text:
I had to stop reading after the quote from Ohio State's co defensive coordinator. I can't remember a time when a loss hurt this much.
In The End, A Parlor Trick
11/24/2012 – Michigan 21, Ohio State 26 – 8-4, 6-2 Big Ten
Bryan Fuller
In 1997, Michigan had a multidimensional weapon they'd take out of the garage for a couple dozen plays a game. His name was Charles Woodson, and I distinctly remember the disappointment that would wash over me 70% of the time he came in for an offense snap. This disappointment was because Woodson didn't get the ball. He ran a route, and something else happened.
Despite the disappointment, I got it. You can't just give the ball to the dynamic guy every time he comes in the game because if you do putting him in the game is tantamount to holding up a huge sign that says THIS IS THE PLAY WE ARE RUNNING. You can't flip up your hole cards before you bet.
Al Borges disagrees. If you've poked around the flaming wreckage of the Michigan internet in the aftermath of Saturday, you have undoubtedly heard the wailing and gnashing of teeth because of that. But the thing is so stark it has to be marveled at again: when Denard Robinson entered the game against Ohio State, every play but one was Denard Robinson doing something. Once it was fail to chip Ryan Shazier and try to get out for a screen; all other times it was run the ball, sometimes with a pitch included. The fakeout was a six-yard completion to Mike Kwiatkowski in the first quarter, and there ended any attempt at deception.
Devin Gardner was at quarterback for three of these plays. Michigan held up a sign that said RUN or PASS, and didn't even try the token fakeout where Robinson goes over the top when the safeties suck up. Gardner ran three times. Denard passed zero. Ohio State figured it out. Surprise!
Denard got a dozen snaps and watched from the sideline as Gardner tried to drive Michigan 70 yards for the win. There were six minutes left, and Michigan was reduced to throwing every down as a guy who might break the all-time rushing record for a quarterback watched.
What can you say? It's indefensible. It's a failure without any possible explanation. It caused legions of neutral observers to laugh or fume or sit slack-jawed as they watched it unfold. Sean McDonough was dumbfounded. Orson, in the stands, marveled. Twitter burst at the seams with furious mockery from people who don't care about Michigan but do hate to see Denard Robinson end his final Ohio State game on the bench, having averaged 11 yards a carry on ten attempts.
Here is a list of things Denard Robinson could have productively done on Saturday that did not necessarily involve him getting the ball.
Be a running back on the inverted veer.
Stand in a two-back set, then motion out a la Vincent Smith on a pre-emptive flare route.
Run a flare from the backfield
Line up in the slot and get a fake jet handoff, then run a wheel.
Line up in the slot, run a bubble.
Run a route you ignore but the defense cannot.
Fake a screen to him and screen to the other side.
There were ways to work around the fact that Denard can't block, primarily running your best play with your best two players. What can possibly be so hard about telling Denard "now you're the other guy on the play we run all the time"? Even if it's play action, it draws everyone. If he's on the field, one to three people are concerned with him, and if that's at the edge of the field that's as good as a block. It's a fantastic block. It is a much better block than most of the folk on Michigan's offensive line were capable of.
And nothing. Nothing. Here is a sign that says whether we are running or passing.
"They were a little bit predictable in the first half," said Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers. "You know, they put 16 (Robinson) back there, he was gonna run it. And they put 12 (Gardner) back there, they were gonna throw it. And after a while that became something that we keyed on."
On the other side of the ball, things made sense. Ohio State's offense is a coherent whole that ruthlessly exploits every edge it can. Michigan spent the first couple drives unable to substitute as Ohio State went up-tempo. Afterwards they started running on right after the play; Michigan struggled to get set at times. When OSU slowed it down, they made a playcall after seeing how the defense lined up. They took every advantage the game gives them.
Once JT Floyd got turned around by Devin Smith on OSU's first drive, Michigan was faced with the prospect of repeating last year's festival of deep bombs or giving Floyd help. They chose the latter, and chose to contain Braxton Miller at all costs. To do this they had to give up two things: the underneath flats and the guy in the box that can be a free hitter.
The results: Miller was 14 of 18. Avery blew a deep corner route on a third and long early and there was the bomb. There ended downfield passing. Miller's other 12 completions averaged 9.8 yards a pop on a series of screens and quick throws in the soft outside section of the field. Carlos Hyde surged up the middle over and over again, picking up 146 yards on 26 carries with no Michigan player available to hit. Stat of the game: Will Campbell had ten assisted tackles.
The dispiriting thing is watching that and not being frustrated with anyone in particular when the other team moves the ball. There was no screaming some guy's name, no rolling your eyes and saying "come on make a tackle." When Michigan stopped them, it was a good play by someone. When they did not, it was because you can't play the wide receivers one on one so everyone's got a blocker.
Michigan was lucky not to give up 30 or 40 points. Ohio State is rickety. Botched snaps, penalties, and some heroic individual plays—Ryan checking Miller in space, Jibreel Black and Frank Clark combining to get Miller down on third and goal when Michigan had put four guys against three to the field—prevented that, but it was there. It will be there next year, and the year after, and the year after that. They will not be as rough as this outfit in its first year.
Michigan can only beat it by winning one-on-one matchups, lots of them. That's tough to do. Possible—see Stanford—but tough, and sometimes even if you're Stanford the Oregons of the world blitz you for 40.
Most of the time, actually.
One mistake is all it takes.
The Hoke hire was alarming to me (for about two weeks) because it seemed like waving a white flag and going back to the Carr era philosophy that had seen Michigan slip definitively behind Ohio State over the last six or seven years of Carr's career. In a lot of ways, those concerns have proved unfounded. Carr was a puntosaur; Hoke is amongst the most aggressive coaches in the country. Mattison is as modern as defensive coordinators come. Whatever his flaws, Borges is a far cry from DeBord. He wants to score, for one.
There are two ways in which those concerns have been true, one tiny, one large. The tiny one is the spread punt. You've seen the coverage, seen what everyone else is doing, heard me complain about it, etc. I asked Heiko to bring it up a couple times over the past few years, and we did get an answer of a sort as to why Michigan doesn't run it:
MGoFollowup: Were you aware that they could run a fake out of the spread punt formation?
"Sure. Yeah. They had done it before, right up the middle."
MGoFollowup: What's your opinion of the spread punt formation vs. the traditional punt formation?
"Uh, we don't use it."
MGoFollowup: Is there a rationale for that?
"I think, you know … I'm more comfortable with what we use. That's the rationale."
That is a dull, unthinking answer. Heiko shot it to me as soon as he transcribed it and it depressed both of us.
Here is where the comparison to Beilein goes. Beilein, who has discovered the alley-oop and ditched the 1-3-1 except when it wins a game against Pitt, and wiped out his coaching staff to start anew. Beilein took his comfort level and chucked it out the window. We all stand to benefit. In the wake of this loss, I hope the football staff takes a similarly stark look at itself.
I wonder what possible use a huddle is now. I've had this Smart Football post lying around for months, as I was going to make a post about it:
It's only a slight exaggeration to say that huddling is an archaism destined for the dustbin. I say it's a slight exaggeration because there is a value to huddling, primarily when you have a great leader at quarterback as a huddle is an opportunity for him to show his leadership skills. But otherwise, it's inherently inferior to going no-huddle. It's slower, which is a problem both in games but also in practice where your offense gets fewer reps, and, maybe most importantly, the safety net of a huddle leads coaches to transform plays that can be communicated in just one or two words into multi-syllabic monstrosities.
The Patriots don't use it, Ohio State doesn't use it, Oregon lol huddle, etc. And I see Michigan get out of one with 15 seconds on the playclock having determined what they're going to do without getting information from the defense and with little time to change what they're doing. And I think about comfort, and how dangerous it is to slip into old habits just because they are old.
It feels like Michigan is on the wrong side of history here. After Rodriguez the spread offense is anathema. It's the one thing that keeps Nick Saban enraged at night, and it feels like Michigan's going to ignore it because Rich Rodriguez's defense couldn't stop a six-year-old child, instead of for any defensible rationale. I'm not sure that's going to cut it against Urban Meyer.
OSU guy did this one but it's got all the important stuff:
A shorter but HQ reel from mgovideo:
Also pressers from Hoke and players.
Brady Hoke Epic Double Point Of The Week. Well… this is close but since Jake Ryan saw something like 60 snaps instead of a dozen, his nine tackles two TFLs, sack, and impressive non-tackle of Braxton Miller get him the nod. One on one, he won his matchup. Now we just need five to six more of that guy.
Honorable Mention. Denard(obvious), Roy Roundtree (touchdown), Jeremy Gallon (six catches), possibly Will Campbell (ten assists!).
Epic Double Point Standings.
4: Jake Ryan (ND, Purdue, Illinois, OSU)
2: Denard Robinson (Air Force, UMass)
1.3: Jeremy Gallon(Alabama, 1/3 Minnesota), Drew Dileo (Michigan State, 1/3 Minnesota), Roy Roundtree (1/3 Minnesota, Northwestern)
1: Craig Roh(Nebraska), Devin Gardner(Iowa)
Brady Hoke Epic Double Fist-Pump Of The Week. Obvious.
Honorable mention: Roy Roundtree uses one man-Dileo convoy to score 75-yard touchdown, Frank Clark levels Braxton Miller a couple times, Denard turns not much into 30 yards on Michigan's first snap.
Epic Double Fist-Pumps Past.
11/10/2012: Mattison baits Fitz, Kenny Demens decleats Northwestern, game over.
11/17/2012: Denard WOOPS Tanner Miller in Big House finale.
11/24/2012: Denard uses PHYSICS to score a touchdown
Rawls lacks YAC, so what's the point? Michigan ended up in fourth and three on their first drive of the third quarter after a one-yard Rawls carry, a six yard Denard carry, and a zero-yard Rawls carry. The third down attempt was pretty much stuffed but Rawls could not manufacture even one yard after contact, something that has been a pattern after he got everyone's hopes up by running over some Purdue safeties.
But the real killer was the first down play, when Michigan successfully blocked everyone and got Rawls the edge. One on one in space with cornerback Bradley Roby, Rawls ran straight into him and went down. One yard.
