DB, Hoke, Corwin Brown, and "sunshine."

In Florida, there is a law informally known as the "Sunshine Act." It mandates "government in the sunshine." Supposedly, any decision or discussion of any pending act is supposed to be conducted in public. While the MSM has been blowing a lot of "Michigan Man" sunshine up the keesters of its readers, listeners, and viewers, I think a lot of "sunshine" would be appropriate in the University of Michigan athletic department.

As most ardent Michigan fans know by now, ex-QB Michael Taylor called into WTKA this week, and lambasted the athletic department for not even giving ex-safety Corwin Brown a courtesy call or interview when he applied for a vacant coaching position. Taylor, for those who don't remember, beat Ohio State while playing with a soft-tissue injury that is best described as "torn everything that touches any part of the scapula."

Brown, for those who don't remember, started for two years as a DB, with two victories over OSU during those two years. His resume includes seven years as an NFL player, six years as a college coach, getting as far up the food chain as DC at Notre Dame, and four years as an NFL coach. I know that Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison were busy recruiting, but a coach with Brown's history at least deserved a courtesy phone call.

At this point, the coaching staff looks like "a bunch of old white guys and one token African-American." If I were one of the African-American ex-player/alums who are upset with Brown not even recieving a phone call, let alone an interview, I would have to conclude that there was some racial bias here.

I can't really accuse Hoke of racial bias, though; it's more a function of the system than any overt racial bias. Coaches, like any managers, CEO's, etc, like to hire "their own people" when they take over. People have a tendency to become friends with those with whom they feel they have the most in common. In the coaching profession, by the numbers, that still seems to mean "mostly white guys."

So, because most of the coaches in the game are still white, whenever a coach takes over and wants to hire "guys he's been in the trenches with," most of those "guys" are white. Coaches tend to be coaches because they focus on one thing and one thing only: football. This is not true for all, but for many. Hoke seems to be a guy who lives and breathes football. Consequently, I can't imagine Hoke even noticing that his staff looks like an audition for a new Casper the Ghost movie. But it does.

Where does David Brandon fit in here? Once again, he is asleep at the wheel. While the football guys were coaching football, Brandon was sitting in a cushy office managing personnel and money for two major corporations. There is no way a person with his resume is not familiar with equal opportunity, nor is there any way he can not be aware of the demographics of the coaching staff.

If David Brandon was the leader he pretends to be, he would step in and mandate that Hoke look at qualified African-American candidates. I'm not saying that race should be the only criterion for hiring, though; I am simply saying that there are plenty of qualifed African-Americans to round out the coaching staff.

The University of Michigan supposedly prides itself on its diversity. Sadly, the current coaching staff is antithetical to that so-called "pride." The majority of players on the team, and the majority of highly-ranked recruits, are African-American. Couldn't the staff at least be close to "50-50?"

Maybe casting a little bit of "sunshine" into the hiring process would be a great start.

The four-year exemption...

Obviously, most of us didn't get "our guy," or any of them, as the coach at the University of Michigan. Most of the fans who follow football on more than a superficial level wanted someone else. Over the last week, I, as have many fans, have had my say. I have vented my disgust at the process. But the bottom line is that Brady Hoke is now the head football coach at the University of Michigan, and I hope he is given the same "four year exemption" that RR deserved but didn't get.

I wouldn't mind seeing a "fire David Brandon" website, and would love to see the power of the Carr-tel gradually eroded, but Brady Hoke should not be a target for those dissatisfied with the outcome of the search. The Carr-tel deliberately sabotaged RR's tenure at the University of Michigan. They damaged the program, causing much of the attrition and affecting recruiting when they leaked the "violations" to Rosenberg.

While they have, indeed, been rewarded by their behavior with the hiring of "one of their own," it would be hypocritical for those who disagree with the hiring to treat Hoke the way the Carr-tel treated RR. Besides, while Hoke benefitted from the Carr-tel's behavior, he was much to busy coaching football to be a part of the damaging behavior.

So, I plan on giving Hoke the "four-year exemption." I don't expect much more than 6-6 this season, and will see anything else as a bonus. But it won't be Hoke's fault that he has been given a team that doesn't fit his vision or his skill-set. David Brandon was conscious of what he was doing when he abandoned the spread, and any ire for another year or two of rebuilding should be directed at him: not at Hoke.

As far as Hoke goes, unless something drastically wrong happens, he has to be given four years to execute his plan. And I will be behind him all the way. It doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to see him keep Denard and figure out a hybrid offense, but I will support him in the decisions he makes for the next four years.

Any coach deserves that much: especially the coach at the University of Michigan. No matter who he is, or how he got there.

