Strib’s take on Gard-Howard scuffle

[ChiPackHawk]

It is possible I blacked out on the wrestling handshake line, just never paid attention to it I guess. But let's not act like wrestling is the ultimate display of athletic sportsmanship just because they forcibly have their hands held together by the ref at the end of the match, usually while one of them is either still stripping off his ankle bands or trying to sprint off the mat to the locker room. It's not like they are looking deeply into each other's eyes and telling their opponent how much they truly respect each other. You can't compel respect by forcing an action.

There is nothing more ingenious than the handshake of the losing wrestler!

 

[JBJRFL]

I don't necessarily disagree with your take, but football and wrestling don't have handshake lines. Probably for a reason.

Wrestling has a handshake before the meet, after each match and a handshake line at the end of the meet.

 

[bunsen82]

Please he barely touched him. I see coaches di the same thing all the time...

You see coaches regularly grab another coach who is clearly pissed off and then get up in their face? Please do tell with specific examples. It should be fairly easy since this is so routine.

 

[Crafty Beaver]

Gard totally at fault. Howard didn’t want to stop to talk about it and Gard blocked and grabbed Howard. Yes, Howard is at fault too for doing what he did but Gard instigated the conflict. He should of known based upon Howard’s reaction to just shake hands and let it go till a day or two after the game then reach out to him about the entire ordeal. He of all people should know about the 24 hour rule.

Just stop with this 'Howard didn't want to talk about it' bs.

Howard absolutely wanted to talk about it.

He glared at him several times over the last 30 seconds.

He intentionally went to the back of the HS line so that he could prolong his moment with Gard.

He pulled his mask down & told Gard, 'He was going to remember that TO.'

From prior interactions with Turgeon, etc...you can tell, Howard enjoys the confrontational aspects of the job. He enjoyed it as a player, he enjoys it now.

Howard just wanted to lob the grenade & not have to defend his own actions. That shit doesn't fly in life anywhere. Gard was right to tell him to go eff himself.

 

[nbanflfactory]

You see coaches regularly grab another coach who is clearly pissed off and then get up in their face? Please do tell with specific examples. It should be fairly easy since this is so routine.

I see them gran their elbow to talk many times. Pay more attention...

 

[BirdistheWord]

Just stop with this 'Howard didn't want to talk about it' bs.

Howard absolutely wanted to talk about it.

He glared at him several times over the last 30 seconds.

He intentionally went to the back of the HS line so that he could prolong his moment with Gard.

He pulled his mask down & told Gard, 'He was going to remember that TO.'

From prior interactions with Turgeon, etc...you can tell, Howard enjoys the confrontational aspects of the job. He enjoyed it as a player, he enjoys it now.

Howard just wanted to lob the grenade & not have to defend his own actions. That shit doesn't fly in life anywhere. Gard was right to tell him to go eff himself.

Dont forget Howard aggressively grabbed Gard's sweater AND aggressively pointed his big finger right in Gard's face.

 

[General Tso]

Guess I just disagree with your whole premise. Howard was upset. Whether he should have been is up for debate. Gard grabbed Howard’s arm when JH was passing through the line. Coaches make comments to each other all the time in the line. 99% of the time nothing happens. Gard decided to make his point to Howard who wanted none of it. Then the moment passed until the Wisconsin assistant decided he was the yappiest little puppy in the yard. Stuff escalated from there. Gard, Howard, the assistant, and several players were all at fault. An embarrassing episode in college basketball. No one involved deserves a pass on their actions.

This

 

[BirdistheWord]

Guess I just disagree with your whole premise. Howard was upset. Whether he should have been is up for debate. Gard grabbed Howard’s arm when JH was passing through the line. Coaches make comments to each other all the time in the line. 99% of the time nothing happens. Gard decided to make his point to Howard who wanted none of it. Then the moment passed until the Wisconsin assistant decided he was the yappiest little puppy in the yard. Stuff escalated from there. Gard, Howard, the assistant, and several players were all at fault. An embarrassing episode in college basketball. No one involved deserves a pass on their actions.

