Putting Bill Martin on Blast

Sharad Mattu IMed me and said he was going to write a column on Bill Martin next Monday, which I think is a great idea. It's time someone holds him accountable for the disaster that is Michigan sports. Now, I like Bill Martin. The guy did his job for an entire year without getting paid. There is no doubt he has the Michigan's best interest in mind.

But it's getting embarassing how Ann Arbor is looking like Sim City with all his projects, while the athletic teams struggle. People are going to start asking real soon whether this real estate mogul is more interested in buildings and stadiums than what is going on inside them - and rightly so.

Everyone in Ann Arbor loves a protest, and I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up with Michigan fans forming human chain links around construction machines. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

But here's a quick look at Bill Martin's recent projects at Michigan.

Already completed:
- Yost renovation
- Student athlete library

In the works:
- New baseball stadium (located off campus)
- New softball stadium (also located off campus)
- Michigan Stadium renovation (no matter how Bill Martin wants to phrase it, i.e. "enclosed seating", the Big House will have luxury boxes)

And now a look at our major teams and our record-breaking seasons (of course you know all this already, but somehow it doesn't get mentioned collectively nearly enough):
- Football: Most losses (5) since 1984
- Basketball: No NCAA Tournament since 1998
- Hockey: Could miss first NCAA Tournament since 1990
- Women's basketball: 0-16 Big Ten record

Bottom line: Bill Martin is about surrounding himself with good people ("Michigan Men", if you will), beautiful Football Saturdays at the Big House and keeping Michigan in the black financially. He isn't about W's, and as Herm Edwards says, "You plaaaaaaaaay to WIN the game."


Dollar Bill