The Victors
(No. 20) Michigan 42-37 Massachusetts
3-0, Big Ten 0-0

There are two ways to looks at the valiant Wolverines' nail-biting victory over the epithetless Minutemen of UMass: {a} a near-disaster that portends doom & gloom for the future or {b} a near-disaster that augurs well for the future. The {a} school of thought runs thus: Michigan entered the game ranked in the Top 25 & yet barely scrapped by an F.C.S. (the old Division 1-AA) team. The defense was atrocious & the offense frustratingly streaky. All is lost, the wise Maize & Blue fan would start drinking heavily now. The opposing {b} view, to which subscribe, runs thus: Michigan was caught unprepared against a seemingly lesser team, made innumerable errors, & yet still managed to pull out the win. The last seven words of that sentence are paramount. We must remind ourselves that it was Lloyd Carr, nor Rich Rodriquez, who was Michigan's coach in 2007 when we became the first F.B.S. (the old 1-A) team in history to lose to an F.C.S opponent, the Appalachian State game that is known as simply "The Horror." Michigan's defense was atrocious, there's no denying that, & the offense was absent from the game for long stretches of time, even when it was out on the field. The epithetless Minutemen were relentless, playing all sixty minutes, but so too did the valiant Wolverines. Too many time in the past we've seen our boys in the Maize & Blue collapse in the face of adversity, especially if that adversity is self-inflicted. But on Saturday, the valiant Wolverines kept fighting. They barely won, that's true, but they could easily have lost.

To my mind, the best explanation for Saturday's close escape is twofold. {a} We were arrogant, both the valiant Wolverines & we their loyal fans in the "Michigan nation." In the week following the emotional win over the vile Fighting Irish of our hated rival Notre Dame (ranking second or third amongst our trio of rivals), we all spent too much time in blissful, idle pondering about the growing legend of "Shoelace" Robinson, and far too little time preparing for UMass. The valiant Wolverines were caught napping early, and were never quite able to get themselves into proper game shape, though again, and I repeat this because it is vital, they were able to wrest victory from the jaws of defeat. {b} 'Tis a cliché for a reason: any given team can beat any other given team on any given day, that's why they play the games. Saturday was the Minutemen's day, & the valiant Wolverines were lucky to hang on for the win by the skin of their teeth. (We must not forget that if any given team can beat any other given team, then any given team can fall to any other given team. Capricious fortune will play her part & will not be denied.)

The upcoming games against Bowling Green & Indiana should be very instructive, letting us know which is true, the first paragraph's {a} or {b}. And if it is the first paragraph's {b}, will this confirm the second paragraph's {a} & {b}? As a fan, there's nothing to do of a practical nature by wait & see. So, we wait & we shall see. And while we wait, we should be grateful for the win, because ever since The Horror we've grown far too accustomed to the agony of defeat; however much Saturday's victory might not have been thrilling, any victory is infinitely preferable to another lamentable defeat.

Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Thin Lizzy, "The Boys Are Back in Town" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: As I was motoring along in Lumi yesterday, I could not stomach the interview on All Things Considered of some washed up old hack who never had any talent to begin with, Robert Plant, I think. I could nto switch over to the primarily classicla music N.P.R. station, because it too carries both Morning Edition & All Things Considered. The oldies station was in commercial. The alternate oldies station was in commercial. (This is why I started listening to public radio in the first place, back in the '90s.) As as last gasp before turning the radio off or popping in a cassette tape, I tried the classic rock oldies station. And there is was, "The Boys Are Back in Town." The lyrics are mediocre, but, by Jove, it's hard to beat that guitar riff. "The Boys Are Back in Town" would have been the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. for Monday, but once I learned what mischief was afoot online, "Virus Alert" was the only song that would fit the bill.

Montag, 20 September
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Virus Alert" from Straight Outta Lynwood (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: Between 5:27-5:30 P.M., an unknown agency seized control of my Yahoo! email account & transmitted four emails to a number of people the account's address book. Those illicit emails contained hyperlinks that must be assumed to harbor malicious content. I know not how to investigate this incident, with an eye toward preventing its recurrence by attacking the problem at its source, but I have changed my Yahoo! password & shall henceforth always sign out from the site after checking my email, instead of leaving myself signed in on my H.A.L. Any amongst you who received the offending emails have my sincerest apologies for the attack & for any resultant damage. I am sorry, my friends.

"Soon, very soon, it will make all
The paint peal off your walls.
It'll make your keyboard all sticky,
Give your poodle a hickey,
And invest your cash in stock in Euro Disney.
Then it will tie up your phone
Making prank long-distance calls,
It'll set your clocks back an hour,
And start clogging the shower;
So, just trash it now or else it will
Decide to give you a permanent wedgie,
Legally change your name to Reggie,
Even mess up the pH balance in your pool!

(Look out!)
It's gonna melt your face right off your skull!
(Look out!)
And make your iPod only play Jethro Tull!
(Look out!)
And tell you knock-knock jokes while you're trying to sleep!
(Look out!)
And make you physically attracted to sheep!
(Look Out!)
Steal your identity and your credit cards!
(Look Out!)
Buy you a warehouse full of pink leotards!
(Look Out!)
Then cause a major rift in time and space,
And leave a bunch of Twinkie wrappers all over the place!

That's right, it's a
Virus alert!
Delete immediately
Before someone gets hurt!"

Sonntag, 19 September
Dropkick Murphys, "The State of Massachusetts" from The Meanest of Times (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: Ignoring the lyrics & themes of "The State of Massachusetts," Saturday's game against the University of Massachusetts was certainly amongst the meanest of times.