Archived Topic

Craig Thompson's Douche-Tour continues

by Mars · 9/4/2010

Mars

9/4/2010, 4:07:32 AM

"Why pay if you don't have to?" Thompson said of ESPN. "What else is BYU going to do?"

http://www.denverpost.com/henderson/ci_15979148" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wahh! Poor wittle baby. :roll:

ABYUFAN

9/4/2010, 4:24:17 AM

Translation: we didn't give BYU fair market value and I'm mad that ESPN did. BTW - in response to his question - there are a LOT of teams that aren't on ESPN every week that will gladly schedule a home and home with us knowing that they'll be on ESPN. It'll take time to fill out their schedule But what makes Hair mad is now Why would VT schedule BSU when they can play BYU ad be assured a TV spot.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

http://cougarcorner.com/images/mobile.png" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

CannonCougar85

9/4/2010, 4:59:08 AM

This man is a fool. What a joke he is. How come he wasn't crying into his pillow every night and mouthing off to the media when Utah left? The only answer I can come up with is BYU is the the foundation of the MWC, with it gone the rest of it crumbles.

Why pay BYU when you don't have to? Comparing the world wide leader in sports business policies to the man who came up with the MTN...nuff said.

SenorCougar

9/4/2010, 5:32:42 AM

Hey Craig baby ....... I hate to break the news to you --- most, if not all, BYU games against the Diddly Techs will be watched by more people than any of your conference games. That's what we've been trying to tell you all of these years. Your true colors are coming through. ANTI-BYU. Makes you wonder about the neutrality of the officiating and review crews these past years. Did Hair put them up to something? Wait until the Boise State fans discover that they can't watch their Broncos on most cable systems. BTW, if we win the conference championship, please don't come and award us the trophy. Oops, I forgot already... You'll make sure we don't have a chance........

CaptainCoug

9/4/2010, 1:11:49 PM

There seems to be a lot of hate spewn around for the MWC and Craig Thompson on this board. I am relatively new but have been a reader for a long time. I think Thompsons hands were relatively tied in this situation. Wasn't it comcast that had the ability to modify the TV contract? If they dont budge on it there doesnt seem to be much that Thompson or the MWC can do to appease BYU.

His verbage is less than polite, but he does make a point, every year the MWC champ has moved up the polls due to the perceived strength of the MWC vs. the WAC. By BYU playing a WAC schedule it may put us in the place that Boise was in, good record, but everything has to fall into place to get invited to the dance. (fair or unfair, last year wasnt boise invited to fiesta because OKstate lost a game that had they won they would have been in?). BCS auto qualifier teams will always always get the benefit of the doubt due to contractual obligations of the bowls over any non-aq or now independent BYU.

I do think that schedule weakness will hopefully be eliminated with our future scheduling.

Also, I dont think he is necessarily trying to bag on BYU for taking 4 million (or whatever has been rumored) for ESPN games, I think the reality of the situation is that we probably didnt get all that we think we did from ESPN, but it was better than what the MWC had to offer in terms of exposure and long term gain for the program, which, regardless of the $$ could be the right move for us....

Schmoe

9/4/2010, 2:02:52 PM

WE WOULD NOT, NOR WILL WE NOW, BE PLAYING A WAC SCHEDULE! That's the point of being independent. Stop trying so hard to be objective that you become an apologist and a defender of douchy behavior on the part of Thompson and coaches in the MWC who have said terrible things and straight up lies about BYU.

Lawboy

9/4/2010, 3:11:57 PM

2011 will be a WAC type schedule though. We play 6 WAC teams(Hawaii, LT, NMSU, SJSU, Idaho, USU) and 1 C-USA team of equal caliber to a Fresno State or Nevada. So 7 WAC caliber games. Difference is, we will play 4-5 tougher games (Utah, Texas, Oregon State, +1 or 2). And in 2012, we play 5 WAC teams. So the WAC will be teh foundation of our schedule the next 2 seasons, and I expect beyond. BYU will need games, and I think regional games will be more attractive due to travel. PLus, they are happy work with us, which the MWC teams seem to not be right now.

