Showing posts with label Pete Carroll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pete Carroll. Show all posts
Alright, I'll start off by saying that I realize some readers couldn't care less about the sports posts in my blogs. I've yet to call athletes indentured servants (although I just read that somewhere yesterday), but before this post is done, I can't promise anything. Not after what has happened in essentially the last 24 hours.
As I write this, Lane Kiffin is being introduced as the next football coach at USC. Possibly the worst athletics director in America is giving the obligatory praise to a man who deserves very little. Kiffin's first statement was about running a "clean, disciplined program." This from a guy who had no less than six NCAA violations in one year at Tennessee. He has two more under investigation, one of which could be major. He goes to a program which quite literally has NCAA investigators living in the coaches offices. But hey, like I said before, that stuff happens everywhere right?
So let me get you caught up on what is going on. You'll recall that Pete Carroll left USC to become head coach of the Seattle Seahawks earlier this week. That caught USC off guard. But they have no room to complain anymore.
Less than three days later, Kiffin was plucked away from Tennessee, after just one season in Knoxville, to become the new USC head coach. Want to see how caught off guard and betrayed everyone at Tennessee was? There was rioting outside the stadium where he held a quick press conference before somehow avoid burning mattresses and unruly fans and players.
Tennessee was slated to sign a top-10 recruiting class this year. It is falling apart. The current players bought into a system that lasted literally 14 months. Those players can't leave without sitting out a year. Kiffin has his $800,000 severance fee paid by USC and he moves on.
INSERT: Kiffin just lied in his press conference. He said that he told the Tennessee AD that his coaches at USC wouldn't call any players committed to Tennessee unless one of those players called the coaches. Several reports last night said that Ed Orgeron, who will absolutely be the recruiting director at USC, called all of the players they were going to have enroll early at Tennessee and asked them to hold off. That fact check is way to easy to do for him to be lying. UPDATE: A reporter called him out on it, and now he's trying to back away from that comment.
Back to it. That is why players are considered indentured servants at time. They do what a university tells them to do, in exchange for an "education", while their coaches rake it millions. Pete Carroll made $4 million at USC. Take a look at Kiffin's coaching staff:
Kiffin himself has coached in the NFL. He may not command Carroll-like money yet, but if he wins, he definitely will. Monte Kiffin, Lane's father, is an NFL legend, renowned for his ability as a defensive coordinator. Orgeron has been a head coach and is the best recruiter in the country, period. And reports are that he is in serious negotiations with UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow, formerly of the same title at SC. Chow is maybe the great OC in the last 25 years. He'll command some cash. Here's a look at what the salaries will like at Tennessee for both Kiffins and Orgeron. We will probably never know how much all of the assistants at USC make because, as a private school, they are required to report that.
The point is, that the coach makes more money than every single players' scholarship is worth, combined. Just think about that. There are 85 scholarships. Obviously at USC a scholarship costs a little more (but it really doesn't cost $40,000 in reality), but even at 85, that's less than the $4 million Carroll made. And Lane Kiffin is not Pete Carroll. Not even close.
So basically Kiffin, record well under .500 for his career, age 34, just got the best job on the west coast. And hired the best staff in the world. Out of nowhere. If nothing else, this should be fun. But what it is really, is a microcosm of most of the things going wrong in college football.
Here is some reaction from people who we call "experts" about this stuff, first with the opening statement of Pat Forde, one of ESPN's writers, which was: "you've got to be kidding me," when he first heard.
Also, Keyshawn Johnson was at the USC press conference today. Good start.
[More]
As I write this, Lane Kiffin is being introduced as the next football coach at USC. Possibly the worst athletics director in America is giving the obligatory praise to a man who deserves very little. Kiffin's first statement was about running a "clean, disciplined program." This from a guy who had no less than six NCAA violations in one year at Tennessee. He has two more under investigation, one of which could be major. He goes to a program which quite literally has NCAA investigators living in the coaches offices. But hey, like I said before, that stuff happens everywhere right?
So let me get you caught up on what is going on. You'll recall that Pete Carroll left USC to become head coach of the Seattle Seahawks earlier this week. That caught USC off guard. But they have no room to complain anymore.
Less than three days later, Kiffin was plucked away from Tennessee, after just one season in Knoxville, to become the new USC head coach. Want to see how caught off guard and betrayed everyone at Tennessee was? There was rioting outside the stadium where he held a quick press conference before somehow avoid burning mattresses and unruly fans and players.