Rawls's five carries netted two yards. Since he started picking up non-garbage-time carries against Minnesota this brings him to 68 yards on 32 carries, 2.1 per carry. Yeah, the line has something to do with that and Rawls is getting goal-line carries, but since he's getting so many goal line carries because he's bouncing outside the tackles or going down on first contact I don't think that's much to hang your hat on.
Yeah, he'll probably get better as he ages but at this point it would be a shock if he ever ends up anything but a short-yardage back. Chalk another one up to the Fred Jackson Hyperbole Curse.
This is a reason I'm skeptical about Drake Johnson making an impact. Guys Jackson personally campaigns for have a poor track record.
Bad time to get beat for the first(?) time this year. Michigan's first drive ended with a blindside sack and fumble yielded by Taylor Lewan, which was like… that can happen? I think Alabama got a blindside sack in the first game; since then nothing. Bad time for a bad play.
This of course means that he will slide down draft boards and return. That's the ticket.
Devin flaws exposed. It was coming, and it came: against a more talented defense than Gardner had seen so far he was hesitant. His throws were off, mostly deep, and throw after throw was a second late. Against Iowa and Northwestern and Minnesota it didn't matter, but Ohio State's defense is a really good unit that implodes to yield long touchdowns twice a game; when they were not doing that they're pretty good about closing down space.
All that's understandable. Hopefully we see a more polished version in the bowl game and go into 2013 with some confidence under center.
The stuff they got. Ohio State is a defense that is good, and then explodes spectacularly, and that's what they did on the Roundtree touchdown, which was just CJ Barnett making a terrible play. Good for Gardner to recognize that coverage; not a huge credit to the play itself. And then Denard used science(!) to burst through two tacklers on the 67-yarder.
That play was a credit to Borges as it was pretty much exactly what OSU ran some last week, a fake veer that turns into an outside play with a convoy of blockers. Michigan ran it to good effect in the first half, and then died in the second half because OSU adjusted.
"boy I hope this guy spends most of the second half on the bench" –nobody (Fuller)
Speaking of that play… find me the Michigan fan who was not in full FFFFFFUUUUUUUU mode the instant before after Michigan got the ball back with 1:30, ran for eight yards on first down, and then spent 30 seconds lining up. You can't even put it on Denard this time since there was the option to go to Gardner. Denard bailed them out of another hack job of a two-minute drill.
Rodriguez comparison point. That game was reminiscent of early Rodriguez offensive forays that worked fairly well for a half—think introducing MINOR RAGE against Penn State en route to 17-14 halftime lead—and then evaporated when the opponent took the fancy new stuff away and Michigan had no other way to move the ball. They came in with a couple things that worked, and then Ohio State said "we are not letting Denard run" and that was that.
Speaking of that concept… on the fourth and three to open the second half Michigan ran that same play again. The above picture is from the touchdown; on the stop, Barnum's guy shot outside and upfield, forcing a cutback, and Lewan didn't have an angle to get on an equally hard-charging Shazier. It's almost like they spent halftime preparing to stop it.
"My comment was, after I saw Denard Robinson sneak outta there for a long run, stop the quarterback run," Meyer said. "That's the input I had. Probably the same — I think 107,000 people said that as well."
The most baffling thing… hmm. Not running your extremely fast guy who can actually throw the ball makes the top 20 of baffling decisions Saturday. What are you saving him for?
2013 peek ahead. I'm drafting a "22 Tickets for Team 134" feature that'll tackle this in more detail, but for now Michigan loses the following folks after the bowl:
- Denard
- WR Roy Roundtree
- TE Mike Kwiatkowski
- OL Taylor Lewan (probably), Ricky Barnum, Elliott Mealer, and Patrick Omameh
The likely replacements:
- Devin
- WR Amarah Darboh(?)
- TE AJ Williams
- OL Ben Braden, Kyle Kalis, Jack Miller, and Chris Bryant
Bryant is admittedly speculative; Fitzgerald Toussaint may not make it back. How do we feel about this? On the one hand, four new starters on the offensive line. On the other, the interior guys are probably going to be better even if they're young. Possibly a lot better. While Schofield isn't Lewan he was a solid pass protector this year and should be able to cope.
The most important thing is getting those tight ends in shape. Funchess was a crappy blocker this year; more alarmingly, AJ Williams was hardly better. I don't know much about OL technique but Williams has stood out as so spectacularly unrefined that even a layman like myself can look at him and think "that doesn't look right."
Story of the season. Defense hangs in against good offense as offense curls up and dies, putting them in bad spots time and again, eventually cracks a little, and fades late as exhaustion sets in. Ohio State neared 400 yards and put up 26 points but I'm not even a little mad at what happened. It was all so obvious.
this was an actual tackle (Fuller)
Most impressive non-tackle of the season. Jake Ryan in space against Braxton Miller was a little different than Jake Ryan in space against most people, but he did hold Miller up long enough for the cavalry to rally. On the day, nine tackles, a TFL, and a number of "oh thank God you are large and fast" moments. All Big Ten, surely.
I am going to hit you very hard now. Frank Clark was the main beneficiary of multiple all-out blitzes Mattison sent on third down.
A couple of these threatened to send Miller out of the game or dislodge the ball; most other times Michigan didn't even bother to rush him.
2013 peek ahead. I'm drafting a "22 Tickets for Team 134" feature that'll tackle this in more detail, but Michigan loses the following folks after the bowl:
- SDE Craig Roh
- 3TECH Will Campbell
- MLB Kenny Demens
- CB JT Floyd
- S Jordan Kovacs
Likely replacements:
- SDE: Jibreel Black/Tom Strobel
- 3TECH: Matt Godin/Chris Wormley
- MLB: Effectively James Ross since the bet here is Morgan slides over.
- CB: Blake Countess
- S: Jarrod Wilson
That's a lot of youth, with Black the only upperclassman mentioned. It is at least highly-touted youth. Wormley was going to see the field as a freshman, Countess had a breakout freshman year before the injury that cost him 2012, James Ross is a summer in the weight room away from being awesome, and… well, Wilson is not going to be Kovacs.
2013 will probably be just as good as this year, if not a little better, and then look out in 2014: the only projected starters to graduate after next year are Thomas Gordon and Quinton Washington. (Nickelback Courtney Avery also departs.) Washington will be replaced by a fully groomed Ondre Pipkins; Michigan has a few options to replace Gordon.
Fourth and three from the forty-eight. My thought at the time was that was a coinflip decision, statistically, and yup:
|FG Att
|Success Rate:
|WP Success
|WP Fail:
|WP Total:
Those are NFL numbers, of course, and can't be taken as gospel. Whatever adjustment there is to the college game it's not going to push it into slam dunk territory either way. That decision is all about feel.
From my perspective that feel includes information like "interior line cannot block these guys" and I was more nervous than happy when Hoke went for it, but it's right on that line. OSU blew up the playcall, which was a fine playcall since it involved Denard having the ball, and Michigan gave it up. Oh well.
Live by the sword, die by the sword. Since it's hard for people to get away from their base urges I prefer the guy who will be aggressive, even excessively so, since the vast majority of decisions to be aggressive will be correct, and even ones that seem weird like Saturday's are a push.
Yup. If you were wondering if the shirtsleeves would come off, nope:
MANBALL (Fuller)
If it's sleeting I think the guy should put a jacket on just because it's hard to think when you get cold to your bones.
Just the right amount of shoving. Football games are at their best when there is harmless shoving on a half-dozen plays a game, and M-OSU delivers on this count.
This was immediately after Mike Jones became "that guy who got the dumb personal foul in the 2012 game" to Michigan fans, and never threatened to escalate past this business. They've done this for years now, and I approve.
Weekly Devin Gardner lookalike photo. Recycled from last week because Bryan didn't get a shot of it, but Devin definitely went Mr Burns after the long touchdown to Roundtree.
I enjoy this being a thing.
* The leading tackler was WLB Desmond Morgan with 11. Last week's leading tackler was also the WLB, James Ross III. I guess they are not kidding when they say there is an expectation for the position.
* Will Campbell had one of the craziest defensive stat lines I've ever seen: 0 solo tackles and 10 assisted tackles.
* Jake Ryan was back making plays all over the field, 9 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack, and 2 forced fumbles. On Thomas Gordon's sack, Ryan jumped on Gordon's back and tried to sack Gordon and the QB. It's been said of others, but I don't think it applies to anyone better than Jake Ryan, he plays like his hair's on fire.
Best: MGoMeltdowns are awesome
So as is the custom around these parts, the traffic to the site after a loss follows the same trajectory as general internet traffic does whenever illicit pictures of some starlet are "leaked" to the the web totally-unexpectedly-but-right-before-my-new-movie-Crushed Blue Velvet Girlfriend 2-is-released. For a graphical representation, here is a screenshot of the site about 4 minutes after the game ended
Click for full size
It will never approach RCMB or anything in the SEC not related to Vandy, but TWO redundant posts sarcastically "thanking" the coaches for losing the game, one out-and-out "Fire Borges" thread and one claiming he merely "sucked", one thread already set for deletion, and about 1,100 posts in a game thread, 50% of them berating Al Borges and the team for a poor second half, is nothing to sneeze at. Subsequent posts included petitions to fire Al Borges, a couple crying out for sanity, and one inferring a discussion about iCarly and Larry Hagman that felt appropriate for an 8th-grader's "MySpace" profile. Then Ace showed up with his usual quality summary and solid reasoning, which is like, Booo this man!
LSAClassOf2000 puts yardage for and against in a table.
Figure you don't want to read crowing so right on to the other stuff…
Blog stuff. Hoover Street Rag:
In the end, I'm never going to understand this, I'm never going to understand them, I'm never going to understand that feeling. Jim Tressel is honored during the first quarter break of the Michigan/Ohio State game for his 2002 National Championship season, and he is carried off the field by his players to a standing ovation at the Horseshoe. Ohio proceeds to get its act together and win 26-21 to complete a perfect 12-0 season. A season in which they are ineligible for a bowl game because of NCAA sanctions related to Jim Tressel's failure to report what he knew about illegal benefits being given to his players to his superiors. A season in which they are ineligible for the B1G championship game next weekend because of the post-season sanctions. But it doesn't matter, a standing ovation for what Tressel did, not how Tressel got caught.