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.

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.

Show me, David Brandon: show me.

So, David Brandon has fired Rich Rodriguez. According to insiders, he was trying to goad him into quitting so that he wouldn't have to pay the buyout, but Rodriguez wouldn't resign. In other words, he lied again yesterday when he said no decision had been made. And, of course, he lied about not having contacted Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh's brother let it slip that there was some communication, saying Harbaugh was "done" with the Michigan job.

Really, Rich Rodriguez' only "crime" was not being part of the good ol boy network at Michigan. You know: those longtime Michigan assistant coaches who were part of a system that could win eight or nine games every year but almost never won against truly elite competition in BCS bowls.

So, now, David Brandon has decided to bring in "his own people," which probably means a return to the same old shit Michigan fans have endured for years. The alums are happy, but the operative phrase here is, "be careful what you ask for."

If Brandon does, indeed, bring the inbred coaching "tree" back, he is guaranteeing a return to the sub-elite level that has fooled most Michigan fans for years. Under the Carr regime, the pattern was the same for his last seven years. Michigan would be highly rated to begin the season. Fans would be excited, thinking "this could be THE year." Then, there would be at least one inexplicable loss that would remove them from National Championship consideration. If they made it to the Rose Bowl, they usually lost. If they went to a crappy bowl, they won more than they lost.

Most of all, though, every season ended in disappointment for Michigan fans who expected them to just once be as good as advertised. The reason was because the game had passed the entire coaching tree and the conditioning coach by. Michigan fielded teams that looked great on paper but were handcuffed by the playcalling and schemes of the coaching staff.

When Rich Rodriguez was hired, it looked like Michigan was finally serious about entering the 21st century. Unfortunately, a massive rebuilding job was neccessary. And there was a huge faction of good ol' boy network that was both ignorant and indignant over the fact that Michigan had gone outside the "tree" for a head coach.

Consequently, RR never got the support he needed to finish the job he had been required to start. And the ignorant and indignant among the fanbase and within the athletic department were allowed to gain traction. They found the "Michigan Man" button and pushed it for all it was worth. They conveniently forgot that neither Fielding Yost nor Bo Schembechler was a "Michigan Man" before coaching the Maize and Blue.

So now, the team is facing a much worse transition than the one it underwent with Rodriguez. The personnel is ready to start performing well next year, but only under the same offensive system. If a pro set coach is hired, which describes almost anyone in the good ol' boy network, there will be at least two more years of losing, followed by more of the same old teams that look a lot better in the preseason rankings than they do when the games have actually be played.

Most of all, they will probably lose Denard Robinson if they don't hire a spread-based coach. The QB depth chart will basically read, "Devin Gardner and a bunch of nobodies."

So, David Brandon: show me. Show me you made the right decision. Show me you aren't the incompetent, stumbling boob that you appear to be. Show me that you didn't tamper with Stanford's coach during the season and lie to the public on numerous occasions while representing the University of Michgan, only to lose your "sure thing" because he realized he didn't want to work for an idiot.

Show me that your decision was based more on performance than your ego. Show me that you are capable of hiring a head coach who has ideas that weren't formulated in Ann Arbor thirty years ago. Show me that you haven't just plunged the football program back into the a giant black hole of anachronism and nepotism from which there is no escape.

Show me that you have one shred of integrity. Show me that you have one shred of competence. Show me that you understand that changing back to the pro set has a lot worse consequences than changing the sauce at Domino's.

David Brandon: go fire yourself.

Uh, oh...here comes the shitstorm.

It should be an interesting, though painful couple of weeks for Michigan fans. Thanks to the MSM, somewhere around fifty percent of Michigan fans think a coaching change is appropriate. I have been on record numerous times as saying that RR should be given at least a fourth year. Really, though, I think the massive nature of the rebuilding job that was neccessary at Michigan will require five years to really see whether or not RR can succeed at Michigan.

Questions for a new year:

1. What do you think should happen?

I think DB should be true to his word and evaluate the team using more factors than wins and losses. I think he should realize that this team loves their coach, that things are being done the right way at the University of Michigan, and that RR is setting the foundation for a program that will compete for National Championships once a few more personnel issues are taken care of and the current players get a year or two older.

Also, it is well-known that the school that angered Bo more than any other was Illinois when they fired Gary Moeller without giving him enough time to fully institute a turnaround. A great part of DB's resume when applying for this job was his connection to Bo. If DB were to do the same thing to RR that Illinois did to Moeller, it would go against everything Bo ever taught DB.

If DB does the right thing, RR will stay.

