The Perils Of Program Jumping
Gary Pinkel got it right. After turning around the moribund Mizzou football program, he put down roots. He rebuffed overtures from other programs and accepted contract extensions/upgrades instead.
Mizzou is an excellent job now – with competitive facilities, a strong recruiting base and solid fan support – and Pinkel decided to reap the benefits of his good work.
If only Rich Rodriguez had demonstrated such good sense. His life would be much less stressful today.
You will recall that RichRod had the West Virginia program rolling before he began listening to the siren’s call. The Mountaineers had become perennial BCS contenders on his watch.
Still, he nearly jumped to Alabama in 2006 before deciding to stay at his alma mater. The next year he jumped to Michigan.
Much ugliness ensued, including protracted litigation (RichRod ignored the buyout language in his West Virginia contract), the on-field collapse of the Wolverines and now off-field allegations of NCAA violations.
Will he eventually find happiness in Michigan? Perhaps, since he has scored first-rate recruiting classes since his arrival.
Also, the alleged excesses in his training program speak his commitment to winning.
But RichRod will have to plow through much turmoil first. Maybe, just maybe, he has second thoughts about leaving home.
Had he stayed at West Virginia, he could have stacked up victories ala Steve Spurrier during his epic Florida run. Had RichRod stayed home, he would have ruled that state for years to come.
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while waiting for awaiting Troy Glaus’ emotional return to active duty:
- Isn’t it odd to see Tiger Woods struggling to close out tournaments? Is he using Kryptonite-brand putters these days?
- Now that Andre Smith finally signed in Cincinnati, will Michael Crabtree come in from the cold?
- What could be more fun that putting young ballplayers under excruciating pressure and then televising their reaction? Is the Little League World Series the best reality show ever?
- And is it too soon to predict that this kid will never play in it?
- Why do fans go to such extremes to get sports memorabilia?
- Do you suppose Broncos fans are missing Jay Cutler yet? How is this whole Kyle Orton thing working out for Denver?
- Did Bronco fans suffer Cutlergate flashbacks Sunday night?
QUIPS ‘R US
Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:
Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “Tennis’ Williams sisters joined the Dolphins’ growing ownership group, but confusion ensued. Serena ended up carrying six times against Tampa Bay on Thursday, and Ricky is seeded No. 2 in the U.S. Open.”
Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just announced retread Byron Leftwich will be their starting quarterback on opening day, which is about as exciting for Bucs fans as a kid waking up on Christmas morning and unwrapping the big gift from Mom and Dad — a 1,500-piece jigsaw puzzle of kittens. Byron Leftwich? Really? Seriously? Not to be mean, but what’s it say about the NFL teams in the State of Florida when we have two quarterbacks from Marshall — Leftwich and Chad Pennington of the Miami Dolphins — starting for our teams? The other starter — David Garrard of the Jacksonville Jaguars — played his college ball at East Carolina. Welcome to Florida — the non-BCS division of the NFL.”
Ray Ratto, San Francisco Chronicle: “August tells us very little about September. The Detroit Lions went 4-0 last year, then went into a bit of a tailspin - 0-16. Two years earlier, Carolina, Cincinnati, Dallas and the New York Giants all ran the kids’ table, and only the Cowboys made the playoffs.”
Dan Daly, Washington Times: “How wild is this? You can now insure your fantasy football team - with Lloyd’s of London, no less - to protect yourself against catastrophic injury (read: Tom Brady blowing out his knee in the first quarter of the first game). Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about stuff like that. I mean, it’s already included in my umbrella coverage.”
David Whitley, FanHouse: “CNBC estimates $150 million in winnings were shifted last year when Tom Brady was injured. The way the government and fantasy sports are expanding, expect Obama to push a bill requiring all Americans to have fantasy-league insurance.”
Steve Rosenbloom, ChicagoTribune.com: “Milton Bradley claims he’s the target of racist comments from fans but turns sarcastic and cynical when asked to provide examples. It doesn’t get much more cowardly than that. But it does get worse with the worst free-agent signing in Cubs history. Even after being quoted verbatim, Bradley claimed the media twisted his comments. The only thing twisted is this guy’s mind. No, wait, the other thing that’s twisted is the Cubs’ refusing to dump this guy, or even discipline him. But wait. There’s still more spinelessness in the name of honesty. Bradley told the media to talk to Derrek Lee and Ryan Theriot if it wanted ‘politically correct’ comments, the implication being that Bradley tells the truth and his teammates are liars or too gutless to speak honestly. This, from a guy too gutless to detail the alleged racial comments he has heard. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s no team discipline, no teammate punching this traitor in the face, no organizational pride.”
MEGAPHONE
“It’ll be interesting to see how much more Carson Palmer can take if the Bengals have another bad year. Sooner or later, he’s got to take stock of his career and wonder whether he can have the career he envisioned when he got to Cincinnati. They still haven’t signed their No. 1 draft pick, an offensive lineman who’s a loop job anyway, and they’ll expect him to start when he comes in. It just all works against having success at the highest level of the NFL. I lived it; I know. He’s a great talent who is going through the Cincinnati Bengals’ car wash, and there’s no wax.”
Former Bengals star Boomer Esiason, talking last week to Sporting News Today.
Give the Cardinals credit for doing exactly what they needed to do in August - take advantage of the schedule. The Cubs have played like the Cubs and have not been able to keep the pace.
