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The Stupidity of Pete Fiutak
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There may be no greater hack in the world of sports writing than Pete Fiutak of College Football "News". Why they even call it news is beyond me, as the website never contains any scoops at all. It's simply written by a bunch of fanboys whose only "expertise" in analyzing football comes from warming the bench of their freshman teams in high school. I know that MGoBlog's policy of dealing with CFN is to simply ignore it for the most part, (and Brian just took Fiutak to task for talking about Stevie Brown as an All-Big Ten performer) but after reading the pathetic preview this wannabe wrote about Michigan I had to vent my frustration.
Fiutak writes that Nick Sheridan "wasn't awful in the season opener against Utah" which is exactly why he was replaced by Steven Threet in that game. Fiutak makes such genius "observations" as Brandon Moore is "not a great route runner, but he's a devastating blocker" (Moore never saw the field during his first season last year, so how could Fiutak know that?). And don't get me started on his preview of the offensive line:
"The key to the line might be the play of Mark Huyge, a 6-6, 291-pound sophomore who was good enough this spring at right tackle that it allowed Schilling to move inside. A major surprise, considering he didn’t see the field last year, he showed that he could handle the workload with excellent athleticism and good toughness. He’s great at pulling and getting on the move."
First of all, Huyge didn't see the field last year because he was INJURED, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that he did well in spring ball because he would've surely played last season if he was healthy given the state of the offensive line. But Fiutak makes no note of this as he was merely pulling this preview out of his ass. He even contradicts himself when he says Huyge is "great at pulling and getting on the move", How the hell do you know that if he didn't play?! Were you at spring practice? Did you ever watch Michigan play and actually take notes of how every player on the offensive line was performing? Did you exhaustively go over the game tape and analyze the intricacies of every play as Brian does here at MGoBlog? No. You merely looked at the names on the roster and made up stuff that would make you look like you know what the hell you're talking about.
This matters only because innocent people might go to this website thinking they are getting real analysis. Not knowing that Fiutak and his coworkers are no smarter than the anyone else. Sure, they can probably tell you the names of all the starting quarterbacks for every FBS team, but just because you can memorize all of the defensive lineman on North Texas doesn't make you smart. Just because an 8 year old can know the batting averages of every batter on the Tigers doesn't mean he could manage the team. Fiutak is put on Big Ten Network as an expert, he writes a column for FoxSports.com last I knew. He is polluting the internet with his uneducated viewpoints. A hack like this must be discredited at every possible turn.
Death to CFN!
Fiutak writes that Nick Sheridan "wasn't awful in the season opener against Utah" which is exactly why he was replaced by Steven Threet in that game. Fiutak makes such genius "observations" as Brandon Moore is "not a great route runner, but he's a devastating blocker" (Moore never saw the field during his first season last year, so how could Fiutak know that?). And don't get me started on his preview of the offensive line:
"The key to the line might be the play of Mark Huyge, a 6-6, 291-pound sophomore who was good enough this spring at right tackle that it allowed Schilling to move inside. A major surprise, considering he didn’t see the field last year, he showed that he could handle the workload with excellent athleticism and good toughness. He’s great at pulling and getting on the move."
First of all, Huyge didn't see the field last year because he was INJURED, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that he did well in spring ball because he would've surely played last season if he was healthy given the state of the offensive line. But Fiutak makes no note of this as he was merely pulling this preview out of his ass. He even contradicts himself when he says Huyge is "great at pulling and getting on the move", How the hell do you know that if he didn't play?! Were you at spring practice? Did you ever watch Michigan play and actually take notes of how every player on the offensive line was performing? Did you exhaustively go over the game tape and analyze the intricacies of every play as Brian does here at MGoBlog? No. You merely looked at the names on the roster and made up stuff that would make you look like you know what the hell you're talking about.
This matters only because innocent people might go to this website thinking they are getting real analysis. Not knowing that Fiutak and his coworkers are no smarter than the anyone else. Sure, they can probably tell you the names of all the starting quarterbacks for every FBS team, but just because you can memorize all of the defensive lineman on North Texas doesn't make you smart. Just because an 8 year old can know the batting averages of every batter on the Tigers doesn't mean he could manage the team. Fiutak is put on Big Ten Network as an expert, he writes a column for FoxSports.com last I knew. He is polluting the internet with his uneducated viewpoints. A hack like this must be discredited at every possible turn.
Death to CFN!
July 31st, 2009 at 7:32 PM | 
Pete who?
Pete who?
July 31st, 2009 at 7:35 PM |
Sounds like a dumb
Sounds like a dumb
Sounds like a dumb guy...
Also, why should we get worked up about what he thinks?
July 31st, 2009 at 7:49 PM |
YEAHH .. you little CFN
YEAHH .. you little CFN
YEAHH .. you little CFN fanboys can stick it BROTHER !!
July 31st, 2009 at 8:24 PM |
I stopped reading CFN during
I stopped reading CFN during
I stopped reading CFN during the 07/08 season. Thanks for another reminder as to why.
There are no corners in space.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:35 PM |
Not really a diary post,
Not really a diary post,
Not really a diary post, maybe an angry thread.
August 1st, 2009 at 12:24 AM |
Yeah...
Yeah...
but it's July 31. There isn't much breaking news in the world of Michigan football other than UConn in 2010.
Hoke bitches...Hoke.
August 1st, 2009 at 8:45 AM |
Yeah, that's true. Still,
Yeah, that's true. Still,
Yeah, that's true. Still, ragging on one guy and his one statement is not really worth a diary IME.
August 1st, 2009 at 7:25 AM |
Fiutak and CFN used to be good
Fiutak and CFN used to be good
But as with all publications that start to get some decent readership, income and visibility...they now suck. I, too, used to read them religiously for overall CFB landscape background, but now that a lot of them do their podcasts and guest appearances on CFB highlight shows on EPSN, Fox, Comcast, CSN and the like, they have gone to fluff and not doing their homework. SO their writing and info is crap....
Brian, pls tell us you won't fall into this trap as you become big time.....
"Those Who Stay Will Be Champions"
August 1st, 2009 at 8:53 AM |
This ain't a popular viewpoint, but I think CFN has its place
This ain't a popular viewpoint, but I think CFN has its place
I know Fiutak is as likely to write something stupid as he is something reasonable, but the fact that the entire site is devoted to college football still makes it worthwhile to me. There's enough hard factual info there that I just don't pay all that much attention to the opinion guys. It's not as though everything coming from the keyboard of Pat Forde or the other hacks at ESPN or SI is beyond criticism.
Nothing beats my copy of Phil Steele, though. He's not as great a prognosticator as he says he is, but the sheer volume of information and data keeps it within my reach every day during the season, and most days in the off-season.
August 1st, 2009 at 10:07 AM |
agree with Phil Steele.
But
agree with Phil Steele.
But
agree with Phil Steele.
But he said Ray Roundtree instead of Roy Roundtree. Unacceptable.
So tell us how you really feel.Such anger.
The team, the team, the team.-Bo Schembechler