Friday Feedback
May 18, 2012 by Mike CasazzaWelcome to the Friday Feedback, which last night confirmed the house sitter and lined up the lawn mower and then prepared a lazy post to hold things over whilst I vacationed.
But then I got a phone call and, well, here we are.
Just a quick note to start, and let’s start right there: President Clements made a few phone calls Thursday to say his athletic director wouldn’t be going anywhere. I was one of a few, somewhere between first and last, because I’d called him previously to discuss it. That’s my job. His is to address things as can, and a few days later he got back to me when he could actually discuss it. He tends to do that.
I nevertheless thought that was strange — the Tweet was supposed to express that … “So President Jim Clements just called me” … “So J.B. got hammered at the wedding and passed out at the table, only to come to and pump his fist during the chorus of ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’ ” — because aren’t we used to people not telling us stuff like that because, if for no other reason, they don’t have to? I know I am. I was not expecting that.
I thought Clements was proactive and I told him that. I’ve said this a lot, so much so that I may have to amend it, but WVU doesn’t do things like that. It doesn’t, or didn’t, address conjecture. Clements pretty much stamped out a smoldering rumor that many would not seek to extinguish. I mean, every time Oliver Luck was asked and he extended his no comment, it became, for some reason, a comment.
Now all those interactions with Luck or Clements, all those emails and texts and voice mails for Clements from people he does and does not know, all the Coaches’ Caravans that WVU personnel including Luck attend don’t have to involve that — and, by the way, people are more apt to give to an athletic department they know Luck is going to lead into the future.
I don’t know, unusual, shrewd, out of place, right on time, I guess it depends on your perception and perspective.
What I do know is I’ll need your perspective to maintain the perception of this blog while I’m gone. A post will go up Monday and be there for the week. I told people I was leaving two days ago, but I did it for you, and we witnessed the fruition of the WVU v. Alabama game in 2014 and the resolution to Luck’s connection with the Stanford job. I suspect one thing will happen while I’m gone, but I tried to sweep up the other stuff before I left.
I return stateside Friday and I’ll be in Charleston for the Vandalia Gathering Saturday at the West Virginia Book Company tent. Stop by and say hi and, I don’t know, buy a book or have yours signed.
Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, keep moving.
Josh24601 said:
Not that anyone would ever say it aloud until way after the fact, but might Luck be a mite miffed that Clements scorched the WVU-beat earth with news that Luck isn’t interested in other jobs? If Luck wanted to say that, every reporter Clements called would have taken Luck’s call.
Maybe there is genuine collegial enthusiasm here and that’s that. Maybe Luck has been strongarmed and an Other Shoe has been hurled into orbit — lo, it looms.
Yeah, I had the same thought, but two things came to mind: 1) Luck just doesn’t do that stuff 2) Those two don’t make decisions involving or impacting one another without some sort of a consensus. Wait, three things: 3) Clements is the boss.
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