The story regarding Duncan yesterday just shows what went on the past few years with Chris. Look, we all know that he was a borderline major league player at best and this organization wasted a first round pick on him. The pressure was there from beginning to end. What went on was not the fault of Chris but a manager who should have evaluted him based on talent and not his last name.
S.W.- This is clearly your best and most logical post of the year! Congrats and go CARDS.
I think I speak for many when I say that Dave Duncan is going to be the first pitching coach in the Hall of Fame (as a pitching coach). He’s been nothing short of brilliant.
I think I also speak for many when I say he needs to shut the hell up and grow up. I get he hates the media, thanks in no small part to that no-talent ass clown Slaten. But his kid should not have been playing as much as he was playing. Is Chris better than Rasmus? Holliday? Ludwick? Schumacher? Hell, even Ankiel? NO across the board. Yet he got way more playing time than you’d expect. You’ve had it good in this town Dave. The fans think the world of you, and you are employed by one of the best organizations in all of sports. I get that blood is thicker than water, but quitting here is NOT going to make your son a better baseball player. Chris has heart and gives it his all, be proud of that and accept the fact that he just couldn’t quite make it. And don’t think the world is going to end in Cardinal Nation if you hop on a train…
Good sweep of the Nats. Cards are winning the ones they are supposed to win, and that is why we are 10 games up (LOL @ Cubs!)
S.W./Tim–
Thanks for putting down some great thoughts. Agree.
Two things I’ll add to the Duncan discussion. 1) Duncan did his part in 2006 to help us squeak into the playoffs with 22 HRs (trust me, I am more than fine with having won 83 games…we went in as the division winners and took care of the METS at home and the fan favorite Tigers…).
He hit 21 in 2007 but his average fell by 30 while his strike outs doubled.
Like players such as Belliard and Weaver, Chris will always have a place in Cardinal lore because of the WS win.
And that’s where it should end.
2) His dad can do whatever he wants. I agree that his exit will do nothing for Chris’s career. And what a crappy message it sends to his son. Look, life can really suck. But he got to play in the BIGS for one of the best teams in the history of baseball. And he has a ring. Not bad for a borderline player.
There is NO guarantee you will get 12-14 years in the Show. Chris got five. He hit 55 HR and had a .257 average.
The best thing a Dad can do is congratulate his son for making the most of his time. And either challenge his son to aim for next year. Or start planning for a new life. And at age 29, there’s a lot left to live.
WHERE IS THE BLUES NEWS!!!!!! First pre-season game is two weeks away. Come on already.
One last thing.
You may hate soccer/think it’s lame etc.
Fantasy football. And now INSURANCE for fantasy football. On the sports page?
At least David Whitley got off a good line about it.
F.
Rich Rodriguez may have won more games and owned the state had he stayed in West Virginia but he’d still be in West Virginia. If not the worst state in the world it’s in the worst 3. I remember playing in Bluefield, W Va and we had to wear helmets in the bullpen because the rednecks would throw pennies at us. A very nice compliment to a W Va woman is “nice tooth baby”.
The Cardinals are showing the major leagues why only the NY Yankees have more world series titles. And with the unlimited money and media base in New York, it isn’t even fair to compare their teams to anyone else. And the Cards should have at least 2-3 more championships — such as in 1985 and 87, when they let two inferior teams (and an umpire in 1985) steal what should have been theirs. St. Louis is clearly THE class baseball town, period.
In contrast we have Chicago — another huge city with vast financial resources, that can’t seem to win a title in anything important.
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Oh — I agree SW and Tim. Dave Duncan needs to concentrate on being the excellent pitching coach he is and appreciate the support he gets in baseball’s top organization. We’re all really sorry that your son couldn’t cut it, but thanks to the usual nepotism, he got five years in the bigs he probably didn’t deserve to get. Get over it, Dave. You want to cut off your nose to spite your face, go for it — but guaranteed you won’t be better off in your lame attempt to punish the front office.
Ah, what would I do without my daily Milton Bradley update? Maybe they should change the name to “Miltsheet” LOL I kid but keep it up Gord, all Cub-suffering related items are priceless…
I used to root for Michigan growing up…never thought I would see the day when Mizzou would be a 1, maybe 2-touchdown favorite if they played AT Michigan but it’s here…
…Duncan and Larussa are as big a reason for the last decade+ of success as anybody. They’re also tempermental old men, set in their ways. Dunc feels we “owed” Chris better treatment. Maybe on a level he’s right, but realistically they needed to bring us about one more ring to get that kind of teflon, this ain’t Boston or Chicago!
“Now that Andre Smith finally signed in Cincinnati, will Michael Crabtree come in from the cold?”
One thing that has always bothered me is rookie draftees holding out. Okay, they have lived their entire life with the dream of someday making it to the NFL. Now that their dream is fulfilled, shouldn’t they just embrace it with all the gratitude in the world and actually prove something first before drawing the entitlement card?
Hopefully as time goes on Chris Duncan will be remembered more for his role in 2006 than for the drama of this year. Everybody always assumes these injuries just clear up in a few weeks but that is not always the case.
Average people can’t take out the trash with a bad back, let alone hit an offspeed pitch. Maybe he eventually recovers and finds a new team. If not, he still has a World Series ring, a boatload of cash and was able to spend several years on the same team his father coached. Not bad for a first-baseman on a team with AP.