Tennessee was slated to sign a top-10 recruiting class this year. It is falling apart. The current players bought into a system that lasted literally 14 months. Those players can't leave without sitting out a year. Kiffin has his $800,000 severance fee paid by USC and he moves on.
INSERT: Kiffin just lied in his press conference. He said that he told the Tennessee AD that his coaches at USC wouldn't call any players committed to Tennessee unless one of those players called the coaches. Several reports last night said that Ed Orgeron, who will absolutely be the recruiting director at USC, called all of the players they were going to have enroll early at Tennessee and asked them to hold off. That fact check is way to easy to do for him to be lying. UPDATE: A reporter called him out on it, and now he's trying to back away from that comment.
Back to it. That is why players are considered indentured servants at time. They do what a university tells them to do, in exchange for an "education", while their coaches rake it millions. Pete Carroll made $4 million at USC. Take a look at Kiffin's coaching staff:
Kiffin himself has coached in the NFL. He may not command Carroll-like money yet, but if he wins, he definitely will. Monte Kiffin, Lane's father, is an NFL legend, renowned for his ability as a defensive coordinator. Orgeron has been a head coach and is the best recruiter in the country, period. And reports are that he is in serious negotiations with UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow, formerly of the same title at SC. Chow is maybe the great OC in the last 25 years. He'll command some cash. Here's a look at what the salaries will like at Tennessee for both Kiffins and Orgeron. We will probably never know how much all of the assistants at USC make because, as a private school, they are required to report that.
The point is, that the coach makes more money than every single players' scholarship is worth, combined. Just think about that. There are 85 scholarships. Obviously at USC a scholarship costs a little more (but it really doesn't cost $40,000 in reality), but even at 85, that's less than the $4 million Carroll made. And Lane Kiffin is not Pete Carroll. Not even close.
So basically Kiffin, record well under .500 for his career, age 34, just got the best job on the west coast. And hired the best staff in the world. Out of nowhere. If nothing else, this should be fun. But what it is really, is a microcosm of most of the things going wrong in college football.
Here is some reaction from people who we call "experts" about this stuff, first with the opening statement of Pat Forde, one of ESPN's writers, which was: "you've got to be kidding me," when he first heard.
- Here is Ted Miller's Pac-10 blog, which has some other stuff on it now, but also stuff about those who hate Kiffin vs. those who like (there are many more in the first category, another reason this is somewhat of a head-scratcher).
- Kiffin and his family had police protection in Knoxville last night.
- They then hopped a USC booster's private jet, with Kiffin looking like a 15-year old, to California.
- As always, Bob Condotta's blog has a bunch of stuff, mostly about the Steve Sarkisian side of things.
- LA Times sports page. Sure to have a bunch of stuff.
Also, Keyshawn Johnson was at the USC press conference today. Good start.
Alright, so the title of this post does not scream, "I'm going to talk about Senate majority leader Harry Reid and his apparent forays into racism." Well, that's because I'm not. Trust me, I was just as excited to write about as you probably were to read about it. Admit it. Okay, okay, maybe I overstated.
Anyway, the nice thing about the 24-hour news cycle and media today is that Reid isn't going anywhere. Stories stick around considerably longer in politics than they do in, say, sports. Which is today's topic.
Because I am from Seattle. And that is where now former USC football coach Pete Carroll is headed.
In case you haven't heard, after nine years in Los Angeles, Pete Carroll has taken the Seattle Seahawks head coaching job. Most of the best information from the NFL side can be found on Danny O'Neil's blog. He's updating like it's his job or something.
Carroll has been given the title of head coach and vice president of football operations. It's this thing in the NFL that general managers mean nothing. Coaches do it all these days. Often to their detriment. But that's another post.
While the hiring of Carroll has caused some raised eyebrows, mostly of the confused sort, there is no debating the man's resume over the last 10 years. Sure, he wasn't great as an NFL coach in the 90's, but coaches get better. And the word "arguably" is not necessary here. Pete Carroll was the best coach, in any sport, in the 2000's. Period.
Consider the numbers: 97 wins. Remove his first and last seasons at USC and he was 85-9. He won four Rose Bowls, seven straight Pac-10 titles and two national championships. This was the most dominant stretch of football the Pac-10 has ever seen. During one three-season span from 2003-05, the team went 37-2, won the two titles and lost in a third. You tell me who's been better.
