Just a few Monday morning Nitt Picks for you.
Part II of the Ann Arbor News report on Michigan athletics and academics is out. It's a pretty interesting read.
During the essay test last December, one undergraduate - an athlete - caught Basten's attention.
"I could tell by the look on his face, and also based on the work he had done previously in class, that he had no clue what to write," Basten said. "It was a 50-minute exam, and he probably wrote three sentences."
Basten said the experience almost brought tears to his eyes. But the full-time kinesiology lecturer added that watching a Michigan student-athlete struggle is not an isolated occurrence.
"As far as the university's history, it's not all good," he said. "There have been people who have worked to do the right thing, but more often than not, athletic talent has won out over academic ability."
Again, I don't think there is anything earth shattering here. Maybe I was a bit overdramatic yesterday. Athletes taking easy classes for easy majors is nothing new. It seems to me all this series of articles is doing is pulling back the curtain to show the disgusting details of how the sausage is made. I don't think Michigan has anything to worry about so far, but it must be difficult for them to read nonetheless.
Our Beaver is Bigger
Who says size doesn't matter? I know I'm late on getting around to this, but starting this fall Beaver Stadium will now have the largest capacity of any college football stadium in the country. Don't panic. They're not going to take away two inches of space for you to sit on, so don't go buying that thigh master just yet. Michigan is having to remove seats in order to accomodate the handicapped Wolverine fans.
The nation's second-largest college stadium since 2001, Beaver Stadium will now seat more fans than Michigan Stadium because the Wolverines will add more wheelchair-accessible seating by eliminating other seats. By the 2008 season, Michigan Stadium -- which currently holds 107,501 seats -- is expected to hold 106,201 seats, according to The Michigan Daily. Beaver Stadium holds 107,282 seats.
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| Yay for disproportionately sized bar graphs! | |
Devlin Staying Put at PSU
The quarterback battle is starting to heat up. People are choosing their sides. Today the Collegian takes a look at Pat Devlin.
Competing for the starting quarterback position is Devlin's focus, and it won't change if Pryor decides to play for Penn State. And despite Clark being next in line for the starting position, Devlin said he has not thought about transferring.
So let's put that nasty rumor to bed. Pat Devlin is going to stick it out at Penn State. I found this quote interesting.
Great. Pat has improved in his football abilities like eating, lifting and working out. How about, um, improving your passing ability? Or reading defenses? Or working through your progressions? Is it me or was this not exactly a ringing endorsement for Jay Paterno? Maybe I'm reading too much into things.
The rest of the article is practically a Terrelle Pryor lovefest. Oh by the way, have you heard Pryor is going to announce this week? He says he's down to two schools, but won't say which ones. He does offer this thought on Penn State.
What the hell does that mean? Was this a misquote? Is he saying we're "like, uh, country", or did he mean we're really like a country? And if we are like a country, which one? Are we more like France or England? Maybe we're like Uzbekistan, all mountains and rocks and that's why he can't dig us. I don't know.