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This was such a great read,…

This was such a great read, Ace — thank you.

I always assumed the b/w…

I always assumed the b/w video, and the kinds of plays highlighted, followed the arc of the song. Michigan was only on some of the time — when they were, it was amazing and made you hopeful for better days to come; but still, it was only sometimes.

I didn't total viewership…

I didn't total viewership numbers as part of this, because it didn't help with the 4M-viewer metric I was looking at. I did take the median viewership from the numbers sportsmediawatch.com reported, tho', and Northwestern's median viewership for games reported in those charts (so, no Peacock games, etc.) was just 552k.

(For what it's worth, I found only two teams in the Big Ten Plus Four with a median viewers per game greater than 4 million: Ohio State and Michigan.) 

“And he is going to talk to…

“And he is going to talk to me if he is there. He can’t say no to me this time.”

He can absolutely say no. I would. 

Yep, exactly. There are…

Yep, exactly. There are better ways to parse this data, but this way was easy and I am lazy. 

I do think, tho’, that the…

I do think, tho’, that the more lawyers Michigan and the B1G throw at each other, the harder it is to see them reconciling. 

Yeah, I counted both schools…

Yeah, I counted both schools. It’s not ideal — but it is, like I said, extremely half-assed. There are better ways to parse this data, for sure. 

As you’re reading coverage…

As you’re reading coverage of this story and you see information attributed to unnamed sources, consider whether it upholds basic standards for granting anonymity. Here’s the Associated Press Stylebook entry covering anonymous sources. (Note: I attempted to recreate the formatting of the original here — my intent was not add any emphasis of my own. The AP uses bold text in body copy to links to other parts of the stylebook; I have tried to preserve that formatting here, but have not attempted to recreate those links.)

anonymous sources

Whenever possible, we pursue information on the record. When a source insists on background or off-the-record ground rules, we must adhere to a strict set of guidelines.

Under AP's rules, material from anonymous sources may be used only if:

— The material is information and not opinion or speculation, and is vital to the news report.

— The information is not available except under the conditions of anonymity imposed by the source.

— The source is reliable, and in a position to have accurate information.

Reporters who intend to use material from anonymous sources must get approval from their news managers.

Explain in the story why the source requested anonymity. And, when it's relevant, describe the source's motive for disclosing the information.

The story also must provide attribution that establishes the source's credibility; simply quoting a source is not allowed. Be as descriptive as possible about the source of information. If space is limited, use source as a last resort. Official or a similar word will often suffice, including in headlines. See source.

Examples:

Speaking on customary condition of anonymity in line with government rules, the official said the two sides were engaged "in very fierce" battles near the border crossing, and that one woman was wounded by a stray bullet.

Incorrect: Granting anonymity "on customary condition … in line with government rules" is insufficient. Readers need a plausible explanation of such a condition, and why we're accepting it. For instance, "The rules of the official's job did not allow him to be quoted by name."

A security official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said the suspect was monitoring and recording the movements of tourists before his arrest in July.

Incorrect: First, we grant anonymity only to those who insist on it, not those who request it. Second, granting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case is insufficient explanation. Did the official insist on anonymity because he was not allowed to speak with reporters? Because he was not authorized to release information in advance of a public announcement of details of the case?

Speaking privately, a senior Foreign Ministry official said any further increase in tension could strengthen "warlike" sentiment on both sides and make a resolution of the problem even more difficult.

Incorrect: Speaking privately isn't the same thing as insisting on anonymity, so we cannot use the privately explanation. Moreover, the official is speculating on something that might happen. We grant anonymity for factual information, not speculation or opinion.

Sometimes a government or corporation intentionally leaks information, but insists we publish it attributed to an anonymous official. If we cannot convince the government or company to go on the record, it's best to use a formulation that implies that the release of the information was official, even though anonymous. For instance: … according to the official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not allowed to use his own name in releasing the findings.

For additional guidance, see Statement of News Values.

There's a reason fuckups on…

There's a reason fuckups on this scale don't happen just everywhere, tho'. On one hand yeah, no one was warning MSU there was a Hitler kiss-cam appearance coming, exactly — but on the other hand it's the kind of accident that's not an accident; it's the predictable outcome of an administration not having its shit together.

(No subject)

That’s all three! Just…

That’s all three! Just followed you on Twitter — follow me back over there and I can DM you your invite code. (Or drop an email address here, or something, if you’d rather get it that way.)

Agh — I should have…

Agh — I should have mentioned: if you want to look for me over there, I’m @ken-w.us. 

What’s your Bluesky handle?

