A few interesting links....

Far be it for me to make a post without making a point, but there's a couple of links worth sharing here:

ESPNU Campus Road tour was in AA for the ND game.  See the video here:
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/espnu-road-trip-ann-arbor-video

Some heroism at the Michigan / ND game: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011110915028

From the Toledo Blade, an open letter to Bo: http://www.toledoblade.com/DaveHackenberg/2011/08/30/Bo-in-case-you-didn-t-know-2.html

And finally, as much as I hate to do it, Rosenberg's article is both amusing and on point: http://www.freep.com/article/20110910/COL22/110911002/Michael-Rosenberg-U-M-caps-historic-night-let-Denard-run?odyssey=mod_sectionstories

Read.  Understand.  Discuss among yourselves.

Congratulations and Good Luck

Just a quick entry to congratulate The Moderator on his recent exchange of nuptial vows and surviving the hurricane. Mazel tov!

I'd also like to congratulate Shoelace for once again snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Denard's nickname is also appropriate as far as Notre Dame is concerned, it seems the margin of victory is only ever as wide as those laces. What a great game to watch!

Good luck to the Spartans this week - I would love to see the Irish go 0-3 and Kelly go thermonuclear on the sidelines.

And good luck to my Buckeyes this week in the aptly-named Ineligi-bowl. After the stinker last week, they will need lots of it.

Most disgusting thing a Michigan Athlete has ever done

Ewwww...

http://deadspin.com/5840042/new-biography-claims-sarah-palin-had-a-one+night-stand-with-glen-rice-in-1987

New Biography Claims Sarah Palin Had A One-Night Stand With Glen Rice In 1987

The National Enquirer grabbed some details from the upcoming Joe McGinniss Sarah Palin book, and this chunk is too delightful not to share with you immediately. Apparently Palin had a fling with former Heat/Hornet/Laker Glen Rice while he was in college and while she was a sports reporter in Alaska, all the way back in 1987. Rice confirms it in the book.

Here's the Enquirer:

In the book, which will be published on September 20th, McGinniss claims Sarah had a steamy interracial hookup with basketball stud Glen Rice less than a year before she eloped with her husband Todd.

Sarah hooked up with the NBA great, then a 6-foot-8 junior at the University of Michigan when he was playing in a college basketball tournament in Alaska in 1987, the book says. At the time, Sarah, just out of college, was working as a sports reporter for the Anchorage TV station KTUU.

A publishing source told The ENQUIRER that McGinniss claims Sarah had a "fetish" for black men at the time and he quotes a friend as saying Sarah had "hauled (Rice's) ass down."
[...]
In the book, McGinniss quotes Rice as confirming the one-night stand.

We won't subject her journalistic ethics to any kind of scrutiny at this point, because, well, wow. And, oh, don't worry, we are all just as terribly confused as you are.

Sometimes that Michigan degree won't get you a job

http://deadspin.com/5826977/braylon-edwards-has-the-kind-of-resume-no-free-agent-wide-receiver-would-want

Actually, I have no idea if Braylon graduated. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he may have. I never realized he was out with Stallworth the night of the crash with the pedestrian. That's pretty terrible, just by association.

Since this article was first written he has signed with SF. Not sure if that's a good fit or not.

Who's the wittiest of them all?

http://www.freep.com/article/20110725/SPORTS08/110725051/MSU-s-Hollis-orders-special-Spartan-pizza-U-M-s-Brandon?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Pretty funny, pretty harmless.

Brandon is a pretty pathetic in saying the pizza "sucked". It didn't suck, you just got jobbed in public.

Oh and further proof that the NCAA is nothing more than a money making machine.

http://www.freep.com/article/20110725/SPORTS06/110725049/U-M-s-Brandon-doesn-t-want-nonconference-road-games-other-than-Irish-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p

Dear UConn, get a real stadium.