2. What do you think will happen?

Sadly, I am getting the "vibe" that DB does business the same way it is done at Domino's: dirty, cutthroat, two-faced, and behind closed doors. As soon as Jim Harbaugh's season is over, the question of whether or not there was a secret agreement in place will be answered. As much as I would like to believe that DB has been honest and forthright while representing the University of Michigan in public, I am beginning to feel that he hasn't. At any rate, we'll know soon.

3. What happened in the Gator Bowl?

The Mississippi State offense vs the Michigan defense was, as most have been all year, a "men vs boys" scenario. The men won. As for the offense, if they didn't score, they didn't see the ball for a long time. This put a lot of pressure on them and kept them from establishing much of a tempo.

We all hoped Michigan would win. But most of us knew, in our heart of hearts, that this team wasn't yet ready to be matched up against a top-25 SEC team. Next year, the addition of Nebraska will add more depth to the Big Ten and improve the bowl matchups. This year, though, the Big Ten suffered.

If Nebraska had been in the Big Ten, the matchups would have been something like Nebraska vs Bama, MSU vs Florida, PSU vs MSU, and Michigan vs Baylor or Texas Tech. When a team that is barely in the top 50 plays against a top 25 team in a bowl, the matchups aren't exactly "even."

4. How 'bout them Spartans?

Baw, haw haw haw haw! Finally, a question that makes me happy.

MSU was exposed as a massive fraud in front of the entire country. The day before the game, Saint Dantonio said in an interview that their game against Bama would be an indication of whether or not MSU had truly arrived as an elite team. MSU answered the question quite convincingly: Same Old Sparty.

MSU's power game with one or two speed guys worked in the Big Ten this year, but they really needed a lot of help. Every trick play they tried worked. Every trick play against rivals in the standings by other teams worked. Wiscy didn't take them seriously in the first half, and paid for it by being knocked out of a chance at overtaking Auburn or Oregon in the polls and playing for a National Championship. MSU overachieved in the W-L column this year.

They deserve to be congratulated, but Alabama wanted no part of it. And now, neither will their fans. It has to gall Sparty that they were beaten so badly by their old coach, Nick Saban.

Nick Saban grew up a Spartan fan. When he took the job at MSU, it was his "dream job." And he did a great job while he was there. Sadly for him and MSU, the administration at the time was part of the trend for academic administrators to be more involved in athletic programs. Nick Saban was micromanaged by scholars who knew nothing about football in particular or athletics in general.

Saban was micromanaged so badly at MSU that his "dream job" became a nightmare scenario, and he felt compelled to leave. Of course, he would go on to win National Championships at two different schools. Neither of those schools, though, was MSU.

Any other opponent would have underrated MSU and not taken them seriously, like most of the teams on their schedule this year. Nick Saban, though, made sure that his team would not look past MSU and that they would give their best effort today. The results were self-evident.

What does this mean? Easy: Sparty was lucky and their fanbase overrated them, as usual. They were the equivalent of a four-loss Big Ten team playing a very pissed-off three-loss Alabama.

Cancel my subscription to Sparty's resurrection.

5. What was that bitching you were talking about?

Most Michigan fans will be bitching about today's loss. The Fire Rich Rodriguez crowd will have two altars: one with a RR voodoo doll and a shrine with a homemade Jim Harbaugh doll. Then, in a few days, when the decision is made, if it hasn't been made already, half of the fanbase will be pissed no matter which decision is made.

Most Michigan forums and blogs will be cesspools for the next week. Even venerable MgoBlog, which is by far the best Michigan fan community, is turning into a shitty place for the next week or two. Forums that allow trolling, such as those in the newspapers, will be even worse.

So, basically, the next two weeks are going to suck for most Michigan fans, no matter which side of the fence they inhabit. And if there is a coaching change, we could be in for another two years of mediocrity.

I guess we'll know in a couple of days.

A bag of questions for Christmas...

1. Is David Brandon being honest with us?

As we all know, DB has remained steadfast in his resolve to "evaluate the football program after the season is over." But is that what he is really doing? Or has he already made his decision? The answers to these questions will say a lot about DB's level of integrity.

If, as many Jim Harbaugh fans think, DB has already made a deal with him, it would be against everything DB has said he stands for. It would be in direct opposition to Bo Schembechler's mentoring, because Bo always said that a coach deserves at least four years to get his own people fully entrenched. I really think that in today's climate, a coach needs five years. Most of all, though, if DB has already made a secret deal with JH, it would mean that DB has been lying to us.

Think about that. This would not be a "little white lie" or a case of someone changing his mind. This would be a case of the Athletic Director of the University of Michigan lying repeatedly while representing the school in public. If DB is "taking his time," despite risking the loss of possibly the year's best recruit, I would actually respect him for it.

