Does anyone in power at West Virginia football look good right now? The decision to have Bill Stewart coach one more season with coach-in-waiting Dana Holgorsen operating as offensive coordinator was idiotic. If you want Holgorsen as your head man, then hire him as such. Having a lame duck situation cannot be a good thing, unless the coach-in-waiting is taking over for a guy looking to leave. It worked very well at Kentucky, for example, where Rich Brooks was looking to go and the school wanted to keep Joker Phillips around.
I assumed that Stewart was gone after the team--and especially the offense--performed so poorly in losing the Champs Sports Bowl to North Carolina State last year by a 23-7 score. Holgorsen had been a hot commodity and it looked wise for AD Oliver Luck to snap him up. But neither coach was happy with the situation and from the looks of things Stewart and his wife were so determined to stay that they began sniffing around for some dirt on the new guy to get him fired. Holgorsen, meanwhile, was asked to leave a casino in the middle of the night and was therefore not helping the situation. suddenly rumors were flying around that Holgorsen had a drinking problem and that he had been in trouble with the law numerous times since being hired by West Virginia.
While it is difficult to know exactly what happened, Holgorsen's problems were exaggerated by the Stewarts, who now became the bad guys in this soap opera. But all of this could have been avoided by removing Stewart after the 2010 season. That was Luck's decision. And he had better hope that Holgorsen wins and stays out of trouble.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
View From Bennett Avenue
When I opened the college football page for ESPN this morning, I was presented with more negative crap about certain college football programs. Items 1 and 2 of their "Headlines" dealt with the ever-changing Terrelle Pryor situation, number 3 concerned the stripping of USC's 2004 national championship by the BCS, the fourth item was about Mike Hamilton's stepping down as Tennessee's embattled AD (his problem go beyond football, but he would have survived if his football program was in good shape), number 5 featured the West Virginia continuing situation with head coach in waiting Dana Holgorson, etc, etc.
Now I am not blaming ESPN--and I usually do--for presenting us with bad news but I must say that the continued state of affairs is depressing. The season cannot start soon enough. But until then expect more stories about what school did what wrong and which player slugged which innocent bystander. After all, not only are there more cameras than ever before, the number of coaches and players willing to flaunt their rule breaking seems to increase with time. All you had to do was take a picture of the players only parking section at Ohio State to know they had a problem. The investigation of USC football was reaching its end when they hired Lane Kiffin who was the head recruiter during part of the investigated time and then brought watchdogs to Tennessee. The situation now is that programs, coaches and players think they are above the law. Dump them all.
Now I am not blaming ESPN--and I usually do--for presenting us with bad news but I must say that the continued state of affairs is depressing. The season cannot start soon enough. But until then expect more stories about what school did what wrong and which player slugged which innocent bystander. After all, not only are there more cameras than ever before, the number of coaches and players willing to flaunt their rule breaking seems to increase with time. All you had to do was take a picture of the players only parking section at Ohio State to know they had a problem. The investigation of USC football was reaching its end when they hired Lane Kiffin who was the head recruiter during part of the investigated time and then brought watchdogs to Tennessee. The situation now is that programs, coaches and players think they are above the law. Dump them all.
Monday, June 6, 2011
View From Bennett Avenue
How bizarre was the beating Patti LaBelle's body guards gave Army CB Richard King recently? And his reward? Being ordered to active duty. This was a non story before the video was released and is now being spun by King's lawyers as a celebrity using her power to dump on a regular guy. If that is the case then I hope LaBelle has to pay up. If King is the one with the problem--and West Point's alacrity in booting him does not look good--then it is telling that the first side to YouTube can win the debate. The most eye opening part of the video is LaBelle posing with Houston police after the incident. They must not have been impressed with King's four INTs last year.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
View From Bennett Avenue
Off with their heads!
I want all of the cheaters out, and out now. And I have a very broad understanding of cheating. If something happens on your watch, you are responsible and you have to go. Tressel skated through problems at Youngstown State years ago, and then the mess with Maurice Clarett and others. So why would he do the right thing now? Jim Calhoun gets caught cheating but can still walk away with the national championship in hoops. But he'll be suspended next year for the violations. That a scary few of his kids graduate does not seem to tarnish his image either. Again, why would he do the right thing? And Pete Carroll continued to run a loose program during the investigation into the Reggie Bush situation before jumping to the NFL. And do not get me started about Auburn's national title.
The coaches cannot help themselves. If you do it the right way yet do not win enough you get canned so the temptations are there. The problem is that the media looks the other way, fearing a loss of access while also being charmed by these guys, the fans usually could care less as long as the team is winning, and the administration not only looks the other way but is at times complicit themselves. You are Kentucky and you have been nailed with major violations in basketball numerous times, so you hire Calipari? You are Southern Cal and are being investigated for the umpteenth time and so you hire Kiffin?
The whole culture has to change. Folks who do it the right way need to be saluted. Teams that cheat need to be nailed, and that includes television bans. And, no, guys like Tressel are not role models or father figures. They are cheats. College football will survive nicely with both OSU and USC on probation. Feel free to add some more schools too.
I want all of the cheaters out, and out now. And I have a very broad understanding of cheating. If something happens on your watch, you are responsible and you have to go. Tressel skated through problems at Youngstown State years ago, and then the mess with Maurice Clarett and others. So why would he do the right thing now? Jim Calhoun gets caught cheating but can still walk away with the national championship in hoops. But he'll be suspended next year for the violations. That a scary few of his kids graduate does not seem to tarnish his image either. Again, why would he do the right thing? And Pete Carroll continued to run a loose program during the investigation into the Reggie Bush situation before jumping to the NFL. And do not get me started about Auburn's national title.
The coaches cannot help themselves. If you do it the right way yet do not win enough you get canned so the temptations are there. The problem is that the media looks the other way, fearing a loss of access while also being charmed by these guys, the fans usually could care less as long as the team is winning, and the administration not only looks the other way but is at times complicit themselves. You are Kentucky and you have been nailed with major violations in basketball numerous times, so you hire Calipari? You are Southern Cal and are being investigated for the umpteenth time and so you hire Kiffin?
The whole culture has to change. Folks who do it the right way need to be saluted. Teams that cheat need to be nailed, and that includes television bans. And, no, guys like Tressel are not role models or father figures. They are cheats. College football will survive nicely with both OSU and USC on probation. Feel free to add some more schools too.
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