Upon Further Review — Football It wasn't the maize jerseys that caused the crazy ending. It wasn't the new coaching staff that caused the crazy ending. It wasn't the Michigan QB that caused the crazy ending. It wasn't the clock operator that caused the crazy ending! Sports fans can debate and analyze the outcome at the Big House late Saturday night until they are blue in the face, but the game played out the way the game was meant to play out. Something higher than us decided that ending. If we could decide the outcome ahead of time, why would we play the event? Either way you slice it, the game gave us great theater and one heck of a finish — the kind that makes you laugh, cry, leap in the air, roll on the ground, and yell at the top of your lungs in jubilation or frustration. Those reactions are the reason we watch. Games from the past live on in a single line: "He fumbled the snap." Spartan Bob putting 0:01 back on the clock in East Lansing. Colorado's Hail Mary at the Big House. And here's the truth about Saturday: at no time during that entire game did Michigan deserve to win. The Broncos statistically led in every facet of the game, and the Vegas oddsmakers had the Wolverines as a 27.5-point favorite. Why even bother playing with a spread that lopsided? WMU has no chance, right? Years ago fans preached that we had replay available, so why not go back and decide it with that? That will fix it. Final clarity, no doubt in anyone's mind — that's what they preached. We argued for and fell in love with the replay system because there were so many cameras at every game and so many games on TV each week. So now we stop games to review a call just to get it right, and stop the flow of the event for everyone in the building. Players stand around while the referees put their faces into a screen and talk to someone miles and miles away to make the call, and make it all correct, right? Problem solved? Was it the wrong call? To some it will be the best call (UM fans); to others the worst call (WMU fans and UM haters). That happens in every sporting event ever played — just attend your kid's athletic event if you want to see idiocy and people losing their minds! The debate over fair and unfair starts at the youth level. Hell, we used to debate it as kids on the playground: in or out? Foul or no foul? Strike or ball? As long as we have sports we will have controversy, each and every Monday morning. The decision was made and the outcome decided with all the rules available to the decision-makers at that time. Oh, let's bring in a judge now and have him make a ruling? Why not just flip a coin? Best two out of three? It is time to move on to next week and the next game that will surely be debated. That's why we are sports fans! Michigan moves on to Oklahoma. Western moves on to its next game. The coaches and players move on and get mentally prepared for what's next. And we as fans move on too, getting the food ready for tailgates and house parties to share another Saturday of football, fun, and festivities. In the end, half of us will wake up happy Sunday morning — just as we have Sunday after Sunday, every fall. Upon Further Review — Baseball It hasn't been the season many hoped for inside Comerica Park this spring and summer, as the Tigers' high hopes of February and March fade quickly in September. But out of the rubble that has become the 2026 season, a few bright spots have emerged. Kevin McGonigle has put together a rookie season that has him in the Rookie of the Year conversation — no small thing on a team that has underachieved. His hustle and tough play are fun to watch. He battles every at-bat and can handle any position he takes the field at. If you haven't had a chance to watch him yet this season, he is worth your time. He is the future. Troy Melton and Jackson Jobe are two young pitchers who have gained valuable experience taking the ball every fifth day, Jobe having just returned from Tommy John surgery. Max Clark, the Tigers' highly touted first-round pick, has finally made his way to the big-league club and etched himself into center field for years to come. He's got speed and grit similar to McGonigle's style of play — you can already see Clark and McGonigle drawing comparisons to a pair who were around town a long time: Trammell and Whitaker! Dillon Dingler has taken control behind the plate, and we haven't seen a catcher of his caliber since the days of Lance Parrish and Pudge Rodriguez. Mix in the veterans — Framber Valdez, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Javier Báez, and Zach McKinstry — and 2027 and beyond may hold a bright future.
