Monday, January 28, 2013

Michigan is Back on Top


Everyone seems to think 13 is an unlucky number, but I don’t think the Michigan Wolverines would agree. Michigan has been highly ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll since Preseason, but never broke the No. 2 spot until lucky Week 13. Michigan finally captured the No. 1 ranking which they haven’t done since 1992!

The top ranking is very exciting for the Wolverines, yet frightening at the same time. The No. 1 team doesn’t always hold their position very long, especially in recent weeks! Michigan hosts Northwestern on Wednesday which shouldn’t be a problem, but they do have a tough road game against No. 3 Indiana on Saturday that might knock them down. As much as I would like Michigan to walk away with the ‘W’ and stay on top of the AP Top 25 Poll, I know it is going to be difficult at Assembly Hall. Win or lose, the game will be very competitive and who isn’t a fan of that?

I wanted to celebrate Michigan’s No. 1 ranking, even if it is short lived, so I decided to get myself a new Michigan t-shirt. It’s awesome so I wanted to share it with you guys and for any of you who didn’t know where the title of my blog, Champions of the West, came from, now you do! 



Thursday, December 13, 2012

Five Reasons to Hate the South Carolina Gamecocks

2009 Outback Bowl
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Every Wolverine fan can rattle off an endless list of reasons why we hate the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan State Spartans, but I don't think the same could be said for the South Carolina Gamecocks. With the Outback Bowl in the near future, there is no better time than the present to start making a list of reasons why everyone should hate Michigan's bowl game opponent so here are my top five reasons why I hate the Gamecocks!

  1. Their school colors. South Carolina’s school colors are garnet and black. I know my rant has just begun, but I’ll pause so everyone can look up what garnet looks like because nobody actually knows what color that is? Now that we've all educated ourselves on garnet, we can move on. Garnet is basically burgundy so both of their school colors are dark which is dumb. 
  2. They live in South Carolina. Yes, players are recruited from all across the country, but during the school year, the players live in South Carolina where it is warm year round - at least compared to Michigan - and rarely snows. People in Michigan may be used to the cold, but that doesn't mean we don’t dislike it and despise everyone that lives in warmer climates. 
  3. Their mascot. First of all, I'm bitter because I wish Michigan had a mascot. Second, they seriously couldn't come up with anything better than Cocky? To all the students yelling "Go Cocks" and then giggling at football games, you're hilarious and very mature. Don't get me started on what I think about the 'We Love Our Cocks' shirts! I bet parents love explaining why that shirt is so funny.
  4. Their school abbreviation. YOU ARE NOT USC. University of Southern California is USC so how do you shorten University of South Carolina? You don’t and that is annoying. 
  5. They’re in the SEC. I don’t feel the need to explain myself here.

Guest post by Brandon Parks from Wolverine Planet, an online store that carries Michigan apparel for men, women, and kids as well as Michigan merchandise for your home, office and car!

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Should the Big Ten Just Throw In The Towel?

Ohio State University

Yay expansion!

Yep, the Big Ten stands to make a bunch more money serving up games to two of the nation's biggest markets which are overrun with alumni of Big Ten schools. That's great. But after watching what transpired this past weekend, isn't anyone concerned with the product that we're putting on the field?

If this were a TV show, I'd compare it to the first season of Breaking Bad. The Big Ten is Jesse - he has no concern whatsoever for the quality of the product he's making (in this case, meth laced with...chili powder) while Walter cranks out impeccable SEC quality meth knowing full well that his long term success depends on the quality of his product.

Well kids, the two best teams in the Big Ten are on probation. Even after having contributing players defect Penn State, who lost to Ohio University...not THE Ohio State University, still managed to be the second best team in the league behind the probationated (yes, I just made that up) squad from OSU, who managed to squeak by the rest of the duds in this conference to a 12-0 season.

But let's be realistic here, would OSU be favored against any of the other top teams in the country? With the possible exception of Notre Dame, I'd say Alabama, Georgia and Oregon would all be definitive favorites over the best of the Big Ten.

