Hello, Loyal Readers, Today’s Bacon Blog is an excerpt from the Endzone paperback’s 57-page Afterword, which updates the story over the past 12 months, through 2-hour interviews each with Jim and Sarah Harbaugh, his parents, and a few key players. * * * * * Two years ago, the Michigan Wolverines had just lost to […]

Arnold Palmer was born on the cusp of the Great Depression in Western Pennsylvania. His father, Deke, had been the greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club, advancing to club pro when Arnold was four. A club pro has to listen to every member of the country club like they’re the most important person in the world. […]

Now that the teachers and students are back in school, I can’t resist turning my attention to school sports, one of my favorite subjects. I am a proud 1982 graduate of the Ann Arbor Public Schools. I can still remember the name of every teacher I ever had. Almost all were very good, and I […]

A few years ago I had the chance to work out with the Michigan football team, for a six solid weeks. I lifted more weights than I any writer should, followed by an ungodly number of sit-ups, pushups and pull-downs. Just fifteen minutes into my first work out, I was sweating like a pig and […]

The Big Ten was the first major college conferences, created in 1895. For decades it was the best in football, and, lest we forget, research and academics. And you Ivy League snobs can hold your horses: your league didn’t start until 1954 – a surprising fact that can win you bar bets. Through 1970, Big […]

Today, Jim Harbaugh’s return to Ann Arbor looks like a no-brainer, the most obvious of football marriages. But it didn’t seem that way two years ago, when the odds were very long, indeed. Michigan football coach Brady Hoke seemed poised for a solid season. With eight or nine wins, Hoke’s job would be safe, athletic […]