Took a trip down to Michigan and Stadium this afternoon. Here’s what I was able to catch of the new scoreboards, Crisler renovation and more.
Take note that down the tunnel to the Big House turf, Michigan has added Bo Schembechler’s phrase, “The Team, The Team, The Team,” as well as a rose and Big Ten championship seasons directly outside Michigan’s locker room door.
And at the end are just a few shots of the mess of earth that currently is Crisler’s outdoor renovations.
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* If you want any of these photos blown up, contact me at stnesbitt@gmail.com and I’ll send them over. And if you used any of these photos, pleased ensure it’s linked back to here and/or I am credited.
Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel knows that autograph hounds can be a pain, and he’s warned his players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor and running back Dan (Boom) Herron about giving out their signatures. But a group of Buckeyes found a great outlet for their autographs — Fine Line Ink tattoo parlor in western Columbus.
Several players, current and former Buckeyes, allegedly received free inks in exchange for autographed merchandise at Fine Line Ink, and recently the parlor was found out. According to The Columbus Dispatch, Fine Line Ink was busted in an investigation “by law-enforcement agencies of possible unlawful behavior by the parlor owner, sources said. During a search for evidence, a stash of memorabilia signed by some current and former Ohio State players was found, the sources said, and law-enforcement officials made school administrators aware of it.”
Former Buckeye Kirk Herbstreit learned of the tattoo joint getting busted, and during the Las Vegas Bowl on Wednesday. Pryor then got wind that his name was circulating, and tweeted:
Apparently not, because today, the University announced:
“Five players were found to have sold awards, gifts and university apparel, plus receive improper benefits in 2009. In addition to missing five games next season, Pryor, Mike Adams, Daniel Herron, Devier Posey and Solomon Thomas must repay money and benefits ranging in value from $1,000
to $2,500. The repayments must be made to a charity.” – ESPN
Perhaps the most heavily-tatted team in the country, the Buckeyes have a whole laundry list of repayments to be made.
“Adams must repay $1,000 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring and Herron must repay $1,150 for selling his football jersey, pants and shoes for $1,000 and receiving discounted services worth $150.
Posey must repay $1,250 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring for $1,200 and receiving discounted services worth $50, while Pryor must repay $2,500 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring, a 2009 Fiesta Bowl sportsmanship award and his 2008 Gold Pants, a gift from the university.
Solomon must repay $1,505 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring for $1,000, his 2008 Gold Pants for $350 and receiving discounted services worth $155.” – ESPN
Mike Adams
Dan 'Boom' Herron
DeVier Posey
Terrelle Pryor
Solomon Thomas
So it wasn’t so much the tattoos that got these players in trouble as it was the selling of conference rings. With the players suspended for five games, it could have a huge effect on what the 2011 Ohio State Buckeyes look.
The first five games of the year are against: Akron, Toledo, Miami (FL), Colorado, Michigan State.
With the #1 QB, HB and WR out for the first five games, there is a good chance that all of them enter the NFL draft this Spring and forego their senior seasons. On the radio this afternoon, Herbstreit called losing Pryor, “Addition by subtraction.” And yes, the sounds you are hearing are the wheels coming off the Ohio State bandwagon and a simultaneous cheer from Ann Arbor.
He might have been a man about it at the time, but this ink stings a bit more now, doesn’t it, Terrelle?
Chris Brown scored twice against Rensselaer: photo courtesy of Sara Melikian, RPI
After being cut on the final day last year, Chris Brown and Jon Merrill didn’t miss out on their chance to skate for the U.S. National Juniors team this time around. 44 athletes met in August for the team’s first tryout, and that number was whittled down to 29 for the preliminary roster that met in New York this past week-and-a-half.
At 9:10 this morning, the final 22-man roster was posted on the USA Hockey Facebook page. Players left off the roster were: defensemen Adam Clendening, Jamie Oleksiak and Philip Samuelsson; forwards Conner Brickley, Rocco Grimaldi, Matt Nieto and Brandon Saad.
Merrill and Brown were the only CCHA skaters invited to camp, and both came through the US ranks with the National Development Team in Ann Arbor.
Chris Brown: USAHockey.com
“It’s a special feeling, especially when you get named to represent your country in an international event,” Brown said during the week before The Big Chill at the Big House. “I had the privledge of being invited last year — I was the last one cut — so this year it’s a little more special for me to try and make the team.”
Jon Merrill: USAHockey.com
“It’s special – any time you can represent your country and put on that jersey, it’s something you should take pride in,” Merrill told AnnArbor.com. “To get the opportunity to have an opportunity to play for the U-20 team is just phenomenal.”