CaptainCoug

9/4/2010, 3:39:45 PM

Schmoe wrote:
WE WOULD NOT, NOR WILL WE NOW, BE PLAYING A WAC SCHEDULE! That's the point of being independent. Stop trying so hard to be objective that you become an apologist and a defender of douchy behavior on the part of Thompson and coaches in the MWC who have said terrible things and straight up lies about BYU.

Whoa easy buddy. I am not being an apologist or defender of Thompson. Relax a little bit. I dont think there are many people with any sort of reputation that are saying that terrible of things and straight up lies about BYU.

On the contrary, I have seen lots of complimentary articles about BYU. I do also tend to think that the MWC had its hands tied because of the TV deal. It harmed BYU and thats why we left (for the most part), but it also ended up harming MWC and the "Hair". He (as well as BYU) had zero negotiating power from what I have read, Comcast just didnt budge. So, not being apologetic for the man, I think he is an inbreeder at best, but I think he ultimately did what he could to provide a fair and equitable situation for the conference (not just us) that he represents. Neither Hair or BYU had any sway on Comcast. I don't think he is an idiot though for thinking that BYU would have been better off in the MWC, that's his job.

And I do think we play a WAC schedule in the next couple years. Not sure about you but I am probably not going to be making as many trips to LES to see the WAC heavy schedule as I did when we were playing MWC teams. Hopefully that will change over time.

redneckjedi

9/4/2010, 4:46:46 PM

Thompson needs to do a little better with his market research. ESPN believed you undervalued the rights to our game by at least $2.5 million. He should have realized that *before* the deal with Comcast. But since he didn't, when he found it out this summer, if he were smart he would have used that $10 mil to buy out or fix the TV deal with Comcast, rather than stabbing BYU in the back. Instead of devaluing your conference and losing the golden goose anyway despite your treachery to keep them, you could have kept the golden goose happy and been much better off in the future. His hands were not tied - his ego just got in the way of all of his best options.

CaptainCoug

9/4/2010, 5:04:19 PM

redneckjedi wrote:
Thompson needs to do a little better with his market research. ESPN believed you undervalued the rights to our game by at least $2.5 million. He should have realized that *before* the deal with Comcast. But since he didn't, when he found it out this summer, if he were smart he would have used that $10 mil to buy out or fix the TV deal with Comcast, rather than stabbing BYU in the back. Instead of devaluing your conference and losing the golden goose anyway despite your treachery to keep them, you could have kept the golden goose happy and been much better off in the future. His hands were not tied - his ego just got in the way of all of his best options.

What 10 million are you talking about? Nevada and Fresno money?? That doesnt make any sense.

It does make sense to value us for who we are, but at the time of the writing of the contracts the landscape was way way different in college football. Had everyone else in the nation had the insight that Hair should have had with BYU, than there probably would not have been such money driven, TV driven moves all summer long.

Again, I think Hair is kind of a retard, but there is only so much he can do, I dont think he actually has that much sway over the Comcast contract with MWC. He has to look out for the best of the entire conference, and with his hands tied, he could do nothing to keep BYU. I just think the blame should be more fairly placed on those that denied BYU the options we wanted, not a mediator like Hair....

Also, if you think he has ego, you are probably right, but his job again is to ensure the survival of his conference to the best of his ability, not just one teams interests..

Its too bad, I sort of liked the MWC and how things were going with the conference, though I think Independence is still a better move for us long term...

Mars

9/4/2010, 5:18:15 PM

Thompson is worthless. He led team "Zero Concessions" last month. He said BYU had to talk to the networks themselves, he didn't want to be a part of it. He said no BYU sports in the MWC if football leaves. He invited Fresno State and Nevada and then lied through his teeth, saying expansion had nothing to do with BYU. He didn't even call BYU the last week of August leading up to our stay-or-go announcement. Since then, he gave a press release about BYU leaving without the word "BYU" in it, and has gone on radio stations and done newspaper interviews talking about how BYU isn't that great or valuable or wanted and how he thinks we will fail. The dude's a dbag.

CaptainCoug

9/4/2010, 6:17:26 PM

Mars wrote:

Thompson is worthless. He led team "Zero Concessions" last month. He said BYU had to talk to the networks themselves, he didn't want to be a part of it. He said no BYU sports in the MWC if football leaves. He invited Fresno State and Nevada and then lied through his teeth, saying expansion had nothing to do with BYU. He didn't even call BYU the last week of August leading up to our stay-or-go announcement. Since then, he gave a press release about BYU leaving without the word "BYU" in it, and has gone on radio stations and done newspaper interviews talking about how BYU isn't that great or valuable or wanted and how he thinks we will fail. The dude's a dbag.

