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AJ

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Freshman (2/7)

  1. I am a trial attorney but I'll have to admit, this one sounds like a real loser. I hope the lawyer that took this isn't doing it on a contingent fee.
  2. UNCA: I've been here for 25 years but I am tired of Biondi's unfullfilled promises and most of, complete lack of respect for employees and supporters. We are owed an explanation on this even if he wants to bury his head in the sand with the media. I love D1 BB and I'll probably still go to games but unless Biondi or Levick give us an explanation for the timing of this latest deal, plus a good hire, I am done with giving $, Billiken Club, and probably season tickets. I am an MU undergrad/law grad and a season FB ticket holder and I'll probably just go back to MU. Their program is far from perfect but they at least seem to be headed in the right direction. Let me know if you're interested but hurry, the mini-van is filling up. Still hoping that Biondi will come to his senses but I am not optimistic. By the way, was that a relative of yours that past away recently ? Noticed it today in the obits in the Post.
  3. UNCA: Under normal circumstances I would say your are right; don't dignify a journalistic bully like Bernie by responding. Unfortunately these aren't normal circumstances; its been 18 years of stuff like this from Biondi. He publiclly humiliates his staff and then runs and hides under his desk and lets others answer the tough questions or leaves them unanswered. If Bernie questioned my professional competence, integrity and courage - which is what BM has doneto Biondi - you can be darn sure there would be a response. Silence in the face of those type of accusations constitutes an admission of their truth. Finally, if Biondi feels he has no obligation to answer what the journalists say (Bernie has hardly been the only critical voice) he certainly owes some type of explanation of the timing to long-term supporters, like you and me. I don't know about you, but if I don't hear an explanation, and soon, I am done.
  4. Its interesting that Bernie and Biondi dislike each other so much and yet are both very much alike. They are both very gifted at what they do, but both marginalize their effectiveness with huge egos, pettiness, refusing to listen to opposing viewpoints, etc. Although I have never been a big fan of Bernie, I will say that his article on Wednesday sounded like a pretty accurate take on Biondi, Levick, and the whole situation with Brad's termination. If Bernie's wrong, why no response from Biondi?
  5. Brad: You are a class act whose legacy will be the many lives you have affected like Tommy, Kevin and many others. 20 years from now it won't be about Ws and Ls but about the contributions some of your former players make to the community. God Bless You and good luck in the future.
  6. Cheeseman: You may be right. In one of the earlier threads I suggested two alternative theories: (1) Biondi finally caves in to major booster pressure and the timing was designed to prevent any more signings, particularly of high-level recruits like ALexander, an event that would have made the firing difficult if not impossible; (2) Under booster pressure Biondi went to CL and/or Brad in March and issued an 5-6 week deadline to sign the 3-4 major recruits that Brad has been talking about since February. Assuming that SLU found out Monday PM that Alexander wasn't signing and that Brad's Monday PM home visit to Pedigrew failed to produce either a LOI or a solid verbal, then the camel's back was broken and CL was forced to fire Brad in an effort to possibly salvage teh spring recruiting period with a new coach. May be true although I am convinced Brad didn't know he was gone until late Monday or early Tuesday. This latter senario isn't a great explanation, but it makes SLU sound better than they do now - at least they gave Brad "one last chance." Unfortunately, there's only two people who know and they are hidding under their desks, which gives credence to (1). One thing is certain in my mind, the timing had some connection to the Alexander situation.
  7. Some followup thoughts: Roy: I hope you are right and a press conference is forthcoming and I hope it includes not only a new hire BUT an explanation on the timing. The PR disaster has been magnified, as usual, by SLU's failure to provide any info or explanation for the seemingly insane timing, leaving long-term boosters like you and me grasping for an explanation. I talked with two other very high-level boosters yesterday ( I am talking top 5 in one case) who had no idea this was happening and no explanation. Both are ready to walk, as am I, unless some explanation is given, and it better be good. I am sorry I made a donation to the arena recently. Kmbilliken: You may be right, maybe Brad would have signed no one else and then there would have been some additional justification. I can only tell you that the PERCEPTION Tuesday at 8:30 AM in the athletic department was that we going to sign two more high-level recruits within the next 7-10 days and CL knew that it was a distinct possibility. This comes from highly credible sources at West Pine, and they are not janitors. Ask yourself this question: If everyone was so sure we were not going to sign Alexander, then why not wait 2 more hours to announce the termination ? In doing that they would have defused at least some of the what ifs. Your last sentence makes a great point: there is tremendous potential for collateral damage of the worst kind. In addition to CL we stand to lose a number of key boosters and possibly KL and TL. You didn't make the decision to hire Soderberg nor did I. Neither one of us decided to hire Spoon or Romar and then ran them of. These were all Biondi's decisions. When do we hold him "accountable."
  8. A Bomb and Tonka: I think you are missing the point. Nothing in my original post suggested that I thought the firing was completely unjustified or unfair. The timing couldn't have been worst, however. You fire him within hours after a successful in home meeting with a top recruit and days before he was on the verge of one or two potential big signings ? Why fire him 5 weeks after the season ended ? Why pull players out of class at 9:00 am in the morning ? If you guys or anyone else has another theory that explains the timing lets hear it.
  9. Think what you want to think about my theories but I am not the only guy out there saying that this decision was not from CL but Biondi. In fact Martin K. this got done with a brief but I thought excellent commentary on this situation. Among other things he said that CL admitted to the players that the decision came from higher up. MK also alluded to the Spoon era and suggested that Spoon left, in part, because he was constantly getting jumped by the administration over little things, travel receipts, etc. He also was very upset over his inability to have control over scheduling and other vital aspects of the program. It got worst after the move to the new Kiel when we couldn't get any decent Saturday night games scheduled. I would certainly admit Spoon was not the most dynamic recruiter and spent too much time at Culpepper's. Still, he was Biondi/Yow's hire and the guy he insisted would right the ship.
  10. Moytoy: Unfortunately, the answer to your question is "yes" as long as Biondi is around.
  11. Bart: I am afraid the problems begin at the top. I am confident this came directly from Biondi, not CL. She is too much of a class act, and too smart to do it this way. Biondi mishandled the Grawer termination and then ran off Spoon and Romar because of his interference and his unwillingness to take reasonable steps to make the program competitive from a recruiting standpoint. Eventhough he finally decided to build the arena, he is insisting that it be done with outside support, not with SLU money.
  12. Whatever anyone thought of Brad as a coach/recruiter no one in their right mind can feel this was handled well by SLU. The timing of this and the crude way they handled it with Brad, players, fans, and media was awful at best. Its administrative malpractice. I personally loved Brad but would have accepted his firing as necessary if it had happened at the end of the season. I believe the timing HAD to have been connected with the recruiting decisions this week. One of two things happened: (1) The "fire Brad" crowd were concerned that if it didn't happen first thing this morning Brad might succeed in signing a couple studs and the window of opportunity would be gone, for now to fire him and/or his termination would look even more unreasonable than it looks now. (2) Either CL or Brad were given an ultimatum by Biondi that Brad had to close on some big time players during the first 3-4 days of the signing period and when he didn't deliver he was fired. This latter theory assumes that CL found out last night that RA was going to sign with Ill. and that Brad couldn't close on Pettigrew last night. This latter theory, however, doesn't explain why it had to happen this morning as opposed to this afternoon or later this week.
  13. This sounds like a classic case of the internet being its own echochamber. It may be true, but at this point I'll believe it when I hear an official announcement from Illinois that they have a signed LOI in hand from Alexander.
  14. I know its hard to imagine us taking players away from Illinois of Tenn. BUT if immediate PT is Alexander's main goal, it would appear SLU is the place. Unless we sign someone else, ALexander could start at center for us and/or forward with Luke moving to the backcourt. Soderberg's comments in the Post yesterday indicate he's ready to go with a smaller, more athletic lineup, which makes sense if you look at what George Mason, SIUC, and Butler have done the last 2 years in the NCAA tourney with no starter taller than 6'7". Illinois has their staring Center, Pruitt, returning as well as PF Randle, and backup C/F Richard Semrau returning from an injury. They already have fall signings from Bill Cole a 6'9" PF and 6'11" C Mike Tisdale, both highly touted recruits. Tennessee has all 5 starters returning and highly-regarded frosh PF Brian Williams signed. If Alexander wants to go BCS its obviously Illinois or Tenn. If he wants to play big minutes at a decent mid-major SLU has got to be his choice.
  15. I am not quite sure why some people on the board think that there is a rule against making more offers than you have scholarships. Its called aggressive recruiting. For example, this spring we have made - at last count - at least 6-7 offers with only 3 scholarships left. You sort it out by telling players that the first 3 guys that accept get the scholarships. The other approach, which is what I suspect Brad has done, is to tell the 2 PG recruits that we will only give one PG scholarship and the first guy that signs gets it. Likewise with the PF/C and SG slots. V-Time: although I agree with your basic approach, I don't think you should be projecting failure with Suggs and Brandenburg this early. Those are the type of players we've got to get if we are going to move forward. Particularly with Brandenburg, I think our chances are good.
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