Diaries

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080804/blog42/270966541

Jeff Zuttah, two years older than Jeremy, was one of the top prep offensive linemen in New Jersey in 2002, a consensus All-American who accepted a football scholarship to the University of Michigan in 2003.

It was there that his lifelong affliction derailed him for the first time.

Jeff Zuttah has sickle cell anemia, an inherited blood disorder that affects 72,000 people in the United States. Two million Americans carry the sickle cell trait.

Doctors at the University of Michigan would not clear Jeff to play. He never took a snap in any practice for the Wolverines.

So he decided to transfer to Stanford, where team doctors allowed him to practice the following year.

He played two games for Stanford in 2004, but then could not continue.

He received an economics degree from Stanford.

"There's no cure, you just live with it," Jeremy said. "Since he's not doing anything overly physical, like conditioning for football, he's going to be fine."

So now, Jeremy, a rookie third-round draft pick of the Buccaneers, is feeling his way through his first NFL training camp, without the benefit of his brother getting there before him.

"That would have been cool, but you have to take whatever comes your way," Zuttah said.

Jeff Zuttah is an investment banker for Morgan Stanley in New York City.

"He's doing great for himself right now," Jeremy said. "He's going to make more money than me in the long run."

Completely speculative uninformed but un-biased projection for Michigan's 2009 recruiting class. I'm guessing we find a way to take 22 in this class. If 20, I'd scrap a DE and an OL recruit. Bold indicates a verbal committment as of 8/4

 

QB (2) – Kevin Newsome; Shavodrick Beaver

RB (2) – Fitzgerald Touissant; Vincent Smith

Slot WR (2) – Teric Jones, Jeremy Gallon

Outside WR (2) – Bryce McNeal; a four or five-star wild card (Shaq Evans??)

OT (2) – Michael Schoefield; a 3-star recruit

OG (1) – Either Kyle Koehne or Ricky Clemons

C - none

TE - none

DT (2) – William Campbell; Dequinta Jones

DE (2) – Craig Roh; Will Hill

LB (2) – Jordan Barnes; Mike Jones; Brandin Hawthorne

S (2) – Justin Turner; Isaiah Bell

CB (2) – Dewayne Peace; Mywan Jackson

K (1) – Anthony Fera or Brendan Gibbons

P - none

So, yes, this means whiffing on:

• CBs: Dre Kirpatrick, Darius Winston and Gabe Lynn
• OTs: Marcus Hall, Chris Freeman and Brennan Williams
• RB David Oku

And, yes, it means projecting:

• DeWayne Peace as a CB
• Justin Turner as a Safety (not sure why he is sometimes listed as a CB)
• Teric Jones as a slot WR
• Dequinta Jones as a DT
• Mywan Jackson as a CB

I know Brian has already done extensive coverage of Michigan's recruiting, but I figured I'd take my own stab at projecting the Class of '08. Before I made my guesses, I went through 11 years of Michigan recruiting data (covering 1993-2003) to see trends in how the average recruiting class turns out. Revelations included:

• 22% of recruits end up getting drafted, which is way higher than I would have thought
• Just about as many end up being All-Big Ten
• Half the guys who leave early for the NFL go undrafted. The other half go in the first round. (This doesn't include Manningham/Arrington, both of whom fall in the middle but also fall outside the years I was looking at).
• Almost 40% of scholarship recruits don't make it through their full eligibility.
• You're just as likely to show your bits to girls on Minerva Street as you are to win the Heisman

Sorry about that last one. Anyways, there's much more in both articles, and I found the whole process of putting the information together to be incredibly interesting. Using the stuff I found, I try to guess which players will become All-Americans, All-Conference, starters, career backups, and transfers (no guesses as to who will become sex criminals or the next Antonio Bass, for obvious reasons). Let me know what you think, since way too much of my weekend went into throwing this together.

Since Brian was one of the main bloggers to call attention to Saban's oversigning, I'd be curious about what you think the "ethical" thing to do at this point would be.

