I spent this past weekend in Minneapolis with some friends from the business school and though the trip limited my posting, it did provide a surreal experience. The Gophers were off to an excellent start at 7-1 (3-1) before losing to Northwestern in a game they, arguably, should have won. Oddly reminiscent of the Badgers for the past 8 years. The Badgers are tumbling largely thanks to ineffective coaching and are struggling to make a bowl appearance. Oddly reminiscent of the Gophers for the past 11 years. It was a bizzaro world role switch. In the end, it didn't matter if you were wearing red or yellow because everyone left disappointed.
Obviously the penalty on Bielema is a topic of significant discussion. I read Bielema's explanation here. Bret's version of events:
"When I came down and asked the official what was the cause for the foul, he said he was being interfered with to do his job," Bielema said. "I told him that in my opinion he wasn't really doing a good job and that's what drew the 15-yard penalty."
What I want to know is whether Bielema's explanation is a witty summation of what he actually said or is he purporting that telling the official he wasn't doing a good job is the entirety of what drew the penalty. I find it hard to believe that a Big Ten official was so thin skinned as to throw a flag for "I don't think you're doing a good job." In fact, he's more likely to thank Bret for the well-mannered criticism. How have we not seen dozens of these penalties across college football if the standard is so low? I cannot remember ever seeing a similar penalty, and I've watched plenty of replays where you can literally read the coach's lips as he yells "you're a f-ing moron" at a ref and still no flag. Maybe it's because I've worked as an umpire and a referee, but I find it disingenuous to act so coy about the exchange. Anyone who has officiated will agree that you will not survive long as an umpire, judge, or referee if you have rabbit ears.
As a matter of necessity, referees do not discuss games with the media and so Bielema's statement is our only source of information. Further explanation is warranted, though likely not forthcoming.
Monday, November 3, 2008
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19 comments:
No discipline, from the coach right on down to the players. No organization whatsoever. How does it keep happening that this team can't seem to get the correct personel on the field at the correct time? Poor, POOR coaching. Time for someone to send those photos of the Town Drunk to Biddy. Don't let the door hit your big fat arse on the way out of Wisconsin Bret.
Cheetha, (from a previous post) you seem like you are probably a nice person, so I'm going to put this in a nice way- If you are proud to be a Badger, wouldn't it sicken you to know what this guy is getting into OFF the field? Not setting much of an example for young, impressionable student athletes I'd say! And I have no reason to believe anybody would be lying about his off-field daliences; a friend of mine who works in the beverage industry in downtown Madison has seen Bielema's indescretions first-hand, and she has no reason to lie about it.
And he's a lousy coach!
Many people knew of B's off the field antics before, but the differance was he was winning, so no one really cared.
Please see John Jardine, Gary Moeller, Larry Eustachy, Bobby Knight, etc., etc.
Barry's silence on Bret's coaching speaks volumes.
Needless to say, I only heard about Bret's dalliances roaming the bars only a year or so ago and my first thought was...'I certainly hope Barry sat down with him about this' because if some alumnus living 6000 miles away heard about these rumors, I'm sure they are known to Barry.
Eh, whatever. I'm sure the election will be more entertaining than the next Badger game...
You know BAMA hired a coach named Price who showed up in my town, Pensacola, in 2003. Well, Price partied in a local "Gentleman's Club."
What follows is a quote from on-line Enquirer (Sports Illustrated did a big story on it):
"University president Robert Witt said that Price failed to live his "personal and professional life in a manner consistent with university policies."
Price, who was hired in December from Washington State, never got to coach a game at Alabama.
He asked Witt for a second chance, but the president declined."
Kudos to BAMA!
common i am a badger fan but this is madison for crying out loud. there really aren't to many moral standards in that town unless bielma would start hitting on junior high aged girls. beasides the crappy job hes doing with the football program is enough to fire his ass
Oh, I agree about Madison versus Alabama, and I agree that Bret's lack of coaching SHOULD be enough -- but it won't be enough until we suffer a couple more years.
I believe that UW has a high standard of ethics for its staff in positions of power -- especially if negative national publicity might be involved.
