John U. Bacon

TEDxUofM Talk: The Past, the Future, and Why We Need to Be Together

johnubacon — Fri, 10 May 2013 05:10:59 PDT

Hello Dear Loyal Readers, This week I am finally finishing the final draft of the next book, “Fourth and Long: The Fight for the Soul of College Football.” Due Tuesday. Not even kidding. So, alas, no Bacon Blog this week. But I can offer a link to my recent TEDxUofM talk on “The Past, the [...]

Blaming the Customer

johnubacon — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:03:56 PDT

[For the audio version, click here: Student_Football_Seats_2nd_edit_5-3-2013] For decades, students at Michigan games were assigned seats, with the seniors getting the best ones. But last year, according to the Michigan athletic department, roughly a quarter of the 22,000 people in the student section were no-shows. So, athletic director Dave Brandon decided to switch the student [...]

The Worst Job in the World – And Why I Love It

johnubacon — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:27:21 PDT

[To listen to the audio version, click here: bacon_0426_web] This week, a company called “CareerCast.com” ranked more than 1,000 American jobs, and determined that the worst job in America isn’t garbage collector, dog cage cleaner or Lindsey Lohan sobriety tester – but journalist. Yes! Score! Booyah! They based their rankings on four criteria: the workplace [...]

The Man Behind Jackie Robinson

johnubacon — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:52:11 PDT

Hello Loyal Readers and Listeners, When I’ve not been able to produce a Bacon Blog, I’ve done a poor job of letting you know, instead just going AWOL. Well, last night, I finished the fourth draft of the upcoming book, “Fourth and Long: The Fight for the Soul of College Football” — which, of course, [...]

Redemption

johnubacon — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:41:57 PDT

[Click here for audio version: Bacon_final_Beilein_for_web_with_open_4-12-2013] It wasn’t that long ago that Michigan’s basketball program was not merely unsuccessful, but the shame of the athletic department, if not the university. Bo Schembechler, then Michigan’s athletic director, fired basketball coach Bill Frieder after he found out Frieder had flown out to accept the coaching job at [...]

May I substitute a speech for a column?

johnubacon — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 05:17:47 PDT

Dear Loyal Readers and Listeners, This is fund drive week at Michigan Radio, and the fourth draft of my book — gasp! — is due Monday, which is also why I wrote only one column in March — sorry! Should have let you know. In the meantime, I’m speaking at the TEDxUofM conference today at [...]

A Streak to Remember

johnubacon — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:06:59 PDT

[To listen to the audio version, click here: Bacon_3.28_web] Sports columnist Rick Reilly once wrote that weekend golfers invariably claim, “I’m a good golfer. I’m just not consistent.” Well, he said, if you’re not consistent, you’re not a good golfer. Americans are great at building things, and rotten at maintaining them. We admire winners [...]

Renaissance Resident

johnubacon — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:15:15 PST

[To listen to the shorter audio version, please click here: Eddie Kahn 2-21-13] In the Michigan hockey program’s 90-year history, some 600 players have scored more than 10,000 total goals. But the man who scored the team’s very first goal, 90 years ago, might still be the most impressive one of the bunch. He was [...]

Paper Viper

johnubacon — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:14:26 PST

[To listen to the audio version, just click here: Vipers 2-28-13] A few years ago – okay, a bunch of years ago – I bit on a bet I never should have touched. I was writing for the Detroit News, and a top minor league hockey team called the Detroit Vipers played at the Palace. [...]

Super Sunday: Thrills, Spills and Record Electric Bills

johnubacon — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 05:47:37 PST

[To listen to the audio version, click here: Bacon Superbowl_2013_WEB_-2-8-2013] Congratulations! You not only survived that annual orgy of conspicuous consumption called the Super Bowl, you also survived the two weeks of endless stories without news that lead up to the big day. And when the big game arrived, what was our reward? On the [...]