MZone Autopsy: Minnesota 2012

Haven't done one of these in awhile but had some free time over the weekend to partake in a little AP blogging.  So, before we turn our attention to Northwestern, let's take one last look back at Minnesota.

Repeat After Me: There is NO QB CONTROVERSY

After Devin Gardner's amazing game (minus the 1st quarter), I joked on Twitter that the easiest way to identify a so-called "Walmart Wolverine" on sports talk radio this week will be the guy calling in asking if there's a QB controversy now in A2.

There is not.

Devin was outstanding (minus the 1st quarter).  He was outstanding by any measure, but more so since he hadn't gotten any meaningful game reps at quarter back since... Illinois 2011?  But as soon as he's 100% again, Denard is Michigan's QB this season.  Period.

However, Michigan fans can rejoice in the fact that the Maize and Blue have a more-than-capable back-up should the need arise, and the race for the starting job in 2013 is over just got real interesting.  From a potential weakness post-Denard it could be a strengh.  Go figure.

Most of all, I'm just happy for Gardner.  He was a top-rated QB coming out of high school and came to Michigan to play QB.  He didn't want to move to wide receiver, but he did it because it's what the team needed.  So to see him get his chance and seize it has to make Wolverine fans everywhere happy for him personally.

Back to the Future

Yes, I know he got a ton of reps in practice to prepare to start Saturday, but still...

Anybody else wish we could get in Doc Brown's Delorean and go back to the Nebraska game, Michigan down 7-3 when Denard got hurt with the Wolverines having the ball 1st and goal at the Nebraska 7 yard line?

Coulda, shoulda, woulda.

DE-FENSE!

In the Captain Obvious Comment department, the defense was again outstanding.  While much of the focus has understandably been on Devin's great performance (minus the 1st quarter), it's easy to forget that on Minnesota's first couple of drives, the Gophers' starting field position was right around the 50.  Everything was going wrong and, had the D not held strong early, Michigan could have easily found itself in a much deeper - can't resit - "Gopher hole" than 7-0 before the offense came to life.

Michigan is now 7th nationally in total defense and 1st - yes, 1st! - in pass defense.

Michigan is...I Dunno

Nine weeks into the 2012 season, as crazy as this sounds, I'm still a bit mystified as to how good this team really is.  Michigan's three losses are to teams with a combined 25-2 record, including two of the top four teams in the BCS standings (with Nebraska 16th).  And yet, in two of those losses, Michigan had a fantastic chance to win.  If Denard doesn't have, arguably, his worst game ever against ND and if Denard doesn't get hurt and/or Devin replaces him when he does vs Nebraska, Michigan could realistically be 8-1 and ranked solidly in the top 10.  Then again...

Of U-M's six wins, the only teams they've beaten with a winning record are 5-4 Air Force and 5-4 Minnesota.  While to be elite Michigan must beat elite teams, on the good news front, Michigan is once again beating the teams it's supposed to be.  

There's a Reason He's the Coach at Minnesota

You know how married people can start to look like each other?  Well, it just might be true for coaches and their team mascots.  Because my friends and I noticed a striking resemblance as we watched the Michigan-Minnesota game over the weekend.  You make the call:

Michigan-Minnesota Twitter Recap

First it was just one tweet.  Then two.  Three.  Each from trusted sources.  Then it began to spread like wildfire: Denard was out, Gardner was starting at QB.
I called my friend to tell him.

"How do you know that?" asked my Luddite buddy, who was probably about to listen to the game on his bitchi' dual 8-track-slash-cassette Hi Fi Kenwood stereo.

"The same way everybody learns breaking news these days - Twitter."

From the informative to the funny, having Twitter by your side during a Michigan game makes it feel like you're watching it at bar packed with Wolverine fans - even if you're alone on your coach.  Plus, how else are you going to catch the bitching and whining from MSU players after they gack away another game?

Here are some of our favorite tweets from the weekend's Michigan/Minnesota game (with a little MSU and ND game stuff as well).  Some funny, some informative.  Some ours, some others.

