It's very well written and I would love to see Sharp's response. But I won't hold my breath waiting for one. My only reservation the attention we are all paying to DS is this. Sharp writes these articles not in spite of, but because of, the negative attention. He wants people to post stuff with his name on it, so that he gets more "hits" on the net. Then, he can justify his articles as being "newsworthy." I am as guilty as anyone is getting sucked into his game. Also, I suppose that, if his lies garner any national attention, he does need to be called out in public. Otherwise, the best thing is probably just to ignore him.

Dear Drew, Your story about Rich Rodriguez taking a chance on Demar Dorsey raises a fair question, especially given Mark Dantonio’s experience with his 20 or so players committing mayhem during their fraternity raid, which you acknowledge, and the hockey assault last season by the MSU players that seriously injured a Michigan player. But your story also raises questions about your judgment and your newspaper’s judgment. I question your objectivity. In the past year, Michigan State coaches in both football and hockey reinstated players to the team after the players committed assaults of one sort or another. A number of players were convicted, some were dismissed from their teams, but some who committed assaults or participated in the incidents were reinstated to their teams. How can a player who commits an assault—a player already playing on a varsity football or hockey team, with a year or more of coaching, growing up, learning the University’s rules, etc. under his belt—be compared to a high school player who has been to campus perhaps once or twice? If Coach Rodriguez is “taking a chance” with one recruit who has been accused but not convicted of assault, what kind of chance is a coach taking who reinstates” players that have been arrested and convicted for assault, especially since those players are older, presumably more mature, and have played with a varsity college team for a year or more? In your column on Coach Rodriguez, I came away with the impression that he and Demar Dorsey have already been convicted of felony assault. Sentences such as the following gave me th impression of imminent disaster looming for Coach Rodriguez and the University of Michigan: “Is Rodriguez that desperate following only eight victories in his first two seasons that he will take a player who, if he just hiccups inappropriately at U-M, could become the poster child for a football program's standards crumbling into dust?” I also take issue with the Free Press photo gallery of signing day, which almost seems calculated to leave the impression that the University of Michigan is a very grim place indeed. I looked through the 64 pictures in the “photo album” yesterday, and saw nothing but smiling, relaxed, friendly faces of players—William Gholston and Johnathan Hankins are shown smiling in many of the photos--who have signed letters of intent to attend MSU, OSU, PSU, Central, Indiana, Iowa, etc. In his photos, MSU Coach Mark Dantonio looks like a man of rectitude (#53), or is smiling confidently (#54). Coach Rodriguez’ photos follow immediately after Coach Dantonio’s (#55, #56), and the contrast can’t be missed. He is grim, uncomfortable, on edge. In the context of the Free Press coverage and your “opinion piece,” he might well be mistaken for a coach accused of felonious recruiting. One can’t miss the point, although one could miss the University of Michigan recruits, who do not appear (except a few in background shots) until photo #57. But if someone did miss the point, the “Related Content” panel that accompanies every one of the 64 photos is there to ask, “• Why would Rich Rod take big risk with Fla. recruit? • Michigan takes chance with Demar Dorsey, but why? The Mark Dantonio quote on the same panel? MSU's Mark Dantonio: 'We’ve addressed our needs with a pretty balanced class'. And not to belabor my complaint about your lack of objectivity and your rather obvious bias, but since the panel repeats on every one of the 64 pictures, it’s not exactly a subtle message, is it? Especially since the same headline, “Why would Rich Rod take chances” appears on the paper’s front page today. Personally, I would like to ask you and the Free Press to reconsider your own judgment and your coverage of Coach Rodriguez and the University of Michigan. I’m left to conclude that your obvious dislike of both has distorted your standards as a journalist. I’m left with as well with the conclusion that the Free Press is on a vendetta against Coach Rodriguez. I don’t agree with the picture that you and the Free Press have painted. I believe that Coach Rodriguez, while not perfect, has done a very good job of maintaining the University’s standards for player conduct. Let me conclude by asking you a question: have you or your paper—and I include the Free Press stories about Coach Rodriguez requiring excessive practice time in violation of NCAA rules in this question—found conclusive, factual evidence that Coach Rodriguez has behaved in an unethical manner at the University of Michigan? If so, I and others would like to read about it, so that we can judge for ourselves. Isn’t that how a newspaper is supposed to work? Curt Hartog