However, if DB has already made up his mind, has a secret deal with Jim Harbaugh or any other coach, and is lying to the public while being paid by the University of Michigan to represent their interests, I think he should be immediately fired with cause.

Obviously, I hope that is not the case.


2. How "commercial" is the Athletic Department about to become?

Brandon has made comments about "increasing revenue," and is now even looking into making the Big House available for weddings. We all saw the advertisements during the Big Chill. While I am always happy to see the Athletic Department prosper, how much "prosperity" do they really need?

I hope I'm wrong, but I see a very commercial future for the Big House. I can easliy imagine a time, within five years or so, when the end zone walls are littered with advertisements like a minor league baseball park. I can easily imagine flying back up to Ann Arbor to go to the "Domino's Pizza Stadium brought to you by Fifth Third Bank."

I can easily imagine projectile vomiting, too.

3. How 'bout that basketball team?

John Beilein has the Wolverines playing much more like a team than they have so far in his tenure. While I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to Manny and Peedi for helping the team get back on the right track, and helping to make it almost "cool" to play at Michigan again, I have to wonder how true the rumors of "philosophical differences" between Manny and JB were.

Last year, it seemed like most of the team stood around and watched Manny and Peedi try to carry them. This year, everyone seems involved as equals. A different player shines every game, and everyone makes their own unique contributions.

The most encouraging aspect, though, is that Michigan no longer appears to be at a severe height disadvantage to every team they play. I still shudder when remembering the Illinois team of two seasons ago get up to five or six chances on many offensive possessions because they looked like a college team rebounding against a high school team.

Thankfully, even though the team is still young, they have some height, and the guys with height actually have some basketball skills. In a year or two, they could realistically be starting someone 6-9 at small forward. The last time they could do this, with Sean Higgins, they won the NCAA championship.

This leads me into another question:

4. Is Tom Izzo really "losing his mojo?"

I have been on record in plenty of places as saying that I thought Tom Izzo pretty much pissed away his mojo with his prolonged dalliance with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Izzo's main strength has been his ability to wring every last ounce of effort out of his players, using variations of "for the team" or "Spartan for life."

I have also been on record as saying that it will now be a lot harder for Izzo to get that kind of effort out of his teams because his players now know that he is a hypocrite who preaches "Spartan for life" out of one side of his mouth while negotiating with the NBA out the other side. Everyone in EL, from players to trustees to fans, now knows that Izzo was one LBJ signature away from leaving them.

So far this season, I have seen nothing to make me change my opinion. Against Texas, the Spartans were outplayed and outhustled on both ends of the floor, and the scoreboard didn't nearly reflect how Texas outclassed the Spartans. The talent levels still aren't even, but for the first time in a long time, Michigan is playing harder every night than the Spartans are.

Will my predictions of the beginning of a downward spiral at MSU, starting with them being a 5/12 upset victim in the NCAA tournament, prove accurate? We'll see. One thing we do know is that between his own restlessness and Michigan finally shedding the odor of the Ed Martin scandal and once again becoming a viable rival in recruiting the state of Michigan, Tom Izzo's job at MSU has just become a lot harder than it was.

5. What is going on at OSU?

An investigation into free tattoos has uncovered the fact that players, including Terelle Pryor, have been selling their Big Ten Championship rings and other memorabilia. This, of course, is an improper benefit, because the average student isn't awarded a Big Ten Championship ring.

The most hilariously ironic development is that Pryor sold his "Sportsmanship Award" from the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. To me, selling those two awards tells me that Pryor doesn't care about his team, championships, or sportsmanship.

Predictably, OSU players are pleading ignorance. They are saying they didn't know it was against the rules. Inexplicably, the NCAA is buying their "woof tickets," and is only suspending them for five games, starting next year. In the ultimate show of arrogance, OSU plans to appeal.

The real penalty should be that each player should be declared ineligible from the point at which he recieved illegal benefits, and OSU should have to vacate each game they played with an ineligible player. Since it is too late to change the bowl matchups, though, they had to be allowed to play the bowl.

My dream result: OSU appeals after the bowl game is already played and the NCAA takes advantage of the opportunity to increase the penalties: the players are declared permanently ineligible, and they do have to vacate a lot of wins from this year, including the one over Michigan.

At any rate, I can't imagine Terelle Pryor subjugating his ego or his taste for illegal benefits anymore. I expect him to declare for the NFL draft, where he will be drafted as a TE/H-back in the fifth round.

