Pawlenty radio show to return to air:
Gov. Tim Pawlenty will resume his weekly radio show on WCCO-AM this Friday.
Pawlenty halted the show, "Good Morning, Minnesota," in June after announcing his reelection bid. Political opponents objected to the free air time he was getting.
WCCO (830 AM), which had run the show from February 2003 until it was suspended, beat out two other stations -- KTLK (100.3 FM), which airs talk shows and Minnesota Vikings games, and WWTC (1280 AM), the Patriot.
What? Nothing more needs to be said about the Patriot? Don't they air talk shows too?
The new contract runs for two years with an option for two additional years. The station won the contract, which does not involve monetary value for the state, after meeting several criteria, including reaching a large and broad-based statewide audience, said Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung.
Sure, go with the 50,000 watt "good neighbor" if you must T-Paw. As for me and mine, we prefer the selective appeal of AM1280.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Polar Distress?
The global warming fear mongers were handed the perfect mascot for their campaign (no, it's not Al Gore) last week with the recommendation by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne that the polar bear be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. After all, what kind of heartless bastard can be against saving the beautiful polar bears from extinction?
For thousands of years the powerful animals have prowled the Arctic and now the greed of man and his pursuit of rampant industrialization may mean the end for the furry four-legged creatures. Just wait 'til the kids start coming home from school crying to their parents about saving the polar bears.
However, as an editorial in yesterday's Wall Street Journal points out, before we agree to start shackling the economy to protect the polar bears, it would be wise to get the facts:
Apparently so, because there are in fact more polar bears in the world now than there were 40 years ago, as the nearby chart shows. The main threat to polar bears in recent decades has been from hunting, with estimates as low as 5,000 to 10,000 bears in the 1950s and 1960s. But thanks to conservation efforts, and some cross-border cooperation among the U.S., Canada and Russia, the best estimate today is that the polar bear population is 20,000 to 25,000.
It also turns out that most of the alarm over the polar bear's future stems from a single, peer-reviewed study, which found that the bear population had declined by some 250, or 25%, in Western Hudson Bay in the last decade. But the polar bear's range is far more extensive than Hudson Bay. A 2002 U.S. Geological Survey of wildlife in the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain concluded that the ice bear populations "may now be near historic highs." One of the leading experts on the polar bear, Mitchell Taylor, the manager of wildlife resources for the Nunavut territory in Canada, has found that the Canadian polar bear population has actually increased by 25% -- to 15,000 from 12,000 over the past decade.
Mr. Taylor tells us that in many parts of Canada, "polar bears are very abundant and productive. In some areas, they are overly abundant. I understand that people not living in the North generally have difficulty grasping the concept of too many polar bears, but those who live here have a pretty good grasp of what that is like." Those cuddly white bears are the Earth's largest land carnivores.
There is no doubt that higher temperatures threaten polar bear habitat by melting sea ice. Mr. Kempthorne also says he had little choice because the threshold for triggering a study under the Endangered Species Act is low. The Bush Administration was sued by the usual environmental suspects to make this decision, which means that Interior will now conduct a year-long review before any formal listing decision is made.
Nonetheless, the bears seem to have survived despite many other severe warming and cooling periods over the last few thousands of years.
You mean global warming and cooling occurred before man-made greenhouse gas emissions? Imagine that.
Polar bears are also protected from poaching and environmental damage by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, so there is little extra advantage to the bears themselves from an "endangered" classification.
Then what's with all the hubbub bub?
All of which suggests that the real story here is a human one, namely about the politics of global warming. Once a plant or animal is listed under the Endangered Species Act, the government must also come up with an elaborate plan to protect its habitat. If the polar bear is endangered by warmer temperatures, then the environmentalist demand will be that the government do something to address that climate change. Faster than you can say Al Gore, this would lead to lawsuits and cries in Congress demanding federal mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Think we're exaggerating? No sooner had Mr. Kempthorne announced his study than Kassie Siegel of something called the Center for Biological Diversity told the New York Times that "even this Administration" would not be able to "write this proposal without acknowledging that the primary threat to polar bears is global warming and without acknowledging the science of global warming." Her outfit was one of those who had sued the feds in the first place over the polar bears, notwithstanding its location in the frozen tundra of Arizona. But no matter. For want of a few hundred polar bears, the entire U.S. economy could be vulnerable to judicial dictation.
