ed podolak 'retires' from 'hawk' radio broadcasts

[aloc102aloc102]

the 'bottle' has snared another victim. a disastrous end to an unparalleled career, at iowa and in the nfl.


http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/Barta-011609-sidebar,
http://forum.therx.com/showthread.php?t=653261

 

[pseudo]

Re: ed polodak 'retires' from 'hawk' radio broadcasts

Any relation to former Chiefs RB Ed Podolak?

 

[TrooperBari]

the 'bottle' has snared another victim. a disastrous end to an unparalleled career, at iowa and in the nfl.

Disastrous my ass. A man in his 60s was having fun in a hotel bar with people of age (as opposed to, say, Larry Eustachy) and someone decided to take pictures. Guy didn't endanger his health, drive drunk, assault said woman (who, as far as I've heard, hasn't complained), urinate in public or cause a ruckus. Where was all this righteous indignation when he was passed out drunk on a campus lawn a decade ago?

What likely happened was an uptight booster was told about the picks, ran to that limp-**** of an AD and threatened to stop sending money. Said AD asked Podolak to publicly apologize, and he quite rightly refused. I fail to see the problem here. Hell, Harry Caray made millions being drunk on air.

By the by, I am not a fan of Iowa, Ed Podolak or alcohol. If I had my druthers, all alcohol would be banned (tobacco, too). This, though, is a needless, knee-jerk response by a pusillanimous administrator. What's Podolak supposed to do? Drink in his hotel room, as if he's doing something illegal? Say, 'Please put that camera away. I can't be seen with you people.'?

I'm sure Joe Buck is applauding the move, which makes it all the more distasteful to me.

 

[Stoney]

Another victim of today's world where there's a camera in every phone and every pic's just an internet upload away from the entire world's view. Ten years ago this would've just been a crazy night out drinking for Ed that only he and a couple others ever knew about.

 

[Diabeetus]

Any relation to former Chiefs RB Ed Podolak?

It's him.

 

[pseudo]

Any relation to former Chiefs RB Ed Podolak?

It's him.

Check the hed on my first post.

 

[D-3 Fan]

Trooper, a female fan took those photos and posted them to her Facebook, and then the local message boards got wind of this. Besides, this story went down last weekend.

Weak-ass AD my ****ing ass. If you had any idea how much **** has taken place over the past year, as far as public relations and trouble off the field, Then you would see why Podolak had to go. Ed was working for Learfield, but Iowa has the final say on broadcasters.

Now, would it be fair if a player gets booted off the team for getting smashed on the Ped Mall, and two other players are facing trial for sexual assault of a female student, but a 62-y/o Hawkeye legend can skirt by after being blitzed with the fans and for someone to have photos of it?

Please.

Iowa fans may not like that Podolak will no longer be on the mic, but Iowa had no choice but to tell Eddie to "retire", when everyone knows he was being let go.

Podolak has a drinking problem, and it's finally caught up with him. He was busted in '97 drunk and passed out in front the Pentacrest, only hours later being honored at Arrowhead to be in the Ring of Fame.

Iowa couldn't afford to keep him on the broadcast team, and as much as I enjoyed listening to him, I applaud the move.

He needs to gets his partying and drinking in control.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Now, would it be fair if:

-- a player gets booted off the team for getting smashed on the Ped Mall

-- two other players are facing trial for sexual assault of a female student

-- a 62-y/o Hawkeye legend can skirt by after being blitzed with the fans and for someone to have photos of it?

What seems unfair (or odd, really) is grouping these three in the same sentence, implying their equivalence.

 

[Diabeetus]

Any relation to former Chiefs RB Ed Podolak?

It's him.

Check the hed on my first post.

Nice! Maybe you shouldn't have been so critical since it wasn't in quotes, too

 

[zeke12]

Now, would it be fair if:

-- a player gets booted off the team for getting smashed on the Ped Mall

-- two other players are facing trial for sexual assault of a female student

-- a 62-y/o Hawkeye legend can skirt by after being blitzed with the fans and for someone to have photos of it?

What seems unfair (or odd, really) is grouping these three in the same sentence, implying their equivalence.

I don't think they're at all equivalent, but, at the same time, I don't think that's D-3's point.

The partying problems in IC the past couple years have been bad, bad, bad.

This is more of that kind of press for them. They had to do something. And this is far from the first incident with this guy. From what I read, they told him he'd have to do rehab, he declined.

So it goes.

 

[D-3 Fan]

Now, would it be fair if:

-- a player gets booted off the team for getting smashed on the Ped Mall

-- two other players are facing trial for sexual assault of a female student

-- a 62-y/o Hawkeye legend can skirt by after being blitzed with the fans and for someone to have photos of it?

What seems unfair (or odd, really) is grouping these three in the same sentence, implying their equivalence.

I don't think they're at all equivalent, but, at the same time, I don't think that's D-3's point.

The partying problems in IC the past couple years have been bad, bad, bad.

This is more of that kind of press for them. They had to do something. And this is far from the first incident with this guy. From what I read, they told him he'd have to do rehab, he declined.

So it goes.

Thanks, Zeke, for clarifying that for me. Now that I'm in front of a computer for the first time tonight, and not on my Blackberry, I can expand and clear up my thoughts.

Johnny, for the past 18 months, the UI campus has been saddled with off-the-field front-page bull**** by athletes (rape, underage drinking, shoplifting, etc.). But the biggest issue is the partying and the out-of-control drinking in IC with the students, adults, and the alumni. The students' drinking is not a surprise. It's an epidemic.

