Unverified Voracity Bites The Bullet
I listen to Colin Cowherd for you. Jim Harbaugh tried out his best Jim Tomsula impression on Colin Cowherd's show this morning:
I dunno man. I wonder if Harbaugh, a high-functioning lunatic, has points at which his function isn't so high. There is a general antipathy for press conference questions… a lot of the time. There is a general antipathy for lazy questions… some of the time. The questions Cowherd fired off were typical Cowherd: somewhat off-putting but nothing that an average person would get his dander up at, and Harbaugh is immediately in I Don't Know mode.
There are ways I think you can rescue it when he gets in that mode. Number one is talking about his players. Harbaugh loves talking about guys he has coached. But I don't think Cowherd really did anything. Harbaugh just wasn't in the mood from the drop. Steve Lorenz accurately describes it as "troll on troll crime."
Happy first-ish day of work at your new Harbaugh-wranglin' job, Zach Eisendrath! It's a very good idea to have a specific person whose only job is to wrangle Harbaugh, but I worry about the men who try to bridge the gap between beast and overman. I await the day the relentlessly upbeat Eisendrath turns his twitter feed into the SID equivalent of Nihlist Arby's.
Draw the blinds. shut out the sun. Cry. The pile of meat has been on the table for weeks. Just eat it & go back to bed. Arbys: edible.
— Nihilist Arby's (@nihilist_arbys) July 1, 2015
I am surprised that I have not already been followed by thirty different "parody" accounts called Nihilist Harby's.
Colin should have read the operating manual though. When this Sacramento Bee story came out we all had a laugh about it and forgot. And then…
Your Harbaugh does not function like other head coaches. An innocuous query about the weather, for instance, could trigger a florid quote from Admiral William Halsey. And yet a routine question about a running back’s knee injury may cause your Harbaugh to wince, pause and grimace as if a malodorous scent has wafted into the room. Your Harbaugh’s default in this instance is: “We don’t really talk about that here” or “I can’t get inside his body” or “He’s working through something.” This is a design flaw our technicians in California have not yet worked out.
Also:
Your Harbaugh will be enormously affectionate one day and cold and distant the next. This is normal.
After Eisendrath starts wearing eyeliner and listening to My Chemical Romance 24 hours a day, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee has a job waiting for him. A job he should not take. Yes, even if he works for a print newspaper.
Brock Mealer wants to help other people walk. You won't know that you've missed Mike Barwis's gravel truck of a voice until about ten seconds into this:
They are raising money at charity funding site Crowd Rise; you can also grab a shirt on Barwis's site.
Whyyyyyyyy. SBNation's Steven Godfrey has a piece on why there are so many neutral-site games and they continue to increase:
College football's neutral-site games are gaining in popularity because they make a lot of money for the companies and institutions involved.
But demand is even higher among schools suddenly looking to schedule tougher opponents. Consider it knee-jerk hysteria in the wake of Baylor's exclusion from the College Football Playoff, a move often explained as a product of weak non-conference scheduling.
"If you can break your $600,000 [deal for a game against] Akron to go cash $1.2 million from Allstate ... well, there's no catch any more," the agency rep said. "TCU not getting in [the Playoff despite being] at No. 3 the week before scared every athletic director shitless."
Now, you might be thinking to yourself "why would a neutral site game make more money than a home game?" There are three main reasons:
- You can get away with more sponsor stuff at a neutral site. The Blank And Blank Classic, etc.
- You can jack up ticket prices. When Michigan played Alabama at Jerryworld, the minimum price to get in the door was $125, with non-suite tickets ranging up to $245 face. It sold out because it was Michigan against Alabama. Neither school dropped their PSDs a cent.
- The neutral site (sometimes) controls the TV revenue. Most conferences have stipulations that TV revenue is shared, even nonconference TV revenue. This goes for "neutral site" games in the geographical footprint of the conference, but generally does not extend past that. That's why Washington State played Notre Dame in Texas several years back—ND wanted to control that revenue and could not do so in the Pac-12 footprint. That was not the case for Michigan-Alabama, however.
Now, even with all those advantages a neutral site game could only come up with 4.7 million for Michigan—less than they would have gotten for beating up on a cupcake. For a team like TCU, though, the financial equation is much different.
