Larry Fitzgerald Jr

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sonnygarcia

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Would like some insight here. I don't really remember Fitzgerald all that well as a prep (wasn't living in cities at the time), so I was hoping some of you could help me out with some questions. Him being in the SB really sparked my interest in our hometown guy:

1) Why did he go to Valley Forge Military Academy for his Freshman season?
2) I read on Wikipedia that he was originally set to go to Gustavus, but then enrolled at Pitt. Any truth to this?
3) What colleges were recruiting him? And did the Gophs offer?

Thanks,
 

Larry was crazy amazing in high school. He played when AHA was totally garbage and brought them to a respectable level. The reason he went to Valley Forge (which was midway through his senior year of high school) was because his grades went to hell and he wouldn't have been able to qualify for college. His dad obviously knew this and shipped him there. The reason about his grades going to hell was his mother's health. If you don't know that backstory its pretty prevalent on the web, but all of that started happening while he was a senior. I don't remember anything about going to GAC, he was one of the top 5 WR's in the country so it doesn't seem that conceivable. I'm sure the gophers offered, but he was out of our league at that time. To be quite honest, it's probably for the best he went elsewhere. Things turned out alright for him in the end. If you didn't get a chance to watch him play college ball, it was something truly amazing. He got flat out robbed of the heisman. Remember Jason White's Big 12 championship game against KSU? Enough said.
 

Thanks for the info. Wikipedia (yes not a great source, but I like it) didn't make it sound like he was a premier recruit coming out of HS/Prep school, just didn't seem possible.
 

Fitzgerald was definitely considered a great prospect, he was a top 150 player nationally. Grades likely kept him from being offered by "everyone", but IIRC he definitely had a lot of good offers from Midwestern schools.

Unfortunately for the Gophers, we suffered then with what we suffer now - the inability to draw top local prep school talent. So no, there was never a chance he would come here.

My memory is a little foggy on this, but Larry Sr. may have also been upset at the U because of the way they cut McKinley Boston loose after the Clem Haskins scandal.
 

With the way he speaks and conducts himself, hard to imagine grades were ever a problem. Although the one poster said his mom was sick, but still, its dang hard to fail that bad in HS, especially for a guy like himself that comes from a good family. Great to see all the success hes had and the way he and his dad honor his mom, great representation of the state.
 


fitz

He did not go here because his old man absolutely hated the Gopher program and to this day, hates the U. Larry Sr. is a jerk from the word go. Larry Jr. went to college strictly for his NFL degree.
 


Unfortunately, Mason and Minnesota never had a chance with Fitzgerald. He was a great high school player but somewhat overshadowed by Mauer at Cretin and the competition he played at Holy Angels wasn't that good. From what I remember, Larry Jr. and Mason got along pretty well and Larry Jr. always talked positive about the Gophers and I remember him once in an article talking about how he was a Gopher fan, but Larry Sr. was on the record as saying No Kid of Mine will ever play for that racist university. He thought Clem got a raw deal, same with Mac Boston, he even bitched about Littlejohn, and he was mad that they didn't hire a black basketball coach for the men and women, also thought Mase didin't have enough black assistants. I doubt you can find any of his old articles from that time but he was very hard on the U. The choice of Pitt was due to there Pro style offense and I think he had family in Pennsylvania.
 

Exactly, Larry Sr absolutely forbade Larry Jr from even considering us.
 



JohnnyGopher said:
Unfortunately, Mason and Minnesota never had a chance with Fitzgerald. He was a great high school player but somewhat overshadowed by Mauer at Cretin and the competition he played at Holy Angels wasn't that good. From what I remember, Larry Jr. and Mason got along pretty well and Larry Jr. always talked positive about the Gophers and I remember him once in an article talking about how he was a Gopher fan, but Larry Sr. was on the record as saying No Kid of Mine will ever play for that racist university. He thought Clem got a raw deal, same with Mac Boston, he even bitched about Littlejohn, and he was mad that they didn't hire a black basketball coach for the men and women, also thought Mase didin't have enough black assistants. I doubt you can find any of his old articles from that time but he was very hard on the U. The choice of Pitt was due to there Pro style offense and I think he had family in Pennsylvania.
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Someone mentioned today they thought he sued KFAN for being racist when he got fired?

What paper does he work for now?
 

denny green

and larry Sr are good friends.....says it all.
 

