So the Rainmen lose their best rebounder, most popular player and a top 3 scoring threat due to suspension. You’ve got to assume that this is something well beyond the comments in the newspaper and has to be crossing the line into either serious off-court behavior or a major blow up in practice today or yesterday. It has to be serious if they chose to suspend him for the whole season rather than a week or two and then “reevaluate” the decision. There is no going back on this now. Eric Crookshank is done for the season, at least in regard to playing basketball for the Rainmen.
The process is also very odd – most teams would simply release a player and keep it quiet. Obviously if that happend the Rainmen would be asked questions by the media in this market, but to publicly announce it is pretty huge and a big risk.
This is horrible for Eric since it basically ruins the chance he has to make the leap into another, better league. He’s 27 and his window is close to closing. I have no knowledge of what happened, but I hope Eric is okay and that everything is fine with him now and in the future.
For the Rainmen it means that they now desperately need to release Rodney Mayes and sign a good centre. Eric was playing out of position at centre as is, and now it looks like Bailey and Sanders will get the bulk of the minutes there unless McNeal can somehow start contributing. This is just an absolute nightmare in every possible way.
(as always, if anyone knows the scoop and wants to send me an e-mail I’d love to know what happend)
Update:
Halifax signed John Strickland a 6’8, 275lb powerforward to replace Crookshank. He’s 37 years old and is the definition of a minor league journeyman. He last played in the CBA with the Pittsbourgh Explosion, the Albany Patroons and the Minor Skyrockets. He has a reputation as a bit of a clown
Strick Scoping Out the Competition (Photo by Chuck Miller)
EDIT:
After actually reading the transcript of the new conference I am willing to support the Rainmen on this. They don’t suspend him for the season unless this is something very serious, and Eric doesn’t accept the suspension instead of going to Manchester, Vermont, Mexico or where ever unless it was something serious. As much as I want to know what happened, and as much as I am convinced that in a town the size of Halifax someone is going to find out what happened, I also support the Rainmen’s decision to keep this in house. Without any of us knowing the exact details of what happened it’s hard to judge, but the Rainmen need to be commended for not just throwing Crookshank under the bus here. We don’t know if the punishment is warranted, but we do know that too often in all sports, but particularly the minor leagues, when guys fall out of favour they’re thrown out in the trash. In this case the Rainmen are not trashing his reputation/turning him in to the cops or whatever, and they’re continuing to give him a place to stay and paycheck. It is clear that whatever else is going on with this story, but I think that it is clear that Andre Levingston cares about Eric Crookshank and is trying to help him.
SECTION 23 
That’s a dumb move. I assume there’s only two words to explain this debacle: Rick Lewis.
Shit, this season is fucked up now.
This is just straight up shit. Maybe they suspended him so no one else could sign him?
This is just fucked in so many ways.
wow…..Whats next..first they don’t resign KD..(who is playing well down in Wilmington North Carolina, goseadawgs.com ) now this….I think they had toooo many EGOS on the team ..everyone can’t be the “GO-TO-MAN” You only need 2-3 goto players maybe even four…not 8-10…just not good from the start..need people to be role players to compliment the stars…WHO KNOW THAT ITS THEIR ROLE to do so..!!! Man what a potentially GREAT season gone bad…..
It seems unfair to not just release him so he can sign elsewhere.
Wow this is stupid. They should at least say what happend if he is in Halifax this whole time someone will find out what is going on and people will know anyways. The Rainmen are going to blow this whole season now. Suspend Rick Lewis!!!!!!!
On a related note, the team wasted little time filling the vacuum left by Crookshank’s absence on the front line. They also announced they’ve signed power forward John Strickland, a minor-league veteran who averaged 17 points and 7 rebounds with the Monarch Skyrockets in the CBA last season. He’s scheduled to join the team on the road this weekend in Vermont and Manchester, where Brian Silverhorn (knee) also will be unavailable. With the two previous faces of the franchise out of action this weekend, now we’ll really see what this team is made of
Why would they sign another forward? The team needs a center not more guys who they claim are 6’7″ or 6’8″ but are really 6’6″.
