Finally, as I had suspected all along, there is confirmatin that Lloyd Carr had something to do with "transfer-mania" in 2008. Ryan Mallett's father has told the media that Carr advised Mallett to transfer when Rich Rodriguez was hired. Of course, it's OK because Carr, who graduated from NMU, is a "Michigan Man," while RR "wasn't." And now, Brady Hoke, a BSU grad born in Ohio, is celebrated as the consummate 'Michigan Man" in the media.
That begs a rather obvious question:
What the fuck does the "Carr-tel" think a "Michigan Man" is? Do they think a "Michigan Man" is someone who puts his own agenda ahead of "his" school? Do Carr and his minions think it was OK to sabotage the University of Michigan's football program for three years, only to be welcomed back with open arms and given their way when one of "their own" was hired?
Why isn't Lloyd Carr being held responsible for this? Why doesn't anyone remember that it was Carr on the sidelines for the first four losses in the seven-game streak to Ohio State? Why doesn't anyone seem to remember that it was Carr's terrible coaching in a four game streak that ruined two potentially great seasons that caused Bill Martin to "retire" Carr in the first place?
Does he really think his team's utter inability to beat truly elite teams and his embarassing losses to Ohio State, USC, Appalachian State and Oregon in succession entitled him to name his successor? Or that he should have been totally exempt from criticism when he misused his power to sabotage his successor?
Lloyd Carr was still on the payroll of the University of Michigan while he was sabotaging the program. He should have to pay back every penny he earned during that period. Better yet, he should donate it to Mott Children's Hospital.
For what it's worth, I don't fault Brady Hoke for taking the job. He was in San Diego, coaching his team and doing his job, when he got the "offer he couldn't refuse." He interviewed for his dream job and got it. Hoke is to be commended. Greg Mattison should also be commended for coming back. Neither had anything to do with what happened in Ann Arbor the last three years. The people I have a problem with are the ex-players, ex-coaches, and boosters who worked so hard to get Rich Rodriguez fired.
Michigan had better hope Brady Hoke succeeds beyond any vision they had for him. If he doesn't, the Carr-tel and their followers will be exposed as being exactly what they stereotyped Rich Rodriguez as being: ignorant, dishonest hillbillies who think nepotism is the only legitimate reason to hire anyone.
Hoke and Mattison are exempt. They were far too busy with their own teams to take part in Carr's assassination of RR's character and sabotage of the University of Michigan football program. Hopefully, they can bring the program back. It will certainly be easier now that nobody is actively sabotaging it from within.
Now that some sabotage has been documented by a player's parent, it's really not a question anymore that Carr was actively sabotaging the program he professed to love and the school that was signing his paycheck. The only question now is one of extent. How much sabotage did Carr get away with while collecting UM paychecks?
Wouldn't it be ironic if it turned out that it was Carr, whose system of counting practice hours was the one RR inherited in the first place, was the one who suggested the story to Michael Rosenberg?
I'm not saying that it happened that way, but I am saying that it certainly is possible. I'm certainly not holding my breath waiting for Lloyd Carr to come clean.
Showing posts with label Lloyd Carr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lloyd Carr. Show all posts
Friday, May 6, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Carr-tel reigns at Michigan
The Carr-tel has won. They have been rewarded for their sabotaging of RR's tenure at Michigan by having one of their own, Brady Hoke, named as head coach. This guarantees at least three more years of rebuilding, followed by as many years of mediocrity as whoever is running things by then can stomach.
Today's hiring virtually ensures that Michigan fans will continue to watch modern teams make the BCS title game, while wondering why Michigan never makes it. Over the years, we have blamed bad luck, bad referees, and bad timing for crushing losses, but the bottom line is that the old way of saying, "here we are, try to stop us" and then pushing other teams up and down the field doesn't work anymore, and hasn't worked since scholarships went down to 85 and cable allowed everyone to be on television.
If you love anachronistic, unimaginative football, you will love Brady Hoke. If you love seeing Michigan lose to teams with only one or two players who could make their depth chart, you will love Brady Hoke. If you think Lloyd Carr is the be-all and end-all of Michigan football, and that his face should be on Mt Rushmore, you will love Brady Hoke. Most of all, if you love watching Lloyd Carr pull the strings of a puppet coach, you will love Brady Hoke.
This hiring is the cruelest joke that has ever been perpetrated upon the Michigan fanbase. It proves that Lloyd Carr still has a lot of power at Michigan, and it proves that Mary Sue Coleman has had a lot more to say in this process than most of us think she did.
David Brandon and Mary Sue Coleman should both be fired today. They both had a chance to turn Michigan football into the "leaders and best" again, and instead chose to turn it into what will soon be one of the biggest jokes in college football.
Do you want to see Denard Robinson win a Heisman? Maybe it will happen at Auburn, but it won't happen at Michigan. Do you want to see Michigan end its losing streak against OSU? Sorry: it isn't happening anytime soon. Do you want to see what Michigan can do in the spread with upperclassmen on the field? It won't happen for at least ten years now.
This isn't Hoke's fault, and once the product is on the field, I will support him. I will continue to cheer for Michigan; I have since 1960 and it is too late to stop now. But today is not a time for blind optimism, nor is it a time for celebration: it is a time to grieve the loss of what might have been. Most of all, it is a time to hold Lloyd Carr, Mary Sue Coleman, and David Brandon accountable for their actions.
If this were a movie, Brady Hoke would come in, sieze the day, and Michigan would suddenly be a "player" on the national scene again. Their paleolithic offense would suddenly be the talk of college football, and the glut of spread teams playing for National Championships would fall by the wayside. Sadly for Michigan fans, this isn't a movie. And if it were, it would be something by Monty Python.
Thanks, David. Thanks, Mary Sue. Thanks, Lloyd. You have pretty much guaranteed that, without divine intervention, I won't see Michigan win another National Championship in my lifetime. You have guaranteed that the one half of a National Championship I got to witness in fifty years so far of following Michigan football is the only one I will ever see.
To further your selfish and parochial agenda, you have shattered the dreams of every Michigan football fan who wants to see Michigan play in the BCS title game, even if they don't know it yet. You have doomed the University of Michigan to be a quaint artifact of a bygone era, even as fans are dumping millions of dollars into your coffers in realtime.
You have all proven to be dishonest and incompetent. By your own standards, you should all be fired immediately. Security should usher all of you to the door without giving you a chance to empty your desks. None of you should ever be allowed to set foot on University of Michigan property again.
But that won't happen. Instead, it will be "business as usual." You will all talk about how you are going to "restore tradition to the University of Michigan." Sadly, though, that "tradition" involves chronic underachievement in BCS bowls, annual disappointment, and one National Championship in sixty years. The school deserves better. And the fans lining your pockets deserve better for their money.
You had a chance to give your fans better. And you failed miserably. May your karma be swift and just.
Today's hiring virtually ensures that Michigan fans will continue to watch modern teams make the BCS title game, while wondering why Michigan never makes it. Over the years, we have blamed bad luck, bad referees, and bad timing for crushing losses, but the bottom line is that the old way of saying, "here we are, try to stop us" and then pushing other teams up and down the field doesn't work anymore, and hasn't worked since scholarships went down to 85 and cable allowed everyone to be on television.
If you love anachronistic, unimaginative football, you will love Brady Hoke. If you love seeing Michigan lose to teams with only one or two players who could make their depth chart, you will love Brady Hoke. If you think Lloyd Carr is the be-all and end-all of Michigan football, and that his face should be on Mt Rushmore, you will love Brady Hoke. Most of all, if you love watching Lloyd Carr pull the strings of a puppet coach, you will love Brady Hoke.
This hiring is the cruelest joke that has ever been perpetrated upon the Michigan fanbase. It proves that Lloyd Carr still has a lot of power at Michigan, and it proves that Mary Sue Coleman has had a lot more to say in this process than most of us think she did.
David Brandon and Mary Sue Coleman should both be fired today. They both had a chance to turn Michigan football into the "leaders and best" again, and instead chose to turn it into what will soon be one of the biggest jokes in college football.
