Rick Pitino Was Going To Be The Michigan Basketball Coach, But Bill Martin Was Playing Squash
Rick Pitino told a story today on Sirius XM radio about how close he once came to being the basketball coach at Michigan.
Louisville Athletic Director Tom Jurich had been courting Pitino for years as a replacement for the soon-to-be-retired Denny Crum, but Pitino resisted, because it would be so uncomfortable for the former Kentucky coach to coach at Louisville. So when Pitino became a free agent after getting fired by the Celtics in 2001, he bypassed Louisville and had an agreement with former Michigan AD Bill Martin to coach in Ann Arbor.
But then, two things happened.
Jurich had continued to press for Pitino, who continued to resist -- until Pitino's wife called him a pussy.
"'You're afraid to go to Kentucky once every two years,'" Pitino recounted his wife saying. "...
Buckeye fans, you've been had. If only it weren't so easy to do.
Concert-goers in Columbus, Ohio cheered wildly all night on Monday when the Red Hot Chilli Peppers performed on Ohio State's campus at Value City Arena (by the way, real classy arena name, you guys). Until the encore, that is. Chilli Peppers drummer Chad Smith, a proud Michigander, got the audience all riled up and then stunned them by singing the first lines to University of Michigan fight song "Hail To The Victors." The crowd, many members of which were decked out in Ohio State gear, then started booing him lustily, and Smith tossed the microphone dismissively on the floor and walked off stage without another word or glance (video below). It was perfect.
The band may never be welcomed back to Columbus, which, if you've ever been to Columbus, is probably exactly what the Chilli Peppers had in mind.
Chad Smith grew up in Bloomfield Hills, and Chilli Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis was raised in Grand Rapids, and it's not the first time recently the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have shown love for Michigan and Detroit sports. Earlier this month at a concert in Detroit, the band stunned the crowd in a good way by bringing out recently retired Red Wings legendary defenseman Nick Lidstrom to adress the crowd... that was received a little better than the dimwits in Columbus took their surprise.
Columbus has an NHL hockey team, too. They're called the Columbus Bluejackets, and they stink.
But Go Blue!
--
Follow Bison Messink on Twitter: @BisonMessink Follow SportsOlogy on Twitter: @OlogySports
jack justjack:
I live in Columbus Dude!... and I have to agree with you. This place is sucking the life out of me. The lily white suburbian influence her takes dull and claims it's sharp. OSU fans are insufferable. I still find people that think what Tressel did was ok "because he did it for the team". It's the most extreme modern example of tribal loyalty I've ever seen.
June 16, 2012
Jane Collins:
Love it! Really, really love it. Go Blue!!
Comments (3)