In response to the recent backlash from the University of Michigan versus Western Michigan University football game last Saturday, the NCAA said it is implementing new guidelines to verify that all college football games will have a standard timing protocol.

In the memo, which was obtained by The Athletic reporters, said, "The official time for all college football games is the time displayed on the in-stadium game clock. When a replay review requires time to be restored or otherwise adjusted, the replay official's decision will be based on the embedded game clock contained within the program feed. If the broadcaster is unable to provide an embedded game clock, the replay official will use the game-clock graphic displayed as part of the broadcast feed. This timing protocol should be followed consistently at all institutions and game sites.”

Had this new policy been in place Saturday, based on the clock shown on the NBC broadcast, U of M wouldn’t have received additional play time, changing the outcome of the game and allowing the Broncos to win 12-7. Instead, with the addition of a second to the clock after time appeared to have expired, the Wolverines were able to complete a Hail Mary pass, giving them a 13-12 edge.

The Athletic reporter Austin Meek joined Stateside's April Baer to discuss the NCAA's new procedure.

"What this memo was clarifying is, what the [Mid-American Conference] said in its letter, is that the the protocol is actually to use what people have access to on TV, even if you have access to something more precise, because not everybody has access to that," Meek said.

"A lot of other conferences don't have access to this technology that the Big Ten has that allows them to get extremely precise and granular on that replay. And so for uniformity, I think this this memo was clarifying, 'let's use the technology that everybody has access to.' So the protocol is the same in all cases. And it's not different depending on what technology you have access to."

On the televised play, the ball was still in the air when the clock reached zero on the countdown. The extra second on the clock prevented WMU's upset win over U of M in what would have been, historically, their only victory against the university.

Two hours after the game, the Big Ten explained in a statement, which read: "It was determined [Western Michigan University defender Micah Davis] started his jump from an established out-of-bounds position and made contact with the ball with one second remaining on the clock. A side-by-side view of the play and the game clock, using a direct shot of the game clock in the stadium, was used to determine the final ruling."

Mid-American Conference Commissioner John A. Steinbrecher inquired Tuesday about the NCAA overturning the result, stating that the College Football Playoff selection committee should announce the Broncos as the "actual winner” in “its evaluation and deliberations.”

"I recognize that the Oversight Committee does not ordinarily alter results recorded on the field," Steinbrecher wrote in a letter to the NCAA. "Nevertheless, the circumstances of this game are extraordinary. The final outcome was directly affected by a replay officiating error resulting from the failure to follow an established and specific protocol governing precisely this type of end-of-half timing situation."

But the NCAA said that its football playing rules do not include a mechanism to overturn the outcome of a game. Also, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) oversight committee "does not have the authority" to reverse an outcome.

In the same email, the NCAA contends that it has no obligation to alter the official score or give Western the victory.

Meek said the NCAA has an obligation to viewers, though. “I do think that the public perception matters," Meek said. “And I think that there's no doubt that the public perception is very much on Western Michigan's side. Michigan may have won the game, but Western Michigan clearly won the battle of perception.”

He said while it's unlikely that the ruling gets overturned, WMU might get special consideration when it comes time for bowl games.

Meek said that the College Football Playoff Selection Committee may decide, for example, "We're going to give Western Michigan credit for that, or at least we're not going to penalize them for losing this game, when when we all saw that for all intents and purposes, they did win."

As for a lawsuit, Meeks says he doesn't think one will be filed.

U of M next faces Oklahoma this Saturday at home, while Western Michigan plays Monmouth in its home opener. You can see more Michigan collegiate football schedules here.

A small, wellness-based practice on a local farm in metro Detroit offers two things that might not seem like they go together: goats, and yoga.

Goat yoga at Maybury Farm has been running since this May, with sessions offered every Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

The farm has been open to the public since 1975, and, after a major fire in 2003, reopened in 2005 under the Northville Community Foundation. The farm hosts numerous events throughout the year.

Anyone can join the sessions, as long as they are 9 or older and registered for the class.

A 2016 study by the Yoga Alliance and Yoga Journal found an estimated 36 million Americans had engaged in yoga at least once in the last six months. Yoga has stayed popular since then.

Practitioners of goat yoga say it offers a level of spontaneity and interactivity that is otherwise absent in a more conventional session.

There are several places in Michigan where people can practice yoga alongside goats.
They include Yoga on the Farm, a yoga studio in Holly; Bluebird Meadow Goat Yoga in Ada; Hilltop Views Farm in Williamston; and Leaman's Green Applebarn in Freeland, which is scheduled to host a kid-friendly goat yoga session — where kids and goats are both encouraged to wear costumes — on September 22.

At Maybury Farm, participants can opt for a green or red wristband. The green indicates to goat handlers, who supervise the session, that a participant is comfortable with goat interaction. The red tells goat handlers the participant is uncomfortable with goats touching them.

Positions like the “table pose” and “downward dog” seem to activate curiosity in the goats, who like to climb on human’s backs, and sometimes stay there for extended periods of time.

