People who say 'I told you so' have zero class.
by Bellanca on May 27, 2010 12:16 PM CDT
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PrintBut it is fun, and that's what a good internet pseudonym is for, n'est-ce pas?
***
So, Michigan self-reporting major violations to the NCAA. How is it possible that [they found the cash in the freezer] that such "mistakes were made"*?
Sage of all things Blue, Mr. Brian Cook, September 2009:
"do you have anything substantive to say …about what’s on the site, or are you a one-trick pony?"
For more of the charming repartee, and he really hurt my feelings before banning me from his site (meanie!), go here:
http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2009/9/1/1010576/brian-cook-named-new-attorney-for
But this is now:
"Everyone involved with Michigan football compliance administration has failed massively and should be fired. Now."
http://mgoblog.com/content/names-named-heads-should-roll
I think, incidentally, that he still misses the point, as he wades through 73-page exhibits and such. Just from the perspective of governance and culture, what this huge document dump reveals is two things, and I don't think either one is 'We gotta fire some nobodies, and pronto.'
First, there was no compliance in effect at Michigan. When executives do not follow the rules, staff do not follow the rules; at this point the rules cease to exist. The staff is not there to protect the executives from themselves. There was systemic, institutional flouting of the relevance of compliance by program executives, including the head coach. Analogy: change the problem here from a compliance failure at a popular football school, to, say, an accounting or sexual harassment problem in a corporation or a battalion -- any independent evaluation would say that the violations are so consistent, persistent, and so casual as to indicate complete disinterest in preventing fraud or sexual harassment. (The NCAA has already stated that Michigan created a hostile-to-compliance environment. Note to future execs: when you are told you have created a "hostile environment" for anything, you are a) being sued; b) about to lose some money; and c) at risk of losing your job.) I have no idea how the NCAA deals with a cash-generating athletic monster like UM, but if this were a corporate governance problem, and it really is, on a level with lying about receivables and ginning up phony expenses, or trading bonuses and promotions for sex, there would be consequences. The consequences would not be limited to firing a couple of clerks.
Second, RichRod considered compliance somebody else's problem, didn't look into it, didn't inspect it, didn't hold meetings on it, didn't take responsibility for it, didn't execute according to his responsibilities, appears not to have even read the rules. This is the strangest, and yet most plausible, aspect of the story. Strange, because why would a HC in the NCAA not trouble himself with core compliance due diligence? And strange, because when was the last time you heard a football coach stand up and blame "collective failure" and say, 'Hey, I'm just one of many gullible, innocent pawns' here. But plausible, because he is a corner-cutter, a self-dealer, and a refugee from seamier climes.
Anyway, Michiganders seem pleased that RichRod has some sort of plausible deniability, and that compliance failure may have preceded his arrival (a variation of the 'I inherited this mess' meme that we see elsewhere these days). Okay, fine. But I think they're arguing about whether or not those were $100 bills, or twenties, that they found in the fridge. And I do think that there is someone who is in charge of and accountable for the UM football program.
*Yes, the HC of UM actually said, in his defense this week, "mistakes were made":
P.S. In another story the Freep implies that, if fairly reviewed and associated with prior, punished infractions at (less powerful) schools, they'll lose a few scholarships.
P.P.S. What I see with this editor is definitely not what I'm getting. Is it Safari?
Unless otherwise expressly indicated by BHGP editors, this FanPost is strictly the viewpoint of the author and is not endorsed by BHGP in any way.
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I work with a huge Michagan homer. When this story broke, she delivered a low level rage about how the Detroit Free Press has had it out for RichRod from the start and they just made the whole thing up. So I asked “well, what if it turns out there is some truth to all of it”. The reply was a rather biting “There isn’t.”
She has no idea how badly I want to shove this in her face with a heart felt “I told you so, BITCH!”. I don’t because she would claim to not remember any of it and because life is just much easier for everybody when her bubble isn’t burst.
Facts sometimes have a strange and bizarre power that makes their inherent truth seem unbelievable. - Werner Herzog
Dear Bellanca,
You write:
The staff is not there to protect the executives from themselves.
It seems to me that that’s precisely what they’re there for. The Compliance staff exists to ensure that the coaches, whose job description is “coach the football team,” do so in accordance with the letter of the law. It was Rodriguez’s staff’s responsibility, and that of the compliance staff in the University of Michigan AD, to know the rules and to make sure that Rodriguez was following them.
He had incompetent individuals, neither of whom he hired, in the positions most relevant to making sure he followed the rules. As a result, he exceeded the limits on practice time by 20 minutes a day, enough times that 60 extra hours we logged over the course of several years.
It is indeed his job, as it is the job of every boss, to make sure that each employee performs her/his duties. These individuals were clearly incompetent, and he should have recognized that, but it seems a stretch to suggest that Rodriguez himself was indifferent to compliance. The moment he found out about 1) the missing job descriptions, and 2) the missing CARA forms, the problem was fixed and the materials were provided. That’s in the files released by the University.
I guess I’m not allowed to point out Iowa’s malfeasance on this board.
In summation, in less flaming fashion than I had written before:
Bellanca, you seem to think that Michigan’s disregard for the clerical rules of compliance rules indicates no regard for any rules whatsoever. What would Iowa’s constant discipline problems over the recent past say about their disregard for rules?
Your statements about Rodriguez’s position on compliance aren’t culled from the reports, so where is that information from? Are they just your baseless opinion?
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
Who's restricting your post?
Your original comment is directly above Brian’s reaction. You just formatted it poorly so it appears as a large block quote.
by The Mexican't on May 27, 2010 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions
It’s completely gone from where I’m sitting.
And yes, I truly messed up the formatting.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
No, it's visible. We got a double-scoop!
Our football players don’t pick fight with cops, btw. They just take their clothes off and run through alleys during two-a-days.
The wrestlers aren’t as nice.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
Then I’m truly at a loss for why I can’t see it. Oh well.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
It was deleted.
But while comments auto-refresh if you stay in a thread, deleted comments don’t disappear unless you reload the thread. Weird quirk.
That said, you know exactly why it got deleted, and it wasn’t because you “point[ed] out Iowa’s malfeasance.” You trolled. That’s cool at your ass-tastic joke of a blog, but not here. Get it?
I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks
Gosh, ill will?
Chitownblue:
1. suggest you read what I wrote on the sexual assault case. I understand the value of turnabout in any argument, because it’s the best way to change the subject and move on, but it’s not necessary here. I thought that Mason and Ferentz should probably resign, or be fired, after I learned how the university treated the victim. (It turns out that Ferentz had followed explicit direction and university policy, although remained strangely inert and distant in the aftermath, and only Mason should have been fired.)
