Updates galore

Heather Bresch is still in attack mode as the AP ran a story written by West Virginia journalist Vicki Smith in which another Mylan employee just so happened to hear about the Bresch controversy and wanted to weigh in with the fact that she had 10 hours of independent study.

Speaker's comment to the AP "was in complete contrast with the arrangements he made for me," said Korczynski, a member of the first graduating class in the EMBA program. "He allowed me great flexibility and leniency in completing the requirements."

Korczynski, whose final semester also included four classes worth 10 credits, said she told her story to the investigating panel by telephone Wednesday.

Korczynski, 39, said she met Bresch, 38, for the first time last week. She went to the panel only to highlight an apparent contradiction, not to help a co-worker, she said.

Volley to Post Gazette. Response?

The situation involving Ms. Korczynski, who told the AP she was hired by Mylan in January as director of business development, appears to be different than the one that Ms. Bresch, daughter of West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, says she arranged. The E.M.B.A. program was designed in part to allow students to do course work outside the classroom, but Ms. Bresch told the AP last week that Mr. Speaker allowed her to substitute work experience for 10 credits.

The newspaper found officials added six courses and grades, worth 16 credits, to her transcript without any record of her registering, paying or doing the work for the classes, and without consulting the professors who taught the courses. In addition, two courses that had been marked "incomplete" were changed to letter grades.

So Mylan brings out a worker, hired in January, who pretends to have heard nothing of the story while working at Mylan to validate the Mylan story that working should equal class credit. Did I mention Mylan? However, the real story is that she was allowed to finish her classes remotely due to moving. This does not equal getting credit for doing nothing (they all work in that program) and having grades rewritten to the tune of over 20 credits.

One of the other ongong messes involving WVU is the Rodriguez lawsuit. Interesting developments in that as well this week. First the WVU Foundation, which was removed from the case as a third party by Judge Stone after being added in a Rodriguez cross-claim, has sued Rodriguez to get their legal costs back. The claim is that Rodriguez filed the claim friviously and knowingly without merit. Hard to prove unless someone is an idiot and runs around bragging about bringing a non-meritous claim. Opps.

"Mr. Robon (Rodriguez's lawyer) clearly suggested in an article in the Detroit Free Press that their reasons for naming the Foundation as a third party defendant was a 'key tactic' done to 'gain leverage' and 'equal the playing field.'"

"Mr. Robon's statements in the Detroit Free Press demonstrate that the filing of the third party complaint was done without a good faith argument for the extension, modification or reversal of existing law, but instead to annoy and inconvenience the Foundation and West Virginia University,"

Whether or not this wins it is funny that every "tactic" used by RRod is blowing up in his face. Such as this. Calvin Magee released the name of the person accused of making the racial statements to him. Remember the "bombshell" headline by Chuck Finder. MAGEE SAYS HE WANTED TO STAY AT WEST VIRGINIA BUT WASN'T TAKEN SERIOUSLY BECAUSE HE IS BLACK. Here is what Magee said yesterday:

"This is being made out to be a racial claim by the early reports. I've never made a racial 'claim,'" Magee said. "I listed some facts that occurred. How it is interpreted is up to the interpreter. Some facts that I stated in preparing for the bowl game. Some treatments by the president, some treatments by the athletic director. That's what I did. How it was printed and how it was relayed, it's just the facts.

But it gets even better as the accused racial pointer, Larry Aschebrook has not only denied the claims due to not being in the building on those days in question, but has stated he was offered a job at Michigan by Rodriguez. Why? Well the affidavit is a thing of beauty. First Aschebrook denies ever being in the building on the two days in question. Second is an alleged phone converstation between Aschebrook, Rodriguez, and Magee which is comedy on the highest level. Here are the good parts. Aschebrook calls up RRod and asks what's going on, that these statements are untrue and going to get him fired, and that the statements make him look racist and are fucked up. Rodriguez responds with this beauty. "No, WVU is fucked up they are suing me for $4million." Nice. Magee gets on the phone and Aschebrook asks why he is making up claims to which Magee responds that WVU treated him poorly (assumedly during the bowl prep) and "it's fucked up, you know it is." When asked why Magee had Greg Frey back up his story Magee states that Frey did not want Magee to look like a liar and that Frey knows the way WVU is. I guess WVU being "fucked up" makes it ok to label an innocent person a racist. Then the coup de grace comes fast and furious. Aschebrook states his worry about getting fired and not having the money they have to fall back on to which Rodriguez responds. "This isn't about you Larry, it's about me. You can't afford it, I can't afford it...I'm sorry about this, but it's business not friendship." Finally, when pressed Rodriguez said he would "tell the press that it had nothing to do with me (Aschebrook)...so will Calvin." When asked what to do after he was fired and labelled a racist Aschebrook was told Magee would tell the press that he was supportive and WVU used him as a scapegoat. How asks Aschebrook?

Aschebrook asked "You will tell who? Chuck Finder?" Rodriguez said, "Yes." Mr. Magee said, "Yeah, Chuck will help us." Hahahahaha. PPG story on this. Not written by Chuck Finder.

The take away is this. Rodriguez was at best a little manipulative and uncaring with Aschebrook. At worst he had Magee float a fake story potentially ruining a former friend's career. Either way Rodriguez apparently responds to any potential problem with an explitive ridden statement about WVU and asking "What about me? I'm being sued." And finally Chuck Finder will write what Rich Rodriguez tells him to write because he is a tool.