In terms of quality, script and certainly preparation, none of these sketches will not hold up against the weekly entries of The Blockhams, nor are they intended to. But, for the sake of archiving, I'll gather all of them on this page. Enjoy!
DEC 21, 2012
(Michigan's upcoming trip the Outback Bowl vs. South Carolina will signal a first of sorts, as the Wolverines will be wearing a special uniform and a special matte finish helmet. Messing with the most iconic helmet in all of football?? We'll just have to see about that.)
DEC 14, 2012
(150 of the greatest fans on the planet retweeted this image in their desire to let the world know how much we want #1 Running Back recruit Derrick Green to join the Maize & Blue. C'mon up, Derrick!!)
DEC 7, 2012
(This piece, not a drawing at all, but more of a logo or graphic, was designed to honor the incoming students of Michigan's Team134. We salute you, young men, for making the best decision of your lives.)
NOV 30, 2012
(Today's Friday Rough was another hand-drawn creation, going out by request for someone who wanted to see some basketball!! Here's freshman phenom and Canadian patriot Nik Stauskus handlin' the rock.
NOV 23, 2012
(Today's Friday Rough was truly a rough-- in the bustle of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, I found just enough time to squeeze in this quick doodle of Ohio's Brutus the Buckeye preparing for tomorrow's epic matchup. Indeed.)
NOV 15, 2012
(Tomorrow's home finale against Iowa is Senior Day. The Blockhams salutes the efforts of Jordan Kovacs, Roy Roundtree, Craig Roh, Vincent Smith, Elliot Mealter, J.T. Floyd, Kenny Demens, Patrick Omameh, Will Campbell, Floyd Simmons, Brandon Moore, Mike Kwiatkowski, Ricky Barnum, Brandin Hawthorne, Steve Wilson, Paul Gyarmati, Renaissance Man Jack Kennedy, and last but not least, Denard Xavier Robinson. Thank you gentlemen. Thank you and Go Blue.)
NOV 9, 2012
(Last week Michigan confirmed shortly before kickoff that starting QB Denard Robinson was still not healthy enough to play after suffering an ulnar nerve injury against Nebraska. In light of backup Russ Bellomy's struggles the previous game, converted WR Devin Gardner garnered the start and displayed a winning combination of preparedness and grace under fire. Before the victory over Minnesota was even complete, whispers grew about a potential quarterback controversy in Ann Arbor. Enter the renaissance man known as Jack Kennedy...)
NOV 2, 2012
(Last week Michigan fans learned how cruel the football gods could be when star quarterback Denard Robinson went down with a nerve injury in his right elbow that prevented him from adequately gripping the ball. With a young and unseasoned quarterback replacing him, the offense was all but devoid of production, and the team's Rose Bowl dreams became much more dream and less reality. Robinson will in fact start this week, and the medical staff mentioned that he would be wearing some sort of protective sleeve. But I doubt this is what they have in mind...)
OCT 26, 2012
(With a win in Lincoln, Nebraska, this weekend, Michigan could very well put itself in the driver's seat for a trip to Indianapolis and what is likely going to be a showdown with beat but not beaten Wisconsin. In the meantime, sometimes it's just fun to draw Wolverines removing the appendages of the competition.)
OCT 19, 2012
(Michigan State. In the Big House. For the inside track to Indianapolis and the Big Ten Championship. To shut down Sparty's winning streak. With numerous coveted recruits in attendance, including arguably the top running back AND receiver in the nation. Doesn't get much bigger than this one. Let's Go Blue.)
ROADKILL
OCT 12, 2012
(Beckman in, the Zooker out. This weekend will see Michigan face off against the latest of a long line of Illini head coaches that have come and gone. I have no problem taking a little shot at Illinois, as their victory in the infamous "Roundtree down at the 1" game remains as possibly the lowest point in my tenure as a Michigan fan... even if the blame fell squarely on the grown men wearing maize and blue polos on the sideline, not on the beleaguered Ron Zook.)
OCT 5, 2012
(This week we learned that Coach Hoke prefers not to wear headsets on the sideline. I am not a fan of Danny Hope. Naturally, 1 + 1 = 2.)
