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P.J. Fleck's injury report inside joke with media
Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck explained his vagueness on player injuries during his weekly TV show on Tuesday and also talks about blasting "Hail to the Victors" at practice this week.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - P.J. Fleck has a back-and-forth inside joke with media since the Big Ten Conference released mandates for teams to have injury reports released before games.
"You’ll see the injury report two hours before kickoff."
Fleck holds his weekly session with assembled media every Monday. If a starter or significant player hasn’t played or was out the week before, a reporter asks about their status. He gives the same canned answer every time, followed by a smirk at said reporter.
Before North Carolina, it was running back Darius Taylor, who was declared out two hours before opening night. Last week, it was defensive back Justin Walley and safety Darius Taylor.
"They’re both at practice and both doing a really good job of working their way back in. But the injury report comes out two hours before kickoff," Fleck said, then smiled.
He then has a back-and-forth with KFAN’s Justin Gaard, the Gophers’ sideline reporter.
Gaard – That’s one of the best jokes in the Big Ten Conference right now. You play the hits right?
Fleck – It’s the rule, right? You have a rule so you can be able to say that. But then everybody wants to know. It’s like an NFL head coach talking about who’s going to be out. They’ll let you know right before kickoff when it’s mandated.
Gaard – My challenge for you is can you say two-hour availability report without smiling? Not now, not today. Next week when you’re asked about injuries.
Fleck then gave his best overly dramatic effort. NFL teams release their inactives 90 minutes before kickoff, but players are also declared out on Fridays, two days before Sunday games. Long story short is the media has to ask if it’s a starter or key player, and Fleck doesn’t have to offer anything.
Football facility neighbors complain about noise?
Fleck revealed on his weekly radio show Tuesday that they’ve gotten some complaints from residents near the football facility about noise at this week’s practice. The Gophers have their first true road game of this season this week, at Michigan in front of more than 100,000 fans.
How is Fleck getting his players ready for the environment? At every available opportunity, he’s blasting the Michigan fight song, "Hail to the Victors."
"We have made it louder than we probably have any single game. They definitely know ‘Hail to the Victors,’ that’s for sure," Fleck said. "They’ve heard it about a billion times, as well as our student population across the street."
Not helping Fleck’s cause is that they’re coming off a 31-14 loss to rival Iowa after being out-scored 24-0 in the second half.