, Detroit Cass Tech cornerback Dior Mathis, Inkster quarterback Devin Gardner, Warren Fitzgerald linebacker Austin Gray, Charlevoix offensive lineman Bill Ivan and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s quarterback Robert Bolden. Out of State prospect hoping to attend include: Spartanburg, S.C., quarterback Cornelius Jones (6-2, 197 pounds) is and Flower Mound (Tex.) Marcus running back Stephen Hopkins (6-0, 220). Spring practice starts the next day, March 14th.
Desmond Howard, Michigan Wide Receiver (1989-91) is on the ballot for nomination to the College Football Hall of Fame. This picture alone should get him into the hall.
ESPN 's Bruce Feldman's Blog on Intriguing new assistant coaches: has #1 Scot Loeffler the former U of M QB coach that is now at Florida to work with Tim Tebow and #2 is Michigan's new defensive coordinator, Greg Robinson.
Ed Hightower did the Iowa - Ohio State game on The Big Ten Network last night.
Can Michigan pick up some big time recruits from the Southern States in last few days before signing day? There are two big time targets: DE Sam Montgomery (pictuired above) and OL Quinton Washington (pictured below). Both men list Michigan as one of their finalist with other Southern schools. Yesterday, Sam hosted at home Butch Davis from North Carolina, Monte Kiffin new DC at Tennessee, and Les Miles from LSU. Sam will visit Tennessee this weekend and had also has USC and Clemson on his list. It seems the leader in the clubhouse, might be UNC for Sam. I think Butch Davis is trying to sign 40 guys this winter. As for Quinton, he recently cut his list down by removing Clemson and Tennessee, he is visiting Miami this weekend but most believe South Carolina and Michigan are in his final 2.
As you can see from the poll on the right side, the BHB readers feel that Denard Robinson is Michigan's most important recruit still pending. Denard would give Michigan another dual threat QB and some much needed depth at the position. Most believe Denard, will pass on his Florida offer so he can play with his good friend Adrian Witty (DB). The two schools that have offered both players are Kanas State and Michigan. The betting money, is on both players to be Blue next Wednesday.
This from the Ann Arbor News, regarding the father of the Michigan Hockey player who was slashed on the ice and then ran into the MSU locker room to confront the players: Bruce Kampfer, the father accused of physically confronting Michigan State hockey player Corey Tropp in the Spartans' locker room at Yost Ice Arena last Saturday, is banned from most buildings on the University of Michigan's campus, a police spokesperson said Thursday. Bruce Kampfer, has been given an official tresspass order and is not allowed to enter any building on the University of Michigan's campus, except the university hospital as necessary. This is a sad ending to a terrible incident. This father will never be able to see his son play at Yost Arena again.
Michigan will start it's spring football practice on March 14.
Michigan Basketball plays again on the road on Saturday as they visit Purdue. We all know how the Wolverines have been playing lately and I don't give them much of a chance in West Lafayette. The game is on at 1:00 on CBS. Don't expect to see Zack Novak in this game, who will most likely will be sitting out due to a suspension for his elbow in the Ohio State game. I think Purdue will be favored to win this game easily. If you are looking to place a bet on this game or to bet on other sports try the guys at BetUS.com, they are good guys and a very professional site (don't forget there is a pretty large football game this weekend as well). With the recent poor play, Michigan is now looking at an NIT bid which is a disappointment after the pre-season wins against UCLA and Duke. Don't forget Michigan still has a road date with "soon to be #1" UConn as well. Nothing but bad news from the Wolverine Basketball program at the moment.
How would you like to be a 4 Star Defensive End with offers from many of the top programs in the country? Well, Sam Montgomery is that young man these days and he is having to make some difficult decisions. Late on Monday he cut his list down. "Even though Oregon has a lot to offer, he felt that it was not the place for him," Mrs. Montgomery said. He will visit Tennessee this weekend. Sam was planning a mid-week visit to The Ducks/NikeTown this week. She said more cuts are coming. "We're going to do some serious soul searching," Mrs. Montgomery said. "It just hard to say good bye. You get to like them as a person." Sam will also be hosting coaches from Tennessee, North Carolina, and LSU this week.
Don't forget the Wolverine Basketball team is playing OSU tonight in C-Bus. The game is an early tip at 6:30 and the Buckeyes are favored by 4.5. If you are looking to place a bet on sports or any other game try the guys at BetUS.com, they are good guys and a very professional site. The Georgia Bulldogs are making a late charge for Je'Ron Stokes and are trying to get him to campus for an official this weekend. Tony Ball the Bulldogs WR coach is recruiting Stokes and is working with OC Mike Bobo to see if they can get Je'ron an offer/visit for this weekend. On a funny side note: On Tuesday, he (Stokes) couldn’t call UGA until very late because Michigan coach Rich Rodriquez was at his Pennsylvania house for most of the evening.
With 2009 Recruiting Closing Down, it's time to focus on 2010 recruiting efforts. 2010 looks to be a good class for QB talent in the State of Michigan. Devin Gardner, 6"4 195 lbs QB from Inkster already has offers from Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and many others. Just yesterday, Michigan offered Orchard Lake St. Mary's QB Robert Bolden, who also stands 6"4 and weighs 195. Robert isn't a secret either, he is sporting offers from Vandy, CMU, Nebraska, MSU, Northwestern, and Wisconsin.