SEPT 28, 2012
(Just three days after finally beating an underachieving and woeful Michigan team, The Notre Dame Fightin' Irish announced they would be backing out of the school's annual rivalry with the Wolverines starting in 2015, citing its new deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference as the reason behind the decision despite continuing to play lesser Big Ten rivals such as Purdue and Michigan State. But we all know what's really going on now, don't we?)
SEPT 21, 2012
(Notre Dame week. That is all.)
SEPT 14, 2012
(If you've been living under a rock for the past two months, you may not have learned that guard/center Elliot Mealer has grown a beard. And it is glorious.)
SEPT 7, 2012
(A week after we found ourselves on the bottom of a good ol' woodsheddin' by Alabama, Michigan resets and looks towards the Air Force Academy. I look for the Wolverines to be hungry for retribution, particularly tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint, who was recently reinstated following a 1-game suspension.)
AUGUST 31, 2012
(We are less than 36 hours away from kickoff. Michigan. Versus Alabama. That no-good weasel Saban. Happy hunting, mighty dreadlocked hunter of the North. GO BLUE!)
AUGUST 24, 2012
(This week the sporting world and eventually the mainstream national media embraced the story of Cooper Barton, a Michigan fan and kindergartner who was forced to turn his UM shirt inside out while attending public school in Oklahoma City. Some arcane law in the Sooner state prohibits students from wearing any collegiate gear outside of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, or any other in-state institutions. But never fear-- Dave Brandon to the rescue!! The AD acted quickly, and with the help of the MDen, made plans to invite the kid and his family to this year's UMass game and present him with a specially made inside-out shirt. We salute Cooper, who even at his young age knows it's far better to be a Michigan Man than a Sooner.)
AUGUST 17, 2012
(After a seriously scary news burst this morning chronicling the possible spinal injury at Schembechler Hall, it was high time for some lighter fare. And what's more fun than poking fun of Urban Meyer, revealed here as the source behind Denard's appearance on one of this year's SI Regional NCAAF-themed covers, feared by some as a sort of jinx against a victorious season. FWIW, the injured player, freshman Ondre Pipkins, appears to be okay and was rushed to the hospital for precautionary reasons. All prayers for his quick recovery, of course.)
AUGUST 10, 2012
(Training camp has begun, and Coach Hoke can't hide his preference in physicality, even if the team has yet to put on the pads. Full contact practices begin today, and I'm sure our Tremendous leader couldn't be happier.)
AUGUST 3, 2012
(After the success of the BBQ at the Big House last Saturday, I quickly went to work on Monday morning creating this piece that allowed all of us to imagine the possibilities if a few certain prominent recruits were to commit to the University of Michigan. With the help of a certain Elite 11 quarterback, this drawing quickly circulated the Twitterverse of Michigan fans far and near. It has since been upgraded to this full color version. Hail!)
JULY 27, 2012
(Sheesh. After so many weeks of scraping the bottom of the barrel for Friday Rough topics, this week exploded with UM and B1G activity. First the fallout at Penn State, then the arrest of starting tailback Fitz Toussaint and details on his and DL Frank Clark's indefinite suspension, and then finally all of the hubbub surrounding B1G Media Days yesterday and today, culminating in the keynote speech to be given shortly by one Denard Xavier Robinson. I was tempted to go with Shoelace... but wanted to avoid anything negative and instead focused on our just-short-of-media-friendly coach. He actually let me down a bit by not peppering his session with his favorite proportionary adjective.)
JULY 20, 2012
(One of the more interesting stories of the offseason has been the ascent of "JDK and REY," a musical collaboration between UM quarterback Jack Kennedy and wide receiver Joe Reynolds. These two renaissance men prove there's more to football players than dumbells, grunts and varsity jackets. Feel free to check them out at their official YouTube page.)
JULY 13, 2012
(This week saw the release of the Freeh Report, a fact-finding document led by a former FBI expert detailing all of the improprieties found with Penn State's handling of the Sandusky situation and cover-up. It's very clear that this final nail in the coffin will devastate that university for years to come. As a native Pennsylvanian, it's still impossibly hard to accept that such horrors were knowingly hidden for so long, at the expense of so many. Prayers and peace for the victims.)
