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!
L.J. Cryer scored 18 points, Milos Uzan added 17 points and No. 5 Houston rebounded from its first Big 12 loss of the season with a 72-63 win over Oklahoma State on Tuesday night.
J’Wan Roberts had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Terrance Arceneaux had 10 points for Houston (18-4, 10-1 Big 12), which shot 42% and went 8 of 21 on 3-pointers.
The Cougars lost to Texas Tech 82-81 in overtime on Saturday, and improved to 31-2 after a loss since Feb. 1, 2017.
Abou Ousmane scored 16 points, Arturo Dean added 13 points and Bryce Thompson had 11 points for Oklahoma State (11-11, 3-8), which lost for the fourth time in its last five games.
The Cowboys shot 51% and were 7 of 19 on 3-pointers.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys missed an opportunity for a marquee win after jumping to an 18-9 lead and opening the game shooting 8 of 10 from the field. Oklahoma State had issues with Houston’s defensive pressure and couldn’t stop the Cougars on the boards.
Houston: Missing second-leading scorer Emanuel Sharp and reserve Ja’Vier Francis, who were out of the lineup with injuries, the Cougars started slowly. However, Houston recovered to make 11 of its final 16 field goals of the first half and take a 39-33 lead into halftime.
After Oklahoma State cut Houston’s lead to 68-63 with 30 seconds remaining, Mylik Wilson and Cryer each made two free throws to ice the win.
Houston outrebounded Oklahoma State 40-24, including an 18-4 advantage in offensive rebounds, which the Cougars turned into 16 second-chance points.
Houston travels to Colorado on Saturday. Oklahoma State hosts Arizona State on Sunday.