Rich Rod calls NCAA violations while at UM "...a bunch of BS"
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2013/10/rich_rodriguez_vents_about_vio.html#incart_river
"I get mad when I think about that, to me -- and I don't mind saying it -- I thought it was a bunch of BS," Rodriguez said. "We got in trouble for, in the offseason, a strength coach putting a rubber ball on a stick for a get-off thing when (players) did their running. A rubber ball on a stick.
"Now think about that, I could have put a hat on a stick -- that was something I got in trouble for."
Let's just focus on the NCAA violations for this discussion. The rest of the past is history. I was thinking about this the other day as it seems the NCAA is not going to make a big stink about Alabama and other SEC schools committing very similar violations to what got USC in a heap of trouble.
It angers me that players receiving illegal benefits in the south is probably going to get a slap on a wrist compared to what Michigan got for a Freep jihad over a rubber ball on a stick.
October 10th, 2013 at 6:25 PM ^
in the current evironment, that is the way it's going to work. it will take a whistle-blower. unless the ncaa expands its personnel and performs random audits on schools, it will continue to be this way.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:13 PM ^
On one hand, he is 100000% right. On the other hand, I wish he would just stop talking about his time here, leave it in the past. Both sides have moved on and are much better off now.
October 10th, 2013 at 10:10 PM ^
Personally, I find "a bunch of b.s." to be too simplistic. There's a bigger, nuanced, story. But for a soundbyte, there's nothing like "b.s." to wake up the audience.
More than anything, it is the kind of thing that you will never hear from some of the people who count.
We haven't heard Lloyd Carr say that "it was a bunch of b.s."
We never heard Mary Sue Coleman say that "it was a bunch of b.s."
We never heard any of the Regents say that "it was a bunch of b.s."
We never heard from about two dozen leaders in Michigan sports media saying that "it was a bunch of b.s."
We DID hear from some great people, who did call it b.s., and who deserve to be called out by name for credit:
- Dave Brandon, who had to be circumspect with the NCAA in the midst of the investigation, but who later called out Rosenberg. Brandon said that he read the whole 2009 Freep story with a highlighter, marking all of the mistakes and false presumptions. Brandon said that he ended up with a paper that was more yellow than plain.
- Rick Leach, who led a group of football alumni that was pathetically small. Shame on the football alumni who were silent. Kudos to Rick Leach, a Michigan Man among men.
- Frank Beckmann, who made no bones about trashing the Free Press. Beckmann stood out among just about everybody in the lamestream media who sat on their hands and who either did nothing or who didn't care or who didn't even understand.
- Brian Cook, who set a national standard for fisking the local media by a sports blogger. Never has MGoBlog been so important to Michigan athletics.
- Jon Chait, the New York political writer, who penned two online columns deconstructing the "journalistic malpractice" in the Freep's reportage. It was eye-opening turnabout. Chait is a liberal, like the Freep editorial board, and a friend of Rosenberg's. Chait's exhaustive demolition of the story was devastating on its own; given the source, it was poisonous to Rosenberg's credibility.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:15 PM ^
3 words: I hate Rich Rod.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:22 PM ^
That's, like, your opinion, man. Also, you're out of your element.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:54 PM ^
I guess we could say RR didn't really tie the room together.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:58 PM ^
Still doesn't make it cool to pee on him.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:54 PM ^
All Michigan ever wanted was its Big Ten title back.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:59 PM ^
STFU Donny!
October 10th, 2013 at 5:00 PM ^
This is what happens when you snuck a slot ninja on a screen pass!
October 10th, 2013 at 4:25 PM ^
As written, it is 4 words. He could have combined RichRod, in which case he would have at least the ability to argue that his phrase contains 3 words.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:20 PM ^
If this happened today it would be lol NCAA
Just a few years ago the NCAA had so much more clout. Oddly enough it was UofM cooperating - doing the "right thing" - that led to such prolonged pain. Since then others schools have found that if you just shut everyone up and tell the NCAA to go to hell, they can't do anything about anything. Quite a fall in such a short time
October 10th, 2013 at 3:31 PM ^
They didn't really give us much "pain". The sanctions were pretty minimal. The main issue was just the stigma of being on probation (which seemed to be mentioned on every TV broadcast when we played).
