For The Love of Sport: A Look Back

Without a doubt, the number one story has to be the Michael Vick saga. That's a story that has taken just about the entire length of the NFL season to play out. It started just before training camp and is still playing out here in mid-December. It's almost as if this story is a doppleganger for the season itself. The evil twin, maybe? The Mitchell Report is proving to be pretty big as well. I don't follow NASCAR, so maybe the Junior story is actually quite a bit bigger. As far as Appalachian State (they play the I-AA championship game tonight. Go Mountaineers!) beating Michigan, I'm afraid that the upset was more of a chapter in a bigger story: the fall from grace that is Michigan football. Not only did they lose to Appalachian, but the following week, they got absolutely destroyed by Oregon. Couple that with the embarrassing performance against USC earlier in the year in their bowl game and you got yourself a team that is in deep doo-doo. I'm not sure what this says about the Big 10 as Michigan almost ran the table on the conference. (And whatever happened to Michigan's basketball team?)

posted by NoMich at 12:56 PM - reply - flag:

Without a doubt, the number one story has to be the Michael Vick saga. For all sports? In the whole world? And really..."saga"? Yeah, Beowulf got nothin' on MV...

posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:44 PM - reply - flag:

I guess I just got caught up in the US bias of the article. Sue me. That's right, take me to court and sue me. That would be a saga, yessirree indeedy. How 'bout this then: team Mclaren caught doing a bit of industrial espionage on team Ferrari in Formula One action. That's pretty huge.

posted by NoMich at 01:56 PM - reply - flag:

"the fall from grace that is Michigan football" I wont even dignify that statement with a resonse NoMich

posted by B-2 Spirit at 08:11 PM - reply - flag:

How about with a response? Grammer aside, NoMich speaks the truth. Michigan has failed to adapt in an evolving game. The players are getting faster and quite frankly Michigan has been incapable of keeping up. Teams with a mobile quarterback have shredded them, even former unknowns from North Carolina. If Michigan is looking to have any success in the coming years some major changes have to be made. Much of that statement can be said for the Big Ten as well. The success of Illinois this year is a testament to how much a mobile quarterback (as well as overall team speed) can help a team.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 08:20 PM - reply - flag:

Terry Bowden pretty much said the exact same thing about the Big 10 earlier this season, YYM. Even right down to the Illinois observation. You should get a job as an analyst. Not that I'm a Michigan fan (I grew up on the Michigan State side of the great divide), but I'm really interested in who they'll hire, or who they try to hire. Are they going to go after a coach that understands today's dual-thread QB game and that speed is king? Or will they go after an old-school Big 10 type of coach? And isn't this interesting? (I also should add that I think that Michigan can easily right their football ship.)

posted by NoMich at 08:36 PM - reply - flag:

Very well Ying Yang . . . "p"

posted by B-2 Spirit at 01:05 AM - reply - flag:

I imagine those five stories would be some of the biggest in North American sports in 2007. In the spirit of Supertramp's "Crisis What Crisis?", I'd nominate in the rest of the world: - the Rugby World Cup, as an example of a major sport living out a crisis on the field - the Cricket World Cup as an example of a major sport living out a crisis off the field - the continuing crisis of doping in athletics (e.g. Marion Jones) and in the Tour de France - Iraq, a country in crisis, winning the Asian Football Championship

posted by owlhouse at 03:44 AM - reply - flag:

Michael Rasmussen being fired by his team just a few hours after winning the decisive mountain stage of the Tour de France, whilst wearing the yellow jersey. That was pretty damn big. Oh, also that time Jose Mourinho's dog became a fugitive, heroically evading arrest from London's finest police officaers.

posted by afx237vi at 09:28 AM - reply - flag:

I think the pressure is on Michigan to hire somebody who does not meet the mold of an old-school Big Ten coach and little, if any, Michigan history. Michigan went for Les Miles and it ended in a fiasco, right now I believe they're desperate for a talented coach who will actually take the job. Personally I think Rich Rodriguez would be a fine choice, especially with what he has done at West Virginia. I also should add that I think that Michigan can easily right their football ship. Agreed. Even with their disappointing season (and seasons prior to this one), Michigan is still a major football school that recruits very well. With a good coaching scheme in place and the right players to execute they'll rebound in no time.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 09:47 AM - reply - flag:

Since it wasn't mentioned in the article, I feel obligated to pimp my Colorado Buffaloes win over then #3 Oklahoma. Clearly not the biggest sports story of the year worldwide......but it was for me.

posted by ksb122 at 09:52 AM - reply - flag:

I guess I just got caught up in the US bias of the article. Sue me. Guilty as charged. I can only apologize to the international audience. Its kind of a catch-22, I could write at great length about international sports but then most of the comments would then take a distinct "wow this guy knows absolutely nothing about futball, rugby, cricket etc." the continuing crisis of doping in athletics (e.g. Marion Jones) and in the Tour de France Owlhouse is right. It also turns out that I am just as guilty as the media in making Barry Bonds the personification of the doping scandals that have plagued sports for the last several years when the problem is really institutional.

posted by kyrilmitch_76 at 05:47 PM - reply - flag:

Personally I think Rich Rodriguez would be a fine choice, especially with what he has done at West Virginia. I also should add that I think that Michigan can easily right their football ship. YYM, you and NoMich said it all right here. If that school up north can get Rodriguez, more power to them, and him. He has proven that he is ready for a team with the tradition, the power, and the size of that place up north. Your football team was not the best this year, but they weren't horrible either. They lost a couple of games they shouldn't have, oh well the season is over. Time to look ahead to a new coach, and new year. I wish them the best in the hunt for a coach, honestly I do. Otherwise my favorite rivalry game will start to be no fun anymore.

posted by jojomfd1 at 05:56 PM - reply - flag:

In defense of Kyril, he said five of the biggest ad not the five biggest. Though I was expecting even so to see Mourinho's departure slipping in.

posted by billsaysthis at 09:37 PM - reply - flag:

What about England and their disastrous manager choice, then failing to make Euro '08?

Friday, December 14, 2007

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