And, the fact is, the Seahawks haven't been winning, as was so gracefully pointed out by CEO Todd Leiweke: ""We won nine games the last two years and with all due respect, four of those were to the St. Louis Rams," Leiweke said, "And that's not acceptable to our fans, it's not acceptable to Mr. Allen, and it certainly isn't acceptable to me."
The obvious answer; hire the winningest coach available. Interestingly, it appears the team went after Tony Dungy to be president of football operations at one point, a job that most certainly would have been his if he had said yes. It appears it wasn't to be head coach, however, meaning the team still could've gone after Carroll. That would have been a very interesting dynamic, but one that I think may have worked given the level of respect everyone in this game has for Dungy, the first black head coach to win a SuperBowl and a known mentor to many players.
On the other side of this token is Jim Mora, the hometown guy who just couldn't win enough football games to keep his job. Mora really believed he was sticking around and really was given no reason not to. But, wins are what matters in college football and he didn't get enough of those apparently. The 'Hawks really cleaned house, GM and coach, and are starting anew, with a new face of the franchise.
Speaking of that face, Mr. Carroll might be getting some mud on it before he even starts his tenure in Seattle. Many speculated that the NCAA would come down on USC with sanctions sometime this spring. Now, I am not one of those. I thought that as long as Carroll was coaching the Trojans, they would continue to skirt sanctions. Having an historic power like the Trojans in a media market like L.A., winning football games like I mentioned, well, let's just say that NCAA was in no hurry to cut off that money flow. And yesterday the big office wasted little time making an announcement about its investigation.
This is not a side story. I'm not sure it speaks to Carroll's character either, however. Many say, "this stuff happens everywhere." Sort of. Some of the stuff, not so much. But what it really speaks to is how ridiculously profitable college athletics has become, yet the most important parts, the players, get nothing. Oh, a free education. Which shouldn't be taken lightly. But it is. Come on. Taylor Mays didn't go to USC to get an education. He went to win championships (which he didn't do).
While there is the argument that it is the player's responsibility to make the best of their situation, and there is some truth to that, football comes first, always. And when you're as good as USC, football is it. To his credit, Carroll sent players to the NFL at a much higher rate than most programs, meaning less of his players stepped away from the game with nothing. But some probably did and that is the business that this sport is today. However, if that means giving players a few bucks or finding a booster to help them out, I'm looking past it. It reminds me of the story from the ESPN 30-for-30 about Miami in the '80's. The white quarterback, from a well off family, saw a few of his teammates walking out of the dorms with paper bags and ski masks. "Where are y'all going?" "To get some car stereos." They had to eat. Yes, when you take your kids from Compton and Shreveport, it's that bad.
There were, however, some other things going on to be sure.
Where this leaves USC, easily college football's most glamorous program, is a complete unknown. One ESPN writer calls it a "crossroads" while another basically calls Carroll a quitter. The recruiting fallout could be widespread, or it could be very little. If any school benefits from this, it is the one led by master recruiter Rick Neuheisal, UCLA.
Whatever happens, whatever the fallout or sanctions or anything else, rest assured of one thing: Pete Carroll will be spared. Because in college athletics it only works one way: coaches are paid lavishly, players are punished no matter whether they were there or not.
Welcome to Seattle, Pete. Just know it isn't Southern California, the school or the region.
---
Other sports news:
For those of you who used to care about baseball back in the day, you may have heard that Mark McGwire admitted to steroid use yesterday. I link Geoff Baker's blog for a reason, instead of some news story about it. I've decided Baker is exactly what is wrong with Hall of Fame voters.
Here's the deal: the Baseball Hall of Fame, or any HOF for that matter, is not the Hall of the Guys that Played the Game Cleanest and Didn't Cheat on Their Wives or Gamble or Kill Someone. You know how I know this? Ty Cobb is in it. In the inaugural HOF ballot, Cobb received a whopping 222 out of 226 votes. Obviously, Cobb's baseball numbers speak for themselves. He was the greatest player of the deadball era, albeit the dirtiest as well. He was also extremely racist and violent. He once stabbed a black man. His temperament is well-documented, in movies such as Cobb and Field of Dreams, where he is mentioned in passing not being well-liked. Yet Cobb is one of the best players in baseball history. Period. Which is why he is in the Hall of Fame.
You know who else is one of the best? Pete Rose. Sure he gambled. He still has over 4,000 hits. Did his gambling make him a worse player? Who knows. If it did then it is even more amazing to look at just how good he was. Rose was a more modern day Cobb. A hard-nosed, sometimes dirty player, that was one of the best of his time.
