Bill Stewart Must Go (dot) COM

1. Craig James, Adam James dad, has been a pain in the ass to Leach since his son showed up at Texas Tech.  Craig was constantly calling coaches trying to get Adam playing time.  When the coaches told him to knock it off, he started calling administrators.  And James was probably using his position at ESPN as leverage to get Adam more playing time.
2. Adam James sufferred a concussion.  Instead of showing up at practice and acting like he wanted to participate, he showed up wearing street clothes and using his concussion as an excuse to be a total douchebag.  Besides, he probably hated Leach anyway since I’m sure Leach treated him poorly due to the behavior of the father (see above.)
3. Leach saw James acting like a douche and there’s really no place for that on a team.  He probably would have sent most players home but, since this was Craig James’ son, he decided to extract a little revenge.
4. Leach had Pincock lock his f*cking pussy ass in a place so dark that the only way he knows he has a dick is to reach down and touch it
5. James knew Leach was being an ass because of Craig James so he decided to call his daddy and cry about the poor treatment.
6. Craig James called Texas Tech administrators and told them to either fire Leach or he would break the story of mistreatment on ESPN, similar to the Mangino story at Kansas.
7. Tech fires Leach.

Of course, I might be completely wrong.  But reading all the stories, it looks like this was simply a pissing match between a Little League dad and a coach who was mad at the dad and douchebag son.  If Craig James didn’t work for ESPN, this probably would have went away quickly.  But since James does work for the World Wide Leader, Leach is on the unemployment line and Craig and Adam James are the most hated people in Lubbock.  Wonder if Leach likes Morgantown?

It’s tough being a big-time college football coach.  Rich Rodriguez has endured two difficult years at Michigan.  Up until now you could only wonder what Rich thinks when he is alone.  Well, wonder no longer as we present you with the internal thinkings of your favorite coach, Rich “I’m not a douche, I just keep you fresh” Rodriguez:

	It’s so cool to be in Michigan. Yeah, we went 3-9 last year and 5-7 this year but I think things are turning around.
	I heard West Virginia beat Pitt. Well, good for them. I’m glad to hear Bill Stewart is doing good.
	Wonder why Bill Stewart can beat Pitt and I couldn’t? Oh well, that’s the past.
	I almost played for a National Championship at West Virginia.  We were so close. Why can Bill Stewart beat Pittsburgh? Hmmm…focus, Rich, focus. Get the practice schedule ready before the NCAA gets on your ass again.
	I’m going to miss Billy Martin. He had my back. Wonder what the new A.D. is going to think of me?
	How the hell did that moron Bill Stewart beat Pittsburgh? I’m so much smarter than he is.
	Wonder if it’s snowing in West Virginia yet? I wish they still liked me and I could go back there sometimes to visit.
	How the hell did we go 5-7 this year?  I can’t believe I hired Greg Robinson.  He couldn’t win shit at Syracuse and I hired him.  What was I thinking?  Maybe he had dirt on me…can’t risk it.
	I remember when I said I wanted to be in West Virginia for the rest of my career and all those people believed me. Good times, good times.
	Why did Terrell Pryor pick Ohio State? I could have used him. I’m stuck with Tate Forcier and he sucks.
	How did Bill Stewart beat Pitt? I bet he cheated and practiced more than 20 hours. I’m calling the NCAA and going to report it. I’m going to do it. I’ll just disguise my voice and they’ll never know. That will be a funny joke…like the joke I pulled on WVU when I told Calvin McGee to say WVU said racist things to him. That was funny. No, I better not call the NCAA…they know my number now and probably have caller ID. And they’re mean.
	These damn hair plugs are not worth the money I paid for them. Oh no, don’t think about the hair Rich…I’m getting all choked up. Damn it, I’m crying again. Luckily I keep tissues on me at all times.
	I wish I had beaten Pitt and West Virginia loved me. I could have played for a national championship and wouldn’t have to be dealing with these Michigan people. They’re always so angry.  No no no…stop it Rich. That’s not healthy. We’re happy at Michigan. I’m happy at Michigan. Next year is our year. We’re happy at Michigan and plan to be here the rest of our career. Pull it together, Rich.
	Wonder how the cheerleaders at WVU are this year? I kinda miss them I guess. No, I don’t miss anything about West Virginia. I hate WVU.
	I could have gone to Alabama. Wonder if Nick Saban wants to trade me jobs?
	Okay. I have to focus on Michigan. No more WVU thoughts. I hate West Virginia and they hate me. Okay…that’s done. Now I gotta figure out how to fudge a little on these practice slips and fix this team. Next year is the year. We’re winning the Big Ten next year.
	I wonder if there will be any job openings next year? I’ll take anything.

