Illinois Fires Head Football Coach

A week before the start of the college football season, Illinois Athletic Director Mike Thomas announced the firing of head football coach Tim Beckman, after a clearly long investigation...Thomas saying, "The preliminary information external reviewers shared with me does not reflect our values or our commitment to the welfare of our student-athletes, and I've chosen to act accordingly. During the review, we have asked people not to rush to judgment, but I now have enough information to make this decision in assessing the status and direction of the football program."

Beckman has been under investigation since allegations came out about him pressuring offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic to play while injured, and that he misled Cvijanovic about the severity of his injuries...

The investigation not only showed Beckman had influenced medical decisions , but also threatened to withdraw scholarships from players during their senior year, after they had finished the football season...

Thomas added, "Both of those findings are unsettling violations of University policy and practice and do not reflect the culture that we wish to create in athletic programs for our young people. I expect my coaches to protect players and foster their success on and off the field."

After finding out Beckman had been fired, Simon Cvijanovic told the Associated Press, "All I can say right now is I think it's a step in the right direction. It seems like there's more than just Beckman that needs to be held accountable."

Former Illinois defensive tackle, and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Akeem Spence said via Twitter,  "Illinois just got better !!!#illini"

Offensive Coordinator Bill Cubit will be the interim head coach for this season...

Beckman will not be getting the $3.1 million left on his contract, nor will he be getting $743,000 if he were to be bought out...In 3 season at Illinois he had a 12-25 record and 1 bowl appearance...

Based on what seems to be happening at Illinois...And the fact that Beckman is a loser, with a losing team, I'm totally in agreement with giving this TOOL his walking papers...But considering Cvijanovic came forward with his claims in May, I would have thought a place of higher-learning would have setup a timetable for their investigation, with a deadline...Because firing your head football coach a week before their sorry asses get rolled by little Kent State makes you look like there is still a shit-load of dysfunction going on there!

Why are Talking-heads After Matt Williams Job?

I spend much time listening to SiriusXM Radio...Lately it has been mostly Mad Dog Sports, MLB Radio...I also watch the MLB Network for at least a couple hours each night...And there has been a constant I have noticed...All these talking-heads either want Matt Williams in the hot-seat, or they say he already is in the hot-seat...

I have to ask why? Why the hell are so many people going after a manager's job when it's just his second season on the job?  A manager who by  the way lead his team to a first place finish with 96 wins last season...

Yes, the Nationals are only 5 games above .500 right now...but they are right there in the thick of it all...And they made the move to strengthen their bullpen by adding Jonathan Papelbon...The bullpen being a major concern for many loud-mouth fans and sports writers...I just read an article from some DC area hack who says they need to move Stephen Strasburg to the bullpen now...Yeah, because changing a guys role to something he doesn't do when you are trying to make a playoff push sounds like a perfect timing move...DOLT!

...

Wait, I figured it out...I know why all these talking-heads are after Williams' job...They all picked the Nationals to go to the World Series this year...Oh how they hate to be wrong...So is this how they hedge their bets? They attack the manager of the team they picked because their pick isn't a lock...

We also know how sensitive the Sports Media are...They're much kinder to the warm and fuzzy coaches and managers...So when they question Williams decision making and managing skills, pointing to why he didn't use pitchers "X" and "Y" in situation "A" and "B," they don't like it when he says they weren't available today...Of course these media members question him on why they didn't know this earlier...Again they don't like his response of basically, 'It's none of your business!'

Williams has made it clear he is not going to broadcast who is or isn't available going into each game...Why would or should he?  Do these idiots not see that would give the opposing team an advantage...It is very rare to ever hear a manager pre-game, say whether or not certain relievers are available...

Another thing for these talking-heads to consider...Williams and teh Nationals have had to deal with some injury issues...Yes, all teams do...But just realize this...Williams had 5 starting fielders out, all at the same time...Names like, Werth, Zimmerman, Rendon, and Span...5 out of 8 is tough...Especially when a couple of those guys are looked at as key run producers...Two of his top three starters have seen time on the DL...

The fact that the Nationals are two and a half games back from 1st in their division, shouldn't lead to fans, and media attacking the second year manager...They should be excited that their team is getting healthy and making their push...We have seen many times before in baseball, it isn't always the best team that wins it all...It's often the team that gets hot at the right time...

Don't count out Matt Williams and the Nationals yet.