Sad day for Gophers
Posted on June 10th, 2008 – 7:31 PMBy Chip Scoggins
I just finished up my work for the daily paper and wanted to check in here with some observations from the news regarding Sam Maresh.
I was surprised at how well Sam and his family handled the entire announcement today. I was so struck by Sam’s calmness that I asked him if he’s scared because you couldn’t sense it. He said yeah and kind of laughed.
I’ve gotten to know Sam fairly well through the recruiting process and I can tell you he’s a great kid. I’ve always walked away from our conversations thinking he has it all together.
This is obviously a tough deal for him and his family but Sam is hopeful and even confident that he will be able to play football again. He has a long road ahead of him, but I have no doubt that he will do everything that is necessary.
I’ll have a full report in tomorrow’s paper, but there are a few notes I didn’t get in. Sam obviously will remain on scholarship. That’s a given. If in the future his heart condition is deemed career ending, the school can petition to get a non-counting waiver from the NCAA, meaning he will stay on scholarship but will not count toward the 85 limit. I’m pretty sure this is what happend with Brandon Owens.
Kent Youngblood of our staff talked to Fred Hoiberg today. Hoiberg said he would be happy to talk to Sam about the situation and give him any advice or insight as to what to expect.
Hoiberg’s NBA career was cut short because of a heart defect. His surgeon — Dr. Hartzell Schaff at Mayo — will also perform Sam’s surgery on June 26.
17 Responses to "Sad day for Gophers"
My prayers are with Sam and his family may you have a fast and full recovery. Go Gophers!!
As a young man you really don’t see these things happening to you. But, sometimes they do. You pick up the pieces and move forward.
Good luck and best wishes to the Maresh family.
It’s very thoughtful of Fred Hoiberg to want to help Sam through the operation and recovery. We are all with you Sam.
And PS
It is not a sad day, the young man has probably had his life saved by the people who caught this.
Good point, Loon.
This could only happen to the Gophers…
As always: there are many things more important and more vital than football. Best wishes to Sam and the Maresh family.
Best wishes Sam, we’ll be thinking of you.
This situation puts much into perspective. Nothing is more important than this young man’s life. Good luck, Sam. I know you’ll bounce back from this.
Being a strong, determined athlete will help him thru this situation, hopefully. A strong mind can certainly help the body recover. I wish Sam and his family the best of luck. And thanks to Fred Holberg for making something good happen from his heart ailment.
Does anybody know what happened to Brandon Owens? I hope that he was able to complete his degree at the ‘U’.
Good luck Sam!
Best of luck Sam, for a full recovery!
Best of luck to Sam…from all accounts he is said to be a class act and a good citizen.
Best wishes to Sam and his family.
I jst came back from 3 weeks of vacation to hear of this horrible news. This kid has the whole package physically and mentally.
testing
I hope we don’t hear another thing about Gopher FB until August—-no news will be good news.
