Nice article praising Brandon and UM
While this article may not add much to the conversation for us mgoblog addicts, it sure makes me proud to be a Wolverine...
http://www.annarbor.com/sports/um-football/michigans-show-of-contrition…
I have to say, Brandon may be just what we need to bring the fan base and football program back together.
I really like the guy. He seems like everything we need at this juncture and I have full faith that he will put Michigan back in order athletics-wise.
Hate his pizza though, even the new stuff.
is the modern day Canham.
I met him last semester when he was still CEO of Domino's. He's a really down to earth guy. Really nice and I like what he's done so far.
...on target.
At a time when [USC AD Mike] Garrett revels in the seedy side of college sports and [Kansas AD Lew] Perkins smugly exits the stage instead of doing his job, at least their counterpart in Ann Arbor has struck the right chords.
Amid the first sanctions ever to be leveled against its storied football program, it's hard for Michigan to stand proud. But compared to others, Brandon is holding his program accountable for its actions, and that's a reason for the Wolverines to at least hold their heads a little higher.
I have no doubt that Brandon is the right man for the job at this particular moment in time. We're extremely lucky to have him.
Don't read the comments, though. Tater tried to talk some sense, but it's like trying to reason with rabid Shih-Tzus.
Article made a good point of the stark contrast between Brandon's leadership, and the lack of it from the USC and Kansas AD's. I wish, however, there would have been a stronger point about the contrast in seriousness of the violations. Kansas, USC, and U-Conn are prime examples of what "major" really means outside of the NCAA's convoluted parlance.
As for Brandon, I have total confidence in this guy and his ability to move the Michigan AD into this century, finally. I also trust him completely to make all of the critical decisions that Michigan faces in the future. Bo would be very proud (for the first time in a long time).
The comments of Mike Garrett are nothing short of reprehensible. I am proud to have an AD who shows such class and leadership in the face of adversity. It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine!
Not only that, but they were amazingly self-destructive—there is absolutely zero chance now that an appeal by USC of the sanctions will go anywhere.
I hope that when the NCAA gets around to making its final decision that it will look at USC on one hand and Michigan on the other, and be able to make a distinction between the two vastly different set of violations and institutional responses and sign off on Michigan's self-judgement.
Very apt description of these comments. I think it makes the likelihood of the NCAA coming down much harder on Michigan even that much more remote. These comments point to the fact that the NCAA has a huge problem on its hands, and its not Michigan. After seeing the cooperation, and hearing the comments, the NCAA will be hard-pressed to pile on Michigan much further.
Garrett is a terrible AD who just got lucky when the hired Carroll (his third or fourth choice). Something about a blind squirrel. This is a guy who fired John Robinson (by voicemail, no less) to hire Paul Hackett, for god's sake. Destroyed the women's basketball program by botching Marianne Stanley's contract negotiations and then hiring Cheryl Miller, who promptly left for greener pastures after riding high with Stanley's recruits for a year. Hired his own son-in-law as baseball coach over far better-qualified candidates. I don't share in the USC hate (my parents are alumni), but they deserve what they're getting here.
If USC wants to show contrition, they should fire Garrett.
But it wasn't for the reason(s) suggested by columnist Pete Bigelow. And I think he's wrong, as far as it goes.
My reason for pride in Brandon, and indeed my great surprise, is that Brandon and Co. pulled no punches in the response to the NCAA allegations. In what absolutely HAD to be language specifically approved by Brandon, Michigan's response said this:
"... the University is satisfied that the initial media reports were greatly exaggerated if not flatly incorrect."
"While the University takes the violations very seriously, the actual violations are a far cry from the initial claims in the media."
I had never dreamed that Brandon would do that. I knew that some people had been charmed by Brandon's press conferences, etc. Eh. What I wanted was some blowback, and Brandon gave it. I hadn't expected it. I had thought that Brandon would be too smooth, too corporate, too p.c., and too interested in future press relations. Brandon didn't go the p.c. route. So that was when I got "All In" with David Brandon.
To hell with "contrition." Right now, we're defending a charge in which we think the NCAA is wrong and out of line -- the charge that Rich Rodriguez, in the ONLY charge that named him personally, is accused of "failing to encourage an atmosphere of compliance." We're not contrite about that. We say that the allegation is baloney.
Yeah, I really do like Dave Brandon.
Great argument.
I would argue, however, that Brandon has managed to both humbly accept the NCAA investigation and allegations - as he probably should - and deliver a stunning blow to the people who blew this out of proportion.
It takes a great leader to be able to do both of these with one response.
And one of the reasons I am so happy this article made it to the mlive is because many people - my father-in-law and many of his friends for instance - do not read anything but the mainstream (freep, mlive, and so on) and have a really sad picture of the program right now.
Michigan was wrong, like USC, and that it was satisfactorily "contrite", whereas USC was not.
I despise anything that blandly compares Michigan and USC in this context. It's like comparing the criminal histories of OJ Simpson and Red Berenson.
I loved his response, but it wasn't a "stunning blow" by any stretch. It's not like they're going to stop writing hit-jobs as long as it's selling papers just because of something the AD said, especially in a gigantic report that most fans will never read.
I had a dream last night that Bill Martin was still AD. ::shudder::
I hesitate to be too tough on Bill Martin. He may not have shown the firm hand that Brandon does in leading the program, but he has overseen the largest renovation in the Athletic Department's history, save perhaps Fielding Yost himself.
I prefer to think that Martin has rebuilt the ship and Brandon is charting our course. The University has needed both the past 10 years.
It seems my comment came off a little harsher than I intended. I didn't mean to diminish what Bill Martin did for our program, but I also don't think he has the skill set Brandon has shown to guide us through the current situation.
Martin did a fine job when he was A.D., and that is appreciated. However, his retirement timing couldn't have been much better to have Brandon in place at this moment.