Gator Bowl Open Thread

Ah, finally. 

After three loooong years, Michigan is back playing in a New Year's Day bowl.

Leave us your thoughts, comments and general whatnot on the Michigan/Mississippi State game as well as any musings on all the January 1st bowls here.

Happy New Year and Go Blue!

(Picture via Jeremy and his website, The Art. The Art. The Art!  If you haven't seen it yet, check it out for some fantastic Michigan wallpapers)

Jordan at 23

Jordan and Jamie at the 2009 Rede Reunion in Portland

In the next hour or so I expect to hear the front doorbell ring and there, standing on the porch will be my youngest son and his wife.

As hard as it was for me to come to terms with being 58, it won't be a big deal to have Jordan turn 23. The number seems to fit him. Since getting married in November 2009, he's seen a lot and done a lot, thanks to the military, and done a lot of maturing, thanks to his sweet bride, Jamie.

After they got married, they moved to El Paso and the ironically named Fort Bliss, where life was anything but. Jordan went on training manuevers in the desert mountains north of El Paso and, to the west, the barren terrain of New Mexico. He tried out for the Special Forces (Army Rangers)  in North Carolina and then, earlier this year, he got transferred to Joint Base Lewis-McChord outside Olympia, Washington, about 100 miles north of us.

It doesn't surprise me that Jordan is able to take all the physical training and tedium of the military in stride. He's always loved physical activity and challenges, whether it's skateboarding or wrestling, snowboarding or camping, and he's generally a patient person, although, I'm sure, even he has his limits when asked to inventory the same items he and his fellow grunts accounted for the day before.

Most of all, it seems he has settled nicely into the role of a young husband who's loving toward and supportive of his wife.

It's fun to think back on his different phases and interests, such as ... When he dyed his hair blond and did all kinds of skateboarding tricks in middle school. ... When he took up break dancing, then progressed to mixed martial arts. ... When he lived alone for a few weeks on our Orcas Island cabin, subsisting on part-time summer jobs helping out on a local farm and working in a restaurant kitchen.

Killer Burger baskets

As he's grown older, it's nice to see the bond he has with Nathan and Simone grow ever stronger. I think there is mutual aspect amongst the three of them, who each bring different talents and personalities to the table. They've taken him under their wing in certain ways but there's no doubt that he's flying on his own now: A married man, serving in the all-volunteer Army, and training to be part of a Stryker Brigade at the same time that he remains a kid at heart, laughing out loud at "Elf," guzzling root beer and cuddling his orange-and-white kitten, Mr. Biggs.

If all goes according to plan, we'll take him out to dinner at Killer Burger -- his first time there -- and then come back to tear into his favorite dessert, a chocolate wafer cake with layers of whipped cream.

Randomness in the Warmth of a New Year

Today's temps were in the low to mid 60's today, and although that doesn't feel quite right for a New Year's Eve, it did make for a productive day. With the garage door open and Gideon dozing on the front porch, it was easy to start the chore of taking down Christmas decorations.

Next year Harleigh will be living off-campus, getting an apartment with sweet Anna, a new friend this year and one who lives close by us, in Roswell. We've started brainstorming about the apartment. We will have a lunch with Anna and her mom within the next couple of weeks and will talk about the living area of the apartment — couch, tables, lamps, etc. But in the meantime, we've started thinking about Harleigh's bedroom and bathroom. And when I say "thinking," I mean "thinking thriftily." We'll begin now, amassing furniture and decor; much easier on the budget that way. And so we went to several thrift stores a few days ago and found this dresser for $60. She fell in love with it and it's now in our garage. I love how the drawer pulls are not all the same. She wants to keep it black and white, and it's a piece that will stay with her forever and will probably enjoy many coats of paint in its lifetime.

After picking up the dresser today, I had to (had to, mind you) stop in Goodwill. It was, after all, right next door. Found these Strawberry Shortcake pillowcases (Harleigh will love them).

This Shabby Chic queen-sized duvet cover.

