T1B

Old Captain Comeback is having difficulty keeping his yap shut again. This time he's responding to the responses from AA regarding his original comments.

Enjoy.



Harbaugh fires back at Michigan, again
Posted by Sports Reporter John Heuser August 09, 2007 12:50PM
Categories: Football
Like a boxer determined to go the distance now matter how bloody he gets, first-year Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh continues to jab at his alma mater.

Prolonging a debate Harbaugh started three months ago by questioning how Michigan balances athletics and its academic integrity, he has responded to critical comments made by former teammate Jamie Morris, and by Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and tailback Mike Hart at Big Ten media days last week.

The most incendiary words were uttered by Hart, who said among other things, "He's not a Michigan man, and I wish he had never played here. I've never met him and I don't want to."

In a story Wednesday by ESPN.com's Pat Forde, Harbaugh lashed out Morris and Hart, and also took a thinly veiled poke at Carr in the process.

"It seemed very orchestrated and organized, especially coming two months after my comments were made," said Harbaugh, who came to Michigan in 1983 wanting to study history but was advised to major in communications instead. "I'm not going to allow those comments to define who I am. ... Mike Hart and Jamie Morris are not the makers of the Michigan man list. I put in the blood, sweat and tears to prove I belong on that list.
My motivation was positive. I see how it's done now at Stanford, and I see no reason to believe it can't be the same there. I have a great love for Michigan and what it's done for me.

"I learned from a great man named Bo Schembechler that you speak the truth as you know it. It may not be the popular thing, but you speak your mind. Everything I said is supported by fact, but the thing that has come back is the personal attack on me, not looking at the issue whatsoever."

The most bothersome personal attack to Harbaugh came from Hart. Even more bothersome was the fact that nobody within the Michigan hierarchy has publicly reined in Hart for blasting a well-decorated alum.

"Mike Hart is just repeating their messages," Harbaugh said. "When I was a player, there would have been nobody saying anything like what Mike Hart said about me. We would have been too afraid of the consequences. That wouldn't have happened while Bo was there. I'm glad as the head coach of Stanford I don't have to deal with those repercussions."

Instead, Harbaugh is dealing with the repercussions of his own words, which prompted a question: Why did he bring up the issue of Michigan's academic standards to begin with?

"My motivation was positive," he said. "I see how it's done now at Stanford, and I see no reason to believe it can't be the same there. I have a great love for Michigan and what it's done for me. Bo Schembechler was like a second father. Michigan is a great school and always has been, and I don't see why they can't hold themselves to a higher standard.

"Most avid college football fans, unfortunately, just think about how exciting it is to watch college players play and not about what happens when the football comes to a screeching halt. They need to get a degree -- a quality degree -- and develop a skill set that helps you for the next 60-70 years.

"There is no general studies at Stanford. In my opinion, that major does not give you the skill set to compete [in the working world]."


While not as outspoken as Harbaugh in the debate, Carr hasn't remained silent, either. During a speaking engagement at Rotary Club in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, he answered a question about Harbaugh by saying, "(Quarterbacks) John Wangler, Elvis Grbac, Todd Collins, Michael Taylor, Scott Dreisbach, Brian Griese, Tom Brady, John Navarre, Chad Henne ... they all got the degree of their choice at the University of Michigan.

"I think if you would ask them, they would tell you how proud they are to have the degrees they have from this great university. There's not a degree here that anybody at the University of Michigan has to apologize for. That's all I have to say at this point."
Judging from Carr's final words, it doesn't seem that the back-and-forth is ready to end yet.

Michigan football = Eating your own?

Did he need to take that swipe at his old program? Probably not...why single out his alma mater?

Was he necessarily wrong with this comments? I think he spoke some truth and it struck a cord with those still close to the program.

I didn't realize that it had been two months prior that Harbaugh said those comments originally. Why did it take so long for anyone from Michigan to respond in the first place? Mike Hart spoke out of turn...he's got status but he shouldn't be firing shots at a guy who has accomplished as much as he has in his life. This is more of matter for those in charge of the program now and for some teammates to address. Instead of people with high standing in the program stepping forward to defend the program, they resort to childish name-calling.

Michigan is far from this model of perfection they try to sell to everyone. This is an illustration of the culture of this program. There is an arrogance and invinsibility they think they have. Schemblecher instilled in this program the pride of being a part of something bigger than themselves but also this mafia mentality that you can't ever speak out or act out against the program.

Michigan isn't the only program that lowers their academic standards to allow athletes into their program but I think it bugs them that someone came out and called them on it. Stanford has strict academic requirements for their athletes and Michigan, a school on a similar level as Stanford, doesn't do the same with their athletics...or maybe just for football and basketball, the two cash cows. If they had the same standards as Stanford, Michigan football wouldn't be the program we see today. It's very difficult for a program to win with high academic standards and Harbaugh will find out at Stanford.

RACK the Last Paragraph....and Everyone Knows IT--->'cept Notre Dame.