From the Bench - National Media Won't Be Only Group Piling on Bielema if He Doesn't Win Soon

[Robert Shields]

National Media Won't Be Only Group Piling on Bielema if He Doesn't Win Soon

Robert Shields

Jeff Long of the University of Arkansas is the only athletic director in the SEC not to have either a football program make a bowl or basketball program make the NCAA tournament. But he did turn a $17-million profit in UA athletics, the second-highest profit margin in the SEC, has the school ranked No. 10 in the country in football revenue, and raised $20 million out of you through the Razorback Foundation for the second year in a row.

But this column is about Bret Bielema, who was paid $3 million from all that money Long is amazingly bringing into the program without any postseason play from the two major revenue producers. With that kind of magic, no wonder Long is athletic director of the year.

Last week, your man Clay Travis of OutKicktheCoverage.com delivered a hit piece on Bielema and named him the new Lane Kiffin, the one-time coach from Tennessee who is so hated and despised that he had a sewage plant named after him. One of the main knocks on Kiffin was that he did not fit in the SEC, and Clay Travis is laying the same label on Bielema.

Travis drew many comparisons between the two coaches and hurled the added insult that at least Kiffin did win some at Tennessee. Travis failed to mention that Bielema won three Big 10 titles and trips to the Rose Bowl when at Wisconsin, a level of success Kiffin had never reached at a previous stop.

In response to Travis, many Razorback fans pointed out that when Bielema was hired, Travis wrote that Bielema had the best resume of all the new hires in the SEC, which is in direct contradiction to what he was writing in his hit piece.

When Bielema left Wisconsin, it is well-documented that he engaged in a war of words with Wisconsin and its fans. It seemed to end on his side, when his wife tweeted #Karma. The Hogs have not won since, as pointed out by the Travis column.

If anyone is paying attention, picking the fight with Wisconsin fans came with a price. In the end, Bielema has lost it. It's a fight with another fan base you cannot win here or anywhere. It can only look petty. As much was said at that time in this space and by others.

The truth is that the rest of the county sees Bielema as an easy target to lash out at for basically anything. Bielema was taken to task recently for his slow play argument and using a football player who died to support his argument when the student really didn't.

So to summarize, in the last couple of weeks Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News, Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated, and now Clay Travis has pointed out how Bielema is just a loose cannon. Many from outside the state are seeing something much different going on in Arkansas than through the rose-colored glasses many Razorback fans are looking through.

The Razorback Athletic Program is in shambles as the basketball team crashed in the last week missing a golden opportunity to make the NCAA tournament that used to be a birthright for Hog fans. The baseball team is still trying to find itself this season, and of course the Razorback Football team is still in the midst of its longest losing streak in its history.

The Travis piece is definitely kicking Arkansas and Bielema while they are down. But it's easy to do right now. Travis has been no friend to Arkansas in the past, and he must see Arkansas as an easy target to drive traffic to his website. Last year, he did a ranking of the worst fans. Coming in at No. 4 was Arkansas.

Yet after removing all the Travis bias you may see, the column still begs the question, does Bielema fit at Arkansas and in the SEC?

There is really only one way for Bielema to fit now and that is by winning. When he arrived in Fayetteville, Nolan Richardson did not fit in the eyes of some. But he was a fit, at least for a while, after winning and bringing home a national title to Arkansas. He was finally fired when he had his first losing season since 1986.

Bielema's honeymoon season was burned by John L. Smith. The fans have had to endure two of their roughest seasons in history. They probably will not stomach a third one. Bielema has to win and get the football team back to a bowl game or not only will the national media be piling on him, but even more of his own fan base.



Send your thoughts on Bielema to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

[Nipsey Mussle]

You could've just sent a link to the Clay Travis article.

[DeltaBoy]

Good Job Robert.   Wally Hall couldn't tote your lunch box.

[ricepig]

Good Job Robert.   Wally Hall couldn't tote your lunch box.

Is that suppose to be an endorsement?

[tbhogfan]

[Vantage 8 dude]

You could've just sent a link to the Clay Travis article.

Exactly and BTW Robert it'd sure be nice for you to actually write about something that isn't at all obvious even to a blind man. Thinking the "seat will get a little hot" if the Hogs don't start improving noticeably over the next couple of seasons is absolutely nothing at all of a "scoop". Now about that wind that was going to blow the Hog's BB team into the NCAA tournament.........oh yeah, it was actually the NIT. Kinda swung and (partially) missed on that particular gem.

[Vantage 8 dude]

Is that suppose to be an endorsement?

Actually it's about the best that anyone can come up with. I suppose he should be grateful for any (very) small bit of "praise".

[Hogfaniam]

Why?

At this point, what possible good does this post do?


Robert, your Delta Tau Chi name is Henny Penny.  Why?  Why not.