Of course this isn't really about saving the polar bears. Any more than smoking bans are about protecting the poor bar workers or light rail is about helping those poor urban dwellers get groceries. It's about people who believe they are smarter than the rest of us seeking to expand the power of government (local, national, and extra-national in the case of global warming) to bring about the type of world they know is best.
For thousands of years the powerful animals have prowled the Arctic and now the greed of man and his pursuit of rampant industrialization may mean the end for the furry four-legged creatures. Just wait 'til the kids start coming home from school crying to their parents about saving the polar bears.
However, as an editorial in yesterday's Wall Street Journal points out, before we agree to start shackling the economy to protect the polar bears, it would be wise to get the facts:
Apparently so, because there are in fact more polar bears in the world now than there were 40 years ago, as the nearby chart shows. The main threat to polar bears in recent decades has been from hunting, with estimates as low as 5,000 to 10,000 bears in the 1950s and 1960s. But thanks to conservation efforts, and some cross-border cooperation among the U.S., Canada and Russia, the best estimate today is that the polar bear population is 20,000 to 25,000.
It also turns out that most of the alarm over the polar bear's future stems from a single, peer-reviewed study, which found that the bear population had declined by some 250, or 25%, in Western Hudson Bay in the last decade. But the polar bear's range is far more extensive than Hudson Bay. A 2002 U.S. Geological Survey of wildlife in the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain concluded that the ice bear populations "may now be near historic highs." One of the leading experts on the polar bear, Mitchell Taylor, the manager of wildlife resources for the Nunavut territory in Canada, has found that the Canadian polar bear population has actually increased by 25% -- to 15,000 from 12,000 over the past decade.
Mr. Taylor tells us that in many parts of Canada, "polar bears are very abundant and productive. In some areas, they are overly abundant. I understand that people not living in the North generally have difficulty grasping the concept of too many polar bears, but those who live here have a pretty good grasp of what that is like." Those cuddly white bears are the Earth's largest land carnivores.
There is no doubt that higher temperatures threaten polar bear habitat by melting sea ice. Mr. Kempthorne also says he had little choice because the threshold for triggering a study under the Endangered Species Act is low. The Bush Administration was sued by the usual environmental suspects to make this decision, which means that Interior will now conduct a year-long review before any formal listing decision is made.
Nonetheless, the bears seem to have survived despite many other severe warming and cooling periods over the last few thousands of years.
You mean global warming and cooling occurred before man-made greenhouse gas emissions? Imagine that.
Polar bears are also protected from poaching and environmental damage by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, so there is little extra advantage to the bears themselves from an "endangered" classification.
Then what's with all the hubbub bub?
All of which suggests that the real story here is a human one, namely about the politics of global warming. Once a plant or animal is listed under the Endangered Species Act, the government must also come up with an elaborate plan to protect its habitat. If the polar bear is endangered by warmer temperatures, then the environmentalist demand will be that the government do something to address that climate change. Faster than you can say Al Gore, this would lead to lawsuits and cries in Congress demanding federal mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Think we're exaggerating? No sooner had Mr. Kempthorne announced his study than Kassie Siegel of something called the Center for Biological Diversity told the New York Times that "even this Administration" would not be able to "write this proposal without acknowledging that the primary threat to polar bears is global warming and without acknowledging the science of global warming." Her outfit was one of those who had sued the feds in the first place over the polar bears, notwithstanding its location in the frozen tundra of Arizona. But no matter. For want of a few hundred polar bears, the entire U.S. economy could be vulnerable to judicial dictation.
Of course this isn't really about saving the polar bears. Any more than smoking bans are about protecting the poor bar workers or light rail is about helping those poor urban dwellers get groceries. It's about people who believe they are smarter than the rest of us seeking to expand the power of government (local, national, and extra-national in the case of global warming) to bring about the type of world they know is best.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
St. Elmo's On Fire
The folks at Buzz Patrol owe me a mouthful of Irish whiskey as I've just shot one through my nose while watching this (speakers absolutely required).