Some sessions, according to Jessica Yaser, one of the yoga instructors at Maybury Farm, have more wild activity from the goats than others.

“I deviate from plans sometimes depending on the goats’ behavior and their mood that day,” Yaser said. “Sometimes I start out with class in standing postures, if I think the goats are extra wild and I think we need time for everyone’s nervous systems to calm down.”

The goat yoga sessions run until the end of October.

They remain popular, with sold-out weekends and registration with 48 hours' notice required to get a proper headcount. Tickets are sold on PurplePass and the Maybury Farm website.

There's not exactly a designated spot for the goats to use the bathroom, so be prepared to be in a farm environment.

Mackinac Island is known for only being reachable by ferry boat, only allowing bikes and horses as modes of transportation, and, most importantly, fudge and fudge stores.

It’s the fudge stores that help put together the Fudge Festival every year. Visitors get to view the vibrant fall colors, live candy-making, and taste the sweet flavors of Mackinac Island. This year’s festival will take place Oct. 2-3.

Ahead of the festival is the announcement of the top 20 Fudge Names. Voting takes place Sept. 1-4 and the winner will be announced Sept. 7. You can vote here.

Last year’s contest winner was Teri Stanley from Racine, Wisconsin, who was the first to submit “Mackinac Magic” as a name.

The fall fudge festival occurs annually, and consists of streets offering seasonal fudge only offered for the event, live candy-making, and autumn decorations and scenery.

The fudge shops contributing annually to the festival include Ryba's Fudge Shops, Murray Hotel Fudge Co., May's Candy Shop, Joann's Fudge, Sanders Fudge & Candy Shop, and Kilwin's Mackinac Island.

More information about the festival and voting can be found here.

Seven visual artists are featured in an exhibit at Lowell Arts from July 25 to October 3. The theme of the exhibit explores unexpected directions for their materials and methods.

Angela Saxon, one of the artists featured in the exhibit who primarily uses acrylic, mixed media, printing, and gouache (an opaque, water-based paint made of natural pigments, water, and a binder such as gum arabic) said her experience living and working in northern Michigan inspired her work.

“I intentionally create situations in the studio where the marks I make come from that response, directly translating my experience of watching the water, swimming in the water, hearing the water, into the work itself,” Saxon said. “Living and working in northern Michigan offers endless opportunities for observational inspiration for me.”

Saxon works with monotypes, a unique form of printmaking that entails the artist drawing or painting with ink or paint on glass, metal, acrylic, plastic, or any generally non-absorbent surface.

Her monotypes, specifically, recently consist of a focus on moving water and vast water as well as skyscapes.

Her monotype creation process involves printing a series of plexiglass plates in succession to each other on paper. Saxon then applies ink to the plates, manipulating them to add more texture and motion.

She said her process itself is part of her direct, honest response, often tearing, rearranging, or combining the finished monotype, to create collages.

"There is only so much control I have over the tearing of the paper, so that adds yet another opportunity for the process and for me to have a dialogue and a collaboration,” Saxon said.

Saxon hopes visitors will see her creative self in her work as opposed to viewing her art in limited boxes, or through their own perceptions of how the work should be.

“For me a big part of that 'making' process is stepping away from preconceived notions of what I 'should' make and 'how' I should make it, letting my creative self flow into a direct, honest response to the world I'm observing and experiencing,” Saxon said.

Other artists featured in the exhibit use asymmetrical quilts, foliage, wood, tapestries and paintings to deliver visual art outside of what one might normally think to attribute to mixed medium expression.

Janet Teunis, the executive director at Lowell Arts, said she hopes visitors see the work in a “quiet, contemplative way.”

“It is a visually appealing show, and because the materials are fibers, fabric, wood, paper, and natural elements, ideally visitors will leave inspired to make something with their own hands, thinking about material and process a little more intentionally,” Teunis said.

What is the Woodward Dream Cruise?

It’s a vintage car parade that encompasses nine suburban communities: Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Royal Oak, Pleasant Ridge, and Pontiac. The event is free, both for viewers and for those looking to drive their vehicles along the designated route.

When is the Woodward Dream Cruise?

It is always held on the third Saturday in August. This year, it falls on August 15 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

How did it start?

It started in 1995 as a fundraiser to build a soccer field in Ferndale. Nelson House, the founder, wanted to recreate the ‘50s and ‘60s, when “youth, rock 'n roll and Motor City steel roamed the historic Woodward Avenue,” according to the Woodward Dream Cruise website.

What are some other fun facts?

• Woodward Avenue was the first long distance concrete-paved highway, not only in Michigan, but in the United States. Formerly, roads would be made of wood, cobblestone, brick, or other materials.
• According to the Woodward Dream Cruise website, the event draws nearly one million people and 40,000 cars annually from around the globe.
• On the official website, all the official artwork from the beginning of the event until now can be seen in an archive. The artwork features many different art styles and colors.
• Expectations were exceeded for the first event, with an audience of 250,000.