From folks we follow:

@MGoBlog

After Gardner's first Xbox-worthy TD throw to Dileo:

Just like Al drew it up. 

First half offense = despair + Gardner running around w Benny Hill soundtrack, but in a good way. 

Anyone who sits on an aisle in Michigan Stadium should stage a hunger strike if anyone threatens to introduce beer.

Brad @MaizeBlueNation

First Minn offensive TD against Michigan in 6 years. 

After the MSU loss:

Those are Michigan fans booing from Ann Arbor. Not Sparty fans at the game.

@AceAnbender

It took a while, but they’ve gone full gopher. 

When it looked like ND would lose after an endzone INT with 3:59 left and down 8 points:

Damn you, NBC, and your complete lack of sad fan crowd shots.

@MVictors

After Devin Gardner's first Xbox-worthy TD pass to Drew Delio:

That's basically a look at every play back in the neighborhood when the older kid is playing QB 

borrowed Gallon's cloaking device MT @thesportslog: ...can someone..explain how Minnesota utterly lost Dileo?  

@HooverStreet

Mike Hart's "Little Brother" comment turns five today! It's old enough to go to Kindergarten! 

Guys, I love Denard, but don't let him carry the Jug if he's having trouble gripping things, OK?

In this week's spirit of bipartisan outpourings with one's own enlightened self-interest at heart: Good luck to our Spartan friends today.

@SupportBradyHoke

And, today is a VERY special day - as it is Coach Hoke's BIRTHDAY! Happy Birthday, Coach! Best wishes for a great year ahead! #GoBlue

@The BBC

From our Buckeye friends after Michigan started out a little, uh, slow in the first quarter:

Well, Michigan loses Denard for the game, but doesn't miss a beat on offense.

@GerdOzone

After MSU lost and the controversial PI call at the end:

The Refs have won the Legends Division!

@MZoneBlog

And in case you missed our 140 character nuggets yesterday, here are a few faves from yours truly here at The MZone:

Al Borges following UM's first TD in 148 minutes: "NOBODY shuts down an Al Borges offense for 149 minutes!"

Okay, who cut Denard's dreads and had him wear #12 today? How Lane Kiffin of Hoke

How to tell if you're listening to a Walmart Wolverine on sports talk radio next wk: "You think there's a quarterback controversy for U-M?"

Well played #WalmartWolverine RT @cdbarker "I just think Devin's the better choice. Play Denard at RB since Fitz can't get anything going."

And as we settled in to watch the MSU/Nebraska game:

Haven't tweeted since Michigan game. My body's been convulsing too much at realization I have to root for MSU.

And during the painful final "Sparty, NO!" moments (whilst flipping between ND/Pitt):

I'm getting a full dose right now of why it sucks to be an MSU fan

I think I'm gonna vomit. Okay, now to turn on ND game and watch Irish pull 4 leaf clover out of its ass, too 

Pitt, Pitt, Pitt. You could be the MSU of the Big East.

Such a little brother move, Sparty: Had the party all planned and you screwed it up. Mom was right: you were adopted. 

Top chant right now in parking lot outside Spartan Stadium: "At least we didn't help Michigan! YEAH!"

Man, I would hate to be Mark Dantonio's face right now

After rooting for Sparty and having that happen, hell, **I** feel like burning a couch #NowIUnderstand

Remember INT returned for a TD that woulda put MSU up 17 in the 4th & iced it...but was called back for personal foul? That IS Sparty

Also #1 in fan lament: "Damn, if only Devin played vs Neb!" RT @MVictors UM now #7 nationally in total defense, &, wow, #1 in pass defense

Finally, a few from our MZone readers:

Delusional Fan

Can Gardner just throw to himself? #Denarded 

Riley Martin

Hoke wearing a headset???? Shits getting serious! 

Renee

Mayans... “@MZoneBlog: Two TDs? In one quarter?! Hold on, looking outside for locusts...” 

