Freep Article on Winovich

As far as I know, Drew Sharp had nothing to do with Stretchgate.  Sharp isn't smart enough, or calculating enough, or competent enough to engage in that sort of carefully-concocted malice.

Stretchgate was the product of Michael Rosenberg, with the help of Mark Snyder.  The Freep editors later engaged a couple of other reporters, including the paper's real investigative reporter, Jim Schaefer, but the story -- the Free Press allegations, that is -- quickly flamed out.  All that remained was the kernel that the Freep had instigated an NCAA investigation, which was surely Michael Rosenberg's aim.  And it was then that NCAA investigation that (a) damaged Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan football program and (b) determined that the original Free Press published allegations were mostly overblown and misreported hyperbole.

The basic reader on the subject of Stretchgate is John U. Bacon's Three and Out.  Brian Cook published his own thoughts on the subject in many places; this link is a good place to start.

New York political writer Jon Chait, who was a friend and colleague of Michael Rosenberg insofar as both were Michigan Daily editors (and Chait had done a favorable review of Rosenberg's book War As They Knew It) absolutely ripped the Free Press story the moment it came out in the early fall of '09.  His two online GBMW columns are essential reading on the subject.  Here and here.

Rosenberg quit the Free Press and now works for SI.com.  He keeps a generalized distance from Michigan athletics despite still living in Ann Arbor.

Mark Snyder is obviously still at the Freep.  And to my observation, David Brandon's attitude toward Snyder is "talk to the hand."  I think it extends to most of the Michigan football coaching staff, and some of the basketball staff.  When Snyder gets an interview these days, it is usually with a recruit or a freshman who hasn't been in Ann Arbor long enough to know about his depredations in July and August of 2009.  Snyder still stands by the rotten and defective story that he and Rosenberg concocted.  He deserves to be given the cold shoulder by every single Michigan student athlete, coach and administrator.

As for Drew Sharp, that human waste of newsprint, my favorite quote from him is that, "I used to be a Michigan fan.  Then I grew up."

To all young Michigan student-athletes: if you want to talk to someone in the press, there are plenty of people to talk to and get your story out.  There is MGoBlog.  There is the superb Angelique Chengelis at the Detroit News, whose own friendship with Rosenberg was very rightly strained over Stretchgate.  There is Larry Lage of the Detroit Associated Press office.  There is the Michigan Daily, and many others.  There is no good reason for you to talk to Mark Snyder, and there is very good reason for you to never talk to Drew Sharp.

It was NOT Michigan players "running off" anywhere. One was a former player and a little butthurt, but the Freep instigated the entire thing.

The findings of the NCAA investigation are actually mostly irrelevant in this case. The ONLY reason they conducted it was due to a shoddy bit of journalism that lied about the reported overages.

A GA lied to the NCAA. That's all the GA, as he was dismissed.

The COMPLIANCE staff screwed up big time, yes. It had nothing to do with the coaching staff or their methods. The Freep tried to portray Michigan as Football Gitmo and it inadvertently uncovered two dudes who just stopped doing their jobs for a year.

You are full of shit today.

We don't know of any then-current Michigan players who supported the Stretchgate concoction.  Brandin Hawthorne and Je'Ron Stokes both were interviewed by Rosenberg, on media day, and both of them were horrified at the way their quotes were misused.  Rosenberg did not tell them the nature of his story.  And Rosenberg has never come close to offering a sensible explanation why he felt he needed to give anonymity cover to former players, but not a pair of then-freshmen who had only been with the program a few weeks.

I think the safe bet is that Rosenberg talked to two vulnerable, misled freshmen, and a few disgruntled ex-players whose cellphone numbers he and Snyder happened to have.  What Rosenberg did to the two freshmen was inexcusable and unforgiveable.  That was the subject of Angelique Chngelis' deepest criticism of Rosenberg.

Not a single Michigan player "ran off" to the Free Press.  We know that, for a fact.  Rosenberg was asked if he had been approached by any players, or whether he had sought out each and every player/family interview he did.  It was the latter.  Rosenberg and Snyder looked for a story, and they approached every single player who was a source.

A GA did get hit with lying.  He was fired.  His lying had nothing to do with practice hours, but rather with job descriptions and GA activities.

As for any systemic errors, the one charge that the NCAA folded on was the charge of a failure to monitor by Coach Rodriguez.  The University denied it, Rodriguez denied it and together they won.

Are you still pretending to be a Michigan fan?  I get why you would be embarrassed to admit to being an ohio state fan, but this is just sad.

Obvious doucheb....er, troll, is obvious.

Sorry, Mr. Kass.  You should leave these Freep fluff-links off The Board, in my humble opinion.

Let's review.  What you read was some nice happy-fluff about Chase Winovich.  I don't suppose that much of it was news to you, since you know this site very well.

What you saw was "confirmation news."  Hey, our guy Chase Winovich got mentioned in the Deee-troit Free Press!  Yay!

Bullshit.  We should not be giving the Freep any more page-hits, for fluff like this.  I'm not even much of a hard-liner about Freep links.  I never promoted any Freep "boycott" as a serious matter.  If they publish something that is newsworthy or controversial or otherwise Board-worthy, I won't complain about a Freep link.  But your link is the sort of crap that they want linked at places like MGoBlog.  They'd love it at the Freep, if MGoBlog drove page-hits their way.

Any questions?