I cannot believe this is happening. They should release Eric so he can go find another job, tell us all what happened, replace Rick Lewis with Mickey Fox and then sign a starting center. This team is going to become better known for drama then anything else. This is dumb. Eric must have done something really bad.
From my reaseach it seems as if he is old and fat.
Can I return my season tickets?
I have NO clue what happened – but I’d have to believe the suspension is for something that went down between after Sunday’s game and yesterday.
I am a season ticket holder and sit on the floor across from the Rainmen bench. My friends and I saw that Eric was being benched (he sat out essentially the 2nd & 3rd quarters) and were wondering why Coach Rick did that – didn’t make any sense to me, ya know? According to this article, Eric didn’t know why he was being benched either: http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/sports/article/166672
And now this…Suspended for the season WITH pay?? We’re 2 games in with 18 left to go (including ALL of our road games…facing Vermont on Friday…)
Man, I don’t know but this is crazy…I can’t imagine what Eric did that would warrant being suspended for the rest of the SEASON…hopefully Chad Lucas (Herald) or Matthew Wuest (Metro) can get to the bottom of this…
Strickland is a former all-american but he’s a 36 or 37 year old minor league journeyman. He’s old, fat, volatile and primarily a scorer. He sounds like he’s a pretty wild character. This is, if nothing else, a strange pick up.
There is a press conference that happened this afternoon, unfortunately no one has sent out any details from it yet.
From the press release: “Crookshank will undertake a program to teach kids how important it is to be accountable for their actions. “I accept that my recent behavior had a negative impact on the team and the organization and I am ready to face the responsibility for that,” said Crookshank.”
Drunk driving? Substance abuse? They need to clarify this asap.
Yeah, cause if not, they have people like us wondering “Drunk driving? Substance abuse?”
Well if you’re not going to say anything about the suspension then you shouldn’t say anything about the suspension. That part of the press release seems to hint that it was something along those lines. This is so dumb.
This team, more than ever, needs a legit centre. A guy that can flat out play.
Yeah man, I know what you mean. It lends itself to speculation.
I’m thinking he and coach got into it verbally since Sunday’s game…we’ll just have to see…we may never know for sure, since they plan to keep it ‘hush hush’ (according to today’s earlier press release).
But every minor league team needs that. I can’t think of a single one in the ABA, PBL or CBA. If you have some skills and are a legit 6’10 or more then someone in Europe, the D-League or even the NBA will take a chance on you and pay serious cash. The Rainmen need
Strickland seems like he’ll be fun to have around and is a real novelty, but I don’t know how much help he will be. He’s definitely not a starter. I would feel more comfortable with him if he was coming in during training camp so that he was in shape… 6’8 and 275 lbs… really?! He is also apparently a terrible free throw shooter.
Also: who on earth on the Monarch Sky Rockets? Are they in any way related to the Minot Sky Rockets? Did the CBA have two teams called the Sky Rockets last year? Are they like the CFL?
First I want to say:
This is the MOST shocking event in the Rainmen’s short history.
I imagine no one will argue with that.
Second, I think Eric was the hardest working player on the floor every night. I have no idea what he is like off the court.
But remember he played here LAST year. Therefore the Rainmen management knew who he was and what he was like. Why after two games have a sudden revelation that they don’t want him?
Rainmen management: Let’s have some disclosure on what really happened. How can we support a team when we have no idea what is going on?
BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FUCK LEWIS!!!!!!!!!FUCK LEVINGSTONG!!!!!!!FUCK THIS SHIT!!!!!!!!
But every minor league team needs that. I can’t think of a single one in the ABA, PBL or CBA. If you have some skills and are a legit 6′10 or more then someone in Europe, the D-League or even the NBA will take a chance on you and pay serious cash. The Rainmen need
I think you are missing something there. They need a big banger who can rebound and is good enough to start games. McNeal won’t be able to play this year.
Yeah, they do. I am just saying that looking for a guy who can really play basketball and is good and 6’10+ is asking for too much at this point. I just want a 6’9+ guy who can grab some boards and maybe even protect the rim from time to time.
