Reelin''em in I Bak
Michigan continues to make amnauing lcdayi tefob rruinmr,
headway in rise football recruiting wars,
with two 11ore se cn ommiitments. Find FRIDAY
*about hht onlne. JULY 17, 2000
michigandaily.com /sports
I
Yankees trade phenom Henson to Cincinnati
I[ichigan quarterback to 'rethink priorities 'regarding baseball and football
ly Dan Williams
)aily Sports Eitor
he will be playing with the
Chattanooga Lookouts, the Reds'
Class AA affiliate.
young players in the game of base-
ball," Reds assistant
A ,general manager Doc
With the inability of the New York ie joined the Lookouts and Rodgers said. "H
'ankees to persuade junior quarter- played third base on Saturday. was the crown jewel it
tack/third baseman Drew Henson to Henson did not return phone calls the Yankees'
eave the Michigan football team placed by The Michigan Dails. s y s t e m
md commit solely to baseball, the The Yankees have pegged Henson Cle a r l y
ranchise traded its prized prospect as one of the top players in their he has
is part of a package deal to obtain farm system since they drafted tim
her Denny Neagle from the out of high school in 1998.the poten-
innati Reds on Wednesday. But when Henson would not tial to be an impact player.
Henson has maintained since sign- take extra money to leave foot- "You wonder how much hi
ng a letter of intent with the ball, he became expendable to could progress with more
lolverines that lie would stay in col- the World Series champions, who > time as a baseball hitter.
ege for four years, needed another southpaw starter Rodgers also acknowl-
The transaction has caused in the midst of a pennant race. edged that Henson's
lenson to reconsider his enthusiasm "I am disappointed that I could commitment to football
owards a baseball career. not stay with the organiza- scould be a stumbling
"At least now, I want to rethink tion," Henson said. . block for Cincinnati
chat my priorities are between base- "It"s a good organi- down the road.
* and football," Henson told a zation and a good However, he does not
etroit Metro area paper. "I have to city. (Steinbrenner) feel a decision towards
ook at why I might want to play was prepared to one sport is necessary it
aseball. Is it because I wras playing make me the near future.
or the Yankees, or because I love a Yankee for life, but I was not ._ "I think at thi
aseball? prepared to make that commitment point he really doesn'
"I think, in the long run, this will at this time. My commitment to know what direction he will go in,
ake me understand whether I'm Michigan is still there." Rodgers said. "I don't think he wil
oing it for the right reasons." Meanwhile, the Reds hope that make a decision on either one ani
Henson is scheduled to return to IHenson can pan out as one of the time soon."
ichigan for the beginning of sum- franchise's future stars. But it does appear Henson wil
er practice on August 1. Until then, "We think he's one of the top eventually have to make a decision.
Players come to Zahn's defense
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It is very unlikely that an athlete
could succeed as a quarterback and a
third baseman because of the wear
and tear it would put on a throwing
arm.
"To play those positions at the
professional level for both would be
very, very difficult," Rodgers said.
Henson participated in the Eastern
League All-Atar game in July while
playing for the Norwich Navigators,
the Yankees' Class AA club.
He batted .287 in Norwich while
tallying 7 homeruns and 39 runs bat-
ted in.
In two seasons with the
Wolverines, Henson performed with
mixed results while backing up Tom
Brady.
Last year, Henson initially split
time with Brady before the senior
won the job.
Henson completed 47 of 90 passes
for 546 yards and three touchdowns
reiw nenson aireaUy upareuaum
Norwich (left) In a trade, but will he
leave baseball altogether for the pigskin?
in 10 gaines. He also was intercept-
ed twice, and finished the season
with a 109.74 passing efficiency rat-
ing.
Henson is expected to take over
the starting quarterback role for
Michigan this fall.
-The Associated Press contributed
to this renort
By Ryan C. Moloney
and Dan Williams
Daily Sports Editors
?ver since the revelation of
chigan baseball coach Geoff Zahn's
uspension three weeks ago due to
'communication issues," confusion
as been the prevailing sentiment
imong those connected to the pro-
'ram.
Several players from last season's
earn said they were surprised and dis-
nayed when they first received news
if the suspetision.
"I didn't even know people were
:omplaining about (Zahn)," recent
@ York Yankee draftee and former
eichigan catcher David Parrish said.
Interim Athletic Director Bill
lartin suspended Zahn approximately
bree weeks ago in response to several
ow-shredded letters from past and
resent players. The suspension, which
ahn has already served, was to be no
anger than three days.
The identities of the letter writers
still subject for speculation, but
any sources close to the program
iaintain that they originated from past
ayers.
Chuck Ghannam, father of senior
outfielder C.J. Ghannam, currently
runs a summer camp with Zahn and
doesn't believe that current players are
responsible for the letters.
"It's all being blown out of propor-
tion," Ghannam said. "I think the let-
ters came from past players with axes
"I don't think he's
done anything
wrong... I'm
disappointed."
- Bryce Ralston
Michigan pitcher
to grind. These guys are at an age
where they should be able to speak for
themselves."
Recently, speculation has arisen
about the letters being prompted, in
part, by the dismissal of popular assis-
tant coach Matt Hyde.
Hyde was hired onto the Michigan
staff in 1997 and was released by Zahn
at the end of the 2000 season.
The Michigan Daily contacted four
former players svho were on the team
during Hyde's coaching tenure. Two,
John Papp and Dan Sanborn, wvent on
record. Papp wouldn't comment on the
letters, but said, "I only know (about
Zahn's suspension) from what guys
have told me."
Sanborn also declined comment on
the letters but did say, "the issue has
been resolved for me'
Some of the current players, in addi-
tion to finding confusion over who
wrote the letters, felt Zahn's suspen-
sion was unwarranted.
"Something I've heard is that he
doesn't treat players right," righthand-
ed pitcher Bryce Ralston said. "I've
never witnessed him mistreating play-
ers in my four years there.
"I am disappointed that's been said
about him, I don't think he's done any-
thing wrong - he treats players with
respect and dignity"
Junior lefthander Kirk Taylor
echoed Ralston's sentiments.
"I don't know what 'communica-
tions issues' means," Taylor said. "I
guess it means he isn't talking to some
people."
Zahn did not return phone calls
made by The Michigan Daily.
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