Your January 13 column
The following is the full text of an e-mail sent to Drew Sharp by J. Swift.
Mr. Sharp,
I read and reread your January 13 column in the Detroit Free Press but cannot understand what you are trying to say. http://www.freep.com/article/20110113/COL08/101130632/1054/sports06/Its-Brandons-legacy-on-line-now Your column received a grade of “F.”
I. In the following section, for example, you struggle but fail to create vivid metaphors from clichés:
1.“If Hoke returns the Wolverines to its level of nine-victory relevance -- with the occasional Bowl Championship Series bowl appearance -- Brandon goes down as the steely nerved protector of the sacred Block M who righted a wayward ship.”
a). a knight who rights a ship? b). a wayward ship? Perhaps a “‘sinking ship”? Who or what “goes down,” Brandon or the ship?
2. “But if Hoke can't close the sizeable gap between U-M and ‘that school from Ohio’ -- as he called it -- in a couple years, then Brandon's tenure will be fitted with a circus top hat.”
a). We were on the sea and the wayward ship with Brandon. Are we now in the Midwest?
b). What gap? The distance between Ann Arbor and Columbus cannot be ‘closed’, barring a seismic event
c). Did you mean that Brandon—steely nerved protector of the sacred Block M, wayward ship righter, geographical gap-closer(?) will have to wear a circus top hat? Or will his ‘tenure’ be fitted with the top hat?
“The two are forever joined at the hip now.”
1. Which two? The sacred Block M and the wayward ship? You cannot mean Brandon’s tenure and the circus top hat because, well, the hat is worn on the head, so joining the head to the hip—that won’t work. But perhaps you mean that Hoke will be joined either to a) Brandon’s tenure, or b) to a circus top hat, or c). a gap between U-M and “that school from Ohio”, or d) to some hip.
Perhaps you meant to say that if Hoke wins nine games, Brandon and he will be forever joined at the hip?
Or perhaps you meant to say that it’s not a matter of winning nine games—no, but that if Hoke cannot close the sizeable gap (?) between U-M and that school from Ohio, Brandon’s tenure will be fitted with a top hat.
Or perhaps you realized that what you wrote in the first paragraph was so confusing that you gave up and simply declared that “The two are forever joined at the hip now,” a remarkable assertion, to say the least.
II. In the following section, you shift suddenly from reporting what Brandon said to dramatizing what he thought and felt, as if you were an omniscient narrator. You’re not. Hint: Hemingway, no mean journalist, dramatized his fictional characters in his short stories and novels. When he reported for papers like the Kansas City Star, he reported facts, not opinions. Before making any corrections, you need to make your point of view consistent to yourself and to your readers. I’ve marked the section with “Reporter” and “Novelist” to help you revise this section. I’ve also underlined verbs and modifiers that you used to create the illusion that you are privy to Brandon’s thoughts. Please revise once you’ve determined your point of view.
[Reporter] Brandonlooked relieved.[Novelist] This was a humbling experience. [Reporter] As a former player, he resembled others [Novelist] caught in the spell of Michigan football being the end-all. He arrogantly went into The Process certain that the Michigan name and reputation would entrance all he pursued, but realized that, quite possibly, Harbaugh and Miles used Michigan to get more for themselves, whether from the NFL or a greater appreciation from the natives.
You should also correct the faulty parallelism in the final clause to read, “whether from the NFL or froma greater appreciation from the natives.” The double “from” is awkward but clear. However, “the natives” introduces additional confusion.
III. Your concluding paragraph sends the hip-joined twain over the cliff. Together, no less.
“But if he [Hoke] can't break through the unrecognizable despair that currently is Michigan football, the two joined at the hip will go sailing over the cliff together.”
1. Hoke will have a devilish time trying to “break through” an unrecognizable despair,” because he can’t break through it if he can’t recognize it. According to your sentence, that unrecognizable despair is Michigan football, posing another puzzle. Are you saying that he won’t be able to find Michigan football? He’s already found it; I watched his press conference in Ann Arbor, and many players attended. You were there yourself, repeatedly asking the same question.
2. I’ve already discussed the “the two joined at the hip”, above. I think that dispatching the two to “go sailing over the cliff together” adds additional confusion.
If you need additional help, please contact one of the editors at the Free Press. I’m sure they are familiar with your work and will be glad to help you with the revision.
J. Swift
January 14th, 2011 at 12:10 AM ^
Section 1, you have competition...
January 14th, 2011 at 12:38 AM ^
Oooh. The dreaded mixed-metaphor, bane of high school English teachers everywhere.
I just re-read the last couple of paragraphs, and that joined at the hip plus falling off the cliff bit seems laughably poor. I can't believe he gets paid to write stuff like this.