2. Sure, it’s opinion, but it’s not baseless. Because if he had done any of that he would have fixed the problem himself. And if he had done any of that, it would have been documented in the discovery-like document dump, to exonerate and mitigate, with the NCAA. If, as a coach, you don’t have a periodic meeting with your administrative elements to review compliance procedures and compliance status, well, you are not managing your compliance obligations. You guys are acting like this is experimental physics, and RichRod is just a janitor in the physics lab. These are obvious, systematic breaches of activities RichRod controls. It’s not earthshaking and the NCAA rulebook must rival Soviet human resource manuals, but what’s so confusing here?
3. Your concern that I think UM has “no regard for any rules whatsoever” is misplaced. I neither wrote nor believe that.
Ypsi:
You and I have different definitions of organizational behavior and leadership. In mine, the head coach, the senior executive, is responsible for his own behavior. “My subordinate didn’t tell me I couldn’t do that, so leave me alone” is a rarely invoked defense when an organization finds itself in the ditch. (You’re kinda on the shoulder, so far.) Ypso-facto: this problem doesn’t afflict UM today had they a coach who took responsibility for that which he is accountable.
Brian: you’re a funny guy.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
You and I have different definitions of organizational behavior and leadership.
This is fair. E-gree to dis-e-gree.
I suppose I just feel that Rodriguez’s response to the missing forms and job descriptions (immediately resolving the outstanding issues and seeing to it that all the post-October 2009 forms were in on-time and properly filled out) is exactly what I expect from somebody in a leadership position. To wit: notification, diagnosis, rectification, establishment of correct policy going forward.
Buddy, that stuff got thrown together 24 hours before they were outed by the Freep.
C’mon, Michigan Men aren’t so credulous as all that, are they?
And he didn’t resolve all the outstanding issues, because he couldn’t: objective behavior, like emails, has a half-life of approximately infinity.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
I’m confused. Can you please reconcile these two statements so that I may understand?
“3. Your concern that I think UM has "no regard for any rules whatsoever" is misplaced. I neither wrote nor believe that.”
“First, there was no compliance in effect at Michigan. When executives do not follow the rules, staff do not follow the rules; at this point the rules cease to exist.”
by blue-imafreak on May 27, 2010 2:51 PM CDT up reply actions
Sure.
There was no compliance with the time-keeping requirements of the NCAA and something about ‘job description’ management (to prevent teams from having 20 sub-rosa assistants), until roughly, oh, 24 hours before the Freep published their scandalous story.
In regard to your b.f. clause, I realize I’m speaking in an abstract general manner that is over your head. What I meant was, If Daddy drinks himself into a stupor every night, he better not tell me to lay off the PBR.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
why are you insulting me?
you said @ Michigan the rules ceased to exist but also contended that you never said Michigna had disregard for the rules.
I don’t understand your PBR analogy and consequently do not see how it clarifies the apparent discrepency.
by blue-imafreak on May 27, 2010 3:08 PM CDT up reply actions
For what it's worth
I deleted chitown’s comment because it was deliberately incendiary and misrepresented the facts. He was just trying to get a negative reaction, because he’s a troll and that’s what trolls do.
I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks
Adam, if you delete posts based on factul content or whether they were designed to illicit a negative response, I’d call your attention here:
Second, RichRod considered compliance somebody else’s problem, didn’t look into it, didn’t inspect it, didn’t hold meetings on it, didn’t take responsibility for it, didn’t execute according to his responsibilities, appears not to have even read the rules.
There is no factual basis for any of this, other than Bellanca’s personal distaste for Rodriguez. He’s entitled to that, but it shouldn’t be passed off as fact.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
The use of the term "gang-rape" is what set it off.
That’s unwarranted, and far more distasteful than anything Bellanca has written about Michigan. And please, don’t pretend that you weren’t trolling. Be a man and admit it.
I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks
Fine. “Assault by more than one person”?
I didn’t intend to troll. Bellanca suggested that Michigan’s failure to comply with a particular set of rules was indicative of a disregard for rules in general. I asked, given that stance, what Iowa’s handling of the sexual assault would indicate about them. I think it’s a fair question.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
As Bellanca noted, we've written plenty about that case
And since we’re human beings and not partisan hack jackoffs, we found plenty not to like about the way it was handled. We even said that if we were Ferentz, we would have resigned. But we’re not, and he didn’t, and he’s done his job admirably since then. There are few programs as upstanding as Iowa’s right now. That’s every bit as meaningful as Ferentz’s response to the assault in the first place.
There certainly hasn’t been an accusation of sexual misconduct since then, which would render your obvious insinuation that Ferentz coddles and encourages sexual predators invalid. Are you as certain that RichRod will not coddle and encourage employees who violate NCAA rules? Because, yannow, IT’S HAPPENED AT TWO SCHOOLS IN A ROW NOW.
I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks
You’re turning “Bellanca” into “we”. I never addressed the coverage of this blog – I addressed a diary written by one of your commenters. I don’t recall what you wrote, but it’s not relevant, because I never addressed or questioned it.
You think Rodriguez cheats, and I’m not going to debate the issue with you, because I’m not going to change your mind. My point is that Bellanca injects several claims that have no basis in what is in the NCAA report, or basis in any documentation. They’re his opinion. Which he’s entitled to. But: opinion.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
Well, but what Bellanca wrote about it and what we wrote about it were pretty much the same.
I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks
Citations?
To say he “injects several claims that have no basis in” reality, without saying which claims, shows your bias and leaves more than a little room to assume that what you are saying is your opinion (which you’re entitled to).
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 9:58 AM CDT up reply actions
Uh, no I didn't.
What I said was, in a situation like this, is if the ceo disregards the rules [note to Chitown: this is a hypothetical?], there is no practical basis on which to assert that there are any rules. Because the organization follows the rules that the ceo follows.
Anyway, I am fascinated by organizational behavior and leadership, and this is probably getting obtuse and uninteresting. I have felt all along that RichRod has grievous personal ethical problems and behavioral blind spots, not to mention an inability to choose good real estate investments, and my other house is near West Virginia and I know what’s going on in that state, so I am hard as hell on the guy. I find his hiring at UM to be incongruous in the best of all possible outcomes.
What I will say is, I would be truly fucking shocked if that new AD of yours (who is a very, very accomplished ceo) didn’t ask your coach, in a very, very steely quiet voice, “Tell me again why you chose not to manage your own compliance obligations?” Because you don’t succeed as a public company ceo by saying “mistakes were made … collective failure … fire the clerks who didn’t save me from myself.”
This AD had to sign his Sarbanes-Oxley statements — which create personal liability for the CEO if he signs off on any audit that proves to be fraudulent — so I seriously doubt that he is going to be very impressed by the “fire the clerks” argument.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
A legitimate question I don’t know the answer to:
Does Kirk Ferentz, or any other coach, manage their compliance department?