Your Own Personal Jesus
At First Things, Anthony Sacramone notes that, with his latest work, Paul Verhoeven hopes to do for Christianity what Showgirls did for stripping:
One always hopes that a new year will both usher in what's truly new and show the door to what's proven stale. An example of the latter would be yet more "new" revelations about the "real" Jesus. No such luck. Paul Verhoeven, the man who brought us Robocop, Basic Instinct, Total Recall, and the Citizen Kane of lap-dancing melodramas, Showgirls, is making his own foray into that besotted enterprise.
I was particularly taken with how taken Mr. Verhoeven is with the gravity of his project: "[My story] really goes into the politics of the time and tries to show a lot of things that have been buried and eliminated by Christianity. My scriptwriter told me not to do the movie in the United States because they might shoot me. So I took his advice and decided to write a book about it first."
[Verhoeven also uttered this gem:
"I was interested in Black Magic and the Occult and then started to be interested in miracles [laughs]. My view was always, 'Well this is impossible, in fact it's self-contradictory'. So I became interested in the historical facts: what time did he get up and so on. I feel like Hercule Poirot investigating Jesus!"]
Yes, you remember how the perpetrators of the Jesus Seminar scam--where casino-inspired card flips passed for real scholarship--were mowed down, Mob-style. You remember how the streets ran red with blood when The Da Vinci Code sold skatey-eight million copies and then went on to make more than $200 million in fundamentalist America. And, of course, there was that dirty bomb that went off on publication of the Gospel of Thomas and that continues to make several area codes in the Mid-Atlantic states uninhabitable.
Another brave artist daring to speak truth to power. I can't wait for Verhoeven's next project where he unveils shocking new revelations about the "real" Muhammad.
Unfortunately, Sacramone concludes that Verhoeven's effort in this area will not be the last:
In other words, just as publishers will continue to pump out Star Trek and Star Wars stories as long as there are kids who dream of the heavens, so there will be revisionist Jesus tales as long as there are grown-ups who believe they're already on their way to heaven and fear nothing of hell.
One always hopes that a new year will both usher in what's truly new and show the door to what's proven stale. An example of the latter would be yet more "new" revelations about the "real" Jesus. No such luck. Paul Verhoeven, the man who brought us Robocop, Basic Instinct, Total Recall, and the Citizen Kane of lap-dancing melodramas, Showgirls, is making his own foray into that besotted enterprise.
I was particularly taken with how taken Mr. Verhoeven is with the gravity of his project: "[My story] really goes into the politics of the time and tries to show a lot of things that have been buried and eliminated by Christianity. My scriptwriter told me not to do the movie in the United States because they might shoot me. So I took his advice and decided to write a book about it first."
[Verhoeven also uttered this gem:
"I was interested in Black Magic and the Occult and then started to be interested in miracles [laughs]. My view was always, 'Well this is impossible, in fact it's self-contradictory'. So I became interested in the historical facts: what time did he get up and so on. I feel like Hercule Poirot investigating Jesus!"]
Yes, you remember how the perpetrators of the Jesus Seminar scam--where casino-inspired card flips passed for real scholarship--were mowed down, Mob-style. You remember how the streets ran red with blood when The Da Vinci Code sold skatey-eight million copies and then went on to make more than $200 million in fundamentalist America. And, of course, there was that dirty bomb that went off on publication of the Gospel of Thomas and that continues to make several area codes in the Mid-Atlantic states uninhabitable.
Another brave artist daring to speak truth to power. I can't wait for Verhoeven's next project where he unveils shocking new revelations about the "real" Muhammad.
Unfortunately, Sacramone concludes that Verhoeven's effort in this area will not be the last:
In other words, just as publishers will continue to pump out Star Trek and Star Wars stories as long as there are kids who dream of the heavens, so there will be revisionist Jesus tales as long as there are grown-ups who believe they're already on their way to heaven and fear nothing of hell.
