It just keeps getting better for Michigan and Rich Rodriguez haters. Michigan keeps losing, RichRod is losing his cool, players are making noise about leaving and former players are dissing their alma mater on the record.

Former Michigan star and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard laid the wood to Rodriguez and the Michigan program on a Columbus radio show this past Monday.

Question: In your post-Michigan career, have you ever dreaded a Michigan-Ohio State game more than this one?

Howard: “That would be the popular thinking after watching them lose eight games this season, and the way they’ve lost some of those games. I made a comment (Sunday) on our show that it’s not like they were trying to learn a spread offense (as much as) like they were trying to learn how to play football in some of those games, they looked so bad. This isn’t Michigan, this is like Michigan Tech.

Howard went on to say that he saw their potential for mediocrity before the season started. He also thought their bowl streak would be in jeopardy.

RichRod (or DickRod to West Virginia fans) could lose the fans and his job if things don’t get better next year. However he says Desmond and the rest of the Michigan faithful need to get a life. There are things that are more important in life. He should know since he’s obviously not focused on football. Alabama head coach Nick Saban suggests looking for a new employer and making them buy you out.

He’s in Michigan, Chief. Michigan fans and some neutrals refer to Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez as RichRod while people from West Virginia and East Lansing prefer DickRod. At the risk of enraging Bucktown Skins Fan, we’re going to go with DickRod. I’m not sure if he’s at the Petrino-Saban level but he’s pretty close.

If it were up to Rodriguez, he would probably say he’d like to be called Coach Messiah or RichGod. He recently had “the apostles” over to his house for a little bonding session.

“I had a handful of players that we call ‘the apostles’. It is a group of guys that the players pick as their leaders, some from each class … we always do that in the summer. I will meet them every week and we talk about issues and things that they would like to see and all that. It is really a kind of communication not that you have to be one of those guys to talk to me, but those guys are kind of the voice of players on certain things.

The apostles aren’t supposed to be a religious thing.

“It’s not in biblical nature,” Rodriguez said. “The definition of an apostle is one that leads a new way. I’m not looking for them to change the world. That’s a description of it. … I don’t want anybody to take it the wrong way.”

“Since I was at West Virginia,” he said. “I had a version of it, too, at the small school, Glenville State. I’ve always had a group of leaders that I let the players pick. We had a lot of fun with it. Sometimes it’s as simple as picking pregame music or that kind of thing. It’s not like they’re making major decisions. They’re not going to say, ‘Coach, we’re going to run the wishbone this week.’ They’re making suggestions, not decisions.”

The word apostle can mean one who pioneers an important reform movement, cause of belief. Those don’t sound like apostle-like activities. What exactly is the reform, cause or belief that makes the chosen players apostles? Shouldn’t Rich/DickRod lead by example since he is the head of the Church of Blue? If we had to guess, it would gimme the money or fuck the kids.

Players were not allowed to participate the annual Heroes for Kids benefit last Wednesday. The benefit “raises money for Saginaw youth recreation”. The team used the excuse of a mandatory strength and conditioning workout.

“It’s a big disappointment for all of us,” [Event Director Larry] Preston said. “The (U-M) players always have said how much they enjoy Heroes For Kids, and the strength and conditioning coach (Mike Barwis) said he wants to work with us on this next year.

“But this workout is mandatory, and all players must attend. It’s coach Rod’s call on that. This is his first year (at U-M), and he’s doing everything he can to make sure his team is successful.”

Doing everything like not even waiting until the season starts to start violating NCAA rules?

(2) Summer Conditioning Period. [FBS/FCS]
In football, between the start of summer conditioning and the start of preseason practice period, an institution shall conduct its out of season conditioning period as follows:
(a) Institutions shall count back nine weeks from the first permissible reporting date for preseason practice. During this nine-week period, institutions shall designate one week as student-athlete discretionary time.

(b) During the remaining eight weeks of the summer conditioning period student-athletes and prospective student-athletes who have signed a National Letter of Intent or, for those institutions not using a National Letter of Intent, a prospective student-athlete who has signed an institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid, may be involved in non mandatory weight training and conditioning activities that are conducted by the institution’s strength coach for no more than eight hours per week.

The charity event was scheduled months in advance. Was it really that hard to reschedule the NCAA rule violation to a different time or day?

Michigan State players attended the event in force and were autographing everything in sight including babies.

Go Blue finally claimed that the players “didn’t inform [DickRod] about participating in [the event]“. Blame the players for the mandatory workout which I’m sure we’ll find out wasn’t mandatory after they realize they messed up.

It’s going to be even easier to root against Michigan this year.

If there was a reality show called Saban Idol in which college football coaches compete to be the ultimate scumbag, Rich Rodriguez would definitely make the national tour. He hasn’t even coached a single game at Michigan yet and he’s made enough enemies to fill up the Big House.

Lineman Justin Boren has decided to transfer to Ohio State from Michigan. He announced he was leaving Michigan a month ago due to “an erosion of family values”. Whatever the fuck that means. Was he looking for a strong stance on marriage within the coaching staff? Maybe Rodriguez & Co. didn’t show enough support for the Defense of Marriage Act.

Good thing Boren’s not from Michigan. He could never go home again. He’ll have to sit out a year and then walk-on as he cannot receive a scholarship from Ohio State.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, West Virginia has released documents showing that Rodriguez pursued the Michigan job without being approached. Documents obtained through discovery in the WVU lawsuit against Rodriguez show that his representatives contacted Michigan three days before he interviewed for the head coaching job.

Nick Saban just shed a tear and said, “That’s my boy.”