Contrary to some folks' opinions (a few? Many?), the duties of a team-specific site editor don’t include coming to the defense of a program’s every move.
It only feels like it sometimes.
But sticking to one’s beliefs and principles – calling them like you see them – is always going to be the goal here. The danger in that, of course, is being labeled an “apologist” when you don’t get as angry after losses (gotta have someone to blame, right?) or value winning pretty frequently with integrity over winning all the time, at all costs.
For transparency’s sake -- the living room in our house used to be where remote controls went to die on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, usually because of some Detroit Lions stupidity, but occasionally on Michigan football afternoons. The 1996 game at Colorado, for example, when quarterback Scott Driesbach inexplicably took a knee on fourth down with a few ticks remaining rather than running out the clock, giving the Buffaloes a last chance at a Hail Mary to win from Michigan’s side of the field.
And remember when Michigan secured a turnover in MSU territory in the second half of a 23-7 win, only to run three times into the line and miss a field goal? Brian Griese, so miffed, came to the sidelines and threw his helmet, while Michigan fans in front of their TVs threw cuss words, pillows, whatever they could find.
Then there was late 90s at Iowa, when James Whitley fumbled about eight punts but was still allowed on the field late to let another one slip through his hands. There’s a beer bottle cap still embedded in a Detroit radio show host’s drywall (trust me … it added to the décor of the place).
How about when Michigan accidentally chose to kick off in both halves of the 1992 game at Notre Dame? A 17-17 tie in which the Wolverines should have won anyway?
We’ll stop there before we (further) ruin anyone’s day.
Knowledge has a way of enlightening, though. For one, you can’t just watch your team in a bubble. There’s a saying among reporters that the worst team you’ll see all year is the team you cover, only because you see every game and know all the bad that comes with the good. There are often games on in the background while you’re writing your stories, and you’ll catch the highlights of other games and say “why can’t Michigan do that?”
The more you’re able to watch, though, the more it becomes clear that there’s no perfect team, unless you’re one of those who always compares his/hers to the flavor of the month (why can’t we be like (Miami in the 80s? or OSU and USC in the 2000s? or Alabama in the 2010s? or the next program to have an ESPN 30 for 30 expose in the works?)).
For many, it’s real life, put-things-in-perspective experiences that change the perspective. A death of a loved one; maybe a battle with cancer. Many of our board veterans have said as much, that the losses “don’t hurt like they used to.”
That’s part of it. Another is the realization that the playing field isn’t level. When there was word that Clemson was pulling out all the stops for No. 1 ranked Rashan Gary, for example, some blasted us (me) for predicting he wouldn’t end up at U-M when his list of finalists included Ole Miss, Alabama and Clemson.
Gary had given our Tim Sullivan a picture of himself making the block ‘M’ with his hands at the Under Armour game, Michigan had his former coach, Chris Partridge, on staff, and the Wolverines had been the leader for months … but things were changing.
It wasn’t “whiny grumbling” to report as much, any more than it was when interim A.D. Jim Hackett came out and said at the Signing of the Stars event he believed Gary was offered “incentives” during his recruitment and was pleased he chose the right path – a Michigan education.
Tim’s article after the fact shows you just how close it really was (probably a legit 50-50, just for old time’s sake): Decision Came Down To The Wire
So, yeah … call ‘em like you see ‘em and take the heat, especially when you’re privy to a lot of what goes on behind the scenes. Michigan’s 2013 basketball team, run by the cleanest coach in the country (literally), lost to a team that allegedly used prostitutes, etc., to secure its recruiting classes, and it was no huge secret. You’ll want to read our John Borton’s column on that in the next print issue of The Wolverine for an expert take on that, as good as you’ll find.
We’ve talked here about a former five-star recruit that played in the north but was almost forced to head south after being set up with an allegedly under-aged girl (unaware of her age) on a recruiting trip and subtly convinced there could be trouble if he didn’t commit.
That’s as dirty as it gets, and it’s probably never going to change. There’s too much money at stake, and it probably isn’t that the NCAA is spineless as much as it is they don’t want to sacrifice the cash cows that stuff their pockets. NCAA President Mark Emmert’s crusade to kill Jim Harbaugh’s satellite camps are as much evidence as you’ll need of that.
More than ever it’s clear that Michigan is fighting an uphill battle to be among college football’s (basketball’s) elite if it wants to compete nationally on the up and up. Each year that passes brings more appreciation here for the job guys like Lloyd Carr and John Beilein did/have done in running their programs.