What’s your Bluesky handle?

This sucks. Sending positive…

This sucks. Sending positive vibes to you and your family, Seth. 

Michigan ought to ask the…

Michigan ought to ask the B1G to remove MSU as a protected rivalry game anyway, even if the B1G turns a blind eye and chooses $$$ instead — and if MSU has anything at all to say about it, offer to FedEx Paul Bunyan to them the next day if they care that much about it. 
 

Maybe I’m just being truculent, but I can’t remember the last time Michigan had more to gain from playing that game than MSU — and this is twice their hate programming (perfect phrasing, Seth) has put player safety at risk. Until they fix their victimhood culture, it’s unfair to ask Michigan to play them any more often than a typical B1G team. 

This isn’t an institutional…

This isn’t an institutional problem (tho’ MSU does have them, and worse than most).

It is a program-level problem, tho’, and it needs to be discussed and addressed as one. 

A question I keep asking…

A question I keep asking myself, and I can’t decide how serious I am about it: When B1G restructuring comes, should Michigan petition the B1G to remove the MSU game as a protected rivalry? This is a program-level problem, cultivated by Spartan coaches who want hate and confrontation to spill outside the boundaries of the sport.

Maybe the best punishment here is to say we’ll take a break from playing this game every year.

(No subject)

I really enjoyed this. I'd…

I really enjoyed this. I'd love to read more from Kelsey here in the future. Keep up the good work!

If my math's right, that's…

If my math's right, that's about $1K we added just today — spread the word!

Oof — my sympathies. 

Oof — my sympathies. 

Alex, you did outstanding…

Alex, you did outstanding work this year. Your previews of Washington in FFFF and podcasts were eye-openers, and you maintained that standard all year. Keep up the great work — and I’m looking forward to reading you through hockey season.

I always liked, “A wonderful…

I always liked, “A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other” — and it seems appropriate for a piece dedicated to figuring out what the f&ck they were thinking. 

Whether anyone here agrees…

Whether anyone here agrees or disagrees with you, all that matters is it's about 40 years too late for the NCAA to take the stand you're taking now.

I'm just here to point out…

I'm just here to point out two things:

  1. Noam Chomsky gets way too much credit, and
  2. The Gfycat URL for the completely absurd no-call where Eli Brooks got shoved to the ground is …/unhealthydisgustinghorsefly.
Is Dom’s going to be part of…

Is Dom’s going to be part of this? TELL ME DOM’S IS GOING TO BE PART OF THIS. 

I KNEW I recognized you from…

I KNEW I recognized you from somewhere. 

But did they consider “Juwan…

But did they consider “Juwan’s Suwans”?

“Florida's approach to COVID…

“Florida's approach to COVID is to assume it is the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.”

The Bad Boy Mowers slash…

The Bad Boy Mowers slash Gasparilla slash magicJack slash whatever bowl game isn’t in Tampa, it’s in St. Petersburg. It’s a distinction that folks who live here insist on making every time someone refers to the Tampa Bay Rays as “Tampa.” 

Seems hard to imagine an end…

Seems hard to imagine an end to social distancing before a vaccine or effective treatment becomes available. I can't see how better (or even more available) testing changes that.

I remember Mo getting…

I remember Mo getting absolutely assaulted in a Northwestern game, and during the review for a flagrant Stephen Bardo expressed his outrage that a whistle had been blown at all. In his view, this was clearly “all ball”: 

You can run Torvik’s Elite…

You can run Torvik’s Elite SOS chart for teams’ conference records, too. Assuming I’m reading this right, an elite team with Michigan’s unbalanced B1G schedule would expect to have lost about 3⅓ conference games so far; Michigan has lost four. 

USF fans would kill to have…

USF fans would kill to have the kind of program that could go 9-4 in the B1G, yes. 

You can read more about the…

You can read more about the interplay between Michigan faculty and athletics in the subtext (and sometimes super text) of John U. Bacon’s Endzone
 

As I understand it, tho’ if this battle was fought in a decades-long cold war at Michigan, it was decided within the course months at Ohio State — when the faculty forced the football program to turn down an invitation to the 1962(?) Rose Bowl, iirc:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FjdAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BFkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=832%2C4312787

The way I heard it, Woody Hayes delivered an ultimatum to the university after that: Decide whether you’re serious about athletics — and if you aren’t, I’m leaving.
 

The university administration made its decision, and faculty never has never had a say in an important decision regarding Buckeye football again. 

