Lots to Talk About

Man, oh man, but it has been a busy few days in college sports.  Where to begin....

RUTGERS FIRES MIKE RICE

After video of Coach Rice physically and verbally abusing his players in practice, pushing and shoving them, kicking them, firing basketballs at their heads, and shouting all sorts of homophobic slurs at them, Rutgers officials fire Rice, and justifiably so, in my opinion.  Officials at my alma mater, Robert Morris University, where Rice coached for three years issue a bland "this was not indicative of Coach Rice's behaviour while at Robert Morris" statement and then throw a cone of silence around everyone in the athletic department.  Very disconcerting.  Rice, plain and simple, is a bully who abused his power, and did it to kids who were in no position to challenge him.  Good riddance to him, but I fear that while his behaviour may not be typical of every coach in college athletics, I am guessing that it is more pervasive than we may think.

RUSHEL SHELL LEAVES PITT

Highly prized recruit running back Shell, now a sophomore, and slated to be the #1 running back for the Panthers this season, announces that he will be transferring out of Pitt.  Hey, he's a 19 year old kid, he's entitled to change his mind, and if he doesn't want to be at Pitt, God bless him.  It will be interesting to see where Shell ends up.  There is much speculation that the evil Todd Graham, who recruited Shell to Pitt, is now manipulating him to come to Arizona State. Hard to imagine Graham being even more sleazy than he already is, but this would do it.  Shell's character and sense of commitment have come into question since these announcement.  I don't know what is true and what isn't, but history is littered with guys who thought they were bigger than the the Whole, and who were never heard from again.  Hope it turns out okay for him.  Pitt, while they may suffer a setback in the short term, will survive without him.

STEVEN ADAMS TO LEAVE PITT AND TURN PRO

Another blow to the Pitt basketball program with the seven foot Kiwi deciding to enter the NBA draft.  It seemed to me that in his freshman year, Adams was not quite ready to compete in the Big East, so I don't see how he's going to be ready for the NBA after only one season of college ball.  I think that another year in college could possibly have elevated Adams to Lottery Pick status in the NBA, and additional millions of dollars, but, as was demonstrated in the Louisville game on Sunday with the horrific injury to Kevin Ware, the end of a career is only one freak injury away, so let's wish Adams well.

It is interesting to note that Adams becomes the second big man to leave Pitt basketball, following Khem Birch last year.  Is this trend developing, and if it is, why is it happening?

PITT FIRES WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH AGNUS BERENATO

With her team winless in two consecutive Big East seasons, this move is as defensible for the Pitt administration as it was inevitable.  Still, I feel bad for Agnus.  I got to meet her two years ago at the WPIAL Sportsmanship Conference held at the Heinz History Center, and I found her to be charming and pleasant, and I thought her talk to all of the WPIAL athletes gathered there that day to be quite motivating and moving.  I don't know what the future holds for her, but I hope that better days lie ahead for Coach Berenato.

Some Quick Hit Thoughts....

• Different school, different conference, but Mike Rice gets jobbed by the officials for the second year in a row in post-season play.
• Two tough OT defeats by local schools within 14 hours: Robert Morris loses by 3 in OT to LIU, and Pitt gets nailed by a Kemba Walker buzzer-beater in the Garden.
• Up to Duquesne to salvage some local post-season glory in the A-10.
• First round Big East loss could cost Pitt a #1 seed in the NCAA. This will be agonized over by the pundits, but could anything be more meaningless?
• How about The Ohio State University suspending Jim Tressel for two games next year over his out-and-out violation of NCAA rules. Now, if the NCAA decides to not add any further punishment, then this will set all time records for hypocrisy by the NCAA. If some mid-level D-I school or coach did the same thing, the coach would be fired and the school would be put on two years probation. Let's see what happens to Coach SweaterVest.
• Pirates-Orioles on TV tonight. A chance to see John Russell in the coaches box for the O's. How great is that?

I'm Back!! and a Word or Two on Sleazy Coaches

Yes, I'm back. To those of you curious as to where I was, well, Marilyn and I took a one night getaway to The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake in Ohio. It is kind of spooky to drive through a summer resort town in the middle of January. Everything, and I mean everything, is shut down. The Lodge, however, remains open year round and is a very nice place. We were able to swim in their indoor pool house while looking out at the snowy grounds and a frozen Lake Erie. You could also hear the the ice cracking and shifting if you stood outside. Very cool!


Changing subjects, allow me to pose this questions? Is there anyone, as a group, with less integrity that college football and basketball coaches (and the Universities that hire them)? Pete Carroll leaves USC one step ahead of the NCAA posse, and USC then hires Lane Kiffen away from Tennesse after Kiffen spends ONE YEAR at Tennessee. Kiffen also, allegedly, contacts the kids he recruited for Tennessee and tries to get them to switch to USC. And, of course, any kid who is now at USC or at Tennesse, because the committed to a COACH, can't leave and go elsewhere unless they sit out for a year. What a sewer!

We, of course, have seen this in Pittsburgh, going back to the 1970's when Johnny Majors left Pitt for Tennessee, and Jackie Sherrill left for Texas A&M. More recently, Ben Howland, sowed up his deal with UCLA, all the while swearing his allegiance to Pitt. Fortunately, Pitt hoops has become a program that is a destination, not a stepping stone, so I'm guessing, hoping, that Jamie Dixon will stay for awhile. However, I foresee my own alma mater, Robert Morris, losing Mike Rice if he puts another 20+ win season on the books.

I can't wait for the day when some University President stands up to a coach and says, "No, we are holding you to the contract that you signed." I'm also waiting for that shiny new Lexus to show up in my driveway some day.

Why do Universities allow this to happen? I know, I know - it's all about the money. The Integrity Genie got out of the bottle a long time ago, and he ain't coming back.