Want a playoff in D-I college football?  The NCAA says “f*ck you.”  Well, they didn’t exactly say that.  They said, “Visit our website playoffproblem.com and ‘wait until you realize how much more contentious a playoff would be.’”  It’s obvious why the NCAA is against the prospect of a playoff and it has to do with “playoff creep.”  Here:

In every sport, brackets began with a few teams.  Then schools felt slighted, and so the brackets grew to accommodate more teams.  And grew and grew and grew.  It is known as “bracket creep.”  The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship started with eight teams.  It’s now 65, and some college officials want to expand beyond that.  The NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision began with a four-team playoff years ago, and now it’s been expanded to 20 teams.  Think about what bracket creep would do to college football: it would greatly diminish the importance of the regular season, and would forever change the bowl system.

And, in that respect, they might be right.  College basketball is looking at maybe expanding to 96 teams or so other ungodly number.  I’ve advocated saying to hell with it and just put every team in the bracket.  It would add like an extra 3 games.  But some of the stuff the website says is just bullshit…not because of the site but because of the BCS.  And here is my biggest problem with the BCS, from How do teams qualify for BCS games?:

3. Other teams can qualify automatically as follows:

A. The highest-ranked champion from the MAC, MWC, WAC, Sun Belt or C-USA qualifies if it finishes in the top 12; (or top 16 if ranked higher than the champion of a conference that has an automatic berth)

B. Notre Dame qualifies if it finishes in the top eight.

WHY?  Why does Notre Dame qualify if it finishes in the Top Eight?  Why doesn’t Notre Dame have to work in the same system as the other non-automatic qualifiers.  Notre Dame should not be given an automatic bid just because they finish in the Top 8.  They should have to compete with the WAC, MAC, SMAC, CRAC, LOJAC and every other team that’s from a non-AQ school.

Notre Dame has never won a BCS bowl since the system has been in place.  The last traditional New Year’s Bowl they won was in 1994 at the Cotton Bowl.  They were on a 9-game losing streak in bowls until last year’s Miracle in Hawaii when they beat the powerhouse Warriors.  Notre Dame blows huge donkey penis.  The other thing that blew my mind was that Notre Dame received $1.3 million from the BCS last year despite going to the f*ckin’ Hawaii Bowl.  How is that even fair?  Notre Dame hasn’t done anything in football since Lou Holtz left.  Argh.

But, I digress.  The launch of the website proves that the NCAA is going to continue fighting against a playoff in D-I football for as long as possible.  I’m not pro- or anti-BCS but there are some inequities in the system that should be fixed.  Like how the f*ck Notre Dame gets $1.3 million and Army and Navy get $100,000 each.  But until the outcry becomes deafening, it looks like we’re stuck with the BCS and those f*ckin Irish of Notre Dame.

A yet to be identified person in South Bend lived out everyone’s dream by punching Jimmy Clausen in teh face at CJ’s Pub on early Sunday morning.  Clausen was involved in an altercation in the hours after a double-overtime loss to Connecticut on Saturday, taking a punch to the face in the incident, sources told the Chicago Tribune.  Clausen suffered at least one black eye as a result of the punch.

According to the Tribune, the particulars of the incident are not completely clear but a bartender working at CJ’s Pub said the incident “absolutely did not take place inside the bar.”  The CJ’s said Clausen and family members were at the bar after the Connecticut loss — along with other Irish upperclassmen apparently gathering after their final home game at Notre Dame Stadium.

It is another in an assortment of off-field incidents involving Clausen that date to his first year on campus. He was cited in June 2007 for transporting alcohol as a minor. In August 2008, pictures appeared on the Web site “The Big Lead” depicting a not-yet-21 Clausen and three teammates at what the site labeled “Beer Olympics.”

That punch must have felt so good.

Thanks to the 35th State Blog and actual reporters who perform, you know, investigative journalism, Andy Kniceley has been forced to admit the incident at Fairmont State University and apologize.  Kniceley is the Chairman of the Board of Governors of Fairmont State University and the publisher of the Times-West Virginia, Fairmont’s newspaper.  Not surprisingly, despite the fact the incident occurred in Fairmont, the Times failed to report on the incident until it became apparent that other newspapers around the State were picking up on the story.  Kniceley verbally assaulted an FSU assistant coach because he believed his son didn’t play enough in the October 31st loss to Concord.

Kniceley used his power as the publisher of the Times to issue the apology on the front page of today’s edition of the newspaper.  He said his actions were those of a parent and not as the chairman of the Board of Governors but he now realizes he can’t separate the two.  Personally, I see them as the actions of a blowhard parent who is used to getting his way in every circumstance but that’s just me.  I’m glad to see that Kniceley could finally admit his mistake but I’m sure it is the result of pressure being applied from many around the community.

As Kansas’ football season disintegrates, the allegations continue to pour in about their head coach Mark Mangino.  And reading ESPN’s latest article on the situation, it becomes clear that Mark Mangino is just a big, fat asshole.  Here are a few highlights:

Former Kansas wide receiver Raymond Brown, a senior last season, said Mangino would often “say personal, hurtful, embarrassing things in front of people.”  Brown cited two examples. He said that once, his younger brother had been shot in the arm in St. Louis. Then came a game.  “I dropped a pass and [Mangino] was mad,” Brown said. “And I said, ‘Yes, sir. Yes, sir.’ The yelling didn’t bother me. But then he said, ‘Shut up!’ He said, ‘If you don’t shut up, I’m going to send you back to St. Louis so you can get shot with your homies.’ I was irate. I wanted to hurt him to be honest with you.”

