How Can There Be A Jihad Without WVU?

Tongue firmly in cheek with that headline, but this is what I'm referring to. We certainly don't like DickRod, but knowing him, anything he does at Michigan was at least tried out in Morgantown. And don't lie, until he left WVU we were all for this guy that turned two and three star recruits into world beaters.

Personally, I doubt anything he has done at Michigan relating to spending more time than is allowed for football activities is more than bending the rules a bit. Seriously, he is no Barry Switzer.

If I was Michigan fan I would be happy to some extent that he is trying to do something to bring the program back to one of the top football programs in the country. He's the kind of guy that is going to do things to let everyone know who is in charge. To set the tone. The first year is usually the hardest. You see people leave the program, and you see him going after his type of player. It wasn't pretty at WVU and it hasn't been pretty at Michigan so far. But there's a huge difference between what is alleged at Michigan and say what is alleged at USC. I won't go as far as to try to prove something is OK by pointing out that something else is much worse. But it will be interesting to see what, if any, sanctions are handed out at both schools. If Michigan gets the same or worse sanctions than USC it might actually be time for a Jihad. A Jihad against the NCAA. Not that they haven't already done enough to deserve one.

Rich Looks Poor

If I have a contemporary in the less than lucrative but certainly exclusive niche that is sports humor songs, it is Ryan Parker. He gives us what I wouldn't, or couldn't do to this point, make a Rich Rod song. And he does it so well!!! Golf clap and a thousand cocktails to you, sir! Go check out the rest of his songs, Mountaineer fans. Because really, what else do you have to cheer for?

More funny videos from the "ryanparkersongs's channel" channel at Heavy.com

Hat Tip: The Wiz

Why Yes, We Do Have Guns...It's America

I can't count the number of times that Rich Rodriguez cut off a line of questioning he didn't want to address while at WV. And having said that, I wonder why he says he's ready to move on but can't quit taking jabs at WV.

But, he added, it's nothing compared to West Virginia because, "There are more
than ['wanted'] posters [with my face on them]. They sell a lot of guns in that
state."

I've yet to see these wanted posters. I'm sure they exist, at least in someones mind, but it's not as if they're posted at every entrance into the state. And sure we have guns. There's a lot of hunting that goes on in these hills. But what we also have is a fairly low murder rate. The simple truth is that while a lot of people in this state might hate you, there's very few if any that actually want to inflict physical harm on you, Rich. You did great things while you were here, and no one can deny that. But if this thing is going to die out, it's going to have to start with you. I may not be helping things move along with this post, but I don't think I've been the typical antagonist WV fan in all this either.

I have no problem seeing that things were screwed up in the administration and athletic department. And I'm sure that had at least something to do with you leaving. But don't ever forget that you brought this on yourself when you promised that you would be here for a long time. Until you accept responsibility for your words and actions, nothing is going to change.

Thursday Coal Tattoo

Rocking the Elvis in flannel cause it's what I do.

Some good Heisman talk about Pat White from Mr. Heisman Pundit. If you missed him on the In The Bleachers podcast, head over and give it a listen.

White didn’t start every game of his freshman season, he has helped lead the Mountaineers to three 11-win seasons, with a shot at a fourth. Can any quarterback in the history of college football say likewise? If WVU can once again get to 11 wins, White will go down as one of the all-time winners in the annals of the sport. There is probably not a more powerful argument to be made on his behalf in his quest for the Heisman.

Things aren't going quite to plan with the renovations at Rutgers Stadium. The new seating might still be going in as planned, but the new sound system and other amenities might be a no go. Instead, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band will provide entertainment between plays.





This link is broken, but they title it Learning On The Fly. Apparently a piece on WVU center Mike Dent. Until MSN fixes the link we'll keep it simple. Just keep 'em chest high, Mike. Then we'll work on that whole blocking thing.

You know the world is about to end when I link to anything Stewart Mandel said, but this is kind of funny.

(to hell with trying to make this look good)As for Rodriguez, I can't help but wonder how a man making millions of dollars could surround himself with such incompetent representation. From his agent
(Mike Brown) who tried to strong-arm West Virginia by floating non-existent job
offers from other schools to his lawyer (Marv Robon) who likened the coach's
buyout to a form of slavery to whichever legal wizard led him to believe a court
would let him off the hook for $4 million based solely on an alleged verbal
promise made by the school's since-ousted president, Team Rodriguez was not
exactly the greatest set of minds ever assembled.

