Geno Responds to Muffet’s Comments

[Alydar]

Maria Cornelius is a writer?

Yeah. She's written 2 books on Summitt and did stories on the Vols. I like her writing style, not so her editorial comment.

 

[YSRFrisbee]

FWIW, I think Muffet's comment that "UCONN has done great things and they've won way more than anybody else, except Tennessee" was misunderstood by Geno. I think she was implying that UCONN's NCs far outnumber everyone else's (Baylor, Stanford, etc) with the exception of TN [who has 8].

In any case, while I like rivalries I do despite grudges. As the saying goes: "Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die".

Now excuse me while I enjoy some coffee, a homemade ginger scone, and raspberry jam.


... It's no surprise that I'm a proud Hufflepuff.

 

[Woof 101]

Why does he have to say anything? Clap back culture is ridiculous and childish.

No attack but dead air for more than a second or two on live radio does not work. He was asked a question.
For those that can't handle the response they should forever hold their peace or state what he said was not fact and why.
Clap back over ignorance deserved here. You only turn the other cheek if warranted time and again.

Kind of like how when the NC game was in Tennessee, she gave a lengthy speech about how much class Pat Summitt had and that no one could ever match her. It was a pretty pathetic attempt to suck up to TN fans.

Bingo, she is a promoter of women coaching women and of course Pat is her hero. Again she stubbed her toe with this though.
"UConn has done great things, and they've won way more than anybody else, except Tennessee. ( Poor math skills ).

"But I think it goes over the top with ESPN. That is Connecticut's network. Notre Dame has NBC, Connecticut has ESPN. That is absolutely complete bias there."
She works for ESPN, UConn is carried by SNY .... She deserved what Geno had to say, period.

 

[Blueballer]

There's no upside for Geno or UConn. He could have made some generic comment without mentioning Muffet by name and turning it into the usual tit for tat pissing match that he'll never win because he has a team to coach while she can fire down from the cheap seats. But I would have liked him to close by saying something like "it's funny that some programs think we have ESPN in our back pocket helping us, but when ESPN was driving the conference realignment bus 10-15 years ago, we were the only ones that got run over by it. Do people really view ESPN destroying our old conference and forcing us into a non-power conference as an unfair advantage? If so we would have gladly traded places with those programs that were given an ACC lifeboat."

He already has "won". A LOT more. He's not running for office, nor is he trying to win a popularity contest. He's just being himself. At his age he won't change and I for one am fine with that.

 

[BostonBay]

The best measure of how much a coach is respected and liked is what their players say about them, especially after they graduate. Geno's players have nothing but good things to say about him. I've never heard any Notre Dame player have kind words about muffet after they graduate. Just silence.

 

[ABCDFE]

I have no problems with Geno. He is true to himself. What he said he said it knowingly. Stick up for you believe in. Just like Muffet is true to herself. She is a great coach but doesn’t hold much respect with a lot of her actions and responses. She tries to play the victim card a lot and ppl see right through that, that’s why it is true that when she retired there was hardly much made of it. She praised Pat, but I’m sure Pat wouldn’t have praised her comment on never hiring men, especially with Tyler Summitt knowingly wanting to coach in the womens game.

 

[Veteran]

More proof that Geno should never be allowed to retire.

The only thing I would correct about his quote would be to change, "11 championships" to "11 championships, so far".

 

[STLCardinal]

FWIW, I think Muffet's comment that "UCONN has done great things and they've won way more than anybody else, except Tennessee" was misunderstood by Geno. I think she was implying that UCONN's NCs far outnumber everyone else's (Baylor, Stanford, etc) with the exception of TN [who has 8].

I read that the same way you have. But I can see it would be easy to read it the other way. I'm not defending her, far from it. I think her comment about no man should be hired to coach WCBB is ignorant. She is promoting the idea of not hiring someone, just because they are a man, who might be a good coach and help women realize their potential both on and off the court. And I don't think she's alone in that kind of thinking, unfortunately. If she really cared about WCBB getting better as a game and the women who play the game getting the best opportunities, she would be pushing for the best coaches to be hired no matter who they are. She's acting stupidly. And it should be said so, out loud.

 

[jchusky]

Agreed that these comments hurt Geno more than help anything. By responding to the former Notre Dame head coach you basically have admitted what she says about you gets under your skin. Not to mention your best player got hurt in the game vs Notre Dame. The speculation of wanting to embarrass Notre Dame at all costs will just continue to pop up after this for leaving your starters to play the whole game. Again I've thought the injury was going to happen if not that game in practice or in another game, but no need to already add to the fire.

 

[Soxx]

My two cents: MM was admirable, but not likeable. She was sometimes right, and often wrong (who isn't?). But what tipped the scales for me was her desperate need to win at all costs, her pathetic excuses for any losses, her obsession with perceived slights, and her disrespect for other teams' players. (Didn't she have some press conference where she refused to even acknowledge Stewie was player of the year?)

MM needs to learn to

Was. The actual awards ceremony where Stevie received the award. An incredible display of poor sportsmanship. She and her entire team sat silently and did not clap fit Stewie. What a role model.

