Hoosierectomy on hold. Those same IU stalwarts who a month ago were absolutely resolute that Mike Davis wouldn’t coach the Crimson and Cream next season aren’t, uh, quite so sure now. Funny how having the best three-ball team in the land zips the lips of the naysayers.
Huggie update. A reminder: It was right here several weeks back where you read that grumpy John Brady will be gone at LSU after this hoops season. I’m told he’ll be replaced by former Bearcat mentor Bob Huggie The Bear. The Bayou Tigers meltdown at Ohio State Saturday was, for influential alumni, the proverbial “hook to hang their hats on.”
Quin begone. Wavy haired former Dookie Quin Snyder is as good as gone at Mizzou. Too many shenanigans, too little success. All together now: Awwwwwwwwwww!
Rick begone. No, I’m not talking about The Rick. The Cards coach ain’t goin’ nowhere. But Mississippi State’s smug, over-achieving coach, Rick Stansbury, is another story. The NC2A is taking a look at his recruiting methods. Color Stansbury outtathere when all is said and done.
SchnellSpeak of the week. As bowl season winds down, who better to give perspective on the whole process than the guy who snared a “national championship” on his home field when Nebraska’s Tom Osborne went for the deuce and missed? Let’s hear from Wheedling Schnell on bribing his way into the Peach Bowl 25 years ago at Miami: “I had to fly a banner over the city and buy my way into the Peach Bowl, taking responsibility for 10,000 tickets. That’s no way to be recognized and rewarded for success, but we had no history. Right there we kicked the door in.” Here’s Catalytic Schnell on a school’s first big bowl: “It can be a catalyst. You are usually ahead of your fan base until that first bowl game. That is when a lot of them feel it is OK to jump on board.” And, finally, the Red & Black & Catalytic Schnell on U of L’s win in the Fiesta Bowl: “We were playing the team that had been to more bowl games than any other university. The opportunity to play them, to beat them, was a catalyst for the new stadium, the new leagues and the success since then.”
This article appears in January 4, 2006.