Rojo has many alter egos. Sad.
Rojo has many alter egos. Sad.
Seems like to me Smith was playing some serious mental gymnastics to convince himself more than anyone else. But in the end it's him who has to be happy with his decision and live with it.
His answer to all the questions are highly detailed and gives a lot of insight into his thought process. Funny that the same people slamming him for talking too much are the same people slamming Galen for having no personality. There truly is no pleasing some people.
GoodFit wrote:
Are you and Still Waiting talking to yourself ......... in the mirror. I have heard of multiple personalities, but this is ridiculous.
Galen, don't have the balls to use your name on here, huh?
GoodFit wrote:
Rojo has many alter egos. Sad.
Rupp has just one handle here, apparently.
Raw comments without reading the other replies: This is really difficult to read and would have been much better in audio form. I get that it's important to transcribe his every word, but man it was painful to try to figure out what Mike Smith was trying to communicate in text form.
As to the content, I think his replies maintained his integrity. He didn't really speculate on things he didn't know about and he didn't defend Galen's potential grey area behavior in the past. Frankly that surprised me a bit, I expected him to be a little more vehement about Galen following doping protocol but his answer seemed to kind of wave away the grey area stuff like Thyroid medication TUEs and L-Cartinine. I didn't expect in-depth answers on that stuff. Obviously if Galen has a medical need at this point it is what it is, but I personally think thyroid medications should be banned from competition flat out.
Anyways I have a lot of respect for Mike Smith for giving the interview. Hopefully he keeps it up.
this is it wrote:
fortherecord wrote:
I’m impressed at how well-spoken Mike Smith is. A lot of concepts that seemed to go right over several commenters heads. This forum does not deserve his time. Casting pearls before swine.
He really seems to have angered the yokels with all his big words and fancy talk.
he offers word salad to forthright questions, no surprise to the hostility here
Good interview Gault.
I agree with some posters that he uses a lot of word salad and it makes it take longer to decipher what he's trying to say, but I think he was clear in all of this responses.
He trusts that Galen has stayed within the rules despite the allegations (even though most of the allegations are grey area stuff anyways), that people look at things too black and white.
i.e. what's going too far? Taking just under the limit of L-Carnatine? using an altitude house? Taking beta alinine? Beet juice? Multivitamins? None of the above will get you banned, but people have a wide range of moral limits that would allow some people to be okay with all of the above while others would only be okay with vitamins. All of it is legal so I personally don't care. But some people think getting close to that line (grey area) is as bad as cheating, and I think Smith was trying to dismiss that kind of thinking. If you don't actually know what's going on, don't make drastic assumptions. Getting caught with EPO in your system is way worse than taking high doses of a legal vitamin or amino acid because you think it'll give you a legal edge on your competition.
On a less serious note, I thought this line was funny:
"I also get the phone call from [Galen] when he’s pissed off and he can’t hit the splits on my stupid short rest workout.
Still Waiting..... wrote:
The fact that he DID NOT answer to that effect suggests to me that the second answer is likely close to the truth - closer than the first, anyway - and that he doesn't want to admit as much.
tin can man wrote:
In the end, it makes me think he knows Galen doped, is continuing to dope, and that Smith is now aiding and abetting the doping.
Lmao. You are both made for each other. "He didn't answer the questions how I WANTED THEM ANSWERED so he's clearly hiding something. Now, I think Rupp and Smith are now both dirty."
This is why he talked about critical thinking. You both clearly lack it... Just hear what you want so you can push your views on Rupp...
Why would the most successful college coach and one of the most respected coaches in american risk time with Rupp if he was suspicious? He's got everything to lose and little to earn IMO.
macdaddy wrote:
Still Waiting..... wrote:
The fact that he DID NOT answer to that effect suggests to me that the second answer is likely close to the truth - closer than the first, anyway - and that he doesn't want to admit as much.
tin can man wrote:
In the end, it makes me think he knows Galen doped, is continuing to dope, and that Smith is now aiding and abetting the doping.
Lmao. You are both made for each other. "He didn't answer the questions how I WANTED THEM ANSWERED so he's clearly hiding something. Now, I think Rupp and Smith are now both dirty."
This is why he talked about critical thinking. You both clearly lack it... Just hear what you want so you can push your views on Rupp...
Why would the most successful college coach and one of the most respected coaches in american risk time with Rupp if he was suspicious? He's got everything to lose and little to earn IMO.