Dear Drew, Your story about Rich Rodriguez taking a chance on Demar Dorsey raises a fair question, especially given Mark Dantonio’s experience with his 20 or so players committing mayhem during their fraternity raid, which you acknowledge, and the hockey assault last season by the MSU players that seriously injured a Michigan player. But your story also raises questions about your judgment and your newspaper’s judgment. I question your objectivity. In the past year, Michigan State coaches in both football and hockey reinstated players to the team after the players committed assaults of one sort or another. A number of players were convicted, some were dismissed from their teams, but some who committed assaults or participated in the incidents were reinstated to their teams. How can a player who commits an assault—a player already playing on a varsity football or hockey team, with a year or more of coaching, growing up, learning the University’s rules, etc. under his belt—be compared to a high school player who has been to campus perhaps once or twice? If Coach Rodriguez is “taking a chance” with one recruit who has been accused but not convicted of assault, what kind of chance is a coach taking who reinstates” players that have been arrested and convicted for assault, especially since those players are older, presumably more mature, and have played with a varsity college team for a year or more? In your column on Coach Rodriguez, I came away with the impression that he and Demar Dorsey have already been convicted of felony assault. Sentences such as the following gave me th impression of imminent disaster looming for Coach Rodriguez and the University of Michigan: “Is Rodriguez that desperate following only eight victories in his first two seasons that he will take a player who, if he just hiccups inappropriately at U-M, could become the poster child for a football program's standards crumbling into dust?” I also take issue with the Free Press photo gallery of signing day, which almost seems calculated to leave the impression that the University of Michigan is a very grim place indeed. I looked through the 64 pictures in the “photo album” yesterday, and saw nothing but smiling, relaxed, friendly faces of players—William Gholston and Johnathan Hankins are shown smiling in many of the photos--who have signed letters of intent to attend MSU, OSU, PSU, Central, Indiana, Iowa, etc. In his photos, MSU Coach Mark Dantonio looks like a man of rectitude (#53), or is smiling confidently (#54). Coach Rodriguez’ photos follow immediately after Coach Dantonio’s (#55, #56), and the contrast can’t be missed. He is grim, uncomfortable, on edge. In the context of the Free Press coverage and your “opinion piece,” he might well be mistaken for a coach accused of felonious recruiting. One can’t miss the point, although one could miss the University of Michigan recruits, who do not appear (except a few in background shots) until photo #57. But if someone did miss the point, the “Related Content” panel that accompanies every one of the 64 photos is there to ask, “• Why would Rich Rod take big risk with Fla. recruit? • Michigan takes chance with Demar Dorsey, but why? The Mark Dantonio quote on the same panel? MSU's Mark Dantonio: 'We’ve addressed our needs with a pretty balanced class'. And not to belabor my complaint about your lack of objectivity and your rather obvious bias, but since the panel repeats on every one of the 64 pictures, it’s not exactly a subtle message, is it? Especially since the same headline, “Why would Rich Rod take chances” appears on the paper’s front page today. Personally, I would like to ask you and the Free Press to reconsider your own judgment and your coverage of Coach Rodriguez and the University of Michigan. I’m left to conclude that your obvious dislike of both has distorted your standards as a journalist. I’m left with as well with the conclusion that the Free Press is on a vendetta against Coach Rodriguez. I don’t agree with the picture that you and the Free Press have painted. I believe that Coach Rodriguez, while not perfect, has done a very good job of maintaining the University’s standards for player conduct. Let me conclude by asking you a question: have you or your paper—and I include the Free Press stories about Coach Rodriguez requiring excessive practice time in violation of NCAA rules in this question—found conclusive, factual evidence that Coach Rodriguez has behaved in an unethical manner at the University of Michigan? If so, I and others would like to read about it, so that we can judge for ourselves. Isn’t that how a newspaper is supposed to work? Curt Hartog