In hindsight, it was probably naïve to believe Brady Hoke could repair the damage the Carr to Rodriguez transition had done to the program, just by making Michigan “Michigan” again. It was going to take a guy like Jim Harbaugh, a football savant and one of the best in the game, to do that after the culture was destroyed – so count your blessings that he’s here (and not going anywhere, getting ready to move his folks to Ann Arbor from Wisconsin this spring. Those close to him say he’s never been happier, anywhere).
As it was with Beilein’s run of Big Ten titles and deep NCAA runs, Harbaugh’s titles – even his biggest haters acknowledge they’re coming – will be even sweeter knowing what he had to overcome to get them. That includes a Big Ten commissioner who isn’t, and never has been, in Michigan’s corner.
A few years back Jim Delany lumped U-M’s “stretchgate” that resulted in probation with OSU’s transgressions under Jim Tressel as similar black eyes for the conference. Laughable but predictable, as was his response to the NCAA’s recent satellite camp ban.
“It is what it is. We made our case for holistic vs. ad hoc. You have to accept it,” Delany told USA Today. “That's part of the [system] we signed on for. No reaction beyond that. You always would like to win rather than to lose a vote — I don't care whether it's in a court or legislature or an assembly of people. You go with the system that's in place, and so I support that, respect that and move on.
“[Coaches will] pick up recruitment; satellite camps are off the table, but presumably everything else is on it. “
It’s fair to wonder whose side Delany is really on here. This was always a Michigan vs. SEC battle, after all.
It’s also just to speculate how involved Delany will be going forward in dealing with Harbaugh’s aggressive pursuit of championships. Fair or not, how many familiar with Delany’s past will raise an eyebrow when the calls start going against a coach who is – shall we say – as animated as the man he learned from when he was in school?
If Bo Schembechler were still alive, he’d be one of them. He alleged in a 1990 addendum to his autobiography Delany had an agenda as early as the commissioner’s second year, noting Delany had called Gene Calhoun, the former league supervisor of football officials, in an attempt to “prejudice” the officials before Michigan`s game with Illinois in 1989, Schembechler’s last season. Delany allegedly told Calhoun to have the officials make sure Schembechler was on his best sideline behavior.
“What did I ever do to Jim Delany?” Schembechler wrote. “I barely know him. He’s not a football guy. . . . Go ahead and accuse me of whining. I know the truth. That phone call prior to the game was an attempt to prejudice the officials in a key game.”
He felt the same after the Rose Bowl, when Delany tried to force Calhoun to say officials made the right call on a phantom hold during a Chris Stapleton, 24-yard run on a fake punt. That play likely cost the Wolverines the game.
"This Delany is bad news and people should know about it ... I honestly believe he was just as happy Michigan lost the Rose Bowl," Schembechler wrote.
Calhoun, the league’s supervisor of officials from 1983-89, acknowledged the call took place and said he thought it was out of line.
“You can’t tell an official he should keep his eye on certain people,” Calhoun said. “If I say that as a supervisor, the official will go in the game with a certain mindset. He’ll make a call against him just to please you.
“If you don’t know anything about officiating, stay the hell out of it. This conference deserves good officiating.”
Calhoun also said Delany also used to call and offer advice prior to a big game.
“’Big game.’ We laughed at that,” Calhoun said. “I officiated more than 200 games, and he’s telling me about a ‘big game.’ Every game is big to the kids.”
Calhoun said philosophical differences with Delany caused him to leave the conference, according to the Chicago Tribune. Delany also said he didn’t want Calhoun to talk to the media, which was a point of contention for the supervisor, and according to the article, Calhoun also said he thought Delany was too preoccupied with controlling a coach’s behavior.
“One of the points of emphasis in this administration was sideline control for coaches in all sports, and the sportsmanlike conduct of athletes, Mark Rudner, the Big Ten spokesman at the time, said. “All the coaches and officials were notified of it numerous times.”
Apparently, guys like MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo and Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan didn’t get that memo – great coaches, obviously, but their tirades from tip to buzzer have been epic. Probably no surprise that they also had two of the best home court records in the league during their tenures.
Maybe Delany’s message was just limited to football. Or maybe it was something else we’re missing.
Regardless, it’s pretty clear Harbaugh is going to have to go forth with his us against the world mentality, since it’s also quite obvious that’s what he’s up against. Fortunately for you, he’s got the attitude of Billy the Kid when the cavalry arrives for him and one of his five companions tells him, ‘we’re good, but this is getting ridiculous:’
“I like these odds.”
If he can’t succeed, nobody can. If that day comes (again, says here it won’t), instead of throwing remotes we can all throw up our arms in resignation.
