The Only Game That Matters

Iowa really came back strong and Greene had a grea...

2008-12-16T10:39:00.000-05:00

Iowa really came back strong and Greene had a great year on the ground.

Michigan had a very bad and the game didn't matter...

2008-12-16T10:37:00.000-05:00

Michigan had a very bad and the game didn't matter this season. Maybe next year they can get something together that is somewhat respectable. Go Bucks!

Hello there,I am Peter Robert Casey and I am a bas...

2008-12-16T02:05:00.000-05:00

Hello there,
I am Peter Robert Casey and I am a basketball columnist. I have initiated an idea to create a sports blogroll where bloggers from all sports disciplines could participate. All you need to do is to add my blog link to your blog and i'll do the same. That way, we could have a mutual partnership and we could refer visitors to each other's blog.
Please let me know if you would be interested.

Your's in Hoops,
Peter Robert Casey
http://www.peterrobertcasey.com

Wow. Quite possibly the worst prediction ever.Stat...

2008-10-27T09:28:00.000-04:00

Wow. Quite possibly the worst prediction ever.

Statistics don't mean jack. Did you watch any of Michigan's games in 2008? Or any MSU games for that matter?

Enjoy the comparisons to Notre Dame 2007 and the debate over which is worse: a loss to Toledo or App State.
Comedy maize.

My liver hangs in the balance? Please. I'll be d...

2008-10-21T12:53:00.000-04:00

My liver hangs in the balance? Please. I'll be drinking whether the Spartans win or lose this game.

As for the Same ol' Spartans mentality, I don't think it's there anymore. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about the Michigan game, but if they were the Spartan teams of yesteryear, they would've lost at Purdue and at home against Penn State last year. Obviously, that didn't happen.

I could be wrong, but I hope not.

Tailspin?Holy crap that's awesome. Wasn't there a ...

2008-10-17T14:13:00.000-04:00

Tailspin?

Holy crap that's awesome. Wasn't there a talking, flying Pirate Tiger in that show?

A talking, plane flying Pirate tiger may be the coolest thing I've ever typed.

You didn't exactly address my points B2... I'm not...

2008-10-08T18:23:00.000-04:00

You didn't exactly address my points B2...

I'm not trying to rip on him, I'm just not willing to fawn all over Juice Williams because he can complete a pass behind the line of scrimmage or that he made an accurate downfield throw... I feel that the numbers were a result of one of the worst defensive efforts of recent memory and not of superior play on his part.

That's my point, Champ. I wasn't as visually impr...

2008-10-07T23:20:00.000-04:00

That's my point, Champ. I wasn't as visually impressed, but damn, the numbers are there "impressive" or not.

And before people say "most of his yardage was on a screen" we've yet to see sustained accuracy from Threet on those little passes - maybe a little more credit due to Juice and all QB's who make their living on "easy" throws.

Statistics may not convey the "wow" factor that Dixon had, but the numbers in this case aren't lying.

Ok, there's no way anyone will interpret this corr...

2008-10-07T17:03:00.000-04:00

Ok, there's no way anyone will interpret this correctly, but... I disagree. Lies, damn lies, and statistics. This is a classic case of the statistics not conveying the true story of the football game.

Juice Williams was hardly spectacular, in fact he was nowhere NEAR as impressive as Dixon was last year.

The levels of incompetence that the Michigan defense displayed on Saturday were not because Williams is some supreme talent who was having his coming out party, sorry fellas. Williams racked up his yards thanks to HORRIFIC tackling, terrible assignment football, and just plain outright god-awful execution.

Williams' performance, while certainly impressive for the numbers, did not leave me with the same "WOAH" impression that Dixon or Troy Smith or even Vince Young did. It simply wasn't even in the same ballpark.

Agreed, Frank.

2008-10-07T12:34:00.000-04:00

Agreed, Frank.

Simply an amazing performance by Juice, especially...

2008-10-07T11:30:00.000-04:00

Simply an amazing performance by Juice, especially since there's always some type of supernatural hex on Illinois every time that we play Michigan. I don't think the Illini are as good as last year's Rose Bowl team (the defense has slipped substantially), but I still think a New Year's Day game is still a reasonable goal.

