Also at The Athletic and also free to read.

https://theathletic.com/223555/2018/01/

And, more importantly, why it’s taken so long to get involved.

NCAA president Mark Emmert was specifically alerted in November 2010 — six months after he was hired as the organization's president — to 37 reports involving Michigan State athletes sexually assaulting women.

Kathy Redmond, the founder of the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes, provided The Athletic with a copy of the letter she sent to Emmert urging him to better protect women with new, stronger gender violence policy measures.

In the letter, which was sent after Redmond and Emmert met in person in Indianapolis to discuss the topic, she specifically highlighted concerns about Michigan State. Emmert declined comment when reached by The Athletic on Friday afternoon.

Here is the fourth paragraph of Redmond’s letter, which is dated November 17, 2010:

For example, despite recent reports of sexual violence involving two Michigan State University (MSU) basketball players, one of which admitted to raping the victim, neither man was charged criminally or even disciplined by the school. An earlier report of similar violence involving two other MSU basketball players also went un-redressed. In the past two years alone, 37 reports of sexual assault by MSU athletes have been reported, but not one disciplinary sanction was imposed by school officials against any of the men involved.

“Mark Emmert was brand new, and he’d initially said, ‘One sexual assault is one too many,’ ” Redmond told The Athletic on Friday. “As soon as I heard that, I thought I might have an ally.”

That is what prompted Redmond to reach out in the first place. Emmert responded positively, welcoming her to Indianapolis for what would ultimately be a 90-minute meeting that she attended alongside Wendy Murphy, a nationally recognized legal expert on the topic. They spent that time pushing Emmert to make it clear that sexual violence will not be tolerated; they went through data and policy initiatives to back up their points. They wanted a written policy, guidelines, corrective actions, possible sanctions — any and all ways the NCAA could exert itself as a leader in the area.

At the meeting, Redmond said she specifically mentioned concerns about Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon — at the time a member of the Division I Board of Governors — and her university’s handling of the police report a woman filed accusing the two basketball players — Keith Appling and Adreian Payne — of sexual assault.

Ingham County prosecutors declined to press charges, though the victim said she was told by campus police at the time that it seemed like a strong case to pursue because of Payne’s interview with the police, which included Payne saying he could “understand how she would feel that she was not free to leave.” There were on-campus protests when it became clear that both athletes would remain in school and on the basketball team with no punishment from the school or athletic department.

Redmond said she also sent copies of her letter to the members of the Board of Governors, including Simon.

“What I really got from the experience with Mark Emmert was, that governing body governs him,” Redmond said. “He met with me, which was great and I appreciated that. But the governing board has an awful lot of power. … It’s a strange setup. You do kind of get the fox guarding the hen house mentality. You do feel like the NCAA doesn’t like to do investigations because they like their relationships (with university officials and conferences). I think Mark Emmert came in with the right tone but quickly realized, ‘There’s not a lot I can do here.’ ”..

National Signing Day 2018 2.0, is a yawner for Gopher football fans. We've filled our class, correct? And there will be no more surprises? PWO announcements? 5 star surprises? Graduate transfers?

From The Athletic, but the story is free to non-subscribers.

https://theathletic.com/223266/2018...gnations-sexual-assault-scandal-larry-nassar/

Here's a big chunk of the story, the rest is at the link:

For more than a decade, Michigan State’s wildly successful football coach, Mark Dantonio, fed off the perceived disrespect for his program.

All the while, it turns out, a disturbing number of his players were disrespecting women. And doing so in violent fashion.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines published a bombshell report Friday detailing at least 16 incidents since 2007 involving football players accused of sexual assault or violence against women — nearly all of them previously unreported publicly. Most of the cases did not result in players being charged with a crime.

With a housecleaning already underway in East Lansing over school officials’ negligent responses to the decades-long sexual assault allegations against convicted predator Larry Nassar, it’s hard to imagine Dantonio surviving the avalanche of criticism now coming the school’s way.

To be clear, Dantonio is not accused at this time of covering up accusations in the manner of disgraced former Baylor coach Art Briles. In fact, Paula Lavigne writes, “It's unknown whether campus police or any university administrator ever notified Dantonio about” the previously unreported incidents.