Brown said another teammate had confided in the team that his father was an alcoholic and the player dreamed of becoming a lawyer.  “One day, [Mangino] said in front of the entire team, ‘Are you going to be a lawyer or do you want to become an alcoholic like your Dad?’ ” Brown said.

It just kind of goes on and on.  Some grabbing of players and some poking but it seems like the psychological warfare that Mangino used against his players is his most egregious offense.  There’s little doubt in my mind that Mangino will be fired at the end of this season and not just because they’re going to miss out on a bowl.  This is recruit-killing material here.  Who would want to go play for a coach who is going to use personal and confidential information against you?  Many players look at their head coach as a father figure who they can trust and confide in and Mangino has used that position against those players whenever he sees fit.

Mangino deserves to be fired.  Not just because he ate the Orange Bowl mascot but because he has taken being a disciplined coach to the extreme and beyond.  Demanding excellence from players is fine but Mangino has crossed the line.  At the end of the day, Mangino is just an asshole.

See, a diagram of where Mangino truly belongs

Only in Fairmont could the community college’s chairman of the Board of Governors, publisher of local paper and president of the West Virginia Press Association get into a fight with a college football coach.  Our very own Andrew Kniceley apparently didn’t like his son’s playing time in Fairmont State’s recent loss to Concord and, instead of writing about it in the next addition of the Times-West Virginia, decided to go after the coaches.

“Three plays, you have got to be kidding me three f—ing plays,” Kniceley yelled at the coach, according to a report by Fairmont officer M.A. Swain.  Kniceley’s son, Josh Kniceley, an offensive lineman, stepped between his father and the coach, preventing Kniceley from making contact.  Fairmont officer D. R. Neal wrote that he stepped between the two men, too.  You really gotta feel bad for the son in this instance, I think.

Kniceley yelled at the coach, “I hope you get it and I hope he tells you where to stick it,” according to Swain’s report.  I think the “it” he is speaking of is the swine flu and the “he” that he is speaking of is Abe Vigoda.  As to where to stick it, only Abe knows for sure.

This is funny on so many levels. Surprisingly, Andy’s paper, the Times-West Virginian, hasn’t covered the incident yet.  However both Morgantown and Charleston papers have made references to the incident.  At least at the other FSU, the Chairman of the Board of Governors, Jim Smith, only calls for Bobby Bowden to resign.  Here at our local FSU, the Chairman of the Board of Governors wants to throw down.  According to the 35th State Blog, the throwdown would be something like this:

We don’t necessarily disagree with the 35th State.  We just sure as hell wish we were there to witness the incident and take some pictures.  Maybe Kniceley thought this was pee-wee football again.  But, alas, he’s fighting with the coach of a WVIAC school about playing time.  Stay classy, Mr. Kniceley.  Stay classy.

In a finding that should surprise absolutely no one, Michigan failed to file forms tracking how much time players spent on football during the 2008 season and the offseason last spring.  The fact that the logs are required by the NCAA makes it a pretty egregious offense.  And the NCAA continues to investigate.

Rodriguez is in trouble at Michigan.  Between the 3-9 season last year and the complete collapse of the Wolverines this year, the heat was already on high for Rich.  And now, with the NCAA breathing down his neck, Rodriguez has to be wishing he just stayed in Morgantown.  At WVU he was treated like a king for the most part, even after the Pitt choke.  In Ann Arbor, he has turned into an embarrassment that will likely miss a bowl game again after losing to Ohio State.

Even worse for Rich, he can be fired for cause if the NCAA, the Big Ten or the school determines he has committed a major violation of NCAA rules or he has intentionally committed any other type of violation of NCAA rules.  If the NCAA finds violations and Michigan really wants to get rid of him, it appears they can do it “with cause,” which means he won’t even get a buyout.  Poor Rich.  But it’s hard to say he hasn’t earned it.

Oh, that colorful Larry Johnson. The Chiefs finally got sick of him and cut him from their roster today. In case you hadn’t heard, Johnson had a hard time staying off the ol’ Twitter.  He decided it was a good idea to post a gay slur, a few insults to his subscribers and then question the competence of head coach Todd Haley.  Apparently someone at Kansas City didn’t like that too much.

Johnson’s had plenty of problems in the past but this one finally pushed the Chiefs over the edge.  And it didn’t help that his production is down.  So now it’s time to just sit back and collect paychecks for Johnson until another team comes sniffing around.  And they will.  If Michael Vick can murder a bunch of dogs and still find a career in the NFL, Johnson can surely find a job after some ill-advised tweets.

An entire article just so I could use this picture...