Meandering through the maize (and blue): How binding are college letters of intent?

Posted on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 : 9:38 a.m.

Meandering through the maize (and blue): How binding are college letters of intent?

By Michael Rothstein

Letters of intent in certain states might not end up meaning much of anything at all.

At least that's what the Raleigh News & Observer is reporting after Kelsey Evans, a basketball player in North Carolina, sued Western Carolina to get out of her letter of intent last season. The case was eventually dropped when Western allowed her out of her LOI, but it raises an interesting question.

Can a deal signed by someone under 18 really be a binding agreement? While you ponder that, check out these links:

FOOTBALL:

The cornerback slot opposite Donovan Warren is open between J.T. Floyd and Boubacar Cissoko, writes Dave Birkett of AnnArbor.com.

Tate Forcier will play Saturday against Michigan State.

Rich Rodriguez and Mark Dantonio don't have "tea and crumpets" together, Birkett writes.

Don't ignore Michigan's special teams, writes Andy Reid of the Michigan Daily.

Michigan came from behind against Indiana. Here's how it happened and general thoughts.

The Lions, those who played for Michigan and Michigan State at least, had some friendly banter with George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press.

Michigan State held a rare Sunday practice, writes Shannon Shelton of the Detroit Free Press.

USC running back Stafon Johnson had emergency surgery yesterday after a weight crashed on his neck while he warmed up for the bench press, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.

Ohio State's Kurt Coleman is the latest player to be suspended by the Big Ten, writes Tom Archdeacon of the Dayton Daily News.

BASKETBALL:

Casey Prather, a top recruit out of Tennessee, will announce his decision between Michigan and Florida on Wednesday, reports Phil Kornblut of Palmetto State Sports.

Maize Rage, Michigan's student section, had its first meeting of the year Monday.

OTHER SPORTS AND STUFF:

Interesting column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer by Connie Schultz regarding anonymous commenters.

The inspiration for the song "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" died at age 46.

Eat fast food? Here's a secret list of menu items.

ELTON JOHN AND JOHN LENNON SINGING LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS

Comments

Dave H

Tue, Sep 29, 2009 : 11:05 a.m.

Mike, maybe this is a personal problem, but because you subtitle your "Meandering..." column with the first or featured item, if I'm not interested in that particular issue I find myself not clicking through to the column because I forget that there's lots of additional content inside. Maybe if you gave the column a more generic subtitle, something like "A Guided Tour of Michigan Miscellany" and put the current subtitle in bold at the top of the article, people would still see the featured item on the front page before clicking through but would also be reminded that the column is essentially a collection of links. Just a thought.