[RebelliousHog]

Good Job Robert.   Wally Hall couldn't tote your lunch box.

?

[Vantage 8 dude]

Why?

At this point, what possible good does this post do?


Robert, your Delta Tau Chi name is Henny Penny.  Why?  Why not.

The REAL questions should be "What possible good does ANY of his posts do"? Now THAT is the real puzzler!!

[bigbadhog]

Hot Seat on the way

[jkstock04]

It is beyond me why people take this Clay Travis so seriously. That is one guys opinion and Hogville latches on to this guy like his word is God.

[RebelliousHog]

What is the negative hard-on that Shields has on CBB? 

CBB was given a big salary to right a ship that was floundering at best and sinking at worst.
Now if that is BPs fault for not recruiting, ADs fault for firing BP for not keeping is weenie covered, ADS fault for hiring smiley, is all irrelevant. CBBs job is to right the ship. He needs the time to do so.

[bigbadhog]

It is beyond me why people take this Clay Travis so seriously. That is one guys opinion and Hogville latches on to this guy like his word is God.

It is an opinion that many share about BB - except those with the "special glasses".  LK & BB certainly share some challenges in acting mature, knowing when to keep their mouths shut and backing it up their non-sense...

[Vantage 8 dude]

It is beyond me why people take this Clay Travis so seriously. That is one guys opinion and Hogville latches on to this guy like his word is God.

Well I sure the heck don't; however, if you're going to more or less discuss the "hot seat" BB's might soon be on you might as well "throw in the kitchen sink" like ole CT recently did. Heck, after perusing his latest trash can lining piece you'd think his comparison to Lane Kiffin didn't go far enough-should have been more along the lines of Herr Hitler.

[hogcard1964]

It's almost unprecedented that the Hogs have three losing seasons in a row.  I believe we'd have to go back to over sixty years.  We'll win this year.  The bar has been set for Beilema.  8 wins this year.

[Vantage 8 dude]

What is the negative hard-on that Shields has on CBB? 

CBB was given a big salary to right a ship that was floundering at best and sinking at worst.
Now if that is BPs fault for not recruiting, ADs fault for firing BP for not keeping is weenie covered, ADS fault for hiring smiley, is all irrelevant. CBBs job is to right the ship. He needs the time to do so.

Uhh........in case you haven't noticed ole Bobby Shields' "hard-on" as you call it isn't just confined to BB. Heck, over the past several years he's had it in for Pepsi vs. Coke being served at DWRSS, various building/upgrade projects being done on campus, cheerleading issues, etc. etc. You know: all the HARD HITTING journalistic subject matter that makes the world go 'round.

[Ragnar Hogbrok]

Shields is the John Madden of message board posting: "Here's a coach that when he doesn't win, his job is in jeopardy."

Derp.

[jkstock04]

It is an opinion that many share about BB - except those with the "special glasses".  LK & BB certainly share some challenges in acting mature, knowing when to keep their mouths shut and backing it up their non-sense...

It's not just the lane kiffin reference. It's everything this guy says. The whole 4th dumbest fanbase thing is baseless but many on here take it as factual info.

[Inhogswetrust]

Cue the didn't read video.

[Vantage 8 dude]

It's not just the lane kiffin reference. It's everything this guy says. The whole 4th dumbest fanbase thing is baseless but many on here take it as factual info.

While I too fume at some of the crap this idiot writes the "4th dumbest fan base" comment does at least give me pause. Primarily 'cause I read much of what some folks post. If that doesn't make you at least wonder then I really don't know what.

[bigbadhog]

It's not just the lane kiffin reference. It's everything this guy says. The whole 4th dumbest fanbase thing is baseless but many on here take it as factual info.

Agreed

[#1Fan]

So to summarize, in the last couple of weeks Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News, Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated, and now Clay Travis has pointed out how Bielema is just a loose cannon.

And now Tim Letcher from RantSports, whatever that is.

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2014/03/15/arkansas-razorbacks-bret-bielema-already-wearing-on-hogs-fans/

[DOGALUM]

Who the hell is Robert Shields?


Such garbage from such an obvious non fan. 

[DeltaBoy]

And now Tim Letcher from RantSports, whatever that is.

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2014/03/15/arkansas-razorbacks-bret-bielema-already-wearing-on-hogs-fans/

He is RIGHT

[The_Iceman]

DID NOT READ!

[Vantage 8 dude]

And now Tim Letcher from RantSports, whatever that is.

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2014/03/15/arkansas-razorbacks-bret-bielema-already-wearing-on-hogs-fans/

Yeah, as we know the press is always looking for the latest "kill" to attack like a pack of wild hyenas. Jump on the perceived "most vulnerable" to go ahead and bring down once and for all. At that point we'll pick over the carcass before moving on to the next weakest in the sports world.

