Nice article about Powe

[Duckdawg10]

I dont feel sorry for this bum at all.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/spo ... 72,00.html

The statement comes from Jerrell Powe's own papers, filed by his own lawyers, and it is enough to make you weep.
"I am the mother of Jerrell Powe," states Shirley Powe. "Jerrell really is a good child but he just can't read. Please give him a chance to attend Ole Miss."

Well, then.

By all means, c'mon in!

He's a good child.

He just can't read.

Why let a little thing like that stand between a 340-pound defensive tackle and his ability to play for the glory of State U?

Which, in this case, is Ole Miss. But it could be any of a hundred schools.

This is the first Saturday of college football season and isn't it a lousy time to be reminded what you're watching out there?

Marching bands and academic fraud, school spirit and hypocrisy.

If you're one of the many college sports fans who prefer to block out all this unpleasantness, what do you do now?

Powe is one of the best prospects in the country. He's big and fast and everything else a defensive tackle should be.

"You know Cortez Kennedy and Russell Maryland?" said Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, earlier in the summer. "He's the next one, he's a man."

Except the NCAA Clearinghouse ruled Powe hadn't satisfied his academic requirements. Powe sued, alleging he had.

Thursday, a Mississippi Chancery Court judge granted Powe a temporary restraining order, requiring Ole Miss to admit him, put him on scholarship and let him practice with the team.

You can see the logic behind the decision, right? Why let a little thing like illiteracy keep a guy out of school?

The parties reached a compromise: Powe was permitted to enroll as a part-time student until the NCAA reviews his case Thursday.

At which point, the NCAA will fold. Because that's what the NCAA always does when the lawyers show up.

But in the meantime, the documents filed in support of Powe provide a dispiriting -- if unsurprising -- reminder of what college football is all about.

Powe is "essentially a non-reader." He has learning disabilities. Instead of a diploma, he was given a "certificate" from Wayne County High School.

[b]So Powe spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy, where he did about like you'd expect.

Of the 45 courses he took outside the Physical Education department, Powe got F's and D's in nearly half of them.

But then, lo and behold, he started taking correspondence courses from BYU. He took 14 courses, to be precise, all of which he finished between April 2005 and August 2006.

And he did great! Imagine that! [/b]
It's a farce, of course, an embarrassment to Ole Miss. But this isn't just about Ole Miss, and it certainly isn't new.

Dexter Manley spent four years at Oklahoma State without learning to read. When former Auburn halfback James Brooks was charged with failing to pay child support, he couldn't read the court documents.

The judge asked Brooks how he graduated from Auburn.

"I didn't have to go to class," he said.

Big-time athletes learn this early. It may be the one thing they do learn.

If you can play, you can pass. And pass and pass and pass.

"I didn't know until he was almost finished he wasn't getting the education he should have gotten," said Shirley Powe.

Mind you, she could have asked.

"I have to work to support my family and have never been able to help my children with homework," she said.

Poor, poor kids.

So we take children with disengaged parents and wonder why they can't read. But we shove them from grade to grade because what else is there to do?

Then, when it turns out they can't play for our favorite university, we file lawsuits on their behalf.

Whereas, we care a lot more about football than we do about education.

Whereas, we don't mind if our university is corrupt as long as it wins.

Just for a moment, assume Powe deserves a chance to study at Ole Miss. Why should he play right away? By his own admission, he can't read. Shouldn't he spend a year or so on that?

He should, if reading is what mattered. He should, if this was anything other than professional sports dressed in cap and gown.

It's not, though. It's an institutionalized lie.

And today, at stadiums all across the country, fans will choose to believe it all again.

[RebelYelp]

Calkins doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground....

The quote in the CL from powe's mother was taken out of context. He is severely Dislexic (sp.?).

[Duckdawg10]

OK--What about this? This is worse than Dontae Jones!!!!!!

So Powe spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy, where he did about like you'd expect.

Of the 45 courses he took outside the Physical Education department, Powe got F's and D's in nearly half of them.