Finally, to McGwire. And Barry Bonds. And Alex Rodriguez. And many others. No asterisk is needed. People will not ever forget that this was the steroids era. No one will ever forget McGwire, HOF or not. Same with Rose. Same with A-Rod and Bonds. The precious HOF will simply lose some credibility because, well, it doesn't include three of the greatest players of all time. Never was there a more feared power hitter than McGwire, until Bonds. He completely changed the way you pitched to that lineup. He hit more homeruns in a season than any other, before Bonds.
If you're argument is that his career numbers weren't good enough, then fine. But don't you dare say that steroids are the reason Mark McGwire should not be in the HOF. The HOF is not about judging character, it is about judging statistics. If baseball didn't catch him cheating while he was putting up those numbers, then that is there fault. But you know what, maybe these guys, especially the veterans committee, forgot what it was like when they played. Think guys didn't take pills in the '80's? Mickey Mantle is in the HOF, yet his transgressions are legendary. And did they forget that cheating is part of baseball? I've stolen more signs in my time as a player and a coach than probably anything else I did. Oh, but that is "just part of the game." Well, I've got news for you, so were steroids. One guy didn't do this. Huge numbers of guys did. And it wasn't just hitters either. It was part of the game. And these guys were the best at what they did, when they did it. That's what matters here. Not their drug choices.
Which leads me to Edgar Martinez and Ken Griffey, Jr. Neither (at least we don't think) did steroids. You might recall that Martinez said he had no idea anyone in the M's locker room was doing them, a bold statement considering they were apparently all over the place in there. I firmly believe that, had Griffey never been injured, he would have 800 homeruns right now. Already. He'd be the greatest player in the history of baseball - at least until Albert Pujols is done obliterating the record books. What happens when his name hits the ballot? First ballot HOFer? Even though it is possible that he took steroids? No one thinks he did, but let's not be naive about this, he played in this era. He had a ton of power. No he didn't look like the Incredible Hulk, but he sure hit a lot of homeruns. More than 600 to date. Where do we draw the line here?
And Edgar. Steroids aren't the question here, but I think the points overlap. Martinez didn't get in the hall this year for one reason: he spent the majority of his career as a DH. How do you punish a guy just because he did his job better than anyone else ever has? People don't forget that he was a DH. On his plaque in Cooperstown it will say he was a DH. What is the Hall protecting itself from? The Designated Hitter of the Year award is named after him for goodness sakes. Isn't that what the HOF is supposed to be about? Recognizing the players who were the best at what they did, when they did it? Not only does Martinez fit that profile, but he was the best at that job, ever.
A person should not be punished for doing their job. Nor should he be compared to someone who "couldn't be a DH because he played in the national league," as Baker said in an earlier post. Free agency existed. They passed on it. Apples and oranges can't be compared.
Nor does that matter. The HOF should be for the best. Not the best that people like a lot. Thanks, Ty Cobb.
Later y'all.
[More]
Anyway, the nice thing about the 24-hour news cycle and media today is that Reid isn't going anywhere. Stories stick around considerably longer in politics than they do in, say, sports. Which is today's topic.
Because I am from Seattle. And that is where now former USC football coach Pete Carroll is headed.
In case you haven't heard, after nine years in Los Angeles, Pete Carroll has taken the Seattle Seahawks head coaching job. Most of the best information from the NFL side can be found on Danny O'Neil's blog. He's updating like it's his job or something.
Carroll has been given the title of head coach and vice president of football operations. It's this thing in the NFL that general managers mean nothing. Coaches do it all these days. Often to their detriment. But that's another post.
While the hiring of Carroll has caused some raised eyebrows, mostly of the confused sort, there is no debating the man's resume over the last 10 years. Sure, he wasn't great as an NFL coach in the 90's, but coaches get better. And the word "arguably" is not necessary here. Pete Carroll was the best coach, in any sport, in the 2000's. Period.
Consider the numbers: 97 wins. Remove his first and last seasons at USC and he was 85-9. He won four Rose Bowls, seven straight Pac-10 titles and two national championships. This was the most dominant stretch of football the Pac-10 has ever seen. During one three-season span from 2003-05, the team went 37-2, won the two titles and lost in a third. You tell me who's been better.