It only feels like it sometimes.
But sticking to one’s beliefs and principles – calling them like you see them – is always going to be the goal here. The danger in that, of course, is being labeled an “apologist” when you don’t get as angry after losses (gotta have someone to blame, right?) or value winning pretty frequently with integrity over winning all the time, at all costs.
For transparency’s sake -- the living room in our house used to be where remote controls went to die on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, usually because of some Detroit Lions stupidity, but occasionally on Michigan football afternoons. The 1996 game at Colorado, for example, when quarterback Scott Driesbach inexplicably took a knee on fourth down with a few ticks remaining rather than running out the clock, giving the Buffaloes a last chance at a Hail Mary to win from Michigan’s side of the field.
And remember when Michigan secured a turnover in MSU territory in the second half of a 23-7 win, only to run three times into the line and miss a field goal? Brian Griese, so miffed, came to the sidelines and threw his helmet, while Michigan fans in front of their TVs threw cuss words, pillows, whatever they could find.
Then there was late 90s at Iowa, when James Whitley fumbled about eight punts but was still allowed on the field late to let another one slip through his hands. There’s a beer bottle cap still embedded in a Detroit radio show host’s drywall (trust me … it added to the décor of the place).
How about when Michigan accidentally chose to kick off in both halves of the 1992 game at Notre Dame? A 17-17 tie in which the Wolverines should have won anyway?
We’ll stop there before we (further) ruin anyone’s day.
Knowledge has a way of enlightening, though. For one, you can’t just watch your team in a bubble. There’s a saying among reporters that the worst team you’ll see all year is the team you cover, only because you see every game and know all the bad that comes with the good. There are often games on in the background while you’re writing your stories, and you’ll catch the highlights of other games and say “why can’t Michigan do that?”
The more you’re able to watch, though, the more it becomes clear that there’s no perfect team, unless you’re one of those who always compares his/hers to the flavor of the month (why can’t we be like (Miami in the 80s? or OSU and USC in the 2000s? or Alabama in the 2010s? or the next program to have an ESPN 30 for 30 expose in the works?)).
For many, it’s real life, put-things-in-perspective experiences that change the perspective. A death of a loved one; maybe a battle with cancer. Many of our board veterans have said as much, that the losses “don’t hurt like they used to.”
That’s part of it. Another is the realization that the playing field isn’t level. When there was word that Clemson was pulling out all the stops for No. 1 ranked Rashan Gary, for example, some blasted us (me) for predicting he wouldn’t end up at U-M when his list of finalists included Ole Miss, Alabama and Clemson.
Gary had given our Tim Sullivan a picture of himself making the block ‘M’ with his hands at the Under Armour game, Michigan had his former coach, Chris Partridge, on staff, and the Wolverines had been the leader for months … but things were changing.
It wasn’t “whiny grumbling” to report as much, any more than it was when interim A.D. Jim Hackett came out and said at the Signing of the Stars event he believed Gary was offered “incentives” during his recruitment and was pleased he chose the right path – a Michigan education.
Tim’s article after the fact shows you just how close it really was (probably a legit 50-50, just for old time’s sake): Decision Came Down To The Wire
So, yeah … call ‘em like you see ‘em and take the heat, especially when you’re privy to a lot of what goes on behind the scenes. Michigan’s 2013 basketball team, run by the cleanest coach in the country (literally), lost to a team that allegedly used prostitutes, etc., to secure its recruiting classes, and it was no huge secret. You’ll want to read our John Borton’s column on that in the next print issue of The Wolverine for an expert take on that, as good as you’ll find.
We’ve talked here about a former five-star recruit that played in the north but was almost forced to head south after being set up with an allegedly under-aged girl (unaware of her age) on a recruiting trip and subtly convinced there could be trouble if he didn’t commit.
That’s as dirty as it gets, and it’s probably never going to change. There’s too much money at stake, and it probably isn’t that the NCAA is spineless as much as it is they don’t want to sacrifice the cash cows that stuff their pockets. NCAA President Mark Emmert’s crusade to kill Jim Harbaugh’s satellite camps are as much evidence as you’ll need of that.
More than ever it’s clear that Michigan is fighting an uphill battle to be among college football’s (basketball’s) elite if it wants to compete nationally on the up and up. Each year that passes brings more appreciation here for the job guys like Lloyd Carr and John Beilein did/have done in running their programs.
