USA Today Confirms: Everybody Does It

I was just going to post the Doc Saturday article. He did a very nice job on it, my favorite part was perhaps the ending.

In that sense, assuming that Carr's staff really were the sticklers they're widely reputed to be (an assumption backed up by the Free Press' reports), the exuberance of their successors is just another case of Rodriguez and Barwis bringing the program into the 21st Century. The fact that they're being singled out may only be because they're doing it at one of the very few places that knows the difference.

This is starting to resemble the great freakout over Mr. Carty's parting shot 'ere he left for law school.

Or the freakout over Shavodrick Beaver.

Or the "we have no DTs" episode.

We should all take advice from Sgt Hulka and lighten up francis.

Most likely...and Bo and Carr were probably the same but, at least, their players didn't "bitch" about it!! This whole story has me thinking that RR is not as popular as we might have been lead to believe...at least, among the players.

And the fact that U-M football has never been suspected of any wrongdoings & we're just coming off our worst season ever, has me MORE convinced than ever that RR is the WRONG man for our program & should NEVER have been hired!!

Whoever wrote this needs to return to grammar school, and then to journalism school.

The survey, I quote, "doesn't address the degree to which coaches' implied demands drive up after-practice hours."

Translation: this includes how athletes use their OWN time. RichRod's 44 hrs/week does not.

Next?

This does not prove that Denard Robinson is fast.

Of course they do.

What a lousy way to sell papers. The guy is a good writer who is probably being forced to do this to save his job.

My gosh, this is such a minor thing. This isn't point shaving, falsifying transcripts for admission, having someone else take the ACT, or knowingly concealing/covering up phony backgrounds of athletes etc.

Most guys on the team only take 3 courses(12 credits)per semester. They need only get a "C" in the course. They have access to tutors...they have people who check to make sure they are going to class and doing their assignments. And the courses are so easy an intelligent middle-schooler could do this. What the heck is the problem?

The most quote in the linked article:

"Frankly, I'd rather have that student go to sleep early, wake up in the morning and do an extra run than I would (him or her) staying up late and going to the bars," Brand said.

This is in relation to FBS players reporting that they spent on average 44.8 hours per week on football related activities, which is exactly in line with what has been reported in this case. This is obviously well above the limit stated in the "rule" but, importantly, it is also obviously well known to, and condoned by, those at the very highest level of the NCAA.

The players didnt go to the media, the media went to the players. Im sure that there were 10 current and formers players sitting at a local bar together and this reporter happened to find them all together. Or better yet they all appeared at the paper's doorstep as if at the gates of heaven to confess their sins and beg forgiveness. Not likely. I for one have seen enough of the free press's crap. Someone needs to start a site that posts current advertisers in the fress press so persons can avoid those establishments. Why support those who give money to a forum of stupidity.

But if Lloyd was truly able to the run the program differently and achieve success without excessive amount of mandatory practice, isn't that a sign that other programs should be able to, as well? Excessive amounts of work have been the status quo for so long that nobody really has anything to compare against, any way to justify how much they require past the NCAA minimum besides the fact that everybody else is doing it. It's not like a team is going to experiment and risk bombing that season. Is it really that bad if people in perhaps a unique historical circumstance with perspective are able to say "we don't think it's worth it"? I'm pretty sure at some point the law of diminishing returns comes into play with how much time you spend in practice.

Programs work the best when the optional practice actually is optional and players still show up. From the stories coming out, that clearly does not seem to be the kind of environment being fostered at Michigan. Instead of letting people buy into the system, Rich Rod seems to be rushing it by forcing them into the system and hoping they eventually buy into it. How are you supposed to instill faith in your system when you force everybody to put in the amount of work deemed necessary, and you still have one of the worst years in school history? I think we would be a lot further ahead if things actually were optional, and the undecided people were able to see a marked improvement in their peers before buying into the system.

Item moved to a more proper place in the post, move along...

..but it does really piss me off. Other schools have done "nod-nod-wink-wink voluntary" workouts for years, but UM seems to be the only media market where the media are so vindictive that they do shit like this.

First Carty, then Rosenberg. And now the trolls are having such a field day that I don't even want to participate in the comment fields of any of the MSM. Why do we get such fucks in our MSM who develop such emnity toward the team they cover?

It also sounds like Rosenberg did the same crap Carty did, asking leading questions while misleading the players about his motivation for asking them.

I can see him doing it: smile a little bit, get the player talking about how hard he works, tell him how great he is, and ask for details about how hard he worked and how it was worth it. Then, of course, you totally betray the player in the paper when your hatchet job is ready.

Fuck Rosenberg. May he rot in 'EL.'

Everybody does it is not an excuse, nor should it in any way mitigate what Rodriguez did, should the allegations prove to be true. Michigan is special not only for being an elite program, but for being a spotless elite program. I cherish this idea of Michigan and would hope that everyone else here does too.

That said, I have some trouble believing that Michigan actually broke the rules. It is certain that we went into a gray area insofar as voluntary activities goes, but I doubt Rodriguez actually crossed the line and scheduled truly mandatory practices that went beyond the limit. If this is the case, it is somewhat bothersome, but within the realm of acceptability.

Rodirguez would have distributed copies of works by Rudyard Kipling after his 44 hour work weeks. Or, read to the players at bed check time.

None of this would have come out.