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
That's a fantastic question
I imagine, though, he would have a tighter reign in that area if he had prior issues regarding that in a previous job. At least he would be well-informed of what’s going on.
As one master wordsmith once said: “There’s an old saying in Tennessee. I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee, that says, fool me once, shame on…shame on you. Fool me, you can’t get fooled again!”
"I know you're from Middle America, and sometimes you feel like you're representing more than just a school or a conference, maybe an entire group of American citizens out there."
by Twin Cities Hawk on May 28, 2010 8:56 AM CDT up reply actions
I should string that out slightly further – Bellanca has made clear over numerous posts of his personal affinity for Ferentz, which, again, is perfectly fine. I like the guy, too. He also has made clear his distaste for Rodriguez, which is also fine, though I disagree. But I wonder how clerical violations like Michigan’s get conflated in his post with Sexual Harrassment despite the obvious difference in severity of infraction. I further wonder why he’s ready to baselessly claim Rodriguez “doesn’t care about compliance” while cheering a coach who has demonstrated a certain lack of regard for the legal process.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
Facts who needs them.
First, there was no compliance in effect at Michigan.
I would also add this assertion to the list of comments that are deliberately incendiary and misrepresented the facts
When even MGoBrian says...
“Everyone involved with Michigan football compliance administration has failed massively and should be fired. Now.”
…then you cease having a bone to pick about Bellanca’s statement about Michigan’s complete lack of compliance.
I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks
If you accept Brian’s epinion as gospel for anything Michigan, I guess so.
But pointing out they failed and saying “it did not exist” is not the same thing, I think.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
The 'it did not exist' was last year. The 'kill them all' is this year.
You don’t get it, do you. This is a story about reflexive UM dismissive blindness to error. You think it’s a story about how UM is UNLV. This is a story about a coach, over his head in life and work, screwing up again — and how the faithful all say, “Forget about it coach — they’re all haters anyhow.”
Lighten up. It’s summer, there’s nothing on TV for three months other than Justified and Mad Men reruns, the NCAA rulebook is a document from hell (or the Soviet bureaucracy), and you boys are about to lose 3-4 scholarships. Look at the bright side: your 175 lb. QBs still get to be hit on EVERY SINGLE PLAY FROM SCRIMMAGE and strategic brilliance such as that will certainly carry the day this fall.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
Look at the bright side: your 175 lb. QBs still get to be hit on EVERY SINGLE PLAY FROM SCRIMMAGE and strategic brilliance such as that will certainly carry the day this fall.
I forgot, this blog isn’t the place for incendiary comments intended to spark a negative response.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
Sorry.
But it’s not actually “gang-rape” (your words?) what happens when your 175 lb QBs get hit on EVERY SINGLE PLAY FROM SCRIMMAGE. It’s just scheme-meltdown, by the time the snow starts to fall. You don’t have a QB who can run the ball in that offense and lift his throwing arm after November 1. I don’t know what you’re going to do. Josh Nesbitt wasn’t big enough to get hit on EVERY SINGLE PLAY FROM SCRIMMAGE.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
AH, the old retreat to football insults instead of commeting on the substance of the argument at hand. You should just join the WLA where these sorts of insults are welcomed and our comment section and posts do not pretend to be something they are not.
It's not a function of your RichRod's scheme that your QB get's drilled
ON EVERY SINGLE PLAY FROM SCRIMMAGE?
And with that O-line?
I’m animated because, before I was banned, I read on your mgosite that RichRod had reinvented football, or something.
As Norm says, only three things matter in defensive football, and they haven’t changed: keep the ball in front of you; maintain leverage on the guy who’s trying to block you; pound the shit out of anybody who touches the ball. It’s an inscrutable scheme, this ’let’s beat holy hell out of the only guy who can throw the ball’ offense.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
I think he’s pointing out your fall-back to the “BUT BUT BUT HE’S A BAD COACH,” defense as if it were relevent to the initial conversation.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
Uh...
…you two (blue and max) took away any relevance to the conversation by arguing in circles with yourselves. You (blue) are the one that tried to change the subject, away from Michigan and toward our staff, multiple times.
Don’t get all preachy now (just because Bellanca called you on your bullshit and stopped engaging your “logic leaps” (thanks for that great bit of wordsmithery max).
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 10:09 AM CDT up reply actions
Nobody tried to change the subject to your staff. Bellanca felt that Michigan’s transgressions in this specific area indicate a complete and utter disregard for all the rules of that area in general – ie, because this happened, RR must not give a rip about compliance.
If that logic holds, could one argue that Iowa’s athletic staff holds a permissive view of sexual assault?
Of course they don’t. I know that – you know that. It’s called a “rhetorical question”.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
by chitownblue on May 28, 2010 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions
There you go trying to talk about other schools again...
…“No one changed the subject… now let me change the subject again.” —chitownblue
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 3:04 PM CDT up reply actions
You don’t seem to understand that if Belladona is unwilling to hold his favorite team to the same line of reasoning he’s willing to hold Michigan to, he’s either a hypocrite, intellectually dishonest, or both.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
You fail to understand that this story is about Michigan...
…not the past, future or perceived indiscretions of ANY other school. If you want to defend your team, fine. If you want to change the subject then I’ll ask you to move along. We took our licks these last few years, and everyone got to put Iowa City under the microscope (albeit, mostly due to underage students being the fish in the ICPD’s barrel), but we’ve already talked that out.
I understand why you don’t want to talk about it, but instead of deflecting, maybe you should just stay off of others’ sites if you don’t want to hear (read) it.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Jun 1, 2010 1:42 PM CDT up reply actions
How are we arguing in circles, change subjects or did Bellanca call our bullshit?
The topic at hand is compliance in an athletic department. MICH has problems that were implied to be AD wide. Iowa has also had problems so by the post logic, why would not those problems be considered IOWA AD wide? (glass houses and all)
Last I checked Bellanca admitted to at least a few points where he was wrong. I also think it is quite obvious that the CEO analogy fails on multiple levels, to which Bellanca only offers the absurd notion that the person who makes the most money is in charge. [I think he is just joking around, FWIW]
Where is our bullshit that called got called out?
There you go trying to talk about other schools again...
…"No one changed the subject… now let me change the subject again." —chitownblue AND MadMax3
/ fix’d
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 3:06 PM CDT up reply actions
You don't actually answer my questions but instead continue to be intentionally dense
Clearly from reading the post the topic is compliance, and the example used is Michigan. I am not changing topics. I am using different examples to discuss this topic because of this quote from the post above
There was systemic, institutional flouting of the relevance of compliance by program executives, including the head coach. Analogy: change the problem here from a compliance failure at a popular football school, to, say, an accounting or sexual harassment problem in a corporation or a battalion — any independent evaluation would say that the violations are so consistent, persistent, and so casual as to indicate complete disinterest in preventing fraud or sexual harassment.
could be considered directly applicable to the situation that occurred at IOWA and clearly indicates that different examples can be allowed to discuss the topic at hand.
