3 Montana players arrested

[lifesapuntreturn]

espn.com 11/11/07
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?sec ... id=3105863

More bad news for the Grizzlies. As a Montana State fan, I'm not happy at all about this at all - it's another incident in a seemingly endless line of this type of behavior at both MSU and UM.

If this kind of crap continues, there will be some serious repercussions for both UM and MSU and it will come from the bureaucrats and politicians in Helena. Senior administration people are going to get fired and there will be funding cuts to athletic departments. Things like capital improvements (e.g. stadium renovations and additions) are going to be suspended indefinitely. I've said it before and I'll say it again - powerful people in Helena are watching these situations in both Missoula and Bozeman and if the leadership there doesn't clean up these messes and keep them clean, the powers-that-be in Helena will step in and do it. If that has to happen, it won't be pleasant.

MANY people across Montana and/or with ties to MSU or UM, including me, are sick and tired of this crap and expect it to be stopped. If the respective university leadership can't do that then state leadership will have to. I expect this to be an issue in next year's governor's election campaign - that's how fed up many people are with this.

[putter]

I agree. I think that the athletic departments at both schools need to do a better job of investigating these kids. Both Coleman and Shelton had undisclosed "baggage" when they transferred. Maybe our coaching staff needs to really look at some of these transfers and get to the bottom of their problems before bringing them into the programs. Even the best kids can make bad decisions but this is over the top. Whatever happened to the days of just drinking a little too much!

[WYOBISONMAN]

Are any of these players important to the team or are they all in backup roles?

[GrizzlyEdd]

Are any of these players important to the team or are they all in backup roles?

One player, Greg Coleman was the main backup for Lex Hilliard at running back. He did a good job against Idaho State last Saturday, scoring the first TD... the other two are backup DB's....

If Lex cannot play for the Brawl of the Wild this weekend, the Griz are going to be in a very bad position at the RB position. No matter what, it is a very bad deal for the U of M. On and off the field...

[MrTitleist]

Pate was a backup (at an already thin DB spot), Coleman was a spot starter when Lex Hilliard was injured (#2 on the depth chart), and Shelton was a transfer from Arizona who hadn't seen much, if any, playing time this year.. also a DB.

Reports from the news stations are saying that 6 men broke into a house, tased and pistol whipped the people inside, then left. Probably drug related. Coleman and Pate were arrested as they came back into Missoula on the team bus.

[lifesapuntreturn]

WYOBISONMAN:
This is off topic but I have to laugh at your avatar. Cowboy Joe is getting some serious heat for that and I guess the University of Wyoming now has an excuse to fire him if they want to. I've spent some time in Wyoming during Joe's tenure at the University and in addition to being the only college football coach in the state, the commercials and public service announcement narratives he does makes him a high profile presence across the state and that gesture is contrary to his public persona. That's something that wouldn't suprise me if Bob Knight did, for example, but not Joe Glenn.

I have a question for you. I've asked some people in Wyoming about this and can't seem it get an answer. When Joe is finished with anything he says on tv or the radio, whether it's an interview, an ad, a public service narrative, or whatever, he closes with "Powder River, let 'er buck!" I'm assuming there must be a story behind that phrase but haven't found anybody in Wyoming who knows what the story is. Admittedly, I've only asked 3 or 4 people but I'm just curious as to what the story is.

[MrTitleist]

http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/RobertsHistor ... rRiver.htm

Long been a tradition in Wyoming, and that's pretty much what the university and football team is all about... tradition. Hence the reason they went back to the original brown and gold this year, instead of that nonsense from 2001 until last year.

[WYOBISONMAN]

You beat me to the story......and tradition is big at UW.

As to Glenn, there is still a lot of fan support for him and after tallking to folks around here, I think he will survive as long as he dumps the Offensive Coordinator. Most WYO fans also like the fact that he flipped off Wittingham since he was an ass in going for the onside kick.

[uncfootballrules]

Glenn actually used that phrase during his UNC days too. He probably uses it more since it is a big deal at Wyo.

[lifesapuntreturn]

Thanks for the info, Mr. T. An interesting history lesson.

I, too, have crossed the Powder River, but in a vehicle, not on a horse. So, a tip of my King Ropes cap to the state of Wyoming and the Wyoming Cowboys.

Powder River, let 'er buck!