You seem to have left off the part where Howard aggressively grabbed (and i mean grabbed hold tight, not the gently grab of the elbow like Gard did) Gard's sweater, and not letting go. Then aggressively points his giant finger right into Gard's face.

 

[BubsFinn]

Guess I just disagree with your whole premise. Howard was upset. Whether he should have been is up for debate. Gard grabbed Howard’s arm when JH was passing through the line. Coaches make comments to each other all the time in the line. 99% of the time nothing happens. Gard decided to make his point to Howard who wanted none of it. Then the moment passed until the Wisconsin assistant decided he was the yappiest little puppy in the yard. Stuff escalated from there. Gard, Howard, the assistant, and several players were all at fault. An embarrassing episode in college basketball. No one involved deserves a pass on their actions.

I don't know what post-game scuffle you were watching, but most of that is wrong. Howard is the one who escalated things at every opportunity. He escalated when he said "I'm going to remember that s***!" He escalated when he grabbed Gard by the sweater and waved his finger in his face. He escalated when he took a swing at a guy from behind two other guys, like a little bitch.
Gard did not escalate the situation when he attempted to stop Howard to have a conversation, like fully functioning, rational adults do every day. If Howard doesn't take a swing at Krabbenhoft, no other punches are thrown and no one gets fined or suspended. The fine on Gard was so the Big Ten could avoid criticism. Absolutely no other reason for it.

 

[WildIowaCat]

Souhan has always been nothing but a "look at me" blowhard. He's an opinion writer, not a journalist. Two pages here, it looks like he's won another round.

This, the author who wrote this commonly writes trash like this. Any Vikings fan knows to avoid his work.

 

[Tfxchawk]

I’ve met a lot of “experts” of the past couple of years on these message boards. We have experts on the economy, politics, epidemiology, virology, and now….handshakes. I’m glad these master courses in everything are available for free right here on HR.

You are welcome...

 

[bunsen82]

I see them gran their elbow to talk many times. Pay more attention...

did more than grab an elbow and much more aggressive than any other instance you are referencing

 

[General Tso]

I don't know what post-game scuffle you were watching, but most of that is wrong. Howard is the one who escalated things at every opportunity. He escalated when he said "I'm going to remember that s***!" He escalated when he grabbed Gard by the sweater and waved his finger in his face. He escalated when he took a swing at a guy from behind two other guys, like a little bitch.
Gard did not escalate the situation when he attempted to stop Howard to have a conversation, like fully functioning, rational adults do every day. If Howard doesn't take a swing at Krabbenhoft, no other punches are thrown and no one gets fined or suspended. The fine on Gard was so the Big Ten could avoid criticism. Absolutely no other reason for it.

Gard 100% escalated the situation. Howard said something, sure. However he then looked past Gard and tried to walk past him. Gard grabbed his elbow and stepped into Howard's path. You must be a badger fan

 

[TheRealHerky]

The post game line is an opportunity to show class and character.

It also reveals deficiencies in these areas.

 

[Wordel]

My take. I love it. Let me be entertained!! I didn't watch the game, but saw the replay. If I knew that'd there be a coach fight and a scuffle at the end of every game, man I'd pay extra for the ticket, buy a couple extra beers and maybe an ice cream cone for the after game fun!!

 

[BubsFinn]

Gard 100% escalated the situation. Howard said something, sure. However he then looked past Gard and tried to walk past him. Gard grabbed his elbow and stepped into Howard's path. You must be a badger fan

I am not a Badger fan, nor am I a fan of Greg Gard. But only a moron would think Gard did anything out of line. His mistake was assuming a fellow head coach of a Big Ten basketball team could be spoken with like an adult, and didn’t need to be treated like a child throwing a tantrum.
Greg Gard didn’t do anything that a thousand other coaches have done. You could not have expected him to predict the kind of juvenile behavior Howard displayed.

 

[ssckelley]

I am not a Badger fan, nor am I a fan of Greg Gard. But only a moron would think Gard did anything out of line. His mistake was assuming a fellow head coach of a Big Ten basketball team could be spoken with like an adult, and didn’t need to be treated like a child throwing a tantrum.
Greg Gard didn’t do anything that a thousand other coaches have done. You could not have expected him to predict the kind of juvenile behavior Howard displayed.

