Fraudriguez to Public: Oh, God, Nobody Look!
domer.mq - 3:36 pm
The Michigan (sucks!) football team’s intrasquad football practice will not be open to the public.
The scrimmage, which will signify the end of spring practice under new coach Rich Rodriguez, will be held at Saline High School, about 10 miles from Ann Arbor. UM spokesman Dave Ablauf said the decision was made to close the scrimmage to the public because Saline’s stadium seating capacity – about 8,000 – was too small to accommodate an expected large crowd.
Hrm. So 1000s would likely come out to watch the scrimmage, the small stadium can accomodate several 1000s… what’s the problem here? It’s not as though they didn’t know a bit in advance that they’d have to hold the scrimmage off-campus. Not as though they couldn’t work the logistics of it all pretty easily. Not as if they couldn’t have run a phone-line for a day and just pre-sold all the tickets.
So is it really a matter of crowd-control? It’s not a matter of secrecy. Fraudriguez could keep the game-play very vanilla and not really let anyone in on his “wizardry.” So that’s not the concern. Could the concern be that the coaching staff just doesn’t want the skunkbear fans to see just how bad it all really is?
Nah.
DeepTeaKup
Are we talking 2007 ND bad? Like 3-9 with a loss to Navy and a (almost) historically inept offense?
I think you guys have pretty much officially crossed the line to “obsessed” with UM, especially Coach Rod.
April 7, 2008 at 4:04 pmdomer.mq
DTK,
We’re just as obsessed with SoCal, Florida, FSU and the like, but there never seems to be any interesting news coming from there these days.
Besides, I really, really hate Michigan (sucks!).
April 7, 2008 at 4:40 pmdomer.mq
Note, DTK, I didn’t claim that the obsession was “perfectly healthy.”
Biscuit, I’m tempted to call a moratorium on Michigan (sucks!) posts. We need a new target. Meyer is played out. Bowden is nearly dead. Joe Pa is dead.
How about a little UCLA action? You could get the local scoop!
April 7, 2008 at 4:43 pmThe Biscuit
Dude, scUM is just such a freaking easy target. If USC or Florida had hired such a toolbag with millions of pounds of baggage (hitting cheerleaders, bailing in the middle of the night, shredding, holding mock-able open tryouts, etc etc etc) I’d be all over him as well. But only Michigan (sucks!) did that. So, they get the heat. No moratorium for me. I know you’re friends with DTK and I like the guy – he’s the only rational UM fan I’ve ever even heard of – but I’m not calling off the dogs. This coach will produce too many good, mock-able stories. As he has already done.
April 7, 2008 at 5:32 pmdomer.mq
Fair enough. I’m not doing it for DTK’s sake. Heck, DTK knows that by even saying anything, I’m more likely to do it.
April 7, 2008 at 5:54 pmUCLA has got to have some dirt though. You can’t hire that cat and not have dirt. There’s got to be something! If only I were Doc Hussey.
DeepTeaKup
Biscuit,
Lets analyze these “mockable” storylines here a little bit more:
hitting cheerleaders – bad internet rumor
bailing in the middle of the night – okay, fair enough, but there must have been a pretty good reason for Rod to do it and it can’t just be the money because Bama offered more (pretty sure)
open tryouts – hey who knows, maybe someday UM
will have its own feature length move made starring Frodo as some kid who whined his way on to the field and accidentally knocked over the QB
shredding – what is the big deal here? you ever leave a job and destroy personal files? WVU basically tried to imply he destroyed some of the only copies of official records, which kind of makes WVU look pretty stupid for only having a single copy of these records don’t you think?
As you guys have said, I try to be somewhat objective, and yes Rod deserves some heat but I just think you guys are developing an “MSU like” obsession with UM. If that isn’t a wake up call, I don’t know what is.
Is it fall yet?
April 7, 2008 at 7:15 pmThe Biscuit
DTK, here’s the thing. I don’t care what the UM rationalizations are. Rich Rod’s hiring and move from WVU has been so fraught with calamity that it BEGS to be mocked. From the Les Miles/search drama to all of Rod’s f-ups (there are more than just the examples i threw up there earlier too, and we both know it), it’s just too good to let go. And in an off-season, we just go where there’s something to talk about. As soon as Dicky stops doing moronic things (e.g. refusing to pay his buyout), we’ll stop talking about him. But at this point, I don’t know if he can. It seems embedded in his DNA.
I really am not concerned if it comes off as my being ‘obsessed’ with UM or its coach. In fact, I am 100% cool with being called ‘obsessed’ with mocking my enemy’s pain. It gives me joy, so I continue. However, I’m no more obsessed than Brian at MGO is of trying to pretend like UM’s academics rival ND’s (his skewed comparisons come up on a monthly basis), and no more obsessed than every single non-ND fan in the world was with ND all last season.
If Petey C or Urban could do half as much as RichRod to entertain me, I’d be all over it. But only Dicky seems to be in the papers consistently for idiotic things, so we respond.
Ad nauseum? Yes. And so be it!
April 7, 2008 at 11:47 pmKent Allard
It is a sad day indeed when someone has to justify hating Michigan. They’re just so…hateable.
April 8, 2008 at 9:05 amThe Biscuit
And MQ, on your UCLA question. It has been SILENT out here. All attention has been on the hoops tourney, especially since UCLA is really a b-ball school. I actually think the program will be ‘cleaner’ under the new regime anyway. And I already have 1 team to focus on in LA. It’s just that lately somehow Pete’s been quiet too…
April 8, 2008 at 10:14 am