I am always impressed when I see great examples of leadership. On Saturday I was really impressed with Ohio State redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud following their loss to Michigan. During the game OSU had five false start penalties that really hurt some of their drives. When asked about the false start penalties following the game, this just turned 20year-old would not allowing the linemen to be blamed for the false starts. He took full responsibility for the false starts saying it was his fault because he lost his voice during the week. While that didn’t stop him from playing the entire game and completing 34 of 49 passing attempts for 394 yards and two touchdowns, it did affect his ability to communicate with his teammates on the field. His voice was hoarse, and Michigan Stadium was loud, and he felt that was a big reason why Ohio State had five false start penalties against the Wolverines. I guarantee his linemen took notice and will go above and beyond to protect him in the future. With leadership skills like this, C.J. Stroud is going to go a long way in life both on and off the football field. See my Quote of the Day
I have been around sports all my life. I very rarely get very emotional. When officiating I was usually very calm. I just enjoy the athleticism that is on display and appreciate the competition. Yes, I want my team to win, but I don’t get upset if they lost and played hard with effort. So why does a 70-year-old man, who has been around sporting events all his life, get so emotionally involved when watching Michigan football games. I don’t know what it is, but I find my self squirming in my chair, clapping, slamming the arm of the chair, etc. If they lose, it affects me for hours after the game. It took me until the next morning to calm down after their loss to MSU earlier in the season. Last year, I had to stop watching. I have no idea why this happens only with Michigan football. It doesn’t happen with Michigan basketball or any other team I root for. The funny part is that football is my least favorite of the four major sports. Maybe I need to talk to someone about this
Lee Elder passed away today at age 85. He and Charlie Sifford were the Jackie Robinson’s of professional golf. Sifford was the first African American to play and to win on the PGA tour, while Elder was the first African American to play in the Masters.
Michigan is number one but not in the way we want. Today, we set our all-time high in hospitalizations due to Covid. Michigan reached a new record of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday with 4,181 hospitalized with confirmed cases of the virus, the most since the pandemic began. In the state, more than 80% of total hospital inpatient beds and 84% of intensive care unit beds are full, according to the state health department. Hospitalizations have been increasing for 19 weeks, and Michigan continues to have the most cases and highest inpatient bed use in the country. The rising number of hospitalizations in Michigan is putting Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System’s occupancy at 98% full and intensive care units are 95% full across all its hospitals, Dr. Dennis Cunningham, the system’s director of infection control and prevention, told The Detroit News on Monday. “We’re in high capacity right now. The patients who come into the hospital with COVID are almost always not vaccinated,” Cunningham said. “There are a small number of people who are vaccinated and come in the hospital, but they have immune systems that don’t work really well either because they’re the elderly or underlying medical problems like cancer or an organ transplant.” Please get vaccinated. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for those around you and the healthcare workers and healthcare systems that are overwhelmed as we head into flu season. We need our healthcare workers to be well rested and fresh when they are taking care of patients. Please do your part.
Stay Safe. Social Distance. Wear your mask when indoors in public places. Schedule your vaccine and booster.
Orchid of the Day: To Coach Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverine football team for their impressive victory on Saturday against the OSU Buckeyes. It has been a long time coming.
A Special Orchid of the Day: OSU redshirt freshman quarterback, C.J. Shroud. See above story.
Onion of the Day: The Michigan redistricting commission for refusing to share with the public the two memos they used to guide their most recent recommendations.
Quote of the Day: “I don’t know what type of sickness I have but I’ve been sick all week. I’ve been just trying to get right, trying to get my voice back after the game. Sometimes you gotta play sick. I lost my voice earlier in the week and I can’t really yell, so I’m trying my hardest to yell, So I don’t really blame my line, I blame it on me for getting sick at the end of the day. So I tried my hardest to be as loud as I possibly could, and when you get yourself out of whack like that, it’s hard to bounce back.” OSU quarterback, C.J. Stroud
Great story about CJ Stroud.
Michigan played beautiful football.
Mike
MIke,
Thanx so much. I hope Lorenzo reads it.
Tom, I am always impressed by you. Your message about the virus and strain on families and the hospital system from a retired University of Michigan professional is important. Your message about the Ohio State QB, C.J. Stroud from a Michigan Man is true and shows your class.
He seems to be a great kid but I am glad Michigan took it to them.
Mike,
Thanx for the kind words. I am having fun writing the blog. It has been over 18 months since I started it. I try to share what is important to me by giving my perspective. Keep in touch.
Biggs
Hi Tom! You forgot one…Orchids to A2 students and fans for not burning couches nor overturning cars – Signed Ann Arbor Firefighters! Go Blue 💙! Hail 💛〽️
Gail
I like it. I had that same concern after seeing the crowd on the field. Fortunately, I think the noon start helped. The majority of students weren’t drunk yet.