And, the fact is, the Seahawks haven't been winning, as was so gracefully pointed out by CEO Todd Leiweke: ""We won nine games the last two years and with all due respect, four of those were to the St. Louis Rams," Leiweke said, "And that's not acceptable to our fans, it's not acceptable to Mr. Allen, and it certainly isn't acceptable to me."
The obvious answer; hire the winningest coach available. Interestingly, it appears the team went after Tony Dungy to be president of football operations at one point, a job that most certainly would have been his if he had said yes. It appears it wasn't to be head coach, however, meaning the team still could've gone after Carroll. That would have been a very interesting dynamic, but one that I think may have worked given the level of respect everyone in this game has for Dungy, the first black head coach to win a SuperBowl and a known mentor to many players.
On the other side of this token is Jim Mora, the hometown guy who just couldn't win enough football games to keep his job. Mora really believed he was sticking around and really was given no reason not to. But, wins are what matters in college football and he didn't get enough of those apparently. The 'Hawks really cleaned house, GM and coach, and are starting anew, with a new face of the franchise.
Speaking of that face, Mr. Carroll might be getting some mud on it before he even starts his tenure in Seattle. Many speculated that the NCAA would come down on USC with sanctions sometime this spring. Now, I am not one of those. I thought that as long as Carroll was coaching the Trojans, they would continue to skirt sanctions. Having an historic power like the Trojans in a media market like L.A., winning football games like I mentioned, well, let's just say that NCAA was in no hurry to cut off that money flow. And yesterday the big office wasted little time making an announcement about its investigation.
This is not a side story. I'm not sure it speaks to Carroll's character either, however. Many say, "this stuff happens everywhere." Sort of. Some of the stuff, not so much. But what it really speaks to is how ridiculously profitable college athletics has become, yet the most important parts, the players, get nothing. Oh, a free education. Which shouldn't be taken lightly. But it is. Come on. Taylor Mays didn't go to USC to get an education. He went to win championships (which he didn't do).
While there is the argument that it is the player's responsibility to make the best of their situation, and there is some truth to that, football comes first, always. And when you're as good as USC, football is it. To his credit, Carroll sent players to the NFL at a much higher rate than most programs, meaning less of his players stepped away from the game with nothing. But some probably did and that is the business that this sport is today. However, if that means giving players a few bucks or finding a booster to help them out, I'm looking past it. It reminds me of the story from the ESPN 30-for-30 about Miami in the '80's. The white quarterback, from a well off family, saw a few of his teammates walking out of the dorms with paper bags and ski masks. "Where are y'all going?" "To get some car stereos." They had to eat. Yes, when you take your kids from Compton and Shreveport, it's that bad.
There were, however, some other things going on to be sure.
Where this leaves USC, easily college football's most glamorous program, is a complete unknown. One ESPN writer calls it a "crossroads" while another basically calls Carroll a quitter. The recruiting fallout could be widespread, or it could be very little. If any school benefits from this, it is the one led by master recruiter Rick Neuheisal, UCLA.
Whatever happens, whatever the fallout or sanctions or anything else, rest assured of one thing: Pete Carroll will be spared. Because in college athletics it only works one way: coaches are paid lavishly, players are punished no matter whether they were there or not.
Welcome to Seattle, Pete. Just know it isn't Southern California, the school or the region.
---
Other sports news:
For those of you who used to care about baseball back in the day, you may have heard that Mark McGwire admitted to steroid use yesterday. I link Geoff Baker's blog for a reason, instead of some news story about it. I've decided Baker is exactly what is wrong with Hall of Fame voters.
Here's the deal: the Baseball Hall of Fame, or any HOF for that matter, is not the Hall of the Guys that Played the Game Cleanest and Didn't Cheat on Their Wives or Gamble or Kill Someone. You know how I know this? Ty Cobb is in it. In the inaugural HOF ballot, Cobb received a whopping 222 out of 226 votes. Obviously, Cobb's baseball numbers speak for themselves. He was the greatest player of the deadball era, albeit the dirtiest as well. He was also extremely racist and violent. He once stabbed a black man. His temperament is well-documented, in movies such as Cobb and Field of Dreams, where he is mentioned in passing not being well-liked. Yet Cobb is one of the best players in baseball history. Period. Which is why he is in the Hall of Fame.
You know who else is one of the best? Pete Rose. Sure he gambled. He still has over 4,000 hits. Did his gambling make him a worse player? Who knows. If it did then it is even more amazing to look at just how good he was. Rose was a more modern day Cobb. A hard-nosed, sometimes dirty player, that was one of the best of his time.