And for what it’s worth, it…

And for what it’s worth, it’s not like Penn State started this program from scratch. They’ve had a non-NCAA team since the ’70s, and had essentially playing a Division III schedule for decades when they made the move to varsity. A big-pocket donor puts $102M into top-notch facilities, an established coach brings in a bunch of transfers and gives local talent a reason to stay home, and voila. 
 

As for what happened to Michigan, it seems pretty obvious if you’ve been following the team. A hall-of-game coach earns the right to retire on his own schedule, but recruiting saps a lot of energy from even the spriest 70-year-old. Soon the talent isn’t there to make the system work anymore, and given the nature of college hockey recruiting it takes 2-3 years before a new coach can start to bring in his own guys.

It’s not time to form a judgment on Pearson yet. Improvement should be visible starting next year.  

This might be one of my…

This might be one of my favorite episodes of all time — from any podcast. I knew about Robin Wright, but clearly I didn’t know enough. It’s like every time I listen to the latest MGoRadio and MGoPodcast I get even happier that sports radio is dying.

(Is it still dying? Or is it already dead? Honestly, I have no idea — can anyone help me out?)

I think I agree with all of…

I think I agree with all of this. The Larry Nassar debacle made it clear how bad things had to get before MSU felt it had no choice but to fire you — and short of Dantonio going full Col. Jessup (How do you do, fellow kids?), I can’t see the January deposition making any difference.

I know Gus Johnson is…

I know Gus Johnson is supposed to be great and all that, but every time I hear him all I can think is “WISCONSIN EXCUSE ME NORTHWESTERN TOUCHDOWN!”

There's @NUFBFamily's answer. And it's one long answer.

Tie game.#B1GFCG pic.twitter.com/ciYFI5L4IG

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 2, 2018
Gattis is a first-time play…

Gattis is a first-time play-caller, true — and he’s calling plays for a head coach in his first season with someone else as his full-time play-caller, too, isn’t he? Maybe it wasn’t so much that Harbaugh had to get more involved, but more that for the first time Harbaugh had to figure out what the right level of involvement is for a head coach with a full-time OC.

Exactly! Believe me, she's…

Exactly! Believe me, she's heard plenty from me about Everitt since Sunday. His time at Michigan overlapped perfectly with mine — in fact, as I was explaining who he was, she told me, “Honestly, I thought he was somebody’s dad.”

The Everitt story I remembered best (also, young Jon Falk alert):

The story I heard at the time was that he tried to convince Moeller to let him come back almost immediately after his lower jaw was bolted together. "You can't even wear your helmet," Mo answered. "How are you supposed to play?"

Everitt responded by pulling on his helmet.

Mo told him he still wasn't convinced, but Everitt just stared straight ahead and didn't argue.

After moment, Mo realized Everitt was so focused on blocking out the pain from the helmet squeezing his broken jawbone that he wasn't aware of anything else going on around him. Mo helped him get the helmet off and told him there was absolutely no way he was going to see the field. And he didn't.

Not for another two weeks, anyway.

Michigan football fans are…

Michigan football fans are heavily invested in being the winningest program of all time. That win percentage is .729, or just short of 9 wins every 12 games.
 

Does that mean anyone should be happy with 8-4? Of course not — every gambler is in it to beat the house. But those gamblers also know better than to wave their fists and scream about what’s “UNACCEPTABLE” after a push. 

Fumbles? Grip case on
the…

Fumbles? Grip case on
the ball. Haha! For real tho’.
PopSockets, maybe?

Thanks for this, Seth — it's…

Thanks for this, Seth — it's the kind of calm, methodical analysis we need but can't seem to find anywhere else.

(No subject)

"How to B1G Basketball: A 14…

"How to B1G Basketball: A 14.5-Second Guide for Fans and Refs" 

via Gfycat

If players skipping bowl…

If players skipping bowl games is the problem, am I the only one wondering whether expanding the playoff is anything more than a temporary solution?

Skipping a bowl game is a business decision, not a cynical one. If I imagine I'm an early first round draft pick nursing an injury, I have to ask what about a chance at a college national title would tip my balance sheet away from skipping the playoff to maximize the success of an NFL career that isn't even likely to last 10 years?

Loving this season so far…

Loving this season so far. This feels like a clear and troublesome trend, tho’:

 

Image 2.png

(No subject)

yt[cJTRCtwf_X0]-sea-otter-hoop-dreams.2018-11-15 14_27_17.gif

It took the Spartans (Not…

It took the Spartans (Not Those Spartans) over seven minutes to score their first points, …

Meanwhile, over in the Fox Sports GO app: 

IMG_0147.jpg