Texas Tech Tuesday Morning Notes - In Spurts Edition

by Seth C on Nov 13, 2007 7:11 AM CST in Football Comment 3 comments

Double T Nation News:

Good friends Disco Tech! has a portion of the audio of Leach's press conference:

But DT! also has a theory as to Leach's motives, of which we suggested yesterday that Leach's reaction to the game was predetermined and with reason. Also in that DT! post is his quotation of DTN reader, Pablo. My biggest problem with Pablo's comments is that if we were to look at those comments from a legal perspective then they are hearsay, unless of course Pablo was actually in the replay booth, which by all indications that's not the case. I'm not saying that they are not true, but what I am saying is that unless the Texas Tech official who was in the replay booth comes forward and confirms that there was "high-fiving" going on between the replay official and the Texas official in the booth then we won't know the veracity of Pablo's statements and the comments are speculation at best. (As an aside, I'm not a trial attorney so my application of the definition of hearsay could be incorrect, but I will be more than willing to post that my interpretation was incorrect if that's the case). One other thing that I want to make clear. I am not calling Pablo a liar here, I'm just saying that what he's said makes it difficult to verify unless someone who was in the replay booth comes forward.

Texas Tech Football:

LAJ's Don Williams Red Raider Notebook confirms that Coach Leach will learn of his sanctions most likely today. Coach Leach also stood by his comments on Monday and Don believes that Leach will likely face a $10,000.00 fine. That seems about right considering the precedent. Of course, we do have a new conference commissioner and he could choose to make an example out of Coach Leach, but that could prove to have some serious implications going forward.

In other Texas Tech news, Don Williams has the story of Coach Leach defending his defense:

"Defensively, it was a deal where we did some things in spurts, and I think we've been playing defense pretty well recently," Leach said. "I can't say it was one of our best efforts the other day, but I think Texas deserves a lot of credit for that, too. It was as good a game as I've seen Colt McCoy play, their running back (Jamaal Charles) continues to get better, and I thought their offensive line played well.

"The other thing is, teams battle to play complete games and, of the films I've watched, this was the one that Texas did play a complete game - which they're going to be real tough when they do that. Both defenses had a long day."

See, Coach Leach does know how to give credit, it just wasn't time to do it on Saturday.

FWST's Dwain Price affirms Coach Leach's position, but more interestingly, he has a quote from OSU Coach Mike Gundy who thinks that Michael Crabtree deserves to be an All-American:

"Somebody put me on a committee to vote for an All-American team, and I voted for him," Gundy said Monday. "He's had an outstanding game almost every week, and he's played at a high level, and he's been very, very productive, and I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be a first-team All-American."

Snip

"He does such a great job in the YAC yards, the yards after a catch," Gundy said of Crabtree. "He catches it, takes off and runs and then makes a play."

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Hearsay

I agree that in a court of law Pablo's comments are not "permissible."

At the end of they day though - it's a blog not a court of law - and when you tie his story in with other facts - it just makes more sense.

Pablo also has a history of being right - while that may not establish his credibility to others, his credibility on your site is solid.

by BondJBond on Nov 13, 2007 8:07 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

LAJ reports...

Leach is fined $10,000 and gets a "public reprimand." Also, "any future such behavior will result in a more serious penalty, including a possible suspension."

The whole say-no-wrong attitude as stated in the Big XII handbook protecting officials seems ridiculous. Yes, there's a private forum for reviewing officials, but I don't see why it should be private. If a coach makes a mistake and calls a terrible play in a game and it costs his team, he's lambasted from Kalamazoo to Timbuktu in print and visual media. The fact that officials aren't affected by the outcomes of their games is all the more reason for them to be questioned publicly, in my opinion.

by ayleein on Nov 13, 2007 12:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Re:

I thought it was worth chuckling over that the SI.com article quoting Dan Beebe didn't clearly list what Coach Leach had done wrong:

"Coach Leach's public statements called into question the integrity and competence of game officials and the conference's officiating program," Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said.

I'm not marrying myself to Coach's position, but yes, Dan, that's exactly what Coach Leach did, and a fine isn't a response that explains why he was wrong for doing so. Suppose instead that Coach Leach accused the refs of taking bribes (and they did not do this, it is just a hypothetical). That would be a case of Coach Leach "call[ing] into question the integrity and competence of game officials and the conference's officiating program" but it would/should also prompt an investigation.

At a minimum, Beebe should have added "and Coach Leach was incorrect, and it was a frivolous charge." Without that it is, just as you say, the mickey mouse "say-no-wrong attitude" that affords refs privity for no good reason.

Maybe he did so elsewhere, but if he didn't I think Beebe needs to address the substance of Coach Leach's criticisms -- and they could very well be totally wrong -- rather than merely repeating Coach Leach's intent, as if that wasn't clear enough from his mouth. Why are refs sacred cows? They aren't on Saturday; why should they be on Tuesday?

by Red Blooded on Nov 13, 2007 3:54 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs