Duffy and Shinsky

The Duffy Daugherty Memorial Award banquet was a good one, headlined of course by Jim Tressel but highlighted as well by Jackson Lumen Christi coach Herb Brogan and Ovid-Elsie running back Chris Robinson, who will play for Grand Valley State in the fall.

    Mark Dantonio introduced Tressel and told some interesting stories. Tressel told one about Duffy Daugherty trying to convince one of the best players at Baldwin-Wallace (coached by his father, who was away at the time getting his graduate degree) to come to East Lansing. Tressel's mother was hanging laundry in the backyard and saw some kind of green MSU car pull up, and the player had his bags packed. Tressel's mother tearfully convinced him to stay -- a recruiting victory for mom over Duffy, noted Tressel with a smile. And that player went on to a long NFL career.

    The evening also included a replay of the CBS Sports segment on John Shinsky and his orphanage in Matamoros, Mexico. I highly recommend it for anyone who has yet to see it. It is available here at the orphanage's Web site.

    Shinsky continues to raise money to keep the orphanage running, and he has a fund raiser set for Monday, May 10 at St. Jude Catholic Church in DeWitt. Dantonio will be the keynote speaker, and Shinsky and his wife, Cindy, will share details about the orphanage. It starts at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 followed by the program. The cost is $25 per person and children are welcome. Reservations can be made at the orphanage's site or by calling Mitch Dobrzelewski at 517-881-4134.