Tone is so important.
From Michigan reporter John U. Bacon:
After talking with people who know more than I do, I believe Jim Harbaugh genuinely wants to stay at Michigan. He just “wants to know he’s wanted,” several told me, and it’s not about the number. (He gave back $1.5M to department employees to compensate for Covid cutbacks.)
As one said, “If you want to know what Jim thinks, just listen,” citing the times Harbaugh has said he’ll stay at Michigan “as long as they’ll have me.” It seems the rest is up to Michigan.
Oh this is really, really good.
So what we have here is a claim that Michigan is prepared to give Jim Harbaugh a blank check and Jim Harbaugh would like to sign it, and that the only thing stopping Harbaugh from signing it is…he doesn’t think they mean it?
This sounds like an area where couples counseling could help.
Dan Wetzel reported today (and John U. Bacon confirmed) that the actual holdup with a Michigan extension is that Harbaugh wants immunity from getting fired for cause over Michigan’s various crimes, and he and Michigan are squabbling over which crimes deserve immunity.
This is also really, really good.
I like the idea of Harbaugh bringing up this same negotiating point to the Chargers, with whom he interviewed today:
Harbaugh: So what’s your HR policy on espionage and buying someone a cheeseburger at an impermissible time?
Los Angeles Chargers: What?
Ohio State is Losing Too Quickly Again
Ohio State is our Team of the NITe of MLK Weekend, which might not feel like it, but is actually one of the more earnest gestures any team made these last three days. A lot of organizations posted about how cool the nonviolent resistance thing is, but Ohio State went out there and did it. There was no violence whatsoever in what passed for their resistance to Michigan in yesterday’s game.
The concern for Ohio State is that they are nonviolently resisting too quickly. This happened last year, too. The concern is that they are going to lose 48 games in a row again and miss the NIT. Slow down, Ohio State. Slow down.
Shaka Smart: Literacy Champion
Texas also took a big step closer to the NIT this weekend, losing to a bad West Virginia, but the worse news? Our state remains 49th in the country in literacy rate even as Shaka Smart brings more resources in for literacy efforts in Wisconsin through the three-million-dollar donation Marquette just received from Dwyane Wade. This is far from the first thing the Smart family has done for literacy, but I guess we in Texas must prefer something else.
The Game of the NITe
There were some strong contenders, but the nod toNITe goes to Georgia’s trip to South Carolina. Based on Silas Demary Jr.’s dad retweeting this vile graphic, my expectation is that Silas Demary Jr. is going to shake that ass again like he did on Saturday.
The Swansons Get Richer
Mallory Swanson signed a record-setting NWSL contract with the Chicago Red Stars, and—what were the Red Stars thinking? I feel like the Swansons made clear that they wanted to both be in Chicago. Maybe Mallory Swanson’s performance is worth more than $400K a year and she’s just so good that a team-friendly deal still sets records. I hope her work’s worth more than $400K a year. If that’s all the market there is for women’s soccer in America, I’m going to start questioning some prevalent narratives, and the last time I questioned prevalent narratives I ended up quitting my job to run an NIT blog. Don’t think for yourself, kids. I make no money off of this.
They Got the Wrong Jerry
I will say this for the Bulls fans who booed Jerry Krause’s widow on Friday night:
They were simply following orders.
If Aaron Rodgers should have known that his brief comments on Jimmy Kimmel would lead to the Kimmel family receiving death threats, Michael Jordan should have known that his decades-long history of criticizing Jerry Krause would lead to Bulls fans booing his widow at the moment Krause and the 1996 Bulls were inducted into the franchise’s new Ring of Honor.
Was it a good look?
No.
But the Bulls have been struggling to land free agents forever. You don’t think we can use this to pitch guys on coming to Chicago? “We will not only hate the people you tell us to hate. We will hate their next of kin. Should they die, we will hate whoever remains. Please win us another title. Please at least get us close again.”
Also, I think others are right when they’ve said some Bulls fans might have gotten Jerry Krause and Jerry Reinsdorf confused. It was Friday night! Long week. We’ve all heckled a widow after a Friday happy hour.