Fitz was a beast in HS. I was cool with Marcus (his lil brother) and new Larry since pre school but we weren't tight. Plus my dad worked for the Spokesman and was friends with SR. Anyway Larry was a beast in high school but we (DeLaSalle) gave them the business when I was a sophomore (my first year on varsity) in the section finals. I still remember that game cuz half the Vikings squad was there and Korey Stringer was talking to us on the sideline after the game got out of hand. In that game Derrick Robinson knocked Stocco (Wisky QB) out pretty early and we matched put Alan Anderson on Larry. Without a QB they were done. He still made like 3 great catches on jump balls though but we blew them out. From what I heard then he wasn't that deep in the books and was kind of undisciplined which is why he went prep. I don't think he was a non qualifier, it seemed like SR thought he needed to grow up some b4 college.
 

gopherjay said:
He did not go here because his old man absolutely hated the Gopher program and to this day, hates the U. Larry Sr. is a jerk from the word go. Larry Jr. went to college strictly for his NFL degree.
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what in the world are you even talking about?! then why was larry sr. wasting his time sitting at the gopher basketball game last night against purdue if he absolutely "hates the U" as you so eloquently put it?! and don't give me an excuse about him being a writer. he would send someone else in his place and wouldn't waste his evening.

next time please get your facts straight first and then start typing away.

somebody has an agenda against the fitzgerald clan huh?!
 



I never followed Larry SR much before but for the last couple years listening to him at 8 in the morning on 89.9 he definitely sounds like a racist sometimes.

He really thought that Clem got a raw deal for what happened here? Wow.
 

I remember listen to either Steve Thompson or Eric, damn I can't remember is last name, on WCCO Sports Saturday or Sunday awhile back. Anyway they had Larry Sr. on. This was when Matt Liehart was linked to Paris Hilton, I don't know way I remember that, and they started talking about Larry Jr's recuitment. Anyway one of his reasons that Larry Jr didn't come to the U is because he wanted to play on grass and not artifical turf. I don't know if that is true or not, or Sr. was useing it as cover, but that is what he said. It also doesn't take a football genius to realize that Mason system really didn't provide Jr. with a big chance to shine.
 

walleyedude said:
I never followed Larry SR much before but for the last couple years listening to him at 8 in the morning on 89.9 he definitely sounds like a racist sometimes.

He really thought that Clem got a raw deal for what happened here? Wow.
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What did he say for you to deem him a racist? That's a pretty big statement to make and offer up no proof.

I listen Larry's "Sports Report" on KMOJ (89.9) everyday and I can't even remeber critcizing anyone, let alone SOUNDING racist.:cool:
 


mnboiler said:
I remember listen to either Steve Thompson or Eric, damn I can't remember is last name, on WCCO Sports Saturday or Sunday awhile back. Anyway they had Larry Sr. on. This was when Matt Liehart was linked to Paris Hilton, I don't know way I remember that, and they started talking about Larry Jr's recuitment. Anyway one of his reasons that Larry Jr didn't come to the U is because he wanted to play on grass and not artifical turf. I don't know if that is true or not, or Sr. was useing it as cover, but that is what he said. It also doesn't take a football genius to realize that Mason system really didn't provide Jr. with a big chance to shine.
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That would be Eric Nelson (my neighbor), he and Larry co-hosted a show on KFAN. What never gets mentioned is Kfan lost the case and Larry won A LOT of money.
 

Anyone who thinks Clem got a raw deal would

almost have to be a racist. A racist has reality bent by his/her bias. Good people like Mark Dienhart lost their jobs because of what Clem did to them. Clem got millions, Mark got fired. Mark had zero control over Clem because Clem only reported to Mac Boston. Larry Sr. thinking firing Boston was racist.

Who is the racist??
 

exactly, I have heard many examples of Larry Sr being racist. You may not think of it this way but Larry talking about anything certain people have done not being as bad shows he is a racist.

Clem is a perfect example as well as how he pretty much stood up for Mike Vick when that was huge news.

He's racist in the same ways that Stephen A Smith is on ESPN.
 

Sportsfan24

The next time you talk to your neighbor, tell him that I could not STAND having Larry Fitzgerald Sr. on KFAN. Nelson wasn't so bad, but EVERY DAY Fitzgerald would go off on his favorite topic which was "the white people are all racists against the poor black man."

This got very old because every day I had to listen about POOOOOOOR Denny Green or POOOOOOOOOR Clem Haskins or whoever else the poor black man of the day was who was being discriminated against in professional or college sports. It was so ridiculous I stopped listening to the show. I was very very glad when Fitzgerald got fired. He was a one trick pony that only knew how to talk about one topic and that gets very old after awhile.
 

Larry Sr. is an idiot. Saw him at Williams Arena on Thursday. A working journalist wearing an Arizona Cardinals jersey and an NFC championship hat.
 

