Jonathan Says

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Listen; there are some things that probably shouldn’t be referenced in sports. This list isn’t very extensive: slavery and the Holocaust top the list with a slew of racial slurs to follow. Lou Holtz broke that rule over the weekend, making a reference to Adolf Hitler’s leadership in Germany while on ESPN’s College Football Live. Looking back at it, I’m sure Holtz realizes what he said didn’t come out how he meant it to (he was comparing Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez’s “good leadership” to Hitler’s), but there has to be a line.

Could you imagine an announcer saying, “Well, he’s getting beat like a slave in the South,” while Roy Jones, Jr. was winning a fight? It’s just not appropriate. I realize that Holtz isn’t a journalist (the retired coach merely plays one on TV), therefore he might not understand all the principles of writing and speaking for a public audience, but he needs to be punished for his actions and take some time off.

For whatever reason, ESPN is not taking that course of action after Holtz simply apologized for his actions, but he should take a few days to update the several phrases and comparisons he can use in making his points. In fact, I’ve come up with a few for him to use:

1) Rich Rodriguez is doing a bad job as head coach of Michigan.

2) Thus far, Rich Rodriguez hasn’t been taking the Wolverines in the right direction.

3) Rich Rodriguez has not lived up to his billing.

4) I think I can do a better job than Rich Rodriguez can.

If any readers out there know Mr. Holtz or have his mailing address, please forward these suggestions to him-immediately.

NFL

I don’t disagree with the San Francisco 49ers firing head coach Mike Nolan, but I can’t say that I see the point of handling the issue in mid-season. As reported on ESPN.com, rumors are already flying that Southern Cal coach Pete Carroll is at the top of the front office’s wish list as a replacement, despite the promotion of Mike Singletary to interim head coach.

News flash to San Francisco: College football doesn’t work the same way as the NFL. Coaches don’t jump from team to team in the middle of the season. Carroll is still going to be available come January, and if you really want to make it known to him that he’s your man, Los Angeles isn’t too far away (at least the last time I checked a map of California).

Sure, the 49ers might have needed a change in order to get the team going in the right direction, but is it really fair to Singletary to put him in a position where he is possibly competing for a job that obviously isn’t very good?

Is he going to be given a chance to take over if he can merely make the team decent? How it appears to me is Singletary’s success with a depleted team is going to be compared with Carroll’s success with a collegiate powerhouse. It sounds like an uphill battle to me.