The Olympic afterglow is gradually fading in Paris.
But fear not, the college football season is coming into view on the horizon.
Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined Morning Edition host Doug Tribou to talk about all that and more from the world of sports.
Doug Tribou: There was no shortage of athletes with connections to the Mitten at the Olympic Games. More than 40 of the competitors in Paris have ties to the University of Michigan. They represented teams from more than 20 nations and brought home a total of nine medals — a gold, three silver, and five bronze. One athlete, who didn’t medal, but had some terrific performances, though, was a middle distance runner from Ann Arbor. Tell us a bit about Hobbs Kessler.
John U. Bacon: Well, Hobbs Kessler is a kid in my neighborhood I saw grow up and run around my house. That's who Hobbs Kessler is. And it turns out he was pretty good. He's coached by Ronnie Warhurst — who's now in his 80s, and he's been doing this for 50-some years — Michigan's former cross country coach, who's done an amazing job and went to Paris. And it's just a fun story to track.
DT: And Kessler is just 21 years old, finished fifth overall in the 1500 meters, reached the semifinals in the 800 meters, so a really bright future there.
John, let’s turn to college football. The Michigan Wolverines have a new head football coach this season. Sherrone Moore was the team’s offensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh, who’s now coaching in the NFL.
But as Moore is about to start the season, the Associated Press has reported that the NCAA is looking into allegations that Moore deleted text messages he exchanged with Connor Stalions. Stalions is the former low-level staffer at the center of the Michigan sign-stealing scandal last season. What’s your view of this situation?
JUB: My view of the situation, which now is one year and running, is that it's the stupidest scandal in the history of college athletics, which is saying something. It's all pretty much chump-change stuff. But the question is, did Jim Harbaugh lie or mislead the investigators? Did Sherrone Moore? Did others at Michigan? And so that's what it's going to come down to.
In this case, Coach Moore who has taken over for Jim Harbaugh did in fact delete 52 text messages he had with Connor Stalions. They've since retrieved them and turned them in. And he has maintained that [he] can't wait for those to go public because it shows nothing, which would make it even less advised to delete them in the first place. But here we are.
DT: Michigan is coming off a national championship, but also lost many key players to the NFL. In the Associated Press preseason poll, Georgia is No. 1., Ohio State is No. 2. Michigan checks in at No. 9. With the caveat that preseason polls often go out the window by the end of September, if not sooner, how does that ranking seem to you?
JUB: Well, it strikes me as about right top to bottom. Georgia is probably the best team out there right now, and Ohio State is right on their heels. Michigan at No. 9 sounds about right and might even be a bit generous, because the good news for Michigan is they had more NFL players drafted last year than any other college out there. The bad news is they had more NFL players drafted than any other college out there, which means you lost most of your offense. So, this is about where they're supposed to be.
They've got a brutal schedule. Their goal is to be one of the top 12 teams in the new playoff system, and they'll be about a borderline team for that is my guess.
DT: Michigan opens the season on August 31 in Ann Arbor against Fresno State. And Michigan State — under new head coach Jonathan Smith — will host Florida Atlantic on August 30. The Spartans were unranked in the AP preseason poll.
One of those players from Michigan who went off to the NFL is Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Word came out this week that he will miss the entire season after undergoing surgery on his right knee. The former University of Michigan star had an operation Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus suffered during his preseason debut last weekend. The Vikings had planned to ease McCarthy into his NFL career behind veteran quarterback Sam Darnold. It's always tough to see this kind of setback — especially when a player’s just getting started.
JUB: Well, exactly right. J.J. came in, and told all his recruiting classmates when Michigan was 2-4, 'Look, we're going to come [back]. We're going to win Big Ten titles, win a national title.' And they all did it. So this guy has led a pretty blessed life for the most part.
This is a huge setback and I'm sure heartbreaking, too. It must be said, however, Doug, that the man did sign a fully guaranteed four-year contract worth $22 million [with] a $12.7-million signing bonus, much like, I'm sure, yours [at Michigan Public].
DT: Oh, very similar [laughs].
JUB: Yes, very similar. Right. So it's certainly sad, but the guy is going to be okay and he'll be back next year.
Editor's note: Quotes in this article have been edited for length and clarity.
The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.