Two homemade Christmas tablecloths. Can never have too many of these.

And this Holly Hobbie fitted sheet (another for Harleigh's bed). And all of these for under $15.

I should have known I'd have good linen luck today. It started this morning when I met Sarah for coffee. A friend I've always felt a special connection with. And although we don't see each other or even talk all that frequently, we pick things up as if we've never been apart. I cherish every word we exchange. Here is the sweetest of kitchen towels she gave me.

Happy New Year to everyone who visits me. May 2011 be a special one, in ways we don't even know yet!

With love,

Dawn E. Girl

Lights out

NECC

Earlier this week, we signed up to become members of LA | Fitness. It was a long time coming but it made sense for a number of reasons.

Although Lori owns her own gym, there's limited time and space for her to work out, considering that she has two trainers, a yoga instructor and a massage therapist in there at different hours as subcontractors. As for me, I've kept my membership at the Northeast Community Center (the old YMCA) in our former neighborhood, out of loyalty and a fondness for the old-school vibe. It is, after all, the gym where our kids played Y basketball and indoor soccer and where I continue to swim two or three days a week and occasionally lift weights.

By joining LA | Fitness, we'll get a better deal (just a few dollars a month more for the two of us versus my dues at NECC) and it'll be just four blocks from our home, with expanded hours and newer facilities. Plus, we can go together from time to time.

I suppose it was inevitable that we'd make the switch. Two things happened this week that made me realize it was time:
-- After a swim on Monday, I went to the sauna, noticed the room was pitch black and flicked on the switch. Nothing. Just a deep voice from the darkness. "The light's out. You can come in." Uh, OK. "Where, exactly, are you? Top bench? Lower bench?"
-- Thursday, I got up earlier than usual and got to the pool about 6:10. Only other one swimmer was there, not yet in the pool, but then the lifeguard approached. "There's a water aerobics class starting in five minutes. It lasts till 7. You're welcome to stay." Uh, thanks, but no thanks. Not my thing.

Yeah, I should have known better about the schedule, but it was a reminder that I have to work around the times when the pool is not open to lap swim. That shouldn't be a concern at the new gym. Nor the lack of a light bulb in the men's sauna.

Heading out now to take Otto for a walk. Then off to the pool for the last swim of 2010.

111 Navy Chair, CLÁSICO COMPROMETIDO CON EL MEDIO AMBIENTE

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La silla

Peinados pelo corto mujer

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Peinados pelo corto mujer

El pelo corto no es para todos. Hay varias cosas que uno debe considerar antes de tomar un atajo, lo que incluso su forma de la cara, así como el cuerpo y la condición de su cabello.

Peinados pelo corto mujer

Peinados pelo corto mujer

Peinados pelo corto mujer

Peinados pelo corto mujer

Peinados pelo corto mujer

Know Your Foe - Mississippi State 2010

As hard as it is to believe, it really has been 34 days since the season ended with (another) humiliating defeat at the hands of the Buckeyes in Columbus. Believe it or not, It really has only been 34 days of "Is he going to get fired today?" -- to me it seems like 344 days. Tomorrow the 2010 Michigan Wolverines end their long and strange journey in Jacksonville at the Gator Bowl against Mississippi State. If someone had told me in August we would be playing in a New Years Days bowl - I would have smiled and signed up in a second. But somehow this rough journey back to college football mediocrity has not been as fun as I thought. Here are some essential facts about our foes from the deep south.

History: The school was created by the Mississippi State Legislature on February 28, 1878 as The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi (or Mississippi A&M). As you would expect with a name like that, it was one of the national land-grant colleges established after Congress passed the Morrill Act in 1862.

