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Crisler Arena: 5 things that need to be fixed…

Bill Martin’s lasting legacy as Athletic Director is impressive list of facilities built or renovated during his watch.
Football, baseball, softball, and wrestling are among the sports that now have top rate facilities.  Ice hockey has venerable Yost Ice Arena, with some of the most rabid fans in all of college athletics.
Virtually ignored during the building frenzy has been Crisler Arena.
Sure, new lights were installed and a new practice facility is on the way but the facility itself has some serious problems that need to be solved.
I believe that these problem would best be solved by having a crane working at Michigan Stadium “accidentally” knock the place down for the insurance money but what do I know?
Apparently the athletic department has no problem finding $226 million for Michigan Stadium which gets used eight or nine times a year but has to look through the couch cushions to scrounge together $20 million for renovating Crisler that three varsity sports call home.
So basketball is figuratively, and with new renovations to Michigan Stadium literally in the shadow of the football program.  From the steps of Crisler you can gaze on the incredible new football field house, and then glance over to the glorious new softball/baseball complex nestled next to Yost Ice Arena.
What does a revenue sport need to do to get some love?
Here are the things that any renovation need to to address.
1.  Add some character to the place
Crisler Arena has all the character of a K-Mart; bleak and depressing.  It’s the ugly building next to Michigan Stadium. Nothing about it says, Michigan, history or tradition.  It’s design cues echo the utilitarian cookie-cutter stadiums built in the late 1960’s and 70’s that have mostly (thankfully) been replaced.
2.  Lose the top rows
The view from the upper reaches of Crisler  Arena is terrible.  It’s like watching basketball on google earth.  Remove the top 5 or 10 rows and reduce capacity.  Make the venue more intimate.  Bring the crown into the game.
3.  Ditch the cushy seats
The seats at Crisler are nice and comfortable.  Like a movie theater.  They encourage you to stay seated.  Any renovation needs to look at some seats that encourage crowd participation.
4.  Fix the concourses
The concourses need to be opened up with more space and light.  Add more bathrooms.  Improve the display cases- use multimedia to highlight all UM sports and loop Big Ten network footage.
5.  Win
An energized crowd makes up for a substandard facility.  The team needs to be regular participants in March Madness not to mention competing for Big Ten Title.
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5 things the NCAA needs to do to get serious…

The word is out. 
Allegedly USC football coach Pete Carroll has escaped to the NFL just ahead of violations being imposed by the NCAA into benefits provided to former Trojan Reggie Bush.
This comes after former USC basketball coach Tim Floyd greased the palm of a handler to insure that top prospect O.J. Mayo became a Trojan.  
It seems that USC is treading dangerously close to the NCAA determining that there was a “…lack of institutional control” and the serious penalties that come with it.
First, let’s address the elephant in the room.  Michigan is no stranger to NCAA violations.  The Ed Martin fiasco which brought criminals Chris Webber and Robert Traylor to Ann Arbor crippled the Wolverine basketball program for nearly a decade.
We Wolverine fans have seen first hand what happens when the NCAA brings the hammer down.
But it’s not enough.  Too often coaches leave a program tainted with NCAA violations only to turn up at another school with a bigger contract and a clean slate.
The NCAA needs to make the following changes when a program gets caught breaking the rules.
1.  Release the innocent players 
It’s wrong for players to be punished for a violation that may have occurred prior to their attendance at a school.    The only fair thing to do is give them option to re-open their recruiting, transfer and be immediately eligible the next season.  Of course, unless they were part of the problem.
2.  Require coaches to have certification to be eligible for NCAA post season bowls or tournaments 
It’s very simple, if you’re on the coaching staff of the school that gets caught with major violations you lose your certification for five years.  Any school is welcome to hire you but (1) the school will get no revenue from the NCAA post season tournaments or bowls and (2) you will not coach in any post season games.  If you go to a pro league, the certification clock doesn’t start until you return to college.
3.  Widen the culpability for NCAA violations
There are far too many people who look the other way while violations are happening.   Too few people on coaching and athletic departments pay little or no price when a program gets busted for cheating.  The NCAA needs to encourage people to constantly be on the look-out for potential violation rather then looking the other way.  You need to make their future job prospects depend on it.
4.  Simplify the rules
The NCAA rulebook is a jumble of contradictions and unrealistic guidelines.  It needs to be simplified and streamlined to be easily understandable.
5.  Set a future date for adoption
Give schools two years for these new rules to simplified and prepare for the changes.
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2010 M Football- 10 things to leave in 2009

As a new year begins there are some things that are best left in the past.

