I wouldn't get too wrapped up in JoePa-successor hot-stove speculation. Given the scope & the severity of the PSU scandal, and how far up the chain-of-command the cover-up apparently went, I would not be completely shocked to see the NCAA shut the program down for two years. I know the NCAA is by and large weak sauce (look no further than Columbus), and I don't think the decision is going to come fast, but given the seriousness of the charges (former FBI director Louis Freeh, who is heading the investigation for PSU, announced he'd be looking into the program for as far back as 1975; see link below), I think it's not outside the realm of possibility that the book gets thrown at the Nittany Lion program and a complete housecleaning comes to pass.
Many of you are too young to remember what happened to SMU (though the ESPN 30 For 30 doc about it is a good catch-up), but the lack of institutional control in Happy Valley has far more serious repercussions than, say, payments to the Pony Express. This is way closer to the kind of situation involving the sexual abuse cases within the Catholic church, and will likely play out in the civil courts for years to come. Depending on what Freeh's investigation turns up, the NCAA may feel the need to get out in front of the imminent legal mushroom cloud in a way that the Vatican never did.
Never mind the rumors, check out the damning "Outside the Lines" segment on the oversigning of recruits that Les Miles has engaged in at LSU. As a proud Michigan alum, I'd like to believe that such practices alone would exclude him from being a serious candidate for Michigan's coach (or of being a representative of the university in any form).
Obviously, an 11-1 season at a place like Stanford is a remarkable achievement, but what I was trying (and I guess failing to do persuasively) to say in referencing it is that it's not a long track record of on-field success at program-building. Wasn't the whole "wow, he's a winner at a place like Stanford!" rationale one of the selling points for hiring Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame job?
Ultimately, my "best argument" was Brian's original screed itself, and the intention of my post today was simply to point out that well-argued essay to the MGoBlog community (which has grown in size exponentially in the years since). In the fog of confusion and occasional despair that has been the last three seasons, I'd forgotten just how damning Brian's "Destroy Harbaugh" piece was, and rereading it this morning, I found myself squirming anew at what seems like the inevitability of our Harbaugh hire. If Brian himself has squared away his considerable misgivings towards Harbaugh from the time (perhaps I should have realized just how long ago that post was in Internet years when Brian quoted Malcolm Gladwell without disdain), well, then, I take that under advisement, and as a devoted reader of his blog, join him in crossing my fingers and hoping for the best—much as I did in the chaotic days following the Miles/Herbstreit/Schiano/Hoke/Aaargh! meltdown when this blog gave the Rodriguez hire its blessing and allowed me to finally sleep peacefully and dream of unicorns and fully mature Death Butterflies.
Sorry if I've caused any face-palming/mushroom-clouding this afternoon. As I said, I was reluctant to wade into the volatile message-board minefield of the CC debate. I will now quietly resume my 24-hour vigil of hoping that Dave Brandon has better instincts about what makes for a successful college athletic program than he had for what makes a good pizza.
"(To pursue the analogy to its ridiculous conclusion, if the Freep's Stretchgate kerfuffle was "9/11," then the AANews series was the 1993 WTC bombing.)"
Not my analogy. It's been made on this message board before (and is implicit in the continual reference to the Freep coverage as a "Jihad"). Perhaps I should have added the word "ludicrous" before "analogy" to distance myself from such a sentiment, though I thought I'd already done that with the word "ridiculous" and my obviously unsuccessful use of ironic quotation marks. Having lost a good friend from my Michigan days on United 175, as well as many neighbors on that day, I'd never make light of the seriousness of 9/11. That was certainly not my intention, and my sincere apologies if that's what came across.
That's what I was trying to suggest: a non-Muppets way to honor basketball achievements. Steer as far afield from Henson-like (Jim, not Drew) characters as you wish.
just a few seconds in, long before the non-guitar-daughter's robot dance and at least three minutes before she gets the toilet paper roll stuck to her shoe. . .
Recent Comments
I'm interested. Are they still available?