This new university received its first students in the fall of 1880 under the leadership (and presidency) of former Confederate General Stephen D. Lee. Lee is famous for being the youngest Confederate Lieutenant General in the American Civil War. Lee was the officer that first delivered the "surrender and evacuate" ultimatum message at Fort Sumter to start the war. After the wars started he fought and led troops in many major battles including the Peninsula Campaign, Second Bull Run, and Antietam where his cannons played a prominent role in defending the ground near the famed Dunker Church. He was also taken as a prisoner of war after the fall of Vicksburg, was returned to the Confederate Army during a exchange and eventually wounded in the Battle of Nashville. He fought until the bitter end of the war, finally surrendering with Joseph E. Johnston's troops in April 1965.

Other important dates: In 1932, the Legislature renamed the university as Mississippi State College. In 1958 it was again renamed the university as Mississippi State University after Graduate programs had been established. In July 1965, Richard E. Holmes became the first African-American student to enroll at the school.

Location: Mississippi State is located in Starkville. It is the state of Mississippi's largest university and is also the largest employer of Starkville and dominates the city's economy. Artifacts in the form of clay pot fragments and artwork tell us that the Starkville area has been inhabited for over 2100 years. The modern European settlement of the Starkville area was started after the Choctaw inhabitants of Oktibbeha County surrendered their claims to land in the area in the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. A mill southwest of town provided clapboards which gave the town its original name, Boardtown. In 1835, Boardtown's name was changed to Starkville in honor of Revolutionary War hero General John Stark.

The town is the birthplace of National Baseball Hall of Famer Cool Papa Bell. In 1965 Johnny Cash was arrested for public drunkenness, though he described it as being picked up for picking flowers, spawning a song and the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival which is held each year. In 2006, Starkville became the first city in Mississippi to adopt a smoking ban for indoor public places, including restaurants and bars.

Academics: The university offers 78 bachelor's degree programs, 59 master's degree programs, and 35 doctoral degree programs. listed among the "100 Best Values in Public Colleges" in Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine. The list recognizes institutions that are "noteworthy for their combination of top flight academics and affordable costs." Now listed at 88th, it is the only Mississippi institution included in the national publication's annual survey. Forbes magazine has ranked Mississippi State University among the top 20 of its top 100 best college buys in America.

Ask any SEC fan which school has the worst academic reputation in the conference, and more than likely you will get told: Mississippi State. According to the US News & World Report National University Rankings. the school is ranked 151st. This is good enough to make MSU the 2nd ranked school in the state of Mississippi, behind Ole Miss (ranked 143rd nationally).

Alumni: Famous Mississippi State people include WorldCom whistle blower and 2002 Time co-person of the year, Cynthia Cooper. Former DOW Chemical president Hunter W. Henry Jr. and Fred Carl, Jr., Founder and CEO of Viking Range. Mississippi State also educated former US Senator and reformed racist John C. Stennis. Notorious American gangster Machine Gun Kelly lived in Starkville and enrolled in the university to study agriculture in 1917.

Famous ex-MSU athletes include former baseball stars Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro, Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon and Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter. Former football stars D.D. Lewis and Fred Smoot and former basketball player Eric Dampier.

No former US Presidents or Astronauts.

Nickname, Mascot, Colors, Helmets, and Fight Song: They call themselves the Bulldogs, but MSU teams have answered to a couple of different nicknames through the years. The first squads were called Aggies. When the school officially became Mississippi State College in 1932 the nickname changed to Maroons. It wasn't until 1961 that Bulldogs became the official title for teams. Yet references to bulldogs actually go back to early in the century, and this nickname was used almost interchangeably with both Aggies and Maroons, since at least 1905.

As is the case with several SEC teams, there is some confusion with mascots (Ole Miss Rebels/Black Bears & Auburn Tigers/War Eagles comes to mind). Nonetheless, a live bulldog was first used official game mascot in 1935 when coach Major Ralph Sasse sent his team to Memphis to select a bulldog puppy. They named him Ptolemy and the Bulldogs Maroons promptly defeated Alabama 20-7.

