Rex Hudler

I'm looking forward to a new era of Michigan football. UM is quietly putting together one hell of a recruiting class for 2012, especially on the defensive side of the ball. I know there will be a transition period, but I am curious to see what they do with Denard Robinson and the offense and how much influence Greg Mattison will have on the D.

College football is 2 months away... Sombody please post something!!

On a somber note, 2013 Michigan verbal Austin Hatch and his family were in plane that crashed last night. His parents were killed and he was critically injured. They were from Ft. Wayne and he went to Canterbury. Strangely and sadly enough, this is the 2nd plane crash Hatch has been in, the last being in 2003.

QUOTE (He_Gawn @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 05:54 AM) I started at ISU in Terre Haute, and am now at Purdue in West Lafayette. Nothing beats the Terre Haute smell. In the summer, you can't even go outside. West Lafayette is a hellhole though. Just keep telling myself one more year.... I don't know if I ever recall the sun shining when in Terre Haute. Have only been to West Lafayette once just for a weekend so I didn't get to see enough to compare.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 04:50 PM) I'm obviously biased since I lived in Bloomington for four years, but West Lafayette really does smell awful. Worse than Terre Haute? Surely not!

QUOTE (He_Gawn @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 02:12 PM) I think Taber actually earned a scholarship because they had an extra that final year of Sampson, so that's probably it. He was a walk-on to start though. Regardless, it was the biggest turnover in NCAA history, matching the Evansville team that passed away in a plane crash in the 70's I believe. December 13, 1977 I remember the night like I was still there. I went to my first two Aces games that year, which were their first two in Division I. I was as a school Christmas program and had heard there was a plane crash at the airport and found out who was involved when I got home that evening. I was crushed. I was 9 years old and cried all night. Many years later I attended Evansville and was friends with many of the basketball players. I can't imagine what it would have been like on campus for the students. If that happened while I was there, knowing the relationships I had with the guys on the team, I was have been devastated. It was bad enough as a 9-yr old.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 08:53 AM) Damn. I am hoping for IU. If someone can get in his head about his work ethic, he is going to be a lottery pick. He is the most complete HS big man I have ever seen, including seeing Zach Randolph and a few other Mr Basketballs in IN over the years. Even better than Mark Jewell?