As you say, with the Florida kids and the kicker, we will have one more commitment than we have scholarship spots. You point out Winston, the additional Florida kids, and (maybe?) a DE that may be committing in the class. Would it be "ethical" for Rich Rodriguez to continue to recruit kids he's not sure will have space for a scholarship? I understand that these are verbals now, and aren't binding, but what happens if we gain commitments from Hawthorne, Smith, Jackson, Winston, Roh, a kicker, and either Hadley or Teague? That puts us with 5 more verbals than we have scholarships.

What happens if, in February, we only have 2 kids leave the team? Does RR call 3 kids and tell them "tough shit"? Would that be "ethical"? Is it just a race, and the three last kids to sign have to go elsewhere? Wouldn't signing more kids, right now, essentially be "hoping" that we have a certain level of attrition...which is exactly the charge levied against Saban?

I understand that this is a hypothetical, but I wonder if the situation (a potential to not have scholarships for everyone) would hurt on the recruiting trail?

In case anyone lives on the tundra, this press release just hit my inbox. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. and CHICAGO – Midcontinent Communications, the Upper Midwest’s leading provider of television, local and long-distance telephone service, broadband and cable advertising services to communities in the Dakotas and western Minnesota, and the Big Ten Network today announced that Midcontinent will add the Big Ten Network to its channel lineups beginning August 15. The announcement was made by Tom Simmons, Midcontinent Senior Vice President of Public Policy, and Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman. “We’re thrilled that Midcontinent is joining the long and growing list of affiliates offering the Big Ten Network to their customers,” Silverman said. “When fans tune in, they’ll find unparalleled coverage of Big Ten sports – they’ll see more action and more in-depth analysis than ever before.” Simmons said Midcontinent recognizes that many of its subscribers are Big Ten fans, and so the company was focused on offering the network in time for football season. “We’re really pleased that we will be adding the network to our channel lineup, and we expect it to become a very popular destination for our customers very quickly,” he said. Midcontinent will offer the network on the expanded basic level of service to its customers in Minnesota, one of the eight Big Ten states, and on a digital level of service elsewhere. The Big Ten Network has carriage agreements with more than 230 community-based cable systems, and all of the top alternative video, satellite and telephony-based video suppliers providing local service within the eight states with Big Ten universities. By Aug. 15, the network will be available to approximately 70 percent of all homes in the eight Big Ten states and could reach up to 55 million homes nationwide.

Nice Article by Drew Sharp on Sunday saying that Pudge's Detroit Jersey should be retired.

 

However even the the fact that it is rediculously short doesnt mean Drew decided to fact check it.

"It's unlikey that Rodriguez will insist upon the Olde English D on his ceremonial Hall of Fame plaque. He'll probably pick Texas because it was the Rangers who gave him his start."

 

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080803/SPORTS02/808030...

 

Of course this is simply not how the Hall of Fame works. The Hall of Fame chooses which cap to put the Hall of Famer under. Now this was changed about 1o years ago, beause Wade Boggs wanted to have a Tampa Bay cap, and some players were having auctions on which team they would go under. So it did make news and oh its on the FAQ of the Hall of Fame website. So it didnt take much looking up, maybe 2 minutes.

"

"Who decides what team logo will be used on Hall of Fame plaques?

The choice of which team’s logo appears on a player’s plaque is the Museum's decision, though we always consider the wishes of an inductee. As a history Museum, it's important that the logo be emblematic of the historical accomplishments of that player's career. A player's election to the Hall of Fame is a career achievement, and as such, every team for whom he played is listed on the plaque; however, the logo selection is based on where that player makes his most indelible mark."

 http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers/faq.jsp#logo

 

Why does the Free Press put up with such a lackadaisical and horrible writer that makes all its sports coverage suffer? He drags the whole quality of their sports section down. There's probably 50 more sports writers in the area who would spend more time and energy than Mr. Sharp, I think Brian spends more time on his writing in a day than Drew Sharp does in a month.