A litter-mate of Ptolemy became the first mascot named 'Bully I' shortly after Sasse's team beat mighty Army 13-7 at West Point. This is considered the greatest victory in MSU football history. But "Bully I" earned other fame the hard way, in 1939 he was killed by a campus bus. Days of campus mourning followed, as Bully lay in state in a glass coffin. A half-mile funeral procession accompanied by the the Famous Maroon Band and three ROTC battalions went to Scott Field where Bully was buried under the bench at the 50-yard line. Even LIFE Magazine covered to the event. Other Bullys have since been buried by campus dorms, fraternity houses, and also at the football stadium.

On November 15, 1895, the first Mississippi A&M football team was preparing for a road trip to play Southern Baptist University. Since every college was supposed to have its own uniform colors, the student body requested that the school's team select a suitable combination. Considering making this choice an honor, the inaugural football team gave the privilege to team captain W.M. Matthews. History records that without hesitation Matthews chose Maroon and White.

Only once has a MSU team appeared in any other color combination. In 1938 football coach Spike Nelson secretly had cardinal and gold uniforms made, a selection that did not sit well with the team or the college at the first game. Neither the uniforms nor Nelson were back for the next season.

They currently wear maroon helmets with maroon face masks adorned with a simple block M/State ribbon combo. During the years 2004-2008 they wore white helmets with a similar logo. They have also used an interlocking MSU helmet logo in the recent past. In general, the MSU helmets are about as generic as you will find in the SEC and all of college football.

The words and music for the Mississippi State Fight Song called "Hail State" were written by Joseph Burleson Peavey in 1939.



Hail dear 'ole State!
Fight for that victory today.
Hit that line and tote that ball,
Cross the goal before you fall!
And then we'll yell, yell, yell, yell!
For dear 'ole State we'll yell like H-E-L-L!
Fight for Mis-sis-sip-pi State,
Win that game today!

What is the deal with these Cow Bells? Cow bells are a significant part of any Mississippi State University experience. The tradition began after a jersey cow wandered on to the football field in the early 1900s, disrupting a game. Subsequently, they won the football game, and the cow became a symbol of good luck. Eventually, the cow was replaced with just the cow's bell. Handles were welded onto the bells to ease ringing, and cowbells are now manufactured and sold specifically as athletic noisemakers.

Cowbells seem to be as important to MSU fans as winged helmets are to us. They decorate offices and homes of alumni and they are passed down through generations of Bulldog fans. These bells are not heard at Southeastern Conference games (not legally, at least). In 1974, the SEC vote 9-1 to ban them issuing a conference rule against 'artificial noisemakers' at football and basketball games. Don't worry -- Michigan will hear them loud and proud during the Gator Bowl.


Football: Mississippi State is a charter member of the Southeastern Conference. They have been playing football at Mississippi State since 1895 and the SEC has been around since 1932. In that time, the Bulldogs have won exactly one SEC conference title (1941). They also won the 1998 SEC West division -- but lost to Tennessee in the SEC title game.

Their primary rival is the University of Mississippi. They play annually in a trophy game called the Egg Bowl. Ole Miss leads the series 41-60-6. The Bulldogs also have a heated, yet lopsided rivalry with Alabama and their game is sometimes referred to as the "90 Mile Drive" or the "Battle for Highway 82". Alabama leads that series by an astounding 17-73-3 record.

Mississippi State has an all-time bowl record of 8-6, highlighted by wins in the 1941 Orange Bowl, the 1963 Liberty Bowl, and the 1999 Peach Bowl. Most recently, the Bulldogs defeated the Conference USA champion UCF Kinghts 10-3 in the 2007 Liberty Bowl. Saturday will be the first bowl appearance in for Head coach Dan Mullen, who in direct contrast to the Michigan coaching situation just signed an expensive extension.

Nick Bell: On Tuesday, November 2, 2010 Mississippi State defensive end Nick Bell died after a short battle with cancer. He was 20 years old. Bell, from Bessemer, Ala., was diagnosed in late September after experiencing headaches during football practice and had surgery in October to remove a mass from his brain. He had another emergency surgery a few weeks later after it was found that the cancer had aggressively spread throughout his body. Bell played in four games this season, starting two, including his final game against Georgia on Sept. 25. He made seven total tackles, including two for a loss. He played in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2009, making 16 tackles.