Michigan's got another one coming up because they had a terrible contract against Notre Dame and got left in the lurch; after 2017 against Florida they should never play a neutral site game again. In this, at least, Jim Delany is an aid:
In 2013, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany issued a memo requiring any Big Ten school playing off-campus games to be designated the home team in at least half of the matchups, and that half of the games take place in the Big Ten's footprint. The two-game series between LSU and Wisconsin in Houston and Green Bay is the example.
Never say Jim Delany didn't do one thing right in his whole life.
Instead of having a neutral site game with those ticket advantages, you should ask your fans if it's okay to have big prices for a big game, and when they say YES YES YES then do it.
YOU WERE. There was a time in the 90s when Ohio State would roll in to The Game with a shiny record and national championship aspirations and a 7-4 Michigan team would destroy them. It wasn't exactly halcyon since, uh, 7-4, but there was a grim satisfaction in dragging those bastards into the pit with us. This happened so often that I can't remember which of these games featured this exchange between myself and an Ohio State fan deep into the third quarter:
"You guys are pathetic! You're 7-4! We are national championship contenders!"
"You WERE national championship contenders."
/merriment
Better that than the recent stuff, I guess. Anyway, ERASE THIS GAME—which still hasn't tackled #M00N—features the 1993 version of La Brea Tar Stadium, in which Tyrone Wheatley* did this:
And Ohio State did this:
Ohio State:
- never crosses into the Michigan red zone
- goes two of twelve on third down
- averages two yards per carry compared to Michigan's five
- gets shut out by the Wolverines for the first time since 1976
- misses going to the Rose Bowl after Wisconsin beats Michigan State in Tokyo because the tiebreaker at the time eliminated the most recent Rose Bowl invitee
- seriously, that was a way the Big Ten decided who got to go to the Rose Bowl, and it's basically "aw heck you're due"
I would prefer that we keep this game, and possibly bronze it.
*[Whenever I watch Wheatley run these days I think that Brandon Minor was born 20 years too late to be a somewhat disappointing first round NFL draft pick.]
Etc.: Harbaugh throws out first pitch, talks to media personably afterwards. This is normal. An oral history of Barry Alvarez making Wisconsin into Wisconsin. You should probably read it. Harbaugh on the Tigers.
That was a fairer way of deciding who goes to the Rose Bowl than having the athletic directors decide that, gee, Michigan outplayed Ohio State, and Ohio State went last, but Dennis Franklin has a broken arm, and maybe Ohio State has a better chance of winning, and, by the way, the MSU guy hates Michigan and doesn't want them to go, so what the hell, let's send Ohio State and screw Michigan.
I get that Harbaugh didn't appreciate the fluff questions and seemed like his time was being wasted, but this is pretty much the same way Saban handles most media questions. That certainly hasn't stopped him from getting recruits. If you want an even worse example watch one of Gregg Popovich's halftime interviews. It's uncomfortable to watch. Harbaugh didn't seem to care too much about what Cowherd thinks, and while I don't like that attitude as a general rule towards media, Cowherd is a bit of a db so I don't really care in this particular scenario.
Harbaugh's behavior until--one day TBD by God himself--it doesn't. Then precisely one half of its members will be trod upon as the herd reverses field. Thinking people, OTOH, will continue to hope and pray that other thinking people, in the admin and elsewhere, are keeping tabs and instituting the necessary controls.
Although many will insist it's not true, it really is perfectly alright to have mixed feelings about someone like our current coach.
Jim doesn't make smalltalk. He uses his vacation time to build shelters in Peru. He wears khakis and likes the food at Cracker Barrel. Jim is having fun when he's working hard. He doesn't make excuses and neither should we. You're never going to get milkshake by squeezing a rock. So what?
Jimmy entertains best just by being himself.
Edited to add: Were any of us deeply enthralled when Carr, Rodriguez or Hoke were interviewed? Talking pizza with Dave Brandon? Me, not-so-much.
There's an altogether separate herd that takes this stuff way too seriously.
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The arrogance this phrase betrays is quite significant. Hopefully, a loved one of yours institutes the "necessary controls" to prevent you from becoming a megalomanic.
