If This Were Any Other Year...
/...you'd be pissed at how screwed we're getting on this bowl bid.
Option #1:West Virginia or Missouri lose, Ohio State goes to National Championship game that they will win just to ruin your 2008... Illinois goes to BCS. Michigan goes to Citrus Bowl of the Capital One variety.
Result of option #1:
You hold a razor blade to your wrist as you contemplate Ohio State's back-to-back trips to the BCS championship game. You ponder how Juice Williams expects to get loose against USC in the Rose Bowl. You wonder which team, Florida or LSU, would be more uncomfortable to watch dismantle your Wolverines. Tebow or New Bo? Hmmmm.
You find yourself in Orlando, Florida on New Year's Eve. Let me tell you folks, despite the perceived allure of Disneyville...Orlando sucks. The only thing worse than Orlando itself is the god-forsaken stadium in which the game will be played. From 2001:
First, for those that have never made the journey, let me tell you all a little bit about the Citrus Bowl. It is similar to going to a baseball game at old Tiger Stadium. The parking areas are a mix of gravel and grass. Local shops include a drug store, a liquor store, and a pawn shop, and all have bars on the windows. The pagentry of BCS bowl games is missing here. The only thing Citrus available at the Citrus Bowl were small bottles of Tangerine juice, obviously left over from the newly resurrected Tangerine Bowl played a week earlier. The food inside included cheese steak sandwiches, smoked turkey legs, popcorn, and hot dogs. All of the food was of the quality of, in the words of Stephen W., ˜a food stand in a 3rd world country.
Option #2:
West Virginia and Missouri both win. Ohio State goes to Rose Bowl to get dismantled by USC. Illinois goes to Citrus Bowl of the Capital One variety. Michigan goes to the Citrus Bowl of the Champs Sports variety.
Result of option #2:
A fair amount of embarrassment from attending a non-New-Year's-Day Bowl...but let's be honest, is embarrassment really an issue with the 2007 version of the Michigan Wolverines? An ACC opponent, most likely BC or Florida State, will be a better match. Maybe we can finally get revenge for 1991 against FSU. Oh, the intrigue...*yawn*.
You find yourself in Orlando, Florida on December 28th. Let me tell you folks, despite the perceived allure of Disneyville...Orlando sucks. The only thing worse than Orlando itself is the god-forsaken stadium in which the game will be played.
BREAKING NEWS: We Have Permission...
/ESPN just reported that LSU has granted Michigan the opportunity to speak with Les Miles...but only after the SEC championship game. And that's fair, because they are undefeated in regulation.
Oh, and Chris Spielman prefers Ferentz for Michigan in an article that has a title that is missing the words "EX-BUCKEYE."
***UPDATE: Story now on ESPN.com.
Weekend Roundup: Seriously-Dude-It's-Les-Miles Edition: November 27, 2007
/Kirk Ferentz...nope. Back to trying to figure out the Cyclones.
Ron English...hope you enjoyed your interview.
Mike DeBord...hope you didn't even enjoy your interview.
Brian Kelly...worked as a press agent for Gary Hart's run for president. That's not a joke. No thanks, enjoy the MAC.
Gary Pinkel...despite the magical 2007 season, you're under .500 in conference.Thanks anyway Whitlock, we'll stay insane.
IT'S...LES...MILES
More stuff...
- Hey Les, listen up. [Advice for new coaches - Heismanpundit]
- Chatter, chatter...and a link to what seems to be a fairly accurate summary. [About the Ferentz to Michigan chatter... - Wizard of Odds]
- Make it stop MGoBlog! Cancelled pressers, flight tracking...make it stop! [Press Conference Cancelled - MGoBlog]
- The Angel says it's all talk. The Angel knows everything. [Ferentz Talk is Just That - DetNews.com]
- Fuck you Drew Sharp. [Miles Can Meld Old, New Factions - DetNews]
- A Note for You, Billy Martin. [To-Do-List - Sporting News]
- Yes, Tiger Fans, He's the Best You've Ever Had, and He's All Ours. [Michigan Job Looms Over Miles - TigerWeekly]
- Yes, you too can apply for the job. [Want to Be Michigan's Next Football Coach? - Freep]
- Fred Jackson...outta here. It's like I never knew you. What is it that you did? [UM Assistant Jackson a Duke Candidate - Freep]
Next?
/The rumors at MGoBlog are scaring me...a little. Iowa folk seem to believe that Ferentz has been offered...and accepted the job. Not sure if I want a guy that is 3-6 against their version of Michigan State, and is 2-4 against the coach he is replacing. The pinnacle of his career is a Hail Mary victory over LSU in the Capital One bowl. And for those that don't like Les coming in having lost to Arkansas...Kirk finished the season with a 28-19 loss to Western Michigan. Far be it from me to nit pick over bad upsets, but f'n Western? On senior day? Couple that with the fact that they have amassed 18 losses in the last 3 seasons, and the shine of the two-time Big Ten coach of the year has long since worn off for me.
Listen folks...word around campus, and second hand word from a big donor, is that Les is in. If I had a nickel for everybody that is friends with the guy that sold Mrs. Miles her new house in Barton Hills, I'd be able to pay to park on the golf course next year for free. Type "Les Miles Barton Hills" into Google if you want to see how viral it has gotten. Anyway, the deal has been done for a while. We're just going through the motions. Maybe it's not the blockbuster name that you covet. Maybe Lloyd isn't a big fan. Whatever. He's a Michigan man. He got teary at a press conference in Baton Rouge when talking about Bo on the anniversary of his death. And in a program that is more about integrity and tradition than wins and losses, he's your guy.
The rest is smoke and mirrors.
