Rich Rodriguez is a Dirty Liar (according to the Freep)
In an article posted by the Freep, Rich Rod essentially says he doesn't actually know if the team GPA broke any records because neither he nor the program's academic advisors knew the previous record.
While the FREEP doesn't literally call him a dirty liar it is somewhat implied when taken in the context of their general coverage. This will surely be used later in a big rehash piece on the NCAA investigation to remind everyone of how relevant they are when it comes to insignificant matters, important to them and them only.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:06 PM ^
are you doing still reading the Freep?
October 14th, 2009 at 8:54 PM ^
Fork the freep! It makes a great liner for my sons hamster cage.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:26 PM ^
You keep your son in a hamster cage?
October 14th, 2009 at 9:28 PM ^
That was awesome.
October 15th, 2009 at 8:51 AM ^
Well, sure, ever since he outgrew the goldfish bowl.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:40 PM ^
I also saw this Freep story, via a link on twitter. I will upbraid my friend for not linking the no-ad "print version", but this was a pretty good laugh.
The Freep is really playing up the investigative journalism thing, filing FOIA requests for the team GPA (nevermind laws protecting student records...) and providing a blow-by-blow of RR's escalating deceitful claims plus his recent tail-between-legs retreat. Gimme a break.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:08 PM ^
Didn't they imply he was a dirty liar in thier first article about practicing?
October 14th, 2009 at 7:10 PM ^
Even MGoBlue.com felt it necessary to comment, releasing Rich Rod's statement. That seems weird, as if they expect the freep to blow up beyond normal.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:19 PM ^
That article states that RichRod asked the academic department for the football team's record GPA and what they gave him was apparently an estimate. That is hardly his fault. He asked, they told him a number he believe to be correct, his team did better than said number and he made it a point to tell people. No much here really if you ask me.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:30 AM ^
team GPA records? If we don't keep them, then how would the advisors even give him an estimate? One of RR's statements was that we were going to beat "a 25 year record" for football team GPA. To me it looks like RR was a bit careless with this claim.
October 15th, 2009 at 8:25 AM ^
It looks to me like RR asked for the numbers and was given them, but was not told that they were estimates. So he thought they were concrete numbers, because that is what he asked for. AS he says in his statement, "they did not make it clear that it was an estimate"
October 15th, 2009 at 9:41 AM ^
I stand by my comment that RR was careless with the data. If you're going to make the "25 year" claim, you ought to make sure of your data and source. Not saying this is a scandal, but I think he was too eager to show academic success to fend off the other shit he's had to deal with.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:26 PM ^
That is all.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:30 PM ^
Aw man, I can't do a couch!
October 14th, 2009 at 7:31 PM ^
Everything RR does obviously is front page above the fold material.
Coach Dantonio could molest sheep and it would not even make the paper.
F the Freep.
October 14th, 2009 at 8:50 PM ^
The molestation of the Freep readership's sole remaining demographic would be front page news, even if by the sainted Dantonio.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:04 PM ^
I can't tell if you were exaggerating, but this article is literally the top story on the free press website right now. Which means someone is sitting in the freep offices saying, "There is no story more important in the world than the cumulative GPA of the 2008 University of Michigan football team".
How do these people have jobs?
October 14th, 2009 at 11:38 PM ^
As desperate as they seem to be for readers, I'm guessing they won't have jobs for long. I think it would make good financial sense for the Detroit Newspaper Company or whatever they call themselves to consolidate and just put out the News.
I'm guessing the Freep stops printing hard copy and tries the Annarbor.com business model soon; they can hire some fresh, twenty-something faces to replace Rosenpuke, Snyder, and Albom. They could start with the two at the Daily who have done better work than any of the freep people this year.
October 14th, 2009 at 11:31 PM ^
The freep is every bit as baaaaaaaaaaad as I thought they were. Where is Sheepman when we need him?
October 14th, 2009 at 7:33 PM ^
Just the near-death caterwauling of a dying media platform. They'll be gone soon enough.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:34 PM ^
A Couch? Seems rather Spartan to me!
October 14th, 2009 at 7:46 PM ^
I really need to stop being surprised at the depths some people will go to. Rosenberg, Snyder, and Paul Anger are embarrassments. Simple as that.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:00 PM ^
Their disregard for common sense continues to amaze me, I had to share.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:55 PM ^
They just cant let it go. So.... the witchhunt continues. This is beyond ridiculous.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:58 PM ^
Free Press
October 14th, 2009 at 8:00 PM ^
Whooo!
