Year In Review: Closing The Book On 2007

PJS Note: I've been falling behind in my effort to finish this series, so I'm going to wrap three final planned posts into one. This final installment will cover the Gopher and Vermin of the Year and a reflection on my favorite post during the first year of PJS.

I created Paging Jim Shikenjanski in May for a handful of reasons, but the largest reason is because I saw an opening to provide thoughts, analysis and perhaps some original reporting. The fact is, our periodicals in Minnesota don't rate interest in Gophers sports high enough to lend Gophers sports considerable coverage. Like many of you, I was turning more often to paid services like Rivals and forums like the GopherHole for broader coverage. I also saw a blogosphere that lacked voices for University of Minnesota sports. I began this blog about the same time that Tom at Gopher Nation started his blog. And I'm pleased now that others have popped up.

So long as I continue this blog, I'm going to try and give completely meaningless awards to members of the Gophers sports community. And since it is my wont, they will be both positive and negative. But I'd like to start by revisiting the post that first brought PJS to a broader audience--the post that brought a link from the Star Tribune and many well-read blogs across the country.

PJS' Favorite Post of the Year

About one month after I began PJS, I stumbled upon a thread in a Notre Dame forum where a poster going by the name of MN Irish made a startling (and humorous) claim about our new football coach Tim Brewster. At the time, almost every member of Gopher Nation was completely enamored with our new coach. With his penchant for positivity, Tim Brewster was seen as the anti-Glen Mason. He was relatively charming. He had ambitions for the program. He told us he was going to take us to Pasadena. We learned quickly that he knew how to sway public opinion. But the little nugget that I unearthed in June shed a different light on our new head man.

The allegations were as follows: At a meet-and-greet for Brewster, an Irish fan claims to have approached Brewster to congratulate him on his new post. They eventually began to talk about recruiting, and the Notre Dame fan mentioned that the Gophers and Irish were after some of the same players--an obvious reference to Michael Floyd. And then the juicy stuff from the post on the Irish message board:

"In what I can only describe as bizarre, Brewster basically went off on me, saying how sick he was Notre Dame and our arrogance, pompous attitudes, and fear of playing Minnesota in their new stadium. When I told him it was the collective opinion of ND fans that it was our athletic director who wouldn't budge the schedule, he went off on Weis of all people, called him a "slob, a disgrace to Notre Dame, with his dirty mouth and appearance" or something similar. He said Notre Dame could never recruit another Minnesota player until Weis was under 350 pounds."

Not knowing the veracity of the claims, I didn't judge Brewster in my initial post on this topic here. My post set off a mini fire storm. I received emails from Brewster-backers telling me I wasn't a Gophers fan for relaying the above information. Eventually, the viral nature of the Web took hold. The Star Tribune's Michael Rand linked to the post at the time saying something like "This can't be true, but that doesn't mean you can't read it." Eventually many other blogs sent their readers to PJS.

And while that was all good and well, what makes this post stand out to me is the following. About a week after talk of Brewtser's Weis rant circulated, the STrib's Patrick Reusse picked up the topic and decided to address it with Brewster. For the record, Brewster denied the allegations. I covered that development here. I'm proud of this post not because it made Brewster look bad or because it brought many new readers to PJS, but because the post helped set the record straight. By re-posting MN Irish's claims, many others knew that Brewster was being kicked around by Notre Dame fans. And eventually Brewster was given an opportunity to address the allegations. No matter if you believe Brewster said these things or not, I submit it was a good thing that this blog shed light on these allegations that were already out there. And I'm pleased that post might have led to Brewster giving his side of the story.

And, yes, the post was fun because, in fact, Weis is fat and the little scandal allowed me to point that out!