Lastly, ESPN will be in town tomorrow for the "Title Town" thingy. I won't be here, so if anyone wants to email me a recap of the event, fire away. Me? I'll be at the Pitchfork Music Fest this weekend, enjoying Spoon, Dinosaur Jr., and The Hold Steady. As well as a bunch of bands I'll probably be a fan of after the shows.

Spoon-The Underdog


The Hold Steady-Chips Ahoy


Dinosaur Jr.-Whatever's Cool With Me


Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday Coal Tattoo

You owe more than you have? Better grab a shovel and head down to the mine, son.

Story from Detroit Rock City Free Press- Michigan to pay $2.5 of $4 million buyout.

Rodriguez will pay $1.5 million, spread over three years, beginning in 2010. U-M said it will pay the balance of the sum, $2.5 million, immediately and cover Rodriguez’s legal fees later.

A little disappointing in that most West Virginia fans would rather know that the total amount was coming straight out of RRod's pocket. But we'll take it. Right?

Why settle now? Apparently someone was not in the mood for being deposed or releasing documents.

Either someone just agreed to pay for him (unlikely as he probably has had at least partial backing all along), Michigan finally told him to pay (more likely since the upcoming depositions of Michigan President and A.D. were finally going to drag them into this), or Rodriguez wanted to settle for personnel reasons such as the upcoming season/wanting it to end/wanting to make West Viginians happy (no).

What's the net gain for West Virginia after all this is said and done? Don't look for a link to be appearing anytime soon. I have no idea, but I'll be talking with someone tomorrow that might know. Or at least have a good idea.

And who's the most pissed off person in Michigan right now? Probably John Beilein!

Beilein's first payment was made this past spring, and at the time he added a letter warning he might still contest it at a later date. A very obvious statement that if Rich Rodriguez was able to get out of his buyout, he would use that precedent to fight.

Rodriguez agreeing to pay, removes that possibility for Beilein. The fact that Michigan is also going to pay for over half the buyout plus Rodriguez's legal fees also has to gnaw at Beilein just a bit. It is just human nature. That total paid by Michigan could be close to $3 million by the time the billable hours are tallied, or nearly double Beilein's own negotiated buyout.

Michigan refused to pay any of Beilein's buyout to WVU, stating that was not their problem.

Sucks to be at a football school, huh?

There's a blog for pretty much everything, including the Rodriguez vs. WVU case. Wish I would have seen that sooner. But maybe my answer will come from there if things don't pan out tomorrow.

So now that this all seems to be in the bag, is this the end?

My biggest question is whether West Virginians will finally let this go. One headline today read: "Rich Rod Will Pay!" A degree of bitterness is understandable, but a football coach leaving for a higher-profile job should never be the top news story in the state for months on end. There will no doubt be celebration today, but it's time for everyone, from Gov. Joe Manchin on down, to move on already.

I agree whole heartedly with that statement. This whole mess has been painful to watch. I'm 100% glad we got the money, and I suppose it's worth it. But I hope we learned something from it. Not just as West Virginia fans, but as fans of college football. I hope that we never put someone, be it a coach or a player, on such a high perch again. So we don't become so emotionally attached to anything but the school we root for again. I hope also that Arkansas, Alabama, and yes Michigan were taking notes. Because the silliness coaches have been getting away with over the past decade needs to end. I know at least someone in Tennessee was watching.

I applaud West Virginia for going after Rodriguez for breaking a contract extension that he’d signed just a year before bouncing for Ann Arbor. More universities need to follow West Virginia’s lead. I’ve long found it grossly unfair that players are held to their commitments and lose a year of eligibility for transferring schools, while coaches are basically mercenaries and are free to take any job they chose, regardless of contracts they’ve signed. West Virginia took this as a personal affront and they decided to go after their money and I don’t blame them.

OK, let's all go back to being fans of the game now!

Let's Go!.....................Mountaineers!

Our National Spotlight Nightmare Is Over: Rod Agrees To Pay Up

More later. Like after work later, but here's a story:

Former West Virginia football coach Rich Rodriguez agreed to pay a $4 million buyout clause and settle a lawsuit that the university filed after he broke his contract in December.

