Sid Hartman pulls a complete 180 on the Brewster hire

[disco]

I would rather read someone like like Sid, who's enthusiastic and positive most of the time, even if he gets his facts scrambled. I get so sick of Reusse and Souhan with their constant negative bashing of every team in town.

So you'd rather read the writings of a happy idiot, than those of a negative, but more accurate critic? Ok then...

 

[Atl Gopher]

So you'd rather read the writings of a happy idiot, than those of a negative, but more accurate critic? Ok then...

A. Sid is not an idiot. He is old but still has tremendous passion for the U and Minnesota sports in general

B. You bet!

 

[Dr.Don]

A. Sid is not an idiot. He is old but still has tremendous passion for the U and Minnesota sports in general

B. You bet!

Totally agree Atl Gopher. If and when we should ever meet, the first beers are on me. Thanks for some common sense.

 

[jags1998]

People aren't going to agree on Sid. There isn't much middle ground. He's pretty much an a**to people he doesn't know or people that aren't in a position of power - a fact that can be verified by many. You can't really glean much new info from his columns anymore that isn't already out there on the net somewhere and he is certainly a homer to the extreme. But, as Dr. Don says, there is nobody like him. He's the last of a breed and I do get a little tired of those who pile on and those who make senility comments, etc ... His major fault is that he's a homer - a man's life could be worse than that. When he's gone all you'll have to read is people ripping everything, which is sometimes appropriate and often times sickening, imo.

 

[Atl Gopher]

Totally agree Atl Gopher. If and when we should ever meet, the first beers are on me. Thanks for some common sense.

I am going to hold you to that Dr Don. I may even buy you one or two.

 

[zman]

People aren't going to agree on Sid. There isn't much middle ground. He's pretty much an a**to people he doesn't know or people that aren't in a position of power - a fact that can be verified by many.

I'm going to have to disagree with that one. I do have a relative that knows Sid so he is not a complete stranger but Sid took time out of his day many years ago to volunteer his services to a different relative of mine who was dying of cancer and not in the greatest financial shape. He did not have to volunteer his services but he did and it was not solicited.

 

[50PoundHead]

It's hard to read his column or listen to him now, but Sid was a legend during his productive working years. Like Peter Gammons, I don't know if Sid knows that much about sports, but he has a Rolodex full of people who know a lot about every angle in every sport and he was on a first-name basis with a lot of them. He blew a scoop now and then (the supposed Vikings' hiring of Pete Carroll over Denny Green), but he was right on his conjectures far more than he was wrong.

I tire of the blind homerism, and while I know that's not just me, I realize that the casual fan wants to read columns that build up the local squads and not whine about everything not being quite perfect.

Nowadays, I don't know if Sid even writes or dictates his column. I know he has a set of minions that scrape a lot of stuff together for the column and my guess is things get a little out of hand as it's all edited. Thus, 180s are probably going to happen.

As for the Brewster hire, let's all get over it. I thought he was a fresh, out-of-the-box choice, but over time it became obvious he didn't have big-time head coaching chops. But I was behind him until the day he was fired, just like I was behind pretty much every other coach (I was ticked at Mason for his contract crap and that made me jump ship on him a year before he was let go) who has ever coached at the U.

 

[jags1998]

I'm going to have to disagree with that one. I do have a relative that knows Sid so he is not a complete stranger but Sid took time out of his day many years ago to volunteer his services to a different relative of mine who was dying of cancer and not in the greatest financial shape. He did not have to volunteer his services but he did and it was not solicited.

That's great to hear and I probably overstated by saying "everyone." Thanks for adding.

 

[RodentRampage]

I remember it as the people who wanted to give Brewster a chance where ripped to shreds.

 

[MNGoldenGophers1]

There is no question that Sid is and always has been a homer. Thank goodness we have one such writer in the Twin Cities. Brewster lost me after year 2 and solidified that loss after year 3 when he showed he could not keep a staff together. Like Sid I still supported him to the bitter end.

In today's column Sid is writing about Trevor staying with the team. "Thursday in the Gophers basketball office, the 6-10 forward" Nice to see that Trevor is staying and that he has grown 2 inches. I don't blame the misprint on Sid. The Star and Trib is supposed to be a major metropolitan rag. Hey ya'll, where are your proof readers? I write articles for certain business trade publications. Anything I write, as a matter of fact, from a letter to a client on up, is carefully proof read by my staff members. How do errors like these jump out to us commoners but are missed by Sid's supposedly professional support staff?

Any publication that would keep folks on the payroll such P.R. (just can't bring myself to write or say the guy's name), consistently demonstrates its lack of professionalism.

Hey, easy now. I never thought I'd side with Sid. So he likes to revise history and exaggerate a bit but nothin' wrong with being a Homer.

 

[calminnfan]

When Brewster first was hired, he had some of the things that Mason did not have...enthusiasm, Positive outlook, high energy, especially in recruiting. Brew brought a belief that he could win at the U.

Of course many of us were supportive of him. I would rather be supportive and be wrong then to trash someone who has not had the opportunity to prove anything. The media was trashing him from day 1. Being skeptical is one thing. The MN media is downright obnoxious.

As for Mason, he let the helmet schools have their picks and then went for the leftovers. Was at best pessimistic, gave no energy or belief in the football program, especially in recruiting at the U. His signing that huge contract was in and of itself deceitful since he had given up hope.
He maybe did not have the best facilities, but they were committed to finally building the new stadium when he was still coaching and instead of getting a head start trying to use that positive, he still sat back and showed nothing.

In hindsight the Brew hire was a bad move. Maturi took a shot in the dark, had been given some kudos from Shanahan and went with his recommendation. Otherwise it was continue to settle for mediocrity.

 

[imthewalrus]

badger joel macturi took the football program straight to the crapper when he and prexy b "fired all of their guns at once" and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. They fanned. They introduced a nothing...a nobody...a total failure. The whole thing blew up in their faces. The brewball fiasco will forever mark prexy b's big adventure naming a football coach as a total failure. He and his little ranger buddy, badger joel macturi crapped out on that entire sad chapter in Golden Gopher Football. He was winless in Big Ten play his first year. He totally collapsed to end his 2nd year (a 55-0 bashing by iowa in the last game at the dome was the highlight of that season.) They even EXTENDED him after he had totally screwed up and it was evident that he was in over his head in his 3rd season and had to fire him half way through the very next season.

that brewster was BAD. But, the administrators who brough him in...extended him...and then had to buy him out in mid-season the next year were the incompetent ones who were really in WAY over their heads.

We are finally free from the incompetence of prexy b in June of this year. brewball will forever mark the crowning achievenmet of having royally messed up the opening of the beautiful TCF BANK STADIUM and moving the football program back on campus. prexy b and brewball will forever be linked.

Now, badger joel macturi must pay for having run all of the revenue programs into the ground during his tenure. Throw him under the bus and cut the losses...NOW! ; 0 )