I still think that he is getting (particularly from you) an unordinary amount of blame for the situation...In reality, why should a conference commissioner give one team so many options and concessions at the expense of one conference member. Most conferences are not run that way (other than the soon to implode Big12).

I think he did what he could, but knew that it was a losing battle and BYU had already made up its mind. If he is such a liar about everything, than he is just doing his job, most conference commissioners will lie, or give a big "no comment" when asked pressing questions. What else would be expected.

Now, it is a lie that he said Fresno and Nevada were invited independent of the BYU potential move, but at the same time I also think its a lie that our move to independence was not based on Utah moving to the PAC-12 (as has been popular belief amongst some of our fans). Those D-bags must be liars too!!!!

Anyway, I dont blame Hair for anything other than looking out for his conferences best interests and working within the contracts he had agreed to. He does annoy the crap out of me though.

I think you must have a bone to pick with him for some reason, maybe you are just really jealous of his hair.... ;)

CannonCougar85

9/4/2010, 6:24:40 PM

CaptainCoug wrote:

Now, it is a lie that he said Fresno and Nevada were invited independent of the BYU potential move, but at the same time I also think its a lie that our move to independence was not based on Utah moving to the PAC-12 (as has been popular belief amongst some of our fans). Those D-bags must be liars too!!!!

Our move to Independence was based on Utah moving to the PAC-12 only in the sense that we no longer have an agreement with them to stick together. It's a fact that there was an agreement between the 2 schools as I have personally verified it with BYU administration. Utah leaving gave BYU the green light to finally move forward with something they had been investigating for years. It was not, as Ute fans like to believe, a knee-jerk reaction to Utah moving to the PAC.

CaptainCoug

9/4/2010, 6:52:25 PM

CannonCougar85 wrote:

Now, it is a lie that he said Fresno and Nevada were invited independent of the BYU potential move, but at the same time I also think its a lie that our move to independence was not based on Utah moving to the PAC-12 (as has been popular belief amongst some of our fans). Those D-bags must be liars too!!!!

Our move to Independence was based on Utah moving to the PAC-12 only in the sense that we no longer have an agreement with them to stick together. It's a fact that there was an agreement between the 2 schools as I have personally verified it with BYU administration. Utah leaving gave BYU the green light to finally move forward with something they had been investigating for years. It was not, as Ute fans like to believe, a knee-jerk reaction to Utah moving to the PAC.

Totally agree. I don't think it was knee jerk, just wanting to make a point. The move was tied to Utah leaving, it just wasn't a knee jerk reaction. Those who say it had nothing to do with Utah are lying, because it did, but more to your point it was tied to the agreement BYU and Utah had.

I just dont really feel that Thompson has been as big a loser as Mars is making him out to be. He is looking after his own interests, and BYU was looking out for theirs. It remains to be seen if either party made the right move.

Mars

9/4/2010, 7:28:32 PM

CaptainCoug wrote:
I still think that he is getting (particularly from you) an unordinary amount of blame for the situation...In reality, why should a conference commissioner give one team so many options and concessions at the expense of one conference member. Most conferences are not run that way (other than the soon to implode Big12).

Come back again and say this once the MWC agrees to their new TV deal, making more than half a million less each than they're making now. Hair Thompson is a liar and a poor businessman.

And you're missing out on the PAC-12 as well. Do you think WSU makes an equal share of the TV money as USC? Hell no!

redneckjedi

9/4/2010, 7:46:29 PM

CaptainCoug wrote:
Thompson needs to do a little better with his market research. ESPN believed you undervalued the rights to our game by at least $2.5 million. He should have realized that *before* the deal with Comcast. But since he didn't, when he found it out this summer, if he were smart he would have used that $10 mil to buy out or fix the TV deal with Comcast, rather than stabbing BYU in the back. Instead of devaluing your conference and losing the golden goose anyway despite your treachery to keep them, you could have kept the golden goose happy and been much better off in the future. His hands were not tied - his ego just got in the way of all of his best options.