Give it up
Do you really think the two situations are comparable?
1) A years long half-ass approach to compliance, related mainly to paperwork, certain staff members interactions with the players and a pattern of time overages during practices. The coaching and compliance staff were well aware of what was going on, whether they knew it was a violation or not.
2) A one time sexual assault against a young woman by three players. The University had no idea it was taking place. The players were dismissed from the program. The University, including football staff, staged an inexcusable cover-up.
The Iowa situation is obviously much more serious, but it was also a one time problem and the assault itself was probably not preventable.
The Michigan problem took place over years, it was 99% preventable. Multiple people just did not do their jobs. For years.
These two problems are completely different. The only common thread is that they involve college football teams.
Facts sometimes have a strange and bizarre power that makes their inherent truth seem unbelievable. - Werner Herzog
So we get to extend up our arms in Victory as Ballanca has relented a point?
I also am struggling to understand your analogy to a CEO. RR is not the CEO, the AD (Martin or Brandon) is and it is not clear that complaince was experiencing total failure throughout the athletic department. So is the CEO following two sets of rules, one for football and one for the rest of the sports? You seem like a bright guy who is interested in this stuff so why not just fisk the document dump and cite it specifically instead of writing a rather inflaming opinion piece passed trying to be a substantial critique.
The CEO is the guy who makes the most money, MM3.
Brandon is the non-exec chairman.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
Who signs the paychecks and has the power to fire? Just because you make the most money does not mean you have the most power and its is that power that supposedly directs all others to follow the same rules. The situation is not even comparable to a CEO who answers to a board. Again, just drop the half-assed analogy and take up the underlying data dump.
This is a terrible argument
Brandon is Rodriguez’s boss.
Um, if you read Brian's story (which I did yesterday... paperwork yawn)...
…it says in the 73-ish pages that when confronted RichRod said he didn’t know about at least a few of the compliance rules.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 27, 2010 4:55 PM CDT up reply actions
Most coaches
probably need help with (at least) some of the compliance rules and their meanings.
Think about all the crap they have to know and tell me that NCAA compliance rules are at the top of the list of things to brush up on over the weekend.
Facts sometimes have a strange and bizarre power that makes their inherent truth seem unbelievable. - Werner Herzog
This
This is why so many Michigan fans are angry at the compliance department instead of Rodriguez. Rodriguez (and pretty much every other NCAA coach) relies on their compliance department to understand all the arcane rules and make sure any mistake gets caught immediately. The UM department completely failed him and, instead of reporting a secondary violation back in early 2008 (or catching the mistake before they ever get out onto the practice field), Michigan’s football team has its first major violations in program history.
And they should be
but there is also something to the argument of Rodriguez’s attitude toward compliance. The head coach picks the assistants and calls the tunes. If he decides that compliance is not to be worried about and the compliance staff can be stonewalled a bit, then that is what is going to happen. Did he do that? Dunno. But the NCAA didn’t investigate his time at WV for no reason.
Facts sometimes have a strange and bizarre power that makes their inherent truth seem unbelievable. - Werner Herzog
Sort of
But the compliance department monitors compliance for the entire Athletic Department – not the football team specifically. Rodriguez doesn’t hire or interview them – they preceded his existence. As a matter of fact – the main players have been employed by Michigan longer than Rodriguez. Rodriguez couldn’t get an accurate answer as to what QC coaches were allowed to do. Remember – Michigan’s compliance department are the same people that nearly made Michigan vacate 2 wins in 2007, under Lloyd, because they let him play an academically ineligible player on kick coverage.
For that matter, Michigan Compliance Department pestered the Assistant AD responsible for collecting the CARA forms with upwards of ten voicemails and more e-mails. Most were disregarded and others got the standard “check’s in the mail!” response. This is the fault of a handful of painfully lazy, incompetent University bureaucrats.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
This is one year away from being moot
as Rodriguez will not survive another season of lower third Big Ten football while also lacking a firm grasp on his—yes, his—program. IMO the guy is not very organized, is shady on competitive advantage, and runs an offense that is better suited to a team playing for a state championship.
I predict that your next coach will not be the winningest dude available or even a guy who is potentially the winningest dude, but he will be some version of Howdy Doody or the guy who is the cleanest, most buttoned up coach you can get your can get your hands on—-further validating Bellanca’s points down the road.
The most insulting aspect of Rodriguez’s handling of all this is his lawyer’s — not him, his fucking lawyer mind you — defense of his ignorance of compliance and suggestion that it is a collaborative effort (compliance cannot possibly be handled by one man is what I think he said, so GREAT! any task handled by more than one person goes without accountability). In terms of leadership, when you hear anyone share blame then you’ve got one sucky leader. In my book, a great leader shares success and eats blame, particularly when it comes to compliance that deals directly with competitive advantage. Extra practice is cheating. I would be far less outraged if this was about money or cronyism, etc.
This guy has taken what used to be a gold standard program and, IMO, made it a side show. Bottom line, UM has finished 10th in the conference the last two years. His system has won three Big Ten games. Three. And only one of which didn’t go down to the final play. You now have a coach that comfortably claims ignorance about critical aspects of his own operation. BTW, the NCAA is so convinced of his culpability that it decided to look under the hood at West Virginia.
The Big Ten needs a strong Michigan and I don’t think anyone outside of Ann Arbor is convinced that will happen anytime soon with this dude in the driver’s seat. In fact, i am not sure Ann Arbor is convinced he will lead a turnaround.
Good luck…you’ll need it with this guy.
FWIW, I am sitting on my Rutgers to the Big Ten I Told You So.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
he will be some version of Howdy Doody or the guy who is the cleanest, most buttoned up coach
Tressel’s going to Michigan?
Facts sometimes have a strange and bizarre power that makes their inherent truth seem unbelievable. - Werner Herzog
Dr. Tom Davis.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 10:08 AM CDT up reply actions
Wow...
…that is EXACTLY what I was going to write until I scrolled down.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 10:25 AM CDT up reply actions
Tressel...
is a vest, not a buttoned-down.
I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it. I felt I owed it to them.
-- Judge Smails
by WaterlooChazz on May 29, 2010 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions
So in the hypothetical world you have created, Rodriguez will fail this year, and will be replaced by a “Howdy Doody”. How is this salient to any on-topic argument? Your hypothetical world doesn’t exist, and thus any conclusions you draw from it are limited, likely, to your own imagination.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
i can't blame you for punting
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
Well, Mesko WAS their best player last year...