Harbaugh is what people said he would be. We knew going in that Harbaugh is an unique individual.
Colin Cowherd is a low rent troll who somehow gets paid to dispense turds of inanity.Anyone who treats him shabbily deserves applause, not criticism.
game in Madison. For a team that was barely 2-1 that weekend, Camp Randall was frearking sold out! The thing I'll never forget about that game was the keys. People jangling their keys. It was loud as hell. And the slow-mo wave. The UW Student Section was wild as well. Up to that point, it was one of the best college football game experiences I ever had.
For Badger fans, it was a "return to glory" of sorts because in the 1980s UW and Dave McClain was a thorn in the side of Earle Bruce. At one point McClain's Badgers had beaten Ohio State 4 out of 5 seasons: 1981, 1982, 1984 and 1985.
Weird piece of trivia: Alvarez's predecessor Don Morton was from Flint, Michigan. He scrapped Wisconsin's pro offense in 1987 and brought in a Houston (Bill Yeoman) veer option offense and zero defense.
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I have some experience both interviewing and being interviewed, don't listen to ESPN radio, and frankly I have no preconceived notions about who or what Colin Cowherd is. We were all looking for Jim Harbaugh intensity and charm and insight, and we sure didn't get any of it.
Yes, we can all agree it was painful. In fact, Harbaugh sounded like somebody who was woken with a surprise phone call in the middle of a deep sleep; or somebody with a stomach cramp who just wanted run to the bathroom.
But in this case, objectively speaking I would have to side with the media guy. One side was trying, the other was not. No, the questions weren't bad at all, and they were indeed open-ended. The buy/bye issue was pretty obvious in context- it was prefaced with the Big Ten now has elite recruiters and coaches like JH, Urban, and Franklin. More likely Harbaugh wasn't paying much attention.
Cowherd did have questions prepared, and expected Harbaugh to be intense, but Harbaugh gave apathy instead. He gave him (When/Why/All-in?) questions that gave him an opportunity to talk up Michigan, Ann Arbor, and show some of his enthusiasm and let fans and especially recruits to get to know him, and JH didn't fell like playing. He switched to- how is the work day and when do you install the game plan for the first game- questions I really would have liked to hear Harbaugh talk about and expand on, and JH doesn't even want to answer that. He switched to 'give me a recruiting pitch'- JH just tried to shut it down. It WAS a clunker, so the plug had to be pulled.
I realize the desire to circle the wagons, but objectively speaking, I think we have to admit Harbaugh did a poor job on this one. Might be more understandable if he was interrupted in mid-season, but surprised he wasn't able to handle this one better.
Thought Cowherd wasn't a dick until it was over.
well that's just it, Cowherd expected and called out for Harbaugh's intensity. This isn't about circling the wagons. Asking for the subject to give the interviewer "intensity" on demand doesn't mean that is what he will receive, so even if you want to give the media guy an "A" for effort, he still failed at the basic job, the job he is paid to do. It's part of an interviewer's skill to draw out the subject, after all that's who the interview is supposed to be about. If Cowherd actually prepped ahead of time then I am even less impressed. Cowherd was disrespectful of his interview subject from beginning to end. Harbaugh made an excellent case for not wasting his time with this interviewer in the future.
But you seem to be circling you own caravan of wagons. Cowherd spent the better part of the last three years belittling and mocking the B1G and Michigan. Last December he mocked Michigan no end and promised his listeners that there was no way in Hell that Harbaugh would sully himself by coaching Michigan football. With that in mind, had Cowherd spent the first 45 seconds issuing a mea culpa and doing a professional introduction it is possible that the interview would have gone better. But he didn't and instead acted as if his trollness shouldn't have made the first bit of difference.
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It is quite possible that was Cowherd's intent all along. He's never been shy about mocking Michigan and nothing about his public character would lead me to believe that a passive-aggressive ambush interview was beneath him.
1) go to YouTube
2) watch 2-3 Bill Belichick interviews
3) Go to Google
4) search for Belichick Super Bowl rings
5) spark J and re-fuggin-lax
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Was Lloyd insulted (maybe dissed) by Cowherd multiple times? That's what I read somewhere and so maybe Harbaugh was doing him a solid?