I want to add to my comments in my previous post.... None of what is going on in college sports is new. Cheating has been going on for years. While we blame 18-21 year olds for making bad decisions (and we should) we tend to forget the example being set by the coaches. When coaches make phone calls they shouldn't, they are implicitly stating to the player that the small rules don't matter. I really think this is as big of a problem as anything. College coaches, especially in today's world, go out of their way to stretch the rules as far as they can, even when they aren't breaking them. They are lauded in the media for being smart. There is a reason the NCAA has as many rules as it does. Not because they are stupid, but because kids, parents, coaches and administrators break them or circumvent them for their own gain. There is no such thing as the spirit of the rule now. Coaches bend the rules as far as they can. Kids are getting the message early that some rules matter and others don't. They are being taught by the example of their mentors that its okay to bend the rules and there are different interpretations of what breaking them is. Ultimately we, the fans are as much to blame as anyone. We demand wins and championships. When our team wins a National Championship (which is extremely difficult to do in any sport) fans are looking for #2. When it doesn't happen and a team has a tough season, fans are calling for the coaches head. College coaches are paid huge money and must deal with the pressure placed on them by fans and media alike. Fans follow recruiting to the point of practically labeling a kid as a star as early as 14-15 years old (more so in basketball). Everyone tells kids how good they are and the superstar mentality starts well before they arrive in college. All of these ingredients fit into the recipe that we call major college sports today. All that said, no I am not suggesting we make major college sports Ivy League-like. I love big time college athleticis. There is no way to have a "pure" sport based on all the TV, media and money involved. People are going to cheat. Always have been. Hell, Bear Bryant used to put football players on golf scholarships just so they wouldn't go to another school to compete against him. Wasn't against the rules at the time, but it's things like that that change the way the game is today.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 10:14 AM) Im not an expert at college sports by any means, but you are clearly biased I think is the biggest problem. You are possibly a bigger OSU fan than Wsox fan so while one benefit of that is you seemingly have inside info on the situation, you also clearly show a bias in all your posts regarding OSU. Yes, there is a bias toward OSU with Rock, as there would be with anyone's team. I admittedly was quite biased when everyone started all the rumors about Dickhead Sampson at IU. Granted, I thought there was no way anyone would be that stupid, but that's a whole other discussion. Aside from Rock's initial reaction to the very beginning of this mess, I feel like he has been more than fair and while biased, he hasn't buried his head in the sand at all. I think Rock knows there is more coming and we haven't heard about everything yet. He has stated that in so many words at least a few times. While I would like to know what he thinks is coming out (you can PM me Rock lol), I respect his decision to simply sit back and wait for that proverbial shoe to drop. I've heard/read all kinds of rumors about impending info coming out of Columbus from more about cars, to drugs to steroids, etc. Who the hell knows what is true and what isn't. I don't know whether OSU investigated the situation half-assed or very well. None of us do. We don't know what information they have that we do not and what the NCAA knows or will find. Being a Michigan fan, I don't mind seeing OSU knocked off its comfy perch atop the Big Ten, but I would rather that happened because UM got their stuff together and was the one that knocked them off. I don't think scandals are good for college football as a whole, but at the same time, if things need to be cleaned up, scandals may be necessary. I don't agree with the bury your head in the sand approach but I don't wish major sanctions on any program. I guess I fall under the category of do the right things in the first place.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Jun 2, 2011 -> 11:00 PM) Thought this was interesting. This guy worked inside the Arkansas athletic department for 9 years. link I've been singing that song for a long time. He put it together with much more detail than I ever could have, but to act as if athletes are being totally used is ridiculous. One thing he didn't mention is that they also have training tables, team meals during the season made specifically for them. That is at home. When on the road, they are taken out to restaurants as a team sometimes and also given a per diem for meals when on the road. Maybe football players don't get it because meals are provided for them, but everytime we had an overnight trip in baseball we got our envelope with cash to spend as we wished. It wasn't a lot, but it could easily cover meals. I know a lot of schools/campuses/cities are different, but another thing many of the baseball players did is rent a house and 5-6 guys live together. Splitting rent that way gave all of them more than if they got their own apartment. No one is saying the system is perfect, but it is far from as broken as many want to make us believe.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 30, 2011 -> 07:41 AM) Incorrect, he resigned before more bad info came out this week, and it's coming. Are you referring to the Sports Illustrated article scheduled to come out this week? Will Pryor play another down for OSU?

The hits just keep on comin' for IU. Crean can't get a freakin break! The margin for error for this team is so slim with all of our players, but to be without all three is just killer. Hopefully Creek can reach his potential by his senior year, but after two consecutive knee injuries I'm not we should expect much of anything from him. Verdell Jones, in most situations would simply be a role player for IU, but obviously we are in a different time/place with the program. While he is erratic at times, he does have the ability to score both as a shooter and off the dribble. He's not dominant in any facet, but he is an offensive weapon on a team that had few true threats. Watford has been developing nicely. He wasn't a stud, but looked to be a really nice four year player who can do a little bit of everything. He's definitely better developed his shot this year and is athletic. Sadly, it appears we are at least two years away from truly competing near the top of the Big Ten. I know recruiting is looking in the right direction, but it would be nice if we could catch a freakin break a few times on the court before then. Pulling out a win at MSU would have been a good start. Instead we lose and lose our top scorer.

38-37 is my prediction

Oregon or Auburn tonight? Predictions, please..........