Borges complaint section follows. Maize and Brew:
While Hoke never really talks about injuries, it's not like there's some gamesmanship required here—the bowl game is five weeks away. And let's say he was dinged up and couldn't run the ball for some reason–toss him in the backfield as a decoy, no?
Other than the lack of Denard down the stretch, the other frustration was how he was used in short yardage. He showed no indication that he was ever going to pass it and really didn't throw in warm-ups. So if you aren't going to have him throw it–at any point–then on short yardage put him in the backfield with Gardner and hand it or toss it to Denard, or fake it to #16 and have Gardner run it, or toss it to Gallon or ARGH.
After the 2001 Michigan State Spartan Bob game Lloyd Carr summed up how he felt about his team, when he said, "They deserve better."
MNB recap. M&GB recap. Sap's Decals. Maize and Blue Nation:
In the moments after the game, when I snapped this photo, the air was rich with the smell of marijuana, wafting down from the student section were people, from seemingly every direction flooded the field in a frenzy of drunken euphoria.
Between the Buckeye fans posing for photos in front of the team leaving the field with their heads hanging, and the idiots stupid enough to try and mix it up with Michigan players, it was all I could do to keep my composure and just walk away. I had to remember that I'm a credentialed media member and it's not my place to get involved. Just walk away. Props to the Michigan players for doing the same.
What a mess.
Papery stuff. Chantel Jennings scours instagram for Game photos. This one is from Channing Stribling:
Rothstein game story:
A week ago, the Wolverines appeared to have a devastating offense with two quarterbacks, including Denard Robinson, moving one of the most electrifying players in football all over the field. Not only did Michigan short-circuit on Saturday, the devastation was all their own unraveling.
"Yeah, we kind of knew what was coming when Denard was in and knew what was coming when [Gardner] was in," Ohio State defensive lineman Adolphus Washington said.
If Robinson was in the game, Michigan was going to run the ball without question. If Devin Gardner was in, there was a little bit more of a surprise, but more than likely the junior was going to throw the ball or try to.
Nowhere did this show up more than in the second half, when Ohio State adjusted to put nine players in the box when Robinson was in, essentially daring him to throw. Whether he couldn't or wouldn't, Robinson didn't. And that decision cost the Wolverines.
"Coach called the plays and we went with it," Robinson said.
I'll have to look at the fourth down to be sure but Robinson put it on himself after:
"I've got to come a little tighter and get outside a little more (there)," Robinson said after Michigan's 26-21 loss to Ohio State. "I made a bad read on the run, that's my fault."
Hoke as well:
"(Robinson) maybe should have been in a gap wider," Hoke said. "And, he had broken three (long plays) from that same run."
My initial take was that to do that he'd have to bounce into the backfield and the result may have been the same; I'll picture-page it.
Meinke on the end. Wojo gets in his WTF:
The play-calling went from scintillating to stubborn to baffling, and against a good defense, the quarterback combo of Devin Gardner and Denard Robinson was snapped in half. Gimmicky rotations are effective for a while, but in a game like this, in Urban Meyer's rivalry debut, lessons get delivered harshly.
"You know me, we want to run the football and we want to do a good job stopping the run," Brady Hoke said. "We didn't do either."
I can, it's called 2006 and our legendary coach was dead and all we had to show for it was a lost perfect season and a 3 game losing streak
I'd never felt that before, this was basically 2002. I could handle 2002 because 2003 came after it.
2006 was heart breaking but the coaches put the players in a position to win. Maybe it was worse but as I watched Meyer take his head set off I zoned out until my phone rang. Looking at the clock I realized that I had been lying on the floor for almost half an hour staring at the wall. I've had similar responses to crushing defeat but none so prolonged. The rest of the weekend everything was white noise and blurs in the periphery.
Its funny but I felt almost the opposite. If it had ended after the first half and OSU on top somehow, I would have felt the same as you. But watching the second half and seeing the futility made the loss easier to stomach as a fan, somehow. I felt terrible for the seniors but more angry at how things transpired. As others have noted, I'll never understand how the best player is not on the field at all times, even if just a decoy. Unless he was unable to go (he did not appear to be unable), there is no excuse for not having him out there. It was Denard's last regular season game, his last chance at winning streak against OSU, and he is/was clearly the best weapon Borges has. After the game ended, I felt bad for Denard, bad that Borges could never truly find a way to maximize his abilities and sustain that for the entire season. Its a shame, really.
Unlike everyone else I am not mad that Denard was sidelined. It was clear that Borges could not envisage the strategical advantage that Denard brought us so why would he put him out there? Wielding that kind of power, although seemingly rudimentary, was too much for Al.
The Game is always huge and always important, but there are those select few games where Michigan is able to deal a massive blow to the Buckeye psyche and this was one of those games. We had one chance to blast a hole right through the myth of invincibility that the Buckeye faithful have attributed to Urban Meyer and we let it slip away.
That's the part that stings the most. It wasn't Ohio imposing it's will on us as in other recent games. This game was ripe for the stealing. The defense, getting stuck in tons of tough spots, came through in spades. We just couldn't find a way to manufacture one more score? That wasn't the 2002 Ohio defense out there on Saturday. Damnit, it's just so fucking frustrating.
This game in some ways reminded me of the 2005 loss where the game was right there for the taking. In that game we punted it away at the end.
It just hurts right now...
As much as this stings, it's not as bad as some others in the series. This time we were only playing for pride, and we were on the road. The losses in Ann Arbor were absolutely gut-wrenching to behold, especially 2001 and 2005. And 2006 obviously was heartbreaking.
the coaching staffs, the 105K fans in the stadium, the hundreds of journalists in attendance, the two marching bands, the millions watching on TV at home, there were exactly two people fooled by Michigan's play calling in the 2nd half. Al Borgess and Brady Hoke. That should, at the very least, be disconcerting to Michigan fans.
As much as the playcalling was poor in the second half, I just dont think its fair to throw it on Borges and dismiss it. You bring in a guy who fits a prostyle game, put the team in this transitionary mold, and make it clear that that's where you're going, and then suddenly you tell Al, "hey you have to win this game with option reads, QB runs, and generally not the stuff you're paid to run."
Criticizing him for that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Borges has tried. I don't think that it's so hard, in the end, for a guy who has mastered the nuances of many offenses to use spread principles; he gets them. It's game-time situational adaptation that's in question; it's having OSU openly saying you were numbingly predictable. In several critical situations this year Borges came up short.
I like the guy more than most--get a kick out of his demeanor; clearly bright as hell. But at this point you have to acknowledge the screw-ups. Bellomy was a screw-up, as Wojo notes. The yellow flag is flying and the breeze is pretty stiff.
some real assessment of the confusion on the O line this year, and what it says about the coaching. As I said in another post--thin talent is one thing; not knowing the assignments is another.
To me this is a tricky subject. There didn't seem to be to many missed assignments last year with a multi year starter and Rimmington Award winner at center. This year with a first year starter there seemed to be plenty. Did the coaches do a poor job of getting Mealer and the rest of the line prepped for what they needed to do? Did Mealer and the rest of the line make poor calls for their blocking assignments? Was it a combination of the two?
To both of your points, I think having a hybrid offense built around some read-option principles (with a WCO passing game grafted on) and some conventional sets/plays produced a lot of these problems.
College teams don't get a very long time to practice. Wisconsin and Stanford spend that time running power so that their guys know that shit backwards and forwards. Oregon spends that time going 100 miles an hour making QB reads on every play. Then they add wrinkles and passing game elements to complement the run game.
These last two Michigan teams haven't been able to get to that second step because they are doing so many disparate things. We could line up in the shotgun and run a speed option or we could line up in the I and run ISO but we couldn't run things that look like those but take advantage of the defense overplaying them. I find it hard to believe that Al Borges isn't trying to fool defenses or doesn't understand how to do it. I just think the decision to run two kinds of offense at various times made it difficult to succeed at either one, both because the linemen were regularly confused (and not having a 4-year starter who is fantastic at the position and super smart at center doesn't help) and because we didn't ever have a counter to anything that worked successfully.
When we have two backs next to Denard and one goes in motion I know it is a speed option just like the defense does. When Devin is in the I I know he's making a play fake, dropping back and chucking it deep, just like the defense does. In order to do both of those things, we lost the ability to, say, throw in a play-action pass off the speed option look.
This shouldn't be an issue next year and hopefully that results in an improved offensive performance.
doesn't understand how to do it. I just think the decision to run two kinds of offense at various times made it difficult to succeed at either one, both because the linemen were regularly confused (and not having a 4-year starter who is fantastic at the position and super smart at center doesn't help) and because we didn't ever have a counter to anything that worked successfully."
Sounds really plausible. It's probably something that Heiko could straight up put to him, in a hypothetical way; wonder how he would respond. I would love to see Borges succeed, myself, on sentimental grounds.
I get what you're saying, but in construct, Borges is a pro-style guy, who, like you said has an understanding, but not mastery of the spread. So suddenly, when you ask him to a run a spread style, option, tricky offense that confuses guys that DO have a mastery of the spread, it seems like way too much to ask. Alot of comes from the coaches hands being tied because they had basically no RB to work with, but OSU isn't Iowa. They're a defense that sees option plays run every single day in practice, and they learn from watching some of the best minds in the spread offense community. Sure, I don't advocate Borges being clear of blame, but he was in a game designed for him to lose given the circumstances