So with the further expansion adding two other miserable teams to a floundering conference, how does this help? Long term, it's going to be hard to sell a further declining product, but whether the powers that be even care is a story for another day I guess.


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Friday, July 20, 2012

Michigan Stadium > Ohio Stadium


The Wolverines are 4 months and 4 days away from playing their biggest rival, Ohio State. The rival, known as The Game, alternates between the two schools each season. Michigan hosts the game in odd years and Ohio State hosts in even years meaning the upcoming match-up will be at Ohio Stadium. Alternating The Game each year makes sense, but Michigan hosting the game every year would make more sense. Yes, it would give Michigan home field advantage, but Buckeye fans, stop complaining, Columbus is just over 3 hours away. If you really want to come and cheer on your team, it isn’t that long of a trip. The most notable reason The Game should be at Michigan each year is the stadium size. Michigan Stadium isn’t nicknamed “The Big House” for no reason. It can hold 7,572 more fans than Ohio Stadium. Bottom line, Michigan Stadium has always been and always will be bigger than Ohio Stadium and the graph below is proof.



Clearly, Michigan Stadium is bigger and better, but The Game will continue to alternate between schools. Michigan fans, make sure you are decked out in maize and blue Michigan apparel for the 2012 game, it will make Ohio Stadium look a little better. 

Friday, June 15, 2012

A Little Look at a Big Campus


                The University of Michigan is regularly categorized as one of the best public universities in the country and well-known for a variety of academic areas. Michigan offers 200 undergraduate majors to their students and has numerous top-ranked programs including law, medical, business and engineering. These programs are scattered across U of M’s 3,177 acre campus. The Ann Arbor campus is divided into four main areas: the North, Central, Medical and South Campuses with each area having prominent features.
                Making a move from Detroit to Ann Arbor in 1837, the original location of the University of Michigan is known as Central Campus. Central Campus stands out for housing the oldest building on campus, the President’s House, which is the only building still standing from the original campus. The majority of Michigan’s graduate and professional schools such as the Ross School of Business and the Law School are located in Central Campus. A graduate library and undergraduate library that are connected by a skywalk are also located in Central Campus. Adjacent to Central Campus, the University of Michigan’s Medical Campus is often considered to be part of Central Campus due to its proximity. The Medical Campus is the newest area and continuously growing. Currently, the University Medical Center, Cancer Center, and Women’s Hospital are all located in Medical Campus.
                Beyond Medical Campus is the University of Michigan’s North Campus. North and Central Campus both have unique bell towers. The North Campus tower, Lurie Tower, mirrors the modern architecture of North Campus while the Central Campus bell tower has more of a classical style. North Campus also holds Bursley Hall, which is the largest residence hall at the University of Michigan. The College of Engineering, the School of Music, Theater & Dance is located in North Campus along with the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Additionally, the Art, Architecture and Engineering Library along with computer labs, music and video studios are located in North campus in the Duderstadt Center. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and the Bentley Historical Library are also part of North Campus.
                The University of Michigan’s South campus hosts the universities major sports facilities. The Crisler Center is the home arena for the men’s and women’s basketball teams along with the women’s gymnastics team. Previously, the men’s gymnastics team and the wrestling team held events in the Crisler Center. The seating capacity of the Crisler Center was reduced in 2011 due to a new scoreboard and seating replacement. Prior to competing in the Crisler Center, the basketball teams played in the Fielding H. Yost Fieldhouse. Located in South Campus, the Fielding H. Yost Fieldhouse was renovated in 1973 and became the Yost Ice Arena. Home to Michigan’s varsity ice hockey team, the arena has a seating capacity of 6,637. The seating capacity of the Yost Ice Arena is nothing compared to Michigan Stadium. Commonly referred to as The Big House, the third largest stadium in the world has an official capacity of 109,901. In addition to being the home field for Wolverines football, Michigan Stadium holds the universities graduation ceremonies and special events.