If this impacts your performance as an official, it's time to go back to jr high ball. Girls jr high ball.
Sound Off Rips Fran
- Thread starter stanzithemanzi12
- Start date
No, everyone agreed with him, but you can't be caught making fun of Iowa players as the play by play guy. You just can't.
That was the ACC challenge vs Pitt and Jason Capel with all those young, freshman guards that were very aggressive in their style of play.
I always love when people talk about officiating girls jr. high basketball as if it's easy or pleasant.
Anyway, Margaret would just as easily flip those officials off as well.
When I was in grad school at ISU, student season tickets were rotated between four seats. Our best seats were in the 4th row almost directly behind the opposing coach. I remember one game when Norm Stewart was still coaching and he was getting on a ref and giving him the death stare with his heavy brow. The ref, of latino heritage, started to move away and Norm shouted, "Hey, Taco Bell, I'm not finished with you yet!" We might or might not have been a bit "lubricated" and shouted back, "Hey Norm, no racial epithets , this is Iowa, the education state!" He stopped, turned and looked at us and winked, then went right back to yelling at the refs. My reason for sharing the story is he looked out of control, but that made us know he was in perfect control. I never had the sense that when Fran looked like he was out of control, that he was actually in control of his anger.
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You are probably right, but I don’t know of any other college basketball coaches who have spouses who act this way, and a person would have to be insane to not think it has the potential to have a negative impact.
I still remember him getting one sometime around '15-'16 at what I would call the peak McCaffrey years (funny because that peak was before any played there). Iowa was up big in the first half. Izzo blows up and actually gets T'd up. Low and behold right after that he got his way and Michigan State got every call and came back.
You really yelled “Hey Norm no racial EPITAPHS………….” Tell me you’re a dork without telling me you’re a dork.
Did you read the part where I said we might have been a bit lubricated? The rest of the story was that we were sitting right behind some of Anthony Peeler's family, so we thought it appropriate for the situation. Having said that, I will allow I might also own your last comment. I will also suggest I may not spell worth a crap...epithets...or that voice to text doesn't always come out the way you intended so you should always check what the computer deciphered before you hit post!
If Andy felt this way why didn’t he say it 4 or 5 years ago ?. It kinda seems like a cheap shot/piling on after Fran has been fired.
It seems like there was at least one (maybe more) Sound Off takes on Fran in the past few years --- perhaps following the incident when he was suspended for going after the official in the hallway at Ohio State?
I lived in the channel 13 viewing area for close to 30 years….. I really enjoyed both Murph and Andy.
It appears Margaret was a real asshole at the event and Fran should have reeled her in. Then Fran was apparently petty and closed the media out of access to himself as much as he could.
That said…..this (to me) is also chicken shit journalism. If you had a problem with Margaret/Fran at the time….address it then or shortly after. This is an abuse of the media’s having the mic, just like Fran controlling access, by using the bully pulpit after Fran is out the door and knowing he’s not going to respond.
It appears Margaret was a real asshole at the event and Fran should have reeled her in. Then Fran was apparently petty and closed the media out of access to himself as much as he could.
That said…..this (to me) is also chicken shit journalism. If you had a problem with Margaret/Fran at the time….address it then or shortly after. This is an abuse of the media’s having the mic, just like Fran controlling access, by using the bully pulpit after Fran is out the door and knowing he’s not going to respond.
I think that’s a fair question. He may have felt inclined to say something after reading tweets all weekend lauding Fran’s impeccable integrity.
Good on Andy for saying what needed to be said. It became pretty obvious as time went on that Marge wore the pants in that marriage and whatever she said/wanted, Fran obliged. Glad to have them both out of Iowa City.
This is a really good point, it has always been pretty obvious that none of the officials liked Fran at all. Whereas with Izzo, or Ryan, those guys could complain but then you would also see them having a normal conversation and smiling or joking or whatever. Like it is part of an act, or a performance. It is also no secret that Fran's teams, above every other team, were susceptible to "bully ball". If the games were ever officiated consistently from game to game and regardless of who the coach was, who the team was, the financial implications of team A vs. team B winning, television timeouts, etc. it would have benefitted Fran's teams immensely. But when they allow the hacking, grabbing, hand-checking type defense and swallow their whistles and allow the game to be played that way at that time, Iowa was screwed. Every time. And if Fran's teams did the same thing, it only made things worse because the needle was moved. To me it was why Garza was so effective. Not only was he a great player, he could absorb and excel in those situations, even when the shots weren't falling. But it is hard to find tough-as-nails stretch 5's that want to play at Iowa.