Gopher of the Year

I kicked around numerous possibilities for this not-so prestigious award. Tubby Smith took Minnesota by storm, and his recruiting class combined with the improvement he has brought to men's basketball is nothing short of amazing. But, Tubby hasn't put in a full season yet and he will be in position for many honors in years to come. There is wrestling coach J. Robinson and his departed star Cole Konrad; good candidates both. But my nod is going to a man who has been received his fair share of criticism here and other places: Joel Maturi.

The year that was will likely be at the center of Maturi's legacy at the University. It's not often an athletic director has the chance to hire a football and a basketball coach in the same year. Maturi did just that and struck gold with Tubby Smith. Many of us wanted Maturi to jettison Dan Monson one year earlier than he did. But Maturi's patience proved wise in March when a national championship coach with a stellar resume decided the Twin Cities would be a perfect place to repair his suddenly sullied reputation.

The jury is still out on whether Tim Brewster was a good hire or not. When Maturi introduced Brewster to the maroon and gold faithful, our athletic director told us that Brewster was a recruiting guru who could bring better talent to the football program. While I haven't covered football recruiting extensively, Brewster has delivered in that area and is poised to bring Minnesota a better freshman class than Glen Mason ever did. So, Maturi was honest with us about what he hired.

Additionally, and this is speculation, I imagine Maturi had wiggle-room to make one big-money hire or two mid-level hires. He likely didn't have the money available to pay big bucks for both football and basketball. So, Maturi had to make a call. He took a risk on Brewster, but that gave him the ability to go for a high-profile coach in Tubby Smith. Maturi could have made a larger gamble, and hired a middle-of-the-road basketball coaching prospect and the same for the football team. But I believe he made the right choice in hiring one sure thing, especially considering the football program is going to receive a boost in interest no matter what with the opening of TCF Bank Stadium.

For 2007, Joel Maturi gets my nod as the Gopher of the Year.

Vermin of the Year

Once again there were quite a few people in contention for this dubious honor. We had alum Denny Neagle receive a mention in The Mitchell Report. We witnessed alum Kevin McHale trade Kevin Garnett, culminating his decade-long effort to turn Minnesota professional basketball into a nationwide laughingstock. There was Tim Brewster's blather-filled 1-11 season. And most recently Kyle Okposo ditched his teammates in the middle of a disappointing season at Mariucci Arena.

But this year's Vermin of the Year far outdid the competition by bringing bad press and shame to the University of Minnesota. PJS' 2007 Vermin of the Year is Dominic Jones. After a lengthy and annoying investigation into an allegation of sexual assault committed by Gophers football players, in July we had a development that brought just ridicule and a black eye to the University.

I wrote the following at the time here:

The Star Tribune reports today that Minnesota football player Dominic Jones has been charged with third degree sexual assault, after a lengthy investigation.

Attached here is the juicy stuff, and by juicy I mean thoroughly disgusting. This is the charging document, and it isn't suitable for those not wishing to read graphic sexual exploits. I'm not going to quote it here, but by all means read the document in its entirety if you want to know what really is alleged here.

To summarize: Lots of vodka, dorm room, passed out college student, college football players, ejaculation, DNA evidence and digital documentation. DISGUSTING!

I haven't followed further developments in the case and honestly don't know where the charges against Jones stand as I write this. This mindless, stupid act brought the required press attention at a time when Tim Brewster was preparing for his first season on the job. Jones was pegged in the starting lineup as a starting corner back, and we all know that if it were not for this shameful indiscretion, the Gophers really could have used him.

To his credit, Tim Brewster acted quickly and forcefully in his decision to suspend Jones indefinitely from the football team. That sent a message, in my opinion, from day one that Brewster was not going to tolerate lawlessness on his football team. In one fell swoop, Brewster initiated a culture of accountability.

For 2007, Dominic Jones is your Vermin of the Year. I hope at this time next year I can have more fun with this and give this honor to someone like McHale, who I'm just clamoring to hammer.

