WSR Gridiron Report

I think that every justification now is simply damage control for a decision that was probably made during the hiring process of RR.

If you are hiring a FB coach and he says he wants field turf, what is the problem with giving it to him? That's Byrne's job. I fail to see why the decision making process need involve anymore than 1 person or why that is a concern to you, Rickyk. Committees and research and checks and balances apply to business organizations who hire weak and ineffective people to begin with. If you hire a coach you have implicit confidence in and he knows way more about playing surfaces and says he wants turf... he gets turf.

Great restaurants hiring a new chef - the chef gets any piece of kitchen equipment he wants.
Country Clubs hire golf pros, and the golf pro wants a different putting green re-worked, then the putting green gets changed. This happened at La Paloma when Don Pooley came on board.
If Sean Miller said he wanted those playground BB nets made out of chains, I bet he'd get them.

I prefer grass. Agree 100% with you on that. But this is Byrne's decision. We have to count on him and RR and whoever to do the due diligence and make the right decision. This is not a public committee, they are not having to account for public money being spent, because it's not public money. And if they (whoever) collectively are all making sucha horrible decision, then we have the wrong people in place.

your money will be replaced by someone else, and you will be watching the game on tv or in the cheap seats. i agree with wineknow. this is not a decision by committee. if it does not work they can always put grass back in. another thought: practicing in the same venue you play the games makes good sense-just knowing the "nuances" of the field, crown etc.

I actually agree in principle on this.

But suppositions have been made that may or may not be accurate:

* The inference has been made that this is a concession to the hire of RR. It may have been, but we actually have no proof that that is true. What we do have is the statement, made very clearly (I can send you the email if you PM me with your personal email) that installation of FT was part of the construction plan made when Stoops was here.

And that makes sense to me. The construction plan of the NE project has been changed since the hire of RR, because there are certain changes within the structure that the new coaching staff has asked for and has gotten. Nothing too drastic, just some changes in alignment as to how the new staff wants things placed.

But, according the the Athletic Dept., the installation of the FT was part and parcel of the project. When I wrote that we had one of the best natural surfaces in the country, the answer was "yes, and it has been very costly to keep it that way."

Although no one has said this, one of the other obvious problems we may have with our natural turf is that the best growing time for bermuda -- I'm sure what we have now is some kind of tiff variety, is in transition to dormancy during the fall. All the golf courses overseed with rye in September, to insure a nice, green playing surface during the fall/winter golf seasons.

However, with management, this is a problem that is easily overcome, in my opinion. At Tucson Country Club, for years, they didn't over seed because the playing surface stayed green through most of the fall, until the first freeze, which was usually earlier than any other part of town since it is in between two major washes.

So, in the absence of clear evidence, I would be careful to place blame on RR as the nail in the coffin in our grass. It was confirmed to me that he is in favor of the change, but it was also emphasized that a change has been a part of decision making regardless of the coaching staff.

I know they're all out to get us, but on this issue, I would put away the paranoia.

who really killed jfk???

The eastern side of my house still has no landscaping. I am not a home improvement type.....so I found a guy who bids out landscaping jobs....I told him I wanted grass....he told me I should do synthetic, just like all the sports venues are doing. I asked if he knew RickyK. He asked me who RickyK is? I told him RickyK was the guy who convinced me to plant grass at my house!

I am going to ask again, did you watch the video? I guess if you watched it you might have to confront some inconvenient truths, so to speak. I guess it's easier to stand on the sidelines and make snide comments than to take a look at the most recent data. All I asked for was 24 minutes of your time, I guess that was asking too much.

Knowing WK, I really don't think he was being obtuse or sarcastic to you, just being funny.

That said, I think your video and the points you make are excellent.

We are coming into that time of year that is horridly hot, so maybe RR will get the point -- unless he summers in Michigan!

Come to think of it, that would be a great idea. They have some great golf up there, don't they?

At the Frank Kush Landfill for my wife's graduation. Interesting, the field is covered in artificial turf for the ceremony!!!

I hate this place so much....

A.G. has checked in with RR's PAC-12 media conference, and down at the bottom is a little blip about the tentative plan on Field Turf for the 2013 season. I agree with Jim; it is a bad idea and I too blame Rich Rodriguez. I have to remind myself of West Virginia's state history so I'm not shocked at things like this; after all, West Virginia is tied with Louisiana in having the most Governors convicted and incarcerated than any other states.

http://tucsoncitizen.com/wildcatreport/2012/05/08/richrod-matt-scott-can-be-the-leader-we-need/