[lifesapuntreturn]

A public show of support for UM coacn Bobby Hauck by UM president Dennsion and AD O'Day. It's not surprising, especially given this is Cat/griz week and the whole state is tuned in to this matter as a result. Not that people wouldn't have been watching this any other time but especially so this week. I did find Dennison's final sentence to be something of a warning, however - the "as long as he's doing the job he was hired to do" part. I think that's implied by all employers to all employees in all settings so actually saying it seems, to me anyway, that Dennison is publicly giving himself an out should he decide he needs it down the road for some reason.
As an MSU fan, I'm also glad Neighbor specifically mentioned that former Cat coach Kramer was not fired solely because of the criminal activity involving Cat players, that academic reasons "also had a bearing" on that termination. There have been a lot of people, Kramer supporters, who have chosen to ignore that aspect of the firing and then pointing to the firing as unfair/unjustified because they claim it was only for the criminal activity reasons. Thanks to Neighbor for clarifying that matter. Too bad it had to come from the Missoula paper 6 months later but he obviously did it now to differentiate Kramer's situation then from Hauck's now in that Hauck's teams haven't had academic problems as did Kramer's.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007 ... news02.txt
"UM officials voice support for Hauck"
by Fritz Neighbor Missoula Missoulian 11/14/07


Here's a companion article to the one above:
It's wworth noting, I think, that the Commissioner of Higher Education states she will "find time" at this week's Board of Regents meeting to discuss this matter. As I stated above, the powers that be are watching and they're not happy.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007 ... news03.txt
"Dennison says better mentoring is planned for Montana's athletes"
by Tristan Scott Missoula Missoulian 11/14/07

[lifesapuntreturn]

espn.com 11/11/07
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?sec ... id=3105863

More bad news for the Grizzlies. As a Montana State fan, I'm not happy at all about this at all - it's another incident in a seemingly endless line of this type of behavior at both MSU and UM.

If this kind of crap continues, there will be some serious repercussions for both UM and MSU and it will come from the bureaucrats and politicians in Helena. Senior administration people are going to get fired and there will be funding cuts to athletic departments. Things like capital improvements (e.g. stadium renovations and additions) are going to be suspended indefinitely. I've said it before and I'll say it again - powerful people in Helena are watching these situations in both Missoula and Bozeman and if the leadership there doesn't clean up these messes and keep them clean, the powers-that-be in Helena will step in and do it. If that has to happen, it won't be pleasant.
MANY people across Montana and/or with ties to MSU or UM, including me, are sick and tired of this crap and expect it to be stopped. If the respective university leadership can't do that then state leadership will have to. I expect this to be an issue in next year's governor's election campaign - that's how fed up many people are with this.

Sorry to have to say I told you so but .....
http://billingsgazette.net/articles/200 ... egents.txt
"Regents raise concerns about wayward athletes"
Billings Gazette 11/16/07

[lifesapuntreturn]

espn.com 11/11/07
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?sec ... id=3105863

More bad news for the Grizzlies. As a Montana State fan, I'm not happy at all about this at all - it's another incident in a seemingly endless line of this type of behavior at both MSU and UM.

If this kind of crap continues, there will be some serious repercussions for both UM and MSU and it will come from the bureaucrats and politicians in Helena. Senior administration people are going to get fired and there will be funding cuts to athletic departments. Things like capital improvements (e.g. stadium renovations and additions) are going to be suspended indefinitely. I've said it before and I'll say it again - powerful people in Helena are watching these situations in both Missoula and Bozeman and if the leadership there doesn't clean up these messes and keep them clean, the powers-that-be in Helena will step in and do it. If that has to happen, it won't be pleasant.
MANY people across Montana and/or with ties to MSU or UM, including me, are sick and tired of this crap and expect it to be stopped. If the respective university leadership can't do that then state leadership will have to. I expect this to be an issue in next year's governor's election campaign - that's how fed up many people are with this.

Sorry to have to say I told you so but .....
http://billingsgazette.net/articles/200 ... egents.txt
"Regents raise concerns about wayward athletes"
Billings Gazette 11/16/07

And now the Montana governor weighs in .....
http://billingsgazette.net/articles/200 ... ustwin.txt
"Governor: 'Just win' hurt schools"
Billings Gazette by The Associated Press 11/17/07