Yeah, I wrote over on LTP that I didn't really kno...

2008-10-04T08:30:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I wrote over on LTP that I didn't really know what to do with Duke/Navy. I've got a hunch based on what I saw from the Navy vs. Wake game that Navy is a better team than the one who lost to Duke.

I also think that Duke is still Duke - just with a new paint job. I'll be happy to eat crow if they end up with a great record at the end of the season, but I really doubt they're going bowling this year. The SOS section was always going to be dicey - the fact remains that neither team has a marquee win under their belt. I also don't think that the SOS has any statistical bearing on the offensive and defensive outputs of Northwestern. In other words, I don't think you can blame NU's offensive woes on playing awesome defenses - the offense just isn't very good. I hope they get better.

I have to disagree strongly with mike @ zn's comme...

2008-10-04T01:42:00.000-04:00

I have to disagree strongly with mike @ zn's comment. Looking at this week's schedule, expect a fair number of "fringe" teams to win, jumping over Northwestern in the process. Face it--they'll need a convincing win against MSU to be ranked. And if they can do that--they won't be the worst undefeated team. Unless UConn and Ball State have both lost by then.

Your assessment of SOS could not be more off.You s...

2008-10-03T20:29:00.000-04:00

Your assessment of SOS could not be more off.
You suggest that Navy might be better than Duke? Duke beat Navy by 10!!!
And Iowa "might" be better than Indiana? Iowa's only other loss was to a Pitt team that just took down USF and has beaten Iowa St. Indy has beaten Western Kentucky (where?) and Murray State (who?). That debate isn't close.
If you want an objective metric, look at RPI at www.realtimerpi.com
Northwestern is rated 23 and ball St is rated 33. In terms of SOS, NU is rated 61 and Ball St is at 121.

You can say that NU isn't as good as the average 5-0 team, but to insinuate that it has done less on the field than Ball St just isn't true.

Northwestern will gain a lot of ground this week. ...

2008-10-03T13:01:00.000-04:00

Northwestern will gain a lot of ground this week. Not playing right now is the best way to move up in the polls. NW just needs one or two lower-to-25 teams to lose. Then the cats are in.

Ask and you shall receive B2... there IS a movie a...

2008-10-02T15:56:00.000-04:00

Ask and you shall receive B2... there IS a movie about Harmon! You'll never believe the name either:

"Harmon of Michigan" (1941)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033691/

http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/09/harmon.php

While I agree completely with rdlwoverine that it'...

2008-10-01T15:29:00.000-04:00

While I agree completely with rdlwoverine that it's a stretch to consider suite seating a public good, I'll continue to disagree with the notion that tax deductibility of any gift considered charitable translates to a taxpayer subsidy. (full disclosure: I'm a fund raiser in higher education.) The deduction of up to half one's income in charitable gifts doesn't reduce the revenue of the federal government if you presume, as charitable deduction laws are intended, that charitable giving is used to provide services that would otherwise have to be bourne by the incredibly inefficient delivery systems of the government. Everyone's taxes (and probably every university's tuition) would increase even more markedly if the government did away with the charitable deduction.

How does this translate to deductions for suites at Michigan Stadium? Last year the athletic department sent $14.06 million to the university's general fund to pay for tuition, books, fees and housing for student athletes. It also paid academic staff (grad and undergrad student tutors who are working their way through school) to help student athletes, and transferred another $1.5 million to the university's general fund to be used for need-based scholarships for non-athletes (http://www.ur.umich.edu/0708/Jun23_08/22.php). All while paying for all of the expenses of Michigan's athletic program - including facilities improvements - without asking any government body to directly provide a cent in taxpayer funds (as Minnesota did with their stadium).

"And donations claimed as tax deductions don't cos...

2008-10-01T12:06:00.000-04:00

"And donations claimed as tax deductions don't cost the taxpayers of our great country. They keep our government from having to fund the public goods and services provided by non-profits."