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 1:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Correcting another assertion
Last I checked Brandon Graham was the first Big 10 player drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft
You were the guy
telling us all about WLA’s sense of humor, right?
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 2:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Ryan Leif would like a word with you.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 3:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Donrus.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 3:22 PM CDT up reply actions
I’m punting? You’re arguing using conclusions drawn from events that only exist in your imagination. Why would I even argue with that?
Talk about what’s happened, not your “predictions”, because they’re meaningless.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
Relax guy
I would say more than half of the content of most sports sites revolves around peoples’ baseless predictions. That hardly makes all predictions meaningless. It doesn’t matter if a prediction is completely accurate or completely retarded, they all feed in to peoples’ collective expectations for the season.
That being said I think most people expect Michigan to have a subpar season, and then they expect to see RRod get booted to the curb. You obviously disagree with this outlook for the season. Probably because you don’t like to admit, to yourself or others, that Michigan has slipped to the middle to lower tier of Big Ten powers.
Either way relax. DickRod is a scummy guy in general. You should be happy at the thought of him leaving. UM will be a healthier program with him gone. So he’ll fail and he’ll get fired ridding you of a sleazebag coach, or he’ll succeed and your team will be back in the win column.
by HawkeyeInExile on May 28, 2010 2:26 PM CDT up reply actions
the main players have been employed by Michigan longer than Rodriguez
If the compliance department has been “incompetent” for years, but only now does the new coach get in serious trouble for non-compliance, isn’t that a direct reflection on said coach?
No self-respecting man from Iowa goes anywhere without beer
by Hayden Fry's Moustache Ride on May 28, 2010 10:00 AM CDT up reply actions
ding ding ding ding ding
I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks
by Adam Jacobi on May 28, 2010 12:31 PM CDT up reply actions
Are you familiar with this case, at all?
They got in trouble because the Compliance department found that these two dudes weren’t doing their paperwork for four years. That dates back to fucking Lloyd.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
by chitownblue on May 28, 2010 12:44 PM CDT up reply actions
And as HFMR pointed out
it took a character like RichRod to draw attention to two individuals whose incompetence/malfeasance had otherwise gone unnoticed up to this point.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 12:47 PM CDT up reply actions
What does that even mean? Rodriguez’s presence attracted the NCAA like a magnet?
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
by chitownblue on May 28, 2010 12:50 PM CDT up reply actions
I am a little surprised a serious person would be defending
a coach who uses his lawyer to defend his ignorance. Only a professional criminal defers questioning to his lawyer. (hyperbole alert…hyperbole alert)
It just doesn’t look good. This is how Arkansas or Alabama or LSU would operate. Not a Big Ten school. Eat it. Fall on the sword and move on…
I can understand defending your school, but this dude? Is he really worth it to the Maize ‘n Blue family? No, he didn’t commit the crime of the century, and no one is claiming that he did. We are claiming though that he’s a hack leader with a questionable system who’s basically beneath the league. That, we are — or at least I am — claiming. But I am a guy who could not wait for Lickliter to be fired for reasons that were WAY above and beyond his terrible record. I guess I’m not a hanger oner. I don’t need the NCAA to tell me when my coach’s goose is cooked.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
And why is he such scum? I’m truly ignorant of these grevious sins that you seems to think he’s committed. He left a school for a better job, like many coaches. He got caught up in a clerical error, and he’s paying a price for it.
If he fails this year, he should go. Not because he’s scum, but because he failed.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
I didn't call him scum
I was quite specific in what my problems are with him.
he’s a hack leader with a questionable system who’s basically beneath the league
By “beneath the league” I mean, he doesn’t own up to his failings, he lacks the kind of class the conference is used to from it’s coaches (ask Purdue about RR’s recruiting tactics or consider his failure to punish his player Joan Mouton who socked a ND player in the nuts on national TV…the Big Ten had to do that work for him). Need I go on. I mean when Joe Tiller, everyone’s grandpa, calls you “a guy in a wizard hat selling snake oil”…
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
by StoopsMyAss on May 28, 2010 10:26 PM CDT up reply actions
Tiller is upset because Rodriguez kept recruiting a kid that had “committed” to Purdue. Like that never happens? Michigan lost recruits to Penn State, Indiana, and uh….IOWA in the past 3 year in similar circumstances.
I’m sorry, but for someone who I imagine touts the “class” of a coach who attempted to convince the victim of group sexual assault to not go to the police, THEN sent two players to immediately occupy the room the crime took place in (thus destroying it as a crime scene) with the time his antics bought to pretend Rodriguez “lacks class” because of an incident he doesn’t even remember clearly because it didn’t happen (Mouton slapped a Purdue player in the face – that was where the NCAA stepped in) strains the bounds of “bias” and “selective memory”.
Playing the “class” card in NCAA football is a fools game. It’s a dirty, dirty undertaking, everywhere. And the second you start looking down on one fanbase for cheating is the second you open yourself up to absurd levels of hypocrisy – ask virtually every Michigan fan after the past 2 years.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
by chitownblue on May 28, 2010 10:50 PM CDT up reply actions
What? Slapping a Purdue player? This is as weird as your "from his hiring" tangent.
You are not very informed sir. Read and learn…
No other Big Ten coach recruits a kid at the 11th hour that has verbally committed to another Big Ten school. You’re actually an Auburn alum, no? Come clean.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
by StoopsMyAss on May 28, 2010 11:14 PM CDT up reply actions
OK, mea culpa on the dong punch.
My “from his hiring tangent” was to point out that this discussion started about the violations Michigan committed – not the handling of Rodriguez’s buyout clause. You want to make this a referendum on Rodriguez, which has not a thing to do with what I’m arguing. I’m saying Rodriguez has limited culpability in this specific incident.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
by chitownblue on May 29, 2010 12:48 AM CDT up reply actions
lawyer comment...
…refers to the lawyer that made a statement about THIS STORY
[I’m so tired of reading your comments chiblue]
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Jun 1, 2010 1:52 PM CDT up reply actions
Did DickRod let assistants of assistants participate in practices...
…in an assistant coaching capacity without knowing wheter or not they should be there, thus leading directly to practice-gate? Indeed. And if I understand all of this correctly (which I may not- – it’s obviously complicated) that is why it should fall, at least partly, on his shoulders.
Period.
If a college professor is allowed to have three student teachers for 30 hours a week (10 each), but he ends up with 9 grad students in the lecture hall who get 45 hours of student teaching done per week (regardless of whether he knows what goes on in the discussion portions of the class— when the professor isn’t present), the prof is in violation of the rules and should have known better (even if it’s his department head who was supposed to tell him that it was wrong).
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 10:23 AM CDT up reply actions
No, I understand that...
