Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh yesterday took to Twitter to "respond to radio show host Jim Rome, who took verbal shots at Harbaugh on Tuesday," according to Angelique Chengelis of the DETROIT NEWS. Rome on his eponymous show "dismantled Harbaugh for abruptly ending a media session Monday night after being asked about three freshmen who were absent from the team photo." Harbaugh "angrily cut things short when asked about the length of the suspensions." During his show Tuesday, Rome said it was a "jerk move" by Harbaugh and said he is just as "miserable" as he was while with the 49ers. Harbaugh on Twitter wrote, "Do you remember the provocateur who went personal with another Big 10 QB and had the tables turned on him? #dejavu." Harbaugh then included a video link from '94 when former Purdue and Rams QB Jim Everett had "finally had enough with Rome's antics during a television interview." Rome yesterday "fired back at Harbaugh on Twitter: 'Roasted! Damn, you got me good. Like 42-13 good.'" That was the score of Ohio State's win over Michigan last season. Rome on Tuesday said that the questions Harbaugh was asked Monday night "were fair." Rome: "They're not on your staff, they do not work for the university. You preside over an alleged national power. If you suspend guys, reporters are going to ask you about it. They're just doing their job, so you should do yours" (DETROIT NEWS, 8/18). In Detroit, Mark Snyder notes Harbaugh has had a "history with awkward radio interactions." He had a "difficult interview with then-ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd" last summer, but Harbaugh was "actually on Cowherd's show when that happened." Rome was "weighing in on Harbaugh's interactions with local reporters without Harbaugh present" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 8/18).
WAR OF WORDS: Rome responded to Harbaugh's tweet during the second hour of his show yesterday. He said Harbaugh is "certainly not thin-skinned at all." Rome: "I mean seriously, is anybody supposed to be impressed by that. You really brought the heat there. ... Did you think by including the Everett clip that that was really going to hurt? Like, damn, sick burn. You really got me there." Rome added, "I didn't go 'personal.' That was literally a back-half-of-the-show topic. It's not something I led with, it wasn't a major focus. ... Was anything I said there wrong? I said the guy's a great coach. ... I’m sure he'll do great there, but if he's running this hot with the media in August over a minor issue and then with how people react to how he goes in with the media, that tells you something" ("The Jim Rome Show," CBS Sports Network, 8/17).