I wonder if they can convince McGriff to reconsider?
NorthEndBalla, it is nice to hear you pass the love around. I thought it was just the Frost Heaves coach that you did not like.
Yeah, that is the kind of guy I was hoping for. Legit 6’9, strong, tough rebounder. Needs to have a bigger frame.
Bailey can sort of fill that role if he toughens up down low and stops relying entirely on athleticism to get the job done.
Another thought: If the Rainmen don’t explain what happened, they run the risk of steering away future players and their agents. If there’s a chance that the team suspended a player for the whole over some post-game comments are you really going to send your client there? This whole situation is a mess, but I can’t imagine that the Rainmen would take these steps if it wasn’t serious.
Apparently this new guy the Rainmen signed, John Strickland played with Jamario Moon in Albany.
http://www.albanypats.com/patroons_photo_gallery_2007-02.html
Hey Chris902,
I agree with your last comments.
How do you attract future players into this environment?
From the outside it looks like. Halifax’s hardest working player has words with management and never plays again. Has to sit out the whole season. What player agent would put their player into that?
Why was there no rumblings against Crookshank last year? How did he go from the Franchise player and fan favourite to the end of his days as a Rainmen?
It’s too big a mystery and one that won’t go away until we know more.
Romes – yeah, he was teammate of Moon’s with the Pats. He’s spent the last few years with various CBA teams and was a CBA all-star last year. I think he can still play at least reasonably well, but who knows what shape he’s in?
Well believe me I know what happened im a good friend to somebody on the rainmen organization. All Eric Crookshank did was went up to the coach and asked him after the game about his time.. The stupid as coach thought that he was trying to tell him how to coach…. Rick lewis has something personally against Air Canada going back to last year to the last game of the season when he benched silverhorne and Eric… I letting you no for a fact that THATS ALL MY FRIEND DID. he’s very emotionally torn he feels used and unhappy. One question for you Mr levingston. Do you think the Lakers would give away Kobe or Phil Jackson. The moosehead sucks and now the rainmen do this is very FUCK UP….. protect your investment Andre I want my money back….. I want sleep tonight Fuck the rainmen this hurts so bad.
I don’t know what happened, but either way I feel bad for Crook and the team. This just isn’t the way things were supposed to happen. This group could have been something special, and Eric would have been in the middle of it all. I loved watching him play.
I still have a hard time believing that something else did not happen between Monday morning and now. Eric’s comments may have been out of line, but just yesterday Levingston said that it was no big deal, and the organization loses as much sitting Eric as he does.
Why doesn’t he just walk and try to find another gig? His agent should be flipping out about this. (Speaking of which – did he switch agents? He’s no longer listed on the SBS website as a client)
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Sports/9010316.html
This article leaves it really ambiguous. They say it was continued behaviour?
I totally respect what Eric had to say in Monty Mosher’s Herald article, I just wish the organization would just say what happened. Too many sponsors, season ticket holders, and fans have paid good money to this franchise, and I personally, like everyone who has posted here thus far, want a REAL explanation.
If what ‘close friend’ wrote above is true, that is such a weak reason to suspend someone for the season.
Don’t they realize by them not talking about AYEAR LONG suspension they are making things much harder on themselves? I could see if it was a one or 2 game suspension and they wanted to keep that in-house, sure, but a year with no/limited explanation…that doesn’t cut it.
Hopefully those with inside info can keep digging…At this point, I want to know!
Crookshank was a primadonna, he was starting to think he was bigger than the team. Showboating after baskets Friday night. They may misshispoints, but he was likely a cancer in the locker room. The becnhing on Sunday was supposed to send a message that no one is excused from practicing. I suspect his worship Eric thought he was more important than the coach, and challenged his athourity. This isn’t theNBA, so the Eric Crookshanks of the world are a dime a dozen.
I think the suspension of Eric is obviously personal. Why would you suspend a player for a whole year, pay him and not allow him to go to another team. These players aren’t getting any younger and all of them have aspirations to play in the NBA. By suspending a player for the year, you’re basically crushing any hopes of putting up stats for anyone. What ever happened between Eric and the Rainmen organization has to be personal.
