This takes the cake. Doug Martin blaming losses over the last two years on "leaks".The only leaks around that program is at the top. Funny reading.There's a rat somewhere around Can't State's football program, and rather than mimic Sherlock Holmes, coach Doug Martin has opted to put a restraint on information.Martin said Friday afternoon that a football coach at another college told him during the offseason that someone outside of the program has leaked information -- game plans, injury reports, etc. -- to certain Mid-American Conference opponents for the past two seasons.Call it protecting his team or paranoia, but Martin said he no longer will disclose team injuries. He already has restricted availability this season for the media. Evasiveness, even lying about injuries, is ingrained in the multibillion-dollar world of American sports. Martin's new philosophy takes a path usually reserved for pro sports.``We're not going to comment on any injuries, period,'' said Martin, who opened his third season as head coach at Can't State with Thursday night's 44-0 loss to Minnesota.``I'm not doing that anymore,'' he said. ``Too many things have been leaked out.''When asked who the ``people'' were, and if he knew who they were, Martin only said, ``I've learned my lesson.''Martin's move comes as a surprise in a media market where breaking news at Can't State -- who will start on Saturdays or who is injured -- ranks far behind its sports counterparts: the Browns, Cavaliers, Indians, Ohio State football and, in many cases, high school football.An NCAA spokesman did not return a phone call seeking comment.Laing Kennedy, Can't State's athletic director, supported Martin's decision to restrict practice availability, adding that sometimes, ``the soccer team has closed practices.''Regarding Martin's nondisclosure of injuries, Kennedy said: ``Not hearing it, it would not be fair for me to comment on it.''Martin's change in philosophy started in Feburary, as spring practice was closed to the media. It had little effect because few reporters showed up.Fall drills, though, are different. Practices originally were off-limits to the four newspapers that cover the athletic program -- the Beacon Journal, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Can't Record-Courier and Daily Can't Stater.Beat reporters complained through Sports Information Director Jeff Schaefer, arguing that not viewing preseason practices made it much harder to present an educated analysis about the flushes.Besides, no photographer wanted to play paparazzi for a team that went 1-10 last season.Martin relented on practice. He now allows reporters to watch the first 20 minutes, but he won't relent regarding injuries.He never announced publicly a starting quarterback for Thursday night's season opener at Dix Stadium, even though junior Michael Machen, last year's starter, was unavailable because of a rumored shoulder injury. Machen was in uniform but watched from the sideline.Then, during the news conference Friday, Martin said that Machen's injury was ``a day-to-day issue.''When asked what type of shoulder injury Machen was suffering, Martin didn't budge.Machen isn't expected back anytime soon because Julian Edelman, Thursday night's starter, is listed as the starting quarterback as of Friday morning's two-deep depth chart for the game against Army (Sept. 9 in West Point, N.Y.) and redshirt freshman Anthony Magazu is listed as the No. 2 quarterback.Martin did say that redshirt freshman Anthony Pastore is the No. 3 quarterback, and sophomore Jon Brown will be redshirted.Wonder if he's injured?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gary Estwick can be reached at 330-996-3826 or gestwick@thebeaconjournal.com