May We Abandon Ship Now?

Friggin' in the Riggin'

Washington State head coach, Mike Leach is at it again. Leach who was dismissed during a successful run at Texas Tech after his abusive nature was brought to light, now faces similar charges at his new school. Following a dispirited blow out at the hands of Utah (49-6) Leach ripped into his team. During the team's practice on Monday, star wide receiver, Marquess Wilson walked off the field and quit the team.

Washington State announced the same day that he had been suspended.  The Cougars are stinking it up on Palouse Ridge, their losses include an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Univ. of Colorado.  They didn't schedule the Univ. of Idaho this year, thus sparing us from a perfect storm of ineptitude. Leach latched out by comparing some of his seniors to corpses. He also banned his players from using Twitter. Smart move, you don't want the word to get out.

"Our effort today was pitiful," Leach said. "It starts with our coaches. Our coaches, starting with me and starting with the assistants, we have to be able to reach our players and get a good effort. Square one is a good effort and our effort was horrible. "Right now we're a team that doesn't give a good effort, which means that all of the stuff that we do in the weight room and in the meeting rooms and practices is a waste of time if we don't give a good effort."

Oh, but Leach wasn't through. He saved his most biting comments for the offensive line: "Our five couldn't whip their two," Leach said, according to CougFan.com. "Sometimes they only brought two. Our five couldn't whip their two. Which means, if five of our guys went in an alley and got in a fight with two of theirs, we would have gotten massacred. That's just ridiculously inexcusable. It was one of the most heartless efforts up front I've seen; and our defensive line wasn't any better."

"According to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Wilson refused to finish a pushup drill and left the field 20 minutes into a two-hour workout. The Spokesman-Review reported that Wilson was suspended by the team, which at this point could just be a matter of two sides arguing about who broke up with who first" (excerpt courtesy of Deadspin) Should Marquess Wilson return to the team, you can bet Leach will have a cool, dark room equipped with a padlock on the door ready for him.

Wilson's parting shot came in the form of a letter delivered to the Visalia (Ca.) Times-Delta.  He alleges mental and physical abuse from Mike Leach and his coaching staff:

Dear Cougar Nation: It is with a heavy heart that I announce my decision to forgo playing football for Washington State University. I realize the school is saying that I am suspended for violating team policies and may return next week, but this is a lie. This is an attempt by the athletic department to cover up what is really happening in that locker room.

A Steamy Pile of Lubbock B.S.

Mike Leach’s replacement at Texas Tech, Tommy Tuberville, also made the sports headlines for all the wrong reasons on Saturday. Shortly after his team drew a penalty for having 12 men on the field, cameras caught Tuberville in a verbal altercation with graduate assistant Kevin Oliver. After a brief exchange of words, Tubes grabbed Oliver's headset and yanked it off his head. In the process, he also yanked Oliver's hat to the ground. 

 Asked about the incident after the game, Tuberville offered a weak and thoroughly unconvincing excuse. "He was on the field, and I reached to grab him and pull him off. When I pulled, I missed his shirt and I grabbed his (headset) and his microphone ripped off his head. I was trying to get him off the field. "He's out on the field, and we're trying to get him off. I missed his shoulder, and grabbed his … It wasn't anything to it.”

Oliver wasn't on the field, Tuberville, the team's leader lost control and acted like a pissy old grandmother. Worse of all he tried to pass it of as nothing, and Oliver will probably concur with Tuberville and say that it was nothing.  Except that it can't be brushed off like that, Oliver is Tuberville's employee and striking your employees should be frowned upon.  Even at Texas Tech, a school that seems to make it a point of pride to hire prickish assholes (James Dickey, Bobby Knight, Pat Knight, Billy Gillespie, Mike Leach & Tommy Tuberville)   

I started a Joke

Add Joker Phillips of the U. of Kentucky to the list of college head coaches now without a job. Phillips joins former U. of Idaho head coach Robb Akey on the exclusive list. Frank Spaziani (Boston College) isn't on it, but he will be soon, the same for Ellis Johnson at Southern Miss ,  Jon Embree of Colorado and Derek Dooley of Tennessee.  Joker was fired by A.D. Mitch Barnhart shortly after a blow out loss to Vanderbilt Univ.