Guess the league office has morons in it since they did fine Gard.

Gard grabbing an opposing coach who is visibly upset was wrong and I don’t give a crap if you think I’m a moron.

 

[rcamp67]

I don't necessarily disagree with your take, but football and wrestling don't have handshake lines. Probably for a reason. To me, the biggest reason is that at any age, mindlessly walking through the handshake line repeating "goodgamegood gamegoodgamegoodgame" is a complete and utter waste of time and serves no purpose whatsoever. What critical life skill do we think it is actually teaching? If you genuinely want to express to an opponent how much you appreciate his/her effort and performance, I'm guessing you'll find him/her after the game on your own time and can do it then. About 50% of the individual post-match wrestling handshakes end up with words or worse being exchanged (at least at Iowa meets) - being forced to shake hands has nothing to do with your character or how good of a "man" you are.

Sportsmanship should be shown for the entirety of the game being played on the court or field - if it has to be reinforced by lightly touching hands while avoiding eye contact with the other team (which is 90% of every handshake line ever), then everyone involved has missed the point.

This is simply not true. There is a handshake by both teams at the conclusion of a dual. And your assertion that at least 50% of post match handshakes end in words being said is laughably wrong. Is there chirping from time to time? Sure. Over half the time? Not even close. I have watched every Hawkeye dual for at least the last 15 years as well as probably 200 other duals. The chirping is the exception and not the rule.

 

[Crafty Beaver]

Guess the league office has morons in it since they did fine Gard.

Gard grabbing an opposing coach who is visibly upset was wrong and I don’t give a crap if you think I’m a moron.

Just curious.

Why do you keep ignoring the assertions I, and others, have made that Howard had no reason to be upset? I assert that Gard was the one with a reason to be upset, based on how the end up the game transpired.

How do you respond?

 

[ssckelley]

Just curious.

Why do you keep ignoring the assertions I, and others, have made that Howard had no reason to be upset? I assert that Gard was the one with a reason to be upset, based on how the end up the game transpired.

Because you (and the others) would be right. I've said over and over this isn't about Howard, everything Howard did from the moment he got pissed off at the timeout onward was wrong.

I'm talking about Gard's actions, and only Gard. Gard was pissed off too, he was dropping F bombs in the huddle during the timeout and Howard set him off again which caused him to grab Howard and get in his face. His post game remarks were derogatory towards Howard. Gard did not need to grab a pissed off Howard in the handshake line. Howard was just running his mouth, Gard could have just shouted back or better yet just kept walking and address Howard off camera, after they both have cooled off. Instead Gard decided to settle it during a hand shake line, in front of 1000's of fans, and a television audience then have the audacity to lie about it in the presser saying Howard was the one who came after him pointing at his chest.

None of this is an excuse for Howard's actions and what he did was 1000+ times worse than what Gard did. Which is why the league office gave Howard a 5 game suspension while Gard only got a fine. Gard is not blameless in this incident and I don't get why some of you can't see that. Just because Howard was the one who set him off, acting like an idiot, doesn't exonerate Gard.

 

[Hawkdiver]

I have been waiting all day for the announcement that Fran is getting a $10,000 fine. Last night he "grabbed" Izzo in the exact same manner Gard grabbed Howard; he shook with his right hand and grabbed the elbow with the left.

 

[Crafty Beaver]

Because you (and the others) would be right. I've said over and over this isn't about Howard, everything Howard did from the moment he got pissed off at the timeout onward was wrong.

I'm talking about Gard's actions, and only Gard. Gard was pissed off too, he was dropping F bombs in the huddle during the timeout and Howard set him off again which caused him to grab Howard and get in his face. His post game remarks were derogatory towards Howard. Gard did not need to grab a pissed off Howard in the handshake line. Howard was just running his mouth, Gard could have just shouted back or better yet just kept walking and address Howard off camera, after they both have cooled off. Instead Gard decided to settle it during a hand shake line, in front of 1000's of fans, and a television audience then have the audacity to lie about it in the presser saying Howard was the one who came after him pointing at his chest.

