Herbstreit rips U-M on radio

[Dryden]

Starting a new thread for this to keep the growing Herbstreit firestorm out of the UM game thread, since this will no doubt spawn a huge ancillary discussion for the next three weeks.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...611010338/1004

Herbstreit rips U-M on radio

TV analyst and ex-OSU quarterback says defense will fail, receiver Breaston is mostly 'worthless.'

Angelique S. Chengelis / The Detroit News

The big game is more than two weeks away, but because of the potential matchup of No. 1 Ohio State versus No. 2 Michigan, the talk already has started.

Here are some excerpts from Kirk Herbstreit on his radio show Monday afternoon on "The Big Show" on WBNS 1460 in Columbus. Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, is a well-respected college football television analyst:

# On the Michigan defense: "I personally don't think their defense, the way Ohio State will spread them out, can just dominate the game and shut Ohio State down."

# On Michigan not being able to score enough points to beat OSU: "The way they look right now, I don't think anybody can see that.

"(Receiver) Mario Manningham coming back, one guy doesn't make a big difference in most cases, but the reason it does in Michigan's case is because it's like a domino effect.

"If Manningham's able to come back and be the player that he was before the injury, (receiver Adrian) Arrington can go back to doing what he does, instead of being the go-to guy.

"(Receiver Steve) Breaston can go back to whatever he's doing these days, if they could ever find a way to actually apply him in the offense. He's worthless in my mind, outside of returning a few punts. I'll say that, and he'll end up winning the game for them on Nov. 18. But he hasn't done anything since his freshman year."

# On what would happen today if U-M and OSU met: "If those two teams were to play right now, just the way they're playing, I don't even think it would be close. Ohio State not only wins that game the way they're playing right now, maybe by a few scores."

# On Michigan's fans not sticking around for last Saturday's game against Northwestern: "If you're a Michigan fan, honestly, help me to understand, you have a team that is No. 2 in the country, you only get a chance to see them play at home six or seven times and you bail in the second quarter?"

Comment costs announcer

Former NFL tight end Brian Kinchen will not work as an ESPNU commentator this week because of a comment he made during Saturday's broadcast of the Northern Illinois-Iowa game.

Kinchen was explaining the need for receivers to make catches with their hands because they are "tender" and can "caress" the ball. He then paused and said, "That's kind of gay, but hey ..."

"The comments were inappropriate, and we apologize for them," said Josh Krulewitz , ESPN's vice president of public relations.

Kinchen's future with ESPNU is under review, Krulewitz said.

Kinchen, who played at LSU and in the NFL from 1988-2000 with Miami, Cleveland and Baltimore, also apologized for his remarks.

"They were completely inappropriate and not at all a reflection of who I am or the way I perform my work," Kinchen said in a statement issued by ESPN. "I have learned from my mistake and look forward to continuing my broadcasting career."

[Dryden]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_...gone-wild.html

Herbstreit Gone Wild
11/01/2006 02:38:00 PM

The first shots have been fired in what is sure to be no shortage of buildup to the Nov. 18 Michigan-Ohio State game -- but strangely, they weren't uttered by a player, coach or employee of either school. The source? ESPN GameDay analyst and former Buckeyes quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, who, according to the Detroit News, had some none-too-kind words for the Wolverines on his Columbus radio show Wednesday. A couple highlights:

∙ "I personally don't think [Michigan's] defense, the way Ohio State will spread them out, can just dominate the game and shut Ohio State down."

∙ "If those two teams were to play right now, just the way they're playing, I don't even think it would be close. Ohio State not only wins that game the way they're playing right now, maybe by a few scores."

∙ On Michigan receiver Steve Breaston's role once injured star Mario Manningham returns: "Breaston can go back to whatever he's doing these days, if they could ever find a way to actually apply him in the offense. He's worthless in my mind, outside of returning a few punts."

Care to wager whether some of those comments will be making there way around the Wolverines locker room the next few weeks?

Herbrsteit is the most astute studio analyst on television, bar none. Unlike some of the downright clowns the networks hire to be their talking heads, he actually talks to coaches and players, knows what he's talking about and usually takes a very level-headed approach to his comments -- at least when he's on ESPN.

Unfortunately, he also treads a fine line between his role as an analyst and his status as an OSU icon, particularly in Columbus, where, in addition to hosting a radio show, his voice can be heard on seemingly every other ad on the radio, and where he's lent his name and services to the popular Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA high school football event.

I don't necessarily disagree with most of his comments in that article. Michigan's offense isn't playing very well right now. It's entirely possible the Wolverines' defense won't dominate the Buckeyes' offense. And if he wants to go ahead and predict a Buckeyes blowout, hey, that's his prerogative. His GameDay colleague, Mr. Corso, has certainly made more outrageous picks than that.

But where Herbstreit crossed the line was in calling Breaston "worthless." Don't get me wrong, the Michigan receiver -- who once put up 315 all-purpose yards against Texas in the Rose Bowl -- has been a tremendous disappointment and an apparent non-factor in the Wolverines' offense. But he's also a college athlete. Journalists don't call college athletes "worthless."

I think I can say with absolute certainty that Herbstreit never would have uttered that phrase were he talking about Breaston on GameDay or any other ESPN program. But on a Columbus radio station, with an audience comprised almost entirely of OSU diehards, the Scarlet-and-Gray Herbstreit couldn't help but come out. And now he's going to be in an awkward position for the next three weeks.

If OSU and Michigan do indeed meet as the No. 1 and 2 teams in the country, it will be the biggest regular-season game college football has seen in a decade. As ESPN's top college football analyst, he will undoubtedly be asked on numerous occasions to provide his analysis about the contest. I'm sure he will take careful measures, as he always does, to present himself in an objective manner at all times. But after that rant, how could anyone possibly buy it?

[OSU_Buckguy]

i also heard that herbstreit said that breaston is "kind of gay."

[MililaniBuckeye]

But where Herbstreit crossed the line was in calling Breaston "worthless." Don't get me wrong, the Michigan receiver -- who once put up 315 all-purpose yards against Texas in the Rose Bowl -- has been a tremendous disappointment and an apparent non-factor in the Wolverines' offense. But he's also a college athlete. Journalists don't call college athletes "worthless."

Maybe journalists can't, but former college athletes can. Hey, Stewart Mandel, just shut the [censored] up.

[elliemae]

Hang On! It's gonna be a wild ride!

[MuckFich06]

I think it's interesting how they globbed onto that word "worthless." As if Herbie was actually calling Breaston worthless. If you read the whole quote (which the second article didn't even bother to include the entire quote), he was basically saying that Breaston is worthless in the way he is being used in this offense. I don't think he is saying that they kid doesn't have talent, but that TSUN isn't making good use of him for whatever reason. Had Herbie used a term like "non-factor" it wouldn't have been an issue. I'm just amazed how people (especially media) love to fixate on one word (often taking it out of context) to flame somebody. I mean, really, its sooo gay.