October 10th, 2013 at 7:27 PM ^
I'm sure I'd get negged to La Paz and back, if anyone still could, for saying this, but I thought the penalties were pretty much on point. We lost a small bit of practice time to offset the extra, and we lost the GA in question.
Doesn't seem like much of a hammering, if you ask me. I doubt anyone much noticed except for compliance (and the GA). I never did understand all the outrage over it.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:25 PM ^
Where is JHackney when I need him.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:25 PM ^
I agree, the violations were mostly a non-issue. Still, I don't know why he went on in such detail on it. It sounds like it still bothers him when it really shouldn't affect him at all at this point. He's at a new school, with a fresh start.
October 10th, 2013 at 6:07 PM ^
October 10th, 2013 at 3:27 PM ^
Wrong or not, he just didn't seem like a good fit for this particular job. He got some bad luck, but he didn't exactly make lemonade out of lemons. His teams made no progress and -- if you watched the Gator Bowl and/or read Bacon's book -- many player seem to have quit on him in the end. Additionally, he's doing himself no favors by harping on what happened 4-5 years ago; it's just not what coaches ought to do. He needs to focus on Arizona, where he'll probably fare better -- as long as he doesn't keep getting in his own way.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:34 PM ^
...Why?
I would agree if he was finding any and every possible soapbox to get on top of to talk about Michigan (like if he was still talking about "eating the cookies he baked" and what not), but he's simply not. I mean, do you ever in your life talk about a job you used to have but don't any more? Or something else that happened to you in the past? You probably do. He's human, it was part of his life, he's going to mention it every once in a while, particularly when asked and particularly because he's in the media on a constant basis.
Let's look at it this way: how about YOU stop talking about guys that used to coach at Michigan but don't any more? Isn't that the same exact thing, but instead of putting the responsibility on someone else, you man up and take on the responsibility yourself?
October 10th, 2013 at 3:53 PM ^
He should stop talking about Michigan (even when asked) for the simple reason that it probably annoys his current fanbase. I can't imagine UA fans want to hear all this. He's at Arizona, not Michigan. What he did here should no longer matter.
October 10th, 2013 at 7:09 PM ^
...you should let Arizona fans worry about that.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:04 PM ^
By the Free Press Jihad and Michigan Old Boys Club administration mutiny. No debate there. However, had he managed to field an even middling defense on game days he would probably still be coaching here. Challenges - some of them unfair and coming from the very program he was hired to lead- absolutely. Still, the buck stops with the head man and that joke of a defense he fielded was his downfall, not the sabatoge by the media and administration. Win, and those going after your head are brushed aside. He's in a better place now for his system and so are we for what Michigan expects. He can run his spread in nicer weather with lower expectations - compete for a Rose Bowl once a decade and he is up to par. So yeah, time for him to let it go.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:19 PM ^
October 11th, 2013 at 1:22 AM ^
Word.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:36 PM ^
Has anyone put out the call sign yet? I can't wait for the response.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:51 PM ^
Michigan's reaction to all 3 NCAA violations cases (Middaugh, Fisher, Rodriguez) was essentially, "please, NCAA, come in and look at all of our records...and then throw the book at us." In the first two cases, Michigan also reacted by bringing in a replacement coach (Freehan, Ellerbe) with essentially no qualifications at all.
A lot of this comes from the person whose shadow still hangs over the athletic department, for better and worse: Bo Schembechler. Bo was a strong believer in tough NCAA enforcement, and when a Michigan coach (baseball's Bud Middaugh) was cheating on his watch, he had no problem in helping the NCAA destroy that program.