What 10 million are you talking about? Nevada and Fresno money?? That doesnt make any sense.

It does make sense to value us for who we are, but at the time of the writing of the contracts the landscape was way way different in college football. Had everyone else in the nation had the insight that Hair should have had with BYU, than there probably would not have been such money driven, TV driven moves all summer long.

Again, I think Hair is kind of a retard, but there is only so much he can do, I dont think he actually has that much sway over the Comcast contract with MWC. He has to look out for the best of the entire conference, and with his hands tied, he could do nothing to keep BYU. I just think the blame should be more fairly placed on those that denied BYU the options we wanted, not a mediator like Hair....

Also, if you think he has ego, you are probably right, but his job again is to ensure the survival of his conference to the best of his ability, not just one teams interests..

Its too bad, I sort of liked the MWC and how things were going with the conference, though I think Independence is still a better move for us long term...

Yes, I am talking about the Nevada-Fresno $10 million. With that, he could have matched what we're getting from ESPN instead of buying two worthless teams. Or paid for rebroadcast rights for BYU. Or something rather than just say, "I don't get why BYU hates me all of a sudden..."

Let's say his hands are tied. Fine. Now, who tied them? He did. This mess is his making, because the current broadcasting deal is his lovechild. You're an idiot if you think BYU football is worth the same as SDSU or Wyoming football in terms of a broadcasting contract. And you're also an idiot if you think that rebroadcast rights were never going to come up as an issue with BYU. BYU has a long history of success, national fan following, and satisfying that national fan following's interest in past success through rebroadcasts on its own channel. I don't care if you're coming up with this contract in 2003 right after the BYU-Utah game or right after the 2009 Oklahoma game, those facts should never escape anyone coming up with a TV contract involving BYU football. They did escape Thompson, demonstrating either his woeful incompetence and ignorance or his explicit disdain for BYU's achievements, tradition, and fan base when compared to the other teams in the conference.

There's no kind of about it: he is a total retard. More retarded than an actual retarded person. And his hair sucks. You're new here. First impressions are important. Don't tie yourself to this douche by standing up for him. It's an untenable position and it gains you nothing.

Schmoe

9/4/2010, 8:01:15 PM

CaptainCoug wrote:
WE WOULD NOT, NOR WILL WE NOW, BE PLAYING A WAC SCHEDULE! That's the point of being independent. Stop trying so hard to be objective that you become an apologist and a defender of douchy behavior on the part of Thompson and coaches in the MWC who have said terrible things and straight up lies about BYU.

Whoa easy buddy. I am not being an apologist or defender of Thompson. Relax a little bit. I dont think there are many people with any sort of reputation that are saying that terrible of things and straight up lies about BYU.

On the contrary, I have seen lots of complimentary articles about BYU. I do also tend to think that the MWC had its hands tied because of the TV deal. It harmed BYU and thats why we left (for the most part), but it also ended up harming MWC and the "Hair". He (as well as BYU) had zero negotiating power from what I have read, Comcast just didnt budge. So, not being apologetic for the man, I think he is an inbreeder at best, but I think he ultimately did what he could to provide a fair and equitable situation for the conference (not just us) that he represents. Neither Hair or BYU had any sway on Comcast. I don't think he is an idiot though for thinking that BYU would have been better off in the MWC, that's his job.

And I do think we play a WAC schedule in the next couple years. Not sure about you but I am probably not going to be making as many trips to LES to see the WAC heavy schedule as I did when we were playing MWC teams. Hopefully that will change over time.

:roll: He's not doing what's equitable, he's doing what's even (giving everyone the same amount of money). I have spent way too much time already showing how terrible the MWC was to BYU, maybe do some homework before you write these novelas responding to every post.

Mars

9/4/2010, 8:07:36 PM

redneckjedi wrote:
There's no kind of about it: he is a total retard. More retarded than an actual retarded person. And his hair sucks. You're new here. First impressions are important. Don't tie yourself to this douche by standing up for him. It's an untenable position and it gains you nothing.

This.

The whole "BYU is going to recruit nothing but 5-star recruits from here on out!" comment and the profile photo that looks like Curt from Glee are both fishy to me. Couple that with showing up on gameday, and an unusually strong desire to stick up for Utah, the PAC-0, the MWC, and Craig Thompson, and it makes me wonder...