Will Commute For Food
Our favorite hobby columnist explores the true nature of the urban grocery gap:
Hybrid buses and shiny trains aren't going to solve those problems. Buses and trains are networked transportation with virtually no flexibility. Yet we continue to spend millions of dollars on mass transit that ultimately subsidizes the convenience of Vikings season-ticket holders from Bloomington more than it makes grocery shopping less expensive and more convenient for a Leon Davis.
Despite Rybak's credulity, existence of a "grocery gap" makes perfect sense, and it is largely the result of utopian policies that ignore everyday realities like grocery shopping via a bus or train. The solution to the grocery gap is not Rybak meeting with executives from Lunds, Whole Foods and Kowalski's markets--not the places to stretch your food budget, unless you're shopping for "Lobster Helper."
The solution is providing convenient transportation from urban areas to existing grocery stores. (How about a jitney service from urban neighborhoods to suburban markets?)
Solution? What a novel approach. The truth of the matter is that the Twin Cities planning powers that be really aren't interested in practical solutions to the problems that they pretend to care so much about, but rather their grandoise vision of how things ought to be.
King weighs in with an economic perspective on the "grocery gap."
Hybrid buses and shiny trains aren't going to solve those problems. Buses and trains are networked transportation with virtually no flexibility. Yet we continue to spend millions of dollars on mass transit that ultimately subsidizes the convenience of Vikings season-ticket holders from Bloomington more than it makes grocery shopping less expensive and more convenient for a Leon Davis.
Despite Rybak's credulity, existence of a "grocery gap" makes perfect sense, and it is largely the result of utopian policies that ignore everyday realities like grocery shopping via a bus or train. The solution to the grocery gap is not Rybak meeting with executives from Lunds, Whole Foods and Kowalski's markets--not the places to stretch your food budget, unless you're shopping for "Lobster Helper."
The solution is providing convenient transportation from urban areas to existing grocery stores. (How about a jitney service from urban neighborhoods to suburban markets?)
Solution? What a novel approach. The truth of the matter is that the Twin Cities planning powers that be really aren't interested in practical solutions to the problems that they pretend to care so much about, but rather their grandoise vision of how things ought to be.
King weighs in with an economic perspective on the "grocery gap."
We Won't Have Mark Dayton To Kick Around Anymore
Or will we? Dayton mulling run for governor:
Sen. Mark Dayton said Wednesday he is considering a run for governor in 2010, although he stressed that a decision is two years away.
Dayton, speaking in a conference call with reporters in his final hour as U.S. senator, said he only recently began thinking about a race for governor.
"It's something I never thought about because I thought Mike Hatch was going to win," said Dayton, D-Minn.
Al Franken running for Senate in 2008 and now Mark Dayton possibly running for governor in 2010. Who says we don't have a lot to look forward to?
Sen. Mark Dayton said Wednesday he is considering a run for governor in 2010, although he stressed that a decision is two years away.
Dayton, speaking in a conference call with reporters in his final hour as U.S. senator, said he only recently began thinking about a race for governor.
"It's something I never thought about because I thought Mike Hatch was going to win," said Dayton, D-Minn.
Al Franken running for Senate in 2008 and now Mark Dayton possibly running for governor in 2010. Who says we don't have a lot to look forward to?
Will Work For Beer
Drinking on This Job Is OK (WSJ sub req):
If drinking beer on the clock and traveling to Oktoberfest in Munich on the company dime sounds like a dream job, there are still nine days left to apply for the newly created post of chief beer officer at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel chain.
By yesterday, officials at Four Points's parent company, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., had received more than 5,500 applications from beer lovers in 31 countries. In addition, scores of current Starwood employees have signaled their interest in the part-time job that comes with no salary, but plenty of perks. While the job is a largely promotional gimmick for the moment, Starwood says it could evolve into a more serious position down the road.
Now that would make for a great intro. What do I do for a living? Chief Beer Officer. Hard to top that.
If drinking beer on the clock and traveling to Oktoberfest in Munich on the company dime sounds like a dream job, there are still nine days left to apply for the newly created post of chief beer officer at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel chain.