Dear Drew, Your story about Rich Rodriguez taking a chance on Demar Dorsey raises a fair question, especially given Mark Dantonio’s experience with his 20 or so players committing mayhem during their fraternity raid, which you acknowledge, and the hockey assault last season by the MSU players that seriously injured a Michigan player. But your story also raises questions about your judgment and your newspaper’s judgment. I question your objectivity. In the past year, Michigan State coaches in both football and hockey reinstated players to the team after the players committed assaults of one sort or another. A number of players were convicted, some were dismissed from their teams, but some who committed assaults or participated in the incidents were reinstated to their teams. How can a player who commits an assault—a player already playing on a varsity football or hockey team, with a year or more of coaching, growing up, learning the University’s rules, etc. under his belt—be compared to a high school player who has been to campus perhaps once or twice? If Coach Rodriguez is “taking a chance” with one recruit who has been accused but not convicted of assault, what kind of chance is a coach taking who reinstates” players that have been arrested and convicted for assault, especially since those players are older, presumably more mature, and have played with a varsity college team for a year or more? In your column on Coach Rodriguez, I came away with the impression that he and Demar Dorsey have already been convicted of felony assault. Sentences such as the following gave me th impression of imminent disaster looming for Coach Rodriguez and the University of Michigan: “Is Rodriguez that desperate following only eight victories in his first two seasons that he will take a player who, if he just hiccups inappropriately at U-M, could become the poster child for a football program's standards crumbling into dust?” I also take issue with the Free Press photo gallery of signing day, which almost seems calculated to leave the impression that the University of Michigan is a very grim place indeed. I looked through the 64 pictures in the “photo album” yesterday, and saw nothing but smiling, relaxed, friendly faces of players—William Gholston and Johnathan Hankins are shown smiling in many of the photos--who have signed letters of intent to attend MSU, OSU, PSU, Central, Indiana, Iowa, etc. In his photos, MSU Coach Mark Dantonio looks like a man of rectitude (#53), or is smiling confidently (#54). Coach Rodriguez’ photos follow immediately after Coach Dantonio’s (#55, #56), and the contrast can’t be missed. He is grim, uncomfortable, on edge. In the context of the Free Press coverage and your “opinion piece,” he might well be mistaken for a coach accused of felonious recruiting. One can’t miss the point, although one could miss the University of Michigan recruits, who do not appear (except a few in background shots) until photo #57. But if someone did miss the point, the “Related Content” panel that accompanies every one of the 64 photos is there to ask, “• Why would Rich Rod take big risk with Fla. recruit? • Michigan takes chance with Demar Dorsey, but why? The Mark Dantonio quote on the same panel? MSU's Mark Dantonio: 'We’ve addressed our needs with a pretty balanced class'. And not to belabor my complaint about your lack of objectivity and your rather obvious bias, but since the panel repeats on every one of the 64 pictures, it’s not exactly a subtle message, is it? Especially since the same headline, “Why would Rich Rod take chances” appears on the paper’s front page today. Personally, I would like to ask you and the Free Press to reconsider your own judgment and your coverage of Coach Rodriguez and the University of Michigan. I’m left to conclude that your obvious dislike of both has distorted your standards as a journalist. I’m left with as well with the conclusion that the Free Press is on a vendetta against Coach Rodriguez. I don’t agree with the picture that you and the Free Press have painted. I believe that Coach Rodriguez, while not perfect, has done a very good job of maintaining the University’s standards for player conduct. Let me conclude by asking you a question: have you or your paper—and I include the Free Press stories about Coach Rodriguez requiring excessive practice time in violation of NCAA rules in this question—found conclusive, factual evidence that Coach Rodriguez has behaved in an unethical manner at the University of Michigan? If so, I and others would like to read about it, so that we can judge for ourselves. Isn’t that how a newspaper is supposed to work? Curt Hartog

Don't waste an ounce of energy on Sharp and that fucktard Valenti. You'll only get more frustrated and they'll always have the last word.

hemlock philosopher...dude,,, please remove your attempt at humor. Just insert another metaphor. Respectfully, Elno Lewis

Good job. I doubt he will respond.

dont have to time to read all the responses, so dont know if it was mentioned, but you should also send this to the editors and editorial dept.

someone can set up a website were we can go to sign a petition stating that we are now boycotting anything related to the Free Press or their sponsers until this Drew joker gets the boot. If we spread the internet word to the U of M community, I could image we could get thousands of folks to sign this and show the free press how much this jerk is hurting them, their paper and their sponsers..... There should be an immediate MGoBlog Rule stating/disallowing anymore future posts or references to anything related to the Free Press. They should be dead to this site and folks who enjoy it.....

Sharpton

the Legion of Lenin award has been approved. We are all so proud of you! And, Hemlock Philsopher--thank you for showing class. I will posbang your every entry in the future.