Also MickeyNS, from what i know Eric was loved by his team. I don’t believe that he was a cancer in the locker room. Also, Eric is a humble person who always reaches out to his fans. For anyone that knows him they know that he has personality, so showboating is not a bad thing. True, no one should miss practice, but i’ve never heard of someone being suspended for a whole year for missing practice. A game or two with or without pay, yeah, but a whole season? Never!!
I hope so mickey, because we need those points and someone to get the crowd revved up as well.. that may not be so easy to find!
Does the PBL have trades?
This is Lewis’ fault. Even if Crookshank was a big problem inside and outside of the locker room then he had two options before suspending him for the whole season. He could have not signed him in the first place since they knew what they were getting or they could have disciplined him before the two home games or afterwards in a less harsh way. I do not like how they are treating grown men and professionals like they are children.
i going to let everybody no from the bottom of my heart this is what reall y happened. we watched the halifax rainmen build a great team just to tear it down WHAT THE FUCK. ANDRE IS AL DAVIS FROM THE RAIDERS” AND RICK LEWIS IS A FUCKING RETARD… Crookshank is always at the Mooseheads games supporting Hockey working and talking to kids. Crookshank walks around the moosehead games faithfully its crazy even when the other Rainmen aren’t even there. Guess what all of them fans or GONE.. JUSTIN PENDER AND CROOKSHANK ARE GOOD FRIENDS THAT KILLS THE MOOSEHEADS AT GAMES STUPID MOVE…. BAD MANAGEMENT
You know what sucks for Eric…
I think this means he can’t even play for another team.
This adds insult to injury. Think about it. Not only can he NOT play for the Rainmen, he can NOT play for any team in the PBL? Is that right?
If this is true this would be an injustice to Eric Crookshank.
Even if he had words etc. Does he not have a right to work in Basketball and develop his game?
Part of me hope ends up on another team in the PBL and destroys the Raimen on the court. Shows them how good a team player he is.
You know what sucks for Eric…
I think this means he can’t even play for another team.
Think about it. Not only can he NOT play for the Rainmen, he can NOT play for any team in the PBL? Is that right?
If this is true this would be an injustice to Eric Crookshank.
Even if he had words etc.
Does he not have a right to work in Basketball and develop his game? Is this the case?
Rain Mania, I think the press release says he is still being paid, so he isn’t out any money. In a business sense, it is a good move, because he can’t go to another team, and hurt you on the court. So far he was only averaging 11 pts a games. Is 11 points so hard to pick up off the bench, or with a decent signing? Other than the negative publicity, I don’t see this as a devastating loss. It depends how they do the rest of the season. Rob Sanders is a monster, and can see him becoming the face of the franchise now. He lit Halifax up last year when he played for the Millrats.
rob sanders will never be Eric Crookshank! Mr Crookshank was here from day one period Crookshank does things Rob would never do ever ever ever.. And for you information Crookshank is averaging 11 points just because he played on TWO GAMES ASS HOLE. The first 2 games before home opener he was hurt. And fo the record last year he averaged 10 points in first 5 games… Your not a rainmen fan Mickey Ns please sign off. We accepted Crookshank as a Canadian he’s family ass
Close friend – I understand that this is emotional and disagreement is fine, but MickeyNS has every right to post here and offer another opinion. He can still be a fan of the Rainmen and not hold Eric in as high regard and still be a fan of the team. Disagreement is a good thing.
On that note, I disagree with you, MickeyNS. He was hurt for those road games, and played just eight minutes in Montreal. So if you count the first road game but discount the Montreal game Eric is averaging 15.3ppg, 9rpg and 2.7 bpg. Those stats are not easily replaced by bringing in another player particularly in mid-January. I do think that Sanders can pick up the slack on both ends of the floor and is in many ways a better player. He is not however a good choice for face of the franchise: he has serious on court rage issues (which I like but does not play well to families), he’s new so he only has two months to establish himself, and he does not play in as obviously flashy a way as Eric does. Silverhorn is a nice guy but he’s too quiet a guy. Someone like Bailey, SirVal, or most likely Strickland is going to have to step up and becoming the fan favourite. The amount of effort that went into turning Eric Crookshank into a star and public darling was huge, and they need figure out how they will try to sell the team now.
