Michigan’s football team will have some new threads this fall (and for many years to come). The new uniforms are courtesy of adidas. Michigan has been in a relationship with Nike for many years, so this is a huge change for the university the traditionally has been a leader in merchandise sales.

Some cool points about the jerseys. They have Bo Schembechler’s historic quote, “Those who stay will be champions” embroidered into the hem of the shirt. There are also silicon inserts in the sleeves commemorating all of Michigan’s 42 Big Ten championships. I think that these 2 things give me a small sense of hope that all tradition is not lost at Michigan. It shows me that Rich Rodriguez is at least aware that tradition is very important at Michigan. Can Michigan retain it’s tradition as a football powerhouse even though the offense that’s on the field will be decidedly un-Michigan? I guess this is an indication that the answer could at least be maybe.

Now comes the question of like. Do I like the new jerseys? I like the plain home blue jerseys but I’m not a huge fan of the maize stripe on the away white unis. There has been a maize stripe on the away uniforms for a while that was fairly unperceptablel, but these are a bit wider. All in all, I like the traditional elements that have been brought in, and at least they don’t look like Cal’s or Rodriguez’s last stop West Virginia. Or even worse, Oregon.

All this hoopla about the Kansas football team last fall, and now KU’s incredible comeback victory in the NCAA tournament, the phrase ‘Rock Chalk Jayhawk’ has been thrown around a ton.

In an effort to educate myself, I visited Wikipedia (where else would I go for that type of information?) and found that there is a lot of tradition and cool back story to the chant.

I’m still not totally sure I know what it means, or why commentators insist on show-horning it into every other sentence that deals with the University of Kansas. I’m all for school spirit but things are a bit out of whack when Jim Nantz’s championship call is “Rock Chalk Championship”.

There is some good news and some bad news.

Good news first:

• If Memphis could hit free throws, I would have locked up my second consecutive Vigilante Sports contests

Now for the Bad news:

• Memphis cannot in fact hit free throws when it counts
• Mario Chalmers can drain a prayer of 3 pointer to tie the game

All that to say (through gritted teeth), congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks who picked up the 2008 NCAA National Championship. Also congratulations to Mark Smith, who bested everyone in the 2008 Vigilante Sports NCAA Bracket Challenge.

I do have to say that Mark and I both picked 45 games correctly. His counted for more and he picked up the win. I will definitely be back to bring the still non-existent trophy back to it’s rightful owner… ME!

We all remember Maurice Clarett don’t we? Today Terrelle Pryor announced that he’ll be playing football for Ohio State this fall. Pryor claimed that he thought that OSU gave him a better chance to make the NFL.

By that did he mean, “They don’t really care how long I stay here, they just want to use me for a year or two”? Or was is more like, “I see too many Michigan quarterbacks in the NFL already, I want to be the next Troy Smith, or Joe Germaine”?

It’s all really hard to tell. Pryor, by most accounts, is a prima donna, with an entitled attitude. Exactly the kind of guy I don’t want as the capstone to a new program. I much prefer that Coach Rodriguez builds the program from the ground up. Contrary to what Terrelle Pryor thinks, he’s not bigger that the Ohio State football program, and he’s certainly not bigger than the Michigan football program.

I hope the reason that Pryor chose OSU over Michigan is that Rodriguez didn’t coddle the young man and that’s what Pryor wanted or needed. It sure seems like this kid has talent, I hope, for his sake, he doesn’t blow all of that talent, but washing out at Ohio State. Granted, the prospects of Michigan beating Ohio State this fall are pretty slim no matter what. Coach Rodriguez has a lot of work to do to mold the Wolverines into his team. But when he does, I want Ohio State to be in top form. It’s just more fun to beat them when they’re ranked number 1.

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It’s Mid-March and the brackets were released today. It’s time for the Third Annual Vigilante Sports NCAA Bracket Challenge. We’ve have 2 great years, let’s make it 3. Last year we doubled the amount of entries in our Challenge. Let’s do that again. If you’re interested please post a comment. It will submit your email address to me, but not show it to the public. I’ll take care of your email address (ie. not share it with anyone else). So, submit a comment and I’ll get you an invite to the greatest (or at least the most fun) bracket challenge around.

There hasn’t been any money on the line and there still won’t be… but fame and glory will be yours as you might add your name next to mine on the non-existent Vigilante Sports NCAA Bracket Challenge Championship Trophy. And that’s not too bad.

If you participated last year, you should have already received an email inviting you back.

Ryan Mallett has left the building. Shembechler Hall to be more specific. The freshman quarterback is going to transfer to another school, sit out next season and play his remaining 3 years of eligibility at another school.

This sucks.

I predict that Ryan Mallett will win the Heisman trophy. Wherever he goes. He’s that good. As a freshman he stepped in with poise, and was a major part of Michigan’s return from their horrible start to this season.

He’s rumored to be heading to Tennessee. But other options are Texas A&M, Arkansas, and UCLA. UCLA seems like the best fit for him. With new coach Rick Neuheisel wanting to make a splash and open it up. But it looks like Tennessee with hire former Michigan offensive coordinator Mike DeBord, and quarterbacks coach Scott Loeffler. He obviously gained confidence in them as coached in his time at Michigan. If that scenario does happen, look for the Vols to return to the national title hunt when Mallett takes over.