CaptainCoug

9/4/2010, 8:09:11 PM

redneckjedi wrote:
redneckjedi wrote:
Thompson needs to do a little better with his market research. ESPN believed you undervalued the rights to our game by at least $2.5 million. He should have realized that *before* the deal with Comcast. But since he didn't, when he found it out this summer, if he were smart he would have used that $10 mil to buy out or fix the TV deal with Comcast, rather than stabbing BYU in the back. Instead of devaluing your conference and losing the golden goose anyway despite your treachery to keep them, you could have kept the golden goose happy and been much better off in the future. His hands were not tied - his ego just got in the way of all of his best options.

What 10 million are you talking about? Nevada and Fresno money?? That doesnt make any sense.

It does make sense to value us for who we are, but at the time of the writing of the contracts the landscape was way way different in college football. Had everyone else in the nation had the insight that Hair should have had with BYU, than there probably would not have been such money driven, TV driven moves all summer long.

Again, I think Hair is kind of a retard, but there is only so much he can do, I dont think he actually has that much sway over the Comcast contract with MWC. He has to look out for the best of the entire conference, and with his hands tied, he could do nothing to keep BYU. I just think the blame should be more fairly placed on those that denied BYU the options we wanted, not a mediator like Hair....

Also, if you think he has ego, you are probably right, but his job again is to ensure the survival of his conference to the best of his ability, not just one teams interests..

Its too bad, I sort of liked the MWC and how things were going with the conference, though I think Independence is still a better move for us long term...

Yes, I am talking about the Nevada-Fresno $10 million. With that, he could have matched what we're getting from ESPN instead of buying two worthless teams. Or paid for rebroadcast rights for BYU. Or something rather than just say, "I don't get why BYU hates me all of a sudden..."

Let's say his hands are tied. Fine. Now, who tied them? He did. This mess is his making, because the current broadcasting deal is his lovechild. You're an idiot if you think BYU football is worth the same as SDSU or Wyoming football in terms of a broadcasting contract. And you're also an idiot if you think that rebroadcast rights were never going to come up as an issue with BYU. BYU has a long history of success, national fan following, and satisfying that national fan following's interest in past success through rebroadcasts on its own channel. I don't care if you're coming up with this contract in 2003 right after the BYU-Utah game or right after the 2009 Oklahoma game, those facts should never escape anyone coming up with a TV contract involving BYU football. They did escape Thompson, demonstrating either his woeful incompetence and ignorance or his explicit disdain for BYU's achievements, tradition, and fan base when compared to the other teams in the conference.

There's no kind of about it: he is a total retard. More retarded than an actual retarded person. And his hair sucks. You're new here. First impressions are important. Don't tie yourself to this douche by standing up for him. It's an untenable position and it gains you nothing.

Thanks for the heads up on being new. You can have your opinion, I will keep mine. Agree to disagree. I feel he is a retard but I dont think he signed the TV contract as a proxy for all schools that signed it originally. I think it didnt work out as planned for all parties. It is too bad, regardless of whether the hair is a retard of all retards.

Though new here, I feel my opinion can be valid as well. Post counts don't equal brain cells. In the end we all love cougar football and the political BS that surrounds all of it is going to ruin the actual sport someday.

I'll stand by my opinion until facts prove otherwise that Hair had his hands tied to a degree. Could he have used ten million dollars to improve the TV deal? I am sure he could have, but he never had the money and it never was going to come to him. I am confident that the MWC did what they could to keep BYU, but we were set on independence, so it didn't matter. I don't know if we can blame one man for that....

I am getting sick of all this, I cant wait until we pummel Washington today.

Yndian

9/4/2010, 9:30:20 PM

CaptainCoug wrote:

I'll stand by my opinion until facts prove otherwise that Hair had his hands tied to a degree. Could he have used ten million dollars to improve the TV deal? I am sure he could have, but he never had the money and it never was going to come to him. I am confident that the MWC did what they could to keep BYU, but we were set on independence, so it didn't matter. I don't know if we can blame one man for that....

If he never had or would have the money, why did he volunteer to pay UNR's and FSU's WAC exit fees? :skeptic:

Page 1 of 2

This is an archived topic from the original CougarCorner forum. New replies are not accepted.