But then, lo and behold, he started taking correspondence courses from BYU. He took 14 courses, to be precise, all of which he finished between April 2005 and August 2006.

And he did great! Imagine that!

[RebelYelp]

so you actually think Calkins has seen Powe's transcript ?

[bigoak]

Calkins has already confessed that he made mistakes in the article. He has also gone back and made a change to the original version to correct a mistake. Calkins is a bum that is just trying to get his name in headlines.

[timberjack]

More propaganda and twisted words taken out of context from the UM haters club. Given a little time a good lawyer can work miracles with a written statement. Did you see Calkins' bio??:
About Geoff Calkins
Some people say Geoff Calkins is brave. Could be he's just nuts. Ten years ago, Calkins worked as a labor and employment attorney at a 500-lawyer firm in Washington, D.C. He had an undergraduate degree from Harvard College, a law degree from Harvard Law School and a future paved with . . . "Interrogatories," Calkins says. "Billable hours, too." This did not please him. Besides, Calkins really wanted to be a sports columnist. So at age 30, he junked it all -- "came to my senses," is how he puts it -- and found a job covering high school sports in Alabama. Five years later, after a stop in Ft. Lauderdale, Calkins found his way to Memphis. He writes four columns a week and still doesn't make as much as he did as a first-year associate at the law firm. "On the bright side," he says. "I also don't have to wear socks." Calkins can be reached by e-mail or by telephone at 901-529-2364

[bigwater]

i don't understand why everyone is making an issue about this powe kid..

i mean shhheeesshhh...

people who read on a 6th grade level are admitted to institutions of upper learning all the time..

what a sad sad issue this is... first off a great disservice has been done to powe.. why did it take so long to diagnose his problem..

.. our edumaction system f'd up..

anyway the real issue is raising funds through alumni donations.. you can bet your red and blue booty that the easiest way to do this is by having a sucessful football team..
powe can help with that issue fo sure...

[Po Monkey Lounger]

Wow, I really do not understand all this hatefulness being exhibited on this board over a kid with dyslexia. What is so hard to understand about it?

While he CAN read, he just cannot read at a normal level that one would expect for someone his age. Dyslexia is an incurable neurological disorder. He will need a lot of work and targeted reading therapy and training help to overcome this disability. While there is no "cure" for dyslexia, one can learn ways to adapt and overcome. As I said in another thread, my college roomate when I was in law school had dyslexia. He had to spend at least twice as much time studying and reading the materials as the rest of us did. But, he overcame that obstacle and graduated. He was given special accomodations for the LSAT and the Bar Exam ---each untimed. He is now a practicing attorney who is doing well in life and his career. Fortunately, his disability was diagnosed early in his life and he had parents who could afford medical treatement, special tutoring, and other needed training to overcome this disability. I don't ever recall anyone in law school or elsewhere spewing hatred about my roomate for getting extra time on his entrance exams, law school exams, etc.

Clearly, if JP were seeking admission as an ordinary student, then he would already have been admitted, attending classes, and receiving the special accomodations needed for his disability ---without all of this hoopla. I am quite certain that JP is not the only student at UM (or any other college, including MSU) that has dyslexia.

Duckdawg, I truly hope that all of your children are completely healthy, mentally and physically, and have no disabilities or handicaps. Your patience and tolerance for such appears to be non-existent. I suppose in your world, there is no place for people with disabilities, other than perhaps flipping your burgers or handling you trash. But, thankfully, all of us do not live in your hateful pitiful world. And we have laws to prevent such discrimination against those with disabilities. And anyone who ever questioned the need for such laws, need only read this thread. Very sad.

[Duckdawg10]

if he has a disability then fine. Many people with dyslexia go to college and graduate. No big deal. But if all of his transcript is correct, that is different. Typical umiss spin on everything, but if I was in college with him, I would be pissed. Now, if the article is completely false as rebel nation wants to believe, then I am proud of him for trying. But, if that article is correct, then we will see him on TV in a few years talking about how the government will not "hep" him and that George Bush hates black people". People don't seem to care when it comes to athletics. I have seen it at MSU and UM. Look at Pig Prather and Dontae Walker for example. You are paying for them right now, but because they were good in sports, everyone overlooked it until they were finished.