Do you want to see Denard Robinson win a Heisman? Maybe it will happen at Auburn, but it won't happen at Michigan. Do you want to see Michigan end its losing streak against OSU? Sorry: it isn't happening anytime soon. Do you want to see what Michigan can do in the spread with upperclassmen on the field? It won't happen for at least ten years now.
This isn't Hoke's fault, and once the product is on the field, I will support him. I will continue to cheer for Michigan; I have since 1960 and it is too late to stop now. But today is not a time for blind optimism, nor is it a time for celebration: it is a time to grieve the loss of what might have been. Most of all, it is a time to hold Lloyd Carr, Mary Sue Coleman, and David Brandon accountable for their actions.
If this were a movie, Brady Hoke would come in, sieze the day, and Michigan would suddenly be a "player" on the national scene again. Their paleolithic offense would suddenly be the talk of college football, and the glut of spread teams playing for National Championships would fall by the wayside. Sadly for Michigan fans, this isn't a movie. And if it were, it would be something by Monty Python.
Thanks, David. Thanks, Mary Sue. Thanks, Lloyd. You have pretty much guaranteed that, without divine intervention, I won't see Michigan win another National Championship in my lifetime. You have guaranteed that the one half of a National Championship I got to witness in fifty years so far of following Michigan football is the only one I will ever see.
To further your selfish and parochial agenda, you have shattered the dreams of every Michigan football fan who wants to see Michigan play in the BCS title game, even if they don't know it yet. You have doomed the University of Michigan to be a quaint artifact of a bygone era, even as fans are dumping millions of dollars into your coffers in realtime.
You have all proven to be dishonest and incompetent. By your own standards, you should all be fired immediately. Security should usher all of you to the door without giving you a chance to empty your desks. None of you should ever be allowed to set foot on University of Michigan property again.
But that won't happen. Instead, it will be "business as usual." You will all talk about how you are going to "restore tradition to the University of Michigan." Sadly, though, that "tradition" involves chronic underachievement in BCS bowls, annual disappointment, and one National Championship in sixty years. The school deserves better. And the fans lining your pockets deserve better for their money.
You had a chance to give your fans better. And you failed miserably. May your karma be swift and just.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Conspiracy theories abound....
Since the blog is called "tinfoil hat sports blog," let's examine the various conspiracy theories and rate them on a one to five tinfoil hat scale.
1. David Brandon thought he had a deal with Jim Harbaugh and Harbaugh backed out.
This is almost etched in stone. John Harbaugh said something to the effect of "the Michigan thing is over now" the day of RR's firing. That, of course, would mean that there had been previous discussion. It also explains why RR and the players were left "twisting in the wind" for as long as they were. This is solid, and I will rate it FIVE tinfoil hats.
This leads to....
2. David Brandon lied to the media, players, and staff for at least a month.
Once again, if number one is true, then number two is also true. It was obvious after the OSU game that Brandon was not going to support RR. I actually thought RR had a chance to keep his job if Michigan won their bowl game, but it is obvious that the choice was made from the beginning.
I will also give this one FIVE tinfoil hats.
3. The "Lloyd Carr-tel" has undermined RR's position on a daily basis for three years, including "leaking" damaging information to Michael Rosenberg.
There isn't much to dispute this, either. Carr gave no support to RR during his tenure, when his voice could have stopped a lot of the drama surrounding RR. Lloyd Carr did not do what Bo taught him to do. Neither has David Brandon. But the Carr-tel has invoked Bo's name on numerous occasions to further their agenda.
Lloyd Carr is still angry that he was not allowed to name his successor and have him come from the IMCT (Inbred Michigan Coaching Tree.) Apparently, Carr thinks his one National Championship season entitles him to treatment reserved for coaches named Schembechler or Crisler. He conveniently forgets how the game passed him by and how terrible he looked against elite teams the last three years of his tenure at Michigan. He also forgets how bare he left the cupboard for RR.
Can there be any doubt that the attrition RR faced can be at least partially attributed to Lloyd Carr encouraging players to leave?
I will also give this FIVE tinfoil hats.
