Jay Bilas is drunk at the wheel and Pat Forde is buying
Apparently the power of Jay Bilas's overreaction has seeped into other "columnists" at ESPN. See what Pat Forde had to say about "Elbowgate"
Bad actors: Michigan 'bow-throwers Zack Novak (4) and Manny Harris (5).
Transgression: Wolverines freshman Novak nailed Ohio State guard P.J. Hill with a premeditated, intentional elbow along the free throw lane late in the Buckeyes' 72-54 victory Jan. 28. That earned him an ejection from the game, and then some. The school added a one-game suspension, removing the Chesterton, Ind., product from a semi-homecoming game Saturday at Purdue.
Transgression II: Harris was tossed from Michigan's 18-point loss at Purdue on Saturday when he crumpled Purdue pest Chris Kramer with an overloaded elbow while squaring up into triple-threat position. Wolverines coach John Beilein defended Harris, saying it was not malicious and deserving of an ejection, but that heat-seeking clear-through qualified as excessive force. The Minutes is a Beilein fan, but two ejections in two games is troubling. He's got to get his players to keep their sharp edges away from the faces of Big Ten opponents.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3880950&sportCat=ncb.
You have got to be kidding me! Novak deserved the suspension for his elbow - nobody would argue with that. But to claim that Manny Harris's elbow was "overloaded" is just moronic and just reinforces the fact that Forde may be one of the biggest jokes in major college sport reporting. I'm sure that people will get over this quickly as recruiting season nears it end, but I can't get over just how negative ESPN has been about UM recently. Hell, they made a bigger deal about this elbow than the Houston kid DELIBERATELY stepping on Buddinger's (sp) face while playing against Arizona.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:09 PM ^
That's not that much of hyperbole compared to most Forde columns. At least he didn't say it was out of line. It was just a hard hit.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:25 PM ^
this "slant" by espn is strange. Could be hypersensitve, but there appears to be a certain eagerness to report negative views on M.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:31 PM ^
I'm interested in what good news they should be reporting. They gave M plenty of love when we beat UCLA and Duke. What else have Michigan done that's been positive or even slightly newsworthy?
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:52 PM ^
They should report the facts - note that Purdue beat UM and that Harris was kicked out. I'm fine with that. Heck, point out how the team has struggled recently, and how Harris has looked like a shell of his former self. Maybe point out the fact that those two victories were a long time ago, that this team overachieved a bit and is now back to the pack. I don't even mind if they harp on Novak's elbow - that was a dirty play and he should be chastised for it. Those are all facts (save perhaps for the last one), and any UM fan can accept them as being relatively true. But when guys like Bilas and Forde go off on UM under the guise of "neutral" journalism, I take issue with their statements.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:03 PM ^
my all-time favorite forde article was the 'wisconsin reveals the true michigan' article from 2 years ago. that was when i knew he was an idiot. anyone else remember that one?