6. Anything else?

Yes. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

What a week

Various thoughts about the week that was:

1. The Freep was officially wrong.

The NCAA agreed with Michigan's appeal of the charge of "Failure to maintain an atmosphere of compliance," lowering the charge to "Failure to monitor." This was the big one as far as Rich Rodriguez is concerned. Speaking of atmosphere, the one around the program suddenly "did a 180." Finally, after all of the negativity involving the program, they got positive news from the NCAA.

Of course, the Freep didn't see it that way, but pretty much everyone else in the media did. That constitutes a major victory, not only for the school, but for RR. Many hold his job security in question, but I don't, and I think the decision handed down this week "iced" it for RR being able to stay and finish what he has started at Michigan.

More on RR later, but the best part of the whole thing was when Dave Brandon spoke of the need for an apology from the Freep. He may not have named them, but it was obvious who he was talking about. Brandon knows that the Freep fabricated much of their "evidence," and that Rosenpuke's hatchet job was just that: a hatchet job.

2. A Big Win at the Big House.

If there was ever a time for Michigan to pull off a big win, it was this week. Fresh off of the good news from the NCAA, the team won a wild one against Illinois in a game that had a higher score than each of the last three basketball games between the two schools. This game had everything that ESPN Classic likes: lots of points, lead changes, big plays, and a thrilling OT finish. We may see this game on ESPN-C for a long time if we are lucky (and Illinois isn't).

This was a game of vindication. The team proved that it wasn't going to have the same record as last year. Tate Forcier came off the bench to lead his team to victory against a team that trounced him last year. Most of all, the defense came up with a big stop when it really, really needed one. And it "only" allowed 14 points to Illinois in the last half of regulation: seven of them resulting from a Tate Forcier turnover deep in his own territory.

If the school gave game balls to everyone who deserved one, the Freep would probably call it a major NCAA violation.

3. RR does the right thing: again.

Last year against Iowa, RR pulled quarterback Tate Forcier in the fourth quarter. There was no information available during the game, but RR was roundly criticized for it after the game. It turned out that Forcier had sustained a concussion, but some so-called "fans" still ragged about it for the rest of the year.

Fast forward to yesterday: RR pulled quarterback Denard Robinson from the game in the fourth quarter. There was no information available during the game. Unlike last year, Michigan pulled this game out, and RR won't be criticized for it. But the reason was the same: Robinson was exhibiting concussion symptoms, and RR held him out for his own safety.

RR has been a lightning rod for criticism since he arrived in Ann Arbor. One of the most common criticisms both the media and the fanbase like to level at him is that he is a "win at all costs coach." For them, I have one question:

Is there any other coach in America who would have made the same decision in crucial games where his job status could be on the line not once, but twice?

AFAIC, most coaches would have found a way to get the star QB back into the game with some bogus question to "prove" that he was OK.

Other coaches talk about family atmosphere, and how the health and safety of their players is paramount, but RR walks the talk. RR wants to win as much as anyone on the planet, but he won't compromise the well-being of his players to do so. I can only hope that the same "fans" and media that have trashed him for almost three years will finally give him credit for being the kind of man and coach that he is.

4. About that job status...

I think it can be safely said that the "RR hot seat" rumors can officially be put to rest. Michigan has shown improvement this year despite the woeful lack of age and experience on defense. He has built the offense into a potential video game, and has rebuilt the team in his own image, laying the foundation for Michigan to truly arrive in the currrent millenium.

Hopefully, the so-called "fans" who have been bitching and whining about RR ever since it became evident that he couldn't snap his fingers and turn Threet or Sheridan into bona fide D-1 QB's in 2008 will finally give it a rest and stop their chronic complaining. RR is here to stay, and the school will be much better off for it, possibly as early as next season.

5. What: me defense?

Defense is a question that will be answered during the off-season. GERG's days at Michigan may be numbered, or he may get a pass for having to play so many new players this year. At any rate, they played a lot better when they were allowed to be more aggressive yesterday. The play that saved the game was the old "jailbreak" (at least that's what they call it at MSU) blitz. Almost everyone rushed the QB, and someone got to him before he could hit a wide-open reciever in the end zone.

While most fans, even the most loyal and learned, seem to think that GERG's dismissal is a fait accompli, I am not so sure yet. The defense does have four games left to improve enough to justify keeping him. "Only" allowing Illinois fourteen points in the second half and making the key stop in OT indicate some improvement to me. We will see how it plays out.

6. David Brandon is THE MAN.

During the season, and especially this week, David Brandon has shown the strong leadership skills that got him the AD job at Michigan. He has come out with strong statements regarding RR, the NCAA investigation, and the Freep this week. I have no idea what he is going to do in the offseason, but I do trust that he will make the right decision. It seems like the athletic department is finally in good hands again.

It is about time.

"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.