In the US team’s warm-up games against RPI and Czech Republic, Merrill didn’t factor into the scoring. But Brown scored twice in the opening match against RPI.
The 2011 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship will take place in Buffalo, New York from December 26 – January 5, 2011. Both skaters will miss No. 10 Michigan’s run in the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec. 29 and 30.
In case you were hiding somewhere under a rock for the last month, there was a pretty monumental occasion at the University of Michigan on December 11. The Big Chill at the Big House turned out to be the largest hockey game ever, as well as the largest game ever played at Michigan Stadium of all time, with a crowd of 113,411.
Recap:
Much to the delight of well over 100-thousand fans, the game was dominated from start to finish by the Wolverines, who blanked Michigan State 5-0.
• Freshman defenseman Jon Merrill scored twice in the first period, his fourth and fifth of the season.
• Carl Hagelin netted the third and fourth goals, his eighth and ninth of the year, as well as picking up his 10th assist.
• Forward David Wohlberg finished off the scoring in the middle of the third period, and although no cameras seemed to catch it, he had the best celebration of the day. Louie Caporusso ‘snapped’ from center ice, Brandon Burlon ‘held’, and Wohlberg gave the imaginary football a big boot. From the look of things, RichRod could have used his leg this season.
• In an emergency appearance in goal, senior goaltender Shawn Hunwick made 34 saves en route to his first shutout of the season.
Here is an MGoBlue rewind of the game, but there is no way it could relive the intensity and excitement of the game. Bravo to Dave Brandon and the UM Athletic Department, it was one show that may never be topped:
Notables:
• The two-goal feat was Merrill’s first of his young career.
• Matt Rust (three assists) and Hagelin’s nights were their first three-point games of the season, as well as the first from any skaters on the top two forward lines since Caporusso did it on Oct. 9 vs. Bowling Green. The only other other skaters to post three points earlier in the season were Chris Brown and A.J. Treais (vs. Alaska), and Luke Moffatt (vs. Notre Dame).
• Two days before the Big Chill, Michigan coach Red Berenson named Bryan Hogan as the starting goaltender for the Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. But in the pregame warm-ups, Hogan tweaked a tendon in his groin, very similar to his injury last season, and had to be replaced with Hunwick fifteen minutes before the opening faceoff. Hogan is expected to be gone until the end of January.
• With the conference win, Michigan moves to 10-5-4 overall, and 9-3-1-1 in the CCHA. With 28 points and a game at hand, the Wolverines trail Notre Dame by only a point, and leads Miami (Ohio) by one. For comparison’s sake, at this time last year, Michigan sat at 9-9-0, and 5-7-0-0 in the CCHA.
Icing on the Cake:
Here’s a look back at the show that was The Big Chill at the Big House through the eyes of The Machine, my Droid X:
Lastly, don’t miss last year’s d-man Chris Summer’s interview, it’s worth a laugh and a half (Warning — there is Beiber involved):
Up Next:
The Wolverines head to Joe Louis Arena on Dec. 29 and 30 in the 46th annual Great Lakes Invitational, which includes Michigan, Michigan State, Colorado College and Michigan Tech. Here is how the schedule shakes up:
Wednesday, December 29 4:00pm. Michigan State vs. Colorado College 7:30pm. Michigan vs. Michigan Tech
Thursday, December 30 4:00pm. Third Place Game 7:30pm. Championship Game
• Last year, the Wolverines dropped the opening game to Rensselaer, 4-3, and bounced back against Michigan Tech in the consolation game, 5-3.
• Note: Brown and Merrill are currently practicing with the U.S. National Junior’s Team, and the final roster will be announced on Dec. 22 at 9:10am. Brown was the final cut on that squad, and he has bolstered his resumé this year with a two-goal game against Rensselaer last week. If either player makes the team, they are expected to miss the Great Lakes Invitational.
Already almost two months into the season, the No. 10 Michigan hockey team still hasn’t found a way to win on Friday. But with CCHA-opponent Lake Superior State in Ann Arbor for a two-game weeekend series, the Wolverines are hoping to get things turned around.
Michigan coach Red Berenson has been doing everything he can to figure things out recently, anything from switching lines up to changing the colors of jerseys that lines wear during practice. Berenson changed the color of practice jerseys that each line wears just to make sure his players were getting too comfortable — and to tell them that no lines have been determined for Friday night’s contest.
Don’t miss a single storyline from the weekend, there are more than you’d expect when the #2 and #6 teams in the conference go head-to-head.
Behind the headlines:
• With a 5-3 comeback win over Notre Dame last Saturday, the Wolverines captured the program’s 499th victory within the confines of Yost Ice Arena. Michigan will play for #500 on Friday evening.