4. Michigan's next coach will be a "money hire" to further the financial health of the Big Ten Network and help extend its reach into the NY/NJ area.
This was suggested by a poster on mgoblog. If it is true, there will be no Brady Hoke hiring. It would pretty much mean that Jon Gruden or Les Miles will be the coach at the University of Michigan. This may or may not be true, and is even more cynical than I normally am. For now, I will give it a solid THREE POINT FIVE tinfoil hats.
5. David Brandon wanted Jim Harbaugh, but Mary Sue Coleman wants Brady Hoke becuase she adores Lloyd Carr and the Carr-tel is in her ear every day.
This seems pretty solid also, and would really be funny considering her statement that she has no idea who the next coach will be. Apparently, the Carr-tel doesn't want Harbaugh because he is a Bo guy, and they feel threatened by his presence. If it is true, it definitely is NOT what Bo would do.
I will give this one FOUR tinfoil hats.
Summing up:
It's sorta sad that all of the conspiracy theories coming out of Ann Arbor probably have some truth to them. I guess it just means that "things are complicated," but I miss the old days when people were more on the "up and up" about things like this.
If anything comes out of this, I hope the Carr-tel is neutralized and put in their place for good. They have sabotaged the head coach at "their" school to further their own agenda, and their current carping is a power play to try and get themselves "restored" to power at Michigan.
They may have a few good points, but it was Lloyd Carr who was repsonsible for the first FOUR losses in the current seven-game losing streak to OSU. It was Lloyd Carr's upperclassmen who should have led the way for the Wolverines the last two years, but there weren't many because he encouraged most of them to leave.
Until those who constitute the Carr-tel are capable of accepting the fact that the game has evolved and that Michigan should be leaders and best instead of being anachronistic fucks whining about where the "good old days" went, they should be told that their feedback is no longer encouraged nor appreciated.
The new head coach should NOT be a member of the Carr-tel, and any of their members who continue to fight progress or engage in carping, whining, and sniping, should be told they are no longer welcome to visit the team or the facilities.
Let the new coach do his job and let him turn Michigan into the leaders and best again. Hopefully, it will be someone who is not a part of the Carr-tel, and is strong enough to ignore their carping, whining, and manipulations behind the scenes.
1. David Brandon thought he had a deal with Jim Harbaugh and Harbaugh backed out.
This is almost etched in stone. John Harbaugh said something to the effect of "the Michigan thing is over now" the day of RR's firing. That, of course, would mean that there had been previous discussion. It also explains why RR and the players were left "twisting in the wind" for as long as they were. This is solid, and I will rate it FIVE tinfoil hats.
This leads to....
2. David Brandon lied to the media, players, and staff for at least a month.
Once again, if number one is true, then number two is also true. It was obvious after the OSU game that Brandon was not going to support RR. I actually thought RR had a chance to keep his job if Michigan won their bowl game, but it is obvious that the choice was made from the beginning.
I will also give this one FIVE tinfoil hats.
3. The "Lloyd Carr-tel" has undermined RR's position on a daily basis for three years, including "leaking" damaging information to Michael Rosenberg.
There isn't much to dispute this, either. Carr gave no support to RR during his tenure, when his voice could have stopped a lot of the drama surrounding RR. Lloyd Carr did not do what Bo taught him to do. Neither has David Brandon. But the Carr-tel has invoked Bo's name on numerous occasions to further their agenda.
Lloyd Carr is still angry that he was not allowed to name his successor and have him come from the IMCT (Inbred Michigan Coaching Tree.) Apparently, Carr thinks his one National Championship season entitles him to treatment reserved for coaches named Schembechler or Crisler. He conveniently forgets how the game passed him by and how terrible he looked against elite teams the last three years of his tenure at Michigan. He also forgets how bare he left the cupboard for RR.
Can there be any doubt that the attrition RR faced can be at least partially attributed to Lloyd Carr encouraging players to leave?
I will also give this FIVE tinfoil hats.
4. Michigan's next coach will be a "money hire" to further the financial health of the Big Ten Network and help extend its reach into the NY/NJ area.
