Tressel A No-Show

[Woodmania]

Apparently, OSU coach Jim Tressel did not vote for anyone in the final poll of the year. Personally, I think it was the smart thing to do considering this one goes public. But Lloyd Carr was critical of him on Dan Patrick today saying that no vote was a vote agianst Michigan.

Did Captain Sweater Vest do the right thing?

[Franny]

Originally Posted by Woodmania

Apparently, OSU coach Jim Tressel did not vote for anyone in the final poll of the year. Personally, I think it was the smart thing to do considering this one goes public. But Lloyd Carr was critical of him on Dan Patrick today saying that no vote was a vote agianst Michigan.

Did Captain Sweater Vest do the right thing?

Yeah, this was a lose-lose situation for Big Tress.

I agree with this guy's take:

http://www.dispatch.com/football/foo...205-E1-03.html

Call him astute, or call him slick: Tressel correct in sidestepping vote
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
ROB OLLER
Own a page of Heisman history
BUCKEYE BACK TALK: Was Jim Tressel wrong for not voting in the final coaches poll?




Ohio’s unofficial guvna has spoken, and once again Jim Tressel comes off sounding more polished and politically savvy than most elected officials on their best days.

His decision to abstain from voting in the final USA Today coaches poll on Sunday was a shrewd move made by a man perfectly suited for the politics of poll voting. No one spins potential spider webs into cotton candy better than Tress. Show me a mess and I’ll show you a coach who wipes it clean with his words.

The Buckeyes coach cited conflict of interest and respect for Florida and Michigan as reasons why he vetoed his own vote. No doubt Tressel’s genuine integrity played a part in the decision, but only the politically naïve fail to see the masterful maneuvering of a coach who some dub "The Senator." Others, maybe even Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, might have a new name for Tress: "Slick Jimmy."

"I just didn’t think it was appropriate that Ohio State would cast a ballot one way or the other," Tressel said, making sure to spread the accountability by adding that he consulted with athletic director Gene Smith in making the decision.

The political fallout began immediately from afar and continued into yesterday. Jim Mandich, a former Michigan receiver who now does a sports talk radio show in Miami, went off on Tressel, calling him "a weasel" who "wet his pants."

"Be a man. You signed up for the job. It’s your duty and responsibility (to vote)," Mandich said.

Harsh. Among his own constituency, the OSU coach remains the people’s choice to lead the Buckeyes into the desert and out again with the national title. He may not be able to solve world hunger, but as long as he solves the Gators all will be right in the world of scarlet and gray.

Tressel is not the only coach to play politics. In the race to decide which teams receive BCS bowl bids, including which will be voted No. 2 and earn a spot in the national championship game, scoring points off the field is nearly as important as scoring them off slant routes.

Down in Florida, Gators coach Urban Meyer sparked another campaign controversy involving a hanging Chad. This time, Meyer hung Michigan quarterback Chad Henne and the rest of the Wolverines out to dry a few weeks ago by declaring that "Michigan had its chance" against Ohio State and that "if there’s a (Ohio State-Michigan) rematch, the system needs to be blown up."

Kaboom. Talk about attack ads. At least that’s how Carr saw it. The Wolverines coach turned around and ripped Meyer for the "inappropriate" comments and called his politicking wrong.

Carr, who is iron skillet to Tressel’s Teflon, claimed that he didn’t care who the voters picked as No. 2. That’s funny, because he later appeared on ESPN to say he sure hoped that voters wouldn’t punish Michigan for having not played since the loss to Ohio State.

See, even grumps know how to play the government game.

Whether Tressel’s decision comes back to bite him and the Buckeyes remains to be seen. In the short term, The Vest avoided two missteps at once. If he had voted for Florida, the Wolverines would have remembered the slam into the next century. The Big Ten likely would have frowned upon it, too.

A vote for Michigan, meanwhile, would have given Florida instant bulletin board material. In the long run, it’s possible that USA Today could pull Tressel’s vote, which could cost the Buckeyes down the road. But the future matters little when an election, er, national championship is on the line today.

For what it’s worth, Meyer sympathized with Tressel’s dilemma.

"I can understand why Jim decided not to vote," he said. "I made a decision a year ago, when asked to (become a voter), not to vote, because of this reason."

Carr went the other way, replying "no" when asked if he would have abstained under similar circumstances. He then called Tressel’s handling of the situation "real slick."

It wasn’t meant as a compliment.

[Franny]

Wow, someone actually voted FLORIDA #1? WHAAA?!!

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...204walden.html

Coach who voted Gators No. 1 'can't stand them'

By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 12/04/06

Jim Walden, a former head coach at Washington State and Iowa State, was the only voter in either college football poll that matters to pick Florida No. 1 Sunday.

Why'd he do it? Let the Harris Interactive voter explain:

"No. 1, I've been eating Alka-Seltzer every hour since I did it. I spent four years coaching at Miami and if you think I like voting for that damn team to be No. 1, you're crazy. They are the least liked team out there. I can't stand them.

"But when I look at it and when you look at who should be No. 1, look at their schedule they are the best team. Hell, I don't care about the No. 2 team. Everybody is talking about Michigan and Florida as the No. 2. I looked at it and then looked at Ohio State and said, 'Wait a minute, Florida is the best team. How can we even be debating Florida and Michigan? Michigan was the No. 2 team in a three-team conference.'

"Even though the SEC is full of people with inflated egos and they constantly think they are getting screwed over, Florida deserves to be the No. 1 team. Ohio State is one of the weakest No. 1 teams in 25 years. Look at who they played. They played one of the softest schedules of any No. 1 team in memory. They had all summer to get ready for Texas. Then they had 11 weeks to get ready for Michigan.

"I'll give you nine reasons why Florida is No. 1 – Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama, Southern Mississippi [and Arkansas]. Then you add Florida State to that and 11 out of 13 weeks you had to play as a good as you could play.

"When I signed on for this poll, the instructions were to vote for the team that is the best team that week. I'm supposed to say Ohio State is better than Florida? Forget it. Those schedules don't compare.

"I started to make the move two weeks ago but I said, 'Wait a minute, Ohio State is playing pretty good and let's just see what happens.' Then Florida did what it did and there was no way they weren't the No. 1 team."

umm, alright...