no offense, but are you RDT? This just seems way to weird.
Look at the history, I was here before the whole RDT fiasco
Just watch last year's OSU game - Michigan put up 40 points, and it wasn't with a pro-style offense. If you give Borges credit for that (and I do), he gets his share of the blame for what happened on Saturday. Borges had plenty of time to figure out how to use the personnel he had for this year's game.
As I understand what YOU'RE saying, too...I have to ask this. How many times should Michigan have run up the middle on third and short before we had a pretty good idea it wasn't going to work?
I definitely agree with you there. Like I said, there was definitely some iffy playcalling, and that is definitely on Borges. But if he were in Columbus, I wouldn't be calling for his firing quite yet. Hell, I'm a Browns fan that still wants to give Pat Shurmer a chance, for God's sake.
To those offering the empirics, be clear, I see the flaws in his game, but there were other things at play here. Just look at the Denard health debate, look at some of the throws Gardner made in the game, and look at the decisions a coach has to make here. I don't put Borges blame free here, but i also feel that Hoke, as a head coach that knows the game, is burdened to step in at times, and that no one should be terminated over circumstances like these
About halfway through the Alabama game. Yet here we are, in November...
You may be right, but you have to admit that there is absolutely no explanation for not having Denard on the field for the vast majority of the plays, even if they are "pro style" plays. Put him as the RB in the I-formation if you must. Just put him out there. He was arguably the best player in the stadium (no offense to Miller).
Did you see him try to pass-block? Would you want him pass-blocking with that elbow?
Our RB's need to protect. Denard can't. You can only line him up there if:
a) he's running the ball
b) you're screening to him (hell, we even gave up a sack trying this)
c) you're decoying with him
I wish we did more of C, but that's not an offensive system, it's something you can do a few times.
Yeah, I guess you're right. It just hurt to watch the team flounder and see him on the sidelines, trying to remain at least outwardly positive.
he was RB in the I-form a few times, including getting stuffed, fumbling, and not even trying to block. Borges needed a true running back, and he didn't have one.
"...and the only one I've got on my side is the blood-sucking lawyer!"
The frustrating thing to me is the stark contrast between the Iowa game and the OSU game with regards to play calling. The Iowa game had Denard and Devin in the backfield together a decent amount of time as well as triple reverse, throw back screen to Smith. It didn't seem that way in the OSU game. It's like Borges brought this out in the Iowa game for the sole reason of giving OSU more plays to prep for. Even during the weekly press conference when Borges was asked about how much of a package he had for Denard and Devin being in the backfield together, he refused to answer the question saying somthing to the effect of I don't want to give to much away (for OSU to prep for). I was expecting to see some twists and new wrinkles with those two in the backfield. Now, they did try a couple things - 1) Spielman thought one play where Gardner ran the ball was set up to possibly be a shuttle pass to Denard, 2) one of Devin's sacks was going to be a screen pass to Denard. However, I was expecting to see more twists and wrinkles with the Denard/Devin package in the backfield. I was expecting the Denard/Devin package to be the staple of the offense and it seemed like it rarely was.
would have if the second half field position was not such a disaster. Aside from the fumble recovery we never started in a position to be aggressive like that in the second half. That is the primary reason that I think Brian is wrong about the 4th down on the first position being a 50/50 move. We had flipped the field on them already and were in all likelihood going to pin them deep. Instead we had our backs to the wall the entire third quarter and were really limited in terms of what was available to run. Puntosauras is no good, but neither is a decision to go for it on 4th and 3 on your own side of the field just because "it might work." That 4th down call was a really bad one by Hoke and shaped a good portion of the rest of the game.
I mean...we have been aggressive in other games with poor field position, you can't blame our troubles on that. Also, I was pretty happy with the move to go for it, just not happy with the play call. At the very least we should have had Devin at QB and Denard at RB to give the illusion that it may be something other than a 100% run.
I just don't know why. I mean usually when you go for it on 4th down there is an obvious reason why going for it is the move. In this instance, we are on our own side of the field, we have the lead, we have a good defense, and it is 3 full yards not six inches. Nothing about that jumps out to me to say "go for it." I was pissed they actually burned a timeout thinking about it and was outright baffled when the offensive unit was sent back out.
to know that your best player should be on the field at all times for the biggest game of the year. That is all on Borges (and some on Hoke for not demanding it). The most frustrating thing about the loss on offense was that we ALREADY DID IT FOR IOWA. But in the biggest game of the year we leave it in the garage. Borges deserves credit for figuring out how to get Denard in the game and confound defenses against Iowa--and all of that credit disappears into cinders and goes to negative credit when you don't even really try it the next week against your biggest rival.
In Hoke's presser today, he said Borges called a good game. Now, of course, he's not going to throw him under the bus but A) If he really thinks this, we're in trouble. And B) If he doesn't think this, I think he needs to find a way to acknowledge a poorly called second half, and communicate that the team will learn from it. Nothing wrong with that.
this isn't complaining about rodriguez not wanting ryan mallett because he didn't know how to coach a pro-style offense. it's about al borges not using an offensive scheme similar to the one he had used the PREVIOUS WEEK.
This has been probably been brought up already, but does anyone know Borges's role in recruiting? My current understanding is that he doesn't do much in regards to it. This seems rather odd considering our other coordinator, Mattison, may be the best recruiter on the coaching staff. I feel like if Borges is looking for certain types of players for his offense he would want to go out on the recruiting trail and convince them to come to Michigan. I think this would especially be the case since it has been shown Borges clearly struggles to effectively utilize the talents of players who don't fit his system. If this were me, I would be out there personally recruiting the players I wanted as much as possible instead of relying upon other people to do that task.
In addition, this may be a partial explanation for the lack of big-time playmakers (RB and WR) committing to Michigan. It seems like a much tougher sell when the guy coordinating the entire offense isn't the guy actively recruiting you.
I actually watched that Cardinals/Rams game yesterday to see of Lindley would play well enough to afford Borges some redemption on the weekend. I think I'm even more mad at the guy now.
He's a kid from SDSU making his first NFL start. I don't think that should look bad on Borges.
My understanding is that Borges handles command and control in Ann Arbor while everyone else is out making visits. Basically he minds the store, keeps the GAs in line, keeps an eye on the younger players, etc. He's more of the strategic guy and the other guys handle the tactical stuff in the field.
From talking with some friends who work for other athletic departments this is not an uncommon arrangement. Often one coordinator or a very senior posistion coach is left home to handle admin duties, keep an eye on the 80+ scholarship players you currently have, be on call for any recruits that come into town on short notice for a campus visit, etc. Basically Borges being at home lets Mattison, Hoke, etc leave town for extended periods of time without having to check in and clean up fires back at the home office.
"boy I hope this guy spends most of the second half on the bench" –nobody
LOL - Great read! This might be a strange request, but can we get a post of all the regular poster's (Brian, Ace, Heiko, etc.) feelings/thoughts right after that game and maybe the thoughts a few hours/days later after emotion is removed from the situation. Most of the time, when I see a MGoMeltdown I laugh because I see the two different type of fans in the fanbase, those who overreact and those who are patient. This past Saturday, though, I really only saw people angry and generally in regards the same thing, the only difference was the levels of anger.
meltdown on Saturday. I believe the only one I can think of that rivals it was 2009 Illinois.
I'm just glad I don't work on the weekends!
Ahhh the Denard run. I think it would've been played alongside the Howard and Woodson punt returns had we won. That is what is haunting me the most.
It would of been one of those plays burned into Michigan-Ohio replays for the rest of time if we won.
the one positive: at least we can actually say, "hey, at least there's the basketball team". There were many, many years when that wasn't true.
It wound up not mattering, but . . . .
The go/punt decision ought to be like the 2-point conversion decision. The coach should have a chart, and 95 percent of the time it ought to be automatic, rather than burning a time-out to think it over.
It did NOT bother me that they failed to convert. These "smart football" decisions are a matter of playing the odds. Hoke's decisions have paid off most of the time. You're not going to get them all.
But the play-call, especially coming out of a time-out, was awfully pedestrian. If ever there was a time to try and fake-out the defense, wasn't this it?
chart would have said punt. Even a shiny new electronic app would have said punt. He should have punted. Handed them 3 points, basically the game winners.
Brian cut & pasted the chart. The chart said "coin-flip".
then I really wish the coin would have landed on the other side.
Fine. But that's post-hoc reasoning. Hoke doesn't make the decision with benefit of knowing what occured following it. They were equally defensible choices. The tendency of people to have your reaction are why pro coaches punt almost always.
I don't mean that I wish we had not gone for it after I saw the result, I wish that whatever coin that he flipped to lead him to his decision would have landed on the other side before seeing the result. There is a big difference between a well thought out strategic decision and saying "ah, the hell with it. It is coin flip anyway." And there is a massive difference between Carr's decision on Ohio's 39 in 07 and Hoke's decision in this situation. Once again, what about 4th and 3 at midfield on the first posession of the second half with the lead makes you think "go for it." What about the situation even makes you consider going for it? Unless you are championing the "never punt" philosophy, why is it even a question?


