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Do you have a pair-a-dime for a cup of coffee? By Richard Linde, 8 August 2004 The heavy cannon fire has subsided, but not all is calm at Montlake. As the University of Washington prepares to start its football season, a miasma of uncertainty lingers over Montlake. Yet, hope springs eternal. In a matter of weeks, if not sooner, the NCAA will promulgate its investigative findings, which, according to speculation, could involve the loss of football scholarships and a post-season bowl ban. In the back of the NCAA’s collective mind, supporting this negative speculation and being ancillary to the current set of violations being weighed, are a set of facts involving the four major violations of the past, the bungling of the Malloe-inspired investigation, the media overkill, college football’s “new paradigm” and the cavalier operation of the athletics department with respect to writing memos and the hiring of a coach who exercised “poor judgment.” Furthermore, this coach, Rick Neuheisel, allegedly has expressed a lack of contrition for his past misdeeds – to the point of suing the NCAA for shooting its mouth off before it knew the facts of his case and, as a result, the suing of his former employer for “unfairly” terminating his contract. In other words, members of the NCAA infractions committee most likely don't have a warm, fuzzy feeling about the U-Dub, even though they are dealing with a picayunish set of violations (i.e., two auctions, some penny-ante pools, undercharging for boat rides, and the skipper's encounters with recruits). I can hear the committee now. Er, uh, something's decidedly wrong at Montlake, but I can't put my finger on it. Can you kill a virus with a sledge hammer? Welcome to Montlake, fellows. Their pending sanctions, the Ritalin and NoDoz situation, and the outcome of the lawsuits, all add to what could be a grim uncertainty for next year. Indeed, the Emerald City is full of conundrums, a mysterious place for running a college football program. You have to have been born and nurtured in Seattle to understand it all. Guys, we're not sleepless in Seattle, we're schizoid in Seattle. Can you believe that Martin Crane would have named his two sons, Frasier and Niles? To confound the NCAA even more, the cast at the UW has gone from Fantine to Inspector Javert and from Jean Valjean to the saintly Bishop of Digne. Before the present cast was hired, the former ones were performing "The Comedy of Errors" one month and doing "Hamlet" the next. Meanwhile, faced with the prospects of a losing season, Keith Gilbertson has yet to prove to some people that he is a capable head coach at the Pac-10 level, myself not included. To others, AD Todd Turner’s record at Vanderbilt is less than scintillating, considering that his former job at Vandy was allegedly restructured because of declining revenues -- regardless of what Turner and President Gordon Gee will say about the Commodores’ crusade to change the direction of college football. It might take a year or two for the smoke to clear, for these tumultuous times to subside and for clarity to rule the day once more, if there ever was or has been such a thing during these last 12 years at the UW. But forget this nonsense – there is nothing we can do about it – so let’s talk football. Behind this shadowy backdrop – and that’s all it is – I’m supporting Gilbertson and his football team with a certain zeal this season. None of this “zany milieu” was the fault of Gilbertson, and he deserves a chance to show his brilliance as a football coach, his capable persona having few bedfellows. I will drink to his success along with my wish list for this season.
Whacky Montlake is no one's paradigm. As the zany professor once said, "Hey, buddy, do you have a pair-a-dime for a cup of coffee? Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com |
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