I would be hard-presed to say that luxury boxes are "public goods." So I think it is a fair criticism that federal taxpayers subsidize the construction of the luxury boxes through the fact that 80% of the "donations" required for tickets are tax deductible. That money could be used instead for health care, war in Iraq, bailing out Wall Street fatcats, whatever.
The Rodriguez comment does seem to be a unfair pot shot.

Here - this is from the University, a pamphlet tha...

2008-10-01T09:32:00.000-04:00

Here - this is from the University, a pamphlet that I'm sure Mr. Easterbrook read, seeing as how he referred to it as "odious" twice in the same section:

FINANCIAL PLANS

Q: How much will the project cost?

The project budget is estimated at $226 million; those costs will be funded through private donations and Athletic Department resources, primarily the revenues generated by the new seating.

Q: Is the decision to add enclosed seating primarily because of the need for more operating revenue in the Athletic Department?

No, enclosed seating is not being added primarily in order to add operating revenue to the Athletic Department budget. The revenue from the addition of enclosed seating will pay for the cost of renovating the entire stadium. The project must be self-supporting because the University is not going to allocate general funds to pay for these renovations.

However, once the costs of the renovations are recovered, revenue from the new seating will be available over the long run to support facilities upgrades and other costs for our 25 men’s and women’s varsity sports.

Q: Why is the additional revenue important over the long term?

Most of our major football competitors already have the benefit of the revenue that flows from building enclosed seating. Michigan is one of the few schools among the top 25 leaders in football attendance that does not have enclosed seating. Over time, this presents a competitive disadvantage to all our athletics programs. Once the costs of the renovation project are recovered, we will be able to use the revenue from the new seats to support additional investments in our 25 men’s and women’s varsity sports. This investment is essential if we are going to continue to compete at the top tier of collegiate athletics programs.

Q: How confident are you that the financial model for the renovation project is sound?

Our financial planning has been very conservative. From our extensive market research and detailed financial analysis, we are confident that the demand for the suites and club seats will be strong and that the project will be able to pay for itself through the new revenues that are generated.

Out of the total project cost of $226 million, we plan to cover $36 million from Athletic Department reserves and issue debt for the remaining $190 million. Our annual debt service is estimated to be about $12.4 million, with annual incremental revenues conservatively estimated at $12.8 million. However, these figures do not factor in any fundraising. To the extent that we receive support from our donors, that will reduce the amount of debt and will further reduce any financial risk.

Q: Will enclosed seating price average fans out of the Stadium?

No. The renovations as currently planned will not affect ticket prices for the average ticketholder. However, without the revenue from enclosed seating, the cost of the renovations would mean that ticket prices would have to be increased significantly. This was an important factor in making our decision

Q: Why did you decide not to pursue less expensive alternatives for renovating the stadium that did not include enclosed seating?

The Athletic Department considered many options for completing renovations to the stadium. We rejected a number of less ambitious models because they did not meet all our goals and/or contained considerable financial risk to the University. Some of the rejected options did not allow us to make the range of improvements desired to benefit all fans and fully address the stadium’s infrastructure needs. Other options would have required a large ticket surcharge for many years to come in order to be financially feasible. Although the final renovation plan is large and ambitious, it is less risky than a smaller project because it provides the best return on investment due to the added income streams from suites and club seats.

Q: Why can't you use the revenue from the Preferred Seating donations to fund Michigan Stadium renovations?

The Preferred Seating Program was essential to stabilize the Athletic Department's operating budget. Revenues raised from the PSP primarily support the cost of student scholarships and allow the department to set aside funds regularly for the maintenance and renewal of physical facilities. There is not sufficient revenue coming from the PSP to support a major renovation of Michigan Stadium.

Q: Why can't you fund the renovations simply by adding another tier of seats around the top of the Stadium?

The addition of another tier of seats would bring in only enough revenue to support the construction of those seats. It would not provide enough revenue to pay for the extensive renovations which are needed in the stadium.

Q: Why doesn't the Athletic Department stabilize its finances primarily by cutting its budget, rather than building enclosed seating or requiring donations for preferred seating?