I wouldn't get too wrapped up in JoePa-successor hot-stove speculation. Given the scope & the severity of the PSU scandal, and how far up the chain-of-command the cover-up apparently went, I would not be completely shocked to see the NCAA shut the program down for two years. I know the NCAA is by and large weak sauce (look no further than Columbus), and I don't think the decision is going to come fast, but given the seriousness of the charges (former FBI director Louis Freeh, who is heading the investigation for PSU, announced he'd be looking into the program for as far back as 1975; see link below), I think it's not outside the realm of possibility that the book gets thrown at the Nittany Lion program and a complete housecleaning comes to pass.
Many of you are too young to remember what happened to SMU (though the ESPN 30 For 30 doc about it is a good catch-up), but the lack of institutional control in Happy Valley has far more serious repercussions than, say, payments to the Pony Express. This is way closer to the kind of situation involving the sexual abuse cases within the Catholic church, and will likely play out in the civil courts for years to come. Depending on what Freeh's investigation turns up, the NCAA may feel the need to get out in front of the imminent legal mushroom cloud in a way that the Vatican never did.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7264524/penn-state-nitta…
It's definitely hard to put down, even though it's a bit like pouring rubbing alcohol onto an open scab. Already up to the eve of the 2010 season.
Never mind the rumors, check out the damning "Outside the Lines" segment on the oversigning of recruits that Les Miles has engaged in at LSU. As a proud Michigan alum, I'd like to believe that such practices alone would exclude him from being a serious candidate for Michigan's coach (or of being a representative of the university in any form).
If you haven't seen the segment, go to:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/index
and click on "Over The Limit."
Obviously, an 11-1
re: Brian
Obviously, an 11-1 season at a place like Stanford is a remarkable achievement, but what I was trying (and I guess failing to do persuasively) to say in referencing it is that it's not a long track record of on-field success at program-building. Wasn't the whole "wow, he's a winner at a place like Stanford!" rationale one of the selling points for hiring Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame job?
Ultimately, my "best argument" was Brian's original screed itself, and the intention of my post today was simply to point out that well-argued essay to the MGoBlog community (which has grown in size exponentially in the years since). In the fog of confusion and occasional despair that has been the last three seasons, I'd forgotten just how damning Brian's "Destroy Harbaugh" piece was, and rereading it this morning, I found myself squirming anew at what seems like the inevitability of our Harbaugh hire. If Brian himself has squared away his considerable misgivings towards Harbaugh from the time (perhaps I should have realized just how long ago that post was in Internet years when Brian quoted Malcolm Gladwell without disdain), well, then, I take that under advisement, and as a devoted reader of his blog, join him in crossing my fingers and hoping for the best—much as I did in the chaotic days following the Miles/Herbstreit/Schiano/Hoke/Aaargh! meltdown when this blog gave the Rodriguez hire its blessing and allowed me to finally sleep peacefully and dream of unicorns and fully mature Death Butterflies.
Sorry if I've caused any face-palming/mushroom-clouding this afternoon. As I said, I was reluctant to wade into the volatile message-board minefield of the CC debate. I will now quietly resume my 24-hour vigil of hoping that Dave Brandon has better instincts about what makes for a successful college athletic program than he had for what makes a good pizza.
"(To
re: CWoodson
"(To pursue the analogy to its ridiculous conclusion, if the Freep's Stretchgate kerfuffle was "9/11," then the AANews series was the 1993 WTC bombing.)"
Not my analogy. It's been made on this message board before (and is implicit in the continual reference to the Freep coverage as a "Jihad"). Perhaps I should have added the word "ludicrous" before "analogy" to distance myself from such a sentiment, though I thought I'd already done that with the word "ridiculous" and my obviously unsuccessful use of ironic quotation marks. Having lost a good friend from my Michigan days on United 175, as well as many neighbors on that day, I'd never make light of the seriousness of 9/11. That was certainly not my intention, and my sincere apologies if that's what came across.
That's what I was trying to suggest: a non-Muppets way to honor basketball achievements. Steer as far afield from Henson-like (Jim, not Drew) characters as you wish.
Guess it's Sheridan then (per Trevor Matich)