October 15th, 2009 at 9:12 AM ^
i like the way the negging was not consistent. apparently some people decided to neg the "the" but not the "fuck" nor the "free press". i'm not sure how that decision was made...
October 14th, 2009 at 8:00 PM ^
Freep?
October 14th, 2009 at 8:09 PM ^
I always feel like an idiot when I click on MGoBoard threads that have freep in the title, I can't imagine how stupid you feel when you're actually reading their articles.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:05 PM ^
No, it doesn't make me feel stupid. I like to know what is being said about the program I love, positive or negative, even when it is blatantly false, if such falsehoods come from organizations that the general public accepts at face value (like the Freep). How can I refute the claims of the uneducated if I'm not familiar with the original source?
October 14th, 2009 at 8:10 PM ^
They are.
When it comes to this team, I only read things with facts in them.
October 14th, 2009 at 8:15 PM ^
i find it hilarious that nothing comes while UM is on a 4 game winning streak, but the second 2 games are dropped back to back something else comes out
October 14th, 2009 at 8:28 PM ^
I never would have known.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:12 PM ^
not to me.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:22 PM ^
I was disappointed to see that people were negging you to begin with. I love this as an expression of anger and frustration. I would have gone with "Fuck yo' couch, Freep", myself.
October 14th, 2009 at 8:52 PM ^
Someone needs to Grab Michael Rosenberg and punch him in the Fucking Face, because he has it coming to him.
I wish I could be there to do it myself.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:12 PM ^
As if we needed any more evidence that this was an agenda-driven paper?
October 14th, 2009 at 9:21 PM ^
If the Freep is reporting on this crap. Breaking News: Best UM Football Team GPA now Approximately Best Team GPA.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:10 PM ^
1. WTF is Freep's problem?
2. Considering the timing, does the article intend to add to the misery of two losses in a row?
3. If Freep is trying to impede us from beating DSU.
4. Whether somebody from the team will strangle Snyder during any of the press conferences.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:24 PM ^
Considering that it is a proven fact that the Free Press has offered horrible journalism with deceptions to put down coach Rod would it really be that severe to just ban the Free Press from Michigan athletics?
This is not a mere difference of opinion. This is a complete series of hack jobs by a man who is on public record as saying he wants Rod out. The NCAA hours report by the Freep is basically BS, lies, deception and half-truths -- and yet they get no repercussions.
The Freep refuses to seriously address any of the complaints against their articles.
October 14th, 2009 at 11:15 PM ^
that blackballing the Freep is a national story, potentially. Whereas their latest hit job is local, plus or minus maybe Doc Saturday or a few other CFB-centric blogs.
October 15th, 2009 at 1:11 AM ^
Media outlets will rarely do a hit job on stupidity put out by other similar media outlets. That's basically how Jon Stewart makes a living, he eviscerates dumb TV punditry from all sides of the spectrum.
Good luck finding somebody to keep accountability at a newspaper or find the dirty details of a newspaper's staff.
As for banning the Freep, there's no real need. Allow them in press conferences, but never give them any access to athletes again. Let the News/Blade/Yahoo/SI/ESPN each get special access in turn then just conveniently skip over the Freep. There are much more subtle ways to freeze out the Freep than to just kick them off campus.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:01 PM ^
I wonder if media outlets don't police themselves because of glass houses. If we rip apart them, they will rip apart us.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:32 PM ^
as I believe has been mentioned here and elsewhere previously, is that someone in the paper's management has a close tie to an influential alumnus or donor who wanted someone else for coach. Has this ever been verified? If that is true, it seems to me that it is the paper that has the credibility/morality problem and not the football program.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:29 AM ^
Not sure about that, but what I do know is that Rosenberg (the *co-author* of these hit jobs) said over the radio this summer that he wants Rodriguez fired.
No conflict of interest there...a writer doing hit jobs on a coach after publicly saying he wants him fired.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:36 AM ^
Did you hear him say that yourself? I would be surprised, because any columnist would hesitate to take a view like that publicly, especially one who knew he was working on a story like the one they wrote. I don't doubt that he feels that way, just doubting he said it publicly.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:51 AM ^
Yes, I don't remember the exact quote that Rosenberg said. However, I heard it on the Huge Show (I know that the show isn't great). Huge even asked Rosenberg if he shouldn't have been the one writing the article since he made the comment that he wanted Rodriguez fired and Rosenberg hesitantly admitted that he probably shouldn't have been the one writing the article.