Magnolia Tribune
This article was produced by Magnolia Tribune staff.
Cohen thanks mentor Polk but adds veiled shot
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806080339
STARKVILLE — Ron Polk made waves Friday, making demands, among other things, that his name be taken off Mississippi State's home field.
Just how those demands will be met in the Mississippi State administration remains to be seen.
Incoming MSU athletic director Greg Byrne wouldn't comment on whether he'd fill Polk's demands Saturday afternoon, saying the attention should belong to John Cohen - who was hired Saturday to replace Polk.
Polk, 64, coached his last game at MSU last month after announcing his retirement in March. He had strongly endorsed his top assistant, Tommy Raffo, to take over.
Cohen didn't shy away from the Polk issue, addressing it in the opening statement at Saturday's press conference.
"I want to thank Ron Polk," Cohen said. Then he paused. "I wouldn't be standing right here right now if not for Ron Polk."
But Cohen appeared to take a veiled shot at Polk, a longtime antagonist of the NCAA, later on.
ClarionLedger.com
6/7/08
Polk’s harsh opposition unfair to Byrne, Cohen
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806080347
John Cohen has accepted his dream job, the one he always has wanted.
Nothing wrong with that. Who wouldn't?
Greg Byrne did what he was charged to do: Hire the best baseball coach possible at Mississippi State. Certainly nothing wrong with that. From here, it looks like Byrne belted a grand slam.
But Ron Polk threw Byrne and Cohen, his former player, under the bus, tarnishing nearly a lifetime of splendid service to college baseball. Polk had publicly supported his assistant (and Cohen's former teammate) Tommy Raffo for the job. Byrne hired Cohen, a former National Coach of the Year, instead.
Longtime readers of this column know of my respect for Polk and all he has achieved. This time, however, he is wrong, wrong, wrong.
To their credit, Byrne and Cohen Saturday stayed above the fray. They chose not to get down in the mud with Polk. Both received loud, prolonged ovations from a huge crowd of State supporters at a news conference at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Interestingly, cheers for Byrne were every bit as loud as those for Cohen.
Clarion Ledger.com
6/8/08