In just the past few days, however, school president Lou Anna Simon resigned under pressure and AD Mark Hollis — just hours before the OTL report’s publication — announced his retirement. Both were widely respected figures in their industries.

Dantonio, who recently completed his 11th season at the school and sixth 10-win season there, is without question one of the most respected coaches in college football. Year after year (with one outlier exception in 2016) he’s produced nationally regarded teams that far exceed expectations relative to their players’ recruiting rankings. They’ve won two Big Ten titles since 2013, reached the 2015 College Football Playoff and, perhaps most gratifying to Spartans fans, have beaten archrival Michigan eight of the past 11 years.

But the days of a successful enough figure being able to outlast an ugly scandal are over. A reckoning is underway in our country regarding sexual violence against women. The atrocities experienced by the hundreds of victims in Nassar’s case struck a nerve nationally this week, unleashing untold anger toward the university that enabled him for two decades.

Now, on top of that, we learn of a series of ugly incidents involving the Spartans’ football program. Whatever his culpability, Dantonio will have an awfully hard time avoiding the tidal wave of anger currently being directed at nearly everyone in power at his university. Now more than ever the public is demanding accountability from their leaders, and Dantonio is responsible for the actions of his players.

The best thing he can do right now is step up and accept that responsibility, and in doing so stand in stark contrast to other Michigan State leaders.

Several school officials, most notably Simon, raised ire toward the school exponentially with their repeated tone deaf and insensitive comments during the Nassar sentencing hearing. Right up through her resignation statement, the school’s president failed to accept even a shred of responsibility over the horrors inflicted on the women and girls who gave their powerful impact statements — which included generations of her own school’s student-athletes. The sentiment expressed by not just her but at least one board of regents member seemed to be that of, stop making this our problem.

You can see iterations of that disregard for the accusers again throughout the OTL report.

The school repeatedly tried to shield the names of accused athletes from open records requests for campus police reports. Former Michigan State sexual assault counselor Lauren Allswede told Lavigne that the handling of complaints against athletes were “happening behind closed doors” and, “None of it was transparent or included people who would normally be involved in certain decisions.”

She also said that an attorney from the university office of general counsel once tried to reassure her that Dantonio had taken a sexual assault accusation against one of his players seriously — by making the player talk to his mother about what he had done.

That of course is the farthest thing from reassuring; It’s insulting.

What looks worse for Dantonio is a comment he made last spring when four of his players were accused of sexual assault — players he eventually dismissed. Michigan State was generally applauded at the time for handling of two incidents involving those athletes.

“This is new ground for us,” Dantonio said then. “We've been here 11 years — it has not happened previously.”

It seems highly unlikely the football coach would have no idea any of his previous players had been accused of sexual violence...

Anyone hear of the new Fleck and Pitino extensions?
I was too far away from radio to hear specifics unless it was fake news.

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Gopher Football walk-on punter Justin Juenemann is the nicest guy on the team. He has always had values that centered on serving and giving, the same values that coach P.J. Fleck has built the Minnesota Gopher Football program on. In August 2017, Juenemann earned a scholarship for his character both on and off the field.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/...-football-alex-malzone-miami-ohio/1055865001/

Gophs see Miami Sept 15 at TCF.

Miami hired a former Nebraska coach this week. Had been with Miami head guy Martin at ND...went to Nebraska with Diaco.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/blogs/...cle_9b248f90-ff8c-11e7-ad36-03effb7f93aa.html

QBs Jeff George and Chance Crouch both leaving.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-illinois-jeff-george-jr-20180117-story.html

http://footballscoop.com/The-Scoop/

MSU defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett heading to FSU.

FSU also getting Michigan TE/OT coach Greg Frey.

WI promoted former QB Budmayr, who was on staff as QC, to 10th coach (QBs).

RU still trying to replace Kill.

ND def coord Elko to Texas A and M; Aranda turned down the big bucks.

Northwestern: Packers defensive quality control Tim McGarigle to NW. McGarigle served as a grad assistant at Northwestern back in 2011 and has since coached linebackers at Western Michigan and Illinois before spending this season in Green Bay. Fleck retained him from previous staff...was with Fleck until 2016.

We had 4 regular starters in the game today and literally could not score. It's hopeless to score. Limited shooting, no ability to get by people, etc.

Lynch doesn't really score so it still would have been ugly.