…hell, even Cook says that in his article. I don’t expect a head coach to understand every aspect of team travel either, but as you (smartly) point out, a coach usually sets the tone and if he’s had issues in a certain area in the past, you’d think he’d be less casual about it than the info dump reveals.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 10:14 AM CDT up reply actions
As I said, EVERY SINGLE PLAY
Mr. Boh Knows ...
by Bellanca on May 27, 2010 3:17 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
uh
that’s from 2007 chief
Rich Rod was still back in West Virginia shredding his tax returns when this game took place
FIRE LLOYD
Don't celebration when you score goal
Hey now, I thought references to gang rape were getting deleted!
ZING!
by blue-imafreak on May 28, 2010 6:29 PM CDT up reply actions
This
This post is fantastically partisan and even more fantastically a mischaracterization of the entire issue swirling around practicegate.
You have a freaky obsession with Michigan. And, you bring down this blog’s overall quality. Otherwise, BHGP is a pretty solid read.
You're mom brings down the blog's overall quality...
…am I right Rambler?!
Where were you on that?
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Jun 1, 2010 1:54 PM CDT up reply actions
i have just one thing to say after following this whole debate...
thank you, paul finebaum.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
i remember
the days of my youth when i’d never heard of CARA forms and surprise sex and shredded documents and coke dealing 4th stringers and glenn beck
so much innocence
gone
gone forever
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com
I don't mind most of that
but Glen Beck really has destroyed my innocence. Oh, and he’s a capital douche, but that’s just IMHO.
I have never understood...
the need or desire to go to an opposing teams’ site and comment. At best, it’s a partisan debate with neither side willing to concede a point. At worst, it’s flaming of the highest magnitude.
I stick to my teams’ site for info and comments. If I’m going to read a trashing of the Hawks, at least I know that when I read it here, it is honest and warranted.
Yee-Haw! I ride again!
by Cornshoe Hammaker on May 27, 2010 10:08 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Hey Cornshoe...
It is a theory in human evolution and, specifically, among historians of language and communication that "speech" came about around many, many, many years ago so Homo sapiens, cavemen as we colloquially call them, could learn from each other. It started with utterances among family members and soon a repertoire emerged. Sure, they were dwarfed initially by gestures but complexity required something greater than hands and facial expressions…speech.
In any event, scholars believe that families or tribes developed an intra-tribal language (if you will) that was essentially useless outside the tribe. When they crossed paths with other tribes while hunting or gathering (or shopping as my wife calls it) they were stumped and unable to communicate. So this put pressure on them to learn different utterances. This led to, eventually, the creation of some universal utterances that were recognized across tribes but this only happened—and this is important—because they were willing to travel outside of their tribe and communicate.
Here we are 100,000 years later, still trying to understand the utterances of the other tribes.
So, in a nutshell, it’s genetic that we invade other blogs.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
It's genetic
that we had to go to the South Carolina blog two years ago to make jokes, or that the Boise trolls headed over there before the bowl selection this year?
This just furthers my belief that we’ve peaked as a species. :-)
It never gets to be easy
by chitownhawkeye on May 28, 2010 4:55 PM CDT up reply actions
I loved those USC blog visits
and in the end, I thought the smelly cock stuff and the Steakhouse win was the highlight of my holiday that year. And I think the cock lovers found us to be a sort of kindred spirit. Either that or assholes, but either way I look back with nostalgia on that repartee. Truthfully, I feel like this whole community peaks at bowl season when we defend ourselves against all the perceived slights of the world.
But that’s what life is like when, like me, you live in a cave.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
by StoopsMyAss on May 28, 2010 10:33 PM CDT up reply actions
With the housing market on the fritz...
…what are prices like on caves these days?
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Jun 1, 2010 1:56 PM CDT up reply actions
I fall on the side of SMA with this one:
I will admit that I’ve been the recipient of hostility on other sites for no other reason than my “outsider” status, but more times than not it’s led to lively and even enlightening discourse that is often times unavailable in a forum where most views are colored with the same allegiances. More than a few times (most recently on Testudo Times) I’ve been thanked by homers for giving an outsider’s perspective on issues that can take on blinders in isolated quarters.
I don’t read the Guardian UK or The Times of London because I believe they’re better or smarter than American papers (they’re not), but because they’re written from a different perspective than I’m given at home and will sometimes open my mind to new ways of thinking of issues. The overwhelming power of the internet is that it bridges the gaps between groups of people who were previously removed from one another, hopefully leading to a better understanding of the world around us be it in topics political, religious, technical or even athletic. When we use this power responsibly we all better for it.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 10:19 AM CDT up reply actions
SMA and KMC'T
You are both right and make valid points about the importance of cross-communication. Unfortunately it always seems that for every good and lively debate between fan bases in these forums, there are two cases of blind idiots torching (i.e. the BSU fans who set blazes here last December when we didn’t even fucking play them.)
Carry on.
Yee-Haw! I ride again!
by Cornshoe Hammaker on May 28, 2010 10:43 AM CDT up reply actions
Wait a minute...
When we use this power responsibly we all better for it.
Power? Responsibility? Hmm.
Don’t lie, Kyle — Stan Lee’s your scriptwriter, isn’t he?
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
I do have to say that I doubt cavepeople developed crude speech skills
so they could call their fellow cavepeople on the other side of the mountain dickwads. So you have a good point.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
by StoopsMyAss on May 28, 2010 10:58 AM CDT up reply actions
Deep in a cave outside Morgantown, WV...
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 12:28 PM CDT up reply actions
Man, for all the reverence and (rightful) praise Stan Lee and Jack Kirby receive
they sure wrote some hackneyed bullshit.
Also, Ross, for all my comicbook references you’re sure at the ready with very specific counters. What are you not telling us?
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 12:21 PM CDT up reply actions
That I'm secretly a jNW fan?
Wait, no, that’s not it… let me get back to you on that one.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
YOU GO TO HELL!
You go to hell and die for that! Take it back!
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 12:50 PM CDT up reply actions
I feel dirty even suggesting that in jest.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
I feel like I don't even know you anymore...
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 3:24 PM CDT up reply actions
Ooh, the bitter irony!
When we use this power responsibly we all better for it.
“we all better for it”? Clearly, that was my caveman voice.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 12:32 PM CDT up reply actions
These Michigan fans need a sense of humor
To be fair, so does Bellanca.
We can all point at another school and say “them is a bunch of stinkers.” But big time college sports has no shortage of controversy and scandal, no matter where you look. 18-22 year old campus stars feel entitled and then go out and do stupid and sometimes awful things. Or, they just act like 18-22 year olds. Coaches sometimes bend the rules because they’re making megabucks and are very visible, and have a lot of expectation riding on them.
Stop this circle jerk of despair and self-righteousness and get back to fan stuff. The NCAA and UM administration will decide who is and isn’t culpable in all this.
Brunettes not fighter jets
"The NCAA and UM administration will decide who is and isn’t culpable in all this."
