gehringer_2

what else? mostly $$. They don't want to play non-conference games with teams that demand a H&H as long as they can find enough teams willings to come to A^2 without demanding a return date. You can blame the fans for showing up no matter who they play and reducing the pressure to schedule better.

they are not separate issues. You have a program that just got up off the mat for one year. I love your confidence but you are postulating a Michigan program that fans only dream may exist after a few more defeats of OSU and trips to Indianapolis. Compare the depth at UM vs OSU. At Columbus they run through QBs like water and each one steps in and plays like the 5 star they were. If JJ goes down what do you think UM looks like? Not much I'd say. Down an interior lineman last week and the O made Rutger's D look like a real team for half a game until the D made some plays. The program has had one year of success, still has little depth and still faces institutional uncertainty about what their role in the brave new semi-professional world is. They should be scared of losing more - they'd be fools not to be.

No fact to face, but the twitter reports were that last night the Ukranians shelled the retreating RU troops pretty mercilessly at the river.

I tend to agree. It is an undisputed fact that pitchers used to survive throwing a lot more innings than they do today. The caveat is that back in 50-60s the number of guys that washed out injured with no fanfare because there was little coverage about it was probably also huge and now pretty much unknowable. For all we know maybe we could pull a large enough subset out of the population of todays pitchers to find enough guys able to throw >250 innings on 4 man staffs for 14 teams. I personally doubt this but I can't prove it.

Almost not news, but FTX files for bankruptcy today https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/11/sam-bankman-frieds-cryptocurrency-exchange-ftx-files-for-bankruptcy.html

because anything that requires forgoing present reward for future reward is hard to sell to the human animal. What was the story that dominated baseball all last season again? ..( hint - "have you guys seen Mark?)

Yup. I've had pretty much the same reservation. The fact that you can now teach a pitcher to get the absolute maximum performance pitch out of his arm doesn't mean it's a good idea to throw a lot of them!

also good point.

Not into NFTs?

I would also guess that part of it is farm vs tourism in the rural areas. My impression over the years is that agriculture is more conservative than tourism. In tourism areas, there is always a lot of social contact with people from all the other places in the state.

well, they have another brain, they haven't had time to turn that into a program and it hasn't been long enough to know if the program is going to make a difference. And it depends on someone actually knowing why these guys were all going down in the 1st place, which seems to be a $64,000 question throughout baseball. I will be curious to see if the Tigers pitchers begin to cut down on the % of breaking balls they throw. IIRC, Fetter and Hinch actually wanted guys like Skubal throw fewer FBs when he was up around 60%. I could see that as being part of the 'program'. Or not.

The Freep seems to have reported that Reyes opted to become a FA, though two different paragraphs in the story don't necessarily agree. They didn't report on the others.

It's huge city geographically, population in the city limits is still under 1M and it's mostly white.

If they don't solve their pitching injury epidemic any expectations are going to be in the garbage can.

The PAC12 is becoming a punch line conference. The worst team in the SEC probably recruits better than 11 teams in the PAC12.

I'd still be happy to have him after next three starters fall to TJ though......

True enough, the largest city in Ohio is neither very large (population wise) or very cosmopolitan by US standards.

maybe if over time the program proves it's actually in the same league performance and recruiting wise they may have the confidence to do it, but look at the compliants even in this thread that they are hamstringing their recruiting by being behind the curve on NIL etc. To the degree that's true, they still aren't playing in the same league with the Georgia's and OSUs. That's leaves them them a different risk/reward calcuation in their scheduling. Michigan fan always wants it both ways - they want to be above the fray and still be just as good. Sadly enough, in the real world it doesn't work that way.

Sure, there was a time you could play games for pride because It didn't matter if you lost out of conference 'back then.' You were going to the Rose bowl if you won the conference regardless and you were staying home regardless if you didn't. Each generation of the fan base for college football is frozen in its own memories. The current 'establishment' plays on that fact while having no ties of its own to those prior 'verities.'

It's a different world. The old one ended maybe a decade before Bill Martin even got there. The athletic department is in a silo that could be on Mars for all the impact it has on the rest of University community. In recent years I'm no more attached to the M football team than I am to the Lions. They exist in identical spaces to me. It's an entertainment venue. I don't feel anything about what they do has an particular representative value to me as member of the larger University community or as an alum. College sports started out as a way for students to have a good time and Universities to have a little fun arguing bragging rights over each other and sell some tickets to the local alums to pay for the intramurul facilities. I'm old enough to have experienced it while it still had at least some of that character left. That's the world you are talking about. But today it's just another business trying to part as many people from as many dollars as any other. Caveat Emptor when it comes to making any kind of emotional investment in modern pro sport, even those that still call themselves collegiate.

More seriously, one real answer to your question might be that Georgia and OSU have a lot more confidence in the strength and depth of their programs than Michigan has any right to have coming out of a period with any number of dissappointing seasons and questionable current recruiting. One big win over OSU at home didn't turn UM into a program in either Georgia or OSU's class.

LOL - Now the program is supposed to stand for something? It's eff'n NCAA football. It stand for absolutely nothing beyond the $$. For as cynical as you usually are the idealism here seems surprising. Heck - If the program actually 'stood for' something in terms of the University's values, they'd have fired Harbaugh a long time ago for being a fascist.

He played almost 28 min in the two previous games. Maybe too much.

Quite the meltdown. Rangers had 17 shots in the 3rd after having 16 total in the 1st two, and scored on 6 of them.

the NHL suspension system is a joke. You get two games for putting a guy out 10 weeks? If a guy gets hurt on a clean, legal play, that the risk you take putting on your skates, but when it's clearly an illegal hit - esp a boarding call - which are inexcusable, you should be out until the guy you hurt comes back. Make that that the rule and those plays will end the next day.