Bye, Bye, Bo

When I was a kid, there were very few sports figures that I could recognize on sight. I can only think of three... Mark "The Bird" Fidrych (I grew up near Detroit in the 70s, after all), Fran Tarkenton (my mom thought he was cute), and Bo Schembechler.

Today... one day before the biggest University of Michigan football game in nearly a decade, Bo died. He'd been struggling with heart problems, and collapsed a few weeks ago while taping a television program. Today, it happened again, this time for the last time.

Probably Bo's biggest victory came in his first year with the Wolverines-- 1969-- when Michigan beat Ohio State in a stunning upset. It was Schembechler's first win over his former coach, Woody Hayes... but it wouldn't be his last. Bo wasn't planning on being at this year's UM-OSU matchup... but you can bet he was planning on watching it. So, as you watch tomorrow's Michigan-Ohio State game, think of Bo.