The settlement was reached on what had been a key deadline in the case. As part of the discovery process, a judge had given Rodriguez until the end of Tuesday to reveal whether the University of Michigan or anyone else had agreed to pay WVU on his behalf.

Flaherty said a document was produced, but he could not immediately divulge
its contents.

Adding pressure to Rodriguez was a lawsuit WVU filed in a Michigan court last week, asking a judge to order Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and President Mary Sue Coleman to testify in depositions. A hearing on that request had been set for Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday Coal Tattoo

Damn! You drink too much and you wake up with a coal tattoo.

Bad news for the Big East, George Selvie is planning on coming back for his senior season. He had a blast at the sausage party we call the Playboy All-American photo shoot.

Q: How many of your teammates asked if you saw any Playboy playmates?
A: “A lot of them. They thought I was at the [Playboy] mansion. I told them it wasn’t at the mansion, it was at a resort [in Phoenix]. They were like, “Man, what kind of Playboy All-America team is it if you don’t get to see the playmates?”

My thoughts exactly.

Garrison: Rodriguez was distraught before quitting

Really? You mean losing a shot at the national title upset him? Hmmmm. Rodriguez's agent was threatening to shop Rodriguez around from the moment Garrison took office.

Garrison testified that during his first meeting with Brown in July 2007, Brown admitted to him that he had pushed Rodriguez toward the Alabama job he eventually turned down and that he would continue to push him toward other jobs.

According to Garrison, “Brown did not believe West Virginia University was up to keeping, what he called — and I was surprised when he said this — ‘Product Rodriguez’ and that there were other jobs. He wanted me to be aware that he would continue to ‘shop,’ as he put it, ‘Product Rodriguez’ on the open market.”

Skip the first few paragraphs of that story if you click the link. It is one of the worst openings to an article I have ever read.


Big East men's basketball opponents schedule has been released (pdf). West Virginia avoids playing any of the big boys more than once. You should have come back Joe. What the hell are you going to do with all that money anyway?


WVU finishes 30th in the director's cup. Marshall does so bad they aren't ranked. Seems about right.

Have a great weekend everyone. Stay safe.


Happy Gilmore - Bob Barker Beat Down

Monday Burns The Mountainlair, But Don't They All

Later today I'll be on Every Day Should Be Saturday doing the Visiting Lecturer series on West Virginia. So check back often. I'll fix the link when the post goes live. And as you will read, I have a problem with slate roofs. Particularly mine. I spent oodles of money turning this...

into this....

Or this if you're into full frontal Victorian beauty...

But we had a prayer meeting with the contractor today over a leak, so I'm a bit burnt about the whole thing. Anyhow, on to the links of the day.

Finally, a feel good story about West Virginia football.

But there's seemingly always a ray of darkness surrounding the WVU program.

"(Robon) went over the fact (Garrison) and Heather Bresch went to high school
together and that Mike had been a lobbyist for Mylan Pharmaceuticals, where
Heather Bresch is a CEO, and, of course, the EMBA issue," Flaherty said. "We let
him explore that completely and the president answered every question fully and
completely."

"One doesn't have anything to do with the other," he said.
"We have a pure contract case. That President Garrison has stepped down has
nothing to do with it. They've tried to make it an issue of Coach Rodriguez's
credibility versus President Garrison's, but we don't believe it'll come down to
that because it's an issue of law. If it does come down to that, we feel very
comfortable."

Back up quarterback Charlie Russell is giving up football. And that kind of make the depth chart shallow at West Virginia.

Lastly, in the no big surprise file, Marshall season ticket sales are down. The why is because many Mountaineer fans had to buy Marshall season tickets to go to the Coal Bowl last year in Huntington.

ESPN Doesn't Really Know What Rich Rodriguez Looks Like

Yeah, what the hell. I'll write here today. I followed this link from ballhype to see what the latest was with the buyout thing, and found out that ESPN will pretty much use any middle aged balding white guy picture to represent Rich Rodriguez. I have no idea who that guy is, but I'm sure it isn't Rich Rod!

I don't really want to go into the story, because it seems like I've more than said enough about how I feel about the whole mess over on FanHouse. So go there if you want to read more. Also, check out Fifth Column for more background on Garrison.

Update: The picture is gone, but the story remains.