What you have to be a crookshank nuthugger to be a fan? Wipe that Crookshank jizz of yourlips closefriend…lol.
I agree..I hear what everyone is saying, but I don’t understand how someone so in tune with the community and with the oterh sports team here can all of sudden need lessons in personal responsibility/ accountability. There is an attachment to Eric and maybe we can build one with other players, but right now this is a serious void. I do think the points can be replaced, but the energy, enthusiasm and love for halifax is not so easy..
I do like all the discussion on these boards.
No need to get personal guys. I think everyone can express their opinions without resorting to that.
It should be a forum to discuss the team not each other.
Does anyone really believe that EC did nothing except criticize Lewis and is willing to not only not play but also go into schools and lecture kids about being accountable? That is simply not possible. This reeks of some kind of deal (i.e. we won’t involve the police and we’ll suspend EC, ask him to do some public service, and not tell anyone what happened – result – no record for EC, no embarrassment for a potential victim(s), mimimal career damage for EC). IMHO there absolutely has to be a potential legal element to all this – think about pro athletes who have been suspended for 80% of a season – there’s not many and none, zip, zero had only criticized a coach about being benched.
PS Does closefriend really believe that not having Moosehead players at Rainmen games is that big of a deal – wow – who cares.
Bluenoser – I didn’t want to openly speculate without anything to back it up, but the thought has certainly crossed my mind. I am having a hard time figuring out why he would not just walk away – the PBL is not the only game in town. I think he is currently without an agent, and his only other option is likely the ABA, so that might have something to do with it, but your scenario is far more likely.
Chris,
I just looked on SBS’s site. Crookshank is listed there as “Available”.
Clearly Crookshank didn’t respect Lewis as a coach. If I had to speculate a confrontation in front of the team took place, where Eric said as much. Conduct detrimental to the team is how something like that was clearly termed. Obviously the relationship was not salvageable. The suspension w/pay is so that they can keep Crookshank from going to a divisional rival like Vermont. They probably don’t want to pay him, but will with conditions to keep him quiet. I’m sorry I won’t be able to see him play when the Rainmen come to Burlington. Regardless your team will still be a tough out.
Joe – I can only find him through a backdoor (i.e. opening a cached version of the page to find the link to his player profile). He does not appear under any of the lists by position and if you search him by name he doesn’t come up – although he is listed on the drop down menu under search. He used to be easily found on the front page as well as under powerforward and small forward… all of that is to say it could just be a website issue. Either way, I am not sure if he really has a viable out this late in the season.
My biggest beef is just that if this was really just a character issue (meaning Eric calling Lewis out in front of the team), why would they sign a guy who’s overweight, not in playing shape and by all reports, not a team player as well? What kind of message would that send to the rest of the team?
Check out the official transcript from the press conference…
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/sports/article/166951
John Strickland:
Are we on Candid Camera? Are we being Punked?
Let me get this straight. We are supposed to forget about Eric Crookshank’s performances and look to John Strickland as our Team’s knight in shining armour?
Eric: A player on the upswing. Tonnes of upside.
John: Journeymen player , no upside, heavy, over weight.
His conditioning looks awful in the picture I saw of him. Can you imagine him running the floor? Good lord I can’t. I can’t see him evening playing more than 20 minutes a night in that shape. 4th Quarter? Overtime!! HAHAHA, please!!!
Not an attack on John as a person.
He’s not in good shape. I’m sure he would admit that.
I honestly feel bad for my former organization…..something has to give..dont know what it is..but something has to give..!!
How on earth is he going to talk to kids about decision making and consequences if he can’t say what he did?
Eric: *after 20 minutes of talking* And that children is why no matter how well things are going for you, you always have to be accountable for your actions. Does anyone have any questions?