So when the latest issue happened, and the Free Press lied about NCAA violations (none of the incidents outlined by the Free Press were actually NCAA violations, and Michigan was punished for other incidents altogether), Michigan could say nothing other than "please investigate us..."
Needless to say, Ohio State, Oregon, Miami (Florida) and other similar programs have never invited and welcomed NCAA scrutiny the way that Michigan did.
October 10th, 2013 at 3:50 PM ^
The push for players getting paid is getting larger and larger. Sure it still is breaking the rules. But with all the crap and lawsuits lately, the NCAA has been pointed out as a hyprcrite and really has been made to look like a joke. re: Miami.
They make millions off of kids who get very little in return (in comparison).
I feel like the NCAA is kind of in a situation they don't want to be in right now with all of this. I'm sure they would crack down on anyone caught in a NCAA violation not involving money. But the tide is turning, and they don't want future lawsuits to come from putting a hammer down on something that might totally be legal in a year.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:05 PM ^
I don't see how getting 4-5 years of full ride scolarships and a degree is getting very little in return. For 99% of college football players who are not stars and will not play in the NFL this really is not a bad deal at all. The rest of the players who become stars in college will end up in the NFL making pretty good money. They are getting professional training on top of the scholarship.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:09 PM ^
These football programs make a lot of money. You might think 4-5 years of a full ride is a lot of money. DB farts out that much money after a nice steak dinner.
Let it be said, I am no way in favor of paying college athletes.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:10 PM ^
Ahhh Dave Brandon Farts! I Farting double posted.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:34 PM ^
How many college football programs make "a lot of money"? I ask because I do not know the answer. However, I don't believe that even the majority of the programs make a lot of money. For every Michigan, there are probably 10 CMUs, and I suspect those schools don't make a lot of money and, in fact, may not make any money at all or even operate at a loss.
October 10th, 2013 at 5:00 PM ^
October 10th, 2013 at 3:51 PM ^
I totally agree with him on this one. The Freep was on a witch hunt and got exactly what they wanted with Michigan.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:08 PM ^
The MGoCounterAttack on his book, "War As They Knew It", was extremely successful. It cost Rosenberg real money when the reviews on Amazon cratered his ability to sell books.
#HadItComing
October 10th, 2013 at 6:45 PM ^
October 10th, 2013 at 4:13 PM ^
I would be happy to forget that RichRod, the Freep, Sharp & Rosenberg and the NCAA ever existed. That investigation was a frigging joke that cost the school a ton of money over nothing.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:13 PM ^
What Tommy Amaker was to Michigan Basketball.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:22 PM ^
October 10th, 2013 at 5:01 PM ^
Bo was to Michigan football as Lance Armstrong was to moon bases.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:25 PM ^
I would be totally cool with the whole RR thing to go away and I believe the only way this can happen is by kicking the dog snot out of Arizona. A week of ESPN over doing the hype will make everyone so sick of hearing about this that it may never be spoke of it again. Current meatheads are 24-7 with a BCS win and RR was 15-22 with one bowl trip that was brutal and the first two losing seasons in my 40 years on earth.
October 10th, 2013 at 4:43 PM ^
...out of Akron and UConn. Oh wait.
Scheduling Arizona is the only game that is more stupid than scheduling App St.
October 10th, 2013 at 6:10 PM ^
October 10th, 2013 at 4:39 PM ^
much already knew this given the NCAA's strong handed approach to Ohio State, Auburn, USC etc, etc, etc
October 10th, 2013 at 7:20 PM ^
But in this case, he's right. The whole thing was total B.S.
We got more crap over Stretchgate than Aubun got for buying Cam Newton and a national title for $180K.
I think after the Auburn incident, every school in the NCAA realized it was open-season on cheating. If you can just buy players to win national titles, why even pretend to follow the rules anymore?
October 10th, 2013 at 6:48 PM ^
it WAS bs.
October 10th, 2013 at 9:03 PM ^
if he was on fire.