Pro Tip: CC this letter to the editors. They're the ones who will actually do something, in theory.
January 14th, 2011 at 1:37 AM ^
January 14th, 2011 at 9:17 AM ^
With regards to Sharp, the Freep editors have been treading water at the door of opportunity for more than a decade, but can't seem to pull the plug, perhaps because they're joined at the hip forever and afraid of going over the cliff.
January 14th, 2011 at 12:35 AM ^
This is first class, OP.
January 14th, 2011 at 12:44 AM ^
This is much better than reading about whether a given person hates Hoke, Rodriguez, or Brandon. And I doubt you'll lack material.
January 14th, 2011 at 12:50 AM ^
if he is smart enough to understand it.
January 14th, 2011 at 12:50 AM ^
So what are you going to do with that talent?
Excellent work on Sharp but he is an easy target.
January 14th, 2011 at 12:51 AM ^
A "colleague"!
There's another point to be made about this Drew Sharp column. It isn't even original. It's not just crap; it is un-original crap. Sharp wrote the exact same column when Rich Rodriguez was hired. Bill Martin's legacy hinges on the success or failure of Rich Rodriguez...blah blah blah.
Which is manifestly untrue. When we have long forgotten who Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke are, and when you'll need a search engine to figure out who Drew Sharp might have been, Bill Martin's Stadium renovation will be standing.
Being a reader of Drew Sharpton is like being Leonard Pinth Garnell. It is such deliciously bad writing, so fantastically incompetent, that the discerning reader can hardly wait until the next installment.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:14 AM ^
Like you, I've noticed that Drew has a strong envrionmental bent and is constantly recycling his trash.
January 14th, 2011 at 12:56 AM ^
What exactly is a "circus top hat"? Is that what Abraham Lincoln wore in his lion-tamer days before he moved on to rail-splitting? Maybe it is similar to the hat that Judge Smails wore in Caddyshack, but more cylindrical. I would like a picture for clarification.
January 14th, 2011 at 1:33 AM ^
Finding an image source for some of Drew Sharpe's other visual imagery may be a tad more difficult.
January 14th, 2011 at 5:31 PM ^
is that Sharp meant "clown hat" -- but I admit, I can't be sure since I only speak pidgin Jackass.
January 14th, 2011 at 1:35 AM ^
January 14th, 2011 at 9:07 AM ^
Isn't he dead?
Ah, but Laputa, headquarters of a certain newspaper, still stands . . .
January 14th, 2011 at 2:32 AM ^
If that guy from that newspaper replies, please share it with us.
January 14th, 2011 at 7:16 AM ^
January 14th, 2011 at 8:49 AM ^
Great job. But I was surprised that you let "unrecognizable despair" go without comment. Yet again, how do those two go together, plus, how do they relate to the UM football team? You mean he came out of that press conference thinking UM football was in despair. It is not possible he really believes that.
January 14th, 2011 at 10:28 AM ^
It is not possible that he really believes that because the despair was in costume, therefor unrecognizable, so he couldn't recognize it. Sharp asserts that there is despair around the program but it can't be recognized...which if true, how does he know?
January 14th, 2011 at 8:53 AM ^
...fisking. Very well done.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:09 AM ^
Our program might not be where we want it to be, but to claim that it's in a state of unrecognizable disrepair is ridiculous.
All we need is a defense.
January 14th, 2011 at 2:48 PM ^
You're in despair, but you don't recognize it -- instead, you keep insisting football is all about "offense" and "defense." You poor fool . . . .
January 14th, 2011 at 9:35 AM ^
Are you saying that he won’t be able to find Michigan football? He’s already found it; I watched his press conference in Ann Arbor, and many players attended. You were there yourself, repeatedly asking the same question.
On my way home to change shirts b/c I have coffee all over the one I was wearing thanks to this gem. hahahaha.
January 14th, 2011 at 4:01 PM ^
January 14th, 2011 at 9:55 AM ^
This is awesome. Good job.
January 14th, 2011 at 11:13 AM ^
Well done. I would have written 50 four letter words and signed it with a Bronx salute. That's all I feel asshats like Sharp deserve.
January 14th, 2011 at 3:01 PM ^
And there hasn't been a post that's made me laugh in a while.
Good Job!
January 14th, 2011 at 3:43 PM ^
Drew Sharp writes things to get this kind of reaction. Much like on the board, please don't feed the trolls. Just laugh at it and move on.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:07 PM ^
I loved those points..every time I read his drivel (why do I?) I am amazed at how much he mixes tangible observations/facts with speculation or (contrarian) opinion..
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