This was suggested by a poster on mgoblog. If it is true, there will be no Brady Hoke hiring. It would pretty much mean that Jon Gruden or Les Miles will be the coach at the University of Michigan. This may or may not be true, and is even more cynical than I normally am. For now, I will give it a solid THREE POINT FIVE tinfoil hats.
5. David Brandon wanted Jim Harbaugh, but Mary Sue Coleman wants Brady Hoke becuase she adores Lloyd Carr and the Carr-tel is in her ear every day.
This seems pretty solid also, and would really be funny considering her statement that she has no idea who the next coach will be. Apparently, the Carr-tel doesn't want Harbaugh because he is a Bo guy, and they feel threatened by his presence. If it is true, it definitely is NOT what Bo would do.
I will give this one FOUR tinfoil hats.
Summing up:
It's sorta sad that all of the conspiracy theories coming out of Ann Arbor probably have some truth to them. I guess it just means that "things are complicated," but I miss the old days when people were more on the "up and up" about things like this.
If anything comes out of this, I hope the Carr-tel is neutralized and put in their place for good. They have sabotaged the head coach at "their" school to further their own agenda, and their current carping is a power play to try and get themselves "restored" to power at Michigan.
They may have a few good points, but it was Lloyd Carr who was repsonsible for the first FOUR losses in the current seven-game losing streak to OSU. It was Lloyd Carr's upperclassmen who should have led the way for the Wolverines the last two years, but there weren't many because he encouraged most of them to leave.
Until those who constitute the Carr-tel are capable of accepting the fact that the game has evolved and that Michigan should be leaders and best instead of being anachronistic fucks whining about where the "good old days" went, they should be told that their feedback is no longer encouraged nor appreciated.
The new head coach should NOT be a member of the Carr-tel, and any of their members who continue to fight progress or engage in carping, whining, and sniping, should be told they are no longer welcome to visit the team or the facilities.
Let the new coach do his job and let him turn Michigan into the leaders and best again. Hopefully, it will be someone who is not a part of the Carr-tel, and is strong enough to ignore their carping, whining, and manipulations behind the scenes.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
"Dominos" fall at Michigan
Maybe those who feel that Rich Rodriguez's "last year" at the University of Michigan is already etched in stone are being a bit hasty. Apparently, David Brandon is cleaning house of those who, by accident or on purpose, have sabotaged RR's tenure at Michigan.
The first "Domino:" Lloyd Carr. While I respect Carr for his accomplishments at Michigan and will forever be indebted to him as a fan for the National Championship that he delivered, I still think that Carr has been active behind the scenes and has played a major part in the dissension within the University of Michigan Athletic Department.
When Bo took over for Bump Eliott, under similar circumstances as RR taking over for Carr, Bump was sure to let anyone who complained about Bo's housecleaning that "Bo is the coach now" and encouraged them to support him 100 percent. Bump basically didn't tolerate anything that undermined Bo's position, even though he had been encouraged to "retire" and Bo was his replacement.
Fast forward to 2007. Carr was "encouraged to retire" and replaced by RR. RR immediately did exactly what Bo did: he turned the atmosphere around the football team from "Barton Hills Country Club South" to "Fort RR." Sadly, though, Carr never really showed support for RR, preferring to say he "doesn't want to get involved."
However, "someone" in the Athletic Department leaked info to Freep columnist Micheal Rosenberg, resulting in an embarassing wrist-slap for the team and compromising RR's tenure as coach. Am I saying that Carr was the leak? No. But I'm not saying that he wasn't, either. What is obvious to me, though, is that Carr has never supported RR like Bo would have if he were still alive.
The second "Domino:" Brad Labadie. As any UM fan knows, it was Labadie's negligence, along with that of Scott Draper, that is directly responsible for most of the confusion over CARA and countable practice hours. In other words, if Labadie and Draper had done their jobs correctly, there would have been nothing to "leak" to the Freep.
Were Labadie and Draper part of a conspiracy to undermine RR's tenure at UM? Was Carr involved? I don't really know, but I definitely subscribe to the opinion that there is a faction in the Athletic Department that is working against the interests of the head football coach and therefore the program.