Other Sports: Not many people think of this, but the Bulldogs are much more of a basketball school. They have had a lot more success on the hardwood, including nine SEC championships, ten NCAA tournament appearances, and a Final Four in 1996. They also have a pretty strong baseball program, making eight College World Series appearances, the last being in 2007.

I could not find any record of NCAA titles in any sport, but in 2009 the disc golf club won the National Championship at the Collegiate Disc Golf Championship in Augusta, Ga.

The Game: This will be Michigan’s third appearance at the Gator Bowl. Bo brought his Wolverines against Lawrence Taylor's North Carolina Tarheels and lost 17-15 at the 1979 Gator Bowl. In 1991, Desmond Howard had his coming out party as Michigan curb stomped Ole Miss 35-3.

I expect this game to be very much like many of our games this year. High scoring, entertaining, and ultimately resting on Denard Robinson's capable shoulders and our defensive ability (or inability) to make stops. I would not be surprised if Michigan comes out like we did against UConn: crisp, confident, and dominate the game. But then again we could come out and play like we did against the other "State" schools we played this year (Michigan State, Penn State, and Ohio State) causing me to start my annual New Years Day channel surfing early and dreaming about a new era.

End of the day prediction?

Michigan: Jim Harbaugh
Miss State: Dan Mullen

Peinados faciles de hacer

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Peinados faciles de hacer

Elegir el peinado derecho como un adolescente puede ayudar en una multitud de niveles para inspirarse de las siguientes fácil de hacer cortes de pelo que le ayudará a buscar en minutos.

Peinados faciles de hacer

Peinados faciles de hacer

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Peinados faciles de hacer

Peinados faciles de hacer

Peinados para una boda

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Peinados para una boda

Peinados para una boda

Peinados para una boda

Peinados para una boda

Looks Like I'm Going To Make It

Unless I am accosted by a four hundred pound Samoan, and force fed like a Turkey Vulture hatchling, Mongo is going to complete the month of December sans ice-cream. I have lost seven pounds so far by doing nothing different other than eliminating this evil deliciousness from my goat-like diet.

You Can't Measure This Kind Of Torque

Mongo ended a good day on the Barchetta, doing the Hammerfest loop and chatting with the folks at the shop, by shearing a cog off of my cassette...luckily only a couple of miles from my house.

The watts readout from my Powertap hub that I don't own would have read in the fifteen hundreds...at least!

BREAKING NEWS: Tate Forcier ruled ineligible for Gator Bowl

Sophomore QB Tate Forcier was ruled ineligible for Michigan's Gator Bowl game against Mississippi State on Saturday "for not meeting university standards."  Michigan will not discuss the reasons behind the suspension citing privacy issues although many assume it's for academic reasons.

No word at this time if coach Rich Rodriguez, AD Dave Brandon or the Gator Bowl CEO are lobbying school or NCAA officials in order to have the suspension postponed until the 2011 season.

Brett Favre

Brett Favre is a joke to football. He should have stopped while he could. He is still trying to play football and is making people think he is a horrible Quarterback. Ten years ago he played as a Hall-of-Famer, but now he is playing as a washed up no good QB. Brett Favre should have stopped playing awhile ago but just thinks he is still good so he will try some more. Last night Brett's consecutive starts ended at 297. He could have ended his career as a Hall-of-Famer but now is being questioned as a good player.

-Scott Deters

Vestidos oreiro

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Para que tu estilo y personalidad se vean únicos tu figura amerita unos buenos vestidos ya que el lucir bonita y bella siempre te ha caracterizado, con ese toque que solo tu sabes agregar al elegir lo mejor para ti, aquí te dejamos algunos diseños que te serán de mucha ayuda y te veras súper femenina.

Porque necesitas un vestido que valla de acuerdo a tu estilo y forma resaltando tu figura, checa estos diseños te encantaran, estos son vestidos oreiro modernos.