The Joker, after mulling it over accepted Barnhart's offer to finish out the season. Why not? it's not like he has to be somewhere.  Phillips and the Wildcats will have one last shot at avoiding an SEC shutout in the season finale against the U. of Tennessee, or as Deadspin put it "the Wildcats head to Knoxville in two weeks to take on Derek Dooley's volunteers, which is the football equivalent of a corpse kickboxing a slightly fresher corpse" 

Phillips had conceded after a terrible showing against Vanderbilt, that he wasn't long for the Kentucky job.    “Where I’m at? I get it. I get this business. I get the criticism. Nobody in this program wants this place to have success more than me, but I understand. I understand this is a business that is based on results, and we haven’t gotten the results right now.” Just like in Florida, the results are finally in and  Joker was right.... he wasn't long for this world.

Boise St. Univ. Can Suck It!

"Idaho petitioned the Idaho State Board of Education for the right to leave the WAC, which will likely cease football-related operations next year and continue playing FBS football as an independent, the right was granted"  Huh?... New Mexico St. Univ.  which is in the same exact boat, made that decision months ago, without such formalities. For the Aggies, a letter released (leaked) to the press by A.D. McKinley Boston settled matters without much fanfare. 

The Univ. of Idaho took the first step towards rebuilding for the future by firing Robb Akey, Jason Gesser was then named as interim head coach. It's not likely that he'll be a viable candidate for the job though, Gesser admitted to being a little overwhelmed after he was handed the position. Gesser stated "that he was so preoccupied with everything swirling around him that he wasn't sure what type of offense San Jose State runs" 

After the Vandals were drubbed 42-13, it's safe to assume that the  SJSU offense is of the "run it down your throat"  variety.  As is BYU's who put a  52-13 pasting on Idaho the following week.  Gesser not knowing his opponent's offense, is downright.... offensive. I'm guessing that Gesser  is  just keeping the seat warm until Mike Leach gets fired at WASU and moves  to Moscow.... Idaho, not Russia as some in Pullman may wish. 

The FBS Bottom Feeders

( an inverted top ten poll ranked in the order of a school's chance of winning no more than one game, if any)

10.   Idaho   1-9, (UTSA & Utah St. remain on the schedule, situation: fubar, Interim head coach Jason Gesser is in over his head)

9.     NMSU  1-9, (the Aggies and their fans were a miserable no show against San Jose. Yet to come, BYU and Texas St)

8.     Akron  1-10 (the Zips were the first to ten losses but they won't be the first to eleven. They  don't play again until Nov. 20th. against Toledo)

7.     Southern Miss  0-10, (from a So.Miss message board: "Umass won today, no pressure, EJ. (head coach,Ellis Johnson) you POS"  I'm not the only one that pays attention to these things)

6.     Massachusetts  1-9, (beat Akron for first ever D1 FBS victory, finish against  Buffalo & Central Michigan another win wouldn't be that far fetched )

5.     Eastern Michigan  1-9, (3 point loss to Central Michigan, up next is Western Michigan, the odds are good for the Eagles)

4.     Hawai'i   1-8,  (last three games vs. Air Force, UNLV & South Alabama, the last two are at home, and winnable. The Warriors could finish on a two game winning streak)

3.    Colorado  1-9, (since sole win over WASU, Buffs have been outscored 317-82, Washington & Utah are up next)

2.    Kentucky 1-9,  (Joker Phillips has nothing left to lose, a gimmee game against  Samford and a season finale against underacheiving Tennessee work in the Wildcat's favor)

1.   Kansas 1-9, (It's come to this for Charlie Weiss, Iowa St. next week followed by West Virginia, Jayhawks last hope for two wins will be against the Cyclones)