Saturday Wrap

The Ivy League and opponent wrap for Saturday:

Harvard 69, Columbia 0
The Crimson scored 35 points – in the second quarter – and a popcorn vendor named ran for 121 yards on eight carries to lead Harvard's ground game. OK, that's not true. But what is true is that Damani Wilson had three carries for eight yards before exploding all over Columbia Saturday. What's also true is Harvard quarterback

The CHLPA's Incredible Ineptitude

The business of hockey is an unmitigated disaster. The NHL and NHLPA are doing their very best to destroy the greatest hockey league in the world. This week’s cancellation of the Winter Classic, a true spectacle that was to be held in front of over 100,000 fans outside in Michigan Stadium, is a crushing blow to fans everywhere.

However, the debacle that is the 2012 NHL lockout is only surpassed in its ineptitude for labor relations by what’s happening to Major Junior Hockey.

The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is the governing body of the three Canadian major junior leagues—the Ontario Hockey League, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and the Western Hockey League. Coming out of virtually nowhere, the Canadian Hockey League Players Association (CHLPA) organized and recently began beating the drum for better working conditions.

The CHLPA, under the apparent lead of George Laracque, claimed to be in discussion with the NCAA to see if they could get the CHL deemed to be defined as an amateur league—thereby allowing its members access to college hockey at a later date. So far, this all makes sense. A league seeks to maximize revenue for its owners while a union advocates on behalf of the players.

Unfortunately, standard operating procedures end there because:

1. Seemingly from an episode out of Arrested Development, the CHLPA used a spokesman by the name of Derek Clarke. However, apparently several individuals were using that name in press briefings and the CHL has hired a private investigator to find “the real Derek Clarke.” 


2. One of the men supporting the CHLPA was Randy Gumbley, an individual convicted of stealing more than $ 100,000 from families of former CHL players in 2009. 


3. The law firm of Victory Square Law Office, which was representing the CHLPA in court, has withdrawn its services as counsel for the union. 


4. The CHLPA claims George Laraque as its Executive Director yet it’s clear he was intended to be the public face of the union but not its real leader. 


5. Despite existing NCAA rules regarding the CHL’s definition as a professional league, Laraque claimed that the NCAA provided him with documentation that there is a way in which CHL players may make their way to college hockey. 


6. Unfortunately, according to the NCAA, the CHLPA misunderstood their rules and, as far as anyone can tell, the CHL has virtually zero chance of a reclassification, making college hockey an impossibility for its players. 


7. When all of this information came to light, Laraque claimed he was resigning but would stay on until a suitable replacement was named.

Unfortunately, and not for the first time, the rights of the players have been slid under the rug behind union incompetency in the sport of hockey. Player Associations are critical features of professional sports. History has taught us that not all players’ associations—nor their leadership—are created equal. To borrow a hockey maxim, my advice to the CHLPA leadership next time: “finish your check."

Check It Out!

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The Big Green goes through a practice on the
impressive facility of Division III RPI. 




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Overnight in Bainbridge, NY and finishing the drive to Ithaca this morning. Check BGA Premium for a game story and sidebar at some point tonight. I'll be writing while Mrs. BGA drives and will post via WiFi at some point on the way home. Probably won't be early . . .

NCAA Sends Mixed Signals with New Enforcement Program

On Tuesday October 30th, the NCAA Board of Directors announced the adoption of a new enforcement structure that, among other things, creates additional levels of infractions, enhances accountability for head coaches, and seeks to punish violators with sanctions that more appropriately align with the actions that occurred.  The most striking of these new initiatives, to be implemented beginning in August of 2013, is the creation of the new four-tiered structure for violation classification. 

Under the current model, violations are classified as either major or secondary.  The new system sets forth violations as follows: Level I, Severe breach of conduct; Level II, Significant breach of conduct; Level III, Breach of conduct; and Level IV, Incidental issues.  A copy of the NCAA’s press release may be found here.  This new structure is the product of a year-long effort by the thirteen-member Board comprised of presidents, athletic directors, and conference commissioners.   President Mark Emmert described the changes as part of a devotion to “protecting the collegiate model,” in part by “remov[ing] the ‘risk-reward’ analysis that has tempted people.”  