Times multiple with gaseous stank. Lloyd notwithstanding.
Last December Cowherd claimed he knew who UM was hiring and it would be a total and welcomed surprise to UM fans. It was like he wasn't aware we were all hoping for Harbaugh and there really weren't any surprises by that point that would be welcomed. Did he ever say a name? Did he admit it was a hoax? To my recollection there was never any follow up. As bad as the national media covered the story wasn't Cowherd the Brian Williams of the coverage?
Shit, I think Jim Harbaugh made HIM look stupid. "Dafuck you doin asking me all these dumbass questions?"
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As stated earlier, the video re: JH throwing out the first pitch the other night is priceless!!
God bless Jim Harbaugh!!
Who is Colin Cowherd?
Harbaugh.
Cowherd simply didn't prepare for the interview, and he didn't know anything about the guy he was talking with, that's the fact of the matter. He was what we thought he were.
A buddy of mine from Florida called to ask me if I had heard the interview. No, I hadn't heard the freaking interview, I never listen to a clown like Cowherd.
Herd's introduction included the following:
- References to Cowherd's own intensity, and that of his 'friends'
- The importance of being "realistic" of UM's chances this year
- Excuses as to why this will not be a good year for UM
- Recollections of Pete Carroll's first year record of 6-6
- Reminders that no one can turn things around overnight
It was insulting and sophomoric, pretty much what I expect from Cowherd, Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith and the rest of the clowns at the worldwide leader. WAY back in the day, Lloyd Carr allowed himself to be interviewed by 'The Fabulous Sports Babe', which was a horrible show during sydicated sports radio's infancy. Coach Carr refused to refer to her as "Babe", and called her Nancy, her actual name.
The biggest mistake that Harbaugh made was allowing himself to be interviewed by such an asshat. Lesson learned.
Cowherd sucks anyways. I turn off his segment when it comes on the radio. His opinions on turning college football into a big business, paying college players, changing rules in MLB, thinking that people are interested in NBA basketball drama, even the opinion that vegetables are his favorite food group....these are the complete opposite of my opinions. I picked my side a long time ago based on Cowherd's viewpoints, and to see that he hung up on Coach Harbaugh solidifies my belief.
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regardless of what CC is or what he has said in the past about Michigan (which are really just Ad Hominem arguments), in the context of THIS interview, I don't think he did anything hostile, until the end. Again, I never listen to CC so I have no prejudice for or against.
I wish he would have taken Harbaugh up on his offer to try to make it a better interview, instead of siezing the opportunity to create a headline by ending it abruptly; then going on about it afterward, to stir things up.
But as far as the interview itself:
Regarding not greeting Harbaugh at the beginning and launching right into it: I don't have a problem with that like some seem to, and I am not sure whether JH was actually offended or just pretended to be so in order to disrupt CC and reestablish the pace of the interview. Presumably before going on the air- if not CC, then a producer- had already properly greeted Harbaugh, told him what was going on, and then they cut to it and launched right into the question. That is quite common in radio, and avoids the clunky, wasted seconds and drop in energy at the beginning exchanging greetings, etc.
Again, maybe it could have been phrased a little better, but the meaning of the word "buy" as in 'buy/sell' was pretty obvious to anyone paying attention, and gave JH all kinds of room to talk about M, to talk about the division, the conference, or whatever direction he wanted to. [again, one wonders if harbaugh might have been driving or doing something else while this interview was going on]
Be let's be honest: if Dantonio or Urban had given an interview like that, many of us on this board would have jumped all over it.
As for the questions, they weren't mind stretching, mostly softballs, but I thought they were fine, and certainly not unfair. The interviewer set the segment up talking about intensity asking about personality [could have taken that either way- 'I am ALWAYS intense and competing', or 'No, at home with my family, we like to relax', blah, blah].
Taking the M job?
Why is M, community special?
The team? The conference?
Coaching (NFL vs. college; game week prep)?
No real curve balls. Questions I would have liked to have heard better answers to, and JH is certainly capable of if he was at all engaged.
But I would ask those who thought the questions were so terrible: what questions could the interviewer asked that would have been so much better?
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