BTB Roundtable -- Reviewing The Season That Was

Our friends at Boiled Sports have done the legwork to put together one last Big Ten Bloggers roundtable for the 2007 college football season. The Gophers season, as we all know, was one to forget. But the questions posed below will give an opportunity for both positive and negative reaction.

Here we go ...

1. What was your biggest surprise of the season (positive)?

By the end of the season, the Gophers were playing competitive football. A close loss at Iowa and at home against Wisconsin ended a forgettable 2007 season. But there seemed to be some progress from a player and coaching standpoint. Also, freshman quarterback Adam Weber learned on the job and performed admirably.

2. What was your biggest disappointment of the season?

Not winning one Big Ten game was highly disappointing. I'm not sure many Gopher fans expected such a regression, from the mediocrity of the Glen Mason era to the putridness (is that a word) of the first installment of Brewster-ball. Time will tell if this past season was a sign of things to come, or simply a typical down year when a new coach arrives with new systems.

3. What are you excited about for the '08 season?

The progression of Adam Weber, the younger receivers, and a recruiting class that by all accouts has exceeded anything Glen Mason ever put together.

4. What are you least looking forward to in the '08 season?

Getting excited listening to Brewster talk about roses but then failing to win a conference game.

5. What effect, if any, will a bowl have on Minnesota's football program?

Well, we're at home now. A bowl this season would have been nice. Some Gopher fans will say they tired of the AAA-Popeye's Chicken bowl games. A return to a bowl next season will show immense progress.

6. How and when will Tim Brewster's career end at Minnesota?

Brewster still is enjoying a honeymoon of sorts. While a Fire Tim Brewster site has emerged, most Gopher fans are still pleased Mason is gone. He'll have three to four more years to prove he can coach. He's recruited well so far, despite a one-win season. If he can't win with these players down the line, he'll be kicked to the curb and talked about often in the same breath as Jim Wacker in Gopher football lore.

7. Who frustrated you the most this season?

Tim Brewster. His rhetoric needs to be adjusted to reality. On a national scale, Kirk Herbstreit falls into this category.

8. What team and/or player opponent of Purdue this season was least impressive to you?

They were all sweet. We won one game in overtime against a MAC school. We sucked, they didn't.

9. Despite all the grousing we do, is Minnesota football on the right track (If not, what would get the program back on track)?

Recruting wise, yes. Coaching wise, I think the jury is out. But if I was forced to answer, at this point I'd say no. Brewster needs to show some maturity (not going into Big Ten media day next year talking like he's the next coming of Lou Holtz. Quiet confidence anyone?

10. Looking at next year's schedule, what's your early thought on critical games?

The Florida Atlantic Owls come to the Metrodome in Week 4 next year. Avening that embarrassment in Miami from this season should be considered critical.

11. Does it ever get old making fun of Fat Charlie the Manatee?

If by this question you are referring to Charlie Weis, no. Tim Brewster is good at that, reportedly.

12. Will Minnesota win a football national championship in our lifetime?

Now you're just upsetting me with these questions.

13. What is more likely for the Gophers and why: a football championship or a basketball championship?

A basketball championship. Why? Tubby Smith. Also, it wasn't too long ago Bobby Jackson and company were in the Final Four. Granted, we cheated to make that happen. But still, Gopher basketball has a much better track record.

14. After Brewster retires (or is fired), would you rather get a coach that is a better recruiter or is a better game day coach?

I'm leaning towards game-day coach. Glen Mason was neither. So Brewster at least is an improvement in the recruiting department. Is the combination of good game-day coach and good recruiter too much to ask?

15. If you had to choose another coach from the Big Ten to coach Minnesota, who would you pick?

A sentimental choice, I'd choose Joe Paterno. Love him. Respect him. Always have. As the saying goes, he's forgotten more about football than our current coach may ever know. But since he's 104 years old, it's not anything more than sentimental. Aside from JoePa, I'd agree with the boys at Boiled Sports in suggesting that if Ron Zook can turn around Illinois, he could do the same at Minnesota.