This is a mess and I'm ready to start over.

By the way, I'd rather see Isaiah Washington run around with his head cut off out there, than watch this schit offense.

Someone said Musselman the other day. He does intrigue me.

Iowa bringing in some guys this weekend; may pass MN:

https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com...f-2018-update-official-visit-rankings-updates

For those concerned about recruiting rankings, the late additions to the class of 2018 should be met with open arms. While Nico Ragaini was unrated when he committed to the Hawkeyes, he has now been fully evaluated and has a 3-star tag according to Rivals.

That moves Iowa up to the 33rd spot nationally and 8th in the Big Ten. For some perspective, the Hawkeyes now sit four spots ahead of Wisconsin and 22 ahead of Iowa State. The Big Ten overall has a very good group of athletes coming in. Ohio State and Penn State both have classes ranked inside the top 5. Michigan, meanwhile, is sitting at #14. Maryland is inside the top 20 and both Michigan State and Nebraska are close behind, both inside the top 25.

If the Hawkeyes were to add another 3-star to the class of 2018, they would jump 3 spots nationally to #30. They would also leapfrog Minnesota, who is ranked higher based on volume, but has a lower average recruit ranking. That would put Iowa 7th in the conference behind the aforementioned OSU, PSU, Michigan, MSU, Maryland and Nebraska.

Rivals is also slated to make their final updates and evaluations for class of 2018 prospects this week. Any changes there would have an impact on overall team rankings. We’ll keep you apprised of such changes.

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@Matt Jessen-Howard @Connor Stevens

SIAP
Many people have made post in many threads, about wether we should or should not redshirt our incoming Freshman.
Especially Faalele,Dunlap,Bateman. I am a firm believer. That you should always play your best players. Period.
Having said that. I have another view as well.

Is it practical. at this point to redshirt them. If they are the best ones at their positions this upcoming year?
Fleck is trying to create a culture here. A winning culture. A culture of an environment of great football history,and tradition.
I'm going to talk only about the football side of life here.
Some kids are looking for where they can play right away as freshman. Others. don't care if they sit or not.
However, let's be honest. At this point the U of M does not have the luxury of sitting freshman for a year.
Coach fleck has to put the best product out on the field. In order to influence(show)the next recruiting classes that things are going in a positive direction. Lets make no mistake about it. Fleck good a little help(FROM THE FORCE)in landing Faalele, andDunlap, because of Zach Annexstad.
The U is not at a point like power house schools. Who have so many top quality football players at each position, that they have that luxury.
At this point Fleck has to utilize the gift that god dropped in his lap and play them. Get to bowl games. Produce right away and give future recruits the impression that the future here in Minnesota is extremely bright. Thus, making The U more attractive and inviting for them.
Later, when we can compete. On an annual basis for top talent at each position. We will have the ability, like other top programs. To redshirt players, because. We will have multiple top echelon players at each position,and they will not be as vital to the continuation of success as the need is right now to produce and forge ahead.
In an Ideal world. Everyone would love to Redshirt them. But, is it practical?

Look, I understand the frustration with the Gophers basketball as I feel it as well...I still think there is GOOD REASON that Richard Pitino was Big Ten coach of the year, last year.. He has made mistakes in recruiting and in strategy but I do think he is in an awfully difficult spot that is NOT ALL OF HIS MAKING.. I do think that he probably need to be more strategic in his recruiting and get better, longer athletes, if possible... We are working so hard for shots and it brings me back to the Tubby days where we don't have offensive movement to create open passes and conversions.

I know people have commented on Tony Bennett at Virginia as having an offense kin to watching paint dry... Well, I would take Tony Bennett in a heartbeat, regardless of years... His teams play good defense and they WIN...WIN IS THE KEY... I happen to like good passing and team ball.. Bennett runs a motion offense and that gets guys open, regardless of defense because you are constantly moving the defense around to create easier offense. I said the same about Bo Ryan AS A BASKETBALL COACH... It is ironic that his HS days were spent on a team that was 'run and gun'(true story). But the common theme is WINNING... I like WINNING regardless of style of play. Discipline on both ends of the floor is fun to watch as well, IMO. These teams aren't exactly playing 4-corners offense and there is a shot clock so the action is more than tolerable with coaches playing their styles. Bennett and Ryan both have turned out NBA players so they cant be too slow with all their talent.. Of course Ryan is gone but yes I was a fan of their style of play as much as I was a Shaka Smart or Paul Westhead, in the day.