• Since moving into Yost, the Wolverines have shown the obvious advantage of playing on the home ice, holding a record of 499-187-33, and a 79.0% winning percentage since the beginning of the millenium.
• The Lakers are coming off of a two-game sweep of Ferris State (a team who split with Michigan earlier this season). But the most impressive part was that Lake Superior State’s freshman goaltender Kevin Kapalka shut out the Bulldogs in both games.
• Last Friday, the Wolverines were called for a single penalty but still lost 3-1. The last time that Michigan was called for no penalties was on Nov. 7, 2008, when the Wolverines also lost, 4-1 to Alaska (Fairbanks).
By the numbers:
11 — The number of games it has been since Lake Superior State last beat Michigan.
1.99 — Lakers’ goaltender Kevin Kapalka’s goals against average through seven appearances.
1-3-1 — The Wolverines’ Friday-night record this season, when they have scored only nine goals, compared to 13 allowed.
5-0-1 — Michigan’s Saturday record, with a 30-17 scoring differential.
3.25 — The goals per game average by the Wolverines’ offense — currently ranks 16th in the nation.
After sweeping the Big Ten Tournament last week to earn the program’s first-ever conference tournament title, the No. 19 (and 10th-seed) Michigan soccer team has a second-round NCAA tourney matchup upcoming on Sunday.
The Wolverines’ opponents will be the UCF Knights (12-4-3), who beat USF in a 3-0 first-round contest on Thursday.
The two teams have never played each other, but Michigan is 3-0-0 in NCAA Tournament home games since coach Steve Burns arrived and created the men’s soccer program.
The winning team will play in the NCAA Tournament Third Round, which will be played on Sunday, Nov. 28.
Behind the headlines:
• The Knights have four losses, the same number as Michigan, but all four defeats were a one-goal decisions.
• Thank goodness UCF isn’t playing at home — as they are nearly unbeatable in Orlando, allowing just three total goals and racking up seven home shutouts.
• This is the fourth consecutive year that the Knights have made the NCAA Tournament, the 15th appearance in the program’s history. UCF coach Bryan Cunningham has led the Knights to the NCAA Tournament in all four of his seasons at the helm.
• Michigan’s freshman phenom Soony Saad has netted 18 in 21 appearances this season, and currently sits atop the nation in goals scored.
• Soony has picked up a number of awards recently, including the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Offensive Player, BT Freshman of the Year, and was named to both the All-Big Ten and All-Freshman teams.
By the numbers:
0.80 — UCF goaltender Shawn Doyle’s current goals against average. Doyle has only allowed 15 goals in 18 games played.
9 — The Knights’ longest unbeaten streak this season, which stretched from Sept. 19 to Oct. 29.
13 — Number of Wolverine wins, two more than the previous Michigan record for single-season wins.
18-4-40 — The scoring line (goals, assists, points) for Soony Saad through 20 games. The goals (18), points (40) and number of shots (125) are all single-season Michigan records.
+14 vs. +22 — Michigan’s scoring differential vs. UCF’s scoring differential.
Landmark win:
Michigan — Emphatic 4-1 victory over Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament final on Nov. 14.
UCF — 2-1 toppling of C-USA powerhouse SMU on Oct. 2. UCF was the only team to down the No. 7 Mustangs in regular season play.
Keys to victory:
Michigan — The Wolverines will need to challenge the UCF defensive line and try to get as many quality shots as possible against Doyle. He won’t be missing the easy saves, so look for sophomore Hamoody Saad as the key player on the pitch; his creativity and precision with passing is Michigan’s most effective way to penetrate the box. As has become evident when Hamoody has been absent, his brother Soony’s scoring totals have noticeably diminished, and that is a credit to Hamoody’s creativity through the midfield.
UCF — This one is simple in theory, but certainly isn’t easy to execute. The Knights’ strongest performer has been Boyle in net, but they would like to keep the ball away from his as much as possible. The scoring attack from UCF has been incredibly balanced, with no player with more than nine goals, but they have many threats. If the midfielders are able to trust the defense and jump up on the offensive attack, Michigan could be in for a long evening. However, stopping the Wolverines with Justin Meram and the Saad brothers may not be possible, but the Knights can certainly slow down the attack by forcing the outside midfielders for Michigan, Adam Shaw and Latif Alashe, to play the long ball into the UCF zone instead of allowing Hamoody to pick apart the defense with short, tic-tac-toe passing.
The Bull’s-Eye is a blog is dedicated to covering all facets of athletics at the University of Michigan. It is in no way connected to any publication or organization — it is a personal venture. Check back often, and join the Facebook page, which will alert you when new posts come up.
