Isiah Thomas to FIU ?!

[MU in Miami]

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6271764/14506834

Odd to see FIU going after him.  Tim Hardaway was also interested in the position (no, I'm not making that up).

[CAINMUTINY]

Wasn't Larry Eustacy on the list as well?

[Eye]

With that group, I'm surprised I didn't see Clyde Drexler's name in the mix.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

Can we please, PLEASE schedule FIU?  It will be comedy gold for the student section.

http://deadspin.com/tag/isiah-thomas/

How do you even begin to thin thru all of this for one game's worth of material?  We might need multiple buy games to use all of this. 

[Marquette Mama]

Done deal.  Here is announcement as it appears in Detroit Free Press -- a lot of Thomas history here, obviously. 

http://www.freep.com/article/20090414/SPORTS03/90414053/Isiah+Thomas+now+coach+at+Florida+International

[soloWarrior]

Odd to see FIU going after him.  Tim Hardaway was also interested in the position (no, I'm not making that up).

No way Tim was going to get the job...you may have forgotten his "insensitive" commentary in 2007...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Hardaway

Plus he owns a lucrative chain of car washes in South Florida  ...
FIU knows full well that he doesn't have time to coach a basketball team.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2007/09/18/2007-09-18_isiah_explains_double_standard_on_slurs_.html

I dunno if what Hardaway said was any worse than Isiah here.

Jurors heard the Knicks coach say he wouldn't stand for a white man calling a black woman a "bitch" - but wouldn't be as angry if the same words came from the mouth of a black man.

In a videotaped deposition played for the jury at fired Knicks exec Anucha Browne Sanders' sexual harassment trial, Thomas said he drew a distinction between whites and blacks when it came to the B-word.

Asked if he was bothered by a black man calling a black female "bitch," Thomas said: "Not as much. I'm sorry to say, I do make a distinction.

"A white male calling a black female a bitch is highly offensive," Thomas said. "That would have violated my code of conduct."

"Maybe I shouldn't go there. ... A white male calling a black female, that is wrong with me. I'm not taking that. I'm not accepting that. ... That's a problem for me."

[soloWarrior]

TC's Tanning Bed - I think we can agree that both men made egregious comments.  I'm not saying that either of these guys should wear an eternal scarlet letter - to error is to be human.  Plus I am a fan of forgiveness.  However, neither man deserves to coach in an academic environment. 

[pbiflyer]

Talk about a flawed hiring process!!!!!!

I was in Miami today, listening to sports radio. They are floored. FIU has had some poor choices in the past. This one seems to make the other pale. The AD said with a straight face that Isiah is a good husband, father, and role model.


In other announcement, FIU named the following:

Chair of the Ethics Committee: Bernie Madoff
Head of Law Enforcement Dept.: OJ Simpson

[MU in Miami]

Odd move done strictly for publicity.  That particular school is growing too fast--in the past 5 years they opened a law school and a medical school.  Is it me, or are all the Florida colleges starting to make a push with their b-ball programs...

[GooooMarquette]

Talk about a flawed hiring process!!!!!!

I was in Miami today, listening to sports radio. They are floored. FIU has had some poor choices in the past. This one seems to make the other pale. The AD said with a straight face that Isiah is a good husband, father, and role model.


In other announcement, FIU named the following:

Chair of the Ethics Committee: Bernie Madoff
Head of Law Enforcement Dept.: OJ Simpson

I heard Dave Bliss was looking to get back into coaching -- maybe Thomas will hire him as an assistant??

[GGGG]

Odd move done strictly for publicity.  That particular school is growing too fast--in the past 5 years they opened a law school and a medical school.  Is it me, or are all the Florida colleges starting to make a push with their b-ball programs...

Desperate coach...desperate athletic director who needs to make a splash.  The most famous thing that FIU athletics is known for is the big football brawl with Miami a few years ago.

The Florida public universities are making pushes with their athletic programs because these universities have gotten huge.  FIU has 40,000 students.  And in many ways, Central and South Florida have benefitted from higher profile athletic programs.  FIU is just trying to do the same thing.