JULY 6, 2012
(I don't know if it was the Fourth of July, recent viewing of WWII documentaries on the History Channel, or even my son recently discovering SuperHero Squad on Netflix... but this week I just felt compelled to create a Michigan-ized image of Captain America. The Red Skull thing was originally gonna be Nick Saban but that seemed a bit much. Fifty-seven days until the big showdown in Dallas...)
JUNE 29, 2012
(This week the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee revealed its new NCAA College Football Playoff format, promising it would be the answer to the most glaring question about the sport. Of course, it was also announced that we'd be stuck with the BCS formula for at least another year-- giving us one more season with a lemon at the end of the schedule.)
JUNE 22, 2012
(With its 22nd commitment this week-- a full 72 days before this year's season even begins, mind you-- the Class of 2013 is quickly exhausting its available space. It should be a real race to the finish to find out who else can squeeze in the car before it drives off to its place in history as one of Michigan's finest recruiting classes ever.)
JUNE 15, 2012
(This week it was announced that the formerly retired numbers of Bennie Oosterbaan (47), Gerald Ford (48), and Ron Kramer (87) are being reintroduced in the Michigan Legends format unveiled during last year's UTL game in honor of Desmond Howard. There's been much kerfuffle about the #48 jersey, previously worn by a center but now restricted from lineman per the NCAA. We'll have to stay tuned to see who gets the honor of wearing previously unavailable uniforms.)
(After taking a few Fridays off for a family vacation, Friday Roughs returned amid the buzz that Michigan just spent a scholarship on a longsnapper despite picking having a capable one returning and a preferred walk-on already in place for next year as well. We must remind ourselves that the coaching staff knows what they're doing when it comes to this football stuff, right?)
FRIDAY, MAY 18, 2012
(This weekend UM football was dealt a painful blow when a potential 5-star RB commit instead chose USC over the maize and blue. In a related story, this piece of paper was recently recovered from the halls of Joliet Catholic High School in Illinois.)
*In all fairness, this is entirely satirical in nature and is in no way an accusation of the young man's motivations to commit elsewhere. I don't presume to have any inside knowledge of what made the talented athlete make his decision, and I wish him the best of luck in his future. As long as he never faces off against Michigan, of course.
FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012
(The Michigan-verse is still abuzz this week over the performance of future UM quarterback Shane Morris at last weekend's Ohio Nike Camp. The southpaw earned MVP of the Elite Eleven QB competition and cemented his status as a top-flight recruit... but perhaps earned more acclaim by photobombing a candid shot of Ohio recruits with his patented Block M hands pose. Today's FR pays tribute to the hands... and the Michigan Man they belong to.)
FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012
(This week Notre Dame linebacker Carlo Calabrese and quarterback Tommy Rees were involved in an altercation with South Bend police officers at an underage booze party. Both players fled the scene, and when caught Calabrese threatened the officers, while starting QB Rees actually assaulted at least one arresting officer and was charged with a felony as a result (not-so-surprisingly enough, the charge was later lessened to a misdemeanor). It's not hard to imagine head coach Brian Kelly's, ahem, colorful reaction.)
FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012
(This week all talk centered on the fantastic Michigan Marching Band when it was originally announced that the Athletic Department would be unable to send them to the season opener in Cowboys Stadium versus national champion Alabama. A few days later, David Brandon and Band Director Scott Boerma proudly announced that arrangements had been made to have the band travel like any other away game. Hail, Hail!)
FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2012
(This week the UM community rallied, joked and well-wished Brian Cook, creator and proprietor of MGoBlog.com, as he recovered from knee surgery. Hang in there Brian.)
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012
(The weekend would play host to Michigan's annual Spring Game, where Wolverine would face off against Wolverine in an intra-squad game. It is a time for optimism... and speculation.)
(Trey Burke continues to hold the Michigan fan base in suspense as he deliberates on his decision. CBS Sports announced his departure to the NBA, which was quickly refuted by the Big Ten Freshman of the Year's father. And so we wait, while the young man is off on his own... Visionquest.)
FRIDAY, MAR 30, 2012
(The Michigan world waits on its fingers to hear from Trey Burke, and whether or not Big Ten Freshman of the Year plans to return for his sophomore season or not. The situation gathered further attention when Michigan State AD Mark Hollis made a rather immature tweet encouraging the rival star to depart for the NBA, then later recanted the statement in typical Spartan embarassment.)
