Last weekend someone asked me a simple question about the blog that really wasn’t all that simple:

“Why is it so good?” he wondered.

Blush is not my color and I struggled to blurt out some answer. “Beats me. We’ve had some good material to work with and, to be honest, the less I have to do with it, the better it is.”

He thought for a moment and said, “Yeah, it is hilarious.”

I’m not even sure what to say other than it’s time for the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, make sure you think things through.

Don’t you agree, Asdrubal Cabrera?

jmbwvu said:

On SportsCenter this morning they had their “All Access:Michigan” piece. This was preceded by a story about the #1 being issued to the freshman DB. People in Michigan are not happy about that. But what gets my attention is of all the stories surrounding this issue that is the one they picked to elaborate on.

I’m not sure who I would most NOT like to be right now. Rich Rodriguez or Roger Clemens. One is facing personal and legal battles, the other is 1 step away from bankruptcy.

Who is who here? I need help. Wait for it …

X-Rayted said:

Yes, but they both seem to have certain personality traits in common:
1. They will screw anyone
2. They are apparently incapable of telling the
truth even when it is being spelled out in front
of them.
3. Their egoes far surpass their talent
4. They both like their mistress’s on the younger
side…allegedly

OK, moving on before Lionel Hutz realizes what libel is…

oklahoma mountaineer said:

How would you feel if you are John Belein who was told that the buyout clause of your contract is your problem……if you are the basketball coach.

Football coach….not a problem. Hope they both love their new home.

Unfortunately, both will probably be looking for a new place to call home within 5 years….and maybe not as their choosing.

No need to rehash the history of Beilein and Rodriguez. Their relationship wasn’t exactly acrimonious, but Beilein wasn’t in love with the idea his program wasn’t privy to the same privileges as was Rodriguez’s. I always fond it odd Beilein’s final WVU contract said he had to pay the buyout, but that Rodriguez’s contained an edit he made and initialed himself saying a third party could handle it. Then when Michigan hired Beilein, the Wolverines said, in essence, they hired Beilein and not his baggage. It seems to me they may have sent the bellhop to greet Rodriguez.

Karl said:

“Would someone back home actually vote for someone because Pat White endorsed a certain candidate?”

Probably not. But Major Harris? That’s an endorsement that carries some weight!

Well, it wouldn’t last the entire election. He’d stop and wonder if he could endorse a higher political office and we’d always imagine what might have been for the Mountaineers, er, Obama.

glibglub said:

Glad to see the update that Pat White was not out there endorsing candidates. When I read the story, my first thought was that it was inconsistent with my understanding of his character.

I prefer to base my vote on celebs anyway, not athletes. Anyone know if Britney, Paris or Courtney Love have endorsed anyone? I won’t be voting till after 5:00, so I can still be swayed. And if Gary Busey is on somebody’s bandwagon, that’s really all I need to know . . .

Busey. Hmmm. I suppose there could be worse endorsements.

Erinn said:

Gary Busey! Yes! I just snorted my diet coke. Perhaps this guy can be the Democratic vice-presidential candidate:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1916572160/tt0364376

She did say diet coke.

Shannon said:

Rodriguez is claiming that the Board of Governors, specifically selected members, pressured him into signing a contract that he did not want. To make that argument, Rodriguez has to deny the aspect that he has free will. That he was without will or ability to make his own decision. He places the blame on a decision he did not like on someone else.

It would seem to me, and reasonably so I believe, that Rodriguez was within his rights and ability to say no to the contract. To argue that he could not is ridiculous to me.

Yep.

thacker said:

Shannon—

I have been reading that segment of the deposition with interest, too.

I have taken a different view than you. I have been interpreting it as though select members of the board and Garrison/Walker were telling Rodriguez what he wanted to hear. I can appreciate, too, why someone would object to a 4 million ‘buyout’ at that stage of their career. I, also, get the impression that when it comes to confrontation, Rodriguez may sometimes take the path of least resistance, or at least, place undue faith in others in the hopes his concerns maybe be neutralized. Another example of that is how Chris Henry and Adam Jones were managed/mismanaged and responsibility delegated when it shouldn’t have been.

I am very curious why Rodriguez did not have legal counsel during the December 2006 and the August 2007 contract negotiations. I am, also, wondering why the breakdown with Ed Pastilong after the ‘blessing’ [whatever to hell that is except I think I should have left out the word ‘hell’].

Can I say yep again?

jmbwvu said:

All this “I was pressured” talk is a bunch of voodoo attempting to sidestep the basic fact that RR signed a contract stating he would do something and obviously he now refuses to live up to what he agreed to do, in writing.

Is he not man enough to not sign a contract he doesn’t feel comfortable with? That’s like paying 200k for a house when you can only afford 150k and then blaming it on the Realtor because they wouldn’t accept your 150k offer.

