Taking a look at Frank DeFord's "The Rabbit Hunter"

I know this isn't Big Ten football related, but for my sports writing class we have to take a look at Frank DeFord's 1982 article, "The Rabbit Hunter."
It is a piece about former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight. It is very well written but also very unorganized.

The problem with the piece is that DeFord jumps around way too much, which especially isn't good for a longer article such as this. The article is divided into six sections, here's how I would change them around. In parentheses is the section of the article that DeFord placed it.

I: Rabbits (1)
II: Older People (3)
III: Coaches (2)
IV: Players (5)
V: Women (4)
VI: More Rabbits

I felt that "Older People" needed to be placed higher up because it gave background knowledge about Knight's upbringing, a part of the story that I feel is important to be placed closer to the beginning.

"Coaches" and "Players" tie in together and should follow one another because they discuss his playing career and transition from playing to coaching. That's why I felt that these two sections should not be seperated.

"Women" really was the section that I was completely unsure of where to put. It goes into more detail about Knight's altercation at the Pan-American games, which is something that was already briefly mentioned. Honestly I think that the "Women" section should have been broken up completely and DeFord should move certain sentences and paragraphs and add them to other sections of the story.

All in all, DeFord did a really good job of writing the piece, it just needed to be unscrambled.

10 Big Things about Week 5: Let's call it Juice Williams's swan song...

1. Juice benched: How the so-called mighty have fallen. The Big Ten preseason first-team QB has been benched in favor of junior Eddie Magee. Juice had an interception and a fumble in the loss to the Nittany Lions. I have to admit, I do have a slight bias, being that I am a big Juice hater (Williams that is - not the drink), but its a shame we won't see more of this the rest of the season.

(Photo Credit: ChicagoNow.com)

2. John Clay: The Badger running back makes his second appearance on 10 Big Things. He simply dominated, with 32 carries for 184 yards and three touchdowns in Wisconsin's win over the weekend.

3. Sparty back on track: Michigan State stepped it up when it was most needed with their overtime win against the Wolverines. One thing that is worrisome is the quarterback play, however. Kirk Cousins tossed two interceptions in regulation, which forced head coach Mark Dantonio to play backup Keith Nichol in overtime.

4. Tyler Sash: Honestly, this guy is just an interception machine. Sash picked off another one this past weekend, giving him five on the season. He's tied for first in the NCAA in interceptions and has seven INT's in his last eight games, dating back to last season.

5. Daryll Clark: The Nittany Lion signal-caller was solid this week, bouncing back after their home loss to Iowa. Clark completed 17 of 25 passes for 175 yards and also rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

6. Boiler Butter Fingers: Purdue turned the ball over six times this weekend, five on fumbles and one on an interception. Purdue already has 17 turnovers this year and their -8 turnover margin is dead last in the Big Ten.

7. Marvin McNutt: McNutt had a career day at wide receiver on Saturday. The former Hawkeye third-string quarterback caught four passes for 121 yards and had a pair of touchdowns in the Hawkeye's win over Arkansas State.

8. Terelle Pryor: the Buckeye sophomore threw three touchdowns and ran for another in the Ohio State victory over Indiana

9. Northwestern mounts comeback over Purdue: Northwestern outscored Purdue 24-0 in the last 31 minutes of the game to defeat Purdue 27-21

10. Larry Caper: The Spartan RB had 13 carries for 39 yards, including the 23-yard game winning run in overtime to upset the Wolverines.

Post-Game Tweets from none other than Pat Fitzgerald, among others

Here I am, sitting in the library, contemplating whether I should do American Short Story homework or do a little blogging (Is this even a legitimate question?)

To make a long story short, here I am, and here are some post-game tweets from today and yesterday for y'all.

Pat Fitzgerald:
1)"'Cats win!! It was so great to sing our fight song again! GO CATS!"
2) "'Cats fans - Thank you for all the support! We're back in the office and preparing for Miami! GO CATS!"
3) "BEARS WIN! Another great game by former 'Cat Nick Roach- keep it rolling! GO CATS!"
4) "It's great to see former 'Cats Luis Castillo and Trai Essex playing against each other tonight in the Steelers vs Chargers Game. GO CATS!"

Indiana RB Bryan Payton
1) "Well...That game sucked"

*Tell us how you really feel Bryan...*

PSU Assistant Jay Paterno:
1) "Happy with our performance. A big step back from last weekend. Guys played hard & had fun. Got to see Doc to beat this flu."