None of this is an excuse for Howard's actions and what he did was 1000+ times worse than what Gard did. Which is why the league office gave Howard a 5 game suspension while Gard only got a fine. Gard is not blameless in this incident and I don't get why some of you can't see that. Just because Howard was the one who set him off, acting like an idiot, doesn't exonerate Gard.

Going to have to agree to disagree, I guess, as I interpreted many of these things differently than you.

First, Gard was pissed at his scrubs for not handling the pressure Michigan was applying. He was chewing them out a bit for playing like the bad news bears. I saw no indication that he was pissed at Howard.

I also don't think Gard was pissed at Howard (maybe a little annoyed) as they approached the HS line. Definitely not enough to make a hub-bub about it. I think Gard was genuinely taken aback or surprised when, as he approached Howard, he gets an earful from Howard about "remembering the BS timeout". So, what you saw from Gard wasn't some angry/premeditated conflict. It was more along the lines of - WHAT? You're pissed at ME?!? YOU effed this up.

That's what caused Gard to stop Howard...surprise/dismay....Not, "you know what, we're both pissed, let's sort this out later..."

 

[Rifler]

As Division 1 Big Ten coaches Howard and Gard are both supposed to be comfortable wearing big boy pants while simultaneously executing their highly paid jobs in a professional manner,.. They both failed.

 

[Crafty Beaver]

As Division 1 Big Ten coaches Howard and Gard are both supposed to be comfortable wearing big boy pants while simultaneously executing their highly paid jobs in a professional manner,.. They both failed.

That’s the other thing I basically disagree on.

i don’t have a problem with two competitors beefing it out a bit a half court. These are hyper competitive people. I think it was much to do about nothing until Howard took the swipe.

 

[ssckelley]

Going to have to agree to disagree, I guess, as I interpreted many of these things differently than you.

First, Gard was pissed at his scrubs for not handling the pressure Michigan was applying. He was chewing them out a bit for playing like the bad news bears. I saw no indication that he was pissed at Howard.

I also don't think Gard was pissed at Howard (maybe a little annoyed) as they approached the HS line. Definitely not enough to make a hub-bub about it. I think Gard was genuinely taken aback or surprised when, as he approached Howard, he gets an earful from Howard about "remembering the BS timeout". So, what you saw from Gard wasn't some angry/premeditated conflict. It was more along the lines of - WHAT? You're pissed at ME?!? YOU effed this up.

That's what caused Gard to stop Howard...surprise/dismay....Not, "you know what, we're both pissed, let's sort this out later..."

If Gard wasn't pissed then it was bad judgement grabbing Howard like that. He should have had the presence of mind to know better, I'm using the idea he was upset as an excuse. Both of us are speculating as to what he was pissed about in the huddle, I'll give you that, it's just that it doesn't match up with what he said later using his reserves in that situation. But I can't rule out that wasn't the case, perhaps he was just giving them the F bomb because they couldn't get the ball up the court. To me it seemed out of frustration that Howard still had his starters in there, they were pressing, and then he was getting glared at by Howard.

If you were presented with a video of just the Wisconsin coaches actions without Howard I think we would agree they acted in appropriately. You start with Gard grabbing Howard as he was walking bye, you got an assistant coach going after a Michigan player, you got another assistant who charged after Howard and had to be held back, and then you have yet another assistant doing a hip check at Michigan in the background. I can't imagine any reasonable person just seeing those actions would think they were appropriate for coaches of student athletes or good roll models. Granted I get everything is in reaction to what Howard said and did but are coaches not taught self control and isn't that what they are teaching their players?

Having said that we do have common ground in Howard's actions. There's no excuse for it, none. Howard is a walking time bomb and I'm afraid it's only a matter of time until he does something stupid again. His apology seemed sincere but I couldn't help notice he did not mention Gard even once and I think he owes him an apology as well. Gard did nothing wrong until he grabbed Howard, he was coaching within the rules of the game. The fact that Howard doesn't recognize this is not a good sign. If you want your athletes to play until the final buzzer regardless of the score that's fine but expect the opposing coach to continue coaching the way he has too in order to succeed as well.