Can't believe I haven't logged in since Dec 21! Here is some good info on the Michigan situation. Some of it may not be 100% correct, but I believe it to be true, at least in principle. Before I start, I drove 8 hours to see that debacle of a Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. Actually, the 1st quarter was good, but the 2nd and 3rd were so bad we left at the beginning of the 4th. Moving on randomly.... 1. Michigan is one of the most dysfunctional families one can imagine. Many of the problems with the Rodriguez hire was the fact Michigan was already splintered. There is a Bo camp and a Lloyd Carr loyal group. They don't always see eye to eye. This is why Les Miles was never offered the job. The Lloyd Carr faction didn't like him (apparently about a couple of issues when he was an assistant at UM). When an outsider was hired, Rodriguez had to fight both factions. Even though neither truly backed Rodriguez (he did win some over), they didn't agree on how to fix things either. 2. The Lloyd Carr group doesn't want Harbaugh either because of comments he made about UM academics about 4 years ago, while LC was still there. Apparently, that has been smoothed over and communicated to Harbaugh. Not exactly sure how (maybe promising Hoke as the backup option, maybe a LC hire or two as an assistant?) but that was one of the concerns Harbaugh had regarding the job. 3. Michigan's AD played at UM for Harbaugh's dad. There is a long term family connection. Apparently, AD Dave Brandon had a tacit agreement that if he fired Rodriguez, Harbaugh would come. Both agreed to let the season play out. When Stanford finished strong, the Orange Bowl delayed things and now that the NFL has come calling it has complicated things. Harbaugh has to decide whether to go back to his alma mater which is not a job that is open very often and he may never get another shot, or to scratch the itch that is the NFL and compete with his brother. 4. Despite what is being reported, Michigan is still in it for Harbaugh as of Tuesday night. He may not end up there, but it is still in play. Those in the know stated 3 days ago that things were going to get wild and rumors would fly from all directions, and that things could be one way today and change tomorrow. Unless it comes from Harbaugh directly or from AD Dave Brandon, I assume it is someone else that has their own agenda. That said, don't think I am stating Harbaugh will take the UM job. He could very easily go the NFL route. 5. Stanford is making a strong push. They are pulling on the heartstrings, the fact that his wife is a west coaster and that his kids from marriage #1 live on the west coast. I heard they are offering a longer term deal as opposed to huge dollars (maybe 10 years) but have not confirmed. 6. Fallbacks seem to be Brady Hoke, Les Miles and Pat Fitzgerald. I had not heard Miles or Fitzgerald mentioned until today. It makes me wonder if he is second guessing Hoke as plan B due to fan/alumni outcry (I think it is more than indifference). Personally, I would not have a problem whatsoever with Fitzgerald, I'm just not sure they will go outside the "family". Not sure Fitzgerald would leave his alma mater, but he's an interesting thought anyway. Back to Rodriguez.... The Bad 1. He didn't have full support from day 1. To the point of damned near internal sabotage. 2. That said, he created a lot of his own problems. He came in saying he could adapt his offense to any personnel/QB. Mallet didn't believe it and left. He was stuck with Steve Threat who wasn't ready and was more of a drop back passer. He then uses Threat in the offense still heavy with read option principles. When asked, he said he had to run what he knew, which seemed to contradict the "I can adapt" mantra when he first came in. 3. He was too loyal to his assistants. He asked his DC's to run the D his coaches were comfortable enough, putting two DC's in a position where they were being undermined by the assistants with their own agenda. 4. He didn't pay enough attention to the defense and allowed some major errors in talent eval happen which resulted in older guys playing terribly with younger guys sitting the bench. Perfect example was Obi Ezeh starting at MLB where he got worse each year and sitting Kenny Demens. Demens became their best LB after 3-4 games once Rodriguez forced Greg Robinson to make the change. There were a couple of young players that have switched positions 2-3 times in a year or two that doesn't make any sense other than it seems they were grabbing at straws trying to figure out how to make it work. 5. Rodriguez spent so much time on the offense that he basically used our defense as practice for the offense instead of focusing on it. The Good 1. From all accounts, Rodriguez was a good coach that made bad decisions, and was too loyal to assistants when he should have made changes or given more control to his DC. 2. The players, recruits and their families liked him. He was a stand up guy and was liked by most of the people that dealt with him directly. Unfortunately, he didn't win enough and while they improved in some areas, got worse in others. Defense and special teams were both horrible. 3. Recruits and their parents described him as genuine and caring and not feeding them bull like they got on other recruiting visits. He never promised playing time, only an opportunity to compete. The "family" atmosphere seemed real. That said, the defensive issues and discord with the coaching staff wore on the players, likely largely responsible for their fade in all three seasons. His teams got worse, not better. Unfortunately, Michigan is broken and Roidriguez couldn't fix it. He didn't win enough to make the politics fade into the background. Until recently, I really thought they were close to turning the corner. But after more thought and evaluation (and not helped by watching a 52-14 thumping in person which was completely embarassing) I just don't see keeping him as an option at all. I can't see a scenario where keeping him would be passable even with wholesale changes and a new approach. I do believe he'll have success somewhere else. It just won't be in Ann Arbor. Sorry for the length.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Dec 23, 2010 -> 03:07 AM) I figured recruiting was the answer, but in his third year on the job you would expect an Indiana coach to have made the tournament. I understand he started with nothing, but he now has 3 years of players. My point about Calipari was that he only needed one year of players. I feel like recruiting isn't a good enough answer though. Having these players is great, but if Crean can't field a decent team by the third year I have serious questions about him. Perhaps it is because he does things the right way, and says all the right things. IU fans are so sick of the crap that was Kelvin Sampson and Mike Davis that they are starved for someone to come in and build something right for the long term. For lack of a better description, IU and Kentucky have different business models. While I hate to see us losing to Northern Iowa and Colorado, I expected a long rebuild and am waiting patiently. The corner seems near, yet there are still some growing pains. They are still short on talent, unfortunately. I guess the short answer to your question is if they are still in the same position after year 4, things could change.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Dec 24, 2010 -> 04:13 AM) The problem is what it could lead to down the road. What will stop a player from selling something (that isn't worth much) to a booster for a ton of money? A booster could say "Oh, I'd love to buy that Championship ring from you for $50,000." But in reality, it's worth nowhere near that, and the booster is really just looking for a way to pay that player. If the NCAA allows players to sell their stuff b/c "it's the players' property" then they wouldn't be able to stop the above situation from happening. I think it's a s***ty situation, but if you give the players an inch, they'll take a mile. If they received fair market value for whatever they were selling, I think I wouldn't have a problem with it. But there is no way to enforce them receiving "fair market value." You hit the nail on the head. This also goes for every other dumb rule the NCAA has. If coaches, players and boosters could police themselves we wouldn't need this huge bureauocracy. But everyone is always out for themselves, trying to find loopholes in the rules, stretching them to their limit and beyond, willing to take money, etc... The NCAA isn't an evil entity. It is an ever changing board of representatives from the very universities it represents. The enforcement staff handling a case 3 years ago is totally different than who would handle an issue today. They try to look at each situation individually, but use precedent as a guideline. Times change, rule interpretations change, people change... every case is different. But none of it would be necessary if everyone could police themselves. Instead, the NCAA has to make rulings on situations taking into account what could happen if something were allowed.