[hogcard1964]

And now Tim Letcher from RantSports, whatever that is.

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2014/03/15/arkansas-razorbacks-bret-bielema-already-wearing-on-hogs-fans/

He's correct.  His job is to win.  Do that, and these feelings subside.  I don't believe there will be as much of this after 2014.

[smb]

National Media Won't Be Only Group Piling on Bielema if He Doesn't Win Soon

Robert Shields

Jeff Long of the University of Arkansas is the only athletic director in the SEC not to have either a football program make a bowl or basketball program make the NCAA tournament. But he did turn a $17-million profit in UA athletics, the second-highest profit margin in the SEC, has the school ranked No. 10 in the country in football revenue, and raised $20 million out of you through the Razorback Foundation for the second year in a row.

But this column is about Bret Bielema, who was paid $3 million from all that money Long is amazingly bringing into the program without any postseason play from the two major revenue producers. With that kind of magic, no wonder Long is athletic director of the year.

Last week, your man Clay Travis of OutKicktheCoverage.com delivered a hit piece on Bielema and named him the new Lane Kiffin, the one-time coach from Tennessee who is so hated and despised that he had a sewage plant named after him. One of the main knocks on Kiffin was that he did not fit in the SEC, and Clay Travis is laying the same label on Bielema.

Travis drew many comparisons between the two coaches and hurled the added insult that at least Kiffin did win some at Tennessee. Travis failed to mention that Bielema won three Big 10 titles and trips to the Rose Bowl when at Wisconsin, a level of success Kiffin had never reached at a previous stop.

In response to Travis, many Razorback fans pointed out that when Bielema was hired, Travis wrote that Bielema had the best resume of all the new hires in the SEC, which is in direct contradiction to what he was writing in his hit piece.

When Bielema left Wisconsin, it is well-documented that he engaged in a war of words with Wisconsin and its fans. It seemed to end on his side, when his wife tweeted #Karma. The Hogs have not won since, as pointed out by the Travis column.

If anyone is paying attention, picking the fight with Wisconsin fans came with a price. In the end, Bielema has lost it. It's a fight with another fan base you cannot win here or anywhere. It can only look petty. As much was said at that time in this space and by others.

The truth is that the rest of the county sees Bielema as an easy target to lash out at for basically anything. Bielema was taken to task recently for his slow play argument and using a football player who died to support his argument when the student really didn't.

So to summarize, in the last couple of weeks Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News, Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated, and now Clay Travis has pointed out how Bielema is just a loose cannon. Many from outside the state are seeing something much different going on in Arkansas than through the rose-colored glasses many Razorback fans are looking through.

The Razorback Athletic Program is in shambles as the basketball team crashed in the last week missing a golden opportunity to make the NCAA tournament that used to be a birthright for Hog fans. The baseball team is still trying to find itself this season, and of course the Razorback Football team is still in the midst of its longest losing streak in its history.

The Travis piece is definitely kicking Arkansas and Bielema while they are down. But it's easy to do right now. Travis has been no friend to Arkansas in the past, and he must see Arkansas as an easy target to drive traffic to his website. Last year, he did a ranking of the worst fans. Coming in at No. 4 was Arkansas.

Yet after removing all the Travis bias you may see, the column still begs the question, does Bielema fit at Arkansas and in the SEC?

There is really only one way for Bielema to fit now and that is by winning. When he arrived in Fayetteville, Nolan Richardson did not fit in the eyes of some. But he was a fit, at least for a while, after winning and bringing home a national title to Arkansas. He was finally fired when he had his first losing season since 1986.

Bielema's honeymoon season was burned by John L. Smith. The fans have had to endure two of their roughest seasons in history. They probably will not stomach a third one. Bielema has to win and get the football team back to a bowl game or not only will the national media be piling on him, but even more of his own fan base.



Send your thoughts on Bielema to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

And yet another VENT N RUMOR post!

[Hawgon]

Well, we've gotten nothing but negative publicity for a long time now.  It is beginning to wear.

[grim_sleeper]

Good lord,  just shut up Robert.  It's getting really old.   I can't wait until Bielema starts winning so your mouth will finally be shut -  or will it?

[Vantage 8 dude]

Good lord,  just shut up Robert.  It's getting really old.   I can't wait until Bielema starts winning so your mouth will finally be shut -  or will it?

Isn't ever going to shut up. After all all that hot air has to escape somewhere.

[JIMMY BOARFFETT]

You could've just sent a link to the Clay Travis article.

Exactly! I normally don't read this drivel but today I'm stuck inside nursing a sore back, so I thought "what the heck."  As I read it I was thinking, "I've just read a write-up about someone's write-up that I've already read!"  SMH.