FRIDAY, MAR 23, 2012
(Last night the Number 1 Seed Michigan Spartans fell to a laughably dressed Louisville Cardinals basketball team, and in true predictable Sparty fashion, did what those in East Lansing consider the logical next step. They burned couches. Unbelievable-- like they go out of their way to give us reason to poke fun at them.)
FRIDAY, MAR 16, 2012
(The previous night Washtenaw County was on full alert when a tornado violently tore through the area, destroying homes in nearby Dexter. This piece was certainly not intended to make light of the tragedy suffered by victims of the disaster, and our prayers go out to them.)
FRIDAY MAR 9, 2012
(The men's basketball team, fresh off their first share of a conference title since 1986, squares off in the Big 10 tourney tonight against Minnesota. Gophers are not as intimidating as Wolverines. That is all.)
FRIDAY MAR 2, 2012
(The previous night, the Michigan basketball team turned in another big performance to inch ever closer to the elusive conference title, potentially the program's first since 1986. This Friday Rough simply pays homage to them. Leaders and Best.)
FRIDAY FEB 24, 2012
(Although the story was something of old news to the more dedicated followers of the fan base, this week national media outlets reported the presence of a sign in Ohio State's athletic facility claiming its academic superiority over Michigan's football team, as evidenced by the majors of each team's players. The sign, no doubt ordered by Urban Meyer, not only was misleading on both sides in its definition of the academic concentrations... and it also failed to acknowledge the overall academic status of each university (UM was recently hailed by US News as #14, while Ohio was recognized as a mere #111.)
FRIDAY FEB 17, 2012
(The Michigan Basketball Team headed into the weekend's big showdown at Crisler versus Ohio State, with dreams of a conference title possibly on the line. And the epicenter of all the buzz on campus was ESPN's College Game Day, broadcasting live on campus that morning...)
FRIDAY FEB 10, 2012
(Urban Meyer held a press conference Thursday in Columbus to highlight his stance that he and his team will not call their greatest rival by name. Sounds like a thinly veiled attempt to one-up Brady Hoke's policy of simply calling them "Ohio," and a rather unsuccessful one at that. In other news, the NHL announced that they will be 'renting' Michigan Stadium for next year's outdoor Winter Classic on New Year's Day. Gonna be strange rooting for a home team in red within the Big House...)
FRIDAY FEB 3, 2012
(When it comes to Michigan recruiting news, no one works harder than ESPN analyst TomVanHaaren. Now that National Signing Day has come and gone, I think he's earned a little time on the couch, don't you think?)
FRIDAY JAN 27, 2012
(President Barack Obama visited Ann Arbor today and delivered a stirring speech on the future of American higher education. But not before professing his love for a certain dreadlocked quarterback.)
FRIDAY JAN 20, 2012
(At a Michigan High School Football Coaches Association clinic, Michigan Recruiting Coordinator Jeff Hecklinski was unceremoniously interrupted during his presentation by a visibly agitated Mark Dantonio, head coach of rival Michigan State. Dantonio is widely dismissed by the Michigan fan base for stooping to a new low, and certainly at an improper time and place.)
FRIDAY, JAN 13, 2012
(The fan base braced for a press release regarding the future of Team 133. We later learned that it was nothing more than juniors JT Floyd and Denard Robinson officially announcing that they would return for their senior seasons.)
Feb 17 - So, Lloyd Brady on the left, Kate Upton middle (next to the ohio sucks sign), and Shane Morris lower right?
ReplyDeleteWell done, but that's not all. There's also Photoshop Facepalm Guy AND Where's Waldo. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteAh, nice. I see them both now. I thought face palm guy was just a dude in a mask and waldo - well, never saw him until you mentioned it. Maybe we can replace our facepalm guy with Northwestern hand-on-head guy...
ReplyDeleteI love that wolverine that you drew. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteLove the Alex Kozan reference!
ReplyDeleteI never thought I'd become a regular reader of a comic strip, but The Blockhams has proven me wrong. The UM topics drew me in, but to my surprise, I'm staying for the artwork, humor, characters, and nuances. Thanks for helping me develop an appreciation for something new, and keep the content coming!
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