What does this mean for Michigan. Well, I hope that it means that this clears the way for blue chip recruit Terrelle Pryor. National signing day is February 9th. If he really is the next Vince Young, I want him in Maize and Blue.

After about a month of misfires, and hiccups Michigan announced Rich Rodriguez as their new coach on Sunday. They will formally announce it on Monday at a press conference. To take the job at Michigan, Rodriguez is leaving his post as West Virginia’s head coach, a job that he has held since the 2001 season.

During his time with the Mountianeers, Rodriguez revitalized that program and brought it back to National prominence. He is responsible for the largest turnaround in Big East history. The year he took over West Virginia went 3-8, but followed that season up with a 9-4 record, a top 25 ranking and a birth in a bowl game. The Mountianeers have been to a bowl game every year since, with 2 of the last 3 of those being BCS Bowl games.

I definitely have mixed feelings about this hire. It will drastically change the offense that Michigan plays. Michigan is and has always been a run first team. And when I say run first, I don’t mean the quarterback. Rodriguez is widely known as the creator of the spread option offense. The spread option offense is all the rage now in college football. Pundits have mentioned that it will soon be adopted in some way in the pro game. For me, that’s good and bad. I would love to see Michigan as the prototypical offense in college football. The offense that can lead the country, and be an example to all other programs. But I have to admit, I’ll miss the 3 yards and a cloud of dust. It’s what I’ve grown up with.

This also calls into question the future of Ryan Mallett, who I believe will win the Heisman trophy before he heads to the NFL. But will it be in a winged helmet? His father has gone on record that Ryan will “keep and open mind”. Already clouding the Wolverine quarterback position is blue chip recruit Tyrelle Pryor who is tailor-made for Rodriguez’s spread option. He has said that Michigan was just added to his short list of schools because of the arrival of Coach Rodriguez.

So what is my overall feeling on this? I’m a fan of this move. Rich Rodriguez has a long and proven track record of winning. I like that in a coach. I think that the Michigan athletic department could have done a much better job in filling the coaching vacancy. I would have loved to see Les Miles on the sidelines at the Big House. But all things being equal I am happy with Rich Rodriguez too. I need to see how he recruits. That will be the final test.

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So, let me get this straight. Les Miles doesn’t want to coach at Michigan, but he does want to ‘assist’ them in finding a new football coach, ‘as any loyal alumnus would’? Sounds a little fishy to me. Especially if I’m LSU AD Skip Bertman. All of this said while in the middle of a recruiting trip. One would guess he was recruiting for LSU, but who knows Miles might again be ‘helping’ his alma mater.

Of course I’m playing, and making light of it. But it does cause me to wonder. Is Les Miles going to bolt LSU after the National Championship Game on January 7th? Make no mistake, I want him as the head coach at Michigan, but it certainly does call into question the ethics of Les Miles. I would never go so far as to put him in the same category of the snake with ties to the state of Michigan (albeit Michigan State ties), Nick Saban, who left LSU after leading them to a National Championship.

Is it a matter of Les Miles’ heart strings are getting pulled too hard for him to resist? Or is he compromising his ethics?

Well that certainly puts a dent in plans to bring Miles to Ann Arbor. Apparently Miles had no interest in the position. According to Skip Bertman, LSU’s Athletic Director, Miles never held that over their head. He sure could have. I’m glad to see that he didn’t.

One thing that causes me pause… Why? Did he know he could make better money and sit in a hotbed of talent? If that’s the case, what does it say about Michigan? Are they not willing to spend the money? If we ever find out down the line that money was a factor in this at all, I’m gonna be pissed. Michigan has the money.

So, who are the leading candidates for the coaching vacancy in Ann Arbor? Kirk Ferentz? Bobby Petrino? Cam Cameron? Jeff Tedford? Greg Schiano? Bob Stoops?

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I know he emphatically said that he was the coach at LSU, and the he would be the coach at LSU, and that the media was doing him and his team a disservice by reporting that he would take the job coaching the Michigan Wolverines. He also said that he felt bad for Michigan fans because of the rumors. Blah, blah, blah.

LSU won the SEC Championship, and earned a spot in the BCS National Championship game. Good for them. Sunday Michigan AD said that he has not spoken with Miles about the position. I’m not sure that he has to. I’m pretty sure everyone is aware that Miles is the leading candidate. It seems that the job is his for the taking.

Will Miles stand up in front of the media, and his team, and the LSU chancellor and say that he can’t wait to get to Ann Arbor? Hell no. What he will do is go through the back channels, let Bill Martin and all involved at Michigan know that he is very interested. They’ll keep the seat warm. Trust me. Les Miles is the guy they want. He’s a Bo guy. He’s a Michigan guy.

It will take some deep pockets to secure Miles, but Michigan is consistently at the top of the list of NCAA merchandising, and licensing. So money isn’t the issue. They have it. They may need to wait until January 8th to spend it. But they will.