The Victors
(№ 23) Michigan 12-10 Michigan State
5-2, Big Ten 3-0

There is nothing else quite so thrilling, quite to nerve-racking as a close football game in which your club prevails. Yesterday's victory by the valiant Wolverines over the dastardly Spartans was just such a game, one that had me on tender hooks. The low point for me was not the dastardly Spartans' first down on a fake punt, for by this time I expect such trickery from that snake Dantonio, M.S.U.'s head coach/chief of unsportsmanlike conduct. It was our own fault for not being prepared for such a trick & I hope our special teams coach was given a stern rebuke for his failure to prepare his players. No, the low point was the fourth quarter touchdown that wasn't, when the ball was thrown slightly behind Jeremy Gallon, but still in a position to be caught by any minimally competent receiver. This was such a bitter blow not principally because of the individual Wolverine's failure to perform, but because those kinds of missed opportunities are a leading cause of defeats. The valiant Wolverines have made undeniable progress under Coach Hoke & his staff, but are not yet fundamentally sound enough as a team to waste those sorts of opportunities & still except to prevail. That the valiant Wolverines prevailed despite such mistakes is due principally to the tenacious & aggressive play of the defense squad. Well done, lads! That said, the offensive squad rose to the occasion when the dastardly Spartans turned the ball over in the last two minutes, & advanced to a position from which the game-winning field goal was kicked. The valiant Wolverines remained perfect at home under Coach Hoke & won an important rivalry game.

Victories over the dastardly Spartans are curiously hollow affairs. Though I take great joy in this individual humbling of the snake Dantonio, a vulgar, petulant, & infantile wretch, a win over Michigan State isn't nearly as pleasing as a win over, to pick a random example, Ohio State. You see, Michigan State shouldn't be hard to defeat. Sure, there is the in-state rivalry to consider, with all its attendant emotions & complications, but beyond that, if I might be so bold as to speak for my fellow Wolverines, we don't consider Michigan State any sort of equal, not even remotely. We don't respect Michigan State because… well, what is there to respect about Michigan State? That was unkind. State's animal husbandry & packaging engineering programs are world-class. Beyond that, though, they are boorish illiterates who delight in the public torching of furniture & who wouldn't know sportsmanship if they called its grandmother a whore to her face. They are entirely unpleasant company, & that's without even mentioning the curious, unsettling stench that permeates East Lansing & clings to every unfortunate soul who spends more than a few fleeting hours in those unfortunate environs. So, victories against the dastardly Spartans are not great achievements to be celebrated, they are simply restorations of the proper order a things, a proper order that in their heart of hearts even Spartans admit to themselves. Mike Hart's remarks struck such a nerve because they reflected a truth that was universally perceived but never before properly articulated; Michigan State is Michigan's "little brother," & yesterday little brother was restored to his rightful place of subservience. So, now that that aggravating little sideshow is behind us, the valiant Wolverines can resume the business of vying for the "Legends" Division title & a berth in the Big Ten championship game.

Go Blue!

This Week in Motorsport
By Endurance We Conquer
American Le Mans Series
Round 10
Petit Le Mans
Saturday, 20 October 2012

The 15th Annual Petit Le Mans was a wonderful reminder of why I so love endurance racing, & a lovely close to an A.L.M.S. season that saw my enthusiasm for the series renewed & my first attendance at a race weekend. There was concern for the grandeur & relevance of the Petit Le Mans after the race was left off the inaugural F.I.A. World Endurance Championship (W.E.C.) calendar, but the international flavor was retained by the inclusion of the European Le Mans Series competitors, in a rescheduled & trans-Atlantic finale to their abbreviated season. Swiss team Rebellion Racing, P1 privateer champions of the W.E.C. (there is a trophy for the best of the privateers, separate from the World Championship for the big factory teams from Audi & Toyota), set the pace & earned the victory, traversing one thousand miles around Road Atlanta in under ten hours. Petit Le Mans, the W.E.C. privateer trophy, & a fourth place at the 24 Heures du Mans—only one spot off the podium, ahead of one of the imperious Audi R18s, & best amongst privateer P1 entries; Rebellion has had a most laudable 2012. Congratulations, gentlemen!

Season-long A.L.M.S. battles were decided, with Muscle Milk Picket Racing winning the P1 championship over Dyson Racing & Level 5 Motorsports winning the P2 crown over rivals Conquest Endurance. Corvette Racing wrapped up the G.T. title at the previous round at V.I.R., but all credit to Extreme Speed Motorsports for winning Petit in a lightning quick Ferrari. The № 3 Corvette—driven by Jan Magnusson, Antonio Garcia, & Jordan Taylor—finished second yesterday, approximately thirty seconds behind the Ferrari, making 2012 the first A.L.M.S. season in which Magnusson has not won a race. Drat & curses! Still, season victory for Corvette!

The Petit Le Mans is contested over one thousand miles or ten hours, whichever comes first. Such a race is simply unsuited to being chopped down into a two-hour programming block; so, I took the decision to watch as much of the race as I could (taking a definite back seat to the Michigan-Michigan State football game) live on ye olde interweb. The streaming feed on espn3.com was somewhat improved from that last time I watched it in '11. The commentary was provided by the splendid chaps from Radio Le Mans, mad-dog endurance racing fanatics after my own heart. Watching online, in real time, provided a sense of the race that E.S.P.N.'s butchery had never captured. Petit is a marathon—the action waxes & wanes, the race twists & turns as the leaders tick off the laps. Long races have moods, fits of pique & pathos. A thousand miles have a rhythm & a sense of ordered chaos that does not translate into two hours of numb highlights. I am tremendously glad I watched much of the race online in real time. (Even better, as part of the A.L.M.S./Grand-Am merger, next year the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring & the season-closing Petit Le Mans will be broadcast live on Speed: on television, in real time, from flag to flag, it's like I'm dreaming!)

That wraps up the fourteenth & penultimate season of the American Le Mans Series. The racing year is winding down; there are four F1 grands prix left, two more World Rally Championship rounds (including the one run this weekend that I won't see 'til later tonight or tomorrow), & the final leg of the W.E.C. Thanks for reading.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Avril Lavigne, "What the Hell (Bimbo Jones Remix)" from Goodbye Lullaby (T.L.A.M.)