Here is my sincere take.... Kudos to Ohio State for putting themselves in a position that conference championship rings and honors don't mean anything to them. It means nothing to these players to sell a championship ring because they either have or are going to get more. Shame on Michigan and the rest of the conference for not being good enough to OSU off its sweet perch recently. I'd like to think that if these awards were truly special, they wouldn't be selling them. Granted they could be a bunch of selfish assholes. While I was once a Dl athlete, I was never anywhere close to the high profile position these guys are in, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they sold/traded awards they didn't truly value and that is not their fault. That said, I personally think it is horse bleep that a player would sell such momentos. Maybe years down the road, but while still in school and competing just doesn't sit right with me. The I helped my parents pay bills line is a bunch of crap. Maybe they actually did, but I'd like to see how many tattoos and other expensive items that player has. How they are not forced to sit out the Sugar Bowl is beyond me. I certainly don't know all the facts but I struggle to see how to justify allowing them to play in a game which will net them more stuff to sell and punishing them later, IF they stay in school. How OSU could not have let the players know this was against the rules is beyond me. I do think OSU should be punished for that. I do think it should be not much more than a slap on the wrist, but they should get something. The bottom line is, that either the OSU players are thankless and take what they've earned from granted (while they should be learning humility) or the rest of the Big Ten is making it way too easy on them. If Big Ten Championships are automatic and the players don't see it as a special accomplishment, it makes sense why they did so. It's probably a little bit of both. They're still kids with maturing to do. Athletes in general tend to have an over-inflated value of their own self-worth. I truly believe the biggest blame goes to the rest of the Big Ten, however.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Dec 21, 2010 -> 06:28 PM) I wonder if this will help Alabama to land Dee Hart. Alabama to pay school $50 an hour to Dr Phillips High School to use fields during the Citrus Bowl preparations. Plus Alabama will pay for upgrades to football team's locker rooms and practice fields. http://www.wftv.com/video/26166791/index.html Can't hurt. And it's not like Dr. Phillips is going to run out of D-l talent after this year. As far as Dee Hart, I'm still hearing Michigan as long as Rodriguez is not canned. Florida seems to be making a push and it would not shock me for both Hart and Clinton-Dix to end up there together. I don't get the sense that Bama is recruiting Dee Hart real hard. Or at least, they aren't offering him as a RB, but more an all-purpose player. I think they like bigger backs in their offense.