By yesterday, officials at Four Points's parent company, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., had received more than 5,500 applications from beer lovers in 31 countries. In addition, scores of current Starwood employees have signaled their interest in the part-time job that comes with no salary, but plenty of perks. While the job is a largely promotional gimmick for the moment, Starwood says it could evolve into a more serious position down the road.
Now that would make for a great intro. What do I do for a living? Chief Beer Officer. Hard to top that.
Don't Believe The Hype
Jonathan provides Starbucks side of the Ethiopian trademark issue, which has been raised by groups like Oxfam. His post includes a link to a YouTube video with a Starbucks rep explaining the company's position. Given the way that rumors about corporate misconduct spread virally through the Internet these days, I expect to see more and more firms turning to such non-traditional public relations tools.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Records Were Made to Be Broken
It was twenty years ago today (more or less), magician Harry Blackstone Jr. performs what is perhaps the worst halftime show in the history of college football bowl games at the 1987 Orange Bowl. Click here for highlights.
And it's all on the line tonight, as the greatest challenge to this record yet attempted happens at halftime of this year's Orange Bowl, with entertainment by Gladys Knight and Taylor Hicks. No word on whether this is the debut performance of a new R&B group, Gladys Knight and the Hicks.
Since the notion of playing bowl game on New Years Day is rapidly becoming antiquated and the bowl season stretches to about Valentine's Day, here's a preview of halftime shows yet to come that might also vie for the title:
January 3 - All State Sugar Bowl. Details are sketchy on what is supposed to take place tomorrow night. Dancers and cheerleaders have been recruited en masse, beyond that I can't tell. I do see this is the first year All State is sponsoring the Sugar Bowl (replacing Nokia), so I'm predicting a tribute to the history of life insurance.
January 6 - International Bowl. Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan playing in Canada a week after New Years. Sponsored by the fine folks at Sominex. Or at least it should be.
Four days to go and they're still working on the official Web site. Not surprisingly, no word on halftime entertainment. If they're still desperately trying to book something, let me suggest this, I bet he's still available.
January 8 - National Championship Game. The Ohio state University marching band performs its renown tribute to "Hollywood Blockbusters." I understand there's not a dry eye in the whole state of Ohio after the Brokeback Mountain section. Which is followed by a rousing rendition of "It's Hard Out There for a Pimp."
And it's all on the line tonight, as the greatest challenge to this record yet attempted happens at halftime of this year's Orange Bowl, with entertainment by Gladys Knight and Taylor Hicks. No word on whether this is the debut performance of a new R&B group, Gladys Knight and the Hicks.
Since the notion of playing bowl game on New Years Day is rapidly becoming antiquated and the bowl season stretches to about Valentine's Day, here's a preview of halftime shows yet to come that might also vie for the title:
January 3 - All State Sugar Bowl. Details are sketchy on what is supposed to take place tomorrow night. Dancers and cheerleaders have been recruited en masse, beyond that I can't tell. I do see this is the first year All State is sponsoring the Sugar Bowl (replacing Nokia), so I'm predicting a tribute to the history of life insurance.
January 6 - International Bowl. Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan playing in Canada a week after New Years. Sponsored by the fine folks at Sominex. Or at least it should be.
Four days to go and they're still working on the official Web site. Not surprisingly, no word on halftime entertainment. If they're still desperately trying to book something, let me suggest this, I bet he's still available.
January 8 - National Championship Game. The Ohio state University marching band performs its renown tribute to "Hollywood Blockbusters." I understand there's not a dry eye in the whole state of Ohio after the Brokeback Mountain section. Which is followed by a rousing rendition of "It's Hard Out There for a Pimp."
Gatekeepers, Gatekeep Thyselves
From Nick Coleman's column last week skewering his current and future employers:
When it bought the Star Tribune in 1998, McClatchy was a second-tier chain that had 10 dailies and a profit margin of 13 percent. Today, after buying its way into a far better club by using the Star Tribune for leverage, McClatchy has 32 papers and a profit margin of 26 percent.