Thacker – You state that you can understand why he would object to a 4mil buyout at that stage in his career. Let me ask you this. If you felt sooooo uncomfortable with signing a contract that involved such a large amount of money would you sign it just because people were pressuring you to do so? I’m hoping the answer is a resounding ‘NO!’. Most people with any idea of what it means to sign your name on the dotted line would simply not sign the contract. This whole idea of “they bullied me into it” is typically reserved for the playground wars.

You’re a grown man RR (at least in age). You thought you were so big time that you could just walk out on a signed contract and clearly you were overstating your self-perceived importance to WVU. I feel bad for his kids who have a father that is setting the example to not live up to your word and not deliver on the promises that you make. Sad.

OK, these three all contained good points and could, in a roundabout way, be combined to contain what it is that I think about this mess. There’s really no way Rodriguez could have put off signing the contract as long as he did and say he was rushed or pressured. I also find it hard to believe that guy would allow himself to be bullied by anyone about anything. That just wasn’t his nature. I found it very interesting, if not dangerous, that he admitted he pushed and pushed, that he was obsessed and had to act that way to get things done. I thought the same about his revelation he told the governor to worry about running the state because he had the football program under control. That’s not a guy who is coerced into doing something against his will. So what the hell happened? His drive and his obsession waned and he suddenly allowed himself to be bullied? I really doubt that. His actions over seven years seem to contradict his words over seven hours.

StraightOuttaNorthCentral said:

 There’s no way this is happening unless the BE is going to split or kick someone out (a la Temple). Not sure who really deserves to get kicked out at this point, so if this is serious, it would have to point to the split, as you say, Mr. C.

That’s the ongoing opinion right now. It was asked elsewhere how including Memphis in an expanded Big East might affect East Carolina or Central Florida. Well, including Memphis would level Conference USA and that might send ECU or UCF scurrying — and understandably so. I doubt this happens, but let’s imagine for a moment: UCF and ECU, which aren’t terrible fits, could join the other nine football schools as part of the aforementioned split without ruining the plans. With 11 teams, the Big East needs to find just one more team to get the lucrative conference championship game … and wouldn’t the Big East love to create one that’s better than the ACC’s? A 12-team conference would have two six-team divisions. Every school would play five games against divisional opponents, plus three against teams from the other division. That keeps the balanced home-away eight-game conference schedule in tact. Additionally, the 12-team basketball league works with the same two six-team divisions. One school plays 10 divisional games and six games against schools from the other divisions for a 16-game schedule. The trickiest part? Find me the 12th school.

Ohio Beagle Pal said:

Oh come on now Mike…you know all those coaches compare who’s got the bigger contract when they get together for a cold one, although that might be a problem in Morgantown…

Oh, this definitely happens. I think it’s things like this — the gossip, the storytelling, the adventures — that make them call it the coaching fraternity. It’s not the actual fraternizing. It’s kind of fascinating, especially when you consider Huggins could legitimately address his contract in the future by coming back from a convention and saying, “Hey, Russ Sharp, Bobby Gonzalez makes $3 million. Fred Hill makes $2.8. Time for a raise!” and Sharp couldn’t really argue.  

Shannon said:

It sounds like we might need to start getting used to the idea that Alexander is not going to change his mind and will stay in the draft. If he does, I can’t blame him. Sometimes you have to strike when the iron is hot and it’s certainly hot for him right now.

But if WVU can grab Ebanks … man that would be like Christmas at Memorial Day.

Forgive me, but since we have discussed how WVU finds the most gruesome ways to experience pain, I have visions of a holiday when Alexander stays in the draft and Ebanks signs with Memphis.

glibglub said:

I’ve been away a few days. Is this mystery still not solved? Am I missing something? Looks like the ESPN article referred to is long gone, so I can’t tell who the Bristolites said it is, but I’m assuming RR. I notice the mystery man is wearing a Capitol One Bowl pin. Maybe it really is his brother. I seem to recall RR and his brood attended the Michigan-Florida bowl game.  

OK, I’m convinced now that that guy is not You Know Who. I asked around with some UM folks I know and while some would at least allow that there were some similarities, no one thought it was him. I’m keeping an eye on ESPN.com’s corrections page — they never make mistakes???? — and waiting for SOMEONE to show them the picture. Yes, that was a hint. Anyhow, as I said, I’m convinced it’s not him, thanks to you.

Erinn said:

Definitely not him. Eyebrows are totally wrong and where did the plugs go? And aren’t his eyes supposed to be ice cold blue?

Creepy.

thacker said:

Nothing should be kind to guys who wear glasses on top of their heads.

Noted.

Homer said:

Unless he started smoking 10 packs a day, that’s not the Wizard Hat.

Funny.

Bobby H said:

It’s the same guy who called Tom Osbourne with that practical joke –
Rich Rod’s brother.

See, it is hilarious!

Enjoy the weekend. Back Monday with an in-depth look at the Strawberry Festival. Bill Stewart blesses you in advance.