This has been covered in a "nuts and bolts" fashion by Brian at mgoblog:
http://mgoblog.com/content/names-named-heads-should-roll
And in a more conspiratorial fashion by "The Other Brian" at Genuinely Sarcastic:
http://www.genuinelysarcastic.blogspot.com/
I think the "retirements" of both Carr and Labadie were the direct result of pressure from David Brandon to not allow their personal hatred of RR to keep them from working fully in the interests of the program. Brandon's time as Domino's CEO, along with his time playing for Bo, have made him more than capable of managing shark-infested, corporate waters, and was perfect training for handling petty power struggles from underlings in the Athletic Department.
I think that Scott Draper may be the next "Domino" to fall; I also think that RR is going to be given the benefit of an Athletic Department that is all on the same page and is working with the best interests of the football program in mind.
Rodriguez deserves a chance to succeed or fail without being undermined by those who are supposed to help him accomplish his goals. Thankfully, it looks like he is finally going to get it, at least for one season. Hopefully, one season will be enough to show what he is capable of doing.
Tinfoil hat rating: five out of five. There is definitely something going on here.
The first "Domino:" Lloyd Carr. While I respect Carr for his accomplishments at Michigan and will forever be indebted to him as a fan for the National Championship that he delivered, I still think that Carr has been active behind the scenes and has played a major part in the dissension within the University of Michigan Athletic Department.
When Bo took over for Bump Eliott, under similar circumstances as RR taking over for Carr, Bump was sure to let anyone who complained about Bo's housecleaning that "Bo is the coach now" and encouraged them to support him 100 percent. Bump basically didn't tolerate anything that undermined Bo's position, even though he had been encouraged to "retire" and Bo was his replacement.
Fast forward to 2007. Carr was "encouraged to retire" and replaced by RR. RR immediately did exactly what Bo did: he turned the atmosphere around the football team from "Barton Hills Country Club South" to "Fort RR." Sadly, though, Carr never really showed support for RR, preferring to say he "doesn't want to get involved."
However, "someone" in the Athletic Department leaked info to Freep columnist Micheal Rosenberg, resulting in an embarassing wrist-slap for the team and compromising RR's tenure as coach. Am I saying that Carr was the leak? No. But I'm not saying that he wasn't, either. What is obvious to me, though, is that Carr has never supported RR like Bo would have if he were still alive.
The second "Domino:" Brad Labadie. As any UM fan knows, it was Labadie's negligence, along with that of Scott Draper, that is directly responsible for most of the confusion over CARA and countable practice hours. In other words, if Labadie and Draper had done their jobs correctly, there would have been nothing to "leak" to the Freep.
Were Labadie and Draper part of a conspiracy to undermine RR's tenure at UM? Was Carr involved? I don't really know, but I definitely subscribe to the opinion that there is a faction in the Athletic Department that is working against the interests of the head football coach and therefore the program.
This has been covered in a "nuts and bolts" fashion by Brian at mgoblog:
http://mgoblog.com/content/names-named-heads-should-roll
And in a more conspiratorial fashion by "The Other Brian" at Genuinely Sarcastic:
http://www.genuinelysarcastic.blogspot.com/
I think the "retirements" of both Carr and Labadie were the direct result of pressure from David Brandon to not allow their personal hatred of RR to keep them from working fully in the interests of the program. Brandon's time as Domino's CEO, along with his time playing for Bo, have made him more than capable of managing shark-infested, corporate waters, and was perfect training for handling petty power struggles from underlings in the Athletic Department.
I think that Scott Draper may be the next "Domino" to fall; I also think that RR is going to be given the benefit of an Athletic Department that is all on the same page and is working with the best interests of the football program in mind.
Rodriguez deserves a chance to succeed or fail without being undermined by those who are supposed to help him accomplish his goals. Thankfully, it looks like he is finally going to get it, at least for one season. Hopefully, one season will be enough to show what he is capable of doing.
Tinfoil hat rating: five out of five. There is definitely something going on here.
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