Cutting costs and imposing strict controls on expenses were the first approaches the department took to address its financial challenges. However, many costs continue to rise including scholarship support for student athletes, salaries for coaches and staff, and the costs of deferred maintenance and necessary renewal of our aging facilities. In addition, the University community including our alumni and fans has made the strong commitment to support 25 varsity men's and women's sports at a national level of competition. The Preferred Seating Program allowed us to stabilize our operating budget and live up to this commitment.

Thank you for beating me to the punch P, well said...

2008-09-30T19:13:00.000-04:00

Thank you for beating me to the punch P, well said indeed!

Easterrook jumped the shark years ago and his schtick is as arrogant as it is tiresome... "look at all of the tremendous minutia I can squeeze into a tangent that has nothing to do with the topic I'm writing on... oh by the way I'm related to someone who does X...."

A paragraph later we're receiving a book report from someone oogling "Cheer-Babe" biographies on team's websites.

His baseless attacks against a school and program that he knows literally nothing about have gone on for far too long. I'd love to counter his pointless drivel with a blizzard of facts and logic, but it would be lost on him entirely. Here's hoping that the next time Game Day comes to Ann Arbor, someone makes an obscene Easterbrook sign... with appropriate levels of wit included.

Maybe Mr. Easterbrook needs to do a little more ex...

2008-09-30T18:49:00.000-04:00

Maybe Mr. Easterbrook needs to do a little more extensive research on stadium financing. If I'm not mistaken, the taxpayers in Minnesota are actually footing $124 million plus for the University's stadium, and many other stadia get actually get cash inflows from state government because of the job creation, etc. The State of Michigan is contributing exactly zero dollars to Michigan Stadium's improvements, which are being paid for through donations, and throught the sale of bonds which will be repaid out of revenue generated by the suites and the required "donations". And donations claimed as tax deductions don't cost the taxpayers of our great country. They keep our government from having to fund the public goods and services provided by non-profits. (Guess I should include appropriate links, but all this information is readily available to anyone with access to the intarwebs, as is the ridiculous misinformation provided by Mr. Easterbrook.

Never heard of him; will not click through.

2008-09-30T18:23:00.000-04:00

Never heard of him; will not click through.

My biggest problem, and the point I concur most wi...

2008-09-30T16:58:00.000-04:00

My biggest problem, and the point I concur most with Beauford on, is that USC simply did not fall far enough.

Keeping them in the Top 10 immediately after a loss to an unranked football team is a point I'd love to see argued, anyone who's going to support that point and then not have Georgia ranked ahead of the Trojans is likely contradicting their own logic.

The tough part is that in my own opinion, the whole transitive property simply does not apply. I can't sit here and say that Penn State should get an artificial boost because a team they waxed at home one week went out and beat USC another week.

I don't think anyone should argue that OSU should be ranked ahead of USC at this point, seeing as how USC thoroughly proved that they were a better football team in direct competition. What gets me is that anyone would drop Georgia below USC. Georgia has a victory on the road against a Top 15 opponent and lost to a team now ranked in the Top 5. USC beat a Top 5 team at home and lost to an unranked opponent. Without getting out the microscope, USC lost to a far inferior opponent, and the quality of their "big win" is not so much greater than Georgia's to make up that difference.

I agree that it's still early, but if USC manages to beat out several other one loss teams due to them playing exactly nobody the rest of the year, it's going to be mighty frustrating.

Chaddogg - I love it! We'll have a Northwestern v...

2008-09-30T09:49:00.000-04:00

Chaddogg - I love it! We'll have a Northwestern vs. Penn State National Title game.

@beauford -- good point, but teams with similar re...

2008-09-30T07:41:00.000-04:00

@beauford -- good point, but teams with similar records routinely jump over other teams with the same record due to particularly impressive wins or losses. I think if Georgia gets thru the rest of its schedule unscathed and USC does the same, Georgia will be ahead of USC (and an undefeated BYU) due to who he plays....

That being said, I still think we see two unbeatens in the national title game. And while my brain says NU is not one of those teams, I do note that NU and Penn State don't play this season.....how about two Big Ten unbeatens as a scenario to piss off the entire SEC?