He didn't answer the questions, period. He babbled on with incoherent thoughts. Why is he coaching Rupp? Fame and $$$.
Smith would have nothing at NAU if the previous coach didn't build it for him. If you think Smith is one of the most respected coaches, you don't know much. He is NOT the moral role model you make him out to be. For one, he's dating Rachel Schneider, who he coached at Georgetown.
GoodFit wrote:
Rojo has many alter egos. Sad.
So you're saying rojo is posting under several handles on this thread?
Why don't you ask him to check those ip addresses to see if it's true?
Averagerunner and Andy, (and some others) so happy to see some logic and open-mindedness here. Your thoughtful responses are a breath of fresh air.
I have known Smith since his running days at Georgetown and have followed his coaching career since. I can honestly say that I don’t know a more ethical, hard-working, dedicated, and compassionate human being. His coaching truly is “beyond reproach” (Coach Eyestone’s words). Smith’s quote “my starting point for observing anyone’s behavior is to accept that I probably don’t know the whole story” demonstrates this empathy. His success comes from his runners knowing they can trust him....there is no duplicity here.
Rupp, looking for a clean break, could not have made a better choice. Salazar perhaps operated in the ‘grey area’. Give Rupp some leeway here, as Salazar/NOP was the only coaching he’s had since he was a kid. He has NEVER tested positive for ANY banned substance. If Rupp is guilty by association, shouldn’t Nike also be? Smith’s coaching can allow Rupp to clear his name and prove to the world that his results are earned the old-fashioned way. In Smith’s mind he gets the opportunity to show that running greatness can be achieved in a clean and ethical way. It is win-win. The idea that money or fame would attract Smith to coaching Rupp is laughable to anyone who knows him.
I agree that the interview would be easier to understand perhaps in audible format rather than transcribed. Smith is not trying to sound deep....that’s the way he talks.
slotempo wrote:
Averagerunner and Andy, (and some others) so happy to see some logic and open-mindedness here. Your thoughtful responses are a breath of fresh air.
I have known Smith since his running days at Georgetown and have followed his coaching career since. I can honestly say that I don’t know a more ethical, hard-working, dedicated, and compassionate human being. His coaching truly is “beyond reproach” (Coach Eyestone’s words). Smith’s quote “my starting point for observing anyone’s behavior is to accept that I probably don’t know the whole story” demonstrates this empathy. His success comes from his runners knowing they can trust him....there is no duplicity here.
Rupp, looking for a clean break, could not have made a better choice. Salazar perhaps operated in the ‘grey area’. Give Rupp some leeway here, as Salazar/NOP was the only coaching he’s had since he was a kid. He has NEVER tested positive for ANY banned substance. If Rupp is guilty by association, shouldn’t Nike also be? Smith’s coaching can allow Rupp to clear his name and prove to the world that his results are earned the old-fashioned way. In Smith’s mind he gets the opportunity to show that running greatness can be achieved in a clean and ethical way. It is win-win. The idea that money or fame would attract Smith to coaching Rupp is laughable to anyone who knows him.
I agree that the interview would be easier to understand perhaps in audible format rather than transcribed. Smith is not trying to sound deep....that’s the way he talks.
The whole flotrack series on NAU's season was vanity project for Smith. The dude clearly likes attention. Coaching Rupp gives Smith more attention.
ThatAverageRunner wrote:
Good interview Gault.
I agree with some posters that he uses a lot of word salad and it makes it take longer to decipher what he's trying to say, but I think he was clear in all of this responses.
He trusts that Galen has stayed within the rules despite the allegations (even though most of the allegations are grey area stuff anyways), that people look at things too black and white.
i.e. what's going too far? Taking just under the limit of L-Carnatine? using an altitude house? Taking beta alinine? Beet juice? Multivitamins? None of the above will get you banned, but people have a wide range of moral limits that would allow some people to be okay with all of the above while others would only be okay with vitamins. All of it is legal so I personally don't care. But some people think getting close to that line (grey area) is as bad as cheating, and I think Smith was trying to dismiss that kind of thinking. If you don't actually know what's going on, don't make drastic assumptions. Getting caught with EPO in your system is way worse than taking high doses of a legal vitamin or amino acid because you think it'll give you a legal edge on your competition.
On a less serious note, I thought this line was funny:
"I also get the phone call from [Galen] when he’s pissed off and he can’t hit the splits on my stupid short rest workout.
THIS. A million times over.