MLB All-Star Balloting - What a joke

Ok.  I know I'm a homer and my ballot probably proves that, but the all-star ballot is a joke.  It's a popularity contest.  The all-start game hardly recognizes the games best players, but rather the most popular from the fans...which means the Yankees and the Red Sox.  The biggest such travesty this year is Russell Martin beating out Alex Avila.  Russell Martin?  Are you kidding me?  He's batting .230 with no power in a home run haven.  Availa?  He's only hitting .304.  For a catcher!  I'm sure the Greek will agree with me, Avila should be starting for the AL.

For what it's worth, here's my AL votes (with the leader in parenthesis):
AL 1B (Adrian Gonzalez, Bos): Gonzalez, Bos.  Yeah, this one is pretty easy.  He's the first half AL MVP.  No question he should be starting.
AL 2B (Robinson Cano, NYY): Cano, NYY.  Another pretty obvious choice.  Only 2B hitting for average and power consistently....and one of the few teams with a consistent 2B.
AL SS (Derek Jeter, NYY): Peralta, Det.  Maybe a homer decision on my part, but how can you honestly vote for Jeter?  He shouldn't even be starting for the Yankees right now!  Peralta is hitting over .300 with some power and has been the most consistent hitter for the Tigers.
AL 3B (Alex Rodriguez, NYY): Rodriguez, NYY.  Yeah, it hurts to vote for anyone sharing a name with our beloved Dick Rod but he's been that good compared to the other 3B.  Who else, Brandon Inge?  That's like voting Jim Tressell for the most honest coach award.
AL C (Russell Martin, NYY): Avila, Det.  I still cannot believe Martin is winning this race.  If he had any sense he would withdraw.  Attack boy Alex behind the plate!
AL OF (Granderson, Bautista, Hamilton): Granderson, Bautista, Ellsbury.  All four of these guys deserve to be there but Hamilton missed some significant time. 

I'm not going to bother with the DH.  Wait, yes I am.  Ortiz of Martinez?  I don't think so.  Eat'em up Tigers, eat' em up.  Stomp the Tribe!

I should probably note that I only differ with one OF, SS, C and DH (40%)

(Note for the Nut: We are talking about baseball here, you know, the sport with the little round white ball with red seams?  I know, it's tough for you to follow).

Happy Birthday sir Nut!

And what a birthday present we have for you!  A brand NEW sense of morality for THE Ohio State University!  Ok, so it's not that extreme, but come on, how does it take MONTHS to figure out that Tressel needed to go?  The coach LIED about NCAA rules violations.  His overall record or the fact that he owned us Weasels from the North really do not matter after that.

Let's take a step back for a second and examine this situation:

• Several star football players at Nutsville traded leveraged their name or actual memorabilia for perks.  Yes, the school makes millions off of these players and yes, star players across the country are likely doing the same.  But there's a rule against it, and the player's got caught.  Does the rule make sense?  Not entirely.  Should it be changed?  Probably.  Are the player's guilty?  Yes.
• The head football Nut has not only been a success on the field, but supposedly off the field as well.  He really did seem to run a clean program.  But he uncovered violations and then started a whole snowball of mistakes.  First, he failed to report it, looking to protect his players (his words) and protect his program (a reasonable interpretation by the rest of the country).  Then, he failed to report it and LIED that he knew of any violations.  Finally, as the store broke of his prior knowledge, he still didn't come clean.  Let's face it folks, there is a lot of shady stuff going on in college sports and the coach's best course of action is to be open and honest about potential violations.  If you are not, well, the head football nut is a good example of what happens.

In a previous post, the Nut correctly pointed out that tOSU is likely not alone in this situation.  I fear that we are seeing the beginning of a long string of scandals across the NCAA.  It's sad to say that no school is safe from this wave, even us Weasels and Greeks from that state up North.  Yes, even the Greeks of East Lasning are at risk for a scandal like this, despite the fact that the only play football once a decade or so.

Nonetheless, we should all wish the Nut a happy birthday for at very least, he doesn't have to find himself wearing Michigan gear all fall in protest.

And as promised, now that tOSU has finally shown some sense of decency with their football program, my protest has ended and I promise to become a full participant in our blog.

--The Weasel