Child: ummm… but what did you do that you had to be accountable for?
Eric: That is an internal matter and will be dealt with inside the organization.
I’d like to point out that Rob Sanders was THE player I walked away from the ABA All-Star Game (Levingston’s first production for us as a basketball man) thinking about. He won the dunk contest (ok, well, he would have, if he wasn’t from the other division) and, played his ass off.
I think he’s a great player, and while I agree that having a trash talker be the main face of the franchise mightn’t work, it is basketball. Not too many of the kid teams in attendance are going to hear what’s said, anyway.
He’s certainly got nothing worse to say than that crazy guy yelling at the bench in Section 23… hah
Yeah, I am not sure if there is a more depressing replacement for Crookshank than John Strickland.
Pingback: How Do The Rainmen Continue Without Crookshank? « SECTION 23
I am not that depressed about Strickland. He sounds like a character and he will provide some offense off of the bench. As strange, old and out of shape he is, he was a CBA all-star and put up 17/7 last year. The CBA is a good league and was without a doubt the second best US minor league last year. Big fat dudes who can play in the post are surprisingly effective in the minor leagues when used sparingly and playing within their limits look at what Xavier Morton did to Halifax on Sunday and even a guy like Ronnie Rollerson with Rochester can be strangely effective.
I don’t expect him to get more than 10-15 minutes a game so I actually think it’s better to think of Eric’s replacement as Rob Sanders and David Bailey.
Halifax will be fine on the court, there is no need to panic. It is the off the court PR disaster that will occur when what he really did is revealed. I think he attacked Rick Lewis physically on Tuesday.
Just to be clear I have no information about what happened and I am just guessing.
I agree with what HuskiesAUS has speculated. I can’t think of anything else that makes a lick of sense.
Rick Lewis probably had it coming
I Hope He Hurt Lewis Bad!!!
Lewis Should Be A Man and Not Go Running To Livingston To Solve His Problems!!!! What A Snitch!
A locker room divided?
I would speculate it has to be. The Lewis Camp on one side and the Crookshank loyalists.
Some players will buy into the Lewis philosophy and some are loyal to their comrade on the floor Crookshank.
Why haven’t any Crookshank loyalists in the locker come forward to support him? I would say fear. Fear of falling in the dog house.
Who is in the Crookshank camp? My theory is to watch the players minutes on the weekend road trip. Whose minutes have gone way down? Watch for minutes anomolies as subtle messages of who should get with the new regime.
I know it’s crazy that you suspend a franchise player for the entire season but with pay. That alone tells you that we have made a mistake but we will still pay you! Stand up and be a man and put your ego’s aside and fine him and then play ball……
Rain Mania…that is just FANTASTIC investigation…who are your sources? No, no wait, don’t tell us, it’ll just add to the intrigue. Way to step up the general ideas to the next level, I like it.
I think that there was a dust up because LEVINGSTON wanted to join the team for a game…Crookshanks has a lot of respect for the game (look back at his opinions of the 13th man in that article I read once) and didn’t like the idea, and THAT’s the cause of the dustup.
Yeah, that’s how it happened.
What happened was Eric told their sorry coach who’s best friends with the owner as well as he’s the GM and Head Coach which should not be allowed on this level that he felt he should play on the block instaed of where he was placing him and the hater became upset and benched him.
Rain Mania do you have anything to back this up at all?
How can you blackball a young man in not allowing him to speak? I’ve been going to his website http://ericcrookshank.publishpath.com/ as well as his http://www.myhoopsite.com & myspace page to see if he’s posted anything outside of what were getting from the http://www.rainmenbasketball.ca/ website and the http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/sports/article/166672
I know players may have attitudes, but sometimes you have to take a player over a coch. Have the owner asked the players for their opinions I bet not, why not a fine or a game suspension before a harsh decision of a year suspension. I guess a playoffs birth don’t matter. You lost a great shooter in Silverhorn. I have not read anything to Crookshank was detramental to the team to lead me to belieive it may be some jealosy going around
As much as I would hate to see our city of Halifax lose such a great player why not trade him. Were going through a soap Oprah like The The New Your Knicks with Stephon Maurbury. The Rainmen press confrence would not let Eric speak or give his opinion to what happened. I guess when the season is over the gag order will be lifted. AND1 is calling Air Canada I bet you can fullfill your dreams their.