Goldy74s said:
almost have to be a racist. A racist has reality bent by his/her bias. Good people like Mark Dienhart lost their jobs because of what Clem did to them. Clem got millions, Mark got fired. Mark had zero control over Clem because Clem only reported to Mac Boston. Larry Sr. thinking firing Boston was racist.

Who is the racist??
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Here allow me to help you. This is the definition of Racist.

1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

So once again I ask you, how is Larry a racist? Clem is a good man who made a mistake, he paid for his mistake. It happened on Dienhart's watch (yes, Clem did report to Dienhart). I like Larry, questioned the motives of anyone wanted to remove Mark from the circle of responsibility of what happened (Clem, Mark and Mac). If you want to fire all 3 cool, if you want to fire Clem great, if you want to fire Clem and Mac and not Mark??????

It appears you don't like Larry because he dared to point this out and put a name to it. The words don't hate the messenger comes to mind. Don't like what he said? Cool. But don't throw labels on him because you don't agree with him....especially if you don't know what the label means.
 

Gold Rush said:
The next time you talk to your neighbor, tell him that I could not STAND having Larry Fitzgerald Sr. on KFAN. Nelson wasn't so bad, but EVERY DAY Fitzgerald would go off on his favorite topic which was "the white people are all racists against the poor black man."

This got very old because every day I had to listen about POOOOOOOR Denny Green or POOOOOOOOOR Clem Haskins or whoever else the poor black man of the day was who was being discriminated against in professional or college sports. It was so ridiculous I stopped listening to the show. I was very very glad when Fitzgerald got fired. He was a one trick pony that only knew how to talk about one topic and that gets very old after awhile.
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My bad, I didn't mean to insinuate that Eric told me this or that this was Eric's opinion.

As to Larry, he was no more than a one trick pony than the media who could only talk about Denny and the supposed negatives things about him. Since you don't like conversation on Denny that is about the same thing, am I to assume you didn't like the other hosts.

I guess you weren't alone, that's why KFAN wrongfully fired him.
 

Well I wouldn't have fired him because he was black, and if he was fired for racial reasons, then that was very wrong (and actually kind of ironic at the same time.)

I think KFAN's major objective is to inform and entertain its audience who generally listens for sports information. It is possible to do both, but all media should try to keep an open mind and not have a biased agenda. I think even people who post here should try to do that and be willing to write on a number of topics. For example, if someone were to write on here that Brewster or Tubby Smith needs to be fired......then proceeded to write a long post about it every day people would get really sick of that guy. That is one reason why The Loon and Wren became so unpopular on here because they tended to write about one thing over and over and over, starting threads and hijacking others with their personal agenda. Well that is kind of what Larry Fitzgerald did on KFAN. If he wants to talk about racism in sports some time fine - that's a good topic for a show. However, when it becomes a daily topic you get really sick of it and you say, "Oh no, not that again." Pretty soon you just wait for it....ok when will Larry talk about how racist all the evil white people are again........and sure enough he goes into it again. LOL. I get the feeling somewhere at sometime some white guy REALLY screwed him over bigtime because he is very bitter about it.

I am sure he is proud of his son (who wouldn't be!) but coming in with all his Arizona Cardinals garb on for a Gopher basketball game was probably his way of throwing another cheap shot at the U of M who he has hated for a long time.
 

Gold Rush said:
Well I wouldn't have fired him because he was black, and if he was fired for racial reasons, then that was very wrong (and actually kind of ironic at the same time.)

I think KFAN's major objective is to inform and entertain its audience who generally listens for sports information. It is possible to do both, but all media should try to keep an open mind and not have a biased agenda. I think even people who post here should try to do that and be willing to write on a number of topics. For example, if someone were to write on here that Brewster or Tubby Smith needs to be fired......then proceeded to write a long post about it every day people would get really sick of that guy. That is one reason why The Loon and Wren became so unpopular on here because they tended to write about one thing over and over and over, starting threads and hijacking others with their personal agenda. Well that is kind of what Larry Fitzgerald did on KFAN. If he wants to talk about racism in sports some time fine - that's a good topic for a show. However, when it becomes a daily topic you get really sick of it and you say, "Oh no, not that again." Pretty soon you just wait for it....ok when will Larry talk about how racist all the evil white people are again........and sure enough he goes into it again. LOL. I get the feeling somewhere at sometime some white guy REALLY screwed him over bigtime because he is very bitter about it.

