The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/70103
FROM OUR READERS TAKING THE HIGH ROAD April 2012 • Vol. 23, No. 9 ISSN 1048-9940 John Borton Editor Associate Editor Michael Spath The Wolverine.com Editor Chris Balas Football Recruiting Editor Tim Sullivan Staff Writer Andy Reid Managing Editor Chris Riffer Contributing Editor Steve Downey Contributing Writer Ryan Tice Editorial Intern Kevin Minor Jeanette Blankenship Layout And Design Cory Lavalette Contributing Photographers Lon Horwedel Per Kjeldsen Cover Photo Lon Horwedel Publisher Stu Coman Business Manager Linda Autry Circulation Manager Gail Evans Assistant Circulation Manager Jason Jones Marketing/Merchandise Manager Beverly Taylor Director Of Advertising Dave Searcy (12 issues) subscription is $49.95. The Wolverine is printed at The Papers in Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Wolverine, P.O. Box 2331, Durham, NC 27701. Periodical postage paid at Durham, NC 27702 1-800-421-7751 or write The Wolverine, P.O. Box 1304, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. The Wolverine is a publication of Coman Publishing Company, Inc., 324 Blackwell St., Suite 560, Durham, NC 27701. and additional offices. For advertising or subscription information, call thewolverine@comanpub.com Subscription questions: gevans@comanpub.com Web Site: E-Mail Address: www.thewolverine.com 10 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2012 The Wolverine is published monthly. A one-year amazoo in late January that may pro- foundly affect the Wolverine-Spartan football rivalry. During the bleak midwinter each year, the downtown Radisson Hotel hosts a two-day con- ference for Michigan high school foot- ball coaches. University coaches from here in Michigan jump at the chance to be guest speakers and optimize their exposure with the attendees. Brady Hoke was scheduled to ap- Dear The Wolverine: An incident occurred here in Kal- They had reason to complain about the Spartans' dirty and unsportsmanlike play, but chose to only admit that they had been outplayed. I fervently hope that if our side — players, coaches and fans alike — can continue to show the same classiness, perhaps the Wolver- ine-Spartan rivalry can be held back from getting any more ugly. Lou Hoekstra Kalamazoo, Mich. Jeff was rudely interrupted by Danto- nio, who emphatically charged that Jeff had wandered off topic in describing the Wolverines' recruiting strategies. The report of this incident that I read in the Kalamazoo Gazette, a notoriously pro-Spartan paper, mentioned noth- ing about an ungentlemanly response from Hecklinski. Newspapers from around the coun- pear, but was in Houston to accept an award. Greg Mattison, every defen- sive coordinator's nominee for Wiz- ard of the Year, filled in for him. On the second day, Jeff Hecklinski, U-M's recruiting coordinator, was giving a 15-minute talk on challenges facing high school players choosing a college, and MSU head coach Mark Dantonio had already spoken. Five minutes into his presentation, gracious in a number of settings, Lou. But the lack of verbal response shouldn't be taken as any sign of weakness. Answers are being prepared, both through recruiting and workouts, for the season ahead. Hoke & Co. have indeed proven very from The Wolverine concerning the up- coming football season, I fear that I and a large number of the faithful are headed for a letdown. At first blush, we have every reason to be optimistic: we return the vast majority of play- ers from an 11-2 team, we have an ex- cellent coaching staff and we had a top-10 recruiting class. So what's not to like? THE SCHEDULE. Read on if your heart is brave and your stomach strong. • Alabama at Dallas — It's a virtual Dear The Wolverine: Despite periodic cautionary notes SCARY SCHEDULE AHEAD try are reporting that unscrupulous college football recruiters are bad- mouthing Ohio State and Penn State with recruits, as each of the two pro- grams works through their precarious period of transition. However, those recruits are relating that Brady Hoke and his staff are "taking the high road," and saying only positive things about U-M while avoiding negative comments about rival schools. Reading that made me extremely home game for a team that should be suiting up on Sundays and not Satur- days against the mere mortals of col- lege football. • At Notre Dame — Can we real- istically expect Denard to pull off a miracle against a powerful Irish team three years in a row? • At Nebraska — Ouch!! • At Ohio State — The turmoil is proud of our Wolverine football pro- gram and reminded me of how they showed the same poise, dignity and integrity in responding to a heart- breaking loss to the Spartans last fall. Be Heard! Send your letters to: Wolverine Letters • P.O. Box 1304 • Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Or e-mail: jborton@comcast.net Letters may be edited for clarity or length. behind them, they have an excellent new coach, loads of good players and the horseshoe has never been kind to the Maize and Blue. • Michigan State — A home game thankfully, but against a powerful, well coached team whose players drink from a venomous elixir that is part hate and part envy before every Michigan game. Being an eternal optimist, I believe that the Blue has a fair chance to win in four of the five above-mentioned games (the Alabama game is Chris- tians against lions and we are the pious ones). But realistically, emerging from