But 26 ain't enough. It would be higher if not for the Star Tribune, which earns only about 19 percent, though its revenue has declined over the past year or so. That's still good for a newspaper its size, and two or three times the margin demanded 20 years ago. But it ain't enough.
Now the correction appearing on the top of his archived column:
Correction: Nick Coleman's column incorrectly stated the McClatchy Company's operating margins. McClatchy had an operating margin of 18.6 percent in 1998, the year it bought the Star Tribune. Its operating margin last year was 19 percent. In 1998, McClatchy's free cash flow was 28.3 percent, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. In 2005, its free cash flow was 25 percent.
They doubled their profit margin, it stayed the same. Their financial position is twice as good, it has actually degraded. Tomato, tomahto. Potato, potahto.
Come on people, you can't expect a newspaper to get all the facts correct. But you have to get a little suspicious of the quality control of an organization that publishes falsehoods about itself.
When it bought the Star Tribune in 1998, McClatchy was a second-tier chain that had 10 dailies and a profit margin of 13 percent. Today, after buying its way into a far better club by using the Star Tribune for leverage, McClatchy has 32 papers and a profit margin of 26 percent.
But 26 ain't enough. It would be higher if not for the Star Tribune, which earns only about 19 percent, though its revenue has declined over the past year or so. That's still good for a newspaper its size, and two or three times the margin demanded 20 years ago. But it ain't enough.
Now the correction appearing on the top of his archived column:
Correction: Nick Coleman's column incorrectly stated the McClatchy Company's operating margins. McClatchy had an operating margin of 18.6 percent in 1998, the year it bought the Star Tribune. Its operating margin last year was 19 percent. In 1998, McClatchy's free cash flow was 28.3 percent, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. In 2005, its free cash flow was 25 percent.
They doubled their profit margin, it stayed the same. Their financial position is twice as good, it has actually degraded. Tomato, tomahto. Potato, potahto.
Come on people, you can't expect a newspaper to get all the facts correct. But you have to get a little suspicious of the quality control of an organization that publishes falsehoods about itself.
Who Moved My Newspaper?
Today marks the introduction of the new and improved Wall Street Journal. The redesign in part reflects the changing demands of newspaper readers, but a bigger factor is no doubt the cost savings from smaller pages and font styles that make the paper easier to produce.
My verdict after one day? Meh. Some of it I like, some I don't. The smaller paper is easier to read (especially on the can) which is a plus. But some of the new colors and graphics are a little too close to USA Today fluff for my tastes.
The Journal has always had a distinct and serious look that projected gravitas. If you saw someone in public reading the WSJ, you automatically granted them a certain amount of respect (the exact opposite of what occurs when you notice someone reading the editorial pages of the Star Tribune). I'm not sure if the new design still carries the same intellectual heft.
Overall, I'd say I was neutral on the changes at this point. Only time will tell if I warm to the new WSJ or not.
My verdict after one day? Meh. Some of it I like, some I don't. The smaller paper is easier to read (especially on the can) which is a plus. But some of the new colors and graphics are a little too close to USA Today fluff for my tastes.
The Journal has always had a distinct and serious look that projected gravitas. If you saw someone in public reading the WSJ, you automatically granted them a certain amount of respect (the exact opposite of what occurs when you notice someone reading the editorial pages of the Star Tribune). I'm not sure if the new design still carries the same intellectual heft.
Overall, I'd say I was neutral on the changes at this point. Only time will tell if I warm to the new WSJ or not.
Monday, January 01, 2007
File Under "Better Late Than Never"
U fires Mason, seeks new football 'vision':
Exactly one year to the day after he received a new five-year contract, Glen Mason was fired Sunday as the University of Minnesota's football coach.
Mason's ouster came at the end of his 10th season and two days following his team's historic collapse in a 44-41 loss to Texas Tech in the Insight Bowl.
Of course, this long-awaited relief won't come cheap for the U of M (or the taxpayers of Minnesota for that matter):
Mason's firing means the athletic department will pay roughly $4 million in buyouts to Mason and men's basketball coach Dan Monson, who accepted his buyout on Nov. 30. Maturi said his department will have to borrow money from the university's central administration to help cover those costs.