But, thankfully, all of us do not live in your hateful pitiful world.

You could only be so privilaged! No one is attacking you, so why do you always have to attack someone when they are expressing an opinion. I said if the article is wrong then I am wrong and I apologize. But you dont have to start talking about peoples families and crap because someone says something about your beloved rebels.

[bigoak]

Hey DuckDawg10,

Has Calkins said or written anything else about Powe since he wrote the article that you pasted? If so, can you please post it for us?

[Duckdawg10]

Actually he has. He said he made a mistake.

In the column I wrote on Ole Miss recruit Jerrell Powe for Saturday's paper, I said he took 14 correspondence classes from BYU from April '06 through August '06. That's not correct. He took 10 correspondence classes from April '05 through August '05. He then took four more in '06. I regret the error for all sorts of reasons, and not just because some of you will ask "Who is it that can't read?"
First, our obligation is to get it right. I didn't do that in this case.

Second, the mistake was about a kid's academic performance, and not to his benefit, and so I owe a particular apology to him. Powe is plainly ill-equipped to take advantage of a college education. His academic deficiencies have been exposed to the world. They certainly don't need to be magnified by an error.
Finally, my mistake may distract some readers from the serious issues raised by the Powe case. By his mother's own admission, the kid can't read. He qualified for college by taking 14 correspondence classes. In my column, I said he took 14 in a five-month stretch. He actually took 10 in a five-month stretch. It's hardly the sort of error that changes the ugly reality before us, or that absolves those who are worried about the state of college athletics from taking a hard look at where we are today.

Why have we turned our educational institutions over to semi-pro teams? Why do we abandon our academic standards to the sporting enterprise? How can we justify funneling someone who can't read all the way up and into our university system? Do we need our gladiators that badly? Do we need our wins?

The Powe case is a travesty. Here's hoping my error doesn't obscure that, or get in the way of a broader discussion about the intersection of academics and athletics that we've been putting off for far too long.

[Po Monkey Lounger]

Yeah, how dare me to personalize things a bit and add some facts to put things into perspective. Its much better to just mindlessly rant and rave about schit you know nothing about.

Powe will be playing at UM ---either this season or next. Most likely this season.

And Powe will likely graduate from college one day, able to read and write better than 60 percent of the folks who post on this board.

And Powe will likely play on Sundays, and make enough money to buy Duckdawg's pitiful booty out of his hip pocket.

[Duckdawg10]

I did not rant about something I know nothing about. I ranted about an article I read. I know I read an article. I could care less if he plays for um. Good for him and you. I care that this article says he took a bunch of courses and passed them after he failed easier ones. As I stated, if he is really applying himself in school, then I wish him the best.

And Powe will likely play on Sundays, and make enough money to buy Duckdawg's pitiful booty out of his hip pocket.

Good one man! Once again, why the personal attacks? I hope he does! Man, I am not trying to upset anyone, I was just making a comment about an article. Sorry if I offended you, but I dont know why you have to get personal. LET ME SAY THIS, I dont care if he plays for Milsaps or UM, if all this is true it is a shame. [/quote]

[Po Monkey Lounger]

IF you are going to make harsh comments about others on this board ----saying Powe would be someone asking for a government handout in a few years---- and making other such ridiculing statements about those of a different color from you and about a kid who has a LD, , you can expect to get a little dished back to you. I don't care whether you like me or not --- I don't know you. And based upon the content of your posts on this board, I don't care to. Good day.

[gator]

i'd liketo think that on a board as sophisticated as this, considering all the new technology we've been granted in the upgrade, that the participants would treat each other w/ a certain amount of dignity and respect, and shun the temptation to stoop to getting personal.........especially considering the nature of the conversation at hand..................
.
.
.

.
.

.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.now, if ya'll will excuse me, i'm gonna go "@#$%#" w/ benny a bit, bwahahahahahahah

gator