brose

February 7th, 2010 at 12:31 PM ^

I have never e-mailed him before, but I did this morning...I have always liked him and he is balanced and offers great insight...and can be pretty funny from time to time.

GATO

February 7th, 2010 at 12:31 PM ^

"Every fan wants to win, and the most vocal ones demand to win. No problem. Just don't be a hypocrite and hope to reap the benefits without any risk."

He hit the nail on the head. I don't know if Dorsey will work out or not but the whole "we are too pure to consider giving someone a second chance" mindset bothers me.

blueheron

February 7th, 2010 at 4:14 PM ^

I can't stand the Old Blues who take that position. They don't think clearly. Ask them about the Anthony Carter touchdown from '79 and they'll probably tell you the game was in Los Angeles, against #1 USC, with Michigan trailing. (It was actually at Michigan Stadium, against perennial powerhouse Indiana, and the teams were tied when the play occurred.)

Tater

February 7th, 2010 at 12:37 PM ^

..."Freep" and "balanced" are mutually exclusive.

Wojo's column is the first truly balanced one I have seen from the Detroit market on Dorsey. I think he was able to do this for the same reason he is able to write such funny humor pieces: he distances himself from the "life and death" attitudes that so many have about sports.

The only thing that would have been better is if he had noted that the same reporters who are on the Dorsey story like white on rice treat the Great Frathouse Beatdown like it was a child's birthday party.

ColsBlue

February 7th, 2010 at 12:57 PM ^

The Freep won't "take note", it already knows exactly what it's doing. Wojo wrote an insightful, objective opinion piece on the same subject the Freep chose to sensationalize. Both accounts will reach their intended audiences and result in the intended response. We like the piece because it's rational and realistic. The Freep has long ago abandoned both in favor of tabloid style hit pieces aimed at an audience of poorly informed, lazy readers. Wojo, again, took the high road while Sharp, Rosenberg, and Snyder continue to slop in the mud.

Section 1

February 7th, 2010 at 2:37 PM ^

The operative presumption, even among the "fair minded" press (as opposed to the merely malicious press in the persons of Sharp and Rosenberg), is that there is an arguable point that Rich Rodriguez somehow made Dorsey's past an issue by his statements in the Thursday presser. That, somehow, because Rich Rodriguez's statements did not include detail of the circumstances around the old arrests, it made it all ripe for rebuttal.

There is only one good answer for that; and it has nothing to do with Dorsey. Dorsey's past is history. Dorsey's past was neither unknown to his recruiters, nor was it misrepresented to anyone else. Short of discussing that in detail under cross-examination from the Free Press -- THE KIND OF CROSS EXAMINATION THAT THE FREE PRESS WON'T ALLOW OF ITS ANONYMOUS SOURCES -- the reponse from Rodriguez would otherwise just to have to be, "I am fully aware of Demar's history; I don't propose to discuss it beyond that."

This is an area that bears further consideration; to what extent should any information be supplied to the Detroit media? Any of them? I would suggest very, very little. We simply don't need them. We will fill the Stadium, graduate talented people out into the marketplace, command impressive research facilities and grant work, and replenish an endowment that drawfs the entire state budget defecit. The Athletic Department operates in the black without help from the state or the University's general fund.

We just don't need the Detroit newspapers, or the radio and television coverage. We have a national television contract with ABC/ESPN and a regional contract with BTN. The Detroit media need Michigan, desperately. Michigan doesn't need them. The Detroit media is simply a nuisnace.

We aren't the Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers or Lions. Nobody is selling our franchise. Nobody is blacking us out because it isn't a sellout. We aren't doing bobblehead day, or thunderstick night.

What concerns me is that Mary Sue Coleman won't think like this. She is politically and public-relationally connected to the Free Press. Where David Brandon fits in this antogonism that won't go away, will be interesting.

Section 1

February 7th, 2010 at 4:36 PM ^

Rosenberg lives in the Ann Arbor area. Does he live an existence, locally, like a Howard Stern, or a Glen Beck, or Keith Olbermann? The kind of guy you just want to confront, and yell at, whether it is in a bar, at a book signing or a supermarket line?

Is there any sports fan in Southeast Michigan that hasn't been offended or outraged by Drew Sharp? If there is, it hasn't been for lack of effort on his part.

Yeah, I am all in favor of public displays of nonaffection for these guys and their employer.

M-Wolverine

February 7th, 2010 at 3:10 PM ^

Yes, in my imagination they all hang out together.

But while I know they would never criticize one another in public, with the reasonable reporting by the News and the Freep being the Freep, do they ever get together and say WTF are you guys doing over there?!?!

Section 1

February 7th, 2010 at 4:19 PM ^

as competition, and probably aren't all that friendly, but then again they are all doing sort of the same job. And yes they spend a lot of time together. Sportswriting doesn't lend itself to fighting with other members of the press, because you write a story and then move on to the next game.

The relationships between the broadcast media and the print people can be downright incestuous. I NEVER hear any criticism of the print press by radio and tv; and it is because they often go to those same press guys for interviews and content. "Corrupt" is not too strong a word for those conflicts of interest.

doughboy

February 7th, 2010 at 5:34 PM ^

The article does a nice job of demonstrating where Michigan (and college football) is today versus the days of yore'. Wojo does a nice job of point - counterpoint within the article.

Is it possible to have him call Valenti or even his old station to talk to Drew? Probably best just to ignore those two and let their own bravado burn itself out.