Exposing a hack
Will the real clown please stand up? (Hint: he works for Yahoo)
Jan 10, 2019, 7:24 am
Exposing a hack
When news broke that the University of Houston was parting ways with Head Coach Major Applewhite, Yahoo Sports! Pete Thamel wrote a scathing article calling UH's big 3 of Chancellor Renu Khator, Regent Chairman Tilman Fertitta, and Athletic Director Chris Pezman "Houston's clown triumvirate" which is "being cackled at around college sports."
Or not.
Quite frankly it's a hatchet piece not worthy of your time. Forget the inaccuracies and the ridiculous pot shots taken at the big 3 that missed their marks, the level of disrespect is infuriating. Who the hell is Pete Thamel? A middling college sports writer calling accomplished administrators at a major university "clowns" and "puppets" who are "the definitive embarrassment of college sports" that "everyone in college sports" is laughing at is laughable in itself.
I wasn't aware that Pete Thamel spoke for everyone in college sports. He had one quote from a "Big 12 source" and if I were a betting man I'd wager that was the only person he spoke to on this subject. Of course I don't know this just as he doesn't know everyone in college sports but since it's OK to make wild assumptions on a previously well respected website we can do it here as well.
Dr. Khator, Tilman Fertitta and Chris Pezman don't need me to defend them, but they're too classy to fire back at an intellectual inferior. What these people have done in their lives is amazing and for Pete Thamel to belittle them is comical.
DOCTOR Khator, BILLIONAIRE Fertitta, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR Pezman. They're all successful and excellent at what they do.
I'm pretty sure none of the other presidents are "rolling their eyes" at Dr. Khator. Hey Pete, let's ask them what they think of a woman who sits on no less than a dozen boards ranging from Homeland Security to The Texas Medical Center. Let's ask them if they're impressed that she has guided The University of Houston from 502nd on the Forbes Top Colleges list in 2008 to 330 in 2018. U.S. News & World Report ranks UH #171 which is ahead of Texas Tech and West Virginia (a couple of those Big 12 schools that are "laughing" at her).
Tilman Fertitta probably laughed at your comment on how vain he was to call into a radio show to give the hosts the low-down on how a coaching search went. You added "(Yes, he actually did that.)" which is something that many A.D.'s and general managers and regent chairmen do after a coach is hired. (Yes, they actually do that).
We often joke that UH is Fertitta U. which is no different than T. Boone Pickens U. (Oklahoma St.) or Phil Knight U. (Oregon).
When you donate $20 million to build a basketball facility for your university, you are beloved and your opinion holds a great amount of weight. Oh and he's the chairman of the board of regents. He makes major decisions like the hiring and firing of the football coach. It's his job.
But I'm positive that that billionaire isn't losing any sleep over what Pete Thamel thinks of him. He's too busy buying professional teams, casinos, restaurants and hotels to worry about some petty sports writer.
And Chris Pezman is busy building winners. I know it's not how Pete Thamel wanted it done but oh well. Pete has the luxury to sit back and collect his check. Chris Pezman doesn't. Unfortunately ticket sales with Major Applewhite at the helm were lagging and public confidence was down, especially after a 70-14 shellacking at the hands of Army. Not Alabama. Not Clemson. Army.
I think Major is a fine coach. Did he have enough time to get it done? Probably not but the bar is high at UH. Kevin Sumlin finished third and first in his division in his first two years. Tom Herman won a New Year's Day Bowl and beat Oklahoma in his two. Yes, you have to win at UH. There's no reason not to, not with the foundation they have built.
Thamel even criticized the three for waiting until Jan. 1 to make the move to Dana Holgorsen. By waiting they saved $1.5 million. Dana's buyout went from $2.5 million to one million as the calendar turned. Thamel called it some type of GroupOn move. That's about as stupid as anything I've ever read. If they didn't wait a week to save $1.5 million it would have been moronic. They are very smart people but that didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out.
It seems Thamel has some disdain for the university trying to better itself by aspiring to be in the Big 12. Maybe they'll get there. Maybe they won't. That they are striving to be there though is not something that should be criticized. That "clown triumvirate" he referred to all came from relatively meager beginnings. What made them successful? They don't settle for good. They always want to be great. They think and act big. Nothing short of that is good enough. It's why they are hugely successful and not a website sports writer.
I have no dog in this fight. I know Tilman a little bit but Dr. Khator and Chris Pezman wouldn't know me from Adam. That a guy who's probably never met any of them would take uninformed pot shots from the cheap seats is why athletes and administrators don't trust us. People probably bought what Pete Thamel was selling that day and that's a shame because the only clown in all of this writes for Yahoo Sports!
Rookie Cam Smith homered on his first two at-bats and had a career-best four RBIs to power the Houston Astros to a 6-4 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
CAM SMOKES ONE!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/hI9YnN90Fg
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 19, 2025
Smith connected off Kyle Hart (2-1) on a three-run homer in the second inning to put the Astros on top and added a solo shot off the lefty in the fourth that made it 5-2.
TAKE 2.#BUILTFORTHIS pic.twitter.com/WA1aQgAi9e
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 19, 2025
San Diego's Luis Arraez, who had three hits, sent a high fastball from Bryan King into the first row in right field for a two-run homer that cut the lead to 5-4 in the seventh.
Jake Meyers tied a season high with three hits for the Astros, capped by a run-scoring single in the eighth to give them some insurance.
Houston starter Ryan Gusto (2-1) gave up nine hits and two runs in five innings. Josh Hader pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save.
The Padres went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
The Astros trailed by 1 with two on and two outs in the second inning when Smith sent his first home run into the seats in left field to make it 3-1.
An RBI single by Yainer Diaz extended the lead to 4-1 in the third.
Oscar Gonzalez cut the lead to 4-2 with an RBI single on a ground ball with one out in the fourth.
Smith’s second home run came on a full count in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 5-2.
Hart yielded 10 hits and five runs in five innings for his first loss this season after the team won each of his first three starts.
Smith's first home run that put the Astros on top for good.
Smith was 1 for 10 in Houston’s three-game series against St. Louis this week before breaking out Friday night.
Houston RHP Hayden Wesneski (1-1, 4.00 ERA) opposes RHP Michael King (3-0, 2.42) when the series continues Saturday night.