In hindsight, it was probably naïve to believe Brady Hoke could repair the damage the Carr to Rodriguez transition had done to the program, just by making Michigan “Michigan” again. It was going to take a guy like Jim Harbaugh, a football savant and one of the best in the game, to do that after the culture was destroyed – so count your blessings that he’s here (and not going anywhere, getting ready to move his folks to Ann Arbor from Wisconsin this spring. Those close to him say he’s never been happier, anywhere).
As it was with Beilein’s run of Big Ten titles and deep NCAA runs, Harbaugh’s titles – even his biggest haters acknowledge they’re coming – will be even sweeter knowing what he had to overcome to get them. That includes a Big Ten commissioner who isn’t, and never has been, in Michigan’s corner.
A few years back Jim Delany lumped U-M’s “stretchgate” that resulted in probation with OSU’s transgressions under Jim Tressel as similar black eyes for the conference. Laughable but predictable, as was his response to the NCAA’s recent satellite camp ban.
“It is what it is. We made our case for holistic vs. ad hoc. You have to accept it,” Delany told USA Today. “That's part of the [system] we signed on for. No reaction beyond that. You always would like to win rather than to lose a vote — I don't care whether it's in a court or legislature or an assembly of people. You go with the system that's in place, and so I support that, respect that and move on.
“[Coaches will] pick up recruitment; satellite camps are off the table, but presumably everything else is on it. “
It’s fair to wonder whose side Delany is really on here. This was always a Michigan vs. SEC battle, after all.
It’s also just to speculate how involved Delany will be going forward in dealing with Harbaugh’s aggressive pursuit of championships. Fair or not, how many familiar with Delany’s past will raise an eyebrow when the calls start going against a coach who is – shall we say – as animated as the man he learned from when he was in school?
If Bo Schembechler were still alive, he’d be one of them. He alleged in a 1990 addendum to his autobiography Delany had an agenda as early as the commissioner’s second year, noting Delany had called Gene Calhoun, the former league supervisor of football officials, in an attempt to “prejudice” the officials before Michigan`s game with Illinois in 1989, Schembechler’s last season. Delany allegedly told Calhoun to have the officials make sure Schembechler was on his best sideline behavior.
“What did I ever do to Jim Delany?” Schembechler wrote. “I barely know him. He’s not a football guy. . . . Go ahead and accuse me of whining. I know the truth. That phone call prior to the game was an attempt to prejudice the officials in a key game.”
He felt the same after the Rose Bowl, when Delany tried to force Calhoun to say officials made the right call on a phantom hold during a Chris Stapleton, 24-yard run on a fake punt. That play likely cost the Wolverines the game.
"This Delany is bad news and people should know about it ... I honestly believe he was just as happy Michigan lost the Rose Bowl," Schembechler wrote.
Calhoun, the league’s supervisor of officials from 1983-89, acknowledged the call took place and said he thought it was out of line.
“You can’t tell an official he should keep his eye on certain people,” Calhoun said. “If I say that as a supervisor, the official will go in the game with a certain mindset. He’ll make a call against him just to please you.
“If you don’t know anything about officiating, stay the hell out of it. This conference deserves good officiating.”
Calhoun also said Delany also used to call and offer advice prior to a big game.
“’Big game.’ We laughed at that,” Calhoun said. “I officiated more than 200 games, and he’s telling me about a ‘big game.’ Every game is big to the kids.”
Calhoun said philosophical differences with Delany caused him to leave the conference, according to the Chicago Tribune. Delany also said he didn’t want Calhoun to talk to the media, which was a point of contention for the supervisor, and according to the article, Calhoun also said he thought Delany was too preoccupied with controlling a coach’s behavior.
“One of the points of emphasis in this administration was sideline control for coaches in all sports, and the sportsmanlike conduct of athletes, Mark Rudner, the Big Ten spokesman at the time, said. “All the coaches and officials were notified of it numerous times.”
Apparently, guys like MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo and Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan didn’t get that memo – great coaches, obviously, but their tirades from tip to buzzer have been epic. Probably no surprise that they also had two of the best home court records in the league during their tenures.
Maybe Delany’s message was just limited to football. Or maybe it was something else we’re missing.
Regardless, it’s pretty clear Harbaugh is going to have to go forth with his us against the world mentality, since it’s also quite obvious that’s what he’s up against. Fortunately for you, he’s got the attitude of Billy the Kid when the cavalry arrives for him and one of his five companions tells him, ‘we’re good, but this is getting ridiculous:’
“I like these odds.”
If he can’t succeed, nobody can. If that day comes (again, says here it won’t), instead of throwing remotes we can all throw up our arms in resignation.
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