Harbaugh declares Michigan "America's Team"; Finebaum objects

Unbeaten on the field, but embattled nonetheless, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh thinks his Wolverines should be America’s Team because they ”beat the odds. . .adversity. . . overcame naysayers and so-called experts.”

This declaration beckons the famous retort of ESPN’s College Game Day mega-show host Lee Corso.

“Not so fast. . . .”

Corso’s fellow ESPN talk show host Paul Finebaum certainly took that contrarian position after hearing Harbaugh.

“I found it sad and pathetic,” Finebaum said Monday on ESPN's SportsCenter.  “Why? Because this isn’t America’s team. This isn’t what America’s about. Here we are, just days removed from Veterans Day, where we honor people who are really representative of America. This team is not representative of anything other than a program accused of cheating. Cheating.”

Harbaugh was suspended for three games on Nov. 9 after the Big Ten contended Michigan in violated the conference's sportsmanship policy for sign stealing. Harbaugh fired back during his Monday news conference.

“This has gotta be America's team,” Harbaugh said during his Monday news conference. “America loves a team that beats the odds, beats the adversity, overcomes what the naysayers, critics, so-called experts think. That's my favorite kind of team.”

Without Harbaugh on the sideline, No. 3 Michigan (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) defeated No. 10 Penn State (8-2, 5-2) 24-15 on Saturday, with offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore serving as interim head coach. Harbaugh is allowed to attend practices and team activities but cannot be present on game days.

Finebaum was more depressed than impressed.

“Trying to steal signs to gain an unfair advantage, that’s not the way this country was built and that’s not what should be described as America’s team,” he said.

“Ohio State is a much better program overall. It's got tremendous tradition. . . . It's just not that big of a deal. They take themselves so seriously up there.”

Approximately 27 hours before the Wolverines attempt to secure the 1,000th victory in program history Saturday, against Maryland, a judge in Ann Arbor is scheduled to hear arguments on whether to grant a temporary restraining order that would lift the conference’s multi-game suspension. The high-stakes showdown in court Friday, with Harbaugh as the headliner, has already overshadowed his undefeated team’s next battle on the field and become a cause célèbre among U-M diehards.

But what else is new during a season when the games played by a national championship contender have taken a backseat to the incessant drama surrounding Harbaugh, a man who has been banned twice from the sideline in the past three months by two different entities?

Even when he is absent, he manages to suck all the oxygen and seize the spotlight.

Yep, the story is about Harbaugh. Seems it was always so.

Great coach, but. . . . whatever teams that might be considering him – hello NFL’s Washington and Las Vegas – must remember he is a package deal.