Poor Sharks
Amidst other collateral damage from the Steelers–Bills reschedulement (nope, that’s not a word, I’m seeing the red squiggles), the Sharks and Kraken each had to drop the puck very, very early yesterday on their body clocks. “Oh, it’s about letting our fans watch the Steelers,” the Penguins said, and the NHL moved both games. But it was sure convenient how making the Kraken play at dawn happened to open up more Steelers-watchin’ time.
(Adding to the Sharks’ indignity, they lost to the Sens on Saturday. Tarasenko. Right before the buzzer. Are the Sens back?? Bad time to play the Sens if you’re the Avalanche tonight.)
Is Dan Campbell the Best of Us?
I might…start a small professional army that fights battles on behalf of Dan Campbell? Like how kings used to have their own tables of knights? (I think table is the word for a herd of knights, like how a group of geese is called a gaggle.)
I’m not a Lions fan. I don’t have any ties to Detroit. This weekend, I told someone I’d probably never live in Detroit because I respect it too much and would feel like I was intruding on something sacred. But man, that old Kevin Clark article from The Ringer about Campbell is making the rounds, and I just love the guy. How can you not?
(We’re definitely about a year and a half from everyone outside of Michigan turning on Campbell. I hate this about us.)
Great Wild Card Weekend, and I’m not just saying that because getting stuck in Oregon (thanks to weather in Denver, somehow) let me watch the whole Packers game, which was even more fun as a Packers fan than watching the Lions. (If you can believe that!) I had a blast. They should break a helmet in every cold game. They should let Jordan Love look like the best quarterback in the world in every game, period. Good work, NFL.
Newcastle: Big Fans of Torture
The Athletic dropped a big story today (don’t worry, I got it on the $2.99 price again by switching email addresses) about Dr. Saad Al Jabri, former major-general of Saudi Arabia and reported ally to Five Eyes intelligence agencies. The story goes that Al Jabri is legally accusing Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of both LIV Golf and Newcastle United, of being involved in alleged wrongful arrests and torture of Al Jabri’s family members. Al Jabri has also accused the Saudi government of trying to assassinate him, but The Athletic’s story doesn’t include mention of that, making me think LIV Golf and Newcastle United were not involved in that particular attempted murder.
So, hopefully Newcastle fans feel good about who they’re dealing with. LIV Golf, too, of course, but I feel like we were already pretty clear on how LIV Golf feels about torture. (I think there’s another, pettier reason I don’t like Newcastle, but boy, I can’t remember it these days.)
On the topic of wrongdoing…Everton broke financial rules again. Allegedly? I don’t know if I have to say allegedly here or not. Maybe they’ve been convicted. Maybe I’m free from libel suits if I’m in America and they’re in England. Maybe nobody’s going to read this anyway! Just in case: Allegedly. Nottingham Forest, too. Very Robinhood of them, though. Nottingham should get to do financial crimes. But only when they’re bad or giving it to someone else who’s bad. Like Everton.
On the topic of torture…Burnley got beat again. Technically it was a tie, but they had the win, and then they didn’t, and some would say that VAR should have ruled the play a foul and that since it didn’t it’s odd they have VAR at all. Some were saying that. I don’t comment on other countries’ video review systems.
Jabeur vs. a Russian Teen
Our favorite tennis player, Ons Jabeur, would never kowtow to the Saudis, but she is evidently sponsored by them, so let’s move on to her opponent tonight in the Australian Open’s second round: Mirra Andreeva. A 16-year-old Russian phenom. It is no stretch to say that Jabeur is playing for the future of the free world. (Tunisia’s still kind of a democracy, right?)
What Position Will Louis Rees-Zammit Play?
Pivoting away from the Middle East (we need to stop blogging about the Middle East), Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit is leaving rugby to try a career in the NFL. I am so curious. He was a winger and a fullback, and I don’t really know what those mean. I see pictures of him carrying the ball, but everybody carries the ball in rugby? He’s listed on Google at 6’3” and 216 lbs, but he looks more yoked than that. Maybe fullback is a position that transcends the football–rugby divide.
