The Daily Gopher Fix 8.25.08

I don't mind a little needling aimed from the local columnists to Minnesota's coaches. But, Patrick Reusse needs a different pastime. Whether you agree with him or not, his columns on Tim Brewster and the football Gophers--with his tired repetition that there aren't enough UofM football fans to create "Gopher Nation,"--are becoming increasingly redundant.

Seriously, Pat, how many times are you going to trot out the same lines?

This time, obviously struggling to come up with any fresh angle whatsoever, Reusse takes a few wild swings at Brewster after he gave a speech to supporters at the Xcel Energy Center. Apparently, Reusse was hoping this was a laugh line:

And that's why the convention planners went to Brewster and said: "Coach Brew, we just need a 15-minute pep talk. If our buildings can withstand that much hot air, four days of Republican speechmaking will be no problem."

Reusse goes on to embarass himself. He suggests Dave Mona "must" be sheepish about Brewster. What's this based on Pat?

The irritable columnist goes on to insist no one cares about the Gophers football team, all the while he spends column inches in the Minneapolis paper ridiculing the Gophers. If no one cares about the Gophers, Pat, why not return to authoring your ill-informed Twins articles that rely on misleading statistics and 1970s era thinking?

• A Chicago Sun-Times blog that covers college football recruiting lays out the top 10 best recruiters in college football and places Tim Brewster among the top 10 with names like Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel, Pete Carroll, Mack Brown, Philip Fulmer and Nick Saban. Impressive company for Brewster.
• Former Minnesota wide receiver Marc Cheatham is settling in at Southern Illinois.
• Marcus Fuller of the PiPress (who is quickly becoming the go-to local reporter for all things Gophers) takes a thorough look at the upcoming season. He talks with Joel Maturi about expectations and Mike Dunbar about Adam Weber's progress.
• Fuller also taps Simoni Lawrence and Marcus Sherels as "the cover boys for a considerably faster and more athletic look on defense this year."
• Gophers running backs coach  Thomas Hammock, who coached at Northern Illinois before joining Brewster's staff, spoke to Sid Hartman about the team the Gophers face Saturday. The editors apparently missed Hartman referring to Hammock as Hammond for half the item.
• Our friends at Boiled Sports sum up my thinking about the Olympic games that have now ended. There was quite a bit that disappointed. The age scandal for the Chinese gymnasts is beyond embarrassing for the Chinese and the IOC. The empty seats that were the byproduct of a nervous government not wanting freedom of expression. This was supposed to be the China's coming out party. Consider me unimpressed.