1.  NCAA violations
Seriously, enough of this crap.  It’s bad enough that the NCAA is taking forever to investigate the first batch of allegations made by the Detroit Free Press.  Let’s hope that 2010 is scandal free.
2.  Teams we’re never heard of
Delaware State?  You know things are bad when a program’s band gets more press than the football team.  Unfortunately this one is already shot since Massachusetts and Connecticut are on this season’s schedule.  We’ll have to roll this over for 2011.
3.  Home for the holidays
OK, all the people who thought that it was just horrible that the football team would usually leave before Christmas for their bowl destination have been appeased.  Athletic department staff who haven’t spent Christmas and New Year’s Day with their in-laws for decades have made appearances two years in row now.  It’s time to get the football team, athletic department staff, and alumni traveling again.
4.  Big Ten Expansion
Expansion rears its ugly head again.  Move the season back if you must but ditch the idea of the league championship game.  Multiple divisions with some games against league teams counting and others not are stupid.  Rather than follow in the moronic footsteps of lesser conferences do something innovative to highlight more of the league’s top teams rather than just the top two.  Imagine a Big Ten/Big East challenge after the Big Ten season is over that matches the top the 5 seeds of each conference in neutral sites like Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.  The other conferences would be drooling to have that kind of exposure.
5.  Tate Forcier’s unflappable confidence
I love that Tate Forcier has great confidence.  However I an tired of hearing how losses don’t bother him.  Tate, seriously, they should bother you.  Not crush you- but they should motivate you to work harder.  The robotic quotes seem a little odd.  Show some fire…
6.  Potshots from the Michigan “family”
There a lot of people within the Michigan family who are both for and against Coach Rich Rodriguez.  Unfortunately some of those who support Coach Rodriguez have taken shots at the previous regime.  Coach Rodriguez is responsible for the Michigan football team from here out.  There is no way he would allow a current player to blame his current poor performance on the starter from two season ago.  We need to hold Coach Rodriguez to the same standard.
7.  Being swept by the “states”
The later part of Lloyd’s tenure as head coach Michigan certainly struggled with Ohio State.  But he absolutely owned Penn State and Michigan State.  It’s time for Rich Rodriguez to start new winning streaks against all of the “states.”
8.  Whining that the cupboard was bare
On the day that Coach Rodriguez took over the cupboard was hardly bare.  The first job of a new coach is to re-recruit players currently in the program.  For whatever reason many players decided to leave either by declaring for the NFL draft or transferring.  I have no problem with players leaving and Coach Rodriguez wanting to have his own type of players on the team.  But he had active role in creating the current roster.  For him to imply that the talent wasn’t here when he took over is disingenuous.
9.  Piped in music for every game
Eminem’s “Lose Yourself’ being played against Ohio State or Notre Dame is cool.  When it’s played against the likes of Delaware State or Eastern Michigan it’s a joke.

10.  Michigan Stadium being taken over by opposing fans
The best way to do this is for the team to start putting the smack down on the field.  Opposing fans hate showing up and seeing their team get whooped on the field.  This doesn’t mean for Michigan fans to treating opposing rudely.  Save that idiotic behavior for other schools.  Cheer loudly and let the team take care putting the smack down.
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2009 M Football- The year in photos…

Here are a selection of photos from the 2009 football season.

#1

When freshman phenom Tate Forcier suited up for spring practice I wondered if he’d be able to take the pounding of an entire season.  Tate’s progress was accelerated when returning starter Nick Sheridan was injured early in spring practice. From that point on Tate was the focal point at QB for the Wolverines.

#2
LB Obi Ezeh and DB Donovan Warren rest prior to media day.  Donovan would declare for the NFL draft after the season and Obi would lose his starting job.
#3
Players posing for a group shot during media day.  The good feelings would disappear during a disastrous game versus Illinois.
#4
The Wolverine drill.  One of the few times where media gets to see players go all out against each other.
#5
RB Michael Cox showed that he has the speed to be force for the Wolverines next season.
#6
Players rehabbing from injuries.  They insisted on having the photo taken,

$$PAGE$$

#7

The Wolverines take the field undet the coveted M Club banner.  Some traditions never change.