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MIAMI, Okla. -- An Elk Grove Village man charged with plotting to bomb churches in northeast Oklahoma has been found competent to stand trial.
Online court records show that 24-year-old Gregory Arthur Weiler II stipulated Tuesday to a report finding him mentally competent for trial on a charge of violating Oklahoma's anti-terrorism act.
Weiler's attorney declined to comment later Tuesday.
Weiler is due back in court Feb. 7.
Prosecutors say Weiler planned to bomb churches in Oklahoma and that investigators found instructions for making Molotov cocktails, a list of 48 churches and a written outline of his plan.
Family members have said that Weiler has struggled with mental illness but is fine when he takes his medication. Relatives believe Weiler may have stopped taking his medication before his arrest.

subset: commoncrawl


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|« Second-Class Celiac
|Vit D seems to be working »
Casein Intolerance Food Intolerance & hypocalcemia, et. al.
After Thanksgiving (I swore I wouldn't do it, but I did have some dairy) I am now positive that I am casein intolerant and that my body confuses casein with gluten. Maybe pregnancy triggered it into full swing, but I've always gotten moody after having dairy, even goat. Now, my Dermatitis Herpetiformis (celiac disease of the skin) gets itchy and inflamed if I have dairy, and of course, I have to run to the bathroom a few times. I suspect it is dairy that started my DH and similar new celiac symptoms, although it could have also been the restaurant roulette I played for a while...what can I say, maybe I'm a compulsive gambler but no more.
Soy also does more to me digestively, so I could be soy intolerant as well. I've eaten at PF Chang's a few times, because in all the years they've never accidentally glutened me. Although I did have some items with soy and ugh!
So here we are...gluten, casein, soy and corn. Corn doesn't give me digestive upset yet, but more than makes up for it with the other add-ins.
I'm researching how food intolerances and Vitamin D deficiency may be related, and found this link: http://www.dogtorj.net/id26.html and I'm looking for more like it. His assertion is that all four foods are glue-like, and coat the intestine, and can all induce damage to the villi and malabsorption and then some! Interesting facts from a veteranarian standpoint, that some breeds of dog have had severe health problems since they started putting wheat and milk in dog foods.
If I were to look at everything from a simply celiac view, I would say it's a major bummer to not be able to eat the other three...they sure help in baking... but knowing what we know with BTD, it's no surprise. Why I use myself as a guinea pig to find out all these details, I don't know, I'd be better off if I just maintained compliance. At least I've reached a point where compliance is rather second-nature, without undue tempation and stress, so that's good. There's some sources that say once my vitamin D deficiency is cleared up I won't have so much trouble with food cravings...I look forward to finding out that there is truth in that!
Oh, and here's an informative link for info on hypocalcemia: http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/diseasemanagement/endocrinology/hypocal/hypocal.htm* This could explain so many things for me...I hope it's one of those health-changing answers. So far so good; I'm able to withstand stress better, numbness sensations are maybe weekly at most, rather than many times a day, and things are just looking up in general.
*Ok, that link is a little scary, in my case the cause of hypocalcemia is known, simple vitamin D deficiency (if a vitamin D deficiency can be simple! ), and the doctor did draw quite a few vials of blood to rule out other problems, which turned up no surprises. I found the description of symptoms and what can cause them to manifest to be of the most interest, since I'd been trying to figure out the cause-and-effects for a long time.
P.S. Have I mentioned that if you get your vitamin D level checked, they need to check both forms, (25 and 1,25), and preferably see an endocrinologist, especially if either of those is off. It's all a complex web, and it can take a specialist to descipher it. I had a blood test showing a slight magnesium deficience years ago, which could very well be part of the web...but the usual response I get from usual doctors is "don't worry about it, just eat a little more of this or that" I say why do they run the darn test if they aren't going to look into any anomaly it turns up? Same goes for the anti-gliadin IGG test, if doctors are going to dismiss the results, then why do they run it? If it's high, but all the IgA tests are negative, then maybe IgA deficiency is something to look into before dismissing celiac possibilities...yeah, sure is.


text:
Absolutely not! You can just enable it in certain instances, which would be a pain for sure.but for 98 sharing every drive on the LAN...would not always be a gud idea
You might want to look into a corporate or enterprise solution depending on your size.
I use NAV Corp Edition and it works great.
Our old antivirus vender got bought out and Symantec sent us unlimited liscenses and no expiration on our suscription. We lucked out!


text:
Can you post the entire draft? Who did you get in round 2? Looks great. I ask because I have the same draft type later today
Had the annual live draft for my most important league last night. Feeling good about my team. Had the 8th pick and much to my surprise, Charles fell to me, which made me very happy. 10 team league with PPR scoring. Thoughts?
QB - Matt Ryan
RB1 - Jamaal Charles
RB2 - Stevan Ridley
WR1 - AJ Green
WR2 - Victor Cruz
TE - Jermichael Finley
Flex (RB/WR/TE) - Darren McFadden
DEF - Chicago Bears
K - Justin Tucker
QB - Andy Dalton
RB - Shane Vereen
RB - Knowshown Moreno
WR - Cecil Shorts
WR - Golden Tate
WR - Josh Gordon
WR - Michael Floyd
TE - Jordan Cameron
Can you post the entire draft? Who did you get in round 2? Looks great. I ask because I have the same draft type later today
I'll see what I can do. I'll ask the commish how to do that, I'm not sure how. I will warn you, due to doing our same league for so long, over time we've had some drop out and the replacements are a bit incompetent fantasy wise. We have 2 or 3 incompetent teams which waters down the league a bit. Hence why I could take AJ Green in the 2nd and have Ridley fall to me all the way in the late 3rd lol.
Thanks for the feedback. As John also mentioned, I am a bit weary about DMC as my flex. I'm considering several options at that spot for week 1 (Shorts, Vereen, Tate). Not big on Finley at all either, I have him and Cameron ranked identically in my own TE rankings. The two of them will be interchangeable throughout the year for me. Good tip on Davis. I'm going to consider dropping Floyd or Moreno for him.
My advice for week one is to play your heavy hitters and not gamble. You'll figure out the players who will emerge as the season progresses.
I'm going to piggy back the thread:
10 teams/ start: 2QB, 3WR 2RB, TE, FLEX
6 PTS Passing TDs
QB1 - Kaepernick
QB2 - Palmer
WR1 - Cruz
WR2 - Decker
WR3 - Jennings
RB1 - Spiller
RB2 - McCoy
TE - Gronkowski
Flex - Ridley
Def - Cinn
K - Janikowski
Cutler, Thompkins, Roberts, Powell, B Brown, Olsen
Here is mine 10 team ppr. Chiefs, I followed the advice given in a column you posted in another thread for my draft
Last edited by chiefst2000; 09-04-2013 at 12:26 AM.