[Vantage 8 dude]

Exactly! I normally don't read this drivel but today I'm stuck inside nursing a sore back, so I thought "what the heck."  As I read it I was thinking, "I've just read a write-up about someone's write-up that I've already read!"  SMH.

How true, how true. BTW perhaps the tagline of "This Space For Rent" should become a part of the thread occupied weekly by one Robert Shields. Would most certainly dramatically upgrade the intelligence level of HV.

[bigbadhog]

How true, how true. BTW perhaps the tagline of "This Space For Rent" should become a part of the thread occupied weekly by one Robert Shields. Would most certainly dramatically upgrade the intelligence level of HV.

Why so hostile just because someone has a differing opinion on something???

[smb]

Exactly! I normally don't read this drivel but today I'm stuck inside nursing a sore back, so I thought "what the heck."  As I read it I was thinking, "I've just read a write-up about someone's write-up that I've already read!"  SMH.

Yea its called "PLAGIARISM"

[OTTER]

You have a nobody "Robert Shields" giving a nobody "Clay Travis" credibility?  And Someone actuay cares?  BS!

[Kevin]

you have already started

[jkstock04]

While I too fume at some of the crap this idiot writes the "4th dumbest fan base" comment does at least give me pause. Primarily 'cause I read much of what some folks post. If that doesn't make you at least wonder then I really don't know what.

Cause you read what some folks post? So if you disagree with someone's opinion that makes them dumb?  Not saying that's you, but that's how a lot of people are....& that's where a lot of this and Clay Travis' "analysis" comes from. I wouldn't give it a second thought except I see it referenced so much on here.

It is dumb...there is no numerical data to support his claim but people still take it as fact.

[Hawgon]

The same people who throw around the "fourth dumbest fan base" mantra like it is gospel, are the ones who most object to this current article of Travis.

[bigbadhog]

The same people who throw around the "fourth dumbest fan base" mantra like it is gospel, are the ones who most object to this current article of Travis.

Funny how that happens

[porkrindjimmy]

Why so hostile just because someone has a differing opinion on something???

Because that is their m.o. hostile and if you respond a bit hostile? Well, then they report you to the moderator....a joke

PRJ

[PygmalionEffect]

In the fall, all these sportswriters write articles about football.


In the off season they have nothing to write about....


so that's what they write about.

[Vantage 8 dude]

Cause you read what some folks post? So if you disagree with someone's opinion that makes them dumb?  Not saying that's you, but that's how a lot of people are....& that's where a lot of this and Clay Travis' "analysis" comes from. I wouldn't give it a second thought except I see it referenced so much on here.

It is dumb...there is no numerical data to support his claim but people still take it as fact.

I've said before that I have no problem having folks who don't necessarily agree with my viewpoints. After all as we know that's one of the main purposes of a discussion board. No, what I'm referring to are some of the wild and outrageous claims/comments some make that give me pause as to the intelligence level of those particular individuals.

[bigbadhog]

Because that is their m.o. hostile and if you respond a bit hostile? Well, then they report you to the moderator....a joke

PRJ

Okay PRJ, I understand.  I will continue to state my objective/rational opinion about BB without name-calling and let them do the opposite.  It does make one side seam kind of irrational

[porkrindjimmy]

Good lord,  just shut up Robert.  It's getting really old.   I can't wait until Bielema starts winning so your mouth will finally be shut -  or will it?
[/
Arent you the youngster who starts posts saying we have the greatest staff ever assembled in campus right now today? The youngun who pens open love letters to Bielema twice a day? That is what is becoming old. Bielema and his mouth and lack of coaching so far in his tenure is already old and you sheeple who rush to defend his every step no matter wherer he steps is old and it is embarrassing. So you just stop.


PRJ

[Inhogswetrust]

He is RIGHT

Not about ALL Hog fans. Only a minority.

[porkrindjimmy]

Okay PRJ, I understand.  I will continue to state my objective/rational opinion about BB without name-calling and let them do the opposite.  It does make one side seam kind of irrational

Indeed it does but you will never get them to do the same. Deep down they know their ship is listing in the water

PRJ

[bigbadhog]

I've said before that I have no problem having folks who don't necessarily agree with my viewpoints. After all as we know that's one of the main purposes of a discussion board. No, what I'm referring to are some of the wild and outrageous claims/comments some make that give me pause as to the intelligence level of those particular individuals.

"Wild and outrageous claims" is somewhat subjective don't you think?  Why not respect everyone's opinion?  How do you decide?  I am confident some people think that about your posts...  Sorry, I am very frustrated about being called names for having an objective opinion which is what HV is for.  Anyone who doesn't watch thru the rose-colored lenses is part of the "dumb fanbase" and "Not very knowledgeable about football...  BBH

[sowmonella]

Sigh...........

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