 

[Soxx]

If Geno truly disliked McGraw he would have shut up. By responding in his typical manner he is giving her career a boost. Knute Rockne used to tell lies to his teams all the time. Geno isn't lying. He presented the stats in a humorous manner.
Who do you think the media would rather interview, a plastic coach who always gives the safe acceptable response or a coach who loves to talk and gives memorable quotes?
If Geno wants to respond to a writer who says nasty things about him it would be Sally Jenkins or Maria Cornelius. But he doesn't because he doesn't want to give them free publicity.

Giving her career a boost??

 

[Skeets]

Geno is a great coach, but he is also an entertainer. This is entertainment.

 

[CL82]

And how much of this including Geno's comments is intended to keep wbb in the public eye? As far as the media is concerned this is an entertainment industry and however they do it ESPN wants clicks. Geno was a shoe salesman for a while and I'll bet he was great at it.

I heard he got four touchdowns in a single game.

 

[CL82]

This article includes some additional zingers from Geno not included in Alexa's tweets.

Geno Auriemma goes scorched earth in response to Muffet McGraw's ESPN bias claims

The UConn coach doesn't seem happy.

au.sports.yahoo.com

It was McBride.

Lol how is Geno the bad guy here? (The link suggests that.)

I wouldn’t have said anything because Miss Muffet looked like an idiot with her comments. Engaging her only distracts from that. But Geno will always reply if asked about comments.

 

[mbr33ct]

Gawd...ESPN bias is a regular doctrine on these boards...and Muffett fits right in.

If anything doesn't go your way...well, blame ESPN.

Why did ESPN had to operate in CT and not in South Bend?

 

[mbr33ct]

Geno is a great coach, but he is also an entertainer. This is entertainment.

 

[ScottCT]

The fact that people think Geno should just be quiet and keep tolerating disrespect towards himself, his players and his program is laughable. I've been waiting for him to say something and I'm glad he did.

 

[HopJim]

Hate to see Geno's responses to Muffet's rediculous comments. Sometimes entertaining, but beneath him.

 

[Beemer]

I'm glad Geno flamed her. Maybe she'll shut up now. A girl can dream

 

[hoopsfan22]

The fact that people think Geno should just be quiet and keep tolerating disrespect towards himself, his players and his program is laughable. I've been waiting for him to say something and I'm glad he did.

Which players on the team have you spoken to that said they feel disrespected by Muffet's comments? Which comments disrespected the program? Was it the part about saying it has won more than everyone else, or the part about where she said it was the standard that everyone looked up to? The only part of her comments that deserved rebuttal was the ESPN stuff, and I think it was OK for him to address the ratings because it's true and was just a restatement of the obvious.

 

[eebmg]

Which players on the team have you spoken to that said they feel disrespected by Muffet's comments? Which comments disrespected the program? Was it the part about saying it has won more than everyone else, or the part about where she said it was the standard that everyone looked up to? The only part of her comments that deserved rebuttal was the ESPN stuff, and I think it was OK for him to address the ratings because it's true and was just a restatement of the obvious.

Generally agree but this was an opportunity to (calmly) educate people that UConn did not spring up out of nothing but required very hard work over many years to build a program that could attract such an incredibly devoted fanbase. And it was not just winning. It was the style of play very different than TN that pushed WCBB forward and made ESPN take it seriously

 

[Vowelguy]

Which comments disrespected the program? .

When she says bias, she means an unfair advantage that UConn has received … as in they would not have been as successful without it … as in their achievements are to be diminished.

There has been a pretty consistent drumbeat against Geno for 35 years —

• they only get so much attention because they’re near NYC media
• they only win so much because they play in a bad conference
• they only win so much because they have all the best players
• they’re only so successful because ESPN supports them

Were the accomplishments of Wooden, Summitt, Saban diminished in this way?

 

[cohenzone]

FWIW. the world at large doesn’t care what these two say about each other. But there is no doubt that Muffet is one jealous person and has a just a bit of that ND superiority complex when it comes to living off of Knute Rockne. In the back or maybe in the front of her mind, she knows her first NC arrived thanks to UConn’s two veteran all Americans, Shea and Svet being unavailable and just maybe without that first the second never arrives. Good coach, but doesn’t know when to shut up. I think GA loves getting under her skin, but it’s all kinda schoolyard.

 

[UConnCat]

Which players on the team have you spoken to that said they feel disrespected by Muffet's comments? Which comments disrespected the program? Was it the part about saying it has won more than everyone else, or the part about where she said it was the standard that everyone looked up to? The only part of her comments that deserved rebuttal was the ESPN stuff, and I think it was OK for him to address the ratings because it's true and was just a restatement of the obvious.

She did disrespect the current players by saying “look how they’re doing without Paige.” There was no need to go there. Throwing shade towards Geno is one thing but doing it towards the UConn players was gratuitous, unnecessary and pretty hypocritical when you consider she recruited most of those players.

She also piled on Parker’s recent comments about the Olympic team, another topic she knows nothing about.

Seems to me you missed a lot of what she said.