Finally, to McGwire. And Barry Bonds. And Alex Rodriguez. And many others. No asterisk is needed. People will not ever forget that this was the steroids era. No one will ever forget McGwire, HOF or not. Same with Rose. Same with A-Rod and Bonds. The precious HOF will simply lose some credibility because, well, it doesn't include three of the greatest players of all time. Never was there a more feared power hitter than McGwire, until Bonds. He completely changed the way you pitched to that lineup. He hit more homeruns in a season than any other, before Bonds.
If you're argument is that his career numbers weren't good enough, then fine. But don't you dare say that steroids are the reason Mark McGwire should not be in the HOF. The HOF is not about judging character, it is about judging statistics. If baseball didn't catch him cheating while he was putting up those numbers, then that is there fault. But you know what, maybe these guys, especially the veterans committee, forgot what it was like when they played. Think guys didn't take pills in the '80's? Mickey Mantle is in the HOF, yet his transgressions are legendary. And did they forget that cheating is part of baseball? I've stolen more signs in my time as a player and a coach than probably anything else I did. Oh, but that is "just part of the game." Well, I've got news for you, so were steroids. One guy didn't do this. Huge numbers of guys did. And it wasn't just hitters either. It was part of the game. And these guys were the best at what they did, when they did it. That's what matters here. Not their drug choices.
Which leads me to Edgar Martinez and Ken Griffey, Jr. Neither (at least we don't think) did steroids. You might recall that Martinez said he had no idea anyone in the M's locker room was doing them, a bold statement considering they were apparently all over the place in there. I firmly believe that, had Griffey never been injured, he would have 800 homeruns right now. Already. He'd be the greatest player in the history of baseball - at least until Albert Pujols is done obliterating the record books. What happens when his name hits the ballot? First ballot HOFer? Even though it is possible that he took steroids? No one thinks he did, but let's not be naive about this, he played in this era. He had a ton of power. No he didn't look like the Incredible Hulk, but he sure hit a lot of homeruns. More than 600 to date. Where do we draw the line here?
And Edgar. Steroids aren't the question here, but I think the points overlap. Martinez didn't get in the hall this year for one reason: he spent the majority of his career as a DH. How do you punish a guy just because he did his job better than anyone else ever has? People don't forget that he was a DH. On his plaque in Cooperstown it will say he was a DH. What is the Hall protecting itself from? The Designated Hitter of the Year award is named after him for goodness sakes. Isn't that what the HOF is supposed to be about? Recognizing the players who were the best at what they did, when they did it? Not only does Martinez fit that profile, but he was the best at that job, ever.
A person should not be punished for doing their job. Nor should he be compared to someone who "couldn't be a DH because he played in the national league," as Baker said in an earlier post. Free agency existed. They passed on it. Apples and oranges can't be compared.
Nor does that matter. The HOF should be for the best. Not the best that people like a lot. Thanks, Ty Cobb.
Later y'all.
Couple of things that caught my attention:
A pretty sweet look at what a few Chicago White Sox players did on their off day in Seattle on Monday.
I really like this new column on ESPN.com that is sort of an insider look at what goes on at the network. It really has a take no prisoners attitude as it took the network to task for its coverage, or lack thereof, of the Ben Rothlisberger situation. For this particular column (about announcers - very interesting look at how people react to them), the real story is at the bottom. There is some discussion on the advertising ESPN does during games. The paid advertising. One beef was with the soon to be released Sorority Row. On the surface it just seems like someone complaining because they refuse to regulate their kids television watching. But, the one reader he mentions later makes a point.
Probably not a good idea to run that ad during the Florida State-Miami game. I'm sorry, granted I went to the same college as the guy, but the writer here is wrong - these people have no business not being able to find out that it is not a good idea to show previews to a movie about killers in sororities, at a place that Ted Bundy did exactly that. Just bad vetting. Anyway, interesting point.
Myles Brand died today. Brand really has done some good things for the NCAA, something that cannot often be said about the body. Some forget that it was he in 2000 that stood up and fired Bob Knight at Indiana. And he lived to tell about it.
And a pretty good quote courtesy of a Pete Carroll team meeting:
"You're going up against our offense and up against our defense. It's almost like we're scrimmaging ourselves-with one exception. They have Jake Locker. He's a war daddy and he's really fast." Yes, Pete Carroll has a man crush on Jake Locker. This is no secret. Go Dawgs.
You stay classy Oregon.