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I have an Intova ISS2000 slave strobe and for some reason it's stopped triggering when the onboard flash is fired.
It's not the fibre optic cable as I tried it on another strobe and it worked. It also works when I manually trigger it. The problem seems to be with whatever it is inside the strobe that reads the flash and triggers it (as you can tell im extremely familiar with electronics!!)
Its only got about 25 dives on it and I know I should just send it back and get it fixed but that will take a few weeks and i really need it before then
Any idea what the problem is?
Strobe not firing
Started by grech, Jan 12 2012 07:35 AM
3 replies to this topic
Posted 12 January 2012 - 07:35 AM
Posted 15 January 2012 - 11:23 AM
Have you looked at the connection from the FO cable to the strobe? Possible something is mucked up there and could be resolved by cleaning it.
Otherwise, for something that new send it back.
Otherwise, for something that new send it back.
Posted 17 January 2012 - 12:41 AM
the FO cable worked with another strobe and the connection on my strobe seems to be fine...
well, as you said it's just going to have to go back
well, as you said it's just going to have to go back
Posted 17 November 2012 - 04:50 PM
My fantasea remora strobe is doing the same thing. Did you have any luck on getting yours fixed


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Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) Stock Up 9% In 3 Weeks, Expected To Continue Climbing In Q2 As Economic Recovery Gains Momentum
Investors with a one- to two-year time horizon would be well-advised to buy shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), the world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment, thanks to a share buyback, a reviving U.S. economy, more fiscal stimulus by non-U.S. governments and the stock's relatively low price, financial magazine Barron's said.
On April 22, CEO Doug Oberhelman said the recent decline in the Caterpillar stock price combined with balance sheet strength and positive cash flow has provided an opportune time to resume the stock repurchase program. The Peoria, Ill., company plans to buy back $1 billion of its stock during Q2. The 9 percent gain beats the 4 percent gain for the whole S&P 500 over the same period.
Last week's unemployment report eased concerns that the U.S. economy's recovery was slowing. Further, various government stimulus initiatives outside the U.S. will boost demand for the company's products, Michael Jaffe, equity analyst with Standard & Poor's, said.
"We see the replacement of aging construction equipment in North America and the ongoing urbanization of emerging markets aiding results as 2013 progresses," Jaffe said. "We also expect better commodity prices and the greater use of coal for electric generation to eventually boost mining markets."
Barron's also said Caterpillar has made progress cutting costs and noted that its inventories are declining.
Caterpillar shares, which were $87.40 in afternoon trading, are up 9 percent since mid-April when it dipped close to its 52-week low ahead reporting disappointing Q1 earnings and lower expectations for 2013.


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Construction of the $6.3 million Troy Transit Center is nearly complete, yet the city still faces a hurdle that could impact the cost of the facility before it opens: It doesn't own the land where the hub sits.
The project was one of many issues that surrounded former Mayor Janice Daniels tenure. She frequently blasted the center as a waste of federal dollars to support construction, and, at times, flat out refused to accept the grants.
In part, her dissent led to her recall by voters last year. She's on the ballot running for council Nov. 5.
Troy City Council voted down the multi-modal transit facility multiple times before a last-minute deal was hatched in January 2012, shedding millions of dollars in costs and scaling down the design. No city tax dollars were needed, but a construction contract had to be approved in order to receive federal grants for the project.
With the new proposal, the council approved the contract in a 4-3 vote, meeting deadlines for federal grants.
But funding became an overarching issue.
A 3-0 decision in May by the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled the city did not secure funding for the project before a consent judgment with the owners of the property had lapsed.
So the land was turned over to the original owner, Grand/Sakwa Properties LLC, which had developed a shopping and residential plaza at the corner of Maple and Coolidge that surrounds the transit center.
The city appealed the decision to the Michigan Supreme Court and is awaiting a response. City Attorney Lori Grigg Bluhm said briefs were submitted Oct. 8.
In the six months since the appeals court ruling, as construction continued, city officials began tracking down additional funding to purchase the land in the event the state Supreme Court upholds the decision.
"When we first applied for (federal grants)...we received a $1.3 million appropriation under the Federal Transit Authority," Grigg Bluhm said. The federal dollars were matched by a $300,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation.
"So, it's $1.6 million and that amount is not dedicated for other purposes," Grigg Bluhm said. "That is the money we will use if acquisition of the property is necessary."
But, for now, it's unclear if that would be enough to cover acquisition costs.
"Honestly, I have no idea what would be an acceptable amount if the City wants to buy the property," said Alan Greene, attorney for Grand/Sakwa.
"No offers have been made and we have not looked at values at this time."
The transit parcel was sold to Troy for $1 as a part of a 1999 consent judgment, amended in 2000, that allowed Grand/Sakwa to build Midtown Square, a 77-acre mixed-use commercial/residential development at the corner of Maple and Coolidge, even though Troy's zoning ordinance at the time did not allow such developments.
There was a hitch: the transit center had to be funded within one decade, or the land would revert back to Grand/Sakwa.
In 2011, an Oakland County Circuit judge agreed with the city. Besides the $1.3 million set aside, the county court said roughly $10 million in federal grants and appropriations that could be tapped satisfied the consent judgment issued to the city and developer.
The developer's appeal to the state overturned the decision. The appeals court ruling said the city attempted to finance the project toward the end of the timeline, but "did not have a supply of money available for the project. Under any of the commonly understood definitions of the term, the transportation center was not 'funded.'"
Glenn Lapin, economic development specialist for the city, said there's no scheduled opening date as of yet.
Grigg Bluhm said: "We're hoping to open as soon as possible."
A decision by the state Supreme Court to uphold the previous ruling wouldn't delay the transit center's opening, she said.
"We're not going to wait for the Supreme Court," Grigg Bluhm said.
Plans call for the transit center to serve as a transfer point for taxi services and Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation buses, as well as a new Amtrak stop that will replace the Birmingham location.
City officials said the transit center's estimated annual operating cost is $31,000.


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Popoff, Martin
Epic Ted Nugent (Book Review)
May 2013
Released: 2013, Powerchord Press
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: JP
Growing up I was never a huge Ted Nugent fan. Not that I didn't like his music or politics, it was just that he was always on the fringes of my main focus, namely Metal. Over the years, probably starting around 1995 when I hit my mid-20's, around the release of SPIRIT OF THE WILD, I've come to really enjoy Ted Nugent. I think part of this new-found appreciation for the Whackmaster comes from Martin Popoff's unending support and undying enthusiasm for ol' Ted. Along the way I've also really started to appreciate the 'nuge and his brethren Yankee offspring, bands like, Little Caeser, The Four Horsemen, and American Dog.
In a sense, knowing Popoff's dedication to Ted I'm surprised he took this long into his career to write about him, as this is Martin's 40th book! Better late than never and I suppose Martin love-affair with Ted's music was rekindled by the excellent albums, CRAVEMAN and LOVE GRENADE, as was mine. EPIC TED NUGENT is one of Martin's self-published titles but that doesn't mean cheap! It's a good looking paperback with a nice shot of Ted looking surprisingly skinny and scruffy wearing a mountain man beard that is all the rave with the hipster kids these days, who would absolutely hate Ted and everything he stands for, so the irony is delicious.
The good-looking book runs just under a generous 300 pages and has tons of photos from across the ages. The design is elegant in it's simplicity with the text being divided into four main sections; the Amboy Dukes era, (1967-1974), the Epic Records years, (the glory years of 1975-1981), The Atlantic Records Years (or 'the dark ages' as Popoff might say) running 1980-1995 and lastly the Spitfire/Eaglerock years of the last brace of albums. Martin tackles the story in his usual album-by-album, tour-by-tour style, which is really the only logical way to write these things. Martin interviews many people associated with Ted, ex managers, producers, and various members that have come and come from the' band' over the years. Ted himself is loaded with quotes and anecdotes and while they may not be exactly true, they make for a very entertaining read. One thing that came across was that Terrible Ted is a force of nature unto himself and he has annoyed a lot of people along the way! It's his way or the highway! This book is really the first in-depth look at the Rock legend with the career that still has legs six decades deep.
While reading this book I went back and listened to the six Atlantic Years reissues that came out on EagleRock a couple of years back. Those records weren't that bad…they made the perfect soundtrack to reading EPIC TED NUGENT, a long-overdue and well-deserved look at one of the longest running, most iconic American rockers of all time.
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Rob Belushi follows father Jim and uncle John in family business with TV show
Another member of the Belushi family is taking up the acting business.
Rob Belushi is the 32-year-old son of Jim Belushi and nephew of the late John Belushi. He has appeared in made-for-TV movies and graced the stand-up stage. Now he's starring on the Spike TV reality program The Joe Schmo Show, which airs Tuesday nights.
Rob Belushi grew up in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles to attend high school. He earned the TV role after years of studying improv, comedy and drama at Chicago acting schools. He has also guest starred on shows starring his father, such as According to Jim and The Defenders.
Jim Belushi says the best professional advice he's given his son is "do what's right in front of you" and "stay in the moment."
Read more Articles from The Canadian Press


