Linking Laconically Is in a Bye Week Daze

I don’t think there’s much chance it ends this year. The Big XII won’t get an at-large ahead of an 11-1 Big Ten team (they can’t have an at-large team with only one loss, as OkSt and Nebraska would have to play each other in the title game if they get that far). The selection process is working against Stanford – the Fiesta gets last pick (aka whichever Big East team sucks slightly less than the rest), the Rose has to take TCU if the current standings hold up, and neither the Orange nor the Sugar are likely to want Stanford over a Big Ten team. That leaves only an SEC team and a Big Ten team for the last two spots.

Where it gets dicey is if Auburn slips up and the title game is Oregon-TCU; then the Rose Bowl could take Stanford (on the other hand, they may want to get their non-BCS obligation for the next four years out of the way when they get a team that’s at least nationally recognized) and the remaining two spots become a three-way race between Boise, a Big Ten representative, and Auburn/LSU. Boise might get preference over a 10-2 Big Ten team, but probably not over an 11-1, and the selection order works against them just like it does against Stanford. LSU-Boise would be an attractive matchup but can’t happen unless Auburn is in the title game (which moots the whole thing) or loses twice in the regular season (putting LSU in the SEC title game, but likely knocking Auburn out of the BCS).

The decision to “extend” Hockey coach Rick Comley’s contract is not in any way controversial. It is just wrong. It was wrong to hire him in the first place, continually extending his contract just perpetuates an extremely bad decision.

I don’t really care if he’s a nice man, outgoing or compassionate (any comment on this is merely hearsay, conjecture and/or gossip).

He should be judged on his record and the number of NHL players his program produces (as this assists in recruiting quality players).

His record speaks for itself:

CCHA Record

0 (that’s ZERO) regular season CCHA championships.
1 CCHA Tournament championship.

GLI Record
3 GLI Championships.

College Hockey Showcase
Record: 1-9-4
MSU has not won a game in the CHS since 2004.

NCAA Tournament
4 appearances 1 Championship.

NHL Draft
9 players drafted.
Most drafted in a single year: 3 (Done three times – Mason had as many as eight selected in a single draft).

Fairly or unfairly Ron Mason established the standards by which the MSU hockey program should be judged.

Prior to Coach Comley’s arrival MSU’s worst CCHA finish was 5th. In 21 seasons of CCHA play, MSU finished no worse than 3rd in 19 of those seasons.

In Comley’s eight complete seasons, his squads have finished 3rd or better in only half of them (this includes a 6th and the embarrassing 10th place finish 2008/09).

Coach Mason never had a losing regular season record in CCHA play. Comley has done this twice.

Rick Comley has continuously failed to achieve the established standards. He teams are perpetually unprepared and lose games to lesser opponents. By all accounts he was going to be fired after 2006/07 season, until he rode a hot goalie through the NCAA tournament to the championship. This season shows the team’s underperfomance again as we dropped consecutive road games to WMU and allowed UAH to tie us at home.

Let us remember that the 323 game sellout streak at Munn ended during his tenure. In addition, last season (2009/10) MSU hosted UM in the CCHA playoffs. MSU would make the NCAA tournament if they won the series and more than likely if they took 1 of 3 games. UM was fighting to keep their 19 year NCAA tournament selection streak alive. They had to win the CCHA tournament to make it to the NCAA’s. UM swept MSU in front of a largely partisan UM crowd and except for a brief moment in period one of game two, MSU was completed outplayed in the series.

What really sealed the deal that Coach Comley must go for me was the way in which he threw his players under the bus during the misery that was the 2008/09 season. Injuries had taken their toll on a Spartan squad one season removed from a National Title. Late in the season Coach Comley was quoted as saying that the “reserve” players on the ice (the same players he recruited) did not belong there as they were not NCAA players.

The NCAA championship was nice but it is time to part company with Coach Comley. Give him a gold watch and bring in his replacement. With the upcoming formation of the Big Ten hockey conference we need to be on top or at least on the upswing instead of merely treading water. Our recent performance in the CHS and CCHA play shows us to currently be the 4th best team of the 6 that will play in this league. That is unacceptable.