[CAINMUTINY]

Is this really the best environment for a guy who just lost a sexual harassment lawsuit? A place with tons of young coed's ripe for the picking? 

[4everwarriors]

You're right. Maybe Notre Dame or West Point would have been better.

[VegasWarrior77]

I heard a funny bit on sports radio this morning.  The representative from FIU introduced Isiah to the gathered masses as "Isiah Thompson"!  Too funny!

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Laugh at FIU all you want, but they wouldn't have considered Buzz Williams last March.

[jmayer1]

Laugh at FIU all you want, but they wouldn't have considered Buzz Williams last March.

And MU wouldn't have considered Isiah Thomas, what's your point?

Oh that's right, you don't have one; you never do, just an agenda.

[VegasWarrior77]

Laugh at FIU all you want, but they wouldn't have considered Buzz Williams last March.

I feel sorry for FIU because everything Isiah touches turns to crap!  I believe the subject of the original post is about "Isiah Thomas to FIU".  Sometimes in life we need to turn the page and move on with our lives!

[New Era Warriors]

Seriously, what is your problem PRN??? Like Jmayer said, what in the world is your point? You continually make negative remarks about our coach, yet you have nothing to back it up. Marquette wouldn't have considered Isiah Thomas either.

Btw. did anyone see his interview with Andy Katz and that lady on ESPN earlier today?! The ESPN lady burned him in every way possible! Isiah was asked questions about his sexual harassment case, his alleged suicide attempt and his future at FIU and he looked like a complete moron. He is so full of crap it's unbelievable. An absolute headcase if you ask me. Best of look Florida International...

[soloWarrior]

http://espn.go.com/chicago/story?id=4067233

This past October, there was more drama.

Officers responded to Thomas' New York-area home after a 911 call reported someone had overdosed on sleeping pills. According to police reports, officers found a man passed out and gave him oxygen until an ambulance arrived.

Authorities never publicly identified Thomas as the victim, but a person familiar with the case confirmed to the AP that it was Thomas.

Still, Thomas' hiring at FIU quickly became a galvanizing story in South Florida.

"This is bigger than basketball and bigger than athletics," said FIU president Modesto A. Maidique. "Having a nationally recognized coach like Isiah at FIU will have a positive impact on our university as a whole, helping us achieve additional national exposure."

BUZZ has done nothing to embarrass MU...Isiah is a ticking time bomb...he'll explode again...the FIU president has shown poor judgement and undoubtedly has set his b-ball program back

[Skatastrophy]

.the FIU president has [...] undoubtedly has set his b-ball program back

I don't know about that.  I'd never heard about FIU until today.  This is probably the best advertising money they've ever spent on their program

[MU in Miami]

I don't know about that.  I'd never heard about FIU until today.  This is probably the best advertising money they've ever spent on their program

Until the announcement, I didn't know they had a D1 basketball program, and I have a friend that teaches there.

[BrewCity83]

Now Isiah says he's giving all his money for the 1st year back to the athletic dept!

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/9455560/Thomas-giving-salary-back-to-FIU?MSNHPHMA

Edit:  added link

[Tugg Speedman]

I was in Miami today, listening to sports radio. They are floored. FIU has had some poor choices in the past. This one seems to make the other pale. The AD said with a straight face that Isiah is a good husband, father, and role model.

Isiah Thomas was introduced by the AD in the press conference as as "Isiah Thompson"!!

Maybe he was correct, he was talking about Isiah Thompson.

[VegasWarrior77]

Thompson, er, I mean Thomas already has a popular t-shirt.  I couldn't copy the shirt image so you'll have to go to the site:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/30213472?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS

Tuesday, 14 Apr 2009
As Isiah Gets Hired, Already Calls For Fire
Posted By:Darren Rovell
Topics:Consumers | Marketing | Advertising | Sports

Isiah Thomas will be introduced as the new coach of Florida International University tomorrow.

And that makes Justin Forer smile.

That's because Forer is the man behind the Web site FireThatGuy.com. And even before Thomas utters his first words on campus, Forer already has the T-shirt made.