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Boy Scouts resolution 'not frantic or angry'
Tuesday, Jun 18, 2013
By Erin Roach
NASHVILLE (BP) -- The president of the Association of Baptists for Scouting said he agrees with an SBC entity leader who said Southern Baptists' resolution on the Boy Scouts membership policy was "not frantic or angry."
Also, SBC President Fred Luter told a newspaper that Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, where he is pastor, will be "pulling out of Boy Scouts," and Ernest Easley, pastor of the Atlanta-area Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, appeared on CNN to explain his church's decision to stop sponsoring a Boy Scout troop.
A.J. Smith, in a statement released to Baptist Press June 14, said "on the whole" he agrees with Russell D. Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, who had tweeted that "Southern Baptists affirmed a wise, balanced, and gospel-focused Boy Scouts resolution. It's not frantic or angry." (Baptist Press' story on the SBC resolution can be accessed at http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=40499.)
Smith, noting that he was expressing personal thoughts and reflections that do not necessarily represent the executive board of the Association of Baptists for Scouting, emphasized that the resolution, passed at the SBC annual meeting in Houston June 12, does not specifically call on churches to sever ties with the Boy Scouts.
Instead, the resolution asks sponsoring churches to assess prayerfully their relationship with the Boy Scouts. "This is very wise, for not all churches are called to the same kind of ministry," Smith said.
The part of the resolution that encourages Southern Baptist churches who remain involved with the Boy Scouts to do so with the express purpose of sharing the Gospel with boys "aligns well with the mission" of the Association of Baptists for Scouting, Smith said.
Smith, in his statement, encouraged all Southern Baptist churches "to do all they can to strengthen their Royal Ambassador program, whether they continue working with the Boy Scouts or not." The RA program (www.wmu.com/ra) is an essential component of missions education, he said, that deserves "the full and complete support of the churches."
Where he parted with the resolution, Smith said, is that he would like to have seen the resolution "highlight the fact that the BSA insists that 'sexual activity among Scout-aged youth is contrary to Scouting virtues.'"
Smith wants Southern Baptist churches to "build on that by continuing to make available to all youth to whom they minister the True Love Waits discipleship program, whether they maintain a Scouting ministry or not."
Luter, in an interview with AL.com in Alabama, said the Boy Scouts were trying to be politically correct by altering their membership policy to embrace homosexuality.
"There's nothing that can be politically right if it's biblically wrong," Luter said in an article June 15.
The SBC president said he was a Boy Scout and Franklin Avenue Baptist Church hosts a Boy Scout troop.
"We'll be pulling out of Boy Scouts," Luter said, adding that the church may use the Royal Ambassadors program to offer biblically-based guidance to young boys.
Easley, who serves as chairman of the SBC's Executive Committee and whose congregation no longer will host a Boy Scout troop once the new membership policy goes into effect, appeared live on CNN June 15.
"I think about when some guys tried to trick Jesus up by bringing a woman caught in adultery," Easley said. "Jesus confronted her with her sin. He didn't condone it. He confronted it. He didn't say, 'Just keep on doing what you're doing,' but because He loved her, he said, 'Go and sin no more.'"
As a Bible-believing congregation, Easley said, Roswell Street Baptist is not going to align "in any formal capacity with any outside group that openly accepts and affirms moral practices that violate God's Word."
While the CNN host appeared not to grasp the nature of Easley's stance, the pastor reiterated that love does not condone sin; it confronts it.
"Over and over in Scripture you find sin not condoned but confronted and even Jesus on many occasions when He confronted sinners they experienced forgiveness and grace, and then He says, 'Go and sin no more,'" Easley explained.
Homosexuals, as well as any kind of sinner, are welcome at Roswell Street Baptist "in order to hear the liberating Gospel's message that sets a person free from sin, forgives them and restores them like God intended them to be," Easley said.
Erin Roach is assistant editor of Baptist Press.
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Since everyone recently has been talking about Vucuum seals for housing I thought I input on my recent experience with Housing Sentry from Underwater Camera Stuff (http://uwcamerastuff...ry_overview.htm)
I decided to go with the basic setup which has no electronics and uses the manual hand pump. I installed the valve in the Hydrophone port of my Aquatica AD7000 and it took me a couple of minutes to do.
Here are some pics of the layout:
The basic setup like mine retails for $290usd plus shipping.
Have used the setup for the past 3 weeks and think its one of the best things I have bought for my camera housing. Like alot of other I think that every brand of housing should have this setup as a standard part in each new housing.
I found that Bill and Mary from Underwater Camera Stuff great to order from especially for me here in Australia
Regards Mark
Edited by Aussiebyron, 19 May 2013 - 06:14 AM.


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By Marcus Thompson II, CONTRA COSTA TIMES
October 3, 2005
OAKLAND - Spirits were high. Hope was prevalent. Promises were made.
Throughout last season's strong closing run, Warriors players expressed sheer impatience for this coming season. They vowed to work their tails off in the offseason to prepare for a playoff run in 2005-06.
Well, it's audit time, as the team reconvenes Tuesday for training camp in Hawaii.
The Warriors' brain trust wants to see if Baron Davis is in shape, if Jason Richardson has improved his free-throw shooting, if Troy Murphy has gotten better around the basket, if Mike Dunleavy is indeed stronger.
There is an eagerness to see if the players put in the work they vowed to this offseason.
"I would sure hope so," Warriors coach Mike Montgomery said last month.
Warriors officials said they were encouraged by the number of players who worked out at the team's facility. Chris Mullin, the executive vice president of basketball operations, said every player showed up at some point.
Said Montgomery: "I would say the vast majority have been around and have been working out and are in pretty good shape. Some of the guys that haven't been around as much are veterans. They're pros and they know what they have to do. Derek (Fisher) hasn't been around, but Derek's a pro. He'll be in shape."
However encouraging, there is still some uncertainty. Teams can't force players to work out and don't really monitor the ones who do. The Warriors said they kept in contact with their players and felt good about the reports they received. But because of their lack of control, and especially with the number of younger players on the team, there is still a wait-and-see tone in management's voice.
"You feel good, but you have to (temper) that feeling until you see it," general manager Rod Higgins said. "It's all good to say you've been working out, handling your business. But actually doing it is another thing."
Said Mullin: "It's encouraging, but it's also a prerequisite. It's the way you should be."
From management's standpoint, the players' condition is the only real unknown.
The roster is all but set, though Mullin said he is "working on some things" when asked about getting veteran help off the bench. Still, it would appear no major roster changes are imminent.
Continuity is another point in the Warriors' favor. Higgins said he is expecting them to be ahead of the curve in the chemistry department because they have the same core players. And Montgomery, entering his second season, said training camp will be much more focused this year. He said the coaching staff knows exactly what it wants to accomplish based on its improved knowledge of the roster.
"I've learned the players and what they can do," Montgomery said. "I've learned how they react to me, to drills, to criticism, to structure.
"We know what it takes to win in this league. We're going there with a very specific idea of what we need to get done, and we'll really work hard to do that."
The remaining variable is whether the players followed through on their promises. It seems as if several did.
Dunleavy, Zarko Cabarkapa, Andris Biedrins and Adonal Foyle have been regulars at the facility most of the summer; Foyle also participated in a big-man camp in Orlando, Fla. The Warriors' three draft picks -- Ike Diogu, Monta Ellis and Chris Taft -- all were in Oakland by the beginning of September. Richardson has been going hard at the facility practically every day since late July, and Calbert Cheaney has been there regularly since Labor Day.
Murphy and Davis worked out on their own. Davis went through a rigorous regimen in Los Angeles beginning in July and reported to Oakland early last week to work out with teammates. Mickael Pietrus has been playing with the French national team in the European Basketball Championships, scoring 23 points during the win over Spain in the silver medal game on Sept. 25.
"Jason and Troy, with (big contracts that kick in this season), they know they have a lot to prove. They'll come back ready," said Fisher, who was busy with NBA players union business but said he managed to get some rest. "Mike D., it's a big year for him. He'll be ready. Myself and B.D., we'll be ready.
"My gut feeling, guys will be ready."
Warriors showing up in shape
Discuss anything related to Golden State Warriors basketball here
Moderators: Mr. Crackerz, JREED, Guybrush, 32


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Knicks' Stoudemire out 6-8 weeks
NEW YORK (AP) Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire will have left knee surgery and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
The announcement Tuesday means Stoudemire could miss more than twice as long as the Knicks originally estimated when he was hurt during the preseason.
The team says he will have a debridement, which is the removal of tissue.
Stoudemire played in one preseason game but was bothered again by knee pain, and the Knicks said he had a ruptured cyst and would be sidelined two to three weeks.
Stoudemire struggled through an injury-filled 2011-12 season, though none of his problems were with his surgically repaired knee.


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A New Life
Banner made by the amazing Oh_Mike How Will I Go On This takes place after Breaking Dawn. Wha happens to Bella and the rest of the Cullen clan since the end of Breaking Dawn? Don't think the worst is over just yet... CHAPTER THREE NOW UPPPP! WOOTWOOT!Please Read&Review, I need feedback and always return the favor. :)
I tried to pick up from breaking dawn as much as i could. This is my first fanfiction, so enjoy. :D
Rating 4.5/5 Word Count 652 Review this Chapter
I opened my eyes. Now that I was a vampire there was never any need to sleep. Actually, I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to. However, I occasionally felt the need to rest. After I opened my eyes I couldn't help myself from smiling.There he was, my perfect and beautiful huband. Even though I was a vampire as well now, I still remained in awe at Edwards beauty.
"Yes, Edward?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, love. Sometime you seem as though you are still human."
He smiled the crooked smile I love so much.
"Oh, Edward."
I sighed.
"You are just jealous because I can beat you at wrestling now. Why else would you possibly refuse to fight me anymore"
Since I became a vampire, only one time, did Edward actually agree to fight me. After I pestered him tremendously a few weeks ago, he finally gave in to fight playfully. Much to my surprise however, I won.
"Bella darling, you are utterly ridiculous sometimes. Now get up, so we can go get Renesmee from Alice and Jasper. I'm ready for her to come home."
I smiled secretly to myself. If it were possible to cry, I would have. I used to think Edward could not get any better than he already was. I was wrong. He was such a good father, it made me sometimes think Renesmee liked him better than myself. Although that was silly to think, It occasionally entered my mind.
"Alright. Lets go." I responded to Edward, and began sprinting towards the Cullen house from our large cottage.
I looked over my shoulder, watching Edward laugh quietly and catch up to me.
"I love you." Edward said as he caught up. He took my hand and we ran even faster to see our beautiful daughter.
Although both Edward and I ran in silenced, we could not help grinning from ear to ear. To think, we unexpectedly became parents to the most beautiful child on earth was mind boggling. I never thought I could love anyone as near as much as I loved my Edward.
I was wrong.
Renesmee literally made me feel as if I had grown another heart. As soon as I looked into by daughters eyes, I felt so maternal and protective of her. How could I have created such a breathtakingly beautiful child? I was more sure now than ever, I was the luckiest girl on the planet.
"Renesmee?" Edward called our daughters name. I was so deep in thought, I hadn't even realized we were back at the house.
Jacob walked in the room, cradling Renesmee. She smiled as soon as she saw Edward and I. Three pairs of eyes stared at Renesmee lovingly.
I do not think I will ever get over the fact Jacob imprinted on Renesmee. It felt so weird to know that Jacob, my Jacob, was no longer battling for my affection.
Not that I wasn't relieved.
While we both loved each other tremendously, the roles we played in each other's lives were now so different. I could not see anyone worthy of my daughter. She was much too good for any boy. Jacob, I suppose, is the best you can get though, when it comes to my daughter.
But still, my daughter and my Jacob?
Together, for the rest of their lives?
It just felt so strange. But right now, in this very moment, I felt content. I was surrounded by my loved ones. Even Charlie was here, although he did not know the exact circumstances of everything.
As I became lost again in my thinking, a voice suddenly distracted me.
"Everyone?" Carlisle called out in a stern voice.
"Please come to the living room, I have some very important news."
Oh, no. "Important news." Hmmph. How could there be anything else that might even be remotley bad? I thought I suffered through just about everything bad imaginable. What could be worse than nearly losing my Renesmee?
And now something else?


