Drew Sharp flip-flops like a fish out of water

Honestly, I don't ask for much from the local columnists. If you read our fishwraps on a daily basis, you know why. All I ask from a columnist is to be consistent in their views, even if those views are, more often than not, idiotic. That's not hard, is it? From what I read in today's Detroit Free Press , it is that hard.

First, we need to go 2 weeks back, when a Drew Sharp column in regard to the Wolverines had the following headline...

Michigan coach must beat Ohio State to nation's No. 1 recruit Terrelle Pryor

Flash forward to today, and the headline has Sharp talking out the other side of his mouth...

Michigan landing super recruit Terrelle Pryor would be an overrated victory

Um...WHAT? Terrelle Pryor is a must get player, but he's also overrated? Does that make any sense to you? Let's look deeper into the scrambled thought processes of a big market columnist...

In today's article, Sharp calls ranking college recruiting classes the equivalent of grading the Lions draft before anyone hits the field. "Winning" in the draft or recruiting doesn't guarantee wins.

But landing Pryor would give the Wolverines a big "win" in February.

Hasn't everyone learned how truly overrated these "victories" are, especially when you consider Ohio State has consistently had lower-ranked recruiting classes than Michigan the past five years, but the Buckeyes have accomplished much more during that time.

Sure, I admit that makes sense. Yet 2 weeks ago Sharp was claiming that Rich Rodriguez NOT landing Terrelle Pryor would be absolutely disastrous...

He must keep Pryor away from Jim Tressel.

He must do whatever it takes.

Failure is not an option.

In fact, Sharp went as far to say that it is "essential" Rodriguez gets Pryor to commit, no matter what it takes...

But it's essential that he get Pryor, even if Rodriguez must guarantee him the starting job this fall, no matter the problems of playing a true freshman.

Hold on a second. I'm more than a little confused. 2 weeks ago Michigan desperately needed Pryor, but today Michigan is bigger than one player? You can't have it both ways, though Sharp tries his damnedest.

Sharp originally claimed in order to get off on the right foot as Michigan's head coach, "Rodriguez nonetheless must bring him to Ann Arbor." That has the tone of Michigan being in desperate straits. Sharp describes Pryor as the difference between beating the Buckeyes, both in the eyes of the fanbase and on the field, or continuing to be dominated by the sweater vest.

Yet 2 weeks later, Sharp is braying that recruiting gives "18-year-olds an inflated sense of self-importance." Considering Sharp has devoted 2 columns in 2 weeks to the recruiting of an 18-year-old Pryor, is it any wonder that no nothing, snot-nosed teenagers have inflated egos? Isn't it obvious to Sharp that the media, including himself, is a big part of the reason why?

Sharp can't bitch and moan that the recruiting process gives kids an overblown sense of self, when he is also calling an 18-year-old high school QB the be all, end all, the linchpin to the Wolverines' recruiting class. It's as if the first column was never written. Sharp must believe readers have the brains of a gnat, and a memory to match.

As silly as it may sound, you'd think a featured columnist would actually read his own columns. Apparently, Drew Sharp doesn't, or we wouldn't see such polar opposite opinions, on the same subject matter, within 2 weeks of each other.

Keep this in mind the next time you read the tripe spewed by one of our "esteemed" fishwrap writers. When it comes to the columnists in Detroit, I keep my expectations lower than Brandon Inge's batting average. Why? As long as you keep your expectations low, reality will always exceed them.

Over the past 2 weeks, Sharp has managed to lower my already diminished expectations.