2) "After watching the video a 2nd time what Joe says is true: You're never as good as you think you are when you win. I am still happy though."

PSU Assisntant Tom Bradley:
1) "The players really played hard yesterday.We made our mistakes but they stayed after them and tackled well.Our offense took it to them !"

BTOC: Week 5

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-1)

2. Iowa Hawkeyes (5-0)

3. Penn State Nittany Lions (4-1)

4. Wisconsin Badgers (5-0)

5. Michigan Wolverines (4-1)

6. Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-2)

7. Northwestern Wildcats (3-2)

8. Michigan State Spartans (2-3)

9. Indiana Hoosiers (3-2)

10. Illinois Illini (1-3)

11. Purdue Boilermakers (1-4)

Pre-Game Tweets plus some Big Recruiting News

Time for some pre-game tweets to give you readers some insight into whats going on around the Big Ten...

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema: " Here at the team hotel and the guys were focused in our team meetings. We are excited to be the first Big Ten game in the new stadium...."

Penn State assistant Jay Paterno: "Red Grange scored 6TDs-5 TD runs & 1 TD pass in Oct 1924 at Illinois' Memorial Stadium-In '05 M Rob matched it with 4 TD passes & 2 TD runs

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald: "Just wrapped up our pre-game walk-thru. Getting a quick lunch and then heading to West Lafayette to take on the Boilermakers! GO CATS!"

In other news, the Iowa Hawkeyes landed one of the top recruits in the country today.

A.J. Derby (below) of Iowa City High School in Iowa City, IA verbally committed to the Hawkeyes today.

The 6-4, 218-pound QB received offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, and Michigan, among others.

According to Rivals.com, Derby is rated as the 16th best QB in the country and the 174th best overall player in the U.S.

Photo Credit: Rivals.com

Two more games to pick...Could Penn St slip up again?

Penn State vs. Illinois

Game Time: 2:30 p.m. on ABC

What to watch for: Penn State will look to rebound after losing at home last week to the Hawkeyes. Look to see if Juice Williams can do anything at all at QB. His play was absolutely abysmal last week.

Prediction: Doesn't matter whether its Juice or Eddie McGee, the Illini are done. Penn State gets back on track with a road win, 27-10

Ohio State vs. Indiana

Game Time: 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network

What to watch for: Indiana really impressed me last week, despite losing to the Wolverines in a close one. The Hoosiers will have another tough test trying to keep up with the Buckeyes

Prediction: Indiana will keep it close for a half. But the Buckeyes will pull away from this one after halftime. Ohio State wins it 30-14

Week 5 already!? Unbelievable

Its crazy how fast the season has flown by, we're already at week 5. Well here's my picks and predictions for this weeks games.
Lets see if I can continue to beat Adam Rittenberg

Arkansas State vs. Iowa
Game Time: 11 a.m. on ESPN2
What to watch for: Look to see if the Hawks can continue to roll. They've looked extremely impressive after that near slip-up against Northern Iowa. Offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga has been cleared to play after a thyroid condition kept him out for three weeks.
Prediction: On Iowa! Hawkeyes roll 27-7

Michigan vs. Michigan State
Game Time: 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network
What to watch for: A loss for Sparty would be absolutely detrimental. I think quarterback play and the turnover battle will be the key to this one.
Prediction: Tate is still a Forcier and the Wolverines remain atop the Big Ten after this one. Sparty's season looks to be coming to a close...Michigan wins 24-13

Northwestern vs. Purdue
Game Time: 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network
What to watch for: Purdue's has been horrific when it comes to penalties. Last week the Boilers committed 13 penalties for 103 yards against Notre Dame.
Prediction: Pat Fitzgerald will have his team fired up and the Wildcats will come away victorious, 24-17

Wisconsin vs. Minnesota
Game Time: 11 a.m. on ESPN
What to watch for: Badger QB Scott Tolzien has played just as good as any other QB in the Big Ten, if not better than any other QB. Look for him to have another good one, but this will be a tougher test for Wisconsin.
Prediction: Wisconsin continues to roll, but this one is going to be really close. Decker and Weber will keep the Gophers in it. Badgers win 17-14

There are your predictions for the early games, I'll be back later tonight or tomorrow with the afternoon and evening game picks.