#8
Brandon Graham was a beast on defense.
#9
Craig Roh was a pleasant surprise on defense.  Just a little bit of holding…
#10
When Denard Robinson was in the game there was always the potential for an electryfying run.  Whenever he broke free it would cause complete mayhem for opposing defenses.
#11
Freshman QB Tate Forcier was a force of nature during the Wolverines’ 4-0 start.
#12
The Wolverines last second victory and endzone celebration.  Photo taken with an iPhone.

$$PAGE$$

#13
DB Donavan Warren seals the victory over Indiana with a great interception.
#14
The Wolverines put a gang tackle on the Eagles.  We didn’t see enough of this…
#15
RB Brandon Minor was a beast when healthy…
#16
The only way for teams to contain Brandon Graham was to double team him…and hold.
#17
RB Brandon Minor bulls through the Penn State defense.
#18
Next season the renovation of Michigan Stadion will be complete and the press box will be history…
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2009 Michigan Football- Upon Further Review…5 Things RichRod needs to do

It’s been a rough ride for Michigan fans.  Coach Rodriguez came to Michigan with high expectations, but his first season ended in bitter disappointment.

Many fans expected a much better second season, and certainly a 4-0 start seemed to show that things were heading in the right direction but the Wolverines were stung by a disastrous second half at Illinois and slid to a 5-7 finish making it two consecutive seasons without a bowl appearance.

The faith that many fans had that Rodriguez could turn things around has been shaken.
What can he do to turn the tide?
Winning will heal many wounds but that will have to wait for next season.
Here are some suggestions for Coach Rodriguez to start mending fences with the Wolverine faithful.
1.  Stop referring to Michigan as “…one of the top fifteen or twenty programs in America.”
Seriously, do you know how this sounds?  Every time you make a comment like this you’re flipping Wolverine fans the bird.  I’m not sure you mean to but that’s how it comes across.  We believe that Michigan is THE top program in America.
We expect you to act as though you believe that this is THE best job in America.
Start drinking the kool-aid or begin packing.  You need to sell yourself to the fans not the other way around.
2.  Learn your history
We’re not expecting you to recite chapter and verse of Michigan football history (we have John Bacon for that) but you need to a better job of embracing the tradition.
During Ohio State week, when reporters questioned whether you “understand the rivalry” you can’t pause when someone asks you about your favorite UM/OSU memories.
There are those who would say that this isn’t important.
Those people are wrong.
How can you hope to change a culture without understanding an organization’s history?  How do you know what to embrace and what to change?  The UM/OSU rivalry is baked into the DNA of every Wolverine fan.
Somebody handing you a “Beat OSU” button does not make you an expert on the rivalry.
I used to work with a former VP of Ford Motor Company who was concerned when Alan Mulally was named President & CEO.  He was worried that Mulally, being from Boeing, might not appreciate the heritage and tradition that set Ford apart from its rivals.  He wrote a letter congratulating Mulally and voiced his concerns.  Within a week Mulally sent back a handwritten note, thanking him and making it clear that he had done his homework to understand Ford’s history.
Mulally had a huge job ahead of him, but he took time learn about Ford’s heritage before he began re-tooling the company.
Coach Rodriguez might not give a rip about what happened before he came here, but your fans do.
Get with the program.
RichRod can do a better job of showing that he appreciates the great Michigan tradition.
3. Lower the drawbridge at Fort Schembechler
For the first half of the season, Coach Rodriguez allowed media to attend practice a few times a week. It gave people a chance to gauge the mood of the team and see backup players get work.  Then the Michigan Daily printed a detailed description about plays that Michigan was practicing and all of the media was banned for the rest of the season.
As the losses piled there was nothing else for the media to talk about but the poor play during games.
The lack of access contributed to rumors and speculation.  Press conferences became more confrontational.
In the context of the Detroit Free Press allegations of practice time violations, Coach Rodriguez should have opened up more practices not less.
When spring practice rolls around he needs to open things up again.
4. Reach out to fans
In small informal settings Coach Rodriguez does very well.  Unfortunately, his laid back demeanor doesn’t aways translate to press conferences or formal speaking events.  During the off season he should make an effort to get out in the community as much as possible.
Grab lunch at the Union, check out some of the concerts and other events on campus.  Sit in on some classes, make a few unadvertised visits to community events.
He still has the opportunity to win people over here.  He has the personality to do it, he just needs to make the decision to make it a priority.
He also needs to start using social networking to interact with fans who don’t live in the Ann Arbor area.
5. Take responsibility
Coach needs to man up.  Sometimes he implies that the team’s poor performance is the fault of the previous coach  not recruiting and/or the current players not getting the job done.
Coach Rodriguez is responsible for the team’s performance.
He needs to forcefully take responsibility and convince us that (1) there is a plan to fix this mess and that (2) he’s responsible for making sure it gets done.
No excuses.
And stop moping through post game press conferences.  It’s pathetic.
Go Blue!