I don't think Pitino will get fired after this season but I do think that it is fair to expect him to develop players and more importantly DEVELOP A GOOD TEAM... That last part is the criteria I am looking for.. A team that does not quit when behind.. A team that comes out of timeouts better than when they went in to the TO. Adjustments at half.... When those things exist, we need to encourage players and coaches... Pitino won a NIT and had a great record last year... Don't think all of it was just serendipity. Pitino HAS MADE MISTAKES, no doubt.. But he is still a coach that has enough of a track record of success to give him the benefit of the doubt here.

I still think that some of the most important coaching here has to be about the OFF COURT stuff.. Sexual harassment is a big deal and we have people watching real closely on this campus at our athletes, all the time... That should be engrained into Oturu, Omersa, and Kalscheur before they get to campus next year... No illegal activity or questionable things that could blow up into huge issues. They are kids but they do have responsibility as representatives of the school, whether that is fair or unfair.. We should encourage and congratulate the ones doing the right thing so the ones considering doing wrong can see where we as fans prioritize our adulation... This is a work in progress and everyone that is frustrated is a true Gopher fan, without a doubt.. But the question is WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN ON A CONSISTENT BASIS?? That is what to shoot for every year, no matter the style or whatever. Minnesota SHOULD ALWAYS be towards the top of the Big Ten and anything less than that should be a disappointment.. But I would love to see an uplifting of those doing right, on and off the court, so influence those coming in to show the culture of what a winning team is all about.

The offer was posted in an offer thread but I wanted to drop a note on him. McCullar is 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, and is ranked No. 60 in the 2019 class by Rivals. He has offers from Texas Tech, Houston, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Texas A&M, and Baylor.

He is listed as a shooting guard, but from watching his tape, he appears to have some point guard capabilities. The ball is in his hands a lot as he brings the ball up the court. He definitely has some length for his size, has good athleticism, and can knock down the outside shot.

I will be talking to him Saturday, and should have a story up shorty afterwards.

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SUPER BOWL SERIES: MATT SPAETH



Jan. 26, 2018

Buy Tickets for 2018!

Minneapolis will host the Super Bowl on Feb. 4 when the New England Patriots host the Philadelphia Eagles for the right to be called world champion. The Patriots will be seeking their sixth world championship, while the Eagles are looking for their first. In preparation of the big game, we will take a look back in the coming days at some former Gophers who went on to Super Bowl fame.

Matt Spaeth was drafted by the Pittsburg Steelers in 2007 after a stellar career with the Gophers. He won the John Mackey Award in 2006 and left as the school’s all-time leader in career receptions (109) and receiving yards (1,293) by a tight end. He went to two Super Bowls in four years with the Steelers and caught a six yard pass in their victory over the Cardinals in 2008. While other Gophers have played in a Super Bowl since, Spaeth is the last one to win one. He recently retired and still resides in the Pittsburg area. We caught up with him below:

Gopher Sports: What was it like playing in a Super Bowl? Can you walk us through that whole experience and what you took away from it?

Matt Spaeth: Now that I’m done and not playing I have realized the magnitude of how special that was. At time maybe I was just young or naïve. I was lucky I won a Super Bowl in my second year playing and I went to a Super Bowl in my fourth year so in my first four years I played in two Super Bowls. In hindsight you realize just how special that is but at the time I don’t want to say it was like, ‘wow this is easy,’ but I have a newfound respect for what it means. Especially after playing for a long time after that without getting back or even really that close. You realize just how hard it is. So now I think I have a better understanding and perspective on how awesome it is, but at the time I don’t know if I really did.

GS: Is there anything that does stick out that was really special in those two weeks of anticipation leading up to the Super Bowl?

MS: I still remember winning the AFC Championship and being down on Hines Field celebrating and knowing that we were going to the Super Bowl. Things that really stick out in my mind are the locker room celebration, Super Bowl party that night and from there the parade a few days later and the ring ceremony. Those are the big highlights I remember.

GS: Was there a lot of community back in your hometown of St. Michael, Minn. or the University of Minnesota that reached out to you?

