OPINION: The Stakes Have Been Raised

by Sean Patrick
Bronco Sports First

The sports headlines thus far this week have been dominated by talk of Michigan football head coach Rich Rodriguez, as well as Strength and Conditioning coach Mike Barwis, and allegations by current and former players of exceeding NCAA practice rules.

Lost in much of the hullabaloo is the impact this has on the season opener for both the Wolverines and the Broncos.

First, I’ve gotta get something off my chest – Perhaps Don Henley said it best: “There’s three sides to every story – there’s yours, there’s mine and there’s the cold hard truth.” Did Rodriguez & Co. cross the line (or push the envelope depending on your perspective)? Only time and an investigation or two will tell.

Do some of these players have an agenda? I say absolutely, and perhaps to a degree that’s understandable. You’re recruited by a coach and his staff, shown a picture of how things will be when you play ball at Michigan, and after you’ve signed on the line that is dotted all that is swept away and now you’re questioning your decision, wondering if things would have been better if you’d gone to that other school.

If you want to go to another school, fine. And I don’t blame ya if you do. But be classy about it. Michigan pushed too hard? Okay – go to another school, play, keep your mouth shut and save it for your memoirs. Here’s a tip for you – Wanna make sure you don’t get the job you’re interviewing for? Be sure to bash your current/former employer. Nothing says “problem employee” clearer. The potential employer has to wonder, “What’s this person going to say about me down the road?”

Okay, now that that’s out of the way – this Saturday. This game was a huge opportunity for the Broncos before this fiasco, and it still is. But it’s taken on a new meaning for Michigan, and Rich Rod in particular.

Whether or not there were violations is not for me to say, but in today’s court of public opinion one is guilty until proven innocent and the allegation alone is enough for many to turn their back on Coach Rod. Okay, maybe the worst season in program history doesn’t help matters.

The stakes are raised and unfortunately it doesn’t seem to help the Broncos any. Those of us who’ve followed Western knows what talent we have in Tim Hiller, Brandon West, Juan Nunez and the rest of the squad.

We know that Bill Cubit is a special kind of coach, the kind that programs can be built on, the kind that cares about his players on the field and off, in their playing years and beyond.

But for much of the nation WMU is still a sacrificial MAC team heading to the Big House for an early season non-conference slaughter. This is perhaps Western’s best chance EVER to pull it off in Ann Arbor – but if they do so, don’t expect them to get much credit for it.

The talk will be all about discord in the Michigan locker room, a coach more focused on an impending investigation than the game on the field, and a lucky Bronco David that caught a Michigan Goliath at a vulnerable moment.

Bronco fans know better.