There's a change in the Detroit Red Wings' front office and at the University of Michigan, a controversy involving the athletic department continues.
Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined Morning Edition host Doug Tribou for a look at those stories and more.
Doug Tribou: The findings of a more than $12-million independent report the University of Michigan commissioned about its own athletic department is still not public. The university’s regents met Thursday and did not discuss athletics. Athletic Director Warde Manuel has said he does not want to leave his job. And after the board meeting Thursday, UM President Domenico Grasso told MLive he believes Warde Manuel is "one of the best athletic directors in the country.” What are you hearing from your sources about where things stand?
John U. Bacon: Well, about the same place they stood about five days ago when I first reported that Michigan has prepared a buyout for Warde Manuel, which he is expected to accept. Now that's Michigan expecting him to accept it. And Manuel basically conceded that there have been six, seven months of buyout talks with his boss, President Grasso.
But I also warned people five days ago — and this has proven prescient — I said that more than one strong source has told me Manuel would be out soon, only to have circumstances change. This time seems truly different. But wait until the ink dries. The man's got nine lives, so wait until it happens.
DT: And he's got a number of years left in his contract.
As we’ve mentioned before, the report by the law firm Jenner and Block was completed months ago and there’s been no clear indication from UM’s president or the regents that the findings or recommendations will be made public. There are reports that the university is concerned about protecting people who spoke to the law firm’s investigators, but could be identified even without their names being made public. What’s your view on the report and the possible next steps?
JUB: How about this, Doug? I think this might be the biggest public relations fiasco that Michigan's leadership has ever concocted, and that's not a low bar. It's unbelievably ridiculous, all the things that they're saying.
Let's go back to December after Sherrone Moore spends the last day of his football career — coaching Michigan — in the Washtenaw County Jail. And people are so outraged and stunned by what happened that the regents promise we're going to have a thorough investigation, get down to the bottom of it to find out who knew what and when, and what they did about it. We promise. And clearly the assumption is it's going to be open and transparent, as it was with the Doctor [Robert] Anderson report years ago.
And now they're saying seven months later — and imagine if they said this in December — that we're now claiming that nothing is written down. A $12-million report. Nothing is written down? You expect us to believe this? This is unbelievable. And then second of all, that it's also attorney-client privilege. The client can break that any time the client feels like. That's ridiculous.
And these other claims have something to them, but they're still a dodge. So this is a PR fiasco. They need to call help, PR help. This is a disaster.
DT: In other news this week, Steve Yzerman is out as general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. He’ll remain with the team as a senior advisor to team CEO Chris Ilitch. Yzerman’s tenure as GM ends after seven seasons and zero playoff appearances. What went wrong for Yzerman?
JUB: What didn't, Doug? A very unlucky draft where they basically lost the lottery for the highest picks, and repeatedly. They got some crucial injuries, some bad coaches. That's on Yzerman in part. Bad luck, but also simply underwhelming performances. He inherited a mess, and it's better than it used to be, but they've missed the playoffs every year and half the teams make the playoffs. It probably was time for a change.
DT: It is an extreme example of feast and famine, too. The team — it's easy to forget now — but went to the playoffs for 25 straight seasons. That streak ended in 2016, and they haven't been back since ten seasons. Not all of those were under Yzerman, but still...
JUB: That's true. 25 years is a stunning stat. Ten years without the playoffs is almost as stunning. It's hard to do.
DT: [Laughs] ESPN has reported that there are a number of internal candidates for the job including former players Nicklas Lidström, who is currently the VP of hockey operations, and assistant GM Kris Draper. In your view, is it time to look outside of the organization?
JUB: I think either inside or outside, just find the best person for the job. Lidström and Draper are both very smart guys who recall the glory days, of course, so I might try there first, but you never know until the guy's in the job.
DT: The Major League Baseball trade deadline is on Monday, Aug. 3. With just over two weeks until then, ace pitcher Tarik Skubal remains a member of the Tigers roster. He's in the last year of his contract. He's unlikely to return to Detroit next season. The Tigers have been hot for the past six weeks or so. Have they been hot enough to risk keeping him for a possible playoff run and not getting maximum value for him now with a trade?
JUB: Well, the fans probably say yes, but I bet the Tigers say no. It boils down to two questions: Can the Tigers actually make the playoffs? It's not clear yet. And how much could they get for Skubal? Now, of course, that value diminishes to zero after the season, but I bet they trade him.
DT: The World Cup final is Sunday in New Jersey. Spain versus Argentina. Argentina won in 2022 and is trying to repeat in what is likely to be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup tournament. Spain is trying to win its second Cup. They last won in 2010. Who do you like to win it all?
JUB: Well, Doug, the brain says Spain. They are the better team. But my heart says Messi. Doug, for some reason I find myself rooting for the old guys these days.
DT: [Laughs] I can't imagine why. I can't relate to that at all.
JUB: [Laughs] Go figure.
Editor's notes: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can play the full audio of this interview near the top of this page.
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