MS: I think I have always been fortunate to have a great supporting system around me. From family, friends and just people in the town I grew up in. Being a kid from a small town in Minnesota and to go to a Super Bowl is a very big deal. What’s cool to me is a lot of people lived that through me and I’m happy I was able to share that. I hear stories. My mom and dad are from a small town in Minnesota and there are people up there that claim me and are proud of me because I am from there. I don’t know them and they don’t know me but they still claim me as one of their own and I love that.

GS: What’s it mean to you being the last Gopher to win a Super Bowl?

MS: Honestly I wish that wasn’t the case. I really do. I hope that moving forward we start to put more guys into the NFL. There are a lot of guys that are playing and are have had great careers and are continuing to have great careers. It would be nice if we had more. I would love not to be the last one.

GS: Lastly, what are you up to nowadays?

MS: I am about to welcome my second child here in April. I am about to have my second daughter. I am also in the process of being a real estate agent.

Ty Barron:


Strengths:

· Physicality. Takes on blocks extremely well. Also, doesn’t get caught up with blockers, just runs right by them or uses an arm to hold them at distance.
· Plays fast. Speed to chase down outside runs and run sideline-to-sideline.
· Athletic. Played a lot of running back as well.

Weaknesses:

· Doesn’t read and diagnose extremely well at this stage. His runs fits will need some work too
· Awareness in pass coverage. Needs to keep his head on a swivel looking for incoming threats

I really like the physical traits that Ty offers. He’s extremely physical as a linebacker with good speed to chase down players. It wouldn’t surprise me if in a couple years he is moved to FB/H-back role. Ty possesses the athleticism to play on the offensive side of the ball if we are deep at LB. Barron is only 6’0”, so he is a bit undersized, but plenty of linebackers have been shorter and had a lot of success. Most of the plays he makes at linebacker are because he’s a great athlete who reacts quickly, but I think he’ll have some to learn about run fits and the linebacker position once he reaches college. Overall, I believe he’ll see the field at some point, at some position.

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Ryan Keating:


Strengths:

· Quick feet. Moves quite well. Can pull and gets to the second level in a hurry
· Finishes blocks. Doesn’t stop blocking until he pancakes defender
· Controls the line of scrimmage at point of attack. Good job of continually moving feet.
· Very good at using his hands to keep defenders away from him in pass rush situations, and keep defenders locked in run block situations.
· Offensive lineman bully attitude

Weaknesses:

· Not a ton of pop when he engages defenders like you see with Dunlap for example
· Moved from tackle his junior year to guard without a ton of pass blocking highlights. Probably something left to be desired there
· Plays high. Needs to lower his leverage

From a PWO standpoint, Keating is a great get. Initially I thought he could be a tackle, but I would predict him being a guard to play to his run blocking strengths. He has the bully attitude and effort that you want to see from an offensive lineman. Good feet, athletic enough to pull and get into defenders bodies. Leverage will need to be addressed as well as his pass blocking technique. At a minimum, he’ll provide offensive line depth. At best, he could see the field down the road.

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Link: Jarrian Jones developing relationship with Fleck

Do you guys think he'll play as a freshman? I think he'll at least be number two on the two deep, providing OJ Smith can play. I've got Silver backing up Gary Moore.

GOPHER ALL-AMERICAN PERKINS RETIRES FROM MLB



Jan. 24, 2018

Former Gopher Baseball All-American pitcher and Minnesota Twins closer Glen Perkins announced his retirement from baseball Wednesday morning in a tweet.

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The three-time All-Star spent each of his 12 Big League seasons with the hometown Twins, collecting 120 career saves including three-straight seasons with 32 or more each season from 2013 until 2015. Despite battling injury the last two seasons, he wrapped his career with a 3.88 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings. He won 35 games and finished 228 out of the bullpen for Minnesota.

As a Gopher, he finished with the fourth-most strikeouts in program history (230) in just two seasons while going 19-5 in 2003 and 2004. He exited the program being drafted in the first round of the 2004 draft (22nd overall) by the Twins, but not before claiming back-to-back S Team All-Big Ten honors and Second Team All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball. In 2004, he was the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and the year prior earned the Big Ten Freshman of the Year nod and landed on the Freshman All-America Team by both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America.

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There are a bunch more tweets listed in the article: http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/012418aac.html

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