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Attorney General Lockyer Report on Domestic Violence Finds Criminal Justice System is Failing to Protect Victims, Families
AG's Task Force Makes 44 Recommendations to Reduce Domestic Violence
(SAN FRANCISCO) – Attorney General Bill Lockyer today released a report revealing that the criminal justice system is failing to enforce California's domestic violence laws. Joined by statewide leaders, Lockyer called for implementation of 5 key recommendations to reduce domestic abuse and challenged local law enforcement and judicial officers to increase and improve their efforts to stop the cycle of family violence.
"The laws already on the books should be holding batterers accountable for their violent behavior, but the criminal justice system often fails to enforce them," Lockyer said. "System fatigue is not an excuse for domestic abuse. We are going to shift a culture of complacency into a culture of compliance."
The report is based on an extensive two-year assessment by Attorney General Bill Lockyer's Task Force on Local Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Violence -- a 26-member group of experts and leaders in law enforcement, the courts, victim advocacy, public health and the legislature.
Key report findings are:
● California's courts are not issuing restraining orders, even when required under law.
● Many restraining orders that do get issued are never served.
● There is often lax enforcement of restraining orders, especially firearm prohibitions.
● Community-based victim advocates are not used by all prosecuting offices to assist domestic violence victims.
● Attendance at court-ordered programs for batterers is not tracked and many never complete the program.
● A serious lack of coordination plagues criminal justice agencies' approach to domestic violence.
"Our report includes disturbing examples of agencies that have failed to respond to domestic violence victims, failed to enforce the law and failed to work in collaboration," said Casey Gwinn, chair of the
Attorney General's task force. "Yet, we have also seen firsthand how much can be accomplished when there is strong local leadership and cooperation among agencies."
In response to the findings, Lockyer has sponsored several legislative solutions. AB 1288 (Chu), would authorize arraignment courts to prohibit domestic violence defendants from possessing firearms. That bill would also allow local law enforcement to advise a domestic violence victim whether the batterer possesses a firearm, according to a Department of Justice's (DOJ) database. SB 720 (Kuehl), would help ensure that family court restraining orders are entered into Department of Justice's database so that the proof does not rest with victims.
Among the report's recommendations:
● Enforce the laws that already exist. Court officials should issue more restraining orders and get them into the system. Batterers must surrender their guns and if they do not, law enforcement must confiscate the weapons.
● Local counties should adopt a successful Long Beach model where family court judges convene informally on an on-going basis with local agency representatives, the District and City Attorneys' offices, court officials, law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations.
● Break down the walls built by a compartmentalized system by co-locating criminal justice and victim service agencies, as has happened at San Diego's Family Justice Center.
● The courts and the programs designed to get batterers to control and change their behavior must consistently impose sanctions on batterers who fail to attend classes.
● Improve computer database systems so that restraining orders get into the system, and so that attendance at required batterer intervention classes are carefully tracked.
"The broad spectrum of interests represented on the task force, from judges to prosecutors to a public defender and from law enforcement to victim advocates, proved to be an asset – we reached consensus on each finding," said Tom Orloff, Alameda County District Attorney and a task force member. "Consensus was achieved because of the compelling testimony provided at the regional hearings and the information obtained from hundreds of practitioners. We all need to improve the way we respond to domestic violence. We need to strengthen our efforts to protect victims, prosecute batterers and stop this devastating crime."
Among the report's positive findings is a pilot project in Orange County's domestic violence court to confiscate prohibited firearms. The court subjects all defendants at initial arraignment to a criminal protective order that requires them to surrender their firearms within 24 hours. The court also requires these defendants to contact DOJ, which checks the information in its Automated Firearms System and enforces the firearms prohibition.
"We have seen far too many domestic violence cases result in tragedy after they entered the criminal justice system," stated Chief Susan Manheimer of the San Mateo Police Department and a task force member. "The task force traveled throughout the state to identify inconsistencies as well as practices that will prevent further tragedies. It is important that our local criminal justice entities work together to strengthen our response to domestic violence and move forward to adopt these findings and recommendations."
"The task force report gives domestic violence advocates an opportunity to discuss its many findings and recommendations with our partners in the criminal justice system," stated Karen Cooper, Board President of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. "As a victim advocate, I especially appreciate that the report addresses reducing the burdens the criminal justice system can place on victims who are already traumatized."
The Task Force focused its investigation on 10 target counties, interviewing hundreds of practitioners and holding 6 public hearings to examine how well local criminal justice agencies respond to and deal with domestic violence issues, identify programs that work well and determine how to improve efforts to protect and prevent family violence.
Lockyer's decision to appoint the task force was prompted in part by the findings of a study he and Senator Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, commissioned to determine the effectiveness of laws and practices aimed at reducing domestic violence. Published in June 2003, the 51-page Senate Office of Research report
showed that while California has taken critical steps to protect domestic violence victims, a comprehensive assessment of those efforts was still needed.
Domestic violence statistics collected by DOJ show California local law enforcement agencies received 186,439 domestic violence-related calls for assistance in 2004. During that same year, there were 169 murders committed as a result of intimate partner violence and 46,353 adults and juveniles were arrested for spousal abuse under Penal Code section 273.5.
Additional information about the Attorney General's efforts to combat domestic violence and copies of Keeping the Promise – Victim Safety and Batterer Accountability are available at the Attorney General's Crime and Violence Prevention Center web site at www.safestate.org/domesticviolence.


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A grizzly bear walks at low tide in Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island
Grizzly bear crossing a stream (Canadian Tourism Commission photo)
Vancouver Island is black bear territory, but grizzlies aren't far away. Take a wildlife tour or go bear-watching in remote and wild areas of this region.
A short floatplane or boat ride from Vancouver Island leads to incredible grizzly bear watching in Knight Inlet and Bute Inlet, part of the Great Bear Rainforest. Interestingly, there have been a few cases of ambitious grizzlies spotted on northern Vancouver Island, presumably after swimming over from the mainland.
When driving through the more remote parts of Vancouver Island, there's a good chance of spotting a black bear snuffling through grasses on the side of the road. To increase the odds of seeing a black bear, venture into the waters of Clayoquot Sound on a Tofino bear-watching tour or head to the Port Alberni boardwalk and gaze across the river.
Check with local Visitor Centres for information about bear-watching tours available on Vancouver Island.
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Grizzly and black bears thrive in Knight Inlet and Bute Inlet. These long fjords cut through the remote Coast Mountains on the mainland just east of Vancouver Island.
Bear-watching tours travel to these wild, natural environments from central and northern Vancouver Island. The scenic views from the boat or floatplane to the bear-watching areas are often considered as much of a highlight as the bears themselves.
In spring, guides direct quiet river boats along the shoreline to glimpse grizzlies chewing sedge grasses and crunching mussels. This is a great time for photos, as the bears are at eye level from the boat and are set against a rich green backdrop of grasses.
Beginning mid- to late-August, viewing platforms provide elevated vantage points to watch bears splashing and interacting as they chase and pounce on spawning salmon.
Tours range from a full day to up to a week, and depart from Campbell River, Telegraph Cove or Port McNeill.
At low tide, bear-watching boat tours leave from Tofino and glide to the inlet waters of Clayoquot Sound. When the receding tides expose rocky shorelines, black bears amble along the beaches, flipping over stones in search of marine delicacies such as crabs and barnacles. Bring binoculars to get the best look at bears, seals, eagles and even porpoises that inhabit the sound.
Most tours are from April to October and are approximately 2.5 hours long. Tours also depart from Ucluelet to look for bears in the Ucluelet Harbour.
Stroll along the Victoria Quay boardwalk in Port Alberni during low tide to spot local black bears doing what bears do best: eating.
The viewing is best June to October, as that's when the black bear's favorite menu item – salmon – swims upstream. Big mother bears with playful cubs are sometimes spotted, as are solitary bears with fish or river mussels on their mind.
There is no cost, and the Somass River is between the boardwalk and the bears so it's considered a safe place for viewing. Binoculars aren't necessary, but would be a good way to get an up-close peek. Bring a camera.
For the safety of humans and bears, always follow these strict but simple precautions from BC Parks and the Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC:
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