The Ann Arbor News' Antoine Pitts had an article on Red Berenson's coaching future. The article had the alluring headline of "Berenson has no plans to step down" though the meat of the article seems to convey a different message:
"I'm getting a lot closer, I'm sure," Berenson said. "It might be. I can't say it is. I've got another year on my contract, and I intend to coach next year. But you never know.Berenson is 68-years-old(though probably the most in-shape 68-year-old ever), and the question of how long he'll keep coaching is always going to be an issue.
I've heard the idea floated out that Berenson may want to "go out on top" if he wins a national title this year. I think it may be the opposite though. Berenson was much closer to retiring after last season than a lot of people realized. I think he'll coach as long as he still has the energy and passion to do so, and I think year's like this one really restore those fires.
Speaking of the Ann Arbor News, remember their article on independent studies courses for athletes, which featured Michigan's Chad Kolarik, that some people thought would win awards for their hard-hitting serious journalism. Yeah, probably not so much(link via MGoBlog).
It turns out the Ann Arbor News lied to their interviewees, saying they were writing a tribute article on the professor in question. Aside from being lied to, Kolarik was also unhappy that his private academic information was published without his consent.
Kolarik was a senior on the top team in the country, the nation's leader in goals per game, he was in the top five in points per game and points. And yet wasn't one of the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award. Maybe I'm crazy, but I can't imagine that this story coming out right before Hobey voting helped his chances. I doubt Kolarik cares since he's been Kevin Porter's biggest supporter all year, and his presence may have only taken away votes from Porter, but he was definitely one of the top ten players in the country this year, and it's a shame to see him lose out on that honor over this.
Of course the one thing that didn't hurt Kolarik's Hobey chances was the one-game suspension he received for his dirty play since, as I've been told, every player does incredibly dirty things like that, and only the really good players get caught because they're watched more closely. Same goes for Kevin Porter and his suspension. And Ryan Jones too. There's really an epidemic in college hockey of so many good players getting suspended by their league for consistent dirty play.
2 comments:
Nice poke at the INCH podcast...I thought it was a ridiculous statement as well. The worst part is he actually believes it.
I don't think I had seen Kolarik's stats until about a week ago and I was floored. He's pretty darn good.
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