I am sure he is proud of his son (who wouldn't be!) but coming in with all his Arizona Cardinals garb on for a Gopher basketball game was probably his way of throwing another cheap shot at the U of M who he has hated for a long time.
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I can respect that.
 

Clem was a good man?

How so? He set up a system to break the rules over a long number of years with a substantial number of participants. He lied to his superiors, the media, parents, players, recruits and the fans about that system over many years prior to being confronted. He then lied about the confrontations, accepted a huge buyout, never accepted any responsibility for this disaster, allowed totally innocent people like Mark Dienhart to be fired over his scandal and allowed the accomplishments of his innocent players, parents, fans and the U to be nullified without so much as an "I'm sorry". In the years that followed his "one mistake" for which he did not pay ANY price, the consequences of his actions cost the U many, many millions of dollars in lost revenues as the program he destroyed faced penalties that crippled the program, the new players, the new coaches and all the Gopher fans remaining.

All this and more, plus court judgements and tons of evidence and he has NEVER said the simple "I'm sorry." Oh yes, poor, poor Clem Haskins. May he burn forever in hell.:)
 

Goldy74s said:
How so? He set up a system to break the rules over a long number of years with a substantial number of participants. He lied to his superiors, the media, parents, players, recruits and the fans about that system over many years prior to being confronted. He then lied about the confrontations, accepted a huge buyout, never accepted any responsibility for this disaster, allowed totally innocent people like Mark Dienhart to be fired over his scandal and allowed the accomplishments of his innocent players, parents, fans and the U to be nullified without so much as an "I'm sorry". In the years that followed his "one mistake" for which he did not pay ANY price, the consequences of his actions cost the U many, many millions of dollars in lost revenues as the program he destroyed faced penalties that crippled the program, the new players, the new coaches and all the Gopher fans remaining.

All this and more, plus court judgements and tons of evidence and he has NEVER said the simple "I'm sorry." Oh yes, poor, poor Clem Haskins. May he burn forever in hell.:)
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He took advantage of the system to help young men get college degree's. Is it wrong? Yes it is. Is it new? Nope, folks cheat everyday at school. Don't make it any more than what it was.
You seem to want to make a martyr out of Dienhart. His coach was cheating on his watch, how is he inocent? Funny, you don't give Boston that same pass. I wonder why this is...no I don't, I already know. Clem is a good man who made a mistake. He paid for that mistake. Was it enough? For me it was, I won't argue if someone else disagree's. Mark and Mac are good men. Mark should have been fired because he allowed the coach to cheat on his watch, Mac should have been fired because he ran interference for Clem (rightfully so) on unrelated matters. By doing this he assumed some liability for Clem.

You keep mentioning Clem did not pay any price. It wasn't enough that he lost almost a million dollars in salary and was barred from coaching in college? What would you suggest his punishment should have been?
 

As you know, Clem ran his own tutor program separate from that run by the AD. Dienhart was specifically ordered, when hired, not to interfere with that program. The BB tutor program was 'monitored' by Clem and his only boss, Mac Brown. Why should Boston be given a pass when it was his job to monitor Clem?

Clem should have been flat out fired with no pay for violating his written contract with the U. Piece of cake.

I repeat, unlike you and others, I expect the coaches to live up to the contracts they sign with the U. If they want to cheat or need to cheat they should put that in the contract. If not they are just cheats and, in Clem's case, liars and cowards as well. He took away from his players their chance to play in an honest program that won games without cheating. Some of them agreed with his cheating. I would guess that some of them did not. Certainly, none of the coaches and players who followed Clem's cheating and had to play under the sanctions were either consulted with by the cheat or allowed to vote. Even then, no apology to them from Clem. What a great man.
 

Goldy74s said:
As you know, Clem ran his own tutor program separate from that run by the AD. Dienhart was specifically ordered, when hired, not to interfere with that program. The BB tutor program was 'monitored' by Clem and his only boss, Mac Brown. Why should Boston be given a pass when it was his job to monitor Clem?

Clem should have been flat out fired with no pay for violating his written contract with the U. Piece of cake.

I repeat, unlike you and others, I expect the coaches to live up to the contracts they sign with the U. If they want to cheat or need to cheat they should put that in the contract. If not they are just cheats and, in Clem's case, liars and cowards as well. He took away from his players their chance to play in an honest program that won games without cheating. Some of them agreed with his cheating. I would guess that some of them did not. Certainly, none of the coaches and players who followed Clem's cheating and had to play under the sanctions were either consulted with by the cheat or allowed to vote. Even then, no apology to them from Clem. What a great man.
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I heard and understand your point....I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. On a positive note, it's looks like our gopher basketball team is finally back on track!
 

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