If only this was the way it worked. USC would be like an NAIA team by now.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 11:42 AM CDT up reply actions
To be fair...
…at least Bellanca called himself (or at least his “I told you so”) classless in the headline of this fanshot (if I understood that correctly).
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 11:45 AM CDT up reply actions
Sense of Humor
I don’t expect you to like our humor or even think it is funny, but to say we have no sense of humor is something that is not true.
My favorite part of reading through the comments from the "Swiftian" sendup from last fall...
…is when MGoBrian says, “I have those ‘source’ things in the department and they say they have meticulous documents.”
Given everything that’s come to light through this document dump, that sentence just makes me giggle.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 12:19 PM CDT reply actions
A Michigan fan's perspective
As a Michigan fan, my perspective of the issues surrounding the practice violations can be summed up thusly:
1. In August 2009, the Detroit Free Press released a story that stated the University of Michigan football team had flagrantly ignored daily and weekly limits on practice time and the use of quality control assistants. The story further went on to claim that some of these limits had been exceeded by a factor of 2 and then some.
2. Subsequent investigation of the allegations in the NCAA and the University of Michigan yielded a number of violations. The substance of the violations can be summed up thusly:
a) Michigan’s biggest offense was the illegal use of Quality Control staff in roles that constituted coaching activities. This was the fault of a failure by the compliance staff to provide the football coaching staff with guidelines (as backed up by documentation) and the coaching staff failing to clarify what was and was not legal with the compliance staff. As such, numerous people are at fault here, one of whom is Rich Rodriguez. However, in defense of Rodriguez, the rules regarding QC staff are rather vague and a number of rules violations committed by the QC staff would no longer be violations today, as the NCAA changed these rules after the investigation, realizing that they were dumb.
b) There were very minor practice overages. The most serious overage was a number of 1-hour overages during the offseason, in which voluntary hours with strength and conditioning staff are limited. During football season, there were a number of practices that exceeded the 4-hour limit by 20 minutes. This excess occurred because the football coaches were present while the players stretched. The coaches were unaware that stretching constituted a countable practice time. Incidentally, stretching is considered voluntary unless observed by a football coach.
c) There were a few other isolated violations. The only serious one was a graduate assistant lying to the NCAA. He was fired before the allegations were released.
d) The violations combined to result in a failure to monitor charge by the NCAA.
3. It is our position that the violations are really not that serious. Contrary to the Free Press report, which stated that Michigan had consistently and egregiously violated practice limits, Michigan only had a few minor overages. More serious is the QC staff problem, but to be fair, the NCAA has been changing and clarifying those rules because they realized that they were neither well-defined nor logical.
4. We also believe, based on comments from NCAA football players throughout the country, including some at Ohio State, that these violations would turn up at any other school. While this is not a defense, it is a reason that we get annoyed when fans of other schools either gloat or are smug about them with regards to us.
5. As the violations that actually occurred do not even begin to approach what was initially reported by the Free Press, one of the lead reporters on the Free Press had written numerous anti-Rodriguez opinion articles, the coverage by the Free Press showed tremendous bias, and the Free Press reporters displayed a disregard for journalistic ethics while putting together the report, I consider the report to be a hit job on both Rodriguez and the university.
6. Most fans of other team no little beyond the substance of the initial Free Press reports. This is understandable, as there is little reason for fans of other team to delve into the story, as it doesn’t affect their team. That said, if a fan of another team is going to debate us on the topic, then we are going to be irritated that they haven’t even bothered to look for an another perspective on the topic, especially if that fan then chooses to be smug or cast aspersions on our school and football program. I feel that if anyone wishes to have a legitimate discussion on any topic, then they should be somewhat well-versed in the specifics of the topic. If they are not, then they should learn something about them when hearing of specifics that serve to contradict their opinion on the matter. To do otherwise renders the argument of the person who is less knowledgeable on the topic under discussion illegitimate. To some degree, this has happened here.
by Seth9 on May 28, 2010 2:26 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Wow, we had to get over 100 comments in this thread before a Michigan fan actually cited evidense and the "facts" (at least as they're seen in Ann Arbor)...
…and I think a lot of this was fueled by that.
The commenters above rolled in with a “You take that back right now” attitude without giving any real reasons why people should think otherwise (other than their “well your coach…” bullshit).
I can see your point (if your facts are correct), but I’m sorry RichRod just seems to be a terrible person, and even if this one wasn’t 100% him, it’s right along the lines of his character as had been established before he came to UM. No one is saying he killed anyone (yet), but let’s not pretend he’s a saint (I don’t think you were doing that, but some seemed to be).
by Eyeheartfreedumb on May 28, 2010 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Are you intentionally being dense, or is it your natural state. Bellanca wrote a fact-free screed of his own opinion, absent of fact, and you defend him by stating that WE didn’t present facts? You’re an idiot.
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
Teardrop...
…congratulations, you’ve reinforced every opinion I’ve ever held about Michigan fans. You’re the one over racting to a fucking fanpost (it’s not even on the mainpage for fuck sakes) that apparently doesn’t even have any factual basis. Therefore, you’re trolling on a rival site in response to a fan’s joke of a post.
Get a life.
And even if I’m an idiot (I’m rubber, you’re glue- – since you’re obviously a child) who is the one getting all bent out of shape over something you consider a fact-free screed, and then not having the common decency to set the record strait with, y’know, actual facts?
If your main concern is facts, then why withhold all of the details that you so clearly know? Why come on here complaining and not take the chance to really sock it to us by clearing the air with your knowledge of the inner-workings of the compliance department at UM?
You know why, and it’s because you are just another Michigan hanger-on. You felt slighted that anyone dare say anything negative about your team, and damn-it, even if you had nothing to add to the discourse you were going to make your displeasure felt by coming on this site and spewing your bile.
You know what I heard more than anything last year after we beat you? It was Iowa fans consoling UM fans and saying “don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be back at the top in a couple years”- – but instead of taking solice in that, and staying classy, you’d rather rehash our black-eyes from a few years ago (nope, not changing the subject). It is bullshit, and you just need to go away. Go be a typical UM fan on some other site, I’ve already got a low enough opinion of your team.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Jun 1, 2010 2:29 PM CDT up reply actions
You've done a great job of representing your opinion and school
although I would argue with one particular line of reasoning:
a number of rules violations committed by the QC staff would no longer be violations today, as the NCAA changed these rules after the investigation, realizing that they were dumb.
And Prohibition was mind-bogglingly dumb but if you bootlegged you were still breaking the law, even if it was later rescinded. Michigan broke the rules, no matter how stupid they happened to be.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 3:37 PM CDT up reply actions
I should clarify this point
First of all, you are quite correct. The fact that the rule is no longer a rule is not a legitimate excuse for breaking it.