Yes I do! I can’t give you any names but I can give you what was told to me by and assistant coach.
Considering there is only one assistant coach I’d say you may have outed your source on this.
I only can give you what he told me as him being a coach. He be with players in the club and say’s he’s a assitant.
Wow, not bad! Less than a day and a half from Chris’ post to a fan solving the crime! By the way, I thought it was Rick Lewis in the Conservatory with the Lead Pipe.
NOTE: This post is kind of long and I have a few thoughts going on here. Just so you know in advance. I welcome all feedback and personal attacks will be shrugged off immediately.
1. Veteran fans will remember that The Lewis has favourites and there was a mole in the house last year. I don’t know what The Lewis has on Andre to stay on here at the expense of the team, but it had better be good.
———————-
2. Chris, your post is true comedy:
chris902 Says:
How on earth is he going to talk to kids about decision making and consequences if he can’t say what he did?
Eric: *after 20 minutes of talking* And that children is why no matter how well things are going for you, you always have to be accountable for your actions. Does anyone have any questions?
Child: ummm… but what did you do that you had to be accountable for?
Eric: That is an internal matter and will be dealt with inside the organization.
————————-
3. Scotian Sea Dawg #34 – you said “something has to give”.
IMO, a baseball coach and PT expert does not a basketball coach make, no matter how close he is to the owner. So I guess that is my thought on what has to give. Any thoughts?
—————————
4. In terms of sacrifices of pay and time lost, Eric is still getting paid. The season is only 3 months long anyway, and Eric loves Hali. I believe he has called it his second home. Eric could very likely want to stay here for personal reasons.
—————-
5. Either the real reason for the suspension is huge and the Rainmen are sheltering Eric as well as his reputation and career and Eric is standing up and being repentant for his mistake, in which case, hooray for everyone; OR Eric is taking one for the team, after standing up to an outclassed tyrant and he is toeing the party line for a longer-term deal with the team to stay in Hali, ’cause we’re so lovable. I don’t know who to cheer for in that scenario.
———————-
6. The hero in all of this is Rainmen PR head Nancy Sheppard, who has obviously coached the three men involved (Eric, The Lewis and Andre) in how to circle the wagons.
Unfortunately for the Rainmen, this blog (’cause it is truly so awesome) has perpetuated significant fan speculation. That cannot be good for the Rainmen. Somehow I think they are trying to save face (whose face, I am not sure as of yet) and in doing so, they remain inscrutable to the point of hurting the organization. At least, that is how I see it right now. I am sure that when the facts come to light — if they haven’t already on this blog, thanks to Lila — everyone will wish it had been handled differently.
Signing off now,
BDP
Your statement about Nancy Sheppard is the most true thing that has been said about or by the Rainmen in the last 48 hours. I bet she wanted to quit or at least rip her hair out when Levingston told her what the situation was, but the fact that everyone held it together in that press conference without letting anything slip is pretty unreal. It’s hard to keep one person on message but to keep three people, who may still be in disagreement and who are in a very emotional situation saying the same thing without cracking is pretty amazing. She’s the team’s MVP as of right now.
I’m going to say my cousin is dealing with this in a very business like manner. He’s put up with a lot and to have to be suspeneded for and entire season is very unreasonable. If it was something that was life threatning or so bad for him to be suspended for a year why not trade him if he’s such a bad guy. It’s a cover up that he can not even speak about which tears me up. That’s the out come he’s willing to put up with.
I am only speculating here. Rick must have his supporters in the locker room and so would Eric.
I have no idea whether Rick would rise above the “who was Eric’s best supporters on the team”
I’d like to think he’s not that pety and would care about the team as a whole.
whats the p[oint guys he’s back on the team and thats all that matters to me
I Love Eric Crookshank!