The Victors
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Outback Bowl
(№ 11) South Carolina 33-28 Michigan (№ 19)
8-5, 6-2 Big Ten

Curses! What is there to say about the valiant Wolverines' defeat at the hands of the epithetless Gamecocks? The good: The valiant Wolverines had every chance to win the game. They were not intimidated by the higher-ranked South Carolina, nor did they pack it in when faced with adversity. The bad: The valiant Wolverines were bested because they made the same old mistakes, settling for field goals instead of touchdowns too often on offense & giving up big pass plays on defense. The ugly: Giving up a kick returned for a touchdown is never pretty. At least the valiant Wolverines' special teams play redeemed itself somewhat by later blocking an attempted epithetless Gamecocks field goal. (Still, that left the special teams with a -4 point differential.) Devin Gardner might yet blossom into a great quarterback, & he'd certainly have benefited from playing the entire '12 season at back-up quarterback, instead of being misallocated as a wide receiver for much of the year, but right now he makes too many errant, erratic throws & is too indecisive as a runner to be a consistent threat. The valiant Wolverines' defense's Achilles's hell continued to be its Achilles's heel: coverage on deep passes. That has been the weak link in an otherwise smothering defense for each of the last two seasons, & has been the only problem the excellent defensive coaching staff have been unable to fix with improved coaching; we thus have to hope that the next generation of recruits have what it takes to fix this greatest vulnerability.

All in all, anyone who kept a level head knew that the valiant Wolverines overachieved in '11-'12, & that replicating that sterling record in '12-'13 would be a tall order. That said, five losses never sits well with a Michigan man. True, three of those losses came to the teams ranked № 1, № 2, & № 3 in the A.P. poll (Notre Dame, Alabama, & Ohio State), & three came to teams ranked in the B.C.S. top-ten (Notre Dame, Alabama, & South Carolina), but all that is cold comfort. Five losses are five losses, & we have not won Big Ten championship in a very, very long time. There are question marks in my mind & dread in my heart for next year, because so much of the valiant Wolverines' offensive success game from the unorthodox, improvisational genius of Denard "Shoelace" Robinson, who has not exhausted his N.C.A.A. eligibility. I do not rue this, for such is the nature of college sports, & the fleeting nature of college careers is what makes a player's maturation & success so rewarding to witness. Still, we shall have to find some way to replace all those yards, all those points, & I fear that we will be unable to do so. (Of course I'm ending thos post on a down note. The bloody season ended on a down note, didn't it? The New Year got off to a rotten start with our Outback Bowl defeat, didn't it?)

Still & all, there is the eternal, essential mantra of the jilted sports fan: There's always next year.

Go Blue!

This Week in Motorsport
Tourists
World Touring Car Championship
Rounds 5 & 6
Race of Morocco
Sunday, 15 April 2012

Rounds 7 & 8
Race of Slovakia
Sunday, 29 April 2012

Rounds 9 & 10
Race of Hungary
Sunday, 6 May 2012

Rounds 11 & 12
Race of Austria
Sunday, 20 May 2012

Watching the W.T.C.C. is a outside the norms of my usual motorsport experiences, because there is a new race broadcast every weekend, instead of the normal two- to four-week pauses 'twixt rounds. During the actual W.T.C.C. season there were exactly such pauses, but not so in Speed's off-season broadcasts. This is not a complaint, merely an observation.

The most interesting thing about the last several W.T.C.C. rounds has been the variety of tracks visited, many of which I'd never before seen. The Race of Morocco marked the first races I'd ever seen from the African continent, though I had before seen clips, the briefest snippets of the old F1 South African Grand Prix & the legendary Dakar Rally. The course, a street circuit carved out of the heart of Marrakesh, was not itself particularly interesting, but I was still glad for the relatively exotic locale. The Race of Slovakia was held on the Slovakia Ring, a fantastic venue just outside of Bratislava that was finished shortly before the '08 financial crisis & subsequent global economic funk, meaning it has not seen as much racing as it deserves. The same weekend that Speed broadcast the W.T.C.C. races there, they also broadcast the first of two G.T.1 World Championship races from the Slovakia Ring. The more I saw the track, the more I liked the cut of its jib. The Race of Hungary was held on the tight & tortuous Hungaroring, well known to me as the site of the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix. I love the Hungaroring & am glad for any chance to see it raced. The Race of Austria at the Salzburgring was the most picturesque racing circuit I've ever seen. The circuit flows along the contours of an alpine valley &, with blue skies & the sparkling death rays of the Accursed Sun shining down, it was a pretty as a postcard. The racing was good, too.

The W.T.C.C. isn't always the most nail-bitingly exciting series, what with the domination of the works Chevrolet Cruzes, but given the right circuit, such as all those discussed today, it features some great racing. I'm very glad to be seeing the 2012 World Touring Car Championship, & not just as something to watch during the motorsport off-season.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Bob & Doug McKenzie, "Twelve Days of Christmas" Great White North (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: With apologies, I had to get one more in, & with the secular/sacred divide in the R.B.D.S.O.T.D.'s celebration of Christmas, the sacred twelve days of the Christmastide exclude the secular "Twelve Days of Christmas," a song of which I'm quite fond.

The McKenzie bros., icons of all things Canuck, also seemed apropos on the first busines day after the tentative end o' the N.H.L. lockout.