The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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4 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2019 FOUR GOALS FOR THE FALL Dear The Wolverine, Last football season ended with ex- tremely disappointing blowout losses to Ohio and Florida. At the end of the year, I thought the only box that Jim Harbaugh had not checked was a win over Ohio. In retrospect, I think there are four major goals for the team this year to be considered successful: 1. Beat State at Michigan Stadium — we are 0-2 so far in the Harbaugh era against them at home. 2. Beat Notre Dame — we wanted the series, so we need to back it up by winning at home. 3. Beat Ohio — please and finally, just win. 4. Go to Indianapolis and win a Big Ten championship. This may sound like a tall order to achieve all four, but in the fifth year of the Harbaugh era, it is time to start winning championships. We have talked and dreamt about returning to the glory days, now it is time to back it up on the field. P.S. The motto for this season: Win in December. David Reed Lake Orion, Mich. ENJOYED BASKETBALL SEASON DESPITE THE ENDING Dear The Wolverine, The stellar ending of the Big Ten championship game in 2018 and the record 17 straight wins to open the 2018-19 Michigan basketball season led to high expectations for 2019. Note that high expectations were achieved. A 30-win season is not a failure by any measure. However, when the sea- son ends on the downer that was the Sweet 16 for Michigan, it is just that — a downer. The beauty of sports is that in so many ways it mimics life. Life does not always result in our desired outcomes. Wow! Too much philosophy in try- ing to resolve my feelings as I watched Texas Tech dismantle Michigan. I al- ready had too much philosophy ad- justment with the three losses to Michi- gan State. Need I add the OSU and Florida losses to end the previous foot- ball season? The "bug" for success of Michigan football and basketball has had a long incubation period for me, so forgive my dwelling on philosophy. Having lived through the successes and fail- ures of these programs, I have reached equanimity with them. My takeaway from the Texas Tech game came after a postgame interview by Coach Beilein. He said something along the lines of: "That was a veteran team that we played tonight. We have a young team and we will have a lot of guys returning next year." Spot on! It conjures up one of my fa- vorite sayings, which is that success is a journey, not a destination. It returns me to my comment at the beginning regarding expectations. We will have high expectations for next year, but it will involve commitment and hard work to meld those veterans into win- ners. Success is not a given in sports or in life. We will have a team full of veterans to lead them. Thank you, John Beilein, coaches and players for an exciting and suc- cessful season of Michigan basketball. And now on to Michigan football. Go Blue! J. Richard Jaconette, M.D. Battle Creek, Mich. May 2019 • Vol. 30, No. 9 ISSN 1048-9940 Editor John Borton The Wolverine.com Editor Chris Balas Football Recruiting Writer Brandon Brown Staff Writers Austin Fox Drew Hallett Editorial Intern Andrew Hussey Managing Editor Ryan Tice Contributing Editor Steve Downey Layout And Design Jeanette Blankenship Chris Miller Contributing Photographers Lon Horwedel Per Kjeldsen Cover Photo Per Kjeldsen Publisher Stu Coman Business Manager Linda Autry Marketing/Merchandise Manager Beverly Taylor Director Of Advertising Michelle Delee-Hamilton Customer Service Cathy Jones, Gail Evans The Wolverine is published monthly. A one-year (12 issues) subscription is $56.99. The Wolverine is printed at The Papers in Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Wolverine, P.O. Box 2331, Durham, NC 27702. Periodical postage paid at Durham, NC 27702 and additional offices. For advertising or subscription information, call 1-800-421-7751 or write The Wolverine, P.O. Box 1304, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. The Wolverine is a publication of Coman Publishing Company, 905 W. Main St, Suite 24F, Durham, NC 27701. E-Mail Address: thewolverine@comanpub.com Subscription questions: cjones@comanpub.com Website: www.thewolverine.com Be Heard! Send your letters to: Wolverine Letters • P.O. Box 1304 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Or e-mail: ryantice@comanpub.com Letters may be edited for clarity or length. FROM OUR READERS Jim Harbaugh is 38-14 in four years at Michigan, but still has not beaten Ohio State (0-4 at U-M) or Notre Dame (0-1), and his team has lost twice at home against Michigan State. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN