I don't know if I believe him 100% or not. But I like him and I certainly don't think he was conspiring to make sure Miles didn't go to Michigan. I'm not quite as sure I believe him when he says his bosses sort of forced him into it though. Terry
Herbstreit <t>I take Herbstreit at his word that he was not trying to torpedo either LSU or Michigan. I think that only seems reasonable in the fevered minds of overwrought fans of the teams involved. To the rest of us it sounds rather paranoid.<br/> <br/> Kind of like the Husker fans who gripe that our team gets no respect in the media. You have to win games to get respect. Sorry. But I digress.<br/> <br/> Still, this is an embarrassing gaffe for ESPN and Herb and his bosses certainly have some 'splainen to do. <br/> <br/> Kirk Herbstreit is not an "analyst." He doesn't analyze anything, neither does anyone else in sports media with the arguable exception of the anonymous staffers they use to crunch statistics. Neither is he a "journalist" in any meaningful sense of the word. He is a pundit, a talking-head, a sports announcer. A little humility would go a long way to prevent them from doing stupid things.<br/> <br/> Reporting the rumor about Pelini was just as irresponsible, fortunately it turned out to be true.<br/> <br/> ~Matt</t>
If Herbie were conspiring to keep Miles away from Michigan, bless his heart!!! I like him a lot regardless of his Buckeye roots. I think he bends over backwards to be objective when it comes to Michigan and do not think what he did was prompted by ill intent. I suspect he either got suckered or did not confirm his source.
Aw, Bobda, don't pretend...we know you have a soft spot for all of us Buckeyes. You just don't like our dogs.
I can't imagine any malicious intent. His version seems quite reasonable to me.....he was told by a source he believed reliable about the Miles situation. He brought it to the attention of ESPN and they in their collective wisdom made the decision to go public....Herbie is not a journalist. Herbie does not decide what breaking stories are to be aired on ESPN nor when they are to be aired.....he has egg on his face no doubt only because his is the face on camera....the network editors are at least as much to blame. Personally, I like Herbie, like Bobda, I think he bends over backwards to be objective - much to the dismay of many of his Buckeye brethren - and is quite knowledgeable of the game and provides great insights. He is perhaps my favorite analyst. fyi, I would have been thrilled had Miles ended up in that state up north....
I agree that Herbie has developed into the best on air college football analyst. Mike Tirico is the worst, plus now he's ruining Monday Night football.
Tirico also has filled two hours of the 1 to 3 time slot on ESPN radio that was left open when Dan Patrick exited ESPN. The third hour is hosted by Stephen A. Smith. I don't listen anymore. Except for Mike and Mike in the AM and Saturday Football Gameday, , ESPN radio just plain sucks.
Herbstreit got jobbed by someone. He took one person's input and ran with it. Not malicious just naive. He should stick to stating his opinion about the relative strengths and weaknesses of college football teams. That is what he comes closest to being qualified for.
What's scary is that ESPN's propensity to get "jobbed" can alter the outcome in the real world. I'm sure somebody probably planted the story for their own reasons, and ESPN won't tell us who that was. As a result of this manipulation Miles *might* have changed his mind about going to Michigan and it *might* have affected the outcome on the field of the SEC Championship. One of the rules of journalism is to report the story, rather than become the story. If anyone can play ESPN this easy, it could lead to total chaos. The good news is that ESPN is catching so much heat about this that it is unlikely to happen again.
I thought it was uncalled for that Michigan chose to leak that they had permission to speak with Miles before the SEC CG. That certainly had the potential to negatively impact LSU's outcome in such an important game. IMHO I don't think Michigan missed out on all that much anyway.
You are wrong. It was LSU who announced publicly that they had granted Michigan permission to talk to Miles. To my knowledge, Michigan did not say a word publicly and hasn't since.
LSU did it, no doubt, to force Miles hand. Smart move on their part, the outed him and then made him an offer with the take it or leave it clause attached. They cut Michigan off at the knees.
I have not seen anything to make me think that Miles is a great coach. I would like to see him stay in the SEC because I think that program will decline. I also dislike Michigan so it's a win-win situation as far as I'm concerned. I understand Miles is a great recruiter and a fiery guy but I don't think he's a top notch coach.
because <t>no one plays poker like Skip Bertman.<br/> <br/> He played everyone like a fiddle. Miles, Michigan's AD, ESPN all of em.</t>
EsPn has been had again. They've been reporting since late yesterday that Jim Grobe will be the next Ark coach, they've just switched and now say that Grobe is not the guy and he will be staying at Wake Forrest. Maybe they need to change their name to Rumours Are Us.Com