I’m just the opposite…I like Fales a whole bunch…I was “murphed out” about 6 years ago. A little Murphy is way too much for me. Fales is far and away the best TV personality in DSM in this old man’s humble opinion.
Totally unprofessional of Andy and a bad look!!! The guy was already let go...let it go. Do not do a beat down on Fran and his family, what an a**hole move. What is that doing, anything positive? Hell no, kids and parents and other coaches see that, what do they think of Iowa sports after that? Toxic? Better if he felt that way to tell Fran in private if it's so important and wants to get it off his chest. That was a total bad move and bad look, whether it's true or not!
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I’m so glad we can put the “angry Fran” narrative to rest.
Now, the biggest psycho in Iowa is unquestionably Matt Campbell. The dude has gone absolutely berserk on the sidelines, yelled at fans, and gotten snippy with reporters.
Will these guys call Campbell out for that behavior? Probably not
Epitaphs epithets, either way you and your ‘“lubricated” buddies yelled that at Norm? Cyclone fan AND a dork (or is that the same thing?)
I think Andy’s rant would have been better left unsaid. Fran is gone because of his performance and a new AD who is willing to do what the previous AD would not …. The story about the cancer benefit … water under the bridge … Surprised Fales went this route …
Yeah, feels really cheap to wait until after he’s fired to stir the pot. I like the accusation that Fran was responsible for both of Dolph’s suspensions. Didn’t bother to mention that one of them was for Dolph saying a comment that could have been construed as racist.(I don’t think that was his intent) And the other was for singling out one player and throwing him under the bus.
Fran had his failings on the court which were well documented. For a guy well over 6’ tall he had a lot of the defensiveness of “short man’s syndrome” when dealing with people that weren’t insiders.
He did a lot of good too. He was loyal to his players and coaches, to a fault. That is good to them, but comes across as bad to others.
It was time to move on. But let’s not pretend he was the devil while here. This isn’t an Alford situation.
Fran had his failings on the court which were well documented. For a guy well over 6’ tall he had a lot of the defensiveness of “short man’s syndrome” when dealing with people that weren’t insiders.
He did a lot of good too. He was loyal to his players and coaches, to a fault. That is good to them, but comes across as bad to others.
It was time to move on. But let’s not pretend he was the devil while here. This isn’t an Alford situation.
Garza was a freaking warrior. He took all kinds of physical abuse. He just absorbed it and played on. My favorite all time Hawk behind Lester. But it sucks that whenever Iowa tried to match physical play,they always got the whistle.
Exactly. Fran's tirades at the officials and Margaret's antics are certainly fair game. Personally, I find the coaches that gaslight officials with incessant whining all game, every game far more reprehensible than Fran - because those guys are deliberately doing it in order to cheat - but that's another subject. There's no doubt, though, that Fran went from zero to twelve way too quickly and it certainly hurt his image and that of the program. Fair enough.
But people seriously don't think there are going to be negative repercussions when the play-by-play gets caught ripping one of the players on a hot mike? People actually think that?
Also, he implied that Fran was behind Dolph's suspension after the Bruno Fernando / King Kong incident. What evidence is there that Fran had anything to do with that?
It’s sort of well known around town that Marge was the one who filed the “King Kong” complaint against Dolph. It’s also no secret that Fran and Marge hated Dolph’s guts.
Reading this thread has confirmed one thing to me. Two realities exist in more than just the political world.
I think the “art” of working an official comes down to winning and nothing else. Win and they give you more leeway. I’ll always respect Fran for sticking up for his players. He got carried away a couple times but on the whole It was admirable.
Nothing he said was untrue.
I personally didn't know about the kids for cancer event. Tells me everything I need to know about the McCaffreys
He's not as hated as people on this forum think he is...........I'll put it that way.
Hope that helps!