(This is hypothetical, as I had not heard of such off-the-field behavior before.}
hey bb see u at happy hour at tf u should be done coaching by 5:00.you must do a half as### job at pratice because you only play a half of a game on saturdays. want to go deer hunting on nov 22 .
Hey barry you need to put the clamps on otis campbell aka BB more time should be spent on preparing these young men to play 60 minutes of football. and hold them accountable for there mistakes on the field. hey brett this is not mayberry. keep up the nite life and you might be coaching at mayberry community college.
Jeremy,
Badgers will be fine - Big Ten as a conference is average at best this year. Bret B did the squad no favors in East Lansing on Saturday, but we've still got UI & Minn to put in the W column. W over Cal Poly gets us to a better bowl than a 6-6 record would bring. 7-5 with a bowl matchup that is more than winable could yield 8-5 season w/momentum for '09 going into off-season recruiting. By the time the seasons' done, Bret looks like a stud and will celebrate accordingly.
Today Fox Sports listed Bielema's as the worst coaching performance of this season. Michigan's Rodriguez is a couple spots better at #3. Thats got to give everyone a warm feeling all over. If only UW had beaten Michigan then Bret would be #3 and Rodriguez could be the worst.
Are we seriously considering the Minnesota and IU games as wins for the Badgers? With the way this team has performed, there are no "sure" wins, well, other than the Cal Poly Game.
12 knots, I wouldn't even say Cal-Polygrip is a lock at this point in time.
You know, it's funny to me that Brett knows the distinction between a good and bad job in other positions on the field but doesn't know his own. Here's the definition of a bad coach (off the field) from an ex-badger athlete. A coach that spends more time picking up 18 year olds from lecture hall and a coach who values the bottle more than his job. Bret has to have "handlers" to make sure he doesn't screw up off the field! Not his players, HIM!! The best coach acts as a handler to the players. How can he suspend and then cut a player for domestic violence when realistically he is no better? I was heavily recruited in my sport before coming to Wisconsin and noticed the best teams have coaches with the most integrity. He has none, now he has a garbage team. No mother wants to send her son to a coach who acts like a 10 year old who just located his nuts for the first time. I'm just waiting for him to pick up some over-achieving blonde student who graduated high school a shade too early for adulthood and be pegged for statutory rape of a minor. Then he can save Alvarez the position of having to fire him and buy him out. Bret, can't wait to see a sign outside your house with the "offender" label.
Dumb question, but is Bielema married??
I don't believe he is married. The post before the married question post was a WOW post. See, this website is not a rant about a coach just having a down year--I think Wisconsin fans are pretty forgiving of a down season, but there's more to it than meets the eye.
The "more to it than meets the eye" is the level of arrogance that is coming from the UW Athletic Dept and Football in particular. Most people do not care for that attitude in anyone. The combination of arrogance and non-performance is absolutely deadly. The salary levels have something to do with it too. For some time the athletic dept has been pushing the fans around, i.e. increased ticket prices, money over loyalty when it comes to reseating at the Kohl Center from the fieldhouse, foisting lousy preseason games on us and charging full (or larger)prices for them, etc. You still have to treat the customer with consideration. Oh for the days of success and humility, ala Dick Bennett.
I think its quite funny reading the comments on this site. None of you obviously remember the situations that Barry was associated with in his initials years at UW. The drinking and college girls...do any of you remember the cheerleader??? Oh...and he still does these things as AD and he's MARRIED. Welcome to big time college athletics. If you actually think this doesn't happen at a majority of other colleges your a walking around with blinders on.
Do any of you realize Alveraz went 0-4 once in the Big Ten and that was after a Rose Bowl was won...
This is a great site for discussion but please try to look further back than 2yrs ago. This has all happened before and will surely happen again...
Hey Dipshit, if you read more than post you would realize that Barry's off the field antics HAVE been discussed.
"Do any of you realize Alveraz went 0-4 once in the Big Ten and that was after a Rose Bowl was won"
When Bret wins a Rose Bowl, he gets a free pass on a 0-4 Big Ten.
I think thats the whole freaking point of the website. Go put your Members Only Jacket on and remember "The Good Ol Days", we aint waiting around for that though.....
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