Honestly, I don’t know how Urban Meyer recovers from this.
Two sources connected to the investigation said the likely recommendation is a suspension for Meyer. Drake and the board could also opt for a “time served” punishment since Meyer has been removed from football activities for more than two weeks.
That’ll teach him a severe lesson. At least the school isn’t apologizing for taking Meyer away from prep work.
Filed under Urban Meyer Points and Stares
Over at The Athletic (you know, you really should subscribe), you’ll find a lengthy piece on Mark Richt ($$), where he says — surprise! — he never wanted to leave Athens.
Now, some of you may choose not to believe that, but you know who did? The people at Miami who interviewed Richt for that job after he was fired.
“His interview was very boring, just to be quite honest,” Vilma says. “There was really not a lot of energy, and in the middle of the interview he kind of apologized because he was still kind of getting over being fired by Georgia. He didn’t expect that to happen.
“I took that as something really positive, because everything that he was saying, No. 1, was genuine, and No. 2, it showed he is committed to the long term. Like, he wanted to stay at Georgia until he retired…”
Not that I expect that to change many minds, but, what the hell, thought I’d share.
Filed under Georgia Football
Weirdly, just after getting asked again in the comments, I got the FP link. Invites have been sent out for you to sign up if you’ve participated before.
If not, click here.
Format is unchanged. I’ll get the first week picks up as soon as they’re available. Good luck!
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UPDATE: Week One picks are posted, so dive in.
Filed under GTP Stuff
One more thing as a follow up to my post yesterday about that anonymous poll of coaches that seemed to be tilted — pure coincidence, no doubt — against African-American head coaches.
As Bruce Feldman ($$) notes,
Said one of the anonymous coaches of Taggart: “He was only at Oregon for one year, and it’s not like he really transformed that program — and that’s a place that’s won for a long time. Not that he isn’t good — he’s won. But usually when you get a job like Florida State, it’s because you’ve won some championships or done something really amazing.”
The guy Taggart followed at FSU, Jimbo Fisher, had never coached a game before he got the job replacing Bobby Bowden.
Well, in its own way, isn’t that really amazing?
If you haven’t seen this clip before, it’s a real treat. I don’t think it requires an introduction.
This is the kind of thing that makes college sports so special.
Filed under Georgia Football
Vanderbilt is upset the rest of the world won’t let it keep clipping coupons on a beach somewhere.
“Vanderbilt University is incredibly proud of the on-field and off-field accomplishments of our student athletes, and the coaches and staff who support them. Over the last 10 years, they have won four national championships, 14 conference championships and nine Coach of the Year awards. Our football team has played in five bowl games after a 26-year drought. Last year’s graduating seniors finished their Vanderbilt careers with more than 1,600 total wins, two national championships, eight Conference Championships, 31 postseason appearances, and included 17 All-Americans and 45 all-conference recipients. Academically, our student athletes have earned over a cumulative 3.0 [grade point average] every year for the past 13 years,” the statement read. “All of this achievement is supported by a loyal and dedicated fan base that is critical to our overall success. We will continue to invest in our student athletes and as we contemplate a capital campaign for the university, athletics will be a significant part and will include efforts to raise funds for improvements to athletics programs and facilities, including the football stadium.”
Hint: when they say “We will continue to invest in our student athletes”, they won’t. If you read the fine print carefully, the school’s commitment level is the equivalent of thoughts and prayers — an effort will be made to raise funds, but no mention is made of what actual improvements are contemplated.
That’s how the beach clippers do it, dears.
Filed under It's Just Bidness, SEC Football
I mean, where was this contract provision twenty years ago?
Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer can be fired for cause if he fails to report misconduct as mandated by university rules.
I wonder if they can make the Knoxville PD abide by the same provision.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
Ah, the tension.
Right now, there is no standard in the NCAA for discussing player injuries.
“My university’s attorney told me, ‘You cannot be specific with any injuries. You can say upper body. You can say lower body,'” said Todd Berry, who coached college football for 34 years and is now executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. “Many times the media would already know what it was, but that’s all I could reference.”
Some coaches are more specific. Others are reluctant to share anything at all.
Washington State’s Mike Leach has a history of not even answering questions after a game about a player who was injured on the field. Chip Kelly also never talked about injuries while at Oregon — he’s now at UCLA — and eventually neither did his successor, Mark Helfrich, who’s now in the NFL. Miami’s Mark Richt used to be pretty open about injury updates but started to cut back because other coaches were withholding information.
Others are more forthcoming, like Joe Moorhead at Mississippi State and Duke’s David Cutcliffe.
That inconsistency could potentially raise red flags as legal gambling grows throughout the United States. If one coach reveals more than another, it opens up questions of whether it creates a chance for some gamblers to gain an unfair edge.
“When there’s less info out there, you have a greater chance of having inside information,” said Brad Powers, senior college football analyst for Pregame.com. “When there’s more information, when everyone knows everything — like the NFL, you know exactly if a guy is probable, doubtful or questionable — then nobody really has any inside information.”
Powers said bettors want a common language across the conferences. Coaches also want consistency, Berry said.
That could mean only releasing a player’s status for the game — an availability report, which may be the safest option. Or injuries could be defined as lower or upper body only.
“The more specific you get, the greater the chance is that you will wander into an area that is protected by one or both of those statutes (HIPAA and FERPA),” said attorney William H. Brooks, who works in the NCAA compliance and investigations group for his firm, Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC.
To be honest, I don’t get all the fretting about this. As that quoted passage suggests, an availability report would seem to meet the concerns of both ends. Or am I missing something here?
Filed under Bet On It, College Football, The Body Is A Temple
Sure, preseason polls seem like a waste, but as long as they’re around, there’s one thing you should keep in mind about the AP’s.
Every team that’s ever made the CFP field has started the season ranked in the AP top twenty.
Filed under BCS/Playoffs
How did I miss hearing about Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman touring to support the 50th anniversary of Sweetheart of the Rodeo?
There’s a great background story to that.
In June, with so little fanfare they weren’t even listed on the bill, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman took the stage at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to play a song from “Sweetheart of the Rodeo.”
They last did that on March 16, 1968, and it did not go well. They were the Byrds then, and the appearance at the Grand Ole Opry elicited boos, catcalls or indifference, depending on who’s telling the story. This time, backed by Marty Stuart and his band, the Fabulous Superlatives, the crowd cheered as McGuinn and Hillman kicked into “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” the Bob Dylan song that opens “Sweetheart.”
“I cried,” says Tyler Mahan Coe, a country music historian who hosts the popular “Cocaine & Rhinestones”podcast. “I never even imagined that it would hit me as hard as it did.”
It’s fitting that Coe was born 16 years after “Sweetheart’s” original release. Back then, the album stiffed, sparking the end of one of pop’s great partnerships. But over time, that sixth Byrds record has climbed from cutout bins onto most-important-ever lists. And now, at 50, “Sweetheart” is recognized for inspiring musicians from the Eagles and Elvis Costello to next- generation alt-country players such as Ryan Adams and Wilco.
Needless to say, you should read the whole thing. (Don’t miss the coolest detail, about Clarence White’s guitar.)
In the meantime, here are a couple of clips from the tour.
First, here’s Gram Parsons’ “Hickory Wind”, which the Byrds played at the Grand Ole Opry in ’68.
And here’s a gorgeous rendition of “You Don’t Miss Your Water”:
There’s plenty more at YouTube, if you’re interested.
Filed under Uncategorized
Get The Picture 