When you are invited to the White House Christmas party, you don't show up with mud on your boots. If you are asked to dinner at Buckingham Palace, you don't touch the Queen unless she touches you, at least if you want invited back. So naturally, when I was afforded the chance to be on the sidelines for the Michigan Game, I resolved to be on my very best behavior.

It's a good thing. I sure had some chances to blow it.

In the second quarter, I hung out in the closed end, and when the official flagged Posey for the "excessive celebration," the side judge came over to a group of the photographers who were complaining about him flagging Posy for diving in. I was standing two feet from him, when he turned to the others and said to them, "He was making the O, he can't call attention to himself." I debated asking him, "Isn't that our symbol?" I thought about asking, "Do you really think folks 250 feet in the air and 100 yards away can see a 3 inch "O", even if they knew what it was?" Or maybe commenting, "I think that is the silliest, stupidest, most inconsistently enforced penalty in all of college football." Of course, me being on good behavior, I didn't.

Right after halftime, I moved to the southwest corner of the end zone. I was right there when Heron punched it in from 32 yards out, and when the same official threw the same flag for the same offense. I wanted to ask him, "Who's calling attention to whom now?" Of course, me being on good behavior, I didn't.

Continuing my knack of being at the right place at the right time, I set up shop on the Michigan sideline for a while in the third quarter. When Heron busted it in from 98 yards out, Dane Sanzenbacher made that fantastic block right in front of me. I mean right there! My camera clicked away as he and the Michigan player dueled it out, and Boom zoomed by. And the flag on that phantom holding call landed just a few feet in front of me. 3 feet. There it lay. I could have reached out and touched it. I could have picked it up and torn it into little pieces and put it back in the gentlemen's pocket. Maybe I should pick it up and just waive it off I thought! Now that would have been a sight! I could have showed ten million people on TV he missed the call, right before they watched me led away in handcuffs. Of course me being professional and on my best behavior, I didn't. I just later at home smiled at the photo I have of the Michigan guy grabbing Dane's jersey as the Michigan guy is falling backwards on his- to use the polite term - hip pads!

Yes sir. To paraphrase Coach Tressel. When you get to the end zone, act like you've been there. I did.

I've always said, "Mom didn't raise no dummies."

Jenny, though, might dispute that.