Your January 13 column

Submitted by J.Swift on

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

BlueDragon

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.

Section 1

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.

mfan_in_ohio

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. 

SC Wolverine

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.

BlockM

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.

Mitch Cumstein

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.

JTGoBlue

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..