That said, some of the rules repealed for QC staff activities were repealed, as I understand it, because the original wordings of the rules were vague and interpreted differently by the football coaches than the NCAA intended. This is not an excuse (unless you live in SEC land where the goal is to find ways around the rules, rather than support the spirit of them), as Rodriguez and the coaching staff should have sought clarification rather than simply interpret them on their own. That said, the QC staff rules were, until the investigation, not given anything close to the level of scrutiny that recruiting rules were. As such, I think that the QC staff violations have a number of legitimately mitigating factors as to their severity.
If you were in SEC Land
you would have written 37 different arguments and only applied the 25 best ones…
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 28, 2010 4:32 PM CDT up reply actions
I agree.
Every school in the Big Ten has this problem with too many QC coaches only people are just picking on Old Blue but it’s all mitigated by bad lawyering and besides, it’s not like we’re in the SEC, and the HC didn’t have enough hours in the day to hire a tutor so he could read the NCAA rule book by himself in its native English, and people in Iowa are meanies.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
Seth -
Ok, ok, ok. I’m going to put writings into Bellanca’s keyboard. He’ll surely correct me as I’ll get it a little wrong.
When the Free Press bashings first came out, Bellanca posted both here and to mgoblog, in essence, about how Michigan might have wanted to look at this character (RichRod) a little more closely before hiring him and his $5 million buyout (surely you remember that fiasco). Brian responded, and I’m paraphrasing, that Bellanca was a fucking idiot, and that he, Brian, had sources in the Michigan ad (dept, not person) who assured him there was nothing there and everything was hunk dory. Now that Michigan admits things were not hunky dory, and a graduate assistant has been fired, Brian has done about a 170 and thinks more heads ought to roll.
I’m guessing, but this might have been a “admit you’re a hypocrite” post. Brian did respond, suggesting that Bellanca could “go fuck himself”, if I have the context correct.
From my reading, as I’ve added nothing of value to this repartee, Michigan fans came over here very up in arms, Bellanca’s original post is amusing as hell from a contectual standpoint, and the response he elicited was successful on a slow college football week. You all also pretty much missed the point of what I think Bellanca intended – poking you all with a sharp, hot stick.
It seems many BHGP fans feel Richard lacks a little something in character from the most recent examples of “Michigan men” – those being Carr and Bo. In my opinion, which doesn’t matter at all, Bo wouldn’t have hired Mr. Rodriguez. Bo also wouldn’t have stood behind his lawyer, nor would he have let others take responsibility for the problems, especially those who weren’t even the fucking AD at the time this all arose. But, that’s just me.
After Bo took it like a man
he would have returned to the football complex, found the compliance officers who didn’t do their jobs, picked them up by the nuts, and chucked them out the nearest window. He would have then asked who the next sorry son of a bitch was that thought doing a half ass job was acceptable and gone back to work.
Hiding behind lawyers is for mobsters and cowards.
Facts sometimes have a strange and bizarre power that makes their inherent truth seem unbelievable. - Werner Herzog
The next time you get some serious accusations leveled against you, I would like to see how well not hiding behind a lawyer works out. My guess is that it would be far worse than if you get help from somebody who deals with this type of stuff regularly.
Serious Accusations?
Is he facing hard time here? No. He is a multi-millionaire who at worst would lose his job and have his reputation a bit tarnished. Given his record at WV, he would be employed by January at the latest. Lou Holtz can tell you how permanent the tarnish is (about a month). Woop-Dee-Doo.
Facts sometimes have a strange and bizarre power that makes their inherent truth seem unbelievable. - Werner Herzog
I don’t know about you but I think losing your job and having your reputation tarnished is a pretty big deal. But hey, I also like the Constitution and the right to representation, and innocent until proven guilty.
So whatev, different strokes for different folks.
STANZI/LEHMAN 2012
USA #1
by blue-imafreak on May 28, 2010 6:22 PM CDT up reply actions
For the average working stiff, losing your job is a much bigger deal than it is for the wealthy. They just live off the interest for awhile. I got laid off 4 times between 2000 and 2007, you kinda lose that fear of unemployment. Reputation? That’s a personal thing, but if you are a public figure and you accept that risk.
And who the fuck said anything about taking away your constitutional rights? The man did not break the law, he faces no criminal prosecution. The NCAA isn’t even a government institution.
To sum up: Wealthy man with rare and valuable skill set probably broke some NCAA rules. Not a big deal.
Facts sometimes have a strange and bizarre power that makes their inherent truth seem unbelievable. - Werner Herzog
In summation: Rich people shouldn’t defend themselves?
http://www.wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
by chitownblue on May 28, 2010 10:51 PM CDT up reply actions
No: Rich people should stand behind their actions rather than standing behind their lawyers...
…now please shut up. Seriously.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Jun 1, 2010 2:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Your adult-table privileges have been revoked...
…back to the kiddy table now. Run along.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Jun 1, 2010 2:43 PM CDT up reply actions
I don’t know about you, but I think losing your job and having your reputation tarnished is a pretty big deal.
If that is the case, RichRod probably shouldn’t have taken the Michigan job, because that is exactly what is going to happen to him in about 8 months.
I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it. I felt I owed it to them.
-- Judge Smails
by WaterlooChazz on May 29, 2010 11:57 AM CDT up reply actions
I'm sure that sounded smart in your head.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 29, 2010 4:40 PM CDT up reply actions
Hey, I'm not the story.
Anyway, if UM thinks that its latest scandal* is de minimus**, great! As Brian said last year and Tex mentioned, Brian has contacts in the athletic department and they have perfect pristine records, total deniability, and this is all nonsense — so every human being in UM compliance needs to be fired with prejudice NOW!, As Brian Says (ABS).
It confuses me too, this logic, but I guess it’s because I went to a school where I had to think in order to graduate.
I think it’s time to move on. The Michiganders are apoplectic and we still don’t know if we can beat tOSU with 265 lb offensive guards.
- Isn’t UM suffering more NCAA investigations over the past decade or so than UNLV?
**It’s so de minimus that they are going after RichRod’s last school as well.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
That's not a bullet point. That's an asterisk.
This ‘editor’ was written by UM graduates.
Mr. Boh Knows ...
Feelings
I’m pretty indifferent to Iowa overall. And this site is pretty fucking funny. I’m kind of confused why people that aren’t Michigan fans give 2 shits about what Michigan does. If RR is really as terrible, awful, pathetic as you guys think, then shouldn’t you be celebrating a terrible Michigan hire that will allow you to stomp us for the next 15 years? Mike at BSD is kind of the same way. “I TOLD YOU RR WAS THE DEVIL OMG!”
I did, however, lose in the finals of a team flip cup tournament last night to “Team Iowa”, so fuck Iowa.
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