These changes come on the heels of increasing external pressure for a more consistent and transparent process, with a number of major infractions cases serving as the backdrop for this magnified criticism.   Greater accountability and stricter sanctions is undoubtedly a step in the right direction when it comes to enforcement of what would be considered major infractions under the current framework.  The NCAA should be applauded for taking measures to ensure consequences for coaches who plead ignorance while violations blatantly occur on their watches.  But at the same time, the new violation structure is troublesome.   Despite admirable efforts to construct a better system, this new four-tiered structure for violation classification fails to ameliorate many of the common concerns expressed with respect to NCAA Bylaws and enforcement of the same.  Hopefully, this will be cleared-up with the upcoming changes to the substantive “rules” in the Bylaws.   

The NCAA Bylaws are often denounced as too lengthy and too complex, and deservedly so.  Moving from a two-tiered violation structure to a four-tiered system, if not matched-up with more common sense in rule substance, is an obvious step backward, and is counterintuitive if the desired outcome is a more workable framework.  Increased confusion is even more likely when one considers the near endless interpretations that could be attributed to the definitions describing each tier.  For example, consider the difference between a violation that “threatens the integrity of the NCAA,” versus a violation that merely “provides more than a minimal, but less than a substantial…advantage.”  One definition classifies a Level I violation, while the other corresponds with Level II, but is there really a difference?   The definitions may mean something different to a coach versus someone in compliance at a school or enforcement at the NCAA, so how then is the goal of deterrence met for the problem that President Emmert describes as a calculation of risk vs. reward made by coaches who currently do not have sufficient risk to their livelihoods or respective programs.

Under this system, inconsistencies may abound to an even greater degree than under the current model.  This is likely to complicate the NCAA’s investigative measures, which is problematic given the Association’s already limited resources; resources so limited that some have even suggested that the NCAA get out of the enforcement business altogether (for a more in depth discussion of this proposal, see this well-done piece by Attorney Stephen A. Miller, recently published in The Atlantic).  Finally, if the NCAA is really student-athlete first, then this measure does nothing to address the countless Bylaws that punish student-athletes for technical violations that provide no competitive advantage, and do little more than burden an already overwhelmed enforcement staff.  Again, it is worth pondering, is an “incidental issue” even worth sanctioning?  I hope that reforms not just in terms of a scholarship enhancement, but in terms of rules affecting student-athletes’ behavior on a day-to-day basis are addressed in the coming months.

Since the NCAA has chosen to divert its attention first to the method in which these intricate and often superfluous regulations are classified, my worry is that dealing with the substance later will lead to a continuance in seeing violations shoe-horned into a rigid framework that sometimes, but does not always fit.  For those that desire more consistency in results, do you want the NCAA to have something akin to Federal Sentencing Guidelines, or more common sense in results?  I am not yet convinced that the new enforcement structure will get us more common sense in results, which many (myself included) would like to see as opposed to more rigidity.

Over time, perhaps this will prove to be a positive step toward a streamlined, consistent, and fair process.  For now though, a more detailed systemization of the NCAA’s enforcement structure only seems to complicate matters further if there is not significant overhaul to the substance of the rules themselves.  While my experiences may leave me a bit biased, until we see a comprehensive reassessment of the actual Bylaw language (promised in the next few months), I foresee this self-proclaimed “overhaul” as little more than a re-branding exercise.

*Hat tip to Brian Konkel for his work on this piece.

You Make The Call

Here's the play last week that resulted in a critical unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Dartmouth. Trailing by 14 points early in the fourth quarter, the Big Green had driven from its own 25 across midfield and was looking to make it a one-possession game when an underhanded lob of the ball by a Dartmouth player hit the official, who had just looked away. The Big Green was assessed a

Will UK tort law influence NFL decision to play games in London?

A couple of questions for UK sports lawyers:

1) If the NFL plays more games in London (as both NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and London Mayor Boris Johnson want), will the NFL be exposed to UK tort law regarding concussions and brain injury? 

2) If so, what might we expect?