HI. Let's get back on the horse. Hello, horse.

Local politics bits. I won't be writing a full-fledged endorsement post this year largely because two other people have done the work for me. I endorse the endorsements of Damn Arbor and Brandon Dimcheff. If you are an Ann Arbor resident please check those posts out; over the past two years we've seen a sitting councilmember drop a homosexual slur because he was mad at a local reporter for supposedly taking unflattering zoom screenshots of him; his faction on city council declined to even slap him on the wrist. There are two toxic CMs running for re-election in Wards 4 and 5 who need to get the boot.

Oh so that happened. The Big Ten added some schools, as you may have heard. USC and UCLA will get a full revenue distribution immediately, unlike Maryland and Rutgers. This is because uh well:

…the price tag for the Big Ten’s rights will exceed $1 billion, first reported earlier this year. Interestingly, Ourand claims that the additions of UCLA and USC to the conference could result in the rights fees increasing “more than 15%,” which would be (at least) another $150 million.

I'm long past the point where I look at this as good news since it doesn't seem to do anything to help close the gap with the SEC but does presage even more commercial breaks. If all that TV money didn't help Michigan retain Erik Bakich when a school getting relatively pathetic ACC money came in, what's it really going to do for fans?

I am in broad agreement with the Ringer's Kevin Clark:

College football, I believe, is not built on TV markets and cable sub fees. It is built on crisp, perfect fall days, and pure spite. College football is propelled by a type of fury that is completely unintelligible to anyone who does not experience it. Fury at your rival, their coach, your own coach, the people who make recruiting rankings, the people you work with who once taunted you after the wrong loss. It is about the most American force possible: vague, mostly unexplained hostility toward your coworkers and neighbors.

Most people have never set foot on their rival’s campus—some fans have never set foot on their own team’s campus—and yet college football is their favorite thing in the world. Not, crucially, because it’s a farm system for the NFL, or even because it makes them happy: The only real goal is for your rival to be more miserable than you are.

I guess it'll be fun to play USC and UCLA occasionally, but I'd rather lose 13-11 to Iowa. Is this a cry for help? No. Probably not. Maybe.

On the new guy. This twitter thread from a CBC Vancouver reporter is the most comprehensive Santa Ono take I've seen:

There's a good argument that managing upward and keeping things running smoothly is the most critical job of a president.

Others might say it shows a genial cipher who doesn't particularly stand for anything.

You can guess which opinion the student newspaper generally took. pic.twitter.com/YtnI9ympxq

— Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) July 13, 2022

"Isn't a big ol' idiot who's going to send moony love notes about knishes on an FOIA-able email account" is a low bar, but here we are.

Oink. I know he’s like 30 now and no longer at the university but I’m still betting this is Mitch McGary:

Update.

The pig’s legal name is Pretty Ricky pic.twitter.com/wkTSuQ4QdY

— Abigail O'Connor (@A_OConnorRD) July 13, 2022

Is… do you have to legally register a pig’s name? With the city?

We’re doing this again? The aircraft carrier game returns, featuring the most attention-hungry program of them all:

Source: Gonzaga and Michigan St. have finalized their upcoming game on Veterans Day on the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier in San Diego. Game will be on ESPN and tip late afternoon out West/prime time on East Coast. Will be CBB's first game on a battleship since 2012.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) July 13, 2022

The other aircraft carrier games that actually happened—the last two were cancelled because of weather—featured a three-point make rate of a cool 15%, so maybe that helps MSU level the playing field against a Gonzaga team that should blast them by 20 on paper.

Inside Wakeyleaks. Excellent Athletic piece on the 2016 “Wakeyleaks” scandal, in which Wake Forest was sold out by a disgruntled former coach:

Wake Forest had installed a new play before a September 2014 game against Louisville that called for the quarterback to run a speed option with the running back to one side, while simultaneously, a receiver would peel back across the line for a misdirection shovel pass.

“We had never run that play, ever,” Anderson says.

During the game, Terry squared off against Sheldon Rankins, a future first-round defensive tackle and one of the toughest assignments Terry drew in his career. Late in the third quarter, with Wake Forest leading 10-7, Ruggiero decided it was time for the new play — Terry thinks the play call had “chuck” in the name — and quarterback John Wolford yelled it at the line.

Terry says Rankins took a knee and hollered, “Shovel pass is coming! Shovel pass is coming!” Terry was stunned. “I had Sheldon Rankins that play — I had to block him,” Terry says. “So when he said that, it’s like going into war and someone knowing where your bunker is. What the hell do I do?”

Just a true freshman, Terry wondered: “Can I call a timeout right now and still be on scholarship?”

That former coach was a color commentator for Wake Forest radio, and called opposing coaches the week before games on a university-provided cell phone. Does no one in this country have any operational security?

The usual draft preview. The NHL draft has come and gone so it’s time to look at the 2023 class. Corey Pronman’s first look includes two guys who will be freshmen in Ann Arbor this fall. Adam Fantilli:

3. Adam Fantilli, C, Chicago (USHL)

Fantilli is what you envision when you are trying to build a prototypical top NHL prospect. He is a tall, fast, highly skilled centerman. He can make difficult plays with the puck both as a handler and a passer. He can create for his teammates and can finish plays from range. He’s got the flashy skill but also competes hard and isn’t afraid to lean into opponents with his big frame. He may not have the same level of skill and sense as guys like Bedard and Michkov but this is still a player you think is going to score a large amount as a pro.

Gavin Brindley:

22. Gavin Brindley, C, Tri-City (USHL)

Brindley isn’t the tallest forward you’ll ever see, but everything else about his game is very good. He’s been an impressive junior player, being a top player for a top USHL team. His skating is high-end, and he’ll be able to turn around NHL defensemen. His skill isn’t all-world, but he can make plays and beat opponents with his hands with pace. Brindley competes well and showed he could PK in junior. Realistically he’s a winger in the NHL.

Also in roster news, Nolan Moyle is back for a COVID super-senior year. That'll provide some veteran depth for what is otherwise going to be a stunningly young team.

Etc.: Andrew Copp is a Red Wing. Sherrone Moore and Mike Hart (also Josh Gattis) make Josh Rittenberg’s list of minority coaches who could move up to head jobs in the near future. John Saward finds glory. I’m always up for tales of mutants in high school, in this case Lavar Arrington. Yards of the Big Ten basketball coaches. Hockey adds a third goalie. DONE. Don't click here. Basketball summer workouts are underway.