This is a rare occasion when I actually am happy to pay more for a better Minnesota.
UPDATE-- Paul e-mails to add:
I am pissed and here are a few reasons why, in order of importance:
* The biggest gripe that I have is that the terms of the buyout aren't likely to be disclosed. As a taxpayer, I should have the right to understand how many of my dollars are wasted to get rid of Mason.
* The school will likely waste a lot of money paying four football and basketball head coaches for years to come (I'm not so pissed about firing Monson, the program under him was disgraceful).
* They just extended Mason's contract one year earlier. Why would you extend a contract, then fire the guy one season into the extension. If the guy was iffy, don't extend his contract in the first place.
* I guarantee you that the Minnesota regents won't spend the money to bring in someone who can win. Mason was mediocre, winning 3-5 Big 10 games each year. I'll bet any amount you name that the Gophers don't win 6 or more Big 10 games in any of the next 5 years. What's the point in firing a guy when they don't plan on getting any better?
* We're more likely to hear about a "blue-ribbon panel." Has a U of M blue ribbon panel ever made a good decision.
BTW, my nomination for Gophers head football coach is Mike Tice. He has head coaching experience. His rah-rah style would work better in college than the pros. All the Minnesota high school coaches know who he is (and I presume have a somewhat favorable view of him). Finally, it seemed like he was beginning to develop into a decent coach with the Vikes.
The problem with keeping Mason was that the Gophers have been mired in the 6-6 Insight Bowl type season muck for far too long. There were no signs that Mason could bring them to the next level. The new coach may not be able to get there in the next few years, but it was obvious that Mason never would.
Hiring Tice is a good suggestion. While we're looking at ex-Viking coaches, maybe it's time to bring The Sheriff back to town.
Exactly one year to the day after he received a new five-year contract, Glen Mason was fired Sunday as the University of Minnesota's football coach.
Mason's ouster came at the end of his 10th season and two days following his team's historic collapse in a 44-41 loss to Texas Tech in the Insight Bowl.
Of course, this long-awaited relief won't come cheap for the U of M (or the taxpayers of Minnesota for that matter):
Mason's firing means the athletic department will pay roughly $4 million in buyouts to Mason and men's basketball coach Dan Monson, who accepted his buyout on Nov. 30. Maturi said his department will have to borrow money from the university's central administration to help cover those costs.
This is a rare occasion when I actually am happy to pay more for a better Minnesota.
UPDATE-- Paul e-mails to add:
I am pissed and here are a few reasons why, in order of importance:
* The biggest gripe that I have is that the terms of the buyout aren't likely to be disclosed. As a taxpayer, I should have the right to understand how many of my dollars are wasted to get rid of Mason.
* The school will likely waste a lot of money paying four football and basketball head coaches for years to come (I'm not so pissed about firing Monson, the program under him was disgraceful).
* They just extended Mason's contract one year earlier. Why would you extend a contract, then fire the guy one season into the extension. If the guy was iffy, don't extend his contract in the first place.
* I guarantee you that the Minnesota regents won't spend the money to bring in someone who can win. Mason was mediocre, winning 3-5 Big 10 games each year. I'll bet any amount you name that the Gophers don't win 6 or more Big 10 games in any of the next 5 years. What's the point in firing a guy when they don't plan on getting any better?
* We're more likely to hear about a "blue-ribbon panel." Has a U of M blue ribbon panel ever made a good decision.
BTW, my nomination for Gophers head football coach is Mike Tice. He has head coaching experience. His rah-rah style would work better in college than the pros. All the Minnesota high school coaches know who he is (and I presume have a somewhat favorable view of him). Finally, it seemed like he was beginning to develop into a decent coach with the Vikes.
The problem with keeping Mason was that the Gophers have been mired in the 6-6 Insight Bowl type season muck for far too long. There were no signs that Mason could bring them to the next level. The new coach may not be able to get there in the next few years, but it was obvious that Mason never would.
Hiring Tice is a good suggestion. While we're looking at ex-Viking coaches, maybe it's time to bring The Sheriff back to town.
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