Frequent Citations

The Olympics Are Coming!

What more needs to be said?  So cool, and an unbelievable amount of work.

Sugar Is Sweet As Victory

Hail!

I'll admit it here and now: a year ago, I did not foresee Michigan winning the Sugar Bowl.  But hail to the victors valiant, congrats to the team and the coaches, and go blue!

In other news: while back in Michigan for the holidays I was repeatedly scolded for not blogging more. Huh.

Weather Should Never Be Newsworthy

I just want to state that as a rule. 

It was well over seventy when I left for work early this morning, and headed up over 90.  It was still crazy warm when I got out (early! home by 9!).

In other news: the bathroom in our still-unsold condo in Chicago has been destroyed by the upstairs tenant.  AGAIN.  Amazing how much damage a missing $30 part on a toilet can do.  And when I say destroyed, I mean destroyed.  Our resident expert (ahem) says it's going to be a gut rehab.

It's been a relatively quiet day on the TSIO-Fiasco-arama front, just some general musing on the odds of Pryor going to Canada (fair to middling) and when the entire compliance department is going to be fired for either gross incompetence or wholesale obstructionism, take your choice.  I've got no estimate on the latter question, but you know more heads are going to roll sooner or later.

More? You Shouldn't Have

So what's worse than going down in flames?  That stage was a few days ago, when the head coach was fired quit for the good of the university and stories were coming out about multiple tattoo parlors and dozens of players and oh, yeah, cars. 

But there's more! Like, hourly.

Now That School in Oho (TSIO) has some more explaining to do. Gee. Pryor has been fired quit "for the good of his team" and, perhaps, so he doesn't have to talk to those pesky people from the NCAA any more.  Because they might like to ask him about the cash and checks (!!!) he's been getting for signing memorabilia.

For years.

That's okay, though, because the good people at the NCAA can still ask the officials at TSIO who might know something about it, because they warned off the guy who was handing out the wads o' cash and checks (memo: signed crap from "amateur" athlete).

They warned him off last year.

And then there are all those emails and calls and texts TSIO just released, and even more intriguing all the ones it held back.  Turns out, Tressel texted more than your average 12-year-old girl with a hair crisis.

This is not a institution lacking in appropriate controls.  This is an institution gone wild.

It's more entertaining than a train wreck.  I'm powerless to stop watching even as I struggle to process it all.  But here's one thing to take cold comfort in: the last decade's record against Michigan is now 9-1*, and the asterisk keeps getting bigger every day.

::: sniff::: What's That Smell?

Ah yes. It's the smell of Ohio State going down in flames. I shall return later to add all kinds of linky goodness, but for now I'll just tell you my favorite bit. The NCAA president just spoke favorably about "constructive fear."

Oh yes.

In other news: both kids graduated college this spring. Yes I'm proud. No I'm not sure how they'll be earning a living. No I'm not worried. Neither of them went to Ohio State, you see.

The promised Linky Goodness (and it's oh, so good):

First up, read this post, and the only thing you'll be more shocked about by the end is how it took so long for Tressel to get fired. (This article is poorly written but the headline is awesomesauce.) The man lied about big things and little things, all along, without remorse.

Many sadly deluded OSU fans, a redundant description Tressel apologists have pointed to his charitable works, about which I find this perspective interesting (also, quite fine writing).

And the repercussions? Well, there's the death penalty, invoked only once to date (SMU). To impose the death penalty, the NCAA would have to find a loss of institutional control. Look down toward the end of this post (it's all good) for why, perhaps, one could entertain the notion that there has been some level of institutional loss of control.

But it's a long, long step to the death penalty, so no promises. Though I do think a little more bloodletting is likely. The story does seem to keep on giving.

But a few more articles, perhaps focusing more on cars or housing or selling state-funded equipment such as helmets (just suggestions, folks) and who knows what would happen?

Oh, one more, in case you were wondering how a school could possibly keep track of what every little athlete is driving, much less doing.

Sport: The Good News Department

As you may recall, I went to a whole lot of football games while Boy was in high school.  Certain players really stood out on the field but one in particular excelled and was given a football scholarship to Michigan State.  Then he was diagnosed with cancer. 

This year, as Boy graduates, his former classmate at long last takes the field.  It's fantastic news and I could not be happier for this kid.

And, as icing on the cake, er, so to speak, Michigan's going to the NCAA national championship ice hockey game!  Go Blue!

Michigan Man

New year, new coach, new era?

Hoke coming to Michigan to coach -- I have to hope it's a great sign.  I like that his former players speak so highly of him.  I like that he has a great strength coach, and that he comes from the defense side of things.

Defense, that aspect of football Michigan used to be pretty good at, once upon a time.

Time will tell, but he's got my good will and I wish him all the best.  Also, I think he should hire my son as an assistant.  I promise not to call for his head on a platter if he does (though I don't promise not to yell bloody murder if he fails to beat Ohio State several years in a row--I might give him a pass this coming year but I would prefer not to).

Jabbering Fans

Goooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllll!

The US advances!  Cue jubilation in the streets, wild cheering and massive hysteria!  The US advances at the top of its bracket!!!

Cue crickets.

Okay, not really.  The American media seem to be slowly cluing in to the fact that the World Cup is something a lot more than just another sporting event.  But you can tell when you watch the announcers that they've been told it's a Big Deal, and they're trying hard to believe it, but they don't quite really get it.  Sort of the way my mom doesn't quite get the difference between, say, a Ford Taurus and a Jaguar XFR -- "Oh, isn't that a lovely paint color!" she would say with a bright smile. 

I laugh every time I watch an American newscaster jabber about the World Cup with an identical bright, and secretly mystified, smile.  But hey, at least the media are actually reporting about the World Cup, and that's progress. 

And the US advances! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!

Medals Aren't Everything

I love this article. And not just because it mentions a republic dating back to the Roman Empire.  It's well-written, evocative, and a lovely reminder that sport is about more than winning, and the Olympics are about more than medal counts.

Flurries And Fevers

We had another little snow flurry here.  It looked like about a foot of snow was sitting along the Park wall, and street corners are fairly disastrous.  I made it into work, though, for a while, where I was not stunningly productive but did cross a few things off my list.  I left early and introduced a friend from work to the evils joys of knitting -- we stopped at a local yarn store and got her started with needles and thick alpaca and the beginnings of a beautiful scarf -- and then I headed home. 

I swear, from the time I left work to the time I got home I developed a full-blown fever/cold/sore throat.  Or maybe it's pneumonia, or the Plague.  But I'm guessing it's a bad cold, because that always feels worse than anything else except maybe actual death.  I can feel it swooping into my lungs even as I type.

I've made tea, I've wrapped myself in layers of cashmere, and now I have to log back into work to finish some stuff up which I am hoping I can do while somewhat befuddled with what really feels like one of my extremely rare fevers.  But after that my plans for the weekend are simple:  knit, sleep off this misery, and watch the Olympics.  Not necessarily in that order, but possibly all at once.