Dang the luck!
It has been brought to my attention through a diary by Sean Yuille of Michigan Sports Center and Pride of Detroit fame (and mentioned, as well, in a reader comment) that Michigan and Notre Dame have agreed to a 20-year contract extension, thus perpetuating the series without interruption from now through 2031.
Although Sean isn't any more thrilled about this than I am, at least Sean has the benefit of being a few years younger than I am. The newly-renewed deal between the Maize and Blue and the Fighting Irish will expire after the football season during which I will celebrate my 63rd birthday.
The fact that Michigan athletic director Bill Martin cited the Notre Dame series as a major reason for declining to entertain Damon Evans's overtures, coupled with the general tendency of Big Ten teams to eschew regular-season matchups with S.E.C. opponents, pretty much torpedoes any chance of a home-and-home series between the Bulldogs and the Wolverines anytime soon.
I'm tentatively inclined to begin fighting the good fight once more when the time comes to start making out the 2032 slate, but, by that time, a legitimate question may have arisen. Will we still need them, will we want to beat them, when I'm 64?
For more reaction, please see Maize 'n' Brew, MGoBlog, and Rakes of Mallow.
Go 'Dawgs!