It's the adults and the alumni's penchant for getting wasted is what makes going to a game at Kinnick somewhat embarrassing. I went to my first ever Iowa game in '04 vs. Wisky. I went to a small college so I wasn't used to a "big" campus environment. What I saw during the pre-game tailgating was unlike anything I ever saw. I saw more men, over the age of 40, toting 12 and 24 packs of beer than a 21 year olds. I was 28 at that time, and to be honest, I was having second thoughts about being in IC and heading to the game.

I have never seen so many fans that drunk to watch a game. I don't think they came to watch the game. They came to drink their asses off because they could. I don't have a problem with alcohol. It's the abuse and the misuse of it. I can drink a can of Bud Light and be cool with. But you won't catch me doing a ****ing bong with a college kid and a 45 year old soccer mom.

Johnny, I agree that it's not equivalent, but these photos with Eddie has created another black eye and a negative mark to the school's public image. Iowa could not afford another embarassing story to splashed across the headlines all over Iowa. AD Gary Barta and President Sally Mason was not going to tolerate another trip through public relations hell.

As I said in my original post, and Zeke echoed the same, Podolak had to be removed, or "retire", which is a polite way of saying it. What good is it for UI to crackdown on underage and binge drinking on campus and the Ped Mall downtown, and your color analyst is boozing up and gets to keep his job? He can't.

The compilation of the events that has taken place in Iowa City made it easy for Iowa and Learfield to let him go. I've always enjoyed listening to him on radio for the last 27 years on Saturdays, but he needs help, and if he's in denial about it, his family and friends will have to get him to look in the mirror.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

The previous two posts make clearer to me what you were trying to say. Thanks, guys.

 

[zeke12]

Let's not forget the two Hawks fans -- one who was married, the other there with a significant other -- who got caught having sex in a stall at the Metrodome while people watched and cheered during the Minnesota game.


Mike Hlas at the CR Gazette wrote a really good column that gets into most of this stuff:

http://mikegh.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/hlas-column-on-ed-podolak-leaving-iowa-football-broadcasts/

 

[BigRed]

Now, would it be fair if:

-- a player gets booted off the team for getting smashed on the Ped Mall

-- two other players are facing trial for sexual assault of a female student

-- a 62-y/o Hawkeye legend can skirt by after being blitzed with the fans and for someone to have photos of it?

What seems unfair (or odd, really) is grouping these three in the same sentence, implying their equivalence.

I don't think they're at all equivalent, but, at the same time, I don't think that's D-3's point.

The partying problems in IC the past couple years have been bad, bad, bad.

This is more of that kind of press for them. They had to do something. And this is far from the first incident with this guy. From what I read, they told him he'd have to do rehab, he declined.

So it goes.

Thanks, Zeke, for clarifying that for me. Now that I'm in front of a computer for the first time tonight, and not on my Blackberry, I can expand and clear up my thoughts.

Johnny, for the past 18 months, the UI campus has been saddled with off-the-field front-page bull**** by athletes (rape, underage drinking, shoplifting, etc.). But the biggest issue is the partying and the out-of-control drinking in IC with the students, adults, and the alumni. The students' drinking is not a surprise. It's an epidemic.

It's the adults and the alumni's penchant for getting wasted is what makes going to a game at Kinnick somewhat embarrassing. I went to my first ever Iowa game in '04 vs. Wisky. I went to a small college so I wasn't used to a "big" campus environment. What I saw during the pre-game tailgating was unlike anything I ever saw. I saw more men, over the age of 40, toting 12 and 24 packs of beer than a 21 year olds. I was 28 at that time, and to be honest, I was having second thoughts about being in IC and heading to the game.

I have never seen so many fans that drunk to watch a game. I don't think they came to watch the game. They came to drink their asses off because they could. I don't have a problem with alcohol. It's the abuse and the misuse of it. I can drink a can of Bud Light and be cool with. But you won't catch me doing a ****ing bong with a college kid and a 45 year old soccer mom.

Johnny, I agree that it's not equivalent, but these photos with Eddie has created another black eye and a negative mark to the school's public image. Iowa could not afford another embarassing story to splashed across the headlines all over Iowa. AD Gary Barta and President Sally Mason was not going to tolerate another trip through public relations hell.

As I said in my original post, and Zeke echoed the same, Podolak had to be removed, or "retire", which is a polite way of saying it. What good is it for UI to crackdown on underage and binge drinking on campus and the Ped Mall downtown, and your color analyst is boozing up and gets to keep his job? He can't.

The compilation of the events that has taken place in Iowa City made it easy for Iowa and Learfield to let him go. I've always enjoyed listening to him on radio for the last 27 years on Saturdays, but he needs help, and if he's in denial about it, his family and friends will have to get him to look in the mirror.

Word for word, D-3.
As an alum, Iowa City has always been a football town with a drinking problem.
I watched plenty of football and drank plenty of beer during my time there, and I've done some tailgating in the limited time I've been back in the past 8 years or so. But I was always there to watch the game, and you definitely got the feel that some people weren't and aren't.
Easy Eddie was a great color analyst and he'll be hard to replace.
But he wrote his own ticket out of town by getting caught in (and posing for one of) those photos.
For all of the problems Iowa and the football team have had with drinking, he should have known better.
Now he has to "retire," and so it goes. I'm sad but not sad for him. He had his chance and gave it up.

 

[write then drink]

If I had my druthers, all alcohol would be banned

whaaaaaaaa???????