Are you into Flight Stalking? Per the Mgoblog message board it seems Coach Rod's plane last night went from Philadelphia to visit Je'Ron Stokes to Cleveland to maybe visit Marcus Hall. Check this link out and picture below.
MSU has thrown Conboy completely off the team and he has left school. Tropp is done for the year and might not be asked back. Both kids were involved in the ugly incident at Yost Arena this past weekend.
Wolverine SuperBowl Shuffle: Alan Branch former Wolverine DT and now a member of the Arizona Cardinals won the a rumba dancing contest at Super Bowl Media Day. The contest was organized by ET's Kevin Frazier and Warren Sapp was a celebrity judge. "It means a lot," Branch was quoted as saying in Tampa Bay Online, regarding his dancing victory. "I came here with a good game plan." With Alan's big win, your probably ready for the game on Sunday and remember no mater if your favorite team isn't in the game watching it with a few bucks down makes it much more interesting. The place I would recommend is Super Bowl Betting, check it out before Sunday. There are plenty of Wolverines to root for no matter if your a Steelers or a Cardinals fan. I just hope Woodley doesn't take Breaston out when his route calls for a short pass over the middle!
Alan is holding the hardware, Former Wolverine Gabe Watson is pictured above during the competition.
Per the Freep: MSU's head hockey coach: “What happened near the end of the game this weekend is not the way in which we want our hockey program represented,” Comley said in a statement. “We cannot condone their actions. We felt that we had to send a strong message that this behavior will not be tolerated."
CCHA Commissioners thought: "We feel that the measures taken by Michigan State are appropriate and consistent with the parameters of the sanctions that were being contemplated by the league," league commissioner Tom Anastos said in a news release.
Is it enough? Maybe, maybe not. I lean towards the side that it's not enough. But that is more of an emotional decision after watching this video too many times. Either way, this incident will not help the Michigan - Michigan State rivalry on or off the field. Thank God, Kampfer is ok.
I have written on this blog a number of times that people go to the extremes when it comes to rivalries. I have seen this way too many times when it comes to the Michigan - Ohio State game. I know both sides have their "extreme" fans but I truly believe some Ohio State fans take this football game way past the edge of sanity.
If you don't believe me and you happened to be an OSU fan, take your young son or daughter to Columbus in two years for the game and dress them in Wolverine gear. See how far you get. I would bet most of you wouldn't do that.
This post's intent is not showcase the Ohio State - Michigan rivalry. It's to showcase that some people forget it's a football, basketball, or hockey game and not life and death. Fans and players are both included in this generalization.
An example of that happened on Saturday Night at Yost arena in the hockey game between Michigan and Michigan State. Per the Freep:
In the final minute, Michigan State freshman forward Andrew Conboy came up behind Kampfer, grabbed him by the neck and slammed him to the ice. With Kampfer defenseless on the ice, Michigan State sophomore forward Corey Tropp — who had been knocked down by a clean open-ice hit moments earlier by Kampfer — slashed him in the neck area with his stick. Tropp received a double disqualification, and Conboy received two roughing penalties.
Michigan State coach Rick Comley said after the game that Tropp would miss two games and Conboy “will probably stay home” next weekend when the Spartans visit Lake Superior State.
Kampfer was playing his 10th game of the season after suffering a fractured neck and cracked skull in an on-campus incident in October.
This is a sick example of players taking a hockey game and rivalry to extreme. Witnesses at the game said Kampfer's family members were enraged and it was reported that his father might have even stormed into the Spartans locker room looking for Tropp and Conboy.
What Tropp did is borderline criminal and hopefully charges will be filled against him. As for the Michigan State coach, "he will probably stay home" next weekend? Are you kidding me? How about thrown off the team?, suspended for the rest of the season?, lose his scholarship?
The good news is Kampfer is ok:
“I have a strained neck right now,” Kampfer said in a phone interview with the Free Press on Sunday. “I had no relapse of what happened earlier. Hopefully, I’ll be back this weekend.”
“It’s something that shouldn’t have happened,” Kampfer said. “It just shows the lack of sense that people have. I don’t think two-handing someone over the neck when someone has had previous injuries is right or necessary.”
This is another sad example of extreme behaviour in a rivalry game. I am all for supporting your team, playing hard, and even wanting to beat your rival. Just don't cross the line. Troop and Conboy crushed that line on Saturday.
Seems it was a good weekend to be a Wolverine and we haven't had too many good weekends lately. Let's have a quick recap of the good news.
Michigan runs a 100 play full contact scrimmage on Saturday and the offense looked crisp.
Rodriguez was encouraged by how quickly the team is picking up his schemes. Only 60% of his offense has been installed so far, and Rodriguez doesn’t expect that number to reach 80% by the end of the spring.
Threet and Sheridan move ahead of David Cone as the starting QB. Nick Sheridan is pictured above.
Michigan picked up it's third verbal and second of the weekend, from Cass Tech running back Teric Jones. Teric is 5"10 190 lbs. running back and Michigan was his first offer with interest from USC. Teric's put in the fastest time at this year Army Jr.'s combine. He is a 4.3 guy. As reported below 4 Star DB Justin Turner, from Ohio (Shawn Crable's HS) committed on Friday.