Why does the NCAA need Cuban's money? Does anyone really think the schools don't realize more money can be made with a playoff? The lack of a playoff isn't about money. It's about power, tradition, control, tv contracts, etc. Eventually it may happen, but it won't because Mark Cuban throws money at it.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 14, 2010 -> 11:11 AM) If thats the case they will probably get a slap on the wrist, but how did it go from several players being involved to basically one? There is no slap on the wrist. No NCAA involvement at all. This is a school issue. They'll discipline who they need to in what way they need to and move on. Not that it is good for a program, but its not a sanctions/NCAA matter.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 13, 2010 -> 07:46 PM) Hawkeyes are f***ED. So much for that run of good football. Sanctions are going to come down. Sanctions for?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 11, 2010 -> 07:55 AM) Decatur. I'll be driving down to Birmingham to catch a flight in a couple of hours, hopefully Midway isn't shut down. I'll likely be back in the area next week. The guy I'm working with primarily has several family pictures on his desk. Everyone, even the babies, are wearing Alabama gear in every photo. You see a lot of Bears gear in Chicago year round, but nothing like this. Try living here! As I said before, it's 12 months a year! If the teams are good, everybody talks about how good they are. If they aren't, they talk about why they should be better. There is no end.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 09:59 PM) Well one is the defending champ and one is going to the title game this year. Both fan bases have extra reason to be showing their colors. Catch is danman, they don't need the extra reason. It's 12 months a year like this regardless. Like nothing I've ever seen. Strange, where in Bama are you staying?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 9, 2010 -> 02:22 PM) I just saw they lost Kevin Sousa too. Is this because of uncertainty around RichRod? No, Kevin Sousa has been soft for awhile. One side will tell you he got his panties ruffled when Marquis Williams (the QB from NC) visited, saying Michigan told him they would only recruit one QB this year. The other side, which his coach hinted at without saying is that he was awed by Michigan to the point of questioning whether he would be ready for 3-4 years and wanted to play sooner so he started visiting smaller schools. From everything I had read he was a project who needed the time, but has good athletic ability. But with Robinson and Devin Gardner, Michigan didn't need him to play right away. What do you know about Cardale Jones? He's been showing interest in Michigan and Michigan has been reciprocating to some degree, but he's a Glenville kid. Apparently, Glennville kids forgot the directions to Ann Arbor sometime during the Lloyd Carr era. I think he wants to go to OSU, but you guys have Braxton Miller so don't need him. Is he a good kid? Can he play QB at this level?